Depth of Knowledge
A/N: Goodness, I love you guys! Thanks for all the support on the last chapter and enjoy this one. As usual, replies to reviews at the bottom.
DISCLAIMER: Fellow Potterheads, I am not the owner of Harry Potter. It sucks, I know, but I'm not.
Chapter 6: Confronting the Weasleys
Word of Harry's unprecedented episode in Transformation class had, apparently, spread past the castle walls. This wasn't a good thing for Harry, who dreaded facing the Weasleys when asked about breaking their son's leg.
Just as Harry had expected, Mrs. Weasley was furious. Mr. Weasley didn't seem mad, but confused. Ginny hadn't talked to Harry in days.
"HARRY POTTER!"
The loud scream of a woman echoed through the Great Hall as a red-haired woman stomped furiously towards the Gryffindor table, her face matching in color.
"Why...did you...BREAK MY SON'S LEG!" Mrs. Weasley reached Harry and grabbed him roughly by the shoulders, pulling him away from the table.
"Mrs. Weasley, I'm terribly sorry..."
"Don't you sorry me, mister. You're coming to the infirmary and apologizing!" Harry had no choice as she dragged him furiously, his knees chafing the floor as he went. Reaching the infirmary, Harry found Ron in one of the front beds, Hermione reading beside him. They looked up.
"Harry is just coming around to say sorry, Ronald." Mrs. Weasley said sweetly, pushing Harry towards the bed. His face was redder than the Weasley family's hair.
"Mum! He's already apologized! Hermione and I think something's wrong with him, even if he doesn't think so." Harry was glad Ron was helping him get out of the sticky situation.
"No, Ronald, he needs to apologize again! He also owes an apology to Hermione, here, because he almost KILLED her boyfriend," Mrs. Weasley emphasized. Hermione blushed a scarlet color.
"Molly, he's already apologized to me as well. Profusely, even. He's not in his right mind, which I'm glad Matt is helping him." Hermione returned to her book, looking even more scarlet than before if it was even possible.
"Oh, alright! But Harry, you've got some talking to do with Ronald and Hermione!" And with that, Mrs. Weasley stalked out of the infirmary to her waiting husband in the corridor outside.
Harry stood awkwardly next to the bed, nervous. What was he supposed to say? Oh, sorry about breaking your leg Ron, it was an accident. Hah, an accident.
"So...how's the leg doing, Ron?" Harry asked, wanting to start some small talk. Better than nothing.
"Fine, Harry, fine." The awkward tension in the room was making Harry frustrated beyond belief. These were his friends, mates. People who Harry found easier to talk with.
"You know what? I'm bloody sorry Ron. I'm sorry Hermione. You guys are right: I'm not in my right mindset. I've been acting like a fool ever since the visions, and Dumbledore hasn't done crap." Harry was breathing heavily, his eyes darting around the room anywhere but his two friends.
Silence.
More silence.
Harry was growing even more frustrated.
"Alright, I know what you're playing at here!" Harry exclaimed, his eyes narrowed. "You're playing hard to get, liking the fact I'm squirming. That's low. Really low..."
Hermione hadn't taken her eyes off her book. Ron was playing with his bedsheets.
And Harry knew. They were testing him, seeing how much it took to really piss him off. Get on his nerves. Harry started to laugh.
"Oh, come off it guys! I know what you're playing at. I'm not going to get angry for your enjoyment!" Harry chuckled, walking up to the bed and sitting on the side. Hermione looked up from her book, smiling slightly.
"There's the Harry we know, right Ron?" Hermione said, Ron nodding in agreement. "And Harry, we love having you as our friend. Just try and keep the anger out of your system." Harry nodded and smiled, turning to go. He stopped without turning.
"And Hermione?"
"Yes, Harry?"
Harry took a deep breath. "I really do have a thing for you. That wasn't in blind rage." And he left without looking back.
Harry spent his trip to Hogsmeade alone, Hermione choosing to stay with Ron in the infirmary for his last day. He had rejected the requests of a couple girls, saying he was going alone that day.
It was snowing more than usual when he reached the village, heading towards the Three Broomsticks. Harry saw Ginny walking with Dean Thomas, surprised to not feel the slightest bit of jealousy. He guessed that had to be reserved for Hermione. She really looked fantastic these days.
