Unofficial Portkey Archive

A/N: Well, here it is. The last chapter! I just want to take the opportunity to thank all of your comments. They sure make my day. J

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TWELVE

When Harry and Hermione got to his place, he hurried to open up the car's door for her. Dinner was waiting for them, but he wasn't quite ready to get inside just yet. He stopped half way to the front porch and grabbed her hand.

"What do you say we take a walk first?" asked Harry.

"Sure, that'd be great."

Still holding to her hand, Harry headed towards the orchard in the back. Hermione followed him, enjoying just being with him. For a few minutes, they walked in silence. Harry had so many things in his mind; so many things he wanted to say to her. He had even rehearsed them in his mind that morning.

But now that he was next to her, holding her hand, nothing would come to his mouth. There seemed to be no perfect way to tell her what he wanted. There was not a word in his vocabulary that could describe how he felt at that time.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. Hermione looked at him curiously. He took hold of both her hands and got a little closer to her.

"Hermione…" he said. Then, he fell silent.

Hermione smiled at him, somehow guessing what was going through his mind. She could see he was having an internal struggle.

Harry locked his gaze on her brown eyes, and made an effort to speak again. "Hermione… I just don't know where to start."

"I do!"

Hermione stood on her tip toes and covered his mouth with hers. Eagerly, Harry responded to her and let go of her hands to encircle his arms around her instead. Their faces pulled apart just enough to be able to look into the other's eyes.

Hermione sighed happily and smiled at Harry. Lovingly, he rested his forehead on hers and closed his eyes for a few seconds.

"There's so many things I want to tell you," he said in a whisper. "I know I made a huge mistake when I left you alone for so long."

Hermione pulled away to make him look directly into her eyes.

"We both made some big mistakes, Harry. For starters, I should've chosen a better time to talk to you about my feelings." Harry opened his mouth to interrupt her, but she placed a finger on his mouth to keep him quiet.

"But that's not important anymore. It's all in the past, Harry." She ran her hand through his hair - something she had always wanted to do. "What matters is what's ahead of us and what we make of it. Don't you think?"

Harry smiled at her. "You're right." Gently, he caressed her cheek with his fingers. "You're always right."

"Not always Harry," she said smiling at him. "Not always."

--- * --- * --- * ---

A couple of weeks went by and Harry and Hermione's relationship was only going from good to better. Everybody was so please to finally see the two of them together, as it should've always been! Love was in the air.

That Friday, Hermione had apparated at Harry's home way before he got home. She needed to get some research done in "her" library for work. She didn't actually need that until Monday, but Hermione was not the person that would leave things to the last minute.

When Harry got home he heard noises and wondered who that could be. He wasn't expecting to see his girl there.

"Hey honey!" greeted Harry glad to see her. He walked up to her and placed a kiss on top of her head.

Hermione was sitting in one of the couches. She raised her head to greet him with a big smile. Then, she went back to her book. Harry sat at her side.

"I didn't know you were going to be here. When I heard noises I thought someone had broken in."

Hermione looked up quickly. "Oh I'm sorry! I know I didn't tell you I was coming," she started to apologize. "It's just that I needed to check something up and…"

"Hey!" Harry interrupted her. "I'm not complaining. I'm just surprised to find you here." Then getting closer to her, he added, "…pleasantly surprised."

"You are…"

"Of course," he said taking one of her hands in his and placing a kiss on top of it. "There's nothing better than to come home and find you here… waiting for me."

"I wasn't exactly waiting for you…" she said in a whisper as he let go of her hand and kissed her neck instead. Harry smiled after hearing her words, and got as close to her as he could.

"I would love to find you here…" he said as he took the book she had been holding and tossed it aside. "… all the time." Slowly, he moved form her neck up to her mouth, tracing the way with his tongue. Hermione responded throwing her arms around his neck and didn't even notice when he started to push her down.

They laid on the couch, Harry on top. Hermione felt how the weight of his body sank her down into the cushions. His mouth was eagerly taking in the flavors of her mouth as his hands explored her body. Hermione's hands found their way to his messy hair.

