It had been six months since what the media had dubbed 'The Battle of Hogwarts.' Repairs were completed and the castle was ready to accept it's students back with open arms. Minus Harry who could not bring himself to step back into those halls. There was blood on every stone, every step, and especially on his hands.
He'd accepted that this happened to him, not because of him but the acceptance did not remove the red from his vision. He had sulked for half a year, locked up in Grimmauld place without so much as a word to the Weasley's or Hermione. He had set the wards to bounce them all back to where they came if they tried to apparate in. Ron and the Weasley's had conceded and given him the time he needed to recover.
Hermione had….not. The first time she bounced off of the wards, she'd assumed that Harry needed a few days. The second time she had gotten so angry that her hair had started to frizz with her temper, static electricity sparking at the ends.
"Mione, you have to give him time. He doesn't want to see anyone. He's made it pretty clear." Ron had said to her when she reappeared flat on her bum in the Burrow's front yard.
She had growled in response and stomped off to borrow howler parchment from Mrs. Weasley. Ron had laughed at first and then cringed at the potential reaction from their easily riled best friend. He was content to let Hermione learn that lesson without him present. He wrote a simple "I'm sorry, I tried to stop her.' and sent it off with Pig.
When the howler was returned unopened and had promptly exploded in Hermione's face she had decided enough was enough. He'd had 6 months to hide away and feel sorry for himself. She decided it was ample time to recover, grieve, and come to terms with his role in the war. She wasn't at the top of her year every year for nothing so she had figured out how to dismantle the wards and force her way into Grimmauld place. If anyone's magic could bend to her will, it would be Harry's.
What she found had left her stomach turning. She smelled him before she found him. Harry was blacked out on the couch in front of the fireplace surrounded by empty bottles of fire whisky and butterbeer. Cauldron cake and chocolate frog wrappers littered the floor around him. It looked as if he had not moved from that spot in the six months he'd been unreachable.
Unacceptable. She thought to herself as she waved her wand and set the place to rights. She cleaned up the garbage first and then cast every cleaning charm she knew. It took about five minutes for the air freshening charm to clear the rancid smell of alcohol and body odor.
This would not do. No best friend of hers would kill himself this way, not if she had anything to say about it. She checked to make sure he was still breathing, feeling satisfied that he was still alive, she levitated him to the second-floor bathroom where she stripped him. She had no compunctions about seeing him naked. It wasn't the first time she had, it was however the first time it made her blood heat in her veins. Ignoring the new sensation, she set him down gently into the tub and turned on the cold water.
Harry spluttered and shot up like he'd been electrocuted. Hermione laughed and then sobered quickly as she took in the look on his face. He was terrified. As if the war was still ongoing and they were still hiding in their tent damn near freezing to death. She moved to kneel next to the tub taking his face in her hands.
"It's me ,Harry. You're safe. We're in Grimmauld Place. You've just woken up from a drunken stupor." She tried to stifle the sarcastic tone in her voice when he turned to look at her and instantly relaxed. Sure she was ready to throttle him but she squashed the urge for now.
This she could understand, this she could help him with. She had battled her own post traumatic stress. She had sought the help of an experienced mind healer in St. Mungos who had given her the weapons she needed to fight her demons. She would pass those weapons to Harry now.
"Take a shower. You smell like a troll. I'll be in the kitchen making you some real food." She didn't wait for him to answer. Instead she walked out of the bathroom and closed the door, making her way to the kitchen.
She opened her trusty beaded bag and pulled out a full stock of groceries she just knew Harry would need and set about making a simple steak and roasted potatoes for them both. She'd have plenty of time since Harry preferred long showers and Merlin knew he needed the longest one yet.
Hermione had just finished setting the table when he made his appearance, wiping his hair with a towel. He didn't speak, just sat down at the table, picked up his fork and moved the food around the plate.
"I just spent over an hour making us dinner, I'll be greatly offended if you don't at least take a bite." She knew coddling him wouldn't work.
She tried to hide the worry she'd been feeling for the last six months. This was worse than she anticipated and she wouldn't be able to call herself his friend if she didn't do everything she could to bring him out of this. He looked up at her and met her eyes. The vivid green would never stop making her breath catch. She'd never seen eyes like his, and she would bet, she never would again.
