Chapter 9 - Revelations
The Trouble with Love - Kelly Clarkson
The trouble with love is
It can tear you up inside
Make your heart believe a lie
It's stronger than your pride.
The trouble with love is
It doesn't care how fast you fall
And you can't refuse the call
See, you got no say at all…
* * *
Harry's POV
"Jealous."
There, it was out. He'd finally said it.
Harry felt kind of relieved, but mentally cringed. How would she react? She looked so shocked right now; was she repulsed by his confession? Did she never want to see him again or something? But hadn't she expected it? Harry felt something for her, that was for sure, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. He cared about her a lot, that was what he knew for sure, although he wasn't yet sure if it was The Big L Word yet or not. He'd never been in love before, he had no clue what it felt like, and he didn't want to tell her he did when all could go downhill from there if he realized later that it had only been a passing infatuation. Although with her he had this unique connection he'd never felt with anyone before. He still remembered those two small kisses they'd shared that night, and he knew they had some major chemistry going on. Sparks had definitely flown then, but then she'd somehow ended up in Adam's bed, and he'd stupidly drawn false conclusions about that misinterpreting scene.
Harry knew now that it was a total misunderstanding and hated the fact that a whole two months had been wasted because of his obstinacy and foolishness. He'd blown things completely out of proportion and he knew he was to blame. He'd automatically assumed she'd slept with the Beater, but the swell of her lips and her terribly creased clothes didn't help him think otherwise. Harry definitely knew that it wasn't because of him that Hermione was in that state. Their kisses were totally innocent, and he'd felt rejuvenated after the experience; he felt so alive. He knew that it was because of Adam that morning that her lips were so swollen. He would've thought her sexy in that disheveled state if he hadn't been disgusted by the fact that she had been in his bed that night, thinking they'd done what he did not want to think about, but found it was hard to not to, because he was burning up inside.
It was the thought that Adam had been with her like that had burned him up, and the past two months or so, not being able to talk to her properly, was torture. And then Adam had to go and ask her out; the icing on the cake; torture on top of torture. He was fuming inside with jealousy, but didn't know what to do about it. He'd never been in this position before. He'd been jealous before, over a few girls, but it was never this intense. He'd never felt like he wanted to rip out the bloke's insides and shove it up his arse; he'd always let go after a short while. It was completely different with Hermione though. Harry just couldn't let go. The knowledge that Adam had her, could kiss her and hold her all he liked, when Harry himself couldn't was enough to make him go crazy. And it scared him. How was one woman capable of doing so much damage? Thinking about it though, he was the one who had been doing all the damaging. If he hadn't been so damned pig-headed she would probably have been his right now. NOT Adam's…That thought alone was eating him up inside. Adam's… Funny how an apostrophe and the letter s added to some other man's name could have such an affect on him. Especially since that man was Adam. Since when had he become so competitive?
Hermione could be the end of him. Lord.
None of them had been worth it, but he knew Hermione was the moment he met her. She was the only person he knew who hadn't gone all wide-eyed and enamored when she met him, him being the, er, hero of the wizarding world, of course. As he'd mentioned to Jess, she hadn't even glanced at his scar. She was the only one who'd taken him at face value, and not by the fact that he was Harry Potter, the boy who lived.
True, she was a bit plain than what he would usually go for, but she was special. And she was gorgeous. She hardly put on any make-up, and her hair was usually unkempt and pulled up into a messy bun or ponytail, but he found that that natural beauty turned him on more than anything else had before. Her hair wasn't down often, and it made him wonder how it would feel with him running his fingers through it leisurely. How it would feel to breathe in her scent. He knew if he had the chance to touch her like that, he would be touching her forever and beyond. She'd caught him staring at her a couple of times, when she'd twirl a ringlet around her finger as she read, or bit her lip unconsciously in a way that made his stomach do double somersaults.
Just who am I trying to kid? I'm totally and completely hooked. And loving it too. Just like I love her.
She was doing that now, nibbling her lip in an innocently seductive way that it was hard not to grab her right there and press his lips to hers.
