Hermione's Plan
A Very Long Week
By Chem Prof
Chapter 13, A Very Long Week
(still Tuesday)
That evening Hermione matter-of-factly informed her mother that she and Harry would be sharing a bed, and asked if she would rather have them use her room or his. As Emma hesitated, Hermione calmly mentioned that they could stay at Grimmauld Place instead if she preferred. Emma looked thoughtfully at her daughter, realizing again how much had changed during the two weeks / one year that they had been abroad. Finally she relented and smiled at her grown up child, who had just skillfully maneuvered her into the only possible response. “Smooth move daughter,” she said admiringly, then teased, “I suppose you want me to break the news to your father?” Hermione grinned back and nodded. Emma laughed, then grew serious. “Are you still …?”
“Yes,” Hermione responded instantly, before she could even finish the question.
-ooOoo-
Wednesday morning, they used the time turner to return to Tuesday. (As was their standard practice whenever they went back in time, they disillusioned themselves or put on Harry’s invisibility cloak first, to avoid any uncomfortable encounters when they reappeared.) This time they immediately set out for Cambridge, where they met with the man who managed Harry’s rental properties. Since it was the summer, several units were empty. Harry let Hermione take the lead in picking one out, but she made sure he approved of the one she selected before they made the final decision. It had one bedroom, a full bath, a well-equipped kitchen, and a large living space with a nice view of the campus of King’s College.
The property manager agreed to have it ready for occupancy by the afternoon. To be on the safe side they registered it under a false name. Hermione picked Jane Porter, which made Harry groan. They decided to leave Harry’s trunk (in which they had stored all of the material they received from Dumbledore) in this flat, thanked the manager for his efforts, and departed.
The pair spent the rest of the morning checking out Harry’s other properties, first the ones from the Black estate, then the Potter. There was quite a surprise waiting for them at Potter Manor. They arrived at the main gate and Harry officially took possession, as he had at his other properties, but when they reached the front door of the manor they were greeted by a house elf!
The old Potter family house elf was nothing like the Black family house elf, Kreacher. After they calmed her down and she had stopped hugging Harry and exclaiming how wonderful it was that Master Harry Potter was finally back, they managed to get her to tell them her story. Her name was Minnie, and she talked in such a high pitched, squeaky voice that Hermione had to bite her lip to keep from asking where Mickey was. She appeared to be middle aged for an elf, and confirmed that she had been serving the Potter family for half a century. She noted sadly that it had been very lonely since Master James and Miss Lily had died, but then started talking excitedly about taking care of Harry when he was a baby.
Hermione noticed that she was wearing a simple tunic, rather than a towel or a pillowcase with holes cut into it and wanted to ask her about it without offending her. She decided on the indirect approach of making a casual comment about how nice it looked.
Minnie immediately grew silent, and looked apprehensively at Hermione, then at Harry. She dropped her head and nervously ran her hands up and down the garment in question, then hesitantly began an explanation. “Miss Lily insisted that Minnie must be free. But she said it was not because Minnie was a bad elf. Minnie has always been a good elf, and works very hard for the Potter family. Miss Lily was very kind though and says Minnie can stay here as long as she wants to.”
This went on for some time with the worried house elf repeating several times that she was a hard-working elf and that she tried to earn her keep by taking good care of the Potter home and other properties, even though no one had been around for a long time. It was only stopped when Harry knelt down and hugged her, which shocked her into silence. He reassured her that she was a very good elf and that she could keep living in Potter manor for however long she wished. Then Minnie began crying and saying what a wonderful master Harry Potter was.
Conflicting thoughts and emotions swirled through Hermione’s head. One was a warm feeling that here was yet another example of how much she and Lily were alike. A second was how proud she was of Harry for being so kind and accepting toward the little creature. Another was the contrast between Minnie and Kreacher, both of whom had lived alone in their mansions after their masters had died. Yet another was that even a happy, well-adjusted house elf like Minnie was ashamed of being given clothes and set free, but put her shame aside and continued to do her duty, to the extant of being grateful for the opportunity. Finally there was a sinking feeling and realization that her efforts regarding house elves had been badly misdirected.
