Disclaimer: You know the routine; I'm only borrowing them for a little while.
A/N: Thanks to Sunglow for beta reading, and to everyone who has reviewed so far. Oh, and DazedPanda? Baldrick is Edmund Blackadder's grungy servant from the Blackadder series. Rating has now gone up to R. Lemon warning!
Secret Love
Chapter 7 – Frustration and Relief
Hermione spotted Percy's robe as soon as she took their mugs back into the kitchen. She picked it up, rubbing her fingers over the soft cloth and brought it up to her nose to smell the lingering scent of his aftershave. Hugging it close to her, she took it into the bedroom, laying it carefully at the bottom of her bed. After changing into her nightclothes, she gathered the robe and placed it near her pillow before sliding into bed.
"Oh, Hermione, you sad mare, you." She sighed and closed her eyes, her hand reaching out to touch it.
~~~
Percy, as usual, was first in the office the next morning. He debated whether to go straight down to records to see Hermione, but decided to deal with Munroe first.
Simon Munroe slid into the office half an hour later than anyone else. He was on his third warning that month, but had so far been able to worm his way out of any disciplinary action. Seeing that Percy had his head buried in paperwork and probably wouldn't notice him, he sidled around the other side of desk to get to the door.
"I wouldn't if I were you." Percy said, not lifting his head.
"Wouldn't what?"
"Slope off for a tea break down to Records."
"Oh? Clock watching now are you?"
Percy shrugged. "Just warning you."
"Like your brother did last night?" he sneered.
"I imagine Ron gave you a friendly warning about Hermione. Mine won't be quite so friendly if you don't stay away from her."
"Ooh, I'm really scared."
Percy lifted his head then and Simon gulped. If someone could Stupefy with a look, Simon would be on the floor. He tried to brave it out.
"She's boring anyway. She probably doesn't even.."
"Doesn't what, Munroe?" a quiet voice said from the doorway. Everyone in the room looked up to see Hermione standing there, a folded black robe in her arms. Moving forward, she brushed past Simon and stood close to Percy.
"Hello Percy, you left this round mine last night." She reached up and brushed a kiss across his cheek. He curved an arm around her waist protectively.
"Thanks. See you at lunch?" his eyes asking if she was okay.
"Fine, see you then." She handed him the robe and sauntered out, deliberately grinding her heel on Simon's instep as she went past.
"No wonder you didn't want to put a word in for anyone, Percy." Liam Johnstone poked him in the back with his finger. "You should have said she was spoken for, mate, you know we don't encroach on another man's property."
"She's a woman, not a piece of Real Estate." Percy frowned, but Liam just grinned at him.
"So how come you left your robe at her place, then? Is she that good she makes you forget your clothes?"
"I refuse to even dignify that with an answer."
Liam grinned at the others. "She was that good. Damn. I knew I should have checked her out four years ago."
"You'd never have got past her bodyguards." Percy sighed resignedly.
"Who?"
"Harry, Ron, Malfoy, not to mention the rest of my brothers."
"Ah. Good point. Never mess with the Weasley brothers. Shame Brennon didn't think of that before messing with her, it would have saved him a lot of hassle."
"I seem to recall it was Granger herself who put him straight." Simon sulked, his foot now bruised.
"Yeah, did you see him still smoking when he came back? I heard Bekket's complained about him."
"And if you lot don't get back to work the boss will be complaining about us." Percy nodded towards the office of their department head, and sat down at his desk again. It was going to be a long day.
Lunchtime found Percy hurrying down to collect Hermione. He hoped their lunch wouldn't be interrupted like their dinner had.
"Hello Percy, come to take Hermione away from it all?" Kim blocked his path.
"Hello Kim, where would you like me to take her?"
"Ooh, Paris, Venice, Rome.."
"How about the Leaky Cauldron?" Hermione came up behind Kim and smiled at him.
"Sounds good. Ready?" Percy reached around Kim and drew Hermione towards him. Hustling her away from her friends, he didn't notice he still had his arm around her waist.
