This is a "one-shot" I wanted to do. Ron leaves the tent. Done a million of these? Read a million of these? Well, here's my version!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does.

Up to this point, Hermione and Ron have just "talked" about getting together, but no one really got anything moving.

Was originally called "Tent", but then I realized that they dont stay in a tent for long. Title is named after a movie.

To Save a Life

"We're getting NOWHERE, Harry!" Ron yelled in his face. "We're going to be doing this for years until we get caught and killed!"

"Shut the fuck up! I don't need this right now!" Harry yelled back clinching his fists. He had a monstrous headache and Ron was only making it worse.

"Oh, yeah, that's right. You have a family to worry about. You have parents to worry your fucking brains out if they are alive or not," Ron mocked him. Harry restrained himself from hitting his friend.

"Where are you leading us to? Huh? Answer the fucking question, Potter!" the red-head bellowed giving him a harsh shove.

"I DON'T KNOW!" he yelled back just as loud. "There! Are you happy? Are you satisfied? Are you happy I finally said it? I'm a terrible leader! I'm leading us to nowhere! We are going to get caught and die probably. But at least I'm dying for a cause!"

"I'm leaving!" he shouted and waved his wand. All of his belongings flew into his trunk and snapped shut. He shrunk it and put it in his pocket. And walked out of the tent. This all happened in a matter of seconds. Hermione started crying. She broke down to the floor with her hand covering her mouth. She was so tired. This whole week she had gotten a total of three hours of sleep. Harry had gotten less, but he was used to it. He had lived with Dursleys for fifteen years. And he only got a total of about four hours of sleep every night living with them. Hermione, however, lived with loving parents all her life, getting a full eight hours a night.

Harry misinterpreted her actions and thought she was just crying because Ron had left. All this time, he had been thinking they were together. And it broke his heart to see them together. For he was in love with Hermione Granger - his best friend.

It had just...happened. He couldn't explain it. He knew he had been in love with her ever since he saw her on the train First Year, but he did not realize it until his Fifth Year. The way she always looked after him. They way she cared for him. The way she cared for everyone, no matter who they were.

"Hermione...?" he asked.

She didn't answer. She just stood up and waved her wand. Instantly, her jeans, blouse, and sweater changed into pajamas. She pulled back the covers and crawled into her bed. She rolled onto her side - away from Harry - and continued to cry. Harry's heart broke. He watched as she shivered, trying to get to sleep.

So, he waved his wand like she did and he stood there in his pajamas. He walked over to her bedside. "Hermione...?" he tried again. No answer, just cries and shivers. So, he did the unexpected. He pulled the covers back and slipped in next to her. He covered himself with the covers and tentatively wrapped his arms around her, holding her against his body. Keeping her warm. Keeping her safe.

She immediately stopped shivering and leaned into his embrace. "Harry..." she whispered contently closing her eyes in relief. She felt as if nothing could harm her if Harry's arms were around her.

"Shh, it's okay. I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered in her ear.

"I'm so tired, Harry. I just want to sleep."

"Then, sleep. We're both tired. Don't worry. I'll keep you safe. If anyone attacks, I'll be the first one they'll hit. Just close your eyes and sleep." She nodded and turned around to face him. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her cold face in his warm chest. She sighed and fell asleep. A sweet relief.

Harry just listened to her breathing. Felt her heartbeat through her pajamas. A lullaby.

The first one to wake was Hermione. She moaned softly in content and opened her eyes. She had had the best night's sleep in years. The first thing she saw were Harry's closed eyes. He looked so peaceful. She had to smile, glad he was finally getting some sleep. She lifted her hand and traced his jaw with her finger. His eyes opened and she immediately stopped, blushing a bit. He blinked once. Twice. The first thing he saw was her brown eyes smiling at him. "'Morning," he said leaning over to get his glasses on the bedside table.

"'Morning," was her response. She groaned. "I don't want to get up."

