Chapter 6

Harry looked directly past Hermione towards Caroline and her face showed her annoyance at Ron as it was obvious Ron had neglected to tell Harry who is partner was.

"Yep Harry, I am, actually we are partners." Hermione plastered a smile to her face and to anyone else it looked like she was the most confident girl in the world.

He just stared at her and did a half nod. The girls and Caroline walked outside so she could show them the material in the sunlight and Ron looked over to Harry expecting him to be furious but he wouldn't say a word. Neville then decided it was time he and Ginny left as they had a prior arrangement and Caroline came in to say goodbye. Ron and Caroline walked them out and Harry took the opportunity to walk outside to talk to Hermione.

She knew he was there and she decided to put a stop to any more nonsense. She walked up to Harry and stood right in front of him. He was considerably taller than her but she wasn't going to be swayed.

"Harry, I understand you want nothing to do with me and that's fine BUT this is Ron's wedding and I am not going to spoil it for him. He deserves more than that. If you can't deal with the fact that I am your partner then fine, I will ask Ginny to swap BUT I am not going to drop out of Ron's wedding because the two of us can't act civilised for one day. Is that clear?"

Harry watched her speak and his thoughts drifted to how much she had changed over the past year but the more pressing issue was how much he missed her. He didn't want to admit it to anyone but his life had become so complicated since she left and he knew it was because she was gone. He knew he had to stop being a spoilt brat and do this for Ron so he nodded and Hermione said fine and turned to walk away. He grabbed her arm and turned her towards him. She looked into his eyes and he slowly pulled her towards him for a hug. He held her tightly and breathed in her scent. He felt the tears well up in his eyes but he didn't care. Hermione hugged him back and the memories were flooding back to her. She broke the hug first and pulled back to see a tear running down his cheek. She raised her hand and wiped it away.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too, Harry." Harry glanced up and saw Ron and Caroline standing at the door smiling and he felt embarrassed but also pleased that they were happy. He let go of Hermione and stepped away from her. Hermione looked over her shoulder and saw the couple smiling and she called them over to continue discussing the wedding plans.

The day was spent talking about all the details and then all the things they still had to do. Harry and Hermione did not interact again and when he left around 4 to pick up Deanna to bring her back for dinner, she realised that they would only ever be friends and she had to deal with that or she would have nothing.

Deanna had not changed, but no-one did actually except for Hermione. She had become very confident and more business like. Maybe moving away had been the best thing for her. Deanna talked little over dinner and the body language that they were displaying was tense.

It was getting onto 11pm and Hermione was exhausted. She said goodnight to everyone and Harry and Deanna took it as their cue to leave as well. Everyone left and Hermione said goodnight to Mr & Mrs Weasley and made her way up to bed. She laid down on the comfortable, familiar bed and took in the sights around her. She hadn't realised how much she missed home till she was back here.

It didn't take long for her to start to nod off but as she did, she felt a little kiss on her forehead. She tried to open her eyes but they wouldn't obey her instructions.

The next day Hermione spent the day with her parents. They did some shopping together and had lunch and dinner together too. It was nice to catch up and not feel rushed. Hermione arrived back at the Burrow late and Molly and Arthur had already gone to bed. She found a note on her bed from Ginny saying that if she got home and she wasn't too tired a few of them were meeting at the Three Broomsticks to have a few drinks. She looked at the time and saw it was only 9.30 and she probably had some time for one or two drinks, so she apparated straight over to the pub.

She walked in and the place was alive, it had changed dramatically since she was there last time. Before it had been just a pub whereas now it was a diner in one section and it had a dance floor towards the front and the bar took up one long side of the wall. Hermione couldn't believe how good it looked. She walked straight over to the bar and got herself a drink and decided to search for the others.

The music was beating and the vibe was exciting, Hermione was enjoying herself when a tall blonde man approached her.

"Hi there, I haven't seen you around here before?" Hermione looked at him and rolled her eyes, couldn't he be a little more original.

