Incomplete: II by Forever Optimistic

Rating: R
Genres: Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 5
Published: 06/11/2005
Last Updated: 06/11/2005
Status: Completed

[one-shot] After a night at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry and Hermione realize that the person they
were looking for all along was right in front of them.




1. Incomplete: II
-----------------



Version II is H/Hr and was created because it hit me all of a sudden how perfect this plot was
for it. It isn't much different from Version I; it's mostly word for word the same. The
only thing that changes are the names, and obvious things related to those mentioned. Enjoy!

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

**Incomplete II**

“Why is it that we, the two most passionate people I know on the face of this earth, can't
keep a meaningful relationship for more than one month?” I asked Hermione as I walked into her
flat. I had just left the restaurant from yet another date in which I sat there listening to how
great I looked in the last issue of the *Daily Prophet* and about how everyone was talking
about my most recent heroics over the weekend. It was yet another unfulfilling date with a witch
that didn't give a rat's arse about me, but only cared about Harry Potter, world class
Auror.

“We just haven't found *the one*, yet Harry,” Hermione responded looking at up at me
briefly before looking back down. “We'll find them.”

I looked at her hard for a moment as she sat on an armchair reading the latest issue of
*Witch* *Weekly*. I was immediately captivated by the way her hair was sprawled over the
armrest, and the way her features lit up when she smiled. I was captivated by her *best
friend* features, I reminded myself.

“I just hate being lonely, you know? I don't feel complete,” I responded looking into her
averted eyes. “It just hasn't been the same since we left school. My closest friends don't
even have time for me anymore. Neville is out doing God knows what at Hogwarts, Seamus is too busy
juggling his two girlfriends to hang out, Dean is completely immersed in his work at the Ministry
and Ron is too busy being married that I don't even see him anymore,” I ranted finally taking a
seat across from her.

“And what am I, chopped liver?” she asked looking up at me and smiling that beautiful smile.

“The last thing I need is to have another one of your boyfriends threatening me in my own home
because he feels insecure with my presence in your life. I don't think I can fully hold myself
back next time,” I responded putting a pillow over my face.

Although Hermione and I had never dated, our best friend status had been questioned by more than
a few of her boyfriends and all but one of my girlfriends. On one particular occasion, a very drunk
Michael Tanner came to my flat threatening to turn me into tripe if I didn't tell him where
Hermione was. Considering the fact that the guy was at least twice my size, I wasn't too sure
if it was a legitimate threat or not. So I did what was natural to me when threatened. I crossed my
arms in front of me, smirked up at him, and told him to give it his best try. What ensued was a one
sided muggle fight in which I got a black eye and a sore jaw. Hard as I tried to get him off of me
without raising a hand to him, I just wasn't going to allow him to continue. With my Quidditch
reflexes, I intercepted his next punch, and landed another one of my own. Needless to say, Michael
Tanner quickly found out I wasn't messing around. When Hermione arrived at my flat for our
weekly dinner together, she berated *me* for fighting with her boyfriend after seeing the
state he was in. He gave me a bloody smug look before I explained to her what really happened.
Michael thought she was going to take his side, but *of course* Hermione believed me, and
*of course* she broke up with him on the spot. I had never been so proud of her in my
life.

“You don't have to worry about that right now,” she mused, taking me out of my reverie.
“Richard and I broke it off two weeks ago. I have no strings attached at the moment.”

I smiled underneath the pillow trying to remember who Richard was before removing it and looking
at her with a straight face again. I never did like Richard. In fact, I never liked any of
Hermione's boyfriends. I just couldn't understand why any twat would waste such an
opportunity by leaving her. It pained me to see her go out with so many guys that treated her like
a prize. I hated that they didn't see her because she was brilliant, sweet and funny and I
absolutely hated the way their eyes roamed her body as if she were a meal to be feasted on.

“Well then you can join the club. I call it the `I'm too bloody wonderful for my own
good' club,” I smirked.

“You prat,” she said, throwing a pillow in my direction.

