Hermione ran. She ran faster than she ever could have, without the adrenilene rush she felt (Ron later described it as Hurricane Herm, which just goes to show his lack of intellegence), to Harry's room.
She stood outside the door. She felt as though she couldn't breathe. How many times has she waited outside this door bringing up the courage to talk? Hundreds perhaps, at each time Hermione felt a shuddering nervousness.
She took some deep breaths and examined the fine grain of the door to calm her down, counting the dots of wood grain, and slowing her breath.
"Harry?" She called cautiously as she opened the door ever so slightly.
The room was dark, not in the sense of lighting, but the aura. It sent chills down her spine. A window that was left open blew the curtains of the five four poster beds in the room wildly, and sitting on the window seat, was Harry.
"Harry?" she called again, softly as she approached him.
She touched his shoulder with her hand and felt him tense.
"Hermione?" He said, what seemed like hours later.
"Yes Harry?"
"Is it true?"
She sat next to him on the window seat, and stared into his blank expressionless face. This face, which she had seen only a half hour before, in this same expression, had now driven her to fear now.
She nodded.
The previously expressionless face fell, agony seemed to pour out of his very face. His eyes seemed like softly light headlights, glaring in the darkness of the room.
"I.." she started saying, her voice quavering.
But her voice was stopped by the covering of her mouth by Harry's. Emotions flew through her like lightening bolts, eagerness, sadness, and sympathy left her as fast as they had come. All that seemed to matter at this moment, was the sudden shock of his kiss. It was so sweet, breathing seemed to not matter anymore to her. Just the pressure on her lips was enough to send her into a whirlwind of, well, no words could describe it. Not even if they tried. Nothing like this had she experienced before. She thought she could feel the agony and pain flood away from Harry as he deepened the kiss, minutes seemed to fly by, the lack of air making them both lightheaded, and when they finally broke the kiss beads of sweat had formed on both their foreheads.
And as Hermione blinked, all her worries flooded right back along now with worries and thoughts and anxiousness from that kiss.
Harry seemed to sense her thoughts and frowned.
"Hermione..." He said quietly. "I'm sorry..."
"Harry, there's no rea-"
"Shh... I'm sorry, Hermione, for treating you like this for so long. I'm sorry for always running to you, I'm sorry for treating you like shit these past few weeks, and I'm sorry for thinking that way about Jamie... but I won't say sorry for what has occured right now."
He took a breath and continued.
"Jamie is gone, there's nothing I can do, but you know, Hermione... I do feel that what happened to her was wrong, and probably wouldn't have ever happened if I hadn't met her, but you know... She made me feel wonderful, Hermione. She betrayed me, and then there was you, my sweet Hermione..."
"I love you, Hermione. More than life itself, and I'm so thick for not realizing it by now. With Jamie and with all those other sad excuses for human life, I was never truly complete. But you, you were always there, I now remember what damage I could have caused our friendship during those times, when I came to you for answers. But never once, Hermione, did you turn your back on me. I love you... You've been so encredible, I can't understand how you could have put up with me. But I love you for it Hermione. All I wish, is that I could have thought of you more then, and not now, when it is probably a long way past due."
Silence, complete and utter silence after that. Hermione was registering this all now, thinking this was all a dream, this couldn't be real. Not now... She blinked as though trying to wake up. And it didn't work. This was really happening. All those years of pent up adoration and love for Harry, and all along thinking he never thought of her other than a makeshift psychiatrist, when he felt the same. Now it seemed at this moment, that everything was falling into place. She thought this over and over in her head and then spoke.
"Harry, I want you to know, that I love you too. But that just doesn't give enough justice to how I've felt and have felt for years now. Harry... I've loved you for so long, and still do. You do realise how hard that was? Thinking that I was nothing to you but some sort of mental punching bag. But... now after all this... I still love you, I love you more than I ever have before this moment."
