Choices Thrice
Chapter Three
X
"Hermione!" he shouted, "We did it!"
"Yes!" Hermione yelled, running and hugging Harry.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, "You did it, Hermione. Thank you."
And then he kissed her.
And for a moment he let himself enjoy it. Her lips were every bit as soft as he'd remembered.
"Harry…" Hermione whispered, pulling away.
Harry let go of her immediately. "Sorry," he muttered.
"You have Ginny."
Harry frowned. "No, I don't. Ginny and I…we're…" he sighed. "It won't work."
Hermione frowned. What was he saying?
Harry raked a hand through his hair. "You're right. I'm sorry, Hermione."
"Forget about it," she said with a smile.
'Not likely,' Harry thought to himself. "We should go check on Ron."
X
Two days later Ron woke up, a little confused, but otherwise unharmed.
"You destroyed it without me?" he asked, a hurt look on his face.
Harry shrugged. "We didn't know how long you would be out, Ron. Sorry," he added. He really was sorry, he knew this meant a lot to Ron.
"I get dibs on the next one," Ron said.
"Ron, you can't call dibs on a Horcrux…" Hermione sighed impatiently. "Besides, if anyone got dibs, I would think it would be Harry."
Ron rolled his eyes, "You just don't understand the concept of 'dibs,' Hermione."
Harry laughed.
"So where do we find the next Horcrux?" Ron asked, a note of excitement in his voice.
"The locket, the cup, Nagini, and Voldemort himself…" Harry said, more to himself than to his friends.
"Why not go for Nagini?" Ron suggested. "We could probably find her fairly quickly."
"That would mean surrendering the element of surprise," Harry said. "As far as I can tell, Voldemort still doesn't know what's going on. I reckon he would probably realize what we were up to if Nagini suddenly snuffs it."
"Harry's right," Hermione said. "Nagini has to be last…before Voldemort, that is."
"I guess we should start by trying to find out who R.A.B. is," Harry said decisively.
Ron nodded, a dark look crossing his face. "Harry…What happens if we're wrong?"
"About what?"
"About what the Horcruxes are. What if Dumbledore screwed up, guessed wrong, miscalculated?"
Harry paused. He'd never considered this. "Dumbledore's not wrong. Dumbledore's never wrong."
"He was wrong about Snape."
X
"Harry…save me…please…" Ginny's voice had grown weak. Fear shown in her eyes, which were no longer as blue as they had once been.
"Crucio!" Voldemort shouted, his wand aimed directly at Ginny's chest. She shook and writhed, screaming in agony.
"STOP!" Harry bellowed.
"Are you ready to put her out of her misery, Potter? Are you finally going to choose? Or shall I continue to torture them?" Without waiting for an answer, Voldemort turned his wand on Ron. "Crucio!"
Ron writhed in pain, his face ghostly white under his freckles.
"Crucio!" Voldemort shouted, this time pointing his wand at Hermione.
"STOP IT!" Harry shouted.
"STOP!" Harry shouted. "STOOOOOPPPPPPP!"
"Harry! Harry? Wake up! RON!" Hermione shook Harry's shaking form, trying to wake up, calling desperately for Ron's help.
Ron stumbled into the room, looking confused. He saw Harry and ran over to him, smacking his face lightly. "Harry, come on, wake up."
Harry's eyes shot open. Hermione was surprised to find them red and bleary. "What? What's going on? You guys are alright?" Harry asked shakily, reaching for his glasses.
Ron helped him into the sitting position. "Bad dream?" Ron asked.
Harry shot a glance at Hermione; he hadn't told Ron about the dreams. After a pause, he nodded.
"You can go back to bed, Ron," Harry said, "I'll be fine."
Ron gave his friend and apprehensive look, but left the room.
"Want me to go, too?" Hermione asked quietly.
"Not really," Harry said. "Will you stay here…until I fall asleep?"
Hermione smiled. "Of course." She crawled onto Harry's bed and stretched out next to him, leaving at least a foot between them.
