A Fair Exchange

A Fair Exchange

Response to the "Snitch" challenge by Nacey (http://www.livejournal.com/users/logansrogue/351477.html?)
A/N: Please review! Thanks :)


As Hermione Granger climbed down the stairs of her childhood home, she heard what sounded like cartoonish voices punctuated by booms and crashes coming from the living room. Frowning, she crept down the stairs towards the sounds, pulling her hair back in a ponytail as she went. Her mother rarely watched television and surely her father was too old for Saturday morning cartoons?

When she entered the room, however, neither of her parents were present. Instead, her eyes were drawn to the sight of her best friend laughing helplessly at the antics of a hapless black and white cat and his too-big-for-his-britches mouse nemesis. From what she could see, Tom and Jerry were currently trying to outdo each other on a beach, and of course Jerry was getting the upper hand.

Hermione smiled to herself as she watched Harry snort at the telly. Most people probably wouldn't see anything special in this, but Hermione knew of the horrors of Harry's childhood and chances were, he had never been able to do something like this when he'd been younger. The thought made her sad, even as she delighted in the fact that his existence was much less burdened now. He deserved to be hunched over with laughter as he watched Jerry one-up a furious Tom.

Still chuckling, Harry glanced around and his smile widened when he saw her. "Morning, Hermione!"

"Morning. Having fun?" she asked, smiling back at him.

"This show is hilarious! Makes me all the more determined to get a telly for my flat, if only for this," he replied. "Come sit down, it's almost over."

Hermione walked over and sat down beside him and they caught the end of the show. Harry sighed happily and leaned back into the couch, his hair an untidy mess.

"Have you been up long?" Hermione asked, her fingernails digging into her palms as she fought the urge to run her hands through the glossy black locks.

Harry grunted. "Not really. I was pretty tired."

She stood up. "Come help me make breakfast then. What would you like?"

"I dunno.. what do you have?"

She led the way into the kitchen and Harry flopped down into a chair at the table. Hermione felt a slight twinge of guilt. It was her fault that he was tired. He'd been up till late last night helping her pack and move boxes upon boxes of her possessions to her new flat.

It was the first time that she'd be really living on her own. Hogwarts didn't count, since so many other people were there, of course, and neither did Oxford. Hermione had just graduated from the prestigious Muggle University with degrees in Biology and Psychology. She'd enrolled to pacify her parents, who felt that she needed a Muggle education in addition to her magical one, and being such a lover of learning, it hadn't been hard for them to persuade her. She'd ended up thoroughly enjoying her four years there but that had come to an end and it was time for her to move on. And that included moving out of her parents' house and into her own place.

Harry had been the only one available to help her this weekend, since Ron was on a trip to Sweden with his girlfriend, Luna, and all her Muggle friends from Uni were busy celebrating their own graduations. Besides, she was glad to have some time alone with Harry. She missed him, since she'd been so busy with school and he'd been all over the place being the top-rated Seeker that he was. They always enjoyed each other's company when they got together.

"So let's see what we have," Hermione said, bending over to open the fridge. "Eggs. Kippers. Do we have bacon? Yes. OJ. Milk." She straightened up and looked around at Harry. "How does that sound?"

"Er- what?" Harry asked, looking sheepish.

Hermione fixed him with a beady eye. "Didn't you hear wha- Harry Potter! Don't tell me you were checking out my arse?!"

He blushed. "Sorry."

"Men," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. But she was pleased; she was really pleased. She had noticed Harry a long time ago, more than noticed him, in fact, and as far as she was concerned, it was high time that he started noticing her too.

'Does checking out my arse mean he's noticing me, though?' she mused, as she reached up to check the cupboards for more ingredients. 'I bet he does that to every woman.'

"Hermione!"

She jumped in alarm. "What? What is it?"

"What's that?" Harry asked, pointing at her midriff.

Hermione glanced down to see that the baby tee she was wearing with low-cut pajama bottoms had ridden up, exposing her belly. And on her belly was- she quickly tugged the shirt down. "What's what?" she asked in a would-be innocent voice.

Harry grinned. "Come here."

Hermione blushed. "I don't know what you're talking about, Harry."

"I'll show you what I'm talking about. Come here," he repeated.

His green eyes locked onto hers and Hermione found her traitorous feet moving toward him without a second's hesitation. She managed to pause just beyond his reach. Harry held out his arms and beckoned her closer. She bit her lips and stepped forward.

Harry grinned as he lifted the hem of her shirt. His mouth fell open. "Is this what I think it is?"

Hermione tried to calm her racing heart at having him so close that she could feel his warm breath on her bare stomach. Not to mention the feel of his hands as he gripped her hips. Feeling suddenly coy, she whispered, "What do you think it is?"

