Disclaimer: I do not own anything 'Harry Potter.' I make no money from writing this drivel. For entertainment purposes only!
A/N: Due to popular demand, and against my better judgment, I whipped up this second chappie to Harry's Bad Hair Day. I hope I did it justice. Please leave a comment, good or bad, they're all appreciated!
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2. Beware the pumpkin juice!
Harry was briskly walking along, whistling a happy tune while Hermione was walking behind him. Annoyed at his flippant attitude, she was slowly falling behind. Her fingers were interlocked and fidgeting and she wore a look that told of a raging internal battle going on inside her head. The closer they came to the Room of Requirement, the more nervous she became.
"What's the rush?" she called ahead to him with a slight hint of annoyance in her voice.
Harry stopped and looked back, mildly surprised to see that she was so far behind. He gave her an apologetic smile and said, "Sorry, I guess I'm a bit anxious to see how it's going to come out."
She halted, only for a moment, before dropping her gaze to the floor ahead of her and continued shuffling her feet towards him.
He noticed her worried, almost depressed expression, wondering if her heart was really into making this potion for him. He realized that Lavender kept the Witch Weekly magazine that had the hair potion recipe in it. Maybe she was concerned that she needed the recipe to prepare the potion properly.
"Hermione," he asked tentatively, "You do know how to do it, don't you?"
Hermione's face practically glowed in a bright neon red, "Yes, of course I do!" She snapped while giving him a savage glare, but after a few moments, her face dropped into an unsure frown and she muttered, "Well, I've only read about it… a bit… I've never actually done it before, so I'm not really sure how good it will be for you, but yes, I'm pretty sure I know how it's done, but honestly, how difficult can it be?"
Harry thought for a moment, then laid his hand softly on her shoulder and kindly asked, "Do you want to go back to Gryffindor Tower and ask Lavender how to do it properly? I'm sure she'd be happy to give you few pointers if you're not sure."
The glare returned in full force, "I certainly don't need her to tell me how to do it, I'm sure I can manage just fine!"
"Okay, okay, I was just asking…" Harry said quickly, releasing her shoulder and holding his hands up, "You don't have to bite my head off, you know…"
She narrowed her eyes at his little pun of his and said dryly, "Very funny, Harry, I can't breathe for laughing. I'll have you know that I read up on it, so you don't have to worry about me biting anything!"
A confused look briefly appeared on Harry face before he just shrugged and continued walking. Harry knew that Hermione never really tried to make herself more attractive by using potions and make-up and such. The only time she ever made herself up was for the Yule Ball years ago, and then she used liberal amounts of Sleekeasy's. He really didn't think she needed that stuff, he kind of liked her mane of bushy hair. It gave her a natural, 'girl next door' appeal. Harry then thought that maybe she didn't approve of him using Head shampoo on his hair… Maybe she liked the way he looked naturally and that the potion would ruin his 'style.'
Seeing how agitated she appeared, he tried to offer her a bit of encouragement to calm her, "Listen, as long as you take it slow and concentrate, I'm sure it will turn out fine, just don't rush it."
She let out a nervous laugh and said, "Are you sure you can wait that long? You seemed pretty desperate for it a few minutes ago…"
Well, I must admit I got pretty excited when I heard about Head. Even you should be able to tell how badly I need it … I only just found out about it, and I wanted to give it a try as soon as possible.
She gave him an incredulous look, "You're telling me you never heard of it before?"
"Well, I was under the impression that it was brand new."
"The guys never talk about it in the dorms?"
Harry gave a sheepish look and simply said, "Listen, do you think Neville or Ron would talk about stuff like that in front of the rest of the guys? I mean it's just something that guys don't admit to liking."
She let out a grumpy laugh and muttered under her breath, 'I would have figured most guys would shout it from the top of the astronomy tower if they got a blow job from someone.'
Not hearing what she said, he turned to her and asked, "What did you say?"
"Nothing…" she grumbled.
