JKR owns.
The Comeback
Chapter Five
[AN] I'm sorry! I know it's been forever! Training is starting back up for me, so it might be harder for me to write. Although I promise I'll do my best with speedy updates. Thanks for sticking with me!
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My eyes fell shut just as his lips touched mine. My hunger pangs kicked into overdrive as his smell invaded my senses and his lips started to work gently over mine. Finally, I realized the unsettling in my stomach for what it was.
That realization was what made my dazed resolve break. Without another moment to second guess myself, I pressed into his ministrations.
I started to kiss him back.
I never thought moments like this could be real. Where everything around you just ceased to exist or matter; when all you could focus on was the person you were physically reaching out to. I always figured situations like these were solely reserved to fictitious romance novels. This kind of serendipity wasn't something I ever expected for myself. It was inconceivable.
But it was happening. Holy shit, it was happening. Harry Potter was back, in my flat, sitting on my couch, and he was kissing me. On the lips. In anything but a platonic way. Me, as in Hermione bloody Granger!
And I was kissing him back. Holy shit…
The sound of our lips suddenly separating was practically thunderous. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks as I stared at him wide-eyed. Bloody hell, I must have looked like a lunatic.
Harry seemed to be thinking along the same lines, "What's wrong?"
I opened my mouth, intending to speak. But looking at him, while he was staring at me- it was almost debilitating. For some reason.
Well, I knew what that reason was. I'm not daft, after all.
Instead, I simply shook my head. My eyes drifted away from his, and down to his pouted lips. I was starting to doubt why I had broken the kiss in the first place. Those lips could still be mine…
I heard him sigh, but I didn't look back up to see what was wrong. His cautious voice spoke a moment later, "Look, I know this sounds cliché, but I've been wanting to do that for a really long time now."
I looked up that time, "You have?"
Harry scratched at the back of his head, but didn't meet my suddenly intense gaze, "Yeah. There's something else that I need to tell you…"
"What?"
"I love you, Hermione."
Was my heart still beating? My pulse still pounding? What kind of fantasy world was I present in? Okay, the kiss was believable- but this? It was too much… too much good to be compounded into one night. Life wasn't this nice to me.
I'm not sure what Harry took my silence as, but if his panicked banter was any indication, then he was worried. His hand scratched feverously at the back of his neck, "I know that my actions as of late, or lack there of, haven't really shown that. But I mean it when I say you're all I thought about while I was gone."
I was in need of oxygen, but for some reason my lungs weren't willing to expand. I turned away from him. It was easier to stare down at my coffee table, stained with water wrings, than to stare into Harry's burning eyes.
"Hermione?" he whispered after a minute. I tried to ignore him. But how could I expect him to drop the topic after he had already dropped the bombshell?
I bit my lip while drawing my legs up into my chest. I hated feeling vulnerable, but I could practically taste what he was about to ask next.
"D-Do you feel the same way?"
"I-I…" Well, lying was out. I couldn't say anything but the truth when he spoke in that tone. "I never thought about it, to be honest."
To say that he deflated would be putting it lightly. "Oh."
He started to scoot away, maybe even preparing himself to get up. Instinctively, I grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards me.
"But, now that I am thinking about it…" I stopped short. Really, how could I explain this? Every moment we'd ever spent together was starting to flash before me. I could even remember how I felt when Harry excitedly told Ron and I about his first kiss with Cho. My fingernails dug into the arm of my sofa, just like they had on the velvet seat in the common room that night.
The mere fact that I could remember all of this was overwhelming in its own right.
"What?" Harry probed.
"I don't know what love is," I blurted. Harry's face fell for the second time that night. Real nice Granger.
"Hermione-"
"But if it's anything close to what I think it is, then I've been in love with you for a while now."
Harry's eyes darted up to mine, "Seriously?"
I sighed. I also hated blurting things out. But, if it was a choice between digging a deeper, darker hole for myself, or speaking freely… Didn't I owe it to myself to speak my mind?
"Yeah."
Harry gave me a look and I could tell that he was trying to search out any lies from me. I guess I passed the test because a few seconds later his face was leaning in towards mine again.
It felt weird leaning forward to meet his lips. I mean, he was only the second person I'd ever kissed in my entire life. It wasn't like Krum gave me the chance to stop and run away from him. Harry's tenderness was new to me. A part of me wondered how I was able to forget my anger at his disappearance so quickly, but I immediately squashed it down. Tonight was probably one of the most amazing nights of my life. Of all the people I could be about to snog, the fact that it was Harry made me strangely excited.
