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CHAPTER 2
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title: No Take Backs
Rating: PG13
keywords: Harry/Hermione
category: romance/humor
summary: When Harry finally makes that connection with Hermione, what he gets is more than he bargained for.
a/n: i'd like to tahnk my beta-reader Kat for helping with the brain storming. This story took me three days to write and it's up now becasue i had a snow day. the next one should take a few days longer, though. but rest assured that it will be out, and things are gonna get complex and interesting. thanks to all of you who reviewed, and i'm sorry if this story seems a bit surreal. i'm working on it....anyway. Read and review!!!
P.S. My comp is being a bitch to me right now, so if there are typing errors, (and i'm sure there are MANY), then just ignore them. my comp won't let me use spellcheck for some reason....
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"Ooohhh...." Harry groaned loudly as he opened his eyes. Immediately he reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had a splitting migraine that felt like it had been setting in for a while. The pain radiated throughout his head, dancing the most strongly above his eyes. He ran his hand down his face and took in a deep breath.
The ceiling of the dorm was playing tricks with his eyes. For some odd reason that was unexplainable to him it looked green. Or blue. He wasn't quite sure which. Patterns faded in and out of his vision as he tried to focus on anything without his glasses. It was becoming quite difficult. He looked over to his side for a brief moment and then the nausea hit him. He groaned loudly again and looked back at the celing, afraid to look at anything else.
Scared to see what he knew was already there, and scared to look because of the nausea, he looked down and the face of a sleeping Hermione greeted him. He looked back up at the celing, his nausea becoming even worse by the second.
"I'm never going to drink again. Never again. Not even if my life depends on it." Harry quit talking and made an attempt to pull Hermione off of his chest so he could get up in time to go be sick in some other place. He held the nausea at bay while he lifted her off of his chest and onto the the pillow beside him.
Being so quiet as not to diturb her, he got up and ran out of the room as quickly as possible.
Hermione opened one eye and looked around the room. Where was she? There were Gryffindor colors hung about in the room's decor, so she wasn't in any place but the Gryffindor Tower. But what had happened last night? She couldn't remember. Whatever happened to make her forget where she was couldn't have been too exciting because as she rolled over onto her back, she realized that she was alone.
And then Harry came padding unsteadily back into the room.
The previous night's events came flooding back into memory. The stumbling about in the hallways, keeping Harry awake long enough to get him into bed, kissing him... Hermione abruptly shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep.
Harry stood next to the bed and looked down at Hermione who was now laying in a different position than the one he had left her in.
"And what to do about you..." Harry tapped his foot impatiently on the floor. Logic told his hungover self to leave her there. He had barely made it to the bathroom before getting sick from all of the alcohol. How was he supposed to carry her to her dorm if he couldn't walk there alone?
Harry shrugged to himself and laid back down on the bed next to her. He sighed as he sunk down on the matress and closed his eyes. Not even aware of his actions, he reached an arm over Hermione and pulled her against him, hugging her close.
She held onto his arm and let his warmth spread throughout her own body until well into the late morning.
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"Good morning, Harry," Hermione said softly.
"Good morning to you too." Harry still had his arm wrapped around her midsection and he took notice that she didn't seem to mind. She wasn't doing anything about it except holding on to him. "How did you sleep?"
"It was good. After hauling your ass up here, I was ready for the sleep."
"That's what levitation charms are for," Harry said smirking.
"With as incapacitated as I was and you were, I don't think that either one of us could have done any magic last night."
"Well-"
"Harry James Potter! Not -that- kind of magic."
"You know, I've heard from some very reliable sources that interesting colors light up the room in the throws of passion..."
The both laughed furiously.
"So why aren't you hung over? Any headache or anything you're hiding?"
"No, I hold down alcohol very well. I don't get much of a hangover. aNd when I do, it's usually just a small headache. Last night's wine wasn't enough to make me sick."
"Well, I know that I was incredibly sick this morning."
"I heard you get up and leave the room. I was comfortable too."
"I tried not to wake you."
"It's okay. After all, I'm quite comfortable now. This is nice."
"You know what else is nice?"
"What?""That kiss you gave me last night was nice," Harry whispered into her ear. He smiled shyly at having revealed what she thought he didn't know. His face redenned at the thought of what he had just told her.
"Really? How about we try that again?" Hermione reached up slowly as Harry brought his mouth down to hers. They kissed softly, not letting anything ruin the moment. Harry pulled back after a few seconds and gazed down into her eyes.
He saw his soul reflected, and in that exact moment he knew that all was right with the world.
"Harry, what are you thinking?" Hermione whispered this with a furrowed brow and concern in her eyes. She looked absolutely worried.
"Don't be afraid of me, Mione. Don't be afraid of this," Harry cut off his words and caught her mouth for another kiss. One with more urgency and meaning to it.
Hermione pulled back and gazed up at him lovingly. "I'm not afraid of you," she whispered. "I'm afraid of losing you. I don't want to be alone."
"I'm not going anywhere. Not without you." They joined their lips together in a more insistant manner. Harry could feel Hermione smiling into his mouth. And he couldn't help but smile himself.
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Christmas morning came soon enough and Harry awoke to a very large stack of presents sitting on his trunk at the foot of his bed. Happily he got up and went down to see what he had recieved.
Picking up the first large parcel, he looked at the tag. It was from the Weasley family. He shook it and heard a rustling of paper or cloth from the inside. He unwrapped it and a bright maroon shirt fell out. He picked it up and looked at it. It was the exact same as the one that Mrs. Weasley had sent him in the pat. He smiled to himself.
Reaching over and picking up the next package, he found it to be from Hagrid. It was fairly heavy, and he assumed it was a book. Unwrapping it carefully, being wary of the kind of things that Hagrid enjoyed sending him, he pulled the paper off. It was an ordinary book with a maroon cover and a golden outline of the Gryffindor house banner on the cover. He opened it and saw that it was a history of all of the great wizards that had ever come of Gryffindor. He closed the book and sat it on top of the sweater.
