Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. The big confrontation will happen next chapter ( I promise). I'm getting some help with that (action scenes are not my forte so to speak). Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. This chapter contains the song "Crazy Love"…the version I'm using is the one by Brian McKnight. There is also a great version done by Van Morrison.
Chapter Fourteen
Crazy Love
The evening went by in a blur. It had been a busy night at Billie's. The first college basketball game of the season had brought a crowd of happy fans and students in after the end of the game. The joint was, as Billie kept happily telling her employees, was definitely jumping. Harry kept busy filling and refilling glasses and mugs. He kept one eye on the customers and one on Hermione.
Hermione. He was finally able to call her by her rightful name. It was like music to his ears. He finally had her back. Sure, she hadn't regained all of her memories, and truth be told, might never reclaim all of them. The important thing was that she believed him and believed in what they had. As Sirius had reminded him earlier, the past is important, but you can't get all caught up in it. You have to concentrate on what you had now and making that last. He never fully appreciated the honesty and truth to those words until tonight when he watched her. It was in the way she'd catch his eye across the restaurant and smile sweetly at him. It was in the way her eyes lit up when she looked at him. It was all that and more.
The only thing that put a damper on any of it was the inevitable confrontation with Simon Maxwell tomorrow afternoon. He honestly had no idea how he'd be able to stay in control. As far as Harry was concerned, there was nothing that man could say that could excuse or explain what he had done. What could he possibly say to justify his actions? He was a jumble of emotions the more he thought about it. He hated the fact that Hermione was going to have to confront this man, who was a fake and a fraud. The man that she had trusted and cared about was nothing more than a cold-hearted phony. He hated subjecting her to that kind of pain, but he knew that this was something she had to do. It was the only way that they could move forward. It still didn't make it any easier.
"Harry?" Chloe's voice said. He blinked and focused on her. She was standing in front of the bar, her hands on her hips.
"Sorry, Chloe," he said. "What's going on?"
"I've been trying to get you to get me two Long Island Ice Teas for 10 minutes," she said, laughing. "You were all spaced out on me."
"Sorry," he said, quickly grabbing the bottles from under the bar and grabbing two glasses. He expertly filled the two glasses full and placed them on Chloe's tray. "She just shook her head and laughed as she walked away from the bar.
"Hey, buddy?" a customer asked him. "Can I get a butterbeer?"
Harry did a double take and too his delight and surprise, saw Ron and Sirius, staring back at him.
"What are you lot doing here?" Harry asked them, having to raise his voice, as the bar was extremely loud at the moment.
"WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE DOING OKAY," Ron yelled over the din of the crowd. "MAN! THIS PLACE IS PACKED!"
Sirius flinched as Ron screamed directly in his ear.
Harry stifled a laugh at the look on Sirius' face.
"CAN WE TALK SOMEWHERE LESS NOISIER?" Sirius asked Harry, deliberately yelling the question in Ron's ear.
Harry motioned to Tim, his fellow bartender. He walked over and told Tim he was taking a quick break and asked if he could cover for him. Tim nodded and Harry waved his hands, gesturing for Sirius and Ron to come behind the bar. They followed him into the kitchen.
Billie looked up from the grill when she saw Harry walk into the kitchen, followed by two strangers. Her eyes lit up when she caught sight of Sirius.
"Well, well, well," she said, smiling at Sirius. "And who might you be?"
Sirius chuckled and extended his hand. "I might be Sirius Black."
"And I might be available," Billie said, shaking his hand and winking at him.
Sirius returned her smile.
"Billie Murphy," Harry said, gesturing at her. "This is my godfather, Sirius Black. And this is Ron Weasley, my best friend."
Billie reluctantly let go of Sirius' hand and extended hers toward Ron. Ron shook it good-naturedly and gawked at the obvious flirtatious behavior Billie was shooting in Sirius' direction.
"Any godfather of Harry's," Billie said in her best southern drawl, "is a good friend of mine."
Ron shot Harry a look of utter astonishment and Harry tried not to laugh.
"I was wondering if we could have a moment in the back," Harry said. "We need to talk."
"Sure," Billie said. "Why don't you use my office? It's quiet. You won't be interrupted."
"Thanks," he said. "I should probably go and get Jul-, I mean Hermione."
"Don't be too long," Billie cautioned. "We've got quite a crowd out there."
Harry nodded and left his friend and godfather with Billie. He walked back out into the restaurant and scanned the crowded room for Hermione. He saw her in the corner, clearing a table. He came up behind her and put his arms around her waist.
"You better not be that guy from Table 6 who promised me a big tip if I showed him some cleavage," she said, without turning around.
"No, I'm not that guy," he said in her ear, "But, if you show me your cleavage, I won't have any complaints."
She playfully nudged him in the stomach with her elbow before turning around and laughing at him.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Sirius and Ron are here," he said.
"Oh," she said.
"They want to talk about the game plan for tomorrow if you're up for it," he said. "Billie said we could have a few minutes."
