2/9/04: Wow! How's that for a quick update? I was either really inspired, or really bored at work.
18. Changing Relationships
The actual capsule that they were to ride in was very much unlike anything the Muggles used. Rather than rows and rows of cramped seats, the tube resembled the Gryffindor common room, but with neutral colors instead (and no fireplace). Comfortable couches and chairs littered the room, with a long table in the center for meals and such; there was even a bar along the side. Harry and Hermione quickly found seats on one of the very comfortable couches, and Hermione began the process of removing her books and writing supplies from her bag again. Harry fidgeted slightly as he looked around at the other passengers.
"So, er," he began, trying his best to keep a level, calm voice. "How long is this trip, anyways?"
"About twenty minutes," Hermione replied absently, without looking up.
"Okay. So.when do we leave?"
Hermione glanced over her shoulder at the wall behind them. "We already have. You can see the corridor through the window."
Harry followed her gaze and saw a small window behind them, the floo corridor flashing by. He turned away quickly, feeling slightly nauseous from the sight. After a few minutes of silence, while Hermione scratched away with her quill, Harry cleared his throat. "So, um.when are they going to go over the safety procedures?" Hermione looked up and raised an eyebrow at him, and Harry realized that perhaps he had sounded a bit too anxious. "Uh, I mean, on boats and airplanes they always go over safety procedures - lifejackets, nearest exits and all that. I was just curious," said Harry, hoping he sounded nonchalant.
Apparently he failed, for Hermione had a rather wicked look of amusement on her face. "Don't tell me that the fearless Harry Potter, savior of the wizarding world several times over, is afraid of taking the tube?"
Harry scoffed, or at least did his best impression of it. "Me? Afraid? Ha! I laugh at fear! Ha ha ha!"
"Haven't you ever taken the tube before?"
"Of course I've taken the tube before. Many times in fact," Harry said indignantly.
"No, I mean the wizarding version, not the Underground."
"Ah, well, you didn't specify."
Hermione looked bewildered. "What do you do when you have to travel long distances? Like across the country?"
"That's what apparition is for."
Hermione gasped slightly. "You apparate? Harry Potter! That's very dangerous!"
"Well, not all at once," Harry said, suddenly feeling defensive. "I do it in jumps; I've become quite good at it actually."
"But still! I mean, fine, if you don't use the tube, why don't you at least use a portkey? I know you can make one yourself."
Harry stiffened slightly. "I don't use portkeys."
"Why not? At least you wouldn't risk splinching yourself!"
"I don't like portkeys," Harry said evenly.
"You don't like portkeys?" Hermione said, a bit loudly. "Well, certainly, I can see how your dislike of portkeys is worth risking your life!"
Harry turned away. "Just drop it, okay?" he said quietly.
"Just drop it?" she parroted. "This is your life we're talking about. Just because you don't like something doesn't give you the right to risk your life like that! You'll just have to grow up and-"
"Hermione!" Harry said suddenly, interrupting her. "You of all people should know the reason why I don't like to use portkeys."
"What?" Hermione said, confused.
"Just forget it!" Harry growled, now thoroughly irritated that he was being forced to talk about the subject. He got up from the couch and stalked over to the bar where he ordered a shot of ice vodka. It wasn't that using a portkey was uncomfortable (though the sensation of being led around by your bellybutton wasn't enjoyable). And Hermione was right: he was one of the few wizards who could create his own portkey, rather than having to request one through the Ministry. It was just that there were too many memories attached with portkeys.bad memories. Voldemort had used a portkey to bring him to the graveyard, where Cedric was murdered, and portkeys reminded him of that day at the Ministry when Sirius died, for it was a portkey that brought him home. Since then, Harry has avoided portkeys whenever possible.
A few seconds later, the pretty witch behind the bar laid his drink in front of him. Harry paid for the drink and gulped it down quickly, shivering as the sensation of being dumped into a pool of ice-cold water washed over him. Satisfied, Harry put down his glass and considered ordering another when he felt a hand on his arm.
"Harry, I'm sorry. I'm stupid and insensitive-"
"I said to forget it Hermione," Harry said stiffly, fingering his shot glass and staring at his reflection in the mirror behind the bar.
"I can't forget it. I know better; I should have remembered-"
"Don't worry about it."
"Harry, please, just let me apologize, okay? I'm sorry."
Harry finally looked at her and gave her a small smile. "All right. I accept your apology. Now, can we talk about something else?"
