Doesn't She Know?

A/N: Again, thanks for the wonderful feedback. I’m so glad the second chapter was so well-received. And by popular demand, here it is. The third and FINAL chapter. I hope it’s to everyone’s liking. We aim to please! More H/Hr fluffiness ahead!!

By the way, this chapter is dedicated to all of you H/Hr Shippers and PumpkinPie-ers. Is it just me, or can you just not get enough of that new Harry/Hermione press pic…sigh.

Tidbits: Seventh year. Nobody’s point of view this time. LOL!!

Happy Holidays to my new friends on Portkey!

Disclaimer: These wonderful characters belong to none other than the brilliant Goddess of the Harry Potter universe, JK Rowling. Thank you for creating such a wonderful world to play in!

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Chapter 3 – Is This Real?

“Harry?” He heard her voice but it seemed so far away. “Harry?” He jerked himself awake and picked his head up from his arm. His eyes blinked a few times before trying to focus on the sight before him. Even blurred by his horrible vision she was beautiful.

“Hey.” He said, sitting up, putting his glasses on.

She just grinned at him. “Time to go.”

“What?” He said, squinting at the clock. “What time is it?”

“Dinner time.” She said, picking up her book bag from the table and standing patiently by as he gathered his books and stuffed them in his backpack. She did notice how careful he was when putting away his quill, the one she had given him. “Ready?” He smiled and took her bag. “You don’t have to….”

“Shush.” He said, throwing it over his shoulder. She just shrugged and followed him from the library. After a quick dinner, they headed back to the common room. It was still deserted. “Must not be back from Hogsmeade yet.” He said, plopping down on the comfy sofa in front of the fireplace.

“It was a beautiful day for it.” She said quietly, sitting beside him. He looked over at her and noticed her attempt to look away before he caught her. Too late, luv. He saw her face flushing wildly and grinned.

Putting his head back against the couch, Harry closed his eyes and sighed. “So what did we get accomplished today?”

“Well, I got quite a bit done.” She said matter-of-factly. “You, on the other hand…what did you get done, Harry?”

“Not a bloody thing.” He said. “And at the moment, I don’t care.”

Hermione sighed and laid her head against his shoulder. Normally she would be scolding him for not studying enough, but she agreed wit him. At the moment, I don’t care. He looked down at her and without thinking, kissed the top of her head. She froze. “Harry?”

“Yeah?” He said, sounding suddenly very distant.

“I think we need to talk.” She said quietly.

He lifted his head and gently took her hand from her lap, lacing his fingers through hers. “Yeah, I’d say we do.” He said softly, lifting her chin with one of those beautiful fingers.

Oh, bloody hell…. Being forced to look into his magnificent green eyes, she felt herself falling, faster and faster, into the oblivion that was her Harry. She hadn’t realized just how close he suddenly was and her entire body began to tremble. She was not ready for this. “I….”

He shook his head as his hand moved from her chin to the side of her face, cupping it gently, his thumb softly caressing her cheek. “Don’t say anything.” He whispered, leaning in to kiss her. He wasn’t quite sure where all this bravery had come from, but at the moment, he was beyond caring.

Hermione froze up when their lips made contact. Was it because he had kissed her this time? That he had taken control of the situation before she had prepared herself for it? Perhaps because this kiss was a little more forceful than their first one had been? Whatever the case, it scared the hell out of her and she gently pushed him away. That coldness was back. The moment their lips parted, she felt empty and cold. She trembled harder as she quickly got up and stood beside the fire, wrapping her arms around her middle, not looking at him. “Hermione….”

“What are we doing, Harry?” She asked, her voice shaking as much as she was.

He stood up and moved to stand beside her. She took a step back from him. Now he was really worried. Had he scared her? He had just messed up any chance at all he might have had with her? Nice going, Romeo. You’ve terrified the poor girl. “Hermione….” He said, reaching out to her but she backed away.

She looked up at him and the tears in her eyes alarmed him. It felt like someone had punched him in the gut. He had made her cry. All these years he had sworn to brutally torture anyone who dared to upset so much to make her cry. And here she was crying…because of him. Let the self-torture begin, Potter. “Really?” She suddenly asked.

He was quiet for a moment while he contemplated the word. What did it mean? He had a vague idea. And his ideas had been wrong—so wrong—before. But he decided to take the chance and prayed to Merlin or whatever higher power there was in the universe that he was right. He nodded his head and grinned gently.

Before Harry knew what had happened, Hermione had flung herself on him and was holding onto him for all she was worth. As he wrapped his strong arms about her, he could feel her tiny body trembling and heard her sobbing into his chest. And he hated it. He hated himself for making her feel this way. Although, something told him that these tears weren’t tears of sadness.

Holding her tighter and rocking her gently, Harry buried his face in her hair. It was now or never. This was as close to a perfect moment as there ever would be. Saying another prayer to whomever the other one had been to, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He closed his eyes and threw all caution the wind. “I love you.” He whispered.

This only made Hermione cry harder, but something deep inside Harry knew it was okay. It was all okay. She seemed to pull herself against him tighter, like she was trying to become part of him. And it was all prefect and wonderful, but he really wished she’d stop crying. “Please say something.” He asked against her ear, all the while becoming very aware of the softness of her skin and the smell of vanilla in her hair.

She suddenly pulled away, but only far enough so she could look up at him. She never wanted to not be in his arms for as long as remained alive. “There’s only one thing I could possibly say right now.” She said, tears still steaming down her lovely face.