"A tattoo! A tattoo of a Snitch, to be exact. But when did you get this?" he asked, looking up at her with a mixture of surprise, awe and something else she couldn't identify.

"Last week. A couple of us from Oxford, you know, to celebrate graduation," she explained, looking down at the detailed drawing of the small, winged golden ball used in Quidditch that was etched into the skin below her bellybutton. She bit her lip and looked at him. "D'you like it?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "I like it! It's really well-done, the color, the details. Did it hurt?"

"It should have, but I put a numbing charm on beforehand. I didn't let my friends or the artist see. Though I needn't have worried about the artist. He's a Squib, see? That's why he had the Snitch in his designs."

"Smart one, you," Harry replied, grinning up at her.

His fingers reached out to trace the outline of the Snitch and Hermione shivered as goosebumps erupted all along her arms. Harry seemed mesmerized by the Snitch and she was just thinking how good his hands felt on her body, even in such an innocent manner, when somebody cleared their throat behind her.

She jumped away from Harry as if scalded, tugging her shirt back down. The heat rushed to her face as she took in the sight of her parents gazing at them quizzically, though her father seemed more suspicious than anything else.

"What's going on here?" Mr. Granger demanded, his eyes darting back and forth between them.

"Er," Harry muttered, looking distinctly nervous and red-faced and Hermione mentally groaned at how it must have looked. She'd been standing so close to Harry, her shirt pushed up and his hand on her belly barely above her pubic hairline! What had been going on?

"Nothing," she said brightly, more to convince herself than her parents. "What'll it be for breakfast, Mum, Daddy? Eggs? Bacon? Toast? Kippers?"

Her parents exchanged a strange look before her mother answered. "How about all of those?"

"Coming right up," Hermione replied, bounding around the table and away from Harry.

But the skin of her belly that he'd been touching tingled on as she walked away.


******

It was more than a week before Harry was alone with Hermione again and all that week he thought about Snitches. Now, that wasn't so unusual, in and of itself, since Harry was a professional Seeker, and a damn good one at that. But even Harry had to admit that it wasn't quite normal for the thought of a Snitch to give him a raging hard-on.

He'd been more than a little suprised by the sight of what he'd been sure was a tattoo nestled on Hermione's belly. I mean, since when did Hermione Granger get tattoos? But when he saw that it was a tattoo of a Snitch, something had stirred in his gut and he'd stared at her belly for longer than was probably decent for a friend to do.

The tattoo had been very well done too; he couldn't help reaching out to trace it, which was how her parents had found them. For a minute there, he'd been afraid Mr. Granger was going to deck him.

After that breakfast, he'd had to leave for a meeting with his teammates and the week had slowly gone by. That Snitch on Hermione's belly occupied his thoughts day and night, rendering him in need of numerous cold showers and quick, ultimately unsatisfying wanks.

Merlin, that was one Snitch he desperately wanted to catch! He wanted to catch her. He wanted- And the tattoo was so low! All he would've had to do was tug her pajamas down the scantest half-inch and he'd have-

'Stop it,' he scolded himself repeatedly. 'This is your best friend you're thinking of ravishing, of kissing senseless, of touching till she screamed with pleasure, of- aaarrrgghhh!'

It was no use. He wanted her and nothing he tried made the ache go away. Damn Hermione and that sexy little thing! Not that she even needed it to be sexy. And he'd been getting his feelings under control too, grr! Harry had been feeling way more than mere friendship for Hermione for a long time now but had been able to, more or less, suppress it. And now this.

She came into the room then, carrying the book that she'd been telling him enthusiastically about. "So here it is, Harry! It has all these amazing illustrations and everything-"

"Hermione, lift up your shirt and let me see your tattoo again," Harry blurted before he could stop himself.

The words seem to hang in the air like stalactites and they both froze.

Hermione's eyes widened. "What?"

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, Hermione! I had no right to say that," he stammered, aware of his face burning.

She said nothing, just stood there staring at him, her eyes filled with something he didn't recognize.

Way to go, Potter. Congratulations on tarnishing your friendship because you're letting your prick take the place of your brain.

"I'm sorry," he said again, overwhelmed with self-loathing and avoiding her eyes. "I think I'll go now."

He gathered himself and Disapparated at the precise moment that Hermione unfroze.


********

"Harry, wait!"

But he'd already gone.

"Dammit," Hermione said aloud, still clutching the book she'd been so eager to show him. Why? Why had she frozen up?

Perhaps it'd been the words he'd said, the way he'd phrased them. Hermione, lift up your shirt..

Or maybe it'd been the tone of his voice, the look in his eyes. Unless she was very much mistaken, at that moment in time, Harry had been feeling about her exactly how she'd been feeling about him for years.

That was what she wanted, wasn't it? So why had she gone rigid like a stupid fangirl and made him think he had to go away and hide his face in shame?

