Shades of Grey
By: Destiny's Darkness
Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I wouldn't be posting my story here. Publishers would be arguing over me. Please observe the lack of agents running around. Just rub it in, why don't you?
Chapter Six
Hermione lost control. A rare occurrence at best, she allowed her thoughts to drift as she moved instinctively, gyrating her body in response to the pleasure whashing through her. She'd not done this in far too long—she missed it. Missed the passion, the heat, the feel of another body so close, his hands on her. The rush, hmmm…, she'd forgotten how that rush could make everything in the world seem better. Enemies could become friends, friends could become lovers, or like now, strangers became intimate acquaintances. She arched her back, leaning away and simultaneously wrapping herself more securely around him. She felt her partner shift, letting her know of his intention to turn her. She'd have to remember to thank Dani later, when she wasn't so… occupied.
"Having fun?"
Gazing at him, Hermione realized her eyes were slightly enfocused. "Mmmm, yes. I'm still not sure why it's been so long since I've last done this. I just always forget how erotic it can be. When I tell people about this, they treat me like an old fogey. I mean, ballroom dancing?" She laughed trying to imitate their disbelief.
Her partner grinned. "Idiots. You should come here more often, though. We have salsa until nine every Monday night." He began an intricate series of steps, trusting their energy and momentum to carry them through, then letting them both catch their breathe in the quick pose at the end.
"You said, "we"? Do you work here then?"
"Sometimes." He paused to focus on the next spin. "I'm one of the dancers here."
"Really? One of the ones they pay to keep people on the floor?"
He raised an eyebrow, surprised to find she know what he meant.
"I considered doing that during breaks for a while. Seemed like an easy job."
"It can be. Nights like tonight," he nodded his head at the impressive crowd on the dance floor, "it's not too bad. You can stop, talk to people, grab a drink or two. You can stop, talk to people, grab a drink or two. But a slow night? No way. I've seen people fired for running to grab a bottle of water. Gotta stay on the floor."
"People don't like to think anyone's watching them, especially when they don't have much confidence."
"Exactly. If the hired dancers aren't there, no one wants to be the first one to start dancing." Their fingers intertwined as he pressed her back to his chest for the sways. "And you? You don't actually seem the type to learn ballroom dance, actually. No offense, of course."
"None taken. It was a family thing. Kind of an unwritten rule that you had to be able to dance at a formal occasion." Her hair brushed the floor as she fell back, letting him support her. "Come to think of it, it may be written down somewhere. Anyway, I used to make Dani come with me to lessons as a kid," she admitted, pointing out the blonde showing off on the other side of the room. "She ended up being really good at it, to be honest. Whenever I tried to stop, she'd drag me along anyway."
"She looks familiar."
"She substitute teaches at some of the studios around here. Last I checked, when she gets done with Uni she wants to open her own. Tango, salsa, foxtrot—she's going to cover all the bases."
"Interesting. And what are you going to do?"
"Oh, I'm definitely going to help out. Probably won't teach or the like, but I'll help financially."
"I meant what are you doing when you're out of school."
"O, I know. I haven't decided, I guess." They back-stepped into a semi-lift. "There's so many options, you know?"
"Going to stay at home and raise the kids?"
She snorted. "Yeah, I can see it now. Aprons and cookies? Please. I think I'd like a family someday, but it won't be the only thing in my life."
"That sounds rather bitter. Don't think being a housewife's good enough for you?"
She glared jokingly at him, recognizing the same emotion in his voice. "I don't think I'm near good enough to be one. All that running around and so little credit? I'm too spoiled for that. Stay-at-home mms are the hardest workers I've ever heard off." She wrapped her leg behind his knee, bracing herself in the final dip. She started giggling, and he raised her back up. "Thank you. It's truly been fun."
"What about another dance?""
But she was already untangling herself. "I'm sorry. My friends should be here by now; I'm supposed to meet them. But I enjoyed the dance…"
"Jeremiah. Jeremiah Duncan."
"Jeremiah. I'm Hermione, better known as Belle."
"I thought so." Her smile dimmed considerably. "Oh, don't look so upset. I won't go nuts or anything."
