Loads of Couples Do It

A/N: This is a drabble that was written for a community on LiveJournal. Our prompt was, "Hermione decides to take her relationship with Harry to the next level, but HE is a bit nervous." This was loosely inspired by an episode of Friends. Thanks to my beta, redheadfaerie! Enjoy!

“Harry, loads of couples do it.”

“I'm just not sure if we're ready.”

Hermione's eyes grew wide with sheer disbelief. “You've got to be taking the mickey out of me! You're not sure if we're ready? Harry, we've been together exclusively for over a year!”

Harry flinched, knowing he had unleashed her anger. Still, he had his reservations about the topic they were discussing. “It just seems like a big step.” He watched as her gaze hardened, wondering if he should Apparate away for a short while.

“It just seems like a big step?” If it was possible, her tone relayed even more incredulity. She closed her eyes and took a few calming breaths, tamping down the urge to hex the utterly clueless man in front of her.

“Hermione, I'm just telling you how I feel.”

Normally, a statement like that would have filled her with joy. Unfortunately for Harry, this wasn't an instance where she wanted him to share his feelings. Why did he have to choose now, of all times, to tell her how he was feeling? Nevertheless, she forged ahead with a piece of information that would be difficult for him to refute. “You know, Ron and Luna are doing it. They've only been together for seven months!”

Harry blanched, a little tripped up by the news. Would Ron do something like that without telling him?

“Ginny and Dean are doing it as well!”

“But they've been together for several years.”

“Alright then, Lavender and Seamus are doing it!”

Harry couldn't help but scoff. “Lavender did it with Cormac as well, and they were only together for four months.”

Hermione bit her lower lip, wondering what next step she could take. Pointing out that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley did it would not do a lick of good. They had been together for… well, she wasn't sure how long they had been together but it had certainly been a long time. That left her parents out of the argument as well.

Honestly, she didn't think that requesting this task of him would be the equivalent to pulling teeth. Shouldn't he want to do this? Shouldn't he want to declare his love to her this way? If they did this, everyone would know that they were serious. “What exactly are you scared of?” Her voice was now quiet and sincere.

Harry sighed in relief, grateful she seemed to have calmed down. “I'm not scared of my love for you, I know that for certain. I guess… I guess I'm just being barmy now that I think about it. What you're asking isn't anything out of the ordinary. I mean, loads of couples do this every year.”

Hermione beamed, thrilled that he was finally agreeing. “Fantastic! I'll setup the appointment with the photographer. Trust me, sending out our Happy Christmas cards as a couple will be wonderful!”

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