Lost Love Found

Chapter 10: Of Poems and Rendezvous.

January came like the coldest month of the winter without any major happenings aside from the Quidditch matches that took place that month. The Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw match was won by Slytherin and the excitement grew even more, as the Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff match loomed nearer.

The day of the match came and the Gryffindor team nearly lost. The Hufflepuff team had a new keeper, Kevin Haddon, who was quite good. Harry was having a really hard time concentrating. Every time he saw Kevin he couldn't help but to remember Cedric.

Ten minutes or so after the game had started Harry was flying high over the field searching for the snitch. Slowly everything became quieter until he couldn't hear anything aside from the soft breeze brushing against his body. Then he saw Cedric's grayish figure coming towards him, whispering, "Harry take my body back, will you? Take my body back to my parents..."

Harry nodded and extended his hand to grab Cedric's when suddenly a blast of air that rushed past him snapped him back to reality. He blinked and saw Adrian suspended in the air in front of him.

"Harry wake up! What the hell are you doing? Haddon almost got the snitch. Hadn't it been for George that sent him a bludger we would've already lost," Adrian paused and then seeing the dazed look on Harry's face he asked, "Are you alright Harry?"

"Cedric," muttered Harry inaudibly under his breath and then shook his head. "Yes, I'm alright. Shouldn't you be over at the goal post?"

"Yeah, I think so," said Adrian as he zoomed back to the post just in time to block a shot from one of the Hufflepuff chasers. Then he hit himself on the head because while he had been gone, Hufflepuff had scored twice, "Damn it!"

Minutes later, Harry finally focused and caught the snitch giving the Gryffindor team the victory. After the match all the Gryffindors felt like celebrating and of course the Weasley twins didn't waste a minute. In no time they had organized a party in the common room.

Harry was the only one who wasn't in the mood of partying so he slipped out of the common room and began walking aimlessly through the ever-darkening corridors of the castle. Suddenly he heard someone calling his name. He turned and realized that he was just outside Lupin's office. He stuck his head inside the office and saw Lupin sitting behind his desk and Hermione in front of him.

"Hi Harry!" said Lupin and Hermione at the same time.

"Hi. What are you doing here, Hermione? I thought you would be in the common room celebrating our victory," inquired Harry taking a seat on the chair next to Hermione.

"We should ask you the exact same question, Harry," intervened Lupin looking closely at Harry. "What's wrong? You don't seem very happy that the team won."

Harry tore his eyes away from the dancing flames of the fireplace with a sigh. "I'm really happy. It's just that I was thinking about Cedric."

"Harry, what happened wasn't your fault," said Hermione stroking Harry's back sympathetically.

Harry nodded and smiled weakly. "Well, you never answered my question, Hermione. What are you doing here?"

"I came here to ask the Professor some questions about the final chapters of our book. I'm preparing for my O.W.L.s."

"But we still have like 4 months before we have to take them."

"I know, but I want to be prepared. I want to get excellent grades."

"I am sure you are going to do very well, Hermione. Here's a little treat for the two of you," said Lupin offering each of them a bar of Honeydukes' best chocolate and taking one for himself.

"Thanks. You know, professor? I bet you would be a great father," said Harry unwrapping his chocolate.

"Why do you say that?" asked Lupin with a curious look on his face and a smile.

"Because you are a really cool professor and I bet you would be just like that with your kids," replied Harry through a mouthful of chocolate, which made him feel more cheerful. "Besides, it's like you read minds. You can always tell when we are upset and you are always giving us advice and stuff like that. Isn't that what fathers do?"

"Harry is right, professor. Have you ever thought of getting married and having children?"

Remus' expression turned melancholic and distant. "A long time ago I did, but not anymore," he said shaking his head with determination.

"Why not, professor? Any woman would be very lucky to have a husband like you," said Hermione blushing.

"Thanks Hermione but I am afraid that is not true. Anyways, is almost time for your curfew, guys. You better go back to the common room before you get in trouble."

