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Chapter 13 - Appetites

Warning: this chapter contains loads of fluffy goodness, wrapped up in a nice lemony ending. Descriptions follow of two twenty-somethings desperately in lurve. You have been warned!

)O(

Hermione escorted Harry into her office and announced to her staff, "If any of this becomes common knowledge I'll find out who gabbed and transfer you to Centaur Liason, permanently."

No one dared doubt her.

Safely behind her office door she fell into Harry's arms, not caring that the only thing he wore was a comically short robe, and nothing else.

"I'm not going to even try to live without you anymore, Hermione, the only way I'll ever leave you again is if you tell me to, and mean it."

"Never going to happen."

A discrete knock at the door and Elaine entered with an enigmatic little smile. Pointedly not looking at the embracing couple, she placed Harry's clothing and shoes on the small conference table before exiting soundlessly.

"Um, Hermione, would you mind?"

"What?"

"Ah, turning around while I get dressed?"

She snorted into his barely covered chest, "Now you decide you're shy, after exposing yourself to me and my entire staff?"

"Please?"

"Honestly!" she huffed, but turned to give him a moment's privacy.

"Thanks."

Dinner that night was a joyous occasion at Godrick's hollow, as Mummy and Daddy were finally together to stay.

"Just like they s'posed ta be!" squealed a delighted Rosie.

The boys had missed her terribly -they'd badgered Harry daily, begging him to bring Mummy home - not 'Mummy Mynee', but Mummy.

Rose clung to Harry like a limpet before and after dinner, and would have during if Hermione hadn't insisted that she sit in her booster. They compromised by letting her sit so that her chair touched her Daddy's.

Following dinner the children had fun splashing each other in the large tub, after which they all settled on the big, comfy couch in matching pajamas, robes and baffies - all five of them, of course. Hermione was flanked by Harry on one side and James on the other. Rose was in Harry's lap and Albus sat in Hermione's so there was plenty of room. Hermione was reading Patricia Wrede's Dealing with Dragons aloud, with Harry taking the male parts.

"Uncle Charlie says dragons don't talk like they do in the books." James said, sagely. "He says they're just big crocodiles with wings."

"Animals don't talk like they do in cartoons neither." Rose observed.

"I don't know about that." Harry said, remembering conversations he'd had with snakes before he'd lost his parselspeech. "Animals do talk, but just not in ways we can understand."

"Hedwig always let you know what she wanted, Harry."

"Yeah." He agreed, a little sadly.

She studied his wistful expression and, being the foremost expert on all things Harry Potter, she deemed it was time to ask the question.

"We should get an owl, don't you think?" she suggested.

All three children practically sang in chorus, "Oh, Daddy, can we get an owl? Pleeeeeaaaaaassssseeeeee!"

Harry ran his fingers through his perpetually unruly hair, "I dunno, it's, well, it's hard, y'know?"

"James, Rose, Albus, you know how much Daddy misses Hedwig."

James frowned, lost in thought.

"You think if you get another owl that it would be like forgetting Hedwig?"

"We were very close."

"Close as you were to our Mummy?"

"In some ways, yes."

"But we got a new mummy now, right?"

Hermione placed a comforting arm around Harry's shoulders, "Yes." She said, "You do."

Harry felt as if his heart would burst hearing her say that, he was happier than he'd been at anytime before in his life. The only thought that shone brighter than knowing Hermione would share his life from that moment on was the memory of the birth of his sons.

James broke his reverie by asking, "So what's the difference?"

Harry looked at his son - whose eyes shone with anticipation, then at Hermione - who knew him better than anyone, and smiled.

"No difference, son. None at all."

"We can see what Eyelop's Owl Emporium has available." Hermione suggested. "It can't hurt to look."

All three children chorused, "Yay!"

They finished the chapter, and then it was three Bs time: Brush the teeth and Beddy-Bye time.

Harry and Hermione sat by the fire, cuddling.

"Oh God, but I've missed this." She cooed.

"Me too." He agreed.

"Tired?" she asked.

"A little." He answered.

"Bed?" she suggested.

"Sure." He agreed.

"Sleep?" she asked, hopefully.

"I'm afraid that's all I can do for now, Hermione." He said, yawning prodigiously. "It's been a hell of a long day."

"C'mon, Daddy, I'll tuck you in."

"Can we snuggle tonight?"

"Of course."

"Hmmm, half a tic, love, there's someone we need to call."

Harry threw a pinch of powder into the fireplace and called "Curse-breaker Weasley."

Fleur's face appeared in the fire,"Oui?"

"Hello sister dear, how would you like to watch our little Granger-Weasley-Potters tomorrow morning?"

"Oui, I can be there with Victoire as early as seven o'clock. What is ze occasion?"

