A/N: Here's the next chapter! sorry if there are typographical errors and the like. I was too excited to put this chapter up so I didn't have the time to go over it again. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Chapter 3: Surprise, Surprise.

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"Let me go!" Hermione cried as they grasped her arms. "GET OFF!"

"Get off!" She warned, trying to fend for herself. "LET ME—oomph" She managed to slip off their grip and falling hard on the tiled floor.

"Just cooperate with us. We don't want this to happen." Said one man calmly, approaching her cautiously, with one arm out as she started to back off, feeling her eyes stinging with fresh, hot tears which she prevented by gritting her teeth.

"I'll call the police, seriously. You can't be doing this. This'll get you lot arrested!" She threatened, running down the corridor, turning right towards the fire exit, fumbling with the phone in her pocket. Her feet rooted to the ground. She dropped her phone in Harry's flat. She sighed angrily and found refuge in a broom closet. She removed her jacket and threw it to the flight of stairs in front of her, somehow misleading them—if they ever passed here.

Hermione could hear nothing at first—for the first 15 minutes, as her breathing quickened due to anxiety, she found it hard to stay hidden. There was heavy tension in the air, she shifted her weight from one leg to another, making wood in the closet creak and some mops move. There was an eerie silence that surrounded her, making her shudder and cringe in worry. She felt startled as she heard footsteps descending from the stairs, getting louder and louder, and when she felt a strong grip on the handle of the closet. She felt her legs go weak and wobbly, her face getting drained of all color—bracing herself, positioning her fists in front of her. Knee to the groin, Hermione. Knee to the groin. Then fist to the face. Oh—this is pathetic, I should've taken up fencing and self-defense back home.

The door opened, revealing a bright light that made her eyes squint. And in front of her, she saw a raven colored man, his skin pale and droplets of sweat rolling down his face. His hair was standing in every possible angle and he smiled at her with bated breath. Hermione felt her eyes well up and she found herself flinging her arms around his neck, sobbing into his chest. He slowly wrapped his arms around her awkwardly, looking elsewhere. "They're gone." He said calmly, "I called the security once I heard what was happening and got into a little..." He let the sentence drop, wiping blood from his lip with the back of his palm still the awkward position he had been dreading. "Care to explain what that was all about? Casey?" He soothed.

Hermione's grasp loosened at the sound of her 'fake' name, and soon her arms were crossed over her chest. She wiped away her tears slowly, and then shook her head. "I can't tell you."

"I just saved you from whatever that was! At least you need to tell me this." His temper rose, and he groaned loudly, and ran his fingers through his hair.

She flushed a bright pink color, yet she didn't know why. She turned around to conceal it, suddenly feeling embarrassed of how much trouble she'd cost him. She looked at his red shirt, with was now wet with her tears. She breathed deeply, trying to go back to his senses. His hair was damp which made him look like he came from a photo shoot, and it didn't help her in concentrating and collecting her thoughts, either—as well as the his musky scent that circulated the air, making her senses tingle. But what stunned her, were his eyes. They were... dim, and serious. She suddenly snapped back into reality to see him looking at her expectantly.

"Well?" He pressed.

"I can't tell you that..."

"Fine then. At least do this for me—don't stay out of my sight. If not mine, then don't stay out of Draco's sight, or Mitch's—my bodyguard. Okay? Is that a deal? Cause those men are dangerous. They look like they won't give up." He asked—or ordered. His lip was slightly bleeding, but he still looked incredibly handsome, which led her breathless.

"Okay... thanks." She said in a serious tone, "We should disturb Draco and Ginny now—I don't care what we're doing. Come on." She invited, as she went up the stairs and he followed behind her.

Hermione saw through the corner of her eye that his lips were slightly curved by the end, releasing a low chuckle.

Well, she thought, That doesn't happen everyday.

Turns out that Draco and Ginny weren't doing what Harry and Hermione thought they were doing. They didn't press any further since there was a more important matter at hand. Everyone agreed to keep a close watch on Hermione—Casey, that is—and help her through this, which was surprisingly Harry's idea. Then they decided to hire a bodyguard. Then, 10 minutes after the discussion, Hermione felt her heart drop. He returned to his means self again. Slightly nicer, but then—he was still the man who she loathed.

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"Ugh, black coffee is horrendous!" Harry stated, dropping his coffee in the trashcan. "I told you to get me the normal kind."

"You asked for black!" Hermione argued, sitting down tiredly on the couch.

"Must you need another warning to get things right? Honestly Casey, what am I to do with you?" He said seriously his British accent resurfacing—he was asked to lose it a few years ago in his first movie. But she was oblivious to the hint of amusement in his voice. His cellphone rang, and she couldn't conceal the smirk that was forming on her face.

"O-oh. Right. So, erm, i-it's a date then?" He stuttered, and she pressed her lips tightly, refusing to laugh out loud. He stuttered his goodbyes and brought down the phone. He looked at her weirdly, as she was staring at him amusingly, and ran his hands through his hair—"What?" He asked, leaning on his table.

