Chapter Fourteen: Hurt
Harry's hands around her waist felt warm and familiar, very much unlike Malfoy's large, cold, strong palms that gripped her tightly and refused to let her go.
Hermione tutted at herself. Why was she bringing Malfoy back into her thoughts? She was here to forget, for Merlin's sake! Very soon, things would start to change and the war would intensify, very soon, she, Harry and Ron would embark on their quest to find the remaining Horcruxes and bring down Voldemort. This was a constant thought in her mind, hovering over her mind like a rain cloud, threatening to obliterate any happiness or peace she might find.
But not now. Not tonight.
Tonight she was determined to forget everything that had happened in the past year, every bad thing, and simply enjoy what time she had left before everything changed.
She caught Ron's eye from across the Great Hall and winked as he sent her a bright smile. He was dancing with Romilda Vane. She felt Harry's lips pressing softly into her shoulder, and she smiled at him as they ended their dance.
"Feeling alright?" he asked as he led her away from the dance floor.
"Never better," Hermione said airily as they sat down at their table. It was true, too. The night had been just what she had wanted, a good distraction. She had danced with Ginny and Luna and Neville, of course. Even Ron had asked her to dance. Though he had seemed a bit distracted, he had been at his best and had made her laugh till her belly hurt. Several times she had caught him staring at her with a sad smile on his face, and when asked what was wrong, he would cough and stutter and change subjects.
Neville and Luna were sitting to Hermione's right, looking content, but tired. It was about time, too, for the two had been dancing all night, and she had often wondered were they not tired at all. Luna 's face was sweaty and flushed from all the dancing, but there was a bright glint in her eyes that matched her ruffled silver dress that hinted her fatigue would not stand in the way of her having fun that night. Neville, on the other hand, seemed like he was on the verge of collapsing, his eyelids drooping and he slid further down into his chair little by little, much to Hermione's amusement. She watched as Luna leaned over and grabbed his hand and he immediately seemed to come to life again, sitting straighter and he sent her an adoring smile.
Ron approached the table then, and they all took notice of his ruffled coif and red face, which was just as red as his trademark hair.
"Where's Romilda?" Harry asked as Ron sat beside him.
"Went to the loo," Ron replied, taking a sip from his goblet of water.
Hermione hid her laugh with a well-timed cough and turned to Harry. He had been watching her with guarded eyes so she could not tell if he was happy or simply lost in thought. He had placed his hand atop hers, she had not noticed, and was stroking her skin with his thumb as he gazed at her.
"Is something wrong?" she asked quietly. Though she could not read his eyes, she could read the sad curve in his lips well, and could tell something was troubling him.
"You look stunning tonight," he whispered back and she blushed, smiling into her glass of water.
"And you look quite the gentleman as well," she said. "If only we could do something about your hair."
She was teasing him; his hair had been gelled and spelled into perfection for the occasion, and for once, his usually unruly locks were not sticking out in every direction. All the same, Harry smoothed his hand over his hair nervously.
Hermione stilled his arm. "Relax, darling, you look fine."
He stood up then, straightening his suit, and offered her his hand.
"Feel like taking a break?" he asked. In response she took his hand and stood, smoothing her dress.
"I'll be back later to help you clean up," she told Neville.
"Don't worry about it," Neville assured her. "I can manage."
Hermione was about to concede when Harry cut in. "She'll help. You'll finish faster that way."
Harry ignored the confused look Neville and Hermione gave him and turned to Ron. They exchanged a serious glance. Harry nodded to Ron, raising his eyebrows, and when Ron nodded and looked away, he departed from the table still holding onto Hermione's wrist, and led her from the Great Hall and into the hallway.
"What was that about?" Hermione asked as he led her up the stairs.
Harry feigned indifference, clouding the turmoil in his mind as he pulled her along.
"Nothing. I just think you should spend more time with Neville before we leave."
