A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed the first part! This is for Romulus Lupin, whose comment on the first part spawned the plot bunny that became this continuation!
Enjoy and as always, please review!!
A Kiss to Say Good Morning
Hermione woke up feeling surprisingly rested and lay in bed smiling to herself for a few minutes, thinking of Harry, of his kiss the night before. Harry… Maybe she'd imagined it but she could swear that he had been a better kisser than she had imagined. She blushed at the thought of him, suddenly nervous as to how she would face him again, how he would react to seeing her after the sudden change in their relationship the night before.
She dawdled uncharacteristically while getting ready for breakfast that day, taking extra time with her still bushy hair, brushing it more thoroughly than usual. She laughed at herself softly as she tried to tame her hair. Harry wouldn't notice, would he? He never really seemed to care how she looked. It was one of the things that made her so comfortable around him, that he always seemed more interested in her as a person than as just a pretty girl. She wrinkled her nose at her reflection. She wasn't pretty. Her hair was just a plain brown and bushy; her eyes as plain a brown, all very boring.
She smiled suddenly at the word, reminded of the conversation she and Harry had had. Boring. No, no one would ever call Harry boring. Harry…
Harry had kissed her last night. She smiled at her reflection, reconciled to her brown hair and eyes. Harry had kissed her, and for now that was enough.
She looked at the clock, suddenly realizing she had better hurry down to the Great Hall to get breakfast.
Ron had the distinct feeling that Harry wasn't listening to him.
Harry was absently buttering a slice of toast, his eyes restlessly flicking back and forth over the Great Hall as if he was looking for someone or waiting for something. He looked tense, nervous, in a way that Ron hadn't seen since 3rd year before the Quidditch House Cup.
"… and so I told the twins that I was planning to ask Trelawney to marry me tomorrow," Ron finished, watching Harry for his reaction.
Harry didn't react, just nodded, mumbling something like, "Mm hmm."
Ron rolled his eyes before reaching over and waving a hand in front of Harry's face, causing him to start backwards, blinking. "Harry, have you even heard a word I've been saying?"
Harry flushed and looked sheepish. "Er, well, not really…" I was thinking about Hermione. Where is she? And how should I act when I see her? And…
Ron shook his head and tossed a roll of bread at Harry's head. "Wake up, Potter. Where is your brain this morning?"
Harry caught the roll instinctively, his Seeker instincts coming into play.
"Speaking of where things are," Ron continued casually, "where's Hermione this morning? She's usually down here before us for breakfast."
Harry jumped as if he'd been poked hard. "Hermione, um, I don't know. I, er, haven't seen her. That is, not since last night -" Harry shut his mouth, looking as if he very much wanted to hit himself.
Ron's ears perked up. "You saw Hermione last night? When? Did you two do anything?" He wiggled his brows suggestively, watching in amusement as Harry promptly turned scarlet to his ears before saying quickly, "No! I mean, no, just, um, just when we left the library yesterday."
Ron stifled a grin. Harry was such fun to tease. His face tended to react to everything, or if his expression didn't, his eyes did.
But then he took pity on his best friend, changing the subject. "So, you're coming to the Quidditch match today, right?"
Harry frowned a little. "We don't have a Quidditch match today. It's next week."
"Haha, Potter, I know when our next match is. I meant the Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw match; that's today, remember?"
"Oh, right, yeah, sure."
"I hope Ravenclaw manages to flatten Slytherin. They've gotten a lot better; that new Keeper of theirs, what's-his-name, has really helped jumpstart the Ravenclaw team this year. I heard Cho Chang's going to be replaced with that really smart one, you know, the one that answers almost as many questions in class as Hermione does, the Bennet girl, Melanie, I think her name is…"
And Harry wasn't listening to him again, having suddenly sucked in a sharp breath before blushing again and then staring fixedly at his plate as if his piece of half-eaten toast was suddenly the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. Ron twisted around, wondering what had gotten Harry acting so oddly.
It was Hermione, carrying her usual bagful of books but looking somewhat hesitant too.
