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The after party
Hermione's spin lands on him.
He inhales deeply, trying to control his heartbeats, but failing a bit. He has no idea why he's so nervous.
It's just a kiss, right? And he can't even tell how many kisses he already shared in his life. Kissing is fun and delicious, something he enjoys a lot.
However, she's still frozen in place and he wonders if Hermione will prefer to drink the shot of Tequila instead of kissing him. Which would be ridiculous since she enjoyed herself so much with Lester and Edward-
He grits his teeth and take two steps into the middle of the circle, waiting for her. He finally finds his voice:
"Come on, Hermione, it's just a kiss! After all these years I think it's time for us to share one." He says with a playful tone, but he can feel all the butterflies inside his stomach, trashing inside him, making him question his own kissing abilities. Shit, why?
Will she like it? As much as she seemed to like Edward's kiss? Harry had to throw the bucket of water at them. Hermione's moan was-
She moves and he clears his throat, wondering if his breath stinks or-
"Harry, we don't have to if you're not comfortable enough." She says in a low voice, close to him.
He can't stop his mind from thinking that she looks absolute edible with these swollen lips. But the notion that other guys did this is… irksome.
"It's okay." He says, opening a slow smile. "I mean, unless you want to drink the Tequila." After all, she said she wanted to get wasted.
She's thinking hard about this, Harry can tell.
And he waits, trying his best not to show how nervous he is. It's strange and new and exciting. It would be a complete and ridiculous lie if he said he never imagined how kissing her would feel. Hermione is so important to him, he's so used to spending a lot of time with her, talking or just in silence, having fun or sharing some painful emotions that-
His heart quickens when she takes another step closer to him, now they're practically glued together, like they were while dancing earlier.
And his instincts take over.
He relaxes.
It's Hermione.
His best friend.
There's no way this is going to be a bad kiss.
He inhales deeply and cups her face with both hands, leaning to her. Harry wants her to relax too. He gives a small kiss on one of her cheeks. She opens a smile. Then, he kisses her other cheek, his mind a bit hazy at the softness of her skin and her perfume.
Harry pulls a bit back to admire her smile, kissing the tip of her nose. Her hands rest on the sides of his hips, hot against his body - even through his jeans.
Not resisting it he moves his mouth to her ear, saying in a low voice, "I'll make you forget those other kisses."
She squeezes his sides, her breath hitching. Hermione bites her lower lip, their eyes meeting again. He feels a sudden and intense desire, his world revolving around her and this impending kiss.
It's Hermione who moves, closing her eyes and touching his lips with hers.
He thought he would laugh or find it odd.
But reality is so very different.
The kiss is intense.
And he absolutely loves the feel of her mouth on his, her tongue on his, her hands on him.
He's hungry. Hungry to feel her lips even more, hungry to move his tongue against hers even more, to explore her mouth and hear her soft moans.
He's hungry for her. All of her.
Harry groans at his own thoughts and at the kiss.
It's powerful and heart stopping.
He fears it might not be enough. He feels like he's not getting enough of her. And he moves his hands to bring her closer, their heads moving to deepen the kiss. He's out of breath but he can't pull away, he can't end this so soon. He sucks on her tongue, slowly.
Hermione's hands find his hair and he bites her lower lip when she tugs at it.
This is-
He's getting hard. He wants her.
She moans a bit louder-
And the bucket of water ends their moment.
Hermione separates from him, laughing. But he immediately misses her lips, her taste.
The sensation.
He wants to pull her back to him, but Evelyn is already shouting for the next person to spin the bottle.
Harry keeps looking at her, their eyes locked while he takes two steps back to his place in the circle. They're both breathing extremely hard.
She opens a… seductive smile to him. It's the first time, after fourteen years, that he sees this smile directed at him with such a clear intent.
All his body and soul yell at him to stop this stupid game and take Hermione to a room where they can sort this out and-
The beacon lands on him again.
