Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Just copies of the books.
Author's Note: Yes, it's been a while since I've update. Well, here's a nice long chapter for you all to enjoy.
Once more, Harry found himself back in the comfort of Number 5 Privet Drive. The memories of his neighbors were modified and the partially destroyed house was restored. As was the destroyed lawn of his oh so loving relatives. Harry lay on his temporary bed in the living room reading fantasy novels. He was forbidden by the Ministry to be near magic books as they found all his books on advance magic. Harry had charmed his notes and hid them away, but his guardians had told him not to remove them for the time being. As Harry flipped the page of his novel, he saw Hermione walk out of his room. Hermione still had not told him why she beat him several days ago and neither would the others. Apparently, Dumbledore found a way to keep them silent without the use of the Fidelis Charm.
Harry was glad that Madam Pomfrey removed his swollen cheeks and black eye before the arrival of Dean, Seamus, Luna, Cho and her friends, Ron, Ginny and the rest of the Weasley family. But their arrival did not stop Hermione from smacking Harry whenever he was in arms reach. Ron tried to jinx Hermione several times, but failed miserably as she had a quicker draw. And furious. After a few attempts, Harry gave up on asking for the reason as he probably knew that he asked someone to seal the memory.
The Ministry arrived at Number 12 Grimmauld Place ready to arrest Harry and Hermione the day after their assault, but Dumbledore convinced Cornelius Fudge that placing Harry and Hermione under house arrest would be enough. Somehow, Dumbledore had convinced the Minister to put him and Hermione under the same roof. Harry wondered if her parents were informed, but had the distinct feeling that the Grangers would not sit well with the thought of their fourteen-year-old daughter living with a teenage boy. Especially one whose hormones rage out of control when around Hermione.
Two weeks had passed since the attack and the fourth culprit was not caught. It was determined that the three Aurors were under an Imperius Curse but no there were no suspicions as two who the fourth was. But the Ministry did state that the fourth culprit was not a member of the Ministry. Well, Harry did not care too much about their statements. They were never right about anything their first time around. Especially with Fudge running the Ministry.
Again, Hermione was ignoring Harry. She had baggy pants on and a light and loose sweater covering her body. Harry let out a sigh. At least he wasn't staring anymore.
But oh do I wish to see her body again.
Wait... Damn it, Harry James Potter! Hermione's your best friend!
Yeah. And? She has a damn gorgeous body that she hides all the time. She's living in your damn house sleeping on your bed. What better situation could you want?
She's a girl friend! WAIT! Friend that's a girl! Friend that's a girl!
Girlfriend. Now that's a thought. You know how you bloody damn feel about her!
No. NO! She's just my best friend. Just. My. Best. Friend.
You sure about that?
Yes. We've been together for so long and we still remained-
Been together, eh? So, you've- no, I've been attracted to her for a long time. I felt pretty damn jealous of Victor when was holding her in his arms at the Yule Ball.
Bloody hell! There's no way I was jealous! That's a low blow!
That's the bloody damn truth! Face it Harry James Potter, I'm you and I'm bloody damn right.
"Bloody hell!" Harry cursed at himself quietly while agonizing over his conversation with himself. It is hard to convince yourself that you are wrong when you know you are right. It was easier to do the opposite.
However, to Harry's demise, Hermione heard Harry curse at himself. She peaked out her head from the kitchen and looked at Harry who was beating himself on his bed. He was sitting there, legs crossed and slapping his forehead with his palms. Then a dubious prank formed in her mind. Hermione pulled off her thick sweater revealing her baby blue tank top, grabbed her camera that she was preparing and walked out to the living room. Her hands were behind her back hiding the camera. "Something wrong, Harry James Potter?" Hermione asked as she dipped her body low so eyes were even with Harry's.
Harry fell back on his arms and noticed how close Hermione's face was to his. Then his eyes drooped down. She was not wearing her sweater… You got your wish! Harry's mind cried out as he stared down her tank top. You can just reach over with your hand and… Stop! Don't you dare! Wait. Don't I dare! His body was burning with desire and temptation and his hands were itching to reach forward.
