I was thinking today about all the reasons I love my boyfriend, and how lucky I am to have him, and decided to write this little oneshot as a tribute. This goes to my Joey, for being my inspiration and an all-around great guy. Our 3-year was just recently, and I hope for many more!
Disclaimer-I don't own Harry, just Joey. (But honestly, he's good enough <3)
It wasn't that Hermione had been jealous. Nope.
She knew jealous. Jealous was what she had felt when she had been silly enough to think herself in love with Ron, and Ron had been snogging Lavender passionately right in front of her. It felt like a sick, hot, bubbling, burning feeling in her stomach, settling in her eyes in the form of tears.
Nope, Hermione hadn't been jealous. She had been furious. A cold, icy, numbing feeling had rushed through her veins.
They had been up in Ginny's room at the Burrow discussing the reasons that her relationship with Ron had ended when Hermione had hesitantly broached the topic of Ginny's recently ended relationship with Harry. Ginny had insisted that it was just a temporary break, due to his "noble ideals" as she had put it.
She had rolled her eyes, staring up at the speckled plaster ceiling, and said, "You know Harry and his stupid saving-people thing that you're always nattering on about. He thinks he's putting me in danger by loving me." Hermione had frowned then, trying to recall if she had ever actually called Harry's "saving-people" thing "stupid." Then, she had brought up the second question that the conversation had created in her mind.
Hermione knew that regardless of her own feelings towards Harry, romantic or otherwise, the most important thing was that Harry was happy. After listening to Ginny list the various ways in which Harry had worshipped her already in their relationship, she had begun to wonder what exactly Ginny could have to offer her best friend.
"Well, what do you love about him?" She had asked curiously, hoping to hear something worthwhile. And she had. It just hadn't been anything good.
"I love the way he makes me feel, like I'm the most beautiful girl in the world. I love the way he looks at me, and the way he opens the door for me, and the way he plays with my hair. It's adorable!" Ginny had squealed, hugging her pillow tightly to her chest.
Hermione had gritted her teeth and tried not to shake her head at Ginny's response. Harry opened the door for every girl, Hermione included, she reminded herself.
"Well, those are all really fantastic traits, Ginny, but what do you love about him?" Hermione had asked, trying to keep her voice calm.
Ginny loved the way Harry treated her. The way he looked at her, the way he doted on her and lavished her with all of the attention that she had never gotten as one sister in a large family. She loved that Harry was famous, and loved the Boy-Who-Lived image. She loved that Harry was polite, and endlessly patient, and a talented Quidditch player.
And that was when Hermione realized that Ginny didn't really love Harry. She couldn't love Harry, not like Hermione did.
That was when Hermione realized that she had fallen in love with her best friend.
She didn't act on this realization right away. Hermione was nothing if not smart, and she knew that Harry had truly ended his relationship with Ginny based on a fear of her becoming hurt. He would be unlikely to pursue any romantic entanglements with anyone until the war was fully over and whomever he loved was safe.
So she waited. Ginny didn't. Months after Harry, Ron, and Hermione left for their quest to recover the horcruxes, Ginny found someone else to dote on her.
And Hermione admitted, if only privately to herself, that maybe she had been just the tiniest bit jealous, because she felt a smug sense of satisfaction when she told Harry this and he calmly shrugged and said, "At least I've still got you."
Ron had loudly shouted "Oi!" making both of them laugh, and forcing Harry to add, "and Ron, of course." Hermione hadn't stopped smiling for a week following that comment.
The war ended much as everyone had hoped, and Hermione's jealousy reached new heights as the number of women interested in the Chosen One increased dramatically. Ginny had grudgingly accepted Harry's refusal to date her again and had instead stayed with Dean Thomas, choosing not to tell Dean that he would've been dumped the moment the Boy-Who-Lived had taken her back.
Ginny hadn't been quite as accepting when Hermione had admitted how she felt about her ex. "WHAT?"
"I love him."
"No, you think you love him." Ginny said sulkily, staring out the window of her room where the girls were once again hiding in the Burrow to escape the chaos that was the Weasley household. "You've only been with him and Ron though all year. Once you get back among other people again-"
"No, I mean I'm actually in love with him." Ginny blinked at her, clearly shocked, and then asked,
"How do you know?"
Hermione paused, licking her lips and taking a breath before saying the words she'd been thinking since her previous conversation with Ginny.