She looked thoughtful for a moment.
"What is it?" he asked her. But, he needn't have had to. He knew what it was.
"I'm scared," she said, biting her bottom lip. "Not about Ron or Sirius. About tomorrow. We don't know what we're going to be walking into tomorrow and that scares me to death."
"It's going to be okay," he whispered in her ear.
"You don't know that," she said, still avoiding his gaze. "You can't promise me that."
"Hey," he said, cupping her chin in his palm. "Whatever happens tomorrow we're going to face it together. I can promise you that. Okay?"
Although she had a million doubts, she nodded and gave him a smile.
"So, you want to go and meet with Sirius and Ron with me?" he asked her, taking her hand in his.
"Okay," she said.
They slowly made their way through the crowd and back toward the kitchen. Ron sighed in relief when they returned as Billie and Sirius' were obviously doing some serious flirting.
"Thank Merlin you're back," he said. "I was beginning to feel like a third wheel or fifth wheel or whatever it is. She's intense."
"Oh, honestly!" Hermione said. "She's just being friendly."
Ron looked at Hermione and broke into a huge grin. "She is back! No one can say 'Oh, honestly!' like our Hermione."
He grabbed her in a big bear hug and spun her around. Although she was a bit taken aback by the gesture, she giggled as he spun her around.
"Well, I'm getting there," she said, when he finally put her back down on the floor.
"This is all well and good," Sirius said, breaking away from Billie. His voice was solemn and his tone direct. "But we really need to talk about what we're going to do."
They nodded. The levity of the situation was broken as they walked quickly into Billie's office and closed the door behind them.
Later on that night, Hermione and Harry were closing up the bar. Billie left to take the evening's take into the night deposit box at the bank. The jukebox was playing as Harry busily put glasses away and Hermione was wiping tables with a rag.
Harry was staring at her. She turned and saw him smiling at her.
"What?" she asked him.
"Just looking," he said.
"Watching me clean off tables?"
"No," he said. "Just watching you."
"Well, in the immortal words of Billie Murphy, 'If you've got time to lean, you've got time to clean'," she said, laughing.
"Yes, ma'am," he said, winking at her. "I think Billie really liked Sirius."
"What gave it away?" Hermione asked him, continuing to clean the tables. "Was it the incessant flirting? How she really sugar-coated her southern accent?"
"I would have to say her grabbing his arse on his way out the door," Harry said.
"Yeah, I could see how you might think that was a come on," Hermione said, walking over to the bar.
"Well, I don't think he minded too much," Harry said, laughing.
She sat down at one of the stools and rested her chin on her fist. She looked quite thoughtful and Harry dropped his own rag and looked at her.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I can't stop thinking about tomorrow."
"Trust me," he said, taking her hands in his. "We've faced a lot worse than this together."
"I'll take your word on that," she said.
"Okay," he said, coming from around the bar and offering his hands to her.
"What?" she asked confused.
"This calls for desperate measures."
"What does?" she asked.
"We're going to get your mind off of this for one more night," he said.
She looked a little unsure, but intrigued as she let him lead her to the dance floor. He let go of her and whispered, "Stay here."
She nodded and watched as he walked over to the jukebox. A few moments later the fast-paced, syncopated rhythm was replaced by the opening notes of a soft ballad. He walked toward her and crooked his finger at her and beaming at him, she went to him willingly as he took her in his arms.
"I can hear her heart beat for a thousand miles
And the heavens open up every time she smiles
And when I come home to her that's where I belong
Yet I'm running to her like a river's song"
He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist as she rested her head on his chest.
"She gives me love love love love crazy love
She gives me love love love love crazy love...
"She's got a fine sense of humor when I'm feeling low down
And when I come home to her when the sun goes down
She takes away my troubles, takes away my grief
Takes away my heartache in the night like a thief."
"She's got love love love love crazy love
Yes I need her in the daytime
Yes I need her in the night"
He moved his hands from her waist and whispered in her ear softly, "I love you."
She smiled and looked up at him, her eyes absorbed in the warmness of his
Emerald green eyes. She stood on tiptoe and her lips brushed his and she felt everything in her body go warm. She pulled away from him and felt breathless and light-headed. He took his hand to her warm cheek and caressed it softly. He smiled and lowered his head and nuzzled her neck. She let out a light laugh as the sensation of his mouth on her soft skin tickled her.
"I want to throw my arms around her
To kiss her, hug her, kiss her, hug her tight
And when I'm returning from so far away
She gives me such sweet lovin' brightens up my day
And makes me righteous and makes me whole
And it makes me mellow down to my soul"
"She gives me love love love love crazy love
She gives me love love love love crazy love..."
The music stopped but they were still lost in each other. He whispered, "Do you want to get out of here?"
"And soon!" she managed to answer back, with a sly smile.
"Go get your things and I'll make sure everything's locked up," he said. She nodded. She started to walk away, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back in for a warm, sensuous kiss.
