‘One Day at a Time’ Missing Scene 3
Their first date was 95 days after their first kiss (not that Harry was counting). He’d almost given up so many times. But Hermione wouldn’t let him.
He’d tell himself no more snogging then, out of nowhere, she’d grab his chin and pull him into a passionate kiss. He’d say no more declarations of love, and she’d turn to him and say, “I think I’m in love with you, Harry.”
But there was still something wrong. She was still forgetting.
Today, he woke up and decided things would be different. The moment he saw her, he kissed her. And it wasn’t a small thing—a quick peck on the lips that could be construed as almost friendly. No, he took her by the hips, pressed her up against the wall, and snogged her until they were forced to part a few moments later to catch their breath.
He didn’t even have to tell her he loved her. He could see in her searing gaze that she knew. What had followed was a perfect day, capped off by the first date he’d been dreaming about for months.
Fucking finally. They were walking back from the restaurant now, hand in hand as they turned onto the dim street of Grimmauld Place. “I’m not sure how this works when we live together,” Harry said as they walked into the house. “Do I just drop you at your bedroom door?”
“Why does it always have to be the man who does the dropping?”
“Would you like to drop me off at my bedroom door then?”
She gave him a sly smile. “I would.”
Not long after, they were snogging up against the door to Harry’s bedroom on the second floor. “Are you going to invite me inside?” Hermione asked as she planted kisses along his neck. “Maybe for some drinks?”
Harry grinned as he turned the doorknob behind him. “Of course.”
As they stumbled into the room, still embracing, the fervor behind their kisses faded. Something about passing through the threshold of Harry’s room—perhaps the air was different, perhaps it was the sight of the bed—had a sobering effect.
Harry walked backward, and she walked with him, until his legs collided with the bed. He took a seat and watched her as she carefully stepped between his legs.
“Are you okay?” he whispered, pushing a curtain of curls off her shoulder.
“This is surreal. My body knows you, knows this, but my mind doesn’t. And if I think about it for too long—”
“We don’t have to do anything.”
She rested her hands on his shoulders before responding. “I don’t even know what we’ve already done,” she said, sounding embarrassed.
“Oh.” He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer. “We’ve just, erm, kissed. A lot. And occasionally felt under each other’s shirts. That’s … er … it.”
“Oh,” she said, the word imbued with a mix of sorrow and regret.
He kissed her lightly on the jaw and said in what he hoped was a casual, ‘feel free to say no to this’ way, “We can do more. If you … if you want. Or not. Of course.”
Her eyes locked on his. “What do you want?”
A lot of images flashed through his mind at once: peeling off her clothes, running his hands over her body, hovering over her as she bit her lip, trying not to cry out. Her wearing a sly smile as she pulled off his trousers, her lips stretching around his—
“I—I want to touch you,” he choked out in what was not at all the suave tone he’d been going for. “I want to make you feel good.”
Was that a question? Or was she saying, “Yes, you can touch me”? Harry decided to take a chance on the latter. He carefully moved his hands under her dress and stopped when he reached her bum. “Is this okay?”
She just continued to watch him, eyes dark, as she nodded slowly.
He removed her knickers next, moving slowly, so she could stop him, but she didn’t. She continued to watch him as she stepped out of them, as he grazed his fingers along the coarse hair between her legs, and as he eventually slipped a finger inside of her.
“Yeah,” she breathed, still watching him. “Perfect.”
He carefully added another finger. Her nails dug into his shoulders.
She released a high-pitched whine and nodded again. Harry’s cock strained against his jeans. They didn’t kiss as he pleasured her. He just looked at her, watched her pupils go wide, watched how she bit her lip, watched her mouth open as small pants escaped her lips. It was without question the most intimate thing Harry had ever done.
She was close, her legs were trembling and the moans coming out of her mouth had become more insistent. “Harry I—I want—I—”
He leaned forward and nipped her earlobe. “What do you want?”
Her answer surprised him. She reached down and grabbed his erection through his jeans. He leaned back, eyes wide, and was met with another of her sly smiles. “I want you. I want to …” She bit her lip, and he nearly came right there. “I want to feel you in—inside me.”
She squeezed him again and he bit the inside of his cheek, trying to think of something, anything beside how turned on he was. “Are you—are you sure?”
She nodded and began undoing his jeans, watching him with wide, dark eyes. “I have no idea what I’m doing,” she whispered, though the way she gripped him once she had his jeans out of the way said otherwise.
“We’ll figure it out—” He cut off to release a groan as she began pumping her fist. “We should— “He motioned toward the top of the bed.
She nodded and followed him onto the bed. When their clothes were off and he was hovering over her, holding himself at her entrance, she rested a hand on his cheek and whispered, “Is this real?”
He laughed with a breath. “Maybe not. It’s suspiciously close to all my dreams from the past year.”
She smiled at that. “Oh well. If it’s not real, we may as well enjoy it while we can.”
“Good plan.” He caught her mouth and kissed her hard as he finally pressed into her.
There was a note on Hermione’s pillow the next morning. And the letter she’d written for herself and set onto the bedside table was gone. Harry grabbed the note and just held it for several minutes as he watched the ceiling, reliving the bliss from the day before.
He looked at the words she’d written, but they were too blurry for him to make out without his glasses. He imagined what they said. Maybe, I’ve gone to make breakfast, join me when you wake up. Maybe, It was a shock waking up naked next to my best friend, but also a dream come true. Or perhaps just, I love you. Maybe with a postscript of, Nice cock.
He grinned as he turned to grab his glasses. The words on the page were nothing close to what he’d imagined.
To my dearest love, my brilliant Sun, the world has decided we can no longer be one. So you take the day and I’ll take the night. You with your warm, happy glow. Me with my cold, lonely light.
It must be this way, always and forever, they say we can no longer share the sky together. But my nights will follow your brilliant days, I am right behind you and I will love you always.
“No.” The word caught in his throat. He tried to read the lines again, but his vision was too blurred with tears. He didn’t need to reread her note. He knew what it meant. He knew, but didn’t understand.
She forgot. She took the letter she’d written for herself and left this poem instead. She left him, and fell asleep, and forgot.
He heard stirring from the floor above, followed not long after by the sounds of creaking on the stairs. Harry remained in bed as tears wet his pillow. Yesterday was different. He told her he loved her first thing. They had a date. They made plans. They fucking shagged!
Yesterday was different, it was supposed to be different! And it was, but that morning was even more so. Because he heard her and he didn’t rise. He decided he wasn’t going to see her. He wasn’t going to help her. Not today. And maybe not even tomorrow.