Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
A/N: Yeah, it's another Lifehouse song inspired title. =) I really hope you like it… and if you've been reading The Return there's a small notice at the bottom for you to read. I love you all so please read and review at the end! I wasn't sure about the rating… y'know, Australian ratings are so much easier to understand… lol well, at least for this little Australian. ;-) I hope you like it.
---
Take Me Away
"If you don't take a day off work soon, I think I may have to kidnap you," Harry said, frowning at Hermione as she bustled around the bookshop, trying to attend to at least three customers at one time.
"I don't have time for this Harry," she said, glaring over her shoulder at him.
"Excuse me Miss? Where do you keep Gilderoy Lockhart's books?" a middle aged woman asked Hermione suddenly.
"In the back," Hermione said quickly, "With the rest of the crap," she muttered once the woman had left to search the back bookshelves of the store.
"Come on Hermione, take tomorrow off," Harry whined, "I'll take you somewhere really nice and you can let go of some of this stress."
Hermione sighed exasperatedly and glanced up at the top of one bookcase, "Could you get me the ladder please Harry?"
Harry walked down to the ladder, down the other end of the bookcase, and rolled it back up to Hermione said, "You can sit back and relax and I'll do everything for you!"
She smiled weakly, finally, "That would be nice." She climbed up the ladder, her robes parting to reveal her shapely calves tense slightly as she climbed. "Here we go Ma'am!" she called back to one of the women waiting at the counter.
Harry watched her climb back down with the book, noticing her skirt had ridden up slightly, to reveal almost half of her thigh. He smirked slightly and looked away quickly as Hermione readjusted her skirt to its normal position; falling just above her kneecap.
"Alright," Hermione muttered, walking quickly back to the counter. "That's seven sickles," she told the woman, tugging out a brown paper bag and sliding the book into it.
"Thank you," the woman said, smiling warmly as she handed the money over and took the book.
"So?" Harry asked, walking over to lean on the counter in front of Hermione.
"So what?"
"Will you take the day off tomorrow? Maybe two days?" he asked, flashing a small and hopeful grin at her.
"Harry, I've got lots of work to be getting done," she said, sighing as she looked at him.
He immediately pouted dramatically and raised his eyebrows, trying to give her what he thought was a saddened puppy dog look. "Pleeeease?" he whined, reaching forward for her hands.
She laughed as she saw the look on his face and rolled her eyes, "Don't be silly Harry."
"I'm being perfectly serious," he said, still with that silly look on his face. "Come on Hermione."
She laughed again and shook her head. "I have customers Harry," she said, nodding at the rest of the shop. At least four other people were looking hopefully at her.
"I'm gonna keep on bugging you until you answer me."
He still had that look on his face and she smiled and rolled her eyes again, "Oh alright. You know I can't resist that look."
"Yes!" Harry exclaimed, clenching a fist in triumph. "Alright, I'm gonna go back to your place and get your stuff ready!"
"Oh… okay," she said uncertainly.
"Don't worry Hermione," he said, leaning forward and kissing her cheek quickly, "I won't do anything silly. Be home by six."
"Okay," she said, smiling to herself as she watched him practically bounce in happiness out of the shop. She walked down to one of the customers and asked, "May I help you?"
"Your boyfriend?" she asked, smirking slightly.
Hermione smiled and shook her head, "Just a friend."
The customer smiled knowingly and nodded. "I was looking for…"
---
"Harry?!" Hermione called throughout her small apartment.
"In here!" he called back from her bedroom.
"I hope you're not going through my underwear drawer again," she said sternly, walking over to her bedroom. She entered the room to find him standing in front of her bed, holding a red two piece swimming costume up in front of himself and frowning slightly. "Red isn't your colour," she remarked, laughing softly at him.
Harry laughed and winked at her, "Oh but I do look rather dashing Hermione."
She snorted, "Why do you have a bikini?"
"It's for you," he said, holding it out in front of her body frowning slightly, "I think I got the size right. The bra part of it may be a little small though."
Hermione blushed, "Why did you buy me a bikini?"
