A/N - All characters belong to the wonderful JK Rowling. I just borrowed them for a bit to play with them. I promise to put them back soon!
TRUE FEELINGS COME OUT
Hermione sat still, watching him, and not believing what he had just said. Believing it would mean having to face that she felt exactly the same way and that simply would not do.
"Harry, you don't have to say all of those things. I'll tell you the truth," she said, trying to keep her voice from betraying her true feelings.
"I need you to know those things because they are true." He lifted his hand and put his finger against her lips. "We won't talk about that right now. But I need to hear your side of things."
Hermione nodded in agreement and he took his fingers of her mouth. A mouth that looked so inviting, as it parted, that it took all of his willpower no to lean in and kiss her!
Noticing the path his thoughts were going, he decided to get up from the sofa and pace the length of her living room. He looked around and noticed for the first time how nice and inviting her apartment was. It definitely showed how well she was doing, since her furniture was of very high quality, but it was also warm and inviting. He noticed the fireplace in a corner of the room.
"Do you mind?" he asked her pointing at the fireplace. The evening had gotten chilly.
"No, go ahead." She also stood up. "Harry, do you mind if I take a shower first? I'd like to get out of this hospital clothes and into something more comfortable."
"Sure, I'll be waiting here."
"There's wine in the kitchen, if you'd like some. Mom and Dad sent me some bottles from their last trip to France. And there should be some food in the fridge as well."
"I'll make something quick while you shower."
Hermione nodded and walked in the direction of her room. Harry pointed his wand at the fireplace and without saying a single word, the fire started.
Hermione walked into her room and closed the door behind her. She leaned against it for support and closed her eyes, trying to calm her beating heart. Why was this happening now? She wondered with despair. After all this time, the truth was about to come out and she was a nervous wreck. Would Harry believe her when she told him her side of the story? Would he be able to confront Ron and the others if he believed her? There were so many thoughts running rampant through her mind that she decided to stop and take a quick shower instead.
After stepping out of the shower some twenty minutes later, she felt a bit better. She had stood under the spray of the hot water for a while letting the steam and the heat calm her frayed nerves. After dressing in jeans and a soft t-shirt, she walked barefoot out of her room, ready for their talk.
Harry wasn't in the living room when she came out. She walked towards the kitchen and found him putting the finishing touches to what looked like dinner.
"I hope you don't mind. You had all the ingredients available so I made some pasta and a salad. There's also bread ready to come out of the oven. I also opened a bottle of wine to let it breath and it should be ready by now." Harry stopped when she raised an eyebrow. He was rambling like a fool and she had noticed.
"It's fine. Don't worry about it. I'll set the table for two while you take care of the bread, okay?"
"Sure, fine."
Hermione turned around and smiled. He was nervous! That thought made her finally relax knowing she wasn't the only one feeling that way. She walked over to the curio that matched her dining room set and started taking out china for two. She set the table for both of them and realized that it was the first time she was going to use the dishes her parents had given her when she had bought her flat as a housewarming gift.
As she set the table, Harry stopped what he was doing to watch her. She looked sexy! The thought just popped into his head unannounced and he had to admit it was true. Her jeans hugged her bottom like a glove, and the little t-shirt she had on outlined her breast perfectly. She had her toenails painted a bright red and that made her look hot as hell. She had never been able to let of her muggle upbringing and it suited her just fine.
Hermione happen to look up as she finished the table and caught Harry looking at her. Was that lust she saw in his eyes before he nervously turned around? Before her own thoughts could take flight, she walked towards him and grabbed the salad bowl from the counter and set it on the table. After he had the bread cut and arranged in a tray, she carried that to the table and he brought the pasta.
He insisted on serving her both the dinner and the wine. Then he sat down. She then served him. He smiled at her.
"I've missed this."
"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.
"This. Us. Having dinner together."
"Oh."
"Does that surprise you, Mione?"
She looked at him and smiled a little. "No, I guess it doesn't. I'll be honest and admit I've missed it as well."
He smiled at her comment. "I hope you like it. I'm sure it's not as good as yours, but I've been learning my way around a kitchen. Ever since you left…" he let his words trail off and took a sip of wine.
"It wasn't planned, Harry. It just happened."
"I know, and I'm sorry I said that. Why don't we enjoy dinner, the company, and after we're done, we can talk?"
"That sounds like a good idea. I want to know what you've been up to for the last year."
They talked and ate. When they finished dinner, they put the plates on the sink and sat back on the table to finish their second bottle of wine. After a good two hours had gone by they moved into the living room once again. The wine had done its job and they were feeling mellow.
Harry noticed the fire was getting low and added more wood. The only illumination came from the fire and Harry couldn't help but notice how romantic the mood seemed. Hermione sat on the couch resting her back against the arm rest and tucked one of her legs under her.