"Me neither, but we have to," he replied softly.

Hermione nodded and untangled herself from her best friend, who sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He just sat there. "Erm," he cleared his throat. "I found out that Godric's Hollow is fifteen miles from here. I was wondering...I mean...i - if you don't mind-" He voice was cut off as Hermione came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in the back of his neck, kissing it.

"We can go if you want, Harry. I don't mind at all." Her breath tickled the back of his neck.

He nodded and smiled at her. "Okay. We better pack all this stuff up then."

That night, they had finally arrived to the village of Godric's Hollow. It was a nice and warm-looking village. The kind a couple could live in and grow old in. Raise children. The kind Harry's parents had wanted to live in and die in. And they did.

Snow blanketed the ground and soft snowflakes fell around them. Harry watched as they lay to rest in his best friend's hair and slowly melted. Hermione moved closer to Harry and slipped her hand into his, intertwining their fingers. They found the church easily. They just followed the bells tolling. Christmas carols could be heard inside. "It's Christmas Eve," Hermione pointed out and Harry gave her a ghost of a smile.

Hermione led him to the cemetary. The entrance was a black, wrought-iron, kissing gate. Hermione opened it and they slipped in. There were rows and rows of tombstones. Not many, around a hundred. Hermione let go of Harry's hand and they split up. In search for the reason why they came. To find Harry's parents.

Hermione saw many tombstones and read their names. She had always hated cemetaries. They creeped her out and they were so depressing. But she looked through all of the preivous inhabitants, looking for her best friend's late parents. After almost twenty minutes, she called out, "Harry!"

He quickly made his way over to her. He stood in front of his parents' tombstone. It shined more brightly than the rest as it was coated with a thin blanket of snow. Both teenagers could tell it was a light gray tombstone.

'IN LOVING MEMORY'

'James Potter

BORN 27 MARCH 1960

DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981'

'Lily Potter

BORN 30 JANUARY 1960

DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981'

'THE LAST ENEMY THAT SHALL BE DESTROYED IS DEATH' it read at the bottom. They were side by side. Laid to rest next to each other for eternity. Hermione heard Harry sniff lightly. She looked at him and saw that he was fighting tears. So she laid her head to rest on his shoulder. When she did, Harry let his tears go. "How..." he started and swallowed, then continued, "How can I be sad over something that I never had, Hermione? How can I be so sad over not having a family?"

Hermione took a moment before she answered. "I think your sad over not having parents. Because, Harry, you have a family. The Weasleys...Sirius was your family. Remus...Tonks...me. Harry, I will always be there for you. Your parents - Lily and James - will always be with you. In your heart. You may only had parents for a year, Harry. But you always had a family. While you were at the Dursleys for all those years, Sirius was thinking of you. Waiting to get out of Azkaban and come get you. I'm always thinking of you. Worrying about you. You're my best friend. And I love you."

Harry nodded. "I-I don't even have anything to give them."

Hermione raised her head up and knelt down in front of the tombstone. She waved her wand in a circle. A green, Christmas wreath appeared leaning up against the stone. "Thank you," she whispered inaudibly to the two of them. 'Thank you for saving your son's life. I wouldn't have fallen in love.' She stood up and took Harry's hand again.

Harry took one last look at his late parents and tugged Hermione out of the graveyard. They made their way to the Potter house. The one place Harry wanted to see since he was eleven. It was a cute, quaint house. Three stories tall. It was a white house with a black, wrought-iron fence. Hermione loved the house. It was so beautiful. Harry unhooked the gate and they slipped in. They made their way to the door and Harry inhaled deeply and exhaled heavily, turning the knob.

When they entered, Harry felt like he was in a dream. It was warmer than it was outside. It was dark. Hermione casted a charm on the house to make it look like it was dark from the outside and then turned on a light. They were in the entrance hallway. To their right was the living room that had a comfy-looking, red couch and a matching red chair. In front of them was a staircase that led upstairs.