Harry blinks, surprised, his mind glitching for a second when he notices the hot woman he was flirting with before was the one who spun it.
He has little time to understand what's happening.
The woman comes to him and his attention shifts to her. He tries looking at Hermione again, but she's leaving the circle after saying something to Evelyn. Harry widens his eyes when he notices Edward following Hermione to wherever she's going.
The woman is about to kiss him, but he stops her.
"I'll drink the Tequila!" He says fast, not thinking and almost choking on his own words, his eyes looking for Hermione.
She's nowhere near-
"What?" The woman in front of him reacts, outraged.
He doesn't bother answering.
Harry takes the shot of Tequila and walks out of the circle, going to where Hermione-
The drink hits like a Bludger. He closes his eyes, stopping and gritting his teeth, trying not to be fazed by the dizziness. His mind slows down, a sensation of sheer inebriation taking over him.
When he opens his eyes, the world is spinning around him and he makes a face. He can't even remember a proper sobering spell. At least not one that is strong enough to send away the effects of the Tequila. There's a reason why they chose this drink for this game. The intention is for them to kiss every turn, not drink the shot.
He groans, doubling over, his hands on his knees. "Fuck."
It's all a blur. And he starts to laugh at his own stupidity.
What was I thinking? Right now he's not sure.
Taking a deep breath, he looks up and focus at one point. Which happens to be the pool. And-
Hermione is inside, the water glistening on her skin, she has a smile on her face and she's not looking at him, she's looking at… Edward. They're both in their clothes, but not minding it one bit. Her hair is wet and he can't help paying attention at the way her white blouse is almost transparent.
Harry frowns, breathing hard, feeling... strange.
Edward pulls her to him and Hermione wraps her legs around the man. In a blink they're kissing again, the same way they did minutes ago. Harry gulps, turning around and regretting the decision immediately.
He's so incredibly dizzy, the sour taste of the Tequila burning his throat and mouth. A small laugh makes him look to the side. The woman he refused to kiss is there and she shakes her head, murmuring a spell.
It sobers him up a bit, not entirely, but some 60%. Which is a relief.
He sighs, thanking her and waiting a second for the dizziness and nausea to go away.
"It seems like you left me to go after her, but she's having a great time without you." The woman says and Harry grunts. He's better but there's still some queasiness bothering him.
There's nothing he can say. The woman is… right. He indeed wanted to keep kissing Hermione and now that he's having a few minutes to think it through, he's glad she's already having a great time with Edward.
They're best friends.
Having sex is off the table.
Right?
He clears his throat, his back to the pool, his mind trying to forget the way Hermione was smiling at his teammate.
If he hurts her, I'll punch him to a pulp-
"I don't think we were introduced." He says to the woman in a seductive tone, smiling. "Harry Potter." He extends his hand to her, winking.
She snorts. "I don't think that was necessary, I mean, who doesn't know Harry Potter?" She tilts her head, taking his hand and openly staring at his scar.
Harry hates it.
He hates when people see the scar before anything else. He hates when they notice him because of what he survived before noticing the man he is.
"Indeed." He says through his teeth, wanting her attention to be back at his eyes. "And you are?"
"Monica Walker."
She's gorgeous. Red headed. He purses his lips.
"If you still want to, I'm more than ready to make up for my stupid mistake of leaving you back there at the game."
He pulls her closer by the hand, and she puts one hand on his chest.
"Yeah, you better make it up real good, Harry Potter."
She doesn't have to say it twice. Harry kisses her, his thoughts about the lunacy of kissing Hermione, of wanting more with her, dying down.
They have an amazing friendship and it would be silly to ruin it.
Monica takes over his senses and mind and he enjoys the rest of his night.
September 19th, 2005
The Doctor's office
"So, if I'm not wrong, today is Hermione's birthday." The Doctor says, watching Harry closely.
He doesn't answer, silence filling the room and oppressively making him uncomfortable after a while. He moves on the comfy couch, clearing his throat, facing the Doctor.
