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after this one! Thanks.
All Harry wanted was somebody to hold. And that somebody was Hermione, he wanted her but he wasn't so sure if that person could be Hermione. As the thought of Hermione overflowed his mind, he remembered the ring his mother gave him earlier. This was the one thing he cherished most, after all it belonged to many Potters; it was the legendary heirloom of magic. Ron Weasley approached Harry at that moment, bringing two full plates of food along.
"You gunna eat all that, mate?" Harry smiled. A True Weasley, Harry thought. Never one to turn down food unless something was terribly wrong.
"Of course not, brought some for you too." Ron handed over the plate to Harry.
"I don't think so Ron, i know this must come as a shock, but I'm just not hungry."
"More for me then...How's your mom?" Ron asked.
A True Weasley, Harry thought. Never one to turn down food unless something was terribly wrong.
"She's alright I guess. She told me that losing dad was the most painful thing for her. Now grandma, who was the only person who understood Mum, is gone; she's very devastated."
"Well you heard the stories. It was a true romance; they say that ring has something to do with it, the Magic of Love," Ron gently nudged Harry in the ribs, joking about the tale everyone talked about. "Don't know if I believe the stories myself."
Harry thought about it for a moment. He wasn't so sure about the stories either. But the ring did have a glint that gave off some power to it.
"Think we ought to make the announcement about your Grans will before everyone leaves?" Ron asked, cutting Harry out of his day dream.
Harry didn't answer with words, just nodded, making his way across to the podium. Before he could make it though, Hermione had got up the courage to greet him.
"I'm sorry about your grandmother, Harry," Hermione said as she hesitantly stuck out her hand for him to shake.
"So am I," Harry said as he took her hand, holding it longer than necessary. "How have you been Hermione?"
"Fine" she murmured.
The feeling of his fingers and the caress of his palm on her hands were enough to make her want to pull her hand away as fast as she could, but she could not and would not give her self away. She remembered after all these years how they felt on her body. Remembering those years in the Head Student common room all to well, they didn't make love then, not quite. Harry always put a halt before it could happen. That's practical Harry for you. They weren't as innocent as some people thought they were at those times. They stayed silent after their hands broke.
"I, uh, heard about the divorce," Harry blurted out before he could stop himself.
"Yes, well...." Hermione started but couldn't bring herself to look into his green eyes, for fear of accusation, "Draco wasn't cut out for running a library."
"I hear you're doing quite well with the library these days," Harry said, ignoring the fact that she couldn't look in his eyes just a moment before.
"Yes, well, the annual profits come out alright, I suppose," Hermione said.
"That's saying a lot, since libraries aren't very popular in this small town," Harry replied.
"Well I like the independence. I want people to be able to read whenever they want," Hermione said defending herself.
They've had this conversation many years ago. Of course Harry didn't like the idea. He wanted out of this town. Hermione figured because of his Father's death. When James Potter died in a Quidditch accident long ago, Harry never used his broom for anything else, other than flying from place to place.
"Harry I was...." Hermione started but before she could finish her sentence, the loud speaker echoed through the town.
"Listen Hermione, I should warm you...." Harry started but then was interrupted.
"Let us pray," a man announced, as everyone bowed their heads.
After the prayer, Ron Weasley stepped up to the microphone.
"As you all know, I am Ariel's lawyer. So, I'm about to read her will, to everyone," Ron cleared his throat before be went on.
"Most of you know me has simple woman from town. I grew up here, and this will always be my home. In most of my years, I have been secretly making investments. These investments have given me more money than I need. So each year, I give the town of Hogsmeade Two hundred and fifty thousand galleons."
