Chapter Six

Clopin had often wondered what he would do if he was in this situation with Hermione. He couldn't deny that he liked her lot, but to finally have her sat on his bed, wearing his hat and kissing her, well, he was more than a little excited. However, he knew they were both drunk so it wasn't going to go any further than kissing.

He was gentle with her as he wasn't sure what experience she had. Brushing his lips against hers softly was everything he had hoped it would be. Her lips were softer than he expected and he could taste the beer she had been drinking. The little moan that slipped out her mouth caused excitement to surge in him. She was incredibly receptive, but Clopin wasn't sure if that was her or the alcohol.

It was Hermione who deepened the kiss. That he hadn't been expecting but was all for it. Gently pulling her onto his lap, she surprised him once again by straddling him. Breaking contact, Hermione gave him possibly the sexiest grin he had ever seen. She lifted his hat, still perched on her head, slightly before swooping in for another kiss. Hands carefully placed on her waist, Clopin pulled her closer to him, drawing out a groan from her.

Sighing contently, Hermione swiped her tongue along his bottom lip. Groaning, Clopin gave her entry. The taste of her tongue against his was unforgettable, it was that simple. The pair ended up battling for dominance but Clopin allowed Hermione to win for the time being. He really wanted to see what she could do. Although somewhat hesitant, the little witch in his lap was enthusiastic.

Clopin wasn't sure what to think when he suddenly felt her smirk into the kiss. He didn't have much time to think about it though since Hermione pushed him back onto the bed, so that he was lying down and she was on top. As much as he loved the position they were in, he knew he had to calm things down. And he would have done, if Hermione hadn't sealed her lips against his once more.

Holding her tightly against his chest, he let the moment continue. Arms wrapped around her waist, he caressed her back gently as he become better acquainted with her lips. Clopin couldn't say how long they had spent kissing but he was stunned when Hermione broke the kiss to press gentle kisses against his jaw and throat. Groaning loudly, he had to put a stop to it.

Catching her chin with his hand, he brought her back up to kiss her lips once more before he sighed and leant back.

"We're drunk, mon amour. Not tonight."

Clopin was stunned to see Hermione pout. Blinking, he wasn't sure if it was real but quickly found it was. Chuckling quietly, he tapped her pout once before removing his hat from her head, placing it on the table beside them. Shifting them so that they were lying on their sides, facing one another, they both smiled. Hermione reached up and stroked his cheek a few times before she questioned him.

"What now?" Clopin chuckled lightly before pulling her slightly closer to him.

"Well, I hope this means you will consent to me courting you." Hermione blinked at him but gave a soft smile.

"I think I can do that. What does courting mean here?"

By the word 'here', he knew she meant in that time period. Laughing softly, he pressed a quick kiss to her mouth before quickly pulling back. He only had so much self-control after all.

"Well, if it weren't for the fact that we're gypsies, it would be very dull. Never a moment alone with one another, always chaperoned out and about, even in this tent! I wouldn't be able to kiss you, only hold your hand and even then, it would only be for a moment. Luckily, we gypsies have our own rules." Hermione shuddered as he went through the things they couldn't do but laughed at his comment about rules.

"As if you follow any rules. What would they be if you did follow them?" Clopin winked at her.

"You know me so well, chérie. Since your parents aren't here, I don't have to negotiate a price to court you at least. We are allowed to be alone but Kezia would happily castrate me if I did anything. I am actually allowed to kiss and hold you in public though, so it's not all bad. We gypsies are an affectionate group."

Clopin watched Hermione's mouth twitch in amusement before she let out a soft laugh.

"So, you're just going to do what you want, right, mon amour?"

Clopin blinked as he watched Hermione turn slightly pink at using the endearment for the first time. She opened her mouth to say something but he quickly cut her off. Kissing her long and hard, he wasn't surprised to feel her gasp against him before pulling his tunic closer to her. Pulling back slowly, the pair of them panted heavily before chuckling. Clopin sent her another wink before he answered.

"But of course, chérie. It's who I am.' He tightened his grip around her waist before he whispered in her ear. 'Tell me, what is courting like from your time?" Hermione looked up at him and smiled.

"Completely different. Everything is very relaxed, we could spend the rest of our lives together without getting married and no one would bat an eye. Women aren't expected to be virgins and wait for marriage. We call it dating, we would go out on dates and just enjoy each other's company I guess."

Clopin grinned as she spoke. Hermione always ended up with a pretty smile on her face whenever she spoke of her time. He was stunned to find out that people didn't care if a couple married or not though. It was just expected in their time since it was apparently a crime against God to live in sin.

