Loving the response guys!

I'm so glad so many of you find this story realistic and entertaining!

I haven't read many fics where there is HG/HP tenderness, and I'm aiming for that with some hot action mixed in.

Do review and tell me if I got it right.

This is an extra long chapter, so do leave an extra long review!

:) Enjoy!

Hermione came down to breakfast to find Lady Grey and Harry with tired eyes. They were sleepily poking at their breakfast, and Vera looked worried.

Hermione asked, "Is something wrong?"

It was Harry who replied. "A ladder fell on one of the help, in the East Wing."

Hermione shot a worried look at Vera. She ought to have prevented this. That was why Minerva had sent her here, but she had gotten distracted with Harry. And now one of the servants had gotten hurt. Hermione hoped he was okay.

Lady Grey gave a tentative smile at Harry, saying, "I was glad you were there to help me, Mr. Potter."

"Harry was there? When?" asked Hermione, and Vera's eyebrows rose at the use of the first name. Hermione blushed deeply, and knew that if she looked over at Harry, he would be looking amused.

After breakfast, Harry fell into step next to her. It seemed he didn't mind walking back with her to the room, though they had 'had words' the previous day.

Hermione walked along, not breaking the silence, but Harry asked, in his confident voice, "Any plans for today?"

"Not really."

There was a silence, and Hermione asked. "What were you doing in the East Wing? Why didn't you call me?"

There was another silence, and Harry said, "I- i did not feel like company while I investigated."

Hermione gave him a glare, but Harry was quick to see the flash of hurt in her eyes.

After all we have been through together...

Harry seemed to know what was going through her mind, because he said, "Look, Hermione, I was just poking around, nothing big. I didn't think anything would really happen."

Hermione slightly shrugged her shoulders, as if to say, "Whatever."

She asked him, "How is the man who got hurt? Have they taken him to a hospital or was his injury not that bad?"

Harry said, "Actually, it-"

They were interrupted by a girl, as she turned the corner and ran straight into Harry. They tumbled to the floor as Harry was caught off-balance.

The girl scrambled up, and Hermione's face heated up as the girl's hand slipped, and landed on Harry's crotch. The girl squeaked as she stood up, and said, "Sorry, Mister Harry! It was entirely my fault, I didn't see you there! Oh, dear, and I've pushed you down, too. Sorry, Mister Harry!"

Harry got to his feet casually, brushed off his robes, shaking his head.

"It's alright, Alice."

Alice? thought Hermione.

"And after yesterday too, what with you being so kind and all..." said Alice.

Harry waved this comment away, but put a hand on her hand at the elbow, and said, "You're okay, though? I didn't hurt you now, did I?"

Alice said, "Oh, no, Mister Harry, I had a soft landing," and she blushed.

Harry chuckled.

Hermione watched their flirting, and wondered what this yesterday Alice was talking about. Harry had been kind to her? So this was what he was doing? Chatting up the maids?

"How is your sprain?" continued Harry, his arm still on Alice's elbow.

Alice nodded fervently, saying, "Just fine, Mr. Harry. It's a good thing you were there to save me, or else I might have broken my leg too, and that would lose me a month's pay."

Hermione realised that this was the 'help' who the ladder had fallen on. It was a she, not a he.

Harry said, "I shouldn't have pushed you so hard you broke your fall on your wrist and sprained it. I'm sorry," and he touched the inside of her wrist lightly, which Hermione noticed was wrapped in a white bandage. She had been to busy staring at Harry's fingers on her elbow to notice her wrist.

Alice gushed, "Of course not, Mister Harry, you saved me! The ladder sent the chills up me as it fell, it did. I just froze. Thank goodness you were there."

Harry accepted this statement with a kind nod. Alice brushed down her dress again, then curtsied for Harry, then at Hermione. Then she stepped back so that they could walk past her.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Hermione asked, "It was her, was it?"

"Yes," he said simply.

"Was there any sign of the poltergeist?"

"Not any I saw. But I couldn't take a closer look. I had to carry Alice to the front door. She had hurt her leg too, and we didn't know if she could put weight on it."

Hermione was silent, imagining him carrying her in his arms down the corridors, soothing her with his voice.

Harry continued, "I'm heading there to scout the place right now. I'll let you know if I find something."

Hermione recognised the subtle dismissal, that he didn't want her offering to accompany him. So she nodded wordlessly.

