A/N: Thank you so much to those of you who have left feedback so far! I really appreciate the positive comments and the constructive criticism. One of the comments I received pointed out that they didn't understand how the common room could be so empty. Once I went back over the writing, I realized that I failed to mention that I used the handy idea that Harry and Hermione are Head Boy and Girl, therefore have their own small common room. Again, I LOVE feedback so don't forget to let me know what you think!
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Harry felt his eyes widen as his mouth became dry. Had he heard her correctly? No, there had to be some mistake. Girls did not go around offering their bodies on a whim, on a daily basis. Except, the more he allowed her words to sink in, he realized that was exactly what just happened. Oh…God…this was an impossible situation. Was he supposed to eagerly accept the invite, like he wanted? If he did, would that make him an awful, horrible pervert? Should he tell her he would think about it, giving him a chance to ponder responsibly and allow her to grasp the concept of what she was offering? If he flat out refused, would she feel humiliated and despise him forever? What were the strings attached to this proposal? Was this supposed to be a once in a lifetime opportunity that would never pass his way again? If they went through with it and liked it, would they begin a romantic relationship? If they went through with it and she wasn't pleased, there would definitely be a barrier between them that would never be removed.
"Harry?"
He quickly realized that he hadn't moved, hadn't spoken, since she lay her request before him. It suddenly felt like his chest was constricting, thinking the answer to this question would affect the destiny of the world. In all reality, the answer would have a huge influence on their little world. Did she consider the huge internal war that this would cause him? There were so many positives, yet equal negatives. He licked his lips, not knowing if he would be able to accurately speak. "Umm…uh…eh…"
Did he have any idea how vulnerable he was making her feel at the moment? Wouldn't a guy kill to have a girl offer her body to him? She quickly calculated in her mind that even if they didn't go through with her offer, their friendship would be changed from this point on. Just those words tumbling carelessly from her mouth made the correct impression that she no longer felt just innocent friendship towards him. She was beginning to feel the urge to quietly crawl to her room, wondering if he would even notice her escape. No, she had to face this and complete it, no matter what his answer would be. He continued to stare at her, making weird noises as he tried his hardest to speak. Seeing that she would have to be the one to get the conversation back on track, she decided to try and lighten the mood, just a little. "If you could try to form complete words and sentences that I understand, it would be greatly appreciated."
He swallowed hard, trying to think what he should say. His mind had still not allowed him to form a definite answer. "Sorry, it's not a normal occurrence for me to be offered the opportunity for…that," he stated calmly, with a hint of a smirk.
His slight playfulness was appreciated, confirming that she hadn't just completely made herself look like an idiot. "I realize it is sudden," she paused when she heard him lightly snort, "but it is something I want to do."
He studied the seriousness of her look, the absolute fear of rejection that shown in her eyes. Knowing her, this was not a decision she made lightly. Hermione was not known to be an impulsive person. If anything, he figured this was something she had been contemplating for a while. Before he had a moment to think any further, he found the words escaping from his mouth. "When do you want this to happen?"
Wait, was this his informal way of accepting the invitation for her deflowering? "Um…I was actually hoping you'd agree to tonight." She only lowered her head slightly, still keeping her eyes glued to his stare.
Okay, this was definitely not an answer he was expecting. Then again, when it came to conversations like this, there really was no way to beat around the bush. Hermione had obviously made up her mind that this was what she wanted, saw no reason to prolong the wait, and simply sought his approval and acceptance. Again, the words left his mouth without his mind's permission. "What time do you want to come to my room?"
Hermione allowed the relieved smile to proudly show before engulfing Harry in a strong hug. "Thank you so much!" she quietly exclaimed. Backing away, she grabbed his hands and noticed the lopsided grin she loved so dearly. "This means more to me than you know. How does eight-o-clock sound?"
He nodded in agreement. "Do you want to talk about anything beforehand?" He felt pathetic as he heard his own voice ask the question. But once he saw her sweet smile, he eased up on himself.
"No, Harry, I'd rather wait until after." Without even thinking about it, she kissed him quickly on the cheek and stood. "I'll see you at eight." She swiftly headed up the stairs to her room, not daring to look back.
Harry sat on the couch, allowing the weird and wonderful conversation to swirl through his head. It had to be the strangest exchange he'd ever had with another human. Had he actually just agreed to have sex with Hermione? Even more so, did he just accept the honor of taking her virginity? Indeed, he had. There were positives and negatives about her turning down his offer to talk before this happened. The big positive was obvious; talking about it before may lead to them coming to their senses and then decide not to do it. The big negative was that he had no clue what exactly was expected of him from this point on; and that was somewhat of dangerous territory. He had to be prepared to be honest and truthful when the time did come for them to talk things over. Did he love Hermione? Yes, he was positive about the answer to this question. Was he in love with her? Now, this question definitely deserved some pondering since he had never taken the time to do so before.
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Hermione quickly and quietly closed the door to her room, flung herself on her bed and allowed her bliss to surface full force. Harry had just granted her wish, agreed to take this leap with her. It was an extraordinary, terrifying feeling to accept that this event would be real. She realized she had been setting herself up for disappointment and rejection. Now, she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. He had asked about talking things over. Okay, this was a good place to start thinking. What did she want from all of this exactly? She had come to terms that she viewed Harry as more than her best friend. He agreed to do this, so he obviously felt the same way. Then again, he was a hormonal teenage boy so he didn't necessarily have to have romantic feelings to do the naughty deed. No, most boys just needed to feel lust. Is that what he was feeling? She promptly stood in front of her mirror and contemplated this idea. She wasn't what she would consider a raving beauty, but she wasn't ugly and without curves.