As she pondered all of this Harry rose and came over to her. Without saying a word the look of understanding he gave her told her that he knew how troubling this was to her, and he pulled her into his arms for a comforting hug. Once again, she found herself even more in love with this wonderful, caring man.
Minnie took them on a tour of the manor, proudly showing them how well kept up it was. She informed them that she was doing the same for the other Potter house as well. In stark contrast to the Black family mansion in London, it was bright and cheerful instead of dark and gloomy. Harry and Hermione spent the next half-hour in a state of perpetual astonishment at how impressive the manor and estate of an old wizarding family could be. They soon lost count of how many bedrooms there were, not to mention the dining rooms, formal, semiformal, and informal living spaces, studies, a ballroom, and of course a library. As Harry looked on from beside her in amusement and affection, Hermione paused briefly to allow herself to imagine the hours of enjoyment she would have in this room once they were married. She was also just coming to realize that she would be the mistress of the house of a noble family, and the responsibility that would come with that position.
Their final stop was at the family cemetery, and Harry was able for the first time in his life to visit the graves of his parents. Hermione was beside him all the way, with her arm around him as the tears flowed freely from all three of them. After a long period of silence Harry managed to speak.
“Hi Mum and Dad. I’ve missed you so much. I imagine Sirius has told you how things have been going in my life. It hasn’t always been very good, but I know how you both died to keep me alive. I promise to live up to that, and do what I need to do. This is Hermione. She’s been my best friend for years and we’re going to be married some day. I know you’d like her. She’s so much like you, Mum. I guess Dad and I go for the same things in women.” Hermione tightened her arm around Harry’s waist, and he turned to give her a small grin before she buried her head in his shoulder.
Once they had finished paying their respects, Minnie insisted on preparing them lunch. Again, Hermione observed how happy it made her to be able to do things like this for them, but she was also pleased and delighted when Harry firmly declared that Minnie would eat with them. During lunch they worked out how Minnie would address them. Harry managed to persuade her to call him Mister Harry instead of Master Harry, and Hermione suggested Miss Hermione. Unfortunately Minnie had trouble pronouncing Hermione, and Hermione wasn’t thrilled with Miss Hermy or Miss Grangy, so they settled on Miss Miney.
Harry also inquired about the strength of the protective wards on the estate, and Minnie assured him that they were very powerful. It helped that nearly everyone had forgotten about it in the years since his parents had died. They both decided that they would come back another day, along with Ron, to see the smaller cottage on another piece of land the Potters owned in Godric’s Hollow – the house where James and Lily had been killed. Minnie reminded Harry that it was still under the Fidelius Charm, and that only she and he would be able to see it unless the secret keeper revealed its existence to his friends.
-ooOoo-
That afternoon, once they knew that their other selves were in Brighton, the pair went to visit Ron and Ginny again. When they arrived they were caught off guard when both of the Weasley children tearfully thanked them for what they had done for Charlie. To Hermione’s amazement, Ron even gave her a hug while Ginny hugged Harry. But when Ginny went to hug Hermione it turned awkward. After one of the most uncomfortable hugs she had ever had, Hermione stood and watched, not knowing what to do, while Ginny grimaced and fled from the room.
To break the uneasy silence, Tonks joked that St. Mungo’s wanted to hire the pair to treat any future hopeless cases. “Given my track record, I’m surprised it wasn’t splashed all over today’s paper,” Harry muttered.
“That would be my doing,” Tonks revealed. “I had some forceful words with them about keeping it quiet. I finally had to cite healer/patient confidentiality and threaten to have some licenses revoked.”
“Well, I’m pleasantly surprised that there hasn’t been anything about our engagement in any of the papers yet, given that Colin was present for our announcement,” Hermione added. “I was sure Witch Weekly, at least, would be distraught that they have to revise their ‘Most Eligible Wizard’ list.” Harry gave her a dirty look and she stuck her tongue out at him and giggled. “We even made an appointment with Rita Skeeter for an interview on Thursday.”
This time Ron smirked. “Well, that might be because Fred, George, and I had a bit of a talk with him that night. They threatened to hex his bits off if he said anything before you guys were ready to announce it.”
