Summer Writing Series Challenge -- Anne U's Responses by Anne U

Rating: PG13
Genres: Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 5
Published: 22/07/2004
Last Updated: 29/07/2004
Status: In Progress

REPOST: These are my response to the Portkey Summer Writing Series Challenge,
http://www.livejournal.com/community/pk_h_hr_swsc/. All stories will be rated PG-13 or less. Each
chapter is my response to a specific challenge. I hope you enjoy these.




1. Playa de Recuerdos
---------------------

*Playa de Recuerdos*

*By Anne U*

*Written for the Summer Writing Series Challenge,* http://www.livejournal.com/community/pk_h_hr_swsc/

*Keyword: beach. Inspired by this drawing,* http://www.boomspeed.com/muddgutts/BeachHHr.jpg*,
by my good friend Muddgutts. Approximately 590 words and yes, this is the whole story.*

The sun was hot on the young man’s skin. He perched on his elbow, leaning over toward the young
woman in the pinkish bikini, wondering how the two of them had gotten to the point of lying on this
blanket, on this beach in the Yucatan.

His mind flooded with memories of everything that had led them here. How they spent five years
being best friends, sharing classes, studying together, and having adventures most kids their age
couldn’t dream of. Then followed two years of him focusing on preparing to meet his fate – a fate
that had been prophesied before he was born, a fate that only he could fulfill, the same fate that
made him try to push her and everyone else away from him to keep them safe from harm.

Only she wouldn’t be pushed, wouldn’t be kept from harm, wanted to share the bad as well as the
good with him. "I’m already a target," she told him more than once. "I’ve been a
target since you saved me from the troll. Don’t try to keep me away, because I’ll never leave
you." Every time she told him this, she buried her face in his jumper and hugged him harder
than seemed possible for such a slip of a girl.

When push finally came to shove, though, she let him go out alone to do what he had to do, but
not before making him a promise – that when (*not* if) he came back, and if (but only if) he
wanted, she hoped she could be more than just his best friend. And then Hermione did something
she’d never done before and kissed him on the lips. No stars exploded behind his eyes; no rockets
rang out in the night sky. But the softness of her lips wrapped his heart in a blanket of peace and
calm. That was when Harry Potter finally understood about "the power he knows not," the
power that Harry possessed in abundance but which Voldemort had never known and would never
know…the power that eventually saved Harry’s life while enabling him to defeat Voldemort
forever….

Six months later, Harry and Hermione lay on this beach, soaking up the sun as if they’d never
had care in the world. Leaning up on her elbows, Hermione looked out toward the ocean. "It’s
so beautiful here, isn’t it?" she sighed. "After everything you’ve gone through, I’m glad
we were able to get away from England and come here."

Harry leaned closer to her, his left hand resting lightly on her abdomen, and admired the view.
"The ocean’s very pretty, but I’d much rather look at you."

"Oh honestly, Harry…that’s…very sweet of you," she muttered, her face almost as pink
as the spaghetti straps on her bikini top. She looked deeply into his eyes, frowning slightly.
"You’ve been very quiet this afternoon. What have you been thinking of?"

Closing the distance between them, Harry leaned toward Hermione and captured her lips in a kiss
as soft and sweet as the one he’d just remembered. "Just thinking about all the years I’ve
known you," he whispered, trailing kisses down the side of her neck toward her collarbone,
"and wishing it hadn’t taken me seven whole years to figure things out."

Hermione leaned back a bit, exposing more of her neck to him. "Always happy to help.
Anything else I can do for you?"

"Mmmmmmm," he sighed, nuzzling her ear as he laid her back on the blanket. "I’m
not sure, but I bet I’ll think of something."

~~Finito~~



2. A Glorious Feeling
---------------------



A Glorious Feeling
By Anne U
958 words, rated PG
Written for the Portkey Summer Writing Series Challenge. The challenge was to write a ficlet of
no more than 1,000 words, inspired by a musical, topic: love/romance. The challenge appears
here:
http://www.livejournal.com/community/pk_h_hr_swsc/8383.html
This is the completed ficlet.
^*^*^*^
It started out like any other Thursday night. Harry Potter and his best friend, Hermione
Granger, met their other best friend, Ron Weasley, for drinks and dinner. They’d done this every
Thursday, come rain or shine or gloom of winter, for the three years since they’d finished
Hogwarts. It was their way of celebrating their friendship, which had endured over ten long and
often difficult years, as well as thumbing their noses at those Death Eaters who still lingered
after Voldemort’s defeat.

