Chapter 6: Foundations
The next morning, Hermione awoke to the sound of knocking on the door. It took her moments to process where she was, and then she slid out of the giant bed and began to stumble to the door, rubbing her eyes as she went. Her body felt stiff from sleeping in the confining dress robes, and she made a mental note to try to find something more presentable to wear. A quick glance out of the corner of her right eye revealed Harry, sprawled face down on the couch, his arm lazily falling over the side. His glasses had been pushed against his forehead, and he appeared to be drooling. Hermione smiled slightly, turning to the door and peeking through the eyehole. A bellhop stood there, and behind him, a cart with two large trunks. Frowning, she opened the door just a crack.
"Yes?" She tried to keep her voice low, so as not to disturb Harry.
"I've got a letter and two trunks for a Mr. and Mrs. Potter?" The bellhop spoke rather loudly, and Hermione cringed, hearing Harry shift behind her.
"Yes yes, That's us. Bring them in." Hermione kept trying to whisper, even though she could hear Harry stirring behind her.
The bellhop pushed the cart with the trunks in, pulling them off. Hermione cringed, looking at Harry, who was now sitting, running a hand through his rather messy hair, which was standing pretty much straight up. The bellhop handed Hermione the letter, and then stared at her, expectantly. She glanced at him, confused.
"Um…is that all?" Hermione asked, curiously. The bellhop frowned angrily.
"No, thank you, Ma'am." He grumbled, turning and stepping out of the room. Hermione stared at him, confused.
"Uh, 'Mione. You were supposed to tip him."
Hermione smacked her forehead. "Merlin, I completely forgot."
Harry grinned, and immediately opened his trunk.
"My clothes … they're all here!" Harry's eyes opened wide as he pulled out a pair of swimming trunks. Hermione sat down on the other trunk and opened the letter. Her eyes widened as she pulled out a set of traveler's checks. Her breath momentarily left her body when she counted the amount.
"Harry…there must be…two thousand…dollars worth…"
Harry's eyes widened, and he grabbed the booklet out of Hermione's hand. His jaw dropped as he poured over the money. Hermione pulled out the letter, reading it over.
Dear Harry and Hermione,
I hope you get these before too long. Dumbledore said he'd take care of them getting there. I just hope he doesn't draw too much attention.
The money is yours to spend on your honeymoon. Please be careful. Your father and I are …worried about you two.
Julius said you'd be able to return in a week's time. He wants to secure the documents dismissing the case before you return.
Be safe,
Your mother
Hermione handed the letter to Harry as she slid off her trunk. She immediately opened it and began scanning the contents. Her mother had thought of everything, once again. When she looked up, Harry's face was turning a bright red.
"What is it, Harry?" Hermione's eyes betrayed her confusion.
"They didn't have to do that. I mean…I could have managed it…" Harry's face was roughly the color of a tomato.
Hermione frowned. "They're just giving us some spending money Harry, that's all."
"Yeah, but I don't want them thinking I can't take care of you…"
Take care of me? Great, has Harry been hiding a sexist streak this entire time?
Hermione arched an eyebrow, crossing her arms across her chest and regarding Harry with a cool glance. "Take care of me? I can take care of myself."
Harry frowned. "Yes, but now that we're married…I mean…um…what I'm trying to say is…"
Her frown deepened. But this marriage isn't real… Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but bit back the comment. Instead, she stifled the surge of anger, dismissing her earlier absurd notions. Harry, sexist? Not a chance. This had more to do with his pride. She inhaled deeply, smiling genuinely as she tried to calm his nervous stammers.
"It's a wedding gift. That's all, Harry."
Harry's features seemed to lighten. "A wedding gift? Yeah…You should write them and tell them thanks."
"I'll do it later this afternoon." She glanced through the trunk, and slowly pulled out her bathing suit. The inquisitive side of her began to surface. I'm here in Hawaii for the first time in my life. I'm going to enjoy this vacation and forget about what happened these past few months.
"I guess we should enjoy the time here." She smiled broadly as Harry's demeanor brightened, the nervous tension from earlier fading into the cool breeze.
"Do you want to go to the beach?" Harry was looking more cheerful.
Hermione grinned. "You read my mind."