"You are such a loser with girls!" She laughed. Picking up her purse and laughing through the glass doors on her way out before he could respond. She half-dreaded his warnings.

Mitch followed her everyday, and they've formed a special bond. She talks to him and he listens, not saying a word, he's exactly like Crookshanks at home—minus the hairy orange hair and annoying meowing. She laughed at the image of her lean, muscular, blond, bodyguard meowing at her. Mitch didn't look like one at all, he dressed casually—right now he was wearing a cap, sunglasses, a black hoodie, jeans and sneakers, to be inconspicuous. He looked nothing like a bodyguard, he was muscular but he looked like a normal 29 year-old, which was surprisingly young.

"Is Harry a nice person?" She asked out of the blue, "Because sometimes I think that it's impossible."

Mitch smiled, "I thought so, either. But yes, he is nice once you know him."

"And when does he let you know him?" She retorted, ordering for a different coffee this time. She tapped her feet on the tiles and looked up at him. Expecting an answer.

"Soon enough. I guess. I've been his bodyguard for...5 years, no wait." He started counting with his fingers, "Since he's 23 right now, I've been at his service for 6 years."

"Woah, so 6 years with him and he finally gets to say 'hi' to me. That's great." She said sarcastically, leaving a tip in the tip box and walking with him securely behind her. "My feet hurt." She whined, "Damn Pott—oh, hey, here's your coffee, sir." She flushed a bright pink color and gave it to him, as she didn't notice him walking beside her. Hermione let out a low whistle—that was close.

"That's odd." He began, "My feet don't hurt at all. I've been comfy in my trailer all day and I decided to drop by. I see that you and Mitch are being..." He paused as he searched for a word. "Pleasant around each other."

"Yes. We talk, we're friends. Ever heard of that word?" She retorted. He smirked.

"Oh Barrett, what am I really going to do with you?" He asked innocently.

"Give me my paycheck! It was due a week." She complained.

"I don't want to." He said simply.

"Ugh." She whined, turning to the elevator. "I'm going home."

"Fine. Hold on—wait, I'll go with you. The restaurant is a few blocks from the flat." He suggested. Everyone seemed to nod in agreement, except for Hermione.

They walked out of the building with paparazzi bombarding them, shouting questions—some being "Are you together?", "Who's the girl?", "Where are you going?". They ignored it, but Hermione felt tears welling up in her eyes at how there was no privacy at all. She squinted her eyes at the flashes of light, which were practically blinding. Harry put his hands over his head for protection, his other arm around her protectively and pushed her towards the car in front of them, ignoring more absurd remarks and speculations on their way. They entered the car—fast, and before she knew it, she heard Harry cussing under his breath. "That'll be in the papers tomorrow, bloody idiots."

"What do you mean?" She asked, but was only responded with silence.

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Harry Potter has left the building—with a girl?

By: Rita Skeeter

Harry Potter, 23, world renown and one of the most successful actors in the business was seen exiting his office building with his arm protectively wrapped around a girl—she is yet to be identified, but a witness says that she works with him. We interviewed him the other day and he only mentioned that "they were just friends". We've heard all that before, could it be that he and his on and off again girlfriend, Cho Chang, are off for good? And this woman is his new squeeze?

Cho Chang is utterly devastated. We received a call from her representative this morning and... (cont. on page 7)

"Goddamn it." Harry said, his jaw dropped from shock. He ran to his Draco's flat, scaring everyone as he slammed the door open.

"Bloody writers!" He shouted, and threw the paper to the middle of the table that Draco, Ginny, and Hermione were sitting on, making a glass of orange juice pour all over Hermione's waffles, she looked up at him worriedly, and he felt his heart drop. "Just... Just read it." He said quietly, unsure whether to send glares at 'Casey' for this. He sat down on the couch. "Cho just broke up with me." He muttered, bending his head in defeat. "Entertainment Weekly has just asked me to go to their set for an interview, I've got red carpet later and everyone will bombard me like this—not to mention that my co-star is my ex-girlfriend. Uggh." He complained, his head in his hands.

The three looked at each other, blown away with what just happened.

"Harry..." She began, not realizing that she had addressed him in his first name, "erm, I'm—"

"Don't say you're sorry. It's not your fault." He said sternly. "It's those bloody paparazzi."

"I'm going to say sorry... to them, at least." She pressed, getting up from her seat. But she felt a strong grip around her wrist, pulling her back down to the couch.

"Are you that naive? You just can't say sorry! There are press conferences, interviews, articles—"

"So what are we gonna do?" She said, turning into a bright pink color as she thought of how wonderful "we" sounded. She dismissed the thought almost immediately.

"Leave it to me." He sighed, "This doesn't mean that you don't need protection. Just act as if it never happened, I'll handle it. Don't worry, Casey."

He closed the door behind him, and Hermione stared at Draco and Ginny, who were quietly eating their breakfast, who inconveniently heard the whole thing.

"He keeps on surprising me." Hermione said quietly.

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A/N: not one of my best chapters, but please review, nonetheless. thanks a lot for visiting my story. Next chapter will be up soon.