Chapter 6 - Epilogue
Well, here it is, the end of our story, the end of the line. Again, I want to thank Nancy for allowing me the privilege of writing Hermione's point of view. And to all of you who have reviewed, thank you. To those of you considering leaving a review, please do - like most writers I can never get too many reviews (especially if they're as positive as the reviews I've received for this story). Thank you all so much for allowing me to share this with you. -Anne U
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It was déjà vu all over again. Ron and Lavender, Harry and Hermione sat together in the Leaky Cauldron, getting almost as drunk as they had less than a week ago. As Lavender sang yet another Muggle drinking song that mentioned multiple naughty body parts, Ron egged her on while Harry drank a pint of the Cauldron's house-brewed beer. Hermione, for her part, sat cuddled up to Harry's side, sipping at her cocktail and shaking her head in dismay at Lavender's behaviour.
"Please remind me why we agree to go out with that woman?" she asked, rolling her eyes.
"Hmm, because she's shagging Ron into submission?" Harry offered.
She gave him a jaundiced look that he didn't miss.
"Oh, hang on, we went out with her before that. Hmm, must be the fact that she not only pays for our drinks but makes sure we don't go home from these piss ups without life-altering body art," he said, and bobbed his glass at Hermione.
Ah yes, the life-altering body art. The Snitch. Actually she hadn't properly thanked Lav yet for helping her get the tattoo that had changed her life. The thought of the Snitch and its consequences sent a cascade of memories through her mind, memories that left a naughty smirk on her lips. "Yes, well, I'll remember that."
It had certainly been an interesting day. When she and Harry got to work that morning, Lupin cornered them and Harry apologized profusely, telling their boss that they'd both slept in. Harry sounded dutifully contrite, of course, but the ferocious blush in his cheeks just might have given them away. Lupin merely arched a brow and admonished Harry not to let it happen again. But it was obvious Lupin had put two and two (or in this case, one and one) together, and the twinkle in his eyes made Hermione blush scarlet and sent her stomping off muttering curses at "that buggerysmeggery werewolf."
Later than morning, as she dug through more files in the Ministry archives, Lavender swanned in, purportedly to interview her for a column she was working on for the Prophet. Hermione, however, assumed it was just a smoke screen so that Lav could tweak her again.
"You're not really here to interview me, are you, Lav?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at her friend.
"Well, no… now that you ask. I just wanted to know if that itch you've had got scratched," she grinned. "You know, the one we talked about at lunch that day."
That chat rushed into Hermione's mind and a roar somewhere between relief and amazement rushed from her mouth. "Ahahahaha, yes, yes! Oh yes, my itch did get scratched in a big, big way. It wasn't just the Snitch, Lav. Harry said he's in love with me," she smiled. "And that was before we - oh bugger, you already know - before we made love, so it wasn't some heat of the moment, thanks for the shag thing."
"I knew it, I KNEW IT!!" Lavender shrieked, practically dancing among the files.
"Shhhhh!" Hermione admonished, blushing yet again. It was at least the third time she'd blushed that morning and suddenly she felt both annoyed and perplexed. Why should she blush about being with Harry? Was there something wrong with them being in love? She'd sensed people tittering and tutting "I told you so" when she passed them in the corridor; she'd chalked them off as gossipy tossers with nothing better to do. So what if they'd always thought (so the rumors seemed to be drifting across the partitions) that she and Harry would eventually get together. Less than a week ago it had never seriously crossed her mind that she'd even have a chance with him romantically, and now, miracle of miracles, she was sharing his bed and his heart. It was almost too much for her to wrap her brain around, so she decided to stop trying.
"I'm sorry, Lav," she apologized a moment later, regaining her composure. "You were right the other day. Harry really did want to go in the direction I was leading him. And at the risk of sounding trite, it was…."
Lavender leaned toward her, a lascivious glint in her eyes.
"Magical," Hermione licked her lips. "If you try to make me say more, I'll have to hex you. And I was always much better at Charms than you."
