[A/N: So I decided to separate the two stories, coz I realized I'm pretty fond of the style of this story after all. This is the final chapter, hope you guys don't find it too cheesy or soppy or maybe too fast. Either way, happy reading!]
Chapter 7: Finally Getting What's Due
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Bill and Fleur's Wedding. The Burrow's Backyard.
==
"This is depressingly familiar," she thought, still seated in one of the many seats put out, as she spotted Ginny leading Harry towards the dance floor, hand in hand. She did however take pleasure in Harry's reluctant expression.
She had learnt of their split on the train ride back, and had fought very hard to hide her delight. It was her second chance, her opening back into Harry's life. For the past week that she had spent at the Burrow, Ginny had gone on and on about how she wouldn't let Harry leave her behind, about how he 'needed' her, and usually it would be all Hermione could do not to snort at her friend's delusions.
As Hermione had known he would, Harry completely blew Ginny off upon his arrival at the Burrow two days after Hermione, and stoically maintained that she neither knew what she would be getting herself into, nor would she be emotionally capable of handling it.
It seemed Dumbledore's death had given Harry a cynicism that he applied to all situations. He appeared emotionless now, cold and calculated, always.
Well, almost…
Hermione awoke in her bed, half-covered by the moonlight bathed covers. She tried to get back to sleep, but it seemed to elude her. After a while, she gave up and got up to make herself a mug of warm milk. She didn't know if it really did help but old habits die hard.
She silently descended the stairs of the Burrow and as she crossed the living room something caught her eye to her left. She turned to see Harry sitting in one of the armchairs, the moon reflecting off his glasses.
"Hey Hermione" he croaked.
Unsure whether to sit down near him or leave him with his thoughts, she muttered a shy "Hey" while shifting feet.
The silence was deafening to Hermione's ears. The awkwardness was a deep reminder of how much they had drifted apart.
"You couldn't sleep?" he offered. His tone held no hint of indifference, so Hermione sat on the couch in front of him.
"Yeah, I was going to make myself some warm milk. What about you?"
"I don't trust my subconscious enough to sleep" he uttered with a resigned sigh.
"Nightmares?" she knew this was a rare thing for Harry, reaching out. He could have said 'me too', but he chose to give the extra detail, and Hermione would be there for him.
He paused. "Yeah, pretty much darker versions of my already dark memories."
He didn't want pity, he had simply accepted what he had gone through.
"You want to talk about it?" The question seemed stupid to her, but she was giving him a way out if he wanted one.
"Too many to talk about really." He paused. She didn't know what to say. "What scares me the most is that I know that soon, more will come, that I will go through even darker times, and I'm afraid that I won't be able to handle it." He snorted. "Some Gryffindor I am…"
She immediately reached for his hand. "It's completely normal to be afraid, and you would be foolish not to be. You just have to have faith Harry, you will be able to get through it all. You- We" she corrected "will find a way."
His brow softened as he gazed into her eyes, her determination touching him to an indescribable point.
There was something deeply intimate about the scene. It was like a rebirth of their friendship. Time passed by unnoticed, as both of them sat in a now comfortable silence, until Hermione shivered, and suddenly realized what little clothing she was actually wearing.
Her blush was almost visible in the dark room as she got up and moved towards the stairs. Just before her foot touched the first step:
"Hermione," he called out softly, "thank you."
No other words were needed.She continued on up and tucked herself back into her bed. She fell asleep easily, a warmth inside of her that no amount of warm milk could have given her, making sleep much less elusive.
That night went unspoken of, as did the next nights, where Harry and Hermione reaffirmed their friendship. They were very dear moments to Hermione, and they were what kept her jealousy at bay, as they showed her a side of Harry that she knew no one else would ever be able to see.
And so with confidence did she get up from her seat and walk over to the two teens swaying unevenly on the dance floor.
"May I cut in?" she asked in a most unwomanly way.
"Um, of course." Harry said politely, hurt flashing across Ginny's gaze as he let go of her. He then placed his hands gawkily on her hips, and she linked her hands behind his neck. His unease was so obvious that Hermione couldn't help at laugh.
She took one of his hands and walked away from the swaying couples.
"Come on" she smiled at him.
His relief was blatantly evident as they made their way to where Hermione had been sitting, and where they would spend the rest of the night talking and laughing under the reproachful watch of a certain red-headed girl.
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Night of Harry's Birthday. Godric's Hollow.
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"Come on Harry, you're of age now, we should celebrate!" pled Ginny.
Harry, Hermione, Ron and her were sitting in the living room of the newly repaired house and Harry had just finished opening his presents.
"Well, what do you suggest?" He didn't like the devilish glint in her eye.
"You ever played truth or dare?..."
++
"Ok Harry, your turn," Ginny said "truth or dare?"
After a moment's thought and a glance towards Ron who now had his trousers on his head, he said:
"I think I'll play it safe and go with truth."