"Nice view, isn't it?" Hermione asked with a grin. From her back Hermione pulled out her camera and took a shot. "You might want to cover it up," Hermione said as she pointed down.
Harry's eyes lingered for a moment as Hermione pulled herself up before looking down. "BLOODY HELL!" Harry screamed as he pulled a blanket over himself. He realized what Hermione had done and his face was a deep scarlet red. He was never going to hear the end of it from his friends if that picture gets out. I must have done something just as bad… Harry thought as he waited for his blood to stop pumping. Maybe worse…
"Oh, Harry! I almost forgot but Dumbledore got the Ministry to let us go to the beach on your birthday," Hermione shouted from her room.
Harry froze for a moment. Beach? He asked himself. I wonder if Hermione has a two piece or one piece swimsuit… Harry quickly shook his head to shake those thoughts away. "How did Dumbledore get us a trip? I thought we were under house arrest until our trial on August fifteenth."
"You know how Dumbledore is with words," Hermione responded as she sat down before Harry's computer and uploaded the picture. She was going to have fun with this.
Harry dropped his head. He knew how good Dumbledore was with words. The old wizard could convince just about anyone to do just about anything. Dumbledore once tricked Harry into thinking he was failing Defense Against the Dark Arts, the class he was the most proficient in. In fear of failing, Harry showed Dumbledore every spell he knew. It was only when Harry finished the spells and saw Dumbledore's grin and twinkling blue eyes that he realized Dumbledore tricked him. To get the old wizard back, Harry stole the Sword of Gryffindor from his office.
I do hope that Hermione has a two piece… Maybe we can play some beach volleyball…
Do you know what you're dreaming about? Wait. I'm talking to myself again!
Hell yeah! You know damn well you're talking to yourself Hermione's just right there you know.
Harry slapped himself and buried his face into his pillow. This is horrible. How in the name of Merlin's Beard did Dumbledore convince everyone to put Hermione in the same house as Harry while they were under house arrest? Did they not know how much trouble it was having Hermione here? Or how much trouble Harry would cause? His thoughts and questions continued, but Harry ended up dreaming about Hermione in a two piece bikini.
Hermione leaned back in her chair. Or rather Harry's, as was everything around her except for her clothes. She wanted to pretend to be mad at Harry for a bit longer. It was fun; but tomorrow is Harry's fifteenth birthday. It might ruin his day if she was mad at him. Hermione got out of her seat and dug through her trunk pulling out a swimsuit that she had packed without much thought. When she first arrived, Hermione did not understand why she would have packed it. She had bought it to go to the beach with her parents, but now that was out of the question.
However, the opportunity presented itself to Hermione's fortune. Harry's birthday was coming up and this year he wasn't able to spend it with his guardians. One of which Hermione was still uncomfortable around. So Hermione decided to contact everyone masking as Dumbledore to throw a party for Harry. She had contacted everyone weeks ago before their attack, but it was now that Hermione had finally received her last reply.
Hermione originally wanted to leave Ron out, since she did not like the redhead too much, but Hermione was inviting Ginny and the twins, so it was hard to pose as Dumbledore in not inviting Ron. But she did delay sending his invitation a few days.
I must be spending too much time with Harry… Hermione thought as she realizes she had become a bit of a prankster herself. Maybe this isn't such a bad thing. I do have a lot of fun! Hermione shook her head quickly. She was beginning to forget her image of a studious and serious student. She was the brains of the group and the one who kept order. Hermione could not start becoming lax now. Or could she? Harry's bad habits are beginning to rub off onto me! This is not good.
Over the course of the summer so far, Hermione had started to laze around the house and did very little reading. Instead, she was having fun with Harry pulling pranks on the Dursleys and enjoying the summer. She was having fun poking fun at Harry and slapping him around in the past two weeks while pretending to still be mad. Was it that bad to take a break once in a while? Hermione asked herself. Harry had brought out a side of her she never knew existed. Hermione was questioning herself whether or not she should study when the obvious answer is 'yes'.
