A/N: Here's another Harry/Hermione story, I'm not sure if it's any good because I haven't edited it and I wrote it at 3am this morning haha. Anyway, as always Read & Review if you please :)
- Miss Penny Lockhart
It was a harsh winter, one of the worst that had been seen in years.
Any sensible person was indoors, preferably snuggled up to a loved one beside a roaring fire.
Hermione Granger however was unfortunately not one of these people. True she was sat beside a large roaring fire that took up an entire wall in her small living room but alas, she was there alone.
At twenty two years old she had given up on a love life and was a self classified spinster. She lived her life for her job, friends and a now elderly Crookshanks. The romance that had finally blossomed between herself and Ron during the final battle had fizzled out to merely friendship once again. Once the thrill and danger of the war was over, they had realised that it had been exactly that which had brought them together ... the heat of the moment so to speak. Ron had since moved on to a more permanent relationship with the ever positive Luna Lovegood. To say they were a perfect match was an understatement. Molly who had taken the breakup of Ron and Hermione harder than either of the involved parties was thrilled. As long as her children were paired up and on the cusp of giving her grandbabies, she was happy. Hermione was thus returned to the redheaded matriarch's good graces and Hermione couldn't have been happier for her two friends.
Sighing, Hermione tucked her feet beneath her as she turned a page of 'Hogwarts A History: A Revised Edition.', Harry had given it to her a few months earlier as a birthday present, he'd even pulled some strings and had the author sign it for her. Ah Harry, he was another person that struggled with his love life. Although he had plenty of offers from willing young witches, they were almost always primarily interested in the fame and notoriety that came with dating The-Man-Who-Vanquished-Voldemort. After his relationship with Ginny had ended dramatically following her affair with Michael Corner becoming public, Harry had rarely dated. So, although the Weasley siblings were lucky in love, two thirds of The Golden Trio ... were not.
Hermione shook her head fondly at the thought of her friends and turned back to her book, twirling a stray curl around her slender finger.
"Oi Granger, I knew I'd find you with your head in a book." Came the flame distorted voice of Harry Potter as his head popped up in the fireplace. Laughing, Hermione marked her place and closed her book, gently placing it on her coffee table.
"Oh you know me too well Mister Potter." She laughed.
"What's a beautiful single witch like you doing in on a Saturday night?" Rolling her eyes, Hermione grinned at her best friend.
"Reading the best birthday present that I received this year." She winked.
"So you're re-reading the card that Ron sent you then?" Harry teased.
"Of course, the sentimental words 'To Hermione, Love Ron' are always worth re-reading."
"Ah I thought that would be it." Harry grinned.
"Harry why don't you just come around? You're blocking up my fireplace." She laughed.
"Fine, fine. I'll see you in a minute." He said as his head disappeared from the flames.
Seconds later, there was a distinct pop as Harry apparated right into her living room. Hermione almost did a double take. He was wearing simple clothes ... jeans and an old quidditch jersey but the jersey was from their Hogwarts day. He'd filled out considerably since then and the shirt was stretched tautly across his broad chest and looked as though it were almost caressing his toned back and stomach.
"What? Did I splinch myself?" Harry asked, self consciously checking that his body was intact.
"N-no, you're fine." Hermione replied quickly, willing the blush to leave her cheeks. "Fancy a cuppa?" She asked, rising from the comfy chair that she had been reclining in.
"Sure, blimey 'Mione your flat is lovely and warm." Harry grinned, seating himself cross legged in front of her fireplace, reminding her of a child.
"I know, it's a shame you never got the hang of heating charms, huh." She laughed, flicking on the kettle.
"Well I always had you to do them for me." He countered, turning his head to grin at her brilliantly.
"You always did work your charm a little too well on me." Hermione sighed, filling their tea cups as the kettle boiled.
"That's because I'm charming." Harry boasted, standing up and taking his cup from her.
"Sure ... that's what it is." She teased, rolling her eyes at him.
"Pah, you know you love it." Harry retorted before taking a gulp of tea, missing the look of confusion that she shot him. Despite her swearing off romance, Hermione would have had to be an idiot to mistake the feelings that she harboured towards Harry as anything other than love. However, she knew he saw her as a sister ... one of his most constant proclamations was that she was essentially the sister that he'd never had the chance to have.
"In your dreams Potter." Hermione laughed, taking a seat beside him on the small sofa that he'd decided to occupy.
"Always." He replied, winking at her. "So has Ron told you the big news yet?" He asked, throwing an arm over the back of the sofa as Hermione tucked up beside him.
"That he got Luna pregnant before the wedding and Molly is after his hide? Yeah he told me. He looked like he was going to cry when he flooed me. Said Molly was glad she was getting a grandchild but deeply disappointed in him for the way he went about it."
"Bit of a hypocrite isn't she, considering I heard that she and Mister Weasley had a shotgun wedding when she got pregnant with Bill." Harry murmured.
"Where did you hear that? They did not!" Hermione squeaked, thoroughly shocked.
