Chapter 3
A/N: Thanks again to those who took the time to review! We're both thrilled that you like this fic, and hope you enjoy the upcoming chapters. There will be more romance, of course, but we wanted to make sure that they become friends first.
And BEFORE we forget AGAIN, and we're both very ashamed, we must tell you all that Bookworm Sweetheart is responsible for this FANTASTIC plot idea!! If it weren't for her, we wouldn't be writing it. Shame on us for forgetting to say it sooner!!
And while you're waiting for the next chapter, please go check out our individual stories! Heaven's newest chapter of Within the Shadows of Hatred is in dire need of reviews!!!
Review Responses:
She Vamp: We're getting to Harry, don't worry. You'll see plenty of his emotions this chapter ;)
LeBoshi: You called Heaven a witch; you say that like it's a bad thing ;) LOL
Nappa: Hold your pants for the smut, it's coming!
SexsiPrincess: AU means Alternate Universe
Sparkle Tangerine: Ron's still around. He comes more into play later in the fic; keep reading you'll see.
VipyGirl831: Glad you liked Pouting!Harry and FallingoffChair!Hermione
Angel: If there's a lack of updates in the stories we write together, it's because we're working extra hard to put out our separately written ones as well. We'll keep it going as steadily as possible though!
Miranda parker: We'd all kill to have boyfriends like Harry ;)
Emster: Thanks for the Salem witch info ;) LOL!!
hermione*harry4eva21: Heaven wrote Return to Me, but Love is a Battlefield is written by Lissanne.
Well I think that takes care of any questions or funny comments left in reviews…hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you have the others so far!!!!
Harry threw his head back, gasping for air as tingling sensations wracked his body. A pair of lips were moving down his neck, over his chest and working their way down to his manhood.
"Oh!" his breath caught in his throat as the most amazing feelings washed over him. He felt smooth hands run over his chest, and his back arched as she went down on him. Harry tried to see who was creating these wonderful thrills. Looking down, all he could see was a head of long dark hair, moving up and down on him. Forgetting about finding who it was, he let his head fall back again, panting; this was too good to ignore.
She was satisfying him immensely, his pleasure factor was going higher and higher as the mysterious girl continued her game. Her lips finally left his manhood and began to work their way back up.
"Oh…Harry…" she breathed, and Harry trembled at the way her name rolled out of her mouth.
"Please…" his voice came out feebly, still reeling from the passion she'd bestowed upon him. He wanted to ask her name, but before he could even see, her lips were now pressed hard against his, her tongue reaching out, exploring his mouth.
Harry kissed her back, she felt so warm, and smelled so good. He reached up under her gown to stroke her skin. It was smooth under his fingers, almost like silk.
"Harry…" she drew her mouth away from his now, and he fell back against his pillow in shock.
"Hermione?" his voice came out more of a question than shock.
"Harry I've loved you for so long, say you love me too…" her voice was almost ethereal sounding, her gaze burning yet pleading.
He opened his mouth to speak, but she'd pressed her lips to his again roughly, and drew back once more. "Harry its time to wake up."
"What?" he asked, confused.
"Time to wake up!" she grinned, leaning away from him. "Time to wake up!"
"WHAT?" Harry yelled as he sat straight up. He was breathing heavily, and he looked down to see his nightshirt soaked in perspiration.
"Time to get up!" his stupid alarm clock was singing gleefully from his bedside table, and he reached through the hangings and thumped his fist on the top of it, shutting the blasted thing off.
"What the hell was that all about?" he mumbled to himself, rubbing the last traces of sleep from his eyes. He reached again through the hangings and grabbed his glasses, settling them on the bridge of his nose. He sat for a long moment; just trying to figure out what that dream had been all about.
It had certainly felt real, he reasoned as he pushed apart the curtains and pulled some clean clothes from his wardrobe. Taking a quick shower, he decided to dress in the bathroom and avoid Dean and Seamus until breakfast. Besides not wanting to have them bug him about Hermione, he needed time to think about that dream.
Across the castle and in the Slytherin dungeons, Hermione had just awoken. She felt unnaturally tired for some reason, but it could be her embarrassment over what had transpired the night before in the library.
She felt so foolish for throwing herself at Harry the way she had, but at the moment Hermione had not cared, she'd have even settled for a stranger, she had just wanted a shoulder to cry on. Now that she'd had time to think about it, it had seemed such a stupid thing to do.
"Bother, if he's as embarrassed as I am then I'm sure I'll find out soon enough." Hermione grumbled to herself, taking care not to wake her roommates. She grabbed up her clothing and headed towards the Head Girl's bathroom, knowing Blaise wouldn't care if she used it.
