Title: The Blending 15
Author: red rooster dawn
Pairing: Harry and Hermione
Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them
Summary: The most gifted witch of her generation with the most powerful young wizard. Hermione wants to be with Harry. What lengths will she go through to be with him? What are the limits of her powers?
Author's note: From the beginning it appeared to me that these two young people were destined to be together. Of all the wizards Hermione could latch onto, Harry was the one. She is the most gifted witch of her generation. She would seek out an equally gifted wizard. It makes no sense for her to be with an idiot, clown, and total screw up that she has at least one major fight with and doesn't speak to for long periods of time.
part one The year begins anew
25 August
It was the seventh and final year at Hogwarts for one Harry Potter. One more year and there would be no more restrictions on his life. Harry was very excited about that prospect.
He wouldn't have to live with his aunt and uncle anymore. Though he really didn't know where he was going to live or what he was going to do at least there wouldn't be anyone telling him.
He still had a rather large inheritance from his parents and the estate that Sirius Black left him when he died. It was a very large and old house. For some reason Hermione liked it there, why he didn't know.
It was a bit run down since no one had lived there for many years. He couldn't imagine living there by himself, maybe if Hermione was there with him. Where did that thought come from. She was only a friend.
Their relationship was that of friendship not romantic in nature. At least he had never thought of it in that manner though he had to admit his relationship with Hermione had come between a few of his failed conquest of other young ladies. They all thought he and Hermione were a couple.
Harry decided to rent a car for the last month of the summer. His uncle wasn't too pleased about it, but Harry had made the argument that it was normal for a boy of seventeen to be driving around in a car. Dudley had a car to drive around town with his girlfriend.
He also argued the point that if he had a car his uncle wouldn't have to drive him around town after work when he was tired. He could also run errands for Aunt Petunia so his uncle wouldn't have to.
He would be around the house less thus his uncle would see less of him. He knew his uncle didn't hate him, but he wasn't fond of his kind. They seemed to make him nervous. He remembered last year when the Weasleys came for a visit.
Since he had his own car and was free to go wherever he wanted. Hermione had invited him to come for a visit at her home for the two weeks before they returned to Hogwarts. She had been calling him several times a week that summer.
He had never had anyone calling him on the telephone on a regular basis. Ron had tried one year, but had met great resistance from his uncle. Of course her calls were different than the usual ones. They weren't about Hogswart.
They were more of a personal nature. It left him more than a little confused. He was a little surprised when she issued the invitation.
Every year after they met Ron on the trip to Hogwarts the first year they would get together at Ron's house a week or two before they returned to school. It had been interesting to see how a wizard family lived.
He couldn't say too much about the Burrow, the house that Ron lived in. It was completely opposite of the house he lived in. Aunt Petunia was a neat freak. She didn't like to see a speck of dirt anywhere.
As much as he hated to admit it, it was a comfortable place to live once he didn't have to sleep in the closet under the stairs. He wished he had more to eat though. He never seemed to get enough to eat while he was at home as he did when he was at Hogwarts.
The Weasley's house wasn't exactly like home. It was worn down and welled lived in. Nothing in it was new. Most of the furniture had been broken more than a few times. There wasn't enough room for everyone and it was never very clean.
But what could one say about a place where so many people lived. As soon as you cleaned one room someone walked in and dropped their stuff in it. But as run down as it was it felt more like a home than where he lived.
He wondered why after so many years Hermione had finally decided to invite him to her home. He was sure that it would be quite different than the Burrow. Her parents were muggles, that is they were normal. He guessed it would be pretty nice.
He wondered what kind of house they lived in. It had to be very nice. Hermione had told him both of her parents were dentists. He knew that was a very profitable profession. He still wondered why she wanted him to visit her now.
He hoped it wasn't one of those meet the parents kind of things. Dudley had told him that teenage girls like to have their boyfriends meet their parents when their relationship reached a certain point.
They usually wanted more out of their relationship than you did. Dudley had told him it was a prelude to them wanting to get married. Get married! What a thought that was. He didn't know what he even wanted to do with his life never mind get married.
He had to admit to himself that he did miss her. It had been almost two months since he had last seen her. She had always been a very special friend to him even when he was interested in other girls. She was always there for him whenever he needed her.
He did find it interesting though that this year he missed her more than he did other years. He wondered what had changed between them to make him feel this way. Did it have something to do with being seventeen?
