Alesco
Chapter Twenty-Two---Indulgence
*
Hermione's body burned the moment the question fell from her lips. She so wanted to learn about that part of him. At the same time, she wanted to please him.
What she could see of Ron's face was priceless. He began to stutter, "Bli-blimey, Hermione...I don't think...I mean if you..."
Hermione felt as though she was being taken over by a primal part of herself, as she slipped her fingertips a little bit under the waistband of Ron's pyjamas. He moved back quickly, and took her hand.
"Hermione, I don't--" She could barely see his face in the darkness, but what she could see told her he was blushing. She slid closer to him, glad that her other hand was free.
She gently passed her free hand over the hardness at his front. He expelled a large amount of air, and took that hand, too. "Bloody hell, Hermione! Do you know what you're doing to me?" Hermione closed her eyes, thanking the silencing charm. He had shouted rather loudly.
"Yes, I do. And I want to....make you feel good." Hermione could barely speak past the hard lump in her throat. She was taking a risk doing this, but her curiosity was too great.
"You already do, Hermoine, you don't have to...." Ron's voice was desperate. He was clutching tightly at her wrists.
Hermione propped herself on her elbows, and moved up to whisper in his ear. "I want to see you. I want to touch you."
Ron shook his head. She thought she saw a little fear in his face. Then he said, "I don't think you do, Hermione. I think we should just lay back, and calm down."
"Ron, please...." Hermione whispered urgently. Then, as Ron gazed at her, something strange happened.
She heard a funny song in her mind. It sounded like, "Weasley is Our King." Once she began to concentrate on the song, she began to feel very drowsy. This can't be, was the last thought in her mind. She was falling...and falling.....into the darkness.
~*~
Walking down to the common room, Hermione raised her arms over her head and yawned. A very cheerful fire was blazing in the grate of the fireplace, and so she lay down on the couch. Pulling a nearby coverlet over her, she stared at the flames.
"Sempiterna flamma" She whispered happily. It was their motto now. She stretched luxuriously, and her body seemed to float in liquid heat.
The colors of the flames before her in the grate reminded her of Ron. Red and orange and blue. No, not quite blue. Ron's eyes weren't truly blue. They were really hazel...changing colors in a different light. Teal, green, sea-blue.
Lovely.
She chuckled, and then raised her arms once again. Closing her eyes, she sighed in utmost content. A warm body enveloped her on the couch. It was as nature intended.
Her hands were on Ron's naked forearms, and he was lifting her from the couch to the floor in front of the fire. She looked into his eyes, and they were burning into her soul.
After he lay her on the makeshift bed he had made by the fire, he reached down and kissed her. Their mouths met in a dance as old as time, and he began to remove her clothing, piece by piece.
They touched and caressed, and Hermione's body burned hotter than it ever had.
Just when she thought the inevitable would happen, when he was poised over her to make her his, she could feel herself spinning, floating, and pulsing out of control.
She let out a long, satisfied scream.
~*~
Someone was shaking her, and they called out her name with concern.
She opened her eyes, a sudden feeling of fear in her heart.
Ron was kneeling over her, akin to the final moments of that terrific dream. Without hesitation, she reached up and hugged him tightly. He responded in kind.
"You just screamed like a banshee! Are you okay?" Ron whispered into her hair.
Hermione noticed that her top was back on, and there were tiny rays of sunlight streaming through the curtains surrounding Ron's bed. "I'm perfectly fine." She muttered, and then gave him an angry look.
Ron pulled back, and moved to his side of the bed, still looking down at her.
"What did you do to me last night?" Hermione was upset. He'd purposefully made her fall asleep. It was unfair.
Ron put up his hands. "Oh come on, Hermione! I was trying to do what was best--"
She pushed the quilt off her, and said huskily, "I'll be the judge of what is best for me, and what isn't." She was pulling her wand from under the pillow, when she looked at him again. "If you don't like me touching you, just say so."
Ron's eyes widenned, and he began to splutter incredulously. "Blimey, Hermione, that's not what I felt at all." He reached over and grabbed her arm before she could take the charms off the curtains. "I liked it too much."
Hermione turned to him fully, and gave him a small smile. "So did I."
Ron blushed furiously. "It's just....I don't think we should get involved like that yet. I wasn't sure you really felt those things...I thought maybe I was controlling you without realizing it." He looked down, and was watching his finger tracing a pattern on the quilt. "And I also thought....." He stopped, and gave her an uneasy look.
