whoop whoop dOUBLE UPDATE ALERT!! i am so high on my pain meds rn i am so sry sobs
Chapter Twenty:
Seamus Finnigan does in fact live.
But only because Harry drags Hermione away before she can start throwing hands.
The rest of their day is spent in double Transfiguration and after that their little group splits apart. Draco leads Ron towards the dungeons, hopefully to confess. Harry has suffered enough of their feelings already. Pansy, Blaise and Theo head for the great hall while Tracy stays behind to ask a few questions. Meanwhile, Harry trails behind Hermione who, as usual, takes them to the library.
Hermione heads for the shelves and Harry takes a seat at their usual table, hidden from prying eyes. He stretches out his arms above his head and yawns. A nap would be great right around now, he internally mulls.
Unfortunately, his nap plans are ruined the moment Hermione settles down four thick tomes onto the table. She takes her seat opposite him, leans her chin into the palm of her hand and stares at him with curious eyes.
"So," she starts, voice low and calm. For a moment she is quiet and Harry worries for the worst. Does she know he's not supposed to be here? Not supposed to be in this world? Dammit. He knows she's clever but what the actual fuck.
"I saw you leave the ball with a man," Hermione drops her words like a bomb and Harry blinks. Once. Twice. Thrice.
"Huh?"
"Oh, don't act stupid Harry." Hermione leans forward and her dark eyes significantly narrow. "Tall. Wavy hair. Good looking."
"Um, right," Harry struggles to talk, "you see..."
"Well?" Hermione pries. "You can't tell Pansy because she wouldn't be able to keep it to herself and Draco would immediately tell it to his father. Blaise and Theo would hold it over your head and Tracy wouldn't be interested. I'm your last option, so tell me."
"There's still Ron," Harry points out weakly.
"He's too innocent," Hermione shoots him down instantly. She is nothing if not thorough if she wants something.
The green eyed male sighs. "Are you sure?" He asks.
Hermione nods, not looking the least bit embarrassed for prying. "Absolutely."
"Ok..."
Harry raises his hand and drags it through the air. A simple silencing ward washes over them. Hermione's eyes visibly darken. Harry settles his hand back down to his lap. "I'll teach you," he says, "but first... that wasn't just any man. That was Voldermort."
Silence looms over them. Harry purses his lips and fiddles with his fingers for a solid minute before Hermione reaches for something in her bag. It's the daily prophet. She rolls the paper into a tube and then swiftly hits it over Harry's head.
"Ow!"
"You idiot!" Hermione scolds. "You went into a private room with a killer!?"
"He's not so bad," Harry defends, rubbing the top of his head. Talk about deja vu.
"Not Bad?" Hermione uses the paper to hit him again, this time the side of his shoulder since he evades the hit in the last second.
"Again," Harry scowls, "ow!"
"He tried to kill you, Harry. I'm sorry if me worrying hurts you."
"This is you worrying?" Harry mutters, rubbing his shoulder. "It doesn't feel like it. You know, worrying over me isn't supposed to be you hitting me with the daily prophet. You should be hugging me right now, thanking Merlin or whatever that I survived."
Again, the bushy haired girl hits him over the head. She takes a deep breath, her hold on the daily prophet visibly tightening. "How did you survive?"
"Funny story," Harry gives a wide grin, his green eyes turning into crescent moons. "I hugged him. Ha ha."
Again. Silence.
Harry doesn't open his eyes until another minute has passed. He finds Hermione, statue still, staring past his shoulder with a pained expression. If Harry didn't know any better, he would misinterpret it as constipation, but alas.
''Harry," Hermione's voice is soft now, quiet, like all the energy has been drained from her. "What else did you do?"
"Uh," Harry's cheeks redden, "nothing. Really. We just talked. He didn't ask for forgiveness but I forgave him anyway so now we're... uh... how should I put it? Frenemies? Yeah. Let's go with that."
Something in Hermione's expression cracks. She drops her head into her hands and sobs. Rather loudly at that.
"I'm not going to learn anything from you because you'll be dead!" She wails. She raises her head and her eyes are slightly red, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. She moves the tomes to the side and reaches out to hold his hands. "Harry," she sniffles, "the only way you'll survive now is if you marry him. Harry, marry him. Please."
Harry's amusement spills from his mouth in the form of laughter, soft and rich and very, very real. His chest moves with the sound and he looks... different.
Hermione stares at him in awe.
"Sorry, sorry," Harry slips into giggles and then slowly comes to a stop. His mouth is curved into a beautiful smile. He holds Hermione's hands with a firm yet gentle grip. In a reassuring voice, he says, "Relax 'Mione. He won't hurt me."
For a moment, Hermione thinks that with a smile like that even the worst of criminals would drop to their knees. So why not Voldemort himself?
Oh, she thinks, oh.
Hermione's tone is curious when she speaks. "The necklace is from him," she says. "And you can both speak to snakes... I think, Harry, I think Vol--," she cuts herself off, "I think he's courting you."
Like a confused puppy, Harry tilts his head. "Courting me? Do you even hear yourself? Why would he court me? I'm just Harry.''
"Just Harry," Hermione repeats, bewildered. She watches as Harry's expression morphs into hesitance. His lips move and form words but Hermione can't hear them.
She leans even further across the table and frowns. "Speak up," she says, "I can't hear you."
Begrudgingly, Harry repeats his earlier words. "I said that I was his a-and," Harry avoids Hermione's gaze, his cheeks reddening, "he said that he would keep me." The last part is whispered.
"Yes!" Hermione exclaims, jumping up from her seat. She throws her arms into the air in victory. "You're going to get married so you can teach me and obviously so you don't die. It's a win-win situation."
Harry, who is now staring at Hermione like she's dumb, can't help but let his head fall into his hands. Why couldn't he have just told Ron? He would have been more understanding, and would have told him it was too dangerous.
It was clear all Hermione cared for was knowledge and with that marriage idea now stuck in her head, she wouldn't just get it from him, oh no, she'd get the knowledge from Tom too.
"But before that," Hermione calms down and levels Harry with a serious look, "I need to ask. Are you alright with this? The courting? We could always ask Ms. Zabini," she mimics a knife slashing her throat, "to take care of him."
"It's... fine. I guess. I don't know." Harry replies. "I've already forgiven him and everything is in the past. So, it should be okay, but I don't really know anything about," Harry pretends to gag, "feelings. Maybe we're just friends now? Also, I'm not sure if Blaise will appreciate it if we ask his Mother for murdery things."
"Well," Hermione sits back down, "you've got six years to figure out your feelings for one of the worst people on this planet--"
"Six years?"
"Until you're legal."
"Right." I forgot about that part.
1259 words//unedited.
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harry: *literally nuzzling up to tom and saying he belongs to him*
harry: i don't know? maybe we're just friends?
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hermione: u need to marry him
harry: what why?
hermione: it's totally not bc u need to teach me all these cool spells u know before u die ha ha... ha
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draco: *taking ron to the dungeons*
every first year slytherin: *disperses into the library, the great hall, the corridors, anywhere but the common room to escape their lovey dovey expressions*
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hermione: u have 6 years to figure this out
harry: ?!?!?
hermione: until you're of age
harry: oh... oh... WAIT WHAT
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me: *does a double update like last time*
me: hmm should i also disappear for half a year again or no? we'll see
....