Changing Pasts, New Futures

Chapter 8

The taxi ride was long, and the meter had climbed fairly high by the time it pulled into a long dirt drive up to a gate, I watched as Harry climbed out and paid the cab driver before he grabbed our bags from the trunk. Harry reached in and helped me out, and we stood together, staring at the vast land before us, as the cab driver pulled away and left a cloud of dust in its wake.

Harry took my hand in his, squeezing gently, "This is it." I looked around us; beyond the gate was a long dirt road, there at the end there were 4 trucks lined up, beside a red brick ranch style house. There was a small garden near the front of the house, and beyond that there was a large guest house, there were a few men standing about what appeared to be a large pile of blackened wood and smoke was still rising from the ashes of what I assumed was the stable.

Harry picked up our bags and made his way to the fence; he unlatched the gate and opened it slightly to let me and him in, then latched it closed again. He made it to the porch of the house and dropped the bags off, before he turned to me and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, "Annabelle, this is Hermione." He turned me around to face a beautiful brunette women who had a sweet smile, "Hermione, this is Annabelle, my bosses wife." I smiled at her, and held out my hand, she reached over and pulled me into a hug.

"It's so great to finally meet you, and you are even more beautiful than what was described" Annabelle smiled at Harry, and he blushed, rubbing the back of his head. I smiled back.

"Anna, you're going to make me look bad" He winked at her; she laughed, and shooed him away as she grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the porch swing. We both sat down as we watched the men greet Harry and gesture to the burning timber.

"What happened?" I asked. Annabelle's face dropped as she looked out on the field.

"We aren't exactly sure. We noticed it was in flames, and Randy, my husband ran out side to free the horses. We are hoping to find out how the fire started."

I nodded, and turned back to watch the men. There was a loud revving noise, and I turned to look at the gate as another pick up truck pulled up to the gate, and young handsome guy jumped out of the cab and unlocked the gate pushing it open all the way. He got back into his truck and drove it through the gate. He parked his truck beside the other four, before he climbed down and ran back to shut and lock the gate. I noticed Harry look towards the gate and he nudged the one of the other guys he was standing beside, he turned as well. The taller of the guys raised his hand and waved to the newcomer, who waved back and ran down to meet them. They all huddled together and began to discuss something; I was too far away to really catch anything.

I could see Annabelle watching me from the corner of my eye; I turned and looked at her, my eyebrow raised. "What?"

She just smiled and shook her head, we were both quiet for a little longer, but then she spoke "I can't help but wonder how you are here right now. The way James described it, you broke his heart and picked another guy over him, I didn't think you two would ever reconcile or be together." She sighed and looked out the where the men were standing, "He seemed so heartbroken and lost when he talked about you, I almost thought you were a mythical creature, how he described you and how he seemed to not be able to move on from you. Randy always wondered about James' drive, never really sure how long he would stick around. When he first showed up, all he had on him was a small rucksack with a few pieces of clothing and one personal item. He looked so broken, Randy offered him a job right then and there, we had discussed the likelihood of James being here in a month from now, and it didn't feel like he was planning on staying, just passing through. Now, just over 2 years later, he is one of the best and dependable workers on the ranch, and Randy has really come to depend on him." Annabelle turned and looked at me, tears in her eyes. "I'm happy that he was able to find you again, but if you break his heart, I won't forgive or forget, and I won't let you forget it either."

As far as threats went, it probably wasn't the scariest I've heard, but looking into her eyes, I knew it was the only threat that would stick. I nodded, knowing full well what hell I would be returned to and subjected to if I ever broke his heart; I would be breaking my own.

XXXXXX

I looked around at the guys as we tried to determine how this happened, we had all left around the same time about 2 days ago, according to Randy, the fire was started about 15 hours ago, and had burned itself out maybe 6 hours ago. Randy hadn't been in the barn since we had all left, the last person that had been in the barn was me, and I gone through everything to make sure nothing was left on that shouldn't be. I hadn't been in a big rush to head to the airport, and I could swear that nothing was on or plugged in that shouldn't be. We were all at a loss as to what could have caused this.

