Just a Slight Allergy
a Harry Potter story
by delirium
"Haahh..ahh..ahhhaaahh..!... oh. Damn. I hate that!" A frustrated Hermione Granger cursed to no one in particular. She rubbed at her nose furiously and gave a couple of sniffles.
Hermione'd been trying to complete her Potions essay ( two feet on the properties of a vertitaserum ) for the past three hours. Normally, it wouldn't have taken her this long, but she kept getting distracted by a tickle deep in her nose that wouldn't seem to go away. No matter how much she rubbed at or blew her nose, the tickle came back.
All she got was a sore, red nose. One that tickled.
She took her handkerchief from her pocket and blew her nose again. It produced a dry, almost honking sound, that made Hermione blush furiously and shove the hanky back into her pocket. She sighed and leaned back against the couch. She'd never finish this essay. Suddenly, the tickle returned.
"Hahh..hahh.." She quickly took the hanky back out of her pocket and held it to her face, hoping for maybe a sneeze. "Hahh.. hah..hahhehh..hehSHMMPH!" The force of the sneeze made her eyes water. She blinked the tears away and pressed the handkerchief back to her nose, feeling the tickle again. "Hah- SHMMPH! Hahh-SHHMPH! Oh.. Hehh.. hah..haSHCHHH!"
She kept the handkerchief pressed to her face and blew her nose again. It was a much more satisfying blow than before, and Hermione leaned back, breathing slightly hard, looking relieved. She closed her eyes and let out a breath, then returned to her essay.
She had almost completed the essay when the tickle returned. She rubbed a finger under her nose absentmindedly and kept writing. Nonetheless, the tickle kept growing.
She was almost done. Just had to finish this one sentence. Her nose was twitching and turning slightly pink. She sniffled a few times, bringing her left arm up and holding her wrist under her nose. Almost done.. almost..
She couldn't hold it back any longer. She dropped the quill and stuck her right hand into her pocket, fishing around for her handkerchief. Too late. "Hshshhhchh!" She sneezed wetly into the crook of her arm, then sniffled a few times shakily."Heschhchh! HihSCHHH!"
Blushing, and looking around to make sure no one was looking at her, she took her handkerchief and blew her nose several times. She sighed and held the hanky to her nose as she completed the essay, then rolled it up and put it in her bag. Curling up on the couch, she sat, hanky to nose, just rubbing and blowing and looking downright miserable, until she fell asleep.
"Ohh..." A groan came from the curled form of Hermione Granger. She must have slept for hours. Oh, damn- she had missed the very class that she'd been writing the essay for!
Hermione groaned again and sat up, sniffling tiredly. When she sat, something very damp fell into her lap. It was her handkerchief. Hermione'd apparently fallen asleep with the hanky still at her nose, which had proceeded to run all over the normally pristine cloth. She pulled it from her lap and back to her dripping nose, massaging it between her thumb and index finger.
Hermione had terrible summer allergies, and they felt like she was feeling now. The constant tickle in the back of a runny nose.. but it was the middle of winter. It couldn't have been a cold, either- with colds, Hermione would always get bronchitis along with it, so she would have had a terrible, rib spasming cough- what she had wasn't a cold.
"I bust've developed a dew allergy to sobethig," Hermione said stuffily to herself, sniffling again. The sniffle intensified the burning sensation in her nose, and Hermione's pink nostrils flared. She pressed the hanky to her nose and drew in a shaky, hitching breath. "Hih.. hih-HAHhh.. heh..hih-EHTTTSCHH!" She pitched forward with the force of the sneeze, and wasn't even able to catch her breath before more came. "Ettschhh-hEH! Ehhheh-HETSSSCHHHhhh.." A soft wheezing sound escaped Hermione's lips and her eyes watered. "Hih-SHCHHHhihh.."
Quickly, Hermione blew her nose with the hanky. She blew and blew until her nose was clear, then folded the hanky gingerly and put it back in her pocket. She gathered her things and left for the Common Room.
