Harry Potter and the Desideratum Crusade [Harmione]

40. An Unfortunate Visit

After a good night's rest, Ron seemed to be almost back to normal; the dark bags under his eyes were the only telltale signs of his struggle. Harry subconsciously rubbed his throat where he felt there should be bruises; his near-death encounter with Voldemort still fresh in his mind. He was recounting his experiences over breakfast.

"So, I thought I was a world famous Quidditch player?" Ron asked through mouthfuls of food.

"Yeah, you thought quite highly of yourself," Harry said amused.

"And Luna was there?"

"Only as the ghostly spirit that she created. There were no surface memories of her that I could see."

"I'm glad," Ron said.

"I still don't know how she did it," Harry said, looking over at her.

Luna just smiled serenely at him.

"I found it surprising that he was so solid and able to choke you," Hermione said.

"I guess because he didn't have a wand, he had to resort to other means to try and stop me," Harry replied as he rubbed his throat again. "He seemed older, too. I wonder if that has anything to do with it?"

"It's a possibility. If he was older, he would have been more experienced, and have more power," Hermione said.

"You never told me what happened when I had the tiara," Hermione said after a moment. "What kind of fantasy world did he create to distract me?"

The memories of that day came flooding back, and Harry felt a jolt go through him. He glanced over to where she was sitting, waiting expectantly.

"You were dancing," he said after a moment. "At the Triwizard's Ball."

Hermione grimaced at that. "With him? How vulgar. I'm surprised it wasn't you or Victor."

Harry could feel the flush of embarrassment as he avoided looking at her.

"You weren't dancing with him as Voldemort, he was the younger Tom Riddle. You were angry with me at that time, remember?"

"Ronald, I could use some fresh air. Walk with me?" Luna said suddenly, standing up.

"In a minute, Luna. So what did you do?" he asked eagerly, never having heard the story before.

"Ronald!" Luna said as she yanked on his arm. "I'm leaving now, and so are you."

"But...but..." he protested as she pulled him away from the table.

Harry snorted. "She sure knows how to get what she wants,"

"I was angry at you because of your behavior," Hermione said, ignoring his comment.

"I know," Harry said. "It's just that I..." he trailed off, flushing.

"You what, Harry?" Hermione asked

"I...I was afraid of losing you," he stammered. "And I almost did."

Hermione smiled at him, with a twinkle in her eye.

"Were you jealous?" she asked mischievously.

Harry saw the glint in her eyes and smiled, relieved that she hadn't asked for more details. He put his coat on, avoiding her gaze. Of course he had been jealous, but he couldn't tell her that.

"Well, were you?" she asked again.

"No," he finally lied.

Hermione looked surprised. "You weren't?" she said.