"Well, um." Harry stammered.

Hermione came to his rescue, "We plan to be busy tomorrow morning."

The half-veela had easily detected the intent behind Harry's request, she was just enjoying watching him squirm. In truth, Fleur had never understood why Hermione had gone to Ronald in the first place when she was so much better suited to Harry.

Fleur decided to let her brother and sister-in-law off their tenterhooks and smiled, "It is about time, you two! I will be over at six-thirty, and I do not expect to see you up before noon, non?"

"Thank you." Harry said, sincerely," Thank you for understanding."

"What is to understand? You boze are being very French about zis, I approve, of courze. I think, perhaps, I may leave leetle Victoire at home, non? She is half-English, and may not understand."

Hermione laughed, "Thank you, sister dear, love you!"

Fleur smiled again and replied, "How could you not? I steel have it, non? Get some rest tonight; you will need to have ze strength tomorrow. Love you boze! /[Au revoir!"/]

)O(

Harry found himself nervous as a bride as he turned down the duvet and sheets. His 'fluffing' the pillows bordered on abuse as he felt he had to be doing something with his hands.

Hermione leaned against the bathroom's doorframe and smiled, "I think they're fluffed, dear."

She pulled the tie to loosen her house-robe, then shrugged it off and placed it on the bedpost of the side of the bed nearest the loo.

She wore a comfortable, powder-blue, thin cotton nightie that stopped mid-thigh.

"Is my taking this side okay, Harry? I'll probably need to get up at some time during the night and it's easier this way."

Harry was speechless.

"Harry?"

"Um, yes?"

"What is it?"

"You're just so . . . beautiful."

Hermione knew, of course, that Harry thought a pregnant woman was the most beautiful thing in the world. She turned to let him see her profile. She had the smooth, second trimester bulge in her midsection, which she emphasized by pulling her night dress fabric taught about her expanded middle.

She smiled.

For the first time in what seemed like forever she felt adored, and loved and damn it, sexy as hell.

Harry's higher brain functions seemed to shut down and he was on the verge of drooling when Hermione said, "Thank you, Harry."

He shook his head, "No, Hermione, thank you."

She got between the sheets and asked, "Coming?"

Harry bit down on the inside of his cheeks so that he wouldn't say the obvious, stupid thing and spoil the moment. He managed a smile and a nod.

As he joined her she said, "Harry, will you start off sleeping on your back, please?"

"Sure."

He did and Hermione draped herself along his left side like a human blanket.

She was so warm and soft and fragrant.

Harry pulled her into a tender kiss, full of promise, promise of passion to come.

"I love you, Hermione."

"I love you too, Harry."

He stroked her back as she lay half-on and half-off him while she nuzzled his neck and shoulder. Soon she was breathing deeply, regularly, peacefully.

"I am the luckiest bloke on the planet." He insisted just before dropping off to sleep himself.

Somewhere around four in the morning Hermione groaned and rolled out of bed, padding to the loo. She was thankful to be over her morning sickness phase, but little Emma Ginevra was starting to crowd her bladder.

As she tugged her knickers down she was amused to see she'd wet them, not that she'd peed herself, it was simply that she was so randy these days, all she had to do was think of Harry, his emerald-green eyes and those raven locks and her Bartholin's glands would go into overdrive, along with her libido.

She could cast a simple turgio spell on her knickers, but that would mean fumbling about for her wand in the dark in an unfamiliar room, and she was pretty sure Harry was a light sleeper so she just shrugged and tossed the evidence of her arousal into the laundry pile and returned to bed.

"Everything okay, love?"

"Small bladder syndrome, Harry, I'm afraid it will only get worse from here on. Sorry to wake you."

"S'okay, I'm a light sleeper but I go right back to sleep - comes in right handy for those two AM feedings."

This made Hermione smile for another reason, her first husband, whom she had loved dearly, was pretty much useless when it came to tending to Rose as a baby. She knew Harry would probably be up before she was and have the nappy changed and little Emma fed before she could even get up.

Harry turned over and Hermione spooned up behind him and thought, "I'm the luckiest girl in the world." Just before she nodded off.

Morning dawned and Harry found himself wrapped around Hermione, whose nightie had ridden up during the night exposing her bare bum. If that wasn't bad enough his right hand was, at that moment, the living bra to Hermione's right breast.

He tried to remove the offending hand but Hermione grabbed his wrist and placed it back on her incredibly soft, full boob.

"I like it there."

Harry smiled, gave her a playful squeeze and said, "I do too, but I just remembered, men have bladders too."

Hermione groaned, "You just had to say bladder, didn't you?"

She was out of bed like a shot, heading for the loo. Showing a nicely rounded arse along the way.

