Yep, here's another one! My way of saying sorry for being so absent of late 3
As always, no copyright infringement intended
Chapter Fifteen
Sat in his armchair reading, Harry looked up when Hermione flopped into the other chair and eyed him carefully. "What did Snape mean the other day when he mentioned dreams?"
Harry choked on his tongue and coughed hard. "Erm, just something he saw in my head."
She squirmed around until she was comfortable and faced him, cheeks tinged pink. "That morning, when you were um, dreaming. Were you dreaming about me?"
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, unsure how best to answer. Either he lied and said no, and hopefully eased any worries she had. Or he told her the truth, and prayed she wasn't horrified.
"Yes." He chose truth.
Hermione smiled softly. "Harry, it's not something you have to hide. It's pretty normal to have dreams about someone who you're married to, even if it's been thrust on us. You're a seventeen-year-old boy." She recalled what she and Madam Pomfrey had talked about and found she wasn't at all disturbed in the knowledge that Harry, albeit subconsciously, desired her.
"I'm sorry, 'Mione," he murmured.
She sighed, climbed out of her chair and settled at Harry's feet. "There's nothing to be sorry for, Harry. We're going to have to do something that's meant to be reserved for couples in love, generally speaking, anyway. I think, if you felt absolutely nothing for me then it would make things extremely difficult for us."
He ran a hand through her hair, marvelling at the softness of the strands. "Does it change how you feel about me?"
Laying her head on his knee, Hermione huffed a chuckle. "No, not at all. Can we talk about the, um, the consummation?"
He blinked several times before answering, his heart hammering in his chest. "Sure, something on your mind?" He asked, hoping his voice wasn't quaking.
Her fingers tapped out a rhythm on his knee, just under her chin. "It's…well, it's something Madam Pomfrey said. I was talking about the attack and how it made me feel when that morning happened."
Harry nodded. "Okay."
"I didn't understand how I was supposed to get through a consummation when every time I shut my eyes, all I can see is Malfoy's face, and feel his hands on me."
"That's understandable, what happened to you was nothing short of horrific, I promise I'll do everything in my power to make sure you don't ever feel like that again," Harry murmured softly, his fingers cupping her chin, his thumb stroking her cheek.
She smiled. "I know. I pretty much thought that you'd want to get the consummation over as quickly as possible."
"If that was what you wanted, then yes."
"What…What if it's not?"
Harry looked down. "Not what?"
"What I want."
"Okay…What do you want?"
Hermione lifted her head up, chewing her lip, uncertainty in her brown eyes. "I want it to feel real," she whispered.
He cocked his head to the side and pursed his lips a moment. "You want me to make it feel like a real wedding night?"
She nodded. "Yes, Madam Pomfrey was right. We could both get through it hurriedly and try to move on until we had to conceive, or we could actually try and make something of this marriage."
"Are you saying you want us to actually behave as a married couple?"
"Yes, I think we're kidding ourselves if we think this is going to be overturned any time soon. I believe that we should try to make it work, I mean, lots of marriages have become strong because they were friends before. We know a lot about each other but this is a chance for us to learn more about each other, and who knows, maybe we could love each other eventually."
Harry cupped his chin in his hand, resting his head on it and thought about it. He knew it wouldn't be difficult for him to love her as more than a friend. He was already attracted to her and his dreams were filled with only her. "We can try, if you want. I'd do anything to make you happy, 'Mione."
She flushed pink and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "I know, Harry. If I had to be married to anyone for the rest of my life, I can think of no one better than you."
His heart burst, his face split into a grin and he tugged her into his lap, resting his chin on her head and watching the fire. "One day at a time, okay?"
The pair stayed together until the fire burned down low, only leaving for bed when it was nothing more than flickers of flame clinging on. Harry went to retrieve his blankets for the sofa but was stopped when Hermione took his wrist and pulled him towards the bedroom.
