AN: Hi, I'm not dead. Just severely inactive. I would LOVE to continue with this fic, or start a new one - something - but it's not looking very likely. We'll have to see how life goes. In the mean time, here's a chapter to read =]. And yepp, HP isn't mine, but this work is.
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Harry and Hermione were back at Eloura Beach, and like before, it was just the two of them. Thanks to Hermione's Heating Charm, the two were able to swim throughout the Pacific Ocean without having to deal with the cold water. Hermione was again in that sexy white bikini of hers, driving Harry's hormones crazy. The two swam around in the water for a few minutes before erupting into childish banter of splashing each other. After Hermione splashed Harry directly in the face, he chased after her, sending her treading away from him. Harry caught up to her, however, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, bringing her back into his chest. After catching her in his arms, Harry turned his face sideways, so he was looking into the side of Hermione's face. Likewise, Hermione turned her face in kind moments later, so the two teens were looking directly into one another's eyes.
No words were shared. Instead, each looked deep into each other's eyes, waiting for the other to make a move. After staring each other down for several seconds, Harry slowly leaned his head down towards Hermione's, opening his lips slightly. Hermione raised her face to meet Harry's, and their lips touched in the softest of kisses. Immediately the kissed turned into something deeper, more passionate, and Harry kissed Hermione with everything he had in him. The two shared the heated kiss for seconds, moments, minutes, they didn't know, before Hermione took charge, sliding her tongue out to touch Harry's lips, begging for entrance. His mouth accepted, and Hermione slid her tongue into Harry's mouth, his tongue meeting hers in a frenzied dance.
The two made out in the water for an extended amount of time, and as their kissing continued to become more lust-filled and passionate, Harry couldn't help but have his erection dig into Hermione's backside. Rather than being mortified, Hermione dug her arse into Harry's crotch, creating a friction that felt so good, yet painful, for Harry. Harry couldn't resist letting out a groan of pleasure, breaking their kiss. Hermione closed her eyes and continued to grind against Harry as he started to pepper her neck with kisses. Hermione responded with moans of pleasure; her moans gave Harry a sense of boldness, and he swiftly brought his right hand to Hermione's right breast, palming and cupping it in his hand. That just caused Hermione to moan more and further grind against Harry's crotch. Harry continued to cup and squeeze Hermione's breast through the bikini fabric before finally grabbing Hermione by the waist and turning her around to face him. By doing so, he created space between themselves, but for some reason… Harry still felt that grinding sensation against him…
Harry opened his eyes, and found himself not on Eloura Beach, but in a bed back at the hotel. He was in the same clothes as the night before, and Hermione was up against him, grinding her butt up against Harry's crotch. Harry quickly came to the realization that he was dreaming that kind of dream about Hermione, and when doing so, must have started pressing himself against her… and she grinded back against him in return!
Having realized the situation, Harry knew he should wake Hermione up or leave the bed, do anything to get out of the situation. However, just as he prepared to act accordingly, he heard it. The tiniest, softest, sexiest noise - make that moan! - escape Hermione's mouth. He couldn't see her moan, but if it wasn't him, it could have only been her. She was unaware of what was going on, but she clearly was enjoying the sensations she was experiencing. While Harry salivated in this revelation, he was brought back to a harsh reality when all of a sudden, Hermione's moans stopped. Instead, they were replaced by a scream of terror. Hermione jumped up to a sitting position, embarrassed and terrified by the realization of what just happened: Harry and I fell asleep together - in the same bed. He must have had a fantasy dream and started pressing up against me, and I subconsciously grinded back against him!
The two teens looked at each other, shocked and humiliated at what just happened. The two sat in silence for several moments before Harry started to open his mouth, trying to bring himself to say anything. However, Hermione beat him to it, screaming, "Get out!"
Instead of heeding Hermione's command, Harry stayed where he was, sitting in the bed, the comforter and sheets bundled over him from the waist down. Her cheeks quickly turning red, Hermione commanded again, this time in a quieter, albeit harsh, tone, "Harry, get out of the bed! Please," she pleaded with him.
