"Blimey Hermione, did you redecorate?"
She and Harry were at supper at The Burrow, recounting the events of the day.
"He was right, I was thinking of some old rowboat," Hermione said.
"I still cannot believe you had to go to that awful place," Molly said.
"I'd say that it's not in my job description, but I looked it up. It really is in the job description," she said. "Although there's no Dementors there, the effect is still the same."
When she shuddered, Harry drew her close and pressed a kiss to her temple. "I should have went with you."
She patted his thigh under the table and fed him a piece of pie. "You're the Head Auror and your place was with the MacMillan family today," she said.
He chewed, nodded, swallowed, and opened his mouth for another bite. She rolled her eyes and fed him another bite. Ginny chortled at them. Molly cleared her throat to tone down the excitement in her voice.
"So, are you two a couple now?" she asked casually.
Harry and Hermione gazed at each other and bestowed the other with a knowing smile.
"Yes," they chorused.
"It's about time," Ron said.
"I agree," Harry said and fed her a bite of pie.
"So, what's everyone's plans this weekend? I've got a local match tomorrow afternoon," Ron said.
"Then I guess we're going to a Quidditch match," Harry said.
"Do your parents know?" Molly asked.
"About a Quidditch match?" Harry asked.
"We're going to tell them at Sunday brunch," Hermione said.
After supper, Hermione's flat
"Don't come in yet!" Harry called from the bedroom.
"Harry, I really have to use the loo!"
"Use the one out there!"
"It's broken!"
"Almost done!"
She glanced at Crooks, who was sitting at her feet, waving his tail and looking curiously at the closed door. "At least you have a litter box to use anytime you need to," she said.
"Okay, you can come in!" he called out.
She opened the door, exclaiming, "Thank goodness, I was about to-" she said and stopped when she saw the bedroom. Bouquets of flowers adorned every surface of the room, which was softly illuminated by scented candles placed at select locations about the bedroom. There were even petals on the bed! A CD player was playing her favorite jazz selection and she took in the fragrance of her lavender bubble bath.
"I told you that there'd be flowers, candles, and music the next time," he said and pulled her close to give her a searing kiss. "You've made me a very happy man, Miss Granger."
"And you've made me a very happy woman, Mr. Potter."
"Come, your bubble bath awaits," he said and watched her take off her pant suit and let her hair down.
"No thong today?" he asked when he saw the blue cotton briefs.
She shrugged. "I guess I need to do the wash."
She kicked off the panties, tossed away the bra and groaned when she sank into the fragrant, hot water and bubbles. He handed her a flute of dandelion wine before stripping down and joining her.
"So, how did your visit really go today? I could tell you gave everyone the safe version. Going to that place is never pleasant, even under the best circumstances," he said.
She sighed. "We had to wait three hours for the boat and because of the magic restrictions, I arrived at the prison looking like a wet, shivering rat. The warden, bless his heart, had pity on me and cast a quick drying charm on me before I saw Lancaster. When he arrived, I read the charges and asked if he understood them. His answer was a nod and a well placed ball of spit."
Harry sat straight up. "He spat at you? Maybe it's a good thing I wasn't there, I might have snapped the bastard's neck."
"Well, it's done and the next time anyone will hear from him or see him will be the trial," she said and groaned when he took hold of her foot and massaged the instep.
"Your foot looks like it's swollen," he said.
She nodded. "I twisted my ankle when I stepped from the boat, slipped on the rocks."
"Brocklehurst was supposed to be there to make sure nothing happened to you," he protested.
"There's nothing he could have done about my clumsiness. At least he caught me before I face-planted the ground."
He sighed and ran a bubble-filled hand through his hair. "I really should have been there."
"Move on, love, I have. We have better things to talk about, and what you're doing feels wonderful on my foot," she said.
"Have you picked a costume for the Halloween soiree?" he asked.
"I've narrowed it down to a few choices."
"And?"
"I want to surprise you."
"Ron's going as a sheik. He's taking along a group of fans as his harem," he said.
"You're joking."
"I wish I was. Ow! It hurts when you turn it that way!"
He kissed her foot. "If it still hurts in the morning, I'm taking you to a Healer."
"Harry, my Healer doesn't want to see again me unless he's delivering my baby."
"He told you that? You're joking."
"I wish I was."
He burst out laughing. "Really though, the were-rabbit thing probably tops the weird meter of things that Healers see."
She snatched her foot from his hand and stood up.
"Aww, come on, love, don't be angry."