"Because it's your day off tomorrow and I'm taking you somewhere nice and sunny," he said happily, throwing the bikini to her. "Go try it on and we'll enlarge it if it's too small."
Hermione just looked at him incredulously and said, "I'm not wearing that thing."
"Oh come on Hermione," he said, looking up to smirk at her. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. If you want, I'll grab my swimmers."
She laughed softly and the blush in her cheeks darkened, "I don't wear bikinis Harry."
"Why on earth not?" he asked in mock outrage.
"Because I don't like it when people can see that much of my body," she said uncertainly.
"Well, if you want, I'll cover my eyes," he said, winking at her. "Don't worry Hermione; we're going to a deserted beach. It'll be nice and quiet and no one will disturb us." When she continued to look uncertain he said, "You don't want to find out tomorrow if it's too small, do you?"
"Oh alright," she said, sighing and heading for her bathroom. She quickly stripped and pulled the swimmers on, trying the top piece up around her back and neck. "Don't laugh," she said through the door.
"I promise," Harry called back, sitting down on her bed.
She opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom, crossing her arms across her chest as she saw Harry's eyes automatically slide there. She shifted her body weight from side to side, wishing Harry had bought her some shorts to cover her thighs up.
"You silly girl," he said, standing up and walking to her. He took her arms away from her chest and winked at her, "I don't know why you're so worried, you're gorgeous Hermione."
She blushed and crossed her arms again, "Oh be quiet Harry. It fits. May I go change now?"
"Sure," he said, sighing and watching her walk back into the bathroom. He went back to sit down on the bed and called, "Do you like it?"
He heard her laugh softly, "Of course I like it. Are we apparating there?"
"I'll side apparate you," he said, lying back on her bed and gazing up at the ceiling.
She came back out of the bathroom and sat down on the bed next to him, "Sounds like fun," she said, smiling down at him.
He grinned and propped himself up on his elbows, "Of course it does. Just you and me on a deserted beach. We'll lie in the sun, swim, eat, lie in the sun some more and then go swimming again."
She smiled and leaned down to kiss his cheek softly, "Great."
---
When Harry apparated into Hermione's living room the next day, it was to find her bustling around in her bikini and some shorts, making sure she had her sun hat, sun cream, a nice book to read, her sunglasses, her towel and a change of clothes.
"I've got all the food we need Hermione," Harry said, before Hermione could inquire about what he expected her to eat.
"Oh. Alright then. I'm ready!"
"Finally," Harry said, grinning at her, "You hold onto the basket."
He handed her the basket of food and wrapped his arms around her body from behind, secretly marvelling at how firm and soft her stomach was.
"Don't apparate us into the water," she said suddenly.
"Just because I accidentally did that one time," he muttered, closing his eyes and concentrating hard.
Less than a second later they found themselves standing in soft, white sand, the smell of the sea filling their nostrils. Hermione grinned and gazed along the beach, in awe how clear and blue the water was.
"Aren't you happy I made you take a day off?" Harry asked, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"Most definitely," she replied, smiling and leaning her head into his.
"Come on, we'll go put the food in the shade," Harry said, reluctantly moving his hands off her and stepping back.
"Alright." They walked up the beach towards a nice cluster of palm trees. They set the basket of food down in the shade, and then moved to sit down in the sun. Once their towels were laid down, Harry quickly tugged his t-shirt over his head and grabbed Hermione's sun cream to lather it across his chest and stomach.
"Don't use it all," she said, unzipping her shorts and tugging them down.
"I won't," he said, tossing her the bottle.
She lay back on her towel and squeezed the cream across her stomach and chest and arms, rubbing it in thoroughly. Harry stopped rubbing his cream in to watch her rub her stomach and chest, going past the edge of the bikini to make sure all visible skin was protected.
"Harry, stop looking at me there," she said suddenly, sitting up and noticing his eyes were riveted to the skin between her breasts.
Harry immediately blinked and grinned cheekily, "Sorry." He sat down next to her and asked, "Want me to do your back?"
"Just as long as you don't get carried away," she replied, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
"I promise," he said, taking the bottle and squeezing some onto her back. He began to rub it in and asked, "So what do you want to do after I've done this?"