"Remus told me a few years ago. Apparently it was a huge scandal that Molly's brothers paid to be hushed up." He admitted.
"What a bloody hypocrite." Hermione breathed, anger flooding her at the way the Weasley matriarch treated them when she herself had been a 'floozy'.
"That's Molly Weasley for you, although most of the time her heart is in the right place." Harry smiled, thinking of his surrogate mother.
"Yeah that's true; she always treated me like one of her own ... except that time in fourth year when she accused me of being a scarlet woman." Hermione reminisced, a scowl crossing her face.
"Well Hermione you were, leading both me and Viktor Krum on. What were you thinking?" Harry teased.
"Harry, it isn't funny. I got so much bad press because of that woman." She admonished, referring to the bane of her existence that was Rita Skeeter.
"Well it was a little bit true though, wasn't it?" Harry grinned, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
"W-what do you mean Harry?" She asked; fear that he had figured out her feelings for him gripping her.
"Well Viktor Krum was clearly very enamoured with you. You probably broke his heart a little bit." Harry replied, smiling wryly at her.
"Oh Harry he was not, he just wanted a bit of a fumble and I wasn't willing to give him it. I did tell you he was a very physical being didn't I." Hermione huffed, setting down her now empty tea cup on the coffee table beside Harry's.
"Ah Hermione don't be like that." Harry laughed, pulling her back beside him and squashing her between his side and the sofa. Hermione couldn't stop the flush of red that spread rapidly across her cheeks as her body was pressed firmly against her best friend's. Nor could she ignore the slight tingling she felt on the flesh that was touching him.
"Harry let me up." She mumbled against his shoulder as his arm held her firmly against him.
"But I don't want to; it's quite comfy having you there." He stated, grabbing her side a little bit harder. Poking him in the side, Hermione saw her chance when he squirmed and she shot up from the sofa, looking rather bedraggled and red. Harry sat staring at her, mouth slightly agape. The oversized jumper and leggings she was wearing did nothing to hide her beautiful figure. "How the hell don't you have a boyfriend?" He mused, earning a perplexed look from Hermione.
"What?" She queried, laughing nervously.
"Seriously Hermione you're absolutely gorgeous. I mean, have you seen yourself today?" He asked, disbelief clouding his eyes as he started to view his best friend in an entirely new light. A light that from the way he was feeling right now, had clearly always been there.
"Harry don't be silly." She replied, blushing deeply as she averted her gaze from his burning emerald eyes.
"Hermione I'm not being silly. Has anyone ever told you just how beautiful you actually are?"
"Well no but Harry, why would they lie?" She asked, tears filling her eyes.
"Hermione trust me when I say this, you're absolutely gorgeous. Any man would be lucky to have you." He murmured as he stood and pulled her into his arms. He had never realised before, just how right she felt wrapped in his arms
"Why do I find that so hard to believe?" Hermione whispered, shaking slightly at the overpowering feelings she had whilst being trapped within his muscular arms.
"Because the only experience you've had has been with Viktor Krum and Ron Weasley, neither are very vocal about their feelings Hermione. You of all people should know that." Harry chuckled, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.
"I suppose." She conceded, nodding against his chest. Belatedly she noticed Harry's heart hammering against his chest as he down and took her face in his hands, lowering his face to hers as he gently kissed her.
Her heart was soaring in that moment. It felt like a dream had come true, a wish had been fulfilled ... Harry Potter was kissing her. Her, plain old bookworm extraordinaire Hermione Granger. In her mulling she realised that she hadn't responded and he was beginning to pull away. Sighing slightly, she grabbed the back of his head and pulled his mouth back to hers, kissing him with every ounce of passion she felt towards him. As the kiss became more tender she released his head and wound her arms around the back of his neck as he pulled her flush against him.
"Harry, what are we doing?" She murmured, pulling away slightly and threading a hand through his silky raven hair.
"Kissing, I think it's rather enjoyable don't you?" He smirked, capturing her lips with his once again. Hermione pulled away again, putting slightly more distance between them.
"Harry, you know what I mean. Not that uh I didn't enjoy kissing you, I don't want to just be your kissing buddy." She sighed, her eyes imploring him to say something. Harry smiled gently and ran a thumb down her cheek as he cupped her face with his hand.
"I don't know about you but this feels very right to me and I can see that it's been coming for a long time. On some level I've always had feelings for you, I just didn't realise how strong they were until now." He admitted. Hermione grinned.
"Oh Harry, do you know how long I've wanted to hear that from you? I can safely say that I fell in love with you years ago." She blushed, ducking her head slightly.
"You love me?" Harry asked incredulously, a look of pure adoration crossing his face.
"I uh, yeah I do." She stammered, which was an uncommon thing to witness from the great Hermione Granger.
"Good because I know that it's going to be bloody easy to fall for you. I may not have fallen yet but the way I feel tonight, it won't be long." He admitted, pulling a slightly disheartened Hermione towards him. "Have no doubt Hermione Granger, I intend to fall very quickly and very deeply in love with you." He grinned before once again pulling her into a kiss that was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.