Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. I'm an Harmony shipper, you know that, so there's no way something like DH can be mine.
A/N: This one-shot takes inspiration from real life, so it is of course mostly AU. Something happened to me, and I don't even know yet how it will end, so the ending is how I'd like this situation to develop, I sincerely hope it will happen. So, wish me luck if you want to, lol.
Seriously though, I hope you like this, and please let me know with a review, even if you think it's hideous, which I hope it isn't, but anyway, enough chatter done, now on with the actual story. Ah, last couple of things. Of course I am not as famous as Harry, that's obvious, isn't it? So I'll downplay it a lot here. Actually, his fame will be non-existent here. And I've taken the liberty to move Hermione's birthday some months forward, on March 19th.
Jealousy
Harry Potter was ecstatic. Hogwarts was finished, and as much as he loved the castle, he was finally free to organize his life like he wanted. After a really good vacation with his best mates Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom, he was now back in London, entering the Ministry of Magic for his first day of Auror Training, something he had wanted to do since his fifth year at Hogwarts.
"It's going to be a blast" he confidently said to his redhead friend.
"Yeah, a real blast. Three more years studying, practicing…" Ron snorted.
"Well, if you don't want to, then why exactly are you here?" Neville asked from Harry's right side.
"It's not that I don't want to do it. I want. I feel this is the best career course for me anyhow, even if playing Quidditch wouldn't be bad, but really, it can get boring when you do nothing else for years. So yes, I really want to do this. But…well, I wouldn't exactly call it a blast, you know" he said, and Harry grinned sheepishly.
"I might be a bit overenthusiastic about this I guess" he admitted while they entered the room for the new recruits of the training program.
--
The first few days of lessons had gone smoothly. Nothing exciting happened, and the actual lectures by their professors hadn't been so fun, but they were interesting enough.
There was something, or better someone, though, that had raised Harry's interest more than anything.
A brunette witch, who he thought was really pretty, and that was always seating in the first rows of the classroom, while he and his mates tended to stick to the back of it. She was constantly surrounded by other girls, two of them she evidently knew even before the Auror training, others she had befriended there, and more than once Harry found himself not listening to the lesson but actually looking at her back, intrigued by her curly brown hair that he wanted to run his hand through.
"Mate" Ron nudged him, and Harry stopped his daydreaming, focusing on the lecture again. It wasn't even ten minutes before he resumed his staring of her, though.
--
Two months had gone by, and soon they would face their first series of tests. Harry felt he was ready, he had studied hard enough, and was confident he could do it.
Now mind that he hadn't exactly been a really studious guy back in Hogwarts, not at all, but he wanted to impress that girl. He knew she would do fine on all her exams, he had overheard her discussing something with her friends and it seemed she knew even more than what had been explained by the professor on the matter.
That morning, he changed his routine, and went to sit behind her. His friends looked at him sceptically, but got seats near him nonetheless. Harry didn't know what had possessed him to do that, but at the end of the day he was glad he had. Boy, if he was glad.
That morning, their Defensive Instrumentation professor had assigned them a project they needed to work with others for, saying it was good for them to learn the importance of working in groups and trust the other, because they would definitely need that on field missions once they joined the Auror ranks, and then he had divided the class in groups of six, which led to Harry, Ron and Neville being in the same group of the brunette witch.
Finally he would have the chance to know her better, he thought, while looking at her once the lesson was finished.
"So, it seems we will have to work together" he said, and it was the first time he had spoken with her. She smiled prettily at him.
"Seems so. My name is Hermione Granger, by the way" she said.
"I guessed so" he joked, referring to the fact the professor had taken all the names of those being part of the various groups, so he had already heard her name.
"And you are Harry Potter" she said, still smiling and shaking his hand.
"That I am" he said with a boyish grin.
Ron and Neville exchanged glances and both chuckled. Their friend was definitely smitten with this girl.
--
That afternoon the six of them, meaning Harry, his two mates, Hermione and her two best friends, sat in an empty classroom defining the outline of how they were going to develop the project. Then, they agreed on when working on it, checking with their lessons schedule when they would be free to do so.
