Chapter Five
When Hermione woke up, Harry was gone. He had folded the blanket and put the pillow on top. His bags were still there, so Hermione guessed he would be coming back.
She jumped into the shower and enjoyed the hot water cascading over her. As she rinsed her hair she thought about Harry sleeping in her apartment. Would Ginny be mad at her? She didn't really care. Harry was her best friend and he needed a place to stay. Even if Ginny would be jealous…well, that just didn't matter.
She stepped out of the shower and wiped the fog from the mirror. She grabbed a hairbrush and started the difficult and long process of brushing her hair. It took her a good ten minutes because it was so bushy and easily tangled. Her towel fell off her body, but she didn't care. She knew Harry wasn't home yet. She looked at her body in the mirror, she had a woman's body and yet she was pretty toned after her hard training. She knew other men had noticed (Seamus actually pinched her butt at a party once), but she wondered if Harry had, also.
The door swung open and, horrified, Hermione turned her head.
"Oh my - oh, God, I.." Harry turned quickly and walked into the side of the door. He jerked back holding his nose. Hermione hastened to grab the towel again whilst Harry hurried out into the living room. Hermione ran into her bedroom and threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.
"When did you get home?" she asked as she entered the living room to see if Harry was okay. He was sitting on a kitchen chair rubbing his nose.
"I just got home now, I looked for you and you were nowhere and the bathroom door was unlocked and I thought it was empty…" Harry was speaking very quickly and Hermione stifled a smile, it was obvious that Harry was embarrassed.
"It's okay, Harry, really!" Hermione secretly felt rather excited that Harry had seen her, but tried to hide it.
"Really?"
"Yes," she walked over to him and tilted his head up. "Let me see your nose."
"It's fine…." He hesitated before adding, "You've changed."
"How do you know, you've never seen me naked before." Harry started laughing and Hermione winked at him.
"No, I mean you have changed, you wouldn't have been okay with guys seeing you naked before."
"Yes, I have changed. Some sides are gone, and some new sides have come out…. Besides - you're not any guy."
Their faces were close and they looked into each other's eyes. Harry had a sort of goofy smile and he looked down for a moment and then quickly looked away. He seemed even more embarrassed, and Hermione didn't understand.
"What?" she asked.
"Sorry, didn't mean to look," he answered.
"At what?" Harry's eyes glanced down again; Hermione looked down and realized that her dripping wet hair had soaked her white t-shirt, which was now very transparent.
She quickly pulled away and put on one of Harry's sweaters that were hanging over a chair. She walked over to the counter and poured herself some coffee.
"So what are your plans for today?" she asked innocently while buttering some toast.
"I actually have a job meeting."
"On a Sunday?" Harry nodded and walked over and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Where?" Hermione asked.
"I'll let you know if I get it," Harry answered. He quickly downed his coffee, smiled at Hermione, and left.
-
Hermione hurried out of her room, she was late. She had waited up for Harry to hear about his job but he hadn't returned until after she was asleep and then she had overslept. She peaked into the living room but the sofa was empty. Hadn't he come home? A rush of panic rushed through her.
Did he spend the night somewhere else? Did he meet some girl at a pub? Witches all over the world would kill to spend the night with the famous Harry Potter.
Hermione felt her cheeks getting red with jealousy when she suddenly saw that there was a fresh pot of coffee and realized that he had been home…. She looked at her watch; she surely had no time to worry about where he had been; she really was cutting it close.
Hermione hated Mondays. Monday always meant running one of the training courses first thing in the morning. They had to swim very far and then run. They were still in the same room as always, but it was jinxed, so today it looked like they were in a windy and rainy landscaped.
"Why are you so slow? Come on! If I had been that slow back in the day, I surely would have been a Death Eater's trophy!" their professor yelled at them.
"Just because he's fat enough to float in this wavy water!" a fellow classmate named Mary said to Hermione. They were swimming side by side and Hermione started laughing.
"Laughing are we Granger?" the professor yelled at her, "I guess I'm not working you hard
enough!"
"Sorry," Mary whispered out of the corner of her mouth to Hermione.
Soon they were running around the windy room. They were still wet, the wind felt like ice, and it hurt everywhere. Hermione felt as if she was losing the feeling in her body.