Hermione gasped, along with most other people, and then Ron continued. "The distribution of the money will be handled by my only grandson, Harry Potter, along with the board of directors, of my choice, that is if they are willing to serve; Neville Longbottom, Own Cauldwell, Vincent Crabbe, Dennis Creevey, and Hermione Granger. "
Hermione's mouth dropped open. She stared at Harry in bewilderment. Ariel Potter had chosen her to be on that board! With all those men! With Harry! What was she thinking? Harry turned to Hermione, answering an unspoken question, "You know Hermione; she always did make everything interesting.
Hermione stood there shocked as Ron carried on with his speech. She didn't even bother to think about Harry standing next to her. The first board meeting would be that Saturday at the small wizarding bank in Hogsmeade.
"So, will you do it?" Harry asked kindly.
"I...I'm not sure, I suppose since this is what she wanted," Hermione said as she slowly recovered from her equilibrium, and she stared at Harry. "How long have you known this?"
Harry smiled at her, he knew this was coming.
"I just found out when the will was read to my family. I was going to tell you Hermione. I didn't know she had so much money, nobody did."
"I understand; I'm not accusing you of anything," Hermione said, looking into his eyes. Harry leaned closer to her. "Can we go somewhere to talk?"
"I don't think so. Neville Longbottom is coming this way with half the town at his side; going to congratulate you about all this money no doubt," Hermione said and was thankful for Neville coming over; she undoubtedly didn't know what to say to Harry.
"But -" Harry started.
"Later," Hermione said. "We'll talk later."
Once everyone was bombarding Harry with ideas of good use for the money, Hermione slowly slipped away unseen. Hermione walked toward Lavender Brown, her only true friends.
"Can you believe this?" Lavender whispered in Hermione's ear.
"Not really," Hermione said as she shook her head. "That is a lot of money to give a small town. Two million galleons, two hundred and fifty thousand galleons a year! That's just crazy."
"I know, after all those bake sales and fund raisers she made us do for the S.P.E.W. Committee she could have put us all our of our misery and lent us some. Why Hermione?" Lavender asked.
"I'm not sure Lav; maybe she just wanted us to earn our money, like she did," Hermione said.
"I can't believe you're on the board Hermione!" Lavender squealed with excitement. "Are you going to bring up our project for S.P.E.W? You should, Ariel always had the same opinion you did about elf rights."
"I'm not sure," Hermione hesitantly said. After all no one in this town cared much about the house elves.
"You should, remember that sculpture of Dobby the House Elf you always wanted? You should ask to put it in the town square. Then people would appreciate house elves." Hermione stared at Lavender; she was right. She had the opportunity to fight for elves in the palms of her hands. Now all she needed was to convince the board.
"I doubt I'll get approved," Hermione said.
"You don't know unless you try," Lavender said in return. That's exactly what she was going to do. Try. She owed it to herself, to Ariel, and to those poor house elves to set them free.
"You can win this thing Hermione. There's Dennis I'm sure I can work something out." she gave off a seductive wink. "And Vincent can always be persuaded; Ariel did always like him. Of course there is Harry."
"Yes, there's always Harry," Hermione said as her voice showed a hind of emotion as his name rolled off her tongue.
"After what you two shared; I'm sure he'd never turn down your sculpture idea."
"I don't know Lav, something doesn't seem right," Hermione said. Actually, it did sound right. She just didn't want to admit it at this moment.
"You have to try! Ariel named you on that board for a reason! It was because you were the one who would support beauty and rights for all people and creatures out there," Lavender argued, trying to persuade Hermione to go for her goals instead of sitting on the side lines and waiting for them to happen without her knowledge.
Lavender was right. Ariel gave Hermione this chance for a reason; it didn't matter if Harry was there or not. She needed to make a difference in this world, so she was going to start Saturday morning at the meeting. Hermione wasn't able to fool Lavender into thinking she didn't care for Harry Potter because she always did and always will. She wondered if Harry still cared about her. Maybe he changed over the years. Maybe he wasn't that careful boy who once crushed her dreams. She was going to find out. His reaction to her idea about S.P.E.W was going to show a lot about his feelings toward her.
