A/N:: Here's the second part!! Sorry for the wait guys, had to study. What really pisses me off is that I studied non-stop for about a week for my math final and I still got a 34% on my final and now I have to switch out my Animation class to get math AGAIN. Math is a stupid subject ><
Anyways, here is the conclusion! Hope you guys like it. I'm still trying to update Mistake? but it's not working out too well, instead I've been working on my newest story `Angels'. If you want to get an idea of what it will be about, just listen to Within Temptations `Angels'. Great song too!
- - -
"Harry? Harry, are you listening to me?" Harry was jostled out of his daze as a manicured finger began tapping him on his shoulder.
"Huh?" He looked over and saw Tallia staring impatiently at him, a frown wrinkling her forehead. "Sorry, what?"
"You haven't heard a single thing I said, have you?" Tallia said. She sighed and looked over to where Harry was staring, which was where Ginny's group was sitting. "It's her, isn't it?"
"What are you talking about?" He asked. Looking over to where she was staring, he started laughing. "Ginny? No, that was done years ago. She's with Neville, remember?"
"No, no," she replied, waving her hand, "the other girl. The brown haired one…"
"Hermione?" Harry turned to look over at her, letting his eyes linger on her as he once again took in her appearance. Realizing he was staring, he quickly looked back at Tallia. "We're just friends." He said quickly, taking a drink from his beer.
"But you want more." Tallia said quietly.
Harry's eyes widened as he choked on his beer. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand he stared at her, "Excuse me?" he wheezed.
Tallia sat on the arm of the couch and gestured over to where Hermione was, "You've been staring at her all night, Harry." She said, giggling, "You aren't very subtle, you know."
Harry grinned and rubbed his neck sheepishly, feeling his face grow warm. He should've known Tallia was that observant. "Is it that obvious?"
"Yup." Tallia replied bluntly, "Why don't you go for her? You told me she isn't dating anyone."
Harry stared at her. This woman was unbelievable, he brought her as a date and she was telling him to go after Hermione. His best friend. "What? But I brought you…"
Tallia dismissed it with a wave of her hand, "Tch, don't worry about it. You're a cutie, Harry, but I just don't feel anything between us. Besides, that Seamus is a fine looking specimen, isn't he?"
Harry started laughing as what Tallia said registered in his brain. He could tell that he and Tallia would be good friends but she was right, there was just no chemistry between them. "Do you want me to get him over here?" He asked, grinning.
"No." Tallia said, beginning to smirk. "Well, maybe…"
"He'll be over here soon enough," Harry said. "He and Ron always have drinking competitions and I'm always dragged into them. They'll be over in twenty minutes, tops."
"I can guess I can wait then," Tallia said, sighing dramatically. "So in the mean time, back to you. You should go for her."
Harry shook his head, "It isn't that simple."
"How is it not simple? You like her, and I bet she likes you too."
"But -"
"No buts." Tallia interrupted. "Find a time tonight and go talk to her. Or you can both get drunk and see what happens there."
"Tallia!"
Tallia grinned impishly, then squealed, "Oh goodie! Here they come!"
"Are all Canadians like you?" Harry joked, making room for Ron, Seamus, and Dean.
"Nope, I'm one of a kind."
"That you are." Seamus said, placing a bottle of vodka on the table. "So know any good drinking games?"
Tallia grinned, moving off the arm of the couch and squeezing herself in between Seamus and Harry, "I know a fair few."
Tallia could hold her liquor. After about three or four shots of vodka, her face was just beginning to get flushed and there was a gleam in her eyes. She was getting closer to Seamus too, which was greatly amusing Harry. The look on Seamus' face when she `accidentally' placed her hand on his thigh to grab a shot glass was priceless.
"Dean has to drink!" Ron roared, laughing loudly.
"Harry!" Tallia hissed, hitting him on his arm.
"What?"
"Hermione's leaving," Tallia whispered. "Talk to her! Go, go, go."
Harry looked up to see Hermione walking across the room. She looked over at him as she reached her jacket and he smiled. She really did look gorgeous today. That red dress on her was just… wow.
