Something to talk about

1. boredom, sexcapades, and cinemas

Harry stood there in front of the door to Hermione's room, palms sweaty, hands shaking, and his heartbeat pulsing in his ears like the echoes of a thunderstorm. In the moments before he was to knock on the door he relived the entire experience from start to finish. It started out simple enough. It was an average day and he was a bit restless....

Harry shuffled the papers on his impossibly messy desk. All this paper work from the ministry was driving him nuts. He couldn't stand having a desk job. Bloody good his fame did him; no one believed in his abilities, it's as if he's going through life, banking on his name. His appeal to be moved to field duty was rejected twice. Feeling as if he couldn't bear to be in his own home anymore, Harry apparated to Hermione's flat.

"Hi Kimmy. Is Hermione home yet?" Harry asked as he walked into their living room.

"Nope, she's still not back from her evening classes," she responded absentmindedly.

"Okay then, I'll just wait a little while," Harry said as he walked over to Hermione's bedroom.

He kicked his shoes off and sat back against the headboard of her bed. He picked up the large tome that she was currently reading from her night stand, propped it open and prepared himself for immense boredom.

Hermione's flat had long been a second home to him. She was used to him being around as he usually came and went as he pleased. So naturally, today shouldn't be any different, should it?

Hermione walked into her two bedroom apartment, completely soaked from the downpour that was raging just outside her door. She sighed as she took off her coat and hung it up to dry. Beginning to peel off the layers that had stuck to her body from the rain, she walked towards her bedroom.

"Kimmy, did you order out again?" Hermione asked as she kicked her shoes off by the utility closet.

"Yeah, there should be some Chinese food in the fridge," she replied as she continued sewing some dark blue robes.

"Did I get any Post today?" Hermione asked as she served herself some fried rice.

"Uh, not that I recall, no," Kim responded.

"Alright then," Hermione told her before heading off to her room.

Her button down pink blouse was nearly undone when she went to reach for the button on her grey skirt. She put a hold on what she was doing to open the door to her bedroom. Hermione's eyes shot open from their tired daze when she saw a man on her bed, reading.

His eyes shot up at her, and they too, widened considerably. His eyes roamed her up and down as she stood there stock-still, mouth agape. Once she was out of her momentary lapse of good judgment, she grabbed the lapels to her button down shirt and ran out, slamming the door behind her.

"KIMBERLY JOHNSON!" Hermione screeched.

"WHAT!" Kimmy answered playfully.

"Why did you not tell me that Harry-bleedin'-Potter is on my bed!?" Hermione said in an annoyed tone.

"Well, it’s not like he isn't here ALL the time anyhow!!" Kim answered defensively.

Hermione sighed...she had completely overreacted. Kim was right, of course. So Hermione let out yet another sigh after taking a moment to contemplate how completely stupid and unreasonable her last explosion was.

"Alright then, calm down -- you're going to give yourself an aneurism." Kim coaxed.

"Sorry Kim. I walked into my bedroom, half naked, and I look up to see a man on my bed," Hermione explained.

"And you're complaining because...???Anyway it's not as if it's something he hasn't seen before," Kim said with a sly grin.

"Oh hush you. You people just don't give up, do you?" Hermione defended.

Truth was...He had seen it before, although it was purely unintentional.

After Hogwarts they had no money, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to room together for cost reasons. Hermione had been coming home from work early and in desperate need of a nice bath. Thinking she was alone, she started to undress as she headed to the bathroom, only to find that when she opened the door someone was coming out of the shower. It suffices to say, that on that day, they both got an eyeful.

Hermione shook her head slightly as to remove that particular memory from her brain. Tiny water droplets were expelled from her soaked brown ringlets. It was then that she remembered she was soaked and should change before she caught her death of cold.

Still holding the light pink lapels to her button down shirt, she stretched out her hand to turn the doorknob. She opened the door a crack and then remembered that her shirt was still unbuttoned, but stopped when she remembered that it was 'just Harry'.

She pried the door open slowly with a deeply set feeling of insecurity. When she looked up to where he was last, she noticed his lips moving before his head popped back up.

"Sorry about that Harry. Kim and I just had to share a few words," Hermione told him. Once she looked up into his face all of her small pangs of insecurity were gone. It was just Harry, her Harry.

Meanwhile Harry just stood there, staring at her unblinkingly for a moment before he too, tore his eyes away. Besides looking soaked, she looked gorgeous as usual. His eyes narrowed in worry when he spotted the dark rings under her eyes.

While he was busy with his incredibly taxing job (yeah right), Hermione is going to Muggle med school. Trust Hermione to be thorough. She's going to both Muggle and magical school for healer training. All was in good moderation, though. She decided not to do both at once as that would be repeating the third year time turner fiasco. She decided to do muggle training first as it takes longer than wizarding training.

