"Hey mate, you seen Hermione?" Harry asked, walking through the porthole into the Gryffindor Common Room.
"No, not since dinner. She's not in the library?" came Ron's reply from his favourite chair. He, Ginny, Neville, Seamus, and Dean were all sitting at various spots around the crackling fire. Harry shook his head. Where was she?
He paced the length of the Common Room, hand to his chin. Where to look? Where to look? He had already checked the library, and had Parvati check the girls' dorm and the girls' lavatory. She wasn't in any of the unlocked classrooms or the Room of Requirement. Not knowing where to go but wanting to continue his search, he briskly walked back towards the porthole.
He was halfway there when it hit him, like a slap in the face or a light bulb in his head finally clicking on. He turned and ran back up the stairs, taking them two at a time, to the boy's dormitory. He grabbed his invisibility cloak and ran back down to the Common Room and out the porthole, leaving several confused Gryffindors behind. He flung the cloak around him as he dashed through the halls and out of the castle. The coldness of winter as he stepped outside hit hard. It had snowed earlier that day, and the ground was covered in a fresh white blanket of it. He wrapped his cloak around himself tightly and set off.
***
She sat staring out onto the semi-frozen water. She had no idea how long she'd been sitting on her large rock by the edge of the lake. It could have been ten minutes, or two hours. No, it must've been longer than ten minutes. She had quietly left the castle just after dinner, glad no one had seen her.
From her position on the rock, she watched the sun set, one of her favourite things in the world. It had been dark for a while, now, and the moon's light reflected on the slush-like water. The clouds from the earlier snow had dispersed, and the stars were perfectly visible and beautiful.
She had come out here to think, as she had done since she had discovered this spot in second year. Harry had been out here with her once or twice. He was the only one who knew about her secret escape spot. Though, now that I think of it, since Harry knows it's not so much a secret, is it? She sighed and tucked her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms tightly around her legs.
Her limbs were beginning to stiffen, and she could barely feel her fingers and toes from the cold. Her nose, also, had gone numb, and she had an acute case of the sniffles. She was just about to move from her spot on the rock and head back up to the castle when she heard a noise behind her– the snapping of a twig. She spun around quickly, hand on her wand.
"Hermione," It wasn't a question.
"Harry. You scared the daylights out of me!" she chided, removing her hand from her wand and turning back to look at the lake. Harry walked over to the rock and stood directly in front of her. She dragged her eyes up him slowly until they were locked with his. They looked upset.
"How long have you been out here?" he questioned, looking displeased.
"I don't know. Since after dinner, I suppose. What time is it, anyway?"
"Just after eight. You've been out here for more than two hours? Hermione, what were you thinking? You must be freezing."
He took her hands from around her legs and held them tightly in his. They were icicles. He rubbed her tiny, freezing hands gently between his own, which were still warm from being inside his pockets.
"Come on, you need to get inside," he said, pulling her up off the rock.
"Harry, I'm fine. Really I–"
"Nonsense, Hermione. It's freezing out here. I'm surprised you haven't gone into hypothermic shock yet! Now come on, can you walk?" His voice was filled with concern and his actions hurried. He wanted to get her inside as soon as possible.
Once standing, she stretched; but the feeling still didn't return to her hands and feet. She was shivering and shaking and uncertain whether or not she'd make it to the castle on her own. She looked up at Harry pathetically in answer to his question. He nodded.
"Come on, then." And in one swift motion, she was in his arms. This elicited a tiny squeal of surprise from Hermione. But she wrapped her arms around his neck as he began to walk towards the castle.
This is strange, thought Hermione, I've never been carried before. Certainly not by Harry. This definitely beats walking, and so warm, too. She let her head rest against his shoulder, and they were back up to the castle in no time.
Once inside, and much to Hermione's dismay, Harry set her down. He did, however, keep one arm wrapped around her waist incase she was unsteady.
That's when it occurred to Harry. Over seven stories, that's how far they had to go. She wouldn't be able to walk that far, not still frozen like she was. And he, though toned from Quidditch, was still not quite in the shape to carry her up seven flights of stairs. So, with his decision made, he turned to fully embrace Hermione and with a soft 'pop,' they were in the Head Students' Common Room– one of the perks of being not only Head Boy, but also the Harry Potter. Wordlessly, Harry walked the still dazed Hermione over to the couch in front of the fire. She more than willingly sat down, and he wrapped her up in one of the blankets sitting on the armrest of the couch.
"Dobby," Harry called.
"Yes, Master Harry Potter, sir?" Dobby said, not but a few seconds after he was called. Though he was a free house elf, he would always be loyal to Harry and obey his every wish.
"Could you get me a bowl of soup from the kitchen?"
"Yes, Harry Potter, sir." And with that, he was gone again.
"Now, what were you doing out there?" Harry said, turning to Hermione who had, miraculously, remained quiet until now.
"I was just thinking. It was a beautiful night and I guess I just lost track of time..." she trailed off, looking anywhere but at Harry, with a bashful expression on her face.
"You know," he said, taking her hands and gently rubbing them between his own again to get them warmed up, "I looked all over for you."
"You did?" She sincerely hoped that that had come across less desperate than it sounded to her.
"I did. I was worried. You seemed distracted at dinner, and then you just disappeared. Luckily, I knew where to find you." With this, a small smile played on his lips.
"Luckily," she repeated. They just sat there, looking at each other; her honey-brown eyes searching his emerald green ones and vise versa until Dobby returned, holding a tray with a bowl of steaming soup on it.
"Soup for Mr. Harry Potter, sir."
"Thank you, Dobby," Harry said, taking the tray from him.
"Anything for Master Harry Potter and the Miss Granger, sir." And, just as before, he was gone– back to cleaning or whatever he had been doing.
"Here," he said, handing Hermione the tray. He watched her eat most of her soup before saying, "So, what were you thinking about?"
"You," Hermione blurted before she could stop herself. Damn. "I mean– erm– the war and everything. I've been so scared lately, what with all the Death Eater attacks and everything. I guess I've just realized that sooner or later, you'll actually have to face him. Not like before, but for real, this time. And it scares me to think that I could lose you." Her words were a jumble and it took Harry a moment to comprehend everything she had said.
"I know. And it scares me sometimes, too. But I've come this far, and I'm not going to give up now. Everything will be all right, because it has to be. I promised myself– I promised you– that I'd come back for– that I'd come back."
"Good, because I want you to come back, Harry. I need you to come back."
They met each others' gaze, both equally intense.
"Promise me, Harry."
"I promise." And even though they both knew it wasn't a promise he might not be able to keep, it comforted them. But when had they gotten so close, Harry wondered, looking down at the few inches between them. And before either of them knew it, they had kissed. It was a soft, brief kiss; their first kiss.
"I promise," Harry breathed once more.
Hermione nodded and curled up next to him, the blanket draped over both of them on the couch. They fell asleep and woke up that way. It was the first, but not the last time it would happen.