Title: Love on the Run
Written for a Fic Challenge on Portkey

Harry and Hermione made their way up the few short stairs to the front door of Number 12, Grimmauld Place having finished their daily morning run just after sunrise. Their moments were slow and stiff and their breath labored.

Hermione turned around and sat on the top step. "I honestly don't see how you're still on your feet, Harry. I feel like I've been under the Taratallegra spell for an hour straight."

Harry just stood, leaning against the door. "The difference is that I've been doing this for a month now. This is only your third day. Moody and Tonks came up to me and offered PT since my first day at the Dursleys." Harry slumped his shoulders, dropped his head, and sighed. "It's been a good way to keep my mind from thinking about what I did to Sirius."

Hermione stood and walked to Harry, touching his shoulder to comfort him. "Harry, it wasn't your fault, and deep down you know it. So it's best not to dwell on it."

"Yeah, I know. I just can't help but think about it sometimes." Harry drew a deep breath in an attempt to regain his composure and looked his friend in the eye again. "Well, we better hurry up and get inside. If Mrs. Weasley sees out in the open like this, she'll go spare." The two entered the house sharing a comfortable smile and made their way to the kitchen for a drink.

After taking a few bottles of chilled water from the charmed icebox, the pair of teens settled themselves on opposite ends of the sofa in the drawing room. Hermione spoke first, breaking the easy silence. "Harry, did Ron ever tell you why he didn't go with us on our runs after the first day? He told me that he wanted to use the time to study. Like I'm going to buy that story."

Harry chuckled before speaking, "No, he hasn't said a word to me about it. But he still swears that his legs are going to fall off any day now. He's just not a morning person I guess. Ever since I've known Ron, he's valued two things above all else: Sleep and food."

"Too true." Hermione grinned for a second, but her face suddenly contorted into a grimace as she straightened her leg on the sofa and let out a pained hiss and growl.

"What's wrong Hermione?"

Hermione gave out another pain-induced hiss. "I've got a cramp in the arch on my foot!"

Without a moments' thought, Harry reacted quickly, pulling off her sock and trainer and began massaging her foot. Hermione's painful face began to relax and sighed in relief as the pain began to fade. "Oooh, that feels good. A little lower…mmm. Much better."

Her tone changed to one of cheekiness, "If I didn't know better Mr. Potter, I'd say you have a pair of magical hands—Pun intended."

"How about we put your hypothesis to test." Harry said with a playful smile and continued in a husky voice. "Roll over."

From Harry's POV

"Roll over," I told her.

"Is she…blushing! No, no, no. That can't be it. Hermione doesn't blush, at least not that I've ever seen. Her face is probably still flushed from the run this morning."

"I'm… uh, quite comfortable where I am, thank you."

"That's my 'Mia-- Stubborn as ever. Sometimes you don't know what's good for you, do you?"

"It wasn't a request," I told her firmly. I then turned foot over in my hand to let her know that I was serious. She looked a little surprised but complied. I then stripped her other foot of its shoe and sock and started rubbing the foot that had the cramp.

"You should start feeling better after today, 'Mia. The third day was the worst for me, and after about two weeks, you shouldn't be sore anymore at all," I told her after few minutes had passed. I felt her tense up for a second before turning her body fully to look at me. She her pierced though me as if I had done something wrong.

"What did you just say?" She asked.

Not liking the tone of her voice, I replied, "I said, 'The third day was the worst for me. You shouldn't be so achy after today.'"

"No, no, no. Not that. You didn't call me by my name. What did you just call me?" She asked, firing another question.

Inwardly I cringed, bracing myself for the onslaught that was to come. I knew she hated people butchering her name and all that, but was that harmless little nickname really that bad?

"Oh that. I, um… I called you 'Mia.," I hesitantly admitted.

Silence, they say, is golden, but I would settle for pewter or bronze at this point. And she's frowning, not good…

"Hermione? Are you okay? Hello?"

"Oh bloody hell, this is not good at all."

"Hermione? I asked if you were okay?"

She jumped briefly before answering, "Oh… Oh yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking. That's all."

