Chapter 11
Hermione POV
My body is sticky with dried sweat. I groan, stretching my arms over my head. A flash of last night enters my mind and I smile. I hadn’t expected Harry to ask me out. I thought he would want to wait a while. Maybe get a feel for how our relationship would work before taking it to the next level. I’m beyond happy. I don’t know why we thought we could stop this. We clearly like each other and want to bone every chance we get.
Speaking of… I didn’t think it was possible to like sex this much. My few experiences before Harry were… subpar. No one has ever made me finish apart from Luna that one time we hooked up over the summer before she and Neville started dating, let alone four times. It really isn’t helping my drooling problem. I’m becoming a little obsessed with him; wanting to touch him all the time. I should be concerned, but to be honest, I couldn’t care less. I’m ridiculously happy. Happier than I’ve been in a long time. And I’m tired of pretending around him. I’m allowed to want him.
I glance over his face. He seems so much younger when he’s asleep. Sometimes I forget that Harry saved the world. That behind those green eyes is an incredibly powerful wizard. One of the most powerful I’ve ever seen. Magic comes so naturally to him. With a little practice, he could master anything. I used to be intimidated by it when we were kids. But now… I can’t help but admire him. He’s so unbearably humble sometimes. He doesn’t understand the effect he has or the power he holds. I tease him about the younger students being frightened of him or in love with him, but it’s true. They’re terrified of him. They can sense the power underneath. The man who defeated the most powerful dark wizard to ever exist. I think one day he’ll rival Dumbledore.
And to top it off, he’s been through so much. So much more than his fair share. Still, he smiles. He’s just so… good. After everything, he’s never faltered, never strayed. I don’t think I could handle everything he’s had to. I wish he could see what I see. See just how amazing he is. He really has no idea. I sigh, stroking the stubble on his cheek.
Sitting up, I roll my neck; popping and cracking as I shift. Harry groans, his eyes cracking open. Immediately jerking to my bare chest. I roll my eyes.
“Now that’s something I want to wake up to every morning.” He drawls, voice husky with sleep. Heat floods my body. Like I said, I have a problem. I bite my lip, eyeing his growing erection. Deciding to hell with it. He’s my boyfriend. I don't have to hold back anymore. I crawl toward him with only one thing on my mind.
......
Several life-changing orgasms later, I get up to look around for my clothes. “Harry I’m going to eat my hand if we don’t get food soon,” I whine and he chuckles, sliding out of bed. I trail my eyes down his body. Merlin, maybe I’m not that hungry. Jerking back up to his face, I find him smirking knowingly at me. I curse my libido and avert my gaze, bringing my attention back to the task at hand.
Once dressed, my full bladder about to explode, we leave the room. Checking that the coast is clear before meandering out into the hallway. I sprint to the nearest bathroom. I almost don’t make it I have to pee so bad. Harry’s adorable chuckle following behind me.
We make our way to Gryffindor Tower holding hands. I lean into his side, grabbing his forearm with my other hand, feeling like I need to be closer. Is this normal? It’s like I want to be inside his skin. I shrug and he cocks a brow at me. I shrug again smiling at him. He chuckles.
“You’re chipper this morning.” He says.
I hum. “Yes. Multiple orgasms tend to make me happy.” I say bluntly and he laughs.
“Noted. I’ll keep that in mind.” He drawls smirking. I bite my lip. Merlin, I’m down bad. His dimple draws my eyes to his mouth. I wonder if it’ll always be like this. I sigh happily as we meander up to the tower. It’s still pretty early so everyone should be sleeping. Breakfast starts later than usual on Sundays, letting everyone sleep in some. Muttering the password, we push through the portrait not expecting to find anyone there.
Ginny’s lounging on the couches and her eyes narrow on us. “What’re you two doing up so early? Wait… I’ve been here for hours…” She eyes us up and down. I can see her mind putting two and two together. I wonder why she’s here. Being head girl, she has her own space to lounge about. She rolls her eyes.
“Fucking finally.”
I gape at her and she laughs at my expression. “Oh come off it Hermione. Everyone knows you guys are hooking up. They started making bets after that first Slytherin party.” She says chuckling. I peer at Harry and he’s grinning.
“You bet on us? You were still giving me hell not two weeks ago Gin.” He says cocking a brow.
