Forbidden Love
Chapter 16
Harry cast a glance at Hermione as she sat next to him in the car. She had dozed off about twenty minutes ago during the long drive to The Burrow. Her soft lashes brushed her cheeks and her chest rose and fell steadily as she slumbered. When Hermione mumbled something incoherently and readjusted herself in the seat, the band that had been holding her hair back finally gave up the long fought battle and a mass of brown curls were released gently onto her shoulders. When a few stray strands fell into her face, Harry gingerly reached out and brushed them back, his hand jerked away in surprise when Hermione turned her face in towards his touch and emitted a soft moan. His eyes shot to the front of the car to see if her parents had heard the noise, but Dan and Ella Granger were occupied with a soft spoken discussion about whether there were or were not, in fact lost.
He gave a small smile and shook his head. Mr. Weasley had offered to have the Grangers' fireplace temporarily hooked up to the floo network so that they could get to the Burrow more easily. However, Mr. Granger had politely explained in his return owl to Mr. Weasley that both he and his wife felt no more inclined to walk into a burning fireplace than they did to walk into a brick wall. As soon as she was told of her husbands' response, Ella Granger became concerned that he had offended the Weasleys, though Harry and Hermione knew if anything they were probably amused, and insisted that Mr. Granger apologize. She was just in the process of demanding that he make amends for his rudeness, and that her husband should owl back and tell them that they would indeed floo over when Errol flew with a 'thump' into the kitchen wall carrying a response from Mr. Weasley. After scooping the dazed owl up off of the floor, Harry untied the envelope from his leg and handed it to the Grangers. Enclosed was a small note that said 'not a problem' and square of parchment containing a confusing, but still somewhat legible, map probably drawn my Mr. Weasley himself.
So here they were a few days later, attempting to drive to The Burrow with Mr. Granger at the wheel and Mrs. Granger doing her best to decipher Arthur Weasley's instructions. So far they had been driving for almost two hours and didn't seem any closer to The Burrow than when they started.
Harry gave a half smile. 'We should have flooed,' he thought to himself as Mr. Granger made what felt like his fiftieth right.
Harry looked over in surprised as Hermione's warm form landed against him after her father turned. Her head rested on his shoulder as she looked up at him though long lashes, her eyes still clouded with sleep.
"Are we there yet?" she asked in a lethargic, husky tone.
"Not yet," he responded softly.
"Mmmmm," she replied snuggling closer to his warmth "seems like we've been driving for a while."
"I'm not surprised; did you have a look at those directions?"
She gave a tiny nod. "I'm sure Mr. Weasley has never had to write directions for muggles before."
Harry smiled. "And I'm sure he loved every minute of it."
Hermione gave a small chuckle and looked back up at him. "So, how much longer do you suppose we have?"
When he looked down at her to respond, his smile slowly faded as he became aware of just how close those clouded amber eyes and soft rose-colored lips were to him.
"Harry?" she inquired after a moment, lightly touching his arm "Do you suppose we have much longer?"
He shook his head and whispered, "Not long enough."
Her eyes widened in response and all traces of sleep evaporated only to be replaced by something even more alluring and dangerous. Harry brought his hand up and hesitantly pushed a few stray strands of hair out of Hermione's eyes and just like when she had been asleep, she turned her face in towards his touch and rubbed her chin lightly against his palm. Harry's gaze dipped to her lips in a silent question, to which she responded with a small tilt of her head back so that her lips came a fraction of an inch closer to his own.
"Eureka!" Dan Granger yelled.
Harry and Hermione flew apart and flushing guilty, they looked towards the front of the car.
"I told you that I hadn't taken a wrong turn two miles back," he continued in an excited tone, "this has to be the way! Look, I even see a crooked little house in the distance, just like in the picture. Do you see it?"
"Of course dear," Ella Granger responded in an amused tone. "I see it... then again; I see a lot of things."
