Bound

Learning

Harry woke up to the sight of Hermione opening the brown paper covered packages and removing some books from them, arranging them neatly on the desk. She was peeking at the covers and occasionally flipping through the pages before deciding where to put them. Harry was sure that she had used some shrinking charm on the books. There was no chance for so many books fitting in those two packs they brought home the previous evening.

Harry could only chuckle at the sight: a large pile of books, all dedicated to man-woman relations. Some had quite explicit titles like “Better s*x”, or “How to Satisfy Your Wife in Bed”, while others were more general like “The Secrets to Long-Term Love”. There were even two anatomy textbooks there, ones targeted at university first-year medicine students.

“Do I need to read all these?” he asked Hermione. “We may be an old couple by the time I finish.”

She rolled her eyes at his lame joke. “No, Harry. I’ll show you exactly which parts I want you to read. We both have no experience in such things, and if we have to... shag this summer, we’d better know how to do it right.”

“Are these as frightening as that booklet you made me read?” This was no longer a joke. Harry was really concerned.

“I won’t let you read anything before I check it myself, OK? Yet that booklet was not so bad. You really should have known most of it from home, and then – I’m soon going to have my period and I didn’t want you to freak out.”

Harry wasn’t sure it really helped. He was still seeing Hermione covered with blood all over, as he imagined when reading that booklet. It was so frightening! He could stand being severely injured, but he could not stand Hermione suffering even just a tad.

“You’re so sweet!” Hermione said, bending down to kiss the tip of his nose. “It’s going to be alright, but I like the way you think of me.”

Soon after breakfast they found a comfortable position on the couch. Harry was reading selected chapters from a book that Hermione had already read the previous summer, while she started reading some of the books they had bought the previous day, snuggling at his side. The gloomy weather with some rain expected later during the day kept them inside, and Harry was surprised to find the book both interesting and entertaining, not to mention highly arousing. Hermione’s furtive caresses, while extremely pleasant, didn’t really help with that last issue.

By dinner time he had finished reading that book. He was surprised at having read so much in a single day, yet his eyes were already sore and so was his backside, after sitting so long without moving.

“I think you two should take a walk outside while I prepare dinner,” Jean suggested. “Some exercise would do you good, and the weather is much nicer now.”

The walk in the fresh air did help. They walked hand-in-hand, attracting some amused glances and creating a new gossip subject for the neighborhood. They didn’t talk much. Each was thinking of what they had read, sharing their thoughts with the other. Harry was amazed at how much Hermione knew already, failing to notice that this knowledge was now becoming his as well. He immersed himself in her mind, enjoying her little triumphs as she had learned reading, found the joy of books and knowledge, had her first bouts of accidental magic and enjoyed the love of her family.

Hermione was also trying to find some joy in Harry’s memories and failing at it. She could find no joy in all those ten years he had spent with the Dursleys. Not even success at school could bring him any joy, as getting better grades than Dudley was only cause for punishment. She vowed to herself that she would make Harry happy and joyful as much as she could.

She started by asking him about what he had read, making him blush and giggle several times. By the time they sat for dinner, Harry was in much better mood than she had ever seen him. They spent the rest of the evening watching entertainment programs on TV, something that she knew her husband had not had many chances watching while living with his aunt.

They were already in bed when Harry said: “I’ve read that girls also masturbate. Have you ever?”

Hermione blushed. “Not much, really. I started shortly before I was petrified. Do you?”

She could feel his skin getting warmer as he blushed too. “I did... occasionally.”

Hermione got bolder as her inquisitive side took hold. “What were you thinking about while doing it?”

“I was thinking...” He didn’t say any more, but she sensed ‘about being with you.’

“I was thinking about you when I did it,” she confessed. “Do you...”

He heard her in his mind. ‘Do you want to? I’ve never seen anybody masturbate.’

Harry removed his boxers shyly, revealing his erect member. This was no news for Hermione, as she had already seen it that way almost every time they took a shower. He then sat down and started stroking, quite aware of her inquisitive stare. She wasn’t satisfied with watching only. Her knickers found their way to the floor and she started touching herself while keeping her eyes on Harry.

Harry was fascinated seeing her that way. The lust he saw on her face and sensed through their bond was a new sensation for him, making him more horny as well. “May I touch?” he asked reluctantly.

“You’re welcome,” she said, guiding his fingers to her sensitive spot and urging him to rub and caress the bundle of nerves.

She didn’t even ask. Her hand reached to his member, caressing it tenderly and eliciting a moan from him. They were soon m**********g each-other vigorously. Hermione reached her first peak and was on the verge of the second when Harry groaned loudly as he came, covering her hand with thick whitish liquid.

They were still breathing heavily a few minutes later, but Hermione was recovering. She reached for her wand and cleaned them both of the residues of their activity, making sure that the bed and the floor were also clean. Without a word said, they went to bed. Harry was still on his back and Hermione put her head on his shoulder and pressed her breasts to his side. Seconds later they were both asleep.

Harry woke up feeling alone. He mentally searched for Hermione, finding her in the bathroom. ‘Are you OK?’ he asked.

‘I’m fine. Go to sleep. I’ll be back in a moment.’

Hermione was the first to wake up in the morning. Harry’s arm served as a very comfortable pillow for her and his other hand was hugging her close to him, making their chests touch. She relished the feeling, remembering their occupation before falling asleep. She blushed lightly. It was still exciting to be so close to this boy – her man. While asleep he looked so young and so vulnerable that her heart went out to him. She caressed his scar lightly, continuing towards his jaw-bone, then his chest. She looked down at his flaccid member, mentally comparing it to the way she had seen it just hours before. She knew what she wanted to do with it, but it was not the right time yet.

‘Good morning, my love,’ she sensed, before turning her eyes back to his face.

“Good morning, Harry. Slept well?”

“Wonderfully! And you? Why did you get out of bed in the middle of the night?”

She blushed again. She mentally slapped herself for that. He was her soul-mate, the closest person to her for the rest of her life; she should not be embarrassed talking with him about no matter what, and yet...

“I’ve got my period. I had to clean the bed and use a sanitary pad. I’m sorry it woke you up.”

Harry paled. “Your period?” He noticed that she was wearing another pair of knickers, much thicker than the others he had seen her wear and a bit larger, though quite tight.

“I’ll show you later,” Hermione said cheerfully. “I’m starving. Put something on and let’s go for breakfast.”

The following days were spent reading the new books and also doing some of their summer homework. With Hermione at his side, Harry didn’t mind his homework at all and didn’t feel the passage of time. Even her period seemed less frightening now, after having seen that it affected mainly her moods and not her health. Yet reading so much about the relations between the genders, including some very detailed lists of “do’s” and “dont’s”, was setting his mind more and more on what he would like to do with Hermione when the time came and to feel more and more anxious and ready for that event.