Smiling brightly, Lavender leaned over and hugged Hermione. "I'm so glad for you, honey. And I'm thrilled for Harry too. If ever two people belonged together, it's the two of you. I'm just relieved you both finally figured it out. How about joining Ronnie and me for a couple of rounds at the Leaky Cauldron tonight? My treat. Kind of a celebration of new love all around."
Hermione eyed her warily. "You're not going to drag me off to get another tattoo, are you?"
"Oh, no no no," Lavender laughed. "I wouldn't think of it. But I've still got some of that rotgut left and I know two blokes who haven't drunk enough of it yet." As she flashed a blinding, conspiratorial smile, Hermione quickly caught on. If the past week had taught her anything, it was to never underestimate Lavender Brown.
From then on, the day looked up. Shortly after noon, Harry came down to the library and dragged Hermione out (over her very mild protestations) for a bite to eat. It was the first time in months they'd had lunch together and it was wonderful to lean up to him in the booth and feed him bits of his sausage roll and laugh with him and hug him and behave with him as one would with one's lover. Because that's what he was now, her lover as well as her best friend, and she was sure she would go through the rest of the day with an idiotic grin on her face, all because she'd eaten lunch with her lover and he'd kissed her goodbye before going back to work.
The rest of the day was considerably less embarrassing than the morning. She still heard some titters and giggles as she walked the corridors but instead of cringing, all she did was flash a Cheshire-cat smile. Bugger them if they couldn't stand to see her happy. Bugger them worse if they couldn't stand to see Harry happy. If there was anyone in the world who deserved some happiness, it was Harry Potter, and her heart swelled every time she caught sight of him in the halls of the Ministry. Being with him was more wonderful than she'd ever imagined, and she'd be damned if she'd let anyone spoil this for either of them.
That evening, as planned, Hermione and Harry met Ron and Lavender at the Leaky Cauldron after work. The four of them crowded around a corner of the bar, she and Harry along one edge, Ron and Lav on the other, and laughed and drank and talked for hours. By the look on his face Hermione guessed that Harry was enjoying the evening as much as she was. But he wasn't nearly drunk enough.
She tapped on the bar, leaned over it and winked at Tom the Barkeep.
"Harry needs another one, Tom, mate," she said. "Look, he's not wobbling."
With a snort, Tom brought out a bottle of Old Ogden's. "Don't mind on his sobriety, as long as the drinks is paid for," he said dryly.
"Always," said Harry, but his dour tone didn't match the twinkle in his eyes.
Tom apparently caught the joke and, nodding, put another butterbeer on the bar for him.
They continued to drink, and drink, and drink some more, Hermione and Lavender plying both their boyfriends with liquor. At one point Harry looked sideways at Hermione as if wondering what she was up to, but she just smiled at him and offered him another shot of firewhisky. Perhaps he was worried about his performance later that night, but she really didn't care about that. It would be worth skipping a night, she thought (admitting that she was already becoming spoiled in that regard) if certain other things actually went as planned.
Around one in the morning Hermione pulled Harry from the bar chair, giving him a sharp squeeze on his adorable bum.
"Come on," she mumbled, "time to go for a walk."
"Where?" he asked, wobbling more than a little as he stood up.
"Diagon Alley," said Lavender, tugging on Ron's arm and leading him out the back door of the pub.
Humming her favourite Gryffindor pride song under her breath, Hermione followed Lavender out into the alley behind the Leaky Cauldron, Lav joining in the song occasionally with lyrics that would have drawn a detention and a withering look from Professor McGonagall. Ron stuck close behind Lavender and a plodding Harry drew up the rear. Reaching the back wall, Hermione pointed her wand at the third brick up and to the left from the dustbin and muttered at the wall.
"Oh DO keep... rgg... STILL!" she grumbled. Though the wand quivered a bit in her hand, she managed to smack the proper brick with it, causing the usual shaking and folding of the bricks to reveal the entrance to Diagon Alley. As Lavender pushed Ron through the opening, Hermione looked back and saw Harry just standing there, not even attempting to join them. She realized he was pretty well pissed but there was one more thing to do that night and he couldn't do it standing next to the dust bin behind the Leaky Cauldron, so she grabbed his arm and dragged him into the alley after her.