Wanting to taste as much of her as possible, Harry moved away from her lips and traveled to her ear, biting softly. A soft moan escaped out of her throat, igniting his blood. He looked right into her brown eyes. They expressed the same passion and the same desire he was feeling at that time.

He pulled away from her and with a quick movement took his shirt off. Hermione was pleased with the sight. Immediately, her hands caressed his firm muscles. She confirmed they felt as strong and masculine as they looked. She also noticed he trembled under her touch, and that only made her want to touch him even more.

Harry had dreamed about having her like this, her soft body under his, way too many times. The hope of making it a reality had kept him going through the lonely years away from her. His feelings had been frozen in time, waiting to be released. Now that it was really happening, all those feelings had woken up.

Trying to find a way to get them out, he went back to kissing her so desperately. Somehow, his hands got inside her sweater and a minute later it was lying in the floor right next to his shirt. He admired the whiteness of her skin, which contrasted perfectly with his.

Hermione's mind had totally abandoned her. She was not thinking about the moment. She was only enjoying it with all of her senses. Her passion and her need for him were the ones responsible for her actions. They made her hands move down to her pants and try to undo his fly.

Harry felt how her small hands started struggling with his pants. She was having trouble with it. Hermione let out a sigh of frustration, making Harry smile. To help her out, he stood up and stretched a hand out to her so she could do the same.

That position made things easier for her. Seconds later, Harry's pants were pooling down in his ankles. Quickly, he stepped out of them.

Placing his hands on her waist, he embraced her body as he went back to kissing her. Hermione closed her arms around his neck. Wanting to be as close to him as humanly possible, she lifted her legs up and circled them around his waist.

Pleased by that, Harry supported her weight placing his hands under her soft bottom. Slowly, he began to walk. Hermione wasn't aware of anything else but his mouth on hers. Before she knew it, they were both upstairs in Harry's bedroom.

Gently, he placed her body on his big four-poster, laying next to her. The room was dimly illuminated by several candles that had lighted on their own as they entered the room.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked in a whisper.

"Totally," she replied between kisses.

That was all the assurance he needed. After that, the few garments that still remained were quickly dropped to the floor.

For several minutes, Harry explored her body form tip to end, using both his hands and his tongue. He wanted to memorize the atlas of her body until he was able to see it even with his eyes closed.

Waves of sensations traveled around Hermione's body as she felt the contact of his fingertips on her deepest corner. Her eyes closed as she was invaded by emotions she had almost forgotten existed.

Muscles she didn't even know she had trembled under the warmth of his tongue. Harry was eagerly taking in all of her flavors, bringing satisfaction to both of them. Gradually, he leveled his body with hers.

Hermione pulled up his face, taking his lips with hers. Between moans and sighs, they kissed with so much passion. Slowly, Harry found his way in and moved into her most intimate place.

In a simultaneous rhythm, they were able to reach the highest point of pleasure. Hermione felt her soul left her body for a few minutes as she climbed the highest mountain and screamed Harry's name at the top of her lungs.

He taught her just how wonderful and enjoyable that intimate moment can be when two people love each other. Something she had doubted before.

Seeing her get to that degree of satisfaction only made Harry feel even more pleased. Being inside of her was a feeling like no other. A sense of completion, of wholeness came over him.

That was where he was meant to be; as if their bodies had been made to fit right into each other's. Harry knew at that moment he would never be able to be with anybody else.

They were meant to be together and as long as he lived he'd make sure nothing would come between them. He had learned his lesson. He had unconsciously allowed a big distance between them. Worse of all, he had let his own doubts get in the way of their happiness. But he would never do that again.

Right there, as they were regaining their breath, laying in his bed, he made a promise to himself. He would never let her out of his side. On the contrary, Harry would make sure that Hermione would fall in love with him over and over again, so that she would never want to leave him either.

Hoping that the days ahead of them would only bring them a lifetime of happiness, he closed his eyes falling into a sweet sleep having the woman he loved the most sleeping at his side.

Look into my eyes - you will see
What you mean to me
Search your heart - search your soul
And when you find me there you'll search no more
Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for
You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for
You know it's true
Everything I do - I do it for you

Written by: B. Adams, M. Kamen, R.J. Lange