Hollyg20: THANKS FOR REVIEWING SO MUCH! Does Ron really seem to act like a girl? Probably because I don't know how guys would feel if their heart was crushed. After all I'm a girl too…so I don't know
Cryswes: Thanks for reviewing too and all the other stuff you did
Harryandhermy: THANKS FOR REVIEWING!
A/N: A little more action between Harry and Hermione in here…OoOoo
CH. 7
When Hermione woke up, it was 8:00 A.M. She quickly remembered that she was in Harry's bed and the past night's events (A/N: No they did not do anything. Nothing happened during the night.) However, Harry wasn't there anymore. She also recalled that her first class, Transfiguration, started 8:30. She hastily got up from the bed and ran out into the common room. Harry was sitting in a chair facing the fire. She blushed at the sight of him.
"Harry!"
Harry got up and turned to face Hermione. "Yeah?"
"It's 8:00 already!"
Harry gestured for her to continue. "Your point is…?"
"Our Transfiguration class starts at 8:30!" Hermione ran into her room and swiftly changed into her school robes.
"We've missed breakfast!" exclaimed Hermione as she came back out. Harry wagged a finger at her. "Correction, YOU missed breakfast."
"Why didn't you wake me up!"
Harry shrugged. "I didn't feel like it." 'Of course, the real reason is, you looked so peaceful and so…I can't even begin to describe it. The way you looked while you were sleeping in my arms.' He started blushing a little as well, so he turned his face down towards the ground.
Hermione gawked at Harry. "That is the STUPIDEST excuse ever! Whatever, I'm leaving for class now."
Harry watched the girl of his dreams and whom he had just had in his arms, storm out of the common room and head for Professor McGonagall's class. He shrugged, then grabbed his school bag and left to follow after Hermione.
At the same time, Ron was leaving the Gryffindor common room. He was still angry, (A/N: duh) thinking all the while about Hermione and Potter on the way to Transfiguration. 'Potter had better not done anything with MY girl. I don't trust him anymore.' He kept his head down as he walked briskly along, and didn't see Hermione walking in front of him until it was too late. The two of them crashed heads. Both of them fell down backwards. Ron got up first, his face twisted with anger. He shook his fist at Hermione, whom he didn't recognize yet.
"Watch where you're going!" He took a closer look at the girl on the ground "Hermione?" Hermione scrambled up from the ground, gathering her books into her school bag.
"Sorry Ron…"
"Here, let me help you." Of course, the only reason Ron wanted to help Hermione to pick up her books was because it would give him an excuse to accidentally touch her and he would be near to her. He bent down and reached for the last book as Hermione did too. Their hands unintentionally touched each other. At least Hermione did it accidentally. Ron, on the other hand, did it kind of intentionally. He just wanted to feel her hand. It felt soft and warm.
Hermione flinched as Ron touched her hand. His hand was cold and harsh. She shuddered and quickly removed her hand and got up. She smiled quickly, a false smile.
"Going to Transfiguration?" asked Ron
"No really," replied Hermione in a sarcastic voice.
"Let me accompany you there," said Ron reaching out and grabbing Hermione's arm. Hermione felt very uncomfortable being grabbed like that by Ron. She cared for him, but not in this way. She would only allow Harry to hold her like this. But she didn't want to hurt Ron's feelings, so she kept close to him, but didn't touch him. All of sudden, she heard running footsteps from behind her. She turned around and saw Harry running up.Suddenly hehalted. His expression changed from shock to anger. He glared at her and Ron in a way that chilled Hermione's blood. He couldn't believe it. He whirled around sharply and fled, back to the Head Boy/Head Girl dorm.
"Harry!" Hermione called out and immediately pulled out of Ron's grasp. Ron glared as she ran towards Potter.
"Hermione, get back here! You're going to be late for Transfiguration!"
Hermione stopped dead in her tracks and turned around as she realized he was right. She debated between Harry and class. She decided that even though she loved Harry, she decided that she wanted a really good record. So, Hermione slowly walked back to Ron. He smiled but there was a cruel glint in his eyes. Then together, the both of them walked to Transfiguration.
Throughout the whole class, Hermione barely paid attention as Professor McGonagall instructed them on how to transform into their Animagus forms. Harry never showed up in class. She kept thinking about him. She wondered if he was okay. 'How silly. He must be upset if he ran away like that. But why? Does he really like me? That's the only logical explanation. Maybe I'm imagining things.' Finally, when class was over, Hermione didn't even bother waiting for Ron; she flew out the door.
