waite waite 4 9 2003-05-28T10:43:00Z 2003-09-06T13:48:00Z 1 1779 10145 plymouth 84 23 11901 10.2625 Clean Clean MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
Forgiven
Chapter 7.
Hermione wrung her hands nervously as she wandered back towards Gryffindor Tower, she trudged dismally up the stairs towards Harry's room and knocked lightly on the door half hoping he wouldn't hear so she could just slink away. Unfortunately he yanked open the door and grabbed her around the hips pulling her into the room excitedly. He pressed a kiss to her lips and drew back his hands still around her waist.
"Well?" He said expectantly. Hermione swallowed and pulled out of his grip. She sat down on the edge of his bed and fiddled anxiously with the deep burgundy duvet. Harry frowned and dropped down next to her.
"What's up? Did he find you out?" He asked catching her hands in his to stop her idly pulling the threads out of the hem. Hermione looked offended for a split second.
"No he did not." She scoffed, before looking away again.
"Come on then. Spill, what did you learn?" He asked. Hermione shifted on the bed.
"Uh…" She faltered searching for a way to put it into words. "Well…you see…" She began. Harry arched an eyebrow.
"That bad huh?" He said eyeing her nervous posture. Hermione shrugged hopelessly and bit her lip, a tiny movement that Harry found incredibly sexy. She straightened up and took a deep breath.
"Okay Harry, this isn't gonna be pretty." She said bluntly, "Cho is going to sell the story of you losing your virginity to her, to the press. I can't think of anyways to stop her unless we manage to scrape up something about her or - " Hermione was babbling, she was shattered, she had to admit it. She knew Harry had slept with Cho, it just had to have happened one of those numerous past curfew nights they had spent together, Ron had as good as told her. She had managed to avoid thinking about it but Cho's cunning plan had brought it too light. Harry raised his eyebrows at her and began to speak.
"Hermione," He said, but she cut in.
"You don't have to explain yourself to me Harry." She blurted, "I mean I knew something would have happened all those late nights, I'm not stupid you know…"
"I didn't sleep with her." Harry said shortly. Hermione froze midstream of words and stared at him.
"Really?"
"Really." He said seriously. "So her plan can't work." He added. Hermione stayed silent chewing on her bottom lip, making Harry fight hard not to push her back among the pillows and kiss her senseless.
"'Mione?" He asked quietly, "You alright?"
"Yes. I'm fine. I just thought you two had, you know." She said looking at him.
"Nah." Harry shook his head. "Even when I was really into her, I kind of held back. Now I know why." He said. Hermione rose her eyebrows innocently,
"Why?" She asked.
"I was waiting for someone else." He said flashing her a wicked grin. She grinned back and kissed him lightly.
"Oh really?" She giggled as Harry pushed her back onto the bed,
"Really." He growled huskily covering her mouth with his. His tongue ran along her bottom lip, before entering her mouth and tracing every tiny place. Hermione sighed into his mouth, her hands running through his hair and her heels digging pleasurably into the mattress. Her hands ran down his back before skimming around to splay across his chest, where she pushed lightly breaking the contact. She chuckled as Harry drew back looking slightly dazed, his emerald eyes groggy and unfocused, his lips swollen.
"So, I have an idea on how to get her back…" She whispered smiling corruptly. Harry arched his eyebrows and listened.
"You're doing this to get me back!" Harry whined at Hermione as she chivvied him towards the library.
"No I am not." She scolded him lightly. "I'm doing this cause it is a most horrific way to get Cho back for her crimes." She said sniggering.
"Plus I had to be bait for you already, it's your turn." She added. Harry glowered, but Hermione planted a kiss on his pouting lips.
"Right, you know what you have to do yes?" She probed watching him intently for any signs of his confidence wavering. Harry shrugged.
"Yes, yes, okay! See you at dinner." He said with a grin, he turned and entered the library. He weaved through the clusters of studying students until he spotted Cho sitting alone in a secluded corner. He headed over to her.
"Hey." He murmured dropping into a seat beside her. He noticed the flicker of irritation pass over her face before she hitched up a bright smile.
"Hey honey." She said offering him her cheek for a kiss. Harry obligingly dropped a light kiss to her temple; he let his lips linger next to her ear and whispered huskily.
"You want to go somewhere more private?" He murmured. Cho drew back looking annoyed.
"You've been ignoring me." She reprimanded him, "What was that big argument you had with Granger?" Harry shrugged trying to look sheepish.
"Then you blew me off last night!" She snapped brattily. Harry fought the temptation to roll his eyes and mustered an apologetic smile; he leant back in to her ear.
"Let me make it up to you?" He asked letting his lips brush her ear lobe lightly. Cho flinched then she arched one immaculately shaped eyebrow at him.
"Well… you can try." She said airily, letting Harry pull her from her seat. He slung his arm across her shoulder and swaggered across the library. They wandered down a few deserted corridors before Harry ducked into a door pulling Cho with him. She glanced around irritably.
"Where are we?" She barked.
"Great Hall." Harry replied beginning to nuzzle her neck, attempting to seem enthusiastic. She pushed his off forcefully.
"Why?" She demanded. Harry looked at her.
"I'm ready Cho." He said making his voice sound gravely and passion filled. Cho started, and then managed to regain her composure; Harry could practically see her mind working. This is it, how much am I gonna get for my story again? He had to fight hard to keep himself from scowling angrily, and to disguise it he whispered.
