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Symbiosis	By : MmeFleiss Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Hermione Views: 10035 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
- 4
�Symbiosis�
(3/?)

By MmeFleiss

Disclaimer:
This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK
Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books,
Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner
Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement
is intended.

AN: I'm going
on vacation for two months starting in October, so I'm not sure if I'll be able
to upload the next part after it gets written and before I move back to the
States. Sorry. <.< Thanks to Jenn
for the beta, as always.

*~*~*~*~*

�I can�t believe that you haven�t started cleaning yet!�
Harry heard Hermione shriek as he materialized directly outside Ron�s front
door, stumbling a bit as his feet encountered solid ground and in the process
dropping the old pair of spectacles he�d used as a Portkey.
He pressed his forehead against the cool wooden surface and attempted to will
his roiling stomach still. The Ministry�s method of choice for international
travel was never fun, but the experience became exponentially worse whenever it
involved moving between continents.

He was still regretting the rather large lunch he�d eaten at
the going away party his co-workers had given him when Hermione continued her
lecture unabated from somewhere inside Ron�s flat. �You knew
he was coming to stay with you. The least you could�ve done was utter a quick Scourgify or two.�

�Oh don�t be so uptight. It�s nothing he hasn�t seen before.
Besides, he�s been living over in Africa, hasn�t he?�

A charged silence followed Ron�s statement. Harry couldn�t
help but chuckle under his breath as his mind�s eye conjured the familiar look
Hermione had directed at Ron over the years whenever she felt he was being
particularly thick, eyes narrowed and teeth grinding audibly. �Despite popular
opinion,� she eventually said, tone noticeably arctic,
�civilization does exist outside of England.
They�re not all still living in houses made out of mud and sticks, you know.�

�That�s not what I��

�Actually,� Harry decided to interrupt from his position
behind the door before things got out of hand, �I spent about a month each year
living in one of those. It�s part of survival training.�

�Aha! So I was
right!� Ron crowed.

�If you were actually capable of listening, you would have
realized that what Harry actually said was�� The door suddenly slammed open,
giving the off-balanced Harry a momentary close-up of Hermione�s smiling face
before she lunged after him. �Harry!� she exclaimed, wrapping her arms so
tightly around his waist that for a moment he couldn�t see anything past the
citrus-scented mass of bushy curls pressed against his face. �Why didn�t you
knock?�

�I was about to. I was just taking a moment to recover.�

�Oh, then I�m probably not helping any, am I?� She said as
she backed away, eyes wide and two identical splotches of pink staining her
pale cheeks.

Harry couldn�t help but grin at the sight of her deceptively
meek expression. Though rare, it had misled more than one potential boyfriend
over the years into believing he�d be dating a harmless kitten, only to
discover a lion. �Don�t worry about it. I really am feeling much better.�

His smile only got wider as he looked past Hermione�s
shoulder and found Ron, as usual, frantically trying to accomplish his task at
the last minute. He was barely visible through the stacks of used dishware
being banished into the kitchen whilst dirty clothing scattered throughout the
room sluggishly joined the line of soiled linen marching towards the bathroom
hamper. It didn�t take long before the lanky redhead noticed the extra
attention afforded him, and the whirlwind of activity paused as he looked up
with an answering grin. �Welcome home, mate.�

�It�s good to be back.�

For the past six years, Harry always had this irrational
fear at the beginning of every holiday and weekend they�d spent together that
Ron and Hermione would just naturally come to prefer the best friend they�d
each spent the most time with and unintentionally leave him behind.

His concerns proved to be just as unfounded as usual,
however, for they�d barely gathered around the dining room table to gorge
themselves on the numerous boxes of Indian takeaway scattered about when the
redhead--in typical fashion--bulldozed past whatever awkwardness remained with
the latest installment of the improbable-but-true adventures of Ronald Bilius Weasley, aged twenty-four.

�So there I was, right?� he was saying in between vicious
stabs at the uncooperative hunk of chicken on his plate. �Walking
around in the countryside without my wand, practically starkers,
and with my skin a bright orange thanks to my new partner�s botched spell--when
this lorry almost ran over me. But instead of trying to help, the driver
just stared at me for a bit as if he couldn�t believe his eyes. So then I
raised my right hand and told him, �I come in peace� to keep him calm, y�know? Before I knew it, it was all over those Muggle newspapers that I was some kind of alien and the
Ministry was giving me a citation for improper use of magic.�

Harry choked on the bottle of beer he�d been imbibing, his
eyes watering whilst Hermione�who sat directly on his left�patted him on the
back and rolled her eyes. �Why is it that you�re always getting yourself in
these ridiculous situations?�

�Hey! Like it�s my fault that they paired me up with such an
incompetent� witch.�

�You were going to say something else, weren�t you?�

Sensing that he�d managed to put his foot in his mouth again
somehow, Ron caught Harry�s gaze in a silent plea for help. Unlike the panicked
redhead, however, the shorter man had taken note of Hermione�s relaxed posture
and concluded that she was merely taking the piss. He stuffed a spoonful of vindaloo into his
mouth and shrugged with a complete lack of apology.

Ron stuck out his tongue in response before turning his full
attention back to Hermione. �Now I realize that you don�t like that Word That
Must Not Be Said, but you must admit that some people deserve the name.�

�It�s careless remarks like that
which perpetuate the continuing misogynistic attitudes��

Harry tuned out the rest of the mock argument, smiling
fondly as he watched the familiar sight of their heads bent close together like
two bulls preparing to take charge. It didn�t take long before Ron�s argument
withered under Hermione�s logic, and the redhead retaliated for it by reaching
across the table amidst a clatter of silverware and tickling her sides.

