Summary: It's been 7 years since Hermione saw Harry but when an accident brings him back into her life, would she accept him? And would her well-kept feelings threaten to rise to the surface once again…?
Disclaimer: I own nothing!! Except for the people u don't recognize… :P
A/N: Hey… I would like to thank ramble-on for being my inaugural reviewer…thanks!! Loads of hugs and kisses to you and whatever you like (e.g. sweets, chocolate)… about your question, the 'devil' is sort of like asking Hermione or rather stating to her that she has more than friendly feelings towards Harry. I hope it makes sense. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chap and please review!! Thanks! I'm gonna go read your story now so look out for my reviews!!
Chapter 2: Changes
Harry Potter woke up with the feeling that somebody with a sledgehammer was banging into his skull and with no recollection whatsoever of what happened the night before or where he was at the moment.
He stumbled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom to freshen up. After a long, hot bath, he was feeling a little better and managed to remember that he was out late last night celebrating his team's victory. After that it was just one long, fuzzy, empty space. He couldn't remember one damn thing even if his life depended on it.
'Oh well, might as well just ask Ron about it and hope I didn't do anything foolish…'
Just as he was about to make his way out the door, something or rather somebody came barreling through the door, knocking Harry on to the floor.
"Oof. Ouch!" Harry looked up at the person from his position on the floor. "Ron! What the hell are you doing?!"
"Sorry, mate. Here, just wanted to give you this…" Ron smiled sheepishly and handed a vial of potion to Harry.
"What's this?" Harry eyed the potion suspiciously. "It's a potion to cure hangovers. I figured after the amount of butterbeers you downed last night, you might need this. Don't worry, I asked Ginny to make it. You know I'm hopeless with potions." Ron added when Harry looked alarmed at the thought that Ron made the potion for him.
They had never mentioned it to anyone but there was this one time when Ron attempted to make the exact same potion for Harry and he put in the wrong ingredient causing Harry to puke out whatever he has eaten and making him feel worse instead of better.
From that moment onwards both of them have an unspoken agreement that: - 1) They never, ever mention it again and 2) Ron never, ever attempt to make any potions and anything regarding potions should be left to Harry or anyone else besides Ron.
Harry stared at the sea-green coloured liquid and made a face. "C'mon Harry, be a man and swallow the damn potion! Would you rather have a searing migraine?" Ron cajoled.
Harry took a deep breath and swallowed the potion. It tasted bitter and vile. Ron conjured up a glass of water and handed it to Harry who took it gratefully. Harry could feel his migraine fading away and felt instantly better and more jovial.
"So I was wondering…" began Harry.
"If you did anything stupid last night?" Ron finished Harry's question with a grin. "Well, let's see. Hmm, where should I start? Ah, I know! Let's start from the part where you got drunk and you started to pole dance. Man, the girls were all over you! Then you proceeded to strip and…" Ron trailed off when he saw the shocked expression on Harry's face. He then laughed so hard he doubled over and clutched his stomach.
'Merlin, I wish I had one of those things Muggles use to capture precious moments. What's it called? Ah a camera. The look on Harry's face is priceless.'
Harry realized Ron was teasing him when he saw Ron laughing uncontrollably. There was a knock on the door and that brought an abrupt stop to Ron's laughter.
"Come in." Harry called out.
Ginny Weasley stepped into the room and stared at the two boys. Her eyes focused on Harry and she said with a smile "Harry! I'm glad you're feeling better. You were pretty out last night and I didn't think my potion would be strong enough to cure your hangover."
She turned to look at Ron. "Ron, Lav's in your room. God, you must get around to cleaning it up, you know. It's a complete mess and it's beyond me how you let Lavender in without feeling embarrassed!"
Ron stuck out his tongue at Ginny before exiting the room. Ginny shook her head. "I'll never know what Lav sees in Ron."
Harry chuckled slightly at her words. Truth be told, he didn't either but as long as the both of them are happy, he didn't care.