Harry's eyes flew forward and Mrs. Granger's reflection looked back at him with an arched brow for a second before she closed her sun visor with a snap. He quickly looked over and saw Hermione was looking at her mum with a mortified expression. Her gaze turned to him for an instant and her face turned an even more vivid shade of red before she opted to look out the window at the passing scenery.
"Yep, here we are," Dan said a minute later as they pulled up the long drive to The Burrow.
"It doesn't look very safe," Ella replied in a tone much more serious than she typically used.
"It is," Harry responded reassuringly, "it's held together by magic, and though it looks a little..." he looked for the right word.
"Precarious?" Mrs. Granger supplied.
"Er- yeah, though it looks that way it's probably more stable than most of the muggle homes in England. I've come here most summers since starting Hogwarts and have hardly ever felt more comfortable in a house."
"I'm sure," Mrs. Granger replied, her tone once again laced with its customary laughter.
Harry decided not to comment, instead looking out the window and doing his best to stomp down the urge to blush. 'I bet she and the twins will get along famously,' he thought as Mr. Granger came to a stop in front of the large house.
As soon as they stepped out of the car they were met by a smiling Mrs. Weasley. "There you are," she said, coming forward and engulfing Harry in a large hug. "I was beginning to worry that you had gotten lost." She then moved away from Harry and proceeded to give each of the Grangers a small embrace. "I was just about to send the twins out on their brooms to see if they could spot you."
"I told you that wouldn't be necessary Molly," Mr. Weasley said, coming up behind his wife and giving them each a very enthusiastic handshake. "The directions that I made were rather clear. I've gotten quite the knack for directions using muggle roads since I started using the ministry car to take the kids to and from the train station," he added, puffing his chest out proudly. Harry was instantly reminded of how Percy Weasley looked whenever he was talking about "ministry business".
"Oh, you sure have," Ella Granger said with a kind smile. "We had no problem at all finding the place."
Dan Granger made a small scoffing noise, which was quickly cut off when his wife discreetly elbowed him in the ribs.
"So what do you say we head inside?" Mrs. Weasley asked smiling and ushering them towards the door. "Practically everyone's here already, you lot are almost the last ones to arrive. The twins got in from their shop yesterday so did Charlie from Romania, while Bill and Fleur made it early this morning," she turned and gave them a glowing look. "Oh you should see her, just about ready to pop she is. I'll have a healthy, robust grandchild in no time we're thinking that it'll be a girl, but we'll know for sure soon enough."
"There are ways of finding out you know," Hermione stated primly "you can easily ju-" she cut off with a small yelp as a gnome ran across the gravel and into the yard, chased closely by a stray cat.
"Don't worry it's just a garden gnome, I'll have the boys take care of them as soon as we get inside," Mr. Weasley said reassuringly to the startled looking Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who had never seen such a thing before.
"They should have taken care of it long ago," Mrs. Weasley responded, turning to frown at her husband as they finally reached the door. "I distinctly remember telling them to see to it this morning. Well anyway, as I was saying Bill and Fleur made it early this morning while Remus and Tonks got here about an hour or so ago. The only person we're still missing is Percy," she said opening the door "but I suspect that he'll be here soon enough, perhaps tomorrow at the latest. He would never miss a holiday with the family."
Harry and Hermione gave Mr. Weasley a probing look, which he returned with a grim expression and a short shake of the head. Knowing that it meant not to question the subject they just shared a sad look for the disappointment that they knew that Mrs. Weasley would experience tomorrow and headed into the warmth of The Burrow.
"It's about time you guys got here," Fred said walking up to them.
"Yeah we were about to send out the hounds," added George with a grin.
"Or in mum's case-"
"-send out the twins."
Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes heavenward and shook her head. "Well they're here now so instead of sending you out to look for them, I'm sending you to the yard to continue de-gnoming. We saw one on the way in, I thought you boys said you had handled that already," she finished with a disapproving frown.
