Luminous


He loved her so much that her face simply seemed to glow. She wasn't perfect, but when he imagined her, she was larger than life. A different take on the Harry/Hermione pairing.

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She wasn't beautiful. If he wanted gorgeous, there were plenty of other girls he could have gone to. Like Cho. Or Lavender. In fact, with that busy, frizzy hair, and a slightly disfigured face, she barely made it into the "average" category.

But that no longer mattered to him. Oh, when he'd first met her as an immature eleven year old, he'd noticed her lack of beauty. But as he got to know the girl inside, he stopped noticing. When he looked a her, a glow seemed to cover her face; a glow that made her look like a movie star. In his imagination, she was positively radiant.

Then, there was her confidence; her self assuredness. She got better grades, and he was hard pressed to defeat her in a duel. When he looked at her, that confidence radiated out of her face. She was incredible. He was intimidated by her brilliance. And that was why he loved her.

She didn't have the best personality. There was a bossiness about her; a cockiness that put many students off from her. Even Ron saw that is an easy reason to fight with her. But he didn't notice. To him, that bossiness meant vigor, and the cockiness a woman who would never depend on him.

"She's not like us," Pavrati, Lavender, and even Ginny would sometimes complain. Yes, she didn't like girl talk and makeup other girls indulged themselves in. She didn't take it upon herself to chase after guys. He saw that as her brilliance. She didn't need the feminine behaviors to care about her self worth; she was a modern woman. She knew she didn't need them.

She intimidated the other men. She could beat them all up if she needed to. The other students didn't want that kind of woman. But he wanted a woman who he could depend on; an equal. He was the slightly better wizard, but she was far more determined. Her eyes sparkled constantly, like keen little lightbulbs were going off in her mind.

Early on, he had been put off by her. But as the years had gone by, he kept getting closer to her and slowly drifted from Ron. He lost the common ground with Ron. But with her...they got closer and closer. They never fought like she did with Ron. They had a steady, unbreakable bond, one that was never tested.

She never was perfection. But one day, he looked at her in a different light. It was a realization that really shouldn't have been so shocking. She was all he'd ever wanted in a woman. She was incredible.

But the way she was, he didn't know how he could tell her. She never thought about romance, only concentrating on her studies. She had her crushes but never focused on them. He was the one looking for love, the one who had short romances with many girls. But she...she was different. He loved her like he'd loved no other.

He had to let her know how he felt. He had to. And there she was, taking out her books in the deserted hallway he'd followed her to. The whole hallways seemed to sparkle in her presence. He cleared his throat, and began to speak.

"Hermione."

She looked up, completely shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"I followed you here," he replied. "I'm sorry, that wasn't the nicest thing I've ever done."

She patted a spot on the floor, motioning for him to sit down. "It's okay. So, why did you follow me here? You could've just asked if you wanted to study."

He gazed into her eyes. "I-I wanted to ask you something..."

"Oh, really?" she asked innocently. "What is it?"

He looked at her, knowing she didn't have a clue. She didn't know how she glowed to him. "'Mione, you know the trip to Hogsmead this weekend?"

"Sure, Harry. What about it?"

"Well......I was wondering if we could do something together there..."

She cut him off. "Of course! We always do things together there! You, me, and Ron."

He silenced her. "N-no, I meant, you know....just the two of us. A date, at a nice restaurant or something."

She looked down nervously, but the glow never left her in his mind. "Wow, Harry. A real date."

"Yeah, that's what I mean."

Her body trembled. "Well, sure Harry. Yeah, a date. We can try a date out."

He smiled at her. "Great! We're going to have a good time, 'Mione."

She relaxed a little, and smiled back. The glow reached an all time yeah. "Yeah, it'll be fun." She paused and got up. "Well, Saturday then, Harry. Now, I have to get back to my studies. I'll move to another corridor." She walked away. That was it.

She hadn't reacted joyfully to the proposition of the date. She hadn't flung herself into his arms like other girls had. But that was okay with him. That was the way she was. And as she walked down the hallway, he imagined her kissing him in that romantic way. And the glow- it wasn't a glow anymore. She simply shined.

THE END

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Notes: I love Harry/Hermione, but I hate how Hermione is unrealistically portrayed in many of them as this beautiful, suddenly romantic girl. That's just not Hermione. As I displayed in this fanfic, I think that Harry is the more romantic one in the team. Since it bothers me how much many girls change Hermione, I felt compelled to "Luminous-" which I feel is well in character for Harry and Hermione. But feel free to disagree in reviews.

SHAMELESS PLUG: If you liked this story, please read and review my other fics. I'm getting hardly and reviews, and it's making my muse sad. Pretty please review? I'll give you a big, happy smile! (that sounded corny haha)