"Let go of me! Let go now!! Argh—LET ME GO!!!!" Hermione screamed.
"Hey—calm down—it's just me," a familiar voice said in her ear.
"Harry?" she gasped. He let go of her and pulled her into the light, where she could easily see the familiar twinkle in his brilliant green eyes. He took off his hat and Hermione's knees buckled. It was like his jet-black hair was the switch to make her stomach flip-flop. What was going on?
"Oh my gosh, I can't believe you're back! Where were you?!?" Harry grinned.
"I've been all over! It was so amazing! But I had to come back. Two years away from his best friends can really kill a guy," he replied, not giving the answers she wanted. "But, thanks for the great greeting!" He added, a laugh in his eyes.
"Well, I was defending myself. You scared me half to death, you know," she scolded, but she was smiling too. Harry folded her in his arms and hugged her really tight. Hermione could not remember him ever hugging her this tight, or anyone for that matter. She had no idea what to do, but her instincts told her to hug back, and she did.
"Harry?" she asked.
"Mm?"
"You want to go inside? It's kind of wet out here." Harry laughed and nodded. He let go of her and straightened out his robes. She started walking towards her house, and when she heard him following her, she laughed and broke out into a run. He caught up with her outside the door while she was fishing out her house key. She saw him reach up towards the gutter, and before she could react, he poured the whole thing onto her, drenching her to the bone. She shrieked "Harry James Potter!" He was speechless with laughter, holding onto the rail for support.
"That was for leaving me in the rain," he gasped out. She smiled and opened the door. She stepped inside and pulled him with her. He slammed the door behind them and grinned. "Come on, you have to admit that was pretty funny," he said. Of course it was funny. What am I thinking? I am not one of those mad girls chasing after him and his smile! She scolded herself.
"Well, I am going to take a shower and change. If you want to, there's a guestroom down there" -she pointed down the corridor to the right- "and there's a bathroom attached. Make yourself at home." Harry nodded and saluted her.
"As Your Highness proclaims!" And without further ado, he marched off down the hallway to the shower, leaving a trail of water on the floor. Hermione sighed and performed a Drying Charm to clean it up before going to take her own shower.
"I can't believe it—Harry Potter! In my house! Oh my gosh!" she said to herself in the shower. "Okay, Hermione, calm down, he's your best friend, you can do this. Oh, Merlin, what about Ron? What will I say? When should I tell him?"
"How about you'll make me something to eat? I'm starving!" came a voice from behind the curtain.
"HARRY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BATHROOM?!?!?!?!?" she yelled.
"Sorry! I saw the door open and I'm hungry! I'm so sorry, Mione!" She could see his silhouette on her shower curtain and sighed.
"Fine. I'll make dinner AFTER I take a shower. Besides, if you really can't wait, which I bet you can't, having known you forever practically, there's food in the cupboards." Harry laughed and left the bathroom, to the kitchen it seemed to Hermione. She sighed, knowing the next couple of weeks would be hard.
She got out of the shower and pulled on dry clothes. In the kitchen, she saw Harry tucking in to a huge plate of his favorite treacle tart.
"How about eating some healthy things first?" she asked teasingly, knowing full well he would call her bossy.
"Fine. Bossy." He said. She smiled.
"I knew you'd say that."
"Then why did you say it?"
"Because….I don't know. Let's eat." Hermione could see Harry was laughing, as he always did when he won their arguments, but he was trying not to show it. She waved her wand over the table and food instantly appeared. She laughed at the hungry look on her best friend's face and told him to eat all he could. He definitely hadn't eaten in a while, she noticed. Where exactly had he gone, and why didn't anyone know where he was? Hermione knew Harry wouldn't tell her, and that if she waited maybe he would. However, she couldn't stop the comment that came out of her mouth next.
"Why did you decide to come back?" Harry stared at her. She worried if she had made a mistake in asking that.
"Well, to see you, of course. I could not stand to spend another day away from my darling Hermione." He laughed, and Hermione could tell he was joking.
"Of course," she replied. "So, what do you want to do tomorrow? I mean, if you're going to stay here."
"Well, I thought we might go see Ron, and go to Honeydukes, and Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, and the Three Broomsticks, and—"
"—I could have guessed you'd say that," Hermione said, laughing. "You're a little predictable, you know."
"Hey!" Harry lightly punched Hermione in the arm.
"What?" she asked. She threw a pillow at him in retaliation. He gasped and leapt toward the couch and grabbed a pillow himself.
"If you want a pillow fight prepare to lose, Granger!"
"Yeah, well, you're looking at the champion of pillow fights here, Potter!"
"Oh, yeah? Since when?"
"Erm—right now." Harry laughed and whacked her with his pillow. She felt it slam into her but the light feathers kept the impact soft. She snatched up her own pillow and hit him with it. Pretty soon they were running all over the house, dodging pillows and chasing each other. Finally Hermione just collapsed on the couch, too exhausted to continue.
"Aw, are you tired already?" Harry pleaded.
"Yes!" Hermione laughed. "I'm really tired. You have no idea."
"Okay. See you tomorrow then," Harry said. Hermione pondered how someone with so much fame could be so courteous, but she really was too tired to really think about it. Harry left to go off to sleep in the guestroom. Hermione followed but went into the room across from the guestroom and changed into her favorite pajamas, this time making sure the door was locked, remembering Harry catching her in the shower. She unlocked the door and opened it so she could hear if Harry needed anything. Hermione lay in bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. She sighed, reflecting on her wonderful day, and wondered if she would ever have such a good day. But, even though she felt warm and safe, she suddenly remembered her questions about Harry's mysterious past 2 years. Her head spun with crazy ideas. She heard a tapping noise from outside her window and suddenly didn't feel so safe anymore. She whimpered. She heard a rustling near the door.
"It's okay," Harry whispered. "It's just me. Can't sleep?" Hermione shook her head. She saw him smile through the darkness. "Me neither. You want me to stay here?" he asked.
"Yeah," Hermione said. He slid into the bed next her. She could feel his flannel pajama bottoms against her bare legs, which were in pajama shorts. Harry put is arm around her and whispered in her ear. "You remember our third year? And you and Ron were buying something for me. You said no to Vampire Pops, and then Ron showed you some Cockroach Cluster, and I said definitely not. You guys both jumped five feet in the air," He reminisced. Hermione giggled. She snuggled next to him and closed her eyes. He held her more tightly, and she felt safe in his arms. Soon she fell asleep. Harry gazed at her, them both having a smile on their faces, and he went to sleep too.
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Well, here we are, chapter two . . . how are you liking the story?
Yeah, yeah, I'm really sorry it took so long to update. Real life can be such a hassle sometimes. ;-) Make sure you check back to read the next part!
Thanks for reading!
-insanehpluver-
