Harmione|| Always And Azkaban

Chapter 9

The Friday Hermione had had, was...different. On October 21st, Granger had experienced her first kiss. It was sweet. It was passionate. It was amazing. And it was in front of the entire school. She wanted to scream to her mother, but they could only speak on Saturdays on a private line. While the girl bounced around her bedroom, negative thoughts couldn't help but feel attracted to her head. Did Harry like the kiss? How am I going to act around him now? Was this really the best thing to do while a homicidal maniac was on the loose? Hermione thought of it all. And just like that, the bouncing and giggling had turned into nail-biting and frustrating groans. All of a sudden, a knock appeared at the door.

Anxiously, Hermione ran to the door and took a moment to collect herself before opening it. When she opened it, she was surprised to see Harry Potter standing there in all his perfection. "Oh, hey," Hermione said nonchalantly on the outside but with a scream on the inside. "Hey, um...can I come in?" Harry asked awkwardly. Hermione moved to the side, letting the boy in.

There was an awkward atmosphere surrounding them both. "So...about what happened at school. I..." Harry trailed off. 

"The wish,"

Hermione blurted it out. "Yeah, I-I wanted to say thanks for...you know...faking that kiss-thing at school for me. It must've really pissed Cho off." Hermione lied. He looked at her and found himself with disappointment on his mind. "Yeah," he played along. "Cho looked shocked, but Ron just called. Everyone thinks we're dating now."

Hermione was at a loss of opinion. On one side, she was happy not to have received the embarrassment she would've endured if she had him told that she actually loved the kiss, but then there was a side that shed a tear that Harry didn't share her affection. "So what now?" Hermione asked. "Now, we make you the most popular girl in Hogwarts. Us pretending to be a couple already gave you a boost but now we need to make you the best." Harry replied.

As his wheels started ticking, Hermione saw the boy begin to dig through her closet. "What are you doing?" she asked as she saw her shirts, jeans and sweaters get thrown all over the room. "Looking for something that doesn't belong in a 1980s fashion catalogue," Harry replied with a hint of sass. "As I suspected, nada. Wake up early tomorrow, Granger. We have a long road ahead." Hermione looked at the boy with questions in her eyes. "Why?" she asked. "You'll find out."

Harry then left the girl's room, and with her, he left a lie to linger. Walking back to his room, Harry James Potter thought of how his heart sank when Hermione told him her kiss was insincere. Because it honestly was the warmest feeling he'd felt in a long time.

~

The weekends were a treasure. They were the only days when boys and girls got to sleep late and not worry about catching the bus to school. But for some reason, Hermione found herself waking up at 6 AM on a Saturday to meet Harry at breakfast. "Morning, sunshine," Harry chirped as he took a sip of his morning coffee. Hermione only cringed. "Where are Sirius, Tonks, Lupin and Teddy?" Hermione asked as she took a seat next to him. "Lupin had papers to grade and a meeting at the university, Tonks was paged in for an emergency heart transplant surgery, Sirius is at a board meeting over at Potter's Law and Teddy is at daycare,"

"So it's just us and a few friends for the day," Harry replied. "What friends?" Hermione asked with a quirked brow. Harry put his cup down and took out his wallet. He opened it once and let a layer of gold, diamond and platinum debit cards fall down before the brunette's very eyes. "We're going shopping, Granger."

Harry and Hermione left the house and entered the red Tesla. Hermione looked over at Harry, dressed in a stylish red outfit, and couldn't help but feel small. He wore a black, leather jacket over a red and black top with a pair of Air Jordans, a red Michael Kors watch and a black ring she heard belonged to his father. And James Potter wasn't a man of many cheap possessions.