It was possible that vandals had decided to trash the barn and rigged a fire, but not many vandals would do that while there were horses still inside. People in Texas really prided their horses above all else, they would have tried to steal one first. The count on the horses was correct, so there are no missing horses. We all had our gloves on from when we were handling rough jobs, like mucking, and we began to lift the piles of burnt wood to sift through the damage to determine the cause. We moved the wood into piles based on the burnt patterns and severity.

It was a lot of work, and the weather was in the high 80's, with the sun beating hot on our backs, most of the guys took off their shirts to try and cool down, after another half hour of sweating and cursing from the heat, I followed suit. I almost forgot about the women sitting on the porch. As I looked over at the porch, I saw Hermione wave at me, I waved back grinning, she smiled and held up a glass of iced tea, my mouth watering I jogged over to her, she handed me the glass, her eyes looking me over from head to toe, she raised an eyebrow, an appreciative smile curving her lips, I gave her a wink before I gulped the refreshingly cold drink down. As I turned to head back, I found the other four guys had followed me and was each taking a much needed break from the heat and heavy lifting. They were all eyeing Hermione curiously; I looked at her and realized some introductions were in order.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet Hermione, Hermione this is Randy, my boss, "I pointed to tallest of the group of men, "This is Brett," the charmer grinned and grabbed her hand placing a kiss on it, I smacked his back and he laughed and she straightened up, "This is Dustin," The scoundrel bowed to her, making me shake my head, "And this is Chad," He just nodded his head, tipping his hat to her. "These are the hooligans I've been spending the last two years with."

Hermione laughed, "It's a pleasure to meet you all, thank you for taking such good care of James for me." They all laughed and nodded, the guys nudging each other before heading off to move more of the wood. I gave Hermione a small smile before I bent and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips, she placed her hands on me cheeks as he tried to keep me there, but I knew I had to get back to work, regretfully I pulled away, kissed her on the forehead, smiling at Annabelle I walked away, back to due some back breaking work for another few hours.

XXXXX

I watched him walk away, sighing I touched my lips that still tingled from his kiss, Annabelle came up behind me and placed her arms around my waist, "He really does love you" she said quietly. I glanced at her, wondering if she was jealous, but it wasn't jealousy I saw on her face, it was contentment, like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She looked over at me and smiled, "Come, let's go inside where its cooler, and you tell me a little about yourself."

We headed inside, and Annabelle pulled out a small tray were she placed crackers and cut some cheeses, and arranged different fruits for us to snack on, we had placed the bags that had been left on the porch inside the doorway, Annabelle had explained that I would most likely be staying in the bunk house with the guys, and she told me they were harmless and it was probably the safest place for me. The guys, according to Annabelle, were very straight and respectful Texan men; they would never harm a lady, and knew that if they even tried, James would gut them. "I honestly think they are a little afraid of our green eyed friend, James seems to have an aura of danger, and he champions women in need, just a few days ago, he had stopped a lady from being raped in the park by the bar that the guys frequent, he's a big hero around here."

I laughed, if only she knew how true that statement was. Harry was a hero, a famous one, but not in the States, he was the hero of the wizarding world. I guess his whole people saving thing is inherent, since he can't seem to walk away from the need to save people. That's one of the things I love most about him, how he always cares about others before himself, he never did what he did for the fame or glory like Ron seemed to always believe, he did it because it didn't want people to be hurt or suffer in any way. He knew a lot about suffering, more than most people should. There was a strength in him that was indefinable, maybe it was due to his upbringing, or the way he entered the magical world, or maybe it was because of the many battles he was forced to partake in that really brought out the strength of his character, whatever it was, it made him irresistible to me, and I've been in love him for years, I think it probably started when we were in our third year, the whole time turning experience we shared together really brought me closer, it made me more noticeable in his eyes I'm sure. Maybe not the way I had hoped, but I could tell he needed me in a way he hadn't needed Ron.

