Experience

"This is barbaric," Hermione said disdainfully. They were walking down the trophies corridor on the way to back field.

"Sounds like fun to me." Ron grinned. He thought a moment. "Who should I thrash first?" It was obvious that he was relishing this. Hogwarts had instituted a new program to teach young wizards and witches to defend themselves after Death Eater attacks had become more commonplace.

"I thought I was done with gym class for good when I came to Hogwarts," Hermione complained. They were dressed in grey cotton t-shirts and shorts which were emblazoned with their House crests. Seventh years in all the Houses were taking these lessons together.

"I think it's a good idea," Harry said as they joined the other students on the field. It was a humid early September day but they managed to snag a shady spot under oak tree. "In a fight, you never know what's going to happen, any weapon you can use is a good one."

"I guess so," Hermione said without enthusiasm.

"What's wrong, Hermione? Afraid one of use will finally get the chance to beat you?" They all had regular dueling lessons and Hermione was a brilliant dueler because she was quick-witted and a veritable walking encyclopedia of hexes and charms to boot. So far, she'd never been defeated by anyone in their House including Ron and Harry.

Hermione rolled her eyes as Madam Hooch began to demonstrate various techniques. With the aide of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Slub, she taught them how to break an aggressor's chokehold, headlock, and wristlock. Then she explained how to use various kicks and blows to ward off an assailant.

Hermione couldn't help but smile at the mesmerized looks on her best friends' faces. They were just itching to try this out. Unfortunately, she was going to be the guinea pig. She was a half a foot shorter and a good sixty or seventy pounds lighter than either of them. She sincerely hoped that Madame Hooch was right when she said that anyone could master these techniques.

The Quidditch coach spoke into a bullhorn . "All right, its time to practice so choose a partner!"

Seamus Finnegan waved Ron over to partner him. Ron grinned at them before heading over.

"Well? What do you say, Hermione? Would you like to be my attacker for the evening?" Harry asked as if he were inviting her to a formal dinner.

"Are you sure your male ego can stand the strain?" Hermione teased. " Because I'm going to wipe the floor with you."

Harry laughed, enjoying her spirit. "Oh, come on, you don't honestly think you're going to win, do you? We both know you can out magic me any day of the week, but I'm much stronger than you." He looked down at her from his superior height.

"Is that so?" Hermione challenged, poking him in the chest. "Let's see what you've got."

"Remember," Madam Hooch shouted. "Fend off your attacker without using magic. Surprise your aggressor, use their own strength against them."

"Ready?" Harry asked, assuming a threatening pose.

"Let the bum-kicking begin!" She laughed and then frowned. "Yours, not mine." They began to circle each other. Harry feigned left and then moved right to grasp her arm but she eluded him. He did it again and she punched his arm hard for his trouble. Finally, Harry rushed her and she dodged his hand as he attempted to grab her shoulder. He switched tactics and swept his leg under hers, causing her to tumble to the ground. Before she could scramble to her feet, Harry pounced on her, pinning her lower body with his legs.

"Hey, that's not fair!" She cried as she twisted beneath him, attempting to get a good kick in.

"All's fair in love and war," Harry quoted as he also pinned her shoulders to the ground. Although, he wasn't sure which option wrestling Hermione to the ground applied to. Hermione lay beneath him, her face was flushed from effort as she attempted to squirm out from under him. He was certain that she'd never looked so appealing. Suddenly, the atmosphere changed. It was no longer a good-natured contest between two friends. He wanted to kiss her, to touch her in an intimate fashion and it was scaring the hell out of him. His body was responding to her movements and his eyes closed as a wave of longing hit him. Harry sat up on his haunches and tried to curb his wayward thoughts. "Stop moving, Hermione," he said softly.

"No!" She argued as she still tried to fend him off, completely oblivious to his inner turmoil. "I'm down but I'm not out."

"Hermione, look at me."

She stopped struggling long enough to meet his eyes. Hermione gasped at his expression. Harry looked like a man in pain. "Are you all right? Did you break something when you fell?" She managed to move her hands enough to bring them to his chest, feeling for signs of injury. "Harry?"

His eyes swept across her body with unmistakable sexual interest.

It both frightened and thrilled her. "Harry, I. . .you-"

"I know." He sprung away from her then, as if her touch burned him. "I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry."

"Its okay, Harry." Hermione was equally baffled by both her own behavior and his. "Nothing happened."