Was it because he wanted someone special in his life, someone who was more than just a friend? He had to admit he was jealous of some of his friends who had found a girl to be with, that is more than just friends.
Even Dudley had a girlfriend this year. He was kind of shock that it was even remotely possible for Dudley. Then again she wasn't exactly a small girl either. They seemed to love each other, at least that was what Dudley told him.
He packed all his things he would need for school in the car and droved to her house. It was a long drive, more than two hours long. She lived near the coast not far from the ocean. It was a large house, almost twice as large as the Burrow.
She was waiting there for him out on the front porch. She ran down the steps to greet him when he got out of the car. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him like she never kissed him before. He was a bit surprised by its intensity.
He wondered why she was kissing him in such a manner, not that he mind. He kind of liked it. He found himself automatically returning the kiss. He didn't want to stop, but she finally pulled away from him.
Maybe she missed him as much as he missed her. They had been spending more time together last spring. She had taken to kissing him good morning and good night everyday. He didn't know why she did, but he did like it.
"I'm so glad you're finally here Harry, I've missed you so much. My Mom and Dad have been waiting to meet you. I'm afraid that I've been talking about you nonstop for the last six years whenever I'm home. They don't believe that you're a real person." Hermione rambled on excitedly as she took his hand and led him up the steps into the house.
Six years, had it been that long since he had first met her. She was a wee little thing back then, barely four and a half feet tall. She was kind of adorable then when she would raise her hand so excitedly to answer a question.
He though she would explode from the excitement. Some of their teachers appreciated her enthusiasm, but not Professor Snape. He thought she was a know it all.
It got to the point Professor Snape would say Ms Granger can't be the only one who knows the answer and he would start deducting points from every house until he got an answer from someone besides her.
Hermione had grown to be quite tall as she had grown more than a foot and filled out quite nicely. She was quite beautiful now. She was more comfortable about herself."I hope you haven't been waiting long. I got lost a couple of times on the way here. I turned the wrong way once or twice." replied Harry. He was still a little dazed from her greeting."Only since the last time I saw you Harry. As much as I love spending time at home here with my family every summer, it means that I don't get to see you everyday. I've gotten use to seeing your face every morning." cooed Hermione.
Harry didn't know exactly how to respond to that. Hermione had never expressed herself in such a manner to him before. She had always been just a friend. Now she was making it seem that she wanted to be more than just a friend, she wanted to be his one and only, no other girls allowed.
It left him more than a little confused. If they were going to be a couple, he wondered how that would affect their relationship with Ron? Ron had been his best friend since he met him on the train. He was the first friend he had at Hogwarts.
They had spent a lot of time doing things together as a threesome. How would that change if he and Hermione were a couple? He knew that Ron had feelings for Hermione, but what kind of feelings were they?
How strong were Ron's feelings for Hermione? They usually fought with each other at least once every year and Ron wouldn't speak to Hermione for weeks at a time which usually put him in the middle.
He liked spending time with both of them and he never took sides. He didn't understand why Ron still hadn't forgiven her for going to the Tri Wizards Ball with Viktor Krum several years ago. Ron believed she had betrayed Hogwarts. She was siding with the enemy.
Harry couldn't understand the thought process behind that line of thinking. He could remember Ron going on and on that summer about how Viktor Krum was the greatest Quidditch player in the world. Ron had a man crush on Viktor.
He even had several replica dolls of Viktor. He had even seen Ron kiss the doll on more than one occasion. Maybe that explained the kiss she gave him. Still he wondered why she had never greeted him like that before?
She was never affectionate like this at school. Maybe she felt uncomfortable kissing him in front of Ron and his family. They had always been friends since the day they met. He had garnered unwanted attention both good and bad.
She had always been envied for being the most gifted witch at Hogwarts. During good times and bad they could always count on each other. It was a source of great comfort to have a friend like that."Come Harry, my parents are waiting to meet you. They're waiting inside." smiled Hermione as she took his hand in her small one.
It was a move that surprised him a little more. It was such a wonderful sensual feeling. Her hand was small and very soft. It fit perfectly in his larger hand. Little Harry was telling him he was happy too. He was embarrassed.
