disclaimer: All the characters belong to JK Rowling except Livvie. I made no profit off writing this story.
The Sacrifices of Love
He lay on the bed looking at the ceiling. The clock on the night stand read 3:30 am. Harry Potter, or otherwise known as "the boy who lived" was completely and utterly bored. Three weeks ago he completed his sixth year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.
As he lay on his bed he was thinking about Hermione Granger, the girl that has plagued his mind for the past three years. Sure he had girlfriends but none of them ever compared to Hermione. There was only one problem, she had a boyfriend. Hermione had been going out with Justin-Finch-Fletchley for the past year. He knew the relationship was nothing really serious but he couldn't figure out why Hermione would go out with someone like Justin.
He glanced at his clock again, 3:45. Will this night ever end? He thought? Oh well as long as I am up I might as well get something to eat. He climbed out of bed and went out into the hallway. Making sure he did not wake the Dursleys, he tiptoed down stairs and into the kitchen.
As he was sitting at the table be was thinking about Hermione. Ron would kill me if he found out I am harboring feelings for Mione. Harry was the only person in the world that Hermione let him call her Mione. He recalled the conversation he had last year with her.
Harry walked into Gryffindor common room and saw Hermione on her usual seat reading a book.
"Hey Mione, what's up?" he asked.
"What did you call me?" she said.
"Um.... I think I called you Mione, If you don't like it-"
She cut him off and said,"Of coarse I like it, it's just no one has ever called me that before."
"You really like it?" Harry asked. "It just sort of came out, I didn't even think about it until you asked." he said blushing slightly. At that point he knew he was in love with his best friend.
As Harry finished up in the kitchen he thought to himself he might as well go to bed, because knowing the Dursleys they would have a list of chores for him to do in the morning.
Chapter 2:
At the same time all the way across England Hermione was laying on her bed thinking of her best friend, Harry Potter. She knew she loved him, but she was also very scarred at the prospect. What if he only loves me as a friend? What if I let my feelings show toward him and he freaks out?Hermione was running all these questions in her head and thinking what it would be like to be with Harry. She could tell him everything. She has no secrets form him.
Well except one very deep one that she had never told anyone about. How could she tell him her father hated her? How
could she tell him that her mother never stood up for her? How could she tell him that her father has hit her so hard
on occasions that she has bruises for weeks? She couldn't tell him that. He lost his parents so he wouldn't
know how to react. What would he say? What would he do? Then she recalled the fight with her father that she had when
she came home from Hogwarts.
"Mum, Dad over here," Hermione said as she got off the Hogwarts express. Hermione's mother looked happy to see her, but her father looked as though he was fuming.
"What took you so long?" hissed John Granger.
"Nothing Dad, I just had to say good bye to a couple of friends and then I came right over here to find you guys." Hermione explained to her father, trying to calm him down.
"The train gets in at noon young lady, it is 12:15. Where the hell have you been for the past fifteen minutes? You can't possibly have that many friends." John Granger thundered at his daughter.
"I was just saying good bye to Harry and Ron. Harry was kind of up set and needed to talk to me."
"Don't argue with me, I say you were just trying to avoid coming home to your mother and I." John Granger said with a smirk. "Why couldn't you just say at that bloody school of yours for the summer, I would be better then having you home."
"I would have stayed there if they would have let me, the last thing I wanted was to see you." That was
Hermione's first mistake. She told herself that she should just keep her mouth shut. Her father turned purple and
grabbed his daughter's arm. He then dragged her out to the parking lot and when he made sure he was alone he
smacked her across the cheek as hard as he could. Hermione would have fallen down, but he was still holding her by the
arm.
"That is what you get for being my daughter. God, why can't I have had a son, it would have made it easier to
punish you."
Hermione looked up at her father with pure hatred. That was Hermione's second mistake. She told herself that look
spoke louder than a thousand words. John Granger slapped her across the other cheek, but this time her was not holding
her. She fell against the car and the door handle slammed right into the side of her hip. she winced in pain and she
opened the car door. She looked at her mother who, was wearing a disappointed expression on her face.
As Hermione came back to the present she released she had tears rolling down her cheeks. She pushed them away angrily.
