Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
A/N: This is the first of many beta-ed oneshots. Thank you StarAngel613! Extra hugz and cookie dough for you hunni! Anyway, I hope you like so please review! The title is by her so… thank you hunni!
Why Did I Ever Run Away?
"Who's a gorgeous puppy doggie woggie?" I cooed at my new and tiny little puppy. "You are! Yeah! You are!"
The puppy made a funny, giggling sound and pawed at my fingers, licking at them.
"Aww you're so cute!" I grinned down at him, tickling his belly.
"What are you going to call him Hermione?" my roommate, Anne, asked me, grinning as she held her fingers over the puppy's mouth. His long, pink tongue licked her enthusiastically, making that funny giggling sound again.
"I dunno," I said, sighing and gazing down at him. "How about… Rex?"
"No, too common."
"Bruce?"
Anne gave me a look of disgust.
I laughed softly and said, "Ok… how about Aristotle?"
"We are not naming the dog after a Greek Philosopher," Anne said, glaring at me.
"I don't hear you suggesting anything!"
"Armani?"
"We are not naming the dog after a fashion label," I said, glaring at her.
"Well then I dunno."
"Hmm," I hummed, frowning down at the puppy. And then, it dawned on me. The perfect name. "Snuffles."
"What?"
"Snuffles!"
"Are you serious?" Anne asked, grinning slightly.
I smiled and said, "I used to know someone who could turn into a big black dog. He liked his 'code name' to be Snuffles. And this gorgeous little doggy," I said, leaning down and kissing his chest, "is a little black dog. It works!"
Anne laughed and said, "Alright then, Snuffles it is."
A tapping on the window startled me and Anne looked up at it to see a snowy white owl perched on the windowsill. "You've got post!"
I smiled as I saw whose owl it was, and stood up to open the window to let Hedwig in. "Hey girl," I said softly, holding her on my arm and untying the rolled up scroll from her leg. "Anne, could you get a bowl of water and some crackers for Hedwig?"
"Sure."
Hedwig fluttered off my arm to the floor to waddle after Anne into the kitchen, leaving me with Harry's latest letter. I sat down, opened it and smiled again as I saw his familiar writing, which is surprisingly neat for such a messy boy.
'Dear Hermione,
Not much has happened since I last owled you. I've actually just finished my last assignment at the office and I finally have some time to re-organise my extremely messy desk. Or maybe this is the time for us to finally meet up again?
How about a nice picnic in that park we used to always go to after school finished? Under that huge tree we used to sit under. You don't need to worry about bringing anything. All I need is you and maybe a batch of your yummy chocolate chip cookies.
Owl me back as soon as you can. I really miss you.
Love, Harry.'
I let out a deep breath and the letter dropped from my hands to my lap. I smiled and leant my head back on the headrest of the sofa. I felt a small push on the side of my thigh and looked down, seeing Snuffles almost grinning up at me again, obviously wanting a rub on the tummy. I tickled his stomach and his head flopped to one side, panting slightly, his pink tongue looking so cute between his sharp and white teeth.
"I know!" I muttered to myself, grinning at the puppy again and standing up abruptly. I found a scroll of parchment, a quill and some ink and sat down at the breakfast table to compose my letter to Harry.
'Dear Harry,
Of course I'll come! I'll make two batches of my cookies, just to see your smile again. And I've got a little surprise for you. I'll bring him along with me! Why don't we go tomorrow afternoon? How about around one thirty? It's my day off and you said you've got your free time now. If it's not a good day for you, just owl me back and propose another day! If I don't hear back from you today I'll assume tomorrow is ok.
Well, I'll send this off with Hedwig now. I guess I'll see you tomorrow (hopefully).
Love, Hermione.'
I sat back and re-read my short reply. I nodded to myself and walked into the kitchen to see Hedwig drinking thirstily out of the bowl of water Anne had brought out for her.
"Hedwig," I said, walking over to her. The owl looked up at me and stuck out her leg. "Take this as fast as you can back to Harry," I murmured to her. Hedwig hooted softly and reassuringly and hopped onto my shoulder. I walked through the apartment to the window she had come through and she jumped out, spreading her magnificent wings and gliding through the air, towards her master.
"So, you're meeting lover boy tomorrow?" Anne asked, grinning at me from the doorway.
I blushed slightly and said, "He's not my lover. And how did you know we were meeting tomorrow?"
"You read the letter out loud," she said, shrugging at me. "C'mon Hermione, you know you want him," she said, now with a silly smirk on her face.
I rolled my eyes at her and said, "We're old friends Anne, nothing more."
"That's not what you were saying last night," Anne said, giggling at my now bright red face and I remembered back to the night before when I woke up in the middle of moaning Harry's name. Anne had been standing the doorway, giggling so hard that she was almost crying.
"That's not funny!" I said, glaring at her and crossing my arms.
"Oh come on Hermione, you had a laugh at me when you caught me gaping at your friend Ron."
"That's different. You're not old friends with him," I said, sighing.
Anne frowned and said, "You're not denying it now?"
I shrugged and said, "What's the point? I can't deny it to myself so I may as well not deny it to people who notice."
"Why don't you tell him?"
I smiled weakly at her. "He doesn't feel the same way, believe me."
"How do you know that?"
"I just do."
"Yeah, but how? How do you know that for absolute certainty? Has he actually told you he doesn't want to… be naughty with you?"
I laughed at the silly remark and said, "No but it's just the way he is with me. He's so free, just like he is with his friends. I can just tell from the way he's like with me compared to the girls he really likes. He's awkward and cute around them. He's completely happy and funny when he's with me."
"Did it ever occur to you that maybe the reason he feels so free with you is because maybe he's known you for so long and he's fallen for you? He's let you see how he really is. With those other girls you mentioned, he doesn't let them see the 'real him'," Anne said, looking thoughtful.
"Since when were you so insightful?"
"I did some psychology when I was studying to become a healer sweetie," she said, grinning at me. "And I'm just sooo smart," she said, in that trademark-Paris-Hilton-tone of voice.
I laughed and said, "Alright. Thanks."
"Hey, you know you love me," she said, smirking at me again.
"You've given me something to think about and that's all I'll give you," I said, smiling at her. "But for now I must be off to start making cookies."
"Oooh your yummy chocolate chip ones? Can I help?" she asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Please?"
"You may help me mix the cookie dough but you're not allowed to eat it raw! Remember what happened last time?"
Anne hung her head in shame and said, "Yes. I felt sick because I ate too much."
I smiled and led her into the kitchen. "Then let's start!"
The next morning, I woke up to a little pink tongue licking my cheek and four tiny little paws pressed into my stomach and chest. I opened my eyes to see Snuffles panting down at me. He saw I was awake and jumped off me and lay on his back, his little legs in the air, wanting another rub on the tummy.
"Hello gorgeous," I murmured, smiling at him and tickling his stomach. "You're going to meet a new friend today."
I tickled his chin and he began to lick my fingers, holding my wrist in between his front paws. I smiled and took my hand from him, tickled him one last time and then pulled the covers back to get out of bed.
I had a quick shower, got dressed and then went out to the kitchen to have breakfast. Anne was already sitting at the breakfast table, eating very slowly while reading the Daily Prophet.
"Morning!" I said brightly, pulling the bread and jam out of the pantry.
"Morning," she said, in a less than enthusiastic tone of voice. "Rita Skeeter managed to find out that the Appleby Arrows seeker is sleeping with one of the Wimbourne Wasps' chasers'. Doesn't that woman have a life of her own?"
"No," I said, frowning. "Don't you remember when I was in fourth year she wrote those horrible articles about me and Harry?"
"Oh, I remember those! I was in third year and everyone couldn't understand how you got the attention of two famous wizards," Anne said, smirking at me. "How did you do that?"
I rolled my eyes and said, "I was only going out with one."
"Oh, you're seeing Harry today aren't you?" she said, still smirking at me. "Did you have any dreams last night?"
I glared at her and began to smear jam over my bread. "No."
"Why did you two stop seeing each other?" she asked suddenly, frowning. "I remember you guys were stuck at the hip last year."
I finished coating my bread in a thick cover of jam and sat down next to Anne at the table, eating and thinking very hard. I remember the last time I saw him, just as if it were yesterday.
"Hermione?"
I shrugged and said, "We had a fight."
"I didn't hear anything about this," Anne said, in mock outrage. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, in a softer tone.
I shrugged again. "You were pre-occupied with passing your final exams to become a Healer, remember?"
"Oh. Well, can you tell me what happened now?"
I smiled and said, "If you really want to know."
"Hermione!" Harry yelled through the apartment, having just aparated in.
I heard his shouts and frowned. He wasn't supposed to have followed me home.
"Hermione you can't run from me like this!"
"I can too," I whispered.
He tried to open the door to my room, to find it locked. "Hermione let me in!"
"No."
"We need to talk," he said firmly, drawing his wand. "If you don't open it I will!"
I moved back from the door and watched it as it burst open, almost falling off its hinges. Harry was standing in the doorway, red in the face and glaring at me. I pursed my lips and folded my arms, glaring back at him.
"Get out," I said softly.
"Not until you tell me why you ran," he said firmly.
"I should think that's obvious."
"Well explain it to me then because I'm a 'stupid male'."
"We weren't supposed to do that!" I burst out, uncrossing my arms, and curling my hands into fists. "We're supposed to be friends Harry! Nothing more! I can't believe that I let you…!"
"Hermione you wanted to," he said, glaring at me. "It's supposed to be a good experience, not cause for a break-up of a friendship."
"Let me FINISH!" I screamed, the muscles in my upper body tensing up very painfully.
"NO!" Harry yelled back. "You LET me do it Mione! I ASKED you if you wanted me to stop!"
Tears came to my eyes as I shook my head at him, "I'm not saying that we did that against my wishes Harry. But we shouldn't have done it."
"So you felt absolutely nothing?"
I couldn't answer that question. He was standing there, his eyes filled with tears, staring at me and waiting for me to answer him.
"I don't want to get hurt again," I whispered.
"Hermione, this is me," he said softly, inching closer to me. "I would never hurt you."
I crossed my arms again and turned my back on him, the tears escaping my eyes. I felt him come up behind me and turn me around slowly.
"I don't think we should see each other for a while," I whispered to him.
He leant down and kissed my lips softly. I kissed him back but then I pushed him away. His eyes as he disaparated were… full of such pain. I half wanted to follow him, but I knew that if I did that we would end up in the situation we had been in the night before.
"That's what happened," I said softly, finishing my bread and jam off.
Anne sat there silently, staring at me incredulously. "Why on earth did you do that?"
"Because we did what we did for the wrong reasons. I wanted it to be because we were in love, not because we just felt horny."
"Well, I think you're a royal idiot for doing that," Anne said, shrugging and taking her plate to the sink to wash it up. She drew her wand, waved it and the plate began to wash itself. "Hermione, he's your best friend."
"Look, I said what I said because of how I felt."
"Alright," she said softly. "I'm not going to argue with you and ruin your day."
I smiled and said, "Good."
"Alright boy," I murmured to Snuffles as I made my way down towards the tree Harry and I used to always sit under. "I'm going to be ok, right?"
He grinned up at me from the ground, prancing along towards Harry.
I couldn't help but smile as I watched his excited step and his tongue out and panting. Harry stood up as he saw us approaching, a sort of look of relief on his face.
He smiled and began to walk to us. "Hi 'Mione!" he called.
Snuffles yapped and strained at his leash, trying to get to Harry as fast as he could. "Calm down boy," I scolded him. "Hey Harry!"
"Is this the surprise?" Harry asked, grinning down at the puppy. He squatted and Snuffles jumped up at him, licking at his face.
I smiled and said, "Yeah. But take a guess at what his name is."
Harry picked Snuffles up and stood up to face me. "Hmm… Rex?"
"Nope."
"Aristotle?"
I smiled and said, "No. I'll give you a hint though. A bigger version of this gorgeous little boy had a code name."
"Snuffles!" Harry said, grinning as he tickled the puppy underneath his chin.
"Correct," I said, scratching Snuffles behind the ears.
We began to walk to where Harry had set the picnic up. "When did you get him?" Harry asked, kneeling down with the puppy.
"A few days ago actually," I said, sitting down next to Harry. "We decided on a name just before you sent me that owl yesterday."
"Ah yes, and how is Anne?" he asked, scratching Snuffle's stomach and looking up at me.