I caught the pillow easily before I leapt at her from my position, and tickled her mercilessly.
We wrestled on the floor for a few minutes until we were both gasping for air. When she finally
pushed me off of her by placing her hand to my chest, we lay down next to each other before she
removed her hand, and intertwined her fingers with mine.

“What do you say we go to the Leaky Cauldron for a few drinks?” she asked. “I think we both need
them right now.”

I looked at her for a moment and smiled when she finally looked at me. Her eyes were dancing
with mischief, and I knew she was in the mood to get away from everything.

“Alright, let's do it,” I responded before getting up and pulling her with me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I couldn't take my eyes off of him. I had to keep reminding myself that he was my best
friend, and that best friends didn't look at each other that way. Harry and I had been at the
Leaky Cauldron for well over an hour, and had succeeded in getting so inebriated that we didn't
even know why we were there in the first place. Tom, the bartender, finally cut us off and led us
to the fire place where he flooed us back to Harry' flat. We stumbled out of the fire place in
a fit of laughter that was uncontrollable. When I finally got to my feet, I looked down at him and
saw that he was dozing off on the floor.

“Harry,” I said nudging him a little so as to wake him up.

He mumbled something incoherent in response and flipped over on his back. I took that
opportunity to *really* look at him. He had been my best friend for ten years, yet sometimes I
found myself having less than friendly thoughts about him. I never let myself believe that I had a
crush on him and vehemently denied to everyone that we were more than friends. We were friends, the
best of friends in fact, but I had always secretly liked him. Who wouldn't? He was absolutely
perfect. Unfortunately for him though, he was also passionate and had a long history. Someone with
a past like his would probably never find a girl that loved him for the person he is inside.
Somebody like him, regrettably, only attracted the type of girls who wanted him for his name. It
hurt me to see how disillusioned he got whenever he broke up with a girl because she just
wasn't what he was looking for; because *she* didn't really see him, because
*she* wanted a piece of the fame. It angered me that he went out of his way to make sure
nobody thought there was anything going on between us like he did back at Hogwarts. The truth is I
was daft back then. I *did* like him, yet I refused to acknowledge it. I let my pride and good
girl reputation get in the way of my happiness. Ten years later, I found myself wanting to spend
every moment with a best friend that wanted to be just that. Best friends. I, Hermione Granger, was
completely head over heels in love with the one and only Harry Potter.

Knowing that my affection for Harry was beyond the bounds of friendship, I knelt down as
balanced as I could in my state, and placed my head on his chest. The rise and fall caused by his
steady breathing was soothing, and made me want to tell him everything I had been hiding from him
for years. I felt alive when I was with him, like I could tell him anything and he would understand
because he knew me. He completed me.

When I lifted my head from his body, I stroked his messy tresses before removing his glasses
from his face and placing them behind his head. He opened his eyes then and looked at me before
smiling. I know I blushed, and I know my heart skipped a beat. He did that every time he smiled at
me, because really, that smile should be banned. There is no way any man should be able to undo
anyone with a simple smile.

“Hey,” I whispered after a moment.

“Hi,” he responded in a hoarse whisper.

It must have been the firewhiskey altering my senses, or it was the fact that our faces were
just so close together, but I leaned in and slowly placed my lips on his. It took him only a second
to return the kiss, and I sighed with the sort of content that made my heart melt. It wasn't a
hurried kiss, or even a lazy one. It was the type of kiss that took your breath away. I pressed my
body against his to deepen the kiss and soon found myself straddling him. Everything was happening
so fast that I didn't even think about what I was doing. I heard him groan underneath me before
he pulled my hair behind my ears and put his hands on my face. I grew more insistent with my kisses
and immediately felt just how aroused he was becoming.

“Hermione,” he croaked.

“Shh,” I said before capturing his mouth with mine again.

