Hermione hated herself. Hermione hated herself for somehow failing her mission to such a spectacular degree that she hadn't realized the target of her mission was with her all along, yet it took two days — and a level of closeness that was shameful was for more than one reason — for her to even realize that.
And, she hated herself that, once she realized that, it took another eight hours for her to start talking about that. He followed that reveal with merciless drilling she found impossible to stop … then finally collapsed.
Now, she was sitting across him, wearing a fluffy dressing gown and nothing else, finishing her long and impassioned speech about how Magical Britain needed him. "… and that's all about the prophecy. Please," she begged. "Please come to Hogwarts with us, or the whole world will suffer."
"Let me think," he answered, and she found herself shuddering. Not just because of the importance of the moment, but also the fact he was only wearing a pair of boxers, revealing his muscular chest that she was more than familiar with already. "Enjoy your breakfast while I think," he said.
"I don't…" she started, somehow feeling that enjoying the breakfast while on the mission was wrong. He realized that as well if the way his smirk turned up was any indicator. She blushed. Breakfast would be the most innocent thing she enjoyed since the mission started.
And, along with that realization, came guilt. The fact that she wasn't doing it with a mysterious club owner that she would never see again, but with Harry Potter, made that moment much more poignant.
It was too hard to handle at this moment. She focused on her breakfast instead, eating the most delicious scrambled eggs she ever tasted, along with a glass of orange juice that felt magical.
"Tell me, Miss Granger. What'll happen between us when I return," he asked.
The blush hit her even worse. "I … I'm engaged," she admitted in a soft whisper. She expected a lot of things … but a smirk was not.
"Naughty. I see that you're embracing the nature of Vegas. I'm guessing that means there'll be no repeat."
"Yes!" Hermione said, jumping at the opportunity.
"What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas addendum. You're naughtier than what I expected from a bookworm, Miss Granger," he said, and she found herself blushing once more.
"I don't remember mentioning my love of books," she whispered.
"Oh, now, you're forgetting what we talked about between our … sessions already. You're wounding me," he said.
Hermione opened her mouth to answer panicked, only to notice his smirk. "Jerk," she muttered. She didn't remember when she had talked to him, but she found it not that important to discuss, among everything else.
"So, our dance is over. I don't like this," he said, and Hermione tensed. Especially since, she didn't know what to say if he insisted to continue … what they had.
A part of her wished that he blackmailed her for his return. If that was the case, she just had to accept, a sacrifice for the future of the magical world… Yet, clearly, it was not something he was going to do. Morals … and a part of her, despite everything, was whispering that she was too ugly, too plain to go through the effort.
"Yes," she whispered.
"I have a condition," he said. Hermione froze, suddenly realizing the question was coming. She didn't know how to answer. "You're going to be my secretary?"
"Just … secretary," Hermione found herself answering in shock.
"Yes, just secretary, unless you want it to be more," he answered, and Hermione shuddered at his words. But she had no intention of answering that.
"Why?" she found herself asking.
"For the British chapter of my club, of course. You don't think that I'm going to stop working just because I'm moving, right?" he said.
"T-that kind of club," Hermione found herself stammering.
"Maybe, but probably tamer. Not everywhere is Vegas, after all." He paused, hitting her with his smirk. "So, Miss Granger, will you be my secretary. I promise good pay, and the side benefits are amazing if you dare to take them…"
"Jerk," Hermione found herself giggling, which was not a sound she made with any kind of regularity. "But, yes, if you come to Britain with me, I promise I'll be your secretary, as long as you understand nothing else will happen."
"Deal," he said. She smiled, though a part of her felt disappointed he didn't have other conditions. She hated that part of herself.
"I … I should go and prepare to travel, we can't just apparate or take a plane. They are being monitored," she explained. "I'll reach out to you about the details…"
However, as she looked around, he chuckled. "I have arranged for my people to pick up your car. It's already at the parking lot. Your clothes are at the next door, you can change there," he said, pausing slightly. "Or, you can change here, to give one last show…"
"Jerk," Hermione answered, blushing badly.
When she pulled to her parking lot, she was feeling guilty despite her incredible success in convincing Harry Potter to return.
Though, the guilt wasn't made any better by the fact that, despite her initial intention, she was unable to reject him when he asked to dress next to him … nor she was able to stop him when he took her once more.
They were still in Vegas, so it didn't count, he reasoned, and she found herself accepting.
