Hey everyone, Here is the next chapter. I would have posted it earlier but I got sidetracked packing up all my crap for WSU. I also got sidetracked reading Breaking Dawn. Anywhoo...hope you enjoy. Onward...
DISCLAIMER: I own none of it except a few characters and the storyline which is sort of based off of Disney Channel's Hannah Montana.
Thank you to the following artists who's songs are used in this story:
Carrie Underwood, Paramore, Hannah Montana, Avril Lavigne, Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Aly & Aj, and Lindsey Lohan
Chapter 20
Harry woke up feeling disoriented. The bed he was lying in was much more comfortable than the one he had grown used to in the past two weeks and there was an exquisite presence of warmth pressed onto his bare chest. It took a few moments for his bleary eyes to regain focus and when they did, he turned to look over at his own personal space heater. To his surprise, it was Hermione lying next to him. He struggled through, trying to figure out how he wound up falling asleep in here, in her bed no less, with her pressed tight against him.
But as he tried to make sense of the situation, another more powerful thought popped into his head. He had never had a better night's sleep than he had last night and he also realized… that he didn't want to get up from where he was lying. Harry realized then that he wanted to wake up like this from now on. It was wonderful having Hermione in his arms. It felt right…like she was meant to fit there.
Harry was only able to muse for a little bit longer because soon he felt Hermione stirring. She made a sort of soft gurgling sound before arching her back in the customary "wake up stretch", causing Harry to become significantly aware of just how much he never wanted to vacate his spot next to her.
Her eyes fluttered open and locked onto his semi-confused expression. Harry watched as she processed their situation. She stared at him for a few beats before saying nonchalantly to cover her embarrassment, "Well, this is new."
"You could say that," Harry replied, feeling his face heat up without warning.
She stumbled to grasp her words; apparently she wasn't as blasé as she would have liked to come off. And it pleased Harry to know that she was just as uncomfortably happy in this situation as he was. "Um…how…how did you…um…sleep?"
"Really well, to be honest."
"Me too," She replied. They laid there silently for a bit just looking at each other and trying to process how this situation could have happened. After taking one last look at his naked chest, Hermione recovered her nonchalance as she disentangled herself from Harry's arms. "Well, I need to shower; you should go see if the lover's are awake yet." She got up from the bed, instantly missing the warmth Harry's body had provided. As she walked to her bathroom she called, "I'm going downtown today with Luna to look for dresses for the New Year's bash. You should take Ron and go do something; maybe a movie or whatnot. I'll leave the Mercedes for you." Harry didn't have time to reply before the door sank into the frame.
He was still trying to process what had happened as he went downstairs to his proper room. All he could remember from the last night was going up to Hermione's room feeling really disgruntled because he wasn't able to tell her how he felt about her, and he had gotten kicked out of his room again by the same party that interrupted his confession. He also remembered reading that disgusting book with her, summarily easing his irritation.
He opened his door to find only Ron sprawled across the bed, passed out with his naked ass on display to the world. Couldn't that kid afford a pair of underwear? He grabbed a shirt and slipped it on as he headed to the kitchen.
Harry rounded the corner and found Luna sitting at the table, poking at a few remaining pieces of pancake on her plate, reading the newspaper. She looked up as he walked in, "Good morning Harry. Sleep well?" Her voice held a bit of a knowing edge.
"It was alright," he lied as he dropped two pancakes onto his plate. He sat down across from her and turned his whole attention to his plate in hopes of deterring her imminent questions.
Evidently, his luck ran out when Hermione left him that morning. Luna folded the paper up neatly and focused her frighteningly perceptive gaze on him. "So, what did Ronald and I rudely interrupt last night?"
Harry calmly placed his fork down in defeat and looked up at her. "What's with the pretence of asking? You seem to have already figured it out."
"The question was just a formality to be polite Harry. Since I already know what's going on, would you care to enlighten the kitchen to your budding romance?" Speech was defiantly Luna's arête; that was for sure. She knew how to say stuff to break through any walls.
