Author's note: Sorry, sorry, sorry for the delay. I have no excuse except for a major case of block that finally appears to be gone (crosses fingers that it won't be back anytime soon!). Please read and review!
Chapter Four
In the Morning Light
The early morning sun was peeking through the curtains to Hermione's bedroom. Her eyes blinked open once, but she shut them just as quickly as the light hit her straight on. She couldn't remember a time when she'd slept so peacefully and soundly. She didn't know what time it was and for the moment, she didn't care. She was snug and warm here in her bed. Besides, she suddenly remembered, it was Saturday morning. If she wanted to have a lie-in, she certainly could.
She sighed contentedly and then suddenly was jerked awake when she felt a weight on her hip. Her eyes grew wide as saucers as she looked and saw someone's arm draped casually over her waist. She didn't dare move. Then, like a rush, it hit her who was beside her in bed. Harry.
They'd fallen asleep last night after he'd come in to apologize. She'd been too tired to wake him up and he'd obviously been too knackered to get up and go to his own bed. So, they'd slept here, side by side, all night long. Her first thought was, Merlin's beard! I'm lying here in my bed spooning with my best friend. What's wrong with this picture?"
Nothing is wrong with this picture. It's just Harry. I've fallen asleep in the same room with him before. Of course, I can't remember when I've ever shared a bed with him. But, we have slept on the same couch before. But, he'd been at one end of the couch and I'd been at the other. So, that's not really a fair comparison, is it? Those had all been fairly innocent, innocuous situations in perfectly neutral situations.
A voice in the back of her head that sounded suspiciously like Ginny kept echoing in her mind. It kept telling her that if he was just her friend, she wouldn't be lying here freaking about the implications of them sleeping in the same bed.
This is silly. There was no snogging…no touching. Well, come to think of it, that wasn't exactly true.
She'd caught a chill in the middle of the night and to keep warm, she'd snuggled up closer to Harry. She remembered how warm and soft the fabric from his shirt had felt against her skin.
Last night, she'd been too tired to think of the implications of sleeping in the same bed as Harry last night. Now, in the harsh light of day, she wondered if Harry would remember how she'd cuddled with him.
Okay, Hermione. Don't bring the word "cuddle" into this…that makes it sound romantic and more than it actually was. Okay, think…what would be a better word to describe what we did…holding each other? No, that's going in the same direction as 'cuddling'. Oh, sod it all!
She rolled her eyes as she lifted Harry's arm from her waist slowly so she wouldn't wake him. That was all she needed for him to wake up and tease her about being so worried about how she thought this looked. Creeping slowly out of bed, she found her old dressing gown on a chair and pulled it protectively around her.
She chanced a look at Harry's sleeping form on the bed and she couldn't help smiling at how completely adorable he looked. Sometime during the night, he'd placed his glasses on the bedside table. He looked quite different without them, but he still looked as adorable as ever.
Hermione…there you go with that 'adorable' word.
His hair was as mussed about as she'd ever seen it. She knew Harry hated that particular feature about himself, but she'd never told him that she found it one of his most endearing and yes, it must be said, most attractive qualities.
Shaking her head, she slowly walked out of the room and closed the door softly behind her.
A few moments later, she emerged from the bathroom. She'd tamed her hair as best she could and brushed her teeth. She was about to go downstairs and make some breakfast for she and Harry when she heard the doorbell sound.
She wondered who would be calling so early on a Saturday morning. She hurried down the stairs and through the foyer and swung the door open. To her utter surprise, Brian stood on the doorstep with a letter in his hand and a satisfied smirk on his face.
They stared at each other for a few moments before Hermione found the use of her voice again.
"Brian," she said quietly. "What are you doing here?'
"I could ask you the same question if I didn't already know the bloody answer," Brian said icily.
Neither Hermione nor Brian saw that Harry was standing at the top of the stairs listening to every word. He'd woken up just as Hermione had closed the bedroom door behind her and he'd tried to go back to sleep, but found this an impossible task as his mind was on the fact that he and Hermione had slept in the same bed all night. He'd decided to take a quick shower to clear his head and had just taken off his shirt and trousers when he'd heard the doorbell chime and heard Brian's voice. He felt like an idiot for standing here at the foot of the stairs dressed in nothing but boxer shorts, but he wanted to hear what Brian's excuse was for coming to the house unannounced and uninvited.
"Brian," Hermione began, but her voice trailed off as Brian gave out a hollow laugh.
"It doesn't take a genius to figure out this would be where you'd go," Brian said shaking his head. "I didn't even bother going to your parents' house first. I had a feeling that I'd be right on the money if I came here first. And now look at you…where you always wanted to be, right Hermione?"
