A/N: I'd like to apologise for not updating for so long. I wanted to update for a while now, but I had to finish up on all of my projects :p Good news is that my holiday has finally begun so I can go back to writing full time! Anyway, enough of my boring excuses. I hope you enjoy the chapter! I've been coming back to this thing for the past two months so every section was written at a different time.
Chapter 31: Time to Pack
August 31st, 1998
It was his final day at the Potter Manor. His final day before the start of school. Tomorrow Harry would be starting school for the last time in his life. Everything seemed to be 'final' and 'last' all of a sudden. Which was kind of ironic considering that the end of school is supposed to be the beginning of adulthood. Well, Harry didn't feel like an adult. Not yet, at least. Now he's hoping that the final year at Hogwarts will change that.
No matter how much he tried to cover up that feeling… it kept on invading his mind. The idea of returning to Hogwarts made him feel strange; not in the right place. Hermione mentioned it was because he didn't go to Hogwarts last year and managed to build a distance to the castle. But Harry knew that wasn't the case. It felt strange because he was ready to never come back. He was ready to die. He did die… in a way. But then he came back, and that changed everything. A lot of things became better. Much better. And some things became more complicated; now he's starting to think about the future… what does Harry Potter want to do in the future? Being an Auror always seemed like a fun idea. But would that be suitable today? What would Hermione say about that? Endless questions… as always.
The sound of a closing door rattled him out of his thoughts. He raised his head above the couch to see the most beautiful girl in the world. His girl. Of course, there were many beautiful girls out there. But this one… this one was special. Maybe it was her warm heart… or maybe her ambition and willpower. There never seemed to be enough assets for someone like Hermione.
She neared towards him without a single word. Her eyes locked with his. Finally, she made it to the couch. She was only inches away when she launched herself onto the couch, landing on top of Harry.
"Ouch!" Harry moaned, fighting a laugh. His mouth was soon covered by hers. It was different this time, Harry could feel that her kiss was desperate in a way. Something was on her mind. Was she worried?
"I missed you." She smiled at him.
"Missed you too. How was your day?" Harry asked.
Hermione shifted herself until her head was resting on his chest. Harry liked this position; it gave him the chance to properly breathe in the smell of her hair. Somehow, he never got bored of it.
"Spent most of the day packing. I really did go a little overboard with books this year." Hermione muttered the final part, probably hoping that he wouldn't hear.
"I don't believe that," Harry answered, eyes wide. "You, Hermione Granger, packed TOO many books? Yeah right."
Hermione was quick to retaliate "I'm going to love seeing you mock me like this when you're gonna need my help with an essay."
Harry laughed at her words. Then they just sat in silence. Not a single bother in the world. At one point, Beemey arrived and offered Hermione a cup of tea. Harry already knew where this was going. It was going to be book session.
Hermione reached into her enchanted handbag and pulled out a book. Come to think of it, that handbag really was one of the most useful tools during the Horcrux hunt. Add that to the list of reasons why Harry would simply not survive that period of his life without Hermione.
The evening was drawing upon them before Harry even realised. He didn't even want to move from the sofa. He was too busy observing Hermione. He knew that it was probably a bit creepy, but he loved watching her read. This read, in particular, must've been quite exciting because Hermione was not giving her bottom lip a break. He just sat there, spectating her every move. It always put him into a trance of sorts; He would start daydreaming about the future and what it would look like. He tried to picture his ideal world. Of course, the biggest factor which would make his world ideal was already here, he was looking at it right now. Perfection in its purest form. Harry was quick to notice that Hermione, unlike other girls, usually wore close to no makeup. In fact, she only ever wore makeup on special occasions, like to Bill and Fleur's wedding. Oh, and that time at the Yule Ball. But most of the time, she's usually just her natural self. It always marvelled Harry how simple yet extraordinary her beauty was. How perfect all of her features were. It actually made him quite self-conscious. And it made him feel happy and very lucky to have ended up with such a beautiful witch. Of course, Hermione was always more than her beauty. That trait seemed to have always been tied with her other assets. Damn, I really love her. I love her more than anything else in this world. The thought on its own scared him. Devotion of that kind is always a weakness. It allows others to take advantage of what you feel. Bad people. But Harry didn't need to worry about that anymore. She was safe, both of them were. And as long as he can, he will make sure it stays that way.
Hermione's eyes shifted from the book toward him. Her smile slowly showing up on her lips. "Everything okay? You look like you've been hypnotised."
Harry gave her a brief smile, not letting his eyes drift from her. "Yeah… I think I am. It's because of you."
Their eyes locked, "Me?" she asked.
Harry smiled, "I love you, Hermione."
Hermione closed her book and shifted towards him, "Is everything alright, Harry?"