He could tell that deep inside, she really didn't want to make it for him. Feeling a bit guilty, he thought he'd give her another chance to get off the hook, "Look, If you really don't want to do it for me, I could always ask one of the other girls. I'm sure most of them would be happy to take care of me, and are experienced enough to whip out a batch for me in no time."
He felt her roughly grab his arm and she spun him around, "Harry, I'm not going to let anybody else do this for you," she cried angrily, "Do you understand me? Do you really have any idea why I want to do this for you?"
Harry definitely knew the answer to this one! He beamed at her and nodded, "Yep! Because you're my best friend and you wouldn't trust my head to anyone else!"
"Best friend indeed! Do you mean to tell me that if Ron were to offer to do this for you, you'd let him?"
Harry's brows furrowed in thought, "Well, as long as he didn't get too nervous, I'd imagine he'd do okay… It's just like during Quidditch, it's only when he's being watched that he chokes. As long as he isn't pressured or forced to do it, I think he'd rise to the occasion, so to speak."
Hermione's mouth hung open, then she just shook her head and continued walking in silence until they got to the seventh floor corridor where the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy was hung.
Harry looked at her with a wide smile, his eagerness clearly showing on his face, "Do you want to make the room or shall I?
Hermione shrugged morosely and said, "Go ahead, might as well make it as comfortable for yourself as possible."
As Harry concentrated on the room, she could see that he was practically bouncing with excitement as he rushed past the blank wall three times. The familiar wooden door with the large, brass knob appeared. Harry quickly wrenched the door open and leapt inside.
Hermione wondered what Harry would choose as the perfect atmosphere for getting intimate with someone. When she entered the room, she was shocked to find that it had a complete potions lab, a comfortable, reclining hairdresser's chair with a large sink and a huge mirror that was fastened to the wall just behind it.
"How romantic," she stated coldly as she glanced at the potions lab.
She sighed deeply as she turned to Harry and waited. After a few moments, she folded her arms over her chest and began tapping her foot as she watched him stare at her expectantly with that stupid, lop-sided grin that she previously thought was so endearing. Now she thought it looked rather smug. After a long minute of staring at each other, she abruptly dropped her hands to her hips and said in a rather short tone of voice, "Well? Do you expect me to do all the work myself?"
Hearing her shrewish tone, Harry's smile faltered for only a moment, before returning wider than before. "Well, of course! I'm afraid if I touch anything I might break it, you know how clumsy I can be, sometimes."
She stared blankly at him, wondering if she missed anything because he wasn't making a great deal of sense. She quickly dismissed the idea that anything on him could 'break.'
Seeing the look on her face, he was afraid she was about to back out on him. Maybe she really needed someone to assist her while making the potion. "Look, I'd love to help… Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it, I'm just grateful it's you doing this for me than anyone else."
Her bitter mood softened upon hearing his words, "You know, I won't be offended if you wanted one of the prettier girls to give it to you your first time." Truthfully, she would be devastated if he did want someone else. She wanted very much to be his first, but her old feelings of inadequacy were bubbling to the surface.
"Hermione, what does the way a person looks have to do with it? It's not like I'll be looking you in the face the whole time, and there's nothing wrong with your looks, anyway… I can honestly say that I wouldn't want anyone else to do this for me. I'm positive that I couldn't find anyone better qualified in this entire school… after all, you're not the 'Head Girl' for nothing, you know!"
She bristled slightly at the 'Head Girl' pun, but brushed it aside and accepted the compliment, "You really trust me that much?
"Of course I trust you. I'm sure nothing will go wrong as long as I'm with you, and even if something does go wrong, I wouldn't hold it against you, even if I ended up being bald."
Hermione let out a squeak, ''End up being balled?' So, what he's saying is, in essence, that if I'm no good at sucking his dick, he'd just jump into have sex with me?' She was stunned for a second, but then a hint of a smile crossed her lips as she thought, 'Would it really be such a horrible thing?'
She took a deep, cleansing breath, blew it out roughly between pursed lips and said, "Okay, are you ready?"
Harry grinned and while nodding excitedly, said, "You bet!"
