Puzzle to a Frozen Heart

Chapter 14

(You have always owned my heart)

*****

Harry blinked as he saw Hermione making her way towards him just when he was getting ready for bed. He wondered what she wanted, since it was well past midnight. Noticing that she had stopped exactly in front of him, he turned to her, giving her his full and undivided attention. After all, that was his job

"Is something the matter?" he asked her, becoming aware of the fact that she was just wearing a black nightgown, her robe apparently forgotten.

"Yes, actually there is," she answered.

"Mm?" he inquired, urging her on.

"I can't sleep," she purred, getting even closer to him. Harry took a couple of steps back, until his feet met with his bed.

"Oh, well, why don't you drink a cup of tea and relax? Sleep will come sooner or later."

"I'm not tired."

"How about reading? I'm sure you'll get tired in no time," he suggested, suddenly very aware that he was cornered between his bed and Hermione.

"I'm hot."

"So open a window. Here, I'll go open it."

He tried to move in order to complete the simple task, but Hermione grabbed him by his t-shirt and pulled his mouth against hers. Harry quickly reciprocated, opening his mouth over hers and earning himself a moan from Hermione. She pushed him into the bed, getting on top of him.

"Hermione", he moaned at the feel of her body on top of his.

"Harry."

"What?" he grinned, reaching to caress her cheek.

"Get up."

"Uh?"

"Potter!"

*****

Harry jumped at the sound of Hermione's voice. As his eyes opened reluctantly, he found that it was already morning and that his charge was standing near his bed, fully dressed, and wearing an expression of anger, clouded by confusion.

"Finally! I have spent the last fifteen minutes trying to wake you up! I even considered going to Dumbledore since I take it you were having another nightmare," Hermione snapped.

"Nightmare?" he asked. Had it been all a dream?

"Yes. You were sweating and moaning. Was it about your mother again?"

"Oh, well..." he tried to explain, but found that he couldn't. His body was reacting to Hermione's presence again. Where the hell had his dream come from? He couldn't be dreaming like this about his charge!

"Anyway, Oliver is looking for you. Said he'd meet you at the Great Hall."

"All right then. Thanks," he said nonchalantly, his mind still wrapped up around his dream.

"I'll be in the library if you need me." With this said, Hermione left the room.

"Crap!" he cursed while making his way to a cold shower.

****

"Hey Fleur. Long time, no see," Hermione greeted her best friend, who was, surprisingly, at the library? Reading about.... Quidditch? "Quidditch?"

"Oui. Apparently 'ze only way for Oliver to talk to moi is if 'e is teaching me Quickish."

"Quidditch," Hermione corrected.

"Wha'zever," Fleur dismissed it, trying to bury herself in the book.

"And why is that? Last time I checked, you two were getting along pretty well," Hermione said while taking a seat across her best friend.

"'Zat was until 'e was appointed as my Jedi Wizard and.... I kissed 'im."

"He was!" Hermione exclaimed happily, that is, until the next part of Fleur's sentence reached her ears, "You what!"

"Excusez moi, but I don't see what is so wrong about 'zat."

"He is a Jedi Wizard. He is not supposed to fall in love or be with anyone for that matter."

"So? 'Zat doesn't mean that I can't 'ave some fun wiz 'im," Fleur interjected innocently.

"Your idea of fun isn't in his vocabulary."

"Still, I don't see 'ze problem. I mean, look at you and 'Arry."

"What about Harry and me?" Hermione quickly spat, making Fleur laugh.

"Typical 'Ermione. You are always flirting. I tell you, one of 'zese days you are going to end up in 'is bed."

"Very funny Fleur. We don't flirt, we fight. Maybe in France that's called flirting but here- well let's just say that we can't stand each other."

" 'Zat's not what I see," Fleur said in her cocky manner.

"Oh, well, then by all means enlighten me, Fleur, expert of all relationships that last a day or two," Hermione said sarcastically.

"It'z not my fault 'zat French men are so boring. Anyway, I've seen 'ow 'Arry looks at you and 'ow you look at 'im. 'Zat isn't fighting, it'z unresolved sexual tension." At hearing this, Hermione laughed out loud.

"Yeah right. Honestly Fleur, you don't have a clue. You see, it's like this: I liked him, I kissed him, he left, and I hate him. Plain and simple."

" 'Zere is a fine line between love and 'ate."

"So they say. Don't trust anything that can't be found in books and in a logical explanation at that. Those cheap drug store romance novels don't count," Hermione stated, getting up.

"Mark my words Granger, sooner or later you'll swallow your own words," Fleur warned, mocking a mystical kind of tone.

"Why are you calling me by my last name, Delacour?"

"Oh, I just 'zought it sounded more... mysterious 'zat way."

"O...kay. Well, I'll be going now. With less than a week until classes start, my responsibilities have duplicated."

With this said, she got out of the library and headed towards her room. On her way, she started thinking about what Fleur had said. Had she really been that obvious? What if Harry did like her? What if he knew that she liked him?

"Get a grip Hermione! He's a Jedi Wizard! He is not supposed to like anybody and even if he did, it wouldn't be you! And here I am, talking to myself," she murmured. As a result of this mental argument with herself, she wasn't paying attention to where she was going and clashed into Harry.

"Oh, crap! I'm so sorry Hermione, I didn't see you," he apologized, picking up the books that she had dropped due to the sudden fright.

"That's okay, I wasn't watching where I was going either."

" I've been looking for you. Oliver told me to give you this," Harry put in her hands a brand new book: The Heir of Slytherin: Revised Edition. "It just came out and he thought that you should have it. I'll see you later."

"Hey, wait!" Hermione grabbed Harry's arm before he could even move, impulse that surprised him greatly. " Thanks, I really appreciate it."

"Sure, no problem."

"Come with me for a second. I have something of yours," she said, leading him to their room.

As they entered, Hermione headed straight to her part of the room, stopping in front of her trunk. After a few minutes, she pulled out an old cloak with an'S' encrypted on it.

"Here, this belongs to you," she handed him the cloak while he looked at it. It was his second year cloak, the one he had given to Hermione in the Chamber of Secrets, the one she had used to try and stop his bleeding. "I washed it, so it isn't stained. I was going to give it to you when you got out of the Hospital Wing but since.... well, I just thought you might want it back."

"Wow. Thanks, this surely brings a lot of memories."

Suddenly, a wave of emotions surged through him. He wanted nothing more than to finish the kiss they had started in second year, his Jedi Wizardry completely forgotten. His mind now saw his charge as the girl he wanted, not as the Heir of Gryffindor.

"Catch you later then," Hermione brought him out of his reverie.

"I'm sorry," he snapped.

"Pardon me?" she asked, turning around to face him.

"I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for kissing you and then leaving without saying goodbye."

"Harry, please don't. I don't want to talk about the past anymore. What's done is done and there's nothing we can do about it."

"I say there is," he assured her, moving closer towards her body.

"And what would that be?"

"Make up for lost time."

Harry's lips found Hermione's and a passionate kiss was started. Hermione stood still, just frozen in shock while trying to process what was happening. But she quickly found that her mind wasn't able to hold any thoughts at the moment. Her brain got out its white flag while her heart took over.

She opened her mouth under Harry's, earning herself a moan from him. Desire surfaced as their hands frantically searched each other. Harry began to kiss her neck as he took her to the bed. Once there, he got on top of her while she unbuttoned his robes.

As dark became light, two lovers became one, unaware of the backlash that lied ahead for having shared a pleasure that had been ignited five years ago, by a second year kiss.