A/N: Huge thank you to everyone who favorited or followed or reviewed after last chapter! The feedback is honestly so great. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour), where I occasionally post sneak peaks and story updates. I have a new story out, it's a Lumione called Go Away, so please check that out if it floats your boat. And I have a Fenrir/Hermione oneshot coming out on Friday, so please give that a shot too if you are interested.
This chapter gets a little bit steamy, sort of. Please let me know what you thought about chapter five and be on the lookout for chapter six next week!
The following morning, Neville woke just when the first rays of sunlight were peaking through the shutters. Laying in his awkwardly shaped bed for a moment, he listened to the soft sound of Hermione snoring. She sounded like a little kitten, purring, he thought with a smile.
Deciding to get up and let her rest - it seemed like she was well on her way to tipsy the night before - Neville left the room, charming the curtains shut. He figured that she might be a bit hungover this morning, and he figured that she deserved a bit of a lie in.
Making himself some oatmeal on the stove, he sprinkled a bit of brown sugar on top and tucked in, thinking things over. He decided that he would get out of the villa this morning, do a bit more exploring, this time on his own. As much as it pained him, he figured that it was a good idea to give Hermione a bit of space.
Even though he still privately thought she was being a bit ridiculous, he could tell that he'd really hurt her the night before. He wasn't sure why he couldn't stop picking on that particular topic with him, but he wasn't able to help himself. He'd always been fascinated with Hermione, and this was just another facet of her life that he wanted to understand.
He was sure that their conversation had changed, she would still want a little time to herself to stew over what happened. To think about what he said. He knew that Hermione would be at least a bit annoyed that he found her stance unreasonable. Not that he couldn't understand wanting to get away from it all. He was sure that if he was in London more often, it would be the same for him, but he was lucky to be cloistered away at Hogwarts.
Aside from the odd sixth or seventh year girl, not too many witches proposition in Hogsmeade would date to proposition him.
Making up his mind, Neville penned Hermione a short note, leaving it on the dining room table, before accioing appropriate clothing from his room, and changing awkwardly in the kitchen. He felt a bit silly to be doing this, but he really didn't want to wake Hermione.
It wasn't like he hadn't skinny-dipped in the ocean the day before, he really shouldn't be embarrassed to do so now in the privacy of their own kitchen! He wasn't sure what had possessed him to strip all the way down, but he had to admit it was a bit exhilarating. Plus, he knew that many hours in the hot greenhouses had transformed his body into something that he'd never be embarrassed about.
Satisfied that he was ready for the day's adventures, Neville left the villa, apparating back to the shore of the rainforest, taking a deep breath before walking in. He had noticed a few trails and places that he wanted to walk in, knowing that it would lead further into the humid forest. If he followed his calculations, he knew that the Death Orchid would be in rarely disturbed places, that only let in a little bit of light.
Knowing that he might encounter all kinds of dangerous wizarding plants, he made sure to keep his wits about him. It wouldn't do for him to get snatched up by a venomous tentacula like little Marcus Slewyn. He didn't know what he'd do...probably have to send Hermione a patronus to come and find him.
Smiling and full of optimism that today would be the day that he found his elusive plant, Neville went off, trodding through the dense foliage.
When Hermione woke up, she found the villa blissfully empty and the curtains charmed dark against the sun. Casting a quick tempus charm, she saw that it was nearly eleven o'clock! She couldn't remember the last time that she'd slept so late, and she silently thanked Neville for the charm on the curtains. Sitting up, she was unsurprised to find her head pounding a bit from all those delicious drinks she'd had the night before.
Standing from bed, she walked to the bathroom and dug around in her toiletries until she was able to locate her Pepper Up potion, swallowing it in one go. Almost immediately, the lingering headache from her headache dissipated.
Padding into the kitchen, not particularly caring that she was in her small, airy, cotton pajamas, she found Neville's note immediately, seeing that he would be out exploring today. Hermione did feel a twinge of sadness that they wouldn't be able to spend the day together, she knew that this trip wasn't really a vacation for him, and he did have real research to do.
Toasting an English Muffin for herself, Hermione decided that after breakfast, she would change into her swimsuit and do a bit of sunbathing out on the deck. She also had a lot of reading to catch up on while she was here. It would be nice and relaxing and something that she hadn't done in a long while.
Once she'd changed into a white bikini, she happily flounced out to the deck, settling herself on the deck chair, eyes protected by a pair of sunglasses. She was sure to put on a bit of sunscreen, knowing that she didn't want to get burnt. Sighing, she pulled out the book, but found that she couldn't quite focus on the words.
She kept replaying her argument with Neville from the night before over and over again, wondering why it was that she was so sensitive about it. Did it hurt so much because she thought that Neville might be right? She was so conflicted. She obviously wouldn't mind being in a relationship if the right guy came along, but she didn't want to go on dates with whoever just to date someone.
But how would she know if it was the right wizard if she didn't date them? Would they sweep her off her feet? Wasn't that exactly what romance was? Oh! It was so frustrating, because she couldn't adequately put into words what she wanted, but she also wasn't even sure she knew what she wanted.
A little part of her subconscious wanted to scoff at her. Of course she liked romance...she had dozens of bodice rippers on a shelf in her flat. But those were just fantasy, right? She'd always carefully maintained a practical state of mind that those kind of things just didn't happen in real life.
Shaking her head, annoyed that she was focused on this, she looked back to her book on arithmetic methods, and was finally able to focus. An hour or two passed, Hermione baking in the warmth of the tropical sun like a serpent.
Neville had spent the morning on a rather frustrating journey, and had found loads of Pastor's orchids, but he hadn't found any of the elusive Death Orchids, to his immense disappointment. There had been one or two that he thought might be the right species, but upon closer inspection, they weren't the ones that he wanted.
