Chapter 8
Harry POV
I wake up feeling sore and sticky. Groaning as I stretch my aching limbs and freezing when I realize the bed is cold next to me. I sit up on my elbows looking around for Hermione. I’m about to panic when I see her sitting on the small loveseat, leaning back against the armrest, and gazing out the window. I sigh, sagging with relief.
“What’re you doing over there?” I ask, my voice hoarse with sleep. I slide my glasses on and she flicks her eyes to me.
“You were snoring Harry.” She says with a grin.
I laugh. “Yeah right,” I say, shoving the covers off and standing. Yawning as I stretch once more. I glance back at her, and she’s flushed. Her cheeks tinted pink as she looks me up and down. I cock a brow at her, smirking as she checks me out unabashedly. She groans then turns to look back out the window. I chuckle at her obvious distress.
I tug on my sweatpants and saunter over to her. My body buzzes with excitement. I slide in behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist, and pull her to my chest. Nuzzling into her neck, I breathe deeply, basking in her sweet scent. She relaxes back into me and places her small hands on mine. I sigh, kissing her cheek. I feel light. Like a weight has been lifted off my chest.
It’s still early. Ron will probably wake soon, then hopefully we can head home after breakfast. We seriously need to talk. I’m dying to know what that beautiful mind is thinking. We sit in silence for a few minutes, watching the day break.
“Harry?” She mutters, playing with my fingers.
“Mhm?”
“We’re okay, right? We’re still friends?” She asks quietly.
I sigh. “We’re okay Hermione. You’re still my best friend. That’ll never change.” I say resting my chin on her shoulder.
She lets out a breath. “Okay. As your friend I can tell you this… You stink Harry.” She says wrinkling her nose and hiding her smile. I bark out a laugh and tickle her sides in retaliation. She giggles, squirming as I tickle her everywhere.
“Stop! Harry!” She says between laughs. I chuckle and slide out from behind her.
“That’s what you get.” I say walking to the bathroom. My cheeks ache from smiling so much. I chuck off my sweatpants, throwing them behind me, and smirk as I feel her eyes burning into my back.
I turn on the shower, sighing as the warm water soothes my aching muscles. Thankful Ron had the foresight to put soap in here. I scrub my skin of all sweat and grime as my mind wanders to last night. How amazing it was. When I turned toward her stiff form, I couldn’t help myself. I just wanted to hold her. Maybe fall asleep with her in my arms. Her reaction to my light touches drove me wild. I’d had enough pretending. For days we acted like we could still be friends, but every part of me burned for her. It was like something else took over. Some outside force encouraging me to explore her body. It just felt right. Like it was meant to be. Nothing weird about it. No awkwardness, no uneasy feelings, just.. right.
Her small body fit perfectly with mine. Every desperate kiss, every thrust of my hips felt meant to be. I groan at the memory, my blood diverting south. I still can’t believe it. It feels like a fever dream; too good to be true. I close my eyes, trying and failing to shift my attention elsewhere. Not wanting to accost Hermione with a hard-on. I huff. To be fair, my dick has been hard all morning. All she has to do is look at me with those chocolate doe eyes and I’m panting for her.
I’ll just do my best to hide it, I think as I dry myself off with the only towel in here. My skin is extra sensitive. I peek a glance at myself in the mirror. My stubble is coming in kind of thick. I didn’t shave while Hermione was in Australia as I was too anxious to care. I wrap the towel around my hips and put my glasses on. My wet hair falls in front of my eyes.
The steam from the shower fogs up my glasses and I leave the bathroom wiping the frames on the towel. A sharp gasp sounds from the left. Placing my glasses back on my face so I can see more than a few globs, I find Hermione gaping at me still in her spot on the couch. Her eyes trailing down my front.
“Fuck, Harry.” She says breathily. My already hard length grows painful at the look on her face.
“Hermione.” I purr. “Keep looking at me like that and we’ll be in here all day,” I say smirking. She whimpers and squeezes her legs together. I groan. Oh hell. Just as I’m about to say fuck it and take her against the window, a loud knock shakes me from my thoughts.
