"Come off it, you just did better than us."
Harry shrugged uncomfortably. Ever since they had arrived in Diagon Alley, Ron and Hermione had talked about nothing except their Apparition tests they took that morning. Unfortunately, neither of them had passed whereas Harry HAD. And just with their insistence that he plainly knew what he was doing and they didn't was making him very uneasy.
"We'll just retake it next week before school starts, I'm sure second times a charm," Added Hermione.
Of all the long years Harry had known Hermione, he never saw her once take placing second best very well, so her calmness at failing at something he had succeeded at was making the situation even more weird. He was almost certain she'd pass. Their study session Tuesday was productive, to say the least. Productive in an educational sense, not in the way Harry had intended.
He had ended up watching every teenage movie he could get his hands on Monday night while the Dursleys slept. He found out much more than he needed to know, and still didn't know how to get there. What he ended up doing was banging his hand against her head and tumbling on top of her when he tried moving his chair closer. It was, needless to say, a disaster. And what made matters worse was Hermione didn't even seem to remember it.
"So, what books do you need, Harry?" Ron asked as he lead the way into Flourish and Blotts. As usual, it was packed with bustling witches and wizards, most wearing black cloaks with Hogwarts house patches on the chest.
As soon as he stepped into the room, it fell close to silent. The only ones talking were the oblivious groups in the back who had yet caught on with the majority. But soon they fell quite as well.
All stared at Harry, almost scared. Whispers broke out amongst them as Hermione and Ron flanked Harry and proceeded to the side shelves where the shopkeeper was pushing some books back in place after they had flapped away on feathery white wings.
"Um, excuse me?" Ron asked up at him, slightly poking his shoulder blade.
The shopkeeper turned around and nodded," Eh, school books I presume. What'll it be?"
But before any of them could open their mouths, his jaw dropped and his eyes bulged a bit as he gawked at Harry.
"Bless it be...Harry Potter...My...I...We...It..." He stammered.
Harry looked around uneasily, seeing quizzical faces on every one of the customers. Wanting nothing but to escape their stares, he interrupted the owner's fumbled attempt at speech," Um, I need three Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six, and umm...."
Harry looked down at his list of quite a few books as he followed the shopkeeper towards a row of shelves. Ron took the three books the owner handed him and handed Harry his booklist as well.
"We also need...Arithmancy, Business Level by Lou Yunel. As well as Defending Against Darker Forces, Ministry Advanced Level by Rupert Codwell." Harry read on, noticing the great thickness of his Defending Against Darker Forces book.
"Arithmancy? Ron, you're taking Arithmancy ?" Hermione asked after she had read the book keeper her long list of advanced level books.
Ron nodded looking over his book," I decided to go into a career in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. They want a love of Quidditch and such, along with Arithmancy and a good knowledge of magical games."
Harry smiled at the thought of Ron coordinating future Quidditch World Cups. It suited him.
"Games? You're going to grow up and work on games? Ron, you could've picked something better to do with your life rather than obsess over Quidditch the rest of your life," Hermione scoffed, her nose already deep within one of her books.
"What about you then? Got every bloody book in the shop," Ron spat back hotly.
" I'm doing something worthwhile with my life. I'm planning on becoming a Healer. I got all top marks on my O.W.L.'s and the field is pleasantly challenging." Hermione retorted heading for the door.
Harry hastily handed the shop owner money for his purchases along with Ron and Hermione's and followed the quarreling two-some out of the shop, trying to avoid the curious stares of passers-by.
Blushing, he maneuvered them towards Florean Forteseque's Ice Cream Parlor and seated them while they continued to have it out with each other.
"Honestly, you're worse than an old married couple," Harry commented as he thumbed through his books.
Hermione and Ron stopped short, her blushing furiously for some reason. A sharp clink and a bright flash of light took them all by surprise and caused Harry to jump and drop his books.
"Oh! Sorry Harry!" Colin Creevey exclaimed horrified and quickly gathered Harry's books, dusted them off on his cloak and handed them back to him gently.
"Colin? What did I say about flashing me with that thing out of nowhere?" Harry grumbled, rubbing the blinding white spots now scattered over his vision.
"I-I know. I'm sorry, Harry. I just wanted a picture for the school paper once we get back and I was also wondering if you'd let me interview you," Colin went on nervously, his thumb rubbing back and forth across the camera's shutter.
Harry frowned slightly, glancing at the others," Why would you want an interview?"
"Well, so the school would know how it made you feel when nobody believed you about You-Know-Who and how the truth affects your life now that everybody knows you were telling the truth." Colin cleared up.
Harry frowned harder. He had expected something like this to start, it was inevitable. He had only half hoped everyone had forgotten he was the first to warn the coming of Voldemort," Eh...I don't think that's such a good idea, Colin."
"Why not? Everyone owes you an apology, Harry. They were wrong, and you were right!" Colin added excitedly.
Not a moment after Colin had made this comment that a group of Ravenclaws made their way over to them and stopped in front of Harry. He looked up at them frowning, noticing the ones in the back nudging a girl with red curly hair forward. She looked faintly familiar.
"Um...Hiiiiii Harry...." The girl muttered weakly. Another nudge make her clear her throat." Um, I...well, WE...We wanted to...well. Apologize..."
Harry rose his eyebrows and looked at them all incredulously.
"I was wrong to doubt you, Harry. And, well, on a personal note...I'm sorry for making things worse between you and Cho."
