Disclaimer: I have decided I will play tough with JK. I will not give up my Derek Jeter rookie card, damnit. The man was one of my childhood heroes. So, as of now, I still do not own any Harry Potter content. But when it comes to negotiating, I have experience. And patience. A man can accomplish anything if he has those.
Chapter 47
"Are you enjoying your last day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" Harry asked as he stretched out his arms, leaning against a tree in a comfortable sitting position.
"I would enjoy it a lot more if you didn't mention that it was our last day every five minutes." Hermione glowered at him, crossing her arms. Harry glanced down at the girl who was resting her head on his thigh and smirked. "Can't we just enjoy the moment?" She pleaded.
"This moment that you painstakingly scheduled in the itinerary that you made for today?" Harry teased, to which Hermione huffed. "I'm only messing with you. I think it's very thoughtful that you planned out our entire day."
"I didn't plan out the entire day." She stuck her tongue out at him. "I only planned out that we spend some time on the grounds, and then we go to the Astronomy Tower at dusk."
"So there's plenty of room for us to be spontaneous?"
"Of course. Why? Is there something you'd like to do?"
"No, just wondering." Harry mused.
"Is there anything you want to do?"
"Well, yes." Harry averted his eyes. "But I want you to enjoy today."
"Harry, I'm serious, if there's something you want to do, we can do it. We can – MMPH!" She cried out in surprise as Harry leaned in and kissed her, relishing the feeling of her lips on his. "Mmm…" She moaned slightly as she slowly began to kiss him back. He felt his lips curve up into a smile as he pulled away after only a moment, pride soaring through him at the sight of Hermione looking ready to faint from happiness. She blushed as he stared at her, ducking her head and taking a few shaky-sounding breaths. "That was rather cheeky of you."
"You said we could do anything I want." He said smugly, leaning back against the tree and turning to face the castle. "So, what's next on the itinerary?"
"We have a bit of time before our next event." She said coyly, scooting across the grass until she was sitting next to him, an impish twinkle in her eye. Before Harry knew it she had lunged at him, forcing his back into the trunk of the oak tree behind him as she kissed him tenaciously. It was Harry's turn to melt into the kiss as her impossibly soft lips turned his brain into putty. The bark of the tree jabbed into his skin and his neck cramped slightly at the awkward positioning, but Harry wouldn't dream of moving at all. As far as he was concerned, he could forgo lunch. He could even forgo the last dinner he'd have at Hogwarts until September if it meant he got to stay there with Hermione, with this indescribable feeling of elation percolating into his veins, into every fiber of his being.
"Just how long are you planning on staying up here?" Harry asked as he and Hermione continued to ascend the tallest staircase in all of Hogwarts. "I mean, I'm all for watching the sunset and stuff, but why did you make me bring a blanket? You're not planning on sleeping here, are you?"
"I wasn't, no." Hermione said innocently, but she leaned into his side with a shy smile. "But there's plenty of room in the itinerary for us to be spontaneous."
"You're unbelievable." Harry muttered, shaking his head with a smile. They reached the top of the stairs and stopped in their tracks, awestruck by the sunset that was all around them. With no trees to inhibit their view of the horizon, no buildings, no nothing, they had a panoramic view of the fiery orange sun slowly drifting to below the horizon, inching out of sight. They had arrived just in time to see the sky lit up in shades of pink and red and yellow that only exist during sunsets.
"It's beautiful." Hermione finally broke the silence, unable to pry her eyes away from the sky. Harry was still too mesmerized to speak and just nodded silently. He carefully moved the blanket he was holding in his right hand to his left so he could drape his right arm across Hermione's shoulders. He felt her let out a content sigh as she nestled into his side, wrapping an arm around his waist.
Harry stared, even as the sun grew smaller and dimmer and as twilight began to overtake the sky, in total awe. "It's just like – "
"Like the Forest of Dean." Hermione finished his sentence, beaming even as she kept her eyes on the horizon. "And just like that day on the beach. In Cannes."
"Yeah…" Harry said quietly.
Eventually, the sun was swallowed up by the horizon, and Hermione reminded Harry about what they'd brought. He took the gigantic scarlet and gold blanket in his hand and let it billow out before settling it in the middle of the platform. Hermione happily turned and sat down, gazing up at the stars that twinkled into view above them. She patted the space next to her and Harry slowly moved next to her, his eyes equally drawn to the night sky.
"More stars than Cannes." Hermione mused, lying on her back. Harry nodded, too absorbed in the various constellations above him to notice she'd changed positions. He felt a hand on his shoulder, but before he could turn his head he felt himself yanked down with unexpected vigor. He was certain he'd need to go to the Hospital Wing if they weren't lying on an incredibly thick blanket. He met Hermione's eyes, which were twinkling mischievously before she scooted closer to him, pressing her shoulder against his and taking his hand. "You brought the map, right?"
