A Veela's Blessing CH.4

Harry let out a sigh of relief as the Herbology lesson finally came to an end. Professor Sprout wrapped up her lecture with a cheerful smile and started wandering around the greenhouse, handing each student their graded essay from the previous lesson. From the back of the class, Harry couldn't help but notice Hermione, who was sitting two desks ahead of him with Neville. She had this big grin on her face when she got her essay from the professor. Right away, she turned to her partner, and they began chatting excitedly while comparing their grades. At that moment, Harry couldn't Harry found it hard not to feel a twinge of jealousy toward the small blonde boy. He watched as Hermione gave Neville a congratulatory pat on the back when she saw his marks – a stark contrast to her near avoidance of Harry for the past week.

Luckily, before Harry could feel too sorry for himself, he was yanked out of his thoughts as Ron gently touched his shoulder.

"You okay, mate?" The redhead asked him, his brow furrowing with concern.

Harry shook his head and quickly looked away from Hermione and Neville. "Yeah, it's nothing," he said to Ron in response, forcing a small smile onto his face.

Ron, however, wasn't fooled by Harry's reassurance. After living together in the same dorm for four years, he knew when something was upsetting his best friend. So, he glanced toward where Harry had been looking and his lips thinned when he saw Hermione walking out of the greenhouse with Neville trailing behind her.

Harry almost jumped in surprise as Ron suddenly turned to look at him with an intense expression on his face. "Alright, I didn't want to say anything until now, but this is getting stupid, Harry," he started in an annoyed voice. "I don't know what you did to make Hermione angry, but you need to apologize to her before I have to knock some sense into your head."

After he finished his angry rant, Ron's ears started getting red, and he quickly looked away, avoiding Harry's eyes. Meanwhile, Harry could only stare at Ron in shock. It wasn't until the school bell rang that he snapped back to reality.

In a hurry, Harry shoved his Herbology textbook into his school bag and followed his friend out of the classroom. The two of them walked across the school grounds without saying anything until Ron finally turned to him, looking kind of sheepish.

"Look, mate," the boy started, his voice much softer now, "I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have gone off on you like that. But it's just that you and Hermione are driving me crazy. Both of you won't tell me why she's mad at you, and I'm about to pull my hair out trying to figure it out."

Harry could get why Ron was frustrated, but there was no way he was going to tell him about why Hermione wasn't talking to him. Ever since the Yule Ball, Harry had figured out that Ron had a major crush on Hermione even if he won't admit it to himself. So, if somehow, Ron found out what really went down between her and Harry, he'd be absolutely crushed.

"I'm sorry, Ron. I know you're frustrated. But I can't tell you what happened without Hermione's okay. It's just too complicated," Harry finally told Ron, hoping he would drop the subject.

In reply, Ron's jaw clenched in annoyance at Harry's answer. "Alright, fine. Don't tell me," he huffed, throwing his hands up in the air, clearly frustrated. "But just apologize to her, okay? Do whatever it takes so she won't be mad at you anymore."

Harry met Ron's gaze and decided his friend was right.

"Okay, Ron. You're right. I'll talk to her. We'll sort things out."

Ron gave Harry an encouraging smile at his words and clapped him on the back. "That's the spirit, mate! Now, go on, and catch her before she disappears to the library or somewhere else."

In response, Harry offered Ron a large grin before breaking into a run. He dashed across the castle grounds and soon caught up with Hermione, who was just about to enter the castle with Neville.

"Hermione, wait up! I need to talk to you," he called out to her loudly, causing her to stop in her tracks.

Hermione had been chatting animatedly with Neville about their new Herbology assignment when she heard Harry calling from behind. She hesitated for a moment, then slowly turned around to face him. By her side, Neville looked like he wanted to bail, but she gestured for him to stay right there. The blonde boy nervously glanced between her and Harry before reluctantly deciding to stick around.

As Harry approached Hermione, he couldn't help but scowl a little when he noticed Neville hadn't left them alone. He shot the smaller boy an irritated glare and felt a small amount of satisfaction when he heard him squeak in fright. However, Harry quickly shifted his attention away from his dormmate and focused on Hermione instead. To his surprise, there was a dusting of pink on her cheeks, and she kept shooting him quick, secretive glances.

For a moment, Harry breathed a sigh of relief, realizing Hermione wasn't actually mad at him. Her body language made that pretty clear to him. In fact, it seemed more like she was slightly flustered being around him, if Harry had to guess.