"Stupid! Dammit," she said again, screwing up her face and flinging the book aside. She bit her lip and paced her box-cluttered living room. What was she going to do?

'Nothing,' the voice in her head said. 'Nothing. Tomorrow you'll probably see him and laugh about it and everything will go back to normal.'

"But I don't want it to go back to normal," Hermione said out loud. "I want him. I want him to look at me like that again."

'Don't be silly!' the voice retorted. 'This is your best friend we're talking about here! Are you willing to risk more than a decade of friendship just because you're horny?'

"It's not just because I'm horny!" Hermione replied indigently. "It's so much more than that and you know it. I... I love him. I love Harry. That's why I chose a Snitch tattoo, remember? I wanted something on my body that is precious to him. I can't let this chance slip away, I just can't. What if he feels the same?"

'What if he doesn't? You'd be horribly embarrassed!'

Hermione frowned in uncertainity then, coming to a decision, squared her shoulders. "It's a risk I'm willing to take."

'Then good luck,' the voice replied.

"Thanks. I'm probably going to need it," she said before grabbing her bag and Disapparating to Harry's flat.

She arrived outside his door and after taking a few deep breaths raised her hand to knock, just as another sudden thought occured to her: What about Ron?

She dropped her hand and frowned. What about him? Whatever happened between her and Harry was between her and Harry. Besides, Ron had a girlfriend. He'd want them to be happy too, wouldn't he?

That settled, she raised her hand again and before she could change her mind, rapped loudly on Harry's door. A wave of nervousness swept over her as the door was yanked open and Harry stared out at her.

"Hermione? What're you doing here?"

Ouch. Not the grand reception you were expecting, was- Shut it!

She forced a smile. "Can I come in?"

Harry stepped aside at once. "Oh. Sure." He closed the door and they stared at each other in awkward silence for a long moment. "Listen, I'm really sorry about what happened tonight. I didn't mean to say-"

Hermione dropped her bag, feeling suddenly bold. If she didn't do this now, she probably never would. "Shut up, Harry," she said softly before she reached up and pulled her top over her head.

Harry's eyes seemed ready to pop out of his skull as they ranged over her face, her breasts encased in her lacy bra, her belly and that Snitch that had started it all. Hermione couldn't help the thrill of power that raced down her spine at the sight of Harry Potter rendered speechless.

Time to up the stakes, though. Her hands shook slightly as she reached behind her and unhooked her bra, her eyes never leaving his. The bra fell to the floor, leaving her exposed from the waist up and she saw Harry visibly swallow as his eyes took in her beautiful full breasts. That look from earlier was back in his eyes and he was breathing harder now.

Hermione's heart was pounding and she could feel herself getting wet just from the way Harry was looking at her. She had undone the fly and was onto the zipper of her jeans when he moved forward suddenly and grasped her hands.

"What're you doing, Hermione?" he growled, his voice low and dangerous. His green eyes blazed with desire and the scent of him standing so close to her made her slightly light-headed.

She laughed softly. "Don't tell me you're that daft, Harry Potter. I'm standing before you half-naked and you're asking me what-"

Her words were cut off as Harry's lips descended on hers and he was kissing her hungrily, greedily as if he was starving and her lips were blessed manna from Heaven. Hermione's arms went around his neck and she moaned as Harry's tongue delved into her mouth.

Nothing, nothing compared to this! She had never been kissed this way before, as if her lips were the very source of his being. This was exquisite; her heart felt full, as if it would burst apart with happiness at any moment.

They broke the kiss only for gulps of air before their lips were fused again, their hands wandering over each other. His arms went around her waist and he pulled her flush against his body so she could feel his hardness pressing into her belly. Harry's lips left hers and travelled to her neck as he grinded his hips against hers and Hermione clung to him and whimpered.

The feel of his shirt against her aching nipples was driving her wild. As if he'd heard her thoughts, Harry suddenly dipped his head and suckled one firm pink pebble into his mouth and she cried out as he rolled it with his tongue, her hands gripping his hair.

"Harry," she moaned as his lips moved to lavish attention on the other one.

He stood up abruptly and cupped her face in his hands, breathing raggedly. "Hermione, if you're going to change your mind, now is the time to speak up because I won't be able to stop after this."

In response, she squeezed his bulge and suddenly they were kissing again, all lips and teeth and tongue. He led her backwards to his bedroom and kicked the door shut behind them. They stumbled giggling to his bed, but didn't sit down.

Harry undid the zipper of her jeans and pulled them off her. He dropped to his knees to kiss the golden Snitch on her belly and Hermione shivered. She felt his fingers hook her knickers and pull them down her legs.

He grinned up at her as she stepped out of them. "If your knickers are such miniscule scraps of material, why do you even bother wearing them?"

