NEW MEMBER
After the incident with the boggart, Harry and Hermione went to the jet's office, so that the brunette could calm down a little more, because her eyes were still very red because of the tears that the sight of the boggart had caused her.
Upon entering the office, the green-eyed man accompanied his friend to sit in one of the chairs in front of the desk, while he leaned against the furniture and put his hands in his pockets.
"Do you want to talk about this?" Harry asked, directing his green eyes towards the brunette, who was slowly raising her face to meet the eyes of her best friend, who was now looking at her with concern and a little blush.
"How am I supposed to be a brilliant witch and can't cast a riddikulus? How am I a fool when it comes to my feelings?"
The brunette got up as her answers started to be defensive, something Harry didn't allow, cutting her off. He was incredulous at her words.
"I don't think you're a fool Hermione, you're still a brilliant witch and I admire you. The boggart caught you off guard, his magic caught you, plus the cupboard was supposed to be locked. Doesn't mean you can't defend yourself against it and I know it. You know perfectly well that if it weren't for you, I would have been dead years ago". The jet answered, seeing how her friend blushed.
Hearing Harry say the last sentence, Hermione couldn't hold back her tears again and threw herself at him in a suffocating hug, feeling Harry wrap his arms around her in response.
Both synchronized the pulse of their hearts, their bodies glued to each other molded, it was such a gratifying hug.
"I don't want to lose you, now you know that my greatest fear is to see you dead. All your life you have been facing danger and now you are an auror and you are exposed to all kind of things". The brunette sobbed, on Harry's shoulders, while he had her wrapped in his arms protectively and gently stroking her head.
"Hermione, you and Ron are the most important people in my life, I don't know if you managed to see my boggart. It was you and Ron dead…I…I don't know what I'd do without you two, without you," Harry confessed, breaking away from the hug and watching Hermione blush again.
"Don't get me wrong, I love Ron, but…" Hermione couldn't finish when interrupted by the green-eyed man.
"I know and I don't doubt it. You just don't do it the same way; I get it and I know you're scared of losing him too. Remember that the boggart can be brutal and not just make you feel afraid. It makes you feel terror and tries to destroy you," Harry explained like a teacher teaching his student, keeping his hands in his pockets and looking at Hermione.
"The boggart, knowing about your feelings, tried to destroy you, caught you off guard and you weren't prepared to block his magic," he continued with his explanation, while Hermione stared at him for several seconds.
Harry was immediately embarrassed as he pointed out his friend's feelings, who just nodded slowly with her face lowered, a little embarrassed.
"Hey, you know I wouldn't say…" Harry was saying, when he was interrupted by her.
"You don't have to clarify anything, Harry. I know you would never call me a mudblood…" the brunette clarified, quickly wiping away a tear that slid down her cheek.
"Never. Harry answered firmly." And about the rest, Hermione…" said the boy, blushing more, if possible, while the girl raised her face and also blushed violently.
"I told you not to clarify anything, Harry. I know it's new for both of us to talk about these kinds of feelings and it's something I have to deal with..." she declared firmly, trying to end the matter.
"But we're friends and everything that has to do with you is important to me... " Harry answered firmly. "And above all, I'm always going to need you, Hermione..." the boy added a little embarrassed, seeing his blush reflected in the brunette.
At this point they could both feel the tension that had built up in both of them, Hermione could feel her pulse racing, her hands sweating and her body had a slight electric sensation, Harry by his side felt his mouth go dry, swallowing was difficult, his face felt hot, he looked at the ground and to the sides, clearly embarrassed.
Hermione composed herself as best she could when they heard the office door open, so that her red-haired friend entered quite excited and oblivious to the tension in the place.
"Hey, guys. My mother has sent me to tell you that you are invited to the Burrow tonight, to welcome Hermione, and she will not take no for an answer. You already know her" Ron finished, waiting for the answer of his friends, who very excitedly accepted.
That night at the Burrow, before everyone had to gather in the living room, the boys decided to go up to the attic so that George could show them his latest clever invention for the joke business, which they ended up loving. Minutes later, Harry and Ron were walking back down the stairs together, still talking George's wit, when they heard the girls downstairs laughing, causing them to stand still and look at each other, they decided to hide behind the wall, listening to the conversation.
Ginny, Luna and Hermione were in a corner of the room, laughing amongst themselves. Luna and Ginny apparently were talking about a boy and from what they were saying he must have seemed attractive to them, until the brunette intervened.
"Oh, that's not attractive at all," declared the honey-eyed girl, who was lying on the floor.