"Ok, see you tomorrow in class," waved Harry and Hermione as they exited the office leaving behind a thoughtful Remus leaning back on his chair with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed. His mind filled with memories of sorrow and regret.

That is how Sirius found him at midnight when he entered his office. "Hey Moony! Don't you have a bed?"

Remus' eyes flashed open. "Sirius? I wasn't sleeping. I was just thinking."

"Yeah right. You are dozing off and not even noticing? You are definitely getting old, man," said Sirius with a smirk.

"Shut up, Sirius. What are you doing here?" laughed Remus.

"I just stopped by to report with Dumbledore and I thought I'd drop by and say hello to you and Harry before I left again."

"So how's the situation?"

The playful look on Sirius' face dissipated at Remus' question. "Not too good, I'm afraid. A lot of wizards are going to the dark side and I am sure that pretty soon Voldemort himself will make his grand appearance. I'm even surprised he hasn't appeared yet or that his death eaters haven't caused more trouble than that disturbance at Diagon Alley."

"He's just buying time. That is why he hasn't shown up yet. He has been quiet so far to catch the Ministry by surprise. But once he's gathered enough followers he is going to strike and it's going to be really bad. Want some tea?"

Sirius nodded absently while Remus busied himself with the teapot. Once the tea was done they both sat in front of the fire quietly. Each one wrapped in their own thoughts. The night was wearing off. The sky changing constantly from a velvety black to a grayish shade whenever the half moon showed its face through the thick mantle of clouds that covered the sky. They sat like that for a while until Sirius finally shattered the silence, "Remus... what would you do if you knew you had a son or daughter?"

Remus looked up from the fire and almost laughed, "What? What's up with kids today? Harry and Hermione were here earlier today and they asked me if I had ever thought of having children and now you. Do you know something I don't know?"

Sirius had to bite his tongue not to tell Remus what he knew. "You promised that stupid snob that you were going to wait before telling Remus the truth. See if she really tells him because if she doesn't, I'm going to turn her into a rat myself," mumbled Sirius under his breath.

"Sirius, are you alright? What are you mumbling about? I think the one that is getting senile is you. You are talking alone, jeez," said Remus with a smile.

"Ha ha very funny. I asked you because all the time I was in Azkaban I always thought that if I ever saw you again I was going to see you with a bunch of kids. You were always the peacemaker, the one giving advice. In other words, you were the daddy type."

"Really? Well, I always wanted to have kids. Too bad I wasn't meant to be a father. Who would want to bear the child of a werewolf?" said Remus sadly leaning sideways on the wall.

"Come on, man. Don't say that. Just because that bitch Clara..."

"Sirius! Don't you ever call her that again. It was not her fault."

Sirius' fists clenched and he wished he had Clara in front of him to strangle her. He hated to see his friend so depressed because of her. "Ok you don't have to get all crabby about it. I won't insult her anymore. But cheer up, man. She is not worth it; believe me. Anyways, I have to go while it is still dark."

"Be careful, Sirius," said Remus shaking hands with Sirius, "and keep in touch."

Remus stood in front of the window for a while watching how the figure of a black dog ran through the grounds of the castle and vanished among the trees of the Forbidden Forest. "I have never seen Sirius so angry at Clara. Why such scorn now after so many years? Something is going on and I have a feeling that I will soon find out what it is."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

During the next couple of months the workload for all the fifth years doubled and the pressure of their upcoming O.W.L.s increased by the day. Even though there hadn't been any new appearances of death eaters or of lord Voldemort himself, it seemed that the atmosphere was getting heavier and heavier. The teachers, even Dumbledore himself, seemed tense and worried about Voldemort's stillness, which could only mean that he was brewing something really bad to strike with. The tense environment among the teachers seemed to have taken a heavier toll on Snape, who was insufferable. Not even the Slytherins wanted to put up with his bad moods and the tons of homework he assigned.

It was a warm morning of May when Hermione was sitting at her usual spot in front of Lupin's desk ready for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry came into the room with Ron and Adrian cursing at Snape at either side of him. He and Adrian sat at one of the tables towards the middle of the room while Ron walked straight to Hermione's table.

