AN: So this will be my first fic on Portkey ^.^ Hopefully it's not too dreadful, but you can be the judges of that.
Disclaimer: Erm…don't own? JK Rowling does. Kthx.
Hermione never really enjoyed winter; in fact, it was fair to say that she despised the season. For one, it was always cold. It was cold outside, cold inside, and cold the entire day. In order to go outside, she would have to put on layers and layers of itchy clothes just so she could still be cold and get sick. Then, of course, there was the snow. Sure, snow was pretty around Christmas, she wouldn't deny that, but besides that it was annoying, wet, and cold. It made her clothes become damp and even colder and when it got into her hair it would make it even more tangled than before. No, Hermione Granger did not like the winter.
So it didn't come as a surprise to anyone when she angrily complained about having to attend Herbology class during a particularly fierce, and very cold, blizzard. Being in the castle was cold enough during the long winter months, but having to fight a blizzard to get to the greenhouses was a cruel and unusual form of punishment in Hermione's opinion. Add the already freezing temperatures the fact that the snow would drench her robes made her dread the class even more.
"We could always skive it off," Harry suggested after listening to Hermione complain for over an hour.
"We are not skiving anything off, Harry James Potter," Hermione snapped. "Herbology isn't just a class. It's extremely important in antidotes and-"
"It was a joke, Hermione," Harry smirked. "If you really don't want to go you don't have to."
"It's not that I don't want to go," Hermione explained as she fastened her coat. "I just don't want to have to go outside where it is cold, snowy, and cold."
"You said cold twice."
"I'm well aware of that."
Hermione wrapped her scarf tightly around her neck and then proceeded to put on her gloves. Just as she was adjusting her hat and making sure no skin was showing, Ron came through the portrait hole. His nose and cheeks were bright red from the wind and his hair and robes were damp from snow that was still melting. Harry and Hermione looked at him curiously.
"I had to help Hagrid with warming up the cabbages," He explained bitterly. "And where were you two? Sitting near a nice warm fire. Cabbages. I'm going to get frostbite to save the bloody cabbages. All I want is to sit and sleep in a warm bed."
"Well you'll have to wait until after class," Hermione said bitterly. "We have Herbology in fifteen minutes."
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance just before Harry put on his own scarf. Within a few minutes, Hermione declared herself ready and she led them out of the Common Room. Even the corridors were cold. Hermione pulled her scarf higher up on her face and didn't join in on Ron and Harry's conversation. In fact, she didn't speak at all until they entered the very drafty Entrance Hall.
"I hate the cold," Hermione muttered. "I hate snow. I hate winter. I hate cold snowy winters."
"That's the attitude," Ron said sarcastically.
"Do you like snowflakes?" Harry asked.
"No," Hermione said bitterly.
"Not a very optimistic person, are you?" Ron said.
Hermione glared at him and the trio fell silent as they made their way out onto the grounds. The first gust of wind was so cold Hermione could feel it through her several layers. The wind was vicious, sending snowflakes as sharp as knives to whip their faces. Hermione had never been more grateful to know the way to the greenhouses by heart because the snow was coming down so fast that they could only see ten feet in front of them. The snow was also making it near impossible to see the path, even with Hermione attempting to melt the snow off of it.
An unbelievably strong gust sent Hermione's hat flying off of her head. She let out a frustrated shriek before running after it. She vaguely heard Harry calling her back as she raced off in the direction her hat had flown. A rock buried under the blanket of snow caught Hermione by surprise and she fell face first into the snow. She sat up, sputtering snow, and let out a frustrated cry.
"You okay, Hermione?"
She felt herself being pulled to her feet by a familiar person. She turned around to see Harry checking to make sure she was okay. Hermione just wanted to collapse in the snow again, and lay there until spring brought warm weather with it. Instead, she threw herself at Harry, who caught her and held her. He was warm and she felt relieved and safe in his arms. He stroked her hair and let her calm down before speaking again.
"You should know better than to run off in the snow like that," he smirked. "If I hadn't come after you, where would you be?"
"Lying in the snow waiting for spring and sun and warmth," she muttered bitterly and he laughed.
"I like the snow," he smiled.
"Why?" Hermione asked curiously.
"No idea," he laughed. "I didn't start liking it until I came here. Everything looks so peaceful in the snow. I guess I just saw it as an escape from the chaos."
"Wow Harry," Hermione grinned. "That's deep."