The next year, during the Triwizard tournament, after Ron had abandoned Harry, I had stepped up and supported him, I was the only one who did, and I could see how grateful he was to have me in his corner, but I knew that it hurt that no one else would believe him when he said he never put his name in the goblet, why would he? I knew that, even then, Harry did not seek recognition or hero worship for the feats he had accomplished, all he wanted was to be normal, accepted and liked for who he was and not for what was done when he was too young to remember, or manipulated by older and more powerful wizards in order to prepare him, or in Voldy Shorts case, to kill him. Harry survived when most wouldn't or couldn't, and he was applauded for each act, and then condemned for it.

I could see now why he ran when he did, how leaving England behind was his best and only choice for his sanity. Looking around this beautiful peace of land and this homey ranch house, I could see the appeal. Here, he had genuine friends, people who cared and worried about him, not because they want him to save the world, but just because he was who he was, a great person; someone who went beyond what is required to be a good friend. I glanced out the large picture window that was above the sink in the kitchen, and could make out the guys goofing off as they sprayed each other with the water hose to cool down.

Seeing how he reacted to the people here, I knew I could never ask him to leave, and I wasn't sure if I had a place here, but I really wanted to. "What can someone like me do around here?" Annabelle looked startled for a second, and I realized a lot of time had passed since we had stopped talking, smiling she recovered and stood up.

"That depends on what you are looking to do." She explained. I looked back out of the window at the guys, thinking about my options. What could I do here? What would someone who hasn't worked in almost 2 years be able to do?

"Is there much demand for lawyers here?" Annabelle laughed.

"There's always a demand for lawyers, people are always suing each other or divorcing each other" I laughed as well, maybe I'll go back to school, and they must have some decent law schools around here.

"Are there any good law schools here in Texas?" Annabelle looked over at me, as I fidgeted with the napkin in front of me.

"There are a few, how far did you want to go?"

I thought about that for a few minutes, about the future, things with Harry. Would he want to stay here now that I was here? Or would he be willing to branch out, I know that he wouldn't want to abandon his friends, but we were magical, he could always pop by anytime he wanted to, of course they were muggle so he would have to be discrete about it. There were so many possibilities running through my mind, I wasn't sure where to go from here. I finally had some semblance of freedom, and I had no idea what to do with it. "I'm not sure, I need to talk to H-James first" I looked away quickly; I can't believe I almost slipped up with the name; Annabelle didn't seem to notice and was humming as she started the preparations for dinner. It looked like the guys were almost finished outside, and the sun was slowly starting to set. I stood up and went out onto the porch, watching the sky lighten to some beautiful pinks and blues and purples, I wrapped my arm around the post the held up the upper deck, the slightly warm breeze teasing at my hair. It was so peaceful here, a completely different setting then what life had been like with Ron. I watched as Harry made his way over to me, he was dripping wet from the hose, and covered in mud, but he looked so handsome it took all my self restraint to not run out there and kiss him senseless in front of everyone.

XXXX

I needed to grab my bags and take them back to my room, so as I started to make my way back to the house, soaking wet from the water that was sprayed at me by Brett, who was now covered in mud by yours truly, after pushing him into the closest mud puddle, I really wanted to change and shower. As I looked up to the deck, I saw Hermione leaning against the post near the stairs, her hair lifting in the breeze, and the summer dress she was wearing twisting around her bare legs, she looked so beautiful, it took my breath away, she was smiling down at me, and the sun was glinting off her hair, making her look almost angelic. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and just stood their, probably looking like a dumbass as I stared up at her. She made her way down the stairs to me, barefoot, and wrapped her arms around my neck, "I'm going to get you dirty" I mumbled, frozen as I felt her fingers in my wet hair, teasing the hairs at the nape of my neck.

"I don't care" She whispered against my lips before she kissed, lips hard and hungry on mine, I wrapped my arms around her, my hand cradling her head as I held her against me, supporting most of her weight on my one arm, I kissed her like a thirsty man dying for water, and she gave it back just as good, I don't know how long we kissed like that before I felt an ice cold splash of water hit my back and soak the both of us, I let her go as she let a squeal from the shock. I turned around to see who the culprit was.

