A/N: Hey guys! I'm back! Looong time no talk...sorry about that. But no
more waiting...the new chappie is here! Oh, and you'll notice that at last,
we have burning roses!!!
The days dragged on, gradually turning into weeks and eventually months, and although he made no other attempts to contact her, the roses continued to arrive with a chilling consistency. Each and every morning, the same dismaying owl arrived, carrying another rose. They never came attached with a note of any kind. None was necessary. Harry and Hermione both knew whom they were coming from, although unfortunately, nothing could be done to prevent their arrival. They'd already tried.
*Flashback*
"Surely you can do something!" Harry protested to Dumbledore after they explained the situation. The old man slowly shook his head, obviously hating to say no to two of his favorite students.
"He has made no other efforts to talk to you in any way. I'm sorry Ms. Granger, Mr. Potter. There's nothing more we can do." They'd sighed, knowing he was right. Yes, it was strange, but there was nothing they could do to stop it.
After they'd left, Hermione had stopped Harry with a gentle touch, wrapping her hands around his clenched fists. She rested her head against his chest and said, "It's okay Harry. Maybe he'll just give it up." He smiled at her optimism, and although he didn't think it was likely, who was he to stomp on her parade?
"Maybe, 'Mione," he said softly, a touch of hope in his voice. "Maybe."
*End Flashback*
That had been at least a month ago, and Krum still showed no signs of stopping. The flowers arrived with a relentless precision. Hermione had given up trying to hide them from her roommates; what was the point? Surely they had noticed by now, and if they hadn't...well, then they didn't really deserve to know what was going on anyway.
She chose a rather odd alternative instead- at the end of every week, she gathered the seven roses she'd received and took them outside to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, behind Hagrid's hut, lest anyone should see her. There, she threw them in a small pit and lit the entire thing on fire, burning the roses until they were nothing more than a pile of ashes. It gave her a small satisfaction to watch as they slowly withered away under the flames of the min-bonfire. After they were gone, she performed a simple cleaning spell, to prevent anyone from finding out what she was doing, and then went on her way.
As far as she could tell, Harry had no idea where she quietly disappeared to every Sunday afternoon (he was usually too engaged in a conversation with Ron or another one of the "guys" to actually notice she was gone). And that suited her just fine. It was probably better that he didn't know, anyway.
One such afternoon, she was busy tending to her fire when she heard a twig snap behind her. Spinning around, she saw no one. Warily, she scanned the area around where she was, certain she had heard the noise. After finding she was alone, she turned back to her fire, uneasy. She had heard something, she was sure of it. She continued watching the fire, all the more aware of her surroundings. As the last petal melted away, she felt a faint breathing on her neck. Stifling a scream, she spun around, only to come face-to-face with...nothing. There was no one there. But she was absolutely positive someone had been breathing down her neck...she had the goosebumps to prove it.
An idea struck her then. She turned around again, and waited for the breathing to continue on her neck. When she felt the soft breaths return, she casually reached her hand backwards, and just as she had suspected, she connected with something solid. Getting a good handful, she twisted around again, and this time, they, whoever they were, couldn't move as she had a large handful of their clothes clutched tightly in her fist.
"Who are you?" she asked forcefully. Rather than answer, the person pulled down the top of their invisibility cloak to reveal none other than Harry himself.
"Harry?!" she asked, shocked. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I noticed that you kept disappearing right around this time, so I decided to follow you, and just see what you were up to. You weren't supposed to catch me," he added sheepishly.
"Oh," she said, not sure what else to say. While a (small) part of her was upset that Harry had followed her, she was happy that he cared about her enough to notice she was gone.
He noticed her hesitance, and, extending his hand. "C'mon 'Mione, let's go back inside." She nodded and accepted his hand. Arm in arm, they strode back towards the castle without a backwards glance at the now-smoldering pit behind them. Consequently, neither one of them noticed the figure who emerged from behind another invisibility cloak.
As he watched their slow retreat, he grumbled menacingly, "So this is how you thank me is it? We'll see about that."
Several hours later, Harry and Hermione were sprawled comfortably across the couch in front of the fireplace, Harry lounging in one corner and Hermione laying down on the rest, her head resting on Harry's chest. His arms were crossed across the front of her, and her hands were clasped tightly in his. They were silent; neither one felt the need to speak. They were content where they were. That is, until Harry's stomach growled loudly, and Hermione swore she could feel the vibrations from under her.
Twisting in his arms, she smiled broadly and said, "Hungry, are we?"
He smirked back and said, "Just a little." Hermione sat up and looked at him, a devilish glint in her eyes.