That was the question "Everything is perfect, as long as you're here… it could never be different."
She smiled at his words and moved over towards him, enticing her hands around his neck, "that's sweet."
Harry wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck, "Please, no matter what you do… don't ever leave me. I'll perish if you do." It was true. His world was nothing without her. He felt Hermione's breathing stop for a moment, then it resumed.
"I'll never leave you, Harry. But only on one condition." She answered, "Promise that you'll never leave ME."
Harry looked up into her eyes, "You don't have to ask me that, Hermione."
She smiled, "You didn't need to ask me either. But now we both made a promise. You'll have to stay with me, Potter."
"Always."
Time was flying against her will, she was slowly edging towards the end of her book. Harry was playing with her hair, an activity which she immensely enjoys. But eventually, the grandfather clock started chiming. Night time was coming, and fast. Hermione closed her book and looked up at Harry.
"You've already packed, right?"
Harry's eyes seemed to awaken from the hypnosis they were in, "Uhmm, nearly."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "You haven't even started, am I right?"
Harry gave her a smile of defeat, "Yep."
She stood up from the couch, leaving him and trailing towards the stairs, "I knew I'd have to help you pack." She moaned, trying to hide her sense of happiness.
"You don't have to, Hermione. I'll do it in a minute, I promise." She could hear the smirk in his voice. He already knew that no matter what, Hermione will be doing his packing.
"Yeah, right." She answered as she carried herself up the stairs. Her heart beating slightly harder at the thought of going through Harry's clothes. She hoped he didn't realise, but she was actually hoping that he would forget to pack. She loved going through Harry's clothes. When the Horcrux hunt started, Harry had to get new clothes; ones that actually fit him. They never had a lot of time at the store to buy anything fancy, but seeing Harry in clothes that actually fit made him look even more attractive. Of course, back then, Hermione wouldn't even dare think of it that way. Back then, those kinds of thoughts were strictly off limits. She taught herself for five years how to avoid them, so it was no challenge at that point. Even now, sometimes her brain still pauses whenever she touches him or just admires how handsome he is. It always pleases her to think that those thoughts are exclusive to her now, and that thought alone was enough to put a smile on her face as she carried up the stairs.
Once she finally made it to their bedroom, she found Harry's case opened and empty on the bed. Without a second thought, she trailed towards the big wardrobe on the left of the room. As soon as the doors to the wardrobe opened up, her nostrils were taken by Harry's scent. She loved the smell of him. There were hints of some kind of fragrance in it, but it was mostly him, it was magical. She reached for one of his jackets, it was grey with black stripes on the sleeves. She quickly realised that this was the jacket she wore during their escape from Privet Drive last year. Like the jacket, most of Harry's clothes had some kind of memory tied to them. She shuffled through the clothes until she found Harry's suede jacket. It was roughed up to hell. There were holes and rips in the material, it was still kind of dirty too. Some of that dirt would probably never fully wash away. This was the jacket which Harry wore during the battle at Hogwarts. The same jacket he wore when Hermione saw him as nothing else than a corpse. It brought horrible feelings into her head, without further thoughts, she placed the jacket back in its place. She didn't know why Harry decided to keep it as a souvenir.
She decided that before packing Harry's clothes, she would take a shower. She knew that he wouldn't mind what she picked for him, but it made her feel responsible for how he would look during the entire term when he wouldn't be in his robes. That was a responsibility which Hermione would not take lightly, so naturally, she needed to focus and relax in the shower prior to making tough decisions. She could really be over dramatical sometimes.
The hot water was great. She loved showers, especially showers with Harry. A part of her wanted to call him, but she wouldn't expect her voice to carry all the way down to the bottom floor of this mansion. Besides, she needed to think right now anyway, and Harry's presence would certainly not help with that. She also wanted to surprise him when he finds out that everything is neatly packed and ready to go. After drying up, she realised that her handbag is downstairs with Harry. And so she wrapped herself up in a towel and made her way to her own wardrobe, already aware that she will most likely not find anything suitable.
Just as predicted, her wardrobe was filled with towels, pyjamas, and dressing gowns. Come to think of it, Harry's mansion really did become her hotel this past couple of months. She couldn't wait to move in, but whenever she brought it up, Harry always carried out the same argument, and she knew very well that he was right. Her parents also supported Harry's opinion and she never remembered dad being so happy and accepting of Harry either. That was the thing she loved about him the most; how he always put everyone in front of himself, no matter what. She really couldn't have gotten a better man. To think that it was the same person she knew since she was eleven. It was the one thing that never changed about him, his care for others and his warmth.