Several packages later he held a small gift in his hand. It was addressed to him from the Dursleys. How the Dursleys could get a gift to him was beyond his thought range, but the point was that there was a gift. And he was frightened to open it for fear of death and disease.
Hesitantly he tore through the blue wrapping paper. When the contents were revealed, he held in his hand a note and a picture of the family. If you would call them a family. He unfolded the note and took note that it was in Aunt Petunia's handwriting. He read it aloud to himself.
Harry,
I trust that you are getting your studies done and not making a fool of your self more than you normally do. We sent this picture to you so there would be some normalcy in that place that you call school. Anyway, enjoy the rest of your holiday.
The Dursleys
At about that time, a knock came on the door and Hermione let herself in. She came running to the bed and jumped on it, making Harry bounce and knocking his nice neat pile of presents all over the bed. She hgged him around the neck and kissed his cheek merrily.
"Happy Christmas, Harry!" Harry leaned over and stole a quick kiss on the lips before standing up and walking across the room. He found a candle sitting on the desk and picked it up. He brought it back to the bed and sat it on the trunk, lighting it as he did this.
"What are you doing?" Hermione watched as Harry took the note from the Dursleys and lit it on fire. "You'll burn the room down," she said. They both watched as the paper blazed high until it reached Harry's fingertips. He dropped the paper and stomped on it until it was left to be nothing more than a pile of ashes.
"I hate the Dursleys. I -HATE- the Dursleys," Harry yelled as he stood up. He went and sat the candle back on the desk.
"I hate them, you hate them, this is all common knowledge to everyone." Hermione slipped her arms around Harry and layed her head on his back. She sighed contentedly. Harry smiled blissfully. Just having Hermione there with him was enough to make him the happiest wizard in the world. But then a thought crossed him mind. Something that he had forgotten.
"Oh, and about your Christmas gift, well..." turned around the look at her face to face. He gave her an apologetic smile, and she brushed it off.
"Harry, it's alright if you didn't get me anything. Just being with you makes me happy."
"Oh, but I did get you something, Miss Granger. The only problem is that we'll have to leave the tower to go and get it."
"If you drag me outside-" Hermione spoke with a scolding, playful tone.
"Oh, of course not. But it's still a small walk away from here. Come on. Let's do that now."
"And before I forget, I have a present for you as well, but it's in my dorm. I don't know why I didn't think to bring it."
"We can get that on our way back."
The pair got up off of the bed and walked out of the dorm and out of Gryffindor Tower. They held hands tightly, fingers entwined as they walked along slowly.
Hogwarts was so beautiful at Christmas time. Bright shades of red and green adorned the walls and Christmas trees stood in every corner. The trees were decorated festivally with lights that shined many colors and danced around as if alive.
"Are we almost there?" Hermione asked hopefully.
"What are you? Some child in the backseat of his mum's car? Are we there yet?" Harry said in a mocking voice. Hermione hit him on the arm lightly enough to leave feeling, but hard enough to sting. "Alright, alright. Yes. As a matter of fact, we -are- here."
They stood at the bottom of a winding staircase. Realization crossed Hermione's face and she smiled. "This is the owlry."
"Yes, I know."
"Harry," Hermione said, looking over at the grin he had on his face. "What did you get me for Christmas?" Hermione knew the answer, but she didn't say it.
"You know what I got you. Now let's go and look at him."
Harry pulled Hermione up the staircase quickly. In no time they stood in the circular room, and Harry was still quickly pulling her over the one particular owl in the corner.
"Hey, he's sitting next to Hedwig," harry said.
Hermione hugged Harry tightly as she thanked him for the gift. She reached oveer and ran a few fingers over her owl's sleek white fur.
"He looks just like Hedwig," Hermione said as she looked the bird over.
"Yeah, except for these markings right here." Harry reached up and ran a finger over two large black feathers that stood out on its back.
"I love it. This is the best gift, Harry."
"And you deserve nothing less."
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Harry and Ron sat in identical chairs near the fireplace, the heat radiating out and warming their bodies. The students that had been out on holiday had just returned a few days earlier, Ron the exception because his family had been on a much needed holiday to Scotland. He had family that lived there. But now that he was back at Hogwarts, he was back to his usual curious self.
"I know you're keeping something from me," Ron said in a genrally accusing tone.
"Well, I -am- wearing your socks."
"You know what I'm talking about."
"Do I?"
"Yes, now why don't you get some explaining done."
"Alright. I got drunk without you."
"Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived got drunk?"
"Yes. And so did Hermione. You should have seen us. We were a sight to see. Stumbling all over the damn tower..." Harry chukced lightly to himself as he remembered that specific night's events.
"That's what's different."
"What's different, Ron?"
"You and Hermione. You two have been acting strange around each other for days. What's going on?"
Harry opened his mouth to speak, but the words never left his mouth. They were caught in his throat, and nothing was going to force them out. Ron looked over and saw Harry with his mouth open, and a devilish smile grew across his face.
"I understand. But you're not shagging her, are you?"
"Not anything close to it." Harry's nervousness betrayed him and his voice broke.
"I would hope not. I mean, you two together is one thing, but I just can't picture my two best friends shagging."
At about taht time, Ron stopped talking as Hermione came down the steps from the girls dorm. She stood next to Harry's chair and gave a hesitant glance from Ron to Harry. She caught Ron's eye and he nodded his head and smiled. She smiled back and crawled on Harry's lap.
Harry kissed her lightly on the cheek and she returned the same affection to him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and held her close.
"How was Scotland?" Haermione asked, trying to clear up any tension that she might have been unaware of.
"Well, it was all well and good until Ginny discovered the neighbor's son." Ron smiled. "Yeah, Mum and Dad weren't the least bit happy about it. Especially since they were caught snogging in the living room."
"Really?" Harry was thoroughly amused by this, and pushed the issue further.
"Well, Fred was the one that found them. He just came downstair to get a drink. It was late, and everyone was in bed, so he was thoroughly amused to find them on the couch with Sean, the neighbor's son, laying on top of her, his hands apparently in places they shouldn't be."
"Oh no. What happened then?" hermione was now interested.
