Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. And that's the truth. Pbbbbttttt.
A/N: First, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! I hope everyone made good use of the leap second. I hope you all enjoyed the holidays. If you give and receive presents, I hope you all got something you liked. You know you've "officially" grown up when you're happy to get new shoes as a present.
Several of you astutely observed in your reviews that too much has happened "today" for me to not tell you what is going on in Hermione's as well as Dan and Emma's minds. So, for all of you who saw this coming... Congrats! Here you go! We won't even hear from Harry this chapter. I figured he needed a break after where we left him hanging last chapter. Besides, this is another one of those "half chapters" that I post when I realize that the chapter I started writing turns into something a whole lot longer.
This is pretty much one of the last "setup" chapters, where most of the last pieces to the puzzle are put into place. From Chapter 19 on out, for the most part, we're pretty much on cruise control. Most everything has already been put into play, so we're now just navigating the course.
Finally, I just wanted to say thank you once again to everyone who has ever left a review. Thanks of course are given to my trusty beta, MapleMountain. Wow, this is a really long A/N. But hey, it's worth it.
Remember, real life... PG-13... My intent is not to titillate but to make this as real as real life gets... within the bounds I have set for myself in this story.
Chapter 18. Like a Bolt Out of the Blue...
Harry stared intently at the wall; behind it he knew Hermione was sleeping only a few feet away. Immediately, an image of her sleeping in her bed in an insidiously thin negligee came to his mind. He tried unsuccessfully to clear it from his mind. "Oh, I am in SOOO much trouble now," he whispered to himself as he tried to go back to sleep.
* * *
Hermione's POV, a little over five hours ago...
"Well, I said it once, and I'll say it again. Thank you. I love it. And..." Harry's voice trailed off. Hermione watched as his eyes seemed to glaze over for a second. Trying to find something eloquent to say, no doubt, she thought to herself.
"And it's very nice," Harry finally said. Oh, Hermione sighed to herself happily, exactly Harry.
Harry looked as though he was about to say something else when Hermione heard a soft knock on his door. She turned around and looked; it was her mum ready for bed.
Hermione groaned inwardly. Just ten more minutes! she begged silently. She'd been so happy. They weren't doing anything special... they were just sitting there... talking.
Hermione quickly changed her mind. They were doing something special: they were just sitting there... talking. No school, no homework. It was just him and her, talking about their day. She was amazed at how nice that felt... to just sit and talk. She could easily get used to that. Not that they didn't sit and talk at school... it's just that... well... she knew what she meant.
"Hey you two," her mother said in a friendly voice. "We have an early morning tomorrow... well, early for Harry, at least. Time for bed." Hermione was glad she was still looking at her mum. Somehow she didn't think Harry would appreciate it if he saw her smiling at that comment about it being early for him.
"Yes, Mum," she replied; she heard Harry say the exact same words at the same time. She sighed again silently to herself. Oh, how she could get used to hearing him say THAT too.
Hermione turned back to Harry. "Good night, Harry. I don't think we need dress robes tomorrow. Just dress nicely."
Harry looked slightly relieved. He probably didn't know how he was supposed to dress for such an occasion.
"Okay, thanks. Good night, Hermione," Harry said, and then wished her mother good night as well.
"Good night, Harry," Emma replied in return.
Hermione reluctantly climbed off Harry's bed and followed her mother out the door. After closing it, Emma wrapped her arm lovingly around her only child as they slowly walked down the hall.
"So, tell me the truth. How did today go?" Emma asked with a smile.
Hermione thought for a second. It would have been much too complicated to say exactly how today went, so she settled for an overall opinion, now that the day was over.
"Great," she answered simply. And she meant it too... now that the day was over.
"That's good," Emma replied happily. "I was a little worried there for a while that it might've ended badly."
Hermione, feigning annoyance, quickly replied. "Actually, it did end badly, when you came and knocked on the door and interrupted us just now." She then winked at her mother and grinned. Emma pulled her arm tightly around Hermione in sort of a half-hug.
"I was somewhat curious about what he said as he started the movie. But I take it you're not worried about it," Emma asked as they reached their bedrooms at the end of the hall. Hermione looked over her mother's shoulder to see where her father was; she didn't see him. She was pretty sure her father had some idea how she felt about Harry. It wasn't that she didn't want him to hear, she just didn't want to have to tell the story twice if he was there.
"Actually, I did notice what he'd said. I was worried about it for a while. I was afraid he let slip that he fancied someone. I knew there was no way he could've ever meant me, so I-"
Emma's POV...
Whatever Hermione did, felt, or thought, Emma did not get a chance find out for she immediately led her daughter into her room, closed the door, and sat her down on her bed. She then pulled the chair from her desk, set it beside the bed, and sat down as well.
Emma stared at her daughter for a moment. It had been... well, she didn't know exactly how long it had been since the last time she had to do this. All she knew was that it was a very long time.
In what was immediately recognizable as her "I am not amused" voice, Emma asked sternly, "What exactly do you mean by that, Hermione Jane?"