Harry didn't remember his dreams in the morning, but he did find Hermione wrapped in his arms, his hips carefully leant away from her buttocks so he wouldn't rut against her again. As much as he wanted nothing more than to kiss her, to feel her mouth move against his, Harry knew to be a gentleman and let her come to him when she was ready.
-oo0oo-
A fortnight after Hermione had performed wandless magic, and had grown stronger with it, Harry successfully managed to block Snape from getting in his head. He saw the attack coming and threw up his mental landscape, the Black Lake on a warm, clear sky day. The minute Snape landed, the trap was sprung.
The beautiful day twisted into something from a horror novel, like the ones Hermione sent to him over the holidays. The sky darkened, Inferi crawled out of the lake and advanced on the professor. Snape was forced to retreat lest he be dragged down into the depths of the Black Lake where the giant squid waited to devour its prey.
Hermione clapped excitedly, jumping around with him in joy, much to the disgusted look on Snape's face at their exuberance. Harry was able to keep Snape out successfully on the next four tries, calling it quits when his head started to throb.
The two Gryffindors left the potions classroom and headed back to their rooms, hand in hand, laughing along the way. They bumped into Ron, who eyed their clasped hands and raised a brow, but said nothing about it. They chatted, laughed, and went on their way. Their friendship was slowly repairing, but it took time.
One week remained before Malfoy would be returning to the school, Harry had taken it upon himself to take her mind off it, finding all sorts of activities for them to do. Their marriage had progressed slightly, hand holding was an everyday thing, and Harry spent most nights in their bed, with Hermione nestled in his arms.
Just a few days ago, he had woken from a dream, his erection straining against his pyjama pants, the end nudging Hermione in the back. She had sleepily smiled at him, wriggled her arse, then went back to sleep. He had a strong idea she'd no idea what she'd really been doing, but it had taken a cold shower and a wank before he'd been able to function that day.
The weekend had arrived, and with it, Harry had promised to take Hermione to Hogsmeade for a bottle of Butterbeer, some shopping and a trip to see Remus in his cottage on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Hallowe'en was approaching, and Harry often grew quiet at the holiday, the day reminding him that his parents had been taken from him. Hermione had been owling their friend with the furry little problem for a few days in secret. Harry had laughed when Hermione had awkwardly tried to shuffle around the subject, promising it was nothing nefarious.
He'd relented and chuckled, their wireless coming to life at the flick of his wand, and the pair had danced slowly in their living room. Hermione's cheeks were flushed red, her hair flying wildly about her head, and Harry had taken the opportunity to press the softest of kisses against the corner of her mouth.
Nothing more, nothing less, but it had brought the most vibrant spark to Hermione's eyes he had ever seen. For a moment, his breath had been stolen, his heart had fluttered in his chest and he'd swallowed thickly. Oh, boy, I am so in trouble here, he thought.
That night, Harry had slept on the sofa, not trusting himself with her when he'd wanted her so badly after their dancing. Either Hermione had managed to sleep alone, or she had sensed that sleeping beside him would be a bad idea, because that morning was the first time he'd woken alone since they'd gotten married. He didn't like it, at all. All the times he had woken to Hermione in his arms and already he knew that was where she belonged, always safe in his arms.
Harry quickly showered and dressed, waited for Hermione to get ready and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast before they went to Hogsmeade. The mood seemed somewhat sombre despite the events of the night before, but Harry chose not to read into it.
They ate, chatted with their housemates and dodged questions about how things were going, and left for the village. Partway along the road, Harry slid his hand into hers and locked their fingers together, giving a gentle squeeze. She returned it, letting Harry know everything was alright.
Safely tucked away in one of the back booths of The Three Broomsticks, Harry carried over two bottles of Butterbeer and settled opposite Hermione. "Are you alright? You've been quiet all morning."
Hermione sipped her Butterbeer and shrugged. "Just tired, I guess."
He frowned but let it go, sensing she didn't want to talk about it. They were left alone in the pub, none of their school mates bothered to approach, though Ron entered with Lavender Brown and waved at the pair.