“Harry, Hermione! Wakey wakey! Breakfast is almost ready!” Ron yells from behind the door. Merlin’s beard. Blowing out a breath, I run a hand through my hair willing my body to cooperate.
“Yeah, mate be there in a few!” I yell back. I meander to the nightstand, avoiding any eye contact with her, needing to control myself. I grab my wand and transfigure my sweatpants back into trousers. Then I Mutter a scorgify over my clothes. Thanking Godric that Ron’s voice kind of helped solve my situation down below.
I throw the towel to the side, not caring that Hermione is totally getting an eyeful right now. It’s nothing she hasn’t seen before. I put on my boxers before turning to ask her if she happens to have an extra toothbrush in her bag. I gasp when I realize just how close she is. Merely a foot in front of me, eyeing me hungrily.
“Hermione?” I whisper and her eyes shoot to my face as she trails her fingers slowly down my chest and stomach. I shiver at the feel and groan. Fuck me.
She gulps, suddenly stopping her explorations. Shaking her head as if to clear it, she then steps back.
“Sorry. Breakfast.” She whispers breathily. Turning on her heel, she heads to the bathroom. I let out a breath. This is going to be a really long day.
…...
Ron convinced us to stay a while longer at breakfast. He wanted to show us his shop and hang with us for the day. Guilting us into agreeing by saying we never hang out anymore. I caved immediately knowing he was right. And that while I’ve had Hermione these last few months, he’s been alone grieving his losses.
I’m getting antsy as the day drones by. My fingers twitching with the need to touch her again. Her muggle jeans are not helping the situation. They hug her in all the right places. Shit . I shake myself. I don’t want Ron to see me blatantly checking her out. Their short fling ended up being nothing serious, but I know him. He’ll flip out thinking I lied to him all those months ago when I said Hermione was like a sister. To be honest, I didn’t know. I’ve never had a sister. In my mind, Hermione’s my family. Plus, I never let those thoughts or feelings develop until recently. But that’s beside the point. Ron will still feel betrayed.
It’s getting close to dinner time and I’m exhausted. All I want to do is lay in my bed, snuggling with Hermione. I’m about to call it when Ron mentions buying us dinner. Hermione and I share a glance. She looks tired and her eyes silently plead we me to call it a night. We love Ron but we’ve been parading around all day. I sigh, we owe him. It’s only a few more hours.
“Alright Ron, but after dinner we’ve got to head out mate. I’m beat.”
He chuckles. “I know. I know. I’m sorry. That’s why I’m buying.”
We chat about our classes and how school’s going at dinner. Ron pouts when he hears how often we party at school now. Whining about how we never did that when he was there. I promise to invite him to the next one and he perks up at that. Finishing our dinner, Ron quickly pays before I can object.
As we leave the restaurant, we say our goodbyes. Ron whispers into my ear as we hug, “I’m glad you two are okay.”
I pull away furrowing my brow. What does he mean? Does he know? Shit. Did he hear us last night? I could’ve sworn we put up a silencio. He chuckles at my expression.
“I’m sorry for locking you guys in that closet, but I felt like it was necessary. You guys were so… stiff.” He says and I let out a relieved breath.
“Yeah. Thanks again, mate.” I say, my voice strained. He smiles, turning to Hermione, and pulling her in for a tight hug.
“It was good to see you ‘mione. I really missed you.”
I roll my eyes. Sometimes I think Ron still holds onto hope. Before it didn’t bother me, but now… It grinds my gears.
“Alright. Let’s go, Hermione.” I say, grabbing her arm, and pulling her away.
She squeaks in alarm. “Bye, Ron! See you later!” She says over her shoulder, waving.
We walk for a bit before stopping. I turn to her offering my hand. She takes it with a warm smile. We disapparate back to Hogwarts, landing with a grunt. I suddenly feel anxious. Are we going to talk about it? I don’t want to pretend anymore.
She threads our fingers together and pulls me forward. We’re silent as we walk to the doors. We both have a lot on our minds. It’s almost curfew so we head straight for the common room.
Muttering the password, she walks through the portrait. I pause, drawing in a deep breath before slowly following after her. Finding the place empty, she stops halfway to the stairs and turns to face me. Her eyes search mine. A raw need hits me as I look at her, cheeks flushed from the glass of wine she had at dinner, hair windblown and wild. She bites her lip. Groaning, I stroke her cheek with my thumb and tuck a curl behind her ear.