Emma watched as her daughter blinked. They both knew that that moniker was reserved exclusively for when Hermione was about to get a lecture... and not a "brush your teeth before bed" lecture either.
"What?" Hermione asked, clearly surprised at the direction this conversation had turned.
"What do you mean you knew there was no way he could've meant you?"
"Harry doesn't fancy me," Hermione said quickly and simply, as if nothing else needed saying.
"Did he tell you that?" Emma asked sharply. Her tone was directed at her daughter, not their house guest. She knew there was no way Hermione would've been able to hide it if Harry had said that to her face.
"Of course not," Hermione replied, looking almost offended that her mother would've even accused Harry of such a thing. Emma could tell that Hermione was uncomfortable under her stare. The stare would remain for as long as she had to wait for an explanation.
"It's just that he doesn't. I would know if he did," Hermione said quietly.
"Does Harry know how you feel about him?" Emma quickly asked.
"No," Hermione replied. The confusion in her voice betrayed the fact that she was still unsure of where this was going.
"Why not?"
"Because I've done everything I could to hide it from him."
"Why?"
"Because he was going out with Cho Chang. And even before they got together, he'd still fancied her for at least a year before that."
"Why haven't you told him now? You said they broke up a few months ago."
"Because he doesn't need that right now... some girl throwing herself at him," Hermione replied, exasperated.
"Fine. That's why you haven't told him yet. I can accept that," Emma said placatingly, even though she really wasn't at all fine with that answer. "But why do you know that there was no way he could've ever meant you?"
"That's not what I said," Hermione replied defensively.
"'I was afraid he let slip that he fancied someone. I knew there was no way he could've ever meant me,'" Emma quoted. She knew her daughter wasn't thrilled that she'd repeated her exact words back to her. Emma's ability to remember exactly almost anything she ever heard came in quite handy at times. It was her phonographic memory, as she liked to call it.
Caught, Hermione sat quiet for a moment then sighed. Seeing that she didn't seem to be in a mood to put up a fight, Emma decided to press on.
"Is there anyone at school who, in your opinion, knows you better that Harry does?"
Hermione thought for a moment. "Not really. Ginny's a close second... but we talk about different things."
"Does Ginny know how you feel?" Hermione shook her head emphatically, but then stopped for a second. "At least I don't think she does. I've certainly never said anything to her about it."
"So, if the two of them don't know everything about you, isn't it possible that you don't know everything about Harry?" Emma challenged.
Hermione sat there for a moment with her mouth open, ready to speak. Emma could see that she wanted to say "no" but wasn't able get the word out. "It's possible," Hermione finally admitted.
Finally! Emma thought to herself. "Good. Now, and I hope you're paying attention... until you actually ask him how he feels about you, I FORBID you from ever telling yourself that it isn't possible that he could ever feel that way about you. Do you understand me?"
Hermione sat there for a moment, clearly at a loss for what to say. She finally nodded meekly.
Emma reached out and put her hand on her daughter's. "You know that we've never forbidden you from doing anything, unless we were absolutely convinced it was for your own good. And even then, we always explained exactly why you weren't allowed to do that.
"But I won't explain it this time," Emma told her. "I'm sure you already know why I am forbidding this. But if you don't, you're just going to have to figure it out for yourself. And if you can't figure it out, then maybe you don't deserve to be with such a wonderful young man as Harry."
It was breaking Emma's heart to have to say this to her daughter, but she knew that it had to be done. For all of her intelligence, once Hermione got an idea stuck in her brain, it often took a monumental effort to get it out. The only way that usually ever happened was if she was able to prove it to herself, whatever it was.
If she was motivated enough, Hermione could usually do it by herself. But sometimes, she had to be tricked into proving it to herself by someone else. Fortunately, both Emma and Dan were two of the few people in the world capable of doing that.
"Good! I'm glad we got that settled. I'm sorry if I came on a little harsh. I just couldn't believe my ears to hear you sound so certain of something like that when I know he hasn't told you that. So, are we okay now?"
Hermione finally nodded.
"Good," Emma said in relief. "Now that we've been there and back, what did he mean? You said that you were afraid, so that implies that you no longer are afraid... which suggests he told you what he meant... which might help explain how I ruined your day by interrupting you," Emma said with a knowing smile.
"He did tell me, in fact. Actually, he just kinda blurted it out, saying that he was afraid we misinterpreted what he said," Hermione explained. "He said that he just didn't want us to think he meant there was anything wrong with you or that he thought you were unattractive, or anything like that."
"Oh... okay," Emma said evenly. She could understand why Harry might think they'd misinterpreted his words. But there was just something about that whole thing that just didn't fit. Maybe Dan could explain it. It was nice having Dan around for such things. It was like having her own personal copy of the super secret, highly classified guide, Stupid Things Males Say, and Why They Say Them.
Of course, there were other reasons Emma also enjoyed having Dan around (and vice-versa), but she knew Hermione didn't want to hear about those.
