Am I Too Late

AM I TOO LATE

Skating in Paradise

Chapter Six

Harry practically dragged Hermione down the streets of Hogsmeade toward the ice skating rink. She tried to distract him by saying they should visit the other shops, but he wouldn't hear of it. He said she never allowed herself to have fun, and book shopping was nowhere near the enjoyment they were going to have making complete fools of themselves while ice skating. She relented; she didn't seem to have any other choice.

The ice rink was covered by a large dome with a giant open hole in the very center at the top. This hole allowed for the natural light to spill down onto the charmed ice below, but any other unwanted elements could not pass through the hole and ruin the fun of the skaters. Charmed snowflakes fell continuously and indoor snow-covered trees were scattered all around. There were also snow drifts everywhere to give the illusion of the outdoors. To Hermione, it looked like she had stumbled into a wondrous magical forest with a frozen lake in the middle.

"It's great, isn't it?" Harry asked, smiling at the look of amazement on her face.

"I had no idea," she said quietly.

"This must be a good time to skate. There's hardly anyone here."

"Less people to see me fall," Hermione muttered.

"Oh, come on, Hermione," Harry laughed. "I'll keep you from falling."

"I doubt that," she said cryptically as she thought of the condition of her heart.

"What's that?"

"Nothing," she replied, walking away from him and crunching the magic snow beneath her shoes.

Harry followed her. "Why don't you go sit on that bench over there," he said, pointing to a wooden bench resting beneath an antique wrought iron street lamp. "I'll go get some starter hot chocolate and then we can skate."

"Okay," she said, and before Harry could walk away, she called out to him. "Hey Harry!" He turned. "No marshmallows!"

He frowned at her and shook his head. "I know you don't want marshmallows."

She smiled involuntarily at him before turning away and heading for the bench. As she walked, she watched a couple skate by laughing and holding hands. When she arrived at the bench, she actually felt like she was in an enchanted forest. The snowflakes sparkled in the air as they fell like tiny diamonds from the ceiling, she could almost swear there were fairies in the trees, and the snow felt and sounded very real beneath her feet. She immediately inhaled a slow deep breath and thought how very romantic the entire scene was all around her. Then, instantly following that thought was a sudden rush of panic.

What am I doing? I can't do this! This place is a couple's dream, and I can't, can't, CAN'T be here with Harry!

She started to stand up, but she saw Harry approaching her. A smile was stretched across his face, and her heart leapt forward in her chest.

"Hey, what's up with you?" he asked as he neared her.

"What? Nothing," she said quickly.

"You look spooked," he teased.

"Do I? Oh, I was thinking--"

"--Not about work, I hope," he interrupted her as he sat down and handed her a mug of hot chocolate.

"Oh, no, I wasn't thinking of work."

"Good because we are here to have fun."

She sighed and sipped her hot chocolate. She wanted to have fun with Harry. She wanted to be with him without thinking of being with him. She wanted it to be like it was before...only she didn't know what that meant anymore.

"And as for you not wanting marshmallows, don't you think I'm well aware of that fact by now?" he asked, and she laughed at the expression on his face. He looked mildly insulted.

"Well, I don't know, Harry. You and Ron aren't the most observant people I know. You don't pay attention to half the things around you, so I merely assumed that you wouldn't know such a trivial thing about me."

"Okay, so perhaps Ron and I miss a few things, but we don't miss things about you," he replied innocently.

Hermione coughed unexpectedly at his response. Maybe it was true. Maybe Harry and Ron caught most of the things concerning her, but they definitely weren't catching this new development. Of course, Ron hadn't been around long enough to see anything.

"What? You don't believe me? I know lots of things about you," he said defensively.

"I know you do, Harry," she laughed. "I was just surprised, that's all."

"Well, drink up. I left our skates over there," he said as he pointed to an entrance onto the ice.

"You got mine, too?"

"Of course."

"Did you know the right size?" she asked curiously.

Harry half-glared at her, and she burst out laughing. "Hermione, if you insult me one more time, I'm going to have to hurt you." She laughed harder.

"I'm sorry," she said playfully. "But, you're full of surprises today."

He shook his head. "I expected you to think more of our friendship," he teased in mock sadness. "Don't you know my shoe size?" he asked.

"Of course," she joked arrogantly, "but I know everything."

And Harry laughed as he slipped his arm around her shoulders. "So true, so true."

* * * *

Hermione bit her bottom lip as she stood up and wobbled on her skates. She tried to straighten her legs, but her right knee would spastically tremble and buckle beneath her.

"This is going to be a disaster," she sighed.

"Nah, you'll get the hang of it quickly," Harry assured her right before he grabbed her hand and pulled her out onto the ice. Hermione squealed and instantly clutched the nearest object for support--a lamppost.

"Just for the record, I hate you for this," she mumbled against the metal post. She could hear Harry laughing behind her. She braved a look over her shoulder and glared at him.

"Come on. You can hold my hand," he said sweetly.

Hermione pulled her body into a standing position while still clutching the post with her arms. "I am not going to hold your hand," she said in irritation.

"Why not?" he asked.

Because this is one of the most romantic places I've ever been and I'm not going to hold your hand because you're in love with someone else.

"Because...we don't hold hands," she said stupidly.

"We've held hands lots of times," Harry laughed. "It's not a big deal."

"Those were life and death situations, and clearly those times don't count."

Harry laughed again. "Life and death situations? How is that different from now?" he teased.

Hermione sighed. "Point taken. I could potentially fall down and kill myself this afternoon. It will be all your fault, of course."

"Of course," he smiled.

She hesitantly released the death grip on the post and reached out a hand to Harry. He smiled and reached for her.

"Now take it slow," he said gently, pulling her closer to his side. Her skates slid easily across the ice. "Okay, one foot at a time," he continued as he eased his skate out and Hermione followed.

Within a few minutes, the tension left her face and shoulders, and she was almost enjoying herself. Harry's hand was hot against hers, and the feeling was a constant distraction. She tried to focus on skating, but with the snowflakes, and the trees, and...was that music?

"Do you hear music?" she asked, careful not to pull her attention away from the movement of her skates lest she fall down.

"Sounds classical."

"Great," she grumbled. Could the place really get any more romantic?

She forgot herself for a moment and looked over at Harry. For a split second she felt as if she and Harry were the only two people around, lost in a magical forest deep in the heart of a winter paradise. She smiled and felt her heart expand in her chest...right before she lost her balance.

"Woh, woh! Har-RY!" she yelled, swinging one arm like a broken windmill and yanking Harry with the other.

She fell in slow motion. The snowflakes hung in the air, suspended in backwards time; the music halted, and the wind rushed by her ears. She couldn't stop herself. She couldn't break her fall. She merely fell back as though preparing to lie down on a bed of ice. But she wasn't prepared for the way the ice felt or the fact that she pulled Harry down with her.

She hit the ice full force and...bounced. She was immediately shocked and relieved. Harry landed half on her body and half on the ice, and he was laughing loudly. His forehead smacked hers, and she winced as he tried to apologize through his laughter.

My, isn't this a cliché? she thought.

Harry's laughter was contagious; she couldn't help but laugh along with him.

"Sorry, Hermione," he said as he reached up and rubbed his hand against her forehead. "Did that hurt?"

"Why are you apologizing?" she asked, squirming slightly beneath his touch. His hand was warm. "I just made you fall with me."

"And we bounced," he laughed. "That was unexpected."

"But nice," she replied, smiling up at him.

He leaned over her, and she stopped breathing. A slow smile crept across his face, and she could feel her mouth drying. "You should have seen your face," he said quietly.

She blushed. "I told you I wasn't a good skater."

"You were doing so well. Why did you fall?" he wondered, pulling her into a sitting position as he sat down beside her on the ice.

"I wasn't concentrating," she admitted.

"Oh, let your mind wander, did you? What were you thinking about?"

She wanted to say she had been thinking about him, about how perfect the entire place felt, but she knew she couldn't say those things. So, she shrugged.

"I'm sorry I made you fall," she said softly, staring down at her hands.

"Ah, don't worry about it," he teased. He stood up slowly and reached down his hands for hers. Then, he pulled her to her feet. "Who better to fall with?"

Hermione's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but smile. My thoughts exactly.

Harry held out his hand for her. "Promise not to pull me down this time?" She laughed. "Unless of course you're ready to leave."

"I don't want to go," she whispered honestly before she could stop herself.

"Good," he smiled, "me neither." He pulled her forward, and they began skating again before he added. "We should do this more often."

A sense of sadness drifted into Hermione's heart. "We don't have time for things like this."

"We could always make time," he said.

She laughed, but it sounded hollow and doubtful. "No, we couldn't."

"Why not?" he wondered, looking over at her, but she carefully avoided his gaze.

"Well, for starters we work."

"We're not working now," he replied.

"That's because you needed help with your wedding," she said a bit too coldly, "which leads me to reason number two why we couldn't do this more often. You'll be married in a few months."

