A/N: I'm not really sure how I feel about this story. I hope you guys like it. It's kind of different. I haven't written anything in a couple months. I'm not really sure why I just haven't really wanted to do anything for a while. Please read/review and I'm sorry about any grammatical errors. This story is dedicated to my best friend. I hope whatever it is she has going on with this guy she likes works out. Thanks for reading and I'm sorry about all the confusion with a couple of my other stories. I will try to fix them…
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Hermione walked slowly up the stairs her stocking clad feet not making a sound in the grimly silent house. She'd been there for three hours already trying to find a way to pass the time before she went up to see him. He hadn't come out of his room in a couple days or so she had heard from the others.
No one could break through the numerous enchantments he'd placed on the door and the rest of the room, not even Dumbledore. Though miraculously an empty tray always appeared outside the room at every meal, empty when it had been full the night before. Now it was her turn, her turn to try to get him to open up and listen to her.
She reached the top of the stairs and turned left walking slowly through the silent landing. Her pace visibly slowed as she walked toward the door at the end.
She reached down slowly and withdrew her wand out of the pocket of her worn jeans. She gripped it tightly as if fearing a battle was about to take place. In some regards one probably was.
She lifted her hand slowly to knock on the door still gripping her wand in her right hand.
The knock echoed through the hallway. Hermione pulled her hand away and reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, suddenly feeling self conscious. Harry wasn't the eleven year old she'd met on the train six years before.
"He's different then you remember him," Remus had cautioned her before she'd left her house. She hadn't seen him almost a year, not since her parents had forced her to switch to Beauxbatons upon the start of the war. It was either that or not practice magic at all.
Hermione was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of a lock turning and recognized the sounds of someone disarming quite a few enchantments. She stepped back slightly and squared her shoulders ready to face whoever the Harry she knew had become.
The door slowly opened revealing a somber looking man. He was almost the same as Hermione remembered him though he looked a lot more run down and he seem to have aged more then just the year she'd been gone. His hair was still a mess and his eyes were just as beautiful as she remembered. He'd grown a couple inches though, probably more then half a foot taller then her own five feet and seven inches. He wasn't quite as awkward as she remembered either. The Harry Potter she saw now was much more confident in who he was then the man she'd known a year earlier. He'd been forced to grow up too fast, as had she and so many others.
Of course she'd grown up too. Her once bushy hair now fell in waves down her back. She'd grown a little taller too, but she looked tired. As if she hadn't slept much in those long months she'd been away.
Harry stepped aside letting her walk into the room. It wasn't nearly as bad as she had expected, but when she thought about it Harry had always kept things cleaner then Ron. Perhaps a habit he'd picked up from living with the Dursleys.
It was very dark inside the room. He didn't have any lights at all. Hermione flinched when the door closed. It was almost like they were strangers again, not like it had been with Ron. She'd jumped straight into his arms when she'd seen him just yesterday.
Harry led her over to his bed motioning for her to sit down and when she had he sat down beside her.
"I missed you," he murmured as soon as they were comfortable. His voice came out in a dry rasp. Hermione supposed he hadn't used it in a while.
"I missed you too." She whispered back. Taking a chance she hesitantly put her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He returned her hug, holding her as tightly as she held him.
She was the first to pull back smiling slightly. "I'm sorry I left. I should have convinced my parents to let me come back."
He shook his head. "You were safer there you shouldn't have come back. It's too dangerous to be near me."
Hermione shook her head tears forming in her eyes. "I don't care I want to be here with you, you're my best friend. I should be here with you. I'm staying."
He smiled slightly.
"What?" She asked.
Harry just smiled again, "I just really missed you is all. I realized something when you were gone."
"What's that?"
"Hogwarts just isn't the same without you there. It's not home." He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
Hermione smiled again and blushed. She had realized something too since she'd been gone. She was in love with Harry Potter. Not the hero or the amazing seeker or the boy who lived. No, she was in love with her best friend Harry and it had nearly killed her when her parents made her leave him. Remus was wrong she decided then, this was the same Harry she'd known. He was just a little bit more mature and comfortable in who he was now.
As if reading her thoughts Harry continued. "Hermione when you left I didn't know what to do. Nothing was the same. I had no one to talk to. I tried to talk to Ron, but it wasn't the same. When you left I realized that I like you as more then a friend. I like talking to you and holding your hand. I love it when you know the answer to something and your whole face lights up. I've started dreaming about you." He blushed looking down at the bed spread then hesitantly reaching out to grab her hand. "I won't embarrass you with the details. I… I think I love you Hermione."
Hermione had started crying while he was talking and now the tears dripped on their hands. Harry still had his face turned down staring at their intertwined hands.
When she didn't say anything he continued. "You're my everything, Hermione. I don't know what to do if you aren't by my side. I… I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."
He stopped when Hermione let out a sob. He stiffened pulling away slightly, but she wouldn't let him. She held tightly to his hand for a moment before dropping it completely and throwing both her arms around his neck, sobbing into his shirt.
It was a while before she'd stopped crying enough to talk. "I…" she started and felt him stiffen against her again, but she continued, "I think I've always loved you Harry."
He pulled back slightly to look at her face.
His expression was one of surprise and maybe a little bit of hope as if he hadn't dared to dream that she might feel the same.
He looked at her for what couldn't have been more than thirty seconds, but felt like a life time. Then he leaned in and kissed her, softly at first then harder as he felt her respond.
Soon he had pushed her down so she was lying down on the bed then he straddled her resting his hands on her stomach as their kisses got more and more passionate. She broke off when she felt his hand slip under her shirt.
His eyes stared straight into hers as they both caught their breath. "It's just a little fast," she whispered when her heart rate had gone down as much as it could with Harry still on top of her.
He smiled and rolled off of her. "We'll wait as long as you want," he said.
"You aren't mad?" she asked sitting up and pulling her shirt down over the top of her jeans.
"I have my dreams," he answered, "and I love you, I can wait."
Hermione blushed bright red then to both of their surprises asked, "Want to tell me about these dreams you've been having?"
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