Ron scowled watching her running out the door. 'Must be Potter.' He didn't bother following her. He realized that the Head Boy/Head Girl dorm must have a password, which he didn't know. Ron decided to return to the Gryffindor common room. 'I've already broken Potter's heart enough for today.'
Hermione softlygave the password, "Furnunculus", to the painting, who let her in. She didn't want Harry to know she was coming in. She tiptoed in and quietly listened for any sounds. She heard nothing. So Hermione decided to check in Harry's room. She opened the door. No one was there, the room was completely empty. Hermione walked to the window and looked outside…and saw Harry running into the Forbidden Forest.
Harry ran along, going deeper and deeper in to the Forbidden Forest. 'Maybe last night was just fake…maybe Hermione never really cared. Maybe she really likes Ron…and if she does…I think I'm going to…' Harry shook his head. He was getting confused.
Hermione gasped, then ran outside. She had Defense Against the Dark Arts next. But this time she chose Harry. She made the wrong decision last time and wasn't about to the same thing. She ran and ran, out to the Hogwarts grounds. She sprinted to Hagrid's hut and banged loudly on the door.
"Hagrid! Hurry open the door!" she cried.
" 'Ey there 'Ermione!" Hagrid grinned at her as he opened the door. "What's wrong?"
"Harry has ran into the Forbidden Forest, by himself!" she gasped out. Hagrid's face turned grim as he reached behind him for his crossbow. "Come Fang!" He stepped out of his head and strode towards the Forbidden Forest as Fang trotted happily behind him. Hermione tried to keep up with his wide strides.
"Why would 'Arry do such a thing?" Hagrid shook his head and looked questionably at Hermione. She looked down. "He saw me and Ron together," she whispered.
"What's so 'oribble about that?"
Hermione shook her head. "I don't know…" 'Or maybe…I do.'
Hagrid stopped and looked down at Hermione. "Is there something I should know 'bout you an' 'Arry?"
Hermione blushed. "Promise not to tell anyone?"
"Cross me heart and 'ope to die."
"All right, I like Harry…"
Hagrid brust out intoheavy chuckles. "Shoulda known…there was signs…" Then he kept walking, smiling slightly. "But this ain't the time to be talkin' 'bout that," His face turned serious again. They walked faster, deeper into the Forest, with Fang running to keep up.
Harry kept running. He refused to stop. He just didn't realize he was running away from life. Things happen. But he just couldn't believe Hermione and Ron. Especially Ron. He began to put two and two together. Could Ron have been angry with Harry because of Hermione? Harry stopped and realized that that must be the answer. He sat down against a tree trunk, only because he was tired. Eventually, he feel asleep.
Hagrid and Hermione had been searching for hours. It had gotten dark. They still couldn't find Harry. Hagrid had a despairing look on his face. " 'Ermione, I dun think we're gonna find 'Arry today. Maybe we ought to go an' get Professor Dumbledore."
Hermione kept walking straight ahead. "No," she shouted back, "I have to find Harry." Hagrid grabbed her arm rather forcefully. "Ye won't find 'im…trus' me…I can't find 'im. I won't let ye go. It's too dangerous."
Hermione wrenched free of his grasp. "Just go and get Professor Dumbledore. I'm gonna keep looking."
Hagrid sighed. "I suppose so…no use talkin' to ye, when yer determined…" and he turned back towards the castle. " No, Fang, go with 'Ermione. Keep 'er safe, al' 'ight?" Fang barked happily and turned to follow Hermione.
Harry had woken up. He heard Hagrid's voice and Hermoine's as well. He really did not want to deal with Hermione right now, so he got up and started running again. He didn't notice, but he ran straight into Aragog's territory. Hermione followed him, not knowing Harry was just ahead of her. Then she heard Harry yell out.
Harry slowly backed up against a tree. A huge spider had come out in front of him, pincers clipping. Another one came out to his left. And yet another large spider came from his right. They surrounded him, until one of them hissed. "Aragog…the human has come once again…" Then slowly, an enormous Acromantula stalked out of a cave behind the first spider. He sniffed the air. "Ahh…human blood…Hold him still. This time you shall not escape." One spider obeyed and caught Harry in his mouth. A yelling Harry finally realized he had a wand and aimed at the spider yelling, "Stupefy!" It was no use on the huge spider.
Hermione had run into the horrid scene. Fang whimpered, tucked his tail between his hind legs, then turned and fled. She stood there, frozen to the spot as she watched Harry try to fight the spider. At last she came to her senses and pulled out her wand. She pointed it at the Acromantula holding Harry and shouted the first spell that came to her mind.