"Yeah." Harry smirked, extracting the folded parchment from his pocket and muttering a familiar vow of declaration of disobedience. "Nobody's coming this way. Everyone's in their common rooms except the Prefects and a few couples."
"Like who?" Hermione giggled, snuggling up against him so she could better view the map. "Ooh, Fred and Angelina. They make quite the Quidditch power couple, don't they?"
"That could be us, but you're too scared to fly." Harry sighed with mock dejection, earning him a swat on the chest.
"I am not scared of flying. If I was scared of flying I wouldn't have rode Buckbeak with you, right?"
"I seem to remember you mumbling over and over about how much you weren't enjoying the flight." Harry said pensively, not taking his eyes off the map. "It's okay to be scared. We all have our limits."
"I'm not scared." Hermione grumbled.
"Regardless," Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes, "I don't mind it that much. There are some good things about you being scared of flying, you know. You held onto me for dear life, and it was nice to have you hold me like that." He felt his face grow a bit warm, but he didn't let his embarrassment manifest beyond that.
"Maybe I'm not scared of flying." She sighed. "Maybe I just pretended so that I had an excuse to snuggle up against you."
"As much as I want that to be true, I know you're just being too stubborn to admit that you're scared of flying." Harry said matter-of-factly, his eyes still roving the map.
"Shut up." Harry didn't need to look over to know Hermione was blushing.
"No, really, it's alright. We all have our limits, you just happen – " He didn't even cry out in surprise when Hermione grabbed him by the chin and tilted her face towards hers. He just smiled to himself before she pulled him into a quick kiss. He was able to feel her lips curve into a small smile as she pulled away. He laid there silently, still facing her with a dazed expression on his face.
"Ever since I found out I can do that to get you to shut up…" She giggled, and this time Harry let his eyes roll.
"Because you're so coherent after I kiss you." He smirked, tilting his chin up defiantly. They were both on their sides now, ignoring the stars in the sky, glittering like crystals on a surface of black marble. The two of them were now completely indifferent to the scene above them. Harry felt completely enchanted by Hermione's eyes, only lit up by the faint bulb of light emerging from his wand when he'd muttered "Lumos" to read the Marauder's Map.
"I think my level of brain function after you kiss me is significantly higher than yours when I kiss you." She fired back. Harry raised his eyebrows, and she shrugged nonchalantly. "It's okay, really. We all have our limits." She said coquettishly. Harry thought about retorting with something equally witty and playful, but instead opted to demonstrate that Hermione Granger was wrong about something, a truly rare occurrence.
He leaned in, watching her eyes widen in pleasant surprise before fluttering his own shut and pressing his lips against hers. He lingered for only a moment, pulling back slightly only to come back with a vengeance, fully intending to turn her brain into mush like she was capable of doing to him so easily. He kissed her fiercely, smiling internally as he lifted his hand up and cradled the back of her head. Based on how eagerly she was reciprocating the kiss, he was certain she had no intention of going anywhere, but he held his hand against her hair tightly, letting her bushy mane engulf his fingers as he kept her still. She let out a purr for the second time that day, this one much deeper and much longer, and he knew he had achieved his goal.
After a few moments that seemed to last him a lifetime, Harry pulled back and, as casually as he could, picked up the Marauder's Map and returned to perusing it. As much as his lungs wanted him to gasp for air, he kept his breathing steady, silently chuckling as Hermione panted next to him. He glanced over and saw her eyes were completely glazed over as she stared at the stars, her chest heaving and her fingers drumming against her thighs excitedly. She looked ready to melt into the blanket.
"I rest my case." He whispered with a smug smile. Hermione whimpered in response, still exuding frenzied excitement. After a while she returned to real life, turning back on her side and wrapping an arm around Harry's stomach so she could pull herself closer.
"Call it a draw?" She said under her breath, adjusting her position so she could rest her head against his upper arm.
"Mischief managed." He grinned, folding up the map and bridging the last bit of space between his body and Hermione's. "You know, as excited as I am to spend the summer with Sirius, I'm going to miss not spending pretty much every minute with you."
"You'll get through it." Hermione teased, craning her neck and planting a soft kiss on his cheek. "Me, on the other hand, I think I'm going to be a nervous wreck."
