What do I feel?
A/N: sorry bout the wait. Like I said, I was in Florida.
And yes, I could have had Harry miss the snitch, and the Gryffindors still win, but there was a reason I had them lose. Malfoy needs a bigger role, and so this was a way I could incorporate it. Also, I needed Harry., to be feeling guilt, otherwise, it would take way too long for anything thing to happen. There are more reasons, but at the same time, Gryffindor doesn't have to always win. It's no fun like that. For the people who really wanted to see some shipping for this, this chap. Is for you. Oh, and I'll tell you now, I'll probably go against what I said originally and make them a couple.
chapter 6
Harry regained consciousness again about a day later. His brain still felt very fuzzy, and although it pained him, he turned his head to his left to see how Angelina was doing. He barely registered that she was still unconscious before he blacked out again.
Even though Harry was unconscious, he still dreamt. He once again dreamed that he failed to catch Angelina. As soon as her falling form hit the ground, he was jolted back into consciousness. Looking around, he was immensely relieved to see that the dream wasn't real. Harry looked back over to Angelina's bed only to notice a curtain around it. He looked down at himself and realized that he was no longer in his Quidditch uniform. Now, he was dressed in standard hospital P.J's.
He looked back over to Angelina's bed just in time to see Madam Pomfry pull back the curtains. Harry noticed that Angelina was dressed in the P.J's too. As Madam Pomfry turned around, Harry quickly closed his eyes again, trying to pretend he was still unconscious.
When he heard her footsteps retreat, Harry chanced a glance around the room. Seeing that no one was in the room, he sat up on his bed and swung his legs over the side. He gingerly stood up, waiting to make sure his legs would support him before he let go of the bed. When he was positive he could stand, he slowly made his way over to Angelina's bed. When he got over to her, he carefully leaned over to her. His eyes took in her face, and his expression became soft.
'she looks so peaceful' he thought. After looking at her a few more minutes, he remembered exactly what had happened. His face fell slightly.
"Angelina…" he whispered. "I know that you can't hear what I'm saying, but…I'm sorry. I really am…" Tears came to Harry's eyes.
"It's all my fault. My fault you fell, my fault we lost, my fault you got hurt…." Harry said, his voice full of anguish and his face showing it.
"If only I had been quicker!" he said a little to loudly, but he didn't care. He brought his fist up and slammed it into the table next to her bed as the tears in his eyes started to fall. He closed his eyes, trying to fight them back. Giving up, he opened his eyes, he decided to just let them fall. It didn't matter to him anymore. He idly noticed the wet spots on Angelina's face from his tears.
"I'm so sorry…" he whispered again. He took her hand and gave it a little squeeze before dropping it. He looked back down at her face, and, for some reason, felt instantly drawn to her. Harry leaned back over her and brought his hand up to caress the side of her face.
'so…..beautiful….' he thought.
He lowered his face to hers and very gently and lightly kissed her. He felt her soft lips against his own, and stayed like that for a few seconds, enjoying the feel of their lips together. Suddenly, Harry realized what he was doing. His eyes, which had been closed, opened abruptly. He quickly pulled his lips from hers.
"I'm sorry." He quickly whispered, even though she couldn't hear him….or so he thought.
As soon as he got back to his bed and fell asleep again, Angelina opened her eyes. She brought her hand up to her lips, and tried to sort out what had happened. As soon as it registered, she dropped her hand and her brain went numb.
"Oh my god…" she whispered.
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Harry was walking down one of the halls on the way to the Gryffindor common room, going over everything that had happened in his head.
'what the fuck did I do? That could be classified as taking advantage of her! Oooooohhhhhhh shit….oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.' Needless to say Harry was near the point of panic.
'Ok Harry…calm down. You know what you did, so….ask your self why you did it…..' Harry thought. 'Oh my god! I have no idea why I did it!'
'Maybe you love her.' Said the voice in his head. It had been there way more frequently than it normally was.
'noooooooooooo way, don't even go there.' He tried telling himself, but to be honest, he wasn't entirely convinced. 'well….I don't think I do anyways….' Harry shook his head.
'I am soooooo screwed.'
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Harry finally got back to the common room after half and hour of wandering. As he stepped through the portrait, he was relieved to see that the common room was almost empty. He walked past all the people and headed up to the boy's dorm. He sat on his bed and put his head in his hands, desperately trying to think of a reason for doing what he did. He finally gave up, not a single idea in his head. Laying back on his bed, he stared up at the ceiling. Five minutes later, Harry was asleep.
