Chapter Twenty-Three-Part Two: The After Occurences of Broken Limbs
AN: Please bear with me I haven't been skiing.. cross-country that is in 5 years, and downhill since I was 4... that's 15.5 years ago! So bear with me on the skiing bit.
Chapter Twenty-Three-Part Two: The After Occurences of Broken Limbs
The next morning after breakfast of eggs and tea, Harry and Hermione under the psyduems, James and Jane crossed the street to the ski lodge. They stowed there regular boots in a locker after they rented skis, ski poles and ski boots that latch onto the skis.
Hermione and Harry left the lounge and walked outside, locked there boots into the skis and started to walk with the skis on.
"Hey Lady!" A little boy yelled at Hermione,"Not like that! Like this," and he showed her, glide.
"Thanks," she yelled to the kid, then turned her head to Harry... who wasn't next to her.
"Down here," he called.
"How'd you get down there?" (this makes me think of Stan from the knight bus, when he asks Harry, "How'd cha get down there, Neville" or something like that).
He glared at her, "I fell down, smart alec."
"Are you alright?" she asked mock seriously.
"I'm fine," he groaned as her struggeled to stand up and fell flat on his face, again. "Urgh!" He grunted as she burst out laughing.
"I'm," laughing, "sorry."
"How do you stand up on these things and move?" He asked her.
"Stab the poles into the ground as you glide along, is what that kid showed me."
They made there way to the ski lift to ride up the mountain.
"Hermione, please tell me why you didn't read every book you could find on skiing?" Harry asked just after getting on the ski lift. Then he quickly asked, "Are we going to fall off this thing?"
Hermione appeared to be having the same thoughts, "I hope not. And I didn't read up on how to ski because I was getting my affairs in order so I could come on this vacation. Patrick really took me away from my work for a good three months."
"Oh, thanks a lot.. I don't like this thing!"
"Neither do I, but you don't here me whining like a big baby.. wait are you afraid of falling from high places.. how can that be?"
"Azkaban towers as a guard... and Auror training.. they made us cross ropes over ravines... and you could not see the bottom."
"Your scared of heights.. but broom... Quidditich?"
"I'm okay on brooms.. for some reason.. I think it's the high from flying.. but otherwise no.. and it's because of the rope breaking when I was crossing the ravine... I'm really lucky to be here... thanks to Malfoy."
"So that's when he saved you?"
"Yeah the rope split, I was lucky to have a good hold and he accioed me to himself. Damn am I glad he wasn't too shoddy at charms."
"Me too. Though, I would have wished it at school."
"Hey, you got the teeth you wanted in the bargain, right?"
She looked annoyed, "Yes. And you have your teeth again," she replied cheekily.
"I know I do," He smiled showing his teeth, "And I'm glad your parent's didn't kill me as Patrick.. by the way, do they know, Hermione and Patrick broked up?"
She thought about it for a moment, her eyes widened... "No... I forgot to tell my parents! What am I going to do... How am I going to explain myself?"
"Write them a post, send it to Ron and have him mail it.. better yet, have Luna mail it.. she's better around muggles then he is."
"And you know that how?"
"Come on, it's Ron Weasley.. it's a given Weasley's are not great with muggle things, even if there obsessed with thme."
"Good point."
They reached the top of the hill and Hermione got off the lift fairly smoothly... Harry on the other hand, fell awkwardly onto his back, "Ow."
"Glide Harry, glide."
"Shut it."
She laughed, before asking, "Are you okay?"
"Fine," he replied stubbornly.
"Ready to go down the hill?"
"Are you sure we can do this?"
"Harry, your the athlete not me, what's the problem?"
"We played on fricking brooms! And look at me, I'm a skinny weakling. I was a Seeker for christ's sake! Lightest player on the team, doesn't require arm strength."
"But you were tough enough to take all the people crashing into you and the Bludger's hitting you and you do all kinds of work around your house."
"But how many times did I end in the hospital?"
"A lot.. but hey, quit being a big baby and let's go down this fucking hill!"
They started down the hill, going in relatively straight lines, down the hill... at speeds a bit out of control.
"HARRY! WATCH OUT FOR THAT."
"WHAT?" He yelled back before looking forward again, "OH, SHITE!"
CRASH
"TREE."
His left leg caught the tree, knee on. He fell down in pain, his left ski catching the tree, the only thing stopping him from tumbling down the hill. He winced in pain... attempted to get up, (his right leg was flung forward from the impact while the left was across the tree) and couldn't.. so he sat.
