Author's note: Well, I do remember warning you all that this would most
likely be H/H. I will also say that they are bound to get to Hogwarts
within the next few chapters (but it's not definite). The mysterious Half
Blood Prince will be made more prominent an issue soon enough. Right now
I'm having too much fun messing with Harry's feelings (poor Harry ().
Hermione woke up at least ten whole minutes before Harry. The first thing that she noticed was Harry's arm around her. She was moving to remove it from her waist, but in mid-reach decided that she liked the feel of his arm around her...she liked it a lot.
At eight in the morning Harry and Hermione were both in the kitchen trying to prepare some sort of breakfast. Hermione's parents were long gone to the dentist's office for another hectic day filled with people hopelessly trying to talk and wind up saying something like, "Dat's budder!" The two teenagers wound up eating some nice bowls of cold cereal and a cup of tea each. Afterwards they went up to shower in turns. When both were dressed and ready to go to the movies (as they had planned the night before) they casually walked to the door. Once they opened the door a great barn owl came bursting through the door (reminiscent of Hermione only the day before). On the owl's leg were two letters with the prominent Hogwarts seal upon them. One was addressed to Hermione, and the other to Harry. Each of them grabbed the appropriate letters and read, "Dear Mr. Potter (obviously Miss Granger for Hermione),
I am sure that you remember quite clearly taking the O.W.L.s in June. We are happy to announce that your grades have come in. The following is a list of your grades and the corresponding subject next to it:
A.........................History of Magic
A..................................Divination
E..................................Herbology
O..........Defense Against the Dark Arts
E.....................................Charms
O................Care of Magical Creatures
O............................Transfiguration
E......................................Potions
Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
(Head of Gryffindor House)"
Harry certainly was shocked by how well he had done. He knew that he wasn't going to do too good on Divination because he didn't like it and History of Magic because he didn't really care that much about it. He looked up at Hermione and saw that she was ecstatic. She had most likely gotten "outstanding" on every single exam (which would come as no surprise to anyone).
"Well?" asked Harry.
"I aced everything! You?"
"I did pretty well. I passed potions with an "E"; I don't believe it!"
"I'll bet you anything Dumbledore finally put a stop to Snape failing you on purpose; otherwise you probably wouldn't have done so well," remarked Hermione.
Harry had to agree with this. Snape would have never given Harry anything above an "A", not even if the potion was perfect. Either Dumbledore had interfered or...
"I know why, Hermione! Snape didn't grade the exams, remember? It was the testers who graded our papers."
"Oh yeah. They were bound to grade fairly. Well, that's a relief. Let's get going, we'll look at the book lists later. We've got a couple of months!" said Hermione.
"Wait, there's still something else in my envelope...besides the book list, I mean," said Harry, a little confused.
"Well, what is it?"
Harry pulled it out in wonderment. He unfolded it and read the following: "Dear Harry,
Since I have become Headmaster at Hogwarts once again, I have been undoing many changes that were put into effect by Dolores Umbridge (who shall no longer be teaching at this institution). One of these changes brought to my attention was your lifetime ban from the sport Quidditch. After reviewing Umbridge's report of events and taking eyewitness reports from my fellow staff, I have come to the conclusion that there are charges to be pressed, yes. But these charges are by no means severe enough to ban you from the field. I hereby declare your ban invalid and grant you the position of seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team once again, now that Ginny Weasley has resigned and wishes to try out for a chaser. You are also the most credible pick for team Captaincy, so I give that to you also. Enjoy your holidays and stay clear of trouble!
Albus Dumbledore
(Current Headmaster of Hogwarts)"
"Yes!" said Harry and Hermione together. Hermione had been reading over Harry's shoulder on tip-toes.
"That's great, Harry! I knew Dumbledore would put you back on the team. Ready to go, then?"
"Yeah, let's get out of here," said Harry, feeling very happy.