Hermione folded her arms and looked at him. The man she'd thought she'd loved wasn't the man who was staring back at her now. He was cold and bitter.
"Though, to be honest, I should have known better," Brian said. "You do remember how I finally got you to go out with me, don't you?"
Harry couldn't take it anymore. He knew that what he was about to do could either make Hermione hate him or thank him. He was willing to take a chance that she'd thank him. Descending the stairs, Harry yawned loudly and Hermione froze as Brian looked past her and saw Harry approaching them with a goofy grin on his face.
"There you are!" he exclaimed to Hermione. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and planted kisses on a surprised Hermione's neck. "I was worried when I woke up and you weren't there."
Hermione was at a complete and utter loss for words. She didn't know what to say and she certainly couldn't look at Brian while Harry was doing what he was doing.
She laughed nervously.
"Oh, hello Finley," Harry said, finally acknowledging Brian's presence. "Didn't see you there."
"Yeah, I'll just bet you didn't," Brian replied, staring daggers at Harry. "You certainly didn't waste any time, did you?"
"Well," Harry said, wrapping an arm around Hermione and pulling her close. "When you were stupid enough to let her get away, I took my chance. Isn't that right, Sweet Cakes?"
He stifled a laugh as he caught the expression on Hermione's face at the "pet name" he'd just called her.
"Um," Hermione said, looking from Brian to Harry. "That's right, Love Muffin."
Brian cleared his throat and Hermione could tell that he was trying hard to keep his temper in check. "I came by to give you some post that came for you. I guess not everyone knows about your new address."
He handed Hermione a stack of letters. She took them and whispered, "Thank you."
Brian nodded. "You're welcome. I trust that you will let everyone know your new address so we can avoid-"
"Why don't you just send her post via owl next time, Finley?" Harry interjected. "That way we can avoid you interrupting us from…well, what we were doing before we were rudely interrupted."
Hermione saw Brian clench his fists as Harry began massaging Hermione's shoulders.
"Thank you, Brian," she said quickly, shrugging out of Harry's grasp. "I appreciate it and I will let everyone know my new address. Thanks again."
She closed the door before Brian could say or do anything else. She let out a sigh of relief as that was finally over. She turned around to see Harry laughing.
"What's so funny?" she asked him crossly.
He snickered. "I don't know what was funnier the look on his face or yours when I called you 'Sweet Cakes'."
"It's not funny!" Hermione retorted. She gave him a scathing look before walking away.
"I beg to differ," Harry said, following her into the kitchen. "It was very funny. And that git deserved it after how he was talking to you. I couldn't just let it go."
Hermione absently began leafing through the post.
"You're welcome," Harry said, coming up behind her.
"Welcome?" she asked indignantly. She placed the letters on the countertop and rounded on Harry. "You expect me to thank you after that little show you just did? Do you have any idea how bad that looked? You basically confirmed for him that I was lying to him the entire time when I said that you and I were just friends."
"Hermione!" Harry said in disbelief. "I helped you out of a jam with that wanker and this is what I get in return?"
He wanted to laugh at the sheer absurdity of it. But, before he had the chance to do so, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her fist hitting his cheek.
"OW!" he exclaimed. "What the fuck did you do that for?"
Hermione winced and then covered her mouth with her hand as she realized what she'd just done. "Harry! I'm so sorry!"
Harry rubbed his cheek where she'd hit him and glared back at her.
"I'm sorry!" she repeated apologetically. "I didn't mean to hit you so hard! You just got me so mad!"
"I couldn't tell," he said sarcastically.
Hermione pulled her wand from her robe pocket and with a quick flick of her wand; Harry's bruise from her punch was healed.
"Thanks," he said quietly. "You know I think you missed your calling. You should be boxing somewhere."
She couldn't help laughing.
"Glad to see that my being in pain amuses you," he teased. She giggled.
"You have to admit that some part of you enjoyed seeing the look on that git's face when I came up behind you and started kissing your neck," Harry said, raising an eyebrow suggestively at her.
"Just a bit," she admitted. "What we must have looked like…what with me in my pyjamas and dressing gown and you nearly starkers in just your boxer shorts."
"Yeah," Harry said laughing. "Technically, we didn't really lie to him…we just fudged the truth a bit. I mean, I was worried when I woke up and you weren't there."
Hermione tensed up. She'd nearly forgotten about them sleeping together in the same bed last night.
"Yeah," Hermione said quickly, getting to her feet and walking back over to the counter. "Well, I had to go to the loo."
Harry stared back at her nonplussed. "Is something wrong?"
"No," she said, shaking her head and trying not to sound as if there was in fact, something quite wrong.
"Is this about you and me sleeping together last night?" he asked teasingly.
Hermione turned around and stared at him with her mouth agape.