It's a little contest. Whenever the Doctor says something Harry doesn't want to talk about, they hold their gazes, waiting to see who's going to give in first: Harry, who'll speak about the issue, or the Doctor, who will change the subject.
Harry raises an eyebrow. He has no idea why he still comes to these appointments. Well… if he's honest with himself he comes because they make him feel good. They help a lot.
But sometimes they're just incredibly annoying.
He rolls his eyes, knowing he's going to lose. The Doctor is irreducible on this one. But it's Harry's fault, he made the mistake of saying on their last meeting, five days ago, that things have been awkward between him and Hermione.
And now this will surely fill their whole hour.
Hermione.
Exactly what he's trying to avoid as fiercely as possible.
"It is." He says through gritted teeth. "So? There's going to be a little celebration at Ron and Luna's later tonight."
He looks down, his fingers playing with the fabric of his jeans.
"And how are things between you two? Better?"
Harry shrugs. Things are in fact… terrible.
Since the party and the kiss they barely talked. Or met. Or went out on their morning runs. Hermione said she was extremely busy and he came up with all kinds of different reasons why they couldn't meet.
"I think you're hiding something from me, Harry." The Doctor's tone is serious and he raises his eyes, making a face. "Is there a reason why she might be avoiding you or-"
"She's not avoiding me." He says flatly, irritated by the thought. "We've just been busy." He shuts his mouth.
The Doctor crosses her arms and Harry observes the motion. He remembers the first time he stepped into this office and thought to himself how hot his therapist was. Older than him, yes, but that wouldn't be a reason to stop him. It's been four years and she's still very hot. And of course he already joked with the idea of them ending their hour earlier to go get a drink. She laughed and said that he surely could have any woman he wanted, but not her. Never her. It felt good hearing the 'no'. And knowing that he could really count on her to help him go through some… issues.
"We've known each other for a while now, Harry. I think I can tell when you're lying or avoiding a problem."
"There's no problem." He says fast. "We- I-" He sighs, shaking his head. "Okay, fine." He mumbles. "Hermione and I… we… kissed." He sets his jaw, waiting for a reaction, but the Doctor gives him none. Like always. She waits. "And I- maybe things are strange because we're such good friends that… I don't know."
The Doctor squints. "Tell me about this kiss, Harry. Where were you? Was it something you were thinking about-"
"No. No, no." He chuckles. "It's not like that." He waves a hand in front of him. "We were at a party, playing spin the bottle." The Doctor tilts her head. Harry hardly ever sees judgment in her actions or words, but this time he can tell she's a bit intrigued, probably wondering why they were playing such a game. "And I mean, her spin landed on me." He gulps, all the sensations of that night coming back to him. Her smell. Her smile. The taste of her lips. How she squeezed his sides. Her tongue inside his mouth. Her moans.
"Okay." The Doctor says in a soft tone. "So, if it was a consequence of a game, why are things awkward between you two?"
"That's a very good question." He says, leaning back on the couch, his right ankle resting on his left knee. "It was a nice kiss, I admit it." An amazing, earth-shattering kiss. "But we should be able to leave this behind us, right? After so many years of friendship…" He trails, waiting to see if the Doctor has any input.
"Is that what you think?" He blinks and nods slowly. She makes no movement. "I'm curious to know what you felt, Harry."
"What I felt?"
"Yes, when you kissed Hermione."
He opens his mouth. And closes it.
He felt- good. So damn good.
And horny.
They're staring at each other again, holding their gazes. He doesn't want to answer. She won't give in, though.
Maybe two minutes go by until he exhales a bit angrily and says:
"I felt good, okay? Is that enough for you?" He asks sharply.
"Why are you so angry, Harry?" She asks in a tone he hates. The condescended one. As if she knows the fucking answer, but just wants him to say it out loud while he has no clue.
"I'm not angry." He says. Angry.
