The Ritual
Part 2

By Chem Prof

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The Ritual, Part 2

Ron Weasley was sitting at the kitchen table engaging two of his favorite activities.  Eating and feeling sorry for himself.  He had just finished off the chocolate chip cookies that Hermione’s mum had sent them a few days ago and was now starting on the treacle tart that his mum had sent over that morning.

I knew it.  I knew they would end up together.  She always liked him better.  She’s always been more worried about him than about me.  Half of the conversations we have are about him.  Probably more than half.  He’s so lucky.  He always gets everything I want.

Ron’s mind quickly catalogued all of the things that Harry had been favored with over the years. 

Quidditch – Ron had lived and breathed quidditch all his life, and Harry had never even heard of it when they met.  So who got to play on the quidditch team?  And as a first year, something which wasn’t supposed to be allowed?  Harry Potter of course.

Fame – Harry was one of the most famous wizards in the world even before he had started Hogwarts and Ron was a nobody, living in the shadow of six older brothers.  And then of course Harry got to be in the Tri-Wizard Tournament.  Ron would have killed for the chance at that kind of fame (and money), and Harry got in without even trying!

Money – of course Harry had so much money that he didn’t even know how much he had, and could spend it whenever he wanted and on whatever he felt like.  (The fact that he mostly spent it on his friends didn’t enter into this internal tirade.)  Ron, on the other hand, never had enough money to do what he wished or buy the things he wanted.

Girls – Girls were always falling all over themselves to get Harry to notice them.  He could have had his pick of any girl at Hogwarts.  So who was he with now?  Hermione, the girl that Ron wanted. 

They’re probably up there shagging right now.  That’s what happens when a guy and a girl get naked together, right?  That whole naked ritual thing was probably just an excuse for her to get naked with him.  She’s probably wanted him all this time.  She probably even got him to dump Ginny so she could have him.  He always gets everything I want!

On the other hand, Ron knew he’d had his chance if he really wanted her.  Yet he had hesitated.  He wanted her and yet he didn’t.  He just wasn’t sure.  She wasn’t exactly his type.  It would have been better if she had been more of a girl.  Worn sexier clothing and taken more care with her appearance.  Like she had at the Yule Ball.  Why couldn’t she look like that all the time?  A guy wanted a girl who looked good, after all, because that made him look good.

And she was really nice to him at times, but really nagged him a lot too.  He would have wanted her more if she didn’t argue with him so much.  Helping him with his homework when he wanted her to, but not getting on him about it when he didn’t feel like doing it – that would have been perfect.

When it came right down to it, the main reason he wanted her was because then Harry wouldn’t have her, and he would finally have something that Harry didn’t have.

Well, he has her now so I don’t really want her any more.  So what if they’re up there shagging?  I wouldn’t want to shag her anyway.  It would just be too weird.  And she’d probably criticize me and tell me I wasn’t doing it right.  Like she’s any great prize.  She’s not exactly hot.  Not like Lavender.  Lavender would have been a good shag.  Maybe I should try to have another go with her.

Ron suddenly noticed that the treacle tart was gone.  Pushing the plate away he leaned forward and rested his head in his hands.  He had just about been able to convince himself.  If he kept at it, he probably could.  Now that his stomach was full, and his initial emotional surge had passed, he began to attempt to rationalize his feelings.  Despite how jealous he felt sometimes, he knew Harry was a great friend.  If he really wanted Hermione, he was welcome to her.  It probably wouldn’t work out anyway.

Hermione, despite all her faults, was a great friend too.  It would be best for Ron if she just stayed as his friend.  Anything else would be too awkward.  Even thinking about any more with her made him too uncomfortable.  It would have been nicer if they all had just stayed as friends, but if something had to change, it was probably best this way.  Let the two of them deal with the awkwardness of changing from friends to lovers.

Ron got up and went over to the cupboard to see if there was anything else to eat.

-ooOoo-

“Now what?”  Harry and Hermione had spent a good ten minutes hugging and kissing, and now they were standing with their arms around each other, Hermione’s head resting comfortably against Harry’s chest.  Still naked, too, a part of Harry’s mind noted as he ran his hands up and down her bare back.