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Harry was walking down a long, white corridor again. Once again, he was standing in front of the door. Harry was filled with excitement. He would finally see what lay on the other side. He reached his hand out and grasped the handle. He was about to turn it when he was jolted awake by someone screaming in his ears.
"Harrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Oh Harry, time to wake up." Unconsciously, Harry lifted his hand up and smacked the person who was screaming at him. The person let out loud yelp.
"Hey! Watcha do that for!" Ron screamed, sounding hurt. Harry sat up groggily and rubbed his eyes.
"Sorry 'bout that." He said tiredly. Ron glared at him.
"I'm just sure you are…" Ron mumbled. Harry returned Ron's glare.
"Actually, I am sorry, so can we just drop it?" Harry asked, sounding annoyed.
Ron just grumbled and told Harry that he was only there to tell him that it was lunch time.
"Whatever" Harry grumbled. Ron shook his head and left. Standing up, Harry went over to his trunk and pulled out a pair of baggy black pants and a white tank top. After getting dressed, he left the dorm and walked down into the Gryffindor common room. There, he found Ron and Hermione waiting for him.
"What's today?" Harry asked, still half asleep. Hermione sighed in disapproval.
"Wednesday." She replied. Harry groaned.
"Yeah…that's great….I nearly die, and as soon as I wake up I have to go look at Snape's charming face." Harry mumbled. Hermione frowned.
"Don't give me that Harry. For your information, you've been exuesed from classes for the time being, so don't complain." She said. Harry's eyes lit up.
"So no Snape?" he asked excitedly.
"No, not for you anyways." Ron told him, his voice dripping with envy. Harry sighed in relief.
"Sooo…about that lunch…" Harry said cheerily. Hermione rolled her eyes, and Ron glared at him. Harry chuckled and walked over to the door leading out of the common room.
Harry turned around.
"Well? You guys coming or not?" He asked, his mood considerably lighter than it had been. The others nodded, and they all left the common room.
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The trio had just sat down at the Gryffindor table when Professor McGonagall came striding over to them. She pulled a large stack of papers out of no where and dropped them in front of Harry.
"Don't give me that look Potter," she said crisply after seeing the look on his face. "While you are excused from classes for now, you are not excused from your school work." And with that, she stalked out of the great hall. Harry hesitated before following her.
Just before they reached the door to McGonagall's classroom, she turned on her heal and looked at Harry intensely.
"Is there something you need, Potter, or do you just plan on following me everywhere until I expel you?" Harry gulped.
"I…um, uh… just wanted to talk to you….about the Quidditch match…." He said quietly, his voice dying in his throat. McGonagall's stern expression softened slightly, and she opened the door to her room.
Once they were in the room, McGonagall sat at her desk.
"Sit, Potter." She said, gesturing towards the chair opposite hers. Harry complied.
"Tell me Potter, do you in any way blame yourself for what happened?" She asked tersely. Harry looked down at his hands in shame and nodded his head.
"Stop it Potter. Pull yourself together and get a grip. Do you honestly think that I would care more about a game than one of my students possibly dying?" She asked, almost desperately. Harry's head snapped up in shock. Professor McGonagall shook her head.
"When it comes down to something like that, I would throw away the game. And for your information Mr. Potter, I don't blame you in anyway, shape or form. In fact, I am grateful, and even proud, that you threw away everything else for a teammate, if not, friend." She gave Harry one of her rare smiles. Harry's face cleared up and the guilt in his mind diminished greatly.
"T-Thank you…Professor." Harry stuttered.
"Now, run along and do something productive Potter." Harry nodded and left the classroom. He leaned on one of the walls and slid down. He put his head in his hands with a smile on his face, and gave a sigh of relief. A few minutes later, he stood and turned to walk down the corridor.
Harry's relief was short lived, and he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a certain person standing at the end of the corridor.
'Shit…' He thought. 'Not now…'
Harry stood, frozen, starring at Angelina, who was just as immobilized. They faced each other for a few minutes, and Harry felt something swell deep inside him.
"Harry…" she whispered in surprise, yet he still heard it. Not wanting to face her now, Harry turned and ran the opposite way from where he was heading.
Angelina sighed and looked down. 'What's wrong with me?' she asked herself. 'More importantly….why did he run?' she shook her head. 'Probably about…what happened.' At this thought, a blush spread across her face, and she was now worrying about why she felt good thinking about it.
She shook her head and turned down another corridor and walked off.
