There was a loud crack, like that of a whip, and a bright orange spark shot out and landed beside Harry's foot. He was wearing his mismatching quidditch socks, a Christmas gift courtesy of Dobby the house-elf.
It was quite late, so his only partner in the common room was the dwindling fireplace. He rose from the large, plush, Gryffindor red couch he was currently occupying, and made his way over to the coals. The cushion was sunken in from where he had risen, a testament to how little he'd moved. Fumbling through a pile of split logs, he chose a thick piece of cedar, and angled it atop the waning pyre.
It had been an odd day, Harry reflected, as he grabbed the stoker propped against the mantle. He prodded at the wood and coals, flames danced elegantly on the poker's metallic surface as the fire roared to life. His date with Cho had not been a success, he reflected. It had ended in tears and a shouting match. Harry heaved a sigh, and plopped back down. I'm rubbish with girls.
Cho had insisted Harry was taken with one of his best friends, Hermione Granger, and accused him of making an early exit on their date in order to meet up with her. She may have been mistaken on his reason for leaving, but not on his feelings for said witch. He had fancied her for ages.
Turning towards the common room window, Harry could see the rain pelting against the window, zig zagging paths down the glass as the droplets raced each other to the bottom. Just like Cho's tears, he mused. She had not been right for him, of course, and he knew that from the start.
In classes, in bed at night, at moments of free time during the day, he'd often find his mind wandering toward a certain bushy-haired Gryffindor. He'd never been able to work up the nerve to ask Hermione to the Yule Ball in his fourth year, a thought that still haunted him. Cho's interest had been a convenient way to distract himself from thoughts of Krum and Hermione, something he felt exceedingly guilty about. I really need to apologize to Cho, he thought, ashamed. She's been through enough without me adding to her plate. The last thing she needed was a git like me leading her on.
Harry was stirred from his thoughts by the sound of the portrait hole being eased open. Being well past midnight, Harry was surprised to see Hermione emerge from behind the Fat Lady. She glimpsed him, and smiled shyly.
"Hey Hermione, stuck on prefect duty alone tonight?" He gestured for her to sit next to him.
"I wasn't on patrols tonight," she sat gingerly beside Harry. "I was at the library."
Harry smiled at this, "Who would've thought, Hermione Granger at the library." He prodded her jokingly in the side.
Her cheeks tinged pink at his touch. "Actually, I was doing a bit of thinking there." She flattened her robes nervously. "About what Cho had said earlier to you," she took a deep, shuddering breath, "at Madam Puddifoot's."
"Oh?" Harry said, confused.
"About you and me." she said, her face now completely red.
"I'm sorry about that," he shuffled his feet. "Cho completely misunderstood, you know I was just leaving to go meet you and Sirius. I never -"
"That's the thing, Harry," she said, shuffling closer to him. "I do think of you that way." Her eyes went to the floor, "I have feelings for you.".
Harry was taken aback. Hermione was interested in him too? "Hermione, I…" he ruffled his hair nervously. "I'm rubbish at this sort of thing," he said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. His heart was pounding as hard as if he'd been in a quidditch match and spotted the snitch.
Hermione stood abruptly, "I'm so sorry, Harry," she said, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. "I shouldn't have said anything." She made to leave, but Harry grabbed her gently by the wrist. He couldn't ruin a second chance with her. Another year of regret wasn't something Harry wanted to go through.
"No, please stay, Hermione." He gave her a light tug towards him, and took her other hand, lacing his fingers through hers. They were soft to the touch. "It's not that I don't think of you like that, it just caught me by surprise, hearing you say it" he said, rising from his seat. "Because you mean everything to me, I've never felt this way about anyone before." He brushed a strand of curly hair from her eyes, and tucked it behind her ear. "You're the most intelligent, gorgeous witch at Hogwarts. Any bloke would be lucky to have you."
Hermione let out a shy giggle, "Oh, Harry," she said, leaning in to close the distance between their lips.