"Here, Harry," she said, pulling a bottle out of her bag. "Have some of this. You too, Ron."
Harry looked at the bottle as if she were offering him some lethal potion; he made a choking sound and waved his finger wildly at it. "Tha's tha' evil green stuff!"
"It's fabulous!" exclaimed Lavender.
"Have some!" Hermione cajoled him. "Come on!"
Pulling out the stopper, she held the bottle up to Harry's lips. He sighed, opening his mouth to take a sip, but Hermione had other plans and practically poured the stuff down his throat, making him gulp and cough.
"You tryin' to DROWN me?!" he sputtered.
"Jus' 'ave some more," she said, pushing the bottle to him. "I's very impordant." Well, to me anyway.
"Whah for?" he eyed her warily.
"You'll see," she said.
Harry took another mouthful of the stuff, which quickly had the desired effect. Barely able to walk, he staggered around as if not knowing quite where he was going and allowed Hermione to direct him down Knockturn Alley as Ron and Lavender followed close behind.
As they entered the small shop next to Borgin & Burkes, Hermione couldn't resist grabbing Harry's bottom one more time. That beautiful bottom would definitely be the right place for it.
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Whistling, foot-tapping and various other strange sounds and sensations crept into Hermione's consciousness as she struggled to awaken from her drunken stupor the next morning. When she finally cracked her eyes open, she was stretched out on her back with just her hair, shoulder and face peeking out of the quilt.
"Hmm," she smiled and rubbed her eyes, looking Harry up and down. He was standing there completely naked with his hands on his hips, though for once his friend Willy was asleep. Nevertheless Harry was as beautiful as ever, and she propped herself up on her elbow, leaned on her hand and sighed happily.
"What a wonderful sight to wake up to."
"I'm glad you enjoyed waking up," he said, "because it was quite a different experience for me."
"Was it?" she asked coyly, just now remembering why he might be a tad put out.
"Yes!" he nodded. "I woke up, and lo and behold, not only do I have a cracking headache from a certain vile green liquid you made me consume-"
"I didn't hold my wand to your head, Harry," she countered. He was so adorable, she could barely contain her glee looking at him.
He eyed her, his lips pursed. "No, you just poured it right down my throat."
"You swallowed," she smirked. Well, he didn't seem too unhappy about it last night. She'd just helped him along a bit.
He sighed loudly. "--not ONLY do I have a cracking headache, but my poor arse cheek feels like a knarl decided to use it for a pillow!"
Stifling a giggle, Hermione couldn't keep from smirking again. "I wonder whatever's wrong with it?"
"Oh, I can tell you," he said, kneeling in front of her and bringing his face close, looking her straight in the eye. "It's all thanks to a tattoo of a book saying 'Property of Hermione Granger'."
He continued to kneel and stare at her with a very stern expression that made Hermione blink. Then she giggled.
"You were very insistent on getting it," she said. "You can hardly blame me."
"You're behind it!" he growled, pointing at her. "You made me get it!"
"I merely made a suggestion!" she said, and as she sat up in bed the quilt fell down around her hips. "You can't blame me for your strange decisions!"
"It's a decision I probably wouldn't have made if I hadn't been three sheets to the wind!" he insisted.
Hermione threw back the rest of the quilt and pulled her hair behind her shoulders. Harry's response was beginning to worry her.
"Well what am I supposed to do? I can't very well get rid of it," she said, flapping her hand at him impatiently. She hadn't counted on him reacting like this, and she felt her face twist into a childish, pouty expression. "Don't you like it?"
Harry's own expression softened and he blinked. He seemed to want to respond but nothing came from his mouth, and finally he sighed.
"I - I wouldn't say I didn't like it," he said and looked over his shoulder toward his bum. "It's... I'd say it's a shock. I mean... I like the sentiment."
He likes the sentiment. Property of Hermione Granger. Yes, I rather like that myself, she grinned and jumped out of bed.
"Good!" she cried and hurled herself at him, hugging him tightly. Feeling her naked body against his own seemed to calm Harry down and he relaxed in her arms, his anger apparently dissipated. Now she had an idea of how she might make this up to him.
