Pocky

Story Title: Pocky, Part #: One shot
Rating (up to PG-13 only): G - PG
Any warnings to readers (e.g. slash, other ships): Bad Writing ahead
Alternate Location (URL), if any: Fanfiction.net under the penname BewitchedOne Word count for this installment: 1,992
Running Total no. of words for entire story (5,000 or less): 1,992

Harry glanced up as he heard rustling coming from Hermione's side of the table. He watched curiously as she rummaged around in her book bag, murmuring to herself, brows furrowed as she concentrated on trying to find whatever she was searching for. She nibbled on her bottom lip for a few moments before letting out a squawk of triumph as she found the item that she had been looking for, smiling triumphantly as she set her bag back on the floor and held a long, thin white bag in her hand.

Hermione looked at him and beamed, locks of her bushy hair falling around her face. Harry grinned back, feeling a slight fluttering low in his stomach. Although he wanted to deny it he knew that he had developed feelings for his cinnamon eyed friend and it took all his might not to reach over and push back the curls that lay against her cheeks.

He cleared his throat nervously and shook his head. “What do you have there, Hermione?”

She smiled, her eyes twinkling and Harry swallowed heavily. Handing him the package in her hands he glanced down curiously and saw in silver writing `Glico Pocky' with decorations that looked like slim ovals decorating it. He frowned, confused, and glanced up at her.

“What's Pocky?”

“It's pronounced poke - y,” she said automatically and then frowned. “You've never heard of it before?” Harry shook his head. “Oh . . . well, it's a biscuit covered in cream or chocolate that it quite popular in Japan.”

“How did you learn about it?” She took the package back and opened it easily while explaining,

“When I was younger I had a friend that brought these to school one day. She shared them with me and I fell in love with them. She moved back to Japan but still sends them to me occasionally.” Hermione pulled out a long, chocolate covered biscuit from the plastic and held it out to Harry. “Go on, try it.”

Harry took the treat from his friend's hand, brushing his fingers softly against hers and feeling a tingle crawl through him at the touch. He glanced at her and she nodded happily, taking a biscuit from the bag and biting into it eagerly, closing her eyes and sighing happily. He raised the food to his lips, opened his mouth, and bit off a small portion.

Sweetness burst onto his tongue mixed with the slight bitterness of the chocolate. He chewed and swallowed before munching on the rest of the stick, devouring it enthusiastically. Hermione laughed softly as she watched him enjoy the sweet, offering him another when he had finished swallowing the first. “Thanks,” he said and she nodded.

“You're welcome.” They locked eyes and the world seemed to fall away leaving only the two of them, emerald and cinnamon staring and memorizing.

A cough from someone at a table on the other side the stack they were sitting next to jolted them out of their daze and they both flushed. “We should probably get back to studying,” Hermione said and Harry nodded, going back to his book while biting off the tip of the Pocky.

Hermione settled the package in between the two of them so that it was easily accessible to either, reaching and grabbing another as she wrote furiously on her parchment. She sucked thoughtfully on the sweet as she glanced at the book that was resting by her hand, checking some information before going back to her essay. Harry swallowed as he watched her and when she nipped off the part of the biscuit that had been cleared of chocolate he looked back to his own essay, desperately trying to concentrate.

The time passed by in relative silence, the only sound the turning of pages and the rustling of the Pocky package as the two friends each chewed on the treat. Without them noticing the number of sticks in the pack dwindled until there was only one left.

Hermione glanced up at the same time that Harry did and then they looked at their hands that were touching the last Pocky. They turned their eyes back to each other. “Erm . . .” Harry started.

“Aha,” Hermione said nervously. “It's okay Harry, you can have it.”

“But it's your Pocky, you should have it.”

“No, don't worry about it.”

“Hermione -.”

“It's alright,” Hermione insisted. “I have another box up in my dormitory. Why don't we move the studying to the common room and we can share that box too?” Harry smiled and nodded.

“Sure.” Taking the stick he broke it in half and gave Hermione the piece with more chocolate. She took it with a smile and Harry savored his half while they began to pack up.

“So, what other flavors of Pocky do they have?” Harry asked as they traipsed down the corridors towards Gryffindor Tower.

“All kinds of flavors,” Hermione gushed. “They have chocolate, as you know and strawberry as well. There is also white chocolate mousse, dark chocolate, pine cream, coconut, almond, dark chocolate swirled with white chocolate, grape, and mango and green tea too. I'm sure there are other flavors that I just don't know about as well.” Harry stared at her, stunned.

“All those flavors?” Hermione nodded, smiling.

“Also, there is something called giant Pocky; it is Pocky that is probably about a foot long! Well, that's what my friend said but she could be exaggerating . . .” Harry laughed, his mind swimming with all the new information on the tasty treat.

“I think I'd like to see a giant Pocky someday,” he said, wrapping an arm casually around her shoulder. His heart fluttered wildly when she wrapped an arm around his waist, snuggling up to his side.

“Me too,” she said with a smile.

