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Chapter 04

I feel his eyes on me and I gaze at him from beneath my lashes. I am horrified by his obvious sleep-deprived appearance. His hair is an unruly mess and there are dark circles around his eyes that look more concerned than usual, and I don't understand why. The last thing I remember was falling asleep in his arms with my head resting over his heart. Now he is sitting next to me looking as if he has not slept at all.

"Harry?" I barely whisper over the tight lump in my throat. Swallowing hard, he moves his hand along my left arm and closes it around my wrist. I expect to feel the warmth of his hand, but I feel nothing and I don't understand why…I force myself to break eye contact with him so that I can figure out why I can't feel his hand.

"Hermione," he says softly, sadly.

"What?" I snatch my wrist free of his hand so that I can look at it and when I see the bandage, the color drains from my face. Why is there a bandage strapped on my wrist? I search his face for the answer and he sighs.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, "But you…I don't know what happened. One minute you were sleeping peacefully…The next minute you bolted upright and started clawing at your wrist. You broke the skin, Hermione and I…Well, you can see for yourself," he continues as he releases my hand and jumps to his feet. As he paces in front of me, I notice a bruise on his cheek. Did I give that to him? The thought sickens me. I jump to my feet and bolt for the door, however as I open it, he steps in front of me and places his hands on my shoulders. He tilts his head to the side. "Where do you think you are going?"

I drop my gaze to his chest…His naked chest. He must have taken off his vest. I swallow hard when I recognise the oval scar left by one of Voldemort's horcruxes. The scar is red as if it has not fully healed and I don't know why I do it, but I lift my hand and gently trace the outline with my finger.

"I can't expect you to take care of me," I whisper. "This…whatever you want to call it, is something I have to work through on my own. I can't…" With my eyes brimming with tears, I look at him. "I can't become a burden…You've been through enough."

"Hermione," he says softly as he cups my face and wipes away my tears. "You are not a burden. I will never ever think of you as a burden. I… Hermione," he whispers as he presses his forehead to mine. "I care more than you seem to realise or is this just you procrastinating?" he smirks.

"Harry," I whisper. "You are a terrible tease."

"You know I love you, right?" he murmurs as he moves his hands to my shoulders.

"Well, not really. It's not like you have said it outright," I murmur as I continue tracing his scar with my finger.

"You haven't said it outright either," he points out and I roll my eyes as I playfully push him away from me. Laughing, he grabs me around the waist as he stumbles backwards and he turns me around so quickly and pushes me up against the door and places his arms on either side of me. I forget to breathe as I take in his hooded eyes and dark expression, and it does something strange to my stomach. He looks so devil may care that I want to wrap my arms around him and kiss him senseless. The feeling in my stomach intensifies as I think about it. All I have to do is close the short distance between us and I'll be his arms, yet neither one of us moves. The temperature in the room goes up several degrees. My breathing hitches when he steps right up to me, leaving me with very little room to breathe freely and easily without sounding desperate. He lifts his hand and lightly skims my cheek while he quietly regards me. My hands are itching to thread themselves through his hair and my body is aching for his touch.

"Just kiss me," I whisper when I cannot stand the heat between us anymore.

"Hermione," he breathes as he slips his arm around my waist, bringing me flush against his naked chest. Without taking a breath, he claims my mouth in a deeply passionate kiss. I moan softly as the warmth of his tongue invades my mouth. I instinctively slip my arms around him, bringing him as close as I possibly can. He skims his hand along my side in a slow caress, until he reaches my thigh. Without meaning to, I arch towards him, eliciting a low growl from deep within his chest. He hooks my thigh, pulling me in for a very tight fit and I moan when the extent of his arousal brushes against my secret place. A secret place I want to share with him and no other. He grabs my other leg, pulls it upwards and I instinctively wrap both my legs around his hips. With our lips still joined, he turns around and walks to the bed. He breaks our kiss long enough for us to climb onto it and then he once again reclaims my mouth at the same time, he nudges my legs apart, nestling himself there, yet he doesn't take it further. He has remarkable restraint…for someone who has quite a temper, especially when angry.