The two of them walked from the house together and began their way down the street. The theater wasn't all that far away. Surprisingly, they were going to go see a movie that starred a 13-year-old wizard boy who was being followed by a supposed murderer. The story seemed quite familiar to Harry and Hermione and the film had premiered only a couple of weeks ago in the middle of June.
In the middle of their walk Hermione randomly grabbed Harry's hand in hers. Harry was rather surprised by this and looked at her questioningly. Neither of them had mentioned how they had woken up intertwined yet.
"Harry, did you intentionally wrap your arm around me last night?" asked Hermione innocently.
Harry thought for a minute. What if she wants me to say yes? If I say no, will she be disappointed? A little cautious, Harry responded,
"Well, I don't remember doing it. I'm really sorry if you feel violated or anything. I'll sleep on the floor from now on if you want me to," said Harry nervously. He secretly didn't want her to say that she wanted him to sleep on the floor. Harry had given in to the voice in his head; he was completely in love with Hermione. But Harry had no idea how this had happened. He had thought that they were just friends and nothing more. Harry started thinking about what others would think about them together; people like Ron.
Harry always felt like Ron had a thing for Hermione, but he wasn't sure if she felt the same way.
"Apparently not," said the voice. "She's holding your hand right now!"
Harry then realized how good the tender, soft skin of Hermione's hand against his felt like absolute heaven. He was so lost in his nerves and so conscious about his sweaty hand that he almost didn't hear Hermione say,
"Actually Harry, I liked it a lot when you were holding me. It's something that I've always secretly wanted from you," said Hermione in a tone that suggested that she couldn't believe that what was happening was happening.
"Well, I liked it too, Hermione, and I've just realized that I really like you too."
With that, Harry laced his fingers through hers with no question and they walked happily to the theater.
The rest of the summer went by in daze that was very warm and romantic. Harry and Hermione could seem to believe their luck. They were in love and had virtually the whole summer together alone. They passed the days having picnics in the park, swimming at a nearby lake, and sitting together in the theater looking at movies, but not really watching them (they were looking at each other more than the screen). They also finished up their homework together, or rather Hermione helped Harry finish his because she, as Harry had predicted, had finished hers within the first week of the vacation.
Finally it was coming down to the last week of the holidays and Mr. and Mrs. Granger were planning a day when they could drop Harry Hermione off at Diagon Alley for the day so that they could get their supplies and maybe see Ron and the rest of the Weasleys. Harry and Hermione had been in contact with Ron and he was rather disappointed that they weren't coming, but did promise that they would see him at Diagon Alley.
It was the night before they were heading out to Diagon Alley and Harry and Hermione were in her room. They had just finished dinner and were lying on the bed just staring at the ceiling. They were going to have to pack in a couple of days, but they weren't too worried about that. The mysterious writer hadn't written since his first letter, so they were thoroughly convinced that it was all just a hoax. If only Harry listened to that voice in his head, he might have known better...might have been more aware. But he wasn't listening to the voice warning him to write to Dumbledore at the moment. He was instead staring dreamily into Hermione's eyes.
"Well, it's been quite a good summer if you ask me," said Harry. He draped his arm over Hermione as he had done the first night he had arrived and many nights in-between. Hermione shuddered a little and pulled Harry closer.
"Yes, it has been a very good summer," she had put emphasis on the word very.
The two of them lied there a little longer looking at each other before Harry started contemplating something in his mind. Should I kiss her? Would she want me to kiss her? What if she gets angry?
Harry couldn't deal with the pressure so he just trusted his instinct. He looked back at Hermione. She seemed to know what he was about to do so she closed her eyes and waited. Harry instinctively closed his eyes and then slowly brought his lips to hers. She tasted wonderful, like mint because she had just brushed her teeth. Her lips were smooth and warm against his. He held the kiss a little bit longer before breaking the connection. Hermione opened her eyes and stared at him with pleasure in her eyes. She hugged him tight and said,
"Thank you, Harry. That was absolutely wonderful."
