Summary: Highly anticipated (Ha!) sequel to July Challenge's Gift for Harry. Harry Potter has a special someone, and Hermione Granger is going to find out who it is. After all, she's got a clue, or does she?
Title: Harry Potter Special Someone
Author: V-Gin
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I own nothing more then the computer this was typed on.
Author Notes: Eeekk! This took way longer than it should have to get out. Much thanks to my Beta Chastity Faewood, and CV or it would have been even longer. There will be one more part, most likely with smut.
Harry Potter's Special Someone
Hermione Granger was going to end up in Azkaban and she wasn't going to feel the slightest bit of remorse over what was going to put her there. It was now August 3rd - three days since Harry Potter's birthday, three days since acquiring the cheesecake. In front of her sat three open books spread out on the table. She was alternately looking through one, and then, upon finding something promising, she would begin looking in another. Unfortunately, as of yet nothing had made it past referencing to the third book.
She was tired, stressed, and about ready to scream. To top things off, her beloved fiancé, Ron Weasley, was asking stupid questions. In fact, with the way her hand was twitching in the direction of her wand, he was about two stupid questions away from being hexed to death.
"Do you think we can eat the cheesecake then?" her soon-to-be-doomed boyfriend asked, leaning over the treat she had placed on the corner of the table for encouragement should she need it. God knows she wasn't getting any such encouragement from Ron.
Gritting her teeth and continuing to peer at the book in front of her in spite of the strange tic her left eye had mysteriously developed, she said "Ron, that is one of the few clues we have to finding Harry's girlfriend. In fact, it is the only clue we have. We cannot eat our only clue!"
"If we took a millimetre or so off the top, then we could eat the rest," he reasoned. "After all, it wouldn't do to let this perfectly lovely cheesecake go to waste."
"Ron," Hermione groaned out as she dropped her head onto the book in front of her with a rather loud crack, "I have been looking for a witch with the initials A.C.O. for the past three days, and so far the only candidates I can find who are not still in diapers or dead are seriously well on their way towards the latter. So please, please, I am begging you, if you value your life, don't ask me any more questions. We will not be eating the cheesecake. We will not be cutting the cheesecake. The cheesecake will stay exactly as it is, even if I have to cast a Freezing Charm on it every four hours from now until the day I die." She pounded her head into the book again, just because it made a small part of her feel better.
She glanced over at Ron, sighing to herself as she took in his downtrodden face gazing longingly at the cheesecake in front of him. "Ok, I take it back, we can eat the cheesecake. If we can find out who this girl with the initials A.C.O. is." A flash of inspiration hit her lagging brain. "Do you think it could be a Muggle?"
Ron focused on the cheesecake, gnawing at his lip. He was obviously thinking hard. "I don't think it would have been a Muggle, Hermione. How would they have gotten to the hospital? Besides, we've been around Harry almost constantly for the past few years. You would think we would have noticed if he kept sneaking away to Muggle sections of town to meet with his new flame. Besides, where would they have met in the first place?" Ron shrugged, letting his head rest on the heel of his hand. "Personally, I think that A.C.O. is more than likely a bloke he met at Hogwarts and Harry just never got around to telling us he was a poof."
Ron's eyes strayed to Hermione's face. He was shocked at the look of astonishment that she was displaying.
"But Harry isn't gay…" she muttered, more as a token protest rather than an outright denial.
Ron rolled his eyes, shifting closer to Hermione. "And Percy isn't a snobbish little prig." A half smile broke out on her fiancé's face. "Trust me 'Mione, both can pretend to be something they are not, but in the end, they are what they are."
"And you let him date your sister?"
"That's what tipped me off in the first place," Ron said smiling brightly. "He did dump her, 'for her own good' after all. Besides, a bloke can't know his own mind till he does a little experimenting, and Ginny is a very grownup girl, really. I knew Harry wasn't going to trample on her heart."
"Why didn't you feel the need to mention this to me before?" she asked, still in doubt.
"Well, it wasn't something that you needed to know when we were in school. It wasn't like you had a crush on Harry, now was it?" Ron looked at her and smiled, "Besides, I didn't think of it till just a minute ago, and you were so set on Harry having a girlfriend."
"Experimenting?" Hermione said, latching on to an earlier part of the conversation. "Did you ever experiment, Ron?" she asked, looking very serious and thoughtful.
"Of course not, I knew it was going to be you and me from almost the beginning. Why would I need to do something like that?" To Hermione's trained ear he sounded a bit hesitant and guilty, but she let it slip, for now. Her darling could be so smart sometimes, it was just astonishing.