"Tarantallegra!"
It didn't have any affect on the spider. Next she tried "Incarcerous!" Ropes came from thin air and wrapped around the spider's legs. The spider toppled to the ground, but still held onto Harry. Another spider crawled over to get Harry but Hermione pointed her wand at it and shouted, "Impedimenta!"
"Hermione!" Harry struggled to get out of the spider's grip. He wrenched himself free and started limping over toward her "On…the count of three…Stupefy…at Aragog." Hermione nodded, then she noticed that Aragog was right behind Harry and tried to yell but no sound came from her mouth.
"One…two…AHHH!" Harry got swept into the air by Aragog. The spider squeezed so hard that Harry fainted away. Hermione whirled around as she realized a huge spider was towering over her. She yelled as she too got swept up. The spider bit her hard, not too hard to kill her, but just enough to knock her out.
The two spiders placed Harry and Hermione in a cave, next to each other. Aragog hissed happily, "Tonight, we shall have a feast. Come, let's away to look for more food. There is no way that those two could wake up. Not until we feast on them…" The other spiders murmured their agreement and left. Little did they know that they had underestimated Harry's strength.
Aftertwo hours, Harry started groaning in pain. He slowly sat up, rubbing his leg. He winced and breathed sharply as he felt the blood oozing out and the pain shooting up his entirebody. He turned to his side and saw Hermione lying there. She was not bleeding, but was pretty mangled up. Harry reached over and shook her shoulders. "Hermione, wake up." There was no response. He grabbed his wand from his pocked and whispered, "Ennervate." Then, Hermione moaned a little, and her eyes started to flutter. She opened her eyes fully and saw Harry staring down at her.
"Hermione, we got to get out of here."
She sat up, rubbing her head. "How?" she mumbled, "Your leg is hurt."
"So? You can fix it right?"
"Oh yeah," She reached into her pocket for her wand and realized she had dropped it outside when the spider grabbed her. "Hold on. I have to get my wand."
"Be careful," Harry whispered. Hermione nodded. In a minute she returned, her eyes wide.
"Harry, Aragog and his spiders are coming back! I heard them"
Harry pointed at his leg. "Hurry up! Fix it and we can get out of here."
Hermione muttered, "Healario. (A/N: something I made up)" In a moment, Harry's leg was fixed. He stood up and grabbed Hermione's arm. "Come on. Let's get out of here."
They ran out of the cave and away into the forest. Unfortunately for them, Aragog heard them running and hissed angrily, "Get them! They're escaping."
Hermione and Harry ran as they had never run before. Harry chanced a look back and saw a couple spiders gaining on them.
"Hermione, we've gotta dissapparate!"
"Harry, we can't! We've only taken lessons on it. What if we mess up?"
"We have to take the chance! We'll never outrun them. They have eight legs!" Harry shouted, looking back again. The spiders were coming closer. He pulled Hermione to a stop. "On the count of three, one…two…three!" Luckily for them, they disappeared with a crack. Aragog hissed disappointedly. "Ah…no matter. Another time we shall have our revenge." Then the spiders turned back to their territory.
Harry and Hermione apparated in Hagrid's hut. (A/N: I know you can't apparate into Hogwarts (Hogwarts, A History) but it's my story! Hehe.) Hagrid was notin there. He, Professor Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall were in the Forest, looking for them, but Harry and Hermione didn't know that. Once they realized they were safe, Hermione threw her arms around Harry's neck and started sobbing. Harry froze for a second, and then carefully hugged her back.
"Harry… I was so scared…" She managed to talk. Harry cautiously brought her closer to him. He still wasn't sure about Hermione's feelings, if she wanted Ron or him. Harry just held Hermione as she clung onto him, sobbing. She put her head against his chest. Harry's heart started beating a little faster. Hermione managed a small smile as she heard Harry's heart. She still wasn't sure about Harry either, if he really liked her. So she decided not to do anything…yet. Hermione allowed Harry to hold her and protect her, even though the danger was over.
After a few minutes, Harry pulled away and looked at Hermone's face closely. Even though her face was red from crying and tears were flowing down her cheeks, Harry thought she was still pretty. He touched her cheek with his hand.
"There now, we're safe right?"
Hermione sniffed loudly and wiped away her tears, holding Harry's hand as she brought her hand down. She then put her head back on Harry's chest. It was as if time stopped. Nothing else mattered in the world. It was just Harry and Hermione, holding on to each other.