They made their way up them and found four doors down a small hallway. They went into the first one on the left. Harry opened the door and Hermione casted another charm to make it look like the room was dark outside and then turned on the light. It was the master bedroom. Harry's parents' bedroom. It was so beautiful in every way. A king-sized bed was against the wall, complete with a gold bedspread. All made up from when Lily Potter last made it up. "Scourgify!" Hermione cried. All of the dust that covered the room disappeared and it looked like brand-new furniture.

A vanity stood against the left wall. A big dresser on the right. A desk across from the bed and a master bathroom was by the vanity. Pictures lined the dresser and the bedside tables. Hermione walked over to a picture of her best friend when he was a year old. He was a giggling, happy, baby boy. A tear dropped as she smiled at his bright, green eyes. Harry came up behind her and smiled weakly at the picture.

"It seems so much easier when you're a baby. The only worry you have is when your mother is going to feed you again," Hermione retorted.

"Yeah," Harry whispered.

Hermione put the picture down and followed Harry into the next room.

The nursury.

There were yellow walls. A crib was across from the door. On the right wall was a baby-changing station. On the left was a small closet. Harry did not pay attention to any of his surroundings. He just made his way over to the crib. In it was a blue blanket that looked as if it was still wrapped around the child it last kept warm. A teddy bear face down as if the child were still holding onto it. He put his hands on the rail, feeling the cool wood under his fingers. "Harry...?" he heard behind him.

He slowly turned around and flinched as he saw a flash of green light. He started panting in horror as he heard a scream. He covered his ears and fell to his knees. He eyes closing shut. Tears leaking from them. "No! Mum!"

He felt a soft hand on his arm and he jumped as he felt the wonderful pressure. He couldn't hear her cries. He couldn't see her concerned face. Oh, but he could feel. He could feel her comforting around his body. "No! No! No! Mum!" He felt Hermione's hand on his back as he leaned forward.

The flashes of green came into his vision again. "No..." he whispered in anguish. Suddenly, he felt his best friend wrapping her arms all the way around him, comforting him. He felt her lips on his temple and forehead. She rocked him back and forth. He lowered his hands from his ears. "Shh, it's okay, Harry," he heard. He felt a wetness on the back of his neck. Tears.

"He killed her, Hermione. He killed my Mum," he sobbed. "Right here. I saw the whole thing. I remember the green light!"

"Shh," she soothed. "Listen to the sound of my voice, Harry. Only concentrate on my voice..."

Harry blocked every sound. Every sense other than her voice. In and out. In and out. He breathed as her angelic voice slowed his heartbeat down, yet, it still beated rapidly at her closeness.

Harry opened his eyes and turned his head. Hermione was kneeling right next to him. Her eyes were wet and red with tears. "Hermione...?"

"Yeah...?" she answered.

"Do you-do you want to stay here for tonight? We're protected. This place looks like it's dark from the outside. We can stay in my parents' room. It would be nice to sleep in a real bed for Christmas," he suggested.

Hermione nodded and gave him a weak smile. "Yes, that would be nice. Come on, let's get you up." She stood up and helped him onto his feet and led him back into the master bedroom. She shut the door and locked it. "Harry, we can't start a fire in the fireplace. Someone would see the smoke. However, I'm going to take this opportunity to take a shower."

An hour later, Harry was lying in bed while Hermione was sitting up with her back against the headboard. She wasn't as tired as Harry was. She had gotten more sleep this week than him. Harry was still awake, but not yet aleep. A soft glow from a small lamp lit the room. She opened the bedside drawer, hoping Lily Potter had stashed a good book somewhere. What Hermione found made her curious. It was a bright, red book with no title on it. Hermione flipped through the pages and found in lovely handwriting that the book was a diary. Lily Potter's diary.

"Harry...?"

"Yeah...?" He rolled over and looked at her.

