Harry is distracted by Hermione who is tired of being ignored by her best friend. Both decide to do something about it that causes the other to squirm.
From the Unofficial Portkey Archive: https://portkey-archive.org/story/722/
Squirm
Harry sat up from bed sweat pouring in rivulets down his back and chest. What had just happened? Glancing at the clock that read ‘Too Early To Be Up’, he swung over the edge and placed his feet firmly on the ground. These dreams had been haunting him for far too long. Not of Cedric, not of Voldemort, but of one certain girl that made him melt with her every smile. Hermione. Harry, being the normal, albeit not quite average boy had heard about dreams of girls and the stages of manhood, but he had never thought that these dreams could be quite so intense or realistic. Running a hand through his hair he stood up and walked over to the window. Everything looked so peaceful across the Hogwarts grounds, even the Forbidden Forest didn’t look quite so foreboding. He sighed and crawled back into bed, attempting to wash away the latest dream in a fog of exhaustion.
-----
“Good morning Harry.”
“Morning Hermione.” Harry answered nervously, ever since his dreams had become more graphic, Harry hadn’t been able to keep his composure around Hermione. Ron, who had found out quite early on about Harry’s ‘dream fantasies’ had a huge grin on his face as he asked,
“Dream anything lately Harry?” Harry wanted to kick him under the table, and would have except for the fact that Hermione placed her hand on his arm.
“Are you ok?” she asked softly, “Have you been having dreams again?” Ron snorted into his cereal and Harry gritted his teeth while answering,
“I’m fine, really.” Still looking concerned she turned back to her breakfast. Ron was grinning evilly at Harry while inhaling the rest of his toast. Hermione had chosen to sit next to Harry today and was currently driving him crazy. He could feel her leg brush against his and immediately stiffened. Breathing techniques weren’t helping so in a rush he picked up his books and said,
“I forgot something in my room. See you guys later!” Hurrying off he turned at the first corner and came to a stop. His breath came fast as someone came up from behind him.
“You forgot something?” Ron stood there still smirking. “Mate, that was a completely unworthy excuse.” Harry sighed, not forgetting his earlier anger.
“Yeah, and the ‘dreams’ comment was really low” he said turning away. Ron paused for a moment and then sheepishly replied,
“Sorry, it was funny at the moment.” Harry ran a hand through his already rumpled hair again and knocked his head against the wall.
“I can’t even look at her without remembering a dream. This is crazy!” Ron looked at him and said,
“There’s only one solution then. Just tell her!” Harry stared at his friend bewilderingly.
“Are you insane?! She’d hex me clear into next year! I can’t do that!” Ron, unrifled by his friend’s outburst calmly said,
“No she wouldn’t. She’s your best friend Harry.”
“Exactly.” He replied, “Which is why I won’t do it.”
-----
Hermione, for her part, couldn’t figure out what was going on at all. Why Harry appeared to be ignoring her, or Ron laughing uncontrollably whenever she asked if Harry was ok. Finally, she managed to catch him after a Quidditch game and corner him.
“What’s wrong with Harry? Why won’t he talk to me?” Ron looked at her, paused for a moment, and then said,
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Glaring at him she answered,
“I think you do. Spill it.” Ron opened his mouth but nothing came out. Staring at her and then over her shoulder he yelled,
“Hey Harry!” Hermione spun around to see who but Harry himself, dragging his broom off the Quidditch field.
“Hi Ron, hey Hermione.” He looked tired as if he hadn’t been sleeping properly. Before he could stop her she’d dragged him by the robe over to the wall and began giving him the third degree.
“Why are you avoiding me?”
“Honestly Hermione I’m not…”
“Yes you are! What have I done wrong?”
“Hermione, you haven’t done…”
“Is it my hair?”
“No! Of course n…”
“My teeth? Do you not want to be seen with me or something?”
“HERMIONE!” She stopped short and looked at Harry who was suddenly fuming. “There is nothing wrong with you ok? NOTHING.” His face softened and he repeated again, “You’re perfect.” And then he walked off into the locker rooms where she wouldn’t dare follow him. She glanced helplessly over at Ron who looked incredibly guilty.