Hermione smiled and held his arm. "Okay. Come back and sit with me, and I'll tell you all about the safety procedures on the tube."
Harry lost focus for a second when she held his arm. "Sure," he said, allowing her to pull him back towards the couch.
Hermione grinned. "It should be a rather short conversation, seeing as how there are none."
"Oh.wonderful," Harry said dryly.
"Don't be nervous Harry, we're almost there," Hermione said once they had settled themselves back on the couch.
"I'm not nervous," he protested.
"Oh-kay. Suuure," she said in a tone that conveyed her doubt.
"No, really, I'm not. I'm.excited."
"Excited?"
"Sure, I can't wait to get to America," Harry said.
"Really? Me either. I've done a bit of research on America," she said happily, ignoring Harry's look, "and I've found a few places that I want to visit if we have time for sightseeing. Although the wizarding community there isn't nearly as old as ours, there are so many interesting places to see!"
"Mm-hm."
"Is there anyplace you wanted to see?"
Harry shook his head. "It's not really that there's anything I want to see. It's just that."
"What?"
"Well, let's just say it'll be nice to be normal for once."
"What do you mean?"
Harry pointed at his forehead and smiled. "It'll be nice be able to walk around for once without people staring at my scar."
Hermione looked at him incredulously. "What makes you think people won't recognize you?"
Harry's smile faltered slightly. "Er, well.I mean, Voldemort was a European problem, wasn't he?"
"Oh Harry," Hermione said tolerantly as she retrieved her quill and began writing again. "Still the same."
Harry stared at her for a few moments until he saw that she wasn't going to explain herself. With a small sigh of frustration (and a bit of apprehension), he turned towards his book.
*********************************
Two things surprised Harry as soon as he exited the tube. The first was the lingering sunshine that poured through the windows. Harry looked over at Robert and grinned. "A good night's sleep? It's a floo, not a time turner."
Robert looked a bit embarrassed. "Yeah, well.shut it, Potter!" (A/N: for those confused, they left London at 11pm, but in Chicago it's only 5pm)
Harry knew he was grinning a bit doofily at Hermione as they made their way down the ramp, but he couldn't help it; it wasn't often that he was able to point out a mistake to his partner. It was at the end of the ramp, when they entered the floo'port proper, that he received his second, and much less pleasant, surprise.
"There he is!" he heard several people cry out, most of them sounding female. Harry was greeted by a cacophony of sound. A large crowd of people were arrayed in front of the gate, being restrained with some amount of difficulty by a number of security wizards and witches. Worst of all, they were screaming his name, taking pictures, and bearing signs. Harry stood in shock for a moment, until Hermione propelled him forward by the elbow.
"So, how does it feel to not be recognized?" she asked innocently.
Harry turned away from the flashing bulbs to look at her. "What.how.but."
"Oh Harry," she said again. "A hero is still a hero, no matter where they are. And Voldemort did have an impact here. People still have family in Europe, and there was the fear that he would strike America after he was finished with Europe."
"Great," Harry muttered sourly.
"Cheer up, and wave to the crowd Harry. They're here to see you, after all." Harry groaned quietly, and than plastered a smile on his face and waved to the crowd. They responded with burst of cheering. Hermione grinned. "It's like you're a rock star or something," she said, and then stopped and posed him for a few pictures.
Harry continued to smile benignly as Hermione made him pose with her. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he asked from behind a clenched jaw.
"Of course! It's not often Harry Potter gets to greet his fans! And, this is your first appearance in America!"
"Oh, you'll pay for this Granger," Harry said as he shook another hand. Hermione only smiled.
A member of the American government met them at the edge of the waiting area and rescued Harry from his adoring fans. Harry learned that the American Aurors called themselves Agents - special agents, to be exact, which prompted Harry to wonder where they kept the not-so-special agents. He also saw that the American Agents seemed to have a fascination with dark Muggle suits and dark sunglasses, even when indoors. As they were led to a series of fancy-looking wizarding cars, Harry wondered if they would stand out in their robes.
"Nice show out there," Robert said dryly from the front seat. "I'm glad we were able to arrive so inconspicuously, y'know, maintain the element of surprise and all."
Harry growled. "It's not my fault.well, not really. I didn't tell anyone; it's not like I like that sort of thing." Harry scowled as Hermione threw in her own little comments, and he saw that Robert and Hermione and each found an ally in making Harry's life difficult. It was, then, with great relief when they stopped at a large building in downtown Chicago.