"Thanks, Hermione," Harry said. "I can't sleep when I'm alone. The dreams always come when I'm alone."
Hermione took Harry's hand, gripping it tightly. "This is what friends are for," Hermione told him, closing her own eyes. Suddenly she hated the word 'friends.' "But that's all we are," she told herself firmly.
X
"Finding the locket and cup are the biggest problems right now," Ron pointed out a few days later at breakfast. Leaning back in his chair, he tipped most of a large glass of pumpkin juice down his throat.
"I just wish we could find something about R.A.B.," Hermione said, her voice shelled in frustration. "We've found R.A.B.s…but none of them were the R.A.B."
Harry nodded. "Ricardo Allen Biscuit: World record holder for most turnips hidden in the human body."
Ron shuddered, "I don't even want to know…Let's see, and then there was Reena Alexandra Bornus, the pixie collecting witch from Ireland."
Hermione snorted, "And don't forget about Rodger Arbor Beeknittle, first wizard to ever speak troll." She laughed, "Couldn't be hard, could it? Just point and grunt…"
Harry chuckled. "I just wish I'd heard of an R.A.B. before…" he said, a dark looking crossing his features.
X
The next morning, Harry woke up earlier than usual. Hermione was still holding his hand. Smiling, Harry squeezed his hand free of hers, trying not to wake her. For the last several nights, Hermione had come into Harry's room after Ron had fallen asleep, and taken Harry's hand.
They both slept easier that way.
They didn't tell Ron. Ron would take it wrong, not that they were doing anything wrong…they just decided it was better not to tell him.
Stretching, Harry slipped out of his bed and left the room. Quietly, he padded down the stairs and into the drawing room. He conjured himself a steaming cup of coffee and pulled a chair up to the window, watching the street awaken below him.
After a while, something caught the corner of his eye. Standing, Harry made his way over to the Black Family Tapestry. The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Snorting, Harry noted the burn marks, remembering how Sirius had described his mother blasting off various members of the family.
Harry's eyes scrolled through the tree, lighting on one name in particular: Regulus Black.
'What was his middle name?' Harry closed his eyes and tried to remember what Sirius had said about his brother.
"He was younger than me," said Sirius, "and a much better son, as I was constantly reminded."
"But he died," said Harry.
"Yeah," said Sirius. "Stupid idiot…he joined the Death Eaters."
"You're kidding!"
"Come on, Harry, haven't you seen enough of this house to tell what kind of wizards my family were?" said Sirius testily.
"Was he killed by an Auror?" Harry asked tentatively.
"Oh no," said Sirius. "No, he was murdered by Voldemort. Or on Voldemort's orders, more likely, I doubt Regulus was ever important enough to be murdered by Voldemort in person. From what I found out after he died, he got in so far, then panicked about what he was being asked to do and tried to back out. Well, you don't just hand in your resignation to Voldemort. It's a lifetime service or death."
"Hermione! Wake up!"
"Huh?"
"R.A.B.! I think I've found him!" Harry shouted excitedly before running down the hall to Ron's room.
Back in the drawing room, Harry pointed enthusiastically to the tapestry, recounting what Sirius had told him so long ago.
Hermione sat quietly, listening until he was done. She stood up and clapped her hands together. "Harry, I think you could be right!"
Ron frowned, "So what do we do now? How do we find out?"
"Good question."
Changing topics, Ron said, "Got an owl from Mum this morning."
"What'd it say?" asked Hermione.
"She wants us to come for a visit. Personally, I think she just wants to make sure we're still alive…but she'll probably cook us a feast, and we haven't exactly been eating much since we left."
"It's only been two weeks, Ron."
"I like food," Ron said, grinning and patting his stomach.
Harry sighed, "Yeah, we can stop in. But only for a day, ok?"
Ron smiled. "Ok, I'll let her know we'll be in tomorrow around noon."
X
In the two weeks they'd been gone, Harry had thought a lot about this relationship, or lack there of, with Ginny. He knew one thing for sure; the happiest he ever felt was when he woke up every morning and found Hermione next to him…and that scared him.