It finally dawned on him why she looked so familiar. She was Cho's friend from the D.A. meetings, Marietta Edgecomb. The same girl who had snitched on all of them and caused him to almost get expelled and Dumbledore to flee Hogwarts the year before. A pang of anger and disgust couldn't help but burn back into his eyes.
Marietta made a little gasp at the look he gave her and quickly looked down, clearly ashamed and guilt ridden.
"Look, Harry...I don't expect you to forgive me. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. Its up to you to accept it or not..." Marietta softly said rubbing her hands in circles.
"We're ALL sorry, Harry." said one of the shorter Ravenclaws on the far right.
Within seconds, a flock of people had started to form around Harry, giving their apologies. All were ashamed at how they had treated him and only hoped for his forgiveness. Harry was so taken aback and full of indignation, he couldn't even open his mouth for a single word. Without warning, he stood up abruptly, grabbed his books and shoved his way out of the center of the large baffled crowd. He trampled over fellow Hogwarts students, elderly witches and wizards and everyone in-between. How dare they, he growled to himself. Once free of all apologies and guilty gazes, Harry sprinted down Diagon Alley and disappeared into The Leaky Cauldron.
"How DARE they start to apologize....Like it matters to ME if they believe me or not!" Harry grumbled viciously to himself as he stormed through the tavern, leaving confused patrons in his wake.
"How DARE they think I care if I'm back to being 'The Boy Who Lived'...Sirius died because-"
Harry stopped sharply. He hadn't let his mind touch on that subject since he left Hogwarts. It was what had been keeping him alive day by day. Denial. Never acknowledging that he...his Godfather...was.....
Harry quickly squeezed his eyes shut, but all too late. There was a cascade of bitter tears flowing down his flushed cheeks that he could not control. He crumpled to the ground in an instant, sobbing uncontrollably into his hands. Sirius was dead. He was gone. The small ray of hope Luna had given him not too long ago had long past been consumed by the growing emptiness in his gut. The pain was brimming over in sorrowful waves, each more tormenting than its prior. He'd held it in so long that it was unbearable now, flooding out without hope of cessation. He was in agony.
After what seemed like hours, he finally managed to choke down the rest of his pain. Looking up with blurry eyes, he realized two things immediately. 1) His contacts had fallen out during his crying and 2) a crowd of people had formed around him once again and were murmuring to each other. Harry staggered to his feet, feeling his knees revolt in protest and refuse to stiffen and hold his weight. He tottered and was caught by the elbow by a man closet to him.
"You alright, son?" He asked, voice thick with concern.
Harry nodded numbly, quickly picking up his books and faced the titles opposite any curious eyes. He rubbed his swollen eyes, roughly wiping his face dry and noticed his reflection in a shop window. His hair was limp and had fell into his usual hair style. His skin was pale and his eyes shone even more brightly outlined by the puffy red. And it seemed that his scar was more malevolent than ever. He hastily pressed down his hair, hiding the horrid scar and went to walk away.
"You sure you're all right to walk, Hun?" An elderly woman asked, stopping him gently.
"Yeah.." Harry croaked, managing to conjure up a weak smile. The crowd filtered away and only the man who helped him up and the old woman were left. He waited until they left too to lean back gratefully against the shop window. He rubbed his forehead and forced himself to calm down completely. Falling to pieces in public was the last thing Harry had wanted to do. He was only grateful it was all muggles and no one from the magical world. He didn't think he'd hear the end of the headlines...
"BOY WHO LIVED BREAKS DOWN,EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS INSIDE...." or " TRAGIC HERO OR BIG BABY?: DETAILS ABOUT POTTER'S SOB FEST ON PAGE THREE."
Shaking the thoughts from his head, Harry quickly sprinted down the sidewalk, pushing the memory of his break down to the very back of his mind.
//------------
The next week was a blur, as was the arrival back at Hogwarts. He sat silently besides Neville Longbottom and Justin Finch-Fletchley at the Sorting Feast the first night back. Ron and Hermione continuously shot him worried looks from down the table. He had purposely avoided them on the train ride there, which was easy enough since they were Prefects and had to patrol the cars. Dinner wasn't anymore difficult. He just merely had to stall and arrive late so he could take a place at the far end. He hadn't avoided his friends since a year ago right after Voldemort returned, so he doubted they'd let this pass, especially after his show at the ice cream parlor.
Soon enough, dinner was over and Harry was climbing the stairs, silently flanking Neville and Seamus Finnigan. They didn't speak to him much as they entered the Gryffindor common room since Seamus was going on and on about his summer vacation in Ireland visiting his grandmother.
Seeing Ron and Hermione still talking to the first years, Harry walked back out .
After around four hours of hiding in the library, catching up on a lot of reading in the meantime, Harry wandered back to the Gryffindor dormitories and climbed back through the portrait hole. Seeing no one still in the common room, Harry settled at a table close to the still burning fire.
He dropped his books down and sunk deeply into the cushioned chair. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and let his body relax with the warmth of the fire. Without knowing, Harry dozed off into a dreamless sleep until a soft shuffling sound awoke him from his light slumber. He opened his eyes lazily searching the room and found himself staring at Hermione, standing uncertainly at the edge of his table in her nightgown.
Their silence filled the room as Hermione walked over towards him. Without a word, she sat down in the chair besides him and frowned at him. The only sound was the soft crackling of the fire devouring the wood in the fireplace. Hermione's soft whisper seemed like a scream compared to the long silence they sustained.
"Harry?"
Harry looked up at her, seeing the obvious concern on her face. Trying to divert her worry away from a subject Harry didn't want to tread on, he said," Hey, you shouldn't frown so much. You're going to end up with wrinkles by the time you're twenty-five."