**Dinner involved large amounts of lasagna and mostaccioli, followed by cannoli and tiramisu
(Ron had some of both), at an Italian restaurant on Charing Cross Road in Muggle London. After
dinner, the three friends took a leisurely stroll to the Leaky Cauldron, where they had several
rounds of butterbeer. Eventually Harry and Ron went from drinking butterbeer to doing Wizarding
boilermakers, following each butterbeer with a shot of Old Ogden’s. After three hours of chatting
and drinking, Hermione stifled a yawn.**

**"Well, it’s not the weekend yet, and I’ve got some papers to catch up on before I go to
bed, so I think I’ll go home now," Hermione said. As she reached behind Harry to get her
cloak, it fell behind his chair and he automatically turned in his seat to pick it up.**

**"Let me get that for you," Harry said. "I’m leaving too." As he handed
Hermione’s cloak to her, her hand accidentally brushed his cheek. At least Harry thought it was
accidental, but her cheeks seemed a bit pink in the torchlight inside the Leaky Cauldron, almost as
though she were embarrassed. He tried to brush aside the thoughts that started filling his mind.
They were the same thoughts that had crept into his brain practically every Thursday for the past
three years. But it didn’t do him any good to think those thoughts, because no matter how pink her
cheeks might seem in the torchlight, he was sure Hermione would never think of him the same way he
thought of her – as someone he wished could be more than his best friend.**

**"Walk you home?" he asked hopefully, trying to keep his voice level. She smiled,
nodding, and the two of them watched as Ron disapparated back to the Burrow, then found their way
back out to Charing Cross Road.**

**The air outside the tavern was thick with mist as a typically heavy London fog rolled in off
the Thames River. Harry and Hermione walked along in companionable silence, just as they’d done so
many times during the past ten years. This time, though, Harry thought he felt something different
pass between them. *It’s probably just static electricity from the rain clouds gathering
overhead,* he thought as his stomach did flip-flops that made him hope it was something
more.**

**All too soon, they reached the front stoop of Hermione’s flat. Harry walked her up to the
door and waited as she rummaged through her bag for her keys.**

**"Well, I guess I should go in now," she sighed, her brown eyes seeming to search
his face.**

**"Yeah, I guess you should. It feels like it’s going to rain really soon."**

**She sighed again.**

**"Harry… do you really want me to go in now? I mean, right this minute?"**

**Deep in her eyes Harry thought he saw something he hadn’t seen before…something that looked
like what he felt toward her.**

**"No. I don’t want you to go in just yet." He moved up one step until he was
standing next to her. As he placed his hand gently on her shoulder, he felt several large raindrops
splatter on his hair.**

**"Harry, it’s raining. We’re getting wet," she objected weakly.**

**"Are we?" he whispered. "Does that bother you?"**

**"Not really," she whispered back, her lips just inches from his.**

**"Me neither," he sighed, his lips approaching hers in slow motion as the rain began
to fall more heavily.**

**"If you’re going to kiss me, please do it before we drown," Hermione
smiled.**

**As raindrops kept falling on their heads, Harry lifted her chin with his finger and leaned
down until his lips met hers. Hermione’s lips were soft and silky and tasted of the apple lipgloss
she liked to buy at the apothecary in Diagon Alley. Harry and Hermione stood in front of her door
for several long moments, their lips touching ever so lightly, as if they were both holding back
for fear of going any further.**

**As they finally ended the kiss, Harry leaned his forehead against Hermione’s and sighed.
"So."**

**"So."**

**"What do we do now?"**

**"I’ll go up to my flat and you’ll go home. And I’ll see you really soon." She
tilted her face toward his and pecked him on the lips.**

**"Promise?"**

**"You can take that to Gringott’s," she smiled.**

**Just as they pulled apart, the rain began to come down in sheets. "Go home and dry off,
Harry!" she chided as she opened the door and let herself in.**

**"I will," he replied, waving to her as he reached the curb. "See you soon,
Hermione."**

**Harry pulled the hood of his cloak up over his hair and shuffled down the street, a goofy
grin spreading across his face. By the time he reached the corner, he realized he’d been skipping
down the street. His smile growing wider, he jumped in a puddle and started tap-dancing in a big,
lazy circle. A downed tree-branch caught his eye and with a flick of his wand, Harry turned the
branch into an umbrella. He knew he could have apparated home, but the joy of finally kissing
Hermione made his heart want to burst. Umbrella held over his head, he tap-danced his way home,
just dancing and singing in the rain.**

**<3 <3 <3**

**Inspired by SINGIN' IN THE RAIN**

**Written by Arthur Freed & Nacio Herb Brown**

**Performed by Gene Kelly**

**Don Lockwood:**

**Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo**

**Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo-doo**

**Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo-doo**

**Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo-doo...**

**I'm singing in the rain**

**Just singing in the rain**

**What a glorious feelin'**

**I'm happy again**

**I'm laughing at clouds**

**So dark up above**

**The sun's in my heart**

**And I'm ready for love**

**Let the stormy clouds chase**

**Everyone from the place**

**Come on with the rain**

**I've a smile on my face**

**I walk down the lane**

**With a happy refrain**

**Just singin',**

**Singin' in the rain**

**Dancin' in the rain**

**Dee-ah dee-ah dee-ah**

**Dee-ah dee-ah dee-ah**

**I'm happy again!**

**I'm singin' and dancin' in the rain!**

**I'm dancin' and singin' in the rain...**