"Fred of course couldn't pass up a good opportunity like this. He told her that either she let him give her veritaserum and have a good examintaion of everything in her mind for five minutes, or he turn her in. you can see what happened. When she said no, he yelled what she was doing all over the house. It woke everyone up."
"That's a good one. I wish stuff that exciting happened with my family," Hermione said.
Ron yawned loudly and stretched his arms. Obviously tired, he stood up and said goodnight.
Harry still sat in the chair with Hermione resting on his lap. He ran a hand through her hair and brushed a few stray locks off of her face.
"It really is late. We should probably go to bed. After all, class starts tomorrow. We have to be ready for Snape," Harry said, his face coming closer to hers.
"Yeah," Hermione stopped talking and closed the distance between their lips. They kissed insistantly, holding onto each other, afraid to let go. But the night did call, and reluctantly they did let go.
They both got up and walked to the seperate staircases taht would take them to their dorm rooms. Harry kissed Hermione one last goodnight kiss.
"Goodngiht, Mione."
"Goodnight, Harry."
Harry watched Hermione go up the staircase and he walked up his own with a smile to light up the world.
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Class the next day was hell starting with the very first one. The new teacher wasn't in the least bit as amusing as it had been with Lupin their third year, and even Gilderoy Lockhart was better than the new guy.
The trio of friends would have done anything to have stayed in that class than go to potions, though. Potions was hands down the worst part of their day. And for Harry, the events over the Christmas Holiday made the class even more hard to pay attention to.
Even now Harry couldn't help but daydream of the feeling of having Hermione in his arms upon waking up. And it was at this time that Snape decided to intrude upon Harry's thought process.
"And can someone tell me why we do not use the mandrake for this potion?" Snape looked around the room for a good subject to pick on. He spotted Harry sitting in the middle of the class, his head resting on his hand, apparently not paying attention. Snape smiled devilishly, and called on him.
"Mr. Potter, answer the question." Snape waited on Harry, but he didn't answer. "Mr. potter." Some of the Slytherins on the other side of the class snickered, and Snape began to get even more agitated. We walked up to Harry's desk and stood there. "Mr. Potter!"
Harry sat up straight and looked at Snape. "Yes?"
"Seeing as how you weren't paying attention, I'm going to have to take ten points away from Gryffindor for wasting my time and everyone else's as well."
Harry sighed and turned to look at Ron and Hermione who were looking down at their notes, avoiding Snapes glares.
Harry remained silent as Snape looked down at him. He averted his eyes to Malfoy who was looking incredibly happy at the sign of Harry's discomfort.
Snape turned and walked away from Harry. It wasn't fifteen minutes later taht Harry was being yelled at again.
"Mr. Potter, would you divert your eyes from Miss Granger and pay attention to the lesson. You wouldn't want to be mixing up the wrong ingredients, now would you?"
Harry turned a slight shade of red, and Hermione looked at him appreciatively. Several of the Slytherins were looking at Harry again in a very devilish manner. Tehre would definately be some rumors going around Hogwarts at dinner.
Snape continued his lecture for the remainder of class without incident, but he gave icy stares in the direction of the Gryffindors the entire time.
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Late into January things were settled back down, at least in Gryffindor Tower. The Slytherins however were having a hard time coping with the absence of the head of their house, Snape. A death in his family had called him away from teaching for the month.
Quidditch practice was out of the question with the unusually cold temperatures, and so the team spent their time inside going over strategy and procedures.
Harry was personally excited about the cold because it gave him an excuse to spend more time wrapped in Hermione's arms. Their relationship was now common knowledge throughout the entire school, and surprisingly enough, no one seemed surprised.
Even now as they sat together by the fire in the common room watching a second year take on Ron in wizard's chess, they couldn't help but smile. They were always smiling. Except when away from each other. Then a look of loss crossed their faces.
Harry kissed Hermione on the top of the head and pulled her closer than she already was.
"Ron, I do believe that you've found someone as good as you. Whatever will you do?" Hermione had to fend off a series of insults as Ron shoved his disapproval for her comment back at her.
"Checkmate," the blond first year said. He reached over and shook a disbelieving Ron's hand before getting up and joining his friends on the other side of the room.
"He beat me. That little...-thing- beat me. I can't bloody believe it."
Hermione threw her head back and laughed hysterically. Ron got up and picked up her up off of Harry's lap. He threw her over his shoulder.
"Ronald Weasley! You put me down right this instant!" Hermione kicked and screamed as Ron stood in the middle of the common room with her. He turned to Harry.
"How much would you pay to see her turned into a rabbit?"
Harry laughed hysterically and stood up. He crossed the room and walked around behind Ron to go and face Hermione. With much effort she lifted her head and brushed her hair out of her face. She gave him a death look.
"You know that I'd never pay to see you turned into a rabbit, Dearest," Harry put a finger under her chin. "I'd just do it myself."
"Burn in hell, Harry."
"You know you don't mean that."
"Yes I do."
"Alright Ron, I think she's had enough. Put her down."
Ron heaved Hermione off of his shoulder with a sigh. She regained her composure and ran a hand through her hair, making sure that it didn't stand up straight in anyplace. She straightened her clothes and then began a steady stream of cursing directed at both Ron.
Harry reached out to embrace her in a hug but she pushed him away and yelled, "Don't get me started on you!" Harry put a look of mock shock on his face.
But no more than a half minute later she was back in his arms. Back where she needed to be.
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Harry and the other guys in the dorm woke up on Valentine's Day morning to the sound of Ron stomping around, slapping desk drawer, and cursing loudly to no one. Neville looked over at Harry and gave a look of quetion. Harry shrugged his shoulders and continued to watch Ron.
"Where in the bloody hell is my wand?!" Ron stomped over to his night stand and yanked open a drawer.
"Calm down, Ron. What's the matter anyway?" Harry was surprised to hear Neville attempt to speak to Ron when he was as mad as this.
"Well, Neville, if you found out that your only sister was dating -Draco Malfoy-, how would you feel?"
