Forbidden Love
Chapter 3
Harry was staring out at the colorful scenery through the window of the trolley lost in though, when Hermione nudged him. He turned giving a questioning look.
"Yes?" he asked when she continued to watch him without saying anything.
"I'm bored," she replied with a small pout that he, for some reason, found utterly adorable. "I've finished my book and now I have nothing to do," she held up a text that looked to be over three hundred pages long.
Harry watched as she then frowned and glared at the book as though it were its fault that she had finished reading it so quickly, before tossing it onto the seat. He gave a confused look. He could have sworn that when they left her house twenty minutes ago she hadn't even started the thing.
"Wait didn't you just-" she looked at him expectantly and he shook his head "never mind Hermione. So what do you want me to do about you being bored?"
She looked at the roof of the trolley her brows furrowing, as though she were pondering that thought before giving him a cheerful smile.
"Oh, I know I came across this really funny joke. Do you want to hear it?"
Harry arched a brow, Hermione...telling jokes? Wonders never cease.
"Sure," he said aloud, giving an encouraging smile. Hermione ginned in response.
"Okay, you see there was this guy- no, wait this girl -no, no it was a guy, er, I mean it was a wizard, yeah that's it," she gave a small nod. "There was this wizard and he was making this potion, he went into the closet and grabbed a vile, okay?" Harry nodded, unsure of just where the funny part was going to come in. "Well, he has the vile and it was a vile of Asphodel, he then mixed it with scarab beetle and ginger root. After doing this he went back to his friend Mandrol who was always considered smarter than him and, wait- did I tell you what Mandrol said," when he shook his head no she waved her hand, making a scoffing noise. "Well it was of little consequence anyway. So like I was saying, he walks up to Mandrol intent upon having a battle of the wits to prove him wrong," she then started laughing. "Don't you get it? A battle of wits to prove him wrong... wits," she reiterated, now laughing like it was the funniest thing ever. At Harry's confused look she elaborated. "He wanted to do a battle of wits so he was trying to make a wit-sharpening potion, but you make that with Armadillo not Asphodel," she then started laughing again, wiping a tear form her eye.
Harry smiled in amusement. She looked so radiantly happy with her incredibly lame joke, he almost didn't have the heart to tell her how bad it was… almost.
"Well," Hermione inquired after she had calmed down a bit "what do you think?"
"Honestly?" Harry asked raising his brows; she nodded. "Okay, well honestly I think that you are great at a lot of things... however, telling jokes is not one of them."
She gave an offended look. "What! That's ridicules, that was a great joke!"
He shook his head slowly a smile spreading on his face. "No, no it wasn't."
"Yes it was."
"No, it really wasn't."
"Yes, it really was."
"No, really, like on a scale of one to ten with ten being the most funny and one being the least -you were about a…" Harry paused as if he were considering it "... negative fifty." He gave her a nod. "Yeah, that's it a negative fifty, but of course as your mate I'm being nice," he added giving her a light pat on the arm and a wink.
Hermione punched him playfully as they reached their stop.
"You know absolutely nothing about humor," she commented indignantly as she hopped of the trolley.
"Of course I do," he retorted hopping off behind her "that's how I know that your joke wasn't funny."
She glared at him. "Of course it was."
"Was not."
"Was too."
"Was not."
"Was too."
Their playful bickering continued for the next three blocks and all the way up to the entrance of the skating rink, where Harry paid their small fee to get in. Upon walking inside they found that the rink was a feast for the eyes. Harry didn't know where to look first, brightly colored neon signs were up everywhere as a loud pop song blared out of the speakers. People young and old were walking, talking, laughing, eating and skating; he and Hermione shared a grin and headed to get their skates.
A long time later they were finally ready to hit the rink with the event that Harry was now, much to Hermione's annoyance, calling "the incident" behind them. "The incident" being the twenty minutes it took rent the skates, due to the brown haired girls' insistence upon inspecting every single pair before choosing the one that seemed the least germ ridden. Finally, after Harry pretended to kill himself and the attendant threatened to quit, she grudgingly selected a pair of skates off the counter. And now they were finally ready to find a place to sit, lace up and hit the rink. Seeing a spot not far from them Harry pointed it out and they made their way over.