Hermione let out a soft cry of frustration. Never had she been so confused in her life. Hermione knew what she wanted and always worked towards her goal. Harry was the complete opposite. Although he did occasionally do his homework at Hogwarts, Harry was never one to put all his effort into doing something. When Harry looked like he was studying for a class, it was actually Harry learning a new spell for another prank. Harry enjoyed living life minute by minute rather than having a plan. He often said he plans ahead if the situation calls for it. Much like how Harry just let Hermione live with him without thinking about the entire situation.
Hermione hit the shower to cool herself down. It was hot for a summer night. Then again Hermione was wearing a sweater to cover her chest. She let the cool water wash away all the sweat as she thought more about why she was here. Hermione just needed a place to run away from her parents. Her relatives would have been fine. They were always the ones who took her in. But why did Hermione come to Harry?
She crossed her arms over her chest and pulled them close together as she turned around letting the water pour into her brown hair. Why Harry? Hermione asked herself. Who is Harry Potter to her? She wanted to know, but the answer would not come. Well, the answer she wanted to hear would not come. Hermione wanted to tell herself Harry was nothing more than just her best friend. "Harry's my best friend," she told herself, but the words were hollow. They did not hold the meaning she wanted it to hold.
After finishing her long cold shower, Hermione slumped into bed still trying to convince herself Harry was just her best friend. But it wasn't working. Hermione wondered how she had done it all those times before. Was there something Hermione was missing?
Harry woke abruptly the next morning to a pillow smacking his face. "Wake up Harry!" Hermione's voice shouted in a cheery tone. Harry groaned and turned to face the other way. "Wake up!" Hermione cried out again, this time flipping the mattress off the temporary frame throwing Harry off his bed.
"I'm up! I'm up!" Harry shouted out a bit dazed. He looked over at Hermione who was smiling and Harry realized why she was so eager. Today was Harry's fifteenth birthday as well as the trip to the beach. How in the name of Merlin did Dumbledore convince the Ministry to let him go, Harry had no clue. But, it was a welcome vacation as Harry could finally get out of the house.
Harry clutched his alarm clock wondering what time it was and found that it was well past nine in the morning. "Come on, Harry! Get changed! Moody's coming soon to take us to the beach where everyone else will meet us!" Harry sat up and saw that Hermione already had her bag packed.
He groaned as he picked himself off the ground. Harry wondered how he had slept through his alarm. Normally it would wake him up as he was a semi light sleeper. "In a moment," Harry replied as he rubbed his face with his hands. He was not quite awake yet. Maybe, just maybe, I could lay down and sleep for another five or ten minutes… "Wait! Moody's taking us there?" Harry cried out wide awake as he remembered what had happened on their way back from Number 12 Grimmauld Place.
"Don't worry. We're Apparating this time," Hermione said as she sat down on Harry's temporary bed. "Snape didn't want to drive again with Moody in the car."
Harry shuffled his hand through his messy black hair. So Kingsley and Sturgis are still gone… Harry said to himself as he stood up and moved towards the bathroom. "When is Moody coming?"
"Soon."
Harry could not help but sneak a peak at Hermione. She was wearing a pair of khaki caprice that hugged tightly around her slender legs and a white top that covered her chest but exposed her entire back. It was one of those tops that looked like a large handkerchief tied around her chest, but Harry did not know what it was called. Reluctantly, Harry turned away and changed. When he came out, Harry found himself in the company of Moody and his cadets, Victor, Fleur and Cedric. "You guys are coming too?"
The three Auror cadets nodded and smiled while Moody grunted, "Ready to go?"
Harry just shrugged as he grabbed his own bag he just prepared. Moody grabbed Harry's arm and Harry began to feel the uncomfortable feeling of Disapparation. If Harry could fly to the beach, he would for he hated Apparation.
Harry, Hermione, Moody, Fleur, Cedric and Victor Apparated into an open beach and found hundreds of wizarding families set up on the shore. No wonder why Dumbledore was able to convince the Ministry to allow for this trip… Harry thought to himself. Harry had visited many beaches in his life. English. American. French. Italian. But never has Harry visited a beach for witches and wizards.