Hermione leaned back and gave him one of her half smirk/half smiles.  “Well, we really ought to finish what we came in here to do, hadn’t we?”  Harry cocked his head to the side as if pondering the question, causing Hermione to laugh and punch him on the arm.

After they stopped their teasing, Hermione turned back to the table and repositioned them in the intimate posture stance required by the ritual.  As she grasped him once more and he curled his hands over her impossibly soft breasts he had a different idea, and his fingers became more adventurous.

Hermione caught her breath.  “Harry!  Stop … Oh! … You’re not supposed to … Oh! … be doing … OH!!”

Since she wasn’t exactly complaining, Harry moved on to the second part of his plan, and his left hand slid down to Hermione’s navel and continued right on past, while his right continued to play with the hardened nub that it had raised.

“Harry, what are you … ooohh … doing?”

“Well, I just figured it was only fair.”  His left hand, having reached its target, had begun to lightly stroke the patch of curly hair it rested on.  Hermione gasped again but said nothing.

“Hermione?”  Harry was waiting for some signal as to whether he should move forward.  His eyes were mesmerized by the rise and fall of her chest, and it occurred to him that she was breathing more heavily than normal.  Another gasp was followed by a breathless, but simple response. 

“Down farther.” 

She reached down with her free hand and guided his to where she wanted it, then moaned loudly when he began stroking again.  Harry felt Hermione’s body begin to go limp, and with one hand on her breast and one between her legs he wasn’t sure he would be able to support her, so he guided them over to the armchair and sat down with her on his lap.  She immediately leaned back and spread her legs, giving him the all the access he needed.  For the next several minutes, Harry paid close attention to the moans and gasps emanating from his now much-more-than-a-friend, adjusting his manipulations whenever he received a particularly positive response.  Finally he found a spot that really set her off.

“Harry!  There!  Yes!  YES!!  OH HARRY!!!”  Hermione’s back arched so that her body seemed to get airborne momentarily before collapsing back down on him.  Her mouth formed a perfect ‘O’ and her body bucked several more times while small whimpering sounds escaped her lips.  Concurrently, he observed that goosebumps broke out all over her body, and the nipple on her left breast, which he had not stimulated at all, had swelled and hardened.  Since it was right in front of his face he couldn’t resist leaning forward and teasing it lightly with his tongue.  This elicited another shudder and a loud moan.

“No, stop!” Hermione gasped.  That’s too much … too intense.”  Harry obediently pulled back and simply watched in fascination as her chest continued to move up and down rapidly, and also noticed a light sheen of moisture coating her skin.  He was sure he had just witnessed the most erotic sight he would ever see. 

“That was the most incredible thing I’ve ever felt,” she declared fervently.  Harry couldn’t agree more.  He was still having trouble wrapping his mind around the fact that it was his supposedly platonic best friend that was generating these wondrous sensations in him. One thing was certain, though.  The word ‘platonic’ most definitely no longer applied here.  When her breathing approached normal levels he began to remove his hands but was immediately stopped when she clamped her legs shut on his left hand while covering his right with both of hers.

“No, don’t move,” she pleaded.  “It feels so good having you touch me there.”  Harry was, of course, perfectly willing to comply with this request, since it felt pretty good to him as well.  A little too good actually, he decided as he noted that he was now quite hard again.  “I wish you could hold me like this all the time,” Hermione continued breathlessly.

Harry quirked his eyebrows at her as she turned to him with an expression of sheer bliss on her face.  “All the time?”

“All the time,” she confirmed with a soft smile.

“That might make eating and sleeping a bit difficult,” he pointed out with a grin.

“Eating maybe, but I don’t see why sleeping should be a problem,” she returned saucily with a gleam in her eye.  Then she giggled at the gobsmacked expression on Harry’s face that this comment had generated and wiggled naughtily.  This, in turn, caused her to notice something hard pressing against her bare hip.

“I see that got your attention,” she teased.