So Harry spent the next half hour recanting his interpretation of the events from the past semester. He told her about how he felt like he was getting stabbed in the back when Hermione took up with Malfoy, but then realized that his anger was just masking his jealousy. Harry shared his hurt whenever Kendra insulted Hermione behind her back to him, and how much he wished he had stood up for his best friend sooner. He also confided to Luna the real reason why he broke up with Kendra: after witnessing Hermione pull herself out of that near downward spiral of depression that Malfoy had sent her in, he had fallen deeply in love with her. He also recounted his clandestine night of watching her play the piano. Basically, Harry unloaded everything on her. "It was like the proverbial giant pink elephant in the room this morning Luna. Hermione was all blasé to start off with and I just spluttered on non-coherently. But no matter how embarrassed I am right now, I would gladly go through it again just to be able to wake up next to her tomorrow morning."
When he was finished depositing the emotional barrel on his blonde cohort, Harry was surprised to see Luna eyeing him carefully. "I'm happy for you Harry. I have been waiting for you to come clean about this ever since fourth year. Yes I have known that long," she answered his questioning gaze. Luna squeezed his hand lightly as she continued, "Now don't take this the wrong way, but I'm hesitant to be ecstatic about this. I don't know if it is the case anymore, but Hermione has had feelings for you for a really long time," She said and held up her hand to stop Harry's interruption. "Over the past few years she's tried everything to show you. She gets her hopes up so high and right when it looks like something might happen, you side step and run." She leveled a firm gaze on him that had him rooted to his chair. "Don't hurt her."
He sat there for awhile and mulled over everything Luna had said as he watched her finish her pancakes. So she had felt something for him before. Hopefully his stupidity from before didn't screw up any chance he may now have.
And as much as Luna's hesitancy unnerved him a bit he still felt exceptionally good for finally letting someone know. "Do you know how good it feels to finally tell someone about this Luna," Harry said giving her a hug, which she heartedly returned.
"Well, I'm just honored that you chose me to share it with."
"You're the only one who I knew wouldn't give me flack about it. Ron would lord it over me."
"He is that way with delicate emotions. Speaking of emotions, do you think she still feels the same about you?"
"I really hope so."
She looked at him closely as if she were trying to measure his sincerity. It also seemed as if she was debating on whether or not she should tell him what she wanted to say. "Well, I can't say this for certain but I don't think your feelings are unrequited. Would you like me to find out for sure for you?"
Harry rolled his eyes and dumped his plate in the sink. "No thanks Luna, we're not in third year!"
She followed suit with her dishes and led him out of the kitchen. "Just thought I'd be polite and ask. I wouldn't want anyone doing that for me either."
They headed up the stairs together. Harry felt so much lighter now that he had let Luna in, and Luna felt so elated knowing that Harry put so much trust in her. All in all, their bond blossomed in strength. Not a bad way to start the morning off.
They disembarked from their shared path at the second floor landing. Harry took one look into his room before turning back. He called out to Luna, who was now halfway up the second flight of stairs and asked, "Do you think you could get Ron to put some pants on after you guys are done shagging? His ass is going to give me nightmares for weeks!" Her laughter cut off as he shut the door behind him.
She banged her head against the shower wall a few times before reaching for the shampoo bottle. She had been such a moron, acting all casual and then losing it halfway through. She roughly scrubbed her fingers through her hair to vent out her frustration. He had been so calm about the whole thing. Of course he was. Why would he feel uncomfortable? If he was at all interested in me, then he would have been battling that blasted elephant just like I was.
Hermione jumped out of the shower with a heavy heart. She was embarrassed and more than a little let down. It was clear that Harry harbored no romantic feelings for her, and that knowledge was a tad bit depressing. The only thing that brightened her bleak mood was the fact that she wouldn't have to worry about interacting with him much today. She and Luna were going to be spending the day downtown hunting around for dresses for the Black and White Bash that was creeping up on them quickly. They also would be on the look out for Christmas presents. The boys were conveniently left out of the plans from the conversation the day before.
Hermione pulled on a pair of thick black stretchy leggings and a long sleeve mock neck shirt. Just as she pulling on a chocolate brown zip up coat, Luna entered the room with her shoes in hand. "I love the jacket Hermione. The hip cut length is cute and the fur around the neck and wrists must be wonderful in this "end of the world type" weather," Luna concluded motioning to the heavy snowfall out the window.
"Thanks, I like it too, and yes it is wonderful this time of year. Are you ready to go shopping for the best thing a girl can ever buy?"
"Yes, I am. It is going to be different wearing a dress rather than the fancy robes. So where are we going to get them from anyway?"
"Well there are the staples, Chanel, Cavalli, Vivian Westwood; but I was just thinking about going to Harrods so we could have a greater selection."
