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!
From reading the reviews, some of you want Ron to suffer a while, and I'm taking that into consideration. Keep in mind that Hermione is a polite person and the fact that she accepted the apologies of Ron's family doesn't mean she is ready to be back in their fold. Neville has been a true friend and as such she accepted Ginny's request to come by and visit.
As far as writing errors go (such as your & you're mistakes), English is after all my second language, so those mistakes are bound to occur. But thanks for pointing them out! There should be a couple of more chapters after this one and the story will wrap up.
Once again, thanks for the wonderful reviews and for keeping my morale high!
BLOSSOMING LOVE
"Dinner was delicious, Hermione. Thank you for thinking of me when you cooked," Harry said as they walked back into the living room once they had eaten.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Harry. I know how good your appetite can be!"
"Thanks for making extra of everything," he said pointing at the bag he held in his hand. "Lunch tomorrow will be great thanks to you. I get sick of eating out or making myself a sandwich everyday."
"Do you think I should cook for Ginny and Neville tomorrow?"
"That's a good question, love. They didn't say what time they were coming."
"I'll owl Ginny in the morning and then I'll let you know."
"That's a good idea. It's big of you accepting them back so soon, Mione. I was hoping things would go well, but this is better than I expected." Harry replied and smiled at her.
"Harry, too much time has gone by already. I'm not ready to talk to Ron or deal with him just yet, but little by little I have to deal with the rest. I'm not saying we are going to be best friends, but I can be courteous. Besides, I never said I forgave them, but I appreciate their apologies," she finished shrugging her shoulders.
"Do you think you can speak to Ron as usual later on?" he asked curiously.
"Can you?" she asked raising an eyebrow.
"Not right now. I'm mad at him, but at the same time I'm as guilty as the rest when we assumed the wrong thing. It's going to take time for things to go back to normal."
"You're right but I'm afraid things will never be the same. When someone you trust fails you in such a way, things can never be the same and that trust is hard to regain. And if you do regain it, there will always be doubts lurking in the back of your mind."
Harry put his bag on the table by the door and walked over to where she was standing. He took her hand and brought her over to the sofa.
"I failed you as well, Mione. Does that mean you won't be able to forgive me?" he asked worriedly once they were sitting down.
"You did, but in a different way. I can forgive you because our friendship was on a deeper level than my friendship with the rest of them. Ron was my boyfriend and as such, he owed me respect and faithfulness. He failed at both."
"Do you think we can make it as a couple? Are you worried about that?"
She sighed. "I will admit I'm a bit worried."
"What are you worried about?"
"If it will really work out. I wonder how people are going to react to the news. I wonder what they will say about me dating first Ron and now you. I don't want any more problems in my life, Harry," she said honestly.
Harry had suspected as much. "I am not going to make you promises I won't be able to keep, Hermione. All I can do is show you how I feel. I guess at the beginning people will talk, and there is no way to stop that from happening. We are both famous and people like to follow what we do. We will not be able to hide the fact that we are dating for long. But if it makes you feel better, I won't tell anyone," he told her.
"Don't get me wrong, Harry, I don't want to hide it from the world, but I do want to take it slowly. What Ron did hurt my pride deeply. I was more disappointed than heartbroken, to tell you the truth. I guess I started going out with him because he had been asking for so long that I figured it might work."
"Are you saying you didn't love him?" Harry asked surprised.
"I did love him, but I was never in love with him. And maybe that's one of the reasons he cheated on me. I couldn't give him what he wanted."
"What do you mean, Mione?" he asked confused.
"I think he cheated on me because I never slept with him," she confessed quietly.
"What?" he asked unable to hide his surprise at the news.
"You heard me right. I just couldn't do it, Harry. We were always fighting about one thing or another, and that doesn't leave a lot of room for romance. How could I fight with him one minute and sleep with him the next?"
"But you slept in his room!"
"No, I didn't. You always saw me go in, but after you were in bed, I always went back to my room. He kept pressing me for more and I could not give it to him. It didn't feel right."
"I can't believe it! Why didn't you tell me before now?"
"Because I was embarrassed and I didn't want him to find out you knew. You know how Ron is. If anyone had found out that after a year I still had not slept with him, it would have destroyed his self-esteem. He's a famous quiddish player, Harry, and he has a reputation to protect."
"Still, Mione, that didn't give him the right to cheat on you. He could have broken up with you instead. If all he wanted was sex, there were obviously plenty of women after him. He made the wrong choice," Harry said convinced that he was right.
"And if I didn't love him enough, I should have broken up with him as well. But I kept on giving the relationship time and that was wrong on my part, too."
She had him there and she was right. But he was curious about something.
"What about me? Do you think you can fall in love with me?" he asked and held his breath.
"Oh, Harry, I don't have any doubts about that. With you, everything is so different. I can be myself and not pretend. You seem to like me just as I am: a bookworm that loves to read and do research. A `know-it-all' that wants to solve the worlds problems. I love your job and helping you when I can. I love to talk to you about my patients. You are mostly around and even when you are not, you always manage to find time to send me a note. So, no, Harry, I don't think I will have any problems falling in love with you," she said sincerely.