"Well, if I get wrinkles, they're all you're fault. Being your friend is a constant worry ball." Hermione replied quietly, a hint of a smile on her lips.
Harry attempted a smile, but failed miserably and simply gave up and looked down.
Hermione reached out and gently tipped his chin up with her thumb, "What's wrong, Harry?"
He shook his head and tried to look away again, only to have Hermione bring his face back to meet hers.
"Look. I...I really just don't wanna talk about it."
"Well, you SHOULD...You need to talk to someone." Hermione said moving her hand down to hold his softly.
"I don't-" Harry started.
"Well, DO," Hermione interrupted, a fiery determination behind her brown eyes.
Harry sighed heavily and let his gaze float down and over to a word on the page of his opened book propped up in front of him. A gentle squeeze from Hermione's hand urged him on.
"I. Well...when all those people started apologizing, you know? It got me...well...angry...cause, well...It made me think of Sirius.."
Hermione frowned hard and squeezed Harry's hand tighter." Go on," she whispered.
"They just don't understand...Yes, I knew all along and yes, part of me wanted them to know I was telling the truth just to show them. But...I don't know. It became all bittersweet after....he...died..."
Harry finished painfully.
Unable to speak another word, Harry felt tears stinging his eyes. It took all of his strength not to break down into tears once again. He especially didn't want to start bawling in front of Hermione, she'd think he was just some big baby. But what she did completely made him change his mind. Without hesitation, Hermione brought Harry close to her and hugged him tightly. No one in the world had hugged Harry like she was. It was warm, tight, secure...It was the sort of hug people tended to take for granted. A loving, tender embrace everyone's probably felt before which only made Harry long for more of it. This was his first real hug and he didn't want the feeling to go away. He had longed for this feeling and only Sirius had come close to it. Harry held onto her tighter, burying his face in her soft, sleek hair. Before he knew what he was doing, tears were spilling out once more. But for some reason, he didn't care. It was all right. Hermione only held him tighter, increasing the feel of security.
Something inside him taking control, Harry pulled away and looked straight into Hermione's eyes. They weren't plain brown like he had always thought. They were a mix. A mixture of everything warm and chocolate, with flecks of love making them shine. Like a gravitational pull he could not resist, Harry started to lean slowly towards Hermione. Her cheeks flushed softly as she tilted her face up, letting her slightly parted lips wait for the touch to come. They both closed their eyes, fractions away from contacting. Harry could feel the warmth of her breaths puff like gentle feathers on his lips. Only moments away from what they had been building up to the past few weeks, a loud crash came from behind them.
With a jolt, they sat back in their chairs and looked flustered at the origin of the noise. Sitting in a pile at the bottom of the boy's dormitory stairs was Colin Creevey. He scrambled to his feet looking most shocked at how he ended up on the floor and turned to look at them.
"S-Sorry...Had to go bathroom..." Colin stammered, not aware he just interrupted a pivotal moment.
Harry and Hermione sighed heavily with a nod and watched Colin carefully tip toe out of the common room. Harry looked back at Hermione , unsure of what to do.
"Well, um....I better get to bed. Got to be well rested for our first day back...Um...goodnight, Harry," Hermione spoke at last, getting up from the chair.
Harry could only nod and watch her leave up the stairs to her room. Harry sighed loudly and rubbed his forehead.
"What was I about to do?" Harry mumbled to himself rubbing his stinging eyes. Not wanting to get into anything else mind-spinning that night, Harry gathered up his things and trudged up to his room.
The next morning passed by blurry as well and before he knew it, Harry was sitting down to lunch. Hermione quickly sat down besides him and looked straight at him," We got to talk."
Harry nodded opening his mouth to begin what he'd been agonizing over all day when Ron plopped down across from them.
"Ok, mate, you better have a good explanation for why you avoided us yesterday. I half worried my arse off and ended up calling Professor Snape Harry in the hallway."
Harry sighed and turned to look at Ron, but Hermione's quick words beat him to the punch.
"Ron, Harry's just been upset about ..you know...Sirius," Hermione finished with a whisper.
Ron nodded and gave Harry a sympathetic look," I thought so. And don't worry about all of those gits who practically attacked you last week. We told them you accepted their apology but didn't want to think about it."
Harry nodded, finally noticing how most of the students he'd seen at the ice cream parlor managed to put a stopper to their apologies and simply said 'Hello' every time he walked by or just waved.
"So, on a completely different subject," Ron went on reaching for some chicken legs." What do you have for the next three periods, Harry?"
Harry pushed a pea around his plate and made it climb the mountain of mashed potatoes," Potions and double Defense against the Dark Arts."
"Double?" Ron asked.
Harry nodded and took a bite of potatoes.
"I don't have double," Ron said frowning, take a second look at his schedule.
"I do," said Hermione peering over her paper.
"What do you have instead?" Harry asked looking up at him.
"Um... Arithmancy ,Defense Against the Dark Arts and Muggle Studies...I don't even have Potions this year!" Ron exclaimed, clutching his schedule in his fists.
Hermione frowned and grabbed his schedule from him, looking it over," No Potions? How odd."
"Well, didn't Snape say he wasn't going to take anyone who didn't get 'Outstanding' on their O.W.L.'s?" Harry said looking from Ron to Hermione.
"Yeah...Wow, Ron. You don't have Potions." Hermione said rather glumly.
To this final sum up, Ron sprung up and thrust his fists into the air and shouted "YES!!!"
Most students surrounding them looked startled at Ron, who quickly sat down with a bright red face.
