A/N: Hey, everyone! I'm new on here, nice to meet you all. Hope you all are staying safe during this crazy time. I've been sent home from college and to pass the time by, I've been writing - for one of my favorite fandoms if I should say. Hope you enjoy this one shot that I wrote.

"It's been a little hard

I've been a little tough

But maybe all along

I'm afraid, I'm afraid,

I'm afraid I'm afraid,

I'm afraid, I'm afraid"
- Maybe I'm Afraid by lovelytheband

The last few hours have seemed like such a blur. My hair was a mess and my clothes were disheveled. I had dirt smudges all over my face, and I could definitely use a shower right about now. Although, I looked absolutely terrible, I felt happy more than anything. Voldemort was finally gone. The war was over, and we had won.

The castle was in ruins and debris was flooding the grounds. My eyes fell upon other fellow witches and wizards who gathered together after the battle. I heard laughter among parts of the crowd which brought a smile to my face. As I walked around, I saw others who were crying tears of joy and then there were some who were shedding tears of sadness for the heroic ones that we had lost along the way.

"Cup of tea, Hermione?"

I took my eyes off the crowd and saw Cho offering a mug to me. I shook my head at her and replied, "No, thank you."

I glanced back and I noticed Neville and Luna sitting off to the corner. They were chatting among themselves with huge smiles across their faces. They were fixated on one another, and I could tell there was definitely something more between them. At one moment, Neville accidentally placed his hand on top of hers, but then quickly moved his hand back as if he touched fire. It was hard to notice, but his cheeks were turning red underneath all the dirt on his face. Suddenly, Luna grabbed hold of his hand and entwined them at the fingertips. She grinned up at him and carried on their conversation. Neville and Luna, who would've known, they made a very cute couple.

Cho had walked up next to me, sipping her own tea. She quietly said, "A little bird may have told her that he's had a crush on her for awhile now."

"Really? You?" I asked bemused.

Cho nodded back at me. "Guilty, yes. While we were here under Snape's watch, I'd catch him eyeing her. Finally, I confronted him about it. With the war and all, it made him even more nervous to start anything with her. You know, since we weren't really sure if we would survive in the end. Now that it's all over, he has no excuses. He can be with her now and be happy. I just needed to give them a nudge." Cho had a proud smile upon her face.

"I'm so happy for them," I said.

"What about you?"

I gave her a confused look. What was she talking about?

She rolled her eyes at me and laughed, "Oh come on, Hermione. Does a little bird need to go find Harry? Don't think I haven't noticed you two over the years? I've always known, even when he was dating me. The war is over now, you two have no excuses either."

I stared blankly at her. Was I really that obvious? As much as I wanted to deny everything that she had just said, she was absolutely right. I've been completely in love with Harry for who knows how many years now, probably since the start of it all. I've tried my best to conceal those feelings. Well, at least I thought I did. I said, "You know, it's not that easy. Harry and I-"

Cho interrupted me. "Listen, we're all very lucky we made it out alive, but Harry almost didn't. He would have never known how you felt about him. Now you have a chance to tell him. Where's that Gryffindor courage, Hermione?"

I sighed deeply. She was right. Who would've known that Cho, Harry's ex-girlfriend, would be the person nudging me to admit my true feelings to him. I've been scared. I've had so many opportunities to tell him the truth over the years, yet I've been absolutely terrified. I don't want to lose him, but then again, I almost lost him once. It was time to tell him how I felt.

"Thanks, Cho," I smiled at her and quickly left to go find Harry.

Knowing Harry, he probably doesn't want to be found right now, but luckily, I should know exactly where he would be. I started to make my way towards the Black Lake. The nosies from the crowd soon grew silent as I drifted father and father away. I began to think about what I could say to him. Do I just blurt it all out? Should I wait and build up to it? Maybe this all was a bad idea…

"Hermione!"

I turned around at the sound of my name and I saw my best friend rushing up to me. "Ron," I said.

He quickly asked, "Where are you going?"

"I was going to look for Harry."

I saw him frown at the mention of Harry's name. He looked around us before looking back at me and said, "It could be dangerous, with the castle falling apart. Let me come with you." He went to grab my hand, but as soon as he took hold of it, I gently pulled away from his grasp.

I shook my head at him. I didn't need to bring Ron along for this. Merlin knows, he wouldn't want to hear what I have to say to Harry. I gave him a small smile and spoke softly, "No it's okay, Ron. Go be with you family, they need you right now." I stepped back from him and continued to make my way to the Black Lake.

Ron called out to me just before I was about to turn the corner. "Did you really mean what you had said?"

I looked back at him, confused.

He continued on, "You know, that you would've went with him to face Voldemort."

I immediately responded, "Wouldn't you?"

I could see his eyes shift towards the ground and he kicked some dirt around. Then, he walked up to me. His eyes were staring into mine as if he was looking for an answer. "I want to think that I would have, but I don't know. I would've needed more time to think about it. B-but… you." He shakily said, "You didn't have to think even a second about it. And you would've left me and chose him. Just like before, except this time, you would have died with him."

