Author's note: I tried to get this one up as soon as I could being as it took me so long with the last update! I think the block has gone (knock on wood). Hopefully, it will stay far, far away…
Please read and review!
Chapter Five
Dinner with Friends
Harry surveyed the dining room and was quite pleased with the setup. He'd gone to quite a bit of trouble for Sabrina. Frankly, he'd been quite surprised that she'd agreed to have dinner with him after how he'd turned her down a couple of weeks ago. When he'd ran into her and suggested dinner, she'd hastily accepted and Harry had to admit he was looking forward to it.
While he didn't have much free time what with his job and all, the free time he had these days was spent with Hermione. They had settled into a bit of a routine. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, Hermione would cook and Harry had Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Somehow, he ended up with the extra day because as Hermione pointed out he was a much better cook than she. He hadn't argued with her. While Hermione was a whiz with potions, she was---to put it bluntly---limited in her culinary abilities. Her specialties included sandwiches, omelets and macaroni and cheese. Anything more complex than that was just an invitation to disaster. To Harry's great relief, Hermione would also get takeaway for them quite regularly whenever it was her turn in the kitchen.
If there was one positive to being raised by the Dursleys, Harry would have to say that he learned at an early age how to cook. He was quite good, if he did say so himself. For tonight, he'd prepared blackened chicken with vegetables with a garden salad and fresh bread (which he hadn't made, but bought at the bakery down the street). A bottle of red wine and some nice music set the perfect scene.
To top it all off, Hermione would be out of the house all evening. She'd gone out with Ginny and Luna for a girls' night out. Harry didn't expect her home until late and by that time, he hoped he and Sabrina would be asleep. He hadn't told Hermione his plans for the evening. Truth be told, he felt uncomfortable about bringing anyone home now that Hermione was his housemate. So, with her out of the house, he saw nothing wrong with having someone over for a nice dinner and possibly more.
The doorbell sounded just as Harry lit the last candle. He checked his watch. Sabrina was a little early, but he didn't mind. He smoothed down his hair and made his way toward the door.
Sabrina smiled warmly at him when he answered the door. She looked amazing, Harry couldn't help thinking. Although she was dressed casually in jeans and a jumper, the jeans and jumper in question hugged all the right curves and Harry couldn't help smiling back as he welcomed her inside.
Tonight was just what he needed.
********
Meanwhile at Ron and Luna's flat, the three girls were enjoying their own meal of lasagna and salad. Ron had taken their two-year old daughter Katie to visit with her grandparents so the three women could have a night to themselves.
"This is so good, Luna," Hermione said, as she ate the last bite of food on her plate. "You'll have to give me the recipe."
Ginny stared at Hermione. "For what? So you can find a new and creative way of burning that, too?"
Hermione grimaced. "I will have you know that I have every intention of learning to cook better than I do. I actually bought some cookbooks at a Muggle bookshop just the other day and when I have some spare time; I fully plan on trying some recipes out."
Luna and Ginny exchanged worried looks. "Maybe you should wait until you have your own place. I think Harry's grown quite attached to his home. We wouldn't want you to burn it down."
Ginny and Luna giggled as Hermione glared back at them. She wasn't used to not being good at something and the one thing she wasn't good at, all of her friends chose to tease her with endlessly.
"Can we please talk about something else?" Hermione asked. "Like how's married life treating you?"
Ginny grinned and stole a glance at the wedding ring on her finger. She and Draco had stunned their friends and family when the two of them had decided on a whim to elope. They'd both decided that the wedding preparations were getting out of hand and being as both of them wanted something simple and small, they'd decided to go as simple and as small as possible and they'd eloped two weeks ago.
Ginny and Draco showed up for the Weasley family dinner on the following Sunday both positively glowing and had broken the news to a shocked Molly and Arthur. The rest of the family had been taken aback, but quite happy for the couple, but Molly had felt left out.
"It's going okay," Ginny said with a sly grin. "If Mum would come around, things would be great."
Luna sighed. "This can't have been easy on her, Ginny. You are her only daughter. She wanted to be there when you got married."
"Whose side are you on?" Ginny asked defensively.
"Yours, of course," Luna said quickly. "But, you both need to see this from each other's perspective. You're only seeing it from your view. Imagine how you'd feel if your only daughter ran off and got married without you knowing about it?"
