Chapter 5-Past and Present
Morning came and they each lie separately by only a hands width, but no contact. The sun was out casting the glow on the curtains. They lay looking the same way with Hermione looking at Harry. Harry turned over and found Hermione staring at him. She moved closer put her hand to his chest and kissed him. He moved closer and they carefully touched to create that soft sensual bond they had enjoyed the night before. "I love you, Hermione." Harry said.
"I love you too," replied Hermione.
They lay their holding each other silently for several minutes. Harry felt his eyes getting heavy again and soon he was asleep. Hermione smiled as she realized that he'd fallen asleep. It was a smile of satisfaction and understanding. She let him sleep exactly that way for nearly fifteen minutes before she moved. She carefully slid out of her side of the bed, kissed Harry on the forehead, and went to the loo.
Upon returning, Hermione pulled out a pen and her diary. She thoughtfully penned her feelings and thoughts of the past few days with last night's life-changing event the focal point. She read it to herself to see if it included everything. She added, "I sit here this morning unafraid of the consequences hoping that Harry truly understands how much I love him. He is adorable sleeping so soundly. I hope I never forget his tenderness in his first experience. He is truly wonderful." She put her diary away and tried to hang up her five-hundred dollar dress that she so casually peeled off in the shower and Jacuzzi.
She walked out to the balcony with bottled water from the mini-bar and listened to the birds. The air was fresh and just beginning to show the humidity and heat that would follow. She went to her bag again and pulled out the cell phone.
"Hi, Mum, how was your trip?" she stood listening to the reply.
"Yes, Mum, I was supposed to leave for New York last night, but I had some business to attend to here," said Hermione after which she listened again. This time her face turned to one of slight outrage.
"No, Mum, I'm not in trouble. Julie had no right to call you and worry you. I told her I had trouble because I wanted to be left alone," explained Hermione.
"Mum, please make sure Dad knows I'm okay. I don't want him having more problems," she said.
"I told Julie that because it's none of her business. But it is very much your business, in a manner of speaking. Do you remember Harry Potter?" asked Hermione.
"Yes, the boy that I always talked about when I was home. Yes, the one I was so disappointed didn't ask me to be his girlfriend before I went to University. Mum, did you record everything I ever said about him?" Hermione said with an uneasy laugh.
Hermione smiled as tears rolled down her face. "Well, he was my trouble Mum. He's loved me all along. We were just too close as friends to see the romance. I'm here in Oxford with him now. He wants to take you to dinner tonight."
"Thursday is the soonest? You're sure? I have something to put in the garden though. He got me a flower and I don't want it to die. Will you be home this afternoon?" inquired Hermione.
"Oh, I see. Well, I'm not going to the States until I know for sure what I'm going to do long term," she said. "So, unless Harry has some unbreakable engagements this week, Thursday it is."
"Yes, we'll be careful on the road. I love you, Mum. Tell Dad I love him too," said Hermione.
She closed her phone and sipped her water. Harry came to the French doors and saw Hermione standing there in her robe obscured from view from below by the branches of the tree under their suite. Harry had put on his sweatpants but was still shirtless. He walked up behind her and gently pulled her hair from her neck and kissed her. She took a deep breath as he wrapped his arms around her midriff just below her breasts his hand cupping one gently. "You know how beautiful you look out here," said Harry.
"Will you say that again please. It sounded so wonderful," she replied leaning back into him with softness of her bottom caressing him as she gave in to his touch. "How did you sleep?"
"Very well, but I wish you hadn't let me sleep. I feel like I missed something while you were awake," he said as he also enjoyed the peaceful morning sun and breeze.
"I called my Mum and they aren't available for dinner until Thursday. Is that a problem?" asked Hermione.
Harry laughed softly. "The only way they'd miss me at work would be if you were a baron or baroness's daughter and had not returned until the next morning with her clothes torn from her body. They might bring me in and yell about not tearing the clothes."
Hermione laughed. "Don't they realize how good you are at the rest of the job?"