* * *
Thirty minutes and several blushes later, Harry and Hermione were heading towards the beach, walking hand in hand with towels around their necks.
Hermione glanced out of the corner of her eye at Harry, flushing lightly. She had known him when he was a knobby-kneed 11-year-old. She was not used to seeing him so scantily clad, and was rather surprised. He was still thin, but puberty had given him some muscles, and while he'd probably never catch up to other wizards his age, he looked remarkably good.
They reached the sandy shore and Harry's eyes went wide.
"Wow…the water…it's so blue…"
Hermione nodded, marveling at the crystal clear reef. Hermione had traveled to a lot of exotic places, but never had she seen water this particular shade of blue. She released his hand as she stepped into the water, smiling as the waves brushed over her feet. She turned and regarded Harry with a warm smile. "It's warm. Come on in, Harry."
Harry joined her, cringing lightly as he stepped into the water, as if he were expecting it to be as cold as the Hogwart's lake in the middle of January. As the water lapped against his feet, he relaxed noticeably. "Yeah…you're right."
She grinned, and sunk the rest of her torso down beneath the waters, enjoying the sound of the waves hitting the beach. Harry grinned, playfully sending a splash of water her way, hitting her directly in the face.
"Argh! Harry! Stop that, I didn't want to get my hair wet!"
Harry grinned. "Why, afraid it'll become bushier."
Hermione's gaze narrowed, and she made a menacing fist towards Harry, who nearly fell over with laughter. He sent another torrent of water towards her, hitting her directly on her face. Hermione stood up, an expression of mock fury crossing her features.
"Ooooh. That's it." Hermione grinned evilly as she lunged for Harry. The two splashed at each other, playing like a couple of children in the water. Occasionally, one of them would manage a tackle, bringing the other under the water.
Hermione rose out of the water some time later, rubbing at her eyes furiously. "Harry Potter, that wasn't fair."
Harry grinned, shaking the water off his glasses and sporting a mischievous look. "I don't think it was fair when you tickled me, either."
"Yes, but you have longer arms."
"You have longer fingers."
"Harry Potter, you…you…."
Harry grinned, stepping close to Hermione. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt his arms slide around her. His lips descended to hers, brushing hers lightly.
"What was that, Mrs. Potter?"
Hermione's blinked. . Did he just kiss me? Her mahogany gaze drifted towards his, locked in his emerald stare. She wanted to ask him why he was kissing her, but her mind had lost its ability to form a coherent sentence.
"Harry, I…"
Harry Potter stared at her intently, lifting a finger to her lips. "Just playing a part, Hermione."
Of course…
Hermione smiled, the pounding of her heart slowing to normal levels. "Of course we are. And I just wanted to remind you that I never said I'd take your name." At Harry's shocked expression, she grinned. "I am a modern witch, after all."
Harry chortled, and Hermione took his hands in hers, backing deeper into the ocean. Harry followed her for a moment, but quickly froze, fear etched on his features.
"'Mione…I'm…not a good swimmer."
Hermione frowned, her mind flicking back to her fourth year at Hogwarts. "You did it during the Triwizard tournament."
"I also had gillyweed. It's a little hard to be scared of the water when you can't breathe outside of it. The Dursleys never taught me to swim."
Of course, Hermione thought. Why would they have taught Harry to swim when they loathed him? Her gaze flickered to his features. He seemed embarrassed about having to admit this to her, and she mentally chastised him.
Harry Potter, when will you realize that I don't think less of you for your past?
Hermione grinned lightly. "Well then, perhaps I'll have to show you how it's done."
Harry's features relaxed. With that, she took his hands in hers and led him deeper into the water.
Honeymoon, Day 2
Harry groaned, rolling over onto his back. Although the awkward nature of their situation had not diminished, Hermione had encouraged him to sleep in the bed the following night. We're adults, after all, she had reasoned. Harry had offered a weak protest, but eventually acquiesced in the face of logic. Hermione's eyes fluttered open as she turned and regarded her best friend. He cringed as a shot of pain lanced through his body.
"Harry, what is it?"