"Still, I shouldn't have-"

"Harry, let's just forget about it," Hermione said quickly. She had no desire to hash through this or to acknowledge her newfound sexual awareness of him. "Okay?"

He leapt off of her as if she were made of fire. "Right. I'm fine, Hermione." Harry turned his back to her, hiding the evidence of his 'injury'.

"Are you sure?" She hopped off and dusted off the back of her shorts. "I don't want things to be weird between us."

Harry nodded, trying to reassure himself. "Forget about it. Nothing happened." But Harry knew that something was brewing between himself and Hermione. He was deeply attracted to her and he wasn't sure it would go away. . .or if he even wanted it to.

Madame Hooch broke in again. "Stop! Stop!" The other sparring partners stopped struggling with each other. "This just isn't working. You aren't giving this your all!" She scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Choose another partner!" They all groaned. "From an opposing House." They groaned louder. The Slytherins and Gryffindors eyed each other disdainfully. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws had less enmity but didn't appear to relish the situation, either.

Hermione's eyes automatically swept the crowd for Malfoy. She knew he was here somewhere but it was difficult to find a single person in this crowd.

Harry was relieved to find that his body finally obeyed his commands. In the distance, he saw Ron reluctantly agree to partner Crabbe. He only hoped the no permanent damage would be inflicted upon the redhead. Harry faced Hermione again. "Great. Just what I wanted to do, wrestle with a slimy Slytherin."

"Yeah," Hermione agreed, her mind clearly on another matter.

"Oh, for pity's sake, Hermione! Is *he* all you ever think about?" Harry snapped.

For once in her life, she played dumb."Who?"

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Shagged," Harry quipped.

"Did someone say 'shag'?" Draco asked, joining the two of them.

"Figures," Harry grumbled to himself. He physically placed himself between Malfoy and Hermione.

"Talking to yourself, Potter? That's never a good sign." Draco said smoothly. "Maybe you should check yourself into St. Mungo's for an assessment."

"I know why you're here, Malfoy," Harry said, squaring his shoulders. "Let's get this over with."

Malfoy rose one silvery brow in a elegant show of disdain. "I'm not here to partner you, Potter. While you're at St. Mungo's you might ask them to work on that overinflated ego of yours."

Harry balled up his fist but Hermione laid a restraining hand on his arm. "Why *are* you here, Malfoy?"

He smirked. "To partner you, of course. After all, you weren't learning much being groped by Scarhead here, were you?"

Harry turned beet-red. "I didn't-" he sputtered.

Draco ignored him. "You ready, Granger?"

"And I suppose you're doing this purely for my academic benefit?" Hermione asked, coming out from behind Harry. She was secretly pleased to hear that he'd been observing her.

Draco's lips twitched. "I'm a giver."

Harry didn't like the little interplay between them one little bit. "She doesn't want be partnered up with some sneering little-"

"I have it on good authority that Granger doesn't need a bodyguard. Why don't you move on to somewhere where you're actually wanted?"

Harry refused to budge.

Draco snapped his fingers and Goyle lumbered up beside him. "All right, Potter, since you can't find your own partner, I'll help you find one."

Before Harry could protest, he was seized up by Goyle's beefy arms and slammed down to the ground.

Hermione winced in sympathy. "Oh, Harry! Are you okay?"

But Malfoy was leading her away from them by the elbow. "He'll be fine. He survived Avada, right?"

Hermione nodded reluctantly.

"Then forget about him. I have." Draco led them a distance away from the other students. "We need some room if we're going to do this properly."

"Do *what* exactly?" Hermione asked shrewdly.

"Why, practice self-defense, Granger. Did you have something else in mind?" His expression was filled with a wicked sort of mischief.

"No, but I bet you do," Hermione said boldly. She screwed up her courage and asked the question she'd been dying to ask. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what, Granger?" Draco knew exactly what she was asking but he'd be damned if he was going to make this easy for her.

"The innuendoes, the little comments, and the looks," she said archly.

Draco felt absurdly proud of her boldness. "What can I say, Granger?" He let his eyes rake over her form. "You suddenly became interesting."

Hermione bit her lower lip as she caught his eyes with her own. She knew that it was something like this. She was pleased that he found her physically attractive but she was a bit piqued that he seemed uninterested in any of her other attributes. Her feelings were ridiculous though, because that was *precisely* why she was returning Malfoy's interest in her. He wouldn't be interested in more than a physical connection between them.

Draco correctly interpreted her reaction. "What's the matter, Granger? Did you expect me to say that I'd fallen madly in love with you?" Draco baited.