After taking out some pyjamas and throwing it on the bed, she wandered back to Harry's wardrobe, deciding that a towel is suitable enough for her at the moment. She returned back to choosing what Harry should wear over the next couple of months.
After going through pretty much all of his clothes, she started picking the stuff he might want to wear at Hogwarts. She was aiming at simple and comfortable stuff. Harry honestly looked good in anything he wore. He could be wearing a bin bag, and she would still find him dazzling, and slightly cute too. Eventually, Harry's wardrobe was half empty and his case almost full. Finally, she reached Harry's school robes and Quidditch gear. It was important that the school robes go last, so Harry can put them on once they were on the train. And so, she started with the Quidditch gear. After neatly placing everything in the case, it was just the robes and Harry's quidditch shirt. The shirt was maroon with a large golden Gryffindor house crest in the middle. She turned the shirt around to reveal the name 'Potter' written in large golden letters and the number '07' at the middle. She couldn't tell why, but the shirt looked incredibly comfy. It was actually a lot bigger than most of Harry's shirts, but she reckoned that it was just part of the outfit's purpose. Before she could fully analyse the situation, a certain very deep sense of desire flustered its way into her mind. Without much thought, almost working like a robot, she let the towel unfold and drop to the floor, leaving her completely bare. She shifted her hands across the fabric of Harry's shirt and gently raised it above her head, allowing for the maroon fabric to drop over her head and across her body. She tucked her arms in through the sleeves and hurried over to the mirror. It was a funny, yet happy sight.
She turned herself around, facing backwards to the glass and smiled as the name 'Potter' shined on her back. It was something she only now realised was a big fantasy of hers. To wear Harry's Quidditch shirt. She knew that as a reward for packing his case, she would allow herself to wear one of Harry's shirts, but this particular one… it was great. The shirt was way too big for her and the bottom of it went past her waistline, covering half of her thighs. It almost felt like a short skirt. How would she ever take this off?
Harry was almost falling asleep, as different thoughts waved around in his head. He wondered how the packing was going for Hermione. He knew that she wanted to pack his clothes, but he didn't know why it was so important to her. Whenever she asked him about packing this past week, she seemed extremely interested and enticed by the idea of him packing. He didn't know if it was a good thing, but he decided to not pack on purpose to see what she was on about. It also made him happy as packing really was a chore. He was about to go check how she was doing when all of a sudden, his eyes started to feel heavy. Summer was slowly coming to an end, which meant that evenings were now slightly cooler and Harry found those very relaxing. That was until he realised that a big part of packing is… underwear. He shot up from the couch, almost making his head spin. He didn't really know how he felt about Hermione going through his underwear. He was alright with Beemey going through it… but Hermione… he didn't know. Either way, checking on her seemed much more important now as he dashed up the stairs. He got to the doors much faster than anticipated, navigating the mansion wasn't so hard anymore these days. His eyes were met with very possibly one of the most beautiful sights they might ever experience.
She was standing there, humming to herself as she carefully folded his robes inside the case. She was bouncing slightly on her feet, which made the bottom of the shirt wave slightly, exposing and highlighting very lovely areas which Harry loved. He was frozen at the doorstep. She didn't hear him coming, so she carried on humming as she folded the robes. Harry had no idea what to do, he wanted to do SOMETHING, but he just couldn't stop gazing at her. She was like a princess… no, like a queen… no, like a GODDESS. Yes, she really was, and he would worship her until the end of his existence. Merlin… she was so hot!
All too quickly, she was done folding the robes as she turned around, probably hoping to close the door before changing into pyjamas. But that wouldn't be an option for Harry, anyway. She saw him as soon as she turned and jumped slightly.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, eyes wide. Her face turned red quickly, "I didn't see you there. Uhm.." why was she feeling embarrassed, did she not understand how torturingly amazing she was?
"I'm sorry about the shirt… I… I didn't know what went through me." She started apologising.
Harry was trying to find words but it was too hard, so he just launched towards her and almost like a predator, he reached for her legs and raised her up off the floor, making her squeak in confusion. They were on the bed in less than a second, Harry was attacking her mouth. She was still confused, but she would never let him stop. What's got into him? She wondered, is it the shirt? She didn't know, but she was definitely liking it. Harry was wild. His hands were trailing all over her, it was as if he wanted to make sure that every part of her body was covered by his hands all at once. One second they were on her thighs, the next they were in a completely different place. The way he touched her, it was like never before. It was so wild… so quick. She knew it wouldn't take long before she would peak. It was an endless frenzy. Back and forth. Her mind was going crazy, so many different feelings and waves of energy shooting through her body. She felt like a circuit source, just passing connections of electric current. It was amazing. How was he doing this!
He continued to worship her for a couple more moments, possibly the best moments of her life. Eventually, his lips left hers for the last time, as he slowly parted away. Hopefully not for too long, she prayed.
