Harry casually walked past his fiancée's assistant with a smile and a nod. He didn't wait to be announced or shown in- occasionally he exploited the fact that he was, well, him. But he paused before he actually entered her office. He'd thought this sense of nervous excitement he got every time he knew he was going to see his best friend would fade now that they were actually together, but he'd been wrong, it had actually ratcheted up a few notches. Though it was now much more excitement than nerves.
He opened her door but she didn't even look up. "You can just leave that in my inbox Claudia," she said while scribbling furiously on a roll of parchment, "thank you for getting it to me so quickly."
He cleared his throat and her head shot up. Her eyes went wide and she gasped. "Fuck me."
Harry couldn't help but let out a startled laugh at her completely uncharacteristic use of foul language. He also couldn't resist making the obvious joke. "Is that an invitation?" He wondered, strolling into her office and closing the door behind him.
She buried her face in her hands and let out a little growl. "What are you doing to me?" She snapped. "It's my first day back at work, I can barely stop thinking about you, and it doesn't help that you kept me up half the night. And now you come in here looking like that?"
Harry discreetly glanced down at himself to make sure that he was fully dressed, though he knew that he must be, because he'd just left Hogwarts. And even if everybody else had been too intimidated to say something to him, Minerva McGonagall would definitely have told him if he'd walked into her school dressed inappropriately. He stopped halfway between the door and her desk and regarded her with concern; it was unlike Hermione to seem quite so unhinged, and while he'd expected her to be surprised to see him, he thought it would be happily so.
"Hermione?" He questioned tentatively.
She slowly raised her head and moved her hands to cover her heated cheeks. "I'm sorry, can we start over?"
He shrugged. "Sure."
She took a deep breath and then smiled brightly at him. "Hi Harry, would you like to have a seat? What are you doing here?"
He shrugged again as he fell into one of the chairs in front of her desk. "I missed you and I didn't want to wait to tell you what I've been up to this morning."
"Oh," she sighed, then stood up and rounded her desk, seating herself on his lap, she kissed his forehead, right on top of his scar. "Hello handsome."
He gathered her closer, eternally grateful for her complete acceptance of him, literal scars and all. "Well I'm glad you think so," he cupped her jaw and kissed her tenderly. "And hello to you too. But what, exactly, is so shocking about my appearance?"
"You're wearing your dress uniform," she groaned.
"You saw it this morning."
"May I refer you to the part where you kept me up half the night? You left before sunrise, I barely opened my eyes when you were saying goodbye, and I definitely didn't pay any attention to what you were wearing."
He nodded, she'd been completely bleary eyed through their goodbye kiss. "But it's just my dress uniform, you've seen me in it before."
"Yes, back when I wasn't allowed to lust over my best friend. Now I just want to…" she trailed off and began to beat her forehead against his shoulder.
He grinned to himself. "Hermione," he sang.
"What?" She griped.
"Is the unflappable Miss Granger, shall we say, affected by me in a dress uniform?"
She groaned but at least stopped using his shoulder as a means of self-flagellation. "Normally I prefer you in muggle clothing, but there's just something so sexy about this," she admitted, tugging at his collar.
"Are you going to have your way with me?" He growled, palming her hip.
He expected to have a little fun, maybe a playful fight, because there was no way that Hermione Granger would fool around while at work, she was sure to berate him for even suggesting it. So, he was in no way prepared for the heat in her eyes when she lifted her head. She crashed her mouth against his and despite his surprise he could only respond with equal enthusiasm, it was not something he would ever deny her, over and over their lips met, their tongues tangled, she tunneled her fingers into his hair and he reached up to palm one breast.
"Harry!" She keened and then she suddenly jumped up and he watched in shock as she hiked her skirt up and then straddled his lap.
"Just for the record sweetheart, you being driven out of your mind for me is the hottest thing I've ever seen," he rasped against her mouth.
He hastily threw up a few wandless charms to protect their privacy, and he'd never felt so grateful for the surge of power he'd been gifted when that Merlin forsaken horcrux had been removed from his head. It meant that he could perform such simple magic almost effortlessly and Hermione didn't even seem to notice, which was perfect, because the last thing he wanted to do at the moment was distract her.
He considered using another spell to unbutton her blouse, but then decided he wanted the pleasure of unveiling her for himself, and he did so carefully, by feel. He pulled away from her lips to nuzzle the soft swells of her breasts above her lacy bra- he might have been a little obsessed with them, but he fully credited their delicious irresistibly with getting him and Hermione together, and so he intended to spend the rest of his life appreciating them for that. However, he was stopped in his tracks by the sight of the diamond ring dangling on a chain and caught in her cleavage.
He hooked a pinky through it and smirked up at his love. "What's this?" He questioned.
"You know very well what it is, you gave it to me," she said in that bossy voice that, Merlin help him, he'd come to love. The ferocity of her glare was almost completely diminished by the way she was grinding against him.
That had been a night Harry would never forget. The idea of an engagement ring was still new to magical Britain- a cross-over from the muggle world, which meant that it had been slow to catch on. But he and Hermione had both been raised in the muggle world and they enjoyed spending time there quite often, he wanted to honor that. He thought that she deserved a ring, and he also just wanted her to have one. So, once they'd emerged from something like three days of constant lovemaking, he'd sent a patronus off to Winky asking her to send the ring he'd set aside for Miss Hermione- it was never going to belong to anybody else while he was alive- to him in Switzerland.