"Hey, we weren't the ones supposed to do it," George said holding his hands up defensively.
"Yeah, we traded Charlie the de-gnoming for setting up the tables-"
"-scrubbing the downstairs bathroom,"
"and untangling and arranging all the Christmas decorations."
"So if anything you should be letting him know,"
"-because we've done more than our share this morning," Fred ended crossing his arms with his twin behind him nodding in agreement.
"Fine," relented Mrs. Weasley "but next time I give you boys chores, you stick to your own. Now where is Charlie?"
"He's in the kitchen dear," Mr. Weasley said "I saw him go in there a moment ago. I can go in and get him if you like."
"That's ok Arthur, I have to check on the stew anyway," said Mrs. Weasley giving her husband a small pat on the arm. "Ella would you like to join me? I can show you what I have prepared for dinner tonight and tell you what's in the works for tomorrow over a nice warm cup of tea."
"Sure Molly, that sounds lovely," Mrs. Granger responded, following Mrs. Weasley to the kitchen.
"Uh, just out of curiosity," Mr. Granger said to Mr. Weasley once their wives had departed "just how does one... er, de-gnome a garden?"
"Eh, never seen it done before huh?" Mr. Weasley responded with a grin.
"I can honestly say I've never even seen a gnome, well short of the one that almost ran down my daughter that is."
"Ahhh, I thought as much. Well there goes Charlie there, what do you say we head out into the gardens and watch?" Mr. Weasley asked.
Dan nodded in agreement and he and Arthur headed back out into the cold night air to watch Charlie get rid of the garden pests.
"Do you think I might try?" Mr. Granger asked as they neared the door.
"Sure... if you still want to," Mr. Weasley answered jovially as the door closed behind them.
Harry, Hermione, Fred and George waited until they were gone before they began laughing.
"I can't believe your dad actually wants to de-gnome," Fred said shaking his head in wonder.
"Trust me, once he sees one of those things up close he'll change his mind rather quickly," Harry said with a shudder before turning to George. "So where are Ron and Ginny?"
"Well I'm not sure where Ginny is, but she knew you were coming-" he replied.
"-so our guess is in her room primping," Fred finished wagging his eyebrows. "As for Ron..." he trailed off, instead motioning to the other side of the room with his head.
Following the direction Fred had indicated, Harry and Hermione noticed Ron sitting in the corner of the living room talking with Luna. The blond girl had her hair in some type of strange style that looked to be a mix of pony tails and antlers and was wearing a red sweater with moving lights that spelled out the words "Free The Reindeers". Her red and white striped pants were skintight and made her legs look like they were wrapped in giant candy canes. In fact the only "decent" article of clothing that the girl was wearing were her white trainers, and even those had shoelaces that seemed to be dancing in time to the Christmas music playing in the background. Ron was sitting across from her wearing his 'R' sweater that Mrs. Weasley made every year and a pair of regular dark blue jeans with maroon trainers, looking quite bland in contrast to the brightly colored nymph sitting opposite him. The two seemed to be having an amusing conversation if Ron's constant laughter and Luna's smile were any indication.
"Perhaps we should head over," Harry commented.
However, before Hermione could respond Luna reached down and took Ron's hand, the blond witch turned it over in her own and began to slowly trace the lines. Ron's face and ears turned to about the same dark burgundy shade as his sweater and from his spot, Harry could have sworn that his friend's eyes took on a glassy look. The blond girl gave a soft smile and leant forward and whispered something to his friend that made his face somehow turn and even darker hue and as he gave her a look of wonder, Harry turned to Hermione.
The brown haired girl frowned for a moment, then as if sensing his gaze turned and looked at him.
"I believe I'll go and see if Mrs. Weasley has any more of that warm tea," she said softly before sidestepping Harry and heading into the kitchen.
"What is she doing here?" Harry asked the twins as soon as Hermione left.
"She's been around most of the summer," George said with a shrug.