After a moment, she sighed. "No, I can't stand you either," she replied honestly.

"Well? Shall we?" He prompted.

Hermione's eyes grew wide. "What? Here?!?"

Draco laughed. It was a deep and throaty sound that Hermione found she liked very much. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Granger. I was talking about the self-defense lesson."

"Of course you were!" She agreed quickly, not meeting his eyes. She cleared her throat before she spoke. "So, do you want me to attack you or what?"

Draco tossed her sexy smile."Any excuse to get your hands on me, huh?"

"Malfoy!"

"What?" He feigned innocence.

"Let's just do it," she said shrilly.

"Well, if you insist-" He placed his hands at the waistband of his shorts as if he were going to tug them down.

Hermione clapped her hands over her eyes. "Stop that! I didn't mean. . .*you know*. You know I meant the other thing we were talking about!"

"I'm pretty sure I only understood half of that sentence," Draco said with a frown. "Take your hands off your eyes, I'm perfectly decent."

"I somehow doubt that," she grumbled.

"Come here, Granger." He crooked a finger at her. She reluctantly closed the distance between him and he positioned himself behind her, causing her to gasp and try to pull away. "Don't you trust me?"

"No."

"Good girl. You shouldn't." She could feel him smile against her skin. Lets try the first maneuver. Try to break my hold and flip me over." He instructed as he placed one arm around her waist and pulled her back against him. "Easy now," he whispered in her ear, causing the hairs to stand up at the base of her neck.

She tugged at his arm unenthusiastically, and tried desperately to remember what the hell Madam Hooch had ordered them to do but she couldn't seem to concentrate. All she could feel were his hands on her body. She imagined them traveling to much more exotic places than they touched now. Once more, she was treated to his scent -- that beguiling mixture of pine and fresh air. She had to resist the urge to turn around and wrap her arms around him.

"You don't seem to be putting much effort into this," he commented. Draco let his hand deliberately slide from her waist to her stomach. She gasped and bumped back against him. He let his cheek rest against her fragrant hair. Violets. He could feel the muscles tense against his hands.

Her head was swimming. She was dizzy from just being near him. "I *am* trying," she murmured.

"I don't think so. Maybe you want me to keep you." His hand settled at the base of her abdomen, a finger slipped an inch underneath the waistband of her shorts. "Is that it, Granger?"

"I. . I-"

"A few little touches and you go nonverbal. I'll have to remember that," he said huskily. "Come on, Granger, fight me off. Or do you want to be my little pet Mudb--"

Hermione instantly came out of the sensual fog. "Ugh! Malfoy!" She made his name sound like an expletive. Without thought, she jammed an elbow into his ribs. He moaned in pain as she tensed her legs and managed to flip him over her shoulder.

He lay sprawled on the grass with his hair in his eyes and an embarrassed expression on his face.

"You ever call me *that* again, Malfoy, and I'll wound more than your pride!" She clenched her jaw.

Draco shook off his astonishment. "I was just trying to snap you out of it, Granger." He picked himself up off the ground and dusted off his shorts. "It's not my fault girls find me irresistible."

"Gee, I wonder why," she said sarcastically.

"*You* tell me."

Madam Hooch used the bullhorn again. "That's enough for today, class! Anyone who needs to go to the hospital wing, follow Professor Slub." All around them students limped away from the field. Many of them were covered in dirt and grass stains.

Hermione spotted Harry and Ron ambling towards them. Harry had a bruise on his cheek and he was supporting Ron who had obviously sprained something. When she turned to say make another scathing remark to Malfoy, he was gone.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione knocked on her friends' door. "Harry? Ron?"

"Come in." It was Harry's voice.

She opened the door to find him lying on his bed. Hedwig was perched on his headboard and he was reading a Quidditch magazine. The purple bruise on his face was barely noticeable thanks to a healing charm. "Ron's still in the hospital?"

"Madame Pomfrey gave him a potion but she wanted to keep an eye on him this evening. She said my bruise will be gone by midnight."

"Well, that works out because I came here to talk to you." She gingerly sat down on the edge of his bed by his feet.

"About this afternoon? Because I-"

"I know," Hermione fiddled nervously with bedspread, tracing the pattern of their House crest. "Harry, I know what's going on between us."

"You do?"Harry asked fearfully. He'd come to the conclusion that he was interested in Hermione as much more than a friend.

"Yeah, I think its pretty obvious, don't you?"