It had arrived while they were sitting in the hottub, Hermione had raised a questioning eyebrow at the appearance of an owl on their supposed "all muggle" holiday, but had quickly dissolved into happy, rather hysterical tears at the sight of the ring. Because it was the same ring she'd found in his vaults when they'd been cataloguing them in the aftermath of the war. The Potter family vaults had been left a wreck in his parents' rush to go into hiding making the massive undertaking necessary and Hermione had been an enthusiastic volunteer. And though she had tried to conceal it from him when she happened upon it while going through the family jewels, she had absolutely fallen in love with the three-stone diamond ring that had belonged to his grandmother. He was now convinced it was always meant to be hers.
"I know what it is," he said, kissing her neck, "I'm just surprised to see you wearing it."
He actually felt her skin heat with embarrassment.
"I know I can't wear it on my finger yet, but I didn't want to just leave it at home."
"Home," he hummed against her skin, "I like the sound of that."
They'd decided to take things slowly, in terms of actually marrying, but neither was willing to live apart, and she'd begun moving into Potter House the moment they'd arrived back from Switzerland. It wasn't all that much of a change, she already had a room in the house and stored many of her things there, they were simply done pretending it was a platonic arrangement.
"I'm fairly sure you said that I was your home," she reminded him.
He chuckled. "Gods, I love you so much."
"Me too," she murmured, she'd unfastened his robes at the waist and then undone his trousers, and while he had known where this was going, he was still a little shocked when she grasped his erection, and then simply pushed her knickers aside, placing him between her wet folds.
"Hermione!"
"Do you want me to stop?"
"Of course not." He settled his hands at her hips and as she sank down onto him, his eyes rolled back in his head, she felt so good, he swore it just kept getting better.
They sighed simultaneously. She pressed her face against his neck as she began to move. "I missed you," she confessed, "and it's only been like eight hours."
They'd had sex all over the chalet he had let for their holiday. They had hardly been able to keep their hands off of each other, like children finally given permission to do something naughty. They'd loved each other slowly and with gentle care, fast and furiously, sometimes even when they'd both been half asleep. Their trust in each other was absolute. She'd given him complete and unlimited access to her body and he'd never been more touched by a privilege.
Sex with Hermione was a revelation.
But she'd never exhibited the kind of need she was displaying at the moment as she rode him, seemingly without restraint, in her office in the middle of the Ministry of Magic. She clawed at his robes, obviously wanting them open at his chest as well and he happily obliged her- this time he used a spell. And upon getting access to his bare torso she immediately began to run her hands over his skin in an almost reverent manner. She made a small noise in the back of her throat, and he knew exactly what that meant.
"I know you're getting close for me, go ahead sweetheart," he encouraged gruffly.
"You too," she panted, "at the same time, I want to feel you."
"I can do that." He gripped her hips. "Ready?"
She nodded and he slammed her unto him, once, twice and then he was delighted when she cried out her release with his name on her lips. He loved the way she said his name, and how often she said it while they were joined. He let himself go then, the pulsing of her body drawing out his own release, he threw his head against the back of the chair, as pleasure exploded throughout his system.
He came back to reality to see her smiling shyly at him, she was caressing his cheeks and he was still inside of her.
"Thanks for putting up the charms, that could have been really embarrassing," she said with a blush, so contrary to the wanton behavior she'd just been displaying.
"I would never willingly let you be embarrassed," he responded immediately, "plus, I think I might have to kill anybody who saw you like that."
She gave him one final kiss, and then with an expression full of regret, climbed off of his lap.
They cleaned themselves up, using a combination of magic and good old fashioned muggle means to make themselves presentable again. When they were done he was thrilled that she simply dropped herself onto his lap again.
"You kept me awake last night just as much as I kept you up," he protested, like their discussion hadn't been interrupted.
She laughed and gestured to their general position. "Well, apparently I have a hard time resisting you."
"That's...kind of awesome."
She hummed in agreement. "Not that I'm not happy to see you- obviously, but what are you doing here? And in your dress uniform?"
"Well, I had a job interview and it only seemed appropriate that I wear my dress uniform for such an occasion. I came here to tell you about it."
He felt her freeze in his arms. "You had a what?" She asked sharply.
He understood her meaning and fought the urge to snap at her. "Do you really think I would accept a new job without discussing it with you? I was just hoping it might be a nice surprise, and I wanted to make sure the offer was officially on the table before I told you."
"Sorry," she apologized immediately, letting out a long breath, "I'm just used to you running off and doing stupid things."
"When was the last time I did something, something major and life changing, without consulting you?" He countered.
"Not since… not since the war." She sighed. "Oh Harry, I've been a real idiot."
"You were basically my keeper for seven years, I wouldn't expect you to get past that overnight."
"It's been three years," she pointed out.
"You were patient with me, I can be patient with you."
She pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "Still, I think you've been more patient with me than I deserve, we're not kids anymore. I should give you more credit."
"You deserve all the things," he said, peppering her jaw with kisses. "And let's be honest, I owe you my life many times over."
Eight days she'd been his, and he didn't know if he'd ever get used to it, part of him hoped that he wouldn't, it was the most glorious feeling every time he remembered.
"So, about this job interview?" She prompted.
"It was at Hogwarts."
