I Want to Love Somebody Like You

"We've been friends

For a long, long time

You tell me all your secrets

And I tell you mine

She's left you all alone

And you feel like no one cares

But I am there...

I've always been there..."

The rain was coming down in sheets, pouring down the windows and ricocheting off the skylights. Hermione Granger let out a sigh of frustration as the lights flickered off, then on, for the umpteenth time that night. She set her book down on the side table, and reached for her wand to set a charm on the lights to keep them on. Just as she was about to speak the incantation, thunder sounded, cracking like a whip, nearly making her jump out of her skin. She cursed under her breath, and flicked her wand, the lights finally staying on for more than a minute at a time.

Sighing, Hermione curled back up in her favorite chair, opening her book and trying to concentrate on the words in front of her. She couldn't concentrate now, though, and looked at the clock again. It was nearing midnight. Where was he?

Suddenly, the lock in the front door clicked and the door opened. The sound of the wind whistling was suddenly much louder and clearer as Harry stepped through the open door, bringing a cold gust of air with him. He shut the door behind him, shaking his head like a wet dog.

Hermione shivered as the cool air hit her, and the movement caught Harry's attention. His head snapped up in dismay, and his shoulders slumped upon seeing her.

"I'm sorry," he apologized softly.

She nodded. "Pretty bad storm out there, hmm?"

He hung his dripping coat up on the coat rack and stepped out of his muddy shoes. Then, he made his way across the living room toward Hermione. "It sure is. I thought I was going to get blown away walking home."

The look on her face was icy, suppressing anger. "Why, may I ask, did a fully capable wizard like yourself walk home in this storm when he knew fully well that he could Apparate?"

Harry looked at the floor. He knew that she was going to unleash hell on him any minute now, and he knew from past experience that it was best to say as little as possible. "I needed some time to think about things,"

"You needed time to think about things? Were you, by any chance, maybe thinking of the time? Were you thinking, 'Hmm...I told Hermione that I would be home no later than ten and maybe I shouldn't walk in almost three hours late knowing that she would be sick with worry'?" She yelled, not even paying attention to the fact that Ron was sleeping just one room over.

He hung his head. "I'm really sorry, Hermione, but I told you, I needed to think about some...things."

She blew out a breath between her teeth. "Like what, Harry? What could you possibly be thinking of to keep you out in this storm this late?"

Harry finally raised his head and looked her in the eye, the anguish and pain showing clearly in his eyes. "Cho broke up with me, Herm."

Hermione stared at him. Her mouth opened and shut, and she was pretty sure she probably looked like a fish, which would have been quite amusing in any other situation. Except for the fact that Harry was watching her reaction carefully.

"She...she what?" she asked softly. "Why?"

He leaned back into the couch, swinging his feet up.

"Well, as you know, we met for dinner earlier. She seemed really nervous about something, but I couldn't figure out what. We sat down to eat, and she was very quiet during the entire meal. I asked her what was wrong, and she sighed. 'Harry,' she said to me, 'I don't think this is working out. You and me, I mean. I don't think we should see each other anymore.'" Harry looked suddenly uncomfortable as he felt Hermione's intense gaze upon him.

"She didn't give you a reason?" Hermione asked, becoming angry on her friend's behalf.

"Well..." he started, "she said that she felt I wasn't putting my whole self into the relationship, it was as if I...as if I-I loved someone else."

Hermione's mouth formed an 'o'. "I'm so sorry, Harry," she began, but he dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

"I'm not really affected by it, actually." He avoided telling her the real reason he had returned home so dejected.

"I think I had known that I wasn't in love with her--never had been--for a long time now. She just beat me to the punch." Harry motioned for Hermione to come sit next to him. She uncurled herself from the chair and padded across the room, sinking into the plush couch next to Harry.

"So if this all happened over dinner, which was around six, why are you just coming in now?"

Damn. He didn't look at her. "I, err, went to the Three Broomsticks to have a few drinks..." he trailed off.

She shook her head at him. "Why, Harry? I though you just got through saying that you weren't affected by the break up."

He nodded. "I'm not...I was thinking about the reason Cho broke up with me. About how she said she felt I loved someone else. She didn't know how right she was."

Hermione looked up at him, trying to mask her curiosity and slight disappointment. So he did love someone. She should have figured...all that affection and concern for her over the years was nothing more than friendship. Why would it have been? He would never love her like that. And she just had to get that concept through her head.

"So...can I ask who the lucky girl is?" she asked, putting a false smile on her face, and not catching the disappointed look in Harry's eyes.

Suddenly, there was a clap of thunder, and Hermione jumped towards Harry. Laughing a little, he held her close and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her to his chest in a warm hug. Closing his eyes, he whispered in her ear.

"That's not important...not now, anyway."

