Back again folks. Thanks to those of you who have reviewed, they are warming me greatly .
A hug to remember.
That does it!!, Hermione thought, she would forever dedicate at least one hour a day to develop a spell that would make blushing a thing of the past. At this precise moment when Harry asked that question she could feel her face were on fire and not only did the shyness effect her face but also the rest of her body, never had she fidgeted so much with all of her limbs at the same time that she almost felt like a monkey with its fingers in an electric socket.
When she told him of her feelings, the time, settings and mood had been carefully planned so she would have total control of the situation. Hermione laughed inside her head from that thought, control….oh my…yes the little miss know it all and intelligent witch certainly had everything under control, that is why she was now standing in the room of requirement in front of the very person she was supposed to have a civil conversation with in the common room, but destiny and her instinct had chopped that plan into small blocks and then avada kedavra'ed them to ash.
She sighed and looked at him. "Yes, I really did mean what I said back there Harry", "you really didn't expect me to confess to such a thing without me having researched it and thought it over and over in my head?" she asked while stepping closer to Harry.
He smiled while looking down at his shuffling feet. "It's amazing how easy we feel shy around each other when the subject lands on feelings, don't you think `Mione?", he mumbled to her.
She took a small step back from surprise, "'Mione??..." she squeaked. She thought about it for a second and didn't really mind so long as it was him that called her that, if Ron would ever attempt such travesty she would hex him into the next year and back again, but Harry….that was another thing, more private for only the two of them, and she actually liked it when thinking more about it.
"Is that what you call me now?" she asked him in a low and almost sensual voice, while she looked at him from under her eyelashes.
"Erhm…well if you don't mind?, I'd never call you that in front of other people, only when it's me and you" he said in a soothing voice since he was afraid that her actions were just a trap so she could give him a good scolding, he knew that she would do just about anything to get his attention away from her earlier actions.
"I like it" she said with a brilliant smile, and then frowned. "But as you said, it's only for you and me". Harry nodded and gave her a hesitant smile.
Hermione really loved when he smiled, just that simple gesture was enough to make her feel ready to battle Voldemort over and over again, and it just lifted her spirit to new heights. She couldn't recall what the feeling was since she really never had been in love with anyone, yes there was her unfortunate crush on Gilderoy Lockheart in her second year but that was only a crush, this was lo….wait a second?, Hermione stiffened and her intelligent brain took over and began to digest her feelings for this particular boy. Her earlier conclusion about having strong feelings for him was not adequate to describe what she really felt at this moment.
"So this is love?" she said out loud.
*FHWUMP*
This time it was Harry that sat down on the floor since his legs had decided to give up, although he gave no indication to any pain since all his focus was on what Hermione had just said. "LOVE?!" he said with a high pitched voice and harrumphed a couple of times to get his voice back in control.
He stood up and brushed himself off all the while Hermione noticed that he suddenly had a panicked look in his eyes, she began to think that perhaps she had pegged his own feelings wrong and that actually scared her, she didn't know what to expect so she just stood there, waiting, waiting for the focus of her whole being to say something, to throw her a bone so to speak. And Harry spoke…
"Hermione…" he coughed, "erh...I….I don't" Harry mumbled while his eyes looked down. Hermione's breath caught in her throat and she felt completely numb all over, no no no Harry please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me, Hermione kept saying over and over in her head, she could almost taste the humiliation in her mouth, the bitter taste of rejection and disappointment. She looked at him with pleading eyes, trying to plead with him that he must feel something for her!.
Harry gazed at Hermione just a fraction of a second, looked down again and then mumbled "I don't…." he said, and Hermione could see that he had real trouble with what he was saying, he then gave a big sigh and steeled himself, this needed to come out, be a man he told himself. "I…. don't know…..what love is……" he said in a small voice, his shoulders slumped, his hands fidgeting in the front of his robes, his feet shuffling around each other and his head lowered so much that he gave the impression of a boy who did something wrong.
Silence.
TBC…
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