They walked back up to the house. It was magnificent. He had never seen a house more impressive. They went inside and then out onto the back porch where her parents were relaxing in the shade looking out at the ocean."Mom, Dad, this is Harry." introduced Hermione happily. She hoped that they liked him. She couldn't imagine being with anyone else."Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Granger." mumbled Harry in greeting. He felt like he was on display like a piece of meat at a werewolf convention.
"Harry, it's so nice to finally meet you. Hermione has told us so much about you. I think you are her favorite subject at school." teased her father. He had never seen his baby girl looking so happy.
"Daddy!" exclaimed an embarrassed Hermione.
Her cheeks were changing to a dark crimson red. Her father just laughed at her embarrassment. He had never seen her like this before. It was nice to see her with a boy. He was worried that she spent too much time in the library studying and not enough time socializing with the boys.
"Would you like something to eat or drink Harry? There are sandwiches on the table and tonic in the cooler." offered her mother.
She was surprised to see that Harry had grown quite tall. Hermione had always told her that Harry was one of the shorter boys in class.
"Thank you Ma'am. I guess I'm a little hungry after the long drive." smiled Harry nervously.
He took a couple of sandwiches and placed them on a plate. He grabbed a tonic and sat down next to Hermione. She seemed to inch closer and closer to him as the afternoon wore on.
They spent the rest of the afternoon talking. They showed him the room he would be staying in. It was impressive. It was nearly as large as all the bedrooms at his aunt and uncle's house.
After dinner Hermione told Harry to change into some swimming trunks. She wanted to take a walk along the beach to her favorite spot where she liked to go swimming. He put on some swimming trunks and a T-shirt and went outside to wait for her.
She arrived a few moments later wearing a two piece swimsuit and a see thru blouse one wore at the beach. Harry was a bit dumbfounded. He had never seen her dressed in this manner before. She looked beautiful.
Hell, he had never seen any girl dressed this way before except for on television when Dudley would watch old reruns of an American show called, Bay Watch, a show about female lifeguards.
She looked so beautiful. She had long slender legs, a tiny little waist, and her chest was pleasantly endowed. He had never imagined her looking so perfect. She gave him a beautiful smile and took one of his hands in hers.
"What's the matter Harry?" asked Hermione coyly. She had noticed the look on his face when he saw her."Nothing, nothing, everything is perfect." Harry replied."What's perfect Harry?" she asked looking for confirmation to what she suspected he meant.
"You, here on the beach, wearing a bikini. You look beautiful Hermione. I never realized that you were so beautiful Hermione." replied Harry.
"Thank you Harry, that is very kind of you to say, you're not so bad looking yourself." smiled Hermione. He thought that she was beautiful. That was the first time he had ever said anything of the kind to her.
They walked along the beach for awhile to one of her favorite spots. The water was warm and not very deep. There was a sand bar that went out almost two hundred feet from shore. They swam some and played in the water for about thirty minutes before returning to the beach.
They dried themselves off and sat down on the blanket that Harry had laid out. Hermione started a small fire for ambience. She pulled out a couple of tonics from the basket to drink as they settled down to wait for the sun to set.
"It's beautiful here." remarked Harry."It's one of my favorite places to watch the sun set. It's very beautiful when the sun meets the water and sinks. The colors are breathtaking." replied Hermione."It's too bad that Ron and Ginny aren't here. We could have had so much fun in the water." observed Harry wondering why his friend wasn't there with them. He was feeling a little awkward right about now."Are you sure Harry? You know how much he dislikes doing something new. All he would do is complain and whine that we won't do what he likes to do. He never goes swimming with us and our friends whenever we go to the lake when we're at Hogwarts." countered Hermione."I think he still suffering from the trauma of being under water for an hour during the Tri Wizards Tournament a few years ago. He thought he had died and gone to Valhalla." replied Harry."I don't think so Harry, George told me that Ron hasn't liked the water since he almost drown in the bath tub when he was three years old." corrected Hermione.
Hermione moved closer to Harry taking his hand with hers. She was hoping that Harry would take the hint and kiss her.
"So when can we expect to see Ron and Ginny? When are they coming? I was quite surprise to learn that we weren't going to the Burrow again this year." asked Harry hoping to distract her.
He was feeling a little uncomfortable. He had seen what usually happened whenever a girl wanted to hold hands with one of his friends. He wasn't sure he wanted to spend the night kissing Hermione.
