Chapter 8: Moving On

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the below characters. They all belong to the world of Harry Potter so cleverly created by JK Rowling.

A/N: Hey guys, so I really truly meant to post this chapter over the weekend but I lost track of time. I'm so sorry. Anyway, as far as last chapter goes, I had originally written it a bit differently. I had it ending with Hermione just walking out the door and not looking back but that just didn't settle well with me. I couldn't picture Hermione's character doing that so I rewrote it and I definitely like the way it came out better. Anyway, I also posted a new story that I wrote quite sometime ago called "Waking Hermione" so if you have time, please check it out. Finally, I am begging you to review. I got so many e-mails saying my story had been put on people's alerts, and yet I only have fourteen reviews. If you happen to have a couple extra minutes, please let me know what you think. I love praises, and constructive criticism equally, although I do ask that if you are going to be mean, then I would prefer it if you didn't. Okay, on with the story!!!

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Harry and Hermione walked down the street in silence. They were both so lost in their thoughts that they failed to see another girl coming their way until it was too late. She and

Hermione collided with each other, causing the other girl to drop her purse.

"Ouch! You know you should really, oh my gosh!! Hermione Granger!? Is that really you?" The girl said in an extremely high annoying voice.

Harry immediately didn't like her, and was sure Hermione didn't either when he felt her tense up. "Hi Brittney," she said in a strained voice.

"Oh, I should have known it was you." she said derogatorily. "I see that you are as plain and ugly as ever. Your clothes are still ugly, and your hair still looks like a…"

"Excuse me!" interrupted Harry angrily, who had been in momentarily shocked at this girls blatant rudeness.

"Oh," said the girl who seemed to notice Harry for the first time. Her demeanor instantly changed. "Hi, I'm Brittney," she said flirtatiously. "I was just on my way to grab a bite to eat,

care to join me? You must be bored stiff with the bookworm here."

Harry, whose rage was threatening to boil over put his arm protectively around Hermione and pulled her in to him. It took all he had to keep from pulling his wand on the girl. Struggling

to keep and even voice he said, "Actually, my girlfriend and I were just about to get something to eat ourselves, weren't we love?"

Hermione who was completely caught off guard by his actions quickly agreed. Hermione knew that Harry would do just about anything for her, but she would have never expected this.

Harry smirked at the girl's stunned expression. "You mean to tell me, that SHE is you girlfriend!?"

"Yes, and I happen to love her very much. I also happen to take offense to people who are mean to her, so if you know what's good for you, you will move along." Harry said forcefully,

his green eyes blazing with anger.

Brittney blinked a couple of times, unable to wipe the stunned expression off her face. Without saying a word the girl turned quickly and continued to walk with her nose up in the air.

Hermione sagged a moment against Harry, releasing a breath that she didn't realize she had been holding. As she moved to stand up straight Tonks rushed over. "Are you alright

Hermione?" she asked, not failing to notice the fact that Harry still hadn't let go. "We were going to intercede, but we didn't really want to raise any suspicion, besides Harry seemed to

have things under control." She added winking at the two of them. They both blushed and Hermione reassured her that she was fine. The rest of the journey home was incident free

and the two of them quickly made their way up to Harry's room.

"Thank you." Hermione said the moment they arrived back in his room. "That girl made my life a nightmare of single day of my life. She used to live two houses down. She would be

completely perfect and charming in front of my mother and father, but as soon as they were gone her true colors would show. She and her family moved to some expensive showy

neighborhood after I started Hogwarts, but her other friend still lives on the same street. I imagine that is where she was going. I am sorry you had the misfortune of meeting her."

Harry just stared wordlessly at Hermione. He suddenly realized that he really didn't know much about his friend. "Why don't you stay with me until the wedding? I know that you were

going to go to the Burrow, but the Order isn't going to let me go until the day before anyway because of security. Why don't you stay with me?" Harry wasn't sure what made him ask

so suddenly, but he just realized that he didn't want to be alone anymore.

