Authors Note: Sorry for the delay in updating…I was totally engrossed in "American Idol" these past couple of weeks. Now, that's it over, I was finally able to write the next chapter. I hope you like it. The chapter title is one of my favorite Beatles' songs (shout-out to Lennon-McCartney). No, I still don't own Harry Potter….yada…yada…yada.
Chapter 17
"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away"
Hermione lay in bed the next morning, smiling as she watched Harry sleep. He'd been true to his word. He'd stayed. He hadn't left. She took her hand from under the covers and pinched her shoulder just so she'd know she hadn't been dreaming. This was real.
She couldn't remember ever being this happy. They'd It all seemed too perfect. It had been her experience that things that seemed perfect had a nasty habit of not being able to last. It wasn't that she doubted Harry's love for her or her love for Harry. It was that she knew that they wouldn't be able to stay here in Hawaii. They couldn't stay here locked away in a hotel suite away from the world, away from their families and away from their friends. This "vacation" eventually would have to end and they'd have to return home. They'd have to tell Ron.
That was one conversation she wasn't looking forward to at all. She had no idea what she'd say to him. What do you say to someone when you know you're going to break their heart? She wondered if there was a book like Breaking Up for Dummies or The Complete Idiot's Guide to Breaking Someone's Heart. All of her life she'd been able to look to books for answers. There wasn't any problem too big that you couldn't find a simple answer or solution in the pages of a book, she'd always believed. There was always an exception to every rule, though. She wouldn't find the answer to this problem in any book.
She stood up from the chair and stretched her arms over her head. She walked over to the railing and looked down onto the sparkling blue ocean. It was still early and only a handful of people were on the beach.
"Now that is a beautiful sight," came a slightly groggy voice from behind her.
She turned to see Harry standing by the sliding glass doors. He was yawning and running his fingers through his disheveled hair. He wore only a pair of boxer shorts. Just looking at him made her smile.
"Isn't it beautiful?" she asked, turning back around to look at the ocean. "I love the ocean like this, all peaceful and calm."
"I wasn't talking about the ocean," Harry said, coming to stand beside her at the railing.
Hermione blushed. She took her hand to his hair and tousled it playfully.
"I know," she said, smiling at him. She rested her head on his shoulder.
"Have you been awake for very long?" he asked her. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. She smiled, contently.
"Not too long," she whispered. They were silent for a long time, both just staring out at the ocean. Harry held her in a tight embrace. She felt so safe and warm wrapped up in his arms. This was how it was supposed to be. This was the way it was meant to be.
"Happy?" he finally asked her.
"Maybe," Hermione said, cheekily.
"Maybe?" Harry asked. "What more do I have to do?"
He pretended to be outraged as he picked her up, protesting all the way. He carried her back into the hotel suite and back into the bedroom.
"Back to bed with you, then," Harry said, lying her down on the bed.
Hermione pulled him down on top of her. Grabbing his hair, she clung to him as if they were the only two people in the universe. Gasping for breath, Hermione grabbed Harry's face and their mouths came together clashing with a sort of insatiable hunger that Hermione had never experienced before. Whereas last night's lovemaking had been more gentle and tender, this was much more intense and passionate.
She pulled up her legs, sliding them up his body as they grinded against each other. All rational thought went out the window and she didn't care. All she could concentrate on was the feel of his hands against her skin. She felt her hands slide against his skin, and she knew that she'd never wanted anything or anymore than she wanted Harry at that very moment.
Meanwhile back in London, Sirius Black was busy nursing a hangover. He'd spent his one night off in weeks involved in drunken debauchery with Remus Lupin at The Leaky Cauldron. As he woke up sometime in the afternoon, he groaned in pain. He was getting much too old for this, Sirius thought as he rolled off the couch, which had been his makeshift bed these past couple of weeks.
He'd been staying at Hermione's flat since she'd left the country with Harry. This was actually the only solution, since he had no real place to call home these days, what with he and Harry off on a mission nearly every week. He'd spent the past couple of weeks going over leads with a team of fellow aurors, who had implanted themselves in The Ministry. They hadn't come up with anything concrete on this case, and that worried Sirius. There was no such thing as the perfect crime. Someone always made a mistake that tipped his or her hand, so to speak. So far, the mastermind behind this plan had yet to make any errors or leave anything behind that could point to their true identity. It was like looking for the needle in the proverbial haystack.
