Still Got Some
Harry's heart gave a huge leap. "Hermione?"
She nodded and took yet another steadying breath.
"Oh Harry… I'm sorry, but I could not have told you otherwise… I was so scared that you might h-hate me now…"
He was unable to speak. So that is why Krum made me feel so comfortable.
"Viktor says he is sorry, too… It was his idea to disguise one of his fangirls as me and have her play his girlfriend… He noticed you were feeling uneasy around us…"
"You were just not yourself", croaked Harry. "I mean, it wasn't you, but if it had been you, that wouldn't have been you anyway…"
Hermione gave him a curious look, but he knew she had understood his stammering.
"Oh my God, all this madness is getting to me… Nothing but weird talk since morning…" He drew her closer to him and absently stroke her hair, as she was still shaking with emotion, and shivering from the cold. He could tell that she was smiling.
Neither of them spoke for a while. Harry's thoughts, however, were racing through the past minutes. He could now make up for all the inconsistencies in "Krum's" speech… She had not been able to keep her feelings out of the play to the necessary extent. But that meant…
Harry blinked.
It was as though he had been slapped in the face just when he was about to fall asleep.
Of course, it wasn't Krum who had confessed his love…
But did he mind? He had never spent one single thought on her in that light. She had, after all, never displayed that interest in him, had she? If anyone, he had suspected she might end up with Ron…
And yet, had she not always been by his side when he needed her? Had she not made his worries her own, and buried herself into research and - come to think about it, she had sent that otter too, hadn't she? And had she not tried to better him whenever he had been lax in the wrong places, had she not pointed out where he went wrong when the whole world chose to ignore Harry Potter's shortcomings? Had she not, even though he could not say that in all likelihood, seemed to enjoy his company? And he, in return, enjoyed hers, didn't he. They had always shared something special, and he knew it, although he had never allowed himself to touch on it.
A warm feeling flooded Harry's chest. He was overwhelmed by this torrent of realizations, his head felt heavy and light at the same time, and he did not know about his heart just yet, but there was something, something incredibly happy that had not been there before…
However, he dared not continue, as that would make it final. It just could not be true. Compared to Krum, who was he - he had better suggest they head back to The Burrow, before the others went looking for them. But before Harry could find his voice, she straightened up so quickly he started. "What?"
"There's something left I need to say", she informed him, making a strict face. "And you'll hear me out, ok?"
He nodded; even though he did not really appreciate any more surprises, he couldn't refuse to that look of hers.
"Ready?"
"Ready!"
Hermione smiled.
All of a sudden, she bent forward and gave him a swift kiss. She missed his mouth, but the soft, prickling sensation he had not been expecting made his stomach clench in a very different pain to the one he had experienced earlier the day.
She then came very close to his ear - it was all a matter of split seconds, and whispered, "I love you, Harry…"
And she retreated, obviously embarrassed by what she had done.
Harry was stunned. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish on dry ground, but no words came out. Hermione did not seem to mind. She snuggled up to him and waited for his voice to come back, so he could give her a brief and stammered overview of what he had come to realise about her during the last, what was it, five minutes. It was not a complete promise to be with her forever, seeing as he had only broken up with Ginny that morning, and had been quite at unease with his emotional life for a while now. But she gathered enough from his stutter-frayed speech to have plenty of hope for the future. At the time being, this was more than enough for Hermione; after all, she had abandoned him, and avoided him, and only initiated talk to clear the air, again by deceiving him. When had she earned the right to such happiness?
When the rain had ceased, they got up to walk around some more, and Harry, although not fully restored, teased a much more relaxed Hermione about how they both had kissed Krum, to which she replied with a mischievous grin that she still had some Polyjuice Potion left.
"That would top off this weird day", Harry chuckled. "The two of us walking back to The Burrow, both disguised as Krum and holding hands… Imagine the look on their faces…"
"But that's brilliant!" Hermione said eagerly, her eyes very round. "Shall we?"
"They're probably asleep by now", Harry reminded her. "And anyway, d'you feel like going back already?"
"Noooooooo…"
"See…"
THE END