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Harry ran into the Gryffindor common room, completely out of breath. He shook his head.
'What the hell am I doing?' he asked himself desperately. 'She probably doesn't even know what I did….' He tried to reassure himself.
'Yeah, and you were so great at being subtle.' Said the little voice that he was starting to get used to.
'Shit…'
'My point exactly'
'Shut-up!' Harry was getting extremely frustrated.
'you first. You know, it really is sad when you're arguing with your conscious.' Harry sighed and sank onto one of the couches.
"What do I do now?" he asked himself aloud. There was no one around to hear him, for they were all at class. He sighed and closed his eyes.
"Let's just take this one step at a time…" he tried to reason, but there wasn't much hope.
"Let's start with why you did what you did….Why The Hell Did You Do That!" Harry turned over and grabbed one of the pillows. Pressing it to his face, he started screaming as loud as he could.
"You stupid, stupid idiot! What the Hell were you thinking!" "...ummm…I don't know..." "How can you not know!" " I don't know…" "You idiot! If she finds out, she'll think you like her or something!" "...so, is that a bad thing?" " Yes! You don't want her thinking you like her when you don't!" "…." "Right?" "…" "Shit…you like her, don't you!" "Ummmm……I guess I do…." "Argggg!"
Finally, Harry stopped screaming. This also ended the insanely odd conversation he was having with himself out loud. Harry didn't think to much about the oddness because he was still trying to sort out what he had admitted to himself. After how he had felt around her, how he would get those odd fuzzy feelings when she spoke, and how something just drove him to kiss her like that, Harry felt that he could no longer deny that he liked Angelina….a lot. Only one problem…she probably hated him. Even if she didn't know what he did, she probably knew that he threw the match.
'Dammit' he thought.
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Harry had spent the entire day in the common room, just laying on the couch and beating up the pillows.
A few minutes before classes let out, Harry went into the boy's dorm and lay down on his bed. He decided not to be there when everyone, mainly Angelina, returned to the common room.
Within tem minutes, Harry could hear the sound of people pouring into the common room, but did his best to ignore it. A few minutes passed, the sound of the people relaxing and chatting in the common room filling his ears. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he nearly screamed when the door to the dorm room opened and Seamus walked inside. He saw Harry laying on the bed and hesitated before leaving. Harry sighed.
'Stupid, naive, idiots.' He thought grimly, remembering why Seamus was avoiding him.
Countless minutes, perhaps hours, passed before Harry heard someone else coming up the stairs. Harry turned his head to see Ron come through the door. He walked over to Harry's bed and addressed him.
"Oy, Harry, you okay mate?" Ron asked. Harry sat up and nodded, a fake smile on his face. "Sooo….you gonna come down for dinner?"
"Yeah, I guess" Harry said nervously. "Just…do me a favor real quick." Ron gave him a questioning look.
"Ummm…ok?" Harry sighed.
"Go out there and make sure Angelina isn't there. If she is, distract her." Ron looked at him like he was crazy.
"What for!" Harry shot him a glare.
"Just do it." He told Ron forcefully.
"Ok, ok…I'll do it." Ron walked out, shaking his head. Five minutes later, he came back and told Harry that Angelina was not in the common room.
They left the dorm, then walked through the portrait hole. They had maybe moved five feet when Harry suddenly dived behind a statue of Andros the Invincible. Ron looked at him like he was insane and was about to ask what he was doing, when Harry silenced him by franticly waving his hand. He pointed down the corridor in the direction they were heading. Ron looked ahead to see Angelina walking towards the Gryffindor common. Harry Flattened himself as best he could against the statue. Angelina, to Harry's horror, stopped in front of Ron, and they traded greetings.
"Hello, Ron." She said with a small smile.
"Good afternoon." He said cheerily. Angelina suddenly looked down nervously.
"Ummm….can I asked you something?" She asked cautiously. Ron was momentarily stunned, then nodded.
"Sure, I guess." Angelina took a deep breath.
"Have you seen Harry today? I really need to talk to him." Ron pretended to think while he threw a glance at Harry. Harry shook his head frantically.
"Sorry, but I don't think I have. I'll let him know you were looking for him if I see him though." Ron said, looking at her apologetically. Angelina sighed in dismay and, thanking Ron, disappeared through the portrait to the Gryffindor common room.
Harry let out a sigh of relief, and cam out from behind the statue.
"Thanks…" He said, genuinely grateful.