“Trust me, it’s been like that for quite a while,” Harry admitted.  “You have no idea of how incredibly hot you looked just now.” 

This made Hermione beam even more brightly if that were possible.  She was sure that the word ‘hot’ had never, ever been applied to her.  In fact she was experiencing so many things she had never, ever felt before that it was overwhelming.  And the most unbelievable part was that it was Harry Potter who was making her feel these things.  Her Harry, who she had loved for so long as a friend, was now so much, much more.  And she was doing things and saying things to him, things that she could not possibly have imagined being able to do or say to anyone, and yet they came so easily, so unreservedly.  It was a comfort level based on complete trust. 

All those people who had thought that she and Ron belonged together because they ‘fought like an old married couple’ were utterly delusional.  You had to be insane to think that quarreling with each other and saying hurtful things could be the basis for a healthy relationship.  Loving each other unreservedly, being able to look past each other’s faults and care so deeply for the other that all you wanted was their happiness – that was the essence of a union that would last forever.  And that, she now saw, was exactly what she had with Harry.  How could they be so good together, so right for each other and she had never realized it before?

A good example of this newfound openness, trust, and desire to please him was the fact that she was about to do something she would not have thought herself capable of.  She twisted around so that she was facing him and rubbed her leg against his throbbing member, giving him a wicked smile.  “I suppose we need to take care of that before we can get back to that ritual.  You need to be able to focus on the spell.”  She leaned forward and pressed her chest against his, then slid slowly down until she was kneeling in front of the chair.  Then she leaned forward and ran her tongue lightly up his length. 

Harry’s eyes widened and he found himself unable to speak.  As she took him in her hands and began alternately stroking and kissing him, he had one last thought before he lapsed into incoherence.  This day cannot possibly get any better.

Despite the fact that it was his second time in less than half an hour, it didn’t take too long for Hermione to relieve Harry’s problem.  She got to her feet and stood before him with her hands on her hips and a big grin on her face.  Now it was his turn to be a little unsteady on his feet.

“Come on, we should finish this before either of us get too turned on again,” she announced impertinently.  Harry groaned and extended his hand, allowing her to pull him up out of the chair and lead him back to the table.  This time, neither of them flinched at the intimate hand locations required for the ritual, as both of their hands had become quite familiar with those particular areas of the other’s bodies.  Hermione merely smiled and smacked Harry’s hands lightly as he attempted to make her nipples hard again.

“They feel better that way,” he protested with a grin.  He immediately desisted when she adjusted her hand position and pointed out that she might decide she wanted to give him a little squeeze as well.  After a few quick run-throughs they both thought they had the spell down solid.

Hermione turned to face him again and put her arms around his neck, while he wrapped his arms around her back and they shared another kiss.  Pulling away, she gave a happy sigh and nestled her head in his chest.  “This has been amazing,” she offered.  “I can’t believe what happened to us in one day.  She leaned back and smiled.  “I suppose I don’t have to tell you how much I enjoyed it.”

Harry grinned back.  “Perhaps we should get together like this again some time.”

“Well, I’ll have to check my schedule but I think I have tomorrow free at the same time,” Hermione teased.

“Good, it’s a date, then,” Harry declared.  They both chuckled briefly, but fell silent as they recognized the hurdle looming before them for their new relationship.

“Are we going to tell Ron about this?” Harry asked.

“I don’t see how we can avoid it,” Hermione reasoned.  “What else are we going to do?  Sneak around, slipping into each other’s room in secret, stealing kisses, trying to pretend nothing’s changed when we’re all together.  It would be like a bad soap opera.  And even if we tried, we couldn’t keep it up forever.  Sooner or later we’d have to tell him.  And the longer we wait the more betrayed he’ll feel.  And justifiably so.  So what’s the point in waiting?”

“Well, I think we might wait a day or two,” Harry countered.  “He was pretty unhappy about us doing this nude ritual together.  It would be pretty insensitive to come out and immediately tell him that because of it we’ve decided we’re madly in love with each other.  Maybe tomorrow morning or evening we could sit down calmly and tell him we’ve decided to try being a couple.”

