Fulfilling Obligations (Harmione)

Chapter 35: Teamwork

Harry leaned back in his chair, staring severely at the ceiling above him with a scowl.

In all fairness, he really couldn't be blamed for his mood. Here he was, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, sitting at his desk. Not that he minded working on Saturdays most of the time - it was when he wasn't supposed to be working on a Saturday when it really bugged him.

For some reason that was still unknown to him, he had received an owl requesting that he come in to work. But in the five hours he had been there, he had finished two reports he hadn't quite completed earlier in the week, replenished his supply of ink, drunk four cups of coffee although he wasn't particularly tired, and more-or-less simply twiddled his thumbs.

In other words, he had had nothing to do other than think for five hours, and these days thinking was the very last thing he wanted to be doing.

Almost two months had passed since he'd last seen Hermione. One month, three weeks, and four days to be exact. And Harry could honestly say that it had been the most miserable month, three weeks, and four days he had had in an extremely long time. If it hadn't been for James, it would probably be the most miserable he had ever had.

As it turned out, Hermione proved to be just as impossible to get in touch with as she had during the days following the night they had spent together. Since Ron had returned from his conference, Harry had mostly stopped going to his and Hermione's flat to bang on their door. There had been a handful of times, but only when he knew for a fact that Ron wasn't there. Hermione continued to ignore him, and Harry still couldn't bring himself to test if the wards were still keyed to his magical signature.

Given the fruitlessness of these home visits, Harry had instead opted to try to catch her at work. If he had to, he'd lock them in her office and force her to speak to him.

However, the first time he went to her department, the secretary had informed him that Hermione was busy and refused to see anyone at this time.

The next day, he was told Hermione was in an important meeting and wouldn't be available for multiple hours.

On the third day, Hermione apparently wasn't there at all.

Harry mused on this fact as he idly twirled a quill between his fingers. He wouldn't be surprised if Hermione had completely changed her schedule just to ensure they would never be in the Ministry at the same time. She was thorough after all.

Despite this, Harry had steadfastly continued his pursuit, and if Hermione knew anything about him, she should realize that he would never give up as well. In fact, he had been seeking her out even more actively than usual during the past few weeks, specifically because of one instance of Hermione's careful avoidance.

Harry's frown deepened as he reflected on this, his continual quill-twirling slowing as his agitation from that memory resurfaced.

About a month previously, Harry had been assisting Ginny with the laundry. It had been a quiet day, and nothing particularly memorable had occurred. It was therefore much more of a shock when he had opened the linen closet to replace a few quilts and was met with the sight of a pale blue sheet, neatly folded and placed near the bottom of a stack of other bed linens. A completely innocent sight to anyone else in the world that saw it, but a harsh slap in the face to Harry.

He had no idea when Hermione had returned it, but the simple fact that she had infuriated him. By replacing the sheet, she was not only refusing to see him, but also refusing to acknowledge that that night had ever even happened.

And Harry had no intentions of letting her do that.

"Hey Potter, you might want to loosen up your grip on that quill there - I'm pretty sure it's about to snap in two."