Merlin, please don't do that…
He swallowed hard, trying to concentrate on the matter at hand, and not on the way she kept troubling her lip, surprised it hadn't started to bleed yet. They were both silent, urging the other to say something to break the unnerving silence, but nothing escaped from between their lips.
"Say something," he whispered hoarsely after a few unbearably long minutes, and she pursed her lips, crossing her arms over her chest and fidgeted slightly. He could almost see the wheels turn in her head as she tried to pull it together before answering him with a question of her own.
"What do you want me to say, Harry?" she asked him softly, and he was confused by her expression. She looked almost…crestfallen.
"I don't know," he admitted, running a hand quickly through his hair.
"It's too late," she declared quietly. "You don't hold the right to be jealous; you never have."
The words stung, and they stung badly too, because he knew she was right. She always was. Hermione pushed past him, but his quick reflexes allowed him to grab hold of her wrist and pull her back flush against his chest.
"Maybe it's not too late," he whispered, his arm circling her waist firmly and kept it there as she stared up at him with wide eyes.
"Yes, it is," she broke eye contact, her hands trapped against his chest and fixed her gaze upon them.
"No," he brought a hand up and placed his fist gently underneath her chin to lift it up, and felt a tiny involuntary tremor run through her. "Hermione…"
Her eyes fluttered close, and he took this as a cue to kiss her, but it was so much more passionate than their first kiss. Their mouths moved sensually against each other before Harry slid his tongue into her mouth and proceeded to explore the insides of her mouth. Hermione's hands were buried in his hair, and the sensation of her tongue rubbing against his was steadily driving him to oblivion. It was too much. He pressed her against the counter, a hand pulling at the hair-band that held her doubled-up ponytail together. Her hair tumbled down and he was going to run his fingers through the glorious mass, going to fulfill his wish, before Hermione pulled away, breathing hard and looking stricken, her hands sliding down slowly to rest on his shoulders.
Harry frowned, searching her eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Harry, I'm with Adam," she said, trying to pull away from him, but Harry would have none of it and only tightened his hold on her, sandwiching her form between him and the counter.
"Leave him," he said breathlessly, his eyes looking down passionately into hers.
"It's not that easy, okay?" The marble on top of the counter was starting to dig into her lower back, and she tried pushing at Harry's chest again, without success. "Harry," she said his name in a feeble protest, getting weak-kneed again when he kissed her softly.
"Hermione, I want you," he said huskily against her neck, and the words made Hermione's heart skip a beat.
"Harry, please," she whispered desperately, knowing she would die with guilt if she didn't stop him now. "Please, just let me go…"
This time he did step away, his expression grim. "You're not getting away so easily," was all he said before he left the kitchen.
* * *
"Just like that?" Abby asked, her thin eyebrows raised.
"Just like that," Ginny confirmed sullenly, looking at her hands. "I haven't heard from him since last week, Abby."
"He's blind if he doesn't see how special you are, love," the brunette said firmly.
"Thanks," Ginny smiled ruefully. "He's just so proud though," she scoffed. "I bet he expects me to go back to him or something. That is so not happening."
"Judging how Ron was smiling when he'd gone in there," Abby said in a hushed voice, jerking her head toward the closed office door, "he certainly hasn't been told."
"I know," the pretty redhead grumbled. "I was surprised when he was here; I thought he'd come to tell me off or something."
"What about, dear sister?" Ron asked out of the blue, his arm hooked with Luna's.
"I don't know," Ginny shrugged indifferently. "You always have something to yell at me about."
Her brother shrugged.
"Ronald and I are going out for lunch," Luna smiled dreamily, positively glowing, and the other two women couldn't help but smile. They made a cute, albeit strange couple.
"Are you two officially together yet?" Abby asked.
Ron's ears turned red, but Luna had it all in control and shook her head solemnly. "Not yet," she said.
"Well, have fun, kids," Ginny waved, glad to see her brother happy. "Heard from Seamus lately?" she asked after the pair had gone.
Abby winced, lowering the sandwich that had been halfway to her mouth down slowly before she answered. "Too much, in fact. I somehow keep bumping into him everywhere…Even though I know he's not the type of guy who would stalk someone, you know? But I won't be surprised if I found him starting to drop at my apartment now too."