*

“Start studying while I go and fetch the Pocky,” Hermione said as they made their way into the common room and over to the couch in front of fire. Harry nodded and they set down their things on the couch and Hermione bounded up the stairs to her dormitory. Harry pulled his books from his pack and spread his stuff out on the table. He was just cross referencing the materials in the potion he was writing about when Hermione skipped back down, another package of Glico Pocky clutched in her hand.

“Here we are,” she sing - songed, sitting herself next to him on the plush cushions. The common room was empty since everyone was down in the Great Hall at dinner and the fire crackled merrily in the grate in front of them.

She opened the package and offered it to him and he eagerly took one of the sticks before they both turned back to their work. The popping and hissing of the fire filled the silence until once again they were down to the last one.

Harry snuck a glance at Hermione, who was intent on her essay, and went to go grab the sweet but Hermione's hand shot out and she snatched the Pocky away from his grasp. He stared at a moment, stunned, where the stick had once been and then turn to Hermione who was nibbling on it with a smile on her face. “Hermione . . .”

She looked at him from the corner of her eye, smiling mischievously at him before taking another bite. “Yes Harry?”

“You . . . I . . . I mean you just . . .” he sputtered

“Yes?” she drawled. He frowned.

“You took that from me!” She laughed.

“I took it from you?”

“Yes! I was going to eat it!”

“But it was the last one.”

“Yea, that's why I was going to eat it!” Harry said. Hermione shook her head, smiling.

“Sorry Harry,” she said. Harry narrowed his eyes behind his glasses and he went to snatch it from her grip but she seemed to be anticipating this and jumped up from the couch, her eyes twinkling. She made her way to the other side of the table, smiling cheekily before taking another bite.

“Mmmm,” she moaned in exaggeration and Harry growled, standing and making his way toward her. She inched around until they were at opposite ends of the table. They stared at each other, smiling and laughing slightly, and chasing after each other around the common room until Harry finally leapt over the couch and grabbed his friend's slim waist. She shrieked and he laughed uproariously, pulling her down onto the floor until they were facing each other on their sides, fronts pressed tightly together. Hermione struggled with all of her might to keep the Pocky out of Harry's reach, stretching her arm that held the stick over her head; but he was stronger and his arms were longer so she did the only thing that she could thing of.

She stuck it into her mouth.

“Ah . . .” Harry said, staring at her. Her eyes sparkled, the half - eaten Pocky stick hanging a bit out of her mouth, her face flushed from their chase, her hair falling out of her bun and her chest heaving against his. I really want that Pocky Harry grumbled to himself. So he did the only thing that he could think of.

He chomped on the end that was sticking out of her mouth.

What poor, innocent Harry hadn't anticipated was that when he bit off the end of the Pocky, which was smaller than either of them had realized, was the brushing of his lips against hers. Nor had he anticipated the jolt that went through him at the touch and the tingling that followed in it's wake when he felt her soft lips; of course, Hermione hadn't anticipated that either.

Harry pulled away and they stared at each other with wide eyes. After hurriedly chewing and swallowing Harry opened and closed his mouth a few times, wondering what to say. Hermione swallowed as well and shook her head.

“It's alright, Harry,” she whispered.

“It is?” he asked, just as quiet. She nodded.

“I know that it was an accident and that you didn't mean it, so please don't worry about it.” She moved to get up but Harry stopped her, pulling her back down so that she was next to him once again.

“Hermione,” he started slowly, frowning. “It may have been an accident, but . . .”

“But what Harry?” she asked with an almost hopeful glint in her eye.

“I'm not sorry that it happened,” he said gently, shakily. She smiled softly.

“Really?” He nodded.

“Really.” She reached up and cupped his cheek, moving her thumb back and forth gently.

“I'm not sorry that it happened either.” A large smile broke out across his face.

“Really?” She laughed softly.

“Really.”

“Well . . .” Harry began hesitantly. “Would you mind if I did it again?”

“I wouldn't mind at all.”

“Good,” he murmured, leaning toward her and capturing her lips gently with his. They kissed sweetly for a few moments, hands caressing faces lovingly before they pulled away and smiled at each other.

Hermione leaned over and kissed his cheek and he blushed lightly, just a dusting of color along his cheek bones as he kissed her forehead, closing his eyes and savoring the soft scent of her shampoo that invaded his senses. Pulling back he smiled at her and was about to kiss her again when the portrait hole burst open, students streaming in while talking and laughing.

Ron stepped in and froze when he saw them on the floor. His face turned confused as he looked at them, the other students glancing between him and the two entwined on the floor. “Mate,” he said to Harry, “what are you doing on the floor?”

“Oh,” Harry said, flushing as they sat up. He looked at Hermione from the corner of his eye and sent her a shy smile, “just eating some Pocky.”

Author's Note: This is Aly of the duo Bec and Aly that make up Just Breathing and this is the first thing that I have ever submitted to the fanfiction part of the site so hopefully it works. I wrote this as a response to the Pocky Challenge and can be found here: http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=20027

This is the first thing that I have written in over four years so please tell me what you think about it. Thanks for reading and I hope that it wasn't too horrible.

~Aly

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