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Fumbling Towards Ecstasy	By : MmeFleiss Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Hermione Views: 13963 -:- 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
- 4
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Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (5/6)

By MmeFleiss

*~*~*~*~*

The biggest downside to tossing off before work was that it
made one want to roll over and go right back to sleep. Years of experience should�ve
taught me this, but after my frustrating dream the night before, I figured that
I was better off tired rather than giving anyone I happened to run into a very
rude hello. Just my luck that it coincided with my division�s monthly dueling
exercises.

Unfortunately, this knowledge didn�t make it any easier to
swallow the fact that I was repeatedly getting knocked off my arse by a man so
old that by all accounts he should�ve retired right after Voldemort�s
first reign of terror. The mixture of
other Aurors either jeering at every fall or looking
on as if they�d just discovered that Father Christmas did not, in fact, exist
only exacerbated my growing irritation.

�Let this be a lesson to you,� My partner of five years said
as he swaggered�well, as much as a man with a peg leg could swagger, I
suppose�over to where I laid sprawled on the ground. �I can�t have you getting
overconfident just because I let you win all those other times.�

Well, I suppose that was one
way of describing his decision to start every duel with a yawn-inducing recollection
of some time or other when he managed to be victorious, followed by an attempt
to hex me while I was in the midst of something more exciting like trying to
decide just how many packets of instant noodles I needed to buy that particular
week. I would�ve said all that aloud, but I couldn�t shake off the look of
disappointment that was sure to be on Hermione�s face after finding out about
it. I decided to stay still and whimper instead.

��Boy, don�t
tell me you�re already giving up. How do you expect to learn everything I have
yet to teach you?� The howls of laughter
from some of the onlookers only worsened when he continued to blabber on about
how wonderful he was to a spot above my head and to the left, serving as a
reminder that apart from the bum leg and an ego that would rival a Malfoy�s, old Quintus Hardgrave was also as blind as a bat.

�How did he ever manage to defeat You-Know-Who?� a rookie
whose name I had yet to learn wondered aloud. �He�s complete rubbish!�

I turned to glare at him, once again really grateful that
Hermione had forced me to learn at least the basics of Legilimency so that I
could traumatize him with the true story behind Aberforth Dumbledore and a very
surprised goat. It must�ve worked, because he turned pale and stepped back to
blend in with the mass of nosey parkers behind him.

�What do you lot think you�re doing?� Kingsley�s deep bass
unexpectedly thundered across the training room. �This isn�t social hour!�

Our section chief�s pronouncement was followed by a rush of
saluting before everyone scampered off to their designated areas. Quintus
merely shook his head and offered me a hand, which I politely declined
considering that he was swaying enough under his own weight. Some days, just
watching him pace around our office was enough to give me a severe case of
motion sickness.

I somehow managed to stand back up on unstable legs. I clung
against the wall with a desperation unbecoming of a man many considered to be
the world�s savior, which only prompted Quintus to snort and mutter that, �They
just don�t make men like they used to.�

Kingsley stood unmoving at the edge of the mat with his arms
crossed, an unreadable expression on his face as I raised my quivering arm up
to signal my willingness to continue.

�That�s more like it,� my partner said with a satisfied nod
as he limped back towards his end of our practice space. �Reminds me of myself
as a young man. Why, we had this one battle with Grindelwald where we were
outnumbered ten-to-one. Despite all the debilitating hexes we managed to
acquire, we still��

�Just get on with it,� I interrupted through gritted teeth
as a particularly hard muscle spasm almost sent me falling with only my face to
serve as a cushion.

He obliged by attempting to blast me with a curse that was
so off the mark that it hit the aforementioned rookie instead. I barely had
time to feel righteous satisfaction over it before the subsequent attack landed
above my head, sending me skidding off the mat to avoid the wooden crossbeam
impaling the spot I previously occupied.

�Whoops,� Quintus muttered as he gave his wand a furtive
look before shoving it back in its holster. Kingsley just shook his head.

*~*~*~*~*

�What do you mean there�s nothing wrong with you?� Ron
demanded as he waved a newly-arrived Luna over towards our table at the back of
the pub. �I�ve seen how little you�ve been eating the past couple of days; it�s
just not right.�

�That�s what I told the Healer,� I replied with a grimace as
our waitress took one look at me, pulled her already low-cut shirt down to
expose more of her cleavage, and leaned over to hand us our drinks. I pointedly
looked away towards the other patrons, momentarily riveted by a mass of curly
hair that disappointingly turned out to be much too blonde upon closer
inspection. It was just as well that I chose that moment to lose interest,
because her boyfriend was none too pleased to spot the scrawny bloke sitting by
himself in the corner eyeing his girl and decided to let his feelings known
with a well-placed punch. The publican had both men stunned and bound with
practiced ease.

It probably said something about the sort of clientele the pub
favored that most didn�t find the commotion to be worth a second glance. I
continued my scan of the crowded room, marveling at the amount of people that
showed up to get pissed during Seamus� birthday celebration despite it being
only the middle of the week. Even though it was just half nine, we already had
two instances of a fellow guest trying to dance atop the tables. �I spend my
whole day feeling like I�m going to throw up. I can�t sleep. I also feel cranky
all the time.�

�Are you suffering from any back pain?� Luna inquired as she
airily shooed our disgruntled waitress off and took the seat next to Ron.

My body twinged in remembrance of
the thorough beating it received the day before. �How did you know?�

She shook her head and held up a palm towards me. �How about your ankles? Do they feel swollen?�

I rotated them experimentally. �Now that you mention it��

�And do you often find yourself developing odd food
cravings?�

If only Hermione had been with us; she almost certainly would�ve
realized by then that something was amiss and changed topics. It would�ve
certainly saved me a lot grief. �I don�t think so?�

Luna leaned over to pat me on the arm. �Well, it�s not like
you�re required to have all the symptoms.�

Ron snorted. �You�re making it sound like he�s going through
the same thing as Fleur.�

�Erm��

They both ignored me completely as she turned to look at her
boyfriend. �If you had taken Muggle Studies third year, you would have learned
that their technology had long ago made it possible to transfer an embryo to a
surrogate parent to complete gestation.�

�ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME THAT HARRY IS HAVING A BABY?�

Before I could demand to know if they had both been dropped
on their heads as children, there was the familiar blinding flash of a camera,
followed by Rita Skeeter on the seat next to me with
her Quick Quotes Quill already scribbling madly behind her. �So, is that the real reason for Ms. Granger�s
conspicuous absence? Do tell.�

*~*~*~*~*

�Harry, do you think you could take off the Invisibility Cloak
now? I look like a complete nutter talking to myself
like this,� Ron said as we sat in the stands waiting for the match to begin.

I thought that his decision to support his team by spelling
his entire body bright orange�strongly reminding me of the summer after sixth year
when Dudley overdid the spray tan in an effort to look �rugged��was the most
likely cause of the strange looks, but I was still feeling too annoyed over
what happened two nights before to tell him so.

�This is all your fault,� I said instead: simultaneously
cursing everyone from the paparazzi camped outside my flat (I was forced to undo
the second rushed attempt at a Fidelius charm after I
forgot to take the proper precautions and ended up with my confused neighbors
sparking a debate on mass selective amnesia on the telly)
to whoever wrote the politically correct Muggle text that was the source of all
the confusion. About the only upside to the entire ordeal was that it appeared
to have cut the number of my admirers in half. �Do you know how many Howlers I
got at work after the morning edition of the Prophet came out? Kingsley banned me from stepping foot inside my own
office until it all blows over.�

�Well, at least Hermione didn�t take the news of her
supposed pregnancy too badly.�

I couldn�t help but grin at the remembrance of her hour-long
rant on the Floo the day before. I didn�t even know
that half the stuff she mentioned was physically possible. �Is that what you
call her threatening to come back so she could tar and feather �that nasty Skeeter woman?��

�Sure. She could�ve actually done it.�

We both sighed and shook our heads, my annoyance ebbing away
at our shared disappointment. Any further conversation was postponed by the
start of the match, our cheering in tandem as the lineup for the Cannons zoomed
past one-by-one, their bright orange robes whipping around so wildly that one
of the Chasers nearly ran straight into a hoop. I usually saved the sort of
enthusiasm I displayed then for the Tornadoes�a team I developed an interest
for in an attempt to impress Cho Chang once upon a
time (and retained long after any romantic feelings for the girl had faded)�but
I figured the Quidditch gods would understand my effort at best friend
solidarity.

Our hisses of displeasure were easily drowned out by the
rest of the crowd as the opposing team arrived on the field, their tight v formation
only broken by the two Beaters at the front doing an impressive series of loops
that left a cloud of dust in their wake to resemble a magpie.

�Show-offs,� Ron muttered under his breath.

I could only nod, unable to shift my gaze away from Oliver
Wood. The witches� screams became almost deafening when he turned to wave at
the crowd. A few of the bolder ones yelled out propositions that would�ve had
staunch traditionalists like Fudge rolling in their graves, though they
might�ve been relieved to know that the Quidditch star in question made no
moves to encourage those advances.

It was clear to see the reason why once I managed to loosen
my death grip on my Omnioculars enough to place it in front of my eyes. Up
close it was hard to miss how haggard he looked, the dark rings beneath his
eyes emphasized by his sickly pallor. He also appeared to weigh at least a
stone less than the last time we saw him, which combined with the unmistakable way
he kept scanning the stands for a familiar head of bushy brown hair, was identical
to the figure I�ve been staring at in the mirror all week.

And that�s when it hit me. I wasn�t suffering from something
any Healer could cure; I had a full-blown case of missing Hermione.

�I think this might be a lot more serious than I thought.�

*~*~*~*~*

AN: And here ends the plot point that made this
story two chapters longer than planned (well, what I planned after I realized
it was going to be more than a oneshot). Hermione was
originally going to be gone for just a weekend, but then I decided that
Harry had spent the majority of the story thinking with his other head and
needed something to prove that it's not just another monster in his pants
chest. Whether I actually managed to achieve this or not is another
story.

There�s going to be a bit of a delay before the final
chapter gets posted because I got distracted with writing a pwp
for the erotic_elves challenge due at the end of this
month rather than the last chapter. I apologize to those of you who�ve really
been looking forward to the resolution.

Thanks to Jenn for betaing this. Any mistakes left are mine. Also special
thanks to those who contributed to the �Favorite �subtle� H/Hr Moment� thread
over at Portkey for giving me some ideas on how to
portray Harry missing Hermione.
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Fumbling Towards Ecstasy