"Tell us, Hermione. Who would you choose? The Bulgarian hottie Viktor Krum, who you went to the Christmas dance with, or your trusty best friend, Harry?" Ginny asked, holding back the emotion in her voice and making Hermione blush.
"Harry," the brunette said with a sigh and without thinking twice.
"What do you like the most physically about him?" Luna asked, in her dreamy tone.
"Have you seen those eyes?" The brunette answered with another question, which did not let them answer instantly, because she continued listing "those eyes with which I can communicate without saying a single word. That shapely body, his arms and by Merlin! That beard that has been left! It makes him look so handsome, but he's also quite handsome without it, and that unruly, impossible-to-tame hair.
Luna and Ginny were looking at Hermione with tenderness, while she was lost describing the physical aspects that she liked about Harry.
"Every time he hugs me, I feel so safe in his arms and that smile..." Hermione sighed smiling.
Meanwhile, from across the room, still hidden behind the wall, Harry could only hear quite surprised and flattered at his best friend's words. He didn't think she could talk about him like that, which shocked him more than he thought. After the incident with the boggart, this talk between Hermione, Ginny and Luna revealed a lot.
"I told you, she's crazy about you and those are just the physical things she likes about you," his redheaded friend reminded him, patting Harry on the shoulder and Harry playfully shoving him, starting to blush so he had heard and then they both walked into the living room, with Harry trying to hide his blush before meeting his brunette friend.
Later that night, they were having a pleasant conversation. Mr. Weasley, Bill and Fleür, the latter, were visiting, with their little daughter, Victoire, as well as Percy, George, Ron, Luna, Neville and Ginny. The latter decided to go and sit next to Hermione, to talk a little with her, until she asked her a question and the room was completely silent.
"Hey, Hermione. I heard you broke up with Ethan, what happened?" Ginny asked with false innocence.
In addition to the complete silence, this caused everyone to put their eyes on the brunette waiting for her to answer. At the same time, it made Ron angry at his sister for bringing it up.
Hermione raised her face and met Harry's intense green gaze, which, like her, had blushed and the two instantly looked away very embarrassed, being aware that the former couple had ended because she was in love with Harry.
Hermione first opened her mouth to reply, but at first not a word came out. Until filling herself with courage, she decided to speak.
"Ethan is an idiot," said the brunette, acquiring a new shade of red on her face, but this time it wasn't because of grief, but because of the anger that her ex-boyfriend had caused her by speaking ill of Harry. "Well, he wanted to make me choose ... between him and my best friend" let go of the nervous brunette not knowing where to look, when by chance she noticed that Harry had looked at her again, but this time he had a small lopsided smile on his face and was slightly blushing.
The green-eyed man was standing, leaning against the wall by the window with his arms crossed, when he felt everyone's eyes on him.
"You obviously chose Harry," said the redhead with a knowing smile, while Hermione nodded slowly.
"Always. I'm not going to walk away from my best friend just because of some self-centered idiot," Hermione said confidently noticing that Harry was quite embarrassed and crestfallen, but he had a slight smile on his lips.
After a few minutes, having processed what was happening, George decided to change the subject, intervening with a joke, to relax the atmosphere and, thanks to this, the rest of the night developed normally.
After ten o'clock at night, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley went up to sleep and the others stayed in the living room talking, while Ron, Harry and Hermione were laughing and talking in the kitchen.
Harry and Hermione laughed heartily at some joke Ron had made and both had had a very normal time, just like two friends who enjoyed having a good time in the company of their other best friend, without any discomfort. Atmosphere that didn't end until Ginny approached them, accompanied by Neville and Luna.
Silently, Ginny told her brother to come closer, just to let her best friends be alone. As Ron approached his sister, she couldn't help but look behind her, poised in the kitchen doorway at what she saw in front of her.
"Aren't they cute? Look at them," Ginny said, in an excited whisper to her brother. When Ron turned to see them, he found his two best friends talking and laughing about a movie they had seen in the muggle world, it seemed like a comedy movie for the way they laughed, but suddenly Harry made a move.
"Hey, Hermione," he called her attention, while she finished laughing looking away in the small kitchen. When the brunette turned around, Harry smeared some of the cake that was still on the table on her cheek. The brunette just opened her mouth in surprise and started laughing.
"Now you'll see, Harry Potter!" She threatened still keeping the laughter, when she also took a bit of the cake and started looking for how to dirty her best friend in some way.