"Go for a swim," she said automatically. "I haven't been in the water for ages," she said softly, sighing and leaning back into Harry's hands.
"That's why I brought you here," he said, still rubbing the cream in her back, although there really wasn't much of a need for him to do that anymore. "You've wanted to go somewhere like this for ages, haven't you?"
"You know me too well," she said, smiling and turning her head on one side to look at him out of the corner of her eye. "Thank you Harry."
He grinned and stood up, offering her a hand to pull her up, "Come on. Last one in has to give the other a massage when we get out."
Hermione laughed and sped away from him. She entered the water first and Harry came after her a second later. "Ha! You owe me a massage young man!" she exclaimed in triumph.
Harry laughed and lunged at her, catching her around the waist and tackling her down into the shallow water, feeling her body shudder with laughter. "Gotcha!"
"Stop it!" she exclaimed, pushing at him weakly and giggling very hard.
He laughed again and moved back so he could pick her up like a baby, "Off we go Hermione," he said, carrying her deeper.
"Harry!" she exclaimed as he threw her into the water. She resurfaced, spluttering and half laughing still, "That was mean!"
Their fight lasted for at least half an hour while Hermione jumped on top of Harry, tickling him and splashing water at him and Harry picked her up and threw her into the water. Once they were sufficiently tired out from their games, Hermione called a truce,
"Okay, okay! I give up!" she called, holding her hands up as Harry advanced on her again.
He laughed and took one of her hands to help her up, "Alright. Want to go lie down now?"
She stood up, "Yeah."
---
All in all, the day was a fantastic way for Hermione to relax. They had spent a large amount of their time lying in where the water was shallow, letting it wash over their bodies and Harry spluttering whenever it went in his mouth. It was so good that she decided that she was going leave the shop closed for another day.
"I knew you'd see reason," Harry said, grinning at her.
She laughed softly and poked his side, "I'm having far too much fun."
"That was the point," he said, poking her back.
"Well, you succeeded," she said, smiling and propping herself up on an elbow. "It's really nice here."
"Yeah," Harry sighed happily, gazing up at the bright blue sky. The sun wasn't quite setting yet, but its intensity had died down, rendering the sun cream useless. "So, do you want to stay here tonight?" he asked suddenly, looking up at her.
She smiled and lay back down on her back, "That doesn't sound like such a bad idea."
"A night spent under the stars," Harry said, turning his head to grin at her.
"We can transfigure our towels into sleeping bags," she said, "And make a camp fire."
"Ooh good idea," he said, sitting up and twisting his body around so he was sitting and facing her. "We'll tell ghost stories all night!"
Hermione snorted and splashed him, "No way."
"What else are we going to do then?" he asked.
"I'm sure we'll think of something," she said softly, giving him a very mysterious smile.
---
"Ooh I've got one," Hermione said, poking their campfire with a long stick, "If you could be one famous person in history, who would it be?"
"Hmm," Harry hummed, frowning. "I think it would have to be… Julius Caesar."
"Why?"
"He was cool."
Hermione laughed softly, "Any other reasons?"
"He got to… have his naughty way with Cleopatra."
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, beginning to giggle at him and slapping his shoulder.
He grinned cheekily and said, "Well he did."
"You're so silly," she said, rolling her eyes and smiling.
"Of course. What about you?"
She smirked, "Cleopatra, actually."
Harry laughed, "So you could have your naughty way with me?"
She snorted and smacked him again, "No. She had ambition. That's one of the reasons she 'had her naughty way' with Caesar," she added, smirking again.
Harry snorted, "Manipulative woman."
"Of course," Hermione said, winking at him. "So are we going to sleep?"
"If you want to," Harry said, lying back and gazing up at the star filled sky. "I'm not very tired though."
"Me either," Hermione said, sighing and looking up at the sky too. They were laying head to head, the campfire crackling a safe distance from them. Hermione looked sideways at Harry to see him scanning the night sky, almost in awe of how many stars there were.
"It's beautiful," he whispered suddenly, turning his head to look at Hermione.
She smiled and nodded slightly, "I wish we got night skies like this in London."