"Other than petty vandalism, the worst cases are domestic disputes where transfiguration of one partner or the other has to be reversed, or in extreme cases a whacko holds hostages in jealous rage over an ex-girlfriend or spouse. The busiest area is the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad that goes mostly to muggle neighborhoods," said Harry.
"I've learned a lot too since school. I never knew how many untrained wizards and witches there were in the world," said Hermione. "It's scary to think that someone with no formal training and dark tendencies could get out of control."
"I know, but that also is an area that requires years of experience. They hired me as a face for the Ministry," said Harry disapprovingly. "I didn't know that at first and now it's starting to bother me."
"What do you think of my career, Harry?" said Hermione. "Stop that I'm trying to have a conversation with you." Harry softly ran his hand over her tummy to her hip and down her outer thigh. "Harry, please. I don't want to have to jump your bones and kick your arse again to get you to stop."
They laughed. "Ooh, now there's a threat that scares me," he teased.
Harry answered. "I only know what I've seen on TV. I don't watch much and quite honestly, I only think of the photo shoots. You reminded me of the runway shows when you talked about changing last night." He said nibbling her earlobe and ever-so-lightly kissing her neck.
"Well, the best way to put it is that the more of those shows I do, the more I am requested to show the work of the top designers." She paused and moaned unconsciously even though she was trying to ignore Harry's ministrations. "The shows are for buyers such as Niemann Marcus in the muggle world or the Hollywood and Fifth Avenue boutiques in Los Angeles and New York. They are what pay the bills," she explained.
"Okay, I wondered why you would be gone for such long periods of time. If I get this right, you might be in New York one day or two days and then fly to Chicago. Then after that to somewhere completely different, maybe even in Europe or Asia," said Harry resuming with a soft hand inside the robe.
"Not Asia yet, but you have the idea," said Hermione. "That's why I said that it only takes one girl with a look that a lot of people like to put me out of work or the business. The great ones reinvent themselves. I will too, but it will be out of the business."
"I think it sounds exciting when you aren't dealing with jerks and overly aggressive agents," said Harry.
"Exactly, it's not bad from that perspective. The companies that sponsor me on any given tour pay for my lodging and give me a good stipend. Pay check, Harry. They call it that in the business," she explained.
"I thought you said a good stiff end," said Harry who had toned down but not stopped trying to get her to join him in bed.
"Harry, I think if the breeze were stronger you would have to take a cold shower if you were standing here alone," she cooed. Harry could sense that he was having an effect on her. "Harry, you are hard to resist." She turned and kissed him deeply.
As the clock approached the noon hour, Hermione pulled the covers up to her chin as Harry lay on top of them. "Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked.
"Of course, haven't you ever seen a man suffering from dehydration during physical exercise," he said. "In this case, sexual gymnastics." He smiled and reached for a bottle of water out of the mini-bar.
"Let's go to my Mum and Dad's. I have to plant that flower," she said. "Knock off the pity party, it's not like I believe you are really suffering." She pushed him out of bed onto the floor. He moaned in agony. She smiled thinking of what a bad actor he was.
They stopped in the lobby and paid for another day because check-out had already passed. They would decide whether they would go somewhere else on Tuesday and Wednesday, but they decided that Thursday with her parents was a `can't miss' affair.
Harry felt so much more relaxed with Hermione now and he could tell she was too. He didn't feel it was the act of sex, it was the freedom of expression. There were no barriers. He'd dreamt this morning that they were doing something together like a business and it was prospering. He for the life of him couldn't tell what it was, but they answered phones and made appointments. He just remembered that they'd smiled at each other a lot. He couldn't even be sure it was a business. They were just together.
"If we both left our jobs, Hermione, what would be one thing you'd like to do for a business?" Harry probed to see if it was even worth a second thought.
"Wow, that's an interesting thought." She munched on a cracker out of the box he and she shared for breakfast. "I like the traveling. What if we did something like a travel agency or something? Or, maybe we could become tour guides? I don't know, but it's an interesting alternative for the future, isn't it?"
