Captivate and Mesmerize

Captivate; Part 1.3

Over the next few months, Hermione became consciously aware of Harry's body. Or rather, she became aware of his tattoos. Because every time she would see him after an extended period of time apart, he almost always had something different inked on his skin.

She saw some of them in full, such as the small Firebolt on the side of his left index finger and the depiction of an owl flying - Hedwig, no doubt - which was added just above the lily. Some of them she could only glimpse in pieces and left her wondering what the full picture was. There was a lick of fire circling his left bicep but the ink extended underneath his clothes. It would be inappropriate of her to ask him to take off his shirt so she could see all of it so Hermione was left burning holes on Harry's left arm as she tried to imagine what that particular tattoo was.

It had become a sort of past time for her; something she would do when her mind couldn't concentrate and her thoughts drifted to her best friend. His tattoos were just too damn captivating, especially the fire! Was it a dragon's firey breath? Perhaps it was a Horntail unleashing its terror into the night. Or maybe it's just fire? Harry was allowed to get any tattoo he wanted; it doesn't have to hold any significance. Maybe it's just a design he really liked?

Hermione had so many questions about his tattoo but she kept them all to herself because really, she shouldn't be so nosy. He would show her his tattoo if he wanted to and so far, he had shown no inclination of doing so with this one.

But why couldn't she stop wondering? Why couldn't she stop thinking about his tattoos and thinking about, well, him? She tried to tell herself it was simply her curiosity that kept her up at night with thoughts of her best friend. That was the easiest thing to do since thinking otherwise would mean there was something she was unaware of and she couldn't have that. So, Hermione let herself think unabashedly about Harry and his tattoos because she was curious.