Ginny's evil glint was back. "Time to show Hermione he doesn't care for her as much as she thinks he does." She thought.
"Hmmm, okay. Well then Harry, in all truthfulness, what would you do if Hermione here, died?"
The question was painfully blunt, but no one objected, the two girls raptly awaiting his answer.
Oh fuck. What do you say to that? What would I do if Hermione wasn't here anymore? The thought was almost impossible in Harry's mind, he couldn't picture himself with an unreachable Hermione. And there and then, something finally clicked. Feelings that he had ardently been fighting finally became undeniable in his mind, and his mind realized something that his heart had been trying to get through for ages.
I love Hermione.
The words rang out in his mind. I love Hermione Granger.
But he couldn't tell her. No way! It would destroy our friendship, it would be too awkward. All this of course in the span of a few hundred milliseconds.
"I would…" kill myself if she died. Can't say that, must hide these feelings. "I would be um, really sad." He said lamely.
His words hung in the air for a few seconds before Hermione got up and ran away from the room, a sob escaping her.
Harry's mouth fell slack. What have I done? Ginny's mouth twisted into a triumphant grin. Ron's mouth opened to let out a sigh. "Mate, go get her." The multiple meanings in his command did not go unnoticed by Harry, and they crossed gazes. Ron nodded and received one in return, and Harry got up, looking for Hermione.
It was Ginny's turn to be slack-jawed as she watched him go.
He knew where to find her. He remembered two days ago when they had first explored the house how Hermione had said the balcony in what had been baby Harry's bedroom, and evidently was now his, was her favourite part of the house, and that is where he sought her out.
His bedroom door was open and a lamp was on in the corner. He saw the sliding window-doors were open and a figure was leaning against the railing of the balcony, the lamp light not quite penetrating onto it.
He tiptoed forward warily, unsure of what he would say, but hoped it would come to him. As he drew closer, he realized she was till crying, her sobs audible. He hesitated, crying girls weren't his strong suit, though he always seemed to attract them.
He stepped onto the tiled balcony fairly loudly so as to make his presence known, and the brown-haired mass flicked round as Hermione sought to see who was there.
Harry had expected to see anger, maybe mild hatred, surprise even, but as she focused on him through shiny chocolate muffin coloured eyes, his heart twinged as she seemed to despair even more. She turned her gaze back towards the dark view of hills and forests spread out in front of them, a few lit spots showing where houses were.
"Hermione" he whispered, "err, are you okay?" He could have slapped himself for such a stupid question that earned him a weak laugh and a sniff from Hermione, but no worded response, her eyes still fixed on the horizon.
"What's wrong?" he tried.
"Oh Harry…" she sighed. He couldn't tell if it made her cry more or less, her cheeks already soaked and her eyes brimming with unshed tears. He waited patiently for an answer he feared would not come.
"Do I really mean that little to you? That you would just feel 'sad' if I died?"
His lie that should have safeguarded their friendship was all but destroying it. She shivered then, and though he didn't know if it was because of the cold or her thoughts, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pressed her head against his chest. Somehow, his mind told him it was the right thing to do.
She instantly wrapped her arms tightly around his back and clung to him like she never wanted to let go, her sobs intensifying and Harry's shirt quickly getting soaked.
He had a choice to make. Either maintain his lie and scar their friendship, or tell her the truth and risk their friendship as well.
Words started flowing from his mouth that he didn't realize he had thought to say, but that strangely came naturally. He was finally listening to his heart.
"You know, they say there are two kinds of love," he began. Not the best beginning to a love declaration but she didn't laugh or make any sound. "there's romantic love, where you want the other person, which is what I had for Ginny, " and at the mention of his ex-girlfriend Hermione tensed, but still did not interrupt him. He was glad she understood he had to let it all out in one go. "then there's rational love, where you want another person's happiness, which is what I feel for Ron." He pronounced his best-friend's name with a certain finality, which Hermione took as a sign that she could speak.
"And me?" she asked tentatively, the side of her face resting on his chest.
He knew the importance that rested on his answer and so paused for a second, this though did not help Hermione's doubt.
"Well you," he smiled "you're a mixture of both." And at that he looked down to meet her questioning gaze, to show the sincerity of his words through his own.
"When we were in first year, you kept nagging us in the beginning," he said with particular fondness, "but no matter how annoying and frustrating you were, I couldn't help at see what a good person you were, and you were pretty much the first girl to speak and be nice to me, so the neglected little boy inside of me immediately had a crush on you." He never broke eye contact, and he mentally thanked her good sense to let him finish. He did notice her perking up at his last words.
"Of course, there was no boy shier than me, so I didn't do anything about it did I? And I was eleven, I had barely passed considering girls were from another planet."
