Incendio III

After the lovely bath, Harry summoned two white fluffy towels from the linen closet. He wrapped Hermione up first, ensuring that she was bundled up nicely before tying the towel around his waist.

"So," Hermione said, a little anxiously, "now what?"

"Well, I normally down a shot of Ogden's, and then try unsuccessfully to sleep. But tonight, I think I may be able to just brush my teeth and go to bed. Would you care to join me? Or did you have something else in mind?"

She blushed. "That sounds wonderful."

"I have a spare toothbrush somewhere…"

"No need. I packed everything I needed."

Harry turned to her. "So you're really leaving him for good?"

She stared at him soberly. "I have to. He's miserable, and I'm miserable when I'm with him. We just don't work in a relationship. We really should have stayed friends."

Harry nodded, understanding what she meant. He'd never understood Hermione's attraction to the oafish and gluttonous Ron. Harry forced himself to not scowl at the thought.

"Well, if you'd like I can quickly finish what I need to and wait for you in the bedroom?"

Hermione nodded and sat on the side of the tub, watching as Harry quickly, but thoroughly, brushed his teeth. He rinsed with mouthwash and placed his toothbrush in a small glass sitting on the sink.

"You don't floss?" Hermione asked.

"Nah. I thought I'd deliberately drive you insane. Actually, erm, I don't have any at the moment."

"Well, I'm not a dentist's daughter for nothing."

She summoned her bag and pulled a variety of items from within. She set her various toiletries on the side of the sink, and handed Harry a tin of floss.

Harry sighed good-naturedly and allowed himself to be cowed. He flossed with her precise instructions, and then left her alone to tend to her needs.

For the first night in a month, the bed actually looked inviting. Harry cast a variety of cleansing spells on the sheets and made the bed up the Muggle way, turning down the comforter the way Aunt Petunia always did. He grimaced slightly at the thought, and changed his mind, moving the bedding into casual disarray. He wanted Hermione to be comfortable.

A few minutes later, Hermione emerged from the bathroom wearing a short cotton nightgown with embroidered fireflies along the hem. They had been sewn with magical thread and danced along the seam, giving off a faint flicker of light as they moved. Her hair was still damp and hung over her shoulders like ivy on a trellis, curling and twisting beautifully in every direction. Her skin was pearlescent, and slightly flushed. Whether it was from the bath or the sex, he didn't know. All he knew was that he loved seeing her framed in the doorway.

"Do you prefer one side over the other?" Harry asked politely, gesturing toward the bed.

"Well at home…" she stopped short, her eyes alarmed.

Harry froze for a moment but then regained his composure. He went for the casual approach. "Right or left?"

"Left, if you don't mind. Really it doesn't matter much to me."

Harry smiled. "I generally prefer the right side myself."

Hermione gave him a soft smile and crossed the threshold.

Harry stepped around her and walked over to the other side of the bed. He sat down, and took his glasses off, placing them on the nightstand.

Hermione slipped into the bed, pulling the sheets up to just beneath her chin.

Harry turned to face her. "Are you all right? Do you need anything?"

She turned toward him. "Just you."

He flashed a grin and moved toward her, opening his arm and indicating that she should move into his embrace.

She slid into his open arms with a sigh of relief. His arms felt like a protective circle, holding her in, and defending her against the rest of the world. It felt more like home than anything ever had. Though she fought to stay awake, it had been a long time since she'd been able to sleep, and it was only moments before she was pulled under.

Harry watched her drift off into sleep, a look of peace and contentment on her face. He watched her sleep for nearly an hour, her soft sighs making him feel very protective of her. She was so small, lying here in the darkness in his arms. He was never going to let anything hurt her ever again, not if he could help it.

"I love you," he murmured softly before finally closing his eyes.

It was early morning, judging by the hazy grey light filtering in through the window. Hermione blinked slowly, trying to get her eyes to focus properly. A strong arm held her about the waist, and a soft snoring blew the curls at the back of her neck into a little dance with each exhalation.