They all got a laugh out of that, and then the discussion turned to their plans for the day. Harry shared his concern with the others about possible additional attacks, and suggested that Luna and Neville were potential targets. Ron agreed, since they were the other two students at the Department of Mysteries, and also were involved the defense of Hogwarts during the Death Eaters’ invasion in June. The others pointed out to Harry and Hermione that both houses were likely to have powerful wards in place. The Longbottoms, because they were an old, established wizarding family, and the Lovegoods, because Mr. Lovegood was paranoid and suspected diabolical plots around every corner. They all agreed that the visits, both to catch up and to fill them in on what had been happening, were a good idea however. Ron thought that Ginny would like to come too, and left the room to fetch her back.
“The other thing I thought we might do,” Harry remarked casually, “is go to Diagon Alley. Hermione told me yesterday, er, this morning, that she wanted a broomstick.”
He had timed it just as Ron and Ginny were coming into the room, and he and Hermione both watched in anticipated amusement for the looks of astonishment they expected that revelation to generate. While they were rewarded by a dumfounded expression on Ron’s face, they were surprised by Ginny’s reaction.
“OK, what’s going on here?” she demanded, her eyes narrowing. “Hermione’s as likely to ask you for a broom as I am to ask for an autographed copy of Hogwarts, A History.”
Harry and Hermione shared a guilty look before Harry nodded his agreement. Hermione, glad that he was willing to go along with the suggestion she had made earlier, gestured to the others in the room, who, except for Ron, were watching in puzzlement. “I think you should all sit down,” she suggested. “This is quite a story.”
After they had shared the basics of what they had been up to for the past month/year, Ginny, who had been growing more and more agitated, blurted out, “So for you guys how long has it been since we left Hogwarts?”
“About thirteen months.”
“Oh! Thank Merlin!” she exclaimed. “Oh Hermione, I’m so sorry!” She leapt to her feet and threw her arms around the astonished witch, hugging her for real this time. Then she pulled back and explained. “I was certain you must have him under an enchantment, or used a love potion or something. Oh this is such a relief!”
Hermione realized what Ginny was saying, and felt even worse than she had before for keeping the younger witch in the dark. This had clearly been weighing heavily on her mind. The irony that each witch had suspected that Harry’s attraction for the other had been magically enhanced did not escape her.
Harry, though, took offense at the statement that seemed to him to be insulting Hermione. “What, don’t you think Hermione’s attractive enough to get a guy without a love potion?” he began angrily.
“No, no, I didn’t mean that at all,” Ginny responded quickly, her eyes going wide as she realized how what she had just said might be interpreted. “Goodness knows, I was aware that she was attractive long before you two idiots did,” she added, recovering her composure and getting in a little dig as she reverted to her normal personality. “What I meant is that, well, there was no way you could start dating a girl, fall in love with her, and propose to her in a period of four weeks! Come on, this is Harry Potter we’re talking about here.”
Harry scowled while Hermione fought to stifle a giggle. “Hey!” he began to protest before Ginny cut him off.
“I’m serious,” she insisted, although the mirth in her eyes suggested that she was having at least a bit of a go at him. “This is Harry I-don’t-have-the-slightest-clue-about-girls Potter.” Harry crossed his arms across his chest and tried to look offended, an effort that was made rather difficult by Hermione’s now unrestrained giggles and Tonks’s hearty laughter. Remus’s and Ron’s ear to ear grins weren’t helping either. Ginny was on a roll now.
“Just how long did it take you to work up your nerve to ask Cho out while you were pining for her?”
“Um …”
“And how long did you dither back and forth about telling me how you felt about me?”
“Um …”
“Now, exactly how long did it take you, even though you were alone with her all day every day, to figure out you were in love with Hermione?”
Harry sent a helpless look toward Hermione, pleading with her to help him out here. Hermione never could resist that look from Harry, and being the loyal girlfriend besides, moved to rescue him. “Well, to be honest, Ginny, he has improved a lot recently. Wait until you hear the sweet way he proposed to me.”
A sad look flashed across Ginny’s face as she shrank back, her teasing forgotten as she remembered just what she was teasing him about. “Um, maybe some other time.”
