Chapter 6: Avoidance

One week into his visit at the burrow Harry realized that he couldn't keep making up excuses to not be alone with Hermione anymore. It was becoming so obvious that something was wrong between them that even Ron asked if they were fighting.

Harry didn't tell him that it was exactly the opposite. That he thought about her constantly, that he has been having nightmares every night since Sirius died and the only time they stopped were when they were together. He was ashamed to admit that he was afraid of Ron's reaction to the news that Harry Potter was slowly but surely falling in love with Hermione.

The only time in the last week that he talked to Hermione privately was when she cornered him 3 days ago to ask if she could borrow Sirius's mirror again saying she wanted to experiment with it to see if she could get it working again. Harry gave it to her without a word. He didn't want to get his hopes up.

It was still rather early, and Harry decided that after a long night of endless nightmares that he just couldn't go back to sleep. Getting up he decided to go for a walk around the hallways to keep him self from falling back asleep.

He exited his room and heard Ron talking, figuring he must be awake Harry opened the door to Ron's room only to see that he was talking in his sleep.

"Spiders, they want me to tap dance… I… I don't want to tap dance!" Ron cried out in his sleep. Harry rolled his eyes at the familiar nightmare, he was getting sick of Ron's spider dreams. He turned and exited the room only to find himself climbing the stairs, the same stairs that led to Ginny and Hermione's room.

Harry stood outside the silent door for what seemed like and eternity, till her heard her whimper. Then he heard her crying and saying "No, No don't let him die, It's all my fault".

He noticed as he opened the door that she was thrashing about in her bed tossing and turning, tears streaming down her face, fists in a ball. He walked over to her and sat down next to her putting his hand over hers.

"Hermione, wake up." She did not wake up, but the moment his hand touched hers, she stopped tossing, and seemed to relax.

The tears had stopped and Harry noticed Ginny sit up in her bed across the room.

"Harry, you're a life saver, I haven't slept since she got here a week ago, with those awful nightmares of hers." Ginny said to him tiredly.

"It's alright Ginny, go back to bed." He told her.

"No I'm up now. Let's go have something to drink, I am getting quite parched." Ginny got out of bed, stretched, and threw on her robe. She then grabbed Harry by the arm and dragged him down the stairs and into the kitchen.

They talked nonchalantly about school, and Ginny asked what she should expect to be on her owls this year. After half an hour Ginny finally asked Harry the one thing she had wanted to know.

"So, Harry? You and Hermione?" she smiled.

"Me and Hermione, what?" Harry looked at her skeptically.

"Don't play dumb with me Harry Potter, I KNOW what happened last week, now tell me why your avoiding her like she's the black plague?" Ginny stomped her foot, and looked angry.

"She is upset Harry, she wont admit it, but you not talking to her is making her upset."

Harry avoided her glare, he new she was right. This was not how he wanted to handle this.

"I know, I should have talked to her about…. The kiss….(he blushed).. But, I….. ARG!"

Ginny raised an amused eyebrow at him, "So you do like her then?" she asked him with a smirk.

"Of course I do Gin, she's amazing. It's just…. I don't want her to get hurt again. She has been hurt because of me enough." With that said Harry got up and left for his room.

"She wants to be with you" he heard Ginny say as he was walking back up the stairs, but he pretended not to hear her.

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A few hours later the whole house was awake and hopping. Fred and George were over for a visit, and Ron and Harry got to sample all of there "Test" products. Ginny challenged her brothers and Harry to a game of quidditch, so they all spent the afternoon outside in the sunny backyard at the burrow. Hermione chose to spend her day inside, tinkering with the mirror.

"I don't know why I can't get this thing to work!" she shouted to no one in particular. She had tried for the past few days to put the original charm back into the mirror, but it wouldn't work.

"Harry, I wish I could fix this for you…" she announced looking into the mirror. Out of no where the mirror fogged over, Hermione nearly dropped the mirror out of shock. Then she saw someone's smiling, laughing face starring back at her it looked like the person was outside.

She looked even closer, "Is that…. No… it's Harry" she thought to herself.

