Disclaimer: I don't own HP or any of these characters. That belongs to JKR, Scholastic Books, Warner Brothers, etc.
Chapter Twenty Eight : Fly High
Hermione considered herself fortunate in that the events of the night before hadn't gone too horribly. That had been a recipe for disaster if there had ever been one, especially that part when Harry realized that Malfoy must have needed her more than Harry did for the charm to activate like that. She thought her heart would break, the way Harry had asked if she would rather stay with Malfoy. Of course, she didn't want to stay there. She had hated the way Malfoy had clung to her when she was trying to help him home. It was one thing for Harry to cling to her like that—it was an endearing trait and she loved him. It was another for Malfoy to do the same. Hermione did feel sorry for the Slytherin, but she wasn't about to leave Harry to make Malfoy feel better.
If only that damned charm would realize that.
Yet while last night hadn't been a disaster, things hadn't gone too smoothly last night as well. When they had arrived back home, Harry had went straight to bed, never saying a word to Hermione. Hermione wished she knew how she could make it even clearer to Harry that she wanted to be with him, but she wasn't that good with words. So in the past she had tried to rely on her actions instead, but that hadn't been an option for he had went to sleep in his own room, locking the door so she couldn't follow. That had hurt. Oh, Hermione knew she could get in there with a simple charm, but she wasn't about to do that. Maybe it was better to let Harry have his space for one night. Though she longed desperately to tell him that she loved him and that she wanted to be with him, not Malfoy. Hermione would have liked it to be Harry who the charm sent her to, under any circumstances, although the more mature side of her thought it was a good thing that he didn't need her desperately. Certainly, it had never seemed as though he depended on her even after she first arrived. Looking back, Hermione thought that maybe he needed her because he loved her, even back then before they were together.
She certainly hoped that was the case.
The next morning, Hermione awoke early, hoping to have the chance to talk to Harry. Unfortunately, he had left early for practice that morning, and she thought for one brief second that he might be avoiding her, before shaking it off. He had told her previously that practices would be starting a bit earlier.
When Hermione got to the kitchen, she found a response from Professor McGonagall that detailed her appointment to the Hogwarts staff waiting for her on the table. She read the letter over breakfast, before leaving for the day. Which she promptly did when she arrived at work that morning. Her boss had been understanding. While he was sorry to see her go, this wasn't an opportunity that she should pass up, he had told her. Hermione had thanked him for everything, and then they settled on her last day being this Friday. Which was much sooner than Hermione had expected, but was still not soon enough. For she'd have to work with Malfoy until then and something told her that he would not be pleasant once he found out that she was leaving.
Malfoy himself drifted in late to work. That was unusual as he normally was in before her. When he did arrived, Hermione greeted him cheerfully, but was ignored. From the occasional groan that emitted from his desk, Hermione surmised that he was suffering from a hangover. Which serves him right for what a bother he was last night, Hermione thought spitefully. Though I know he couldn't control himself because he was drunk and all that . . . but we were wandering around that neighborhood forever! Still, I'd best offer a charm to help cure his hangover.
"Need a cure for that hangover?" Hermione offered.
Malfoy's head shot up as he fixed her with a steely glare. "I'm not hung over, Granger," he said stiffly.
"Oh please." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Anyone can see that you are. And even if I was naïve and didn't know how one looked, I could tell by the way you were acting that something was wrong. Besides, I saw how much you had to drink last night and—"
"You what?" Malfoy asked quietly, rising from his seat. He paced over to her desk and stopped to glare at her. "What did you say?"
Hermione glowered back at him. She wasn't about to be intimidated by the blond wizard, no matter that he was almost a foot taller than her and haughtier than anyone else. "I said it's bloody obvious that you're hung over given how much you had to drink last night," she said, tilting her head upwards.
"And how would you know that?" he asked.
"If you don't know, I'm not telling," she replied. And I'm not, she thought. If he doesn't know, then he doesn't need to know. As I do not want him piecing things together. Let him think that it was all a dream.
"So it wasn't a dream then," he said half to himself. "It wasn't a dream. You were really there." Then he snapped back to the current situation. "I swear, Granger, if you ever tell anyone about—"
"Why would I want to do that?" she snapped. "It was embarrassing enough last night without anyone knowing about it." Hermione felt a stab of pity when she saw him flinch. "But you need not worry. I won't tell anyone about you being a silly drunk and all."
"Thanks, Granger," he drawled. Then Malfoy buried his face in his hands, groaning once again. "Damn it! Potter and Weasley were there too, weren't they?" Hermione nodded, though that went unnoticed by him. "Great, just great," Malfoy muttered under his breath as he returned to his desk. "Could this day get any worse?"