Remus jumped into the resulting silence with another question about the training Harry and Hermione had done, and the pair explained a bit further. They weren’t ready to share quite everything just yet, though, and Harry soon suggested that they should get moving if they were going to make it to all of the places on their list.
-ooOoo-
Both Neville and Luna were glad to see them, and Mrs. Longbottom and Mr. Lovegood appreciated their concern about possible attacks. At each house the adults had a discussion with Remus and Tonks about wards, which because of their extensive study Hermione and Harry were now able to participate in as well. Both of the adults also agreed with Harry’s suggestion that they have an emergency portkey available in case they were attacked. In fact, Mr. Lovegood already had three of them.
Neville congratulated them heartily when he heard about the engagement, and Hermione noticed the little glance he shot in Ginny’s direction at the news. She wondered if Ginny was aware that the shy Gryffindor secretly fancied her. Other than attending the Yule Ball with him, she had never given him any sign that she had any similar feelings for him, but Hermione knew from experience that that wouldn’t stop him from hoping.
Luna took the news more calmly, as unreadable as ever. Hermione was pretty sure that she had no romantic feelings for Harry, but rather had a longstanding crush on Ron. She was also pretty sure that Ron didn’t have the slightest idea of the blonde Ravenclaw’s feelings.
Both Neville and Luna were quite excited with the idea of starting up the DA again as a defense training group, and their parents were supportive as well. Of course, both students still had their charmed Galleons, and Hermione promised to let them know as soon as she and Harry decided what they were going to do.
-ooOoo-
It was a slow day on Diagon Alley, and they were fortunate to find themselves as the only customers at Quality Quidditch Supplies. Harry and Hermione shared an amused look as Ron and Ginny got into a heated discussion on the merits of Cleansweep vs. Nimbus broomsticks. While this went on Hermione wandered over to a different display. The store assistant standing there informed her that the classic Silver Arrow broomstick had just been re-released in an upgraded version. Harry had followed her over and remarked that Madame Hooch had favorably compared the Silver Arrow’s design to his Firebolt. The sleek model was the epitome of style and elegance. The salesman concurred, and said that while other brooms were faster or more maneuverable, this broom just had a feeling to it – like you were soaring instead of flying – being one with the broom rather than riding it. Hermione shivered as she touched it. That was exactly the feeling she was looking for. She knew that Harry, in his more poetic moments, felt that way about flying as well. They shared a look and both knew that this was the broom for her.
Next Harry returned to Ron and Ginny, who had still not reached any agreement, Ginny insisting on Nimbus with Ron holding out for Cleansweep. Harry interrupted to ask the salesman what the current top of the line Nimbus was.
“That would be the Nimbus 2010, but that’s an international standard racing broom. The English national team’s going to be using them this year,” the assistant explained. “I doubt if too many students could handle it – or afford it,” he added. Very few customers purchased two top quality brooms at once, especially students. Harry just smiled at him and pulled back the hood of his concealment cloak slightly, while unobtrusively casting a silencing spell. Noticing this, Hermione quickly added an imperturbable charm to the door. Given how much Harry was about to spend, the shop could afford the loss of any potential customers for the next few minutes.
“I believe you’ll find my name on your preferred customer list,” Harry remarked calmly.
“Mr. Potter! Oh, well, why didn’t you say so? Certainly this would be an appropriate broom for you.” The salesman looked back at Hermione and licked his lips. “So, you might be interested in more than one broomstick today?” Harry merely smiled.
“May we have access to your testing area?” The eager salesman quickly showed them to a doorway. Harry gestured to Hermione to bring the Silver Arrow as he picked up the Nimbus 2010. “Oh,” he added, “do you also have a Firebolt that I could borrow for comparison purposes?” The assistant rushed off to another counter as the group entered the doorway, which shimmered as they passed through.
They found themselves outside in a large meadow, with a few others flying off in the distance. As the salesman nervously handed him the Firebolt, Harry turned and handed the Nimbus to Ginny. “Let’s see what you can do with it.” When the stunned rep protested that a small girl like her couldn’t possibly handle a broom like that, Harry stopped him with a glare. “That girl’s probably going to play professionally some day. Just watch.”