"Hogwarts," she responded, uncomprehendingly.
"Minerva needs a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and I went up there to interview for the position."
Hermione snorted. "She's been offering you that on a regular basis since you finished auror training, you didn't have to interview."
"I didn't want special treatment."
"She knows your qualifications." She sighed, "but I understand what you mean, you're a good man Harry James. What I don't understand is, why now?"
"I always said that I would take it when the time was right."
"But there are still Death Eaters at large."
"True, but most of the worst ones have been captured and that's not really what I meant when I said that anyway."
"What did you mean, then?"
"Just that when I settled down," he shrugged in a typically self-deprecating manner as he toyed with the sleeve of her blouse.
"Harry! You don't have to do this for me, I would never try and dictate your career choices."
"I didn't think you were. But I know how you worry when I'm in the field, and that's not something you deserve. We've both already given up too much. Part of me wishes I had quit before- you were my family long before we got together. However, I felt an obligation I couldn't talk myself out of, but now I only feel obligated to you. I won't have you waiting at home, wondering if I'll make it back."
"Harry," his name crossed her lips on a stutter.
"And when they come along, our children deserve two parents. You're right, being an auror is dangerous, especially if you're Harry Potter. And I know how ambitious you are, teaching gives me regular hours, in case you need to work over. It's the perfect solution."
"Harry," she repeated.
"Unless you think it's a bad idea, for some reason. I didn't accept the job, I wouldn't do that without consulting you," he rushed to explain, feeling suddenly uncertain.
She started kissing him again in a way that made him wonder if enough time had passed for him to have her again. She almost certainly wouldn't allow that to happen in her office again, but perhaps they could apparate home for her lunch hour?
"Stop it, Harry James," she chided.
"That's uncanny," he laughed, "it's like you're reading my mind."
"Not without your permission," she grinned at him. She'd been studying mind magicks, as he very well knew. She couldn't stand that there was a whole branch of magic she knew nothing about. And, though neither had ever said it aloud, he knew that after what they'd both been through, she wanted them to be able to defend themselves in every way in the future. "But you are rather transparent." She reached down and stroked his growing erection. "I should probably get up," she sighed.
He held her tighter. "I can control myself," he assured her.
She narrowed her eyes at him but settled back on his lap.
"Are you going to take it?" She asked as she curled herself against him.
"Huh?" He responded dumbly.
"The job," she snickered.
"Yeah, if you're okay with it. I think I'd really like teaching."
"You're really good at it," she agreed, "that's why Minerva's been so persistent, you know she doesn't care about your fame, she just wants the best possible people."
"She wants me to be the Gryffindor head of house too."
She pulled back so that he could see how pleased she was, "that's wonderful Harry!"
But he shook his head, "I wasn't planning to accept."
"Why not?"
"Because I'd be required to live in the castle during term and I don't want that for us. Would you want to live at Hogwarts?"
She pulled a face. "It's not ideal, but I wouldn't mind if you wanted to take the position."
He shook his head. "That's not all. The fact is that I'm Harry Potter. I don't like it but that comes with certain responsibilities and expectations. The students will always know that I was sorted into Gryffindor. I can't help that, but to accept the position would separate me from the rest of the school in a way I'm not comfortable with. I want to use my fame to bring everyone together, not align myself with just one segment of the student population."
She blinked at him for a good thirty seconds and he was certain he'd gotten it wrong until she began to kiss him, speaking between kisses, "I've never been so proud of you, you are such a good man, I love you so much." His heart lightened.
"Perhaps we should go have lunch, love?" He suggested when her ardour finally cooled. "We've been in here awhile."
Not that anybody would dare interrupt Harry Potter and Hermione Granger when they were behind a locked door and a silencing charm, but he would not have her the subject of rumors.
She nodded reluctantly and climbed off his lap. "What will Ron think of your job offer, have you already told him?" She held her hand out to help him up.
He shook his head. "He knows I have what basically amounts to a standing offer, but he doesn't know I've been planning to accept it or that that's where I was this morning." He snagged her around the waist and drew her into his body. "You'll always know everything first, from now on," he swore against her temple. "But don't worry, he's been chomping at the bit to go work with George, especially since he got serious with Eloise, he's only been staying here for me"
She nodded. "I'm glad, I would want you to do what makes you happy regardless, but I'm glad he won't be hurt unduly."
She suddenly went still in his arms and he could practically feel the stress radiating off of her. "Worried about tonight?" He surmised.
They were set to have dinner with Ron and his girlfriend at Harry's- their- house as a belated celebration of his birthday. It had been decided before they'd departed for Switzerland and they'd both felt that it was unfair to their friend to either put him off, or attempt to spend the evening lying to him about the altered nature of their relationship. That didn't make the prospect of explaining things to him any less daunting. They'd both been on the receiving end of his temper at its worst on more than one occasion and were dreading the possibility of facing it again.
"It'll be okay," he assured her," kissing her temple. "Come on, let's go home and eat," he waggled his eyebrows.
She whacked his arm but he noticed that she also didn't correct him.
"So, guys, how was Switzerland?" Ron asked as they dug into the roast Winky had prepared for them that evening. "Meet any hot birds, Harry? I hear those places are crawling with them, what do they call them? Ski bunnies? Absolutely mad sport if you ask me, but still, tell me you had some fun."