"Yeah, her and Ron seem to be becoming pretty good...er, friends," Fred added.
"What does that mean?" Harry asked looking between the two taller Weasleys'.
This time they both gave a shrug "Nothing really," Fred said "I mean she's been hanging around a lot but-"
"-from what we've seen they haven't really been doing anything but talking," George finished looking over at the couple once more. "To tell the truth from what I heard it's not so bad, she and Ginny even seem to be getting along."
"Yeah, it's actually the weirdest thing once you think about it. I always thought those three would drive one another nutters if anything."
Harry nodded his head in agreement, looking back at the couple in the corner.
"Harry!!!" He swung his head around just in time to see Ginny hop down the last few steps and catch her as she flew into his arms. "There you are! I've been waiting! Mum thought that you guys would be here sooner, but once we heard that dad had personally drawn your map we knew that it might be a while." She stated with a grin. "How long have you guys been here?"
"I was just about to ask the same thing," Ron commented walking up. "When did you guys get here, I didn't see you come in."
Harry smirked at him. "Well you did seem to be a bit- preoccupied."
"I don't know what you mean," Ron replied, but the bright pink color of his ears indicated that he knew exactly what his mate was referring to. "Where's Hermione?"
Harry arched a brow in response, "She decided that she wanted some tea and went into the kitchen with her mum."
Ron's mouth formed an 'O', but he didn't comment. Instead he gave Harry a nod and threw a glare to the sniggering twins before heading into the kitchen.
"What was that about?" Ginny asked, watching her brother exit the room.
"Maybe you should ask Ron," Harry responded, looking at her.
"Or Luna," said the twins in unison just before bursting into laughter.
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"Hermione, can we have a moment alone?" Ron asked an hour or so later, as everyone dispersed from the dinner table.
The brunette slowly sat down the plate that she had picked up to take into the kitchen and gave her boyfriend a curious look.
"Sure," she responded, wiping her hands on a napkin.
Ron gave a half-smile and held his hand out to her. She took the offered hand and allowed herself to be lead out of the dining room, past the stairs and the broom closet, though the hall and to the room just left of the loo. Looking around as they entered Hermione noticed that they were in what looked to be the laundry room. There were several stacks of newly washed clothing on a long table and a rack holding four newly pressed robes. A bottle of Madam Sorella's Laundry Soap sat on the shelf just above the clothing and a large cauldron with a wooden spoon sat in the corner slowly mixing and scrubbing several shirts and socks that were inside. Hermione turned when she heard the door close behind her and gave a curious look to Ron. The redhead was busy looking at his shoes instead of at her so she walked over to him and lightly touched his arm, at which time he finally looked her in the eyes.
"Ron, wha-" she was cut off as her boyfriend's warm mouth covered her own.
Caught totally unawares by his sudden action, Hermione emitted a small squeak that unwittingly allowed Ron access to her. His ardent tongue delved between her soft lips and into her warm mouth. Ron moaned and tangled his hands in her thick hair, pulling her closely against him. Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and taking that as an indication that everything was ok, Ron lifted her up and sat her on one of the rooms many tables, firmly wedging himself between her legs. When her head fell back, Ron's mouth left hers and traveled down her neck. However, when his hand cupped and began to knead her breast, Hermione stiffened.
"Ron, stop." she said, grabbing at his hand. Ron moaned in response, moving his mouth up to her ear at which time she shifted her neck so that he couldn't reach it. "I mean it Ronald, stop!" Hermione said again in a sterner tone, he pulled back and looked her in the eyes.
Seeing the glint of determination in them, Ron pulled away from her fully and released a groan. "I knew I shouldn't have stopped kissing your mouth," he mumbled, running a hand through is disheveled hair.
"And just what does that mean?!" she demanded her eyes flashing dangerously.
"Nothing," he grumbled rolling his eyes and turning his head to watch the cauldron work.
"No, it doesn't mean `nothing'. What exactly did you mean by that Ronald?" When he still didn't respond she gave his shoulder a tiny shove. "Answer me!"
