A/N: We apologize for not keeping up on review replies lately. The response has been magnificent and posting every other day, combined with real life responsibilities, has made it difficult to keep up as of late. We just want you to know that reviews will be replied to as soon as is possible. We appreciate your continued support of MLS. And remember…we're not done yet!
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Chapter 6
The next morning the skies were gloomy grey and a steady rainfall pelted the nearly-empty London streets. Harry's flat was in a four-story building on the upper west side of the city. He had the top floor with a nice view of the London skyline in the distance.
Lying on his stomach, he slid his hand along the sheet, expecting to touch the warm body that had slept beside him the night before. One eye opened when the warm body wasn't there. He raised his head and blinked the sleep from his eyes. "Mione?"
"I'm here," came the soft reply.
Harry rolled to his back and sat up. Hermione was standing near the window looking out at the falling rain, her arms wrapped around her as she watched the cars roll by on the street below. She was dressed in one of Harry's t-shirts. It was much too big for her; it came to rest just above her knees. She looks beautiful in it, he thought.
He got up and grabbed his robe from the end of the bed. She was shivering when he walked up behind her, and he placed it around her shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly back against him, resting his chin on the top of her head.
They were silent as they stared out the window together, both their minds going a mile a minute.
What would happen now?
What was ahead for them?
How would their lives change?
After a few minutes, Harry gave her a little squeeze and kissed the top of her head. "Come back to bed, it's chilly."
She nodded and turned with him. He kept his arm around her and they walked slowly back to the bed. He held up the covers while she took off his robe, then climbed into bed. He slid under the blankets and she snuggled up against him. "What were you thinking about?" he asked, stroking her hair.
She shrugged, her warm breath gently floating over his bare chest, giving him goose bumps. "Nothing," she paused, "and everything."
Harry kissed the top of her head and squeezed her. "Nothing has changed, you know," he said down to her.
She looked up at him. "What do you mean?"
He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. "We're still best friends, right?" She nodded. "And you know you can talk to me about anything." She nodded again. "So…what were you thinking about?"
She smiled and laid her head back down against his shoulder. "Just wondering where we go from here," she said quietly, drawing little circles around his bellybutton, and letting her finger slightly brush through the trail of hair that disappeared into his boxers.
Harry rested his cheek against her hair and smiled. "Anywhere we want."
Hermione grinned and kissed his shoulder. "How about we start with something to eat?" she said quietly. "I'm starved."
Harry nodded and looked over at the clock on the bedside table. It was 7:30. "What do you want?"
Hermione was silent, then she rolled away from him to lay on her back, her eyes closed. "Anything."
Pursing his lips, he got up and put his robe on. "You want to go out?" he asked. He smiled down on her as she stretched, reaching her arms above her head and stretching her legs in the opposite direction. A little squeak came from her that sent a thrill down his spine. He loved that sound.
"Mmmmm," she said, letting her stretched limbs relax, "not really."
Harry nodded. "So what do you want to do, then?"
She smiled but didn't look at him. "If it's all the same to you, I'm just going to lie here all day like a big fat lazy cat."
Harry chuckled. "So, sort of like what Crookshanks does every day of his life."
Hermione gasped and she sat up, then chucked a pillow at him. Harry laughed as he ducked. "I'll go make breakfast," he said walking toward the door. He opened it, then turned to face her. "And you," he pointed at her, "stay right where you are."
After giving him a mock salute, she laid back down. "Yes, sir." Harry grinned then left the room, keeping the door ajar. Hermione snuggled into the blankets and pillows and took a deep breath. She had never felt contentment and happiness like this in her entire life. She was in love. And the best part of it was now she knew that love was returned.
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Thirty minutes later, Harry returned to the bedroom with two breakfast trays being levitated behind him. He smiled when he saw that Hermione had fallen back to sleep. He knelt on the bed and shook her gently. "Mione?"
"Hmmm?"
"Breakfast," he whispered, getting off the bed and waiting for her to wake up. She rolled to her back and sat up, smiling when she saw the huge breakfast he'd made.
"Wow," she muttered getting into a sitting position as Harry brought a tray to her and set it on her lap. "Thanks."
"Yeah, all those years of cooking for that wonderful family of mine certainly comes in handy sometimes."