"Hermione, I need your help with Transfiguration," said Ron interrupting his string of curses for Snape.

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise and a grin appeared on her face. "Sure Ron. I am so glad that you are finally going to prepare for our exams."

"Exams? What exams?" asked Ron crossly. "I want to learn how to turn Snape into a cockroach so that I can squish him under the sole of my shoe. He's going to pay for all he's done. Assign a 6 feet long essay on sleeping potions and have it due two days later, exactly on the day we are supposed to take that test on every single potion we've learned since our first year. Who in this bloody world cares about exams when there's so much injustice?" snapped Ron at the top of his lungs, his face beet red with anger.

"You should Mr. Weasley if you don't want to be held back a year," came Lupin's serene voice from behind Ron. "I know professor Snape can go a little overboard with assignments..."

"A little? He is nuts," replied Ron.

Remus smiled and patted Ron's back gesturing him to take his seat. Then he walked up to the front of the room and addressed the class, "I'm going to be nice to you. No homework today." The room exploded with cheers. "And since we don't have much to cover today. I'll let you out early so that you can get started on your Potions homework." This time the cheers were louder and more than one student got up from his seat and began to jump around excitedly.

"Alright, alright settle down. Let's start with the lesson. The earlier we start the earlier we finish." At this the class immediately settled down and prepared for the lecture.

"Today we are going to learn about one of the most dangerous creatures a wizard can encounter," started Remus motioning towards the cage resting on top of the desk. "This creature achieves a 4 out of 5 in dangerousness according to the Ministry of Magic Classification. It is extremely venomous. Any guesses?"

Of course Hermione's hand was the first one to shoot straight into the air and when she was about to answer Ron interrupted, "I know, you have professor Snape in there."

Except for Hermione who had lost her turn to answer, the whole class, even Lupin laughed at Ron's guess. "Close but not right."

"Ron didn't you hear what the professor said? The creature in the cage scores a 4 in dangerousness. Snape would score a 15 out of 5," interjected Adrian.

"Honestly, how immature!" said an annoyed Hermione shooting withering looks at Ron and Adrian. "It can't be other creature than a Runespoor. Am I right, professor?"

"Very good. That's exactly what it is," said Remus uncovering the cage to show a big, orange snake with black stripes and three heads rising from its body. Many gasps came from the students and then Remus continued, "The Runespoor originated in Burkina Faso, a small African country. When they reach adulthood, Runespoors measure anywhere from six to seven feet. This one here is only a baby. That is why it is only two feet long."

"That's long enough for me," said Neville in a trembling voice eyeing the Runespoor with terror.

Remus smiled and then continued with the lecture. "As you may have already noticed, these creatures are fairly easy to spot. That is why the Ministry has designated certain African forests unplottable for the Runespoor's sole use. These creatures have peculiar habits. For example, each one of its heads serves a particular purpose. The left head is the planner. The middle head is the dreamer. It is said that Runespoors may remain motionless for days lost in their own visions and imaginings. Then the head to the right is the critic. The one who evaluates the other two and it's continually hissing at them. Also, this is the head you have to watch for. Its fangs are extremely venomous. Only very few survive a Runespoor's bite. One of the reasons being that the poison acts fast usually taking anywhere from a half hour to up to two hours for it to kill the victim. It depends on the victim's strength. Another reason is that the venom acts quietly. Many of the victims don't even know that they have been bitten lest they see the Runespoor, which is very swift to hide... Are you alright, Neville?"

Neville was shrunk in his seat, trembling like a leaf caught in a hurricane. "The...the animal is l-looking at me," he stammered in a squeaky voice. "It-it wants t-to eat m-me."

The whole class exploded in laughter. "Don't worry, Neville. It can't get out of this cage. You are safe. I assure you." At this some color returned to Neville's face and he sat up on his chair. "Let's continue. The symptoms of someone who's been bitten by a Runespoor are..." Hermione's hand once again shot straight into the air. "Go ahead, Hermione."

