Disclamer: Do you really think that if I owned anything I would post this here? For free?
A/N: Sorry for the delay and yes, this is yet another short chapter but I think it's best to post it small than to keep you waiting for a long one. And, once again, thanks for everyone who reviewed, I just love you guys!
Chapter 7 - OWLs
Harry woke once again to the soothing sensation of gentle fingers running through his hair but he didn't open his eyes or even moved. He didn't want to wake up yet, he didn't know if he was ready to face what today was certainly going to bring. So he just stayed there, enjoying the feeling of Hermione's fingers and thinking about everything that happened in the last 24 hours. It had been such a nice day until they heard that scream…
Everything had happened so fast after that and he still couldn't believe he had completely frozen up like that, it's not like he had never faced Death Eaters before, hell, he even had faced Voldemort more than once and lived to tell the tale but deep down he knew better, he knew he hadn't reacted like that because of the Death Eaters, it was the sight of the Grangers that did that to him and the knowledge that it was all his fault, once again he had brought destruction to those he loved. He knew that if he told this to anyone they would tell him to stop blaming himself all that crap they told him after Sirius death, but there was no denying here, the Grangers only were attacked because of Hermione's friendship with him.
It was like he was cursed, Hermione's whole world came crashing down mere seconds after he declared his love for her. He was really starting to think that maybe his divination teacher wasn't such a fraud after all; maybe she had just misread the signs. The Grim she kept seeing on his path wasn't a sign he was going to die a most terrible death, it was a sign of what he truly was. He was the death omen, he brought death and pain to those he loved. It really made sense, first there were his parents, then Sirius and now Hermione's parents, not to count the several times when Ron and Hermione could have died during the five years they have been friends.
Maybe it would be better for everyone if he just left but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He needed them, all of them, they were his family and although he was still a bit angry with the Weasleys for the way they acted yesterday he knew that in the end everything was going to be ok because that's what families do, they fight, they forgive and they make up. Well, most families anyway, he couldn't see the Dursleys behaving like that but that's not the point. And there was Hermione, he needed her the most and right now she needed him more than ever and he would not let her down. With that thought he hugged her tight and gave away his awaken state.
"Morning." Said Hermione sighing and by the tone of her voice he could tell that she must have been thing about last night's events too.
"Morning." Said Harry finally opening his eyes to look up at her. They had changed position during the night and Harry was now lying on his stomach with an arm draped over her belly and his head rested on the hollow of her neck as Hermione was on her back, one hand on his hair and the other on his arm and now that Harry was looking at her face he could see that there were tears silently running down her face as she stared blankly at the ceiling.
"Hey, come here." He said turning on his side and hugging her to his chest so that she was facing him. "It's ok to cry. It's going to make you fell better." But she didn't, she was too stubborn.
"I don't want to cry anymore. I cried enough already yesterday. I have too much to do today, I have to pull myself together." She said trying to convince herself as much as Harry. "I thought I wouldn't have to explain this to you. I thought you would understand." And she was right, as much as he missed Sirius he had cried very little, he did understand her need to be strong.
"You know he made this room for you, right?" She said in a far away voice and didn't wait for him to answer before continuing. "He told me last Christmas that he wanted you to have a place of your own, a room just for you since you never had that, well, at least not really, since the Durleys made sure to remind you that you were just staying in Dudley's second room of the kindness of their hearts."
She smiled slightly and continued as if remembering something funny. "He said you would need a room to lock yourself up that didn't smell like dead rats next time you decided that the world was better off without you and a room where you could have some privacy when you finally got yourself a girlfriend."
"What? Mya, …" Harry started but trailed off when he heard a tapping sound in the window next to the studying table. Hermione stood up and opened the window letting a large barn owl land on the table. As soon as she retrieved the two letters the owl was carrying it took off but Hermione didn't move, she just stood there staring at the letters unblinkingly.
"Mya? What's wrong?" Harry asked concerned as he got out of bed and walked over to her.
