Six

The next day Harry went home after breakfast so he could prepare for his date. Hermione was more nervous than him and couldn't think about anything else for the entire day. She organized, cleaned, built the bookcase, gave Crookshanks a bath, prepared work for Monday, cooked, napped, and it was only ten o' clock at night. Who knew how long their date was going to be? She may not hear anything until the next day. Maybe they would spend the night together, anything was possible.

Draco would probably be the one inviting Harry back to his place. Harry had had zero experience with men, so Draco would have to be in charge and help him, initiating the first kiss and telling him what to do. He would hold him and place Harry's hands where he wants them, encouraging him along so he wouldn't feel insecure. He would gently push Harry to lay down on his bed and climb on top of him, feeling him through his trousers and pressing their bodies together…

Hermione had let her imagination get too far and now there was no turning back. She pressed one hand between her legs and sighed relieved at the feeling.

Well, it was certainly another way to pass up the time.

It was almost midnight when there was some tapping on her window and she literally sprinted towards it, opening it so the owl could come in.

The letter was from Harry.

Had a great time with Draco tonight. He took me to the fanciest restaurant I've ever been in and we talked, ate, and flirted. He just dropped me off at my flat five minutes ago and kissed me at the doorstep. It wasn't as different as I imagined, and he made it very easy for me the whole time. Then he left and I'm here alone, writing this for you.

More details later, I'm tired and going to bed (I repeat, alone.) See you tomorrow!

Love,

Harry.

Hermione was giddy with excitement and immediately wrote a reply.

It took you five minutes to start writing to me? That must have been a good kiss.

I'm really glad you had fun and I'll be waiting for you tomorrow to tell me every single little thing, since I can't count on Draco to be specific about anything. Also, bring popcorn, I'm out.

Love,

Hermione.

She sent the owl back with her letter and went to sleep, already thinking about the next date.

Harry and her.

.

Work was slightly better that Monday since her boss was away on business and she took over her responsibilities for the day. She classified the cases that week, dividing them up amongst the most qualified lawyers and even taking a small one for herself, even though she wasn't supposed to represent anyone just yet.

How much damage could one tiny case of underage magic do?

The case was due the next day so she started preparing for it at the library, and planned on staying there through lunch. She felt a bit guilty because if Harry knew, he'd kill her.

They had discussed his date with Draco the day before, and even though Harry was terrible at picking up cues and feelings, she was great at reading them, especially his. He really appreciated how slow and smooth it had gone, and Harry just radiated warmth when he talked about Draco's openness when it came to relationships and sexuality, and Hermione understood completely. Often uncomfortable and annoying, Draco's honesty was truly one of his best characteristics and it made you feel secure. It was still a mystery to her how he managed to develop such a peculiar characteristic, but she would probably find out in time.

But Harry was completely smitten with him and she couldn't blame him. She just hoped they could have that too.

Hermione had been taking notes and reading for a couple of hours when a certain tall blonde wearing a sharp suit interrupted her.

"Hermione, how are you today?" He took the liberty to sit down and place two bags on the table. Hermione smelled food.

"You're not eating here, right?" She pointed to the bags with preoccupation.

He narrowed his eyes. "I'm fine myself, thank you for asking. And no, I am not eating here, we are eating here." He started unpacking the bags.

"No, no, no. I'm working, see?" She signaled to the books covering half the table. "And this is a library, you can't eat here."

"Again, is not me, it's us. Harry and I are on a mission to keep you from starving yourself to death," he informed her, pulling out his wand and carefully moving every book from their table to the next one.

"Hey!" she protested, taking them back, fighting against his magic with her hands.

He continued flicking his wand back and forth with a bored expression. "We can do this all day. All my obligations are already taken care of, and the food will stay warm until we're ready to eat it. Your choice."

She stared at him furiously but knowing she had already lost. She grunted, displeased and sat back down, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Good. So, what do you prefer, soup or salad?" He placed two metal containers in front of her and she shrugged.

"Soup is faster." She took the one that looked like soup and grabbed a spoon. All the containers and cutlery looked expensive and beautiful, and there wasn't a speck of plastic around. Draco Malfoy definitely didn't do simple.

He took the other container for himself and started eating. "Are you really so engrossed in your work that you're not going to ask how my date with Harry went?"

She looked up from her food and saw the tiniest bit of hurt in his expression, but perfectly mascaraed as nonchalance.

"I didn't know if you'd want to tell me. I mean, you probably know that Harry did, and I just assumed…"

"You should have known that I would want to tell my version too. Who knows what Potter's been saying about me-"

"Harry," she corrected him.