"First the victim feels a series of chills and body aches, sort of like flu symptoms. Then he gets a headache and then his vision blurs. After that the victim faints and next comes his death. Ah yeah, also the spot where the victim has been bitten turns red and itches a lot," said Hermione matter of factly, glad that she had finally had the chance to contribute to the lecture without interruptions.

"Very good Hermione," said Remus. "Finally, any impeding or stupefying spell will be enough to repel a Runespoor. Well, I believe that is all for today's lesson. Class dismissed."

The class, which otherwise would've left in a riot, left in a mere murmur thinking about Potions class. When the day of their Potions' test finally arrived all the students, even the Slytherins, left the room ashen-faced and tired.

"I am so failing this test! I cannot believe it, 100 essay questions in one hour." exploded Ron as soon as he, Hermione, Harry, and Adrian were out of Snape's earshot.

Then Adrian picked up the complains, "I hear you, Ron. That Snape is a sadist."

"It wasn't so hard, you guys," intervened Hermione casually for which she was pierced by Ron, Adrian, and even Harry's glare. "Well, look on the bright side you'll surely master the final after all the review we made."

"Whatever, Hermione. Say Harry, isn't the match against Ravenclaw this Saturday?" asked Ron.

"Yup," nodded Harry.

"That's right! With all the studying I forgot about it. Finally some time to relax," said Adrian cracking his neck.

"Not really. We have to train really hard for this one. Remember that Slytherin smashed Hufflepuff and they are way above us point wise. If we want to win the cup we have to win the match against Ravenclaw by quite a few points," replied Harry somewhat sadly.

"Don't worry captain, we'll defeat them," said Adrian putting his arm around Harry's shoulders and the two of them kept on walking as they discussed strategies for the game with Ron at their heels also taking part in the conversation.

Hermione stayed behind, some of her old resentment for Adrian and Quidditch resurged in her heart. She kept on walking towards the common room and it seemed that wherever she turned there was a couple holding hands and whispering sweet things to each other. Definitely love was in the air and Hermione noticed that there were a lot of new couples getting together at school. Basically most of her girl friends had boyfriends and that made her feel bad. Why wouldn't any boy ever pose his eyes on her? After all she wasn't all that bad looking. Maybe it was that she always had her nose stuck inside a book.

"Why am I thinking all those stupid things? Why am I so worried about boyfriends just now?" she thought to herself.

Right at that moment she entered the common room and her sight landed on Adrian standing at one of the corners of the room, waving his arms wildly trying to more vividly illustrate his Quidditch moves to Ron and Harry.

"He would never want to go out with you. He only took you to the Winter Dance so he wouldn't lose that bet he made with Ron," chided a small, scornful voice in her head. "All you have to worry about is school and getting good grades."

Hermione rushed to her dormitory. Once there she took out her Ancient Runes, Symbols of the Past book and prepared herself to do her homework. Even though she was trying with all her might to focus all her attention on her book she couldn't help overhearing her roommates' conversation. The four girls were talking in between giggles and sighs about their boyfriends. They were still looking at the valentines they have gotten on Valentine's Day and debating for the millionth time which one was the most romantic.

Hermione turned away from them mumbling, "humbug! Who cares about boys and love anyways?"

Suddenly a brown owl landed right on top of her book and dropped a small parcel without a remittent. She was reluctant to open it at first fearing that it could be hate mail like that she had received the previous year. But then, after a minute of consideration, she finally decided to open it and she found a small, pink teddy bear with white wings and a tiara of flowers. She took it in her hands smiling and noticed that she had also received an envelope sealed with a golden heart. She opened the envelope and took out a piece of parchment covered in pixie dust that read:

"Hermione:

Yo sé que solamente he tomado tu mano una vez

Pero solamente una vez es suficiente para comprender

Que hay un plan maestro

Y aunque no creo en el destino

Probablemente este me ha encontrado.

Ahora mi mundo esta lleno de tantas cosas

Pero nada se compara con tocar tu piel

Hay una sinfonía

Y una melodía que suena cada vez que estas cerca de mí

Creo que el destino me ha encontrado.

