Him - A Harry Potter Love Story

Chapter Twenty-Two

It had been a few days now. I hadn't approached Harry...I was too nervous that he would be mad at me. Several times I had seen him looking at me with what seemed like worry, but I couldn't help but wonder if it was actually anger or even hate.

I had woken up early one morning at around six-thirty, having not been able to go back to sleep. I snuck downstairs, slightly hungry, and found Harry sitting there at the dining table.

He looked up, running a hand through his already messy hair.

"Hey," I said softly, standing in the doorway.

"Hey."

"Are you mad at me?" I asked hesitantly, slowly moving to stand on the opposite side of the table from where he was sitting. His eyebrows immediately furrowed.

"What?"

"Are you mad at me?" I repeated, now sounding more like a statement than a question.

"Cassie, I have nothing to be mad at," he said softly, standing up. "You, on the other hand...god, I wouldn't be surprised if you hated me."

"I could never hate you, Harry," I stated, frowning.

"But you should. I was so stupid...Cassie, I promised you something, and I broke that promise." He walked over to me, taking my hands. "I don't want to be the type of boyfriend who you can't fully trust."

"Harry..."

"I trust you. I want you to trust me." He took a deep breath, staring into my eyes. My breath caught in my throat as he pulled me closer, his hands quickly moving to my waist. "Do you think I'll ever earn your trust back?"

"I want to trust you," I whispered. My hands moved to his chest, then to his shoulders, my arms wrapping around him. "Something inside of me tells me I shouldn't, that you'll just do something that will hurt me again. But I also just...I want to...I want to..."

I trailed off, getting lost in his eyes. We leaned in at the same time, our lips meeting in a soft kiss.

How did this happen? How could I feel angry and betrayed by him one minute, then feel bad, and then be able to forget about everything when he so much as looked at me?

He pulled away, moving a hand up to my face to brush my hair away. My breath once again caught in my throat as he cradled my face in his hands.

"You don't have to trust me," he whispered. "You could tell me you don't trust me and never will again. You could tell me you hate me and walk away. But, it will never change the fact that I love you."

My heart skipped a beat.

"What?"

His eyes widened a little.

"I-I..."

We both stayed silent for a long moment, staring into each other's eyes.

"I love you," he repeated, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"I love you too," I whispered, pulling back towards him, letting him hold me tightly in his embrace.

"We've...never said that before," Harry noticed, causing me to chuckle a little, hoping he wouldn't pull away and see my blush.

"We haven't."

"And we just said that."

"We did," I confirmed, smiling more than I felt I ever had, pressing my face into the crook of his neck. He ran a hand through my hair, his head resting on mine.

"And you mean it?"

"Of course I mean it, Harry," I said softly, pulling back. "It might have just started as a small crush, but really quickly it turned into something bigger than that. Harry, I'm in love with you."

He smiled, tugging at my waist to pull me into another kiss. Without even thinking, I moved my hands up to his face, then his hair. I suddenly realized that the kiss was becoming deeper, not as gentle as it usually was.

Our lips started to move quicker, our bodies pressing up against one another. My arms wrapped back around his neck, and the kiss continued until we heard someone clear their throat.

We both practically jumped away from each other. Sirius stood in the doorway of the dining room, a smirk on his face.

"And...how are you two doing this morning?" Sirius asked, taking a few steps forward. My cheeks burned as his eyes flickered between the two of us. I wrapped my arms around myself.

"How long were you standing there?" Harry asked awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Just a few seconds," he responded with a laugh. "For a second I felt as if I was walking in on James and Lily snogging again."

I blushed an even deeper red, finally glancing over at Harry. Although his face had also heated up, he wore a smile as he looked at me.

"Really?" he asked, moving towards me again, his gaze not looking away from me.

"It took me a moment to realize that it was impossible," Sirius sighed, watching us with a sad smile as Harry wrapped an arm around my waist.

I bit my lip a little before looking over at him. "I know that you already told Harry what happened to my parents. Could you...could you maybe tell me?"

The small smile that was on his face fell. He nodded, pulling a chair out and sitting down.

I sat there, staring in shock as Sirius told me everything. Harry was holding my hand tightly with one hand, his other arm still around me.

"They...tried to save Lily and James," I whispered, still taking it all in. "They didn't just abandon me."

"I knew your little family almost as well as Harry's parents did," Sirius confirmed, nodding. "They never would have left you on purpose, Cassandra. They loved you more than anything on this planet. They were able to fight a curse from one of the most powerful wizards on earth to leave that little necklace with you, so you at least would have your name as something from your old life."

"Will I ever be able to find them?" I asked softly.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Like I said, no one has heard from them in many years. It could take many more to find them."

"I'll help you, Cassie," Harry told me, squeezing my hand. "I'll do anything to make sure you can find your parents."

There was silence. I was still in such a state of shock, it took a while for me to ask another question.

"Sirius...what were their names?"

He stood up.

"Emmet and Adeline Winters."

As he left the room, I smiled softly. I glanced over at Harry, and then rested my head on his shoulder. I blinked a few times to try and stop any tears from escaping my eyes, pulling out the picture of them that my adoptive father had given Harry. I kept it in my pocket at all times, even when I slept. I ran my fingers over the photo, watching as Adeline rocked me back and forth, Emmet's arms wrapped around her and staring at me in complete adoration.

"You look exactly like your mother," Harry noticed, playing with a piece of my hair. "Except for your eyes."

"My eyes are from my father," I confirmed quietly.

"I know that you'll find them," Harry whispered, his lips pressing against my cheek for a second. "Even if it takes years...I'll be there with you every step of the way."

"I love you so much, Harry," I said, smiling as he held me tighter.

"I love you more."