"Want to go raid the kitchen?" He sat up, his jaw went slack, and he knew he looked like a complete fool sitting there with his mouth hanging open, but he couldn't believe it. Hermione, Miss I've-Never-Broken-A-Rule-In-My- Entire-Life, had just suggested they go downstairs after hours and raid the kitchen.
"What?" she asked, as he continued to stare at her. "If you don't want to, all you have to do is say so..."
"No, I do. It's just...you're saying we should actually BREAK the rules?" She punched him playfully.
"I do know how to live ya know. Not very often, but every now and again...." He smiled and took her hand. They stood and walked over to the portrait hole. After checking to make sure no one was around, they snuck downstairs and sped off towards the kitchen.
They had just reached the main floor and turned to go around the corner when a large figure stepped out of the shadows in front of them.
"Hello Hermione," he said, and his voice sent a chill down her spine. What did he want with her?! Couldn't he see it was over?
She refused to answer him. Instead, she went to sidestep him, but he simply stepped over, effectively blocking her progress. She tried the other way, but again, he stopped her.
"Let. Me. By," she said icily, emphasizing each word.
"Why should I?" he sneered.
"Let her by, Krum," said Harry, speaking for the first time.
"Tut tut Potter...always have to be the hero," said Krum mockingly. Hermione tried to maneuver her way around him, but he grabbed her wrists painfully. She tugged futilely, knowing she wasn't nearly as strong as he.
Harry quickly stepped up to Krum, getting right in his face. "Let her go Krum. Now. Or so help me God, the only thing they'll find of you in the morning will be a bloody lump on the floor." Krum didn't seem frightened though, despite the fact that Harry had a good few inches on him. It was almost as though he was enjoying himself, and he applied a little more pressure to her wrists. She winced in pain, and Harry lost it. He stepped back quickly, and before Krum even saw it coming, he punched him right in the jaw. Krum immediately let go of her wrists and brought his hands up to his face as the pain coursed through him. But Harry wasn't done; he slammed another punch into Krum's stomach, and Krum doubled over as a howl of pain escaped his lips. He sank to his knees, eyes squeezed shut. Hermione looked alarmed, although it was for Harry, not for the pathetic creature in front of her.
"Harry! Was that necessary? I mean, not like he didn't deserve it, but what if you get in trouble?" she asked nervously, biting her lower lip in consternation.
"So what if I do?" he asked. "At least it was for a good cause." She smiled at him, and with a last glance at Krum, they continued on their way to the kitchen, ignoring his groans and moans. They had almost reached the end of the hallway when they were stopped dead in their tracks by his words.
"You think burning those roses is going to change anything?" he said weakly. Hermione looked at Harry in shock before looking back at Krum again. He was sitting against a wall, looking down at them despite his obvious state of pain. "You're mine."
"No! Hermione!" Harry shouted after Hermione as she stalked down the hall towards Krum. He sprinted after her and reached her just as she reached Krum. Without hesitation, she slapped Krum as hard as she could across the face.
"I am NOT yours," she whispered furiously. "I never was, and I never will be. Ever!"
"That's what you think," said Krum. "But you'll see."
"No, I won't," she said pointedly. "I'm with Harry now, and he's made more happy in these past few months than you could ever make me. Do you understand that? I'm happy. And if you love me as much as you say you do, than you should respect the fact that I want to be happy, and I can't be when I'm with you."
"But Herminny-"
"My name," she said icily, "is Hermione. Got it? Her-my-oh-knee."
"Hermione, you honestly think this fool can make you more happy than I can? Think about everything we did together, all the things that I bought for you. What can he do? What's he got to give you?"
"That's just it! You think buying me gifts I don't need and have no use for and taking me out to fancy restaurants where I couldn't even read the menu was making me happy?! No. I'll tell you what happy is. Happy is knowing that the person you love loves you back. Happy is just being content to be with the person you love. Happy is looking into their eyes and knowing that they'll always be there for you, no matter what. Not just if you travel in the right social group, or wear the right clothes or whatever; they love you because of you."
"But Hermione, I do love you," argued Krum.
"How can you love me?!" she shrieked. "How? You don't know anything about me! You don't know anything about my family, or my friends, or what I like to do; you never even so much as made an effort to try to get to know me. At all."
"So? We can start over. Get to know each other."
"No Krum, that's where you're wrong. There is no more 'we'. There is no more starting over. It's done. Over. So please, just get over yourself and move on." With that, she turned and walked away, Harry tagging along behind, leaving a very awestruck Krum behind.
"I'll make you see. Don't you worry, Hermione," he whispered to himself before rising and storming off to his dormroom.
A/N: Thank you in advance for all those that submit your beautiful reviews!!
