Here we are; the part you've been waiting for (And about nearly killed me for)
Chapter 12: Walks, Problems and Bed.
Harry and Hermione made their way over to the lake while Hermione played with the rose that Harry had plucked from a rose bush along the way.
Hermione placed her head on Harry's shoulder and smiled softly when she felt Harry press a kiss to her head as they came to a stop next to the lake. Hermione lifted her head and gazed out at the scene.
"Beautiful night," Hermione murmured as she looked over at the full moon shining in the sky and reflecting off the calm water.
"Yeah," Harry murmured as he looked at Hermione. She looked gorgeous in the moonlight, especially with her eyes glowing with happiness and wonderment.
He leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek before pulling away slightly. Hermione turned her face and Harry leaned back in again, this time kissing her lips. He started on her bottom lip and moved up slowly to her upper one, putting as much as he could into caressing them with his own. Hermione moaned as she lifted a hand up and cupped his cheek while the other hand fisted in his robes, holding on as Harry opened his mouth slightly and traced his tongue over hers, begging for entrance.
Hermione gasped slightly, allowing Harry's tongue to enter and stroke hers and the top of her mouth. Harry slid a hand into her hair and the other to her waist. He pressed himself closer to her and felt Hermione slip her hand into his hair as he had done to her. She held him close as she stretched up on her toes as they continued to explore each other until the need for air screamed in their brains.
They both pulled away slowly. Harry just laid his head on her forehead as they both stared into each other eyes.
"Wow," Hermione whispered and Harry smiled dreamily in agreement. They heard the music getting louder and Harry let out a soft chuckle as they both started swaying to it. Harry leaned in once again and kissed her softly as they continued to move in a circle in the moonlight.
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Meanwhile, back inside the castle, Cedric had left Cho with her friends and looked around for Mia. Once he spotted her he made his way over to the table.
"Hey Mia," greeted Cedric. Mia turned around and saw Cedric standing there and smiled softly.
"Hey, are you having a good time?" Mia asked and Cedric nodded.
"Yeah," Cedric told her before his eyes caught sight of Hunter talking to one of his friends. Cedric turned back to face Mia, who was filling up her cup with juice. "So, what's going on with you and Hunter?" Cedric asked, startling Mia, who looked up from her cup.
"What do you mean?" Mia asked.
"You were dancing with him - last I heard you were being pretty chilly with him," Cedric told her and Mia arched an eyebrow at Cedric's description. Then her eyes narrowed as she thought about what he had said.
"How do you know how I was acting with Hunter before?" Mia asked.
"It's Hogwarts - nothing stays a secret for long," Cedric told her and Mia nodded. "So, what is going on with you two?"
"God Cedric - Hunter and I just danced and had a nice talk," Mia informed him. "Since when is that against the law?"
"I'm just curious," Cedric told her but Mia shook her head, sensing that there was more to it than he was telling.
"Nope - that's not it," Mia informed her and Cedric sighed.
"Fine - I'm jealous. I don't like the fact that you were dancing with another man," Cedric told her and Mia planted her hands on her hips, annoyed.
"Why are you jealous? There is no reason to be jealous; we are not dating. I'm free to do whatever I want and dance with whoever I want to," Mia informed him heatedly.
"Mia, we flirt all the time!" Cedric hissed at her but Mia wasn't having it.
"I'm sorry Cedric but that's just it. We are flirting partners but we are not dating. Besides - I'm not jealous of you and Cho, so you shouldn't be jealous of me and Hunter," Mia informed him.
"Mia…" Cedric started but Mia cut him off.
"Cedric - you have no right to be jealous and you know it," Mia told him. "If I want dance with him, then I will - I'm here solo remember, meaning I'm free." Cedric was about to open his mouth when Mia's eyes slipped over his shoulder and softened slightly. She shook her head and turned back to the table. But Cedric looked over his shoulder and saw that Hunter was looking at Mia was a soft look of his own before turning back to his friends.
Cedric shook his head to clear it as he turned back to say more to Mia when Mia interrupted him.
"You better go back to Cho - I think she wants another dance," Mia told him and he turned to see Cho looking at him with a soft smile. He looked down and saw that Mia was smiling softly at him before she pushed him gently. "Go on - it's obvious that she fancies you."
Cedric let out a small sigh before he walked away over to Cho, leaving Mia alone with relief running through her.
It was better, really - she couldn't be with anyone, especially not Hunter. And she didn't want to be one of those women who used a person just to feel safe. She turned back to the table only to arch an eyebrow when she saw Snape leaving with Karkaroff and she turned to look at Draco, only to see that he had seen it too.
Draco caught her eyes and nodded. He turned his face and lifted his hand up to his mouth and softly spoke into it while Mia looked around at the students only to see that Dumbledore was looking at her and Draco with a frown on his face. She caught on before smirking.
It looked like Dumbledore was going to be making a fool out of himself later. She would bet her bedroom on it.