"You keep doing that," she said, when he finally pulled away from her. "And we'll never make it past the parking lot."
He nodded. "You're right."
She ran toward the back room as he quickly made sure the doors were locked with a flick of his wand, which he pulled from his pocket. With another flick of his wand, the blinds on the windows came down.
Julie's footsteps came hurriedly through the restaurant as she appeared at his side with her backpack.
"Ready?" she asked.
"Let's go," he said.
The bus ride back to Hermione's flat was nearly excruciating to Harry. He wished that she'd known how to apparate so they could have taken care of the trip home in seconds flat. Her close proximity on the bus was nearly driving him crazy.
Luckily, the bus ride was only a 15 minute one and when the bus dropped them off a block away from Hermione's apartment, they took off on a race to the apartment.
Breathless and laughing, they stopped at the staircase, trying to catch their breath before continuing upstairs. Harry pulled her to him suddenly and captured her lips in a kiss, full of desire and want.
She pulled away, feeling lightheaded and took his hand and they ascended the stairs. She fumbled her way through her backpack to find her keys and Harry laughed as he took out his wand and pointed it at the doorknob.
"Alohamora!" he said.
Hermione watched as the door opened.
"I have got to learn that one, too," she said, her mouth agape.
"Later," he said, pulling her close to him in another mind-blowing kiss.
"Why, Miss Granger," he said softly. "Whatever will the neighbors think?"
She gave him a smirk. "Oh, I could care less what the neighbors think."
"I think I've been a bad influence on you," he said, planting another kiss on her neck. His breath was hot on her skin.
She pulled him into the apartment. He closed the door behind them and again, he took her in his arms, his lips teasingly brushing against hers. He deepened the kiss and she let out a contented sigh as he worked his way down her neck. While he did this, she took one of her hands and undid his belt. Not wanting to be outdone, he stopped kissing her neck and looking deep into her eyes, unbuttoned the buttons on her shirt and letting the shirt fall to the floor. He unfastened her bra and gently caressed her skin. She tugged impatiently at his shirt and he quickly lifted it over his head and then leaned down and picked her up, carrying her to the bedroom.
The next morning, Harry made them a quick breakfast. They were going to drive to Asheville. Billie was letting them borrow her car. She dropped the keys off at almost 10. She gave them both a hug and wished them good luck.
Neither of them really touched their breakfast. They were both nervous and tense about what lay ahead. Harry had held her all night in his arms and part of him wished that they wouldn't have to do this. He wanted nothing more to take her back home to London and forget that Simon Maxwell existed. But, an even stronger part of him wanted to make this man pay for what he had done. He wanted this man to feel the pain that he had unleashed on everyone that loved Hermione when he decided he was going to take part in this great plan of Lord Voldemort's. He didn't tell Hermione how much he longed to make this man suffer for what he'd done. He didn't want to scare her. She was already on edge as it was. Without question, this wouldn't be easy for either of them.
The plan called for Sirius and Ron to apparate two houses down from Simon's home. Hermione was to enter first and surprise her "father." Then, Harry would enter. That was the plan. What happened after that was anyone's guess. No one knew exactly how Simon would react. The important thing was that no one was under any false pretenses. This would be a dangerous situation. This man was known as a ruthless Death Eater. They were going by the "expect the worst, but plan for the best" scenario. It was the only way to go about it.
They arrived in Asheville just after sundown. Hermione was fidgeting in the passenger's side of the vehicle. She was looking around as the sights got more and more familiar. An overwhelming sense of dread was coming over her. Harry had tried to reassure her, but it was almost no use. This wasn't something she enjoyed doing. Yet, she knew it was something she had to do. It was the only way she would truly be able to get her life back. To understand what had happened, she needed to know why. She had to know why.
Harry parked the car a few houses down from Simon's. A few minutes later, Sirius and Ron apparated and sat in the backseat of the car.
"You ready for this?" Harry asked her.
"As I'll ever be," she said.
He took her hands in his and stroked them reassuringly.
"You can do it," he said.
She nodded.
"Be careful," he said. "And just remember you won't be in there alone for very long with him."
She nodded again. He kissed her quickly and with words of encouragement from Ron and Sirius, she took a shaky hand to the door handle and got out of the car.
Harry put on a brave face as he watched her walk down the sidewalk and toward the house she'd called home for four years.
She bit her bottom lip as she walked up the sidewalk toward her home. She prayed her "father" would be home. The lights of the two-story split level home were on. That was a good sign. She knocked softly at the door and within a few moments, she heard footsteps approaching.
Her dad opened the door and gasped in surprise.
"Julie!" he said, shocked. "What on earth are you doing here, sweetie? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah," she said, putting on a smile. "Everything's fine. I just missed you, Dad. I wanted to see you."
"Well, you know you don't need an excuse to do that," he said, ushering her inside. "This is your home. Come on in."
She smiled and tried not to look nervous as she followed him inside.
Please let this work, she prayed silently. Please.