Hermione opened her mouth to retort but all that came out was a rather unladylike groan because Harry had ducked his head to lick her slit. He lifted her right leg and placed it on the edge of his bed, giving himself more room to lick and nibble and suckle and Hermione was lost in a mounting tide of pleasure.

She was hunched over slightly, gripping his shoulders as Harry stimulated her skillfully with his lips and tongue. Where had he learned to do that- and that! And-

"Oh God!" she cried as he slipped two fingers inside her and worked them as he suckled her swollen bundle of nerves and she screamed as the sensations exploded within her. Her eyes were squeezed shut and were he not gripping her hips, she was sure she would have toppled over in short order.

Finally, gasping rapidly, she came down and opened her eyes to see Harry gazing up at her, his green ones dark with hunger.

'Hunger for me,' Hermione thought suddenly and the fire began simmering in her belly again. "I want you," she blurted, yanking at his shirt and Harrry stood up and kissed her again, passionately. The taste of herself on his lips was strangely erotic and she clutched feverishly at his clothes, wanting them off, for they were in the way.

They managed to divest him of his clothes as they fell onto his bed. She filled her hands with his erection, stroking him slowly while he groaned and jerked.

"Hermione," he moaned as she rolled them over so she was on top. "Is it safe?" he managed to gasp and Hermione watched his eyes roll back in his head as she sank down onto him.

"Yes," she replied, grinning mischievously as she reveled in the wonderful sensation of being finally where she'd longed to be for years - looking into Harry's ecstasy-suffused face with him buried deeply inside her. She began to ride him slowly and Harry opened his eyes to watch her, to fill his hands with her breasts, to stroke her firmly with his fingers.

"Hey, the Snitch.. looks like it's.. really.. flying from this angle," he gasped as she bounced on him faster but soon all thought of Snitches and tattoos were driven from their minds as they were tangled up in the rapturous web of their love-making.

Hermione's climax came upon her suddenly and powerfully as she arched her back and cried out his name to the ceiling. Before she could blink, Harry had flipped her onto her back and was jackhammering her so hard that she saw stars.

"Hermione," he growled again and again as he pounded her into the mattress and surprisingly, she felt her orgasm building again so that by the time Harry roared his release, she was coming again too. The pleasure gushed through her very cells, rendering her helpless to do anything but be swept along on the wonderful wave.

They clung to each other for an eternity, their cries echoing through the room before they collapsed bonelessly against each other. Hermione was tingling all over and Harry's weight felt wonderful on top of her as they struggled to catch their breaths. Much too soon for her liking, though, he slipped out of her and cuddled her to him.

They were quiet for a while, each just trying to get their breathing back to normal. Hermione's mind was racing. Because somehow, even though she had noticed him physically for years and had hoped for what had just happened, it was still a bit of a shock discovering Harry Potter, the Sexual Being. His raw power and skill... her whole body ached and throbbed with supreme satisfaction. Hermione had never been one for rough handling, but the mere thought of the fierce look in his eyes as he'd ravaged her body was enough to make her nipples harden with excitement.

She stared in awe into the green eyes of the man she had known since they were eleven years old, the man whom she had had so many adventures, so many near-fatal experiences with. The man who had just now given her three massive orgasms in a span of twenty minutes!

"Who are you and what have you done with my friend, Harry Potter?" she asked softly, her voice slightly hoarse from all that yelling.

Harry grinned but didn't answer. Instead, he laid his messy head on her chest between her breasts and Hermione held him to her, running her fingers through the slightly damp locks.

"So what now?" he asked after another long moment and Hermione's heart clenched. She'd been hoping they wouldn't have to deal with this for a while. Apparently not, but she had no idea what to say. She knew what she wanted but did Harry want that too?

"What d'you mean?" she blurted instead.

He raised his head and looked into her eyes, leaning his weight on his elbows. "I mean, where do we go from here? Do we go back to being just best friends or.." His voice trailed off uncertainly.

Hermione avoided his gaze. "I don't know."

Harry stared at her for a minute, his expression unreadable. "Do you want us to go back to being just friends?"

"No," Hermione replied promptly and immediately blushed crimson at her own eagerness.

He touched her cheek, turning her face until she couldn't avoid his eyes anymore. "Neither do I."

Her ears rang with his words, his eyes were so full of feeling and she couldn't help the smile that bloomed on her face. And her heart.. her heart...

"I want to be yours," she whispered, feeling tears prickling at the backs of her eyelids.

Harry smiled as he leaned forward to kiss her tenderly. "Well, I'll give you me if you give me you."

Hermione laughed as her eyes overflowed. She held out her arms and Harry sank into them and they held each other tight. "Sounds like a fair exchange to me," she said softly, kissing his forehead.

And, needless to say, the benefits of the trade were very satisfying indeed.