A/N: Thanks to MushyPeas for beta-ing this fic. Thanks also to those who waited patiently for this next bit. It's almost done. As always, reviews (whether they be cheers or jeers) are always welcome. Ash, I know how much you wanted me to update. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: All HP stuff like characters, books, and movie plots belong to JKR and WB. I make no claims at all and even more so not making any money from this. This is just my own blend of margarita.
The Confession
7:00 a.m.
Harry stared up at his ceiling, bug-eyed. In about twelve hours or so, he would have to perform what had to be the most challenging task of his life after defeating the Dark Lord. And it wouldn't even require the use of his wand. Well maybe a different kind of wand.
How in Merlin's name did Hermione convince him to do this again? Oh, that's right. Merlin did have something to do with it. A very expensive and rare Merlin card had plenty to do with it.
"I'm out of my mind," he stated simply. "I'm officially out of my mind."
Harry blinked several times and looked to his right where his alarm clock was.
7:10 a.m.
Harry grabbed the pillow from under his head, placed it over his face, and groaned.
*
8:00 a.m.
"Harry? You up, mate? Are you alone or indecent?" Ron cautiously walked through his best friend's flat, checking rooms for his friend. Ron wasn't sure Harry would make it to his bedroom since he was so wasted away by spirits last night. He wondered if it had anything to do with what he had to do today.
"I'm in the shower right now, Ron! I'll be out in a minute!" Harry bellowed from the bathroom.
Ron steered his way to the kitchen and looked for something to eat. After finding nothing consumable in the near-empty fridge, he settled for a bowl of cereal and milk. He took his bowl to the living room and went to the CD player. Grinning, he slipped a CD in and pressed PLAY.
I'm too sexy for my love, too sexy for my love,
Love's going to leave me
I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shir
So sexy it hurts
And I'm too sexy for Mil-
"Incendio!"
Ron jumped back and looked at the now decimated stereo. "Blimey…"
"I do NOT need to hear that right now," said Harry. He put his wand away and walked to the kitchen. "What the devil are you doing here so early, Ron? Weren't you entertaining a woman last night or was 'little Ron' out of commission?" he asked as he put two pieces of bread in the toaster.
"I bought that CD in America too," Ron mumbled as he joined Harry in the kitchen. "You owe me for that. And as for entertaining, you don't remember how wasted you were last night, do you?"
"Wasted?" Harry closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "That would explain the headache. What the hell happened to me last night?"
The toaster made a 'Ding!' sound and out popped two lightly browned pieces of toast. Ron quickly reached for one before Harry could get both. Ron ignored the glare his best friend threw at him and started putting some butter on his toast.
"After the rehearsal dinner, you and Hermione excused yourselves. You told me that you had to pick up something from her flat. An hour later, you popped back and told me to go with you to Tom's for some drinking. Though you wouldn't tell me what for," Ron recounted.
"Drinking? How much did I have to drink?"
Ron took a bite from his toast. "Hrm…Well…I think…Three bottles of Firewhiskey? And three shots of Muggle vodka. That's at least, mind you. I've never known you to be a drunk. But last night, you drank like a fish, mate."
Harry grunted and lowered his head down on the counter. "Three bottles of Firewhiskey, Ron?" he asked in disbelief. "What was I ratting on about?"
Ron took the seat opposite Harry. "You wouldn't tell me. You said you just wanted to drink, drink, and drink. I tried getting an owl to Hermione but I couldn't find one handy last night. So you tell me."
Harry raised his head and thought for a moment. "I only stopped by Hermione's to pick up something. Then…Oh geez, Ron!"
Ron cocked an eyebrow. "What?" he asked as he put another spoonful of cereal in his mouth.
"Where did you get milk for that cereal?"
"From your fridge. Where else? You know bloody well that I don't grocery shop."
Harry frowned. "That's been expired for over two weeks now. Don't you have working taste buds? Better yet, don't you read labels?"
"Bloody hell!" The red-haired wizard stood up quickly and made a dash for the bathroom. Harry took his friend's bowl and disposed of its contents. Harry faintly heard his friend trying to regurgitate his recent consummations.
"I hope he remembers to clean up."
