Connections

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters and make no money doing this. I can only wish I had J.K.R.’s imagination.

Author’s Note: This is my first fan fic ever…please read and review. This story will become decidedly more complicated and the warnings (except for the solo one) are for later chapters. Hermione discovers herself and more in this, set just after OoP.

It will get better…I hope.

P.S. I need an editor…if anyone wants the job!

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“Really, Ron…do you honestly think that it is going to come out? You only read the recipe twice!” Hermione stood, arms crossed and head cocked to the side, as Ron prepared to add the final ingredient to a very complex potion. Optcisrum wasn’t something that she ever would have expected Ron to even attempt; of course, she hadn’t expected Professor Snape to insist on instructing the younger members of the Order on some advanced strategic potions. Since he wasn’t there very often, he grudgingly accepted her offer to teach in his place.

“Bloody hell, ‘Mione. Let me concentrate for just a moment.” Ron craned his neck over the swirling viscous mass and sprinkled in a touch of ground quartz.

“Are you certain that you…” Hermione asked, preparing for the inevitable explosion.

None came. Ron stood proudly next to his potion, grinning smugly. “You didn’t think that I could do it, did you? You’re not the only one who can make a potion.”

She was genuinely surprised by Ron’s ability. He’d been out most of the summer practicing Quidditch with Harry and Ginny, with Fred and George coming by occasionally from their joke shop to have some fun. His face was peppered with even more freckles than usual due to his sun exposure. Professor Lupin created an enchanted field out behind headquarters that was hidden from muggle and Death Eater alike. Harry was more sullen than ever after Sirius’s death. If he could be more moody, that seemed to do the trick. Hermione thought, somewhat bitterly. She immediately felt guilty; after all, they all missed Sirius terribly. Harry more so, of course. But, while she could understand where his pain came from, some of it anyway, no one could seem to help drag him out of it. If he would let us share the burden, even if it didn’t lighten the load, it would give him someone to talk to.

“Well?” Ron was still standing by his potion, his smile fading a bit. “The least you could do is admit that you didn’t think that I could do it.” His auburn hair fell almost to his shoulders, his eyes searching hers for some sort of answer.

She met his gaze nervously. His potion wasn’t the correct color, she was certain of it. A deep crimson bubbled contentedly in the cauldron, but her Optcisrum was always a delightful pink. “I’m going to have to test it, Ron.” She said cautiously. “But, you have improved significantly since…”

“You can’t even admit it, can you? All you can do is ‘test it’ or ‘inspect it’, because you are so afraid of having me do something right for a change!” He turned back to the potion now, his hands pressing down hard against the tabletop. Hermione could see his muscles under his muggle t-shirt. She felt a familiar stirring, but set it aside to be dealt with later. “I am not afraid of you, Ron. I do know that the potion should be a lighter red, however, and I didn’t want to hurt your feelings again by telling you that you must have done something wrong!” She stood her ground behind him, letting her gaze fall to his backside.

“Clean it up yourself, then…Professor.” Ron snarled as he tore past Hermione and out of the room.

Hermione did just that, saving two samples of the potion for testing; one for herself and one for Professor Snape. I can test it later, after some studying. After putting everything back in order, she headed back up to the room that she shared with Ginny. She would be outside practicing with the boys again, and Hermione wanted to take advantage of this rare spot of privacy.


She was careful to ensure that the door was both conventionally and magically locked. A quick silencing charm on the room was extra protection. Checking once more out the window to see Ginny looping in the air over Harry, she shut the window shade and rummaged under her bed before pulling a small wooden box from the dark recesses. With a quick wave of her wand, she unlocked the box to reveal a book and an object .

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“Hermione, dear. Are you feeling all right? You seem a bit under the weather.” Mrs. Weasley looked across the breakfast table with a mask of concern on her face. Everyone else was eating with great haste, but Hermione was simply pushing her food around.

“Fine, Mrs. Weasley. I’ve just been up studying late is all.” It was a lie, but Hermione knew that it wasn’t outside of the realm of possibility and would be easily accepted by all.

“Oh, c’mon Hermione. You should come out some time and…watch us play or something.” Ron enthusiastically offered, remembering mid-sentence that Hermione wasn’t very good in the air and, while wanting to show her his flying skills, he didn’t want to remind her of her lack of skill for fear she would snap at him. She’d been pickier and bossier than ever this summer. He and Harry talked about it, but chalked it up to all her extra work. Now that he-who-must-not-be-named was back, she’d been buried even deeper in her piles of books.