On the bright side, Hermione was safe with Harry in Hawaii. He hoped that they had worked out their differences. He knew true love when he saw it. He'd seen it with Lily and James and he'd seen it years later in Lily & James' son. There was no mistaking Harry's love for Hermione. They belonged together, Sirius believed. He hoped that the two of them would forget stubborn pride and realize the truth.
He wearily made his way to the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee, but was delayed by the sound of an insistent knock on the door.
"One moment," Sirius said, gruffly. The knocking continued, more insistent.
"Hold your horses," Sirius said, walking determinedly toward the door. He opened the door. "Joyce."
Hermione's assistant Joyce was standing on the doorstep clutching a paper.
"It's a little too early for you to be knocking so loudly on the door, isn't it?" Sirius said, ushering her inside.
"It's nearly 2 in the afternoon, Sirius," Joyce said, incredulously. She took one look at the messy couch and opted for a seat on the armchair. "I take it you just got up."
"Yeah," Sirius said. "Remus and I tried to out-drink each other last night. Remind me never to do that again. So, what brings you hear so early, I mean at this time of day, love?"
"I take it you haven't seen this morning's edition of The Daily Prophet," Joyce said. "It's been the talk of The Ministry this morning."
She unfolded the paper and offered it over to Sirius.
"Hold on one minute," Sirius said. "I need my reading glasses. Where did I put them?"
Sirius put the paper down and looked around at the apartment.
"You have them on, Sirius," Joyce said, stifling a laugh.
Sirius put his hand up to his face and laughed, sheepishly. "So they are, then. So they are. Now, let's see."
He picked The Daily Prophet up off the coffee table and began to read.
"Bloody hell!" Sirius exclaimed. "How in the--?"
He looked at Janet, who was at a loss for words.
"This is bad," Sirius said, continuing to scan the pictures and article. "This is very, very bad."
The article read:
LOVE ON THE ROCKS?
THE TRUTH ABOUT HARRY POTTER'S RETURN
By Nicola Patterson (WIZARDING WORLD NEWS)
Harry Potter's return to London had tongues wagging this past fortnight. Potter came back under the pretense to congratulate his best friends, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, on their recent engagement.
Or did he? It appears Potter came back to break up, not congratulate the happy couple.
Our colleagues at The World Wizarding News have confirmed reports of Potter/Granger sightings in the United States, namely Honolulu, Hawaii. Potter and Granger have been seen and photographed enjoying the sand, sun and attractions of the Hawaiian paradise.
An anonymous source says that the secret would-be lovers were caught in a clandestine kiss on the beach after a late night at a luau. The source also confirms that Granger and Potter are sharing a hotel suite.
What does this mean for The Wedding of the Year? Will it still happen? And if so, who will be the groom?
Owls to Ron Weasley, the groom-to-be, went unanswered.
Keep reading this newspaper for further updates on this story and more.
Sirius dropped the newspaper.
Joyce stared at him. "So?" she asked.
"So," Sirius repeated. "I'm going to have to get in touch with Harry."
Joyce looked at him, concerned. "But how? Do you even know where they are?"
"Yes," Sirius said. "I should probably leave as soon as possible."
"Do you need any help?" Joyce asked.
Sirius smiled and shook his head no. "You've already helped so much on this."
"Well, I'd better get back to the office," Joyce said. "It's a madhouse. I had to slip out. I just wanted to make sure you saw this."
Sirius looked up from the paper. He'd begun to re-read it as Joyce had began walking to the door. He stopped her suddenly. "Joyce, have you seen or heard from Ron since this story broke?"
"No," Joyce said. "I do know that his team is in New Zealand for some promotional stuff. Maybe there's a chance he hasn't seen the article."
"I think that's highly unlikely," Sirius said. "This story is huge. If Wizarding World News is covering it, it's gone global."
"Let me know if you need anything," Joyce said. "Anything at all."
"Thanks," Sirius said, getting up to show her to the door. "I'll be in touch."
He closed the door behind her and went back over to the couch. He picked the paper back up and looked at the picture. Harry and Hermione smiled back at him from the photo. They looked happy and in love. Hermione was wearing a blue bikini and Harry was wearing green swimming trunks.
In the photo, Hermione kissed Harry's cheek and Harry playfully tickled her side. The young couple in the photo had no care in the world. They waved enthusiastically at him. They didn't know that a thousand miles away, all hell was breaking loose at home.