Hermione’s heart had practically leapt out of her chest at Harry’s casual use of the words ‘madly in love’, but she managed to keep her composure.  “All right,” she agreed.  But we aren’t going to lie to him either.  I think he’ll be too embarrassed to ask us about any details of what we did this afternoon.  But we need to respond truthfully to anything he does bring up.

-ooOoo-

Ron looked up as his two friends entered the kitchen, after they had returned to their rooms and dressed.  Since he was looking for evidence that something had happened between them, he decided that they were standing more closely to each other than usual.  (Actually, they were, but he would have imagined it even if they weren’t.)

 “I suppose you two are together now,” he commented with a challenge in his voice.

Harry and Hermione turned and locked eyes for an uncomfortable moment.  So much for finding a time to break it to him gently.  Harry wondered if there had been some expression on his face that Ron had read as ‘I just got off with my best friend!’  He fought to keep a grin off of his face at the memory, and he noticed the corners of Hermione’s mouth twitch as she was apparently having the same thought.  In fact she was.  She also decided that they had better break this eye contact before they both ended up grinning at each other like a pair of love-struck fools.  She nodded to the implied question in his eyes.

“Actually, we have decided to try taking our relationship in that direction, yes,” Hermione replied as diplomatically as possible.

Diplomacy was lost on Ron.  “Seeing each other naked do that for you, huh?”

“Well, it did force us to look at each other in a whole different way,” Harry offered with a smirk.  Since Ron seemed to be going for a grumpy response instead of the angry one they had expected, he took a shot at some humor.  It earned him a dirty look from his best mate.

“Well, if that’s what you want I reckon you might as well go for it,” Ron muttered.  “Just make sure you use silencing charms because I don’t want to hear you shagging.”

“Ron!”  Hermione was both shocked and hurt, and not a little surprised.  She had imagined several possible responses from him but this had not been one of them.

“What, you’re not gonna be shagging?” Ron persisted.

“Well, actually we …” Harry considered trying to explain that the ritual required them to be virgins, but Hermione silenced him with a look.

“I mean, otherwise what’s the point?” Ron continued, relishing the uncomfortable position he had them in.  Keeping them off balance was a good way to avoid having to confront his own feelings on the matter.

“Honestly Ron!” Hermione snapped.  “There is certainly more to a romantic relationship than that!”  Even though so far the new aspect of Harry’s and her relationship had been mostly sexual, he didn’t need to be so crude about it.  And she was certain that they would be sharing plenty of other sorts of intimate moments.

Ron shrugged.  “That’s pretty much all I did with Lavender.”

“Ron!!” was all the response Hermione could manage.

“Yep, snogging and shagging.  It’s not exactly like we spent a lot of time talking.”  Inwardly Ron gloated at his victory.  He had succeeded in rendering Hermione Granger speechless.  No matter that he hadn’t been entirely truthful.  Turning to Harry, he decided to turn it up a notch.

“Isn’t that what you did with Ginny?”  But suddenly Ron paled as he realized, too late, what he had just said.  In an attempt to put Harry on the defensive he had broached a subject that he desperately did NOT want to think about.

“No, not at all,” Harry denied quickly.  Hermione’s head had spun instantly toward him, her shocked look changing to hurt betrayal and he knew he needed to quash this line of inquiry immediately.  “After all, we were only together a few weeks.  We didn’t really even do all that much snogging.”  To his relief, Hermione relaxed immediately and shot him a smile of approval

Ron was relieved to hear that too, but also felt the need to justify his accusation.  “Well, that’s good to hear,” he mused.  “I’m not so sure you could say that about Ginny and Dean.  Remember that time we saw them in the corridor.  It sure looked like they were about to …”

“Ron, stop it,” Hermione broke in.  “I’m certain that Ginny never did any such thing.  She surely would have confided with me about something like that.  And I don’t believe you and Lavender had sex either.  She would certainly have made sure I knew about it, if only to rub my face in it.”

Ron, having been caught out, went on the offensive again.  “What about you and Krum then, Hermione?”

