Much Ado About Hermione

Chapter 9: A Charitable Act

Harry continued to fold his clothes, trying hard to ignore the intense glare of the boy standing over him.

"I've watched you fold that same shirt about five times now," said Ron. "Harry did you hear me? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were deliberately trying to ignore--"

"Is there a reason why you're talking to me?"

"Why wouldn't I talk to you? We're friends."

Harry snorted loudly and returned to his pile of clothes on the floor. "It's just that you haven't said a decent word to me in days, and now you want to have a conversation? Anyway, aren't your friends waiting for you?"

Ron stared at him calmly. "Why are you being so hostile?"

"I'm not, I just thought you had to meet some friends of yours."

"Yeah, but I wanted to talk to you first."

"What about?" asked Harry, reaching into his trunk for another shirt.

"Can you please stop doing that? It's really annoying."

Harry put the last of his shirts back into his trunk. He remained seated on the floor and looked up at Ron.

Seeing that he now had the other boy's undivided attention, Ron sat down on the bed and said, "Hermione told me what happened between you guys. It's a bit funny, when you think about it."

Ron began to laugh. "I wouldn't have expected something like that from you. But I guess you've never been an expert with the ladies. First, there's that whole mess with Parvati. And let's not forget about your blotched relationship with Cho."

"Is this going anywhere?"

"Jesus Harry. You had the woman of your dreams all alone and you go and do something stupid like that?"

Harry turned away from Ron's cackling face. "When did she tell you?" he asked.

"Right after she left you. She followed me to Hogsmeade and told me all about it."

Seeing the surprised look on Harry's face, Ron leaned towards him. "You didn't know she went to Hogsmeade, did you? Well, she can never stay away from me. Anyway, she told me how you fell asleep while she was massaging your back."

"How I what?"

"Fell asleep. Passed out cold." Ron threw his head back and laughed again, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "My God boy! I would've thought you'd a least try to put the moves on her. She's got her hands on you, and you pass out? Perhaps you couldn't handle all the physical contact and fainted."

Harry kept quiet and lowered his head.

"I have to admit that I was really mad when she decided to stay here with you," Ron stated. "I was cursing you out while I was walking around Hogsmeade, thinking about how your `I'm sick' ploy worked."

"It wasn't a ploy, I really wasn't feeling well."

"Whatever. Anyway, after much thought, I decided that I had nothing to be angry about. And I can never truly be jealous of you. You know why?"

Harry stared at him with expressionless eyes.

"Because she doesn't want you. No matter what you try to do to lure her to you, it just won't work."

"I don't do anything," said Harry.

"Right. What about all the looks you give her? Always asking her to help you with your homework."

"What? First of all, she's the one who's offering to help me with my homework. She's always coming to me, approaching--"

"Will you shut up for a minute? You're gonna make me forget what I was gonna say." Ron pressed his fingers against his temple. "Like I said before, I have no reason to be threatened by you. I now know that Hermione stayed here with you because she's a sweet person. I think she would have extended her generosity to anyone in need, not just to you. I mistook a charitable act for something else and I was wrong. I wouldn't want you making the same mistake. Do I make myself clear?"

Harry glared at him. "Crystal."

Ron cleared his throat and got off the bed. "Now that everything is out in the open, I think I will catch up with my friends."

Harry eyed him as he walked out of the dorm. "'Maybe you couldn't handle the physical contact and fainted. Ha, ha,'" he said, mimicking Ron. "Fuckin' jerk."

He rested his elbows on the trunk and lowered his head, thinking of all that was said. As he thought of their conversation, he began to ball his hands into fists. "God dammit!" he shouted, pounding his fist down on the trunk.

"Careful. You don't wanna break that."

He turned around and watched as Hermione walked into the room.

"Did you see Ron?" she asked.

"He left a few minutes ago to meet his friends. I'm sure you can catch him if you try."

She stayed perched in the entryway. "I really didn't come here to talk to him." She walked to his bed and sat on the edge. "I came to speak to you."

"Everyone seems to wanna talk to me today."

"What?"

"Nothing." He didn't look at her, hoping she would get the message and leave him alone. But as the minutes ticked by, he finally realized that she was not going to budge. He took a deep breath and asked, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Hermione bit down on her lower lip. "It's about that day in the common room. The way I acted towards you...you know, when we were sitting by the fire, well--"

"You don't have to explain it to me, Ron already made things perfectly clear."