Ginny recovered from her shock relatively quickly. Other than Harry’s Firebolt, she had never seen a broomstick like this one, but she knew what to do with it. In seconds she was rocketing away, her red hair streaming out behind her, shouting with delight. To her surprise, she soon found Harry racing alongside her, grinning at her and she grinned back. For the next several minutes they shot back and forth, climbing and diving, twisting and turning, putting the brooms through a thorough test. Both had about the same top speed, while the Firebolt’s acceleration was slightly better. The Firebolt was more maneuverable for subtle changes, but the Nimbus made radical changes of direction more quickly.
Back on the ground watching them, Hermione could feel the joy radiating from Harry. She decided to give her own new broom a go as well, and quickly found it was everything she had hoped for. Forgoing high speeds for now, she flew up in lazy spirals and swooped down, very much like the bird of prey that was her animagus form. She laughed as she glided past Ron, watching her in amazement, and climbed again, feeling that the broom was a part of her. Before she knew it, ten minutes had passed and she spotted Harry flying up to join her. Grinning like mad, he motioned her to land and she happily followed him.
Down on the ground Ginny was talking a mile a minute, analyzing the Nimbus’s performance for Ron. After Harry and Hermione shared a long hug, perfectly capping off the wonderful feelings Hermione had just experienced, they joined their friends.
“What do you think Gin?” Harry asked with a smile. “Do you think that one will work for you?”
Ginny’s eyes went wide. “Me!” she squeaked. “That’s for me?” Harry nodded and turned serious as he explained. Not only was he giving it to her to help make up for the loss she had just suffered, as well as the pain he felt he had put her through, but he also expected that they would be facing some dangerous situations in the near future, and he wanted her to have the best equipment possible. A fast broomstick was a necessity as far as he was concerned, not a luxury. Ginny hesitated, but then agreed. Her eyes lit up as she gave him a big thank you hug.
Harry wasn’t finished yet. “What’s the best Cleansweep you have?” he inquired of the now trembling sales assistant, while grinning at Ron, whose jaw dropped.
“The Cleansweep XIV will be coming out next month, but it will be in limited release until next year.”
“If I pay for one today, can you set one aside for me? We’ll need it by September 1st.”
The shaking man managed a nod. He couldn’t believe it. He had just sold three of the most expensive broomsticks in existence in less than an hour. The commission would be more than he normally earned in a week.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Harry added. “This is all completely confidential. I don’t want to be reading about this in the paper tomorrow, or at all for that matter. Is that clear?”
“But …” The advertising bonanza from being able to claim that Harry Potter bought a certain model of broomstick, not to mention three, would be incalculable.
“Would you prefer we took our business elsewhere?”
The by now nearly incoherent salesman agreed that he could live with any conditions Mr. Potter cared to suggest.
-ooOoo-
That evening in the flat in Cambridge, secluded away in Harry’s magical trunk, the pair dove into some of the pensieve memories of the Hogwarts years of Lily and James. It was fascinating to see how James matured over time, from the loud, cocky prankster of the early years into the more serious student who was eventually named Head Boy. Sirius’s memories obviously were more centered on James, but Dumbledore had included some of Lily as well. Harry laughed and gave Hermione a squeeze as they watched her try to answer every question during a Charms class in her second year, while James looked on, intrigued, in the background. They also watched her blossom into a beautiful young woman, gaining in self-confidence and making close friendships as the years went on, one of them with Neville’s mother Alice. After six hours of memories it was two tired, but happy students that cuddled up together in bed that night.
-ooOoo-
The Daily Prophet
Wednesday, 23 July, 1997
Peter Pettigrew Still Alive!
Hiding as a Rat Animagus for Sixteen Years
Captured During Attack on Weasley Home
Sirius Black Innocent?
New Information Indicates Pettigrew was Potter Secret Keeper
Pettigrew, Not Black, Was a Death Eater
The headline stories about Pettigrew and Black dominated the news the next day. The newspaper suggested that Sirius Black would be exonerated, and Peter Pettigrew stripped of his Order of Merlin. It went on to speculate on possible compensation to the Black estate for wrongful imprisonment. A followup story on the attack at the Weasleys revealed that Harry Potter and Hermione Granger had also been present, and noted that it was only just and right that Harry Potter, who had been orphaned by the acts of the newly revealed traitor, had been involved in his capture.