"It's… It's our OWL results." She whispered, handing a letter to him. Now he understood. She was waiting eagerly for those blasted results, she was hoping that if she got really good marks maybe her parents would drop her punishment and everything would be good again in the world, but after last night that didn't matter anymore.
"Want me to open first?" He asked kindly after they sat in the chairs by the desk. She only nodded, still staring at her letter, so he ripped his letter open and started reading out loud.
Dear Mr. Potter,
Enclosed you will find the result sheet of your OWL exams taken at the end of your 5th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Yours sincerely,
Griselda Marchbanks
Wizarding Examinations Authority
Ministry of Magic
OWL Results
Written / Practical / Total
Ancient Runes – - / - / -
Arithmancy – - / - / -
Astronomy – A / P / A
Care of Magical Creatures – E / O / O
Charms – E / E / E
Defense Against the Dark Arts – O / O/ O+
Divination – P / D / P
Herbology – A / E / E
History of Magic – D / - / D
Muggle Studies – - / - / -
Potions – E / O / O
Transfiguration – E / E / E
Caption:
P and D – Fail
A – 1 OWL
E – 1,5 OWLs
O – 2 OWLs
O+ - 2,5 OWLs
Congratulations, you've got 12 OWLs.
Harry just couldn't believe his eyes, he'd got an O in potions and 12 OWLs, he could be an Auror. It was too good to be true, so he started reading the letter from Hogwarts that came attached to his OWL results expecting to see that because of some technicality Snape had been able to kick him out of his class.
Dear Mr. Potter,
Congratulations on your OWL results, with these scores you will be able to take the required subjects to pursue your chosen career of Auror.
Now that you are beginning your 6th year you must choose the subjects you would like to take for the next 2 years. Each Student must choose a minimum of 5 subjects and a maximum of 8. As we discussed when talking about your intended career, to be an Auror you must get NEWTs in DADA, Charms, Potions and Transfiguration so you may choose the complementary subjects you want as long as you've acquired an OWL on it. You must send me your list of desired courses by the first of August.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
So it was really true, that was no catch, no little detail; he would be able to take the required NEWT courses to become an Auror.
"You did great, Harry. Congratulations." Murmured Hermione, breaking Harry out of his shock and only then he took his eyes of his letter and realized that Hermione hadn't opened hers yet. She was still staring down at it as if it was a bomb or something.
"Aren't you going to open it?" He asked moving closer to her so that he could put his arm around her shoulder.
"I… I don't think I can. Can you open for me?" She replied looking pleadingly at him.
"Sure." He answered picking up the letter and reading it out loud.
Dear Miss Granger,
Enclosed you will find the result sheet of your OWL exams taken at the end of your 5th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Yours sincerely,
Griselda Marchbanks
Wizarding Examinations Authority
Ministry of Magic
OWL Results
Written / Practical / Total
Ancient Runes – O / - / O
Arithmancy – O/ - / O+
Astronomy – O/ E / O
Care of Magical Creatures – O/ O / O+
Charms – O/ O / O+
Defense Against the Dark Arts – O/ O / O+
Divination – - / - / -
Herbology – O/ O / O+
History of Magic – O/ - / O+
Muggle Studies – - / - / -
Potions – O/ O / O+
Transfiguration – O/ O / O+
Caption:
P and D – Fail
A – 1 OWL
E – 1,5 OWLs
O – 2 OWLs
O+ - 2,5 OWLs
Congratulations, you've got 24 OWLs.
"Wow! 24 OWLs! It must be some kind of record." Said Harry in awe. She'd got twice as much OWLs as him, that was just amazing but she didn't seem to share his enthusiasm, in fact, she seemed to be trying very hard not to cry.
"What's wrong?" Asked Harry pulling her to his lap. "Aren't you happy with your results?"
"I am." She replied in a small voice. "It's just… It's just… They would be so proud." She finished finally giving in and breaking down in sobs.
Harry comforted her again until she stopped crying. He still felt a bit uncomfortable around crying girls but Hermione needed him so he would be there for her. He thought that it was better to get used to it anyway because he would probably have to do it a several more times before she got over it.
