Hi again! :)
Hudson - thanks! It's one of my favorite words too - but honestly has nothing really to do with the chapter, or the story - I was drawing a blank on what to call it.
NAPPA - No, no, no. No fluffiness! Adventure, intrigue, danger, excitement, I promise. After all, they're still not back at school yet! Okay, so this part is extremely fluffy, but sometimes we all need a good lot of the white stuff!! ;)
Everyone else - Thank you all! :) I love your comments.
Nota Bene: Tabitha/Melissa aren't major - I'm just trying to get in some light fun before the heaviness comes back on in (not that bad stuff will be all this story is)
Here ya go!:
P.s. Sorry it's sooooo late. I had a little trouble writing it, but now it's extra long! Enjoy! :)
Part 4: Revelations
Harry slowly drew back from their kiss, still staring down into Hermione's eyes, waiting for some reaction. She smiled once, and lifted her lips to his again. They pressed together, and for the first time, Harry felt that everything in his life was right. That something had been missing, but he had finally found it. With his lips still on hers, he raised a hand up to cup her soft cheek.
Under him, Hermione shifted and tilted her head, trying to make as much contact with Harry as possible. She sighed at the new feelings, and as her mouth fell open, Harry's tongue slipped inside. They both started slightly at the so intimate touch, and froze. When Harry knew Hermione wasn't about to resist, he delved further into the hot depths of her mouth.
When the need for air finally came upon them, Harry broke the kiss softly, not wanting it to end. Her lips clung to his as he pulled away a few inches. He couldn't help but smile back when her lips bent in a wide grin. Finding himself almost on top of Hermione's body, he shifted onto his side in the grass. Still smiling softly, he reached out a hand to brush away the hair that had fallen across her cheek. When he made a move to take his hand away, Hermione grabbed it and held on.
"I cannot tell you how long I've absolutely been waiting for that," she finally said.
"I'm sorry."
Her brown eyes bit into his emerald ones. "What ever for, Harry?" Hermione was now fearing he believed he'd made a mistake.
"I'm sorry for this entire past year. For being so busy and practically ignoring you and Ron and not appreciating you and not noticing how much you've changed. For not telling you the minute I realized I was in love with you." He looked back into her eyes and grasped her hand with his, twining their fingers together. "Somewhere in all the middle of this, I fell in love with you."*
Hermione gasped, staring up into his eyes. She had no idea that he'd been hiding this inside of him for so long.
"I love you too, Harry," she breathed. "I think I always have."
He smiled the widest she'd ever seen in the past few years and leaned down to press his lips to hers again. He was still smiling when their lips touched, before they melted into the kiss. Not wanting to push things too far, Harry pulled back after only a few minutes and lay on his back, staring up into the stars as Hermione snuggled into his side.
It was late when they'd returned to the dark and silent house. The Grangers had already gone to bed, as they would have to rise early for work. Harry paused in the hallway between his and Hermione's bedrooms, not wanting the night to end. He gently released Hermione's hand to grasp her around the waist, dropping his head to her shoulder, breathing in her clean scent of the outdoors. She wrapped her arms around him and smiled, burying her face in his shoulder.
"I don't want to let go of you," he whispered. "Not when I've finally gotten you."
"Me neither," replied Hermione. "But remember, Harry, that the sooner we go to bed now, the sooner we can see each other in the morning."
They treated themselves to one last kiss before breaking away and retiring to their separate beds. When the two doors closed, so did a third. The person behind it, unnoticed by either of the two teens, closed the door silently and crept back to his own bed.
Harry slept that night like he hadn't in a long time - without the interruption of unpleasant dreams. When he woke up the next morning, however, he remembered nothing of them but seeing Hermione's smiling face.
By the time Harry made it to the kitchen in the morning, it was late enough for the Grangers to have left for work, but early enough for Hermione and her cousins to still be asleep. On his way to find the ingredients to make Hermione's breakfast, he spotted a large sheet of lined paper on the kitchen counter.