"Um…no problem, but would you mind telling me what's going on?" Ron asked. It was obvious that he didn't like being left out of the loop.
"Maybe someday…" Harry mumbled, casting his eyes downwards. Ron shrugged, and they headed off towards the great hall to meat Hermione and get their dinner.
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Fifteen minutes after Harry's close encounter, both boys were sitting with Hermione, a large amount of food in front of them.
"So…" Hermione said while reading a book about ancient counter curses. "You never did tell me why you were so long getting here."
Harry and Ron looked at each other, and Harry shook his head slightly.
"Ummm….we had to, err…stop off at Flitwick's classroom." Ron said nervously.
"Oh, really? What for?" She asked, still stuck in her book.
"I had questions about my assignments." Harry answer, sparring Ron the trouble of having to think up another excuse. Hermione shrugged.
"Oh, ok then." Harry sighed to himself in relief.
"So, how was Defense against the Dark Arts?" Harry asked, eager to change the subject. Ron snorted, and Hermione took her head out of the book, a very disgusted look on her face.
"Same as always." Ron said gruffly.
"We still can't do magic. It's ridiculous really. How are we supposed to learn any of this if we can't practice it!" Hermione practically shouted.
"That bad?" Harry asked, a twinkle in his eyes.
"Oh, that's not even the half of it." Hermione breathed. "You should have seen her when you didn't come to class." Ron sniggered.
"I thought she was going to have a fic." Ron said, smiling evilly at the image of Umbridge throwing a tantrum in the middle of class.
"It's not funny Ron! She's not going to let Harry live this down!" Hermione said, her voice reflecting her disapproval. Harry's expression darkened.
"I don't care what shit she gives me. I wouldn't take back what I did. I would not let someone die just because of that toad." Harry said angrily.
"I know that Harry. I wasn't implying that you would do anything to please that women." Hermione said calmly. "In fact, if I were you, I would be very temped to do whatever I could to go against her." Harry looked at her, a shocked expression on his face.
"What? I know when a teacher is being over protective, and I know when a teacher just doesn't want us to learn." Hermione stated matter-of-factly. All of a sudden, her eyes lit up.
"This reminds me…I had this great idea I think we ought to consider." She said in an exited yet hushed tone. Harry and Ron looked at her expectantly. "first, would to be willing to go against a teacher and possibly even the ministry?" She asked seriously. Harry and Ron exchanged looks.
"Hermione…this is us you're asking." Ron said. "And either way, you're the person that should be asked that." Harry nodded his agreement. Hermione smiled widely. She had opened her mouth to start explaining her plan, but stopped when she saw Harry's face drain of all color. She noticed that his gaze wasn't directed at her, but rather at a spot somewhere over her shoulder. She looked towards the entrance, but didn't see anything. Looking back at Harry, she saw that he was ducked down and doing his best to keep behind her.
"Harry, what are you doi-" She began, but stopped when she saw him shushing her, his face showing fear.
"Hide me!" He squeaked out fearfully. Hermione sighed and turned so she was blocking Harry from all view. Ron was trying his best not to break out laughing.
Harry, from behind Hermione, saw Angelina enter the great hall and start walking down the Gryffindor table, scanning up and down. He saw her sigh in disappointment and walk past them, choosing a seat between Katie and Alicia.
"Move!" He whispered to Hermione. She sighed and unblocked Harry. He carefully stood up and started for the exit.
Meanwhile: With Angelina—
Angelina had walked into the great hall, hoping to find Harry so she could talk to him. She sighed as she saw Harry's friends, but no Harry. She kept scanning the tables as she walked to her usual seat. Sitting between Alicia and Katie, they all exchanged greetings.
"Heya Ange! What's up?" Asked Alicia. Angelina put on a fake smile.
"Not much. You?"
"Same" Alicia and Katie said at the same time. Angelina laughed slightly, and just happened to turn her head slightly to the right. When she saw Harry's form emerge from between Ron and Hermione, she froze.
'I could have sworn he wasn't in here!' she thought franticly. She caught his eye as he headed for the exit, and saw a look of fear pass over his face. He hurried out of the hall.
Angelina, forgetting where she was, stood abruptly and started for the exit.
"Hey! Where are you going!" Katie called. Angelina turned her head briefly.
"Potions homework…lots….gotta finish!" She replied hurriedly before running out of the hall.
Back with Harry:
'Dammit' he thought as he practically ran out of the great hall. 'Dammit, dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!' Harry was frantic. 'Gotta hide, gotta hide!'
