The Gryffindor common room was quiet at the late hour, nearly deserted, save only two people who occupied it. Hermione sat by the window, a book in her hands, reading the final pages of the particularly interesting novel. The only other soul in the room was Harry, who sat at a table a few paces away, simply watching Hermione. When many of the others had gone off to bed, Hermione insisted on finishing her book, and Harry had offered to stay up with her. After all, sleep hardly proved to be restful, with awful images of past horrors haunting his dreams.
And, with the most of the chaos from the closure of the war dwindling down, Harry found himself with quite a bit of time to think. The more he reflected on the past events, the more he untangled his knotted feelings. As he thought, he realized the one constant in his life that he could never bear to lose was Hermione. Even Ron had come and gone from time to time.
Hermione, on the other hand, had stuck with him through everything. She supported him, put up with his outbursts, and, most importantly, stayed her loyal, kind, clever self. Harry had come to the realization that, no matter how much he cared for Ginny, their relationship would always be flimsy compared to the deep bond he shared with Hermione. There were some things that you couldn't go through with someone by your side and not come out all feeling the more connected. Fighting the war against the darkest wizard of their time happened to be one of those things.
Ever since he was a boy, as well, Harry had always harbored a certain kind of adoration for Hermione. She was brilliant. Even if she wasn't the most socially savvy or could be a bit of a know it all, Harry never cared for her less. As the years passed, his affection only grew, as did their undying loyalty to each other. He likely wouldn't be alive, sitting where he was, if it weren't for everything Hermione had done.
The snap of a book closing pulled Harry from his thoughts before the room settled into silence once again. Clearing the drowsiness from his mind, Harry focused his gaze on Hermione, finding her looking directly back at him. There was the slightest bit of some emotion shifting in her expression as she looked over at him, though Harry couldn't place exactly what it was. Some sort of longing or concern was his closest guess, though he had found that Hermione could be quite hard to read if she didn't want him to.
Harry wasn't sure what it was that made him stand and cross the room, coming to stand by her side. Maybe instinct, or desire, or something else entirely, but something drew him to her side. Watching him with the slightest bit of curiosity as he walked through the moonlit room, Hermione stood to meet him.
His eyes briefly flicking down to find her lips, they met her eyes again just as quickly. Harry found himself leaning in, closing the space between them, hardly acting on any conscious thought, more so on some longing, some desire deep in his heart. Though, when there was hardly more than an inch of space left between them, and he could feel Hermione's soft breath, Harry hesitated, leaning back away. Memories of her and Ron flashed through his mind, making a twinge of guilt flare in his stomach.
"Hermione, you don't have to," Harry said quietly, his voice barely over a whisper.
Instead of offering an answer, Hermione leaned forward, coming up onto her toes. Her eyes fluttered shut as her lips met Harry's, warmth blooming in her chest. Years of pent up feelings came rushing up, an intense sort of longing drawing her closer to him. Hermione's hands found their way to Harry's shoulders, steadying herself against the wave of emotion. Harry reciprocated her movements with just as much heartfelt tenderness. He shifted, stepping in a bit closer, letting himself be drawn into Hermione's kiss.
Only when she was dizzy from the intoxication of it all, and her lungs ached for air, did Hermione pull away. Though, she quickly pulled Harry into a tight embrace, letting her arms wrap around his back, not wanting to be apart for too long. Her head fell to rest on his shoulder as she took in deep breaths, breathing in the warm, clean scent of him. It was familiar and so comforting.
While the clock ticked on, it seemed almost like time had stopped as Hermione stood quietly, wrapped up in Harry's arms, unwilling to break their hug and break the spell. Because, as soon as she pulled away, she would have to return to the messy reality of it all. Of Ron and of the war, of loss and of change. It was so much simpler to remain where she was, calm and content. Though, Hermione was sure that Harry would be by her side, even in the messiest, most complicated of worlds. Because, that's what they did. They supported each other, whether as friends or as something more.
Eventually, though, Harry eased back, his arms hesitantly falling from around Hermione's small frame. He knew it was late, and they were both far past exhausted from the events of the past few days. So, though he longed to pull Hermione back to his chest and feel her heart beating, slow and soft, he decided against it.
"Goodnight, Hermione," Harry said softly, his tone full of all the affection he could muster. Though, he wished to say more, to say those three simple words that had been sticking in his heart for years, that would let her know how much he truly cared for her, he kept it to nothing more than wishing her a good night. There would be time for those things later, and he wouldn't push her to fall in love before she was ready.
"Goodnight, Harry," Hermione replied, her voice smooth and soft, though her breath caught a bit in her throat when Harry's gaze met hers.
She watched him head up the stairs to the dorms a moment later, before retrieving her book, which had sat on her chair, long forgotten. Gently raising a hand to her lips, Hermione couldn't help the small smile that crossed her expression. Taking a minute to etch the details of the past few moments into her memory, Hermione headed up to her dorm as well. Perhaps she could sleep a bit sounder that night, luring pleasant memories of Harry's kiss into her dreams.