The Magic of Muggle Sweets

Hermione peered nervously through the doorway of the kitchen at 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry was sitting at the table reading a book. Every so often his hand reached into the large bag of M&M’s sitting on the table. Thinking he seemed to at least be approachable, she walked in and sat down across from him.

“Hi,” she said.

Harry looked up and smiled at her; the light danced in his eyes playfully in a way she had not seen since before that horrible day at the Ministry when Sirius had been killed. “Alright, Hermione?”

Hermione felt her heart flutter at a glimpse of the real Harry. “Yes. You’re in a good mood,” she commented reaching for the M&M’s that Harry had spilled onto the table.

Harry smacked her hand as she reached for them. “Can’t I be in a good mood, then?” he asked.

“What was that for?” Hermione scowled at him; surprised that he was unwilling to share his sweets with her.

Harry pushed the bag of M&M’s towards Hermione. “I’m saving those ones. You can have some from the bag. And you didn’t answer my question about being in a good mood.” Hermione stared at him like he had grown a second head before tentatively reaching for the bag of sweets. Harry took a few more also, pushed some into the pile next to him and ate the rest.

“You’re acting a bit odd, Harry. The twins didn’t do anything to these, did they?” Hermione asked, waiting to see Harry’s reply before eating the handful of M&M’s she had taken.

“Nope, they’re fine,” he replied pushing a few more into the pile next to his book before eating the rest in his hand. Hermione started to eat the sweets, putting one at a time in her mouth and instead of chewing, sucked on them until they melted. Harry reached across the table, and turned her hand over.

“Open your hand,” he said. Hermione looked at him again. He really was behaving oddly now. She opened her hand and Harry picked out a few of the M&M’s from it and put them in the pile on the table next to his book. “Thanks.” He smiled before returning to reading his book.

Hermione watched Harry while he read his book, and ate from the bag of sweets. All the while, the pile next to him continued to grow. After a few minutes, Harry looked up at her with a smirk on his face.

“You and Ron get tired of studying, then?” he teased.

Hermione’s face flushed slightly. “W-We’re taking a break,” she stammered.

“Of course you are.”

“Prat,” Hermione grumbled and reached for the bag again. She was about to put a handful of them in her mouth when Harry cleared his throat. She paused and looked at him. He eyed her hand and then pointed to the pile of sweets on the table. Hermione just stared at him then placed a few of the sweets in the pile before eating the rest of them.

“Is there something special about those?” she asked gesturing at the pile

“Told you; I’m saving them.”

“Why?”

Harry shrugged and went back to his book.

It was a few minutes before he spoke again. “Ginny said she and Dean broke up a few weeks ago.”

Hermione blinked in surprise. It had been a difficult summer with him so far. No one ever knew what to expect from him, or when his mood would change. One second he could be quiet as a mouse, the next he was raging at whoever happened to cross his path. He had been so unpredictable, that after he had been at 12 Grimmauld Place for a week, the only one who dared approach him was Ginny. It had been that way for almost five weeks, and then things had finally begun to calm down.

Harry had started to tolerate others talking to him; sometimes he would answer questions, other times he just seemed to be ignoring them. At least he would until Ginny would tell him off for being a prat. After telling him off, he would start talking, and they would find out that he had been paying attention to every word they had said. But their current conversation - or rather, confrontation - Hermione couldn’t make out for the life of her. He was just being odd.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t think they were ever really dating,” she finally answered.

“I know. She told me that at the end of term, he asked her to write him over the summer. She just said they were dating to get a rise out of Ron. It turns out he likes to receive letters, but not write them. She wrote to him every other day up until her birthday, and he only wrote to her three times. She told him in her last letter, if he couldn’t put more effort into it than that, then he wasn’t worth it. He never responded.”

Hermione’s mouth hung open in shock after Harry had finished. Ginny had told him a lot more than she had told her. Of course, if she hadn’t been spending so much time studying with Ron, she might have more time to talk to Ginny.

“I suppose Ron was right about him being a git then,” Hermione answered after she had recovered. Harry shrugged his shoulders.

“He’s not that bad. He just didn’t pay attention to what he could have had,” Harry said. “Kind of like someone else,” he added after a moment, staring intently into her brown eyes.

Hermione mentally shook herself, trying to work out what Harry was talking about. “I’m not sure I’m following you, Harry,” she said after a minute.

Harry opened his mouth to reply, but then his gaze shifted and Hermione saw his eyes get even brighter than they’d been before. “Hi, Ginny,” he said to her as she came in and sat down next to Hermione.

