New Beginnings • A Harmione Fanfiction

Chapter Two

A/N - IM SORRY I HAVENT POSTED IN SO LONG. GET READY FOR WEEKLY UPDATES THOUGH, BECAUSE IM FINISHED WITH THE PLOT. FEEL FREE TO READ THE FIRST CHAPTER AGAIN IF YOU FORGOT WHAT HAPPENED.. THANK YOU ALL!!!!
Enjoy!

--

Harry jolted up. Fear present, he looked at the clock sitting on top of the fireplace. It was now 5 AM, which had given him and Hermione enough time to sneak back into their rooms.

He gently pushed her off of his shoulders.

"Harry?.. Is everything alright?" Hermione asked, confusion evident in her tone.

"Everything is fine, Mione. We just need to get back into our rooms as quickly as possible. For all we know, someone could just g--" Harry was interrupted as one of the Gryffindor boys had already woken up.

From the corner of his eyes, Harry could see Hermione shaking, presumably because she was scared. Quickly, he grabbed her head and tucked it under his arms in case something were to happen.

"Hey.. What are you guys doing her-- Hermione?! Harry?! Are you.. Are you.. Oh gosh, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I won't tell anyone!"

Both of them recognized that voice with ease. Neville Longbottom.

Hermione gently shoved Harry aside, and stood up. She began walking towards Neville in a calm manner.

"Oh, um, Neville! It's great to see you.. We were just leaving, actually. And... Before you get any ideas, no, we're not.. Doing anything."

Harry nodded.

"Uh.. I'll just be going then. See you guys in the Great Hall..." Neville said, backing away. He scurried back to his dormitory as quickly as possible before slamming the door.

There was an awkward pause.

"So.. Do you think he'll, um, tell anyone?" Harry asked quietly.

Hermione glanced at him and shook her head.

"I don't think so. He's our friend. And.. Besides, there was... Nothing romantic involved." she replied.

"Right."

Harry felt a sting of disappointment. He really did not know what had caused him to feel this way, so in an attempt to get rid of his non reasonable thoughts, he decided to go back to the boy's dorm.

"I'm going to go now, if you don't mind. Catch you later, Hermione." He said with a sigh.

"Sure... See you then. And don't forget to talk to Ron about.. You know.. Yeah." Hermione let out a nervous look.

"Don't worry about it." He smiled and gave her one last hug.

In the middle of the tight embrace, Hermione popped her head up.

"Harry?" She asked.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For this. It really helped." Hermione said, almost in a whisper.

"Of course." Harry nodded in return. "I'm always going to be here for you. No matter what. You and I know that."

Suddenly, her cheeks turned into a bright shade of pink. It wasn't something Hermione was prepared for, so she looked away as fast as possible.

"You alright?" Harry put his hands on her waist, spinning her around, allowing her to face him.

"Yeah, um, I'm fine.. Just a little dizzy, is all." She scratched her head.

"Okay then. I'll be going now, and for real this time." He let out a small chuckle, and so did she.

Harry tiptoed towards the door to the room, hoping not to get caught. He tried to open the door silently, but failed as it let out a creaking noise, awakening most his dorm mates-- Except Ron, of course, being the deep sleeper he is. This was also a good thing, considering the recent events.

"H.. Hoy! Potter! What're you doing out so early?" Dean Thomas asked, concerned.

"Yeah, mate.. It's bloody 5 AM! At least Ron didn't wake up. Man, he had a rough night. Kept mumblin' something about Hermione Granger." Seamus Finnigan chimed in.

Harry froze.

"Oh.. Really? I'll, just, uh...Talk to him." He said, ducking his head down slightly. "And, it-it's nothing. I just couldn't sleep."

He made the best possible excuse he could think of.

Neville interrupted, walking to Harry.

"Oh, Harry, you can tell them." Neville smiled sheepishly.

"Tell them what? I don't have anything to tell." He said, eyeing Neville.

"What Professor McGonagall asked you to do for her... Remember? You told me just a few minutes ago." Neville replied, secretly winking.

In that very moment, Harry was truly grateful to have someone like Neville in his life. He knew he could trust him.

"Well, what is it then?" Seamus asked.

"Er.. She wanted me to help Hagrid with his class and be his assistant because of the Draco incident a few years back." Harry desperately hoped they bought his rushed lie.

"Riiiigghhhhtttt. So how does this concern anyone?" Dean sensed something sketchy.

"Because no one has ever been given the opportunity to do this. Let alone a student."

That should do the trick.

"Mmhhmmm. That's right." Neville put his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Ugh. So you woke me up in the morning for this?" Dean scowled.

"No one asked you to listen, Dean." Seamus put on a smug face. "In fact, I think that's pretty cool, Potter. See you in Hagrid's class, I guess."

"Thanks.." Harry mumbled.