Hi Everyone

I would like to thank all of you for your positive reviews and feedback and I would like to welcome you to Chapter Six of my novel.

Read and enjoy.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Please note that this chapter and the chapter to follow contain mild adult themes and language.

DISCLAIMER

A big thank you to JK Rowling for creating the wonderful world of Harry Potter.

Chapter 06

Harry and I regard each other from across the Weasley's livingroom and he winks at me. I automatically touch the heart-shaped pendant hiding beneath my clothes and I blush...profusely. He insisted on buying it for me when we were in Hogsmeade today. It is a small gold heart-shaped pendant on a fine long gold chain. At the moment the pendant is nestled between my breasts. My movement does not go by unnoticed by Ron or Ginny and by their dark expressions, they probably think we've gone all the way. Let them think what they want. I am not going to let it spoil the last hour or so before we go to bed and that is what I am thinking about.

Mrs Weasley is okay with us sleeping in the same room, but not in the same bed, hence the mattress that was placed next to his bed during the course of the day. As if that's going to prevent us from sharing the same bed. The thought makes me squirm in my seat and my discomfit, if one can call it that, has not gone by unnoticed by them either. They are both passing off an unpleasant vibe and it is getting difficult to ignore. I just wish they'd speak their minds so that we can move on and away from this...childish behavior. Ron's behavior does not surprise me because he has always been a clown and always ready to crack a joke or pass a comment...and that was only when he wasn't behaving like a git, but Ginny's behavior - it's not like her to behave immaturely. I don't understand why there should be a vibe at all, considering what we've faced throughout the course of the school year.

I feel his eyes on me and I smile at him. He points to the empty spot next to him and without thinking twice about it and more to distract myself from their icy stares, I trudge towards him, shoving my hands into the pockets of my body-warmer. In spite of it being mid-summer, there is a chill on the air and the thought of a hot shower has never felt as welcoming as it does now. As I sit next to him, he reaches for my hand and moves it onto his lap. I draw my legs up and curl into his side and I rest my head on his shoulder.

"I was thinking," he whispers, "About a hot shower..."

I stifle my surprised gasp. Has he forgotten about Ron and Ginny who, by this point, are glaring at us?

"Harry," I chide.

"Yeah?"

"Don't say things like that," I reply.

"Why not? All I want is a hot shower," he smirks. "Or are you going all coy on me after what we got up to today?"

My blush deepens and I don't know where to look. I don't think I can chance looking at him, otherwise I will just throw myself at him like I did, when he gave the pendant to me. I threw myself into his arms and kissed him passionately in the middle of the street outside the jewellery store. The wizard who owns the place was very sweet to us and he informed us that he often goes out into the muggle world to buy jewellery. He said that we may be wizards and witches, but that didn't make us any less human. I liked his thoughts on the matter…until we started discussing the events at Hogwarts. He became sad, but he didn't elaborate and I didn't ask, but Harry and I agreed afterwards that he probably lost someone close to him, but when we walked out into the street, I threw my arms around him and thanked him for the pendant which he later put on while we were at the Three Broomsticks drinking butter-beer.

I vehemently shake my head.

"Got up to what?" snarls Ron from across the livingroom.

"That is none of your business, Ronald," he replies as we both look at him.

"Yeah? The fact that you refuse to be honest is enough to know that you have-"

Harry releases my hand and jumps to his feet. "If you have something to say, then by all means, go ahead."

"Yeah?" he mutters as he jumps to his feet and approaches him. I notice Ron's hands are tightly balled fists as if he has difficulty in keeping his temper under control. I recoil in my seat as he towers and tries to intimidate Harry, who will not back down. Ron is at least a head taller than Harry and at the moment he looks positively angry and ready to land a few punches, hopefully not on Harry.

"Yeah, I have lots to say, Harry… The first thing being that you stole the girl I love away from me. The second thing is that you have always known how I felt about her, but in the meantime, you have had your eye on her. The third thing being that you have led Ginny on and that does not sit well with me."

Harry clenches his hands into tight fists and the chords of his neck muscles stands out. He has a fearsome temper and I thought it would settle down after he destroyed Voldemort.