Unfortunately, Hermione hadn't taken into account that she may need to sneeze on the way. This first occured to her when the tickle began to grow as she was climing the stairs. Her arms were full of books. Thinking of nothing else, she directed the sneeze into her shoulder. "Hah-HSHHMPH!" She shifted her books over to her right arm and held her left hand under her nose, catching another sneeze. "Heh- CCHSSHUHuhh.." She felt more coming.
"Heh-SSHSHHuhhh...Huh-USCHHuhh..hih..hahh..SCCHHUhh!..hahhh.." and the tickle died back, for now. She rubbed hard at her nose until it was red and sore, and then had to wipe her hand on the inside of her skirt. She shifted her books back into both arms, and, sniffling hard, dashed back to the common room before she had to sneeze again. She'd see Madam Pomfrey tommorow- despite her long nap, she was exausted.
"Heh-SCHHHUHSHhh! Heehh-SCHUSH! Hihh..heh-SCHUSCHHhhuhh..heh-SCHHHuhh-HUHSSCH!.." Hermione sat on the edge of her bed, her face buried in a handkerchief. She pitched forward with the force of every sneeze. She had made it to the common room without any sneezes, but now that she was back in her dorm, they were coming like crazy. "HehssCCHHH! HehSCHSHhhshh.. Hahh.. hhiihIIHhh... Hah-ISCCCHHSHH!.. ohhhh.."
Hermione blew her nose hard, then wiped at her raw, pink nostrils with the corner of the cloth. She sniffled hard and quickly had to catch another bout of sneezes. "Hahh-ISCHHSHH! Hih-ISCHHH! Hahh-heh-ISSCHuuhhh.." Hermione's eyes were watering by now. She blew her nose hard again, setting her hanky on her bedside table and flopping back onto the bed, rubbing a finger under her red, sore nose.
"You okay, 'Mione?" It was the concerned-sounding voice of Ginny Weasley, her red head poking in through the door. "You sound terrible."
Hermione sat, wiping at her nose on the back of her hand and sniffling. "Oh..'lo, Giddy.. I duddo if I'b ogkay or dot," answered Hermione stuffily, then, hearing herself, blushed deeply, then turned and blew her nose. "'I just think I must've developed a new allehh..allerh...hah-ETSSCHH!" A sniffle. "'scuse me, sorry," she said sheepishly, then repeated, "I think I must've developed an allergy to something."
"Aww, 'Mione," cooed Ginny, entering the room and slipping onto the bed next to Hermione. "Why don't you take a shower? That usually helps me when my allergies get bad." She slowly slipped her arm around Hermione's waist.
"..maybe," answered Hermione, sniffling again. "Thanks, I think I will." "Good. I want you to feel better!" said Ginny, squeezing Hermione around the waist. "Thanks," Hermione replied, and then left for the showers.
Hermione hurried down to the bathroom, stifling a few sneezes on the way. When she'd reached the showers, she pulled off her robes, then her tie, then her shoes and socks, and proceeded to undress completely.
"Hah-UCHSHHH!" With another sneeze into her hand, she turned the water on. She let out a contented sigh when the warm water hit her bare shoulders, and shivered a bit. "Hah-UCSSHHHhh! Hah..hah-UCSSHHHH!"
Both of these sneezes bent her double, and were directed into her cupped hands. Strangely, though, the water wasn't helping like Ginny said it would. Sure, it FELT good, but wasn't helping her sneezes. "Hah-USCHHH!"
She managed to finish her shower with only a few stray sneezes here and there. "Hah-USCHHH!" After another sneeze into her cupped hands, she turned the water off and wrapped a towel around herself, hurrying back to the common room.
"Ahh-sshhew!" Hermione heard this noise from her dorm before she reached it. Hurrying in, she saw Ginny still on her bed, pinching her nose with a pink hanky. "Ahh-shshheww!"
"Ginny?"
"Ahh-SSHHeeww! Ohh.. 'Mione, I think I'm allergic to it too..ahh-SHHHheww!"
