Betrayal

Chapter 5

Later that night in the common room Ron stared into Hermione's eyes as she patiently tried to explain what he had done wrong in his second Potions essay. "Ron, are you listening to me? Ron!"

"What? I'm listening."

"What did I just say then?" Ron looked at a loss for words for a moment and then spoke.

"You just said that I'm the most handsome wizard alive and... you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me. Oh, you also said that I was a better kisser than Vicky." Hermione laughed out loud.

"Oh, I did, did I?"

"At least that's what I heard in my mind." He smiled slyly. She smiled back. This was one of the reasons she loved him. He was so funny and charming and cute, when he wanted to be. She was still pretty upset about their conversation that morning, but what could she do? She looked around the common room. They were alone. She hadn't seen Harry since dinner and wondered where he was. Ron was still staring at her.

"Well, I guess this is pointless." She handed him back his parchment. He rolled it up and put it in his backpack. He then leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips.

"I really love you, you know."

"I love you too, Ronald Weasley." She took his head gently into her hands and kissed him with as much passion she could muster. Her tongue flickered in and out of his mouth as she ran her hand through the hair on the back of his head. She moaned softly and inched closer to him, pushing him against the back of the couch. He slid his hands around the bottom of her waist and pulled her closer still. As she leaned over him her mouth left his and settled on the soft skin next to his collarbone. She sucked on the area gently and massaged it with her tongue. Then she kissed her way gently up the side of his neck to his earlobe. He let out a long slow breath and his grip around her waist tightened. His fingers grazed her bare skin between her jeans her shirt. This sent a warm tingling sensation down her spine and between her legs. She gasped and slid her tongue inside Ron's ear when-

"Hermione!" Ron sat up quickly, which made her jump back a little.

"What?" She asked, looking around the room and thinking that another student had caught them. Ron's cheeks flushed.

"Nothing, I-I just think I should go to bed! It's getting late and... Well, 'night, Hermione." He got up, grabbed his backpack and raced up the stairs. She sat back on the couch, a little breathless from their embrace, and stared up at him until he was out of sight. He had left her so abruptly with such an intense physical desire that she needed a moment to regain her composure.

Just then Harry stepped through the porthole positively drenched. He was wearing blue jeans and a thin white t-shirt that was pretty much see-through and clinging to his torso. Hermione noticed that he had filled out a lot over the summer; his chest was broader and more chiseled and the muscles of his stomach rippled beneath his shirt. Hermione also noticed that the way the rain was dripping from his unruly hair down the sides of his face and his muscular back made him look very sexy indeed. When he saw her he grinned.

"I was out on the grounds doing my potions essay when it just started pouring out! I had no time to get back before getting soaked!"

She broke from her trance and smiled warmly up at him. "Let me get you some towels; you must be freezing!" He put down his equally soaked backpack and stood in the middle of the room, not wanting to go near anything for fear of dripping all over it. Hermione returned with two large, fluffy towels. She gave one to Harry, who wrapped it around his shoulders while she attempted to dry his hair from the front. Harry became keenly aware of how close their bodies were as she dried his hair. She had to stretch to reach his head since he was much taller than her. As she did this, her breasts grazed gently against his chest and he took a quick step backward. "What's wrong? Did I pull your hair?" She stepped towards him holding the towel out in front of her.

"No-I'm fine..." he stammered and took the towel away from her and proceeded to dry his own hair. She studied him for a moment. He seemed jumpy and nervous all of the sudden, but damn, he looked good.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing. Did you finish your essay?"

"No, was having trouble remembering the number of times you stirred it after adding the first two ingredients."

"Do you want me to look it over? Ron and I were doing ours before you came in. He just went to bed."

"That would be great. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not. Why don't you give it to me and I can look it over while you put on dry clothes." He pulled it out and handed it to her.

"You are the best, Hermione, honestly." And with that he went up to the boy's dormitory to change.

Ron was passed out on the bed with a dreamy look of his face when Harry entered the room. Harry shot him a quick look of disgust and changed quietly. When he got back to the common room, Hermione was making comments on his parchment and scratching things out. She looked up and smiled. "It's actually pretty good. There's just this bit about dragon's liver that's incorrect. It needs to be puréed before you add it, not chopped."

"You sound impressed. Have you no faith in me, Hermione?"

"None whatsoever. I'm shocked that you even spelled your name right." He laughed. Hermione could be quite funny at times.

"Ron's essay was a mess! I think he does a bad job on purpose just so I spend extra time with him."

"Who could blame him?" Harry immediately regretted these words as they came out of his mouth and looked away. Hermione just smiled and swiped playfully at his knee.

"You're worse than Ron!" He was relieved that she took it as a joke rather than the accidental declaration of his love that it was. He sat down next to her and asked her if her and Ron were really okay. The smile left her lips and she looked over at the fire. "I guess..."

"Oh, come on Hermione, I know you're not. I could see it in your eyes this morning. Your red, puffy eyes." She looked sharply at him and he felt as if he had overstepped his bounds. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..."

"No, it's okay. You're right. I'm not okay, but what can I do? I love him," she finished simply. Harry's stomach did a flip at her last statement, but he put his arm around her anyways.

"I know you do, hon. He is such an idiot about these things. I don't get it." She nuzzled into his shoulder and put her head on his chest. It felt warm and firm beneath her cheek. She could feel his heart beating.

Inside, Harry was dying. She was so close to him. He wanted nothing more than for her to look up and kiss him deeply on the lips. He would pull her onto his lap and kiss the nape of her neck as his hands found their way inside her shirt and traced her nipples. Harry's groin began to ache and he was becoming aroused. He had to get out of there fast or Hermione would surely see. "Listen, Hermione, I've got to get up to bed. I'm exhausted." He shifted away from her and stood up quickly. "Thanks loads for your help with the essay."

"Um, okay, I didn't do much, though. Good night Harry!" She called after him as he made his way up the steps. No one wants to be around me these days, she thought to herself. This was the second man to leave her abruptly just when she was starting to feel good. She couldn't help but remember how good he had looked when he was soaked. How had she never noticed his body? Because you are dating his best friend, said a bossy voice from the back of her head. Right... She sighed and wondered wickedly what it would feel like to run her fingers through Harry's untidy hair and feel his lips on her skin. She didn't think he would just want to kiss and then hurry away. She felt a pang of guilt, then anger. This was Ron's fault. If he would stop being such a saint and loosen up a bit, she wouldn't have to fantasize about their best friend. Their very handsome, incredibly sexy, best friend. She sighed again and thought, It's not as if anything would ever happen between Harry and I anyways. He seems repulsed by me too. But it's still fun to think about...