Harry's perspective

Hermione's perspective

I should have seen it coming. That's all I can say for myself, it just hit me and it felt like a huge weight being added to my load. I'm in love with my best friend.

How could I let this happen? I was in History of Magic, just about to take my afternoon nap when 'Boom!' it hits me. All of a sudden I start noticing the little things about her, like how she unconsciously chews lightly on her lip when she's concentrating, or how her hair has gone from straight up bushy to cute little ringlets.

The rest of the day, I was walking around trying not to stare at her or let on to the fact that my feelings had just changed dramatically for my friend of 8 years. Now that I think about it, after the war my feelings got all muddled up and I started seeing people in a different light. I mean, I still don't have much respect for the Slytherins, except for Draco Malfoy, but I've started to see some people in a different light.

I guess I was just too busy trying to get Ginny to understand that I'm not and probably never really was interested in her, I mean she just keeps following me around like a lost puppy, simpering at me with thickly clumped up lashes because of all the mascara she uses.

After the day finally ended I just wanted to go some place to think about my new found feelings for Hermione, I wanted to understand this. Unfortunately, there aren't many places in the castle I can go where Hermione won't eventually find me.

So I do the only thing I can think of, I get Ron and Draco together to help me out. I waved Draco over to where Ron and I were sitting during dinner and told them about my problem.

Ron was too busy inhaling all the food at our table to listen to me, but Draco just surveyed me with calm grey eyes and said "Harry, everyone but you and Hermione were aware of that." Needless to say, this kind of threw me off because… well, really?

"Anyway" he said moving on with barely a pause to gauge my expression "you can go to the room of requirement if you really need to think that bad, Ron and I will talk to Hermione."

I looked at him thankfully at that but then a question hit me. "Why do you need to talk to Hermione?" I asked, unconsciously glancing at where Hermione was sitting with Ginny and Lavender and looking like she was bored out of her mind. The only reason she hadn't sat with us was because she was still weary of Draco.

Rolling his eyes at me as if it was the most obvious thing in the world Draco said "We're going to try and find out if she has feelings for you too you dumb ass."

I nod and get up to leave the great hall, but I'm stopped by a tug on my sleeve. Turning I find myself face to face with Ginny, her eye lashes especially clumpy today and a thick coating of some, to dark for her skin tone, make up covering up her freckles.

She's looking up at me with sickeningly adoring eyes, which reminds me why I don't want to give her a chance. She will never see me as anything but a legend and something to leech money out of. Sighing with regret I say, "Yes Ginny?" trying my hardest not to roll my eyes and shuffle my feet impatiently.

"Well" Ginny says, sticking out her chest so that it's in my face, twisting her hair on her finger, and putting her on one of her anorexic hips, "I was wondering if you would help me with my potions homework? I'm not really grasping the point…"

Inwardly I wince at how sluttish this girl is, but I try to put on a helpful face for her benefit. "Sorry Ginny, potions is not my expertise, you should ask Hermione to help you," and then I add hastily when she opens her mouth with another hopeful look in her eye "besides I have way too much homework tonight to do anything else, that's actually where I'm going right now, bye." I say as I hastily turn to make my escape.

All of the way to the room of requirement I'm looking behind me warily to make sure no one, as in Ginny, is following me. Finally I get there and I burst into the room, shut the door, and warily plop down on the couch that the room provided for me.

Taking off my glasses and rubbing the bridge of my nose I sigh as my thoughts turn to Hermione and how just her grinning or laughing at one of my jokes can make me weak in the knees.

I got up this morning feeling unusually giddy, I didn't know why, but as I was taking my morning shower- something I had learned really helped tame my hair- I couldn't help but smile and giggle. I went to breakfast, where Harry, Ron, and I usually sit. And as usual, as soon as Harry walks in, my heart skips a beat and I have to chant in my head to remind myself to breath and not act like a fool.

Breakfast is normal, but my mood still seemed unusually happy, as if I knew something wonderful was going to happen today and my body was just waiting for it. Our first lesson was History of Magic and as usual I was taking diligent notes, while Harry and Ron took their midmorning nap. Suddenly Harry yelped and jumped up; looking completely shell shocked.

The whole class immediately turned to look at him (anything was more interesting than Professor Binns' lesson) even Professor Binns turned to look at him with a look of triumph on his ghostly transparent face. "Ah yes, Mr. Potter, I completely understand you exhilaration about the evolution of earthworm to flobberworm, 5 points to Gryffindor for having such involved students."