Then they just fell asleep in each others arms.
"Way to go, Harry!" said the voice in his head.
Hermione woke up at least ten whole minutes before Harry. The first thing that she noticed was Harry's arm around her. She was moving to remove it from her waist, but in mid-reach decided that she liked the feel of his arm around her...she liked it a lot.
At eight in the morning Harry and Hermione were both in the kitchen trying to prepare some sort of breakfast. Hermione's parents were long gone to the dentist's office for another hectic day filled with people hopelessly trying to talk and wind up saying something like, "Dat's budder!" The two teenagers wound up eating some nice bowls of cold cereal and a cup of tea each. Afterwards they went up to shower in turns. When both were dressed and ready to go to the movies (as they had planned the night before) they casually walked to the door. Once they opened the door a great barn owl came bursting through the door (reminiscent of Hermione only the day before). On the owl's leg were two letters with the prominent Hogwarts seal upon them. One was addressed to Hermione, and the other to Harry. Each of them grabbed the appropriate letters and read, "Dear Mr. Potter (obviously Miss Granger for Hermione),
I am sure that you remember quite clearly taking the O.W.L.s in June. We are happy to announce that your grades have come in. The following is a list of your grades and the corresponding subject next to it:
A.........................History of Magic
A..................................Divination
E..................................Herbology
O..........Defense Against the Dark Arts
E.....................................Charms
O................Care of Magical Creatures
O............................Transfiguration
E......................................Potions
Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
(Head of Gryffindor House)"
Harry certainly was shocked by how well he had done. He knew that he wasn't going to do too good on Divination because he didn't like it and History of Magic because he didn't really care that much about it. He looked up at Hermione and saw that she was ecstatic. She had most likely gotten "outstanding" on every single exam (which would come as no surprise to anyone).
"Well?" asked Harry.
"I aced everything! You?"
"I did pretty well. I passed potions with an "E"; I don't believe it!"
"I'll bet you anything Dumbledore finally put a stop to Snape failing you on purpose; otherwise you probably wouldn't have done so well," remarked Hermione.
Harry had to agree with this. Snape would have never given Harry anything above an "A", not even if the potion was perfect. Either Dumbledore had interfered or...
"I know why, Hermione! Snape didn't grade the exams, remember? It was the testers who graded our papers."
"Oh yeah. They were bound to grade fairly. Well, that's a relief. Let's get going, we'll look at the book lists later. We've got a couple of months!" said Hermione.
"Wait, there's still something else in my envelope...besides the book list, I mean," said Harry, a little confused.
"Well, what is it?"
Harry pulled it out in wonderment. He unfolded it and read the following: "Dear Harry,
Since I have become Headmaster at Hogwarts once again, I have been undoing many changes that were put into effect by Dolores Umbridge (who shall no longer be teaching at this institution). One of these changes brought to my attention was your lifetime ban from the sport Quidditch. After reviewing Umbridge's report of events and taking eyewitness reports from my fellow staff, I have come to the conclusion that there are charges to be pressed, yes. But these charges are by no means severe enough to ban you from the field. I hereby declare your ban invalid and grant you the position of seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team once again, now that Ginny Weasley has resigned and wishes to try out for a chaser. You are also the most credible pick for team Captaincy, so I give that to you also. Enjoy your holidays and stay clear of trouble!
Albus Dumbledore
(Current Headmaster of Hogwarts)"
"Yes!" said Harry and Hermione together. Hermione had been reading over Harry's shoulder on tip-toes.
"That's great, Harry! I knew Dumbledore would put you back on the team. Ready to go, then?"
"Yeah, let's get out of here," said Harry, feeling very happy.
The two of them walked from the house together and began their way down the street. The theater wasn't all that far away. Surprisingly, they were going to go see a movie that starred a 13-year-old wizard boy who was being followed by a supposed murderer. The story seemed quite familiar to Harry and Hermione and the film had premiered only a couple of weeks ago in the middle of June.
