Hello everyone! Bit of a longer chapter here, no R/LL this time but that'll be up in the next chapter ;) This is one that H/Hr fans have been waiting for hehehe!
Do You Love Me - The Contours
You broke my heart
'Cause I couldn't dance
You didn't even want me around
And now I'm back, to let you know
I can really shake 'em down
Do you love me? (I can really move)
Do you love me? (I'm in the groove)
Ah do you love? (Do you love me)
Now that I can dance (dance)
The rain thankfully had stopped by the time Lavender made it to the restaurant. Lunch was over and as she stepped inside she saw him clearing away tables. As she stared at him, she forgot about what Hermione had said. He looked quite handsome in his white dress shirt and black trousers.
Just looking at him made her feel light-headed. Saying a silent prayer that he'd forgive her, she determinedly made her way toward him, her eyes trained solely on him. His back was to her and she tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
Draco turned around, a smile plastered across his face, which fell when he saw the blonde behind him. "Oh, it's you." he said rudely, turning back around to his table.
Her smile faded. This wasn't going to be easy. "Hi," she whispered. "I'm sorry to bother you at work, Draco. I just---"
"Just?" Draco mocked. "Do me a favour, take your virginity and leave." he snapped.
Lavender flinched at his coldness. "I'm sorry for the way I acted," she said, watching as he took his tray to another table. She followed behind him. "Come on, please. Can't you talk to me?"
Draco looked up to see several of the other waiters had stopped what they were doing to look at him and Lavender. "Come here," he pulled her arm and dragged her into the kitchens. "What do you want?"
She looked hopefully up at him, her eyes shining with tears. "To be with you,"
When he didn't say anything, she continued. "I've never known anyone like you, Draco. You know what you want and you go after it. I'm still in shock that someone like you could ever like me. And the other day in the woods, I just felt like we were moving too fast. I do want to be with you, but not like that, not there. Don't you want our first time to be special?"
Draco thought quickly about her words, a sly smile coming to his lips. He touched her chin, forcing her to look up at him. "Of course I do... Lav I'm such a prat for leaving you in the woods... I wasn't myself. Can you forgive me?"
Lavender tried to hide her smile and pretended to mull his question over in her head. "I think so," she said with a bright smile. She put her arms around his neck and stood on her tiptoes as she brushed her lips against his.
Draco fought back a snigger as he pressed his mouth to hers quickly. "I've got to get ready to serve dinner... perhaps afterwards we can go for a walk? I promise this time I'll be a perfect gentleman," he lied, letting his forehead rest against hers.
"Just try and keep me away," she said, stealing another quick kiss. She stepped away from him and with her eyes twinkling, blew him another kiss before walking out of the kitchens, feeling much better going out of the restaurant as she did coming inside. She couldn't wait to get back to the cabin and tell Hermione how wrong she'd been about Draco.
Draco watched her leave, rather- he watched her hips sway back and forth as she dodged through the light raindrops falling from the sky. "I am SO good," he chuckled.
*** *** ***
Draco wrapped his hand around Lavender's blonde strands as he kissed her goodbye. "Night my sweet girl," he said softly, bringing his lips to the back of her hand. "I'm so glad we made up."
"Me too," she said, not really wanting to say goodbye. "Are you sure you don't want to come inside? My aunt and uncle would love to get to know you better."
"Oh... no... you know Vernon's called a late meeting and I've actually got to book back to the restaurant." Draco said quickly. He kissed her again. "But I'll see you at breakfast right?"
"Of course," she said, smiling at him and trying to hide her disappointment that he didn't want to stay a little longer. She felt stupid for feeling that way after they'd had a great evening and he'd kept his promise and acted like a perfect gentleman. "Bye, Draco."
"Night," Draco smiled and backed away into the dark. Once he was sure Lavender was inside her cabin, he doubled back and headed towards Ginny's for what had become a nightly shag. Ginny had been acting strange the past few days, much more clingy than he would have liked. "Better remember our deal," he muttered. "No strings..." he knocked hard on her door.
Ginny opened the door and instead of greeting him as she usually did with a warm smile and a welcoming kiss; she instead stood in her doorway, her arms crossed defensively across her chest and a very sour expression on her face.
"What?" Draco asked as he stepped inside, shutting the door firmly behind him.
"You were supposed to be here an hour ago!" she said angrily.
Draco looked at his watch. "I'm here now," he replied lazily. "You should be glad I showed at all with your attitude these past few days!"