Our lips met for the second time that night, and before I could even think to do otherwise, my hands moved up behind his neck. His reaction wasn't one of reluctance; he leaned further into me, and positioned himself forward so that his knee was underneath him, ready to support his next move. His hand grazed shyly up my thigh, before resting on my waist. From that, I could tell that he wanted to push me down on my back. And even though I wanted to let him, there was something I had to say first. It was hard, but for the second time that night, I broke our kiss.
"This doesn't make everything okay. We still have a lot to talk about," I whispered, scared to meet his eyes, but doing so regardless.
Harry sighed before leaning back and straightening his leg out, "I know… but maybe I could stay here tonight?"
He looked vulnerable, yet his question was full of implications. Again, I found my body freezing up. What was I supposed to say to that? I had just recognized my desire for him ran deeper than friendship. Spending the night… sex with Harry- I couldn't spit out a yes or no answer on the matter, just like that!
"Harry-"
Harry abruptly shook his head, "Nothing like that! Just to… you know, talk…"
This time, I was the one who sighed. I was relived, but also miffed at my own silliness. Of course Harry wouldn't put that type of pressure on me our first night 'together'. Why was I jumping to conclusions? Before I could think otherwise, I nodded, "Okay."
Harry smiled at me and I instantly smiled back. It seemed like instinct. As natural as scratching an itch, or combing your hair. Going along with my instincts, I grabbed the blanket draped over the back of the couch. It was late, and come to think of it, I was exhausted. It definitely had been a long night. Though, easily the best night of my life.
"Tired?" Harry asked me as I kicked my trainers off and slung my legs up over his lap.
"Not too tired to talk," I answered. I was trying to sound suave. My inner confidence was telling me to get into calm, cool, and collect mode; however, I was still kind of freaking out. But could you expect less? Harry was here. And instead of coming back as my best friend, he's coming back as so much more. I have feelings for Harry, and he has feelings for me. They're mutual. Yes, we still had things to discuss. But my questions could wait another night couldn't they? I'm officially allowed to be this close to him. It felt good to be close to somebody again.
Harry didn't waste any time settling down next to me. As I spread the blanket over us both, Harry slid his arm underneath my head, and pulled me in closer. I felt a little timid, but not uncomfortable as I turned on my side to face him. His lips were only an inch or two away from mine. I could taste the faint mint in his breath as he started to talk.
We didn't talk about anything imperative. Just old times, and the fun we used to all have together, when life was a little less hectic. After so many months of having my facial muscles set into a frown, it felt good to finally laugh and smile again. I think it felt even better because I knew it was Harry making me feel that way.
…
I rubbed my hands over my shoulders eagerly as I watched the ministry owl fly out of sight with my letter of absence to Mr. Weasley. The corners of my mouth lifted up into a smile- I definitely wouldn't be going into work today.
Finally the owl got to a point where it was only a distant spec in the sky. With enough reassurance, I reached out and closed the window that was admitting the frigid air. For once the cold wasn't a bad omen. The weather was just the weather. Crazy, I know.
My train of thought came to a sudden halt as a groggy voice broke the early morning silence in my flat, "Are you always up this early?"
I turned around and looked off into the living room where Harry's sparkling eyes were visible underneath his mop of unruly hair. I smiled at him, "I usually don't sleep so much. I guess the quality of your pillow really does matter."
Harry grinned up at me as I walked back over to the couch and settled back down next to him.
"Harry?"
"Hmm?"
"What made you decide to come back? Why now?" Of course I knew we had touched on this topic last night, but his answer of not wanting to answer people's questions seemed suddenly meager with the new revelations we were both opening up to.
I seen him smile through his drowsiness as he started to answer, "Tonks said she was sick of me moping around the house like some bloody Romeo who had just lost his Juliet. Told me I was a daft git if I didn't just get off my ass and see you already before you got over me."
I smiled, "I love Tonks."
Harry smirked, "Yeah well, try living with her for nine months. It might make you change perspectives…"
I held my smile as I leaned down and lightly kissed his cheek.
"Will they be worried that you didn't come home last night?" I asked as he rolled over on his back and pulled me in closer.
He shook his head, "I don't think so. I mean, Tonks has probably already jumped to her conclusions…"
I felt my cheeks blush and I slid off him a little bit. Glancing down to him, I could tell he was cursing himself for letting it slip. His cheeks were a little red too.