"But we're not leaving yet!" Hermione protested, frowning. His grip on her wrist had tightened by a fraction, and he was tugging her up the stairs, so quickly she almost tripped over her gown.
"Harry, what's going on?" she asked. She didn't dare pull out of his grasp in fear of falling down the stairs or tripping over her dress so she endeavored to keep up. He stopped suddenly, giving her an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I just wanted to be alone with you."
Hermione sighed. "You could have said that from the start. I was beginning to worry."
"We can go back if you want," he said.
"No," she said. "I didn't mean to stay there long anyway. I'd rather be with you."
Harry smiled and they resumed walking.
She had thought they would be going to the Gryffindor Tower, but instead he veered them in the direction of the Head dorms.
They were the only ones in the corridor, since everybody else was back at the Great Hall. Their footsteps echoed around them, and Hermione shivered as the cold air touched her skin. Still Harry said nothing, he didn't look back or let go of her hand.
They had reached the entrance. Hermione have the password and they stepped in, Hermione giggling as she almost tripped through the entrance. Harry caught her and helped her through.
He stepped forward, catching her between himself and the wall. He held her face lightly in his palms and he stared at her for a moment, his green eyes boring into her brown ones, as though he was trying to memorize them.
"Harry?" she asked.
He pressed a soft kiss onto her lips. Hermione stared up at him, eyes wide with confusion.
"I love you," he breathed into her lips before kissing her again, more deeply than before. His hands left her face, one cupped the back of her head, and the other wrapped around her waist, pressing her more firmly into him. Leaning into him more closely, she brought her hands to his shoulders, her fingertips grazing the sides of his neck.
Hermione could not reply, his mouth was attached to hers, his hands now trailing down to her bum and below, to the backs of her thighs and he crouched, with one swift movement he had picked her up so she had her knees around him.
Hermione yelped with surprise, laughing, and gripped his shoulders more tightly as he carefully yet quickly walked to her room. His lips were on her collarbones, nipping and kissing as he pushed open her door and stumbled to the bed.
In the next instant, she found herself sprawled on her own bed, the skirt of her dress riding up to her thighs as Harry crawled atop her, ridding himself of some of his clothing.
Desire rippled through her, settling between her hips. Hermione could see a strain at the front of Harry's trousers and went still.
A bubble of fear and unease welled up inside her and she let out a whimper as his hand trailed up her exposed leg, pushing the fabric of her dress farther up.
As if he had read her mind, he pressed a kiss to her neck.
"Don't be frightened," he whispered. "I would never hurt you."
She nodded and took a deep breath as she reached to her side and pulled the zipper of her dress down, and smiled self consciously as Harry helped her slide out of the red fabric, wiggling her hips to get the last of it off her legs. Despite her ease with Harry unsettling memories with another person began to resurface, and she turned her head away, blushing, thinking back to the last time she had been in a situation similar to this one.
His fingers gripped her chin and turned her back to face him.
"Don't be embarrassed," he murmured.
"I can't help but remember..." Hermione rubbed at her forehead as if that would erase the memories.
"If you don't want to, we won't," Harry said.
"I want to," she said, a little more eager than she wanted. "Just-not too fast."
Harry kissed her softly in agreement.
Slowly, she led his hands to her breasts, still kissing as he massaged them gently, and the tips of his fingers ghosted over her nipples, which pebbled under his touch. Hermione let out a quiet moan, which only grew louder when he took one in his mouth. He worked at her nipple with his tongue, flicking and laving it while his other hand squeezed her other breast-carefully, carefully, carefully. He sucked on her nipple, once, twice, three times, each harder than the last, and each time her body arched to meet his mouth, a hoarse sound drawing long and guttural from her throat.
Her skin felt like it was on fire, her breasts felt so much more sensitive under his touch, and she moaned, running her hands down his back. Her body pulsed-she was acutely aware of his body between her legs.
Harry freed her nipple, panting, and kissed her on the mouth, his teeth dragging on her lower lip. Hermione sighed into his mouth and pressed her hands over his back. He had removed his shirt, so she took the opportunity to explore the feel of his muscles and shoulder blades as they moved in accordance with his actions.
