Hey faithful readers! Thanks so much for being so patient with me! I have been fairly busy so it took me a bit long with this chapter. I would say I'm sorry, but since I'm glad I have somewhat of a life, I'm really not, haha. I am sorry you had to wait, I know how annoying that can get. I hope this chapter makes up for it. Thanks again everyone!
~HM
Chapter 23
"Ginny's gone," Ron commented as the four of them made their way out of the surf.
"She went up a while ago." Luna squeezed the salty water out of her hair before flinging it over her shoulder. "Probably went to talk to Draco."
"Or just went to lie down."
"She got plenty of rest under the tent, Ron," Hermione said. "I'm sure she wanted to thank him for what he did."
"I guess that makes sense."
"Perfect sense," Luna said as they quickly trotted to the tent since the hot sand burned their feet. "In fact, I'm planning on laying a big fat one on him when he gets down."
Ron lifted a brow. "Oh, really?"
"You bet." She playfully poked him in the belly. "He saved my best friend…so deal with it."
"Hey, there they are," Harry said as he gestured over to where Ginny and Draco just emerged from the trail. "She looks rested."
Ron let out a small sigh of relief when he saw his sister. All the worry and fear that had left him when he had been distracted from the playful water fight, came back at him so fiercely he had to take another calming breath to get it under control. She was fine-she was safe.
"There's my hero!" Luna exclaimed as she frolicked over to Draco and brought him down for a loud, smacking kiss.
Draco flushed. "Er…"
"Come here you," Hermione said and reached up on her toes and repeated the process.
"Wow," Draco managed to say. "I could get use to this hero stuff."
Harry rolled his eyes. "That usually doesn't happen after you save someone-unfortunately."
"Let's eat," Ron suggested as he threw an arm around his sister. "It'll be like a celebration lunch."
"You mean like a, `Glad you didn't drown today," lunch?" Ginny asked, smiling up at him.
He grinned. "Works for me."
As the others surrounded the different coolers that held food and drinks, Hermione held Harry back with a touch of his arm. "Harry?"
"Hmm?"
"When it's later? I'd be happy to make up for all the times you've saved me."
"Really?" He casually flicked a finger across her cheek. "That could take awhile-I saved you a lot."
She lifted a brow. "If my memory is accurate-I got you out of a few jams myself."
He grinned. "So you did…I guess I'll just have to return the favor."
"Then I'm definitely looking forward…" She reached up, grabbed the ends of the towel that hung around his neck, and gave a tug. "To later."
Need stirred in his belly. "You know…later could be now." He casted a quick glance to the others to make they were still occupied, before bending his head towards her until his lips brushed her ear. "In fact-why don't we sneak away? I'm sure I could find a nice palm tree to back you up against."
Her whole body shivered as her grip tightened on the towel. "That sounds…quite lovely. But…" She took a reluctant step back. "Later is going to have to be later. Now? We eat with our friends."
His shoulder slumped. "If we have to."
She laughed as she tugged him a long. "Later," she promised again.
The afternoon melted away as the gang spent most of the time out of the sun and under the tent. They all indulged themselves with too much food and blamed Hermione for packing too much stuff. Did they really need ten sandwiches, three bags of chips and two-dozen cookies?
"Well, I'm sorry," she huffed as she tossed her second-or was it her third?-half eaten cookie down. "I had Ron to think about-I didn't know how much he was going to eat."
Ron popped another Oreo in his mouth. "She has a point."
Ginny groaned as she stretched herself in her chair. "I'm not moving from this spot for awhile."
"I think no one's going to judge you for that," Draco said as he got up on his feet. "I need another beer. Who wants one?"
"I'll take one," Harry said as he picked up his empty paper plate and tossed it into the plastic bag they had turned into trash.
"Ron?"
He shook his head. "No, I'm good." He stood up and held his hand to Luna. "You. Me. Walk."
She smiled as she tucked her hand in his. "Okay," she said and let him pull her to her feet. "I need to walk off this food anyway."
"See you guys later," Ron said before tugging her away from the group and down to the shore.