The Jet being a little taller than her, began to dodge her, laughter began to flood the place and determined Hermione threw herself on her friend and not calculating the speed with which she did so, accidentally caused her feet to slip on the floor, causing her to lose her balance and fall backwards onto the floor.
Harry, with his seeker and trained auror reflexes, grabbed her around the waist before she fell to the ground and, as if she were a glass doll, gently lifted her up without letting go.
By doing this, their faces were very close, the situation changed drastically, from a game to an extremely tense, uncomfortable and clearly anxious moment, for several seconds they did not stop looking at each other's eyes, reaching the point of approaching slowly until almost kiss each other.
The two were slowly approaching and the two red-haired brothers with Neville and Luna, waiting by the door for them to finally kiss, but to everyone's bad luck, Mrs. Weasley had come down for a glass of water, her husband Arthur he had forgotten to take some muggle pills that he had researched would help him sleep and he needed water to wash them down, so he rushed into the kitchen causing both friends to break apart and blush violently, while Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna sighed and shook hands. for vanquished
Mrs. Weasley took advantage of the moment to put away the cake that had been left on the counter and then finally went up to her room, blushing a little at the scene she had witnessed.
After that little incident, they decided to stay for a while longer talking with the other Weasley brothers.
After twelve o'clock Harry and Hermione said goodbye and the jet announced that he would leave Hermione at home, which excited the others, thinking that possibly now something could happen between the two, but they would know until the next day.
They both left the burrow and walked to the point where they could disappear, holding hands. They appeared outside Hermione's apartment and were walking towards the door, when Harry spoke.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. about what happened in the burrow, I don't want to hurt you," Harry said, blushing and lowering his eyes, a little embarrassed.
"Harry, leave it behind, okay? It's already in the past" said the brunette trying not to be affected, which was obvious to Harry, because he realized that she was blushing and knew that she had gotten a little excited "Good night" she said and leaned over to give her best friend a short kiss on the cheek. A kiss that made both of them blush more, but they only gave each other a slight smile.
"Good night, Mione," Harry told her, with a slight crooked smile and a little embarrassed, as the brunette opened the door and entered her house.
"Hey," the girl turned to him and Harry looked at her," send a patronus when you get home, okay? Please," Hermione asked, with a little concern.
"Sure," he answered with a smile, as she closed the door and he disappeared.
…..
The next day in the afternoon, Harry returned with the body of aurors from a raid in which they had had a confrontation and had managed to catch Mcnair and with him they headed towards the room where Harry, the head of aurors, would do the interrogation.
In the raid he had been touched and injured by several spells, he had no serious injuries, they were superficial but a little painful. He entered the ministry and went straight to the room to question the Death Eater.
Those who witnessed the interrogation knew that Harry was one before entering and another when he was inside.
The auror was always noted for his professionalism, resulting in always getting what he needed.
"Mcnair, long time no see," Harry said darkly.
"Look at nothing else! Little orphaned Potter!" The Death Eater smirked.
Harry fixed his gaze on the Death Eater, who when facing him, noticed how the jet infused an imposing air, Mcnair understood that he was no longer dealing with that seventeen-year-old boy, but with someone older and stronger.
The silence and Harry's penetrating gaze seemed to stun the Death Eater, who began to feel many chills.
That were twenty minutes full of tension, where in the end Harry was the only one of all the aurors who had managed to get something out of him, although the essentials had not yet been obtained and he had had an argument with one of his companions, because the auror had proposed to invade the Death Eater's mind and Potter had rejected that option because it was so dangerous and the last thing they wanted was to lose valuable information, running the risk of damaging the man's mind, which made Harry lose his temper and not be able to get anything else out of the interrogation .
Mcnair knew a side of Potter that he never imagined, his heart was pounding frantically, because despite having given some information, he still kept secret what he had sworn not to say, because his life was at stake, however fear did not left, since in his head he kept an important clue, something that would change the world as it was known, an object whose power encompassed a unique advantage for whoever possessed it, something so unimaginable that only those who searched for and studied dark magic for a long time, they had finally found the answer to the riddle, so Mcnair struggled to repress that fact.
After that, the green-eyed man stormed out of the room cursing, Hermione was on her way to the minister's office to give him some documents about the investigation, when she watched Harry leave the interrogation room tense and cursing.
Harry raised his face and met Hermione's gaze, he realized that she was looking at him with concern and she did not hesitate to walk quickly towards him, trying to be as calm as possible, she stopped in front of him and looked at him carefully, as if evaluating the situation state it was in.