With this new insight, Harry felt much more comfortable with the present situation. He grinned at Hermione and ran a hand through his messy black hair.

"Hermione, I was wondering, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked her in a soft voice.

Hermione's mind went blank for a moment as she was hit by Harry's brilliant smile. But she quickly snapped out of it and replied nervously, "I don't think I have the time right now, Harry. In fact, I'm running late for my next class," she said, shaking her head.

Harry couldn't help but be a little disappointed as Hermione denied his request. Still, he wasn't going to give up so easily. "Please, it'll be just a second, Hermione. I promise I won't take too much of your time," he insisted once again.

Hermione began to look a little desperate at Harry's words. She shot a nervous glance at Neville before shaking her head at Harry. "I'm sorry, Harry. But I really don't have time to talk right now. I need to go, or I'll be late for Arithmancy." She then quickly turned around and hurried deeper into the castle.

"Oh, alright then. See you later," Harry muttered, feeling disappointed as Hermione left him behind and vanished into the castle. He then turned his attention to Neville, who was still standing there, looking awkward.

When Neville caught Harry staring at him, he gave him a nervous smile and said softly, "Hey, Harry."

Harry returned the gesture with a small nod. "Hey, Neville. How's it going?" he asked the boy, before starting off towards the Great Hall for lunch.

"I'm good," Neville replied as he began to follow Harry. The two of them headed to the Gryffindor table before the smaller boy blurted out all of a sudden, "Are you and Hermione fighting?"

For a moment, Neville looked terrified as he realized he was being nosy about Harry's personal life, but then he eased up as Harry answered him with a chuckle, "Nah, nothing like that, mate. It's something else."

"Ah, got it," Neville said, satisfied with that answer. He then reached over and grabbed a couple of sandwiches from a nearby plate.

Harry followed his dormmate's lead and began loading up his own plate with lunch, filling it with a variety of delicious dishes from the assortment laid out on the Gryffindor table. He started with a generous portion of mashed potatoes, their buttery aroma wafting up as he piled them high. Next, he scooped up some savoury gravy and poured it over the fluffy potatoes. Lastly, he picked up a couple of dinner rolls from the breadbasket to soak up the delicious gravy and mop up any remaining bits of his meal. He also couldn't resist adding a spoonful of peas and carrots to his plate, their vibrant colours contrasting beautifully with the rich gravy.

Moving on to the main course, Harry helped himself to a hearty slice of roast beef, its tender meat practically falling apart on his plate. The meat was perfectly seasoned, and he couldn't wait to dig in. Alongside the beef, he placed a golden-brown Yorkshire pudding, its crispy edges calling to him.

By the time Harry finished loading up his plate, more than a few students at the Gryffindor table were giving him funny looks, wondering how he was going to eat so much food in one sitting. Harry, however, didn't pay them any attention as he eagerly dug into his meal.

Harry moaned and closed his eyes in pleasure as he took a bite of the roast beef. The meat was so tender and juicy, bursting with flavour with each chew. It practically melted in his mouth, sending waves of satisfaction through his taste buds. Just then, Ron entered the Great Hall too. Spotting Harry at the Gryffindor table, he quickly slid in between him and Neville.

Right away, Ron opened his mouth to ask Harry a question but paused when he noticed the crazy amount of food on his best friend's plate. Even after almost a week of seeing the same thing, the red-haired boy still couldn't believe his eyes. In all the time he'd known Harry, Ron had always thought that he was a picky eater. However, at that moment, Harry was practically inhaling his food, just as he had been doing for the past week.

Finally, Ron couldn't take it anymore. He hadn't said anything until now because he didn't want to embarrass Harry about his growing appetite, but this was just getting ridiculous.

"Harry, you okay, mate?" he asked in a low voice.

In response, Harry didn't stop eating to answer Ron's question. He just flashed the other boy a quick thumbs-up and picked up a couple of chicken drumsticks from a nearby platter.

Ron's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he watched Harry load up his plate with a second serving of everything. He quickly placed a hand on top of Harry's, stopping him in his tracks before he could resume eating.

"Don't you think you've had enough, mate? You're gonna get sick if you eat any more," he told Harry, a nervous laugh betraying the worry in his eyes.

Harry, however, just shook his head and let out a soft chuckle. "I think I'll be fine, Ron. This is nowhere near as much as you eat."

Ron's ears turned red at Harry's words, and he sputtered, "Harry, you're eating more in one sitting than I eat in a whole day. Plus, you've grown almost six inches in the last week. You're almost taller than me, mate. That's not all normal."

