Chapter 2
Harry stirred as he felt himself start to wake from the deep sleep that had taken him over. The room was dark and the house was dead silent and the only noise he heard was the deep breathing of someone lying near him. Hermione.
He then remembered what had happened. The comfort she gave him when he broke into tears, the emotional kiss they exchanged and the utter exhaustion that swept over them both, before collapsing into a deep sleep. He could feel her body curled up against him and noticed that his arm was still wrapped securely around and their fingers were still clasped. He lifted his head off the pillow and peered over her shoulder to look down at her face that was exposed from the soft moonlight shining through the window. Tears stained her cheek and the sight tore away at him, knowing that those tears were for him....she cried for him.
Harry found himself leaning down and kissing her tear stained cheek, before he gently began to ease out of bed, trying his best not to disturb her. He grabbed the blanket that was folded at the end of the bed and placed it over her body to keep her from getting cold, since the warmth he had provided would be gone. He secured the blanket carefully, making sure it covered her well and casually pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, before making himself finally back away.
He exited the room, making his way down the creaky stairs towards the kitchen, hoping that Mrs. Weasley left out some leftovers, since his stomach was screaming for food. He walked into the dark kitchen, feeling is way over to the table for the one oil lamp he knew stood in the middle of the table. He turned it on, giving the kitchen a soft glow and then made his way to the stove to see something wrapped in tin foil. He peeled it back and his tummy grumbled in anticipation when he saw it was pumpkin pie....his favorite.
Not bothering to grab a plate, he brought the whole dish to the table, along with silverware and then looked in the cooler to see that she had whip cream to go with it, so he grabbed that as well. He started to dig in as his mind started to wander to a certain girl that was still upstairs fast asleep.
What exactly happened between him and Hermione? Did this change everything? Did he ruin the one true friendship he had? Does this mean that he had feelings for her? All these questions that ran through his mind, he didn't know how to answer them. It was Hermione. The girl he knew since he was eleven. The girl that was always by his side, that helped him whenever he asked...and even when he didn't ask. She was his best friend. His one true friend that he trusted more than anyone else....even more than Ron.
And just a few hours ago....they had crossed the line. The line that he thought he'd never cross with Hermione....but he did. He remembered all to well. The way she felt against him when he held her, the way her sweet, but subtle scent filled his senses and they way it felt when their lips touched. It was a state of complete satisfaction....complete peacefulness. It was nothing he'd ever felt before.
"Harry?"
His head shot up to the sound of her voice and his heart dropped when he saw her standing there by the doorway. She had changed into her pajamas, which looked like they were one size too big on her since it practically swallowed her and her hair was down, still rumpled from sleep. She looked.....rather cute. "Hermione..."
"I...er....I woke up and you were gone," she said as she slowly made her way into the kitchen. "I figured you'd be down here."
"Yeah....I was...a little hungry," he said as he started to poke at his pie with his fork.
"I see," she said and then padded over to the table and sat down next to him. "Is that pumpkin pie?"
He nodded as he looked down at it "Yeah, it's pretty good," he said as he speared a piece. "Want a bite?" He held up the forkful of pumpkin pie smeared in whip cream and when she nodded he placed a hand under the fork to prevent crumbs from falling.
She placed a hand over the hand holding the fork as she took the pumpkin pie into her mouth. "Mmm, that's really good," she said as she savored the sweet taste in her mouth.
Harry nodded in agreement then nervously took another bite himself, since he didn't know quite what to say. He offered another bite and she took it willingly as their eyes met. Harry felt himself blush so he quickly looked away and stared at the half eaten pumpkin pie. After a moment, he glanced another look over at her and she was still looking at him with a look in her eyes that he never saw before. What look was that exactly? Before he could figure it out he saw something that made him start to smile.
"What?" she asked when he started to chuckle.
He laughed softly. "You uh...have some whip cream on your face," he told her as he pointed to the corner of his own mouth.
"Oh," she said embarrassed as she wiped at her mouth.
"It happens to the best of us," he said as he reached over and cupped her chin, and wiped clean of the dab she missed with a swipe of his thumb. "There....got it."
"Thanks," she said shyly as she blushed.
He cleared his throat as he tore his eyes away. "Um, no problem."
Silence filled the room once more and Harry tried desperately to say something...anything to kill the awkwardness between them. It was Hermione for crying out loud, he could talk to her about anything and better yet he could be with her for hours and they never would have to say anything and still feel comfortable with each other. So, why did this silence eat him up like this?
"Harry..."
"Hermione, listen," he said quickly before she could go on. "What happened.....up there, I....it was..."
"Don't," she said barely in a whisper.
He blinked as he looked into her eyes. "Don't what?"
She shook her said. "Don't say it was a mistake.....Harry, it wasn't a mistake."
His eyes lingered on hers, before he looked down at his plate. "Hermione...you're my friend, I...I shouldn't have done that, I...."
"You were hurt," she told him as she placed a hand on his arm. "You needed comfort...and so did I. We gave it to each other, it was convenient, Harry."
"Convenient?"
She blushed and looked down at her lap. "Well, I was there...when you were hurting. It could have been anyone else....Cho...or Ginny."
He studied her, not believing his ears. "Is that what you think? That I would have done it to anyone if it wasn't you?"
She dared to look up at him. "Wouldn't you?"
"No," he said bluntly, not even hesitating to think his answer through. "Of course not. I never would have opened myself like that to anyone but you, Hermione." He reached over and grabbed her hand with both of his, clasping them together tightly. "Hermione, I need you. I need you as my friend, I need you by my side.....I need you in my life...always. I've never opened myself like this up to anyone, I've always kept my feelings bottled up, but I can't do that with you. Not anymore."