//------------
Potions passed by just as expected. Professor Snape picked on Harry particularly as always, obviously irked by the fact that he had made it to his advanced Potions classes. Harry could only feel proud of himself.
Harry walked alongside Hermione as they talked about how annoyed Snape had been when Ron caught up with them.
"Hey! How'd Potions go? Ol' Snape miss me?" Ron asked beaming.
Hermione elbowed him and walked in first into the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. They automatically aimed at the back tables and sat down. Ron slide in next to Seamus while Harry and Hermione got a table to themselves. Harry couldn't help at think this wasn't such a good idea.
But he didn't have time to worry for long when the door flew open and a short, stinky woman stalked in. Upon turning around, Harry's jaw dropped open.
With blazing purple hair that shot out in spikes and black robes, Tonks was about as recognizable as a orange rabbit is in a litter of white.
Tonks grinned at her class and gave a wink at Harry," Hello class. I'm going to be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Now, some of you may recognize me, some may not. Let me clear it up. My name's Tonks. You can call me Tonks. Simple enough? Good. Now, I'm here to further your studies with the dark arts. Most of you will not be staying for the second session which will contain the much advanced stages of defensive magic. Now, if there aren't any questions, we'll begin."
The class couldn't have been more fun if Dumbledore had taught it himself. Tonks was loud, funny and nutty. She taught them the basics of a hex and each of its counter curses. After Ron and some of the others had left ,the second session involved only actual practicing of magic. She had them all get up, push the tables back and pair off to try out each of the hexes she had taught in the previous session. Harry hadn't had so much fun since Lupin taught this class.
"Really, now? That much fun?" said Hagrid as he poured a cup of tea for Harry.
Harry nodded adding in sugar and milk. "Oh, Hagrid. It was incredible! I learned how to make acne curses ,boil curses, ugly curses, and hex quills and broomsticks. Also, how to block all of the spells we learned. Granted, it isn't really Dark Arts, but she said we needed to start out small then we'd build up to blocking things like possession and memory invasion."
Harry sipped his tea excitedly. His class had been over three hours ago, but the content ness of having a competent D.A.D.A teacher was still thriving in his veins.
"Well, seems you're goin' ter have a good year,eh?" Hagrid said with a smile as he sat down in his huge chair across from Harry.
"Oh yes. Well...Educational wise, yes." Harry mumbled.
Hagrid frowned a bit and leaned forward," What d'ya mean?"
"Oh, n-nothing. Its nothing," Harry hastily replied.
"C'mon 'arry. Out with it."
Harry shifted his weight in the oversized chair. Hagrid's enormous dog, Fang, snored loudly at Harry's feet ,occasionally slapping Harry's knee with his huge tail.
"OK, but...you got to promise not to tell ANYONE, ok?"
Hagrid nodded and dragged his fingers across his chest in an X.
"Alright, well....You see..." And Harry proceeded in divulging only a on-a-need-to-know-basis idea of his and Hermione's situation.
Hagrid couldn't stop grinning after Harry had finished," You and lil' 'ermonie? Well, I ne'er would've thinked et."
Harry sighed," Hagrid, c'mon, I need some advice. What do I do!?"
"Well, ferst off, ya gotta tell 'er how ya feel. Trouble with women is they get ya if yer not truthful. And trust me, they know when yer lying. After that, just let nature take ets course. You two 'ave been friends since I can remember. Be careful, 'arry. Ya dun wanna mess up a friendship like that for nuttin'."
Harry stuffed his hands into his pockets as he made his way across the large lawn after Hagrid's advice speech. What he had said made sense. It was only smart to tell Hermione how he felt about her, and to be extra careful not to ruin things between them. He certainly didn't want to throw away a six year friendship just because he made a stupid mistake. But should he? Should he cross that line from friendship into something more?
"A little late for that, Potter," he mumbled remembering their close encounter the night before.
Without warning, a searing pain exploded from his forehead. Harry keeled over almost instantly, writhing around on the ground in agony. A scream escaped his throat, but no sound came out. Only the intense spasming of his throat muscles. Harry curled and flexed and shot out again. The pain seemed beyond bearable, almost exactly like the time Voldemort took over his body at the Ministry and tried to get Dumbledore to...
He was running. The halls echoed each time his sneaker made contact with the marble floor. It was dark, probably night. This place was familiar, oddly familiar. Like he'd been there so many times before, but something was off. Terribly off. A scream floated through the empty hallways like a ghost and Harry only ran faster. Faster. Past dozens of portraits devoid of their occupants. Past lines of suits of armor, tapestries and doors. He flew down a staircase and found himself in a long, large hallway. He walked onward, following the scream . He had to get to it before it silenced. He had to stop it.
"'ARRY!? 'arry are you alright!?"
Harry groaned and heard a faint voice far off coming closer and closer. Soon, he felt his body and realized he was in someone's arms. Someone's big, warm arms. He was on the ground, he could feel the cold wetness of the grass seeping into his jeans. His head was throbbing incessantly, somehow wanting to remind him of what he had just gone through. Weakly, Harry forced his eyes open to find himself in Hagrid's arms and Professor Sprout kneeled in front of him, dabbing his head with her cloak.
"He's sweating like crazy, Hagrid. " Professor Sprout commented softly.
"Lets get him to Madam Pomfrey immediately." said Hagrid gently.
Harry could no more lift a finger than protest. He let Hagrid scoop his limp body up and carry him to the infirmary as Professor Sprout scurried along in front of them, flagging down Professor McGonagal as they approached the entrance to the hospital wing. Harry slipped back out into darkness.