She glared at him. "My attitude?" She watched in disbelief as he began to unbutton his shirt and get comfortable. "You have some nerve thinking you can leave me hanging like this while you go off doing Merlin knows what with whomever you please? Despite what you might think, I'm not a whore, Draco."
Draco smirked. "I never thought you were, or implied it. You came up with that on your own. Now settle down and come on over here..." he laid his shirt down on the chair and sprawled out on her bed.
"No," she said stubbornly. There was an awkward silence as they just stared at each other. Ginny knew that this might not be the best time to broach the subject, but she had to know.
"Were you with her?" she finally asked. "I heard some of your co-workers talking about the little reunion scene in the kitchens. I heard it was quite a touching scene."
Draco sat up. "What the hell is this all about Ginny? We agreed when we started shagging that that's all it would be!"
"I know," she retorted. "But, I don't understand why you have to go around with her when you have me, Draco. She's a pretty girl, but she doesn't know you like I do. We both want the same things. That girl probably has already picked names for your unborn children."
Her face softened as she walked over to him and sat down beside him on the bed. "Hasn't this meant more to you than just shagging? It has to me."
Draco felt a ball of ice clench his stomach. "No," he replied shortly. "It's just shagging. That's all it ever was." his tone was flat.
Ginny felt tears welling up in her eyes, but she wasn't about to cry in front of him. She knew that when they started out that was their agreement, no strings attached. Somewhere along the way, he had come to mean more to her than she'd care to admit. He had gotten to her and she thought he felt the same way.
"You don't feel anything for me?" she asked, looking directly at him.
Draco swallowed hard and avoided her eyes. "No."
"Then what are we doing here?" Ginny asked, getting up from the bed and walking over to the window.
"I'm not sure," Draco replied. "But I'm leaving." he grabbed his shirt and yanked his arms through, buttoning himself back up.
"Don't go," she said, looking at him, the tears she'd tried to hold off, falling freely down her cheek. "I don't want you to go."
He stopped and stared at her.
"I lo-," she stammered. She looked in his eyes and wondered why she'd almost told him she loved him.
Do I?
She wasn't sure, but she was sure that she didn't want him to go.
"What?" he demanded.
"I love being with you," she said quickly. "I don't what we have to end."
"Then get your shit straight and let me know when you do." Draco said, opening the door and slamming it shut behind him. He heard her sniffle from the open window and let his head thud against the beam.
'Since when did I let Red get under my skin this way?' he wondered.
Ginny stared out the window as he stalked away. It wasn't supposed to be this way. It was Harry that she ultimately wanted to be with, wasn't it? She'd been turned down now by Harry numerous times and it had never felt as bad with him as it had felt now with Draco.
"Why can't I ever have what I want?" she asked aloud. She walked over to her bed and buried her face in her pillow, sobbing. "I don't even know what I want anymore…"
*** Several Days Later ***
Hermione found herself in what could only be called a living hell at breakfast, a meal she usually enjoyed. On one side of her, that insufferable git Draco Malfoy was flirting with her cousin who was eating it up and kept shooting "I told you so" looks at Hermione. On the other side, sat Dudley Dursley whose atrocious table manners were getting incessantly worse as he shovelled spoonfuls of food into his mouth with absolute gusto.
"Hermione?" Elinore said thoughtfully to her daughter. "I was wondering if you'd like to play a game of croquet this afternoon. You've been a stranger these past couple of days. I feel like we hardly see you except at meals."
Hermione looked up from her plate and gave her mother a warm smile. "I've just been enjoying the mountain air, Mum. I guess I could fit in a game later this afternoon?"
She wondered how she was going to keep that promise to her Mum with Harry's insistence that they double up on lessons. Not only that, she was supposed to meet Cho later on that day to try on her dress for the first time.
To her surprise, Harry had actually been quite nicer to her over the last couple of days. He hadn't been surly and had actually been humorous and supportive during their lessons. He seemed to enjoy teasing her more and she had to admit that she liked him a lot better when he smiled. Hermione hadn't seen much of that side to him, but what she had, she liked quite a bit.
"Hermione, I thought perhaps we could go swimming in the lake this afternoon, maybe after you play croquet with your mum?" Dudley was smiling at her, something Hermione found intensely grotesque. Lavender smirked at her before turning her attention back to Draco.
Hermione thought of the most polite way to say that she would rather rub honey all over herself and roll around on a mountain of fire ants than see him in bathing suit. She saw her father's pleased look at the invitation and wondered why her father couldn't see that she could never ever see Dudley Dursley in any sort of romantic fashion.