"Yeah, it would make for some very romantic evenings," Harry said, giving her a small smile.
She laughed softly and turned her head back to look up at the sky again. "It would," she agreed with him, suddenly feeling slightly nervous.
"You're not cold, are you?" he asked suddenly.
"A little, but I'm sure I'll warm up," she replied, looking back at him.
"Maybe you should be wearing more than a bikini," he said, smirking slightly.
She laughed, "I'm too lazy to grab my clothes Harry."
"Then let's connect the sleeping bags. I'll warm you up," he said, sitting up and looking down at her expectantly.
She laughed again, "Alright Harry."
He slid down to sit next to her, unzipping his sleeping bag. Hermione unzipped her sleeping bag too and watched Harry connect their sleeping bags up easily, tugging the zips up.
"Good job," she said softly, watching him with amusement.
"Why thank you," he replied, turning on his side to look at her. "Still cold?"
She nodded, "A little."
He moved closer to her and she snuggled into his side, resting her head on his shoulder and sliding a hand up to rest on his bare chest.
"Better?"
"Mmm," she murmured, "I'm feeling warmer already."
"Oh good," he murmured back, "So am I."
She smiled and moved closer, subconsciously rubbing her breasts into his side. He couldn't help but grin slightly as he felt the fabric covering them move slightly. Hermione sighed sleepily and rested her cheek on his shoulder, making his stomach jump slightly each time he felt her breath on his skin as she breathed. He listened to her sigh for a while and looked down at her, marvelling at how the flickering of the campfire made her seem that much more beautiful.
"I think I'm sleepier than I originally thought," she muttered suddenly, opening one eye to look up at him.
He smiled and moved his head to kiss her forehead softly, "Then we'll go to sleep, okay?"
She smiled back at him and nodded, leaning up to kiss his cheek softly. Her lips landed on the corner of his mouth and she felt him pout his lips slightly in response. When she pulled back she saw him watching her interestedly, almost inviting her to move back to kiss him again.
There was a loud crackling sound as a log in the campfire dropped awkwardly, and they broke eye contact, Harry looking around to make sure the fire was under control, and Hermione chewing on her bottom lip and looking anywhere but Harry's face.
Harry turned his head back to look at Hermione, to find her sliding back down under the sleeping bag, moving away from him slightly.
"Are you alright?" he asked, turning on his side to look at her.
She smiled weakly and nodded, "I'm fine. Just a little tired."
"Well come here and we'll go to sleep," he said, rolling back onto his back.
Hermione moved back to him, resting her head on his shoulder again and resting an arm up his torso. "Good night Harry," she whispered.
"'Night."
---
When Hermione awoke the next morning, it was to pins and needles in her right arm, which seemed to have spent the night underneath her body. She groaned softly and rolled off Harry onto her back, holding her arm up in the air, groaning in irritation again as it flopped back down to her body.
"Stupid arm," she muttered, smacking it and then shaking it. Once she was satisfied it was fully functional again, she sat up, rubbing her eyes and looking down at the sleeping form of Harry. She slid out of the joint sleeping bags and stood up to readjust her bikini top, so it was fully covering her breasts.
She looked back down at Harry to see him quickly close one eye. She laughed softly and said, "I saw that Harry."
He grinned and opened his eyes, "Sorry if I gave you pins and needles Hermione."
She smiled, "Don't worry."
He slid out of the sleeping bag too and stood up, stretching his back and arms, yawning widely. "When did you want to go home?" he asked, straightening up and looking at Hermione.
"Maybe around twelve," she said, inclining her head in an invitation to walk with her along the beach. "We need showers," she said, smiling and glancing at Harry.
He laughed and bumped her shoulder with his, "Yeah, my hair feels very sandy."
She smiled and nodded, "I also just have to go check on things at the shop."
"Why?"
"Just to make sure no one's broken in, that my deliveries came in on time and other important book stuff that you wouldn't understand," she said playfully, nudging him with her shoulder this time.
"Alright, but I'm coming with you to make sure you don't open the shop," he said firmly.
She smiled again, "Okay Harry."
