A/N: This is a spin-off of my other story "What A Wicked Game You Play", but can be understood without having read its original version.
WARNING: It contains femslash/femmeslash. Astoria Greengrass/Hermione Granger. Don't like, don't read. :)
Other pairing: Harry/Ginny; Ron/Lavender; others
Just like in my other story, I took the liberty and made ASTORIA GREENGRASS A YEAR OLDER THAN SHE IS IN CANON. She's 15 years old in her fourth year, just like Hermione is 17 in her sixth year.
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters belong to me. The Potterverse belongs to J. K. Rowling.
Title: Fire In The Belly
By chikinita09
Prologue
People's shocked yet intrigued expressions upon seeing Astoria Greengrass ravishing my mouth with her own in the most scandalous way possible has most likely pushed our names on the top 10 list of "Hogwarts' Hottest Couples".
She loves the attention.
She loves the show.
She loves it. I hate it. Well, not the feel of her lips on mine, I admit, but the staring of those spectators watching us kiss.
Half the males of Hogwarts would sell their souls to the dementors in Azkaban just to see us in live action between the sheets, while part of them would've given anything only to join us. And the rest would wish to be in my position. They love to imagine the kind of dirty things going on when we disappear together in a broom closet and re-appear with our lips swollen, lipsticks smeared, the buttons of our clothes undone and our hair dishevelled.
But what they would never know is that behind all the 'hot scenes' between Astoria and I, there lies coldness. In fact, it's nothing more than just some innocent show, except for a little smooching. No real action, that is; we make out a bit, yes, but if she's going too far like when she's pushing up my skirt only to freak me out, I hit her. In the face. We start to wrestle and fight in hushed voices and struggle until our clothes look messy. With our faces flushed in anger, my eyebrows furrowed, while a cocky smile is on her face, we leave the broom closet and head back to our respective classrooms or common rooms.
Even when we're alone together and know that no one's expecting a 'show' she's not very affectionate either, and even sweet is an exaggeration to her usually indifferent behaviour towards me. She doesn't like to cuddle or hug unless there's something in it for her that benefits her budding lust.
She would not hold my hand or stroke my cheek just simply because she can't resist touching me. She would never whisper sweet nothings into my ear, or look me intently in the eye and flatter me how beautiful she thinks my eyes are, only to make me feel special. But she does kiss me in a way that would make onlookers blush.
She is not a hopeless romantic. She would never do sweet, simple things like sending me thoughtful little gifts just to show how she feels about me; send me hand-written letters to express her feelings for me; surprise me with an impromptu picnic somewhere or with breakfast in bed to make me smile, or pick me up after class only to take me out for lunch. She would never cook my favourite food or mix my favourite drink and bring it in my favourite mug. She would never ask me for a dance under the moon to my favourite music, and then kiss me softly on the lips to make me blush.
This very childish and playful girl, Astoria Greengrass—doing anything remotely close to being romantic? Maybe in a parallel universe where Voldemort is a fairly decent man doing paper work in an office and Harry Potter is only a fictional character of some author's vivid imagination.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not expecting this of her or of anyone if I were in an actual relationship with them. I'm only saying that she's not that kind of person who would move Heaven and Earth for me, Hermione Granger. Because I know she doesn't like girls that way—that's what she had said. When she blushes it's because she's good at acting; she enjoys the rush from kissing me in public, that's where her blush comes from.
She would never take me in her arms to hold me tight without directly touching my breasts when I least expect it. She does it only to incense me. She would giggle. I'd shriek and push her away, then she'd tackle me back down only to smother me with sloppy kisses on the face because she knows I hate that. You know, like I find it revolting when dogs, even though they are cute, they slobber over your face? Gross. Maybe I'm just not a dog lover; I love cats. Astoria's cuteness is that of a little puppy; even though she's adorable I find it revolting when she wets my face with her kisses.
One time, she put her head on my chest and stayed like that for a few minutes, her breathing slowing down. We'd collapsed from a pillow fight which she'd started, and the only reason I engaged was because she wouldn't let me study. We were in my dormitory room and all the girls went out, so she stayed with me to hang around. Anyway, while she was lying there, her baby-smooth hair fell over my face, I brushed it aside, gently. For a moment I thought she fell asleep so I let down my guard. I smiled peacefully, staring at the canopy of my bed. Suddenly, she pushed my blouse up and tickled me with her cold fingers, giggled, then pinned my arms above my head and licked me across the face. Ew. Shrieking, I pushed her off me and she flew off the bed, hitting the floor with a loud thud. And still, she was laughing like a maniac.