"Thank you, Dudley," she said with an apologetic smile. "But, I've actually got other plans this afternoon."
Vernon stopped talking and everyone turned to stare at her. "Mighty mysterious about your plans, Hermione." Vernon puffed out his chest, which didn't take much effort. "You realise if you plan to become prime minister someday that you won't have much privacy." he chucked at his own joke.
"Even prime ministers are afforded some privacy, Mr. Dursley," she retorted with a fake smile.
An uncomfortable silence followed and Robert gave out a hollow laugh. "Hermione's always been one to keep to herself, Vernon. She's quite the little explorer. She's always been independent like that. It's one of the many things that her mother and I love most about her." Hermione beamed back at her father.
Harry had to almost run to keep up with Cho as she headed for the guests' restaurant. "Didn't you say you already talked to Malfoy before?" he asked.
"I did," Cho said, without a backward glance at Harry. She wore a determined look and she wasn't going to back down. "Or at least tried to. I told you how he threw me out of his room that night I told him."
Harry clenched his jaw as Cho threw open the door to the restaurant, her eyes narrowing as she spied the father of her child flirting with a blonde near the corner of the room. She was even more surprised to see Hermione sitting at the table with them, but Cho didn't have time to worry about that now.
"There, you see, it's not a good time," Harry tried to take her arm and pull her away; he had spotted Hermione as well.
"When has it ever been a good time?" she asked flippantly as she shrugged out of Harry's grasp.
Harry sighed as she crossed the room, her aim not leaving Malfoy as he rose from the seat and headed back towards the kitchens. Harry also realised he was being checked out from most of the females in the room, his eyes roaming uninterested until he met Hermione's brown eyed gaze. He smiled at her, noticing with pleasure that she turned a cute shade of pink as he did so.
Lavender nudged Hermione as she saw Harry walking closer to their table. Hermione glared at her out of the corner of her eye, but her eyes returned quickly to Harry. She wondered what he and Cho were doing in the restaurant. If Vernon turned around now and saw him standing there, she had a feeling Vernon would be none too pleased.
Try as she could not to smile back at him, she couldn't help it when he was staring at her in such a way. She hoped no one else could tell the effect he was having on her.
Harry's smile turned into a grin as he watched Hermione fidget in her chair. He was looking forward to seeing her in the dress she was to wear for their dance... it wouldn't leave much to the imagination.
Draco was setting some dirty dishes in a pile for the busboys to take care of when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned around and was none too pleased to see Cho Chang standing behind him with her arms crossed. "Can I help you?" he asked coolly.
Cho opened her mouth to respond, but one of the waiters walked in and shook his head in amusement.
"Malfoy, you sure do have the women coming and going, don't you?" the waiter teased, giving Cho an appraising look. She rolled her eyes and the waiter shrugged and walked toward the cook.
"So already moved on to your next victim?" she asked matter-of-factly. "Or should I say victims?"
"That's none of your concern anymore, is it?" Draco sneered. "It's not my fault you were irresponsible and got yourself knocked up. I'm the responsible one- I insisted we use protection and you said you cast a charm on yourself!"
Cho resisted the urge to take out her wand and hex him into oblivion. "You never once asked me about protection! You said not to worry and I stupidly believed you! I can't believe I actually thought I cared about you."
"Well who's the fool here?" Draco hissed. "Certainly not me, I never claimed to love you!"
"I agree with you," she said, feeling a sense of power that she hadn't had in weeks. She was tired of being his doormat. "I was a fool. I was a fool to think you cared about me. I was a fool to think that you'd want to support me and a baby."
He smirked at her, which infuriated her even more.
"You know what your problem is?" she asked him, stepping closer to him. "Your nothing but an immature coward who wants to have everything his way and damn the consequences."
Draco sneered. "Well... what are you still standing here for?"
"I have no idea," Cho said, shaking her head. "I hope that poor girl out there knows what she's setting herself up for."
Draco made a rude gesture with his hand at her back as she turned and went to Potter's side and glared as they walked out the door together.
Back at the table, Dudley Dursley was seething. The stares between his cousin and Hermione had not gone unnoticed by him. She was obviously head over heels for that no good Harry, and Dudley intended to make sure nothing ever came of it.
"I don't think I could eat another bite," Robert said, pushing his chair back from the table. "Did you say you wanted to play a round of golf this afternoon, Vernon?"
"I do," Vernon got up.
