Chapter 8
I am watching her as she talks animatedly to the waiter. I don't remember what I ordered or even getting to the table. I am so entranced by her, that I can think of nothing else. She is beautiful in the red dress I bought her. She looks better than I pictured. She has a kind of glow to her tonight. Her smile seems brighter. Her eyes are sparkling more. Her skin is literally glowing against the red fabric sheath. My God, I can't believe she is here, with me. I have dreamt of this for so long. Now we are sitting in her favorite restaurant at a cozy little corner table, and I have no idea what I am eating.
Whatever it is that I ordered when I blindly pointed to the menu, my eyes never leaving my companion, is actually quite good; a bit tangier than my taste, but not bad. I look up at Hermione and she is smiling at me, again. I don't think I will ever get sick of seeing her smile. I smile back at her and realize that she is talking to me.
"Harry?"
"Yes, love."
"Are you all right?" I nod dumbly and take another bite of whatever this is. "Are you sure?"
I nod again. "Why would you think otherwise?"
She shakes her head causing a few more curls to fall down around her beautiful face. "You just seem like you are in your own little world."
I can tell she is not upset just concerned. How do I tell her that her beauty has me confounded so much that I can barely stand up on my own? I reach across the table for her hand. "I am sorry, Hermione. This is going to sound cliché, but I can't take my eyes off you. You look radiant tonight. You have completely entranced me." I laugh lightly and look down at my plate. "I don't even know what I'm eating."
She squeezes my hand and laughs back. "I'm not sure if you really want to know what you're eating, Harry." There is a look in her eye that is daring me to ask, but yet a glimmer that says she is pulling my leg. I shake my head at her as I take another bite.
"Whatever it is, it's good." There's that smile again. My fingers start to rub over the top of her hand, along her knuckles. She smiles bigger. Am I missing something? Her hands are so soft, I can feel every tiny wrinkle, every goose bump. As I run along finger by finger, I notice that she isn't wearing any jewelry. After a few moments I bring her delicate hand to my lips and kiss it lightly. She is looking at me strangely now. Her eyes keep darting from her hand to my face. Yet again, am I missing something?
Suddenly, its like a blast-ended skrewt exploded in my brain. She isn't wearing any jewelry. I am holding her left hand. She isn't wearing any jewelry. That means her wedding ring… she's not wearing it. I don't say anything. I think the dumbfounded expression on my face says it all.
"When I went home to get my things, Ron had the papers. It's done. I am Ms. Hermione Granger once again." I can't help but smile at her. My heart races so fast I think it's going to burst out of my chest. I didn't understand how this could happen so fast, but why should I argue? The love of my life is free and she is holding my hand. Her wedding-ring free hand is holding mine.
Before I realize I'm talking, I ask what my mind was trying to contemplate a moment ago. "How? It seems a bit fast." Her face falls slightly. Oh no. Remove foot from mouth. "No, I didn't mean it that way. I was just expecting it to take a few months." She lets out a sigh of… relief?
"Harry, divorces for us are immediate. Each party signs, the ministry verifies it through magic and *poof* it's done." I never knew it was so easy. I guess since every wizarding marriage certificate is bound by magic, it knows who is who and your heart can't lie. So, if the feelings are no longer there, and you sign the papers, it's a matter of seconds. In the back of my mind, I wish she would have told me this before. I am even more nervous now than I was. I now know that I can leave right now, take her home and make love to her, and not think twice. My body starts to respond to that idea and I shift uncomfortably in my seat.
The rest of dinner goes by in a hormone-induced blur. I thought I was oblivious to the situation before… that was nothing compared to this. All I can see is Hermione, which isn't a bad thing. But my mind keeps removing the dress and I am faced with a most delectable image. I have to close my eyes and shake my head many times to keep my mind on reality. But reality is… that is exactly what she looks like under that dress.
Finally, we finished our meal and I guided her along the street to a building. This is not a normal building. This is a wizarding establishment that only a few muggles know about. Hermione, obviously has never been here. Her eyes are like saucers as she looks up at the Romanesque ceiling and pillars. The architecture is beautiful, but it is there only to enhance the full experience that is the 'Fantasia Incantado.' I have made a reservation in the ballroom. The whole setting is out of my imagination. I chose the music. I chose the style. I chose everything. The owner owed me a favor and I called it in. I wanted a place where I could dance with Hermione, without reporters, without the loud noise and crowds. I hope she likes it.
She follows me to the lift, which takes us up to the fourth floor. She gasps when the lift doors open and we are in the middle of a beautiful ballroom. It is comparable to something I would only relate to where Mozart or Bach would play. As I guide her in the room, music starts. Moonlight Sonata one of her favorites. I pull her to me and start swaying to the music.
