Discovery
London
By Kinsfire
Hermione was sitting quietly reading when she heard a quiet tapping at the window. She looked up to see a familiar white owl in the window, waiting patiently. She let the snowy owl in, and was surprised at the gentle nip from her, but even more surprised when Hedwig did something she'd only ever seen cats do - she gave Hermione an affectionate head bump before giving Hermione the letter.
"You're a beautiful owl, Hedwig," she said as she claimed the letter from Hedwig. She read Harry's letter, her face going white as she reached the part about her and Ron. She quickly read the letter that was the headmaster's demands to Harry. No matter how politely phrased they were, they're still demands. Doesn’t the man realise that's part of what killed Sirius? He was in jail again, and he had to escape.
She put the letters down and began to pack a travelling bag with walking clothes and the like. The first place he'll have to go is Gringott's, she thought. He'll need money to move with. I want to get to the bank before they open, so I can wait for him.
Once she'd packed her gear, she sat and wrote a note to her parents.
Mum and Dad,
Knowing your schedules, it may be a day or two before you see this. In a way, I'm glad. Harry is leaving, and he needs someone to help him and watch his back. I've elected myself for the job.
I expect that you'll contact Professor Dumbledore or someone when you finally read this. With luck the two of us are out of his clutches for a time, and maybe Harry will have a chance to heal somewhat. (You remember that I told you about him losing his godfather so recently.)
I'm leaving the letter that Harry sent, and the one that the Professor sent to Harry that set this off. Please don't lose them - I'm sure they'll be important again someday.
I will come back and explain when I can - it's just too important right now that I not let Harry be alone when he most needs someone.
I love you.
Hermione
She left her own letter to her parents atop the two that Harry had sent. She then walked to Hedwig and said, "Girl, I'm leaving to find your boyfriend." She chuckled as she said it, and laughed when Hedwig bobbed her head excitedly. "You sleep in, and then when it gets dark, find Harry. We'll have camped wherever we are, and we can all be reunited, okay?" Hedwig bounced from foot to foot for a moment before nipping Hermione's finger. "I love you too, Hedwig. See you tonight, okay?" After another head bob from Hedwig, Hermione headed out the door and down the road a distance.
A short, harrowing ride on the Knight Bus later, Hermione stepped shakily up to the door of the Leaky Cauldron and stepped inside. Almost no one was inside except Tom, who seemed to be at the bar no matter what time of day. "Miss Granger, what a surprise!"
"Hello, Tom," she said sweetly. "When does Gringott's open?"
"Eight a.m. sharp, miss. Need some emergency shopping?" he asked with a smile.
"Need to see someone before they leave the area for the summer, and I know they're going to hit Gringott's first thing. Couldn't hurt to get some money of my own as well." She smiled back at him.
"Well, if you want to have a lie down in one of the rooms upstairs for a few hours, I can make sure you're awake in time to meet your Mister Potter. Want me to tell him you're looking for him?"
"Is he here?" she asked excitedly.
"Room thirteen. Shall I knock for you?"
"Please. May I be with you when you do?"
"Certainly. Nob! Keep an eye for a minute!" As soon as his assistant came up, he led Hermione upstairs. They walked to the end of a hall, where it met up with another at an extremely acute angle. The door was numbered thirteen, and Muggle physics stated that the door should barely open, if at all.
Tom knocked on the door. "Mr. Potter? May I speak with you for a moment?"
"Sure, Tom," came the tired voice from inside. "Be there in a second."
They heard shuffling inside, and then the door opened. Harry's tired eyes widened the second he saw Hermione, and he looked warily down the hall. "I'm alone!" she said quickly. "No one has been told. My parents won't see the note I left them for a day or two." At his narrowed eyes, she added, "I'll swear an oath to that effect, if necessary, Harry. I promise you."
Harry nodded almost immediately. '"C'mon in then," he said. Smiling at Tom, he said, "I take it she's the reason you needed to see me?" At Tom's grin, he said, "Thanks." Tom nodded and headed back downstairs.