His hand creeps along my thigh and beneath my camisole. His touch is like a blazing fire and as he travels upwards, it leaves a searing path in its wake. I concentrate on familiarising myself with the contours and muscles of his back and the way his skin feels beneath my fingertips. His skin is as smooth as a baby's bottom, apart from the scars he has collected over the years. My hands inch southwards to his tight ass and without thinking too much about what I am about to do, I slide them beneath his jocks. He sighs softly as he withdraws his hand and curls it around my neck. He breaks our kiss and smiles warmly at me.

"As much as I'd like to take this further, I don't think we are ready," he whispers.

"Take it further?" I laugh.

"Yeah…" he grins.

"Who said anything about taking it further? All I want is to feel you skin-to-skin, Harry. Please?"

He sits up and regards my thoughtfully while he takes in my general dishevelled appearance. I don't need anyone to tell me how I look when I feel this flustered and overwhelmed with the very strong and unfamiliar sensations coursing through my body. I regard him from beneath my lashes. His cheeks and chest are slightly red, but what catches my attention is the extent of his arousal and how he must be feeling at the moment. When I look at his too bright eyes, I realise he wants to take this further and the way his jaw is clenched, there seems to be an internal struggle going on.

"Hey," I murmur as I reach for his hands. "No pressure, Harry. It's just that I feel…I don't know. So much when you are around. It is a bit difficult to separate what my heart wants from what my common sense wants. It's…so overwhelming," I sigh as I lie back on the pillows. I stretch my arms above my head and the movement causes my breasts to move. His eyes darken even more and my breathing hitches under his intense scrutiny.

Sighing softly, he sprawls himself next to me and we both stare the ceiling. "Hermione, can I share something with you?" he asks.

"Yeah. What's on your mind?"

He laughs. "You…naked and writhing beneath me."

My mouth drops open in shock and warm flush spreads like wildfire through me. "Oh my God," I barely whisper.

"Yeah," he laughs as he turns to his side.

His boldness makes me suspicious. He talks as if he has experienced someone writhing beneath him and my jealousy rears its ugly head. "If you admit to sleeping with someone else, I am going to walk out of here, Harry," I mutter.

"Well, I have," he says softly and I glare at him.

"In my dreams, actually. I have dreams about this beautiful girl with bushy brown hair and hazel eyes writhing in ecstasy beneath me…in the library back at Hogwarts." He grins wickedly at me. "The library is her favorite place in the entire world."

He cannot be talking about me? Surely not? The thought makes me all hot and flustered and curious as to how long he has had this…dream… "So, are you going to tell me how long you have had this dream?"

He lies on his back and folds his arms beneath his head while he gazes at the same speck of dirt on the ceiling we've been looking at for the last ten minutes or so.

"Well, for the last two, three years, I have had this…fantasy, but the girl has always been unobtainable because she has her eye on another guy."

"That's not true, Harry. I've had my eye on you for as long as I remember, but just like every teenager experiencing her first crush, I was confused by my attraction to both guys…Until the one guy thought it was okay to snog another girl in front of me…"

"He is an ass, Hermione. Always has been. I think I can count the times he said something kind to you on one hand. I never ever approved of the way he teased or insulted you, but I do regret not standing up for you as I should have done. I've been a terrible friend to you," he whispers. "And you have always been there for me. Even when things were difficult, I knew I could count on you to make me smile. It's been like that for the last two or three years…And you still make me smile even when you are bossy or with a nose stuck into a book. I loved that about you. You'd sit and study for hours with this happy little smile as if you were really enjoying whatever it was you were reading, even if it happened to be a school textbook. I always wondered what you were thinking about during those time when I'd sit and watch you."

"The last straw was him walking away from us, Harry. That hurt more than anything else. It was then that I knew that what I'd felt for him was nothing more but the way to show me whom I…I cared for the most."