The swarm of owls that might have been expected to inundate Harry after this news was revealed failed to materialize. There were two very good reasons for that. First, no one in the general public knew where he was staying, and second, owls addressed simply to Harry Potter were confused because at that time Harry was in two places at once. As a backup plan, Hermione had found an owl repelling charm, but as it turned out she didn’t need to use it. The pair did, however, decide not to go out in public that day to avoid the publicity.
-ooOoo-
During their first time through the day, Moody came over to Grimmauld Place with an offer. “Potter, we’re going to do Snape’s interrogation with Veritaserum tomorrow. Do you want to be present?” Harry stared at the old Auror while Hermione came over to his side and grasped his hand. She knew this was a highly emotional subject for him. Facing the evil wizard who was responsible for his parents’ deaths, not to mention Dumbledore’s, would be very difficult, and he might not be able to control himself.
“No, I don’t think so, not unless you discover something I need to question him about personally,” he finally concluded. “I trust that you guys know what you’re doing. Certainly a lot more than I do. Just be sure you find out what he knew about the project the Professor and I were working on, and what he told Voldemort about it.”
Remus had some interesting news about werewolves. “It seems that the werewolves that were killed at the Burrow the other night included Fenrir Greyback and his most rabid followers,” he related with a look of grim satisfaction. “The vast majority of the werewolves in Britain aren’t vicious killers, and aren’t dangerous at any times other than full moons. They want nothing to do with Voldemort. They mostly want to be left alone to suffer their affliction as best as they can manage,” he explained. “If they only had access to Wolfsbane potion, they would pose no threat whatsoever.” Harry immediately asked Remus what it would take to make that happen.
“A potions master and a thousand galleons a month for ingredients,” Remus replied hesitantly.
“Do you think Slughorn could find us someone who would take three thousand galleons a month for the whole package?” Harry persisted.
Remus snorted. “For three thousand galleons a month Slughorn would do it himself.” When Harry asked him to see to the arrangements Remus looked like he might cry and Tonks jumped on Harry and hugged him for all she was worth as her hair flashed like a neon sign.
Once he had regained his composure, Remus continued with the news that Harry and Hermione’s proficiency with the projectile curse had made quite an impression on a coven of vampires who were being courted by Voldemort. Since lacking any serious injury they were effectively immortal, they had little desire to be killed in battle. They had just sent word to the International Confederation of Wizards that they would be staying out of this conflict.
-ooOoo-
The rest of the week seemed to involve an endless succession of meetings for Harry and Hermione.
On Thursday morning they had their interview with Rita Skeeter. They were cautiously optimistic that it would work out, but it took so long to come to an agreement on what she could write that they decided to set up another meeting to conclude the interview the following day.
On Thursday afternoon they met with Dean Thomas, Colin Creevy, and Justin Finch-Fletchley. After the by now familiar exclamations of how different Harry and Hermione looked, and congratulations on their relationship, Harry explained his idea of distributing the shield caps and emergency portkeys to families of muggleborns. All three were very enthusiastic about the idea, and Justin and Colin agreed to take the lead in contacting the families involved.
They also broached the idea of resurrecting the DA to sharpen up their fighting skills. All three boys were positively ecstatic about this plan, and Dean immediately offered to help contact the other members.
“Well, I hope everyone else will be as receptive as the three of you seem to be,” Harry commented. Dean gave him an odd look while Hermione giggled.
“He and I have a bet on how many of the old DA members will be interested,” she explained. Harry shrugged and found something interesting about his shoes.
Dean snorted. “What’s the bet?”
“I said it will be at least twenty-five of the original twenty-nine members,” Hermione announced. “The loser has to give the winner a backrub.”
Dean laughed out loud this time, and Colin and Justin joined in. “I’d say you can start picking out Hermione’s favorite massage oil right now.”
-ooOoo-
On Friday morning they concluded their interview with Rita Skeeter. Even though she was supposedly on their side now, they still had to keep their guard up and make sure she didn’t embellish what they had to say, and the sessions were mentally taxing. There would be two stories appearing on successive days over the weekend, when the readership would be at its highest. The weekend was also when the Quibbler came out, and it would have similar stories.