Jonathan jogged up next to her. "How was you weekend?"
"Oh, fine," she answered, keeping her eyes locked forward.
"I hear Harry Potter is back," he continued.
She panted, where did Jonathan get the energy to talk? She felt exhausted. "MMmm…"
"Well maybe you could introduce me? It'd be great knowing such a great wizard."
Hermione looked up at Jonathan and nodded.
Everyone loves Harry Potter! Well, who am I to talk? I love him as well…
Jonathan turned around and yelled at one of the guys behind them. "Come on, Aaron, I'll race you!"
The boy named Aaron sprinted and, in his excitement, he ran into Hermione rather hard. She lost her balance and fell into one of the thorny bushes next to the road. She hissed as the thorns ripped into her arm and sharps prongs cut into her shoulder. She looked down her arm - blood was quickly spreading and staining her white t-shirt. She reached for her wand, which was safely tucked in her back pocket.
"Granger!" the professor yelled again.
"Oh, what now?" she mumbled under her breath.
"You better not think about fixing that wound! Do you think in real battles you would have time to fix a wound? I tell you when you bleed and when you don't!" The professor shook his head arrogantly.
Don't you think I know real battle? I fought a bloody war for two years you ignorant fool!
Finally they arrived at their finish line. Everyone threw themselves down on the muddy ground.
Why can't we ever run in a sunny weather?
Hermione looked up at the grey clouds, raindrops hit her face every now and then but all she was concerned with was letting her heart calm down to a normal pace.
"Get up!" the professor ordered and they all jumped to their feet. Hermione stared surprised at one of the people next to their professor. Harry, along with two other men, was watching them. He smiled discretely at her and then turned away.
"Class, we have two just graduated Aurors from our programme abroad. They will help out with a few classes and a bit of the training. Try to learn from these two, they have a lot to offer. Of course you all know Harry Potter, and next to him stands Cian Cray from Ireland." Harry and Cian nodded curtly.
Hermione looked disbelieving. Harry would be one of her teachers? What? Since when? How would that work? She found it slightly odd. Of course she knew that the program always welcomed a couple of newly graduated Aurors every year, but still- this was Harry! Harry had been a brilliant teacher back when the DA existed, and he surely would be now as well… but still!
Harry and Cian introduced themselves to everyone and spent a few minutes talking to the group before they all started heading for the changing rooms. Harry hurried along Hermione.
"Surprise!" he said.
"No kidding."
"Are you mad?" he asked and looked surprised.
"No not at all. Just shocked. It'll be kind of weird having you as my teacher."
"I think it'll be kind of nice, actually. And, technically, I'm not your teacher. We are here to give advice and help with your training. How is your arm?" Hermione looked down at her wounds, which were still bleeding a little.
"Oh, it's fine."
"You should mend it. Training is over."
"It's fine. Besides, I won't let the professor have the pleasure of seeing me fix it, he made it clear that it was up to him," she answered stubbornly.
"All right, I'll let you hit the showers," Harry said and turned back to the other in the group. As Hermione opened the door to the ladies changing room she felt something hot on her arm, she looked down and saw that her wounds had healed. She turned around and Harry winked at her.
She didn't see Harry again for the rest of the day and when she came home, she found a note on the kitchen table.
Dinner with Weasley's as The Leaky Cauldron - join us when you get home.
-Harry
She hurried straight back out after feeding Crookshanks. When she arrived at the Leaky Cauldron she saw that Harry was with Ron, Ginny, and the twins. They waved her over and she slumped down on a chair.
"It's so cold outside," she complained.
"Yeah, I know, winter is just around the corner." George said.
They had already eaten long ago and were now enjoying some drinks. Hermione ordered a hot soup and a hot apple cider, she felt a lot better as the hot liquids filled her insides. She looked at Harry. He was wearing a dark blue, thick sweater. It really wasn't anything special, but it looked wonderful on him. It clung to him in all the right places.
He obviously had told them all about his new job and they all seemed very excited for him. Ginny was obviously trying to pretend like nothing had happened between her and Harry at the party, but her obvious attempts at making him jealous by flirting with others in the pub wasn't working. This pleased Hermione greatly.
