Disclaimer: Not mine!
A/N: I had to cut down this part of the fic to keep it rated R.
Ve Praha
Part 2
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The following day was beautiful. It was a sunny and warm day, and Hannah had neither seen nor spoken to Justin all morning. She didn't know where he was, and she couldn't convince herself to believe that she didn't care.
He had left them a note saying that he would meet them in Wenceslas Square, up near the National Museum, at noon. Nothing else. Eloise had then scrambled off to the National Museum, yelling that she would meet them there, as well, as she ran out the door.
So, Hannah and Susan had treated themselves to a bit of a lie-in before dragging their arses out of bed to wander around Charles Bridge and browse through the street peddlers camped out there. Now, it was just before noon, and the two of them were at the top of Wenceslas Square, waiting for their two other friends to join them. Hannah couldn't say she wasn't nervous about seeing Justin again. The fight they'd had last night was one of the few they'd ever had, and she wasn't sure if it was over yet.
She desperately hoped that it was over; she hated fighting with anyone, especially with Justin.
They had been sitting on this bench for quite awhile, and either girl had taken to their own. Hannah was people-watching, creating stories for the various men and women who passed them by, clutching her bag of shopping in her hands. In the small, plastic bag were three crystal figures , a local art, in three different colours. She'd been buying little trinkets at each place they visited on this tour of Europe for a very special reason.
During the war, she and her friends had made a pact, and just because three of them didn't survive to see the pact through didn't mean they had to miss out completely. Hannah was going to bring their travels to her fallen friends through the trinkets she picked up in each city. She planned to visit her friends' memorials as soon as she returned to England, so that she could give them the gifts and honour their pact they had all longed to fulfill together.
Hannah placed the bag of crystals next to her as she watched an old man walk by, hunched over and carrying a briefcase. He was walking home, Hannah decided, to his wife of fifty-three years. He had retired years earlier, but still made crafts that he sold to novelty shops for a little extra money. Hannah smiled and looked to her friend sitting beside her.
Susan was sitting next to her, staring intently at a spot near the centre of the square. Who knew what she was doing.
Hannah looked up and down the square. It was very long, rectangular, with the National Museum at the head, and various stores lining the sides. It wasn't as beautiful as the Old Town Square, but it was vibrant.
Hannah checked her watch and noticed that it was just past noon. She turned towards Susan, who was still staring intently. "Where do you think Justin-"
"This is where Jan killed himself," Susan said suddenly, softly.
"Who?" Hannah asked, suddenly very concerned, momentarily forgetting the time.
"Jan Palach." Susan kept her eyes focused on the spot in front of them. "He set himself on fire and burned to death right here."
"Why'd he do that?"
"It was done in protest," Susan started to explain. "In 1969. He was a student, and a Muggle. They were being oppressed by the government. They wanted freedom." Susan looked sheepishly towards Hannah for a moment. "I read about it last night, before dinner."
As this information sunk into Hannah's brain, a silence once again fell upon the two friends. Hannah couldn't really imagine it. In this exact spot, so many years ago, someone burned themselves to death out of protest of the government--for something he believed in. She was immersed in a strange combination of horror and awe.
"It's strange, isn't it?" Susan asked, breaking the silence.
Hannah looked over to her friend, but didn't say anything.
After a moment, Susan continued. "We're so alike, Muggles and wizards. We live on the same planet, in two separate worlds, but we're the same. Remember Megan?"
Hannah felt her heart leap to her throat. "Yes." How could she forget?
"She did the same thing. And Uncle Edgar." Susan paused and, for the first time since they'd started speaking, she looked away from where Jan Palach had died. With a broken voice, she continued, "And Ernie, too. So many people died in the war against Voldemort so that we could be free. So that we could be sitting right here, right now, in Prague."
Hannah nodded, not knowing what to say. She often thought about this, but she couldn't figure out how to process it so that it made sense. Maybe that was the thing about it, it didn't make sense.