Harry again failed to listen to Hermione, instead looking down at the bed, his face redder than the hair of a Weasley. "Hermione, I think it'd be best if you left the bed for now instead."
Hermione looked at Harry, her anger dissipating as confusion took over her. Why did she need to leave the bed instead of Harry? She tried to look at Harry's face, but it was fixated down on the bed… at his lap. "Oh," she softly squeaked, coming to the realization of why Harry didn't want to stand up. Hermione quickly covered her mouth with her right hand, her face somehow turning an even deeper shade of red than Harry's face, and rolled off the bed and sprinted towards the bathroom. Hermione quickly opened and closed the door, creating a distant and safe barrier between the two.
Once Hermione was out of sight, Harry closed his eyes and fell back on the bed, desperately trying not to think about Hermione, his dream, or the ache of his erection. However, that was a task that he simply could not manage to do. Why in the hell was I dreaming about Hermione… like that!? She's supposed to be my best friend - my sister - and I can't do this! I know things have been different between us lately, and bloody hell was she hot in that bikini. But still, she is Ron's now. I can't think about her like this, he thought, looking down at his crotch. …Definitely not like this.
Harry realized soon enough that Hermione had decided to get a shower, and so Harry decided to quickly eat breakfast and pick out clothes to change into after he got his own shower. Harry ate in silence, trying to think about all things not Hermione. When she came out of the bathroom, thankfully fully clothed and not just in a towel, Hermione looked at Harry once, and then avoided eye contact, refusing to look or speak to him. For his part, Harry couldn't help but allow his eyes to follow Hermione, but after several moments, stopped and gathered his things before heading into the bathroom for his shower.
As soon as Hermione heard the bathroom door close, she let out a deep breath, turning around to look at the empty room as she ran her right hand through her wet and wild hair. Hermione shook her head clear of thoughts of the previous incident, and gathered food to eat. She had no idea if Harry ate breakfast yet, and if he hadn't, Hermione didn't want to be there when he did. Right now, she wanted to keep conversation to a minimum with Harry, to avoid the embarrassment of this morning. As Hermione sat down and ate a slice of toast and fruit, she couldn't help but replay the events of this morning. I was dreaming - what about I will never be able to remember now - and I felt something press up against my arse. I had no idea what it was, but it sent something through me… I liked it. I couldn't resist pushing back against it, it's like I had no control over myself or my body's actions. Merlin, I can't believe that it was Harry's… thing! Dear God! I can't believe I was pressing my arse against him like some slag. He must think of me like one now, I know it. He probably thinks I'm some common tart who threw herself at Viktor and Ron, Hermione thought, clearly over-analyzing the situation and thinking of the worst possible scenario. As she calmed down by drinking some of her glass of water, she couldn't help but think of one last thing. I know I shouldn't be admitting to this, but Merlin did it feel good to have… Harry… pressed up against me like that.
Hermione's thoughts quickly changed their course as the bathroom door opened, Harry stepping out dressed for the day. Hermione quickly finished her breakfast, stood up, and brushed herself off. Just barely looking at Harry, she said, "Well, ready to get started for today? I think it's best we go right back to my parents' house first thing. There is a chance one of them aren't working today since it's Saturday. If we can remove one of the…"
"Hermione, you're rambling," Harry stated simply. "I know what we need to do, okay?"
Hermione glared at Harry, not happy with him cutting her off. While she knew she was rambling, it was certainly helping her take her mind off of this morning, which is what she needed more than anything right now. "I am not rambling," she snapped. "I am letting you know of the agenda."
"Yes, Hermione," Harry explained, "the agenda that you and I have already discussed." Hermione had no comeback for that; she knew Harry was right. She had probably bored him to death with all the planning she had come up with for this trip and recovering her parents' memories and identities. The two looked at each other in silence, still feeling awkward and embarrassed about this morning. "Look, Hermione, can we please…"
"No," Hermione cut him off, "not right now. There will be a time and place when we can and will need to talk about… that, but definitely not right now." Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath before moving towards the door. "Look, let's just go get a cab, go to my parents' cottage, and do what we came here for." And with that said, Hermione opened the door to their room, and exited for the hallway. Harry took one last look at their room, and followed her out the door, closing it along the way.