Harry could feel Hermione begin to seethe beside him and considered going and hiding upstairs. Voldemort and his Death Eaters were one thing, but his best mates' fights terrified him.
"It's summertime Ronald, there's no snow for skiing," she snapped.
"It that a problem in muggle areas?"
"You know very well that muggles can't control the weather!" She hissed.
"That's right, I forgot," he nodded. "So, Harry?" He asked, before returning to his food, "a birthday shag?" He prompted between bites.
Harry could easily tell that Hermione's temper was rising with each word that their mutual best friend spoke, and he scrambled to figure out how to react, given their recently altered dynamic. Because the truth was that Ron hadn't really done anything wrong. He wasn't aware that he and Hermione were together, but on the other hand, Harry really thought that he should have learned not to be so crass around her by now. He knew very well how such talk bothered her. It almost seemed like he was baiting her, but Harry hadn't seen the man stoop to that level since they'd broken up.
He was surprised to see Eloise- who was absolutely lovely and the only witch he'd ever met who could begin to withstand his best mate's idiocy- looking strangely placid. Normally she wouldn't allow him to get away with being, well, such an idiot.
He took a deep breath. "No, Ron, Hermione and I were just there to enjoy a peaceful week hiking, lounging about, and exploring the countryside. We hired a car, saw a lot of scenery, it was nice," he corrected, although his assertion wasn't entirely true. It was what he had planned, but he'd ended up spending a lot more time exploring the curves of his fiancée's body than he had the peaks of the Alps surrounding their chalet, which is why he also didn't specifically deny the birthday shag.
"So you didn't get any?" Ron waggled his eyebrows. "That's not much of a way to celebrate your birthday, sounds downright boring, honestly."
Hermione dropped her cutlery. "Perhaps, Ronald, that's why you weren't invited," she snapped, before Harry could even begin to think of a way to quell her temper.
But then the oddest thing happened. Their mutual best friend began to smile, and then he began to laugh so uproariously that he had to push away from the table so he could bend over at the waist and try to catch his breath.
"Are you finished?" Asked Eloise rather crossly.
"Yeah," he chuckled.
"Explain then!" She ordered. "Look at them, Hermione's furious! If looks could kill she would have smited you already. And poor Harry looks ready to run and and hide!"
Harry just frowned, looking back and forth between them. He reached blindly for Hermione's hand and she took it immediately, intertwining their fingers.
"If looks could kill Hermione would have smited me a long time ago." Ron responded, and that sent him into another laughing fit until he had three people glaring at him. He finally managed to look up, saw their expressions and sobered, he looked from Harry to Hermione and back again. "I'm not blind you two, I've known for months you've fancied each other."
His girlfriend cleared her throat.
"Okay," he corrected, "Eloise pointed it out to me right after we got together." She cleared her throat again. "I probably would have continued to be an oblivious idiot otherwise. I'm sorry, Harry, I'll stop annoying your girlfriend."
Harry cut his eyes in Hermione's direction, hoping for some help in navigating this situation. But she just continued to glare at Ron and Harry agreed with Eloise, if looks could kill Ron would be dead. He looked back to see Ron's complexion rapidly paling. Hermione pulled her necklace out from inside of her shirt with such force that the chain snapped. She shoved the ring back on her finger and held it up for the couple in front of them to see. "Not girlfriend Ronald, fiancée."
Harry sighed: that was one way to break their news, though certainly not his prefered method. He braced himself for the explosion that was surely impending. But instead of a roar of temper from Ron all he heard was some high pitched squealing and then Eloise basically leapt over the table to embrace Hermione.
"Oh Merlin, you have to tell me everything!" She took Hermione's hand to examine the ring. "It's so gorgeous, congratulations! Harry," she turned to face him, "you have excellent taste."
"Oh well," he stammered, utterly dumbfounded by what had just happened. "Thanks, but Hermione actually picked that out herself from my vaults when were we cataloguing and organizing them after the war."
"I wasn't thinking about this at the time," Hermione quickly defended, pointing between herself and Harry, "I just thought it was the most beautiful ring I'd ever seen, and I guess Harry noticed." She shrugged, but she shot him a warm smile and he relaxed.
"Well it suits," Eloise assured her.
"You think?" Hermione bit her lip.
"Yes, beautiful, elegant, but not overly fussy. It's not trying to show off but you still can't help but notice it. Like you," she shrugged.
Oh, Harry really liked this witch.
"Really?" Hermione asked, and the doubt in her voice tore at his heart. He sometimes forgot that as much of a confident, independent woman as Hermione was, she could still be incredibly insecure about certain things.
For instance, when Ron had started seeing Eloise, Hermione had been unable to hide from Harry how big of a blow it had been to her ego. Eloise was blonde, blue-eyed, with that willowy figure so common amongst purebloods, even though, she herself was actually a half-blood. In short, in looks, she was everything that Hermione was not and his witch had taken that personally.
When she had come to the British Ministry on an exchange the year before, she'd been talked about for weeks: the American beauty everybody wanted a chance with. Harry hadn't known how to tell Hermione that everybody admired her beauty as well, but were largely too intimidated to approach her. And he'd been terrified to confess that he vastly prefered her wild hair, depthless eyes, and curvy figure lest he give away his own secret. He now cursed his cowardice.
Eloise batted at Hermione's arm playfully. "Of course! You're gorgeous. It would be terribly intimidating if you weren't also probably the kindest woman I've ever met."