All thoughts of him being my best friend were quickly forgotten when I sat up, making sure to
bring him with me so that we were both sitting down in front of the fireplace, our faces dancing
with the light emitted from the flames. He groaned at the contact that our new position created and
he too became more insistent with his actions. Had we been sober, I doubt it we would have taken
everything so far, yet we couldn't be bothered to stop at the time. As I began fumbling with
the buttons of his shirt, he began picking himself up from the floor. I followed his lead, and soon
we were standing in front of each other, still heatedly connected at the lips. I pressed my body
fully into his so that my breasts were rubbing against his chest, and he stumbled forward just
slightly so that my back was soon firmly against the wall beside the fireplace. He grunted loudly
when I continued to unbutton his shirt until he finally let go of any inhibitions and picked me up
with ease so that my legs immediately wrapped around his waist. I opened my eyes and was surprised
to find that he was staring at me with such an intense look in his eyes that I was afraid I would
collapse from the emotions stirring up inside. He smiled at me then and gently kissed my forehead.
I had never felt more loved in my life, and I knew I wanted to make love to him. I instinctively
tightened my hold on him and breathed one word into his hair that I know triggered something inside
of him as he continued his attentions onto my neck and shoulder.

“Harry,” I gasped as I felt his erection hard against my thigh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Never, not even in my wildest dreams, did I ever *think* I would have Hermione in my arms
like I did in that room. I vaguely remembered stumbling out of the fireplace in my flat and having
Hermione, my best friend Hermione, pressing her lips on mine. Of course I couldn't let her do
all the work, so I deepened the kiss. It was as if every other girl I had ever kissed never even
existed. She surprised me when she straddled me, and soon we were spiraling down un-treaded waters
when I heard the most seductive voice I had ever heard.

“Harry,” she said.

My heart stopped, and for a moment I wasn't sure I was even going to make it to the bedroom.
I stumbled over my own two feet, unable to see very well in the darkened hallway without my
glasses, but I quickly recovered and everything became all about her. Hermione, by that point, had
committed to a full assault on my neck and lips. She didn't stop when I almost tripped on the
coat rack in the hallway and I never wanted her to. When we reached my bedroom, I pressed her body
hard against the door and she moaned in a way that almost made me come undone. I looked up at her
then, and she had a look in her eyes that told me she was ready for whatever we were about to do
next. I might have been drunk, but I wasn't so far gone that I didn't know exactly what was
going on. I left feather light kisses on her forehead, and she flashed me that smile I loved so
much. She then pulled herself away from my embrace, opened the door to my bedroom, and led me by
the hand to the side of the bed where she proceeded to take off my clothing.

Hermione must have been much more drunk than I was, because it took her several tries before she
finally disengaged the last buttons separating her hands from my skin. She carefully moved her
hands over my chest, and upon feeling her touch, all pretenses of going slowly were thrown out the
window. I quickly closed the gap between us and pulled her into a passionate kiss that left us both
gasping for air afterwards. I pulled her shirt over her head and gasped at the sight that awaited
me. My best friend was absolutely gorgeous. Her breasts weren't big, but they were hers, and
they were perfect. Upon realizing that I was staring at her, she made a movement to cover herself
up, but I stopped it when I leaned down and began trailing kisses along her jaw. She sighed in
contentment and gently pushed me so that the back of my knees hit the bed before I slumped down on
it. She fumbled with my belt buckle and when she cursed upon being able to unlatch it, I removed it
with an animalistic movement that must have aroused her more. She got a glint in her eyes that had
never been aimed in my direction in the past, but before I could do anything about it, she removed
my pants and reached inside my shorts. A primal moan was released from my throat as her small hand
wrapped around my hard flesh and I couldn't help but put my fingers in her hair when her lips
enveloped my arousal.

I knew Hermione wasn't very experienced, having only been involved with one guy that she let
get past second base, yet she was making me feel things no other woman had ever done before. Her
slow, almost bashful movements were stirring me into a wild frenzy, and I wasn't quite sure I
could have kept going had I not pulled her body towards me so that she was straddling me. She let
out her own primal moan when my arousal brushed up against her center, making me realize for the
first time that she had far more clothes on than I would have wanted. I gently picked her up and
placed her beside me. I turned over and positioned myself in between her legs before I began
caressing her breasts. Her breath was coming in short little pants by then and her eyes were
closed, making her the most beautiful sight I had ever laid eyes on. When I began to unbutton her
trousers, her eyes shot open and for a moment I thought she was going to put a stop to everything.
I wasn't sure if I should go on or not, when she pulled my face down to hers. I groaned into
her mouth and her hips bucked when I continued to pull away at her trousers. Once I unbuttoned
them, I crawled down on the bed and removed them. I will never forget the way she looked sprawled
out on my bed, cheeks flushed and hair fanned across the pillow. She lifted her knees and I took
that opportunity to place myself in between her legs again before showering her firm abdomen with
kisses. Her hand went immediately into my hair and I couldn't have stopped myself from doing
what I was about to do even if I wanted to.