Harry's jaw dropped open and he turned a shade of pale white. He watched Ron dump the contents of his pockets on the bed, still looking for his wand. Harry reached down on the floor and picked it up. He held it out to Ron.
"It fell on the floor when you got up this morning. I heard it hit."
Ron took it from Harry and sat down on the bed, shoving his head in his hands. He ran them over his face once and looked up at Harry. "I can't believe Ginny would go and do something like this. How could she?"
"Well, Ron, she is free to make her own choices. I don't see how you can stop her."
"But it's MALFOY!"
In an angry rage, Ron took his wand and launched it across the room. It hit the wall hard and Ron looked at his hands in shock when he heard a sickening crack. He looked over at his fallen wand.
Harry got out of bed and picked it up. He held it delicately in his hand as he walked over to Ron. The contents fell partly out of the wand and touched Harry's hand lightly. He reahed over and gave the broken equipment to Ron.
"Oh no," Ron whispered.
Harry looked sympathetically at Ron. His vision shifted and he looked back at Neville who had a scared look on his round face. He gave Neville a reassuring smile and turned to go and find his clothes for the day.
"How did you find out about Ginny and Draco anyway?" Harry asked as walked over to find his clothes for the day.
"I woke up early and realized that I left my shoes down in the common room. I went down to get them and overheard Ginny talking to Hermione."
At the mention of Hermione's name, Harry hurried up getting his stuff ready, and in no time he was dressed. Neville wasn't far behind him, and as soon as he was done, Harry began to walk out the door.
"Are you coming, Ron?" Neville asked.
"No. I think I'm gonna stay in the common room today. I'll see you guys tonight."
Harry shut the door as he and Neville left.
Upon entering the common room, Harry was greeted with a very welcomed kiss from Hermione. One that caught the attention of and made the first and second years look and smile. Harry entwined his hands in Hermione's soft brown hair and kissed back with an intensity that he didn't know he had in the morning.
Hermione wrapped her arms around him and puled back from the kiss. Ignoring some of the whistles and howls coming from different parts of the room, she spoke. "Thank you for the flowers, Harry. Roses are my favorite."
"Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman. I hoped you'd like them."
"Harry, sorry to interupt, but could you tell me where my brother is? Is he really that angry?" Ginny Weasley stood a few feet away, her hands on her hips, looking just like the Weasley's mother.
"He's not coming today, I'm afraid. He's very upset."
Ginny sighed and murmered her thanks as she walked past them and in the direction of the boys dorm. Harry took one foot to stop her, but Hermione held him close. She shook her head at him and told him to leave her alone.
"But I'm afraid that he'll-"
"Harry, he's not going to do anything to hurt his baby sister. They need to talk, so let them."
"If you're sure."
Harry took Hermione's hands and held them as they walked over to a table where Hermione had her stuff laying about. Harry picked up a large book off of a chair and set it on the table. He sat down and cleared a space for him to bang his head against.
"Don' hit your head like that. You'll have a red whelp there," Neville said as he came and sat across from Harry and Hermione. He took his rucksack and sat it on the table. Several books and some pieces of parchment feel out. He quickly shoved them back in and began to speak.
"What all od you think is going on up there with Ron and Ginny? I hope that they're not fighting. It's probably a good thing that Ron's wand is broken."
Harry sighed. "Yeah, who knows what would have happened."
"I can just see Ron trying to threaten Ginny with a hex or something," Harry said.
Hermione laughed and said, "Yeah, Ginny would launch him right through that wall."
The three laughed heartily until they saw Ginny come down from the dorm. Her face was a deep shade of red and tears fell from her eyes. She wiped as she came running into Hermione's arms. Hermione held her close and rubbed her back while the girl cried onto her shoulder. Hermione walked slowly with Ginny away from the guys and into a corner of the room. They sat down on a large couch and Ginny began to talk through her sobs.
"He told me that he'd be happy if he never had to see me again in his life."
"He didn't mean that Ginny. You know how boys are when they're upset. They say awful things that they don't mean."
"But he told me that he didn't love me anymore. That if I wanted someone to love me, I should go running to Draco, because the family would disown me." Ginny cried even louder.
"Shhh.....it's okay Ginny." Hermione reached out and touched a hand to wipe the tears off of Ginny's face. "Just don't listen to him. He's just upset. Give him time to adjust to the change."
Ginny's sobs continued, but softer and at a slower pace.
"You know what, I'm going to go and have a talk with him."
Hermione got up off of the couch and walked past Harry and Neville to go to the boys' dorm.
Hermione opened the door and found Ron sitting on the floor next to his bed. He had his head hung and he seemed to be breathing very deeply.
"Go away, Ginny," Ron said loudly. when he heard a few more steps advance, he stood up and turned around quickly, throwing his broken wand at the person standing behind him. Hermione ducked the wand regained her composure.
"Why are you doing this, Ron?"
"You know bloody well why I'm doing this."
"Do you know what you're doing to yourself and your sister?"
"I know exactly what I'm doing. It's her own fault. If she would just use common sense and leave that asshole alone, then none of this would happen. None of it! She's so ignorant!"
Hermione reached up and slapped Ron on the face, leaving a red mark where her hand had hit. He reached up and touched his cheek lightly. His eyes had watered up from the hit, and he blinked them away.
"Why did you have to go and do that?" Ron asked, apparently annoyed.
"Because if you don't open your eyes and see that your sister should mean more to you than what you tell her she does, then you don't deserve her. Quit being such a sodding prat, Ron. And when you collect your thoughts, go down and apologize. But only do it if you mean it. I don't think she could stand any less from you than the truth."
Hermione turned and left a stunned Ron standing in the middle of his dorm with his hand to his cheek, and a solid, knowing tear slipping down his cheek.
If Hermione Granger had ever attempted to make a point to anyone in her life, she had just made a very strong one at the expense of Ron's soon-to- be black eye.
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a/n: so what did you think? i had major writer's block in the middle and my comp died after a half-days writing, erasing half of wht i had written down. i was so pissed. but now that it got re-written.....anyway. you guys know how to contact me, and if you want to chat about fanfic in general, or this fic, all my stuff is in chapter one. see ya! REVIEW!