"Yet you still kissed him," he says softly.

"I…I know and I feel awful about it. I should never have allowed it. I don't even know why it happened, but it did and I can't take it back." I sigh and close my eyes. My temples are throbbing, be it from lack of sleep or the fact that we have to tell our best friends about us.

"I'm not ready to tell them, Harry."

"Yet we cannot put off the inevitable, Hermione. If we don't tell them, it will just make it harder. I'd rather be upfront with him, then pretend that nothing is going on between us when there is so much going on between us that I can't even think straight anymore. I want you so much, it hurts. I have been hot for you for so long and I don't know how long I am going to be able to control myself."

He is hot for me. Oh my God. I think my flaming cheeks are enough to start a small fire. To cover my embarrassment, I pull the pillow over my head, so that I can cool off.

"Hey, don't go all coy on me, Hermione. After all, we nearly did cross that very thin line we've drawn between us," he points out as he removes the pillow, exposing my flushed cheeks to his all-too knowing eyes.

"You never once-" I trail off a he presses his finger to my lips.

"I know. The time was never right. He was always around. She was always around," he whispers and I realise he is referring to Ron and Ginny. My heart clenches painfully about the thought of telling them. They will either support our relationship or hate us. I don't know which is worse, but I do know we can't keep them in the dark either.

"We should wait until everything has settled down, Harry…"

"I agree," he sighs as he runs his fingers through his hair. "This really sucks. It's going to kill me being the same room as you and not being able hold your hand."

I touch his cheek. "We are adults. I am not going to hide anything from them. They will just have to deal with it."

As the words leave my mouth, there is a soft knock on the door.

"Harry? Hermione? I know you are in there. Please may I come in?"

It is Mrs Weasley and it cannot be good. Why would she want to see us before everyone else is awake? It's not even six am and she wants to see us. The rest of the house will be up very soon. Harry gets up and quickly throws on his clothes and I climb beneath the cover. I snuggle into it and close my eyes as exhaustion slowly sweeps over me. I don't know how much I slept last night, but I certainly feel the need to sleep for at least two or three hours. He opens the door, and steps aside, allowing her to walk in. Her eyes sweep the bedroom and rest on me. Harry closes the door and pads barefoot back to the bed and sits down.

"Mrs Weasley," I greet her.

"Hermione," she says softly. "How's the wrist?"

I frown. "It's been better."

"Good," she smiles. "I've been worried about you. Harry was pretty upset about what you were doing to yourself."

"I was dreaming," I whisper. "I didn't know what I was doing."

"I know… Look, I cannot prevent the two of you from seeking each other out, but I must express the seriousness of the situation should things progress."

I roll my eyes and sigh. I cannot believe we are discussing this again. "Mrs Weasley, I think we are mature enough to realise the consequences if our relationship should progress and rest assured, we will be responsible."

She smiles warmly at me. "You have always been very responsible, Hermione. I honestly don't foresee any problems, but sometimes a situation can get out of control without you realising it…It is then that you must be vigilant. That is all I am saying. Now, you should come down for a spot of tea and breakfast," she says as she opens the door. She nods once and then she walks out, closing the door behind her.

"Hermione," he says softly.

"Yeah?"

"We should go to the doctor, just as a precaution," he suggests and as I regard him, I nod. I know exactly what he means. Considering what nearly happened earlier… I smile. I can't wait to experience that with him.

"Well, at least we understand each other. Now, I suggest you get up, Ms Granger. Make yourself presentable. We don't want anyone to get any ideas," he laughs.

"They already have their ideas, Harry."

Smiling, he gets up and grabs my hands. I shriek as he pulls me to my feet and then to the door. He opens it and pushes me out.

I grin like an idiot as I turn around. I smile even more seeing the amusement in his eyes. "Are you kicking me out?" I ask as I fold my arms beneath my breasts therefore pushing them up.

"I don't want them to get anymore ideas," he smirks as he eyes my cleavage and he groans. "You are killing me," he says softly as he steps up to me.

