Confusion Lies Within Her Eyes
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is the creator of the Harry Potter series.
Summary: This story begins during the early months of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Things are as normal in HPB, except for the small detail that Ron and Hermione are STRICTLY friends, and even though none has put it out in the open, both Harry and Hermione have feelings for each other which are about to be revealed.
Chapter Two: Blurred Visions of a Dream
((Middle of the night, boy's dormitories in the Gryffindor Towers))
((Dream Sequence))
Harry looked around to find himself engulfed in a world full of blackness, his eyes struggling to make out the fuzzy images around him. At first, all he could hear was an eerie silence, except for the howling wind that seemed to dissolve through the open forest, then reappear and whisper on the back of his neck.
Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream pierced the once quiet surroundings, and Harry immediately jumped to his feet. He knew that scream, and was sure he had heard it before… somewhere. He began to pump his legs furiously through the air, as more cries filled the air. Finally, his eyes were blinded by a light that rose from a seemingly unfamiliar shack, positioned in the heart of the woods. It only took him a second to realize it… The Dark Mark.
When he took a step closer, he noticed that the roof of the house had been blown-apart, and pieces of rubble were strewn around his shoes. Carefully, he approached the door, where a rusty nail had been hammered into place, and cobwebs were drawn across it. He reached forward to push his way through, but something seemed to be blocking the entrance. Using all of his force, he slammed his body against the wooden frame, and the door almost flew off of its' hinges.
And there, in front of Harry's bewildered eyes, he saw a dead figure lying on the ground, locks of metallic blonde hair framing its' face. Lucius Malfoy… Harry's heart skipped a beat as he saw his unmoving body tangled into an odd, contorted position. He hated this man with his gut, but seeing him like this… knowing that he must have experienced such a painful death; well, no one deserved to die like this…
Taking cautious steps, he rounded the corner into a small room, where everything was hidden in shadows. Now everything was louder, and definitely clearer. He could hear a man commanding someone,
"Wormtail, grab her… now! Don't let her escape, we'll lose both of them!
Harry heard shuffling in the next room, and another sob-filled cry come almost instantly afterwards. By now he could tell that it was coming from a woman, or maybe a young teenager… he had to know what was going on. From what the man had said, two innocent lives could be hurt.
Peeking his head around the edge of the wall, he saw a tall, lean figure cloaked in ebony. A long, bony finger protruded from his sleeve, and his eyes were a dark shade of crimson, but had an evil glow. It was Voldemort; he was alive. Quieting his breathing, Harry tried to scan the room for the two victims that he was planning to kill, and also for his servant, Wormtail.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure scurrying across the floor, heading for the next room.
"SEIZE HER AT ONCE!"
Wormtail, and a few other masked figures that Harry had not noticed, hurried to the girl, who was now scrambling as fast as she could for the exit.
Get up and run! Why aren't you running, use your wand or something! Harry thought, fearing for the young girl's life.
"Stupefy!" he heard, as one of the Death Eaters pointed his wand at the girl.
"Ha, ha!" Voldemort shouted in triumph. "You're mine, now, filthy Mudblood… no one is here to save you, or your precious…"
((End of dream sequence))
Harry's sweaty body popped up in his four-poster bed, his breathing heavy and irregular. He brought his hand to his head, wiping his brow, and rested for a minute, getting his breath back to its' normal rate. He was shocked, and confused at the dream he had just witnessed… it was a dream, right? Oh, god, he hoped it was.
Never in his entire life had he witnessed something as horrible as that, at least in a dream. He had felt like he was actually there… he could feel so many emotions, and right now, sitting in his bed, he could remember every distinct detail. That poor girl, and whoever else was playing victim to Voldemort; they had no escape. And Lucious Malfoy, dead? Everything seemed so out of place, yet everything in Harry's life at the moment felt just the same.
However, his visions had left him with a blurred reality, and he couldn't jump to conclusions too quickly, for he barely knew the truth. What was it that Voldemort had just said?
"You're mine, now, filthy Mudblood… no one is here to save you, or your precious…"
Her "precious" what? Somehow Harry felt as though he had to find out… but, honestly, why did he care so much about a simple dream? There was no reason to worry, or was there?
Rubbing his eyes one last time, he gave a long yawn which seemed to rid him of all his curiosity, and he suddenly remembered how tired he was. He laid his head back down on his pillow, and within seconds was fast asleep.
