*This is an alternative "first kiss" moment for Harry and Ariel from the story "The Two Who Lived". I took it out and reworked the story in favor of the pier scene, but I liked this idea too, and I decided to keep it. If you haven't read "The Two Who Lived" you should do so, otherwise the whole premise is sort of lost. Anyways, enjoy!*
That night was bitterly cold. I could hear the wind whistling between the trees. Large, cotton-y looking snowflakes fell from the sky. Hermione was out patrolling the borders of our camp, where she had put up protective enchantments the day before. Ron, Harry, and I were huddled around the tiny fireplace inside the tent. We had attempted to play a game of cards, but none of us knew how to play poker well enough to know who was winning. We abandoned poker to try to make a card house without using magic. So far we had been fairly unsuccessful.
"I don't know how muggles do this," said Ron after the card house had fallen down for the third time. "Dudley could do it, so it couldn't be too difficult," Harry said, and he and Ron snickered. "Who's Dudley?" I asked, collecting the fallen cards. "My muggle idiot of a cousin," Harry replied. I nodded. "Do you guys want some tea or something?" I asked. "Yeah, I could use something warm to drink," Ron said as he warmed his hands in front of the fire. I went into the little kitchen and began preparing tea.
I had just finished making the tea when Hermione came in, her cheeks pink and a worried look on her face. "Is everything okay?" I asked, feeling slightly alarmed at her expression. She pulled off her gloves and hat and stuffed them in her coat pockets. "I have some bad news," she said, looking around to the three of us. We looked at her expectantly. "I saw some snatchers while I was out. I know the enchantments are working because they didn't see me, even though I was really close, but one of them could smell my perfume. We're going to have to put out our fire, just in case. I don't want them to smell the wood smoke and figure out that we're here." She paused to take a drink of hot tea, which I had just handed her.
"And how do you expect us to stay warm with no fire? It's bloody freezing outside," Ron said anxiously. "Well, that's the next part. I thought we would just double up when we went to sleep tonight," she said carefully. "Double up? Like share beds?" Ron asked. "Really Hermione, I know it's different for girls, but I'm not too keen on cuddling up with Harry all night, even if it is warm. No offense, mate," he added as an afterthought. Harry waved his hand and mumbled "No problem." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well of course you aren't going to share a bed with Harry. You'll share it with me. Harry will share with Ariel," she said with an obvious tone. Ron choked on his tea at that moment. Once he regained his composure, we finished our tea in silence, no doubt thinking about the fact that we would be sharing beds soon.
A little while later, Hermione decided it was time to douse the fire and go to bed. We each went and changed. I pulled on sweatpants and a heavy sweatshirt, and a pair of warm woolen socks. Harry put out the fire, and the four of us stood by the fireplace for a moment, unmoving. "Well, let's get into bed shall we?" Hermione suggested, her voice a bit higher than normal. We all nodded timidly, and made our way over to the beds. A nervous knot began to form in my stomach as Harry motioned for me to climb in first. Would he lay against me? Would he lay as far away as possible? What if I did or said something embarrassing in my sleep?
I tried not to think about any of that as I settled into his bed. I scooted close to the wall and pulled the covers up to my chin. The fire had only been out for a few minutes, but the tent was already getting cold. I felt the mattress give and the covers move as Harry climbed into bed behind me. He laid right up against me, and I gave an involuntary shiver at his closeness. "Are you cold?" he whispered, his breath warm on my ear. He tentatively reached out a hand to my arm and rubbed it up and down, trying to create a warm friction. He stopped after a few moments and draped his arm around me.
We laid this way for a good half an hour. Every time I was close to drifting off to sleep, Harry would move or sigh and my heart would start hammering all over again. How was I going to fall asleep knowing he was right there?
My shoulder was beginning to hurt, so I had no choice but to turn over. I thought Harry would turn too, but I realized he had no plans of that when I came face to face with him. "Sorry, I had to turn. My shoulder was hurting," I whispered. He smiled and put his arm around me again. Did I feel him pull me closer? My heart began to thump loudly again involuntarily. Once more I wasn't able to drift off to sleep, but this time it was because I couldn't tear my eyes away from Harry's. He looked at me intently, as though he had something to say but couldn't find the right words. A lock of hair fell across his forehead, and I got the sudden urge to reach up and brush it away. Before I could stop myself, I had done it, and was surprised at how soft his hair felt on my fingers. I brought my hand back down to rest it on the collar of his shirt.
He pushed himself up on his elbow and rolled me onto my back. My arm fell to my chest as he lowered his face to mine, a look of confidence in his eyes. When our lips met, I felt warm all over. The fact that we were in a freezing tent with no fire going in the middle of winter was lost to the feeling of our kiss. It was surprisingly gentle, and when I felt his tongue brush against my lip, I had to fight to stifle a moan.
He kissed me for several minutes, and when he pulled away, my breath was shallow and my cheeks felt flushed. I couldn't suppress the smile that formed on my face as Harry laid back on his pillow. He returned the smile and wrapped his arms around me tightly, pulling me into his chest. I let out a content sigh and closed my eyes, now finally able to fall asleep.