Hermione stepped inside and dropped her bag on the floor. "Let's get some sleep, Harry. We'll wake up about seven a.m. and get ready to go to Gringott's." She walked over to the bed and straightened out the bedclothes. "Turn around for a moment, please," she said. He did so and heard clothing rustle. His eyes looked around the room, and he suddenly realised that he could see her in the mirror. She was just opening her shirt, and he saw the simple white cotton brassiere she wore underneath. His eyes went wide for a moment, and he slammed his eyes shut, but not before she'd looked up and met his eyes for a moment. He heard her snicker quietly, and felt himself go red.
"I'm really sorry, Hermione," he stuttered, and sidled toward the combination water closet and bath room - not the easiest thing to do with his eyes closed. When he felt safe opening his eyes, he bolted for the room, her laughter following him.
Once in there, he looked at the bath tub and shrugged. I doubt it will be any less comfortable than the cupboard I grew up in. He climbed in and lay down carefully after grabbing a couple towels to use as pillows.
He had begun to settle in to drift away to sleep when he heard Hermione knock on the door to the bathroom. He pulled the curtain closed and said, "Safe to come in now, Hermione, if you need to use it. I promise not to look."
He heard the door open, and then the curtain slid back. "What do you think you're doing?" She was wearing a simple white t-shirt that hung halfway to her knees that hinted at gentle and pleasant curves beneath.
"Going to sleep. I thought that much was obvious," he said.
"There's a bed out there."
"Which you will be in. Therefore, it's either the floor or the tub, and oddly enough, the tub is more comfortable."
"Wouldn't the bed be more comfortable?" she asked archly.
He sighed as if trying to explain something to a child who simply was not quite grasping simple arithmetic. "You'll be in the bed."
"And this precludes you being in it why?" she asked.
He looked at her, stunned, and prayed that she did not notice the reaction her suggestion had just begun. No such luck. Her eyes caught the growing response and widened. "That's why, Hermione. You've read my letter to you, so you know I'm attracted to you, no matter how futile that is. I might take advantage of you in the night, and even if I didn't, I somehow think sleeping that close to you is likely to make it difficult for me to sleep."
"We'll talk about relationships tomorrow when we're on the road, but right now you're climbing out of that tub and climbing into bed with me and spooning up against me for comfort." It was now his turn to have his eyes go wide. "So what if you've reacted to my figure? We're both tired, and I'm betting you'll sleep better than you think."
"I'm betting otherwise," he said quietly. "You have no idea how you affect me."
She chuckled and her eyes dropped to his waist again. "I'm betting otherwise as well," she said with a naughty grin. Her face became serious. "You lay down and face the wall. I'll spoon against you, and you won't be worried about pressing anything against me you think you shouldn't, okay?" He nodded lightly and waited for her to move away from the tub. Instead she reached a hand out to help him. He sighed and climbed from the tub with her help. "Thank you for the compliment, by the way," she said once he was standing on his feet.
He blushed again and followed her out of the room, trying very hard not to let his eyes fall below her waist. When they reached the bed, she turned and smiled at him. "It's okay to look, Harry. I won't break."
"I'm thinking things about you that I shouldn't, Hermione. Very inappropriate things." He scowled deeply, and then barked a soft, unhappy laugh. "Save time and money. Murderer and pervert - now in one friend! Call today - supplies are limited," he said in a radio announcer style voice. "Thank God for small favours," he finished in a whisper.
"What, you're a pervert because you'd like to get your girlfriend naked and do interesting things to her? Guess that makes anyone who gets horny a pervert," she said with more than a little heat in her voice. "I won't even get into the murderer aspect of things," she said. She visibly calmed herself and said, "You're not a murderer, and I wouldn't dream of climbing into bed with a man I thought was a pervert. Now get in there."
He blinked at her and simply climbed into the bed, feeling her climb in behind him. Faster than he would have thought possible, he felt sleep claiming him.
He awoke the next morning to a gentle rhythmic murmur; a very comforting sound. He was lying on his left side, so he stretched out his right arm to unkink a few of the muscles, feeling his hand slide across skin and then fabric. His eyes opened as he processed this information. Hermione's arms tightened slightly, and he realised that she was holding him.
