DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters. They are all owned by J.K. Rowling, the only creative control I have is the plot.

And We Kissed

One-Shot

Hermione's POV

I closed my eyes. I didn't understand this. Before, when I had been sitting on the steps, all I could feel was this deep, excruciating loneliness. Since the moment Ron had disapparated, loneliness had all I had been feeling, and pain from it. Depression, anger and hurt that he would leave in the first place, and at such a time as what we were going through! In hiding, during a war and on the run to save not only the Wizarding World, but our own lives, as well. The immaturity of it all… But still, I loved him. Or, at least I thought I did…

Harry's hand still held mine; his other still cupped around my hip. The music had ended, and all there was now was silence and sound of our breathing. I didn't want to open my eyes.

I didn't want to open my eyes because of this feeling – this feeling of peace and comfort and happiness that had finally settled over me after all this time in the wake of Ron's absence. I was scared that if I opened my eyes it would all go away, and all I would feel again would be that dark, lonely emptiness. The feeling of nothingness…

I swallowed down the lump rising in my throat, and unintentionally moved my fingers in such a way that they were now laced through Harry's, holding tightly onto him. "I'm sorry," I told him, forcing myself to open my eyes. "I didn't mean t-"

"It's all right," he whispered gently, not really cutting me off as I didn't know what I was sorry for, exactly. As my eyes met his, he was looking down at me, and I had the distinct feeling that he had been this entire time; just watching me. "Are you feeling any better?" he asked me, keeping his gaze steadily on me. Even when I moved my eyes away from his, looking down to his chest, I could feel him watching me.

"I shouldn't be," I said before I could stop myself. "Ron is gone, Harry," I told him as I darted my eyes back to his. "And I… only a few moments ago all I could think about was that he is gone, and how much I miss him, and how horrible I have been feeling because of it. For days nothing could pull me away from those thoughts and feelings, and suddenly all it takes is dancing with you and it's like they didn't even exist in the first place? Like, like loving Ron never even was…"

Now it was his turn to close his eyes. "I won't lie and say I haven't been just as lost as you have, Hermione, because I have." He opened his eyes to look back at me, taking a step closer towards me, which hardly left any space between us at all. "The only difference is… that I have been that way because I couldn't stand another second of it. To see you so hurt, so down and sad and listless. And all because of another man…" he trailed, dropping his eyes before closing them again. His shoulders raised as he inhaled a deep breath through his nose. I wanted to ask what he meant, what he was talking about – but the truth was, I knew exactly what he was talking about. I knew because… I knew because the second he had started dancing with me, I felt it, too. Only from the sounds of it, he had been feeling it for much, much longer.

"But," I said instead, looking at the top of his head as I waited for him to look back at me. "Ginny," I bit my bottom lip. "You love Ginny, Harry, I thought you-"

"I've known she's had a crush on me for years," he said softly. "And I knew that you had feelings for Ron for the past few," he inhaled another deep breath, lifting his head back up, and slowly opening his eyes. He spoke his next words very slowly. "And I've had one on you since fourth year, the night of the Yule Ball, when I saw you at the top of the stairs.

"I knew in that moment that I would never look at you the same way again. It wasn't long after that that I fell totally and completely in love with you. But I… I knew that Ron loved you, too, and you already had feelings for him. Ginny fancied me and I thought… God, Hermione. I thought that if I lied to everybody – including Ginny and myself – about having feelings for her, and forcing myself to act on them, that what I felt for you would go away. That you and Ron would end up together, and that eventually – in time – my feelings and love for you would go away, and I would grow real ones for Ginny.

"Only," he said as he gently and carefully – slowly and hesitantly – ran the tips of his fingers over my hair above my left eyebrow. "Only that's not what happened at all. All I ended up doing was torturing myself, hurting and lying to Ginny, and falling more and more in love with you each day. Hating myself for not being honest with you – and everybody – in the first place. And now it's too late.

"But Hermione, I couldn't go another second without telling you. I just couldn't. I don't care if this changes things between us, because at least now I'm not lying anymore." He pressed his lips tightly together while taking a step away from me, and loosening his hand from mine.

"It does change things," I told him as I tightened my hand around his, not allowing him to let go. He furrowed his brows for a minute, looking down at our entwined fingers before meeting my eyes. "Harry, didn't you listen to a thing I said?"

"Dancing with me made you feel like you never even loved Ron in the first place…" he said slowly. "Hermione, do you mean, only, this isn't because you miss Ron and I'm the only other man around? Because I meant everything I said, Hermione. I love you I-I'm in love with you, Hermione."

"Harry, I said that before you said anything other than 'Are you feeling better?'" a tear rolled down my cheek as a smile graced my lips, as I realized how much I loved this man standing before me. "Harry I-" I broke myself off with a sudden laugh. "I love you. Not Ron. Not anybody else. You. And I can't believe it took me this long to realize it." I inhaled deeply, waiting for him to say something. Anything.

"You are so beautiful, Hermione," he said softly, a look of complete adoration and fondness – love – on his face, as he took another step towards me. He took his free hand and cupped it over my cheek, and I leaned into his touch, closing my eyes. It felt so good, so natural as he kissed the back of my hand before slowly letting it go to wrap his arm around me and pull me against him. Being in his arms, it was like I was born to be there.

He held me close, keeping his hand over my cheek as he ran the tip of his nose over mine, nudging me to tilt my head back.

I opened my eyes slowly, and bent my neck back, looking up into his eyes. I slid my hand up and placed it over his, and he smiled down at me lovingly.

"You've no idea how long I have waited for this moment," he said softly. "How long I have waited to hear you say you love me." His arm tightened around me, hugging me closer, and I leaned into him, wanting to get as close to him as possible – to feel his warm body against mine.

"Then let's not have you wait any longer…" He leaned down, and very slowly placed his lips tenderly against mine, closing all the distance that was left between us.

He lifted me into his arms and carried me over to the bed, where he laid me down. He crawled in next to me, never taking his eyes from mine as he wrapped me back up into his arms. We kissed, and we kissed, and we kissed.

We fell asleep holding each other, and we woke up in each others arms'.

I told him I loved him. And he told me he loved me… and we kissed.

The end.