"Let me start again shall I, my name is Joseph Rosmerta and I own this place." Hermione looked at him and realised he wasn't trying to pick her up, he was just being a polite host.

She apologised and they started talking and he told her that he was Madam Rosmerta's youngest son.

He was actually a very nice man and he offered to walk with her to find her friends. He was quite funny and Hermione found him to be quite flattering. She apologised for being rude and he laughed it off. To get through the crowd, he placed his arm around her waist so they wouldn't get separated. As they walked around the corner, Hermione came face to face with Harry and she smiled but he looked over the man and his stance changed.

Hermione turned around to say thank you to Joseph and he told everyone that they could have a round on the house, Ron cheered loudly as did Ginny, (must be related). Joseph walked away to get the drinks and Hermione turned around to say hi to everyone. The Weasley's and partners were there, as well as Deanna. She stood up to lean across the table to shake hands with Hermione.

The only chair that was available was in between Harry and Caroline at the end of the table, so Hermione sat down.

"SOOOO, where did you pick up the spunk Hermione?" Ginny asked as she stuffed a bread stick into her mouth. Hermione reached across in front of Harry and took a bread stick for herself and then flicked her hair back off her face. She didn't notice of course, but Harry did.

He watched her thin body stretch over in front of him and then he caught a whiff of her scent and the scent of her soft brown hair. His memories came flooding back to the surface and he could almost taste her again. He shook his head of those thoughts and then leant over closer to Deanna, placing his arm around her chair. Hermione continued chatting, completely oblivious to her reaction on Harry.

Joseph arrived back and as Harry had scooted over towards Deanna, it left a gap at the table and he shoved a chair in there and sat himself down, very close to Hermione.

The drinks were coming thick and fast and they also had finger foods on the table as well. Joseph was very suave and he just oozed sophistication. He had the girls eating out of his hand in no time. He seemed to only have eyes for Hermione though and when it came time for some dancing he immediately stood and asked her for a dance. She tried to get out of it, but he did these puppy dog eyes and she laughed and gave in.

Harry rolled his eyes and then took another swig of his drink.

The dancing started off fast and Caroline and Ginny joined Hermione on the dance floor. The four of them were fooling around and having a great time. Joseph was called over to the bar for business and the three girls sat back down at their table. Hermione plonked down in the chair and noticed Harry and Deanna were not there. Ron started teasing her and then Neville stuck up for her and Hermione was reminded yet again of how much she missed everyone.

"Where's Harry and Deanna?" Hermione took a big drink of her drink and looked at Ron waiting for a response.

"I dunno Mione, he said he didn't like the show so he left."

"Oh well his loss."

Outside in the parking area, Harry opened the door for Deanna. She got in and sat down. Harry drove her home and neither spoke a word.

Harry reached into his wallet and started to pull out his money.

"Harry, I don't want your money any more. It's been too long to play this stupid game" Deanna's eyes were fixed on the road ahead.

"NO Deanna, we have a deal." Harry continued.

"Harry, I'm not pretending to be your girlfriend anymore, this is ridiculous. You need to get your act together and go get her mate, you obviously love her."

"No it's complicated Deanna, you wouldn't understand..."

"No Harry, you don't understand, your not getting any younger, you are wasting precious time with her for what. It's over for us Harry, no more, don't call on me again." Deanna got out of his car and didn't look back.

The night continued on until the early hours of the morning and Hermione made it back to the Burrow and walked up to bed as quietly as possible.

She had a quick shower and put on her pyjamas and then laid down in bed. She was thinking about the wedding and how excited she was. She started to doze off still thinking about Ron and how much he had grown up and how proud she was of him. She again felt a light kiss to her forehead but this time she called out the name that was on the tip of her tongue and at the front of her mind.

"Ron." Harry pulled back and apparated out of her room and when he got back to his flat, he was furious. He threw a few things around the room, smashing a few glass ornaments.