They stood there watching each other, him expecting her to start filling a cauldron with bits of this and that, her expecting him to drop trou and produce his 'Little Harry.'
She noticed him just staring at her expectantly. Summoning up all of her Gryffindor courage, she gave him a shy smile and said in a voice that sounded much more confident than she felt, "Well, Pull your pants down and let's get this over with.
Harry's beaming grin dropped to a wide smile as a hint of confusion shone in his eyes, "Uhhh… Excuse me?"
She gave an exasperated snort and said, "You can't expect me to give you head with your pants on, now can you?"
Trusting her knowledge of potion-making, Harry began to undo his belt, "Ummm, what does my state of undress have to do with Head?" He didn't get a look at the ingredient list to the potion. Maybe it had to be strained through an article of the person's clothing? Feeling keenly embarrassed, he unzipped his pants, stepped out of them and handed them to Hermione.
She didn't answer the obvious question, she just gave him an odd look, wondering why he was giving his pants to her. She rolled her eyes, then neatly folded his pants and set them on the hairdresser's chair. She turned back to him and waited.
He looked back at her expectant face. His wide smile dropped into a nervous up-curve of the lips as he stood there in marked embarrassment in his tighty-whiteys. After several uncomfortable seconds, he asked, "Okay, what do I do next?"
"Honestly, Harry! I had no idea you were this naïve," she said in a breathy, irritated tone, "You have to take those off, too," she snapped in a bossy, but still frightened voice while pointing to his underwear.
Harry's smile disappeared completely. "What?! You're having me on!"
"Why do you have to make it so difficult!" she cried as she turned away from him and leaned against the potions table with wetness building in her eyes. Hermione's will was disappearing fast. She started speaking very quickly, "I don't know, Harry… I… I don't think I can go through with this. I mean, you were about to go around the school asking people for blow-jobs… Slughorn! Honestly! I couldn't just let you embarrass yourself like that. I was willing, but it would seem like this wouldn't mean anything to you, just a release… I've never given oral sex to anyone, and I certainly didn't expect my first time to be in a bizarre combination of an apothecary and beauty salon! What's with this place anyway? Is this some sort of sick fantasy that boys have, doing it in a beauty parlor?"
"What in Merlin's name are you on about? What's all this about oral sex? I thought you were going to make some shampoo for me!"
Hermione stiffened. Her fingers that had been resting on the tabletop curled into fists. She closed her eyes and took an incredibly deep breath through her nose before she hissed angrily, "What's this shit about shampoo? WHAT in Merlin's name does oral sex have to do with shampoo?"
"Hermione… That's what you agreed to do… the potion lab is here so you can make me some Head shampoo, you know? for my hair?"
"Shampoo?" Hermione muttered dangerously, "I don't recall you saying anything about 'shampoo,' you just said you needed some head."
"Yes, Head Shampoo… It's a new hair cleansing potion called 'Head,' the recipe is in an article in Lavender's Witch Weekly magazine. From what you said, it sounded as though you knew all about it.'
"Oh…" stated Hermione icily.
Harry could see the deep flush of embarrassment on her face. It was then that he suddenly realized exactly why she had expected him to take his underwear off. A look of astonishment washed over him.
"Hermione, were you thinking I was talking about getting oral sex from all those people that Lavender and I mentioned?"
Hermione, unable either to speak or to face him, just nodded.
"And you were willing… you were really going to do that for me?"
Again, she just nodded.
Harry's mouth opened and closed a few times, lost for words until he managed to whisper out, "Why?"
She hung her head lower and whispered something that he couldn't quite make out.
"Hermione… why?"
She looked up to the ceiling, as if the answer could be found there. She finally turned to face him. She had an empty, defeated look on her reddened, tear-stained face. She repeated only a bit louder, "Because I love you, that's why. I'm so sorry!"
Hermione's face bunched up in anguish just before she made a dash for the door, but she was caught in Harry's arms before she could take more than a few steps. She struggled for a moment, but realizing that he wasn't going to let her go, she collapsed into him and sobbed into his chest.