"Have you ever done this before?" he asked once he was done lacing up his skates, giving her a curious look.
"Once when I was about ten, I went skating on a class trip." She replied while fighting with the knot in her shoelace.
"And..." Harry prompted, "how'd it go?"
Hermione gave a grimace "Well it was going fine until a girl who didn't like me decided to push me down." She looked back at her skates and resumed fighting the knot with added vigor. "Which wouldn't have been so bad if her and her friends didn't then start skating circles around me chanting; '"Hermy Granger bushy manger, gave a comb but could not tame her", only to be joined by the rest of the class." She finally got the knot out of the lace and finished tying her skates; looking at him she gave a shrug.
"It only lasted a minute or two before the teachers broke it up, no big deal. I didn't have to go back next year because I got my acceptance letter from Hogwarts, so... no big deal, I haven't even really thought about it since. After all, kids will be kids." She finished with another shrug and a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
Harry held back the frown that wanted to appear on his features at her words and watched quietly as she then tried to stand up. Hermione wobbled precariously on her skates for a moment before he placed a hand on her back to help her maintain her balance.
"Well, you ready to hit the rink?" she inquired, holding her hand out to him once she was steady.
He took her warm hand in his own as he stood up off of the bench and intertwining their fingers, they made their way unsteadily to the rink. Standing on the edge of the somewhat crowded area, Hermione looked hesitantly at the shiny surface before looking back at him.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked nervously. "We can still catch the trolley to the mall, or catch another film," she looked at the crowded area and then back at him with a hopeful look. "Please?"
Harry gave her a smile in return and slowly shook his head 'no' before stepping out onto the polished floor. Firmly holding her hand, he pushed away from the entrance dragging Hermione with him as he rolled in one direction towards the other side of the rink. Since he was still too nervous to try his first turn, they just kept rolling uninterrupted until they hit the wall opposite.
"See that wasn't so bad," Harry commented turning to look at the dark haired girl next to him.
Hermione let out the breath that she had been holding and then checked her person. Seeing that she was still in one piece she gave him an impish smile.
"Who said it would be?" She replied cheekily before pushing off from the wall and dragging him back onto the floor.
After about thirty minutes they were doing so well on their skating that they had even become brave enough to let go of each others hands. Harry -who had just gotten the hang of turns, was in the process of teaching Hermione how to do sharp ones when disaster stuck, in the form of a speeding ten-year-old boy. Skating backwards to show off for his mates, the little boy barreled full force into Hermione who was in the middle of practicing a sharp turn. When he hit her, he toppled down and like a domino she followed. Harry, who tried to catch her, only succeeded in landing on the bottom of the pile.
The boy immediately jumped up and after yelling a quick apology flew off into the direction of his laughing friends. Since people fall in skating rinks all the time, the situation still would not have been classified as a disaster at all, if it weren't for the next thing that happened.
"Why Hermy Granger, is that you?" A voice asked from in front of him.
Harry, who was unable to see who it was due to the brown mass that was Hermione's hair covering his face, could already tell he didn't like the person that the voice belonged to. That dislike increased when he felt Hermione's body stiffen against his own. She then quickly moved and readjusted her position so that she was now sitting next to him and Harry was finally able to see who had been talking.
Looking up he saw a pretty girl with long blond hair that came to mid-stomach, her eyes held the barest hit of makeup and her lips were colored with some type of pink gloss. She was wearing a pink baby-t that said princess on it that had the `i' dotted with a small crown and a pair of flaring hip-hugger jeans. New looking pink skates peeked out from under the cuffs of her pants, and her hands were resting loosely on her hips. Looking at her face once again, he could see her blue eyes were cold and mocking as they locked upon his best mate. Harry frowned immediately changing his mind; this girl wasn't pretty at all.
"Why it is, isn't it? Hermy Granger... wow, I haven't seen you in years. I thought that you had disappeared off the face of the earth." She said this with a smile, but the look in her eyes implied that she was still hoping it would happen.
"Hello Abigail," Hermione answered in a low voice, attempting to stand.
Harry quickly regained his balance and reached out a hand to help her up before she could fall again. When he kept a hand lightly on her waist so that she remained steady, Hermione gave him a grateful smile.
