Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
A/N: Chapter two guys! So I hope you like this chapter. I had fun writing it :D Please remember to review at the end of the chapter! :D
How My Love Life Got Even More Complicated
Chapter Two: Make a Move
Harry was wrong.
It certainly was not okay.
The dates with Ron just got even more awkward and when we weren't on a date, it felt like we were just back to being friends. He paid more attention to Harry, just like normal. Though things weren't going that well with Ron I persisted in going out with him, probably because I had some silly idea that Ron and I could in fact work. For starters I decided that I would try to spend more time with him.
This was a disaster in itself. Since we had nothing to say to each other during dates, what on earth made me think that we would have something to say to each other while we weren't on a date?
And even if we had nothing to say to each other, I did expect… some sort of physical relationship to develop. I mean, like Harry said, he and Ginny just liked to snog when they got together. Why shouldn't I get to have a nice snog in the corner of the common room or in an empty classroom?
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"I am not doing that Lavender!"
"Oh come on, I did it to Seamus," Parvati said, smirking at Hermione.
"Yes, but the difference between us is that Ron and I have only been going out for a couple of weeks. I think if I came on that strong, he'd squeal and run off."
"No, men are like dogs. If they like what their owner is doing then they'll stay for more. Like a rub on the tummy. Which is almost what you would be doing," Lavender said, with a bit of a smirk.
Hermione glared at Lavender and said, very firmly, "No."
"Have you lot stopped talking about Hermione going down on my brother yet?" Ginny asked, taking her fingers out of her ears.
"Yes," Hermione said resolutely, glaring at Lavender and Parvati.
"Alright. So, I think that you should just seduce him," Ginny said, ignoring the giggles Lavender and Parvati were now making. "While on a date, ask for one of those concealed booths in the Three Broomsticks. No one can see into them or hear anything that comes out of them, unless the people inside the booth turn the concealer off."
"That's a good idea," Hermione said thoughtfully. She frowned though and said, "But I don't want to have to be the one to initiate this. I want Ron to want to do this with me."
"He probably does," Parvati said, managing to stop giggling long enough so she could comment. "He's just scared Hermione."
"He's a bloody bloke," Hermione grumbled, crossing her arms. "Men are supposed to make the first move."
"Not in this day and age Hermione," Lavender said, smirking at her.
"Lavender, your idea of the first move is grinding into some poor bloke's lap and then going down on him when he's…" Hermione trailed off, shuddering as a mental image entered her head.
"So?"
Hermione sighed exasperatingly and said, "This was a bad idea."
---
"What's wrong Harry?" Cho asked, frowning up at him as she pulled back slightly.
He shrugged and said, "Nothing," and tried to go back to kissing her.
"Mmm no," she murmured, pushing him back. "What's wrong?"
Harry sighed and said, "It's just that I'm worried about Hermione and Ron."
"Why?" Cho asked, a look of distaste appearing on her face.
Harry shrugged again and said, "I have no idea."
Cho shrugged this time and tried to go back to kissing him but he closed his mouth and pushed her off him. She scowled and slid off his lap. "Fine," she muttered, picking her bra up from the floor and fastening it back before she slipped on her shirt and buttoned it up.
Harry sighed, looked up at her and said, "Cho don't act like this, there's no reason for you to leave-"
"Well it doesn't look like we're going to get past this tonight," she said briskly, picking her robes up and slipping them over her shoulders. "Tell me when you're over this 'little problem'," she said glaring at him and storming out of the room.
Harry sighed and sat on the edge of the couch they'd been sitting on. He rubbed his face with both hands and then ran them through his hair, making it stand up on end. "Dammit," he muttered, glaring at the ground.
"Bad time?" Hermione asked, leaning on the door frame.
"Oh Hermione," Harry said, sighing and sitting back on the couch. "No, come in."
She came into the room and closed the door behind her. She walked over to Harry and sat down next to him, drawing her legs in close to her and hugging her knees.
"What's wrong?" he asked, frowning slightly at her.
"I could ask you the same question," she replied, looking down at her bare feet.
Harry smiled and looked down at her feet too. "Why aren't you wearing shoes?"
"Because I don't like shoes," she replied, looking up at him as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"But I thought you loved shoes!"
"No, I love the way they look. I don't wear them unless I can help it," she said reasonably and smiling at him.
He smiled back and looked down at his own feet. "Shoes are annoying."
"Then take them off silly boy," she said simply, beginning to laugh at him.
He poked his tongue out at her and said, "Oh, I will." He kicked his shoes off and tugged his socks off and held his legs out straight to look at his feet.
"Nice feet," Hermione said, still giggling at him.
"Why thank you," Harry said, grinning at her. "I do think they are my best feature. And I'll just tell you now, that the rumour about men's feet is true."
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, slapping his arm and giggling even harder at him. She stretched her legs out too, her feet only reaching about to halfway down his calf. "Why are you so tall?"
