Harry dashed out the door, completely forgetting his Invisibility Cloak and the fact that it was 1:30 in the morning. He heard Hermione's footsteps up the Grand Staircase. A door opened around what Harry assumed was the 7th floor, where the Room of Requirement was. He sighed, dashing up the stairs two at a time. He threw opened to door to the 7th floor and crept down the hallway. Harry suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.
He heard footsteps and mewing.
Harry sprinted to the wall and took out his wand, fumbling with it until it was pointed at his head. He muttered a Disillusionment Charm and felt the egg-like sensation that told him the spell worked.He pressed up against the wall as far as he could, allowing the spell to conform to the colors of the walls.
He inched slowly towards the wall about 30 feet ahead of him, the wall that held the passage to the Room of Requirement.
Filch and Mrs. Norris were right in front of him.
Damn it, Harry said, pressing even further towards the walls. He slowly inched forward some more, trying to reach the doorway a few inches ahead of him without alerting Filch or his bloody cat to his presence.
Mrs. Norris stared right at him and started mewing. It was like she could see him through the charm.
Filch picked her up and started rubbing the back of her neck as he walked down the rest of the hallway. "It's alright, my pretty. Probably just one of the the ghosts. We'll get him in the next corridor," Filch crooned, slowly walking away.
Harry left out the breath he realized he had been holding.
He walked over to the entrance to the Room of Requirement and paced in front of it three times. "I want to know where Hermione is, I want to know where Hermione is, I want to know where Hermione is. Please let me in," he muttered, praying that the door would let him in.
The wall stayed still.
Harry cursed. Suddenly, the wall changed. A small hand grabbed his shirt as he slid in, pulling him in.
As soon as he was inside, a mass of bushy brown hair threw itself around Harry, sobbing and holding on to him like he was its lifeline.
Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione, sighing. He kissed the top of her head, rubbing her back slowly.
"Shh," he muttered. Hermione sniffed and looked up at him, her eyes watery and red. Even though she was a complete and udder mess, Harry thought she was the most gorgeous girl in the entire world.
Hermione wiped her tears with her forefinger, sniffling.
Harry held her at arms length. "What happened, Mione?" he asked, pulling her back into his chest. She clung to him.
She started crying again. He slowly walked her over to a nearby couch that had materialized at that moment. Still holding her, Harry sat down, arranging Hermione so she was still curled up on his chest. He slowly rubbed her back while she sobbed.
About 5 or 6 minutes later, Hermione wiped her eyes again, chuckling.
Harry raised his eyebrows at her. She was laughing?
"I think I stained your shirt," she said, motioning to the ruined front of Harry. Harry smiled sadly. Hermione flipped herself around so she had her back to Harry's chest and her head on his shoulder.
"It will be fine. Now, what happened?" Harry asked quietly, moving a lock of hair out of Hermione's face with a finger.
Hermione sighed. "It was my fault, really. We were doing the rounds for tonight and once we were done, Ron tried to kiss me. I wasn't... I wasn't expecting it, so I turned my head and he kissed my cheek. That... that enraged him a little. He started to yell at me and say that I'm a terrible girlfriend and how he... he wishes he had never asked... asked my to be his girlfriend. We started back up to the Common Room and somehow the fight escalated. We were both screaming at each other, insulting each other right and left, trying to... to counter attack the other person's accusations. And then, we walked into the common room and I tripped and then... well, you know what happened," Hermione said, glancing down at her feet and blushing.
Harry sighed. Ron was such a... git.
Harry wrapped his arms a little closer to Hermione, holding her tighter to his chest. He placed his head on hers.
"You know, Harry, I've been thinking," Hermione said slowly, as if she was trying to figure out how to word something. "Well, not thinking, just imagining."
Harry kissed the top of her head again. "What have you been imagining, 'Mione?" he asked, slowly closing his eyes.
Hermione bit her lip. "Well, I've always been imagining... what it would be like if things were different."
Harry opened his eyes widely, alarmed. "Different in WHAT way, Hermione?" he asked, his voice nervous.
"Well, just..." she took a deep breath. "If I had not said yes to Ron. If... if... if wewere together, just the two of us." Hermione said, sighing.
Harry stopped breathing.
