Hi everyone!

Who wants some sweet fireplace romance? I do!

Seriously though - smut ahead, smut ahead. If you don't like that kind of stuff, feel free to skip to the end of this chapter, although you'll miss some good character development.

It's actually the first time I typed something out like this, usually I just cut the scene and move on with the story, but I actually felt it was necessary to show how perfectly non-perfect first moments of intimacy can be.

Obviously, I want to thank everyone who supported me again - my story has gotten a lot of more followers in the past day and I am nothing but grateful. So, if you are new and you're reading this - I love you, thank you! If you have been here since before today - I love you too, thank you! Your comments keep my quick posts up and running :) I am working tomorrow and Thursday, so I might not be able to post for a number of days. Just to give you a head's up.

Love, Flora

Chapter 9: How Harry couldn't stop laughing about Hermione's fascination with male anatomy

Christmas Eve was great. Mister and Mrs. Granger had given them a little preview of how delicious tomorrow's Christmas Feast would be - Harry had stuffed himself with roasted potatoes, stuffed chicken, green asparagus and green beans. For dessert they enjoyed treacle tart (his favorite!) and to top it all off they ate his freshly baked cookies while playing charades and scrabble. Even though Harry had been raised by the Dursley's, he had never played those muggle games, but he and Hermione found out that they were a great charades-team.

They couldn't stop touching. It was as the words "I love you" hung between them like a spoken promise and when Harry didn't find an accuse to have his arm wrapped around Hermione, she'd find an excuse to touch his leg under the table, to remove some crumbs from the corner of his mouth with her thumb, to place butterfly kisses on his face after a particular quick guess. At the end of the night he found himself on the loveseat once more, but this time Hermione was perched up against him, leaning into his chest and sighing contently. She was reading her book again, completely mesmerized by the content, and Harry spent his evening listening to the records Aunty Penelope had put on, stroking Hermione's hair and placing soft kisses on her temple, talking with Mister and Mrs. Granger, watching the pack of snow outside grow thicker and thicker. He had never felt so happy, so completely at ease, and Harry knew that the next Patronus charm he would cast would probably evaporate any Dementor in close proximity to him.

It was about half past 10 when Hermione fell asleep against his chest. She had dug her hands into his sweater, resting her head just underneath his collarbone, and Harry had never tried to stay so still. He slowly got the book out of her hand, preventing it from falling, and marked the page. Then he turned to the first page and began to read the story himself, fittingly called "A Christmas Carol", as he rested his head carefully on top of Hermione's.

Aunty Penelope went to bed first, and Mrs. Granger didn't follow that much later. When Mister Granger finally put down the book he had been reading, he gave Harry a knowing look.

'So... Should I welcome you, then?' he asked, with a fatherly smile on his face.

Harry chuckled.

'Perhaps. We need to talk it over, still.'

Mister Granger nodded and smiled.

'Well, best of luck. She can be feisty. When she does decide to go along with this, be sure to tell me. We can have that stern father-boyfriend-talk that I promised myself I would give any man who deemed himself good enough for my girl. It had your friend Ron scared out of his wits.'

'I'll make sure to be mentally prepared, sir,' Harry snickered, remembering his other best friend as he came crashing into Grimmauld place with a complete look of terror on his face. "Mister Granger said he'd run me over with his Audi if I'd break her heart! It's me and Hermione - of course I'm gonna break her heart at some point. I'm doomed! And what the hell is an Audi?"

Mister Granger bid him goodnight, reminded him to put out the fireplace before he went upstairs and closed the door behind him.

They were alone. As some American jazz musician played some very comforting music in the background with a nice trumpet solo, Harry allowed himself to take a good look at the sleeping girl that lay half on top of him. He had always thought Hermione to be pretty. Not conventional pretty, like a movie star, but stunning nonetheless. She had beautiful eyes, the sweetest smile, the softest lips, the cutest nose, the most adorable freckles. He adored her hair - chaotic, feisty, and smelling so good. He slowly placed a kiss on her hair, then on her forehead. He knew he shouldn't wake her up, but he didn't have a choice. His lips wanted to tell her that he loved her, like he had said earlier, and now he knew for certain he didn't want to spend one moment without telling her how much he cared. He kissed her temple, her nose, her cheek. He bent his head in an awkward angle to kiss the corner of her mouth, and that's when she stirred.

