Just In Case

Chapter…Um…Two. Revised.

A/N: You guys suck. I typed the one-shot in a night and thought I was going to be done with it. And then I get 38 lovely reviews telling me how wonderful it was. What the hell?! HM? Trying to guilt your way into a second chapter? Uh huh. I see your motives. Don't try to trick me.

Just kidding.

So, you got your wish. I better get A LOT of brownie points for this, because I have so much other stuff to do. So please just…read. And review.

BTW: Read my Will/Elizabeth fics, people! It's pretty smashing and the current ratio is 38:6. Um…--cough-- hello? Review!

EDIT: Kudos to CJ who picked out the fact that in Chapter 1, Voldemort was defeated fifth year and Dumbledore's alive. Damn. You know the author's gone mental when she forgets what she wrote…

EDIT EDIT: My apologies. My computer has decided to pull a fast one on me…

Enjoy!

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Nineteen Years Earlier…

July arrived early that year. The thick air grasped onto anything it could, drenching the few residents that had stayed at Hogwarts in sweat. The coolest was in the morning, when the night air was still fresh. On one particular morning, the landscape was covered in raindrops, drenched from the storm the night before. The sun was beginning to penetrate the horizon; a red, glowing light illuminated and cast dark shadows across the Hogwarts grounds, causing the clinging raindrops to glimmer. The Giant Squid, who had been up splashing around, submerged into the dark water, causing ripples to break the glassy surface.

Harry Potter sat at the base of a tree, watching the scene. His head throbbed, and he shivered. Cold sweat has encased him only a few minutes ago, and the sweater wasn't helping much. From all the thrashing around, he had ended up hitting his head on the bedpost, ending his traumatizing slumber.

Damn nightmares.

It was true. Voldemort was gone forever, ending those types of dreams. But new ones haunted him, of his friends being endlessly tortured. It was the people he hated that tormented him; it was the people he loved.

"You're up early," a familiar voice called behind him.

He smirked but didn't break away from his concentration on the sunrise. "So are you."

"Touché." She came up next to him and sat down. "I brought you some tea."

He received the warm liquid with a grateful smile but immediately broke gazes with her. She willed herself to stay quiet for his sake, but the cold temperature radiating off of his shoulder and onto hers caused her to speak up.

"Are you all right, Harry?"

He sipped his tea. "As fine as I can be."

She frowned. "Are you having those nightmares again?"

He gave a dry laugh. "Hermione, I never stopped having those nightmares."

She bit her lip and gazed out at the horizon. She doubted anything she had to say would've comforted him so she stayed silent. After awhile, she draped her arm around his shoulders. With an immediate shiver running up her arm, she looked at him with a newfound horror.

"Harry, you're freezing!"

She was about to pull away when he grabbed her hand and held it. "Don't pull away. You're warm."

She laughed. "Harry, you should have started a fire and loaded up with blankets, not shiver down here!"

"A blazing, hot fire? At this hour of the morning? Yes, everyone would've loved that."

She rolled her eyes and bit her lip in thought. "Harry, you should come to Hogsmeade with me today. They've refurbished most of the stores that were destroyed. It'll keep your mind off of…things."

He gave her a grim smile. "Thanks, Hermione. But I don't really want to sit there while you and Ron go at it."

She jerked her arm away and stood. "Ron and I do not go at it! How foul!" she crinkled her nose. "And besides, Ron isn't coming with me. If you could remember anything people tell you then you'd know that Mrs. Weasley is holding them hostage at the Burrow."
Harry smiled. "Right. And the thought of you and Ron snogging (or shagging) is…foul?"

Her cheeks grew warm. "I…I never said that!"

"You said 'going at it' was foul and that can be taken either way."

She shifted. "Well…it's not exactly a very pleasant thought…"

He grinned and shook his head. "Then why are you dating him?"

XXX

Harry doubled over in laugher. The first, true laughter in over a month. The Butterbeer was definitely affecting him. Hermione, rosy-cheeked and smiling, sat across from him, amazed at his reaction.

"That's not true! She was not selling herself off to me!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Really? That's not what I saw in the halls."

"Well…" he paused. "At least I didn't fall for her love potion."

"Thankfully."

"Hey, as long as she backed off."

Their laughter and smiles died down into silence. Harry watched Hermione absentmindedly stir her Butterbeer. He smiled. He was having a better time with her than he thought. He concluded that he and Hermione should have alone time like this more often.

"Yes…fifth year was an interesting year. I still haven't used that book Ron gave me on my birthday last year."

She cocked her head. "Ron gave you a book?"

"Yea, can you believe it? Something about getting girls or something." He puffed out his chest and laughed. "I think I'm fine without it."

She attempted to force a smile. "So…Ron used this book? On…getting girls?"

Harry's smile faded. "Oh, I dunno. If he did it was only on you."

She nodded and shifted her eyes to the window. "Oh."

He frowned. "What's the matter?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing. Nothing. No, really! I'm fine."

He was about to say something when she stood. "Where are you going?"

Her eyes darted frantically around. "Uh…well…you know…studying."

"Hermione, term doesn't start until another month and a half."

She turned to him. "Er…Mum! Mum. Good ol' Mum. Got to write to her. Erm…cheerio!"

She raced out of the pub, leaving him with his mouth wide open. What did I do?

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A/N: Okay, now that I've fixed my mistakes…Harry is NOT dating anyone…but Hermione is dating Ron. This is summer before sixth year…and since Voldemort's dead Dumbledore is letting Harry stay at Hogwarts. But Ron still got Harry the book. Obviously. Mmkay? Haha, much better!