Dear Harry and Hermione,
We know you two will be the first ones up, so it's your responsibility to do something productive today. Have a hearty breakfast, and then Hermione can show you the whole town. Join us for lunch at the café - around 1.
Please, Herm, wake your cousins before you leave - but don't worry with them after that.
Have fun today, loves.
M&D
1 Harry smiled at the friendly note and went about preparing their "hearty breakfast". He'd just finished setting the table when Hermione's light steps came tripping down the stairs. Harry smiled as a sleepy Hermione walked into the kitchen, holding a squirming Crookshanks in one arm, and rubbing her eyes with the other.
"Smells good, mom," she mumbled, not yet having seen Harry.
"Never would I have taken Hermione Granger for a late-riser on any morning."
Her head snapped up at her teasing words and she smiled. "I would have been up much earlier, had a certain someone not kept me out till the early morning," she teased back.
For a minute they stood there in front of each other, both unsure of quite what to do next. Hermione took a step forward, and releasing the cat to the floor, reached up to wrap her arms around Harry's neck. She raised her lips to his and Harry took them, gently squeezing her to him.
They'd only been in contact a few moments when Hermione's rumbling stomach broke into their quietness. Hermione blushed a bit, but Harry laughed, kissing her on the forehead.
"Who am I to get in the way of Miney and her breakfast?"
There wasn't all that much to see in Leaf, Hermione had admitted before they'd set out. Just a village on the edge of the city. They had, in fact, walked twice around it in just enough time to catch the bus into London to meet Hermione's parents.
Harry had watched his girlfriend as they'd walked, and listened with awe to her childhood stories. Her face lit up with smiles and laughter, and more than once his breath caught with the knowledge that he was with the most beautiful, most perfect girl in the world. And more than once, Harry had stopped her ramblings with a kiss.
Their second time through Gransfield Park, Harry had sat on a thick clump of grass next to a small goldfish pond, and pulled Hermione down to sit between his legs. She had nestled closer to him, wrapping her arms around his legs and burying her face in his neck.
"Don't you love this place, Harry?" she half-whispered, her eyes closed gently. "It's one of my favorite places in the world."
"Then it will be one of mine, as well, because you love it so." Harry had kissed her temple then, before bending his head and caressing her lips with his.
They'd caught the nearly empty bus from the street corner, but along its route, people crowded on at every stop, pushing and shoving. By the time of their stop, Harry stood in the aisle, one hand grasping the overhead strap, the other holding Hermione to him by the waist. So absorbed were they in each other that neither noticed the looks they received from other passengers, wizard and muggle alike.
The café turned out to be a charming little place that Harry fell in love with immediately. At short iron fence separated the busy street from the quiet garden tables. Hermione selected a corner table covered by a bright umbrella and they sat, Harry grabbing Hermione's hand and pulling her close to his side. Since their mutual admissions last night, neither had wanted to stop touching each other. After only a few minutes, Hermione noticed Harry's strange behavior. Never before had she seen Harry so - pale, and listless. He kept rustling around in his seat, clasping and unclasping her hand.
"Harry? Harry, what's wrong?"
His green eyes found her soft brown ones and smiled sadly. "Nothing much, I'm just bloody scared out of my mind is all."
She straightened immediately and looked around them warily. Her years with Harry had taught her to keep her senses alert, especially when he thought something might be wrong. "What is it? Is somebody around us? Are they following us? Does your scare hurt?"
Hermione's rapid barrage of questions almost made Harry laugh and he would have, had he not felt so ill at that moment. "No, no. It's nothing like that. No real danger at the moment."
Hermione relaxed visibly. "Then what is it? What's bothering you?"
Harry sighed heavily. "It's just that.yesterday, when your parents met me, I was just your friend. We weren't *together* yet; I wasn't your boyfriend. They obviously felt comfortable enough in our lack of a relationship to let us sleep across the hall from one another, and to not worry about us being out till all hours of the night. They trusted us, Miney, because there was nothing going on between us."