“Hello, Harry,” she said brightly. “Hermione,” she added turning to her with a smile a second later. “I see he’s feeding these things to you now, too.” Ginny reached across the table and took a handful of M&M’s from the pile next to Harry’s book. Hermione watched; expecting Ginny to get her hand slapped, but Harry just sat there smiling at the two of them.

“I think he’s trying to make me fat; so he can get his spot back on the Quidditch team once Professor Dumbledore lifts his ban,” Ginny remarked.

“You can keep the spot on the team if it’s important to you, Gin. I’ll try out for Chaser if the ban gets lifted,” Harry replied, locking his eyes on hers. Ginny grinned at him but didn’t say anything.

Hermione stared at Harry, then Ginny, and then the pile of M&M’s that Ginny was eating from. A knowing smirk started to form on her lips, which she quickly squashed when Harry closed his book and stood up from the table.

“I think I might go for a walk in the garden. Anyone want to come?” he asked in a hopeful voice, his gaze still locked on Ginny. She didn’t catch the eagerness in his voice.

“Not me,” Hermione replied quickly, trying to give Ginny the opportunity that Harry was extending.

“I still have a roll left to do for Snape,” Ginny answered without looking up at him.

Hermione saw the light fade from his eyes at Ginny’s response. His eyes moved to Hermione’s for a moment before he sighed and headed for the door.

“Ok; I suppose I’ll see you at dinner then, Ginny,” he called over his shoulder before the door closed behind him.

“I wish he had taken the bag, these things are addictive,” Ginny said when he had gone.

Hermione thought about it. Harry was either going to have to be more direct, or he was going to need a little help. “Ginny?” she asked making her decision.

“Yes, Hermione?”

“Is there a difference between giving up on someone, and not being interested anymore?”

Ginny stopped her hand mid-way to her mouth. “Don’t start with me, Hermione,” she replied in a warning tone.

“So there is a difference then?”

“Shut it, Hermione.”

“Ginny…”

“I said shut it, Hermione,” Ginny snarled at her. “Just because everything is wonderful in ‘Love Land’ with you and my brother, doesn’t mean it works that way for everyone else. I’ve just got to the point where I can look at him without my palms starting to sweat. I don’t need any help regressing from you.”

Hermione took a deep breath before trying a different approach. “How long has he been feeding you those?” she asked pointing at the M&M’s.

Ginny glared at her warily before replying. “Are you changing the subject?”

“I thought you wanted the subject changed.”

“No, I mean yes, I do,” Ginny stammered.

“Then answer the question.”

Ginny thought about it for a moment. “I don’t know. Four or five weeks, I suppose. It’s a bit odd though, he always gives me the green ones.” Hermione thought she might strain something as she tried to keep the smile off her face. “He says there’s something special about them, but they all taste the same to me,” Ginny remarked.

Hermione snorted as she broke into laughter.

“What?” Ginny demanded.

“Have you bothered to try and find out what might be special about the green ones?”

“Well there isn’t anything, is there? I mean they all taste the same. They’re just green instead of red or blue or whatever other colors there are in the bag.

“Did you bother to ask anyone about them?”

“No.”

“Well,” Hermione replied in between giggles, “you know those are Muggle sweets, right?”

“Yes, so what?”

“Did you know there is a bit of a myth or a legend that goes with them?” Hermione asked with a smirk.

“I’m a witch, Hermione. I’ve spent about three days of my life, total, in the Muggle world. I’m not exactly up to speed on Muggle myths and legends.”

Hermione’s smile grew bigger by the second.

“Are you going to tell me, or do I have to tell the twins about you and Ron?” Ginny growled.

“First off,” Hermione said, “I want you to know there is no truth what-so-ever to this myth. It is just something - a rumor - that somehow got started, and the company that makes those things realized it was good for business, so they unofficially support the myth.”

“Get to the point, Hermione,” Ginny said exasperated at how long this was taking.

“Well, the myth says that there is an aphrodisiac in the dye for the green M&M’s,” Hermione said with a grin.

Ginny stared at her uncomprehendingly for a moment. Then her eyes went wide as she realized what Hermione was implying, and then her eyes narrowed. “Hermione Granger, if you are pulling my leg, I will never forgive you.”

“You know me better than that, Ginny.”

Ginny continued to stare warily at her. Hermione, seeing it was going to take a little more, decided to push the issue.

“When I came in here and sat down at the table, I reached for his pile of green M&M’s and he smacked my hand. He let me take some from the bag, but made me sort out and give him the green ones. He said he was saving them. Then, you come in here and he doesn’t flinch when you start eating them.

Ginny’s mouth twitched slightly, but her eyes showed that she still didn’t believe what Hermione was telling her.