---
Their breakfast consisted of the food left over from the day before, including a couple of sandwiches and an apple each. Once they were finished, they went for one last swim before packing everything up and apparating back home.
"I'd love to live somewhere like this," Hermione thought out loud while floating on her back in the water, gazing up at the clear blue sky.
"Yeah," Harry agreed, swimming closer to her, "We could swim and lie in the sun all day."
"Mmm," Hermione murmured happily, closing her eyes and breathing the smell of the sea in deeply. "Thank you for taking me away Harry," she said, letting her body sink back below the water and swimming over to him to hug him tightly. "I really needed it," she whispered.
He smiled, "Anything to get you all to myself, Hermione," he said, moving his head to kiss her cheek softly and hugging her back.
She smiled and pulled back, "We should go back now though."
"Alright," he said, sighing as they swam back into shore.
---
"Come on Harry!" Hermione called through her bathroom door. "If you want to come with me to the shop, then you have to come now!"
"Honestly Hermione," he muttered, opening the door to the bathroom, letting out a big cloud of steam and stepping out to reveal himself clad in only a towel around his waist. "Do you want me to go naked?" he asked playfully, winking cheekily at her.
She rolled her eyes, allowing a small smile to slide onto her face, "Change quickly. I found an old pair of jeans and a black t-shirt in my cupboard from the last time you decided you'd stay here. They're on my bed."
"Thanks!" he said, crossing the room to her bed. He pulled the t-shirt over his head.
"I'll be in the living room," Hermione said quickly, realising Harry was completely naked under his towel.
He smiled and watched her walk quickly from the room.
---
"See, there was nothing to be worried about," Harry said, watching Hermione search through the bookshop to check everything was in order.
"It doesn't hurt to check," she said as she passed him, heading to the counter to check the new delivery of books that had appeared there while she'd been gone. "Could you help me put these away?" she asked, looking over at him.
"Sure," he said, crossing the room to take a couple of books from her. "Where's the transfiguration section then?" he asked, looking at the spines of the books.
"In the non-fiction section, under transfiguration," she said slowly, laughing softly at him.
He poked his tongue out at her and walked off to find the place where the books were supposed to go.
"Remember to put them in alphabetical order according to the author's name!" she called after him, picking up six books and carrying them over to another shelf.
"Alright, alright," he muttered, placing the books in their right positions. He walked back around to where her voice came from to find her standing up on the ladder again, sliding the books into place.
"Have you got anything else planned for me this afternoon?" she asked, climbing back down the ladder to stand in front of him, readjusting her skirt and shirt slightly.
"I thought we'd just play it by ear," he said, shrugging slightly.
"Alright. Well, if you help me finish putting these books away we'll go out to Diagon Alley to Fred and George's shop," she suggested, leading him back to the counter.
"Okay," he said, following her, and taking three books when she handed them to him.
They put the books away over a half hour, Hermione insisting on climbing the ladder each time they needed to. "This is the last of them," she said in relief, sliding the last book on Divination into the top shelf at the back of the shop.
Harry grinned, "Okay, come on down Hermione."
She climbed down, her skirt rising slightly as moved her legs, giving Harry a very nice view of her leg leading up towards her backside. When she was on the ground his eyes snapped away from her legs, avoiding her chest altogether for fear he wouldn't be able to tear his eyes away.
"Are you okay Harry?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in worry as she saw him looking a little unhappy.
He shifted uncomfortably, "I'm fine Hermione. Are we going to go to Fred and George's?"
She frowned, "Alright. Just let me grab my robes." She quickly fetched them from the office near the back, and returned to him, holding them out in front of her, dusting non-existent dust from the back of them. "Let's go - oh!"
She suddenly tripped on the robes, stumbling forward into Harry, clinging onto his robes so she didn't fall down to the floor. He encircled his arms around her and held her steady, helping her back to her feet.
"You alright?" he asked softly, noticing that she hadn't stepped back from him.
"I'm… I'm fine," she replied, looking up at him and biting her bottom lip. "Thank you," she whispered, leaning up and kissing his cheek tenderly. When she moved back she found that look in his eyes - the one he'd had the night before, tempting her to kiss him again.