I am reminded of the night all of this started, when I danced with her at my birthday party. She feels so good in my arms. We dance together, just us. There is no one else in the world at that moment and it feels good. Song after song plays. I have chosen a mix of ballads and classical music, all songs that hold some meaning for her, me or the way we feel for each other.
At the far end of the ballroom is a bar, I offer her a drink and pour each of us a glass of champagne. "To us." I offer. She smiles and wraps her arm around mine. My heart skips a beat as we drink from our entwined arms. Another song starts and I take her back into my arms. The first time I had heard this song, I thought of Hermione and I. It says so much that I don't think I would ever be able to express.
If you're not the one then why does my soul feel glad today?
If you're not the one then why does my hand fit yours this way?
If you are not mine then why does your heart return my call?
If you are not mine would I have the strength to stand at all
Hermione is looking at me as she listens to the words of the song. I can see small tears welling up
in her eyes and I lean down to kiss them away. I pull her closer to me and whisper in her hair, "I
love you, Mione."
He soft voice returns my words of love. I can feel her fingers running softly over the back of my
neck and shivers are running up and down my spine. I hold onto her tighter to keep myself
standing upright. I think she is doing the same to me. If we were to let go of each other right now,
I bet anything that we would both fall into boneless heaps on the floor.
I never know what the future brings
But I know you are here with me now
We'll make it through
And I hope you are the one I share my life with
I don't want to run away but I can't take it, I don't understand
If I'm not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am?
Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?
"Harry?" she whispers. I look down into her brown eyes that are now flowing freely with tears.
"Is this how you felt?" I nod silently and then lean down to kiss her lightly. She pulls me tighter
to her and I am lost. I want to hold her forever.
If I don't need you then why am I crying on my bed?
If I don't need you then why does your name resound in my head?
If you're not for me then why does this distance maim my life?
If you're not for me then why do I dream of you as my wife?
I don't know why you're so far away
But I know that this much is true
We'll make it through
And I hope you are the one I share my life with
And I wish that you could be the one I die with
And I pray in you're the one I build my home with
I hope I love you all my life
I don't want to run away but I can't take it, I don't understand
If I'm not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am
Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?
By now I know that I am crying along with her. I can't help it. There were so many nights were I
would lay in my bed an wish that she were with me. I don't want this moment to end. I want her
with me everyday. At that instant, I make a decision that I have been debating since the afternoon.
I will ask her to stay with me - to live with me.
'Cause I miss you, body and soul so strong that it takes my breath away
And I breathe you into my heart and pray for the strength to stand today
'Cause I love you, whether it's wrong or right
And though I can't be with you tonight
And know my heart is by your side
I don't want to run away but I can't take it, I don't understand
If I'm not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am
Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?
Hermione stopped moving and I looked down at her quizzically. "I never knew," she whispered into my chest.
"You couldn't know. But now you do. That song became like a mantra for me. It kept me going. Now, I finally have you in my arms and I'm not going to let you go." I pull a handkerchief out of my pocket and gently wipe her tears away. "Hermione, will you move into Grimmauld Place, with me?"
She looks up at me and smiles, but there is hesitation in her eyes. I stop her before she can say no. "I will clean up more rooms for Arthur and Candace. I want you there with me. Please?"
"Harry, thank you, but I don't want to put you out. You have done so much for me, do you really want a ready-made family living in your house?"
I pull her to sit at a table next to me, holding her hand. "Hermione, it's no trouble. It took me less than a day to fix up your room, I can do the same for the kids. Please?"
Her mind is working. I can see it in her eyes. "Harry, I was only gone for a little bit today, how did you get my room done so fast?"
I squeeze her hand and look at the ground. "I did it almost five years ago."
She stopped suddenly and looked at me incredulously, "Why did you sleep on the couch then, if I had my own room?"
I feel so ashamed. I can't lie to her. God, she's going to hate me. "I liked laying on my bed the next day and smelling you on my pillow. It was the closest I could get to having you sleep next to me."
I'm waiting for it. I'm waiting for the slap or at least the clicking of her shoes as she walks out the door, but instead I feel a soft hand cradle my cheek and urge me to look at her. She didn't have to say anything; I knew what she was thinking. Or at least I had it narrowed down. She was either thinking that I was the biggest prat in the world or the biggest sap.
I couldn't figure out with one was right, because suddenly my lips were crushed against hers in a passionate kiss. I couldn't breathe. I didn't want to breathe. Breathing was highly overrated.
Hermione pulled back and buried her face in my neck. Her soft voice then whispered, "Take me home, Harry."
TBC