Something More: Chapter 4: Game Plan
Harry stood by the door for a few minutes, thinking about what had happened. But what had happened, he asked himself. What had just happened? Hermione started staring at me really intensely and closed her eyes. Then she'd freaked. Harry closed his eyes and leaned against the door. He remembered the times when Ginny had looked at him like that; when Ginny had stared at him, and then they had kissed.
He shook his head with closed eyes. This had been nothing like that. No attraction, no love. But had Ginny ever really loved him? Or had he been a prize that Ginny had to win to prove that her childhood crush on him had been worth it? That she had won? Harry thought all of this while he leaned against the wall, and then he was reminded of Hermione's presence when she coughed. His eyes flew open and he walked back to the couch. He sat down again, and asked shakily, "Are you sure you're OK?"
Hermione nodded and said, "Yeah... I'm all-right."
Harry closed his eyes and leaned his head against a pillow on the couch. He'd been lying like that for a few seconds, when he snuck a look at Hermione. She was looking away from him, and stared at a spot on the wall. Harry frowned. He didn't know why, but he was very worried about Hermione. Something had happened to her, and he wanted to know what.
He thought about asking her how she was without Ron, but decided against that because then he would have to talk about Ginny; that was not a good idea.
He decided to go in another direction. "So... what should we do?" he asked. Hermione looked back at him and shrugged. So Harry continued, "Well, the store will be open in an hour, and we can buy some groceries." Hermione nodded, and Harry leaned back into his pillow. Well, he thought, I might as well sleep some more. We have an hour. And he fell asleep.
***********************************************************************************
Harry woke up 2 hours later and saw that Hermione was still on the couch. She was still staring at the same spot on the wall, as he had been 2 hours before. Harry grabbed her arm again and shook it. Hermione jumped and turned around. "Oh, right," she mumbled. Harry turned his head away from her, and frowned so that she wouldn't see. He felt like crying again. What had he done this time? What if Hermione left him too? Where would he go? How could he go? Harry scolded himself internally, and thought: She's not going to desert you; because she's Hermione.
Harry stood up and stretched his arms above his head. "Let's go, shall we?"
Hermione actually smiled, which made Harry feel better about what he had promised himself. He smiled back and Hermione gasped. "That was a real smile," she said. "A full, real smile." She laughed jovially and the sound made Harry want to laugh back. But instead, he just blushed and headed for the coat closet. He grabbed his coat off of its hanger and pulled it on quickly. He made sure his wallet was in his pocket, and when he was sure it was there, stepped outside.
Hermione followed and locked the door with a quick spell. Then she turned and walked down the hall to the elevator. "We are wizards, you know," Harry said. Hermione rolled her eyes and apparated to the grocery. There we go, Harry thought. There's my Hermione.
Harry blanched a little at his use of the word my when referring to Hermione but shook it off. Then he apparated after his friend.
***********************************************************************************
While Hermione waited for Harry outside the grocery, she told herself to 'get a grip'. You don't have feelings for Harry, she told herself. You just want him to be happy again, that's all. You want him to smile like his last smile for the rest of his life. That's all. "That's all," she said, out loud.
At that moment Harry apparated to her side. "Hey," he said. "Thanks for waiting." He winked at her and Hermione found herself blushing. He gave her a puzzled look, but she didn't say anything. Harry smiled again and said, "Let's go."
Harry led the way into the store and Hermione followed after. Hermione grabbed a cart from a small space beside the automatic doors, and headed for a sign labeled Dairy. She heard Harry chuckle and she turned around. "What?" she asked.
"Nothing," he replied, but for some reason, Hermione doubted that was the truth. She rolled her eyes, and kept heading for Dairy. Harry followed close by her shoulder, and this made her very nervous. Hermione thought about necessary food items to keep her mind from thinking about the possibility of having feelings for Harry.
"It's absurd," Hermione said, growing angry at herself. Oops... said.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Ummm... nothing," she replied. She continued walking through the shelves, pulling milk, butter, and cheese along with her. She and Harry didn't talk, but walked awkwardly through the aisles.