"Oh Harry, I almost forgot. Melissa the frigid bitch is here. She has been waiting for oh, an hour." Ginny said casually.
Harry sighed. His current squeeze, Melissa has a habit of picking on anyone she feels is less superior to her. In other words, that means everyone except Harry and herself. Harry's friends, the whole Weasley clan included, have never been supportive of his relationship with her and they have never kept it a secret as to how much they disliked her. The twins would pull pranks on her, Ginny always keeps her waiting whenever she comes to look for Harry, Ron irks her and the rest of the Weasley family just plain ignores her. "Thanks, Gin." Harry said as he made his way downstairs.
Ginny watched as Harry descended the stairs of the house she, Harry and Ron shared. She has been playing the role of Hermione ever since she graduated from Hogwarts and until recently, she has begun to dislike it. She looked after the boys and constantly nagged them to do things they refused to do like putting in their fair share of housework and cleaning up their rooms. Even though she would never admit this to anyone, she was getting tired of this 'role'. Between her job as a journalist in The Daily Prophet and her boyfriend, Marcus, she barely has time for herself much less the boys.
' I wonder how Hermione used to manage all this when they were in Hogwarts. I wonder what happened between Harry and Hermione to cause such friction on their friendship. God, I miss her. I just want her back here, where she belongs. The boys, especially Harry never got over her sudden departure. I know he misses her like hell. He's just too god damn stubborn to admit it!! He…'
A sudden high-pitched squeal interrupted her train of thought. Ginny looked down to see Melissa throw herself onto Harry and smother him with kisses in the kitchen.
"Why did you keep me waiting so long?" she said with a pout.
"Er…"
Melissa's eyes narrowed. "It's that red headed minx, isn't it? She didn't tell you I was here? I knew she's jealous of our relationship! God, I'll kill her! She kept me waiting for like three hours! Do you know how many things I could've done during that time? I could've like shopped in like Prada or something!" Melissa babbled and with each sentence, her voice grew higher and higher.
Ginny entered the kitchen with a smug look on her face. "Morning, Harry!" she said and kissed him on the cheek, pretending that she hadn't seen him all morning. She fussed with his hair and his shirt before turning her attention to Melissa. "Look what the cat dragged in this morning! Seriously dear, if you need any help with your make-up at all… I know you refused once but you are dating Harry Potter, you know. It would help if you didn't look like a panda every time you step out of the house. Oh by the way, that skirt is so out of fashion. It's practically ancient. Are you sure you shop at Prada and not some cheap imitation shop? Well, gotta go, I'm late for my appointment. My offer still stands Melissa. Feel free to call whenever you need help, ok? Bye Harry!" Harry only managed to smile weakly in response and with that Ginny grabbed her denim jacket and apparated out of the house.
"That…that… bitch!!!" screamed Melissa when she finally found her voice. "Harry, when are you going to find yourself a new house? You can't live here! These people are trying to sabotage our relationship; can't you see?"
Harry groaned in frustration. 'Not this again! This is the third time in as many days that she has pestered me to move to a new house. God, she's just so annoying. I'm gonna get rid of her once and for all.' Harry's on again, off again relationship with Melissa Springfield has been going on for about half a year. He met her during a party at a Muggles club in London. At first, he thought she was a Muggle but then he found out she worked at St. Mungo's as a Healer. They hit it off straight away but the longer they were a couple, the more apparent it became to Harry that they weren't meant to be.
"Melissa, listen. This isn't going to work."
"What? What isn't going to work? You mean the house? Why? We've been dating for so long. It just seems natural…"
"No, it isn't that. It's…this." Harry gestured at the both of them. When he noticed Melissa's confused expression, he continued, " Liss, our relationship isn't going to work. Trust me, it's me not you…I have never been completely honest with you…I… it's just complicated, Liss. Please… oh don't cry, Liss."
"God, you're breaking up with me using the most overused cliché in the world. Why? What's the problem, Harry? Can't we work it out? Please? Is it the fact that I'm not polite enough to your friends? I'll change. I'll be nicer. Promise!"
