Chapter 4 - Monday with Harry

Harry thought he was tired from cleaning and painting. Now he was exhausted, but he never felt better. His world was almost complete, though he was not thinking about the one missing piece. Somehow the necessity of Voldemort's downfall was the furthest thing from his mind. He was focused on right now and the last few hours. The best part, he thought, was that he could look over at Hermione and know that they didn't have to go separate ways for two whole weeks. They could be together anytime they wanted.

"How was your time at home?" Harry asked.

"It was okay, but I spent most of it thinking about you. I missed you terribly," Hermione responded. "I did talk to my mother about us, though."

Harry's senses suddenly jumped. What was this about?

"What did you tell her?"

"I just thought I should let her know that I'm not a little girl anymore. I told her we were dating, and I told I was in love with you."

"You WHAT?" Harry couldn't believe his ears. "YOU TOLD YOUR MOTHER?"

"Harry, it's a girl thing. I can't just come home some time and say `Harry and I are getting married' or whatever. I had to break the ice a little bit. She understood. We talked about what happens next, although she doesn't know anything about what's already happened. It's okay, Harry." Hermione was smiling and seemed very comfortable with what she was relating.

"I guess girls are just different. But then, I don't have anybody to tell."

"I'm sorry, Harry," Hermione said softly. "I wish your parents were here too, and I know they would be very happy for you."

"For us," Harry corrected her. He thought it was time to change the subject. "Would you like to see what I did to the rest of the house.

The tour lasted an hour, not because there was that much to see, but because they stopped to kiss after almost every step. Harry nearly fell down the stairs when a hug turned into a tickle. Finally, they ended up in the drawing room, sitting on the floor in front of the fire.

"Harry, what you've done is fantastic. It doesn't even seem like the same house. I want to help you with the rest of it, but this is fantastic."

Harry was pleased that she liked his work. She also noticed that he had conjured fresh flowers in several locations. "Why all the flowers?" she asked.

"I thought you'd like them," he answered. "I heard somewhere that girls like getting flowers."

Hermione smiled. "You were right." Then her smile turned into the Cheshire cat grin that always meant trouble for Harry. He tensed a little.

"Now, I want to show you something I heard about." She left the room and he heard her climbing the stairs. He sat waiting, not knowing what she had in mind. Knowing Hermione, and knowing her recent penchant for doing the unexpected, Harry grew cautious when she didn't return immediately. After 4 or 5 minutes, he almost started to follow her, but then thought better of it. She couldn't have gone very far, and this was probably part of her plan. Then Harry heard her coming down the stairs.

"Close your eyes," she called out from the hallway.

Harry complied, and heard her walk into the room. "Since you've been real good, you can open your eyes now."

Harry decided to play the game a little, and very slowly opened his eyes. He didn't believe what he saw. Hermione was standing in front of him, dressed in a thin, filmy nightgown of scarlet. She was standing in front of the fire, and the light from the flames outlined her entire body. She was clearly aroused, and walked slowly towards Harry.

"I am the woman in scarlet who has come to take you away from your hum-drum existence," she said, talking in a sensuous voice that dripped with honey. It was obvious that she was having the desired effect as Harry, wearing just the robe he had grabbed when they began the tour, tried to cover his growing response. Hermione laughed, and reached down to him.

"Don't pretend that you can hide your desires," she said, and then mimicked the voice of Bellatrix. "The scarlet woman always knows, Potter!" Harry didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Hermione knelt down to him, and spoke softly. "It's time we make this room our own, just as we did upstairs."

She leaned in to kiss him, and slowly opened his robe. Several kisses later, he was lying on his back with Hermione straddled over him. She moved the sheer fabric aside and lowered herself onto him. Then she began to ride up and down, driving Harry to continuous peaks of ecstasy. From time to time, she would lean down and nibble on Harry's ear or start another round of wet, open kisses. Harry knew he couldn't last forever, and yet Hermione seemed to know just when to back off and allow him to regain some control. Finally, she too gave in, and let him go.

As they lay in front of the fire, Hermione finally broke the silence. "I have some other surprises for you, Harry. I made a couple of side trips on the way here today. I hope you don't mind."

"Hermione, I can't imagine anything you could do that I would mind."

"Do you really think that we can keep what we have right now, I mean, well, forever?" she asked. Harry wasn't certain if she was voicing some lingering concern, or just talking about them.

"We can be whatever we choose to be. You didn't choose to be muggle-born. I didn't choose to be involved with Voldemort. But we can both choose to be happy, and let that choice guide us in the future. Right now, I choose to be with you, and I cannot envision ever wanting to change my mind. I want this to be our house, and I want you..." Harry lost his train of thought. He wasn't about to propose marriage, although it was obvious that they were both headed that direction. He was only 16, as was she.

"I guess that all I can say is that I can't imagine my future without you beside me, just like now."

Hermione was tearing up again, as she seemed to do lately whenever Harry told her what was in his heart. She leaned over, kissing her way to his lips. Looking directly into his eyes, she summed up the entire day.

"I love you, Harry."