"Erm, I found your mother's diary. Do you mind if I read it?" she asked nervously.

"No, go ahead. I don't mind," he gave her a reassuring smile, and she gave one back. He turned toward her fully and nestled himself into his pillow.

Hermione smiled at his peaceful face and opened the diary. It started off when Lily had realized she was in love with James Potter.

"September 31st, 1977

Dear Diary:

James Potter is very sweet. Today was a Hgsmeade weekend trip and he offered to buy me a Butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks. We had a nice time. He really is a great boy. I can't believe this is the same boy that used to taunt me and Severus. Who is this boy? And why is he so nice to me?

Until next time,

Lily"

"November 6th, 1977

Dear Diary:

I think I'm in love! James gave me a lily flower today as it is the anniversary of my cat's death. How did he know? I told him about that two years ago! How could he remember? Oh, well, he made my day. He even brought me some hot chocolate from the kitchens. It's still a shame house elves are use for slave labor. They should at least pay them." Hermione smiled at this. Someone agreed with her and her pursuit of the freedom of house elves. "Anyway, I think I am in love with James Potter! Help me!

In love with James,

Lily."

Hermione read through two years worth of pretty much love letters about James. Their first date. Their long walks around the Lake. Their graduation. Joining the Order of the Phoenix. Their wedding. She smiled as she read about her pregnancy. Lily's baby would kick very hard in her stomach. She would sing and soothe him. She smiled as she read the entry on the day after Harry's birth.

"August 1st, 1980

Dear Diary:

It's a boy! Harry James Potter. Born July 31st, 1980. Very tiny. But right on time. He has James' black hair. Carbon copy of his father. Except his eyes. He has my eyes. He's a sweet little boy. My mother told me about how he would keep me up all night. That's fine. With a baby, comes it's responsibilities. I just hope Harry loves me.

A new mother,

Lily."

"October 30th, 1981

Dear Diary:

James and I can feel it. The Prophecy stated that Harry was the one that would defeat Voldemort. He's only a year old! He just started to walk. It's going to be soon. He's going to come after us. We don't know how long we can keep safe.

Goodbye,

Lily."

That had been her last entry. Hermione shut the diary and put it on the bedside table. She looked down at her sleeping best friend. She lowered her hand to his neck and rubbed her thumb against it. He stirred but did not wake. He sighed in his sleep. Content. And leaned into her hand. Harry snuggled closer to her.

Suddenly, Hermione heard a noise coming from the nursury. She grabbed her wand and slipped out of the bed. She looked back at Harry, but didn't want to wake him. She put a protected charm on him, however, and left the room. She cautiously made her way over to the nursury. What she saw shocked her. There was a ghost by standing in front of the crib. It was a woman that looked to be in her early twenties. She had long flowing hair and nice figure. But it wasn't just any ghost. It was the ghost of Lily Potter smiling at her. "Hello, Hermione..." she heard her say.

Hermione lowered her wand and just stood there, her mouth gaping open. "Li-Lily Potter?"

Lily gave her a wider smile and nodded. "Yes. I am glad you came with my son back here. He could only share this with you. He couldn't have come here without you."

Hermione nodded and smiled back at her. "Harry was quite nervous, though. He didn't know what to expect. He was scared of what he might find."

"Yes, yes, I understand," she paused before she continued. "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

Hermione blushed and looked away from her best friend's late mother, not saying anything, hoping she would take the hint.

"I thought so," Lily said with a soft smile. "I want to introduce you to somebody." Suddenly, a small child appeared in her arms. It was a little girl. She had shoulder-length hair and looked to be about two years old. Hermione could see familiar features in her, but she couldn't put a face to them. The child looked at her and smiled faintly.

"Who-who is she?"

"This, Hermione, is Lily Charlotte Potter. She is my granddaughter...and your daughter."

Hermione gasped. She could now see the facial features of her and her best friend in this child. "H-How-?"

