Harry Potter and The Fight of Logic vs. Love

Chapter 2

A/N Hi guys!! Here is the next chapter!! I seem to be on a roll today!! I will update 2 or 3 more chapters today and maybe if u guys are lucky 4. Btw if u wonder how I can write so fast is because I have a lot of drafts and I can edit quickly!! 
Enjoy the story!

Chapter 2

As people moved towards the castle and into the Great hall, many saw in others the same fear and questions that they had themselves. With Dumbledore gone, they needed to figure out what would happen. Many people were unsure whether or not to believe the stories about the Chosen One. Would he be the one that could save the world and defeat the most evil dark wizard of the day? No one was sure. People started to voice their fears and concerns over the new hero and did nothing to hide their opinions from others.

Discussions had broken out across the grounds as the funeral had ended. Some of the now rampant discussions concerned running away from England, others concerned rallying behind the now most defiant person against the Dark Lord. Potter seemed to be the logical choice, since he openly defied the Dark Lord with Dumbledore. What is more, Dumbledore believed in him. The only question left unanswered to everyone, whether they supported Harry or not, was whether he would continue his defiance with the absence of Dumbledore. Had he been strong enough on the sole purpose that Dumbledore was with him, or would he still be able to fight?

As everyone took their seats in the Great Hall, it was easily noticed that their new found strength was nowhere to be seen. They looked upon Gryffindor table in hopes, but could see no messy black mop of hair. Even those at the table seemed at a loss as to where Harry was. As the last of the people walked through the doors, a shabby looking wizard walked through and surveyed the hall. He kept staring around, both the hall and out the door, as if expecting someone. Many of the students recognized their ex professor and some waved. Two people at the Gryffindor table went to see him, a red haired boy and a brown bushy haired girl. They both gave him a friendly hug, and muttered something which no one else was near enough to distinguish. The boy put his arm around her in an awkward sort of way, and continued whispering. When they stopped, she made to go out the door, but the boy held on and steered her back towards the table. She seemed to calm a bit by the way the boy held her, but she kept stealing glances as they returned to their seats. When the boy wasn't looking, she would continue staring at the door like the ex-professor had been doing moments before.

After another hour of talking, the girl still looked worried, and people were taking notice. The students seemed to understand why Hermione Granger was worried, since they rarely saw her without both her best friends, unless she was in the library. It was even rarer to see her with Ron rather than with Harry alone, since being alone with Ron usually ended in an argument. They attested that to her nervousness, yet she wasn't worried about the possibility of starting an argument. Soon, all the students were alerted to the fact that, even though the funeral service ended long ago, there was still no Harry Potter.



Finally, after a painfully long time, Hermione had made up her mind. No matter what Ron said, she was going to find harry. Just as she turned to look at Ron, she realized he was staring at her with a strange look in his eyes. It only then dawned on her that he had in fact been saying something to her. She hadn't heard him over her inner turmoil.

".... do you think Hermione? I mean I know it doesn't seem like the right time to say something like that, but I really feel it needed to be said before it's too late." Ron continued to look at her expectantly, and yet she could not figure out for the life of her what she was supposed to be thinking about. She resolved herself not to admitting that she wasn't registering his voice while she was thinking about a certain raven haired boy that was their best friend, who had yet to show up in the hall.

"Of course Ron and you are right. It really isn't the time to say something like that but I respect you for saying it." Before she had time to say anything else, a huge smile showed up across Ron's face and she immediately thought she may have made a mistake.

"Oh I knew it Hermione, I knew it. I love you!" he managed to get out before he leaned in and kissed her. She was shocked, and as she heard the whistles from her friends around her, she couldn't help but feel a bit more awkward than she had when Ron had put his arm around her. She pulled away quickly, and knew she had to make an excuse.

"Oh... uhm... ....... I uh........ need to go to uhhhhh........ the ladies room... sorry" she managed to think up as she made a run for the door, leaving a confused Ron smiling to all the congrats in her wake. She was oblivious to the stares that followed her up the table and out into the entrance hall, including that from a confused looking Lupin. She was also oblivious to the werewolf following her out, just to see what had happened.