“So beautiful,” I whisper.
She whimpers, gripping my shirt and pulling me closer. I lean down and brush my lips with hers.
The portrait abruptly clicks open and I jerk away from her as several younger students walk in. Their conversations stutter out as they see us. Walking briskly up the stairs, they eye us curiously. Probably wondering why we both look like we’ve seen a ghost. Blowing out a breath, I rub the back of my neck and she fidgets with her bag.
“Right. I should be getting to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” She says, quickly turning to leave. I purse my lips as I watch her retreat to the stairs. What are we doing? I shake my head, deciding I’m not going to let her go this time. I quickly grab her arm and turn her around. She yelps as the momentum takes her right into my chest. I cup her cheeks. My heart racing as I look into her warm eyes. If she didn’t want this she would have said so by now, I think to calm myself.
Leaning in, I slowly press my lips to hers. She responds in kind, weaving her fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck. I kiss her hungrily. Her soft lips moving against my own. She moans, tugging on my hair. I slip my tongue into her mouth. The faint taste of mint on her tongue. Pouring everything I feel into her, deepening the kiss. After a few minutes, we pull apart, gasping for breath. I rest my forehead against hers.
“Fuck, I don’t want to stop Hermione. I- I know we said we wouldn’t, that we’d just be friends. But I- and after last night…” I sigh, unable to find the words.
She trails her hands down my chest, gazing into my eyes. “Don’t stop Harry. I don’t want you to stop.” She says breathlessly.
“This changes everything. You and me…” I whisper, tracing the line of her jaw with my fingertips. She sighs.
“Harry, If there’s one thing I’m sure about… It’s you.” Her eyes soften as she gazes up at me. I smile, pressing a quick kiss to her lips.
“Will you stay with me tonight? We don’t have to do anything. Just sleep.” I say, grabbing her hand on my chest. I kiss her palm, hoping she agrees. She grins and nods. I breathe a sigh of relief before leading her up the stairs to my room.
I plop down across the bed, watching her as she lays on her side facing me. I study her face and she bites her lip again.
“No. None of that.” I say, brushing my thumb over her lip. She sucks in a breath.
“I can’t concentrate when you look at me like that Hermione.” I groan, flopping onto my back and staring at the ceiling. She giggles and moves to straddle me.
“Hermione,” I growl, gripping her hips. “That’s worse,” I whine, my hands sliding down her thighs. “If I have to suffer another day watching you walk around in these bloody jeans without being able to touch you… I think I might explode.” I say, putting a hand behind my head.
She giggles again and her eyes crinkle as she smiles at me. I grin, taking a moment to appreciate her. She looks edible right now. Leaning down, she kisses me slowly, twirling her tongue with mine. I’ll never get bored of this. The way her lips feel against mine. The way my heart stops working every time she’s near. She grinds her hips over my aching cock and I break the kiss breathing heavily.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this.. And don’t get me wrong, I really want to do what that beautiful mind is thinking. Like… You don’t understand how much I want to do that again. But.. I think we need to talk first Hermione.”
She pouts before shifting off of me. I groan at the loss. Hating myself a little for opening my mouth.
“Well... Maybe you can stay here. Just no kissing. Or biting your lip. Or moving at all.” I say, pulling her back into my lap. I grab a pillow, sliding it under my head. Then I rest my hands on her thighs, thinking about that time Ron threw up slugs to deal with my predicament.
She watches my face. “This okay?” She asks, cocking a brow.
I chuckle. “Yes. I’m fine.”
She sighs, “So… we need to talk, yeah?”
“We do,” I say, my heart suddenly galloping in my chest. My nerves getting the best of me.
We had sex last night. Like full-on went all the way. Shagged like we were the last two people alive. No excuses this time. Yeah, we had a few drinks, but by the time we went to bed, we were stone-cold sober.
She closes her eyes and draws in a deep breath. “Harry…Last night was-”
I swallow, my throat tight as I wait for her to eviscerate my heart. She regrets it, doesn’t she? We got lost in the heat of the moment and she wants to take it back. My palms begin to sweat.
