~A/N> Thank you so much for the great reviews on the last chapter! I'm sorry I haven't responded to any
of them, I've just been really busy and my spare time has been spent writing new chapters. Thanks to Spaz for her
beta work on this chapter and to Poppywillow for her help and suggestions. The next update will be in one week!
:)
"Well?" Hermione asked impatiently as she stared Harry down, "Why did you just introduce me as your girlfriend? How dare you! Especially after you blew me off the way you did after we had tea. I mean really..."
"Hermione!" Harry said, breaking into her tirade, "I'm sorry I didn't, I..."
Before he could say another word Hermione's hand connected with his other cheek and almost knocked him off his feet. "How dare you!" she almost screeched as she stood there with her fists balled at her sides.
"Would everyone please stop hitting me!" Harry implored, rubbing both cheeks as they stung and tingled.
"If you weren't such a tosser you wouldn't be getting slapped around," Hermione spat angrily.
"Look, Hermione," Harry started, only to be interrupted again.
"Don't," she said, holding a hand up towards him to stave off his explanation and without another word she walked away, leaving Harry alone staring after her.
"Bloody hell Harry, you're popular with the birds tonight, aren't you?" teased Ron as he stood next to him.
"Sod off," he replied, glaring at Ron, "What is she doing here anyway?"
"Which one?" Ron asked, unsuccessfully stifling a smile.
"Both actually," Harry answered.
"Well, Lisa is here because she's a friend and Hermione is here because she and Luna have become good friends over the past couple of weeks," Ron explained, "They've been going out quite a bit lately, I've even had dinner with the two of them a couple of times. Hermione seems to be a great girl."
"Yeah she is," Harry muttered, looking over to where she and Luna were conversing in a corner.
"What was that?" Ron asked humorously.
"Nothing," Harry replied shortly, angry with himself for letting that slip. "I think I'll stay away from the both of them."
"I think that would be a good idea, unless you like getting slapped around by women," Ron replied cheekily, "Some blokes are into that sort of thing from what I hear."
"Wanker," Harry replied, shooting him a 'drop dead' look. Deciding he'd had enough of females for a little while Harry made his way over to where Arthur Weasley was talking with a group of wizards from the Ministry.
~*~
"He's such an insufferable git!" Hermione exclaimed, stabbing her thumb in the direction of where Harry stood, "I've never seen a Wizard with such nerve, not even my ex-boyfriend!"
"What happened?" Luna asked curiously.
"He just walked up to me and introduced me to some witch as his girlfriend," Hermione answered, "He asks me out, we have a great time together, and then he blows me off...where does he get off using me as a convenient escape from some groupie?"
Just then Ginny walked up next to Luna and said, "So how's the party going?"
"Great so far," Luna replied, "Ginny, I'd like you to meet Hermione Granger, she works at Flourish and Blotts. Hermione, this is Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister and one of my best friends."
"Nice to meet you," Hermione greeted, smiling at the vivacious redhead.
"Nice to meet you too," Ginny replied warmly, "Luna said you just moved here a little while ago after finishing up at Beauxbatons?"
"Yes, my Father passed away suddenly and my Mum wanted to move straight away to be closer to our relatives," Hermione answered, "There wasn't really any reason for me to stay in France so I moved back with her."
"Hello ladies," Neville said, walking up to their group with a friendly smile, "Oh Hermione, it's nice to see you again!"
"Hi Neville," Hermione replied happily, "How's your cafe doing?"
"It's a little slow, but my repeat business is building every day," he answered cheerfully.
"You've met Hermione already?" Ginny asked.
"We were introduced when Harry brought her in for dinner one night," Neville explained, "Luna and Hermione have come in for lunch a couple of times since then too."
The four of them continued to talk, asking Hermione questions about Beauxbatons and how she liked working for the incomparable Edna, when Ron walked over with three glasses of Firewhiskey. "Here you go," he said, handing one to Luna and the other to Hermione.
Just as Hermione was going to thank Ron and give the drink back with an explanation that she wasn't a drinker, Harry rushed over to her and said, "You can't drink that!" and snatched the glass out of her hand.
"Harry, what are you doing?" Ginny asked, surprised by his behavior.
"I'm, um...I'm..." Harry floundered, trying to come up with an explanation that wouldn't give anything away. Chancing a glance at Hermione, he cringed at the angry, put out look that was on her beautiful face.
"Luna, would you please tell me where the loo is?" Hermione asked quietly, trying to keep her tears at bay.
"It's just down the hall, second door on the right," Luna explained, looking confusedly between her and Harry.