Tus ojos son los mas dulces que he visto

Supongo que hay algunas cosas que simplemente sabes

Sin explicación alguna

Hay una voz dentro de mí que me dice que te sostenga

Y nunca te deje ir.

Hay una melodía que suena

Es un sonido sagrado,

Ahora mi mundo esta lleno

De un murmullo de amor y una promesa del mañana.

Sincerely,

Your Secret Admirer

P.S. If you want to know what the poem means and who I am you have to go to the Astronomy tower tomorrow at 8 sharp. You must come alone or I won't show my face."

Hermione quickly put the teddy bear and the letter in her night table's drawer checking for any eavesdroppers. She didn't want anybody to know about it since she wasn't quite sure if she really had a secret admirer or if it was only a sick joke from someone. All that night and the following day she kept thinking about the letter and debating whether she should go to the Astronomy tower or not. Finally she gave in to curiosity and decided that she would go. She brushed her hair, put on a nice dress and then slipped out of the Gryffindor common room with the pretext that she was going to the library.

"If this is a joke the joker will know who Hermione Granger is," she thought as she climbed the long, winding staircase that led to the Astronomy tower holding her wand tightly.

She finally arrived to the tower and she found a red rose laying over a piece of parchment. She took both of them and read the letter quietly:

"I see your curiosity defeated you and I am glad it did. Well, here is what I promised, the translation to the poem you received yesterday:

Well I know that I have only ever held your hand

But just one touch is more than enough to understand

There's a master plan

And although I know I don't believe in destiny

Maybe it found me.

Now my world is filled with so many things

But nothing compares to the touch of your skin

There's a symphony

And a melody that plays whenever you're around

I think I've been found.

Your eyes are the kindest that I've ever seen

I guess there are some things you just know

There's a voice inside telling me to hold on

And never let you go.

There's a tune that plays

It's a sacred sound

It's a symphony I hear whenever you're around

Now my world is filled

With a whisper of love and a promise of tomorrow.

Would you be my girlfriend?"

Hermione finished reading the poem and with trembling hands she folded the paper and put it in her pocket.

"Well, would you?" came a familiar voice from behind her. "Would you be my girlfriend?"

Hermione turned slowly to see who the speaker was or, better said, to confirm if he was who she thought he was. "Is this a joke, Adrian?" she asked looking at him suspiciously.

"Why do you ask? Does it seem so bizarre that I fell in love with you or am I just not good enough for you?"

"No, of course not. It is just that... I, I never thought that you liked me. I mean, you can have any girl you want. Why would you choose me?"

"I know I am dazzlingly hot and handsome," he replied with a playful look and then he took a step closer to Hermione. "But you are the girl I like. I don't care for any other girl."

"Adrian, I... I really like you. I don't know how it happened. I hated you so much."

"Don't they say hatred is only a kind of love?" he said holding Hermione's hands in between his.

A shy smile spread across Hermione's face. "I suppose they are right," she said looking down at her shoes so that Adrian wouldn't see her face turn at least ten different shades of red.

Before Hermione knew what was going on she found herself wrapped in Adrian's arms, his face inches away from hers. "You still haven't answered my question, Hermione," he said softly looking deeply into her eyes.

"I... I... Adrian," Hermione couldn't find her voice. She was lost in Adrian's keen gaze trying to see in his eyes if he was telling the truth or just playing a trick on her (after all he was only a notch below the Weasley twins in playing pranks on people). It seemed that he was being honest or maybe it was only Adrian's warm embrace and her own longing that made her feel like he was telling the truth. She kept on debating for another few seconds, melting in her shoes until the words just rushed out of her mouth, "yes, I want to be your girlfriend."

Adrian's smile widened and then he sealed their newborn romance with a sweet kiss that left Hermione trembling from head to toe and made her forget about all the doubts that were consuming her mind just seconds before.

Adrian and Hermione sat down on a marble bench that stood in front of one of the many windows of the tower to contemplate the starry sky. The pale moon was shining down making everything around them glimmer as if the whole place had been splashed with diamonds. Adrian wrapped his arms around Hermione while they talked in soft whispers.