"We ended up this way, Harry," she said softly, "and if you think I'm going to complain about you waking up with your head between my breasts, you've got another think coming to you." He realised that the rhythmic sound was her heart beating. He looked around to see that her t-shirt had ridden up in the night, and his hand had been on her stomach, but now rested squarely on her -
He yanked his hand away. "I'm sorry, Hermione," he said. "I told you this was a bad idea. Even in my sleep I knew I would do something to you and I can see that I was right." He tried to pull away from her, but her grip was tighter than he expected.
"Harry, if I'd had a problem with your hand on my knickers, I'd have said something when it came to rest there. Maybe next time I won't wear them under my nightshirt." She paused, fairly obviously giving him a moment to understand her words. "Yes, I meant that. I trust you, Harry, and I certainly am not going to complain if I find your hands or your head somewhere you think is inappropriate." He heard her heart rate pick up. "I'd just prefer it be when I'm wearing as little as possible." She let go of him then and giggled. "Now, it's time for a shower if we're going to hit Gringott's when it opens." She climbed from the bed as soon as he sat up. "You first. I might use up the hot water."
"I'm used to cold showers," he said softly.
"I'm sorry," was her simple reply.
He looked at her and saw the direction her own mood was taking, so he forced happy thoughts into his head, and got mischievous. "Besides, the way you're dressed right now, I think I'll need the cold shower."
She blinked in surprise and then laughed. "You say the sweetest things, Harry!" She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, and then stood back up and peeled the nightshirt over her head.
Harry's breath caught. She stood before him in nothing but her simple cotton knickers. "Hermione," he strangled out.
"Get used to it, Harry. We're going to be together this summer, and I'd like it to be as more than merely friends."
"But I thought …"
"You thought wrong," she answered perhaps a little sharper than she would have liked. "I like Ron - he's a good friend, when he's not being jealous. But he's never jump-started my heart rate, unless it's by making me angry. You do it by smiling that lopsided smile of yours. Harry, I want you to take a good look at me right now as I stand before you. I want you to take the whole day to realise that I'm willing to stand in front of you wearing as little as I am, and I intend to ask you to join me in the shower."
"Bad idea," he choked out.
"So we're late making it to Gringott's," she said. "Trust me on this, Harry. If you do what you're afraid of in there, it will most definitely not be rape." She gave him a sultry look. "Can't rape the willing, after all."
He was stunned, to say the very least. "Hermione, this isn't like you," he finally managed to get out.
"I know. I decided that I was tired of being the overlooked girl at school; the bookworm that no one ever pays any attention to. I wanted to be noticed this year, especially by the one I fell in love with." She gave him a knowing look.
He smiled a wan smile. "Decided to practice on me first, huh?" he said with a weak laugh.
Her reaction was not what he expected. Tears came to her eyes, and she spun and ran into the bath room, closing the door hard behind her.
He blinked and looked at the door for a moment, and then set about getting dressed quickly, not bothering to wait for the shower. As soon as he had his clothes on, he grabbed his things and left the room. I'll shower later, when I'm on the road. I need to get away from her before I can hurt her even more.
He got to the bottom and saw Tom there. "Don't you ever get any sleep?" Harry asked with a forced laugh.
"Gave it up years ago," Tom laughed back at him. "So where's …"
"She'll be down shortly," Harry interrupted. "I'm heading out for my errands, and I can meet up with her afterwards."
Tom nodded. "I'll tell her." Harry nodded and left, rolling his trunk behind him.
He was pleased by how quiet the streets seemed at this hour, so he made good time to the bank. It was just opening as he reached it, so he slipped inside and was quickly at the counter. Showing his key, he was met with the raised eyebrow of the goblin serving him. "Mister Potter, our solicitor would like to speak with you. Follow me." He followed the goblin to an office where he was ushered inside.
"Mister Potter. I am Rackspit. Please have a seat." When Harry was seated, Rackspit continued. "We were going to send you a letter today, but you have negated the necessity. You are the most important heir listed in Sirius Black's last will and testament. There are but four others listed, and they will be notified. You receive sixty percent of the estate, with the remaining forty being split between Mister Lupin, Miss and Mrs Tonks, and Mrs Malfoy, that last being under a condition that affects your holdings if she does not accept."