“Ron, if you don’t tell me five seconds, Merlin help me I will…”
“Alright, alright!” Pausing he took a deep breath and said, “Let’s head back to the common room.”
-----
Hermione blushed a bright pink as Ron finished his tale.
“You mean, Harry’s been having dreams about…me?” Ron nodded,
“He’s head over heels for you. Every night he moans and groans and mentions your nam…” Just at the moment Harry walked into the common room, freshly showered and smelling of cut grass.
“Harry…” He stared at his two friends, realizing quickly what they were talking about.
“I trusted you.” He said simply to Ron and then turned and walked away.
Hermione stood up and shoved her wand into her pocket.
“I’m going to talk to him. Don’t you dare tell anyone else.” Ron nodded morosely and fell back into the couch, suddenly tired of his two best friends. Hermione dashed out after Harry, hoping to find him before something horrible happened.
-----
Harry couldn’t believe it. Ron was his best friend, how dare he betray him like that? He didn’t know where he was going, every time a staircase shifted he turned and walked on, eventually finding himself at the coveted Astronomy Tower. A few moments later who showed up but Hermione. He wanted to be horribly angry, but all he could manage was awe at how stunning she looked. Her blouse looked smudged and her tie must have fallen off somewhere. Her skirt stood, swishing in place while the look on her face said everything.
“I’m sorry.” She said softly. He felt himself blushing everywhere and wouldn’t seem to stop. Turning around he replied,
“It’s not your fault.” Coming up behind him she waited till she stood next to him to say,
“Actually, I think it is.” He stared at her questioningly and in usual Hermione fashion she said, “Obviously you hold some kind of…attraction for me.” Her words were business like and Harry found a lump in his stomach at the clinical tone she used for his feelings. Attempting to be brave he said,
“Right.” Looking relieved that he agreed and yet saddened that he admitted it, she continued,
“So we just need to find a way to get rid of the attraction.” His jaw dropped and he could only stare. Get rid of his attraction? That was like pulling the moon out of the sky or gathering every blade of grass in his hands. Impossible. “I think I’ve figured out a solution,” she said carefully. She looked straight into his eyes and whispered,
“Kiss me.”
-----
She was going to do it. She had told him, and now there was no turning back. She looked at his face. An incredulous expression that quickly turned stubborn appeared. ‘Oh Harry,’ she thought quietly.
“No,” he answered, “I won’t do it.” He turned around and appeared to be going back downstairs. Quickly she pulled out her wand and pointed it towards the door. A small click could be heard and suddenly they were locked in.
“Hermione!” He turned around to face her, passion lighting up in his eyes. Hermione lost herself for a moment and stared without meaning to.
“Open up this door right now! I am NOT,” She took a step closer. “GOING,” another step, “TO” he was so close, she could cup his face in her hands “KISS” thinking it was all for the best she leaned forward and “Y..” kissed him. A resounding silence echoed in the Astronomy Tower, which seemed to sigh with happiness. This is how it was supposed to be. His lips tasted so distinctly like Harry that she had a hard time not getting lost in it. One hand was in his hair while the other rested on his arm. His hands came to hold her waist as they stepped even closer to one another. Harry didn’t dare tear his lips from hers, he feared that this would be the only kiss he would ever get from the girl he loved, and he had darn well better make it count. He slipped his tongue against the crease of her lips and they opened giving him access to the most exotic taste of his life. Pressing his mouth more fully against hers, she complied completely, her body melting into his. He had always loved her hugs, she hugged not just with her arms, but also with her entire body, happiness pouring into the lucky soul who received it. Finally he needed a breath and managed to pull away.
“Hermione…” was the first word out of his mouth. She looked at him, lips swollen and eyes glazed with something he thought he would never see from her.
“Did it work?” She asked. Did what work? He couldn’t think properly, all he knew was that the girl in front of him was a miracle. “Did it work?” she asked again impatiently. “The attraction! Honestly Harry, is it gone?” It felt as if his heart had been smashed with a wrecking ball. So that was it. She didn’t mean it. Every warm feeling he had had hit the ground and smashed along with his heart. He couldn’t look at her, everything hurt.
