Disclaimer: Harry Potter and the associated milieu belongs to J. K. Rowling and various publishers. I'm just borrowing the characters and the world for my own fun.

AN: Happens in a nondescript time but I imagine them being quite young in this...


Harry had just retired from the Common room to go to sleep. He was deep in thought as he put on his pyjamas, and climbed to the comfortable four poster bed. But no matter how comfortable the bed was he couldn't get to sleep, as he thought about the past day and what he might have done wrong.

It had been a rather normal spring morning and he'd been very cheerful when he woke up and noticed that it would be a very nice day. The sun was yet to rise but there wasn't a cloud in the sky to be seen. It was a cool morning but after the sunrise the temperature would surely rise. He had got up from the bed and dressed, ready to go to breakfast, just like any other day, and met Hermione in the common room. He had given Hermione a good morning kiss, just as usual ever since they had started dating last year. He had noticed that her smile had seemed just a bit brighter than usual and wasn't sure what to make of it, so he had just smiled in response.

Her good mood hadn't lasted the whole day, however. Towards the night she had become a bit colder towards him – something so subtle that no one, not even Ron, would notice, but Harry did. He had briefly wondered if he had done something to offend her, but couldn't come up with anything, thus he had just let it go and thought that it was probably Hermione being stressed about the end of year exams, that were "just three and half months away".

After classes and dinner he had, however, been sure that it wasn't just the exams. If it had been that, she would have certainly been studying harder – and trying to get him and Ron to study too – but instead she had seemed distracted. Again he had thought that perhaps he had done something to offend her but couldn't come up with anything. So he had asked her, and she had replied that nothing was really bothering her but he wasn't totally convinced. After that, he hadn't been able to concentrate on his homework, so he had retired early to go to bed.

And now he was lying on the bed, trying to think of something that might have bothered her, while trying not to think of it to able to go to sleep.

Of course they had had some disagreements and even arguments during their time together, but they had always been quickly resolved and they had always apologized if they had done something to offend the other. He was just thinking of how happy he had been during the year they had been together when it hit him; today was the anniversary of the day they had started dating!

It was getting late, but he was quite sure that Hermione would still be up, finishing a piece of homework or just studying for the looming exams. So, he quickly put on his dressing gown and headed down stairs to the Common room and it turned out that he was right, Hermione was indeed still up but she wasn't reading; she was sitting in the front of the fireplace, staring at the slowly dying fire. She was deep in thought and didn't notice him before he sat next to her on the couch. She smiled sweetly at him.

"I was just thinking about you," she said softly.

"Miss me already?" he asked smiling, but sobered quickly. "Look, Hermione, I just realized that it was the anniversary of the day we started dating. I'm sorry I didn't remember it sooner," he said to her earnestly.

"It's ok, really. That's what I was thinking about earlier. I just realized that you've been a great boyfriend for the whole year and, well, if I could choose I'd rather you be wonderful everyday and forget the important days, than be a prat for the most of the year and then be nice on those special days. So, I'm not mad at you. I'm sorry for being cold to you today," she said and hugged him.

They stayed that way for a silent, very comfortable moment. "But still, you remembered it," Harry said quietly as they let go of each other and sat closely, leaning at each other lightly.

She blushed a bit before answering, and he raised an eye brow in question at that. "I, um, I always mark days when something special, or interesting, happens in my calendar. That way I can remember all the things that happened on certain days," she explained.

Harry couldn't help chuckling lightly at that – it was so Hermione – but he also thought that it made sense; that would be a good way to remember all the good days they had had during the years. Not that the exact days mattered that much, the memories themselves were the most important, but it would make a good reminder each year. "You're really great, Hermione, you know that?" he said, smiling fondly at her and pulling her closer. "I think that really makes sense," he added and they lapsed into another comfortable silence, just revelling in the closeness between them.

After a moment, Harry was struck with an idea. He knew that it might take a bit of coaxing to get Hermione to join him, but he knew that he'd be able to get her to come with him. "Hermione, wait here," he said as he got up and started towards the stair to boys dormitory. "Oh, get your cloak," he added, before he disappeared up the stairs and before she had time to protest.

A moment later he came back down with his invisibility cloak and noticed that Hermione didn't have her cloak. "Hermione, come on. The day isn't over yet, there's still time to do something special on our special day," he pleaded.

"We can't just sneak out of the castle, Harry!" she protested.

"Well, technically I'm not planning to take you out of the castle. Please, Hermione, it won't take that long and we won't get caught with this," he said and waved the invisibility cloak. She still didn't look convinced, so he used the last trump card he had. "You wouldn't deny me a special moment with my beautiful girlfriend?" he pleaded and tried to look as much of an innocent puppy as he could.

She sighed as she got up. "Ok, but just this time," she said and soon they were both under the invisibility cloak, heading out of the Gryffindor Tower.

"You didn't take your cloak with you? It's still cold in the castle at night," he said as they stepped through the portrait whole to the chilly air. She just waved her wand in response and he felt a warmness envelope him – a warming charm. "Oh," he responded quietly.

She didn't know where he was taking her, but she was surprised when after a few stairs down they started ascending higher in the castle again. After a while she, however, realized where he was taking her and her suspicions were confirmed when they were getting closer and closer to the Astronomy tower.

"Harry?" she asked quietly and stopped. If his definition of a special moment on their anniversary was a midnight snog in the Astronomy tower, he'd have a another thing coming at him.

"Come on, Hermione, we're almost there," he answered, tugging at her hand and urging her to follow him.

"You're taking me to the Astronomy tower?" she asked him, just managing to keep the coldness out of her voice.

"Well, yes," he answered. "Oh, oh. I'm not taking you there for... that, believe me it's for something different," he added, as he finally got what she was insinuating.

She didn't answer, but she did follow him. As they got to the top of the tower and stepped to the cold night air, they could feel the chill despite the warming charm and instinctively they drew closer to each other. He led her to the centre of the tower and they sat down, leaning closely against each other for warmth.

"Look," he said and he didn't need to elaborate any further, as she immediately noticed the cloudless, black sky and thousands of stars glittering brightly in the night. It was truly a beautiful sight.

"You know, exactly one year ago, the day I asked you out for the first time, the night was exactly like this," he said absently.

"Hmm?" she half noted, half asked, as his words registered somewhere between her subconscious and conscious mind. She was too distracted by the moment to cast another warming charm on them; a one with a bit more potent than the first one.

He took it as a question. "Yeah. I was just so... excited, uncertain and scared... and everything that night and I just couldn't go to sleep, so I just sat on the windowsill of the dormitory and watched the night sky. I didn't go to bed before I dozed off and almost fell from the windowsill," he said and she could hear the laughter in his voice as he said the last bit.

Huddled closely together, they watched the stars, losing all sense of time, until they were starting to get really cold and sleepy. It was very late already and they started making their way towards the Gryffindor tower, covered by the invisibility cloak. They reached the tower without any incidents and kissed each other good bye before climbing to their separate dormitories. As they lay down to sleep, they both wished for many more wonderful years to come.

The End.