His stomach growling and his neck sufficiently sunburnt, he decided to head back for a spot of lunch, thinking that Hermione was probably in a much better mood at this point. Apparating back to the villa, he was surprised to find it empty. "Hermione?" He called out, wondering if she'd gone exploring herself, but he didn't find a note. "I'm back."
"Out here, Neville." He heard her voice call from the deck, and he walked over to the window by the kitchen sink. He was certainly not prepared for the glorious sight that he found there. Stretched out like cat, Hermione was lean and had so much creamy skin on display that he did a double take.
The stark white of the bikini she was wearing stood out against her skin, showing off the healthy glow she'd gotten just today from the sun. Neville didn't think that he'd ever seen Hermione wearing something so revealing, but he was definitely appreciative. The white triangles of the top showed off the delicate curve of her breasts. Her slim waist was revealed above tiny little bottoms with two ties holding them together at the sides.
He bit back a groan thinking about how easy it would be to rid her of those little bottoms with his teeth, before pressing his face between her thighs.
Shaking his head, he was surprised and shocked by his physical reaction to Hermione. Of course, she was his very good friend and he enjoyed her personality immensely. He'd even had a not so small crush on her back in fourth year, when he'd asked her to the Yule Ball, so he'd always know that she was pretty, but this...
...this was a completely different side to the Hermione Granger that he knew.
Needed to calm himself down a little bit, he wandered over the the refrigerator, pulling out a pitcher of lemonade, and pouring a glass for himself, before drinking it all in three large gulps. He hadn't realized how thirsty he'd been, he mused, pouring himself a second glass, before pausing and pouring one for Hermione as well. She'd probably appreciate it.
Walking out to the deck with two glasses of lemonade in hand, he felt better prepared to face that minx, that secret sex kitten. "Brought you a lemonade." He said, handing her the glass.
Hermione gave him a brilliant white smile, before setting down her book and taking the glass. Neville felt the moisture leaving his mouth watching her plump, pink lips wrapping around the edge of the glass as she took a drink. "Ah, thank you Neville! I needed that. So, how was your exploration today? Any luck?"
Neville sighed, thinking about his pointless expedition. "Well, it wasn't so bad. I covered a lot of ground. I found a couple of promising areas, but I didn't find the correct plant yet." He rubbed his hand over his face.
"Well, I suppose that you can't expect to find it the second day out." Hermione offered, and Neville supposed it did help a bit. He did have a few weeks left to find it, and he would need to face the idea that at some point he might not find the plant at all.
"Yeah. Did you have a relaxing morning?" He asked, his eyes once again trailing down her body.
"Yeah, I've gotten almost half way through a book and I hadn't even been able to get through a chapter in the past three months! It's so nice to have a little time to relax." Hermione smiled, looking down at her toes, wiggling them. "And, of course, to soak up a bit of sun."
Hermione bit her lip, thinking over her next move. She'd been wanting to get her backside a bit of sun, so that she didn't go home in two colors, but she'd been unable to get her back with sunscreen. She supposed that Neville was a friend and he would understand. "Hey, Neville...do you think you could put a bit of sunscreen on my back? I haven't been able to reach it?" She asked, finally, holding out the tube.
Neville looked at her before taking the tube. "Sure, Hermione, but only if you put a bit of aloe on my neck. I missed it and I got a little more sun than I wanted."
She nodded, sitting up and turning around. Neville got a bit of sunscreen on his hand, and began rubbing it into her back. He was mesmerized by how large his hand looked against her back, how soft her skin was. He was so entranced that he almost missed the tiny little moan she made. Almost.
Clearing her throat when he removed his hand, Hermione turned around. "Thanks for that. Accio aloe vera!" She called, holding out her hand as the green gel flew out of the bathroom.
He wanted to see if he was able to affect her as much as she affected him, so while she was unscrewing the tube, he lifted his shirt up to take it off, revealing his bare chest to her.
Turning to look at her, he was pleased to see the little look of surprise and awe, and Hermione's brown eyes roving over his chest, from the light dusting of hair over his pecs, to his abs, to the trail of hair still leading into his pants. He sat down heavily on the edge of the chair.
Her fingers touched him tentatively at first, and he shivered at the cold temperature of the gel, but soon she became more confident, her fingers massaging the aloe into the sore muscles of his neck and back. Before he knew it, it was him who was groaning, his head leaning forward. Soon, he realized that the gel was all rubbed in, but she still hadn't stopped, and he wondered why he was subjecting himself to this sweet torture.
When her fingers stopped moving, it was Neville's turn to clear his throat. He stood, awkwardly replacing his shirt. "Thanks Hermione." He said, keeping his eyes on his feet. "Well, I will let you get back to your reading. I have some notes to record inside." He said, needing to put a bit of distance between the two of them.
Once he was back into the villa, he let himself groaning, wondering how on Earth he was meant to go sleep with that beautiful woman only one foot away from him. Looking back out the window, he could see the curve of her firm arse.
He made a decision rather quickly and he was confident that it was the right one. Hermione said that she didn't like romance, or didn't want to be romance, but he knew that wasn't the case. If someone knew how to romance Hermione and not just some other witch, she would love it.
Someone needed to show Hermione what being swept off her feet was like, because if anyone deserved it, it was Hermione. He had a unique opportunity, it being just the two of them, and Neville was excited to begin. He couldn't stand the thought that he might have to compete for her attention with someone else.
Someone needed to romance Hermione, and Neville knew just the wizard for the job. He was going to show her all the perks of love in the remaining time that they had together in Fiji, and if he was lucky, she wouldn't throw him away when they got back to London.