"Hermione…" Harry breathed.
"Mhmm?" She asked, still not fully present. Half of her was still trying to recover from the narcosis he put her in.
"Whatever you do, NEVER return that shirt. I want you to have it, and I want that to be your only pyjamas from now on." He demanded.
"She laughed at his words, as she started to drift back into reality. I'm never taking it off now. It's by far my favourite piece of clothing." It really was. If this was the reward she would receive for wearing his shirt. Then it was a win-win situation for her.
"I don't know what you're doing to me… but I like it." Harry laughed as she giggled.
"I was just about to say that!" She answered.
Whether he wanted it or not, eventually the hours went by and it was time to sleep if they wanted to wake up well rested the next day, and it was going to be a big day. Harry didn't know why, but that exact same thought came to his mind, the very same one he had before Hermione arrived at the manor today.
"Hello? Earth to Harry!" Hermione laughed as she called into his ear.
Harry shook himself out of thought and turned to smile at her, "Sorry. I was just thinking about stuff."
"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" she asked him.
Harry didn't really know what he felt. "Kind of… but It also feels strange… going back."
Hermione shook her head "Trust me, Harry. Once you step back into that castle, you'll feel right at home."
"My home is wherever you are." He answered as he put his arms around her, pulling her into a hug.
Hermione kissed him on the cheek, "I'm going to miss this bed. The dorm beds are going to feel really uncomfortable for a while."
Harry laughed at that, "Wasn't you the one who told me and Ron that they make them uncomfortable for a reason?"
"Well… yeah. It's so that we don't have trouble getting out of bed in the morning." She answered.
"Ahh… well, too bad that didn't help Ron. Waking him up in the morning was always a pain. I honestly don't know how Mrs Weasley deals with him at home." Harry chuckled
Hermione rose her eyebrows, "from what I remember, you were a sleepy head yourself."
"Only when we had History with Mr Binns. He didn't care if you came late or not. Besides, I could always rely on you and your habit of making notes in every lesson." Harry answered.
Hermione frowned at him, "Well you better not rely on that this year. I'm warning you now, Harry Potter. If you want to get O's in your NEWTs, I'm going to make sure that you put in the work."
"Looks like I'm gonna have to use my inner charm to get the notes out of you then." Harry gave her a mischievous grin.
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Yeah I'd like to see that happen. Anyway… we best try to get some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day. Goodnight Harry. I love you." She kissed him one last time before burying her face in his neck.
Harry closed his eyes and tried to treasure the moment. Falling asleep with Hermione was always so easy… so comfortable.
"Goodnight. I love you too." He whispered back and rested his chin on her head.
They remained in bed together in silence, both trying to fall asleep. Both failing to do so as minutes flew by.
"Harry… you still awake?"
"Yeah," Harry answered.
"I just realised something," Hermione whispered.
Harry opened his eyes and stared at her through the darkness, "Hmm?"
"This is our last night together." Hermione pointed out with a flat voice. She was clearly trying to not sound sad.
Harry was already aware of that. But now that Hermione pointed it out… it felt even more miserable.
"You're right." He answered and sighed, "all of a sudden, going Hogwarts sounds much less fun."
She looked up at him, "Why's that?"
"You know why…"
"I might know why… but I'll never know for sure unless you tell me." She grinned.
"Well… I kind of got used to having you with me every night. And quite frankly, it has become something I'm used to. And well… I wasn't planning on changing that anytime soon."
Hermione's grin turned into a full smile, "You're right. It is a bit tragic. But there's nothing that we can't work on."
"What do you have in mind, ma'am?"
"Well… being a prefect since our fifth year… I never really had the chance to properly explore the prefect's bathroom. It just didn't seem very exciting. But maybe exploring it with you could become a little more interesting." She proposed.
Harry smiled back at her "Sounds like a plan."
"We could also swing by the room of requirement… always wanted to see just how much that room can do… "Hermione added.
Harry laughed, "Looks like someone is feeling a little energetic."
"There's also the girls' bathroom on the second floor. Last time I checked it was still abandoned." She continued before climbing onto his chest.
"Looks like we'll have a lot to do in our spare time," Harry answered, looking up into her eyes. There was a burning fire in them… the flames of desire.
"You know me, Potter. I hate wasting precious time. Not when we can be doing something much more interesting." she kissed him lightly on the lips, just barely allowing their mouths to touch.
Harry's hands tied around her back pushing them closer together, "That's the Hermione I know and love."
"See… Hogwarts will be great this year. Maybe even better than ever before." She told him, her hands slowly making their way under his shirt.
"As long as I'm with you," Harry responded.
Sleep came much later that night.
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