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Hermione P.O.V.
I may have made a mistake.
The past few days I have been biting my lips over the thoughts in my head rethinking why did I asked Harry Potter out on a date a week ago. Our relationship or friendship was fine we didn’t need to change it. But now it has become something else. I know I had to, but it was the when. The when is making me doubt. Harry and I have been in a friendship for many years, but something changed during the war. Memory of the first change is blurry for myself, but the emotion was intense and it was confusing at the time. The days in the tent are when the emotion of our friendship became different, and it was there from the beginning. I felt it the most after Ron left us alone to find the Horcruxes alone. I know he apologized profusely for even thinking about leaving or even letting the necklace influence him, but he did what he thought was right and in turn let me reflect over my actual feelings for him. I had days when I cried to myself after he left but that changed physically when Harry asked me to dance. It wasn't just the dance that changed this relationship into a physical one but the fact that we didn't know how to stop until Ron came back. I keep on telling myself this was the support and comfort that I needed since Ron left us. The entanglement and the climaxes that pushed us over the edge with each other in each other's arms promised warmth and safety. But after Ron return to us, we all but stopped the comfort between us and we returned to how things were. Ron and I and Ginny and Harry together. In my mind it was for the best, but after Harry defeated Voldemort and we gradually return to our regular lives that was far different from the ones that we had before the war, something wasn't right.
What came next was a confession and a proposition. First came the confession and it was from Ron who wanted to explore fun new people before we got together officially. He said this as I was about to depart for Hogwarts again without him or Harry. In that moment I didn't feel anything for him, actually I felt relief that he didn't want to continue this pretending anymore. I had known for a while that there was someone else, but I didn't know who they were or for how long.
“Ron I've been knowing you for years, how long have you been seeing her?” I asked.
“Since I left the tent,” Ron replied.
I looked him into his eyes to see if there was a hinted truth that he wasn't telling me, but also I didn't care much to know so I nodded in response. I didn't care who it was, and it would be better if we did explore fun new people. After boarding the train to Hogwarts, Ron and I didn't communicate as much. In all fairness I just want my mind to be off the subject entirely for the entirety of my Hogwarts stay. But then the proposition knocked on my window one icy night in November with his messy jet-black hair and the smell of a treacle tart, and I was stressed out in my head girl’s room.
“How long have you talked to Ron?” Harry confused.
“Since I left for Hogwarts this year,” I replied, not looking up from my book but taking note of his smell as he inched closer to me. “Why?”
“He has announced that he's expecting a kid.”
“Oh, really tell him that I'll send him a gift basket soon as the congratulations,” I smiled, but continued to look at my book. I had a radio playing in my room as I studied It was one of the few things that I learned from other muggle-borns this year at Hogwarts on how to get electronics to work in Hogwarts.
“Do you want to know who she is?”
“No, not really before I left for Hogwarts, he told me that we should explore new and fun people. So…”
“I’m sorry, Hermione.”
“It’s okay, I’m over it.”
The radio on my desk ended its commercial break and faded into the song. The song we danced to in the tent. The song stopped me in my tracks, and I turned my attention to the radio just so I could relieve the moment back in the tent in my head. Almost forgetting that Harry was in the room with me and he could hear the song too and offered his hand out once more to join him in a dance. I hesitated for a moment and then put my hand in his.
The dance this time was closer than the last but more intense and comforting. So much that I began to feel his lips on nape of my neck and I was letting out a soft moan. Somehow the song ended and we were already on my bed with lust in our eyes. I didn't expect it to happen that night at Hogwarts of all places but the next morning with him calling me he whispered in my ear: the proposition.
“We can continue this as something like a friend with benefits situation, if you want?”
I didn't think anything about it deeper because I wanted more, but I agreed, and we continued this charade for a lot longer than I expected. I even graduated from Hogwarts and moved into my first apartment in London, and he was there to christen my bed. However, he would come over all the time just to hang out with me. Sometimes with other people, but most of the time with me alone. Sometimes I would find myself lying on his shoulder or after a long night together he would cuddle me in bed. So, after two years of this friends with benefits relationship that we've been having, I just blurt out the question that I’ve had in my mind since we were in the tent together.
“Can we go on a date next Sunday?”
Even though he agreed ecstatically, I felt a sense of regret after saying it. Maybe he doesn't want to change things. What if this date destroys our friendship and relationship? Why did I destroy the only thing that was keeping me comforted and full of warmth?
I gave him a set of boundaries that I wanted before the date the main one was to keep physical contact between us limited. Meaning I didn't want us having sex before Sunday. He did groan a bit at the idea but agreed, nonetheless. Then he laid out his boundaries stating that he wanted to plan the whole thing and instructed me to do one thing to do and that was make myself look hot. His words, not mine.