"She's good. She tried to eat half the cookie dough we made yesterday," I said, smiling at the memory.
Harry laughed and said, "I remember when she first discovered your wonderful skills in making chocolate chip cookies. Speaking of which, you do have my two promised batches, don't you?"
I smiled and brought forth the backpack I'd been wearing. I unzipped it and brought out two plastic containers, holding the said cookies.
"Mmm," Harry murmured, grinning as he saw how many I'd made. "You wonderful woman."
I smiled and said, "So what did you bring for us to eat?"
"Well, I've got sandwiches, fresh fruit, some nice cheeses and biscuits, a caramel slice and a thermos full of hot water so we can have tea or coffee," Harry said, bringing forth a huge picnic basket and opening it to reveal to me the wonderful thing he had brought.
"There are enough sandwiches to feed an army in there," I said, smiling. I looked up at him and said, "This'll be great."
A long while later, after we had finished half the sandwiches and one whole batch of cookies off, we lay down next to each other, Snuffles in between us, watching the now fluffy pink and orange clouds form shapes above in the sky. Snuffles was fast asleep, completely full since Harry had decided to give him two sandwiches and some cheese.
"Well, I'm full," Harry said, rubbing his stomach and exhaling deeply.
"You've had an elegant sufficiency Harry," I said with a smile.
He smiled and turned his head to look at me. "I've missed you," he said quietly, his hand finding mine and squeezing it softly.
"I've missed you too," I murmured back, turning my head to look at him, noticing how close we were. "And… I'm sorry that we've had to be apart for so long."
He smiled reassuringly and said, "I knew that eventually we'd be back where we started Mione."
"If Snuffles wasn't in between us I'd roll on top of you now," I whispered, squeezing his hand.
Harry let go of my hand and picked Snuffles up and set him back down on the ground on the other side. He then turned back to me and smirked. I laughed and crawled on top of him.
"Do I have your permission to kiss you?" he asked, still smirking up at me.
"You do," I whispered, closing my eyes as his lips touched mine. I broke the kiss a moment later, feeling an odd presence in the middle of my back. Harry automatically looked worried. "Snuffles," I said, exasperatingly, reaching around my back to tickle the puppy that was curled up in the middle of my back.
Harry laughed and reached around me to pick the puppy up again and set him down next to us. "Naughty boy," Harry scolded him. "You're not allowed to interrupt us when we're kissing."
Snuffles just rolled onto his back, expecting a scratch on the stomach again.
"I should get him home anyway," I said, sighing and scratching his stomach.
"Come back with me," Harry murmured, looking up at me.
I bit my lip and said, "That's how the problem started."
"Hermione, I'm not going to do anything you don't want me to."
"I want you to do that though," I whispered.
"Then come back with me."
I looked away from him, down at Snuffles. He was almost asleep again, lying there with his little paws up in the air. I looked back at Harry and sighed. "I just don't know."
"Can I take you home then?"
I smiled and said, "Sure." I rolled off him and picked Snuffles up. "Come on honey," I murmured to him. "We're going home."
Well, we dropped Snuffles off at the house and after a few awkward words with Anne, Harry and I disaparated back to his house. It was just the same as the last time I'd seen it. Everything was still arranged the same way and it even smelt just as it did a year ago.
"Do you want a drink?" Harry asked softly.
I looked at him and smiled. "Sure."
I followed him into the kitchen and sat down on the bench across from the fridge. He pulled a bottle of champagne out of the fridge and found two champagne glasses in the cupboard next to the fridge.
He opened the bottle and poured the champagne into the glasses. He carried them over to me and handed me one. "To… Snuffles," he said with a grin. "May he live as long as Sirius did, if not, longer."
I smiled and took a sip of the sparkling liquid.
Harry set aside his glass and stepped right in front of me, parting my knees so he was standing between them. "To you," he said softly, picking his glass back up. "My beautiful Mione."
I took his glass from him and set them down next to us. I'd made up my mind. And this time I was not going to run.
I pulled him by his collar to me and kissed him lightly on the lips. I felt him smile slightly and wrap his arms around my waist, picking me up off the bench. My legs tightened around his waist and he deepened the kiss, his tongue now flickering in my mouth, making me release a small groan of longing in the back of my throat.
