Ace of Hearts
Chapter 6
Once Hermione had reached the other members of the group, they chatted happily as they waited the few minutes for Ron
and Harry to make their way over. After everyone had arrived Ginny and Dean proceeded to enthusiastically explain the
game to their friends who, it turns out, didn't have the response that they had hoped.
"I don't know about this, it sounds very dangerous," Neville said "what if someone gets hurt?"
"How are you going to get hurt?" Ginny asked. "It's just a pushing match, and if anyone falls the waters deep enough to cushion their landing."
"Well, what if it gets serious?" Luna inquired with wide eyes. "We came to have a good time, not to fight... I think if it gets too rough it may not stay a game."
Ginny looked exasperated "Luna, no one's going to get serious. We all know that it's just a friendly game and I don't think anyone here is going to get all huffy just because they lost. We're all more mature than that..." she then cast a glance towards Ron "well, most of us are."
"Ha, Ha," he commented sarcastically "I personally don't want to play because I don't think that it'll be a fair game..."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean come on, Neville has Luna -who, for as nice as she is will probably see some invisible creature and get distracted. Dean has you, who hasn't played any regular sports since Quidditch at Hogwarts," he sighed, motioning to his left. "I have Hermione, who hasn't played any sports since... well... ever. While Harry has Aurora, an Auror who is constantly working out and looks to be in top physical condition... I mean, come on, now does that sound like a competition to you?"
A blond, a brunette and a redhead all glared at him in response while Neville, Harry, Aurora and Dean got as far away from Ron as possible. They had just reached a safe distance when he as attacked by water from all angles.
"OKAY! OKAY!" Ron screamed after a minute or two, while doing his best to shield himself. "I'm sorry!! Come on, you guys are going to drown me here!"
"Good!" A chorus of voices responded and then splashed him one last time for good measure. Once they saw that it was safe, the other four made their way back over.
"So what do you say we get this game started?" Ginny asked once again smiling; Hermione and Luna nodded in agreement, while Aurora gave a shrug of indifference.
Hermione waded over to Ron who was still clearing water from his face. Once he was done he looked nervously at her.
"Hey Mione... you know I was just kidding, right?"
"Whatever Ronald," she said in an icy tone that caused him to cringe "are we playing or not?"
Ron looked at her guiltily for a moment longer before sinking down into the water so that she could climb onto his shoulders. Hermione held onto Ron's hair (none to gently) to maintain her balance as he once again stood to full height. Once she was sitting comfortably she took a moment to observe everyone else. Ginny and Aurora were talking while sitting on Dean and Harry's shoulders and Luna and Neville were just getting situated, after three previous tries and three previous falls. Seeing that everyone was ready Ron slowly walked over to the other couples and since there weren't enough of them to form a circle, they formed a square instead.
"Is everyone one ready?!" Ginny yelled grinning, receiving nods from everyone in response. "OKAY! On your mark... get set... GO!"
Once the words were spoken everyone surged forward, there was pushing and laughing from everyone as no one wanted to be the first to fall. Hermione laughed as Ginny nearly lost her balance when Ron sidestepped her as she tried to knock down Hermione. Quickly recovering the younger woman turned her attention to Luna, who was merrily giving small shoves back and forth with a laughing Aurora. Seeing the opening she needed, Ginny caught Luna's arm and pulled her back, she was able to achieve knocking the blond witch down with one small problem... as Luna and Neville fell backwards they fell right into her and Dean. Both couples tumbled down and were knocked ceremoniously out of the competition in one shot. Hermione, Ron, Harry and Aurora looked on laughing merrily as they broke surface sputtering for a second before joining in on the merriment.
"Bloody Hell," Ginny griped sounding like her brother. "I can't believe I took myself out... oh well, I guess it's between you four now," she finished smiling broadly.
Ginny, Neville, Dean and Luna watched as Hermione and Ron squared off with Harry and Aurora. The couples had been circling each other for a moment looking for the best place to attack when Hermione saw it, she slightly tightened her legs around Ron's neck let him know to move in. As Ron stepped forward Hermione noticed Harry do the same, after a second she and Aurora were pushing back in forth on each others shoulders with their friends cheering them on.