"We didn't sleep together!" she retorted defensively. "We slept in the same bed."
"Which means that we did sleep together," Harry said pointedly, enjoying the rise he was obviously getting out of her on this.
"We did not!" Hermione said loudly. "We slept in the same bed and using the term 'sleeping together' means something quite different from what we did."
Harry pulled a confused face at Hermione. "What else could it mean?"
Hermione looked at Harry and finally caught on that he was having a go at her. She put her hands on her hips and tried to look sternly at him, but failed when she couldn't help dissolving into giggles. She picked up an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter and hurled it at him. With his seeker reflexes, he caught it before it hit him in the nose.
"You know you may need to think about anger management courses," Harry said, taking a bite of the apple. "You have quite the temper on you."
"Yeah, I've got your temper right here," Hermione said, laughing.
"Okay, okay," he said, getting to his feet. "How about to make up for my behaviour, I make you some French toast?"
Hermione nodded happily.
"Okay," he said, sighing. He walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out some eggs and milk as Hermione went through her post more diligently. The last envelope caused the smile on her face to fade.
"Oh," she managed to say as she held the expensive-looking cream colored envelope in her hands.
"What is it?" Harry asked from his position at the stove.
"I don't know," Hermione said groaning. "But, I'm about to find out."
She sighed and opened up the envelope and saw that it was a wedding invitation.
"Oh great," Hermione said grumpily.
Harry looked at his friend and then walked over to where Hermione sat with her head in her hands. He saw the offending invitation on the table in front of her and picked it up and read:
"Malcolm & Catherine Granger request your presence at the wedding of their daughter, Rachel Elizabeth Granger to Theodore Richard Langer III on Saturday, June 16 at their estate in Brighton".
"I don't think I've ever heard you mention a Rachel Granger?" Harry asked, setting the invitation down on the table and returning to the stove. "Is she a cousin?"
Hermione raised her head. "Yeah, she's my cousin."
"You've never mentioned her before," Harry said again.
"Because I try not to think about her all that much," Hermione said simply. "Trust me, Harry. She makes your cousin Dudley look like a saint."
"That bad, huh?" Harry asked.
"Yeah," Hermione said morosely. "She's a year younger than me and is about as spoiled and selfish as anyone I've ever met. Now, you know that I don't necessarily like to talk about people like this, but she's a complete and utter cow, Harry."
"Tell me how you really feel," Harry said with a grin.
"They have a house in Brighton and my parents used to take me there during summer holidays and she'd always have to have things her way. She had to be the best and she loved to rub my nose in every thing that she was better at than me."
"I can't believe that there is someone out there better than you at something," Harry said, hoping to lighten the situation. When he saw the less than amused expression on Hermione's face, he frowned. "I'm sorry. So what did she want?"
"Well, apparently she's getting married," Hermione said. "And according to the letter she included with the invitation, I'm to be a bridesmaid in her extravagant wedding. I can already imagine the peach colored monstrosity she'll make me wear. I'm telling you, Harry…I'd rather eat dung than go to her wedding. But, if I don't go…"
"Your parents and extended family will never let you hear the end of it," Harry finished for her. He gave her a sympathetic smile. "Maybe it won't be so bad."
"Yeah, maybe," Hermione said, forcing a smile as Harry brought her a plate of French toast. "That smells fantastic."
Harry beamed back at her. "Of course it does. I made it, didn't I?"
"All this and modest, too," Hermione teased.
"But of course," Harry said, sitting down with his own plate.
They ate in silence for awhile and Hermione couldn't help wondering if Harry had heard the entire conversation she'd had with Brian before he'd decided to "help" her out.
Brian had mentioned that this was where she'd always wanted to be. His words affected her more than she'd let on. And she couldn't help remembering the party where she'd met Brian Finley for the first time.
Flashback
Hermione sat down at one of the tables in the back of the room waiting for Harry to return with a glass of punch. This Christmas party was about as fun as watching paint dry on the wall. But, being as she and Harry both worked for the Ministry, they'd been forced to attend.
Cornelius Fudge had just finished a rather long-winded speech detailing how the Ministry would continue to work hard to benefit wizards all across the United Kingdom and would work tirelessly with other ministries around the world. It was the same speech he gave every year and Hermione had been quite impressed with it the first time she'd heard it. It seemed to lose its luster with each passing year and every year, she felt herself nodding off earlier in his speech.
She and Harry had decided to attend together as they usually did. Harry had joked that he would need Hermione to help him behave. There were some events and situations where you didn't need to make a fool of yourself in and office Christmas parties was one of them. Harry didn't want to bring some random girl to this party and being as Hermione didn't have a steady boyfriend at the moment, it seemed like a practical solution.
