I need to stop writing 'one-shots'. I really do. Because every time I write a one-shot, I get talked into turning it into a two-shot ::cough cough, Muirnin:: Nothing wrong with a little smut for the soul though.
Speaking of which, a large thanks for Muirnin for betaing this for me...I don't really consider myself very good at writing adult romance, and so she is responsible for making this Portkey-presentable at least.
WARNING: This chapter is rated NC-17 for very good reasons. Please use good judgment and the back button on your browser if this is not your kind of thing.
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Chapter 2: One Week Later
"Harry?"
"Hmm?" Harry looked up at Hermione who had put her quill down and was staring at him intently.
"What's going on?" she asked. "You haven't written a word for that potions essay, and I know that you shouldn't have trouble writing it, given how you silenced Snape the other day with your knowledge of tangleweed."
"You mean your knowledge of tangleweed that you passed on to me," he replied with a small smile, causing Hermione to blush prettily.
"Well, that aside," she said. "What's wrong?"
Harry sighed and looked around the empty common room. He didn't want to admit it to Hermione, but ever since they had finally professed their love for each other on Valentine's Day a week prior, he had been having nightly dreams about his parents and Sirius. They weren't nightmares; on the contrary, they were wonderful dreams that always gave him a feeling of love and safety.
However, when he would wake and wish he were still asleep, in a world alone with his parents and godfather, insurmountable guilt would wash over him. He now had Hermione; he shouldn't be so greedy as to wish never to wake from his sleep for the simple reason as to spend more time with those who were already dead. It was something that kept constantly reminding him of the fact that he didn't deserve her.
The dreams were also never-ending reminders that those he loved inevitably ended up dead. His parents, Sirius...Mrs. Weasley. When the Burrow had been attacked at the end of his last year, the matriarch of the Weasley clan had been killed defending her family. Even though she could be a bit pestering at times, Harry had always looked to her as a surrogate mother. Her death had hit him just as hard as Sirius' had. He could tell that it had hit Ron equally as hard, but he had Luna to help him through it. Harry only had himself.
"Harry, you're spacing out again," Hermione said, now looking worried. "Can you please tell me what's wrong?"
"I'm sorry," he replied, covering her hand with his. "I...I just..."
"Are you having nightmares again?" she asked. He cursed mentally for her ability to read him so well.
"Not nightmares, no," he said hesitantly.
"...Then what?" Hermione inquired, once he trailed off.
"I've been dreaming of my parents," he said. "And Sirius."
"Oh..." Hermione said. "I'm sorry. Would you like to talk about it?"
"Every time when I wake up," he started, knowing it was pointless to keep this from her any longer. "All I want is to be back asleep, dreaming of them."
"What's so wrong about that?" Hermione asked. Harry looked at her incredulously.
"Are you kidding?" he asked.
"No," Hermione replied curiously. "Why would I be? What, did you think that I'd be mad at you because we're together now or something?"
Harry blinked at her, stunned.
"Oh come on!" she cried in exasperation. "Wishing to be with those you love is completely natural."
"But I shouldn't!" Harry exclaimed, running his hands through his hair. "It's wrong of me! You've given me the one thing I've ever asked for in the form of your heart, and I repay you by wanting to stay asleep so I can see my parents instead of you!"
"Harry," Hermione said softly turning his face towards her. "This is what this is about? You're guilty because you feel that you're not being loyal enough to me?"
"That's only part of it," he mumbled.
"What's the rest?" she asked gently.
"I'm scared," he admitted, looking away from her.
"Of what?" Hermione whispered.
"Losing you," he replied in a choked voice. Hermione quickly pulled him into a warm embrace.
"You won't lose me," she said.
"How can you say that?" Harry asked, pulling away so he could look at her. "After everyone who's died, how can you say that it's impossible for me to lose you?"
"Because even if I die, you won't lose me," Hermione replied. "My heart is yours. Now, and forever. Even after we die." She pressed her lips to Harry's in a loving kiss before he had the chance to respond. A moment later, she pulled away and stared into his eyes trying to convey all the love she felt for him in the gaze. "As for wishing to stay asleep so you could dream about your parents, how could you feel guilty about that? Is it wrong to want to dream about those you love?"
"I suppose not," Harry replied after a moment.
"Then don't feel guilty about it," Hermione said. Harry sighed and leaned his forehead against hers.
"What did I do to ever deserve you?" he asked softly.
"I could ask the same question about me," she replied. Harry pulled back and looked at her as though she were mad. "I'm serious," Hermione said, seeing the look on his face. "We've had this discussion before. You're Harry Potter. You could have your choice of any woman in the entire world, yet for some reason you chose me."
"I chose you because despite the fact that I've gotten you into more dangerous and life-threatening situations than I can count, you still want to be around me," Harry said. "Not to mention the fact that you are the only person I would ever want to spend my life with."