Rather than turn left to follow the path to the washrooms, her feet carried her straight out the front doors. She could see the sun setting, and felt the confusion settling in. What was she supposed to be thinking about, what had Ron said to her while she was thinking of Harry? No matter how hard she made her brain work, she could remember nothing of the conversation. All she knew was that Ron said something, and he had kissed her for agreeing. Still, thinking back, something had felt right about it, much different than the kisses she had while with Krum. Krum's had felt awkward, more awkward than the one with Ron, and somehow now they didn't feel right. She knew how it had ended with Krum, and she wondered if something happened would it end the same with Ron?

As she was thinking, her feet continued to move, almost as if of their own accord. She just seemed to be along for the ride. Soon, in the distance, she could make out the hut in which held many good memories. All the fun times came flooding back to her. She remembered the time where she first became attracted to Ron, when he had defended her after Malfoy had called her a mudblood. Or rather he had tried to defend her, until his wand backfired. She remembered him burping up slugs into a bucket for at least an hour. Then there was the time, just outside the hut, where they had their first encounter with Buckbeak. She remembered how scared she was for Harry when he approached it, after all the scary things she read about hippogriffs. Next thing she knew, he was jumping after the hippogriff made a sharp move towards Harry, and had inadvertently grabbed the closest person's hand, and evidently Ron was the closest. Next moment they had stared at each other and jumped away, still holding the awkward stare. She remembered the pumpkin patch, where they had saved Buckbeak from execution and used him to save Sirius as well. She turned away from the hut, following her feet, after a short remembrance of all the tea times they had, and hoped the three would be able to share more tea with Hagrid. She grudgingly followed her feet, not being able to stop.

She continued to walk, and came upon the lake. Looking across, she could see the sky setting in a bloody red fury. She couldn't help thinking about what was going to happen. Would the end come in some gigantic bloody battle or in a silent duel between two powerful wizards in some place away from everything? She knew that there would be a bloody battle, there had to be, there was always a bloody battle. It may not be the final battle, but there would be a time where the two opposing forces would meet on the field of battle. In the end, there would be losses. She hoped that none close to her would die, and she knew it was selfish. She didn't care; she just wanted those close to her to survive. The biggest problem with this desire was that one of her best friends was at the very center of the entire dilemma. She could see where the stands had stood, during the Second Triwizard Tournament Event in her fourth year. She still remembered the moment her head broke the surface, and she looked left and saw something that made her almost scream. She saw a shark's head on a human's body, and until Krum started to transform back, had almost made a mad swim for it. They got onto the platform and talked, but she was distracted, and when Ron broke through the surface she breathed a sigh of relief. This feeling was replaced with panic as a few moments later she saw no mess of raven hair surface. She watched intently, waiting for what seemed like hours, and didn't even realize she was getting closer to the rail and seemed like she was getting ready to dive back in. Krum stopped her, and in the instant she looked back at him, the crowd cheered. Turning back, she saw that one person she was most worried about slowly making his way towards the platforms. She cheered louder than everyone else put together. Harry was pulled out of the water and she rushed towards him as fast as she could make it through the crowd. Thinking back, why hadn't she run to Ron like that? Obviously, she thought I knew Ron was fine. Harry hadn't surfaced with him so there must have been something wrong. That's it. Then a nagging voice in the back of her head responded 'but you didn't know Ron was fine, you just assumed since he broke the surface he was ok. He could have been hurt and you may not have seen it.'

Before she responded, she decided that it was better to not have a conversation with herself. Her feet seemed to like this idea, and decided it was time to keep moving down the path. She followed, again as if she was not in control, and was taken further down the shoreline. She came closer to the trio's favourite tree, and her eyes were drawn to a bundle of robes at the base of it. Getting even closer, she noticed that mess of raven hair sticking out, and she found herself getting anxious. She noticed his head tilted to the side, and figured he must have fallen asleep. Deciding to approach him, she called out his name to wake him up.