"Thank you," she whispered, and as she walked away from the group Harry followed her, trying to apologize for his actions. "I didn't think about what I said before I said it," he explained, "I'm sorry."
Stopping in front of the bathroom door, Hermione turned towards him with glistening eyes and said, "Would you please just leave me alone? You've made it quite clear that you want nothing to do with me, so I suggest that you go find one of your groupies to bother and let me be."
Harry watched helplessly as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door in his face. Running a hand roughly through his hair, he turned and made his way back to the party, determined to come up with some way to show Hermione how sorry he was. Just as he was about to join Ron and Neville in the kitchen, Luna walked up next to him and grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks.
"Harry, what's going on with you and Hermione?" she asked, "Is she okay?"
"I don't know," he replied, not meeting her eyes, "I really like her but I think I've screwed things up too badly; I'm not sure she'll ever trust me again."
"I'm sure that's not true Harry," Luna replied sympathetically, "Who could ever resist your charm and wit?"
Smiling sadly at her light-hearted attempt to cheer him up, Harry looked at her and said, "Ron is one lucky bloke to have you in his life."
"I know," she replied, "And I'm lucky to have him too. Now, since you're obviously not going to tell me what's going on, I'm going to go talk to Hermione and make sure she's okay."
Luna placed a quick kiss on Harry's cheek and walked off in the direction of the bathroom. Harry watched as she disappeared down the hall and hoped that she would be able to help smooth over the mess he had just created.
~*~
Hermione stood in the locked bathroom, staring at her tear-streaked face in the mirror. 'Why doesn't he just leave me alone?' she thought gloomily to herself. As she splashed cold water on her face there was a knock on the door and Luna's voice called, "Hermione, can I talk to you?"
As she slowly dried her face off with a towel, Hermione decided to let Luna in. She knew that Luna would be concerned as to what had happened, and if there was anyone she could trust it was Luna; they may have only been friends for a short time, but somehow Hermione knew that Luna was someone who would never betray her.
Luna was surprised when the bathroom door slowly opened and Hermione stood there, gesturing for her to come in. "I hope you don't mind talking in here," Hermione said, closing the door behind her and then uttering a locking and silencing charm to ensure their privacy.
"Not at all," Luna replied with a friendly smile. After a moment of silence she asked, "So, can I ask what just happened between you and Harry out there?"
Hermione smiled; Luna's directness was one of the thing's she liked best about her, that and her honesty. Taking a deep breath, Hermione proceeded to fill Luna in on her condition; how it happened, how Michel had chucked her and how she had confided in Harry the night they had gone out. Luna stood quietly, listening intently to every word, and when she was finished Luna walked over to her and hugged her gently.
"I'm so sorry Hermione, I can't imagine how I'd feel if I were in your situation," Luna said quietly, "But I hope you know that if you ever need anything, even a labour partner, I'm here for you."
"Thank you," Hermione replied with tears in her eyes. She had known that Luna would understand, but she had been relieved to hear the caring in her voice after she had finally confided in her. Of course her Mum and Edna knew, but Luna was her age, knew what she was going through and hadn't abandoned her.
"Wait a tick," Luna said with a touch of annoyance in her voice, "You're telling me that you told Harry about the baby and that's why he didn't want to see you anymore? That just doesn't seem like Harry...are you sure that's the reason? Did he actually tell you that?"
"Edna said the same thing and I thought...but you know what it's okay, it wouldn't be fair of me to expect Harry or anyone else for that matter to be with me while I'm carrying another wizard's child," Hermione explained tearfully gesturing to her slightly rounded stomach, "This is my responsibility. I'm sure Harry wants to find someone he can start his own family with, not take responsibility for someone else's family."
"Does Michel know?" Luna asked carefully, afraid she might upset Hermione more.
"No, and I don't have any immediate plans to tell him either," Hermione replied. "I feel like such a fool. I let him take advantage of me and then he walked away from me when I needed him the most. He would probably skiv off to Australia if he found out I was carrying his baby."
After a few moments of silence, Hermione wiped the tears from her face and took a long, shuddering breath. "I think I'm going to head home," she said, "I hope you won't be angry with me if I don't stay for the rest of your party?"
"Of course not," Luna replied, "You look utterly exhausted and I understand that it might be uncomfortable for you to be here with Harry. I'm just sorry he acted the way he did and upset you; really he's usually not like that."
Giving Luna a quick hug Hermione said, "Thank you so much for listening and understanding, it felt good to finally tell you about the baby. I'm just sorry I didn't say something sooner."
Luna smiled at her and said, "It's okay, I know how hard it is to trust people you've just met, and after all that you've been through lately it must have been doubly hard for you to confide in me."
