~A/N> Thanks for the great reviews on the last chapter. I'm working as hard as I can on this story in my
spare time so that I don't go so long between updates anymore. Starting with this chapter, there is going to be
less angst and more fluff, but don't let that fool you. The coming chapters will bring Harry and Hermione closer,
but they'll soon be back facing evil. They have a lot to learn before the final battle, about their own personal
powers and the power of love. And never forget, everything in my stories happens for a reason :) Happy reading, and if
you listen to Harmony Podcast, I've just posted Episode #16 a little while ago. Huge hugs and thanks to Lisa for
all her encouragement! :)
After getting up to their dorms and gathering their belongings into their trunks, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna, and Ginny
all made their way to McGonagall's office. They were to take the floo from there to Grimmauld Place, while the rest
of the Weasley family and Luna's father were there awaiting their arrival. One by one, each of them stepped into
the fireplace and in a flash of green flame, were on their way to the run down relic of the Black family that now
belonged to Harry.
When Hermione came tumbling out of the fireplace, Harry quickly grabbed her so that she stayed standing. "Thank you," she said quietly, not meeting his eyes.
She had been that way since she had spoken to Seamus that morning, and Harry wished that she would talk to him. Without a second thought, he levitated her trunk up the stairs to sit in front of one of the doors and said, "You'll be sharing the room with Luna, I hope that's okay?"
Hermione thought of the alternative, possibly sharing a room with Ginny, and still not looking at him replied, "That's fine."
Harry watched as she started to make her way up the stairs to where her trunk sat and reached out to grab her wrist, stopping her progress. When she looked back, but still not at him, he growled, "Will you please look at me?"
Surprised by his tone, her eyes snapped up to his and immediately she felt bad. Ever since her breakdown in the hallway that morning after speaking to Seamus, she felt embarrassed by her weakness. She was supposed to be strong, the one to keep it together in the worst of circumstances, and she had completely lost it. She couldn't believe that she had told Harry it was just the two of them; when she remembered the exact words she had used she felt her face warm with embarrassment. She was Harry's Guardian, what he must think of her weakness, she could only fathom. If their roles were reversed, she'd probably feel as if she were alone in the upcoming battle that they faced or the trials that Seamus had mentioned...the ones she never told Harry about. And now, there he stood staring at her with a look of betrayal and confusion in his eyes. "Harry, I..."
"Please, just listen for a moment," he said quietly, closing the distance between them. Looking around them and seeing that they were alone, he reached up and gently caressed her cheek with his hand. As she closed her eyes at the wonderful feelings his touch invoked in her, he quietly said, "We all have our moments of weakness Hermione, and I don't think you less of a Guardian or witch for it. You may not have been witness to one of my breakdowns, but believe me when I say that I've had my fair share of them as well, and I'm sure the time will come for you to see me at my worst. I just want you to know that I'm here for you, always, if you need anything."
Feeling her heart swell with his words, Hermione turned her head slightly and placed a kiss against the palm of his hand that rested upon her cheek. His breathing hitched for just a second and before either of them knew what was happening, Harry had pressed his lips to hers in a kiss that seemed desperate, yet filled with longing and a loneliness that only the two of them could understand. Hearing one of the doors down the hall close loudly, the two of them quickly pulled apart, breathing heavily. As Ron appeared at the top of the stairs, Hermione looked back at him and then turned back to look at Harry, her cheeks tinged pink. "I should, ah, get upstairs and put my stuff away." Leaning closer to him she whispered, "Is there anywhere we could meet tonight, so that we can talk?"
Longing to close the distance between them again for another kiss, Harry forced himself to concentrate on her words and replied, "There's the Library, it's the first door on the left at the top of the stairs."
"Okay, the Library then." Taking a step back, she looked directly into his eyes and in a louder tone of voice said, "I'll see you at dinner Harry."
"See you then," Harry replied, staring after her retreating figure as she made her way to her room. Ron, who had seen the entire scene play out, walked up next to him and said, "You two seem to be getting pretty close."
"We both know what it's like to be alone," Harry replied distantly, and then jolted from his thoughts. Turning to Ron he asked, "So where's your Mum? I'd love to say hello to her, it's been a while since I saw her last."