Now I'm sitting in my room struggling to put on my high heels with a halter strapped black dress that went down to my midthigh and dark red lipstick as makeup. Once done I looked at myself in the mirror one last time, took a deep breath, and headed out to the door.
Harry POV
Everything is to perfection! She will most certainly love this!
The restaurant was decked out in twinkling lights out on the balcony dining. An assortment of white roses covering the awning and the entryway. It was picturesque. I found my best black button-down shirt and formal pants for the occasion. I had planned this whole idea in my head years ago but with our arrangement I kept on putting it off. When Hermione asked me last Sunday for this date, I realized that I did way too long and also got comfortable in our situationship to even think to ask. But to make it up to her I assured her that I will handle everything that will go on this date. To the restaurant which I rented out for the night to the flowers and lights that I asked the restaurant to decorate for us.
There was a change in the way I felt with Hermione ever since I offered her our first dance together back in the tent. At first my intention was to find comfort after Ron left us alone. It wasn't fair to the both of us and I thought this would be the best way to cheer her up. But after seeing her laugh and smile at least once on this trip, I craved for more. I brought her close as the song ended. Both of us took in the smell of each other then she whispered:
“You smell nice, Harry”
From then on, we gazed into each other's eyes and this led into nights where we couldn't get enough of the physical touch with each other. But all that stopped after Ron came back. We both had to put a front that nothing between us happened to protect both Ron and Ginny even though she wasn't physically there.
After the defeat of Voldemort, I tried to return to my everyday life as it once was but that was more of a challenge. Ginny was the first to notice this change within me. We tried working it out but I was not the same person I was when she first met me back in my first year at Hogwarts. My mind was somewhere else, mainly Hermione Granger. Even though it wasn't clear to her who my sights were on she understood that we were now two different people that wanted two different things.
After slowly drifting apart and then eventual break up with Ginny Weasley, I held out hope that Hermione would ever change her mind. Sometimes I do feel a sense of doubt over whether anything that we were doing in the past would affect the outcome of our present. Our friendship, maybe even our relationship as it stands now. As I prepared for her arrival, I pushed aside a lot of my doubts and hope that she wants this as much as I do.
I grabbed the huge bouquet of roses from the table as the waiter gave the queue on her arrival. As she walked out to the balcony, we greeted each other as I admired her black dress and handed her the bouquet of red roses.
“Thank you, Harry,” Hermione greeted with a smile so bright it would make any man envious that they didn't have this in their lives. She took the red roses and smelled them and I ushered her to the two chairs dining table. Once seated our waiter came by and took our orders and left us alone for our date.
“Everything looks so nice Harry. No wonder why you wanted to plan out our date.”
“Yeah I know the best spots in town,” I fibbed. This restaurant doesn't look like this every day, but it does have the balcony and I was creative. There was a pause in between us. Not sure what to say next but Hermione was the one to break the silence.
“So how is Auror training?”
“Fine just fine,” I replied. “how are things at the ministry?”
“Fine it just seems like everything is slower than the task that we had in Hogwarts.”
Another pause grew between us when the waiter delivered our food and we began to eat.
“How do you feel Hermione?” I asked after a few bites.
“To be honest with you I'm a little anxious.”
“To be honest with you I too am a bit nervous about this. What made you ask me in the first place?”
“I just blurted out I was intentionally waiting for you to ask me but…”
“But, what?”
“I feel something between us. Something else that we should explore other than exploring our bodies.”
“With all respect I do like your body”
She laughed and took a sip of the wine, “I like yours as well Mr. Potter but I like your stamina better”. I raised a brow in cockiness as she continued. “But in all seriousness, I started craving being with you every time you came over or when I was around you. That’s why I said I wanted to try us as a proper relationship.”
“So, nothing tonight?”
“No please let's just have a date tonight and see if anything is between us.”
I nodded in agreement, “I guess I should confess to you that I've been having feelings for you for a long while but…”
She weighed patiently for me to finish.
“Have you ever thought about me as a boyfriend before we started this?”
“Yes, back in the tent. It was really during the dance actually. But Ron kept flowing back into my mind.”
“Yeah, he would have been devastated had we got together then. But I can't say that now.”
“I think him and Lavender are a great match since she has grown up since the war.”
“And the baby's cute too,” I smiled.
“Is this why you wanted to plan out our date even though I asked you? Were those feelings finally realized when I asked you?”
“Yes, very much so I wanted to make a great first impression and make this date a great one.”
“You have out on yourself Mr. Potter.”
“Thank you, I'm glad you like it.”
Our conversation led on for an hour or so until the paid violinist offered a song for us to dance to. As we were in each other's arms we kissed for the first time as a couple starting their journey as a dating couple.
“Thank you so much Harry for this and I can't wait for our next date!”