Chapter Three:
Harry looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost 12:30am and still no sign of Hermione. He stood from his chair and sighed heavily, finally turning to head back upstairs. Harry stopped suddenly when he heard a soft voice whisper his name.
"Harry?" When he turned, he saw Hermione descending the stairs from the girl's dormitory. He quickly turned, went to her and pulled her into his embrace. She sighed, taking comfort in the safety of his arms.
"I thought you weren't coming," he whispered in her ear.
"I'm so sorry. Parvati wouldn't shut up and go to sleep." She pulled back so she could look into his beautiful green eyes. "I wanted so badly to be in your arms tonight. The whole time Parvati was talking about all the books she'd read I just kept thinking about how much I wanted you." He pressed his lips to hers, relishing the softness of her lips against his. He ran his tongue over her bottom lip asking for permission to enter. She happily obliged, moaning softly as his tongue expertly danced with her own. She felt his hands inch their way underneath her shirt to finally cup her breasts. Hermione gasped at the sensations of his hands on her bare skin. She craved his touch and his kisses all over her body, but she knew they couldn't let themselves get lost in each other no matter how badly they wanted to. Getting caught was too big a risk. Almost as if Harry could read her thoughts, he pulled away breathless from their kisses.
"I know," he whispered as he leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes for a moment. "I just want to hold you for a while." He opened his eyes, one of his famously sexy smiles sliding across his face. "I promise to try to behave." Hermione laughed breathlessly.
"You behave? That's something I'd have to see to believe."
"You don't believe me?" he asked, feigning hurt for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "I suppose you're right. I do tend to break the rules."
She gently stroked his face, "That's one of the things I love about you." Harry took her hand and led her over to the fire. He sat down on the floor, leaning his back against the chair, then pulled her into his lap. She leaned back against him, closing her eyes. They sat there in silence simply holding each other, sometimes stealing a kiss before they both drifted off to sleep. Hermione woke with a start a few hours later, looking up at the clock on the wall. It was almost 5am and they were still downstairs in the common room. She looked at Harry's sleeping form, his chin resting on his chest, his glasses still on his face. She felt her heart swell with all the love she felt for him. Hermione hated to wake him, but she knew they both needed to get back into their beds before anyone noticed they were gone. She gently ran her fingers through his hair as she pressed her lips to his. He slowly began to stir. His arms circled her waist, pulling her closer to him.
"`Mione," he murmured, still not fully waking. She smiled in satisfaction, knowing it was her he was thinking about even in his dreams.
"Harry, we have to get up," she whispered as she continued to feather kisses all over his face. He finally lifted his head, his eyelids fluttering open, still heavy with sleep. He smiled down at her, hugging her tight against his chest.
"Can't we stay here?"
"I wish we could, but we have to get back upstairs." He nodded as he slowly stood, stretching his long limbs. He reached his hand down to help Hermione up off the floor. The moment she was standing, her arms went around his neck. "I guess I'll see you in a couple of hours," she whispered against his ear.
"That's much too long," he murmured as he kissed her lips once more. He walked her over to her staircase before releasing her with a final kiss.
"Go get some sleep," she said as she turned to go upstairs. She had only taken a couple of step up when she heard him call to her.
"Hermione?" She looked down at him. He smiled up at her, "I adore you." She returned his smile before turning and continuing up the stairs. Once she was out of sight, Harry quickly headed across the room and up the stairs to his own room. He climbed into bed and quickly fell asleep, his dreams filled with Hermione.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Harry woke the next morning, he quickly dressed and made his way down to the Great Hall hoping to find Hermione there. He couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face with just the thought of her. The way her brown eyes always looked at him with so much love, the way she smiled just for him, the way she loved him was more than Harry ever thought he could hope for. He knew their relationship was new and that they were still so young, but Harry couldn't imagine spending the rest of his life with anyone but her by his side. All he wanted to do was shout out loud how much he loved her, but he knew he still had to keep his feelings in for just a while longer. He had to tell Ron before anyone else found out about his relationship. He owed his friend that much. Harry just prayed Ron would forgive them and they can remain friends. He wasn't sure if he could handle it if Ron ended their friendship, but as long as Hermione was by his side he knew he could somehow get through it.
When he entered the Great Hall, he noticed loads of students crowded around the Gryffindor table. Harry frowned in confusion as he made his way over. He managed to get through the crowd to find his redheaded best friend who seemed to love all the attention he was getting. Ron grinned when he saw Harry coming.
