Harry Potter and The Fight of Logic vs. Love

Chapter 3

A/N Second chapter today, guys *cheers* Hope u guys like it!

Chapter 3:

Ron was still sitting at Gryffindor table, smiling at his good fortune. He had finally done it; he had finally been able to tell Hermione how he felt about her. And she had responded that she had respected him. They kissed. This day couldn't get any better, aside from the funeral that lay somewhere in the past. Ron could hardly remember it. He didn't know what had made him do what he did, but he knew he was going to have to say it sometime. He couldn't go on and regret it if he missed his chance. And now, look, it had all gone well and they were dating.

Even her strange behaviour after their kiss couldn't make Ron's mood go down. It didn't seem odd to him that she was gone for so long. It had to have been at least an hour since she left, and probably a good 45 minutes since Lupin came back saying Harry wouldn't be joining them since he wasn't feeling well. He couldn't believe it, she must have just taken a walk or something, but he would make sure to tell her when she came back. And besides, there was lots of food on the table for him to eat. She would be back soon.



Out on the grounds, two people were still sitting under their favourite tree, oblivious to the world. Harry watched the sun set completely, not realizing what that meant. All he knew is that Hermione was still sleeping, so he would not move and risk waking her. His butt started to get numb, but still he sat. He didn't know how light a sleeper she was, so he didn't even risk moving his head. He could see, out of his peripheral vision, that the castle doors were opened and closed a few times, and a few people's shadows could be seen walking away before the doors shut again. He knew it must be nearly 10pm, but he could not see his clock and he dared not move his arm too far to see it.

He knew she would wake up soon enough, but he wanted to prolong that for as long as he could. With her sitting there, he felt that all his cares had disappeared. He wasn't worrying about Voldemort, or finding the last few horcruxes, or even going back to Number 4 Privet Drive. All he could think of was the gentle breathing of the girl in his arms. What he wouldn't give to stay like this, in her arms forever. No. I can't say something like that. What would Ron think if he was here right now? He would kill me just for sitting like this. Wouldn't he? Harry thought. He looked down at Hermione's sleeping form and remembered what she had said to him earlier. Would he run? Would she have run if she was in his place? Did she really care that much about him? The third answer was realized before he finished asking himself. He had seen it in her eyes. She cared about him, one of the few who cared about him just because he was Harry, not because he was The Chosen One.

His stomach turned on him, and gave a large grumble. He didn't realize how hungry he was until then. He looked down at his stomach, mentally telling it to shut up. Just then did he notice a hazel pair of eyes staring up at him. She must have just awoken, though he was not sure whether it was of her own accord, his stomach noise, or his slight jerk to look at his stomach. All he knew is now that she was awake, she would probably want to get up, and he didn't want to. But she didn't move, she didn't protest his holding her, she just stared up into his eyes again. He couldn't stop staring into her eyes, and she couldn't stop staring into his. There was something in each other that was pleading the other not to stop looking. Hermione had a look in her eyes that spoke to Harry, the pleading that was asking him not to leave. Harry had the same message to Hermione, since he never wanted to leave her or this spot. He wasn't sure how long they sat staring at each other, but after a short time, she snuggled closer, closed her eyes, and whispered "thanks. Thanks for being here." And with that she fell back into her deep slumber.

Without moving his main body, Harry leaned down and whispered back "I will never leave you Hermione. Whether I am there in person, or in spirit, I will never leave you." He kissed her on the forehead, and leaned his head against the tree, falling back to sleep himself.



Hermione was a light sleeper, light to the point where even a small nudge or relatively loud sound would wake her. So it was not surprising to see her wake after Harry's stomach grumbled beneath her head, or his slight jerk to look down. As soon as he looked down, she looked up. Her eyes were captivated by his. She couldn't understand why, but she didn't want to move. All she wanted to do was stay in Harry's arms. After a short time, she closed her eyes again, and whispered to him "thanks. Thanks for being here." And with that she started to fall asleep, though she could swear she heard him reply "I will never leave you Hermione. Whether I am there in person, or in spirit, I will never leave you." If she had imagined that, she was sure she had imagined the kiss he gave her on her forehead. She went back, falling into her dreams.