Harry blinked in surprise upon hearing Ron's words. He looked down at himself and, for the first time, noticed how his body had grown taller, with his thin limbs filling out and becoming muscular. "Wow! How the hell didn't I notice this?" he muttered to himself in wonder. However, soon, his mouth curled up in a small smile. "I guess, I'm finally hitting puberty, huh?" he told Ron with twinkling eyes.

Ron grumbled as Harry dismissed his worry like nothing. In the end, he shook his head and decided to let it go. Clearly, there wasn't anything wrong with Harry, and he was worrying far too much over nothing. Deciding to change the topic, Ron remembered what he wanted to ask his best friend before he got distracted.

"So, did you do it? Did you talk to Hermione?" he asked Harry with curiosity.

Harry shook his head in response. "No, she didn't want to talk to me."

Ron thumped his fist on the table, muttering, "Damn it. What happened?"

Harry then told Ron about his quick chat with Hermione, which only made the redhead even more frustrated with their mutual friend. "Seriously, what's up with her? Why is she acting so weird?"

Lavender, who was sitting a few seats down the table with Parvati, overheard Ron's outburst and leaned over. "Hey, are you guys talking about Hermione? Is it true about what happened between her and Victor Krum?"

Harry and Ron exchanged a quick look at Lavender's words before both turned to the girl together. "What did you hear, Lavender? Come on, tell us," Harry urged her.

Lavender's face turned a little pink as she met Harry's eyes. The blonde couldn't help but notice the way Harry's robes clung tightly to his body, not to mention all the muscle definition she could make out underneath his clothes. However, before she could embarrass herself by drooling or something far worse, she quickly got herself under control as she realized she had a new audience interested in her latest gossip. She motioned for both Harry and Ron to come a bit closer and lowered her voice a bit, trying to sound more intriguing. "So, guess what I just heard from my friend in Ravenclaw? She told me she saw Hermione having this huge fight with Krum last night," she began, "From what she could gather, he wanted to take her out on a date to Hogsmeade next week, but she turned him down flat and then broke up with him."

Harry and Ron looked at each other in shock upon hearing this new development. Meanwhile, Lavender felt smug that she had managed to surprise the two boys with her words. She then gave them a playful smile and asked in a slightly curious tone, "So, do you guys have any idea why she did that? Oooh, don't tell me it's because she is seeing someone else."

Suddenly, Ron's face turned the same shade as his bright hair as he grasped what Lavender was hinting at regarding his crush. "Hey! Hermione isn't like that kind of girl. So, don't go around spreading nonsense about her," he warned the blonde girl.

While Ron took it upon himself to stick up for Hermione's reputation, Harry was lost in his own thoughts. For a moment, he wondered why she had suddenly decided to break things off with Krum, but then he remembered her reaction from earlier, and his lips quirked up in a small smile. By now, Harry was quite confident that Hermione wasn't upset about what had happened between them last week. In fact, it seemed like she was sorting out her feelings and dealing with any potential issues that could crop up between them in the future.

When Harry finally snapped back to reality, he saw Lavender looking disappointed as she turned away from them. Meanwhile, Ron leaned in and asked him in a low voice, "So, what do you think's going on?"

Harry just shrugged in response to his question. "I have no idea, mate."

Ron nodded, accepting Harry's lack of insight. "Yeah, same here." He then propped his chin on his palm while thinking deeply. "I wish Bill was here. He knows all about how girls' minds work."

Harry's eyes lit up as he realized Ron's idea had some real merit. Clearly, he needed someone older and more experienced to help him understand the meaning behind Hermione's actions so far. Instantly, Harry's mind flashed to his godfather Sirius, and his lips curled up into a huge smile.

"That's a brilliant idea, dude," Harry praised his best friend.

"What? How's that brilliant, Harry?" Ron asked, clearly taken aback.

Harry, however, was too excited to explain his plan to Ron at the moment. "Don't worry about it, mate. I'll see you later," he told the redhead as he clapped him on the back and stood up from the Gryffindor table.

With a small wave over his shoulder at his confused-looking friend, Harry began to hurry out of the Great Hall and headed straight toward the owlery. He quickly climbed the steps to the top of the West tower and entered the circular stone room. As he stepped foot inside the rather chilly room, a white blur flew down from the rafters and landed on his left shoulder.

Harry couldn't help but smile as his favorite girl Hedwig began to nibble his ear affectionately. "I know, I know. I missed you too, girl," he told the beautiful owl, caressing his fingers on the top of her soft head.

