A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! I hope that you all find the next year to be prosperous and happy. I've had a few requests for a little PDA between our two characters, so here it is, just for you. Thank-you for all of my lovely reviews, it was like getting special presents under the tree!
My new year's resolution is to have a certain writer hand over all the rights to her characters…Hm. Another resolution down the drain?
Chapter 28
Taking the Next Step
Harry stood outside Hermione's door for what seemed like a long time. He wasn't sure what was going to happen if he went in there. His heart was battling with his brain. He wanted to be with her, and yet, she distracted him.
Hermione was snuggled down under her comforter, reading her book when she heard a tap at the door.
"Come in Harry," she said. Somehow, she knew he would come tonight.
Harry came in and quietly closed the door behind him before coming to stand beside her bed. Hermione patted the mattress beside her and after a slight hesitation; Harry sat, all the while watching her face. Hermione looked at him, waiting for him to make the first move.
"I thought I had lost you," he said quietly after a minute. "I lost you, and the last thing I did was make you angry," Harry sighed and stared out the window. "I didn't mean that I thought you were weak. It's just that I am so used to you being around and I don't know what would happen if I lost you, like I've lost everyone else. Does that make sense?"
Hermione reached over and squeezed Harry's hand.
"I'm sorry too, Harry," she said.
"What for?" Harry asked, shifting to look at her. "You didn't do anything."
"You're right, I didn't. I have spent so much time with my head in my books that I haven't thought about what would happen if we ran into more Death Eaters. You were right, to a point. I need to train more, and so does Ron. We haven't really done anything since we came back to school."
"I'm sure Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody would be willing to help," Harry said as he clasped her hand in his.
They stared at each other for a few moments before Harry realized that intimacy of the situation. He could feel his stomach do a little flip, and his heart began to pound. He broke his gaze as he stood up, letting go of her hand. He was still not quite ready to say everything that was on his mind. He definitely lacked the Gryffindor courage in that department.
"Well, I guess you're tired. I should let you get some sleep," He said as he started for the door.
"Harry…" Hermione trailed off.
Harry turned to look at her sitting in the middle of her bed.
"You know, I'm so used to having Ginny here, and this room seems so big…"
Harry hesitated, looking at her, wondering where she wanted this to go, wondering where he wanted this to go; afraid that he was going to screw up again. He finally cleared his throat.
"Would you like me to stay? You know, just for a while?" he asked quietly as he slowly retraced his steps.
"I would really like the company," Hermione said shyly as she patted the bed beside her, kicking the comforter down to the end of the bed as she did so.
Harry sat down beside her, taking in the old t-shirt and shorts that she was wearing. He never realized that something like that could look so good on her. He kicked off his trainers and scooted up to lean against the headboard. Hermione pulled her book back on to her lap and flipped the page.
"These books are so fascinating," she said as she leafed through to where she left off. "Some of the spells I have found may be useful," she showed the pages to Harry as he leaned closer.
They spent the next half-hour just talking and looking at her book, and Harry found himself relaxing, happy that they seemed to have settled back into their comfortable relationship. His fear of losing her not only as a friend, but as something else…It was hard for him to even think of what his life would be like without her. He put his arm around her and she snuggled into his side. Harry leaned back and closed his eyes, drifting between the peacefulness of sleep and wakefulness, as he listened to Hermione read passages from her book. She stopped reading after a few moments, and when she didn't resume, Harry cracked one eye open to find her asleep against his chest. She looked so peaceful that Harry didn't have the heart to wake her. After short battle between his heart and his head, he carefully slid down the bed, taking her with him. Hermione sighed and rolled over to snuggle in closer, laying one hand on his chest.
He let himself enjoy this quiet time with Hermione. She was right, they had survived destroying the Horcrux, although just barely, and they had done it themselves, without Dumbledore's help. He slowly ran his hand through Hermione's hair as he watched her sleep. He was pretty sure he was in love with her; he enjoyed her company, and loved the feel of her in his arms. Wasn't that what love was all about? No one had really explained it to him; he just knew that he wanted to be with her. He still wasn't too sure about the extent of her feelings though. He knew she cared about him, she had said so earlier, but did she love him? This was all so unnerving. Harry wasn't quite ready for the possibility of Hermione liking him just as a friend and nothing else. And then there was Voldemort…He didn't want to lose her, and if Voldemort managed to see how much he cared for her, Harry knew he would use it against him. He decided that he needed to keep this to himself for now, and be content with the fact that she wanted to be with him.