"Hey, Gin," Harry said softly, pushing her bedroom door open a few inches.
"Harry!" Ginny said, getting up from her bed where she'd been folding her robes for school. The term was starting at the end of the week. "How are you?" she asked, looking him over as though she expected to see him sprout tentacles.
"I'm good," said Harry, running his hand though his hair nervously. "We're all good."
"Good," Ginny said, looking at her hands. "Why is this weird?" she asked pointedly.
"I don't know," Harry said, breaking into a reluctant smile. He'd always loved her direct manner.
"Harry…would you ever hate me?" she asked suddenly.
Harry frowned, "Of course not!"
"Even if I thought I might like someone…someone else…?"
Sitting down on her bed, Harry took her hand and pulled her down beside him. "Gin, you mean a lot to me, but I don't expect you to wait around for me. That wouldn't be fair. And you can't expect the same of me."
Ginny smiled for a moment, before turning to face him. "It's Hermione, isn't it?"
Harry tried to look shocked, "What? Hermione? Never."
Ginny smirked. "Whatever."
"Thanks, Gin," Harry said, leaning over to give her a hug.
X
Out in the hall, Hermione padded sadly down the stairs. She'd been on her way to tell Harry and Ginny that dinner was almost ready when she'd over heard a bit of their conversation.
"Gin you mean a lot to me…" his voice grew quieter, and she only made out bits of the rest. "Wait…for me…fair…expect the same…"
"It's Hermione, isn't it?" She asked suddenly.
His reply was quite clear. "What? Hermione? Never."
Turning away, Hermione returned to the kitchen, feeling a strange emotion. Some silly bit of her had thought that maybe, just maybe, Harry fancied her. Lately, she'd been listening to that silly bit.
X
That night a dinner, Harry felt happy. Ginny was content to be his friend, maybe now he could turn his attention to another. He glanced hopefully across the table at Hermione.
Something had changed in her normally chatty disposition. She seemed quiet tonight, withdrawn even. Silently, she was pushing her last bites of pork around her plate repeatedly. Even her normally cinnamon eyes seemed dark, murky, and sad. Once, Harry even thought he'd heard her sigh.
"Thanks for dinner, Mrs. Weasley. It was good to see you."
"Yeah, thanks, Mum," Ron added, letting out an appreciative belch.
"Here's some leftover's," Molly Weasley said, pushing several bags of food into their hands.
"Thanks, Molly," Hermione said quietly, getting ready to apparate.
X
Lying awake in his bed, Harry waited for Hermione to come into his room. He wanted to talk to her. Maybe tell her…'what? Tell her you love her?'
After an hour, Hermione still had not come. Drowsily, Harry began to dose.
"Well, Potter? What will it be? Passion, friendship, or love?"
Harry knew whom he should choose. Only the terrified looks on Ron and Ginny's face kept him from screaming Hermione's name. He loved her, but he was afraid to leave them. He loved them all. He just loved her the most.
"Harry…" Ron's voice called to him. "Choose Hermione, you guys will be happy together."
"Choose Hermione," Ginny echoed, "It's the way it's meant to be."
Turning from his friends, Harry locked eyes with Hermione, startled by how brown they were. "I choose, Hermione."
Voldemort began to laugh, his voice growing louder and colder. He turned slowly, fixing his wand upon Hermione. "You love that? The Mudblood?" He paused, smirking at Harry.
"Avada…"
"NOOO! HERMIONE, PLEASE! I LOVE HER!"
"Harry! Wake up!"
Harry opened his eyes to find a pale Ron hovering over him. "Ron," he mumbled, "where's Hermione?"
Ron sighed and sat down next to his friend. "In her room, asleep. Personally, I'm surprised she even remembered where her room was. It's been awhile since she's slept their."
Harry stared at his friend, his mouth hanging open. "How did you…?"
"Oh, I came in here one morning and saw you both asleep."