"Are you sure? I mean, your Aunt and Uncle are going to have a fit." Hermione said. She desperately wanted to say yes, but as always, the practical side of her took over. She supposed

it was about time seeing as the emotional side seemed to have been in control all morning.

"Don't worry about them; I will take care of that." Harry reassured her. He certainly wasn't going to let the Dursley's ruin this for him. "And if it really bothers you that much, they don't

even have to know that you are here. Like I said last night, they have been avoiding me like the plague. And if we want to go out, I can tell when they come and go."

Hermione, for once in her life, did what she wanted, instead of what she thought was right. "Sure," she said smiling, "it will be fun."

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Harry and Hermione spent the rest of the day organizing her things in his room. Harry and Hermione ultimately agreed that they should inform his Aunt and Uncle of her stay, however

they figured they should wait until dinner.

Around 6:00, Harry heard his Aunt setting the table. Deciding that she was probably his best shot at avoiding an entire scene, Harry decided to ask her. Quietly, Harry made his way

down the staircase, trying not to disturb Vernon and Dudley who were watching T.V. Once he reached the kitchen, Harry cleared his throat to inform her of his presence. "Umm, Aunt

Petunia?" he started, she glanced at him briefly before returning to what she was doing. Taking this as a signal to continue, he kept going. "I just wanted to let you know that one of

my friends will be staying with me until I leave, which will be in a couple of weeks," seeing her hesitate, as if to say something, Harry quickly continued. "Don't worry, you wont be seeing

either one of us much. She is already set up in my room and we will stay their most of the time." Harry tried to leave before his Aunt could respond, only to come face to face with his

Uncle, whom he hadn't heard come in.

"NO WAY!! YOU CAN TELL YOUR LITTLE FREAK FRIEND TO GET OUT!!" Harry was about to reply with a nasty comment when Petunia spoke up.

"Vernon," she said softly, "just let it go. It will only cause more problems if you try to stop them." Everyone suddenly became very quiet. Harry was staring at her, trying to comprehend

the fact that she had just come to his defense. Vernon was turning a nasty shade of violet, as he tried to comprehend the fact that she had just disagreed with him, and Dudley, who

had waddled in during his father's outburst, was looking at Aunt Petunia in a way Harry couldn't quite figure out. The strangest thing of all though, was the way his Aunt was looking at

Vernon. She was looking at him in an almost defiant way. Harry had never in all his years on Privet Drive, seen his Aunt look at his Uncle in such a way. Seizing his chance, Harry ran

back up the stairs leaving the Dursleys' to their staring contest.

When Harry returned to her room, he found Hermione was once again asleep. Smiling at her small form, Harry realized just how important she was to him. Looking back over the years,

he realized that she had stood by his side no matter what. He remembered how she and Ron had blindly followed him down below the school in search of the Sorcerer's Stone. He

remembered how Hermione had put herself in danger just to find the answers behind the Chamber of Secrets, and how terrified he had been when she was petrified. He remembered

their adventure during third year, and how happy she had been for him when they found out the truth behind Sirius and how she had been an instrumental part in saving him. How in

fourth year, she stood behind him and believed him even when no one else did. He remembered how his heart had stopped when he saw her fall in the Ministry of Magic. He also

realized how much he had missed her constant friendship last year with everything that went on. Yet Harry kept flashing back to that one moment in fifth year, the moment he thought

he had lost her. Harry suddenly realized that he didn't think he could manage without her. Everything he had achieved, including the DA, had been with her constant help and support.

Sighing Harry went over to his desk and sat down, thinking about everything he had learned today. The information had been overwhelming, but he had to think things through for

Hermione, and for himself. The second he took out a piece of parchment to write a list though, his mind went blank. He suddenly realized he didn't really know where to begin. Deciding

that his best bet was to wait for Hermione, and tackle things in the morning, Harry decided to go to sleep as well.

Working carefully, so as not to disturb her, Harry carefully rearranged Hermione on his bed so that she was now covered. Quietly slipping down the hall, Harry grabbed and extra pillow

and blanket before returning to his room. Settling down onto the floor, Harry quickly fell asleep.