"Still mowing down innocent people at skating rinks I see," the blond said giving a broad smile to Harry before sticking out her hand for him to shake. "Abigail Grant, it's nice to meet you..."
"Harry Potter," he replied taking the extended hand and giving it a quick shake before dropping it and looking back at Hermione. She was standing next to him quietly watching the other girl with a shuttered look in her eyes.
"Well Harry, allow me to apologize on Hermy's behalf. She was never very good on skates," she gave Hermione a quick disdainful look before looking back at him. "Perhaps I can make it up to you by buying you a soda?"
'Is she flirting with me?' Harry wondered, frowning he shook his head. "No thanks," he said aloud.
"I insist," Abigail replied reaching out and giving him a light pat on the bicep. Her hand lingered for a moment as her eyes widened appreciatively. "My treat," she finished slowly removing her hand and giving him a wink.
"Actually I think that you misunderstood," Harry responded causing her to give a confused look. "You see, you don't need to buy me a drink because you think Hermione," he stressed the name "knocked me down. She didn't, actually I knocked her down." He removed his hand from her waist and took Hermione's hand instead, facing her and he pulled her close. "I just have the hardest time keeping my hands off of her," he ran his fingers through her hair before cupping her face and stroking her chin. "She's just so beautiful, don't you think?" He looked at Abigail and smiled. "But I guess everyone feels like that when they're in love right?" He gave the other girl a wink before turning back to Hermione, whose face was a dull pink; her startled eyes were fixed on his.
Leaning down to complete his charade he placed a small kiss on the corner of her mouth. Pulling back he saw her eyes flutter open, in them was emotion that he couldn't explain anymore than he could explain the one that flowed through him as he continued to stare at her. They were suddenly taken out of their reverie when they were bumped from behind, this time by a little girl with pigtails. Harry's hands immediately went to Hermione's waist to steady her, as he looked at her again he was started at the awareness he felt. He had never realized just how much of a girl she was. The thing is, he always knew she was a girl, but he never really thought about the fact that she was a girl, girl.
'Ron's girl,' his mind interjected and he quickly broke eye contact. Looking around he noticed that Abigail was no longer on the skating rink floor.
Pulling back completely, he ran his hand though his hair in a typical nervous gesture before giving Hermione an embarrassed smile.
"I hope that you don't mind, she just seemed like she needed a little wind knocked out of her sails."
"N-no, of course not," she replied, running a hand through her own hair.
Harry looked around for a minute before looking back at her a small smile playing on his lips.
"I don't know how much help it was," he chuckled. "It's not as if I'm some great prize, heck I probably hurt you more than anything. Now she thinks that you can't get a decent looking bloke."
An unreadable expression crossed Hermione's face for an instant before she replaced it with an annoyed look and rolled her eyes.
"Oh, Harry," she said, once again grabbing his hand, this time pulling towards the edge of the rink.
******************************************************
"Actually I think that you misunderstood," Harry said from next to her, Hermione gave him a quick perplexed look before once again looking at Abigail. "You see, you don't need to buy me a drink because you think Hermione," she smiled when he stressed her name "knocked me down. She didn't, actually I knocked her down." Hermione felt him take her hand once again and moment later she was wrapped in his strong arms. "I just have the hardest time keeping my hands off of her," her eyes widened in shock as he ran his fingers through her hair and gently cupped her face. Then she thought that she would melt right there when he began stroking her chin. "She's just so beautiful, don't you think? But I guess everyone feels like that when they're in love right?" Her logical mind knew what he was doing, but that still didn't stop her heart from speeding up or her face from flushing at his words. She knew that she had been unable to hide her surprise, when his green eyes twinkled at her in laughter.
Next thing she knew he leaned down and placed a small kiss on the corner of her mouth. Hermione hadn't even realized that she had closed her eyes until a second later, when they slowly fluttered open of their own accord and she found herself once again staring entranced into his emerald orbs. The area he had kissed was still tingling from his touch. Suddenly they were bumped from behind, this time by a little girl about seven or so with pigtails. Harry's hands went to her waist to steady her before she could fall again and when he looked at her, she once again became lost.