Harry went from furious to blushing, his best friend's worried look said it all, they didn't need words to communicate, nor actions to know that between them there was something special and unique that was struggling to come out.
All the people around, observed that exchange of slightly furtive glances and knowing smiles, knowing that the two friends in question were still dancing around each other but did not dare to take the step.
Realizing that they had been staring at each other for a few long seconds without taking their eyes off each other, the honey-eyed girl blushed a little and told Harry to go to his office, since she also needed to heal his wounds.
Ron, who had felt a bit uncomfortable, made everyone who was still there witnessing the moment, go to their respective tasks.
They entered Harry's office, they went to the sofa in front of the desk and Hermione summoned the medical kit that Harry had in his office and began to clean the green-eyed wounds delicately and then apply dictate and close the cuts that made Harry groan a little from the pain, however he didn't move knowing that he would receive a reprimand from his best friend if he did.
"Thank you, Hermione," the jet said, a little blushed when he met the beautiful honey brown eyes.
They stared at each other for a few seconds, until Hermione reacted and, with a racing heart, stood up to go to her work.
"It's nothing," Hermione said leaning in to kiss Harry's head.
She was turning to head for the door when Harry stopped her by grabbing her arm, causing her to turn around and hug her.
"Seriously. Thank you, Hermione. I don't know what I'd do without you," Harry said as he wrapped his arms around her and placed a kiss on the top of her head. The brunette gave him a slight smile and caressed his cheek, before turning around and finally leaving the office.
As the girl left the office, Harry thought about how comforting her hug had been. He had had a confrontation, he had been injured a little and then he had argued with one of his companions and in the end, the interrogation was useless.
Hermione's hug had completely relaxed him, making his anger and all his tension melt away. He felt like an idiot when he saw her and she went to him, no matter what she had to do at that moment and with her eyes full of genuine concern that she had always had with him, she understood everything without words.
She always managed to bring him back to his senses and put his feet on the ground.
Harry returned to his post and sat thinking of Hermione, of Mcnair, of their missions, his head somehow a jumble.
Forty-five minutes passed when he received a memorandum, which contained a notice from the secretary of the minister of magic, which consisted of a call for a meeting that same afternoon with the auror department, the same one that Hermione would attend because she was linked also with the wizarding law enforcement department, which worked directly with the aurors.
A mixture of nerves and anxiety invaded Harry, who still had a mess in his head. As best he could, he spent the rest of the day until the afternoon, when he went to the convened meeting.
In said meeting they were drawing up plans for a raid the next day and it was no surprise to anyone, that Hermione intervened and contributed with her brilliant wit some tactics or behaviors that could arise from their opponents and for this she had also offered to attend to provide support and this had been accepted by Kingsley and others of her superiors.
They were all aware that the brunette was an excellent witch and had been training on certain occasions with Potter and Weasley, in addition to her participation in the war. However, not everyone noticed the chief auror's reaction upon realizing that they had agreed to allow Hermione to attend the raid. Apparently the green-eyed did not like the idea, which ended in a discussion with her best friend at the end of the meeting.
Harry hurried over and tried to get out of the meeting room, before anyone noticed his annoyance, which didn't work when he felt Hermione's hand grab his arm and looking around, he realized that only they were left in the room now.
"Harry, is something wrong with you?" asked the brunette with a concerned tone and frowning.
"Nothing," answered the jet in a curt tone, while for two seconds he connected his gaze with that of her best friend and for her it was enough.
"I know you, Harry Potter. You're not going to lie to me. What happen?" She questioned once more, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow in disbelief and imposing.
She had called him by his first and last name this time and although he felt the cold run through his body at being called like that by Hermione, he decided to ignore this fact, since he was quite annoyed.
"I didn't like the decision that was made, why are you doing this?" The boy answered even more sharply, putting his hands in his pants pockets.
"What are you talking about?" The brunette asked confused. "It's my job," she assured, still not knowing what her friend was referring to.
"Putting yourself in danger is not your job! Why did you have to offer to go on the raid?! Your ideas were enough!" exclaimed the green-eyed man, raising his voice a little, remarkably angry.
The boy wasn't the only one who was upset now, as Hermione was getting more and more indignant at Harry's reaction.
"I don't want you to go to the raid." The green-eyed man answered, keeping his hands in his pants pockets and raising his face to connect his gaze again with the brunette's. "I know you want to help, but there are many other ways to do it without putting yourself in danger." Harry continued seriously, noticing the change of emotions on his friend's face as he held his gaze, knowing what was coming next.