"You know, he wouldn't be doing this if he didn't really like you. I know him," she added at Abby's incredulous expression. "Cut him some slack."
"I don't want to," Abby told her flatly, leaning back in her chair.
"You won't be sworn off men forever, you know."
"Shut up, for Merlin's sake," she snapped suddenly. "Going on and on about Seamus. I don't want him, period. I don't know why he seems interested in me, now that I've really started to bulge, but I'd rather not find out."
Ginny looked rather taken aback at the sudden mood swing, and Abby exhaled deeply, closing her eyes. "He's not that type of guy," the redhead told her gently when she was sure Abby won't start jumping down her throat again.
"I don't care," the brunette said wearily. "I'm not ready for relationships yet."
And it was true; she wasn't ready. However much Seamus attracted her, she didn't want to be in a relationship right now. She had to focus on the baby. God knew what would happen if she got hurt again, and in this state too.
"And I don't like living alone," Ginny grumbled. "My roommate left for Scotland last week, and she won't be coming back. And now without Draco around, the apartment's scary sometimes."
Abby's eyes widened. "Move in with me!"
"What?"
"Move in with me! It's perfect. We both need roommates, and I have the room…God knows your apartment isn't much bigger than my butt-crack…"
Ginny stared at her for a few seconds before shaking her head and laughing. "It's not that tiny. Unless your butt-crack's super size or something…but you know, it sounds convenient. And I'm kind of having trouble paying the rent and bills, since May and I used to share."
"I know what you mean," Abby nodded. "And my apartment's closer to work too, not that it matters."
"It's going to be great," Ginny gushed. "We'll have more time to talk, instead of just at work. It sucks being lonely."
"Especially now since I'm not there?" A drawl from the doorway had both their heads turned swiftly, and Ginny's eyes widened.
"Draco?"
"Yes."
Ginny bit her lip, chancing a quick glance at Abby, who was nibbling on her sandwich, pretending not to exist.
"Listen, Draco-" Ginny started, but he held up his hand.
"I'm not here to waste my time. Is Lovegood in?"
Ginny drew herself up in her chair, glaring at him defiantly. "Don't flatter yourself," she rolled her eyes, effectively hiding the hurt that was gnawing at her heart. "No, she's not in," she replied formally, drawing a few sheets toward her and refusing to elaborate further.
"Well?" he frowned, coming in further. "Where is she?"
"Not that it's any of your business," Abby piped up, her eyes narrowed. "But she's out, having lunch. You could do us all a favor and get out."
Draco opened his mouth to retort, but snapped it shut again. It wouldn't do well to anger a pregnant at all, he reasoned. It wasn't because he didn't want to make a bad impression in front of Ginny's friend. He cleared his throat.
"Fine. I'd appreciate it if you'd let her know that I had come to speak to her on Harry's behalf, about the article the Quibbler posted about us yesterday," he said civilly, although his eyes were as cold as ice as Abby responded with a curt nod. Then he turned back to Ginny, who refused to even look at him as she flipped through some papers. He snatched them out of her hand, and she looked up at him, slack-jawed, barely registering that Abby slipped into the washroom to give them some privacy.
"Let's go and have lunch," he stated, and Ginny just stared at him before regaining her composure.
"I already had lunch," she replied scathingly. "Thank you. And besides, what makes you think I'd go with you anyway?"
Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair, the barely-there lost look in his eyes reminding of the Draco she knew so well. She pursed her lips and looked away, because she knew if she looked into his piercing eyes she knew she'd give into anything. However she tried though, she knew if he put his mind to it, he would drag her to Pluto. But she planned to stand her ground as much as she could.
"Gin," he bent his form and leaned his forearms on her desk, his gorgeous eyes urging her to look at him, but her own blue eyes fixed onto the computer screen like she found that more interesting. "Ginny, look at me," he reached out and pressed his fingertips gently to the side of her face, but she pulled away and leaned back against her chair, crossing her arms.
"Just go away, Draco," she whispered, defeated.
"Come on, love, we can work this out," he said, coming around her desk slowly and watching as her features twist to accommodate the expression of disbelief.
"Work this out?" she asked him, shaking her head. "Work this out? After you came in here and snubbed me in front of my friend? I thought you were better than that, Draco."
