Disclaimer: JKR owns it all, lucky woman.
Author's Note: Sorry, sorry, sorry for how late this is!! RL got really busy and so I haven't had time to write or post or anything. To make up for the delay, though, I'm posting the Epilogue now as well as the last chapter. Thank you for everyone who's reviewed and been waiting patiently for this- you guys rock!
For Libbie- since part of this was written for her birthday.
Their Little Secret
Part 3: Confessions
"Hermione."
Hermione turned swiftly at the sound of Harry's voice. Her mind barely had time to register the slightly odd expression on his face before she was in his arms, his lips on hers. The comforting familiarity of the taste of him, the feel of him against her, began to dissolve all the embarrassment and tension and stresses of the past few days. In all truth, she'd begun to wonder if she was going to have a perpetual blush on her face. She'd always been a relatively private person and then this had happened, having her picture splashed across the front page of most of the Wizarding newspapers. And due to Harry being gone at an undisclosed location and the lack of any new pictures of the two of them, the one picture of their kissing had been recycled day after day, as more and more related articles were printed.
She finally drew back just enough to look into his face. "You know what happened." It wasn't a question; she could see it in his face.
He nodded. "Ron told me." His arms tightened around her. "God, Hermione, I'm so sorry I wasn't around, sorry I dragged you into this sort of mess."
Hermione kissed him quickly to make him stop talking. "It's alright, and you didn't drag me into anything. None of this is your fault, Harry; we always knew that the press loves to write about you."
His eyes darkened. "I know but you shouldn't have to be dragged into it because of me."
"Harry, honestly, stop talking like I'm an innocent victim of this. I wanted you too and I didn't want to tell people about us either. No more apologies. I'm fine now that you're back." She paused before smiling a little. "We faced Death Eaters together and survived. Do you really think we can't handle a bunch of reporters?" she teased.
Her teasing cleared the frown on his face and made him smile. "You're right, Hermione."
Satisfied that he was no longer blaming himself, Hermione sobered. "So what should we do now?"
He met her eyes, the intensity of his gaze holding hers, as he quietly said, "Have dinner with me tomorrow night at Valinor."
She stiffened slightly. "Harry, are you sure?" Valinor was the most well-known and one of the most exclusive restaurants of the Wizarding world. It was where people went to see and be seen. Reservations for the majority of the Wizarding population were required several months in advance, except for a very small, select group of the rich and famous wizards who were guaranteed a table even without prior reservations. Harry, of course, had been added to that list shortly after the final defeat of Voldemort, a privilege which she knew he'd never yet used. Going to dinner there was the equivalent of holding a public press conference or sky-writing an announcement over Diagon Alley and the Ministry of Magic; every witch and wizard in England would hear of it within the day. She knew, although she'd never been there, that Witch Weekly and the Daily Prophet as well as several other magazines and newspapers had a reporter there every night to supply stories for their Society pages.
He smiled slightly. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life."
"But Harry…" she protested rather feebly, not quite sure what she wanted to say but needing to know Harry understood the ramifications of what he'd suggested. A dinner for two at Valinor was a public demonstration of a committed relationship, even seen by some members of Wizarding society as just preceding an official engagement.
Harry brought his hands up to frame her face, one thumb moving in a gentle caress over her lips. "Hermione, listen to me. I'm not ashamed of our being together and I don't want to make it seem as if I am. Now that our secret's out, I want everyone to know, without a doubt, that I'm yours."
Hermione smiled and blinked back sudden tears as the last lingering doubts about Harry's willingness to commit himself-he'd never said anything about how he felt about her before- vanished. "And I want everyone to know that I'm yours too."
An odd expression, the one she'd noticed in the corner of her mind before, flickered across his face as he opened his mouth, closed it and swallowed, as if he wanted to say something but didn't quite know what or how to say it. "Hermione, I…" he hesitated slightly and then finally said in an oddly solemn and yet emotional tone she'd never heard him use before, "I love you."
He loved her… He loved her… He loved her… The words repeated themselves in a joyful mantra in her head, as she smiled into his eyes. "I love you."
He sucked in his breath. "You do?"
She laughed a little at the blank surprise on his face, even as a small part of her wanted to hex the Dursleys into oblivion for making Harry feel so unlovable. "Oh Harry, of course I love you."
She loved him… She loved him… Had he ever heard the words before? He couldn't remember ever hearing the words spoken. Until now. And hearing them filled some corner of his heart that he hadn't even known needed to be filled. She loved him… and he was complete.