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Saturday, May 30, 1998 - 12:49 PM
After taking another drive from the Rydges Hotel to Stewart Drive in a taxi, Hermione was much more prepared to see her parents this time around. After already going through the shock of seeing her mother for the first time in almost a year, Hermione would be able to keep her composure this time around; she was sure of it.
As the two got out of the taxi, Hermione quickly paid the taxi driver the fee, and then stood on the sidewalk, facing the cottage. Harry and Hermione simultaneously turned their heads, looking at each other. "You ready?" Harry asked her cautiously. Hermione just nodded her head, wanting to keep her emotions in check. The two walked towards the door of the cottage, and as Harry knocked on the cottage door, Hermione whipped out her wand from under her right sleeve. The teens waited for several moments in silence, but the door to the cottage opened a minute later, out stepping Mrs. Monica Wilkins. She looked confused as to why the two teens, one of whom was completely barmy, were back at her house. Before she could say anything, Hermione raised the wand at her and said the incantation to remove the False Memory Charm.
Hermione looked at Mrs. Wilkins hopefully, but the woman just stood there blankly for several moments, her eyes glazed over. A few moments later though, the woman's eyes returned to normal, and she snapped out of her reverie. She looked confused at the young woman in front of her, but broke out into an ear-to-ear grin a second later! "Hermione!" Emily Granger truly looked at her daughter for the first time in almost a year, opening her arms for her daughter. "Mum!" Hermione leaped at her mother, accepting her embrace.
Harry happily stood back as he watched Mrs. Granger and Hermione hug, the latter openly crying tears of happiness as they embraced. The mother and daughter hugged for several minutes, and when they finally released their embraced and looked at one another, Mrs. Granger did not look happy, but confused. "Hermione, where am I?" Mrs. Granger asked her. "I remember you coming home, and the next thing I know, I'm here hugging you. You have some explaining to do young lady!"
Hermione gave Harry a quick look before turning back to her mother. "Well, Mom, it goes like this…"
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Hermione and Harry spent the next several hours explaining what Mrs. Monica Wilkins has been doing for the past year, and what has been going on in England. Hermione told her that she placed them under a False Memory Charm and had them go to Australia so they could escape persecution from Voldemort. Hermione knew that since she was a Muggleborn and Harry's friend, she and her parents would be a target; she had to do whatever it took to save them. However, Harry assured her that England was safe again, and that Voldemort had been defeated. They are free to go back home to England and return to their practice and life. While Mrs. Granger had a thorough row with the two teens throughout the explanation, she eventually came to understand why Hermione did what she did, and came to somehow love her daughter even more than before, something Mrs. Granger didn't think was possible. However, she still had trouble coming to terms with her daughter being on the run from the evilest dark wizard of all time and the government for an entire year. "My goodness, Hermione," she said as tears leaked from her eyes, "how did you survive that?
"Because we had to, Mum," she stated simply. "We had no choice but to keep going and do everything that we had to do to defeat Voldemort."
"I guess you're not going to be wanting to go on our annual camping trip this summer now," Mrs. Granger joked. "If I was camping on the run like that, I don't think I'd ever want to camp again."
Hermione laughed with her Mum, but shook her head eventually. "Actually, Mum, I want to go on our camping trip even more than ever now. I want to do whatever I can with you and Dad now that I have you back in my life. And, to be honest, I think camping for survival will give me a greater appreciation of camping for fun now," Hermione finished, chuckling slightly. "Speaking of, now that you have your memory back, and Dad will have his when he comes home, we could go on a trip when we go back. I'm sure you want to go back home right away."
Hermione avoided eye contact with Harry as she talked about going back home, and Harry knew exactly why. The plan was to stay here for several weeks and make a holiday out of the trip with her parents. Now, she was changing the plan, and Harry knew exactly why.
