On My Own

So Close

Rory's Point of View

I don't know how long I stayed in Harry's arms. How many seconds, minutes or even hours. No matter how long, it didn't matter, because it was the first time in weeks that I felt safe. It was the first time that I knew that that no one would hurt me.

Once I was able to hold myself together, I told him everything that I wanted to tell him about Malfoy for weeks. I couldn't bear to hold it all in any more. When I explained, he didn't interrupt. He let me take my time and say my piece. As I finished, I looked up at him, studying his expression and waiting for his response. I expected him to be pissed at me. I expected him to ignore my "excuses" and walk away. I expected him to interrigate me about my relationship with Malfoy. But Harry didn't.

"I understand." he whispered. My gaze met his and my heart leapt in my chest.

"R-Really?"

"I trust you." He smiled with a shrug, keeping a hand on my shoulder gently. The tenseness from before had melted away. "Besides, the more I think about these past few weeks, the more it makes sense." I smiled up at him gratefully, tearing up yet again in relief.

"Can I ask something though?" He asked softly, his smile fading a bit as he spoke.

"Y-Yeah. Sure."

"Why didn't you tell me before? You... You always tell me stuff, however somehow, this is different."

"I-I... I-I don't know. You've been going through a lot crap lately, and I know how much you hate Malfoy's guts.."

"Don't worry about me. This isn't about me. This is about you."

"I guess I'm just used to handling my own problems.." I whispered, thinking back to all the times that I had to fend for myself back in my first years at Hogwarts. I never really told Harry all of the details about what had happened, however as he saw the look on my face, I could tell he understood.

Harry opened his mouth to say something, however no words came out. Finally, he was able to utter my name. "R-Rory?

"Yeah?"

His cheeks were dusted with a light pink. "I-I... reallycareaboutyou." He stuttered quickly. I paused for a moment, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Sorry." I said. "Didn't catch that..."

"I said, I-I really care about you." He said. He looked down at me and as his eyes met mine, my heart fluttered furiously in my chest. My mind was racing with questions. Dozens and dozens of questions. I wanted to sputter them all out and get every single answer. But instead, I stated the obvious, something that I'd been wanting to admit to him since the day I met him.

"I really care about you too."

Harry stared at me, his bright green eyes as wide as saucers in shock, and after I let out a trembling giggle, he beamed. I could feel my hand reach closer to his, as if there was a string pulling me towards him. We were close to each other, even closer then we were before.

"You.. You know you can tell me anything right?" he asked. His finger wandered over to my wrist, which had a faded bruise the size of a handprint. He didn't dare touch it.

We were inches away from eachother now.

"Y-Yeah.." I could barely even comprihend what was coming out of my mouth. My focus was everywhere.

How do you even kiss a boy anyway?! A little voice in my head screamed. Any information on that subject would be really helpful right about now! Is there any technique to the art of kissing. or do you just... do it without even giving it a second thought?

What if I'm a horrible kisser? What if Harry pulls away in disgust and never wants to look me in the eye again? And What if I kiss the wrong way? Is it even biologically possible to kiss the wrong way?

I got up on my toes (I had to in order to even out his towering height and my... shortness) and took a leap of faith. I held his hand first.

Alright. This is a start.

I leaned in closer.

Maybe I was wrong this whole time. Maybe all I had to do to see if Harry liked me was to make a move myself.

My heart felt like it was beating a thousand times a second.

I hope Harry doesn't notice that I'm shaking..

"Harry! Rory? Are you okay?" 

I couldn't belive it. It was Hermione. 

As soon as he heard her voice, I could feel Harry flinch a bit just from holding his hand. I broke my gaze from him and turned to Ron and Hermione, who were staring at us blankly from the staircase that led to unstairs. My hand slipped away from Harry's and slowly fell at my side. Ron gaped at us with his jaw down to the floor. Hermione on the other hand, tried to control her thoughts by helping Ron snap out of his trance. 

"Ron, for Godric's sake! Close your mouth or else you'll swallow a fly.." 

By now, me and Harry had separated and we were trying our best to control our extreme blushing. 

"You okay Rory?" she asked kindly. "Things were getting pretty crazy back there. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have even invited him. I should've known-"

I chuckled weakly to myself. "Hermione. Don't worry about it. I'm alright now." I smiled at her as reassuringly as I could. 

"Are you sure you still want to do this mate? We'd comepletely understand if you wouldn't." Ron suggested. 

"Of course I still do. I wouldn't miss it for the world." I shrugged. "Besides, you guys are all that I've got now."

And it was true. Now that my secret was out, I only have the trio left who actually feels concern about my wellbeing. I mean, I guess this situation isn't all that different from my life before, however having people whispering words like "slut" and "malfoy's girlfriend" don't really help my case much.