~*~
From Witch Weekly's front page, 2 days later:
Sad news, ladies. Harry Potter, who has headed the Most Eligible Bachelor lists for several years running and is three-time winner of the Most Charming Smile Award, is officially unavailable. He and his current girlfriend, long-time friend Hermione Granger, had a cozy dinner for two at Valinor yesterday evening, confirming the stories of their involvement.
When asked about why they'd kept their relationship a secret until now, Mr. Potter only grinned disarmingly and said he'd wanted to keep Miss Granger to himself for as long as he could.
Their public appearance at Valinor is now fueling rumors that not only are they currently seeing each other, but that they might, in fact, actually be engaged.
Valinor, after all, has built quite a reputation as being the place to hold engagement dinners and has had a record number of proposals taking place during meals there.
Are they engaged? Neither Mr. Potter nor Miss Granger would say but it was clear from the way they held hands and talked that if they are not engaged, a ring is not far off…
From the Daily Prophet's Society page:
Harry Potter, better known as the Boy Who Lived and the hero who defeated the Dark Lord at the age of 17, and Hermione Granger had a formal dinner together at Valinor, confirming reports of their relationship.
Both Mr. Potter and Miss Granger appeared very happy together, holding hands, and Mr. Potter was also seen putting his arm around Miss Granger and kissing her temple in a decidedly loving fashion.
Their mutual best friend, Ron Weasley, was quoted saying that he "is very happy for Harry and Hermione and [he] can't think of any two people who deserve each other more."
There you have it, ladies and gentlemen, the British Wizarding world's new celebrity couple: Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.
~*~*~*~
Epilogue: The Joy of Truth
There was definitely something to be said for open-ness, Hermione decided, as she hurried toward Harry, waiting for her with a smile outside the Atlantis Café in Diagon Alley.
They were having their first real lunch date and she loved that now they could meet as often as they wanted to, wherever they wanted to. There was no longer any need for secrecy and thrilling as having a secret had been, she loved knowing that there was no need for pretenses.
She was aware that people were turning to look at her and then at Harry.
"Hi. Sorry I'm a little late," she apologized slightly breathlessly, smiling at Harry.
"It's okay. I just got here myself," he said, giving her a quick kiss of greeting.
They talked casually as they entered the Café, hand in hand, and Hermione smiled to herself feeling a little thrill of undeniable possessiveness and pride knowing that now the entire Wizarding world knew that Harry was hers. It was a heady thought, knowing everyone now knew the truth which she'd realized so recently, that she and Harry belonged to each other. And they always would.
~*~
It was déjà vu…
Hermione smiled to herself as she felt Harry draw her back against him as she passed him on the way to the refrigerator to get two bottles of cold butterbeer, one for each of them before they left to go to dinner. With one hand, he shifted her hair aside so he could bury his lips in that sensitive spot on her neck that only he knew about, sending a jolt of desire sizzling from the spot his lips touched all the way down to that most secret place between her legs. She arched her neck to give him better access, hearing a soft breathy moan and only belatedly realizing it had come from her… She could feel her knees beginning to weaken beneath her, her mind beginning to blank, her thoughts scattering.
She turned her head and twisted her upper body slightly so that she could kiss him; he responded by loosening his arms so she could turn around fully, aligning her body with his.
Their eyes met and held and oddly some strange compulsion operated in both of them keeping them stationary, neither making a move to close the small remaining distance between their lips. No one spoke; something about the moment seemed to make silence necessary. It was only green eyes gazing into brown, as if seeking for some truth, some enlightenment, seeking and finding it in the depths of her eyes that shone with all the love in the world. Brown eyes in turn stared into green, seeing a reflection of herself in his eyes, a reflection of herself along with love, deep and sincere, clear to be seen in his expression. And she suddenly felt beautiful… seeing her reflection in Harry's eyes, not the most faithful mirror in the world perhaps, but the best one, maybe… For just a moment she fancied she could see herself as Harry saw her, and she was beautiful… A sudden thought formed in her mind: they say love is blind but maybe there's a truth that's more important than reality in that very blindness…
The sound of Ron's voice calling her name coming from the other room, with the slight echo of disembodiment that always announced a Floo call, broke the spell and Harry and Hermione both started slightly, drawing apart and turning to go into the sitting room where the only fireplace connected to the Floo network was.
Harry slipped his arm casually around Hermione's waist as they walked, entering the room together.