His hands moved down her body, taking in the curves of her hips and slipped down to the apex of her thighs, which was covered by her simple underwear.
"Is this too much?" he asked, his voice a little raw.
His nearness was electrifying. Hermione closed her eyes, willed her body to calm, to stop the rush of wetness at the press of his knee against her inner thigh, insisting to her heart to slow its beat.
But they wanted more.
"Not enough," she said, drawing him closer, angling for that friction again.
He leaned closer to her lower body. Hermione watched as he removed her panties, she raised her hips and allowed him to slide them off her legs and banish them to the dark corners of her room.
His hands went to unbuckle his belt, and that was when she froze. Before he could unzip his pants she quickly reached out, stalling his actions.
"I-I'm not ready for that yet," she said, blushing fiercely.
Immediately he stopped, holding her hands in his own. "Okay," he said.
"I do want to, though," she rushed to clarify. "Only not now."
"I understand," he said. "There's just one thing I'd like to try, if you'd let me."
She looked into his eyes for a second or two. He had such beautiful eyes. So kind and loving and warm, so unlike his, whose gaze held nothing but malice and a promise for destruction.
Hermione nodded, and gasped as he leaned forward, gently pulling her thighs apart, and then placed his mouth on her. Her hips jerked in response-she had been resting on her elbows, but the intensity of the shock of desire that had jolted through her had turned her muscles to jelly and she flopped down onto the mattress as he gave her slit one long lick. Her hands locked in and twisted in his hair as she moaned again. Her desire pooled between her thighs and he licked it up like the sweetest honey. Slowly, his fingers rubbed around her clit, varying in pressure from the lightest touch to a firm pressure and she bucked again, shamelessly pressing herself closer to him.
There was a fire kindling inside of her, starting at her toes. It felt like a spring coiling tighter and tighter inside her, and though it felt slightly uncomfortable she found she craved it, needed it to reach something she could not name. She gave a startled 'oh!' when his tongue made direct contact with her clit, stroking at that fire until she felt she would burst, her back was arching into the cold air of her room, her nipples stiff and still red from their ravaging which had taken place moments ago. Harry gripped her thighs, pulling her more closely around him. Feeling his hair tickle her skin, Hermione shuddered and threw her head back into the mattress.
She was so close-inside she was coiling tighter and tighter and she needed to let go else she felt she would snap. Harry worried her lower lips gently, oh so gently, between his teeth, then traveled back up to her clit- his teeth grazed it and she started with surprise, clenching her hands in his hair so tight she might have torn some hairs out. Head buried between her legs, Harry seemed lost to the rest of the world and so was she-all thoughts had gone from her mind and all she knew was the pleasure and her own rising climax. Her whole body burned, throbbed, ached for that release so much that she began to beg, for what she wasn't sure. All she knew was that she needed to let go.
"Please," she gasped, and that was all the invitation he needed to give her clit a hard-pressured lick, and another, and another, his hands massaging her thighs, repeatedly until she cried out as the waves of ecstasy crashed through her, tensing her limbs and stealing her vision so she saw nothing but stars.
Harry watched as she came back down, licking his lips as she lay there, her breathing shallow and quick. He was so hard, his cock ached for attention but he paid it no mind, for tonight was not about him.
Her eyes had closed, but they opened again slowly as he kissed her on the lips, on each cheek, the tip of her nose, her forehead, both her breasts.
"I love you," she whispered. She reached out, tugging at his arms until he laid down beside her, tucking her into him. She was already falling into the clutches of sleep as she shifted her head on her pillow, so she didn't hear his broken whisper as he said
"I'm sorry."
"Hermione."
She cracked one eye open, letting her vision focus on Harry as her consciousness began to awaken.
"Yes?"
"The ball is over."
She stirred. "I should go help Neville."
"You should."