I could hear the pain in his voice. He was hurting. I knew he was angry at me. He was angry that I would always choose Harry in the end. And as much as I didn't want to hurt Ron, he needed to know the truth as well.

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered as he turned to look the other way. "I'm crazy about you, Hermione, but I'm never going to be good enough for you. Not like how Harry is to you, am I?"

I sighed, "Ron…"

"You love him."

"Ron, please, I-"

"You always have, haven't you?"

I closed my eyes and nodded at him. By the time I opened my eyes back up, Ron was walking in the opposite direction. I groaned in frustration. I really needed to go find Harry so this can be all over.

I finally reached the Black Lake, yet no Harry in sight. I could've sworn that he would be here. It's a place that he likes to go to clear his mind. I walked up to the edge of the lake and I saw my reflection staring back at me in the water. I really was a mess. Here I was showing up to Harry to declare my love for him, looking like a compete wreck.

"Hermione?"

That voice. I turned around and there he was.

I smiled at him. "Harry." He was staring back at me with those bright green eyes. His clothes were just as dirty as mine, and his messy hair needed a good combing, but he looked absolutely perfect to me.

He walked up next to me and stared out at the lake. "I came here to clear my head, you know after everything that has happened." He asked, "What brings you down here?"

Here it is. My heart was racing. "Um, actually Harry," I looked down at my feet and bit my lip, unsure of what to say next. I just had to come out and say what I've been wanting to say for so long. "I came here looking for you. I need to talk to you."

I glanced up at him and I saw a concerned look upon his face. He got closer to me and rested a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Harry," I assured him.

He took his hand off my shoulder and smiled at me. "So tell me, what's on your mind then?"

I took a deep breath and tried to recollect my thoughts. I asked, "Did you hear that Neville and Luna are together?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, they've had feelings for each other for awhile, but they were too scared to admit it." He nodded at me and then gazed back out at the lake. I continued on, "Which brings me to this… For so many years, I've been afraid of admitting my own true feelings. Maybe, I'm afraid, but-"

"You have a crush on someone?"

"It's actually kind of more than just a silly crush."

"Is this about Ron?" I started to get annoyed now. He just needs to let me speak my mind. "I mean, if you're asking for advice on how to tell him, I can assure you that he-"

"I love you, you idiot!" I shouted at him. His attention was finally pulled away from the lake and his wide eyes were completely on me now. "I'm so in love with you, Harry. There were so many times I wanted to tell you, but I kept it in. And I tried to hide my feelings, because I was scared that if you didn't feel the same way, I would ruin our friendship… and I would lose you." I felt a tear slip from the corner of my eye and I quickly wiped it away with my hand. "I never have been so scared of losing something like that in my entire life. Because living a life without you in it, I don't know what I would do. I'm so in love with you and it drives me insane. I would do anything for you, and I wouldn't need to think twice about it. When we first met, I had no idea that not only was I signing up for all these crazy adventures with you, but that I would be falling in love with you every step of the way. I want to be with you. I want to grow old with you. And I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you all this, but Harry, I'm totally, completely in love with you."

I took a deep breath, hoping to calm my racing nerves. I didn't plan on saying all of that, but I felt like a huge weight was finally lifted off my chest. It was too quiet, and every second that he stayed silent made me feel sick to my stomach. Did I just make a big mistake? Was I going to lose my best friend? Tears started forming in the corner of my eyes as I watched him. I needed to know. "Please say something," I quietly said.

He looked up at me and raked a hand through his messy hair. "Do you remember that night in the tent? We danced like we didn't have an absolute care in the world."

Probably, one of the happiest moments during our search for the Horcruxes, how could I forget it. I slowly nodded.

He took a step closer and grabbed hold of my hands. I raised my head to look at him and my eyes met with his emerald ones. "You know, that night, it was like… a light flicked on in my head. I realized that I've had this amazing girl by my side since day one. And I wanted to- Damn it, Hermione."

I wasn't prepared for when his hands quickly framed my face and he roughly pressed his lips against mine. Harry was kissing me! I couldn't believe it. I kissed him back with a fervent urgency. My eyes closed, and I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck as his hands roamed down to my waist, he pulled me closer. It was like he was pouring all his emotions into it, and I was loving every second of it.

A moment later, he slowly pulled away. He whispered something, but I couldn't decipher what he had said. I felt slightly dizzy and my lips were still tingling. "Huh?"

He chuckled and rested his forehead against mine. He spoke softly, "In the tent, I wanted so badly to kiss you that night. You don't even know."

"Oh." I smiled and I could feel my cheeks getting warm. "Why didn't you?"

"Same reason as you. Maybe, I've been afraid. I'm in love with you, Hermione. How could I not be?" He whispered, before lightly brushing his lips against mine. It was a softer kiss this time. It was sweet, passionate, and far better than I could ever imagine. He pulled away again and said, "No one loves me like you do, Hermione."

I smiled at him, "Don't ever forget it."