Harry waited for her to return and gave her a quick hug and kiss before taking care of his own hydrostatic pressure issues.

Hermione touched her lips, that was nice, and different, she thought. How was that different?

No morning stubble - and no morning mouth. Harry had charmed his overnight facial hair off and sweetened his breath before giving her a good-morning kiss. She fumbled for her wand on the nightstand and gave herself minty fresh breath. When Harry came back she was going to give him such a brilliant snog!

Harry returned, and Hermione thought his t-shirt and boxers suited him.

"C'mere, you!" she said, pulling him into a tight embrace.

She kissed him. Nothing unusual about that. They'd been giving each other 'friendly' kisses since fourth year. But this kiss was different.

She kissed him properly for the first time.

In that kiss she poured her heart and soul and dreams and expectations for a long and wonderful life with the man she loved.

Harry felt the love and the longing and returned both squared and cubed. It practically took Hermione's breath away to realize how much this wonderful man loved her.

"Harry, love." She said between kisses, "Don't you think we've waited long enough?"

He smiled and nodded. Then began to trail kisses down her neck, to the valley between her full breasts. Hermione shrugged the nightie off her shoulders baring both pregnancy-enhanced breasts.

Harry was in boob heaven, laving both nipples with the flat of his tongue. Hermione shuddered.

She'd only been intimate with two men in her life. The first, Victor Krum, had introduced her to the delights of non-penetrative sex at the tender age of fifteen. Ron had been, well, enthusiastic, if not particularly skilled. She'd loved it when one of her previous lovers had paid attention to her breasts, but now, as pregnancy made them even more responsive she was practically gushing with anticipation as Harry trailed kisses down her rounded belly heading for her sopping wet folds.

She put both hands on his chin and drew him up to her face, "As much as I know I'm going to enjoy what you plan to do to me with that marvelous tongue of yours, what I really, really need right now is a first-rate fuck!"

Harry thought of all the times he'd dreamed of doing just that, then shook his head and said, "No."

Hermione felt a rushing in her ears as her world started to crash in on her.

She just managed to squeak out her questioning, "No?"

"No, Hermione. I love you. I think I've always loved you. I will never just fuck you, but. . ."

"But?"

"But I will love you, with my heart and soul and mind and body, I will love you, I will never fuck you, but I will love you until you beg me to stop!"

Hermione smiled, "That long? Harry, please, please, make love to me."

Harry smiled and kissed her tenderly, losing himself in the taste of her, the feel of her, the scent of her, until Hermione pushed on his shoulders to break the kiss.

"Um, Harry? Now would be good."

He snapped out of his trance, knelt upright and pushed his boxers down to his knees, and then knee-walked out of them, tossing them aside.

Hermione could only think of one thing to say when she saw Harry's organ at full-mast.

"Dear Lord, for what we are about to receive, may we be truly grateful!"

"Amen!"

Harry stroked the bulbous head of his pulsing erection up and down the length of Hermione's dripping entrance.

"For God's sake, Harry, don't tease me anymore, I have to feel you inside me!"

"Your slightest wish, milady, is my most ardent command."

He pushed past her folds and nearly halfway into her well-lubricated center, then pulled nearly all the way out before pushing back in, then repeated the motions; again, and again, and again, going about an inch deeper with each stroke. After the sixth or seventh stroke Hermione felt his balls pressing on her perineum.

"Oh my Gawd, Harry!"

Harry found a nice steady rhythm, not wanting to just pound her into the mattress, as much as both of them would have enjoyed that - he was very careful of the precious cargo she carried and besides, he could keep up this pace for an hour if he so chose.

Hermione wrapped her arms and legs around Harry's back and pushed hard against his pubic bone with her own while holding back a "sqeeeeeeee!" as she came hard against his unflagging member.

"Hermione, sweetie?"

She lay back again, breathing like she'd run a marathon.

"Yes, Harry?"

"I cast a colloportus on the door and added a one-way silencing charm as well."

"So?"

"So you can make as much noise as you'd like."

She pulled herself up as he was still buried deep within her and kissed him furiously.

She lay back down and proceeded to throw her gripping sex against his still-hard member and said, "Get to work, Mister Potter, I want to cum at least two more times before breakfast!"

He grinned and said, "Oh Sweet Goddess, I think I've created a monster!"

"Less talk, more action, Harry!"

A little more than two hours later the happy couple lay sated at last.

"Well, Mrs. Granger-Weasley, I guess you'll have to marry me now."

The grin on Hermione's face would easily have lighted Buckingham Palace.

"Oh I suppose, if you insist, Mister Potter."

Harry's smile was equally radiant.

"Hey, what will your name be after the wedding? Hermione Jane Granger-Weasley-Potter?"