Emma cast a quick glance at Hermione's clock; it was nearly twenty after ten. She still had a little while longer before she wanted to go to bed. It had been so long since she'd been able to just talk with her daughter, alone. In fact, other than their heart-to-heart on Harry's first day there, she really couldn't remember the last time that they had.
Emma stood up from the chair, climbed onto the end of Hermione's bed, and got comfortable. "So! Tell me about today!" Emma asked with an excited look. A surprised but pleased look appeared on Hermione's face. She grabbed her pillow, got seated under the covers, and then put her pillow behind her back as she leaned against the headboard.
Emma waited patiently as Hermione thought for a few seconds, smiling happily. "This morning, Crookshanks kept trying to eat Harry's breakfast. You know how he can get when there's bacon around."
"Probably the same as most males get, I would wager," Emma interjected with a grin.
"You know, I said it was a great day, and it was," Hermione explained. "But it was quite the roller coaster ride to get there. The party ended up being really great. When we got to... the party, everyone who could make it was there."
Now that the fact Harry was staying with them was some sort of "magical secret," Emma finally, truly understood what her daughter meant the year before when she tried to explain that she was incapable of saying where she was going.
Hermione started to turn slightly pink. "When we all gave Harry his presents... Ginny had talked the three of us, me, her, and Luna, into giving him a birthday snog."
Talked us into? Emma thought to herself. A slight smirk appeared on her face. The color on her daughter's face intensified.
"Okay, fine! So I eagerly volunteered. But I hid it well. And it was Ginny's idea in the first place," Hermione defended. "Anyway, when I kissed him, I could feel myself get carried away. For a few scary minutes, I worried that he had realized that I was practically snogging him as if my life depended on it.
"But he never said anything, so I figured that it was just my own feelings for him getting in the way... you know, my mind playing tricks on me because I wanted him to snog me back. I got to snog Harry Potter, and in front of everyone too." Emma smiled; Hermione seemed very pleased.
"Later, it took another downward turn but then bounced right back," Hermione resumed. "Off and on all day, Ginny seemed a little... I don't know. I'd been watching her discreetly whenever she was alone with him... I couldn't help it. But then when they were playing chess, Harry left for a minute. She sat there for a few seconds, and then suddenly a very determined look appeared on her face.
"When she stood up, she told me she was going to get something to eat. When she left the room, she turned the opposite way and followed Harry. My heart sank. Somehow I just knew she was going to ask him out. I yelled at myself, wondering why I couldn't just go and do the same thing.
"They were whispering... I couldn't hear what they were saying. Then I saw Ginny walk past the door and head downstairs. I could hear him returning. I hid behind the book I was reading. I just couldn't let him see the look on my face. When he came back, he had the strangest smile on his face. I was so afraid he'd said yes. He'd told me earlier that he didn't fancy her... but maybe he'd changed his mind."
Emma sat there patiently. Hermione had said it was a great day, so this must've turned out better than it was sounding.
"He told her no. I guess he was smiling because she seemed to take it better than he expected." Hermione smiled broadly, and then put her head down as she brushed her hand across her face and began to chuckle slightly.
"Oh, Harry, bless his heart... in the course of one day, he managed to kill three birds with one stone. Now, I've never said this to anyone," Hermione warned, staring intently at Emma, "but if I had to pick three people I most worried about throwing a wrench into things, it would be Ron, Ginny, and Luna."
"Ron is obvious, since I've known he's fancied me for quite a while. I was afraid it might complicate things if they were to both fancy me. There was never any question as to who I'd choose, but I worried how it might affect their friendship. Ginny's obvious too, since she's fancied Harry since before she even met him," Hermione said with a hint of annoyance.
"Luna was the dark horse, however. As much as the two of us don't see eye-to-eye on... most everything, I could just sense that there was something about her that Harry might someday find appealing. Most of the rest of the girls that he knows are too... giggly, I think, for his liking.
Maybe it's because she sees the real Ron... I don't know... Maybe I was worried that if she lost interest in Ron, she could just sweep in out of nowhere. If she sees the real Ron, she'd certainly see the real Harry. I think he'd like someone who saw just plain old Harry, not the Boy Who Lived."
And which way do you see him? Emma said to herself. She debated whether she should actually ask her, even though she already knew the answer.
"But, anyway, in the course of just a couple of hours, Harry seemed to take care of all three of them," Hermione continued. "He said no to Ginny, and he got Ron and Luna talking to each other. We both thought that Luna might fancy Ron, but he certainly didn't seem too terribly impressed with her. I have absolutely no idea what Harry said to him, but the next thing I know, he's asking me and Ginny to come over so that Ron could go over and talk to Luna. I still can't believe it. We'll just have to wait and see what happens with them."
Hermione looked embarrassed again. "You ever been just sitting there and suddenly you swallow wrong for no apparent reason, causing you to start coughing?" Emma nodded. Hermione buried her face in her hands again for a few seconds. "I did that today. It wasn't intentional of course, but it wasn't for 'no reason' either.
"Do you remember me telling you about Dobby?" Hermione asked.