"How've ya been, mate?" a familiar voice called from his right. Harry turned to see Ron standing there with Dean, Seamus, Ginny, Fred, George, Neville, Cho and all his friends from Hogwarts. Of course, Hermione was greeted by Ron's glare as he was with hers. Some things never change. "Must have been hell being stuck at your relatives alone."
"Not so much," Harry replied. None of them knew about Hermione living at his home except for the Auror escorts. Tension was already building between Ron and Hermione so Harry quickly stepped in between his two best friends. "Ron. Hermione." Harry said with a warning tone as he looked from one best friend to another.
"Fine," Hermione grunted as she turned away. "As long as Ron restrains himself."
Harry turned to Ron for an answer. "Truce for today."
"Good," Harry stated. As nice as it was having his friends together for his birthday, Harry hated having Ron and Hermione within ten meters of each other. Ten meters because that was the range in which their accuracy starts to fade. The girls quickly walked one way as Harry and the boys walked the other.
Once more, Harry found himself wondering if Hermione had a one-piece swimsuit or two-piece. He prayed that it was a two-piece. Well, it had to be a two-piece. Hermione had blue straps going over her shoulders and around her back while she was wearing a white top. "How did Dumbledore get the Ministry to allow you to come out of house arrest for one day?" Neville asked.
"Dunno," Harry answered with a shrug.
"Well, it's bloody brilliant," Fred said.
"Leave the talking to Dumbledore!" George voiced.
"Actually, Fred and George came up with a plan to break you out in case the Ministry backed out," Ron stated.
"You were in on it too!" the twins said in unison.
"Glad to hear you were worried, Ron," Harry laughed as they changed into their swimming trunks. "I sure as hell hope you were smart enough not to get speedos, Ron."
"Uh… Speedos?"
Harry quickly realized it was an American Muggle term and Ron wasn't exactly that well versed with the Muggle world of England let alone America. "Do you have shorts on for your swim suit?" Harry called back.
"Yeah."
"Good. You don't want to know what speedo's are. They're quite embarrassing. Then again, we do have nude beaches." Harry walked out in his deep forest green swimming trunks as the other boys joined him. Only Moody stood off to the side still in his robes and magical eye whirling about.
On the other side of the beach, the girls came out in their swimsuits, or rather bikinis. Each one was more exotic than the next. However, Harry's eyes were on the two-piece sapphire blue swimsuit strapped around Hermione's elegant body. Harry had never seen Hermione show off so much skin in his life. Not that she wasn't showing off a lot of skin to begin with. "Do you think she has a B-cup or C-cup?" Ron asked as he drooled as he stared at Lavender.
"Thirty six C," Harry replied without thinking answering Ron's question thinking that he was asking about Hermione. "I did not say that," Harry followed quickly hoping no one heard. But Moody was off to the side burying his face in his hand and shaking it. Apparently someone did. Luckily for Harry, none of the boys around him did. They were all too busy staring as the girls made their way over.
Lavender found her way to Ron and wrapped her arms around his neck before they began snogging. Harry was surprised that she allowed Ron's hands to wander. Cedric and Cho were still fairly shy about their relationship as few knew about it. Victor had taken this chance to take Hermione away, which Harry was grateful of. He did not know if he could stop himself from continuously staring if they were paired together. The twins were off with the older Ravenclaw girls while Neville took it upon himself to entertain Luna. Dean and Seamus were off with the Patel twins which left Harry alone with Ginny.
"Having trouble keeping your eyes to yourself, Harry?" Ginny asked with a mischievous grin.
"NO!" Harry shot back quickly, but his face betrayed him. His eyes were darting back and forth trying not to look at Hermione while his cheeks flushed scarlet. "It's just- Well- bah!"
"Can't seem to shake off the feeling that you have a crush on your best friend?" Ginny asked whispering it into Harry's ears.
"You!" Harry cried out as he fell back. He was glad he had not shouted loud enough for the entire beach to hear.
"Oh, I know Harry," Ginny said with a gleeful look. "I can read you easier than Ron. And you know how easy it is to read Ron."
"Yeah… But- Wait! How-" Harry stammered. His thoughts were jumbled together almost as bad as the time Hermione showed up at his doorstep earlier this summer. It scared Harry that Ginny was sounding exactly like the other voice inside of him. The one that lusted for Hermione.