"Ernie would have liked Prague," Susan said, dissolving into sobs.
Quickly throwing her arms around her friend, Hannah hugged Susan tightly. "I know. He would have loved it. He would be glad you're here." She felt useless. Her best friend was sobbing hysterically in her arms, and there was nothing she could do but just be there, saying the most idiotic and unhelpful things.
"Susan!" a voice called out.
Hannah spun her head quickly to search for the source of the yell.
It was Justin. And Eloise was running not too far behind him. Hannah hugged her friend tightly as she felt a sob threaten to break free.
"Don't worry, Susan," Hannah whispered into Susan's hair. "We're here."
"Susan," Justin's voice rang out, suddenly right next to them. "What happened? What's wrong?"
Hannah looked up to see Justin on his kneeling before Susan, his eyes burning with worry. Eloise was sitting on the other side of Susan, frowning and staring.
Susan didn't--couldn't--answer Justin's question, so Hannah, wiping her hair from her eyes, answered for her.
"Ernie."
In that one word, everything became clear to both Justin and Eloise. Justin leaned back on his heals, looking defeated, while Eloise's hand shot to her mouth before quickly embracing their sobbing friend.
Hannah just sat there, looking at her hands, feeling useless.
"Come on," whispered Eloise thickly. "Let's go back to the hotel and get freshened up. It'll be all right."
Slowly, the four got to their feet. Justin and Eloise framed Susan, supporting her as they walked. Hannah fell into step about five feet behind the trio.
They slowly made their descent down the Square, passing people as they went--tourists and natives smiling, laughing, talking, living their normal lives, completely unaware.
Hannah felt numb.
"Are you all right?"
Hannah jumped and looked to the source of the voice. Somehow, without Hannah realising it, Justin had separated himself from the other girls to walk with her.
"I'll live," she replied. She had no desire to lie by saying she was all right, so she'd said the only thing she could. They walked the rest of the way in silence. A comfortable silence.
They passed through the lobby and up the stairs. The same path they'd tread the previous night, yet this time the emotions were so different and somehow, Hannah wasn't sure how, she found herself walking into Justin's room and sitting on his bed.
She felt her heart beat a little faster when he sat next to her, his leg just brushing her thigh. They were sitting so close. He leaned back on his hands, while Hannah sat up straight, almost terrified to move.
She could feel the heat emanating from his body.
Hannah suddenly felt she had to say something, not to fill the silence, but to explain. "She was - she was talking about this man… this man who burned himself alive for what he believed in. He did it almost right there where we were sitting, only years ago.
"I should have known to change the subject, but it was so…" She trailed off as something akin to rage flowed through her. "We've lost so many friends, sometimes I can't stand to be alive. Like, why am I alive and not Ernie? I was there when he died--it could have easily been me."
She turned so she could face Justin. Hannah felt this urge to make him understand. "He and Susan were going to get married. They were going to have a family together. I don't have that. I don't have anything close to that. It would have been easier if it had been me who'd died. There are no strings with me. I'm alone."
"Stop."
Hannah just looked at him, tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Don't talk like that." Justin looked rattled, and he spoke sternly. "You can't change what happened."
"I know," she said meekly, now feeling somewhat ashamed. Her eyes fell to look at the duvet.
Justin shifted on the bed and grabbing her hands, forcing her to look back up at him.
"And don't say you should have been in his place. Ernie wouldn't want you talking like that."
"I know," Hannah squeaked out, feeling like the lowest of the low.
Justin cupped her cheek, the pad of his thumb wiping away at the tears. He spoke clearly and so passionately it almost frightened Hannah. "You're life is special, and don't you for one minute think that it's not. You are so important to me." He buried his head in her hair and hugged her tightly. Hannah hugged him back, not wanting to ever let him go.
"I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you in the war," he said, his breath hitting her ear softly.
His hand had moved to her neck, softly touching her. Hannah shut her eyes tightly and took a struggled breath. Her hands dug into Justin's back, bringing him closer.