“Last night was what Hermione?” I croak.
She opens her eyes, gazing into mine, then cups my cheek.
“Harry… last night was the best night of my life.”
My heart stops and a strangled noise leaves my throat. I close my eyes, unable to handle all the emotions suddenly flooding through me. She strokes my cheek and my lips spread into a wide grin. I know I said no kissing, but fuck that. I sit up, wrapping my arms around her waist, leaning in to kiss her, taking my time to appreciate her soft lips. I squeeze her, wanting to be closer while dragging my tongue along her bottom lip.
After a few minutes, I lean back smiling at her. She grins back and I suck in a breath, struck with just how beautiful she is. She’s glowing.
“Have I told you how beautiful you are? Cause I don’t think I tell you enough.” I say admiring her soft golden skin. The gold flecks in her eyes sparkle as she looks at me. I kiss her cheek and nose, then her forehead.
“So fucking beautiful,” I say landing on her lips.
She giggles into my mouth. “You’re beautiful too, Harry. I should probably tell you more.” She says running her thumb over my bottom lip.
“Beautiful eh? Not the sexiest man alive? Total Hottie? Sex god? Pantie dropper? I can keep going.” I say struggling to hold in my laughter.
She slaps my chest laughing. “Alright, you’re cute.” She says with a grin.
I scoff, jerking back in mock offense. “Cute!? That’s what you call your cat!” I say, pinching her hip. She giggles.
“Fine! You’re a total hottie! Happy?”
I chuckle. “No. You didn't mean it. You only said that because I wanted you to.” I huff, pretending to be annoyed. She barks out a laugh and rolls her eyes.
Suddenly serious, she grabs my face. “Harry Potter you are so unbelievably sexy I literally can’t look at you half the time. Your stupid eyes and face and body and that adorable fucking grin drive me crazy. So yeah, I think you’re a total hottie. Believe me.” She says, cocking a brow. I gape at her. Holy shit.
I clear my throat, suddenly needing a glass of water. “Point taken.” I croak. “Is that why-” I pause debating if I should ask her this or not. I don’t want to embarrass her. I shake my head. “Nevermind.”
She furrows her brow. “Is that why, what?” She asks and I sigh. No more holding back.
“Is that why you ran away? I’ve racked my brain thinking of reasons why you had to leave so suddenly. I just... I’m trying to understand.”
She groans. “I left because being around you was proving… difficult. I was angry at myself. Embarrassed that I was feeling that way when we were supposed to be just friends. I-” She sighs. “I couldn’t take it anymore.”
I nod in understanding. That makes sense. “We’re idiots,” I say, rubbing her back.
She laughs. “I don’t think so. I mean think about it. You go about life with your best friends fighting basilisks, making potions, defeating evil. Almost a decade of friendship. There’s so much history there. Add the relationship drama with you and Ginny, Ron and I, Malfoy being an utter ass, don’t even get me started on him…” She growls rolling her eyes. I think I owe him another black eye for touching my girl without her consent, I think angrily. My heart does a little flip. My girl?
“And then suddenly there are these feelings for the one constant in your life. The one person you know will be there no matter what. Someone you go to for everything. What are we supposed to do with that? Just be completely okay with the idea of maybe losing that person? I don’t know Harry. I think we’re doing okay. All things considered.” She shrugs.
Merlin, I love her. I freeze. Oh boy. Nope. Clearing my throat, I smile. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. To be honest Hermione… I’m not scared anymore. You’re stuck with me.” I say, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. “Even if you decide you don’t want… whatever this is. I’m not going anywhere.”
......
We talked into the early morning hours. Just hanging out like we used to. Well... Sorta. We didn’t use to kiss so much but I’m really not upset about that. I yawn. Herbology is a horrible first class to take. I keep dozing off as Professor Sprout lectures on about the complexity of devil's snare. My eyes are heavy with sleep. The greenhouse is so cozy and warm. I’ll just rest my eyes for a second , I think.
Someone shakes me and I jump up pointing my wand at the person. My breaths coming out in pants, a stupefy on my tongue. Neville backs away from me with his hands up. I glance around the room. Students are filing out, heading to their next class. I must’ve dozed off. I let out a shuddering breath, lowering my wand.