'Hmm?' she asked, sleepily, but Harry pulled her face closer to his and softly placed his lips against her.

'Hmm,' Hermione said again, but this time it was approvingly, as she opened her mouth and allowed him to taste her. He slowly massaged his tongue against hers, making their touching so much more intense, and he immediately felt a lower part of his body wake up. They kissed - long, slow, deep kisses, that made them feel connected, that made them wonder whether they could possibly be any closer to each other. Hermione roamed her hands over his chest, Harry let his hands wander over her face, over her back, but he was very careful to avoid the most intimate places of her body. They had time, and he didn't want to scare her.

Finally they broke apart, and then the couldn't help but smile, then chuckle, then laugh. Hermione's laugh was amazing - it filled the room and made Harry's belly flutter.

'I guess we've stopped pretending,' she said, stroking through his hair.

'I have,' Harry said, amused. 'I don't know about you, but I have.'

They were silent for a moment, and Hermione looked mesmerized by her own hands, that played with a few strands of Harry's hair. She touched his forehead, his scar, the bridge of his nose. Finally she caressed his lips with her thumb and when their gazes met, he could swear he caught fire. He wanted her. He wanted her, now.

He kissed her again, feeling the heat inside of him building, as he sat up straight on the bench and pulled her underneath him.

'Tell me when I'm going to fast,' he mumbled, between kisses, as he placed hot and firm kisses on her mouth. Their tongues met, but this time it wasn't slow and soft - their lips clashed and battled for dominance and when he heard Hermione elicit a very arousing pant, he felt a lower part of his body twitch. He desperately needed more friction, and he tried to be very tactful about pushing himself against her body, but he felt an immediate gasp escape Hermione nonetheless - a gasp that sounded a bit too surprised to be only arousal.

'Sorry,' he said. 'Am I-...'

Hermione was breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling, and she looked a bit crazed.

'I... No, you're not, it's just... I wasn't... Expecting...'

'I'm sorry,' Harry repeated, feeling guilty. He told himself they had time not ten minutes ago - what was wrong with him for acting so brazenly?! He distanced himself from Hermione a bit, but she stopped him from moving away by grasping his jumper.

'No, please don't. It's amazing. You're amazing. That thing, that you just did, it was... Wow. But I...'

She sighed.

'It's just that I... Oh, this is going to be so embarrassing...'

Harry watched her worriedly, but she took a deep breath, as to muster up the courage, and then looked at Harry directly.

'Ron and I never really... I mean, we kissed. We kissed a lot. But with him, it actually felt kind of gross, and I let him touch my breasts once, but... I never really felt aroused or anything, so I didn't let him... I mean...'

'You've never done anything apart from kissing with Ron?' Harry replied, shocked. Ron had asked him a couple of time how sexuality normally developed in a relationship, but Harry, being an oblivious idiot, never put one and two together. Of course Ron had been inquiring about him and Hermione, the only reason why he hadn't been more pressing was probably because he didn't want to know what Harry and Ginny had been up to.

'Not with Ron,' Hermione nodded, speaking slowly. 'Not with anyone.'

Harry was stunned. Hermione was a beautiful girl - she was funny, talented, attractive. How in Merlin's name Hermione had managed to stay a virgin was beyond Harry's comprehension.

'Well, I mean, I've kissed blokes at a bar, and believe me, they tried, but... I'm not as confident as I sometimes seem, Harry. It's a big step.'

'I get it,' Harry nodded. 'There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. It is a big step, it makes you vulnerable and there's nothing wrong with you not having experience.'

Hermione looked uncertain.

'Are you sure? I mean - I literally have no idea what I'll be doing, and I'm 24, it's actually kind of pathetic...'

'Stop it,' Harry said, irritated by the fact she could think like that. 'You are not pathetic. Don't ever say that again. There is no one in this world I find less pathetic, actually. If you're insecure about it, it's okay to wait. Please don't feel bad about that. And please don't beat yourself up about it - this stuff is personal, Hermione. You don't have to compare yourself with anyone else for once, that's not what intimacy is about.'

He softened his face and smiled at her.

'It's actually no problem at all. We'll kiss and I'm certainly enjoying that, as you've noticed. It was wrong of me to press against you anyway, I wasn't thinking-...'