"He did?"

"Yes. I understand that what you did was nothing more than a charitable act. I already know that you don't have feelings for me. You were just doing that whole soup and massage thing out of courtesy. You would've done the same for Neville."

"Ron said that?"

"Yes. And if you don't mind, I would like to be left alone. This is the boys' dorm after all and you're intruding."

She continued to stare at him, hoping that he would say something else, but he did not. She got up from his bed and walked towards the door. "I told you it would change everything."

"What would change everything?"

"You telling me all that stuff. It's just changed everything between us."

He played with the buttons on his shirt for a moment before turning around. He struggled out of his cross-legged position and walked over to her. As he looked down at her, he could see that she was visibly upset. He wanted to put his arms around her, but he stopped himself.

"Why did you have to say those things to me?" she asked.

He put his hands in his pockets and shifted uncomfortable on his feet, before looking at the ground. She grabbed his face, forcing him to look at her. "Did you really mean what you said the other day?"

"Yes," he said slowly. "Listen, I didn't mean to complicate our relationship. I said those things because everything just felt right. It seemed like the right time. I needed you to know how much I cared about you. But if I knew things would be like this, I would have kept my mouth shut."

He walked over to the window and looked out onto the school grounds. "I know you could never have feelings for me, and I'm fine with that."

She followed him to the window and stood behind him. "You're my best friend. I will always have feelings for you. And I kinda liked all you said to me. Hearing you say those things really made me feel good. It made me feel special. But that dream thing kinda freaked me out a bit." They both laughed.

"If you weren't offended by what I said, why did you react that way?" he asked.

"It was just so sudden and came out of nowhere. And I got scared. I thought we couldn't be friends after a moment like that. I didn't want our relationship to turn into a round of awkward moments, where we don't know what to say or do around each other." She wrapped her arms around his chest from behind and rested her head on his back.

Harry closed his eyes, melting into her embrace. "I don't want that for us either Hermione," he said. "We have something special going on. I promise you that my little outburst won't affect our relationship. It won't change things between us. And you don't have to worry about me staring at you like I used to."

"Really? That's too bad. I'm gonna miss those hypnotic green eyes of yours looking at me."

She began to rub her hands up and down his chest. "I love being so close to you," she mumbled against his shirt. "You always make me feel safe and secure. It's not like being with Ron. Everything is so tense with him. I always feel like I'm in a battle when I'm with him."

"But Ron's a great guy. I know he can be a bit intense at times, but he's a good person. By the way, why did you tell him I fell asleep?"

"I didn't want to embarrass you. I had a feeling he'd say something to you about it."

Harry took a deep breath. "He's a lucky guy."

"Who?"

"Ron. I feel bad for what I did to him."

"Harry, you would never do anything bad to Ron. I know you love him too much."

"But I betrayed him. I hit on his girlfriend. I shouldn't have done that to you or him."

"What?" She grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him around. "I'm not his girlfriend."

"You don't have to say that just to make me happy."

"I'm not just saying that."

He took a step backwards. "I thought you guys were an item. I saw you guys in the....I mean, you guys are always together."

"Of course we're gonna hang out. He's one of my best friends."

"But he's always putting his arm around you."

"Yeah, he tends to do that a lot. I wish he wouldn't."

He stared at her with his mouth slightly opened. "Then why did you follow him to Hogsmeade?"

"Where else would I go? And I didn't go out looking for him, we accidentally bumped into each other."

"So, you're not with anyone?"

"No. And don't listen to what Ron said. I stayed with you the other day because I care for you. I wouldn't have done that for just anyone. I mean Neville's a nice guy, but I wouldn't have stayed with him."

Harry smiled. "That was a sweet thing you did for me."

"Well, you mean a lot to me." Her arm lifted, as she rubbed his cheek with the back of her hand.

He stared at her, looking into her brown eyes. "I love your eyes. I know you said brown is ordinary, but yours are astonishing."

He found himself closing the space between them. He let his hand travel down the side of her face. His hand then fell on her hips, as he gently pulled her against him. As he looked down at her, she tilted her head towards him and closed her eyes.

Harry slowly lowered his head and brushed his lips against hers.