Disclaimer: nope, I don't think so.

Unrequited Hate

This chapter is for Briar. I know we've grown apart as of late, but I hope you know that I love you and our friendship is incredibly important to me.

Chapter Seven

Juliette was standing in the shadows near the Charms classroom at 10:28 on Wednesday night waiting for Harry. Less than a minute later, he came around a corner, heading towards her. She took a moment to look him over - he was wearing loose blue jeans and a white fitted shirt, which at the moment was showing off just how good Quidditch had done him.

At the same time, he saw her and was taking her in - black jeans, white tank top, hair in a bun… and once again, her bloody amazing curves.

He walked over and stood in front of her. She looked up at him, questioning him with her eyes. "Let's go find a broom closet," he said with a grin.

Juliette couldn't help but smile. "Do you know what it sounds like you're trying to say?" she asked with a laugh.

Harry grinned sheepishly, and said, "You know what I mean."

"I know what you mean. Do you know what you mean?" she asked with a sly smile.

With that the two walked down the hall. They found a broom closet that was next to a staircase the if you were to go up two flights would bring you close to Gryffindor tower, while at the same time if you walked down two hallways and down a different staircase, you would find yourself near the Slytherin common room.

The two took out their wands began to work. Juliette did the first part of the spell while Harry kept a look out, and then did the same for him while he did the second part of the charm.

They were checking it, making sure everything was done right, when Harry looked up suddenly and muttered, "Shit."

"What?" Juliette hissed, but he clamped his hand over her mouth and maneuvered them both into the closet.

"Shh," he whispered in her ear, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand up from the warmth of his breath. "Filtch is out there."

She nodded in understanding and he removed his hand.

They were silent for a few minutes while Harry listened, his ear pressed to the door. "I think he's gone," he said.

"Alright, then let's get out of here before we get caught," she answered.

Harry nodded and pulled on the door handle… and nothing happened. He pulled out his wand and muttered, "Alohamora." And still nothing.

"Well at least we know the spell worked," he said, annoyed.

"Great," Juliette groaned quietly. She leaned against one of the walls. "Just bloody fantastic."

Harry stood there glaring at the door for a moment, then turned to Juliette. She looked up at him, since he was about a head taller than she was.

"You wana get out of here right?" he asked.

She sighed. "Yes. And I know what has to happen, so let's just get this over with."

He grinned and bent down and covered her mouth with his. It was supposed to be quick and chaste, just enough to set off the charm, but soon his arms were around her waist, her arms were twined around his neck and she was sandwiched between his body and the wall. His tongue gently traced her lips and she opened her mouth to let him in. She massaged his tongue with hers and he tried to move even closer to her.

There was a crashing noise and he jerked his head away from hers, although his hands didn't move from her hips and her hands remained on his shoulders. As Harry listened, Juliette felt a strange feeling hit her - there was no way he was going to ever want to have anything to do with her again after this. He was probably regretting it as she was thinking those thoughts. She knew she should regret it too, but she had always subscribed to the belief that regret was a wasted emotion.

She looked down at the floor and unconsciously bit her lower lip as she thought. There was an unusual feeling in her stomach… she wanted to do this again. Well, maybe not the whole stuck in a broom closet thing, but being with him… kissing him. 'Great,' she thought sarcastically. She needed to get back to her dorm and think long and hard about this. She was going to need a bit of peace and quiet to get this straight in her brain, as soon as she could get away from the warmth of his body and the feel of his skin on hers.

At the same time, Harry was studying her face. She was biting her lip, something he had noticed that she did when she was concentrating on something that she wanted to figure out. Her demeanor was different than normal, and for some irrational reason it bothered him. She seemed… upset? He didn't want her to be upset… wait, where had that thought come from? 'Oh, this is just bloody brilliant,' he thought. This entire situation needed to be thought about - after he got out of this broom closet and away from her intoxicating smell and the feel of her body against his.

"We should go," he said quietly. 'Not that I want to,' he added in his mind.

"Yeah," she muttered, not removing her eyes from the floor as she attempted to move towards to door.

He tightened his grip on her waist with one arm and moved the other hand up to her chin and tilted her head up. Her eyes were still trained on the floor, and he whispered, "Hey."

She finally met his eyes, and in their cool blue depths he could see something that he couldn't quite name, but that he felt as well. She quirked one of her eyebrows, silently questioning him. In response he leaned down and kissed her again, but this one was not filled with passion as the one before it had, but with a silent promise - a promise of a future.

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a/n: told ya you would like it… this is definitely my favorite chapter so far. I duno when the next chapter is gona get up, what with field hockey and school both starting up, but I'll do my best.

Many thanks to - TriGemini, Lancishot, Sali, Ciera, Nikoly Oley and Delrious.

Steelo - well, as much as I love Draco/Hermione, they aren't the main focus of the story, but I promise they'll get together soon enough.

itry - well, I hoped you liked the Harry/Juliette in this chapter, and I'm glad to know that you think the story's that good! Thanks so much.

trieste - thanks a lot for taking the time to read this! It means tons to have a review from an author you admire saying that they like your story, which is what happened here! Words can't explain how happy I was to see this review in my inbox!

By the way, anyone who wants to read a really good post-HBP story should go check out trieste's story called Haven - its amazing and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone!

.-Tiarwen-.