"Yeah, and it's not like we have to go looking for a lot of people who would recognize us now either," he pointed out. "We would probably bring in a lot of people who were just interested in talking to us. At first that would be okay, but then the business would have to pick up just due to sheer numbers."
"Hmm," said Hermione. "Well, I don't see it happening anytime soon, do you?"
"To me, it depends on how we feel once we get hit in the face with separation again, don't you think?"
"The biggest adjustment in our lives will be seeing if we can live apart and not go crazy," she said nervously. "I don't like that part."
"I don't either," said Harry.
Harry was glad he had the swimming trunks. If he were going visiting or something less casual they might not be appropriate, but for lounging and things, they looked like a pair of Bermuda shorts. After planting the flower, Hermione made some small sandwiches and tea. They ate out back and just decided that was all they wanted for the moment.
"So what do you think Ron and Luna are up to?" said Harry.
"I don't know, but I don't think she's as conservative as I am so, judge for yourself," said Hermione lying back in the chaise in her shorts and polo. "I have no idea. The one I want to find someone is Ginny." She knew that Harry might not relish that thought, but not because of jealousy. He seemed like he would just be picky about who he thought would be good for her.
"Yeah, Ginny. All those dates at Hogwarts and she's now 19 with no boyfriend while taking care of her brother's affairs. Go figure." Harry said thinking just about the exact same as Hermione. "She has to find someone who's good for her though."
Hermione smiled.
"If you went to the States on say-Saturday-would it be to New York?" asked Harry.
"No, I think the next place would be Chicago for a show on Tuesday of next week. All the New York things are over on Friday. Why? Are you trying to get rid of me?" she asked playfully.
"No, I was curious as to whether you'd take me with you. Could you explain me to your people, as they say in the business?" He tried to do some hip-hop thing like he saw on the television this morning.
"Oh, don't do that again, Harry. That was bad. Something about our English accent just doesn't go with hip-hop," Hermione pretended to shiver in animated disgust. "I'm kidding, but I'm not. If you understand what I mean?"
Harry smiled. "Okay, stick to impressions of cockney dockworkers then, is what you're saying?"
"Exactly," she laughed.
Harry was about to ask Hermione what she wanted to do next when he heard her chair scrape against the patio as she stood. "Harry, do you want to go visit the Weasley's at The Burrow?"
He didn't know why he would never have thought of it, but for some reason it sounded like the best idea yet. "Brilliant idea," he said. "I wonder if Ron is still in the area. There was no indication that he had to leave soon."
"Even if he did, I think I could just use a day sitting and talking with Mrs. Weasley. We left very quickly yesterday and I just was thinking how sad it was that we hadn't talked more," she said. "We'll leave the car here."
Harry and Hermione held each other's arms and Apparated to the most familiar place they knew except Hogwarts. Their appearance on the back lawn shocked Mrs. Weasley. She was full of questions which neither of them had been prepared to answer yesterday.
"Hi, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione. "We just thought we'd come see our second mother." She smiled.
Happy for that comment and glad to see them, Molly held out her arms for a hug, but here came the questions. "I thought you had to be in New York today? And, Harry don't you work anymore? Don't tell me you're playing hooky from work, you two?"
Harry was totally caught off-guard, but Hermione recovered for both of them with a reasonable version of the truth. "Harry and I just decided it wasn't time to go our separate ways. We have unfinished business."
Molly looked them and standing there together. "That's what Ginny told me when she came back into the room yesterday. She said that she hoped we realized it before it was too late."
Like a protective older brother, Harry asked, "How is Ginny doing?" We were talking about her just a little while ago.
Molly measured her response. It was obvious to both Harry and Hermione. "She's okay. I don't usually tell my children's business to others, but she's happy for you two and really wants you two to get it right."
Harry and Hermione looked at each other for a moment. The choice of words and emphasis said more than the words themselves.
"Mrs. Weasley, that sounds rather cryptic," said Hermione.
"Please, both of you, you're mature enough now to call me Molly when we're alone," she said. "Just to let you know Ron and Luna took Ginny to London with them today. They are buying Ginny something to thank her for the work she does for Ron. Luna put Ron in his place about how hard Ginny worked for him. I don't want to be talking about this if they come back unexpectedly."
