Much Ado About Hermione

Chapter 12: The Trip to Hogsmeade

Hermione awoke bright and early. Sauntering to the bathroom, she guessed she was the only person awake in Gryffindor Tower, other than him. She went into the shower, throwing back her head as the warm water ran over her body.

Clean and wide-awake, she looked into the mirror to assess what needed to be done to make her look her best that day. As she scanned her appearance, her eyes ran over the bruising on her neck. The slight pink color that was there the night before had darkened into a deep red.

The marks ran down the side of her neck, culminating into large blotches near her shoulder. She ran her finger along the blemishes, thinking of how he meticulously made them with his mouth. A smile curved onto her lips.

But she soon adopted a dour expression as the events at the Prefects' meeting began to enter her mind. "Damn it Justin, why do you have to be so observant?" she muttered.

Taking out her wand, she pointed the tip at her neck and instantly, the marks were gone.

She applied the gloss he had given her that summer. After she was dressed and ready to go, she looked at her appearance once more in the mirror.

Walking down the stairs, she could hear him as he paced in the common room down below.

"You're late," he said. " I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show up at all."

"Don't worry, I'm here."

He reached out a hand to her and she grabbed it. "How do I look?"

He watched as she twirled around in front of him. His eyes roamed up and down her physique, taking in every curve. "Fabulous. You'll be the prettiest girl there."

She wrapped her arms around his waist as they headed out the portrait hole.

On their way to Hogsmeade, she began to wring her hands as she thought of what she would say; trying to think up the proper phrasing that would be kind, yet firm at the same time. She looked up at him and observed how the bright sunlight flowed through his red hair, making it appear like a halo was up above his head.

A delightful smile on his face, he walked with the calm confidence of a man who had everything at his feet. When she cleared her throat, he glanced at her, their eyes locking. She suddenly broke their gaze and looked away; she didn't want to see his crumbling face when she told him the news.

"I know these past couple of weeks haven't been very easy for you," she began. "But I really do appreciate your effort."

His eyes lowered. "Anything for you. I know you needed your space, time to think and not have me hovering over you all the time. But I'm glad we agreed to spend some time apart. I can see the change in you already."

"What change? I thought I always looked the same." Her voice was tight, though she tried to remain composed.

He stopped walking and grazed the side of her face with his finger. "There's been a definite change in you. I can't remember when you've looked so radiant. And you seem happy. The break has been good for me too, me and Harry I should say."

"What about Harry? What does he have to do with this?"

"Everything really." He took a step away and turned his back to her. When he looked at her again, there was a twinge of shame on his face. "You don't know this, but I've been an awful person. I've been mean and hateful."

She gave him a long look. "Why do you say such things about yourself? You're not a mean person. You have a very big heart." She lifted her hand to stroke his cheek.

He grabbed her hand and pressed her fingers to his lips, where he held it there. "That's what I love about you. You have the ability of making me feel like I'm the best person in the world."

She pulled her hand away and forced a smile onto her face.

"But I've been a bit mean," he went on. "To Harry. For the longest time I was upset with him, thinking that you guys....that you....anyway, it's all out in the open now."

"What's in the open?"

"Everything."

She quickly glanced at him, a stunned look growing on her face. He didn't notice her appearance and continued to talk. "Harry and I had a long talk last night and we got everything cleared."

He looked up at the sky, enjoying the feel of the sun as it hit his face. "I'm actually delighted for him. He deserves the best and he seems to be very happy."

She looked at him in disbelief. "Oh, you are? And you're not mad?"

"No, I couldn't have been more pleased. He's my best friend. If he's happy, then I'm happy for him."

She closed her eyes; she was finally able to breathe again. "This makes things a lot easier for me."

She turned around, not wanting him to see her face and know that she was on the brink of tears. She squeezed her eyes shut, desperately fighting back the urge to cry. When she had gotten control of her emotions, she faced him. "You don't know how long I've pondered this in my head. I've been dreading this moment for so long, trying to figure out how I was going to tell you. It makes my heart soar to see that you're taking this so well."