"I like the sound of these dates. What do you do on them?" Hermione bit her lip as she thought about it for a moment.

"There are all different kinds of things you can do. Go for a walk in the park, go out for something to eat, like a picnic or something, go to the cinema.' She must have spotted his confused look as she quickly explained. 'It's like watching a play but the actors have already performed it. Someone recorded the original performance on a little disk and it lets others who missed the play watch it again."

Clopin was completely perplexed by the concept but tried to understand for Hermione's sake. She must have known that he didn't understand for she placed a tender kiss against his cheek and yawned.

"It's late, amour. We need sleep." Hermione pressed another kiss to his cheek and moved to get up, swaying as she did. Clopin raised an eyebrow but looped his arm around her waist, making her lose balance and land firmly on his lap. He chuckled in her ear.

"And where do you think you're going, chérie?" Hermione gave him a confused look over her shoulder.

"To bed?"

"Oui, you're in bed. Stay." He chuckled as he pulled her back onto the bed. Slowly, she gave in and made herself comfortable. Clopin was wrapped around her, pulling her tightly against his chest. He found it hard not to wonder what it would be like to wake up with her next to him. He even wondered if they could do so without her glamours. He was stopped mid-thought when Hermione whispered in the darkness.

"Goodnight, mon amour." Clopin pressed a kiss to her temple before whispering back.

"Goodnight, chérie."

The two of them quickly fell asleep with small smiles on their faces.

Unfortunately, the alcohol hadn't had such a kind effect on Hermione's stomach. Clopin was woken up harshly by a kick and then heard the sound of someone throwing up. Wincing at the sound, which was promptly followed by the smell, Clopin leaned over and held back Hermione's hair. She had only managed to take a step away from the bed before falling to her knees.

Gently rubbing her back, he stayed like that for some time, waiting for her to feel somewhat alive. Once she was finished, Hermione vanished the sick with a wave of her hand, impressing Clopin. He shook his head and ignored it for now as he helped her climb back into bed. Hermione groaned loudly as she wiped her mouth.

"I'm never drinking again." Clopin let out a laugh.

"We shall see, mon amour. Sleep."

In no time flat, Hermione was back asleep. Clopin, however, had no chance of falling back asleep. Yawning widely, he moved a pot over towards the side of the bed so that if she did need to be sick again, she had somewhere to aim for. Quickly changing into his usual attire, hat firmly on his head rather than Hermione's, he ducked out of his tent and went to fetch some food.

There was hardly anyone about, forcing Clopin to assume that it was still the morning, but those who were up looked as though they should be in a grave instead of out and about. Shaking his head, he was surprised he wasn't as hungover as the rest of them. Thinking about it, Clopin figured that he was possibly still drunk. He wouldn't be surprised.

Grabbing some food, Clopin's thoughts suddenly flew back to what Hermione had said about dates. He should take her on one, he was sure they would have a good time. Thinking about it, she had looked quite excited when she mentioned going for a picnic. Slowly nodding his head, he gathered some extra food and popped it in a basket before grabbing some bread and took the lot back to his tent.

Placing the basket on his desk, Clopin moved towards the bed and found Hermione still fast asleep. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he brushed a curl to the side and smiled down at her. He was about to get up when someone stormed into his tent.

"Clopin! I can't find Esmer-. Oh. Oooh."

Clopin quickly hushed Selina and pointed at a sleeping Hermione. He pushed the noisy woman outside the tent and glared at her.

"Selina! Why would you storm into my tent?" She folded her arms and huffed at him.

"Because you would have wanted to be the first to know if Esmeralda had gone missing."

Unable to argue that point, Clopin sighed heavily before gesturing for her to walk with him. The pair were silent for most of it, until Clopin snapped out of his thoughts long enough to groan at the sight of Kezia heading their way.

"Clopin, I can't find Esmeralda." Selina smirked, much to Clopin's dismay, and turned to the older woman.

"That's because she's sleeping in the King's tent."

The older woman blinked before looking at the man to confirm this, his slightly guilty expression was enough. The two women grinned at each other as Kezia sighed.

"Finally!"

"Oi!" Selina rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please. It was taking you ages to make a move! So, tell us everything."

Clopin growled under his breath before storming off, only to have the two women follow him. He tried to keep it up for a while but quickly grew tired of it, he found himself just outside of his tent once more. Coming to an abrupt halt, he spun on his heel to glare at them.

"If I explain, will you both leave it alone?"

The two looked to one another and seemed to communicate silently before nodding their heads. Sighing in relief, Clopin rubbed his eyes before shrugging his shoulders.

"Nothing happened last night other than talking and a bit of kissing." Selina groaned.

"Why the hell not? When I left you both, you looked like you were going to shag right then and there!" Clopin glared at the woman.

"We were both drunk, I wasn't going to let it get that far, Selina." Kezia cut in quickly before an argument started.

"Are you at least courting now, then?" Clopin paused but hesitantly nodded, the two women were confused, either they were or they weren't. The man sighed and tilted his head back to stare up at the stone ceiling.

"I don't know if Esmeralda will remember agreeing to let me court her or not."

The two women's eyes widened in understanding. Feeling slightly bad for him, Selina tried to cheer him up.

"I'm sure she will. She's been talking about courting you for some time now."

Clopin didn't think this to be true but gave the woman a small smile anyway. Sighing, he shrugged.

"Well, I plan to take her on a picnic when she wakes up so hopefully she does remember."

Before either woman could comment, he spotted Hermione leave the tent whilst rubbing her eyes. Looking around, she instantly laid eyes on him and gave him a small smile as she walked towards him. Instantly, Clopin began to feel nervous but ignored the sympathetic looks he received from the other two. Once Hermione was stood next to him, Clopin felt immediate relief when she wrapped an arm around his waist and leant her head against shoulder.

She must have been able to feel his relieved sigh as she lifted her head to give him a confused look. Pressing a kiss on her forehead, Clopin watched as she turned to face the two women he knew had become her friends. Selina looked like she wanted to squeal whilst Kezia looked pleased.

"Anyone want to tell me why Clopin just sighed in relief at me hugging him?" Selina didn't even hesitate, to Clopin's dismay.

"He wasn't sure if you were going to remember accepting his courting request."

Hermione looked up at him, although he did look away in embarrassment since he knew he had a blush on his face. He did catch the soft smile and gentle shake of her head out of the corner of his eye though.

"Stupid man." She whispered softly before laying her head back against his shoulder. Kezia chuckled at her.

"You'd best get used to it, mon cher. He's yours now."

Clopin couldn't remove his gaze from Hermione's stunning grin at the comment. His heart was beating faster than normal at the sight but tried to act normal. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he squeezed her tight.

"How're you feeling now, chérie?" Hermione gave him a sheepish smile.

"A lot better now that I've slept and said goodbye to last night's dinner. I'm sorry for waking you up."

Selina let out a snort whilst Kezia chuckled, reminding the couple that they were there. They both blushed but exchanged small smiles with one another. Quickly saying goodbye to the two women, Clopin dragged Hermione back into his tent. Under the familiar, colourful tarp, he let out a deep breath.

"How much of last night do you remember, mon amour?" Hermione beamed at him.

"All of it. I'm pleasantly surprised since I've often been told no one really remembers much after a night drinking." Clopin grinned back as he clasped his hands behind his back. Rocking on the balls of his feet, he smiled charmingly at her.

"So, would you be interested in going on a date with me?"

Hermione beamed brightly at him as she nodded enthusiastically. Grinning himself, Clopin grabbed the basket he had prepared and dragged Hermione back out of his tent and towards her own. Pushing her inside, he stayed outside as he called in.

"I'll wait here whilst you change, Kezia would have my manhood if not."

He heard Hermione laugh at that whilst he grumbled under his breath. He was terrified of that woman, there was no doubt about it. He had a feeling that the old crone would be teaching Hermione all different kinds of ways to keep him in line. Shuddering at the thought, he was snapped out of it when Hermione stepped back out of her tent in her usual clothing, although he did notice that she kept the jewellery on and untied her hair.

Beaming at her, he elaborately offered her his arm, which she took gladly, and led her towards the exit. Carefully easing their way through the catacombs, the couple quickly reached one of the exits that Clopin knew Hermione hadn't seen before. There was no doubt that she was curious as to what he had planned, but she bit back her questions and let him have this moment. He assumed that she could tell how excited he was about the prospect of having a date with her.

Opening the hatch, he turned to her.

"Close your eyes, chérie." She looked at him tentatively but did as she was asked. Grinning, he took both hands in his, after putting the basket down, and led her outside. Letting go of her hands long enough to close the entrance, Clopin pulled her out a little further before picking the basket back up. Standing behind her, he placed his hands on her waist and directed her movements. Soon enough, he leant over her shoulder to whisper in her ear.

"Open."

As soon as Hermione opened her eyes, she let out an awed gasp.