The Morality of Eating Chocolate Bunnies by Amethyst

Rating: PG13
Genres: Drama, Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 4
Published: 19/11/2003
Last Updated: 19/11/2003
Status: Completed

Harry and Hermione debate the moral issues of eating chocolate bunnies - old Easter fluff, with
a slightly angsty twist. PG-13 for a Very Bad Word.




1. The Morality of Eating Chocolate Bunnies
-------------------------------------------

Title: The Morality of Eating Chocolate Bunnies and Other Things

Author: Amethyst

Author E-mail: AmethystJackson@hotmail.com

Category: Humor, Romance

Rating: PG

Keywords: Harry, Hermione, Easter, chocolate bunnies

Summary: Harry and Hermione debate the morale issues of eating chocolate bunnies.

Spoilers: None

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling,
various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast
Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is
intended.

Author's Note: It all started one evening on AIM, talking to Aileen. I realized that my WW
date fell on Easter, and from that, I jumped to this. And I didn't have time to edit it, so
please point out any errors you find.

~

Witch Weekly

Volume 674, Issue No. 1

Week of April 20, 2003

This is Amethyst speaking, and I would like to say that I am very sick of the veiled insults
that the editors keep leaving here. My rabid plot bunnies are nobody's business but mine. And
speaking of rabid plot bunnies, this week we've got chocolate bunnies. Do enjoy, and please
remember, just because it's chocolate doesn't make you any less guilty!

The Morality of Eating Chocolate Bunnies and Other Things

By Amethyst

"I can't eat it," Harry announced, holding up a boxed chocolate bunny. Hermione
glanced over at him, frowning.

"Why not? It's not real."

"But it hops, Hermione," Harry argued, carefully opening the box. "That gives it
a certain amount of realism. Harry took the chocolate rabbit out and held it in his hand. It hopped
up and down, as if jump-roping.

"Honestly, Harry, it's chocolate and hollow. It is *not* a real bunny,"
Hermione responded with exasperation.

"But it's staring at me!" Harry said, and indeed, it was.

"It's a spell, Harry. Chocolate frogs do it, too."

Harry shook his head as the bunny hopped off his hand and onto the table. "How do I know it
wasn't a real bunny, transfigured to be chocolate? What if I'm eating a real
bunny?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "They don't sell transfigured bunnies. It's illegal under
the Animal Rights Code of 1892."

"What if these manufacturers are breaking the law? How do you know they're following
that code?" Harry asked, almost hysterical.

"Well, problem solved," Hermione said, gesturing to the table. "It's gone and
hopped off and now you don't have a bunny to eat. It's probably going to get too close to
the fire and melt."

Harry looked sad. "Poor bunny. I'd rather be eaten."

Hermione sighed slightly and produced a box from beside her chair. Upon careful inspection,
Harry realized it was another chocolate rabbit, perhaps a distant cousin to his own. She pulled it
out of the box and it hopped good-naturedly on her hand. Carefully, she broke off an ear and handed
it to Harry.

"It's Easter. The whole point is to eat chocolate," she said, forcing the ear into
his hand. Harry glanced over at the one-eared rabbit. It didn't seem to be in any pain.
Offering Hermione a small smile, he obediently ate the chocolate.

Hermione shrieked, and Harry abruptly stopped chewing. "Harry!" she cried, "the
poor bunny's in pain! How could you do such a thing?"

Harry froze, but one look at the rabbit made it quite apparent that it was still as happy as
ever. Hermione giggled, and Harry narrowed his eyes at her, though he couldn't understand why
he had never noticed how cute she was when she laughed before. Grabbing the nearest pillow, he
quickly launched his attack, a few feathers flying after the impact. Hermione dropped the bunny -
it hopped off somewhere, probably to the other missing rabbit, now with no ears - and, to
Harry's great surprise, tackled him. A second later he found himself flat on his back, Hermione
pinning him to the ground.