"Well, that's good isn't it?" said Harry.
"Yes, it is good. Luna is different than anyone I would have ever picked for Ron, but maybe that's why nature takes over instead of parents," she said thoughtfully.
"So, why do I get the feeling that Ginny's not doing as good as we thought?" said Hermione.
"Oh, believe me, I wouldn't say she was okay if she wasn't but there are some things you two aren't aware of and today for the first time I see why," said Molly. "And, I hope my intuition is correct."
"What's that?" said Harry.
"You two are like two peas in a pod. You've never recognized it until now. And, even now, you may not realize that you are holding hands close as lovers get when they've found their one and only. You look like Arthur and I thirty some years ago." Molly's words filled the two of them with happiness and at the same time added mystery to the conversation.
"We just wanted to see all of you. We miss you, Molly," said Hermione. "Please end this suspense. It's killing me."
"Harry, it has more to do with you than Hermione. Do you remember how hard it was for you when Ginny broke off your relationship? You had told her that she didn't seem to love you the same as you loved her," she explained.
"Hermione and I talked of it last night, Molly. Yes, I do-almost too clearly," said Harry.
"Ginny told you the truth, but there was a twist. She is so strong-willed, she wouldn't show the hurt. She loved you as much as you loved her. The problem was she knew that she'd never be to you what Hermione was nor would you be to her what Hermione saw in you."
"I'm confused, Molly. If someone says, I don't think you love me the way I love you and they agree. I could see that. Many relationships have one person who loves the other just a little more. But when they say they shouldn't be together that means something totally different," said Harry. Hermione held his arm and hand tightly dropping her head.
"For ten years you two, you and Hermione, have had a secret bond. Not a bad one, nor a flaunted one. Ginny saw it. Ron saw it. As adults, we didn't think anything of it. You were kids with crushes and lives still to live. You still had things to learn. How do you think that Ron and Ginny could look at you two as friends now, if there were only a sudden recognition of love between you? They had lived with it throughout their young lives. But it wasn't until they were old enough to see that they couldn't break it down or compete that they went their separate ways from you," said Molly.
"They admire you to this day. Ginny thinks you are maybe the greatest guy she'll ever meet and wants you to get with Hermione so that she didn't waste the tears crying over something that never happened," said Molly. "If you miss as a couple, she feels there is little hope for anyone. I laugh a little about that because that is a romantics ideal not the reality of life, but I respect her for her beliefs."
"She didn't want to love someone who whether they knew it or not, loved someone else," said Hermione. "Is that what you're saying?"
"More or less, she couldn't stop loving Harry, but she could stop holding him back," said Molly. "Yet, I don't think she realizes she's still mourning your loss Harry."
"Harry, you are lucky I think. Because if Ginny loves you that much, Hermione loves you ten times more," said Molly drying her eyes and walking away. "Maybe not then when you were kids and life was so complicated for all of us, but I see you now and there is no doubt." She went in the house.
Harry turned to Hermione and put his forehead to hers as the tears welled in her eyes. "Is that true?"
"I left the country with Henri, because I was so tired of seeing your name in the press with a different woman every month. I read about you in the Quibbler and The Daily Prophet. It was torture to see you not settle down with one girl, but it was agony to think you might," she said. "When Henri started to take my mind away from it was when I started to feel a little better. You know his story. I just decided I couldn't sit and wait for you to find someone, so I took the job that would give me the least time to think about it."
"I must be the densest human being on the planet," said Harry. "I almost missed everything."
"Harry, I'll agree with you to a point," said Molly coming back to sit with them. "I wondered how you could miss the signs from both girls. And, then it dawned on me. You didn't care when you thought Lord Voldemort would be the end of your life anyway. You saw the obvious. When Ginny jumped in your arms, you just knew you loved her anything else was too complicated."
"Don't you just love having someone who makes up your apologies for you," said Hermione. "Julie is mine."
