Author's Note: These stories are all one-shot, 1000-word responses to the Summer Writing Series Challenge, so each one is not related to
the next.
Summer Writing Series Challenge (June 7)
Challenge: Harry and Hermione Bump Heads
Title: Speechless
Word Count: 1,000
It happened in an instant. We were working on our potions assignment, brewing a billywig sting tonic, when I dropped
the ladybird wings. Feeling rather foolish, I leaned down to pick them up. I had just reached out to grab them when I
heard a loud crack and felt a sharp pain in my head. Harry, being polite as always, had gone to pick them up as well,
and we bumped heads. Well, bumped is putting it mildly…rather, we collided with the force of two rampaging
hippogriffs!
We each put our hands to our heads and looked up, wincing with the pain. His glasses had gone askew and my eyes were watering. Apparently Ron found the situation hilarious, as he was nearly doubled over with laughter.
Harry looked apologetic. "Sorry, Hermione…I didn't…."
"It's ok," I interrupted with a weak smile. "I didn't see you either." I felt my cheeks flush, and as Harry straightened his glasses, I couldn't help but notice a tinge of pink in his face as well. I assumed we had both stood too quickly.
I glanced over his shoulder at Ron, who was wiping tears from his eyes.
"That was brilliant, you two," he said with a wide grin, still laughing. "The Boy Who Lived and the cleverest witch in school, banging heads and nearly knocking one another unconscious. If you're lucky, Harry, maybe she knocked some sense into you!"
"Very funny," Harry said sarcastically.
We went back to work on our tonic, neither one saying much before the bell rang. When class was dismissed, we gathered our things and left the dungeons. Ron amused himself (and only himself) by recounting the head-banging incident with great mirth to anyone who would listen. Harry and I walked quietly, and if it weren't for my pounding head I would have hexed Ron's mouth shut.
"I think I'm going to see Madam Pomfrey," I said quietly as we neared the Great Hall. I needed to be able to concentrate in my afternoon classes, and there was no way that would happen with my head in its current state.
"I'm coming with you," Harry said.
I'm sure the look on my face was one of surprise, probably mixed with a bit of worry, because he smiled shyly and said, "I have a bit of a headache, too."
"I'll see you in class then," Ron said, and with a wave he was gone.
More than ever before, the hospital wing seemed miles away. Harry and I walked in silence, and it was hard to tell if it was because of our mutual headaches, or something else. I couldn't be sure if he felt it, but I knew it was there…the awkward silence between two people who have something to say, but not the nerve to say it.
I was sure we'd climbed at least a thousand stairs, and as we went up the final steps, a wave of dizziness suddenly washed over me. I paused a moment, letting Harry walk ahead. He had just turned around when my knees began to buckle.
"Hermione!" he gasped, dropping his books as he reached out to stop my fall -- one arm wrapped around my waist, the other snaked under my arm, holding steadily to the top of my back. He lowered me to the nearest step and came around to kneel before me, placing his hands on mine in my lap.
"Hermione, are you ok?" he asked, clearly worried about my condition.
My eyes were still closed and I breathed deeply, trying to clear the fuzziness from my mind. When I opened them I found his bright green eyes searching mine, his brow furrowed with concern.
Once again I smiled weakly. "I'll be fine, Harry. I just got a little dizzy." I started to stand up, but he held my hands tightly and made me stay seated.
"You should probably just sit still for a few minutes." He let out a deep breath. "You really scared me. If you had fallen backward down the stairs…." He looked down at our hands, and I felt him give a little squeeze.
I squeezed back gently. "I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I didn't mean to frighten you. But…well, I'm glad you were there to catch me."
He looked up and smiled that shy smile again. "I'll always be there to catch you, Hermione."
I'm not sure if my face went solid white, or if it was red…I think maybe white first, then red…but I do know that my heart completely stopped, if only for a moment, before it beat out a rapid cadence that he surely felt in his grip on my hands. Harry was my best friend, but it had taken everything in me to keep myself grounded with that in mind over the past few years. I hadn't let anyone know that I was in love with him; especially him.
I was rendered speechless, which so rarely happens to me, but never was I happier to be at a loss for words. After all, if my mouth had been blithering on, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to do what he did next; he kissed me.
For a brief moment in time, Harry Potter's lips were pressed to mine, and it was heaven.
It was quick and sweet, but it took my breath away. And as I opened my eyes, I just had time to see his pink cheeks and sly grin before he gently pulled me to my feet.
"Let's go get something for your headache," he said, guiding me up the stairs.
"I…I don't really have a headache anymore," I said, trying hard to bury the smile that was itching to burst from my lips.
He stopped. "Neither do I."
We both smiled shyly, and I gladly relinquished all hope of concentrating in my afternoon classes.
"Maybe Ron was right…" I thought. "I did knock some sense into him." And I smiled to myself as we walked hand-in-hand to our next class.