Her lips twisted in amusement. "Well, I suppose I have to go, just in case. But I may have to come back sometime for another dance. Are you staying much later?"
"It's, what, quarter until nine or so? I wasn't planning on it, but for you…. Sure, birdie, I'll stick around for a bit more."
She laughed again as she walked away, tossing a promise over her shoulder to come back for a faster danse, the music changing to a quick rap before she even reached the front row of tables. She found them exactly where Kylie swore they'd be, just as they were arriving at the table. She kissed Ron on the cheek, then Harry, who swung her out at arm's length to look her over. A vision, he decided silently, a seductive vision in low-riding black Capri's tied up to show off impossibly toned calves leading to golden stilettos perfectly matching her top, a pseudo-backless halter held on by a dozen thin, crisscrossing straps. She'd pulled her long hair up into a tight knot, a few tendrils coming loose to frame her neck and face, all highlighted by her golden make-up. "Stunning," he informed her simply.
"Of course," Hermione tossed back. But she blushed a little, coming in close again to place a quick peck on the other cheekbone. "Thank you."
They stood like that for a few minutes, neither willing to move while they laughed at Ron's antics, both relishing the feel of Harry's rough palm pressed against Hermione's bare hip, his arm encircling her waist. When they sat, finally, Harry scooted his chair just a little too close to be proper and slung an arm about her shoulders. "Did you get all your errands done?" Harry asked, voice quiet.
She nodded absently. Then winced. "Not quite."
"What do you have left?"
"I didn't get to my parents. I'd like to visit them before Christmas, see if they want to meet up or anything."
"You don't normally stay with your family during Christmas?"
"Harry, I normally stay at school. With you and Ron?"
He smiled, but his attention focused on where his hand had lifted to the nape of her neck, massaging the tight muscles he found there. "But you got everything else done?"
"I, um, yeah, I think, um, I think so." She refused to believe that simple, caressing touch caused her mouth and throat to dry our. "I picked up the last couple presents I need for people. I'm pretty sure everything's wrapped. I baked some cookies and candies for my landlord. Talked with him about our lease—"
"Really," Dani interrupted, leaning forward in her seat. "What'd he say?"
"All roads clear. We're his favorite tenants," she laughed, counting off on her fingers. "Our rent's always on time or early. We never have complaints, either by or against us. The apartment's always clean, smells nice. If something does break or need maintenance, we're always polite and easy-going. We'll take care of it ourselves if we're allowed by our lease. The list went on for a while."
"The parentals will be impressed."
"Wait," Ron blurted out. "Do you two live together?"
Dani stared Hermione down with an artfully raised eyebrow. "Yes," she answered, while the witch struggled not to squirm in her seat. "Yes, we have a really nice apartment a few streets north of downtown."
"You didn't tell us that you had your own apartment," Harry murmured. "You could have stayed there if you'd have been more comfortable."
"Oh, yes, Ron's parents would have been just thrilled if they found out. Speaking of which, did Remus stop by yesterday?"
"For a bit. He brought some food and stuff." Ron grinned as he continued. "Was a bit suspicious that you weren't there, by the way. I had to tell him you were at the library."
She rolled her eyes. "Always the same excuse. I'd be more irritated if it weren't for the fact anyone you meet here would be surprised by that assumption."
Their silent disagreement clashed with Dani and Kylie's obvious opinions. Sensing a conflict brewing, Harry returned to his previous question. "So other than that, what'd you do today?"
"Check on Mya. Ran into some people I haven't seen in a while. Nothing much." She leaned forward in her seat and waved at someone. "What about you all? Have fun touring Muggle London?"
"Yeah. Um… we saw Big Ben. Then we went by this coffee shop place—"
"Oh, that reminds me," Kylie burst in. "Robert wants to know if you want any hours."
Hermione thought a moment. "I don't think so. The break's a stress-free vacation, or it's supposed to be, at least. The last few weeks of school really loaded on the tension." She snuck a glance at Harry out of the corner of her eye, but he wasn't paying attention, concentrating completely on where his fingertips continued to rub the nape of her neck. "Harry. Harry!" He finally glanced up, eyes glazed and an odd little smile on his face. "There's this girl named Cho. Remember her?"