He smiled at her. "I'm glad to hear that, Hermione, because I've been in love with you forever!"
Before she could say anything, he pulled her closer and kissed her. The kiss started out slowly. He traced her lips with his tongue and buried his hands in her hair. She had one hand on his thigh and the other close to his heart. She opened her mouth in invitation and his tongue darted inside to play with hers. He pulled her closer as the kiss grew in intensity. He wanted to make love to her mouth; he wanted to make her want him as she had never wanted anyone before. He wanted to erase Ron and the others before him from her heart and mind. And he wanted to lose himself in her sweetness. Harry knew he had to go slow, since he did not want her to get the wrong idea. As much as he wanted her, they would have to go slow. She had to get used to the idea of being with him. Summoning all of his strength and willpower, he pulled away.
Her eyes were glazed over with need, and she was breathing hard. He rested his forehead against hers and tried to calm his breathing as well. Another cold shower awaited him at home!
"Harry," she said timidly.
"Yes, Mione?"
"Why did you stop?"
The question surprised him a lot, but at the same time, it gave him hope for the future.
"Because we have to take our time! I don't want to stop, but I think it's better if we do."
"Are you sure?" she asked looking into his eyes and letting him see the need in hers.
"No, but I'm going to pretend that I am! For both of our sakes."
"And what if I asked you to stay?" she continued while her fingers caressed his neck and chest slowly.
"I would have to say no because if something was to happen now, you might regret it later and I wouldn't be able to live with that, baby. As much as I want you right now, I know it's best if we wait."
She sighed deeply. "I guess you're right, babe. It's better if we wait."
He got up from the sofa and pulled her up. He walked over to the door and she followed him. Before he left, he kissed her one more time and took his time. He was already going to take a cold shower, so why not take one more memory with him!
"I'm going to leave now before I change my mind and take you upstairs!" he told her once they pulled apart. His heart was beating so fast he thought he would pass out from it. She was not doing much better if he was to go by the pulse beating rapidly at the hollow of her throat.
"Why don't you come over to the hospital on your lunch hour tomorrow? We can eat in my office if you want," she suggested. She knew she would not last until the following evening without seeing him.
"I'd love to! I'll be there around noon, love. I hope you sleep well."
"I will after I take a cold shower!"
"That makes two of us!" He dropped another quick kiss on her lips, grabbed his bag from the table and left.
He decided to walk home instead of apparating since the cold night air would help him unwind. He was surprised to hear himself whistling as he walked. It had been a long time since he had felt so relaxed and happy at the same time. Hermione was back in his life and he could not believe that she had accepted to go out with him. He had been in love with her for years and his dream was finally coming true.
After their sixth year, when he had broken up with Ginny, he had wondered if he would ever be able to love someone again. At the time, he had not been sure he would even survive. But he had and Hermione had played a major role in that. He probably started falling in love with her then!
She had been by his side from the moment they had met. Had Ron not been in love with her for so long, they would have probably ended up together before now. So many years had gone by! Now was their time, and no matter what was published in the papers or what his friends or coworkers said, he was not letting her go again. He had waited too long to be with her and nothing or no one would pull them apart ever again.
Hermione let the cold water wash over her and felt her body heat coming down. She had walked into the shower stall the minute Harry had left. She was surprised at how aroused she was and all they had done was kiss! He had not touched her sexually in any way and she would have kept on going had he not stopped. She had never felt that way about Ron, or Viktor for that matter.
She had been corresponding with Viktor since they had met on her fourth year and they had started going out after the war was over. But do to his games and the fact that they lived in two different places, it hadn't lasted long. They had chosen to remain friends and that friendship still existed. Ron had a problem with it from the beginning, but she did not believe in letting go of true friends because you were in a new relationship. Those same friends were the ones that picked up the pieces when the relationship ended. After her breakup with Ron, Viktor and Neville had been the only ones by her side and for that, she would always be grateful.
She finished her shower and got ready for bed. It was getting late and she had some reports she wanted to finish before she turned in for the night. After about an hour of work, she put everything away and got into bed. She turned off the light and thoughts of Harry invaded her mind.
She had not been kidding when she had told him she could easily fall in love with him. The truth was that she had been suspecting that she loved him as more than a friend for a while. When Harry was away, she missed him like crazy. She always looked forward to his return and would cook all of his favorite dishes on the day he was due back. After the meal, they would always go into the library to talk about his trip and what she had done while he was away. If Ron was not home, those talks could go on until dawn.
That had never happened with Ron. She did not miss him as much because most of their time was spent fighting or talking about his career. He did not seem as interested in hers. If he got home after winning a game, all he wanted to do was drink and party to celebrate. If they lost, he picked a fight with her about the smallest thing, just to blow steam. She had really hated when his team lost.
She sighed and decided not to think anymore about Ron or the past. If things with her and Harry worked out, Ron would have to be a part of her life again, but she was not ready for that just yet. For now, she only wanted to concentrate on Harry and what was happening between them. Just thinking about him made her feel all warm and secure inside. She finally fell asleep with a smile on her face and her last thoughts were of the boy with intense green eyes who had stolen her heart.
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