"Dad, can I talk to you a minute first please?" Dudley asked, struggling to rise up as well.
"Sure son..." Vernon looked back at Robert. "I'll meet you on the course at half past, aye?"
Robert nodded and after a few quick goodbyes, he and his family left Vernon alone with his son.
*** *** ***
"I have to wear that?" Hermione's eyes were wide as Cho displayed the dress she was to don while doing the dance with Harry. "That looks like a shirt!"
Cho smiled. "I think it was at one point," she laughed.
"Aren't… aren't tango dancers supposed to wear long dresses?" Hermione asked hopefully. The reddish (faux) leopard print halter dress looked like it hung just below her bum.
"Of course," Cho said, putting the dress up against Hermione to see how it would fit. "But the audience likes seeing me, or rather you, in a tight and tiny dress. I think you're going to need to try this on." She pushed Hermione into the closet along with the dress.
"But…" Hermione argued uselessly before sighing and shedding her clothes.
"How are you feeling?" Harry asked brusquely as he entered the dance studio.
"Fine," Cho replied, smiling at her friend. "No morning sickness today!"
"Good," Harry finally relaxed. "Where's Hermione?"
"I'm in here!" a muffled voice replied from the closet. "And I'd appreciate it if you'd turn around!"
"What?" Harry looked quizzically at Cho.
"She's trying on the dress," Cho whispered. "She thinks it's too short."
Harry let out a soft chuckle as the door opened and Hermione's brown head appeared around it. "It is too short! Harry go away!" she said.
"Why," He asked, enjoying her discomfort. "I'm going to have to see you in it sooner or later, I am your partner."
Hermione sighed and stepped out of the closet, putting her hand across her breasts. "It's a little tight up here," she said.
Harry could only stare at her shapely figure housed so little in the leopard print garb. "It's uh…" he swallowed hard.
"No, it's perfect!" Cho pulled Hermione's hands away. "Harry, doesn't she look fantastic?"
Hermione tentatively raised her eyes to see his and was taken aback by the look in his eyes. Lavender would call it a look of love, but she knew better, she knew Harry could never think of her that way.
"Harry," Cho said impatiently. "How does she look?"
"Great," Harry cleared his throat and smiled. "Just incredible…" his voice trailed off as Cho began to fuss over the neckline. Hermione's eyes locked with his and they stared at one another for a good few moments.
"Will I be practising in this today?" Hermione finally looked away from Harry and tried to regain her bearings.
"I think you should," Harry agreed immediately, his gaze now travelling over her legs. "And the shoes as well, you only have today and tomorrow left to take lessons with those on."
Hermione silently wondered if he was truly concerned about her practising in high heeled shoes or if he just wanted to make eyes at her body all day.
"Well," Cho said, quite pleased with how well the dress fit Hermione. "My work here is done. I leave you in Harry's capable hands, Hermione." she grabbed her bag and made for the door, but she could feel Harry's concerned eyes on her.
"Don't worry, Dad," she teased, smiling thinly. "I'm staying far away from Draco!"
Harry narrowed his eyes at her as she left; knowing she was starting to feel ill again but trying to hide it from him. "I'll come by to check on you later." he said.
"I'm fine, Harry," Cho said, as she walked out the door.
Hermione pulled the dress down again, feeling a little uncomfortable about how much skin she was actually showing. She saw Harry's amused expression. "What?" she asked, her cheeks reddening a bit.
"Nothing," Harry replied, his eyes sparkling. "Looks good on you Granger." he walked to the corner and removed his own dress wear. "Mind if I change?" he asked, whipping off his t shirt.
"Um," she stammered, trying not to look at him as he did so. "Go right ahead."
Hermione swore she heard him laugh as she stole a glance at him. When she looked up, she saw that the mirrors in front of the room had given her away.
"Like what you see?" he teased, buttoning up the crisp white and grey swirled dress shirt. It fitted him perfectly and the black trousers he already wore were the same shade as his hair.
"It's alright," she said with a playful shrug. "If you like the tall, dark, and handsome type." 'Is he flirting with me?' she wondered.
Harry grinned even wider. "Well I wanted to ask your opinion of holding an extra long practise tomorrow, just to make sure we have it down perfectly." he bent over the CD player to find the right music.
She nodded and looked down at the high heel shoes on her feet. "I think I'm going to need all the help I can get in these things. You realize that these heels could do total damage to your toes? You are taking your life into your own hands, Potter. Don't say I didn't warn you."