"Harry!" Ron gave him a brotherly hug before moving down to make room for him at the table. Much to Harry's disappointment, he sat in between him and Hermione. She gave him a smile before turning to her breakfast in front of her.
"I guess Madame Pomfrey thinks you're fit enough to be out of the hospital."
"Thank goodness," he leaned in to whisper in Harry's ear. "I have to admit that it was nice being nursed by Luna. I know she can be a bit mental at times, but she's really sweet." He blushed slightly as Harry grinned up at him, "Don't tell anyone I said that."
"My lips are sealed," he patted his friend on the back, feeling better about telling him about his relationship with Hermione. Harry stole a quick glance at Hermione who was engaged in conversation with Parvati and Lavender. On their way out of the Great Hall they ran into Luna. Harry didn't miss the cheesy smile that crossed Ron's face at the sight of the lovely blonde.
"Good morning," she smiled at each of them, but her blue eyes locked on Ron. "How are you feeling today Ron?"
"Better," he squeaked out, a blush creeping into his cheeks. "H-how are you this morning Luna?"
"Good. I must say it's going to be quite boring up in the hospital without you to make me laugh."
Ron blushed from head to toe, shuffling his feet nervously. Harry and Hermione had to fight the laughter that threatened to bubble up from inside. "I-if you have time, maybe you can stop by the library a little later. We'll be there studying for the NEWTs practically all day." Ron shot Hermione an evil glare before turning back to Luna with a smile. Her eyes lit up and she grinned up at him.
"Sure. I have to go up to the hospital now, but I'll try to make it to the library a little later." She waved over her shoulder as she walked away. Ron watched her walk away with a silly grin on his face. Once she was gone, he looked over at his two best friends and the smile quickly disappeared.
"What?" he asked. "I honestly don't know what you two git's are staring at." He walked past them leading the way to the common room. Harry and Hermione gave each other a knowing smile before following him up the stairs. Once they got their books, they headed to the library where Neville joined them. They were studying for a couple of hours when Luna showed up. Ron's face lit up immediately at the sight of her walking towards their table.
"Hi. How's studying going?" she whispered.
"Boring," Ron moaned.
"Ron, there's a book I wanted to get for a bit of reading since we aren't having classes this week. The shelf is a little too high for me. Would you mind helping me reach it?"
"S-sure Luna," he smiled as he stood to follow her. Neville, Harry, and Hermione watched them walk away. They all laughed softly before returning their attention back to their studies. Ten minutes later, Ron and Luna still had yet to return. Harry leaned over to whisper in Hermione's ear.
"What do you think they're up to?"
She giggled, "They're probably doing what we'd like to be doing right now." Harry grinned down at her.
"Let's go see."
"Harry!"she exclaimed. "We are not spying on Ron and Luna."
"Oh, come on. We have to tell him about us sooner or later. Wouldn't it be nice to know what's going on with Luna? It might help us later." Hermione closed her eyes, sighing heavily. As much as she hated to admit it, Harry was right. She simply nodded, taking Harry's hand as he led her in the direction Ron and Luna had taken more than fifteen minutes ago. They peaked around every corner until they finally saw them more than ten rows away. Ron had Luna up against one of the bookshelves, snogging her senseless. Harry covered Hermione's mouth with his hand to stop the giggle he knew was threatening to come. They quickly retreated back to their table. Neville looked up from his books with a smirk.
"So, what were they up to?"
"Snogging like mad," Harry grinned, causing Neville to chuckle. A few minutes later, Ron and Luna came back to the table, both of them straightening their clothes along the way. Ron sat down at the table and immediately returned his attention to the book he had been studying, refusing to look at anyone else. Luna sat down beside him, opened her book and began to read.
A little while later they broke for lunch. Luna reluctantly headed to the Ravenclaw table as the others headed over to Gryffindor. None of them said a word about what had happened in the library with Luna.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After lunch, they decided to take a break from studying to go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather they were having. The sun was nice and warm. They laid out a large blanket and sat down to enjoy its warmth. Luna had once again joined them. Hermione lay back on the blanket and Harry followed her, laying his head in her lap. She smiled down at him, ruffling his hair affectionately. Lucky for them, Ron seemed to be paying attention to Luna, so he didn't see their interaction. Neville had gone down by the lake to see what kind of plants he could find, leaving the two couples alone. Much to Harry and Hermione's surprise, Luna led Ron away to toward the other end of the lake. Harry took advantage of the moment and stole a quick kiss from Hermione.
"I've been waiting to do that all day," he smiled up at her. She ran her finger over his lips, wishing she could kiss him the way she really wanted to.
"Me too," she whispered. "We have to tell Ron. I don't want to hide the way I feel about you."
"I know we do. Now that Luna's in the picture it should be easier for him to accept."
She nodded, "I hope so. When are we going to tell him?"
"Tonight I suppose. We can have him meet us in the Room of Requirements. Maybe we won't be interrupted there."
"How do you think he's going to take it?" Harry shrugged.
"I honestly don't think he's going to be happy about it, but I'm hoping he'll get over it fairly quickly," he gave her a sad smile. "I can't say that I'd blame him for being upset. I would be if I found out I'd lost my chance with you." Hermione smiled, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. He reached up to brush a stray curl from her face. She sighed heavily.
"I wish we could tell him now."
"Me too. I don't want to hide it anymore, but we have to tell Ron first." A few minutes later, Ron and Luna returned, both of their lips slightly swollen as if they'd just finished a good snogging session. Hermione and Harry didn't say anything. They just smiled at each other. They remained outside for a while longer before returning to their studies. On the way back to the library, Harry casually mentioned to Ron that they should meet in the Room of Requirement later, and that Luna should join them since she's not allowed in the Gryffindor common room. Ron of course thought it was a grand idea and Luna agreed to meet them there around 8pm. She headed back to the hospital, leaving them to their studies. Both Harry and Hermione were so anxious about telling Ron that neither could get much studying done. On the way into dinner that night, Hermione caught Luna and asked her to meet them around 8:15pm instead of 8pm to give them some time to talk to Ron before she got there. She agreed, no questions asked. Harry and Hermione picked at their dinner, barely eating while Ron of course gorged himself as usual. Afterwards, the three of them headed for the Room of Requirement. Ron looked up at the clock with a frown.
"Where's Luna? I did say eight, right?"
"You did, but I asked her to come about 8:15 instead," Hermione said. Ron looked at her confused.
"Why?"
"So we could have a chance to talk to you before she gets here," Harry answered.
"Oh, what about?"
Harry took a deep breath, "Well, a lot has changed over the last few days."
"Oy, you don't have to tell me. Nothing will ever be the same again."
"What Harry's trying to say is that we've realized that we have feelings for one another." Ron looked thoroughly confused.
"You're best friends. Of course you have feelings for each other."
Harry laughed, "Not of the friend sort, Ron. Hermione and I are together . . . as in a couple." Ron's confusion melted away and was replaced by anger. They felt their hearts drop as they looked at their friend, knowing he wasn't exactly going to give his blessing. Ron said nothing. He just glared at them.
"Ron say something," Hermione asked, her voice shaky.
"What would you like me to say Hermione? My two best friends sneak around together behind
my back for who knows how long, betraying me and our friendship. Harry, you knew how I felt
about . . . " He glanced at Hermione then continued to stare at Harry.
"Ron, not once in the last seven years have you told Hermione how you felt. It was you that kept
me from acting on my feelings for her once I'd realized they'd changed."
"Oh, now noble of you," he snapped. "And just when did you realize your feelings had changed?"
"Toward the end of last year. That's why I broke up with Cho." Hermione felt her heart constrict
at Harry's confession, but she continued to remain quiet.
"That's just brilliant. So you've been carrying on for over a year?"
"No. We didn't act on our feelings until just after the war. You were in the hospital and we were
both so afraid of what was going to happen to you," Hermione defended. "I've known how I feel
about Harry since fifth year. I never dreamed he would feel anything more than friendship for me.
Things just happened and we're sorry we hurt you, but we can't apologize for how we feel about
each other." Hermione reached out and took Harry's hand, which only seemed to make Ron even
angrier.
"What about Luna? I thought you two . . . " Harry began, but Ron cut him off.
"You thought what? We're just friends."
"But we saw you in the library this afternoon," Hermione argued.
"So now you're spying on me?" he yelled, his face getting redder by the minute.
"We thought you'd be okay with this since you and Luna were together," Harry said.
"Luna and I are not together," Ron said through clenched teeth. "A couple of kisses does not
mean a relationship." They were so caught up in their discussion that none of them realized Luna
had walked in. They turned to her, surprised. When they saw the tears welling in her eyes, they
immediately felt guilty. The expression on her face as she looked up at Ron was one of hurt and
despair. She quickly turned and ran out of the room as her tears began to fall. Ron groaned,
"Bloody hell! Luna, wait . . . " he called out but she was already gone. He turned back to Harry and Hermione, "Look what you've done. You're just ruining everything." Ron turned on his heels and stomped out of the room.
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