Once all of this was settled, it was time to go have a bite for dinner, and the two trios parted. Harry would have liked for the six of them to have dinner together but they weren't acquainted enough for that yet.
--
As the days passed, they kept working together, researching and writing down notes on the different possible Defensive equipments an Auror could use, how they worked, and such.
Ron was decidedly on the sidelines, leaving the other five work, mostly, which got him his fair share of glares from Hermione, who didn't like people slacking off, and Harry, who hoped his friend would be more collaborative, if anything to not jeopardize his chances to befriend Hermione and maybe later develop it in something more.
Hermione, however, liked Harry's efforts on the project, and she thought he was a nice guy, so soon enough they started chatting and greeting each other warmly also outside of their workgroup.
They also often had lunch together, which exposed Hermione and her two friends, Helena and Tricia, to Ron's atrocious eating habits. Harry thought it couldn't get worse, but surprisingly his friend's antics had no effect whatsoever on his budding friendship with Hermione, which was in fact growing closer day after day.
It was so that the six of them became an inseparable group in the Auror Training, and soon enough Neville and Helena even started dating. Ron had kept his relationship with their old schoolmate Luna Lovegood, so that left Harry the only one of the three boys to be single.
He still didn't know if Hermione had a boyfriend or not, and he sincerely hoped she didn't, but the number of owls she seemed to receive outside the lessons and how she immediately set to reply to them whatever it was that she was doing seemed to hint she might have a special someone outside the program.
Harry did his best to ignore the blatant possibility, though.
Their project took three months to complete and when they did take the exam with the professor, they were all awarded the best of marks for their efforts. Well, all but Ron, who got just slightly less than the others. The professor must have sensed his contribution hadn't been so high.
By that time, the six hung out together lots and Harry had come to learn that Hermione was extremely dedicated to her studies, but she wasn't a total bookworm. She loved to have fun too, and every week they would meet on Saturday night and hit a pub, Muggle or Wizarding, drinking, dancing, and generally doing what people their age did. They also got to the cinema quite often, on those nights, and a few times they would all dine together in a restaurant.
It was there that Ron learned to love Muggle pizza and beer.
So, when on March 15th Harry overheard Hermione talking with her friends about her upcoming birthday, which was on 19th, he felt a bit hurt that he and his mates hadn't been invited. Being the sensitive witch that she was, Hermione immediately noticed the flicker of hurt flashing in Harry's green eyes, and smiled warmly at him.
"Of course you, Ron and Nev are invited too, Harry" she said, and he smiled, his mood immediately lifting. "It's just that me and the girls have had this tradition for years now, and well, it's always been a thing between us, and I didn't know if you wanted to come, I mean…" she started rambling, blushing a bit. Tricia and Helena exchanged a look.
"I'll be there, Mione" he said, "just let me know where the party is and the three of us will meet you there"
"Oh, of course. It's at the Merlin's Paradise pub, on the evening of the 19th. Be there at 9 p.m." she said.
He nodded, and went to join his mates for a bit of chat before the lesson began.
As usual, the six sat together through the lecture, the three girls in front of the three boys. It was then that Harry overheard them whispering something that chilled him inside.
"I still can't believe me and Mark have been together almost an year now" Hermione gushed to Tricia. "Last night I asked him what he was going to get me for a present and he said he had it under control, and it would be a surprise. I can't wait to see what he got me!"
Harry already wanted to wring this Mark person's neck.
"So all those owls were from her boyfriend" he sadly thought, seeing the possibility to get with her fly away. He wasn't a bastard that stole someone else's girl.
For the next few days till the party, every time Harry looked at Hermione, he felt the overwhelming need to hold her, kiss her, simply run his hand through her hair, anything that might involve touching her in some way.
Which is why he skipped most of the lessons those days.
When finally his friends managed to get an hold of him, Ron spoke first.
"Harry, you can't let a bird ruin your chances at being an Auror, you know" the redhead said, munching on an apple.
"Yes, mate. She's a nice girl, sure, and I can see why you'd want to date her, but if she already has a boyfriend, well it's not the end of the world, is it? It's plenty of girls out there after all" Nev added.
Harry closed his eyes, putting his head in his hands.