She imagined that she was sitting, much like she was here, on the swing in her backyard. She was sitting in the arms, and not quite sure why she felt so safe, of a man. She was sitting with her head facing down and outwards towards her house, so she couldn't see the man's face. All she knew is that she never wanted to leave this person's hold. She saw his hand on his lap, and she reached around to grab it, and never let it go. In doing so, she moved the hand into the light and saw a strangely shaped scar on the back of the person's hand. She recognized it; there was only one person that had received that kind of scar on their hand. It was unique to Harry, after his encounter with Umbridge. She now realized she must be sitting with Harry, and that he must be why she feels so safe. She looked up, and sure enough, there was the messy, raven hair, the lightning bolt shaped scar, the glasses, and those emerald eyes. The emerald eyes she couldn't resist staring into and getting lost in. He smiled at her, and she started to feel weak. She loved his smile. She could do nothing except smile back at the boy. No, she was right the first time, he was no boy anymore, he was a man. He still looked like Harry, but he looked more mature, his features more distinguished. He looked more handsome. She had to admit, Harry did look good. He started to lean in and whisper something to her, but she couldn't hear what he said. She moved closer, and he started staring not at her eyes, but at her lips. As they got closer, she closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable. But it never came; she was startled by a group of birds in the trees above them.
Hermione looked up, and noticed that harry had fallen asleep with his head against the tree. He looked so peaceful, just as he had before when she woke up. He looked good, especially with the light beaming on his face. Hang on, the light beaming on his face, she was sure that the last time she woke up, the sun had set. She must have been mistaken. As she started to move, she felt Harry stir and look down at her. He flashed that famous Harry Potter smile, and she felt better already. She was ready to put her head back down and resume her dream when he spoke.

"I guess we should probably get up and head back to the castle now."

"Can't we stay just ten more minutes. I am reallllllly comfortable right now." Hermione stared at him with one eye open, though admittedly it was drooping.

"Well alright then. I don't mind staying if you don't. But what time does the train leave?" Harry asked. He smiled at her again.

"Oh don't worry, it doesn't leave until noon tomorrow" she replied groggily.

"Ok, but we do still have to go for breakfast. Unless you want people to start a rumour about us." Harry was almost laughing. He seemed like he was laughing silently, and his stomach was bouncing.

"Fine, we can go back to the school and go to our beds if you really want. Merlin, you boys and your sleeping." She sat up, and realized that she had in fact seen the light. It wasn't a dream. In fact, it was a lot lighter than when she had first come out. She turned back to Harry. "What time is it Harry?" She didn't know if she wanted to hear the answer.

"The truth?" asked Harry, and at a nod he continued. "It's only 9 o'clock." Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. "In the morning." Harry continued.

"WHAT? Oh my god Harry. We need to get back now. Everyone will wonder where we have been." Hermione stopped to look at him. He was laughing. She was panicking and he was laughing. "What is so funny if I may ask?"

Harry could hardly stop laughing to respond. "It's just... you look... so cute... when you're in a.... panic..." he said between laughing and falling over. She stopped, halfway between getting up, and looked at him. Had he just said she was cute? Her heart gave a flip, and then watching him roll around laughing, she couldn't help but giggle. She turned back towards him, trying her best to sound stern with him. "Come on Harry, let's go. It isn't that funny." Even as she gave him a playful slap on the arm, she fell over next to him, both of them laughing. Finally they stopped, looked around at each other, and got up.

Together, they slowly started their hike up to the castle. Hermione kept stealing glances at Harry, as if she was nervous about what had happened. Finally, after Harry had caught her, and she knew he had, she spoke up. "Harry, if people ask, what should we say about last night? Should we just tell them that we went to bed really late, and got up really early to go for a walk? Or should we tell the truth? I really don't know how Ron would take it if he knew we slept outside together." And then it dawned on her. Ron. She still wasn't sure about what he had said, but by the looks of it, he had thought that they were going out. What had she done? If she told him now that she wasn't interested in a relationship, would he hate her? She would break his heart, and could she really do that? Harry's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"I think we should just tell the truth. If we start telling lies, someone is bound to catch us. You don't have a problem telling people you slept with me outside under a tree the night before we left to go home do you?" he chuckled. When he looked at her, he could tell she was a lot worse off than she had first looked.

