Never Been Kissed by Gluglug
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J.K. Rowling. No infringement intended, just borrowing.
Summary: One shot - post HBP, sort of a PWP. Harry and Hermione have a long overdue conversation about their relationship. This was inspired by all of the great theories here on Portkey explaining Hermione's behavior during HBP. Takes place a few months after HBP.
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"What's going on between you and Ron?" Harry asked.
"What do you mean, Harry?" Hermione asked innocently, looking up from her research as she sat in the Black Library at Number 12 Grimmauld Place.
"Ron and I have been getting along just fine, haven't we? What's the problem?"
Harry sighed, trying to find a way to say it without sounding like he was accusing her of hiding something.
"That's exactly it! You've been getting along much better the last few months. You don't constantly bicker like an old married couple like you used to. In fact, I've never seen the two of you be so considerate of each others' feelings in the nearly seven years I've known you. And this morning, Ron actually gave you a compliment about all the time you've spent here in the library doing research. What gives?"
"Nothing, Harry. Ron and I just better friends than we used to be."
"What does `better friends' mean? Are you two together?" Harry asked impatiently.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, honestly - do you think that if Ron and I were a couple, we wouldn't tell you, Harry? We're your best friends, we wouldn't deliberately hide that from you, especially now."
Harry considered her words carefully. Things were more dangerous than ever, and Hermione and Ron were the two people he trusted most.
"So there's nothing between you two? Nothing at all?" Harry asked skeptically.
Hermione sighed and closed the book she was reading. She motioned to Harry to sit on the sofa and joined him; she could tell this was going to be a long conversation.
"Well, if you want to know the truth, Ron and I had a talk a while ago and cleared the air, right after he was poisoned. He thought I was jealous of him and Lavender and I thought he had a crush on me. But we were both wrong."
"But you were jealous, weren't you?" Harry asked, confused. "Why on earth would you attack him with those canaries? I thought you were angry that he chose Lavender over you."
"Harry, I was angry with Ron. For the way he was treating me - he was cold and indifferent and I had no idea why. I was also hurt that he started dating Lavender - that he'd rather snog some blonde bimbo than be friends with me. But I didn't want to be in her place."
Harry took in this news, still not quite believing her. Hermione saw his skeptical look and continued.
"When Ron finally told me he had been treating me horribly because I had more, um, experience than he had, I had to laugh at him."
"Ron must've loved that." Harry said sarcastically.
"He couldn't have been more wrong about Viktor and me. I couldn't believe that Ginny said that we snogged each other."
"Why is that hard to believe, Hermione? You went to the Yule Ball with him, you were the `thing he would miss most' during the second task and he was hanging all over you in the library. Plus as far as I know, you still write to him."
"We do write each other, we're friends." Hermione explained patiently. "And Viktor was a perfect gentleman when I was with him. I knew he fancied me but he never pushed. And as far as kissing goes, he kissed my hand at the ball and I kissed him on the cheek when we parted that year, that's all."
"So Ginny either exaggerated or made the whole thing up?"
"Maybe, I think I told her that I kissed Viktor good-bye and she must've used her imagination."
"Huh." Harry said, revisiting the whole nasty fight between Ginny and Ron in the Gryffindor common room with a new perspective.
"In fact, Harry," Hermione announced, "I never really had a proper kiss; Ron was angry over absolutely nothing."
"But you've been kissed since then, right - McClaggen?" Harry made a face as he said this.
Hermione shook her head, turning slightly pink. "No, it never happened. I mean - he tried to kiss me at Slughorn's party but I avoided his lips by turning my head. I think he got a mouthful of my hair instead."
Harry chuckled at the image. "Poor bloke, I almost feel sorry for him…but wait a minute - you told me at the party that you invited him because you wanted to annoy Ron. If you really weren't interested in Ron, then why the big show?"
Hermione turned pinker, what had she gotten herself into? "It wasn't really Ron I was trying to annoy. Um, there was another boy I had my eye on."
"Another boy?" Harry asked, suddenly a little jealous. "Who?"
