Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Returning to Hogwarts	By : TheSlytherinPhoenix Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Hermione Views: 56088 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS AND DO NOT MAKE ANY MONEY OFF OF THE STORIES. I SIMPLY LOVE TO WRITE FANFICS IN THE POTTERVERSE CAUSE THEY ARE FUN AND ENJOYABLE TO ME. THIS IS SIMPLY FOR JOY AND PEOPLE TO READ FOR FUN.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
  Hermione had been so lost in the garden that she forgot she was there to pick vegetables at first. The greenhouse looked so small from the outside, just big enough to walk in a few big steps and turn around- but when she walked into it she was met with an undetectable extension charm that had outdone any she had seen before. Harry kept walking, but she stopped in shock at what she was looking at.
  The garden was as big as the quidditch pitch at Hogwarts, but had three floors with spiraling staircases placed at each corner of the floor as well as in the middle of them. The most shocking part of the space was the seasons on each floor, the level she was on was spring, the floor above her was summer, and the top one was fall with a glass roof above it. The greenhouse could literally grow anything for any season all year round, she could see a rainy section of the spring and summer floor at different sides of the space that was slowly moving across the areas it was in as if it were normal weather while they were in a patch with clouds and sun to give off moving shadows of them around the area. Each floor was its own little ecosystem assisted by the most extraordinary magic she had ever seen, even the underside of each level mimicked the glass roof to make it look like the sky and had real sunlight coming down on the vegetation.
  Harry looked back and noticed she was still at the door but slowly moving forward as she looked around to see the various fruit trees that were along the wall with the door. “My mother had a gift with botany.” He smiled, watching her look back at him with astonishment and a nod.
  “I’ll say! Harry, this is-” She just shook her head and shrugged all at once as she gestured all around them.
  “Every member of the family has added something to this over the years, it used to be all one level, and the original garden was actually as small as it looks from the outside. One of my grandmother’s added the extension charm a few generations back, but my mother was able to bring this place to life.” He gestured around the living ecosystems. “Their used to be a house elf that’s only job was the garden since it had gotten so big, but when my mother got here she turned this place into a world of its own.” He started to point out various fruit trees and exotic fruits, he explained how the summer floor was mostly crop like and was set up so that when you walked into a certain area it also got bigger for planting in full spaces as if you were outside, he seemed rather pleased with the mention of the pumpkins growing in the fall areas of the third floor and the many ponds that actually had fish in them.
  “So where do we go for dinner sides?” Hermione asked, a little overwhelmed but excited none the less.
  “Second floor, middle of the right side.” He pointed to a sunny patch without a cloud around it then led the way to the stairs, he gestured for her to go up first, trying to be a gentlemen- especially since he knew Sirius would ask.
  With her excitement she had a slight bounce in her step as she spiraled up, the iron stairs with ivy vines and hanging neon flowers along the rails and the center beam made it seem as if even the structure was turning into the garden. “What are these?”
  “Hanging Fuchsia Flowers. These were in the original garden, they are along most of the railings among the ivy now.” At the top of the stairs they walked on a stone pathway in the center of the floor, “As long as you stay on the path the areas you are passing will stay small, but the minute you step off it will expand. He smiled at her as she nodded, but was too busy looking at all the varieties of plants they passed almost as they were walking through a street with vendors on each side, Finally they stepped into a space that warped into a small garden with blue cloudless skies and bright warm sun soaking into the ground.
  The dirt was borderline dry and there were three rows of corn, three rows of varying lettuces, several rows of varying tomatoes, peppers, onions and potatoes and all the vegetables in between seemed to have their own little spot full of perfectly ripe food over an area the size of an Olympic sized swimming pool. “Winky can make anything. She threw herself into learning how to cook many kinds of food from all over the world when kicking that butterbeer habit of hers. Kept her busy.” He said as he nodded softly, “She even set up areas to grow her own tea.” He smiled down at Hermione who began to really look at the options and start thinking.
  Unlike the kitchen at Hogwarts, what she wanted wouldn’t just magically appear so she had to think about all of her options carefully, “We need to bring Neville here. We would have to drag him out, of course. He might even try to move in, but it would be worth it to see his reaction. I can only imagine the magical varieties of plants in this place!”
  Harry had not thought to bring Neville, but now that she had mentioned it he had to admit it sounded brutally obvious. “Brilliant. I will owl him, we have a few trees in here that have some owl families.” She spun on him, having been making her way down to the peppers, he stumbled back a bit to keep from running into her.
  “There are baby owls!?” Hermione exclaimed happily, reminding Harry of her niffler outburst.
  “Somewhere, all depends on which pair had babies this season. Would have to check in the trees to see how many there are.” She made a noise, it made his heart race. He liked when she got squeaky, something about it was adorable coming from the grown woman and since it was so rare, even in her youth, he tried to memorize it each time he heard it.
  “I can’t wait to find them!” she was focused once more on gathering vegetables. “Have you ever had ratatouille?”