“Of course,” he managed to whisper, “doesn’t everything you do always work?” She looked at his face that was currently pointed towards the ground. She could see a shadow of sadness lingering and couldn’t get her heart to stop beating so rapidly. Softly she unlocked the door and watched Harry’s retreating figure leave, closing the door behind him. Only when he was gone did she collapse onto the floor, sobbing by herself on the cold floor.
-----
The dreams haunted him over and over again. They were far from gone, in fact, the kiss only intensified the matter. Now that he had her real taste, it replaced the old counterfeit one in each and every one of his fantasies. He could hear her voice moaning in his head and he couldn’t wake up. Only when daylight hit the windows of the dorm did the dreams stop. Cleaning up the evidence, Harry Potter took a shower and headed down to breakfast. He walked with Ron, barely able to concentrate on the conversation.
“Uh huhm..” he replied noncommittally as Ron chattered on about how completely sorry he was and that Hermione seemed to understand. They reached the breakfast table but Harry didn’t have the heart to eat anything. Then she walked in the room. She wore the normal outfit but for some reason it looked so much better on her than any other girl. He looked down and stared at the fine wood grains of the table. Anything was better than looking at her. She sat down next to Ron and his heart that he thought had left for good slowly tore down the middle.
“Good morning.” She said cheerfully. Ron smiled and said good morning but Harry couldn’t manage a thing.
“Harry?” Ron asked, “You ok mate?” He nodded wearily, tracing the wood of the table with his fingers. Hermione bit her lip as she looked at him. An aching feeling clutched at her stomach and she wanted to wrap her arms around him and comfort him.
“I’m not hungry,” he said after a moment, “See you guys in class.” A minute after he left Ron turned towards her and asked,
“Ok, what happened between you two?” Denying it didn’t do a thing so eventually she ended up telling Ron what had happened. A tear slipped down her cheek as she recounted how sad Harry had been.
“Sad?” Ron asked rather loudly, “Sad?! You think Harry was sad? He was heartbroken Hermione! He’s in love with you!”
“Ron…” a few Gryffyndors had turned to see the source of the noise.
“Hermione, Harry is IN LOVE with you. Can’t you see that?” He shook his head, “Don’t be less smart that you are.” Grabbing a bagel he too got up and walked away, muttering to himself. Not wanting to draw any more attention, Hermione stood up and ran out to the hallway.
“Ron!” she said catching up to him breathlessly, “He loves me?” Smacking himself on the forehead Ron replied,
“Duh. Are you going to do something about it or what?” A slow smile worked its way onto her face as she said,
“Yes, I think I will.”
-----
“Harry?” Harry turned to see Hermione standing next to his table in Potions.
“Hi,” he said weakly. She proceeded to sit down next to him and said,
“I’ll be your partner.” She flashed him a smile and it was all he could do not to gather in a puddle on the floor. He pulled out a piece of parchment just as Snape walked into the room.
“Today we will be making Cureall. Ingredients are in the cupboard, instructions are on the board. You have one hour, get to work.” Turning to Harry, Hermione said,
“I’ll get the ingredients, you get the cauldron.” Harry nodded and went to fetch one. Potions passed smoothly and Harry and Hermione’s Cureall came out bright purple as it was supposed to be. Snape passed by and finding nothing to complain about turned to Neville whose dark muddy liquid was hissing and spitting.
“10 pts from Gryffyndor.” He said easily and proceeded on. Harry would have liked to mumble something under his breath, but he couldn’t seem to find the words. Most of this was due to the fact that all during the class period Hermione had been driving him crazy. The occasional brush of their hips or shoulders, how she put her hand on his when he was stirring the wrong way, or how she kept saying seemingly innocuous things that were slowing careening him over the edge.
The day passed by with these little occurrences and Harry thought he would go mad. In the hallway she brushed by him and when they became stuck in hallway traffic he swore that she shifted her hips against him as she stood in front of him. Her grin had never looked so seductive and he couldn’t seem to figure her out. Classed ended much too late and finally he was free in the common room. Sitting by himself he stared into the fire and had to look away when one of his recent dreams materialized in the flames. Hermione came down the stairs from the girl’s dormitory and saw Harry sitting on the couch and seeing her chance quickly sat down next to him.
