DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. They are the property of J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros, etc. No money was made from the creation of this story.
Chapter Thirteen: Cotton Lures and Cookies
"Weasley drives through the center! Bludger misses…she whizzes by Case…keeper Myles covers Weinstein…there's the pass…passes to Thomas…THOMAS THROWS…SCORES! The Granger One Time Fake Out Pass gets itself another goal!" Collin shouts into his microphone. "Gryffindor fifty, Ravenclaw ten!
"That Hermione and Harry…nicest couple in Hogwarts…did you know that they…."
"Collin!" Professor McGonagall roared as she stood from her chair. "Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger don't need their personal business being announced to everyone."
The news of Harry and Hermione didn't surprise a lot of the students. In fact the majority of them had already assumed that they were together, some actually shocked that they had only recently made it official. Harry could tell that Hermione was a little uncomfortable with all the attention she was receiving, now that she was with The-Boy-Who-Lived. He told her not to worry about it and how she'll get used to it. The curse of fame, he thought to himself.
Harry scratched the side of his head as he looked over to find Ron laughing. Harry couldn't help but contain his snicker as his eyes continued to move around, looking for the snitch. His eyes soon moved to a shaky Seamus, who hadn't moved very much throughout the game. Seamus had improved slightly during the last few practices, but he still didn't feel confident enough with his skills to apply himself during the game.
Harry's eyes suddenly noticed something glittering near the center hoop that Ron was guarding, and without a second of hesitation, he was off. He gripped his Firebolt tightly and pushed it once again to its limit.
"Potter is off!"
Ron quickly maneuvered out of the way as Harry flew by him, directly through the center hoop with his arm out in front of him. He quickly made a swipe at the snitch, but it dropped and almost instantly veered back towards the center of the pitch. Harry gritted his teeth as he pulled hard on his Firebolt to get it to swing around back towards the pitch.
Harry's eyes grew wide when he realized that Cho was approaching towards him, flying towards the center of the pitch from the opposite direction. Harry watched the snitch make its way directly towards her, and he realized that if he didn't catch it before it reached the center, Cho would have a perfect chance for it.
Harry took a quick breath and pushed his Firebolt passed its limits again, trying to keep himself as level to the broom as possible to keep him from slowing down. He squinted his eyes and found it incredibly difficult to move his arm out in front of him. The snitch started to dodge around in random directions but still continued to move towards the center of the pitch.
Harry looked forward and noticed a blue blur making its way towards him. He knew that it was Cho and that she wasn't going to give up on the snitch. Harry made another swipe with his hand, but found it incredibly difficult. The snitch was moving too erratically and with his current speed, he couldn't make any quick movements with his hand.
"Chang…Potter…Chang…Potter…it's going to be one sticky, disgusting, gruesome…"
"Collin!" Professor McGonagall shouted as she felt her stomach churn from Collin's details.
Harry took a quick breath and made another attempt to grab the snitch, but it suddenly flew dove towards the ground. Harry looked towards Cho and noticed that she was still approaching him. He pulled on his broom as hard as he could, causing himself to suddenly climb, just as Cho maneuvered herself downwards after the snitch.
Harry cursed himself as he pulled his broom back down after Cho. He pulled himself as close to his broom as he could, but suddenly jerked up as a bludger flew by him. He turned and looked to find a smiling Ravenclaw Beater. His heart suddenly sank when he looked down to see Cho with her arm out in front of her.
He swallowed hard and began his dive towards her, but a bludger suddenly flew by him towards Cho. Cho noticed a bludger and suddenly broke her pursuit the snitch, veering upwards. Harry turned to see a very startled Seamus breathing deeply. Harry pulled out of his dive and gave Seamus a bright smile with his thumb up.
"That was an UNBELIEVABLE stop by Finnigan! Chang is off the snitch…both seekers fly back up above the pitch!"
Harry looked around again and noticed a very flustered look on Cho's face. She looked at him and he could notice something her eyes. He tried to take a closer look but a sudden roar of thunder and flash of lightning caused him to look up towards the clouds. It started to get dark and he knew that this would definitely complicate a few things.