On Friday afternoon the core group of the DA got together – in addition to Harry, Hermione, and Ron, they were joined by Neville, Luna, and Ginny along with the six Hogwarts graduates who had originally suggested the idea. They had a useful exchange of ideas regarding times and frequency of the training sessions, and the types of spells that they needed to master. Before they knew it they had been talking for three hours.
By that evening they were utterly exhausted. When Dan came home he found the teens lounging around the pool with Emma, finally able to relax. He cheekily asked them if they had been goofing off all week.
Hermione wandlessly threw him into the pool, while Emma’s laughter echoed across the pool deck.
-ooOoo-
The other time through the week, in which they spent the nights and mornings in Cambridge reviewing pensieve memories, and the afternoons and evenings at the Brighton beach house with Bill and Fleur, were much more peaceful. The couple was becoming the older brother and sister that neither Harry nor Hermione had ever had. The first day Fleur took Hermione shopping again, buying another thong bikini. She also insisted that they select some sexy lingerie, including fancy thong knickers. Fleur explained that lingerie was one of the few areas in which clothing for witches was nearly as modern as that of muggle women. What with wearing loose robes all the time, it was the main way that witches had to feel feminine.
Hermione hesitated at the fancy bras, informing Fleur that she didn’t wear them that much any more, both because she was comfortable enough without one and because Harry liked it that way. Fleur smirked that Harry sounded a lot like Bill. But she ultimately persuaded Hermione by telling her that the fancy ones were nice for when she did have to wear one. It would make her feel sexy and desirable inside. The key was to be sure to let Harry see her put it on because then he’d think about it all day – every time he looked at her he’d remember what was underneath. Later Hermione would report that Harry enjoyed seeing the sexy bras very much, but his favorite part was taking them off. Fleur’s response was that he was even more like Bill than she thought. They also bought a few rather daring dresses to wear in the evenings. Those were also a success, as they managed to make the men’s jaws drop each time they walked into the room displaying their new purchases.
Fleur was in heaven. She was a natural flirt, and having two male subjects that she could tease to her heart’s content without having to worry about them becoming enthralled into incoherence was a dream come true for her. Hermione found herself mimicking the beautiful witch to a lesser extent, and she found she very much enjoyed the reactions she got from Harry, and Bill too for that matter. Flirting was something she had never done before, and she frankly hadn’t thought she would be very good at it. This was a perfect environment for her to learn in, with one male being very receptive to her charms and the other who knew that it was just in fun.
Fleur had no trouble convincing Hermione to join her in topless sunning, and as expected the men were quite attentive. Hermione had told Harry that if she were going to go topless, he would have to also wear his briefest swimsuit. As soon as Fleur saw it, she insisted that Bill wear one like it. He adamantly refused to wear something that exposed himself so much – until Fleur put on an absolutely world class pout. Hermione noted that she did some sort of shrugging/wiggling motion with her shoulders that she would have to remember the next time she needed to persuade Harry to do something. As Fleur was topless at the time, it was even more devastatingly effective. As usual, Bill couldn’t resist the sight. That time he lasted only a few minutes before he dragged Fleur away. In fact, the couple’s ‘disappearances’ became a regular afternoon event. Needless to say, this left Harry and Hermione to entertain themselves frequently, but they always managed somehow.
On one of these occasions Hermione noticed Harry gazing at the bedroom in thought and she knew what he must be thinking. “So Harry,” she asked as casually as she could, “are you wondering what it would be like to make love to a Veela?”
Harry turned back to her in surprise. “No, I was thinking about what it would be like to make love to you.” Hermione gasped a little, but beamed back at him brightly. Then she lay there spellbound as he described his fantasy of the two of them living on a secluded beach, being able to be naked all day, making love whenever they felt like it. She couldn’t believe how similar it was to her own fantasies and told him so while kissing him thoroughly.
Once he had recovered enough to speak again Harry confessed, “No, the reason I was staring at the bedroom was that I was wondering how many times we could do it in a day.”
Hermione giggled. “Well, don’t count on anything like this. I’m not a Veela and you don’t have that werewolf stamina that Bill seems to have picked up. But I’m sure we’ll manage quite nicely.”