“Hey Harry,” she said quietly. As soon as she was seated he began to tense up. Why wouldn’t she leave him alone? “You look stiff,” she said after a moment and he wanted to groan. Her and her stupid little plays on words, “how about a backrub?” He stared at her, sure that every one of his organs had just gone slack at the thought. Scooting slightly away he answered,
“Um, no thanks.” She seemed offended and without considering his words he said,
“How about you?” Idiot, idiot, idiot! What was he thinking? She gave him a lovely smiled that stopped his heart and conceded. She turned around and he began to gently rub her shoulders. The feel of her skin beneath his hands was incredible. She smelled like warm pumpkin pie and he tried desperately to ward off a wave of desire. He found himself fighting an arousal as she whispered breathily,
“A little lower.” He brought his hands to the middle of her back and rubbed for a bit. A few minutes later she let out a purr of pure delight and he had to focus on Dudley doing jumping jacks to stop from placing a kiss on her neck.
“A little lower.” She said again and he found his hands drifting down naturally. Soon his hands were massaging all across her back. Unable to control himself he let them slip to the sides of her waist and then to the middle of her back. She let out a moan and suddenly he had to stop. Pulling his hands back he quickly stood up,
“Sorry Hermione...I have to…go do something.” Racing out he stopped only when in the safety of his dorm with the door locked. Oh Merlin what had just happened? Every nerve in his body was hypersensitive and if he inhaled deeply enough he could still smell her intoxicating scent. He knew soon the dreams would come, and they would not be merciful.
-----
“Where’s Harry?”
“Harry who?” Hermione glared at Ron.
“Har har, where is he?” Ron merely shrugged,
“I don’t know. Probably still sleeping.” An idea began to run through Hermione’s mind as she said,
“Thanks Ron. See you later.” Or maybe not, she thought to herself, if I can find Harry.
Not to her surprise, Ron was right. She opened up the door and saw Harry in a fitful sleep on his bed. She watched him for a moment tossing and turning. She was just about to wake him when she heard him groan,
“Hermione…” Startled she looked closely at him. He was still asleep. Letting out a sigh of relief a sly smile appeared on her face. Bringing her lips to his ear she moaned softly,
“Oh Harry…”
“Hermione,” he groaned again and she had to stifle her laughter. Suddenly she looked down and noticed a rather obvious sign of what was going on in Harry’s dream. Turning red she stood up and began shaking his shoulders.
“Harry, Harry, wake up!” Slowly he awoke from his slumber, staring sleepily at her.
“Hermione?” She smiled and sat down on the side of his bed. He immediately turned red upon realization of the situation and muttered a quick cleaning spell. It didn’t go unnoticed by Hermione who playfully smiled.
“And what would that be for?” He glared at her and stood up, haphazardly pulling clothes from his drawers.
“Nothing.” He seemed angry and she realized that maybe this hadn’t been the best idea. Taking a deep breath she told herself, too late now.
“Harry,” he turned around, “sit down.” He gestured to a place beside her and he uncomfortable took a seat. She looked at him and tried not to blush. Before she could say anything he sighed and said,
“I love you. That kiss didn’t cure anything. In fact,” he gestured helplessly, “It made it worse.” He turned to look at her, “I love you enough to let you go.” She looked at him and realized that the mind games and the dreams were all trying to point her in the one direction that she hadn’t ever believed before.
“But maybe,” she whispered back, “I don’t want to let you go.” With that she wrapped her arms around his neck and ran a hand through his hair. “Oh Harry…” And then he had kissed her. The overpowering sensation blew through his body and fizzled like a Fourth of July firecracker. His arms came around her waist and they fell back on the bed together, their lips greedily devouring each other.
Somewhere near the door their best friend stood dabbing his eyes in mock happiness.
“They look so happy together.” He said sniffing.
“Knock it off Ron,” Ginny said; grabbing him by the arm, “you’re not supposed to watch!” Ron laughed wrapped an arm around his sister’s shoulders.
“I sure hope you’re not doing anything like that…” Ginny just grinned.
“Boys…” she could be heard muttering as they made their way to class.
No one noticed or if they did, didn’t mention it that neither Harry nor Hermione made it to any classes at all that day.