CHAPTER 2
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title: No Take Backs
Rating: PG13
keywords: Harry/Hermione
category: romance/humor
summary: When Harry finally makes that connection with Hermione, what he gets is more than he bargained for.
a/n: i'd like to tahnk my beta-reader Kat for helping with the brain storming. This story took me three days to write and it's up now becasue i had a snow day. the next one should take a few days longer, though. but rest assured that it will be out, and things are gonna get complex and interesting. thanks to all of you who reviewed, and i'm sorry if this story seems a bit surreal. i'm working on it....anyway. Read and review!!!
P.S. My comp is being a bitch to me right now, so if there are typing errors, (and i'm sure there are MANY), then just ignore them. my comp won't let me use spellcheck for some reason....
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"Ooohhh...." Harry groaned loudly as he opened his eyes. Immediately he reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had a splitting migraine that felt like it had been setting in for a while. The pain radiated throughout his head, dancing the most strongly above his eyes. He ran his hand down his face and took in a deep breath.
The ceiling of the dorm was playing tricks with his eyes. For some odd reason that was unexplainable to him it looked green. Or blue. He wasn't quite sure which. Patterns faded in and out of his vision as he tried to focus on anything without his glasses. It was becoming quite difficult. He looked over to his side for a brief moment and then the nausea hit him. He groaned loudly again and looked back at the celing, afraid to look at anything else.
Scared to see what he knew was already there, and scared to look because of the nausea, he looked down and the face of a sleeping Hermione greeted him. He looked back up at the celing, his nausea becoming even worse by the second.
"I'm never going to drink again. Never again. Not even if my life depends on it." Harry quit talking and made an attempt to pull Hermione off of his chest so he could get up in time to go be sick in some other place. He held the nausea at bay while he lifted her off of his chest and onto the the pillow beside him.
Being so quiet as not to diturb her, he got up and ran out of the room as quickly as possible.
Hermione opened one eye and looked around the room. Where was she? There were Gryffindor colors hung about in the room's decor, so she wasn't in any place but the Gryffindor Tower. But what had happened last night? She couldn't remember. Whatever happened to make her forget where she was couldn't have been too exciting because as she rolled over onto her back, she realized that she was alone.
And then Harry came padding unsteadily back into the room.
The previous night's events came flooding back into memory. The stumbling about in the hallways, keeping Harry awake long enough to get him into bed, kissing him... Hermione abruptly shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep.
Harry stood next to the bed and looked down at Hermione who was now laying in a different position than the one he had left her in.
"And what to do about you..." Harry tapped his foot impatiently on the floor. Logic told his hungover self to leave her there. He had barely made it to the bathroom before getting sick from all of the alcohol. How was he supposed to carry her to her dorm if he couldn't walk there alone?
Harry shrugged to himself and laid back down on the bed next to her. He sighed as he sunk down on the matress and closed his eyes. Not even aware of his actions, he reached an arm over Hermione and pulled her against him, hugging her close.
She held onto his arm and let his warmth spread throughout her own body until well into the late morning.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Good morning, Harry," Hermione said softly.
"Good morning to you too." Harry still had his arm wrapped around her midsection and he took notice that she didn't seem to mind. She wasn't doing anything about it except holding on to him. "How did you sleep?"
"It was good. After hauling your ass up here, I was ready for the sleep."
"That's what levitation charms are for," Harry said smirking.
"With as incapacitated as I was and you were, I don't think that either one of us could have done any magic last night."
"Well-"
"Harry James Potter! Not -that- kind of magic."
"You know, I've heard from some very reliable sources that interesting colors light up the room in the throws of passion..."
The both laughed furiously.
"So why aren't you hung over? Any headache or anything you're hiding?"
"No, I hold down alcohol very well. I don't get much of a hangover. aNd when I do, it's usually just a small headache. Last night's wine wasn't enough to make me sick."
"Well, I know that I was incredibly sick this morning."
"I heard you get up and leave the room. I was comfortable too."
"I tried not to wake you."
"It's okay. After all, I'm quite comfortable now. This is nice."
"You know what else is nice?"
"What?""That kiss you gave me last night was nice," Harry whispered into her ear. He smiled shyly at having revealed what she thought he didn't know. His face redenned at the thought of what he had just told her.
"Really? How about we try that again?" Hermione reached up slowly as Harry brought his mouth down to hers. They kissed softly, not letting anything ruin the moment. Harry pulled back after a few seconds and gazed down into her eyes.
He saw his soul reflected, and in that exact moment he knew that all was right with the world.
"Harry, what are you thinking?" Hermione whispered this with a furrowed brow and concern in her eyes. She looked absolutely worried.
"Don't be afraid of me, Mione. Don't be afraid of this," Harry cut off his words and caught her mouth for another kiss. One with more urgency and meaning to it.
Hermione pulled back and gazed up at him lovingly. "I'm not afraid of you," she whispered. "I'm afraid of losing you. I don't want to be alone."
"I'm not going anywhere. Not without you." They joined their lips together in a more insistant manner. Harry could feel Hermione smiling into his mouth. And he couldn't help but smile himself.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Christmas morning came soon enough and Harry awoke to a very large stack of presents sitting on his trunk at the foot of his bed. Happily he got up and went down to see what he had recieved.
Picking up the first large parcel, he looked at the tag. It was from the Weasley family. He shook it and heard a rustling of paper or cloth from the inside. He unwrapped it and a bright maroon shirt fell out. He picked it up and looked at it. It was the exact same as the one that Mrs. Weasley had sent him in the pat. He smiled to himself.
Reaching over and picking up the next package, he found it to be from Hagrid. It was fairly heavy, and he assumed it was a book. Unwrapping it carefully, being wary of the kind of things that Hagrid enjoyed sending him, he pulled the paper off. It was an ordinary book with a maroon cover and a golden outline of the Gryffindor house banner on the cover. He opened it and saw that it was a history of all of the great wizards that had ever come of Gryffindor. He closed the book and sat it on top of the sweater.