She knew that she was thinking about this way too much. He had said yes, which is what she wanted him to say. Now she just needed to keep herself occupied until that evening. What should she wear? The outfit that currently graced her form seemed acceptable. The white, lacy undergarments seemed fitting as well. She viewed these like a virtuous bride viewed the sacredness of a white wedding. She couldn't stop the slight laugh that escaped, realizing that she would not be having one of those.
Now, it was on to the daunting task of killing time until at least dinner time. Wait, she would have to endure dinner time in the Great Hall…sitting with Ron…and Harry. Taking a deep breath, Hermione willed herself to calm down. All she had to do was act normal; well, as normal as a girl could act after propositioning her male best friend for sex. She shook her head, clearing all apprehensions from her mind. She couldn't allow the possibilities of the forthcoming evening to haunt her thoughts for the remainder of the day or else she'd go crazy with worry and desire.
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"…and then she was like, `Tell Harry that if he's interested, I'd love to give us another chance,' and I told her that she probably shouldn't hold her breath." Ron was relaying his most recent `conversation' with Cho Chang to Harry, but the raven-haired wizard seemed to be off in his own world. Ron looked at him for a moment and furrowed his brow. He looked to both sides of him, noticing that everyone seemed to be involved with their own conversations. "Would you believe Lavender and Pavarti asked me to have a threesome?"
Harry continued to lightly stab some food on his plate and place it in his mouth. "That's great, Ron," he replied, absentmindedly.
Ron stared at him for a moment, then allowed his eyes to move back and forth, not entirely sure what the devil was the matter. He, once again, took note of the empty seat next to Harry and a smirk arose on his lips. "Oh, and Hermione wants us to both have a go at her at the same time. Do you want in the front or the back?" Harry's head whipped up as his fork clanked against his plate. "Ha! I knew that would definitely get your attention!" Just when it looked like Harry had recovered and was about to speak, they heard the doors to the Great Hall open. Ron strained a bit, his smile faltering a little. "Speak of the devil disguised as an angel in that damn short skirt," he muttered. Turning his gaze to Harry, he noted that his best friend continued to stare at the figure heading towards them.
"Evening, boys," Hermione said with a smile as she took a seat next to Harry.
"Hey, Hermione," Harry replied softly as his gaze returned to his plate.
Ron looked back and forth between the two of them, unsure what to make of the odd exchange. "I see you haven't changed out of that bloody outfit," he muttered loudly before taking a huge bite of food.
"Why should I, Ronald? No one else seems to have a problem with it except for you."
"No, I suppose any male with active hormones wouldn't have a problem with it. But, I will remind you that I think of you as a sister. I would treat Ginny with the same despise as I'm treating you at the moment."
Hermione cocked her head, looking down the table a bit, and rested her stare on one Ginny Weasley who, at the moment, was being entertained by Dean Thomas…while sitting on his lap. It was all too obvious that she was entertaining him in return. Hermione returned her stare to Ron, looking rather annoyed.
"That's completely different! She's not showing her arse to the entire male population of Hogwarts!"
She closed her eyes, never feeling more embarrassed in her life. Not even delivering her request to Harry earlier that day came close to this. Closing her eyes, Hermione slammed her silverware onto the table, stood, and stormed out of the Great Hall. Her appetite was all but gone and she could not bear to look at anyone, not even Harry, at this moment. Much like Ron had done after the Yule Ball in their fourth year, he managed to nearly crush her spirits once again; all because he didn't know when to shut up.
Ron slowly chewed his food, knowing hundreds of eyes were staring at him so he dared not look after Hermione's retreating form. Once he sensed people around them continued with their own banter, he took a breath and looked up at Harry. "Thanks a fucking lot," he seethed.
His greens eyes looked up and showed their true darkness. "What the hell is your problem, Ron?"
"We're supposed to be in this together; protecting her like brothers! We can't very well do that if she's on the verge of wiggling her bits for any bloke will to look!" It took all he had to contain the Weasley temper and whisper his exclaim. He had no clue what was wrong with Harry. Did he actually approve of this display? Even worse, did he appreciate this display a little too much?
Harry squint his eyes, trying his damndest to choose his words carefully. I don't think of her as a sister; haven't for several years if you want me to be perfectly honest. She's my best friend. I guess that's the difference between you and me, because only an immature, prat of a brother would disgrace his sister like you just did. A best friend would pick up the shattered pieces of her pride like I plan on doing now." There was no anger left in his voice, just sadness at the pathetic display Ron had caused. Without another word, Harry quietly got up from the table and headed out the door, not knowing exactly what the evening would hold for him now.
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A/N 2: Okay, readers, I have a poll that I would like to take that will help me in determining a certain aspect of this story. Obviously, this story embraces the fact that Hermione is a virgin. Now, my huge dilemma is that I don't know if Harry should be a virgin or semi-experienced (in my mind, meaning that he has only been with one other person). Would you all be lovely enough to e-mail me at hrmny4etrnty2@aol.com with the subject "Harry's Status" and let me know your opinion on this problem of mine? Thanks so much!
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