In the middle of their walk Hermione randomly grabbed Harry's hand in hers. Harry was rather surprised by this and looked at her questioningly. Neither of them had mentioned how they had woken up intertwined yet.
"Harry, did you intentionally wrap your arm around me last night?" asked Hermione innocently.
Harry thought for a minute. What if she wants me to say yes? If I say no, will she be disappointed? A little cautious, Harry responded,
"Well, I don't remember doing it. I'm really sorry if you feel violated or anything. I'll sleep on the floor from now on if you want me to," said Harry nervously. He secretly didn't want her to say that she wanted him to sleep on the floor. Harry had given in to the voice in his head; he was completely in love with Hermione. But Harry had no idea how this had happened. He had thought that they were just friends and nothing more. Harry started thinking about what others would think about them together; people like Ron.
Harry always felt like Ron had a thing for Hermione, but he wasn't sure if she felt the same way.
"Apparently not," said the voice. "She's holding your hand right now!"
Harry then realized how good the tender, soft skin of Hermione's hand against his felt like absolute heaven. He was so lost in his nerves and so conscious about his sweaty hand that he almost didn't hear Hermione say,
"Actually Harry, I liked it a lot when you were holding me. It's something that I've always secretly wanted from you," said Hermione in a tone that suggested that she couldn't believe that what was happening was happening.
"Well, I liked it too, Hermione, and I've just realized that I really like you too."
With that, Harry laced his fingers through hers with no question and they walked happily to the theater.
The rest of the summer went by in daze that was very warm and romantic. Harry and Hermione could seem to believe their luck. They were in love and had virtually the whole summer together alone. They passed the days having picnics in the park, swimming at a nearby lake, and sitting together in the theater looking at movies, but not really watching them (they were looking at each other more than the screen). They also finished up their homework together, or rather Hermione helped Harry finish his because she, as Harry had predicted, had finished hers within the first week of the vacation.
Finally it was coming down to the last week of the holidays and Mr. and Mrs. Granger were planning a day when they could drop Harry Hermione off at Diagon Alley for the day so that they could get their supplies and maybe see Ron and the rest of the Weasleys. Harry and Hermione had been in contact with Ron and he was rather disappointed that they weren't coming, but did promise that they would see him at Diagon Alley.
It was the night before they were heading out to Diagon Alley and Harry and Hermione were in her room. They had just finished dinner and were lying on the bed just staring at the ceiling. They were going to have to pack in a couple of days, but they weren't too worried about that. The mysterious writer hadn't written since his first letter, so they were thoroughly convinced that it was all just a hoax. If only Harry listened to that voice in his head, he might have known better...might have been more aware. But he wasn't listening to the voice warning him to write to Dumbledore at the moment. He was instead staring dreamily into Hermione's eyes.
"Well, it's been quite a good summer if you ask me," said Harry. He draped his arm over Hermione as he had done the first night he had arrived and many nights in-between. Hermione shuddered a little and pulled Harry closer.
"Yes, it has been a very good summer," she had put emphasis on the word very.
The two of them lied there a little longer looking at each other before Harry started contemplating something in his mind. Should I kiss her? Would she want me to kiss her? What if she gets angry?
Harry couldn't deal with the pressure so he just trusted his instinct. He looked back at Hermione. She seemed to know what he was about to do so she closed her eyes and waited. Harry instinctively closed his eyes and then slowly brought his lips to hers. She tasted wonderful, like mint because she had just brushed her teeth. Her lips were smooth and warm against his. He held the kiss a little bit longer before breaking the connection. Hermione opened her eyes and stared at him with pleasure in her eyes. She hugged him tight and said,
"Thank you, Harry. That was absolutely wonderful."
Then they just fell asleep in each others arms.
"Way to go, Harry!" said the voice in his head.