Once they had all arrived at The Burrow and had lunch, everyone went their separate ways. Bill, Charlie, and Percy retired to their rooms to do some work. Fred and George went to their room to work on some new business deals, and Ginny was off to Owl-message with all her friends. Mr. Weasley went into his room to get a nap, and Mrs. Weasley buried her head in a couple of books right next to him.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione went up to Ron's bedroom to sit around and chat. They spent the time until dinner just catching up on each other and exchanging what all had happened with each of them since Platform 9 and 3/4 a little while ago.
After dinner, everyone retired to their rooms again. It had been decided that Harry would sleep in Ron's room and Hermione would sleep in the guest room. Soon after dinner, everyone went to bed, because of being so pooped out from the day's events.
*~*
Sometime in the middle of the night, Harry got up, thirsting for water. He quietly crept downstairs and drank some, and was padding back up the stairs when he walked straight into- Hermione!
"Eeep!" Hermione squealed.
"Ooh!" Harry exclaimed.
They both realized who it was they had bumped into, and laughed. Harry looked quizzically at Hermione. "What's up?" he asked.
"Oh- well-" Hermione looked nervous, and she anxiously fiddled with her hair for a second before responding. "Well, to tell the truth- I was really, um- scared, I guess- and I was coming to see if I could talk to y-"
Harry grinned at her as she broke off, looking even more nervous than before.
"Sure," he said. "But- um- did you want to, um, talk in the middle of the hallway or something...?"
Hermione laughed, her nervousness ebbing away. "Oh- no- I didn't really think about that-" she broke off.
Harry grinned. "We'll go up to your room," he said. "Don't want to wake up Ron."
Hermione's eyes grew wide, and she quickly nodded, then turned, leading the way into the guest room. She crawled onto the bed, and Harry followed, shutting the door behind him.
After a moment's silence, Harry spoke. "So," he said, "d'you have a- um- bad dream or something?"
Hermione quickly nodded, then shook her head. "Er... I don't... I mean- just- well-"
Harry looked at her, and they both laughed. "Oookay," said Harry, "so... then... how've you been, I guess?"
"Pretty good," replied Hermione truthfully.
"Met any nice guys?" Harry asked, looking sideways at her.
Hermione looked quickly at him. "Why?" she asked, with a slight chill in her voice. "Why? Do you want me to?"
"Oh, no, no!" Harry exclaimed, then realized what he had just said. "Er- I meant- of course- well, if you want to, that is- I mean-"
Hermione shrugged and turned away from him. "What about you?" she asked coldly. "Met any nice girls?"
Harry laughed. "You," he said simply, placing his hand on her shoulder.
Hermione twisted back to look at him. "Don't lie," she said.
Harry frowned. "I'm not," he replied. "You are a nice girl."
"But not one that anybody could ever like," said Hermione, jerking her shoulder away from his hand. "Isn't that right, Harry?"
Harry sighed, and moved over closer to Hermione. "Hermione..." he whispered, placing a hand on her face and gently caressing her cheek, "why are you doing this to yourself?"
Hermione looked up at him, tears shining in her eyes. "Doing what, Harry?" she asked in a barely audible voice. "Doing what? Admitting that nobody could ever like me in that way? Admitting that it's already sixth year, and some girls have had tens of boyfriends, and I haven't even had one? Admitting that even though everyone thinks I'm this huge bookworm who would marry a book if she could, I do have feelings, and I do want someone to- love me, namely you? Admit-"
She broke off and gasped, realizing what she had just said. Harry's mouth fell open, and he scooted right up against her and grasped both of her hands with his.
"Hermione," he gasped, his breathing ragged, "you- you- me? Is that- what you said?"
Realizing that she might as well give up and take whatever happened after that, Hermione closed her eyes.... and slowly nodded in defeat. She waited for the rejection, the "But I don't like you in that way" line, the beginning of the ending of their relationship with one other....
It never happened, though.
All of a sudden, Hermione felt soft lips on hers. Her eyes opened in surprise to find Harry's emerald green ones staring back at her. "Harry..." she whispered into his mouth, "what..."
"Shhh..." Harry whispered back, "shhh, I... love... you..."
Hermione gasped, and, just at that moment, Harry kissed her with even more passion, pulling her into his arms and kissing her like the end of the world was about to come.
Hermione sighed and closed her eyes as waves of pleasure took her over. She smiled, feeling Harry's mouth against her own, and when they finally pulled back for air, the grins they exchanged were absolutely life-changing.
Hermione lay down on the bed, pulling Harry along with her. He grinned and gathered her into his arms, kissing her ear softly.... and within minutes, they were both fast asleep.