Several packages later he held a small gift in his hand. It was addressed to him from the Dursleys. How the Dursleys could get a gift to him was beyond his thought range, but the point was that there was a gift. And he was frightened to open it for fear of death and disease.
Hesitantly he tore through the blue wrapping paper. When the contents were revealed, he held in his hand a note and a picture of the family. If you would call them a family. He unfolded the note and took note that it was in Aunt Petunia's handwriting. He read it aloud to himself.
Harry,
I trust that you are getting your studies done and not making a fool of your self more than you normally do. We sent this picture to you so there would be some normalcy in that place that you call school. Anyway, enjoy the rest of your holiday.
The Dursleys
At about that time, a knock came on the door and Hermione let herself in. She came running to the bed and jumped on it, making Harry bounce and knocking his nice neat pile of presents all over the bed. She hgged him around the neck and kissed his cheek merrily.
"Happy Christmas, Harry!" Harry leaned over and stole a quick kiss on the lips before standing up and walking across the room. He found a candle sitting on the desk and picked it up. He brought it back to the bed and sat it on the trunk, lighting it as he did this.
"What are you doing?" Hermione watched as Harry took the note from the Dursleys and lit it on fire. "You'll burn the room down," she said. They both watched as the paper blazed high until it reached Harry's fingertips. He dropped the paper and stomped on it until it was left to be nothing more than a pile of ashes.
"I hate the Dursleys. I -HATE- the Dursleys," Harry yelled as he stood up. He went and sat the candle back on the desk.
"I hate them, you hate them, this is all common knowledge to everyone." Hermione slipped her arms around Harry and layed her head on his back. She sighed contentedly. Harry smiled blissfully. Just having Hermione there with him was enough to make him the happiest wizard in the world. But then a thought crossed him mind. Something that he had forgotten.
"Oh, and about your Christmas gift, well..." turned around the look at her face to face. He gave her an apologetic smile, and she brushed it off.
"Harry, it's alright if you didn't get me anything. Just being with you makes me happy."
"Oh, but I did get you something, Miss Granger. The only problem is that we'll have to leave the tower to go and get it."
"If you drag me outside-" Hermione spoke with a scolding, playful tone.
"Oh, of course not. But it's still a small walk away from here. Come on. Let's do that now."
"And before I forget, I have a present for you as well, but it's in my dorm. I don't know why I didn't think to bring it."
"We can get that on our way back."
The pair got up off of the bed and walked out of the dorm and out of Gryffindor Tower. They held hands tightly, fingers entwined as they walked along slowly.
Hogwarts was so beautiful at Christmas time. Bright shades of red and green adorned the walls and Christmas trees stood in every corner. The trees were decorated festivally with lights that shined many colors and danced around as if alive.
"Are we almost there?" Hermione asked hopefully.
"What are you? Some child in the backseat of his mum's car? Are we there yet?" Harry said in a mocking voice. Hermione hit him on the arm lightly enough to leave feeling, but hard enough to sting. "Alright, alright. Yes. As a matter of fact, we -are- here."
They stood at the bottom of a winding staircase. Realization crossed Hermione's face and she smiled. "This is the owlry."
"Yes, I know."
"Harry," Hermione said, looking over at the grin he had on his face. "What did you get me for Christmas?" Hermione knew the answer, but she didn't say it.
"You know what I got you. Now let's go and look at him."
Harry pulled Hermione up the staircase quickly. In no time they stood in the circular room, and Harry was still quickly pulling her over the one particular owl in the corner.
"Hey, he's sitting next to Hedwig," harry said.
Hermione hugged Harry tightly as she thanked him for the gift. She reached oveer and ran a few fingers over her owl's sleek white fur.
"He looks just like Hedwig," Hermione said as she looked the bird over.
"Yeah, except for these markings right here." Harry reached up and ran a finger over two large black feathers that stood out on its back.
"I love it. This is the best gift, Harry."
"And you deserve nothing less."
-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Harry and Ron sat in identical chairs near the fireplace, the heat radiating out and warming their bodies. The students that had been out on holiday had just returned a few days earlier, Ron the exception because his family had been on a much needed holiday to Scotland. He had family that lived there. But now that he was back at Hogwarts, he was back to his usual curious self.
"I know you're keeping something from me," Ron said in a genrally accusing tone.
"Well, I -am- wearing your socks."
"You know what I'm talking about."
"Do I?"
"Yes, now why don't you get some explaining done."
"Alright. I got drunk without you."
"Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived got drunk?"
"Yes. And so did Hermione. You should have seen us. We were a sight to see. Stumbling all over the damn tower..." Harry chukced lightly to himself as he remembered that specific night's events.
"That's what's different."
"What's different, Ron?"
"You and Hermione. You two have been acting strange around each other for days. What's going on?"
Harry opened his mouth to speak, but the words never left his mouth. They were caught in his throat, and nothing was going to force them out. Ron looked over and saw Harry with his mouth open, and a devilish smile grew across his face.
"I understand. But you're not shagging her, are you?"
"Not anything close to it." Harry's nervousness betrayed him and his voice broke.
"I would hope not. I mean, you two together is one thing, but I just can't picture my two best friends shagging."
At about taht time, Ron stopped talking as Hermione came down the steps from the girls dorm. She stood next to Harry's chair and gave a hesitant glance from Ron to Harry. She caught Ron's eye and he nodded his head and smiled. She smiled back and crawled on Harry's lap.
Harry kissed her lightly on the cheek and she returned the same affection to him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and held her close.
"How was Scotland?" Haermione asked, trying to clear up any tension that she might have been unaware of.
"Well, it was all well and good until Ginny discovered the neighbor's son." Ron smiled. "Yeah, Mum and Dad weren't the least bit happy about it. Especially since they were caught snogging in the living room."
"Really?" Harry was thoroughly amused by this, and pushed the issue further.
"Well, Fred was the one that found them. He just came downstair to get a drink. It was late, and everyone was in bed, so he was thoroughly amused to find them on the couch with Sean, the neighbor's son, laying on top of her, his hands apparently in places they shouldn't be."
"Oh no. What happened then?" hermione was now interested.
