Ginny walked beside Harry, glaring at him
menacingly.
"Coward!" she muttered.
"What's that?"
"You're a coward, Harry, you refuse to fess
up to your own feelings."
"Ginny, this isn't about me; the love has to
run both ways remember?"
"Oh please, don't even start, Hermione's
followed you to hell and back, and she'd do it again. What girl in her right mind would do all that and not love
you? Hermione's a very private person;
she's not the type to just scream out her deepest desires. First off, have you even asked her if she
felt something towards you?"
Harry lowered his head slightly.
"No, after she and Ron dated by in fifth
year, I felt that it wasn't my place to ask her that. She could have anyone she wants; a guy would be an idiot to not
want her!"
"Then look in the mirror idiot!" Ginny
laughed. Harry realized that he'd been
caught in his own trap.
"All right, I see your point, but seriously,
if we were together, and she didn't love me, how would Hermione feel about
it? I don't want to use her like that!"
"I don't think she would hate you for
it. In fact, I think she'd be happy
that it was her best friend she was with and not some one night stand."
Harry let her words churn in his brain for a
while until he made a decision.
"Ginny, can you and the girls give me the
room for tonight?" he nearly whispered.
"Sure thing, take as long as you need," she
replied and patted his arm.
Harry swallowed the lump in his throat and
continued towards the tower.
Upon entering the common room, Harry felt all
eyes shift towards him. His stomach was
full of butterflies, but he remained calm. He headed for the stairwell when an errant thought crossed his mind.
"Ginny, I need another favor. When Ron gets back with Lavender, could
you…"
"Not to worry, I'll run damage control," she
chuckled.
"Thanks, you're a lifesaver."
"Your welcome, now go on!" she ordered.
Harry's palms were sweating, and his legs
felt like rubber as he climbed the stairs towards the girls' dormitory. He approached the correct door and sighed
gratefully at seeing his lock was still in place. Taking out his wand, he removed the spell and pushed it
open. Once inside, Harry resealed the
door and put away his wand.
"Here goes nothing."
He quietly walked toward the bed and found
her just as he'd left her. Hermione was
lying on her back as stiff as a board.
"Release!" Harry muttered.
Her body relaxed, and Hermione slowly opened
her eyes. She found that she was on her
bed, but how did she get here? Her
vision focused, and she saw Harry sitting next to her. The memories of the night flooded into her
conscious thought, and her eyes widened in horror.
"Oh my gosh, Harry, what have I done?"
"Shh," he quieted her.
Harry reached out and took her in his
arms. Hermione tried to push him away,
but he held fast.
"Harry, please don't, I can't control what's
happening to me?"
He looked down at her with tender eyes and
brushed the hair out of her face.
"Mione…" he sighed and finally let himself
look at her as someone he loved.
Hermione had never heard him speak like that;
his eyes looked so warm…so inviting.
"Harry…I…I mean…" not knowing what to say to
the depth of emotion his eyes were showing her.
He cupped her face in his hands and tilted
her chin up.
"It's always been you, Mione…just you."
Tears were filling her eyes, and her heart
pounded against her chest. She prayed
that the fire would hold off for a few more seconds.
"Harry…I…I…what do you mean?"
"I love you, Mione," he cut her off.
Suddenly, his mouth was on hers, but this
time, it was of his own volition, and it was so wonderful. He drank her in, and she went limp in his
arms. Pulling back after a few sweet
moments, Harry saw the desire in her eyes, but it wasn't from the potion but
Hermione herself. She had actually
wanted him to kiss her.
Harry saw the flames begin to dance behind
her eyes, and he knew that he was running out of time.
"Mione, let me love you. Let me love you as you were meant to be
loved – like the precious treasure that you are."
Her mind was slipping away fast, but she
heard his heartfelt words.
"Yes…Harry…please…" and the fires consumed
her.
The lovers hovered up in the heavens, just
basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking and the long-repressed emotions
that had exploded to the surface.
Hermione drifted down from low orbit to find
herself wrapped his Harry's arms. She
lifted her head and saw his eyelids slowly opening.
"Harry…"
"Mione…"
They just gazed at each other, letting their
hearts communicate without any need for words to be spoken. Their bodies were still joined, and neither
wanted to ever break the intimate contact.
Harry trailed his hands through her soft,
brown curls, and Hermione listened to the quiet, thumping of his heartbeat.
"Harry…thank you for this night." He gently withdrew
from her body and kissed the top of her head.
"Don't worry, Hermione, there will be many
more like this, I promise." She looked up at him with a bright smile.
"You mean it?"
"With all my heart."
"Then would you tell me something?"
"Name it."
"What happened to me?" she asked with a
serious look in her eyes.
"You sure you want to know?"
"Harry, I went from trying to seduce you, to
flirting with every seventh-year Gryffindor, to making incredible love with you
all in one night. Now, what happened?"
"All right, I'll tell you. Someone put an Eros Potion in your hot
chocolate back in the library; it happened before I got there."