That was just asking for Murphy's Law to strike. So of course it was then that their boss stuck his head through the door. "Congratulations once again, Hermione. Oh, and in case she hasn't told you, Draco, she's got an offer from Hogwarts." He smiled proudly at Hermione. "She'll be leaving us to go and teach there. Her last day of work is Friday. So pretty soon, you'll have this office all to yourself." With that being said, their boss left, leaving Hermione to deal with the aftermath.
"So," Malfoy said casually, "you got an offer to teach at Hogwarts?"
"Yeah," she replied. "As an assistant professor though. To take over some of the Transfiguration classes."
"That's a nice plum to fall into your lap though. Considering that you've just finished your education and all that," said Malfoy.
"I know," Hermione said. You know, if Malfoy was Ron, he'd be red with anger now, Hermione reflected. Though I know he's not Ron and all that . . . but that just makes him harder to read. I think he's mad with me, but I'm not sure.
"Can't really blame you for taking that job," Malfoy was saying. "Though I did think you were happy here, as you always seemed the type to love research. And it does make things a little hard on me, seeing as evidently there are no plans to replace you right away."
"Oh, I'm sure they will," Hermione said brightly. "There's too much work to be done for one person to handle by himself. It might take a couple weeks for them to find someone, but never fear. You'll have a partner again soon enough."
"In the meantime, I get to do all the work by myself," Malfoy retorted. "And my work hours had finally become reasonable. Guess that was too good to last."
"Look, Malfoy, I'm sorry," Hermione said. "Really I am. I'm sorry that you'll have to deal with all this by yourself. But I couldn't pass this job up. It's—"
"Your dream job, yes I know." Malfoy waved a hand at her.
"And that trip to Greece is coming up, so that will be a nice break for you," Hermione added.
"If I remember correctly, that wasn't a vacation. It was work. Though one could take some time to relax and enjoy the sights if one had a partner to split the work with . . . but I no longer have that luxury, do I?"
Now it was Hermione who was getting mad. Yes, she was sorry that she was leaving suddenly. And she felt bad that there was no one to replace her right away. But really! Did he expect her to give up the position at Hogwarts to help him? Because that went to show how much they were not friends. Her friends would never expect her to give up on a dream like that for them. Harry had been so happy for her, even though it meant that they would move again. He had never once suggested that she not take the position, and Hermione knew he would have done the same even if there wasn't that blasted charm hanging over their heads.
"As I've said before, I'm sorry about this, but I really cannot pass up this chance," Hermione said curtly. "Now as we've already covered this several times, I think I will get back to work. Because the more I get done this week, means that there's less for you to do by yourself next week."
"How considerate of you," Malfoy replied sharply. "Though how you could accept a job that was offered to you only because you've always been the teacher's pet is beyond me."
"Sod off, Malfoy." Hermione bit her lip, fuming and wishing she could hex him into oblivion. "I am capable of doing the job and am as qualified as the next witch for it. So you can stuff that shit back up your arse."
"Is that so, Granger?" Malfoy leaned forward in his seat menacingly. "I love how quickly you forget to be civil."
"You started it." Hermione got up. "And this is getting me nowhere. I've already apologized more than I should for something that isn't really my fault. And all I've got is insults. So if you excuse me, I think I've something to look up in the library." Hermione grabbed her books off her desk and marched out. But before she could get very far, it happened again.
And when Malfoy went out in the hallway to follow her, there was no one there.
Hermione blinked, trying to figure out where she was. It was raining outside, making it hard to see. But it looked like she was in a Quidditch stadium. Up in the stands of one, that is. And in front of her there was someone, who seemed to be huddled up. It kind of looked like—
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed and rushed forward. What happened? she wondered. I've not seen him like this for a long time. She embraced him as she reached him, but he merely remained passive. "Harry, what's wrong?" Hermione asked. "Please say something."
He heaved a great sigh. "Nothing's wrong, Hermione," he mumbled. "Except that I realized that I'm a giant prat . . . and you won't be wanting me anymore."
"Harry!" Hermione was shocked. How could he think that? Though fortunately he was in front of her, so she could ask that. "How can you think that?" she asked. "I can't ever imagine not wanting you."
"Yeah right," he said bitterly. He turned to face her. The rain was tumbling down his face and over his glasses, making it hard for her to see whether he was crying. And it would be a miracle for him to be able to see anything with the current downpour. Hermione took out her wand, intent on casting an Impervious charm on his glasses, but he pulled away from her. "Don't treat me like that," he whinged. "As though I'm a child."
"I'm not, Harry," Hermione replied reasonably. "I just thought you might like to see is all."
"See? There you go again." Harry rested his chin against his knees. "Which goes to show that eventually you'll tire of me, because you're sick of taking care of me, and leave me for that . . . ." His voice trailed off, as though he didn't want to finish that thought.
"I don't see why you'd think I'd get tired of you if I haven't in seven years," Hermione said, with the slightest trace of asperity in her voice. "And in love with you for half that time as well, I might add." She paused, not knowing if she should continue.