It wasn't until he looked up at Hermione, her entire face glowing with mirth, that he
realized just how much they were in need of laughter. There hadn't been much over the past
year.

Ron had died at the beginning of their seventh year, the latest victim of Voldemort's second
reign. His absence and the guilt loomed over Harry, constantly on his shoulder. Smiles were rare;
laughter was all but extinct. Harry didn't let anyone in, and after a long week of
how-are-you's and I'm-sorry-for-your-loss's, they stopped approaching him. He had even
tried shutting Hermione out. Anything, anything at all to keep her safe from Ron's fate… But
she wouldn't let him, and they lived their lives solemnly, staying away from everyone but each
other.

The pain lessened as the months went by, but it never went away. Something had changed, however.
Harry looked up at Hermione, firelight bouncing off her hair in strands of gold, her eyes dancing
with the first bit of happiness they had known since October, and it was as if everything was as it
used to be.

"Harry?" he heard her say, breaking through the thoughts swimming in his head. He
offered her a smile, marveling at how beautiful she had suddenly become. "You're thinking
about Ron, aren't you?" she murmured, the smile fading from her eyes and then her
mouth.

Harry nodded slightly, disappointed with himself for letting their moment end. He wanted to hear
her laugh again.

"We can't live letting his memory haunt us," she murmured, crawling off of him.
She sat beside him, hugging her knees to her chest. "I don't think he would want it this
way. He would want us to laugh, to be happy. He would want us to forget."

*Would he want me to fall in love with you*?

Hermione suddenly paled. "Did you just say you were falling in love with me?"

"Oh, fuck," Harry murmured. How could he have said that out loud? Of all the thoughts
that Hermione didn't need to hear…

"Harry, answer me. Is that what you said?"

"I suppose you wouldn't agree to forget I ever said that?" Harry asked, unable to
meet her wide brown eyes. She shook her head, and Harry sighed, resigned to the inevitable.
Hermione would lie and say they could still be friends, even though she would kindly tell him that
she didn't feel the same way, she would gradually stop speaking to him, and then Harry would be
all alone, unless Ron's ghost came back to haunt him for it…because he was falling for her.
There was no denying it.

"Yes," he told her, "I am. And don't pretend that everything can stay the
same, because we both know it can't. I didn't want to tell you; I can't lose you,
Hermione…"

"Well, you're right, Harry," she said, looking down at her hands. She had lovely
hands. "It can't stay the same. We can't be friends anymore."

"What?" he breathed, mouth going dry. Even with all his worries, he had never actually
expected her to say something like that. A small part of him believed that he could still save
himself.

"How can we possibly stay friends when all I want right now is for you to kiss
me?"

"You…what?" Harry managed, flabbergasted. "You mean you…"

"I mean, Harry, that I'm falling in love with you, too. And therefore, it would be
entirely foolish for us to remain friends, when we could be so much more," she said, reaching
out for his hand. He gave it to her, marveling at how much smaller her hand looked when it was in
his own.

He smiled at her. "Do you still want me to kiss you?"

"Of course," she replied. It didn't take him long at all to comply with her
wishes. He pulled her down to him, kissing her softly until that wasn't enough, and then his
tongue darted out against her lip. She allowed him to explore her mouth, returning the favor in
kind.

"We should have stopped being friends a long time ago," Harry muttered when they
finally broke apart. She nodded her agreement, face flushed. She crawled into his arms, and he was
happy to hold her.

Harry smiled, knowing that Hermione had brought him back to life. She had saved him.

~ fin

A/N: I wrote something Easter-y. Even has a resurrection/salvation theme, though I suppose
it's a bit sacrilegious when Hermione's playing the role of Jesus… In any case, it's
Easter-y, so Happy Easter, and no chocolate bunnies were harmed in the making of this fic.

I'd also like to advertise Witch Weekly, where clever witches post a new ficlet every
week…in theory. To read the works of all of our writers, past and present, you can head on over to
the SpellbookFics Yahoo! Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SpellbookFics/) where creativity more
often than not leads to insanity.