"Hi Harry," Hermione said as she riffled through her drawers looking for clothes to change into.

"Hello luv," he said softly.

"What brings you to my humble and messy abode?" Hermione asked as she pulled out a pair of drawstring pants.

"Boredom - and the desire to have a sexy bed romp with a woman in soaking wet work clothes," he said with a mischievous grin.

"Oh, a sexy woman in wet work clothes? Sorry Harry, but today was Kim's day off," Hermione teased.

"That would be good to know, if I meant her," He teased back.

"Then you got the wrong flat. There is no sexy woman in wet work clothes here," she continued as she pulled off the pink button down shirt.

"Hmm," Harry said as got off the bed and trailed behind her.

Hermione was retrieving a dry bra, knickers, and shorts when she felt Harry's arms encompass her waist.

"Well, I’d have to say you're lying because I think I’ve just found one right HERE!" He said as he yanked her up and tossed her onto her bed.

Harry followed soon after to tickle her senseless.

"LET ME GO! LET ME BREATHE!" Hermione screamed in between laughs.

Harry wouldn't let up.

Kimmy busted through Hermione's bedroom door to find Harry crouched over Hermione, who was dressed in a bra and a pair of knickers.

Once Harry realized how bad their current situation might look to the general observer, he slid his hands off her sides and removed his left knee from the other side of her hip.

Kim looked half amused and half disgruntled.

"If you guys are going to have sex, do you HAVE to role play?" Kim asked.

"I thought someone was trying to kill you!" she added.

Hermione's head shot up and she propped her upper body on her elbows.

"SEX?! Are you MAD? He was just tickling me because he's a great big PRAT!" Hermione said as she punched Harry in the arm.

And like every charming young man, Harry held his shoulder and pretended that she had fatally injured him.

"I don't care WHAT you call it. Just don't do it again," Kim said as she wiggled her eyebrows at her roommate and shut the door behind her.

Hermione let out an explosive sigh. This always happened. People always misconstrued their playfulness for flirtation. Assholes...

"When are you going to get used to it? People will always think we're secretly in love with each other or are in the closet sex buddies. Just ignore them, they do it for stupid reasons anyhow," Harry told her.

"What?" Hermione said, starting to feel offended, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well if I understood this correctly," Harry said while he stroked his chin, “We’re just 'too cute together' and it upsets people to think of us as purely platonic friends,"

Hermione let out a sigh of relief which was followed by a playful expression.

"It must be because we're just THAT good looking, eh, Potter?" Hermione said with a wicked smile.

"Must be," He said complacently as he gave her a grin that matched her own.

Well, I’m going to get my good-looking self into the shower before I start to reek."

"You say that as if you don't already," Harry said with a teasing glance.

Hermione's jaw dropped and she smacked him in the arm.

"You great big prat," She said with a pout.

He got up and hugged her to him. He buried his face in her neck and inhaled deeply.

"Don't pout at me, beautiful, you know you smell good," He told her as he stepped back and grinned at her.

"Now, go shower so that we can go out," He sad as he shoved her towards her bathroom door with a smack to the behind.

She grabbed her backside and glared at him resentfully, as if to say ' that hurt!'.

He simply smiled back and she went to take refuge in the bathroom.

She removed the remaining articles of her clothing and looked at her but to see Harry's huge hand print imprinted on it in bright red.

'Asshole,' she thought as she turned on the shower.

Hermione came out of the bathroom five minutes later, steam billowing out behind her.

"So, where are we going?" she asked as she began to towel dry her hair and then her legs.

"That, my dear friend…is a surprise," he said mischievously.

"How will I know what to wear then?" she quipped.

"I get to pick," he replied gleefully.

Once again, her jaw dropped.

"How can I trust you to pick out something suitable for me?" Hermione asked.

Harry gave her a glare as if to say he was deeply offended.

"Trust me, will you?" he said simply.

Of course she trusted him. He had the best taste in everything. She had just meant to tease him.

He opened up her drawers and handed her a thong. She raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

"Just kidding," he said with an adorable smile as he snatched them away and put them back in the drawer.

She couldn't help smiling back. You are such a moron...

He rifled through some more drawers and found a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"There you go," he said as he tossed them to her.

She put on her jeans and then sat on her bed to put on her shirt. He pulled out a pair of socks and put them on for herwhile she brushed her hair. Just about when he had finished tying up her shoes, he looked up to see her looking innocently back at him.

"Thank you daddy. May I have a sucker if I behave like a good girl?" Hermione said as she twirled a ringlet of her curly hair with her index finger.

"Sure pumpkin," he said as he tapped her nose with his index, "You can have a sucker,"

He smiled at her and they both walked to the door.