For the next few minutes, Harry showered his pet owl with love until she looked satisfied with him. He then made his way towards an empty desk at the left-side corner of the room and took a seat. Withdrawing a parchment and quill from his school bag, he began to write a letter to his godfather Sirius.

Dear Padfoot,

I hope you're well wherever you're hiding right now. I know it's only been a few weeks since we last spoke to each other but I really need your advice.

A week ago, something happened between Hermione and I. The two of us were alone in the boys' dormitory when we suddenly started kissing and stuff. Ever since then, Hermione has been avoiding me at every single opportunity. I have tried so many times to talk to her but she never gives me the chance to talk to her.

Until an hour ago, I thought she was angry with me because of what happened between us but just now I found out that she had broken up with her boyfriend Victor Krum last night.

What do you think that means, Padfoot? Did she break up with Krum because she wants to start a relationship with me or am I completely wrong?

Please, Padfoot. I really need your help. So, send me a letter back as soon as you can.

Your favourite godson,

Harry.

As he finished writing the letter, Harry put it in an empty envelope and presented it to Hedwig.

"I need you to deliver this letter to Sirius, luv. Do you think you can find him?" he asked her in a soft voice.

The snowy owl hooted in response to Harry's question and extended a leg toward him.

In response, Harry smiled and tied the letter to her leg. He then watched as she launched herself off his shoulder and flew out one of the windows into the open sky.

Once Hedwig had completely disappeared from view, Harry decided to head to the common room and began making his way down the spiral staircase. He was halfway down the way when he turned a corner and stumbled into Cho. The smaller girl let out a small yelp in surprise as she lost her balance on the narrow stairs and began to fall back.

Luckily, Harry managed to act quickly without thinking and he grabbed Cho's shoulders before she could fall down the stairs.

"Merlin's beard! I'm so sorry, Cho. Are you alright?" Harry apologized to the Ravenclaw seeker as he looked her up and down, trying to find any hint of injuries.

Cho could feel her heart pounding furiously inside her chest as she realized just how close she was to a serious injury. She looked up at Harry's face and a dazed expression appeared on her face as she noticed the changes he had grown through recently.

Harry felt a twinge of worry as a stupid smile appeared on Cho's heart-shaped face. He gently shook her shoulders and asked again, "Are you alright, Cho? Do you need to go to the hospital wing?"

In response, Cho shook her head to clear her thoughts and gave him a grateful smile.

"N-no, I'm fine, Harry. You saved me," she reassured the boy with a gentle smile.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief at Cho's answer and removed his hands from her shoulder.

"So, what are you doing here?" he asked her curiously.

Cho couldn't understand why, but she suddenly felt nervous very around Harry. Just last year, she had gone toe-to-toe with him on the Quidditch pitch, but that was before he had gone and become a damn heartthrob. Finally, she ran a hand through her dark hair to centre herself and gave Harry a small smile, holding up a small envelope in response. "I was going up to the owlery to deliver a letter to my mum," she answered him politely.

Harry rubbed a hand on the back of his head as he realized just how stupid his question was. "Oh, right, of course. What else would you be doing here?" he said to her sheepishly.

Cho couldn't help it and she began to giggle at his words.

Meanwhile, Harry couldn't help but feel pleased with himself for making her laugh. All of a sudden, he remembered how he used to have a crush on her last year. For a moment, he once again cursed himself for missing out on the chance to ask her out to the Yule Ball. That thought made him realize that she was now dating his fellow Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory."

"So, how are things between you and Cedric? Are you guys still going out together?" Harry asked Cho curiously.

Surprisingly, Cho's lips tightened at Harry's question. "We're actually taking a break right now. Cedric thinks he needs to focus on the third task, and he doesn't want any distractions."

Harry gently placed a hand on Cho's shoulder. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Cho," he said to her softly, while secretly dancing on the inside.

Cho offered him a faint smile, appreciating his attempt to console her. "Thanks, Harry. I can't say I'm not sad, but it is what it is."

In return, Harry racked his brain for something to cheer her up. He looked down at her with a playful grin and said, "Well, if you ask me, Cedric's being an idiot. Anyone would be lucky to have you."

Cho let out a giggle at his words. "Thanks for that, Harry. I needed that," she told him in a much more cheerful voice.

Harry smiled back at her. "Anytime, Cho."

Finally, Cho gave him another nod and with a shy, little wave, she said 'goodbye' and headed up the stairs towards the Owlery.