Priorities

Title: Priorities
Rating: PG
Summary: Ron once again suggests that Hermione's priorities need a little sorting. Harry convinces her that her priorities are just fine the way they are.
Notes: Thank you ever so much to the dear perfectmisstake who, when I cried "The muse is gone! Prompt me!" gave me the plot bunny that lead to this fic. Thanks also to the ever wonderful bingblot for her super-speedy beta.

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It was the library, Harry decided later, that possessed him to kiss Hermione.

On a Friday afternoon in their Seventh Year, with Voldemort still on the loose and more volatile than ever, Harry argued that they should have been researching ways to find and destroy the last horcrux.

Professor McGonagall, however, sent them straight to the library. “You knew the rules when you joined the Order, Mr. Potter. You must pass your NEWTS next week, and while I have no doubt of your abilities, I do highly doubt you've been studying. Library. Now.”

So, with a sigh and not a few grumbles, the students of the Order headed off in the direction of the Hogwarts library to study.

There were thirty of them in all, most from his year, some from Ginny's. Harry looked at all of their faces as they walked through the Hogwarts halls in near silence, and wondered at the circumstances that had gotten them where they were today.

On September first, what would have been their first day back to school, Harry received an owl from Seamus, who wanted to help fight Voldemort in any way he could. Harry, who was staying at 12 Grimmauld Place for the year to help the Order, showed the letter to Professor McGonagall. She refused at first, but as more owls came in from more students claiming the same thing, Remus had to gently remind her of how young they all were when the Order was first founded.

“Fine,” she finally conceded, “But they can't all stay here. This is a large house, but it can't accommodate all of them. And they haven't even finished they're schooling yet!”

“What about Hogwarts?” Harry suggested from the back of the kitchen where he was leaning against the sink.

McGonagall turned to him, as if she had forgotten he was standing in the room. “Hogwarts?”

“Well, no one is using it. Why shouldn't we go back there?”

“Because the school governors have ordered it closed!” McGonagall said, and Harry had been startled to see tears in her eyes. The school governors had declined to reopen Hogwarts, ruling that it was “no longer as safe for students as it once was,” the words “especially with Dumbledore gone” hanging in the air, unsaid.

Professor McGonagall, however, was not one to take things sitting down, and Harry knew that she would fight the ruling if she had the chance. “Dumbledore would have wanted us there,” Harry said quietly.

No one seemed to argue with him after that. After meeting with the rest of the Order, Professor McGonagall swiftly decided to move them to Hogwarts, and to allow all students who requested membership to join, but only if they continued with their studies, and if those who would have taken NEWTS still took them and received full marks.

It was now the end of May, and their NEWT exams were approaching fast. When they all reached the library, Ron, Hermione and Harry grabbed a table, laid out their books and parchment, and at least pretended to begin studying. However, the only one who could sit down and actually concentrate on NEWTS rather than Voldemort was Hermione.

Ron glanced around the room and saw that he didn't seem to be the only one who couldn't stay focused on his studies. He stared as Hermione diligently pored over one book after another, her quill scribbling furiously across the parchment to her right.

“Honestly Ron, you're not going to get any studying done staring at me,” Hermione said, never once looking up from the book she was reading.

“How can you be so bloody engrossed in a book about,” He glanced sideways at the title, “The Seventeen Most Versatile Magical Herbs and Fungi when V-V-Voldemort is out there somewhere trying to kill us, and Harry most of all! Where are your priorities?”

Hermione slammed the book shut and stood up. Harry was startled to see tears forming in her eyes. “I know where my priorities lie, thank you very much Ronald. Just because you can't study and worry about Voldemort at the same time doesn't mean that nobody else can!”

Before Ron could get another word in edgewise, Hermione stormed away from the table with a flourish, almost bumping into Neville, who dropped the pile of books he was carrying out of the stacks.