Harry shrugged uncomfortably. Ever since they had arrived in Diagon Alley, Ron and Hermione had talked about nothing except their Apparition tests they took that morning. Unfortunately, neither of them had passed whereas Harry HAD. And just with their insistence that he plainly knew what he was doing and they didn't was making him very uneasy.
"We'll just retake it next week before school starts, I'm sure second times a charm," Added Hermione.
Of all the long years Harry had known Hermione, he never saw her once take placing second best very well, so her calmness at failing at something he had succeeded at was making the situation even more weird. He was almost certain she'd pass. Their study session Tuesday was productive, to say the least. Productive in an educational sense, not in the way Harry had intended.
He had ended up watching every teenage movie he could get his hands on Monday night while the Dursleys slept. He found out much more than he needed to know, and still didn't know how to get there. What he ended up doing was banging his hand against her head and tumbling on top of her when he tried moving his chair closer. It was, needless to say, a disaster. And what made matters worse was Hermione didn't even seem to remember it.
"So, what books do you need, Harry?" Ron asked as he lead the way into Flourish and Blotts. As usual, it was packed with bustling witches and wizards, most wearing black cloaks with Hogwarts house patches on the chest.
As soon as he stepped into the room, it fell close to silent. The only ones talking were the oblivious groups in the back who had yet caught on with the majority. But soon they fell quite as well.
All stared at Harry, almost scared. Whispers broke out amongst them as Hermione and Ron flanked Harry and proceeded to the side shelves where the shopkeeper was pushing some books back in place after they had flapped away on feathery white wings.
"Um, excuse me?" Ron asked up at him, slightly poking his shoulder blade.
The shopkeeper turned around and nodded," Eh, school books I presume. What'll it be?"
But before any of them could open their mouths, his jaw dropped and his eyes bulged a bit as he gawked at Harry.
"Bless it be...Harry Potter...My...I...We...It..." He stammered.
Harry looked around uneasily, seeing quizzical faces on every one of the customers. Wanting nothing but to escape their stares, he interrupted the owner's fumbled attempt at speech," Um, I need three Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six, and umm...."
Harry looked down at his list of quite a few books as he followed the shopkeeper towards a row of shelves. Ron took the three books the owner handed him and handed Harry his booklist as well.
"We also need...Arithmancy, Business Level by Lou Yunel. As well as Defending Against Darker Forces, Ministry Advanced Level by Rupert Codwell." Harry read on, noticing the great thickness of his Defending Against Darker Forces book.
"Arithmancy? Ron, you're taking Arithmancy ?" Hermione asked after she had read the book keeper her long list of advanced level books.
Ron nodded looking over his book," I decided to go into a career in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. They want a love of Quidditch and such, along with Arithmancy and a good knowledge of magical games."
Harry smiled at the thought of Ron coordinating future Quidditch World Cups. It suited him.
"Games? You're going to grow up and work on games? Ron, you could've picked something better to do with your life rather than obsess over Quidditch the rest of your life," Hermione scoffed, her nose already deep within one of her books.
"What about you then? Got every bloody book in the shop," Ron spat back hotly.
" I'm doing something worthwhile with my life. I'm planning on becoming a Healer. I got all top marks on my O.W.L.'s and the field is pleasantly challenging." Hermione retorted heading for the door.
Harry hastily handed the shop owner money for his purchases along with Ron and Hermione's and followed the quarreling two-some out of the shop, trying to avoid the curious stares of passers-by.
Blushing, he maneuvered them towards Florean Forteseque's Ice Cream Parlor and seated them while they continued to have it out with each other.
"Honestly, you're worse than an old married couple," Harry commented as he thumbed through his books.
Hermione and Ron stopped short, her blushing furiously for some reason. A sharp clink and a bright flash of light took them all by surprise and caused Harry to jump and drop his books.
"Oh! Sorry Harry!" Colin Creevey exclaimed horrified and quickly gathered Harry's books, dusted them off on his cloak and handed them back to him gently.
"Colin? What did I say about flashing me with that thing out of nowhere?" Harry grumbled, rubbing the blinding white spots now scattered over his vision.
"I-I know. I'm sorry, Harry. I just wanted a picture for the school paper once we get back and I was also wondering if you'd let me interview you," Colin went on nervously, his thumb rubbing back and forth across the camera's shutter.
Harry frowned slightly, glancing at the others," Why would you want an interview?"
"Well, so the school would know how it made you feel when nobody believed you about You-Know-Who and how the truth affects your life now that everybody knows you were telling the truth." Colin cleared up.
Harry frowned harder. He had expected something like this to start, it was inevitable. He had only half hoped everyone had forgotten he was the first to warn the coming of Voldemort," Eh...I don't think that's such a good idea, Colin."
"Why not? Everyone owes you an apology, Harry. They were wrong, and you were right!" Colin added excitedly.
Not a moment after Colin had made this comment that a group of Ravenclaws made their way over to them and stopped in front of Harry. He looked up at them frowning, noticing the ones in the back nudging a girl with red curly hair forward. She looked faintly familiar.
"Um...Hiiiiii Harry...." The girl muttered weakly. Another nudge make her clear her throat." Um, I...well, WE...We wanted to...well. Apologize..."
Harry rose his eyebrows and looked at them all incredulously.
"I was wrong to doubt you, Harry. And, well, on a personal note...I'm sorry for making things worse between you and Cho."
It finally dawned on him why she looked so familiar. She was Cho's friend from the D.A. meetings, Marietta Edgecomb. The same girl who had snitched on all of them and caused him to almost get expelled and Dumbledore to flee Hogwarts the year before. A pang of anger and disgust couldn't help but burn back into his eyes.
