A/N: I have never written a one-shot, to be honest... This takes place in Harry's fifth year. But, fortunately, Umbridge and Voldy do not exist. Enjoy, I guess...or probably not...
Harry excused himself as he saw Ron and Hermione getting quite...cozy in the Gryffindor common room in front of the crackling fire. Hermione lifted her head from Ron's shoulder and asked,"Where're you going?"
The black-haired boy halted in his footsteps and turned around to face his two friends, who were staring at him curiously. Harry bit his bottom lip and said,"Somewhere." He resumed walking out of the common room. He shuffled down the steps and finally reached the two great big doors leading to outside grounds.
He went out, heaving a sigh when the cool air met his skin. It was snowing now, and the Whomping Willow was now shaking off the snow from its branches. Harry, wearing only a sweater and jeans, shivered from the cold. He regretted leaving abruptly like that. Oh well. He couldn't complain now. He had some free time - an hour - so he now he decided to go to the Black Lake.
He sat down on a slab of stone that was slightly cold, but bearable. His hands were numb from the cold, and he tried rubbing his two hands together. It helped slightly. He stared out over the now partially frozen lake, and squeezed his eyes shut at the memory of the merpeople. Hermione and Ron floating there, almost lifelessly.
If Krum hadn't been there, who would've been willing to save Hermione? He bit the inside of his cheek, his chest tightening painfully. A smirk tugged at his lips as he recalled Hermione kissing his cheeks and hugging him so tightly that it hurt. She was an amazing friend.
Friend. Right. She's with Ron, your best mate, his mind said. "You think I don't know that?" Harry said to himself.
"I see you're having a conversation with yourself. What do you know?"
Harry whipped his head towards the source of the sound and saw his bushy-haired friend, Hermione Granger. She was biting the inside of her cheek, trying hard not to smile, her eyebrows drawn upwards.
"I- Um, nothing. Nothing at all. W-what're you doing here?" the startled boy stuttered.
"Can't your friend come to see you?" She took a seat next to him on the slab of stone. Their proximity made heat rush to Harry's cheeks, and he hoped she hadn't noticed it.
"Of course not! I mean- you can... Erm, aren't you supposed to be with Ron?"
Hurt graced Hermione's face. "You don't want me here?"
"No! I mean, I do! I really, really do, but it's just you're with Ron and I just thought you should be with him since you were so cozy with him and all and I'm so sorry that I-" He stopped rambling, blushing furiously, which made Hermione chuckled softly.
Harry could've sworn that his heart melted right then. Her chuckle seemed like a melody to his ears.
"Aren't you cold?" Hermione said after a long pause between them.
"Huh? Oh. No. Not at all," Harry lied.
"You're a bad liar, Harry James Potter. C'mon, take my coat."
"But you'll be cold," the black-haired boy protested, not wanting Hermione to feel as cold as he was now.
"Suit yourself then," said a smirking - God, that smirk - Hermione. Harry smiled, and scooped up some snow from the ground and threw it at her face.
The brown-haired girl shrieked, and got up from her seat, wiping at the snow on her face. "Harry!" she cried, a playful tone hinting at her voice. A devilish smirk crawled up upon her face and she bent down to scoop up some snow.
Upon seeing this, Harry ducked as it flew over his head. He watched it sail through the air and land on the frozen part of the lake. The black-haired turned around so he could taunt his friend and said that she missed, but then a freezing solid hit his face. He spluttered out some snow which had gotten into his mouth, and Hermione burst out laughing, clutching her stomach.
Then, suddenly, she stopped. Harry had hit her with a snowball. She ran towards him and tackled him to the ground. Harry blinked as he found his face inches away from Hermione's. A lock of her hair brushed his cheek, ticklish. Their breaths mingled, and Harry's pulse quickened.
His emerald eyes met brown ones, which were filled with something Harry hadn't seen before. Harry felt warm, despite the fact that he was lying on snow. "Hermione-"
It was such a blur, and Harry felt something warm against his lips. HIs eyes widened, and it took him a moment to realise that Hermione was kissing him. His mouth then responded, and kissed her back he did. But then, he thought of his best mate, Ronald Weasley. How every night, Ron had talked about being with Hermione.
He couldn't do this to Ron. Reluctantly, almost painfully, Harry broke the kiss. "Hermione..." She pulled back. She got off of Harry and rolled next to her friend. She looked at him with those eyes of hers, wondering what Harry was about to say.
"Hermione... I..." Why was he doing this? It was all he dreamed of, and now he was throwing it all away. "I... I can't do this."
Hurt shone in the brown-haired girl's eyes, and her eyes were glassy. "What do you mean you can't do this?"
"Hermione... What about Ron? Is he supposed to chase after you everyday? He's thought about being with you for the past year, 'Mione."
"How about you, then? How long have you thought about being with me?" The hurt was palpable in her voice.
"I... that's not fair, Hermione." Harry sat up, eyes looking down, not daring to look at his friend.
"This isn't fair, Harry. There're many things you can let others have, but not...this. Not me. Or am I just an object to you?"
"No, not at all! Hermione, you're more than that. You're everything. You're amazing and beautiful, and that smirk you have, it's just-" Harry cut himself off. He shouldn't be telling Hermione how much he'd paid attention to her. That'll only make the situation worse. He looked down at his shoes, playing with a loose thread from his robes.
"Harry. Look at me." And he did. Hermione now sat up, facing him. "I love Ron"-a pang hit Harry's heart-"but...I love you more, you know. I thought... I thought I couldn't have you, so I just... I went with Ron. I'm a jerk for doing that. But when you kissed me back, I thought I just...might have a chance. I...I just..." Her voice was shaky. "Maybe this is ridiculous, but I... I really do love you. More than anything in the world. More than books, and that's saying something, right?" She laughed softly, the tears slowly streaming down her face.
They felt hot against her cheeks despite the cold. Harry gulped. He did love Hermione. More than he did Quidditch. But...Ron woulld be heartbroken. He'd finally gotten the girl, and now his best mate was taking that away from him. "But..." Bile rose in Harry's throat. "But what would happen to Ron?"
His friend let out a shaky sigh. "Don't be selfless right now, Harry. Do what your heart tells you to. Not your mind."
"I..." Harry trailed off. His mind and his heart were both saying completely opposite things. Mind telling him that he shouldn't betray Ron. His heart telling him to go for it. She was right there. The girl who was there for him through and through. The Triwizard Tournament, too. Ron.. He hadn't been there. Harry closed his eyes, steeling himself for what he was going to do. He leaned in and smashed their lips together, tasting peppermint.
Hermione, shocked at first, responded enthusiastically. Her tongue begged for entrance, and Harry immediately complied. He felt tingling all over, and he couldn't help but smile halfway through the kiss. This was actually happening. When air became a necessity, they pulled back. Harry grinned lopsidedly, and Hermione grinned back brightly.
"... Wow," Hermione said, a blush forming on her cheeks.
"Wow indeed," said Harry as he tugged her forward for another kiss.
A/N: Greetings. Was it bad? I'm really sorry if it was... Thanks for taking your time to read this, though, really...