Ron glanced between Harry, still studying his toast with a concentration he'd never seen Harry give to any assignment ever, to Hermione looking at Harry's down-turned head and looking positively unsure of herself. Oh now this was very interesting…
"Morning, Hermione," he said cheerfully.
"Hi, Ron." She hesitated, looking again at Harry, before faltering, "Morning, Harry."
"Morning," Harry mumbled to his plate, only looking up briefly at Hermione before quickly looking down again. He wasn't going to stare at her. He wasn't. So what if he had suddenly realized less than 12 hours ago that he was in love with her? So what if she was looking prettier than he could ever remember seeing her? So what if all he could see when he closed his eyes was her face?
Hermione poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice, reaching for a roll with her other hand. Ron studied her curiously. Was she… she was. Hermione was blushing and continuing to steal glances at Harry across the table.
What had happened last night that had Harry and Hermione acting so strangely?
Ron cleared his throat loudly, causing both Harry and Hermione to jump. "So, Harry," he said pointedly, "about what I told you yesterday while we were in the library, what do you think now?" And if that less-than-subtle jab didn't work, he was going to lock them up in the nearest broom closet, he thought.
Harry flushed again. "Er, um, I…" he stammered, entirely nonplussed by Ron's sudden question and less-than-subtle curiosity.
Should I tell Ron? On one hand, it's not like I'm ashamed of how I feel. On the other hand, this is too new to me. To us. On the other hand, does Hermione want people to know? But then Ron isn't just people; he's our best friend. And wait a second, did I just think I had three hands? Harry bit back the laughter rising in his throat before realizing something.
There was no going back now. He and Hermione had crossed the line of platonic friendship and Ron already seemed to know it. What good would denying it be when it was bound to come out sooner or later? Moreover, he didn't want to deny it. He was proud of loving Hermione, proud that she apparently returned his feelings.
He looked up and met Ron's eyes steadily. "You were right."
Ron's eyes widened a little. He hadn't been expecting Harry to admit it so openly.
Hermione glanced at the two of them curiously. "And what are you two talking about?"
They both turned to look at her, Harry opening his mouth before closing it again, while Ron suddenly seemed to remember he had forgotten something back in Gryffindor Tower and leaped up to get it. He shot Harry a smirk before leaving as if being chased by giant spiders again.
Once outside the Great Hall, Ron stopped abruptly, turning to watch Harry and Hermione sitting across from each other at one end of the Gryffindor table.
Left alone, Hermione raised her eyebrows at Harry. "Well, what were you and Ron talking about?"
Harry glanced around, noting with relief that Malfoy was nowhere to be seen and then seeing a flash of red hair lurking at the open doors to the Great Hall. He stifled a grin. He had known Ron would be watching. He looked at Hermione again, to find her still watching him with the most adorable expression of curiosity mixed with a little exasperation at his evasiveness. At the sight of her face, some strange feeling of exhilaration bubbled up in his chest, very like what he'd felt last night before falling asleep. This was Hermione, the girl he loved, and for once he wasn't uncertain about what he was feeling or what he wanted to do.
He got up, moving to sit next to her.
She looked surprised and opened her mouth to ask a question, but before she could, he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the mouth.
He sat back and smiled at her. "Good morning," he said softly. "I'm sorry I was acting like a prat earlier."
She returned the smile, not saying anything, and he caught his breath as he finally, fully realized that Hermione didn't just like him, she loved him.
It was a gift. An awe-inspiring, incredibly precious gift. She had already given him her unconditional trust, unconditional friendship and now this. There really were no words.
He reached over and took her hand in his, where it rested on the table, giving it a gentle pressure. And for that moment, everything was perfect.
He looked up to find Headmaster Dumbledore observing him and Hermione, and as his eyes met Dumbledore's, Dumbledore silently raised his goblet in a toast, the usual twinkle in his blue eyes, the trace of an approving smile on his face.
And outside the Great Hall, Ron stifled a whoop of glee as he watched his two best friends smiling at each other, already looking forward to seeing both their faces when he returned to say, in true best friend fashion, "I told you so."