Hermione's eyes closed at the sensation of his warm breath against her ear. She laid her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around him and getting comfortable. It was amazing how fast he could calm her down. "I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier, Harry...it's just that I was going out of my mind with worry when you didn't come home when you had said you would. And especially in this storm...you don't want to know some of the things I was thinking up that could have happened...."

She felt him nod against her head.

"Not a problem, sweetheart, not a problem."

Hermione felt more content that she had in a while, and unbelievably comfortable. She soon felt herself nodding off, and before she knew it, she was sound asleep. Harry looked down at her, the expression on his face softening. He carefully eased her into his arms and raised them off the couch, then headed down the hall towards her bedroom. He pushed the door open with his foot, and padded across the floor to her four poster.

Harry laid Hermione gently on the bed, pulling the covers down and over her. She turned over and hugged the blankets to her chest, murmuring something in her sleep. Harry watched her sleep for a moment, the flashes of lightening occasionally illuminating her face in the dark room. Impulsively, in a sudden surge of affection, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Then, he turned and silently left the room.

"You tell me stories

That sound a bit like mine

It's the same old situation

It happens every time

Can't we see, oh, maybe you and me?

Is what's meant to be...?"

Harry stood in the shower, letting the hot water cascade over his body, letting his mind escape into the steam. He was thinking of the previous night, the night that Cho dumped him...the night that he had almost given away his best kept secret.

The same question kept coming back to him--what had compelled him to almost tell Hermione about his feelings for her last night? He knew full well that he couldn't tell her, that it would only cause problems. He had a great friendship with her as of now, and did not feel like throwing that down the drain because he couldn't keep his hormones under control. He cursed himself just remembering it, and began scrubbing shampoo almost violently into his scalp.

Suddenly, the smell of the shampoo drifted down to his nose, and he instantly stopped scrubbing his hair. He gingerly held his hands up to his face, sniffing. Harry bit his cheek to keep from yelling. In his haste, he had grabbed Hermione's shampoo--her vanilla scented shampoo, no less. This day was turning out to be better and better.

Harry sighed and turned off the faucet, grabbing a towel off the rack on the wall and wrapping it around his waist. He stepped out of the shower, blindly groping his way across the steamy room to the door. He fumbled for the doorknob, and stepped into the cooler air of his bedroom.

He breathed a sigh of relief to see that the rain had finally stopped, and the clouds were clearing out. The sun was shining brightly through the large bay window at the head of his bed. Pulling on a pair of jeans and a soft button up shirt, Harry deposited his towel on the floor and headed out towards the kitchen.

The spicy smell of bacon filled the air, mingling with the smell of eggs and toast. Harry's stomach growled just thinking about the feast Hermione was cooking up, and he quickened his pace. He reached the kitchen at the exact moment Ron Apparated in.

"Ron!" he greeted him, slapping him on the back. Ron returned the gesture, evoking an eye-roll from Hermione.

"Why must men always be so violent with their hellos?" she murmured, but she, too, walked over to Ron, giving him a hug hello.

"Hello, hello." Ron grinned. "Haven't talked to you, yet, Harry. How did your date go last night?"

A silence fell over the kitchen. Hermione looked from Ron to Harry, then quickly turned back to the stove. The sound of bacon sizzling was the only sound to be heard in the room.

There was a long pause. Ron cleared his throat somewhat nervously.

"I hope that the silence means something good," Ron joked, trying to make light of the situation. Hermione kept her eyes on the food in front of her, feeling terrible for Harry.

"Cho and I broke up, Ron," Harry finally said, glancing towards Hermione. She was studiously avoiding his gaze.

Ron's cheeks turned pink. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Harry shook his head. "Don't worry about it, of course you didn't know. It's all right though, because she just beat me to it. I was planning on breaking up with her, anyway."

"She dumped you?" Ron asked, somewhat incredulous.

Hermione turned around, a plate of bacon in hand. "Yes, Ron. Is it such a surprise that girls can dump guys? It's not just the other way around."

Then, realizing what she said, she quickly added, "Not that there's anything wrong with you Harry, at all, but if I were dating someone who was in love with another woman I don't think that I would want to pursue the relationship, either."

Hermione waved her wand with her free hand, and the plates lined up on the counter began to float toward the table.

Ron's eyes grew even wider. "You were cheating on Cho? With who? Why did I not know about this?"

Harry scowled. "I wasn't cheating on Cho, Ron. Cho just picked up on something that I myself should have realized a long time ago. I wasn't in love with Cho--the relationship was more of a boredom thing. I was really in love with another woman."

Ron followed Hermione to the table, filling his breakfast plate quickly with everything in sight. "And? You're just going to leave us hanging? You aren't going to tell us who the lucky lady is?"

"So...can I ask who the lucky girl is?" Hermione's words from the night before flashed in his head. If you only knew, Hermione. He turned his attention back to Ron.

"Err...no," he said slowly. Ron opened his mouth, presumably to argue, but was silenced with a quick look from Hermione. Harry flashed a grateful look at Hermione, and sat down to eat his food.

