He hated this. He hated how she made him feel with all her smart nerd facts and stuff. How his stomach started fluttering whenever she was around. How he couldn't stop the stuttering the came out of his mouth. How his mouth suddenly went dry.
How he had fallen hopelessly in love with Hermione Granger.
And with her it was no different.
She hated the way his cluelessness caused a knot in her stomach. How he made her lose her breath. How the senseless comments that tumbled from his mouth made a scarlet blush rise to her cheeks. How she couldn't look him in the eye anymore, and not just because of height difference.
How she had fallen hopelessly in love with Ronald Weasley.
Oh the times they longed for when neither of them had these feelings! The times when they could look at each other and feel nothing but friendship! And yet here they were, tied up in their own emotions. Dealing with an over dramatic third wheel. Trying to sort themselves out even though they were bound as long as they didn't admit it. The chains that held them were their own stubbornness.
Yet, now faced with their emotions for the hundredth time, it felt no different. Except for one thing.
HE wasn't here. Probably the first time in ages. They stared awkwardly at their own feet, shuffling with no direction. Tapping the floor with no rhythm. And she lifted her head. A small movement, but not missed by the taller. His eyes raised from his feet. His lip almost blood red from being chewed on. He scratched his fiery head, blue eyes once again moved away from hers.
And then, another fire. Not the one on his head. Nor the one on the torch in the corridor, but another. Unseen by either yet felt by both. Words spoken, and the eyes matched up. Then the noses matched up. Then the lips matched up. And the fire exploded, melting the chains around them, freeing them.
And they didn't hate it one bit.