"Damn it Brett, I was enjoying that!" Hermione blushed as the guys burst out laughing.

"Yeah, we can tell Romeo, how about you take it somewhere more private, you're blocking the way to the food." I grabbed some mud from the now wet ground and lobbed a handful at him.

"You know Anna won't let you in the house looking like that, good try though, go get cleaned up you dirty bastards, and keep your mouths shut about where and how I kiss my girl, or I might not bother making that hangover cure you guys seem to depend on." They all glared at me, Brett with mud dripping off his face. I just laughed and picked Hermione up and carried her up the stairs. I opened the door and picked up our bags and kissed her on the lips before I started to head towards the bunk house, Hermione following trying to grab one of the bags from my hand, I just held on tighter laughing as she continued to try and help. "'Mione I got it, don't worry" She just harrumphed at me and followed along silently.

We got to the door to the Bunk house, it had more than one entrance, it was easiest to use the underground tunnel, but once the barn burnt down, the passage was blocked, and probably not safe, so they took the longer path across the field.

Once we entered, I dropped the bags and pushed Hermione up against the wall, she let out breath before her arms wrapped around me and we picked up where we had been interrupted earlier. I ran my hands through her hair, tugging on the strands till her head tipped back giving me access to her neck, I kissed down her neck, she sighed, her whole body melting at my touch. I grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up, she was so light, and felt very fragile in my arms. She wrapped her legs around me as I carried her to my room, the bags forgotten.

Once we had reached my room, I gently placed her on my bed, my body stretched over hers, she smiled up at me, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes dilated with arousal. I groaned as I felt her hands tugging at my shirt, her nimble fingers quickly worked on the buttons of my shirt, I let her slide my shirt off, and she ran her hands over the tank top I wore, I watched her as she explored me, getting to know my body, the light was still shining, though dimmer each minute as the sun continued to set, setting her hair off in sparks of red and brown.

I ran my right hand along the back of her bare leg, feeling the softness of her silky smooth skin, I reached the hem of her dress, which was now resting just about her mid thigh, and slid my hand underneath, her breath quickened as I reached the juncture of her thighs, caressing her through her panties, she moaned and bucked up, pushing against my hand, I grinned and kissed her softly against her neck, trailing the kisses down to the V neck of her dress.

There was a loud bang outside of my door, I jumped, disengaging from Hermione, my heart was pounding, and I watched as Hermione righted her dress, her hair looking disheveled. I grabbed the shirt that had been removed and pulled it back on, quickly buttoning it up again before opening the door to see what the noise was about. Out in the living room were the other three guys minus Randy, and apparently one of them had tripped over our bags and landed on the coffee table. I ran out to see them surrounding Dustin, who was now bleeding from a cut on his lip, and a bruise slowly forming on his left cheek.

"Are you alright?" I asked, Dustin glared at me, as the other two helped him to his feet.

"Could have been better if someone hadn't left their bags in the middle of the entrance way" he growled as he stood in front of me. I smiled sheepishly as Hermione came out of the room and joined us. I looked at her and then at the guys and saw their knowing looks as I blushed.

"Sorry?" I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment; I had totally forgotten my bags were left in the hall along with Hermione's, I had been to caught up with being near her.

I walked over to where the bags were blocking the entrance way and picked them, I moved them into my bedroom and when I came back out, Hermione was holding a cold compress to Dustin's cheek, and he was giving her this lopsided grin. Jealousy sprang up, and I forced it back down as I approached the group. "We ok?" I asked.

Dusting nodded, clapping me on the back, "I guess I deserved that, after all, you use to work hard to keep this place clean, and we didn't help you out, just kept making more work, I deserved a knock in the face" He laughed, and the others joined in, I just smiled, relieved that there weren't going to be any other issues, I didn't want Hermione's stay here to be uncomfortable.