"Right, so… are you hungry?" I asked, trying to change the topic. Dwelling on the previous topic was something I didn't think I was quite ready for.
Harry suddenly grinned at me, "Yeah. You want to make me breakfast?"
I raised an eyebrow, "Uh, no."
He laughed, "Fine, I'll make breakfast."
"Wise idea."
He started to slowly push himself off the couch, but for some reason I felt impatient. As I jumped up, I grabbed his hand and tugged hard.
"Hurry slowpoke."
"Yes master," he replied dolefully, following me down the hall.
"Ooh," I voiced pessimistically once we had arrived in the kitchen.
He sent me a worried look, "What?"
"I just remembered something…" What the hell was I supposed to feed Harry? Soup? Oh wait, I probably still had that box of cornflakes around here somewhere…
"What is it?"
I bit my lip before turning to face him, "Well, I'm not sure when the last time I went shopping was."
Harry gave me a narrowed look and then walked into my kitchen. He pulled open my refrigerator and grimaced.
"Bloody hell, Hermione."
I followed him over and peered over his shoulder into my fridge. It was pathetic, but I tried to remain positive, "Oh look, I have milk!"
Harry grabbed the carton and gave me a disgusted look, "Expiration dated a week ago…"
My optimistic persona crumbled, "I guess that's not good."
Harry shook his head, "No." He walked over to the sink with the milk carton in his hand. Before I had time to advise him otherwise, he started pouring it down the drain.
"Harry that-"
My warning was interrupted by the sound of shooting water and Harry's gurgled surprise. I quickly ran over and turned off the broken faucet before turning back to Harry, completely humiliated.
He shook his head and sprinkles of water shot from his face and hair. Before he could open his eyes and give me an unimpressed look, I jumped into action, "I'll get you a towel!"
I quickly moved over to the opposite corner of the kitchen and dug around in the bottom drawer for a clean wash cloth. When I turned back, Harry was rubbing both hands underneath his glasses. "How long has it been broken like that?" he asked, taking the towel I held out.
I shrugged sheepishly, "I don't know, a while now?"
"How have you been living like this?" he asked, shaking his head and sending me an incredulous look.
I was a little hesitant to respond to him. Did he really want to know the answer to that? "I was just focused on other things, I guess."
I thought he was going to reply something cynical, but instead he just gave me a relenting smile, "What else is broken around here?"
I grinned as my shoulders lifted in a shrug, "The microwave, the ice box, the air conditioning…"
The look that Harry sent me next was one that I couldn't exactly decipher. Even though his lips were stuck in a half-smile, his eyes looked on at me with pity and despair. Instinctively, I started to defend myself, "But now that I have more time on my hands, I'll be able to get them fixed."
I didn't want him to think lowly of me- of course my current living environment was only temporary! Now that my mission of the past nine months was completed, I could finally start to get my life on the path that I had always wanted for myself.
There was an awkward second or two in which Harry just stared at me, but eventually he nodded, "Yeah… so, I guess eating here is out."
"Sorry."
"It's okay," he said shaking his head.
"So where do you want to go? If we go out people might recognize you…"
I gave him a probing look, wondering if he would take the bait. But then again, I didn't really know what I would get from it. Last night, we didn't talk about him making himself known again. If we wanted to go out with me, then perhaps that means that he's serious about us. But also, if he doesn't, then does that mean that he wants more time alone with me? Damn it. I'd have to work on my over-analyzing problem…
Harry, however, simply smiled, "Well, if you want, we could go back to my place."
"Really? You want to take me to where you've been hiding out this entire time?" I mocked, although genuinely pleased. His offer seemed better than my so called 'bait'.
Harry gave me a hurt look, "I prefer healing. It makes me feel less of a coward."
Immediately I felt like a bitch. Is that really what I had implied? I sighed. Good going Granger… "You're not a coward, Harry." I tried to say it with as much conviction as possible, without shaking him or crying it out.
To my astonishment, a crooked grin spread across his face before he slowly leaned forward. I wasn't as jolted by my surprise as I was last night, but our kiss still felt like the first we had shared hours earlier. A smile spread over my own face as our lips worked together. I guess this tender, stomach-fluttering sensation was something I'd have to get used to.
"To Ibiza, then."
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Next chapter may get a bit rocky. Please review!!! I update ten times faster with your guys' feedback!