Ginny looked to Hermione for help, but Hermione didn't know what to say. She had to agree with Luna on this one, but she knew that Ginny didn't want to hear that.
"You both saw how out of hand Mum was getting," Ginny reasoned. "You remember how she had everything planned down to the letter. She was obsessed with the wedding. It was becoming much more than either Draco or I wanted. She wasn't going to understand that."
Hermione nodded. "Did you try and talk with her about it?"
"A million times," Ginny answered. "But it went in one ear and out the other. Luna, you remember how she was with your and Ron's wedding, don't you?"
Luna looked thoughtfully at Ginny. Yes, Molly had gone a little overboard with the backyard wedding Luna and Ron had at the Burrow, but Luna had enjoyed it. Since she didn't have her mother with her, it had been nice to have someone to talk to about the wedding. She felt quite close to Molly and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley both had made her feel immediately like part of the family. Being caught between her friend and sister-in-law and her mother-in-law was a place that Luna didn't like being in at all. She'd tried to stay neutral, but Ginny obviously wanted an ally. Instead of answering Ginny, Luna simply nodded.
"So, that night Draco suggested it, I thought it was the most romantic and spontaneous thing I'd ever heard. And it was," Ginny said as a dreamy expression came over her face as she remembered their wedding and wedding night.
"I just wish we could have been there," Hermione said softly.
"I do, too," Ginny said with a wistful smile. "If there was one drawback to the day, it was that you
guys weren't there."
"Well, if there is a bright side," Luna said, nudging Hermione, "it's that we won't have to wear some awful bridesmaid dresses."
"From the girl who made Hermione and me wear aqua," Ginny said teasingly.
"With that awful flower garland in our hair, too," Hermione chimed in.
"You both looked really beautiful," Luna said seriously.
"I'm glad you thought so," Hermione said sarcastically.
Hermione couldn't help thinking of Rachel's upcoming wedding. She didn't want to go and she knew it would be made all the worse because she would be showing up alone. She could just hear Rachel going on and on about how she got married first and how Hermione would probably end up a spinster living in a house full of cats. Of course, everyone would find this delightfully funny and dote on Rachel as they always did, Hermione thought.
"What's got you so glum, chum?" Ginny asked, waving her hand in front of Hermione's face to get her attention.
"Just thinking about Rachel's wedding and how I don't want to go," Hermione answered with a shrug. "I've thought of every excuse in the book and I know no one would buy a single one. I'm a terrible liar…they'd see right through me."
"You need to get back out there, Hermione!" Ginny said enthusiastically.
Hermione pulled a confused face at her friend. "Get back out where?"
"Into the dating scene," Ginny answered. "Since you obviously don't want to explore your feelings for Harry…"
Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Ginny waved her off. "I know, I know. 'Harry and I are just friends'…I've got that, okay? I have it memorized. So, if that ship has sailed, so to speak, you need to get on back out there."
Hermione shook her head. "Please don't say you want to set me up with someone. Please?"
"I have the perfect guy for you," Ginny said quickly.
Hermione groaned. "No. I'll find my own date thank you very much."
"Just give him a chance, Hermione," Ginny said pleadingly. "He's really nice and funny and cute. You 'd love him."
Luna gave Hermione a sympathetic smile. "It might not be that bad, Hermione. What do you have to lose? If anything, you at least get a free meal out of it?"
The last thing Hermione wanted to do other than go to her cousin's wedding was go on a blind date.
"You don't have to answer me now," Ginny said quickly. "Just think about it, okay?"
"Alright, alright," Hermione said in defeat. "I'll think about it."
Ginny clapped her hands together happily. "Now, let's watch the movie!"
Hermione sighed as she followed her two friends into the sitting room. She knew that Ginny would push the issue until she relented and maybe Luna was right. It might not be all that bad.
********
Harry and Sabrina had finished their meal and were in the sitting room enjoying some soft, romantic music and sipping some wine. The evening was going just as Harry had planned and he hadn't thought of Hermione once. Well, that wasn't entirely true. As pretty as Sabrina was, she wasn't much to talk to. She was pretty superficial when it came down to it, but Harry tried to forget about that. He wasn't looking for anything serious and from what he could tell, neither was Sabrina. This was all just a bit of fun and anyway, conversation was overrated, he tried to tell himself.
"You should really do some decorating around here," Sabrina said thoughtfully looking around the room. "It's awfully grey, don't you think? Sort of dark and dreary. Not very warm and inviting."