Harry sat next to her, perhaps too close, but she didn't shy away. "Do you want to talk now, or would you rather I go and we leave it for next time?" he asked softly.
Hermione wasn't sure what she was most grateful for: his suggestion to leave their conversation for later or the fact that there would be a next time. She smiled a little. "I guess we should talk now and get it over with. Then we can move on. At least, I hope we can move on," she finished softly.
"Don't doubt for even a minute that what you say will keep me away from you." He took her hand in his and squeezed reassuringly. "We've wasted too much time already and I'm not willing to do that ever again."
"Thank you, Harry. I was hoping you'd say that." She took a deep breath. "What do you want to know?"
"I want to hear your side of things. From the time you left to the time you came back. I need to know all of it."
"What did Ron tell you?"
"It doesn't matter. This isn't about Ron, it's about you."
"Okay. As you know, he was away and getting ready to play against Viktor's team. I figured it would be nice to be there for him so he would put to rest once and for all his doubts about my previous relationship with Viktor. You know Ron was never big on self-esteem."
"You didn't tell him you were coming, right?"
"Right. I wanted to surprise him. When I got to the hotel he was staying at, I ran into Viktor it the lobby. His team was also staying there. I was really happy to see him and we hugged. Then I wished him luck and went to the front desk."
"And some photographer who happened to be there took the picture and Rita wrote a story to go with it." Harry concluded shaking his head.
"Exactly. Neither of us noticed the picture being taken and it wasn't until I was back that I found out about it. My favorite part was the damn title: The Golden Trio Now A Duo?"
"I remember that. So nothing ever happened with Viktor," Harry said.
Hermione noticed it wasn't a question, but a statement. He believed her! "I didn't spend more than five minutes in his company, Harry. He was in a hurry because he was meeting his girlfriend for dinner."
Harry noticed that Hermione was starting into the fire, as if remembering that night. "What happened next?" he asked softly as he moved closer to her.
She didn't turn to look at him, and he had to move his head closer to her to hear her, since she was speaking so softly. "I got his room number and asked the girl to send a bottle of champagne to his room. I waited for about fifteen minutes and decided to go up to surprise him. As I walked down the hall, I saw the bellboy ahead of me, knocking on the door. I walked faster, to ask him to give me the bottle, but as I was reaching him, the door opened and I heard some girl giggle in delight."
"WHAT?" Harry asked surprised. "What do you mean some girl answered the door? Did you have the right room?"
Hermione took another deep breath and finally turned to look at Harry. "At first I thought he had knocked on the wrong door, but then I heard her call Ron to tell him they had received the champagne. There was no doubt then. By the time I reached the door, Ron was walking out of the bathroom with a towel around his hips. He looked confused, but delighted. The girl threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. He responded with gusto. That's when I took the bottle from the bellboy, threw it with all my strength against the wall, and all hell broke lose. I don't want to go into more details," she finished softly.
Harry was looking at her with a mixture of admiration and anger all mixed in. "How could he? I'm going to kill him!"
"No, Harry." She grabbed him as he made an attempt to get up from the couch. "If I'm telling you this now it's because you asked me and not to create problems between the two of you."
Harry sat back down and took her face in his hands. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not asking before, for turning my back on you, and for believing Ron without questions."
"Its okay, Harry. It's all in the past now."
"No. No it isn't, Hermione. And you shouldn't act like its okay that we all turned our backs on you and moved on like nothing big had happened. I have missed you like crazy. I've needed you at my side. And I can't help the guilt that I feel knowing what a fool I was. I need you to forgive me, Mione," he finished pleadingly.
Hermione looked at him and saw in his eyes how truly sorry he was. "I forgive you, Harry, but please don't ever hurt me like that again."
"I promise you I won't. From here on out no one will ever make me doubt you again. After all you have done for me over the years, I should've known better."
Without her realizing what he was about to do, he pulled her over to him and enveloped her in a huge hug. Somehow she ended up straddling his lap. She buried her head in the crook of his shoulder and they sat there for several minutes in silence.
After a while, she leaned back and looked at him. "I'm glad I told you."
He smiled at her. "And I'm glad to be a part of your life again, Mione. I hope we can see each other more often now. Like before, when we helped each other out with work situations."
"Just for that?" she asked shyly, and then blushed when she noticed what she had just asked.
Harry looked at her, his heart skipping a beat. Did she mean what he thought she meant? "No, not just for that. I miss your cooking as well," he finished smiling.
She tried to swat him on the shoulder, but his reflexes were as fast as ever. He caught her hand in his and pulled her closer to him. She was startled at first, but then his lips were on hers and her brain shut down completely for the first time in her life.
-->