A/N: As always, thanks so much for the wonderful reviews. To my beta Unbloomed, many heartfelt thanks! Enjoy and let me know what you think.
HERMIONE'S BABY
CHAPTER FOUR: MOVING FORWARD
They were quiet for a few minutes, each lost in their thoughts. Hermione finally broke the silence with a question that had been bothering her for quite some time.
"Harry? Does the thought of sleeping with me not bother you at all? Are you really okay with that?"
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Harry took his time to answer. He didn't want to scare her, but he didn't want to lie either. Hermione would see right through him, as she always had.
Hermione watched him and waited with abated breath to see what his answer would be.
"I can't say that it does," he finally confessed.
"Not even a little bit?" she pressed, completely taken aback by his sincere answer.
"No - Wait a minute! Does the thought of sleeping with me bother you?"
Hermione blushed. "I didn't say that."
"Then why are you questioning me so much about it?"
"Because I don't want you to feel coerced into doing it. I've seen the women you date, Harry, and I am nothing like them. I don't think my misgivings are unreasonable at all."
"The women I've dated can't compare to you at all. And do you know why?"
"No. Why don't you enlighten me?" she asked sarcastically.
He chose wisely to ignore her tone. "Because you are so much better than them. You are smart, kind and beautiful. Any man would be lucky to have you. In fact, I know many men at the Ministry who have wanted to ask you out for ages!"
"Then why don't they?"
"Because you intimidate them and they don't have the bollocks to ask. You are a force to be reckoned with and not many men are willing to try. The way you carry yourself, so self-assured and proud, doesn't really invite contact."
"So you're saying I'm frigid and cold-hearted," she said testily.
"Do not put words into my mouth, Hermione Jane. I never even implied that."
"You're right, I'm sorry. It's just the way I am. I don't know how to flirt like the other girls. I've always been serious and studious. If that makes me intimidating, I'm sorry."
"Don't ever apologize for who you are. Besides, I'm not intimidated in the least. That's why we get along so well. We like and respect each other. We value our friendship and we love each other. I think we have the perfect base for bringing a child into this world."
"I know you're right, I do. It's just that I wanted to do this without having to involve any of you in it."
"I know you keep saying that, but it would be impossible. The minute we all found out we would have been involved immediately. We all consider each other family. What's more, if you really wanted that, you wouldn't have told Luna to begin with," he reminder her with a smirk.
Hermione glared at him.
"Fine! I see I'm going to lose this argument no matter what I say. Let's move on to how we're going to go about this, then."
"I already told you there will be nothing artificial or clinical about it. Other than that, I'm happy with whatever you decide."
Hermione bushed at his candidness but moved on.
"I've been doing some reading on it and there are times of the month when it would be more ideal than others. So during that time, we would have to do it often and maybe we will get it right in a couple of tries."
"How long before you know if we have succeeded or not?"
"A couple of weeks at least. Some of the home tests in the market today are quite remarkable. There is also the magical exam, which I'm sure might be quicker."
"How often do you want to try?"
"I guess when the time is right we might want to try daily," she said while looking down at her hands. She was too embarrassed to look at him while talking about it.
"There is no need to be shy about it, 'Mione. Making love is a natural act between two people."
"Harry, how do you even know if it will work out between us? We might not want each other. We might be turned off by each other. Any number of things could go wrong. When people sleep together, it's because there's sexual attraction between them. We don't have that," she pointed out.
"Says who? I think we can be compatible."
"I don't mean to keep sounding like the voice of doom here, but how do you figure that?"
Harry looked at her and wondered why she was being so pessimistic and stubborn about the entire situation. Not really knowing what else to say to make her believe him, he decided to opt for the physical approach. Before she could react or say anything else, he cupped her chin in his hand and lowered his head.
At the first touch of his lips to hers, Hermione stiffened slightly. Harry, not one to give up easily on anything, didn't stop. He kept brushing his lips against hers softly, trying to get a response. A few seconds later, he could feel the tension leaving her body little by little and decided to take the kiss a bit further. He cupped the back of her neck and brought their bodies closer. Her hands came up slowly to rest against his chest. Deciding to press his luck even more, he started nibbling on her lips and felt her respond a moment later.
Hermione couldn't believe what was happening. Harry was kissing her and she was enjoying it! It had never occurred to her that it could happen, let alone that it would feel so fantastic. Harry was doing a marvelous job of not moving forward too much, too fast. The way he was easing her into the kiss was nothing short of wonderful. She finally parted her lips when she felt his tongue running softly over the bottom one. He groaned a little when his questing tongue finally came in contact with hers and pulled their bodies even closer.
Harry was in heaven. He'd wondered many times what kissing Hermione would be like and he was finally experiencing it. It was a sure bet he would want more. Her lips were soft and inviting and it was taking all of his willpower not to ravage her mouth as he really wanted to. After all, there was no need to scare her after waiting so long to finally kiss her.
After kissing for several minutes, Harry pulled back slowly and rested his forehead against Hermione's. Their breathing was ragged and they were still clinging to each other. He lowered his head and found the pulse at the base of her throat, licking it and making her shiver. Hermione's hand traveled up his chest to his raven locks and her fingers buried themselves in their softness. Harry licked and nipped on her neck while Hermione panted and tilted her head to the side to give him better access.
Knowing he had to stop before he lost it completely, Harry pulled back and stared at her flushed face. Hermione finally opened her eyes and stared back at him. Her eyes were unfocused and he smiled inwardly. He had proven his point. Her response to him was more than he had dared to hope for and for that he was grateful.