As she scrubbed her hair, she thought again about Harry. It wasn't normally like her to moon over one guy for as long as she had him, but there was something about his bright green eyes and messy midnight hair.
"Honestly!" she finished showering and wrapped herself in a large towel. A knock was heard on the door.
"Hermione?" Blaise poked her sleepy face through the doorframe. "How long have you been in here?" she asked, yawning. She locked the door behind her as she came inside.
"A little while." Hermione answered as she finished dressing. Blaise disappeared in the shower stall as Hermione finished drying her hair.
"Let me put some makeup on you." Blaise said, as she did every morning.
Hermione stared at her reflection for a few moments. "All right." She agreed. "But don't go overboard."
Blaise nearly fell over in shock. "What?" she asked.
"I said, all right." Hermione repeated patiently. "Just don't go overboard."
Blaise immediately came over and sat down next to Hermione. "This is great!" she squealed.
Hermione felt a twinge in her stomach, but she trusted her friend. And perhaps if she looked pretty, Harry wouldn't feel ashamed of being her partner.
"I know I had some eye shadow in here that will work perfectly." Blaise muttered, digging through a deep drawer filled with cosmetics. "Aha!" she pulled out some light green shadow, and then grabbed a tiny brush. "Okay, close your eyes." Hermione obediently did as she was told.
"This green shade will work with your brown eye colour. Green always brings out brown." Blaise lectured as she gently brushed the shadow on. Hermione opened her eyes and turned to look, but her friend stopped her. "You can't look until I'm done!" she said, turning Hermione so she faced away from the mirror. "Now…you've still got good colour in your face so you don't need any blusher, but you could use some gloss…." She dug through the drawer again.
"I don't like lipstick." Hermione said as she watched Blaise hunt through yet another drawer.
"It's not lipstick, it's lip gloss." Blaise pulled a tiny tube of shiny pinkish gloss out of the clutter. "There's a big difference."
"If you say so." Hermione sighed. She sat still as Blaise applied the gloss.
"Rub your lips together." She said, and stood back and surveyed her. "Okay…"
"All done?" Hermione asked, relieved.
"Nope." Blaise grabbed her brush. "We need to fix your hair. Do you want it up or down?"
"Down, I guess." Hermione said as Blaise fussed with her dark brown locks. She was beginning to grow impatient as her hair was tugged and pulled, but finally Blaise set the brush down and grinned.
"All ready!" she said, and spun Hermione around. Her mouth fell open as she looked at herself.
Her hair had been pulled back at the sides, and for some reason, this style made it look less bushy. Blaise had been right about the eye shadow, and about the gloss. The difference was quite subtle, but noticeable.
"Harry is going to go crazy when he sees you." Blaise grinned, proud of her work.
"You think?" Hermione asked absently, straightening her jumper. "I mean, what does it matter? I look nice for me, and only me."
"Right." Blaise said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "I'll be ready in about fifteen minutes, are you going to wait for me?"
"Merlin's Beard, yes!" Hermione exclaimed. "I'm not walking down there alone."
Blaise pushed her out the door. She hoped that looking nice would give her best friend some more confidence. Hermione had a lot going for her, but hid herself in books. And assholes like that Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan didn't help matters any.
"Ready to knock Harry's block off?" she asked cheerfully as she came out twenty minutes later.
"If I don't die of hunger first." Hermione said. The two girls left the Head Girl and Boy common room and went into the hallway. "Blaise, are you sure I look fine? No one will laugh at me?"
"Herms, I'm insulted that you think I'd lie to you." Blaise slung an arm around Hermione's shoulders.
"Don't call me Herms, you know I hate it." Hermione glared at her.
"Well you insulted my makeup." Blaise said lightly. "So I can call you Herms."
The two girls sniggered as they came to the Great Hall door. A few people turned to look at Hermione as the two girls wove their way to the Slytherin table, but for the most part, no one bothered to look.
"See, I told you it was subtle." Blaise said as they took their seats. Food appeared on the platters in front of them, and everyone began to eat.
Hermione was eating some oatmeal when Blaise jabbed her.
"Don't look now…" she hissed. "Harry's staring at you. This is the fourth time I've caught him looking since breakfast started."
Hermione gulped down her cereal, and discreetly looked up. Blaise was right, Harry was indeed looking in her direction, although he was not wearing a smile, his face was troubled.
"Smile at him, wave, or something!" Blaise said through her teeth.