Harry just swallowed convulsively and looked at Hermione, who stared at Eloise for a few moments. He could see that she was furiously trying to blink back tears. And then she turned to Ron who was gaping at his girlfriend and his ex like he'd never seen them before.
"Okay, you can keep her." Hermione intoned.
That seemed to bring him back to life. "Wait, don't I get a say in any of this?!"
"No," they said in tandem and then both returned to their seats. Harry immediately wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulders.
"Thank you for that. I was afraid I hadn't been very welcoming." Hermione said to Eloise in a quiet voice as Harry tried, and failed to meet her eyes to give her some reassurance. Apparently she didn't want any help.
Eloise shrugged. "You were understandably cautious and protective. But do you have any idea how many witches warned me away from these two?" She gestured between himself and Ron. "I got more than one threat."
Harry felt his eyes widen in alarm and he looked to Ron to see that he too was visibly surprised and upset.
Hermione snorted. "I imagine most of the population under forty who could manage to track you down."
Eloise chuckled. "That sounds about right. But you, who had every reason to be suspicious and territorial were never even a little bit snide with me. I'm not sure you understand how much it helped shut people up once they saw us having lunch together. And I apologize if I haven't told you, but the highlighted map of London and annotated guide book have been an immense help. I know that must have take a bit of work and I really appreciate it."
"I know what it's like to enter a new world...without any guidance. I hoped that would demonstrate my intentions without being too invasive. But I've never been very good at reading those situations," Hermione demurred, hiding in her wine glass.
"I know this had the potential to be horrendously awkward," Eloise took a careful sip of her own wine. "But in the end I'm actually glad that it was you."
"You're happy that Ron and I dated?"
"Well I wouldn't go overboard," Eloise said dryly and then she looked at Hermione and smirked and they both laughed.
Harry felt his eyes go wide and he met Ron's gaze to see that his friend looked equally shocked by this turn in the conversation.
"If you had been this specter of his past," continued Eloise, "this unknown woman that he spent most of his adolescence pining over, that would have been difficult to overcome. But I've seen you together, whatever romance you had is truly over. And you're great. Which is honestly a relief because if Ron had spent all that time with a total cow, well what would that have said about his taste in women?"
Hermione actually giggled.
"But the two of you simply didn't work. And after all that you're still friends, that's just so...nice. You clearly love each other but it's not the kind of love that I would ever worry about, and," she suddenly stopped speaking and looked between Harry and Hermione, blue eyes piercing, and lifted a hand to rub at her sternum, "you two. The way that you look at each other? I know that there are other factors, but I'm still shocked it's taken you this long to admit how you feel about each other, it's so beautiful. Okay, actually, I have to ask, what's taken you so long?"
Harry could swear he actually felt his blood pressure increase, and he didn't dare look at Ron.
"I didn't know," Hermione wailed, burying her face in her hands, but then peeking out to look at him furtively. "Am I really the only person who didn't know?!"
He brought his hand to her lips and kissed her knuckles tenderly but was interrupted before he could reassure her.
"Wait, seriously?" Asked Eloise.
Hermione just shook her head.
"Okay, that's it, we have to talk." Eloise stood up grabbing her wine glass and the bottle from the table and extending her arm to Hermione who grabbed her own glass and took it. Then they hooked arms. "You seriously have to tell me everything!" He heard Eloise demand as they strolled away without looking back.
"We'll send Winky when we're ready to see you boys again!" Hermione called out.
Harry just starred until long after they'd disappeared and then turned to see Ron looking equally flabbergasted.
As Harry worked up the courage to actually discuss this with his friend Ron dumped the remained of Eloise's plate onto his own and then began eating again- which meant things couldn't be that bad. At least Harry hoped that was the case.
"How mad are you?" Asked Harry quietly.
Ron looked up briefly, his gaze settling on Harry. "When me and Hermione got together you threatened me to within an inch of my life. The same goes for you." Ron said, pointing his knife at Harry, but then he shrugged. "Other than that, well this is better than having to break in two new people, that would be a real pain."
"And that's it?"
Ron took a deep breath and looked back up, meeting Harry's eyes. "I wish you'd told me how you felt about her."
Harry nodded. "I thought about it, but she's not a piece of land. And I didn't think it was fair to tell you when she didn't know, as if you had a prior claim on her, especially because I honestly never intended to tell her."
"Well," Ron said, reaching for some more bread and Harry recognized his friend's habit of attempting to out-eat his feelings, "I guess, as my girlfriend said: 'tell me everything,'" he mimicked with a little flourish of his almost empty wine glass.
"Sure," he nodded, "but Ron, there's absolutely no way I'm telling you everything."
"Oh, thank Merlin," he exhaled in relief.
A couple of hours later they were tired of waiting to be summoned by their respective significant others and went looking for them instead. They found the witches in the sitting room adjoining the master suite, asleep on opposite couches, a new, half finished bottle of wine on the table between them.
"Should we wake them?" Ron asked.
"Nah," Harry responded, "maybe if we just hang about in here they'll wake on their own."
Ron nodded and went to sit on the floor at the base of the couch Eloise was occupying. And Harry did the same at Hermione's.
"Chess?" Ron wondered.
Harry nodded, resisted the urge to laugh at his friend's predictability, and just summoned a set to the coffee table between them.
