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 Four: Gluttony
"Honestly, Ronald Weasley, you must be the worst pig I've ever had the displeasure to know!"
The redhead suddenly looked up to see his best friend, Hermione Granger, hissing the aforementioned sentence at him, her furious face making him gulp and stop with an half eaten pastry in his hand.
"It's your third plate of pastries tonight!" she continued in her tirade. Harry decided not to interfere, he didn't want Hermione mad at him too. Cautiously, he put down the pastry he had in hand, hoping their female friend wouldn't notice the gesture. Considering how hard she was glaring at Ron, it was a distinct possibility.
Finally gulping down what he had in his mouth, Ron tried to explain himself. "But Hermione, really, they are sooo good, how can you resist them?"
"It's not healthy, Ron! You can't eat so many sweets only because they are good, what kind of will-power do you have?"
Harry cleared his throat. Half the Gryffindor table was by now watching the exchange, and he thought he just had to do something to stop the fight from escalating further, even if he didn't want to.
"Hermione, why don't we reach an agreement here? Ron finishes his pastries, and takes no more" he said, giving his best mate a pointed look, to which Ron pouted but nodded, "and you let it go. I'm sure he got your point"
His attempt at diplomacy, though, was not appreciated by the brunette witch. "You condone of his eating habits?"
Harry suddenly couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Hermione, I'm not his father, nor are you his mother" he said, but it was clearly the wrong thing to say, as it earned him a slap, before their mutual friend dashed away from the table and the Great Hall.
"Mate, you really owe me" Harry said darkly, rubbing his stinging cheek, as Ron nodded, munching on his pastry.
The raven haired boy, instead, left his own on the plate. Suddenly, he wasn't hungry anymore, and the best sweets on the planet wouldn't tempt him into eating them. He hated being at odds with Hermione, and now who knows how long she would hold her grudge toward him.
He just had to go and try to patch things up with her, even if he would most probably get another round of yelling and possibly another slap.
Standing up, he left the Great Hall too, thinking where Hermione might have gone. The library was a possible option, but he reckoned she would guess he would search for her there, so she must have chosen another place to go. The Room of Requirements was a pretty good guess too, but even that seemed too easy. Suddenly, it came to him.
Running to the lake, he spotted a lone figure leaning on a tree nearby the shore. It was a tree where the three of them usually went to relax during the hot days at the end of term.
Finally arriving there, Harry grinned as he spotted her.
"Hermione" he said softly. She looked up, surprised that he could find her so easily.
"I'm sorry for slapping you, Harry" she said, looking genuinely concerned. "Did I hurt you?"
"Not more than I deserved" he said, sitting down near her. "I'm sorry for taking Ron's side, back there. I was just trying to stop the fight from escalating further" he explained, and she nodded.
"I know. It's just that his gluttony irks me so much! He really doesn't even try to rein it in, and it's a wonder he doesn't go around with a continuous stomach-ache" she said.
Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulders, as he could see her slight shivering. She gave him a smile as she settled against him, comforted by his warmth.
"I know, but what I said before is true, Hermione. Even I am upset by his eating habits at times, but we are not his parents, and we shouldn't pester him too much about it" he reasoned. Then, grinning, he put his hand in his left pocket, taking out the one pastry he had saved from the table.
"Want some?" he joked, splitting it in two.
"Are you tempting me, Potter?" she teased back, before taking the half he was offering her.
"Maybe" he vaguely replied, munching on his own. They remained silent for a while, enjoying the clear night, before Harry risked a sideways glance at her. She was resting her head on his shoulder, leaning on him. He could feel her regular breath, from which he deduced she had fallen asleep.
Sighing, he covered her better with his cloak.
"If you were a pastry, I'd really be in trouble" he whispered to the night. "Because then I really couldn't get enough of you, Hermione" he admitted, his feelings for her surfacing now that he thought no one could hear them.
A smile spread on her lips, before she finally let sleep take her, knowing that her dreams had a chance to become true if she was patient enough to wait for him to gather the courage to tell her his feelings.
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