Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. I'm not an Heron shipper, thank you very much.
A/N: My response to the "My sin, My virtue" challenge from cosmopolitan, here's the link to it: http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26784 Hope you will enjoy, and as usual if you read, please review, ok? Thanks! Oh, by the way, I think this could be considered a collection of one shots, everyone focusing on a different sin/virtue. Just so you know and aren't disappointed by the lack of continuity between the chapters, lol. Also, the chapters will feature a virtue, and then the opposing sin in the following chapter.
Thanks to my beta Gingercat!
The Seven Virtues And The Seven Sins
Chapter Two: Lust
After the war, Harry was a bit overwhelmed by his popularity. He had always been famous because of his surviving the Killing Curse when only a baby, but the fame that came with defeating Voldemort once and for all was something almost ridiculous. He couldn't move a step without reporters tagging him, asking him questions and taking photos of him.
Harry had always handled his fame well, not caring much about it, but as the hype slowly died down, he realized that he was almost eighteen years old, and had finally conquered his nemesis, so he had nothing to worry about. Sure, he still had to finish his final year at Hogwarts, because he had skipped it to go on the Horcrux hunt, but now that he wouldn't have to look behind his back every minute in fear, he would be able to enjoy it as a teenager should.
He felt free, and felt he deserved to have fun, as he had been deprived of that right for too long, first by the Dursleys, then by Voldemort being after him.
That was why when he talked with Ginny at the Burrow, few days before they returned together to Hogwarts with Ron and Hermione, he told her he wasn't ready to pick up their relationship again.
"I'm sorry, Gin, but I really don't feel like settling down into a relationship right now. I've finally found some freedom, and I want to enjoy it to the fullest" he tried to explain to her.
The redhead didn't take that overly well, she really expected them to start again once the war was finished, but she realized Harry deserved some selfishness after all that he had been through, so in the end she nodded.
As she excused herself, Harry remained there, sitting on the grass, enjoying the fresh breeze blowing and giving him a small relief from the heat of the sun. He sighed contentedly, and was slowly starting to fall asleep in the complete peace of the garden, when two well-known voices reached his ears.
"I'm so proud of you, Ron. I never expected you'd choose to go finish school" Hermione said. Harry was suddenly awake, his eyes closed as he pretended to be asleep, the strange pang in his chest returning, just like when she had kissed Ron in front of him during the last battle.
"But I'm happy for them. I really am. I just hope I won't end up being a third wheel" he thought, while he listened to Ron's stammered reply to Hermione's praise.
--
At the castle, Harry found himself constantly followed by girls. Hermione would roll her eyes at them now and then, but mostly she teased him about it.
"Aww, aren't you happy, Harry? You've your own crowd following you around, just like Krum in fourth year" she said, playfully batting her eyelashes at him. Ron burst out laughing, while Harry snorted.
He had a retort ready on his tongue, but he reined it in, as Ron was with them and Harry just knew the redhead would take it the wrong way. Inwardly sighing, he wondered how come he and Hermione couldn't get a moment alone anymore since she started dating Ron, if not for the few meters from the Gryffindor common room to their own as Heads.
"I think I'll go for a walk" he said, leaving his two befuddled best friends alone, looking at each other, wondering the reason for the sudden mood change.
As he strolled through the corridors, his authority as Head Boy allowed him to do that without risking detention for being out after curfew, Harry had his mind occupied by how much he missed the little jokes with Hermione, the almost flirting they did now and then in the previous years. Now that she was with Ron, knowing the redhead's easy jealousy, Harry found himself more and more biting back those remarks or compliments.
"Sickle for your thoughts?" a voice startled him.
"Lavender, you shouldn't be out of the tower at this hour. I should take points from you" he said, smiling at his classmate.
"But you won't, right?" she cooed as she moved closer. Harry may be a guy, and thus a bit slow when it came to girls, but even he knew what the beautiful witch had in mind. Acting on instinct as usual, he decided to go for it. Maybe it would distract him from his confused thoughts.
"No, I won't" he huskily said, suddenly pulling her closer and kissing her. Her arms quickly locked around his neck, as she kissed him back, their tongues battling together.
"We better go back to my quarters" Harry whispered to the blonde, taking her hand and using a shortcut to reach the Heads quarters. From there, it was just a few steps to his room, on the right of the Head Girl's, Hermione's.
--
Lavender's fame of gossip queen was well earned, and of course the morning after the whole school knew of what had happened between her and Harry, and also a bit more details on how it had been. That did nothing to discourage the young witches to seek Harry's favour, of course.