Hermione shook her head. "It doesn't matter, it was months ago. He was just a boy I had a hopeless crush on - but I've given up. You see, I'm certain that I'm not his type - he goes for popular, pretty witches with long shiny hair and a flair for Quidditch. I'm not popular or very pretty and I'm not one for broomsticks."
"Sounds like a stupid git to me," Harry said.
Hermione had to stifle a giggle - Harry could be so thick sometimes.
"Why do you say that? Isn't that every teenage wizard's fantasy?"
"Well, sure." Harry admitted, thinking about the kind of girls he was normally attracted to. "But that isn't everything, Hermione. You have so much more to offer. And if this bloke couldn't see that, than he's not worth your time."
If only that were true, Hermione thought. "Harry, that's nice of you to say." She paused. "Um, what things do I think I have to offer?"
Harry was surprised at her question, didn't she know? It didn't take him long to come up with a list of her qualities.
"Hermione, you've got so much to offer….you're a brilliant witch, a loyal friend, and the bravest girl I've ever known. You also stand up for what you believe in and you have a very kind heart."
He turned to see her reaction. Hermione had that same radiant look she had when she learned Harry had told Slughorn she was the best in their class, except now she had tears in her eyes. Before he knew it, she had thrown her arms around him.
"Oh Harry, that's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me!" Hermione cried as she clung to him. Harry awkwardly returned her embrace; realizing that maybe she didn't really see all the wonderful things he saw in her.
He pulled back to look at her and it suddenly struck him, even with her tear stained face and bushy brown hair, that Hermione was beautiful. True, he had never thought her ugly and even remembered that she looked pretty when she dressed up at the Yule ball and the wedding. But now it was just plain old Hermione Granger he was looking at, and she was anything but.
"Hermione, there's one more thing I think you should know about yourself. You may not be a Quidditch champion or the prettiest girl at Hogwarts, but I think you are beautiful."
"Oh Harry, do you really think so?" She asked tearfully.
Harry nodded. "Of course."
Again, Hermione hugged him. "Thank you! You don't know how much it means to me to hear you say that."
When she pulled away again, Harry felt a bit guilty. "I'm sorry Hermione, for not telling you sooner. All along, I thought you knew those things about yourself, but I guess you didn't. And as your best friend, I should've told you."
"Oh, Harry, don't be sorry. You didn't know." She replied, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
"But I made so many assumptions that were wrong, about you and Ron, you and Viktor, and even how you felt about yourself. You're always so confident and bossy so I never knew you felt badly about yourself because some idiot didn't pay attention to you."
"Harry, I'm not as confident as you think I am, and the reason I act bossy is to hide the fact that I'm insecure about myself." She paused and looked down. "And the fact that I'm of age and have never had a proper boyfriend or a kiss, sometimes I feel like there's something wrong with me."
"There's nothing wrong with you," Harry asserted, taking her hands in his. "Like I said, I think you are wonderful and you will find some bloke who is smart enough to realize that there's more to life than Quidditch and a pretty face."
"Like you?" Hermione asked, looking up at him with her deep brown eyes.
Again, Harry was thunderstruck. Had she been talking about him? After all, Ginny and Cho had both been pretty girls who were good at Quidditch, weren't they?
"Hermione, that stupid git you were talking about, it wasn't me, was it?"
Hermione blushed; was Harry finally getting it? "Yes, you are the stupid git. But remember those are your words and not mine."
"So all this time, you fancied me?" Harry asked incredulously, letting go of her hands.
Hermione got up off the sofa and stared to pace.
"Well, not all this time, but for the last couple of years or so. I couldn't help it, Harry. We became such good friends and it just happened. I've been struggling with it - wondering if I should tell you or not, wondering how you felt. And last year, I kept trying to get your attention - don't you remember me saying you were more fanciable than ever? And then hinting that I wanted you to invite me to Slughorn's party? But apparently you were oblivious because you asked Luna to the party and started pursuing Ginny…"
Hermione took a breath, realizing that she was babbling.
Harry took all of this in. Again he was wrong about everything. "Hermione, I had no idea that you wanted me to take you to the party. Why didn't you just come out and say so?"