Harry laughed. "Let's get started, you're perfect with all the steps but I'm not sure yet how you'll handle those heels." He set the music to start and took Hermione into his arms.
She suppressed a laugh as he looked down at her shoes once more before they began to move. "Harry, I thought the first rule of dance was not to look at your feet? Look right into my eyes."
"Smartass," Harry grinned as he dipped her back, enjoying the swell of her breasts in his face.
*** *** ***
Cho emerged from her bathroom, wiping her sweaty face with a cool damp towel. "I hate this," she muttered. With the Sheldrake in two days, she didn't want Harry to worry about her as he was prone to do most of the time. Cho collapsed on her bed as a knock sounded at her door. "Come in..." she called a bit weakly.
Neville opened the door, a smile on his face and a paper bag in one hand. His smile faded when he saw Cho, look up at him weakly.
"Green is definitely not your colour," he said with a grin. "I guess you wouldn't want these blueberry muffins I nicked from the kitchens, then?"
Cho shook her head quickly. "That was nice of you to think of me though," she smiled faintly at him. "Sorry... I just hate being such a mess. This will go away in a few minutes."
He shrugged. "I should be apologizing barging in one you like this. To be honest, Harry wanted me to check up on you. He said he'd be busy with Hermione this afternoon and wanted to make sure you were taking care of yourself."
"Typical of him," Cho rolled her eyes as she finally sat up. "Neville... can I tell you something?"
"Sure," he said, taking a seat at the edge of the bed.
Cho sighed as she fiddled with a strand of her long black hair. "I'm not so sure I'm doing the right thing here..." she pressed her still flat stomach with her hand. "I mean... Draco Malfoy or not... this is still my baby in here."
He didn't know what to say and wondered if he was the one she should be telling this to. He'd always liked her, of course, but they'd never been more than casual friends. He figured she should be telling this to someone closer to her, like Harry. On the other hand, he felt privileged that she felt that she could open up to him about this.
"I can't pretend that I know what you're going through," he said softly. "But, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do, Cho. This is your decision."
"I know," small tears came to her eyes. "When I first found out about the baby... well you knew how I was... and Hermione... I can't believe what she's done for us, she's really amazing."
"She has been fantastic," Neville agreed. "And so are you, Cho. Don't sell yourself short. I admire how you've held up through all of this. It couldn't have been easy."
"Thanks Neville," Cho yawned. "I tell you... I get sleepy so easily these days."
"Well, for good reason," Neville said, getting to his feet and fluffing her pillows. "You know what you need, Miss Chang? You need to take it easy."
Cho smiled. "You're a good friend Neville. Will you be around later?"
"Of course," Neville said, taking the bag of muffins he'd brought and setting it on her bedside table. "I'll leave those for you in case you get hungry later on." He looked at her as she lay back on the pillows and closed her eyes. And if Cho hadn't fallen asleep at that exact moment, she'd have felt Neville lean over and kiss her lightly on the forehead before he quietly closed the door behind him.
*** *** ***
Harry knocked on the door to his uncle's office. "You wanted to see me?" he asked coolly. He couldn't imagine what Vernon would have to say to him, they usually stayed as far apart as possible while Harry was at Hillsdale.
"You're nearly ten minutes late," Vernon said sharply, waving his hand for Harry to come inside and close the door.
"Yes, well I had some guests asking me for directions," Harry refused to sit down. "Would you have liked me to ignore them?" He crossed his arms over his chest, his green eyes glinting. He'd actually had to interrupt his lesson with Hermione and reschedule it for later that day, which annoyed Harry more than anything. He wanted to spend more and more time with her as he had finally stopped acting like an arse.
"Don't get smart with me," Vernon said gruffly. "Something has come to my attention that I feel I need to address with you."
"What could that possibly be?" Harry asked sarcastically.
Vernon sat back in his chair and looked at his nephew. "Mind your tone, Harry. This is quite a serious matter and if it is not taken care of, you'll be out of work along with that partner of yours."
Harry narrowed his eyes. "Why don't we get on with this then, instead of you beating around the bloody bush? I've no idea what you're referring to."
"What I'm referring to, boy," Vernon said with a sneer, "is that this resort has certain rules that the employees are supposed to follow. Do you remember what the first rule is?"
Harry stared at him without saying a word as fury rose inside him 'Ginny told him about Hermione,' was his first thought. "Yes," he said tightly. "I'm not quite sure what you're going at. I'm not involved with any guests."