"It is?!"

She patted his leg. "Of course it is. I know that you and Ginny are very close but--"

"I love Ginny," Harry said defensively. He wasn't sure who he was trying to convince - himself or her.

Hermione nodded. "But you two haven't. . .you kn-"

Harry let out a sigh. Great. Another oddly sexy conversation about sex. "Had sex. And not that its any of your business, but no. . .we haven't." Where was she going with this?

"I realized that you and I have always been close but we don't talk about. . ."

"Sex."

"Right. So, when I was talking to you about Malfoy, it sort of crossed a line in our friendship. And it made us think about each other in a different way. But, its not real because we're friends. We're not going to have. . ."

"Sex."

"Exactly," Hermione exhaled. "I knew you'd understand."

"You came all the way over here to tell me you won't sleep with me?" Harry said, sounding a bit hurt.

"No! Don't make it sound that way. What I mean is, you're probably feeling, er, deprived. . . because you're dating Ginny but you're still a virgin. And its only natural to want to act on those feelings because--"

"Hermione-" Harry interrupted.

"Don't be embarrassed, Harry. It's--"

"Hermione, I'm not a virgin."

"You aren't?!" Hermione cried. "When. . .how? But why didn't you tell me?"

"Hermione," Harry pleaded, "Don't be upset with me. Its just not the sort of thing you tell your girl friends."

"Ron knows!?" She smacked his leg. "Ron knows and I don't!"

Of course Harry and Ron had discussed this. Not that they were into locker room talk but they passed on useful bits of information to each other: good make-out spots , how to undo robes with only one hand, etc. He didn't fancy telling Hermione about that. Somehow he knew she would find the subject manner less than fascinating.

Suddenly, she wasn't angry anymore ; her eyes held that familiar, faraway look. - the one that preceded another of her infamous grandiose ideas. "That's okay, Harry, I understand." Then she smiled brightly - a little *too* brightly.

Harry was suddenly very nervous. "Hermione? What's going on? This kind of oversight usually nets me a couple of weeks of the silent treatment."

"You can *help* me!" Hermione replied excitedly.

Was she suggesting what he hoped, eh, thought, she was suggesting? "What do you mean?"

"How many girls have you been with?"

"Hermione, I don't kiss and tell."

"Harry Potter! You have the nerve to not tell me something this important for god knows how long and then you have the *nerve* to sit there and-"

"Three!" he practically yelped.

She grinned. "I didn't even have to turn on the waterworks," she gestured to her eyes. "Pushover."

Harry scowled.

"But, because you obviously know what you're doing." She said with a blush creeping up her slender neck. "You can teach me."

"Hermione, do you really think that would be a good idea?" He was torn between his new and old feelings for her. One thing was for sure, he didn't want to have a life without Hermione somewhere in it.

She gave him a sly smile that caused his mouth to go dry. "Did you think I was asking for some 'hands on' tutoring?" She laughed. "No, I meant that you could tell me what you know."

Harry told himself that he was not disappointed by that bit of news. But, he had no desire to detail his sexual conquests with her. "This is really the sort of thing you shouldn't learn secondhand, Hermione."

"I know! I mean, there are books in the restricted section about this but I couldn't think of a way to get my hands on them without answering some really embarrassing questions."

"You were going to read up on it?" At Hermione's hesitant nod, Harry chuckled. Of course, Hermione would want to study sex beforehand.

"What?" She was only a little irritated. "I wanted to be prepared! Of course, they're on sex magic, not necessarily on sex itself but I've heard there are illustrations that might prove useful."

"Illustrations? What kind of illustrations?" Harry was interested again.

She smiled. "Never you mind, Harry." She sighed. "Are you going to help me or not?"

"I don't know, Hermione. Its not like he's going to give you a pop quiz or something," he joked.

"Come on, please?!" Hermione asked, giving him the big puppy eyes.

Harry pondered her request. It would give him the opportunity to explore these feelings he had for her without hurting anyone. And in the role of 'coach', he was in a much better position to sabotage this relationship with Malfoy. He could also make sure Malfoy didn't get the opportunity to hurt her. "All right," he sighed dramatically, "I'll help you."

She threw herself at him, hugging him tight and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Harry! And I'll help you, too! I'll take notes, help you write essays, whatever. Thank you! Thank you!"

"You're welcome." He'd never seen her so excited or enthusiastic, it was contagious. Harry was feeling very pleased with himself. Harry stroked her hair as she subsided against him. "What are friends for?"