I Love The Way... by flowerchild861206

Rating: PG13
Genres: Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 6
Published: 29/08/2005
Last Updated: 15/09/2005
Status: In Progress

Realization dawns... more like hits them on the head repeatedly with a cricket bat! :) Post HBP,
Hogwarts and Voldie. Songfic in four parts, so far at least! :)




1. Strong and Wild
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Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, “The Way You Love Me” belongs to Boyzone, no
infringement intended… honestly people, this is all in good fun…

Oh, warning, this is a songfic and a highly fluffy one at that!! Enjoy!!

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*I like the feel of your name on my lips*

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Hermione. Hermione. He loved the way it felt when he said it, the way it seemed to roll off his
tongue like a soft wave and caress his lips lightly, making him smile. Hermione. Like honey. It was
suddenly the sweetest name he had ever heard. Hermione. It was the feminine form of the Greek
“Hermes”, the messenger of the gods. How he knew that he didn't know. All he knew was that it
was the sweetest name in the entire world. The sweetest name for the sweetest girl… no, woman. She
was definitely not just a girl anymore, not since the final battle. She had really filled out in
all the right places too, like her- `Wait, what am I thinking? She's my friend, my best friend,
that's all, no more…'

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*I like sound of your sweet gentle kiss*

********

He made a cute little noise when he kissed, a sort of “tchwhu” that only he could make. She
wondered if he knew that. That his kisses were soft and warm and a little damp, that the
genuineness and honesty in the way he pressed his slightly parted lips against her skin unnerved
her more than he could possibly imagine. That lately, ever since he had loosened up a little and
started returning her wild hugs with a tender kiss on her cheek or the top of her head, the
sweetness of his gentle return of affection left her warm and tingling deep down somewhere no one
ever reached… not that she would ever tell him that, of course. They were just friends, best
friends… `It's just a passing phase…'

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*The way that your fingers run through my hair*

********

It felt so good when she touched him. Like when she played with his hair. First, she would
ruffle it, teasing him over some joke or other, and then slowly run her hand through it again and
again, twirling locks of it between her fingers, combing it one way then the other trying to tame
it while she bantered with him, lightly massaging his scalp. It gave him a delicious shiver down
his spine, and the longer she did it the more knotted up his stomach became. He wondered sometimes
how he could actually keep up with the banter. That didn't necessarily mean anything, of
course, surely… lots of things got him knotted up these days, like… like… uh… well…

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*The way your scent lingers even when you're not there*

********

She couldn't put her finger down on what exactly it was. It was so many different things -
broomstick polish, leather, something woodsy like pine, fresh earth, newly cut grass, soap, and a
tangy ocean breeze all thrown in and tossed about like a salad of fragrances that was uniquely
*him*. It drove her crazy when she tried to relax by sitting in her favourite armchair (which
was coincidentally his favourite too) and smelled him on it from hours before. She could
practically pinpoint his location in the large house they shared with Ron and Luna with his scent,
and felt strangely lonely without it although her sensitivity to it got her all tensed up
sometimes. `I should *not* be smelling him everywhere… oh for Merlin's sake, there it is
again…'

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Hehehe, evil me, leaving you lot hanging… I usually do one-shots, thought I'd give this a
try! Reviews = oxygen, or in my case more importantly, food (am on nasty diet, long story)!
Pleeeaase!! Mmmwahs!!

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2. Slow and Easy
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Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, “The Way You Love Me” belongs to Boyzone, no
infringement intended… honestly people, this is all in good fun…

Thanks for all the great reviews, darlings!! The Evil Diet, henceforth to be dubbed “U-No-Eat”
truly has been made more bearable! Hehehe!! So, Chapter 2 is finally up… I'm so sorry it took
so long; I've been running around like a headless chicken getting ready to fly off to
university this week, so please bear with me! I swear I'll try and upload as fast as I can!
Enjoy!!

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*I like the way your eyes dance when you laugh*

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His eyes seemed to haunt her. Their infinite emerald depths like the glittering green waters of
the Hogwarts Lake in the summer. They so easily betrayed his innermost feelings, now darkening in
anger, now shining with happiness. Happy times were few and far between since fourth year; she used
to cherish those rare moments and wish that she could give him more. That all changed after the
final battle. He was a new man, and although she still saw glimpses of his horrible past in those
revealing eyes, they were not so burdened now. She loved them most when he laughed, how they danced
joyfully as he bantered with her or sparkled with excitement and mischief as he and Ron schemed to
get back at Fred and George for the latest prank played on them. But there had been a whole new
shine in them these days… especially when he looked at her. She often caught him staring with a
strange, intense gaze, eyes darkened yet gleaming with a beautiful, fiery light… it made her feel
molten… but she loved it. If she could see only one light for the rest of her life, she would not
pick the spring sunshine, or Christmas lights, or the Aurora Borealis. No. She would choose the
light that shone in his eyes. It was the most beautiful light in the world to her. Funny thing
though, she never thought the same or even anything similar of Ron's baby blues. Not even while
they were dating… funny… Well of course, how could ordinary blues compare to her emeralds? Wait,
*her* emeralds?! Since when?

