Chapter 2



True to his word, he invited Ron and Hermione to visit his new home. Mrs. Weasley, always worried, wrote to Lhara to make sure the boys would have some supervision. Only when Lhara assured Mrs. Weasley that she would be there to watch over them did Ron get permission to come. Hermione wrote back right away that her parents had agreed to the visit. Hermione's parents were both Muggles but felt immense pride that their daughter was magically gifted. Harry had always envied his two best friends their families who loved their children unconditionally.

Harry arranged to meet his friends at Flourish and Blotts' bookstore on a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon. Hermione was stroking the Monster Book of Monsters (to the bookstore owner's chagrin) when Ron and Harry walked in.

They had a great time together, the three of them. With minimal adult supervision they had free range of Diagon Alley and all of its treasures. They explored every shop and every restaurant, Harry generously buying little gifts for his friends. When it got dark, they stayed up late playing Wizard's Chess (Ron still won).

"I'm glad you guys came." He said.

There was only one bed in his cottage so they agreed that Hermione would sleep in the bed, Ron would sleep on the couch and Harry slept on the floor in a sleeping bag. The bedroom didn't have an official 'door' so they hung a blanket to give her some privacy.

Their merry threesome came to an end when Mrs. Weasley sent an urgent owl telling Ron to come home right away. His great-great-aunt Wilhelmina was coming to visit and he was ordered home. Or else! Reluctantly, Ron left Hermione and Harry but they cheered him up when they mentioned how quickly the next year of school was coming around.

"Only three more weeks and we'll see each other again."

"Yeah. I can hardly wait! And this year, I'll be on our Quidditch team! We'll be unstoppable!"
Ron said. Harry agreed happily and waved goodbye as the train pulled away.

Hermione wasn't scheduled to leave until the next afternoon so for the rest of the day, it was just the two of them. They wandered around checking out the stores, gazing wistfully at the new Quidditch supplies and getting ice cream. When the weather started turned dark and stormy, they hurried back to Harry's cottage. Just as they closed the door, a heavy rain came pouring down. Harry lit a fire and they cooked a hearty meal. They played a nice game of Wizard's Chess by the light of the fire and a few candles.

Towards the end of the game, Harry looked up from the board and was suddenly struck by something.
Something extraordinary.

Hermione was beautiful.

It felt as though he was seeing her clearly for the first time. He blinked once, twice. He tilted his head and looked at her again. There was no denying it. Hermione was striking. Her lightly freckled skin enhanced the darkness of her brown eyes. Had her eyelashes always been so long? And her lips! She chewed her bottom lip as she concentrated and Harry had to look away. He smoothed a wrinkle in his pants and slowly looked back at her. Her hair, still a bit on the wild side, was a rich honey color that made him want to reach out and touch it. He coughed and smoothed the wrinkle on his pants again. He tried to concentrate on the board.

Hermione looked up from the game, frowning.
"Am I taking too long? I've still got-"

"No, no. Go on."

Hermione shrugged and made her move. Her knight moved forward, threatening his king. Harry now had something to think about besides her soft brown eyes.

Hermione looked up at Harry and raised an eyebrow. He seemed to be acting funny all of the sudden, she thought. While she waited for him to make a move, she looked at his hand as it moved around the chessboard.

He has great hands, she thought.

Wait. What?

She sat up straight. Harry has great hands? She looked back down and sighed inwardly. Yeah, he does. Long, nimble fingers and strong hands. Her eyes moved up and noted his broad shoulders. When did he develop those? All of that Quidditch practice, of course. Her head tilted to the side as she continued to look at him with new eyes. His hair, as untidy and unruly as her own was dark as night but shown in the firelight. She saw through his glasses to his eyes - that brilliant green color that made his face so striking. She looked at his lips. They were parted slightly. Hermione felt a warmth flood through her body and she shifted in her seat.

Harry moved his knight to capture her knight and threaten her Queen. Hermione, distracted by her thoughts about Harry, missed this and moved her rook instead. Harry instructed his knight to take her Queen - but just then, something odd happened.

They both watched as Harry's knight approached Hermione's Queen on the board. Instead of knocking her over however, he opened his arms, drew her in and kissed her. Both Harry and Hermione stared in amazement. The Queen, flustered from the kiss, walked to the edge of the board and took her place with the rest of the captured pieces.