�Y-You arse,� she gasped in between giggles, her hands
attempting but failing to reach his torso.

�You kiss your mother with that mouth?� Ron demanded with a
smirk as his wiggling fingers sped up.

�H-Harry!� she pleaded breathlessly. But the third member of
the group merely continued eating his plate of naan and chicken vindaloo as if nothing at all out of the ordinary was
happening. �S-Some hero you�re t-turning out to be!�

�I do believe you were just insulted, mate.�

�Then I guess I should teach her a lesson as well,� Harry
replied, his emerald eyes twinkling as his hands joined Ron�s.

For a while, the only sounds emanating from the tiny flat
were of furniture getting knocked over mingling with Hermione�s shrieks and
male laughter. They allowed themselves to be carefree in a way they weren�t
allowed to be in childhood; and even when their horseplay wound down, they
could do nothing but grin at each other idiotically whilst they lay panting on
the puce sofa.

Only a sound resembling an incoming train hurtling towards
them broke the companionable silence. Harry sat up with wand drawn out of
habit.

�Sorry,� Ron muttered, his freckles nearly invisible as his
face turned a bright red before he headed back towards the dining room. �Guess
I should go finish eating dinner.�

Harry rolled his eyes and flopped back down on the couch,
tilting his face towards the still-flushed Hermione whose hair appeared even
bushier than normal after their brief chase around the flat. His fingers itched
to tuck the errant locks back behind her ears, and he gave into the impulse:
enthralled by the way the mahogany curls sprung back up after being pulled
taunt by his roving fingers. It wasn�t until she sighed and her eyes fluttered
shut that he realized that instead of the quick gesture he�d intended--it had
become a constant, petting motion that left the witch beside him almost
boneless in her repose.

�I guess it�s true what they say about owners coming to
resemble their pets.�

�Just shut up and keep going, Harry.�

He chuckled and turned on his side, his hands never pausing
in their rhythmic movement as he redistributed more of his weight on his other
arm. �That saying includes their pets� manners, too, I see.�

�Shh.�

They were still in the same position when Ron ambled back in
a half-hour later, though Harry�s hands had slowed as the constant pounding of
raindrops against the windows only exacerbated his drowsiness. He watched from
the corner of his eye as the redhead moved to the opposite side of the sofa
closer to the crackling fire, rubbing his hands together to ward off the
growing October chill.

�I�m glad to see she finally managed to nod off,� the taller
man whispered as he picked up the bright orange afghan and draped it over their
best friend�s sleeping form. �She�s been running herself ragged trying to free
those damned elves again.�

Harry merely grunted and shifted his weight again to
diminish the pressure on his numb arm, not wanting to end up in the middle of
yet another one of the two�s longstanding arguments.

�It�s because she wastes so much of her free time on them
that she ends up with loser boyfriends like Terry.�

Harry raised an eyebrow and turned to fully face his new
flat mate. �And what does that say about you? I believe she dated you as well.�

�I was the one exception, of course.�

�Oh, of course.� Harry ducked just
in time to avoid the throw pillow aimed at his head, sending it to bump
harmlessly against a sofa cushion.

Ron gave him the finger for thwarting his assault before
sitting down on one of the mismatched chairs and placing his booted feet atop
the milk crate doubling as his coffee table.

�What�s wrong with Terry, anyway? I don�t remember him being
all that bad.�

Ron grimaced, his features scrunched up tight as if he�d
swallowed a bagful of Acid Pops. �He wasn�t. But he�s been the Ministry�s
golden boy for the past couple of years now. If his head gets any higher up his
arse, he�d be Lockhart.�

�Ugh.�

�So don�t you think it�s your sworn duty, as co-best friend,
to rescue our Hermione from such an undesirable partner?�

�My
sworn duty? What about you?� Harry uttered in a high-pitched voice quite
unlike his own. The witch beneath his fingers shifted at the increase in
volume, leading both men to pause all movement as if Petrified;
however, when she gave no indication of waking after a minute, the two felt
safe once again to continue their conversation unhindered.

�It�s not like I�m asking you to do anything special here,�
Ron murmured in between frequent glances at their sleeping companion. �Just do
what you were going to do anyway.�

�What on earth is that
supposed to mean? How will doing my job affect Hermione�s love life in the
least?�

�Let�s face it,� the taller man replied with the same
resigned air one might adopt when one finds oneself having the unenviable task
of inciting something aside from apathy from a centaur. �Once you�re officially
working at the Ministry itself, you�re bound to usurp Terry from his position
in your department. I�m betting his inner git will
come right out after a big disappointment like that.�

�But that�s under the assumption that I�d want to play a
significant role in office politics, which I certainly do not.�

�You�re Harry Bloody Potter. How would you not be even if you wanted to?�

�I got myself assigned to the Petty Crimes Division, seeing
as it�s been years since I actually did any sort of fieldwork. It�s not like
I�ll be working on any high profile cases. Besides, last I heard,
that section consisted of just one other person; aside from my future partner
and superiors, my identity shouldn�t be an issue at all.�

�But you look�� Ron�s voice trailed off whilst he stared
hard at Harry under the bright lights, as if trying to superimpose the current
image with his seventeen-year-old self. The redhead--for the first time,
apparently--took real notice of the slight but significant changes the past six
had wrought, for he sighed and shook his head. ��just
different enough for your scheme to possibly work. Are you really going
to go through with it? Seems a bit of a waste.�

�If I can. Anyhow, it�s probably
better this way. You do realize that
Hermione will emasculate us both if she ever finds out we�re trying to interfere
with her love life, don�t you?�

End (3/?)

*~*~*~*~*
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Symbiosis