"Come on then, Ron, let's start cross-referencing people who were at Hogwarts during the same time as we were, and see if we can't track down this A.C.O fellow."
Due to all of the practice that Hermione had gotten those first three days, the majority of the next few days was spent tracking down possible candidates, though nothing was found. Out of the possible four males they had found, three were married, and one was so into his work on safety checks for magical implements, he was hard pressed to even realize that there had even been a war.
Hermione pointed out that this could be a ruse, as they walked away from the building that the man worked in. Ron gently patted his stomach, and in general looked pathetic. "'Mione, since we're never going to be able to eat the cheesecake, do ya think we could pop in to Mystic Pastries and get another like it? Ohh, but maybe we could get chocolate drizzled all over it."
"Ron, we are in Muggle London, we could just go to a bakery and get a cheesecake…"
"But 'Mione," Ron whined, "Mystic Pastries is the most famous bakery in the Wizarding World, and I have always wanted to try something from there. Since we can't eat our only clue, we have to go get another one, please, and chocolate would be a right treat."
Hermione stopped dead in her tracks. "You mean Harry's cheesecake, no, our cheesecake, is from a shop in the Wizarding World? Ron! Why didn't you tell me?"
Ron had the decency to look perplexed. "I would have thought that you had noticed their label on the underside of the gift box lid…"
She grabbed Ron's arm tightly and said sternly, "Apparate us there now, Ron." She began muttering to herself about how she could have missed something so obvious.
They arrived in front of the shop and Hermione was through the door before Ron could reorient himself with the concept of moving. When he found his way into the shop, he discovered Hermione already subtlety questioning one of the workers behind the counter.
"So, say, if I wanted to buy that chocolate cheesecake over there, would the purchase price include, say, a written message, or would that cost extra?"
As she strained to listen to the timid little witch, she was rather shocked to hear Ron ask someone, "Hey, if I was looking for someone who had a specific message written on a cake, and needed to know who it was, who would I talk to?" She blanched and spun on her heel, watching speechlessly as Ron was lead to a room in the back.
"Umm… excuse me…" the timid witch said, actually raising her voice a bit to be heard. "What would you like written on the cheesecake? I can spell it on now, in only a few moments, if you would like to wait. No extra charge."
Hermione smiled tightly, and turned back to the girl behind the counter. "Put this: 'To Ron: My Beloved Fiancé, Who Has Yet to Master Subtlety and Has No Grasp of Tact. Love Hermione."
"Aww, 'Mione, don't be mad, we got the information with very little fuss or muss, and in less time than your way would have taken. And it was cute, the way they spelled your name: H. E. R. M. Y. N. E. E."
Hermione grumbled, completely ignoring that last comment about her name. Ron was right. Her way would have taken a bit longer, but at least with her way they wouldn't have had to do much name-dropping. Ron had, apparently, begun talking about people he knew in positions of power: Percy, the twins, his father. Then he had mentioned his close personal friendship with the Boy Who Lived, who had been the recipient of the cheesecake in question. The owner of the store had almost immediately spilled everything he knew about the purchaser.
It was a house-elf, but not just any house-elf. It was Dobby, who had left Hogwarts so that he could serve Harry Potter, albeit with a slight increase in pay; Dobby, who even now was probably fighting with Kreacher at number twelve, Grimmauld Place. After all, they had been fighting when the two had arrived earlier to talk with him.
Dobby had let slip that he did know who Harry Potter's lover was, but couldn't tell them. Then, amidst much head banging and "Bad Dobbys", he had also let it slip that Harry's lover should have never visited the hospital again, only to deliver the cheesecake.
If Hermione had heard anything else in that conversation, it was purely by chance. Harry's lover had been back to visit him! It was so obvious now that he would have to have been! It was then that she started forming the plan… But first, she was going to ask the attendants to Harry's room a few questions.
There were two people assigned to stand watch in the Apparating room just outside Harry's private room. One was a deceptively young looking girl named Laurell Munroe, who Ron had accidentally discovered could cast a mean hex, and the other was Stewart Quinn, an older, balding man who Hermione described kindly as 'letting himself go,' when in reality he just had a rather large gut on him.
Under pains of long nights on the couch in the front room, Ron had agreed to let his better-half do all the talking in the interviews. She of course took a different route from the one Ron would have employed; more specifically, blurting out the accusation, 'We know you let someone in who was not on the list. Who was it?' and see what was said. Rather, she skirted around the issue, asking what felt like a hundred different questions, which really didn't raise any suspicions, because it was just Hermione being Hermione, and all present had been subjected to it before.
