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More Important Things	By : twitchelittleferret Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Hermione Views: 15269 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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A/N: Again, the
world of Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. I�m just borrowing them for this story.

Awkward is the Word

My cherie amour, lovely as a summer day

My cherie amour, distant as the milky way

My cherie amour, pretty little one that I adore

You're the only girl my heart beats for

How I wish that you were mine

In a cafe or sometimes on a crowded street

I've been near you, but you never noticed me

My cherie amour, won't you tell me how could you ignore

That behind that little smile I wore

How I wish that you were mine

(My Cherie Amour—Stevie Wonder)

~*~

�Yeah, I've got to get myself to the gym today,� Dudley said with
emphasis, curling a bicep.

Hermione gave a polite smile and sipped her glass of orange juice.

�I'm a champion, you know,� Dudley puffed out his chest. �Boxing
champion.�

Hermione nibbled on her bagel. Harry would've rescued her from
this conversation if he didn't find it so damned entertaining. He and Ron
shared an amused look.

�I could take out four-eyes here,� Dudley motioned to his cousin.
�I used to practice on him all the time.�

Hermione stood up from her chair so quickly that it made a loud
scraping sound. �I abhor violence,� she said briskly then picked up her dishes
and carried them into the kitchen. �Thank you, Mrs. Dursley,� she said then
took off upstairs.

Ron, who had been scowling at Dudley, looked at Harry. �I'll be
back,� he muttered as he, too, left the table to comfort his upset girlfriend.

Harry shook his head at his cousin. �What?� Dudley asked,
irritated.

�You're so pathetic,� Harry sneered, �Showing off in front of her
like that. She's not interested, you know.�

�Yeah, well, she's not interested in you either,� Dudley shot
back. �She's into that red-haired bloke. Saw him kiss her the other day.�

Breakfast was officially over for Harry and he pushed his plate
away from him as his Aunt entered the room.

�Are you ready, Dudders?� she asked. �I'll drop you off and then
go do my errands,� she said as she gathered her keys and coat. Dudley followed
her. �When I get back,� she looked at Harry, �I expect all the dishes to be
done. I'm not cleaning up after your guests.�

�Yes, Aunt Petunia,� Harry said resignedly. Dudley smirked as he
followed his mother out of the door.

Harry let the water pour from the faucet, filling up the sink,
adding soap to make the bubbles. Hermione and Ron were still upstairs doing who
knows what. He slammed the faucet handle down, stopping the flow of water. He
didn't want to go down that train of thought again, thinking that way made him
think very unpleasant and hateful thoughts about his best friend, Ron. He
gripped the edge of the sink and began to breath deeply to calm himself down
before continuing on with his task. Wasn't it enough that he got to say
goodnight to her every night at her bedroom door that Ron also had to corner
her every moment they had alone together?

�Harry?�

He spun around at the sound of Hermione's voice, the plate he was
holding slipped from his hands and fell to the floor.

�Reparo,� she said carelessly and the plate put itself back
together and flipped back into Harry's hands. �I've been calling out to you,
you seemed a bit lost in thought. Are you alright?� she asked.

Harry turned away from her and back to the sink. �Yeah, it's just
as you said, lost in thought. Where's Ron?�

Hermione walked over and stood next to him, pushing up her
sleeves. �He's rummaging through his bag looking for food.� Harry let out a
soft laugh and moved over to make room for her. They did the dishes in silence,
Hermione washed the plates then handed them over to Harry who rinsed and put
them on the drying rack. It was a pleasant moment and reminded them both that
magic wasn't needed all the time.

�Hey!� Hermione protested when a spray of water from Harry's
rinsing splashed her. He looked down at her and laughed.

�Sorry,� he said, smiling and put the bowl he had been rinsing on
the drying rack.

Hermione grinned mischievously and splashed Harry with the soapy
water.

�Now that was on purpose,� he chuckled softly.

She nudged him. �Call it even.�

Harry reached over and scooped up some suds on his fingers and
brushed them on Hermione's nose.

�Now, we're even,� he said smiling.

�Harry!� Hermione scolded lightly and brushed his hand away.

Their eyes locked, their souls making the familiar connection that
their conscious mind hadn't yet. She was standing so close to him, he could see
the playful light in her eyes and the light dusting of freckles on her nose.
There were still some suds there and he made the movement to brush them away
with the pad of his thumb but suddenly stopped his hand before it could even
leave the water. He thought it suddenly desperately important to look away and
continue rinsing the dishes. Hermione must of thought the same because she
diligently continued on washing the remaining dishes.

�What are you guys DOING?�

Ron's voice was like a whip in the silence and Hermione and Harry
jumped and sprang away from each other.

�We are wizards you know,� he shook his head and with a flick of
his wand, the dishes were cleaned, dried and put away. �Got to know these
spells in my house,� Ron explained at his friends' silence.

�Old habits,� Hermione explained and moved past Harry to dry her
hands on a dish towel. They didn't dare make eye contact.

�Whatcha got there, Ron?� Harry asked, surprised at the calmness
in his voice.

�Last of the food,� Ron said glumly. �I think I'll have to make a
return to the Burrow to stock up on supplies.�

A sudden panic at being alone with his female best friend hit him.

�You wanna come, Hermione?� Ron asked.

A sudden panic at feeling jealous and angry at his other best
friend hit him. But before Hermione could answer she looked over Harry's
shoulder.

�What is that?� she asked.

