Endless Summer by wonderpod
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Author's Notes:
I thought of this story while listening to the Plain White T's Our Time Now. I hope that you enjoy it.
Endless Summer
I never knew what it meant to have an endless summer with someone that you really cared for. In my mind, there could never be such a thing as an endless summer, I mean, how could there be. Each season ends in time, and it doesn't make sense for people to say such a thing.I guess it could have been that in my mind, because I was looking forward to returning to Hogwarts again, there could never be an endless summer for me. At least, that's what I thought, until the summer after my fifth year at Hogwarts.
As it goes, I had defeated Voldemort over the course of this year, which had left me ragged and torn. I was not speaking much. Mostly I nodded or shook my head, but I shrugged more often than not. I had given up on all but the smallest bites of food, which had left me gaunt and weak. Like so many other things, I had also given up on going outside, which left me more pale and sick than I had been before. My changes had caused Hermione to often sit and watch me do nothing and Ron had taken to exchanging tortured looks with Hermione before going to bed much earlier than anyone in their right mind would. As much as they had gone through with me before that, I'm not sure they quite understood what I was going through.
All over my body were scars, adding to my generous supply. Some, more gruesome than others. In a diagonal line running across my back, I had a huge scar from where a rebound jinx had hit me. After I had killed Voldemort, I had fallen to the ground on my knees and slumped down on my side. Hermione had been the first to find me. She ran towards me, leaning me against the wall and showered my face with kisses. She hugged me like mad and cried a a lot, while all I could do was stare into the distance, blinking occasionally. Here was the girl I had adored in secret for the past three years, kissing me and hugging me and making a general fuss, and I couldn't even look at her.
When the others had reached me, their first thought was that I was seriously injured, but, after a quick examination from Madame Pompfrey, I was sent away, the same blank look on my face. We had stayed at Hogwarts for a week after, all students and faculty helping restore the mess left behind from the battle. I was excused from helping, as were Ron and Hermione, so the three of us sat in the common room, me slumped in a chair and the other two exchanging worried looks. None of us seemed to know what to make of anything anymore, at least I didn't, and they didn't seem to know what to say to me.
Perhaps it was my miserable behavior that had made Mrs. Weasley first decide to take me home for the summer right away. I didn't even go back to the Dursley, instead, I headed straight to the Burrow with the rest of the Weasleys and Hermione right after we got off of the Hogwarts express. I don't even remember how we got there, but the next thing I knew, I was being rushed to the kitchen by the entire Weasley family. I sat blankly at the table while Mrs. Weasley rushed about the kitchen making me food. I ate the meal, though half-heartedly, and only to make them happier than they had been recently.
I woke the next morning, feeling as terrible as I had every other day. Standing, I dressed and walked out of Ron's room. Slowly, I descended the steps and walked into the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley asked me quickly if I wanted breakfast. I shook my head and walked out the back door and into the yard. I kept walking for a short while, until I reached the apple tree that Ron and I had spent our summer in the year before. I sat down, leaned my back against the tree trunk and pulled my legs up towards my chest. And as I did often, I stared into the distance.
I hardly noticed when Ron appeared next to me, sitting down and leaning back against the tree. And, I can't even remember how much time passed until Hermione was on my other side, sitting as Ron did. Ron had put a comforting arm around my shoulders not long before, and Hermione grabbed my hand and leaned her head on my shoulder. For a while, the three of us sat there, the silence overwhelming, and then, I realized that I was wasting time that I could be spending with my two best friends by moping. I couldn't help how many people I had killed, or how much pain I had gone through to kill Voldemort or how many people I had put in harms way to do so. And, in one swift moment, I reached over grabbing Ron's other hand, at the same time, squeezing the hand that was already in Hermione's.
I could practically hear them and myself smiling as we sat there. I can't remember doing anything else that day. We didn't speak or look at each other, but all three of us knew that we had reached an agreement. The sun went down quickly, leaving the three of us there, holding and comforting one another. For the first time since the defeat of Voldemort, I felt truly happy. At some point, long after the sun had gone down, Hermione breathed out my name. Turning, I caught her eye as she leaned forward and kissed me. Smiling into her lips, I kissed her back before I felt Ron shifting besides me.
After we had stopped for air, I turned and looked over at him, utterly confused. Everything had changed in one mere day, and I knew I would never be able to look at my two best friends the same way again. In those mere moments spent together near that apple tree, something between us changed. New feelings, I didn't know could exist between the three of us erupted, and as I looked at Ron, I wanted to kiss him as I had Hermione. Without thinking about his reaction, I leaned forward, capturing his lips and pressing my chest to his. He kissed me back, which made me gasp, which he used to slide his tongue into my mouth. Hermione didn't move next to me as we kissed, but after I had pulled away from Ron, she kissed him, although for a shorter time than I had. Without speaking, we all stood at once, and, clasping hands, we walked back into the house.