"Yes?" Hermione raised an eyebrow, anxious to hear what else he had to say.
"Well..I..." He reached behind his head and scratched the back of his neck. "I'm afraid to be naked in front of you." His face perfectly matched the color of his hair with those words.
Hermione couldn't hold back the small chuckle she had in her throat. "What?! That, from Mr "I'm-taking-off-my-shirt-now-to-toss-gnomes" Weasley? You weren't shy this past summer. As a matter of fact, I think you did it on purpose." She crossed her arms and gave him what she hoped was a look that expressed her irritation.
Ron suddenly smiled. "You noticed, eh?" Then he looked a bit sheepish, realizing he'd given himself away.
Hermione shook her head. "Okay, you win. For now. Just to let you know....if the rest of your body is as nice as everything I've seen...and I daresay it is....you won't have any problem impressing me." She turned to the curtains and muttered, "Finite incantatem." She turned back to Ron and whispered, "I'll see you in the common room."
Without allowing him to respond, she retreated.
~*~
Pushing her way up to the mirror Parvati and Lavender were monopolizing, Hermione adjusted her collar and tie. Lavender was putting on mascara, and Parvati was fussing over her hair.
"So, Hermione, how's Ron doing?" Lavender said, with a voice full of implication.
Hermione snorted, shrugged her shoulders, and refused to look into Lavender's eyes in the mirror. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"
Lavender let out a hearty laugh, and then placed an arm across Parvati's shoulder. "Parvati, Hermione is asking me to ask Ron how he is! Why should I do that, when I think she knows the inside scoop?"
Parvati laughed before putting another lock of hair perfectly into place. "Yeah, Hermione. After all, you like sleeping with him better then in your own bed."
Hermione's heart froze, and then she felt her face crumple with shame. "Who told you that?"
The smile on Lavender's face fell away, and she appeared truly concerned. "Well, nobody, Hermione. We figured it out all by ourselves. But we won't tell anyone. Will we, Parvati?" Parvati gave her a firm look, and the both shook their heads at once.
Hermione looked down at the floor. She'd never planned on anyone else learning of her secret life with Ron. Sure, she'd always expected everyone would find out they were a couple....but she didn't want them to know she...spent nights in his bed.
As Lavender and Parvati continued to primp, and talk excitedly about other things, Hermione stood and pondered this turn of events. What would the younger students....no, what would Professor McGonagall think, if she knew what Hermione had been doing?
Hermione shook her head. She couldn't be with Ron...and she couldn't not be with him. It was so confusing...and frustrating.
Hermione was surprised when Parvati came around her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "All right, Hermione?" She whispered, absently tugging at a brown curl that had fallen across Hermione's face.
"I'm fine."
Parvati turned her around to look into her face. "No, you're not! You're really upset."
Lavender came over, and looked at Hermione as well. She put her hands on her hips, and then gave Hermione a simpering look. "Oh, come on, Hermione! It's not that bad! I was just joshing you! Everyone knows how much you love that red-headed fool. Personally, I'm surprised you didn't do it sooner!"
Hermione felt tears well in her eyes. They thought she'd made love to Ron. If only it had been that simple and straightforward. "We haven't done anything. I'm a prefect, I should know better."
Lavender raised her eyebrows. "Well, take it from me--prefect or no--everyone's got urges. You've been denying them for too long."
Parvati inhaled sharply, and she looked around her. Her eyes widened. "You know what, Lavender?"
"What, Parvati?" Lavender gazed intently at her best friend.
"I SAW this! I HEARD you say that to Hermione before! I remember how silly it was, that it would never happen! I don't believe it." Parvati was jumping up and down now, and then Lavender joined her. They collapsed with excitement on Parvati's bed.
Hermione turned to watch them mutely for a while, and then rolled her eyes and looked back into the mirror. Even at sixteen, they were still getting giddy over a little deja-vu.
She pursed her lips at the now vacant mirror. Making sure that her prefect badge shone brightly on her lapel, she swallowed.
She loved Ron. Even though she was risking her pride, doing what she was, she still wanted to be close to him. She wasn't willing to give that up. They'd been denying these feelings for too long.
After all....she intended keeping their nights together secret....by any and all means.
"We can be together." She whispered, pushing back her bushy hair.
"I'm afraid we can't." The mirror said back to her, laughing, in a quirky male voice.
Hermione laughed silently before turning and picking up her bookbag.