Marietta made a little gasp at the look he gave her and quickly looked down, clearly ashamed and guilt ridden.
"Look, Harry...I don't expect you to forgive me. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. Its up to you to accept it or not..." Marietta softly said rubbing her hands in circles.
"We're ALL sorry, Harry." said one of the shorter Ravenclaws on the far right.
Within seconds, a flock of people had started to form around Harry, giving their apologies. All were ashamed at how they had treated him and only hoped for his forgiveness. Harry was so taken aback and full of indignation, he couldn't even open his mouth for a single word. Without warning, he stood up abruptly, grabbed his books and shoved his way out of the center of the large baffled crowd. He trampled over fellow Hogwarts students, elderly witches and wizards and everyone in-between. How dare they, he growled to himself. Once free of all apologies and guilty gazes, Harry sprinted down Diagon Alley and disappeared into The Leaky Cauldron.
"How DARE they start to apologize....Like it matters to ME if they believe me or not!" Harry grumbled viciously to himself as he stormed through the tavern, leaving confused patrons in his wake.
"How DARE they think I care if I'm back to being 'The Boy Who Lived'...Sirius died because-"
Harry stopped sharply. He hadn't let his mind touch on that subject since he left Hogwarts. It was what had been keeping him alive day by day. Denial. Never acknowledging that he...his Godfather...was.....
Harry quickly squeezed his eyes shut, but all too late. There was a cascade of bitter tears flowing down his flushed cheeks that he could not control. He crumpled to the ground in an instant, sobbing uncontrollably into his hands. Sirius was dead. He was gone. The small ray of hope Luna had given him not too long ago had long past been consumed by the growing emptiness in his gut. The pain was brimming over in sorrowful waves, each more tormenting than its prior. He'd held it in so long that it was unbearable now, flooding out without hope of cessation. He was in agony.
After what seemed like hours, he finally managed to choke down the rest of his pain. Looking up with blurry eyes, he realized two things immediately. 1) His contacts had fallen out during his crying and 2) a crowd of people had formed around him once again and were murmuring to each other. Harry staggered to his feet, feeling his knees revolt in protest and refuse to stiffen and hold his weight. He tottered and was caught by the elbow by a man closet to him.
"You alright, son?" He asked, voice thick with concern.
Harry nodded numbly, quickly picking up his books and faced the titles opposite any curious eyes. He rubbed his swollen eyes, roughly wiping his face dry and noticed his reflection in a shop window. His hair was limp and had fell into his usual hair style. His skin was pale and his eyes shone even more brightly outlined by the puffy red. And it seemed that his scar was more malevolent than ever. He hastily pressed down his hair, hiding the horrid scar and went to walk away.
"You sure you're all right to walk, Hun?" An elderly woman asked, stopping him gently.
"Yeah.." Harry croaked, managing to conjure up a weak smile. The crowd filtered away and only the man who helped him up and the old woman were left. He waited until they left too to lean back gratefully against the shop window. He rubbed his forehead and forced himself to calm down completely. Falling to pieces in public was the last thing Harry had wanted to do. He was only grateful it was all muggles and no one from the magical world. He didn't think he'd hear the end of the headlines...
"BOY WHO LIVED BREAKS DOWN,EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS INSIDE...." or " TRAGIC HERO OR BIG BABY?: DETAILS ABOUT POTTER'S SOB FEST ON PAGE THREE."
Shaking the thoughts from his head, Harry quickly sprinted down the sidewalk, pushing the memory of his break down to the very back of his mind.
//------------
The next week was a blur, as was the arrival back at Hogwarts. He sat silently besides Neville Longbottom and Justin Finch-Fletchley at the Sorting Feast the first night back. Ron and Hermione continuously shot him worried looks from down the table. He had purposely avoided them on the train ride there, which was easy enough since they were Prefects and had to patrol the cars. Dinner wasn't anymore difficult. He just merely had to stall and arrive late so he could take a place at the far end. He hadn't avoided his friends since a year ago right after Voldemort returned, so he doubted they'd let this pass, especially after his show at the ice cream parlor.
Soon enough, dinner was over and Harry was climbing the stairs, silently flanking Neville and Seamus Finnigan. They didn't speak to him much as they entered the Gryffindor common room since Seamus was going on and on about his summer vacation in Ireland visiting his grandmother.
Seeing Ron and Hermione still talking to the first years, Harry walked back out .
After around four hours of hiding in the library, catching up on a lot of reading in the meantime, Harry wandered back to the Gryffindor dormitories and climbed back through the portrait hole. Seeing no one still in the common room, Harry settled at a table close to the still burning fire.
He dropped his books down and sunk deeply into the cushioned chair. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and let his body relax with the warmth of the fire. Without knowing, Harry dozed off into a dreamless sleep until a soft shuffling sound awoke him from his light slumber. He opened his eyes lazily searching the room and found himself staring at Hermione, standing uncertainly at the edge of his table in her nightgown.
Their silence filled the room as Hermione walked over towards him. Without a word, she sat down in the chair besides him and frowned at him. The only sound was the soft crackling of the fire devouring the wood in the fireplace. Hermione's soft whisper seemed like a scream compared to the long silence they sustained.
"Harry?"
Harry looked up at her, seeing the obvious concern on her face. Trying to divert her worry away from a subject Harry didn't want to tread on, he said," Hey, you shouldn't frown so much. You're going to end up with wrinkles by the time you're twenty-five."