"Fred of course couldn't pass up a good opportunity like this. He told her that either she let him give her veritaserum and have a good examintaion of everything in her mind for five minutes, or he turn her in. you can see what happened. When she said no, he yelled what she was doing all over the house. It woke everyone up."
"That's a good one. I wish stuff that exciting happened with my family," Hermione said.
Ron yawned loudly and stretched his arms. Obviously tired, he stood up and said goodnight.
Harry still sat in the chair with Hermione resting on his lap. He ran a hand through her hair and brushed a few stray locks off of her face.
"It really is late. We should probably go to bed. After all, class starts tomorrow. We have to be ready for Snape," Harry said, his face coming closer to hers.
"Yeah," Hermione stopped talking and closed the distance between their lips. They kissed insistantly, holding onto each other, afraid to let go. But the night did call, and reluctantly they did let go.
They both got up and walked to the seperate staircases taht would take them to their dorm rooms. Harry kissed Hermione one last goodnight kiss.
"Goodngiht, Mione."
"Goodnight, Harry."
Harry watched Hermione go up the staircase and he walked up his own with a smile to light up the world.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Class the next day was hell starting with the very first one. The new teacher wasn't in the least bit as amusing as it had been with Lupin their third year, and even Gilderoy Lockhart was better than the new guy.
The trio of friends would have done anything to have stayed in that class than go to potions, though. Potions was hands down the worst part of their day. And for Harry, the events over the Christmas Holiday made the class even more hard to pay attention to.
Even now Harry couldn't help but daydream of the feeling of having Hermione in his arms upon waking up. And it was at this time that Snape decided to intrude upon Harry's thought process.
"And can someone tell me why we do not use the mandrake for this potion?" Snape looked around the room for a good subject to pick on. He spotted Harry sitting in the middle of the class, his head resting on his hand, apparently not paying attention. Snape smiled devilishly, and called on him.
"Mr. Potter, answer the question." Snape waited on Harry, but he didn't answer. "Mr. potter." Some of the Slytherins on the other side of the class snickered, and Snape began to get even more agitated. We walked up to Harry's desk and stood there. "Mr. Potter!"
Harry sat up straight and looked at Snape. "Yes?"
"Seeing as how you weren't paying attention, I'm going to have to take ten points away from Gryffindor for wasting my time and everyone else's as well."
Harry sighed and turned to look at Ron and Hermione who were looking down at their notes, avoiding Snapes glares.
Harry remained silent as Snape looked down at him. He averted his eyes to Malfoy who was looking incredibly happy at the sign of Harry's discomfort.
Snape turned and walked away from Harry. It wasn't fifteen minutes later taht Harry was being yelled at again.
"Mr. Potter, would you divert your eyes from Miss Granger and pay attention to the lesson. You wouldn't want to be mixing up the wrong ingredients, now would you?"
Harry turned a slight shade of red, and Hermione looked at him appreciatively. Several of the Slytherins were looking at Harry again in a very devilish manner. Tehre would definately be some rumors going around Hogwarts at dinner.
Snape continued his lecture for the remainder of class without incident, but he gave icy stares in the direction of the Gryffindors the entire time.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Late into January things were settled back down, at least in Gryffindor Tower. The Slytherins however were having a hard time coping with the absence of the head of their house, Snape. A death in his family had called him away from teaching for the month.
Quidditch practice was out of the question with the unusually cold temperatures, and so the team spent their time inside going over strategy and procedures.
Harry was personally excited about the cold because it gave him an excuse to spend more time wrapped in Hermione's arms. Their relationship was now common knowledge throughout the entire school, and surprisingly enough, no one seemed surprised.
Even now as they sat together by the fire in the common room watching a second year take on Ron in wizard's chess, they couldn't help but smile. They were always smiling. Except when away from each other. Then a look of loss crossed their faces.
Harry kissed Hermione on the top of the head and pulled her closer than she already was.
"Ron, I do believe that you've found someone as good as you. Whatever will you do?" Hermione had to fend off a series of insults as Ron shoved his disapproval for her comment back at her.
"Checkmate," the blond first year said. He reached over and shook a disbelieving Ron's hand before getting up and joining his friends on the other side of the room.
"He beat me. That little...-thing- beat me. I can't bloody believe it."
Hermione threw her head back and laughed hysterically. Ron got up and picked up her up off of Harry's lap. He threw her over his shoulder.
"Ronald Weasley! You put me down right this instant!" Hermione kicked and screamed as Ron stood in the middle of the common room with her. He turned to Harry.
"How much would you pay to see her turned into a rabbit?"
Harry laughed hysterically and stood up. He crossed the room and walked around behind Ron to go and face Hermione. With much effort she lifted her head and brushed her hair out of her face. She gave him a death look.
"You know that I'd never pay to see you turned into a rabbit, Dearest," Harry put a finger under her chin. "I'd just do it myself."
"Burn in hell, Harry."
"You know you don't mean that."
"Yes I do."
"Alright Ron, I think she's had enough. Put her down."
Ron heaved Hermione off of his shoulder with a sigh. She regained her composure and ran a hand through her hair, making sure that it didn't stand up straight in anyplace. She straightened her clothes and then began a steady stream of cursing directed at both Ron.
Harry reached out to embrace her in a hug but she pushed him away and yelled, "Don't get me started on you!" Harry put a look of mock shock on his face.
But no more than a half minute later she was back in his arms. Back where she needed to be.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Harry and the other guys in the dorm woke up on Valentine's Day morning to the sound of Ron stomping around, slapping desk drawer, and cursing loudly to no one. Neville looked over at Harry and gave a look of quetion. Harry shrugged his shoulders and continued to watch Ron.
"Where in the bloody hell is my wand?!" Ron stomped over to his night stand and yanked open a drawer.
"Calm down, Ron. What's the matter anyway?" Harry was surprised to hear Neville attempt to speak to Ron when he was as mad as this.
"Well, Neville, if you found out that your only sister was dating -Draco Malfoy-, how would you feel?"
Harry's jaw dropped open and he turned a shade of pale white. He watched Ron dump the contents of his pockets on the bed, still looking for his wand. Harry reached down on the floor and picked it up. He held it out to Ron.