"What does that have to with anything?" he asked.

Hermione stopped skating and dropped Harry's hand. "I highly doubt Beth is going to want you to go ice skating with me all the time."

Harry frowned at her and wrinkled his brow. "What would that matter?"

Hermione felt a strange mix of emotions assault her at once--anger, frustration, sadness. "Because your wife isn't going to want you to skate around holding hands with another woman!"

"But it's you," he said, and it was evident that he was growing frustrated as well.

"Well, I'm still a woman, Harry!" she exclaimed as she placed her hands on her hips. She felt on the verge of tears.

"I know you're a woman, Hermione, believe me," he stated and immediately pinked as he thought of her seeing her earlier in the morning with little to nothing on. "But it's you, and Beth knows about our friendship. Getting married isn't going to change us, Hermione." His voice was gentle, and his face was sincere.

She sighed; the fight left her instantly. "Everything will change, Harry. It always does. Nothing stays the same," she spoke quietly, hearing the sadness in her voice.

He skated closer to her and stood before her with a look of absolute resolution in his eyes. "This," he motioned to the two of them, "will never change. I can promise you that. We'll always have this."

Hermione lowered her eyes and sighed again. "Okay," was she could say.

"Hey," he said, reaching out and lifting her face, "I promise. I know I'll be married, but our friendship won't change because of that. I won't let it. The friendships I have...yours, Ron's...the guys...are much too important to me to let go of."

Hermione looked at him and nodded. "Let's just wait and see what happens."

Harry reached out and playfully grabbed her upper arm. "Are you trying to get rid of me, Hermione Granger?" He eyed her carefully, and she laughed away the confused feelings inside.

"You found me out. Who told?"

"It's all over the streets. You'll never get rid of me."

"We'll see about that," she said playfully, thankful the conversation had shifted away from the seriousness. She skated off laughing, and Harry chased after her.

When he was next to her again, she asked, "So, what's on our agenda for tomorrow?"

Harry shrugged. "Flowers, dresses, music, honeymoons...you know, the usual."

"Well, I think I'll pass on all of the above."

"I don't think so, Miss. I fully intend on seeing you dressed up in a gown."

Hermione choked out a laugh. "You have to be joking me. I am not going to go dress shopping for Beth's gown. She's a designer, for Merlin's sake."

"I know that, but she wants to know what my favorite style is," Harry pouted.

"Well, then I suggest you take Ron with you for that assignment. He's a better match for her in size!" Hermione said as she skated off quickly, giggling madly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked, chasing after her again. "You are going to help me whether you like it or not!"

"I'll run away!" Hermione yelled over her shoulder. She skated off the rink and wobbled quickly into a thicket of snow-covered trees, hiding behind an old maple. She pulled out her wand and cast a Breezing Charm. The snow stirred up from the ground and created a blowing fog of white, concealing her from view.

"No fair! I'll find you!" he yelled in return. "You won't get far!" Hermione could hear him laughing as he searched for her. She covered her hand with her mouth and snickered. "I hear you!" Suddenly, two arms grabbed her around the waist and she squealed. "I win! You should have known you can never hide from me."

He turned her around, and she stared up into his bright green eyes. "I should have," she whispered as she lost herself in his gaze.

He smiled. "Nice charm."

"Thanks," she said, suddenly realizing she had her hands on his chest. She slid them off immediately. "Sorry about that," she mumbled.

He lowered his hands, too, and stepped back. Hermione could feel an electrical current of energy surrounding them, and from the look in his eyes, she wondered if he could feel it, too. A long second of silence hung in the air around them before he spoke.

"Hot chocolate?"

"Sure," she answered.

"Then, we can go home," he added. "And you'll be free...until tomorrow," he said, grinning at her.

"I can hardly wait," she said sarcastically.

He waited for her to wobble up beside him, and he put his arm around her shoulders. "Come, on, admit it...you had fun today."

She smiled up at him. "Okay," she sighed reluctantly, "I had fun."

"And we should do this more often?" he asked playfully.

"Yes, we should," she agreed.

He stopped walking and turned to face her. "No, even better...we will."

Harry looked down at her, his eyes full of innocence and friendship, and she could see herself, though figuratively, handing over her heart. She knew she was mostly lost to him already, but looking up at him with the diamond-like snowflakes falling all around them, the fairies twinkling in the trees, the gentle rolling sound of the music, she knew she was lost completely. There would be no turning back, and though she knew her heart would break, she would enjoy every last moment they would spend together before he would be lost to her forever.