"Do you want me to stay here, waiting for one of your subordinates to come and tell me that you're half dead in St. Mungo's or that I have to go and identify your body?! And all because of your stupid hero complex! Do you really expect me to stay here doing nothing? I've told you before Potter, we're in this together. Always!" exclaimed the chestnut furious.
"Besides, I'm just as capable...!" she added, but was interrupted by Harry.
"I've never doubted that, Hermione! I know you are capable!" He jumped angrily interrupting her "You are even more capable than many here and I am a witness of it!" Harry exclaimed still annoyed.
"Then what's the damn problem!?" She questioned, finding herself flushed with anger.
"I don't want to lose you!" He managed to exclaim with his voice breaking at the end, which made his best friend react and soften her face, approaching him.
"B- but Harry…" Hermione tried to intervene.
"No! You don't understand, Hermione, if... if something happened to you, I wouldn't forgive myself! You are very important to me" said the green-eyed auror, lowering his voice.
Her best friend softened her face, approaching him, of course she understood Harry's point, she felt it thousands of times, in each year of Hogwarts that she lived by her side, each time the jet was in danger, she experienced the anguish and despair, fearing losing him.
"I don't want to lose you either, but understand that you can't ask me to stay either. I can't, and yet at the same time I understand what you feel, it is something that I myself experienced for years, so I ask you to understand my decision and as it was in those years that I supported you, now I need your support and understanding" she replied and hugged him tightly.
Still shaken by the little argument, Harry slowly and reluctantly broke away from his best friend's embrace, the last words echoing in his head, realizing how many times Hermione must have felt like him now.
After separating and still trying not to look at her in the eyes, he realized that she seemed somewhat confused by his anger, that despite being calmer, the annoyance still remained on his face.
"I have another meeting in a few minutes. See you later," he stated with a curt tone in his voice and left the office, leaving Hermione still confused and a little annoyed, not knowing why he had left in such a way.
Harry walked out into the hallway sullen and a little uncomfortable realizing that his discussion with Hermione had had an audience of some people passing by. He had no choice but to lower his face and ignore the stares.
The rest of the day Harry spent avoiding Hermione, not wanting to get into a fight again knowing that this argument would never win her. He avoided her for a couple more days, knowing that she would have figured this out by now and would eventually come looking for him.
Five minutes hadn't passed since he thought about it, when the door to his office opened and Hermione stormed in, putting a "muffliato" in the room and locking the door, having learned that with their argument a couple of days, they had had an audience.
"Harry!" The brunette shouted to announce herself.
"Huh? Hello" The jet greeted dryly, trying to maintain his composure, while he passed saliva knowing what was coming at him.
"Huh? Hello?" Hermione mimicked with a frown. "Are you just going to tell me that? What's up Harry? You are avoiding me?" The brunette asked with her voice trembling, but still with her disgusted expression on her face.
"No," Harry said seriously and avoiding meeting her eyes, he knew she was feeling bad and he couldn't bear to see her cry.
"Then what the hell is wrong with you?! When I've been looking for you these days you're not here, when I find you, you don't see me again, you don't speak to me and if you do, you're completely serious and indifferent" Hermione exasperatedly blurted out.
"You don't understand, Mione," Harry sighed and brought his hands to his face.
"I don't understand?" The brunette refuted crossing her arms.
"Why don't you speak? What am I not going to understand? What's going on Harry?" Hermione peppered him with questions after he remained silent.
"Oh! Why do you ask so many questions?" Harry exclaimed on the verge of tension.
"Because that's how I am! I'm very curious! You know me like this for years! And more when it comes to you!" Hermione shouted confidently and angrily.
The jet's eyes widened, in seconds the tension and frustration changed to an uncomfortable moment, since Hermione realized what she had said, while Harry, understanding the weight of those words, remembered the moment when he found out about his best friend's true feelings towards him.
They were seconds that seemed like minutes in which both remained in an uncomfortable silence, because both did not know how to continue.
"Listen Harry, you know very well that for years I have always seen for your well-being, with or without these special feelings, you will always be a priority, that is why your attitude towards me is not normal… I need in the name of our friendship that talk to me and we can solve this as we are, adults" Hermione took a deep breath and spoke, honoring the house of brave lions.
"It's just... I don't like you putting yourself in danger. You've been through so much and it's all because of me" After thinking about it, Harry sighed and after seeing his best friend's flushed face, he approached her and looking into her eyes he confessed with frustration
"Harry! Oh my God! We've had this conversation before…" Hermione replied wearily.