"Why in the Bloody Merlin do you keep expired milk in your fridge?!" he heard Ron belt out from the loo before throwing up again.
*
9:00 am
"So are you ready for tonight?"
Harry cocked an eyebrow as he bit off another piece of Danish. "If I say no, does that mean I don't have to do it tonight?"
"I don't know. Let's owl Hermione and see what curse she could come up with to use on you for screwing her over," Ron thoughtfully said.
"Blah. That's not helping me, Ron," Harry remarked. "Merlin, why the hell did I agree to this bloody thing? Why, why, why?"
Ron reached for another Danish pastry. "You know it's your own fault too. You could never refuse Hermione anything. You've got it bad for her, mate."
The black-haired wizard groaned. "Okay, okay, I get that. I'm head over heels in love with Hermione. Happy now? Good. Now leave me alone to my breakfast."
-THUMP-
Ron's and Harry's heads both pivoted towards the source of the sound by the entrance to the kitchen. To Harry's horror and utmost embarrassment, there stood a shocked and wide-eyed Hermione Granger. At her feet haphazardly lay what seemed to be a Defense book.
Ron spoke first. "Urm…Good morning there, Hermione. We…uh…didn't hear you Apparate in."
Harry racked his head for something to say. Maybe something like 'Hi Hermione. That was a joke. I was being sarcastic. I don't think of you that way. I mean, I like you but not in that sense. What I mea-'
"I…just came by to see…Harry. I…had this book that he might be interested in reading," Hermione mumbled, her face beet red. "I thought…I thought you guys heard me."
Still Harry had nothing to say. One of his greatest secrets has just been revealed and Hermione had to hear it. 'Merlin, your card better be damn worth it after all the grief it has brought upon me.' He hoped that she thought he was joking perhaps but her reaction wasn't convincing. Also, he was now reconsidering his anti-Apparition spells. True that he only wanted Ron and Hermione to Apparate without needing permission. Now, it didn't seem like a good idea.
"Um, do you want some…breakfast?" he managed to squeak out. "I…picked it up this morning from a nearby bakery."
Hermione, who seemed to have remembered that she dropped her book, quickly picked it up. "I've…I've had breakfast already, thank you. Ginny…I have to meet her for some more wedding plans. I just came by to drop off some books…and I'll see you both…later."
Without another second to spare, Hermione Apparated out. The minutes of silence between the two friends stretched on before Ron finally spoke.
"Harry, are you still breathing?"
Harry blinked several times. "No. I think I've forgotten how to." He wanted to stop her and clarify what he said. But despite his intentions, he had no idea what to say.
"Well you ought to. Blue's not your complexion. It clashes with your eyes." Ron busied himself once again to another Danish pastry. "Don't worry about it, mate. She probably thought it was a joke."
"How can you say that? I…I'm not even sure what she would think. This is Hermione that we're talking about! She's probably over analyzing what I said right this very moment, wherever she might be." Harry buried his face in his hands.
"And that's bad how?"
"What? It's bad! She's not supposed to find out like that!" Harry protested.
"Frankly mate, you did yourself a favor. Knowing you, you'd probably never be able to come out and say it if you planned it out." Ron bit off a piece from his Danish.
Harry frowned at him. "You're not helping."
Ron stood up and finished the pastry. "As far as I know, I didn't need to help. You did it yourself. But enough of this. I have to meet someone for lunch and I have to look my best."
"Another witch to shag? You need time to get ready for that?"
Ron feigned shock. "You think so little of me. Another witch to have lunch with first and then possibly shag. That sounds a lot more proper, don't you think? I refuse to shag on an empty stomach!"
"Whatever, Ron. Now if you don't have anything else helpful to say, could you get out of here now so I may sulk in peace and try to figure out what to say to Hermione?"
"Glad to oblige, mate. I'm running late anyway. If you need help with Hermione, I could always stop by her place and tell her you're still a bit drunk from last night. Just let her know that your drunken state extended to this morn-"
Harry rubbed his temple and closed his eyes for a moment. "No thanks, Ron. I'd rather you not intervene on my behalf. Knowing you, the situation might worsen. Now out you go."
"Suit yourself, mate. You know how to reach me if you need my help." Without wasting another second, the youngest Weasley wizard Apparated out of Harry's flat.