I started to try and explain myself, "I… I'm sorry Hermione; I should've asked you first. It was just a name I thought of when I was thinking of you when summer started, well not that I was thinking of you all the time—well, I guess I thought of you quite a bit." Harry took a quick breath to get back on track, "But anyway, you have a long name, and I just wanted to come up with a nickname that I thought sort of fit you, and well… that's how I came up with it."

"Merlin, that was lame—even by my standards. At least I won't be on the receiving end of one of Ginny's famous Bat Bogey Hexes… or will I?"

"So do you mind if I call you that sometimes?"

Like the dawning of a new day, her face finally broke into a smile and my worries just seemed to melt away. "No, I don't mind. Just don't do it around anyone else, okay? If Ron found out, I'd never hear the end of it."

"I wish she'd smile like that more often. God, she's beautiful when she smiles. Of course she's beautiful all of the time, but that smile just leaves me so… so… speechless."

"Deal."

She rolled back over with a wide smile on her face, and I went back to massaging her feet.

Hermione's POV

"Roll over."

The tone of Harry's voice caused a shock to run straight down my spine and a quick, cold shiver came over me, followed by a round of goosebumps. I felt my cheeks reddened as I looked away from him and toward the fireplace and lowered my head just a bit so the sides of my hair would cover my face. I said, "I'm… uh, quite comfortable where I am, thank you," but my thoughts betray me.

"Dammit Hermione, why did you say that. You know you'd like nothing better. The mere thought of his hands all over me like that….mmm. No! Don't go there! He's your best friend."

The husky voice firmly went on, "It wasn't a request." I then saw and felt him slowly but gently turn my foot, forcing me to roll over to my stomach. I was totally stunned and did so without argument and immediately became lost in my own thoughts when Harry removed my other shoe and started massaging by sore feet again.

"What was that voice about. I've never heard him use that tone of voice. And those eyes, Mmm… I don't think I've ever seen them so bright. Merlin's beard, I could get lost in those eyes. And oh Lord that body, what earth have they been feeding him this summer. Wait a second. What did he just say?"

"…after about two weeks, you shouldn't be sore anymore at all," I heard as I caught the tail end of Harry's thought and rolled over to look at him squarely.

"What did you just say?" I asked incredulously.

He looked at me with a little apprehension, "I said, 'The third day was the worst for me. You shouldn't be so achy after today.'"

"No, no, no. Not that. You didn't call me by my name. What did you call me?" I asked.

Harry's face dawned in comprehension and then he started looking embarrassed and a little anxious, "Oh that. I, um… I called you 'Mia." His eyes narrowed a little, as if bracing for a blow.

"Why would he call me that? I mean, I've had my name butchered in many ways over the years: 'Herm, Hermy, Hermit, Hermit the Frog, Ninny, Neenee', among others. I guess Mia isn't so bad. Besides, it sounded cute coming from Harry.

Harry voice broke me from my thoughts, "Hermione, I asked if you were okay?"

Somewhat startled, I replied, "Oh… Oh yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking. That's all."

Harry started stammering, "I… I'm sorry Hermione; I should've asked you first. It was just a name I thought of when I was thinking of you when summer started, well not that I was thinking of you all the time—well, I guess I thought of you quite a bit." Harry took a quick breath to get back on track, "But anyway, you have a long name, and I just wanted to come up with a nickname that I thought sort of fit you, and well… that's how I came up with it."

"That was kind of a lame finish to the story, but it was cute. Well, it did come from Harry."

"So do you mind if I call you that sometimes?" Harry asked, still looking like he was waiting for the other shoe to fall.

I flashed him a genuine and sweet smile and Harry's face lightened a bit, "No, I don't mind. Just don't do it around anyone else, okay? If Ron found out, I'd never hear the end of it."

Harry looked like he was the happiest he had been all summer, "Deal."

I rolled back over as he resumed attending to my aching feet.

Harry's POV

As she rolled back over, I couldn't help but smile. "If she only knew how deeply I feel for her."

I switched from one foot to the other and then made my way up her left calf and to her lower thigh. "Merlin, her skin is so soft."