"I dunno what to do, guys. She is happy with this Mark guy, whoever he is, so I should be happy for her, since I'm her friend. She would expect me to. But…I simply can't. I want to, really, but every time I see her I wish she was alone, so I could pursue her. Am I a bad person?" he asked then, looking up at them.
Ron and Neville sighed, and shook their head. "No, you're not a bad person, Harry. You're just jealous, which given the situation is completely understandable" Ron said then.
"You will just have to be patient, Harry" Neville chimed in. "Unless they are engaged, and even then it's not sure, but anyhow, unless they are engaged, something could always happen, you know"
Harry chuckled. "So you're suggesting I be a good friend to her, and contemporarily act like the Chinese who waits for the body of his enemy to pass on the river?"
Neville grinned and nodded.
--
On March 19th, Harry and his friends were perfectly on time in front of Merlin's Paradise. He spotted her, amongst her other friends, her sister Julie, and other people he didn't know. She was hanging on the arm of a brown haired guy, with blue eyes.
"Harry!" she squealed when she saw him and ran to hug him. He hugged her back, then she greeted Ron and Neville in the same manner.
"Guys, I want you to meet my boyfriend, Mark" she said, motioning for the other young man, who smiled and stepped forward, shaking their hands.
"Pleased to meet you, Harry. Hermione has been speaking lots of you and your friends" he said, with a smile.
"The pleasure is mine, Mark" Harry said, and he meant it. He wasn't a vicious person, and he could easily admit this Mark guy seemed to be a good gal.
They slowly entered the pub, and settled in a private room Hermione had booked.
She introduced them to some other friends of hers, from Beauxbatons, and the extended group easily settled for chats while they waited for their ordered drinks.
This was a disco pub so soon people started dancing, and Hermione and Mark were amongst them.
Harry sipped his Cuba Libre, now and then paying attention to something Helena, who was sitting on Neville's lap, and Tricia were saying. Ron was busy dancing with his own girlfriend, Luna, who he had asked Hermione if he could bring and the brunette had warmly agreed.
"So, Harry, you up for some dancing?" a blonde who Hermione had introduced as her old classmate Desiree Sanchez, clearly of Spanish origins, asked him with a smile.
He smiled back. "No, thanks. I've never liked dancing very much, you know, so I like to keep myself out of it if I can" he politely declined and the blonde nodded. She remained there chatting a bit more, but eventually went back to her friends.
"You know, a dance or two wouldn't have been too bad" Tricia pointed out. Harry shrugged.
"I really don't like to dance. I'm not even so good at it so I'd probably end embarrassing myself" he explained, taking another glance at Hermione and Mark. They were dancing really close to each other, and she was smiling up at him.
Harry took another long sip of his drink, effectively draining the glass. He stood up to go order another one.
"You lot need anything?" he asked, and they all shook their head. He nodded and walked away.
As he was waiting for the bartender to fix him his Tequila Sunrise, Hermione sat on the stool near him.
She was in a sleeveless black dress, which clung to her body really well, exalting her slender figure, and the curves, which might not have been top model-level, but were still nice.
"You look good tonight" he complimented her.
She blushed. "Thanks" she whispered looking down to hide a smile. "So, you enjoying yourself? I know you don't know most of the guests so well…"
He grinned. "I'm having fun, thanks. I met your friend Desiree before. She seems a nice girl" he chatted, and Hermione nodded.
"We used to be good friends when we were in school together, but she decided to be an Healer and remain in France" she said, a bit wistfully, but soon later she brightened again.
"Would you like to dance?" she asked. "I feel like I've pretty much ignored you and your friends tonight…"
"Ah, you don't need to worry. Ron's been busy with his girlfriend most of the night, and I had Neville, Helena and Tricia to chat with" he said, taking a sip of his drink which had finally arrived.
"Plus I don't really like to dance" he added then. He had wanted to accept her offer, but he had spotted Mark coming their way, and reluctantly decided to step back.
"Hey, luv, here you are" the other guy said, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. "I was wondering where you had snuck to"
She giggled, and Harry noticed it was one of the very few times she did so.
"I was just having a bit of a chat with Harry here" she explained. The three of them spoke a bit more before Harry left the couple alone, going back to the table.