“Ron!”  Hermione stamped her foot this time.  She was getting fed up with this.  “I never even went out with him!  I was with Harry every night studying and helping him learn spells.”

“You didn’t snog with him?” Ron challenged.

“No!  He only kissed me one time, and you interrupted that!” she proclaimed, referring to the blazing row Ron had started after he caught Viktor saying good night to her outside the Gryffindor common room the night of the Yule Ball.”  Harry couldn’t help the grin that suddenly sprouted on his face at that revelation.  Fortunately, neither Ron nor Hermione noticed.

“Honestly Ron,” Hermione continued, having regained the upper hand.  “There’s a lot more to a relationship than snogging.  What about all the other things – holding hands, walking around the lake, talking about your day, sharing your feelings?”

Not about to let her win this one, Ron snorted.  “Only you Hermione.  Only you would go on a date with a guy and spend the whole time talking.” 

With that he exited the kitchen chuckling to himself, as Hermione teared up in his wake.  Why did he always have to get mean when they argued?  Harry didn’t resort to saying nasty things when he disagreed with her.  As this thought went through her mind, Hermione realized yet again that she had made a good choice.  Being respectful of the other person’s feelings during a dispute was very important in a loving relationship.

And so was comforting her when she was upset, she thought happily as Harry’s arms enfolded her into a hug.  “Don’t listen to him,” he said softly.  “Even though he’s trying to tough it out, he’s got to be hurting a bit.  He’s just lashing out.”  Hermione began an objection but Harry shook his head.  “I’m not saying that it’s right.  It’s just the way he is.”

Hermione began to calm down, as the blissful feeling of being in Harry’s arms overcame the stress of the previous conversation.  “And I want you to know that I agree with what you said,” he continued.  “That first time I walked around the lake with Ginny, we did our share of kissing but mostly held hands and talked.”  He pulled back and smiled at her.  “And I’m very much looking forward to doing the same thing with you on lots of occasions in the future.

Hermione teared up again, but this time they were tears of happiness.  How did he know exactly the right thing to say like that?  She backed him up until they got to a chair, then sat him down and settled herself on his lap.

“Thank you Harry,” she whispered.  Then she proceeded to kiss him thoroughly.  As their mouths hungrily explored each other her feelings for him built up to an overwhelming level.  Finally she pulled away and looked deep into his eyes.

“I love you.”

She regretted saying it as soon as the words were out of her mouth.  It was too soon.  She didn’t want to pressure him like that.  It was just that … she did love him.  She had loved him in the non-romantic sense for years, and now that their relationship had turned physical – now she could see the two of them sharing their lives together.  She dropped her head in embarrassment and heard his startled gasp.

“Hermione!  You … you don’t … I mean … you really? … I don’t … I don’t know what to say.”  Even though Harry accepted the fact that his feelings for her had undergone a dramatic change in the last several hours, he had not dared to consider that things between them had progressed this far.

“I’m sorry!” she pleaded, burying her face in his chest.  “I didn’t mean to say that – it just slipped out.”  She relaxed a bit as he pulled her even tighter to himself, relieving her fear that what she had said would make him pull away from her.  “Don’t worry; you don’t have to say anything.  I know it’s too soon.”

Harry kept silent for a time, then leaned back and waited while she slowly lifted her head to look at him again.  “I’m not upset,” he reassured her.  “It’s just that no one has ever said that to me before.”  Hermione’s eyes widened as she realized the implications of that statement.  Her mother and father had said ‘I love you’ to her nearly every day while she was growing up.  While she knew that his relatives hated him and would never have done similarly, she hadn’t really considered seriously what that would mean for him, and how he would react to her saying it.

“Did you really not mean it or did you just not mean to say it?” he asked.

Hermione searched his eyes, seeing in them his yearning to be loved by someone and couldn’t deny it, even if she wanted to.  “Actually, I did mean it,” she replied softly.  “In one way I’ve loved you for quite a while, and now I think I love you in every possible way.  But I didn’t want to put pressure on you if you weren’t ready to decide it for yourself.”  She paused to gauge his reaction to this declaration.  “You should only say it if you mean it too.”