Harry's rush was due to the fact that he had tried so hard to get out of the hall unseen, but the eye contact he had made with Angelina had destroyed that hope. Now, he was just trying to get away from her.
Harry was standing on the first floor landing or the great staircase. He was looking desperately around him for somewhere to conceal himself.
'Shit!' He was now able to hear footsteps, presumably Angelina's, behind him. He started running up more flights of stairs. As he hit the seventh floor, he ran over to one of the bookcases on the far wall. Getting on his knees, he crawled under it and into a secret room. He turned himself around and lay on his stomach, looking out the hole he had crawled through. A pair of feet walked into his line of vision, quickly covered by a Hogwarts cloak. Harry kept him self completely still.
After a few minutes of waiting, Harry heard the person in front of him let out frustrated shout. He raised his eyebrows as he heard he utter a few curse.
'Damn…she must be desperate…' he thought worriedly.
The feet left his line of vision, and head in the direction of the great staircase. Letting out a sigh of relief, Harry stood. He turned and leaned against the wall.
Harry had been so preoccupied with hiding that he forgot the reason why he never came in to this room if he could avoid it. Taking this in to account, it's no wonder he nearly screamed when he saw the spiky shelled creature charging towards him. Somehow, Harry knew it was angry.
'Ohhhhhhh…shit…' Harry whipped out his wand, and just barely moved out of the way when a jet of flames shot out of the creature's mouth, almost scorching him.
'Not….good…' Harry thought as he faced the mini-flamethrower.
As it reared back to let out another burst of flames, Harry brought his wand up and shouted the first spell that came into his head.
"Protego!" A yellow light shot out of Harry's wand and created a shield between him and the beast's flame. As soon as the fire died, Harry rolled to the side and ducked behind a few crates, effectively avoiding the creature as it charged.
'Dammit, what spell? Shit!' Harry just barely dodged another flame and had to jump out from behind the crates. His mind was still racing, trying to find a spell that would work on the beast's hard shell.
"Confundus!" Harry shouted desperatly, hoping to confuse the creature long enough to think up a usable spell. Unfortunately, the spell bounced of it's shell having no affect whatsoever. Actually, it appeared to have angered the beast even further.
"God, dammit.." he muttered alowed. The beast charged at him again, and Harry rolled out of the way again. This time though, the beast made a sudden U-turn and charged again. Harry wasn't able to dodge completely, and the beast flew into his face, shattering his glasses.
"Argg!" he souted in pain. When he threw the thing off, he could feel blood on his face. He glarred at the creature as an idea came to him.
"Flipendo!" He screamed. This spell blasted the creature on to it's back, revealing a fleshy underside. Harry got right up to it and screamed another spell.
"Reducto!" This spell, while not destroyng the creature, caused it to smash into the wall, and Harry moved up to it once more.
"Incendio!" He screamed out one last time. The creature burst into flames, throwing Harry into a pile of crates on the oposite wall. Harry, though not clrealy, could tell that the creature was gone. He felt around the floor and found the remains of his glasses.
"Reparo…" he muttered, pointing his wand at the remains. His glasses insently repaired themsleves, and Harry replaced them on his face. He looked around the room and, figuring no one would be there anytime soon, headed for the hole.
Before crawling through, Harry had checked to make sure no one was visible. Once he reassured himself that he would no be seen, he quietly made his way to the 6th floor and the bathroom.
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Harry looked himself over in a mirror, and frowned. The encounter with the mini-flamethrower had reduced his robes to rags just barely hanging off him. His left arm was limp, blood coming from around the elbow where he could just make out a rather ugly looking gash. His shirt was stained with blood from his face, and said face looked like it had run into a meet-blender. What was left of him was covered with ash from the creature's spontaneous combustion. Harry sighed and removed the remnants of his robes, gasping as he pulled his left arm free.
"Oh yeah, this is just charming…" Harry muttered to himself. His left arm looked horrible, and his right was bruised in several places. Harry sighed and got down to business. At the moment, he was thanking himself for allowing Sirius to teach him some healing spells, as he didn't think it best if he showed up in the hospital wing at 9:00 at night looking like he had a run-in with a Grindilow.
'Hey….for all I know, that thing could be the great-grandfather of one of those water beasts…' he thought grimly. Pointing his wand at his face, he muttered the spell that he hoped would clean the blood away.
"Scourgify" Thankfully, it succeeded in removing the blood, and not the whole face.
When Harry took a good looked at his face minus the blood, he let out a hiss of shock. His face was a mass of torn up skin and not really all that pleasant to look at.