"Sicko," she said simply.

With Harry she always felt at ease. She could do or say whatever she wished and it would all be okay. She could be the Hermione that most people would never see. Who but Harry is to know that under that rigid exterior is a playful girl?

They walked into the living room where Hermione got a coat from the closet. Harry snatched it from her and held it open for her to put on. Hermione blushed...Kim had been watching this little display of gentlemanly behavior.

"Where are you two off to?" Kim asked.

"I don't know. Harry here won't tell me," Hermione told her.

"So I don't know when I’ll be back. Don't wait up," Hermione said casually.

"That's fine dear. Make sure to use a contraceptive spell!" Kim shouted as Hermione walked out of her apartment.

She stopped just outside the door and turned to Harry.

"I need to know where to apparate to, Harry," she asked.

"No need, we're having a Muggle's night out,” he informed her with a broad grin.

Harry pulled out a wad of muggle money and displayed it proudly to her. She laughed at his childish behavior and followed him down the stairs that lead to the ground floor. Once out of the apartment building, Harry called for a cab. Even now, he kept the level of secrecy intact. He whispered the destination in the ear of the cabbie so that Hermione would be surprised when they got there. The cabbie gave a pert nod, and they were off.

They stopped a few minutes later in front of a very impressive cinema. Harry paid the cab driver and held his hand out for Hermione to step out of the cab.

"Ta DAHHHHHHH!!!" he chorused.

"Muggle movie night," he said simply.

"Who gets to pick the movie?" Hermione asked innocently.

"Whoever gets to the ticket booth first!" Harry exclaimed as he made a dash for it.

Hermione ran after him and nearly beat him to it.

"Two for - " was all she heard him say as he lowered his voice for only the cashier to hear.

He slid the money under the Plexiglas partition and grabbed their tickets.

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When they got out of the theatre Hermione's eyes were as big as saucers and her lower lip hung uselessly, leaving her with an expression of stark terror. She clung to Harry's arm as they walked out and he released it to wrap it around her.

"Oh Hermione, don't be so scared! It was the dumbest movie I’d ever seen!" Harry told her.

"H-He yanked a chain saw-- " she couldn't bear to continue the rest.

"Oh come on... 'Please! Kemp! Where are you!!! Keeeeempppp!!!'," he mimicked.

Hermione couldn't help but giggle.

"Alright...she was kind of stupid..." she admitted.

"I still hate you for bringing me to see 'Texas chainsaw massacre'," she said as she smacked him in the chest.

"Oh come on now, you don't have to resort to violence!" He said as he playfully rubbed the spot where she hit him.

They walked to a curb next to these two old people who were in an embrace similar to the one Harry and Hermione were currently sharing.

"Oh look Thomas, aren't they just darling? They remind me of us at that age. Don't you remember Tom?" The old woman ranted.

The old man who accompanied her grunted in response.

"How long have you two been together?" The old woman inquired.

The old man groaned in embarrassment now.

"Uh, er- actually...We aren't together," Hermione told her.

"Oh you say that now, but you'll see," the older woman replied.

"No, really. We've been best friends since we were eleven years old," Hermione explained.

"You don't have to lie about it! I was just asking!" The old woman snapped.

"Oh honey, you know it's useless," Harry said as he caressed her cheek and planted a peck on her lips.

"They know love when they see it," Harry said with a wink to her.

The old woman seemed to feel justified. She smiled with self-satisfaction.

A cab stopped in front of them, and Harry coaxed the older couple to go ahead and take it.

"What did you do that for Harry?!" Hermione asked exasperatedly.

"Please, people like that won't be happy if you deny them. Even if you don't care and deny them anyway, they will insist upon their opinion," he explained.

"Still...You don't have to appease them," she said, trying to hold on to the last vestiges of her anger.

"Why? It just makes it easier if we do. Besides, we'll never see them again in our lives," Harry added.

"I guess you're right," she admitted," But this means that every time someone gets the notion of you and me we're supposed to snog on a public street to appease them?"

"I wouldn't exactly call that a snog," he paused, "Although I’m not entirely opposed to that idea,"

Hermione gauged the playful smile on his face and decided it'dbe simpler just to smile back.

"Tease," she said as they got into their cab.

Harry gasped in mock shock and grabbed at his chest as a testament for his astonishment.

They spent the rest of the car ride pleasantly enough. Conversing about this or that. Usually work or mutual friends. Harry walked her up to her flat and opened the door for her to enter.

"Well, pumpkin," he said to her as he hung up her jacket, "this is where I take my leave."

"Thank you, I had a wonderful time," Hermione said as she hugged him and pecked his cheek.

"Anytime luv," he said with a smile before he apparated away.