"An Eros Potion…I think I've heard of it, but
I can't recall it off hand."
"That's because it's not taught
anywhere. It's a very evil potion. Whoever drinks it… well…their sex drive
increases by a factor of ten!"
"Are you serious? So that's why I…I…I just grabbed you like that."
"I guess so," he chuckled, "Maybe you just
thought I was cute?"
"You're more than cute," she giggled and
kissed his lips.
"I wonder who put it in my cup."
"I already know," he answered.
"You do?"
"Yes, it was Malfoy."
"Are you serious?" she gasped.
"Yes. The sick bastard had the gall to gloat right in front of me. He showed up right after you ran out of the
library. He admitted to spiking your
hot chocolate and said…"
Harry's jaw clenched, and he was trying very
hard not to get angry.
"What?" Hermione prodded. He looked down at her with sad eyes.
"…that by the time the potion wore off, you'd
be the premier tramp of the entire school!"
"The slimy piece of…" Hermione was the one
growling now, but Harry quieted her down.
"Don't worry, Mione, I shut him up good!"
"Do tell!" she cooed at seeing the evil smirk
on his lips.
"Basically, I used his head for a sandwich
between a bookcase and my fist. Knocked
the scum flat on his ass!"
"So, did he tell you the antidote for the
Eros Potion because I don't feel any of the effects anymore," Hermione stated. Harry's face was filled with relief.
"No, to be honest, there is no antidote to an
Eros Potion; however, there is a way to undo it. The person who was infected must sleep with the person who gave
it to them."
"You mean Malfoy and I would've had to…"
Hermione nearly turned green.
"Yes, that's why the Eros Potion is never
taught. It is actually considered a
form of rape in the magical world."
"But, I feel fine now. What happened?"
"Well, after I dealt with Malfoy, I raced
back to the Common Room to look for you. As you know, I found you flaunting this sweet body of yours in every
guys' face. I put an immobilizing charm
on you, and then Ginny and I brought you up here. After that, we went to see Madam Pomfrey. When we told her what happened, she
immediately took us to see Professor Dumbledore."
"Goodness, if she was worried, then that
potion must be really serious."
"When we told Dumbledore about what happened,
he reiterated that there wasn't a known antidote for an Eros Potion."
"So, what did you do?"
"Dumbledore reminded me that my mother's love
protected me from Voldemort's dark magic. He also said that love is an ancient and powerful counteragent against
evil spells and potions. Therefore, he
concluded that if you were to sleep with someone who loves you then the potion
would become nullified!"
"And that was you," she sighed and stroked
his cheek. Harry blushed sheepishly.
"Yes, but I didn't want to do it
originally. I didn't want to use you
like that; I was afraid that you'd hate me. Plus, in order for it to work, you would have to love the person you
were with as well. I didn't know how
you felt about me."
"So who convinced you?" she prodded.
"Believe it or not, it was Ginny. She told me to stop fighting my feelings for
you and tell you how I really felt. I
kept saying we were just friends, but she reminded me that we're closer with
each other than anyone else."
"I see your point, Harry, we know each other
so well."
"Yes, and we would give up anything to protect
each other. The clincher was when I
said that you were wonderful and could have anyone you wanted. Someone would have to be an idiot to not
want you. Then she came back and said,
'Then look in the mirror idiot!'"
Hermione giggled happily and nuzzled her face
into his neck.
"And so you finally came to your senses."
"I didn't know how you felt about me, but I
couldn't stand to see you like that. I
had no choice. If the effects of the
Eros Potion are not met, the effected person will be driven insane by the
sensations."
"Harry…" she hugged him tightly, "…thank you,
my love, you saved me from a fate worse than death."
"Mione, I will never let anything happen to
you…" he cupped her chin in his hand and lifted it up.
"…you're a part of me; you're my heart and
soul."
"I love you, Harry."
"I love you too, Hermione."
"What about Malfoy?" He pulled her closer and
tucked the blankets around them.
"Don't worry, he'll be punished for his
crimes; I'll see to that. Let's just
get some rest now okay?"
"Um…Harry?" she asked sweetly.
"What is it?"
"Didn't you say that the effects of the Eros
Potion should be neutralized by now?"
"They should be. What's wrong?" he said worriedly.
Hermione slithered her arms up around his neck
and pressed her body up against him.
"I'm getting hot again, love, I think I need
you again," she purred seductively.
Harry grinned wryly, and he cupped her
breasts in his hands. It wasn't the
potion doing it; it was just Hermione's own hunger for him.
"Well then, we must make sure that we get rid
of all of it, right?" he snickered.
"Most definitely, make sure and be very
thorough," she sighed as his hands stroked her curves.
"I plan to be, Mione, trust me," and he
pulled the covers off them.
Hermione couldn't stop giggling, but it soon
changed to moans and screams of ecstasy as Harry took into the heavens another
four times before the night was over.
Author's Notes: The idea for this story was buzzing around in my head for over a
month, and I finally decided to write it. Let me know if you liked it. Again, this is the edited version.
You can find the uncut version at: