40 Days

November 27, 1997

Sleet pounded against the tent at a dull roar, but the inside of the tent it was sweltering. A large fire burned in the middle of the tent, suspended in the air. The inside of the tent seemed to be a place outside reality, dim, not letting me see clearly, no matter how much I strained my eyes.

I panted, moving on the bed, slightly up, slightly down and as he rubbed against me rhythmically, and my nails dug into his shoulders.

"Tell me again." He demanded.

My voice was high pitched and trembling, cutting off each time he pressed against me. "I th-thought you wouldn't—you wouldn't—w—want me. You liked Cho... and then Fleur... and then Ginny..."

"Were you jealous?"

Memories came to my mind, watching Harry stare at those other witches, pushing down how I felt until my feelings were even hidden from myself. Then trying to focus my attention elsewhere like Mclaggen, Krum or Ron.

We were almost naked on the bed, just thin barriers between us and I could feel the hot length of his cock as Harry ground into me. The locket scraped against me with his movements, and I thought maybe I could hear the pulsing Harry had told me about, too. Or maybe he was so deep inside my soul now I could hear the echoes from him.

A low vibrating pulse, almost like a heartbeat came from the locket each time it made contact with my skin. What was it?

What was the question?

Jealousy .

"Yes!," I practically hissed the words as my thighs trembled against the outside of his hips.

He kissed me after I answered, his lips moving lovingly against mine, exploring my mouth leisurely. He had endless patience as he played with me as the hours passed, asking me questions. Taking his time to dig into the hidden corners of my soul, dragging them out to examine them with a smile.

Harry broke the kiss wetly, our lips parting reluctantly. We were both sweating in the heat both from the fire and the proximity of our bodies. His face was flushed red, lips gleaming from our kiss. His hair stuck up wildly, although mine was probably worse, but it didn't matter because he had rarely let me up except for necessary things, keeping me under him in bed constantly. He filled my whole world rising above me, caging me in with his forearms on either side of my head while casually asking me things I would never have told him.

"Do you want me to make love to you?"

I froze at this question. The words dug into me, searching for an answer. The curse clutched at me to squeeze the truth out, but how could it when I didn't know the answer myself?

"I don't know. I don't know!" I gasped against him, trying to suck in air as his magic tightened around me. I closed my eyes against the sharp lash of his magic. Harry was angry at that answer.

My eyes watered and closed them tight, unwilling to cry in front of him again. I couldn't understand him, no matter how hard I tried. Why was he doing this? What was he after? With how tightly he had me wrapped in his curse, he could make me answer however he wanted. He could make me believe whatever he wanted.

Tell the truth.

But Harry wanted only the truth from me, and that was actually, unexpectedly, much more devastating.

"That hurts me, Hermione. I want to make love to you." His voice was so soft. "I love you."

I opened my eyes at that, searching his eyes for the truth. "Then remove the curse and give me the locket, Harry."

He ignored me, still focused on his own agenda. Intent on knowing all my pitiful secrets. He rolled his hips against me, and I whimpered. I was on the verge of climaxing again and I was overly sensitive to his touch.

"Come for me."

I screamed under him, my body jerking up against his as pleasure raced through me. My legs tightened on his hips and my nails dug into his back and he groaned against me, guttural and low as I felt the warm wetness spread between us.

The pulses of my climax were drowning me, and I felt empty as my body tightened.

I wanted to feel him inside me. Fucking me.

I shook my head, trying to dislodge the thought when he spoke again.

"Come for me harder , Hermione."