“He also commented on you and Dean. He said that Dean had not paid enough attention to what could have been. Then he added, ‘Kind of like someone else’. I think he was referring to himself. He also told you, you could keep the spot as Seeker if you wanted it when, and if his ban was ever lifted. And he meant it,” Hermione added when Ginny opened her mouth to interrupt her. “You also didn’t watch his response to the two of us telling him we were not interested in going for a walk in the garden. When I told him no, there was no reaction. When you said no, I could see the disappointment in his eyes. And last of all when he went out the door, he said he would see you at dinner. He fancies you, Ginny,” Hermione finished.

“He said he would see us at dinner,” Ginny replied cautiously.

“No, he specifically said. And I quote; ‘Ok, I suppose I’ll see you at dinner then, Ginny.’ end quote. There was no mention of my name anywhere in his goodbye.

Hermione watched in amusement while Ginny’s face went through a series of contortions as she tried to stop herself from getting her hopes up. “You’re sure?” she whispered.

“As sure as I can be short of flat out asking him.”

Ginny’s eyes shot to the door, the bag of sweets and then back to Hermione. “What do I do?” she squeaked.

“That depends on whether you have given up or are not interested,” Hermione replied. She stood up and reached for the bag of M&M’s spilling some onto the table; she picked out a few of the green ones. “I think I’ll go try these on Ron. You never know, sometimes there is a little truth in legends,” she remarked as she headed for the door.

Ginny sat drumming her fingers on the table battling with herself over what to do, while staring at the bag of M&M’s. Could she put herself through this again? Would she regret it forever if she didn’t find out the truth? Finally, she picked up the bag and headed for the garden. A few minutes later she found Harry sitting on a bench by the stream where it plunged over a small waterfall.

“Hi,” he said when he saw her approaching.

“Alright, Harry?”

“Yeah,” he replied quietly while staring at the ground in front of her feet.

“Mind if I sit down?”

Harry scooted over to make room for her and she sat next to him. The bench was fairly small and she was forced to sit close enough that they were touching all the way from her ankle up her leg to her hip and side to her shoulder. She slid her hand into his the same way she had all summer when he had clammed up and refused to even pretend to be alive. Harry squeezed her hand slightly and began to rub his thumb on hers. The simple change in the intimacy level of holding hands with him sent a shiver up her spine.

“You forgot your sweets,” she said quietly.

“I was starting to get sick of them anyway.”

“You told me these were a Muggle sweet.”

“They are,” Harry replied turning to look at her.

Everyone thought it had been a little girl’s crush on the great Harry Potter, but it never was. Ginny had always known it was love. From that first glimpse of him when she was ten and didn’t even know who he was; she had been drawn to him. She had given him up as a lost cause, fought against what her heart cried for, refused to acknowledge it because of the pain his indifference caused. Now, she reluctantly lifted her eyes to his; and through their bottomless green depths, she was once again captured in the black hole of his presence.

“Are you sure? Because I seem to be feeling kind of light headed and my heart is racing about a million miles an hour. Here, try one,” she said picking out a red one. She lifted it to his lips and he took it from her. Harry chewed it, swallowed and then shook his head.

“Nope, don’t feel anything in particular.”

“What about a blue one?” Ginny asked placing it in his mouth.

“Na-ah, afraid not.” Harry shook his head.

“Maybe green?” she asked offering it to him.

Harry took the candy from her. “Hmm,” he said quietly.

“You feel something?” Ginny asked.

“Yes,” he replied staring intently into her deep chocolate brown eyes. Ginny could hardly breathe now, as his face was inches from hers. She shuddered slightly as his warm breath caressed her lips. And the scent of the chocolate that had recently been in his mouth lingering in the air between them caused her head to swim with dizziness.

“What?” she breathed.

As her lips parted to ask the question, Harry closed the last of the distance between them, lightly pressing his lips against hers. He started to pull back after a second, but Ginny leaned into him chasing his lips with hers. Harry stopped his retreat and her mouth pressed firmly against his. If her heart had been racing before, it now stopped as it adjusted to the heat of another soul caressing it. The kiss deepened and the explosion of sensations surged from her lips to her limbs causing a slight whimper to escape from her.

Harry’s mind reeled with the soft noise that escaped from the back of Ginny’s throat. This kiss, so unlike those he had shared with Cho Chang, reached into him and the essence of the girl he now held in his arms laid claim on his heart. Ginny slowly pulled away from him, the contact between their lips becoming softer and then finally breaking over the course of several seconds.

Harry blinked his eyes a few times as he recovered his senses and his breathing slowed to a more normal rate. He stared into Ginny’s flushed face; entranced with the beauty he had only so recently discovered.

“You didn’t answer my question,” she whispered.

“That I want to kiss you,” he said softly when she opened her eyes to look at him.

“Took you long enough,” she said leaning in to capture his lips again.