"I know Mione, but you're my best friend, I care about you and I couldn't bear to see you suffer again," continued the jet, trying to express his feelings.
"I've told you before, I don't regret anything we've been through together and I'd relive it if it means keeping you safe," the girl assured firmly.
"You're not going to let me win this, are you?" Harry asked with a defeated expression and walking towards her again.
"No. I couldn't," Hermione answered with her worried face and walked over to hug Harry, who returned her hug affectionately and placed a kiss on the top of her head.
He had to leave that discussion here, knowing that he couldn't win against Hermione, but it was an issue that always remained open and unresolved, because he wouldn't allow them to hurt her again. And if they hurt her, he would never forgive himself.
"Do you want to have dinner tonight?" Harry asked, trying to normalize things between them, breaking away from the hug and leaning against his desk, shoving his hands in his pockets.
The question took the brunette a little by surprise, whose face turned redder than before.
Harry wanted to rephrase the question so it didn't sound strange, or imply something different, but his best friend beat him to it.
"Of course," replied the smiling brunette, repeating Harry's action, leaning against the desk, looking happy.
"Muggle Italian restaurant?" Harry asked, turning his face towards her.
"Uh, I'd love to. A pesto pasta would be excellent" she said smiling and also turning her face towards him.
"I'll see you in the atrium on the way out then," assured the green-eyed man, receiving an affectionate kiss on the cheek from Hermione, who seconds later left the desk and walked to leave her best friend's office.
At night when Harry left his office, he walked through the corridors and headed for the elevator to go down to the atrium. The elevator reached its destination, Harry got out of it and walked with his hands in his pants pockets looking towards the ground, when he heard a dreamy voice that he knew perfectly well.
Luna was heading for the elevator to go up to Ron's office, when she bumped into Harry, who seemed to be lost in thought.
"Hello, Harry," the blonde greeted in her sweet, dreamy tone.
"Oh hello, Luna. Good to see you, Ron is waiting for you" he let the blonde know, with a slight smile on his lips.
"Likewise, Harry. Thank you," she replied, as she began to walk back to the elevator.
"Oh! Luna? Have you seen Hermione?" Harry asked, turning around, causing her to stop and turn towards him.
"Oh yes, she's over there," answered the blonde, directing her gaze to the exit, where her brunette friend was, talking to Bertram Wolfgang. "Now that I see them, it seems to me that he could be behind her," Luna commented with feigned innocence.
Luna's comment had caught Harry off guard, it caused something to shift in his stomach, but not sure what it was, he didn't care.
"Oh yeah? You believe it?" Harry asked innocently.
"Yes, I mean, it's very obvious, don't you think?" The blonde replied mischievously.
"Well, I don't know, but if so, just make sure they don't hurt her," Harry said, leaving a short silence after those words.
"Hey, see you later, Luna," the jet said goodbye to her and then turned around again and continued on her way.
"See you, Harry," the blonde said back in her dreamy tone as she turned her way to the elevator as well.
The auror continued on his way without taking his eyes off the two people who were at the entrance. "I couldn't understand why I felt so uncomfortable seeing Hermione laughing happily with Bertram or seeing her feeling so comfortable with him."
Hermione was laughing heartily at something Bertram was saying to her, he watched her hand go to a strand of hair and put it behind her ear, while the man in front of her also laughed and saw how he placed his hand on her friend's arm.
The brunette was quite focused on her conversation with Bertram; however, she couldn't help but turn her head to the right, seeing Harry joining them and instinctively, with a smile on her face, she hugged her best friend affectionately.
She had caught him off guard by hugging him, however, he hugged her back with a smile on her face. Pulling away from her and unaware of this, Harry placed his hand on Hermione's back as he extended his right hand to Bertram and greeted him politely.
"Bertram," greeted the green-eyed man, kindly extending his hand to the man.
"Harry," replied the blue-eyed greeting, with a slight smile and some discomfort. Knowing full well of Hermione's feelings for the man in front of him.
''According to what Hermione had told him, Harry knew of her feelings, however, he didn't feel the same for her, but he appreciated her, he would take care of her and defend her to the death. According to the brunette, Potter only looked at her as his best friend. And if she was so sure of this, he had nothing to lose by trying to woo her. Wolfgang thought.
A heavy silence settled between them, Hermione's laughter trailing off at the exchange of glances between Harry and Bertram, which stopped when they both withdrew their hands from the greeting.