"I love all the stuff you loved about him, but it's more than that… it's…" And suddenly, Hermione was at a loss for words, because she wasn't sure she could put her feelings for Harry into verbal thought. Finally, she said, "I love that when he laughs really hard, he gets the hiccups. I love that when he's nervous, he bites the inside of his cheek without even realizing it. I love that when he's thinking or reading, he bites his nails down to the nubs.
I love the way he smells, like parchment and pine trees and fresh soap. I love I can read him like a book, even when he thinks he's so secretive. I love that he lets me take care of him, and I love taking care of him. I love his saving-people thing, as frustrating as it can be, and the way he takes responsibility for things that he can't really control. I love everything about him, even the bad habits and qualities other people wouldn't care for. That's how I know that I don't just love him…that's how I know I'm in love with him."
To her surprise, Ginny smiled at her, her brown eyes shining at Hermione. "That's so romantic. How come you haven't told him?"
Why was Ginny being so nice? Hermione wondered.
"I don't know. I'm going to, I think, maybe. I just really need to work up the nerve, and start moving in slowly. I don't think he sees me as anything other than his bushy-haired bookworm best friend right now."
Ginny shrugged, tying up her long red hair in a knot at the back of her head. "You've got time. But for what it's worth, I don't think you should ignore it."
Hermione smiled back at the redheaded girl, surprised at her pleasant reaction. Maybe Ginny wasn't quite so horrible after all, when she wasn't dating Harry.
The next day, she totally took that thought back.
It started innocently enough, with Hermione and Harry going for a walk as they had done often since the ending of the war. Ron occasionally went with them, but this time he had chosen to stay behind at the Burrow. Harry was holding her hand, but Hermione didn't think very much about it until his fingers laced with hers and he pulled her to a stop.
His green eyes were blinking a little too much, avoiding her own searching brown gaze. "Harry?" Hermione asked, trying not to let her voice shake too much. Whatever it was Harry had on his mind, Hermione could tell it was serious. "What's wrong?"
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked quietly, staring out at the forest behind her. "All those times we were alone together during the war, or even after, when we go on walks like this…why didn't you ever say anything?"
Hermione wasn't stupid, which was why she didn't play along immediately. "Tell you what?" She asked him carefully, trying to determine just how much he knew.
"Tell me how you felt about me." Harry stated clearly, suddenly focusing on her face again. She could tell, from the way he was biting on the inside of his cheek, that he was just as nervous as she was to bring up this topic.
Hermione shrugged, trying not to make too big a deal out of her feelings. Harry looked ready to run, and if he already knew about how she felt, then that was the last thing Hermione wanted. "I don't know. It never felt like the right time. I didn't know how you felt. I didn't know how Ginny would react." That's when it clicked.
"Ginny!" She hissed, mortified. "Oh, she must've told you the moment she knew!" Hermione wailed, furious with the redheaded girl that she had thought of moments before as a friend, if not a close one.
"She only did it because I asked her to," Harry said, cutting Hermione's furious rant off. Hermione realized that perhaps she was not the only friend that Harry had who was looking out for his best interests and making sure that he'd be happy. It was why Ginny had been so accepting the night before, Hermione was sure-because she had approved of them as a couple, knowing that Hermione could make Harry happier than Ginny ever could.
But why would Harry ask Ginny to do that?
But even before she asked it Hermione was smart enough to know the answer. Harry wouldn't have been so nervous about her feelings if he hadn't reciprocated them, right?
When she opened her mouth to ask him, Hermione found her lips covered with his own. Harry pulled back quickly, clearly gnawing on the inside of his cheek.
It wasn't anything like the overwhelming, sloppy, slobbery kisses that Hermione had received from Ron and Krum. Harry's kiss was so light, so quick, that Hermione almost doubted that it had even happened. It was innocent, in spite of all that Harry had been through, and Hermione found herself falling even harder for the boy she had already loved, awed that someone who had been through so much could still be so inexperienced and insecure.
It was adorable.
Hermione pulled him back to kiss him just as gently, just as quickly, and then once again laced her fingers in his own and wandered back with her new boyfriend to the Burrow and their friends. They had time, she figured, to work out all the details later.
Harry didn't question her, and instead just walked silently behind her. It was just one of the many reasons she loved him- his calm, silent acceptance.
And for as many reasons as she loved him, Hermione realized that there were even more reasons she was in love with him, and always would be.
Not my best, but please review- I appreciate every review I get! As always, criticism is welcome- flames are not.
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