She scoffs. “Harry we already talked about this. I’ve been over it for a while. I was just holding on to the past. Anyway, I told you I’m into someone else. This-” She motions between us. “Doesn’t bother me. In fact, I’m all for it. Especially since you guys are making me rich.” She says grinning.
A strangled noise leaves my throat. “You don’t care?” I ask incredulously and she shrugs.
“I used to. For years it bothered me. But.. I don’t know. It just makes sense. You two… belong together. Always have.” She says, her eyes soft. I blush scarlet. Years? Was I really that blind?
“Damn. When’d you get all grown and insightful Gin?” Harry asks, shaking his head. “Anyway. Why’re you in here?” Harry asks.
I’m still speechless. My brain stalling as I process her words. Their conversation muffles into the background as I spiral. All this time... I mean, we’ve always been close, but I never even considered being more than friends until recently. There was that one time in the tent when I looked at him and my heart skipped a beat and a few times over the years. I guess I just never thought anything of it. Shrugged it off as love for my best friend, but maybe she’s right. Maybe it’s always been there. They're still talking as my head throbs. I clear my throat.
“Harry. Can we get food now?” I whisper so only he can hear me and he chuckles.
“Alright, Gin we need to change. See you later.” He says tugging me up the stairs. She just nods smiling at us.
Harry pulls me through the door. Stopping suddenly, he turns to face me. He searches my eyes. “Are you okay?” He asks, his brow furrowed with concern. I nod.
“Just overwhelmed. She said years Harry. I’m just trying to wrap my head around it. I feel stupid. Like we missed out on something amazing.”
He sighs. “Does it matter? So what, we were stupid kids who didn’t see what was right in front of us. We’re here now Hermione and I’m not going anywhere.” He says stroking my cheek. I let out a breath and my heart swells as I see the truth in his eyes.
“I guess you’re right. I was just shocked is all.” I say shaking my head to clear it. He cups my cheeks and leans in to kiss me softly.
“Let’s take a shower then head downstairs. Get some food in you.”
Feeling refreshed, we walk to breakfast together. I feel completely at ease. I swear the joy is seeping from my pores. Entering the great hall, a few people stare, but not nearly as many. Finally old news. I breathe a sigh of relief. Sitting down in our usual spots, I quickly fill up a plate, scarfing down the rich food. I moan as I bite into my breakfast sandwich, feeling better already. That is until someone throws down a newspaper in front of me. I frown, looking up to see who would do such a thing, and find Malfoy smirking at me.
“Flashcards Hermione.” He purrs, winking at Harry.
Harry growls next to me and shifts to stand. I grab his arm to stop him, knowing he’s pissed at Malfoy and nothing good will come of that interaction. I sigh and turn to face him. Malfoy’s face falls, and he gulps.
“Draco. I’ve had a lot of time to think over what you did, and I understand where you were coming from, but that’s not how you treat people. I know you’re a Slytherin through and through, but if you ever treat me like a pawn again, I will hex you until you forget your own name. Clear?”
Draco sighs and runs his hands through his hair. “I know. I know. I’m sorry. You’re right. I got ahead of myself. I was just desperate. There’s no excuse. I understand if you guys never want to speak to me again.”
I roll my eyes at his dramatics. “Oh, hush. I’m not asking you to change who you are…Just maybe, don’t kiss a girl without asking first?”
He nods. “Understandable. Um- maybe don’t look at that article?” He laughs nervously.
I frown and flick my eyes down to the paper in front of me. I drop my sandwich when I read the headline.
H&H The Golden Couple By: Rita Skeeter
I groan, putting my face in my hands. There’s a picture of Harry and I kissing in front of the Great Hall that takes up half of the page. My hands are gripping his shirt pulling him closer, and Harry smiles into my mouth. It’s an absolutely adorable picture, but not something I want to see on the front page! On top of that, there are more photos throughout the article. One of him carrying me through the halls, a hickey clearly visible on his neck. Another of us holding hands, grinning at each other. Another of Harry leaning in to whisper in my ear, a blush spreading across my skin.
“Oh bloody hell,” I say, banging my head against the table.
Harry rubs my back soothingly. “I’m sorry love.” He whispers, and I glance at his face. He’s holding back a grin. I roll my eyes.
“You’re not sorry at all!”
He shrugs, chuckling. “It’s not like any of it's a lie, Hermione. For once, Rita is telling the truth.” He says, pointing to the words on the page. I pick up the paper, furrowing my brow as I read the article.
