Betrayal

Chapter 2

Life back at school was as normal as it could be with constant reminders from all the teachers (and Hermione) that N.E.W.T.s were coming and everyone should be studying extra hard. Ron, Harry, and Hermione all sat at the dining table in the great hall discussing all the extra homework they had since arriving only a few days earlier.

"Snape is an absolute nightmare!" Ron wailed. "How can he assign three essays in one session, I mean, there have got to be rules about this sort of thing. If there aren't enough hours in the day to do all this homework, how can they expect us to get it done?" He looked hopefully at Hermione as if he expected her to recite a school rule that would get him out of this assignment.

She looked at him sympathetically. "I expect he is just angry to see the three of us in advanced potions again. I bet he didn't think we would continue once it was optional. I also don't think he was expecting us to get enough O.W.L.s in our fifth year to even be accepted in his class. That caught him off guard. He's still bitter." She smirked. Harry heard her say us but knew she meant him and Ron. Her marks in potions were always above average. He thought this as he noticed how close she was sitting to him. He could feel her thigh rubbing up against his jeans and he willed himself to move away from her touches, but he could not bring his physical body to do it.

Harry cleared his throat and made him self contribute to the conversation. "Well McGonagall is no better, and she likes us. We've already been told to learn five difficult transfiguration spells this week. It makes me miss the good old days when we only had one."

"I know what you mean, mate. She's not as nasty as Snape, but she's just as determined to make sure we have no free time for ourselves," said Ron sadly.

"I think we may be able to set aside some alone time later tonight, Ron. I'll help you with what homework after dinner and then..." she trailed off with a mischievous smile on her face.

"I thought you weren't going to help us with our homework this year," he replied, with a smile of his own.

"I think I can make an exception in your case."

Just then, Harry's fork dropped loudly on his plate and stood up abruptly. "I'm not feeling to well, I think I'll lie down for a few minutes before herbology." He hurried off leaving Ron and Hermione staring at him with baffled expressions on their faces.

Later that night after Hermione had helped Ron with his homework, she told him she wanted to go upstairs and freshen up before their journey to the astronomy tower. As he anxiously awaited her return at the bottom of the stairs he thought about how much he had anticipated this since she had brought it up at lunch. She had been so obvious about it, and right in front of Harry! They had only been alone twice since the year began. When he saw her come down the stars in short brown shorts and a white tank top that clung to her torso as if it were wet, he gasped. He wondered if she had been wearing this under her robes when they were studying. If he had known it, they wouldn't have gotten much accomplished.

Hermione smiled at his reaction; it was what she had hoped for when she decided to change into that outfit. "Are you ready?" she asked, slightly breathless.

"Yeah," he said as he gazed at her body and then rested his eyes on her face. "Hey, aren't you going to get cold?" he asked as he snapped out of his trance.

"Well, I came across a room the other day I thought looked cozy, and I thought we could go there instead. The astronomy tower is sometimes occupied, if you know what I mean." He looked impressed and told her to lead the way. They walked for about ten minutes taking turns and corridors Ron had never seen before. Finally they stopped by a particularly old looking door and Hermione pushed it open. Inside there were a dozen or so huge, fluffy couches, all aimed towards a large and majestic looking desk at the front of the room. Ron noticed that it was indeed cozy and deserted. Hermione lit a few of the torches on the walls and then performed a door-locking charm on the entrance they had used. She then turned around and looked at him with a satisfied smile. He gulped, for she looked ravishing in the light of the fire. She walked over to him, took his hand, and then led him to a couch in the center of the room.

They both sat down and gazed into each other's eyes. Ron savored the moment and thought about how much he loved her. Hermione, impatient with desire, leaned in first and kissed him softly on the lips. Then she kissed him more forcefully, slipping her tongue delicately between his lips and putting a hand on his inner thigh. He moaned, wrapped his arm around her waist, and returned the passion of her kiss. Hermione became keenly aware of her breasts being crushed against his chest, as she pressed closer. She wished he would slide his hand up her shirt and massage her nipples, but his hands remained firmly around her waist. After a few minutes of kissing, she was ready to move on. She slowly slid her hand further down his thigh. He made a sudden move as if to break away, but kept their embrace. She ventured further until she felt the stiff mass under his jeans. Thrills of excitement swept through her body. She had never felt anything like this before, and she began to stroke it with her thumb. Ron jumped back as if he had been stung, a look of horror and disgust on his face. She didn't know what to say; that wasn't the intended effect of the touch.

"Did I hurt you? Did I do it wrong?" she asked, looking embarrassed and frightened.

"No, it didn't, you should-, we shouldn't be doing that!" he yelled, inching away from her.

"Please keep your voice down, Ron!" Hermione whispered loudly.

"Why did you do that?" he asked incredulously.

"I thought it would feel good, for you, I mean," she replied uncertainly.

"It-it did, but, still, it's dirty, we're too young. You shouldn't be touching that until we're, we're... married!" he finished lamely.

She almost laughed, but then caught herself. Was she hearing him correctly? He got up, mumbled something about needing to go, and hurried through the door. "Ron! Wait!" But he was gone. She sat there confused and upset; this was not how the night was supposed to turn out. Was he really that much of a prude, or was it something else? She got up, put out the torches, and quietly left the room.

As Ron hurried through the halls trying to find his way back to familiar territory, his mind raced. What did Hermione think she was doing, trying to touch it? That was something that easy girls did to make stupid boys like them. That wasn't what loving young couples did. Hermione already knew Ron loved her; why would she need to resort to that sort of thing? That was not something he wanted Hermione stooping to just to impress him. He thought of ways he should tell her this as he found the Gryffindor common room. He needed to talk to someone about this, and only one person's name came to mind.