"Do you know that?" Hermione asked. "We've only been like this for a week. How can you already tell that you want to spend the rest of your life with me?"
"I could ask you the same question," Harry countered.
"You want my answer?" she asked. Harry nodded. "Because I could never love another human being as much as I love you. I might be able to be happy with someone else, but you're the only person who could complete me."
"That's a good answer," Harry said with a smile.
"Well what's yours?" Hermione asked.
"Dating is for getting to know someone better, right?" Harry countered, prompting her to nod. "Well I've known you for over six years. I'd like to think that I know you well enough to make the decision that you are the only one for me. If it weren't for the fact that it's neither practical nor logical, I would probably ask you to be my wife right here and now." Hermione felt her eyes glisten with unshed tears.
"You really feel that way?" she asked, taking his hand in her own. "You're not just saying that?"
"I would never lie to you," Harry replied. "You mean too much to me."
Hermione bit her lower lip in thought for a brief minute before looking into Harry's eyes and making a decision.
"Come with me," she said standing up, still holding his hand.
"Where are we going?" Harry asked as she led him out of the common room through the portrait hole.
"The Room of Requirement," she replied without hesitation.
They had reached the seventh floor corridor before Harry's brain was finally able to process the implications of that answer.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked, watching her pace in front of the blank wall. Hermione stopped as the door appeared and faced him, putting her hand on the doorknob.
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," she replied. Harry walked over to her and kissed her gently on the forehead as she opened the door and they walked inside.
Harry was taken aback at what Hermione had the room create for them. There was a beautiful canopied bed with white curtains situated against the back wall of the room. The combination of a dozen or so candles scattered throughout the room along with a fireplace that included a gentle fire was casting a warm glow over the room. Smiling, Hermione turned to look at Harry.
"Do you like it?" she asked. "I didn't want to do anything overly tacky like a heart-shaped bed or rose petals on the covers or -" Harry cut her off by pressing his lips to hers in an affectionate kiss.
"Sorry," he grinned. "You were rambling. And it's perfect."
Hermione smiled and wrapped her arms around Harry's neck as he leaned in to capture her mouth again. Thankful that quidditch had helped him develop some amount of strength, he picked up her without breaking the kiss and walked over to the bed before turning around and falling backwards onto it so that Hermione was lying on top of him.
"Make me yours," she whispered to him as she ran her hands through Harry's unruly hair. "Make love to me."
That was the last bit of encouragement that he needed. Thankful that they had discarded their school robes back in the overly warm common room, Harry pulled her back into a heated kiss as he started to undo the buttons of her blouse. Suddenly, he remembered something and quickly pulled away.
"What is it?" Hermione asked, confused.
"Um....Is it...is it safe?" Harry asked tentatively, hoping not to sound too much like a bumbling teenager.
"I took care of it," she said, relieved that it wasn't something else. "There's a potion that only needs to be taken once every few months."
"When did you start taking this?" Harry asked, kissing her neck gently.
"A few days ago," she moaned as he swirled his tongue on her skin. "I knew...I knew that this was going to happen sooner or later."
"Mmm," Harry mumbled as he re-captured her mouth with his, while resuming unbuttoning her blouse. Hermione quickly pulled it off her body once the last button was undone, and sat back on Harry's lap, looking appraisingly at him.
"You're wearing far too many clothes," she said, taking his wand from his pocket and holding it in a way that was making him quite wary.
"So what are you going to do about it?" he asked in a low voice. Hermione grinned at him before flicking the wand once, divesting Harry of all his clothes, boxers and all. Smiling, she leaned back down over him before tossing his wand onto the pile of his clothes that had appeared on the floor.
"Get that skirt off," Harry growled. Though he loved seeing Hermione in the grey, wool skirts that were part of the girls' Hogwarts uniform, right now it was causing his growing arousal to chafe fairly badly. Without a word, she got off the bed and undid the zipper in the back before letting the simple piece of cloth fall to the floor. It was when she was standing there in only her bra and knickers that he noticed they were a deep green. Curious, he arched his eyebrows at her.
"My favorite color," Hermione said, seeming to have read his mind. She climbed back onto the bed next to him and wasted no time in pressing her lips to his in a searing kiss. After fumbling around blindly for a minute, Harry finally managed to undo the clasp of her bra, and looked in amazement at her perfectly proportioned breasts as she shrugged the material off and tossed it to the ground. Noticing where he was looking, Hermione blushed slightly and looked away.
"You're perfect," Harry said, quickly turning her face back to his. "All of you."
He brought his hand up to one of her breasts and began to knead it gently, eliciting a moan from Hermione. She arched into his palm and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, before Harry rolled them so that he was on top. He continued to massage her while kissing her again, this time more gently, trying to convey all the love he felt for her.