"The more I got to know you, the more you endeared to me, and it also helped that you stopped nagging some." She smiled at that. "But, in the summer before third year, Ron confessed to me that he liked you, that you getting petrified affected him quite a bit, and well, he's always been my best mate and he means the world to me. No girl was going to come between us, so whatever seeds of love that I had for you I buried deep inside and filed you under "Not Allowed" in my mind, you were Ron's, at least in my head." He added at her scolding look. "And they've stayed buried, but they've grown their roots, and I couldn't help at indulge in the moments we spent alone together."
"Those feelings, I realize now, had been slowly resurfacing over the last few weeks as we got closer again, and when Ginny asked me what I would do if you died" he felt her hold her breath "I couldn't bear the thought." She exhaled slowly. "If you died, I would collapse, break down, I don't know what I would do without you there. And that made me realize what I had kept hidden and denied for so long."
"I love you Hermione, and ever since I met that bushy-haired incredibly smart nagging little know-it-all on the train I haven't stopped falling in love with you."
It was an intense stare, and their lips were inches apart. He suddenly realized her whole body was pressed against his, and he could feel her breath on his lips. Her scent intoxicated him, the mixture of vanilla and lavender numbing him like it always did, and he leisurely leaned down.
Time seemed to stop as they were barely half an inch away from each other, nothing else existed except for the two of them. He knew she wanted this too.
And then it all went fast-forward. Their mouths crashed together in an intensely fiery kiss. Harry lowered his arms to her waist as Hermione slipped her arms around his neck.
It was the Hallmark-card Kodak-moment romance-movie-finale type of kiss. The type that people recall with fireworks and applause in the background.
They finally pulled away, breathless, and both with lopsided grins. The black-haired boy looked a tad dumbstruck, and the brown-haired girl had a dark glint of desire in her eyes. She licked her lips, and pounced on him as they shared a deeper, even more passionate kiss.
His surprise was very short lived, and he tightened his arms around her waist and lifted her up, to which she responded by linking her legs around his waist, all this without breaking apart of course.
He tried walking back into the room, but his foot caught the bottom ridge of the sliding windows and they tumbled backwards onto the floor. Two muffled "mphs" were heard and their foreheads banged together. Hermione jolted back and apologized before kissing his forehead.
This let Harry press his lips against her exposed neck, where he proceeded to lick, nibble, suck and kiss until he earned a delicious gasp from his brown-eyed love.
But she wouldn't let him continue and pressed her lips hard onto his and started fumbling with his jeans buttons. Harry realized where she was going and had been unsure if she would have wanted to go all the way. Either way he knew his first time would be with her.
He pulled away, effectively receiving a growl of protest from Hermione which almost made him forget what he was going to say. "Wait…" he got out breathlessly. Hermione, it seemed, had other ideas and started unbuttoning her blouse while kissing his collar bone.
"I'm done waiting" was her simple reply. She pulled out her wand, waved it around in multiple directions and cast unspoken spells. The window closed, as did the door, and Hermione readjusted herself on top of Harry.
Barely a second and they were kissing once more, her blouse now unbuttoned and her hands back to his jeans. He pushed her shoulders back, breaking the kiss once more.
"What!?" she asked with frustrated indignation, the lust shining through her iris'. He had wanted to ask if she was sure, but he realized there was no need. Instead, he just uttered:
"I love you"
She was taken aback for about a millisecond and smiled. "Yeah, I love you too. Now shut up and get naked" she ordered disarmingly. He complied, as she followed suit, and for the first time, they made love, but it was surely not their last.
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The Morning After. Godric's Hollow.
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Harry woke up in his bed with such an intense feeling of contentment that he hardly believed he wasn't dreaming. Hermione was still sleeping next to him, facing him, her hair splayed out beautifully over the pillow. She was tucked tightly under the covers, and he gently disentangled himself to get his discarded pair of boxers.
He sat on the edge of the bed, and contemplated his next move. He could stay here with her and Ron, like they had planned to, and set up HQ in Godric's Hollow, or he could run. Hermione was now prime target number one, and Harry did not want to put her in even more danger. If he ran, at least she wouldn't be targeted so specifically.
But he didn't know if he could trust anyone else but himself to protect her, for whether she was his girlfriend or not, she was still someone close to Harry, and so had maintained a bull's-eye on her back.
He looked over his shoulder at his sleeping love, and all thoughts of running dissipated. The gush of happiness that he felt was undeniable, and he wouldn't be able to stand a day without her there.
He thought he'd make them some breakfast while waiting for her to wake up and so walked over to the door. But just as he grasped the door handle, a high-pitched tone rang out in the room, and Hermione jumped awake, her wand appearing in her hand, aimed at Harry.
"Don't you dare try to run away to protect me!" she said forcefully.
Harry cracked a smile at that and walked over to his slightly groggy girlfriend.
"Trust me," he kissed her "I'm not going anywhere. We'll face everything together."
And so they would…
To think a simple little girl's crush had started it all…
[ There we go! All done, so please leave me a final review so that I know how my story was. Feedback is the most important. Thank you very much for following the story, and sorry for any confusion due to my indecisions. Cheers all!]