Luna nodded her head in agreement before leaning over to tie her shoes. Hermione glanced at her friend and immediately knew that something was up. Luna had come into the room with this weird smirk on her face and Hermione was almost afraid of what she was bound to ask. She had just pulled on her left boot when the words tumbled out of the blonde's mouth, "So, a little birdie named Harry told me you had an interesting morning."
Hermione felt the satisfaction ooze out of her best friend. She flopped back onto her bed and sighed in frustration. "God, he told you?"
"Yes, and I think it is adorable…" but before she could continue Hermione cut her off.
"Adorable? Luna, it was the proverbial giant pink elephant in the room! I was so uncomfortable and embarrassed."
Luna looked at her funny. Hermione watched as her eyes glazed for about two seconds before comprehension dawned. "Harry said the exact same thing. You two are scary compatible." And that was all she offered before heading down to the garage.
Hermione sat there befuddled for a few beats before following her friend down the stairs. Scary compatible? What does that even mean? She knew that it was pointless to try to suss it out further. Luna was too far into the next dimension to even fathom a guess. But the way her eyes glazed kept bringing Hermione back to that comment the entire drive downtown. I wonder…does Luna know something? Could she have been hinting me in the right direction? Maybe…
"Hermione, I just want to say that I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable this morning with my teasing. I didn't mean to embarrass you," Luna said from behind the dressing room door. When Hermione was unusually quiet during the ride downtown, Luna had begun to worry if she might have offended her in some way.
Hermione sighed and pulled off a dress that she hung back onto the "No" hook. She slipped into her last choice and said, "Oh don't worry Luna, it wasn't you who made me embarrassed." She slid her arms through the straps and turned around to see how the dress looked. "Ooh, Luna, we have a winner!"
"Let me see," She called before hastily pulling the zipper up her back. She pushed open the door and found Hermione slowly revolving in front of the three way mirror. Luna took in the sight of her best friend dressed in the white silk with a smitten smile on her face. And her intuition told her that that smile wasn't in regards to the dress. Hermione had made three complete turns before Luna voiced her appraisal. "You look amazing. I don't care that it is low cut; you look so hot in that dress."
"Really; you don't think it makes my ass look huge?"
"Not in the slightest. I think they will love it."
"And who pray tell is 'they'," Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.
It was amazing that Hermione didn't know what was coming based off of Luna's smirk. "Oh you know, the people at the party…society…Harry," Her voice trailed off on a wistful note, but her eyes were knowing.
She fixed a stare on her friend, pushed back into her dressing room and said in a frustrated tone, "Drop it Luna!"
Hermione instantly caught on to Luna's satisfied snigger. From within the room next to her, she heard, "Oh I'll drop it for now. But we are hiving this discussion before we head home today."
"Can't wait!" Her sarcasm dripped to the floor. "I think you should go with the one you're wearing now. Ron is going to hit the floor when he sees you in that."
"That's the angle love."
They donned their former attire and headed back out to the main floor. Luna was digging through her wallet for her money when she felt her dress slide from her arm. "Hermione, what are you doing?"
"Paying for your dress. What does it look like?" She replied tossing her credit card to the little girl behind the counter. She inwardly rolled her eyes when the girl behind the counter finally recognized her. Hermione offered her a smile and watched as the little girl fumbled with the scanner.
"I can't let you pay for this Hermione. Daddy gave me money specifically to buy a new dress since my old ones didn't fit anymore," Luna focused on the girl and said firmly, "Don't ring that one up!"
Hermione turned away from her friend and said politely, "Don't listen to her; ring it up please." But before Luna could say another word, Hermione cut her off. "We're not negotiating this. This is your Christmas gift Luna. Would you stop being a baby and enjoy it!"
"Fine," She pouted as they made their exit onto the street. "But I'm buying lunch…for the next four years."
"I can deal with that. I'll also make no fuss when you ask the inevitable at lunch today."
"Well, when you put it that way," Luna squealed, linking her arm with Hermione's as they headed down the busy shopping district.
I knew it! God I'm on a roll today! Luna had just spent the last hour over lunch listening to Hermione spill her soul…well, the part that belonged to Harry anyway. With each new revelation about how far gone Hermione was over that boy, Luna's smirk got larger and larger. "I'm glad you're happy sweetie but I just want you to be careful. You've been feet over face for him for so long and you have done everything to tell him except paint it on billboards. I don't want you to get hurt, but I trust your judgment. If you love him then that's all that matters."
Hermione leaned her head back on the neck of her chair and said, "I have known this all along and I can't believe that I only told myself about it a few weeks ago. I am so stupid Luna. Why was it so hard for me to see it before when all I can do now whenever I look at him is feel…complete?"
"You are positively glowing! I think you need to tell him."
Hermione sighed deeply and brought her head to her hands. "That's the thing though, I can't tell him."
"Why not?" Luna asked incredulously.
"Because I am so scarred of losing him. He doesn't feel the same Luna and I will not risk our friendship over something that I know I can never have."
"But you said that you wrote that song for him?"
She shook her head at her friend's words. "He's too dense figure it out. Besides, he'll probably just think it is the generic ballad that's a staple to every record ever made."
After a moment's pause, Luna countered, "I still think you should tell him. It is wonderful to know that you are loved, and that boy has been deprived of it for far too long."
"I want to Luna, so badly…but I just…"
"Then do it already! Shit Hermione, it's not that hard."
She fixed her gaze on her best friend and shook her head. "We're at an impasse, and we're not going to solve it now. Can we please talk about something else?"
"For now," Luna replied footing the bill and heading out of the restaurant. After stowing their dresses in the trunk of the M5, the girls spent the rest of the easy afternoon wandering around one of London's many art museums.
Meanwhile, Harry and Ron were having a rather similar conversation as they walked along the streets of downtown London as well.
"You said that you've never felt this way before?" Ron asked, to which Harry nodded his head. "Not even with Kendra?"
"You know I thought I did, but that wasn't as all consuming as this is."
"Nice," was Ron's only explicative uttered once Harry had finished explaining himself to his best friend. "I think I kind of knew it already."
"When did you find out?"
"You know…I had the suspicion in fourth year after your weird non-outburst about the whole Krum thing, but things fell into place after last night."
Harry was astonished, "Was I that transparent last night? Shit, for all I know Hermione is going to walk around the corner and tell me that she knows too!"
Ron fixed him with a lasting glance. "Would that really be the worst thing?"
"Yes," Ron made to protest but Harry cut him off, "She doesn't reciprocate Ron. If she ever found out, our friendship would be fucked."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that. Hermione loves you Harry. She wouldn't let something like this flush seven years down the tubes. And hey, she might even feel the same way you do."
Harry quickly dropped the subject. He had no further inklings to discus this anymore. Knowing Ron, they would eventually talk about it again, but for right now, he just couldn't do it anymore. "So what are you planning on getting the girls for Christmas?"
"Well your gifts of jewelry are going to upstage me in every way," he replied with a pout.
"Ron, would you let that go. You three and Hermione's parents are the only one's I'm getting gifts for this year, and I want to go all out. It's our last Christmas together before we all go our separate ways; Luna is going to Yale, Hermione will be busy with the year long tour and I'll be at Princeton," Ron made a disgusted face when he mentioned his collegiate intentions; a face which Harry pointedly ignored before continuing, "These gifts are my way of thanking you three for everything you have done for me over the past year and a half. You three prepared me for my almost doom and your help pulled me through it. This is my thank you because words aren't enough."
"Well, don't I feel like an asshole?!" Ron said before shouldering him off the sidewalk and into the gutter. "If this is a thank you, then I better be getting something good!"
"You'll love your's, trust me. Now I just need to find something for Hermione. Luna's earrings are already taken care of," He said falling back into step with Ron.
"Why didn't you get Hermione's at the same place you got Luna's?"
"I couldn't find the right one. I have a specific image in my mind and I couldn't find it there. I want to check out Tiffany's before we head home."
"Damn Harry, you really are going all out on the girls this year. I saw Luna's total and just about passed out. I know that I don't know a whole lot about Muggle stuff, but isn't Tiffany's a really expensive place for jewelry?" Harry just nodded his head as they stepped into the lavish jewelry establishment. "And this coming from a guy who won't spend 150 pounds on a shirt."
"I won't spend that kind of money on myself, but I will spend it on people I love. You three are my family," Harry replied as he perused the glass cases of diamonds, each case sparkling more than the last. They weren't bothered by any of the associates during their perusal. Harry wasn't surprised due to the fact that he was currently clad in jeans, a faded sweatshirt and a pair of sneakers; Ron looked no better.
Harry snorted when he saw his friend park himself in front of a ring display. It was no secret between the two of them that Ron had every intention of proposing to Luna just as soon as she was done at Yale and he finished his training at the academy. Harry knew it would work out for them but Ron wasn't as certain. "Four years is a long time and she could meet someone at school" was his staple argument. Harry always reassured him by saying that Luna had purposefully rejected several blokes at school because she knew that Ron would eventually take notice of her, and when he did, she would be his always. That seemed to do the trick every time.
His eyes traveled over the sparkling diamonds in the case and finally landed on what he had been looking for. Harry smiled to himself before fetching an associate. The man walked over to him slowly and he turned a forced professional stare on the young man. "How may I help you sir?" His tone was clipped.
"Yes, how much is the one in the top left corner," Harry asked pointing to the piece that had forcefully caught his attention.
When he just fixed a look on Harry that blatantly said "Far more than you are able to pay", Harry politely said, "You know, I don't need to know the price. That will just give her ammunition against me. Just ring it up please." And Harry handed over his credit card, and tossed the impeccably dressed man a smirk when he realized that Harry had just handed him the English equivalent to the American Express black card. The further interactions between Harry and the associate were much friendlier.
They exited the jeweler to find that it had started to snow. Pulling their hoods over their heads to shield from the biting cold, Harry and Ron hurried towards the nearest restaurant and ducked inside. They spent the rest of the afternoon plotting different ways to prove that Dean and Seamus were homosexual lovers, and subsequently erupting into fits of hysterical laughter because what they were trying to prove was so far from the truth.
She parked the M5 in the driveway and beeped the door locks. After helping Luna gather the dresses out of the backseat, Hermione walked up the walk and fumbled around for her keys. As soon as the latch clicked over, she shoved the front door open and herded inside.
They trundled up the stairs to her room and shut the door behind them. Luna took Hermione's dress along with her own and hung them up in the closet before turning around to face her friend. "So you're seriously not going to tell him?" Her face was sad as was her voice.
Hermione chewed on her response for a bit. She wanted to tell him so badly- had even gone as far as to tell herself that she would eventually- but she was still terrified. There were only two outcomes. One, Harry would beam at her and profess his love as well, or two, he would laugh in her face and then things would get so awkward that she would eventually have to stop hanging around her friends- because that's just how things were; Ron would stay with Harry and Luna would stay with Ron. She was betting on the latter because her track record with luck was abysmal at best.
Her face scrunched up and she rubbed at her eyes. "I'll tell him eventually Luna, just not right now. I can't right now."
Apparently, Luna finally took the hint because she tipped the conversation slightly. "So, how awkward do you think things are going to be between you two when they get home tonight? I promise to keep Ron at bay if you need me to."
"Thanks Luna but you don't have to," Hermione smiled as she tossed Luna the remote to the TV. "When I was in the shower this morning, I made a vow to myself that I wouldn't get uncomfortable the next time I see him. It wasn't like anything happened last night. So we fell asleep, big deal."
"Well, that's good. Truth be told, I didn't want to have to keep Ron at bay; I cannot have anymore sex," She replied exasperated. "Seriously, I think he broke it!" Hermione burst into hysterical laughter that eventually had her fall off her bed and roll around on the floor. Luna glared at her friend in annoyance. However, with each passing second her resolve wavered until finally she had collapsed to the floor right along with Hermione.
Their hearty chuckles lasted a bit longer before Hermione was able to right herself. She climbed up on to her bed and motioned for Luna to grab the hair brush off of her vanity. As Luna clambered up next to her, Hermione hit the play button on her remote and the show came alive. "Ooh, I love this show," Luna exclaimed once the black intro screen faded into view.
"I know me too. Except I hate how convoluted it gets. Just when I think that one of the mysteries is going to be solved, a new mystery gets cracked wide open," Hermione replied as she began to braid Luna's hair. "Like this episode for instance; you think that you are watching a flash back but come to find out at the end of the episode, you were actually watching flash forwards. So now it's like 'What the hell is going on?'"
"You got to admit though, these writers are ingenious." She replied in the affirmative as Hermione continued to tie Luna's hair into tiny blonde braids.
Two hours later, Hermione had finished braiding Luna's hair, the episode of LOST had ended, and Luna was fast asleep with her head at the foot of the bed. Hermione shook her head before retrieving their empty popcorn bowl off of the floor, and making her way down the stairs.
She looked at the clock on the wall and took note of the late hour. Not having heard if the boys had returned yet, Hermione went to check the garage before heading to the kitchen. She opened the door and took stock: one bright yellow Mercedes, tucked safely into bed.
Hermione retraced her steps back to the kitchen to deposit the bowl into the sink then she would be off to bed. It was a busy day tomorrow; two songs had to be rerecorded because apparently her voice flared a bit on the current recordings. She didn't mind though; it was a reason to get out of the house and with all of her shopping taken care of, Hermione was finding it tough to wrangle up a reason to get out of the house. It always happened around this time; she would feel content for a few days and then the anxiety would seep in through the cracks in her carefully crafted façade, and she would start to go stir crazy.
It was always the same reason too. The same reason that she was currently trying so hard to fight off. It was going to be a long night.
She pushed open the door and was greeted by the sight of Harry filling up a glass of water out of the spigot in the fridge. A slight smile graced her lips when she announced her presence. "Hey man, have fun today?"
Harry turned around and shut the door to the fridge with his foot before replying, "Actually yeah, I did have fun today. I got my Christmas shopping done and got to poke fun at Ron when I caught him ogling engagement rings…again. How was your day? Did you find a dress?"
Hermione was surprised to find out that it wasn't awkward at all around him. Wow, that vow actually worked. She dropped the bowl into the sink and hopped up onto the counter when she said, "I did have fun and yes I did find a dress…a hot one I might add," she caught the glint in his eye at the mention of her dress. "But what were you doing in a jewelry store?"
Uh oh…damage control. He had to think fast otherwise she was bound to find out what her present was going to be. "Oh you know, Ron is so gung ho about asking Luna to marry him that whenever he walks by a jeweler he has to go in. He claims that it is reconnaissance to scope out what kind of diamond Luna would like, but we all know that he just likes to get dazzled by stuff that sparkles," Harry replied waving his hand in an effeminate manner that just screamed Elizabeth Taylor.
Hermione broke out into a silent fit of giggles and didn't realize that Harry had come to stand between her legs, his back facing her. When her giggles subsided she took note of where he was standing and began to run her fingers through his messy hair. She would never get tired of the motions. His hair was so smooth and fun to mess with. But she needed to be careful; if she kept this up, she might wind up doing something stupid…like turn him around and plant a big sloppy kiss right on his lips. Hermione stilled her fingers, only to have him move his hands to hers, indicating that he didn't want her to stop.
"So you said that you found a dress," Harry said after a while in a sly voice. Hermione only had time to roll her eyes before he continued in that voice that if he kept it up, would quickly be the death of her. "It's hot huh? Does that mean I'll like it?"
"Oh, I do believe you will love it," She replied, her voice mirroring his tone.
"What color is it…so I can dress accordingly?"
Hermione instantly noticed that his voice dropped the teasing sexual nature and became serious. But she grabbed on to his last phrase and held on for dear life. If he wanted to gear his attire to complement hers, then they wouldn't be going to this party as friends. And that knowledge brought a hesitant but utterly hopeful smile to her face. Her voice was soft when she asked, "What do you mean accordingly? Why would you need to be worried about that?"
He sucked in a breath of air and hoped that she didn't run from what he was about to say. "Well, if you're wearing a white dress then I don't want my suit to blend with your's. I was kind of hoping you would want me to be your escort for the evening and I wouldn't want us to be matchy matchy." Harry waited on baited breath.
"There are going to be loads of fantastically pretty females at that party Harry. Why do you want to be stuck with me as your date?"
He didn't know what it was. Maybe it was the way her voice sounded so small and sad, or how much low confidence he detected from her when she asked her question, or maybe it was both coupled together. Either way, her reply caused the words to immediately fall out of his mouth without thinking or hesitation, "Because I think I'm in love with you." He felt her hands still and registered what had indeed fallen out of his mouth. Harry immediately scrambled to reach up and pull the words out of the air so he could shove them back down his throat where they belonged.
Hermione didn't say anything for the longest time. She just sat there with her hands in his hair. And with every silent second that ticked on the clock, Harry was one silent second further into agony. With every second she sat there, he clambered to find a way to explain himself. When he finally resigned himself to the fact that there was no way out of this horrible situation, Hermione finally spoke up. And her voice floored him…it was the last thing Harry expected to hear.
"I kind of love you too."
Harry spun around and looked intently at her. She didn't say anything; her lips just turned up slightly at the corners. Harry had been waiting for this moment for the longest time. He had imagined what he would say next to be the stuff romantic stories were made from. But in reality, Harry made himself look like an ass. "What…when…how?"
He cringed at his own impotence. Why was "imagination Harry" so unbelievably smooth and "reality Harry" such a complete moron? And Hermione's answer to his floundering questions put him even more to shame. She answered him like a pro, not missing a single question. "I love you too…since the time turner night in third year…and you really don't make it that hard to love you."
How was he to answer that! She was so simple yet so incredibly wonderful. There was nothing that Harry could say that would match what Hermione had said to him. So Harry pulled out his last stop from is quickly diminishing arsenal. He slowly scooted her to the edge of the counter, wrapped her legs around his middle and touched his lips to hers. This wasn't their fist mouth to mouth kiss…that one had been right before he ran off into the sunset to get his ass kicked by Voldiekins. That kiss had been chaste…a kiss of goodbye. This was anything but. It was soft but passionate, and it sent sparks straight down to where they shouldn't be going during a first kiss.
Harry was trying so hard to keep himself in check for her, knowing how important it was to not overstep her rules. He knew how important her faith was to her. Harry was counting the seconds, dreading the moment when she would break away from him and end this wonderful torture. But she didn't break away. When Harry felt her tongue run along his bottom lip, he lost hold of all the control he had been holding onto.
He moved his hands from her cheeks to her waist, and gently slid them higher. His hands eventually took up residence in two different homes: one on her back, pulling her flush against him, and the other tangled in her hair holding her in place. It lasted what felt like a lifetime, and it could have been that long for all he cared. Harry was finally in the place where he wanted to be for so long.
Harry finally had to pull away from her when the need for oxygen became too much. He rested his forehead to hers; his hands still on her back and in her hair. He took a couple of deep breaths as he looked into her perfectly clear eyes and stole glances at her succulent full lips. He wanted to say something incredible, something smooth and fitting for those romantic stories to write about. But like before, "imagination Harry" took another hiatus, and "reality Harry" still came out looking like a moron. "Holy God, Hermione."
What she said next upstaged him yet again. "What can I say…I do know how to kiss." He could only smile and kiss her again upon hearing her self-praising candor.
They stayed up together that night, curled up on one of the white couches in the loft, for a few extra hours, just getting everything out in the open. Hermione told him her story about how she finally figured it out when he was able to pull her out of that downward spiral after Malfoy. And Harry told her his story about how he figured it out during his clandestine night of piano watching. Hermione buried her head in his shoulder upon learning that he saw her that night, but Harry just assured her that he had never seen anything more glorious. They spent those two extra hours relearning each other, and it was everything both of them could have ever asked for.
By the time the clock hit three in the morning, Hermione stood up to make her exit. Harry grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her back to him. "I love you," He said before kissing her for the hundredth time that night.
She tossed him a smirk before replying, "I love me too." He fixed a look on her and held tight to her hand, almost like he wouldn't let her leave until she said what he wanted. "Oh alright, I love you too." Make that the one hundredth and one kiss for the night.
"I really don't want to sleep on the couch tonight. As comfortable it is to sit on, it isn't to sleep on."
"You don't have to worry about that," Hermione replied turning for her door. For a second, Harry thought she was going to toss her morals out the window and invite him in. But "reality Harry" wasn't having too good of luck tonight. "Luna is asleep in my bed as we speak. You are free to sleep in your bed tonight."
"Oh thank you Lord," He exclaimed in relief. Harry looked back up at her right as she was about to close the door to her room. "Hey, goodnight you," he called out lovingly.
She poked her head out the door and smirked as she said, "Go to bed Harry."
Hermione fell down onto her bed in a flourish of sheets. Everything that she had been wanting for the last three years had finally fallen into place. It seemed fitting for her to get her happy ending what with the crappy life she had had her first twelve years. Harry was a good thing and she deserved something good.
She released a rather large sigh of contentment only to feel Luna stir a little. "I'm glad you told him Hermione. I knew you would."
"I'm glad I told him too. Thanks for giving me the push."
"I want details in the morning," Luna yawned as she wrapped her arm across her friend's middle.
Hermione cuddled up with her best friend and said before she succumbed to the dream world, "I'll tell you everything you want to know."
I used a Grey's Anatomy reference in this chapter. Let me know if you can find it. Review and get a look at what's comming up next. Toodles...