"Is he the elf who Harry set free?" Emma knew that Hermione believed that the elves she talked about should be treated as equals. And while she could find no reason not to, it still sounded strange to her to call an elf a "who" instead of a "that." Then again, simply talking about elves was still new to her as well.
"Dobby has a hard time pronouncing my name, so he called me Harry's girl friend... his female friend. Maybe I breathed wrong or swallowed some air or something. I don't know, but I about choked to death right there," Hermione said with a slight laugh.
"How did Harry react to that?" Emma asked, curious.
"Oh, he just started patting and rubbing my back, trying to help settle my coughing," Hermione answered very happily.
Emma smirked. "No, I mean about what Dobby said. Talk about a one-track mind!" she teased.
"Oh. Yeah. He just told Dobby to be careful about saying things like that, since girl friend sounds like girlfriend. Dobby ended up calling me Harry's Miss." Hermione grinned a little. "It was better than Harry's Grangey. He calls Ron Harry's Wheezy."
Emma nodded in acceptance, though there was just something... about something... that she couldn't put her finger on.
"Then we came home," Hermione continued. "We discovered that Fred and George had given him a love potion," she said darkly. That certainly caught Emma off guard. She knew there were strange, dangerous things in the magical world. The idea of a love potion however, seemed to be a very dangerous one in her opinion.
"For the briefest of moments, I was scared that he might actually use it. He asked me if there were antidotes for them. I feel so guilty now for even doubting him... but I was just so scared. When I smelled it, I knew the potion was for real. How many guys out there would turn down free love in a bottle?"
Emma quickly interrupted. "Real love? A lot more than you might expect. Meaningless physical love? Well, let's just say that number goes down a little..."
"But, as it turned out," Hermione resumed, "he wanted to know for another reason." She smiled briefly. Emma assumed there was another story behind that, but since Hermione didn't volunteer it, it probably wasn't worth telling.
"Do you know what he did? He dumped it down the sink. He said that love was too special to pervert with some potion. Oh, I could've just snogged him senseless right then and there." Hermione chuckled again slightly.
"And then I was afraid he said he fancied someone. And then he said that he was afraid we'd misinterpreted what he meant. And then we just sat there and talked for a while," Hermione said, a very content look upon her face. "And then you came in and interrupted that!" she finished, reverting back to her playfully annoyed voice.
"So yes, lots of ups and downs, but all in all, a very good day," Hermione finished. Hearing everything that happened today, Emma still felt that there still was something that just wasn't adding up about what Harry had said before the movie. But as hard as she tried, she just couldn't understand what. She knew that she would probably have to have Dan translate for her.
But in the meantime, she didn't want to bother Hermione with it just yet. Emma glanced at the clock again: half-past.
"Well dear, we should probably be getting to bed soon. We do have an early day tomorrow. We'll want to leave no later than eight o'clock. The morning rush most likely will have cleared by then, but we don't want to take any chances being late. What should we wear?" Emma asked.
"Oh, don't worry. I'll take care of it in the morning," Hermione said with a glimmer of a smile. Emma knew her daughter had something in mind, but considering the nearly endless depths of that mind, she knew there was no point in trying to guess what. She'd find out when Hermione showed her.
Emma climbed off the bed and went around to the head of the bed. She leaned down and kissed Hermione's forehead. "I'm happy Harry had a good birthday. And I'm happy you had a good day too. Good night, dear. I love you."
"Good night, Mum. I love you too." As Hermione got settled under her covers, Emma headed towards the door. She turned out the light and left, closing the door behind her.
As she walked back into their room, Emma saw Dan come out of their master bathroom in his nightclothes.
"Problem?" Dan asked good-naturedly.
"Just had to have a little talk with Hermione Jane," Emma replied.
"Hermione Jane, huh? What did she do?" Dan asked, his curiosity piqued.
Emma quickly turned around to double check that Hermione's door was still closed; she then went back to the doorway and looked down the hall to make sure Harry's was as well.
Turning back to Dan, she sighed. Although she had been quite happy to hear about her daughter's day, her earlier frustration was still present. "Oh, she just seems intent on convincing herself that there's no possibility that Harry might ever have feelings for her... even though she's never actually talked to him about it."
A small smile appeared on Dan's face. "Is this about his little slip of the tongue earlier?" Emma nodded. "Why doesn't she just ask him? If he really does fancy someone, wouldn't it be easier on her in the long run to find out now?"
A slightly lost look appeared on Emma's face. "But that's the weird thing about it. Harry did talk to her about what he said. But she said he didn't say anything about fancying someone."
Dan laughed briefly. "Emma, trust me. I was his age once. Heck, I was even a first year university student once too," Dan said with an embarrassed smile. "He has his eye on someone. We don't say things like that unless our brains are so addled with the thought of someone specific that we don't think about what we're saying. I guarantee you: that was his mouth working faster than his brain."
Must be chapter two of the guide, Emma thought to herself in amusement. "Are you sure?" she asked, still unconvinced.
"I'm sure. He fancies someone. I'd call it a man's intuition, but since I've been told on multiple occasions that men do not have intuition," he said, teasing her, "let's just call it a manly gut instinct. Or... how about... testosterone-based ESP."