She stared back at Ron icily, but just shook her head as her eyes focused in on his mouth. Her gaze slowly melted. “No thanks. I really need to be doing research. You never know what I may find that will be helpful.”

Ron looked disappointed, but shrugged and went back to his breakfast. Harry was talking in hushed tones with Ginny. She was the only person lately who seemed to be able to draw him out and back into the world. But, as Ginny confessed to Hermione one night, even she couldn’t seem to raise Harry’s spirits for long, as he would pull away just as she felt they were getting close again.

Hermione finished her breakfast quickly and headed back up to her room, thinking that no one had noticed. As she approached her door, a voice spoke up from around the corner.

“We all get like this, Hermione. Its natural,” Tonks, with a cute upturned nose and wild red curls swept up into a bun rounded the corner and confronted Hermione.

“What do you mean?” Hermione stared up into her green eyes, feigning ignorance.

Pulling a package out from behind her, Tonks dropped into a whisper and spoke quickly. “I noticed that it started not long after you started summering here. Looking nervous, tired, and just a bit guilty…letting your eyes wander over the guys just a little longer than normal. I’m not as easy to fool as Mrs. Weasley, Hermione.”

Hermione looked intently at a spot on the wood floor as she answered. “What are you implying, Tonks? I went through…puberty just like every other girl.” Her tone also dropped to a hushed whisper.

“Not being able to sleep on account of urges won’t help us win the war, Hermione.” Tonks put up her hand quickly to stop Hermione’s words of protest. “I know that you like to study things thoroughly, so I picked this up at a little bookstore I know of.” Tonks gently paced the package in the now shaking girl’s hands, kissing her on the forehead as she did it. “I don’t want you attacking the boy-who-lived and ruining all of our carefully
laid plans.”

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Hermione sat staring at the book Tonks had given her: A Young Witches Guide to Sex and Satisfaction. She was mortified when she first opened the package, over a week ago now. At first, she hid it under her bed in a locked box, ignoring the obvious suggestion and hoping that the feelings would go away.

They hadn’t and she carefully, when no one was around, began to study the book. She read it cover to cover in one day, blushing wildly at the turn of every other page. The urges seemed to come quicker and more powerfully now, with every word she read. Proper Hermione Granger…considering touching herself. She thought with a bit of smugness how the boys would have reacted had they known. She was certain that they did it, after all. And it was perfectly natural.

She removed all of her clothes below her waist, leaving her blue tank top and lace bra on to facilitate faster dressing if someone disturbed her. She preformed a mild pain-alleviation spell, to prevent what would happen if she chose to use the toy. Taking the package she had purchased in the muggle store while out on an errand yesterday, she sat on her bed and prepared. She thought of Ron downstairs earlier. His muscles under his thin shirt. His mouth. Her free hand traveled down from her neck, lingering on her breasts and then moving down to her soft mound of curls. He grabbed her by the hair and kissed her roughly. She fought him for a moment and then gave into her passion, as they jointly wiped everything, potion and all, off the table in their frantic need for release. He had her bra half off and was sucking delightfully on her nipple as his hands worked on removing both their pants. Just as soon as those were off, he took her by the shoulders and pulled her mouth away from his, looking deep into her eyes for only a second before turning her around and bending her over the table.

“Ohhh….” Hermione’s moan escaped her before she could catch it. Her fingers wet and moving compulsively against her aroused clit. Part of her was frightened of what she was doing, but she couldn’t stop now. She could feel Ron ramming himself into her again and again, deeper with each stroke. She could feel his hands grip her waist as he pumped harder and harder. His own moans and grunts mixing with hers.

Her index finger was now inside of her, tentatively exploring. She opened her eyes just long enough to notice the vibrator/dildo in her hand. What the hell?

Lying back on the bed and putting her head down on the pillow, she spread her legs wide and brought her knees up. She took a deep breath and touched the tip of the toy to her opening. For a moment, she was worried that she couldn’t go through with it. Then she through of Ron, sweaty…thrusting madly into her tight, wet…

“Uhhhh…” She thrust what she could of the toy up into her in one swift motion. She felt a bit of pain, but she ignored it and switched the vibrator on. Her moans continued as she moved the dildo back and forth as the pain and discomfort subsided. The picture in her mind of her and Ron continued to its explosive climax as she gasped and opened her eyes wide.