~*~
She skipped down the stairs of the girl's dormitory, and almost ran headlong into Ron, who was coming down the stairs from the opposite side.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Hermione blurted.
"You okay, Hermione?" Ron reached out and took her shoulders in his hands.
"Yes."
They stood still, looking at each other awkwardly for a few minutes. Everything Hermione had said to Ron that morning was running through her mind. Gods...she'd done nothing less then admit to Ron she wanted to see him naked!
She heard feet on the boy's dormitory above, so she reached out and grasped Ron's hand to pull him away before he was trampled. Thankfully, it was only Harry.
"Hi, Hermione. Sleep well?" He gave her a funny smile.
She could tell he must have known something about last night. She gave Ron what she hoped was an angry look.
Ron put up his hands as if to say, "It wasn't me!"
Hermione sighed in frustration. "Yes, Harry, I did, in fact, sleep VERY well." She grabbed Ron's hand, and tugged him toward the portrait hole. Looking back to Harry, she said, "Well, are you coming Harry? Or not?"
"With such a kind invitation, I suppose I'd better accept." Harry muttered darkly, and trudged after them.
~*~
Hermione dipped her quill once again into her inkwell, jotting down some last minute notes about Grindlewald's final days. Professor Binns continued to drone, and Hermione forced herself to blink repeatedly. It was a tactic she used often in History of Magic. A pity Ron or Harry hadn't mastered it. They were breathing heavily in the chairs beside her, and she was sure they HAD mastered the art to sleep while propped up by their arms.
Just as she was about to automatically nudge Ron awake, she looked at him. He was already awake, and he appeared to be entranced by what the ghost was saying. In fact....he looked...rather strange....
Ron's face contorted, and he was glaring at Professor Binns. Suddenly, the ghost screamed, and dropped the book he was holding.
"You....you evil boy...leave instantly!" The Professor screamed, pointing at Ron. He howled, as if he was in pain.
Ron nodded, as if satisfied, stood up, and tugged his bag out of the room with him.
Most of the class, awake now, couldn't decide whether to stare at Ron leaving, or at the Professor.
For a moment, the ghost whimpered a bit, and then rubbed his transparent head. Hermione turned to gape at Harry, whose mouth was open, and he was staring at her.
What in the name of Merlin had just happened?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter Twenty-Two---Indulgence
*
Hermione's body burned the moment the question fell from her lips. She so wanted to learn about that part of him. At the same time, she wanted to please him.
What she could see of Ron's face was priceless. He began to stutter, "Bli-blimey, Hermione...I don't think...I mean if you..."
Hermione felt as though she was being taken over by a primal part of herself, as she slipped her fingertips a little bit under the waistband of Ron's pyjamas. He moved back quickly, and took her hand.
"Hermione, I don't--" She could barely see his face in the darkness, but what she could see told her he was blushing. She slid closer to him, glad that her other hand was free.
She gently passed her free hand over the hardness at his front. He expelled a large amount of air, and took that hand, too. "Bloody hell, Hermione! Do you know what you're doing to me?" Hermione closed her eyes, thanking the silencing charm. He had shouted rather loudly.
"Yes, I do. And I want to....make you feel good." Hermione could barely speak past the hard lump in her throat. She was taking a risk doing this, but her curiosity was too great.
"You already do, Hermoine, you don't have to...." Ron's voice was desperate. He was clutching tightly at her wrists.
Hermione propped herself on her elbows, and moved up to whisper in his ear. "I want to see you. I want to touch you."
Ron shook his head. She thought she saw a little fear in his face. Then he said, "I don't think you do, Hermione. I think we should just lay back, and calm down."
"Ron, please...." Hermione whispered urgently. Then, as Ron gazed at her, something strange happened.
She heard a funny song in her mind. It sounded like, "Weasley is Our King." Once she began to concentrate on the song, she began to feel very drowsy. This can't be, was the last thought in her mind. She was falling...and falling.....into the darkness.
~*~
Walking down to the common room, Hermione raised her arms over her head and yawned. A very cheerful fire was blazing in the grate of the fireplace, and so she lay down on the couch. Pulling a nearby coverlet over her, she stared at the flames.
"Sempiterna flamma" She whispered happily. It was their motto now. She stretched luxuriously, and her body seemed to float in liquid heat.
The colors of the flames before her in the grate reminded her of Ron. Red and orange and blue. No, not quite blue. Ron's eyes weren't truly blue. They were really hazel...changing colors in a different light. Teal, green, sea-blue.