"Well it's not that Harry, it's more how Ron would take it. Ron could be tricky to deal with right now. His temper may get the best of him. You see, one of the reasons I made a quick exit from the Great Hall last night was because of him."

Harry cringed at the last sentence. He felt his anger start to rise at it, but he couldn't explain why. He knew that Ron could be insensitive at times, but it never made him mad like this. "What did he do Mione? I mean Hermione." She smiled at him. She liked the name.

"I like that name, it is better than Herms." She laughed.

"Ok Mione. Now please answer my question. What did he do?" he repeated.

"Well, it kind of happened while I was thinking about where you were. I really wasn't paying attention to what he was saying. And he kind of confronted me after saying something. Well you know how I don't like it when he thinks that I don't pay attention to him and then holds it over my head for long periods of time. Well I sort of agreed with what he said, but not fully. And he may have taken it as a full acceptance. Then he, well, he told me he loved me and he kissed me." She turned to look at Harry and noticed that the smile he had on wasn't his genuine Harry smile. He looked like he was smiling at a gift that he really hated. When he spoke his words sounded almost like ghosts of his words he said before. They sounded extremely hollow.



"Well, uhm, I mean, uhm, that is great. I mean I know he has wanted to come out with that for, well you know, a while. And it is great that he was finally able to tell you. I think you guys work well together. I mean look good together. Well you know what I mean." The truth is, as she told him, his heart dropped into his stomach. He didn't understand why, but he couldn't feel happy for them. He tried to convince himself he was just jealous that they could have a relationship when he had to push away all the people that he loved. This realization started to creep up on him, and the ugly feeling of having to make a run for it started to sink in again.



Hermione could see that something wasn't right in Harry again. Something she had said had stirred something up in him again. She looked at him, and he looked back. She realized he was making a decision to run. She could see it. He tried to hide the fact that he was going to, but she could see right through him. His eyes couldn't lie to her. She was determined to stop him.

"Let's keep going. Ron is probably looking for you; I mean he may be up by now so you never know." Harry turned away and started walking with a little more determination and avoided looking at Hermione. He had the feeling she was staring at the back of his head a few steps behind. He could only keep moving, hoping she wouldn't press the issue. He wasn't that lucky.

"Harry?" She asked after only a few minutes. "I think I need someone to talk to about this. I mean I know Ron cares about me. I care about him too." Harry's heart dropped a little further with every word she spoke. "But when I think about it, I don't know. It's hard to explain. I know that there is something there, something between us. It feels better than it did with Krum. There are more feelings there, more emotion. But I don't know how to explain it. It still doesn't feel exactly right. It's not that it's necessarily wrong, but it doesn't seem like it is that one perfect kiss. The one every girl dreams of. "

Hearing her say that, Harry's heart gave a bit of a flip. Not exactly enough to get it out of his stomach, but enough that his ears perked up and his heart thumped a bit faster. 'There was no way it was because of the idea that Hermione and Ron may not eventually get together, it was because I won't have to sit by and watch as more love was spread, but not to me' he told himself.

Hermione grabbed his arm and turned him to face her. "I know that you wouldn't want to get in the middle of this, but seeing as you are the one that is out here with me, and you can pass off the question as a simple thing, I need you to find out exactly what he asked me. I need to know what he thinks. Can you do that for me Harry? Please?" She stared straight into his eyes.

How could he resist her eyes? The answer, he couldn't. "Fine Hermione, but that is as far as I am going. I am not going to get involved other than that. Alright? If you need to break it to him, I am not going to do that." She nodded. So she waited just outside the entrance hall.

