Kiss Me

"Kiss Me"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So Hermione," Oliver said to the seventeen-year-old girl, leading her out into the white, flowery green meadow that was his family's backyard. They had moved into a Muggle ranch house in the country when young Oliver had decided to take up Quidditch. So, the Woods have lived at the cozy house for quite some time now.

Oliver was now in his twenties, twenty-one to be exact, and at the prime of his career in Quidditch, playing for the Puddlemere United Reserve. His light brown hair was soft to the touch, which Hermione had found out the first time she ran her fingers through them when they shared their first kiss. He was a bit taller than she, which he loved, so when they kissed she did it on tiptoe.

Kiss me,

Out of the bearded barley,

"Tell me," he said, turning to face her, lacing his fingers in between hers. "What do you think of the Wood home?"

She smiled that same genuine and sincere smile, the same smile that made him fall for her during a chance encounter at the Three Broomsticks. "It's beautiful here..."

Oliver grinned. "Isn't it? I remember missing this place year-round during my Hogwarts days."

"I can imagine!" she said with a nod.

The pair walked further into the field, the flowers catching onto Hermione's flowing baby blue sundress, though she couldn't have cared nonetheless.

She gazed at the clear starry night sky as they walked, a seemingly permanent smile etched onto her face. How she loved staying at the Woods'--though it was only her first time doing so.

Nightly,

Beside the green, green grass,

They passed by several childhood memoirs of Oliver, and he explained them all to Hermione.

"This tree house was the one my father built for me when I was about seven," he said. "I used to climb up the trunk just to get inside, but later on I just flew up to the house, you see."

"So in other words you got lazy?" Hermione teased lightly. He laughed. "What was the tire swing used for?"

"Well, when I was in my First Year at Hogwarts, I saw one Quidditch game and immediately wanted to join the Gryffindor team. So, every chance I got on vacations, this tire would serve as a hoop that I would guard as my dad tossed small balls at me. Like a sort of practice."

Swing, swing,

Swing the spinning step.
You wear those shoes and I will wear that dress.

He prodded the hanging tire and it swung on the rope for a moment before they walked on, still hand-in-hand.

Several blossom trees were passed, their pink blossoms flying out onto the field as several breezes blew by.

Moonlight illuminated the couple and as Oliver turned around to face Hermione he gaped at her for a second, as if suddenly noticing just the way she looked... sleek hair pulled up into a bun, tendrils of brown hair falling down the sides of her face; honey-brown eyes sparkling in the starlight; her blue dress cut just above her knees adding on to her beauty. He blinked.

Hermione smiled back at him and it just seemed as if everything about her was, well... everything to him.

Oh... kiss me.

Beneath the milky twilight,

She took a step towards him and he smiled at last.

"So..." he began.

"Anything else out here to show me?" Hermione prompted curiously.

"Ah... no, not really," was his reply with a shrug. But he thought for a moment and took her other hand.

"Musica," he murmured, and she surveyed him, not knowing what to think as a slow tune sounded. It was a guitar--or at least it seemed like one.

She beamed at him.

"Would you like to dance, Miss Granger?" he asked with a slight bow, sounding much like a young gentlemen out of the books about elegant balls in the sixteenth century.

Lead me,

Out on the moonlit floor...
Lift your open hand,
Strike up the band,

I think I love her, Oliver thought as they danced, revolving in a small circle. She rested her head against his neck and looked out at the pine trees at the distant end of the meadow. She smiled to herself, glancing up at the sky then at the golden bobbing lights flying around the blossom trees down a ways.

Oliver started to think a few months back when they met again in the pub.

And coincidentally, Hermione started to think the same thing.

And make the fireflies dance,
Silver moon's sparkling...
So kiss me.

~ "Oh, sorry miss," Oliver said, having opened the door to enter the Three Broomsticks right when Hermione was reaching for the knob to exit.

They stared at each other for a moment and Hermione smiled and said, "No, it's fine," and walked around him and onto the cobblestone streets.

But he walked after her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Sorry, but... you just look vaguely familiar."

"As do you," Hermione had replied.

"Oliver Wood?"

"Hermione Granger?"

They laughed and Oliver said, "I knew you looked familiar! How's Harry? And Ron? Oh, I'd love to catch up with you on things, but I see you've already had your butterbeer?"

She grinned. "I don't mind going back in--I just won't order anything."

"Nonsense!" he exclaimed.

And he led her back inside the Three Broomsticks. ~

"'Fate, Luck, and Destiny,'" Hermione said suddenly in a slight whisper.

"Hmm?" Oliver asked, looking at her.

"The sign! The little wooden sign that was hanging on the wall beside our table!" she said quickly.

He grinned. "So the sign was a sign after all."

She laughed. "I guess so!"

Kiss me,

Down by the broken tree house,

They continued to slow dance in comfortable silence until--

"Hermione, look where we are!" Oliver said softly in her ear.

They were back at the tree house.

She giggled, "We're dancing our way home."

Swing me,

Upon its hanging tire.

And so they went on, the faint guitar and cricket sound as their guide.

Bring, bring,

Bring your flowered hat,
We'll take the trail marked on your father's map.

At long last Oliver's feet stepped atop the wooden porch overlooking the long acres of grassland.

"Silencium," he mumbled.

Oh... kiss me.

Beneath the milky twilight,

Lead me,

Out on the moonlit floor...
Lift your open hand,
Strike up the band,

And make the fireflies dance,
Silver moon's sparkling...

And, as if it were involuntary, he leaned in to kiss her. And, just the way he had always liked, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him back lightly.

They broke the kiss and Oliver stepped back, swinging their arms to the side as he looked at her.

"Thank you for the dance, Milady," he said, bowing courteously once more.

She smiled and curtseyed. "Not at all, Kind Sir."

So kiss me.

Epilogue: The Wedding

Three years later, Oliver Wood and Hermione got married in the Woods' bountiful backyard. The long grasses of the meadow were trimmed, not all of it, but just the seating section and the aisle where Hermione would walk down in her white dress to the arc where she and Oliver would stand, say their vows, and share the kiss that would begin their days in matrimony.

She wore a crown of pink and white cherry blossoms atop her brown hair and Oliver looked especially sharp in his tuxedo.

Oliver was left the little ranch house to share with Hermione by his parents, who later moved into a new house in Glasgow.

Every little childhood memoir of his still stands today, except now, nailed onto the tree trunk, was the sign Hermione spoke of, the sign that hung at the pub: "Fate, Luck, and Destiny."

And, to end this story, I will end it with a quote from Oliver's own personal vows about that special little sign.

"... It was, ultimately, the sign of signs... For it was fate that I met Hermione, luck that she loved me in return, and destiny that we be together still."