"Harry" she called. She felt herself hold her breath. "Harry, are you ok?



At the sound of his name, Harry had turned around in his own mind. He couldn't place the dream he was having, but it seemed so real. It was nothing like any other dream he had had, even those which he saw through the eyes of Voldemort. He knew he was at Hogwarts, he knew it must be a dream, so why was it so real to him? It felt as though he was living the dream right now. He was sitting on a swing in what seemed to be the backyard of a reasonably large house. It made Privet Drive look like some small shack. He looked down at the bench after he felt something move next to him, and was staring at the top of a head in his arms. The brown bush of hair seemed to be pulled into a messy ponytail. He recognized the hair, but he couldn't think of where. He felt he knew her, no, he knew that he knew the girl sitting in his arms. Just as he felt the girl stir, he heard a strange disembodied voice calling his name. He looked around to find the source, and then back at the girl, but before she looked up at him, he was waking up.


Hermione watched Harry as he stirred. She could see he had been crying, but decided against asking him about it. She just watched, and saw the thing she was most worried about losing. No wait, Ron was just as important to her as Harry was, right? He was still just barely waking up, but she already liked the idea of him being there. She commented to herself how strong and powerful he looked, and in the far back of her head, the nagging voice spoke up again. "Just admit it, he is cute, you think he is cute." She ignored it; playing off the face she was just tired, confused, and emotional. She looked at him, and continued to watch as he opened his emerald green eyes and stared straight back at her.



As Harry woke up, he stared straight ahead, noticing as he did a very pretty, bushy haired girl staring straight back. It took a second to register what he had called Hermione and silently chastised himself for it. He wasn't supposed to think of her like that, she was his best friend, and Ron liked her. He continued to stare into her eyes, not realizing how close she was. He almost jumped when she spoke, and the quiet was broken. It had felt like hours since the silence began, yet it had felt perfectly calming and ... well it felt right. He had to admit, it felt right to stare into the eyes of his best friend.

"Harry? Are you alright? Are you fully awake yet?" asked the nervous Hermione.

"What, oh yes. I am fine; I must have just dozed off. What time is it? Is everyone still inside? How come you are out here?" He just needed something to get her to talk until he had finally completely woke up.

"Oh. Good. It's nearly 730, and yes they are all still in there. They are all sitting reliving their best moments with Dumbledore. It's nice to hear some of their stories, and how much fun they had. It is interesting to see how Dumbledore was able to touch so many people around him." She responded, tears fighting to stay in.

Harry stared at her again, noticing she hadn't responded to his last question. "So how come you are out here?" he asked again.

Hermione knew she wouldn't be let off the hook that easily. She stared at him for a moment, contemplating on how to explain it. Then she figured out that he wouldn't accept anything but the truth. "Well, I really don't know. I started to head out of the hall for some reason, what? Alright, not knowing what had happened to you. We were all kind of worried about you, what you were going to do. I was afraid you had tried to make a run for it. I know you wouldn't do it to your friends and family though. Next thing I know, my feet take over and I'm walking down the path, past Hagrid's hut, and along the shoreline. All I could think about is the past six years, and what we have been through. Me, you, and Ron I mean. After I finish thinking about things, I'm standing right in front of you. Thank Merlin I found you. I think everyone wants you to come inside. It seems they all want to catch a glimpse of you."

"Oh, well how could I forget? All my adoring fans want to see me. How selfish of me. I would only love to oblige them. Maybe I should become the next Lockhart, carry some signed photos around with me." Harry said, with a look of disgust on his face rivalling the one he had with Lupin. He continued to have a staring contest with the ground in front of him as he spoke, not daring to look at her.

"Sorry Harry, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that you give people hope for the future. You give people a reason to keep fighting. They want to know that they have a reason to fight. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I wanted to make sure you didn't run, because I can only imagine that would be running through your mind right now." After a glare from her friend she restated her words. "I just mean that you would run away from your friends, if only to keep them safe."