  Harry nodded and began helping her pick out what they would need. “Neville will be begging my mother for the secrets of this room, she has been rather tight lipped about it. She just smiles and changes the subject.” He smiled a little, remembering the first time he asked her about it. “I imagine if she wont say anything to him that he will be over here often enough bugging her she will cave at some point. Can you imagine this kind of magic at Hogwarts?”
  Hermione looked at him with an arm full of zucchinis, squash, and tomatoes. “What do you mean?”
  Harry was plucking a ripe eggplant, “Minerva is trying to convince Neville to take over Herbology.”
  “Really?” Hermione thought it was a wonderful idea, “How do you know that?”
  Harry smiled the same smile his mother had, “A magician never reveals his secrets.” He watched as she bit her lip before biting back laughter.
  “Oh, Harry. That’s awful! Don’t let Mr. Weasley hear you say that!” she was truly laughing now at his muggle joke that was far too perfect for a wizard to use. When she stacked the eggplant with the growing stack in her arms she pulled out her wand and with a quick swish and flick all the vegetables they had been picking began levitating in the air.
  “After I explained what a magician was to him, he quite enjoyed the joke.” He teased, knowing that joke had been passed around the office after he told the red haired man who was like a surrogate father to him even though he had not married his daughter.
  Hermione looked around again, spotting red potatoes in the distance. She walked over to it, not wanting to use her wand to get them out. Crouching down she dug around the dirt until she was able to pull out a dozen of the smaller potatoes to have Winky make rosemary potatoes. “This place truly is amazing. Thank you.” She watched as the potatoes floated away to join the other vegetables when Harry did his own wand movement before offering her a hand to help her up since she had ended up on her knees to dig around in the dirt.
  He felt the gentle weight of her hand in his, “And you haven’t even seen it all.” he pulled her to her feet with a smile, watching her cheeks flush a soft rose pink before she turned her face from his. A small voice inside his head told him to stop being a coward, pointed out that he had literally survived death and more as he stared evil in the face- yet he could not make himself find the words or actions he wanted to test the waters with the woman that stood by him through it all.
  She pulled her hand from his as she righted herself, “What is your favorite place in here?” She tried to not feel her heart racing, she tried to keep her breathing steady, she tried to shove the blush in her cheeks back deep down before Harry saw she was being ridiculous. She tried this all but only, two out of three were achieved; no matter what, she could not stop her racing heart around him.
  “The vineyard. We have the best grapes up on the fall floor. My grandfather enjoyed wine making, taught my father. He has been relaying that to me to write down so I can try it, but I haven’t had time yet. I aim to attempt it over the summer, you’ll have to come help me.” They started walking back to the stairs, making small talk about the different kinds of wine that could be made from the varieties he listed. As they got back inside, making sure Winky got the vegetables and potatoes as well as their request, they went to the living room to sit by the fire.
  Hermione had been so amazed at the garden she had forgotten it was cold outside and had let out a small squeak before they got back inside. She was more than thrilled to be by the warmth on the little two person couch with a warm mug between her hands. They had been there almost all day, the sun was starting to sink slowly as she watched it through the windows while trying to sort her own thoughts.
  Being around Harry felt so natural to her, there was no effort to simply be herself. She did not have to pretend, there was no need for being perfect all the time, she did not have to worry about upsetting him when she would go peacefully quiet for no other reason than being lost in thought when most were annoyed or offended thinking she was ignoring them, she did not even think twice about making herself comfortable in his home down to slipping off her shoes to roam around in socks when she noticed a bookshelf in the corner of the room that called her.
  An hour after coming in from the garden Harry was idly sipping his coffee as Hermione got swallowed by a muggle book, she was so engrossed in the words on the pages that she failed to notice he was watching her. Harry had always watched her, but not so blatantly where anyone could see, they way emotions played over her features as she read was captivating and it was the only time she was unguarded and allowed each one to show. She was more wild in those moments, more natural and less composed and he enjoyed the way she could relay the story without saying a word. Without even knowing what she was reading he could tell the story was amusing to her, the small smiles and raised eyebrows led him to believe adventure but the small tickles of soft laughter made him wonder if it was a romantic comedy since any muggle books on the shelf belonged to his mother and that had been her favorite.
  It was peaceful and the house finally felt full and not like it was missing something to Harry. Had he wanted company? Was it just Hermione? Would he feel this way when Neville arrived? He had given an owl a letter to take to him to invite him over the next day for lunch. The cottage was meant to have life in it, not underlying sadness which seemed to be all he felt when he was there and not in the room of paintings- but not now, not with her sitting there quietly as she read. It felt like home, like many nights in Gryffindor tower, like countless moments on their journey, like a million events had not happened while a secret built inside that could either bring them closer or tear them apart.
  Winky came out, announcing dinner to the them happily before she scurried off to the table. Hermione was thrilled that the small house elf had set a place for herself and had not tried to hide away; she was a part of the family meal. To both of their relief not a single embarrassing moment was to be had for them, Winky was more than happy to talk about her day to day life with Hermione and the pair of them began to tell her about their new positions at Hogwarts and the students.
