A/N: I know that sometimes Harry and Hermione seemed a little OoC, but that was just to get them where they are now: married. Things are going to get better now.
And once again, thanks for all the reviews. J
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6. Dobby's Mistress
After the short ceremony, Harry grabbed hold of Hermione's arm.
"We're leaving now," he announced to everyone. Aunt Betty quickly walked up to them.
"But… aren't you going to stay for lunch?" She looked back at Sally, hoping she'd help her convince them to stay a little longer, but Sally remained silent.
"I'm sorry," said Harry as politely as he could. "We have to go."
"Let's at least toast to your happiness," offered Chares in a cold voice, suddenly regretting what he had force them to do.
Ignoring their requests to stay, Harry departed, dragging Hermione along. Minutes later, they were driving out of the mansion in the "get-away" car Harry had rented to take Sally.
It took them a little more than three hours to reach the town where Harry had rented the car. They both had remained silent during the ride.
Harry had so many things in his head, so many things he wanted to say to Hermione. He just didn't know where to start. So, he said nothing. He was so upset with everything and with everybody.
He was furious at Sally for lying to him, and for being so selfish to ignore the trouble she was getting them in with all her lies. He was angry at Charles for being so blind to ignore what kind of woman he had married, and for being so presumptions to think he could decide over their lives.
But most of all, Harry was angry at Hermione for getting in his way and stopping him from giving that slut Sally what she deserved. His idea had been to take Sally away, not to keep her at his side, but to put her in evidence which would then separate her from the good things she thought she had secured.
And perhaps what upset Harry even more was to see Hermione letting her stupid cousin walk all over her. He had entered the library that morning curios to see how far were the two cousins willing to go. One making things up to save her own ass; the other one being a pushover.
Once in town, Harry drove directly to the rental place, so he could return the car. Twenty minutes later, he again grabbed hold of Hermione's arm and started walking away. Once they were in a deserted alley, with no curious eyes looking around, he apparated both of them directly to the old Black House.
Before Hermione knew it, they were standing in the middle of Harry's kitchen. Finally, he loosened his strong grip on her. Without saying a word, Harry walked up to the sink and drank some water. Hermione looked at him as if she was seeing him for the first time.
"How could you let this happen?" she asked him.
Harry remained silent for a few minutes, giving his back to her. Finally, he let out a sigh and turned around to face her, the glass still in his hands.
"Like you did anything either," he replied, his voice sounding as angry as it had been lately. "Damn it Hermione! I still can believe you let her get away with it!" He walked closer to her as his voice got louder. "Why didn't you let me do things my way? Why did you have to play the heroine and get in the middle of it?"
"You think I did this willingly?" she spat at him. How could he possible blame her for all that had happened? It just wasn't fair. She was just as much a victim as Harry.
"You think I was enjoying myself as Sally played with our lives as if we all were puppets in her hands? Well, I didn't!"
Harry looked away. He needed a way to release all the anger that was burning his insides. Suddenly, he threw the glass he had been holding straight to the wall. Hermione closed her eyes, not sure of what to do.
"You could've done something. You could have said the truth," he yelled at her.
"Why me?" she replied quickly. "You and Sally were the ones who made all this mess. It was your problem, not mine." She walked away, grabbing hold of a chair near by. She was tired. She felt exhausted; not physically, but emotionally.
This whole situation was driving her to the edge. The last thing she needed was to hear Harry's complains. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. She was getting a headache with so much stress.
Harry had fallen silent. He knew deep inside him that Hermione was right, but his anger was pushing that fact aside. Still, he also felt sick of this situation. He would've never guessed that his so-much-needed time off would be turning up like this.
Without saying a word to her, he walked out of the room. Hermione barely noticed his absence. Carelessly, she let her body sink on the chair she had been holding and leant over the table burying her face in her arms.
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Hours later, Hermione was woken up by a long hand that softly shook her arm.
"Miss..." said a shrilly voice. "You should go to bed, Miss."
Suddenly not sure of where she was or who was talking to her, Hermione rubbed her eyes, trying to focus her thoughts. Then, she noticed the small creature standing by her side, looking intensively at her.
"Dobby!"
As her mind cleared, Hermione remembered where she was. She hadn't even noticed when she fell asleep, but her sore muscles told her she had been there for quite a while.
"Your room is ready Miss," said Dobby. "Or perhaps, Miss, you may want to eat something before going to bed."
Hermione smiled at Dobby. "Thanks Dobby, but I'm not hungry." She stood up, trying to wake up her sore muscles. Hermione noticed Dobby hadn't moved and wouldn't stop staring at her. Finally, he spoke.
