Harry, Hermoine, & The Gremlin

“Harry, I think we’re in a spot of trouble,” said Hermoine Granger, trying not to squeak.

They sat together, under his invisibility cloak, waiting for the danger to pass. A beady green little gremlin paced in front of the wooden door that guarded the staircase, which led to the tallest turret of Hogwarts Castle. They were told their friend, Ron Weasley, was in the turret, lured there by Draco Malfoy.

Malfoy couldn’t stand Harry. He was always harassing Potter, instigating him, and trying to get Harry in trouble. Harry couldn’t stand Malfoy either for that matter. Aside from the fact Malfoy’s arrogance was intolerable, he also treated Hermoine poorly for being born of Muggle parents.

“We can get past this gremlin, Hermoine…”

“But they deflect charms and spells so easily,” Hermoine protested in a whisper.

“We’ll just have to do it the old fashioned way,” said Harry, before pausing.

“The old fashioned way?” Hermoine asked, raising a chestnut colored eyebrow in curiosity.

“We’ll cause a distraction.”

“Um…” said Hermoine doubtfully. “I am not a thrill seeker like you, Harry.”

“No, you’re only the most talented witch in our class,” said Harry with a smile.

She shyly curved her lips at that, and turned her head just the slightest bit away from Harry’s as if lost in thought.

Harry went to say something, but then closed his barely parted lips. His life, up until now, hadn’t been easy. The Dursleys were intolerable, but they were his mother’s family and they gave him protection against Voldemort.

Harry grimaced at the thought of his mortal enemy. An enemy he expected to face soon. His only bright spots were Ron and Hermoine, true friends since his first year at Hogwarts.

Only sometimes now the lines were blurred when it came to their friendship. He adored Ron, his best friend who stood by him through thick and thin, and he admired Hermoine for her intelligence, honesty, and even courage. All though she might not want to admit it, courage was very becoming on a girl.

A girl. Harry bit his lip thinking of Hermoine as a girl. She was average height for the girls in his class, but Harry noticed it was the perfect height for him. Her bushy ginger curls could be very unsightly if she didn’t have enough time in the morning to tame them, but Harry thought that made her look cute.

He’d never quite noticed her facial features before – he just thought she was a girl. Only now, sitting so close to her and smelling her rosy perfume, made Harry believe she was special. He was impressed not only with her cute appearance, but her smarts, recalling the occasion they went back in time to save Sirius.

Suddenly, he looked away from her, his heart beating fiercely in his chest. He was almost embarrassed to admire Hermoine like he did.

And what would she think if I sat a little closer to her? If I reached for her hand? Would she laugh if I tried to kiss her?

Sixteen-year-old Harry, full a teenager’s doubts and worries, turned away. He took a deep breath, trying to hide the blush in his cheeks.

Was it like this for my father, too? When he realized he was interested in my mother?

“Harry,” Hermoine’s voice cut through his distracting thoughts, “What are you thinking about?”

“Um…nothing,” he mumbled, avoiding her.

“Do you have a plan? A distraction?”

“A distraction, right. Well, I was thinking we could throw a rock in the opposite direction, make him go check out the sound near the stairs we came up from, and then we could go running for the turret door.”

“Sounds risky.”

“Haven’t you ever taken a risk before?” he asked huskily.

She firmly met his gaze. “I prefer the odds to be in my favor, Harry.”

“Take a risk, Hermoine,” he said, reaching for her hand. The minute he squeezed it, he felt a jolt of electricity ride up his arm. Hermoine looked up, as if she’d felt the same pulse of thrilling…pleasure? What else could he call it?

“Well, if you can take on a troll and win, what’s a gremlin, right?” she said teasingly.

A broad smile crossed Harry’s face.

******

Hermoine felt locked into his smoldering hazel eyes. She never quite understood what made Harry almost god-like in their classmate’s opinion. She didn’t begin to learn about her magical talents until she went to Hogwarts. All she knew when she arrived was that Harry was special – he was the boy who lived.

Yes, Harry was just a boy with floppy bangs, an awkward scar on his forehead, and haunting dark eyes which she always thought was his best quality. But this year, their sixth year at Hogwarts, Harry had really filled out. His whole body grew hard and muscular, his smiled tipped at the corners of his mouth like never before, and she found herself admiring him for the things he was – fearlessly brave, smart, and loyal.

What would he think if I complemented like that? If I looked up at into his eyes with more than just friendship? If I touched his arm?

“This bugger’s a piece of cake, just you watch, Hermoine,” said Harry.


******

He turned around under the cloak and found a free piece of loose stone. Getting on his hands and knees, he peeked out under the bottom of the cloak. The gremlin kept pacing, hands behind his back. With a determined throw, the rock skimmed the floor, hitting the wall hard next to the stairs from which they’d came.

The gremlin went running to the descending landing while Harry and Hermoine bolted for the door. Just as Harry twisted the knob, the gremlin turned around.