"And now there is."
"Yeah. And I don't want to have to leave you because we're together, especially not now. I don't want them to try to keep us apart."
"Oh, Harry!" She pulled his head down to rest on her shoulder. "Love, my parents aren't going to do anything of the sort! I can promise you that." She told him the events of the previous day, Hermione's talk with her father as he settled Harry in bed. "They both know how very much you mean to me, how happy you make me. They trust us to not do anything too stupid, Harry. And so do I."
She wrapped an arm around his neck and kissed the top of his ebony head. "Everything will be okay, I promise."
He lifted his head to place a gentle kiss on her lips. Leaning back a little, he whispered what were quickly turning into Hermione's favorite words. "I love you."
The Grangers appeared a few minutes later, and as they approached, Harry rose and stood until they were both seated. Martha Granger smiled widely at him, perhaps even more so when he sat down and took her daughter's hand again.
"I hope you two haven't been waiting long. We were stuck in an emergency root canal this morning."
"It's fine, Mum. We haven't been here long at all."
They all ordered their meals, while waiting for them to arrive, discussion of Hermione as a child began, and from that branched talk of Hogwarts. The Grangers were careful, he noticed, to ask only general questions and avoid mention of the school's name. Both had smiled the first time that Harry had referred to Potions as "Chemistry class." As they sat, enjoying more talk after their meal, Martha got up and asked her daughter to join her in the restroom. Seeing no way out of it, Hermione placed a gentle kiss on Harry's cheek and with a whispered apology, left him alone with her father.
It wasn't long before Harry grew restless under David Granger's deep stare. He held it as best he could, before finally breaking the silence. "Miney told me what you said yesterday - when you.ah - " he motioned away with his hand, a little embarrassed to admit he'd been carried to bed.
"And I meant every word, Harry. Do you love my daughter?"
"More than anything in this world, sir. I would die to protect her."
"Let's hope that it may never come to that extreme." David let out a short laugh, but Harry didn't dare even smile. They'd already come close to that so many times. David quickly caught on to Harry's seriousness and drew upon it. "My daughter has told us few things about you, my boy. Hardly much at all have we dragged out of her. But she described you once as "someone you have to meet only once before understanding." He smiled sadly at Harry's grimace. "I think perhaps she may have been overconfident in that assumption, Potter. But in just seeing how you have treated my daughter in the short day I've known you, I feel that I've seen a part of you that few people have."
Harry didn't know quite what to say to that, so he remained silent.
"Harry, I need to know that no matter what will happen, you will take care of my daughter. And over that, take care of yourself. Eat right, get exercise. I've a feeling that someday you will both need that extra strength. Can you do that, son?"
"Yes sir, of course." Harry knew not where this medical advice was coming from - as a father concerned for his child's safety, or just as a medical professional?
David took a short sip from his glass before speaking again. "Hermione has told us nothing of your last few days at school, and for that I don't blame her. But she cannot tell us what she does not know, can she?" He paused, his brown eyes so much like Harry's love, starring into Harry's own green ones. "Listen to me, Harry Potter. Secrets don't stay secrets long, and the most important ones need to be let out. Tell her, tell Hermione about those last few days, share with her. It can only help you two."
Harry shook his head. "I can't, sir, I'm sorry. But this is something I have to deal with myself, I cannot lay it on Hermione's shoulders."
"You can, and you will, Potter. Remember this one thing, if you remember nothing else from our conversation: your relationship with my daughter will not last if you don't let her in to your deepest and darkest feelings, I can guarantee it."
The ladies were returning from the restroom at that moment, which left Harry no room but to nod quietly. Hermione sensed from the atmosphere at the table that something had gone down hard in her absence, and reached for Harry's hand before turning back to her parents. Harry squeezed it before drawing it up to his lips for a kiss. He rubbed his hand across her partially bare back and smiled softly when she looked at him questioningly. Everything would be all right, in time, he assured himself before returning to the conversation. Perfect, in fact.