She breathed out his name, almost in a moan. He'd just confessed so much to her, and Hannah felt overwhelmed. She placed her lips on his neck and kissed him gently.
Suddenly, he pulled her away from his neck and cupped her cheeks in his hands, holding her in front of his face. He looked so vulnerable and open, and Hannah could feel her heart melt.
"Justin," she whispered, "kiss me."
She barely saw the flash of lust in his eyes before they were kissing. It was a gentle, tentative kiss, as though neither was sure of exactly what to do. Their teeth clacked together and Hannah was suddenly overcome with nervous laughter. She broke away from Justin, her hand flying to cover her mouth.
"What?" Justin's voice was thick with confusion and just a little bit of hurt.
"I'm sorry," Hannah said though her laughter. "I don't know why. I'm nervous," she added, as if that was an explanation.
Leaning back, Justin scratched his neck. His shirt tightened across his chest, and Hannah's giggles trailed off. "Why are you nervous?"
Hannah licked her bottom lip, and met Justin's eye. She pressed her thighs tightly together as bolts of electricity shot to her pelvis. She tried to concentrate on an answer, but his hand fell to his lap, and she was distracted. "I want you."
"You want me?" He still looked confused, but he shifted closer to her and put his hand on her neck. Hannah leaned into it. "You're nervous," Justin continued, "because you want me?"
Hannah furrowed her brow. Had she said that? It was true, though, and Hannah, realising this, nodded. She raised her hands to cradle the hand Justin was using to lightly massage her neck. Holding his hand still, Hannah turned her head slightly and kissed the inside of his palm. She kissed it again. Again. Soft gentle kisses all over his palm.
Her eyes fluttered shut and she kissed the base of his thumb. She kissed his fingers. The back of his hand. His knuckles. The tips of his fingers, and down to the palm again.
She opened her eyes as she continued to shower his hand the gentle brush of her lips. He was staring at her, transfixed, his mouth gaping open slightly.
Keeping her eyes fixed on him, Hannah ran her tongue up his index finger and swirled it around the tip. She felt a thrill race through her when she took the finger fully in her mouth, eliciting a deep moan from him. She savoured his reaction and the feel of his slightly calloused finger in her mouth. She ran her teeth gently against his flesh and watched as Justin closed his eyes, his face alight with rapture.
Hannah nearly whimpered when he tore his hand from her grasp, only to be immediately rewarding with hips lips crashing against hers, the force of which caused Hannah to fall back on the bed.
The weight of the man she quite possibly loved on top of her caused Hannah to moan gutturally, and she arched up into him and gasped. Instinctively, Hannah wrapped her legs around Justin and pulled him closer. She writhed beneath him in blissful agony as they continued to kiss.
Not caring that he was cutting off her air supply with his weight, Hannah moved her hands down his back, dragging her fingernails into his shirt, pulling him closer.
A moment later, Justin was no longer kissing her, but leaning up on his elbows. He was panting heavily and his eyes were shut tight.
Hannah may have got her air back, but she was now terrified that he was going to stop, telling her that they were moving to fast. After all the time that had passed with Hannah pining away for this man, she thought they weren't moving fast enough.
Yet, after a moment, Justin reached down with one hand, letting his weight rest on one elbow and pulled at his shirt. He pulled it up, revealing his chest and the brown hair that lightly covered him. As he tugged the shirt over his head, he transferred his weight to the other elbow and flung the offending clothing to the floor.
He looked down at her, and Hannah felt her insides jump in excitement. In his face, she saw desire, and it was for her. Whispering his name, she reached her arm around him and pulled him back down to her.
His skin was warm beneath her touch, and his back muscles were flexing as he moved above her. It wasn't enough, though, just her hands on his skin. She wanted to feel him against her.
With one hand, Hannah pulled on the bottom of her shirt, struggling to get it off and breaking their kiss for only a moment as she wrenched it over her head, leaving only her bra.