The breakfast was unusually quiet, only the sound of silverware scraping on dishes breaking the noise. And nobody noticed the furtive looks that Harry kept sneaking at Hermione when he thought no one was looking...except Ron.

"There's a new wind blowing like I've never known

I'm breathing deeper than I've ever done

And it sure feels good to finally feel the way I do

I wanna love somebody, love somebody like you..."

Over the course of the week, nothing extraordinary occurred at Three Runespoor Lane. Hermione and Ron bickered, as per usual, and Harry conveniently disappeared around these times. One Saturday, though, changed everything.

Hermione was immersed in a thick book, curled up in Harry's armchair, when the phone rang. She didn't move an inch, looking over the top of the book only to eye Harry and Ron, who were playing chess across the room. Ron was biting his lip in concentration, and after letting the phone ring a few times, Hermione lifted herself out of her chair with an almighty sigh.

"I'll get it, then," she muttered on her way by the boys.

Harry flashed her a grateful smile. "Thanks."

She picked up the phone. "Hello?"

Ginny's voice was an excited squeal. "Hermione! How are you?"

Hermione paused. "All right, what do you want?"

Harry looked up from the game and flashed her a grin. "Ginny?" he mouthed. She nodded.

"You know about that new club opening up next weekend? The one in Hogsmeade?"

Hermione already knew what Ginny was going to ask, even before she said it. "Yes..." she trailed off, dreading what was coming next.

"Well, since I have to do a review on it for the paper, I have four passes to the opening night--I was hoping that you, Harry, and Ron would be willing to join me." She waited for an answer, already knowing what Hermione's would be.

Hermione bit her lip, and raised her eyes to Harry. The look on his face was one of utmost concentration, his brow furrowed. His tongue was just barely sticking out of his mouth, and his eyes were trained on the chessboard. In short, he looked adorable. And being able to dance with him? She cleared her throat. "Of course we'll come."

At the Burrow, Ginny's eyes grew wide. She most definitely did not expect that answer. But for fear of pressing her luck, she kept her mouth shut. "That's wonderful! Does Friday night sound good to you?"

Ron raised his fists in the air, grinning madly. "Checkmate!" he yelled, causing Hermione to start. She glared at Ron, then turned her attention back to Ginny.

"Sure, that sounds fine--"

Ginny interrupted her. "And keep Thursday open, Herm, I want to take you shopping. We'll find the perfect outfit--one that will really make Harry's jaw drop. Although, on second thought, any outfit you wear would most likely make Harry's jaw drop, but we'll leave it at that. Don't forget, Thursday. Thanks, hon! Talk to you then!" And with that, she hung up.

Hermione's eyes were huge, and all she could do was stare at the phone in her hand, the dial tone buzzing impatiently in her ear. Harry looked over at her, curious. "What's wrong, Mione?"

She looked up at him, her eyes meeting his concerned ones. "Don't worry, it's nothing. I told Ginny that we would go with her dancing Friday night--she had VIP passes."

This caught Ron's attention. "Did she say that anyone else was going?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron, it's opening night. Of course there'll be other people there."

"He's just concerned about whether or not there'll be any girls there," Harry laughed.

Ron stared at him, incredulous. "And you aren't?"

Then a quick look of understanding flashed across Ron's face, but it was gone before Hermione could even begin to try to comprehend it. "Ah, never mind. Well, it should be fun. Hey, what do you guys say to dinner tonight? My treat."

Hermione still had a confused look on her face, wondering what Ron had meant by that. Harry surely wasn't gay, so why would he not care for girls? Then it clicked. Ah, the mystery girl who has Harry's heart in the palm of her hand, Hermione remembered, feeling slightly jealous.

"That's not it," Harry stated, staring at Hermione. His intense gaze made her heart speed up, even more than it already was. Had she said that out loud? Oh, no.

Her cheeks turned pink, and she began to stammer. "I...uh..."

He looked closely at her. "That's not all Ginny said, was it? She said something that made you nervous--and don't tell me she didn't, Herm, because I could tell by the look on your face."

That was what he meant? Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, color returning to her face. "Oh, nothing. It was nothing. She just wanted me to go shopping with her on Thursday to give her an opinion on an outfit she was considering. That's all." She flashed him a smile. "Well, I'm going to go get ready for dinner tonight."

With that, Hermione turned and headed down the hallway, leaving Ron and Harry staring after her.

"What was that all about?" Harry murmured. He turned, a look of confusion on his face.

Ron hid a smile. "I don't know...I'll ask her about it later, maybe I can get it out of her with a banter or two."

Harry laughed. "I'm sure. Well, I'm going to go get ready for dinner, too." He headed down the hall toward his bedroom.

Ron was left standing in the living room, shaking his head in amusement. He wasn't sure that the two of them would ever figure it out on their own. Maybe, he thought wickedly, I'll just have to help them along. After all, he wasn't doing anything wrong--he was only speeding things up.