“Sorry.” I croak. “Thanks Neville.”
He nods, his lips pinched with a worried look in his eye. “I’m good, Nev. I promise.” I say, heading to the doors.
“Okay. If you say so. See you, Harry.”
I head straight to the nearest bathroom. Splashing water on my face and running my fingers through my hair. I can’t risk falling asleep in class like that. My nightmares still affect me. They’re not nearly as bad as they used to be, but I could really hurt someone. I let out a breath. I’m going to be so late for potions.
Hermione POV
Harry’s late. I glance at the clock again, becoming more worried by the second. Just when I’m about to leave to go look for him, he saunters into class. His face is flushed, hair in disarray, and slightly… wet. A few droplets of water trail down his face. I furrow my brow. He makes up some excuse about prefect duties, before quickly heading toward me. He shakes his head.
“Later.” He whispers, sitting down next to me.
I nod, turning to focus on Professor Slughorn. He instructs us on how the draught of death was first procured, telling us to turn to page 394 in our textbooks.
“Be careful. Any misstep can result in horrifying results.” He says, leaving us to our devices.
Harry and I set out to gather our ingredients, reading the instructions carefully. Ever since sixth year, Harry’s had a knack for potions. Reading between the lines of the precise instructions and going with his gut. It makes him a wonderful potions partner. Turning to face him, I watch as he stirs our concoction, chewing on the tip of his glasses. Heat floods to my core and I bite my lip, trailing my eyes over his face. He looks all hot and bothered right now. His damp hair falling into his eyes, cheeks tinted pink. I squeeze my legs together to ease the ache between my thighs.
His eyes shoot up to meet mine and he smirks knowingly. I quickly look away, feeling my cheeks heat. Focus Hermione. Stop eye fucking Harry. I clear my throat and roll my neck. He scoots his chair closer to mine and I bite my cheek to keep from groaning. He knows what he’s doing. I ignore him, continuing to work on our potion. I gasp when his warm hand slides up my thigh.
He chuckles quietly but makes no move to stop. His fingers stroke lightly over my skin. Hot desire pulses through me. I curse myself for wearing a skirt today. His hand trails higher brushing the hem of my skirt. I jerk and accidentally smush the frog eyes; a quiet gasp escaping my lips as he brushes his fingers over my knickers. I flick my eyes to his face. He’s acting as though nothing is wrong, still sorting through our ingredients.
I groan as he moves his fingers over my apex and accidentally drop too many eyes into the potion making it turn green. Oh, Merlin. He chuckles.
“Hermione.” He purrs. “What’s got you so flustered? You never make mistakes like that. Are you feeling alright?” He asks, cocking a brow, and grinning at my obvious distress.
He adds willow root to the concoction to counteract my mistake while simultaneously circling his finger over my clit. I jerk in my seat, a breathy moan leaving my lips. I grab his arm, stopping him.
“Harry,” I whisper huskily, removing his hand from under my skirt.
His lips twitch. “Yes?” He asks, feigning innocence.
I growl, not answering him, and cross my legs, squeezing them together as desire pulses through me. My body is on fire with need. I’m so getting him back for this.
After class, I collect my things slowly. Too slowly. Harry smirks knowingly, cocking a brow at me. I pretend to clean out our cauldron and Professor Slughorn leaves us to it saying he has some errands to run before his next class. Perfect .
As soon as he closes the door, I drop my bag to the floor and shove Harry back into the wall. He grunts as he hits the hard stone. His eyes darken as he realizes my intentions. Threading my fingers through his hair, I pull his face down and kiss him. He reacts quickly, gripping my hips, and pulling me flush against him. I feel his growing erection dig into my stomach. He moans, deepening the kiss.
Pulling away a little breathless, I grin. His face is flushed, pupils blown wide as he eyes me hungrily.
“There’s a class in here in 15 minutes,” I whisper.
“Plenty of time.” He says breathily and I giggle, stepping out of his arms. I grab my bag and head for the exit.
“Bye Harry,” I say, looking over my shoulder. His eyes are glued to my ass. I roll my eyes and he shakes his head.
“Wait what?”