~*~
Dinner that evening was a strange affair. Hermione had taken the seat directly across from Harry, with Luna and Ron sitting to her right and Remus Lupin to her left. On Harry's left sat Ginny, who seemed to be doing everything in her power to get his attention and to his right was Molly Weasley, Ron and Ginny's mum, who kept asking Harry every five minutes if there was anything else that he wanted or needed. At the head of the table sat Arthur Weasley, the Patriarch of the Weasley family, who was deep in discussion with Remus. Hermione kept feeling Harry staring at her, and when she'd glance up she'd meet his eyes, which were filled with intensity and something else she had never seen in them before and didn't recognize. Feeling a strange sensation in her stomach that was a mixture of feeling as if she'd swallowed butterflies and a rock, she choked as Molly said, "So Hermione dear, I hear that you have a special...connection to our Harry here."
As Luna gently patted her back, her coughing subsided and with a raspy voice and watering eyes she croaked, "Excuse me, Mrs. Weasley?"
"Please, call me Molly," the Matriarch replied with a large smile. "Harry is practically family, and Arthur has told me that you're his Guardian. What exactly does that mean?"
"She's his what?" Ginny asked, looking both surprised and angry all at once as she looked back and forth between Harry and Hermione.
"Why Ginny, you didn't know?" Molly asked, and seeing the warning looks on her husband's and Remus's faces she said, "Oh my, I'm so sorry. I should never have said anything. Forget I asked Hermione, I'm sorry."
"No, no, no," Ginny said, standing up from her chair, still staring daggers at Harry and Hermione as Ron tried to get her to sit back down. "What do you mean she's his 'Guardian'? Why wasn't I told about this?"
"Because you didn't need to know," Harry replied, spearing her with an angry look of his own. "The less people that know, the safer the two of us are."
Molly covered his hand with hers in a motherly gesture and when he turned to look at her she said, "I am so very sorry Harry. I should have never said anything...I just figured that everyone here knew."
"Everyone but me it seems," Ginny hissed. "And I'm your girlfriend!"
"You were my girlfriend," Harry said quietly as he turned to face her again. He bowed his head as she stomped her foot and the next thing he knew, she was running out of the kitchen.
Barely lifting his head, Harry mumbled, "I'm sorry about that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. I didn't mean to hurt Ginny like that. Things just didn't, um...work out between us. Excuse me."
Everyone at the table watched as Harry slowly stood up and walked out of the kitchen as well, his shoulders slumped and his head bowed. As Arthur and Molly looked at one another confused at what had just happened, Remus bent toward Hermione and quietly suggested, "Perhaps you should go speak to Harry?"
Looking Remus in the eyes, she could see a somewhat serious, yet still playful glint in them and she said, "I suppose I should. Thank you for dinner Mrs. Weasley, it was wonderful."
"Thank you dear, and it was very nice to meet you. Our family will be going back and forth between here and our house, the Burrow, so I'm sure we'll see each other again very soon," Molly replied.
The five that were left at the table watched Hermione walk out of the room, and once she was out of sight Molly turned to Ron and asked, "Alright, what was all that nonsense about?"
~*~
Hermione walked up the stairs and made her way to the room that Harry was sharing with Ron, which was right next door to her room. Knocking a few times she called out, "Harry, are you in there? It's Hermione."
When the door opened, her mouth fell open as Ginny smirked at her and said, "He's all yours," and then proceeded to make her way to her own room.
Feeling her anger surge, along with something akin to jealousy (not that she'd ever admit to that), Hermione pushed the door open all the way and stepped inside the room. Crossing her arms over her chest in a protective gesture, she took a few more steps inside and noticed Harry sitting on his bed. He was looking at her with a look that was one of someone caught doing something wrong and an anger that was bubbling just below the surface. Unable to stop herself Hermione asked, "Have fun explaining things to Ginny, did you?"
Standing from the bed, he walked up to her and stared into her eyes, making her a bit uncomfortable. "A little jealous, are we?" he asked, failing to completely hide the smirk that was playing on his lips.
"What? No, I'm not jealous! Of...of Ginny? I never..."