His instinctive jerk back suggested that he hadn't, not for several days at least, emphasized by the spreading red flush along his cheekbones. "Sorry! Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
Already her skin missed the warmth of his hands. "Don't apologize to me. I'm not the one whose boyfriend forgot about her."
The silence made Dani's skin crawl. "Oh, Belle, that reminds me. I bumped into this guy this morning, and I think he goes to your school."
Ron looked surprised. "How do you know? I mean, how would you?"
"Belle sends me all of her old magazines and newspapers."
"Don't give me that look, Ronald," the girl in question interrupted. "I started because I was worried about Voldemort running loose. If he was attacking Muggles, my best friend was not going to be uniformed."
"Yeah… so anyway, I recognized his name and we started talking. He seemed kind of lonely, so I invited to meet us here tonight. I hope no one minds."
No one answered at first, then Harry shrugged. "No problems here, but who is he? I think I missed his name."
She grimaced. "I don't think I said it. It's, um.. oh, I don't remember now. But he should be here in a little bit, so I guess we'll see."
Hermione started to say something, interrupting herself as the DJ changed songs. "I-oh! I haven't heard this song in forever. To the dance floor?"
"To the dance floor," the two girls agreed. When they rose to their feet and Harry and Ron didn't, however, they waited. "Are you coming?"
Ron blushed. "Um, well, I'm not speaking for Harry, of course. But I'm not a very good dancer, so maybe I'll just watch."
"Nonsense," Kylie giggled. "We're not asking you to breakdance. You just have to bump and grind."
Harry nursed his drink carefully, watching his friends on the floor. His treacherous eyes kept drifting to the figure in black and gold, who was laughing as she sent a would-be admirer on his way. Dani grinned at the man, one of those suave, heartbreaker types probably eight years older than them, and his cheeks flushed violently. Harry considered him briefly, assessing his build and looks, the style of his clothing, even the arrogance of his stance. Most women would have fallen at the … the jerk's feet, overwhelmed by his mere presence, and Hermione laughed him off. If she could so easily toss aside a man like him, what would she want with someone like Harry? Harry with his second-hand clothes, problematic home life, danger-prone tendencies… oh, he could understand the romantic appearance of his life. But Hermione wasn't a romantic kind of girl. At least, he didn't think she was. It seemed a lot of what he knew about her wasn't true, or at least, wasn't true about her all of the time. He knew her as a bookworm, who crusaded for the rights of everyone, who took the time to help Neville despite the boy's often explosive mistakes. The girl who fought against the very government she so admired just to save a hippogriff. Who despised rule-breakers, but didn't entertain a single doubt when circumstances made it necessary. The girl who always kept a calm head about her no matter what the situation.
He'd yet to figure out this new Hermione. This Belle. The name alone brought forth thoughts of beauty, subtle flirting, even romance. She'd certainly seemed to fit this new nickname. He watched, struggling to avoid those emotions which would get him into trouble , as she bent her knees and dropped down, slapping the floor before slowly drawing herself back up. He'd started off well, learning to move and bounce with the music. There's been a slow song or two, when he'd held her loosely in his arms and swayed with her, and fast songs where they'd broken apart. Then, all of a sudden, the slow song ended and she didn't move away. She spun around, crossing her arms to grab his belt loops and pressing back between his hips. She must have felt him exhale, his upper body nearly collapsing onto hers. Harry couldn't believe what he was doing, all pretense of feeling the music gone as he simply struggled not to embarrass himself. After all, he'd seen the other couples grinding together earlier, but never suspected he'd be forced, well, "forced" to do the same. He crossed his hands over her arms to hold onto her hips, wrapping himself about her as she guided his hips. Concentrating on the feel of her fingers intertwined with his jeans, he strained to conceal his increasing reaction to holding her so close, and when the song ended he found himself feeling both relief and the oddest sense of dismay. She spun about, out of his arms, and discretely avoided commenting on the sweat rolling down his face as he excused himself.
