Chapter Three: Rough Mornings
Heartbreaker you've got the best of me
But I just keep coming back incessantly
Oh why did you have to run your game on me?
I should've known right from the start
You'd go and break my heart
(Heartbreaker-Mariah Carey)
The tiny ringing of her cell phone brought Ginny Weasley out of her slumber. Blindly she fumbled around her nightstand until she found it.
"Hullo?" she answered groggily.
She parked her car in the parking lot of Heathrow. Now wide awake, she had thrown on jeans and a jumper, pulling her hair back in a ponytail and sped out the door. She leaned casually against a wall between two lifts and walked through.
"Departures or arrivals?" asked the sleepy wizard behind a desk.
"Arrivals, please."
The wizard pointed to the door on her left which she walked through. It was a long room, the farther half was lined with dozens of fireplaces with numbers above them in bright gold. Witches and wizards flooed in, then proceeded down the room, closest to the door which was lined with benches. This was a waiting area and where Ginny saw the lone figure of her friend, Hermione.
She looked awful.
Her hair was slightly damp and hung straggly around her face, ash from the floo clung to her damp clothing, her eyes were bloodshot and puffy from crying. Crookshanks was in a basket next to her and a small bag was on the floor at her feet.
"I-I didn't know where else to go," Hermione said weakly.
"Shh, it's okay."
Ginny knelt in front of her friend. Hermione's face scrunched up and she began to cry. Ginny immediately hugged her friend.
"She…she was blond, and…she was beautiful…" Hermione choked out through her tears.
Ginny grimaced and sighed.
Hermione paid no attention to the drive to the burrow. The image of her husband and that woman entangled in the most intimate way were burned into her mind. She leaned her head against the window watching the streets pass by.
"Mum knows you're coming. She's not asking questions, she just wants you to come home," Ginny said, breaking the silence.
Hermione's parents were on vacation, taking a cruise of the Mediterranean. She didn't want to be alone in an empty house. Besides, she strangely wanted the comfort of the wizarding world, to be around people like her.
The familiar silhouette of the Burrow came into view giving her an immediate sense of comfort. Opening the car door, she breathed in the familiar scents of summers spent here. Molly opened the front door for them, a robe covering her nightgown. As soon as she saw Molly, her tears came back and she collapsed into her motherly embrace. Molly held her tight and murmured words of comfort in her ear until Hermione's sobs subsided into small hiccups.
"Drink this, dear," Molly said gently, handing her a cup of tea.
Hermione suspected that there was a little Dreamless Sleep in the tea as she settled down to sleep. She was in the extra bed she used to sleep in during her summer stays in Ginny's room. Ginny lay down on the bed next to hers.
"You're okay now, Hermione," Ginny soothed. "You're home."
Harry Potter lay in the bed pondering his next move. It wasn't like he hadn't done this before, he was practically a master escape artist. He lay on his side, the woman's slender arm draped over and in front of him as she cuddled him from behind. Very slowly, very gently, he lifted her arm up and away from him.
She giggled softly.
Shit, she was awake. Harry reached for his glasses on her nightstand then turned to face her. She lay on her side, elbow propped up on the pillow, her large blue eyes sparkled with amusement.
"So it's true. You never stay longer than a night," she bemused.
"Er, well…," Harry began to reply but she cut him off with her laugh.
"Relax, Harry. I brought you here last night full aware of that," she said as she pulled the sheet tight around her naked body. "Besides, I'm leaving soon and I have a boyfriend," she said nonchalantly.
"You what?!"
"Oh, it's not like he's going to come walking through that door. We keep in touch by owl, I'll see him again in September. I just wanted to see what it was like with someone else. Don't get me wrong, I love Matthew, I'm going to marry him, but he's the only guy I've ever been with."
"Glad I could help," Harry said, still slightly shocked by her revelation.
"Well, I'm just being honest. We both only wanted a one night stand." Harry gave a small nod of agreement. "Besides," she continued as she ducked under the covers. "That thing you did with your tongue was absolutely amazing. Allow me to return the favor."
"That really isn't necessary," he stammered as she placed herself between his thighs. "You…I…" But he lost his train of thought as soon as her tongue worked its magic.
Sod it, one more time couldn't hurt.
"Oh God, why did you stop?" Harry groaned but she shushed him her finger on his lips.
They sat motionless, then…
"Chelsea! We're home!" A voice called out.
Chelsea's eyes got huge.
"Oh shit! My parents are home!"
"Parents!!?" Harry screeched as they scrambled away from each other.
"They must have come home early for my birthday," she said as she hung off the side of her bed, looking for something. "Aha!" she said as she found her wand and cast a locking charm on the door. "Thank God I can do magic outside of school now."
Harry fell off the bed.
"Outside of school?!"
Harry took a good look around her room. A Hogwarts trunk lay open in the corner, books and clothes spilling out of it. A school robe hung from the chair bearing the crest of…
"Hufflepuff?" Harry asked, bewildered. "You still go to Hogwarts?"
Footsteps could be heard outside, coming up the stairs. Chelsea was scrambling to put on her pajamas and threw Harry's clothes at him.
"This year's my last year," she said apologetically. "Oh, don't worry! I am of age!" she said quickly at the look of panic on Harry's face. "Last night was my birthday, my friends and I snuck into the club. That's where I met you and well, here we are."
"Chelsea, are you awake?" came the voice of her father on the other side of the door.
"Hang on a minute dad, I'm looking for my wand so I can unlock the door," Chelsea called back then she whispered to Harry. "Climb out of the window, no one will see you."
"What? Are you crazy?! Why don't I just apparate?" Harry whispered back.
"No! My parents will hear you!"
She opened her window and nearly pushed Harry out of it. He landed with a thud in the bushes below, his clothes followed shortly. Feeling very exposed in his natural state, Harry took his clothes and ran across the lawn to find cover to apparate. Unfortunately for him, the sprinklers were timed to go off at that moment, attacking Harry with sprays of water. Cold water. He finally made it to the back of the garden shed, his body and clothes dripping wet.
"She did not look seventeen," Harry muttered to himself as he dressed.
He made a mental note to check the age of every woman he would meet. Was there a charm for that? Well, there should be. He disapparated with a loud crack and appeared at his front door. Leaning against it, half-dressed, he began to put on his pants. He had managed to get one leg through before the door suddenly swung open. Harry lost his balance and landed with a thud on his back. His godfather stared curiously down at him, stepped over him to grab the Daily Prophet and then stepped back inside.
"Rough morning?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.
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