Harry swallowed hard.  “I … I’m not sure.  I guess I don’t exactly know what that means.  I know I feel things for you I don’t feel for anyone else.  Can you explain what you think being in love means?”

Hermione lowered her head to rest it on his chest again and tightened her arms around him, which caused him to reciprocate.  Taking a deep breath she began, “Love means caring about someone, doing things for him, trusting him enough to share your innermost thoughts with him.  You truly enjoy being in his company.  It’s not just about snogging, although that’s even better when it’s with someone you love.  It’s that you’re happy just to be around him, even if you’re sitting quietly together.  When he’s away you look forward to when you can be with him again.  When you love someone you want what’s best for him even if it’s not necessarily what you’d like for yourself.”

Harry responded so softly Hermione almost didn’t hear him.  “I guess I’ve loved you for a while then.”  At that assertion she felt her heart swell up so much she thought it would burst.  “I think everything you just said describes how I feel about you,” he continued.  “And I also agree that the snogging’s brilliant.”  She smiled as he gave her a little squeeze.  “But there has to be more to it than that, if you’re talking about being ‘in love’ with someone,” he protested.

“Well, that combined with physical attraction,” she clarified.  “A lot of people mistake just the physical attraction for love, but that’s just lust.  Romantic love is a combination of the two.”  She thought for a moment.  “It develops differently for different couples, I think.  Some people are attracted to each other and gradually fall in love.  With us the affection came first, and now we’ve added the attraction.  It was the same way with my parents.  They were friends first and then fell in love.”  She raised her head from his chest again and looked back up at him.  “Here’s another way to think about it.  If you try to picture your future with a wife and kids how does it feel to think of me in that role?”

Hermione bit her lip nervously while she waited for his response.  Harry closed his eyes.  “It may take a while,” he confessed.  “I’ve never really allowed myself to think that far ahead.  I didn’t think it would ever happen.”  Hermione felt her eyes tearing up again at that thought, but held her tongue.  The important thing was that he was thinking about it now.

After several seconds a smile began to grow on Harry’s face, and Hermione felt the tears, now ones of happiness again, begin to trickle down her cheeks.  Finally Harry opened his eyes and gazed at her in wonderment.

“I think I love you.”

The kiss that followed was one they would remember for the rest of their lives.

-ooOoo-

Two days later they met again in the first floor drawing room, this time with the Horcrux present.  Hermione had suggested, with a sly look, that they needed another practice session before the actual attempt to destroy the dark object so they had repeated their first session the day before, with the same results.  (Except this time Hermione had gotten Harry off intentionally, rather than accidentally.) 

As he had the day before, Harry stopped to watch Hermione pull the tee shirt over her head before removing his.  She hadn’t objected at all, since that way she got to see him remove his as well.  Once again his physical reaction showed his appreciation for what was displayed before him

Hermione let out a mock sigh of exasperation.  “I suppose I’m going to have to take care of that again before we do the ritual.”  Harry grinned sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders, although both of them knew his actual answer was YES!  Instead of taking him in hand as he expected, Hermione moved over to the desk and bent over it to flip a few pages forward in the book.  “Just a minute, there’s something else I want to check,” she explained.

Harry didn’t mind, since this permitted him another magnificent view of her bum.  He moved up behind her and tentatively put a hand on her back and began stroking it, gradually lowering the range of his ministrations, giving her the opportunity to tell him to stop at any point.  For her part, Hermione was delighted with his forwardness, and even wiggled her bottom a bit to get him to move along a little faster.  With that encouragement he was soon fondling her arse in earnest and she gave a moan of approval.

Feeling emboldened by her response, and temporarily forgetting the reason they were there, Harry moved a finger down between her legs where he was surprised to encounter some dampness.  This elicited an even louder moan from Hermione and she unconsciously moved her legs apart in invitation.  This encouraged him even more and he slipped his finger between her folds.

“OHHHH!  Oh Harry!” she gasped, and the wetness increased dramatically.  Torn between the desire for him to continue what he was doing and the need to finish a rather serious task, Hermione managed to pull herself together.  “No … stop,” she finally managed.  “I mean … perhaps you could continue that later upstairs.”