She gave him a hug, squeezing him tightly, as all the anxiety and stress lifted from her body. When she pulled away, she brows creased into a frown. "But I don't know why he told you last night. I said I would talk to you myself."

"He didn't have to tell me, I already knew. I guess I've known for awhile now."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I really wanted to, but I was scared."

"Why would you be scared? News like that would have resolved things a lot quicker, instead of causing me to toss and turn at night, pondering whether Harry had feelings for you or not."

"This is such a happy day for me. Harry must also be relieved, cause I know he never liked sneaking around. He liked for everything to be out in the open."

He draped an arm around her shoulders. "Well, I'm glad you're so pleased. But I'm a little disappointed you knew about her before I did. Seamus, Dean and I thought we were the only ones that knew about his mystery girl."

A puzzled look spread across her face. "Mystery girl? What?"

He didn't hear what she said and continued talking. "Of course I should have known that he would confide in you. You've probably already met her. Tell me who this girl is."

She shook her head in confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play coy with me. Fine, you can keep her identity to yourself; I'll see her for myself in a couple of hours, anyway. We're all going to The Three Broomsticks to have a few drinks and get acquainted."

He gazed at her face, his eyes pleading with her. "Can't you give me some clues on who she is? All I know is she's in Ravenclaw."

"Ron, I don't--"

"It's okay. Don't tell me. I want to be surprised when I see her."

Hermione looked away, her mind working swiftly to digest everything, putting all the pieces together.

"I think I'm going to buy Harry something at Honeydukes," Ron continued. "To make up for the times I was so mean. I'll get him some chocolate frogs, that way I could help him eat them."

He stopped walking and gazed down at her. He held her head between his palms and looked into her eyes. "This time spend apart has made me realize how much I love you. I know I can come on strong sometimes, but I was just so afraid of losing you, thinking you were interested in--"

"Ron please, you don't know the--"

He held up his hand. "I just need to say this before I lose my nerve. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I could never have hoped you'd want me. And I promise things will be different; I won't stalk you in the halls or anything. I'll give you all the space you need."

His hands entwined around her slender waist. "I love you and I will be so good to you." He lowered his head and kissed her.

Her lips stayed tight and thin as she lifted her hands and brought them to his chest, prepared to push him away. But those hands stayed on him, feeling how incredibly fast his heart was beating. The familiar warmth of his mouth enveloped her and she succumbed. Her lips relaxed as she began to take part in the embrace.

***************

His body was stiff that morning. The butterflies in his stomach had not stopped buzzing since last night. He had lain in bed all night thinking of that morning, thinking of how his friend was finally going to be told the truth. Sitting on his bed, he stretched and yawned. Although he had not slept, he was not tired; the day's activities kept his mind busy throughout the night.

"That's why she didn't want to go with me. She wanted to have a chance to tell Ron." He calculated that his friend was being told the truth at that very moment.

He stumbled into the bathroom and showered. A towel around his waist, he stood in front of the mirror and looked at his reflection, inspecting his skin.

Seamus wandered by, eyeing him. "No, you don't have any incriminating evidence of your late night tryst with your lady love."

Harry whirled around.

Seamus leaned against one of the faucets and gazed at him with a cheeky grin on his face. "You know, you're not the only one who had a good time last night."

He leaned close to Harry. "Justin told me that Hermione had some marks all over her neck. Says she tried to hide them during the meeting."

A faint smile spread on Harry's face.

"I guess she and Ron got a little hot and heavy last night," said Seamus. "I don't know when he had the chance to snog her since he was playing chess all night with Dean. But I guess he sneaked off when no one was looking."

Harry's smile faded. "What would make you think they were together last night?"

Justin narrowed his brows. "Because they're a couple. Whenever I ask Ron about it, he just smiles. But it's so obvious that they're an item. I always see them holding hands and stuff. I once caught them in our dorm, kissing."

Harry held onto the sides of the sink and let his head drop.

Seamus put his hand on his back. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"So, you headed to Fred and George's shop? Everyone's going to be there. I can't wait to see all the new products they have." He looked down at Harry's face and eyed his chest as it heaved in and out. "Are you sure you're okay."

