A/N Ok! This is a H/Hr Fic! It's less fluffy than my last one, yes, they do tell each other how they feel, but no, not everything goes well. These are two teenagers very much in love, though the other hasn't the foggiest, that have a lot of stress piled on them. R/R please! I hope you enjoy, 'Life and Love' adieu.

Harry Potter sped down the corridor, his robes billowing out behind him majestically. For the unfortunate soul who got in his way, there was a harsh, "You git!" to be heard. He rounded the last corner and snapped at the Portrait of the Fat Lady, "Bull-gizzlet!" Harry entered the staircase when the portrait swung open, the Fat Lady saying, "My! What a MOOD we're in today, Mr. Potter!"

"It's HARRY!" he snarled as he bounded up the stairs, and collapsed on the nearest couch. "Finally, peace…" he muttered, closing his emerald green eyes.

Hermione Granger, her nose in a book (as usual), strolled down from the Girls' Dormitory. Parvati had made a particularly nasty comment about her, and she didn't feel like facing the world. She walked to her usual place, and sat down, on the couch by the ornate lamp, not realizing that another body already occupied that space. "Oh, Harry!" she cried, having turned around to see who it was. She tossed the book aside and looked earnestly at her friend. "Are you alright? I'm terribly sorry, I didn't see you!"

Harry opened his eyes sharply when he felt someone sit on his stomach, and once he realized it was Hermione, sat up coldly. "Oh, just thank you ever-so-much, Hermione!" he snapped, and thought harshly to himself 'Now why did I do that? She apologized, and just because I'm having a bad day doesn't mean I can take it out on her!'

Hermione, now having sat down next to her 'best friend', bit her lip. Her eyes widened, and a single tear ran down her face. "I-I'm sorry, Harry, I really am…" she stammered, and twisted a fold of her robes in her hands. 'Now I've gone and done it, I've made him upset with me…he probably hates me right now…' she thought, another tear running down her cheek.

Harry mentally kicked himself, 'She's crying you git, Hermione's crying, all because of you, all because you had to be an idiot, she's an angel and you hurt her. Look at her, she's frightened, she's upset, she's an angel and you made her CRY' Harry reached over and gently took her right hand in his, his emerald eyes searching his friend's face. "Oh, Hermione I'm so sorry, I just, haven't had the most wonderful of days…first Snape took twenty points from Gryffindor because I turned down a hall too quickly, of all things, and then Malfoy said, ugh, Malfoy just said something that I'd rather not talk about right now, he just made me sick. And ya know, despite appearances, I don't think I can handle much more of them." Her sighed, sitting back in the soft couch.

Hermione smiled at Harry, wiping tears from her eyes as she wrapped him in a slightly more than friendly hug. "Oh, Harry, it's ok, I was just worried that you were mad at me…I completely understand about Snape and Malfoy, they're gits, the lot of them." she said, as she finally released him. "It's about lunch time, do you want to head down now?" she asked.

Harry nodded, his ebony black hair shifting over his forehead, hiding and revealing his scar. "Besides, I couldn't be mad at you, you know too many curses…" he joked, as he rose to his feet, pulling her with him. 'Besides, you're beautiful, kind, smart, and an angel, I don't get mad at angels.' he thought to himself, hardly realizing that the words he thought were not the words of a 'best friend' but of a lover…

"Right, I just might have to put s portion of polyjuice potion in your pumpkin juice…turn you permanently into Malfoy…" Hermione laughed, and slid her hand into his, walking together down the hall.

"You wouldn't…" Harry grinned, and then conceded, "What am I talking about? Of course you would…so I might just have to get my revenge now…in advance…" his eyes shone with playfulness and he tickled Hermione's sides, causing her to shriek in the crowded hallway, which seemed to have parted for the Famous Harry Potter and Brilliant Hermione Granger.

Hermione blushed to the roots of her hair, everyone in the hallway was now looking at them, and a few girls were giving her awful glares…because she was holding hands with the object of their affections. "Harry you git!" she whispered hastily into his ear, and slightly bent his fingers backwards.

"Ah!" Harry whispered, dropping slightly when his fingers were bent. He straightened up and whispered back to her, "They all think that we're a couple…look at Evelyn, if looks could kill…you'd be dead about 50 times over!" 'I wouldn't mind for their thoughts to be justified…' he thought absentmindedly, gazing with new appreciation on his friend.

"Think that much of yourself, do you?" Hermione teased, not bothering to whisper, Harry's breath tickled her neck, and sent tingles up and down her spine. 'He is so handsome…how did I not notice this before?' she asked herself, and smiled sweetly at the boy she was holding hands with.

"Of course…" Harry laughed, his thoughts turning to oatmeal when she smiled, he couldn't have told you his name, where he was, or who all these people around them were if his life depended on it, all he knew was that they were there, and he was holding hands with an angel. 'An angel who couldn't like you like that even if you were the last person on earth' his mind reminded him.

They took seats next to each other, Harry 'accidentally' nudging her with his elbow. This, of course, provoked a return nudge from Hermione…and so it continued until Dumbledore stood up, about to make an announcement. "Students! If you could bother listening to an old fogey, then I'd appreciate your attention. This year we shall be having a Winter Ball! In honor of Hogwarts being ranked the top school of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Europe!" This provoked roars of applause from the students, and immediately talk turned to the Ball.