After grinning broadly, Dan looked at Emma and smiled in a sappy sort of way. "Don't you remember me doing that all that week before I finally asked you out... saying completely mental things?"
Emma smiled fondly in remembrance. "All too well," she said happily. Her lost look then returned.
"But why would he lie to her about it?" she asked. "Harry doesn't seem the type to lie to her about anything."
"Well..." Dan mused, "it's probably unfair to say that he's lying. He's probably just not volunteering any extra information. What exactly did he say?"
"She said that he told her he was sorry about what he said. He said he was afraid we thought he meant that I was unattractive or something like that. I did think he let slip that he fancied someone else, and I'm sure I showed my disappointment. It might've looked like I was upset or offended, so I can understand why he might think that. But... there's just something..." Emma trailed off, unable to express exactly what about all of this just felt odd. She took off her bathrobe and started to get ready for bed.
As Dan hung her bathrobe on the closet door and put his clothes in the hamper, he laughed again. "Yeah, he's definitely hiding something. Everything he said makes sense about him worrying about you being offended. You'll notice though that it has absolutely nothing to do with why he said 'I have eyes for only one' in the first place."
Emma stood in front of her mirror, looking at Dan through it as she continued to think. Hermione had told her that Harry had effectively removed Ginny and Luna from the playing field. She addressed Dan's reflection. "But why would Harry try to hide from her who he...?"
Emma's eyes widened in shock as a very interesting possibility suddenly occurred to her. It must have occurred to Dan at the same time as well for he immediately froze. He then turned slowly to look at her through the mirror, his eyebrows raised in poorly hidden surprise.
For several seconds, neither Dan nor Emma was able to speak as they both considered this new possibility. The wheels in Emma's mind spun as she considered what this might mean, not only to herself and Dan, but also to Hermione. If it was true, it would explain everything that had been bothering her about all this. She quickly turned around to face Dan.
Before Emma was able to say anything, Dan, who was able to read her much better that she would prefer to admit, accurately derailed her train of thought before it could start to run away.
"No," Dan warned, though he was smiling.
"But she..." Emma started.
"No," Dan finished.
"And he..." Emma continued.
"No," Dan concluded.
"And they..." Emma persisted.
"No," Dan insisted.
"Dan," Emma whined. She knew he had a hard time refusing her when she whined. He always said he found it too cute. As such, she had to use it sparingly.
"Emma Watson Granger: No!" Dan stood firm. He went over and closed the door, turning off the ceiling light. The lamps on their bedside tables were still on.
Emma stuck her lower lip out in a pout, something she knew he also found adorable. But alas, it was to no avail this time.
"Emma, A: We don't know anything for sure. And B: NO! Honey, look. You remember how we got together, right?"
"Yeah," Emma said with a smile, distracted by happy memories. "But the way we met is nothing like how they met."
"Exactly!" Dan exclaimed. "Whereas I was sitting in my 8:00AM Calculus class, trying not to fall asleep, and suddenly the most ravishing creature I'd ever seen walked in and sat down next to me..."
"It was the only seat left in the room," she reminded him with a smile.
"They, on the other hand, have known each other since they were eleven," Dan continued his comparison. "They've practically grown up together. They're best friends. You and I became best friends after we started dating. We're talking about two people who are already best friends and then start dating. You're right: their situation is nothing like ours was.
"I knew nothing about you. That's why I asked you out so quickly. I wanted to get to know you. They already know everything about each other. Well... obviously not everything," Dan added with a smirk. "He obviously doesn't how she feels... and if we're right about him... she doesn't know how he feels.
"They're probably worried about losing their friendship," Dan suggested. "If I read between the lines correctly in one of her letters, Harry's last relationship didn't end very well."
"But they've been friends for so long. I really can't imagine them losing that simply by asking," Emma said.
"But they don't know that," Dan replied. "As far as I know, this completely hypothetical situation we're discussing would be her first serious relationship. And it would be his second... if you could even call it that, since his first one sounded rather... flimsy... from what I read. Then again, that could've just been Hermione's opinion of it...
"Regardless though, they don't have much, if any, experience," Dan pointed out. "All they can see are their fears of what might go wrong."
"My point exactly!" Emma interjected. "If we just told them how the other person felt..."
"And what if we're wrong about Harry?" Dan interrupted.
"You know we're not!" Emma countered.
Dan would neither confirm nor deny that charge. "But what if we are? Are you willing to take that risk? If we told Harry how she felt, and it turned out he didn't fancy her, she'd never forgive us for betraying her secret.
"And what might Harry think? That we're trying to set him up with her? That might really drive a wedge between them."
Emma appeared to lose most of her fight, but was still not ready to throw the towel in just yet.
"Emma, dear," Dan said lovingly, "Harry still has a month left here... at least I think he does. The headmaster never did specify a timetable for his departure. Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, he still has another month here. Don't you think we at least owe it to them to give them the chance to figure it out for themselves?"
Emma was almost convinced. But what if they just...