Lovely.
She chuckled, and then raised her arms once again. Closing her eyes, she sighed in utmost content. A warm body enveloped her on the couch. It was as nature intended.
Her hands were on Ron's naked forearms, and he was lifting her from the couch to the floor in front of the fire. She looked into his eyes, and they were burning into her soul.
After he lay her on the makeshift bed he had made by the fire, he reached down and kissed her. Their mouths met in a dance as old as time, and he began to remove her clothing, piece by piece.
They touched and caressed, and Hermione's body burned hotter than it ever had.
Just when she thought the inevitable would happen, when he was poised over her to make her his, she could feel herself spinning, floating, and pulsing out of control.
She let out a long, satisfied scream.
~*~
Someone was shaking her, and they called out her name with concern.
She opened her eyes, a sudden feeling of fear in her heart.
Ron was kneeling over her, akin to the final moments of that terrific dream. Without hesitation, she reached up and hugged him tightly. He responded in kind.
"You just screamed like a banshee! Are you okay?" Ron whispered into her hair.
Hermione noticed that her top was back on, and there were tiny rays of sunlight streaming through the curtains surrounding Ron's bed. "I'm perfectly fine." She muttered, and then gave him an angry look.
Ron pulled back, and moved to his side of the bed, still looking down at her.
"What did you do to me last night?" Hermione was upset. He'd purposefully made her fall asleep. It was unfair.
Ron put up his hands. "Oh come on, Hermione! I was trying to do what was best--"
She pushed the quilt off her, and said huskily, "I'll be the judge of what is best for me, and what isn't." She was pulling her wand from under the pillow, when she looked at him again. "If you don't like me touching you, just say so."
Ron's eyes widenned, and he began to splutter incredulously. "Blimey, Hermione, that's not what I felt at all." He reached over and grabbed her arm before she could take the charms off the curtains. "I liked it too much."
Hermione turned to him fully, and gave him a small smile. "So did I."
Ron blushed furiously. "It's just....I don't think we should get involved like that yet. I wasn't sure you really felt those things...I thought maybe I was controlling you without realizing it." He looked down, and was watching his finger tracing a pattern on the quilt. "And I also thought....." He stopped, and gave her an uneasy look.
"Yes?" Hermione raised an eyebrow, anxious to hear what else he had to say.
"Well..I..." He reached behind his head and scratched the back of his neck. "I'm afraid to be naked in front of you." His face perfectly matched the color of his hair with those words.
Hermione couldn't hold back the small chuckle she had in her throat. "What?! That, from Mr "I'm-taking-off-my-shirt-now-to-toss-gnomes" Weasley? You weren't shy this past summer. As a matter of fact, I think you did it on purpose." She crossed her arms and gave him what she hoped was a look that expressed her irritation.
Ron suddenly smiled. "You noticed, eh?" Then he looked a bit sheepish, realizing he'd given himself away.
Hermione shook her head. "Okay, you win. For now. Just to let you know....if the rest of your body is as nice as everything I've seen...and I daresay it is....you won't have any problem impressing me." She turned to the curtains and muttered, "Finite incantatem." She turned back to Ron and whispered, "I'll see you in the common room."
Without allowing him to respond, she retreated.
~*~
Pushing her way up to the mirror Parvati and Lavender were monopolizing, Hermione adjusted her collar and tie. Lavender was putting on mascara, and Parvati was fussing over her hair.
"So, Hermione, how's Ron doing?" Lavender said, with a voice full of implication.
Hermione snorted, shrugged her shoulders, and refused to look into Lavender's eyes in the mirror. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"
Lavender let out a hearty laugh, and then placed an arm across Parvati's shoulder. "Parvati, Hermione is asking me to ask Ron how he is! Why should I do that, when I think she knows the inside scoop?"
Parvati laughed before putting another lock of hair perfectly into place. "Yeah, Hermione. After all, you like sleeping with him better then in your own bed."
Hermione's heart froze, and then she felt her face crumple with shame. "Who told you that?"
The smile on Lavender's face fell away, and she appeared truly concerned. "Well, nobody, Hermione. We figured it out all by ourselves. But we won't tell anyone. Will we, Parvati?" Parvati gave her a firm look, and the both shook their heads at once.
Hermione looked down at the floor. She'd never planned on anyone else learning of her secret life with Ron. Sure, she'd always expected everyone would find out they were a couple....but she didn't want them to know she...spent nights in his bed.
