Chapter four - Quatre
"Hermione," she heard someone prod as she felt her shoulder being shaken. Hermione in took a sharp breath through her nose and sat up quickly, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She took her hands away from her face, nearly screaming at the sight of fierce green eyes meeting her gaze intensely. She pushed her back tightly against the door behind her, trying to get as far away from Harry as possible.
"Hermione," he pleaded, kneeling in front of her. "Tell me what's wrong. I only want to help," he said, hypnotizing her with his eyes. She could almost feel the heat from his gaze. She shuddered as he placed a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. She shut her eyes tightly, turning her face away from him. He brought her face back towards him causing her to open her eyes in surprise.
"Why won't you just tell me, Hermione? I haven't seen you this upset in ages," he said, stroking his thumbs up and down her cheeks in a soothing manner. "If it's anything that that Marc character did to you, you know that I'll take care of it," he said, his face hardening at the thought of her with another man.
She wanted to lean into his touch, to tell him just how badly she wanted him and how much she loved him. She wanted to tell him that Marc had meant nothing and that she had only been with him to try and get over Harry. But she knew that she couldn't. She forced her eyes shut once again as a single tear found its way out of the corner of her eye. It trailed down the side of her face until it was caught and wiped away by the pad of Harry's thumb. Her eyes popped open in awe of the loving gesture. His eyes were glazed over in worry. She was surprised with the realization that it was worry for her.
"No," she said, reaching up a hand and placing it over his, lacing her fingers with his. "It's nothing really. I'm just being silly," she lied, trying to convince herself of that more than anyone else.
"No, it's not nothing. I know you too well," Harry said.
At that moment Hermione wanted nothing more than to bring Harry's face those two more inches to finally make his lips connect with hers. That, however, would be crossing the line, and she couldn't do that, not to Harry, and as much as she despised her, not to Cho either.
"It's alright, Harry," Hermione said, her eyes dancing away from his to concentrate on something less tempting and utterly sinful. "You have other things you need to worry about right now."
"What could be more important than my best friend?" Harry challenged, tightening his grip on her hand.
Hermione shrugged, her gaze still detached from his. "A lot of things," she mumbled.
"Like what?" he asked sternly, drawing her face back to his gently. She shook her head, refusing to answer his question. "Hermione," he coaxed, letting his finger rest underneath her chin to steady her gaze, "just tell me. What harm could it do?" She took a deep breath and stiffened at his words.
More than you think, she thought to herself. He smiled at her as she fought with herself, fumbling with words as she tried to figure out what to say. Her brain had completely shut down.
What do you say to the man who has been your best friend through thick and thin when he asks you to confess your deepest secret to him? How do you tell him that you love him more than anyone else in this world and that you would do anything to keep him safe and happy? Hermione knew that it would be as simple as a few words, but she was more afraid of what his reaction would be to those words than she was of actually saying them.
How could she possibly tell him? Why would she do that to him? Harry was engaged, prepared to lead a life with the woman he "loved", and Hermione was going to completely shatter his world by ruining their friendship? She couldn't do it, could she? It was wrong, so wrong. She shouldn't want him like she did, shouldn't love him like she ached to. They were best friends, and there was a fine line between their friendship and what Hermione really wanted. Crossing that line wasn't allowed, was it? Was what she wanted worth risking a friendship? Could she go on with her life knowing that she had confessed her deepest, darkest feelings to him and he turned her down? What would the future hold for her if she didn't have Harry by her side?
Could she let herself simply be his friend for the rest of their lives? Could she watch him love another woman while she stood idly by, knowing that there was no hope of ever getting over him? Oh hell, she though, dropping her chin to her chest.
"I love you," she whispered, eyes closed.
Then there was silence.
She was just about to open her eyes when she felt Harry's right hand grasp her behind her neck and bring her to him, his lips slamming against hers. Hermione was shocked, to say the least. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him as close to her as possible. Her mouth opened under his and Harry delved his tongue in and out of her mouth, tasting every bit of her he could reach. His lips left hers and trailed down her neck fiercely, licking and biting as he went.
His hands roamed around her waist and fisted themselves in her shirt, tugging it up so that he could run his warm hands over her cool flesh. His hands traced over her stomach, his palm flat against her abdomen as she ran her hands through his hair, fisting them in his dark raven tresses. She pulled his head back and forced her mouth back against his, her tongue immediately probing for entrance to his mouth. He offered it to her, a groan emitting in the back of his throat as their tongues danced.
Hermione drew back, gasping for breath, laying her forehead against his shoulder and letting her breath come in short pants. She held tightly to his neck, not wanting to even think about letting him go. His arms wrapped completely around her waist and held her close to him, not sure if he should say anything for fear of disturbing the tranquility of the moment.