That's when it hit me. I am alone with the girl I love more than life itself, running my hands all over body and she has nothing on but a pair of high cut running shorts and a form-fitting t-shirt. "Oh, boy. Calm down, Harry and just keep going."

She realized that I had stopped and she tensed. She turned her head to the side and spoke in a soothing voice to calm my nerves, "It's alright Harry. I trust you."

I began to rub again, but I will was still nervous beyond belief. I needed to find a way to relax and so did Hermione. Her muscles felt tighter under my hands than they were minutes ago.

"I've got it!"

"Hermione, I want you to try something I read in a book about relaxation techniques that I got from Tonks this summer. I want you to visualize something with me."

She gave a noncommittal 'OK' before I rambled on. "I want you to listen only to the sound of my voice and the touch of my hands. I want you to picture in your mind what I am describing to you.

"Picture yourself laying on a towel in your most comfortable swimsuit on the white sandy of a small tropical island. The sun is the middle of the sky above, and it's around 30° C (86° F for us Yanks.) You can see the clear blue waters as you open your eyes to look down the shoreline from your position. You can hear the waves breaking on rocks behind you as they make their way to the shore. You hear a seagull call out every now and again as you feel you body soaking up the warmth coming the high sun. You are at complete peace with your surroundings. You take a deep breath in through your nose and can smell the salty sea air as it passes through your nose and exhale slowly through your mouth. You can hear a gentle breeze blowing over the palm leaves as they rustle against one another high above your head. You can feel the breeze flowing over your skin causing you to shiver slightly as goosebumps begin coming the surface of your skin."

Up to this point, Hermione had settled into a slow and deep breathing pattern, and I felt her increasingly relax under my touch. After gathering each breath, she let it out in a pleasurable "Mmm" or "Ooooh." At this point, I felt like my body and in particular, my hands were on fire, but I couldn't stop. At the mention of the breeze and goosebumps, she gave a slight shiver and I saw the telltale bumps on her arms. Feeling them as I ran my hands slowly over her arms caused a slight shiver in me as well—although for totally different reasons. I felt pleased with myself so far as she had fallen into the vision exactly as I had asked her.

"I want you now to focus on the touch of my hands. I am going to start pushing all of the tension out of your body one limb at a time. The tension in your legs will be pushed out through your toes and the tension in your back, arms, and neck will be leaving you through your fingertips."

I position myself to where I sit at her waist-level, facing her feet. I push my hands down her leg with increased pressure much like one would squeeze a tube of toothpaste flat as I restart my monologue. "Feel my hands as I push them down your leg. See and feel the tension your leg from above as I begin to push it all down your leg and toward your toes. Watch as the tension flows from your toes and into the air and then evaporates into thin air." Her leg had some tension to it as I went along and then visibly relaxed as I finally reached her toes with medium, overlapping strokes. I proceeded to do the same with her other leg, and repeated my ministrations on her back, neck and arms as I pushed the deep massage all the way down to her fingers.

After I finished, I lay down beside her and wrapped my arm over the small of her back. She appeared to be asleep, but she slowly opened her eyes. Her mouth broke into a large, lazy smile and her mocha-brown eyes sparkled with a look that I had never seen before. She looked at peace.

She spoke to me easily and quietly, "Harry, I don't think I've ever felt so good in my entire life."

I wanted to tell her now. I wanted to tell her everything, and I knew there would never be a better time. I was barely able to speak over the lump in my throat. "Do you really want to know why I call you 'Mia?"

She gave slow nod and bit her lip in the endearing way that I love.

"It's short for two things. The first is 'Hermione.' The second is 'mi amor,' which means 'my love' in Spanish." I took another deep, steadying breath. "I love you, 'Mia"

The tears began falling freely from her eyes as she rolled to her side and leisurely pulled me into a soft embrace and placed a soft kiss on my lips. She pulled back and looked into my eyes once again, "I love you too, Harry."

All I remember that day was how we stayed in each other's arms for what felt like hours as we looked into one another's eyes and exchanging soft kisses. No words were exchanged, but volumes were spoken between us.

-- Fin.