"You said you loved Hermione like a sister, was that a lie?" Ron asked suddenly.
Harry looked up and could immediately tell that his best mate was trying to regulate his temper in the face of what he felt was years worth of deception and that he'd been building up to ask this question all night.
They were finally really going to talk.
Harry took a deep breath in an effort to control his own temper. He'd been anticipating this, had given this a lot of thought, and he did owe Ron an explanation, even if he was feeling rather resentful of that- considering how protective he was of his relationship with Hermione.
"That was the only way I knew how to describe it at the time," he attempted to clarify.
"What does that mean?" Ron insisted.
Harry sighed, they came from some vastly different backgrounds. "I don't have a sister, Ron. At the time I had no active intentions towards Hermione, I just knew that she was essential to me in a way that I could only term as 'family.' I think I latched onto that, thinking it would help you understand without making me look like a rival and driving you away again."
Ron flinched and began to take great shuddering breaths. Harry felt a twinge of guilt, they avoided talking about that period in their friendship at all costs, but he was unwilling to lie or sugar coat this, it was too important.
Ron got himself under control and raised his head, and Harry finally saw the ire in his eyes that he'd been anticipating all night. "And what about my sister, did you ever care about her at all?"
Harry's own temper flared- he hadn't been anticipating that accusation, but forced himself to calm down, knowing that any significant upset with his magic would alert Hermione, she was incredibly attuned to him.
"I cared about her a great deal, I just ultimately realized that we weren't meant to be."
"Because of Hermione," Ron responded flatly.
Harry bit his tongue. "Because as compatible as we may have seemed, and as much as we enjoyed each other's company, it never worked. And maybe that's partially because of how I felt about Hermione," he admitted, "but it wasn't her fault, she was always completely respectful of my relationship with Ginny."
"You have more in common with Ginny," Ron insisted, in his typical bull-headed fashion.
Harry shrugged. "Maybe, from your perspective. But why does it matter? I choose Hermione."
"She was your best friend, all this time and you never even tried with her! It doesn't make any sense!"
"I thought you said you noticed how we felt for each other?"
"I thought it was a phase! I thought the pair of you were lonely and that you'd have a fling, maybe. I didn't think you'd get married!"
Harry squeezed his eyes shut, beating back his frustration and trying to think of a way to explain. "Imagine you're alone in the woods, you have a hearty fire going. It keeps you warm, makes you feel safe. You have a good supply of wood and can easily keep it going, so eventually you start to take it for granted. Then one day, you see some torches in the distance, they're not nearly as bright or welcoming as the fire at your campsite, but you're curious. You go and check them out. They are a disappointment every single time. And that's when you realize how wonderful the fire is. Always there for you, unrelenting, ever welcoming, how could anything else ever compare once you see the truth of what's in front of you? How could you ever turn away again?"
Ron stared at him, eyes hard, before he let out a long sigh. "Ginny's a torch, Hermione's the fire?"
"Yes, and tell me you haven't felt the same way? I know you loved and continue to love Hermione, but does it compare to how you feel for Eloise?"
That brought him up short. He looked between the women surrounding them. "Okay," he admitted with a sigh, "yeah, I get that."
"And you know that they've just made some kind of witches pact to be friends forever, or something like that, right? And that our opinion is basically unnecessary?"
Ron's face fell. "We're doomed."
They chuckled and went back to their game.
"You've set the bar really high, you know that don't you?" Ron noted absentmindedly as he made a move a few minutes later.
Harry just looked at him questioningly.
"Together barely a week and you're already engaged," he reminded him with a roll of his eyes,
Harry glanced at the woman sleeping behind Ron. "If you're not ready to marry her, that's okay. She's obviously a very level- headed witch and understands."
"It's not that, it's just...I've been trying to find the best way to do it," Ron confessed on a sigh.
"Mate, if you're asking, I'll do my best to help, but you'd really be asking the wrong person."
Ron looked at him disbelievingly.
"Did you hear what I told you?" Harry chuckled to himself. "I blurted out a proposal without thinking. I am not romantic, I'm just lucky she loves me anyway."
Ron sobered. "Don't hurt her. I was serious before."
"I won't." He swore solemnly. "I mean I know I won't always get everything right, but I love her more than anything in the world."
"You really mean that, don't you?" Ron asked in surprise, they'd never had a conversation like this before, not just in regards to Hermione, but about their feelings.
"Yes," Harry answered holding Ron's gaze steadily so that he could see how serious he was, but he didn't feel the weight of the promise settle on him, it had happened long ago.
"Okay," and Harry could tell that Ron had finally really accepted it, no matter how much he'd said so in the previous hours.
"And I need to ask you for a favor," Harry screwed his eyes shut.
"Harry?"
"I know I've quit the Auror Corps, but I'll always be Harry Potter. If anything ever happens to me, make sure she's okay?"
"Yeah, of course, I thought that was understood."
"Things are different now, I needed to say it."
"Nothing could ever change that though, she'll always be my best friend and we'll take care of each other when we need it."
Harry nodded, swallowing down tears and desperately searched for a way to change the subject. "Speaking of, if you're looking for help with your proposal maybe you should talk to Hermione, she knows you really well, and not for nothing, she's a witch."
Ron looked thoughtful but just nodded and they returned to their game.
They played for awhile before Ron restarted the conversation
"They'll say terrible things about her, you know that right?" Ron glanced at Hermione worriedly.