She tightened her grip on the front of his shirt, her hands holding fistfuls of his blue cashmere jumper. "Hermione," he coaxed, tilting her chin up to bring her face to face with him. He paused, wiping away a few stray tears that had fallen down her cheeks. "I love you, too," Harry finished, kissing her on the forehead and pulling her back into his embrace. Hermione sighed quietly into his chest, then drew back and looked up at him.
"What about Cho?" she asked tentatively.
He frowned. "That's what I wanted to tell you the other night. I stopped by her flat yesterday to surprise her and take her out to lunch and…" He paused, lowering his chin to his chest. "She was with another bloke," Harry mumbled slightly, his voice heavy.
"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry," she said, relieved that he was done with Cho, but angry because of the way Cho had completely disregarded him.
"Don't say that," he said, his voice heavy with emotion. "One: you don't mean it; and two: if it hadn't happened then I wouldn't have realized what a thick git I've been." Then he smiled the first genuine smile Hermione had seen from him in a long time. "She's just not right for me, and it took her cheating on me to realize that. I don't know. I guess it never could have worked anyways. I guess I had finally found someone that I thought really loved me that I just couldn't bring myself to let her go."
"Harry," Hermione coaxed, taking his face between her small hands and lifting it to meet his eyes with hers, "I love you. I always have."
Then, Hermione witnessed something she hadn't seen in years: a tear fell from the corner of Harry Potter's eye. "Oh, Harry," she whispered, bringing him into a tight embrace as she wrapped herself around him, refusing to let him go as their happy tears mingled within a sweet kiss. Their lips simply clung together, Hermione smiling as she tasted salty relief.
Hermione wrapped her legs around his waist as Harry slowly stood, his arms wrapped around her waist tightly. He walked the few steps to the bed and laid her down gently, lying on top of her lightly. No questions were asked. The only thing that mattered was that they loved each other and they were finally together.
"I'm so sorry, Hermione," he whispered as he kissed down her neck and to her collarbone.
"Don't you dare apologize," she said, breathless. "If none of that had happened I might have never gotten up the courage to tell you that I lo…." Her voice trailed off in a strangled sigh as Harry snaked a hand up her shirt and gently massaged her left breast.
"But what about Marc?" he asked, his voice husky.
"Long story," she panted as he pulled her shirt completely off, tossing it aside.
"I've got plenty of time," he said, sliding his hands back down her sides to rest on her hips.
She sighed. "We got trashed at a bar and, well…"
"I get it," he said, returning his attentions to her neck.
She purred as his hands ran slowly along her back, making no movement toward the clasp of her bra. She sighed, almost irritated, as he chuckled against her skin. "Patience, love," he said softly, tickling her neck with his lips. "We have all the time in the world."
But that didn't help at all. It simply made her more anxious and with deft hands she clawed at the back of his tee shirt, lifting it over his head and taking his glasses with it. She tossed it to the side and ran her hands over the glorious new expanse of skin that had been revealed to her. She remembered seeing Harry shirtless, on many occasions in fact, but this was different, so very different. She was lying on her back, in her bed, and Harry was preparing to make love to her. Holy Merlin, she though happily as Harry's mouth came back to recapture hers in a heated kiss.
Soon, it was too much. Hermione reached behind her and quickly, in a practiced motion, remover her bra with one hand, flinging it across the room. She gasped and her mouth fell open as her bare chest touched Harry's for the first time. Her nipples grew warm and hard as Harry's muscled chest bore down on her ever so slightly. She ran her hands down his arms, over his chest, and began to run them over his tight stomach as she rained kisses over his neck and chest. She discretely blew on his right nipple, hearing him in take a sharp breath. She chuckled as she kissed him on the lips again, her hands resting on his slightly protruding hipbones.
"You know," Harry said, bringing a hand up to gently graze over her left breast, "it would seem to me that you've done this before."
She shrugged, smiling at him. "A few times."
He chuckled. "If you don't mind me asking, who was your first?"
She turned her face away, blushing. "You're going to laugh at me."
"Even if I do, it's my own fault. I'm the one that asked."
"Oliver Wood," she said, turning back to him.
"Really?" he asked, surprised. "How did I not know about this?"
"Oh, it was right after we graduated from Hogwarts. I ran in to him at a pub. It was right before he met his wife. I actually introduced him to his wife."
"What a cruel twist of fate," he said, kissing down her neck again, down to her chest where he began to rain feather light kisses on her breasts.
"What about you?" she asked, toying with his hair. "Who was your first?"
"A girl named Natalie," he said, not missing a beat, as if he had been expecting the question.
"How did you know her?"
"I met her the summer before seventh year in France."
"Really? But Ron and I were with you."
"I'm a very sneaky, mischievous person," he said gruffly, kissing her right nipple soundly.
"Don't I know it," she nearly moaned, grabbing fistfuls of his hair as he began to suck and tease her sensitive breasts.
He kissed down her taught, smooth stomach, coming to the waist of her short denim skirt. Harry unbuttoned it slowly, all the while kissing circles around her bellybutton. She giggled as he ran his stubbled chin over her hairless stomach. He looked up at her, grinning as he slowly slid her skirt from her legs. He simply sat on his heels for a moment, kneeling before her, just looking at her.
She blushed, bringing her hands up to her hair, pulling it out of the mussed ponytail it was currently in. She ran her fingers through her curly hair, fanning it out around her. She looked back up at him, hunger and fire in his eyes. "You are so beautiful," he breathed, his hand running up her left leg slowly. His lips took over as he kissed all the way back up to her mouth. Before he knew what was happening, Hermione had hooked her heel behind his knee and had flipped them over. He grunted deeply as his back hit the mattress with a resounding thud. Hermione ran her hands up his chest, over his shoulders until her fingers were tangled in his hair. She kissed his neck, up to his chin, over his cheek and to his ear where she whispered in a low voice, "Silencio." A quiet clicking noise was heard, indicating that the charm had been placed successfully on the room.
"Are you really that loud?" he asked, his baritone voice growing deeper.
"We'll find out, won't we?" she returned, sitting back up, straddling his waist.
She ran her hands back down his chest, coming to the waist of his black basketball shorts. She scooted back on the bed slowly, pulling his shorts with her. She crawled back up to him, kissing him deeply as he ran his calloused hands over her hips and butt, trying to feel as much of her as he possibly could. He used one hand to push them both up so that he was sitting with her legs wrapped around his waist. His hardness pushed against her delicate black knickers and her mouth fell open in pleasure. He placed her back on the bed as he kissed his way back down her body. He came to her knickers and snapped his fingers, her knickers instantly vanishing.
She propped herself up on an elbow, looking for her knickers. "As impressive as that was, I'm going to want those ba…oh…" she breathed, falling back onto the bed as he kissed her hairless sex, running his tongue along her folds. "You're forgiven," she breathed as he slipped a finger inside of her. She bit down on her bottom lip as he added another finger and slowly eased them in and out of her. His lips found her neck and sucked gently as she rolled her hips against his hand. Her eyes were shut tightly as Harry leaned close to her ear, ran his tongue along the bottom of it, and then whispered, "I love you."
That was her undoing. Her eyes popped open and her mouth fell open as she clenched herself around his fingers and came crashing over the edge. Before she had even finished riding out the final waves of her orgasm she reached for the waistband of his boxers, pulling at them desperately. He laughed at her lightly, pulling them off for her. She gazed at him, really only wanting to look at him for the rest of her life. He was turned on, and it was all her doing. Her hand reached for him and she had barely touched him before he took her hand in his and moved it away from his hardness, lacing his fingers with hers as he placed it above her head. He placed himself at her entrance, kissing her softly and sweetly. He entered her slowly, filling her and stretching her beyond her wildest dreams. She mindlessly arched her back towards him, bringing him even deeper within her. Her eyes opened slowly and their eyes met. A tear fell from the corner of her eye as she attempted to turn her face away from him to hide it.
He turned her back towards him with a hand on her cheek, tears threatening his eyes too. "We're perfect," she whispered as he wiped away her tears. He nodded, kissing her lightly on the lips before beginning to move within her. They were one. They belonged together. She closed her eyes, simply letting her body think for itself. Harry brought his lips to her neck, kissing along the creamy column of skin before coming to her ear.
"Don't you dare close your eyes," he said breathlessly. "Look at me."
She turned to him, his green orbs boring into her brown ones. She whimpered as waves of pleasure rocked her to the very core of her being. She raised her hips to meet his, bringing her legs to wrap tightly around his lower back, causing him to penetrate her even deeper. "Harry," she moaned, her fingers clawing at his back, trying to hold on as they lost complete control of themselves. There was no longer a rhythm. It was complete, reckless, animalistic instinct at this point. Hermione's abdomen burned with pleasure as she felt the first tingling indications of her approaching orgasm. Before she knew what was happening, Harry's name was tumbling out of her mouth in a breathy, continuous mantra as she tensed and quaked, reaching the point of no return. Harry grunted something that to Hermione sounded a bit like her name, biting down gently on the side of her neck. He brought his forehead up to rest on hers, still thrusting into her.
