Hello all! I am very sorry that I have not updated in so long. Long story short, I have had a right hurricane of personal stuff, including a huge move of home-base, so I hope that the updates will come more often. Also, the plot-bunnies have been breeding like crazy in my head, but they have been screaming for other fandoms, so I have been side-tracked. But no longer!
The usual disclaimer, I own nothing.
Thank you all for your lovely reviews. Please, keep them coming! They warm my winter-chilled bones.
Enjoy!
Hermione would be the first to admit that her cognitive dictionary –and companion thesaurus- was impressive. She was capable of wielding esoteric verbiage like a battle axe, and regularly honed this second line of defense –for when logic failed her- with the help of stacks upon stacks of gloriously dusty volumes. Behind the power of logic and the stronghold of her words, Hermione felt nearly indomitable. It was no wonder then that she found herself staring at the cracked plaster on the wall next to her bed, completely unable to sleep, when the realization hit her that there was only one word to describe her situation, and it was maddeningly elementary.
Tension.
At the breakfast table she stared at Tonks out of the corners of her eyes, breath-taking in her pajamas and rosy bedhead as she chewed toast and chatted with the others in her raspy, inordinately-sexy morning voice. When those deep, radiantly-blue eyes turned on her, she felt like she was melting; literally melting, the sheer number of underwear she had gone through in the days following the night in the study was rather embarrassing. When they managed to sit next to each other at table, they pressed their knees together; Hermione had never spent so much time contemplating the feel of her knee, there were more nerve endings there than she had ever imagined. She had replayed the events of that night over and over in her mind, letting the sensations rush through her system like an IV injection of fire whiskey. There had even been one night when Tonks' phantom-touch had driven her to the bathroom floor, where she had found a quick, violent release with the older witch's shirt clenched between her teeth, muffling her whimpers and filling her head with the heady crux of her craving.
Hermione was not unfamiliar with her body, she was a healthy teenager, with a healthy desire for such activities; what she was not used to was the urgency. It tugged at her gut every time her eyes fell on Tonks. She hadn't just awoken, she had been vivified.
There was but one, glaring problem. Tonks had been sent on assignment with Remus and Kingsley two weeks ago, just four days after the night in the study. Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George and she were scheduled to board the Hogwarts Express the next morning, hence the sunrise staring contest with the wall.
Tension.
There was no way she was leaving 12 Grimmauld Place without seeing Tonks again. She had half a mind to slip into the older witch's room and lay in her bed for a while, but Tonks' scent had long faded from the linens, smoke and fire replaced with gentle, dusty rose. Hermione blushed in the weak morning light at the memory of how many times in the last weeks she had slipped out her bedroom and into Tonks' bed. She had never had the courage to spend more than a few minutes there, the fear of getting caught overpowering her desire to feel close to Tonks. She wondered, as she often did, what it would be like to slip into that warm, comfortable bed when it was occupied.
Hermione turned to face away from the wall, grumbling to herself. Ginny was fast asleep on her bed across the room, arms flung wide, mouth open. Tonks had just –better- get back today. Between her midnight excursions, anxiety, the usual Order business and Harry/Ron drama, she had been sleeping horribly, she could feel a headache just beginning to balloon behind her eyes. Pulling the covers up to fend off the morning chill, she closed her eyes and tried some breathing exercises her mother had taught her after one too many anxiety attacks over school –in third grade-. Within minutes, Hermione's gentle snores joined Ginny's robust chorus.
Prefect. She had dreamed of this moment since her first year at Hogwarts, had planned and worked hard for it, and finally, she held the badge in her hand. She felt elated, but above all she finally felt a little recognized. Of course Dumbledore would bestow on her a Prefect's badge; she had saved Harry's life more than once (by her calculations, at least once a school year) and managed to keep top marks in her classes throughout. It all added up to a Prefect's badge. But Ron? That one confused her, just a little bit. And Harry…well, he had been sulking and irritable since they had unwrapped the badges that morning.
Mrs. Weasley was busy in the kitchen, whipping up a dinner for an impromptu celebration with the help of Ginny, while Ron gushed to anyone who would listen about his new broom. Boys and their brooms…Hermione rolled her eyes; she had never enjoyed flying, though the memory of Tonks swaggering into the kitchen with her broom over her shoulder, cheeks flushed from the cold and hair wind-whipped, could possibly cause her to reconsider her view on the activity. She, on the other hand, was busy checking out her new school books on her bed; it was her usual practice to at least read the first three chapters of each text before the first day of school –when she was feeling particularly ambitious, she read the entire thing-. Her mom had often said that she had an anxious nature, but Hermione preferred to think of herself as panoptic.
A swell of noise from downstairs made Hermione jump, excitement roaring in her veins at the possibility of Tonks' return. She was in the middle of a head-long sprint for the door when a crack erupted behind her; she spun to face the room, hand to her hammering heart; and there was Tonks, all wolfish grin and unfathomable eyes. In three strides she had Hermione pinned against the door, stealing her breath with a scalding kiss. Hermione whimpered, burying her fingers in the front of Tonks' cloak as her knees turned to water.
Tonks withdrew a few inches, panting heavily through a bordering-on-goofy smile. Her eyes were light purple, sparkling like an amethyst. "Miss me?" Her eyes crinkled in a grin, "Prefect."
Hermione slapped Tonks' arm, open-mouthed with elated disbelief. As Tonks enveloped her in a blanketing hug, Hermione buried her nose in the taller witch's neck and inhaled deeply; as that scent hit her brain, every hair on her body stood on end, and the ball of lead in the pit of her stomach unfurled.
She had made it, and her tension eased.
Hope you all enjoyed it! I enjoyed writing it! Promise, the next chapter will have what you all have been waiting SO patiently for!
Until next time.