I glanced at Harry worriedly after Professor Binns turned back around and shot him an inquiring looked, trying to ask him if he was okay and if so, why he had felt the need to jump up in the middle of class, for no apparent reason.

Unfortunately, Harry was studiously ignoring my and everyone else around him, looking thoroughly engrossed in his own thoughts. Turning back around I began taking notes again, trying not to dwell too much on the fact that Harry was absolutely adorable with his eyebrows drawn together in thought, because I knew the more I tried to fight it, the more I would think about it.

For the rest of the day Harry continued to be preoccupied with his own thoughts, which forced me to endure Ron's endless babbling about how wonderful Luna looked today, in her bottle cap necklace and strange earrings that he could never remember the name of, until I finally snapped and told him to just go ask her out to the next Hogsmead trip.

This however did not get the reaction from him I was hoping for, like a determined nod and them him thoroughly shutting up to think about how best to do that. No, instead he looked at me like I was mental and I thought he was going to walk away to go talk to Harry about how crazy I was getting until he remembered how strange Harry was acting today.

Finally at dinner I escaped from Ron if only for a few seconds so I could drop my bag off in the common room while he went straight to the great hall. When I finally got down there however, I saw Ron sitting with Harry and Draco. Sneering inwardly in disgust at Malfoy, I walk smoothly past them and plop down next to Lavender and across from Ginny.

The whole way through dinner, I had to endure Ginny asking my about if I thought Harry would like this or this better, or if he was more into this or this? I got so annoyed with her that I almost shouted in delight when she stood up suddenly and left. That is until I realized she was going to go try and flirt with Harry.

Inwardly I growled at her, wanting so badly to curse her into the next dimension, but then I saw the look of disgust on Harry's face when he turned around and saw that Ginny was the one who had pulled on his sleeve. They conversed a total of 3 minutes and 25 seconds, of Ginny sticking her assets in Harry's face and Harry trying to back up without being hurtful. I was constantly catching myself tensing to jump up and yell across the hall that Harry obviously wasn't interested and that she'd better move on.

Then Harry hurriedly left the great hall for somewhere else. I had a sudden urge to follow him, but I quickly smothered it down before I did something irrational, like got caught stalking my best friend… That would be hard to explain away.

I sighed and got up from the table, just because I wasn't going to follow Harry, didn't mean I had to put myself though anymore of this torture. And as I was getting ready for bed, I noticed with annoyance that I still had that odd sense of giddiness that I had woken up with. Problem was, I just couldn't get to sleep. I just kept tossing and turning and having to stifle girlish giggle that threatened to force their way up my throat for no apparent reason.

Finally I gave up and started thinking of Harry. I'd long since trained myself to catch everything about him during the day, so that at night I could go over it in my head and dwell on it for as long as I pleased… usually I fell asleep before I had, had my fill.

I thought of his eyes, the color of emerald, clear as day and like windows to his soul. I tried my hardest to meet his eyes when I was talking to him, but sometimes I was so afraid that he would be able to see my feelings like I could see his that he would realize my feelings for him.

I thought of his hair, it was just so black and shiny. It stuck up in odd angles that I just wanted to run my hands through. And his glasses, that I just wanted to pluck off his perfect nose, throw somewhere behind me and gaze into his eyes without anything hindering my view.

I thought so long and hard that when I surfaced back to reality Lavender and Padma were already in bed, getting their much needed sleep. Sighing in resignation I got up and walked down to the common room, because when I couldn't sleep I liked to stare at the fire alone in peace and just think.

I got down to the common room and at first glance it looked empty so, I walked across and unceremoniously dropped down onto the could closest to the fire. I started into it, mesmerized by the crackling of the flames and how the patterns changed every second. I had almost lost myself in the fire when I heard someone shuffle their feet. Looking up curiously I saw Harry walking tiredly into the common room, just rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He hadn't noticed my yet so I decided to say something.

"Hey Harry, where were you?" I asked and had to stifle a bit of laughter that threatened to make an appearance due to how high he jumped and how surprised he looked, when I started speaking.

When he turned to look at me, his eyes were wide and he looked like a deer caught in someone's head lights. "O-oh, hey Hermione, I was studying in the library, actually I was surprised you weren't there." He said in a rush so that I just barley caught what he said.

I narrowed my eyes a little, not because I didn't believe him, but because I didn't want him to see the immense pleasure I got from the knowledge that he notice my absence, even though my practical mind reminded me that after being friends with someone for 8 years, they were bound to notice your absence.