He gave her an irritated look "It meant that I knew the minute that I pulled away from your mouth you would start nagging. That seems to be all you're capable of doing. Honestly I was surprised that you didn't push me back straight away to get a head start."
Hermione hopped off the table and gave Ron a hard shove. "You take that back! I do not immediately start nagging, and for your information maybe I wouldn't have stopped you if you would have lead into it like a regular person instead of just pushing me up against a table and shoving your tongue down my throat!"
"I did not just shove my tongue down your throat, it's called kissing, more often referred to as snogging and most girls like it!"
"Ha! Most girls my arse! I don't give a flying cauldron about most girls, besides just because Lavender Brown had no problem constantly sharing her tongue with you, as well as most of the male populace of Hogwarts," she added in a grumble "doesn't mean that most girls like it."
"What's wrong with wanting to occasionally snog my girlfriend? Huh, I mean is that too much to ask?"
"Well what's wrong with wanting to have a civilized conversation with my boyfriend, is that too much to ask?!" Hermione retorted. "It seems like the only person that you want to have civilized conversations with is Luna, I certainly can't seem to get one out of you."
"Well perhaps that's because you're a bloody nag," Ron replied angrily.
"No, I think it's more likely you're a bloody git!" she retorted.
"I'm not a git!"
"Well I'm not a nag!"
"Well I don-"
"Look can we just stop this?" Hermione asked suddenly feeling very tired. "Why can't we just talk like normal people... well normal people and Luna that is."
Ron frowned "What's that supposed to mean? There's nothing wrong with Luna."
Hermione gave him and incredulous look "Nothing wrong with Luna, nothing wro- Ron the girl is completely barmy!"
"She is not! She's just a bit... just a bit..."
"-mental," Hermione supplied with a smirk.
"No, I was going to say eccentric, you know, different."
"Oh trust me, I know she's different, but what I don't know, is why it matters so much?"
"Blimey Hermione don't be daft, it doesn't matter really. It's just that she's a really good friend- you know, to, to all of us. She's a member of the D.A., she helped out at the ministry, she's just one of the gang and I don't think that you've ever really given her a fair shake, that's all."
"That's all huh?" Hermione asked, a sardonic expression crossing her features.
"Yes, that's all." Ron answered with an unflinching look.
Instead of responding, Hermione gave Ron a stiff nod before turning and walking out of the room without looking back.
A.N.- That's it for this chapter, onward ho!! -er, ok… sorry, that's the type of stuff you get when I'm still writing after twelve am… ^.^; Please Review!!! I appreciate it and read each review that I'm given. On that note please trust me on this, I know a lot of you are ready for stuff to happen, and trust me it will, I just prefer to have the way I do seeing as it's the style of story I prefer where everything isn't rushed or jumped into. Harry and Hermione are both in relationships (for now) and unsure about their feelings they, I believe, wouldn't rush things and since unfortunately for some of you *lol* I'm the one writing the story then that's how it's working out. I can promise you three things, one: in the next six or so chapters things will progress and change not only between H/Hr but between at least one of them and their significant other. Two: Harry and Hermione WILL get together in this story and have a good relationship when they do (not all that make-up break-up crap) and three: There will be H/Hr couple chappy's so I'm not just going to get them together and then go `The End'. -If you can be patient I think you will really enjoy the story. If not then feel free to read something else, you can always come back when it's complete- I won't hold it against you *wink* Okay, my long winded rambling is over, thanks for continuing to read and please review. Ja! OH ALSO SINCE THIS IS TWO PARTS I WILL TRY TO POST HE SECOND PART EARILER THAN USUAL, AND THEN DO THE USUSAL UPDATE. SO YOU SHOULD SEE ONE CHAPTER TODAY, ANOTHER AROUND WENDS AND THEN THE USUAL UPDATE ON FRIDAY! THANKS!
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