"Then they'll know what it's like to really mess with me," Harry felt his magic crackle and only had to glance at Ron to see how shocked- and somewhat scared his best mate was by the reaction.
"Harry," Hermione grasped at his arm in her sleep and, like a well trained dog his magic settled immediately.
"Blimey," gasped Ron, "that was something."
"That was the best demonstration I could ever give you of the kind of power she has over me."
"Harry, I'm not sure that's healthy."
Ron's eyes flicked worriedly between them.
"She doesn't control me, Ron. She just knows me, even in her sleep she reacted to soothe me before I could do something I regretted. You've seen her calm me down- you've seen her be the only thing that could calm me down a million times."
"You've always kind of understood each other…" he searched for a word.
"Intuitively?"
Ron snorted. "I really hope you're not going to start talking like her, but yeah. She always knew how to get to you, how to understand you. I just distracted you."
"Don't do that mate," Harry was quick to contradict his friend's self-deprecation. "You were invaluable to us all those years. And we've been the best Auror team the Ministry has ever seen." He paused and his eyes danced between the sleeping women. "They just deserve more than a couple of walking dead men. And let me say, Hermione was devastated by the thought that we might lose you over this, as was I.
"But you would have?" Ron challenged.
"Is there anything you wouldn't do for Eloise?" He countered.
Ron only had to think about that for a few moments before leaning forward and offering his fist for Harry to bump.
"Maybe from now on it could be the four of us?" Ron wondered.
"I'm not stupid enough to speak for Hermione, but yeah, that sounds pretty great."
They shared a brotherly smile but they didn't push the moment in the way Hermione would have tried to, had she been awake. They continued to play in silence for a long while.
After Ron won their second game he spoke again. "So, when's the wedding?"
Harry had known his friend long enough to be able to see that the question was asked with purpose, he just didn't know what it was.
"We were going to wait awhile, let the brou-ha-ha of our relationship die down a little."
"Well," Ron scoffed, "if that's the entirety of your plan, then it sucks. Is that the only reason for delaying?"
Harry only shrugged. "We just wanted people to get used to us being together, I suppose. It's bound to make waves."
"Harry, it's bound to make tsunamis, but do you have any other reason to wait?" He sounded impatient now.
Harry could only shrug again.
"Because when you announce your relationship you'll be hounded for months, after you announce that you're engaged it will only come back again, and when you announce a wedding? Harry, you're talking about years of scrutiny, even worse scrutiny than you're used to. Why allow them all that time to investigate and write speculative pieces? If you two are sure, and if I were you, I'd get it done in one fell swoop."
Harry could only stare in wonder at their friend's tactician's mind. He stroked Hermione's cheek. "Hmmm, Harry?" She wondered.
"Hi, sweetheart, we were just talking about something and I'm fairly sure you'll want to hear it."
"Harry," she repeated, sitting up and gifting him with a happy, lazy smile and then leaned in to kiss him. He allowed it, kissing her deeply, nearly getting lost in it before the clearing of a throat reminded him that they had an audience. He pulled away from her reluctantly. "I'm sorry to wake you, but Ron and I were talking and he had some ideas about us going public that I wanted you to hear for yourself."
"What?" She colored and turned to face Ron who had woken Eloise as well and was suddenly having a hard time looking them in the eyes. "Hey, um, I'm sorry about that."
"It's fine," Eloise said with a pointed look in her boyfriend's direction. "You two are adorable."
Hermione slid off the couch and cuddled into his side, he slipped an arm around her shoulders. "So what were these ideas?"
"Harry said that you were planning on having a long engagement to let things settle down, but you do realize that the opposite will happen? It will just give them more time to get worked up about it."
"What do you suggest?"
He shrugged. "Plan a wedding. Only let the people you trust most know that you're together. Give an interview right before the wedding announcing your relationship and your engagement. Then get married. They'll have so much to deal with all at once, you'll have a lot more control over the situation. And if nobody knows it's coming, it will be a lot easier to plan a private event, I can't imagine that the two of you want your wedding crawling with press."
Hermione stared at him for a moment. "That's brilliant. But won't it seem rather...scandalous?"
Ron just tilted his head in question.
"Won't it seem like we're rushing the wedding for some reason?" She clarified.
Ron frowned. "Are you pregnant?" He asked, looking as uncomfortable as Harry had ever seen him.
"What, no!"
"Then what exactly would the scandal be? It's perfectly understandable that you would keep your relationship quiet."
But Hermione didn't seem to hear him, she turned to Harry with an expression of horror on her face. "What if I'm pregnant!"
"You're on the potion, it's almost completely effective," he said, squeezing her in what he hoped was a reassuring fashion, though he didn't understand the source of her sudden panic.
"Almost. Almost. Stupid me didn't consider the Harry Potter factor!"
"The Harry Potter factor?" He heard Eloise ask.
"It's like Murphy's Law, but for Harry," Hermione explained, her attention on the other witch.
It was like being hit with ten bludgers simultaneously and he actually curled in on himself against the force of the blow. Hermione didn't seem to notice, she just jumped up, exclaiming: "I need the library!" And then she rushed out of the room. Eloise looked at Harry significantly, but he was frozen and so she went after his fiancée in his place.
"What's Murphy's Law?" Asked Ron as he looked around in confusion.