This invitation caused even more blood flow into Harry’s lower regions and he stopped, noticing her small wimper of disappointment, and slowly withdrew his hand, enjoying the effect he was having on her.  But just as he was about to wipe off his finger on his shirt Hermione stopped him.

“Wait,” she said, checking a passage in her book once more.  “Wipe it on the Horcrux.  It says here that these fluids are beneficial in completing the process.

“Oh, so that’s what you were checking?” he asked in surprise as he complied with her instruction.

“Yes,” she said with a smirk.  “Now let’s add some of your fluid to it.”

He lasted a bit longer this time, but not much.  It was quite strange to be wanking off onto a Horcrux, but if he closed his eyes and concentrated on the vision of the naked Hermione before him, and her breasts where she was pressing them against his side, and most of all the wonderful things her hand was doing to him – well, she finished him off in less than a minute.

With that accomplished, they moved once more into the intimate position required for the ritual.  Once their hands were in place (with neither of them resisting the temptation to give a little squeeze) Harry began his part of the incantation.  When he finished, there was a glow where his hands were holding her breasts, with a very unexpected result.  For Hermione, it began as a very pleasant tingle that immediately hardened her nipples, then grew into an all out throbbing that suddenly shot down to her inner core.  Her eyes unfocussed for a moment and she shuddered all over as the orgasm hit her without warning.

For his part, Harry immediately noticed her body go limp, and pulled her closer to himself to keep her from falling.  He also noted the tell-tale signs that he had observed before – the goosebumps, the sheen of moisture, and her panting.  “Did you just …”

“Yes,” she gasped before he could finish the question.  “Now I understand where the fluids were supposed to come from.”  Indeed, she was quite damp between her legs again, and she reached her free hand down to collect some more secretion to add to the locket on the table.  Her other hand had never released its grip on Harry, and she hoped she hadn’t squeezed him too hard in her excitement just now.

“I suppose the same thing’s going to happen to me when you say your part of the spell?” Harry surmised.

“I imagine so,” she replied with a grin.  Think you’re up to it?”  They both looked down where she had been lightly stroking him without realizing it.  “Yes, I’d say so,” she answered unnecessarily.  “Don’t worry,” she teased, “I’ll make sure it’s aimed in the right direction.”

As predicted, when Hermione spoke the next section of the incantation, another glow flared up where she was holding his now very erect member, and he orgasmed as quickly as she had.  Hermione added this sample of fluid to the others, and as soon as he had composed himself again they jointly spoke the final phrases, with their hands still in place.

This time Hermione had her wand in her free hand, pointing it at the Horcrux.  Since his hands were full, Harry’s wand was on another table right behind him, where he could grab it and quickly put up a shield if necessary.  As they finished the incantation, a golden beam of light burst out of her wand and enveloped the locket.  The glow was so intense that they could barely see the locket, and they heard a faint scream from within which they knew from Harry’s adventure with the diary represented the final destruction of the soul fragment. 

Within seconds it was over, and they both spontaneously wrapped their arms around each other and shouted in triumph while hugging for all they were worth.  They stayed in this embrace for quite some time, each enjoying the warmth and closeness of the other, before they finally pulled away and prepared to leave the room.

“You know,” he commented as they put their tee shirts back on.  “That wasn’t really all that enjoyable.  It was just too fast.”

“I agree,” she responded as she slipped her arm around him and leaned her head against his side.  “Let’s go upstairs and take our time and do it right.”

Harry’s eyes widened and a big grin broke out on his face.  He nodded vigorously as he took her hand to hurry from the room, causing her to laugh in amusement at his eagerness.

They stopped by the front room where Ron had been waiting, to tell him of their success before continuing up to their rooms.  There they found him looking at some parchments that had just been delivered.

“Wedding invitations,” he announced.  Then he looked up at them hesitantly.  “And Mum wants to know how things are going here.”  He paused and glanced at their still joined hands.  “So does Ginny.”

-xox-XOX-XOX-xox-

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