Hermione found herself fascinated with the way the color seemed to be deepening in his eyes and confused at the feelings that this minor change in appearance made flow through her. This was Harry -she had never looked at Harry this way (unless you count that one time fourth year). She didn't even see him as a boy, well, of course she saw him as a boy -a boy friend, no, a friend who was a boy, not a boyfriend.
'He was Ginny's boyfriend,' his mind interjected. And he was, she and Ginny had even discussed it, Ginny would have Harry and she would have Ron. They were going to have this huge double wedding at the Burrow when Voldemort was defeated, they had graduated Hogwarts and all entered their respective fields. 'So it's decided Harry is for Ginny.'
As if he heard her thoughts Harry pulled back completely, running his hand though his hair in the way he always did when he was nervous about something before giving her an embarrassed smile. She wobbled dangerously, but somehow managed to keep her balance and returned his smile with a weak on of her own.
"I hope that you don't mind, she just seemed like she needed a little wind knocked out of her sails." he said, his face turning a slight pinkish color.
"N-no, of course not," she replied, unwittingly running a hand through her own hair.
Harry looked around for a minute before looking back at her a small smile playing on his lips.
"I don't know how much help it was," he chuckled. "It's not as if I'm some great prize, heck I probably hurt you more than anything. Now she thinks that you can't get a decent looking bloke."
Hermione was glad that she hadn't been eating because she would have surely choked at that statement. Not decent looking? Didn't the boy own a mirror? Couldn't he see himself? After all he had always been kind of attractive, but this summer he had bloomed. He had gotten several inches taller and looked to be around Ron's height now and his shoulders had broadened from all of the working out he had done over the last couple of months. His face seemed more chiseled and masculine, though it still maintained that slight boyish quality, and his unruly hair that had always looked so awkward on him as a kid, now made him look nonchalant and almost... dangerous. 'Sexy,' her mind interjected, she shook the thought away once again reverting to her normal standby... bossy.
"Oh, Harry," she said aloud; grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the edge of the rink.
After they dodged two more kids and Hermione almost landed on her bum about four more times, they finally made it safely out of the war zone. Looking around for a minute Hermione finally located the bench where they had left their shoes. Pointing the area out to Harry he led her over in that direction, since he was having an easier go of it on the skates. Just as they were about to sit she looked down and noticed that they were still holding hands, her eyes fixated on their interwoven fingers. Flushing she looked at Harry in time enough to catch him staring at their hands with what could be described as a look of morbid curiosity. When she made the move to pull her hand away from his, he finally looked at her with an unreadable expression in his eyes. A moment later it was gone to be replaced by amusement. Releasing her hand Harry had a seat on the bench. After a moment he looked at her expectantly and realizing that she was still standing, the flush that had just vacated Hermione's face and neck returned with vigor.
"Oh, shut up," she mumbled taking her seat as Harry laughed.
"What are you so wound up about?"
"Nothing," she answered looking around "so what do you want to do now?"
"What do you mean?" he asked with a confused look "We're not done skating are we?"
"No, I just figured we needed a break," she looked at the floor. "Thanks Harry."
"For what?" he responded scanning the various snack options "Pick your poison pizza, burgers, or hot dogs?" he asked looking at her.
"You know for what," she locked eyes with him. "Thank you."
Harry gave a half smile, blushing a bit. "It was nothing... let me guess, she was one of the girls who tortured you on your class trip."
Hermione raised a dark brow. "One of the girls? Ha, try the girl, the head hauncho, the top enchilada, the big kahuna, the gr-"
"I get it, I get it," he said laughing and holding up his hands. "Well, like I said earlier I'm not sure that it really helped."
Hermione rolled her eyes "Oh, please, how could you not see the way she was hanging all over you?" She then leant forward, placing a hand on his bicep "Let me by you a drink," she breathed fluttering her lashes and mimicking the other girls actions "my treat," she then gave an exaggerated wink before rolling her eyes.
"She didn't say it like that," Harry commented with a dubious expression.
Hermione gave a very unladylike snort. "Harry the girl wanted to... jump your bones, if you know what I mean."
He laughed aloud at her comment his green eyes twinkling merrily and she found that she liked the sound of it. With everything that had happened over the course of the time she had known him, she knew Harry wasn't happy very often. And as he continued to look at her with the huge grin lingering on his face and happiness radiating from him she began to glow herself, feeling more than a little honored that she had something to do with it.
