One night of magic rush
The start a simple touch
One night to push and scream
And then relief
Ten days of perfect tunes
The colors red and blue
We had a promise made
We were in love
-Heartbeats by Jose Gonzalez
&---&---&---&---&
Harry sighed as, once again, Hermione avoided his stare. Actually, not just his stare, but him too. There wasn't a day in the past week and a half that the two of them had held more than a three word conversation. They hadn't hung out; they hadn't worked on the Horcruxes. It was almost as if they were strangers.
"What's wrong with Hermione?" Harry finally asked Ron. His red haired best mate looked up from his sandwich and shrugged.
"She's been fine," he said. Harry shook his head.
"We haven't spoken more than three words to each other in the past week and a half. She's been avoiding me. I have no idea what I've done wrong," Harry said. Ron appeared to be thinking.
"I'll talk to her mate," he said. Harry nodded, relieved.
"Thanks mate," Harry said. He sighed and looked down at his lunch plate. His bacon sandwich was only half eaten and his chips hadn't been touched. His appetite was leaving him.
"I'm going to head to class," Harry said. "I'll see you later." Ron said goodbye as Harry got up and left the table.
"Don't you have class?" Ron asked as Hermione sat down at the table. She shook her head.
"Free period," she said.
"I'm just going to get right to it. There's no use buttering you up," Ron said. "What's wrong with you and Harry?" Hermione raised one of her perfectly sculpted eyebrows at her gangly friend.
"What do you mean what's wrong with me and Harry?" she asked.
"Exactly what I said," Ron replied. "He said you've been avoiding him like the plague. The two of you haven't said more than three words to each other. And really, now that I've thought about it, you're awfully jumpy when he's around." Hermione sighed and looked away.
"It's nothing," she said. Ron snorted.
"It doesn't seem like nothing," he said. "It seems like a big something." Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose before looking at Ron.
"Come with me," she said. Ron set his sandwich down, gulped the rest of his juice, and followed Hermione out of the Hall.
"So what's going on?" Ron asked, once the two of them had gotten out of range. He sat on the couch in the Head's Common Room. Hermione perched herself on the arm of a chair.
"You know the fight we had week ago," Hermione said.
"Between you and Harry?" Ron asked. She shook her head.
"No, we haven't had a fight. The battle, with the Death Eaters," Hermione said. Ron nodded.
"Oh, yeah."
"Well, after the battle Kingsley took us to an interrogation room with Snape in it," Hermione said. Ron nodded.
"Harry told me about it," he said.
"Then you know what he did?" Hermione asked. Ron nodded.
"Tore right into old Snape, he did," Ron said. Hermione sighed and nodded.
"Well…I don't know. Maybe I'm just being silly," Hermione said, looking away. Ron looked concerned.
"What? Whatever it is I'm sure there's a good reason for it," he said.
"He scared me," Hermione said. Ron was quiet.
"Harry scared you?" he asked, to clarify what he was hearing. Hermione nodded.
"He just…the look on his face and…his eyes. I've never seen him like that before," she said. "It scared me. I haven't intentionally avoided him. I just can't grasp what he was like."
"I think you should talk to him about it," Ron said. "He thinks he's done something wrong. He's worried." Hermione sighed.
"I will. I just…I don't know what to tell him. `Hey Harry, I'm sorry I've been avoiding you like the plague. You scared the hell out of me and I just couldn't deal with it'." Hermione rolled her eyes. Ron shrugged.
"That sounds like a good start," he said. Hermione stared at him incredulously. "Hermione, really, you need to tell him. He'll go nuts if he doesn't fix things between you two."
"I'll talk to him," she said. Ron nodded and stood up.
"Well, I'm still on break and I think I need to get some homework done," he said. "Why don't you think over what you'll tell him, eh? Let me know if you need anything." Hermione nodded.
"Thanks Ron," she said softly.
"No problem," he replied. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder before he exited the portrait.
&---&---&---&---&
"Hey, I'm sorry about the past week. I just needed to get past the fact that I thought you were going to kill Snape," Hermione mumbled. She shook her head. No, that wouldn't do.
"Hey. I'm sorry. Can we just go back to normal?" No, that wouldn't do either. Too formal, too…frank.
"I'm sorry I've been avoiding you like you had the Black Death. You scared me." Hermione rolled her eyes. Nothing would be good enough to explain why she hardly said a word to him, let alone looked at him. And plus, she sounded like a pansy.
"Right, I will figure this out," she muttered to herself.
"Figure what out?" came Harry's crisp voice. Hermione froze and looked up at him. He was staring at her from across the room, in front of the portrait.
"Hi," she squeaked.
"Hi," he said tentatively. An awkward silence hung between the two of them. Hermione was determined to find anything to keep her gaze off of Harry and it seemed like his stare was glued to her face.
"Tension, party of two," she mumbled. Honestly, this was absurd.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing," she said. The silence continued. Harry sighed and began to move forward. Why wouldn't she talk to him?
"I'm sorry," Hermione blurted out. Harry stopped at the base of the stairway to his room.
"For what?" he asked, not turning around.
"For acting this way," she said.
"Why are you acting this way?" he asked, finally turning around. She felt as if his eyes were burning a whole in her face. She sighed and looked at him.
"Hermione," he said, stepping closer to her. Her eyes met his.
"Please," he all but whispered. He lifted his finger to her chin. Unfortunately, she flinched away from him. She didn't look at him, couldn't look at him. She could feel the hurt practically radiate from his body. It was then when she finally realized how close the two of them were. She could feel his warm breath hit her nose as he breathed in and out slowly.
