The Last Year

Suspicions Arise

  Harry did not see Hermione outside of classes for the next week. When they were in class, she sat in the corner farthest from him. She was clearly avoiding him, and it was working. He had thought if he gave her some space she would come around, but she hadn't. What she had said that night had stung. 

  To be honest, it had done more than sting, but he was trying to keep it from destroying what they had. He still halfway hoped that she didn't mean what she had said or meant it when she kissed Ron. But he didn't know what was going on. 

  This had left him hanging out with Ron for the majority of the time. It was good to be able to spend time with him again, it was nice to return to his roots, his first real friend. He feared the past few years had led to a distancing from someone who had been such a good friend. 

  They had been sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room playing chess for the past hour, and Ron had beaten him every time.

   "I don't understand, we've been playing for eight years now, how can you still be so bad at this game?" Ron asked with a big grin.

  "Look, it's not that I'm bad at the game as much as you're like a grand master." Harry defended.

  Ron nodded, "That's true." 

  He tapped the edge of the board, and the pieces began to rearrange themselves for a new match. 

  "One more?" 

  "Fine" Harry replied.

  "You okay, you've been pretty quiet lately." 

  "It's just this thing with Hermione, it's come out of nowhere, and suddenly she hates me and says that she just wanted my fame. I know for a fact she is lying; I know it! I just don't know why."

  "Well, I wish I could be more help, but your guess is as good as mine. However, I know that she has been spending a lot of late nights in the library, like staying for hours later than everyone else."

  "Maybe she's just trying to avoid our shared space, I never see her in there."

  "Or she could be meeting someone," Ron said casually.

  "What?" Harry asked surprisedly. 

  "Dude, I was kidding, this is Hermione, in the library. It's like her favorite place. 

  "Right," Harry said uncertainly. 

  Harry lost once more to Ron before returning to the Head Boy and Head Girl's quarters. He quickly changed into some more comfortable clothes and threw the invisibility cloak over himself. Slowly and quietly, Harry made his way to the library. 

  He arrived to find Hermione at one of the tables, diligently working on her homework. He found a corner where he could see the whole room, and sat down, trying to get comfortable while staying invisible. 

  Was it wrong to watch her, without her knowledge, invisible? Probably, but he had a sneaking suspicion, and needed to see if it was true.  Harry sat there for hours, watching as she worked. Slowly, one by one the rest of the students exited the library, until it was just them inside. 

  Finally, hours after curfew, someone entered the library, and Harry couldn't believe who it was. 

--------------------------------

Hello! Sorry for the short chapter, and the long pause in between chapters, it has been a very long, hard semester. I apologize, but I hope you enjoyed!

Until Next Time,

 -JRich