"I think something's happened there," Harry commented as they watched them walk away. "He's been more…focused on her. If that makes any sense."
"It does," Draco said as he handed Harry his beer and plopped back down near Ginny's feet. "He barley kept his eyes off her all day."
Hermione looked at Ginny. "You know anything?"
Ginny pressed her lips together and then lifted a shoulder. "I might."
"I'm not going to get mad," she added quickly. "If you think that-I mean, Ron and I are just friends now."
Ginny sighed in relief. "Okay, good. I wasn't sure. I caught them snogging on the stairway on my way down. I haven't had a chance to talk to Luna about it, but I'm pretty sure it was their first. Luna looked pretty shaken up-in a good way."
"Well, it's about time Weaslebee woke up," Draco said grinning as he took a pull of his beer. "Luna, could do better of course. Hey!" He scowled at Ginny, who had just leaned up in her chair and smacked his arm. "Was that really necessary?"
"You insulted my brother."
"Well…yeah," he said in an obvious tone. "It's what I do-being friends with him doesn't change that, so you might as well get use to it."
Harry got to his feet and brushed off the crumbs. "Who's up for a swim?"
"I'm always up for a swim," Hermione said as she held out her hands to him.
Harry pulled her to her feet. "What about you guys?"
Ginny looked out at the ocean, and shivered. "No-I think I'll stay here and read my magazine."
Harry sighed. "I'm sorry, Ginny. I didn't think about it."
"Don't worry about it," she assured him. "And it's only partly it. I just have had enough of the ocean for one day, but there's always tomorrow."
Harry nodded and then turned to Draco. "You staying behind?"
"Yeah, I want to read some of my book."
"You don't have to stay and babysit me," Ginny said after they left.
"I'm not." He got up from his feet and then leaned down and placed a hand on either side of her chair. "Maybe I just don't want to be away from you."
Ginny sighed as he swooped down for a soft, lingering kiss. "I can live with that."
"Or I just really like my book." He laughed when she swatted his arm and then bent down for another kiss. "Kidding."
As soon as Ron was sure they were far enough down the beach to be seen, he smoothly turned Luna into his arms and fixed his mouth on hers in a long, lazy, drawn out kiss. "I still can't believe I'm allowed to do that," he murmured as he drew away.
She smiled. "You've always been allowed to do that, Ronald. You just didn't know it."
"And who's fault is that?" he asked as he playfully tugged her hair. "Why didn't you tell me how you felt?"
Luna sighed. "When was I supposed to do that? When you were with Hermione? Or maybe when your mouth was permanently attached to Lavender's? I certainly wasn't going to say anything at Fred's funeral, you had too much to deal with and…"
"Okay, okay…I get it. But you still should have…wait." He held up a hand as her words suddenly hit him. "Lavender? You had feelings for me even then?"
Slightly embarrassed, she shifted awkwardly. "Maybe. Okay, yes. Honestly, I can't remember a time when I didn't have feelings for you, Ronald."
Ron shook his head in disbelief as he caressed the side of her face. "I'm such a prat."
She let out a breathless laugh. "No you're not, Ron."
"Yes, I am." He cupped the back of her neck and gently pulled her against him. "I was always drawn to you, Luna. I was," he added when she gave him a look of uncertainty. "I just took it the wrong way since I was so determined to believe I was meant for Hermione."
"There's no need to feel bad about it, Ronald. It just wasn't meant to happen until now. I firmly believe that."
"Can you at least allow a few moments for me to feel a little remorse for the time I've wasted?"
"Sure." She waited a moment and then wrapped his arms around his neck. "Done?"
He grinned as he plucked her off her feet. "I guess." He then shifted his lips to hers, teasing her with soft gentle nips as he walked them into the surf.
She let out shriek when the first wave hit them, then laughed as she wrapped her legs around him and held on for the ride. Lips absorbed and tongues caressed as the waves crashed against them again and again, before they finally collapsed into the water in a tangle of limbs.
XXXXX
It was fairly late by the time they all managed to consume enough energy to pack everything up and head into the house. Everyone was loaded down with now empty coolers, folded down chairs and sandy, wet towels and surprisingly managed to make it in one trip.
"Let's just dump everything on the deck," Harry suggested as he threw down the cooler he had swung on his back. "Too tired to deal with it now."
"Excellent idea," Ron said as he did the same with his cooler and then plopped down the folded chair he had hooked on his other arm. "I smell something-I smell something wonderful."
"Claudia must have dinner ready," Hermione said as she stifled back a yawn.
As they entered the kitchen, Claudia had the table already set with a platter piled high with fried chicken and bowls of mashed potato and gravy. "Sit and eat," she ordered as she scooted everyone to the table. "I can tell just by looking you are worn out."
Ginny plopped into a chair, only because staying on her feet was too tiring. "I think I may be too tired to eat," she mumbled and then winced at Ron who was attacking a chicken breast. "Jeez, Ron."
Ron just grinned as he sucked off the grease on his fingers. "It's good."
Draco rolled his eyes as he picked out a juicy thigh, and then set a drumstick on Ginny's plate. "How are you not fat, Ron?"
"Good metabolism runs in the family." He took his first bite of the mash potatoes and let out a dramatic groan. "Thank Merlin. Claudia, you are my new favorite person."
She laughed from the kitchen. "You eat like my son."
"Did your son win today?" Luna asked. "At this…baseball game?"
"Sure did," she said proudly. "My boy scored a run…had two RBI's."
Luna shook her head. "I have no idea what that means, but congratulations."
After dinner, everyone went up to take much needed showers or lingering baths. Needless to say, no one felt up for hanging out that night, or drinking more alcohol. It was going to be an early night for everyone it seemed and as Harry trudged to his room, his first extinct was to fall flat on his face…the day had absolutely drained him.
"Shower first, then sleep," he told himself as he walked passed the bed and into the bathroom.
He quickly stripped and winced at the amount of sand that had clung to his body. He had sand in places he didn't know could reach. He tossed his trunks into the hamper, stepped into the large glass box, fiddled with the knobs until it was nice and hot, then practically whimpered as he stepped under the spray.
It had been a long, interesting day. A good one, though. Well-minus the whole Ginny almost drowning part-but a good one nonetheless. The day certainly brought his relationship with Hermione to the next level. It was still weird for him when he thought about Hermione that way, but most of the time-it was the most natural thing in the world.
He enjoyed being with her alone in the ocean and caught himself smiling as he thought of it now. They flirted together, splashing and laughing like a couple of idiots-and even snuck in a few kisses here and there. They leaped over or dove under waves and then lingered where the waves weren't breaking, but still shallow enough to stand.
They talked, just like they always did, as they floated close together, with their legs flirting underwater. He once reached out and tugged at her legs until they were hooked around his waist. She had smiled at him seductively as she bent her head towards his, but just before their lips met-she pushed him underwater.
"Sneaky little witch," he murmured to himself now as he shut off the water.
He quickly toweled off and then rummaged in his closet and threw on comfortable sweatpants and a simple white cotton tee. He shuffled his way to the bed, glancing at the clock to see that it was half past eight, and then paused as he threw back the covers.
He wanted to see Hermione. As tired as he was, he knew he'd toss and turn if he didn't see her. Only for a moment, he told himself as he walked out of his room. He just wanted to see her smile, maybe find some way to touch her, kiss her-assure himself that what was going on between them was still very real.
There was no answer when he knocked on his door, so he slowly opened it and called out to her in case she wasn't decent. Hopefully one day, he'd be allowed to see her naked, but until that wonderful day, he'd be nothing but respectful, nothing but patient. She mattered-a hell of a lot, and he would never do anything to ruin that.
She wasn't in her sitting room or in her bedroom, but the sound of the shower running behind the bathroom door caught his attention. He sighed wistfully as the image of him sneaking in their to join her played all too vividly in his mind, but instead of acting it out, he walked over and stretched himself out on her bed. He'd just wait here, he thought as he closed his eyes. Call out when he heard her getting out of the shower-wouldn't want to scare her, or-just in case she was naked, or…
He groaned as he flew his arm over his eyes. "Don't go there, Potter," he murmured and as he lied there, surrounded by Hermione's lingering scent, his mind drifted away as thoughts and visions of her lulled him to sleep.
Hermione jolted when she saw Harry on her bed. He had been on her mind the entire time she was in the shower, wishing she could see him one last time before going to sleep, and now there he was-asleep on her bed.
She walked over to the bed as she gave her still damp hair a quick towel dry before draping it over a nearby chair. She crawled over on the bed and stretched herself next to him and then reached up to gently take off his glasses. She leaned over him to place them on the bedside table, and then turned off the lamp, sending the room into darkness.
She sighed as she dropped her head on her pillow, keeping herself closer to him than she probably should, however it still didn't seem close enough. She rolled to her side, her back facing him, but then gasped softly when he only followed her, snaking an arm around her waist and nestled up against her.
She tensed up-but only for a moment-before her body practically melted against his as she placed a hand over his and brought his arm up more securely around her. She let out a long, contented murmur as Harry's warmth soothed her into a deep, deep slumber.
Just shy of sunrise, Harry began to stir and found himself deliciously tucked against something warm, soft and wonderful. When he opened his eyes, the room was barley lit with the soft light streaming through the windows, but even if it were pitch black, he would know where he was-whom he was with.
He looked down at a still sleeping Hermione and felt his heart tremble under his chest. He had spent the night with Hermione, he realized as he gently strummed his fingers through her unruly hair and exposed her soft neck. And now he wanted nothing more than to wake her in his own special way, so he bent his head down and scattered soft kisses up and down her neck.
She let out a throaty moan as she began to wake and then her eyes flew open on a gasp when something-or rather someone-nipped at her ear. "Harry?"
"It better be," he murmured in her ear.
She let out a sleepy chuckle as she turned her head around, smiling up at him. "I certainly wouldn't want you to be anyone else."
He smiled before dropping a kiss on her shoulder. "I didn't mean to sleep here tonight."
"I know."
"But I'm glad I did."
"Me, too."
"Hermione?" He cleverly maneuvered them both until they were lying face to face on their sides.
"Yes?" she murmured as she flirtatiously slid her leg up and around his waist.
He gripped the back of her knee and tugged her even closer. "Is it later?"
She placed a hand on the side of his face and cupped the back of his neck. "Definitely," she groaned and pulled his lips down on hers.
A moan of approval escaped from the back of his throat as she immediately opened for him in an urgent, and almost frustrating, kiss. Hands eagerly clenched hair while lips bruised and tongues tangled. It was as if they had been waiting for eternity to be together and simply couldn't get enough of each other.
With his mouth still fused with hers, he rolled her on her back, pinning her deliciously into the mattress. He took control of the kiss, slowing it down with lingering strokes of his tongue and could practically feel her melt against him. "And that was for the time…all the way back in first year…when you saved us from the Devil's Snare."
Hermione blinked, then smiled when she remembered their conversation earlier. "Well…you are very welcome." She suddenly rolled him on his back and fixed her mouth firmly on his. "And that was for saving me from the troll."
He grinned, rolled her back, kissed her. "For going back in time with me-couldn't have done it without you."
She grinned, rolled him back, kissed him. "For pulling me away from Grawp."
"No problem, Hermy," he said and shoved her back, kissed her. "For being the only one who believed me in fourth year-and for teaching me the summoning spell."
"For always supporting me in S.P.E.W.-even if you did think it was silly."
"For always supporting me in anything-even if you thought it was a bad idea."
"For trying to save me from the mermaids."
"For punching Malfoy."
"Hmm…I don't believe I saved you by doing that."
"No, but it was still brilliant and deserved a kiss."
She just laughed as she rolled him back over and loomed over him. She paused for a moment, smiling down at him as her hair curtained their faces. When she bent down for a kiss, she lingered this time, slowing the kiss down with lazy sweeps of her tongue.
Harry groaned into her mouth as he let his hands get lost in his hair while he let himself get lost in her kiss. "Wow," he murmured when she finally pulled back an inch. "And what was that for?"
"No reason."
He lifted a brow. "Oh, really?"
She smiled. "Don't get me wrong, I could think of a thousand reasons, but-do I really need a reason to kiss you?"
His eyes twinkled in amusement as he swept back the curtain of her hair with both hands. "Absolutely not."
Grinning, their lips met once more as they sunk into the kiss together while Harry's hands stroked down the length of her back. Hermione let out a moan of approval as his hands molded her bottom, pressing her closer against him-center to center. His hands then continued on, down to where the hem of her ridiculously large shirt brushed her thighs. "What do you exactly have under this shirt?" he asked as his fingers flirtatiously slipped under the hem.
Since he left her mouth to talk, Hermione began scatter kisses along his scruffy jaw, then down his neck. "Just my knickers," she finally whispered into his ear and then nipped his lobe.
Harry groaned as he quickly flipped their positions and then ran urgent, open mouth kisses down her neck while pinning her body into the mattress. "I shouldn't have asked, because now I'm wondering if you're wearing those sexy black laced knickers."
"How did you…oh, right," she said when she remembered him being in her closet when she unpacked. "You got all flustered."
"You bet I did." He nuzzled her neck as he slid his hands under her back, causing more of his weight to press down on her. "I kept wondering what you'd look like in them."
"Really?" Her eyes fluttered closed as he tugged her shirt down her shoulder, scattering kisses along the way. "Even back then? You didn't think about me that way."
"No…no, I didn't," he admitted in between kisses. "At least I thought I didn't, but-something changed as soon as I saw you on the ferry. I think it was your legs. I've become obsessed."
"With my legs?"
"Oh, yeah," he groaned as she lifted her legs and locked them around his waist. "You're killing me."
She grinned wickedly . "That's nice."
"Witch," he teased before capturing her mouth with his and then rocked his body against hers.
She gasped into his mouth when he moved, then let out a long, throaty groaned when he moved again. "Harry."
"You're not the only one who can play dirty."
Laughed breathlessly. "Apparently not."
He chuckled against her lips, and then gave them a playful lip before reluctantly pulling away. "I better go."
Hermione frowned as he shifted off her. "Why?"
"Because," he started as he plopped down next to her on his side. "I'm trying to respect your wishes to go slow and I'm not going to be able to do that if I stay another second in bed with you."
"Well." She rolled to her side, copying his position. "What if I say we stop going slow and move on to full speed ahead?"
He let out a laughing groan. "If you were anyone else, I'd say let's do it, but you're not just anyone else-you're my Lumpy." He grinned as he bent down for a quick peck. "And you mean too much to me."
She sighed as she lovingly palmed her hand against his cheek. "Harry…do you know how wonderfully sweet you are?"
He smiled as he turned his face into her hand and kissed her palm. "Maybe, but it's nice to be reminded from time to time."
"I'll be sure to do that, then."
"Good." He turned her hand over and brushed her knuckles with his lips. "Okay…we can do either two things? We can each go to our separate bedrooms and sleep in…or, we can both get dressed and go for a walk on the beach while every one else is a sleep."
"And why can't we sleep in here together?"
"Because, if I stayed we wouldn't be sleeping."
"Good point." She leaned up for a quick kiss. "I take the walk."
"Okay, good choice."
Hermione quickly rolled off the bed, while Harry slowly nudged himself over until he was sitting on the edge. "Oh, and Harry?" she said as she stood between him and the bathroom door. "Until we're ready to…take that next step…how bout a sneak peak?"
Harry watched as she slowly turned on her heels, giving him a smirk over her shoulder, before walking to the bathroom door. His mouth immediately went dry when she began to painstakingly lift up her shirt, inch by inch, until finally pulling the material over her head. He swallowed hard at her long naked back and her taunt bottom covered in silk and lace and then hitched in a breath when she turned back around in the doorway.
She was only dressed in her knickers, but her hair cascaded down her shoulders, teasingly covering her breasts. She gave him a little flirtatious wave with her fingers, before slowly closing the door. "See you downstairs, Harry."
"Bloody hell," he groaned as he dramatically fell back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling completely stunned-completley aroused. "She was wearing the black knickers."
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