She watched him as he cut a piece of steak and speared it onto his fork. He put it into his mouth slowly, almost sensually, never breaking eye contact with her. There was nothing remotely sexual in the movement but Hermione's cheeks still flushed, it still sent a jolt between her legs and made her cross her legs and squeeze to relieve some of the pressure there.
To make matters worse he moaned when the meat hit his tongue, making her flush even harder. She couldn't take her eyes off of him and she was sure he knew exactly what he was doing. His own little retribution for her daring to come in and force him out of his depression.
"Thank you, Mi. It's delicious." His voice was raspy from months of disuse. Again, it did nothing to quell the feelings stirring inside of her. She hadn't missed the nickname. The only one she secretly loved, but only when it came from his lips.
Get a hold of yourself. What is wrong with you? As she scolded herself internally, she missed the smirk on Harry's face.
He needed a distraction and what better way to distract himself than with his best friend who he'd been in love with since his third year. She had grown more beautiful every year he had known her, and now finally he was free to pursue it.
It might not be the healthiest of coping mechanisms. It might not be the best idea to distract himself this way but she was the only one who forced her way through his barriers. The only one in his life who had never once questioned him or left him to fend for himself. She was the only one who cared about him enough to make sure he was alive, to make sure he was fed, to make sure he knew that he was loved.
He wasn't stupid, he was aware of the letters, the howlers, the multiple attempts to apparate to him. The only surprise was how long it took her to figure out his magic would never fight her if she tried to break through the wards. He forgave her instantly though, the second she held his face in her hands and soothed his troubled thoughts.
Ron and Hermione had fizzled out about five minutes after their "I hope we don't die" kiss. Ginny had moved on after the first month of Harry ignoring her. He had nothing left to lose and a whole load left to gain. Why not play this little game and see where it would lead them?
"I'm glad. I'm sure it's the first real meal you've eaten in months. Really, Harry. Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" She was working herself up now and Harry enjoyed it immensely. Before he could reply, she continued on.
"Six months! Six months I spent wondering if you were alive. If I would ever see you again or if you'd be lost to me forever. We fought a war together! We almost died together! The nerve of you to just cut me out like I didn't matter! As if I wouldn't care about you? How dare-"
He cut her off with a searing kiss pressed to her lips. Her face held firm between his hands. Her eyes bulged open and then slid closed as the reality of the moment hit her. He held her there for hours, or maybe it was seconds. How could she know when her heart sped up and bursts of light erupted behind her eyelids. She was light headed when he pulled away, almost swooning like some heroine from one of her romance novels.
"I wasn't cutting you out, I wasn't fit for anyone's company, least of all yours. You deserve so much better than me and anything I could have offered you; friendship or more. I destroy whatever I love. It's a wonder you or the Weasley's made it out of the war alive. I didn't want to risk you. It felt like a gift that you survived, I didn't want to push my luck."
It was more than he'd spoken in a very long time and it left his mouth dry. Hermione was looking at him as if he was a starved puppy in need of all the love she possessed. Before he could deny the need for her pity his face was sandwiched between her hands and they were kissing again.
This time neither one of them pulled away. The kiss persisted as Harry stood up. Their tongues entered the fray now, battling for dominance and making Hermione's knickers damp with her arousal. Her legs were wrapped around his waist and her arms around his neck as her hands grabbed at his hair.
Harry carried her all the way to the now clean sitting room. The fire was burning now that had not been there the last time he was awake. He sat down with her on top of him and pulled her shirt up and off, breaking the kiss for the first time. She responded by returning the favor so that their bare skin touched. It sent an electric shock through them both.
Harry pulled her back down to him, their kiss growing more and more needy as the minutes passed. When she moaned into his mouth it was his undoing. He flipped them over so that he was between her legs, grinding his now hard length against her, giving her the friction she needed.
"Get these off of me, Harry." she said as he pulled the strings on his sweats to get them off as well. Her voice was breathless and it stoked the flames inside of him higher. As Harry worked the jeans off of her legs, she took off her bra exposing her perfectly perky breasts to his hungry gaze.
"Fuck, you're beautiful." he said as he finally got her pants and underwear off. Leaning down he sucked her left nipple into his mouth while he pinched the right between his fingers. Hermione let out a loud moan and ground herself into his cock straining the last of his control.