"Good," I smirk as I lean towards him with the intention of kissing him, when his eyes widen in shock at whatever he sees behind me. Unexpectedly, the hairs on the back of my neck start to prickle. I don't need to turn around to know who is there.

"Don't mind me. By all means, carry on."

My skin breaks out in gooseflesh at the animosity in his voice and it makes me want to apologise...for falling in love with his best friend.

Harry's jaw is determined as he is the first to recover. I slowly turn around, not knowing what to expect and I instinctively reach for his hand as it closes over mine.

"Good morning, Ron. Sleep well?" He tries to keep his tone of voice light, but it does nothing to the young man with fiery red hair and blue eyes standing opposite us with his hands in tight fists.

He regards us for a moment. "So what? Are you sleeping together now?"

Harry steps forward, "Even if we were, it's none of your business and for the record, it was not like that. Hermione needed me and I was there for her."

"Yeah. Outstanding moral fibre and that shit," he snaps.

I am shocked by his comment and it strikes a chord in my heart. To my surprise, I want to hurt him. "Ron, that's not fair."

"Well, there's a lot of that going around, now isn't there?" He walks past without saying another word. I stare helplessly after him and I don't understand his animosity that appears to be bordering on anger. It feels as if we are heading for an explosion.

I turn around, "I feel awful."

He frowns, "For what? For loving me? Come on, Hermione, I know you better than that."

"No...for hurting him," I whisper as I push past him, however he doesn't release my hand and I jerk backwards and straight into his arms. He reaches behind us, opens his door and takes me with him.

"Harry," I gasp when I find my voice.

"You are mine," he breathes, "And I don't want you to feel guilty for loving me."

His low tone of voice caresses me, sending delicious tingles through my body. The temptation to kiss him is overwhelming. I ball my hands into tight fists - it's all I can do to prevent myself from turning around and kissing him. His lips tease my neck, eliciting a soft moan from me.

"Harry, don't tease me," I breathe.

He ignores me as he slips his hands beneath my camisole. I suck in air and stand absolutely still as he gently fondles my breasts that are standing at attention. His touch is like a blazing and burning fire.

"Hermione," he breathes as he moves his hands away from my breasts to my hips and he gently turns me around. He cups my face, drawing me towards him for his kiss and as soon as his lips mesh with mine, I shoot my arms around him as I don't want the moment to end, but we both know it has to, otherwise it will make an already-tense situation that much more tense.

I gently break our kiss, "Harry, we should at least join them for breakfast," I whisper.

He sighs, "I know… I suppose we should join them."

"We should, but I need to be presentable," I smirk as I gracefully step away from him. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths to get my raising pulse back under control. My body is still tingling from his touch and there is this warmth radiating from the pit of my stomach.

"Yeah, you do," he smirks as he turns around and opens the door for me. "Off you go." He shoos me out and I roll my eyes at him. He is trying to get rid of me…again. As I walk past him, he winks at me and he has the audacity to smack my ass.

"Harry," I chide as I turn around.

He leans against the door, grinning at me. "Yeah?"

Shaking my head, I return his smile. "See you later…And please ensure that no-one is sitting next to you when I come down for breakfast. I don't care what Ron or Ginny think about us, but I want to sit next to you. Promise me?"

He shrugs his shoulders. "I'll try, but they were hell-bent on keeping us separated last night. I can't promise anything, but I will try. Now, go and get dressed, Hermione. I am not asking you again. It's maddening seeing you dressed like that," he says softly.

Blushing slightly, I turn around and deliberately swing my hips as I walk away from him. I feel the heat of his eyes piercing my back and my entire body flushes with pleasure. He makes me feel good about myself when he looks at me, and he makes me forget about Bellatrix and what she did to me. I don't know what it is about him, but I have not thought about her since I woke up this morning. In fact, all I can think about is Harry. I walk into Ginny's bedroom, grinning like an idiot and when I don't see her, I am relieved. I don't want to confront her about Harry just yet.