by squidward
SUMMARY: With a war approaching, they didn't have much time. So all they have to do was to seize the day.
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.
He was looking longingly at her. Even though she was only a few feet away from him, she seemed so far. So far he couldn't reach her, no matter what he would do.
It was strange. The solitude and the isolation from the rest of the school had given him time to contemplate on what had happened and what was happening to them. They would be facing a war where nothing mattered but life and death. The dangers could be anywhere, and anytime their lives could be taken from them.
They already witnessed the seriousness of the situation they were in. The full-grown death eaters hunting them down in the Department of Mysteries made him think that Hades was swallowing the one by one. They didn't show any hesitations in killing them as if they were only ordinary insects. They narrowly missed death, and he wondered fearfully how would it feel to face a die-or-die situation. Realizing that it was too excruciating to think about, he tried to change the subject of his thoughts.
One thing registered in his mind. They didn't have much time. They didn't have much time left to fulfill everything they wanted to do with their lives.
He smiled to himself. He never felt so old before. Before he was only thinking of Quidditch, food and how to get rid of homeworks. But now, he was thinking along the same lines as their headmaster and other members of the Order. Wasn't he always branded as an immature brat? He mentally chuckled at the thought.
His day wouldn't be complete without she scolding him about something and he arguing back. They fought like cats and dogs yet they were the best of friends. She had been very special to him and he to her. Though they spent most of their time getting at each other's throats they both knew how special they were for the other.
Though he doubted if his level of importance in her heart was at the same height as her level of importance in his. Still, whether they were on the same level or not, he was happy to know that he was important to her.
He was aware that he had been looking at her in a very different way. At least different from the way he looked at her before. He was seeing her in a very different light, though something was holding him back from taking their relationship into another level.
It was fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of losing their friendship. Fear of losing her forever.
His feelings for her were getting stronger and stronger and sometimes he felt that he would explode. He was trapped inside his own bottled-up emotions. But he couldn't bring himself to tell her.
He stared at her bed again. She was sleeping peacefully as if it was just a normal day. He was glad she recovered quickly, the spell Dolohov cast on her looked really fatal it was an added bonus he didn't have his voice when he did it.
Madam Pomfrey would let them out later. He too had been fully healed. He was just waiting for her to wake up before coming down to join the miserable friend Harry.
But coming out would mean the war that they had been dreading to occur would start. Could he just stay in the hospital wing with her forever?
She was starting to stir. She looked very charming when she was looking sleepy. She rubbed her eyes, sat up and looked at him. He beamed warmly at her before walking to her bed.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'll just change," she said. He blushed and went back to his bed, waiting patiently for her to finish, while she pulled the curtains of her bed closed.
When she was through he approached her bed again. She was still sitting on her bed, fixing her neckline.
"Shall we go now?" he asked her. She nodded and stood up, but lost her balance and tripped. Luckily he was there, and immediately caught her on his arms.
And then the time stopped. He was still holding her, realizing for the first time how light she had been, how tiny her body was and how fragile she seemed to be.
His heart was beating very fast and his face had acquired the color of his hair. He could sense that she was feeling awkward because he heard her muttered his name uncertainly.
But he didn't let her go. The feelings he had been keeping get the better of him. Then he remembered one important thing: they didn't have much time.
Before he knew it he was already pulling her closer to him. He heard her gasped but didn't say anything, for which he was grateful. He embraced her tighter but was careful not to crush her body. He could feel her heavy breathing and he knew in an instant that she was feeling nervous. But her scent was inebriating it would be hard for him to let her go.
He knew she would be furious with him because of his aggression. She was just too shock at that moment that she didn't have time to smack his face. But he didn't care. He knew he was risking their friendship but the fact that they didn't have much time was instilled in his mind.
"Please," he whispered affectionately in her ear, his embrace getting tighter, "please, let me just hold you for a moment. Just this moment." His voice was pleading and begging it was probably the reason she let him, though he could feel her face growing hot (and perhaps red).
She stayed in his arms for a few more minutes, standing peacefully in the almost deserted infirmary. Now that she was in his arms it was harder to let her go. He was absently muttering her name, brushing his face on her bushy and feeling her every skin.
She was intoxicating he just wanted to stay like that forever. But he knew that that was impossible. Reluctantly, he loosened his embrace, slid his hands on her waist and stared directly at her eyes.
Her expression was a mixture of so many emotions it was hard to read what she was thinking. Her cheeks were still flushed and her breathing was irregular. Still she met his gaze and their eyes locked for a moment.
Words weren't needed. Their eyes were speaking for them. A silent understanding was building between them, breaking the barriers constructed by fear and insecurities.
How long they stayed like that, they didn't know. They didn't care. After what seemed to be forever he moved his right hand on her face, stroked her cheek and moved closer to her. He could feel her breath washing his face and when the distance between them was starting to disappear he closed his eyes and let his heart guide his way.
Slowly, his lips met hers and he relished every moment of the kiss he had been dreaming for years.
With a war coming up, they didn't have much time. So all they have to do was to seize the day.