Hermione stretched, her back arching, as the bones in her back popped. She was sore from sitting on the hard library chair all evening.

But she knew if she had sat in the armchair she would have fallen asleep hours ago.

Hermione peeked at her watch, and almost gasped. It was three in the morning!

She had been researching the names from the graveyard in the library, reading up on the castle's history and their inhabitants. She had been so lost she hadn't realised that over five hours had fled past.

She let herself out of the library, and set off down the corridor. She hoped she wouldn't oversleep. It would be rude to miss breakfast when she was a guest at the castle.

As she sped along, she saw a shadow on the wall from someone around the corner. Before she could react, a man rounded the corner and she stiffened. It was one of the men who she and Harry had overheard talking. Harry had pointed him out to her one day as they walked past the renovation workers.

The man grinned at her, saying, "Lady Granger."

Hermione felt vulnerable. In the wizarding world, where the wand was her weapon, she was well-matched to any Death Eater you threw at her, even a handful of them at the same time.

But in the Muggle World, where she was bound by the Statute of Secrecy, she was defenceless.

She nodded at the man, saying, "I'm not of noble birth, so you are not obliged to call me lady."

The man looked her up and down, and said, "You look like a lady."

Hermione drew back from him. She had been about to walk past him, but now she didn't want to. She tried to turn down a passage, but he stepped forward and caught her wrist harshly.

"I know you're no niece."

She gasped, then glared at him, trying not to tremble. "Let go of my hand," she said, through her teeth.

"The Board knows you're not Grey's niece."

She tried to hold back a gasp as his grip on her wrist tightened.

He continued, "Try something shady, and you'll regret you ever came here."

She tried to muster her best look of absolute disgust, and directed it at him. Her other hand flew up from her side and slapped him resoundingly on his cheek.

He growled, and caught that hand in his too. She struggled, as he gripped both her hands with one big fist. There was a thump as he pushed her against the wall, and the arm gripping her hand was pushed against her neck, hurting her.

She choked, and she knew he could see the fear in her face.

Suddenly she saw a head of messy black hair appear behind the man, and Harry wrenched the man off of her and threw him against the opposite wall.

Hermione collapsed back against the wall, gasping for breath, her throat burning, as Harry turned his back on her defensively and faced the other man.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Harry said, in a dangerously low voice.

The other man glared at Harry. "Telling her to keep her nose where it belongs."

Harry spat at him, "If I see you talking to her again, I swear I will skin you alive."

The other man's face tightened. "I thought you were on our side, being from the Board and all."

"I'm not on anyone's side who will threaten a woman against a wall."

Now the other man's face relaxed into a mocking smirk. "Trying to get into her knickers, are you? When you're done with her, let me have a go too."

And Hermione watched Harry's shoulders tense as his arm flew out and punched the man in the jaw. He slid down the wall, clutching his face and groaning. Harry turned, ignoring him.

Hermione was gaping at him. She had never known him to exhibit physical strength before. But she guessed that all that muscle didn't mean nothing, after all.

Harry held out a hand, and she took it, noticing her hands were trembling. She stepped away from the wall, and promptly collapsed.

Harry clutched her around her waist, holding her against his hip. He supported her weight as they walked slowly down the corridor.

After they put some distance between the man and them, Harry gently squeezed her waist, saying, "Are you alright?"

She smiled weakly, saying, "Never felt so helpless before. Always had a- a wand."

Harry nodded. "Who knew we would be so dependent on a few inches of bark, right?"

"Right."

There was a silence, and Hermione mustered up the bravery to ask him a question.

"How was it? Living in the Muggle world?"

There was a silence, and Hermione quickly rushed on, "I mean, I know, because I'm Muggleborn."

"I know that, Hermione," said Harry, sounding slightly amused.

His smile slipped off his face, and then he said, "It was torture, to live just outside the magical world. It was my first true home, where I learnt I was normal-as normal as I could ever be. It was my first escape from the Dursleys."

Hermione was silent, drinking in this information. She knew the Dursleys had always mistreated him, that he dreaded returning to them every summer.

"It was harder because I was the one who banished myself. I wanted to hide, lock myself away from everything I knew."

His arm around her stiffened as he said softly, "But you can never really run from the past. I should have known that better than anyone."

They stopped. They had reached their doors. He had already turned away, without even meeting her gaze, apparently unable to even meet her gaze.

"Harry," she said.

