Don't Speak

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

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Hermione Granger was sitting in her 7th year Charms class. Normally you'd expect to see her with a quill in her hand, scribbling away every other word that Professor Flitwick was saying. You'd also except her to be sitting near her two best friends, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. At the present time, neither was happening. Hermione was sitting next to Lavender Brown another 7th year Gryffindor, and was staring across the room, barely even paying attention.

The reason for this sudden change happened only a week ago. Harry and Hermione had been Hogwarts's celebrity couple. Everything had been almost perfect. Almost though, isn't enough. A week ago, the couple had been sitting in their favorite spot by the lake. Hermione had finally had conjured up enough courage to say the three little words she had been meaning to say for the longest time, so she did. Harry had been silent. She turned to look at him, searching his eyes for some sort of reason, yet could not find one. Then it donned on her.

He didn't love her.

They had barely spoken two words since then.

After they had been dismissed from charms, Hermione hurried out of the classroom, to avoid having to talk to him, or Ron. She ran up the stairs toward the Head Girl's Room. Hermione muttered the password, and walked into her room. Since she had become Head Girl, she didn't have to share a room with anyone, only the joint Common Room with the Head Boy. Which would of have been find except that Harry was Head Boy.

She threw her school books onto her bed, then grabbed her favorite book, Hogwarts: A History, and walked down into her Common Room to read by the fire. There was just one fault with that plan; there was someone already down there waiting for her, Harry.

They just stared at each other for a moment. There was an awkward silence, both of them wishing the other would break it. Finally Harry did.

"How did we let it get this far?" he asked her, sitting down upon the red, silk couch. He had his elbows propped up on his knees, his face lifted to look at hers.

"I don't know," she said, dropping her book to the ground as she moved to sit next to him. They were in complete silence again.

Harry opened his mouth as to start to explain why he hadn't said he loved her back, when Hermione put a finger to his lips to quiet him. She looked at him through sad eyes.

He gazed back at her, his emerald-green eyes, mirroring her own.

Harry tried to get the words to come spilling out, yet he said nothing. Hermione knew he was trying, but it didn't seem like enough. She pulled her hand away from his mouth, only to be replaced with a kiss.

It was a sweet, gentle kiss. It only lasted a short while, but both knew it would remain burned into their memories. Hermione stood up, ambled over to where her book had fallen, picked it up, and walked out the portrait hole. All Harry could do was watch as she walked away.

Fin

Author's Note: Due to Rule about song lyrics, I had to remove the song Don't Speak, by No Doubt from my story. If you play it in the background while reading this, hopefully it will have the same effect. Please review.