"I know," he said, and she heard the sincere remorse in his voice as he kneeled down, turning her computer chair so he could look up into her face. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."
Ginny snapped her eyes from her lap at that. Draco never, ever apologized if he could help it. As if in a daze, she allowed him to take her hand in his and lace their fingers together, and then placing a small kiss on each of her knuckles.
"I missed you so much this week. I was going crazy."
"I missed you too," she replied truthfully, touching his cheek. "You can be such a prick sometimes…"
Draco chuckled softly, turning his head a bit to kiss her palm. "You want to get out of here?"
Ginny fixed a stern look on him, and he voiced her thoughts with a sigh and a nod.
"We'll tell Ron, if it's what you want."
"Only Ron?" She pressed.
"The whole world."
Ginny smiled at her lover, running her fingers through his hair gently before leaning down to kiss him hard on the mouth, her hair falling down to surround their faces.
"If Abby wasn't here I would've taken you right here, on your desk," he said gruffly after they'd broken apart.
"Speaking of Abby…" Ginny giggled. "Abby, it's safe now," she called out loudly, turning her head to see the brunette leaving the washroom with a grumpy look on her face.
"It's about time too. I was wondering"
"Sorry," Ginny said apologetically.
"I assume you two made up?" the pregnant woman asked, waving off the apology, one hand on her stomach as she sat back down.
"Definitely," Draco grinned, getting to his feet, still holding onto his girlfriend's hand. He turned to Ginny. "Do you have a lot of work?"
"And then some."
"So I'll see you tonight?" He asked her softly, his eyes narrowed, and Ginny bit her lip, smiling. "I'll come by at about seven…we'll go out."
"Okay," she pulled him down for another kiss before she allowed him to go. "We're going to tell Ron," she informed.
"Well, good luck. You think he'll take it really badly?"
"Oh, you have no idea, Abby. No idea."
* * *
Meanwhile, Ron and Luna were stuck in a rather uncomfortable silence, not knowing what to say. Ron played around with his food a bit, his head bent, although managed to peek a few glances at her. The blonde was pretty much doing the same. Ron found his fingers itching to reach out and push the strand of hair from her cheek to the back of her ear.
It was really astounding how she'd blossomed from that dreamy little Ravenclaw who no one paid any heed, to a woman who attracted more than a second glance and whose presence demanded respect. Ron wondered how he'd never noticed it before; wondered why he used to be so wary around her when she could be the easiest person to talk to, despite her strange ways; wondered why he'd never noticed just how smart and beautiful she really was.
With a few minutes of debating with himself, he finally gave into temptation.
Luna looked up in surprise when she felt calloused fingers carefully tucking the lock behind her ear and lingering there. He was looking at her so intently; she couldn't help but be drawn into his eyes.
"I…" He started hoarsely, and then cleared his throat before continuing. "I really like you, Luna."
Luna just smiled at him and wrapped her fingers around the wrist that held her cheek.
"I like you too, Ronald."
* * *
A/N - Loved the responses for last chapter; thanks for all the feedback, guys. To respond to a couple of reviews (because I'm too lazy to reply individually, and I want everyone to read this): Yes, I'm a girl. And yes, I know I have a lot of plots going on, and I'm sorry if ya'll are getting confused, but I think it just makes stuff interesting, and if you get bored of one couple, there's always the other to wonder about, you know? Still, if you don't like the notion, and more people agree that there's way too much going on all at once, I'll definitely try and tune it down a bit. And I appreciated the constructive criticism all the same. Helps me stay humble =) I know chapters are a bit short, please be patient with me.
About the pairings, I found that the most popular pairings were H/Hr (d'oh), D/G, and R/L. (I'm afraid I'll start to sound like some kind of announcer from here) There was also a scatter of Abby/Seamus and surprisingly, a couple of Adam/Hr fans. There was also one Adam fan! I was surprised, since everyone seemed to hate him. And sorry (or not =P), the angst is going to draw out a bit longer, can't have them getting together that easily…just stick with me, it's going to be interesting I swear. Also, PLEASE take a few seconds to review! I aim to reach over 300 reviews this time!
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