Hermione's eyes widened and she rushed to Ginny's side, still clutching the towel to herself. "I'm so sorry! Do you know what it could be?...hhah-USSCHH!"
"Ahh-sssSHHEWW! Ohhh.. I dunno, the only things I'm allergic to are grass and perfumes, and there's no grass in he-he- Ashh-SHHEWW!"
"Perfume!" Hermione gasped. "That must be what it ih-hah-USCHH! That must be what is is. Oh, we're both in a terrible state.. I'm so sorry, Ginny."
"Hah-ASHHEWW!" She blew her nose lightly into the pink hanky that was still clutched to her face. "It's alright, really.. you didn't kn..hah-SHHEWW!" A cough. "You didn't know."
"Oh, Ginny. Neither of us can stay in here..hahh..ahh.." Her eyes fluttered, and she let out a breath. "Would you absolutely hate sharing your bed with me tonight? I'll have to figure out some way to get the smell out of here, but I can do that tommorow..hah-ESCHHH!"
Ginny pulled the hanky away from her face, grinning charmingly. "Oh, no, I wouldn't mind at all. We're both small, and my bed's rather large..hah-SSHHEW!"
"Oh, thanks, Ginny.. you're a lifesaver..heh-SSSSCHH! Lemme just get dressed.."
"It's no problem, really." Ginny was smirking and rubbing at her nose, then skipped out of the room with a last "Hahh- SSHHEW!"
"Heh-ESCHHuhhh!" Hermione Granger sneezed into the crook of her arm. She was in her underthings, searching for her nightclothes. She produced a very muggle-looking pajama set- a long sleeved button up top and bottoms that had stars on them, and pulled them on. She went to her bedside table and got her handkerchief, blew her nose hard, then pulled a fresh hanky from a drawer for the night. She left the Prefect's Dorm and started to the Sixth Years Girls' Dorm.
"Ah-EHSCHEWW!" Ginny Weasley sneezed girlishly into her pink handkerchief, that was also rather girlish. She had hastily put her best pillowcases on and changed her sheets, and actually lit a candle, put it out, lit it again, put it out, unable to make up her mind, and finally lit it again and decided that it was going to stay that way. She had also put on a plain white silk slip, to sleep in. "Ah-SCHEWW!"
She had been just fine before she entered Hermione's dorm, but then a familiar tickle entered her nose and it just wouldn't go away. She was so terribly allergic to perfumes, all of them. "Ah-shhHEEWW!"
"Bless you, bless you!" Exclaimed Hermione as she entered the dorm. She was clutching the hanky. "Thank you so much for letting me sleep in your bed, I'm so sorry about the perfume.."
"It's alright, really. Not your fault."
"Hah-USCHSCHH!"
"Bless you," Giggled Ginny, climbing into her bed and pulling the covers from under the pillows. "Go ahead, get in."
Hermione hopped in, rubbing her nose. "I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to be sneezing all night," She said, rubbing the bridge of her nose."
"Oh, it's fine, I will be too," answered Ginny, giggling, before ducking her head into her hanky. "Ah-schhhEW! Ah- schheww! Ehh-schheww!" She collapsed back onto the bed, breathing hard through her mouth. "Ughhh. 'scuse be, 'Biode," she said stuffily, before blowing her nose.
"S'okay.. ohh.." She sniffled hard, as did Ginny, but Ginny's sniffle sent her into a dreadful coughing fit. She sat up, one hand in a fist over her mouth, the other over her chest as she coughed, her thin frame wracking with each cough.
Hermione sat up quickly, rubbing her hand up and down Ginny's back slowly. About thirty seconds later, the coughing had died down, and Ginny was wheezing and panting. Hermione had pulled her close and was still rubbing her back. "Are you alright?" She whispered into Ginny's ear.
"Yeah.. I'b fide.. I just.. sobetibes get these.. really bad coughig fits.. when by allergies are actig up," she said in a hoarse, stuffy voice, in between harsh breaths. "And.. ohh, let be blow by dose.." She took her hanky and blew hard, until it made a harsh, almost honking noise.
