A/N - Once again, thank you very much for the positive reviews and I hope to receive plenty more!
Reclaiming consciousness after a good night's sleep, Harry carefully edged one eye open…then the other.
It was Valentine's Day.
If Harry was expecting to wake up to face the Apocalypse, he was in for a disappointment. The boys' seventh-year dorm looked normal, or as normal as it could for a room that contained Ron and his sleeping habits. The sun was fighting a losing battle outside with the overcast gray clouds, but Harry still fancied getting outside on a Saturday like this. He'd take the walk into Hogsmeade, and carry on for the next few days…strangely, he found the idea of living as a hermit pretty appealing today.
Accepting that that probably wouldn't happen, Harry forced himself up and into the bathroom. The washing and dressing mission accomplished, he edged over to the door. Taking a deep breath, he made ready to plunge through it with wand drawn…and then thought better of it.
The common room, too, appeared relatively Valentines-free, save for a few pink decorations dotted around the place. Breathing a sigh of relief, Harry strolled over to the portrait hole and stepped through…
Lavender Brown was sat behind a desk on the other side, "Hi Harry."
"Jesus!" Harry recoiled in shock.
Lavender laughed, "Shouldn't that be Merlin, Harry?"
Harry straightened himself up, "What are you doing here?!"
"Hermione thought this would be a good place to…"
"Ambush the rest of us!" Harry said.
Lavender nodded at her jar, already sprinkled with several Knuts and a few Sickles, "Well, it's gone pretty well so far."
Harry glanced at the jar, nodding. He really didn't know what to say in this scenario…but he just hoped that she wouldn't…
"Would you like to contribute then, Harry?" She asked hopefully.
…ask him that.
He'd thought about what he would say in the event; mostly excuses for why not, because he didn't really want to get involved in the inevitable game of one-upsmanship between the girls later on when they compare who they did and didn't kiss. Not that Harry thought that much of himself…it was just that the rest of the wizarding world did, annoyingly.
"I'm…" Harry said, squirming, "…sorry Lav, I haven't got anything on me at the minute."
"Well," Lavender said, "you could do it now and pay me later?"
That just sounded all kinds of wrong…
"That's okay," Harry said, backing away as if she was contaminated with something, "I'm gonna go down to Gringotts and take some money out, I'll come back later on."
"Okay," Lavender said, turning her head to watch him go, "catch you later!"
Harry quickly made his way towards the stairs.
Note to self: avoid the common room corridor.
* * * * *
"Seriously, she was just sitting there, right in the middle of the corridor!" Harry said over his bacon and eggs, at the sparsely-populated breakfast table in the Great Hall.
"I know mate, I had to leave that common room too," Ron said from across the table.
"Oh yeah. How'd you get around her?"
"Well…I'm not entirely sure that I did."
"You mean…" Harry started.
Ron shrugged, "Well, yeah. We used to go out, didn't we?"
"…Are you asking me?"
"No, I just mean that I didn't see anything wrong in it."
"…Right." Harry said.
"Why do you, then?"
"Don't you start…"
"Hermione was right, it's just a bit of fun," Ron said, "you need to lighten up a bit."
"I just wanna go back to bed…"
"Suit yourself," Ron said, "I'm gonna go see who else I can find."
"Bit desperate, ain't it?"
Ron almost blushed, "No…just, you know, for sake of curiosity."
"Best of luck."
"Seriously, mate…" Ron said.
Harry shook his head, "Girls seeking romance, they're a force of nature."
Ron grinned, "Yeah…I'll catch you later."
He pushed his plate away and made for the entrance, a little too quickly to be normal.
And his plate was still half-full. That never happened.
* * * * *
Harry felt like he was conducting a stealth mission as he picked his way through the castle towards the outside grounds, darting in and out of alcoves and edging along corridors. This was ridiculous, he knew that, but he couldn't help it. He hadn't seen anyone else, but he had heard that Parvati had set up shop in the dungeons…which sounded about right.
He just wanted to get outside, get some air, have a wander. He had made a point of trying to ignore the flying cards around the Great Hall, as well as the poetry, the nervously-handed-over love letters and whatever else. To him it just created a sense of expectation; that he should be in there, getting it on with some girl, making a prat out of himself. The fact that he wasn't made him feel…well, a bit lonely.
And so he found himself padding along the outside walkway, heading towards Hagrid's for a bit of sanctuary. He'd stop and have a chat with him for a bit, then head down into town and take a look at…
Harry spotted something, someone, out of place on the green outside her shack.
Oh, that figures…
Hermione smiled brightly at him, "Happy Valentine's Day, Harry."
Harry walked over, trying not to grimace, "Thanks."
He was trying his hardest not to take a look at her jar. Not that it would bother him if she had been quite popular…not really…
"Are you alright?" Hermione said, her eyes searching Harry's as he stood in front of her.
Harry shrugged, "Yeah, why?"
"Well, you're wandering around outside by yourself, on today of all days."
"Is there anything wrong with that?"
"You tell me."
Harry let out a sigh, "Am I that easy to figure out?"
Hermione smiled, "You always were, Harry. Come, sit."
Harry looked around, "On what?"
She patted the desk in front of her, "Come on."
"Won't I get in the way of you and your…fundraising?"
She shook her head dismissively, "Don't worry about it…besides, you need to talk."
Harry perched himself down in front of her, feeling a deep swell of gratitude for his best friend for wanting to drag the truth out of him.
Hermione sighed, "So, the idea of Valentine's Day makes you uncomfortable."
Harry frowned, "Are you asking me or telling me?"
"Telling you," Hermione said, "You don't like the idea of your love life being part of a game or a dare or a competition…"
"Since when did you think that I…"
"Shush," Hermione said, cutting him off, "And…you don't think my kissing booth idea was a very good one, because it feeds into everything you don't like about this day."