"I'll make you a deal," Dan said, interrupting her thoughts. "Let's give them the month. I'll keep an eye on Harry... discreetly of course. It's a lot easier to know what to look for when you've done it yourself," he said, rolling his eyes.
"So, come September 1, if we're sure that Harry does have feelings for her, and they haven't made any visible progress, when we send them through the barrier at King's Cross, we'll give them a figurative shove as well. But we say nothing and do nothing until then. At least nothing obvious," he added quickly. "Agreed?"
"Agreed," Emma finally relented after a few moments. "What do you mean 'nothing obvious?'"
"Well..." Dan said slyly, "you know... things that there's no possible reason we could be faulted for doing. I suddenly realize that I much prefer sitting on the couch with you," Dan said, wagging his eyebrows. "You know... rather than on the loveseat." Dan chuckled a little. "Though, I think Hermione figured that one out today.
"And you know... we haven't gone to the cinema for a while," Dan continued. "The four of us should go out and see a movie or two this month. And we really should get two large boxes of popcorn, instead of four small ones. Now, if we sent them through the Tunnel of Love together, that might qualify as 'obvious.'"
Emma looked at Dan suspiciously. "When did you get so devious?" she asked with a look of wonder.
"Trust me. When we put our minds to it, you'd be amazed at how complicated men can make things... when we put our minds to it. It's the Rube Goldberg gene. Most men have it."
Emma smiled at her husband affectionately. As soon as she did, a wicked gleam appeared in Dan's eye.
"What kind of middle name is Watson anyway? Where on earth did you get a name like that?" he teased.
Emma smirked. Dan was up to one of his little games again. She certainly didn't mind them, for they often led to other games that she also enjoyed.
"Now Dan," she teased back. "You know full well that Watson was my grandmother's maiden name. Just like how Jane is Hermione's grandmother's maiden name. And hopefully, years from now... many, many years from now, Hermione's daughter's middle name will be that of her grandmother," she said with a wistful smile.
"I can just imagine it now: Perdita Puckle..." While Emma prevented the premature pronouncement of her preferred pairing for her precious progeny, the pending plosive peal was perfectly perceptible. Dan pondered his permanent partner pensively.
"Emma..." he started.
"I didn't say it!" she defended.
"No, but you were thinking it," he correctly ascertained.
"Well... you must've been thinking it too if you saw that so quickly..." she countered. Dan did not respond immediately. As she realized that Dan too must have at least considered the possibility, she felt a sudden shift in her mood. Feelings that had been settled a little over seventeen years ago began to resurface. She knew why they were now coming back, but it did not make it any easier.
"Well... maybe she'll pick a name other than Perdita," Dan said with a slight chuckle as he fondly remembered something that happened many years ago.
One day, when Hermione was much younger (old enough to comprehend the books she read, but not old enough to have yet been explained the facts of life), she was told the source of her name. Once Emma quickly retrieved the appropriate book from one of their many bookshelves, Hermione immediately sat down to read about her namesake. After she'd read the story several times, Hermione went up and proudly announced to her parents, "When I'm Mummy's age, I'm going to go out and buy a daughter and name her Perdita too."
Hearing Dan say the name only helped intensify what Emma was feeling. "Do you really think she'd pick anything other than that?" she asked solemnly. Dan still hadn't seen the shift in her demeanor.
Dan turned and looked at the wall in the direction of Harry's room. He shook his head and smiled sadly. "Honestly? I don't know anymore. She's no longer the same person to whom that first Hogwarts letter was delivered. And I don't regret it either."
Emma was losing control. She knew where she was in her monthly cycle. Her hormones were all out of whack and for these few days, she was susceptible to sudden changes in her mood. And oh, how her mood did swing.
Still standing in front of her mirror, now clad in her nightgown, she put her hands down on her dresser and bowed her head. When she let out an emotionally-pained sigh, Dan immediately came over and held her. After twenty-six years, twenty-two of them in marriage, he too knew where she was in her cycle, even without any physical or emotional signs. It was, after all, rather predictable... except once, a little over seventeen years ago...
"Are you okay? Do you want me to get you something?" he asked tenderly.
"I want another child, Dan," Emma said weakly.
It was obvious Dan was caught off guard by the sudden yearning. It was also obvious that he was sympathetic to her desire. Both of them already knew the answer, however. While they hadn't actually tried to have a second child in the last sixteen years, they also hadn't done anything to prevent it from happening. If it happened, they would welcome it.
"You know that's not possible," he said as gently as he could, for it was not easy for him to say either.
"I want a son-in-law," she suddenly said, clarifying her previous desire.
"Em..." Dan whispered.
Emma knew what he was about to say. Deep down, she knew it too: she was getting ahead of herself... years ahead of herself. But she couldn't help it. This had been twenty-two years in the making. It had only come into focus a few minutes ago.
Emma turned and looked deep into her husband's eyes. "Do you believe in fate, Dan? In destiny?" she asked. She'd never asked this exact question before, but since they had discussed related topics many times over the years, she was already certain of his answer.
Dan blinked a few times in surprise at her question. He stood there for a few second, considering her.