“See you, I do!”

Hermoine rolled her eyes and looked at Harry. “Busted.”

“Think we can charm him?” asked Harry quickly.

“Nope.”

The gremlin ran into Harry full force, knocking him down. Hermoine dug into the pockets of her pants. The nasty green little bugger began pummeling Harry who barely got his hands up in time to block the blows.

Hermoine tried to worked quickly. Petificus Totalus would have been a perfect command to use against the gremlin, but they usually had enough magical protection on them to fend off charms and spells. She pulled out a little vial from her pockets and then pulled off her backpack from her shoulders.

“Hermoine! Help!”

She glanced at Harry who was struggling with the gremlin. Green slime dripped out his nose onto Harry’s poor chin.

“Ewewew…” she muttered, turning her head to focus on her task. She put in a little black currant into the vial along with some stone from the floor. With a flick of the wrist, she shook the vial and was ready to give it to the gremlin.

“Harry, pin him to the ground!” Hermoine instructed.

“Easy for you to say!” Harry protested.

She stood there, arms crossed, just watching him. “I’ve got a potion…”

“A potion? Should ‘ave told me that before…” he quipped.

Harry did his best to overpower the gremlin. He wedged his foot between him and gremlin and pushed the little green slimly thing off him. Then he tackled the gremlin, ramming him into the wall. The gremlin hit his head and slid down the side, his eyes glazed over just a little. Hermoine ran up to the gremlin, shoved the vial into his mouth and down her potion went. Within seconds the little bugger was petrified.

“Good job,” said Harry, his hands on his knees as he looked up at Hermoine.

“Thanks,” said Hermoine, feeling a slight blush to her cheek. “Hang on, Harry.”

Harry nodded his head as he watched her every move. Hermoine lunged into her backpack and pulled out a tissue, wiping the slime off his chin.

“Hermoine…”

Their eyes locked. Harry softly brushed back a stray tendril of curly hair that fell onto her cheek.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“You’re welcome.” Her voice trembled. Why couldn’t she pull herself away from Harry’s mesmerizing eyes.

“Can I…” he whispered.

“What?” Hermoine asked.

He leaned in, cocking his head to the side and his lips brushed against hers in the faintest manner. Hermoine pulled back a little, unsure and hesitant. Was this a step she was willing to take? How would kissing him change their dynamic? What about Ron? Despite herself and her normally level head, she leaned back into him, her lips trembling as they brushed up against his. She could almost sense his smile.

“HELP!”

Ron’s voice broke the spell between them. Hermoine fell back on her knees and Harry hung his head.

“Ron!” said Hermoine, her eyes darting toward the stairs.

Harry nodded his head, trying not to frown. A part of him wanted to kiss Hermoine pretty badly in that moment. Instead, he lunged for the door, flung it open and briskly walked up the stairs, Hermoine quick in pursuit.

The stairs were a bit tiring, but when they got to the top, there was Ron, his hands and feet tied to a chair and he looked tired.

“I thought I heard some commotion down there,” said Ron with a smile.

Harry went to untie Ron’s hands and Hermoine untied his feet. Both of them were nervous, more so then usual from their near kiss.

“Harry took on a gremlin,” said Hermoine, looking up. She tried to fight it, but her eyes gravitated towards Harry.

“But it was Hermoine who petrified him,” added Harry, his voice full of pride.

“And I missed all the fun!” Ron pouted.

“I wasn’t that much fun!” Both Harry and Hermoine protested in unison.

“Harry, you and Ron have got to get going – the Quidditch game between Gryffindor and Slytherin is going to start in ten minutes!” Hermoine said, noticing her watch.

“Obviously Draco thought that gremlin would keep us occupied for longer than it did,” Harry said.

Ron, now free from his restraints, smiled. “Let’s go, Harry!”

He went charging down the stairs, Harry in pursuit, Hermoine right behind them. She tried to banish the image of Harry’s lips, his spicy scent, his quirky smile, but couldn’t. She found herself longing for a real kiss from him, despite herself.

As Harry followed Ron down the stairs, he couldn’t get rid of Hermoine in his thoughts that easily. It seemed almost natural, so close to her, his lips near hers, but he didn’t know if he could go there again. He had no intention of ruining his friendship with her.

Ron and he made it to the Quidditch pit with just seconds spare and as the game got underway, Harry found Hermoine’s smile from the stands, encouraging him to do his best. What the heck was he going to do about his new feelings regarding Hermoine? He almost missed a seeker ball as it whizzed past him. Draco, furious, tried to knock Harry off his broom but when Harry came up with the ball and Gryffindor won, Draco could do nothing but fume.

Harry held up the ball, his teammates came to congratulate him, but when he saw Hermoine looking down at him from the stands, smiling, he knew he couldn’t ignore those pestering feelings deep inside him. He’d have to talk to Hermoine soon and that thought scared him senseless.