Harry shrugged. "I've never gotten around to it, actually. I've been meaning to."
"I could give you some ideas," Sabrina said. "I have quite a collection of decorating magazines. It's sort of a hobby of mine."
Harry nodded politely.
"You could really use some warm colors in here," Sabrina said, looking appraisingly around the room again. "Some light blues and maybe some mauves would do wonders."
"Uh-huh," Harry said softly, taking Sabrina's wine glass and setting it on the coffee table beside his.
Sabrina smiled knowingly and leaned in for a soft kiss.
They'd snogged on the sofa for a good twenty minutes and things were getting hot and heavy pretty quickly. They were so engrossed in each other that they didn't hear the sound of the key turning in the lock. They did however hear Hermione calling out Harry's name as she set her bag down by the door.
"Harry?" Hermione's voice called out.
Harry froze as did Sabrina.
"Who's that?" Sabrina whispered.
Harry let go of the girl and sat up quickly.
Before he could respond, Hermione came around the corner. When she saw the sight before her, her mouth fell open. For a moment, she stared at Harry in disbelief. She quickly caught her bearings and tried to appear nonchalant.
"I didn't know you had company," she said uncomfortably.
Sabrina stared at Harry hoping he'd catch the hint and give her some explanation for who this girl was who had
interrupted them. But, as Sabrina found, Harry's eyes were focused solely on the brunette before him.
"I-I didn't know you'd be home so soon," Harry mumbled.
Hermione sighed. "Um, yeah. Ron brought Katie home sooner than expected. She had a slight fever so we decided to call it an early evening."
"Oh," was all Harry could say.
There was an uncomfortable silence whereas Harry avoided looking at Hermione and Hermione couldn't help staring at Sabrina. Sabrina couldn't take this anymore.
"Who is she, Harry?" she asked impatiently.
"Um," Harry said, looking down at the floor. "Hermione Granger. She's my housemate."
"Housemate?" Sabrina repeated. "You never said you were living with someone."
"I-I, I mean, we're not…" Harry said quickly.
"I'm just staying with Harry for awhile," Hermione explained. "We're old friends and he took me in when I broke up with my boyfriend. That's all."
"Oh," Sabrina said, still unconvinced that that was all it was.
"Sabrina Templeton," Sabrina said, getting to her feet and extending a hand to Hermione. Hermione hesitated a moment before shaking the girl's hand.
"Well," Hermione said, feeling quite awkward as she stood there unsure of what to say or what to do. "I guess I'll be turning in."
"I should probably go, too," Sabrina said.
"No," Hermione said quickly. "Stay. I'll be upstairs. You won't even know I'm here. Really. Enjoy the rest of your evening."
Sabrina smiled good-naturedly. "Thanks, we will."
She walked back over to where Harry was now standing and linked her hand in his. Hermione felt her stomach lurch as she
watched this other girl holding hands with Harry.
Why didn't I just let her go? She gave me the perfect opportunity to let her go and I just stood there and practically gave her the green light to shag my best friend.
"Good night," Hermione said, looking at Harry as she said this. He looked up and his green eyes met hers and held her gaze for a long time.
"Good night," Harry finally said softly.
Hermione nodded and finally walked away feeling about as low as she could ever remember feeling.
***********
A few minutes later and Harry was trying to get back into the mood with Sabrina, but was finding it nearly impossible. He kept seeing the look on Hermione's face when she'd walked in on the two of them. She'd looked hurt and disappointed.
Don't think about Hermione! You've got this beautiful girl on the sofa who wants to be with you. You shouldn't be thinking of anything else but that.
*****************
Hermione had changed into her pyjamas and was trying not to think about what was possibly going on downstairs at this very moment. Sabrina fit the description of every girl Harry had dated in the past couple of years.
She found herself angry at Harry for not telling her he was planning on having someone over. She would have made plans to stay at Ginny's or at her parents' house. Anything would have been better than walking on that scene.
She'd gone upstairs nearly a half hour ago. Surely by now, the two of them would be in Harry's room. Hermione was really quite thirsty and was craving some warm milk before bed. She waited a few more minutes before deciding that it was safe to go back downstairs to the kitchen. Saying a silent prayer that Harry and the flavor of the week were not going at it in the sitting room, she quickly opened her bedroom door and crept slowly downstairs.