Harry waved his wand and the book gently placed itself on the table beside the bed. Another wave of his wand brought the crumpled comforter up to cover the both of them. Harry took off his glasses and closed his eyes, waving his wand a third time to turn out the lights before placing it on the table beside the bed. He relaxed and let sleep take him.
It was just before dawn when Harry woke, disoriented, and felt a sense of panic at the weight pinning his arm and leg to the bed. As he became more alert he relaxed, remembering where he had spent the night. He slowly slipped out from underneath her warm body, and Hermione rolled over with her back to him. He got up to use the loo and decided it was too early to get up. As he approached the bed he wondered if Hermione would be offended if he took his pants off. He hesitated for a moment, and then shrugged. If she could be in her night garments, then so could he. Shucking his t-shirt and pants, he slipped back under the covers and lay on his side to watch her sleeping form. He let the hypnotic rise and fall of her chest and her gentle breathing lull him back into a peaceful slumber.
Harry woke again a few hours later as he felt the bed shift. He cracked open one eye to watch Hermione crawling back under the covers. She smiled shyly at him.
"Good morning," she said. "I didn't think you would still be here."
Harry raised himself up on one elbow to look at her. He was beginning to feel more like his old self today, and something about sharing a bed with Hermione caused his stomach to do flip-flops. It was amazing how good she made him feel. He smiled tentatively at her.
"Given the choice of sleeping with a snoring prat or a beautiful woman, where do you think I would rather be?"
"Beautiful?" Hermione repeated, looking up at him through her lashes.
"Yes, beautiful," Harry said as he inched closer. He could feel his heart beat speed up at the way she was looking at him. "And smart, and…kissable."
"Kissable?" Hermione breathed.
"Very," said Harry as he captured her lips with his.
She was intoxicating, and Harry couldn't get enough of her. As Hermione brought her hands up to run them through his hair, Harry slowly traced Hermione's lips with his tongue, savoring their softness. Harry gently pushed her back on to the bed, never breaking contact. Hermione released Harry's hair to run her hands up and down his muscular shoulders and arms. He felt his skin tingle as her gentle caress left trails of goose bumps on his arms. Harry suddenly had the most incredible urge to caress her skin, feel her, like she was touching him. He slowly ran his hand down her side to her hip, and then he retraced his path until he got to the hem of her shirt. He hesitated for a moment, and then ever so slowly he let his hand slide under her shirt and up just past her waist. The feel of her bare skin sent a jolt of electricity through Harry's hand and he almost missed her intake of breath as their skin touched. He stopped his hand, taking in the warmth of her skin, waiting for Hermione's reaction, his heart beating madly. He continued to kiss her, waiting to see if she would pull away. She relaxed after a moment, and Harry took it as a sign to continue. He let his fingers dance over the muscles of her stomach, feeling them tremble with every touch. As he traced circles on her skin, he released her lips to trail fiery kisses down her neck to the hollow of her throat. Hermione squeezed Harry's shoulders and turned her head to give him better access, so Harry used his tongue to trace the contours of her neck, savoring her.
He was slowly inching his hand up Hermione's stomach when there was a knock at the door.
"Hermione! Time to get up!" Ron called.
"Ignore him," Harry murmured as he moved back up to nuzzle her ear. "He'll go away."
"I don't know," Hermione whispered as she reached up to caress Harry's cheek. "He's pretty persistent."
"Maybe," grinned Harry, looking into her eyes, "but I'm better looking," and he kissed her smiling mouth to silence any comment she was going to make.
There was no way Harry was going to let Ron interfere.
The knocking became more insistent.
"Hermione! Professor Tonks said that if you don't get out of bed right now, she is going to personally come in there and drag you out."