"Harry. Anyway, I took him to one of the best French restaurant in London, and despite what you might have heard, it wasn't so fancy," he clarified and Hermione laughed.

Draco continued, "I got him to try escargot and he told me about figuring out he was bi. I shared my own realization with him and he gave me all of his carrots. Then we talked a bit about Hogwarts, about my work, about his lack of work, and about dating in general. We shared dessert, I paid and we walked through the park to his flat. I tested the waters to see if he wanted to kiss me and he did, so I did. It wasn't too long or too short, and then he went inside and I left." He finished the story and opened another container that appeared to have curry.

It was pretty much the same thing Harry had told her, but very methodical and structured.

"When did you realize you weren't straight?" she asked, too curious for her own good.

He finished chewing before speaking. "After the war. It obviously took me a while to disengage my mind from all the ideas and preconceptions I had about…many things." His eyes flickered to hers for a second and she understood what he meant, but before she could say anything he was speaking again. "One of them was my own sexuality, and I learned how much more there was from what I had previously imagined. For a while I just went with it and never used a label but now I find that the term 'pansexual' pretty much fits."

This was the first time they had discussed his past and she wanted to ask so many questions, but the time and place wasn't right. "I'm so glad you disengaged your mind." She smiled honestly. She was so proud of him.

"It was necessary, but thank you, I'm glad too." He smiled as well, but maybe a little sadly.

Draco was confident and self-assured most of the time, but she got the feeling that it didn't come that easily to him after the war, and he had to constantly work on it.

He made Hermione have some curry before deciding to let her get back to work.

"Has Harry told you when he's taking you out yet?" Draco asked with a strange grin.

"Um, no. Why do you look like that? Did he tell you?" she questioned him back and he shook his head.

"I don't know a thing," he claimed innocently.

He definitely did know something but there was no way he was going to tell her. She didn't know how to crack him like she did with Harry.

"It was nice having lunch with you." He stepped in and hugged her, to her complete surprise. She hugged him back, and closed her eyes, appreciating the physical contact as well as his mesmerizing scent.

"I can't wait for you to take me out," he whispered into her ear and she shivered.

"Yeah, me neither," she mumbled. Now all she wanted was to forget about work and keep hugging Malfoy until Harry picked her up. And then hug Harry too.

He let go and she almost whined.

"Bye," he smiled and walked away.

"Bye... "

She sighed. Back to work.

At least she got to see Harry at the end of her day.

But she will miss Draco. She was honestly wishing that time would go by faster, because she was tired of not being with both.

.

Although she saw Harry every day that week, he refused to tell her when the date would take place.

"I'll let you know," was all he would say.

Eventually Friday came and she knew it had to be either then or the next day. Just in case, she dressed up nicer than usual and was on high alert all day.

Hermione finished early and just sat at her desk, waiting. At exactly six o'clock, Harry showed up, looking slightly less disheveled than every other day. Sometimes it was hard to believe he was the man standing in front of her, instead of the boy she grew up with.

She had to remind herself, he was both.

He took one look at her and smiled. "It's really hard to surprise you, you know that?"

She jumped down from her chair excitedly. "Sorry. You know I don't like surprises."

He offered her his arm and she took it, feeling like a schoolgirl going on a class trip for the first time.

"Where are we going?" she wondered.

"You'll see," he promised and started leading her out.

As they left the main lobby of the Ministry, she spotted a familiar face in the distance. Draco was leaning against a wall, watching them go with a smirk. He winked at her and she blushed, but before she could tell Harry, they were out of the building.

"Hold on tight," he told her and disapparated them.

When she was able to focus her eyes again, she saw hundreds of trees, wide green grass as far as the eye could see, and a very familiar tent.

She gasped, both hands coming up to her mouth in surprise.

"This is... This," she babbled.

"This is where we were when Ron left," Harry explained, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "We were here for a little while, and I heard you crying so many times. It broke my heart. I didn't know what to do to help. Even though I always had faith in Ron, sometimes, I wondered what we would do if he never came back. I have never wondered that about you. You never left, and I know you never will. Every time I imagined running away, finding a new life, you were always there with me. I don't know how I would have survived those days without you, and I guess I wanted to thank you and come back here to try and turn bad memories into good ones."

Hermione had already started tearing up at the sight of the tent, but by the end of his explanation she was full on sobbing. He draped one arm over her shoulders but she turned around and hugged him, needing him close.

"I don't know what to say... This is... The most beautiful thing." She sniffed, not knowing how to explain to him what a wonderful person and friend he was.