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*And how you enjoy your two-hour bath*

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She took the longest baths ever. Of everyone he knew, even Ginny (whose maximum of an hour was a
constant complaint amongst the Weasley brothers), she was the only one to often take two hours or
more in the bath. And he was the only one who put up with the ritual. That's what she called it
- her daily stress-busting ritual. Ron secretly called it the bathroom-hogging ritual, but he knew
better than to tell her that; besides, she probably knew anyway. He once walked in on said ritual
in the bathroom that adjoined their bedrooms; he hadn't known about it then, of course. She had
forgotten to lock his door from the inside, and he saw her, up to her chin in foam, her freshly
scrubbed face shining with glee as she blew bubbles off her hand. They went all over the place as
she aimed for the pearly-toed foot peeking out of the suds and missed miserably, and her shock when
she saw him standing there resulted in the blasted bubbles landing on his face instead. She laughed
apologetically at his indignant expression and told him it was payback for interrupting her ritual,
but all he could think at the time was how lovely her shoulders looked as they rose out of the
foam, with little rivulets of water and bubbles streaming down her glistening wet skin… He never
saw her in the bath again, but the vanilla fragrance of her favourite bubble bath was ever-present
in their bathroom. He missed it on those days when she only had time for a quick shower… and those
dratted bubbles had covered more than he would have liked them to- Merlin's socks, what was he
thinking?!

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*And how you convinced me to dance in the rain*

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Last year, he dragged her out in the pouring rain. To dance. She smiled as the memory came back
to her. She had been alone since breaking off with Ron on Halloween in seventh year, and that
Easter afternoon at the Weasleys' surrounded by various couples all under the heady influence
of the spring weather was more than she could take. She had found a little nook in the kitchen and
sunk into misery as the sound of Ginny and Draco's laughter echoed from the living room. She
had sat still and held her breath when Ron and Luna wandered hand-in-hand into the kitchen in
search of food, not wanting face their pity. She had groaned and banged her head against the wall
seeing Remus and Tonks sitting in each other's arms in the back garden. Suddenly he appeared in
front of her, as if he'd known where she was all this time, and when he looked into her eyes
she knew he knew, like he always did. And that was it. The tears she had struggled to hold at bay
all day burned their way down her cheeks as he held her silently, but his presence gave her a
strange sense of well-being. As they pulled apart, the late spring sunshine gave way to a
torrential rainstorm, and his eyes sparked with that familiar mischievous glint as he pulled her to
her feet and out the door. “Harry!” she protested. “What are you doing? We'll be drenched to
the bone!” He laughed. “Come on Mi, you need this!” `Mi', his special nickname for her since
seventh year. He rarely used it except when they were alone, and it gave her butterflies in her
stomach. “Need what? Pneumonia? I don't think so!” “Yeah well, we'll fix your heart first,
and if that can be done, pneumonia's cake!” he quipped back. “And I can think of no better way
to start than dancing in the rain.”

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*With everyone watching like we were insane*

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She was shocked when he tugged her out into the garden. She shrieked, protesting, and clung
tighter to him, trying to shelter herself as he laughed. “Come on Mi, you need this!” `Mi', his
special name for her. He knew she hated being called Herm and Hermy and all that, and everyone
called her Mione. He wanted to call her something different, something that was his and his alone.
She seemed to be ok with Mi. “Need what? Pneumonia? I don't think so!” Her eyes were still sad
despite the casual tone of her voice. “Yeah well,” he teased. “We'll fix your heart first, and
if that can be done, pneumonia's cake! And I can think of no better way to start than dancing
in the rain.” At least, he thought so. He found rain to be strangely therapeutic when he was down
in the dumps, like a soft, comforting embrace that washed away his woes… he was hoping it would
have the same effect on her. He held her as close as he dared, and spun her and dipped her and
swung her around until she laughed hysterically. Her eyes seemed to dance too, and he sensed that
maybe, just maybe her heart was a little less broken than before. He saw Remus and Tonks grinning
at the sight of them dancing from the shelter of the garden shed, Ron, arm in arm with a smiling
Luna, shaking his head in astonishment and saying something that looked suspiciously like
“bonkers!” as they looked out the kitchen window, and various other surprised faces from the living
room and the other rooms upstairs - Ginny, Draco, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Fleur, Bill…
He smiled, remembering the day, the feeling of her in his arms, dancing in the rain… that was a
year ago. He lifted his glance and looked across the room at her, and as their eyes met, he saw
that she was smiling too.

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Hehehe!! Is everyone buzzing?? Hope so! Will do my best to get the next instalment in by the end
of the week, can't make any promises these days though, sorry! But then again, the best things
are worth waiting for eh? Mmmwahs to everyone who reviews; remember, I'm low on fuel these
days! By the way, U-No-Eat has resulted in the loss of 5 kg! The saga continues…

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