Love Me Tender
by Apolla

Rating: G
Ship: Harry & Hermione
Canon: Books 1 - 4
Genre: Romance
Status: Complete
Length: 901 words in 1 chapter
Published: 18 Jan 2004
Last updated: 18 Jan 2004

It was a horrible day outside. It was one of those grey, dull days that made the British such tired, miserable,
sarcastic creatures. Or was it? One-Shot.

From the Unofficial Portkey Archive: https://portkey-archive.org/story/1598/

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1. Love Me Tender

Love Me Tender

It was a horrible day outside. It was one of those grey, dull days that made the British such tired, miserable,
sarcastic creatures. One of those days when the skies were dark and grey and the rain beat down unrelentingly,
monotonously beating against the windows and trying to lull you to sleep. People outside rush around like headless
chickens to get out of the wet while other people stand in doorways for ages hoping that it would ‘ease off’ all the
while knowing that they’re in for a long wait. Some more kamikaze sorts (those ‘gung-ho’ sorts the British are so proud
of) just barrel out into the rain, walking down the street as if nothing was wrong. In a school playground somewhere a
child is being told off by the dinner ladies for going out in the rain. She is told that ‘she’ll catch her death’. She
replies that she doesn’t mind- when she’s sick her dad does her a tin of spaghetti shapes. Somewhere, a man drives
exactly the same as always, unconcerned that the roads are slippery. Somewhere, a train is halted (delay: twenty
minutes) because British trains aren’t equipped to deal with bad weather. And there are leaves on the line. And
somewhere, a young man is staring at a young woman. The only way he’d notice the weather is if the river nearby broke
its banks and he found himself wading through his kitchen.

Love me tender,
Love me sweet,
Never let me go.
You have made my life complete,
And I love you so.

Harry looked over at Hermione. She was, as usual, engrossed in the printed word. This time it was the newspaper and she
didn’t even stop reading to eat her lunch. Today was her day off and it showed. Instead of the usual smart suit she wore
into work, she was wearing a pair of old jeans and a slightly old Gryffindor Quidditch team t-shirt. Her hair was pulled
back loosely into a ponytail and her lips were curled up as she read something particularly amusing. Her bare feet were
up on the chair beside her and it was all he could to restrain himself from leaning over and tickling them.

Love me tender,
Love me true,
All my dreams fulfilled.
For my darlin' I love you,
And I always will.

It was a horrible day outside. It was one of those grey, dull days that made the British such tired, miserable,
sarcastic creatures. Yet it didn’t seem to affect Hermione in the slightest as she read her newspaper, giggling over the
latest bad-taste stunt from the Beckhams. Harry smiled: he loved that Hermione was determined to keep abreast of news in
both the Muggle and magical worlds. If Hermione had her way, the two would be integrated again in perfect harmony. In
her own mind, they already were.

Harry didn’t have the same luxury. To him, the Dursleys represented the Muggle world. Although he still had some links
with the Muggle world, he wouldn’t call it home. He had only ever felt that he belonged with magical people. Perhaps if
some Muggles were to prove him wrong, he wouldn’t mind. But the fact was, to him the Muggle world was grey and dull and
the magical world was full of colour.

Love me tender,
Love me long,
Take me to your heart.
For it's there that I belong,
And we'll never part.

That said, he’d follow Hermione wherever she went, even if it meant leaving behind magic forever. To him, Hermione was
magic. Hermione was the goddess he worshipped and the girl he loved. Hermione was The Reason. He had fought Voldemort
for many reasons but when it came to the crunch, he did it to keep Hermione safe. He wanted her to live a fear-free life
and so he fought to win. When he did triumph over the Dark Lord, he turned to Hermione to celebrate and recover.

Love me tender,
Love me true,
All my dreams fulfilled.
For my darlin' I love you,
And I always will.

“Hermione?” he asked. Her eyes flickered from the paper to his face briefly.

“Yes?” she replied, turning the page. He took her hand in his and looked into her eyes. He took a deep breath and asked
her what was really on his mind.

“Will you marry me?” he asked with what he hoped was a particularly dashing smile. She said nothing and instead turned
the next page.

Love me tender,
Love me dear,
Tell me you are mine.
I'll be yours through all the years,
Till the end of time.

“Harry, you asked me that yesterday. And the day before. And every day for the last week. Last week I said yes.
Yesterday I said yes.”

“Yes, but will you marry me?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed. He grinned impishly.

“Good. Just checking.”

Love me tender,
Love me true,
All my dreams fulfilled.
For my darlin' I love you,
And I always will.

Hermione smiled. Of course the answer was yes. It was a horrible day outside. It was one of those grey, dull days that
made the British such tired, miserable, sarcastic creatures. But if there was anything that could make her day bright,
it was the sight of Harry Potter sitting opposite her.

The End

All lyrics from ‘Love Me Tender’ by Elvis Presley. (Words and music: Matson/Presley)