"Is that so?" He nods, his lips pressed together. "Okay, then, my mistake. So," Her voice is low and slow. "If it was a good kiss, what's the problem?"
"There's no problem, I already told you."
"But you brought it up on our last meeting. And like I said to you four years ago, there's no such thing as 'only saying something in therapy'." He rolls his eyes, he already heard this a few times. "Everything you bring here has an importance-"
"Look," He cuts her, running a hand through his hair, "I- Maybe I'm wrong, maybe there's no awkwardness and I'm just seeing more into it because we kissed. I mean, it's not uncommon for us to stay a few days without seeing each other." Not a total lie.
"I see." The Doctor says, still watching him attentively. "What happened after you kissed?" He frowns. "I mean, right after. What happened?"
When Luna suggested this therapist to Harry, he remembers thinking that it wouldn't hurt to give it a try - at least not more than he was already hurting. Not just that but he thought that he wouldn't be able to stand someone who would stay quiet all the time, just waiting for him to say something. Luna assured him the Doctor - who he doesn't know the real name - wasn't like that.
And she really isn't.
He usually loves her way of dealing with things, always asking stuff and pushing him to talk, pushing him to open up a bit more every day.
But right now, at this very moment, he really hates this trait.
"Maybe we should drop this." He says in a serious tone, his eyes narrowed.
"Why?" She raises an eyebrow. An indication that she will not drop the subject.
Shit. Now that he showed how much he doesn't want to talk about it, she'll only talk about it.
"Because there's nothing for us to uncover here. We kissed, it felt nice, and each one of us ended the night with other people-" He stops.
The Doctor has a tiny, microscopic smile on the side of her mouth.
Shit. Fucking shit.
He didn't think it through-
"So, did you want to end the night with Hermione?"
"No." He lies. He thought about it. He went after her because he wanted to- "I didn't mean like that. I just said it to illustrate how little the kiss meant."
"Um. I see." She nods. "Do you think it meant little to her too?"
He inhales sharply. "What do you mean?"
"Well, aren't you saying it meant little to you? Do you think it meant little to her too?"
Harry swallows hard. It- the notion that the kiss meant nothing to Hermione while he can't stop thinking about it is… disturbing. For reasons he can't even understand.
"How can I know that?" His voice sounds off and he clears his throat. "I- I never said it meant little to me." He kind of mumbles the words.
"Ah, so, are you afraid that was the case for her?"
"Afraid?" He frowns. "No, I'm-" He stops. Is he? Afraid?
"Harry. I think you're turning this into a bigger problem than it has to. So what if you feel attracted to your best friend?" She says in an even tone. "You two are both young and healthy and good looking." He winks at her. She's unfazed by it. But even with the joke, he's paying attention. "You only kissed because the game demanded you did it, right? Tell me, if it wasn't for that, would you have shared this kiss?"
"I… don't think so." Liar.
He thought about kissing her when they were dancing. Not to mention the other times he imagined how it would feel like, that time on the hunt-
"Talk to her about this."
"Should I?"
"Of course. Don't let a friendly kiss get between you two. Harry," The Doctor leans forward, "Most of the times a kiss is just a kiss."
"Right? Exactly! That's what I think."
"See? If you don't talk about it, there's no way of overcoming this little situation."
"But… what if-" He stops, unsure. "I-" He sighs. "I felt very ready to…" He moves his hands, rolling his eyes.
"To have sex with her?" The Doctor helps him with the words. Harry feels a hotness on his neck and cheeks. He can't even remember the last time he blushed like this. "You can say it, you know." She's mocking him a bit.
He makes a face at her and says, "Yes. I wanted to have sex with her. There, I said it. Are you happy?" It's huge admitting this. It's the first time he does it out loud. The first time he accepts what's been consuming him for two weeks.
She actually snorts. "This is not about me. This is about you wanting to have sex with your best friend and not knowing what to do with this feeling." He grunts, running a hand through his hair. "And you're having a hard time thinking that it meant nothing to her. But let me tell you something, there's no way of finding out if you don't talk about it, Harry. Not all of us are Seers."
