9. A Bad Idea
So you two are living together?" Hermione asked Harry.
"Well... I don't have any other place to live right now. And she didn't really ask, just took me along with her."
"Harry... Exactly how serious are you two?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, how close is your relationship? Are you two... sleeping together?"
"Yeah," Harry replied casually and seeing her raised eyebrows added, "Oh! That? No, we haven't done that! We're just sleeping in the same bed. Just... Sleeping!"
Hermione nodded in understanding and after a few seconds, told him, "I still can't believe you never told me about it."
Harry just quietly replied, "She never really came up, and there was no need, and... It hurt, to think about her then, you know." Seeing Hermione's sad smile, he added, "Of course, now thinking about her is great." His lips formed a smile, just thinking about the past few days with Tonks. With no jobs and nothing important to do, they had spent most of their time watching television shows and movies, having singing and dancing sessions, playing video games, and doing some other... Stuff!
His thoughts were interrupted when Hermione asked him, "Do you love her?"
That question threw Harry completely. He looked sideways at her to find her staring back at him with her familiar curious look. Now he was sure his feelings for Tonks weren't the same as the feelings he had for the girl sitting beside him. In fact, Hermione was probably the only living person he was absolutely sure he loved. What he felt for her, well if that wasn't love, then what was? But Tonks... He knew he had strong feelings for her as well. But was that love as well? Could he even love more than one person at the same time? After some thought, he told Hermione the truth, "I have no idea." He gave her a little smile, "Maybe I do love her, maybe I don't. I'm not sure how to tell. You know I don't really have a lot of experience with love."
"Oh Harry!" She said softly and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I hate those damn Dursleys." She muttered venomously a few seconds later.
"Woah! Isn't damn a curse word? Hermione Granger! What has happened to you?"
"Oh shut up!" She lazily admonished him, burying her head deeper into his neck, having no idea what she was doing to him.
"Hermione?"
"Hm?"
"What if Ron sees us like this? Don't you think he'll get mad?"
"You're right." She sighed and raised herself up, making some part of him miss her closeness and making the rest of him feel relieved. "You know what, he needs to work on his jealousy anyway." Then she held his right arm by the elbow, flung it around her shoulders and settled herself on his shoulder again, even wrapping her right arm around his chest.
"Oh, ok." He replied, wondering if she could feel the frantic beat of his heart.
After some time, she pressed into him a little tighter and told him, "I'm so happy you're back!"
Slowly and carefully, he leaned his head towards her and settled his cheek on her hair.
"Me too, Hermione!" Remembering the conversation he had overheard between her and Ginny, after thinking about it for many minutes, he whispered, "Hermione?"
"Hm?" She whispered back.
"Do you love me?"
Hermione instantly sat up, and after a second of surprise, positively beamed at him. She sat up gave him a hug, though not as tight as she would have liked because of the way they were sitting against a tree, and told him sincerely, "You're my best friend in the whole world, Harry Potter. Of course I love you!"
When she looked at him with her slightly misty eyes, she saw probably the biggest smile she had ever seen on his face. She laughed along when he gave her a small chuckle. Of course he knew this wasn't the happiest he could ever be, that would probably have been if he hadn't been with Tonks, and Hermione had meant it in the same way he did, but still he was sure that it came pretty close.
A few seconds later, when they had both relaxed a little, he told her with complete sincerity, "Oh and Hermione, I love you too." He laughed again when she shrieked at him, "You said it!" but then told her in a melodramatic way, "Alas, we just can not be together. Nymphadora needs me."
"Haha! Shut up you prat!" She ruffled his hair a little bit as she settled down beside him again. "I don't want you dying at her hand right after I got you back."
"For calling her Nymphadora? Oh no she won't. You see I'm on the list now."
"Hm... Let me guess. List of people allowed to call her by her first name?"
Harry chuckled and nodded. She looked toward him when she heard him loudly sigh, and smiled when she saw the happiness reflected in his face.
"You don't know how great it is to see you so happy for once."
"What do you mean 'for once'? I was happy in..." After minutes of thinking, he was shocked to find that the only considerable time he could think of which was filled with mostly happy memories was back in his first year. "Wow! I'd never thought about it."
"Well, now you're gonna aaaw - " She said, finishing with a yawn.
"Aaaaaaw... You're so cute!" He told her, standing up and cheekily grinning at her.
She just shook her head, "Idiot! I was saying... You know what? You don't get to hear it, because you just made fun of me."
"Awww!" He complained as he pulled her up.
"You just did it again." Somehow, Harry bravely kept a smile on his face, even through all the swats and punches.
