Disclaimer: No matter how much we wish/pray/pretend, we do not own Harry Potter or anything related to the series. The wonderful and brilliant J.K. Rowling created the Harry Potter universe, not us.
Authors Note: Reviews! We need reviews! This is our first story, so please be kind! We would really like some feedback from anyone who is willing to participate. If the story seems a little slow, we promise it will get better. And as of right now, our title is tentative, so anyone with ideas please let us know!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
But he's irresistible
Up close and personal
Now inescapable
I can hardly breathe
More than just physical
Deeper than spiritual
His ways are powerful
Irresistible to me
I can hardly breathe
-Jessica Simpson, "Irresistible"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Daily Prophet's Bachelor of the Century-
Harry Potter
By Cho Chang
Ever since his masterful defeat the darkest lord in the history of wizardry nearly 5 months ago, Harry James Potter not only managed to save the entire world as we know it, but to capture the hearts of countless witches along the way. With his intense emerald green eyes and unkempt yet captivating ebon colored hair, our 20 year old Mr. Potter is simply, in one word, irresistible. And praise Merlin ladies! In an exclusive interview with yours truly, Mr. Potter saids quote "No, I'm not seriously seeing anyone special right now. Just focusing on the new Quidditch season." When I inquired about 20 year old Hermione Granger, a longtime childhood friend who had recently been linked to Mr. Potter romantically, he only mentioned quote "We're best friends, and extremely close, but nothing more." Mr. Potter will be celebrating his 21st birthday this week with friends and family at small party, in his honor of course, at a remote location in the countryside near the village of Ottery St. Catchpole.
Hermione Granger blinked slowly and clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Not seriously seeing anyone special right now?" she repeated aloud, stopping in the middle of a highly congested sidewalk outside the Ministry of Magic where she worked. She eyed the picture that accompanied the article suspiciously. As she continued to read, her irritation began to increase with every word she took in. Once finished, Hermione forcefully folded the paper and tried to calm herself down. She continued walking, but instead of turning a left on the street that would have led her to her to her home, she practically ran into a dark ally and quickly Apparated. She had to go to 12 Grimmauld Place first. She had to confront her boyfriend now…
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Harry James Potter sat at the kitchen table of 12 Grimmauld Place. He was trying, without much success, to have a brainstorming session on how to improve his Quidditch moves with his best friend of almost 10 years, Ronald Weasley.
"There's nothing else to criticize you on, mate!" Ron exclaimed exasperatedly.
"Oh, come on Ron. There has to be more. You know I'm not nearly as fast as I was back at Hogwarts" Harry spat.
"Come off it! If anything, you're even faster than you were when you played for Gryffindor! Face it! You're just too bloody-" but Ron stopped in mid-sentence. He was interrupted by a loud slam at the front door, followed by the horrible, earsplitting, bloodcurdling screeches echoing from Mrs. Black's portrait.
"Filthy Mudblood! Repugnance of the wizarding world! Be gone from here!"
"Sounds like Hermione!" Ron yelled as he covered his ears to block out the portrait's insults.
As the two began to rise from the table to shut the curtains around Mrs. Black, they were thrust back into their seats
as a fuming Hermione burst into the room, knocking the ancient kitchen door off its hinges along the way and sending it
flat onto the floor with a thud. Harry and Ron exchanged shocked glances as they watched her hastily cross the gloomy
room and stand with hands on her hips in front of them. Her normally placid and welcoming honey colored eyes had turned
into pools of stormy brown, and the beautiful golden flecks that once adorned them transformed into what seemed to the
bewildered pair as almost a fiery red. She simply glared at Harry.
"Uh…..bad day at work love?" he asked her warily, eyeing her work bag hanging over her shoulder.
He answer was another cold stare, but this time it was in Ron's direction.
"Err…I think…I'll be going now." Ron said slowly, his voice barely above a whisper.
"What? No!" Harry responded in a pleading voice. From his girlfriend's infamous Death Glare, he gathered he was in for it, and it appeared that Ron did as well. But Harry also knew that she detested arguing in front of people, and that she wouldn't dare unleash Hurricane Hermione until they were alone. Unfortunately for Harry, his last glimmer of hope for peace had already scrambled from its chair and out the kitchen through the now door-less archway, mumbling excuses about having left the fellytone running.
Harry gulped. The silence in the room was eerily deafening. Even the portrait of Sirius's mother, her shrieks having been droned out when Hermione had made her extravagant entrance, was now silent as a grave.
Harry opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong, but promptly clamped his jaw shut as Hermione suddenly lifted her hands from her hips and slammed down the now tattered copy of The Daily Prophet on the table.