"Oh, shush, Hermione," said Molly. "Who would see those fine lines in love in your position? Everyone loved you Harry for what you endured-during and after the downfall of Lord Voldemort. How were you going to see it then? Girls from everywhere yearned for their hero and men respected you. You never had seen love in a realistic way. It was all or nothing. The Dursley's and the dark side were the no love side. The Order of the Phoenix and many others, not all but close, were the other side."
"Who loved you romantically and who loved you as a friend? Neither girl was desperate or had low enough self-esteem to throw themselves at you without some proof. Without acknowledgement that you loved them, they would go on loving you from afar. That's human nature. If it hurts to raise your arm, the smart person avoids raising their arm. So, don't give your heart to someone who you aren't sure values it," said Molly.
Hermione sat and wiped the tears from her eyes. "You've really thought this through."
"You both would if your only daughter fell in love with a good person that wasn't at fault. You couldn't be angry and yet you were sad. You'd try to help her cope," said Molly. "I've had three years to think about it and it only took one minute of seeing you together to know it was true."
Harry could feel the tension between them. "Hermione, does that sound like what happened?"
Hermione was caught off-guard by the question but answered truthfully. "The part about not giving your heart to someone who didn't understand what they were going to be getting is true. I couldn't give it fully, until I knew you were not a man who played with hearts. The tabloids made it impossible to tell after not seeing you for so long," she said.
The rattling of the backdoor signaled the end of the conversation, "Don't say a word to her about what I've told you."
"Hey, mate," said Harry when saw Ron. Luna was talking to Ginny at the door.
"Hey Harry, what's the occasion? Wasn't Hermione supposed to be in New York or somewhere last night?" asked Ron.
"Well, we convinced each other that a new relationship would fail if we didn't nurture it at the beginning," said Harry. Hermione smiled.
"Yeah, he finally acted like he might track me down in the States if I didn't give him my address and phone number. I'd rather give it to him than have him show up and embarrass me with a serenade or something," said Hermione laying it on thick.
"I've been pretty blind to Hermione for a lot of years," said Harry.
"Harry, I'm glad you finally came to that conclusion you git. It's nerve-wracking to have your best friends making eyes at one another and know you can't say anything. You want to scream `Get a room!' but you know it's their business," Ron said emphatically.
"Ronald Weasley, don't talk that way in front of your mother," said Molly trying to hide a smile from all of them.
"You took my advice, didn't you?" remarked Ginny. When her mother was out of earshot she whispered to Hermione, "At least someone around here is getting some." She giggled. Hermione blushed.
"Well, all's well that ends well," said Harry.
"You can say that again, Harry," said Ginny. "I'm glad to see you happy Harry. I really am."
"Are you happy, Ginny?" asked Harry.
"Yes, Harry, these past few days have been exceptional and today's the best," she said. "I have an old friend for you." She made a shrill whistling sound and out of the window at the top came Hedwig. Hedwig landed on Ginny's arm but flapped its wings in anticipation and Harry put his arm out. Hedwig jumped to his and nipped at his shirt.
"I'm sick of it. Just sick of it," exclaimed Ron. "Everyone forgives Harry for letting them go." Ron smiled and gave Harry a brotherly hug/chest bump. "Just kidding mate but you must have a golden horseshoe up your arse or something. I swear."
Ron took an old broom out of the shed and gave Harry his Firebolt, challenging him and Ginny to score on him. Hermione waved at Harry to go ahead while she and Luna talked. The screams and laughter from everywhere were like music to Molly's ears. The riotous laughter brought out Fleur and Bill as well. It was like the world had turned back a few years with the exception of Luna, but Hermione and her were laughing and pointing at Ron who at that moment let the first goal past.
"Luna, sweetheart, do you have to tell her everything?" pleaded Ron from afar.
"Shush, Ron, we're comparing notes as to which of you had the more stunned look on your face last night," said Hermione as she winked at Harry turning red in the distance.
"La la la la la," sang Molly as she tried to ignore the banter outside. "Young love. I wonder Bill, were your Dad and I that bad?"
Bill smiled at Fleur and said, "Isn't everyone?"
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