"Harry, you idiot." Tallia said, smacking him upside the head as Hermione left.
"Hey, that hurt." Harry said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Well you deserve it." She replied, "She was looking right at you! You guys could've had a moment but you just gawked at her."
"Give up on it, Tallia." Seamus said, throwing an arm around her shoulder. "We've been trying to get them together for years now."
"Wait, what?" Harry asked.
"Why doesn't Hermione just make the first move?" Tallia asked, leaning into Seamus' side.
"Too shy." Dean said, taking another shot.
"What are you guys talking about?" Harry growled. "How long have you -"
"Stop asking questions and just go!" Tallia said, pushing Harry with enough force that he nearly toppled off the couch, making the guys roar with laughter.
Sighing in defeat, he hurried into the hall and soon realized he had more to drink than he thought. Stumbling he grabbed his jacket and went outside, happy to see Hermione standing in the front yard. He wasn't sure what he was going to say, his buzzed brain was still trying to process the thought that his friends had been trying to get them together for years now.
Opening the door, Harry was hit with the cold wind. "It's chilly out here." He said, hurrying down the steps, stumbling a bit. Hermione shot him an amused look as he managed to steady himself. "What are you doing out here?" He asked, trying to fight off the flush of embarrassment.
"Just needed a bit of fresh air," she replied, "what about you?"
"I saw you come out here." Harry said, trying to act innocent. He had no idea what he was going to say and the alcohol wasn't helping. He had to think extra hard to be able to come up with coherent sentences. "We haven't really talked much tonight, have we?"
"Yeah, but you've been busy introducing Tallia to everyone."
"What do you think of her?" He asked.
"She seems… nice." Hermione said slowly.
"She really is," Harry said nodding. An awkward silence followed. Not able to think of anything to say, Harry blurted, "It's the holidays and she's only been in the country for a couples days, I thought I'd bring her here so she can meet new people, make some friends. She's really smart too, you know?"
"Really?" Hermione asked.
`Stop talking about Tallia, you idiot!' He thought to himself, but his brain and mouth weren't exactly cooperating with each other. "I'd reckon she's about as smart as you. I think you guys would get along great, she seems to have the same interests as you."
Harry felt her stiffen beside him and he instantly regretted opening his mouth. `You idiot!'
"That'd be great." Hermione said unenthusiastically. Harry mentally kicked himself, cursing himself for drinking. She checked her watch, "It's a couple minutes to midnight, we should head back."
"Oh." Harry sighed, "Alright."
Hermione turned to go into the house and Harry followed, trying to think of something, anything, to say. As they walked into the living room, Tallia skipped over to where they were. He could tell she was drunk now, "There you are!" She said, smiling, "I was worried you wouldn't be back by midnight." She shot a quick glance at Hermione and raised an eyebrow, her smile widening.
"Happy new year, Harry." Hermione said quietly, "It was nice meeting you, Tallia."
"It was nice meeting you too…" As Hermione walked away, Tallia turned around and smacked him. "You guys didn't talk?"
"You are a very violent drunk, you know that?" Harry said, getting slightly annoyed. "And no, we didn't. I couldn't think of anything to say."
"How hard is it to say `I like you'?" Tallia argued, her face flushing, "I'm drunk and I can say it!"
"How many shots have you had since I left?" Harry asked.
"It doesn't matter! Stop changing the subject." Tallia said, "You go over there and tell her you like her, it's painful to watch you guys."
"I don't want to talk to her while I'm not sober." Harry argued, "I say things that are stupid."
Tallia groaned, "Then talk to her tomorrow about it. You guys would be a cute couple."
Harry sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Okay, I'll talk to her first thing tomorrow."
"Yay!"
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" There was an uproar of cheering and applauding as the clock chimed midnight. Tallia hugged Harry and gave him a quick peck on the lips, "For luck tomorrow." She said, smiling cutely. "I'm off to go find Seamus."
- - -
Hermione woke up the next morning with her eyes stinging. Sitting up and stretching, it took her a moment to remember why her eyes hurt. Sighing, she fell back against her pillows and stared up at the ceiling. Crookshanks sauntered into her room, meowing loudly. He jumped up onto her bed and began to purr, rubbing his head on Hermione's arm.