That did it. Hermione froze, her eyes whipping to the door, expecting Tonks to burst through.
Harry sighed. "Damn."
The mood was lost.
"You'd better answer," he said as he reluctantly pulled away from her.
"Tell her I'm awake," Hermione called as she watched Harry collect his things, marveling at his physique. Their eyes met, and Hermione saw the passion smoldering in their green depths. Suddenly she wanted nothing more than to invite Harry back to her bed and forget about the outside world for a while.
"Okay, I'm going to…uh…wake up Harry. I'll meet you downstairs."
She shook herself out of her musings as she heard Ron move away from the door.
"How are you planning to sneak upstairs?" Hermione asked.
Harry leaned down and gave her one last kiss as he caressed her cheek.
"That's easy," he said. "It's my house," and with a wave, he disappeared with a small pop.
He appeared in his room to find Ron sitting on his bed, waiting for him.
"You'd better be telling the truth about Tonks being here," Harry growled as he tossed his clothes and shoes at Ron.
"Hey!" Ron said as he pushed Harry's clothes onto the bed and dropped his shoes on the floor. "I just saved your arse. Lupin and Tonks were all for waking you up themselves. It was a good thing I was down there." Ron suddenly grinned at him. "Have a good night?"
"Shut it," Harry growled as he grabbed some fresh clothes.
"Well it was pretty quiet last night, so I just figured…" Ron shrugged as he smirked at him. "When Lupin and Tonks popped in this morning, I had to stop them from going upstairs to get you. I think they suspect something."
"I'm going to have to put some new wards up," Harry muttered as he grabbed a towel on the way to the door.
"Where are you going?" Ron asked. "They're expecting you downstairs."
"To take a shower," Harry replied. "A cold one."
"I'll…uh…tell them you'll be right down," Ron said laughing.
Twenty minutes later Harry arrived to find Ron and Hermione deep in conversation with Lupin and Tonks. Lupin looked up as Harry came in.
"Harry," he smiled. "Sleep well?"
Harry flashed a quick look at Hermione, who averted her eyes, before sitting down at the table beside Ron, who was trying very hard not to laugh out loud.
"Yes, why do you ask?" he said casually.
"No reason, I just thought I would check up on you, seeing as you disappeared after being so magically drained."
Lupin's hidden message to Harry was clear. You were a bad boy for running away without telling anyone where you were.
"I'm fine," Harry said defiantly.
There was an uncomfortable silence as Harry and Lupin tried to stare each other down. Tonks finally nudged the stubborn professor.
Lupin cleared his throat. "Good, because we have an assignment."
Ron, Hermione, and Harry all exchanged glances before turning to look back at Lupin.
"A school assignment?" Hermione frowned. "I thought I wrote down all my assignments last week."
"No, it's not for school," Lupin said, looking at Harry for his reaction.
Harry narrowed his eyes. "Exactly what is this assignment, and who ordered it?" he asked suspiciously.
"It's not the ministry," Lupin said, knowing where Harry's thinking was going.
"Then who?" Ron asked.
"It's for the Order, Harry," Lupin said, ignoring Ron.
"The Order? But, McGonagall said-"
"There have been more attacks," Lupin interrupted.
"What?" Harry said.
"Last night. Just outside of London. Three Wizarding families were killed, and one family where the young boy was known to be a wizard even though his parents were both Muggles."
Harry heard Hermione's gasp and reached over to squeeze her hand. He didn't need to read her mind to know what she was thinking.
"The three families were not pureblood, sorry Hermione, and were strong supporters of the Order and Dumbledore. We were caught off-guard with the fourth family, since the boy wasn't even at Hogwarts yet." Lupin explained.
"So what does the Order want us to do?" Harry asked.
"Not the three of you, Harry, just you," Lupin said.
Harry became very guarded. Why separate him from his friends?
"Who ordered this?" Harry demanded. "Why would someone want me, but not let me bring my friends?"
Lupin looked at the worried faces of his two best friends and sighed.
"Dumbledore," he finally said. "He said to tell you `it's time', and to give you this," and he pulled out a golden feather and handed it to Harry.
It was a phoenix feather.
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