"I'm sorry…" she managed to babble through her heartrending sobs, "I'm so stupid! I panicked when I heard you… I couldn't just let you find just anyone, and… and… You were never supposed to find out! I know you don't feel like that for me and now everything's going to be awkward and you'll find excuses not to talk to me, and then you'll stay away from me and… and… I've ruined everything!"
Harry was gently rubbing her back while he embraced her and whispered soothing nothings into her ear. He was still feeling a bit self-conscious about holding her while being pant-less. In fact, with her body pressed against him, he was finding it rather difficult keeping 'Little Harry' from making his presence clearly known. After her sobbing dwindled down to sporadic sniffs and hiccups, he pulled back from her slightly to look at her face.
"Please don't be mad at me," she implored in a small voice, "Don't push me away, I'll never mention it again… we can go back to the way things always were, can't we? I couldn't stand it if you… if…"
Harry took a finger and placed it under her chin, lifting her gaze from the floor to her face, "What if I did feel the same way?"
She let out a noise that sounded between a laugh and a sob, and said, "Now you're taking the mickey out of me."
Harry decided to show her that he was dead serious. He placed his hands on either side of her head and used his thumbs to wipe away the remainder of her tears before he lowered his face and planted his lips to hers.
He couldn't help but to smile against her lips as her eyes widened and a surprised squeak escaped her throat. An instant later, he saw her eyes close and felt her arms wrap around his neck.
A soft moan echoed throughout the room as her lips parted and he took the invitation and thrust his tongue into her mouth, reveling in her sweet taste.
They broke apart for a few moments and Hermione's eyes danced as they gazed into his, searching for what she desperately hoped was there. She could always tell his feelings through his eyes, as if she could read his every thought through them.
She saw it, there was no mistake… love… desire… passion. For so long she dreamed of seeing him look at her that way, and there he was, making her light-headed with the intensity of his emotions that were pouring into her very soul. She was positive that her feelings were returned whole-heartedly.
"Oh, Harry!" she squeaked as she threw herself back into him, searing his lips with her own passion. Tears were once again flowing from her eyes, but they were no longer tears of despair.
Minutes later, they both came up for some much-needed air. A passionate fire was lit behind both of their eyes. They suddenly noticed that the furnishings in the room had changed as they were snogging each other senseless. A large, king-sized four-poster was sitting in the center of the room. A small table was set up with a delicious looking meal of assorted seafood and meats, along with a huge magnum of expensive looking wine. They didn't know when the soft background music began playing.
Suddenly, everything was perfect. They both knew what they wanted, and they both knew something magical was about to happen.
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Harry and Hermione walked hand-in-hand into the great hall, almost late for the Sunday morning breakfast that was set out for the students. A hush fell across the entire hall as they made their way to their seats at the Gryffindor table. Lavender and Parvati had their heads together, whispering and giggling furiously while Ron and Ginny were scowling at them as if they had just killed a busload of nuns and orphans.
The pair ignored the stares and whispers as they primly sat themselves down at the table and began filling their plates. Ginny, still looking as if she had just eaten a cockroach cluster, couldn't hold her tongue a moment longer.
"Well, Harry…" she hissed, not even bothering to hide her spite, "did you end up getting any Head? Your hair doesn't look all that neat today. In fact, it's messier than I've ever seen it."
Lavender had to duck under the table to hide the laughter that she was painfully trying to hold in and Parvati placed her elbows on the table with her chin resting in her palms, anxiously awaiting every word.
Harry just smiled and said, "Well, getting Head didn't do much for my hair, but it definitely changed my outlook on life!"
Hermione had the decency to blush, but when Harry glanced at her, she picked up a sausage from her plate, ran her tongue up the side of it, and then teasingly kissed one end of it before sliding it seductively through her lips.
She discovered that it probably wasn't the brightest thing to do, because a moment later, Ron found himself covered in the pumpkin juice that sprayed from Harry's mouth.
The end.
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A/N: I hope you liked it. I didn't really want to turn this into an NC-17 fic, so I kept it tame. Let me know what you think of it, what you liked and what I could have done better.