"Dammed beasts with their dammed claws and their dammed spikes" he muttered bitterly. Once again he pointed his wand to his face, but this time he pictured in his head what his face looked like before being mangled.
"Tissano Emendo" He said forcefully. He kept his wand as steady as he could with the pain he was in. Apparently, fixing mangled body parts wasn't exactly the best feeling considering the pain involved. When the spell had finished, Harry examined his face. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that there was only an outline where the gashes had been.
After Harry had finished admiring his work on his face, he turned his attention to his mangled arm and frowned when he saw that it was worse than his face.
"Oh, this'll be fun…" he mumbled sarcastically. He took his wand and tried to aim at his arm, but found that his shirt was in the was. Groaning, and not at all feeling like trying to get it off with his arm like it was, he cast the severing charm to cut it off.
With that obstacle removed, Harry once more pointed his wand at his arm and gritted his teeth.
"Tissano Emendo" He said again, and once more felt pain shoot through his arm. Once his arm was closed up, once again with only an outline of the damage, Harry cast scourgify to clean up the blood. Thinking he was all better, he made the mistake of moving his left arm in a way that it probably shouldn't have. Harry let out a gasp of pain and stared at it. He turned to the mirror to get a better view of what he was doing, and nearly re-broke his arm.
"Holy shit!" He screamed.
'That is not me….' Harry brought up his right hand and traced the outlines of his upper body. He just now realized that he was no longer the scrawny boy everyone thought he was. Now…he had muscles! Not light weightlifter muscles, but more like someone who swims, or runs. People would probably use the term lean. Harry finally stopped admiring himself, and wrapped his arm gently in his shirt, not knowing the spell that summons slings.
Harry gathered up his things so he could leave, and looked down at his watch.
"Crap!" It was past 10. Apparently, it had taken longer to tend to his injuries that he thought it would, and now it was after curfew.
'Dammit, should have brought the map' He thought dejectedly. Harry walked over to the door and opened it enough to see out of it. Checking that it was clear, he ran out of the bathroom, shirtless and cloakless, and into the 6th floor corridor. Moving to the great staircase, he sprinted all the way up to the 7th floor, and to the portrait.
"Password?" Asked the Fat Lady, sounding extremely tired.
"Mimbulus mimbletonia" Harry whispered.
"Right you are." Said the portrait, swinging aside with a yawn.
Harry peeked inside the door to see that all the lights in the common room were off and it was empty of all Gryffindors….or so he thought. Harry gave a small sigh of relief and tip toed into the room. He gently swung the portrait shut again, and started making his way towards the boy's dorm.
Harry had taken maybe four steps before a voice stopped him dead in his tracks.
"And where have you been at this hour, eh Potter?" Asked a very familiar voice. After a few moments, Harry regained mobility and swung to face the chair by the fireplace, that being the spot that the voice had come from. A figure rose and turned to face him. Harry's heart skipped a beat when he saw that it was an extremely determined Angelina standing before him. Harry nervously glanced around the room for a means of escape.
Harry's eyes laid upon the portrait hole, but before he could take a step, Angelina muttered, "Colloportus," while pointing her wand at the entrance, effectively sealing it. Harry looked to his left and didn't get a chance to let the thought cross his mind before Angelina had sealed the dorm entrance too. Harry let out an exasperated sigh.
"Now, if you would be so kind as to answer my question…." Angelina began.
"What do you want from me?" asked Harry quietly, looking down.
"First," she said. "I want you to answer my question of where you were at this hour." Harry's eyes were moving around the room now, making sure that he didn't look directly at her. If he did, he knew that he would tell her everything.
"I've….I've been around…" He said lamely. Angelina frowned and walked over to him. Harry began sweating. "Look, I just took a walk, that's all…"
"At ten o'clock without a shirt? Right…." She narrowed her eyes, and Harry gulped nervously. Angelina let her eyes roam over him, taking in his upper body. Diverting her eyes, she looked down at his arms and noticed that he was clutching his wand in his right hand, while his left arm was wrapped in what looked light a bloody piece of cloth.
"Come here Potter." She said coolly, trying to hide the worry that she was feeling. Harry looked hesitant and as she took a step forward, he took a step back. This continued until Angelina had Harry cornered against the wall. "Arm, Potter." She commanded. Harry hesitated before holding out his left arm.
