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 Five: Diligence
Hermione Granger was surprised, as she stepped inside Harry Potter's office. She should be used to it by now, but having known him for seven years at school before they finally graduated, plus another three as they went through the training and finally started working in the Auror Department, she always found surprising to see how well-organised his office was.
For years he and Ron and been the death of her, with their last-minute essays, most of the time written taking ideas from her own, their continuous postponing what they had to do till it was the last available moment to do it, playing Quidditch and chess instead of studying, or later, during the Auror training, going after girls instead of applying themselves to their work.
Now, while Ron was more or less still his old self, and recently had dropped out of the Auror ranks to go play Quidditch, Harry had done a complete turn-around. His table had different stacks of papers for every different case he was working on, organised by alphabet, neatly arranged. He was already there when she arrived at the office at half past seven, and he would be the last to leave at night, together with her.
"Did you want something?" he asked, looking up from the file he was reading, and regarding her with a smile.
She smiled back, moving inside the room and sitting in front of him.
"Well, nothing important, but my cousin is celebrating her birthday tonight, and I was wondering if you were willing to accompany me. I know it's kind of last minute…"
He chuckled, and she looked at him, her eyes locking with his green ones.
"I thought I'd never see the day when Hermione Granger was not organised" he teased her. She blushed, and gave him a weak smile.
"Ok, I'll come with you. I just need to finish writing the reports on the Mulscrom case and then try to get an head start on the Natherbell one" he said, picking some papers from the pile in front of her.
Hermione couldn't hold it in anymore. She just had to know why the huge change in his work ethic.
"Harry, what triggered this change in you? I mean, in school you were always behind with the assigned work, and deadlines, and look at you now, you're one of the best organised officers in the Auror Department…"
He winked at her, giving her that boyish grin that always melted her insides. "I've learned from the best" he proudly declared, making her blush.
"Yeah, right. Well, I'll just see you later then" she stammered, standing up and quickly walking out of the room. Just as she was about to close the door, Harry looked up again.
"Seven o'clock at your flat, is that fine?" he asked her. She smiled warmly.
"Perfect"
--
All day long Harry kept working hard, as it by now had become a habit for him. Only when it was lunch time he allowed himself to take a break, and it was then that he gave more thought to Hermione's question.
Why did he change from his previous ways? He sighed, knowing very well the answer to that question.
See, Harry had slowly but continuously fallen in love with his female best friend, he couldn't pinpoint when it had started but he suspected it was during the Horcrux hunt, in the period they were alone without Ron. He had ignored it back then, and started rekindling his relationship with Ginny when the war had ended, but it didn't work.
Soon enough, Harry found himself single, and watching from afar his love being in a relationship with his other best friend. But that didn't last long either. Ron grew tired of the bickering, and admitted that while he had at first thought it was a sign they truly loved each other, soon he realised it was a sign, yes, but of them being incompatible.
In the meantime, though, Harry had decided to become a better man. He knew he hadn't been the best role model back in school, and in Auror training too, but seriously, first he had a madman after him, then he had decided to enjoy a bit of fun once the war had ended.
However, as time passed, he realized the time for playing and fooling around was finished, and he had to become a serious person, someone who could know when it was the time to laugh, and when it was the time to work. Someone who could be responsible enough to be a husband, and a father.
Someone Hermione could love.
She had always been a model of diligence, and still was, so it had been easy for him. He truly learned from the best, as he had said to her.
Realizing his break had lasted long enough, he took a last sip of his Butterbeer before returning to his desk to finish up for the day.
--
It was a good thing that Hermione wasn't like most girls who took hours to get ready, because precisely at seven o'clock Harry rang the bell of her flat.
"Coming!" she called, fixing the last strand of her hair before going to open the door. There he was, in a white shirt and a black suit.
Out of habit, she slightly fixed his tie, before letting him in.
"I'm ready, I just need to get my purse" she said, going back to her room. As she did, Harry stared after her. Her brown hair was styled in a cascade of curls, her form tightly hugged by the fabric of a velvety dark blue dress. High heels were on her feet.
She was really a sight for sore eyes, and he felt his own heart beat a little faster. He just hoped he wouldn't somehow make a fool of himself.
--
The party was pleasant enough, but since both had to wake up early the next morning, Harry and Hermione excused themselves a bit early. He accompanied her up to her flat, and she invited him in for a last drink before parting ways. As they relaxed on her couch, she looked sideways at him.
"You know, I quite like this new Harry you've become" she complimented him. "not that I didn't appreciate you before" she quickly added. "But it's nice to see you so focused on something"
"I was focused before too" he replied, smiling bitterly.
"Yeah, I know" she said, coming to sit near him, and placing a hand on his knee. The gesture made him look up in surprise.
"The war affected us all, Harry" she said. "But if this new Harry is what came out of that, a Harry who can both have fun and be responsible about his duties, then maybe it wasn't all for nothing" she said, and following her heart and not her brain for once, she settled against his chest, her head tucked just under his chin.
He wrapped an arm around her, and sighed. "It wasn't the war, Hermione. It was you" he admitted, and she pushed herself slightly away from him to look into his eyes. He leaned in, summoning all the Gryffindor courage he had, and kissed her lightly on the lips.
"I changed to become someone you could be proud of, someone you could love" he whispered then, before he kissed her again, her own arms linking around his neck as she kissed him back, their tongues entwining, battling in their mouths, as both poured all their feelings for the other in that kiss.
"You've always been someone I could love" she whispered against his lips when they finally broke apart. "In fact, I think I've always loved you" she added before kissing him again, their drinks forgotten, and for once their need to wake up early to go to work too, as they were too wrapped up in each other to be organised, diligent people.
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