Best Friends with Benefits | By : Christina_Potter_09 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Hermione Views: 42556 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1 |
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. |
Best Friends with Benefits
By Christina Potter 09
Chapter One – Best Friends
It’s a good idea until it becomes a bad idea and it becomes bad really, really fast…
‘Luna Lovegood, I swear I will kill you with my bare hands!’ Hermione hissed as her blond friend set the five year old girl on the couch of Hermione’s sophisticated living room and looked at the brunette with completely calmed eyes. The two women moved to the kitchen and closed the door before they could talk.
‘Come on Hermione, I need you take care of her, my father can’t help anymore and you know it, I have to go to Greece in search of the Basilisk breeders, my discovery will be historical!’ Luna finally said with her dreamy voice and Hermione rolled her eyes as she straightened up the simple black dress she was wearing.
Luna Lovegood was known for a lot of things, her part in the second Wizarding War, for her friendship with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, for her fatherless daughter, little Morgana Lovegood as Luna never accepted to reveal who is the father of her child, she was also known for her crazy believes and Hermione right now was rolling her at one more.
Everyone knew the Basilisks’ reproduction had been stopped through law because of the level of danger such creatures could cause, the Greeks were the ones who had made them first in ancient years but they had been stopped, especially after their civil wars when they used the Basilisks as weapons. Now Hermione had no idea how Luna could believe they were still in the making and she certainly couldn’t believe that she had to babysit her Goddaughter for Lord knows how long when she was to be getting in Hogwarts in the next day as to teach for the first time.
Hermione Granger had finished her final year in Hogwarts in the class that started in the fall of 1998 and ended in the spring of 1999 along her best friend, Harry Potter, they both needed their NEWTs to keep up while Ron had decided to follow his dream and become a Quidditch player. Harry had gotten in the Auror training program in 1999 and Hermione had decided to try and be a part of the Ministry’s New Age as people called it, in the department of Law Enforcement.
She was soon disappointed and dropping out after almost three years of trying to make changes and always encountered people who either stopped her, brushed her ideas away or ultimately passed laws that none cared to follow. People don’t change and Hermione realized that with a heavy heart, a realization that led her to quit from that position but not give up completely, she was a fighter and she believed in change, and what better position to make a change than educate the young?
For the next two years after her quit from the ministry, she remade the tales of Beedle the Bard and then made two more books of history and magic from a clear point of view, but even if the books became best sellers –something rare for books of education and not romantic novels- Hermione wanted more, she wanted to be more drastic, and so she became.
Her decision to become a professor for Hogwarts School was something that made many people smile and think positive of the education the young people will be having from such a bright woman. Minerva McGonagall was glad to accept her best student back in Hogwarts as the Professor of Transfigurations.
‘What am I supposed to tell McGonagall? That I will have to take Morgana with me? She won’t accept such thing,’ Hermione said exasperated but Luna smiled and shook her head.
‘She already accepted, I flooed her and she agreed, she knows you’re ‘Ana’s Godmother and she knows my researches are truly important…’ Luna said and Hermione looked at her friend with her jaw dropping.
‘You talked to McGonagall behind my back? And she accepted?’ Hermione asked in shock and Luna smiled dreamily.
‘I didn’t talk to her behind your back, I talked to her for your behalf, it’s my child and I didn’t want you in any kind of trouble… She said there’s no problem, and the fact of Harry being at Hogwarts a lot also helped as McGonagall knows how important is for Morgana to be around people she knows.’ Luna said with a victorious smile that made Hermione groan, unbelievable!
Hermione and McGonagall had applied over the summer for a new kind of seminars for the seventh year students from the ministry. The community needed new Aurors for the actual law enforcement and security of the people and the Hogwarts students needed to know more about how the Aurors worked in the academy before they were to become professionals, the life of an Auror was tough and the young people had to know what they were to face.
The seminar had been approved by minister Shacklebolt (who was doing his best through a semi-rotten ministry) and none else but one of the most promising new Aurors was to take care of the seminars, Harry Potter would be visiting Hogwarts twice every week for the seventh year students and Hermione couldn’t have been happier to have her closest friend there.
After the war, Hermione had tried to be with Ron and Harry had tried to be with Ginny but things hadn’t turned out as some people wanted. The pressure and the darkness was gone and Hermione and Ron saw that there were far more things separating them than keeping them close, so after a few months of screams, tears and frustrations, the two decided to stop trying so hard to achieve what others accomplish just because it’s meant to be, their friendship survived and now they were better than ever with a good distance making them have quality time together as friends whenever they were close. As for Harry and Ginny… the lack of depth and base in their relationship while he was 16 and she was 15 led them to be two strangers when they reunited after the war, true to be told, Harry had turned into a darker man because of all the things he had been through, he needed a woman to understand and help him while he would be hard to open up and share things as pushing people away was in his nature. And Ginny failed to stand up to the expectations, she didn’t know him and even if she tried, she couldn’t get to know him when he was already a grown and formed character, sculptured by the war yet sensitive and even fragile when you get him to accept you inside his heart.
They ended up suffering, with Harry taking the guilt for not finding Ginny enough for him, not trusting her enough to reveal his true self, and Ginny being always left out and broken since whenever she tried, she remained out and in many occasions even had to call Hermione and Ron for help. Ginny didn’t have the patience to get deeper when she had already waited for his return and didn’t have the courage to risk and scream some sense into him, she had imagined and fell in love with a totally different person from what Harry truly was.
By their mistakes, they both were led to feel like strangers and at the end, betrayal was the last blow.
Dean Thomas was always a man who cared about Ginny, even when she had eyes for Harry’s big name and persona, and he was there for her when she finally saw that imaginary figure falling to reveal a man scarred by the war and in need of someone stronger. Dean and Ginny had been in a relationship in secret for months before the thing were out, leading Harry to break up with her and close up a little more as he had hoped in some way for things to get better in his personal life. He wanted someone to be there for him, and all he had gotten so far were girlfriends who got mesmerized by the scar and lost the pain in the eyes, and that was killing him inside.
All those unfortunate events had led Hermione and Harry to get closer than ever, if that was possible, but they were happy to be so devoted to each other, knowing how to make the pain and nightmares go away and at the same time have fun like normal people and that helped a lot since they had none else closer to their hearts.
‘Luna, sometimes I hate you!’ Hermione said as she pointed her finger at her friend who only smiled and hugged her tightly.
‘Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I knew I was choosing the best when I had you for her Godmother!’ Luna said and Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed as she hugged her friend too, maybe this was a good chance…
‘You’ll never tell me about her father, right?’ Hermione tried and Luna moved a bit away and smiled at her friend sweetly.
‘No…’ Luna said and Hermione almost pouted, she couldn’t even guess who the guy was and she knew Luna had her own reasons but sometimes, curiosity was eating her up, she had spent endless hours talking about it with Harry and they couldn’t find out who the guy could be, Morgana looking exactly like Luna with her blond hair and amazing blue eyes didn’t help at all.
‘Momma? ‘Mione?’ a little, sleepy voice was heard and both women looked at the door, where little Morgana had opened it and was looking at her mother and Godmother, both women smiled as the girl approached and Hermione took her in her arms and kissed her cheek lovingly, truth was, Morgana was her weakness, Harry had once told her that the responsibility would be heavy, to be the godparent of a child, but the smile they you and consider you family is amazing, and Harry was right.
‘Hello, my little beauty, you’ll stay with me for the next period of time… how that sounds?’ Hermione asked and Morgana smiled and hugged Hermione tightly.
‘Mummy told me, I can’t wait, and we’ll go to Hogwarts!’ Morgana said and Hermione smiled and nodded her head as she hugged the little girl tighter. Luna took out of her pocket a shrunk suitcase and left it on the table of the kitchen.
‘Everything’s inside, clothes, books with fairy tales, her favorite stuffed bunny, everything, her talismans for the Nargles, it’s all in there.’ Luna said and Hermione nodded without reacting to the talismans and the rest of the things Luna believed in, Morgana was there with them and her mother’s believes and power shouldn’t be questioned, no matter how crazy her mother was.
Luna hugged her baby girl tightly and smiled at her, before Luna could give Morgana back to Hermione, the front door opened and closed and both women smiled, they knew who had keys for Hermione’s apartment apart Luna, the Grangers and Ron who rarely used them as he usually apparated in to Hermione’s disapproval.
‘In the kitchen, Harry!’ Hermione called out and Morgana squalled the moment she saw Harry entering with a smile and his keys in his hands, Sirius’ repaired motorbike’s and Hermione’s flat’s keys included since they both had chosen to live in Muggle London and apparating with loud “cracks” wasn’t the best option… he set the keys down as Morgana left the ladies and hugged Harry tightly as the man scooped her up in his arms and blew playfully in her neck, causing her to squeal.
Harry Potter had grown to be a very handsome man; everyone had to admit it… His glasses were gone ever since he started his Auror training, he had built up even more through the hard exercises and his face had turned even more muscular as he had decided to keep an unshaven look that he took care of every few days, his eyes were more pointed than ever and after the hard days of war even if had been the one most wounded, he had an almost never absent smile on his face that made everyone look up to him as the new dawn after a very dark and cold night.
‘Guess who we’ll be babysitting for the next months…’ Hermione said and Harry grinned and tickled Morgana as he approached, hugged with his free arm Luna who hugged him back and then moved closer to Hermione, hugged her with one arm and kissed her cheek, like he always did. Luna grinned as she looked at them but Hermione’s warning glare prevented her from vocalizing her crazy believes about the two of them.
Don’t even think about it!
Fine…
Fine!
Luna had been on and on about how great Harry and Hermione would have been together and Hermione was tired of listening to these things again, Harry was her best friend, he wasn’t her brother, she was well aware of that, but he was her closest person, her rock, just like she was his backbone. There had been random thoughts during their years from her part only as far as she knew, thoughts that were chased away as she wouldn’t have her friendship jeopardized over periodical phases, they had achieved to build the most trustful and powerful friendship of all and she wouldn’t play with it.