As Hermione waited, he opened the doors to the Great Hall, and almost immediately regretted going in first. What awaited him inside made his insides squirm. Apparently, while they were sleeping, very few guests wanted to leave.

As Harry opened the door, he was greeted with faces of adults and children alike. Students it seemed, either did not go to bed, or were up extremely early. As for the adults, it seemed as though they were not forced to leave, and they did not choose to leave. It made it very difficult to make it all the way to Gryffindor Table, and up the row to sit next to Ron.

Ron, it seemed, had even chosen to stay up. Harry could tell by the bags under his eyes. As Harry approached, Ron looked up and beamed at him.

"Finally Harry. I was wondering where you had got to. Remus told everyone that you weren't feeling so well and that you had gone upstairs. You didn't happen to see my Herms anywhere along the way down did you?"

Harry's insides gave a churning the way Ron referred to Hermione as "my Herms" and Harry wanted to lash out at him. He couldn't understand why. He just forced himself to choke out the words "Uhm yes well. I will just run back and find her." With that he turned tail and moved as fast as he could out the door he had come in only moments before. He spotted Hermione poking out from around the corner and marched straight up to her.

"Uhm so yes. You may want to think of how to approach Ron. If you being 'his Herms' is any indication."

"Oh no. What am I going to do Harry? This isn't good. I can't do this right now. Oh no oh no oh no. I can't tell him it was a mistake can I? It would break his heart."

"Well you better do something fast, because here he comes." Harry stated. Hermione blanched at the sentence. Before she could find someplace to hide, Ron spotted the pair and walked over, with that huge grin on his face. Harry couldn't help but feel sorry for Hermione and the position she was in.

"Uhm maybe I should leave you two alone. You probably have some things to discuss" Harry said, feeling unsure as to whether he should stay to help explain or to leave them to their problems. Hermione set him straight with her next sentence, though it seemed unusually harsh to refer to him the way she did.

"No Harry. You are a part of this mess; the least you can do is stay around to help clean it up. Ron, we need to discuss some issues. I think what we talked about last night was a big mistake, that we really need to think about it some more." At this Ron looked confused. "Alright, stop looking at me like that. You know perfectly well what I am talking about. I think that there are feelings there, but I am not in love with you. In time there may be, but when you sprung it on me last night, I wasn't all there. My mind was roaming all over the place, and I was emotionally unstable. I accepted it without really realizing what I was agreeing to. Then, when I ran out, I went to find Harry. And I found him out by the tree last night." At this, Harry turned a shade of green, knowing that the red in Ron's face was starting to get the best of him. Harry tried to brace himself for what was coming next. "And when I found him, well we didn't want to come back up here. So we slept down by the lake together last night." With this, Harry's mind when blank, and his heart gave an almighty lurch back up into his throat. She had just told Ron that they slept together last night, without any regrets. Sure she had meant it in an innocent way, but the context could be taken in a much stronger way. Harry took a great interest in the floor, and after that lost interest, he found something more interesting anywhere but in Ron's general direction. He could tell that Hermione had taken this the completely wrong direction. She should have been more discreet. Harry could almost hear the steam coming out of Ron's ears, so he finally turned to try and make an apology. Before he could open his mouth, Ron seemed to find his voice.

"YOU SLEPT WITH HARRY! OUR BEST MATE! AFTER YOU TOLD ME THAT YOU LOVED ME! HOW COULD YOU!" Ron yelled, gathering the attention of everyone in the entryway. Hermione looked like she was about to cry.

"Ron, that isn't the way it happened. I never said that I loved you. You said that you love me. I didn't pay attention to you. I was more worried about Harry and didn't hear a word you said." Hermione choked back. Harry knew immediately this was the wrong thing to say.

"OH WELL THAT MAKES IT LOADS BETTER HERMIONE!" Ron yelled back. By now some students from the Great Hall had come to see what the racket was. This did not make it any easier.

Harry started to try and calm Ron down. "Ron mate, we fell –" but was cut off by Ron's yelling again.