Harry and Hermione both raised their eyes at the same time. A long heavy silence lingered between them as they looked at one another. Suddenly their lips were mere inches apart - they had both leaned forward ....

And then they were kissing.

At first they just pressed their lips together. But Hermione parted her lips and Harry did the same, deepening the kiss. Harry kissed her softly, tasting her. Hermione leaned into the kisses, the warmth running through her body again. When they parted, Harry rested his forehead on hers, his eyes closed, breathing deeply. They slowly sat back and continued to stare at one another. Hermione smiled shyly and he smiled back.

"Wow" he said quietly. "Why do you think we did that?"

She shook her head and shrugged lightly.

"You want to ... uh ... you know ... do it ... again?" he asked.
She smiled and nodded. Harry leaned across the table and was met by her warm welcoming lips. With their eyes closed, they kissed again and Hermione was sure her heart had stopped beating for a second or two. She'd never felt anything like this before! She wanted to kiss him all night long ...

The clock on the mantle chimed softly bringing them back to reality.

"Um. It's getting late. Maybe we should get some sleep." Hermione said quietly.

Harry nodded. As he gathered up the chess pieces, Hermione went into the bathroom and changed into her nightgown. When she came out a few minutes later, Harry tried hard not to stare. She was wearing the same floor length nightgown she'd always worn but somehow, now she looked different. She walked past the fireplace and Harry saw the outline of her body through the material. He swallowed hard and looked away.

Harry's best friend, Hermione, had grown into a beautiful young woman in front of his very eyes. Harry watched her climb into his bed and pull the covers up. He quickly went into the bathroom and shut the door. The sight of Hermione in his bed suddenly meant something entirely different than it did yesterday.

He changed into his pajamas and threw his robe on afterward. After a few deep breaths and a splash of cold water, he finally came out of the bathroom. He outed the lit candles and sat on the couch. Hermione was lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Harry pulled the blanket over him as he curled up on the couch in front of the still burning fire.

For a long time he stared at the flickering flames until he started to drift off to sleep. He woke suddenly when he heard a loud crash of thunder. Hermione had woken too because she was sitting up in bed. Harry wanted to say that there was nothing wrong, go back to bed but nothing came out of his mouth. Instead, he saw himself pull his blanket back, a silent invitation.

What was he doing? he thought.

To his surprise, Hermione got out of bed and walked over to the couch. She lay down beside him, her back to his chest and tucked her feet in under the blankets. Harry pulled the blanket around her and laid his arm around her waist. As her head rested on his pillow he couldn't resist smelling her hair. Peaches. She wriggled a little closer to him, sighed and closed her eyes. Harry closed his eyes and wondered how he was ever going to sleep with her laying against him.

Hermione opened her eyes to see the morning sun shining through the windows. Last night came rushing back to her. She felt something warm against her back. Harry chest rose and fell against her and a smile crept across her face. She looked down and saw his arm still around her, his leg across hers. She closed her eyes and tried to memorize these sensations before they passed.

Harry slowly awoke, stretching his legs and free arm. It was in mid-stretch that his mind registered Hermione's body against his. He watched as she turned onto her back and looked at him. He'd been worried until he saw her face. She was smiling happily at him. He lowered his head and captured her lips with his. Her warm breath mingled with his in a lazy morning kiss.

"Good morning" she whispered.

"Morning" he said, brushing some hair away from her eyes. She closed her eyes as his fingers brushed her skin and couldn't help her beaming smile. She reached up her hand and touched his face, her thumb tracing his lower lip. They kissed again, more urgently. Instinctively she rolled toward him so that they were face-to-face and he pulled her close. With each kiss they tried to hold one another tighter - closer, as though they couldn't get close enough. When Harry's hand slid to her hip, he heard something that stopped him cold.

A knock on the door.

Like a bucket of cold water had been thrown on them, Harry and Hermione jumped up from the couch and stepped away from each other guiltily.

Another knock.

"Harry? Are you up yet?"
Lhara Mahr. Harry cleared his throat and pulled on his robe as he answered her.

"One second!"

Hermione hurried into the bathroom and Harry opened the front door. Lhara was holding a basket of muffins and some fresh orange juice.

