Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I'm just borrowing them to have some fun.

Her eyes were beautiful. If only he could hold her. Hug her. Kiss her… Slowly it was made clear to Harry that he was staring at Hermione obviously, and she returned his stare, albeit confused. Slowly, carefully, she asked him, "Is there something wrong? Something on my face?"

"No!" said Harry far too quickly.

Harry and Hermione were in their sixth year now, and things were bad. The war with Voldemort was going poorly. Ron and his family were all dead. They were among the first that Voldemort personally killed. However, the first was none other than Harry's relatives, the Dursleys. Although it wasn't entirely a bad thing, Harry actually did cry for them. After all, they didn't do anything that bad to Harry. But, on the bright side, at least he didn't have to live there anymore.

However, all was not lost. Peter Pettigrew, a.k.a. Wormtail, turned himself in on account of that he couldn't bring himself to be entirely evil. Or at least that was what he said. He fully admitted all of his sins, and Sirius was given a full pardon. Sirius however, was an active fighter against Voldemort, along with Dumbledore. They currently had to be in hiding over the summer, so as not to be caught unaware by Voldemort, the way the Weasleys had been.

Harry was now staying with the Grangers since he had nowhere else to go, and they were muggles. Therefore, Voldemort wouldn't easily find them. They had a month left before going back to Hogwarts. A very long month for Harry.

"Hermione, where are your parents? I haven't seen them this morning." asked Harry nonchalantly.

"Oh, they went to the store to pick up some more food. They should be back in an hour or two." replied Hermione.

"Just great," Harry thought, "they left me alone with the most beautiful girl in the world. All of the possibilities… NO! Hermione is my friend. I shouldn't think about her like that. And besides, I don't know if she even likes me. Likes me? She already likes me. I want her to love me…"

"Harry, is something the matter? You seem all tense and you're looking like you're anxious about something."

"Huh? Oh, no. Nothing is wrong. I'm just a little tired. And stressed." said Harry, who was thinking that something was wrong, considering that Hermione wasn't in his arms.

Harry rose, and quickly went up the stairs to the Grangers guest room. He opened the door and entered. Slowly, not looking back, he shut the door most of the way. He left it open a crack in case something were to happen. It was a little nuance of his since Ron's death. He died asleep.

Harry walked to his bed and flopped down onto it. Just then he heard the telephone downstairs. He heard Hermione walk to it and apparently she picked it up, because it stopped ringing. After a while, he heard her put it back. And then, quite suddenly, he heard her scream like a wounded animal. She ran up the stairs and barged into her room where she started sobbing uncontrollably. Quickly, Harry got up and went to her room. The door was slightly ajar, so he pushed it all the way open and gazed at Hermione on her bed. All thoughts of passion were wiped from his mind as he saw her crying. Her pain was his pain.

"Oh Harry," cried Hermione, who now noticed him, "my grandfather in Majorca has just had a heart attack. He is at a hospital there. They don't know if he'll make it. My parents are going to come home, then head to the airport."

Harry, who was in shock from all her news, decided to tackle the smaller news first, "How are they going to get tickets so quickly? Usually you buy them in advance."

"They said that they called there first and that the next flight to Majorca had two available openings, so they immediately bought them. However, it is scheduled to leave so soon, they will only leave a note telling us to basically behave. They will drop the groceries off on the doorstep. They'll ring the doorbell and then immediately leave. The worst part is that we can't even go! There was only two available seats."

At just that particular time, the doorbell rang. They both left Hermione's room, Hermione still crying, Harry feeling sympathetic. They went downstairs, opened the door, and brought in the groceries and note on the door. It said all of the things parents usually say to two teenagers that are best friends, such as, "behave yourself", "act responsible", etc. It said that they would be gone for eight days and that when they came back, the house better still be in good order.

Harry and Hermione silently filed into the kitchen and put away all of the groceries in their proper places. When Harry's stomach rumbled however, the silence broke. Harry grinned and Hermione giggled through the tears. Together they made dinner, which they ate quickly. They washed their dishes and went into the main room. Together they watched a romantic movie where a woman doesn't realize she loves a man until almost too late. But, as with any good romantic story, they ended up together in the end with a slightly steamy scene. Harry looked at Hermione during the scene and was slightly turned on. She never noticed since she was so engrossed in the movie. They started the evening on opposite ends of the couch, but the more romantic the movie became, the closer they became. By the time they reached the love scene, they were nearly pressed up against each other.

When Hermione noticed that they were very close to each other, she blushed a little and snuggled up next to his arm. She knew she should be studying for the next year at Hogwarts, but this felt so…natural that she didn't want it to end. When Hermione faded away into sleep, she was in Harry's arms as he gazed at her longingly. "It's sort of ironic," said Harry quietly, so that Hermione couldn't hear him, "why does this remind me of the muggle saying 'look but don't touch'?" At that, he broke into tears and cried himself to sleep, for the love he had. He cared too much for her to take advantage of her, but at the same time he wanted to love her so much.

***Next Morning***

Hermione woke with a start. What was she doing in the arms of her best friend? "But he's so comfortable," she thought. She felt something wet caress her cheek, when she realized what it was that had woke her. Harry was crying in his sleep. A single tear had found its way to her cheek. "Harry! Wake up." she said in his ear rather quietly.

Harry's eye fluttered for a minute, and that was when realization hit Hermione. He already was awake. But then why was he crying? "Harry, are you okay? Why are you crying?"

At this, Harry's eye opened, bright and clear. His bright emerald green eye just gazed at Hermione before another tear squeezed its way out. Finally Harry replied, "Yeah. I'm fine. It's just…well, it's not important." As he said this, he realized that he was lying. It was important. He loved Hermione and he knew that it would either bring them closer than imaginable, or would break them both. It was too great a risk. He loved her too much to risk not being with her. He wouldn't say anything and they would stay together, as friends. Only as friends.