Steady streams of couples were now heading out on the dance floor and Hermione looked wistfully at them. She wished that there was someone special in her life to share the holidays with. She had Harry, of course, but he didn't see her in any romantic sense. She'd never come out and asked him, of course, but she could tell. Truth be told, she wouldn't have minded if he did see her in a romantic sense. She'd always sort of had a soft spot in her heart for Harry that went beyond friendship. At times, she figured it was sort of like a crush. But, she'd always felt stupid for indulging those thoughts because it was a hopeless thing. After all, as Harry liked to point out, he saw her like a sister. She would just smile dutifully when he said this. She wondered if he ever noticed that she never said that she saw him as a brother. She would say that about Ron…he being the annoying brother she never wished she had. But, she'd never said that about Harry. That would have been a lie.
"What's a pretty girl like you doing sitting here all alone?" a male voice said, breaking her out of her reverie. She looked up to see a handsome man staring back at her with a sly grin on his face. He was quite tall and athletic looking and had short brown hair and brown eyes.
"Wondering if you think lines like that actually work?" she asked with a smile of her own.
"Sorry," he said, taking a seat. "Not my best, I admit. But, I have been spending the better part of the last hour trying to work up the courage to come over here and speak to you."
Hermione looked at him in surprise. "To me?"
"Yes," he said warmly. "You do realize you are the prettiest girl here tonight."
"And you certainly are Mr. Smooth, aren't you?" she asked. "Did you by any chance read a book on pulling women before you came here tonight?"
He laughed heartily. "I can see that you are much too smart to fall for any of my lines. I give up."
She couldn't help smiling back at him. It had been quite some time since she'd had attention from the opposite sex.
"So, I see that you came here with Harry Potter?" he asked her pointedly.
She nodded.
"I didn't realize you were dating," he said when Hermione didn't elaborate.
"We're just friends," Hermione said.
"That's what they all say," the man said to her knowingly. "That's how rumors get started. You should just come right on out with it and tell the truth…you are secretly in love with your best friend, aren't you?"
Hermione laughed. "You've got me. You've figured me out. I'm so glad I can drop the façade."
"I'm quite perceptive," he said smugly. "It kind of comes with the job."
"What's that?" she asked. "You're not with the paper are you?"
He shook his head. "No, I am not with the paper. I'm an auror actually."
Hermione stared back at him. "You are?"
He nodded. "Surprised?"
"No," she said quickly. "So you know Harry then?"
"Yeah," he said. "And I know who you are, too, Hermione Granger. I'm Brian Finley by the way."
She shook his hand.
"So, yes, I know Harry, but not as well as you I gather," Brian said.
Hermione didn't answer. She wished Harry would come back with her drink. This guy, whoever he was, was making her nervous.
"So, are you?" Brian asked, resting his elbows on the table and staring at her.
"Am I what?"
"Secretly in love with your best mate?" he asked with a sly grin.
She looked around the room helplessly for Harry. She wondered how long it could take to get two drinks.
"Why do you care?" she asked.
"Because I want to know if I should bother asking you out for a date," Brian said flirtatiously. "If you're hung up on Harry, I shouldn't waste my time, should I?"
Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but Harry had chosen that moment to come back to the table. He frowned when he saw Brian Finley chatting up Hermione.
"Hello, Finley," Harry said, mustering a smile.
"Potter," Brian said, his eyes still focused on Hermione.
"I see you've met my date," Harry said, not liking the look that his colleague was giving Hermione.
"Actually, I've just asked her out," Brian said. Hermione's cheeks reddened at this and she didn't dare look at Harry.
"Hermione doesn't date aurors," Harry said simply.
Hermione tensed up at this. How dare he say who I date? She thought angrily. He's not my bloody father. If he isn't going to take notice of me, why should I just sit around and be an old maid?
"Actually," Hermione said looking up at Brian. "I'd love to go out with you Brian."
Brian grinned and asked Hermione if she'd like to dance. Without a glance back at Harry, she allowed him to lead her onto the floor.
(end flashback)
Hermione was still lost in her thoughts when she heard Harry excuse himself from the table. She volunteered to clean up the dishes and she watched as Harry left the room.
She felt bad for what she'd done to Brian. She'd not been completely honest with him or herself, had she? The simple truth was that she guessed she always felt something more for Harry than friendship. She hadn't been fair to embark on a relationship with one man when her heart seemingly belonged to another. But, she'd put that all behind her when she'd decided to give Brian a chance. Or had she?
If she truly had, would she have reacted as she did this morning when she woke up with Harry? She couldn't help asking herself these questions. But, she couldn't allow herself to answer them. If she did, she had a feeling she'd only be setting herself up for heartbreak.