Harry turned to see a tabby pacing on the window ledge of the
kitchen. �Oh, that's one of Mrs. Figg's cats. Batty old neighbor,� Harry said
under his breath.

He opened the door and the cat darted in and circled around
Harry's legs, holding a note in its mouth. Crookshanks had come down from
upstairs and peered at the tabby with curiosity. Harry bent down and took the
note and the cat darted back outside.

�What does it say?� Hermione asked.

�She's invited me over for tea this afternoon,� Harry said,
reading the note.

�Tea with your batty old neighbor who lives with a dozen cats? I
dunno,� Ron shook his head.

�It could be important, Harry, we should go,� Hermione piped up.

�Maybe,� he said cautiously, flipping the note over in his hands.
�She really is a little weird and her house smells a little funny.�

�Harry, that's not nice,� Hermione frowned. �Besides, this Mrs.
Figg is the only magical contact you've had around here. We're going.�

�Uh-uh,� Ron nodded no. �I'm not going. I'm going home for a
little bit and then I'm going over to Fred and George's.�

Harry felt a pang of longing, wishing he could get out of the
house and do something. Hermione must have sensed this because she put a
calming hand on his shoulder.

�Bring something back for us, Ron. I'll stay and keep Harry
company.�

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

Harry knocked on the door of Mrs. Figg's house and the quirky old
lady with tartan slippers answered, her cats circling her legs.

�Oh, hello, Harry! How lovely of you to come!� she said as she
gestured for him to enter her home. �Oh and you've brought your friend!� she
added when she saw Hermione.

�Hello, Mrs. Figg,� she said politely.

Harry stepped into her home and the smell of cat food and kitty
litter hit his nostrils. Hermione knelt down and scratched one of the cats
behind its ears.

�Hello, Harry�Hermione.�

The familiar voice of Remus Lupin filled the air and the two teens
turned to see their old professor standing in the living room. A tea tray was
set up on the coffee table surrounded by squashy old armchairs.

�Professor Lupin,� Harry and Hermione greeted him.

�How are you holding up, Harry?� he asked.

�Better,� he replied honestly.

�Ron and I are staying with him to make his stay with the
Dursley's a bit more bearable,� Hermione explained.

�How very kind of you. Where is Ron?� Remus asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. �He went home to get more food.�

�Can't blame him, Hermione,� Harry defended his friend. �My whale
of a cousin is still on his diet.� Remus laughed at this and they all sat down
to make themselves more comfortable.

�I'm here Harry to let you know that the Order of the Phoenix is
still here for you,� Remus said sincerely.

�Have you heard anything about Voldemort?� Harry asked.

�Just a news snippet about a burglary in a muggle pawn shop,� he
replied.

�But�I read the Daily Prophet this morning and I didn't see
anything in it about a burglary,� Hermione protested.

Remus took his tea and looked at Hermione over the cup. �Have to
read the muggle papers as well, Hermione.� She frowned.

Harry sat back in his chair, one of the cats jumped in his lap. �A
pawn shop,� he said thoughtfully.

�Yes but they didn't take anything. It was like they were looking
for something specific. Any ideas?� Remus took a sip of tea.

�No,� Harry lied. In truth, he had a very good idea of what they
were looking for. Hermione seemed to be concentrating very hard on stirring her
tea.

�Harry,� Remus leaned forward. �Where were you and Dumbledore the
night he�passed on. What were you doing?� Harry opened his mouth to answer but
Hermione cut him off.

�Which paper was this in?� she asked.

�Uh, what?� Remus asked, caught off guard.

�The paper that the article was in,� Hermione repeated.

�The, uh, Telegraph,� he answered.

�The Telegraph,� Hermione confirmed and stood up. �Come on, Harry,
let's go find that paper.�

Harry stood. �Is there anything else?� he asked.

Remus stood as well. �No, I just wanted to check up on you and see
how you are doing. I see that you are in good hands.� Hermione beamed. �Take
care, Harry. I'll pop in once in awhile to check up on you.�

Harry nodded and he and Hermione said their polite goodbyes to
their former professor and Harry's neighbor. Once outside, Hermione marched
determinedly back to the house.

�Harry, did your aunt already throw out her trash?� she asked.

�From this morning? Yeah, I'm sure she did,� he answered.

She walked over to the rubbish bins and began to dig through them.
A neighbor walked by with her dog on a leash and looked at the two teens
curiously.

�She�uh�lost something,� Harry explained and the neighbor moved
on.

�Here it is!� Hermione said triumphantly, brushing egg off of the
paper. She opened it and the two of them began to scan the paper for the
article.

�There!� Harry pointed to the small snippet on the third page.

Hermione very carefully tore out the article while Harry picked up
any garbage that had fallen out and replaced the lid. They made their way back
into the house and washed up.

�You know what they're looking for, don't you?� Hermione said as
she pinned the article to her map in Harry's room.

�Yes, the locket but why muggle pawn shops?� he asked.

Hermione shrugged. �I guess they've already hit the wizard ones.
It's a shame we threw it out, it could be anywhere.�

�Maybe, maybe not.� Harry said ponderously.

Hermione turned to look at him. �What do you mean?� she asked.

Harry looked up at her. �Kreacher.�

Hermione sat down on his bed. �Do you think?�

�He was taking various items as we kept throwing them out.�

�And you think he might have taken it,� she said ponderously.
Harry shrugged. Hermione gave him a long look. �That means we'll have to go
back to Grimmauld Place,� she said softly. Harry sighed and leaned back against
his headboard.
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