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. |
Cabin Fever
Jessie is a friend,
yeah, I know he's been
a good friend of mine
But lately something's changed
that ain't hard to define
Jessie's got himself a girl
and I want to make her mine
(Jessie's Girl—Rick Springfield)
~*~
“Grimmauld Place, huh?” Ron said quietly.
“Yeah,” Harry grimly confirmed.
“We think Kreacher may have stolen the locket while we were
cleaning the place a couple of years ago,” Hermione added.
The trio was in Harry's room, Harry sat on his bed, Ron sat on a
backwards turned chair while Hermione sat on the floor, leaning against the
wall. Ron had returned later in the day, armed and heavily loaded with food
from the burrow. He had lain thick the story of how poorly the Dursley's were
feeding Harry, knowing full well how to play on his mother's sympathies. Mrs.
Weasley didn't disappoint and had cooked up a culinary first-aid kit in no
time.
Harry and Ron were currently indulging themselves in one of her
Shepard's pies as they told each other of the day's events. Hermione, to the
utter disbelief of Harry and Ron, seemed to be quite satisfied with the leafy
greens that Aunt Petunia kept feeding them and didn't join in the feast. Though
she did have a couple of the cookies that Mrs. Weasley did bake.
Ron sighed wearily, acknowledging that the summer was over and the
long adventure of hunting the horcruxes was about to begin. “When should we
leave?” he asked.
“I don't think it would be wise to leave while Harry is still
under the protection of his aunt,” Hermione piped up.
“We're losing time,” Harry said, frustrated. “Voldemort could
already have the horcruxes in his hands by now.”
“You would know if he did, Harry,” Hermione leveled. “It's too
dangerous right now. You aren't even allowed to do spells outside of school
yet.”
“I think the ministry would overlook something like that at a time
like this,” Ron spoke up.
“Do you really think so?” her eyes narrowed. “The Minister would
love to have Harry under his thumb and force him to be a poster boy for the
Ministry. Not to mention the fact that it would do us a fat lot of good trying
to find those horcruxes while Harry is locked up.”
“I'm right here you know,” Harry said irritably. “You don't have
to talk about me as if I'm invisible. And furthermore, Hermione, I know very
well the reasons why I need to stay here until my birthday. I don't need it
shoved in my face.” Hermione pursed her lips tightly as if biting back a
response, reproach shown in her eyes and she looked away and gazed out of
Harry's window into the night sky.
“She wasn't shoving it in your face, Harry,” Ron defended. “She
was only concerned about you.”
Ron's words stung him. Harry knew that Hermione had only good
intentions but it hurt to hear Ron defend her. He was usually the one to do
that.
“I don't see how that is possible since every spare moment she
has, she's too busy sucking your face,” he lashed out. He immediately regretted
those words the moment they left his lips.
Hermione inhaled sharply as she looked at him. She scrambled to
her feet and left the room in a huff, slamming the door behind her.
“Nice job, Harry,” Ron said sarcastically as he got up from the
chair and went after her. He stopped at the door and looked at his friend.
“Maybe this will put you in a better mood,” he said as he dropped something in
Harry's lap before he, too, left the room with a slammed door.
Harry cursed softly as he hit the back of his head lightly and
repeatedly on his headboard. The sound of heavy footfalls soon followed, as he
expected, and he barely had time to stuff the left over food underneath his bed
before his uncle burst into the room.
“What did I tell you about keeping it quiet?!” he spluttered at
Harry.
“Sorry, I had the window open. It was a gust of wind,” Harry
lamely explained.
“Not another peep,” Vernon warned before he closed the door.
Harry sighed heavily and looked down at what Ron had dropped in
his lap. It was an envelope, his name written in the familiar curly handwriting
of his ex-girlfriend Ginny. But he wasn't in the mood to read it at the moment
and put it away in a drawer as he readied himself for bed. He hadn't meant to
snap at Hermione like that, nor did he mean to say the things he did. The end
result had been an unpleasant one. Hermione, pissed off at him in the other
room with Ron doing his best to “comfort” her.
Ron did eventually return to his room after what seemed like
forever. Harry did his best to keep his imagination from running wild wondering
what they were doing all that time. But most of all, he felt absolutely
horrible and guilty.
“I'm sorry,” Harry said to Ron as he climbed into the bed on the
other side of the room.
Ron looked apologetically to his friend. “It's not me you have to
apologize to. I rather took it as a compliment,” he grinned and turned over.
~*~
Harry met Hermione the next morning in the hall as they were going
to breakfast. Ron made himself scarce, leaving the two of them alone together.
She was wearing a white button down shirt with sleeves that ended just below
her elbows. She looked casual and relaxed in her jeans, not at all angry like
she was last night.