Hudson - thanks! It's one of my favorite words too - but honestly has nothing really to do with the chapter, or the story - I was drawing a blank on what to call it.
NAPPA - No, no, no. No fluffiness! Adventure, intrigue, danger, excitement, I promise. After all, they're still not back at school yet! Okay, so this part is extremely fluffy, but sometimes we all need a good lot of the white stuff!! ;)
Everyone else - Thank you all! :) I love your comments.
Nota Bene: Tabitha/Melissa aren't major - I'm just trying to get in some light fun before the heaviness comes back on in (not that bad stuff will be all this story is)
Here ya go!:
P.s. Sorry it's sooooo late. I had a little trouble writing it, but now it's extra long! Enjoy! :)
Part 4: Revelations
Harry slowly drew back from their kiss, still staring down into Hermione's eyes, waiting for some reaction. She smiled once, and lifted her lips to his again. They pressed together, and for the first time, Harry felt that everything in his life was right. That something had been missing, but he had finally found it. With his lips still on hers, he raised a hand up to cup her soft cheek.
Under him, Hermione shifted and tilted her head, trying to make as much contact with Harry as possible. She sighed at the new feelings, and as her mouth fell open, Harry's tongue slipped inside. They both started slightly at the so intimate touch, and froze. When Harry knew Hermione wasn't about to resist, he delved further into the hot depths of her mouth.
When the need for air finally came upon them, Harry broke the kiss softly, not wanting it to end. Her lips clung to his as he pulled away a few inches. He couldn't help but smile back when her lips bent in a wide grin. Finding himself almost on top of Hermione's body, he shifted onto his side in the grass. Still smiling softly, he reached out a hand to brush away the hair that had fallen across her cheek. When he made a move to take his hand away, Hermione grabbed it and held on.
"I cannot tell you how long I've absolutely been waiting for that," she finally said.
"I'm sorry."
Her brown eyes bit into his emerald ones. "What ever for, Harry?" Hermione was now fearing he believed he'd made a mistake.
"I'm sorry for this entire past year. For being so busy and practically ignoring you and Ron and not appreciating you and not noticing how much you've changed. For not telling you the minute I realized I was in love with you." He looked back into her eyes and grasped her hand with his, twining their fingers together. "Somewhere in all the middle of this, I fell in love with you."*
Hermione gasped, staring up into his eyes. She had no idea that he'd been hiding this inside of him for so long.
"I love you too, Harry," she breathed. "I think I always have."
He smiled the widest she'd ever seen in the past few years and leaned down to press his lips to hers again. He was still smiling when their lips touched, before they melted into the kiss. Not wanting to push things too far, Harry pulled back after only a few minutes and lay on his back, staring up into the stars as Hermione snuggled into his side.
It was late when they'd returned to the dark and silent house. The Grangers had already gone to bed, as they would have to rise early for work. Harry paused in the hallway between his and Hermione's bedrooms, not wanting the night to end. He gently released Hermione's hand to grasp her around the waist, dropping his head to her shoulder, breathing in her clean scent of the outdoors. She wrapped her arms around him and smiled, burying her face in his shoulder.
"I don't want to let go of you," he whispered. "Not when I've finally gotten you."
"Me neither," replied Hermione. "But remember, Harry, that the sooner we go to bed now, the sooner we can see each other in the morning."
They treated themselves to one last kiss before breaking away and retiring to their separate beds. When the two doors closed, so did a third. The person behind it, unnoticed by either of the two teens, closed the door silently and crept back to his own bed.
Harry slept that night like he hadn't in a long time - without the interruption of unpleasant dreams. When he woke up the next morning, however, he remembered nothing of them but seeing Hermione's smiling face.
By the time Harry made it to the kitchen in the morning, it was late enough for the Grangers to have left for work, but early enough for Hermione and her cousins to still be asleep. On his way to find the ingredients to make Hermione's breakfast, he spotted a large sheet of lined paper on the kitchen counter.
