Fuck writer's block! Honestly, it took me days - maybe even a week - to write this short, 584 worded story. Shameful.

Enjoy the... fluff? Can this be counted as fluff? Either way, it's Harry/Hermione. It was written in a platonic sense but if you're a HHr fan like me, let your heart run free!

~*~ Line Break ~*~

Harry pressed his palm to the cracked window, looking out towards the Great Lake. The rising sun made the ocean blue water sparkle like diamonds and the sky was an oil painting of red, purple, orange, yellow, and blue. Harry sighed. The air was fresh yet he could still smell smoke. The courtyard was clean of bodies but he could still see blood. His heart was beating but he could still feel the feather touch of death. Today was a new day but he could still see the carnage of yesterday's battle.

It's finally over, he tried to reassure himself but it didn't help. The war was over but he didn't feel relieved like he should. Rather, the messy haired boy felt painfully confused. Though he'd only been aware of it for the past 2 years, his whole life had been revolving around Voldemort. Every since that damn prophecy was made and Voldemort marked him as his equal, his future as savior of the wizarding world was set in stone. But now it was done and Harry had no idea what to do. They fought for freedom and now that he had it, he was perplexed about what to do with it. It was like a toddler throwing a tantrum to get ice cream without knowing what flavor he wanted.

Harry scrunched up his nose a bit. The brunet was forced to admit that somewhere deep, deep, deep within the confusion, there was a teeny spark of joy and excitement. His future was never his to control until now. There was something thrilling about not knowing what was going to happen.

Suddenly, a beautiful feeling filled his gut as it dawned on him and that spark of excitement erupted into an inferno. He was free. Sure he didn't know what flavor he wanted but he got the ice cream. There was time to figure out what to do with life, after all he was only 17 and still had a year of school to complete.

Deep in thought, Harry didn't hear the sound of footsteps break the silence of dawn. He didn't see his bushy haired friend sit in front of him on the window sill. Matter of fact, it wasn't until Hermione snapped her fingers next to Harry's ear did the boy jump out of his stupor. Harry jumped at the sudden noise, snapping his head towards the older girl.

"Harry," she said, her voice slightly breaking. Her brown eyes were glassy with unshed tears. The girl took a shaky deep breath. "Harry, is it really over?" Harry nodded numbly, wrapping his arms around Hermione as she tackled him in a hug. Harry could hear her labored breath, feel the heated puffs of air that escaped her lips on his neck. His shoulder became wet as the tears in Hermione's eyes were set free and she sobbed heavily.

"I-I can't be-believe it! I-it's like a dream!" she choked, her fingers gripping on Harry's hair. Harry held the girl tighter, as if the freedom they had won would float away if he let go. Minutes, or maybe hours, passed before Harry and Hermione released each other, both of their faces tear stained.

"So, what now?" Hermione asked, pulling her hair away from her red face. Harry shrugged, a gleam sparkling in his emerald eyes. A tiny smile began to tug on his lips. Reaching over, he wiped a tear from Hermione's face.

"I don't know."

And for now, that knowing was an amazing thing.

~*~ Line Break ~*~

This story is currently also on Wattpad and Archive of Our Own. Wattpad is under the name Princess-of-the-Pen while AO3 is under the name Princess_of_the_Pen. If this story is posted under any other name, it's plagiarized!