As George went up to buy more butterbeer Harry moved seats and sat down next to Hermione. He leaned close and pushed his shoulder against hers.
"Who would you prefer, me or Snape?" he joked.
"Well, Snape never took liberties with my body," she joked back.
"What?" Ron asked loudly.
"Oh, nothing, it was a joke," Hermione answered and laughed a bit. Harry leaned closer again.
"I think we'll have fun, don't you?"
"Well, you will. You can watch when we suffer."
"Remember that what you do in three years, I did in two years." She nodded admiringly. She took one of the butterbeers from George.
"I'm glad you're back." Ron said and raised his bottle, the others followed. "To the return of great friends," Ron continued.
Hermione looked at Harry again, his cheeks were rosy and he looked happy. He must have felt her stare because he turned and looked at her. Suddenly she felt what she had felt so many times years ago. Like the world stood still around them and they were the only two who existed.
"Why isn't Luna here?" Harry asked after a moment.
"She's writing an article about some flying dog or something," Ginny explained. They all laughed, but there was nothing evil behind it like there had been at school. Luna had become a part of the group and they all loved her as such.
Hermione excused herself and went to the restroom. As she left she saw that Ron was standing at the bar, and when he saw her, he walked towards her. They were standing in the corridor between the bar and restrooms, out of eyesight from the rest of the gang.
"You all right?" he asked.
"Sure. Why?"
"Dunno, you're acting so strange."
"What do you mean?" Hermione really had no idea what he was talking about. She sighed and leaned against the wall, she raised her eyes brows as if to say "what is it you want to say?"
He put his hand on the wall next to her head and leaned forward. He was a bit drunk.
"Hermione, do you remember back in school?"
"What of it, Ron?"
"Good times, wasn't it?"
"Let's go back to the others."
Ron grabbed her hand with his free one. "Let's just talk a while; we don't have to go yet."
They heard someone clear their throat and they both turned to look.
"Excuse me," Harry said, "just going to the loo."
Hermione quickly pulled her hand from Ron and pushed his arm away as she walked back to the table. Why had Harry come just then? What did he think he had seen? Did he get the wrong idea?
-
Hermione enjoyed the week that followed. She got to spend plenty of time alone with Harry. When Friday finally came she decided to cook him dinner. She heard the front door close and her heart started beating excitedly.
"Wow, something smells great." Harry entered the kitchen and walked over to stand next to her by the stove.
"Thank you, I've been cooking for hours. I even baked!"
Harry nodded, obviously impressed. He put his hand on her shoulder and Hermione's knees felt weak. "I'll just go and wash up," he told her and left. When he came back he had a plate of cauldron cakes with him.
"What the…" she said shocked.
"Well, since I'm an Auror I am allowed to apparate in this building…this comes straight from Honeydukes." She felt like skipping dinner and going straight for the cakes.
"How about if you set the table and I'll take the bread out of the oven?" she suggested and Harry did as he was told.
After he was done he walked back to her again. He was standing very close to her again and Hermione wasn't used to having someone so close to her presence.
"Do you mind me staying here?" he asked and she looked into his green eyes.
"No not at all, it's nice with the company."
Harry lifted his arm and put some of her hair behind her ear, never breaking eye contact with her. "I like being here," he whispered.
Is he going to kiss me? Oh please kiss me!
"Hello?" They both turned around, surprised.
"Jonathan?" Hermione sounded shocked; she looked at Harry who now had taken several steps away from her.
Jonathan walked over to her and kissed her cheek. "Am I early?" he asked and looked at all the food. Harry looked from Hermione to Jonathan, slightly bewildered.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"Dinner at my friend's house, remember? We agreed on this weeks ago."
It all came back to her. She had agreed to this before she even knew Harry was coming back. She looked at the set table and at Harry. She would give anything to be able to stay here with him and finish the food she had prepared. And to find out if a kiss was on its way.
"You better go get ready," Harry said.
She felt her spirits drop and she started walking to her bedroom. Another moment with Harry spoiled. When she finally returned later in the evening Harry was already sleeping on the sofa.
---
Hermione was standing on her sofa with a broom in her hand.