"Would you be so kind as to explain to me the meaning of that, Mr. Potter?" she said in a fake and rather sweet singsong voice that reminded him instantly of Dolores Umbridge.
Harry stared at paper. On the front page was the article Hermione had read. Next to it was a large picture of Harry. The Harry in the picture was grinning enchantingly and winked at the real Harry when he looked down at him. He had no shirt on.
"Oh," Harry croaked. "I had forgotten that the article came out today."
He quickly read the article and looked back up at Hermione. Not only did he see the obvious anger in her face, but the deep hurt that was masked behind it.
"Not seriously seeing anyone special right now?" she questioned, fighting back tears and using harsher tone than before.
"Hermione, I-" Harry began, but was cut short.
"Not seriously seeing anyone special right now?!" she repeated, this time a bit louder and with more force. "We're best friends, and extremely close, but nothing more? Well, that is certainly news to me Potter!"
"Hermione, you-" he tried again as he stood up to meet her gaze, but failed.
"5 months Harry!" she barreled on. "We have been dating for 5 months! You would think that you would remember you have a girlfriend by now" she finished, crossing her arms in front of her chest as tears escaped her eyes and ran down her cheeks.
"Hermione! You're working yourself into a fit over nothing!" he interjected before she could continue her ramblings. "I never told Cho any of that. She didn't even have the courtesy to interview me herself for that matter."
"You…didn't?" Hermione said quietly. "She…didn't?"
"No. And I never posed for that picture, obviously." Harry added as he glanced at the photograph again, which was now flexing.
Hermione dropped her bag and quietly sank into the nearest chair and buried her face in her hands. The tears were still falling. Any anger Harry had inside of him evaporated at the sight of her. He absolutely hated seeing Hermione cry. He loved her too much to see her in any pain. He quickly crossed to the other side of the table and knelt down next to her.
"Hey, 'Mione," he said gently, "it's alright. I'm not mad or anything."
"I'm so sorry Harry," she gasped through her tears. "I don't know what came over me. I just…I
read that…and got so upset…I know better than to listen to what the papers say about you. Especially something written
by Cho."
Cho Chang and Harry had never reconciled since their squabble in his 5th year. She has always seemed to have it in for him since.
As her last tear trickled down her cheek, Harry wiped it away with his thumb.
"I love you Hermione. You know that, right?" he whispered in her ear is her pulled her into a soft embrace.
"Yes Harry," she said with a slight giggle. "I love you too. More than you will ever know."
With that said, Hermione pulled Harry into a sweet yet deep kiss that left each of them a little breathless. After they had pulled apart, Harry remembered something in Cho's article that had perplexed him.
"Hey, what was that bit in the article about 'Mr. Potter celebrating his 21st birthday with friends and family with a small party, in his honor of course'" Harry quoted in a nasally voice, and Hermione guessed was his impersonation of Cho Chang.
"Oh, that's another reason I was so upset!" Hermione exclaimed. "The Weasley's and I have been planning a surprise birthday party for you at The Burrow for months now. I haven't the slightest idea how she could have got that information. Anyway, now that you know, I guess we'll have to cancel" she finished cheekily, a smile playing at her lips.
"What! That's not fair!" Harry roared as he swept her off the chair and twirled her around the room. "You would dare have me miss out on all the fun?"
"Well, the fun, Mr. Potter, begins in a few hours" she replied with her arms around his neck. "Which reminds me, I should have been home over half and hour ago. Put me down sir"
"Why should I?"
"Well, unless you want me to look like this for your party tonight, I suggest you do as I say." Hermione teased.
"You look beautiful right now" He answered truthfully.
"Thank you Harry, but really, I should be going."
"Alright." He said sullenly as he carefully lowered her to the ground. "So what time is my party?"
"Ron will be here to escort you to The Burrow at 6." Hermione replied as she scooped up her work bag from the floor and fixed her hair which was hanging loosely in a ponytail.
She turned around and gave Harry a peck on the cheek as she walked over to the fireplace to Floo home. She was too tired to Apparate.
"Oh, Hermione wait. I almost forgot something" Harry called, walking up behind her.
When she turned around, he quickly pulled her into an intense kiss that made her drop her bag and put her arms around his neck as he placed his own around her waist.
"You prat" Hermione whispered minutes later after they had parted while playfully punching him on the shoulder. She then turned around, grabbed a handful of powder, and Flooed home to get ready for Harry's not-really-a-surprise-thanks-to-Cho party. And with an amazing flash of green flames, Harry was left standing alone in the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *