"Where is it that you and your brother are taking the lot of us, Ginny?" asked Hermione, putting her hair up in a ponytail.
The two witches had been spending the last hour getting ready to go out with a large group of their former school mates. Hermione was excited to see the people who she had not seen in ages. Most of all, she was excited to see Harry. It had been a couple of months since she had last seen him, and she missed him. She had recently come to terms with the fact that she had feelings for "The Boy Who Lived" so when she heard that he would be attending the event, she was overjoyed.
"Well, we decided to do something different and venture into the muggle world this time." explained Ginny. "Dean told us something about a bar that has something called 'kryoke'."
Hermione inwardly groaned. "Karaoke?"
"Yeah, that's it." Ginny turned to look at Hermione. "What is it exactly?"
Sighing, Hermione said, "It's where you have this machine that puts lyrics to songs on a screen and you sing instead of the original artist. You tell them which song you want to sing, and they play the music. It'll only have muggle songs, though, I'm afraid. And since it's a bar, it's usually a bunch of drunk idiots singing horribly out of tune."
Ginny laughed. "Well, you can guarantee that Seamus and Dean will enjoy themselves, then. And, hey, if the words are on a screen, then it should be fun watching people struggle a bit." Hermione joined in with her friend's laughter. The two Gryffindor boys had always acted like a couple of rowdy frat boys so that part of the evening should prove to provide some entertainment. "Then, will you sing anything, Hermione?"
The brunette scoffed. "Absolutely not!"
"Why not? I've heard you sing in the dorms before and you're excellent."
Hermione blushed. "I won't make a fool of myself. Especially…" She trailed off.
Ginny grinned and finished her sentence for her. "Especially since Harry will be there."
Pretending not to hear her, Hermione got up and grabbed her coat. "Are you ready?"
Ginny nodded and the two of them were off.
"Dude, seriously?" said Harry begrudgingly. "A karaoke bar?"
"Hey, don't look at me, it was this one's idea." Ron said, pointing to Dean, who was smiling impishly. It was clear that Dean and Seamus had been pre-gaming as the two were already a little tipsy.
The group of waiting ex-students, who consisted of Seamus, Dean, Luna, Neville, Hannah, Lavendar, Pavarti, Padma, and Draco, only had two more that they were expecting. Just as they were contemplating going inside, Ginny and Hermione apparated.
Greetings were exchanged and hugs were had by all.
"Well, shall we go in, then?" Draco insisted.
As the group filed into the building, Harry and Hermione brought up the rear. Moving aside, Harry said, "Ladies first."
"Thank you, Harry." Hermione said, smiling. "Always the gentleman." She walked past him and into the bar and Harry followed right behind her.
Harry looked at Hermione and noticed that she looked very nice tonight. It had felt like such a long time since he had seen her and was thrilled when he heard she would be coming tonight. Leaning forward, he whispered in her ear, "I'm glad you are here, Hermione, I'm hoping we can catch up while we watch our friends make asses of themselves."
Hermione laughed. "I'd like that, Harry."
Harry smiled. "I was going to get something to drink." He scrunched up his face as if trying to remember something. "Amaretto sour, right?"
Hermione was impressed. She rarely drank but when she did, it was always the same. "Yes, you remembered that?"
Grinning and guiding her over to the bar, he nodded. "I think I know you better than you think, Hermione."
The bar had a seating area made up of small tables and couches where the rest of the group was now seated. They still managed to all stay as a group and talk while others went on to start singing tunes that Harry recognized and others that he did not. No one so far had sounded that great, give or take a few people that were clearly trained musicians from the muggle audience. They clapped for the people who got up to sing regardless of where they landed on the talent scale.
Harry and Hermione had spent much of the evening catching up on one of the couches that Seamus had discretely lengthened by magic so that they could fit more people on them, while their friends decided that they wanted to give karaoke a try. Of course, a few of them knew more muggle songs than the others but they gave it a shot anyway. Dean and Seamus, who were properly pissed by that point and with arms around each other's shoulders, had decided to duet to "Stacy's Mom" by Fountain of Wayne, slurring the words but managing to remain on tune for the most part. Pavarti and Lavendar turned heads from most of the men in the bar with their performance of "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls, showing off some provocative dance moves. Ron seemed particularly interested in this, causing Harry and Hermione to roll their eyes. Draco ended up surprising them as he got up to sing "White Wedding" by Billy Idol which he managed to do very well. Hermione noticed at the other side of the room that Ginny was whispering in Seamus's ear and, in turn, he responded by whispering into hers. She wondered if the two of them had something between intimate between them.
"So," said Harry. "Are you going to sing anything?"
Hermione sipped at her drink before responding. "There is not enough alcohol in this world to make me go up there." Harry laughed at this. "What about you?"
Harry shook his head. "No one wants to hear that."
She put her hand on his knee. "I'm sure you are a great singer."
"Nope. Not in the slightest." Harry, who was now tipsy, put his arm around her, bringing her closer to him. "If you were to sing, though, what would you sing?"
Hermione, who was temporarily distracted by Harry's arm around her, shook herself so that she could focus on his question. "Hm, I don't know." She shrugged. "Doesn't matter. There's no way on earth that I would-"
"And next up," said the emcee, "Hermione Granger."
Hermione looked around, trying to find an explanation since she most certainly had not put her name in the queue. She looked over at Ginny to see her smiling wickedly and giving her the thumbs up. Ginny, no. she thought to herself. Hermione shook her head as Ginny came over to her, hoisting her to her feet.
"C'mon, Hermione. You'll be great."
"Ginny, please. Don't make me do this." Begged Hermione. "I'll give you an entire month off with pay if you would please just tell them I'm not going up there."
"Hmm," Ginny contemplated the thought for a moment. "That is a tempting offer, but-" The red head pushed Hermione onto the stage.
"Welcome, love. What song will it be?" asked the emcee with a smile.
Hermione felt like she was going to be sick, but she felt that if the others could get up and make fools of themselves then she would not stand out too badly. Taking a deep breath, she named the first song that came to her mind, hesitantly taking a step to the mic.
Harry leaned forward, a smile playing across his face and Hermione's breathe hitched in her throat. She chose this specific song because it was the one that she thought of when she thought of Harry. Alright, Hermione. Just a few minutes of embarrassment and then it'll be over. She thought. Oh, and mental note. Kill Ginny later!
The song began to play its opening chords and as Hermione's eyes met Harry's, she began.
Oh, why you look so sad?
Tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me now
Don't be ashamed to cry
Let me see you through
'Cause I've seen the dark side too
When the night falls on you
You don't know what to do
Nothing you confess
Could make me love you less
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Harry was transfixed. Her voice was wonderful. Why would she not want to sing for them with a voice like that? Looking around, he saw that he was not the only one shocked by the sound of her alto tone. Everyone sat, dumbstruck, as she sang. Harry sat back and listened, not only to her voice but to the words of the song. It sounded to him that this song choice was not just by accident. Hermione was singing for someone and he secretly wished that it was for him.
So if you're mad, get mad
Don't hold it all inside
Come on and talk to me now
Hey, what you got to hide?
I get angry too
Well I'm a lot like you
When you're standing at the crossroads
And don't know which path to choose
Let me come along
'Cause even if you're wrong
I'll stand by you
Harry closed his eyes, letting the music overtake him as he thought back to their days at school. All the times he had lashed out at Hermione for no reason but to get out his frustrations at his predestined fate given to him by the wizarding world. He had been such an ass to her. But he could always go to her no matter what and she never complained. She was the only one who could calm him down. Her opinion mattered to him more than anything. Hermione was smart, talented, and beautiful. Wait, he thought, did I just admit that I thought Hermione was beautiful? He opened his eyes to look at her again. She truly was radiant, and he wanted to punch himself for never noticing before. His heart was pounding. What was wrong with him? He knew he loved Hermione, but could it be a different type of love than he thought? Harry looked back on all the times they had held hands, taken long walks around the lake, just the two of them, stole glances at each other. Now that he was thinking about it, all Harry could think about these last few months was Hermione. Why had he not visited her more? Could he have been pulling away because somewhere deep in his subconscious, he knew how he felt about her?
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you
And when
When the night falls on you, baby
You're feeling all alone
You won't be on your own
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you, won't let nobody hurt you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you
The song ended and the bar erupted with applause as Hermione, blushing to the roots of her hair, walked to take her seat next to Harry. She accepted compliments from their group as they told her how great she had done and as she suspected, shortly after, they had moved on to more of the entertainment.
"Hermione, that was amazing!" Harry said. "Your voice is beautiful."
If Hermione thought she could not blush harder, she was sadly mistaken because she thought she would have to go outside to cool down from the heat rushing to her face. "Thank you, Harry, but it was not that spectacular."
Harry's eyes widened. "Clearly, we weren't listening to the same performance because it was the most wonderful sound I've ever heard." Harry looked around at the group who were all completely occupied watching a sheepish Neville performing "Shape of You" by Ed Sheran. "Hermione, would you like to get out of here and hang out at my place?"
Hermione's gaze fell on Harry and, to help alleviate her nerves, she joked, "Why, Harry, this is all so sudden."
The two laughed and Harry said, "No, I just mean, I've missed talking to you so much that I wanted to be able to have some time with you alone and without so much noise."
Hermione nodded. "That sounds nice, Harry, I'd love to."
The two of them said their goodbyes to the group and promised that they would get together again soon. Hermione had caught a glimpse of Ginny wiggling her eyebrows at her. Turning away from her, she decided that she would deal with Ginny later.
