My Heart Belongs To You…Again

Chapter Twenty-One: Period

Hermione could've jumped out of her skin; one more day and Harry would be home! She did anything and everything to try and make the day go faster. She tried to keep herself busy, but no matter what she did, she would constantly look at the closest clock. She finally gave up and just relaxed, realizing tomorrow would come when it came.

Dobby popped his head into Harry's room, noticing Hermione was pacing yet again. He stayed where he was but cleared his throat. "Miss Hermione lunch is ready. Would Miss like Dobby to bring Miss's lunch up to Mr. Harry's room?" Hermione jumped and quit pacing, calming down after she saw it was Dobby.

"Um…no actually. Would it be all right if I ate in the kitchen? It'll just be me otherwise and it's too quiet." Dobby had a huge smile on his face.

"We House Elves would love having Miss in the kitchen! Come, come!" He jumped up and headed out the door, causing Hermione to laugh. She quickly followed him, still smiling. She walked into the kitchen, all the elves turning their attention to her, causing her to blush. Dobby stood proud and announced her. "Miss Hermione is eating in the kitchen!"

All the House Elves had big eyes and even bigger smiles. Hermione blushed even more and laughed nervously. "Hello."

Dobby led her over to a seat and grabbed her lunch. Hermione laughed, noticing yet again how much the House Elves love working hard to keep Harry's guests happy. She had a large bowl of cheesy potato soup and a big veggie sandwich, just the way she liked it. Dobby stared at her when she took her first bite, almost as though praying it would be better than he thought I was.

Hermione's mouth watered as always and she smiled. "Yet again, it's very, very delicious. You are great cooks, I can tell you that." Dobby smiled.

"Thank-you Miss Hermione. We House Elves are glad to please Mr. Harry and his guests." Hermione smiled, continuing to eat the delicious food. Dobby was about to walk away when Hermione stopped him.

"Hey Dobby, what's it like to work for Harry?' Dobby turned and beamed, obviously very proud to talk about Harry.

"Oh Mr. Harry is just wonderful to us House Elves. We House Elves get treated very well. We get paid if we wish, the work is simple, and we even get time off if we want! Dobby was Mr. Harry's first House Elf and Dobby doesn't want pay. Dobby is proud enough to serve the great Mr. Harry Potter without money!"

Hermione smiled. Just like Harry to pay and be the best to even House Elves. Dobby noticed she was smiling so he smiled too. "Mr. Harry talked about Miss Hermione before she came back. Mr. Harry was always upset, even if Mr. Harry wouldn't show it. He always missed his Miss Hermione."

Hermione cracked a tiny smile. "It was mutual. Wait…he used to talk about me?"

Dobby smiled and started nodding. "Miss Hermione was always talked about. Mr. Harry would even talk to Dobby about Miss Hermione. Dobby has never seen Mr. Harry this happy since Dobby worked at Hogwarts!"

Hermione just sat there, unsure of what to do next. She knew Harry had missed her; he had told her that. But hearing it from someone else who had been with Harry practically everyday was just a totally different feeling. Dobby just kept his smiling. "Thank-you Miss Hermione for making Mr. Harry so happy. We House Elves are very happy that Miss and Mr. Harry are back together."

Hermione looked at the smiling elf and chuckled. "Thanks Dobby. That really means a lot to me. I'm glad I can make Harry happy. I hope I always can."

Dobby turned to walk away, stopping after a few steps. "Miss always will. Mr. Harry isn't happy unless Miss is around." Hermione just sat there, stunned by his words, truly unsure of what to do. She thought of Harry and a smile grew on her face. She finally finished eating, trying to figure out what else to do to try to waste time.

Harry had never been so happy to see his home. He rushed into the house, hoping to be able to see Hermione. He had no idea if she was there or not, but he couldn't wait to find out. He dropped his stuff by the door, looking up when he heard a noise, seeing Dobby's tiny head poke out of the kitchen door. Dobby just looked at Harry and smiled. "Mr. Harry sir! Welcome home!"

Harry smiled and looked around the room. "Thanks Dobby…it's so great to finally be home. Everything here go ok? No problems?"

Dobby didn't lose his smile for a second. "No sir…Mr. Parker from next door and Miss Burk came to Mr. Harry's house but Miss Hermione took care of them."

Harry's eyes light up. "Hermione was here? Did she stay here often?" Dobby's smile grew even larger.

"Yes Mr. Harry sir. Miss Hermione never left. Miss is upstairs in Mr. Harry's room now." Harry looked upstairs, smiled at Dobby, and basically ran upstairs. He stopped briefly at the open door that led to his bedroom, just peering inside. He smiled as he noticed a sleeping Hermione lying peaceful on her side, hugging his pillow. He just leaned against the doorframe for a few moments, taking her in.

Harry finally walked over to the bed, softly lying behind her, facing the same direction she was. He carefully wrapped his arm around her waist, resting his head on his other elbow. He moved her hair and planted small, gentle kisses on her neck. She stirred slightly, very slowly opening her eyes. She turned her head, gasping as she saw Harry, who just smiled at her. "Hi beautiful."

Hermione could've killed him. She sat up and wrapped him in the biggest hug she could. "How long have you been here?" He chuckled, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"I just got here. I really didn't want to wake you. I'm sorry." It was Hermione's turn to chuckle. She pulled away and just looked at him.

"I would've kicked your ass if I had to wait to see you one more day." She smiled and hugged him again. "I'm so glad you're home. I missed you so much."

Harry kissed her cheek and smiled. "You have no idea. So what did I miss here?" Hermione laughed.

"Not much…I got to meet Jack again. He seems like a pretty nice guy." Harry didn't say anything, but Hermione could tell he wasn't the happiest. "Is that ok?"

Harry snapped out of it. "Yeah that's fine. I'm just not sure about the guy. Not to be the jealousy boyfriend or anything…" He winked at her, making her blush. "…there's just something about him I don't like. But if you think he's a nice guy, I'll take your word for it. Just be careful around him ok? For me?" She smiled and nodded.

"Sarah stopped by too. Now that's a person I don't trust." Harry sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. "There's some event happening at the club you really like. I don't know what it is, I thought you could decide if you wanted to go or not. Sarah's after you, Harry. She wants you back really bad."

Surprisingly, Harry just smiled, causing Hermione to get rather scared. "Well she'll have to learn that she can't have me. I'm yours. Period." Hermione just smiled and hugged him again. Harry pulled out of the hug and kissed her. She smiled against his lips, glad to be able to do it again, knowing she could now, whenever she wanted.