He opened his mouth, trying to speak, but was unsuccessful. As her focus began to sharpen, Hermione noticed how red Harry's face was. She rolled out of bed, wincing slightly. Sunscreen. Why didn't I think of sunscreen?
She was scared to look at herself in a mirror, but she did anyways. A small gasp escaped her throat.
They'd only spent a few hours outside, but she looked the color of a ripened tomato. She cringed, silently reviewing spells that might be able to alleviate the discomfort.
"Ugh…Hermione, you too?"
Hermione glanced down at Harry. His face was a bright red, and he was sitting up straight, as if he were trying to avoid touching anything. She could see the red peeking through his white undershirt.
"Oh dear…that bad?"
Harry nodded, cringing slightly. "We only spent a few hours outside, but I guess that was enough."
Hermione knelt down, steeling herself against the pain. She fished through her trunk. Surely her mother had thought of something like sunscreen. Nothing. She moved to Harry's trunk and began searching through his shirts. Her hand closed over something that felt like a tube of toothpaste. She pulled it out, turning it over and scanning the label. Sleekeasy's Magical Sunburn Remover.
Sunburn remover?
"I guess Dumbledore must have sent it. Your parents don't have any access to this stuff, do they?"
Hermione frowned. "I'm not sure." She turned the tube over and read the instructions.
Apply liberally to affected area. Works instantaneously to relieve redness and pain.
"Okay…so we just need to apply this to ourselves and the pain will go away."
Harry immediately held out his hand, and Hermione squirted some of the gel into his hand, cringing immediately at the pungent odor it emitted. She hoped the smell would fade after they applied it.
"Ugh. This smells like rotting fish," Harry pinched his nose shut, a look of disgust on his face. Hermione grimaced. It did have a rather strong smell.
"I suppose you could take a shower afterwards," she stated as she squirted some of the green glop into her hand. She grimaced and slowly touched the mixture to her leg. Immediately, the pain began to dissipate. She let out a small sigh of relief.
"It works, Harry, put it on." Hermione began to spread the mixture over her legs, her face incredulous as she felt the pain disappeared instantly. Okay, so maybe I won't hex Dumbledore. Maybe a minor jinx instead.
Harry seemed to be applying the potion liberally to his legs. He looked at Hermione, his cheeks reddening.
"Um … Hermione? Can you help me with my shirt. I don't want to get this stuff on it."
Hermione rolled her eyes. Honestly, it was just a shirt. Why was he behaving so childish about it? "Of course, Harry," Hermione said as she reached for the edge of his shirt, pulling it over his head.
"Argh," Harry yelped, cringing as the fabric brushed his tender skin. "Be careful. That hurts."
"Oh quit being a baby," Hermione muttered. "Turn around, let me get your back."
Harry muttered under his breath, turning around. Hermione ignored him, rubbing some of the remaining mixture on his back, watching as the burn disappeared.
"Much better," she said, grinning a bit as she smoothed some of the remaining mixture on her face and neck. She frowned. She wasn't going to be able to reach her back.
"Harry, could you get my back?"
Harry flushed but nodded. Hermione handed him the tube of sunburn remover. "Hang on a second," she muttered, turning her back to Harry and drawing the back of her shirt over her shoulders. She flushed for a moment before chastising herself.
It's a bra, Hermione. Nothing worse than a bikini.
Then again, she had never really been one to wear a bikini, either. She closed her eyes, shoving the momentary modesty out the window. She was acting ridiculous. "Okay Harry."
Harry was an interesting shade of bright red as began to gently rub her back with the soothing gel. She opened her eyes, allowing her body to relax. It felt rather nice, actually, almost like a massage.
She looked at Harry, who looked as if he'd not put any of the gel on his face, shifted uncomfortably from her view.
"Um…I need to run to the bathroom," Harry abruptly turned and sprinted into the room. Hermione frowned. What was wrong with Harry?
She closed her eyes, mentally scanning through the immediately preceding moments. Harry had shifted, hiding the …
Hermione's eyes fluttered open. Her face went beet red as she hurriedly adjusted her shirt.
He got turned on by giving me a backrub? Hermione's mind was swimming. She sank onto the couch, her mind swimming as she tried to justify his reaction. But…we're just friends. That's all we are. We're just friends…
Are we?