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"Harry, Snape and Karkaroff are heading out of the Great Hall. Karkaroff seemed worried about something while Snape was angry. Watch out for them," Draco's voice came out from Harry's earpiece. Hermione looked over Harry's shoulder to see that the two people had stepped outside near their area and she leaned her cheek into Harry's hand, placing her mouth near the microphone.
"We have them," Hermione told them both and Harry nodded.
Harry and Draco had agreed to put the microphones on the night before so that way they were still in contact with each other no matter what. The girls couldn't wear anything like it because they were wearing dresses so they had agreed that each girl would stay in sight of each man.
At first they had debated on how they were going to stay in contact during the ball when Draco had pulled out the microphones they had worn during the Quidditch Cup. They had created the small microphones after watching a movie that had put them to good use and agreed that it would be a better way to stay in contact with some amount of stealth. It was similar to the two-way mirror, but of course without the picture.
"Snape looks pissed," Harry stated as they continued to dance slowly. Hermione nodded as Harry extended his arm and spun her around and brought her back to his body.
Hermione couldn't help the soft laugh as he did this as she watched Snape search over the carriages, chasing off every student he found making out in them.
Harry and Hermione hurried over to the wall and peered around the corner to watch Snape and Karkaroff argue. Karkaroff had his sleeve rolled back and was showing him something on his arm.
"It wasn't like that earlier and you know what it means!" Karkaroff snapped at Snape, who glared back at him.
"It means nothing," Snape snarled but Karkaroff shook his head.
"I will be killed if I go!" Karkaroff informed Snape and Snape glared in response.
"Fine - make your excuses and flee like the coward you are. Excuse me if I don't do the same!" Snape snarled at him.
Both men had a staring match before Karkaroff muttered angrily under his breath, pulled down his sleeve, and walked off.
Snape continued staring at the back of Karkaroff before he shook his head and turned to stalk back off into the castle.
Harry's eyes widened in understanding over what had Karkaroff in a worried state.
"The dark mark," Harry whispered in understanding and Hermione looked at him in shock before she looked the spot where the two men had been once more.
"Voldemort," she whispered.
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Meanwhile, back inside the castle, everyone was having the time of their lives, dancing or eating or having fun with their friends.
Ron leaned against the wall as he watched the people dance with a soft smile on his face. He had seen Harry and Hermione leave the Great Hall and knew that they were finally going to take that step into a true relationship - much to his pleasure. Maybe now his sanity would be saved, he thought to himself amusingly.
Ron looked toward Mia and frowned to himself slightly - he had seen what she was like when she dancing with Hunter and was curious to what was going on there. It seemed like, to him, that Mia was keeping herself away from anything resembling a relationship and it made him worry.
Mia tried to hide it, but was full of love and he didn't want to see her fight herself like this. He had watched as Cedric made his way over to Mia and how she had looked sad underneath before sighing to himself.
He couldn't help but feel that if Mia got involved with Cedric that she would experience pain. While he didn't want that for Mia, he knew that he had to let her make her own mistakes - but it didn't mean that he couldn't push and nudge Mia on a certain path.
Ron closed his eyes as he thought back to the time when the trio had admitted their secret to him - that they were elementals.
"So, you're elementals?!" Ron asked excitedly. They were all sitting underneath the tree the day after Harry and Mia had been released from the hospital.
"Yes," Mia told him. "I'm air, Hermione's water and Harry is fire."
"What about earth?" Ron asked.
Harry, Hermione and Mia shared a look before they looked at Ron.
"We know who is earth but we can't tell you - they are under cover for us at the moment and we can't risk anything changing, especially your reactions toward them," Harry explained and Ron nodded - not feeling hurt.
They had explained their actions toward Dumbledore and everything they had been through and Ron knew that the person's life would depend on keeping their secret safe.
"So - can you do anything with your powers yet?" Ron asked.
"You saw my air shield," Mia reminded him before she scrunched her nose. "Won't be doing that again anytime soon - that really took a lot out of me."
"I can start fires... I'm working up to fire balls but they take my total concentration still," Harry explained.
"I can create water balls," Hermione told Ron as she demonstrated. She held out her hand, palm up, and her eyes flashed blue for a slight moment as water formed itself into a ball hovering a few inches above her hand.
"Oh…cool," Ron exclaimed as he lifted a hand and slipped his index finger into the water before smiling softly. "That's brilliant!"
"I'm working on turning them into ice but it's harder than it seems," Hermione admitted but Ron waved it off.
"Hermione - you're the smartest one to enter Hogwarts in ages - you'll get it in time, no doubt about it," Ron told her and Hermione blushed slightly as she closed her hand.
"Are you okay about it?" Harry asked and Ron nodded.
"I'm great about it! I can boast that my best friends are elementals - I mean, you don't get to see that very often you know," Ron told them, causing them to laugh. "Don't worry - you have my promise that I'll keep this a secret... but can I watch you as you practice?"