"Generally, I believe in what I can see," he replied, exactly as she expected. What he said next though caught even her by surprise. "However, I refuse to believe that you and Hermione came into my life purely by chance. So... yeah, I guess I do... for the important things."
Emma smiled slightly and pulled his head down, giving him a quick kiss. After releasing him, she continued to stare deep into his eyes.
"Do you want to know what I see, Dan? I see twenty-six years of seemingly random events suddenly lining up, pointing to something. I see everything that has seemed to go wrong in our lives, be it big or small, suddenly be the set up for something more."
"You pined for Michelle for two years in high school and first term at university, and yet you let her slip through your fingers. Someone else asked her out a month before the end of first term, and you didn't even try. Why?" Emma asked rhetorically; she knew Dan did not know why either. "Never in my life had I ever overslept for a class, and yet first day of second term, I did. I walked into that Calc class twenty minutes late and found only one seat left.
"Both of us thought we hated Shakespeare," Emma continued. "How could a Capulet compare to Captain Kirk? And yet when we grudgingly took that literature class third year to fulfill our graduation requirement, we found out how wrong we were. We even named our daughter after one of the characters."
Emma put her head down on Dan's shoulder and stared off to the side of the room. Her eyes landed on the family portrait they had taken the summer previous, before they sent their daughter off to wherever she had to go. "And when we got married... we wanted a family. We tried for five years."
Emma lifted her head back up and looked into Dan's eyes again. "Five years, Dan. The doctors told us again and again they couldn't find any reason why we couldn't. It was simply as if we weren't meant to have a child... then," she added in a whisper.
"Even when we considered adopting, it always fell through for some reason... the biological parents' situation changed... our paperwork got lost." Eighteen years earlier, she said those words with anguish and vehemence. Now it was with some amount of reverie. She put her head back down on Dan's shoulder.
"And then, on our anniversary, seventeen years ago... It was the same as our first four... we spent the day together... we went to a movie..." Emma tightened her arms around Dan's neck, "we made love.
"We both knew something was different that night. It just felt... magical. Not that you haven't always had the magic touch," Emma added with a slight grin to herself, "but you know what I mean..." she trailed off as she continued to stare at the portrait that was the proof of what happened that night.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Dan agreed. "I felt it too... It seems a very fitting word... magical." It was a word that most people used when they couldn't think of a better way to describe something. But after that fateful day six years ago when Professor McGonagall arrived at their doorstep with a most unusual letter, they knew then that it truly was the only word that was appropriate.
"And even once she was here, for the first ten years, as happy as we were, we knew there was something missing. She was so bright... and she always got top marks... but it was hard to watch her struggle in school." Emma felt a few tears fall from her eyes.
"And then our world suddenly got a whole lot bigger," she concluded.
"And then she met Harry," Dan added. Emma looked back at Dan. More tears fell. The first few were in sadness. These were in happiness.
"Harry," Emma repeated. "Harry, who had his family taken away from him, who was forced to live with people who didn't love him. By legacy, he should be a spoiled, rotten brat. By upbringing, he should be a hateful, bigoted, broken-down shell with serious mental problems.
"But instead, he's one of the most caring, selfless, decent human beings I've ever met. We really only met him a few weeks ago, but I've felt as though we've known him for years. Ever since that first letter she sent home."
Emma tightened her grip on Dan again. "She's falling in love with him, Dan. I watch her, and I can see it," she said as tears continued to fall freely. "Hermione, the brightest witch in a generation, as her Head of House wrote to us once. Harry, the only person to ever survive the unsurvivable. The young man who has some lost prophecy written about him. A prophecy, a real prophecy," she said, almost in awe.
"The young man who, by Hermione's own words, has the potential to be the most powerful wizard in all of history. The young man who has completely bewitched her, merely for who he is, not what his name is."
"I can see it in him too," Dan added. "He may not be consciously aware of his feelings, but it's obvious he cares for her a great deal. She's always been there for him. And most importantly, he knows that. He knows what she means to him... even if he doesn't know what she means to him."
"I see them, Dan," Emma continued, the tears slowing. "I watch them. Before a few minutes ago, I was content to just stand on the sides. But now... now that there's the possibility of this all falling into place, I want to help them. I want to be there for them. I want them to have a chance of having what we have."
"Emma," Dan said quietly as he tightened his own hug. "If this is all true," he said, pausing for a moment as he considered his next words. Somehow Emma knew he was saying "if" merely for the record. Unconsciously, she held her breath in anticipation of what he might say.
"If this is all true," he resumed, "then I don't think they'll have any chance of having what we have. They're going to have so much more." Emma began to breathe again as Dan looked deep into her eyes. She could see a tear begin to form in his eye.
"Emma Watson Puckle. I love you with every fiber in my being. You are my best friend, my better half, the mother of my child," he said with a shaky voice and a smile that always melted her heart. "But if it were possible for two people to love each other more than I love you, it would be our daughter and that bespectacled young man down the hall... when their time comes..." he finished and then gave her a kiss on the forehead.