The American, Special Agent Perkins, turned in his seat to look at them. "I figured we can spend a couple hours going over what we know before we have dinner." Robert nodded and got out of the car. Harry also exited the car and followed Perkins to a rather large metal sculpture.
"Why aren't we tired?" Harry asked Hermione quietly. "I mean, it's almost midnight back home."
"It's the tube. They have a spell that adjusts you body clock."
Harry nodded, and then looked at the strange assortment of metal that they were approaching. He tilted his head to the side, trying to figure out what it was supposed to represent.
"It's a Picasso," Hermione said next to him.
"Er, okay. But what is it supposed to be?"
Before Hermione could respond, Agent Perkins spoke. "Just follow me. And don't worry about anyone noticing." Perkins walked straight towards the sculpture and disappeared from view.
"Must be like King's Cross Station, but with another charm to prevent Muggles from noticing," Hermione said. Harry nodded in agreement and followed Robert into the sculpture.
*********************************
Harry immediately noticed that the Americans worked in a much more modern environment then their British counterparts. As Harry and the others were led to conference room, he was gratified to learn that none of the Agents gawked or gushed over him. However, he then noticed a number of curious and awe-struck looks as they walked the halls, and decided that the particular Agents they were with were either very professional or simply not impressed by his fame. In the conference room, they spent about an hour with three different Agents who gave a presentation on everything they knew about Malvagita. It was enlightening, but also scarce of concrete detail, like what Malvagita looked like and where he could be found. Tonks next spoke to the group, briefly describing what she knew about Tway's last owl, and it was determined that she would work closely with one of the American agents who knew about surveillance. Hermione's presence was not specifically addressed, and Harry was sure that the Americans assumed she was just another Auror like Clarke and Price.
Dinner was at a nice wizarding establishment, a steak place to Harry's delight. The wizarding part of Chicago wasn't in the downtown area, but rather about twelve kilometers north in an area they called Lincoln Park (Perkins told them with great amusement that the most famous statue of Lincoln is in Grant Park, while the most famous statue of Grant is in Lincoln Park). Dinner was a sumptuous affair, and the alcohol flowed rather freely. Hermione, in particular, had several glasses of a nice California merlot, so much in fact that Harry was slightly worried that she might slip about MSARS. Harry, as was his custom, only had a small glass of firewhiskey and water - he had never drank much while in Hogwarts or afterwards, for he felt he couldn't risk impairing his judgment just in case something happened, and he knew the tabloids were just waiting to get a few pictures of Harry doing something embarrassing. Harry begged off on the pub-crawl planned for after dinner, citing fatigue. So, while Price, Clarke, and Tonks continued the night with the Americans, Harry, Hermione, and Robert were taken to their hotel.
To Harry's surprise, the hotel catered to both Muggle and wizard alike, with several spells in place to hide the existence of magic and magicals. While they waited to check-in, Harry asked Hermione why such spells weren't as common at home.
"Well," Hermione began in a very cheerful voice - Hermione was a fun drunk -"Americans are much more accepting of Muggles and muggleborns; they're not a bunch of stuck-up git like Europeans."
"Really? How come?" Harry asked, grinning at Hermione's use of the rather un-Hermione phrase 'stuck-up'
"How come what?" Hermione asked as she stared entranced by the chandelier in the lobby.
"Er, how come Americans are so much more accepting of muggleborns?"
"Oh.right. I supposed it's too much to hope that you actually paid attention in History of Magic?"
Harry shook his head. "I did fail that OWL, if you remember."
"Oh, that's right, you did!" she said laughing delightedly, apparently finding his academic shortcomings hilarious. "Well, if you had paid attention, Mr. I'm-too-important-for-OWLS-because-I-have-a-Dark-Lord-out-to-kill-me, you would have learned that the majority of the founders of the American wizarding community were from mixed blood - that's the reason they left in the first place, to get away from the pureblood mentality."
"Ah okay. It sounds vaguely familiar."
"That's a relief," she said, actually sounding relieved. "And here I was, afraid that seven years of schooling had gone to waste."
Harry chuckled as he accepted his room key from the clerk, and together with Robert, they walked to the lift. Robert exited on the fifth floor, reminding them to be up early for breakfast (Hermione saluted), and Harry and Hermione continued on to the eight floor. They chatted lightly as they walked down the hall, Hermione going on and on about the history of wizarding America. Harry saw, with a skip of his heart, that their rooms were across from each other.
"Good night, Hermione."
