Awakening || Harry & Hermione

Chapter 2.3

Later the next day, when Harry and Hermione were walking outside the castle and spotted Cedric standing near the lake with Cho at his side, the tempting prospect of finally learning something about that blasted egg had Harry abandoning all his plans of subtlety and striding towards them.

"Harry!" Hermione called behind him. "Where are you going?"

"To get my answer!" He replied cheerily and stopped in front of Cedric and Cho. "Hullo. Do you think I could have a moment to speak with you alone? I have something important to ask."

Cedric eyed him warily and Cho's face turned pink. "Harry?" She asked in a timid voice.

"Oh. Hi, Cho." He glanced at her absentmindedly and smiled. Cho was nice and pretty and had wished him good luck for the first task after all. It wouldn't be right to be rude to her in his hurry. "Do you mind if I borrow Cedric for a bit?"

"Oh!" Her eyes widened and if possible, turned even more pink as she quickly walked away, leaving Cedric and Harry alone.

"Sorry about that," Harry said sheepishly. "This was kind of a spur of the moment thing and I realize I have no real right to ask you this, but have you found any clues for the egg?"

Cedric ran a hand through his—Harry somewhat bitterly noticed—perfectly tousled hair. "That's what you want to ask?" When Harry nodded, Cedric smiled. "Well, now I feel a tad guilty. I was going to tell you after the Yule Ball and pay you back for the first task, but you've beaten me to the punch."

When he went back to Hermione a few minutes later, there was a bright smile on his face. "I got it!"

Hermione stared at him, flabbergasted. "Y-you—actually asked Cho to the ball?"

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, confused. "Why in the world would I ask Cho to the Yule Ball? She's a nice girl and quite pretty, but I hardly know her. Besides, aren't she and Cedric an item?"

"Of course, they are, Harry. Everyone knows." Hermione rolled her eyes and busily moved the subject back on track. "But never mind that—I thought you liked Cho! You always used to look at her way in the Great Hall and I remember you telling Ron you thought she was the prettiest girl on the Quidditch teams..."

It was Harry's turn to be flabbergasted. "How do you even remember all that? I do think she's pretty, but I haven't exactly had the chance to develop a crush this year, have I? I've been too damn busy trying to survive!"

There was an awkward silence which was promptly broken once Hermione couldn't keep in her curiosity. "So, then what did you go there for?"

Harry told her about what Dobby and Cedric had said as seriously as he could, but his mind kept replaying the hesitant smile on her face when she'd realized he hadn't asked Cho to the ball. He wondered what had made her so happy.

_____

The prefect's bathroom was an awkward affair. First, Harry owned no swimming trunks—since he had never been allowed to go to the beach or swim in the pool, no one had ever thought he'd need them—and had to resort to an old pair of shorts. He desperately needed to buy new muggle clothes.

Second, Hermione insisted on coming along underneath the invisibility cloak despite Harry reminding her it was a boy's bathroom ("You spent hours in a girl's bathroom brewing Polyjuice potion in your second year, I don't see what all the fuss is about!"). And thirdly, Hermione did have a swimsuit and it was very difficult to pay attention to the song underwater when his best friend—who just happened to be female and revealing more skin than she had in the last three years combined—kept bumping against his shoulders in her excitement.

His torture finally came to an end when the mermaid in the stained glass winked knowingly at his reddening expression and he mumbled, "Stupid mermaid."

"That's it!" Hermione shouted. "The song is about mermaids, the ones under the Black Lake—that's where the second task will take place!"

Harry nodded, trying not to notice too carefully how different Hermione's hair looked when it was wet. Or, well—the rest of her too.

He really needed to get out of the water.

"That was brilliant, Harry!" Hermione smiled up at him and embraced him tightly. "We're finally half way to finding the solution for the second task. I promised you, didn't I? That you would make it through? Looks like you didn't need my help much after all."

And suddenly, Harry forgot all about the previous awkwardness and the strange feelings churning inside him. All he could focus on was how her fingers trembled on his back, how relieved she looked, like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Once again, he hadn't noticed how much stress she had been carrying. Once again, he bit back his words of thanks.

He buried his head in Hermione's hair and breathed deeply; the water was getting cold, but she was still so warm. Always so warm.

"That's where you're wrong, Hermione. I'll always need you."