I removed her knickers with slow, deliberate motions, stroking my thumb across the hard nub that
made her body shudder with a sudden rush of pleasure. After teasing her with my fingers, I left a
trail of wet kisses along the inside of her thighs before finally placing my lips on her hot
center. I didn't know what was better; feeling her underneath me, or hearing the sounds she
made. I never thought the sexy moans and whimpers escaping her mouth would be so erotic. Then, as
if she wasn't already making me crazy with the bereft little sounds coming out of her mouth,
another simple breathy “Harry” in that most seductive voice known to man was all I needed to know
that I was lost to her. The sound of her voice calling my name as I touched her in the most
intimate way was what made me realize that she was the only woman I ever wanted to be with.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I awoke the following morning with the aura of someone who had just woken up from a night spent
in heaven. I expected to have a headache after drinking the way I did the night before, but I was
surprisingly feeling quite satisfied. As I slowly regained consciousness, I became aware that I was
either not alone, or I had a very chiseled pillow. My eyes shot open and I found myself staring
straight into Harry's face. He had his arm wrapped protectively around my waist, and I was
resting my head on his toned chest. As realization sunk in, flashes of the previous night came
rushing back to me.

I had slept with Harry.

What's worse is that I should have felt bad about it. I should have felt guilty at the fact
that I had taken advantage of him in his drunken state. I should have been ashamed that I aroused
him to the point where I knew he couldn't stop. I should have been killing myself over the fact
that I had betrayed his trust. But that's the thing. I didn't feel ashamed, nor did I
regret what had happened. Only two things came to mind: I had slept with my best friend, and I had
enjoyed every second of it.

I remembered the way he kissed me, and the way his warm breath made me shutter as he placed his
lips on my hot, aching center. His touch was addicting. I was infinitely arching towards him,
knowing he was the only one I was ever meant to share everything with. I remember breathing out his
name and I knew there was no one else I would have rather savored the moment with. He was a gentle
lover, and deep down I wondered if he had treated every other girl with the same tenderness. He
quickly made me forget about that thought as he developed a mad pace with his tongue that soon had
me bucking underneath him with an unfamiliar air of ecstasy. When his tongue focused firmly over
and over that sensitive spot, I came with a fury that had never escaped my body, and only word
escaped my lips, “Harry.”

He trailed kisses up my body as I rode out my orgasm, while his hard length rubbing against my
body was more than I could handle. With trembling fingers, I reached down between our bodies and
took hold of his arousal with every intention to complete what we had started. He moaned under my
touch and one last look into those beautiful emerald green eyes was all I needed to know that he
wanted it just as badly as I did. He remained motionless as we simply stared at one another; his
gaze so intense that it felt like he reached the very depths of my soul. As if asking for my
permission, he placed feather light kisses along my neck, then devouring my lips with his as if
testing me to make sure I was ready. I immediately opened myself up to him and that's all he
needed. He never took his eyes away from me as he lowered himself onto me and with one slow, erotic
thrust, we became one. My eye lids fluttered shut, and our moans reverberated around his bedroom,
the sound we made indiscernible as male or female. His movements were slow at first, and I could
tell he was holding back. I didn't want him to hold back, so I wrapped my legs around his
waist, urging him to go deeper, begging him to go faster.