"DON'T YOU EVEN TRY AND TALK TO ME! I THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE MY BEST MATE! IF YOU KNEW I FELT LIKE THIS ABOUT HER, WHICH YOU DID, HOW COULD YOU SLEEP WITH HER?"

"LOOK RON! WE FELL ASLEEP TOGETHER. We didn't sleep together mate, well not in that sense." Harry tried, but Ron wouldn't hear it. Before Harry knew what was going on, Ron had swung at him, and it connected with more force than Harry would have pegged Ron to have. The next thing Harry knew was that his glasses were broken and a fleshy coloured blob was coming towards his head from the opposite direction as the last, crashing into his face with an equally devastating blow that sent Harry spinning. Before he could fully recover, Ron was starting to advance on him, and he heard Hermione cry out.

"Stop Ron, he didn't do anything, RON! OW"

He didn't know what happened, or where his wand had come from, but immediately his hand swung up as he aimed at the rather tall and lanky blob wearing robes and what looked like it was wearing a bright red hat. Next thing he knew, ropes flew out and bound the blob, at least he assumed they were ropes, but it was all a blur to him. Finally, the blob teetered and fell to the ground struggling. Hermione rushed over, holding her wand in front of her muttering "oculus reparo" and Harry's glasses were good as new. Relieved, he looked down and saw blood on his robes, and he felt a little light headed. He also noticed that he didn't have his wand in his hand. 'Must have put it back away without realizing it' he thought. Hermione stared into his eyes.

"Harry, are you ok? We should get you to the hospital wing. Here, you dropped your wand when he took his first swing. That was some impressive wandless magic you showed, considering you have had no luck with it so far. Come on, up you go." She helped him up and put his arm over her shoulder to help him walk to the infirmary.

Madam Pomfrey had him sorted out in no time, giving him a couple potions to help with the pain, and to help keep him alert. She didn't think he had a concussion, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Hermione sat beside him the entire time, just staring at him. She didn't know why, but she felt that he was hiding something. Apart from using wandless magic that easily, something had happened to him. Why didn't he use his magic a little sooner if he could do that? It seemed like he did it with no effort at all. With his reflexes, he should have seen the punch coming and thought of a quick protego spell that would have repelled Ron. What made him use it after he was down? What happened? Ron took two swings at him, then I stepped in. Ron pushed me out of the way, which hurt. And then Harry tied him up. Wait, it only happened after I was out of the way. Could that be it, he thought that his friend was in danger and reacted out of pure instinct? That must be it. The nagging voice was back again. 'That must be it must it? For the brightest witch of the age, you seem pretty dumb. He only reacted that way after you cried out in pain. And no I do not mean that he reacted because you are his friend. When his friends were in trouble he could not do wandless magic before. When Dumbledore was dying and confronting the Death Eaters in the tower, he could not do wandless magic to free himself. He told you so himself. So what is different? You are a girl. His emotions took the lead, and love shone through. His love for you. Come on, even you can put two and two together.' Hermione was finding it hard to follow the voice, but the last few sentences rang through her head. Was it true? Did he? No, of course not. She was just being silly again. It took her a few seconds to register that Harry had stood up and started to make his way to the door. She realized he still looked a bit wobbly, and quickly followed, making sure she was close enough to catch him if he fell.

They started the long walk up the corridors, and had to detour once or twice due to Peeves and the moving stairs. Eventually they ended up in the Gryffindor common room. Once there, they received a few stares from their fellow students. Evidently word had spread about the fight, or they had been eye witnesses to the event. Either way, the pair weren't looking to answer any questions. Hermione helped Harry up the stairs to his bedroom, and after making sure Ron wasn't in there, they entered. Looking at the time, they realized they only had 15 minutes to pack, and Harry hadn't even started.

"You haven't started packing? What happened Harry, you really need to be more organized. Start things earlier and you could have had more time to play" teased Hermione.

"Well I would have if some beautiful young woman hadn't fallen asleep on me last night" he joked back. Oh no, I just called her beautiful again. What am I doing? Ron must have knocked something loose in my brain. At least before I never said it out loud.