Harry groaned and lowered his head on kitchen counter. He's gone and done it. He's admitted out loud that he does have romantic feelings for Hermione. In an unfavorable fashion too. Then again, she wasn't supposed to hear that. He could go up to her and deny the whole thing by passing it off as lunacy and madness caused by spirits as Ron suggested though.
Hedwig choose that moment to make an unpleasant sound.
Harry looked up to his owl perched by the kitchen window. "I know, I know. That would really be crass of me. And it's a worse excuse than giving none at all."
With that, Hedwig seemed to have hooted in approval.
*
12 Noon
Harry paced in his bedroom, debating whether or not he should owl Hermione and chance a talk with her to clarify what he said. On his bed lay the selected 'costume' for tonight's party. He paused and looked at it for a moment and decided that now might not be the best time after all to discuss it since he had other pending matters to deal with.
Harry glanced his bedside table and looked at the photograph perched by his lamp. It was a picture of him, Ron, and Hermione on Graduation Day at Hogwarts. He recalled that day as the day that he came extremely close to telling her how he felt about her. He remembered inviting her for a private meeting just after the ceremonies but unfortunately, neither was unable to meet because of the day's numerous festivities. Before he realized it, it was time for Hermione to leave from Platform 9 ¾ and leave with her parents. Soon after that, Harry found out that she went on a vacation with them to Greece for several weeks.
He sighed. Time after time, he always found an excuse to not tell her or something always came up to prevent the occasion from happening. He wondered if maybe Voldermort indeed had decided to exact revenge on him in this manner. From the grave, he denied Harry of what could possibly grant him eternal happiness. That and possibly keep him a virgin for the rest of his life.
And that, to Harry Potter, could possibly be his worst nightmare. At least that's what Ron might conclude.
*
6:30 pm
Harry stood in front of the mirror and looked at his face. Disbelief, anxiety, and fear reflected back to him. He closed his eyes for a moment and reminded himself that he was doing this for her. Always and only for her. For Hermione, he would put himself in utter humiliation or face the world's greatest evil. He would do anything for her. Well, save for running around the Wizarding World stark naked, of course.
Resigned, he walked out of his bathroom and started to put on his clothes for the night. He anxiously looked at the skimpy underwear that Ron supplied as his last piece of defense from utter nudity at this event.
He wondered how the hell can a piece of clothing called a thong cover his most prized jewels. Also, how can he wear that thing comfortably without endangering a very essential male function? It looked very…painful and constricting.
*
7:15 pm
Harry Apparated into Hermione's flat and looked around nervously. He pulled on the collar of his shirt which seemed to be doing its best to choke him out of breathable air.
"Harry?" Hermione's light voice called him from behind.
Harry turned and smiled nervously. "H…Hi. I guess we should get this over with, huh?"
Hermione pinked a little as she gave him a once over. She knew he looked handsome but with the suit on and the pending removal of his clothing, he looked damn good and ready to eat. She wondered how she'd be able to calm and restrain herself from enjoying him when he starts taking his clothes off. And then there was that surprising confession earlier at his kitchen. What was that all about?
'Ginny. This is Ginny's night. It's Ginny who's supposed to be enjoying the show. Not you,' her mind reminded her.
She bit her lower lip and slightly shook her head at the reminder. "Yeah. Are you ready? Oh where's the potion? I need it for a moment."
Harry took the bottle out from his jacket and handed it to her. "This will work, right?"
"Yes, but wait here for a moment. I have to make a final adjustment to the draught."
Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you going to do with it? I thought you said it was ready."
Hermione smiled nervously. "Well, I thought of adding something that might…subdue your inhibitions for a bit. To help you out, you know. So you won't be so awkward when you do your…thing."
Harry blushed slightly. "Oh. You're right of course. I've never done anything like this before and I never will again, may I remind you."
She nodded. "I'll be right back then we can Apparate to the hotel. Thanks again for doing this for me Harry."
Harry tugged on his shirt collar again and avoided her eyes. "You're welcome. Oh and Hermione? About what I said earlier…"
Hermione turned away from him. "Later, Harry. We can talk about it later."
-To be continued…