"You'll be fine." Harry laughed, bringing his far hand up to brush a few of Hermione's curls behind her ear. She fluttered her eyelashes as she did so, giving him a shy but nonetheless dazzling smile. "Plus, you deserve some quality time with your parents. I've been a thorn in their sides for two summers now, it's only fair – "
"Stop that!" Hermione giggled, playfully flicking him on the forehead. "My parents love you. You know that."
"But do they love the fact that I snog their daughter senseless every chance I get…" He sighed, stroking his chin in mock reflectiveness. "That is the question."
"You better not mention anything like that when you see them at King's Cross tomorrow." She warned him, despite a shy smile pulling on her lips. "I need to be able to convince them to let me visit you and Sirius during the summer. And you are coming down to Crawley. Many times."
"Many times?" Harry grinned again. "I like the sound of that."
"But I'm still writing to you every day, and I fully expect you to do the same." She reminded him, her tone suggesting that he didn't want to know what would happen to him if he didn't do as she said. "I had some owl treats delivered home so that Hedwig won't mind it as much. But you're sending me at least one letter every day."
"Yes ma'am." Harry sighed. Hermione flicked him again, but they both laughed merrily at themselves. "Do you want to know what I'm looking forward to the least this summer? Besides not being with you every second?"
"What?"
"Sirius is going to tease the living shit out of me." Harry groaned. Hermione giggled, but nodded her head in understanding. "The letter he sent the other day, with the pictures of Grimmauld Place? He went off for a whole paragraph about how hilarious it was to see us all flustered when we kissed after I cast that Patronus by the lake. It was like torture to read it."
"Oh, poor Harry Potter." Hermione cooed sarcastically, crawling upwards a bit do that she could hover her face right next to his. "Getting to spend the summer with his awesome godfather, who happens to be enormously wealthy, and visiting his girlfriend every chance he gets. All nullified because said awesome godfather is going to poke fun at him for being with said girlfriend."
"Oh, be quiet." Harry rolled his eyes before Hermione kissed him on the cheek again. Then she did it again. And again, her lips inching towards his with each peck. "Getting it all out of your system now?" He teased. Hermione looked ready to retaliate with her own roguish remark but he cut her off by subjecting her to a barrage of kisses of his own, trying to cover every square inch of her face with his lips.
"Harry!" She giggled, falling away and rolling onto her back. He followed, turning to his side and grinning like an idiot before resuming his siege. "Harry, you're being awfully – MMPH!" She gasped as he locked lips with her, only to pull back and give her a self-satisfied smile. "You're being awfully affectionate tonight." She blushed, running her fingers over her lips and smiling to herself.
"I'm going to miss you, that's all." He shrugged, returning to his back. Her blush deepened as she returned to her original position, cuddled up against his side and resting her head just below his shoulder.
"I'm going to miss you too, Harry. A lot." She hummed, tilting her head so she could look up at him.
"We'll be alright, though." He whispered, giving her a reassuring smile that she happily returned. "Just remember," he pointed up to the moon above them, and Hermione followed his finger with great interest, "every time you look up at the moon, I too will be looking at a moon. Not the same moon, obviously, because that's impossible. But still." He laughed to himself.
"How in the world did you pass Astronomy?" Hermione huffed, trembling with barely-stifled giggles at his horrible joke.
"My study buddy was really cute." He smirked, tilting his head so he could kiss the crown of Hermione's head. She made a very faint noise in her throat, turning once he pulled away to show that she was blushing more than ever.
"You're sweet." She whispered, before snuggling even closer to them. She drew her wand, pointing it to the end of the blanket and muttering a quiet "Wingardium Leviosa", lifting the edge and draping it over the two of them to shield them from any nighttime chills. Harry felt himself break out into the most content smile he'd had all day as he closed his eyes, feeling Hermione shift slightly before letting out a quiet exhale. Her breathing evened out just a few moments before he succumbed to his own fatigue. He imagined how his roommates were probably snoring away in the Gryffindor dormitory at that very moment, and decided he was very glad he and Hermione had been spontaneous.
A/N: Yeah, I swiped the moon line from Parks & Rec. But I love that show – and that line – way too much, I just couldn't resist. This was some fluff that's been sitting in the vault for a while now, so I hope you enjoyed it. And by vault I mean I had this chapter mostly planned out but couldn't get around to properly writing it out. The next chapter will be the first days of the summer, featuring Harry, Sirius, Lupin, and another one of my favorite characters in the whole wide world of Harry Potter. I'm very excited.
Hey, to all of you incredible, amazing, wonderful, brilliant individuals who have been so kind to leave kind reviews, favorite this story, and follow it, I love you all. You guys are amazing. I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I wanted to squeeze in a bit of Hogwarts fluff before the summer so I hope you liked it. Anyways, thank you all, and stay safe!