Finally, Hermione had found everything she thought Harry would need, and headed to the checkout counter. The assistant chewed her gum loudly and when Hermione stared off into space again, thinking about Harry, she said rudely, "Excuse me, lady, will you please pay already?"
Hermione turned back to the counter stunned and couldn't remember what the girl had said.
"I got this," Harry said. He pulled his wallet out of his coat and handed the assistant the money.
Then he whispered low, "Are you sure you're OK? I've had to ask you like 10 times today."
Hermione finally snapped out of her reverie, and realized that Harry was talking to her.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Really... I'm just spacing out a lot today."
Harry rolled his eyes and walked out of the store. "Let's take these back to my place and then we'll go to breakfast, OK?"
Hermione nodded and apparated back to Harry's flat.
*************************************************************************************
After Harry and Hermione went back to Harry's flat and put the food away, they headed to a nearby café and sat at a table by the fireplace. Hermione shivered in her coat, for it had been pouring snow outside. She and Harry had slipped on the ice many times just walking across the street, and they had to grab on to each other's shoulders each time they slipped. Hermione imagined she should have been laughing, as Harry had been, but she had been just a little too aware of Harry's hand on her shoulder. Hermione shivered, but this time, not from the cold.
Harry was talking with the waiter, and it gave Hermione more time to come to terms with what she had decided at Harry's, when they had packed away the food. When they had worked and Harry was turned away from her, Hermione found herself staring at his back; the way his muscles moved in his shoulder blades. And moaning. Damn, she had thought. He's quite hot. No, more than that. Sexy. Hermione had gasped when she thought this but Harry hadn't noticed. Hermione had blushed and turned away from him.
All right, she'd thought. Hermione, you like Harry. Well, more than that. You think he's sexy and smart and talented and kind and... everything you look for in a guy. You have to admit that you want to be more than friends. Something more... Much more.
Hermione pulled herself back to the present. She had a game plan. It went a little something like this:
Make Harry happy again.
Make Harry forget Ginny.
Make Harry like-like Hermione.
Make Harry want to be something more with Hermione.
Make Harry love Hermione.
Hermione smiled. It sounded like a very good plan to her. She laughed, almost manically, and thought: Soon, he will be mine.
Hermione stopped there. That was too far. She didn't want to own Harry, just make him happy, and...(this came without thought), to make him want to be with her forever. Oh My God, she thought. What if I love him? What if I want to marry him? And...and have kids with him? Hermione shivered , but once again, not from the cold. And then, it hit her:
I love Harry Potter. I love Harry Potter. I love Harry Potter!! Hermione said these words over and over in her head, and a grin spread across her face. I love Harry Potter! I love Harry Potter, and not Ron Weasley. Hermione grinned wider than she had in years, even during those happy days with Ron.
***********************************************************************************
Harry frowned. Hermione was staring off into space, again. Her eyes were wide, with excitement or fear, but which one Harry couldn't tell. She was grinning wide too, wider than Harry could remember her ever grinning. Harry couldn't help but grin too. Her face was so happy, completely and utterly ecstatic. And excited. Yes, definitely excitement instead of fear.
The fact that Hermione was happy again sent an electric shock throughout Harry's body. It was strange, because he'd never cared about someone being happy that much before. The feeling made him shiver. He remembered when they had slipped on the ice, crossing over to the café, and how he'd felt when Hermione had her hand on his shoulder, and vice-versa. He'd felt strangely happy and strong and brave: Like he could accomplish anything with his best friend at his side: Even heal the hurt that Ginny had left behind.
Harry laughed jovially and when Hermione came out of her thoughts, Harry threw himself into their conversation with much excitement. He was happy: and Ginny was all forgotten.
***********************************************************************************
As Harry and Hermione talked animatedly and happily with each other, Hermione failed to realize some important facts. Harry was passing straight through phases one and two of her game plan; and soon, stage 3 would begin. And Harry... he had no idea.