He snorts at the poor joke and the Doctor opens a small smile.
"Maybe I don't wanna talk about it." He whispers. "Maybe it's better if we… don't poke into it."
"Why?"
"What's the point? Hermione is my best friend and I don't want sex to ruin our friendship. She's way too important."
She squints again, "Well, from what you're saying you seem to be sure that she'll want to have sex with you." He blinks. "And I get a feeling that it isn't sex that might ruin your friendship, but maybe the fact that she might not want to have sex with you."
Harry uncrosses his legs, setting his jaw. The Doctor's words make him furious. And confused.
"Don't talk about what you have no idea of." He hisses.
She raises an eyebrow. "I think I know you just enough, Harry."
"This topic is off the table." He says firmly. "I'm done talking about it. This awkwardness will go away with time, without the need of a conversation-"
"We've talked countless times that you can't keep bottling your emotions and feelings inside yourself, Harry. I understand that you had a rough childhood where your feelings weren't important and-"
"No. Enough." He raises from the couch. "I'm done."
Without looking back at her, he exits the office. The Doctor doesn't try bringing him back inside. She never does when he storms out like that, which he already did a number of times.
He walks onto the street with a heaviness in his chest. Everyone is dealing with their own lives, not caring about Harry and all his internal conflicts.
It would be easier to apparate home, but he decides he wants to walk, and so he does.
Pocketing his hands, he goes slowly, thinking. The Doctor's office is located at a very nice wizarding street, filled with restaurants and stores. So, he observes each one as he goes.
Understanding why he's so frustrated with this whole thing regarding Hermione is a bit hard. They've overcome countless situations together just by looking at each other and getting what the other was thinking. So why it's so hard now? Why he can't look at her and understand? Why she's also avoiding him?
Because she is. He's sure she is.
Even at the end of the year, when the magazine goes through its craziest months, Hermione always finds time to be with him, to talk or watch a movie. To be together.
And it's been two weeks since they exchanged real, actual words.
He frowns, stopping in front of a bookstore, observing the inside.
It annoys him that the Doctor is right. He's avoiding Hermione because he's afraid of what her eyes might tell him. That the kiss meant nothing. That she's fine with it. That she had an amazing time with Edward later that night and totally forgot about what she shared with Harry. And why this bothers him so much is a whole other issue.
He grits his teeth and enters the bookstore. After all, it's her birthday and he still needs to get her a present.
Ron and Luna's
"Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Hermione, happy birthday to yooou."
Harry stops singing, pressing his lips together and observing while Ron sings in a playful tone that makes little Sarah laugh out loud. Hermione also does, her eyes on Ron.
Harry tries not to mind.
He fails.
It's been a nice evening. Many friends from Hogwarts are there, Hermione's friends and workers from the magazine and of course, the Weasleys. Except Ginny. Which he's immensely thankful. After having that meeting with the Doctor and being incredibly confused about what to do with Hermione, he wouldn't have been able to handle Ginny tonight. Ron said she sent her best to Hermione, but she's away, traveling. Working.
Harry only nodded, caring but not really caring. For the first time in a while he forgot he might meet Ginny. He was so focused on Hermione that it totally slipped his mind.
Still leaning against the wall at the back of the room, he watches while Luna, Ron and a few friends hug Hermione again, congratulating her. If things were normal between them, he would be there, by her side, squeezing her hand, practically monopolizing her like he always does.
But he thought it would be best to keep his distance.
She didn't come to him either, not directly. Since it's her night, she talked with everyone, had fun with everyone. And each time he saw her getting closer to him, he cowardly walked away, finding new people to talk with. He's not proud of his attitude, but he doesn't know what to do.
Hermione chuckles when she takes Elle in her arms, playing with the little girl. Harry tilts his head, smiling. She has a special touch with kids and animals. They all love Hermione to a point of madness, always following her around or staying as close as possible. Harry finds it endearing.