"I want you to know, Harry, that I will always be there. It's like I've been a maiden in a tower for so long, daydreaming of that lovely fairy tale prince, when all along he was off chasing the peasents. And now, it's so comforting to know, that this isn't just a one sided thought, as narcisstic as it may sound. I love you, Harry, I honestly truly do."
All this time she was talking, she was looking down and avoiding Harry's eyes. And even then it was like she could feel two beams burning into the confines of her skull. Soft tears began to trickle down her cheeks.
Harry wrapped an arm around her and lifted her chin. Their eyes gazed at each others. It was remarkable that in the moonlight they looked so much like one of those cheesy Romeo and Juliet couples you see on those silly Lifetime movies. But this... this was real, this was happening and it was doubted that it would stop.
Out of impulse alone Hermione reached out and clung to Harry as tight as she could, sobbing happy tears.
***
The next morning they both awoke in Harry's dorm room, exactly in the position they'd been sitting in on the window seat. It seemed that no one had come up to bed that night. The usual mess of disgruntled sheets and blankets from the four beds other than Harry's was not there.
Hermiones eyes fluttered open and looked up into Harry's.
"I better go... we have class today..."
She got up slowly off of the window seat and gave Harry a soft kiss on his forehead and walked back to her own dorm to get ready.
At least an hour later Harry, Hermione and the rest of Gryffindor Tower headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. People seemed to be walking shells of dread. Save Draco Malfoy of course, he seemed to have a heart of cold wrought black metal. Everyone was expecting Dumbledore to make some sort of announcement about last nights events.
Harry and Hermione solemly took seats at the table near Ron and Ginny and the other Gyrffindors.
Ron, who was sitting across from them at the table looked up and grinned slightly.
"You two have made up have you?" He smirked.
Harry glared at Ron. "Yes Ron, not that it's anything to you."
"Actually, it is quite something to me," Ron said. "I kept everyone out of the dorm for you."
"Oh don't act so noble Ron," said Hermione as she buttered a peice of toast. "Even if someone did find us, who would find it odd for two friends hugging?"
"Hugging in one's dorm could look like an entirely different situation," Ron stated frigidly.
Harry and Hermione looked at each other and nodded.
"Shove it, Ron," they stated in unison.
She stood outside the door. She felt as though she couldn't breathe. How many times has she waited outside this door bringing up the courage to talk? Hundreds perhaps, at each time Hermione felt a shuddering nervousness.
She took some deep breaths and examined the fine grain of the door to calm her down, counting the dots of wood grain, and slowing her breath.
"Harry?" She called cautiously as she opened the door ever so slightly.
The room was dark, not in the sense of lighting, but the aura. It sent chills down her spine. A window that was left open blew the curtains of the five four poster beds in the room wildly, and sitting on the window seat, was Harry.
"Harry?" she called again, softly as she approached him.
She touched his shoulder with her hand and felt him tense.
"Hermione?" He said, what seemed like hours later.
"Yes Harry?"
"Is it true?"
She sat next to him on the window seat, and stared into his blank expressionless face. This face, which she had seen only a half hour before, in this same expression, had now driven her to fear now.
She nodded.
The previously expressionless face fell, agony seemed to pour out of his very face. His eyes seemed like softly light headlights, glaring in the darkness of the room.
"I.." she started saying, her voice quavering.
But her voice was stopped by the covering of her mouth by Harry's. Emotions flew through her like lightening bolts, eagerness, sadness, and sympathy left her as fast as they had come. All that seemed to matter at this moment, was the sudden shock of his kiss. It was so sweet, breathing seemed to not matter anymore to her. Just the pressure on her lips was enough to send her into a whirlwind of, well, no words could describe it. Not even if they tried. Nothing like this had she experienced before. She thought she could feel the agony and pain flood away from Harry as he deepened the kiss, minutes seemed to fly by, the lack of air making them both lightheaded, and when they finally broke the kiss beads of sweat had formed on both their foreheads.
And as Hermione blinked, all her worries flooded right back along now with worries and thoughts and anxiousness from that kiss.
Harry seemed to sense her thoughts and frowned.
"Hermione..." He said quietly. "I'm sorry..."