They didn't notice as the door to Hagrid's hut slowly opened as someone came in. When the door hit the wall, Harry and Hermione let go of each other and turned slowly, both afraid that it was Ron. Instead, it was Professor Dumbledore. He walked in leisurely, his eyes twinkling happily at them.
"Well, I'm glad that you two are enjoying each other's company. I'm also happy to see that Harry got back to safety." Harry and Hermione looked at the ground and both turned a little red.
" 'Arry? Ye ok?" Hagrid came bumbling in.
"I'm fine Hagrid."
"An' ye Hermione? Scared the wits outta me when ye just left."
"I'm fine too Hagrid. Where's Fang?"
Hagrid scowled as he whistled. Fang came trotting in. "The dirty coward. Didn't even stay ta help ye," he growled.
Professor McGonagall came in next. "Thank goodness you two are all right. Mr. Potter, why on earth did you run off like that?" she asked him sternly.
Harry looked at Hermione then looked down at the ground, hiding his face from view.
"Now, now Minerva, I'm sure Harry has his own reasons for running into the Forbidden Forest. And unless I'm mistaken, I do believe he wants to keep them secret," Dumbledore spoke up for Harry. Harry looked at Dumbledore and grinned gratefully. The Headmaster of Hogwarts must know that Harry fancies Hermione as he surveyed the two of them.
"You should both go up to the Hospital Wing." Harry opened his mouth to protest. "Just in case," Dumbledore went on before Harry spoke a word. "No exceptions, now up you go." He ushered Harry and Hermione out the door. Alone, they walked back up to Hogwarts in silence. Neither of them spoke of the quiet time they had shared in Hagrid's hut, but both were thinking about it, wishing that the magic could've lasted a little longer. 'Maybe Hermione really does like me.'
'Maybe Harry likes me.'
Finally, the two of them reached the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey fussed over them, checking to make sure each one was okay. Then she insisted that they stay overnight in the hospital wing.
"You two are in no shape to be attending classes. And you Mr. Potter are in no condition to be playing Quidditch."
"But Madam Pomfrey, we have a game tomorrow. I have to play.It's the first game with me as captain."
"No buts, I'll ask Professor Dumbledore to postpone it. After your experience in the Forbidden Forest you most certainly cannot and will not play in the game," she said firmly.
Harry and Hermione looked at one another, then looked around the hospital wing, and seeing there was no one else except them, they nodded their consent.
"Good, good. Now both of you lie down on those two beds over there. I'll be along shortly with some potions for you." Madam Pomfrey nodded toward two beds next to each other in the furthest corner, then bustled away to her office.
Harry and Hermione walked to the beds, laid down on them, one in each bed. In a minute, Madam Pomfrey came with some potion and food.
"Now, eat the food first, then drink the potion." She stayed and watched them to make sure they ate the food and drank the potion.
"The potion will make you feel much better in the morning." Then she tucked them in the beds, fretting over them like they were little kids.
"I'm leaving now, have a good night's sleep." She left the hospital wing. After Harry and Hermione made sure Madam Pomfrey was out of earshot, they kicked off their blankets and turned to face each other. Harry propped himself up on his elbow.
"Hi Hermione," Harry whispered. Hermione laughed and replied, "Hello Harry."
"I know this is a random topic but I'm just wondering, who're you after these days? Who do you like?" Harry braced himself for the worst. Hermione turned red and looked down at the bed. "A boy."
"No…I thought you were after a girl…" Harry replied sarcastically.
Hermione laughed again. "All right, all right. It's a guy who's in our year, the same age as us. You actually know him quite well I believe."
"Oh…" Harry's heart sank. 'Could it be Ron really?'
"And you?" whispered Hermione.
"A girl in our year. She's really beautiful and intelligent. She's in Gryffindor."
"Do I know her?" asked Hermione, her heart breaking.
"Oh..yes…" 'More than you know.'
"Well, if you ever need to talk about her, I'm always here all right?" Hermione told him even though she knew it would hurt her heart to hear Harry talk about someone he liked. She wondered who it could be. Lavender? Parvati?
"Same goes for you." Harry wondered who it was…if it wasn't Ron…it could also be Neville…or Dean…or Seamus.
"Thanks, Harry."
"No problemo." Harry turned on his back to stare at the ceiling then, thinking about Hermione, he fell asleep.
A/N: I know that I crammed a lot of stuff in here..but hey! You wanted longer chapters and you got it.