Harry tugged playfully on her hair, "Get over it Granger."
Hermione laughed and tried her best to look offended at the same time. For the first time since the blasted snowstorm had arrived, she didn't feel miserable or cold. She felt content and warm in Harry's arms and didn't ever want to leave them. He held her protectively and she couldn't help but smile at the thought that he could possibly care for her as more than a best friend. Sometimes, in times like this, she was almost certain that he felt for her in the same way she felt for him. She sighed contently against his chest and felt him stop laughing.
Hermione looked up at him when she noticed that he stopped laughing and saw him looking at her with a nervous smile. She opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong, but before she could he had pressed his lips over hers. Her first reaction was utter surprise over what he just done. After the initial feeling of shock dissipated, she began to kiss him back. The feelings that spread through her body were almost surreal.
Her heart was fluttering madly in her chest. Every part of her body was tingling due to a combination of the cold and the joy that was flooding her body at his kiss. She felt like she was floating and for once in her life her mind shut down entirely. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled against his lips. A few seconds after it had begun, Harry pulled away slowly. As short as it had been, Hermione felt as if it had lasted a blissful eternity.
Harry smiled down at her. She smiled back, feeling quite dazed from the kiss. For the longest time, she had dreamt of him kissing her, but the logical side of her had never expected it to become a reality. For several moments, they both just stood there staring and smiling at each other. Neither of the two felt any need to say anything; they had always been able to tell what each other was thinking and words seemed so unnecessary at the moment. After a few minutes, Harry finally broke the silence.
"I never thought you'd let me do that," he said. "This isn't a dream is it?"
Hermione laughed, "I don't think it's a dream, but then again I never thought you'd ever want to kiss me in real life, so it could be a dream."
Harry smirked and tugged on her hair again.
"Ow!" Hermione squeaked. "What was that for?"
"I wanted to make sure it wasn't a dream," Harry grinned.
"So you decide to inflict the pain on me instead of yourself?" Hermione asked.
"Pretty much," Harry laughed.
"Oh I see how it is," Hermione smiled. "You better watch out Potter."
"I'm so scared," Harry said sarcastically.
"You should be," she replied.
The two of them laughed together for a moment before a sharp gust of wind reminded them that they were standing in the middle of a heavy snowfall. Hermione shook her head to get some of the snow out of her hair and noted that a few snowflakes had decided to attach themselves to her eyelashes. She blinked rapidly to try and get rid of them, which only resulted in them melting in her eyes. Harry laughed as she squinted through the drops of water.
Hermione looked up at him through the drops and noticed that his hair was spotted with nearly as much snow as hers. She rustled it with her hand causing the snow to melt and making his hair even messier than usual. He gave a weak protest before laughing with her. His glasses, she noted, were still clear and she assumed that he had charmed them that way. She felt a surge of self-worth as she thought about how he remembered the spell she had given him so many years before.
"We're going to be late for Herbology," Harry said finally. "Actually, we are really late for Herbology."
"We should get going then," Hermione said urgently.
"Not to mention," Harry began as she grabbed his hand and started dragging him in the direction of the greenhouses, "Ron's probably going to have our heads if we leave him there alone."
"That too," Hermione grinned.
Hey walked back to the greenhouse in a comfortable silence. Luckily, the wind was at their back so they could see better than before. When the greenhouses finally came into view, Ron was standing impatiently waiting for them. When he saw their conjoined hands, he looked curiously between the two of them and then dropped his head. Harry squeezed her hand reassuringly as they approached their best friend.
"Took you long enough," Ron muttered. "It's freezing out here."
"Ron," Hermione began.
"Hermione," Ron interjected, "it's alright. I've been expecting it for a while now. Don't worry. I'll get used to this."
"Thanks mate," Harry said.
"You hurt her though and I will be forced to kill you," Ron said half-jokingly.
"Deal," Harry laughed.
"Come on," Ron said. "Professor Sprout is almost ready to start. She had to delay class because of the weather naturally. Although I don't think it was the weather that kept you two away for so long…"
Hermione smacked Ron's arm and he laughed. Together, the three of them headed into the greenhouse where it was much warmer and much less wet. Their classmates gave them brief glances as they noticed they were holding hands, but no one said anything. Hermione smiled to herself. It was turning out to be a much better day than she could've hoped for. Once over by their trays, Hermione poked Harry and leaned over to his ear.
"I think winter just became my favorite season."
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