"Pizza," she said after his laughter subsided.
"Well, let's go," he responded, she watched as he easily stood and began to skate away.
Lifting herself up half way she promptly slid and fell back onto the seat, trying again with the same result she gave a frustrated growl. Sure, she wasn't an athletic person but she wasn't so lame that she couldn't stand on a pair of skates was she? As she was about to make her third attempt she suddenly saw a hand in front of her face. Hermione looked up to find Harry standing before of her, his hand extended and his expression stoic, though his eyes fairly danced with laughter.
"Come on, take it," he insisted after she ignored his hand and tried, unsuccessfully, to get herself up again. "Stop being so stubborn Hermione, they're going to close by the time you get off that bench."
She gave him a glare, before grudgingly admitting defeat and accepting his extended hand. Once she was up and steady, Harry guided her slowly to the long pizza line where they waited with several other people to order.
"I could have done it myself you know," she grumbled, casting him a renewed glare when she heard him chuckle from his spot next to her.
Realizing that they were once again still holding hands, Hermione gave a small tug and Harry released her.
"Sorry," she heard him mumble.
"Me too," she replied turning and giving him a quick smile.
Shaking off the small amount of discomfort that she felt, Hermione turned to Harry and asked him what type of pizza he was getting. As they discussed their limited topping options, which included pepperoni, cheese, supreme and hamburger Hermione got the feeling of being watched. Halting mid-sentence she put up a finger to silence Harry before he could question her. She began to look slowly around the rink, a moment later her eyes rested upon the problem, Abigail and two of her friends were watching her and Harry. Hermione frowned as the blond girl leaned over, while sill looking at them and whispered something in the other girls' ear -who then smiled and leant over to whisper to the girl next to her. All three of them then looked at her and started laughing. Once again feeling like that little ten year old girl Hermione shifted slightly averting her gaze. As she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt she felt a pair of strong arms come around her.
"Harry wha-"
"Shh, we have an audience," he whispered in a rumbling tone right next to her ear, his warm breath stirring the hair at her nape and her body barely suppressing a shiver.
What the hell was wrong with her?! Harry had whispered things to her before, since when did it make her shiver? This was all wrong... it used to be only Ron's touch or whispers could do those types of things to her senses. Wait, that must be it, she hasn't seen Ron all summer, maybe she just missed him so much that her mind was subconsciously substituting in Harry. `Yeah, that makes sense.'
After sorting it out sufficiently in her head and coming up with what she felt was a plausible reason for her reactions to her best mate, Hermione relaxed a bit. She even rested her hands atop Harry's, which were intertwined over her stomach. They stayed wrapped together slowly inching their way forward until it was their turn to order.
Just as Harry released her, the older couple that was in front of them turned to leave the line with their food. Pausing for a second as she was passing the woman gave them a gentle smile, before looking at her husband and then back at them.
"Oh, you two are such a sweet couple, you look perfect together." They flushed at the woman's words. "You two are very close, no?" she asked peering at them.
"Isabella, leave the nice young couple alone," her husband interjected "our pizza's getting cold, come on." He grabbed her by the elbow, gently leading her away.
Before he could remove her completely the woman stopped, giving them one last smile. "You'll be together a long time, you're soul mates. I feel it-" she pointed at her heart "-here." With that she gave a Harry a pat on the arm and allowed her husband to guide her towards their seats.
Harry and Hermione shared a bewildered look, both flushing a deep red.
"Old kook," Hermione grumbled moving to the counter to place her order. "Some people really shouldn't be allowed out in public."
"I thought she was nice," Harry chimed from his spot standing next to her as he looked up at the menu.
She gave him a disapproving look. "Well I think she's mental. Did you see the way her husband had to lead her away?" she asked, and then turned to the clerk. "Pepperoni please, once slice...uh, a medium cola and... some mozzarella sticks."
Harry rolled his eyes at her and turned to the clerk, "I'll have the same, except two slices, a large cola and two orders of sticks."
"That's not the same," Hermione grumbled giving him an annoyed look out of the corner of her eye.
"Well she knows what I mean, right?" The clerk smiled and nodded before turning to gather their food.
