The Start of Something Good
"Hermione, can I ask you a question?"
Hermione looked up from her book, slightly startled. She, Harry, and Ron were sitting under a tree out by the lake, working on homework. Hermione was working on homework, at least. Ron had dozed off in the sun as soon as they sat down. Harry was alternating between leafing through his Transfiguration book and gazing out over the lake.
Closing her book, she rubbed her eyes and sighed. She could use a break. "What's that, Harry?"
Harry pushed his Transfiguration book away as he rolled over on his back. "Alright, there's this girl -"
"Oh?" Hermione said, her heartbeat quickened a little. She really tried not to get jealous when Harry talked about other girls, but sometimes she couldn't help it. It was difficult to have feelings for your best friend – especially when your best friend was Harry Potter.
"Yes, Hermione, and don't give me that look!" He laughed, hitting her leg playfully.
She huffed: "What look?"
"That look that you give me when you don't approve of something," Harry told her, propping himself up on his elbow.
"I'm not giving you a look, Harry!" She opened her book, irritated. "Do you want advice, or do you want to berate me?"
"I'm not berating you!" Harry protested, his voice rising.
Ron snored loudly in his sleep and rolled over, causing Harry to laugh, and breaking the small cloud of tension that had formed. Hermione managed a small smile. "Do you want advice or not, Harry?"
"So there's this girl –"
"We've established that she's female," Hermione interjected dryly.
Harry glowered at her. "Will you quit? I really don't know why you're being so hostile, Hermione!"
"Okay, fine, sorry," she said, closing her book again. "I won't say anything until you've finished."
Harry rolled onto his back. "This girl," he said forcibly, "is beautiful. She's brilliantly smart, and beyond talented. And she's probably one of the most compassionate people I know."
"Well, those are all good things, right?" She asked, running her fingers over the cover of her Charms textbook.
Ron snorted in his sleep. Harry just shook his head before saying, "Yeah, they're all good things, but it all leaves me with a problem."
"And what is that?" She didn't dare meet his gaze.
"I really fancy her," Harry told her with finality. "And I don't know what to do about it."
Biting her lip, Hermione weighed her options. She could tell him to go for it, making him happy, but leaving her to move on, or she could tell him how she felt and pray that it didn't screw anything up between them. She decided to go with the former. "How d'you reckon she feels about you?"
"That's the real problem," The Boy Who Lived sighed. "I think she likes another bloke."
"Hmm," Hermione mused. "That is a problem. But, you never know if you don't try, Harry. I think you should at least try talking to her about it. It's worth a shot."
He smiled at her warmly. "Thanks, Hermione. I think I'll try that."
"What are friends for?" She said, opening her textbook once again. Maybe now she could finally get something done. The next thirty minutes passed peacefully as she read through the assigned chapters. Ron was still passed out in the sun, and Hermione couldn't help but laugh at the thought of the sunburn he would have when he woke up. Harry lay in the middle of his friends, pulling up blades of grass and setting them on fire with his wand.
It was Harry who broke the silence by saying, "Hey, Hermione?"
"Mmm?" She didn't look up from her book this time.
"You're beautiful, you know that, right?"
"I'm sorry?" Hermione felt as though all the air had been knocked out of her. What was this boy's problem?
"You said that I ought to tell the girl I fancy how I feel, so that's what I'm trying to do," Harry said, meeting her gaze. "You could do me a favor and try not to be so bloody intimidating."
Hermione couldn't help herself. She laughed. And the one burst of laughter quickly evolved into full-on giggles. Harry glared at her for a second, until it became too infections and soon, they were both overcome with laughter. Somehow, Ron slept through their loud guffaws, snoring the entire time. When they had calmed down, Harry sat up.
"I'm serious, though, Hermione. You're the girl I was talking about." His green eyes searched her face and she felt her heart melt.
"So you fancy me, then?" She asked him, her voice barely over a whisper.
"Yes, Hermione. I fancy you." A small smile of hope lit up his face.
"Well," she said. "That makes this easy for me, because Harry, I've fancied you for a really long time."
His eyes lit up like a child at Christmas, and Hermione knew that this was the start of something good.
A/N: Today has been a really long day. I drove off into the ditch on my way home from church this morning, and while I'm okay, my dear car is taking a trip to the mechanic tomorrow. Sigh. Let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading and reviewing! :)