Mrs. Granger smiled sweetly at her daughter. "Oh no, dear," she said cheerily, "this is the first time you have ever been to Australia, and I am sure it's Harry's first time too. We're going to be staying here for a while still so you two can have some fun here. Although this isn't the ideal time to be in Australia; it's much better during our winter months."
Hermione said nothing for a few moments, but then swallowed and smiled at her mother. "Good," she stated simply. "I'm glad you're going to let us stay in Australia for a while," she finished, still avoiding eye contact with Harry.
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Harry, Hermione, and Mrs. Granger spent the rest of the afternoon casually talking, letting Mrs. Granger and Harry get to know each other, since the two never had a real conversation despite Harry and Hermione being friends for seven years. Harry also got to learn a lot about Hermione's childhood ("Oh, our Hermione here didn't want to be a witch when she grew up. She thought of nothing but being the Princess in a tower waiting to be rescued by the knight in shining armor," Mrs. Granger said through fits of laughter, knowing she was embarrassing her daughter), giving him an even greater insight on his brainiac best friend.
Mr. Wilkins came home around 5PM, and when he did, Hermione quickly removed his memory charm, restoring him back to the mindset of Mr. Roger Granger. The four ended up having dinner and talking throughout the evening; again, Harry and Hermione had to fill in Mr. Granger on why Hermione put him under the charm and what has happened in England this past year. Mr. Granger was much more stubborn than Mrs. Granger about why his daughter shipped him off to Australia, but he became more complacent as he heard of the horrors of what happened, courtesy of Harry. While the Granger's had no memory of their year in Australia initially, the longer they became accustomed to their original identity being restored, they also remembered everything about their year in Australia. The Granger's talked about their experiences here, and while Hermione made it enjoyable for them, they always felt like they were missing something, and now they knew it was a someone, Hermione.
Watching Hermione interact with her parents, Harry could tell she hadn't been this happy in a long time. For Harry, he was happy just to see Hermione this happy, but also was glad to finally converse with the Grangers and find out how good of people they were. However, Mrs. Granger put Harry - and Hermione - on the spot during dinner, creating an uncomfortable moment for the two. The foursome had been chatting about Hogwarts life and everything Harry and Hermione went through growing up there, and after a comment was made about the great connection they had, Mrs. Granger made the off-hand comment of, "I wonder why you two never ended up dating growing up."
Mrs. Granger just so happened to time this statement as Hermione drank some of her water, and Harry swallowed some of his potatoes. Needless to say, Hermione ended up coughing and spilling water out of her mouth, and Harry choked on his potatoes. The two regained their composure eventually, but not after receiving awkward looks from the Granger's. Hermione and Harry exchanged looks before Hermione stepped up to the plate to answer Mrs. Granger's comment. "Mum, Harry and I have always been best friends. We don't think that way about each other," Hermione said, trying to prevent herself from blushing.
Harry gave Hermione an uncomfortable look before saying, "Yeah, Hermione and I are like brother and sister," he stated flatly, clearing not believing what he said.
Sensing the tension in the room, Mr. Granger quickly turned the topic to Quidditch, letting Harry tell him all about the game, while Mrs. Granger gave her daughter quizzical looks. The tension died down eventually, and as the night started to wind down, Mr. Granger made the suggestion that Harry and Hermione stay at the cottage throughout the rest of the stay in Australia. "For starters, I'm not going to have you two paying for a hotel room when there is ample room in this cottage," he stated. "Plus, this is a holiday for all of us. If we plan on spending it together, it's much more simple for you lot to just be here with us at all time."
Harry wasn't going to argue with the man, he thought it was a solid idea, and he knew Hermione would love to be with her parents, so he answered before she even could. "That'd be great, Mr. Granger," Harry responded with a smile. "All we need to do is check out and pack our bags, and we can be back over here for the rest of tonight."
Mr. Granger nodded at Harry while Hermione finally made contact with him, smiling at him for his answer. Harry half-smiled in return, and the two gathered their things so they could head back to the hotel.