Much better.
"Hannah," Justin whispered as his mouth travelled from her lips to her ear and then throat. Hannah shivered. She never liked her name much, but the way he had said it, almost reverently and so lustfully, made her believe it was the sexiest thing in the world.
Hannah pushed her hips up as his hand moved slowly, ohMerlinsoslowly, down her stomach and to the top of her trousers. She tilted her head back and moaned out his name.
Their movements were slow, almost lazy, as they moved together on the uncomfortable hotel bed.
Hannah breathed in sharply and it was suddenly brought to her attention that her trousers were uncomfortably tight with Justin's hand shoved down them. She needed to do something about that.
Hannah trailed her fingers across his skin, down, until she reached the top of his jeans. Raising her head to kiss Justin on the shoulder, she slid her hand in between them and undid the flies of her khakis. Justin let out a low, guttural moan.
"Hannah," he panted, next to her ear.
She trailed her free hand down his back and lightly bit his shoulder. "Yes?"
"Fuck," he uttered. He looked as though he was in pain, and it fascinated Hannah. "Let go. Please--Oh, Merlin, Hannah."
He was panting now, and Hannah bit her lip, not fully understanding what he wanted her to let go of. Her inhibitions? Something else?
"We have to--" He licked his lips and Hannah licked his neck. "We have to stop," he finally managed to say. He quickly rolled off of her, as though he couldn't bear to touch her any longer.
"Why?" Hannah asked immediately, acutely feeling the loss of his body against hers. She sat up and looked down on him. His chest was glistening with a sheen of sweat, and his face was flushed red. All of his visible skin was flushed and heated. She wanted to see more. "I don't want to stop."
Justin buried his face in his hands, and Hannah reached behind her and undid the clasp of her bra. "If we don't stop now," Justin said, as though warning her, "I won't be able to stop later."
"I don't want to stop now," Hannah said, throwing her bra on the floor. Justin moaned in what could have been desire, but it could have easily been in annoyance as well. "And I don't want to stop later. Do you want to stop?"
Hannah rubbed her hand firmly against him and went to unfastening his belt. Justin shook his head furiously.
Running his hands through his hair, Justin looked up at her with a glare so fierce and full of lust that it nearly scared her. His eyes moved down her body, and he stared at her. "But I don't think you know what that means," he rasped.
Hannah licked her lips. She was a little hurt he thought her so naïve. He should have known better.
"I know what it means," she said deadpanned. "I want you, Justin."
It was enough to break his resolve, and he lurched forward and kissed her deeply.
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Justin crawled up and kissed her, before laying down next to her. He pushed her onto her side, and wrapped his arm around her, spooning her, and kissing her shoulder gently.
"Hannah," he said, his voice rough in its post-coital state. "I'm sorry we fought last night."
Smiling, she blushed. "I'm sorry, too."
He tightened his grasp on her. "I had no… I shouldn't have been upset you were talking to that guy. I had no claim on you."
Claim on her? "I wasn't interested in him, not really. I think I did it to get your attention more than anything."
He chuckled against her skin. "It worked."
"Besides," she continued, "you were chatting up that woman."
"Well, we had a common interest." His voice held a hint of amusement, and Hannah's stomach plummeted. What did that mean?
"What do you mean, 'common interest'?" Hannah cringed when she heard the hurt evident in her voice.
"You," was all Justin decided to say.
"What?" Hannah turned around to face him. He seemed to be blushing.
"We both kind of fancied you." He wouldn't meet her eye. "So we talked… about you."
Hannah was dumbstruck. "I had no idea."
Smiling, Justin met her gaze. "Now you do," he said, leaning in to kiss her.
She sunk into him, relishing in the fact that she was kissing Justin. And he was very good at it. Breaking the kiss, Hannah smiled.
They stayed just like that, on the bed in each other's arms, kissing lazily and content to just be with one another, until a thought came to Hannah.
"What time is it?" she asked, shifting so she could look at the clock. Damn. It was later than she'd imagined.
"Why," Justin asked, trying to keep Hannah from leaving his grasp.
Grabbing onto the bed sheets, Hannah covered herself. "We need to check on Susan. They'll wonder where we are."
"No," he groaned, trying to hold onto her.
"Yes," she said, mimicking Justin's tone. "They'll wonder where we are. Now let me go, I need to shower."
Justin relaxed his grip, and she managed to get off the bed. She had just turned to go into the bathroom, when he stopped her with his voice.
"Hannah." He was looking at her heavily, almost mischievously, which was very unlike his normal behaviour. "Leave the sheet, won't you."
Hannah stared at him as though he'd said she looked like a Blast-Ended Skrewt. Then, in one of her braver moments, she thought, Hannah let the sheet fall limply to the floor, and she turned to walk towards the bathroom, sans clothing.
When Hannah was midway to the bathroom, there was a knock on the door. Hannah swore, her hand flying to her mouth, and she crouched down, as though trying to cover her naked body.
"Justin," Eloise called from outside the room. "Justin, are you in there? Is Hannah there with you?"
For a moment, all she could do was stare at Justin, and he, her. Then, as though as though electrified, the two sprang to life.
Hannah grabbed the nearest item of clothing she could find: her shirt. She pulled it on as Justin called out, "Yes. One moment!"
"Oh bugger!" Hannah whispered frantically. "Where are my pants?"
"Here," Justin said, holding up a bunch of clothing triumphantly, his own jeans now hanging loosely on his hips. They were left undone, and Hannah found it difficult to tear her eyes away from the hair just below his navel.
Walking over the bed, he handed her her pants, trousers and bra just as Eloise banged on the door again.
Justin pointed to the loo and said, "Go change in there. I'll get the door."
Nodding, Hannah turned around, but was immediately stopped by a hand grabbing her wrist. She turned towards Justin and shot him a quizzical glance. He smiled almost shyly before leaning in and brushing his lips against hers gently.
Hannah shivered at the contact and went to deepen the kiss when another round of knocking sounded on the door.
"Bugger!" Hannah clasped her clothes to her chest and dashed into the loo, taking care to close the door gently, as to not make a sound. Before the door clicked shut, she could just make out Justin throwing his shirt over his head.
Shoving on her pants, Hannah strained to hear what was going on.
A door opened, and she could hear Eloise speak. "Is Hannah in here?"
"She's… er…. She's using the loo," Justin said just as Hannah fastened her bra.
"Housekeeping didn't come, I take it?" Eloise asked, sounding somewhat amused.
What? Hannah looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked confused. She felt bloody confused. What was Eloise going on about?
"I'm sorry?" Justin asked, voicing Hannah's confusion.
"Well," Eloise said. She was definitely amused by whatever she was going on about. "Your bed's all rumpled up."
Hannah's mouth dropped open. Oops.
"Oh, er. No, they didn't," Justin said, obviously uncomfortable.
Hannah pulled on her trousers as she heard Eloise go on with, "You can call reception. I'm sure someone can come up."
"No!" Justin yelled out. Hannah cringed. "I mean… no need to bother them."
Buttoning up her khakis, Hannah rolled her eyes. They didn't sound obvious at all, a sarcastic voice in her brain yelled. She ran her hands quickly through her tresses, looked at her reflection and frowned. Finding a few hair elastics in her pocket, Hannah threw her curls into low pigtails. She looked around the small bathroom and spotted the toilet, which she promptly flushed before walking back out into the room.
"Eloise!" she said brightly--too brightly. "How are you?"
Giving her a strange look, Eloise answered, "Fine. Susan's feeling better. We're going to get something to eat, and we were wondering if you two wanted to come. Unless, of course," there was a definite glow of mischief in her face, "you have something better to do. Here." Eloise looked none too subtly at the rumpled bed, and Hannah felt her cheeks go warm.