"What were you laughing at?" Harry asked so directly that Bertram and Hermione turned to look confused by that tone. Recriminating?
"Nothing Harry, he was just telling me that he likes the way I dress lately and I laughed because I always come in my uniform and we laugh," Hermione explained keeping her tone sweet.
"It's just that everything you wear looks wonderful on you." Bertram took the opportunity to flatter the chestnut again, who blushed smiling at the words, and just at that moment Harry felt that strange stomach ache again, he began to fear that he would have gotten sick and was lost in thought as Hermione and the brunette exchanged a few words.
"Well, see you later, Bertram," said the chestnut, giving a radiant smile to the man with blue eyes and brown hair in front of her, snapping him out of his musings.
"Oh, yes. See you, Hermione," the blue-eyed brown-haired man said, taking her hand and leaning down a bit to kiss the back of it.
Seeing this, Harry looked away a bit uncomfortably and then he and Hermione headed out into the street, leaving the blue-eyed brunette to think of another move to woo Hermione.
While Bertram was lost in thought, someone came up behind him and put his hand on the auror's shoulder.
"If I were you, I would forget about her, nothing will help you. As long as Potter is alive and breathing in this world, no one stands a chance with Hermione Granger," the gray-eyed blond boy assured, putting his hands in his pants pockets.
Draco Malfoy, the young pureblood Slytherin, after the war and thanking Potter for not sending his mother to Azkaban, decided to reform and had entered auror training. It could not be said that they were friends, but they spoke respectfully to each other and maintained a cordial colleague relationship.
"Malfoy," Wolfgang greeted, offering his hand in a greeting that was returned seconds later. "What about Smith?"
"Smith? Didn't you hear what happened?" Asked the former Slytherin with disbelief. "That relationship ended because Ethan himself was aware of Granger's feelings for Potter, in addition to the fact that she never showed interest in the relationship. It was when they broke up that Potter found out about her feelings," Malfoy clarified.
"And I'm pretty sure Granger's feelings aren't going to change. Even Viktor Krum, who's been trying ever since he met her during the Triwizard tournament at Hogwarts. The only thing he could accomplish was take her to the Christmas dance and steal a kiss from her".
"Imagine, not even the famous Bulgarian Quidditch star could achieve anything more with Granger" informed the blond as he walked with Bertram through the corridors of the ministry. "I wouldn't be surprised if he kept trying, if he ever sees her again.
"Do you think she decided to give him a chance?" Wolfgang asked, hesitating a bit.
"No," Malfoy assured with an incredulous smile. "Granger only has eyes and a heart for Potter. Do you know that she could have been expelled from Hogwarts for everything she did for him?" Draco said rolling his eyes. "But keep trying, maybe you'll get lucky," Draco mocked, patting the blue-eyed auror on the back and continued on his way.
…..
The dinner had passed normally between the two friends, they had talked about so many things, some important, others unimportant, they simply talked about any nonsense that occurred to them, that was something so natural between them. They had laughed and remembered their adventures at Hogwarts, until they asked for their bill so they could go home.
Both had agreed to pay half each, since it was a sensitive issue and impossible to win between the two, unless it was a special occasion for one of them, one would only pay for the food.
That same night, when Harry returned to his apartment after leaving his best friend in her's, he fell into bed exhausted, but without the least bit of sleep, because he had a whirlwind of things in his head and one of them was Hermione.
"He had been thinking a lot about her and what had happened in the burrow. They were about to kiss and he was thinking what could have happened if Mrs. Weasley hadn't come in for Mr. Weasley's glass of water for his pills and put away the cake she had left on the table?"
''He was imagining that a lot and was surprised to realize that he actually wished he had kissed her. He had even dreamed that the kiss had happened! And it had been perfect! She was a beautiful woman, but she was his best friend and he didn't want to hurt her or get her excited, he wanted to be sure of what he felt and what would happen if he decided to try something with her".
"And then there was Bertram, who would apparently be his competition."
He finally fell asleep after rethinking things, causing him to mainly dream of a kiss that didn't happen.
After weeks since they had gone to dinner at the restaurant, Hermione had started spending time with Bertram, not realizing that he was trying to court her, because even though she knew he was a handsome man, she only looked at him as a friend.
Wolfgang had managed to spend time with her and just that day, they had met in a corridor and were distracted talking, when Hermione, alarmed, realized that they would be late for the meeting and left in a hurry.
The meeting with the aurors had already started, the only ones missing were Hermione and the new auror Bertram Wolfgang, which had Harry worried, because knowing his best friend, she would never be late for a meeting, so he was amazed when he heard there was a knock on the door and then it opened to admit Hermione and auror Wolfgang.