"Why don't you go downstairs and bring us up some breakfast. We can sit in bed all morning and misbehave," she winked.
A light smile fluttered across Harry's face and he nodded. "All right."
After he put on some pants and left his bedroom, Hermione decided to freshen up while he was gone. She went into his bathroom and took care of some necessities, including brushing her teeth and taking a potion to cure her hangover. Returning to Harry's bedroom, she sat on the edge of his bed, fluffed her hair and pinched her cheeks to get some color back in them, as the previous night's bender had left her looking pasty and drained. Crawling back onto the bed, she slid under the covers to wait for Harry and the breakfast he was making. Judging by the smells wafting up the stairs he was cooking bacon and eggs, which set her mouth watering, though not as much as thinking about what would happen after breakfast.
Suddenly a roar of laughter came up the stairs, followed by a string of expletives in Ron's baritone voice, and Hermione found herself giggling like an ickle firstie. Apparently Harry and Ron had discovered that they'd both gotten tattooed in their drunken fog last night. By the sound of things they didn't hold it against the two young women who'd so craftily suggested the tattoos involved.
Good, she thought. Good, good, good. Better than good. I must remember to tell Lavender what a bloody genius she is.
Leaning back against the headboard, Hermione waited for Harry to return with their food. If anyone had told her a week ago she would be lying here stark naked in Harry's bed, waiting for him to get naked and join her, she would've choked with shock then laughed in their face. Yet here she was, his green and white quilt lying loosely across her bare breasts, cotton sheets feeling cool under her bum, and nothing had ever felt so right in her life.
Soon she heard Harry's steps on the stairs, the wonderful smell of bacon and eggs getting closer and closer and finally entering the room as he held out a tray of food in front of him. Hermione pulled herself up in the bed to make room for the tray, which Harry placed gently in the middle of the bed. Pushing his pants down his hips, he stepped out of them then slid under the quilt and sat next to her just as naked as she was. The heat of his body sent a wakeup call to the Snitch, which began to stretch and flutter languidly on her belly.
"Mmmmm, nice," she whispered, nuzzling his jaw. "The breakfast looks good too. Thanks for making it."
"You're very welcome," he returned, feeding her a forkful of scrambled eggs. For several minutes they took turns feeding each other until they'd eaten their fill, then Harry levitated the dirty plate down to the floor. As soon as he rolled onto his back, Hermione straddled him, a devilish smirk on her lips
"Hello," he said, raising his arms and laying them on her thighs in a way that tickled deliciously.
"Hello," she grinned, the Snitch starting to flitter more intensely as she brushed against his cock.
"What are you up to?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she sighed as she scooted down under the quilt. Silly boy…I'll show him…
As she took him in her mouth, the Snitch burst out flapping again. Concentrating on her task, Hermione was surprised and a little annoyed when Harry suddenly started squirming beneath her.
"Mmph!" she admonished him as she rose up from under the quilt. "Harry, unless you want me to bite it off, you have to keep still-"
He looked at her questioningly. "What did Lavender get?"
Hermione blinked, wondering why he'd be talking about Lavender at a time like this.
He could tell she wasn't following him and started explaining. "Well... I got a book. You got a Snitch. Ron got a quill. If he got something, naturally Lavender must have gotten one, because the whole point in Ron and I getting tattoos was revenge, right?"
Revenge? Perhaps. Revenge for the years Harry and Ron had been clueless about the two young women who yearned for them right under their noses. She nodded. "Yes, you're right."
"So... what did she get?"
Hermione smirked, her nipples brushing Harry's chest, then leaned up and whispered in his ear.
"A weasel."
Then she slid down under the quilt again and did her best to keep Harry from thinking about anything or anyone but her, at least for the immediate future.
THE END
Thanks again to everyone for your reviews. I can't promise I'll write anything else like this (or in collaboration with Nancy), but I do plan to continue to write H/Hr fics and post them here at Portkey. Hope to see you again the next time. In the meantime I hope you'll read my other fics on Portkey, which you can find here. - Anne U