Bound

Together

Just a small reminder: Harry is almost 13 at this time and Hermione approaches 14.

This chapter and the next are a bit short. There will be much longer ones later...

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They were eventually escorted to a large bedroom, sporting a king-sized four poster bed, quite similar to the ones in the dormitory, only much wider. Their trunks were already waiting at the foot of the bed. A door at the side wall led to a large bathroom, and the bath was already full of hot, soapy water. A house elf was waiting there. “Will master and mistress need any more services?” she asked.

Both shook their heads. “Just call Popsy whenever you need me,” the elf said and disappeared.

Harry looked at Hermione questioningly. “Now what?”

“You practically stink, after all you’ve been through today. That bath is for you.”

“But... I need to touch you.”

“Well, you can be in the bath and still hold my hand.”

“But... I’ll be naked,” he stuttered.

Hermione blushed for a moment. “You can stay in your underwear,” she finally suggested.

Harry, still mortified by the situation, tried undressing using only one hand, being too embarrassed to ask for Hermione’s help. This proved almost impossible. Hermione took pity on him. “Let me touch the side of your neck, so you’ll have both hands free.”

She put her free hand on the side of his neck before freeing the other. It was still awkward, but using both hands Harry undressed successfully, leaving only his boxer shorts on. He looked at Hermione who was fully clothed.

“Don’t you think you may get quite wet if you stay close to me in the bathroom? You should only be lightly dressed, I believe.”

Hermione blushed again before answering. “Fine, it will be like we wear swimsuits. Put your hand on my neck, just as I’ve done.”

She undressed quickly, as if not daring to think of what she was doing, for fear of chickening out. She stayed in her white cotton bra and flowery full-size knickers. She then took his hand in hers, avoiding looking at him. “Let’s set you in the bath,” she said.

Harry slipped quickly into the bath, making sure the foaming water was hiding his crotch. Hermione rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Honestly, Harry, what do you think you’re doing?”

Harry blushed. “Err...”

“You’re trying to hide your erection, aren’t you?”

He only nodded, not trusting his voice.

“For Merlin’s sake, Harry! We’re married now! We are supposed to see each other naked. Why do you need to hide?”

Harry blushed. He raised his eyes to Hermione only to hurriedly move them back to the water as he noticed how scantly she was dressed. “Well... I...”

“Harry! I know you’re excited to see me almost naked and I’ve noticed your reaction. There’s nothing you need to be ashamed of, really, and I won’t get angry at you for that.” Her words were dictated by her logic, yet her face was blooming red.

He looked back at her with relief and wonder in his eyes.

“I’m actually flattered,” Hermione told him soothingly. “Your reaction means that you’re honestly attracted to me.” She blushed some more.

“Well, I am,” Harry admitted. “I never knew you looked so... good.” He had never been too eloquent, especially with compliments.

“Oh, thank you my dear husband,” Hermione said teasingly. “Now, let me wash your back.”

“I can do it alone,” Harry protested. Hermione saw a bit of fear in his eyes.

“Nonsense! Nobody can really wash their backs thoroughly. We, girls, always help each other in the showers.” Hermione took the sponge and moved into position, keeping one hand on his shoulder.

It was the first time she saw Harry’s naked back and she was horrified. “Harry! Why do you have so many scars on your back?”

Harry seemed uncomfortable. “Well... my uncle... he gets angry... and...”

“He should be in jail! He has no right to treat anybody that way and certainly not you! Can’t Madam Pomfrey heal these scars?”

“She can, but if he sees me healed by magic it will only make it worse.”

Hermione was beyond furious. “You’re not going back there! I’ll do all that I can to prevent it. You’ll spend the summer vacation with me and my parents.” The thought brought a smile back to her face. “We shall have to stay close for awhile, so that’s the best way.”

Harry hoped that would actually happen, yet he wouldn’t bet on it. His life had been too full of disappointments to get his hopes higher.

Hermione finished treating Harry’s back. He enjoyed her hands roaming his back in tender, loving motions. She even massaged his shoulders a bit, noticing how tight his muscles were. This was something he could easily get accustomed to.

“Now I’m almost as wet as you are. I could just as well go into the bath.” Hermione followed her words with action. She pushed Harry aside and plopped into the bath, leaning on the other side and facing him. She noticed Harry’s stare as his face turned red again.

“Eh... your bra... is almost transparent.”

She looked down. The white cotton had absorbed enough water to make her bra see-through. Her n*****s were pushing the thin material, through which her pink aureolas were clearly visible against the lighter surrounding. She would have been terrified of the thought that any boy would see her like that even just an hour earlier. Now it felt right somehow. Now she felt her clothing was actually in the way. She briefly wondered if it was a side effect of the bond.

“Well, if you’ve already seen it all then I can just as well take the bra off.” She was actually wondering why she felt so confident, yet she removed her bra quicker than Harry could follow, letting it fall on the floor at the side of the bathtub.

She now looked at her knickers. Their material was thinner, and the flowery imprint was too pale to make a difference. She noticed that it didn’t really hide anything now. Without a second thought, her knickers joined her bra on the floor.

The bubbles had almost disappeared by then, leaving mostly clear water. She could easily see the tenting in Harry’s shorts. She couldn’t see through them, though, being dark blue in color.

“Now that I’m completely naked, don’t you think it fair if you remove your shorts as well?” she asked Harry. He didn’t seem to hear her, gazing at her body in admiration.

“Would you rather I remove your boxers?” she asked him again. This time it seemed to reach him.

“No!” he sounded alarmed. “I mean... I can do it myself.” It took him a bit longer to undress. He was too excited and his erection also got in the way. Hermione didn’t really know what to expect, yet what she eventually saw looked pleasing. It didn’t look like the drawings in her parents’ medical books, neither did it fit the stories she had overheard some older girls tell in the bathroom, but it somehow seemed right for Harry.

“Would you wash my back now?” Hermione asked, turning around.

Harry didn’t reply. He just took the sponge and used it to caress her back tenderly. She started giggling. “Harry, you’re tickling me. You can rub a bit harder, you know.”

By the time they got out of the bath, almost an hour later, all awkwardness at their nudity had disappeared. They felt as comfortable with each other as when they were fully clothed. Well, except for Harry’s erection. “It won’t stay like that all the time, will it?” Hermione asked.

Harry blushed. “I hope so. It usually softens after awhile, but with you naked...”

“Does it hurt?” she was concerned.

Harry smiled. “Not really.”

Hermione thought for a moment. “We are married now, so we could legally have s*x. Yet I’d like to wait at least until we tell my parents.” She could see that thinking of s*x was quite unhelpful at the moment. “Maybe I should ask Professor Snape for a contraceptive potion, though,” she added, looking at him expectantly.

“Oh, NO! I don’t want Snape to know anything about our life. He already knows too much.” She noticed that thinking of Snape had a certain calming effect.

Once dry, she only wore a clean pair of knickers while Harry put on some shorts which looked almost twice the right size. “Don’t you have something more fitting?” she asked.

“My relatives only give me hand-me-downs from mu cousin, who is much larger than me,” Harry said, looking embarrassed.

“We shall have to buy you new clothes as soon as school is over!” Hermione said with determination in her voice.

They went to bed, both too tired to even talk anymore. She turned on her side in a semi-fetal position and Harry spooned to her back, his hand touching her side lightly. She could hear his breathing slowing down. “You know, It’s quite nice to fall asleep being hugged,” she noted quietly.

“It’s even nicer to fall asleep hugging you, my love.”

She didn’t respond. She just cherished the last two words and fell asleep with them.