Before she could say anymore, the door behind her closed and the next thing she knew, Harry was pressing her against it while kissing her. At first she tried to push him away, wondering what the hell he was doing, but when his tongue stroked her lips teasingly all coherent thought was lost to her. She sighed and as her lips parted she could feel his tongue touch hers gently, and then the kiss became much more heated. Getting lost in the kiss, she brought her hands up around his neck as his hands rested at her waist, and then began to wander around her torso to her hips and back again. When she suddenly felt his hands on her bare stomach a squeaking sound escaped her throat but then she relaxed into the feel of his touch. When his hands moved to her back, she reached down and untucked the t-shirt he was wearing, wanting to feel his skin under her fingers as well. When her fingertips brushed across his abdomen, Harry growled low in his throat and pushed her against the door a bit harder. Realizing that having Harry pressed flush against her was a very wonderful feeling indeed, Hermione pressed herself into him more and loved how she fit against him perfectly. She was in wonder at how badly she wanted Harry to touch her more and when his hands rested on the clasp of her bra she started to breathe faster in anticipation of what he was going to do...
"Hermione? Are you in there?" came Luna's voice from the other side of the door, and the two of them leapt away from it as if burned by fire.
Looking at Harry, she saw how disheveled his appearance was and she knew she probably looked worse. Turning toward the door, she smoothed her hair down as much as she could without looking in a mirror and with a deep breath, took hold of the doorknob and opened it just enough to stick her head out. "Hi Luna," she said, feeling the heat creep up her face as she saw the knowing smirk on her friend's face.
"Hi yourself," Luna replied. "I take it you found Harry and that everything is okay?'
"Oh, er...yes, he's here and we've been um, working things out," she answered lamely.
"Right. Well, while you two are busy working things out, I'll just let Ronald come to our room to wait," Luna said, smiling fully now.
"Thanks Luna, that would be really helpful," Hermione said, returning her friends smile. They both knew what she and Harry had been doing, but thankfully Luna was going to be gracious enough not to say anything at that moment...or so it seemed.
"Oh and Harry," Luna called through the opening in the door. "You'd better be careful just how much you work on things, or else you might find someone else at your door that won't understand like I do."
Bowing her head, fully embarrassed, Hermione mumbled, "I'll be in our room in just a little while."
"Oh please, take your time," Luna replied. "Ronald and I have some issues of our own that we need to work out, so no rush really."
Watching her friend walk away, Hermione didn't know whether to be completely embarrassed or thankful that Luna understood and had not teased her unmercifully for it. Closing the door completely, she turned to see that Harry was once again sitting on his bed, but this time he was watching her as he patted the empty space next to him with his hand. As she slowly walked toward him he smiled and said, "It seems that we get interrupted at the most inconvenient times, doesn't it?"
As pictures of their kiss in the Common Room and on the stairs just after they'd gotten to Grimmauld that day flashed unbidden through her mind, Hermione sat down and replied, "Yes it does. But maybe that's for the best."
"I had a feeling you'd say that."
Hermione stared at him, his green eyes staring back at her unwaveringly, making her stomach flutter again. Taking a deep breath she said, "It's just that...until we start training and learn how much of what's going on with us has to do with me being your Guardian, I don't think that what just happened should happen again."
He stayed quiet for a little while, just staring at her, and then leaned down just enough to brush his lips across hers. When he pulled back and she opened her mouth to say something he put his finger on her lips to silence her. "I heard what you said, I just wanted one more kiss. Who knows when I'll get another." He removed his finger and when she stayed quiet he said, "I should go take my shower now before everyone else does since I didn't get one this morning."
Hermione nodded and stood up, Harry mimicking her actions. Following her to the door, he watched her step out into the hallway and turn back to look at him again. He was surprised to see the heated look that was in her eyes, and he could feel his body react to the smoldering fire he saw in their cinnamon depths. As she turned and walked away, he closed the door behind her and leaned back against it, closing his eyes and willing his body to calm down. When it didn't seem to work, he walked to where his trunk sat at the foot of his bed and grumbled, "I need a bloody shower all right. Maybe a cold one will help stop me from wanting her so bloody bad." As he snatched up his towel, toiletries, and a change of clothes, he made his way out of his room mumbling, "Get ahold of yourself Potter. You're acting like a lovesick fool. You'd think you're in love with her or something." With a jolt of realization, Harry stopped in the middle of the hallway and considered that thought, and sighing he resigned himself to explore it at a later time when his mind was clear and his body wasn't voicing it's opinion so loudly.