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((Next morning, Great Hall for breakfast))
"So, what exactly did Voldemort do after that, mate? D-did he kill them?" Ron asked, after Harry had just finished recalling his dream in detail to him.
Harry looked puzzled, before replying, "That's the odd thing… after that, it just, I don't know, ended. I just wish I knew what happened to those poor people…" he trailed off.
"But, Harry, you do know that it was just a dream, right? I mean, what's the point in knowing all of this, it's not really important?" Ron said.
"That's the thing, Ron. For some reason I think that I do need to know this, it just seems like I'm destined to witness this or something."
"I'm sorry, mate, I just don't know what you should do about this," Ron stated bluntly, giving Harry a pat on the shoulder.
"It's okay, thanks," Harry replied.
After an early talk in the common room that morning, Ron and Harry had thankfully managed to make-up for the incident last night. It turned out that Ron wasn't that attracted to Hermione, he just was worried about her, kind of like an older brother. When he saw Harry snogging her, he was confused, and for some reason he instantly thought that Harry was responsible, seeing how responsible Hermione was.
After that came up, Ron had become curious and asked if it did mean anything, to Harry at least. That's when Harry became all nervous and started moving around in his seat.
((Flashback to early morning))
"I-I don't know, Ron… I mean, when I'm around her, I get all, weird and stuff…" he began.
"Kind of like you are now?" Ron had joked.
"Yea, she's just so amazing, and smart, funny, beautiful, courageous…" Harry continued.
Ron smiled, "No need to go into details, Harry… but to tell you the truth, mate, it kind of sounds like you're in love."
"Nah," Harry said, with a whisk of his hand. However, he couldn't help but ponder the thought. Besides, how was he to know? He had never been in love before…
((End of flashback))
"Anyway, maybe you should ask Hermione about this, she'd obviously know what to do," Ron suggested.
"Yea, where has she been, anyway? I mean, breakfast is almost over, what's taking her?" Harry wondered, a hint of worry in his voice.
"I'm sure she's probably just avoiding you because of last night, you really should talk to her about that, you know," Ron said.
Harry smiled, "When did you get to be so smart?"
"I always was," Ron stated, "Must run in the family or somethin'," he smirked, diving in for a third round of pancakes.
"Yea… I'm sure…" Harry said, getting up from the table and heading for the Gryffindor common room.
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((Common room, deserted))
Harry muttered the password "Tragbottoms" to the Fat Lady, and proceeded to enter the common room, which was completely empty, considering that everyone was downstairs finishing breakfast. Checking a clock, he noticed that they had only fifteen minutes until their first class, Transfiguration. Suddenly overcome with worry, and quite unsure of what to say, Harry turned back towards the portrait hole, ready to escape without speaking to her. That's when he heard the faint sound of footsteps coming down the staircase from the Girl's dormitories.
Turning around, he saw Hermione slowly emerging down the steps, clutching her books in one hand, while the other brushed a stray curl from her face. God, she's gorgeous! Harry thought.
Nervously, Harry smiled, "Hey, 'Mione. I-I just came up here to, to see where you were… I mean, we kind of missed you at breakfast."
Hermione shrugged her shoulders, her face expressionless, "Oh, I wasn't very hungry this morning, that's all."
He took a step closer, and inhaled the sweet scent of cinnamon and raspberry, which always seemed to envelop her, "Hermione, I'm sorry, but I-I think that you should know something…"
"Harry?" Hermione asked, setting down her books, and now becoming very interested.
He coughed a moment, then, while wringing his hands furiously, he said, "Her-Hermione, I think, that…"
She moved closer to him, putting a hand on his shoulder, "What, Harry?"
He took a long breath, "I'm in love with you."
Harry watched as Hermione brought her hand to her mouth, and took a small gasp. Since he had never really had much experience in this area, Harry wasn't quite sure what the right thing to do next was. But he certainly knew what felt right, so he gave caution to the wind, and grabbed her around the waist, leaned in cautiously, and kissed her.
Hermione ran her fingers through his tousled, jet black hair, while he had his arms wrapped around her. Her tongue made its' way into his mouth, as did his, and they both shared a kiss similar to last night's, except that this time there was more passion, more feeling… they were in love.
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Hope you enjoyed, I tried to make this one longer! If you're interested, I'm also going to post this ((or at least try)) on but my account hasn't been working lately. Look for me! And please continue to read & review!