*****
Sabrina was beginning to unbutton Harry's shirt when Harry couldn't take it anymore. He had never felt less like having sex in his entire life. And the mere fact of this was leaving him so gobsmacked he couldn't think straight.
There is something obviously wrong with me.
"I can't do this," Harry said, pulling away from Sabrina's kiss.
"Sure you can," Sabrina teased, her hands going back to Harry's shirt. Harry gently pulled them away.
"I'm sorry," he said with a frown. "I really am. But, I can't do this."
"Did I do something wrong?" Sabrina asked, taken aback. "Maybe if we go up to your bedroom everything will be okay. Would that help?"
Harry shook his head. "I'm just not into it tonight, Sabrina. It's not you, it's me."
Harry cursed himself for letting loose with the most overused cliché in the world.
Sabrina let out a hollow laugh. "Uh-huh."
She leaned down and picked up her discarded shoes and made quick work of putting them back on. She smoothed down her hair and sighed in frustration as she got up from the sofa and picked up her coat from the armchair.
"I guess this is good night then," she said quietly. She gave him one last look…one last chance to call her back. But, he didn't.
"I'm sorry," was all he could say as Sabrina shrugged and walked out of the sitting room. A couple of seconds later, he heard the door close behind her.
He sat back on the sofa and fought the urge to groan loudly.
Hermione, who had heard every word of Harry's conversation with Sabrina, bit her lip as she watched Harry. She knew she shouldn't have eavesdropped, but she couldn't help it. It had been quite a show of willpower not to whoop loudly when she heard Harry tell Sabrina that he couldn't go through with it…at least not tonight.
She tried to tiptoe past the sitting room into the kitchen, but to her dismay, Harry chose that moment to get up off the sofa. As they stood there, inches apart, they stared at each other in complete and utter silence.
"Hi," Hermione heard herself say.
"Hi," Harry echoed.
"Where's Sabrina?" Hermione asked, trying to sound as if she genuinely didn't already know.
"She…she had to go," Harry answered. "Early start tomorrow and all. We just had a quick dinner, you know."
Hermione nodded.
"I was just going to get some warm milk," she said softly. "Did you want to join me?"
He stared at his friend not knowing what to do. He wanted to be mad at her for getting in his thoughts like she had and turning his life and how he lived it completely upside down. But as he looked at her, looking all adorable in her pyjamas, he knew that he couldn't be upset with her. It wasn't her fault that she'd come home early. She hadn't known that he'd have someone here when she returned.
"Sure," he said with a slight smile following her into the kitchen. "I should really clean up the mess I made in here."
Hermione surveyed the assorted pots and pans and laughed. "You're not exactly the neatest cook are you?"
"Not exactly," he admitted, taking out his wand and muttering some cleaning charms. Within seconds, the kitchen was as clean as a whistle. He folded his arms in triumph as he surveyed the now clean kitchen.
"One of the many advantages of magic," Harry said, sitting down at the counter.
Hermione laughed. "One of many."
"So how was your night?" Harry asked, as Hermione heated some milk on the stove.
"Okay," Hermione said. "Ginny and Molly still aren't talking. I think it'll be awhile before Molly comes around."
"Yeah," Harry said. "I can't see her getting over that too easily."
"Luna pointed out the one positive of us not having to go to their wedding," Hermione said, pouring her milk into a mug.
"What's that?"
"No awful bridesmaid dresses," Hermione answered simply.
"No dancing," Harry chimed in.
"No catching the bouquet,' Hermione said with a smile.
"No drunken cousins of Ron trying to pinch you on the buttocks," Harry said.
Hermione laughed as she remembered Ron's cousin Amelia who was all of eight years old. The young girl had taken a shine to Harry at Ron and Luna's wedding and had followed him around the entire afternoon. The young girl had even been so bold as to run up to Harry and pinch his behind before running away in a fit of embarrassed giggles.
"It's not that funny," Harry said, as Hermione nearly spewed milk out of her nose she was laughing so hard at the memory.
"I'm sorry," Hermione said breathlessly, trying to regain her composure but failing as she dissolved into another round of laughter. "If you could have seen the look on your face when she did it…"
Harry couldn't help laughing too. He also couldn't help thinking that in the past 15 minutes with Hermione; he'd been more himself and enjoyed himself more than he had in an entire evening with Sabrina.
What the hell does that mean?