No Closer Than Normal
The boy began to turn from her, a weary expression on his face as he did so; he didn't want to talk right now, not about this.
However, she grabbed a tight hold of his hand, her face maneuvering toward his, her eyes intense and pleading.
"Wait, Harry, please! We can't risk them getting into something they know nothing about! Just listen for a moment! You have to tell them what it's like out there! After we're done here, you can ignore me for the rest of the day, but right now, we need your help!"
He immediately turned to look at her, though he seemed…not happy, but not angry either…just exhausted and scared. This year was clearly using up what faith and energy he had left, and Hermione knew he couldn't handle much more. She knew this, but kept him going for reasons of her own, some even she wasn't sure about.
"Hermione…I can't." He appeared as if ready to break, to let all heck run loose as he began to breathe heavily, his eyes shining with fear and unshed tears.
"Yes, you can…" She soothed quietly, her hand entwining with his as he watched her, looked her in the eyes.
To them all, every child in the room of Hog's Head where the secret first meeting of the rebels was taking place, this was not an unusual sight. It had been a regular thing to see from the two ever since their third year, one of them always grabbing hold of or going to the other for strength, or simply because they needed to feel each other's presence.
Really, they were no closer than as per usual, and it warmed the boys' and girls' hearts to see something so beautiful and kind in such a trying time for each one of them.
"But what do I say? How can I possibly explain it? No words can describe any of it; none! I won't be of any use to you here!" He told her, telling the truth, though also wishing more than anything to be back in Defense Against The Dark Arts, even wanting to be with the hag that was their reason for being here in the first place; anything was better than facing this.
"Just tell them what you're telling me. They're not stupid, Harry; they'll understand. They're fighting for the same cause as you; they're on your side...and I am, too." She replied, giving him a warm smile, his hand receiving a caring squeeze as well.
He brought his head up from its bent position and stared at her, his face gratefully speechless. She gazed at him tenderly a moment longer, and then turned to their volunteers; she didn't say anything, and after looking at her for a long while, he realized that she was waiting for him.
He had no idea where to begin, but he took a shaky breath and did as Hermione had instructed.
"All of you may feel like this…meeting is simply a game, one played only to see if you can thwart an old hag that just happens to be our new Headmistress, but…it's not. Here, at school, if you make a mistake, you can just…get up, and try again, but out there…when you're a second away from being murdered…you don't know what that's like,"
He didn't stop talking as he turned to her and peered into her eyes for a moment, and then fixed his eyes to the congregation at his front.
"You can't change the way things happen out there; if you make even the smallest slip up…you're…that's it. What's even worse…to see a friend, die, right before your eyes…it can destroy you. That's what losing Cedric's doing to me…" He added very quietly, but Hermione heard it and gave his hand a stronger squeeze this time, her arm wrapping its way about his.
He exhaled tiredly and sat down as if weighing a ton, Hermione going down with him. She didn't let go of his limbs, and, needing the comfort more than ever, Harry moved his free arm to hold hers.
Her warmth instantly coursed through his body and made him smile a little; she'd always had the ability to help him relax, ever since that night in first year after the incident in the Forbidden Forest.
He glanced up at her slightly nervous face from being in front of so many people, and his eyes softened; he didn't understand how someone as intelligent and talented as her could be nervous about being in front of kids in their year and younger. But then, he was not one to be great in front of others either.
Hermione leaned against him, shoulder to shoulder, and then her head drifted down to rest on the strong ligament as well; his head found its way to the top of hers, and he closed his eyes, if only to feel blissful for that moment alone.
They had always been close, no, inseparable since the first day they'd met; even now, with their minds and hearts on equal footing, they were no closer than ordinary.
A/N: If you're wondering: yes, this is a one-shot. Review, please!