May Day Eve

Chapter Four : More Compromising Positions

Hermione

“Oh My God! Harry?” Hermione exclaimed, unable to contain the shock in her voice.

“Hermione?!” Harry answered with an equal amount of astonishment.

“Did Lavender say anything about the reflection talking back?” she thought.

“Hermione, what are you doing here?” Harry asked again

She turned to look at the real Harry, not the reflection, “Is it really you?”

He scratched his head, “Yes, it’s really me. Were you expecting someone else?”

“No, it’s just that, I was supposed to see – oh never mind!” she said all of a sudden. He noticed her turn magenta.

“You were supposed to see what?” Harry asked, intrigued.

“What are you doing here?” she shot back

“I’ll tell you if you tell me,” he negotiated.

“You go first,” she said.

“I asked first, so you get to answer first,” he said.

“Fine, I was doing a May day eve ritual, and don’t look at me like that, it was Lavender’s idea,” she explained.

“What’s the ritual about?” he asked, wondering now how he played a part in this.

Hermione cleared her throat several times before finally answering, “Well, I was supposed to see my future husband when I peer into the mirror,” she blushed profusely and refused to look at him, choosing to play with her fingers.

“So, I guess, we’ll have to get married? That means we can continue what we were doing the last time,” he said, a naughty glint in his eyes.

“We weren’t doing anything the last time!” she exclaimed.

“I know, I know, I was just playing with you,” Harry chuckled.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Same as you,” he said.

“You’re trying to see your future husband as well? Harry, why didn’t you tell me?” she said with a tiny smile.

“Haha, if you should know, I thought you were a banshee,” he retorted.

“You what?!!” Hermione asked in disgust.

“No, I didn’t mean I thought you were a banshee, it was what I expected to see, if I was going to see anything, but then I saw you and for a minute there I actually believed you were an angel,” he said.

Hermione felt very giddy all of a sudden, blushing profusely and grinning madly, “Really? You thought I looked like an angel?” she managed to say in between giggles.

“Yes, now stop acting like that, you look like a mental patient,” he added. Hermione stared at him with disgust once more.

“I don’t mean that, I would never think anything like that of you,” he said, starting to get serious, “Hermione, there’s something I need to tell you, about that night we were caught here in this room, well, there’s something you don’t know about it.”

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked suspiciously.

“Well, everything didn’t exactly happen accidentally,” he said sheepishly.

“Continue,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her.

“Well,”

HARRY’S MAJOR FLASHBACK

“Hermione, I need some help with Charms,” he said, approaching her one night in the common room. Harry lied, he was getting perfect scores in Charms, but it was the only way to get Hermione to stay up late at night alone with him. He made sure that Ron was out of the way by tricking him into believing that a saucy wench was meeting him at the Astronomy Tower that night.

“Of course I’d help you Harry,” she agreed immediately.

“Well, we shouldn’t be here, I mean, I don’t think everyone would be very happy if we do a cloud charm in here,” he said, laughing nervously.

“Okay, wait here, I’ll grab my cloak, it’s cold tonight,” she said.

He waited with bated breath for Hermione to come down the stairs. Finally she descended and he marveled once more how she could make him forget about himself and just stare at her when she walks into a room.

“Harry!” she screamed, shaking him slightly.

“Sorry, um, you ready?”

“Yes,” she said as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

They went out the portrait hole and proceeded to go down the stairs.

“Where should we study?” she asked, opening the rooms they passed through, finding each one as inappropriate as the next.

“Well, there’s this spacious room beside the great hall, it might be suitable enough,” he suggested as innocently as he possibly could.

“Let’s head there then,” she said flashing him that wonderful smile that made him weak in the knees. Harry led the way and went on to open the door for Hermione. As soon as he heard her gasp in surprise, he knew there was no turning back.

“Harry, look at this! So many flowers, they’re so beautiful,” she beamed with excitement.

He was supposed to say that they weren’t as beautiful as her, but for some reason, the words were stuck in his throat, “Aren’t they?” he managed to get out.

“I wonder why these are here,” she continued, picking up a fresh yellow rose from the bunch.

They’re for you! They’re for you! Say it you moron! “I don’t know” he said as he pinched his right leg, “Owww!”

“Harry, are you okay?” she said, alarmed by his sudden outcry, as she rushed to him.

Tell her how you feel, how you think about her all the time, how she smells like apples and how you love it when she nags you. Tell her something for crying out loud. “I pinched myself.”

“Okay, Harry, never pinch yourself if you can’t handle it,” she said, patting his shoulder, “I think this might be some sort of function room. The professors might use it some time, so it’s best we leave.”

She began to walk away and out the room. “No, this is your chance, stop her, just scream it, tell her you would give her all the flowers in the world. Just scream it, I love you Hermione!” For some reason, instead of following his head, he chose to follow his wand and made the floor under Hermione’s feet suddenly fill with a puddle, in an attempt to prevent her from moving further.

Well, she didn’t move any further, but she was also very close to breaking her spine. Harry immediately rushed to her side and quickly grabbed her around the waist, but he failed to keep his balance causing the both of them to fall on the floor. They were both quite out of it for a while, but when he was able to think clearly again, he realized that he was lying with his back on the floor and Hermione, her cloak half undone, was straddling on top of him.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his concern winning over his hormones.

“I think so,” she said, rubbing a sore spot on her right leg.

“FOR THE LOVE OF MERLIN! What are the two of you doing?”

Hermione gasped and struggled to get up on her feet, “Professor McGonagall, we were, well, we fell, I fell actually, there was a suddenly a puddle on the floor and--”

“Do I look stupid to you Miss Granger? I have been teaching here before you were even conceived. I have seen everything, and frankly yours is the most pathetic excuse I have heard,” she said with a very disappointed tone.

This time, Harry stood up to explain, “But she’s telling the truth, we only came down here to study and--”

“You really expect me to believe that Mister Potter? You should’ve seen yourselves, you were, well, you were in a very compromising position,” she said, losing the nerve in her voice a little.

“We were what?” Harry asked perplexed.

“You were in a very compromising position,” McGonagall repeated.

“What do you mean?” Harry asked impertinently.

McGonagall lost her patience at this and remembered that she was authority and they were in trouble, “Fifty points from Gryffindor, Miss Granger, I trust this would not happen again. I expect nothing less from the future Head Girl.”

“Yes, Professor,” Hermione said meekly.

“Now go back to your dormitories and go straight to bed, separate beds,” she said, stressing the last phrase.

Harry wondered if anyone could possibly go any redder than Hermione. He noticed her eyes moisten with tears, “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault.”

“Of course it isn’t, we shouldn’t have been out of bed at this time of night anyway,” she answered, attempting a smile, but failing miserably, “Come on, let’s get back.”

And Harry watched her retreating back, knowing that it was best to just let her go this time.

END OF HARRY’S MAJOR FLASHBACK

Harry

He watched her face turn from suspicious to angry to downright murderous as he told her what happened, really. He felt as if he were only two feet tall under Hermione’s piercing gaze.

“You got me into trouble, you know,” she said, “Why couldn’t you have just told me straight to my face?”

“I didn’t know what to say,” he answered in a small voice.

“But you obviously knew what to do,” she retorted.

“I’m sorry, Hermione, you must think I’m an idiot,” he said.

“Well you are,” she answered. She slowly moved from the spot where she was standing and stood closer to him, staring up at him with her big brown eyes.

“Harry,” she started.