"Have I a right to know the condition?" he asked. "I won't be offended if I don't."
"Yes. She receives her share if she divorces Lucius Malfoy, with the proviso in the divorce decree being a witch's oath that she will not remarry or support Lucius in any way for a period of not less than ten years. If she refuses, the money in her share reverts to you." Harry nodded. "Also, as the stated heir to the Black fortune, you are hereby granted emancipation immediately to allow you to properly look after these holdings. Amusingly enough, this activates one of the provisos of the Potter trust, which means that you come into full control of those as well, since you were to gain full control upon reaching adulthood."
"What kind of cash do I have access to?"
"You would be hard pressed to spend it all, Mister Potter. I would hazard a guess that it might well be impossible for you to. You could buy every business in Diagon Alley, as well as Hogsmeade, and still have money left over."
"A-heh. I have no idea on how to deal with that much money. Do you have some suggestions? I'd be willing to let Gringott's deal with the investing, since you already do that to make money for yourselves. I'd want to figure out how to at least understand what you're doing."
"You would trust us with your money?" Rackspit asked with some surprise.
"Well, you haven't robbed me blind before I had access to it, so why would you now?" He snorted. "Besides, I intend on leaving England for about a month or so. Need to get away from the people trying to control my life."
"Are you going to the continent, or America?"
"Well, the continent is closer, and easier to get back from if something really important comes up."
"Let us get a passport together for you, then. It will make travel much easier."
"Is there …" he began to say, but another goblin entered the room. "Rackspit, there is a young witch out here asking for Mister Potter. She is keeping calm, but I believe that she is close to a panic attack."
"Brown hair, sort of bushy? Sexy as all get out?" Harry asked. The goblin nodded, grinning at Harry's sudden blush over the last comment. "Sounds like Hermione. Better let her in here." A moment later she came in and ran over to Harry.
"Tom told me you'd come here. I was hoping I'd catch you before you could get away. I am so sorry for my reaction. Please don't head anywhere without me, Harry."
"Even after I insulted you, you're willing to hang around with me?"
"I was being overly sensitive. You were making a joke, and I should have realised that. Please don't leave without me?"
He stood and pulled her into a hug. "Here I was thinking I would be doing you a favour by leaving. I promise I won't leave without you." He looked up at Rackspit, who smiled at him.
"I believe we can supply her with a passport, if necessary," the goblin said. She reached into her bag and pulled hers out.
"I thought I might need it, so I grabbed it."
"Brilliant," Harry said admiringly, making her blush. "Oh, while I'm thinking about it - is there a way of getting at my money easier than taking out a huge amount?"
"We'll supply you with a wallet and a pouch that will connect to your vaults."
"Make it two. She'll need one as well."
"Harry!" she squeaked. "I could rob you blind and you'd never know it!"
"You're my best friend. If you want it for some reason, take it. But you're right. You should have your own money. Sir, could you have a vault set up for Miss Granger with a million Galleons placed in it, set up fees and wallet and pouch fees to come from my money?"
"Certainly. We'll bring that in with your passport."
He looked at her with a smile. "There. Now you have your own money to spend, and you're not robbing me blind."
She gasped. "Harry, you … that's … that's a huge amount of money! You just gave me something like five million pounds, without thinking! Can you afford to do that?"
"I assume so, since before doing that I had the money to purchase every business in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade and still have money available."
"While not pocket change, Miss Granger, it is not a drain on his finances to have given you that gift. He could still perform the purchases mentioned; he would simply have less afterwards."
She got a wicked gleam in her eyes. "So I'm to be your kept woman, am I?" she asked with a grin. "I think I can live with that." She hugged him again. "It means you'll keep me around."
"Who wouldn't?" he asked her honestly. "Why wouldn't anyone want you around?"
"Oh, Harry," she breathed at him, and he shivered as a feeling of … something … passed through him.
"I'm serious! You're probably the smartest person to ever grace the Hogwarts halls. As far as I'm concerned you're the prettiest - don't argue with me; it's my opinion and you can't argue an opinion. You care, even if you don't always know the right way to show it. You're just overall a joy to be around, in my book."