A/N: And if you want, check out my new Draco/Ginny story, Cheesy Poems and Secret Admirers, listed under my actual penname, Jenalla.
The days dragged on, gradually turning into weeks and eventually months, and although he made no other attempts to contact her, the roses continued to arrive with a chilling consistency. Each and every morning, the same dismaying owl arrived, carrying another rose. They never came attached with a note of any kind. None was necessary. Harry and Hermione both knew whom they were coming from, although unfortunately, nothing could be done to prevent their arrival. They'd already tried.
*Flashback*
"Surely you can do something!" Harry protested to Dumbledore after they explained the situation. The old man slowly shook his head, obviously hating to say no to two of his favorite students.
"He has made no other efforts to talk to you in any way. I'm sorry Ms. Granger, Mr. Potter. There's nothing more we can do." They'd sighed, knowing he was right. Yes, it was strange, but there was nothing they could do to stop it.
After they'd left, Hermione had stopped Harry with a gentle touch, wrapping her hands around his clenched fists. She rested her head against his chest and said, "It's okay Harry. Maybe he'll just give it up." He smiled at her optimism, and although he didn't think it was likely, who was he to stomp on her parade?
"Maybe, 'Mione," he said softly, a touch of hope in his voice. "Maybe."
*End Flashback*
That had been at least a month ago, and Krum still showed no signs of stopping. The flowers arrived with a relentless precision. Hermione had given up trying to hide them from her roommates; what was the point? Surely they had noticed by now, and if they hadn't...well, then they didn't really deserve to know what was going on anyway.
She chose a rather odd alternative instead- at the end of every week, she gathered the seven roses she'd received and took them outside to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, behind Hagrid's hut, lest anyone should see her. There, she threw them in a small pit and lit the entire thing on fire, burning the roses until they were nothing more than a pile of ashes. It gave her a small satisfaction to watch as they slowly withered away under the flames of the min-bonfire. After they were gone, she performed a simple cleaning spell, to prevent anyone from finding out what she was doing, and then went on her way.
As far as she could tell, Harry had no idea where she quietly disappeared to every Sunday afternoon (he was usually too engaged in a conversation with Ron or another one of the "guys" to actually notice she was gone). And that suited her just fine. It was probably better that he didn't know, anyway.
One such afternoon, she was busy tending to her fire when she heard a twig snap behind her. Spinning around, she saw no one. Warily, she scanned the area around where she was, certain she had heard the noise. After finding she was alone, she turned back to her fire, uneasy. She had heard something, she was sure of it. She continued watching the fire, all the more aware of her surroundings. As the last petal melted away, she felt a faint breathing on her neck. Stifling a scream, she spun around, only to come face-to-face with...nothing. There was no one there. But she was absolutely positive someone had been breathing down her neck...she had the goosebumps to prove it.
An idea struck her then. She turned around again, and waited for the breathing to continue on her neck. When she felt the soft breaths return, she casually reached her hand backwards, and just as she had suspected, she connected with something solid. Getting a good handful, she twisted around again, and this time, they, whoever they were, couldn't move as she had a large handful of their clothes clutched tightly in her fist.
"Who are you?" she asked forcefully. Rather than answer, the person pulled down the top of their invisibility cloak to reveal none other than Harry himself.
"Harry?!" she asked, shocked. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I noticed that you kept disappearing right around this time, so I decided to follow you, and just see what you were up to. You weren't supposed to catch me," he added sheepishly.
"Oh," she said, not sure what else to say. While a (small) part of her was upset that Harry had followed her, she was happy that he cared about her enough to notice she was gone.
He noticed her hesitance, and, extending his hand. "C'mon 'Mione, let's go back inside." She nodded and accepted his hand. Arm in arm, they strode back towards the castle without a backwards glance at the now-smoldering pit behind them. Consequently, neither one of them noticed the figure who emerged from behind another invisibility cloak.
As he watched their slow retreat, he grumbled menacingly, "So this is how you thank me is it? We'll see about that."
Several hours later, Harry and Hermione were sprawled comfortably across the couch in front of the fireplace, Harry lounging in one corner and Hermione laying down on the rest, her head resting on Harry's chest. His arms were crossed across the front of her, and her hands were clasped tightly in his. They were silent; neither one felt the need to speak. They were content where they were. That is, until Harry's stomach growled loudly, and Hermione swore she could feel the vibrations from under her.
Twisting in his arms, she smiled broadly and said, "Hungry, are we?"
He smirked back and said, "Just a little." Hermione sat up and looked at him, a devilish glint in her eyes.
"Want to go raid the kitchen?" He sat up, his jaw went slack, and he knew he looked like a complete fool sitting there with his mouth hanging open, but he couldn't believe it. Hermione, Miss I've-Never-Broken-A-Rule-In-My- Entire-Life, had just suggested they go downstairs after hours and raid the kitchen.
