Puzzle to a Frozen Heart

Chapter 4

(Just met?)

Harry couldn't believe his eyes. She had to be the most beautiful girl, uhhmm, woman he had ever seen. But what seemed even stranger was the familiar look she had.

While Harry couldn't take his eyes off her, Hermione was trying her best to get Crookshanks off him. The cat didn't cease to meow, action that he took every time he saw someone that he recognized as familiar. The cat started to lick his face. This helped get Harry back to reality.

Harry woke up from his trance and analyzed the situation at hand. (Let's see, beautiful girl, black cat trying to rip my sweater, beautiful girl... ouch!!!)

"Ouch!!" he screamed out loud, for Crookshanks had just dug his paws deep enough to come in contact with his chest, which now had to be filled with scratch marks.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. Let me just..." Hermione apologized, suddenly making up her mind. She got her wand out of her black jeans and pointed it at her cat.

"Expelliarmus!" Rest assured, Crookshanks went flying to the wall but Hermione also passed out one tiny detail: her cat still had a firm grip on the stranger's sweater so when he went flying, he took another passenger on the trip; this being the stranger's piece of clothing.

Hermione was speechless. In one day she had managed to get her cat on a stranger, hurt him, and to rip out half of his sweater. This meeting was certainly not going well.

In that moment Harry sighed, breaking her thoughts, and she realized that he was still on the floor.

"Oh here, let me help you," she said, offering her hand to him and getting him up.

"Uh, thanks, I guess." Harry still couldn't get his eyes of her. Why? What did this girl had that was so appealing to his mind and senses? Did he know her? No, I don't think so...

"I want to apologize for my cat. He usually doesn't behave like that."

"Well one would think...."

"No, really, I'm so sorry...." Her voice suddenly left her as she took sight of his chest. Due to his ripped sweater, she could see practically half of it.

In his abdomen, he had a lighting bolt shaped scar like the one on his forehead; one that she recognized immediately.

"Well, anyway, don't worry about it. I'm sure it was an honest mistake," Harry assured her.

"Uh?" Hermione tore her eyes away from his body to settle them on his face. "Oh, yeah. At any rate, he must had been after your owl."

"Oh, Hedwig? Don't worry, happens all the time. I'm Harry, by the way."

"My name's Hermione...." She couldn't finish her sentence due to Harry's interruption.

"Hermione Granger?" he asked while getting a couple of papers from the pocket of his trousers.

"That's me. Why? Wait a minute, you're Harry Potter." Her face went slightly pale, out of pure surprise. Of course, her expression went unnoticed by her conversation partner.

"Guilty as charged."

"Didn't you study at Dumstrang?"

"Yes, I did," Harry answered, a little puzzled. How did she know that?

"I thought you had graduated."

"I did."

"You studied your first two years here."

"Yeah, why? Do I know you?"

"You could say that, but I don't expect you to remember me. I was a year younger than you."

"Yeah? Gosh, I really don't remember you." He looked her over; long wavy brown hair combed to her shoulders, deep brown eyes... (Harry, to the task at hand! Stop staring!) "Speaking of that, I'm...."

"You know what? Never mind. I'll just be going now," Hermione interrupted, taking her leave and grabbing her cat while disappearing out of sight.

"Wait!" he yelled but she had already left. "I'm your Jedi Wizard."