As Lavender and Parvati continued to primp, and talk excitedly about other things, Hermione stood and pondered this turn of events. What would the younger students....no, what would Professor McGonagall think, if she knew what Hermione had been doing?
Hermione shook her head. She couldn't be with Ron...and she couldn't not be with him. It was so confusing...and frustrating.
Hermione was surprised when Parvati came around her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "All right, Hermione?" She whispered, absently tugging at a brown curl that had fallen across Hermione's face.
"I'm fine."
Parvati turned her around to look into her face. "No, you're not! You're really upset."
Lavender came over, and looked at Hermione as well. She put her hands on her hips, and then gave Hermione a simpering look. "Oh, come on, Hermione! It's not that bad! I was just joshing you! Everyone knows how much you love that red-headed fool. Personally, I'm surprised you didn't do it sooner!"
Hermione felt tears well in her eyes. They thought she'd made love to Ron. If only it had been that simple and straightforward. "We haven't done anything. I'm a prefect, I should know better."
Lavender raised her eyebrows. "Well, take it from me--prefect or no--everyone's got urges. You've been denying them for too long."
Parvati inhaled sharply, and she looked around her. Her eyes widened. "You know what, Lavender?"
"What, Parvati?" Lavender gazed intently at her best friend.
"I SAW this! I HEARD you say that to Hermione before! I remember how silly it was, that it would never happen! I don't believe it." Parvati was jumping up and down now, and then Lavender joined her. They collapsed with excitement on Parvati's bed.
Hermione turned to watch them mutely for a while, and then rolled her eyes and looked back into the mirror. Even at sixteen, they were still getting giddy over a little deja-vu.
She pursed her lips at the now vacant mirror. Making sure that her prefect badge shone brightly on her lapel, she swallowed.
She loved Ron. Even though she was risking her pride, doing what she was, she still wanted to be close to him. She wasn't willing to give that up. They'd been denying these feelings for too long.
After all....she intended keeping their nights together secret....by any and all means.
"We can be together." She whispered, pushing back her bushy hair.
"I'm afraid we can't." The mirror said back to her, laughing, in a quirky male voice.
Hermione laughed silently before turning and picking up her bookbag.
~*~
She skipped down the stairs of the girl's dormitory, and almost ran headlong into Ron, who was coming down the stairs from the opposite side.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Hermione blurted.
"You okay, Hermione?" Ron reached out and took her shoulders in his hands.
"Yes."
They stood still, looking at each other awkwardly for a few minutes. Everything Hermione had said to Ron that morning was running through her mind. Gods...she'd done nothing less then admit to Ron she wanted to see him naked!
She heard feet on the boy's dormitory above, so she reached out and grasped Ron's hand to pull him away before he was trampled. Thankfully, it was only Harry.
"Hi, Hermione. Sleep well?" He gave her a funny smile.
She could tell he must have known something about last night. She gave Ron what she hoped was an angry look.
Ron put up his hands as if to say, "It wasn't me!"
Hermione sighed in frustration. "Yes, Harry, I did, in fact, sleep VERY well." She grabbed Ron's hand, and tugged him toward the portrait hole. Looking back to Harry, she said, "Well, are you coming Harry? Or not?"
"With such a kind invitation, I suppose I'd better accept." Harry muttered darkly, and trudged after them.
~*~
Hermione dipped her quill once again into her inkwell, jotting down some last minute notes about Grindlewald's final days. Professor Binns continued to drone, and Hermione forced herself to blink repeatedly. It was a tactic she used often in History of Magic. A pity Ron or Harry hadn't mastered it. They were breathing heavily in the chairs beside her, and she was sure they HAD mastered the art to sleep while propped up by their arms.
Just as she was about to automatically nudge Ron awake, she looked at him. He was already awake, and he appeared to be entranced by what the ghost was saying. In fact....he looked...rather strange....
Ron's face contorted, and he was glaring at Professor Binns. Suddenly, the ghost screamed, and dropped the book he was holding.
"You....you evil boy...leave instantly!" The Professor screamed, pointing at Ron. He howled, as if he was in pain.
Ron nodded, as if satisfied, stood up, and tugged his bag out of the room with him.
Most of the class, awake now, couldn't decide whether to stare at Ron leaving, or at the Professor.
For a moment, the ghost whimpered a bit, and then rubbed his transparent head. Hermione turned to gape at Harry, whose mouth was open, and he was staring at her.
What in the name of Merlin had just happened?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________