They then went to visit Harry, who, according to the doctors, was making wonderful progress. Basically, this meant that one of the nurses had noticed his eyes were actually moving of their own accord and looking at things. None of them could really explain how this was possible. There were speculations on the possibility of the curse weakening, or Harry somehow breaking it himself, but they never suspected a visit from Harry's mystery lover, based on the fact there were no uncleared visitors for their patient.
It was then that she cast The Spell. It really didn't deserve that much of a grandiose title, but it was a good idea. Basically, Hermione set up a ward on the doorway into Harry's room under the belief that if this mysterious lover had visited once, he was going to do it again. She set the ward so it was spelled to a bracelet that she would wear constantly until Harry was finally okay and able to explain why he hadn't told them about his boyfriend… or girlfriend… or whatever. Whenever anyone not on the list entered the room, the bracelet would vibrate to let her know that Harry was being visited. Then it was a simple Apparation and they could catch the culprit, let them know they had to stick around more so Harry would get better, and 'How did you and Harry hook up, anyway?' would be asked repeatedly, most likely at wand point, until a satisfactory answer was given.
She was still miffed that she had apparently missed her best friend falling for someone; after all, Harry was practically an open book when it came to things like that. She was bound and determined not to fail her friend again.
The first time the bracelet went off, Hermione was fighting sleep while in a meeting with the Minister of Magic and several powerful dignitaries from other countries. Unfortunately, even though she wasn't needed for these meetings, getting up and walking out, regardless of the reason, would be very rude and could set relations with these countries back greatly. Hermione consoled herself that mystery visitor would come again and she would be ready.
Or not…
She cursed in a rather unladylike way when it began to gently hum against her wrist while she was at Hogwarts. She had been called in to help deal with a rash of outbreaks of boils that would grow and burst in a matter of moments, and wherever the liquid from inside landed, a new boil would appear. So far, half of Gryffindor, all of Hufflepuff, a few students of Ravenclaw, and a good two-thirds of the staff were infected. The Slytherins were merely amused by the fact that they were getting loads of free time as most of their classes had to be cancelled.
Due to her distraction by the bracelet, Hermione also came down with the painful boils and had to be quarantined with the rest until the cure was found. She spent most of her 'time-off,' as Ron put it, seething and planning on kicking Harry's lover's butt up one side of the hospital room and down the other, once she finally caught the little bugger.
The third time it went off, Hermione grabbed Ron by the arm and dragged him out of a very important dinner-party they were attending for the Ministry and Apparated to just outside the door of Harry's room. Stewart was on watch, and Hermione, with eyes glittering full of malice, pulled out her wand, and pointed it at the nervous looking attendant. "Who did you let in there?" she asked in a deadly voice.
Ron touched her shoulder, trying to get her attention, but Hermione shrugged it off, listening as the man gibbered for a bit. "Talk!" she demanded, getting in closer with her wand and pressing it against his throat. His eyes widened for an instant and then he fainted.
"'Mione, we could have just gone into the room," Ron pointed out calmly, which vaguely irritated Hermione.
She walked over and opened the door quickly, barely letting the last lock click open before shoving hard and swinging the door back with enough force to slam against the wall. She strode into the room, and drew to a stop at what she saw.
"Malfoy," she hissed, bringing her wand to the fore again.
"Weasel, Mudblood, I wish I could say it is pleasant to see you again, but that would be a lie," the smirking blond git said from his spot on the far side of Harry's bed. He was slightly flushed, probably due to the fact that he had shifted quickly from leaning over their still friend. However, his normal pale colour was returning. Harry, for his part, was apparently sleeping. He had been getting better at moving slightly, but he had yet to manage words and was still extremely sluggish. Still, when he was awake, he seemed to be moving constantly.
"What are you doing here, Malfoy? Gloating over your fallen enemy?"
Ron tugged on Hermione's wand arm, pulling it down slightly as he whispered in her ear. "'Mione, think about it, aco, Draco. He's the one who sent the cheesecake."
Her eyes widened comically as she looked at her fiancé's face. "Oh, you're joking! You have to be. Not Malfoy! Surely he's got better taste then that."
Hermione glanced over at Malfoy who was sneering. "What are you on about, Granger? Finally lost all of your sense, did you? Knew it wouldn't be too long in coming after you got engaged to Weasel over there."