"Do you still have doubts that we can be compatible?" he asked softly.
"I can certainly accept when I have been proven wrong," she admitted with a small smile.
"I'm glad to hear that. Just let me know when you need a quick reminder!" he joked.
She laughed softly. "I'm sure you'll be more than happy to remind me."
"Want to try again? Just to make sure, of course," he quickly added when he saw the knowing smirk on her face.
"They do say practice makes perfect."
Harry smiled winsomely and lowered his head again.
Twenty minutes later, they were still at it and only stopped to give their swollen lips a break. Their breaths were coming out in short pants. It had taken all of Harry's willpower not to touch her intimately. He had kept in mind, although barely, that he couldn't push her too fast. Hermione had certainly pressed his resolve to its limits since she kept pulling on his hair to bring him closer, sucking on his bottom lip and moaning softly when he retaliated in the same fashion.
"Forgive me for being so crude, but just in case you have any doubts left, this is what you do to me with just kisses," Harry said as he brought her hand to his lap and pressed it there.
Hermione gasped when she felt his hardness and her fingers closed instinctively over him, making him groan and close his eyes. He grabbed her hand once again and removed it gently from his lap before he could embarrass himself in front of her.
"I had no idea, Harry."
"Now you do. I am willing and able. It's just a matter of whether you are."
Hermione's blush told him all he needed to know, but he still wanted to hear her say it.
"My reaction might not be as visible as yours is, but believe me, Harry, I'm not immune to your charms, either," she finally confessed in a soft voice.
"Thank you for that. I think we should stop and eat. My body can't take much more of your kisses without wanting to take it further and we're not ready for that just yet."
Hermione nodded in response, since she was incapable of answering him in a nonchalant way. She was still shaken by the knowledge that she could affect Harry in such a physical way. More shocking was the fact that he could affect her just as much.
Harry got up from the sofa and pulled her up. He started walking in the direction of the kitchen but didn't let go of her hand. Once there, he made sure she was seated and then started opening cartons and dishing out the food. Hermione watched him without saying anything. Once he was seated, he tucked into the food and she followed suit.
Halfway through their meal, Hermione finally spoke.
"How long, Harry?"
"How long what, `Mione?"
"How long has it been since you've been intimate with someone?"
"Almost a year. Why?"
"It's been a lot longer than that for me," she said shrugging.
"How long?"
"Almost two years."
Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wow. I don't think I can go that long without it. Almost a year is bad enough for me. How can you stand it?"
Her blush was back in all its glory.
"There are other ways to ease the tension when the need arises."
"Oh."
Now it was his turn to blush.
"What? You didn't think me capable of that? I'd rather do that than catch some disease by going to bed with some stranger."
"True. I confess to using that method often as well. Now that I know it's been a while for you, I'll be more careful our first few tries until you get used to it again. I don't want to hurt you in any way."
"How can you be so casual about this situation, Harry?"
"Because I'm doing it with you, Hermione. No one knows you like I do, and vice versa. I know we can make this work. I have no doubt about it so it doesn't bother me."
"Well, I'm glad one of us is so sure about this, then. I don't know why I keep worrying."
"Do I need to kiss you again to prove you wrong one more time? I'll even take it up a notch and see what your reaction is to that."
Hermione had the nerve to laugh at him. "I didn't mean it in a bad way, Harry. I was just teasing you."
"Yeah, really funny, 'Mione."
"Oh, come on, Harry. I have to laugh about it or I won't go through with it."
"Am I that bad looking? I thought back in fifth year you said I was fanciable."
"And you still are. Very fanciable, in fact. But I've never thought about you as more than a friend."
"When you kissed me earlier it didn't feel like you were kissing a friend."
"True enough. You made me feel and desire things I haven't for a long time and I guess that's a good thing."
"Can I propose something that might make this situation a little easier for us?"
"I'm open to any ideas at this point." Hermione covered Harry's hand and squeezed his fingers softly. "Don't doubt for a moment that we have chemistry. I love you dearly and I know you will treat me right. I just have to get used to seeing you as a man and not just my best-friend."
"Then this idea should work. How about going on a few dates, just us, and see if that helps you."
"But I already told you I don't want a commitment, Harry. I don't have time for dates, much less a serious relationship."
"And yet, here you are, making plans to have a baby. You do know they need constant attention and are time consuming, right?" he asked somewhat sarcastically.
Hermione glared at him, but even she had to admit he had a very valid point. Still, dating him in order to have a baby didn't seem necessary.
"You're right and I'm being stupid again. We seem to be having this conversation over and over and it's entirely my fault. I don't think we need to date in order for me to be comfortable. We know each other too well for that."
"Then what do you propose? When is your next fertile period going to be?"
"Next week, in fact. And I guess we could just hang out here, maybe snog a bit and go a little further than tonight. If that doesn't do the trick, then I'm going with my original plan."
"Again, without wanting to sound crude, you mean to tell me that what we did before did nothing for you? You didn't want to cross your legs to ease the ache? You didn't wish for me to run my hands all over your body? Tell me, Hermione, did our kissing not affect you in a physical way? If I was to rub my fingers against you intimately I would not find a tale-tell wetness there? You wouldn't be swollen and needy like I am? Be honest with me and I will back off and let you do things your way. But if not, if I can move you in any way, I want to go ahead with this."
Hermione's face was burning with a mixture of embarrassment and need. Harry's words had touched deep and had awakened something inside of her that had been dormant for way too long. Their eyes locked and her heartbeat accelerated noticeably. What was she supposed to say when he was right about everything he had just mentioned?
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