"But how is that possible, he doesn't have the other mirror?" she asked aloud again to no one in particular.

"Who doesn't have a mirror?" Ginny asked coming into the bedroom bouncing and bubbly. Hermione looked up still in slight shock.

"Ginny do me a favor? Take this mirror and say Harry's name while looking at it." She handed the mirror to her. Ginny looked over at her like she was crazy.

"Ginny just humor me."

"Okay, Harry" Ginny said into the mirror still looking confused. Hermione was standing behind her.

"Nothing happened, try it again" Hermione urged her.

"Harry Potter" Ginny spoke once again into the mirror.

"Hermione I am starting to think I should call St. Mungo's for you. Now I have to go see Dean." Ginny announced, with the mirror still in front of her.

Just as quickly as she said Dean's name the mirror fogged over, and Dean Thomas appeared inside it. He was combing his wet hair with a grin on his face.

"Hermione… it's Dean! He is getting ready for our date!" Ginny squeaked. Hermione gasped, and then looked at Ginny.

"Wow, try someone else." Hermione urged.

"Ron" Ginny said into the mirror and again it did not work. This was the third name they had tried unsuccessfully.

"I don't understand Hermione, It lets me see only Dean, You can only see Harry, but why can't we see anyone else?" Ginny asked her.

"I'm not to sure Gin, but I might have an idea why." She said carefully.

Just as Ginny was going to ask about her mirror theory Harry walked into the room.

"Ginny your mom wants to have a chat with you before you go out tonight, I think Ron might have told her about catching you with Dean. He is down there with her." Harry glanced at Hermione, blushed and then turned his gaze to Ginny.

She was now fuming and beet red, "Excuse me while I go drown myself in the kitchen sink." She announced stomping out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Hey", she said almost so quietly that Harry wasn't sure he heard her.

"Hi" he said back shuffling his feet. This conversation seemed familiar.

More awkward silence.

"So, uhhhh errrr….how's it going?" Harry asked her, still not looking in her eyes.

"Fine" she stated crossing her arms.

More awkward silence.

"There has been a strange development with your mirror" Hermione said to him quickly.

"What kind of development?" Harry asked her carefully, still avoiding her eyes, and looking directly at the mirror in her hands.

Hermione sat down on the edge of her bed and motioned for Harry to do the same. As he sat down next to her he decided it would be best if he didn't sit too close.

"I tried a few spells on it this week. To see if I could get it working again." She stopped, thinking of the best way for her to word her next few sentences.

"All of these attempts were unsuccessful. Or that's what I thought. Harry, it's the strangest thing. I tried calling Sirius's name in the mirror, and it didn't work. But then I said your name out loud, I was kind of talking to myself, and well….. the mirror fogged over, and I could see you, outside playing quidditch. Them Ginny came in and she tried, but it didn't work for her, at least not when she said your name, or Ron's or Fred and George. But Harry, when she said Dean's name it worked and she saw him." Hermione stopped speaking to catch her breath, she had said he whole speech in one fast breath.

When she looked up at Harry, she noticed that he seemed to be thinking rather hard. He reached over and took the mirror from her hand.

"Maybe I should try it" he said with a small smile. "Sirius Black!" Harry said straight into the mirror. Nothing happened. Looking disappointed again he handed it back to her.

"I guess I should…" but Hermione cut him off by yelling "Harry I figured it out!"

With a triumphant look on her face she asked "Harry don't you get it?"

"No" he said with a look of confusion on his face.

"Harry, It shows who you love!"

"Awwwww Ginny saw Dean in that mirror Hermione, I didn't know they were so serious about each other." He smiled at the thought.

Then he realized, "Oh my, uhhh Hermione, you, ummm you saw me in the mirror right?" he looked over to her with a slight blush in the cheeks, and a look of pure shock in his eyes.

Hermione's look of triumph changed quickly to pure embarrasment. Doing the only thing she could think to do Hermione threw the mirror down on her bed and ran into the closest door possible.

"Hermione that's the closet…" but the door slammed shut before he could finish his sentence.

She sat in there on the floor for a moment, not really knowing what to do, this was not how she wanted Harry to find out about her feelings for him.

After a minute or too went by the closet door opened and Harry walked into the closet and sat down next to her.

"Harry, I don't think I can talk to you about this right now, could you just go? I'm too embarrassed" she said as a tear escaped her eye.

"I see you" he said in a whisper.

"Harry, I know you can see me, I am sitting right next to you, now please can you just…" She was cut off by Harry yet again.

"No, Hermione, When I look into the mirror." His voice dropped back down to a soft whisper, "I see you."

The room filled with silence yet again.

"Oh" was all she could manage to whisper back to him.

Harry reached his hand up to her face and used his thumb to wipe away the single tear that had managed to escape her eye earlier. His fingertips moved slowly over her jaw line as she tried to keep herself from shivering. His touch on her skin set jolts into her spine. Before either of them new it they were back in each others arms, lips pressed together. It felt so right, so natural. When Harry's fingertips ran down her spine it amplified Hermione's jolts, and caused her to let out a soft moan into his lips. Harry took this as a good sign and let his tongue fight its way into her mouth.

They stayed in the closet for a good 10 minutes before they were interrupted yet again.

Ginny stomped up the stairs as loudly as possible, "OKAY RON, I GUESS WE CAN CHECK MY ROOM NOW, IF YOU INSIST OF FINDING THEM!"

She was shouting as loudly as possible. Harry and Hermione scrambled out of the closet and ran to opposite corners of the room.

"Ginny there is no reason to shout, I'm right next to you" they heard Ron say before he opened the bedroom door.

"Hey Guys! I have been looking all over the house for you….. Hermione are you alright? You look…. Winded." Ron's confusion worsened as Ginny burst into a raging fit of laughter knowing what happened and ran out of the room. Hermione just stood there looking horrified.

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A few hours later an owl arrived carrying a batch of letters.

"Oh no, it's here!" Hermione said with the same horrified look that was on her face only a few hours ago.

"O.W.L. scores are here…. Harry, Ron… what do I do?" she asked starring at the unopened letter in her hands.

"Uh, you open it" Ron said to her slowly, "See like this" he demonstrated with his own letter.

After a minute of looking over his scores in silence he looked up at his friends.

"I should have left it closed, Hermione's got the right idea Harry don't do it." Ron said gloomily. He only received an A in Potions, meaning he would not be accepted into Snape's advanced course. He did receive an O in Defense Against the Dart Arts though!

"Harry, you go first." Hermione urged, her hands shaking slightly.

"Okay" he said with a large breath in, than out, he closed his eyes as he opened the letter. Once he opened his eyes again he looked over the letter and then the shock set in. He sat down on the couch not believing what he was reading.

Not being able to stand the suspense anymore Ron took Harry's letter out of his hands.

"Bloody Hell Mate! You got the highest score ever recorded in the history of O.W.L.'s for Defense Against the Dark Arts! You managed an O in Potions as well. Snape is going to love that!" Ron looked amused at the thought of Snape's face seeing Harry in his class for another year.

Hermione looked at Harry with excited eyes, but then back to her own letter with pure fear in them.

"I can't do it, Harry you open it, Please?" She shoved the letter in his hands, her whole body shaking with nerves. Harry looked up at her fearful face and smiled.

"Of course I'll open it for you, but I'm sure you did fine." He had opened the letter and looked at the marks on it, and folded it back up with out a word. No expression on his face.

"Harry, Please? How did I do?" she asked pleadingly.

"You will just have to look for yourself!" he said handing her the letter. Not being able to wait a second longer she unfolded the letter and glanced at her scores.

"I DID IT! Straight O's down the line!" she announced ten times happier than she had been moments ago.

Mrs. Weasley walked in and announced in tears, "I am so proud of all three of you, Dumbledore sent me a copy of your owl scores, you all did wonderfully!"

Then a moment later she looked at the list of books and school items, and then sighed, "I guess we should be taking a trip into Diagon Ally tomorrow!"
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