"You didn't hurt your ankle?" he asked, holding eye contact with her, hoping with every fibre of his being that she wouldn't move away from him.
"No," she said with a small shake of her head. They didn't move for a moment, simply gazing into each other's eyes. "Should we go?" she asked softly.
"Probably," he whispered back, moving his head closer to touch her nose with his softly.
"I… I…" she whispered, watching him with wide eyes.
"What is it?" he asked, moving a little closer, his nose now touching the side of hers. She couldn't bring herself to object or say anything else as he kissed her lips softly. She closed her eyes, letting herself melt into his kiss, sliding her hands up to entwine her fingers through his messy hair.
The kiss ended almost as soon as it had begun and Hermione's eyes flew open to look up at Harry's. His were still closed and he was frowning, almost looking disappointed.
"What's wrong?" she whispered.
He opened his eyes, "You don't feel the same way?"
She frowned and leaned forward to kiss him this time, sucking on his bottom lip softly. "What do you think now?" she asked softly as the kiss ended.
He immediately grinned cheekily and slid his arms around her waist, resting his hands at the base of her back. "Do you still want to go to Fred and George's?" he asked, kissing her again.
"Staying here with you is too… enticing for me to want to go to a joke shop," she murmured, moving her arms from around his neck down to the hem of his t-shirt.
He smirked, "I've never seen this side of you before."
"I didn't know you wanted to," she said, smirking back at him. She tugged the t-shirt up and over his head.
"Why is it always the quiet girls?" he asked playfully, moving forward to unbutton her shirt.
"Because we have no one to take it out on," she said, almost growling at him now. He parted her shirt and she shook it off her shoulders, tugging him back to her and kissing him fiercely…
---
A long time later, after they'd fully satisfied each other's needs, Harry sat up slightly, glancing up at the clock.
"Y'know, we've been at it for about three hours," he said, looking back down at Hermione and smirking.
She laughed softly and sat up to kiss his lips tenderly again, "It felt longer," she said, standing up and walking to retrieve her fallen clothing.
Harry smiled in appreciation as he watched her long legs move gracefully, eyes resting on the place just below her belly button.
"We should go home," she said, pulling her underwear back up, much to his disappointment.
He sighed and stood up too, moving to cuddle her from behind, resting his hands at the base of her abdomen, "Must we change?" he asked playfully, his fingers venturing past her underwear.
She smiled and smacked his hand lightly, "Yes, we must."
"Why?" he asked, his hands now moving further up her body to her bare breasts.
"Harry, if you don't stop I'll have to have my way with you again," she said sternly, swatting at his hands.
"That's the point," he murmured to her ear, before beginning to suck on her earlobe gently.
She shivered and twisted around suddenly, kissing his lips passionately, her own fingers moving down to fondle him. Just as suddenly, she broke the kiss and moved away from him, picking her bra up and putting it back on.
"That was mean," Harry grumbled, glaring down at his lower body.
"It's a two way street," she said playfully, smirking at him, beginning to pull her clothes back on. "You tease me, and I'll tease you. Come on Harry, put your clothes on and I might help you get rid of that when we go back to my apartment."
He grinned and quickly pulled his clothing on. "I did mean what I said before," he said suddenly, pulling his jeans back on.
She raised an eyebrow, "Which part?"
"That I've fallen for you Hermione," he said, tugging his t-shirt over his head. He smiled happily and moved to slip his arms around her waist, "I've been waiting for this for too long."
She smiled back at him and leaned up to kiss his lips affectionately, "I feel the same way," she said softly. "Come on, I'd feel much more comfortable in my bed."
Harry grinned again and hugged her tightly.
---
The End
A/N: Phew that was long. I really hope you guys liked it… I spent the last three days of my winter holidays stressing over finishing this before school starts again. On that note, if you've been reading The Return there may be a little wait. I'm trying -really- hard to get the new chapter out but when it's not there, it's not there. I'm sure you wouldn't want to read anything I thought was utter crap, so I'm sparing you forced writing. The new chapter will be up soon, please just bear with me. Please review guys!