‘So how are you, girls, nervous?’ Harry asked and at his last word he looked at Hermione who shook her head, snapping herself out of her thoughts.
‘I could never be nervous while returning to my favorite place,’ Hermione said and Harry and Luna smiled proudly.
‘The Library,’ they both said and Hermione nodded in an obvious way, making the three adults laugh and then smile at each other. ‘So when do you leave?’ Hermione finally asked Luna who spoke after kissing her daughter’s little hand.
‘In a couple of hours, my portkey will be activated then and I’ll go straight to Athens and from there to some islands for the next weeks, in the fall and winter there are less tourists and it’s better for people like us to move with more liberty.’ Luna said and Harry and Hermione nodded their heads. Luna was a free spirit and it wasn’t the first time Hermione would be taking care of Morgana, she even had an extra room in her apartment for Morgana like Harry had for Teddy in Grimmauld, the place he remade to keep. Arthur had repaired Sirius’ motorbike and Harry had decided to remade Grimmauld as well, something that had distressed Ginny but she had never made it to change his mind and instead she ended up helping, along Hermione to remake the house.
‘Great then, try to owl us when you can,’ Harry said and Luna smiled and nodded as she kissed her girl again and then kissed goodbye her friends. ‘Take care and find awesome things,’ Harry said and Hermione finally rolled her eyes as Harry grinned and winked at her. Luna left the apartment and Harry and Hermione were left with little Morgana to prepare dinner.
Things were quiet and comfortable, they had their dinner, chicken and rise that Harry prepared after teasing Hermione for her cooking talents, then played a board game while Morgana drank her milk and Harry and Hermione shared some red wine and then they put Morgana to bed, read her a muggle fairy tale and then moved to the living room, where Harry sat down comfortably and had Hermione pillowing his leg and smiling up at him while they drank the last of their wine in their glasses.
‘I like the dress, it’s new?’ Harry finally said and Hermione smiled and nodded, of course he would notice, they were seeing each other almost daily so he knew most of her clothes.
‘My mother bought it for me today, I kind of like it even if the neckline is too low for my taste, I guess I’ll modify it a bit so I can wear it at Hogwarts too,’ Hermione said and Harry grinned as he glanced for a split second at the said neckline… Hermione had turned into a beauty ever since her teen years, he had noticed from 1994 and now had to admit, she was more beautiful than ever, hair in curls, healthy body and a face as if taken from some portrait, warm chocolate eyes, petite nose and two cute lips… She was his family, his sister, or a sisterly figure as much as his only child knowledge could allow him to know, but he had eyes too and he could see the woman pillowing his leg, he finally smiled and then grinned.
‘I think the male population of the student body will be happy with the neckline…’ he commented and Hermione slapped his arm playfully. ‘But then of course I will have to be there twenty-four seven to hex all those hormonal blokes…’ Harry added and Hermione grinned and rolled her eyes.
‘I don’t need protectors,’ Hermione said and Harry nodded.
‘And I don’t need males lusting after you,’ he blurted out and wasn’t sure how that came out, in the years he was closer to Hermione, ever since the Horcrux hunt to be exact, sometimes, he dared to imagine how things would be if he and her… he tried to understand why everyone, even Ron who knew them both better than anyone else, had thought Hermione and he would be together… but he always pushed away such imaginations and ideas, Hermione was a part of him, more than a sister, more than a best friend, she was part of who he was and he wouldn’t risk anything upon some crazy moments –that could last weeks and months- Hermione was Hermione… he couldn’t place her in one title anymore.
Hermione didn’t comment on what he had said as they looked at each other for a long moment, usually they talked through their eyes but right now she was feeling as if not listening, it was her imagination, they were like siblings, she was her brother, that was long ago decided, they were just too close and she was misreading obvious brotherly concern. Harry was close and they had a bond many people mistaken for romance… she was doing that right that moment too so she decided to stop acting foolish.
‘You think I’ll be a good professor?’ Hermione finally asked the question that was eating her up all summer, Harry smiled and played with a lock from her curly and not so bushy hair anymore.
‘I think you will be a fantastic professor!’ Harry said honestly as he looked down at her and she smiled, needing the encouragement. ‘You think I’ll do good with the seminar? Or I’ll have only the Potter fangirls as candidates?’ Harry asked and Hermione grinned and took his hand in hers.
‘I think you’ll do great, the community needs new people as Aurors, after all; you’re the only ones who actually do something drastic, the rest is lost in the paperwork and the protocol. Even Kingsley didn’t make to change things…’ Hermione said and Harry grinned.
‘A “you’ll be amazingly awesome” would have been enough, Miss Granger,’ Harry said and Hermione grinned as they played with their fingers.
‘I wouldn’t dare feed more your ego, it might explode and destroy my living room…’ Hermione said teasingly and he poked his tongue at her.
They remained in comfortable silence after that, both thinking about the next day when the new term in Hogwarts would begin, both of them having no idea how many things were going to start along the term…
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