Vernon got up from his chair slowly and walked over and stood right in front of Harry. "You're lying."
"No, I'm not," Harry said in a controlled voice. "I don't know where you suddenly heard this from, but it's not true." his hands balled into fists as he stared straight back at his purple faced uncle.
"I heard that you and Miss Chang visited the restaurant this morning," Vernon said, also trying hard to keep his cool. His nephew always knew exactly how to press his buttons. "Which, as you also know, is another rule. Employees are not to be in the main dining room unless they are a member of the wait staff."
"She had to talk to one of the waiters about something," Harry replied. "We were there for about two minutes." the corner of his lip curled up slightly.
"Two minutes too long, if you ask me," Vernon said gruffly, stepping away from Harry. "I also have it under good authority that you've been spending a certain amount of time in the company of the Grangers' daughter, Hermione."
Harry exhaled sharply. "She asked for dance lessons. I was under the impression that I was to comply with every guests' request." his hands began to shake and he shoved them into his pockets.
Vernon chortled. "Dance lessons?"
"I am a dancer Vernon, or have you forgotten the reason why you hired me?" Harry spat.
Vernon rounded on Harry. He raised a chubby finger and put it in his nephew's face. "I didn't hire you to romance the daughter of one of my best clients and friends. You'd do well to remember that. That girl is way out of your league, Harry. If I hear of you so much as breathing the same air as her, you're out on your lazy arse, you got that?"
"Got it," Harry snapped. He turned around and threw the office door open, slamming it shut behind him. He took a moment in the hall think about something for a moment, and then stomped down towards the lake.
Ginny sat on the lifeguard bench, twirling her whistle around her finger. She was bored out of her mind. When she'd signed on for this job, she'd pictured sitting in the sun, working on her tan and checking out handsome blokes. She certainly hadn't planned on sitting in this chair listening to spoiled brats whining to their parents, old men leering at her, or giving directions to lost guests.
With one last check at the lake, she descended the lifeguard bench and made her way toward the concession stand to get a soda. She was nearly there when she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. Expecting it to be Draco, she was quite surprised to turn and see Harry standing before her.
"Ginny," he said tightly. "Might I have a word with you please? In private?" he didn't smile but he tried not to let his eyes betray his anger.
She smiled, somewhat surprised that he wanted to talk to her. He'd never been one to seek her out. She'd always been the one to approach him.
Ginny nodded and asked if the girl at the concession stand would watch the lake for a few minutes. "Um, how about in there?" she asked, pointing toward the boathouse. "It's empty."
"Fine," Harry said briskly. He yanked her into the room and slammed the door behind them. "Now you're going to answer me honestly here." he was breathing heavy and his voice was shaking.
"You're scaring me, Harry," Ginny said, nervous at being alone with him when he looked so angry.
"Good," Harry said, his teeth clenched. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back hard against the wall. "Now what the fuck did you tell Dursley about Hermione and I?"
Ginny winced. "About you and who?" she asked hoarsely. "I don't have any idea what you're talking about Harry! You're hurting me!"
"You told Vernon Dursley about Hermione!" Harry shouted. "You threatened me with this the other day and now you've gone and done it. Did you think I wasn't going to find out?" He glared down at her so fiercely that tears came to her eyes.
Ginny vehemently shook her head. She cowered under his intense gaze. "Harry! I've never spoken two words to your uncle! I wouldn't have said anything! Honestly! You've got to believe me! I haven't said anything to anyone about you and that girl."
Something in Harry clicked as he watched her sniff and brush away the tears. "Fine..." he said as he released her. "Keep it that way," he turned and left her in the dark boathouse.
Ginny struggled to catch her breath as she watched him leave. She gingerly rubbed her arms which were bruised from where he'd grabbed her.
There was obviously someone else out there who didn't like seeing Harry and Hermione together, Ginny thought to herself as she tried to regain her composure. She took out her wand and with a quick swish and flick; the bruises on her arm were gone. Maybe she could try and find out who this person was...it never hurt to have an ally.
*** *** ***
Hermione was nearly out of breath when she jogged quickly toward the dance studio. The croquet game with her mother and Lavender had gone on much longer than she'd expected. Of course, it didn't help that Lavender was moving at a snail's pace throughout the entire game. More than once her mother had commented that Hermione's head didn't seem to be in the game. She was right. Hermione was still reliving that wonderful morning practice session with Harry.
She'd remember how he'd smiled at her as she expertly did the dance in the high heel shoes. She remembered how he'd teased her about showing him up the next night by how quickly she caught on. It had been their best lesson yet. She finally felt like she was breaking through with him.