'No, that's not what I meant by pulling away,' Hermione said, quickly. 'I meant-... I mean, I want to. With you. Right now. When you pressed against me, man, that... I just... I don't have experience, and that kind of frightens me, because I always know what I'm doing, but I do want to move further than kissing tonight. Absolutely. I mean, I've never wanted anything more, to be really honest about it, and...'

A smile grew on Harry's face as he brought her face closer to his.

'Let's set boundaries, then. We won't go all the way right now, we're going to save that moment and make a very special occasion out of it when we're both ready for it. And any other step we're making tonight, we're going to communicate through it, with each other. You tell me if it's okay, and also if it isn't okay. I'll tell you what I like and what I don't like. How does that sound?'

Hermione looked at him with nervous anticipation, which Harry strangely affiliated with Hermione during exam week, but she nodded.

'Okay,' she breathed. 'I can do this. I can do this.'

'Yes, you can,' Harry said. 'Just relax. And when you're not relaxing, we're going to stop. Okay? I want you to enjoy this. Is there anything I should know that you don't feel comfortable with, right away? Certain areas you want me to avoid?'

'No,' Hermione said, shaking a bit. 'If I don't feel comfortable, I'll tell you. I just... Harry, I just want you really bad.'

Harry grinned and tried to pull Hermione in for a kiss, but she stopped him with her hand.

'We should probably silence the room, though. Do you have your wand?'

Harry had to get his wand out of his coat, but he figured it was worth the walk. When he came back, he locked and silenced the room, and comfortably nestled himself on top of Hermione again.

'Just remember,' Harry said, breathing against her skin, 'I really, really do love you.'

'I know,' Hermione replied, and she pulled him in for a kiss again. Harry decided to take it slow, as agonizing as it was, but he wanted to savor every minute of their first contact. He snogged her, until they were both blushing and out of breath, and then he began placing small kisses on her cheek, on her earlobe, on her neck. He roamed his hands through her hair, along her arms, activating her entire body for him. The delay drove him crazy, and he felt himself strain painfully against his trousers, but he was patient.

Surprisingly, Hermione got fed up with his touches first, and grabbed his hands to place them firmly on her covered breasts. Harry chuckled.

'Impatient?'

Hermione didn't reply, but closed her eyes as Harry slowly massaged her breasts. Her jumper was too thick, though, and Hermione quickly agreed to pull it over her head and cast it aside. She wore a black tanktop underneath, that did a way better job at showing of her assets, and Harry smiled as he cupped her breasts through the thinner fabric. Slowly he kissed the exposed flesh, tasting her skin with small french kisses, and Hermione gasped. One hand sneaked under her top and then under her bra, and he felt her already stiffened nipple against the palm of his hand.

Gosh, she is incredible, he thought, as he felt her wriggle under his touch.

Hermione finally pulled her top over her head too, and loosened her bra, exposing her breasts to him. They were wonderful, with darker nipples, which fascinated him as he had never seen that before. He kissed them softly, massaging them and taking the time to suckle gentle on each of them. Hermione panted, and moaned, and rubbed her legs together.

'Too much clothes,' she breathed, finally, pulling at Harry's jumper. 'Get it off.'

Harry planted one more kiss on her lips before he disregarded his jumper and T-shirt in one go. He felt slightly insecure suddenly, even though he was with Hermione for goodness sake, but that quickly faded when he saw the look of pure admiration on her face.

'When in Merlin's name did that happen to you?'

'Did what happen to me?' Harry asked, feeling a blush creep up on his cheek.

'That... You know... You've got muscles!'

'Obviously,' Harry said. 'I think I should have been diagnosed with a severe illness by now if I didn't have any muscles.'

'Yeah but, this... Oh my God, you've got abs?'

Harry laughed loudly and looked down at his belly.

'Well, I am slightly tensing right now...'

'Oh I'm sure you are,' Hermione teased. 'You didn't have that when we were in the tent!'

'Work has forced me to do a lot of cardio, what can I say. I need to be in good shape to catch all those crazy pureblood fanatics. Do you... Do you like it?'

'Do I like it?! Merlin, Harry. Come here!'

Harry chuckled as Hermione tried to devour his face.

'Easy, Hermione. Easy!'

'Sorry,' she said. 'But this is just so exciting! I'll go slow, I will, just... Okay, kissing first. Just like you did.'

