Unofficial Portkey Archive

Title: Never Let Me Go

Summary: In Hermione's point of view from Secret of Life.

Author Note: I'll be sticking with song titles for the one-shots. Never Let Me Go belongs to Florence + the Machine. Also I didn't change much, but what I did change probably isn't as good as what I originally wrote.

Enjoy!

"Next thing I know you'll be telling me you know the secret to life," Hermione called out to Harry playfully, her chocolate brown eyes sparkling with mischief as she shifted her feet through the piled snow in order to allow her body to lean forward, and place a kiss on the corner of his warm cheek.

It was a simple touch between friends, but her lips were tingling as she pulled away. She'd it done before, however, her patience was running low, and she was having more trouble hiding her reactions when she touched him.

He didn't say anything for a while, his emerald green eyes simply staring, taking in every single detail, almost like he was memorizing every feature on her face, and she felt her belly flip as an explosion of butterflies were set free.

He was so beautiful it almost hurt.

She knew in that moment that she had to know, even if he didn't feel the same way for her. She wanted to know what it felt like to truly kiss this man.

She cleared her throat, glad the cold covered up her pink cheeks.

"I do know the secret to life," he smiled secretively, shifting on the cold Victorian styled cement bench they'd found walking down a random snow engulfed street in London. Hermione had refused to sit, it was snowing after all, and she had not wanted to lose the warmth she had managed from the walk or at least that's what she'd told Harry. The truth was that her fingers were itching to touch him, to hold him. The feeling was becoming irresistible.

Hermione blinked repeatedly while his words continued to register, and then snorted with the disbelief, when they did. "Oh? Care to enlighten me what this secret to life is?" she chuckled immediately after, but her skepticism was evident.

She had feelings for him starting as far back as six years ago, when she'd gone through a post-war depression, and Harry had shown up at her flat door, with a Muggle movie, ice cream, and popcorn. He'd been willing to be `one of the girls' for her, to make her feel better, to make her laugh, and it had worked more than she let on. That night she couldn't sleep with the realization that he'd been right in front of her face since year one, yet she claimed to be somewhat of a genius.

Harry must have mentioned something to Ron about how much she'd enjoyed their time together and it was somehow suggested that they spend time together now that school or the war wasn't keeping them constantly with each other. Not all of them had time to spend hours together a day, after all work and real life had started, but they agreed, that a thirty-minute walk together was a healthy way to do it, and a good enough reason to make time for themselves, if only to say hi and chat for awhile.

The walks continued ever since and that was five years ago, but Ron had stopped joining them only a year into it. The emergence of Luna Lovegood, once again, into Ron's life, hadn't been a pleasant experience for Ron, but it had been the reason he'd stopped joining them. Hermione and Luna knew that that was the year he'd fallen for Luna, but mentioning that to him would have been ridiculous.

Oh, how Luna had irritated him so.

The red head, was now happily married to Luna, and still couldn't figure out why the two continued to go on these walks, claiming the reason he'd stopped because it was so tiring. Hermione knew why she continued the walks. She just wasn't so sure Harry's reason was the same. Sometimes, Hermione wondered why she never said anything to him about her feelings.

Hermione watched as he slid his teeth into the meat of his bottom lip and got to his feet, reaching forward to loop Hermione's arm with his. He threaded his fingers through hers and popped both of their hands into the warmth of his robe pocket.

She swallowed slowly, not wanting to be obvious that the contact and closeness to him affected her in any way.

"Well," he paused for dramatic effect, "it's a secret."

Hermione clucked her tongue and gently gave his hand a warning squeeze. "I don't like this, you knowing something I don't. You have to give me a hint," she demanded, her ruby red lips pouting.

Something had caught his attention and for a moment, it seemed to her that he was leaning towards her, wanting to kiss her.

That's a stretch, she thought to herself. Even so, she wouldn't deny him if it was what he wanted, Merlin knew she wanted that kiss too. Her eyes darted down to his peach colored lips. She could do it, just lean in, and capture his lips. Of course, then she'd have to run, like a little embarrassed school girl. It didn't help that the flurry of tiny snowflakes kept landing on those supple lips, wetting them, making them glisten.

A kiss on a cold snowy evening wouldn't be too bad.

Could she do it? Really and truly, after all these years? After all these years of just being his best friend would a transition to lover be possible?

Lover? She was jumping to conclusions, a kiss constituted nothing but an entrance into something new, and she wanted to enter that next level.

He raised an eyebrow and nodded. "It's one thing," he informed and when he did not continue she frowned.

She'd been lost in her thoughts, thinking about getting up the nerve to kiss this sexy man, but now she was curious what this one thing was. This one thing that Harry knew, but she didn't. He couldn't possibly know the secret of life. No one knew. "And that is?"

He kicked at a clump of snow that had been in his path. "That's the hint. It's just one thing, one thing in your life that makes everything else worthwhile."

Her breath hitched and recognition sparked in her eyes at his comment. Did he just say that? He had to be talking about her, right? The way he was looking at her, how could she have not seen it sooner?

She was afraid she was just seeing what she wanted to see though. Hermione needed to be sure, before she asked the question she really wanted to ask.

"Oh," was all she could manage. A smile tugged at her lips and she turned sideways, wrapping her other arm around his waist. "Am I your secret?"

She was serious, but playful at the same time. He slowly turned his head towards her to smile, while at the same time nudging her forward, so that they could start walking down the snow covered street again.

"Yes," he whispered softly, his hand involuntarily tightening around hers.

She laughed happily, her response was so quick, instant in fact, that he feared she thought he was playing. "Oh Harry, I hope you're serious, because I want to kiss you, right now."

Pausing, he titled his head towards her, curiously watching her smiling face, like he was looking for a sign that this kiss she'd requested was from a friend to a friend, but she let it show that she wanted more, that she wanted it all. He must have understood the look, because he saw something that made his breath catch, something that let him know that it wasn't a friend asking for a peck, it was a potential lover asking to share a first moment.

As his lips subtly brushed hers, she closed her eyes, letting her emotions crash into her. It was like a tidal wave of love, devotion, and need. It was more than she could've asked for when his hands reached forward to hold her face, letting his thumbs brush her cheekbones tenderly, as he continued his gentle kiss.

It was sweet and cold, but so perfect. She finally gave into her feelings and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

She was Harry's secret of life and maybe later she would tell him that he had to be hers.

Finished

Hold It Against Me, will be the one-shot following directly after Secret of Life/Never Let Me Go.

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