A/N: All of the characters you recognize belong to the wonderful mind of our beloved author, JK Rowling. I promise to put them back when I am done playing with them. They assured me that they do not mind playing at all! In fact, they are enjoying it.
I also wanted to take the time to say thank you for all of the wonderful reviews! I was amazed by the support the story is getting and happy that you are all enjoying a more carefree and flirty Hermione. There is nothing better than a woman who is smart and sexy and I think she is both. I love their interaction, their flirting, and their sexiness, so you will get a lot more of that! Oh, and sorry for the cliffhanger, since at the time it did not seem as such. *laughs wickedly*
Without further ado, here is chapter 3. Hope you enjoy!
Nothing More Than A Kiss
Harry looked at her and wondered when Hermione had become so bold and self-assured. It was damn sexy on her. She was the only bookwork he knew that could pull being sexy so well. Her intelligence was legendary and had saved their arses more times than he cared to remember now. Ever since she had realized her attributes as a woman, all of that had changed. Gone was the bushy hair and her shyness. In its place was a very confident and sensual woman and Harry was crazy about her.
"What are you thinking," she asked when he kept staring at her without saying anything.
"I was just thinking about how smart and beautiful you are," he said simply.
"Thank you, Harry," she said smiling brightly at him. "You even get extra points for mentioning that I'm smart first," she continued cheekily.
"I'm sorry for kissing you just now. Maybe I was out of place and shouldn't have done that."
"Maybe you shouldn't worry about it so much, you know. It was just a kiss between friends."
His blood began to boil. Just a kiss between friends, eh? Was she mental? That kiss had rocked his world, damn it.
"Do you kiss all of your male friends like that?"
"No, just the handsome ones like you," she said coquettishly. Oh, but she was loving this conversation! No sense in telling him it had been ages since she had kissed another guy.
"Pardon me? Hermione, you can't just go around kissing men left and right."
"And why in Merlin's name not? You kiss plenty of women all of the time."
"That's not the point," he replied stubbornly.
"And what is the point, oh wise one?"
"Real cute. You have a very big reputation to uphold and it could affect your position at the hospital."
"Is that really the reason?"
"Yes! What other reason could there be?" This conversation was getting out of hand and it was a bit annoying that she kept getting the upper hand. He didn't even want to think about another man looking at her, let alone kissing her.
"Could you be jealous, perhaps?"
"That's nonsense, Hermione," he said not looking at her. He pushed his dessert away since he did not feel like eating anymore. He finished the contents of his wine glass in one long gulp.
Hermione noticed and smiled inwardly. "It's okay, Harry. I think it's adorable that you care so much."
He noticed that her eyes were crinkled at their corners again and had to smile. He had never been able to stay mad at her for long.
"Witch."
"Glad you noticed."
"You have an answer for everything don't you?"
"We've been best-friends for the past fourteen years or so. You should know better than to ask that, love." She winked at him.
"Maybe we should go home."
"You're right. I am sure the media will be waiting impatiently to take more pictures of us. We shouldn't keep them waiting," she finished sarcastically.
"You're right. Let me take care of the bill and we're out of here."
She nodded and sipped the last of her wine as he walked away. She loved teasing the poor man, and it served him right to be brought down a peg or two every now and then. It kept his feet on the ground as far as she was concerned.
He came back a few minutes later and she took the time to admire him. She smiled knowingly when she saw the tale tell bulge in front of his pants. She did not want to think about what seeing him like that did to her ego.
"Shall we?" he asked extending his hand towards her. She took his hand and stood up making sure to rub against his body as she did so. He gasped when her hand `accidentally' rubbed against his most intimate part.
"Bloody hell," he said under his breath, but she heard him and giggled. Harry stared at her in disbelief. The little witch had giggled!
"Oops, sorry."
Before he could say anything, she walked ahead of him, her hips swinging seductively from side to side. What was she playing at, he wondered not for the very first time that day. He followed her and took her hand right before she stepped out of the doors, bringing her close to him once again.
The moment they walked out, the number of people gathered around stunned her. It seemed word had gotten out that they were there. There were at least three photographers and four or five reporters. They came at them at once, shouting questions and taking pictures. Harry let go of her hand and put his arm around her shoulders, sheltering her a bit from the group. Thankfully, some of the servers came out and helped them get down to their waiting cab.
Once settled inside, she looked at him in wonder. "What in the name of Merlin was that, Harry?"
"I have no idea, to be honest. It's never that bad."
"How can we still generate so much interest after so long?"
"When was the last time we went out alone? And dressed like this?"
"I can't remember, but it's been a long time."
"Then I would suggest you get ready, because we're going to make the front page tomorrow."
"I can see it now. I hope you didn't have any hot dates this weekend. They're not going to be happy with you!"
"I didn't make any plans, since you were coming back today and I wanted to spend the weekend with you," he told her.
"Oh, Harry, that was sweet of you. Did you have any plans in mind?"