"Come on Hermione!! You've got her!!" Ginny yelled.
"Go Hermione, you can take her!!" screamed Dean.
"Good job Aurora, just a little bit more!" Luna sang out while jumping up and down in the water.
"You're both doing splendidly!! Good Job!!" Neville added, not wanting to pick sides.
Hermione and Aurora were leaning forward, putting all of their weight on each other and Hermione could feel herself giving out.
'Come on... you can do this... Do...Not...Prove...Ron...Right." She looked down focusing her energy; her head was right next to Aurora's as the other woman continued to push.
Opening her eyes for a second Hermione caught sight of Harry's long fingers gripping Aurora's bare thigh. Out of nowhere she felt anger course though her from seeing him hold Aurora so tightly and that anger caused a sudden burst of adrenaline. Abruptly pulling back from Aurora, she caused the dark haired witch to fall forward a bit and before she could regain her balance, Hermione placed a hand on the back of the womans' neck and shoved her down. Aurora was thrown face first into the water and because she was on his shoulders Harry was knocked forward and went under with her.
"Whoa!! That was brilliant!!" Ginny exclaimed as she hurriedly made her way over.
"Merlin's Beard Hermione! I didn't know you had it in you!" Dean called looking at her in wonder.
"That was bloody spectacular!" Ron added excitedly, patting her on the thigh. "Remind me never to underestimate you again!"
Neville and Luna also came forward to give their congratulations. Hermione smiled, nodded and distractedly thanked them for the compliments while looking over their heads at Harry and Aurora. He had just placed his glasses back on and after taking a second to readjust them he then turned to whisper something in Aurora's ear, as he pulled back she smiled and nodded. Then abruptly turning Harry faced Hermione and seeing her watching them, he gave her a broad smile and mouthed the word 'congratulations'. She grinned back at him, giving the thumbs up a muscle man pose and he responded with a laugh. Looking past Harry she noticed Aurora watching her with those strange silver eyes of hers, Hermione's smile slowly disappeared as the other woman gave her a curious look, before proceeding to look between her and Harry a few times. Feeling as though she knew where the other woman's thoughts were headed, Hermione suddenly felt exposed on Ron's shoulders. Using her hand to plug her nose she let herself fall backwards into the water.
After coming up from the cool liquid and regaining her footing she could still feel Aurora's gaze on her. In an attempt to erase some of the guilt she was feeling at just what the other girl may have seen, Hermione wrapped her arms around Ron's neck and gave his a short kiss on the lips.
"What was that for?" He asked as she pulled back, "I thought you were mad at me."
"I was... but, since you were such a good partner I have decided to once again be the bigger person and forgive you," she teased with a sweet smile.
Ron smirked "Well I must have had some Felix Felicis because this is my lucky day."
She smiled at his humor and gave him another quick peck before they made their way out of the water to join the others who had already begun to make plates to eat. Using her wand to dry her and Ron off, Hermione took a seat on one of the benches at the picnic table and grabbed an empty plate. Ron was already piling his plate full of fried sausages, chicken and ham sandwiches and a huge handful of chips, he then grabbed two butterbeers before finally sitting down. Rolling her eyes at her boyfriend, the only one who wasn't making a plate for his date instead of himself, she grabbed a fried sausage, a butterbeer and a spoon of the delicious chicken and ham pie that Mrs. Weasley had made, and immediately tucked in.
Twenty minutes later everyone was pretty much full and they were all sitting around the fire that Harry had created in the middle of one of the large blankets roasting marshmallows and crumpets. Hermione looked across the fire where Harry was and noticed that he had his arm around Aurora, watching them for a second she noticed the other woman place her head on Harry's shoulder and quickly stamped down the small surge of jealousy.
"This was great, we'll have to do it again some time," said Dean who was lying with his head in Ginny's lap as she stroked his hair.
"Yeah," threw in Neville "maybe we can do it once a month or something."