Mrs. Weasley never asked what Ron and Hermione had said to make me start smiling, laughing, eating, and joking again. In fact, she didn't even mention that we had been outside all day without eating a single meal. As odd as it was, no one else mentioned anything either, not even Remus, when he visited, or Tonks, when she came over for dinner, although Ginny looked at me oddly one day, then quickly turned and gave the same look to both Ron and Hermione. This made me think briefly that she might have known what we had been doing that night, yet, if she, or any of the others did, they did a good job of hiding it.
The next few weeks went the same as the first day did. I ate every meal that was laid in front of me, then Ron and Hermione would stand and follow me out to the yard or up to Ron's room. The rest of a usual day would be spent, walking or sitting a good distance away from the house, so that we couldn't be seen as we showed our affection for one another. Ron and I started joking with one another again, the only difference was that when we did and we were alone, he held my hand, linking our fingers and rubbing his thumb over my palm. In these moments, I felt my happiest. Even looking at Hermione and Ron, no matter where they were or what they were doing, I felt that spark I had felt the first night I had started speaking again.
"What do you say we take Hermione out for a little adventure tonight?" Ron asked me, one day. Hermione was sitting on the ground five feet away from us, her face pushed into a large book that she had found in the bottom of her trunk. "Oh! I haven't read this in ages!" she had cried upon her discovery. After they had gotten an appropriate ways from the house, she had given them each a slight peck, and had fallen the ground and buried herself in the book.
"What have you got in mind?" I muttered, mischievously. Grinning, Ron turned towards, wrapping his arm around me and bringing his mouth to my ear. As he used his hand to cover his face, he explained what he wanted to do that even in a hushed voice.
Looking up from her book, Hermione glared at us jokingly. "What are you two whispering about?" she demanded, amusement lacing her voice.
"Quidditch!" Ron and I sputtered automatically. "And....and..." Ron started, his eyes wide.
"And food. We were talking about Quidditch and food." I took over for him. Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head, but returned to her book nonetheless.
"Thanks for that, mate." Ron whispered. Grinning, he leaned over and kissed me, laughing against my mouth as I jumped in surprise.
~~*~~
That night, Ron and I stayed awake until everyone else was in bed and asleep, then we quietly stood and walked out into the hall. The moon was shining into the hall from a window near the other side of the hall, letting in just enough light to see. Walking slowly, Ron led the way to Fred and George's old room where Hermione was staying. Creaking the door open, he let me walk in first. I walked forward, enchanted at the sight of a sleeping Hermione, although my vision was blurred as Ron walked silently in front of me.
Walking forward, I stood next to Ron, my hands near Hermione's head. Leaning down, I kissed Hermione's sleeping face, but because it was so dark in the room, it was hard to see where. Stirring, Hermione opened her eyes slowly, blinking several times before her eyes focused. Looking up at them, she squinted in the dark light, but smiled when she saw both of their faces.
"Harry, Ron, what are you doing here?" she asked, sitting up slightly and yawning.
"We thought we'd take you on a bit of an adventure, 'Mione." I said, kneeling and letting her rest her head on my arm. She smiled, yawning again as Ron kneeled down next to me and slinging an arm around my waste.
"What did you have in mind?" Hermione asked, suddenly looking a bit worried, most likely thinking about what kinds of 'adventures' we could possibly have in store for her.
"You'll have to get up and follow us to find out." Ron said, standing and pulling me up with him. Smiling, he led the way from the room, his hand pulling on mine. As she stood, I grabbed Hermione's hand and began to tug her down the stairs and outside.
It was a short walk to where we were going, but my heart was swelling with anticipation and excitement. Hermione strode along next to me, still holding my hand, and Ron led us, tugging my hand, which was still clinging to his warm one. The grass was already wet with dew, and by the time we reached the lake, my trainers and the bottoms of my bed trousers were soaked through, not that I minded much.
"So, why did you two bring me out here?" Hermione asked, scooting closer to me.
"Well, we're going for a swim," Ron informed her, a grin plastered across his face. "And, we intend to have you join us."
"What?" Hermione asked, her eyes wide and her eyebrows raised. "The water must be freezing, I mean, it's not exactly a warm night is it?" Turning to Harry, she hoped to gain some reassurance that Ron's idea was ludicrous, but he shook his head.