"Are you absolutely sure?" he asked, breaking the kiss for a moment, staring deep into my eyes.
"I'm not going to run this time," I murmured, kissing him again.
"Good," he whispered, kissing me again and beginning to make his way in the vague direction of his bedroom. We managed to make it to the wall opposite his bedroom. By now I could feel the rather large bump in his pants as he pushed my back up against the wall. He was kissing me desperately and running his hands tentatively up my back, under my shirt.
"Bedroom," I said into his mouth, opening my eyes. He opened his and nodded slightly. He set me down on the ground and we finally made our way into the bedroom, still attached at the lips, fingers desperately trying to undo the irritating and frustrating clothing still on our bodies.
Harry finally let out a small groan of frustration and ripped at his shirt, making the buttons pop off. It fell from his back to the ground and he ripped at my shirt.
I bit my lip and smirked at him. "Excited?"
"Of course," he murmured huskily, kissing me again, his fingers going around my back to my bra strap. He managed to take it off within five seconds and pulled it away from my body. One of his hands automatically went to my breast, rubbing his thumb over the erect nipple, making me gasp slightly at the feeling of his bare skin against mine.
He picked me up like a baby and carried me to the bed, setting me down very carefully, his lips attached at my neck, slowly moving down towards my chest. As he attacked my breast with his lips, tongue and teeth I gasped again, clutching at the back of his head and the sheets beneath me. I was distantly aware of his other hand fumbling with the clasp on my skirt, since he was still attacking my chest, switching from breast to breast, making me groan a little louder each time his tongue slithered over the sensitive skin.
He finally stopped, having managed to undo my skirt. He pulled it down in one fluid motion and tossed it in the vague direction of our other clothing. I sat back up and pulled him back to me, kissing his lips hard, now straddling his lap. I undid his pants and we stood up on the bed, letting them fall down before Harry kicked them off onto the floor.
All we were left in was our underwear. Our lips were swollen from kissing each other so passionately and my breasts were still throbbing from the attack Harry had made on them. We were just standing there, gazing at each other. I stepped forward to him and kissed him again on the lips, feeling him encircle my body with his arms. He picked me up like a baby again and knelt down with me, sliding the last of my clothing off and letting it slide to the ground. He slid his own underwear off and leant over me, kissing me again. He wasn't quite lying on me yet though, but I could feel his swollen member pressing into my thigh.
He rolled over on top of me and kept on kissing me, one hand holding my wrists above my head and the other holding the back of my left thigh up, so that my leg was curled around his back. He finally entered me, causing me to gasp slightly. He thrust his hips forward, making me groan into his mouth again.
It felt like we were there for ages, slowly coming to our climaxes, our breathing speeding up, my heart feeling as though it was up in my throat. Finally, I reached my limit, groaning Harry's name out, hearing his groan a moment later. We lay there for a moment, catching our breath again, my fingers entwined in his hair, rubbing the back of his head in an almost soothing way.
Soon, he rolled off me and we settled down, underneath the bed sheets, Harry clinging onto me from behind.
I opened my eyes sleepily, squinting at the sunlight shining through the crack in the curtains across the window. It took me a moment to remember where I was, but then I smiled and turned around to see Harry still fast asleep, the bed sheets pulled down to his waist.
I leant over and kissed his cheek softly. "Good morning," I whispered, seeing his eyes open at my touch.
He smiled and said, "You didn't leave."
I crawled on top of him and kissed his lips softly. "I don't think I'll be leaving very soon if my nights are to be like that for a while," I said with a smirk.
He grinned widely as I rested my forehead on his, touching his nose with mine. "I hope they'll be like that forever Mione."
"Me too," I whispered.
"I love you Hermione," he whispered back, looking quite serious all of a sudden.
I smiled and kissed him again. "I love you too Harry."
A/N: I do hope someone picked up on how Harry thought of two of the same names as Hermione for the dog… lol. I just love writing them thinking along the same lines. Anyways. I do hope you liked it… I hope the horny readers liked it :P lol. And now, I would ask you to review! Make me happy:D lol. Hugz and kisses and cookie dough to the people who review!
Alex