Rain soon started to fall, but Harry didn't pay much attention to it. He pulled out his wand and quickly performed the Impervius charm on his glasses, and continued to monitor the progress of the game, while looking around for the golden snitch.
"Weasley STOPS another shot! Passes to Weinstein…Weinstein moves around Harris…around Carter…passes to Weasley…Thomas is in position…Myles moves…Weasley THROWS…SCORES! Gryffindor takes their commanding lead to sixty!"
Harry started to clap, but suddenly saw Cho descend towards the pitch. Harry quickly gripped his Firebolt and flew after her, happy to see that he was gaining on her. Cho looked behind her and tried to move herself in front of Harry to keep him from passing. Harry gritted his teeth as he started to move left and right, only to have Cho block his way again and again.
The snitch suddenly stopped, causing the two to fly by it. Cho pulled on her broom, but her current speed was preventing her from making a sharp turn. Harry kept his grip firm on the broom as he swung his body off it, causing the Firebolt to instantly change directions with him. His hands slipped off, but he was able to successfully land back onto his Firebolt. After a quick breath, he took off again towards the snitch. Cho cursed to herself as she finally finished her turn and flew after Harry, only to find him pulling away.
The snitch made its way towards the posts at the opposite side of the pitch, and Harry chased it as fast as he could, his arm out in front of him. Something suddenly flashed in his mind when he realized that this was the same situation that caused him to hurt himself during the last Quidditch match. He took a quick breath as the promise he had made to Hermione started to ring in his ears.
He looked towards the middle post and realized that he was going to hit it. He watched the snitch move up around the post and he knew he had little time to react. He moved his feet onto the back half of his broom and pushed down with his feet as he pulled up with hands. He followed the snitch up the post, slowly feeling the extra weight of his water-soaked robes affect his speed.
Harry reached out for it again and felt the snitch graze his fingers. He gritted his teeth as he retracted his arm and threw it out again, nearly causing himself to lose control of his broom. His eyes widened and he let out a howl when he realized that the snitch was grasped firmly in his hand. Harry pulled his broom out of his climb and he slowly lowered himself to the ground holding the snitch up the air.
"HARRY POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"
He heard the pitch roar with students cheering and clapping. Harry landed on the ground and took his Firebolt with his left hand as he held the snitch firmly in his right. The Gryffindor Quidditch team landed and all ran over to him with large smiles on their faces.
"Good catch, Harry!" Dean shouted as he reached over and patted his back.
"Wicked!" Ron said as he grinned at Harry. "It's good to see that you won't be going to the hospital wing this time."
The team laughed as they noticed a small crowd heading over towards them. Harry smiled as he saw Hermione running towards him, her hair damp from the rain and a large smile across her face. He opened up his arms and she jumped into them, wrapping hers around his neck and planting a soft kiss on his lips.
"Oh not this again," Ron groaned as Nancy came over and gave him a tight hug, causing his face turn bright red.
"Who's talking now?" Ginny asked with a grin. Ron gave his sister an icy glare as Nancy released him.
Harry broke their kiss and gave Hermione a quick peck, his arms tightening around her. He turned his head and gave Seamus a bright smile. "Good save back there, Seamus. If it weren't for you, we would of lost that one for sure."
"Oh, it's nothing," Seamus replied quietly. Though before he could say another word, a crowd of smiling students ran up and started to complement him.
Harry smiled at Hermione before he turned and looked at Seamus again; glad to see that he finally felt like he was a part of the team.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
The Great Hall was filled with laughing and smiling students. Today was Valentine's Day and the students were excited because they would have an opportunity to go to Hogsmeade that evening. The trays in the center of the long tables were filled with heart-shaped sweets and the soft giggle of girls could be heard throughout the hall as they read through their Valentine cards.
Harry groaned as he looked down at his bowl of porridge, Hermione rubbing his back gently. After Professor Dumbeldore learned that Harry was the target of the mountain trolls' attack on the castle on Christmas Eve, he had prohibited Harry from leaving the castle. Hermione teased him every now and then about leaving him alone at the castle so she could go to Hogsmeade with Ron and Nancy, but always stopped when she noticed that Harry was starting to believe her.