Choosing a fairly dark corner in the pub, they sat down and ordered a sandwich each and a butterbeer.
"How was your morning?" she asked, taking a sip of her drink.
"After that little display of yours? Fine. I don't think you'll be having any more bother with Munroe and Co."
"Did I embarrass you?"
"Not really. You are now the official property of Percy Weasley, according to Liam Johnstone." He smiled at her. Hermione felt her cheeks warm up slightly. It sounded nice the way he said it.
"Will that cause you a problem if you meet someone you like?" she asked.
"Hermione…" he reached out for her hand, but was distracted by a chair scraping nearby.
"So here you are! Kim said we could find you here." Both Percy and Hermione looked up to see the smiling faces of Ginny and Harry.
"Join us, why don't you?" Hermione muttered under her breath as Ginny plonked herself down uninvited.
After lunch, Harry had the decency to mouth sorry to Hermione behind Percy's back. Hermione sighed. This was obviously another of Ginny's ideas.
"Fancy a drink after work tonight?" Percy asked as they went up the steps to the Ministry building.
"OK, providing we can find a place that's not frequented by anyone we know."
"Not much hope there." He grimaced, and they parted.
~~~
Two weeks passed, and by the end of the second week Hermione was ready to strangle Ginny. Not a day passed when they weren't interrupted at either lunch or dinner by so-called friends and family. Hermione had even invited Percy for a meal at her flat, but no sooner had they sat down than Ron had turned up with a long face. Apparently he'd had an argument with Draco and needed cheering up. Percy had felt like hitting him. Draco had then turned up, full of apologies and Percy and Hermione had retreated to the kitchen while they made up.
Hermione's anger was slowly coming to the boil. If she didn't know better she would swear that Ginny had a tracking charm on both of them so she would know when to interrupt. Percy hadn't even been able to kiss her properly yet, and she wondered if he was just as frustrated.
Percy wondered if he could get away with murdering the fiancée of Harry Potter. It was uncanny the way everyone knew exactly when to interrupt his attempts to tell Hermione how he was feeling. He hadn't even managed to give her a proper mouth-on-mouth kiss yet, and he blamed it all on his little sister. Well it was about time he put his foot down and brought in the big guns. He was going to have to talk to his mother.
~~~
"Not going out tonight, dear?" Molly was surprised to see her middle son sit down at the kitchen table as she prepared the vegetables for dinner that evening.
"No. Is Ginny here?"
"She's over at Harry's."
"Good." He paused. "Mum?" he rested his chin on his folded arms that were on the table in front of him.
"Yes, Percy?"
"How did you know Dad was the right one for you?"
"Why do you ask? Is this anything to do with Hermione?"
"It might be."
"Are you in love with her?"
"I don't know. Every time I want to talk to her we keep getting interrupted."
Molly was glad she was facing the sink as a guilty blush spread across her cheeks. Oh dear, it looked like Ginny's plan was working a little too well, but if they weren't given the chance to tell each other how they felt…
"I haven't even kissed her yet." Percy muttered under his breath, but Molly's sharp hearing still caught his words, after all, with Fred and George as sons she needed it. She made an executive decision.
"Why don't you go over to Hermione's after dinner? Talk to her properly. As it's a Friday night, everyone else should be too busy to interrupt."
"What if Ginny wants to know where I am?"
"I'll tell her… you've gone to visit Charlie for the weekend."
"Will that work?"
"I'm your mother, Percy. Of course it will work."
"Thanks, Mum." He stood up and gave her a hug.
"Go and get changed then, dinner's in half an hour."
~~~
Dressed casually in jeans and blue sweater, Percy Apparated to Hermione's and rang the bell. He waited impatiently for her to answer the door and was surprised when she just cracked it open and peered out.
"Percy? What are you doing here?"
"Can I come in?"
"Well.."
"Oh, you've got company?" a flash of jealousy burned in his stomach at the thought of her with another man.
"No! It's just.."
"What?"
"I'm not really dressed.."
"Oh. I can come back.."