"Come on, Harry," Ginny laughed as she sat down next to the famous boy. "I have six older brothers, seven including you as you always watched over me. It's not hard to see through your mask."
A vein popped out on Harry's forehead as he started to sulk. "Well, Hermione is just my best friend. I think she fancies Victor or Ron more than me."
"Oh. A bit of jealousy there eh, golden boy?" Ginny teased. She laughed as she watched Harry mutter something incoherent while blushing. "I'd be surprised to find the opposite."
"Opposite of what?" Harry asked, turning to face Ginny after he finished his mutterings.
Ginny let her head drop in disappointment. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I know guys are dense, but bloody hell, Harry, you're denser than a lead block."
"What's that suppose to mean!" Harry cried out. Harry knew he was dense, but usually he figured things out. Usually. Right?
"I'm not going to spell it out for you, Harry," Ginny shot back with a serious face. "You need to figure this out on your own. And overcome your uber-dense head."
"Geh… No hints?" Harry pleaded, but it did not work. Ginny just stuck out her tongue and made a face before walking away.
"Look what we have here," the ever so arrogant voice of Draco Malfoy spoke.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry spat feigning hatred. Behind Draco stood the group of Death Eater descendants that Harry loathed with a passion. Harry knew Draco had two groups of friends he hung out with. The one present was the one Draco needed to be around to show his father that he was a Slytherin. A second group was formed of Slytherins from minor wizarding houses that had little power in comparisons to the boys and girls around him. The second group consisted of peopled Draco actually dared to call friends.
By the look of things, Draco was beginning to lose this group to Blaise and Nott. They had replaced Crabbe and Goyle as Draco's left and right hand men. The return of Voldemort had a high probability of being the reason why there was a sudden change. Although Harry knew that Crabbe and Goyle were loyal to Draco, but that did not free them from their bonds to their fathers. As for Draco, Harry already knew Draco began to sever ties with Lucius Malfoy. Their unique brotherhood under Severus allowed them to understand each other's secrets to some extent.
"I see your Mudblood slave isn't around today," Blaise spat as he looked down with a pretentious attitude.
Draco quickly nudged Blaise and pointed over to the shore where Victor stood with a gorgeous teenager. "You've been staring at the Muggle-born for the past ten minutes," Draco whispered before turning back towards Harry. He ignored Blaise as he dashed off towards a restroom. "I thought I'd pay The-Boy-Who-Lived a little visit on his birthday."
"Oh, I didn't know you cared," Harry replied with a smile. One that could easily have been misinterpreted as a threatening one.
"Well, I thought that there could be no worse day to humiliate you than on your birthday in front of your friends," Draco challenged as he pulled out a volleyball.
"Oh, ho, ho!" Harry laughed as his eyes glittered accepting the challenged before it was placed down. "Nice threat, but you will have to do better than spitting out words from you foul tongue to humiliate me before my friends, Malfoy," Harry shot back as he stood up from the ground. Behind Harry stood everyone that came to celebrate his birthday, with the exception of Moody.
Nott thought of sending an insult towards Hermione, but could not help getting lost in thought as he stared at her body. Draco had to elbow Nott several times before he was brought back to reality.
"It seems you don't have much control over you goons as you thought, Malfoy!" Ron shot at Draco.
"Shut up, Weasel. It's not like I don't see you staring at all the Slytherins in two-piece bikinis," Draco returned quickly. Fred and George were laughing as Lavender began to beat Ron with her fists.
Harry wasn't the least surprised to find that Fred and George did not step in to defend Ron. It was not until recently did Harry discover how Fred and George were funding their secret shop of magical pranking tools, potions for the bored and lunchboxes for the students wanting to escape class. Harry had offered his winnings from the Triwizard Cup, but Fred and George told Harry they already had a secret benefactor. But Harry convinced the twins to accept his Galleons as an investment so when Mr. and Mrs. Weasley find out about their 'extra-curricular activities', they could lay sole blame on Harry. Merlin only knows how the Weasleys would react if they discovered that Draco was funding their joke shop.