"How do you know what would be going through my mind" he stated more than asked. The anger he felt towards her disappeared the moment he looked into her eyes. He gave her a quick, half-smile. In turn she smiled back at him, and he could see she was genuinely afraid for him.

"Because it is what I would do. It's that Gryffindor courage popping its head up. It's why we all love you so much, because you put everything and everyone else before yourself."

Had she just said she loved him? The thought ran through both their minds the instant she finished saying it. His mind was reeling, before he regained his senses and realized she meant it as a friendly gesture, that everyone loved him. She in turn, thought about what she has said. Did I really just say that? 'Took you long enough to say it' came the nagging voice again. She couldn't stop the voice, the damage was done. They both stared at each other, both thankful the other couldn't read their mind. They both realized they were staring at about the same time, and both looked away, blushing furiously. After a few moments, Harry thought he should say something. This time, Harry was the one to break the silence.

"Hermione, I am really, truly sorry that I made you worry like that. I really just needed some time alone to clear my head and work some things out. If I had known I was scaring you like that, I would never have walked away from you....... and Ron" he added as an afterthought. "Listen, I am fine, you don't need to worry about me. I am not going to go anywhere," at least not right this moment he thought, "why don't you go back inside and back with Ron. I am sure he is probably looking for you, if he isn't eating that is" he laughed. She gave him a stern look, almost as if she had heard his thoughts, and then cracking a small smile at his joke. She continued to stare, pondering her response. When Harry gave her a questioning look, she decided on what she wanted to do.

"Why don't I... just... sit.... right here..." she stated in between moving right next to Harry, sitting with her back half on the tree, half on his shoulder. She started wiggling a bit, trying to get more comfortable, but only succeeding in making Harry more uncomfortable. He tried to move a bit out of the way, and then giving up and moving his hand out from under her, and swung it around and draped it over her shoulder and down her side. "Oh" was all that came out of her mouth, and she immediately stopped wiggling since she became perfectly comfortable.

"If you are going to stay, we might as well be comfortable. I know I am comfortable now, how about you?" Harry said.

"Me too" was all she could get out as her heart jumped into her throat. She leaned her head onto his shoulder still staring out across the lake. She couldn't understand why she felt so much more at ease and why it wasn't awkward for Harry to have his arm around her and not Ron. All she knew is that this was very comfortable, and could feel sleep overtaking her. Snuggling close to Harry, she felt safer with him than with anyone else. She sleepily asked "you don't mind if I ... just close my eyes... for a few .... seconds" and she was asleep.

Harry looked down at the sleeping form of his best friend. He looked at her, taking in notice of how it looked to have her nestled into his shoulder. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was familiar, but couldn't place where from. Then it hit him. She resembled his dream; the girl nestled into his shoulder with the brown messy ponytail. The colour and texture seemed to fit the dream. There is no way I dreamed about my best friend. This close is way over the line, especially since Ron is the one to have feelings for her. I must be mistaken. He thought. I wish.

Harry stared at the vanishing sun across the lake, vaguely remembering the promise he had made with Lupin about being back in before dark. One look back at the beautiful girl in his arms and he decided it would be better, in his opinion, to take Lupin's wrath rather than have to move from the way he was right now. Again he had to chastise himself for calling her that, but couldn't resist smiling, a genuine smile, for the first time in a few days.

Both teens sat there, one asleep, the other finally content. Yet neither noticed the solitary figure of Remus Lupin standing not 20 feet from them, listening to every word they had said. He had made no effort to hide his approach, making more noise than usual in the process, so he did not feel bad about eavesdropping. What he heard, no, more what he read from between the lines, and from the way they looked at each other, made him smile. He resigned himself, knowing that Harry would not run right now, to moving back to the castle, and letting everyone know that Harry was not feeling well and wouldn't be joining them at this moment.