Harry Potter and the brightest witch of her age! Official! Inside sources say they’ve been extra friendly around the halls. Not caring who sees them. In love! Now, I’m not one to brag, but I called it. I could see the attraction brewing between those two for years. After Mr. Potter’s trials during their fourth year, I expected the love to grow, but alas; it did not. The chosen one was clearly smitten with his young friend... Unrequited love I suppose. She didn’t seem to notice his constant attention. Poor Mr. Potter.
He had to watch his two best friends fall for each other; Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley had a fleeting romance during the war. My source spoke on the matter:
“Hermione and the weasel?” They scoffed, rolling their eyes dramatically when I asked about those two. “That was nothing. I was honestly shocked to hear about that. They just don’t go well together. And don’t get me started on the she-weasel and Potter. That was a disaster waiting to happen.”
My source sure is invested in the love lives of our golden couple. Anyway, cheers to young love! Turn to page 6 for more details.
Written By: Rita Skeeter
Journalist for The Daily Prophet
My mouth fell open somewhere around ‘In love!’ My eyes bugging out of my head reading about Harry’s unrequited love for me. That can’t be true!
“Harry, this is absolutely absurd! How can you say this is true? Fourth-year? We were just friends back then. And this anonymous source is clearly Malfoy. No one calls Ginny that name but him.” I say, huffing. Harry is chuckling next to me as he takes a bite of toast.
“I don’t know ‘mione. He has a point. And who says I wasn’t smitten with you back then?” He asks cocking a brow. My eyes jerk to his, searching for the lie. He’s smiling at me, so unaffected by her words. I study him.
“Come now, Harry. We both know you were into Cho back then.”
He shrugs. “I was, but looking back, it was a fleeting crush. Yes, she was my first, but even then Hermione… I don’t know. You were always above everyone else.” He says honestly and my heart flutters in my chest. Forgetting about everyone else in the room for a moment. I shake my head, trying and failing to fight the grin spreading across my face. Thinking back to fourth year, Harry was so awkward around Cho. He was crushing on her hard. He came to me for advice constantly. When he told me they slept together in 5th year… that was the first time I felt something different for him. I felt… jealous. I didn’t know why at the time, brushing it off as loneliness. I wanted someone to love me so badly. That’s why Victor was so appealing to me. Why I slept with him even though I wasn’t ready. We kept in contact after the trials. Meeting up the summer after the Department of Mysteries. I just wanted to lose myself for a moment.
My emotions were all over the place that year. Confused about Ron’s unusual behavior, jealous of Cho and Ginny, unsure about my relationship with Victor... I didn’t know how to separate my feelings. Maybe he’s right. Although, now that I think it over, I’m glad we didn't figure it out back then. We weren’t ready for this. I sigh and grab his hand. He threads his fingers through mine and leans in to brush a kiss on my lips. I melt into him as my heart squeezes in my chest. We pull away, just now remembering we have an audience. Seamus is grinning at us maniacally. Neville is chuckling. A few people clap down the row and I roll my eyes.
“Fine! We’re dating. Happy?”
A few cheers go out. Ginny stands up, pointing at Dean.
“You owe me 100 galleons!” She yells, and Dean curses, huffing as he hands Ginny a pouch of coin. She’s laughing happily.
“Thanks, guys!” She says, sitting back in her chair. Malfoy clears his throat behind me. I’d forgotten he was there.
“So… Flashcards? Or no? I know I fucked up, but you do realize you two would still be dancing around each other if it wasn’t for me. Please, Hermione.” He begs and I gape at him.
“Why do you need them so badly? OWLs are over and done with.” I say cocking a brow.
He huffs. “Because! I have to retake them. Okay? I was too busy being a death eater to care about school. Mcgonnagal is giving me another chance.” He says, pouting.
Oh. That makes sense. Now I feel guilty. “Again. Draco. Please just ask next time.” I say, shaking my head. “No need to make your life so hard. We’re friends. I’ll even help you study if you want. I did ace my exams.” I say cockily, smirking at him.
“I don’t know. I really don’t want to get another hex to the face. Flashcards can’t hurt me.”
I bark out a laugh. Scooting closer to Harry, I pat the seat next to me. Draco glances around. Shrugging, he sits.
“Okay. First things first. These famous flashcards you’re so desperate for don’t exist.” I say, and he jerks back.
“WHAT!?”