  Winky had made sure to have a wine pairing with the meal, taking time to explain how it was one of the few bottles left from the days when the Potters made their own. To Hermione’s surprise the wine was sweet and tasted like a grape had burst in her mouth but she was not prepared for how strong it was, one glass had her feeling the effects and she was slowly sipping on her second one by the time she realized it and was silently saying to pace herself if she did not want to end up asleep on the couch the moment she sat down. Winky had excused herself once they were done eating and now she found herself relaxed and enjoying the warm atmosphere that had settled over the room.
  Harry had also been feeling the wine, but he knew just how potent it was so he had sipped his first glass slower than her, he knew she was probably feeling it faster than him so he tried to take advantage of the situation. “How about a round of wizards chess, ‘Mione?” He hoped that with her wine intake she might be a smidge easier to beat, since he had not managed to ever actually beat her, nor had Ron.
  “Why not.” She spoke with a grin, knowing that she would still be able to beat him even if she had some wine in her. She had been wrong, they were back in the living room on round three and tied on wins, how he had managed to sneak that rook by her was beyond her but she had demanded another round and now it was the last round and it was life or death for her Queen. She had finished off her second glass during round two, Harry as well, and that was when she realized while she had been trying to keep her Queen that Harry had moved his Castle into the perfect position for a checkmate next move. She gasped, moving her eyes up to his to see a smirk on his lips.
  “It’s your move.” His voice was smooth, she could hear the satisfaction laced in it and it made her cheeks flush pink. She did not want to think about how attractive he was with his chin propped on his hand, his elbow resting on the tabletop from where he sat with his knee bent on the floor near the table. The firelight was all the light in the room, it having been enough to light up area of the table they were at. The whole atmosphere was cozy and intimate to her suddenly with the fuzzy mind of wine being faster than the rational side to analyze it all out to reason with her wishful thinking.
  Harry would have agreed with her though, seeing her nibbling at her lip as the many emotions flew across her features was captivating. Usually she was guarded with her emotions, she kept so much to herself after the war and even somewhat before it if he was honest with himself. She had always been an enigma, and now she was there open for him like a book and she had no idea about it. He could see the quick flashes of realization when she saw the pieces, he watched as she tried to find as many ways out of it as she could and then he could see the defeat shine bright as she had gasped as her eyes widened when there was no way out of his checkmate.
  Harry had not been ready for her to look at him though, nothing would have prepared him for the way her eyes focused on him. He could see the brief moment of want, he swore it was a lie he told himself until her cheeks filled with color. He was frozen in place, she forced her eyes away from him but he was sure he had seen it, even if it was brief before she was focusing once more on the game. For the first time since his realization about his feelings for the woman he wondered if it was worth the risk to try. She sighed, her shoulders slouching as she knocked her king over with a pout. “I blame the wine.” She declared, before smiling at him with the hint of pink in her cheeks still visible. Perhaps it was the wine making her blush and not him?
  “Sure.” The sun had gone down by now, “Another round? Or do we call it a night?” she smiled as she shook her head and told him she did not want to lose again with her brain being slow. He helped her stand as he had in the garden and he saw it again, the red blush in her cheeks. “I will show you the spare room.” He led the way down the hall they went down when they first got there as his mind raced, but this time he pointed to the door just past the painting room on the opposite side. “This is it. Should have anything you need, my room is that one.” He gestured to the door at the and of the hall a few paces away.
  Hermione had followed him, taking the moment to stare at him openly without him seeing it. When he turned to look at her she hoped he had not caught sight of her staring as she looked at the door he pointed to then smiled up at him. “Thanks. I will see you in the morning Harry.” But before she could go into the room though, Harry used the Seeker speed he was known for to change everything.
  He had not missed the way she had been looking at him when he turned to look at her, with the wine in him he was slightly more bold and for a small moment he forgot there were consequences. He was not wrong, he had seen it, he had not been lying to himself or daydreaming, there was something there just under the surface for them. Before he could be rational or scared about the ‘what if’ he had reacted; his mind thinking about doing it turned into him reaching out for her. His hand wound into the hair at the nape of her neck and he pulled her into him, his other hand snaking around her waist to hold her tight against his chest as his lips pressed to hers.
  Hermione had been stunned, the fantasy she had played over and over was there and happening and without hesitation she was kissing him back, her hands gripping his shirt tightly as she felt everything spin around her and the dizzying sensation of needing to stop the kiss so she could catch the breath he had stolen. She had felt the burst of fire between them, her eyes were wide as he slowly released her, his fingers dragging along her waist as her breaths came out shaky. His words were thick, his voice full of the fire she felt “Was that the wines fault too?” she blushed as he smiled and forced himself to walk away and into his room before he could touch her again.
- 5
- 6
- 7
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Returning to Hogwarts