"No!" Hannah replied quickly. "Um, yeah! Food, great!" She shot a smile in Justin's direction, who was staring back at her, wide-eyed. Hannah frowned and looked back towards Eloise. She looked like she was about to burst into tears of laughter.
This was not going well. Hannah inwardly groaned.
"Good," Eloise said, smiling broadly. "We're leaving in a few minutes. You might want to fix your shirt, Hannah."
Hannah looked down, and her insides froze. Her shirt was on backwards and inside out. She immediately tried to cover her mistake with her hands, failing miserably.
After Eloise left the room, Hannah immediately tore off her shirt to turn it right side out. While fixing her top, an item that seemed to simply not want to be righted, she asked Justin in a small voice, "Do you think we should tell them?"
Finally getting her shirt right-side out, Hannah let out a little yell of triumph, but Justin remained silent. Once she pulled her shirt safely back over her head, she shot an expectant look in his direction. He seemed to be staring at her neck.
Hannah was just about to ask him again, when he spoke softly. "What does this mean? Between us?"
Hannah holds her breath.
She was afraid of this question; she didn't have an answer. Hannah knew what she wanted, but Justin couldn't possibly want the same thing, and that's what scared her.
"Hannah," he said, walking up to her. He gave her a searching stare. "Where do we go from here?"
"I--I don't know," she answered truthfully. "You're such a good friend, and I don't want to lose that, but…. I like you," Hannah said, deciding truth was the best thing to go with. She swallowed deeply, trying to push the lump in her throat away. She placed her hand on the side of Justin's neck and rubbed gently. "I like this."
Justin was looking blankly at her, and Hannah's heart beat faster, thinking she'd just made a mistake, but then, he placed his hands on her hips. Hannah let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.
This little action on his part gave her the courage she needed to continue. "I've wanted this--you--for a long time now."
"You have?" His voice cracked slightly, and Hannah thought it was the most endearing thing she'd ever heard.
Leaning in, she kissed his collarbone and nodded against his shoulder. When his hands moved to her back so that he was hugging her, Hannah felt the safest she had in as long as she could remember.
"I have, too," he whispered into her ear.
Hannah looked up, almost unable to believe him. When she met his eye, however, she knew it was the truth and she met his lips in a soft, but passionate, kiss.
His hands were warm against her back, and Hannah shivered as they moved down. Moaning, Hannah tried to pull him in closer.
Bang!
Gasping, Hannah and Justin sprang apart to face the source of the sound.
The hotel-room door was wide open, their two friends standing beneath the doorframe.
Eloise was hiding her giggles in her hand, but Hannah barely noticed her. Her attention went immediately to Susan. She looked ghostly pale, and her eyes were brimmed with red. Hannah's heart went out to her friend.
Then, a brilliant smile broke out on Susan's face, lighting it up. She shouted, almost triumphantly, "I knew it!"
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Hannah snuggled into Justin's arms, both of them looking very satisfied, like kittens who had just been fed warm milk. They sat together as the train jerked into movement.
The car was filled with people, but neither of them took note of any of anyone else, not even of their friends, who were sitting across the aisle from them. The two of them were looking forward to their next destination, Vienna, with great anticipation.
They laughed over some silly thing or another as the train pulled out of the station. It was raining slightly, but the foul weather would never dash Justin and Hannah's fond memories of their stay in Prague, a city full of magic and surprise.
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Fin
A/N the Second: Many thanks to Lady G, Julia Weasley and Cronje for looking over this for me.
If you're over 17 and want too read the full version of this fic, go to The Firelight at www . thefirelight . net (take out the spaces) and look under my penname, Tari.
Jan Palach, as mentioned earlier in this chapter, was a real person, and did set himself on fire. For more information on this, check out http :archiv. radio. cz/ palach99/ eng/ palach. html (just take out all those spaces).
Thank you for reading this fic and giving these Hufflepuffs a chance. If you want to leave me a review about what you think, I'd be so grateful!