Then Harry turned serious. “When do you want to get married?”
Hermione snuggled up to him and laid her head on his shoulder. “I originally thought we’d wait until after school, but with the time turner things are stretching out quite a bit,” she pointed out. “Physically, we’re already eighteen and nineteen and I’ll probably be close to twenty by the time this is all over. What do you think?”
Harry leaned over to give her one of the little kisses on her forehead that she liked so much. Then he replied, “What you’ve been learning from Fleur – about the boost in magic we’ll get and the closer connection we’ll have? I think that might be important. Maybe we should consider it before we have to face him.”
Hermione knew exactly what he was talking about, because she had pondered the same thing. “How about at Christmas?”
“Sounds perfect to me.” They sealed this momentous decision with another breathtaking kiss.
While they were still cuddled together Hermione decided to lighten the mood a bit. “What do you and Bill talk about while we’re out shopping?”
Harry shrugged, then gave her a teasing grin. “Curse breaking … and beautiful women. Two in particular.” Hermione blushed fetchingly. “What do you and Fleur talk about?”
Hermione returned the tease. “Handsome men, and how to make ourselves more beautiful for you.” In fact, Fleur was showing Hermione things that the studious witch had never thought would interest her. How to use makeup in subtle ways to enhance her eyes, her cheekbones, and so forth. Different things to try with her hair. Even how to communicate her intentions through different postures.
These were all things that witches like Lavender, for example, already knew. But now Hermione had someone whom she respected to teach her these things. She was coming to realize that being a strong, intelligent, capable woman and being attractive, flirty, and feminine were not mutually exclusive things. She could be both, using her womanly wiles when and if she wanted to. The problem she had with girls like Lavender was that they pretty much only acted that way.
By end of the week, strong bonds had formed among the four of them. For his part, Bill was watching a beautiful woman emerge from Hermione to match the inner beauty she had always had. He found himself thinking that his youngest brother was a fool if he had had a chance at her and let her go.
For her part Hermione had always thought that Bill was the best looking of the Weasley boys, and intelligent as well. She now realized that she had harbored an inner hope that Ron would turn out like Bill, which had led to her excessive nagging of him, trying to change him into someone he wasn’t. That in turn had been the cause of much of the strife between the two friends, since Ron’s self-esteem issues had developed in him an ingrained resentment and resistance to exactly that. Hermione also found herself wondering what might have happened if she had been about ten years older, and been Head Girl when Bill was Head Boy, but she knew that she was perfectly satisfied with the way things were now.
From her point of view, Fleur wondered what would have happened if Harry had been older. She was sure that she would have gone after him instead of Roger Davies. She was pretty certain that she could have done better with him than Cho had, at least. But she realized that as long as Hermione was in the picture, it would likely only have been physical, given the love that Harry and Hermione had for each other.
On the other hand, Harry didn’t spend much time at all thinking about ‘what if’. Perhaps because he had spent most of his life wishing that his life were different, and what he had at the moment with Hermione was so much better than anything he had ever dreamed possible. He did find that he enjoyed Fleur’s antics, once he was sure that Hermione was okay with them. Harry and Hermione both came to realize that it was all right to be physically attracted to someone else, and to enjoy looking at beautiful women or handsome men. It was not a betrayal of their love for each other, since they both knew that each wanted only the other.
-ooOoo-
On Sunday morning Harry and Hermione came to Brighton one last time to pick up Bill and Fleur and take them to Grimmauld Place. (Since the Fidelius charm had been recast, they needed to be reintroduced to the hidden house.) As they were making a final check of the beach house and preparing to close it up, Bill turned to the pair and asked a seemingly innocent question. “So have we missed anything this week?”
Harry and Hermione turned to face each other and burst out laughing. Once they had calmed down, Harry turned back to the puzzled couple who had been in blissful seclusion for the past six days and shook his head. “You have no idea.”
-xox-XOX-XOX-xox-
In case you didn’t catch it, Hermione’s alias of ‘Jane Porter’ was clever for two reasons. Jane, of course, is Hermione’s middle name and Porter is only one letter different than Potter. But Jane Porter is also the name of an important character in a well-known series of stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs that I’m sure Hermione must have read while growing up.