"May Dobby ask a question Miss?" asked Dobby while rubbing her long hands.
"Of course Dobby, what is it?"
He remained silent for a few seconds, then he talked. "Is it true, Miss, that you are Harry Potter's wife?"
"Harry Potter's wife," thought Hermione. It felt so weird to hear those words. "I reckon I am," she said more to herself, as if she was finally realizing that fact.
Dobby's face illuminated with the biggest grin Hermione had ever seen in him. "Oh my!" Then, he started clapping her long hands. "At last!" he said. "Finally, Dobby's dream has come true."
"What dream?" asked an amused Hermione.
"Oh!" said Dobby. He hadn't realized he had spoken his thoughts out loud. "It's just, Miss, Dobby always hoped that you would some day be Harry Potter's wife."
"You did?" asked Hermione surprised by his words.
"Oh yes! Nobody else but you would be the perfect person for that, Miss." He looked up at the sky, thinking. Then, looked back at her. "Or... I should say Mrs.?"
Hermione smiled at that.
"Miss?" said Dobby softly as if wanting to prevent anybody else from hearing him. "Will Dobby be allowed to… call you Mistress?" Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but Dobby didn't give her a chance.
"Dobby is not allowed to call Harry Potter master." Then he got closer to her and looked around, making sure there was nobody else in the kitchen - even when he already knew that. "But, you know, Miss... Dobby still thinks of him as his master," he whispered.
A nervous laugh came out of Dobby as he said that. Hermione placed a hand by her mouth, to imitate Dobby's secretive way, and got closer to his right hear.
"I know," she said.
After Dobby offered to feed her for the second time, Hermione decided it was time for her to go home. "Well," she said afraid that she'd have to leave without saying good bye to Harry, but being in the state he was she didn't fancy getting into another round with him.
"I'm gonna go now," she said, meaning "go home."
Dobby, however, did not take it that way. "Of course, Mistress," a little laugh came out of Dobby as he said that. "… Dobby shall take you to your room."
Quickly, he went to the kitchen's door and opened it for her.
"Oh boy!" Hermione thought. She looked at her wristwatch and realized it was almost ten o'clock. She could see Dobby's excitement as he led her through the well-known hallway. "I reckon I could just stay here tonight."
"Dobby hopes, Mistress," another little laugh. "… you find your room suitable."
A sudden thought came to Hermione's mind. "Oh Merlin! I just hope he's not taking me to Harry's room." But when she saw Dobby was stopping at the door of the same bedroom she had always occupied when staying at the Black House since the times of the Order of the Phoenix's headquarters, she felt more relaxed.
Dobby grabbed hold of the silver doorknob and, in a very slow way, turned it open. Hermione was just about to push it the door when Dobby opened it wide and stood aside so she could walk in. For a second, Hermione thought Dobby had taken her to the wrong bedroom. The room did not look as she remembered it.
Everything in the room was different. The two twins beds in which Hermione and Ginny used to sleep had been replaced, or magically transformed into a huge, gorgeous four poster fit for a queen. White, see-through curtains hung from its posters. Several fluffy pillows rested neatly atop white silky bed linens.
Besides the bed, every other piece of furniture had changed as well. Elegant dressers and night stands, with exquisite carving work sat placidly along the room. Several silver candleholders were placed throughout the spacious room - somehow the room seemed bigger - providing a mellow atmosphere.
Hermione walked around the room, admiring the improvements. Then, she turned questioningly to Dobby.
"Did you do this?"
Dobby didn't reply, but his attitude was more than eloquent. He was balancing his weight on the balls of his feet, his eyes were firmly focused on the floor, his hands holding each other in his back.
Hermione walked up to him and without ceremony placed a soft kiss on his cheek.
Dobby looked at her dumbstruck. He placed a hand over the cheek the kiss had been placed on as his eyes opened wide, taking a quick look around the room making sure nobody had witnessed that.
"Thank you so much, Dobby," said Hermione. "Nobody had ever done anything this sweet for me before."
"Dobby is glad to see his Mistress is pleased," Dobby said, after he was able to regain the ability to speak. "Dobby will go now. Don't doubt to call Dobby if you need anything, Mistress." After saying that, he left the room.
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About three hours later, Hermione woke up. Perhaps because she spent most of the afternoon napping or because she hadn't eaten anything all day and her stomach was protesting, she couldn't sleep.