Harry nodded his head.

After Seamus had left, Harry remained in that position for a long time, his fingers tight around that sink, holding him up.

***************

Harry whistled to himself as he walked back from the hotel with his keys in his hands, mentally making preparations for that night. He stopped in his tracks as he suddenly recalled his conversation with Seamus in the bathroom. As the other boy's words echoed in his head, a cloud of doubt and uncertainty darkened his plans for relationship bliss with Hermione.

But he shook his head; reassuring himself that Seamus' talk was nothing more than hearsay, the bantering of a nosy adolescent with too much time on his hands.

Engrossed in these thoughts, he was startled when someone's arms wrapped around his waist.

Ginny's head popped out from behind him. "You mind if I walk to the shop with you? I lost my friends." She took his hand in hers and walked alongside him.

He looked down at her, noticing how mature she looked, unlike the child of a couple of months ago who tried unsuccessfully to stimulate him.

Rounding the corner, they were taken aback by the large crowd of people lined up to get inside the shop. Harry looked down at her. "Do you think we should go to the front? I'll feel kinda bad walking ahead of all these people."

"Do you actually want to wait in this long line?"

Harry shook his head, and they headed to the door.

"Hey you queue jumpers," cried an angry wizard, "get back to the end. We've been waiting here for hours. You can't just go to the front."

The two students looked at one another, trying to decide what to do. The groans of the disgruntled crowd was beginning to make them feel guilty.

Fred poked his head out of the door. "Gin, Harry, come on in." He looked back at the people in line who were causing a raucous. "You guys better calm down or I'll hex all of you." He grabbed Harry and his sister by the arm and pulled them into the shop.

Harry was nearly crushed by the throng of people, as he tried to make his way around the store. He had lost Ginny and Fred in the mix of bodies and was now walking around the massive display isles by himself. He ducked around the corner when he saw Rita Skeeter.

After fighting his way into a less populated area, he was tapped on the shoulder by George.

"Have you seen Ron?" asked the twin. "He dropped by here earlier with Hermione, but I lost him again."

Harry shook his head and watched the man disappear into the sea of people. His thoughts were suddenly brought back to his friend. Hermione must have told him by now, he thought. He considered what he would do if he saw the other boy. He finally decided that he would give Ron several days to digest the information; after all, he didn't want to appear as if he were gloating.

He was thinking of his game plan when he heard a shrieking, followed by laughter. "That's Hermione." He walked to the next aisle and saw that it was she. Hermione was sitting on the floor, laughing.

"Why don't you help me up?" she asked.

Harry saw a large pair of hands grab onto her arms, pulling her to her feet. When he moved to his right, he saw that it was Ron. Harry drew a breath of relief, as he saw how happy his friend look, not upset at all by the news that Hermione must have told him.

He was about to take a step forward and make his presence known, when he saw Ron wrap his arms around her waist, almost lifting her off the ground. "I'm the luckiest man on earth," murmured the redhead. He then brought his mouth down on hers.

The green-eyed boy stood there in silence, watching as they embraced. He waited, expecting that she would shove him away, yell at him to get off of her. But she did nothing; Ron was kissing her and she was allowing him.

Having seen enough, he walked into view, where he was sure she would see him. He glared at her, silently ordering her to open her eyes. Her eyelids slowly lifted and she nearly jumped back when she saw him.

Ron turned around. "Hey. There you are." He looked over Harry's shoulders. "Where's your girl? I thought she was going to join us."

Harry didn't' gaze at him, his eyes were glued to Hermione. He watched as she stared back at him with big, guilt-ridden eyes, bringing her hands to her face in a vain attempt to cover her flushed cheeks. Her eyes locked with his for a moment, but then flickered away.

Ron draped his arm around Harry's shoulder. "You're saving her until the last minute, huh? Where ever she is, just tell her to meet us at The--"

Harry pulled away from his grip and walked to Hermione. He stood inches away from her, staring down at her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again, looking nervously up at him.

Harry turned on his heels and then headed into the swarm of people, making his way out of the store.