Except when they're walking around a park and the squirrels almost attack him to be close to her.
He lowers his eyes, gulping. I'm acting like an idiot. It's her birthday and he can't even walk up to her to wish her the best. All of this because of a silly kiss.
Maybe, like the Doctor said, he's turning this into something more than it actually is. But if so, why is that? What is he afraid of?
Hermione is looking at him the next time he looks over at her, a strange expression on her face. He blinks, straightening up against the wall and smiling at her. She smiles back at him. A sincere smile.
It gives him enough courage to move forward. Her eyes are still on him and he can't deny how absolutely beautiful she looks tonight.
In a daze, he's already in front of her. Hermione raises an eyebrow.
"So, are you done ignoring me?" She asks in a low voice and he moves his wrist to put up a silencing bubble around them.
"I wasn't ignoring you." He replies, making a face. "You avoided me these past weeks and I wasn't sure if-"
"You started it, Harry." Hermione has a cool and calm expression on her face. "Was it because I'm turning into an old lady that's supposed to die alone with no kids?" She jokes and he actually laughs. The tension between them vanishes in a blink.
And just like that he's with his best friend again, all confused thoughts and emotions gone.
"That's right." He jokes, shaking his head and pulling her to his arms. Hermione accepts his hug easily, squeezing him. "Happy birthday." He says into her ear, his hands on her waist, also squeezing. "You deserve the best in this world, Hermione." He has no idea how many times he already said this to her, but it hits differently, as if he fully understands the true meaning of the words. She does really deserve the best things this life can offer. "You're amazing and I'm so lucky to have you as my best friend."
He pulls back, smiling. She has a huge smile on her face.
"Thank you, Harry. I do hope you're over all the drama from the kiss we shared."
He widens his eyes, choking on his own saliva. She laughs.
"What?" He asks, "What drama? I don't know what you're talking about."
She rolls her eyes. "You're such a Leo." She smacks his shoulder playfully. "I missed you." Her voice wavers a bit and Harry inhales sharply.
"I missed you too. I'm sorry about-"
But Luke interrupts them, calling Hermione and taking her hand, hugging her, lifting her a bit from the floor. She laughs, but Harry crosses his arms, utterly annoyed. He has no idea who this man thinks he is to act as if he's Hermione's most important friend or something-
He blinks.
Harry walks away. He doesn't want to ruin her night. Which he knew he was about to since he felt a familiar pang of jealousy inside him. For the past two weeks he didn't exchange a word with her but Luke was there every fucking day. And the guy probably knows how was her night with Edward. Knows if she's going to see him again, if she already did, if she enjoyed it as much as it seemed like-
Shaking his head he apparates to his flat. He went to the party and wished her happy birthday, and, well, that's it.
He grunts and falls down on his bed, closing his eyes.
But in a beat he's up.
"Harry!" Hermione is calling him, entering the bedroom. "What the fuck?" She asks, angry. Sighing, Hermione takes a few steps closer to him. "Okay, we need to talk about it."
"About what?"
"About the kiss!"
"It was just a kiss."
"Then why are you acting so strangely?"
"I'm not-"
"You avoided me for the past two weeks-"
"You also did!"
"I only did because I was tired of your Patronus telling to my face that you couldn't meet me, Harry! Do you have any idea how I felt?" Her tone is a bit higher than usual.
He blinks, feeling defensive. "Oh, come on, it wasn't a big deal. I was busy and you were too-"
"Doesn't matter! Why the fuck did you leave the party like that?"
"Like what?"
"I was hugging Luke and when I turned around to talk to you, you were gone-"
"And you didn't notice me leaving because you were so fucking entertained with your great friend that-"
She snorts. "You can't be serious! You ignored me the whole night-"
"It didn't seem to bother you!"
Hermione presses her lips together and Harry runs a hand through his hair, not comprehending what's happening. He closes his eyes.