Harry looked away, feeling guilty.
"It's okay, Harry, I care about what you think."
Harry slowly nodded, "Yeah, I suppose you're right."
Hermione grinned faintly, "As if it were ever in doubt."
She laid a hand on Harry's leg and gave it a little squeeze, "You're an old-school romantic, Harry, and there's nothing wrong with that. Don't beat yourself up for not wanting to be a part of all this, okay?"
Harry looked down at her and smiled, "Thanks."
Hermione squeezed his leg again, and smiled with a nod. Harry decided he liked it when she did that…
"So," Harry said, feeling a little more perked up, "should I leave you to it?"
Hermione shook her head, "I need the company."
"That might put some people off…" Harry said, trailing away as he involuntarily glanced at Hermione's jar. It was by no means full, but was certainly populated with a good number of Knuts, along with a few too many Sickles for Harry's liking…
"I'm doing alright," Hermione said.
"Blimey, I'll say," Harry said, nodding.
Hermione giggled, "Don't worry, Harry, they've mostly been first- and second-years, and they're not really my type."
"Well, if you're sure."
"Actually, there was this one boy with this gorgeous smile, and…"
Harry gave her a look; Hermione poked her tongue out, teasing.
They spent the next couple of hours talking and laughing, and Harry felt a kind of freedom in talking with Hermione that he wouldn't have felt with Ron. Several boys came wandering down, but with Harry present not one of them gave Hermione anything more than a Knut. Still, seeing Hermione peck so many boys on the cheek didn't sit quite right with him.
It was approaching lunchtime when Harry finally decided to leave his best friend to her business.
He stood up, "Right, I'd better go."
Hermione nodded, looking down at the ground, "Okay."
"Do you need anything?"
She looked up at him with a smile, "No, I'm fine."
"Okay…" Harry said, standing up. He reached into one of the pockets, fumbling around for something.
Hermione gave him an amused look, "Are you okay there?"
Harry withdrew a small drawstring bag, "Yeah…listen, I want you to have this for your jar."
He emptied out the contents into his other hand…ten gold coins.
Hermione's jaw dropped, "…Why?"
"Because you're right," Harry said, "this kind of thing isn't for me, but you're doing this for a good cause, and I want to help."
Hermione's eyes had almost glazed over, but despite herself she shook her head, "I can't ask you to do that, Harry."
"I know, that's why I'm doing it."
Hermione stood up, inching closer to him, "So…does this mean you're going to…"
She flexed her eyebrows suggestively.
Harry grinned uneasily, "Nah, don't be silly."
Hermione's smile faded, "…Oh."
Sensing quite quickly that he'd said something wrong, he touched her arm, "Look…you've always been there for me, and…I know this is important to you, I just want to be able to do the same. But don't think I want to pay you to…you know…"
Before he could finish his sentence, Hermione had enveloped him in a bear hug, wrapping her arms around him tightly, "Oh, Harry!"
Struggling to breathe, Harry managed to choke out, "Is this good or…?"
Hermione released him, smiling widely, only to give him a playful smack on the head, "You are dense sometimes, Harry. But you're also an absolute sweetheart, and you don't need to give me money to prove it."
"I insist," Harry said, moving his money-filled hand over the jar.
"Harry, wait…"
"Come on, it's only ten Galleons."
"But Harry…"
Harry dropped the ten coins into the jar, each one landing with a clinking sound. He turned back to look at Hermione, only to find a bewildered look on her face.
"…What?"
Hermione stammered as she looked up at him, "Harry…the jar is enchanted."
"…What do you mean?"
She cleared her throat, "It was something I came up with…to prevent fraud. It means that whatever you pay for, you have to receive."
Harry winced, "…Or else?"
"…Best not to dwell on that."
"You could have warned me!" Harry said.
"I…I thought you were kidding!"
"I give you that speech, and you think I'm joking!"
"Well…no…" Hermione said, "but…is it really so terrible?"
Blowing out a deep breath of frustration, Harry shook his head, "…I guess not."
"You guess?"
"Do you really want to shop for compliments now?"
"No."
Both of them lapsed into silence, looking away from each other, fidgeting awkwardly.
"Harry, we both know how we feel about each other. This doesn't have to be a problem."
Harry shook his head, "I know…I just never thought that I'd…"
"…Kiss me?" Hermione said, giving him a quizzical look."
"Not like this!" Harry said, trying to laugh.
The merest of grins formed across Hermione's face, "I know."
She gently turned Harry around to face her, edging close to him, "Let's get the first one out the way, okay? I'm sure it'll get less awkward once we get used to it…"
"I can't believe I'm having this conversation…" Harry said.
"Can you stop complaining for a moment?" Hermione said.
"This is all your fault..."
"Oh, shut up and kiss me," Hermione said, leaning in.
She closed her eyes and brushed her lips against Harry's.
Operating purely on instinct, Harry closed his eyes and did the same. He felt her mouth, warm and soft, press more insistently against his, and he could almost have got lost in that feeling. He could feel Hermione's breath on his lips, could smell her hair and her perfume. She felt incredible! He had been kissed before, but never, ever like this…
It must have been a good few seconds before Hermione pulled away. Visibly blushing, she looked down at her feet, "Well…there you go then, one down."
Harry cleared his throat, "Erm…yeah."
"So, I'm going to go back to the castle now, and…"
"Hermione, your booth…"
"Right," Hermione said quickly, "So I'll stay here then, and you go and…what did you say you were doing again?"
"I have no idea."
Hermione nodded, still not daring to meet his eyes, "Well, have fun and do let me know what you get up to." She turned away and busied herself with rearranging her desk…not that there was much on it.
Harry turned and quickly walked away, his head spinning.
Oh my God!
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