She had to tell someone. She decided then and there she would tell the only person she could trust...Harry.
Chapter 3
`Hermione and Harry spent the last remanding month of summer vacation at the Burrow with the Weasleys. As soon as Harry saw Hermione he knew something was wrong. He hugged her and when she flinched at the contact to her back and hip he knew something was up. The sparkle and fire that was normally detectable in her eyes had gone out. She looked tired and pale and had a bruise on her collar bone. Hermione must have noticed him looking and pulled at her sweater to cover the bruise.
As they greeted the Weasleys and were settled in Mrs. Weasley called everyone down for lunch. Harry noticed that Hermione ate very little. She took a small portion on her plate and barley finished half of it. Harry could see in her eyes that something was bothering her. All during lunch the Weasleys saw the looks Harry gave Hermione and vise versa. I never saw two people more suited for each other. I just wish they could see it in themselves, thought Molly Weasley. She looked at her husband, Arthur and just smiled knowing he was thinking the exact same thing.
Fred and George were whispering to themselves and then all of a sudden there was an explosion that racked the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley turned to her sons with a murderous glare and yelled "WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING UP THERE? YOU COULD HAVE BLOWN UP THE HOUSE!!!!" Fred and George just looked at each other and ran off to their bed room to inspect the damage. Mrs. Weasley was muttering to herself that she hoped everything blew up and that the twins would just forget their ideas for their joke shop.
Everyone at the table started to snicker, even to Harry's surprise and relief, Hermione. She looked as though she was actually having a good time. As soon and he thought these things Ron had to open his mouth.
"So Hermione, how is Justin?"
"Um... I guess he's fine." she said and the light went out in her eyes again. She went back to eating.
"What do you mean you guess?" asked Ron with a perplexed expression.
"I wouldn't know how he is doing, because I broke up with him over the summer," stated Hermione.
Harry wanted to jump for joy he was so happy. His Mione was single again. Woah, he thought, where did that come from? My Mione? It sounded right to him, now he would just have to talk to Hermione about it.
Suddenly Hermione got up from the table and ran out side. Harry caught a glimpse of a tear in her eyes. He got up to go after her. She was running as fast as she could down a path and wouldn't stop even as he called her name.
"Mione!"
She seemed to not have heard him or just was ignoring him. He was running now too and he was catching up to her. He caught her a dragged her against his chest. She was panting hard and he could feel the shudders and sobs that were racking her body. At first she tried desperately to pull away. She didn't want Harry to see her like this.
"Mione," Harry said. When she continued to struggle she pulled her shoulders and gave her a slight shake. He brought her chin up so he could look in her eyes. He was afraid of what he saw. He saw anger, hurt, loss, but the thing that scarred him the most was the amount of fear. He had never seen her so terrified in his life.
He pulled them down so they were sitting on the grass. He brought her tightly against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. He whispered softly into her ear soothing her with gentle words. After two hours he heard the sobs give way to even breathing. He picked her up and carried her to the Burrow.
Everyone had been waiting for them, and when they saw Harry caring Hermione they rushed out to meet him.
Ron asked "What happened? Is she okay?"
"Shh!" exclaimed Harry. "Your going to wake her up. I need to get her to Ginny's room. Make sure no one comes in there. I need her to wake up with only me in the room. Ron, something is wrong with her, and I intend to find out, tonight."
The look in Harry's eyes left room for no argument. Ron looked at Hermione's small form and tear streaked face and silently nodded.
Harry carried Hermione to Ginny's room and locked the door. Now, that he was of age he can perform magic outside of school. He laid Hermione down on the bed and took off her shoes. He slipped her under the covers and was about to let her go, when he felt her hand grab his. He looked up and saw her eyes her open. He sat down on the bed and dragged her into his arms. He buried his hands in her hair and his face in her neck. He never really noticed it before, but she always smells like roses. It was her trade mark scent.
Hermione pulled away and looked at Harry. "I'm so sorry for bursting out like that. I don't usually cry when I am up set."
"You have nothing to apologies for Hermione. What makes you think you do?"