There were tears in her eyes as he finished speaking. He looked at her for a moment, but before he could misunderstand the reason she was tearing up, she lunged forward and hugged him tightly. "I love you, too," she whispered in his ear.
He was saved from responding, not that he could, by a goblin entering with a small package that proved to be the passport, wallets and pouches. There were also several keys.
"This is your key, Miss Granger," Rackspit said, handing her a small but ornate key. He handed the rest to Harry. "These are for the Black family vault, the Potter family vault, and the storage vaults for the Potters and the Blacks."
"What's the difference between the storage and Family vaults?" Hermione asked, and then blushed as she realised that she really didn't have the right to ask. Harry grinned quickly at her.
"Storage is for the larger and seldom used items, such as furniture and portraits. Display weapons belong in those vaults. Weapons that are likely to see use, and money, as well as books and other items will be in the family vaults."
"I think I need to see some of that before I leave, just to see what I might want to carry with me."
Rackspit smiled again. "I can supply you with a … well, a catalogue might be the best description. It will have a description that can be tapped with a wand to picture the item, and a description of any special properties that it might have. If you wish to take them from the vault, they may be pulled from the bag, which will enlarge enough to permit exit of such items."
"In other words, I could yank an armoire from the bag if I chose to, assuming it's in the vault?"
"Yes, and you can return items to the vault that way as well. Simply place the mouth of the bag on the item and act as if you are placing it in the bag. The item will appear in your vault."
"Thank you." Harry paused. "Damn. I wanted to pick up some things, such as a tent. Diagon Alley is going to get to a point very soon where people will recognise me, and I just don't know who's in the Order anymore. Dumbledore gets his hands on me and it's right back to the Dursley home."
Hermione scowled. "Is he really that bad, Harry?"
"What grief counselling did I get at the school, Hermione? Sirius died, and as soon as he gets back from the Ministry, he proceeds to tell me what he should have told me five fu … five years ago! He knew I was angry and hurting, and knowingly sent me back to a home where I'm treated like sh … like what I spread on the flower beds."
Rackspit spoke up. "Muggle tent or wizard?"
"Well, I wouldn't exactly complain about the extra room in a wizard tent, but Muggle would likely be a better thought." He looked at his wrist as if to check the time. "Damn, a watch too."
"You are in luck," the goblin said. "There is a jeweller's two doors down from Magda's Magical Mobiles. Magda's sell all types of mobile items - carts, conveyances, and tents of all sorts. You could conceivably buy a tent that would contain space equivalent to Hogwarts and all its grounds."
"Bit big for my tastes - I don't exactly need a Quidditch pitch in my tent. Just enough for two people to sleep comfortably in." He squinted his eyes, unfocusing as if reading the fine print of a document that only he could see. "Make that three or four, if it's anything like Muggle two person tents."
Hermione's eyes sparkled. "I think I'd prefer small enough for two," she said, taking his hand gently.
Harry looked gobsmacked. "Um, Hermione, you know that … uh …"
"That we'll end up so close together in a two person tent that we might as well share a sleeping bag? Of course I do, Harry. I told you this morning, and I mean it. I want to be with you for as long as you'll have me."
Several somewhat rude and highly suggestive comments went through his mind, but never reached his mouth. Hermione simply chuckled and said, "Thank you, Harry. Your face changed to a smirk, so I knew you were thinking something - maybe something you'd like me to do?"
He turned red and looked at Rackspit. "Yes, well - I think we've taken up enough of Mr. Rackspit's time with our flirting. I think we need to be on the road."
"Very well," said the amused goblin. He gave them directions to Magda's, and they headed down the street, finding the place quite easily. Hermione immediately took control.
"We'll be camping, walking amongst the Muggles, so we need something that looks like a Muggle tent, but we need to know what we can get inside one of them."
"Any number of things," the sales lady replied. "Our most common model involves a small kitchen dining room combination, a small family room area, and up to three bedroom."
"That sounds good. One bedroom, though. We won't need more than one. Where can we go to furnish it, though?"