Hermione bounded up the stairs to the studio and didn't even knock as she opened the door. Harry was already there, his back to her. He didn't turn around and she teasingly went over to him and ruffled his hair.
"Hey!" she said happily.
Harry tensed up as he heard her voice. "Hi," he grunted.
"I know I'm late," she said, not noticing the tone of his voice. "But it was the croquet game that would not end. I tried to rush it along, but Lavender doesn't even know the meaning of the word rush."
She set her bag down and looked over at him. "So what did you want to start with first?"
"I don't care," Harry replied sullenly. He didn't even want to turn and look at her. He really didn't care about losing his job here but he didn't want to put Cho in peril. "Let's just do the whole thing and call it a day."
Hermione noticed the tone of his voice and walked over to him. She put a hand on his arm. "Is everything okay, Harry?"
"Fine," Harry shrugged out of her grip. He started the music and grabbed her roughly around the middle.
Here we go again, she thought sadly. It was always one step forward and two steps back with him, she thought as she began to go through the steps. Something was off with him, though, and she wanted to know what it was. He was looking everywhere, but at her and if this had happened this morning, she'd have teased him about it, but with how he was acting now, she didn't dare open her mouth.
They went through the dance silently and Harry restarted the music without a word. He turned back around and noticed her clothing. "Why aren't you wearing the dress and the shoes?" he barked. "I told you that you were supposed to wear them for the rest of our practices!"
"I didn't have time to change after the game," she replied. "I rushed right here afterwards. If you want, I can apparate back to my cabin and get them."
"It's too late now!" Harry snapped. He grabbed her again and they started the dance once more, Hermione shooting confused looks at him that Harry tried hard to ignore. He dipped her at the exact time in the music, but pulled up a little too hard and her forehead smacked against his, making a loud crack.
"OUCH!" Hermione exclaimed, rubbing her head. "Why did you do that?"
"Why did YOU?" Harry shot back. "Bloody hell, you'd think we hadn't been working our asses off at this the whole week, the way you keep making mistakes!"
"I wasn't the one who just made the mistake, Harry!" Hermione retorted. "You pulled me up too fast!" She felt the anger rise in her as he walked over to the CD player and shut it off. "What is your problem today?" she asked angrily.
"Nothing! What, you think you can just barge in here and think you know everything about me? I didn't ask for you to step in and play the hero with Cho!" Harry snapped, hating himself for his words.
"You're ego can't take someone else being the hero, for once!" she spat back at him angrily. "And in case you've forgotten, Harry, I'm taking a big chance helping you out! I've lied to my parents. If they knew what I was doing, they'd go ballistic. I'm doing all of this to save your arse and what I really want to do is drop you on it!" She turned away from him and folded her arms protectively across her chest. Hermione was sick and tired of putting up with this from him.
Harry was deadly silent for a moment. "Get out," he spoke quietly at first. "GET THE HELL OUT!" he screamed when she didn't move.
She felt tears come to her eyes as she looked into his cold eyes. She wasn't about to cry in front of him, not after this.
With all the strength she could muster, she took her hand and slapped him as hard as she could. She couldn't say who was more surprised by what she'd just done, she or Harry. Without even looking back, she quickly ran out of the room, slamming the door firmly behind her.
Cho was walking up the stairs to the studio, when the door suddenly opened and Hermione came sprinting down the stairs. Cho wanted to go after her, but didn't think she needed to. The reasoning behind Hermione's rapid escape lay behind that studio door. With a sigh, she walked up the stairs and opened the door to the studio to see Harry leaning against the mirrors. His head was in his hands.
"What the hell just happened, Harry?"
"I'm the biggest fucking prat, you know that?" Harry answered. He let his head thud against the mirror. "Ouch..." he winced.
Cho frowned at him. "What did you do this time?"
Harry sighed. "Dursley found out we were doing dancing lessons and someone told him that we were doing something... else. He called me in his office and threatened to fire both of us if I didn't stay away from her." Harry sank onto the floor. "When the hell did it come to all this Cho?"
Cho sat down beside him. "So you took it out on her? Harry, she didn't have anything to do with that! You should be on your hands and knees thanking her for all that she's done. We both should."
"I know!" Harry replied. "It's just... it's become more than what it should be... and I don't know what to bloody do!"
"You'll be lucky if she ever speaks to you again," Cho said, shaking her head. "She looked pretty upset, Harry."