His hand on her cheek pressed into her flesh in a loving manner for a second before he got off the bed to search for his shirt. Yawning, Hermione stood and rushed to rearrange her dress, blushing. She had nearly laughed upon finding her knickers spread about the room but now that Harry had seen her, she supposed she should not care so much.
Her hair had been loose for the ball, so she didn't bother much with it, only used a few minor spells to calm the lionesses' mane that she had somehow grown when she and Harry had…
Her eyes found him in the darkness of her room, and she went over to him, grabbing his face and pulling his head down so she could give him a kiss.
"Thank you," she spoke into his lips.
He crushed his lips against hers, perhaps a bit harder than was necessary, but she didn't mind. His hands held the back of her head as his lips ravaged hers. Hermione frowned.
Something felt off about the kiss. He seemed desperate-pleading, even.
She pulled away, and her eyes searched his.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, cupping his cheek in her palm. He leaned into her touch, closing his eyes.
"Nothing's wrong. I need to go to the loo, so I'll see you when you come back up." He forced a grin onto his face.
"I'll try not to take too long," Hermione promised, pecking him once more on the lips before she left the room. She had been too lazy to put her shoes back on, so she supposed she should not have been shocked when her bare feet hit the cold stone floor. She set off down the many flights of stairs towards the Great Hall, passing by the last groups of students who had left the ball.
Hermione absently pressed her fingers to her lips as she made her way. She felt great-better than great, she felt bloody wonderful! Her steps were light and she smiled to herself as she though back to the way Harry had made her feel, what he had done to her body.
"There you are!"
Neville's voice broke into her thoughts, and she blushed, for a moment having thought he knew what she had been thinking of.
"Another ball, another success," he went on as they entered the Great Hall. "It's a shame you didn't stay longer, we could have had more fun."
Hermione looked around the great room. The tables had been cleared and there was no garbage on the floor, and most of the decorations had been taken down.
"I took the liberty of starting the cleanup before you got here," he admitted. "There's really not much left to do, I'm sure we could finish in a matter of minutes, unless you want to go get some shut eye early."
Hermione withdrew her wand from a secret pocket in her dress.
"Nonsense," she said. "We'll do it together."
Just as Neville had predicted, the duo had finished cleanup in record time, jesting and acting silly as they normally did when in each other's presence. They were currently on their way up the stairs, each looking forward to getting some rest before the next day came, when the students would be leaving for the holiday.
"I'm thinking of making some hot chocolate before bed, would you like some?" Hermione asked Neville.
He blushed and stammered a bit before saying, "Well, actually, Luna invited me to hang out in the Ravenclaw common room. We won't be able to see each other over the holiday, so we figured we might spend as much time with each other as possible before then."
"Seems a fine idea," Hermione said, grinning.
They had reached the sixth floor.
"This is my stop," Neville said, and they came to a halt.
"If I don't see you on the train tomorrow, have a good holiday, Hermione," he said, hugging her tightly.
"You as well," she said, smiling warmly. "I'll miss you."
"And I," he replied. He turned and began to walk away, but seemed to have changed his mind about something, because he abruptly turned back and strode over to where she still stood.
"Promise me you'll be careful," he said seriously. "Promise me you'll look after yourself. Write ne when you're safely home."
"Nothing's going to go wrong, Neville," Hermione chastised. "I'll be safe. We're just staying at the Burrow for the holiday, and it's well protected, so I doubt something will happen."
His expression only darkened, and he held her gaze more intently.
"Humor me."
She sighed.
"Fine," she snapped. "I promise I'll be careful and I'll look after myself."
The tension in his posture eased a little, and he cracked a small smile before he kissed her forehead and began to walk away backwards.
"I'm making a note of that promise, Granger!" he called. "You better be here when the holidays are over!"
Hermione laughed.
"Count on it, Longbottom!" she teased. "Someone needs to make sure she's still top of the class."
He laughed and waved over his shoulder before turning a corner, and smiling to herself, she began the climb back to her dorm.