"Oh, Harry, you're here too," Ron grinned, teasingly wiggling his brows in a mock leer. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything…" He let his voice trail off suggestively.
Hermione flushed slightly. "Honestly Ron, you-."
"That's for us to know and you to find out," Harry retorted interrupting Hermione; his tone was mild, belying the seeming annoyance in the words, and the corners of his lips were twitching, betraying his urge to laugh.
Ron chuckled. "Come off it, Hermione, you know I just love to make you squirm sometimes." He tried to look sheepish, failing miserably. "Can't help it, really."
Hermione rolled her eyes tolerantly. "Prat," she said, a mixture of amusement and affection in her voice. "But why did you call in the first place, besides to tease me?"
"Nothing much; just to remind you that it's Ginny's birthday this week and Mum's insisting on having a big family dinner for her."
Hermione suddenly remembered another time when she and Harry had been interrupted by a Floo call from Ron, about a month ago…
"Oi, Harry, you home?" Ron's voice broke the silence in Harry's flat and Harry and Hermione broke their kiss to stare at each other with dismay. Ron was there? Hermione glanced down, thankful to see that their clothes hadn't become overly disarranged, hurriedly tucking her blouse back into her jeans.
Harry closed his eyes briefly, trying to forcibly calm his breathing and cool his body down, for the first time in his life wishing Ron were in Timbuctoo or Africa or somewhere far away. Of all the timing…
After a minute, he composed himself enough to call, "Yeah, I'll be right there."
He looked at Hermione, a question in his expression. Do you want to come with me or just wait here?
She answered his unspoken question by turning towards the door and he followed automatically.
"Oh there you are, Harry." Ron's head was floating among the flames in the fireplace.
He blinked as Hermione followed Harry inside, greeting him casually. "Hi, Ron."
"Hermione, what are you doing here?" Surprise was in his tone, justified surprise as it was a Wednesday evening and he knew perfectly well that Hermione tended to refuse any and all social engagements during the week using work as her plea, unless it was for some specific occasion. He had given up trying to tease her into breaking her informal custom and he knew that there was nothing particular happening today…
Hermione thought quickly. "I just found out that Arabella Figg was admitted to a Muggle hospital today and I came over to tell Harry." It wasn't a lie; she had found that out and told Harry; she just didn't add that they had already made plans to meet tonight on one of their secret dates.
She felt the usual sense of unreality as she thought the words. My God, she was having a secret affair… and a secret affair with Harry, whom she would have sworn only six weeks ago was only a friend…
Ron nodded, apparently accepting the explanation without question. It did make sense; Harry had rather made a habit of visiting Arabella Figg after the incidents involving her in their fifth year, finding her very Muggle-ness, mixed in with some ties to the Wizarding world, somehow comforting in a time when the main bulk of the Wizarding world seemed to be in danger of collapsing and he'd continued to visit even after leaving Hogwarts and getting settled.
Hermione relaxed slightly, glancing at Harry to see that he relaxed visibly too. Their secret was still safe… although why the idea of Ron finding out somehow seemed so threatening was beyond her…
Remembering the incident now, Hermione stifled a smile. There really had been something appealing about the secrecy, the thrill of the near-misses of being caught in some sort of compromising position… Immature perhaps or maybe just the part of themselves that had the Gryffindor recklessness and love of tempting danger… But it had been a potent thrill while it lasted.
But then, watching Harry and Ron banter about what kind of behavior he may or may not have interrupted, she had to say, it was better not to have a secret anymore… It had been a bit of a strain, unacknowledged but present, in keeping something so important from Ron, a niggling sense of guilt whenever they met him and didn't tell him of their involvement… Thinking of it now, she could only be thankful for the affection and the friendship between the three of them that was stronger than any betrayal of their secret. Secrecy was definitely over-rated… especially when honesty and trust were so much better…
Hermione's smile had just a hint of smugness in it now, as she watched Harry grin at something Ron said. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Wizarding world's hero… Harry Potter was hers…
He was hers, because he loved her…
Part of her could still not believe it. That she, Hermione Granger, the bookworm, had made Harry Potter fall in love with her…
He was the Boy Who Lived… and she- she was the Girl He Loved… And that precious knowledge was something she could cheerfully shout from the rooftops. The security, the happiness, of knowing the world knew that Harry loved her, more than made up for any annoyances from the media's insatiable curiosity for private details of their relationship…
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