Harry shook his head. "I thought at first... you know she'd just take your place and then you know... we'd say hi when we saw each other till she left. Now I just... I care about her dammit but we can't lose our jobs!"
"This isn't the only job in the world, Harry," Cho said, looking at him. "We can find other jobs. I don't think you're going to find another person like Hermione, Harry."
"What do I do?" he asked.
Cho looked thoughtful. "Beg? Grovel? Apologize? Or any variation of all three," she teased.
"You might be on to something," Harry kissed her cheek. "Thanks Cho."
*** *** ***
At midnight Hermione crept from her bed. Lavender wasn't in yet, so Hermione bunched up her pillows and balled up a sweatshirt to make it look like she was huddled under the blankets.
She pulled a jumper out of her drawer and slipped into it, then was out the door, shutting it behind her quietly as to not wake her parents. Hermione walked briskly towards the clearing, Harry's note shoved into her pocket. "He'd better have a good bloody excuse for this," she muttered.
Harry waited for her in the clearing; he fiddled with the portable CD player he'd brought with the music they were to dance to that very evening. He really hoped Hermione would show… he felt bad for the way he'd thrown her out of his cabin earlier, and his behaviour over the past week had been atrocious.
"Hi," her voice startled Harry out of his thoughts and he spun around. "You asked me to come here?" Hermione's tone was cool.
"Hey," he gave her a half smile. "Thanks for coming," he looked down, scuffing his shoe in the dewy grass.
"I wasn't going to, not after this afternoon," Hermione replied.
"Can't say I don't blame you," Harry gave her an ashamed smile. "Look, I wanted to apologise, not just for today, but for a lot of things."
"Oh?" Hermione pretended she wasn't interested but her eyes flicked up towards him.
"Yeah," Harry said. He sat down, patting the spot next to him. Hermione hesitantly did the same, not sure of his intentions. "I'm not normally such an arse."
Hermione snorted. "Really, because that's pretty much all I've seen of you since we began the lessons."
"All right, I deserved that," Harry said. "It's just…" he sighed. "Cho is one of the most important people in my life. We're extremely close… I look out for her and she looks out for me. When we found out she was pregnant… I couldn't help her out of it this time. And when that bloody Malfoy wouldn't own up to things…" he put his head in his hands for a moment. "I never wanted to kill someone more than I do him.
"I'm not so good under stress… and with my uncle on my case about everything… I just snapped I guess. I took things out on you, and for that I'm sorry."
Hermione didn't say anything at first. "I understand you're stressed out, but that's not an excuse for being so nasty when I was just trying to help."
"I know," Harry said. "Please… I'm so sorry." He looked so pleadingly at her that Hermione felt herself soften immediately.
"All right," she relented, finally smiling at him.
"Really?" Harry brightened.
"Yes," Hermione sighed. "I don't like holding grudges."
Harry smiled widely and Hermione found it contagious. "I like that," she remarked.
"You like what?" Harry asked.
"When you smile. It suits you better than that scowl." She teased.
Harry grinned. "How about we start over?" he said, sticking out his hand. "Hi, Harry Potter, nice to meet you."
Hermione laughed. "Charmed I'm sure," she replied and Harry grinned again.
"May I ask the lovely lady for a dance?" he pulled her up.
"Perhaps," Hermione said coyly. Harry turned to start the music and took her in his arms.
She knew the dance so well by now that she was almost on automatic as they spun around the clearing. Hermione felt almost hypnotized by his luminous green eyes as Harry dipped her back so low her hair brushed the grass.
"We'll have one more practise tomorrow in the late morning, full dress… I'll talk to Cho in the afternoon about any last minute fittings." Harry brought her back up. "But you're doing really fantastic… especially for only a week's worth of lessons."
"Thanks," Hermione said softly. Harry smiled as they stepped across the clearing and he dipped her again as the music began to move into the final crescendos. He pulled her back up slowly, and one of his hands left her waist and cupped her cheek. The dance was supposed to end with her and Harry staring into each other's eyes, which wasn't a chore for her.
The first time Harry had cupped her cheek, Hermione had nearly fainted. His touch was so soft and it had felt tender… yet right afterwards he had started snapping and yelling again.
This time, however… he kept his hand there even after the music had faded, staring directly into her eyes. Her breathing grew quicker as did his… their faces growing closer and closer to one another until her eyelids instinctively shut. Harry looked down at her another split moment before closing the distance between them, pressing his lips firmly to hers.