"We weren't doing…"
"I know."
"We're not…"
"I know."
"Ron?"
"Yeah?"
"I love her."
"I know." He chuckled, "And even if I hadn't, you were sort of shouting it in your sleep a minute ago."
"Er," Harry began. "That's why she started sleeping in here to begin with. When she's here, I don't have those horrible graveyard dreams."
"What dreams?" Ron asked.
Harry sighed. "I…I dream I'm in the graveyard. Every night. And in the graveyard, Voldemort has you, Hermione and Ginny all tied to tombstones. And he says he's going to kill you all, unless I pick one person to survive. I get to pick one of you to live, and watch the other too be killed. It's…it's horrible."
Ron stared into the space ahead of him. "That is horrible."
Harry nodded mutely next to him. "Listen, Harry," Ron said seriously, turning to face him. "That will probably never happen, but if it does…I want you to pick Hermione. You guys belong together. I was in denial about that for a long time…I fancied her for years. I'm not meant to be with her. You are, Harry."
"She doesn't love me."
"She's afraid, Harry. She's afraid for you, and that scares her."
X
"Hermione? Can we talk?"
Hermione looked up from the book she was reading. She was alone in the drawing room, curled into an armchair near the fire. "Sure," she answered coolly.
"What's going on, Hermione? Something happened yesterday to make you angry at me. What is it?" Harry asked, sitting down on the coffee table in front of her, his emerald eyes boring into hers.
"Nothing," she scoffed, "Everything is wonderful."
"That's a lie, Hermione. There's no room for lies between us. You, Ron, and I always need to be honest. Secrets could be what kills us," Harry told her, leaning in closer.
Hermione slammed her book down, causing him to jump slightly. "Quit playing up that hero bullshit, Harry. Maybe I'm just not in a good mood."
Part of Harry wanted to laugh, he rarely heard Hermione swear. "I'm not 'playing up that hero bullshit,' Hermione. That's how it is. I need to know what's going on. It's the only way I can protect you."
"You can't always protect me, Potter!" Hermione shouted, jumping to her feet.
"Yeah, well I want to!" Harry shouted, jumping up with her.
Temporarily stunned, Hermione opened and closed her mouth a few times, hoping a come back would pop out. It was hard to stay angry at Harry. "And…and just what is that supposed to mean!"
"It's supposed to mean I love you!" Harry shouted back. Suddenly he stopped. He hadn't even realized he loved her, until it popped out of his mouth. And yet it made perfect sense.
"What?" Hermione whispered, sinking back into her chair.
"I…I love you, Hermione. I have for a while," Harry answered, sitting back across from her, leaning in close.
"But Ginny?" Hermione tried weakly, fighting the urge to lean in and capture his lips.
"We talked about it yesterday. We're over. She likes someone else. And I've been realizing I'm in love with you. This is how it's supposed to be." He leaned in closer.
"Harry…" Hermione whispered. She could feel his hot breath on her mouth. It was making her mind go numb. Harry loved her.
"It's ok, Hermione," Harry whispered, moving to close the distance between them, letting his eyes droop shut, waiting for the soft contact of her lips.
But it never came. He opened his eyes to realized that she had pulled back, leaving him hovering awkwardly toward her, his lips pouted out.
"Harry…we just can't. You have a world to save."
Taking her hand, Harry looked hard into her eyes. "Hermione…without you, the world isn't worth saving."
Hermione smiled despite herself. "Harry, if that's true, than you go save the world. I'll be waiting for you when you come back."
She leaned forward and softly gave him one kiss, before she stood up. "And you will come back. I know it."
That night, Hermione went back to sleeping in Harry's room, holding his hand tightly in hers.
X
I will win this battle. And I will win it for Hermione.
X
A/N: There you are, chapter three. I know a lot of you sent me requests for more kissing action, but I'm trying to build something deeper in this fic. I hope you still like it. There will hopefully be a few more twists and turns in it before all is said and done. Anyway, leave some reviews, I like to hear what you guys have to say!