Entering the pub, Harry glanced around to see Cho sitting at a table, alone. He decided to join her.
"Can I sit here?" Harry asked, politely waiting for her reply. Cho looked up and smiled.
"Of course, Harry." He sat down and ordered a butterbeer from Madame Pomfrey.
"Cho, I need a favor. Can you, well, ask Hermione if she likes me? Like, indirectly. Say you're playing a game and you rate on a scale of one to ten." Harry's heart was on the verge of blowing.
"Well, Harry, I can try. I'm not usually a girl that goes up to Hermione, though, so it might look suspicious." Cho sounded uncertain.
"Just try, for me?" Harry pleaded. Cho smiled.
"Alright, I'll do it. Just not making any promises I'll have an answer." Harry got up and embraced Cho.
"You're the best!" Cho was blushing furiously as Harry left the pub in a rush into the snowy weather outside.
His butterbeer sat forgotten on the empty table.
Harry was eager to hear from Cho the following day, only to receive an apology that Hermione had promised to meet Cho the next day. Again, Harry eagerly awaited on the evening after. Cho came towards the Gryffindor staircase where they were supposed to meet.
"Well, Harry. I'd say it was a success. Hermione had some interesting ratings on boys, although she was extremely uncomfortable talking about it." Cho added, amused. "She rated Ron an 8, Dean a 5, Neville a 6, and you...she was quite reserved about her opinion on you. She beat around the bush a lot."
"So did you find out what she rated me?" Harry asked, anxious.
"Yeah, finally got her to say it. Apparently, she rated you higher than her current boyfriend!" Cho exclaimed. "I seriously don't understand that girl. She gave you a 9. Hah, I swear that bookworm really needs to sort out her relationships." With that, Cho walked off.
"Oh, and Harry? She told me to say hello."
Harry could only stare. That girl was messing with his mind. Seriously.
Embarrassed, Harry avoided Hermione for the next couple of days, sitting at the opposite end of the table next to Neville. Fortunately, Neville seemed to never stop talking. This kept Harry distracted from the constant pull of Voldemort's feelings.
Harry felt happy at times. Sad at times. Angry at times. It was annoying, really. And bloody Dumbledore wasn't helping him a bit besides Matt. I haven't seen the guy in a bit, Harry thought amusedly as he sat thinking in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. Maybe Dumbledore got some sense and told him off.
Ron seemed alright with Harry's crush on his girlfriend, although he seemed more overprotective as the days went on. His leg had fully recovered, and he was expected to return as keeper for the Gryffindor quidditch team the next week. Harry had been fired from his captain position after his assault on Ron.
"Harry, you know you should eat." Hermione said from behind him. It was past dinner, and students were trickling in to go to bed.
"I'm alright, just thinking." Harry hated to be around Hermione alone, it being so awkward for him. With Ron, it was fine. Hermione sat beside him and started her homework for the week coming up, books sprawling around the sofa.
"Oi, Hermione! Doing homework for next week, I presume?" Ron asked playfully, sitting beside the two. Hermione smiled softly before returning to her work.
"Ronald Weasley," Hermione said without looking up. "Have you done Professor Snape's paper due tomorrow?"
Ron cursed loudly. "You got a quill?" And the two did their homework in peace, enjoying each other's presence. And Harry was the third wheel, carefully tiptoeing up the stairs to his dormitory.
A/N: Aww, Harry is the third wheel. I've wondered how that would feel for me. Probably terrible. Thanks SO MUCH to all my viewers and followers/favs! REALLY HELPS ME OUT! And thanks to:
God of All- Hey, thanks for your wonderful review! Your wish is my command. Hopefully I can update every two to three days, but this post is really fast. Thanks again! ?
Blake Gray: Go right on ahead, but please don't copy anything I wrote really closely. Thanks for review! ?
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Pawsrules: Haha, your username brought much nostalgia to the early days of this story. You've stuck with the story for quite some time, and I can't express my gratitude. Hope to see you all the way on the road ahead. ?
THANKS SO MUCH guys for the amazing response on this story. Hope to see all of you on the long road ahead!
-potter_conspiracy
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Song of the Chapter(SoC)- Rahizel: Legends. The song is really good and I've been listening to it a LOT.