"No, but after the media circus that's about to start, what do you think about going away from the city for the next couple of days?"
"Where do you want to go?" she asked interestedly.
"Preferably to some little cottage in the countryside. We can leave early in the morning and be back on Sunday night."
"That sounds wonderful, Harry, I would love to. After the long week I just had I could use a couple of days of nothing but relaxation."
"Then I have just the place in mind."
They had reached their flat by then and quickly went in. They didn't know if anyone had been daring enough to follow them home.
Once inside, Harry turned to look at her.
"Thank you for the lovely evening. I had a lot of fun." She hugged him tightly but as she was about to step back, he grabbed her by the waist and kept her close to him.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. We should make a point of doing it more often."
Hermione rested the palms of her hands against his chest and smiled up at him. She could feel the beating of his heart against her hand.
"Why is your heart beating so fast Harry?"
"Must be because I'm holding you close and I don't want to let you go," he answered honestly, as he looked deep into her eyes.
Hermione was beginning to think this was no longer a game between friends. That worried her immensely since she did not want to mess their friendship up if things didn't work out between them. They had already lost so much.
"I think it's best if I go to bed now, Harry." She dropped her hands from his chest and stepped back from his arms. She immediately felt cold.
"What are you afraid of?" he asked.
"Losing you," she answered honestly.
"That will never happen, Mione."
"No one can promise me that, and I won't risk it. What we have is too precious and I'm not willing to sacrifice it for a wild night of passion," she explained softly.
"I can promise you it won't be a one-night-only affair."
"Even so, I'm not ready to cross that line just yet. Goodnight, Harry."
She started walking towards the steps and he followed her. He caught her as she put her foot on the bottom step. He took her hand and she turned to look at him.
"What about this weekend? Do you want to cancel our plans?"
"No. I'll be ready to leave at seven in the morning."
He nodded. "Good night, then."
She smiled softly at him, turned around, and walked up the stairs without a backward glance.
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Harry sighed and decided to go into their home office. He went directly to the bar and poured himself some firewhisky in a glass. He sat on the sofa and leaned his head back. He closed his eyes and replayed the evening in his mind.
She had never acted so boldly around him. She had kissed him back with as much passion as he had. Their tongues had met and danced together erotically. Merlin, but she was a great kisser, he thought, running his hand absently over his still hard member. She had responded with abandon to his kiss and he would have kept on going had they not been in a public place.
But had she really felt it? Had she realized how deep his feeling for her ran? He had been in love with her for years, but he had kept that love to himself for the same fears she now had. He had been afraid of losing her. Unfortunately for him, time had done nothing but increase those feelings. As he had watched each of their friends get together and make it work, his heart had found hope. Ron and Luna would be married soon. Neville and Ginny were making it work and were both happy. The rest of their friends were either married or seriously dating someone. The only ones left were them, and he knew in his heart that they were meant to be together.
She was so precious to him that he would gladly give his life for her. As far as he was concerned, their current relationship was even better than that of most of the people he knew. They cared about each other and took care of each other on a daily basis. They helped each other out through good and bad. The best part was that they already had a strong foundation on which to build a loving relationship.
Harry understood her fear because he'd had those same fears for a long time himself. He had acted on his feelings tonight out of sheer madness, he knew, but he was not sorry. His instinct told him to keep pushing her for more, that she would eventually give in. His heart was practically begging him to go on as well. It felt right.
He remembered their kiss again and he knew he was hooked. He would not let another man touch her ever again. She was his and his only. He knew he had to find a way to make her understand. If he played his cards right over the weekend, he might finally get his wish. He drowned his drink and stood up. His mind was made up and Hermione was in for the ride of her life. She had no idea what awaited her. He suddenly remembered what she had said: `even so, I'm not ready to cross that line just yet'. Well, by Merlin, he was. Her `just yet' was going to get a little push into right now.
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Hermione lay in her bed, but she was not able to fall asleep. Her mind was so full of thoughts she wished she had a pensive in which to empty them all. She kept remembering their kiss and her skin would flush. Why, oh why, had she acted like such a prat and egged him on? She should have known better than to dare and push Harry. He had never been able to back away from a challenge. She had let him caress her in the afternoon, she had accepted his kisses as if it was a part of their daily routine, and she had dressed provocatively to get a rise out if him.
He had responded as any other hot-blooded male would if facing the same situation. If she was honest with herself, she had to admit that she had loved the attention he had given her and had enjoyed their evening immensely. She was also looking forward to their weekend.
Would it be so bad to let go and see where it all lead them? she wondered not for the first time that night. Could it work for them as it had for the rest of their friends? Could they find more than just friendship with each other? She turned on her stomach and sighed. She tried to empty her mind, as she had learned from Harry before the war. Occlumencia had become their ally during that time and she was glad she had mastered it. She took a deep breath and emptied out her mind little by little. Once she had, she snuggled between her sheets and fell asleep thinking that the weekend would be better.
She had no idea just how right she was.
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