By this time, he was more than hard, and when he felt his erection come in contact with Hermione's damp knickers, he sucked in a breath. Hermione, having felt this too, made to push the last piece of clothing blocking them away, but Harry covered her hand with his.
"Let me," he whispered, looking lovingly into her eyes, prompting her to smile and nod. Harry gently placed a kiss on her collarbone, and continued to trail kisses all along her body as he continued his journey downward. When he finally reached his destination, Hermione lifted herself off the bed so that Harry could pull the fabric off her.
He tossed the small bit of satin and lace on the pile of clothes, and sat back so he could look at her properly for the first time.
"You're so beautiful," he said in slight disbelief.
"I'm not that good-looking," Hermione said, turning away slightly. Harry moved back on top of her, letting his weight rest on her body, his erection pressing dangerously close to her opening. Leaning on his elbows, he brought her gaze to meet his.
"Yes, you are," he said with finality.
"Well, you're a bit biased, then," Hermione said with a smile. Looking into his eyes, she reached down and gently took hold of his throbbing member, positioning it over her entrance.
"Go slow," she whispered. Not breaking their eye contact, Harry nodded and slowly pushed forward, letting him be surrounded by Hermione for the first time. He stopped when he reached her barrier, wrapping his arms around her tightly.
"I don't want to hurt you," he said.
"It'll only hurt for a little while," she replied, more to convince herself than Harry. He stared deeply into her eyes, silently seeking permission to take the final step in their seven-year-long relationship. To answer him, she wrapped her legs around the small of his back and pulled hard, causing Harry to break through and sheathe himself completely within her.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked quickly.
"I will be," Hermione answered, tears threatening to run down her face from the burning in her lower abdomen. "Just stay still for a moment."
Though it nearly killed him to do so, Harry obliged, and simply contended himself with kissing her gently until the pain passed. After a minute, Hermione pushed him away slightly and nodded. Pulling her body as close to his as he could, Harry began to thrust in and out of her, trying to go as slowly as he could so as not to cause her more pain.
"Harry," she softly moaned. "Please...go faster."
Taking a deep sigh of relief, he began to pump faster, letting himself get lost in the sensation of having him surrounded by the woman he loved. Since it was his first time, he soon felt himself start to tense up, and began to thrust into her more emphatically, causing a sharp intake of breath from Hermione.
"Oh god...." she moaned into Harry's shoulder. Although Hermione had read that it was unusual for a woman to come during her first time, she seriously doubted that she wasn't going to. Suddenly, a warm feeling in her body started and spread to the very tips of her fingers before shattering, causing her to cry out in pleasure.
Harry, having felt Hermione's orgasm, could no longer keep control, and with a few final thrusts, emptied himself into her while spasms wracked his body. After a moment, he rolled off her and made to pull out, but she kept him in placed with her legs.
"Not yet," she said, bleary eyed. "I don't want to lose the feeling of having you inside me." Brushing back a strand of her hair, Harry nodded. Smiling he kissed her gently and for some reason felt tears threatening to spill from his face.
"Harry?" Hermione asked, noticing this. "What's wrong?"
"I...I just," he stuttered, taking a deep breath to compose himself. "I can't believe how much I love you right now."
"I know," she whispered, bringing a hand up to his cheek. "Harry...do you really want me to be your wife?"
"You already asked me that," he replied with a smile.
"I want to hear it again."
"Of course I do," he said without hesitation. "Especially after tonight, I could never see myself with anyone else."
"You realise this means you're going to have to beat Voldemort," Hermione said with a sigh. "You can't leave me here all alone."
"Failure really was never much of an option," he said. "But I don't plan on failing," Harry said, kissing her forehead. "I plan on growing old with you and having lots of children and grandchildren running around screaming their heads off."
"How many children did you plan on having?" she asked lovingly.
"I was thinking maybe three," he said.
"Not enough," Hermione replied instantly. "I want at least six."
"Why six?" Harry asked, slightly taken aback.
"One for every year I knew you and couldn't be with you like this," she replied. Harry couldn't help but smile at this, and gently pressed his lips to hers.
"Who knows," he said. "Maybe we could even try to give the Weasleys a run for their money."
"Well, you know," Hermione said biting her lip slightly. "We will need lots of practice."
"Hmm..." Harry said, pretending to be in thought. He already felt himself growing hard again inside her, and he was sure Hermione felt it too. "That's not a bad idea."
"I know," Hermione said as she flipped them over so she was on top. "I thought of it."
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There it is folks. I'm not entirely sure how good it is, so I guess you'll just have to review to let me know! Sigh...so much for writing a fic that actually stayed PG for once....
Remember the second Commandment of fic writing:
#2: THOU SHALL READ AND REVIEW TO APPEASE THE LORD, THY AUTHOR.
- Gacked from the Kinsfire Yahoo Group Message Boards