"Well, if I get wrinkles, they're all you're fault. Being your friend is a constant worry ball." Hermione replied quietly, a hint of a smile on her lips.
Harry attempted a smile, but failed miserably and simply gave up and looked down.
Hermione reached out and gently tipped his chin up with her thumb, "What's wrong, Harry?"
He shook his head and tried to look away again, only to have Hermione bring his face back to meet hers.
"Look. I...I really just don't wanna talk about it."
"Well, you SHOULD...You need to talk to someone." Hermione said moving her hand down to hold his softly.
"I don't-" Harry started.
"Well, DO," Hermione interrupted, a fiery determination behind her brown eyes.
Harry sighed heavily and let his gaze float down and over to a word on the page of his opened book propped up in front of him. A gentle squeeze from Hermione's hand urged him on.
"I. Well...when all those people started apologizing, you know? It got me...well...angry...cause, well...It made me think of Sirius.."
Hermione frowned hard and squeezed Harry's hand tighter." Go on," she whispered.
"They just don't understand...Yes, I knew all along and yes, part of me wanted them to know I was telling the truth just to show them. But...I don't know. It became all bittersweet after....he...died..."
Harry finished painfully.
Unable to speak another word, Harry felt tears stinging his eyes. It took all of his strength not to break down into tears once again. He especially didn't want to start bawling in front of Hermione, she'd think he was just some big baby. But what she did completely made him change his mind. Without hesitation, Hermione brought Harry close to her and hugged him tightly. No one in the world had hugged Harry like she was. It was warm, tight, secure...It was the sort of hug people tended to take for granted. A loving, tender embrace everyone's probably felt before which only made Harry long for more of it. This was his first real hug and he didn't want the feeling to go away. He had longed for this feeling and only Sirius had come close to it. Harry held onto her tighter, burying his face in her soft, sleek hair. Before he knew what he was doing, tears were spilling out once more. But for some reason, he didn't care. It was all right. Hermione only held him tighter, increasing the feel of security.
Something inside him taking control, Harry pulled away and looked straight into Hermione's eyes. They weren't plain brown like he had always thought. They were a mix. A mixture of everything warm and chocolate, with flecks of love making them shine. Like a gravitational pull he could not resist, Harry started to lean slowly towards Hermione. Her cheeks flushed softly as she tilted her face up, letting her slightly parted lips wait for the touch to come. They both closed their eyes, fractions away from contacting. Harry could feel the warmth of her breaths puff like gentle feathers on his lips. Only moments away from what they had been building up to the past few weeks, a loud crash came from behind them.
With a jolt, they sat back in their chairs and looked flustered at the origin of the noise. Sitting in a pile at the bottom of the boy's dormitory stairs was Colin Creevey. He scrambled to his feet looking most shocked at how he ended up on the floor and turned to look at them.
"S-Sorry...Had to go bathroom..." Colin stammered, not aware he just interrupted a pivotal moment.
Harry and Hermione sighed heavily with a nod and watched Colin carefully tip toe out of the common room. Harry looked back at Hermione , unsure of what to do.
"Well, um....I better get to bed. Got to be well rested for our first day back...Um...goodnight, Harry," Hermione spoke at last, getting up from the chair.
Harry could only nod and watch her leave up the stairs to her room. Harry sighed loudly and rubbed his forehead.
"What was I about to do?" Harry mumbled to himself rubbing his stinging eyes. Not wanting to get into anything else mind-spinning that night, Harry gathered up his things and trudged up to his room.
The next morning passed by blurry as well and before he knew it, Harry was sitting down to lunch. Hermione quickly sat down besides him and looked straight at him," We got to talk."
Harry nodded opening his mouth to begin what he'd been agonizing over all day when Ron plopped down across from them.
"Ok, mate, you better have a good explanation for why you avoided us yesterday. I half worried my arse off and ended up calling Professor Snape Harry in the hallway."
Harry sighed and turned to look at Ron, but Hermione's quick words beat him to the punch.
"Ron, Harry's just been upset about ..you know...Sirius," Hermione finished with a whisper.
Ron nodded and gave Harry a sympathetic look," I thought so. And don't worry about all of those gits who practically attacked you last week. We told them you accepted their apology but didn't want to think about it."
Harry nodded, finally noticing how most of the students he'd seen at the ice cream parlor managed to put a stopper to their apologies and simply said 'Hello' every time he walked by or just waved.
"So, on a completely different subject," Ron went on reaching for some chicken legs." What do you have for the next three periods, Harry?"
Harry pushed a pea around his plate and made it climb the mountain of mashed potatoes," Potions and double Defense against the Dark Arts."
"Double?" Ron asked.
Harry nodded and took a bite of potatoes.
"I don't have double," Ron said frowning, take a second look at his schedule.
"I do," said Hermione peering over her paper.
"What do you have instead?" Harry asked looking up at him.
"Um... Arithmancy ,Defense Against the Dark Arts and Muggle Studies...I don't even have Potions this year!" Ron exclaimed, clutching his schedule in his fists.
Hermione frowned and grabbed his schedule from him, looking it over," No Potions? How odd."
"Well, didn't Snape say he wasn't going to take anyone who didn't get 'Outstanding' on their O.W.L.'s?" Harry said looking from Ron to Hermione.
"Yeah...Wow, Ron. You don't have Potions." Hermione said rather glumly.
To this final sum up, Ron sprung up and thrust his fists into the air and shouted "YES!!!"
Most students surrounding them looked startled at Ron, who quickly sat down with a bright red face.