"Let's talk about the kiss." She says in a low voice.
"There's nothing to talk about-"
"There is!" She hisses. "I-" Hermione gulps, "Evelyn said you left the game to go after me and-"
"I-" He waves a hand in front of him. "I wasn't going after you." He lies. She blinks, surprised.
"You weren't?"
"No, I… needed to pee." He shrugs, trying to convince her. Hermione frowns.
"I- you did?"
He nods, opening an apologetic smile. He's not sure if lying to her is the best way of dealing with this, but… it's the best he can do right now.
"Look," He begins, exhaling heavily, "I'm sorry for avoiding you. I just thought the kiss might ruin our friendship and-"
"No. No." She chuckles. "Of course not, Harry. It was just a kiss." Her tone is off and the words are not what he wanted to hear.
"Right?" He confirms. "I was silly, sorry, again."
She nods. "Of course." And Hermione takes a step to him.
They hug.
But it's odd.
It feels strange. And off.
Not like the countless hugs they already shared. She takes a step back, clearing her throat, some emotion he doesn't recognize swimming in her eyes. He wonders if he said something he shouldn't, but… what?
"It was a nice kiss, though." He blurts out.
She snorts. "I expected nothing less from the most famous wizard in the whole world." She raises an eyebrow. "Which also happens to be a Quidditch player. I mean, you guys do know what you're doing." She hints with a look and he takes a second to understand.
When he does, he feels a burning annoyance taking over him.
"That's right," He says playfully to hide his irritation, "You really enjoyed yourself that night, didn't you, Granger?"
She opens a smirk. "Well, I can't say I didn't."
"Are you dating Edward?" He asks.
"We… spent that night together. And a few days ago he asked me out again." She shrugs. "I'm not sure we have a lot in common, but, it won't hurt to go out with him, right?"
Harry nods, "Sure. He's nice." His tone is clipped. "When are you going out?"
"In two days. He's taking me to a vineyard." She raises both eyebrows. "Fancy."
"Indeed." Harry opens a forced smile. "I do hope you have fun together."
She sighs, taking his hand. "Come back to the party with me, Harry. Come on, it's my birthday."
He chuckles, squeezing her hand. "Okay. Enough of being awkward, right?"
She nods and he brings her hand to his lips, kissing gently.
It feels… charged.
Hermione pulls her hand fast enough.
"Hey, what about my present?" She provokes him.
"Ah!" He chuckles. "I did buy you one." He goes to his living room and she follows, the book is wrapped on the table. "I forgot it here." A lie. He wanted to give it to her in private to see her reaction.
"A book?" She takes it, smiling.
"Come on, I can't go wrong with a book."
She chuckles, unwrapping it. "Oh," She widens her eyes, "Harry," Her voice comes out in a whisper, soft. "I've been wanting this since forever." She runs one hand over the hard cover.
"I know." He shrugs. "Just had to pull some strings and such." Something he hates. But reality is, it's hard for people to deny him anything.
"You actually did that?" She asks, her eyes on him while she holds the book with tenderness.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I? It's your birthday." He whispers.
And he knew how much she wanted this. Hermione has been talking about this book for months. It's a rare one that describes the way journalism has a huge sway on the wizarding population. If he's not mistaken, there are also some collaborations from Muggle journalists and it's just-
She hugs him. Tightly.
Harry inhales deeply. This hug doesn't feel odd. Or wrong.
But it is different.
When she pulls back, her hand is on his neck, her eyes on his. They're very close and he can't help thinking about the kiss. He blinks, unsure.
She moves and kisses his cheek, her lips lingering. He closes his eyes, enjoying the feeling.
Without a word, she moves and takes his hand, walking over to her flat. Harry follows, his eyes on their clasped hands. In an impulse he intertwines their fingers. Her only reaction is a squeeze.
Harry watches while she puts her present on her table, smiling.
"Let's go back to the party." She says and he nods.
And in a blur they go back.