"Why are you so small?" he retorted, smiling a very silly smile at her.
"Blame my mother," she said, poking her tongue out at him.
"Alright." He stood up and began to walk out of the room.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Hermione asked in alarm.
"To owl your mother so that I can tell her I blame her for your smallness," he said simply, with a very innocent look on his face.
Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled, standing up to drag him back over to the couch. "Silly boy," she said, pushing him back down on the couch.
"Why Miss Granger, you play so rough," Harry said in a soft and timid voice.
Hermione just laughed softly at him and poked his stomach.
"Alright, alright. I'll stop," Harry said, smiling at her. "Hey, at least I made you smile."
"Yes, I suppose that is a feat many will not achieve in their lifetimes," Hermione said thoughtfully and sarcastically.
"Like Ron won't?" Harry asked, softy, the smile on his face fading.
"Come on Harry, Ron makes me smile…" Hermione trailed off, trying to remember the last time Ron made her smile.
"You know what I mean," he said, now looking very serious. "You're not very happy with the situation, are you?"
Hermione sighed and said, "No, not really. I just wish he had never asked me out in the first place. I'd still be the 'resident single'," she added with a small smile.
Harry was silent, looking at his feet again.
It was a comfortable silence, Hermione mused. It wasn't like the dates she and Ron would go out on and only talk about Harry and make a vague attempt at talking about Quidditch. It was… nice. It was nice to just sit there with Harry. Being in his presence seemed to calm her down and make her feel as though everything really was going to be alright. She leaned into Harry, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped one arm around her and rested his head on top of hers.
"This is nice," Hermione murmured a moment later.
"Yeah this is, isn't it?" Harry replied, sighing and hugging her a little tighter.
"Can we just not move for a while? I'm really comfortable here."
Harry smiled and said, "We can stay for as long as you want… or until Ron or Ginny or Cho come looking."
Hermione laughed softly and closed her eyes. There was another small silence before Hermione decided to ask the question that had been bugging her since she saw Cho storm out of the room. "How are things with Cho?" she asked softly, pulling back and looking up at Harry's face.
He frowned and said, "Don't get me started on her."
Hermione shrugged and said, "You need to talk Harry."
He sighed and looked down at his feet. "Well, it just seems as though we have nothing in common. I guess Quidditch is the only thing we both like. And she's just so needy and boring and annoying. She stormed out just now because I was worried about something and wasn't paying attention to her. And I think I want to break up with her but I just can't deal with all the crap she would put me through if I mentioned anything about it," Harry said, looking very relieved as he finished his small rant.
Hermione sighed and hugged his waist tightly. "Don't worry Harry. Just talk to me if you need to. You know I'll always be here for you. And it gives us an excuse to get a whole load of ice cream and gorge ourselves," she added with a smile.
Harry grinned at her and hugged her back. "Thanks Mione."
"I'm serious about the ice cream," she said, now grinning very stupidly. "We can get double choc chip and rocky road and…"
"Okay, shush," Harry said, placing a hand over her mouth. He only removed it when he felt Hermione's tongue poking him. "Eww!" he exclaimed, recoiling and wiping his hand on his pant leg.
"You woman," she muttered, still smiling at him.
He just poked his tongue out at her.
"Although I can't really blame you," she continued. "I mean, I am sort of treating you like one of my girlfriends," she said, beginning to laugh at the thought of Harry sitting down with her and gossiping and drinking tea.
"I'm not a woman! I'm a big strong man," he said in his deepest voice and crossing his arms, suddenly looking very muscly.
Hermione giggled and said, "Oh Harry you look so…" She had almost said the word hot, but managed to restrain herself and instead said, "manly. How on earth are you able to beat those women off?"
Harry grinned, flexing his muscles again. "With a rather large stick. Those girls just line up outside my room waiting for me and I'm clearly too much man for one girl to handle."
"Oh, but of course," Hermione replied, still giggling at him.
---
Y'know, now that I think about it, Hermione is probably the only girl I can talk to easily. I mean, look at the relationship Ginny and I had. We just snogged the whole time… maybe talked about Quidditch and her brother and my other best friend but that's about it. And with Cho… well, I already explained my relationship with her.
It's just so easy to be with Hermione. We can be silly and laughing about our feet one moment and then talk about relationships seriously the next moment. And I completely trust her. I don't think I trust anyone else like I trust her. I can tell her anything and I know she'll tell me what she thinks but leave it at that, unless I want anything else from her. And the best thing is she'll stay friends with me if I have something terrible to talk to her about or something. Like when Ginny and I broke up, she stayed friends with me. Ron (although I don't blame him) was angry at me for about two months before Ginny finally told him to get over it.
I guess at that point everything was bubbling together; waiting to explode - like every single event that had happened previously was just the leading up to the events that would occur next and where we would all eventually end up at. And it all started with Hermione confessing her secret to me…
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