"Yeah, well, Malfoy wasn't really an option for you back then, was he?" Harry spat bitterly. "Unlike now."
"I don't really think he's an option for me now, either. I don't think he ever will be."
"Please, Hermione. You don't have to spare my feelings. Tell me how you really feel." Harry suddenly stretched out and stood up, stepping closer to her. "I know he's almost bloody perfect for you."
"What?" Hermione was shocked. Where did he get that idea? "Whatever makes you think that?" she asked. "Because I most certainly do not agree."
"For one, he's your intellectual equal or whatever they're calling it now," Harry said, whirling around and starting to pace. "You don't have to take time to explain things to him like you do me." He snorted. "Eventually, I expect that you'll get fed up with my stupidity and—"
"Harry! You are not stupid!" Hermione reached out a hand to touch his shoulder. He stopped in his pacing and turned around to face her. "You are not! Neither you—or Ron for that matter—are stupid. You simply never applied yourselves as much as you could in school. Not that I'm blaming you or anything like that," she hastened to add, "because I know now that different people like different things . . . and not everyone likes studying like I do but—"
"That's exactly my point. You two are the same type when it comes to that sort of thing." Harry sighed. "And I'm told that the git is handsome and rich and . . . yeah, so I'm not surprised that you'd fall for him. Especially when he needs you so much."
"Harry! I'm not the type to fall for someone merely because they're good looking and well off," she said. "Though I would like to add that the handsome and rich part applies to you too." She smiled. "And personally, you win the charming department as well."
"There's still the fact that he needs you. More than me," Harry said dully.
"Oh!" Hermione stamped her foot and then took a step forward, bracing herself as she brought up a hand to slap him. "Do you really think that I'm that fickle?" she demanded. "Do you really think that my affection will change just because the charm thinks that someone else needs me more than you? Because I'm not. I'm not that fickle. I'm more constant than that." She hung her head. It hurt to think that he thought of her that way, even though she had always been there for him, even when he hadn't been there for her.
"No, I don't—"
"Well, that's what it sounds like to me, Harry Potter. And I've told you and told you . . . it's you that I love . . . and I'm not going to change my mind at the drop of the hat. And certainly not because of some charm that I'm desperate to get rid of. And which, if you haven't noticed, has just brought me here to you."
"It has, hasn't it?" Harry said quietly to himself. "But I . . . oh Hermione!" He crossed the distance between them and hugged her. "I am a giant prat, aren't I?"
"You are," Hermione agreed. "But you're the one that I love." She brought up her arms around him, trying to get closer to him. "And the one that I'll always love . . . especially if we can get out of the rain before finishing this conversation."
"I think I might be able to arrange that," Harry whispered into her ear. He swept her off her feet and into his arms, before pelting indoors, ignoring Hermione's pleas for him to slow down because they were only getting wetter faster. Once inside, he set her down and languidly kissed her, backing her against the wall. "So," he said, "do you still love me?"
"Even though you got me all wet? Yes." She pressed her lips against him. "I do love you. Though I've yet to have any such reassurance from you."
"You haven't? Let me remedy that." And he proceeded to do just that.
Author's note: I hope everyone liked this chapter. I would appreciate it if you would let me know what you think by leaving a review. The next chapter should be up at the usual time. Finally, thanks to Shawn Pickett (this might not be taken as a compliment, but the reasoning you used for the boys' plan was much like the reasoning Ron used in justifying it in the first place ), ExcalibursZone (it probably was short because it was either that or postpone updates for two weeks), Oh-Dear (yeah, he's a jealous prat, but I'd prefer to write him that way, than to make him perfect), ears91, EuphoniumGurl0 (Me? Mean to Draco? He's not dead!), juliet's rose, LeslieGlady, PoTtErSPaYnE, Sunchilde (good point! Thanks for bringing it up), Star19 (I think I know what you were referring to), TheSilverLady, acissej, Leah6, lee74, Fire-bound heart, Ramy, BakaAngel, Sheilalein, malu (of course she can appear for someone else. But so long as she's safe, Harry would mind more if it's Draco), RogueBHS, Ash, Falling, Amynoelle (hopefully, it'll be updated tomorrow), Brittany, Mistress Desdemona (since when has he been the type to apologize?), TheGreatFox2000, Zekintha, Bulma Queen of Saiya-jin (thanks for always reviewing ), ravenclaw's heir, skywalkercn (not too soon, but she'll figure out a solution soon enough), casey windsor (thanks, am much better), craziiblondii, Erise, Jen, Bladefanatic, hpfanmelissa, and one crimson tie (Thank you. And I feel as though I owe you a cup of coffee or three for that marathon reading session. Oh, and I had thought I had mentioned it, but Dumbledore's dead) )for their reviews of the last chapter. Thanks so much for taking the time to review it.