Dear Harry and Hermione,
We know you two will be the first ones up, so it's your responsibility to do something productive today. Have a hearty breakfast, and then Hermione can show you the whole town. Join us for lunch at the café - around 1.
Please, Herm, wake your cousins before you leave - but don't worry with them after that.
Have fun today, loves.
M&D
1 Harry smiled at the friendly note and went about preparing their "hearty breakfast". He'd just finished setting the table when Hermione's light steps came tripping down the stairs. Harry smiled as a sleepy Hermione walked into the kitchen, holding a squirming Crookshanks in one arm, and rubbing her eyes with the other.
"Smells good, mom," she mumbled, not yet having seen Harry.
"Never would I have taken Hermione Granger for a late-riser on any morning."
Her head snapped up at her teasing words and she smiled. "I would have been up much earlier, had a certain someone not kept me out till the early morning," she teased back.
For a minute they stood there in front of each other, both unsure of quite what to do next. Hermione took a step forward, and releasing the cat to the floor, reached up to wrap her arms around Harry's neck. She raised her lips to his and Harry took them, gently squeezing her to him.
They'd only been in contact a few moments when Hermione's rumbling stomach broke into their quietness. Hermione blushed a bit, but Harry laughed, kissing her on the forehead.
"Who am I to get in the way of Miney and her breakfast?"
There wasn't all that much to see in Leaf, Hermione had admitted before they'd set out. Just a village on the edge of the city. They had, in fact, walked twice around it in just enough time to catch the bus into London to meet Hermione's parents.
Harry had watched his girlfriend as they'd walked, and listened with awe to her childhood stories. Her face lit up with smiles and laughter, and more than once his breath caught with the knowledge that he was with the most beautiful, most perfect girl in the world. And more than once, Harry had stopped her ramblings with a kiss.
Their second time through Gransfield Park, Harry had sat on a thick clump of grass next to a small goldfish pond, and pulled Hermione down to sit between his legs. She had nestled closer to him, wrapping her arms around his legs and burying her face in his neck.
"Don't you love this place, Harry?" she half-whispered, her eyes closed gently. "It's one of my favorite places in the world."
"Then it will be one of mine, as well, because you love it so." Harry had kissed her temple then, before bending his head and caressing her lips with his.
They'd caught the nearly empty bus from the street corner, but along its route, people crowded on at every stop, pushing and shoving. By the time of their stop, Harry stood in the aisle, one hand grasping the overhead strap, the other holding Hermione to him by the waist. So absorbed were they in each other that neither noticed the looks they received from other passengers, wizard and muggle alike.
The café turned out to be a charming little place that Harry fell in love with immediately. At short iron fence separated the busy street from the quiet garden tables. Hermione selected a corner table covered by a bright umbrella and they sat, Harry grabbing Hermione's hand and pulling her close to his side. Since their mutual admissions last night, neither had wanted to stop touching each other. After only a few minutes, Hermione noticed Harry's strange behavior. Never before had she seen Harry so - pale, and listless. He kept rustling around in his seat, clasping and unclasping her hand.
"Harry? Harry, what's wrong?"
His green eyes found her soft brown ones and smiled sadly. "Nothing much, I'm just bloody scared out of my mind is all."
She straightened immediately and looked around them warily. Her years with Harry had taught her to keep her senses alert, especially when he thought something might be wrong. "What is it? Is somebody around us? Are they following us? Does your scare hurt?"
Hermione's rapid barrage of questions almost made Harry laugh and he would have, had he not felt so ill at that moment. "No, no. It's nothing like that. No real danger at the moment."
Hermione relaxed visibly. "Then what is it? What's bothering you?"
Harry sighed heavily. "It's just that.yesterday, when your parents met me, I was just your friend. We weren't *together* yet; I wasn't your boyfriend. They obviously felt comfortable enough in our lack of a relationship to let us sleep across the hall from one another, and to not worry about us being out till all hours of the night. They trusted us, Miney, because there was nothing going on between us."