"I don't know," replied Harry running a hand through his hair "things have been pretty hectic at the ministry. Right now we have a lot going on," Aurora nodded in agreement before speaking.
"Yeah, we were lucky to get today off, but who knows when the next day of uninterrupted freedom will be."
"I agree... sorry guys, but we don't have time, at least right now," Ron added.
"And what are you doing?" Ginny asked giving him a skeptical look.
"For your information, sister dear, your big brother secured himself a try-out next weekend with none other than the Chudley Cannons!" he exclaimed happily.
Everyone looked at him in surprise for a moment before shouting out congratulations and well wishes. Hermione turned and gave him a huge hug.
"Good luck mate!" Harry called out cheerfully.
"Great job! I always knew you were better than the Razin Wizardz, I'm just sure that you'll get it!" Hermione said, her arms still wrapped around his neck.
"Care to give me a kiss for luck?" he asked smiling.
She hesitated for a second well aware that the others, or more specifically Harry, may be watching, but she couldn't bring herself to disappoint Ron after his big announcement.
"Of course," she said smiling and then proceeded to give him a long kiss.
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Harry felt content as he and Aurora sat around the fire with all of his friends roasting marshmallows and crumpets. He looked at the beautiful woman next to him just as she turned to do the same. When their eyes connected and adorable flush covered her face before she looked back at the fire. He cautiously placed an arm around her shoulder and a moment later she leant her head to the side and rested it in the crook of his arm.
"This was great, we'll have to do it again some time," he heard Dean say from his place on the blanket.
"Yeah," replied Neville "maybe we can do it once a month or something." Luna who was sitting between his legs nodded in affirmation.
"I don't know," said Harry running a hand through his hair "things have been pretty hectic at the ministry, right now we have a lot going on."
"Yeah, we were lucky to get today off, but who knows when the next day of uninterrupted freedom will be," Aurora responded, voicing the rest of his thoughts.
"I agree... sorry guys, but we don't have time, at least right now" Ron added.
Ginny stopped playing in Dean's hair and gave her brother an dubious look. "And what are you doing?"
"For your information, sister dear, your big brother secured himself a try-out next weekend with none other than the Chudley Cannons!" he answered grinning like there was no tomorrow.
Harry's brows rose in surprise, he knew that Ron had wanted this, but the Cannons had not been looking for a new chaser for a while. 'Though everyone knew that they needed one... I mean do they ever win?' he though shaking his head in wonder. He never knew why Ron was so into the Cannons instead of going for Puddlemere United, but hey if his friend was happy so was he.
"Good luck mate!" he called out cheerfully.
"Great job! I always knew you were better than the Razin Wizardz, I'm just sure that you'll get it!" Hermione said giving him one of her infamously enthusiastic hugs.
"Care to give me a kiss for luck?" Harry heard Ron say, Hermione seemed to hesitate for a second, before saying 'of course' and proceeding to snogg Ron right there in front of everyone.
Harry turned away, pulling his marshmallow out of the fire and blowing it to cool if off.
"So, did you have fun today?" He asked Aurora, turning to face her and deliberately ignoring the couple snogging across the fire.
"Yeah," she said smiling "it was a lot of fun, a lot of good food, and nice people. You have great friends Harry, you're lucky."
"Thanks, I know," Harry said with a small smile as he was squishing his marshmallow between the crumpets.
"You all seem really close... especially you, Ron... and Hermione, how long have you been mates?"
Harry froze mid bite and turned to look at Aurora, after a moment of silence he responded.
"Well, we meet our first year at Hogwarts, I met Ron at platform nine and three-quarters and Hermione on the train shortly thereafter."
"So you guys were fast friends?" she inquired looking genuinely interested.
"Well...Ron and I were, but Hermione... well, she took a little getting used to. But we were all mates within the first month or so of school and have been close ever since... well, with the exception of the occasional fight or two," he shrugged.
"Yeah, she does seem like she may take a little getting used to..."
"No, wasn't like that... it's just that... well, she's really smart and I think that being muggle born, she felt as though... as though she had to prove something to everyone, you know? Show them how smart she was, that she belonged," he turned to find Aurora staring intently at him.
"Well, I know how that feels... not being from your typical wizarding family myself," she gave him a smile laced with irony.
From what he had learned about her working together, Aurora's dad had been a vampire, but somehow the gene that controlled most of the 'vampire-esk' attributes had skipped her. Unlike her brother she was not a full blooded vampire and had very few tendencies, and though Harry knew that she had a certain soft spot for the blood-flavored lollipops they sold at Honeydukes, she didn't suck blood herself. Also that she is more comfortable at night, which is one of the main reasons why she took the career path of Auror, who do a lot of work at night.
"Have they always been so... close," she asked after a moment of quiet, motioning her head to the couple who had, thankfully, stopped snogging and were eating marshmallows by the fire.
Harry chuckled "Not quite... as a matter of fact, I don't think they ever went a year at school without going through phases where they weren't talking to one another."
"Then how did they end up together?"
"I don't know," Harry answered softly while looking reflectively towards the lake. "I guess some things are meant to be..."
"Did you two ever?..."
His gaze snapped back to her "Who... me and Hermione?" she nodded "No, never, ever... I told you earlier, it's not like that."
"I know... it's just that," she fidgeted with the black sweat band around her wrist "there seems to be this vibe... and earlier when we were playing chicken..."
"I'm sure it's nothing like that," he interrupted knowing where she was headed. "Hermione's just extremely competitive and when she being competitive her aggressive nature comes out."
"Okay, if that's how you want to describe it..."
"How would you describe it?"
"Honestly?" He nodded. "I'd say that she was being more than competitive, I'd say she was jealous..."
"Of what?" he asked incredulously.
Aurora did a small motion with her hand that indicated her and Harry.
"No... No, definitely not. She doesn't even see me in that way -trust me you don't know Hermione like I do. She was just being competitive that's all, she's used to being the best at everything and absolutely hates to fail."
Aurora still looked like she didn't believe him, but she nodded in consent.
"I suppose that you're right I don't know her as well as you, so if you say that's what happened..." she shrugged "I defer to your judgment."
Harry smiled, lightly stroking her arm "Trust me."
"Okay you guys, time to pack up and get out of here," he heard Neville say. "I promised Gran I'd go to church with her in the morning so I need to get some sleep."
Everyone agreed that it was getting late, and after a moment of stretching and with quiet chatting they all chipped in and returned the lakeside back to the way it looked when they arrived. Once done hugging and waving goodbye to each other, everyone Disapparated to their selected locations.
Harry and Aurora did a side-along Apparation and appeared a second later in a dark ally about a block from her flat. Still holing hands the couple walked the rest of the way to her home. When they reached the door they turned to face each other and an awkward silence ensued, after a minute Harry broke it.
"Well, I guess I'll see you at work," he gave her a small half smile.
"We could wait until then I suppose, or..." she responded, her eyes twinkling
"Or..."
"OR, we can meet for dinner tomorrow..."
Harry smiled "Dinner it is... I'll pick you up at seven?"
"Eight," she replied smirking. "It's darker."
His smile deepened. "Then eight it is."
They stared at each other a moment longer before Aurora leaned forward and placed a light kiss on his lips. Harry felt a small amount of tingling where their lips met as she pulled away.
"Till, tomorrow then," she gave a seductive smile and went into her flat.
Harry touched his lips with a finger, giving them a couple of light taps before smiling.
"Till tomorrow then," he repeated to himself, before looking around to make sure the coast was clear and Apparating home.
AN: Ok, I know that this chapter was shorter but like I said earlier, I hadn't even planned on having a
second part to the lake so this chapter was mainly to wrap things up but I thought it still had some good parts and
hope you enjoyed it anyway. Stay tuned the next chapter will be out soon!! Thanks to the nine or
so of you that took the time out to let me know what you thought, it's because of you and your thoughts on how the
chapter still wasn't long enough that I'm posting the second part so early! So once again
thanks for checking it out and PLEASE REVIEW, it's the only form of payment us lowly authors get.
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