//------------
Potions passed by just as expected. Professor Snape picked on Harry particularly as always, obviously irked by the fact that he had made it to his advanced Potions classes. Harry could only feel proud of himself.
Harry walked alongside Hermione as they talked about how annoyed Snape had been when Ron caught up with them.
"Hey! How'd Potions go? Ol' Snape miss me?" Ron asked beaming.
Hermione elbowed him and walked in first into the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. They automatically aimed at the back tables and sat down. Ron slide in next to Seamus while Harry and Hermione got a table to themselves. Harry couldn't help at think this wasn't such a good idea.
But he didn't have time to worry for long when the door flew open and a short, stinky woman stalked in. Upon turning around, Harry's jaw dropped open.
With blazing purple hair that shot out in spikes and black robes, Tonks was about as recognizable as a orange rabbit is in a litter of white.
Tonks grinned at her class and gave a wink at Harry," Hello class. I'm going to be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Now, some of you may recognize me, some may not. Let me clear it up. My name's Tonks. You can call me Tonks. Simple enough? Good. Now, I'm here to further your studies with the dark arts. Most of you will not be staying for the second session which will contain the much advanced stages of defensive magic. Now, if there aren't any questions, we'll begin."
The class couldn't have been more fun if Dumbledore had taught it himself. Tonks was loud, funny and nutty. She taught them the basics of a hex and each of its counter curses. After Ron and some of the others had left ,the second session involved only actual practicing of magic. She had them all get up, push the tables back and pair off to try out each of the hexes she had taught in the previous session. Harry hadn't had so much fun since Lupin taught this class.
"Really, now? That much fun?" said Hagrid as he poured a cup of tea for Harry.
Harry nodded adding in sugar and milk. "Oh, Hagrid. It was incredible! I learned how to make acne curses ,boil curses, ugly curses, and hex quills and broomsticks. Also, how to block all of the spells we learned. Granted, it isn't really Dark Arts, but she said we needed to start out small then we'd build up to blocking things like possession and memory invasion."
Harry sipped his tea excitedly. His class had been over three hours ago, but the content ness of having a competent D.A.D.A teacher was still thriving in his veins.
"Well, seems you're goin' ter have a good year,eh?" Hagrid said with a smile as he sat down in his huge chair across from Harry.
"Oh yes. Well...Educational wise, yes." Harry mumbled.
Hagrid frowned a bit and leaned forward," What d'ya mean?"
"Oh, n-nothing. Its nothing," Harry hastily replied.
"C'mon 'arry. Out with it."
Harry shifted his weight in the oversized chair. Hagrid's enormous dog, Fang, snored loudly at Harry's feet ,occasionally slapping Harry's knee with his huge tail.
"OK, but...you got to promise not to tell ANYONE, ok?"
Hagrid nodded and dragged his fingers across his chest in an X.
"Alright, well....You see..." And Harry proceeded in divulging only a on-a-need-to-know-basis idea of his and Hermione's situation.
Hagrid couldn't stop grinning after Harry had finished," You and lil' 'ermonie? Well, I ne'er would've thinked et."
Harry sighed," Hagrid, c'mon, I need some advice. What do I do!?"
"Well, ferst off, ya gotta tell 'er how ya feel. Trouble with women is they get ya if yer not truthful. And trust me, they know when yer lying. After that, just let nature take ets course. You two 'ave been friends since I can remember. Be careful, 'arry. Ya dun wanna mess up a friendship like that for nuttin'."
Harry stuffed his hands into his pockets as he made his way across the large lawn after Hagrid's advice speech. What he had said made sense. It was only smart to tell Hermione how he felt about her, and to be extra careful not to ruin things between them. He certainly didn't want to throw away a six year friendship just because he made a stupid mistake. But should he? Should he cross that line from friendship into something more?
"A little late for that, Potter," he mumbled remembering their close encounter the night before.
Without warning, a searing pain exploded from his forehead. Harry keeled over almost instantly, writhing around on the ground in agony. A scream escaped his throat, but no sound came out. Only the intense spasming of his throat muscles. Harry curled and flexed and shot out again. The pain seemed beyond bearable, almost exactly like the time Voldemort took over his body at the Ministry and tried to get Dumbledore to...
He was running. The halls echoed each time his sneaker made contact with the marble floor. It was dark, probably night. This place was familiar, oddly familiar. Like he'd been there so many times before, but something was off. Terribly off. A scream floated through the empty hallways like a ghost and Harry only ran faster. Faster. Past dozens of portraits devoid of their occupants. Past lines of suits of armor, tapestries and doors. He flew down a staircase and found himself in a long, large hallway. He walked onward, following the scream . He had to get to it before it silenced. He had to stop it.
"'ARRY!? 'arry are you alright!?"
Harry groaned and heard a faint voice far off coming closer and closer. Soon, he felt his body and realized he was in someone's arms. Someone's big, warm arms. He was on the ground, he could feel the cold wetness of the grass seeping into his jeans. His head was throbbing incessantly, somehow wanting to remind him of what he had just gone through. Weakly, Harry forced his eyes open to find himself in Hagrid's arms and Professor Sprout kneeled in front of him, dabbing his head with her cloak.
"He's sweating like crazy, Hagrid. " Professor Sprout commented softly.
"Lets get him to Madam Pomfrey immediately." said Hagrid gently.
Harry could no more lift a finger than protest. He let Hagrid scoop his limp body up and carry him to the infirmary as Professor Sprout scurried along in front of them, flagging down Professor McGonagal as they approached the entrance to the hospital wing. Harry slipped back out into darkness.