A/N: Here it is… The chapter everyone has been waiting for… It's finally time to have a chat…
I'd also like to apologise for the short chapter. But I just decided that this scene deserved to be separated from the rest. It's a really big moment and I think it should be highlighted…
Chapter 12: You're Brilliant
Harry was glad to see the rest of dinner run by nicely. Towards the end, Katie and her parents bid The Grangers and Harry good night, as they departed back to their hotel. Luckily, Hermione and Harry were able to apparate back home without taking another cab.
Hermione apparated her parents home while Harry returned to the cabin. He turned on the porch to see a beautiful orange sunset forming across the ocean. The sun was leaving a gleam of light across the waves, giving it a warm look. He hurried into the cabin and changed clothes so he could sit out at the beach.
The sand was warming his feet, as he sat down just before the ocean and stared into the distance. The sun's light felt pleasant on his face. He heard a soft pop go off near the cabin and turned around to see Hermione looking at him.
She smiled and stepped inside the cabin.
Hermione closed the door and rushed to her bedroom. She opened her handbag and pulled out a swimsuit which she bought with her mother a couple days back.
It was a simple bikini. But it would be the first bikini she would ever wear. It made her quite nervous. Hermione always knew she wasn't very curvy. Her breasts weren't as big as some of the other girls she knew, and her bum was just round enough to be visible.
"Come on… don't be a coward! It's just Harry…" she whispered to herself, as she undressed and strapped on the bikini, staring at her reflection in the mirror.
It's too much, her head screamed, as she fished out a beach scarf from her handbag and tied it around her hips. Much better.
She left her room and looked out through the window to see Harry, staring into the ocean. "Now. Give your feelings a try…" She whispered her mother's words and stepped outside."
She made her way across the sand to him, and to Harry's surprise, she was wearing a bikini. It was more of Hermione than he has ever seen before. It made his chest tense up as she sat down next to him. Her legs were covered by a beach scarf and she was wearing a light blue bikini bra. Her hair was tied into a messy ponytail.
"Are you planning on swimming?" She asked.
Harry decided to wear his swimming shorts just in case he did decide to swim, but it was never his intention. Now that Hermione suggested it, the idea seemed much more inviting.
"Depends on the water…" He shrugged.
Hermione smiled and stood up. She untied her beach scarf and it collapsed among the sand next to Harry. He looked up to see her creamy legs. They looked incredibly smooth. It reminded Harry of Ron's comment about her, back in their sixth year. Harry had to admit; Hermione had very nice skin. Amazing, actually. Her legs were just perfect, no bruises like you'd expect her to have for someone who fought in a wizard war, and her thighs were curvier than he would ever imagine. Higher up, she was wearing light blue bikini bottoms to match her bra. Harry's eyes shot away the moment he looked at them. What's going on with you? He thought to himself.
She paced away from him and turned around, "You coming?"
Harry couldn't form any words. He simply stood up and followed her, trying his best to keep his eyes anywhere but her body.
The water was pleasantly cool; the sun's light managed to heat it up throughout the day. Though the deeper they went, the colder it became until they stopped when the water was reaching their shoulders.
"This feels lovely." She said, smiling at him.
My god, she's beautiful! Harry nodded and looked towards the upcoming sunset.
"What about this view? Is it worth dying for too?" she asked, smirking at him.
Harry looked back into her eyes, "This one more than the last one, I think."
Hermione blushed and swam forward, away from the coast.
They swam further into the ocean until their feet no longer touched the ground. The waves were becoming much bigger and they both turned and faced the cabin.
"It looks deep enough… want to race back to the beach?" Hermione asked.
Harry grinned, "You know I'm faster at swimming…"
"What makes you so sure?" Hermione frowned.
"I spent an hour underwater remember?"
Hermione laughed, "So did I…"
"Yeah, unconscious." He teased.
"You're just scared I'll beat you." She protested. Her face was gleaming in the sunlight, her chocolate brown eyes glistening back at him. The same kind of determination he always spotted on her face during exams.
"Fine, I'll race you," he said.
Hermione smiled and changed her position as if ready to dive. "On my mark, we'll race back to my scarf. Oh, and no gillyweed!" she snickered.
"Get set… Go!"
Harry threw himself underwater and began swimming forward towards the beach. The water was getting warmer as he neared the sand. He could hear Hermione right next to him and pushed harder. Soon there was no more room to swim and he needed to run against the water. He knew Hermione was a faster runner; she was faster than Ron and Harry when they ran from Snatchers in the woods. He never figured out how she became so athletic; she didn't do Quidditch and he didn't know about any clubs she participated in either.
Hermione was hopping over the water and gaining ahead of Harry as he struggled through the waves.
She was first to the scarf as she scooped it up and raised her arms in victory. "Haha!" she called out to him. "You might be good at swimming, but I'm the runner!"
"When did you become so fast?" he asked, panting.
"Last summer holiday… I did a lot of physical workouts and running. You and Ron were quite fit from playing Quidditch, and I didn't want to lag behind when it came to duels or being quick." She explained.
Harry grinned, "Yeah, you were gone in seconds during our run in the forest."
She laughed and took her wand out from under the scarf. "Let me dry us up…" she flicked her wand and Harry could feel the water disappear off his skin and shorts. He sat down while she dried herself.
"That was fun." He said as she sat next to him.
"Yeah, we should do it again in a couple days."
They stared into the sunset which was now finally taking place. Hermione sighed, "I'll miss this."
Harry turned to her, "Miss what?"
"This..." she pointed at the ocean, "Being here… with you."