"If you love her, Ronald, then why did you treat her disrespectfully? During all the years I have known you, you have never ever said a kind word about her or to her. You took delight in hurting her….And," he lowers his eyes, "I should have done something about it."

"Harry," I whisper as I move forward in my seat so that I can hold his hand.

"Yeah, you should have" smirks Ron, "But you didn't, yet…"

"I love him," I blurt out and everyone looks at me, including Ginny whose eyes are like narrowed slits. Her color is high and her eyes are too bright as if she is holding back tears.

Ron swallows…hard, "What did you say?"

I get up, throw my shoulders back and look him directly in the eye. At one stage, I loved his blue eyes as they always sparkled with mischief, now there is only pain in them. "I love him, Ron…I am sorry, but it's the truth. I love him and I have loved him for a very long time. Please don't ask me why or how because I won't be able to answer that. We just sort of fell together," I trail away.

"You kissed me back, Mione," he whispers, "You kissed me back."

I swallow hard. "I know…and I can't ever take it back. I just don't feel that way about you."

"Damn," he mutters. "I poured everything into that kiss."

"I know…And I don't expect you to ever forgive me. I just hope you will understand in time," I murmur as I walk towards him with the intention of comforting him somehow, yet he side-steps me.

"Don't touch me…," he warns as he takes another step away from me. I search his eyes and face for any sign of understanding and I don't find it. His expression is carefully guarded as if he doesn't want us to see too much, but I know he hurts. I see the pain in his eyes and that hurts like hell. I think I have just lost my best friend. I sit down, burying my head in my hands - it's all I can do to keep my emotions to myself. Why should it hurt so much when I endured six months of watching him snog Lavender Brown at every given opportunity as if he was punishing me for the interest other boys have shown in me?

He hated it when Viktor Krum took me to the Yule Ball during our fourth year. He went so far as to imply that Viktor was only interested in one thing because he was a couple of years older than me…and then there was Cormac McLaggen during sixth year - an arrogant jock who couldn't wait to get his hands on me and just to annoy Ron, I asked him to accompany me to one of Professor Slughorn's Slug Club parties, but even then he didn't care as he was too busy snogging Lavender Brown and now he has the audacity to be upset with me just because I chose Harry. Harry…I turn around and he extends his hand towards me.

"You aren't being fair, Ronald," I point out as I turn back to him and he visibly pales. I have never ever called him by his full name even though there were more than enough times for me to call him that, but this, I-feel-sorry-for-myself-because-I-have-lost-my-gir l is starting to annoy me.

"Fair?" he spits out. "Do you think it is fair on Ginny and me to watch you ogle each other?"

"Ron," says Harry as he steps in front of me. "Leave her alone."

"Otherwise, what?" he scoffs, "Are you going to take a swing at me? Come on then. Show us what you are made of."

"No, I will not demean myself by a fist fight, Ronald. It will not change anything, so you might as well drop the act."

"Oooh…Are you afraid?" he scoffs.

"No. I just don't think this will solve anything. Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to shower and then I am going to bed," he says firmly as he turns around and walks past me, however, anger contorts Ron's face and he swings his fist. I step between him and his fist connects my jaw, causing me to stagger and see stars as the pain radiates along my jaw into my head. I stare at him in open-mouthed shock and horror in my befuddled state. I don't quite understand what happened, but my jaw is throbbing madly. I force blink my eyes to clear my vision, but they close instead, only to open as I feel myself lose my footing.

"Harry," I whimper and in slow motion, he turns around and just as I am about to collapse, he gently catches me in his arms and lowers me to the floor.

"You stupid git!" yells Harry. "Why the fuck can't you behave like an adult instead of an immature school boy who cannot get his own way?"

I am momentarily shocked about his use of the 'f-word' and under normal circumstances, I would have found it funny, but my jaw is aching along with my head and the temptation to curl into a little ball and disappear forever sounds most welcoming.

"Yeah, Harry's stupid, idiotic friend," he snaps before storming out, muttering and cursing something unintelligible.

"Mione," murmurs Harry as he gently prods my swollen jaw and I smile. Mione sounds so perfect when he says it that I simply have to hear it again.

"Say it again," I barely whisper as his face appears in my line of vision. I feel weird as if I am disjointed and floating above everything.