"Nope, just Hermione Potter."

"You don't have to do that, you don't have to give up your name."

"Precisely." She said with a grin.

"I'm afraid I don't follow, sweetheart."

"Ron kept going on and on about how I wasn't going to be 'Hermione Granger' anymore, that I'd be a Weasley. He made such a deal out of it that I gave him his ring back and told him that if that's how he felt about it then the wedding was off.

"The whole Weasley family had a meeting about it. As the head of house, Arthur insisted that I could keep my maiden name, but that he'd appreciate it if I'd add Weasley to the end, hence, Granger-Weasley."

"So how about Granger-Potter?"

"Nope, I like the sound of Hermione Jane Potter."

"I'm confused."

Hermione rolled onto his chest and kissed him soundly, "It's because you treasure me for who I am, because you're perfectly willing to let me keep my name that it's become a non-issue."

Harry sighed, "If I live to be two hundred, I'll never understand women. So, when can we have the wedding?"

It was Hermione's turn to sigh, "Wizard custom says the widow must observe a period of mourning, and I - we need to respect that."

"Oh, so I need to cancel the caterer's for tomorrow?"

Her eyes grew wide as saucers, "Harry, you didn't!"

"Actually, you're right. I didn't." he said, then ducked as Hermione began whacking him about the head and shoulders with his own pillow.

Laughing he said, between blows, "The look" - whack - "on your face" - whack - "it's priceless!"

He pulled her into a warm embrace, "I love you!"

"Prat! No fair trying to distract me!"

"So, how long?"

Hermione took a deep breath, then let it out, saying, "A year and a day."

"Fine, we'll maintain your flat in Kensington. You can go home at the end of the day and then floo here."

"I'll have to be seen around Kensington with Rose from time to time for appearance sake, but yes, it's a deal."

"I need you to promise me something." Harry said, suddenly very serious.

"What is that?" She asked.

"Not to go wandering around Kensington alone, I don't think it's safe there."

Hermione nodded, "Upton told me about Paul Kemp."

"Promise me?" Harry persisted.

"Of course," she said, knowing he needed reassuring, "Let's kiss on it."

"Don't you mean 'shake on it'?"

"Nope, kissing is more fun, and you are a very good kisser."

"Cho didn't think so."

"Cho was an idiot."

"I couldn't have stayed with her in any case."

"Why's that, Harry?"

"She was extremely jealous of you."

"So?"

"Hermione, you've been my best friend since I was eleven. There's just no way I was ever going to not be your friend, no matter what anyone might say or think."

She melted at the open, honest manner in which he'd said that simple truth.

Both their stomachs, grumbling in unison, reminded them that they needed to be up.

As Hermione headed for the bath she smiled, "Would you like to conserve water?"

"Um, sure. How?"

"Bathe with a friend, of course."

They showered, having too much fun lathering and rinsing each other off, then repeating.

It was closer to lunchtime when they finally exited the bedroom to find Rose and Albus and James concentrating on staying inside the lines while "Tante Fleur" watched from a discrete distance. Their sister-in-law smiled as she sensed the couple's contentment. "Will you be wanting breakfast or lunch or tea?"

"Thanks for coming, Fleur." Hermione said, kissing the French woman on both cheeks, "I knew we could count on you."

"Oui, oui, we French understand our way around grief, and Gran-mere

Molly, she would not be so understanding, non?"

Harry smiled sheepishly and said, "Uh, no." Then turned to the three sprogs on the floor and called out, "Morning Granger-Weasley-Potters!"

"Daddy! Mummy!"

The three children scrambled up and over to their parents.

"Did you have brekkers?"

"Oh yeah." James offered, "Ages ago."

"So you're hungry again?"

"Yeah!" all three said in unison.

"Fleur, anything on for lunch?"

The French Veela smiled broadly,"Sandwiches are on the sideboard, sister dear, and we have pumpkin, apple, pineapple and orange juices to drink."

Harry beamed, "Brilliant, thank you soeur aimee. You're the best!"

Fleur smiled, buffed her fingernails on her robe and said, "We aims to please, mon frere."

There were enough sandwiches to feed a small army, or five very hungry mages, the children were growing like weeds, of course, and Mummy and Daddy, well, let's just say they'd worked up an appetite.

Everyone had their fill.

)O(

It liked the fog.

The thick, humid, moisturizing, concealing fog.

Sooner or later she would have to leave the house by way of the front gate.

The force that keeps us from re-entering the Weasley flat will not keep her from us forever.

Hermione will come to us.

Then it will finally be over.

Red, ribbon-like tendrils reached nearly to the ground.

Waiting patiently for the next meal to trap.

It was hungry.