He just couldn't seem to get a break.

Hermione awoke feeling refreshed and invigorated. While she was living in Canada, she had taken up swimming and walking so she could keep active and not dwell on the past so much. This morning was a perfect day for a walk so she went downstairs to see who she could rope into coming with her.

Unfortunately for Hermione, there wasn't anyone up yet or visiting so she did her walk alone. It was beautiful outside and the clean fresh air did wonders for her mind. As she walked she could be completely honest with herself and admit she still had strong feelings for Harry. To be honest, she thought they may have subsided while she was away but instead that had gotten stronger.

By the time she arrived home she was sweating through her light t-shirt and shorts and her hair was stuck to her face. She bounded into the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. She looked out of the back window while stretching her legs and then her arms above her head and sighed again,

"Merlin, I love London." Hermione sighed.

"Then move back." Hermione gasped and spun around to see Harry sitting at the table behind her. He had a great view of her legs while she was stretching and the sweat covered shirt was sticking to her bra. She was breathing heavily and her heart was threatening to pound right out of her chest.

"Merlin Harry you scared me half to death." It did not escape Hermione's notice that his eyes were taking in all of her body.

"Umm well I need a shower, will you be here Harry?" Hermione waited till he nodded and then she turned back around to put her glass down in the sink then Harry spoke to her again.

"So enjoy your night?" Hermione didn't turn around, she just rolled her eyes and took a big breath. She turned back around, looked at him and smiled then walked out of the kitchen.

Hermione was showered and dressed when she heard Ron's loud voice down stairs. She bounced down the stairs and met Caroline in the hallway. She greeted her with a hug and Caroline quickly briefed her on the events of the day. Ron had decided they should all go to the reception and try out the different cakes and menus available.

She walked into the kitchen and saw Ron was munching out on some of his mum's home cooked breakfast muffins. She sneaked up behind him and put her hands over his eyes. This irked Harry no end.

"Mione, I told you, we have to keep this is a secret sweetie or else we will get caught..." Hermione laughed and smacked his arm in a friendly manner and he turned around to hug her. After, what felt like an inappropriately amount of time to hug, Harry cleared his throat.

"What's up mate, jealous cause Mione won't hug you like this?" Ron laughed completely oblivious to the turmoil that was in Harry's heart.

The two couple's spent the day tasting different foods and cakes and after they were asked to leave the cake shop because Ron had started a food fight, they had a quiet evening looking over flowers. The days blended into each other and it wasn't long till there was a week till the wedding. The demeanour between the two love-birds had changed and they were constantly bickering and at each others throats and Hermione spent most of the day refereeing between the two.

Harry was no help at all as he just wondered along not paying attention to anything or ignoring them as best he could.

Hermione was exhausted one night as her and Harry had been given the job of organising the tables, and they were sitting on the lounge floor of the Burrow with papers scattered all around them both of them completely exhausted with the wedding jobs. Caroline and Ron had gone to greet some relatives that had arrived for the wedding and Harry and Hermione were alone for the first time in almost a month.

"You know what Harry, when I get married, if ever, I will not do it like this." Hermione leant up against the lounge and rested her head and closed her eyes. Harry finished writing the last name he had on his sheet and looked over to her. She was leaning against the lounge and her hair was flowing around her shoulders leaving her neck exposed and he longed to kiss it. He shook his head and responded to her.

"Yeah," it was a very non committal yeah from him.

"Nah, I would do it spontaneously, you know my fiancé and I would just say hey lets do it now, lets go get married," a wistful smile graced her face.

"You can't do that Hermione, what would your parents say?" Hermione looked at him and saw he was still writing.

"Well what's your idea of a perfect wedding then Harry?"

"Never thought about it, not getting married Hermione, not ever." Harry stood up and walked into the kitchen and Hermione's eyes followed him as he left the room. She waited a few minutes and then stood up to follow him. He was sitting at the table with a bottle of fire whiskey and he was drinking it from the bottle.