"Since it'll take so long to get a cab, we'll just Apparate back to our hotel," Hermione explained to her parents. When she noticed their confused expressions, she elaborated. "Apparition is going from one place to another. It's like teleporting, Dad," she told him, knowing he'd be able to identify with that. Mr. Granger had a soft spot for science fiction.
Mr. Granger beamed proudly at his daughter, and a moment later, Harry and Hermione Disapparated back to their hotel room.
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***********The Rydges Hotel***********
As Harry and Hermione Apparated back into their room, the two immediately set about to gather up all of their clothing, back to staying silent with one another. While the two were able to get back into their usual groove while talking about Hogwarts and the war with the Granger's, as soon as they got back into the hotel, the awkwardness apparated in with them. The two finished gathering their clothes and placing them in their respective suitcases, Hermione looked at Harry to see if he was ready to go back to the Granger cottage. However, what she saw instead was Harry sitting at the feet of the bed, looking directly at Hermione.
"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked him.
"I just couldn't help but think about what your parents said earlier," he said simply, lowering his contact from Hermione to the floor.
Hermione tried to look at Harry as if she was confused, but she knew what Harry was getting out. "We talked with my parents for the entire day; they said a lot of things. You may want to elaborate."
Harry rolled his eyes before raising his focus back to Hermione. Looking her square in the eyes, he blurted out, "Why didn't we ever date?"
She knew he was going to say it, but wished he wouldn't have. Hermione had wanted to come through this trip being able to resist the temptations she was having of doing something with Harry, and she had been failing that task completely. The more time the two spent together, the more heated and potentially problematic things became between them. Hermione knew the way Harry looked at her at the beach; she could see the desire in his eyes, for she had the same desire when she looked at him. This morning's incident, well… that spoke for itself. And add on their near-kiss back at Hogwarts, and Hermione knew for sure, that things were clearly changing in her relationship with Harry.
Instead of being honest and telling Harry she had no idea, she played off of their answers from earlier. "It's like you said, Harry," she said flatly, "we're like brother and sisters. We never thought about each other that way."
Harry lowered his head back to the floor, pausing for several seconds. Hermione wasn't sure if Harry was going to say anything more, and was just starting to turn around and check to see if she missed anything before Harry suddenly spoke. "That's not true."
Hermione turned back around to face Harry, looking anxious and confused. "What do you mean, Harry?" She asked him tentatively.
Hermione waited for Harry to raise his head and look at her in the eyes, but he kept his head at the floor. "What you said, what I said earlier," he started before finally raising his head back up to look Hermione in the eyes, "isn't true. There was definitely a time when I thought about you in that way, a time when I fancied you."
Hermione couldn't believe what she was listening to, and had to take a deep breath before she replied with anything, not wanting to say something silly that would make her look like a fool. In her silence, however, Harry continued speaking, standing up from the bed while doing so. "And ever since the Yule Ball, I knew I would never look at you like a sister, no matter what I thought… or said," Harry finished, thinking of his conversation with Ron after he destroyed Slytherin's locket.
Hermione went to speak, but Harry raised up his hand and walked towards her. "No, Hermione," he said quickly. "If I'm going to say this, if I'm going to get it all out there, I need to do it now. This may be my one chance to truly have this talk with you, without anyone interfering, so bloody hell, I'm going to do it." Hermione took a deep breath, stunned by Harry's sudden monologue, letting him get everything off his chest. "In fifth year, after Cho and I broke things off, I had hope for you and me, Hermione, I really did. I thought that there was a chance you and I would get together. I think a lot of people thought it; so many people made off-hand comments about to it me. But then there was the Department of Mysteries… Sirius… everything got so screwed up. I was so afraid of the prophecy, and Ginny came along... I had a spell of normalcy with Ginny, and it was everything I needed at the time. But you, Hermione, you were there. For a time, it was you I wanted. And well, I think yesterday, just a couple days ago at Hogwarts, this morning… I think it shows that physically, I'm still attracted to you. I told you before, Hermione, you're not ugly. You're so far from it… you're beautiful."