"Ohh, I'm so sorry, Ginny. I really didn't mean for you to.. too.. heh-USCHH! hehh-ussCHHH! USSCHhhh!" Hermione was bent forward, hanky clutched over her nose. "Hahh-SCHhuhh..huhschhhshh..hah-sshuchhhh....hahh-heh- SCUSshhh..haahh..hah.. Ohhh.. There're more.. coming-" At this, Ginny put her arm around Hermione-"..hah-SSShuschh! hih-ssshusschh..UUHsschhh.." The sneezes were growing tireder and tireder as they came. She finally forced herself to blow her nose before any more could.
Ginny squeezed her around the shoulders. "Blesses," she murmured, leaning over and giving Hermione a kiss on the cheek.
Hermione felt a shudder go through her after Ginny kissed her. She turned her head to look at Ginny. They were both sniffling madly, and both of their eyes were rimmed with red, but something about Ginny in this state, next to her in bed, smiling sweetly, was just cute and irresistible. Hermione leaned forward a bit, then, as Ginny leaned forward as well, still looking adorable with that sweet smile, batting her eyelashes. Ginny slid an arm around Hermione's waist, and Hermione just gazed into Ginny's big (albeit reddish and watery ) blue eyes, and couldn't help it.
She leaned in and pressed her lips to Ginny's softly. "Hahh..hah-hah-SCHHISH!"
Hemrione had pulled quickly out of the kiss she was sharing with Ginny to sneeze, her face buried in her hands. When the sneeze had gone, Hermione looked up, looking incredibly embarassed. "Oh, Ginny, I- I'm so sorry, I just..had to sneh...sn-Hah-SSCHIHSH! Oh gods, I'm so sorry.." she apologized, starting to sniffle.
"No worries, love, it's perfectly alright." She took Hermione's handkerchief and held it to the sniffling girl's nose. "Here."
Hermoine, unwilling to actually blow her nose into a cloth that Ginny was holding, just sniffled a bit more and let her nose run into the cloth.
"Oh, go ahead and blow, silly."
Hermione sighed and, reluctantly, blew, but softly. "Good. That's better, isn't it?" Cooed Ginny, placing Hermione's hanky aside, and promptly sneezed into the crook of her arm. "Heh-SCHHEW!" A sniffle, and a giggle. "Sorry."
"Blesses," murmured Hermione, gazing at Ginny for a moment, then leaning in and kissing the corner of her mouth gently.
Ginny moved her head slightly, so that their lips met, and were kissing full-on. They were both sniffling madly in order to hold the kiss without their noses dripping. They managed this for at least a minute, but then Ginny made a "mmph" sound and pulled away, her nostrils flaring. "Heh-hah-hahSHHEW! hmmph-SHEWW! Hah-hehSCHEW! ..ohh. 'scuse me.." she moaned, flopping back onto the bed.
"B-blessyou-huuSCHHH!" Hermione flopped backwards as well, her hand cupped under her nose. ""HuhhSCHUSHH!"
"Ehh-SCHEWW! We're a mess, aren't we?" Remarked Ginny, reaching for her handkerchief, as well as Hermione's. She handed it to her, then blew her nose with her own, as did Hermione.
"Hah-SCHUSSHH! You know.. what we were doing a minute ago?"
"Yeah?" Responded Ginny, turning on her side to gaze at Hermione. "Maybe we could.. hah-USCHHH! Do that tommorow when we're not so.. hah-USSCHHH! ..sneezy?"
"Ah-SCHEWW! Sounds good to me."
"Uhh-sSCHUhhh! Me too.. I really like you, you..hah-SCHHUUH!" A sniffle. "You know."
Ginny giggled. "I like you too, 'Mione."
"Uhhahh-SSCHH! Good. G'night, then."
Ginny leaned over and kissed Hermione gently for a moment, then pulled away, smiling. "'night, love. ..hah-SCHEWW!"
The end!
I don't own these characters, no.
It was written in five parts, sorry if that's incredibly obvious. These parts are also all posted seperately on the sneezefetishforum.