Carefully, Angelina unwrapped the cloth from around his elbow, noting that it was in fact his bloodstained shirt. She also noted, though not without worry, how he winced every time his arm moved. When Harry's arm was unwrapped, Angelina chucked the shirt aside and leaned her face close to the crook of his elbow.
Harry for the most part was trying his best not to run from her. When she leaned close to his arm to inspect it, he couldn't help but feel the increasingly common fuzzy feeling in his chest as he felt her breath on his skin. His heart began to beat faster and faster as her fingers traced the outlines of the gash. He couldn't help but shiver slightly.
When Angelina was finished with his arm, she looked up at him, letting her worry show in her eyes. Harry turned his eyes away, desperate to look at anything other than her. She studied his face intently for a few moments, then reached her hand up and turned Harry's face towards hers. Once again, Harry shivered as her fingers traced his skin.
Angelina had seen the lines from where he healed himself, both on his arms and his face.
'What the hell did he do to himself!' she thought to herself in concern. As she traced the lines on his face, she noticed that his arm was worse, but it still didn't make her worry subside. She looked into Harry's eyes, and saw something that couldn't identified, but when she looked again, it was gone.
She let the hand that had been tracing lines fall to her side, but the other remained to keep him from turning away.
"Harry….what happened to you?" She asked, letting concern seep into her voice.
Harry couldn't take it anymore. He forcibly moved his eyes from hers and looked away. He was silent for a few moments, but then muttered something that she couldn't quite hear. She gave him a questioning look, and he hesitated.
'I….I was hiding…from you…" He whispered, trying, and failing, to hide the pain that he felt. Angelina once more reached up and turned his face towards her.
"Why?" She asked. Harry gulped. He really wished that she would just let him go. Had she no idea what she was doing to him?
Harry then shoved his nervousness down and masked all the pain he could. He looked at her intently.
"Could it maybe be because you just wouldn't leave me alone? Maybe because you were following me around everywhere I went when I didn't want anyone there…" He said a little too forcefully. Angelina looked at him in shook. After regaining her composure, she replied.
"True, I was following you, but, unlike you, I wanted to talk." Harry gave her a glare, but it quickly faded into a sad look that once more sent her into shock.
"Harry…" she began. "Tell me the whole reason." He looked at her in surprise, only to see her staring at him with an intensity that told him that there was no was he would get out of answering. Harry looked away again.
"Because I didn't want to take the chance of seeing hatred in your eyes when you looked at me…." He whispered almost inaudibly. He hadn't really thought about it like that, but once he did he couldn't deny that it was the truth. Angelina looked at him shock.
"Harry…what reason could I possibly have to hate you?" She asked, purely curious. Harry hesitated again.
'Should I tell her?' he asked himself. 'God, if I do…she might not hate me now, but she will….'
'How do you know that?' asked the other voice, serious for once.
'because most women probably would maybe…' Harry told himself in dismay.
'well….maybe…she isn't most women? What then?' The other voice said, opening up another slight possibility.
'…..'
Harry snapped out of his mental conversation and sighed. He leaned his head back against the wall. Sighing, he said, "I can give you three reasons…" he said sadly. Angelina gave him a curious look.
"And what could they be?" Harry took a moment to gather his thoughts before replying.
"Reason number one….I threw the game…" Angelina looked at him in disbelief.
"Harry….you did that to save me…how could I possibly hate you for that?" He didn't answer.
"Second reason: there was…something I did after I regained consciousness, but before you did…." Both of them blushed.
"Oh…that…" Angelina said to herself quietly, but Harry still heard her. His expression didn't change, but his voice was sadder.
"You knew?" He asked softly. Angelina looked down and nodded. Harry shot her a questioning look.
"Let's just say…I wasn't exactly unconscious…" Harry's eyes widened, and Angelina blushed even deeper. Harry regained control of himself, and his eyes glazed over slightly.
"I'm sorry…really sorry…." He whispered. Angelina shook her head, and spoke before she thought, but she knew what she said was true.
"Don't be sorry for that. It's wasn't bad, and it's not something I could possibly hate you for…." Harry felt something deep inside him lift, and he smiled slightly to himself, letting out a little chuckle in the process.
Angelina saw the smile and frowned a bit.
"Is something funny? Because if it is, tell me now." She said, sounding a little annoyed. Harry's smile instantly vanished.
"Nothing's funny." He stated. Her frown left her face and was replaced by confusion.
"Then why were you smiling?" she asked. Harry gave her a sly look.
"That's for me to know and you to find out." He said with humor. She frowned again and ignored what he had just said.