"I don't know, I just feel like I owe you one." Hermione looked at Harry and said "Thank you for being there for me. I thought I was going to be alone tonight."
"Hermione, you are never have to be alone. I love you and will never allow you to be alone and afraid. Please tell me you know that?"
Hermione looked at Harry with tears in her eyes. "What did you say?"
"I said you don't ever have to be alone."
"No, after that. Did you just tell me you loved me?"
"I.... Yes Hermione I did, I am so sick of hiding my feelings for you. I have loved you since that damned troll in
first year and I still love you today!"
"Oh Harry" Hermione flung herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. She looked at him and he placed his mouth on hers. They kissed for what seemed like forever. Hermione leaned back onto the bed and brought Harry down with her. He kissed her with the kind of passion that she never knew existed. When Harry brought his hands down her side she gasped. He took this opportunity to thrust his tongue inside her mouth. As soon as she felt his tongue she matted her own with his. Their tongues dueled until the need for air brook them apart. The two teen were breathing heavily trying to catch their breath.
Harry stroked her cheek, kissed her lightly one last time and sat up on the bed. She was still holding and pulled herself up too. She crawled up into Harry's lap and forced him to look her in the eye.
"I love you too" She then kissed him again. He pulled her head closer and deepened the kiss. She felt him harden underneath her and gasped in surprise. She broke the kiss and looked at Harry.
"See what you do to me Mione?" he asked her.
"I'm beginning to, yes" she replied.
"I think I better go before we both do something we are not ready for." He said and released a slow breath. He stroked her cheek and said, "I love you Mione and god knows I want you, but I also know for a fact, that you are not ready to make love yet."
"Harry I don't know what I'm feeling right now. I want to feel something other then sadness and pain. I want to feel love. You are the only person that can give that to me. But, I also know that you are right that I am not emotionally ready to make love to you but physically I need you so much it hurts," Hermione said with tears in her eyes.
"Hermione I need to ask you somethings okay, and I know you might not want to answer them, but I need to know."
"okay"
"You have never made love have you? Your still a virgin?" asked Harry
"Yes, how did you know?"
"I just thought you were, that's all." He thought a moment before asking his next question.
"You said all you are feeling in sadness and pain. Why? god Hermione please tell me why so I can help." She didn't answer and he pulled her up so she was looking him in the eye. He saw only saw pain and fear in her eyes. He relaxed his grip on her when he felt her flinch. He then remembered the bruise on her collar bone. He unzipped her sweater and took it off. He touched her collar bone and looked and her arms. There were bruises on her upper arms in the same shape as fingers. He looked at her and saw her tank top and risen high on her flat stomach. He saw a dark bruise the sizes of a door knob on the hip. He looked her and he saw tears streaming down her face.
he asked her in a voice that was genteel but demanded the truth. "Who did this to you?" When she didn't answer this question he swore softly. "Take off your shirt." Her head snapped up and looked at him in disbelief.
"What," She squeaked. "I am not taking my shirt off Harry the only thing I have under it is my bra."
"I know, take it off Hermione. I want to see if this bastard, who ever he may be, has done. Either you take it off or I will."
"Harry please don't make me do this." She was terrified that she sounded weak.
"Hermione, I promise you I will never hurt you. I just need to see what happened." He reached and lifted her shirt just below her breasts so he could be her ribs. They were bruised too and were an angry purple shade. He touched the area gently and dropped the shirts. "Mione, please tell me what happened. I need to know. Please."
She starred at him and started to explain her life at home, with her father.
Chapter 4
By the time Hermione was done it was after ten and Harry could see the tears streaming down her face. While she was telling him about her father and mother she tried to keep the tears at bay. She looked and him and he saw so much pain in her eyes. He saw emotional as well as physical pain. She told him about what happened at Kings Crossing at the beginning of the summer to her latest encounter with her fathers hands. They had had an argument about her going back to Hogwarts. Her father told her it was an embarrassment to the family to have a witch among them. When she tried to tell him what happened when she first got her Hogwarts letter she just stopped and looked at him. He reached out to hold her and she practically fell into his embrace.
"Hermione, have you ever talked to someone about this?"