As his pace quickened, I found myself arching towards him, meeting him thrust by thrust. His
name became my mantra as I felt my whole world about to explode once more. I dug my nails into his
back, not even caring that I might be hurting him because it all just felt so good, it all felt so
right. Our thrusts became desperate and as I opened my eyes, I was met with an intense gaze that
meant the world to me. Our lips met for one more heart melting kiss and when we broke apart for a
much needed breath, he repeated my name in rhythm with his movements, whispering mumbled words into
my hair. As the first wave of my orgasm pulsed over me, I felt him shudder, and join me in release.
He stared into my glazed eyes for a moment before smiling and kissing me open-mouthed with only his
lips grazing mine, his tongue lingering in the background, his breath intermingling with mine. It
was the sexiest, most beautiful, and most mind-boggling kiss I had ever received from anyone and it
was so utterly Harry that I couldn't help but smile against his lips. When he rolled off of me
and settled himself at my side, he pulled me towards him so that I fit snuggly against his body
before his breathing began lulling me to sleep. As I stroked his arm absently, I let out a soft
sigh upon realizing that what we had just done would change our relationship forever. I didn't
expect him to feel the same way about me. I didn't even expect him to still be by my side when
I woke up the following morning, but nothing had ever been clearer than my sudden awareness of just
how much I loved him. When I turned around in his arms to face him, he was already asleep. I placed
a light kiss on his nose and whispered words to him that I never expected him to say to me before
finally falling asleep.

“I love you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Perhaps it was the fact that I was naked. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the fact that the person
resting on my chest was naked too. Whatever it was, I never wanted to open up my eyes with the fear
that it had all been a dream. Flashes of the previous night raced through my memory in a way that
should have really been unsettling. Hermione, my *best friend* Hermione, was lying next to me,
or on top of me, completely naked after the most amazing night of my life. I vaguely remembered her
having instigated it all, but really, had I been able to stay awake after tumbling out of the
fireplace, I probably would have done the same.

I felt her move her head away from my chest, and felt the way her intense gaze bored into my
face. She was examining me, probably thinking of a way to let me down easy after realizing she had
made a mistake. I lay quite still, trying to give her the impression that I was still deep in
slumber, but all I really wanted to do was stare straight back into her eyes and tell her that I
would never leave her. I felt her place her head back on my chest, and the way her breath tickled
when she sighed. We remained that way for several minutes before I felt her try and remove herself
from me. I instinctively tightened my hold on her waist and finally opened my eyes.

“Good morning,” I croaked as I stared at her.

Her face reddened, and she quickly averted my gaze. She looked like she wanted nothing more than
to run away from me.

“Morning,” she finally managed as she wrapped the sheets around her slender body and began
getting out of bed. “I'm sorry Harry, I didn't mean…..I didn't want…” she
stammered.

“Hermione,” I breathed.

“I'm so sorry Harry,” she started. “This was a big mistake…we shouldn't have…oh
god!”

“What are you on about?” I asked propping myself up on one elbow.

“Last night. We were drunk, and neither of us knew what we were doing. I kissed you, and I
shouldn't have, and oh my god, I ruined everything,” she wailed as she began rummaging through
the pile of clothing at the foot of my bed.

I felt as if she had just used the Cruciatus Curse on me. I felt as if a piece of my heart had
been torn out and all that remained was the memory of how great she felt in my arms. Hermione
didn't feel the same way I did about her. I was a fool to ever think she did.

“Are you leaving?” I asked, a little harsher than I meant to.

She looked at me with wide eyes before hastily responding, “Yes, of course. I'll leave as
soon as I find my knickers.”

I watched her frantic movements to recover her stray articles of clothing. I noticed the way her
hands shook each time she separated my clothing from hers. What unnerved me however, was that lone
tear she inconspicuously tried to wipe off her cheek.

“Hermione, wait,” I said as I reached out to hold her arm. She gave me a stunned look before I
continued. “Don't go.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, her eyes desperately searching mine.

“I said don't go,” I responded as I knelt at foot of the bed before her. I didn't care
that I was naked, and I didn't care that my manhood was out for the world to see. All I cared
about was making Hermione understand that *I* didn't think it had been a mistake. I wanted
her to know just how much she meant to me even if she didn't feel the same way about me. The
way I figured it, our relationship had already changed.

“I don't understand….” she started before I cut her off.

“What I mean to say is that I want you to stay. With me. And that I'm sorry if things are
awkward between us, you're my best friend and I'd never do anything to ruin that but… this
isn't the way I wanted to tell you…I'm not even sure I'd have ever said anything before
now…”

“Harry?” she probed.

