Catching Her Heart Pt. 2

Chapter 99

"Come on, Hermione," Harry begged. "Please!"

"I'm sorry, Harry," Hermione said. "I can't."

"But why?" Harry whined. "I'm close, I know I am!"

"You know why, Harry," Hermione said. "You were there when I talked to Professor Flitwick. I can only use the classroom during breaks in between classes; I could probably get it during meals too, if there's time. Come on, we have to get to Care of Magical Creatures."

"Fine," Harry said morosely, relenting at last and helping her check the room to make sure it was clean while she closed the window again. He couldn't take the risk of practising without her in case Professor Flitwick returned.

"Look Harry," Hermione said as they continued onto class. "I suggest that you practise in classes if you have time, and I'll meet you in between. I'm also willing to make it a short lunch and come practice with you then."

Harry nodded, still feeling morose.

Hermione reached up and gave him a hug.

"Let's get you through tomorrow night, and then we can worry about Karkaroff, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Harry said and nodded.

After lunch, Harry trudged up to the Divination tower, trying to ignore the many buttons that faced him claiming Potter Stinks along with the jeers from the students. The class seemed to drag on as he was forced to endure an hour of Professor Trelawney's sickly sweet otherworldly voice as she spent half the lesson telling them that the position of Mars in relation to Saturn at that very moment meant that people who were born in July were in great danger of sudden, violent deaths.

"Well, at least that's good," Harry said in a raised voice, his temper getting the better of him. "Just so long as it's not drawn out. I don't want to suffer!"

He caught Ron's gaze for a moment and saw the boy's lips twitch in an almost smile before it dropped as though he realised they were still at odds, but he was too resentful to care. He spent the rest of the lesson trying to attract small objects under the table, muttering under his breath. He caught a fly, but didn't know if it was really from the summoning charm or just being stupid.

As the time for class to end came closer, Harry closed his books, ignoring Professor Trelawney's lecture that was still going on about his ultimate demise due the planet alignments, and packed them in his bag. When the first toll of the bell began, he jumped up from the table, knocking the crystal ball off its stand onto the floor and darted for the door, rushing downstairs and heading to the Great Hall kitchens. He quickly fixed a plate and headed back out, passing Hermione.

"I'll grab something and be right behind you," she said as he passed.

Harry nodded and headed up to the Charms classroom once more and waited for Hermione to join him. When she got there, they ate quickly and went straight to work, practising until Professor Flitwick stopped by to check on them and let them know it was nearly curfew. They cleaned up the pillows that they had scattered around in case someone came in, and closed the window once more before heading up to Gryffindor tower.

Students were still filling the common room, so they found a quiet corner and used pillows and books until the others retreated to the dorms. After a while, Harry went up to his dorm and grabbed his broom from under the bed, being careful to keep quiet.

"Are you ready for this?" Hermione asked, taking the broom from him and walking to the far side of the room.

"I think so," Harry said. "I have to be able to do this. I'm running out of time."