Ronald directed his gaze with some concern towards Harry, after he saw Hermione enter with the brown blue eyes clearly noticing how his best friend was annoyed, since he never considered it normal for Hermione to be late for her work meetings under any circumstances, and if we add to this that the girl had started to mention Bertram quite often, the jet's nerves were dangerously close to collapsing.
"Good. We were about to discuss plan B for the mission, in case something goes wrong," Harry clarified seriously, trying to control the anger in his voice, to update those who had just entered the room.
The rest of the meeting while Harry talked about how they would approach the mission, he did not turn his gaze towards Hermione at any time, his thoughts seemed to want to make him explode, because as head of aurors he made sure that everyone was very punctual at the time of the meetings. meetings, however when he didn't see Hermione at first, he was worried first of all, but when he saw her enter with Bertram, his eyes sparkled with annoyance, eagerly awaiting the end of the meeting so he could talk to his best friend.
Finally, the end of the meeting came, the raven waited for everyone to leave when he noticed that Hermione was already waiting outside for him and Ron to leave, firmly Harry moved forward until he positioned himself in front of the chestnut to get her attention.
"Hermione," Harry called seriously and approaching her, "Since when are you late for meetings?" Asked the jet looking annoyed.
"I…" Hermione began, blushing with embarrassment, but Bertram didn't let her finish.
"It was my fault, Auror Potter. We met in the hallway and got distracted talking," the brown-haired man argued, causing Harry to look at him with distaste and return his gaze to his best friend.
"If it had been Ron or me, you'd be scolding us," replied the jet black, "I don't want you to be late for meetings," said Harry, annoyed and curt, and without waiting for an answer, he turned around and started walking next to Ron, who was very embarrassed before leaving, he gave Hermione an apologetic look.
"Hey, don't pay attention to him, he's being a bit harsh," Bertram told Hermione, trying to make her feel better, but it was impossible.
"No. Harry's right, I've never been late...and besides, I've been harsh with them. See you later, Bertram," Hermione said, turning around and feeling her heart tighten at Harry's attitude towards her.
Bertram after witnessing that, steeled himself and headed the same way as Harry and Ron.
He arrived at the chief auror's office and entered without asking permission, interrupting the conversation between the Redhead and the jet.
"What was all that Potter? Was it necessary to hurt her like this?" Bertram questioned, entering the auror office annoyed.
"It wasn't intentional," Ron interrupted as he gave Bertram a warning with his eyes to drop the subject.
"And what do you care how I talk to Hermione? I'm in charge of punctuality and that's not exclusive for anyone, not even Hermione, who's my best friend, she just taught me that" refuted the green-eyed man, arranging some papers on his desk, without looking at the brown-haired man.
"I care because YOUR best friend is someone I'm courting, and I'll be on the lookout for anything involving her," Bertram asserted bravely.
Harry looked up from his papers to see Bertram and then Ron, with whom he shared the same thought, "Bertram's courtship wouldn't work with Hermione. " Ron was about to comment on this when the brunette stepped forward.
"I know perfectly well her feelings for you, Potter," Bertram commented, causing Harry to give him a cold look, "but according to what she told me, you don't feel the same way."
"The fact that I don't feel the same doesn't mean that I don't love her, she is my best friend, a person I adore and I await a special affection for her and I will respect her decision if she agrees to go out with you, however, I swear that if you hurt her, I'll kill you" declared the green-eyed auror with a deadly edge in his voice.
Bertram, somewhat afraid of Harry's final tone, nodded, silently sealing a promise between the two, to which Ron as a witness massaged his forehead in dismay at the situation.
Hello, we are finally here and I thank all of you who have read me and waited for the updates. It's been full weeks, because the muggle world keeps me busy, but here I leave this chapter and I hope you liked it.
I appreciate your opinions and favorites and other ways of letting me know that you liked it, I always love reading your comments, since they are a way of encouraging me to continue with this.
Thanks to my Beta also, who despite having her priorities, has dedicated her time to me with this fic and without her I would not have published anything.
I want to mention that the part where Malfoy talks to Bertram, specifically this line:
"As long as Potter is alive and breathing in this world, no one stands a chance with Hermione Granger" ... was inspired by Lessa's Dragonlady fic - the death master's departure.
Without more to say, I thank you again for reading me and soon we will continue reading to see what happens in the 4th chapter of this story. Goodbye.