Magda grinned and pulled out a catalogue. In short order, Hermione (with Harry's shell-shocked help) had chosen the entirety of the furnishings for the tent. "This will be ready for you in about thirty minutes," Magda said after Hermione had paid for the tent.
"Good. Gives us time to get you a new watch, Harry." She dragged him from the shop and pulled him into the jewelry store.
"Tell you what, Hermione - I trust you on what I might need from a watch. You find it and I'll buy it." As she looked at the watches, he looked at rings and such, including a display of wristbands. He was drawn to what seemed to be matching sets for men and women, with intricate Celtic crosses on them.
"You have an excellent eye, sir," said the man behind the counter. "These are both attractive and functional. They emit a low level shield at all times - a very minor drain from your own magic. It won't stop a medium power Stupefy, but it will lessen it to a point where you would be merely slowed rather than stunned. Muggles will not notice it, if you have reason to be in Muggle territory - all they will see is the beautiful knot-work. They also have the standard effects that such runic devices would - in this specific case, long life, love and virility." Harry blushed slightly at that, and Hermione spoke up just loud enough to be heard.
"If that's too effective on that last one, I might not survive." The grin in her voice was evident, and the almost silent giggle proved that she was trying to gently embarrass him.
She was quite effective, because Harry got even redder than before, and began to resemble a fish with the way his mouth repeatedly opened and closed. He finally whispered to himself, or so he thought, "Would that I had been that lucky."
He felt her arms come around him and she kissed his ear gently. "You will be someday," she whispered gently in his ear. She finally looked into the case. "Oh my, those are exquisite! Are those real sapphires?"
"Perfect sapphires," the shopkeeper said proudly. "None finer anywhere that I know of."
"We'll take them," Harry said. "A matching set as a gift for the beautiful lady." He looked at her, hopeful that his words hadn't gone too far, and was rewarded with a rather sound kiss of thanks that left him reeling.
When he had recovered, the proprietor said, "Would you like the matching rings that go with these? No added … ahem … 'power' other than improving the shielding slightly." Before Hermione could say anything, Harry nodded, and they were soon the owners of matching wristbands and rings.
"Now, about that watch, Hermione," Harry said. She led him over to the case and pointed out the ones she was contemplating for him. They finally settled on a fairly solid timepiece that automatically set itself for the time zone the wearer was in and that was visible at all times to the wearer, even in darkest night. Hermione marvelled that it could be seen only by the wearer unless he specifically keyed another person into it. She paid for it before he could, and he immediately had her keyed into the watch as a valid user. They then headed back to Magda's and picked up their tent.
Once they had picked up the tent, they were quick to exit the Alley and enter London. Hermione immediately flagged down a taxi and got them to the nearest train station, where she proceeded to tell him what she was planning. "Will you trust me as to destinations, Harry? I was thinking of getting us to France fairly quickly. We can be there before the day is out, and that will make it that much harder for the Order to locate us easily." She grinned. "Besides, French laws on when you can do magic are different. We won't set off the English sensors, being on foreign soil, and the French allow for people sixteen and older to do magic. Since I'm sixteen, and you will be soon -" she said, smiling widely as he obviously grasped the implications.
"You're thinking of using the Channel Tunnel, right?" he asked her. "Well, everyone in the Order will be expecting us to go to France, likely to look up someone like the Delacours or something. I know that we can get a ticket to Brussels. Let's head to Belgium instead. Make sense?" He posed and said in a deeper voice, intentionally trying to make fun of Lockheart, "Besides, it gives me more time to be alone with you."
"You're right, on all counts," she replied after a minute or two of thought. "The Tunnel ends in France, but it's not likely that they'll notice you gone until we've made it all the way into Brussels. Actually, they're very likely not to have noticed you gone until after your next letter is supposed to have reached them, and since Dumbledore sent you his letter yesterday, we're likely to have about twenty-four to forty-eight hours to get away."
In short order, they were on their way to the Waterloo station and exit from English soil. Once on the Eurostar train taking them to Brussels, she cuddled up against Harry in the compartment. "Harry?" she asked softly, once they were moving. "Am I pretty?"