As he moved, though, Hermione grabbed his arm, and when he turned she said, "I will be back for that dance before the night ends, ok?"
He chuckled, and nodded in defeat. He had learned she was pretty stubborn when she wanted to be.
--
It was way past three in the morning, and some people had already started going home. Harry was still there, as well as most of Hermione's closest friends, of which Harry liked to think he and his mates were by now part. He wasn't completely sure of it though.
He was wrapped in his own thoughts, so he was startled when she poppled down in the seat next to his own.
"So, you up for that dance? There's less people you'll embarrass yourself in front of, now" she joked, mirth evident in her eyes.
He stuck his tongue at her.
"Mature, Potter" she said, deadpanned.
"Alright, alright, if I must" he conceded, standing up.
As they walked to the dance floor, he spoke again, leaning in so she could hear him over the blaring music. "Your boyfriend won't murder me in my sleep for this, right?"
She laughed, shaking her head, and it was music to his ears, so he grinned too.
They started dancing, and he was mindful of not being too close to her. He didn't want Mark to think he was making a move on his girl.
However, he had to admit dancing with her was fun. They danced six songs in a row, and she moved a tiny bit closer to him with each one, till they were almost at the distance she usually danced with Mark.
Harry decided he didn't want to press his luck further, so at the end of that sixth song he claimed he had had enough for one night.
She gave him a cute pout, and he chuckled, before she too dissolved in a radiant smile. The two of them made their way back to the table, and chatted with their friends for another half an hour before everyone started heading home, knackered by the long night.
--
The following days, Harry was drawn more than ever to look at Hermione, who was constantly wearing the beautiful necklace Mark had gifted her with, at the party.
It was a painful reminder to Harry that she was taken, and yet he kept gazing at her when he knew she wasn't looking, or thought she wasn't at least.
However, he had sworn to himself he would be nothing more than a good friend to her, and stuck to that. They were as close as ever, and she often gave him one of her brilliant smiles as the little group chatted together in the short intervals between one lesson and the next one.
From what he had been able to witness at the party, her relationship was going as strong as it could, so he was more than surprised when he came into the Ministry building one morning, more than one month later, and found her, who was always the first one to arrive there, alone in a classroom, tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Mione, what's happened?" he said, going to hug her tightly. She hugged him back, and said nothing for a minute or two, and he felt his shirt stained by her tears but he didn't mind, he just wanted to comfort her. She finally gave him a piece of parchment to read.
Hermione,
I want you to know that what we
have had was amazing. However,
I'm sad to tell you this, but I don't
think we should be together anymore.
Our careers are bringing us on different
paths and seeing each other will be
more and more difficult.
I want you also to know, since we
have always been honest with each
other, that there is another girl.
I met her in my Healer courses, and
I'm sure you'd like her if you two
were to meet.
I'm sorry this has to end, but it is
really for the best.
Mark
Harry read it once more, and felt an instant surge of anger toward Mark rush through him. But as much as he wanted to punch the git, Hermione needed him now, as a friend. So, he hugged her again, and gently rocked her back and forth, whispering soothing words inside her ear.
That day, she was more subdued than ever, and soon their whole group of friends knew why. Harry hated seeing her so down, her beautiful and usually full of life brown eyes hollow and empty, like a light had gone out in them, and maybe in a certain sense it had.
He wished he knew what to do to make her feel better, and swore to himself he would do his best to never hurt her this much, friend or more than he may ever be to her.
--
It took time, but eventually Hermione overcame the sadness that had enveloped her since that fateful day. Harry had always been on her side during that time, as well as her other friends of course, but she had felt particularly close to Harry, for some reason, since she had started knowing him due to that project they had worked together some months before.
She was also aware that he was not stunningly handsome, but definitely not ugly either, with those unruly ebony locks of hair, those piercing green eyes that seemed to read into her very soul every time she looked into them, and a slightly muscular build due to Quidditch and now Auror training, not as tall as other young men maybe, and yet definitely not short as he towered over her for about half an head, maybe more.
They had resumed their going out on week-ends, and she had noticed he often had the attention of some girl flirting with him, but he somehow never seemed interested.