He squeezed her even harder. "Also, it's late spring so it's nicer now than it was when we were here."

She laughed, trying to stop the tears.

They let go and he took her hand, leading her to a tree next to the tent. They sat underneath it and she felt elated by the beauty of that place.

And by Harry.

They were quiet for a while, just admiring the view and relishing in the sounds of nature and quiet.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, Hermione. I'm still pretty terrified," Harry broke the silence. "Sometimes I lie awake at night and think this is too insane to work. But then I remember all the insane things we've done together and I feel better. I'm not 'progressive' like you and Draco, I don't know anything about polyamory or alternative relationships and honestly, I feel pretty boring most of the time. Draco is ridiculously interesting and has had all these crazy experiences, and you... Well, you're the most wonderful witch in the entire world. I just feel too normal for something like this and I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it..." he confessed, not looking at her.

Hermione's stomach dropped. Harry was anything but boring.

"But." He looked up at her with a soft smile. "I really trust you. If you think I can do this, then let's do it."

She smiled, relieved. "I can't promise anything, Harry. But I really like you and Draco, and I think this can work. You're such a wonderful person and more interesting than you'll ever know. Who would honestly say that Harry Potter is not interesting? You have qualities I wouldn't even dream of having, and you can handle anything you want. When you really think about it, this isn't insane at all. For me it seems only logical that you and I would get caught up in the middle of something like this."

He laughed a bit and they relaxed into each other, lying down.

"I just realized I didn't bring food or drinks or anything to do. I'm the worst date planner ever." He chuckled at his own words, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Come on, we don't need anything. I'm just happy lying down here and looking at the sky. And don't feel bad, I still have no idea where I'm taking Malfoy for our date," she admitted, scooting closer to Harry and resting her head on his chest while his closed his arm around her shoulder.

"Draco," he corrected her. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll figure it out. It won't matter how good it is, though. He'll still find a way to make fun of it."

"That's true."

They both exhaled happily.

"Remember when we tried to fish over there?" She pointed to the stream in the distance and felt Harry nodding.

"Yeah, you were terrible," he recalled and she scoffed.

"Well, excuse me for not knowing how to magically fish magical fish. They were very clever and invisible most of the time," she justified.

He shrugged. "I managed to get a couple."

"See? That's something you're better at than me." She poked him in the stomach.

"Very useful in times of war," he half joked.

She thought for a moment. "Maybe we should pretend this is a real first date, like we don't know each other."

"Sure," he agreed. "What would you do on a first date?"

"I guess ask general questions about you to get to know you better, like... What school did you go to?"

"Well, Hermione, I went to Hogwarts, have you heard of it?" He started pretending and she played along.

"Have I heard of it? I went to Hogwarts too. How strange that we never met," she faked surprise.

He hummed. "Quite strange. And what do you do now?"

"I'm pursuing a career in magical law at the Ministry. A bit boring, but necessary if I want to help underrepresented creatures fight the system in the future." She had been giving out the same answer to anyone who asked for the past two years and by now it felt like an automated response, she didn't even think about what it meant anymore. But something about her words irked her and made her feel uncomfortable, but she didn't want to deal with it right then.

"That's interesting. Do you enjoy long walks in the beach?" Harry asked, looking down at her with a mocking expression.

"How did you know? And tell me, Henry, what's your favorite color?" Her voice was high pitched and ridiculous.

He snorted and she tried not to laugh. "It's Harry actually, and my favorite color is green. What about yours?"

"Yellow. Tell me about your past relationships." She noticed he had started playing with the sleeve of her blouse, just below her shoulder, and it was amazing how natural it felt. They had done all of this before; lie down next to each other, goof around for hours, play with each other's hair or clothes, and generally be very close to one another. It made her feel like the transition from friends to lovers wasn't going to be so difficult after all.

"Just two. The first one barely lasted a week and then I dated my best friend's sister for about six months. That's it," he told her. That all seemed to happen ages ago.

"Do you know him?" he asked after a while and she nodded. Neither of them had wanted to bring up Ron, but she felt like maybe this was the right time.

"Do you think he'll hate us?" Harry wondered, putting into words what they both had probably been thinking for a while now.

"No," she answered. But it wasn't as simple as that. "I don't think he'll ever hate us, I just fear that he won't understand. Especially when we bring Draco into the equation."

Harry looked crossed. "I haven't been the best friend in the world. I mean, I dated his sister, and now his ex. It's going to be really weird for him."