"I currently reside in heaven. However, babies wait to be conceived in the in-between, which people from heaven can visit. I came across her. I knew exactly who she was. But, you see, she does not age. She actually gets younger. Counting down to the day they are conceived. Then they will disappear and into their mother's stomachs. However, she has been fading away from time to time."

"Why?"

"Because it is uncertain whether my son is going to live or not. There are times when he wants to live, but other times when he just does not care. You see, young Lily's life depends on Harry, whose life depends on you."

"What?" she asked confused.

"My son is in love with you. Always has been. However, he thinks you're with that redhead. He wants to live for you. But sometimes he thinks about dying with Voldemort. That is when Lily fades away. As her father dies away, she loses the chance of being born," the older woman said. "Harry's 'power-Voldemort-knows-not' is love. True love. Not unrequited love. That person he loves has to love him back. His love for you and your love for him are going to be what Harry needs to defeat Voldemort," Lily explained.

A tear dropped down Hermione's cheek as she took in Lily's words. Harry was in love with her. But he thought she was with Ron. She had only settled for Ron because he was with Ginny. Both had made the same mistake. Never realizing that the other loved the other. She looked at the little girl who was staring back at her with a soft stare. Another tear rolled down her cheek. She was staring at her unborn daughter. She couldn't believe it. This little girl was minus two years old. Lily Charlotte Potter. After both of their mothers.

"Hello, Lily," she cooed. "I'm your mother. I promise you: you are going to be born. I love your father more than anything in this world. And I love you, too. So don't worry. I will save your Daddy. Everything's going to be okay."

Lily smiled, understanding her future mother's every word. Hermione looked at the older Lily. "Thank you so much."

"No, Hermione, thank you," she replied with a smile and she evaporated into thin air.

Hermione walked back into the master bedroom and smiled at her best friend sleeping peacefully in the bed. She could not believe he loved her. She could not believe he returned her feelings. She slipped back into the bed next to him. He stirred, but did not wake up. She sighed with relief when he didn't. She laid her head on the pillow and covered herself with the covers. She turned her back to him and closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep.

She felt she would fall asleep in five minutes when a protective arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her to a warm chest. Hermione smiled and fell asleep, dreaming of him.

Harry woke up the next morning after having the best sleep in his life. He felt a warm body against his chest. He opened his eyes and saw brown hair. He blushed as he recognized it to be his best friend's hair. He was spooned up against her. His hand was resting on her stomach, subconsciously making circles on it. His other arm was under her head for her to rest on. He slipped his arm out from underneath her and then took his arm off of her stomach.

Hermione woke up from movement under her head. She opened her eyes and looked at her best friend. She blushed beet red at their position. Harry had spooned against her the whole night. The two felt very stiff and sore from sleeping in the same position all night.

"Erm...'m-morning..." Harry stuttered.

"'Morning, Harry," she replied.

"I-I'm sorry," he said pulling away and looking at anything but her. His face burned bright red.

Hermione smiled a bit. "It's okay, Harry." He looked back at her and froze. The way she was looking at him. She was leaning forward slightly. Was she...? He didn't do anything. Not getting his hopes up. But then she closed her eyes and slightly parted her mouth.

Harry leaned forward and did the same. Met her halfway. A centimeter away he opened his eyes to make sure she wanted to kiss him. But she wasn't backing out. So he lightly touched her lips with his in a chaste kiss. It lasted a second. As soon as their lips touched, they were disconnected. Hermione looked at him. He looked back at her.

"But...I thought-"

She cut him off. "You thought wrong. I thought wrong, too. But-this-between us-" she gestured between the both of them-"couldn't be more right."

Harry smiled slightly and leaned forward again capturing her lips again. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

THE END

Well, there it is. Hope you liked it!

Longer than I wanted it to be. But oh well.

The title is referring to little Lily. They saved her from not being conceived.

Pleez review!

DREWHHR