She stepped from the basin. "I'm not...I'm just...I just wish people would just forget that incident ever happened!" she exclaimed and stomped her foot, forgetting not to stomp the hurt one. "Shit!"
He rose from the basin and summoned a towel for her. "You know what you remind me of?"
"A bushy-haired harpy?"
He rolled his eyes and started patting her dry. "No, you remind me of an angry kitten. A kitten that gets its back up and thinks it's a big, scary lion."
"Meow?" she asked and made a clawing motion at him.
And of course the phone had to ring. She went to the bedside table and answered, then rose to her feet with a horrified look on her face. He quickly moved to her side.
"What?" he asked.
"Okay, I'm on my way. Yes, I'm leaving my flat right now. I love you, see you soon."
She hung up the phone and quickly wiped a tear that fell down her cheek. "My parent's home burned down this evening."
"Are they alright?"
"Yes, they go out safely. They're at the surgery."
She hurried to her wardrobe and took out a jumper and a pair of jeans. "You coming?" she asked.
"Of course I am."
They were dressed in minutes and due to Friday night traffic, the journey took longer than she cared for. She honked the horn and called out to other drivers several times about their dodgy driving skills. She arrived at Granger Family Dental of West London and ran inside. She tackled them with hugs and smothered the baby with kisses.
"I'm so glad you're all right," she said.
"Why are you limping?" Ian asked.
She waved the question away. "Please, come and stay at my flat until you get things in order," she urged.
"Tonight we will, I can't even think straight right now," Ian said.
"Were you able to get anything out?" Harry asked.
"We got our most important possession out," Grace said and smoothed down the fussy baby's hair.
"You don't have to worry about a thing," Hermione said. "I've got loads of her clothes, the playpen, and a cot at my flat. You two can have my bed, I'll take the couch fold-away bed."
"Can we drive by the house one more time? I want to see if the firemen are finished," Ian said.
"Whatever you want, dad."
When they came to a stop in front of the smoldering remains of the home, Grace burst out in tears. Ian sniffed and wiped his eyes.
"We'll rebuild, poppet," he said and smoothed down his wife's hair.
"Our entire life was in there!" Grace wailed.
Ian took her face in his hands. "Gracie, look around you, our life is here."
She sniffed and looked at her two daughters and husband, then glanced at Harry whose eyes were brimming with unshed tears. Ian broke the somber moment.
"Gracie, look at poor Harry, you've made a grown man cry."
**
At her flat, they first got the baby ready for bed and made sure she was asleep before they did anything else. She was asleep before they finished fastening the baby-grow.
"Okay, the toilet in the corridor bathroom is broken, so you have to use the one in my room," she said. "Mum, I think I have something you can change into. As for Dad...well, I'm a witch, so I can just transfigure something from my stuff."
She stopped at the cupboard next to the bedroom and took out a fresh set of sheets and several towels. She brought the towels to the bathroom and picked up her and Harry's discarded clothing. She left the bathroom and saw her mother staring at her room, her hand covering her twitching mouth.
Hermione was mortified at the scene her mum was trying not to laugh at. In their rush to leave, they left the bedroom as Harry had prepared it. The flowers, the candles, the music, the wine chilling by the bed - Harry's boxers were even hanging from her hand! The uncomfortable silence was broken by her dad's voice from the door way.
"Blimey, Hermione, did you redecorate?" he asked.
"Not exactly," Hermione replied.
Harry came into the bedroom and took the clothes from her. Ian's eyes dawned in understanding when he saw the boxers and his wife choking back her laughter.
"Oh bugger, we interrupted something, didn't we?" he asked.
"Don't worry about it, dad," Hermione said, Harry nodding quickly in agreement. "Love, where's my wand?"
"Uh...here on the basin," Harry said and handed her a dripping wand. "I'll just head to that 24 hour Tesco and get some things."
**
When Harry returned with three full bags, he saw the couch-bed laid out and Grace sitting at the table with a cup of tea. The shower was heard and Hermione was in the second room, the baby in her arms.
"This bag is the baby's stuff," he said and took toys, food, and milk from the bag.
Grace moved to the counter and helped put the things away. "You look like you know what you're doing."
He shrugged. "I took care of my godson a lot when he was a baby."
"How old is he now?"
"Eleven, he started Hogwarts this year."
He saw Hermione trying to get his attention.
"Excuse me," he said and went to the other room.
Grace heard the two softly talking and stood close to the doorway. She knew she was eavesdropping, but the two were so endearing together that she couldn't help herself.
"I don't know who's prettiest, the baby or the woman holding the baby," he said.
"The baby of course," Hermione said.
Gracie smiled at the comment.