"Say what?" he frowns as he smooths my fringe back.

"What you said just now," I whisper as I fight to stay awake.

"Mione?" he murmurs and I smile even though it is painful, but he is all I need and want right now. The rest doesn't matter.

"Is she going to be alright?"

"She needs ice. Do you have ice, Ginny?" he asks.

"I think so. I'll be right back."

"Thank you…I appreciate it."

"Harry?"

"Yeah?" he grins as he gently skims his fingers along my jaw.

"Kiss me."

He shakes his head. "I don't think you are in any condition to kiss," he points out and I sigh.

"At least I tried," I whisper, finally closing my eyes.

"Not hard enough," he murmurs right against my cheek, but I don't open my eyes. I feel restful now that they are closed.

I laugh. "Hard enough? Is that the best you can do?" I tease.

"Hermione, I think you have a slight concussion," he muses and to my surprise, he actually blushes. My words have made an impact on him and I reach for his hand resting lightly on my cheek.

"Maybe, just keep your hand where it is," I murmur as I gently stroke the top of it. Beneath my fingertips, I feel the words I must not tell lies and a flare of anger bursts through me. I remember how angry he was with me for reporting it to Professor McGonagall. He thought I was interfering in something I lacked the capacity to understand and he refused to speak to me for a week after that. If I think carefully, I remember feeling hurt and put out because he wasn't talking to me and the only company I had - and that was he and Ron were not doing guy things - was Ron and sometimes Ginny and that was only when she was not snogging Dean Thomas, her boyfriend at the time.

"Or," he murmurs, dropping his voice to a throaty whisper that, despite my throbbing jaw, sends a delicious tingle through my body, "Perhaps I should place it somewhere else."

Laughing, I open my eyes only to stare into an amused pair of green eyes. "And where might that be, because there is only one place I want your hand to be." I blush as soon as I've uttered the words and I mentally chide myself for being so brazen…and wanton. His eyes darken and become hooded while he thoughtfully regards me.

"You know, when you speak like that-" he pauses and a frown appears on his face.

"What? What were you going-" I start.

"Here's the ice, Harry," says Ginny as she drops next to me.

"Thank you, I appreciate it," he says.

"Anytime. Are you okay?" she asks as she eyes me with…Is that concern in her eyes? After the way she's treated me since yesterday? I don't know whether to be annoyed with her or not.

"I'll survive. I've been through worse, remember?" I point out a bit too harshly than intended and I automatically close my hand over my left wrist.

"That's not what I meant," she sighs. "I mean, I know what you went through and I am sorry she did that to you, but at least she paid with her life,"

"Thanks to your Mum," I put in and I close my eyes as soon as he touches the ice-pack to my jaw. The ice is in a plastic bag wrapped in a dish towel to take some of the chill off it but I feel it nonetheless.

An awkward silence ensues between the three of us. Each busy with their own thoughts. My thoughts drift to the events during the course of the year and my eyes fill with tears. I want my Mother. I need my Mother so that I can talk to her about my feelings for Harry, but she is out of my reach and I will never see her again and I don't think I'll attempt seeing them again either. It would be too painful to face them as they will not know who I am.

"It must be difficult," she says softly.

"What?" I ask, turning towards her.

"Everything," she replies as she gets to her feet. We both watch her walk away looking defeated as if she has lost her best friend. I am not surprised when I realise the feeling is mutual.

"Harry, we should leave as soon as possible." It's more of a statement than a question and I am not going argue with him should he be argumentative about it.

"I agree," he concedes. "We'll leave after Fred's funeral. Until then, I think we should sit tight and see what happens. Now, do you think you can stand?"

"Yes," I reply as I slowly sit up. My head is still pounding a mad staccato that is enough to drive me up the wall. He gets up, grabs my hands and pulls me all the way to my feet. He then secures his arm around my waist and we head up the stairs. I rest my head on his shoulders, half-expecting us to go to his bedroom, but he stops by the bathroom instead. As he opens the door, I become wide awake and a strange excitement starts building in the pit of my stomach. He guides me into the middle of the bathroom and he leaves me there. I hear the door click close and I slowly turn around, expecting him to be there. My excitement wanes and I let out a frustrated sigh. What can I do about it anyway? He has made it perfectly clear that he does not want to make love to me yet and that does not help the current way I feel when I want to feel him skin-to-skin and not just his torso. I want my body pinned beneath him while he makes love to me long, hard and maybe fast.