Hermione sniffled as she fought back the tears. "Oh, Harry," she cried as she flew out of her chair and hugged him, desperately clinging to him while he pulled her on his lap, returning the hug just as urgently. "I love you, Harry. We all love you....don't ever think differently."
Harry buried his face against her neck, breathing in that familiar scent again. "I..." He swallowed the large lump in his throat, because he was about to say something he never said to anyone before. "I love you too," he said, his voice cracking with emotion.
Hermione leaned back so she could look at him and couldn't help but sob out a laugh. "Look at us...blubbering like a couple of saps."
He chuckled as he wiped a tear away from his face. "What is it with you making me cry, Hermione?"
She sniffed as she dabbed her own eyes. "I don't know....you make me crazy, Harry Potter."
Harry grinned as he reached behind her back and dipped his finger in the whip cream. "Likewise, Hermione Granger," he said as he tapped a glob of whip cream on her nose.
She gasped as she rubbed it off. "Why you little sneak!" she said as she got some whip cream of her own and smeared a huge glob over his mouth.
Harry just laughed as he wiped off as much as he could with his hands. "We're making a mess!"
"I'm not the one who started it," she giggled as she started to lick her fingers clean with her mouth.
Harry grinned as he sucked off some cream on his thumb. "You missed a spot...on your lip."
"Did I?" she asked as she started to wipe it off. "Where?"
Harry grabbed her wrist before she could wipe it clean. "Here," he said and found himself tilting his head up until his lips found hers in a soft, gentle kiss, as the small dab of whip cream began to melt away.
What was going on? Could someone please tell him why he was kissing is best friend in a deserted kitchen during the middle of the night? Better yet...why was he enjoying it? How did he miss this? It was only a few short hours ago when Hermione was just.....well...Hermione. She was his pal, his best friend.
But now.....she was so much more. She was a girl. Soft and beautiful sitting on his lap, returning his kiss with shyness. Her lips were slack underneath his as he continued to nip at them softly. Her mouth was like another world waiting for him to explore it. He wanted to look at her...to see what she was thinking. He slowly broke contact and his eyes flickered up to hers. She was smiling...very softly, almost like a smirk.
"Did you get it?"
Harry was in such a daze it took him a second to realize she was talking about the whip cream. He couldn't help but grin. "Looks like it." He wanted to kiss her again. Where was this coming from? "I better make sure I get it all."
Hermione giggled as he leaned to kiss her again. Hermione giggled? He made Hermione giggle? He pulled away right before he would have made contact and looked at her amusingly. "What?" she asked confused.
"You just giggled."
Her jaw dropped. "I did not."
"Yeah ya did," he laughed. "Like a little school girl."
"Harry," she laughed.
"Ah! You did it again...and now you're blushing. Interesting. The Hermione I never knew existed."
She sighed as she gave him a look. "Are you done?"
He chuckled. "Yeah, I think so." Merlin it was good to laugh. Being with her this way made him feel like a normal teenager...with hormones.
"Good," she said. "No more talking."
"Talking is overrated," he agreed as he moved his hands up to cradle her face gently. He swept his thumb across her cheek and brought her face back down to his. He slid his fingers in her hair and then let them travel down her neck, over her shoulders and lingered as they reached her torso. He could feel her delicate hands resting on his shoulders and he soon felt the need for more and to be closer to her. As wonderful as their short and sweet kisses were, they just weren't enough for him all of the sudden. Before he could even think of what to do next, his instincts took over and his tongue reached out and lightly touched hers.
He felt his whole body burst and heard her breath in a sharp breath. He was ready to pull away and apologize...thinking he did something wrong, when Hermione all of the sudden opened her mouth wider to him. Well, that was sure enough sign for him, so he teasingly ran his tongue along her bottom lip.
She trembled and her grip on him tightened and he leaned up in his chair and pulled her closer until his whole upper body was touching every inch of his.
"I've never kissed anyone before," Hermione whispered against his mouth.
"Really?" He kissed her and lingered. "Well, you do it perfectly."
She smiled against his lips when he kissed her again. "Good to know," she breathed right before Harry kissed her again, this time more deeply. She let out a soft whimper and Harry took that as a good sign, hoping he was kissing just as good as Hermione. In fact, as far as he was concern he was experiencing his first kiss as well, because this had surpassed Cho's kiss....they weren't even in the same category. "Harry....please, I..."
"I know," he breathed between kisses as their mood turned from slow and lazy to fast and desperate. Their tongues clashed, hands groped and caressed as a need exploded between the two of them. Hermione tried to scoot closer to him on his lap but she let out a frustrating moan when she wasn't getting anywhere. Feeling the same frustration he jumped out of the seat and the legs scraped against the wooden floor and the table shook when Harry set Hermione on top of it. Their lips never broke contact, but now Harry was standing between her legs, his fingers were lost in her hair as his tongue massaged hers.
Hermione lifted her knees up and jerked her hips up towards his to receive better contact and wrapped her legs around his waist. Wow....nice move, Hermione. Harry slowed the kiss down, nibbling at her lips before he kissed the corner of her mouth and then trailed them down her jaw slowly making his way to her neck. He felt her arch her back and grip his hair tightly when his tongue flicked out on her skin. He still didn't know where all this was coming from and how he knew what to do. All he knew was that he felt good kissing her...being with her this way. He needed this and he needed her. Why didn't he see it sooner? "Hermione," he whispered in her ear. He wanted to tell her so much but he couldn't find the words that expressed what he was feeling. He thought about it...in his head and when he was about to open his mouth he heard her gasp and her whole body went rigid. "Hermione?"
She didn't say anything but remained still so he leaned back and looked at her eyes to see she was looking at something over his shoulder. "Hermione? What..." He looked over his own shoulder and there by the door was his best friend....his other best friend. "Ron."