Disclaimer: The characters belong to J. K. Rowling and the song lyrics belong to Sammy Kershaw. Whatever is left is mine.
Author's Notes: This is unabashedly a H/Hr fluff piece. For those of you following my work, I know I should be working on Coincidence/Coincidences, but this just wouldn't leave me alone. This is the first Harry Potter fiction that I have posted, but I do have some fragments lurking somewhere on my hard drive. Don't know how the fusion of Harry Potter and a country song will work for all of you, but this idea just kept coming up whenever I heard it. So it's set after the final battle but scraps the epilogue. Italics are the song lyrics.
She Don't Know She's Beautiful
One summer's evening, about three years after the defeat of Voldemort and the Death Eaters, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were approaching the door of a house in downtown London. Music and lively conversation could be heard coming from within as they approached. Harry tried the door, and, finding it unlocked, opened it and allowed Hermione in before following.
Inside the house, the two of them found several wizards and witches gathered in the front room busily chatting away, sipping drinks and sampling hor dourves. None had yet noticed Harry and Hermione's arrival, so the couple stood for a moment observing the attendees and taking note of who they knew and who they didn't.
"Harry! Hermione! There you are! Glad you both made it!" shouted a slightly inebriated Ronald Weasley from the center of the room.
Suddenly the chatting stopped and everyone looked towards the newly arrived couple. An uncomfortable silence set in as Harry noticed everyone seemingly staring in shock at the young woman smartly dressed in a black cocktail dress and pearls standing next to him. Harry looked to Hermione and saw that she was bowing her head while leaning towards him.
"Must they still do that?" she whispered. "It's been three years! You'd think they'd be over this hero-of-the-wizarding-world bit."
"Uh, 'Mione, they're not staring at me," Harry whispered back.
"Oh, don't be daft, Harry! Who else would they be staring at?" Hermione whispered back as she waded into the crowd towards Ron. Harry was left no other choice but to act congenial as he smiled and waved back to their friend who was holding a young, moony-eyed blond with turnip-shaped earrings.
We go out to a party somewhere,
The moment we walk in the door,
People stop and ev'rybody stares,
She don't know what they're staring for,
She don't know she's beautiful, (Never crossed her mind)
She don't know she's beautiful, (No, she's not that kind)
She don't know she's beautiful,
Though time and time I've told her so,
"Harry!"
Harry Potter was jolted out of his reminiscences by the familiar voice calling his name. Sitting at his table with his tea at the outdoor café in Diagon Alley, Harry looked up to see his best female friend smiling down at him from the other side of the wrought iron fence. He lost himself for moment in her dark brown eyes as well as noticing how the sun seemed to produce an almost angelic glow on her tight brown curls. While taking this in, he nearly missed what Hermione was trying to say to him.
". . . , so I need you to pick up a few things at the market before you go home," Harry heard her saying.
"What? Sorry 'Mione, I didn't get all of that," Harry said.
"I'm sorry, Harry," Hermione replied, "I must've been speaking a bit fast. I'm in between meetings right now. Anyway, we're out of a few things back at the flat, and I can't go to the market after work, because of my department's quarterly review tomorrow."
It was then that Harry noticed a long piece of parchment that Hermione was holding out to him as she leaned across the fence. Looking at the "few things" they needed, Harry exclaimed, "Bloody hell!"
"I know, Harry," Hermione said comfortingly as she allowed Harry to take the list. She was now completely bent over the fence. "Ron was very good about making sure we had plenty of food. I guess we came to rely on him for that."
"Maybe we should've moved to a larger flat instead of letting Ron move in with Luna," Harry commented.
"Oh, please Harry!" Hermione scoffed dramatically as she twisted on the rail and shifted her hips out. "He's the star Keeper for the Cannons now. He can't be seen living with his childhood mates anymore."
Just then a shrill whistle sounded from across the street. Harry had to look around Hermione as they both saw a rather uncouth looking wizard leering very suggestively in their direction. Harry knew the other wizard's actions were clearly intended for Hermione, so he sent him a menacing glare in return. The other wizard, realizing that the Harry Potter was now staring very dangerously at him for his leering at none other than Hermione Granger, quickly moved on without a moment's hesitation.
"Bloody prat! What was he on about?" Hermione asked as she continued to lean on the fence and watched the other wizard scurry away. She didn't see Harry's expression turn to a look of wonder when she then whipped around and kissed him on the cheek.
"Must be off," Harry heard her say. "Busy night and day tomorrow. See you Saturday!"
Flabbergasted, Harry could only watch as she walked swiftly away.
There she goes just walking down the street,
And someone lets a whistle out,
A girl like her, she just can't see,
What the fuss is all about,
And she don't know she's beautiful, (Never crossed her mind)
She don't know she's beautiful, (No, she's not that kind)
She don't know she's beautiful,
Though time and time I've told her so.
Saturday morning found Harry sitting at their kitchen table, idly nursing a cup of coffee. He didn't have plans for the day, so he was thinking about what plans he could make. In the midst of his musings, Hermione walked into the kitchen. She didn't see him, because she immediately turned to the coffee maker on the opposite counter that had automatically brewed their coffee for them this morning. Silently, Hermione filled her cup, and as she did Harry stared at her.
It was obvious to Harry from the messy state of her hair that Hermione had just woken up. She was wearing a tank-top and loose boxer shorts as well as some fluffy white slippers around her feet. Harry had seen her dozens of times like this, but lately he'd been noticing how those shorts seemed to accentuate her long, shapely legs. As well, her clingy top revealed her hour-glass figure, and her modest, yet shapely bust.
Harry suddenly realized that Hermione had turned around and was looking at him. He thought that she must have seen him looking her over, and he blushed in embarrassment as he shot his eyes down at his own coffee mug. He was desperately trying to think of an appropriate explanation for his ogling, when Hermione spoke first.
"Do I really look that bad, Harry?" She asked.
Looking back up, Harry asked in return, "What?"
"Harry, when I turned around, you were staring at me rather dumbstruck," Hermione explained. "I know my hair is in tangles, but do I really look that bad?"
"No! Not at all!" Harry replied a little too eagerly.
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him before saying, "You don't need to patronize me, Harry. We're friends after all. If I should need to put myself together a little more in the morning just say so."
With that, she finished her coffee, and set her mug in the sink. Hermione then swiftly walked out of the kitchen, and Harry could tell that she was headed directly for the shower. He simply sat back in his chair, and, while sipping his coffee, contemplated how the brightest witch of his age didn't know that she was beautiful.
Morning comes and her hair's all a mess,
That's when she thinks she looks her worst,
It's times like this she don't know why,
I can't take my eyes off her.
'Cause, she don't know she's beautiful, (Never crossed her mind)
She don't know she's beautiful, (No, she's not that kind)
She don't know she's beautiful,
Though time and time I've told her so.
I had fun with this one. I hope you did too. Please review!