"Don't you remember when you were trying to decipher Cho's behavior when your date with her went wrong? I told you then that girls don't come out and tell a boy that they fancy him. They drop hints, just like I did."
"I thought you were talking about other girls, Hermione. Not you."
Hermione shook her head at him in exasperation. "Well, now you know that I'm just like other girls, Harry."
"I guess you are." He gazed at her, as though he were seeing her clearly for the first time. "But you're not. You're much more special to me than other girls."
"I am?" Hermione asked, standing before him. "But what about Ginny?"
"Ginny?" Harry repeated. Truth be told he hadn't really thought much about Ginny since he last saw her at the wedding. He enjoyed his time with her, but he realized long ago that she was an escape for him, the perfect daydream. It wasn't like that with Hermione, it was real.
Hermione saw the faraway look in Harry's eyes and was sorry she brought up Ginny's name. He was probably thinking about her and missing her terribly. How could she compete with that memory? She was about to tell him to forget about her confession when he broke the silence.
"I'm not interested in Ginny anymore." Harry stated. "Hermione, you've always meant so much to me but I think that I pushed any notions of fancying you aside because I thought you and Ron were…something. But now I know that I made a lot of assumptions that were wrong."
"Well, you know what happens when you assume things, don't you?" Hermione smirked, as she resumed her position on the sofa.
"Unfortunately, I do." Harry agreed. Then they just sat there grinning at each, not sure what to do next. After a few moments of awkward silence, Harry got an idea.
"So, I think we have a situation here that needs to be corrected."
"What do you mean?" Hermione was curious.
"I think it's a bloody shame that you've never been properly kissed."
"Well, what are you going to do about it, Harry?" Hermione teased, cocking an eyebrow.
"This," he said as he moved in for a kiss. Hermione closed her eyes and felt Harry's lips gently brush hers. Harry heard her sigh and pulled her closer but was careful not to be too aggressive. He wanted Hermione's first kiss to be gentle and sweet, so he spent these precious seconds just brushing and teasing her bottom lip with his.
Meanwhile, Hermione was frustrated by Harry's gentle teasing. She wanted more so she reached up and tugged at the back of his neck willing him closer. She opened her mouth and let her tongue dart out to trace his bottom lip. Harry opened his mouth in response and their tongues began to duel.
Hermione moved her hands from the back of his neck, running them through his unruly dark hair, while Harry's hands ran up her back into her mane of curls. They continued on until both felt the need to breathe and pulled apart. Neither said anything but they just stared at each other, not quite believing what had just happened.
Finally, Hermione recovered her voice. "Wow, Harry. I guess I can finally say that I've been kissed. And quite thoroughly, I might add."
"I tried to be gentle, but you wouldn't let me." He wondered if this was any indication of Hermione's sexual appetite. Perhaps it was all that pent up energy?
"Well, I wanted my first proper kiss to be one to remember."
"Hey, if the first one was a success, shouldn't we have another go?" Harry suggested.
Hermione gazed back at Harry, who looked irresistible with his hungry green eyes and raven hair all askew. But then she looked over at the library table, where a stack of books and her research notes lay.
She was supposed to be helping Harry in his quest for the Horcruxes and eventual defeat of Voldemort. She had never anticipated that when she and Ron promised Harry they would join him on his journey that this would happen. She had hoped it might, but never thought it would.
"Hermione, what is it?" Harry noticed her hesitation and hoped she wasn't having second thoughts.
"But my research - we still have so much work to do with the Horcrux hunt and everything else…"
He sighed in relief. "Hermione, the research can wait another day. The Horcruxes aren't going anywhere, are they? And unfortunately, neither is Voldemort. But you and I are here now together and I want to spend some time alone with you. I think we both deserve that after everything we've been through."
It didn't take much more coaxing after that. While research could wait, their newfound physical affection couldn't, so Harry and Hermione took a well deserved break to snog each other senseless.
With the threat of Voldemort never far from their minds, they both welcomed this new opportunity to explore each other. They would soon discover that this new step in their relationship was a natural progression to a deeper love. A love that may just save their lives.
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