"You know we are eventually going to have to leave this room?" Hermione playfully asked Harry. They were lying in bed, Hermione's head resting on Harry's chest.
"I don't see why," Harry said. "We have room service for food. We have running water. We have plumbing. And I have the most beautiful woman in the world right here with me. Why would I ever need to leave this room?"
Hermione turned to face him. "That's a good point. Okay, you're right. We never have to leave this room again."
"What was that?" Harry said. "I was right? You are going to have to repeat that again."
"No," Hermione said, giggling. "You heard me the first time. I'm not repeating that. It was hard enough to say it the first time. You know that I'm very rarely wrong and when I am, I don't like to admit it. So, you'll have to live with the memory of me saying it that one time."
"You're no fun," Harry said, kissing her. "So, what do you want for dinner tonight?"
"I chose lunch. Your turn," Hermione said.
Harry fumbled for the room service menu that sat on the bedside table. "We're going to go broke on room service, you know that?"
"Harry, let's go down to the hotel restaurant to eat," Hermione said, sitting up in bed. "And then we can go walking on the beach. It'll be so romantic."
"Okay," Harry said. "We should probably get cleaned up then."
"I got dibs on the shower first," Hermione said.
"You sure are bossy, you know that?" Harry said, watching her as she got up and grabbed her robe and a towel. She turned back to him, and playfully threw a pillow at him.
"That's one of the things you love about me," Hermione said. She gave him one last smile and then entered the bathroom.
A couple of hours later, they were on their way out the door of their suite to go out to eat. Hermione wore a long, black, floral-print sundress with open-toe black sandals. She'd pulled her hair back into a low plait. The locket Harry had given her adorned her neck.
"You know if you dress like that, I don't want to take you out," Harry said, locking the door behind them. "I want to take you back in there."
Hermione smiled. She playfully swatted at his arm. "You don't look so bad yourself. You clean up pretty well, Potter."
Harry was dressed in a pair of khaki pants, a blue button-down shirt and loafers. He leaned in to kiss her, but she backed off.
"I'm starving, Harry," Hermione said. "If you do that, you know we'll never get downstairs. Now, come on."
They were laughing as they got into the elevator. An old man and his wife were already inside. They smiled warmly at Harry and Hermione as they rode the elevator down to the lobby.
"That's an interesting scar you've got there, young man," the old man said. "How'd you get something like that?"
Harry and Hermione exchanged nervous glances.
"I've had it since I was a baby, actually," Harry said. "Bizarre home accident or something."
"All part of his charm," Hermione said, grabbing Harry's hand.
The older couple just smiled back at them and bid them a polite goodbye as they reached the lobby.
"I don't know why I got so nervous in there," Harry said, pointing to the scar on his forehead. "You know I kind of like no one here knowing who we are or what we are."
"It is nice," Hermione agreed.
After they'd sat down at the table, Hermione took Harry's hand.
"You've gotten awfully quiet," Hermione said.
"I'm still thinking about that incident in the elevator," Harry said. "I know it hasn't been easy on you or Ron, being my friend."
Hermione gave him a look of exasperation. "Harry, we've talked about this before."
"I know," Harry said. "You guys didn't deserve all the stuff that came about because of your friendship with me. You wouldn't have gotten into so much trouble or had to sacrifice so much, if you'd not been my friend."
"Well, you know what I got from being your friend?" Hermione asked him, not really wanting him to answer. "Do you remember how awful I was that first year? I was so into my 'books and cleverness'. You taught me there were more important things. And I know I've said this before, but there are more important things, like friendship, bravery and love. I never would have known any of those things if it hadn't been for you. If I had known then what I know now, I still wouldn't change a thing. You know, this is going to sound really cheesy, but that's what friends do. That's what people in love do. They stick with you when you're at your best and they stick with you when you're at your worst. There's no place in this world that I'd rather be than right by your side."
Harry tried to smile at her. He'd never liked her to see him cry, and he'd felt the tears coming to his eyes as she'd spoken.
He grasped her hand from across the table and gave it a tight squeeze. "I love you so much."
"Ditto," she said, laughing. "Now, let's eat. I'm starving."
From across the restaurant, Sirius Black watched the two of them. He could tell from their actions and their body language around each other that they were together in every sense of the word. He hated to do what he was about to do, but he knew he had to. They had to know what had happened.