Disclaimer: Harry Potter dances away from my belongings... In other words, most of it dances towards JK Rowling... Oh the humiliation! #cries#
Please feel free to review (hint, hint) Constructive cristicism is welcome, if however, you choose to flame me instead... I will come and hunt you down and hit you round the head with a large, randomly convenient flying antelope.
Chapter Ten – Of The Happily Ever After (Or: This Chapter Was A Bugger to Write and You Better Be Grateful For It! Which I feel is probably a more appropriate chapter title)
Sunday dawned, and brought with it the inevitable result of a warm-weathered week in Scotland, namely, a rainy weekend. Hermione could hear it tapping on the thin window above his head. The dull light from outside projected the shape of the window onto the door in front of him and he watched the progress of the raindrops' shadows trickling down the glass.
The other girls had dropped off to sleep sometime after three in the morning. Hermione, however, had spent the rest of the night, watching the moon's window-shaped light drift gradually from one side of the door to the other.
She wasn't tired. She was drained, but it was different from anything she'd ever felt before. It was as if her body desperately needed to sleep, but her mind had blocked out the need completely. It was like painting over a wet plank of wood, it looked all right, but it would still rot. Everything from the past week seemed to have caught up with her at last.
She felt somebody tap her shoulder. "'Mione? 'Mione? Are you awake?"
"No."
The voice (which she now recognised as Lavender's) paused momentarily. "Oh, ok." Another pause. "Hey! How can you be asleep if you're talking to me?"
Another voice, Parvati's voice. "Oi! Will you two shut up? Some of us are trying to sleep!"
"Sorry." The rustling of covers. Another pause then a sigh. "I can't sleep now."
"What time is it?" Ginny muttered from somewhere under her pillow. She lifted her head up and winced at the light flooding from the window. "Eurgh. Close the curtains."
"They are closed." Replied Lavender.
Hermione sat up and looked down at her friends. Lavender was now also sat out and running a brush through her hair moaning about knots and fizzy pop. Ginny's head was quite literally a ball of red fuzz (And no I don't mean that she's turned into a monkey overnight…). Parvati was smacking her head repeatedly on the pillow, which was making Padma bounce up and down on the pillow (Yet she still didn't wake up).
"Ok." Said Hermione with a yawn. "I'm going to get dressed."
By nine, all five girls were washed and dressed and were attempting to return the room to it's normal state, which was proving trickier than they'd first thought.
"No. That bed was over there!" called Hermione as she lifted up a small table and carried it to the corner of the room.
"I'd like to see you try and carry one of these beds. They weigh a ton." Grunted Lavender. Hermione watched her friends with amusement. Parvati and Padma were trying to move to beds at a time and it looked like Parvati wasn't going to be able to hold on much longer…
CLANG
Yep. Definitely didn't hold on for much longer.
"Ow! Ow! OOOWW!" Padma shrieked, hopping up and down and clutching her toe. "I think it's broken!"
"No it isn't." said Hermione quickly. "I'm sure you'll be fine."
Parvati and Padma exchanged a look. "Umm, yeah. Well we, err…" began Parvati awkwardly.
"Um… yeah," continued Padma. "I think I better get it check out anyway… You just in case-"
"She's really hurt herself. I better go with her." Finished Parvati. Padma stood up and began limping towards the door. Parvati coughed loudly. "Because I'm sure she won't be able to walk."
Then the two twins limped/walked hurriedly out of the room.
"Great." Sighed Hermione. "Ok. One, two, three- LIFT!"
An hour later, the three girls walked out the portrait hole chatting excitedly about the sleepover.
"So, Professor Lupin hasn't said anything yet." Said Ginny, pushing open the portrait hole. "So I don-" she petered off.
"What's wrong?" asked Lavender. She looked past Ginny's shoulder and froze.
"Umm, guys? Go!" said Hermione. "What are you- oh."
The two girls moved away from the hole, huge smiles on their faces. Hermione soon discovered why; Harry Potter was stood outside.
"Hey." He said, holding up a stack of toast, which he was carrying in a napkin. "I brought you this… want to go for a walk?"
Hermione's face lit up. Those were the exact words she said to Harry two years ago. "Good idea."
They both smiled shyly at each other and made their way downstairs, across the entrance hall and were soon strolling towards the lake. The rain had stopped, leaving everything wet. The grass made squelching noises beneath their feet, not exactly the most romantic sound Hermione thought to herself.
"Toast?" asked Harry, pushing the toast filled napkin toward her.
"Thanks." Hermione replied gratefully. "So… what have you been up to?"
Harry shrugged. "I'm not really that active when I'm in a coma. I'm a bit of a bore really."
Hermione smiled and let out a giggle. Harry gasped in mock-horror. "Did you just giggle?"
Squeaking with embarrassment, she slapped a hand over her mouth. "No!"
"You did!" said Harry with a grin. "I've never heard you giggle before."
"I did not giggle!"
"You did."
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Did not!"
"Did not"
"Did too an- Argh!" Hermione threw her hands up in frustration. "Every time!"
The two lapsed into a comfortable silence. Hermione couldn't believe how perfect everything was.
"Um Harry..." Hermione started and noting her voice was a little higher then usual she cleared it, opening her mouth to say something but then found the words were stuck in her throat. Harry cocked his head curiously at her.
"Are you ok?" he said and after taking a deep breath she nodded.
Hermione reached forward and looked as though she was about to hold his hand but didn't, instead she settled for putting it on the floor. She licked his lips nervously and looked up, concentrating solely on the unusual colour of Harry's eyes so as not to lose her nerve.
"I like you," she managed finally, "A lot..."
"Oh…" said Harry. He looked down at the ground. Then he looked up and smiled. "Well that's good… because I think I might like you too." Then very slowly, he leaned in to kiss her.
Hermione felt like there was a swing band playing her chest. It was more perfect than she could ever have imagined. They pulled apart and smiled goofily at each other.
"Hermione?" asked Harry. "You know, Professor Lupin was saying the strangest things about you this morning…"
Hermione swallowed nervously. "Err. Really?"
Harry nodded. "Yep. Something about Snape's underwear and you putting underwear on his head… Do you know anything about it?"
Hermione bit her lip. "Um, no."
Harry grinned. "I believe you." Then he kissed her again.
The two teenagers hurriedly made their way over to the table where (To Hermione's surprise) Ron was sat with Parvati and Lavender.
"Glad you decided to join us… I was beginning to think that you weren't coming." Said Parvati. "What did you get up to?"
Hermione smiled sheepishly. "Nothing."
"Then why…" said Ron, reaching up and pulling a bit of grass out of her hair. "Is Harry's mouth covered in lip gloss?"
Harry and Hermione looked and each other and laughed. "Ok." Said Harry. "You caught us out…"
"So you're going out?" asked Lavender.
They both nodded and the two girls let out squeals of delight.
Ron picked up his drink and raised it. "To happy endings." He said happily. Smiling the other four also lifted up their glasses.
"To happy endings." They chorused and to Hermione, this was certainly hers.
THE END
Ladies and Jelly Spoons
I cannot believe it is finally over. I cannot BELIEVE it! Excuse me while I start hyperventilating.
I'm finally free-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e! Free! Free! Free to pursue other stories and interests! Aw, what a marvellous feeling.
I just want to say a H-U-U-U-U-G-E thank to everyone who reviewed. Without you I would be reviewless and this story probably wouldn't even exist.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
