A Turn of Events || Harry/Hermione

8.

The next few days flew past, for nothing extremely interesting happened. Ron avoided Harry and Hermione both, obviously still angry about the Yule Ball. The second task was growing closer as the days past, and Harry still hadn't figured out the golden egg, though Hermione begged him to.

Hermione awoke early, as the sun only just began to appear over the Forbidden Forest, casting an orange glow over the trees.
Everyone was still asleep as Hermione quickly dressed before exiting the girl's dormitory. She liked the peaceful quiet of the early morning; you couldn't get a lot of that at Hogwarts, unfortunately, so she was grateful for the quiet.
Hermione took a seat on one of the dark red armchairs and pulled out A History of Magic, by Bathilda Bagshot.
She read for a while, only until Fred and George appeared in the doorway to the boy's dormitory.
"'Morning," Fred said cheerfully, heading towards the portrait hole that served as the exit.
"Good morning," said Hermione, closing her book and setting it down beside her.
"We expected Harry to be down here," George said.
"He's not asleep?" Hermione asked. George shook his head before following his brother out of the common room.
Hermione quickly packed up her books before following the twins. Where was Harry?
It didn't take long for her to find him, however. He stood on one of the many wooden bridges that connected the castle, staring off over the lake.
"Hey," she greeted him quietly. Harry gave her a small smile, but said nothing. Hermione stared out over the lake, admiring the view. The water was turned a bright orange from the rising sun, which was fully visible over the treetops by then.
"I don't know what to do, Hermione," Harry spoke after several moments of silence. "About the egg."
Hermione pursed her lips, "Harry, you told me you'd figure the egg out weeks ago! The task is only two days from now."
"Really? I had no idea," Harry retorted and rubbed his temples.
"You are trying to figure the egg out, aren't you?" asked Hermione after a moment.
Harry turned to look at her, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It just means these tasks are designed to test you, in the most brutal way; they're almost cruel," Hermione said. "I'm scared for you, Harry."
Harry gave her a small, though forced, comforting smile, "Don't be, I'll be fine." he said, though he was trying to convince himself as much as her.
"But I am," Hermione protested. "You got by the dragons mostly on nerve. I'm not sure its going to be enough this time."
Harry opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Cedric Diggory's voice.
"Potter!"
Harry smiled at Hermione before going to meet the handsome Hufflepuff. Hermione watched as the two of them talked, feeling as if her heart was torn in two.
Why was Harry acting this way? She bit the inside of her cheek to stop the tears that threatened to fall as she stalked back towards the Gryffindor Tower.

~

Later that evening, Harry and Ron joined Hermione in the library as she looked for some light reading. She couldn't help but notice how flustered they looked.
"Tell her, Harry," Ron urged him as Harry took a seat at one of the tables. Hermione pulled a book out of the shelf before turning her attention to Harry.
"Come seek us where our voices sound," Harry said quietly, his head resting on the table. "We cannot sing above the ground."
"The Black Lake?" Hermione guessed; it was the only obvious choice. "That's obvious..."
"An hour long you'll have to look," Harry went on.
"Again, obvious, although I'd admit, potentially problematic," Hermione sighed, sitting down beside Harry.
"Potentially problematic?" Harry repeated, sitting up. "When was the last time you held your breath underwater for an hour, Hermione?"
She was taken aback by his harsh tone, "Look, Harry, we- we can do this," she said weakly. "The three of us can figure it out."
Suddenly, Professor Moody appeared from around the corner. His magical blue eye flicked from Hermione to Ron, when his real one focused on Harry.
"I hate to break the skull session. Professor McGonagall would like to see you in her office," he said. Hermione stood up, followed by Harry, though he was stopped by Moody.
"Not you, Potter. Just Weasley and Granger," he told him.
"But, sir," Hermione gasped. "The task is only hours away and-"
"Exactly. Presumably Potter is well prepared by now and could use a good nights sleep," Moody interrupted her. "Go, now!"
Hermione glanced one last time at Harry before quickly following Ron out of the library.

Professor McGonagall was confused as Ron and Hermione arrived at her office. She claimed that she didn't call for them at all, and then ordered them to head back to their dormitories.
"If McGonagall didn't want us, why did Moody send us to her?" Hermione wondered aloud as her and Ron walked through the dark corridors of the castle.
Ron shrugged, "I dunno."
As they entered the Gryffindor common room, they found Harry sitting in front of the fire alone. Her and Ron exchanged glances before taking a seat on either side of him. Harry acknowledged their presence with a small smile, though he kept quiet.
"Neville's heard of a plant that will allow me to breath under water for an hour," he spoke after a while.
"Brilliant," Ron breathed. "Where is it?"
"He's going to have it for me by tomorrow," Harry answered. He seemed much more cheerful than he was only about an hour before, though he was barely acknowledging Hermione.
After a moment, he stood up and stretched, "Moody's right, I could use a good night's sleep." he said, stifling a yawn.
"I'll come, too," Ron decided and stood up beside Harry.
"You going to sleep 'Mione?" Harry asked, looking down at her.
Hermione shook her head, "I'm going to stay up for a while longer."
Harry nodded and leaned down, planting a small, short kiss on the top of her head, "G'night."
"Night, Harry, Ron," she said, watching as they disappeared up their staircase. Hermione pulled out the Standard Book of Spells, Grade Four, and began reading. Though her mind was elsewhere as her eyes blindly skimmed over the small black words imprinted on the book. She didn't know how long she sat rereading the same page again and again, but she eventually gave up and closed her book. It was almost impossible to concentrate on reading when her mind was full of thoughts on Harry. Lately, she couldn't think of anything else besides him. She knew she had feelings for him, but she wasn't sure on how he felt towards her.
Hermione knew he had feelings for Cho Chang; she saw the way he looked at her all the time. She just wished he would look at her the same way...
Hermione packed her book into her bag and began to head towards her own dormitory. But, as she reached the stairs, she felt a strong pain in the back of her head, and everything went black.

A/N:
DUNNN DUNNN DUNNNNN
this chapter is so short guys /.\ I'm sorry but like the task is in the next chapter and I had to find a way to end it before then, so I ended it there.
I don't think I ever thanked you guys for 100 reads! :D and now, I'm almost to 200!
I can't believe this story is so popular! lol
I'll update soon guys. Ily <3

-PadfootTheAnimagus xx