I hold my hands up innocently. “You never actually asked me Draco. You always just assumed I had them. However, I did make practice exams. They’re at Harry’s at Grimmauld Place.” I say, reassuring him, and he visibly relaxes.
“Oh. Good. That’s good.” He blows out a breath.
I glance at Harry, and he’s chuckling, eating his food. We relax into easy conversation. I suddenly feel this overwhelming happiness flood through me. Everything’s perfect. Harry is my boyfriend. Still not used to saying that. My friends are all here. Well, everyone but Ron… Wait. My eyes go wide. Ron! I gasp and drop my fork onto the table. Harry’s eyes shoot to me. His concern apparent at my outburst.
“Harry. Ron!” I say, exasperated. He’ll see the article. Probably reading it as we speak. Panic sets in. We didn’t even think to tell him. Just selfishly basking in our bubble of happiness. Harry’s eyes go wide.
“Fuck!” He curses under his breath.
“Wait. You guys didn’t tell him?” Malfoy asks, and I shake my head.
“No. We didn’t want to tell him until we figured it out for ourselves. Why risk his wrath when we were so unsure? Oh no. Harry. He’s going to kill us.” I say putting my face in my hands. I feel horrible. He already feels left out half the time. This will crush him.
Neville chimes in. “He’s coming to the party this weekend, right?” He asks, and I nod.
We owled him yesterday before we took a nap and let him know the time and place. We told him to dress up for Halloween as well. He responded immediately, saying he’d be there. Maybe we could owl him again apologizing? No… that seems too informal. This needs to be face-to-face. Maybe we should ask if he wants to meet up tonight. We can go to his place to talk. I’m biting my lip raw with anxiety. Ron tends to overreact and I think he might still have a little crush on me. I don’t know. We were both adamant after the final battle that there was nothing there. He even brought it up first saying it felt weird, like kissing Harry or Ginny. Not going to lie, that stung a little at the time, being compared to a boy and his sister, but I understood what he meant. It just felt…wrong. Things were awkward for a while. Only because we were unsure how to act in front of one another. Kind of how Harry and I were these last few weeks, just with less sexual tension. Harry nudges me with his shoulder and I peer up to his face. He smiled softly at me.
“It’s alright Hermione. It’s just Ron. We’ll be okay.” He says quietly and I let out a breath.
I hate that we have so little privacy. I just wish we could stay in our bubble a little while longer. Without the world shoving their noses in our business. This wouldn’t be happening if we were normal people, with normal lives. We wouldn’t be forced to tell Ron until we were ready. I was hoping to have at least a week of privacy before having to spill the beans. Harry’s watching my face intently. Whatever he sees there must be concerning because he jerks his chin toward the door and I nod.
We leave saying goodbye to our friends. They’re all still grinning stupidly at us. I pretend to be annoyed, but secretly it makes me love them more. I’m glad they’re happy for us. I thought we might face some irritation or at least anger from Ginny. But no… she’s grinning just as stupidly at us. I wonder who she’s seeing, I think to myself.
Harry leads me outside. We’re silent for a while. There’s a cold chill in the air as winter is right around the corner. The leaves are all shades of red and yellow. It really is beautiful out here. I shiver as a cold breeze rushes past us.
“Cold?” He asks and I shake my head.
“I’m okay.”
He frowns before muttering a warming charm over me, tugging me into his side. I sigh.
“What are we going to do, Harry?” I ask, worrying my lip.
We stop at the edge of the lake, watching as the water crashes against the shore. His lips are pursed. Running a hand through his hair, he lets out a breath.
“Honestly, I don’t know. We fucked up by not telling him first, but we just recently figured this out, Hermione. You’ve literally been my girlfriend for less than a day.” He says, peering down at me. “We can owl him and apologize. Let him know what’s going on or we can wait to talk to him this weekend, and see if he reaches out first. If Ron is upset about us, there’s nothing we can do about that.” He shrugs. “Plus, he’s our best mate. He’ll come around eventually.”
The tightness in my chest recedes, and I smile. I love how easily he can talk me down.
“You’re right. Let’s send him an owl asking him to meet us before the party so we can talk.” I say, resting my head on his shoulder. I hope Ron understands. I don’t want him to feel any differently about us. Harry kisses the top of my head and squeezes my shoulder.
“Sounds like a plan, love. In other news, do you want to hear about my idea for our costumes this Saturday?”