"No, come on in." she sighed "You've seen me in less." She opened the door wider and he stepped through, turning to look at her as she shut the door.
"Not planning on going out then?" he smiled as he took in her striped pyjamas that were a little too big.
"Nope. Just me and a pint of cherry surprise."
"Ice cream?"
"Want some?"
"Sure."
Percy followed her into the living room and saw she'd made a nest for herself amongst the sofa cushions. A tub of ice cream was on the floor with a long handled spoon stuck inside.
"I'll get you a spoon." She said, waving him towards the sofa.
"No bowl?"
"Saves on washing up. You don't mind sharing?"
"No."
Hermione quickly returned with another spoon and sat facing him, the tub between them. Taking a spoonful, Percy tried it, the cold ice cream melting on his tongue.
"Hey, this isn't cherry!"
"That's the surprise." She tapped him gently on the nose with her spoon. He grinned at her, leaning forward take another spoonful.
"So what's brought you to my door tonight?" she asked, not that she was complaining except she didn't exactly feel very glamorous in her 'Percy p.j's', especially as Percy himself was right in front of her.
Percy sighed and put his spoon back in the tub, sitting back on the sofa. Hermione was looking really sexy in her stripy pyjamas, as though she was ready for bed, and he wanted to join her there. He took hold of her unoccupied hand.
"This isn't working for me, Hermione."
"What isn't?"
"This..agreement..we made." He tightened his grip on her hand as she tried to pull it away.
"Have..have you found anyone else?"
"No! I..I just can't pretend anymore."
"Oh, well I'm sure I can.." she was cut off as he yanked her towards him, the ice cream tub spilling onto the floor. She gave a muffled squeak as his mouth came down hard on hers, but recovered enough to bury her hand in his hair, dropping her spoon on the sofa behind him.
Merlin, she tasted good, Percy thought, pulling her closer to him. Her released her hand and was gratified when it joined her other one at the back of his head, pulling him closer and not pushing him away in horror. He groaned as she squirmed closer, her breasts pushing against his chest, revealing that she wasn't wearing anything underneath that pyjama top of hers. Twisting his body, he manoeuvred them so she was underneath him, his hand sliding under her top to caress her back. He shifted against her, his jeans becoming uncomfortably tight around his fly.
Hermione moaned softly, tangling her legs around his, exulting as she felt the bulge at the front of his jeans. Yes! She opened her mouth slightly wider, enticing his tongue with hers, rubbing herself against him and feeling her nipples tighten. Her hands slid down his back and under the hem of his sweater, following the lines of muscle either side of his spine. She felt one of his hands slide around her ribs and up to cover a breast and whimpered as he flicked a thumb over the hardened tip. Tightening her legs, she brought a hand around to the front of his jeans and fumbled with the button, finally getting it open.
Percy groaned again as he felt her fingers at his fly. He lifted up a little to allow her access, praying that she had the floo blocked, at least for tonight. Breaking the kiss, he nibbled his way down her neck, nudging open the collar of her top. The hand that was currently kneading her breast fumbled with the four buttons, grateful when they came open easily and he spread both sides so he could look at her properly.
Hermione lay there with her hair spread around her, her eyes half shut and glittering at him. She licked her lips and tugged him down for another kiss, but not before tugging at his sweater, pulling it over his head and throwing it over the back of the sofa. Percy rocked his hips against hers, muscles clenching as he felt one of her hands sliding down his loosened jeans under his boxers. Reaching between them, he released the zip further to relieve some of the pressure and smiled against her throat as her hands pushed at the denim and cotton. He worked a hand to her waist and loosened the tie on her pyjama bottoms. Both of them were breathing heavily, but no words had been spoken yet.
Hermione suddenly pushed at his shoulders, making him sit up. He sat back, his stomach churning. Had he gone too far? Hermione saw his expression and leaned forward to kiss him.
"Bed?" she asked and held out a hand.
"Are you sure?"
"Never more so." She dragged him up and giggled as his jeans slid down his hips, followed by her pyjama bottoms. With her jacket flapping, she pulled him swiftly into her bedroom. Percy followed eagerly, kicking off his shoes as he went. Hermione shed her jacket and turned to face him, naked, and pressed close.