Just jump up on the damn thing and fly around the living room.
She had tried a few times, but the broom just fell to the floor. Harry entered and heard a loud thud from the living room.
"What are you doing to that poor broom?" he asked as he entered. Hermione's cheeks turned bright red.
"We have to fly next month in training."
"Right, and we all know how much you love that!" She threw the broom on the floor.
"Forget it, I'll just fail the training and start selling sweets on the Hogwarts express. Perhaps clean rooms at the Leaky Cauldron." She threw herself onto the sofa. Harry smiled affectionately at her while picking up the broom and setting it up against the wall.
He sat down next to her on the sofa and laid his arm on the headrest.
"I'll help you," he offered.
She turned and looked at him. "No, Harry, you couldn't! You aren't allowed now that you're a teacher."
"Why not?"
"I don't know…." She answered and then thought for a moment. "Yeah, all right." Her spirits
lifted and she felt like she had a chance at passing her flying test for once.
They looked at each other for a moment and then Harry raised his eyebrows.
"Let's go."
"Now?"
"No time like the present!" Hermione looked outside, it was already dark. But she agreed.
They left and as they entered an empty street they apparated to a field not too far from The Burrow. Harry noticed that Hermione was shaking even though she had her jacket on, he waved his wand and she instantly got warmer. She smiled appreciatively.
"Thanks. I could have done it myself, but…you know," she mumbled.
"Don't be nervous!" Harry mounted the broom and gestured for her to sit down in front of him.
"Well…?" he asked. She hesitated for a moment; she knew that Harry always flew so fast. "Hermione, do you want to be an Auror or not?" She frowned and sat down in front of him. "The problem in the living room was that you didn't kick off, you just sat down on it." He kicked hard at the ground and the broom lifted up. He only let it fly a few feet from the ground.
"Come on Harry, I did fly on Buckbeak. I'm not that scared," she assured. He smiled to himself and suddenly his broom shot off into the sky, Hermione screamed loudly.
She heard Harry laughing behind her, if she wasn't gripping to the broom for dear life she would have turned around and smacked him over the head. Harry raised the tip of the broom again and Hermione slowly slid back towards him. There wasn't an inch between them. She felt Harry adjust so he could hold the broom under her arms. It felt just as if he was holding her from behind. She closed her eyes, and enjoyed it. Her stomach was filled with butterflies, but she had no idea if it was the flying or being that close to Harry.
Harry felt tempted to touch her, she was so close and it felt wonderful. He put one of his arms around her waist and he felt Hermione jerk in surprise.
He contemplated for a moment if he should remove his arm, but when she leaned her head back against his shoulder he kept it there.
Hermione laid her hand on Harry's hand that was now resting at the side of her waist. It didn't feel too daring, she could always say that she was holding on so not to fall.
She suddenly realized what was happening around her, she wasn't just sitting and nestling up to Harry - she was far, far up in the sky. Her body went rigid again and she looked down.
"Oh God," she mumbled.
Harry leaned close to her and whispered, "Just relax." His hot breath tickled her ear.
Harry kept his head close and every breath he took excited Hermione more. Suddenly she felt his lips gently caress her neck. She leaned into the kiss and felt his tongue gently touch her skin. Harry stopped kissing her for a moment and grabbed one of her hands.
"Try holding the broom." He placed her hand on the broom and then did the same with the other hand. Hermione looked startled at her hands on the broom. She was doing it, she was flying! She looked at the English countryside below her, she couldn't see much because it was very dark. She looked at the starry sky above her. It truly was beautiful.
Both Harry's arms were around her waist now and she knew she was safe. Harry would never let her fall.
"You're doing great," he assured her.
He started kissing her neck again and when she didn't protest he started nibbling at her ear. It felt so good that Hermione lost her concentration and the broom began to dropped quickly.
"Whoa!" Harry yelled and took control of the broom
"Sorry," Hermione apologized, "but it's not my fault. You were distracting me."
"Complaining?" he whispered in her ear. She shook her head. They were closing in on the Burrow.
"What do you say about going in and saying hello?" Harry suggested and Hermione nodded.
They spent the rest of the evening drinking hot chocolate with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Fleur.
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