After the Butterbeer, Harry led Hermione to Honeydukes and bought two large bars of chocolate for Remus, and some Ice Mice for Hermione, who smiled and nibbled on one as they walked. They bought new stationary, picked up some new books Hermione had been wanting and headed for the cottage Remus had bought.
The werewolf met them at the door before Harry even had chance to knock, greeting them both with a warm hug and a mug of coffee for Harry, and tea for Hermione. "It's so good to see you both."
Harry laughed. "You saw us at the Ministry just a couple of weeks ago."
Remus smiled. "Yes, but it wasn't the kind of catch-up I was after."
The three of them went to Remus' garden and sat in the sun, a surprisingly warm day for the end of October. They sipped at their mugs, neither one wanted to break the peaceful silence until Remus did.
"How are things between you both?" He asked gently.
Hermione smiled and touched Harry's knee. "We've talked about things, and we're doing the best we can with the situation as it is."
Remus nodded and his eyes flicked to Harry momentarily. "And your consummation?"
Hermione answered. "We're still waiting to see if the law is repealed."
He frowned. "You've only got a week, Hermione. I wouldn't leave it until the dying seconds."
Harry placed his mug on the table a little harder than necessary and narrowed his eyes at Remus. "Oh, I'm sorry, Remus, I didn't realise that our marriage came with a third person to offer guidance on when I should make sure my wife has no easy way out of this."
Remus sighed and sat back, playing with his mug. "Harry, please, I didn't invite you here to argue, I just don't want either of you to end up in trouble because you waited until the very last moment."
Hermione laid her hand on Harry's arm, her cheeks pink and a light smile playing on her lips. "Remus, we've already acknowledged that the chances of the repeal happening in time are slim to none, but can you blame us for holding out a little longer before I give something precious up?"
"Your life would still be yours, Hermione. Getting a divorce later wouldn't be hard, and besides, I imagine that if the Ministry did repeal this later on, that all marriages would be naturally dissolved."
Harry caught the furtive glance Hermione gave him and frowned deeply. There was something she hadn't told him, he could feel it. "That's not what I meant," she murmured.
Her face reddened and she tried to wheedle out of it, but Harry caught on and levelled her with a stare. "Hermione, what are you talking about?"
"I uh, I meant that I, well, that I would be giving you something, um, precious. Something I should be giving freely."
Horror stabbed through Harry and he felt the blood drain from his face. "You didn't…I thought we discussed this?"
She gave a one-shouldered shrug. "I thought about it, and I decided that I didn't want to just give myself to some knuckle-dragging neanderthal in the school. If I have to give it to someone, I'd rather it be you."
Remus coughed lightly, trying to break the tension, but it was too late. Harry had a week before he would have to consummate his marriage to Hermione, and she was still a virgin. "I don't…fucking hell, Hermione. Were you going to tell me at all or just let me find out?" He asked tightly.
"Harry, this might be a conversation for you both to have alone," Remus said, trying to diffuse the argument brewing.
"Remus, no offence, but this does not concern you," Harry hissed. "Well, Hermione? Were you going to tell me before or after I fucked you?"
Hermione's hand shot out and slapped Harry, his head snapping to the side with the force of the blow, cheek glowing red and pain pulsing in the smacked flesh. "Fuck you, Harry. You don't get to speak to me like that!"
Harry rose from his seat and glared down at her. "You don't get to leave important details like that out. Do you have any idea how it would have made me feel to realise you'd given such a gift to me, that you'd left me to believe there was at least one thing I wasn't taking from you because of this stupid fucking law?"
He didn't wait for her answer. He couldn't. Harry drained his coffee, and said goodbye to Remus, leaving his wife staring after him, wide-eyed and unsure. Remus tried to get him to calm down, but Harry refused to stay behind. He needed time to cool off, to think about things rationally again.
The werewolf sadly watched his young cub walk away, his black robes a speck in the distance until he disappeared from view. Only the soft sob of Hermione reminded him he was not alone.