Hermione's eyes narrowed dangerously as she contemplated the horrible prat in front of her. She opened her mouth to deliver a scathing reply, but Ron beat her to it. "So what did you do with Harry's invisibility cloak, Malfoy?"
The blond had the grace to look confused as he replied, "You're obviously as cracked as your girlfriend, Weasel. Why would I have a cloak of Harry's?"
Hermione smiled. She knew Harry wasn't seeing Malfoy! "Because Harry told us that he gave his lover his invisibility cloak before the last battle to keep them safe."
Malfoy's face got even paler than usual before his eyes began darkening in rage. Swiftly, he leaned back over the bed, grabbed Harry by his shirtfront, and began shaking him. "You were cheating on me! You bastard! I can't believe I actually trusted a Gryffindor!"
Hermione and Ron rushed across the room to Harry's bedside to save the Boy-Who-Lived, when suddenly he didn't need saving. His green eyes opened and he smiled up at Malfoy, surprising the enraged boy with a tight hug. "God, I've missed you Draco…" were the hoarse and scratchy first words Hermione and Ron had heard Harry speak since that fateful day.
Draco melted into the hug, indulging himself for a moment before pulling away and frowning severely at the boy on the bed. "What's this I hear about you being unfaithful to me?" the Slytherin demanded, crossing his arms and shifting his stance away from Harry, as if to reduce the dangers of accidental touching.
"I promise you it isn't true! Who would tell you something like that?" Draco nodded his head at Hermione and Ron in response.
Harry looked panicked as he glanced at his friends on the other side of the bed. "No… It's not… Hermione, Ron… I wanted to tell you about Draco and me, but it never seemed like a good time… I swear I didn't mean to hurt you or 'Mione, but I do love Draco and have been with him ever since we got together a few months after I officially broke up with Ginny."
"But why didn't Draco know anything about your invisibility cloak? I mean, if you didn't give it to him, who did you give it to?" Hermione asked, perplexed.
"Well…" Harry said, looking towards the wall, "I…that is…umm…" He looked at his friends again and then to his lover. They were all anxiously waiting for the name of the person Harry had been trying to protect during the last battle. "I… kinalsit," he finally mumbled out, his eyes locking on the coverlet on his lap.
Hermione and Draco tried to puzzle out what it was that Harry had said, and found it to be next to impossible. But before they could ask the Boy-Who-Lived to repeat himself, Ron spoke up.
"You what!" he yelled, causing the boy on the bed to jump slightly and look up wide-eyed at his best friend. "What do you mean, you lost it? How do you lose your most prized possession?" Ron's face was turning a blotchy shade of scarlet, and Hermione felt it was her duty to try and calm him down. Carefully, she petted his right arm in what she considered might be a soothing manner. "I practically had to perform an Unbreakable Oath to borrow the thing for a night and you lost it? There were so many things that I never got to do with it and I had such plans for it when the Wizarding World had finally settled back down," he grumped, his arms suddenly waving madly as he worked his anger to a nice frothy tip.
Hermione shrugged helplessly to herself; she had tried. "So tell me, Harry, how did you lose your invisibility cloak?"
Harry shrugged sheepishly, and managed to stammer out his tale so everyone could understand. "I had decided to go for a flight but I wasn't supposed to leave the grounds, so I took the cloak. Everything was going fine, no one could see me, but that turned out to be a bit of a problem. I had never flown with the cloak wrapped around both the broom and myself. It was harder to manoeuvre and I was so used to things avoiding me while I was flying in the air, I wasn't ready when it hit me…"
"When what hit you?" Ron interrupted, stonily.
Harry sighed mournfully, "A bird. It wasn't even a large bird, probably a pigeon, but I lost control for a moment, the cloak slipped free and it started falling to the ground. The bird was panicked and trying to peck my glasses off. When I had finally shooed it away, my cloak was on the ground somewhere, its invisible side out. I was going to go look for it after the war, maybe get Moody to see if he could find it with his eye, but that didn't really work out."
Ron collapsed tiredly on the edge of the hospital bed and patted Harry's leg in a consoling manner. "All right Harry, don't worry, we'll find that cloak, and when we do, you are going to let me borrow it. Then I am going to finally get to see the inside of the girl's shower at the Chudley Cannon's home field after a game."
His face had the dazed expression of one reflecting on a life long ambition as he clearly forgot just who else was in the room. "Ronald Weasley!" Hermione shrieked, causing her fiancé's eyes to widen in terror.