He looked at her for a long moment. Blushing, he replied, "Do you remember my reaction last night, when I was in the bath tub?"
"That doesn't mean that you think I'm pretty," she answered him.
"It doesn't?" he asked, perplexed. "But I thought that … " He blushed furiously. "Wanting to see you naked, and having … having those kinds of dreams about you … doesn't that mean that I think you're pretty? How can someone have that reaction to someone that they don't find attractive?"
"Others can," she said with a smile, "but apparently you're wired differently, thank you very much." She looked up at him with an odd look on her face, and Harry suddenly understood something he had read before - you can tell when a woman wants to be kissed. He leaned down gently and met her lips with his own.
He wasn't sure how it happened, but a few minutes later found them stretched out on the seats, him atop her, and she was breathing fairly heavily. "Wow!" she panted. "I need to thank Cho the next time I see her."
"Why?" asked Harry curiously.
"If it wasn't her, then who taught you to kiss like that?"
He looked at her as seriously as he could and said, "A very sweet and beautiful woman named Hermione Granger. You're the first girl I've ever kissed on my own. The kiss with Cho was … well, I think I described it as 'wet'."
She blushed beneath him. "After a kiss like that, I'm pretty wet too, but not the way that Cho was." She pressed upwards against him to make sure he understood.
His eyes went wide, and he froze, not sure what to do next. He carefully rolled off her, falling to the floor of the compartment to sound of her giggles. He jumped to his feet and sat across the way from her, pinching himself hard enough that he actually caused a small bruise. "Who are you? Hermione would never act this way!"
She looked at him sadly. "Do you not … do you think I'm cheap and tawdry if I act this way? I want to change the way that you look at me, but … I don't … I don't know how to act to make you see me as a girl, rather than one of the guys."
"Trust me, after last night, I will never think of you as one of the guys ever again, Hermione," he strangled out. He developed a pained look on his face. "I don't know what to tell you. I think you need to act differently to get my attention, but … at what point are you being 'cheap and tawdry', as you said, and what point is simply you acting differently to make me remember just how attractive and … and sexy you are?" He blushed at the last comment. "Merlin knows I want … I've had thoughts of -" He faded out, ashamed to say anything further.
"Images of me under you the way I was before, but without these pesky clothes in the way?" she asked with a smile. He nodded sharply, afraid to look in her eyes. "We'll explore the boundaries together, it seems. If you'd like, we can explore that fantasy tonight once we get our camp set up." She climbed off her seat and knelt in front of him. "Or we could explore one of my fantasies while clothed." He looked at her with curiosity, an she blushed. "The Americans did this film called 'Risky Business', and it had this scene of making love on a train. I've wanted to do that ever since. It ranks just below making love in the Hogwarts library."
He couldn't hide the reaction that her admission caused. "Which one? Or both?" He simply nodded jerkily to the last choice. She stood up in front of him, swaying gently with the train. "Then please reach up under my skirt and pull off my knickers, Harry. I want you to have my virginity." She blushed. "And I'd love to be able to tell girls that you fucked me all the way from England to France."
He was sure that his eyes should have fallen out of his head at that comment. "Hermione?"
"Please, Harry?" she asked.
Something in her tone broke his reluctance. It was the sound of long months of unsated desire; of crying herself to sleep because the man she wanted hadn't noticed her; of finding interesting ways to keeping herself from simply stripping naked in the Great Hall to get his attention. He reached over and slid his hands up her legs until he reached the cloth of her knickers, and then gently peeled them down her body, drawing a sigh of desire out of her. His eyes widened again when he realised that she was wearing a thong. "Keep them, Harry, as a reminder of our very first time." She quickly undid his trousers, and soon was fulfilling her fantasy.
—-
As they exited the train in Brussels, she chuckled deep within her throat. "What had you so inspired, Harry? Three times? Not that I'm complaining, mind you," she added quickly at the end.
"I was inspired by a beautiful woman who chose to give me the greatest gifts she could - her love, and her body." He pulled her to the side and kissed her deeply.
"'Arry? 'Ermione?" came a familiar female voice from behind them.