"Good morning Harry! Are your friends up? I brought you some breakfast."
She moved past him and put her goodies on the kitchen table. She was bright and cheery dressed in a sunshine yellow dress.

"Uh, Ron had to go home yesterday. Family obligation."

"Oh that's a shame. What about Hermione?"

"She's still here. She's leaving today."

Lhara nodded with a smile and looked around the cottage. She frowned suddenly.

"She's in the bathroom," Harry offered.

"You two were alone last night?" She looked at the unmade bed and the blankets on the couch.
Harry blushed as red as Ron's hair and looked at the couch.

"Yes, but we didn't-"

"Harry, did you .... light any candles?"
Harry frowned in confusion.

"Last night? Yeah, a couple." He waved his hand at the candles on the mantle. Just then Hermione opened the bathroom door and came out fully dressed in her normal clothes.

"Good morning, Miss Mahr." She said cheerfully.

"Lhara, please." She said absently. "Children, I have something to tell you." She walked over the mantle and picked up one of the candles. She turned around and grimaced. "This ... this is a Feelings candle."

Hermione put a hand to her mouth in shock, but Harry didn't understand.
"A what?"

"I'm so embarrassed. I thought I'd gotten rid of this before you moved in! It's a Feelings candle. When you light it, it ... uh.... reveals your feelings for the other person."

Harry shook his head and looked at Hermione. She was blushing from head-to-toe.

"But we lit it when Ron was here. Nothing happened then."

"It only works when just two people are in the room. I'm sorry Harry, Hermione. I'll get rid of it."
She took the candle and quietly left cottage, closing the door behind her. "Sorry."

"So, what happened last night ... was just a SPELL?" he growled. Hermione shook her head.

"No, it doesn't create feelings, it only reveals what was already there." Her voice trailed off in embarrassment.

"Really?"
A wave of relief and something else rushed through Harry. The idea that he'd felt something so ... powerful because of a spell angered him, but if it was only exposing what they both already felt ... well that was a different matter!

"And the candle wasn't burning the whole night ..." Harry remembered putting out that candle before going to sleep on the couch. Hermione had come to him later.

She looked at him and blushed again.
"No. It wasn't." They crossed the room towards each other.

"So ... we've felt this way about each other all along?"

Hermione nodded. She bit her lip suddenly.
"Harry. Will this ... will this ... You're my very best friend." She whispered. "I don't -"
Harry shook his head.

"No. It won't ruin anything. We won't let it."
Hermione was smart, brave, beautiful and loyal. If they could be romantically involved and still remain friends, he'd have the best of both worlds.

Hermione looked up at Harry and felt hopeful. Harry would never hurt her. He'd proven that more times than she wanted to count. Harry was brave, handsome, generous and a great wizard. Could there be anyone out there better than Harry? Of course not!

"We'll always be friends first." She said.
Harry smiled and nodded.

"Always friends first."
They hugged tightly as though trying to seal their words between them.

It was the last hour of Hermione's visit. After Harry dressed and they ate some of Lhara's breakfast, they dragged Hermione's bag along with them as they walked down Diagon Alley. At some point, Harry grabbed Hermione's hand to pull her over and show her something in a shop window. But afterward, he didn't let go of her hand. And Hermione didn't mind. Not one bit.

Before they knew it, it was time for Hermione to catch her train. At the platform, Harry and Hermione held hands and said their good-byes.

"Three weeks." He said with a smile. "The time will fly by, you'll see. Then it will be just like old times." He touched her cheek and marveled to himself how smooth and warm her skin was.

"Well, not exactly like old times" she said with a grin.

Harry chuckled.
"You're right."

He leaned his head down and kissed her. She threw her arms around him and returned the kiss. Harry hugged her close.

"See you soon." He whispered. Hermione nodded. She stepped onto the train as it gave its final boarding whistle.

"Bye, Harry." She waved happily.

He watched the train pull out of the station and down the tracks. When he could no longer see the train, he went back home. On his desk was a picture of Hermione, smiling.

He hadn't expected these feelings - especially for one of his best friends - but he'd decided he wouldn't fight them. It was such an easy feeling between them. Like it was the most natural thing in the world for them to be together. Why turn away happiness when it comes to you? He looked at the calendar marking the start of next term.

Suddenly three weeks seemed like a very long time.