"What?" she asked, as he continued to stare at her. "If you don't want to, all you have to do is say so..."
"No, I do. It's just...you're saying we should actually BREAK the rules?" She punched him playfully.
"I do know how to live ya know. Not very often, but every now and again...." He smiled and took her hand. They stood and walked over to the portrait hole. After checking to make sure no one was around, they snuck downstairs and sped off towards the kitchen.
They had just reached the main floor and turned to go around the corner when a large figure stepped out of the shadows in front of them.
"Hello Hermione," he said, and his voice sent a chill down her spine. What did he want with her?! Couldn't he see it was over?
She refused to answer him. Instead, she went to sidestep him, but he simply stepped over, effectively blocking her progress. She tried the other way, but again, he stopped her.
"Let. Me. By," she said icily, emphasizing each word.
"Why should I?" he sneered.
"Let her by, Krum," said Harry, speaking for the first time.
"Tut tut Potter...always have to be the hero," said Krum mockingly. Hermione tried to maneuver her way around him, but he grabbed her wrists painfully. She tugged futilely, knowing she wasn't nearly as strong as he.
Harry quickly stepped up to Krum, getting right in his face. "Let her go Krum. Now. Or so help me God, the only thing they'll find of you in the morning will be a bloody lump on the floor." Krum didn't seem frightened though, despite the fact that Harry had a good few inches on him. It was almost as though he was enjoying himself, and he applied a little more pressure to her wrists. She winced in pain, and Harry lost it. He stepped back quickly, and before Krum even saw it coming, he punched him right in the jaw. Krum immediately let go of her wrists and brought his hands up to his face as the pain coursed through him. But Harry wasn't done; he slammed another punch into Krum's stomach, and Krum doubled over as a howl of pain escaped his lips. He sank to his knees, eyes squeezed shut. Hermione looked alarmed, although it was for Harry, not for the pathetic creature in front of her.
"Harry! Was that necessary? I mean, not like he didn't deserve it, but what if you get in trouble?" she asked nervously, biting her lower lip in consternation.
"So what if I do?" he asked. "At least it was for a good cause." She smiled at him, and with a last glance at Krum, they continued on their way to the kitchen, ignoring his groans and moans. They had almost reached the end of the hallway when they were stopped dead in their tracks by his words.
"You think burning those roses is going to change anything?" he said weakly. Hermione looked at Harry in shock before looking back at Krum again. He was sitting against a wall, looking down at them despite his obvious state of pain. "You're mine."
"No! Hermione!" Harry shouted after Hermione as she stalked down the hall towards Krum. He sprinted after her and reached her just as she reached Krum. Without hesitation, she slapped Krum as hard as she could across the face.
"I am NOT yours," she whispered furiously. "I never was, and I never will be. Ever!"
"That's what you think," said Krum. "But you'll see."
"No, I won't," she said pointedly. "I'm with Harry now, and he's made more happy in these past few months than you could ever make me. Do you understand that? I'm happy. And if you love me as much as you say you do, than you should respect the fact that I want to be happy, and I can't be when I'm with you."
"But Herminny-"
"My name," she said icily, "is Hermione. Got it? Her-my-oh-knee."
"Hermione, you honestly think this fool can make you more happy than I can? Think about everything we did together, all the things that I bought for you. What can he do? What's he got to give you?"
"That's just it! You think buying me gifts I don't need and have no use for and taking me out to fancy restaurants where I couldn't even read the menu was making me happy?! No. I'll tell you what happy is. Happy is knowing that the person you love loves you back. Happy is just being content to be with the person you love. Happy is looking into their eyes and knowing that they'll always be there for you, no matter what. Not just if you travel in the right social group, or wear the right clothes or whatever; they love you because of you."
"But Hermione, I do love you," argued Krum.
"How can you love me?!" she shrieked. "How? You don't know anything about me! You don't know anything about my family, or my friends, or what I like to do; you never even so much as made an effort to try to get to know me. At all."
"So? We can start over. Get to know each other."
"No Krum, that's where you're wrong. There is no more 'we'. There is no more starting over. It's done. Over. So please, just get over yourself and move on." With that, she turned and walked away, Harry tagging along behind, leaving a very awestruck Krum behind.
"I'll make you see. Don't you worry, Hermione," he whispered to himself before rising and storming off to his dormroom.
A/N: Thank you in advance for all those that submit your beautiful reviews!!
A/N: And if you want, check out my new Draco/Ginny story, Cheesy Poems and Secret Admirers, listed under my actual penname, Jenalla.