"Harry, there's no rea-"
"Shh... I'm sorry, Hermione, for treating you like this for so long. I'm sorry for always running to you, I'm sorry for treating you like shit these past few weeks, and I'm sorry for thinking that way about Jamie... but I won't say sorry for what has occured right now."
He took a breath and continued.
"Jamie is gone, there's nothing I can do, but you know, Hermione... I do feel that what happened to her was wrong, and probably wouldn't have ever happened if I hadn't met her, but you know... She made me feel wonderful, Hermione. She betrayed me, and then there was you, my sweet Hermione..."
"I love you, Hermione. More than life itself, and I'm so thick for not realizing it by now. With Jamie and with all those other sad excuses for human life, I was never truly complete. But you, you were always there, I now remember what damage I could have caused our friendship during those times, when I came to you for answers. But never once, Hermione, did you turn your back on me. I love you... You've been so encredible, I can't understand how you could have put up with me. But I love you for it Hermione. All I wish, is that I could have thought of you more then, and not now, when it is probably a long way past due."
Silence, complete and utter silence after that. Hermione was registering this all now, thinking this was all a dream, this couldn't be real. Not now... She blinked as though trying to wake up. And it didn't work. This was really happening. All those years of pent up adoration and love for Harry, and all along thinking he never thought of her other than a makeshift psychiatrist, when he felt the same. Now it seemed at this moment, that everything was falling into place. She thought this over and over in her head and then spoke.
"Harry, I want you to know, that I love you too. But that just doesn't give enough justice to how I've felt and have felt for years now. Harry... I've loved you for so long, and still do. You do realise how hard that was? Thinking that I was nothing to you but some sort of mental punching bag. But... now after all this... I still love you, I love you more than I ever have before this moment."
"I want you to know, Harry, that I will always be there. It's like I've been a maiden in a tower for so long, daydreaming of that lovely fairy tale prince, when all along he was off chasing the peasents. And now, it's so comforting to know, that this isn't just a one sided thought, as narcisstic as it may sound. I love you, Harry, I honestly truly do."
All this time she was talking, she was looking down and avoiding Harry's eyes. And even then it was like she could feel two beams burning into the confines of her skull. Soft tears began to trickle down her cheeks.
Harry wrapped an arm around her and lifted her chin. Their eyes gazed at each others. It was remarkable that in the moonlight they looked so much like one of those cheesy Romeo and Juliet couples you see on those silly Lifetime movies. But this... this was real, this was happening and it was doubted that it would stop.
Out of impulse alone Hermione reached out and clung to Harry as tight as she could, sobbing happy tears.
***
The next morning they both awoke in Harry's dorm room, exactly in the position they'd been sitting in on the window seat. It seemed that no one had come up to bed that night. The usual mess of disgruntled sheets and blankets from the four beds other than Harry's was not there.
Hermiones eyes fluttered open and looked up into Harry's.
"I better go... we have class today..."
She got up slowly off of the window seat and gave Harry a soft kiss on his forehead and walked back to her own dorm to get ready.
At least an hour later Harry, Hermione and the rest of Gryffindor Tower headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. People seemed to be walking shells of dread. Save Draco Malfoy of course, he seemed to have a heart of cold wrought black metal. Everyone was expecting Dumbledore to make some sort of announcement about last nights events.
Harry and Hermione solemly took seats at the table near Ron and Ginny and the other Gyrffindors.
Ron, who was sitting across from them at the table looked up and grinned slightly.
"You two have made up have you?" He smirked.
Harry glared at Ron. "Yes Ron, not that it's anything to you."
"Actually, it is quite something to me," Ron said. "I kept everyone out of the dorm for you."
"Oh don't act so noble Ron," said Hermione as she buttered a peice of toast. "Even if someone did find us, who would find it odd for two friends hugging?"
"Hugging in one's dorm could look like an entirely different situation," Ron stated frigidly.
Harry and Hermione looked at each other and nodded.
"Shove it, Ron," they stated in unison.