After Hermione splashed some more cold water on her face, trying to erase all evidence that she'd been crying, she and Luna walked out of the bathroom and stopped cold; Harry was standing just outside the door, leaning against the wall with an apologetic look on his face.
"Hermione..." he started, but Luna cut him off by saying, "Harry, don't you think you've done enough for one night?"
Surprised by his friend's sudden change towards him, Harry said, "I just wanted to apologize Luna, that's all."
"It's okay Luna," Hermione said, touched by her protectiveness, "I need to talk to him for a moment."
Luna smiled at her and said, "Remember, if you ever need anything I'm here, okay?"
"Okay," Hermione replied. She watched as Luna walked back to the crowd of people in the sitting room and then turned towards Harry. "Harry, I..."
"Hermione, I am so sorry for the way I acted before," he interrupted, talking quickly, "It's just that I knew it was Firewhiskey in that glass and I reacted before thinking it through...I'm sorry."
Hermione watched him as he rambled on, her heart constricting at the thought of how much she liked him and the possibility of what could have been between them, if only...
"Harry, it's okay. It was a misunderstanding; you were only trying to look out for me and I appreciate it. I'm sorry for the way I reacted too." Trying to swallow down the lump in her throat and stop the tears from flooding her eyes, she said, "I really should go home, I'm tired and I have to work tomorrow morning."
"Oh, okay," Harry said, sounding somewhat disappointed. After a moment of silence, in which Harry struggled with himself internally, he asked, "Would it be alright if I accompany you home, so I know you make it safely?"
Hermione knew she should say no, she knew that it would just cause her more emotional pain later when he walked away from her again, but her heart spoke before her brain could register the words as she replied, "I'd like that."
Looking surprised by the fact she had said yes, Harry took a second to find his voice; "Just let me say my goodbye's and we can be on our way."
"Alright," she answered with a slight smile. He surprised her even more when he reached out and took her hand in his, leading her into the sitting room where his friends were. Ten minutes later, after she pacified Luna by promising to explain everything the next day, they walked outside into the cool night air. Hermione took a deep breath of the floral scented air and looked up at all the twinkling stars above them.
Harry looked over at her, prepared to ask her which direction they needed to go, and froze. She was standing next to him, staring up at the night sky as the full moon shone it's light down on her, bathing her in it's luminous rays. He had never seen anyone look so beautiful before and his fingers itched to touch the skin on her cheek to see if it felt as soft as it looked.
Hermione could feel his gaze, she knew he was watching her, but she didn't care. Her favourite time of the day was at night, it was always so quiet and she loved gazing at the moon and stars as they danced in the heavens above. Her Mother had always said she had her head stuck in either a book or the clouds, but she knew that she would rather travel amongst the stars instead of the clouds any day.
When she turned and met his gaze she was entranced by the way his green eyes were shining in the moonlight. It was as if they were glowing with a radiance that didn't come from the outside, but from the inside, as if from his soul.
He started to lean towards her, unable to control his actions, and she found herself unable to tear her eyes away from his. She knew he was going to kiss her, but for the life of her she couldn't make herself turn away.
When his lips lightly touched hers she felt as if a bolt of electricity ran from her lips to her toes. Her eyes involuntarily closed as she relished the feel of the kiss, and when his tongue sought entrance she opened readily, wanting as much of him as he was willing to give.
The moment she granted him access he started to explore her mouth, noticing the lingering taste of the pumpkin pasties and Butterbeer she had at the party, along with her own underlying essence. He was swept away in her softness and he loved the way she felt in his arms.
They stood there on the street, snogging for quite some time before reluctantly pulling apart. Harry leaned his forehead against hers, trying to calm himself; he knew how weary she was of him and a part of him was very surprised that she had let him kiss her in the first place.
"Harry?" she asked quietly, breaking into his thoughts, "I-I really need to go home, it's getting late and I'm really tired."
"I understand," he replied just as quietly as he pulled back to look at her flushed face and glazed eyes. "So should we take a taxi?" he asked, hoping she would say yes so that they could spend some extra time together.
"Sure," she agreed, and then watched as he hailed one. When they were both in the backseat, sitting so close together that their sides touched, she looked over at him and tried to keep down the feelings of desire she felt, along with her growing affection for him. Realizing the roller coaster they had both been on all night long, she said, "Thank you Harry."
"For what?" he asked with surprise and confusion in his voice.
"For being so understanding," she replied, smiling at him. When he just smiled back she leaned her head onto his shoulder as exhaustion overtook her and closed her eyes, immediately falling asleep.