A cool breeze was blowing by and Adrian, noticing that Hermione was shivering, hugged her even tighter trying to keep her warm. She then leaned her head on Adrian's chest breathing the sweet smell of his skin. They stayed like that for a while until Hermione remembered that they weren't supposed to be out of Gryffindor tower after-hours.

"It's kind of late, we're going to get in trouble," she said, her voice barely a whisper and full of hesitation. She wasn't completely sure that she wanted to leave the warm refuge of Adrian's embrace.

"You are right. I have to go to bed early so that I'll be ready for tomorrow's game," replied Adrian letting go of Hermione and getting up. Hermione nodded and got up too. Then Adrian took her hand and guided her out of the Astronomy Tower towards the Gryffindor common room.

"I hope Ron is still up," said Adrian as they made their way through the corridors watching out for any teachers.

"Why?"

"Because he owes me 5 galleons."

"What did you bet this time?" asked Hermione in a shaky voice fearing that all that had just happened had only been part of a bet.

"He bet that I wouldn't have the guts to tell you how I felt about you." Hermione let out a sigh of relief and he added, "Why do you ask?"

"Out of mere curiosity," replied Hermione squeezing his hand a little tighter.

As soon as the two of them walked into the common room holding hands they were grilled with questions (Hermione by the girls and Adrian by the boys). Finally, after everyone's curiosity was satisfied and the new couple had been congratulated were Adrian and Hermione able to go to bed.

Author's note: I know this chapter was kinda cheesy like taken out of a soap opera (wait! lots of my other chapters are cheesy too, oh well!) but I've seen too many Mexican soap operas and they have greatly influenced me LOL plus I like cheesy love stories. Anyways, hope you liked it and DO NOT FORGET TO REPLY!!!!!

Also, the poem that Adrian writes to Hermione is actually part of a really cool song by Darren Hayes called "I Can't Ever Get Enough of You." Yup, I ain't got talent for poetry so I use songs or other people's poems LOL! The translation is all mine though!

Oh yeah! I almost forgot. I took the description of the Runespoor from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them the only thing I got out of my head were the symptoms of the poisoning. Phew! Now I won't get sued lol!

Next Chapter: Remus is finally going to find out that Adrian is his son (about time, huh?). Wonder what he's going to do... Plus: the Runespoor escapes! Hope it doesn't bite anyone ;)!

Note to my reviewers: OK it's been a loooooooooong while since I answered personally to my reviewers so here it goes:

MoonIvy: Thankx for saying I got "really cool ideas"!!!!!!!!! I also hope they pick a darn handsome actor to play Lupin! I still don't know who they picked, though I saw Sirius in the previews ewwwww they could've picked a better looking actor! Anyways, hope you liked this chapter.

Marla Halliwell: glad you like my fic and thanks for your critique! You are right about Adrian and Clara being too perfect, but my twisted mind tends to idealize my fictional characters. To tell you the truth, I didn't realize it until you pointed it out to me. But I promise I'll work on that! By the way, would you be interested in beta-reading my fics by any chance? (My beta deserted me and I don't know why buaaaaaaaaaaaaaa). Thanks again!!!!!!!!

Sweet Kisses3000: Sorry about updating so slowly, but school and work are HORRIBLE and don't leave much free time. I promise I'll be speedier on the updates. Thanks a million for reading my fic!!

Raclswt: well, here's the update! Hope ya liked it and THANX!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Callista Rose: sorry that review on chapter 1 ruined the suspense for you, but I guess I was too obvious lol! Anyways, I'm glad you like my fic!!!!!!!

Gracelynne Drayce: I also like the Adrian/Hermione thing!!!!!!! So of course I wasn't gonna let that Clara take Adrian out of Hogwarts! THANKX!

Franflutewitch: I'm so happy that you think my fic is good *wipes tear* that gives me strength to go on and write more lol!

THANKS A LOT EVERYONE AND KEEP READING, PLEEEEEAAASE!!!