“Hermione,” Harry began awkwardly as he scratched the back of his
neck. “I'm so sorry about what I said last night. I didn't mean it. I know you
have the best intentions it's just…maybe it's because we're trapped in this
house and…”
“I understand, Harry,” she said smiling softly and Harry let out a
breath he'd been holding. “Which is why I'm leaving,” she finished.
“Leaving?” Harry cocked his head forward, not sure if he heard her
right.
“Yes,” she reaffirmed. “It's like you said, we've been trapped in
this house and maybe the cabin fever is getting to us.” She shrugged and moved
on her way.
“Cabin fe…what? What are you talking about?” Harry reached out for
her arm and stopped her.
“I'll only be gone for a couple of days. I miss my parents and I
want to check in on them and let them know I'm okay.”
“We have owls for that,” Harry countered, sounding like a pouty
toddler. “Look, I said I was sorry. I didn't mean what I said.”
Hermione sighed. “Harry…I think it would be best if I left for a
couple of days, anyway, before we say or do something that we can't take back.”
Harry looked at her, wondering at the meaning behind her words,
looking into her eyes. But she turned away from him. He let go of her arm.
“Be careful,” he said softly.
“I will,” Hermione replied, looking back at him.
Harry watched her as she walked down the stairs to the front door
where Ron was waiting for her, holding her bags. There were some whispered
words between them before they leaned in toward each other for a quick kiss and
she walked out of the door.
Yes, perhaps it was best if she went away for a little while, Harry
thought as he fought down the jealousy that swelled within. He really needed to
get a grip on himself.
But the day reflected his somber mood and by noon it began to
rain. Although he still had Ron to keep him company, a part of him acknowledged
the fact that he missed the third part of the trio. But the day did pass
quickly when you were having some fun, he and Ron challenged each other to a
game of chess, talked about Quidditch and went through the latest innovations
of Fred and George's.
“It's unbelievable, really,” Ron said over breakfast the next
morning. It was just the two of them at the table. Aunt Petunia had left to do
her errands while Vernon was at work, Dudley was sequestered upstairs in his
room. “I mean how much work can one wedding be?” Harry shrugged over his
cereal. “I'll have to go back again in a couple of days,” Ron muttered. “How
many fittings can my dress robes have? You're still coming right?”
“Of course I am,” Harry answered. “It will be nice to see that
good things are happening amidst all this mess.” His gaze drifted out to the
window to the grey sky, Hermione would be coming back tomorrow.
Hermione was gazing outside her bedroom window at the same sky,
listening to the raindrops begin to tap on the glass. Her parents had been
surprised but delighted at her appearance on their doorstep. She had told them
she wanted to check in on them, which was a part truth but really she just
needed to get away from Harry and Ron. Mostly Harry. Things had become awkward
and strained between the two of them and she was beginning to feel this subtle
tension bubbling underneath the surface. Feelings long thought lost were
beginning to reemerge.
She remembered it vividly. She, terrified and frightened, hiding
in the bathroom with a horrendous troll. The feeling of helplessness, of
terror, her time as a witch and student at Hogwarts about to be brutally cut
short. Until he arrived. Ron was with him of course but she remembered Harry.
The look of shock on his face as seeing a large troll in front of him was brief
before he bravely leapt on the hideous creature, brushing aside any fear he
might have had so he could save her. A girl he really didn't know at the time.
That was when it happened. Her first girl crush on a boy who was
brave and selfless. A girl crush that grew and blossomed with their friendship
and culminated with the look on his face when he saw her at the Yule Ball. The
ghost of a look that held the promise that they could, just possibly, be
something more than friends.
But that was also the year that their childhood ended, the year
that the most terrifying wizard, and Harry's nemesis was reborn. The seed that
had been planted in her heart lay dormant and forgotten, replaced with feelings
for her other best friend and the excitement that comes with a new and budding
romance.
And now, being with Harry again sparked something within her
again, making her remember those feelings long forgotten. Simple touches
between them sent fire through her skin, a simple look would send her heart
racing, words that were spoken stung more than they should have. When Ron had
kissed her goodnight on her last night there, for just a moment, Harry flashed
before her eyes. Harry leaning in toward her for a simple kiss and the guilt
flooded over her. She knew what she had to do, she needed to get out of there
and clear her head. She couldn't feel this way over Harry. Doing that would
only result in her being hurt, ruining her friendship with Harry and destroying
Ron. She couldn't do this now that Harry needed them the most.
“Morning darling!” her mother's cheerful voice greeted her when
she finally made her way downstairs for breakfast. “Having a bit of a lie-in?”