"And now there is."
"Yeah. And I don't want to have to leave you because we're together, especially not now. I don't want them to try to keep us apart."
"Oh, Harry!" She pulled his head down to rest on her shoulder. "Love, my parents aren't going to do anything of the sort! I can promise you that." She told him the events of the previous day, Hermione's talk with her father as he settled Harry in bed. "They both know how very much you mean to me, how happy you make me. They trust us to not do anything too stupid, Harry. And so do I."
She wrapped an arm around his neck and kissed the top of his ebony head. "Everything will be okay, I promise."
He lifted his head to place a gentle kiss on her lips. Leaning back a little, he whispered what were quickly turning into Hermione's favorite words. "I love you."
The Grangers appeared a few minutes later, and as they approached, Harry rose and stood until they were both seated. Martha Granger smiled widely at him, perhaps even more so when he sat down and took her daughter's hand again.
"I hope you two haven't been waiting long. We were stuck in an emergency root canal this morning."
"It's fine, Mum. We haven't been here long at all."
They all ordered their meals, while waiting for them to arrive, discussion of Hermione as a child began, and from that branched talk of Hogwarts. The Grangers were careful, he noticed, to ask only general questions and avoid mention of the school's name. Both had smiled the first time that Harry had referred to Potions as "Chemistry class." As they sat, enjoying more talk after their meal, Martha got up and asked her daughter to join her in the restroom. Seeing no way out of it, Hermione placed a gentle kiss on Harry's cheek and with a whispered apology, left him alone with her father.
It wasn't long before Harry grew restless under David Granger's deep stare. He held it as best he could, before finally breaking the silence. "Miney told me what you said yesterday - when you.ah - " he motioned away with his hand, a little embarrassed to admit he'd been carried to bed.
"And I meant every word, Harry. Do you love my daughter?"
"More than anything in this world, sir. I would die to protect her."
"Let's hope that it may never come to that extreme." David let out a short laugh, but Harry didn't dare even smile. They'd already come close to that so many times. David quickly caught on to Harry's seriousness and drew upon it. "My daughter has told us few things about you, my boy. Hardly much at all have we dragged out of her. But she described you once as "someone you have to meet only once before understanding." He smiled sadly at Harry's grimace. "I think perhaps she may have been overconfident in that assumption, Potter. But in just seeing how you have treated my daughter in the short day I've known you, I feel that I've seen a part of you that few people have."
Harry didn't know quite what to say to that, so he remained silent.
"Harry, I need to know that no matter what will happen, you will take care of my daughter. And over that, take care of yourself. Eat right, get exercise. I've a feeling that someday you will both need that extra strength. Can you do that, son?"
"Yes sir, of course." Harry knew not where this medical advice was coming from - as a father concerned for his child's safety, or just as a medical professional?
David took a short sip from his glass before speaking again. "Hermione has told us nothing of your last few days at school, and for that I don't blame her. But she cannot tell us what she does not know, can she?" He paused, his brown eyes so much like Harry's love, starring into Harry's own green ones. "Listen to me, Harry Potter. Secrets don't stay secrets long, and the most important ones need to be let out. Tell her, tell Hermione about those last few days, share with her. It can only help you two."
Harry shook his head. "I can't, sir, I'm sorry. But this is something I have to deal with myself, I cannot lay it on Hermione's shoulders."
"You can, and you will, Potter. Remember this one thing, if you remember nothing else from our conversation: your relationship with my daughter will not last if you don't let her in to your deepest and darkest feelings, I can guarantee it."
The ladies were returning from the restroom at that moment, which left Harry no room but to nod quietly. Hermione sensed from the atmosphere at the table that something had gone down hard in her absence, and reached for Harry's hand before turning back to her parents. Harry squeezed it before drawing it up to his lips for a kiss. He rubbed his hand across her partially bare back and smiled softly when she looked at him questioningly. Everything would be all right, in time, he assured himself before returning to the conversation. Perfect, in fact.