He had never gotten his far with anyone so he wasn't holding out much hope for lasting long enough to bring her to orgasm. Thank Merlin for Ron and his illustrated copy of Fantastic Orgasms and How to Give Them . Harry slid down her body slowly, kissing and licking all the way down until his breath tickled her pussy. She was bare but had left the cutest little strip. Like a road leading to the happiest place on earth.
Harry kissed her first and then flicked his tongue out to taste her. Running his tongue from slit to clit, he was proud to hear the sounds Hermione was making. Prouder still when she screamed his name. She lifted her left leg, putting it over his shoulder and drawing him closer. He used his tongue to circle her clit. Slowly at first and then faster, alternating between flicking it and sucking on it. It didn't take long for her legs to clench around his head and her back to arch up off of the couch.
He slowed his ministrations as she came down from the high of orgasm and her breathing returned to normal.
" Delicious." Her eyes widened as he spoke.
"Parseltongue, Harry?" She smiled. Flipping him over, it was her turn to kiss and lick her way down his body. Her eyes widened as she took in the size of him. She'd never seen it hard like this and it almost scared her. How was she supposed to fit all of him inside of her? She had no experience to speak of. Could he even fit? She'd find out either way.
She took his girth in her hand first, stroking and massaging, savoring the feeling of him. Smooth like velvet, hard as a rock. She couldn't wait. She bent lower and used her tongue to feel the rest of him. From base to head, she licked. She did this a few times just to tease him before slipping his head into her mouth and sucking him in like a popsicle on a hot summer day.
Harry had lost all form of coherent thought. As far as he was concerned, he was made up of sensation. Her mouth was wet and warm and pulled on him as she sucked as if she was trying to suck all of his demons right out of him. It was impossible but who was he to stop her from trying. She wrapped his hands into her hair pulling it up to keep it out of her face. As he did so, their eyes met and he almost came right then and there.
"I'm already going to disappoint you, if you don't stop, it's going to be embarrassing." It came out garbled but she understood it.
"I have nothing to compare it to so it doesn't really matter." She giggled as she sat up and climbed on top so that she was straddling him. Her heat was driving him wild but she was a virgin too, it would hurt for her so he needed to keep his head to make sure it was as painless as possible.
"I've heard this is painful for women the first time so I'm going to just lay here. You decide how fast and how hard, okay?" He looked so sincere and worried that she almost laughed. She'd done enough research and she knew what to expect. If they were careful enough, the pain should only last a few seconds.
She lowered herself down into his cock slowly. Almost painfully slow. She was aching to have him inside of her. Her clit was throbbing, her walls clenching, her juices dripped down over his hardness making it all the more impossible to control herself.
Harry was having the same problem, he was clutching the cushions so hard he could feel his fingernails tearing at the fabric. She tensed as she finally sheathed him inside of her fully.
So wet. So hot. So tight. Control yourself! While he was screaming at himself internally, Hermione had begun moving. Slowly at first but gaining speed as the stinging subsided and the pleasure set in.
They were connected now. More intimately then either could have ever imagined and she couldn't bare the thought of him ever leaving her empty. They moved up and down. Skin slapping, sweat mixing, tongues dancing. Their moans filled the empty house making it feel alive for the first time since the Christmas before Sirius' death.
His hands cupped and squeezed her ass. Before he could think better of it, he lifted his hand and slapped her left cheek hard enough to leave a pink hand print. It seemed to be the right decision because her walls clenched hard around him and she screamed his name once again bringing him with her over the edge.
He pumped hard into her, forcing himself as deep as he could as he shot his cum deep inside of her. Her pussy squeezed every last drop from him as they came down together. Sticky, out of breath, and satiated, they stared deep into eachothers eyes.
Harry, suddenly overcome by emotion, spoke before his brain had fully regained control of his body.
"I love you, Mi." She smiled in response, placing a sweet kiss against his lips.
"I've always loved you, you dolt." Harry laughed and dragged her down to lay with him. His big spoon to her little spoon. Falling asleep almost instantly.
They had a lot to talk about. A lot of feelings to discuss but the most important had been laid bare and accepted by both parties. The rest would be a piece of cake.