"There's something you're not telling me, isn't there…" she stated suspiciously. Harry's face took up a defensive look.
"And what if it's something I don't feel comfortable telling you?" He asked a little forcefully.
"Wha--?" Angelina sounded offended. "If it's a matter of trust…well, I thought you knew me well enough by now." She replied, anger seeping into her voice. Harry sighed, thoroughly annoyed.
"It has nothing to do with trust. I just don't feel like I can say it!" his voice had raised a few levels.
"And why's that? If you could tell me that other stuff, then why not this?" Her voice had risen too.
"Maybe because I wouldn't even know how to say it!" Harry's anger was beginning to flare, and by now he was almost shouting.
"Then just talk! It's not that hard! Besides, what the hell is there to feel uncomfortable about?" She yelled at him. Harry's eyes were burning, and what he said next just came forth before he could think about it.
"Not hard! Well, if it's not hard, than tell me: How the fuck do you just go up to the person you really like and say 'I like you! Hell, I might even love you!' without feeling uncomfortable! How do you do that without feeling like you may have just doomed yourself!" He shouted. By now, Angelina was looking at Harry with wide eyes, all anger forgotten.
"W-wha….what do you mean!" she asked carefully.
"What I'm saying, incase there's someone out there who hasn't heard me, is that I fricken like you. God Dammit, I might even love you!" He shouted, yet as soon as the words came out he immediately clamped his hand over his mouth, looking at her fearfully.
Angelina was frozen where she stood.
'wha--?' she thought to herself, too deep into shock for anything to truly soak in. when it did, she almost passed out. 'H-he…likes me? Then when he….did he mean to…?' Angelina's thoughts were close to incoherent. She looked up at Harry and saw the fear in his eyes gradually slip away. Their eyes locked once more, and that little thing that she thought she saw last time she looked in his eyes was back, but this time, she knew it was there.
"You like me?" she asked quietly, if nothing else than to verify that she had heard correctly. Harry nodded slowly, still lost in her eye.
Angelina's hand came up and stroked the side of Harry's face. Harry closed his eyes and placed his hand on hers. When he reopened his eyes, he saw a look of realization in hers. A small smile graced her features.
"Is that so…" she said needlessly. Slowly, she drifted closer to Harry, stopping when they were only a few inches apart.
"So what if I said that I think I feel that same?" she asked. Harry thought for a moment.
"I guess…it would depend on how sincere you were."
"Completely." Angelina said after a moment. Harry smiled a small, grateful, smile.
Angelina tilted her head up towards Harry's as his bend to hers. They leaned into each other, their heads moving closer and closer together. In the moment their lips met, Harry could only think of how her lips felt on his. They were soft and moist. Not dry, but at the same time, not wet. He couldn't help but think over and over about how nice it felt, just being able to stand there and share this moment with her.
'God, I would not give up this moment for anything, not even the world….' He thought to himself.
Harry pressed his lips even more into hers, and she pushed herself close to him, letting out a soft moan of pleasure. They separated briefly to draw in some air. During this time, Angelina had placed her hands on the back of his neck, and he had his arms around her waist, pulling her as close to him as he could. They took a few moments to look in each others eyes, then their lips met again.
Angelina, her body pressed tightly against hers, had managed to get Harry up against the wall. Like the first kiss, this one was neither timid, or hungry, but rather gentle actually. It was tender and laced with passion. They spent much of the night exchanging these kisses and whispering with each other, the close to perfect silence occasionally being interrupted with a short laugh or an amused chuckle. Harry felt as if he had wings on his heart, and at that time, life was good.
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Sorry for the long wait. And yes, I think it is safe to assume that they will be a couple after this. Maybe not a smooth-sailing one, buutttt…..Also, I think I may have strayed a bit, but I haven't got to sit down and right for awhile, though all the cussing is making me happy). I've started another fic (Harry/Fleur) and the style plus the length is beginning to rub off on me…sorry. By the way, in case you haven't noticed, I have a thing for corny stuff. Any ways, hope you enjoyed it non-the-less. Bye
Ps: one last thing to say about the fall: It could have killed Angelina but not Harry because Angelina was falling from a greater height and, as I said in that chapter, faster than Harry could fly. Harry, on the other hand, was pretty close to the ground when he jumped and, like I already said, wasn't falling as fast as Angelina, there for he didn't hit the ground with as much force as she would have. And before you ask how he could catch her if he was slower, read the part where I said he pushed himself off for greater momentum.