Hermione was on the verge of tears from Harry's words, she couldn't believe how meaningful and beautiful they were to her. Harry looked at Hermione, unsure of what to do from here, but he was thankfully rescued by Hermione with a response of her own. "You're right, Harry" she said in a soft whisper. "What I said earlier, it was a lie. When we were growing up, it was always you who I fancied. It's like my Mum said, I was the Princess in the tower wanting to be rescued by the knight. You were the Boy-Who-Lived, the savior of the wizarding world; I wanted you to be my knight. Ron, he was a prat, I didn't fancy him as we grew up together. I didn't fancy him until sixth year, not until after the Department of Mysteries. Harry, I'm so sorry: when I got hit by Dolohov by that curse, part of me couldn't help but blame you. You were our leader, and I counted on you to save me when I needed it. I foolishly thought the knight was always there to save the Princess, but I should have known that as soon as Voldemort returned in fourth year that the Princess and the knight, love conquering all, that was the stuff of fairy tale."
Hermione paused, sniffling back tears, as she continued. "I couldn't help partially blaming you for what happened to me at the Department of Mysteries, and by doing so, I pushed myself away from you, and right into Ron. But like you said, things got so screwed up after then. If that didn't happen, well, I'm not sure how things would have turned out, but I don't think it would've been like this," Hermione finished in an even softer whisper than when she started.
Harry looked deep into Hermione's eyes, gauging her emotions before responding. "I wish I knew what life would have been like if that didn't happen, but we can never change the past," he said sadly. "All that matters now, is the present," Harry said as he took another step towards Hermione, so they were right in front of each other, "And what matters now, is what we said tonight. Do we stand as brother and sister?" Harry asked her in a soft whisper as his head subconsciously leaned in towards her.
Hermione closed her eyes for a brief moment before reopening them and answering Harry's question, also whispering softly. "I guess not," she said as her gaze lowered to Harry's lips. "Australia has already proven us wrong in just a couple days."
Hermione looked back at Harry for a few seconds, and Harry used that opportunity to follow-up on what she said. "Yeah, you're right," he said as he stared deep into her eyes. "Yesterday at the beach… this morning… right now…"
Harry leaned his face down towards Hermione's, who raised her face in return. As the two started to lean in to kiss, the two quickly stopped and looked into each other's eyes before continuing their agonizingly slow journey towards the other. Finally, Harry and Hermione's lips met for a fraction of a second, but just as their lips barely touched…
*KNOCK* *KNOCK*
Harry and Hermione bolted away from each other like they had been shocked. "This is Alex of The Rydges, I'm here to pick up your baggage; you informed the front desk you'd be checking out now."
Harry and Hermione looked at each other, horrified at what just happened, or almost happened, they weren't quite sure. The two stared at each other in silence, not sure what to say or how to act now. The luggage boy knocked on the door again, and it seemed to snap them out of their reverie. "Uh, thank you, sir," Hermione answered quickly, "but we'll be fine. We'll get everything ourselves. We already checked out, so we'll be leaving shortly."
Hermione gave Harry one last petrified look before hurrying over to her suitcase, picking it up in her hand, and Apparating away to the Granger's cottage. Harry groaned in disbelief once she left, running his hands through his unruly hair. "What the fuck just happened," Harry shouted aloud to no one but himself. I can't believe Hermione and I just kissed - did we kiss? Our lips touched, but just barely and for not even a second, that can't be an actual kiss. Bloody hell! What in the fuck is going on with me!? Harry screamed in his mind.
Harry walked around the room, pacing back and forth, trying to clear his thoughts. He knew that whatever just happened (almost happened?) between him and Hermione definitely just made things even more complicated between the two of them, and would make the rest of this Australia trip even longer. I need to calm myself down, and give me and Hermione time to ourselves so we can sort that whole ordeal out, he concluded to himself. Harry walked over to his suitcase, picked it up, and carried it out the door. It'll be best to take a cab back to the Granger's, he thought. As Harry looked back at his hotel room, he gave the bed one last look. "I bloody hate Australia," he growled bitterly as he closed the door and headed for the front desk, knowing it was going to be a long trip back to the Granger's, and the rest of his time in Australia would last even longer.