Author's Note: And another Goldy/Amethyst collaboration comes to a close. Wah. *hugs Amethyst* Thanks for working with me. Again.
Well, bugger me, Harry thought, stomach rolling in an uncomfortable sort of way. He hunkered down near his food, somehow hoping that if he ignored the entire thing for long enough, it would go away.
"Harry?" Hermione's voice was gentle, but the question was clear. Is it true?
Harry couldn't look at her. He pushed his food around on his plate, jabbing his broccoli into the mashed potatoes.
"We knew it," Lavender said loudly, causing several Gryffindor heads to turn in their direction. "Oh, this is positively wonderfully amazing, Harry!"
Harry jabbed at his broccoli and ignored her.
"Lavender," Hermione said, apprehensive. "Perhaps it would be best to-"
"We tried everything," Parvati said. "Goodness only knows, when that failed date with Seamus wouldn't do it-"
"You set me up on that date!" Hermione shrieked.
"And, of course, watching you two tied together was just awful," Parvati said. "All that sexual tension-"
"Drove Ron off his rocker, of course, but he came through in the end, didn't he?" Lavender said.
Jab. Jab. Jab.
"He came through positively absolutely wonderfully!" Parvati said. "It was Lav's idea to use the Revelator-seemed only fair for Harry to admit it in the same manner you had to, Hermione."
"This-everything we've gone through-this was because of you two?" Hermione said, flailing her arms about.
Harry jabbed at his broccoli until a dull ting told him he was hitting the plate. He scowled.
"Well, yes," Lavender said. "Aren't we good?"
Harry couldn't take anymore. He threw down his napkin, let his cutlery clatter to the table, and stormed out of the Great Hall. Loud whispers broke out behind him.
He stomped all the way up to Gryffindor Tower, knowing without turning that nearly everyone had followed his retreat.
He spat the password at the Fat Lady and clambered in through the Portrait Hole. Inside the common room, he stopped. His entire body was shaking and his jaw ached from keeping his teeth clenched together.
He whirled around to face the onslaught of oncoming Gryffindors, braced for a fight. The tension of the last few weeks seemed to cumulate to bursting levels.
Predictably, Parvati and Lavender were in the lead, Seamus, Dean, Ron, and Neville not far behind them. Harry's thoughts strayed to Hermione and he was glad to find her missing from the group.
Ron frowned when he saw him, interpreting his balled fists and rapid breathing correctly. Ron took a step back, his face growing pale.
"What right…" he started and couldn't go on. He bowed his head, trying to regain some kind of control over his anger. "You-had-no-right."
Lavender and Parvati exchanged a glance. "What-what are you talking about, Harry?"
"You-you… you had no right to go behind my back!" Harry kicked angrily at the couch, causing the group to flinch. "I am not someone you can just manipulate!"
"We weren't…" Lavender began, her voice quivering. "That's not-"
"And you!" Harry whirled on Seamus. "Going along with the plan… Hermione ended up in the hospital wing because of you!"
"We didn't mean for that to happen!" Parvati burst out. "We were just trying to help!"
"Yeah?" Harry said. "Help?" He took two steps towards her. "This isn't any of your business! I don't care how nosy you have to be-this wasn't any of your business! You can't just-just play with people's emotions!"
"Harry, come on," Ron said weakly. "Calm down-you're overreacting, you're-"
"Oh, fuck that!" Harry said. "You knew! You knew they were doing this, Ron, and you didn't tell me-you didn't tell either of us."
"But it's like she said, Harry, we were only trying to help." Ron dropped his voice. "D'you know what it cost me to back off? Do you?"
"Crabbe and Goyle put her in the hospital wing," Harry said from between clenched teeth. "All thanks to your meddling. What about that, Ron? What did that cost you?"
"You know I wouldn't want anything to happen to Hermione!" Ron said, face reddening. "She's my best friend!"
Harry shook his head. "Then you should've thought about what you were doing," he said quietly.
Ron looked like he didn't know whether to yell or apologize.
"But, Harry…" Parvati sounded pleading. "It's all out in the open now. You and Hermione both fancy each other. Isn't that… I mean… that's good, isn't it?"
"You don't understand," Harry bit out. "It's not that easy."
"Why not?" Lavender demanded.
Harry shot her a withering look. "Hello, have you met me? My name's Harry Potter. Horrible things happen to people I care about."
"So?" Lavender said.
"So?" Harry repeated. "It's not fair to Hermione! And more to the point, it's not that simple! We're best friends-"
Everyone in the room groaned, even Ron.
"-what?"
"Oh, Harry," Parvati said sadly, giving him a wide-eyed pitying look. "That's such… a shoddy excuse."
"No, it's not!" Harry said, desperate to make them understand. "Don't you get it? I need her! I wouldn't be able to take it if she left me. She's… she's always been there, ever since I was eleven-years-old. What would I do if one day she wasn't?"
Lavender and Parvati looked a little weepy and Harry suddenly realized he'd been drawn off topic. Scowling, he went back to glaring at them.