Harry wanted to put his arm around her, but the sight of her almost naked body whipped those thoughts away, "I'll miss it too… You know, we could always come back next year…" He suggested.
Hermione turned to him, for a moment she was searching his face, as if looking for the lie behind his words, "You're serious?"
Harry shrugged, "I like it here. It's peaceful and relaxing. Not to mention that people don't recognise me as easily." He laughed.
Hermione gave him a weak smile and sighed again, "I don't know… I just can't picture it. Something is telling me that between now and next year, a lot of things will change."
Harry took hold of her hand, "But we have to hope they change for the better, right? And no matter what happens, I'll always be there with you." He smiled.
"You promise?" she asked.
"I promise" he answered, as Hermione pulled him into a tight hug. He was trying to ignore the pressure of her breasts on his chest. Umbridge hit by the slug spell, he pictured, hoping to keep himself under control.
Hermione pulled away and smiled at him. Once again, they were admiring the sunset in silence. Something caught Harry's attention as he turned to see a young couple standing in the distance. They were admiring the sunset too, then the woman placed her arms around the man's neck as they started kissing. Harry turned his gaze away but noticed Hermione was looking at the couple too.
She chuckled and smiled towards the ocean.
"What is it?" Harry asked.
"Everyone I've spoken to ever since we came to Australia has suspected that we're a couple. Literally everyone. Maybe except for the man at the Quidditch store." She told him.
Harry grinned, "It's not just here, you know. Remember that Rita Skeeter article?"
Hermione nodded, "Not to mention Cho Chang. I'm sure she was planning on hexing me once."
"Then there's Krum." Harry chuckled.
Hermione turned to him in disbelief, "No way… really?"
Harry nodded, "Just before the third task… The day when I found Barty Crouch in the forest, he asked me if there's anything between us…" Harry explained.
"Unbelievable." She frowned.
"You think that's unbelievable? Try Dumbledore!" Harry gasped.
Hermione turned back to him in shock, "Okay, now you're lying."
Harry shook his head and laughed, "No, seriously. It was in my sixth year during those private lessons he gave me."
"What did he say?" Hermione asked.
Harry grinned, "I've noticed you've been spending quite a lot of time with Miss Granger…" He said in a deep voice.
Hermione burst out laughing, "That's… just…so—"
"Unlike him" Harry finished, his smile quickly faded as another thought came to his mind, "It was also one of Ron's fears…" he muttered.
Hermione looked at him, clearly puzzled. "You mean at the tent?"
Harry shook his head, "No… after that, when we destroyed the locket."
"That's what he told you?" she asked.
Harry looked back towards the ocean, "Remember how I nearly drowned and Ron saved me?"
Hermione nodded, urging him to continue.
"I knew that I could probably use Parseltongue to open the locket up. Once it would open, Ron was going to hit it with the sword."
"It didn't work?" Hermione asked.
"It did… but first it tried to get inside Ron's head, it was trying to change his mind against destroying it. It showed these foggy projections of me and… you."
Hermione stared at him, "You never told me about this before."
"I guess Ron and I never got around to it." Harry shrugged.
"What did the projections show?" Hermione asked.
"Well, at first it was just us provoking Ron, saying things that weren't true…" he began.
"For example…"
"That we didn't want him to come back… and that he was the least loved by his family... stuff like that."
Hermione huffed, "Don't tell me that affected him…"
Harry shook his head, "No… it was what happened next. The projections showed me and you… kissing." He looked down. "I guess he was scared we would get together while he was gone or something."
Hermione paused and thought for a while. Her heart was beating fast and she could feel herself going pink. The image of Harry kissing her was causing her mind to spin, "It's so bizarre though. I mean, I don't remember us ever behaving like a couple or anything."
Harry nodded, "I know what you mean… But I guess it just goes down to the fact that we spend a lot of time together."
"Is that really so odd?" Hermione asked, "I mean, we're really good friends and… we care about each other, right?"
Harry nodded and smiled, "I also just like being in your company… Unless it's during exam revision."
Hermione laughed, "Hey, you and Ron wouldn't survive a single year of exams if not for me."
"I think that's for life in general." He added.
Hermione gazed at him, "What do you mean?"
Harry smirked, "Come on, Hermione. If not for you, Ron and I would never have found any of those Horcruxes. Or maybe we would, but we would starve and freeze to death before even tracking them down." He laughed.
"You're exaggerating." She waved at him.
"I'm really not. Even Ron said we wouldn't survive two days without you, and that's something! And you were the one who figured out how to destroy them too!"
Hermione turned pink and smiled.
"It's always been you, Hermione. The Philosopher's Stone… The Chamber of Secrets, saving Sirius and Buckbeak, Dumbledore's Army… It's always been you. And I got the undeserved praise for all of it." Harry muttered.
Hermione smiled at him, "I already told you, Harry… Books and Cleverness." She shrugged, "There are more important things… Friendship, bravery… love…" Her eyes met his.
"Doesn't change the fact you're brilliant." He smiled as she looked towards his lips.
Their eyes met again… Harry was lost in her gaze, trying to breathe as they neared each other. He could feel her breath on his face, her eyes were still piercing him, not breaking contact. Their foreheads were touching now… their lips only millimetres away. His chest felt like it might explode from the pressure as he his top lip touched hers…
A sudden noise caused them to break apart as their eyes shot towards the source of the sound. It was the flapping of wings. Harry could make out a small bird making his way right towards them. As it came into clearer view, Harry found the bird to look very familiar.
"Pigwidgeon?" Hermione muttered.
I'm horrible, I know xD