This 'partnership' did not just involve only money. Draco supplied the twins with Slytherin test subjects free of charge and far from the ears of Hermione who adamantly wanted the twins to stop their experiments. Harry was sworn into their band of misfits and promised not to divulge any of this information with anyone.
"Are we going to stand around here throwing insults back and forth? Or are you just delaying your ultimate defeat?" Hermione challenged with a glower at Draco. Many of the Slytherins took a step forward ready to take a swing at Hermione, but Draco held them all back.
"We are Slytherins, are we not? Slytherins do not engage in barbaric activities such as brawls. We'll settle this in a competition," Draco said with a sly smile. Nobility was one of Draco's stronger points and Severus had begun pounding Chivalry into Draco as well.
Blaise charged back determined not to miss the first round. Draco began to list the basic rules which Moody made sure to listen in on.
1) Five to a team.
2) Players can switch out.
3) Knockout spikes were allowed to the head.
4) Any Player not hitting the ball using standard hits were disqualified.
5) Disqualified players are to be replaced the next round.
There were a few other minor rules that Harry did not listen to. He was busy counting how many Slytherins were on the opponent side. This match wasn't about points; it was about how many people you could knock out on the other side. Apparently, there was the same amount of Slytherins as there were Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and people from other schools on Harry's side. A fair match-up. Almost.
The starting line for Harry was Ron, Victor, Cedric, Neville and himself. Draco had five Slytherin girls led by Pansy to start off. It did not bother Harry much as the only girl that distracted him was Hermione. Why? Harry did not know. Hermione just distracted him.
"Think we'll have a fair match, Malfoy?" Harry asked as he walked into the ring.
"As fair as a match can be," Draco sneered back. Oh, there will be cheating. Lots of cheating. Draco had little doubt in his mind that both sides will cheat. It was only the matter of who gets caught cheating.
Draco sat down and watched as Pansy started off the first round. Victor was the one to receive it and volleyed it into the air. Harry quickly followed by setting it for Ron to finish it. Ron leaped up for the spike as Pansy jumped up. It only took a moment for Draco to notice Ron was staring not at the ball, but Pansy's breasts that were in front of his face. Draco laughed as Ron missed his spike as did the rest of the Slytherins. Pansy smashed the ball down, but Cedric leaped in for the save.
Again, Harry set the ball. This time Neville leaped up into the air and spiked the ball ruthlessly into one of the Slytherin girls knocking her out of the game. Harry's friends cheered as they took the first point. However, Draco was not going to let them get away with the lead. He quickly sent up another of Pansy's friends, Nancy, with a plan. Ron fired a serve across, but Nancy was ready. She set the incoming serve over to Pansy who sent the ball hard into Harry's side of the court into Ron who volleyed it back. Nancy set the ball up again and Pansy spiked it down into Ron's face knocking him to the ground.
All the Slytherins were laughing and cheering the girls on as Ron walked off the field completely humiliated. Hermione shot a tongue at Ron making him feel even worse and entered the ring. "By Merlin!" Harry cursed under his breath as he tried to turn away. Harry knew Hermione would be in, but not this soon. Not while Harry was still in the game!
A slap sounded and the third round began. Harry spun his head about watching the ball fly over the net. Neville volleyed it up into the air and Harry set it for a spike. It was Hermione who leaped up into the air and… Oh! Bouncy! Harry thought, but a slap sounded breaking his attention away. The ball came down hard, but one of the Slytherin girls was able to volley it back.
Victor set it up in the air and, once more, Hermione jumped up into the air spiking it down with lethal precision taking out two Slytherin girls. Harry, however, was not watching where the ball landed, but how amazingly graceful Hermione looked. Actually, more focused on Hermione's chest as she was right in front of him.
Draco was having a difficult time not to laugh as he noticed where Harry was staring at. He would stare himself if he was in Harry's position. By Merlin's Beard, Draco would even take advantage of such a situation. But damn Harry and his bloody denseness. And Hermione's as well. The ultimate prankster with the ultimate student; how's that for the ultimate match-up of all time. They even made a good team together. Now, could Draco win this match if the two were not separated? Probably not. But he will bloody try.