Emma watched as Dan smiled at her again. "Do you believe in fate, Emma? In destiny?" he asked her.
"I believe in my daughter. And Harry. And them," she answered confidently.
"Then don't you think we owe them, and fate, a chance to discover each other on their own?" Dan asked.
Emma looked up at Dan and nodded. "But we still get to go to the cinema, right?"
Dan started laughing as he wiped away the tear that refused to fall. "Yes, we can still go to the cinema." Emma looked pleadingly at him again. "And we'll get two large boxes of popcorn."
Now that she had finally gotten that off of her chest, Emma suddenly felt a whole lot lighter. Those same out-of-whack hormones that had taken all of her secret feelings and manifested them in that little breakdown suddenly began to turn her current happy feeling into something more.
She turned to Dan again with a predatory look in her eye, not unlike that of a lioness about to pounce on her prey. "Am I really the most ravishing creature you've ever seen?" she teased, starting another game. Her games led to the same place Dan's did... which, incidentally was where she was now slowly backing him towards. There was something else she needed to get off her chest: her nightgown.
Over the past twenty-six years, Dan had regularly shown his unflagging desire for his wife. She simply liked to put him on the spot every once in a while and make him put into words that which he showed so well without.
Emma could see Dan recognize the look in her eyes and saw when he felt his calves bump against their bed. He studied her for a moment. "You, my dear, are like a fine wine. You only get better with age."
Emma sighed to herself contentedly. It was by no means original, but she knew, and standing so close to him, could feel that he meant it sincerely. She saw him look over her shoulder, just to be doubly sure their door was closed.
"And I also have to remember to let you breathe," he added huskily.
"Care to make a wager on who has to come up for air first?" she asked.
"Same stakes as always?" Dan asked.
Emma nodded. "Next shower, winner gets to wash the other person's back. Loser has to wash the other person's back."
"Excellent!" Dan said as he pushed Emma back a step or two. Emma was very grateful he did this. They'd learned many years ago the hard way that if their feet were too close together when what was about to start started, they would actually trip over each other.
She was also glad he'd already turned off the ceiling light. She also knew neither of them would have much energy left later. Fortunately, their bedside table lamps were touch-sensitive.
As Dan smiled one last time at her, she took a deep breath, tackled him, and started snogging him senseless.
* * *
Hermione's POV, back where (and when) we last left her...
Hermione thought about everything that had happened today as her mother climbed off her bed and then came and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm happy Harry had a good birthday. And I'm happy you had a good day too. Good night, dear. I love you."
"Good night, Mum. I love you too." Hermione was glad when she finally got settled into bed. It certainly had been a long day. After her mother switched off the light closed the door behind her, she stared up at the ceiling and resumed her cataloging of the day.
It started with her making breakfast for Harry. She wanted to surprise him with a special treat today. While she cooked, she listened to her favorite song. No matter how many times she listened to it, she never tired of it. She must have listened to it forty to fifty times over the past couple years. She had to listen to it while she could, for she was not able to take her CD player to school. Well, she could, it just wouldn't work.
After she brought him his breakfast (and divested him of her cat) he jokingly told her that he loved her. She knew it was just the bacon talking, but she didn't care. Just hearing those words come out of his mouth... his perfect, snoggable mouth... caused her heart to flutter. She was certain she blushed at that as well.
And then, like an idiot, she had to go and bring up Cho Chang again. She couldn't help it. She just did not like that Ravenclaw. She knew Harry didn't fancy her anymore, but she'd brought her up several times over the past couple weeks, almost as if she wanted to hear him say something bad about her.
He never did, directly, of course, but this last time, he looked almost as if he wanted to hear her say something bad about Cho. She wouldn't, directly, of course, but it did make her feel a little better for some reason.
Right before they left, he went and told her how this was more of a home to him than the Dursleys' ever was. While it literally brought a tear to her eye, she had to remember to not let him disparage his relatives too much.
As part of his failed attempt to convince Hermione to allow to remain Harry at the Dursleys', the Headmaster had explained that Harry need only consider their house as a home for him. Dumbledore knew that Harry considered the wizarding world, specifically the castle, to be his real home. But as long as Privet Drive was considered by him to be a home, at least for brief periods, and as long as Petunia allowed him to stay, it was enough to keep Lily's protections in place.
Yes, it had been a very long day, and she was ready for it to end. Busy days like that took their toll on a person. All of her thoughts about Harry, particularly her recollection of what she considered to be proof that he really wasn't that bad at kissing (as he'd once wondered), had begun to reignite in her a desire that she'd done her best to ignore ever since Harry arrived there.
She'd long gotten over her guilt about fantasizing about Harry. They were, after all, only fantasies. What's more, she now knew that they were no longer meaningless fantasies. As soon as he arrived, however, she stopped... indulging them. With him literally sleeping only feet away from her, she wasn't quite that comfortable.
That said however, she certainly didn't object when Harry visited her in her dreams... which happened more often than she would care to admit, even to herself. As the longing slowly grew, she really hoped Harry would visit her again tonight...