"It won't be that bad," Ron said as he tossed a heart-shaped cookie into his mouth.
"It'll just be the same old thing," Hermione added as she leaned against him.
"I know," Harry replied as he swirled his spoon through his porridge. "It's just all the restrictions that Dumbledore has on me. I can't even go to the bathroom if I don't have someone escorting me."
"Don't worry, Ron and I will get sweets for you and Hermione at Honeydukes," Nancy smiled as she opened her bag and pulled out a large stack of Valentine cards.
"Who are all those from?" Ron asked as he nearly choked on another cookie.
"A bunch of people," Nancy replied as she started to look through the pile.
Harry and Hermione grinned to each other when they noticed the irritated expression on Ron's face. Nancy, too, noticed this, but couldn't help but play with him a little bit more. She picked up a card and opened it, softly giggling as she read it.
"So…who's that from?" Ron asked as he looked over at her, his face tense.
"It's from a boy in my N.E.W.T. Transfiguration class," she replied as she placed the card back down on the table. "He's a really sweet boy."
"That's nice to know," Ron said with an uninterested voice, his eyes never leaving the card.
"Oh Ron," Hermione exclaimed as she smiled at him. "She's only egging you on."
Harry, Hermione, and Nancy laughed, but Ron refused to join in. The four left the Great Hall and made their way to their next classes. Nancy waved to the three as she made her way up a set of stairs, Ron still with a pouting expression on his face. Though when he noticed her blowing him a kiss, his heart started working again and he was wearing his usual smile.
The three made their way out of the castle and walked over across the grounds towards Hagrid's hut for their Care of Magical Creatures lesson. When they got there, they saw several students talking about plans for the evening, while others sat on the wet grass and patiently waited for the class to start.
"`Lo, yeh three," Hagrid smiled as he exited his hut. "How are yers?"
"Pretty well," Hermione smiled as Harry wrapped his arm around her waist.
"Tha's good," Hagrid replied as he walked over towards the back of his hut and picked up a large wooden box. "It's good to see yeh three."
"What's in the box, Hagrid?" Harry asked as the half-giant placed the box on the ground several feet in front of him. The three could smell a very pleasant aroma escaping from it, almost as if the box was filled with women's perfume.
"You'll see, Harry," Hagrid smiled as he waited patiently for the rest of the class to join them. Within minutes, all the students had gather around and Hagrid gave them all a big smile before he started. "`Lo class. Yehs know tha' today is a special day, so we'll be lookin' at some really special creatures."
Hagrid walked over to the large box and pulled out a large white ball of fur. All the girls immediately took a step forward when they saw what it was. It was a white creature that resembled a large rabbit. However it had small round ears like a mouse with a dark brown nose. It had short claws on its paws and a black-and-white stripped tail that instinctively wrapped around Hagrid's wrist.
"These here are Co'on Lures," Hagrid smiled as he started to pet the white creature.
It started to shudder, almost as if it was purring, causing an incredibly pleasing aroma to fill the air. Harry took in a deep breath and found it incredibly intoxicating. His eyes focused on Hermione's smiling face and soon focused on her pink lips. He swallowed hard and couldn't fight off this strange urge to kiss her. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss, which caused many heads to turn.
Hagrid snickered to himself as he stopped petting the cotton lure. "These creatures are special cus fer their smells. They are real friendly, an' if yehs are nice to it, it will let ou' a very nice smell. The smell is an enchantmen'.
"Have yehs all hear' the tales of Muggles who fall in love cus they were stuck by Cupid's arrows?" Hagrid paused and looked around at a lot of the nodding students and continued. "I don' know if Cupid is real, bu' some of `em couples were near these here co'on lures. Men in love do funny things when they smell `em. Just like Harry."
Harry and Hermione turned a deep red as they watched the students turn and grin towards them. Harry looked up at Hagrid and smiled softly when he saw the half-giant was barely able to contain his amusement for pointing out him and Hermione.