"I can't believe how sexy you look in an apron."
"You know, the more you say stuff like that, the weirder you get." Harry replied, smiling and shaking his head.
"Don't forget adorable-er." Tonks told him, coming up behind him to put her arms around him and playfully bite his neck.
He sucked in a breath, almost spilling some boiling soup on himself. "Careful, careful!"
"Mhmmm!" She breathed into the ear she was biting at the moment. He tried his best to continue to carefully stir while she, very softly and excruciatingly slowly, kissed her way down to the bottom of his neck before just settling her cheek on his shoulder and nuzzling his neck.
After freeing his right hand and wiping it on the apron, he carefully brought it to her face, softly brushing her currently black hair off her cheek.
"Tonks! Babe," he called with a small roll of his eyes but making her smile, "you okay?"
"Mhm," She hummed.
"Wanna go to bed? I'll wake you up when dinner's ready."
"Not alone!" She mumbled, making him smile. After the past few nights, he didn't think he would've wanted to go to bed alone either, no matter how knackered he felt. Because as fun as the past few days had been, the moments he had loved the most were in her bed. And it wasn't because of any amorous activities, instead it was because the usually fun, hilarious, constantly-making-him-laugh Tonks that he had so much fun with in the daytime showed him her quiet, soft, sweet, calm side in the night.
The way she let him lay his head in her lap, the way she ran her fingers through his hair, the way she talked to him with their foreheads touching and lips barely an inch apart, nuzzling his neck, his nose, or his cheek and giving him little kisses from time to time, the way she locked her legs with his, and pushed back into him, leaving him no choice but to spoon her, not that he minded the way her amazing body somehow fit so perfectly with his, the way she took care of him when he had nightmares, the warmth he felt when he had her in his arms, he loved it all. Of course, these sweet little moments were mingled with some naughty ones as well, the way she sometimes interrupted their talks with kisses that left them both breathless, the way she sometimes rubbed her body against his when they snuggled, the way she randomly took his hands and placed them on her breasts.
"How are your parents?" He asked a little apprehensively.
"Bloody tiring!" She answered, going back and leaning on a cupboard.
"What happened?"
"Nothing! Dad was just happy for me, but mum was like, how'd you get together blah blah blah how could you not tell us blablah what do you mean you're living together blah blah when am i becoming a grammy blah blah! God, just shut her up."
"I'm sorry?" He almost asked, his anxiety clear in his voice.
Tonks chuckled and told him, "Don't worry. You don't have to meet them today. You can take your time."
Harry let out a breath and nodded repeatedly. "Right, thanks!"
"Mum gave me something to show you. You won't believe what it is."
He went to her while she brought out a photograph from one of her coat pockets.
"It's our first kiss, on the nose, but still. Look." He looked at the photograph in which a tiny little girl with red flowing hair was holding a baby carefully in his arms and from time to time, she kissed his nose and then grinned gleefully at the camera.
The real Tonks kissed real Harry's nose the same way when he looked up at her after watching themselves in the photograph for some time. "You were just 6 or 7 months old. Mum said I was copying whatever your mother was doing that day, and she kissed you on the nose before she handed you to me, so obviously I did it too. I'd forgotten about that day, you know."
"I didn't know your parents knew mine."
"Well, Sirius was close to both our families." She told him, now looking back at the photograph.
"It's great. I love it." He smiled at her and then sweetly kissed her.
After a few seconds, he remembered, "Oh crap! The soup," and went to the stove, leaving Tonks laughing at his back.
"Hm hm hm hmmmmm! Hm hm hm hmmmmm hmm!" Tonks hummed as she brought out the plates to the dining table.
"What song is that?" Harry asked.
"High and Dry, Radiohead!"
"Which ones were they?"
"Oh, you know, I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo!" She told him.
"Ah right. Thanks for reminding me." Harry told her, trying to keep in his laughter, surprised that she still hadn't caught up with the joke.
When Harry went into the kitchen, he found her looking around weirdly, then she turned to him, and said, "What the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here," and strode out, leaving Harry quietly laughing.
"Oh and Kingsley told me that he needs to talk to you about Gringotts. Can you go with me to the ministry tomorrow?" Tonks asked when they had both sat down. Harry nodded enthusiastically on the other end of the table, "What time?"
"Around ten thirty in the morning. I thought I'd ask if he's got any work for me as well. You don't mind me if I work a little bit, do you?"
"No, no, you can work."
"Good! You need to learn to live without me anyway, you're going to be off to Hogwarts in just a few months time, leaving your poor Dora alone." Tonks told him, wiping some fake tears away.