"So much for not crying anymore…" Chuckled Hermione, obviously in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"That's ok, honey." Said Harry hugging her and kissing her forehead. "You can cry all over me as much as you want."
"Thanks, love. You're the best boyfriend a girl could wish for." She said smiling up at him.
"Love?" Asked Harry grinning at her. All his life he'd been called only foul names and now the greatest girl in the world was calling him 'love'. If it weren't for everything that happened the day before he would be bouncing up and down in joy.
"What? If you can call me 'honey' I can call you 'love'." She answered defensively.
"Hey, I'm not complaining." He answered quickly and then leaned down to kiss and reassure her.
They spent several minutes like this, just enjoying each other's touches and kisses but Harry knew that although he would like to stay like that forever they had a lot of things to do today so he broke the kiss and went right into discussing the first thing on his 'to do' list for today.
"So, have we decided if we are going to tell everyone about us or not? I really think we should, I don't want to hide what we have and after yesterday I really don't think that they would believe it if we tried to deny it." Harry said all of this very fast so Hermione wouldn't have an opening to interrupt him.
"I know." Hermione sighed, burring her face on Harry's neck. "I was fine with telling them yesterday, it's not as if it would be much use to try to keep it a secret anymore. But the more I think about their reactions… I don't know, I just… It's just… Ron and Ginny are like family to me and I really can't have them mad at me right now."
"I know they might be upset at first, but they will come around. It will be worse if we keep this from them and they end up finding out on their own." Harry understood why she wanted to hide it, he didn't want them mad at him either, they had gone through too much this past weeks to have a huge fight with Ron right now but it was the right thing to do.
"Fine then, but you do the talking. I might explode again if he start acting… well, like Ron." She said half-hearted.
"Ok, but I might explode too. You're not the only one that lost your temper with the redheads yesterday." He said with a sigh.
"Well, then maybe that's why nobody came here to bother us yet. I was wondering why none of the adults came check on us seeing that we slept in the same bed but now I think that they might be scared of us." She said with a light laugh.
"Well, that is also the fact that is too damn early." Said Harry looking at the clock on the wall that showed 7:15. "But why don't we go downstairs and find out? I'm starving." Harry said getting up and bringing Hermione with him.
"Sure, but first I wanted to brush my teeth and maybe take a shower. I did a little exploring yesterday and found out that Sirius bought you everything you would need to live here so do you think I could borrow some clothes and your tooth brush?" she asked sweetly making puppy eyes at him so he wouldn't have the heart to refuse, not that he would anyway.
"Of course. You can grab anything you want." He said smiling at her. At that she got a mischievous glint in her eyes and pressed herself against him, grabbing his bum.
"Anything I want?" She asked seductively.
"Anything and everything." He said in a husky voice leaning down to kiss her passionately. They kissed for a while and Harry was once again amazed at how Hermione could make him feel like he had died and gone to heaven.
"Thank you." She said as they broke apart. "I'm going to take that shower now." But as she was heading to the bathroom Harry grabbed her hand and pushed her back to him.
"You know, it would save us a lot of time if we just took a shower together." He said teasingly. He normally wasn't that forward, up until now Hermione was the one pushing their relationship further but after her little stunt he was too turned on to be shy.
"Hardly." Interjected Hermione with a smile. "If you got in that shower with me I would want to take my time with you, Mister. And as much fun as that sounds we don't have time for this right now. Maybe another time." She whispered in his ear before kissing him again and walking into the bathroom.
Harry just stood there dumbstruck, staring at the closed bathroom door. He hadn't expected her to act so casual about his proposition, but once again, Hermione hasn't ceased to surprise and amaze him this summer. So, with a smile, he plopped down on his bed to ask himself once more how could he have gotten so luck as to have a girl like her in his life.
A/N: So, that's it. Don't complain about my OWL results because I have no idea how they are supposed to go. See you next time and don't forget to Review!