"I bet," she said with a worried glance at him. She watched him for a moment in silence. Assured that he wasn't upset by thoughts of his time with the Dursleys, she looked back down at her tray, and smiled at the single red rose lying across the bottom of it. "You cook this, too?" she teased, holding it up to smell it.
Harry smiled as he sat at the end of the bed with his tray. "Nah," he said taking a bite of toast, "stole it from the neighbor's garden."
Hermione looked at him as he continued to eat. "You're not serious."
Harry nodded. "Yeah. The Millers down on the first floor have a little rose garden out back. I ran down there this morning and picked it."
"Harry! Honestly!"
He shrugged. "They won't miss it," he said, setting his glass down after draining it. "Besides, I charmed the entire bush to bloom all year round now."
Hermione just shook her head. "You're terrible."
"But you love me anyway," he said matter-of-factly, looking directly at her.
She gave him a gentle smile. "Yes, I do." Her voice was soft, but the love shining in her eyes was blinding.
They ate in silence for another half hour or so, and when Harry took the trays downstairs, Hermione decided to take a bath. Harry found her in the bathroom just stepping into the tub. "Whatcha doing?" he asked, peeking his head around the door and smiling as she submerged herself under the bubbles.
"I'm taking a bubble bath, silly," she said, blowing bubbles at him.
He watched them until they landed on the floor. Then he stepped all the way into the small bathroom. "Want some company?" he asked quietly.
She looked at the tub then frowned. "I don't think it's big enough for both of us, Harry."
He quickly ran from the room and returned a few seconds later with this wand. He pointed at the tub and said, "Engorgio" and the tub expanded big enough to fit at least four people.
"Oh, you think you're so clever, don't you?" Hermione teased as Harry shed his robe and boxers and slipped into the water behind her.
"Yes, actually, I do," he smirked. She giggled as he reached forward and pulled her back against his chest. She had her hair up in a bun and the exposed skin of her neck was too much of a temptation for him, so he gave her a soft, gentle kiss. He let his lips linger on her skin for a moment, and then rested his head against hers. He sighed deeply.
"What?" she asked, holding onto his arms where they rested around her chest.
"It should be illegal to be this content," Harry said quietly, laying his head against the back of the tub. "Just a week ago I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the rest of my life, you know? I mean, we were doing the movie, but that was just for fun. I certainly didn't intend for it be a full-time thing."
"Me either."
"I'm still not sure what I want to do," Harry admitted. "But the one thing I'm absolutely sure about," he gave her a little squeeze, "is us."
Hermione sat up and turned around in his arms. "Me too, Harry," she whispered, kissing him tenderly. The need for passion was gone. For now they were content to just be in each other's arms. She moved beside him and snuggled against him.
"How did you know?" he asked her, trailing his hand lightly up and down her wet back.
"How did I know what?" she asked, looking up at him.
"About me." he said quietly. His eyes lit up playfully. "I mean, am I not the most daft git you've ever met?"
"No, actually, that would be Ron," she teased, "but you do qualify for a close second."
Harry laughed. "A close second? You mean, someone is actually more daft than me?"
Hermione nodded. "I'm afraid so."
He chuckled. "Unbelievable," he said, shaking his head. So," he paused, lightly touching the tip of her nose, then kissing it gently, "tell me how you knew."
She shrugged, looking down. "I just did I guess. For one, I knew I couldn't possibly feel the way I do about you if you didn't feel the same. The feelings were just too strong. It's how I knew I just needed to hold on. Then, I thought I noticed you starting to act differently toward me." Harry raised an eyebrow. "Just little things, you know? At first I only let myself believe that it was just you being a gentleman and a good friend. Then, I thought maybe I was just imagining it because I wanted it so badly." Harry let out a soft chuckle. "But then, I realized that friends don't act the way you acted toward me." She paused, like she was deep in thought. "It was something else, and it wasn't my imagination." She lifted her eyes and watched him carefully for a reaction.
"Was I really that obvious?"
She nodded. "I think so. Well, at least to me. I doubt you even realized you were acting differently." He shook his head in confirmation. She sighed and looked down. Then she scooted away from him to the other end of the tub, resting her back against it. "I have been in love with you for so long, Harry," she admitted quietly. "I'd get so jealous when you'd tell me about your girlfriends. I tried so hard not to let you see that my heart was breaking into a million pieces."