"No, my father always told be if I told anyone about it he would make my life a living hell. He said if I thought it was bad now, he would make it ten times worse."
"Tell me what happened when you were eleven," he encouraged her. She started to tremble and her knees buckled. Harry picked her and laid her down on the bed. He got in next to her and held her close.
"Tell me," he said gently stroking her hair and neck.
"When he found the letter he said that I was a witch. He said that if I had powers, maybe with enough pain he could beat them out of me. He took me down in the basement and beat me until I was in a coma. I woke up in the hospital three days later." She started sobbing again and all Harry could do was hold her until she fell asleep.
He rubbed her back and soon she fell asleep. He didn't released how tired he was until he fell into an exhausted sleep himself.
Chapter 5
The next morning he woke up with Hermione's back curved against his chest. He looked over to the other side if the
room and saw Ginny asleep. He started to kiss Hermione awake when he heard a soft knock at the door. Mrs. Weasley came
into the room and looked over at Harry and Hermione. She saw that Harry was awake and walked quietly over to him.
"How is she Harry?"
"She's emotionally drained and physically exhausted. She needs someone to just be with her. She has gone through so much. Before you ask Mrs. Weasley, I can't tell you what is wrong with her. That's for her to tell. All I need is for some more time alone with her so she can fully open up and except what happened."
"Of course Harry dear I will get Ginny and let her sleep in Ron's room for now. You two come down when ever you are ready. I will make sure no one disturbs you."
"Thank you Mrs. Weasley." said Harry gratefully.
Harry lay with Hermione for about fifteen minutes and finally she started to stir awake. She moved and Harry's hand brushed against her breast. She gasped softly. When he went to pull away she grabbed his hand and brought it back to her breast. Harry brushed over her nipple gently and began to kiss her neck.
"Good morning," whispered Harry as he continued to plant kisses down her neck. All Hermione could do was whimper in response. Harry realized where this was going to go and fast if he didn't stop. He removed his hand from her breast and smiled at her.
"Harry." She whispered. "Was it a dream or did I tell you about my childhood last night?"
"You told me. Hermione please let me help you."
"What could you possibly do?"
"We could go to Dumbledore, tell him about your parents. Please Mione you need for this part of your life to be over. Let people help you."
Hermione sat up suddenly and glared at him. "Let people help me? No one would believe me Harry. My own grandparents don't, what makes you think a teacher will?"
"I believe you Hermione. There is evidence. Look at your stomach and hips they look like someone used them for a punching bag. You have all the emotional signs of physical abuse. Your father-" Suddenly Harry cut off and looked at Hermione. Then he asked "That's all he did right?"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean 'is that all he did?' Are you asking me if he raped me?" Harry flinched visibly "The answer is no. Did he sexually molest me? Not that I can remember, so probably no"
"You can't remember," questioned Harry.
"If something like that happened wouldn't you think I would remember it vividly. Every fucking detail to the last second?"
"Hermione you told me you were a virgin and I believe you. But why are you so afraid of making love?"
"Oh please I am not afraid of making love to you or to anyone for that matter."
"Oh really, your saying that if started to undress you and touch you every where on your body you wouldn't be the least bit scarred? That if I thrust into you over and over with so much passion that you couldn't breath you wouldn't be the a little terrified?"
With every word he has walked a little closer to her. By the time he was finished she was trembling but it was different from the trembling of last night. Last night she was afraid. Now she was terrifyingly aroused.
"No" she said in shaky whisper.
"No you would not be afraid or no you would be a little terrified?"
"I don't know. You asked me why am I afraid of making love, you were right. The only problem is, I don't know the answer so how am I supposed to tell you?" Hermione asked through her tears. "I don't know and that scares the shit out of me. I need to know, but I can't remember. It's a natural reaction when a guy comes near me." By the time she was done she was crying so hard she couldn't breath.
Harry was getting frantic. Hermione was hyperventilating and he had no idea what to do. He felt so helpless that he couldn't ease her pain. She was going to retreat into herself so he did the only thing he could. He kissed her with renewed passion.
When they broke the kiss Hermione looked at him and smiled. Harry new that the rest of the week would be okay.