"We're not going to be interrupted, are we?" he murmured against her lips as she slid his jeans further down his legs and he kicked them off.
"If Ginny so much as pokes her head through the floo I'll separate it from her body." She tangled her fingers in his hair and kissed him. Percy backed her towards the bed and followed her down, easily lifting her against the pillows and settling himself between her thighs.
Passion flared again as the kiss deepened and soon Hermione was arching against his chest, her legs wrapped around his thighs, urging him forward. Percy snaked a hand between them to test her readiness and she moaned as two fingers slid easily inside, his thumb brushing rhythmically over where, what seemed to her, every nerve ending was centred. She screamed his name as she came, her fingers digging into his shoulders, thighs locked around his. Pulling away slightly, Percy used his slick fingers to guide himself to her entrance, wanting to feel her spasm around him, knowing he wouldn't last long.
Hermione felt minimum discomfort as he slid into her, the shockwaves of pleasure still radiating through her body.
"Are you OK?" his voice was strained.
"Gods, yes." She moaned and rocked against him, wanting to feel that pleasure again. Beads of sweat made Percy's hair stick to his forehead as he struggled to maintain control against her muscles rippling around him. Hermione tentatively circled her hips, encouraged when he groaned, his jaw clenched and eyes shut. She circled them again and gasped as he thrust slowly in and out, lowering his chest to rub against her sensitive nipples.
"Faster." She whispered in his ear, nipping at the earlobe, feeling him shudder as she blew on it.
"Like this?" he speeded up a bit.
"Harder." She nipped again.
"Like..this?" he groaned against her neck, angling his head to allow her access to his.
"Harder." She surged up as he thrust down and he knew he definitely wouldn't last. Placing a hand under her bottom, he pulled her against him, feeling her thighs trembling and her muscles clenching around him, realising she was close again. Tightening his hands, he thrust down and pulled her up at the same time, grinding her into the mattress as he came, his moan echoing hers as she followed him over the edge.
Percy slid to one side so he didn't crush her and pulled her into his side, his hand slowly rubbing up and down on her smooth back. Hermione nestled closer and buried her face in his neck, her hand tracing random patterns on his chest. She felt slightly awkward now. What did you say after lovemaking like that? Did he feel the same way she did, or did men feel differently after sex? She reached out a hand and with a bit of manoeuvring, managed to get the quilt over them. Should she be the first to break the silence?
Should he say something to her? Percy was still trying to catch his breath when Hermione started to pull the quilt over them. He was pleased for the warmth, as the cool air had started to feel chilly on his sweat soaked skin. He pulled her closer to him, loving the way her curves fit perfectly against him. He yawned suddenly and she tucked the quilt higher around their shoulders.
"Go to sleep, Percy, we can talk in the morning." She said sleepily.
"OK. 'Night, Hermione. Love you." He yawned again.
"Love you too." She snuggled into his side and closed her eyes.
Two seconds later, two pairs of eyes snapped open and stared at each other.
"Really?" Hermione asked shyly.
"Really. I've been trying to tell you for the last two weeks." Percy leaned forward to kiss her. "So when did you know…"
"Four years ago." She hid her face in his neck.
"That long? I must be an idiot." He lifted her chin up to look into her amber eyes.
"Would you have given me a second look then?"
"Probably not. You should know by now that us Weasley's are slow on the uptake. You only have to look at Ron."
"Yeah, it took him until fourth year to realise I was a girl." She smiled.
"You could have given me a hint, though. A smack around the head would have got my attention."
"I'll remember that next time."
"No need. You've got me now."
"Does that mean I get to keep you?"
"For as long as you want me."
"How does forever sound?"
"Perfect."
"You certainly are" she hugged him, the action pressing her breasts into his chest.
"If you keep doing that we won't be getting much sleep." He murmured.
"So who needs sleep?" she said, pulling him down to her.
A/N: Just an epilogue to come, and it's finished.