-x-
Review?
All Harry wanted was somebody to hold. And that somebody was Hermione, he wanted her but he wasn't so sure if that person could be Hermione. As the thought of Hermione overflowed his mind, he remembered the ring his mother gave him earlier. This was the one thing he cherished most, after all it belonged to many Potters; it was the legendary heirloom of magic. Ron Weasley approached Harry at that moment, bringing two full plates of food along.
"You gunna eat all that, mate?" Harry smiled. A True Weasley, Harry thought. Never one to turn down food unless something was terribly wrong.
"Of course not, brought some for you too." Ron handed over the plate to Harry.
"I don't think so Ron, i know this must come as a shock, but I'm just not hungry."
"More for me then...How's your mom?" Ron asked.
A True Weasley, Harry thought. Never one to turn down food unless something was terribly wrong.
"She's alright I guess. She told me that losing dad was the most painful thing for her. Now grandma, who was the only person who understood Mum, is gone; she's very devastated."
"Well you heard the stories. It was a true romance; they say that ring has something to do with it, the Magic of Love," Ron gently nudged Harry in the ribs, joking about the tale everyone talked about. "Don't know if I believe the stories myself."
Harry thought about it for a moment. He wasn't so sure about the stories either. But the ring did have a glint that gave off some power to it.
"Think we ought to make the announcement about your Grans will before everyone leaves?" Ron asked, cutting Harry out of his day dream.
Harry didn't answer with words, just nodded, making his way across to the podium. Before he could make it though, Hermione had got up the courage to greet him.
"I'm sorry about your grandmother, Harry," Hermione said as she hesitantly stuck out her hand for him to shake.
"So am I," Harry said as he took her hand, holding it longer than necessary. "How have you been Hermione?"
"Fine" she murmured.
The feeling of his fingers and the caress of his palm on her hands were enough to make her want to pull her hand away as fast as she could, but she could not and would not give her self away. She remembered after all these years how they felt on her body. Remembering those years in the Head Student common room all to well, they didn't make love then, not quite. Harry always put a halt before it could happen. That's practical Harry for you. They weren't as innocent as some people thought they were at those times. They stayed silent after their hands broke.
"I, uh, heard about the divorce," Harry blurted out before he could stop himself.
"Yes, well...." Hermione started but couldn't bring herself to look into his green eyes, for fear of accusation, "Draco wasn't cut out for running a library."
"I hear you're doing quite well with the library these days," Harry said, ignoring the fact that she couldn't look in his eyes just a moment before.
"Yes, well, the annual profits come out alright, I suppose," Hermione said.
"That's saying a lot, since libraries aren't very popular in this small town," Harry replied.
"Well I like the independence. I want people to be able to read whenever they want," Hermione said defending herself.
They've had this conversation many years ago. Of course Harry didn't like the idea. He wanted out of this town. Hermione figured because of his Father's death. When James Potter died in a Quidditch accident long ago, Harry never used his broom for anything else, other than flying from place to place.
"Harry I was...." Hermione started but before she could finish her sentence, the loud speaker echoed through the town.
"Listen Hermione, I should warm you...." Harry started but then was interrupted.
"Let us pray," a man announced, as everyone bowed their heads.
After the prayer, Ron Weasley stepped up to the microphone.
"As you all know, I am Ariel's lawyer. So, I'm about to read her will, to everyone," Ron cleared his throat before be went on.
"Most of you know me has simple woman from town. I grew up here, and this will always be my home. In most of my years, I have been secretly making investments. These investments have given me more money than I need. So each year, I give the town of Hogsmeade Two hundred and fifty thousand galleons."
Hermione gasped, along with most other people, and then Ron continued. "The distribution of the money will be handled by my only grandson, Harry Potter, along with the board of directors, of my choice, that is if they are willing to serve; Neville Longbottom, Own Cauldwell, Vincent Crabbe, Dennis Creevey, and Hermione Granger. "
Hermione's mouth dropped open. She stared at Harry in bewilderment. Ariel Potter had chosen her to be on that board! With all those men! With Harry! What was she thinking? Harry turned to Hermione, answering an unspoken question, "You know Hermione; she always did make everything interesting.
Hermione stood there shocked as Ron carried on with his speech. She didn't even bother to think about Harry standing next to her. The first board meeting would be that Saturday at the small wizarding bank in Hogsmeade.
"So, will you do it?" Harry asked kindly.
"I...I'm not sure, I suppose since this is what she wanted," Hermione said as she slowly recovered from her equilibrium, and she stared at Harry. "How long have you known this?"
Harry smiled at her, he knew this was coming.
"I just found out when the will was read to my family. I was going to tell you Hermione. I didn't know she had so much money, nobody did."
"I understand; I'm not accusing you of anything," Hermione said, looking into his eyes. Harry leaned closer to her. "Can we go somewhere to talk?"
"I don't think so. Neville Longbottom is coming this way with half the town at his side; going to congratulate you about all this money no doubt," Hermione said and was thankful for Neville coming over; she undoubtedly didn't know what to say to Harry.
"But -" Harry started.
"Later," Hermione said. "We'll talk later."
Once everyone was bombarding Harry with ideas of good use for the money, Hermione slowly slipped away unseen. Hermione walked toward Lavender Brown, her only true friends.
"Can you believe this?" Lavender whispered in Hermione's ear.
"Not really," Hermione said as she shook her head. "That is a lot of money to give a small town. Two million galleons, two hundred and fifty thousand galleons a year! That's just crazy."
"I know, after all those bake sales and fund raisers she made us do for the S.P.E.W. Committee she could have put us all our of our misery and lent us some. Why Hermione?" Lavender asked.
"I'm not sure Lav; maybe she just wanted us to earn our money, like she did," Hermione said.
"I can't believe you're on the board Hermione!" Lavender squealed with excitement. "Are you going to bring up our project for S.P.E.W? You should, Ariel always had the same opinion you did about elf rights."
"I'm not sure," Hermione hesitantly said. After all no one in this town cared much about the house elves.
"You should, remember that sculpture of Dobby the House Elf you always wanted? You should ask to put it in the town square. Then people would appreciate house elves." Hermione stared at Lavender; she was right. She had the opportunity to fight for elves in the palms of her hands. Now all she needed was to convince the board.
"I doubt I'll get approved," Hermione said.
"You don't know unless you try," Lavender said in return. That's exactly what she was going to do. Try. She owed it to herself, to Ariel, and to those poor house elves to set them free.
"You can win this thing Hermione. There's Dennis I'm sure I can work something out." she gave off a seductive wink. "And Vincent can always be persuaded; Ariel did always like him. Of course there is Harry."
"Yes, there's always Harry," Hermione said as her voice showed a hind of emotion as his name rolled off her tongue.
"After what you two shared; I'm sure he'd never turn down your sculpture idea."
"I don't know Lav, something doesn't seem right," Hermione said. Actually, it did sound right. She just didn't want to admit it at this moment.
"You have to try! Ariel named you on that board for a reason! It was because you were the one who would support beauty and rights for all people and creatures out there," Lavender argued, trying to persuade Hermione to go for her goals instead of sitting on the side lines and waiting for them to happen without her knowledge.
Lavender was right. Ariel gave Hermione this chance for a reason; it didn't matter if Harry was there or not. She needed to make a difference in this world, so she was going to start Saturday morning at the meeting. Hermione wasn't able to fool Lavender into thinking she didn't care for Harry Potter because she always did and always will. She wondered if Harry still cared about her. Maybe he changed over the years. Maybe he wasn't that careful boy who once crushed her dreams. She was going to find out. His reaction to her idea about S.P.E.W was going to show a lot about his feelings toward her.
-x-
Review?