Cho. Oh, Merlin's blood, he couldn't even picture her face. He knew she had straight black hair, so why did he see rough-and-tumble brown curls? Her fashion rivaled those on the cover of Witches Weekly, so why was he drawn to hip Muggle styles? He cared for Cho, but how much? Ever since he'd learned Hermione held feelings for him, he'd been so confused by the conflicting emotions. He'd never been particularly attracted to Hermione, had he? So why would he feel like his wildest dreams had come true? Like something he never thought could happen had suddenly came within his grasp?
Dani interrupted his musings. "You know, it really seems incredible how low her self-esteem is." She moved next to him and leaned against the railing that overlooked the dancers. "She's not beautiful—"
"Yes, she is."
"Let me finish, for heaven's sake. She's not beautiful in the traditional sense. If a critical eye looked her over, they'd probably see more flaws than perfections. Her hair's too long—no matter how much she cuts off, it grows back unnaturally fast—and won't hold the highlights that everyone else just adores. She's got these odd little scars, like that one on the back of her shoulders."
He chuckled, a dry, somewhat humorless sound. "That's my fault, I'm afraid. Our fifth year of school, I talked her into a "rescue" mission of sorts. Someone had convinced me my godfather was in danger, and I just knew I was the only one who could help. She tried to talk me out of it…"
"But you ended up taking her and four or five others to some government place. There was a huge fight, and people died. Don't look so surprised. Belle's hasn't kept a secret from me since my boyfriend hit on her four years ago, and even that came out. She was so worried you would hate her for that."
"Hate her? Hate her for following me into danger when she knew in her heart that I was wrong? What excuse could I possibly have for hating her?"
"It varied. Some days she thought she should have stalled you longer, pressured you into going back up to the school and trying to contact someone else. Other times she knew in her heart that she should have supported you more wholeheartedly, that you would never forgive her for not believing you right away. But don't feel bad. That little scar on her face, almost hidden in her left eyebrow? That one's mine. We were sixteen, celebrating my birthday, and she really didn't trust the guys we were with. We were both a little drunk, and they said they'd take us back to my house. She insisted that the hour-and-a-half we'd known them wasn't long enough to trust them, but I told her that I'd met them before. I don't remember ever lying to her before. I don't know what prompted that one. But anyway, I convinced her to get in the car, and they tried to kidnap us. Of course, dear sweet Belle isn't the type to sit and let someone just take advantage of her. She kneed one of the guys in the groin, and he put her head through the window. We all thought she'd be scarred permanently, but just that one."
Harry swallowed thickly. "What happened?" he asked, fighting against the rage coursing through him at the idea of someone taking advantage of her—of them. She took a moment to answer, staring at her hands and twisting them uncomfortably.
"Hmm. They weren't the most intelligent criminals, just Uni students who thought they were. Unfortunately for them, they were still parked outside the club when they smashed up Belle's face. The bouncers, who happened to be close, personal friends of ours and self-proclaimed guardians, tore them apart. They ended up spending more time in the hospital than she did. I've never felt so guilty and devastated about anything in my entire life," her voice broke, and she covered her face with her hands, "and she's totally blown it off. She doesn't even remember it right away; I have to remind her. No, no, don't touch me. I'm fine. I will carry that horror, that guilt, to my grave, and she worries about how it affected me. She's not beautiful, not when you study her carefully. But people don't see that—they flock to her because she cares about them, and you can tell before you ever get to know her. But I'm sure you see that all the time at school."
"I guess so. I mean, I've never really thought about it, but I guess most of the younger children view her as a mother figure."
"Mother? I think we're talking about two totally different people. I wonder what's so different about Hogwarts that she acts differently. What drains away her self-confidence."
"Maybe she's really like that. Maybe she's pretending to be someone else here." Harry could here the whining in his voice, and knew that she could too, but he couldn't deny that it was unlikely. His best friend was a beautiful, lively woman. The smartest witch in a century. Surely they hadn't hurt her.
She let out a little snort of laughter. "Please. I've known Belle literally my entire life. Our parents were friends. They used the same pediatrician. It's safe to assume that I know the real Belle."