"I don't really want to go." Harry told her. When it looked like she was continuing her fake tears thing, he quickly added, "I'm serious."
"Great! Fine, why do you not want to go?" Tonks asked him in a bored tone.
"Well... You know!"
"Wow! That convinced me. Stay with me, babe. You don't need school."
"No, I mean I could get tutoring instead of going there. I'll still give the NEWTs."
"Harry, please tell me you're kidding."
"Tonks, I just can't imagine being happy in Hogwarts."
"Of course not, it's your NEWT year. You're not going there to be happy. You're going there to study!"
"Tonks, just think about what I'll be living with."
"What? What is as bad as missing your education?"
"Hermione! And Ron!"
"Oh my god!" She screamed at him, getting up and starting to walk around.
"And how will I see you? We can't see each other for months."
"What are you talking about? You'd have Hogsmeade weekends. And trust me, with all the studying you should be doing there, you'll hardly have time to think about me."
"And I can't live around Ron anymore. I don't know what's up with me but I just can't stand him anymore. He's not funny. He's stupid. And he's so disgusting. I can't understand why I've let him be my best friend for so long. He's a jerk. He doesn't deserve someone a tenth as good as Hermione, and it doesn't matter how much I loved her, she's fallen for him, all because of a fucking book. How do you expect me to live with someone like that in a dorm?"
"YOU'RE 17!" She shrieked at him. "These things happen! Sometimes you get your heart broken. Sometimes you lose friends. It doesn't mean that you stop living your life. It just means you move on. A girl you like isn't in love with you? Big deal! It happens all the time. It doesn't mean you're gonna let it destroy your life. It means that you need to move on. If you don't want to spend time with Ron and Hermione, then don't. Make some new friends. What were you expecting? To stay best friends with a girl you're in love with and her boyfriend? Of course that's not gonna work. But go make some new friends, don't fucking quit school. What the hell, Harry? I thought you were smart. And now you're talking about not going to Hogwarts?"
After some time , Harry told her in an apologetic tone, "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm being an idiot." When she didn't answer, he went up to her and with the best puppy dog eyes he could muster, he pleaded, "Tonks, please forgive me. You're right. I don't know what I was thinking. I love Hogwarts. I'll deal with the bad stuff. And I don't hate Ron. I guess I'm just jealous. And I'll try not to think about her as well. And I'll study, a lot, without help from others. I'm sorry!"
After a few seconds, she said, "First take off your glasses." He took them off and then again put on his puppy dog eyes. "Nah, you're not doing it right. Go practice in the mirror and then come back and show me." Harry, with a slightly confused expression, started to walk away but after just a few steps, Tonks called him back. "I'm kidding, Harry. Come here."
"I'm sorry." He said, coming up to her.
"I know, babe." Tonks told him quietly, giving him a little kiss, "It's fine. I wasn't that mad. And I'll miss you too. But not going to Hogwarts is just stupid, Harry. It's something you'll regret for the rest of your life. But forget about it. Now c'mon. Let's see if your chicken is as good as your bacon."
"Oh! Nothing is as good as my bacon."
After she was quickly finished with her dinner, "Well, definitely not bacon good... But still, it was pretty great!"
Harry gave her a grin, "Thanks, babe!"
"Maybe if you don't go to Hogwarts, you could be a chef."
"Tonks, I'm going. I'm sorry I had such an awful idea."
"You know, I don't think you were punished enough for your last horrible idea. This time, I'm not letting you get away just like that."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah, this time I'm gonna punish you so bad you're gonna swear off such stupid ideas forever, my darlin'!"
"Darlin'?"
"Shush honey, I'm monologuing. Oh, no wait, I'm done."
Harry gave a nervous chuckle, and asked, "So? What's my punishment?"
"Ah, we've got all night, why spoil the surprise?" She said mysteriously as she got up, took both their plates and went into the kitchen. A few seconds later, she came up to Harry, sat down on his lap, put her hands in his hair, looked him in the eyes and told him in a sultry voice, "Let's just say I don't feel like wearing clothes tonight!"
A/N :
mwinter1, bodsquad, maesde, marcus nightfire, Keigai O Yain, Gruffard, , randumbdave, .best, starboy454Guest(s)... Thank you all so much for your reviews!
HoosierCullen, first of all, thank you so much! Second, I'm really sorry to disappoint, but this is probably not going to end in a three way relationship.
lou2003us, I just love your reviews. :D
FreeTraderBeoWolf, Mine too!
Cat0106, you were expecting a cliffhanger, weren't you? :P