Meanwhile, further down the hill, Hermione made it to the bottom, though with one problem... she doesn't know how to stop, in a last ditch effort she jammed her poles into the ground and went flying forward... right into a wooden sign post.
"Ah! My arm."
The next day, back at A-Frame Number Five... Harry was sleeping on the couch, his left leg in a cast... broken and Hermione had a broken right arm, which had made her exclaim the day before, "Dammit, now I can't write!
"Your not ambitdextrous?" Harry had asked then.
"Nope."
"But you use both your hands when you do wand work.. or rather I've seen you use either hand."
"I can only WRITE legibly with my right hand."
"Me too."
"Harry, you do realize just about any numbskull with a wand can use both hands... maybe not very well, but they can."
"No, I hadn't realized, I was rather preoccupied with more important matters."
"Yeah, like swooning over Cho."
"I was thirteen, fourteen... it ended when I was fifthteen and do you know why?"
"No, actually. I don't, why?"
"Because of you... can you believe of all people, she was jealous of you?"
"Your joking?"
"Not at all."
"Wow, thatnks, Harry."
"For what?"
"For avoiding a relationship with as Ron called her The Human Hosepipe."
"Actually, I'm glad too, looking back... really I didn't care all that much then, either."
Back to today... Harry is sleeping on the couch, while Hermione is.. gasp... making lunch! Grilled cheese sandwhiches... flipping them magically because of the lack of a spatula.
"Harry?"
"Hm."
"What kind of soup would you like?"
"Uh, hm."
"Okay, I'll pick."
Snore.
Fifthteen minutes later she had two paper plates with grilled cheese sandwhiches on them and two styrofoam bowls filled with Tomato soup, she levitated it over to the coffee table.
"Harry wake up."
Snore.
"When did you start snoring?" she asked the sleeping man.
"When did you stop? Maybe I picked it up from you."
"Thank you, Harry."
"I'm kidding, it's probably from the medication they had me on at the hospital. What is it?"
"Soup and sandwhiches."
"Who made it?"
"Would you like it all over your head?"
"In my mouth, yes," he replied cheekily, "Which is mine?"
"The one I'm not in the process of eating, which is on the table next to you."
"Ah, yes."
They ate in silence till Hermione asked, "When are you going to discard the contacts, Harry?"
"I'm.." chewing sandwhich, "thinking when we get back.. don't want these people to think it's odd I have multiple eye colors, right?"
"Yeah... it's going to be wierd to see you, to see your real eyes again... and your hair unruly and black."
"Miss it?"
"Yeah."
"Me too. It will be nice to look like myself again, the color is wearing off. Hell, it's wonderful to be able to not use that ruddy Irish accent!"
"Yes, it is, to hear your voice everyday again."
"To be able to talk freely, not pretend like I have no idea about so much, that was probably the hardest part, to not start talking to Ron about old times... damn was that Reunion killer, all the stories I knew and could say nothing about."
"Not talking to you about things you knew."
"Yeah, me too. I love to be able to talk to you again."
"How's the arm... hey, why didn't you wake me to help you... wasn't it hard to cook with only one arm?"
"I managed.. and Harry, you can barely use you crutches... you don't need to be the hero."
"Hey! Leave me alone!"
"Okay," she got up and started to the next room.
"Come back, come sit with me. I'll skoot over so you can lay on the couch too."
"That's okay, Harry."
"No, I insist!"
"Fine!"
He beamed, he was now laying on his left.. cast side.
"Isn't that uncomfortable?" she asked laying next to him.
"Yes, but however I lay is uncomfortable."
"How did we get so lucky as to both break bones?"
"I have no bloody clue... we didn't know how to ski.. and it shows.. we broke bloody bones!"
"That's the truth."
"Soo..."
"What?"
"I don't know."
"Okay."
"Just relax, we're on vacation.. my first one actually."
"Your kidding!"
"Why would I kid?" Harry asked seriously.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Talk about what?" He asked back.
"Your childhood."
"Only if you tell me about yours."
"Deal."
"How about after a nap," he yawned putting his arm across her hugging her.
She yawned as well, "Okay," and pulled the blanket from the back of the couch over them.
The next morning, "Hermione?"
"What, Harry?" She asked turning her head, coming nose to nose with Harry Potter.
"Did you ever break a bone before two days ago?"
"When I was six I fell out of a tree and broke my leg."
"Is that why your afraid of flying.. the heights?'
"Didn't we go through with this two days ago?" She asked before nodding.
"Ow."
"Sorry," she replied muffled clutching her own nose with her good left arm, "What about you, break any bones before Hogwarts?"