Harry stared at the dancers below, at the waitress between the tables, anywhere but the brutally honest girl standing next to him. "She used to have trouble making friends when we first got to school, until Ron and I finally opened up to her. She's so smart, so brilliant when it comes to magic, that it intimidated a lot of us as kids. And the ones who would have appreciated it, who would have admired her talent and skill, they didn't associate with her because she wasn't born of Wizard parents. They said she had dirty blood."
"Dirty blood? What idiot decided that?" She laughed a little, the tension between them unaccountably gone. "I'm sorry, I've kind of destroyed the evening, haven't I? Please forget what I said. Especially about her personality. I mean, there's radical differences between the Belle I know, and the Hermione you're describing. I've known she acts differently at Hogwarts just from hearing the stories she tells. But she's always been very, very dedicated to her studies. One of the reasons we've always been such close friends, I think. So I can imagine that if she were trapped in a castle night after night, with limited social activities and people she felt she had to prove wrong, well, I can see her escaping into her books. I bet she even studies the.. Muggle world. That's what you magic-types call it, right? She probably sat there in the library, pouring over old tomes everyone thought were magic related but were really history and calculus and physics."
"Why would you think that?" Harry chuckled, finding it surprisingly easy to imagine.
"Oh, because I was sending her those kind of textbooks throughout the year." Harry's startled expression forced her to grin. "She wanted to keep up, for when she graduated and rejoined the 'real' world."
"Um… I don't thinks she's planning on that, actually. I thinks she's going to become a mediwitch."
"We'll see." They dropped back into silence, watching the object of their discussion, as Harry wondered about her smug tone. "Hey, look!" she exclaimed suddenly. She leaned over the railing, trying to get someone's attention. "It's your friend from school. Oh, he can't see me. I'll be right back."
She slipped into the crowd before Harry reacted, so he turned back to where she'd been looking, straining to catch a glimpse of Seamus, or Dean. Maybe it was the Ernie bloke. He'd been talking about visiting Muggle London, with the laughable enthusiasm of someone visiting another country. Or rather, Neville had been in the paper quite a bit, despite his wishes, so she would have recognized his name.
"Ah, here you are, right where I left you. Good boy." Dani darted back. "So, I found him. Harry, you know Draco Malfoy. Right?"
Author's Note: I'm back! Insert triumphant music here I know this isn't very much, surely not enough to justify such a long time since my last posting, but I've had such a hard time figuring out how to put this in. Plus I've started college, and moved to another state, so… not very good excuses, but I'll take what I can get. On the upside, I've already written the beginning to the next chapter several months ago, and despite the fact I no longer have access to it, I've certainly read over it enough that it should be fairly easy to rewrite it and finish that up.
Obviously this still has a little way to go. I have to admit, I was worried about it moving to quickly, and then, um, well, I realized I'd forgotten all about poor Cho, just like Harry. Forgive me while I hide my head in shame. But there's still more to be revealed, so keep reading. Also, I'm still vaguely undecided on how it all's gonna work out. Right now, Harry and Hermione are probably gonna get together, along with Malfoy/Dani and Ron/well, undecided. But I'm also considering Draco/Hermione, Ron/Dani, and Harry/Cho. So I'd really appreciate if ya'll would review and let me know. If you have a really good idea, who knows? I'd probably use it. So leave me a message, and a few suggestions.
Finally (I promise) I'd like to thank those who've reviewed. I do appreciate it, and had intended to set something up where I could thank everyone with out taking up space here, but that didn't pan out. So thanks everyone who's reviewed: hottiesplomiegurl, Pioggia scura, Kristina, Marla1, Pistol, Black-rose23, hpb, Marla1, Piece, Neptunesmoons, Aneli, Attolia,"none", griffingirl, MystyKitty, WannaBArtist, I am Meagan, Fairy O' Fire, Nathifa Femi,"", lilchica, darkrosepetals122, gcgurl21, AnimeHanyou39, xoxox-slightly-obsessed-xoxox, sweetmelody, GCgurl21, annie, Nathifa Femi, FireBringer, s2MiszesEvalynnMalfoys2, and sycoticatalyst. Thanks and I adore ya'll!
Destiny's Darkness
9-24-2005