"It fell on the floor when you got up this morning. I heard it hit."
Ron took it from Harry and sat down on the bed, shoving his head in his hands. He ran them over his face once and looked up at Harry. "I can't believe Ginny would go and do something like this. How could she?"
"Well, Ron, she is free to make her own choices. I don't see how you can stop her."
"But it's MALFOY!"
In an angry rage, Ron took his wand and launched it across the room. It hit the wall hard and Ron looked at his hands in shock when he heard a sickening crack. He looked over at his fallen wand.
Harry got out of bed and picked it up. He held it delicately in his hand as he walked over to Ron. The contents fell partly out of the wand and touched Harry's hand lightly. He reahed over and gave the broken equipment to Ron.
"Oh no," Ron whispered.
Harry looked sympathetically at Ron. His vision shifted and he looked back at Neville who had a scared look on his round face. He gave Neville a reassuring smile and turned to go and find his clothes for the day.
"How did you find out about Ginny and Draco anyway?" Harry asked as walked over to find his clothes for the day.
"I woke up early and realized that I left my shoes down in the common room. I went down to get them and overheard Ginny talking to Hermione."
At the mention of Hermione's name, Harry hurried up getting his stuff ready, and in no time he was dressed. Neville wasn't far behind him, and as soon as he was done, Harry began to walk out the door.
"Are you coming, Ron?" Neville asked.
"No. I think I'm gonna stay in the common room today. I'll see you guys tonight."
Harry shut the door as he and Neville left.
Upon entering the common room, Harry was greeted with a very welcomed kiss from Hermione. One that caught the attention of and made the first and second years look and smile. Harry entwined his hands in Hermione's soft brown hair and kissed back with an intensity that he didn't know he had in the morning.
Hermione wrapped her arms around him and puled back from the kiss. Ignoring some of the whistles and howls coming from different parts of the room, she spoke. "Thank you for the flowers, Harry. Roses are my favorite."
"Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman. I hoped you'd like them."
"Harry, sorry to interupt, but could you tell me where my brother is? Is he really that angry?" Ginny Weasley stood a few feet away, her hands on her hips, looking just like the Weasley's mother.
"He's not coming today, I'm afraid. He's very upset."
Ginny sighed and murmered her thanks as she walked past them and in the direction of the boys dorm. Harry took one foot to stop her, but Hermione held him close. She shook her head at him and told him to leave her alone.
"But I'm afraid that he'll-"
"Harry, he's not going to do anything to hurt his baby sister. They need to talk, so let them."
"If you're sure."
Harry took Hermione's hands and held them as they walked over to a table where Hermione had her stuff laying about. Harry picked up a large book off of a chair and set it on the table. He sat down and cleared a space for him to bang his head against.
"Don' hit your head like that. You'll have a red whelp there," Neville said as he came and sat across from Harry and Hermione. He took his rucksack and sat it on the table. Several books and some pieces of parchment feel out. He quickly shoved them back in and began to speak.
"What all od you think is going on up there with Ron and Ginny? I hope that they're not fighting. It's probably a good thing that Ron's wand is broken."
Harry sighed. "Yeah, who knows what would have happened."
"I can just see Ron trying to threaten Ginny with a hex or something," Harry said.
Hermione laughed and said, "Yeah, Ginny would launch him right through that wall."
The three laughed heartily until they saw Ginny come down from the dorm. Her face was a deep shade of red and tears fell from her eyes. She wiped as she came running into Hermione's arms. Hermione held her close and rubbed her back while the girl cried onto her shoulder. Hermione walked slowly with Ginny away from the guys and into a corner of the room. They sat down on a large couch and Ginny began to talk through her sobs.
"He told me that he'd be happy if he never had to see me again in his life."
"He didn't mean that Ginny. You know how boys are when they're upset. They say awful things that they don't mean."
"But he told me that he didn't love me anymore. That if I wanted someone to love me, I should go running to Draco, because the family would disown me." Ginny cried even louder.
"Shhh.....it's okay Ginny." Hermione reached out and touched a hand to wipe the tears off of Ginny's face. "Just don't listen to him. He's just upset. Give him time to adjust to the change."
Ginny's sobs continued, but softer and at a slower pace.
"You know what, I'm going to go and have a talk with him."
Hermione got up off of the couch and walked past Harry and Neville to go to the boys' dorm.
Hermione opened the door and found Ron sitting on the floor next to his bed. He had his head hung and he seemed to be breathing very deeply.
"Go away, Ginny," Ron said loudly. when he heard a few more steps advance, he stood up and turned around quickly, throwing his broken wand at the person standing behind him. Hermione ducked the wand regained her composure.
"Why are you doing this, Ron?"
"You know bloody well why I'm doing this."
"Do you know what you're doing to yourself and your sister?"
"I know exactly what I'm doing. It's her own fault. If she would just use common sense and leave that asshole alone, then none of this would happen. None of it! She's so ignorant!"
Hermione reached up and slapped Ron on the face, leaving a red mark where her hand had hit. He reached up and touched his cheek lightly. His eyes had watered up from the hit, and he blinked them away.
"Why did you have to go and do that?" Ron asked, apparently annoyed.
"Because if you don't open your eyes and see that your sister should mean more to you than what you tell her she does, then you don't deserve her. Quit being such a sodding prat, Ron. And when you collect your thoughts, go down and apologize. But only do it if you mean it. I don't think she could stand any less from you than the truth."
Hermione turned and left a stunned Ron standing in the middle of his dorm with his hand to his cheek, and a solid, knowing tear slipping down his cheek.
If Hermione Granger had ever attempted to make a point to anyone in her life, she had just made a very strong one at the expense of Ron's soon-to- be black eye.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
a/n: so what did you think? i had major writer's block in the middle and my comp died after a half-days writing, erasing half of wht i had written down. i was so pissed. but now that it got re-written.....anyway. you guys know how to contact me, and if you want to chat about fanfic in general, or this fic, all my stuff is in chapter one. see ya! REVIEW!