"Yeah.. though it wasn't me."
"What'd you break?"
"Leg, arms, wrist, ankle.. hand..."
"Is that all?"
"Sure."
"You don't have to say if you don't want to."
"Thanks," he replied clearly expressing his relief.
"How did you break all of those bones?"
"My cousin."
"How?" she asked... not quite shocked.
"Well, I was his favorite punching bag, growing up."
"No."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Harry shrugged.
"Your Aunt and Uncle did nothing to stop him?"
Harry shrugged again, "Diddly Duddly dums couldn't hurt a fly," He replied in a mock Aunt Petunia voice.
"Oh, I see. He was their perfect angel, right?"
"Spot on."
"And you could do nothing right, no matter if it was perfect, right?" She practically whispered. Something was clearly wrong.
"Yes, and what's the matter, Hermione?" He replied whispering as well.
She looked away.
"Hermione, what is it?"
"When I was little... it's not like this now... well probably because I left.. but it was like this till I basically stopped going home for the holidays on pretense of seeing you and Ron or had the option.. for my safetly most likely, to not go home, I'd jump at the chance."
"Why? I thought you loved your parents and missed them?"
"I did miss them per se.. and yes, I love them.. but anything below perfection was unacceptable.. and going to Hogwarts.. they didn't want me to go... I begged and begged.. they wanted me to be a dentist like them... they let me go, of course.. but only because I threatened I'd leave and never come back, if they didn't let me. They had one condition for me going.. top marks and perfect behavior.. Or I'd be straight to Stonewall."
"Your kidding?"
"No."
"I was supposed to go there as well.. my aunt was dying Dudley's old sweaters and all gray for me. But.. then that explains the.. well being the stickler for the rules and fanaticism about school work... if you weren't perfect.. then you'd be back with muggles."
She nodded.
"That's terrible.. I have nothing agains't muggles... but how did they not ship you home after the troll?"
"Dumbledore.. I think he knew and made sure I'd only be punished for my crimes at Hogwarts, at Hogwarts, nothing going home."
"I'm glad.. could you imagine if we were both muggles at Stonewall? Would we have even been friends.. well.. as you very well know.. I never had any friends before Hogwarts."
"Neither did I... unless they wanted.."
"Answers for the homework assignment."
"Yeah."
"My homework was usually swiped.. I ended up making two copies after awhile..."
"That's terrible!"
"And you parents aren't? I can't believe they were like that, Hermione!" He exclaimed sadly.
"I can't believe that you came out so well after being tortured so much!"
"I'm glad we both went to Hogwarts, I would have gone ruddy mad without you."
"So would I."
"Were you always supposed to go to Stonewall?"
"No, that's what they started to threaten me with after second year."
"Why?"
"Because we moved and I didn't write much second year, because as you know, I was petrified.. but they fortunetly had no clue."
"I'm glad."
"Why?"
"Because without you..." he choked, "we would have never saved Sirius, I wouldn't have survived the first task.. I would have been expelled fifth year..."
"You would have done fine without me."
"No Hermione, I wouldn't have. Not at all."
"You underestimate yourself."
"No.. you underestimate yourself, Hermione Jane Granger!"
"Hey! You never say my middle name!"
"You say mine sometimes and do you know what?"
"I don't. Tell me."
"I think I can finally say this."
"Say what?" She asked him.
He took a deep breath and leaned his face in even closer, there noses now touching, "I love you, I'm in love with you!" He smiled brilliantly.
She beamed back, "I love you as well! Ron said I did... He figured it out finally.. that little tid bit, I love you, Harry!"
He grinned sheepishly as her.
"What?" she asked him.
"It took me much too long to tell you!"
"You.. it took me too long!" She replied.
"NO ME!"
"No." she replied.
"No." he shot back.
"No."
"No."
"No, Harry. Shut up," and she silenced there argument with her lips to his.
(Guess what! That's the end of the 100TH page this story in my notebook!)
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AN: Okay… now I've split 23 into a third part.. ha ha.. no it's okay you only lose the section entitled: Colors…. Yeah… it is odd.
There is part two of chapter 23.. it's Monday and I already posted today... so I'm waiting a few days... is why it wasn't up before!
Well, I hope you all like part 2 of chapter 23.. I even considered splitting it into three parts... but then said nah and here you have pt. 2. chapter 24 is called: The Return.. and it isn't all that long, unlike this monster of a chapter was. 15 and a quarter pages if I had left chapter 23 together.
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and PLEASE REVIEW!