"Good night Harry," she replied, looking at him a bit longer than necessary. Harry quickly entered his room and shut the door, doubtful in his ability to behave himself around a tipsy Hermione. He didn't want to do anything to jeopardize their relationship, and the thoughts currently swimming in his head would definitely do so. Harry had time only to change into his pajamas and set his alarm clock when a knock sounded at the door.
"Er, hi Hermione," Harry said nervously after he opened the door. She was barefoot, wearing only a tank top and shorts with her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail. Harry took a few deep breaths as she brushed past him and into his room.
"Ohhh, it's just like mine, just reversed!" she said, sounding awe-struck. Harry couldn't help but chuckle. Hermione was a cute drunk as well; she got so excited about everything.
"So, uh.what's up?" Harry asked from beside the door.
"Oh Harry," she said tolerantly, again, and then gave him an impish smile. "I just wanted to talk. You don't have to be scared, I don't bite.well, just the one time, but that was your fault." Harry felt his cheeks heat up as a memory involuntarily flashed through his mind. "Come sit beside me," she said, patting the bed. After he had done so, despite his better judgment, she turned to look at him. "Harry," she said with a pout, "you were very mean to me, you know?"
"I know. I'm sorry-"
"Oh, that's okay," she said airily, dismissing his apology as if they had fought about where to eat for dinner. "But it's too bad, because we haven't been close in for so long. I miss being close with you." Then she laid a hand on his thigh, and warning lights started flashing in his head as he contemplated exactly what she meant by close.
"Er."
"I've missed you Harry. A lot," she said, looking directly in his eyes.
Harry found he had two urges to resist: one to run away and hide in the bathroom, and the other to lean over and ravish her body. So, instead he said, "you're drunk, Hermione."
"I am not!" she said huffily, gesturing wildly. "Perhaps I've consumed a quantity of alcohol that was greater than my normal practice, but it does not mean I'm drunk!"
"All right, all right," Harry said quickly. He'd never seen Hermione as a mean drunk, and he certainly didn't want to see her as one now.
"Besides," she continued, sounding a bit petulant. "It's your fault I drank so much tonight."
"My fault? How is it my fault?"
"Well," she said demurely, a sudden change from her previous indignation. "This really isn't like me, y'know? I think that I needed a bit of courage."
"Courage? For what?" Harry asked, his voice trembling as Hermione ran a finger up and down his arm.
"For you, you dolt," she said playfully. When she saw his confusion, her demeanor switched suddenly again. "I know you Harry Potter," she said patiently, as if talking to a child. "I know right now you're very frightened and scared about our relationship, afraid to say the wrong thing or act the wrong way."
"I'm not scared-"
"Ha! You're absolutely terrified! It's funny how the man who faced down Voldemort could be frightened of a little thing like me," she said, and then as if to prove that it was indeed funny, she broke out into a fit of giggles. Finally, when she recovered her breath, she spoke again, her voice changing again, this time low and sultry. "So, since I decided I didn't want to wait for you to gather your courage, which could take years like the last time, I decided to take matters into my own hands, figuratively and literally."
Harry gave off an unmanly yelp as he felt her fingers run up his thigh. He stood quickly and backed away slowly, Hermione following. "Um, listen, I don't think this is a good idea."
"Of course you don't," she replied, backing him against the wall. "I told you already, I know you." Harry felt his back hit against the door, and found he could retreat no longer. Hermione pressed herself against him and began nuzzling his neck.
Harry gave off an involuntary moan as he felt every inch of her body against his and her mouth against his neck; his resolve was breaking, and his fears, for he was indeed afraid, were being clouded over by his desire. He had one last ploy though. "What.oh goodness...what about Rick?"
Hermione stopped and looked up at him curiously. "Oh, didn't I mention it earlier?" she asked curiously. "We broke up last week."
"Oh," Harry said blankly. And with the realization of what she had just said settling in, Harry found he no longer had any reason, nor the will, to resist.
A/N: Hehe, racy! Anyways, that was my feeble attempt at writing something PG-13. Some of you must be thinking that Harry's an idiot for resisting for so long, but keep in mind Harry has a very bad history when it comes to loving relationships - parents dying; Sirius dying; Ma and Pa Weasley rejecting him; Hermione breaking up with him; etc. I think it's reasonable to think Harry would be deathly afraid of doing anything that might push Hermione away.
It's amazing that even though I'm trying to speed things along, that darn dialogue keeps demanding to be written. Well, I do plan on ending this soon; perhaps two or three more chapters left, depending on how long I drag out the climax.
Thanks to everyone for reviewing!