"I will!" Hermione hissed back at her. Trying hard to remain casual, she slowly brought her head up, so that her eyes met Harry's. Forcing a smile and keeping the redness in her cheeks down, Hermione was pleased with herself for managing a wave.
Harry shook his head as if he'd been staring into a space, and waved back. Blaise grinned as the flush came full force into Hermione's face.
"See." She said, full of self importance. "I was right, once again. Now just wait until he sees you close up, then he'll really be staring."
Harry gobbled the rest of his breakfast down. He was eager to leave the Great Hall before everyone else did. His feelings were confusing him so much, he didn't want to talk to anyone before he could sort them out. He had the thought that he would try to talk to Draco later, perhaps that could help.
"See you guys in class." He said to Dean and Seamus as he grabbed his books and practically ran towards the doors. Once outside, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, hoping his best friend would come out soon.
"Harry?" a female voice asked tentatively. His eyes snapped open and he saw Hermione, who was twisting the edge of her robes in her hand.
"Hi!" he said, a bit too loudly.
"I'm sorry for startling you." She apologised. "I uh…I wanted to say I'm sorry about last night."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, transfixed by her mouth. Oh, what things she had done to him with that mouth just a few hours ago in his dreams. He felt his traitorous body react to that thought, and he shifted his books so it was covered.
"Well, about sobbing all over you like I did." Hermione replied. Was it her imagination, or was he extremely fidgety today? "It's just…I've only been able to talk to Blaise about what happened with Justin, and I guess…you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"It's okay." Harry replied. He stepped closer to her, and was shocked for a moment at how pretty she was. Had she been so pretty before, or was it just his dream? 'She was pretty before…you're just responding more now.' A nagging voice echoed in his head, and he shook it away. "You needed a friend, and that's what we are."
"Really? You're not angry or anything?" Hermione asked.
"Nope." He grinned now, although he still felt quite troubled. "Anytime you want to talk, I'm here." He moved a bit closer to her. "And if that jerk Justin gives you any more trouble, let me know too."
"Okay." She said, nervous that he was so close to her. She could smell him; he had a scent she couldn't quite place, something woodsy yet clean smelling. "Thanks, Harry."
"Sure." He said as she waved and scurried back to the Great Hall. He waited a few more minutes and Draco came strolling through the doors.
"Glad you're here." Harry grabbed his arm and pulled him along the corridor.
"Great to see you too, Potter." Draco said languidly. "Where's the fire?" he asked.
"I need to talk to you." Harry replied. "It's really urgent."
"When isn't something an urgency with you?" Draco asked as they went into the empty Transfiguration classroom. It was so early that McGonagall wasn't even there yet.
"It's just you're good with girls and I'm…not." Harry ran a hand through his black hair.
"True." Draco said, stretching lazily. "So what girl are you having trouble with?"
"Well…none." Harry said. "I'm not sure if I really like her, or if it's just my imagination."
"Do tell me more." Draco said, sitting up. He listened while Harry described everything that had happened since he and Hermione had been paired up as partners.
"Sounds like a really graphic dream." Draco teased as the flush rose in Harry's face.
"It was." Harry replied. "But I'm not sure about how I feel now. Is it because I had a dream like that about her?"
"Harry, usually when you dream about a girl, it means you already like her." Draco said with expertise.
"I barely know her." Harry objected. "I mean, I've known who she is, but until a few days ago, we probably spoke maybe twice in our lives."
"You think she's pretty?" Draco pressed.
Harry thought for a minute. "Yeah." He said. "Yeah, she's pretty."
"Well, ask her out and see if anything comes of it."
"I'd like to get to know her better first, as a friend." Harry replied.
"Then do that, but don't be surprised if you find yourself falling for her completely." Draco drawled. Harry tossed his Transfigurations text at him.
"Thanks for the advice!" he said sarcastically.
*** *** *** *** *** ***
"So you see, they didn't actually burn, but experienced only light tickling sensations." Harry dictated aloud as he copied the information neatly onto a piece of parchment.
"I thought it wasn't light, but heavy." Hermione frowned, poring over another book. She and Harry were sitting side by side at a table in the library, books stacked around them so highly that they couldn't see over them.
"No, it's a light tickling." Harry said. "Gentle, if you want the proper wording." He pushed the book between them and pointed. "Look, gentle."
"You like being right, don't you." Hermione didn't mind his teasing, not in the least.
"Especially when it means you're wrong." Harry said smugly but jokingly.
"You're so funny!" Hermione said sarcastically, but she was grinning. "I still believe it was a heavy tickling!"
"You want to see heavy tickling?" Harry moved the book aside.
Hermione eyed him warily, pleased yet alarmed he was so close to her, it was making her a bit dizzy. "What do you mean?"
"This!" Harry went in for the kill, and began tickling her sides mercilessly.
"Harry!" she shrieked, then collapsed in silent, tortured giggles as he squeezed her sides.
"Now THAT'S heavy tickling!" he said about two minutes later, laughing too hard to continue.
"Oooh that was mean!" Hermione wiped tears from her cheeks.
"I'm sorry." Harry said in a voice that showed he didn't mean it. "Really. I am."
"You are not." Hermione swatted him on the arm. She was extremely proud of herself for not becoming flustered like she usually did. Something about him made her feel extremely comfortable.
"I think that's good enough for tonight." Harry said about a half hour later. "We're making really good time on this, we'll have it done way ahead of the due date."
"I think so too." Hermione agreed, marking her page with a scrap of parchment.
Harry grinned at her, she'd left her hair in the style it had been in at breakfast, and it looked so cute on her. He was feeling better about his feelings ever since talking to Draco, and getting to know her first as a friend would be the best thing to do. "So what else do you like to do for fun? We never got to finish talking last night."
"Yeah, that got spoiled a bit didn't it." Hermione made a face. "Well, I love to read, I like to write….what about you?"
"Well, flying is my absolute favourite thing to do." Harry said. "I take my Firebolt out whenever I get a chance to."
"I suppose being on the Quidditch team helps as well." Hermione smiled.
"I love Quidditch." Harry smiled. "Have you ever played?"
Hermione's eyes widened. "I hope you're kidding." She said. "Me, on a broomstick?"
"What's wrong with that?" Harry asked.
"It's obvious you've never seen me fly before." She said, laughing a little. "For one thing, I'm terrified of heights, and for another…my coordination when my feet aren't touching the ground is a little…off."
"Come on." Harry said, standing up and holding his hand out to her.
"I beg your pardon?" Hermione asked, looking up at him.
"Come on. I'll take you for a ride." He grinned, not noticing the context of his words.
'He wants to take me on a ride, Merlin's Beard does he know what he's implying?' Hermione thought, desperately trying to decide whether or not sitting on Harry's broomstick WITH Harry was something she could handle.
"It'll be fun, and I won't even take you that high." Harry was saying.
"You've already taken me high." Hermione muttered. Harry's eyes widened and Hermione's face flushed so red she figured steam was coming out of her ears.
"What did you say?" he asked curiously, a slight shade of pink staining his cheeks as well.
"I said…uh…I don't mind if you take me high." Hermione covered up. Harry grinned even wider and she felt dizzy again.
"All right!" he reached down and grabbed her hand. "This will be fun. I'm excited, I never got to take a girl flying before!" this time it was his turn to flush a deep red. He held on to her hand but neither one spoke until they were near the locker rooms.
"I've just got to get my broom." Harry said, pushing the door open to the boys' locker room.
"Okay." Hermione hugged her arms around herself and wished she'd brought her cloak outside with her, it was extremely cold. Silently willing herself not to be nervous, she jumped when Harry touched her arm.
"I brought this for you." He held out his extra Quidditch robe. "Might be a bit large on you, but it'll keep you warm." Hermione suddenly felt glowing warm as he helped slip it on.
"Thank you." She smiled up at him. "But won't you be cold?"
"Nah, I'll be all right." Harry said. "I want to show you this first, before we fly."
"What?" Hermione asked, as he took her by the hand again and pushed the doors open.
"The Quidditch field." Harry answered.
"I've seen the Quidditch field before." She replied.
"Not from down here you haven't." he answered, pulling her along so that they were once again outside. "Look up."
Hermione gasped as she raised her eyes to the sky. The stands were high above them, and the sky overhead was scattered with millions of stars. Hogwarts was so far into the country that every cluster and constellation was visible.
'How romantic…' Hermione thought to herself. She could only imagine what he must be like on a real date, if he felt romantically about a girl, what he would do for her then. 'I only wish it were me…' she thought wistfully.
"Isn't it a great view? It always gives me such a rush right before the game." Harry said.
"It's incredible." Hermione breathed, turning around in a circle to see everything. He watched her spin around a few times, admiring the way the moonlight played off her features,
'She looks so pretty, I wonder why anyone hasn't snatched her up yet? Besides that loser, Justin that is…' Harry thought. 'I wonder why she's in Slytherin, she seems too nice for that.' He shook his head, as if to wake himself up. "Come on, let's get in the air!" he exclaimed. "I saw you looking at those stars."
