UGH! It's been over a week since I last updated! Gorsh, I'm evil. Sorries. I totally forgot. My life is positively hectic right now. Blame the education system.
Anyways, you all hated me for the end of the last chapter. *laughs maniacally* That was fun. Or not fun. Well, it was both. This chapter is wonderificously…wonderful in terms of fluffity. There's positively gobs of it.
A Touching Romance
Chapter 8 ~ Toque Amoroso
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Up in his dorm room, as he rummaged around for his Potions textbook, Harry cursed himself under his breath. How could he have been so stupid as to try and kiss Hermione? His best friend, whom he loved more than anyone in the world, and he'd nearly kissed her. Never mind that she'd put up hardly any objection; he really shouldn't have done that.
He found the textbook under a pile of broken quills, but didn't feel quite up to facing Hermione again. Instead, he sat down on the edge of his bed and propped his head in his hands.
Why? he asked himself over and over again. Why on earth did I have to go and do something like that? Ginny had left him alone with Hermione for the whole of Christmas holidays, had trusted him enough to do something like that, and he'd repaid her with what? Falling in love with his best friend? Harry wondered what had possessed him.
Hermione had, that's who. Harry knew he couldn't kid himself for long. It didn't matter that Ginny was beautiful and witty and fun to be with; she wasn't Hermione. Hermione was clever and loyal; she was passionate and full of fire. She was brave and daring, and Merlin strike him down if she wasn't just as beautiful as or more so than Ginny was.
Harry groaned. It was all so confusing. Better to just go and have it out with Hermione while he was at least a little certain that he had feelings for her. Standing, he took the textbook again and walked down the stairs to the Common Room.
Hermione looked up when he entered the room. A potions textbook was sitting open in her lap. Her face was pale and she opened her mouth to speak, but Harry raised a hand to stop her.
"Let me have my piece, Hermione," he said. "What just happened - or rather, what almost just happened - was, well, it was -"
"We have work to do," Hermione interrupted, her voice stern. Harry was surprised.
Harry shook his head. "You need to know that -"
"Try the defensive potions first," Hermione cut him off again. Harry was baffled, but decided not to push it. He opened the textbook to the defensive section and scanned the list of contents. "Toque Amoroso, to be exact," she continued.
"You've found it, then?" he asked, and beamed at her.
A flicker of a happier emotion passed over her face, but she was soon stony again. "Yes. Just look at the potion, Harry," she said.
Harry found her tone and over all attitude to be, at the moment, very un-Hermione-ish. But he turned his eyes to the page describing the potion.
Toque Amoroso
When mixed together, the five ingredients of the toque amoroso
potion will - if brewed correctly - create a watery, clear liquid.
The potion is only effective if administered within twenty-four
hours of its brewing.
The person who drinks the potion will immediately be overtaken
by a whitish glow and an invisible shield, making it impossible
for that person to be touched in anyway. Consequences of touching
include abnormally colored skin or hair, painful sores, cuts and bruises,
and other peculiarities.
Only a person who is the object of the drinker's innermost desire can
sustain any sort of physical contact with the drinker without dire
consequences.
Harry sat in stunned silence for a few moments. Then, the realization of exactly what it all meant hit him, and he reddened immediately. "Well," he said finally.
"Yes, well," Hermione replied.
Harry decided it might be best to not meet her eyes just yet. "I suppose you've figured out what that means, then, eh?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
"I have," she said, her voice much softer and more pleasant than it had been a moment ago. "Harry, look at me."
This seemed a rather bad idea, so Harry kept his eyes on the book in front of him.
"Harry, please?" Hermione's voice was full of concern. Against his much wiser and better judgment, Harry looked up and into her eyes. They were warm and a little comforting, and Harry began to feel a bit better about the whole situation.
"Now, that's better, isn't it?" Hermione asked kindly. Harry remembered that this would be the part of the story where Hermione let him down easy and he was forced to spend the rest of his days pining pitifully away for her.
He looked away again.
Hermione sighed in exasperation. "Honestly, Harry," she huffed. There was a moment of silence, then Harry suddenly found himself looking into a pair of soft, honey brown eyes. Hermione was gazing at him with a curious sort of smile on her face. "Whatever am I to do with you?" she asked.
Harry was just about to open his mouth and say something very dashing, he was sure, when this endeavor was made quite impossible by Hermione's lips pressed softly to his. Dear Merlin, but she was kissing him, wasn't she?
Just as he realized this, he felt a hand bury itself in his messy hair, and another wrap around his middle. This seemed the sort of thing one was supposed to do, so Harry mimicked the gesture to Hermione and let his eyes flutter closed. He registered that this felt much better than any kiss Ginny had ever given him, but was soon too immersed in feeling to care.
Much too soon, Harry felt Hermione pull away and opened his eyes. She was looking back at him with a wicked sort of smirk. "That was…nice," he told her. That was, of course, a ridiculous understatement, but Hermione seemed to guess what he meant, because she laughed and kissed him again.
Harry decided he like this kissing Hermione business. He told her so, and she laughed again.
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"What do you suppose we'll have to do about Ginny?" Harry asked later that night as they snuggled together on a couch. Hermione had told him what she'd seen Ginny do, and about the confrontation they'd had before she left.
Hermione sighed. "We'll have to tell her," she said.
"I guess so." Harry stroked Hermione's hair softly. "I don't think that she'll take it very well."
Hermione smiled a secret smile, making sure that Harry couldn't see. "Do you think that it would be easier if you told her in person?" she asked.
Harry considered the idea. "That might be better, actually," he admitted. "The Weasleys would be happy to have us, even though it's on sort of short notice."
"Er, I don't know exactly how good it would be to have me around the house while all this chatting with Ginny is going on," Hermione said nervously. "I think I'll stay and catch up on Transfiguration."
"You finished all your homework yesterday," Harry told her, smiling. "And I refuse to be any where near Ginny as of now without you. I simply don't trust her any more."
There was a prolonged silence after that. Then, Hermione said, "She's going to hate me, you know."
"I know," Harry replied.
"She'll not be so fond of you, either."
"I know."
"I doubt that she'll speak to us for at least two months."
"I know."
Hermione smiled up at Harry. "But it's worth it just to be with you."
Harry smiled back. "I know."
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*is happy with self* YYAAAYY!!!! Finally! Took them long enough, didn't it? They're both idiots.
Review, my ducks!
~ Violet Kefira
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