Harry returned to the hotel two hours later, after having dinner with Hermione and escorting her back to the train. Selma knocked on his door a few minutes later.
"What is that girl for you?" she asked as soon as she came in.
"She's my friend. Is there any problem with it?"
"Are you…?" she asked, not quite sure how to phrase it, but disregarding his question.
Harry felt his face heat. "She's just eleven, as I am. We're too young for more than friendship." It wasn't exactly an answer, he knew, but he didn't need to say more.
"She looks older, as you do. I'm sure she's going to eventually ask for more." Selma sighed as if foreseeing the inevitable. "You're very close, aren't you?"
"Yes, we are," he admitted.
She sighed again, sat on his bed and patted the place at her side. Harry sat down as well. "Harry, I'm sure you've already noticed I have a crush on you. I never had much interest in boys before I met you, not even in my boyfriend, to be honest, but I can only think of you since we met. I would have been glad to marry you and live my whole life at your side. That's what I feel now, at least. I reckon you don't feel the same about me."
"I consider you a friend. I like you as a person. I don't think we can have any future together, though. You know that I'm going to join a kind of different world. I'm sure your mother has told you a bit about it. I'm also somewhat too young for you. You'd do better with your boyfriend, and if he's not good enough for you, I'm sure you will find someone more suitable, but please don't hurry, and make sure that the boy you choose appreciates you."
Selma smiled sadly. "I should have known. It will all be over on the first day of school, won't it?"
"I'll probably come to see how you're doing, when not at school. You're still my friend."
She lifted her head, looking determined. "Well, we can still spend some time together."
Once again, they spent almost an hour together, with Selma doing most of the talking.
When she left, he checked the bed. After sitting on it for most of an hour it looked crumpled. He wanted the bed to be clean and fresh when Hermione came.
This reminded him of Elf magic. It was all about making things happen by applying one's magic directly, with no wands or incantations. In a way, it was much simpler than wizards' magic and much more powerful. He concentrated on how he wanted the bed to be. A moment later, the bedsheets were as taut as if freshly made and cleaner than ever. He felt that the bed was now ready for Hermione.
As was his custom since coming to this hotel, he stayed in his boxers only, not bothering with sleepwear. Two minutes after ten, Hermione materialized on his bed, wearing her silky nightgown.
"I missed you," she said, jumping at him and engulfing him in a tight hug.
This time, it was Harry who initiated the kiss, enjoying the feeling of her lips against his, of feeling like they were merging. Hermione responded with unrestrained passion, deepening the kiss and making it much hotter. They still refrained from taking it any further, feeling not ready for that.
"What is the name of this way of magically moving that we used?" Harry asked. "It's certainly not apparition, but what is it called?"
Hermione gave it a thought. "I don't think I've read anything referring to it. We may call it any name we want. How about 'fading'? If done slowly, it really feels like we fade out of one place and fade in at the other, like transitions in films or TV."
Harry smiled. "Then fading it is."
They kissed some more and then she cuddled into him and they both fell asleep.
13 August 1991, Tuesday
They woke up as the room lightened. Hermione stretched in bed. "What time is it?"
Harry turned his head to the bedside clock. "It's a few minutes after six."
Hermione seemed alarmed. "I need to return home. My parents wake at six thirty and I need to join them for breakfast before seven."
She moved swiftly out of bed and went to the bathroom.
Harry sat on the edge of the bed, trying to imagine what would happen to them at school.
"Why so solemn?" he heard her voice.
As he turned around, he saw her in a nightgown, with the bathroom light making her hair shine like a halo around her head. He found her irresistibly beautiful. He smiled at her, feeling his heart overflow with love; at least he thought that was love. "I was thinking about how we could continue like this at school."
Hermione glanced at the clock. It was already six thirty-two. "We'll think about it later," she said.
She quickly covered herself with the dressing robe.
"I'll meet you at the train station as usual," she kissed him lightly on his lips and disappeared.
Harry showered and then got dressed for the day.
He then checked the bedsheets. They were more crumpled than when he slept alone, but not by much. He left the sheets as they were. It would be suspicious if the sheets seemed too neat.
He then opened the window, for Hedwig to be able to come, and left for breakfast.
"I thought you'd sleep in today," Selma welcomed him in the dining room.
"Why did you think so?"
She smiled, not quite happily. "I could hear you were talking to some other girl. My family lives in the apartment at the end of that corridor, you should know. Who was she? I noticed nobody coming in after I left you alone."
He didn't feel like lying to her. She was a friend, even if not a very close one. She deserved to know the truth. "Hermione came to stay with me for the night. She used magic to come directly into my room. It was completely innocent, I assure you."
"But you still like her much more," she stated.
"It's not that… I feel like we're some kind of soul mates, as if we're destined for each other."
She sighed. "And where does that put me?"
Harry gave it a thought. "It doesn't really change much for you. We both knew that our friendship would not stay the same when I move out of here, and I can still spend some time with you until then, except during the weekend."
"And Hermione approves?"
"She's not bothered about it, knowing that it will not last. I wouldn't cheat on her, you know."
"But you had no problem cheating on me."
Harry knew that she was a bit hurt, but there was nothing he could say to correct that. "You and I don't have that same kind of relationship. You're my friend, though." He already knew she felt some more, but as it wasn't mutual, he didn't have to mention it.
She looked a bit sad. "I hoped it would turn to more than that, but… Well, I intend to enjoy whatever I get for as long as it lasts."
Harry had to spend some time with her. Luckily, she also had her chores, so it was relatively short.