“Honestly, can you believe her?” Ron said, turning to Harry with a roll of his eyes. Harry managed a weak smile before getting up to help Neville gather his books.

“Thanks, Harry. Hey, tell Ron there are some good books down that aisle about magical herbs that he may want to take a look at.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “I'll tell him, but I don't think he'll actually look.”

Neville grinned and whispered, “Doubt it,” as he headed back to his table.

Harry decided that since he was standing right there, he might as well get some work done. He headed towards the back of the library, down the aisle that Neville had just pointed out and walked all the way to the end. He glanced at the titles, and had to grimace. “These look awful,” he grumbled to himself - they would no doubt put him to sleep - before one title caught his eye.

How to Get Your Heart's Desire - 100 Herbs that Will Help You Gain Love, Fame, and Glory

Harry reached for the book - if he had to study, he might as well read something interesting - but it seemed that the book was stuck. His brow furrowed as he pulled again, and realized that the book wasn't stuck - someone was pulling on it from the other side. He quickly released the book and pulled out his wand, but before he could do anything else, he heard a voice whisper, “Who's there?”

“Hermione?” Harry said, creeping closer to the shelf. The book in question was pulled out of the way, then a few others to its left and right, and there was Hermione's face on the other side.

“Harry,” Hermione said, and her voice sounded strange, sort of shaky, “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, I was just looking for a book to study for Herbology - Hermione, are you alright?”

“Oh, it's nothing,” Hermione said, viciously swiping at her eyes. “I should know better then to let what Ron says get to me by now. It's just that…” Hermione put her hands on the shelf and leaned forward to rest her chin on top of them. “When he said that I should know my priorities, all I could think about was how worried I was about you, and Voldemort, and oh Harry, just because I can shut everything out by studying hard doesn't mean I don't care! You know that, don't you?”

It was at that moment, her eyes filled with tears, her face framed by the books on the shelves, that Harry suddenly realized how pretty Hermione was.

It was the library, the smell of books and parchment, the vision of Hermione, upset and worried about him, that possessed him to lean forward through the shelf and press his lips to Hermione's.

The kiss was chaste by most standards, and when Harry pulled away, he stared at her in shock. Did he really just do that? Did he really just kiss Hermione?

“Hermione, I - “

Hermione's response was to stick the books back on the shelf, effectively blocking him from saying another word to her.

Harry leaned back against the shelves behind him and ran a hand through his hair. What had he done? What in the world had made him think it was a good idea to kiss Hermione? He'd probably just ruined things between them for a good, long while.

In his brooding, he didn't notice when another person walked up to him until he glanced down and saw the black Mary Janes he knew could only belong to one person.

Harry quickly looked up and started to explain himself. “Hermione, I - “

But Hermione didn't give him a chance to explain, choosing instead to drop the books she was holding, wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him.

When the initial shock had subsided, Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist and pulled her closer. He wasn't sure what exactly had just happened between them, and when things had changed, but it was too late to turn back now, and he was sure he didn't want to.

Hermione was the first to pull away this time. She looked so radiant with her face flushed and her hair in disarray that he couldn't help but bend forward to quickly kiss her again. She took a deep breath to steady herself, as if she didn't trust herself to speak, or didn't quite know what to say.

She finally settled on, “Why?”

“Because I know you care, Hermione. I know you care more than anyone. And because I think your priorities are just fine the way they are.”

Hermione blushed, but she couldn't help the smile that fell across her face.

Harry picked up the pile of books she'd dropped when she kissed him (she kissed me, he thought with a smile) and walked with her back to their table.

As the two of them sat down, Ron took in their appearance - Harry's hair, messier than usual, the smirk on Hermione's face that wouldn't go away and the blush on her cheeks, and had only one thing to say: “So, Hermione, what were you doing back there that took you so long?”

Harry laughed so hard he almost choked at the look on Ron's face when Hermione didn't miss a beat and said, “Sorting out my priorities.”

*End*

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