Once the guys were settled in their rooms to clean up and change before heading back to the house for dinner, I pulled Hermione back into my room, and proceeded to kiss her, I pulled the straps from her dress down and the dress fell, pooling at her feet, I bent to one knee as I kissed down her chest to her belly, my fingers gliding along her skin, raising goosebumps all over her body, she let out a happy sigh, her hands sliding into my hair and gripping the strands in her fists as I continued to kiss her belly and moving my way down.

XXXXX

I was in heaven, the feel of his lips on my skin set me on fire, I was sure I would be consumed, burnt beyond recognition, the Hermione I was would no longer exist, Harry grabbed my panties and slid them down my legs, his mouth never leaving my skin as he kissed a scorching path down to the juncture of my thighs, I gripped his head, praying that he wouldn't stop, but scared to know what he would incite in me if he continued. I leaned against the wall behind me, my legs shaky as his tongue licked my sensitive flesh. I let a low moan as a million sensations washed over me, my body begging for more. Harry pulled my thighs further apart as he delved further into the center of my thighs, his tongue laving at my core, juices flowing out, I felt inflamed by desire, I needed him in a way I never thought possible.

Sex before had never felt anything like this, it was always rushed and painful, Ron never tried to make me aroused, and acted like he didn't care if I was or not, he only wanted to seek his own enjoyment, mine was never at the forefront of his mind. This feeling Harry was giving me was blissful, and invigorating, and as amazing as it felt, it wasn't enough.

I brought one hand up to undo my bra, and let it slide down, Harry looked up at me, his eyes dark from desire, I grabbed his face and pulled up until he was standing before me, I kissed him, tasting myself on his tongue, and feeling bold and powerful, I pushed him back until he fell on the bed. I wanted to be in control, for once, I wanted to take what I wanted, consequences be damned.

XXXX

As Hermione climbed on top of me, I let myself commit the image of her naked body to memory, she was exquisite. I've never seen a woman more perfect, my hands roamed over her naked flesh, cupping her perfect breasts in my hand as I massaged the weighted mounds, my fingers flicking over the nipple until it hardened under my hand, Hermione moaned again, her body swaying against me. With one hand I undid the belt on my jeans, and she reached down to help, her fingers swiftly unbuttoning my pants. She shifted over me, her hands gripping the top of my jeans and pulling them down my legs, my boxers followed right after.

I lifted off the bed, shucking the shirt and tank, I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her so fiercely, I felt her teeth against my bottom lip. I could feel the heat from her core against my naked groin; I was so hard for her.

I felt her hands on my shoulder, pushing me away, I stopped kissing her to look, worried she wanted to stop, no, she just wanted me to lie down again. I laid back, my eyes never leaving her as she raised her self over my erection, she placed her small hands around it's based and lined it up with her center, I grabbed her free hand, entwining her fingers as she looked up at me. With one swift move, she dropped on to me and I felt myself enter her hot, wet core, I groaned, feeling pleasure I'd never experienced before.

As she moved her hips up and down, I felt the pleasure increase, I gripped her thighs, thrusting upwards, I increased the tempo, pleasure building, I could feel her walls gripping my cock, squeezing my length as her juices coated my cock as I slid in and out of her wetness. I knew that I wouldn't last much longer. If I had known sex would feel this good, I would have had it a lot earlier, but I knew, I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as I did with Hermione. I felt her body tense as she let out a deep moan, her body spasming above me, I joined in her released, my sperm shooting out of my cock, filling her, I moaned from the pleasure of it. She collapsed on me, her hair damp and her breathing heavy, I brushed the hair out of my face and looked down at her, she had a sleepy smile tugging at her lips, her eyes were closed and it looked like she had drifted off to sleep. I smiled and kissed her forehead before I drifted off as well.

A/N: Hey everyone, I'm so sorry it has taken me a long time to write up this chapter, School and work has been crazy, and the stress of life in general has kept me from writing, I know it's not an excuse, but I'm going to try and write a little more everyday. I hope this will be enough for everyone for now, I'm sorry if the last scene seemed awkward or rushed, I'm really rusty. Thanks for all your encouragement, I hope to read your reviews, they keep my dream alive for this story.