This came to me as I listened to "Crash" by Usher, I highly recommend listening to it while you read. Enjoy! I hope I can pull off something fluffy for a change ;)

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Hermione sat at her usual place in Gryffindor, surrounded by her red and gold companions, idly running her palm along the grain of the table. Her eyes, once again, flickered to the entrance of the Great Hall, hoping more than anything that today would be the day.

It wasn't a certainty, nothing in life was, but her hope didn't waver. Hope was something precious to hold on to, and even the thought of it happening today made her fingers tingle and her heart swell. She would wait; she would be patient. He was worth it.

This was worth fighting for, this feeling was special. Love could do funny things to people, it could change the very core of a person; it could save and it could kill. Love was relentless, in the best and worst of ways. But to hold onto it like this? To embrace it with all of your being? The world could crash and burn, and it could live on. She had to believe more than anything that it wouldn't let her crash.

So, she sat in her contemplative silence, hearing the muffled sounds of innocent jests and the scraping of utensils, while the others ate in blissful ignorance of the enormity of what could happen this very morning.

And yet she didn't fear, because if she knew anything in this life she knew that he was capable. He had proven himself to her, now he just had to take the leap and show the world what he truly was; what they could accomplish together. And together they would, she truly believed that. A small smile graced her lips at the thought, and she caught a glimpse of her expression in the polished silverware still resting unused in front of her.

When she gazed up again she saw him standing at the entrance of the Great Hall in solitary silence before all the four Hogwarts Houses. Her hands rested at the very edge of the table gripping the surface in anticipation, the tingling in her palms accelerating with that never ceasing hope. 'Please, please, please' resounded in a desperate litany. He could do this. He could really do this. 'I love you,' echoed in her thoughts 'I love you, please do this.'

His beautiful, stormy grey eyes then sort her out, answering her unspoken wish. His pale aristocratic face remained expressionless to other observers, but to her it said so much. She revelled in the feeling, it was everything to her, knowing and loving him as she did.

Hermione twisted on the bench to face him head on as he started to walk between the tables, his unblinking stare never leaving her own.

And then, there he was, a few steps away from her, when he halted in his procession and slowly raised his arm, offering her his hand and the fulfilment of so much more.

The sound of his voice whispering "Hermione," and the blissful contact, as she slipped her hand into his as she rose from the table, drowned out the bewildered cacophony of gasps and muttering surrounding them.

This moment was everything to her.

She could feel the blood rushing through her very veins, making her feel light and dazed in the very best way. Her eyes shone with pride and his dazzling smile matched hers as they finally walked in sync and finally together, in all ways.

They walked in silence, their soft footsteps muffled against the weathered stone floors as they neared Dumbledore's office. He paused before the stone Gargoyle and took a deep fortifying breath, turning to face her and grasping both her hands in his.

"Would you mind if I hold onto you, so that I don't crash?" He spoke, in a humble plea that made her love him just that little bit more.

Her hands rose to cup his face between her palms and she let the warmth of her hope and admiration pour through into him from her embrace.

She smiled and whispered "Together, Malfoy, let's crash."