"We're going swimming, Hermione. You don't have to join us, but we had hoped you would, and if you didn't we would be . . . rather disappointed." Harry said, mocking hurt in his voice.
"No. This is crazy." Hermione said, shaking her head, although the plan had been a rather adventurous one. And she might have played along too, if only the night wasn't so damn cold.
"Fine then. Come on, Harry." Ron said, pulling his shirt over his head and throwing it to the wet ground. I did the same, and in several moments, we were in just our boxers. Ron grinned, looking over at Hermione's surprised face, as he snaked his arm around my waste. I did the same with him and the two of us ran at the rickety, old dock that was about ten feet long. The dock swayed as we ran, but it didn't matter much when we jumped and landed in the freezing water.
Ron broke the surface before I did and he tugged on my hand until my head poked up from the water. He grinned, his teeth chattering. My teeth began to chatter, though I hid it as best I could from a smirking Hermione. She was wearing her 'I told you so" face and was standing by the dock, her weight on one leg and her arms crossed. Ron turned to look at me and noticed that my teeth were chattering. Laughing, he crashed his lips onto mine and began to rub my back to keep me warm. Pulling apart the two of us looked over at Hermione who looked slightly put out at being left out.
"Maybe if you joined us, you could join us!" Ron yelled and I started laughing so hard I swallowed some of the water and had to spit it out as Ron slapped me on the back. She ignored us, and instead, turned her back and sat down, busying herself at making sure she didn't get too wet. After several minutes of Ron and I swimming and occasionally sharing several mind-blowing kisses, I couldn't stand it any more. She had to get into the water with us or I was going to go mad.
Muttering to Ron what I was going to do, I swam over to the dock and hoisted myself up as quietly as I could. Standing, I walked over silently and leaned over Hermione. I could hear Ron trying to conceal his chuckle behind me. In one swift moment, I wrapped my arms around her, flipping her around, and in another, I picked her up and placed her stomach-down on my shoulder. As she protested, yelling and attempting to beat my back, I began to walk down the dock and almost dropped her in the water fully clothed before she yelled for me to stop. Me, being self-less and caring, stopped and let her stand facing me, my arms still wrapped around her torso.
"If you let me go and get properly prepared to swim, I'll join you." Hermione reasoned, begging me with her eyes to let her go. I nodded, rolling my eyes. She smiled and kissed my cheek.
She stood just past the dock and pulled off her night pants, leaving just a pair of boys boxer shorts and probably underwear underneath. Nodding, she took a breath and slowly began to walk towards me. Looking at the boxer shorts, something in my mind clicked.
"Are those mine?" I asked.
Hermione laughed. "They were, but they're mine now." she said. In fact, she had taken them the previous year, when she had been staying with me over the summer. Unable to travel back home, I had allowed her to sleep in my room and borrow some night clothes. She must have kept them. I thought, which made me smile and wonder why she might have wanted them.
"C'mere. You're not getting out of this." I said, holding out my hand for her to grab. She took it and walked forward tentatively. Grinning, I nodded to her, and broke out in a run, as she did beside me. We jumped off of the dock as Ron and I had done and landed headfirst into the water. By the time we had surfaced, Ron was swimming towards us, smiling widely.
"Uh . . . It's cold!" Hermione said, wrapping her arms around herself.
"Eh, you get used to it," Ron said. "Come on." He began to swim away, farther through the water. I followed, gesturing for Hermione to follow us.
We stayed in the water all night, coming out at dawn so that we could dry ourselves and dress before sneaking back into the house. We said good 'night' in a very nonverbal way as we walked quietly back into our rooms, and Ron and I sat down on our beds. My camp bed was very inviting after a night of swimming in freezing cold water. Laying back, I muttered a good night to Ron and fell right to sleep.
The summer passed slowly, the three of us spending each and every night in whatever way that we wanted to. Each day was an exciting new adventure in our already strong relationship. The awkwardness that had once existed between Ron and I faded quickly and soon the two of us being together as we were with Hermione was as natural as breathing. Each day's activities, I etched into my mind so that I would never forget it, and I began to think over what I had once thought about wanted for summer to pass quickly.
And, every time I think back to that summer, I realize that I did have an endless summer, whether I knew it then or not, I did. An endless summer, I realized later, didn't mean that the summer was endless, in fact, it meant that the memories of the summer were endless. Even for Ron and Hermione, the memories are ones that we will never be able to forget, and I'm glad for it. I don't think I would ever want to forget the memories of the three of us together as one, for the first time.