"Everything that can go wrong will go wrong," Harry heard himself say, his voice flat.
Ron expression took on one of amusement until he noticed the devastation Harry was feeling and was apparently unable to hide. "Mate, I'm sure she didn't mean it like that," he consoled.
"How did she mean it then?" Harry challenged in return.
Ron's silence spoke volumes.
"We haven't talked about kids, not really," he said vacantly.
"She wants them, I know she does," Ron tried to reassure him.
He looked at his best mate sharply. "I know she did want them, in theory. But maybe she doesn't want them with me." He laughed, bitterly. Of course, just when he thought he was getting everything he'd ever wanted it had blown up in his face again. "She's right, all I seem to do is attract trouble, it probably wouldn't even be safe for me to have children, and you know Hermione, ever sensible," he mocked.
Ron's face clouded over. "Stop it Harry," he snapped. "You said that you loved her and that you wouldn't hurt her. You are not going to assume the worst and get all broody without even giving her a chance to explain."
And, as if summoned, Hermione came running into the room, a large tome in her arms, tears streaming down her face, Eloise following at her heels. "I didn't mean that like it sounded, I swear I didn't!" She met his eyes and he could see the plea in them. She actually threw the book aside and fell onto his lap. He automatically wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair.
"We'll see ourselves out!" He heard Eloise call, and he just waved a hand in the general direction of her voice before pulling a sobbing Hermione closer to him.
As the sound of their footsteps receded Hermione began to rearrange herself until she was straddling his lap. She pressed her forehead to his. "Hi," she whispered.
Harry chuckled, just having her back in his arms was like the strongest pepper-up potion in the world. "Hi," he murmured in return, "we always seem to end up in this position."
She pulled herself against him from shoulder to hip. "I like this position, you're so close like this." She rocked her hips demonstratively.
He hissed. "Don't distract me witch, you know we have to talk about this."
She nodded, "do you want me to move?"
"Well," he said, grasping her hips, "let's not go crazy."
She giggled but did pull back slightly and began to toy with the collar of his shirt. "I'm a selfish witch, Harry."
He huffed out a breath. "That's pretty much the last adjective I'd use to describe you, actually."
"But in this, I am. I've known you half my life, but I've only really had you for a week, and I just want some time for just the two of us before we add to our family."
"But you do want children?" He clarified, and had to consciously remind himself not to grip her too hard. "You're not...concerned with the idea of having them with me?"
She frowned. "Not at all, I think you'll be an excellent father." She took a deep breath and leaned in to leave a few sweet kisses on his lips. "I'm so sorry that you thought that, please forgive me, I promise I'll work on tempering my responses to surprising news. I obviously should have stayed here and talked to you instead of running for our library. It's a very old reflex, but that doesn't make it okay."
That explanation softened his heart, after all, that reflex had saved his life many times. "Talking would be prefered, next time." He had to look away from her face before he dared ask his question. "It's just what you said, about everything around me going wrong. Do you worry about that, now that our relationship has changed?"
She gasped. "That was very badly put, my love. I only meant that… things just seem to happen to you that nobody could possibly expect, but I don't hold it against you and...I really am sorry Harry," she tapped his chin. "Would you look at me please?"
He turned his face back to her, unable to deny her.
"I hope they have your eyes," she said, pulling his glasses off and tenderly caressing his cheeks, she knew that he could still see her clearly from this distance.
The tightness in his chest loosened further and he reached up to tug on her curls. "I hope they have your hair."
She chuckled and shook her head. "Don't wish that on them." Then she looked at him very seriously but continued to caress his face, raking her nails through his beard, and he leaned into her hands, so relieved and grateful for her. "I'll never leave you," she swore, "it's time you started believing that. I may say stupid things, but I'll always be right here."
"The same goes for me, except I'm definitely going to say stupid things," he said ruefully. "And Hermione," he grasped her wrists and looked up at her, "thank you."
"Don't ever say that again," she ordered sternly, "there's nothing I need thanking for."
He considered arguing but then he saw the determined look in her eyes and knew there would be no point; this was the witch who had discovered a basilisk that in a thousand years the best minds in their society had failed to find; who had helped him set up an illegal militia inside of their school; and who had then single-handedly hidden them from an army of Death Eaters for months. Her determination was not something to be ignored or scoffed at.
She nodded towards the book. "Do you mind if we check? I'll be distracted until I know for sure, and I can't cast it on myself."
"Sure, but isn't it a little early? It's only been a week."
"You're thinking like a muggle," she smiled gently at him, "we can tell a lot sooner with magic."
He nodded, thinking that made sense, and then allowed her to talk him through casting the spell. She sat back on his thighs while he did the pregnancy detection charm. After only a few seconds the light above her womb shown yellow, indicating a negative result. She let out a sob and he looked at her in alarm.
"What's wrong, I thought that's what you wanted?"
"It was!" She cried, "but after all of that I'm still kind of disappointed!"
He could only stare at her for a moment before he took her back into his arms, laughing. "Oh sweetheart, you are most definitely going to be the death of me."
Author's Note: So happy y'all are enjoying this, my first Harmony. Thanks new and returning readers alike! There's just an epilogue to follow, I think. Also, there's a Pinterest board for this story if you want to check it out!
Thanks to the fabulous Weestarmeggie for beta reading this monster chapter, and for listening to me going on about Harry for WEEKS! And, as always, thanks for reading!