Not even the fluffy pillows or the soft sheets helped her to go back to sleep. Due to the loud noises her belly was making, which she was sure were bound to wake up Dobby even when he slept in the upper level, she decided to go down to the kitchen and get something to eat.
Lazily, she dragged her legs out of the sheets and placed her bare feet on the carpeted floor. She realized the carpet must be new too. It didn't use to feel as soft as it did now.
Slowly, she made her way out to the hallway, down the stairs and into the kitchen. She was wearing the exact same thing Harry had lent her a couple years ago to use as pajamas.
One Saturday, she had visited Harry to check on him after not seeing him for almost three months. They had so much to talk about they didn't feel time pass by. Before they knew it, midnight was upon them. Harry suggested that she'd stayed over and she accepted gladly.
Since the jeans she was wearing that day weren't too comfortable to sleep in, Harry handed her a pair of his boxers and an old t-shirt. After that day, the shirt and boxers stayed in the room's wardrobe for her to use whenever she needed.
Since that day, every time she spent the night at Harry's - which wasn't that often - she'd wear those garments.
Hermione had been pleasantly surprised to find the shirt and boxers in one of the dresser's drawers. Dobby had knowledge of her using Harry's clothes to sleep in, and had made sure they were available in case she wanted to use them.
She wasn't sure what had made her put them on that night. Perhaps it had become a habit for her or perhaps she was longing those days when Harry and her had nothing to fight about, except which movie to watch.
She was thinking about those days as she opened the refrigerator (Harry was too use to some muggle appliances) to see what she could find. A half smile was drawn on her face as she saw there were plenty of already-made dishes to eat.
"Dobby's doing, of course!" she thought as she grabbed a platter of roasted chicken and placed it on the table. She was just getting a plate from the cabinets when she heard another pair of bare feet hitting the stone floor. She turned to find the green eyes of Harry looking at her in a strange way.
Harry was frozen at the door. He didn't expect to find her there at that time of night.
Hermione didn't know what to say. She wasn't even sure if it was wise to speak to him. Lately, all he had been doing was bite her head off. Unconsciously, she scanned him with her eyes. He was only wearing his pajamas bottoms.
She couldn't help but admire the well-toned muscles of his firm chest, his broad shoulders, his strong arms. When she realized she was staring, she quickly looked away, hoping that Harry wouldn't notice. His eyes, however, were not telling anything to Hermione. His face was expressionless.
For a few minutes, they both remained silent. Finally, Harry walked in and went to the table.
"This looks good," he said looking at the chicken on the table. Hermione nodded. She then handed him the plate she had just taken out for her. Harry looked right into her brown eyes. All anger was gone, but his eyes didn't shine as they used to.
Finally, he grabbed hold of the plate and sat at the table. Hermione took out another plate for her and sat across from where Harry was sitting. After a warming charm was placed on their chicken, they started eating in silence.
At least, Hermione was thankful to see Harry was not yelling at her anymore. About fifteen minutes later, Harry broke the silence.
"I reckon I should let you know that I'm gonna be gone for a few days," he informed her as he was pushing aside his now empty plate. He hadn't eaten much the day before either.
"Where are you going?" she asked with concern in her voice. Hermione was afraid Harry would want to go and look for Sally again.
A half smile appeared in his handsome face. He had guessed her thoughts. "I went to the Ministry this afternoon," he said leaning back in his chair. "I withdrew my request for time off. So, I was assigned to a mission. We'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon."
"Oh," was all Hermione was able to say.
She knew that requesting time off had been a big thing for Harry. He was always very focused on his work, but she also thought that having his mind occupied might do him good.
"But, I was thinking…" he said not meeting her eyes. "…that maybe you could stay here for a few days." Hermione remained silent. "It's just that Dobby seems to be a little too excited about… this whole… marriage thing. I reckon I shouldn't have said anything to him." he said talking more to himself.
"I'm sure you could tell how excited he is just by looking at the changes he made to your room," he said as he passed a hand through his raven hair. "I just don't want him to feel disappointed if you were to stay here for only one night."
Hermione thought about it for a while. She reckoned now that he seemed to have stopped fuming at her, she wouldn't feel that uncomfortable staying at his house. Besides the fact that he wasn't even going to be there made things easier for her.
"Alright," she said after some pondering. "I'll stay for a few days."
"Good," Harry replied. Right after, he stood up and walked to the door. He was just leaving when he stopped. Slowly, he turned to face her.
"Do you love him this much that you're willing to sacrifice yourself for him?" he said in a barely audible voice.
But he didn't give her a chance to respond, perhaps because he really didn't want to know. He turned around and walked out of the room before Hermione could reply.