I can't believe my wayward thoughts. I should be ashamed of myself, but I am not. I have wanted him for too long and I have no intention of waiting much longer. With my jaw feeling better and a smile on my face, I turn on the taps and while it warms up, I quickly divest myself of my clothes. I step under the shower and I let out a satisfied smile. I enjoy a hot shower. I thread my fingers through my hair to ensure it becomes wet enough to wash it and I relish the tension ebbing from my shoulders. I did not realise I was so tense, until now. I gently massage my favorite jasmine and sweet-pea shampoo into my hair while my mind drifts towards the next few weeks and what they hold for all for us.

I am so deep in thought that for some reason, I stop what I am doing and I slowly turn around…and I flush when I notice Harry watching me with those too bright eyes of his. His expression is dark and there is a slight red tinge to his cheeks. Without meaning to, I roam my eyes along the length of his body…and I lean heavily against the shower wall with the water pouring over me when I rest my gaze on the very apparent erection straining beneath his jeans. I should look away, but I can't. My knees start shaking and I feel as if I am going to slide to the tiles. As I watch, he removes his shirt, his jeans and his black jocks…A low sigh escapes my lips when his erection is released from its confines. Liquid heat pools between my legs making me moan…wantonly. and he approaches with intent.

"The door?" I barely whisper.

He laughs softly. "Don't worry about the door. It is locked and no-one will hear us, I promise," he reassure me as he retrieves his wand from the counter.

"When did you?" I ask, gesturing to his wand.

"Just now. I couldn't wait. I kinda miss my wand," he explains as he carefully weighs it is in hands. A sense of relief washes across his features and I grin at him.

"Feel better?" I ask as he sets it aside.

"Yeah, but not quite. I don't think I will feel better until I have made you mine," he replies as he once again saunters towards me in all his manly glory…and he is glorious. The object of my desire is long and thick, nestled in curly black hair, except it is not nestling at the moment. It is proud and very erect and huge. I think my eyes widen and my mouth drops open the closer he gets. I am even more aware of my body's reaction - the tightness in my belly and my tingling breasts. He steps in and closes the short distance between us and I find that I can no longer wait for him. I launch into his arms and lock my hands securely around his neck at the same time our lips and bodies collide. For the first time we are naked. I feel my soft curves mold into his every hard muscle and I am tempted to wrap my legs around his hips, however his hands are caressing my buttocks, pulling me in for a very tight fit. His hard length presses into the soft flesh of my stomach, eliciting another moan from me. His mouth is hot and demanding in its exploration. His hands curl around my buttocks, lifting me enough to wrap my legs around his hips, just like I want. The extent of his arousal becomes more apparent and I arch towards him.

"Mione," he moans softly as my hands explore his upper back. He feels so strong and warm and wet due to the water raining on us, but I don't mind. I've always wondered what it feels like to make love in the shower, but never did I think I would be doing it with Harry, and the thought excites me enough to bravely reach for his erection. I gasp at the heaviness of it in my hands and the velvety way it feels, and I guide him towards him, until he touches me enough to elicit low moans from me.

"Are you sure?" he breathes.

"Are we ever certain?" I muse. "Make love to me, Harry, please?"

He laughs softly, "What do you think I am doing?"

I lean away from him and smile, "You are talking too much. I need to feel you…all of you," I whisper and I kiss him long and hard while he teases me. I feel him nudge the entrance of my innermost place and I brace myself for the pain I may experience when he slowly enters me, however he distracts me by murmuring soothing words in my ear.

"We can always stop," he whispers.

I shake my head, "I don't want you to stop. I've waited for this for too long."

"Yeah, that I understand," he murmurs as he once again presses his lips against mine. I don't know if we will make love tonight, but it doesn't matter as I want to feel him like this. I want to become one with him and to let him know my thoughts, I deepen my kiss and wrap my arms securely around him, leaving him in charge and where he goes, I will follow.