"Mione…."
"I told myself that since you were happy, then I needed to be happy for you." She looked up at him. "But I could see you weren't happy. There was no way those women could give you want you needed. They didn't-couldn't-understand you the way I do." He nodded. "So, I sat back and waited for my turn to come. And I knew it would. Do you remember what almost happened at last year's Christmas party?"
Harry smiled fondly at the memory of their almost kiss. They'd both been so inebriated - how could you not be at a party held by Draco Malfoy - he was known to spike everything…and oh, had he that night! Harry chuckled, playing with some bubbles. "I always imagined you tasting like strawberries."
"Always imagined?" she teased.
Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, maybe not always, always," he said, looking at her with an honest, open expression. "But I definitely remember thinking it that night."
Hermione felt herself blush and she looked away. "It was after that night I became aware of how different you were around me, how you would look at me that way."
Harry looked hard at her. "I saw it, too, in your eyes. I just didn't realize what I was looking at. I didn't realize that we could ever be more than friends."
She grinned and lifted up a handful of bubbles and blew them towards him. "So, you saw it in my eyes and didn't recognize it? Luckily for you, I decided to take advantage of the time we spent together making this movie. If I hadn't, you'd still be wondering what you're looking at."
"Like I said," he pointed at himself, "daft git."
Hermione laughed as she held up her hand and noticed that her fingertips were starting to prune. "We'd better get out of here or we're going to shrivel up."
Harry nodded and stood up. Hermione pulled the plug from the tub and took his hand. As the water drained, Harry pulled the shower curtain closed and turned on the shower. After they washed their hair, they quickly rinsed off then got out. He quickly grabbed a towel and began to dry her off.
She stood there, as he gently patted her dry with the fluffiest towel he owned. When he was done, she returned the favor, drying him off. After brushing their teeth-thankfully Harry kept a spare-they went into the bedroom to dress.
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The rest of the day was spent lounging around, as though they'd been doing it this way forever. They watched a movie on television and took a nap in the afternoon. After a late lunch, the rain stopped and they went for a walk around the small park just down the street from Harry's flat. It was hard for them not to hold hands, but they managed it. It wasn't going to be easy keeping this thing a secret, but they were going to try.
8:00 came and it was time for them to go back to their respective hotels. "We could just take a cab to my hotel and then I'll walk you."
"I'm going to apparate back to the Leaky Cauldron, then cab it to my hotel." She paused and grinned at him. "And I think we should arrive separately, Harry," Hermione said, not sounding at all happy about it.
Harry frowned. "Tell me again why we're not staying together tonight?"
She grinned at him and put her arms around his neck, pulling his head down for a smoldering kiss. "After a night apart I think we'll be ready for whatever scenes they need us to do."
"Definitely if you keep kissing me like that," Harry teased, kissing her again.
She smiled. "We only have a few more scenes to shoot. Hopefully it'll only be one or two takes." Harry nodded. "Then we can get it over and done with."
He grabbed her and pushed her against the door. "Then we can stop pretending," he said, the lust in eyes matching her own. He kissed her hard, shoving his tongue into her mouth, making her moan deep in her throat.
They kissed for what seemed like forever. When Hermione finally regained her senses, she put her hands on his chest and pushed him away gently. "I'll see you tomorrow morning then," she said quietly, not looking at him. She feared if she did, she would lose any resolve she had left, stay with him, and sod the movie.
Harry let out a deep breath and nodded. He stepped away from her, trying to ignore the pressure he felt building exponentially in his groin. It was going to be a long night. "Be careful," he cautioned.
She smiled and opened the door behind her. "8:30 tomorrow morning," she reminded him. He just nodded. She gave him a quick kiss then hurried into the hall and where she pushed the down button for the elevator.
"You've got a thing for elevators don't you?" he asked, standing in his open doorway watching her.
She laughed as the lift doors opened. "See you tomorrow," she said, backing into the lift, she mouthed "I love you" just as the doors closed.
Harry smiled. He retreated into his flat and closed the door. Running his hand through his hair, he fell against the door with a thud and rested his head back against it. "Yep," he said aloud, "it's going to be a long night."