Moments like this make me laugh, but most often, they make me feel uncomfortable.
To emphasize this, we're not in a real relationship; we can't even say that we're friends.
But that Astoria Greengrass managed to make my heart swell with love over time I will never fully understand. And that she fell in love with me first, I guess she will never understand. She once told me—and this is something she truly believes in—that "The one who falls in love first, loses". I believe she read this in a teen magazine. Right. And that it only starts to hurt the moment you begin to care.
Neither of us planned it to happen—this "Us"; and "We" didn't even see it coming. Love has no rules or restrictions. It's inevitable. It's something you cannot easily refuse when you don't want it, especially when it's between two girls from rival houses. When it's between two girls. Period.
Now we do make out once in a while basically because it's part of our verbal agreement.
Our deal. The Deal.
Her vengeance. To get back at her sister and ex-boyfriend.
She doesn't have to know that, mainly, I did it for her. To help her out in her grieving. I wanted to be there for her because she needed a 'friend'. Merlin, she came to me months ago when her boyfriend cheated on her with her older sister. She begged me to help her. Me, Hermione Granger—for crying out loud, a Gryffindor, her boyfriend's worst enemy's best friend. The Mudblood she, like every Slytherin, despised. And as I've said, we weren't even friends.
So you can imagine the kind of shock we both experienced once we realised our true feelings for each other—almost at the same time.
It all started when we were sitting in the library; she was staring at me for a while, studying my face curiously, and then asked,
"So, you wanna have sex with me?"
"What?" I thought I misheard her and only gave her a dirty look.
"I mean, we could go further than just snog, you know," she suggested, wagging her perfectly trimmed eyebrows. "I reckon you taste good."
"Gross. No way!" I ducked my head and quickly glanced up and down the aisle. I'm used to her talking dirty to me all the time, but I also know that she's only testing my reaction.
She laughed in her high, joyous sound of laughter, giggling at the face I made because the thought of it made me internally cringe. Truth be told, I wasn't opposed to the thought of having sex with her—she was a beautiful and attractive girl, after all, with her long, straight blonde hair that cascaded down her shoulders like liquid gold, hugging her pale, angelic face, her green eyes sparkling like the purest emeralds when lights hit them, and whenever she smiled…
Anyway, where was I? Ah yes, sex. With her. No.
She did mean it as a joke; of course, I knew that, nothing that ever came from her could be taken seriously. How would she have reacted if I'd answered, "Sure, how does next Saturday sound after our fake-date?' Hmm…
Did I mention that she loves teasing me?
"Why not?" she asked, challenging, her chin on her hands while she kept staring at me. I was helping her revise her essay. "It would be fun, I guess. You look so damn sexy when you write this boring essay for me."
I looked daggers at her, shoving her essay over to her. However, it was hard to stay angry with her when she looked so adorable. "You write it yourself. I have written some keywords to serve as a guide. Here," I said, crossing my arms.
For the record, even though she did look like a younger version of the Roman goddess Venus, I was not attracted to her. She was just simply not my type. My type being more…well, manly, like the famous, broad-chested Quidditch player, Viktor Krum, my former crush on the charming Professor Lockhart, and then there was…my lousy best friend, Ronald Weasley. The arse. If only he wasn't dating the tramp she-zilla a.k.a Lavender Brown.
She smiled at me, trying to sound seductive. "Did I mention how cute you look when you're being bossy?"
"Shut up and write."
Imagine that only six months later—okay, six months is such a bloody long time, but still—I actually gave in to her. Gave in hmm… might not be the appropriate word, considering that I was the one who tore her black dress apart and straddled her legs, pinning her on the bed. She didn't have to beg or ask for it unlike the one hundred and one times she did before only to tease me. She didn't have to seduce me either, or even fill me up with alcohol just to make my mental judgment cease in exchange for a temporary blissful moment with her.
There was one thing, however, the only romantic gesture she'd ever made, that changed my feelings for her completely.
You never guess what she did. Just thinking about it still makes me smile…
A/N: If you liked it so far, pretty please leave a response below. Any constructive criticism or correction of my awful grammar is very much appreciated.