"I was scared," she finally said, looking up at him. As he stared at her, she calculated the distance between their bodies. She couldn't do this. She couldn't stand this close to him. Because it was during these times that she couldn't think straight. If he leaned an inch closer, and I tilted my head, we'd be kissing was the thought that ran through her head. And that thought shouldn't even be in my head!
"Why?" he asked.
"W-what?" she stuttered. Just another inch. One, uno, un, ein. Just…one. Merlin, just stop and answer his damn question!
"Why?" he said again. "Why were you scared?"
"You scared me," she heard herself say. The heat from his body no longer warmed her front. Instead, the cool air was hitting her front. She looked at him, finally. He looked like his puppy had just been killed.
"Harry..." she said.
"I…I scared you?" he asked. She sighed.
"Yes," was her soft reply. He looked at her in despair.
"Why? How?" he spluttered.
"It wasn't you…exactly. It was the look on your face and in your eyes," she said, looking away from him. "I've never seen you like that before. It scared me." He was quiet. His gaze was on the fire in front of them. Her eyes roamed his figure.
"I didn't…I didn't mean to. I mean, I didn't know," he said, looking at her. "I'm sorry." Slowly, she reached out and took his hand in hers.
"Don't be silly," she said gently. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I feel like a pansy." Her last statement earned her a half-amused smile.
"You know that I wouldn't do that purposely, right?" he said. She nodded.
"I know. And that's why I feel ridiculous. It was a natural reaction after seeing someone like that," Hermione said. Harry moved closer to her and placed his arms around her. Hermione closed her eyes and reciprocated the embrace. It felt wonderful to be in his arms again. She let her head fall to his chest and she listened to the slow, comforting `thump' of his heartbeat.
It felt like hours had passed when they leaned back from each other. One of Harry's fingers traced her jaw line. There's that inch again Hermione thought wryly. But that inch was slowly depleting, she noticed. Right before his lips hit hers, his eyes probed hers, as if to ask for permission. Closing the distance between them was her answer.
The kiss was perfect. He wasn't demanding, but he wasn't shy either. The pressure was perfect and his lips were soft. They almost felt like silk. Hermione mentally rolled her eyes at her over analytical brain and pushed the thoughts away, focusing on what she felt.
Elation.
Security.
Giddiness.
Love.
"Harry," she whispered when the kiss was broke. A slow smile crept over their faces. Their lips met again, this time not bothering with the formalities of meeting one another. Tongues battled for dominance, lips were caressed softly but passionately, the breathing was erratic.
"What are we doing?" Hermione asked, stopping their actions. She tried to gain some resemblance to a train of thought but found that she couldn't. His kiss literally took her breath away.
"I have no idea," was her reply.
"Right," she said. They took a step back from each other. Harry ran a hand through his already messy hair. Hermione rubbed the back of her neck. She could still feel his lips on hers, as if they had never left.
"I should…go," Harry said. Hermione nodded. He stood there a second longer before taking the stairs to his room.
Hermione sighed and sat on the couch. She had just kissed her best friend. No, it wasn't just a kiss. She had just made out with her best friend. God, what had she done?
Oh, sod it. It was amazing, he was amazing. There's no use denying the fact and it isn't as if you can take it back. Not that you would want to…
A smile crept back onto her face. She had never felt that good before. Kissing Harry was like taking a relaxing bath. It was comforting, relaxing, secure.
Yes, but he's also your best friend. What if you just ruined everything you've worked so hard for by a simple kiss? Would it be worth it?
Zip it Granger. You enjoyed it. And if his response was any indication, he obviously did too.
Sighing once more, Hermione leaned back against the couch and shut her eyes. But boy could the boy kiss.
&---&---&---&---&
The next day was interesting to say the least. Hermione, fully expecting it to be awkward between the two of them, was surprised to find out that it wasn't. In fact, it was as if the kiss hadn't happened. They talked, they laughed, hell, they flirted. It was as if they were together instead of best friends who had kissed.
"Well the two of you are certainly better," Ron observed.
"Oh yeah, we're fine," Harry said, sending an encouraging smile toward Hermione. She smiled back, amused at his behavior. The childish, but happy glint in his eyes made her want to laugh. Actually, she just wanted to kiss him again.
"Right," Ron said, raising one eyebrow. He sent a glance to Hermione before he picked up his fork and cut into his lunch.
"So, have you read about England trading McCullen?" Ron asked Harry, silently noting to observe his best friends more carefully.
"No, what happened?" was his reply. Putting aside his thoughts, he went into detail about the trade.
"Right well, I'm going to head to class," Hermione said. Harry jumped up from his seat.
"I'll walk you there," he said. Amused, Ron bit his cheek in order not to laugh. Hermione, amused but pleased, nodded. She grabbed her bag and started to walk toward the door.
"I'll catch you later mate," Harry said. He jogged to catch up with Hermione. Ron shook his head. There was definitely something going on.
"Here, I'll carry your bag," Harry said, grinning at her. Hermione smiled and raised an eyebrow, but gave him her bag anyway.
"So, you know there's a Hogsmead visit this Saturday," Harry said. Hermione nodded.
"Well, do you want to go with me?" he asked.
"Like, as a date?" she asked. His boyish grin reached his eyes as he looked at her.
"Yeah, like a date," he said.
"Sure," she found herself saying.
"Right, well, okay," Harry said. Hermione chuckled to herself. His grin would be on his face permanently soon if he wasn't careful.
"I'll see you after class," Harry said, stopping at the Arithmancy classroom.
"Okay," she said.
"Have fun." Hesitantly, Harry leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips before handing her bag to her. He smiled one last time before turning the opposite way down the corridor. Hermione stared after him, dumbfounded. Unconsciously, her fingers trailed over her lips. He never stopped surprising her.
(TBC)
&----&----&----&----&
Muahaha. I'm an evil genius.
Not really. But at least they're together now, right?
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