“It must be this weather,” Hermione replied as she took a seat at
the table.
She at her eggs and toast as she listened to her parent's chatter
about work and what they should do this coming weekend. She had just taken a
drink of her coffee when something caught her eye. An article in the Telegraph
that her father was holding.
“Let me see that,” she said and swiped the paper from her father's
bewildered hands.
“Hermione, darling!” her mother gasped.
Another break-in at a pawnshop. No suspects. Nothing taken.
“Hermione what is it?” her mother demanded.
“What?” Hermione looked up. “Oh! Er…,” she fumbled around her
brain for something to say. “Just the…advert for Harrod's. I was thinking of
buying myself some clothes. Sorry…I got a little excited there.” She handed the
paper back to her father.
“Oh,” her mother seemed satisfied with her answer.
“Would you be wanting the car then?” her father asked.
Maybe Harry was right. Maybe they were wasting time waiting for
him to come of age so they could set off on their own. Well, Harry was stuck at
the Dursley's but that didn't mean she couldn't leave and do a little work on
her own.
“Yes, I think I might. Thank you,” Hermione replied sweetly.
She pulled the grey sedan up to the curb and parked it the best
way she could for a teen with limited driving experience. She pulled out the
map of London she had bought at a convenience store and traced her finger down
the listing of the phone book she took from home. The large red letters P-A-W-N
were displayed atop the dodgiest looking storefront she had ever seen.
Bells above the doorjamb gave a tinkle as she made her entrance.
There were glass displays filled with various valuables, most likely stolen and
she had a brief thought to the safety of her parents' car outside.
“Can I help you, miss?” The man's voice made her jump.
“Oh! Um, yes. I was…looking…for a gift for my mother,” she began,
tentatively. “Jewelry,” she said with more confidence. “A gold locket to be
specific.” She smiled her sweetest smile.
~*~
Hermione didn't return when she said she would and it bothered
Harry but he didn't worry about it too much. Maybe he had misjudged the amount
of days and she would be actually returning the next day. But when that day
passed without word from Hermione, he began to worry.
“I sent her an owl,” Ron said to him. “But she hasn't replied
back. You don't think anything's happened to her, do you?”
“Can't you apparate there and find out?” Harry asked, irritably.
“I don't know where she lives!”
“Right here!” Harry dragged Ron over to the map and jabbed at her
marking.
“But I've never been there before!” Ron protested and shrugged
Harry off.
“Then go there on foot!” The feeling of helplessness at being
trapped in this house and unable to do magic to help out his female best
friend, who was probably in a world of trouble, was beginning to wear on him.
“Hsssst!”
The hiss from Crookshanks, who Hermione had left behind, caught
the boys' attention.
“What?” Ron snapped irritably at the animal.
Crookshanks had a small envelope in his mouth and lay it down at
the boy's feet before turning with a swish of his tail, looking back once at
Ron with a reproachful look in his eyes.
“It's another invitation to Mrs. Figg's,,” Harry said.
“The Order? You don't think…” Ron didn't dare voice it.
“Hermione,” Harry breathed and the boys tore out of his room and
raced down the stairs. Uncle Vernon bellowed at the racket they were making but
Harry didn't care. Horrible thoughts filled his head and he had flashes of the
time when Hermione was hit with an unheard curse in the Department of
Mysteries. She had lain so still. But he put a block up, he couldn't think of
her lying cold and still somewhere, he just couldn't.
“Well, hello boys!” Mrs. Figg greeted them when they banged on her
door.
“Hermione? Is she safe?” Harry asked as he burst into the home,
looking for Professor Lupin.
Professor Lupin looked at the boys with a surprised look on his
face. “Of course she's safe. She has some of the Order watching over her.” He
looked at the relieved looks on the boys' faces. “Has she not talked to you
lately?” he asked.
“She wanted to go home for a few days,” Ron explained. Remus
looked to Harry for an explanation but Harry avoided his gaze and looked
determinedly at the tea tray set up on the small table.
“Harry,” Professor Lupin said with a serious voice as he placed
one hand on his shoulder. “I need to know what you and Dumbledore were up to
that night. It's important.”
Harry looked up at his father's friend but said nothing.
“There was another burglary,” he changed the topic, “two more of
them in fact. Kingsley was able to obtain muggle surveillance video from both
of them and a very familiar face popped up on one of them. Not the perpetrator,
of course, but…there the day of.” He drew out a photograph from his robes and
looked at the two of them sternly. “Harry, why is Hermione
in this photo?”
“No way!” Ron said in disbelief as he took the photo from
Professor Lupin.
“DAMN IT!” Harry cursed angrily as he kicked the coffee table.
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