Hermione just laughed. "I'm sorry. I thought you were looking for company. And it was a gorgeous night. Almost reminds me of the camping trips I used to take with my parents every now and again. It feels nice to sleep outdoors sometimes. Well since we are short on time let me help." With a flick of her wand, Harry's trunk opened. With another flick, his clothes all neatly flew in, and with one more flick, his few personal items, such as the picture of his parents, flew on top. "Much faster this way is it not?" she laughed again.

"I'm going to have to remember that." He mused, joking about all the other times she fixed his glasses. With that they sat on Harry's bed, and he looked around at his dorm for the last time. He knew for a fact that he was not going to return to Hogwarts. With a great sigh, and much sadness, Harry stood.

Hermione surveyed the room, in an attempt to survey Harry discreetly. She could tell he was saying goodbye. She saw it in his eyes that he wasn't coming back to this room. She could tell he was saying 'thanks for the memories.' When he stood up, she stood up next to him and made to grab his trunk to help him.

"Don't worry about that Mione. I can get that. I may have almost got my head knocked off, but I can still lift my own trunk" he laughed.

Down they went, Hermione grabbing her trunk along the way. Harry insisted on helping her by taking it down, and refused point blank to take no as an answer. He argued she helped him up to the dorm, and he weighed more than her trunk. The least he could do was help take hers down. So off they went to the carriages, which took them to the train. The two found a compartment that was empty, and took their places. They had seen an angry looking Ron glance in, but stalked off the moment he saw who was in there. Ginny seemed to be avoiding the compartment, and Harry wasn't sure if it was because of the breakup or because of what Ron had thought. Either way, they were alone for a few minutes, and Hermione sat next to Harry.

"He will come around. He's just being a stubborn git Mione. Don't waste a second thought on what you did." Harry's heart jumped thinking about the fact that Hermione had made Ron understand that there was no relationship. He felt himself unconsciously thinking deep down he still had a shot. But he quickly stuffed that thought back down in the pit of his stomach.

Soon enough, Harry and Hermione were joined by their friends Neville and Luna. Though the two were not the most popular, they were some of the best friends a person could have. Harry was glad that neither had asked them about what happened. He was sure that Luna would have asked something. The only thing Neville had said when Harry gave them a quizzical look was "Don't worry Harry. We know nothing happened. You guys wouldn't do that to him." They then continued on with their discussions until they all were tired enough to fall asleep. Luna settled herself into the seat, and Neville dosed off with his head hanging forward and his arms crossed. Hermione made a yawn, and stretched out to Harry. She moved her feet from hanging off the seat, and tucked them beneath herself. She picked his arm up and put it around her, nestling back into his shoulder and falling asleep.

Harry looked at the way Hermione moved, and couldn't move when she grabbed his arm and swung it around herself. He was stunned. He just felt her get up close to him and nestle into his shoulder again. Didn't she just sleep through the night? How could she possibly be sleeping again? She must be really exhausted. Little did he know that the girl in his arms had him fooled. He didn't pick up on the fake yawn, which most people would have. When he didn't argue about her being so close she took it as a sign and nestled her head into his shoulder. Again there was no response or denial from him. He hadn't noticed that she really wasn't asleep, that her eyes were wide open looking out the window. He couldn't get the proper angle to see them. He just assumed she had fallen asleep and started to stare out the window himself. She felt his breath slowing, yet his heart was racing at the instant she came closer. She could tell he was relaxed, and she felt more relaxed just being there. For the moment, neither had a care in the world. No dark wizards or jealous best friends popped into their heads. They just sat on the train staring out the window.

The only movement in the compartment came every few minutes, where the arm Harry had draped around Hermione would gently stroke her arm unconsciously she made no move to stop it, it felt wonderful. She felt at home here, in Harry's arms. It almost felt like that perfect feeling she had stated to Harry when she talked about the kiss earlier. The kiss wasn't perfect, but this was. She was refusing to believe it though, and she had a plan worked out in her head. She wasn't going to let Harry get away without putting up a fight.