"What are you doing?" she asked, out of breath, but still responsive.
"Making you come again," he replied, clenching his jaw as sweat began to drip from his body onto hers, running down their bodies to the place where they were joined in the most intimate of ways.
"Wha…" she began to ask, but quickly turned it into a kind of strangled scream as Harry reached between them, teasing her clit with his fingers, moist from their sweat. Her body, exhausted but more aroused than it had ever been, began to thrust her hips frantically, looking for her second orgasm. Harry struggled to hide a slight chuckle at Hermione's immediate and eager responsiveness to his suggestion.
"Harry," she moaned in a deep voice, clenching her inner muscles around him.
He groaned into her chest, holding his bottom lip between his teeth and shutting his eyes tightly. "Christ, Hermione. You're killing me," he said, a tired smile on his face.
As Harry stroked her side gently, caressing her stomach slowly, she crashed. Her fingernails dug into his back before she brought her hands behind his neck, clinging to him as her entire body shook.
"Hermione," he breathed, wrapping his arms around her lower back as he came with such a terrific force that it shocked him. He laid his head in the crook of her neck and breathed in her scent. She smelled like sweat and heat with a hint of sugary sweetness. It was utterly sexy. She actually smelled like sex. She smelled like sexy should smell. It was absolutely mind-blowing.
"Wow," he breathed.
"Yeah," she replied, stroking the hair at the nape of his neck.
"You were…"
"Yeah."
"Wow," he said again, rolling them over so that she was lying on his chest. "You are absolutely incredible."
She giggled. "Thank you. You aren't so bad yourself."
"Well, take into consideration the fact that we've been friends for years. Literally, years."
She laughed again. "Okay. Your point exactly?"
"We know each other so well that there wasn't any possible way that the sex could be bad."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Yeah, it is," he said, smiling at her, rolling them to the side and letting her lay on her back, her head resting on his shoulder as his hand ran up and down her arm.
"Well, I am laying next to mister two orgasms."
"Three if you count the one before that," he said, turning and looking at her.
They stared at each other for a moment, and then they both laughed. They laughed deep, hearty laughs that left them both breathless and smiling broadly. She rested her head on his chest, running her hand up and down his bare and very defined abdomen. They simply laid there in comfortable silence until Hermione spoke.
"Have you ever thought about this?" she asked him.
"You mean us, together, like in a sexual way?" he challenged.
"Yeah, sure," she replied. "I know I have," she continued, blushing.
"Of course I have. I'm a grown man, Hermione, and you're a grown woman. It would be odd if I hadn't."
"Right, I know, but did you ever think about us on a more, oh I don't know, emotional level?"
He smiled, running his fingers through her absurdly curly hair. "I think that what we experienced tonight is about as deeply emotional as sex can possibly get. I do believe we just had the best shag that the world has ever and will ever experience."
She chuckled. "You are very sure of yourself."
"Well, I mean, I am Harry Potter," he said, a fake air of pride evident in his voice.
They both laughed, Harry wrapping his arm around her shoulders as he pulled her closer to him and kissed the top of her head. "This isn't just for tonight, ya know," he almost whispered to her.
"I know," she smiled, lacing the fingers of her left hand with the fingers of his right, resting their joined hands on his abdomen.
"I want all of you, every bit of you, to myself, forever," he said, rolling back on top of her and kissing down her body.
"Now, that sounds incredibly overbearing and possessive to me," she replied, grasping the top of his head as his lips paid special attention to her flat stomach.
"I can't help it. I love you," he muttered between kisses.
She gave him a sweet smile and pulled his head back to hers, kissing him deeply. "I know," she said. "I love you, too."
"Good," he said. "Now that that's settled," he finished, throwing the sheets over his head and retreating back down her body.
She closed her eyes happily, grasping the sheets around her as he took her places she now knew that only he could take her.
They made love all day long and slept side by side that night, Hermione snuggled up closely to Harry. But Harry didn't sleep most of the night, he simply stared at her, watching the innocent and pure expression on her face as she dreamed.
Just before sleep over took him, he whispered to her, "I'm going to marry you. I love you."
He thought she had been asleep. Her eyes had been closed and the expression on her face extremely peaceful. She let one eye lazily drift open. She saw him sleeping soundly, smiling at what he had just said to her.
"I can't wait," she said, kissing him on the forehead lightly, so she wouldn't wake him. As she laid her head back down on Harry's shoulder to go back to sleep she caught a glimpse of the moon outside, stars sprinkled around it in the dark night sky.
"Good night, Harry," she whispered, falling back to sleep quickly.
"Good night, Hermione."
And they lived happily ever after…
Le fin