He paused, his back still turned on her, his hand on the doorknob. He opened the door an inch, then he turned back. "Good night, Hermione," he said.

Hermione said, in a straightforward voice, "I'm sorry I drove you away. From the only place where you belonged."

He was gazing at the wall next to her head, but she could see enough of his eyes in the dark that they were filled with regret and loneliness.

She stepped forward, unconsciously wanting to wipe away that regret, and she wrapped her arms around him. First he tensed, then relaxed, his breaths purposefully deep, as if he was calming himself.

She leaned up to kiss his cheek, and a tear fell down her face.

He reached up with a finger to wipe it away, but left his hand on her face, cupping her cheek.

She kissed him again, on the cheek, but then slowly trailed her lips down his cheek to the edge of his lips.

Then she pulled back. They had, after all, kissed only thrice before, and Hermione felt awkward, with so much history and hurt between them, pretending a kiss would make it alright.

She yearned for more, but she would not start it.

Her prayers were answered, as Harry gave a groan and pulled her flush against him, his hands on the small of her back.

He seemed to lose control, gripping her tight, and raining kisses on her mouth, her lips, her jaw.

Hermione's knees were growing weak at even this tender attention. She hooked her arms around his neck to support herself. It wouldn't do to swoon when kissing Harry Potter, she told herself firmly.

His lips moved their way back up her jaw, finally resting on her lips. He was breathing hard, his breath fanning her face, though they had barely kissed.

His tongue darted out to trace her lips, and she remembered how he had kissed her on the path to the grounds. Suddenly impatient to feel his tongue invading her mouth, she parted her lips.

He devoured her, his lips moving in tandem with hers, and Hermione kissed him like she had never kissed anyone before. Harry's took her lower lip between his teeth, and gently pulled. She moaned, falling against him, and his tongue traced the space between her lower lip and teeth, tasting, licking, tickling.

Harry's hand moved from her back to her bum, and he squeezed her gently, and Hermione pressed forward, eager for more contact.

He gasped into her mouth, and she could feel him hardening under his clothes.

His frenzy seemed to intensify, and his fingers pulled blindly at her blouse's hem, pulling it out of her skirt. His hand spread over the skin of her waist, and she gave a breathy sigh against his lips.

He deepened the kiss, his tongue delving further into her mouth. One hand held her steady by holding her under her bum, and the other sneaked up her stomach to her breasts.

Hermione gasped outright when his hand touched her breast, both out of shock and needing to breathe.

Harry pulled back, his green eyes gleaming in the dark, and he looked down at her ruffled blouse. His other hand left her bum to clasp her other breast. His hands rubbed her breasts over her cotton bra, and her head fell back, uttering small cries of pleasure.

Harry couldn't resist kissing her exposed neck, and he did. He kissed her collarbone, then sucked her skin, the same time his fingers found her nipples through the bra, and gently squeezed them.

Hermione gave quite a loud cry, and she arched, pushing her breasts into his arms, aching for a fuller touch. Seeming to understand, Harry's hands returned to hold her breasts fully, and he rubbed his calloused palms over her nipples.

She arched and squirmed against him, and she could feel his hardness poking her stomach. It was intimidating, to think that she could bring such a powerful reaction from him.

Harry was pushing her breasts upward with his hands, and his mouth was inching closer to her low neckline, when they heard Harry's clock chiming from inside the open room.

It chimed four times.

Hermione gasped, "It's four o' clock!"

"Why Hermione, are you late for a night time date?" he murmured into her neck. His breath tickled her.

Hermione shivered at the way his voice was so casual, his hands still up her blouse, clutching her breasts.

Harry rubbed his thumbs over her nipples one more time, memorising the feel of them. Then he withdrew his hands, letting them rest on her hip.

He murmured, "You're right, it's very late. We should sleep."

He leaned forward to kiss her lips tenderly, and Hermione tilted her face eagerly, returning his kiss.

She could feel his length pressing against her, and she deepened the kiss. Harry wrenched his lips away, looking thoroughly sorry.

"I could taste your lips all night. But we should get some sleep."

Hermione nodded. "Goodnight, Harry."

He ran his bright eyes over her blouse, wrinkled at the bottom, slightly off to the side so he could see her bra, and her skirt, wrapped around that delectable arse.

She blushed as she saw him appraising her, especially because she could see the tent in his trousers.

"Good night, Hermione."

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