A/N: Chapter Three: Present Hopeful For Harry's Hand
He glanced at the clock. Five pm, too early to go bed. He got up and went to his desk. He still had a few essays left to grade. It seems that was all he did these days. Teach, grade, eat, bed. The same routine, day in and day out. He was so tired of it. There was just no point to any of it. Not anymore.
"Harry? Harry are you in there?"
(A/N: would you believe that my grammar check wanted me to change this to "Harry IS you in there?" – I'm still in shock.)
Harry glanced toward his portrait hole and stood again stretching slightly. This wasn't unexpected either. The man stopped by once or twice every day. Harry couldn't help but wonder why. They had never really been very close. But ever since he had started working at Hogwarts he had sought Harry out constantly, barely giving him a moment's peace.
He shook his head, might as well let him in. A few months ago Harry had been asleep in his chair and hadn't heard the knocking at the door. Not a full ten minutes went by before the moron had decided that Harry was either dead or dying and blasted his way in. Harry was still a little sore. His old portrait, a snake curled comfortingly around a lion, had been his most treasured possession. One of the few things that he had left from his all too short marriage. Now all that hung there was a simple portrait of a vampire squirrel. It had been Sev's favorite, but didn't hold the same significance.
"Coming." He called out. He opened his portrait hole to find that he was right. Charlie Weasley had, once again, come to call. "Hello, again Charlie."
"Hiya Harry." Charlie grinned. Harry, in his normal haze, didn't see the way the man's eyes traced his figure. He didn't see the concern or the love in the quiet gaze.
A/N: So, I've noticed that the email alerts are being rather slow, yesterday I posted a chapter at noon, but didn't get the email until 9pm. Didn't even know I'd gotten reviews until well after 10pm. So, gonna try posting it earlier today, if same thing then I'll start posting at 1am before I go to bed. So that you actually have a chapter a day rather than the day after. :)