"Honestly, he never really had a problem with you and Ginny. And our relationship was brief and childish. I don't think either of us would have gone through with it if we hadn't been under the threat and pressure of war, because we grew out of our mutual crush really quickly and since then we're really happy and comfortable with each other. I'm not saying is going to be easy for him but is not your fault. If anything, it's mine." She couldn't say that it didn't make her feel guilty, but she couldn't simply ignore her other feelings.

His fingers were now drawing circles on her upper arm. "These things are no one's fault. But we should probably let him know soon, before he finds out through Rita Skeeter or some other leech."

"Agreed."

He turned on his side to face her, her head now resting on his outstretched arm. "But back to you. Are you seeing anyone aside from me?"

His eyes were shining with playfulness. "Actually, I'm casually seeing this coworker," she said like it wasn't a big deal.

He grinned. "So we won't be exclusive? Oh well. I'm also seeing someone else. What about your friends? Will they like me?"

She could see where this was going. "Well, my best friend would love you. He's very smart, sweet, and protective. Also, he's famous."

"Sounds like a good fellow." His voice was hoarse and somehow they had moved even closer together than before. "My best friend is a very clever witch, I practically live with her, and we see each other every day."

They were almost breathing into each other's mouths by then. "Sounds like I need to look out for her,"

He looked like he was about to say something but then his eyes flickered to her lips and he forgot what it was. Hermione reached slowly for his glasses and took them off, placing them on the grass behind her.

They leaned in simultaneously and warmth immediately spread through her entire body the moment their lips met. Now it didn't feel like Harry was trying to find something, he had already found it and he was enjoying it.

The first time they kissed, Harry hadn't touched her at all, but now the arm that was under her pushed her closer, while his other hand gripped her upper arm tightly, though not painfully.

Both her hands were trapped between their bodies so she just kept them glued to his chest. She was completely lost on the kiss. On the way Harry gently nipped at her lips like they had done this their entire lives. On the way his light stubble scratched her chin every time they moved their heads. On her own eagerness to enjoy what she had been dreaming of doing for so many months. It was better than she could have ever imagined.

Hermione needed to feel more, so she slowly coaxed Harry's lips open and ran her tongue along the inside of his lower lip daringly. He gasped and she felt his heart speed up under her palms.

Just as deliberately, their tongues met and every last shard of nervousness she might still had vanished.

Her hands came up to his neck, caressing and making him push her even closer to him.

She didn't know how long it was but eventually he had leaned back and her body followed him, laying half on top of him. His hands moved across her back while she played with his hair, like she'd done so many times before, in what felt like other universes, because right then she couldn't imagine a reality in which she and Harry never did this.

Hermione had never kissed someone for so long. And even less without stopping for breath, without talking in between, and without feeling like it was leading somewhere.

It felt as though they were just doing it for the kiss, and nothing else mattered.

Harry grazed her lip with his teeth and she couldn't hold back a whine. At the same time, a cold breeze made her shiver, and Harry must have really noticed because the next thing she felt was an unmistakable hardness pressing up against her inner thigh.

She inhaled sharply in his mouth, digging her nails in his scalp in a, hopefully, not painful way. It had been so long since she felt that.

Harry broke the kiss and looked at her. "Fuck, I'm sorry." His voice was strained from kissing and having her on his chest.

"What?" she asked, confused, breathless, and definitely turned on.

"I don't want you to think I'm taking it too fast or that I can't control myself. It's just... You. And this is..." He seemed at a loss of words and she didn't blame him. She couldn't think too clearly right now either.

She shook her head. "I don't think that, Harry. Don't be sorry, this is...great for me too."

He looked happy and almost in awe. "Who would have thought it would be like this?"

"I would," she admitted. Sometimes she really loved being right.

"Then you should have told me sooner. A lot sooner," he joked.

"Sorry," she laughed.

They looked around, noticing how dark it had gotten.

"I think we lost track of time," she commented, still laying mostly on him with his hand on her lower back.

"Yeah. Want to head back? It's getting cold," he suggested and she agreed.

But then they looked at each other and ended up kissing for several more minutes.

Something moved in the tree above them and they both jumped, breaking apart.

"Okay, now we really should go," she said, catching her breath.

He nodded she stood up, offering her hand to help him.

Harry pulled out his wand from his pocket and tapped the top of the tent. It folded itself to almost palm-sized and he picked it up.

"We didn't even use it," he said, looking at it.

"Maybe next time," she smiled and he looked at her softly and fondly, like he did sometimes when he was happy.

She held onto his arm. "Thank you. This was a wonderful date."

As a response, Harry pushed a stray curl behind her ear and leaned down to kiss her.

Their lips were still locked together when they disapparated.