Harry shook his head. "Liss, please don't make it harder than it already is…it's complicated. I guess we're just not meant to be. There is one perfect guy for you somewhere out there. It's just not me." Harry finished lamely. He sighed. He was never good at any of this break-up stuff. He has only dated a couple of times and the girls he went out with usually initiated the break-ups.
Melissa flung herself at Harry and buried her face in his shoulder. After a while, she seemed to regain her composure. She stood up straight, fixed her make-up and her clothes and tossed an unsure smile at Harry. "So, I guess I'll have to go now huh?" Harry nodded. "That would be best."
"Well, it was nice knowing you. Bye Harry." She walked somewhat shakily towards the door. Before she left, she turned back "Just one more thing. When you said you haven't been completely honest with me, was it true? Or were you just using it to get rid of me?"
"Unfortunately, it is true."
"Another woman?"
"Em…"
"Never mind. Don't answer that. I don't think I can handle it right now." And with that she walked out of the house and slammed the door.
Harry let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. 'Finally! Some peace and quiet around the house.'
"Well done, mate! Thought you'd never get around to doing it!" Ron and Lavender stood by the fireplace with ridiculously happy grins on their faces.
"You heard everything?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Every single word. Geez, I wish Ginny were here to witness it! She would have been ecstatic!"
There was a loud pop and a second later; Ginny was standing in the kitchen. " Witness what? Why would I be ecstatic?" she asked.
Ron rubbed his hands gleefully like someone who was preparing to disclose some juicy gossip. "Harry and Melissa broke up!"
"What? Wow! That's great! I mean, you know, not great as in…oh never mind. I have some news for you guys too!"
"What is it, Gin?" Lavender asked.
Ginny grinned widely and said, "Marcus wants me to move in with him and I said yes!"
To say that Ron was not pleased with the situation would have been an understatement. Not only was he not smiling and laughing with the others, he was practically fuming and his face was flushed and scarlet in colour.
"Ron?" Ginny called tentatively. "Listen, I know you don't like it and all but I'm a big girl now. I know how to take care of myself. Besides I really love Marcus and…"
"No! No bloody way will I allow you to move in with that git!"
"Don't yell at me! I know what I'm doing and he's not a git! Just because you don't like him, it doesn't mean that I don't too! I'm sick of staying with you guys! I have to take care of the both of you just like a mother hen! I don't even have time for myself!"
Ron and Harry's eyes widened. They have never heard Ginny say that. They had just assumed that she enjoyed living with them and fussing over them. She isn't really close to Harry and since she started dating Marcus, her relationship with Ron has been deteriorating. The only person she was close to was Lavender.
Lavender put a hand on Ginny's shoulder to calm her down but she shrugged it off. Ginny Weasley was on a roll now and she was determined to make the two gits in front of her realize how stupid and inconsiderate they were these past few years.
She turned to Ron. "You cannot tell me what I can and what I can't do. I'm not your little sister anymore. Look around Ron! I've grown up! I'm not the little girl who needs your protection anymore!"
Ginny felt tears streaming down her face and knew she looked a mess right now but she didn't care. She searched for Harry and found him standing in a corner. "And you, you have been moping around for years! If you miss Hermione, just go and look for her! Don't be so god damn stubborn! It'll get you nowhere! I don't know what happened between the two of you to cause her to leave but I'm sure you can work it out! When there's a will, there's a way!!"
She turned around and faced Lavender. "I'm so sorry, Lav. I'll talk to you later ok?"
There was a loud resounding pop as Ginny apparated from the house and left Harry, Ron and Lavender sitting in stunned silence.
A/N: So… what do you think? A tad too long I know. I'll try to keep it shorter next time. Anyways, as usual feel free to give suggestions and comments and reviews!! Constructive criticism really helps too! Please point out my mistakes and if you have any questions I'll be glad to answer them!! Please read and review and I'll do the same for you!! Thanks! )