Hermione, on her part, had been the first to know, as she had been met with the sight of Harry and Lavender exiting his room together that morning, as she was waiting for him in their common room. They always went together to pick Ron up to go down for breakfast.
All day Hermione was rather cross with him, and Harry couldn't understand why. She had briefly glared at him when she had spotted him with Lav that morning, but he couldn't understand why she would care. She was with Ron after all.
--
As the months passed, Harry's list of flings kept growing. After Lav there was Parvati, then her twin Padma, all of them wanting to retake their last year at Hogwarts because the last one was clearly a nightmare with the Death Eaters in the school.
Then there were a lot of younger witches, Helen, Alexa, Kristine, and many others of which Hermione couldn't even remember the name.
It was always the same, a one night stand, and then the girl would disappear from Harry's life. On this, the raven haired boy had been clear with all of his bed companions. No strings attached. He had also been clear that he wouldn't even look twice at girls younger than fifth year. As randy as he seemed to have become, he still had ethics, and four years of difference seemed too much to him.
At least on that, Hermione had to give him credit. But his new politics of "dating" irked her. She didn't even know why but whenever she spotted him with some of those girls, she would feel her blood boil.
They were clearly wrong for him, mostly bimbos wanting a piece of the Boy-Who-Won, and she could only pray that her best friend would keep them as just fuck-buddies and nothing more.
However, her patience had a limit. They were less than three weeks away from the N.E.W.T.s and her patience always grew thin when exams neared.
Seeing Harry emerge from his room with his last fancy, a big-chested brunette sixth year Ravenclaw called Darla, she exploded.
"Did you two have fun last night?" she scathingly remarked.
"Why, yes, we did" the girl cooed, looking up at Harry, who gave her a smile, but he knew hell was just going to come upon them.
"Why don't you go ahead to breakfast?" he suggested, and she nodded, quickly leaving the room. She wasn't in Ravenclaw for nothing and she too had noticed the potentially explosive situation. Better be far away from an angry Hermione Granger, and it was better if there were walls between you and her, that she knew for sure.
Back in the Heads common room, Harry awaited Hermione's lecture with his hands in his pockets. He knew there was no way he would avoid it.
"Harry James Potter, you should be ashamed of what you've become!" she started, wriggling her finger at him, poking him in the chest. "You have no morals, you see a pretty girl and you shag her, you've become nothing better than a man-whore!" she kept shouting, and luckily the room was soundproof so outside none was the wiser of the fight happening in there.
After a while, Harry got tired of her shouting and accusations, and did the only thing he could do to shut her up.
He pulled her to him and kissed her soundly on the lips. For a moment, she stiffened, before she gave in and kissed him back. They stood there, snogging each other, for at least five minutes, before they finally parted, their foreheads resting one on the other.
"What has happened to the Harry I knew?" Hermione asked softly, her lips still tingling from his kisses. "He would never use his fame to shag girls only because he feels lust for them"
He shrugged. "It all started when you and Ron were still dating. I was out thinking how he was monopolizing your time outside this common room, and how you and I never have alone time like we used to. How I missed the friendly banter, even the slight flirting, we did at times, and that I couldn't do anymore now because he would get jealous and accuse us of going behind his back, or who knows what. As I was thinking about this, Lavender was there, and I had the idea, I admit not the smartest one, to distract myself with her. But the following days the thoughts returned, and so I fell into a routine. Even after you and Ron broke up, it was easier to keep shagging those girls than really think why you and Ron together bothered me. As you said, it was only lust with them, and that's pretty simple to understand, doesn't require much thought"
As she listened to his explanation, Hermione felt a smile spread on her lips. The boy hadn't the slightest clue yet, but she had already understood.
"As for my unusual way to silence you" he grinned then, "you must admit it worked good enough"
"Prat" she said, swatting him on the arm with her hand, before she grabbed his shirt and pulled him down for another kiss, their lips crashing together once more.
When they finally parted, she rested her head on his chest as he hugged her close.
"You know why I really broke things off with Ron?" she said. He shook his head.
"I was missing the closeness with you too. And that was my clue to know I didn't like Ron like I thought, because otherwise I wouldn't constantly think of you, and get angry over your dating habits" she confessed.
He kissed the top of her head, and then pulled her chin up so their eyes locked.
"Hermione, would you consider going out with me?" he seriously asked. It had been something creeping into his mind constantly since her break-up with Ron, one of the reasons why he kept shagging around, albeit he didn't tell her that. He had slowly come to the realization he truly liked her, maybe he was even in love with her, and he never thought she would consider him that way, but her words gave him a bit of hope.
"Do you think I'd be kissing you if I didn't?" was her coy reply, before she brought their lips together once more.
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