Once she was gone Harry leant towards Hermione, whispering in her ear. "I don't understand you. How can you live in a world where you know magic exists but think anyone who has some type of mystical power to talk to the dead, read the future or anything like that is a fraud or daft?"
She looked at him, eyes flashing. "I do not think that anyone who claims to be able to do things like... that, is daft I just thought she was."
"And Professor Trelawney-"
She gave him an exasperated look. "Oh, like you thought that Trelawney was sane?"
Harry shrugged "She had her moments."
"So what about the old women, what she said- you know, about us being soul mates and being together forever. Are you saying that you believe that?" She tilted her head giving him a mocking expression. "Harry are we perfect together?" She asked in an annoying singsong voice, batting her eyelashes.
He rolled his eyes; choosing to disregard the comment he looked back at the clerk who had just returned with their food.
She gave Harry the total and a mirthful smile, having overheard Hermione.
Reaching into his pocket Harry pulled out the correct amount of pounds and placed them on the counter, ignoring it as Hermione nudged him.
"Let me see the receipt Harry, I want to pay my half."
"Nope."
"This is ridiculous, since we took that money out of Gring- the bank. You've been insisting upon paying for everything. If you won't let me pay for you at least let me pay for myself."
She almost growled aloud as the dark-haired boy continued to ignore her. Pocketing his change he politely told the clerk that he didn't need a receipt, then grabbing the tray he started to glide away.
"Harry James Potter, you come back here this instant." Hermione commanded in a matronly tone, scooting herself over using the counter so that the lady behind her could place her order. "Harry!" she yelled again when he didn't stop. "Come on..." she said, all of the forcefulness leaving her voice.
Harry turned and gave a smirk. "What's the magic word?"
She glared for a moment, tightly gripping the counter top and stubbornly refusing to answer that. When he continued to just stand there looking at her expectantly as though he had all the time in the world, Hermione felt her annoyance grow. Finally relenting, her head fell and she responded softly with what he wanted to hear.
"I'm sorry what was that?" He asked, his lips turning slightly at the corners and his hand cupped around his ear like he was straining to hear her.
"Please," she said between clenched teeth.
He gave a huge grin and glided back over, balancing himself and the tray, like he had been skating his whole life. When he reached her he gave a slow wink.
"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" he questioned with a smile.
She continued to glare daggers at him, strongly fighting the urged to punch that smug look off his face. Grabbing her hand once again, while balancing the tray on the other, he gave a slight tug, but just as he was about to lead her away the lady that had been behind them spoke.
"You know for what it's worth, I agree with the older woman," she smiled. "You two are perfect together... I don't think I've seen a cuter couple in a long time."
Harry and Hermione gave her a startled look and it quickly turned to a mortified one as several people, including the girl behind the counter, nodded in agreement.
"Er, thanks?" Harry offered before quickly pulling Hermione away. "Well that was... interesting..." he said once they were a safe distance.
"Daft," she grumbled "the whole lot of them."
He laughed, "They're not all daft Hermione."
She sighed, grudgingly agreeing "True, but they're obviously closed minded."
"What?"
"Well, that can't seem to realize that a guy and a girl can just be friends and nothing more. Instead they just assume that we're a couple and then feel it's necessary to tell us how perfect they think we are for each other."
He rolled his eyes "Hermione, we were acting like a couple, remember? They weren't assuming anything."
She frowned "Oh, yeah... I forgot about that. Well then I suppose it's to be expected."
Harry gave her a tickled look "Whatever you say." He replied before turning to his food and tucking in.
Hermione gave him a glance before beginning to eat her own items off of the tray. The rest of the day they just relaxed and had fun. Feeling a bit perturbed Hermione had tried to keep her distance from Harry so that people wouldn't get the wrong idea anymore, but after her fourth time falling hard on her bum she tired of that plan and Harry once again helped her get along. After a while they no longer cared weather or not anyone thought they were a couple they just wanted to have fun, after all, they knew they weren't a couple... right?
A.N. Well that's it for chapter three, it was a little long but I didn't want to break the
rink up into two chapters. After all, the time that's spent at Hermione's house is just the tip of the iceberg.
Our students still have to return to Hogwarts, which is something that they'll do a couple of chapters form now.
Until then PLEASE review, I want to know what you think. Thanks and Ja ne!
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