Hermione approached the broom with an apprehensive look on her face. "Are you sure I'll be safe on that?" she asked timidly.
"Of course." Harry scoffed, jumping onto it. "And I'm an expert flier." Hermione just looked at him. "Come on, I know we haven't been friends that long, but you can trust me."
She nearly melted when he said that, and when he looked at her with those large, brilliant green eyes of his, there was no way she could have refused.
"All right." She said nervously, climbing onto the broom in front of Harry. He quickly slid one of his arms around her waist.
"Okay, just lean against me." He said, and after taking a deep breath, Hermione did just that.
'Oh Merlin's Beard, I'm sitting in his lap!!' her mind screamed with joy. Harry pushed off the ground with his feet gently, so that they only rose about ten feet in the air.
"Hermione!" Harry laughed when he looked around at her. She had her eyes screwed tightly shut, and she was white knuckling the handle. "You can't enjoy this if you don't relax." He scooted a little closer so he could hold her tighter around the waist. "I promised nothing bad would happen to you."
"I know…but I'm just really afraid of heights." Hermione said, opening her eyes.
"This isn't high." Harry grinned mischievously. "This is!" he pulled up on the broom and Hermione screamed as they went up twenty feet.
"Harry!" she turned to shout at him, but one look at the impish smile on his face made her forget about being angry. "Don't go any higher!"
"What?" he yelled, even though he could hear her perfectly. "Go higher?" he pulled the broom almost straight up and her body fell completely back against his. Harry would be lying to say he wasn't enjoying that.
"Harry!!" Hermione screamed. He levelled off the broom; they were now soaring high above the Quidditch stands.
"Hermione, open your eyes and look." He spoke softly in her ear. "The view is amazing."
She took a few deep breaths, she supposed Harry was right, and she did trust him. Slowly opening one eye and then the other, she gave a sharp gasp.
"What did I tell you?" Harry asked, satisfied with her reaction.
"This…. wow…. this is amazing!" Hermione could see everything from up here! Hogwarts, beyond it, the lake, and in the other direction, she could see the mountains, and in the little valley she could see the twinkling lights of Hogsmeade.
"Told you so." Harry said smugly.
"Right, right." Hermione said, boldly leaning her head back against his shoulder.
"Would you like to steer?" Harry asked a little while later.
"Me?" Hermione was surprised. "You want me to steer?"
"Sure. It's quite easy." Harry took the broom down to a lower level. "I'll guide you first, then let you take over." He placed his hands over hers.
Hermione felt the now familiar dizzy sensation of having Harry touch her. "O-okay." She stammered.
"Now push forward, like this." He demonstrated for a few minutes, and then wrapped his arms back around her waist. "Easy!"
"This is fun!" she exclaimed, veering the broom left, then right.
"Want to take it up?" Harry asked, and Hermione nodded. "Pull up, then, like I did earlier." She let out a squeal of pleasure as the broom smoothly went up about fifteen feet. Harry chuckled at her obvious delight.
After about a half hour, Hermione decided she'd had enough of flying for the night, and she was proud that she got them back to the ground without a single bump.
"See, you did great out there!" Harry was happy that he'd gotten her to fly.
Hermione was still flushed with excitement and the feeling that came with being next to the boy she loved. "That was really fun."
"You're a natural." Harry grinned, opening the castle door for her. "We should do it again sometime."
"Really?" Hermione asked, butterflies fluttering madly in her stomach.
"Yeah, sure!" he said. "You should consider yourself lucky, I don't let just anyone ride on my Firebolt."
"Well, okay then." She said shyly.
Harry found himself staring at her again, at the way she twisted her hair around her index finger, her large brown eyes, how her clothes hung just right on her, not tight like most of the girls there wore them. He found himself inexplicably drawn to her at that moment for some reason, perhaps because he saw that she trusted him completely, perhaps it was because he felt like he could be himself around her as well.
Harry wanted to kiss her, more than he'd ever wanted to kiss anyone in his life. Just as he was about to step over to her, she spoke up.
"I think I should be going to bed now." Hermione said softly. "Thanks again, Harry."
"Uh…sure." Harry snapped out of his reverie. "I had fun too."
"See you tomorrow in class." She waved, then turned and went down the corridor.
Harry slumped against the wall, watching her go. He had to admit it now. He was falling for her.
A/N: Woo Harry's finally getting a clue!!! Hopefully you enjoyed that, and R/R!!!!