Walking outside, Harry and Hermione reveled in the fresh air before apparating to Harry's flat. Hermione realized it had been quite some time since she had been to his flat and instantly felt right at home. She felt safe no matter where she was if it was with Harry.
"Would you like me to take your coat?" Harry offered. When she nodded, he helped her shrug the coat off and deposited both of their coats on the rack next to the door. "Please have a seat. Would you like another drink?"
Taking a seat on the couch, she said, "Hm, sure I could go for one more."
"Another amaretto sour coming up!" Harry said as he walked into his kitchen to prepare her drink.
Hermione gave him a look. "I didn't know you liked them, too."
Harry blushed slightly. "Well, I don't. But I always keep the ingredients here for you in case you come over."
"Oh, that's very thoughtful, Harry."
When he had finished, he sat next to Hermione on the couch, handing her the drink. He took his glass filled with scotch and clinked his glass to hers. "Cheers!" After taking a sip, he looked over at Hermione. "So, how've you been, 'Mione?"
"Oh, you know," she started, twirling the glass in her hands, "working hard and keeping to myself mostly."
"Yeah, it's been awhile since I've seen you." Harry tilted his head as he put his arm around her shoulders and Hermione thought he looked like a lost puppy. He could be too adorable for his own good sometimes.
"I know." Hermione said lamely.
"Why is that?" pressed Harry. "And don't tell me it's because you've been busy. I know you are busy, but you manage to see other people." His eyes reflected sadness and she found herself looking away from him. "Did I do something wrong?"
No, Harry, you're perfect. Hermione inwardly shook herself. "Of course not, Harry. I just thought…"
"Thought what?"
"Thought that maybe, since the war was finally over, that you would want more time to yourself." She lied.
"Hermione, don't lie to me." She looked into his eyes again. "Hermione…"
He was getting close. Much too close. If he came any closer, she would lose all resolve and do something stupid and Lord knows she made a fool of herself enough at the bar. "Yes, Harry?"
"Who did you sing that song for?"
With the combination of his arm being around her, his begging eyes, the alcohol, and warm voice surrounding her, she was beginning to become weak. But she would not give in. She could not. "What makes you think I was singing to anyone, Harry? It was just the first song that came into my head."
Harry sighed. "You've always been a terrible liar, Hermione." He set his drink down on the coffee table before taking hers and setting it down as well. He motioned to turn in his seat so that he was looking at her fully, back to the armrest. "Let me tell you what I heard tonight while you were singing." He took one of her hands in his and gently started stroking it with his thumb. "I heard raw emotion. I heard someone trying to get all of her emotions out to someone. I heard years of rejections when they should have been acceptances. I heard a woman who's tired of trying to hide her feelings. I heard love, heartbreak, longing and passion. I heard your heart crying out, begging someone to notice you. I heard you, Hermione." He placed his other hand on her cheek where tears had become to fall. "Hermione, who were you singing to?"
Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Harry…" But before she could say anything, Harry's lips were on hers. After a moment of surprise, she had come to her senses and returned the kiss.
Harry wrapped his arms around her and pulled her onto his lap. He deepened the kiss when he heard a moan escape her lips which he began to brush with his tongue, begging for entry. When she obliged, his hands started to roam, one making its way to cup her face, the other slipping slightly under her shirt to feel her soft skin under his touch.
Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry's neck, bringing him closer to her. She could not believe this was happening. Everything he had just said about the singing had been true. She was trying to tell him how she felt. That was why she chose the song that she did. She would always stand by him no matter what. Even when they had not seen each other in so long. Hermione had been afraid that if she had confessed her feelings to him that it would just be another rejection like she had received all too often. She did not want to feel that pain again, especially from Harry. But, now, he was here with his arms wrapped around her and for the first time in a long time, she felt complete.
After several more minutes of heated passion, the two pulled away slightly.
"I'm sorry, Hermione." Harry said, loosening his grip on her. "I did not mean to do that, but I couldn't resist anymore."
Hermione placed a hand on his chest. "Harry, it's all right. As I was about to say before I was interrupted…" Harry chuckled. "You were the one I was singing to, Harry. I've been in love with you for ages now but was too afraid to tell you. And after everything you just said to me, I had to tell you. No one has every understood me the way you do."
"I just wish I would have picked up on it sooner." He tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Guess that's why I was never in Ravenclaw." The two of them shared a laugh. "But now that I know, I'll never let you go, Hermione. You spent our entire childhood by my side throughout everything. Now, it's my turn. I love you, Hermione."
"I love you, too, Harry."
And with that, he kissed her.
Well, there you have it. Another fic down. I haven't written this much in a long time and I have to say that it is refreshing. I may write more since this quarantine has us on lockdown but for now, those are all the ideas I have so far. In case anyone was wondering why the title is what it is, the word "karaoke" translates to "empty orchestra". Bye for now, but I will be back soon!