Hermione couldn't believe that she had actually done it. After such a long time, she'd finally summoned the nerve to leave her "perfect" life behind. In reality it was as far from perfect as it could get. She didn't regret it, not one bit. For once she was doing what she wanted to do, rather than what everyone else expected her to do. The sense of freedom was profound.

Slowly, so as not to wake Harry, Hermione slipped from the bed, inch by inch, until she was free of his arm. She hurried to the loo and relieved her bladder before crossing to the sink and splashing cold water on her face. She wiped away the droplets with a small towel and stared at her reflection.

She looked so pale, so gaunt. All the roundness of her face was gone, replaced by sharp angles. Even though she'd had a wonderful night of sleep, there still remained the evidence of many sleepless nights, illustrated by the raccoon like dark circles beneath her eyes. Her lips were chapped and looked lifeless. Her hair was brittle and frayed, and looked like a haystack.

"This is not good," she murmured to her reflection.

Thinking back to Sixth year, and watching some of the other girls doing their morning routine, Hermione recalled several spells that would help her appearance, at least until she could naturally make up for the damage she had done over the past four weeks. She pulled her wand from within it's special pocket, that she had carefully sewn into all of her garments. With a flick of her wand, her hair had a finer texture, and the tangles were gone. She practiced the wand movements of the next spell a few times before casting, just to be sure. Her lips were moist, plump, and had some of their natural color back. Concentrating hard, she removed the circles under her eyes with a glamour. It wasn't quite perfect, she hadn't used it many times, but it improved her appearance dramatically.

There wasn't much she could do about the obvious thinness of her face, but Hermione felt much better leaving the loo than when she'd gone in.

Harry was sitting up in bed when Hermione walked in.

"Oh my God. It was real," he whispered.

Hermione grinned at him. "Yes it was."

"And you're still here."

Hermione's smile waned.

Harry stumbled from the bed, his arms outstretched. "No don't take it like that! I'm always an idiot in the morning. What I meant to say was thanks. Thank you so much for still being here. You can stay forever. I would love that you know. For you to be here looking like this every day for the rest of forever…"

Hermione silenced his babbling with a quick kiss on the lips.

Harry looked down at her, studying her face in the early light of morning. She looked different.

"Hermione? Are you wearing a glamour?"

Hermione flushed in embarrassment. "Yeah…"

"What for?" Harry demanded, outraged.

"I'm not exactly looking my best…"

Harry protested by picking her up off the floor and kissing her soundly. "You are perfect."

Hermione squirmed, not used to being enfolded in a crushing embrace. "Ow, you're hurting my ribs."

He let go of her immediately with a sheepish look. "Sorry. I just want you to know that I think you're beautiful. You don't need that, really."

Hermione sighed, feeling slightly apprehensive. Last night she'd been able to hide her appearance in the dark, but now, in the sobering light of day, would he still feel that she was beautiful, even without the extra spells?

There was only one way to find out. "Finite Incantatum."

The spells melted away and Hermione looked at the ground, ashamed at her unkempt appearance.

Harry studied her posture for a moment before tilting her chin up with his finger. He studied her face reverently. "You're lovely as you are right this minute. With proper food and rest, you'll be even more beautiful. Well, I'm not sure that's possible but I guess we'll have to see…"

"Shut up." Hermione laughed at his attempt to make her feel better.

"There's that smile. I've missed it." Harry looked at her, all traces of humor gone from his face.

Hermione sobered under his stare.

Harry shook himself out of it. "I need to use the loo, but then, breakfast?"

"That sounds nice."

"I don't actually have much food in the apartment, but we can go out or to the market."

Hermione nodded in agreement and waited for him to leave the room before getting dressed for the day.

Meanwhile, Harry held a staring contest with the mirror in the bathroom before grinning cockily. "You lucky bastard," he told his reflection.

Grinning, Harry left to find Hermione. He wanted to take her to a nice restaurant for a filling breakfast and then, who knew? All he knew was that he wanted to stay by her side forever. It didn't matter what they did, as long as they were together.