"Hey Crookshanks." She said, scratching him behind his ears. Hermione sat up and looked over at the clock, surprised to see it was just past noon. She had slept in for the first time in years. "I bet you're hungry, aren't you?"
Pushing the covers off of her, Hermione got out of bed and walked into the kitchen. She opened the cupboard and grabbed his food, filling his bowl. Crookshanks hurried over to his bowl and began to eat. "Fatty." Hermione murmured, putting the bag of cat food back.
"Hermione? Hello?" Hermione froze, her eyes widening as Harry's voice came from the living room. He walked into the kitchen, brushing the soot off his shirt and smiled at her. "Well, this is a first. Hermione Granger still in pyjamas after noon?"
Hermione flushed and looked down at her light blue flannel pyjamas with purple hearts on the bottoms. "I'll go change." Hermione said, hurrying into her bedroom and shutting the door. Her heart was racing a mile a minute. What was Harry doing here? He hadn't said anything about stopping by.
She quickly changed into some jeans and a t-shirt and went to her adjoining bathroom. Grabbing a brush, she yanked it through her hair while grabbing her toothbrush. After brushing her teeth in record time, she hurried back into the kitchen. Harry was kneeling beside Crookshanks and was petting him with Crookshanks purring loudly.
"So, what's up?" Hermione asked as casually as she could.
Harry stood up and leaned against the counter, "I…" he began, "I came here so we could talk, actually."
"Talk?" Hermione felt something pull in her stomach. "About what?"
Harry exhaled and licked his lips. "I'm just going to come out and say it." He took a deep breath, "I… I like you. No, it's something more than a crush. I can't stop thinking about you. Every girl I go out with I compare with you, and they're never good enough. It's…" Harry stopped, giving a little laugh, "it's driving me crazy."
Hermione felt as if all the air rushed out of her. "But… Tallia…" she protested.
Harry shook his head. "She decided she likes the Seamus type."
"Oh. I'm sorry…"
"Hermione didn't you hear me? I can't stop thinking about you; I want to be with you."
Hermione didn't know what to say. She wasn't even sure if she was really awake or not. "I… uh…" Hermione shook her head, "Why me?"
Harry walked over to her and grabbed her hands, looking into her eyes. "Hermione, you're the most caring, sweetest, intelligent, beautiful woman I have ever met. No other girl, not even Tallia," he added when she opened her mouth, "can compare to you."
Hermione was speechless. All she could do was stare at Harry, not too sure what to do or say. Harry sighed and let go of her hands then gently cupped her face with his hands. "Do you feel the same way about me?" He asked softly.
Hermione smiled, staring into Harry's eyes. "Yeah… I do."
Harry's lips were on hers before she could even register he moved. She made a shocked noise in the back of her throat but began to return the kiss, lifting her arms up to wrap around his neck. Harry's hands traveled down her body, one hand clutching the fabric of her shirt at the small of her back and the other resting on her hip, pulling her closer to him.
After a couple moments Harry pulled away, resting his forehead against hers. He smiled and nipped at her lips, "So I heard a very interesting story this morning." He muttered.
"Hmm?" Hermione sighed, feeling a bit dazed.
"Ginny told me that you were dressed up like you were last night for me."
Hermione flushed and looked down.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. I sort of acted like an ass last night, didn't I?"
"You didn't act like an ass." Hermione said. She looked back up to his eyes.
Harry's head dipped down to give her another kiss, sending a chill through Hermione's body. "So," he said, "I think this is a fairly good start to the new year, don't you?"
Hermione grinned, "Yeah, pretty good start. But do you know what can make it even better?"
"What's that?"
"This." Hermione pulled Harry down and kissed him, grinning against his lips. Last night didn't even matter. All that mattered now was that Harry was with her now.
Hermione squeaked as Harry lifted her up and set her on the counter, situating himself between her legs. Harry began to place kisses down her neck, causing Hermione to groan and tilt her head to give him better access.
Definitely a good start to the new year.
A/N: And there you go. Remember to keep an eye out for Angels. :)
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