"Look, Harry," Neville said. "I think it's clear that some of us-" He shot Lavender, Parvati, Dean, Seamus, and Ron a dirty look. "Interfered where we shouldn't have. But what you and Hermione have, it's special."
Everyone in the common room nodded, their faces solemn.
"It doesn't matter," Harry said. "That doesn't excuse what… what they did."
"No," Neville said. "But you should really be talking to Hermione right now, don't you think?"
***
Neville had grown surprisingly perceptive over the years, Harry decided, shuffling through his trunk to find his Marauder's Map. Being angry with Lavender and Parvati-while justified-had really been a way of avoiding the inevitable conversation with Hermione.
But she deserves an explanation. Resigned, Harry searched for the dot labeled "Hermione." He found it pacing back and forth in the Astronomy Tower. Grabbing his Invisibility Cloak, he set off.
Passing Lavender and Parvati, he heard them discussing his reaction to the Revelator-still. Some things will never change. He resisted the urge to put a petty curse on them, realizing on some level that their actions really had been done with the best of intentions.
At this time of night, the Astronomy Tower was shrouded in darkness. It was eerie climbing the long winding staircase without the flicker of torchlight. He kept his eyes on the Marauder's Map, unwilling to run into anyone.
Hermione had her eyes pressed to a telescope, studying the night sky. Harry stopped next to her, not wanting to disturb her. She seemed to be engrossed.
"Did you ever look at the stars when you were younger?" she asked softly, startling him.
"No," he said. "I lived at the Dursleys'. I think they would have chucked me out if they caught me staring aimlessly at the sky."
Hermione didn't laugh. "I used to stare at the night sky all the time."
Harry waited for her to elaborate. When she didn't, he turned to look at her. Her face was pensive, moonlight giving her a pale glow.
"It's a bit overwhelming to look at the sky, really. Seeing something so much bigger than you… even as wizards, with all our magic, we still don't have any comprehension of what's out there."
Harry hadn't thought about it before. "I suppose not."
"I know what you're thinking," she said, her forehead creasing into a frown.
"What?" he said, caught off-guard. "I didn't-"
"I thought it too," Hermione said. "All those times… I could have told you and I never did. Haven't you wondered why that was?"
Harry soundlessly shook his head, completely fascinated by her. How much of his best friend did he really know? How much did she keep hidden from him? He was acutely aware of how isolated they were in the Astronomy Tower, in the dark…
His mind strayed to places they had no business being in, but he couldn't help it. For so long he'd admired her strength, her intellect, her bravery… and now he admired her for all the things that made her a girl.
"Friendship is easy, Harry," she whispered. "We didn't have to worry about not working out or falling in love with other people. All the things you're worried about… they worry me too. But now-"
"We can't pretend anymore," he said. "We can't ever go back to the way things were."
"No," she said, "we can't."
They looked at each other and he knew that she, like him, was feeling the loss of their friendship.
"It's not a bad thing," he said. "It's… it's right terrifying, but it's not bad."
"I don't think so either." She sighed and gave him a small smile, her face full of fondness. He felt his heart jump and his stomach take a nosedive.
"What do we do now?"
"I think… I think we should test this."
"Test this?" Harry repeated, his heart rate jumping.
She nodded. "If we don't test it, we won't know for sure that this is the proper course of action."
"Erm… right. That makes sense."
Hermione's tone turned brisk. "Close your eyes."
"I…" Harry licked his lips. "Okay."
Obediently, he shut his eyes, his mind busy wondering what she had in store for him. For a long time nothing happened. Then he heard her moving. She's coming closer to me.
He felt her palm on his face, her hand soft and warm against his cheek. He stayed absolutely still. Her breath passed over his chin, tickling his neck.
"Hermio-"
"Shhh," she whispered.
He nodded, his mouth unbearably dry.
She laid her other hand on his other cheek, both hands cupping his face. Then, finally, she brushed her mouth to his, hesitantly, holding it there for the briefest of moments before pulling away.
He opened his eyes, finding her face flushed. Her eyes were shining, her breathing loud in the silence surrounding them.
"Did I pass?" he whispered.
She merely nodded, biting her lip. She hugged her arms to her chest, giving him a look of naked vulnerability.
He immediately went to her, rubbing her shoulders until she looked at him. "Do you trust me?"
"More than anything."
"Then trust in us. I reckon that's one of the only things we can really be sure of, Hermione."
She smiled and leaned forward. He met her halfway, their lips meeting in a real kiss. Her arms encircled his neck until she was pressed against him. His fingers wound their way into her hair, making her sigh into his mouth.
They stayed like that for a little while, the Astronomy Tower dark and quiet around them, the rest of the world far away.
The End
***
A/N: I'd just like to mention that, yes, "close your eyes" was a shoutout to Buffy/Angel - my first ship. But, shhh. Don't tell Amethyst. She ships Spuffy. *hides*
Other than that, thanks for reading another one of our collabs. I know we're going to do this again in the future - I can't even tell you the number of times I snorted all over my computer screen when I got an email from Amethyst discussing this piece. Have I mentioned how awesome she is yet?
As usual, a huge thank you to all your reviews. We've been squeeing ourselves silly over the response to this fic, even with it being pre-HBP.