She was a horrible woman, and she didn't want to see her fiancee. Though, for once, she was glad for the obliviousness of Ron… Maybe he would miss the depths of her shame.
She climbed the stairs, each step difficult, then she stood at the door. "No point delaying." With that, she used her keys and opened the door.
And saw someone she wasn't expecting in the living room.
"Ginny, what are you doing here?" Hermione gasped in shock as she looked at the unexpected visitor.
"I'm here to clean up for my idiot brother, of course," she answered as she stood up, her expression exasperated. "Can you imagine that idiot not only went out, get drunk, get into a fight, but was also arrested?"
"What, no!" Hermione gasped, panicking, guilt hitting her hard. No doubt he had panicked when she didn't return. It was her fault. "Are we going to rescue him?"
"Of course not. It's too late. That idiot not only managed to get arrested, but also actually cast a spell, so American Aurors have him. But don't worry, Kingsley is already talking with them, and they are willing to give him back. You're not going to lose your precious fiancee," she said mockingly.
It didn't help Hermione's guilt.
"What does it mean for the mission?"
"There, we're actually quite lucky," Ginny answered. "Actually, somehow, Ron managed to keep his mouth shut about your presence and the address of this place. More importantly, we managed to handle my entry to the country much better than we expected. We were quite lucky."
"T-that's good," Hermione found herself muttering.
"So, how's the status of the mission. Any hope?"
"Actually…" Hermione started, pausing for a moment to explain how actually she finished the mission, afraid that Ginny would ask why it would take her almost a day to convince Harry to join them back in Hogwarts.
Ginny gasped. "Don't tell me it's another false alarm."
"No, the exact opposite, in fact," Hermione corrected.
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.
"I have made contact with him, and talked with him. He agreed to return with us."
Ginny froze before a smile bloomed on her face. "That's … that's amazing!" she gasped as she hugged her, and Hermione hissed. Her arm was hurting. "Sorry," Ginny gasped as she pulled back. "Were you in a fight?" she said as she reached for her wand. "Don't tell me it was dangerous!"
"No, no," Hermione gasped. "It was just an accident." Not entirely … it was one last parting gift from Harry, pulling her arms back hard as he drilled her for one last time. For the road, he whispered as he did so, making her feel insulted and aroused at the same time.
That ache reminded her of him.
"Good," Ginny said. "What's our timeline."
"He mentioned that he can be ready to move as soon as possible. We just need to trigger our extraction process," she added before freezing.
"What now, Hermione?" Ginny asked, panic back on her face.
"I-it's about the extraction method. We arranged it when it was me, Ron, and Harry Potter," she said.
"And, I'll be replacing Ron, how's that a problem?" Ginny asked.
"The problem …" Hermione sighed. "We decided to be clever and use a port key to a cruise ship that's going to arrive in Scotland in three days … and to make sure, we booked two rooms. One for the fake identity Harry Potter will be using … and one for a married couple."
"So, one of us going to be disguised as a man, while the other is going to share a room with the great Harry Potter," Ginny explained, but as she did so, Hermione didn't find the panic she expected in her face. Instead, a smile. "I hope you have fun dressed as a boy, Hermione."
"I …" Hermione gasped, not expecting Ginny to react like that.
"Come on, Hermione. I have seen photos of James and Lily Potter, and their child is clearly very attractive."
"You don't know that," Hermione said. "It's not a given."
"Yes, but I know you blush horribly whenever you mention his name. I never saw you crushing a guy that bad, so he must be handsome … or a walking library, but I'm happy with my chances."
Hermione found the situation was slipping away from her. "Ginny, you can't. He's Harry Potter."
"Exactly," Ginny said. "He's Harry Potter, our mysterious savior. But don't worry, I'm not going to do anything. Just tease him a bit, to give him some hope that, if he can actually succeed in getting rid of You-Know-Who, he might get a reward." She chuckled. "Come on, Hermione, you know my reputation as a tease back in school was well-earned."
"Still…" she muttered, but she found her words arrested. She found that her words were hopelessly lost. She wanted to keep Ginny away, but she was clearly suspicious of her reaction.
"Good, now, let's go pick some muggle clothing for me. I have no idea what muggles wear on a ship."
"L-let's go," Hermione stuttered, too confused to say anything else.
But she was sure of one thing. She wasn't going to use the shopping advice to put Ginny in some of the most unappealing clothes imaginable.
Just because it was wrong for her to touch Harry didn't mean Ginny could sweep and take him.