"Hey, you ok?"

"Yeah just friggin dandy, thanks for asking." Harry took another sip and slammed the bottle down on the table. Hermione reached over to take it but Harry snatched it away. She reached for it again and took a sip then gave it back to him.

"You never drank whiskey before."

"Yeah well lots of things have changed Harry." He took another sip and then passed the bottle to her. They continued like this for a while and she thought she might open up the conversation again.

"Why don't you think you will never marry Harry?" Hermione kept looking at the table and her finger followed the pattern of the wood grain and she hoped above all else that he would give her some sign that he may open up to her. Harry looked at her and felt angry again.

"Who would marry me Hermione? Who wants this?" Harry said pointing to his body.

Before she could answer he continued on,

"No-one that's who, I have only ever loved one person and that person loves another so tell me who wants this. I can't even pretend to love someone." Harry took another large swig of drink and Hermione jumped in before he could continue.

"Harry, there is nothing wrong with you that you can't fix my friend. You seem so angry with everyone all the time, maybe you need to relax a bit and let people in."

"Yeah tried that Mione, and look how great that turned out. She pissed off and left me too." Hermione wasn't quite sure of who he was speaking of and she didn't want to presume it was her, she was sure he had no feelings for her. Only friendship ones, but they didn't count here tonight.

"Harry I understand...."

"You understand nothing Mione, you have no idea what it's like to love one person and they love another. No idea at all."

"Well maybe I do Harry, cause I love someone who would never love me back, so maybe we both understand each other a little better than you think." Harry snorted out of his nose and Hermione wasn't quite sure, but she thought there was more to this conversation than what was on the surface.

"Harry, I am sure Deanna is …."
"Oh Merlin Hermione, it's not Deanna, it never was her, can't you see what is right in front of your damn eyes?" Hermione looked at him and was confused. Who could he love that was in love with another?

"Is it Ginny Harry?" Harry threw the bottle across the room and stood up. He leant over the table till he was eye to eye and he growled out,

"No, it's you Hermione, you're the one who I love, who could never love me back." Hermione stared at him blankly.

"Who Harry, who do I love?" Hermione was confused, who did he think she loved.

"Oh come on Hermione, I've seen the way you look at him and I know how much he means to you, it's just tough luck that Caroline got in first hey?" Harry was angry, actually he was furious.

"Ron, RON, you think I love RON, are you completely out of your mind Harry? I don't love Ron any more than a friend..."

"Yeah you keep telling yourself that Mione, you might believe it one day." Harry stood up and waved his hand over the broken bottle of alcohol and the remnants of glass flew to the bin. Hermione was completely shocked and she stood slowly and walked around the table and stood right in front of him.

"Harry Potter, you listen to me, I do not love Ronald Weasley anymore than just a friend. I have no romantic feelings towards him at all OK, now to be honest I couldn't care whether you believe me or not but it's the truth. I love one man and one man only and that man happens to be you, but your too stupid to see that aren't you Harry..."

Harry took only a second to crushed his lips to her mouth and wrap his arms around her body so tightly that she couldn't breath. He continued kissing her until she responded which wasn't very long. He deepened the kiss and her hands ran through his hair with such desperation. When their lungs demanded attention, Harry broke away and looked at her face which was flushed and her cheeks were red. He couldn't really process what he had just heard and he needed to clear his head. Unfortunately he didn't relay this information to Hermione, he just apparated away leaving her breathing heavily in the kitchen.

She left the papers on the floor and walked up to bed. She laid down and stared at the ceiling. She couldn't believe she had told him she loved him and then he kissed her and left. It seemed ironic to her now, since she did that to him a year ago. She just hoped that it wouldn't ruin Ron and Caroline's day on Saturday, as it was already Thursday night... late Thursday night actually. Hermione was really nervous they wouldn't have time to clear the air before the big day. She started to doze off when she felt a light kiss to her forehead, she reached out and called for Harry but she couldn't feel him.