"Well then what else are they good for?" a snide voice asked. Hagrid turned to find Malfoy and his cronies standing in the back of the class, all of them wearing their bored expressions. "I mean…a creature that just smells good can't be all that important."
"Well, these co'on lures are very importan'. Their blood is used in many love potions an' perfumes," Hagrid replied as his eyes narrowed on Malfoy.
"So it would be really important to you, Malfoy," Ron snickered as he looked over at him. "I reckon you'd have to use a potion to get a girlfriend."
The class started to laugh as Malfoy and his cronies took a menacing step forward. However, they halted when he noticed a very unapproved look on Hagrid's face. Malfoy stood his ground and crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing on Ron.
"Yehs mus' be careful with `em. Don' provoke `em or pull their tails," Hagrid said as he placed the cotton lure on the soft grass.
It released Hagrid's wrist and it started to hop toward to a bunch of girls standing in the front. They all giggled as they knelt down and started to pat its back, causing the intoxicating aroma to fill the air again.
Hermione looked up at Harry and found him shaking his head, his eyes looking completely glazed over. She smiled at him and gave him a tight hug, causing him to lean down and kiss her again.
"Will you two stop that?" Ron retorted as he looked over at his two friends. "Don't either of you have a shred of decency?"
"I can't help it," Harry replied as he broke the soft kiss. "That smell just makes me want to kiss her."
Ron snickered to him as he gave him a lopsided grin, one of his eyebrows raised. "You'll take any excuse to kiss her, won't you?"
"Now, if yehs all gather in groups of three. I have `nough co'on lures fer all of yehs," Hagrid smiled as he walked over to the box and pulled out several more cotton lures. "Today, yehs all will be feedin' `em. They like ter eat fruits, so I gots plen'y of apples, oranges, strawberries, and plums."
Hagrid quickly moved over to his hut and brought out the four buckets of fruit. He placed the buckets next to students and started to hand them different fruits. The cotton lures started to hop over to the different groups, looking up at the students with its brown noses wiggling. All the girls immediately kneeled down and started playing with them, causing more of the pleasant smell to saturate the air.
Harry tried his best to hold his breath, causing Hermione and Ron to laugh a bit. They looked towards the groups and noticed a cotton lure sitting on its own, not wanting to approach the students. Hermione smiled at the two boys and they made their way over to it, only to find it moving away from them.
"Oh, yeh three be'er be careful with tha' one," Hagrid sighed as he walked over to them.
"What's wrong with it, Hagrid?" Hermione asked as she watched the cotton lure shudder.
"The poor tyke…I found it a few years back," Hagrid replied as he placed his hands on his waist. "Its family were killed by hun'ers, so I reckon it don' like us much."
"Oh the poor thing," Hermione said with a sympathetic voice as she knelt down and stuck her hand softly out to the shivering creature.
"Yeh bes' be careful," Hagrid smiled as he handed Harry and Ron several different fruits. "If co'on lures are provoked, they let out a bad smell. I hear it can knock a man out fer hours."
"That's good to know," Harry replied as he knelt down next to Hermione and handed her a strawberry. The cotton lure's nose started to twitch, and it slowly started to move towards them.
"Okay, yehs three look like yeh'll do fine," Hagrid smiled as he gave Ron a hard pat on his back, nearly causing him to fall over, and made his way over towards the other students.
"Look, it's coming," Hermione whispered to the two as the cotton lure slowly made its way over to them.
"Now hold your breath Harry," Ron said with a snicker as he tossed one of the strawberries in to his mouth. "You snogging with Hermione may provoke it."
Hermione shot him a quick look as she continued to wave the strawberry in front of the cotton lure. It continued to make its way over to them, until its nose touched the strawberry. Hermione placed the strawberry on the ground and they all smiled as they watched it eat it, a soft form of the pleasant smell leaving its body.
Harry was happy that the aroma this cotton lure was emitting wasn't as potent as the others, allowing him to keep his emotions under control. He then placed another strawberry on the grass a bit closer than the one Hermione had placed, and the cotton lure moved hesitantly closer to eat it. Hermione gently stuck out her hand and patted the creature's head.
"It's so soft," Hermione cooed as she placed another strawberry down a bit closer than the last one. The cotton lure moved closer, giving Ron and Harry a chance to softly pet it.
The cotton lure started to purr and Harry could smell the same potent aroma that he had earlier. He tried to hold his breath, but the intoxicating aroma had founds its way inside him causing him to feel the urge to kiss Hermione again. However before he could react upon it, the three heard a bunch of students start coughing.
Hermione picked up their cotton lure in her arms as the three stood and looked over to see several students moving away from Malfoy. He was lying on his back with a look of complete shock on his face. The three took a step forward, but immediately took a step back when they were hit by the worst smelling stench they have ever smelled in their lives.
Harry had to take several steps back to stop himself from gagging, shaking his head several times. He watched Hagrid hold his nose and quickly made his way over to the fallen Malfoy. He looked down to find a cotton lure shaking violently and squeaking at Malfoy.
"Wha' happened?" Hagrid asked as he turned to face the other students.
"He pulled on its tail," Parvati gasped as she held her nose with her fingers, causing her voice to drop several pitches. "It then started to squeal and it let out that smell."
"Oh," Hagrid groaned as he released an aggravated sigh. He lifted a limp Malfoy up and draped him over his shoulder. "I'll be back in a bit, yehs all keep feeding `em."
"Now that is embarrassing," Ron snickered as he watched Hagrid carry Malfoy up to the castle. He turned and to his dismay, found Harry kissing Hermione again with their cotton lure purring gently. Ron dropped his head as he walked back towards the crowd of students. "I tell you…no decency whatsoever."
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
"So you two have fun," Hermione smiled as she waved at Ron and Nancy.
"You sure you won't want to bring a cotton lure with you?" Harry suggested to Ron with a grin on his face.
"Cotton lure? What's that?" Nancy asked as she looked at Ron.
"It's nothing…we'll see you two later," Ron quickly answered as he gently took Nancy's hand and quickly walked out of the common room.
Harry and Hermione looked around and found that the common room was empty. The two made their way to their favorite armchair and took a seat with Hermione on Harry's lap. Harry smiled at her as he pulled out his wand and summoned his Transfiguration book to them from a nearby table.
He caught the book and handed it to Hermione. She opened it to the chapter they needed to read for their next class and placed the book on her lap. The two sat quietly and read to themselves, pointing out a few facts to each other every now and then. When they were both done with a page, Hermione would turn it to the next and they would continue.
Harry occasionally peaked at her and smiled when he saw how intently she was studying everything she was reading. Her eyes would move slowly across the page, her fingers pointing to several bold keywords. He noticed that she would occasionally close her eyes and bit her lower lip softly when she was committing something to her memory. Harry swallowed hard as he focused his attention on her soft lips.
She noticed Harry's gaze and she looked at him with a curious expression. He ran his fingers through her hair gently, which caused her to lean closer against him.
"You done with the page?" Hermione asked as her fingers moved over to flip the page.
Harry nodded and she turned it, moving her eyes slowly again as she read through the page. Harry smiled softly as he looked back at the page and forced himself to concentrate on it, trying his best to stop peaking at the beautiful girl sitting on his lap.
Hermione finished the page and glanced at Harry. She noticed that his eyes were intense as if he was burning a hole through the book. He would occasionally use his left hand to push his glasses against the ridge of his nose as he read, his right hand gently playing with her hair.
She took a deep breath and realized that she could never study with Harry. There was no possible way she could concentrate on anything with him sitting there. She let out a soft sigh as she closed the book, confusing Harry by her actions.
"Something wrong?" he asked as he looked into her eyes.
"Nothing's wrong," she answered she dropped the book on the floor. She gave him an inviting smile as she leaned forward and kissed him.
Harry's heart started beating faster and faster as he felt the rush of indescribable feelings consume his body. He wrapped his left arm around her, and gently pulled her head closer to him with his right hand, deepening the kiss. The warmth of her body, the incredible sensations of her lips, the feeling of complete security, Harry could stay there with her in his arms and her lips locked with his forever.
"Oh my, you two!" they heard a girl squealed.
They broke their kiss, their cheeks flushed as they looked over to find a startled Parvati Patil and a gaping Lavender Brown. Parvati took a step forward and crossed her arms. "I mean honestly. I thought Ron was only joking about you two not having decency, but he was clearly right."
"The common room is a non-snogging place, you two," Lavender smiled as she contained her giggles.
"Go get yourselves a room if you wish to continue such indecent behaviors," Parvati added as she realized her soft laugh.
Hermione gave them a bright grin as the two waved and left the common room, giving the couple their privacy. Harry looked at her and let out a soft sigh. He leaned in to kiss her again, but she got off his lap before he had a chance. She took him by the hand and he took stood from the armchair. She gave him a sweet smile as she pulled him towards the portrait door of the common room.
"What's going on?" Harry asked as followed her out of the common room.
"I talked with Dobby earlier when you were in your Muggle Studies class with Ron," she replied as she looked down at her watch. It read quarter passed eight.
"What you talk to him about?" he asked her curiously as she led him towards the Great Hall, her pace slightly increasing.
"It's a surprise," she smiled back as they passed the doors of the Great Hall. "I wrote to my mum about this and she suggested we do this together."
"What is `this'?" Harry asked hesitantly as they stopped in front of the large portrait of fruit that led to the school's kitchen.
She tickled the pear and it giggled until it turned into a green handle. She pulled on it and led Harry inside. They found Dobby smiling at them and a bunch of items on the table that would send food up to the Gryffindor table.
"Dobby is so happy to see Harry Potter sir with his girlie," Dobby smiled as he ran over to Harry and gave his leg a hug.
"It's nice to see you too Dobby," Harry replied as he patted Dobby on his back.
Dobby released his leg and looked up to Hermione. "Dobby has done everything miss has asked of me," Dobby said dignifiedly as he straightened his posture.
"That's great Dobby. I'll take over from here," she nodded and Dobby took his cue. He waved at Harry and quickly ran out the door at the back of the kitchen.
"What's all this about?" Harry asked curiously as they made their way to the table. Harry looked at the items and realized that they were ingredients for something. He turned to Hermione as she opened a large book and started flipping through the pages.
"Here we are," she smiled as she found the page she was looking for. She turned to him with a big smile. "We're going to make sugar cookies."
"Make?" Harry responded even more confused when he first entered the kitchen. "How are we going to make them?"
"With our hands, silly," Hermione smiled as she read over the instructions. "My mum said that its one of the most fun things a couple can do."
"Hermione," Harry said with a weak voice. "I don't really know how to bake?"
"Haven't you ever cooked for the Dursleys?" she asked, not looking away from the instructions.
"I sometimes cook for them…well it's more like the sometimes force me to cook for them," he answered as he started to look through all the ingredients on the table. "They would worry that I'd tried to poison them or something. I was mainly ordered to serve them the food. Aunt Petunia did most of the cooking. Besides, I've never baked before."
"Well it'll be fun," she insisted as she gave him a friendly nudge with her shoulder. "I have a little experience with cooking. I did help my dad every now and then when it was his turn to cook dinner."
"Hermione, we don't have an oven in here," Harry noticed when he looked around at all the kitchen, his eyes focusing on the pots, pans, and plates, but nothing that resembled a Muggle oven.
"I asked Dobby about that," she replied a she looked up and pointed at the large brick fireplace. "He said that we could use the fireplace and it should be okay, since that is what the house-elves use to make cookies."
"Hermione, you know I would really love to do this with you," Harry started looking into Hermione's dark brown eyes, "but I don't want to mess anything up."
"Oh silly," she smiled as she gave him a quick peck on his lips. "It'll be fine. It'll just be like potions class again."
Harry gulped at the idea and looked down at the recipe in the large book. He smiled at her and replied in a sarcastic voice, "And that was definitely one of my best subjects."
She giggled at him and gave him another quick kiss as she looked back at the recipe book. "Okay…hmmm…first we cream the shortening."
"Cream the what?" Harry asked as he looked at the ingredients in front of him.
"Don't worry about it," Hermione replied as she pulled out a wand and summoned over several bowls and the needed kitchen utensils. "I'll do that, you just separate two eggs into this bowl and stir it with this."
She handed him an eggbeater and he graciously accepted it with a grin. He took two rather large eggs and cracked them both, allowing the contents to drop into the bowl. He picked up the eggbeater and started to swirl the eggs, his mind focusing as hard as it could on the task. Harry knew that it was a relatively easy one and he has done it before, but he didn't want to upset Hermione by not being able to accomplish the simplest of tasks in the kitchen.
They worked quietly as the assembled all their ingredients into one large bowl. Hermione added the flour as Harry added the proper amounts the sugar and milk. Hermione had to stop Harry a few times when he accidentally mistook the difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon. Harry couldn't help but admit it that Hermione's mother was right about this activity being fun.
When they were done, Harry summoned over two large cookie sheets. The two mixed the ingredients with large wooden spoons, occasionally having a small spoon fight in the bowl causing a bit of the batter to splatter on their robes. They then started to pour globs of the batter onto the cookie sheets and used their wands to mold the cookies into the shape of hearts.
Upon accomplishing that task, they walked over to the large fireplace and carefully placed the trays inside. The two moved back to the table and started to clean up the small mess they made. Harry smiled as he looked at Hermione, a bit of flour had made its way onto her face, whitening her cheeks.
"Eight or so minutes and we should be all done," she smiled as she looked at Harry. She noticed his look and started to touch her face. "Is there something on me?"
"Just some flour," Harry replied, unable to hold back on his laughter.
"Oh really," Hermione replied with a sinister grin, causing Harry to feel a bit uneasy.
Though before he had time to guess what, Hermione flung a handful of flour at him, it hitting directly in the face, his glasses turning white.
"Now that was uncalled for," Harry said with a low tone as he wiped his glasses with his hands. "You do realize that this of course means war."
"You wouldn't dare," Hermione said with a trembling voice as she slowly backed away from him. Harry gave her an evil grin as picked up a handful of flour. "Harry Potter, you put that flour down."
Harry flung it at her, causing the white powder to fly everywhere. She shook her head, causing the flour to fall from her face and her hair.
She then gave him a very sad look. "You know, I was trying to be the mature one, but obviously diplomacy isn't going to work here."
Harry quickly moved his hands in front of his face as Hermione hurled another handful of flour at him. He smiled at her at as he slowly lowered herself. She started to giggle as she quickly backed away from him. Harry bolted after Hermione, and she squealed as she quickly turned and ran for the end of the table.
"I'm going to get you, Granger," Harry smirked as Hermione made her way around the table.
"It'll take a lot more than your Seeker skills to catch me," Hermione responded as she stuck out her tongue at him. He started to move towards the end of the table, but Hermione slowly moved, making her way down the opposite side of the table.
A light bulb went off in Harry's head as he took a step towards his left, causing Hermione, in turn, to run towards her left. Harry suddenly jumped onto the table and chased after her. Hermione let out a soft scream as she quickly hopped onto the table next to the Gryffindors. Harry instantly jumped onto the table and reached out his arms, wrapping them around her.
She tried to wiggle out his arms, but Harry refused to let her go. Harry tried to take a step back, but his shoe slipped on something, causing him to fall onto his back with Hermione on top of him. Harry let out a groan, causing Hermione to quickly turn so that she was looking at him.
"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked with a worried voice as she rolled off him.
"It's nothing, just hurt my shoulder a bit," Harry replied as he slowly rotated it.
"I'm sorry," she said as she started to massage it gently with her hand.
"It's okay," he insisted as he moved his right hand and gently touched her flour-covered cheek.