She wondered if he had his eye on someone in particular.
"He's not bad, is he?" a voice interrupted her musings. She turned to her left, and noticed her friend Tricia looking at her with a mischievous smile.
Hermione smiled. "No, he isn't." she admitted, taking a sip of her drink. They were currently in a disco pub, and he had gone to place their orders with the bartender.
"You know, I've heard he has his eye set on a certain girl" Helena interjected, while leaning on Neville's chest, his arm around her waist. He restrained himself from chuckling. Those two couldn't be more obvious.
Hermione, being the smart girl she was, glared at her friends. "You two are not playing matchmaker, are you?" she hissed, and they looked at her with their best innocent expressions.
"Who, us? No way! We were just voicing some thoughts…" Tricia said, taking a sip of her Firewhiskey.
Hermione looked at them suspiciously some more, but was distracted when Harry came back with his and her drink.
"Here it is, a Caipirinha for you, lovely lady" he said, with an exaggerated bow, and the whole table erupted in laughter. She blushed, and playfully swatted him on the arm.
"Prat" she said, with a smile dancing on her lips and her heart beating faster. Was he flirting with her?
"It's the truth" he said with shrug, attacking his Mojito.
Hermione blushed again, but this time she said nothing. Tricia and Helena exchanged a glance and smirked.
Their friend had definitely the hots for Harry, and it was only a matter of time before the two of them got together. After all, the pair perfectly knew Harry at least fancied Hermione quite a bit, if not even truly loved her.
As the night progressed, the raven haired wizard shocked everyone, including himself, when he, after downing a glass of Firewhiskey in one single gulp, took a deep breath.
"It's now or never, Potter" he said to himself, "You're a Gryffindor, find that blasted courage and ask her!"
And so he did.
"Hermione, would you like to dance?" he asked, steeling his resolve and looking directly at her. His heart was thumping madly in his chest but there was no way someone could hear it with the music so loud.
She was surprised, but pleasantly so. Looking up she met his green pools and felt herself drown in them.
"I'd love to, Harry" she said, and so the two of them made their way to the dance floor, Harry making the bold move of taking her hand in his own.
"He's going to ask her out, I know him too well to not recognize that look" Ron said while grabbing some chips from the basket at the centre of the table. Neville agreed.
"It was about time" Tricia smirked. "If he had waited some more we would have had to bind her naked in his room" she joked, and everyone laughed. Then, their eyes drifted to the couple dancing.
Harry was holding her close, but she didn't seem to mind. Quite the opposite, in fact. As a slow song started playing, she laced her arms around his neck, and he placed his hands on her waist.
Swaying to the music, they were looking at each other, and noticed nothing else. Slowly, their heads inched closer and closer, till their lips met for the first time. It was hard to tell who had started the kiss, really.
The first contact of their lips was almost tentative, but neither backed away, instead both slowly applied more pressure, gaining confidence as the other hadn't moved away yet.
Hermione thought he had really soft lips, and that she would never get tired of kissing them. When she felt his tongue run on her lower lip, gently asking for entrance, she parted them, granting him access, their tongues soon clashing and seeking each other in a well established rhythm, and she let a small moan come from her throat.
It was lost to everyone else, because of the music, but Harry had heard it, and was inwardly proud that she was enjoying the kiss this much.
He was on cloud nine himself. Finally, he was kissing her, holding her like he had dreamed endless times by now. Her lips felt silky, and he couldn't help pulling her even closer and deepening the kiss some more, and gently nibbled on her lower lip.
He couldn't get enough of her, really.
Finally, lack of air started to become a problem, so they had to part. Both had swollen lips, glazed eyes, and stupid grins on their faces, and when they made their way to the table their friends were at, they were greeted by smiles and catcalls.
Blushing madly, they sat down, Hermione on his lap, her arms once more wrapping themselves around his neck as she leaned on him, finally happy again.
As Harry looked at her radiant smile, he felt his heart swell, and he knew he would do anything to keep her smiling at him like that.
Fin.
A/N: So, I hope you enjoyed it, and you're free to guess where it is that I stand right now, lol. How I would like this to end in my real life too is pretty clear, I'm sure.
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