Summer Writing Series Challenge (June 24)
Challenge: Harry & Hermione deal with their fame in the wizarding world.
Title: The Harry Potter Fan Club
Word Count: 1,093 (So I went over again, *shrug* :)
Morning: Calm, serene, peaceful. It's the time of day when birds seem most active, singing their praises to the wonderful golden orb that gives them warmth and light. Only those but the most ambitious see the first shades of oranges, then greens then blues ripple across the sky like a disturbed, calm pool. The stars wink goodbye as they fade from view and the moon settles a sleeping cap on its head and waves silently as it hunkers down on the opposite horizon for some rest.
Harry Potter felt like one of those birds on this glorious morning. No other morning had been quite like this one, not the dawn of his eleventh birthday, not the day after defeating Voldemort, never had he felt so free and happy. He sighed contentedly as he stroked Hermione's hair. They were sitting in his back yard on a blanket, watching the dawn of their first day as a couple. He heard her yawn happily as she rolled over, her head still in his lap.
"Good morning." She said with a soft smile playing upon her lips.
Harry looked to her and grinned happily. "Good morning."
"Why didn't we do that sooner?" She asked him with a twinkle in her eyes.
"We've said good morning loads of times." Harry said cheekily and laughed when Hermione slapped his chest playfully. "For my part, I thought you and Ron were together." He said after a moment. "I wasn't going to break you two up."
"Did you just assume we were?" She asked in mock irritation.
Harry smiled wistfully. "I guess I did." He admitted. "Seeing the two of you sharing private jokes and holding hands after I'd gotten back from training ..."
"Harry, we used to do that in school, you and me." She said with a slight laugh. "Ron and I finally stopped fighting and it became easier to talk with him."
"I also had the enjoyment in the Daily Prophet." He said with a grin. "I should have known better than think anything in that rag was true."
Hermione sat up and snorted a laugh. "You actually believed those stories?" She playfully pushed him and laughed harder.
"Well, I was gone and I see pictures of you two sharing kisses, on the cheek now that I think about it, and walking hand-in-hand ..." He smiled and shrugged. "What was I to think?"
"I can see how that might skew your judgment." Hermione said after a moment. "But you know that I don't see Ron that way."
She leaned in as a wide smile crossed Harry's face, their lips touched and a flash of light went off, blinding the two.
"What the bloody hell?" Harry bellowed as he spotted the photographer at the fence. The photographer's eyes went wide that he'd been spotted and after seeing the look on Harry's face, the color drained from his previously rosy cheeks. "Give me that film!" Harry shouted crossly as he raised his hand. The man with the camera shook his head and with a pop, disapparated.
"Lovely, that's just brilliant!" Harry cursed loudly.
"Harry, calm down." Hermione said with a gentle pat to his arm. "He's got the picture. Please don't let it ruin our day ..."
Harry looked into the chocolate swirls of the woman he loved and sighed. "I can't even enjoy a quiet time with the woman I love." He said quietly.
"Y-You love?" She asked with a trembling voice.
Harry smiled and nodded. "I love." He said again. "I love you, Hermione."
A large, white smile spread across her face. "I love you too, Harry." She said softly.
He cupped her cheek and kissed her tenderly, his previous feeling, when they were lying in his bed, confirmed. They gathered the blanket and quickly retreated to his room for a repeat of the previous night and a few hours later, a hungry couple were scouring his kitchen for something to eat.
"It looks like anything edible was devoured last night at the party." Harry said dejectedly.
"We can go to the market." Hermione offered after tossing a container of something green and fuzzy in the dustbin. "I think that would be a wise course of action."
Harry nodded and laughed. "I haven't been shopping with you before. As a couple or for food, that is." He said, pulling her into a hug and kissing her neck.
"As much as I love you, Harry, you better stop that or we'll not get any food!" She said playfully. "And I need something to eat or I'll go spare ..."
Harry picked her up in a bear hug and kissed her lips after she squealed and he laughed. "Let's get some clothes on then." He said as he set her back down. "I've seen you grumpy and though you're cute, you're dangerous ..." He ran out of the room, but just slow enough that Hermione's playful slap to his rear connected. The two of them laughed as they bolted to his room and dressed.
A few minutes later, they were walking hand-in-hand through a market somewhere along Diagon Alley. Hermione went about her business, selecting her food with a discerning eye and ignoring everyone else they passed unless she recognized them. Harry, on the other hand, became more and more irritable the longer they stayed in the store.
"Ignore them, Harry." She whispered into his ear.
"I'm trying to." He said grumpily. "I haven't been gawked at this much since the first week at Hogwarts."
"You can't let it get to you, Harry." She said with a comforting smile and a kiss. There were gasps from a group of young women who had been following the couple and Harry glanced back at them quickly.
"The story was true!" One of the girls squealed to the group. "Harry's taken!?"
"It seems we've finally met the new generation of the Harry Potter Fan Club." Hermione said with a slight grin as the girls began to back away.
"I have a FAN CLUB?!" Harry shrieked in disbelief. "Why am I surprised?" He said as he turned way, Hermione firmly in hand. "Let's just finish our shopping and go, Love."
"Did you hear that?" Another of the girls swooned behind them. "I wish he'd call me 'Love'." She said dreamily.
"Next thing you know, they'll have little Harry dolls!" Hermione said with a laugh, finally eliciting a grin out of her boyfriend. "And you better not stop calling me that, Mr. Potter!" She said as he finally let out a laugh of his own.
A/N: Yay! A continuation of the waking up scene (Sharing an Impromptu Nap)!! A little fluff, a little humor, and a small, insignifigant cliffhanger! Heh.