Hermione smiled back at him as she rolled back on top of him, allowing her weight to rest on him again. She looked into his green eyes and he gave her a soft smile. She brushed some of the flour out his hair as she leaned down and firmly placed her lips on his.
Harry closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her as she softly deepened the kiss. Her hands moved up and rested on his cheeks, softly rubbing them and feeling the powdery texture of the flour. Harry's mind was racing again as the sensations came back to him. He loved the sensations that he experienced when he kissed Hermione, and knew that he could never get tired or bored with them.
"Excuse Harry Potter, sir," they heard a small voice come from beside them. They broke their kiss and looked at Dobby, holding their trays of cookies in his gloved hands. "Your cookies are ready sir. Dobby will leave them on the table."
"Thanks Dobby," Hermione replied with a sigh of relief to see that their cookies had turned out all right. She started to move herself off of Harry, but his arms remained tightly wrapped around her. She looked back into his eyes and gave him a soft smile as she leaned down again, giving him another deep kiss.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Hermione and Harry sat quietly in their armchair together, wearing their pajamas, eating their cookies, and enjoying the warmth of the fire. Hermione had snuggled on Harry's lap, resting her head against his chest, quietly eating a cookie. Harry had his left arm wrapped around her, breathing in the fresh scent of her shampoo. He had to admit that their cookies tasted really good and as he took a small bite out of one.
"Be sure to thank your mum for me," Harry smiled as he leaned down and kissed the side of her head, her hair still a little damp from her quick shower.
"For what?" Hermione asked as she sat up and looked into his eyes.
"Making these cookies with you was a lot of fun," he replied as he gave her a tight squeeze.
She smiled at him and leaned forward, their lips fitting perfectly together. Harry almost smiled to himself when he was able to taste the sugar on her lips.
They separated when they heard the portrait door open. They looked around the armchair and watched a mass of happy and giggling students enter. Harry and Hermione smiled at each other when they realized that it was the students returning from their trip to Hogsmeade.
The two patiently waited for Ron and Nancy to appear, but were somewhat stunned to find the two completely red and angry. Ron made his way over to Harry and Hermione and sat himself on the floor, crossing his arms irritably, as Nancy made her way over to the other armchair and sat down with a scowl look on her face.
"What happened?" Hermione asked as she looked from Nancy to Ron.
"Oh nothing," Nancy said with an aggravated voice. "He was just telling me about how much he liked Fleur Delacour."
"You told her about that?" Hermione asked with a shocked expression on her face as she turned towards Ron.
"She asked me and I answered," Ron replied with his hands up in the air. "I mean…I was just being honest!"
"Why does it upset you so much?" Harry asked curiously. Nancy and Hermione shot him a look and he stuck up one of his hands to defend himself. "I'm sorry, I was just being curious."
"Fleur was one of my best friends at Beauxbaton, but she was also one of my rivals…oh never mind," Nancy growled as she got up from her armchair and sat down on the couch next to Harry and Hermione's armchair, glaring at Ron.
"Oh," Hermione said as she let out a soft sigh and gently rubbed Nancy's shoulder. "Well…umm…Ron didn't know any better."
"I didn't know what?" Ron shot up as he looked at Nancy. "I was being honest…isn't that what a girl wants?"
"It is Ron…" Hermione tried to explain but didn't know how to convey it to him. "It's just…"
"It's okay, Hermione…there is no point in trying to explain," Nancy said with a defeated sigh as she rested her head against the side of Hermione and Harry's chair.
An eerie silence fell upon them. Ron was infuriated and refused to look at Nancy, while Nancy with a more hurtful than angered expression refused to look at Ron. Harry and Hermione looked at the two, feeling completely speechless on how to get the two to talk to each other. The two looked at each other and gave each other a soft smile.
"Want a cookie?" Hermione whispered to Nancy as she handed offered her plate full of cookies that she and Harry had just baked.
Nancy looked confused for a second but she softly giggled as she took one.
"I told you to bring a cotton lure," Harry whispered to Ron with a lopsided grin.
Ron looked back up at Harry and started to snicker as he leaned back onto the floor and placed his hands behind his head.