“I'm not sorry about what happened last night.”

Silence. She stared at me with a look of utmost disbelief that I almost believed time had
stopped for those heart wrenching seconds.

“You're not sorry about last night?” she asked, finally breaking the silence.

“What happened last night happened because I wanted it to, not because I was out of my rocker,
but because I've wanted to kiss you, to hold you, to be with you since our fourth year at
Hogwarts. I mean that last night happened because you're the most breathtaking woman I've
ever seen. Last night happened because a bloke would have to be an impossibly daft git to never
have told you that my feelings run much deeper than friendship and have *always* run much
deeper than friendship.”

Hermione was completely bowled over, that much was obvious. I'm sure she never expected me
to say those things to her, and I was absolutely positive she was going to slap me at any moment.
How could I have been so stupid? I practically beat her out of my life with that little confession,
and her silence could have only meant that she was trying to come up with a way to let me down
easy. How could I have possibly believed that after so many years of being best friends, she would
actually see me the way I saw her.

“Harry…” she started.

I knew it was coming. The familiar *It's not you, it's me* speech. I was preparing
myself to say good-bye to my best friend of ten years forever.

“Yeah, I know,” I responded trying to swallow the lump in my throat. “I'll get out of here
so that you can get changed.”

“I'm not sorry either.”

Wait a minute. I must have been hearing things. Hermione Granger would *never* say
something like that without thinking it through at least fifty times.

“You…..you're not?” I stuttered.

She shook her head and closed the gap between us, wiping tears from her eyes. She was close
enough so that I felt her breath mingle with mine.

“Then why did you…..what?” I asked, still too shocked to comprehend what was going on.

“I only said I was sorry about last night because I didn't think you felt the same about me.
Harry, I've had feelings for you practically since I met you on the Hogwarts Express. You just
never showed any interest before, so I didn't think the feelings were mutual.”

Of all the things I expected her to say, those were the last words I would have bet my life on.
She had had feelings for me since first year? Why didn't she say anything? I could have spared
myself from a whole lot wretched relationships. Upon telling her this, she laughed nervously and
hooked her arms around my neck.

“I didn't know if you had any feelings for me, and I didn't want to lose you,” she
whispered against my lips.

“So last night, you did it because you wanted to, right? Not because you were drunk and thought
I was plastered too?” I asked nervously.

“I knew exactly what I was doing. I just wasn't sure if you knew,” she responded, biting her
lip in the most seductive way. Bloody hell, why did the blood have to go shooting straight down at
that moment?

“Of course I knew what I was doing,” I said in a strained voice. “The possible consequences of
our actions just didn't sink in at the moment. I wasn't sure if you were going to kill me,
or just leave, never to speak to me again.”

“I would never leave you,” she answered. A smile formed on her lips when she looked down and saw
the state I was in. There was no hiding the fact that a certain appendage was begging for her.

“Ignore that, it has nothing to do with this conversation,” I said as I tilted her chin so that
she was looking straight into my eyes. I kissed her then, my lips just barely grazing hers, my
tongue sliding slowly across her bottom lip. She sighed and began moving her arms across my bare
chest.

“I love you,” I breathed.

I was shocked when I said it, but it came out so naturally that I didn't even think twice
about doing it. Hermione stopped kissing me, and I was lost once more in those perfect honey
colored eyes. I immersed myself completely in her gaze and when she smiled, I could have sworn I
had died and gone to heaven. It barely even registered that she let the bed sheet slide off her
body and that she was standing naked in front of me again.

“I love you too,” she breathed into my mouth.

It wasn't until she was climbing onto the bed with me that it finally hit me like a ton of
bricks. Hermione Granger felt the same way about me. Hermione Granger loved me.

~~

Feedback would be appreciated….

A/N: Hmm….I just realized that all the stories I've written on Portkey have the same theme
in common: one or more of the characters have been drunk at some point. :-/ This really wasn't
on purpose, and I assure you that I'm no drunk and that I don't condone alcoholism. The
stories just sort of happened that way…..I still hope you enjoy them!

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