"Are you up for it?" Cho looked at him and reaching out she grabbed a handful of robes at his throat, just as she was about to reel him in a smash her mouth to his, she frowned quizzically.
"Again, why are we in here?" She asked.
"I want my first time to be memorable. I mean this is the Great Hall." He said meaningfully, watching in irritation as she mentally added a couple of zeros to the figure in her head.
"Great idea." She purred, pulling him into a dark nook in the wall behind a tapestry.
Harry heard the first few people begin to trickle into the hall, and he swallowed nervously, contemplating whether he could go through with the plan. Deciding Cho definitely deserved her fate, owing to her selfish and cruel ideas and the consequences they nearly had. Harry twisted his head away from Cho's wet kisses, which she then began to plaster over his torso. He moved his arm fractionally careful not to attract her attention and flicked it at her bundle of clothes, reducing them to a matchbox sized scrap of cloth. Then he pushed her naked body lightly of him and whispered angrily.
"I'm sorry about this Cho. But I don't particularly want my first time to be in the papers. And actually, come to think of it, I don't want it to be with you." He snapped angrily, flicking his wand at his clothes, which magically zoomed back onto his physique. Cho stared at him open mouthed, unable to speak. Harry frowned, and dropped quickly to his knees to pick up the scrap of cloth which he stuffed in his pocket.
"Hey, it could be worse Cho." He said light heartedly, "I mean, you might get in the papers for this o your own. I can see the headline now, 'Hogwarts Student Caught Naked in Hall'" He grinned and with a wave he ducked out from the tapestry leaving a furious Cho stuttering incompetently, trying to figure out what had just happened. After a few minutes she glanced around, noticing in horror her clothes were gone. She simmered wrathfully and standing up she grabbed a section of tapestry, she peeked out into the hall. It was now full to the brim with hungry students tucking into their evening meal. She gritted her teeth in fury.
Harry plopped down next to Hermione who had just finished explaining the recent events to Ron. Both heads snapped expectantly to him as he took a long drink from his goblet.
"Harry!" Hermione squealed finally unable to contain herself any longer. "How'd it go?" She shrieked. Harry didn't answer but a wide grin spread across his face and he dug in his pocket and laid the tiny robe and minute corduroy skirt and tee shirt out on the table in front of his two best friends. Ron goggled at them, and then burst into hysterical laughter, which attracted a lot of attention.
"Ron!" Hermione said nudging him, "Shut up!" She said fighting hard not to dissolve into laughter too. She stared at Harry.
"Where is she?" She asked. Harry pointed his finger at the tapestry at the front of the hall. Hermione and Ron squinted intently at it, after a few minutes it twitched and they saw the merest flash of a face. Ron glanced at Harry.
"C'mon then mate. Finish it off." He said simply looking at him keenly. Harry paused,
"I dunno… is it too cruel?" He asked. Hermione and Ron's thunderstruck faces appeared to suggest it was not. So with a sigh in resignation Harry subtly directed his wand at the tapestry's top fastening, and muttered a spell. In what to the trio, seemed like slow motion, the tapestry fell the long distance to the ground, revealing a very shocked and very naked Cho Chang. She screamed loudly, making every head in the hall on each of the four long house table, and the staff table snap towards her. She went beet red, and ducked, straightening with an armful of ancient, dusty material to keep her modesty. The hall erupted in noise. Uproarious laughter mingled with cat calls, shocked yells, squeals from Cho's little gaggle of girlfriends. Cho stood static for a few moments before clutching the tapestry around her; she ran between the tables towards the doors. However the broken metal pole that had attached the tapestry to the ceiling caught on the edge of the Slytherin table, wrenching the material abruptly free of her grasp and sending her flying through the air. She picked herself up, flushing an even deeper red, and now possibly not only her pride was wounded as she sprinted the last distance completely naked, amid roars of laughter. Hermione, Harry and Ron were amongst many people with tears streaming down their faces in mirth. Hermione struggled to regain her breath.
"Just goes to show her, she shouldn't mess with Potter and Granger." She said helplessly giving in to another peal of laughter. Ron snorted.
"Yeah remind me to never get on your collective wrong side." He sniggered.
"Couldn't have hatched that master plan without you." Harry said to Hermione, his eyes dancing over her laughter flushed face and tousled hair. She shrugged.
"Anytime." She chuckled. Harry leant across and pushed a stray curl away from her eyes, his emerald pools simmered and unable to resist, he kissed her. Hermione tilted her head, loving the feeling of his lips on hers, before she realised where she was, and who she was sitting next to. She pulled back, shooting a worried glance at Ron. He looked slightly stunned, but it slowly passed and a smile spread across his face.
"I thought you were a bit over emotional about the whole Cho thing 'Mione." He kidded grinning.
"I just hope you'd care that much if it was me." He added. Hermione punched him playfully.
"Course I would!" She retorted. Ron rolled his eyes at the pair's still nervous expression.
"What do you want me to say? You're a cute couple?" He joked.
"Nah, we already know that." Harry said with a grin at Ron, he wound his hands around Hermione and pressed his lips back to hers.
The End
What do you think? Did Cho get humiliated enough? Please leave me some final reviews J