He frowned and reached out to wipe tears from her cheeks with this thumb. “And what would that be?” He asked quietly.

She smiled then, putting a hand on his cheek. “I love you, too.” She said in a quiet whisper.

Harry smiled. Not that smile. But a smile that melted her entire being. Her heart, her soul. A smile that was for her, and only for her. A smile that she would see every time they looked at each other. He pulled her against him and hugged her so tightly she was almost suffocating but she didn’t care. He rocked her back and forth for what seemed like forever.

He slowly pulled back and looked down at her. “No more tears, okay?” He asked, and she nodded, grinning shyly. “Except maybe on our wedding day. I’ll allow that.” She laughed with joy and suddenly grabbed his head, kissing him.

This kiss wasn’t at all like the chaste, gentle one they’d shared by the lake earlier that day, or even the one just a few minutes ago. This kiss was full of fiery passion that shook them both to their very cores. Hermione groaned in the pit of her throat when she felt his tongue running along her bottom lip, seeking entrance to her mouth. Which she gave to him gladly. Harry’s hands gripped her tiny waist as the kiss deepened, their tongues twirling around each other, tasting and exploring. It was a feeling that Harry never again wanted to be without.

They were so caught up in their own little world that they hadn’t heard the portrait door open and their group of friends come in. They all stood there watching the grand spectacle that was Harry and Hermione’s first kiss. Well, the first one they had seen anyway. Lavender, Parvati, Luna, and Ginny had tears in their eyes and had ridiculously happy grins on their faces. Ron, Neville, Dean, and Seamus were smiling from ear to ear. Oh, Harry was going to be teased unmercifully when they got him back up to their dorm.

Ron suddenly cleared his throat…loudly. Harry and Hermione jumped apart, both blushing flaming red when they saw their friends standing there. “Get a room, you two.” Ron said, and everyone in the room burst out in laughter. Everyone except the two of them. Hermione buried her face against Harry’s chest and he put a comforting arm around her. She was clearly embarrassed.

“Do you mind?” Harry said, aggravated that they had been interrupted.

“Do we mind what?” Seamus asked, raising a curious eyebrow at him. “This is the common room, not the astronomy tower.”

“Oh, ha ha.” Harry said, feeling Hermione stir against him. He loosened his arm from around her shoulder as she stood up straight. She looked at the group and noticed that her girlfriends were still standing there with looks of pure bliss on their faces. Suddenly, Ginny ran towards her, grabbed her hand, and dragged her towards the stairs. Lavender, Luna, and Parvati quickly followed. She looked back towards Harry with an I’m sorry look on her face then she disappeared up the stairwell.

He grinned and kicked the carpet at his feet. He felt the guys coming closer and he looked up. “What?” He asked, looking at his friends.

Ron, Seamus, Dean and Neville all looked at each other, then Neville smiled at him. “It’s about time.” He said. Harry laughed and fell back on the couch.

“Come on.” Ron said. “Let’s play chess.” Harry just nodded and glanced up the stairs towards the dormitories. He sighed quietly and watched as Ron set up the chess board.

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As Harry regained consciousness, the only sound he heard was the fire crackling. He must have fallen asleep. Then, all at once, another sensation was realized. Someone was running their hands through his hair. And his head was lying on something much softer than the armrest of the couch. He opened his eyes and was looking up into the face of the girl—woman—he loved. “Hi.”

Hermione smiled. “Hi.” She said quietly.

He moved to sit up, but she put her hand gently on his shoulder. “Don’t get up.”

Harry looked around the room; they were alone. “What time is it?”

“It’s late.” She said quietly, looking down on him. Her face was gentle, her eyes full of love—love for him; he was sure he had found heaven on earth. His head was resting comfortably in her lap, her small hand was slowly running through his hair. Her other hand was resting gently on his stomach.

“Why are you up then?” He asked, concerned.

She smiled. “Once my interrogation was over, I came back down here to see if you were still up.” He laughed softly. “Everyone had gone to bed. But here you were asleep on the couch.”

“So how did it go?” He asked, stroking the hand on his stomach slowly.

“Oh, you know them.” Hermione said. “They wanted to know about every single second of what had happened today.” She paused and looked up at the fire. “They were all swooning.” Harry laughed. “Harry?”

Her voice was strange. It sounded different. There was a cadence to it that he couldn’t place. This wasn’t thoughtful Hermione, profound Hermione, or any other Hermione that he had come to know over the years. This was Hermione in love. And it was a Hermione that he wanted to keep as close as possible to him for the rest of his life. “Yeah?”

She looked back down at him and her eyes shined with tears. “Is this real?”

Harry smiled and sat up. He put his hand on her cheek and pulled her face around to his. Their lips met in a slow, gentle kiss, and full of love and the promises of things to come. When he pulled back, she saw that his eyes were shining, too. “Oh, yeah, this is real.” He whispered.

She smiled and fell against him. He held her tightly as he lay down on the couch, taking her down with him. She was snuggled between the back of the couch and his warm body, her head resting against his chest. And she wanted to stay there forever. “Go to sleep, Mione.” He said, gently stroking her back. She closed her eyes as she listened to sound of his heart beat.

Is this real? Bloody hell it is. Harry’s face relaxed into a slight smile as he drifted off to sleep, the woman he loved wrapped in his arms.