Unofficial Portkey Archive

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 (July 1)
Challenge: Harry. Hermione. Rain.
Title: Dropping the Hint
Word Count: 1,024

Harry sat in the common room, chin in his hand, watching the rain fall outside. The autumn afternoon was bleak and dreary, and he was sick of sitting around. It was a very rare situation that he had all his homework done on a Saturday. He'd really hoped to enjoy the afternoon outside because he'd spent the last several Saturdays in the library. Well, that wasn't so bad a thing.

Hermione, his usual study partner, sat on the couch across from him, reading a book…or at least pretending to read it. Watching her, he realized her eyes hadn't moved for at least five minutes, and she hadn't turned a page in about ten minutes. As much as the girl loved reading, she clearly wasn't having any more fun than Harry was. He looked back to the window and sighed. It was getting late and the sun would be going down soon. Then something hit him.

Without warning, Harry stood up from the couch, grabbed Hermione's hand, and pulled her to her feet. Out of complete shock, her book dropped from her hands and hit the floor. Before she could question him or protest, he drug her straight to the portrait hole and out into the castle.

"Harry?!" she said, finally shaking her astonishment a few steps later. "Where are you taking me?"

"Outside," he said casually and continued to drag her down the hallways.

"Outside? In the rain? Are you crazy??"

He shrugged, but didn't look back at her. "Perhaps."

"Harry, we'll catch cold!"

"I don't mind. Pepperup Potion isn't all that bad."

"But…but why are we going outside?"

"Because I'm bored. And you're bored," he said as they passed the third floor corridor. "And I'm tired of being inside."

She didn't argue; he had a point.

They rounded the last corner and made their way down the staircase to the castle doors. As they came near the doors, Hermione hesitated. "You were serious?" she gasped, pulling back. "Harry, stop! We can't go out there!"

"Yes we can…and we are." He pushed open the large door and pulled Hermione outside with him.

"Harry!" she screamed as the first cold drops hit her face.

He looked back at her and grinned, but just kept pulling her along, his own cheeks getting pelted with the drops.

"It's…cold," she said pitifully and at last she gave up on pulling back from him.

Harry was heading for the lake and in just a few seconds both were soaked thoroughly. He could hear Hermione whimpering behind him and he couldn't help but smile at her reluctant surrender.

At the edge of the lake stood an old willow tree which was shaped like a large umbrella. It had been cut back to prevent a completely enclosed space, likely to keep the students from hiding within, but it still provided enough shelter that the ground was barely damp under it.

Harry pulled Hermione up under the branches and at last he stopped. He let go of her hand and sat down, bringing his knees up to his chest. She stood for a moment, as if she were in a haze from being soaked, then finally coming to, she sat down next to Harry. He didn't say anything, but looked out over the lake, watching the raindrops hit the surface.

Hermione watched him, waiting for him to tell her why they'd come outside in the rain, but his gaze stayed fixed on the water. A minute later she broke the silence.

"So…now what?"

"Now we enjoy the outdoors."

She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could speak something caught her attention, and she gasped.

"Harry…" she said softly, "stay very still."

She shifted closer to him and then leaned in, her face coming nearer and nearer to his. He did as she said and didn't move a muscle, nervously wondering why her brown eyes and pink lips were just inches away. Finally he couldn't control himself anymore and he swallowed.

Hermione reached up. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her hand nearing his face and his eyes grew wide.

"Harry, look," she said, moving to kneel in front of him and bringing her hand around. In her palm was a tiny, fluttering, insect-like creature. But on closer inspection, it didn't look like an insect at all. It was a small glowing orb, bluish in color, and was no bigger than a centimeter around.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I think," she said, examining it closely, "it's a water whisp."

"A water whisp? How do you know?"

She grinned shyly. "I've read about them. They're a type of faerie. They come out at dusk when it's raining, and humans usually can't see them because they blend in with the raindrops. It's really rare for people to spot them."

"What do they do?"

"Supposedly if you follow them, you'll find hundreds of them where they gather and hold faerie celebrations. But they also say that you'll never find your way home again once you follow a whisp."

"Perhaps we should let it go then," Harry said, grinning.

Hermione smiled and opened her hand, lightly tossing the whisp into the air. It fluttered off toward the lake and they lost sight of it.

"Wow," she said quietly. She was still looking in the direction it flew.

"Yeah," he agreed, smiling at the expression on her face.

She finally looked back and saw Harry smiling at her, and she blushed a little. They both looked away quickly, feeling the strange tension that had been growing for months come to a peak.

Harry's heart beat rapidly. He wasn't sure what was happening between them, but this feeling was different than anything he'd ever felt before. He didn't know what to do or say, so he tried focusing on the lake again, hoping Hermione didn't see how he had tensed.

"Harry?"

He turned his face to her, but didn't meet her eyes. He heard her take a deep breath.

"Now would be a really perfect time to kiss me," she said softly. "If you wanted to, that is."

So he did.