"They could have come to my place, you know. It has loads more room," he said.
"I know, this place isn't much larger than a bed-sit," she said. "I just thought they needed as much familiarity as possible."
"You should have seen your face," he said, amusement tinting his voice.
"Didn't dad just top it all? Redecorate indeed," she said ruefully.
"Yeah, with you holding my day-of-the-week boxers."
**
Ian and Grace settled in the bed after Hermione was assured that they were comfortable and had everything they needed.
"It smells like a flower shop in here," Ian said.
Grace chuckled and laid her head on his chest. "Well, there were certainly enough flowers in here to supply a shop."
"Looked like an overdone honeymoon suite," he said. "Are you sure the sheets are changed?"
Grace tittered. "Yes, dear, I saw her do it."
**
She was backed against the kitchen counter, his hands inside her dressing robe, kissing her heatedly.
"You don't have to go," she said, giving his earlobe a nip and his bum a squeeze.
He groaned quietly. "Tonight it's for the best. I'm not sure how they'd react to me staying here and after what they've been through-"
"You're too good to be true," she said and stopped any further words with a kiss.
His hands resumed their previous fondling, pleased to find her aroused. And here they were in the kitchen of all places! He was hard as a rock in his jeans, and wouldn't it be brilliant if she...no, she wouldn't just drop to her knees and suck his cock, would she? They were in the kitchen, he was dressed, and her parents were just down the corridor!
"Hermione, would you..." he started and stopped, adjusting the crotch of his pants.
"Would I what?" she asked, knowing good and well what he wanted. It turned her on, even more than she already was, to think that he wanted it right there, right now. She nipped his earlobe again and whispered, "Harry, you never need to be afraid to ask me for anything."
He nodded and swallowed. She licked and nipped where his throat bobbed.
"Suck my cock?" he asked.
He felt the warm breath of her chuckling at his throat. "Love, you're not a child asking for a biscuit. Try again," she challenged. "Make it good."
Well, when she put it that way...
"I want to pump my cock in and out of that smart mouth of yours," he whispered fiercely.
She smiled coquettishly and unbuttoned his pants. "Do you want your sac to hit my chin?" she casually asked and drew his zipper down.
"Yes," he growled when she grasped the length of him and he pulled her close. "I love you like this. It's almost unbelievable, a dream come true."
"Are you turned on as much as I am?" she asked and pulled his pants down enough for his tented erection to emerge.
"More than I've ever been in my life, I've never been with anyone like this," he said, his erect cock bobbing in front her face.
When she ran delicate fingertips along the length of him, he shuddered and thrust his hips. She kissed the tip and ran tip of her tongue around the head. He groaned and thrust his hips again. She engulfed him in her mouth, slowly working him bit by bit until he indeed felt his balls on her chin. She next performed a sucking maneuver that could only have been accomplished with magic, he was sure of it. He gasped and had to hold on to the counter for support. It had been so long, too long, since someone had done this for him and here she was, doing it willingly and perfectly. She sucked, licked, and bobbed eagerly back and forth, making him rise on his toes when he hit the back of her throat. He buried his hands in her hair and closed his eyes, thinking of the picture they made. She on her knees and he literally fucking her mouth, hips pumping and moaning as she fluttered her tongue. This was what she was looking for. She loved the look on his face, a look of ultimate pleasure as he lost himself to the experience. She had a burst of feminine pride that she was performing this well for him, that she could him feel this good.
"You like sucking my cock, don't you?" he gasped.
She looked up at him and winked and drew him closer, wrapping her hands around his hips and sucking him off even harder, if that were possible.
"I'm coming," he whispered through clenched teeth, marveling at how deep he was down her throat, "Suck harder!"
She did so and felt him grip her hair harder and buck his hips into her mouth. She held tighter as he gasped, wheezed and jerked his release into her mouth. She continued to suck as he fell flaccid, causing his over-sensitized cock to twitch and he felt weak in the knees.
"Feel better?" she asked and released him with one last soft lick.
"Makes me wish that there was a potion that'll make me hard again," he replied and helped her to her feet.
She looked at him curiously. "Harry, you either work too much or..."
"Not a spectacular sex life," he finished.
"There are elixirs for wizards with erectile dysfunction, but plenty of wizards use it for fun, like getting hard again. You didn't know that?"
Harry could only blink so she slapped his bum to get his attention. "If you're leaving, go now, it's late and the baby gets up early."
**
Chapter End Notes:
Couldn't help the boxers part, my husband has some and they are a riot! Love is a great thing when you can just sit in a tub and talk with your honey.