Harry nodded to her, amused, as she was clearly taking every bit of Harry's movements in as notes as if she were preparing for another set of OWL's. He reciprocated the kiss, as she caught him in her arms, and he let her take control. She was actually very sweet, kissing his forehead and his scar, his nose, a place behind his ear that Harry had no idea was that sensitive. Damn, Hermione was good. He knew she was thorough but he never knew she'd take it all that seriously!

She kissed his Adam's apple and his chest, softly licking his nipples. He didn't really care for that, but he appreciated the effort, as she began placing her kisses lower and lower and lower. Harry felt an unstoppable warmth build in his body and he knew that he would go crazy with want if she were to tease him for any longer, but then she came up and kissed his lips again. Her right hand slowly began to explore his buckle, and then she put her hand on the very clearly showing bulge in his pants. Harry groaned, already loving the friction, and Hermione let out a inquisitive "oh!".

'What?' Harry managed to ask.

'It's hard.'

'Yes. That's what penises do if a girl is doing a good job.'

'I know. It's just... Interesting.'

'Interesting? Blimey Hermione, I'm not some study object of yours...'

'Oh, aren't you?'

Hermione chuckled and kissed that sensitive space behind his ear again. Harry gasped and pressed into Hermione's open palm more.

'I love getting good critiques.'

'Hmm, will you get on with it, you bloody sadist,' he groaned.

She began to move up and down, but the fabric was making it hard for Harry to get the entire sensation.

'I... I want to take off my jeans,' Harry said. 'Is that okay?'

Hermione nodded excitedly and wanted to help Harry get out of his trousers, but he wanted to be quick and used his wand. She grinned.

'Someone's a little eager.'

She placed her hand back again, and gasped at how she felt Harry pulsate through the thin, black fabric. When she tentatively began to stroke up and down, Harry moaned and pulled Hermione closer, burying his head in the nape of her neck.

'Too much?'

'Absolutely not,' Harry gritted. She stroked him for a few minutes, unsure of what to do, but Harry wanted to give her the time to explore his body without him making any comments, no matter how worked up he was.

'I want to remove them too, if that's okay,' Hermione said almost breathlessly. Harry nodded against her, and held his breath when he felt her slowly pull down the elastics of his underpants.

'Oh... Oh wow,' she said. 'I've never seen... Well, obviously I have, but never one actually in front of me...'

Harry stifled back a snicker, with a lot of effort, and refrained from commentating. She carefully brought her fingers to his member, and then she squealed.

'It's soft!'

'No, it's pretty hard,' Harry assured her.

'That's not what I mean - it's hard but it feels... The skin, it feels really nice... Oh wow!'

And then Harry couldn't take it anymore. He felt laughter erupt from his chest and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't control it.

'What is it?' Hermione asked, confused, but Harry literally split his sides. It was so awkward, so absurd, and he loved her being such a dork so immensely, that he couldn't possible hold back. After a few seconds Hermione joined in, and that made him laugh even more.

'You are amazing, Hermione. Absolutely amazing,' he said, wiping away a tear that stung the corner of his eye. 'Oh my God. I have never heard such amazing comments on my penis. Please never change. Please.'

'Well, it is soft. You don't expect a rock-hard dick to be soft now, right? It's weird.'

'It's absolutely not soft, Hermione-...'

'It feels soft!'

'It's just skin,' Harry exclaimed, having sore cheeks from all the laughing. 'What did you expect? Scales? Spikes? Sandpaper? Or maybe-...'

He elicited a deep, guttural moan as she took him in her hand firmly.

'There, that shuts you up,' Hermione laughed, amused. She started to stroke up and down, pulling back the foreskin lightly. Harry stopped her for a moment, spit in his hand and stroked himself a couple of times.

'Is it better when it's wet?'

Harry nodded, concentrating on her returning fingers. She quickly found a rhythm that he liked, and it didn't take him more than a few minutes to reach his climax. He cried out her name, like he had in his dreams, but as the stars in front of his eyes waned, he couldn't help but feel that his dreams didn't even come close to how amazing it was with her.

Harry quickly used his wand to vanish his seed from their bodies, and Hermione pulled him in for a long, seemingly everlasting kiss. They were still on the sofa, Harry's legs getting slightly sore from the awkward position, so he stood up and took Hermione's hands in his.

'I would very much like to touch you now, if that's okay.'

Hermione nodded, answering his kiss, as she felt him remove her trousers. He undressed her, until she was just as bare as he was, and he pulled her closely against him. They stood in front of the fireplace, skin to skin, his head resting on hers, and he felt so vulnerable and exposed, but at the same time, he felt nothing but complete, he felt wanted. He had never experienced it so intensely as in that moment, and it was absolutely perfect.

Then, he softly turned her around, and he sat back on the bench, having her on his lap. He slowly kissed the nape of her neck, moved his hands to her breasts, and slightly rubbed her nipples. Hermione closed her eyes and leaned in to him, tossing against him, as he made sure to pay all the attention that he could to her body. He felt her arousal slowly trickling on his leg and his member twitched slightly. Hermione made wonderful sounds as he caressed her body, and he carefully made his way to her lower regions, dipping his fingers softly in the wet surface. Hermione tensed a bit at his touch.

'Are you okay?' he asked. 'Tell me if it's too much.'

Hermione nodded.

'I just feel so... exposed.'

'Maybe a different position?' he suggested. 'Or shall we go to sleep?'

'NO,' Hermione almost yelled. 'Dear heaven above, I want this. I really do. I'm not scared, I just... I think it's the position, yes.'

Harry chuckled at her reaction and helped her stand up from his lap, then he laid down in front of the fireplace.

'Better?'

She lay beside him, nodded, and when he touched her folds again, she did not flinch.

'I just want to see you,' she said, softly. 'To know it's you.'

'Like this?' he said, bringing his face close to her, kissing her face.

'Yes. Like that.'

He slowly explored her body, and decided that he would not insert his fingers, but just touch her until she would come apart in front of him. He enjoyed looking at her so much, and it felt so right to watch how her eyebrows clenched when he slowly rubbed his fingers over her sensitive spot, when she would let out a silent "oh" every time he brushed through her exposed folds. Slowly, he began circling her little nub, and Hermione had trouble keeping her eyes shut, which fascinated him greatly. Hermione, surrendering - that was a rare sight. Finally, she decided she needed to feel him near her, so she dug her nails into his back, while he stroked her gently, circling and circling and circling, driving her over the edge with every soft motion of his fingers. Hermione was loud, he found out, as she couldn't hold back moans when he was halfway through pleasing her, and was positively screaming on top of her lungs when he reached her climax, her nails digging painfully in his back. When she came undone she shuddered and squealed and yelled, and then her eyes went from hazy to clear, and she looked at him, and jumped his bones.

Harry laughed as he felt her attack him with appreciation and lust and love, so much love, as their limbs entangled on the floor.

'I have the faintest idea that you probably liked that, huh,' he said, extremely proud of himself, being showered in her kisses.

'I feel like I'm dying and I feel like I can climb a mountain at the same time,' she sighed. 'I have no idea how you managed to do that. I can't do that.'

She got off of him and spread her limbs over the carped. He smiled at her, cheekily.

'Don't worry, I'll gladly do it again.'

'Not today, you're not. Oh Merlin.'

Harry grinned and pulled her in for a kiss. He cast another scourgify on Hermione and his fingers and collected their clothes.

'Let's go to bed. It's - oh damn, it's half past two.'

'Yes, we have to rise early tomorrow.'

They put back on some of their clothes for good measure, tidied the lounge, put out the fireplace and shut off the gramophone. After brushing their teeth, they got into bed together, both just wearing a top and their underwear. Harry couldn't believe that two days ago, he and Hermione had agreed to not kiss again. That it would ruin their friendship. Now they had done so, so much more, and weirdly enough, he wasn't worried at all. It felt good, it felt safe, it felt incredible. He pulled her into his arms, spooning her, as Crookshanks jumped on their bed with an approving purr.

'Thank you for being so sweet,' Hermione said, softly.

'Thank you for being so amazing,' he countered. 'And just don't forget, I really, really love you.'

Harry couldn't see her face, but he imagined she was smiling.

'I really, really love you too, Harry.'

'So, to over-complicate things, aside from the title "best friend", "heroine to the Wizarding World" and "fake fiancee", would it be alright if I started calling you my girlfriend as well?' he heard himself ask. God knew where he got the courage from, but he did, and he held his breath when he waited for her answer.

'Oh, Harry. Of course.'

And she melted against his lips one more time, before they fell asleep.