If he did, he was sure they would be doing it every night while he was staying there. What would he do about little Harry? Little Harry had a knack of being active all night when he wanted to play."They aren't coming Harry. I wanted to spend some time alone with you before we go back to Hogwarts without listening to Ron whining about something unimportant. He can be such a pill when he wants to be." moaned Hermione.
She hated talking about Ron. He could never take a hint whenever she wanted to be alone with Harry. It was like he was jealous of anyone who spent time wit Harry. Was it possible he was gay? Was that the real problem?"You should have told me Hermione." sulked Harry. He was looking forward to spending some time with Ron before they went back. They always had fun doing guy stuff together, something that was hard to do at Hogwarts.
"Told you what Harry? I invited you to visit me this summer. It's what most normal people do Harry. I wanted to spend some time with you before we went back to Hogwarts. I didn't want to listen to Ron whine about everything.
You know he's not capable of entertaining himself. He expects others to come up with ideas of things to do and then he'll complain about the different choices. He's lazy. He likes sitting around doing nothing except watching Quidditch.
I didn't want my vacation spoiled by listening to him complain. Besides Harry, it's what they do in polite society. They invite you to their home, you invite them to yours. I didn't want you to spend your whole summer with your family." replied Hermione."They have invited you to the Burrow many times Hermione. I have never invited you to visit me." countered Harry."Ronald has never invited me to the Burrow Harry. He has always been agitated whenever I have shown up there. It has always been Ginny or her mother that has invited me. Besides Ron has been spending his time with Luna this summer." corrected Hermione."I don't believe that. Ron doesn't even like Luna." argued Harry.
"Are you sure Harry? Ron has known Luna all his life. She use to spend most of her summers at the Burrow until her mother died. Luna has been sending me owl grams all summer telling me how Ron walks her home every night and that they spend at least thirty minutes making out." smiled didn't know what to say. He found that hard to believe, but Ron was always saying one thing and doing something else. Before he knew what was happening, they were lying on the blanket with Hermione on top of him kissing him passionately.
Harry was a bit surprised, not that she was kissing him, but by the intensity of the kiss. While he always suspected that she liked him more than just as a friend, he was surprised that she felt this strongly about him.
Was that why she invited him there? Was she trying to tell him that she wanted more from their relationship? At the moment though he didn't want to think about it. All he could focus on right now was his best friend kissing him and that he was enjoying it.
And unlike earlier when he arrived, she wasn't stopping. It was a pattern that they would continue to do every night for the next two weeks until they headed back to Hogwarts.
Later that evening Mrs. Granger caught up with her daughter on the back porch. She was sitting there quietly looking up at the stars thinking about her first night with Harry. She looked so happy with a very contented look on her face.
"Hi Mom." greeted Hermione when she saw her mother."You look happy tonight Hermione. Did you and Harry have a good time?" asked Mrs. Granger with a wry smile."It was pretty wonderful mom. We went for a walk along the beach, we went swimming, and we watched the sunset." replied Hermione dreamily."Did you let Harry know how you feel about him? Did you share a kiss with him?" asked Mrs. Granger. She couldn't believe that her little girl was so grown up and dating now. She knew Hermione had been love with Harry for some time now."Mom!" exclaimed Hermione in disbelief. She couldn't believe that her mother was being so direct with her."You're not a child anymore Hermione. If you don't feel comfortable about talking to me about it, then maybe you should rethink what you're doing. You shouldn't be ashame if you love him Hermione." replied Mrs. Granger.
"Yes mom, we kissed. It was pretty nice. I feel warm and fuzzy inside." wailed Hermione realizing the truth in what her mother had said."Do you think he likes you as much as you like him?" asked Mrs. Granger. First love could be very special. It could be so intense, make you feel so good, and make you forget about everything else. "I don't know. He does like kissing me though." smiled Hermione dreamily."I like him Hermione. Harry seems to be a very nice boy. Just be careful that you don't go too far. You don't want to push him too fast or too hard. I think he knows what you want from him now. Take your time, go slow. Make sure he wants the same things as you do." counseled Mrs. Granger.
Everyday for the next two weeks they would take long walks along the beach holding hands. They would talk about their plans for the upcoming year. Harry was looking forward to playing Quidditch, spending time with his friends, and maybe even getting closer with Hermione.
Whether or not he did that though, depended upon Ron. He wanted to know what Ron's feelings were for Hermione. He wanted to know that if he and Hermione were together, how would that affect Ron? Would Ron still want to be his friend?