"Sure - it'll be better to have a fresh pair of eyes with us - you can tell us what we are missing," Mia told him and Ron nodded.
Ron opened his eyes as he came back to reality and smiled when he saw his date, Parvati, dancing with Neville.
Ron had begged off dancing after five straight dances with the girl. She had laughed and told him to take a break before she went off and found someone else to dance with her.
Ron remembered the time when Hermione had told him that he was an encourager. He had been confused at first until Hermione had explained that each element needed someone to ground them when they were using their powers to encourage them to reach their potential. Ron had been pleased to find out that he had such an important job only to find out that he was the spiritual element encourager and that none of them knew who that was.
Ron had found it hilarious that they had found the encourager before they had found the elemental. Mia hadn't found her encourager yet and Harry and Hermione had found out that they were each others'.
"Hello Ronald," a familiar female voice spoke and Ron turned to see Luna standing next to him. Ron couldn't help the soft smile that crossed his face. There was something about Luna that made him want to know more about her.
"Hello Luna, are you having a good time?" Ron asked and Luna smiled softly.
"Yes, thank you - are you?" Luna asked and Ron nodded.
"Yeah, I'm having a great time," Ron told her just as a soft song came on and he held out his hand. "Would you like to dance?" Luna's smile broadened as she placed her hand into his.
"I would like that," she told him. Ron led the way out onto the dance floor and they both started dancing.
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Harry and Hermione were making their way over to the bushes after they had watched Snape and Karkaroff leave the grounds. They heard a familiar rough male voice and stopped in place.
"Is that…" Harry started.
"Hagrid," Hermione confirmed.
They were about to move forward when they heard a female voice and they both froze on the spot and turned to each other.
"Let's go," Harry whispered and Hermione nodded in agreement. They froze on the spot however when they heard the female let out a scandalised gasp and heatedly informing Hagrid that she wasn't a half-giant and that she just had big bones.
Hermione winced when she heard Hagrid arguing back before stomping sounds indicated that Hagrid and the female had left.
"Well, that was informative," Harry told Hermione, who just continued to stare at Harry before she nodded.
"Let's get back to the castle - it seems like the ground out here is a meeting spot for everyone tonight," Hermione told him, causing Harry to laugh in agreement as they made their way out of the bushes and hurried up to the castle.
They were about to make their way up the stairs when another male voice stopped them.
"Harry," they turned to see Cedric standing there with Cho. "Can I speak to you for a second?" Harry turned to Hermione.
"Can you wait a second?" Harry asked to Hermione. She nodded as she watched Harry hurry over to Cedric, who was waiting patiently. "What's up?" Harry asked.
"Have you sorted out your clue for the egg yet?" Cedric asked after they had separated a little from the others. Harry shook his head. "Alright - listen, what you have to do is go underwater with it. You can use the prefect's bathroom - the password is 'pine fresh'."
"Okay, do I need someone with me or do I just go alone?" Harry asked. Cedric shrugged.
"It's up to you," he looked over his shoulder to see that Cho was getting a little impatient. "Listen, I have to go - oh, by the way, congratulations on you and Hermione... it's about time." Cedric shot Harry a grin before he walked off. Harry couldn't help but smile before he walked back over to Hermione.
"What was that about?" Hermione asked as Harry wrapped an arm around her waist. Harry looked down at her.
"He was just helping me with the clue for the egg," Harry told her before placing a kiss on her forehead. "Now, let's get back to the common room so we can relax." Hermione giggled as they made their way up the stairs.
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Mia was also heading back to the Gryffindor common room when she bumped into a blonde, startling them both.
"Oh! I'm sorry," Mia told her but the blonde shook it off.
"It's okay Mia," the blonde told her. Mia was startled that this girl knew her name.
"You know me?" Mia asked and the blonde smiled.
"I'm Luna Lovegood. I'm in Ravenclaw and a year younger than you," Luna explained. Mia nodded as Luna's blue eyes landed on the necklace and widened slightly. "Oh my, a true love necklace."
"Excuse me?" Mia asked curiously and Luna pointed to the necklace.
"That is a true love necklace - it is rumoured that when you meet your true love it will change colour until you admit that you are in love with the person," Luna explained. "I never thought I would see one."
Mia touched her necklace as the memory of it changing colours during her dance with Hunter. Her heart started thumping harder.
"True love?" Mia croaked out and Luna nodded.
"Yes - it's a wonderful thing," Luna told her before she shook her head. "Mind you to watch out for the dreamers - they like to steal your dreams and make you follow the wrong path." With that, Luna made her way to her own common room while humming a soft song under her breath, leaving Mia alone.
Mia just stared after Luna as fear coiled in her stomach. She looked down at the necklace once more.
What she was going to do?
TBC
I hope this meets your expectations. (Hey, at least it wasn't an almost kiss!)
Does that count as a cliff-hanger though?