Hidy- Ho ! So I decided that I love Harry and Hermione having a brother-sister type pairing. Think about it: They're both only children that grew up in the muggle world.. It just fits! After I established that, I wondered what happened in the nights following the final battle, like the conversations that took place, or how they would transition back into normal life. I also wondered how Ron would feel about their slightly different friendship/feelings. Mix all that in with a bit (or a lot) of fluff, and this is what I got. Enjoy !
Warm Enough?
The stone was cold on her bare feet as she padded down the steps into the common room. Even though the castle was warm –much warmer than what she had been living in for the past year- she had a fleece blanket wrapped around her. She was always cold nowadays. She suspected it to be all of the losses that had taken place here less than two days ago that made the air so chilly.
She expected it to be dark, as it was well past midnight, however there was a fire burning in the fireplace. It illuminated the whole room with a soft, flickering glow. A head of messy hair could also be seen poking out from behind the back of a couch.
She approached Harry slowly, so she wouldn't startle him. He had an open book in his lap, but didn't seem to be reading it. He looked up when he saw her. She froze. They stared at each other for a while, green eyes into brown. She jumped a little when he spoke.
"Cold, 'Mione?" He asked, gesturing to the blanket. She sat down beside him.
"A bit." She shrugged. It was no big deal, after what they had just gone through.
Harry placed the book carelessly on the floor, stood up and unzipped his hoodie. When Hermione realized what he was doing, she started to protest, but he just smiled and forced her arms through the sleeves, zipping it up. He sat back down and threw the blanket over both of them. Hermione snuggled closer.
"Better?"
"Hmm.." She responded. It was much warmer. The sweater was warm from him wearing it, the fire was giving off heat, and her best friend was warm as he hugged her close. She found herself a little sleepy.
Harry pulled her arm out from under the blanket. You couldn't see fingers poking out from the black material. He pinched up a good six inches until he felt her hand. "Remember" he started " When you used to be bigger than I was, like in first year?" He had a huge smile on his face. Hermione giggled.
"Girls usually start their growth spurts first, I guess that's just the universe letting them have their glory before this happens" She said, waving her arm, letting the fabric that wasn't being supported flap around.
"Well, it won't be this bad for long, once you start eating properly again you'll be a bit bigger." He said, indicating how frail and skinny his friend had gotten due to the lack of food.
She gave him a small smile before putting her head on his shoulder, giving a little sigh. She had been trying to eat more, she really had, but it was a gradual process. She couldn't eat too much or she would start to feel sick. She ate a bit more each day, but it was a difficult thing to do. Harry knew this, and must have been thinking the same thing, because he started again.
"I'm so, so sorry Hermione.. What I put you through, it was just terrible… I-"
She interrupted before he could say another word. She pulled away from him, hard, and stood up.
"Harry James Potter! For the millionth time, you did not put me through anything. I chose to help you defeat Voldemort. I chose to starve myself. I chose to stay with you when Ron left. I put myself through this. Stop blaming yourself for everything! None of it was your fault!" Tears were coming to her eyes now, she finished in a quieter, smaller voice "I hate that you actually take blame for it all."
He got up and pulled her so they were on the couch again, letting her tears fall on his shoulder, rubbing her back. He didn't know this upset her so much. Even though he still blamed himself a little, he decided that she was right -as usual- so he started again.
"Thank you." He said quietly. "Thank you for helping me defeat Voldemort. Thank you for starving yourself. Thank you for staying with me when Ron left. Thank you for putting yourself through everything you did, just so the wizarding world could be peaceful."
She had calmed down quite a bit, and realized that he was being honest with her, so she had to be honest with him. "Thank you too, Harry. You're the one that killed Voldemort. Thank you for saving us"
He gave her a little squeeze and said, "I couldn't have done it without all of you. Without any of the ones who helped, living or…" He couldn't finish, but continued "Especially you, because you never left. You were the only one that stayed with me the whole time. You saved my life more times than I can count. Thank you so much, Hermione" He kissed the top of her head, and she moved closer to him, wrapping the blanket tighter around them both. They sat in silence for a while, just staring at the fire, enjoying each other's company. Hermione felt her eyelids start to get heavy, and yawned.
"We should get to bed…" Harry started, but Hermione just shook her head. Harry smiled. "If you're too tired, I'll carry you.." He offered, moving to pick her up, but she shook her head again.
Harry relaxed again and hugged her closer and tighter, feeling a pang of guilt for how small she felt in his arms. "You sure you're warm enough?" he asked.
She pulled her brother's sweater tighter around her, and replied "Hmm.." before falling asleep, Harry shortly after her.
When Hermione's boyfriend came downstairs to find her asleep and cuddled up with their best friend, he had a mind to punch Harry in the mouth. After looking at them again though, he remembered what Harry had said to him not so long ago.
"She's like my sister. I love her like a sister and I reckon she feels the same way about me. It's always been like that"
Ron didn't fully understand Harry and Hermione's friendship. He doubted he ever would, but he knew it was something like what he felt for Ginny, only completely different. Then he realized how stupid it would seem if it was the other way around; Harry thinking Ron was trying to steal Ginny… ew!
He made his way over and looked at his sleeping friends. He patted Harry on the shoulder, kissed Hermione on the cheek, and made his way down to breakfast.
Well, there you go! Tell me whatcha think (That means review) Oh, and don't scream at me if you're an HHr shipper.. Different people have different opinions, I just like them better as friends. I don't know if I should just leave this, or make it into a series of oneshots based on this lubberly friendship, so if you liked it and think I should keep going, please tell me! Thanks for reading
