A Kiss

By: Morrigan Raven

A/N: Part of a collections of fics - Late Night Conversations. Slight AU set after the battle of Hogwarts. Just a short little fic with some Ron and Ginny bashing.

Hermione was pinching the bridge of her nose and wondered how did she got here. It was just a few hours after the last battle and as much as she had tried to talk to Ron about that famous "kiss" he kept avoiding her and now the little git was telling everybody that would listen how she had thrown herself at him and given him a kiss as a thank you for thinking about the elves. While it was true that she had wanted to thank him for his thoughtfulness, she had not meant to kiss him on the lips, she had wanted to kiss him on his cheek but the prat had turned at the last moment and they ended up kissing on the lips and she had been to shocked to pull away. She took a deep breath and looked around her, Luna had a small frown on her face, as if she understood the plight Hermione found herself in. Neville was giving awkward looks at Harry and Ron. Ron seemed to be puffing up his chest with a proud grin on his face. Ginny looked smugly at her while trying to catch Harry's eye. Harry had sat far from Ginny and was sulking while avoiding eye contact with everyone around him, Hermione wanted to catch his eye to no avail. The rest of their companions were either snickering or patting Ron on the back.

"Ronald, can we talk in private?" Hermione tried to keep calm when most of the room erupted in cat-calls and wolf-whistles.

"Come on, Herms! We can talk here, let everybody share on our happiness!" Ron puffed his chest even more, Hermione for a moment pictured him pounding his fists against his chest like a caveman or a monkey, she tried to clear her mind of such unkind thoughts but he was making it very difficult.

"Don't. Call. Me. That!" Hermione again picked the bridge of her nose, took a deep breath and asked "Are you sure that's what you want that?"

"But Herms is for short! And sure, why wouldn't I? Like I said, let's share our happiness with our friends! Give them something more to celebrate!" Ron grinned smugly and Hermione thought comparing Ron to a caveman or a monkey was unkind for them since they didn't know any better.

"Fine then! This is what happened. Ronald finally showed that he can have an emotional range larger than a teaspoon and worried about the house elves, I wanted to thank him for thinking about them and tried to kiss him on the cheek but he moved at the last moment and we ended up kissing on the lips… as for how it was… well… it was unpleasant. Ronald your breath stinks and I really didn't meant nor want to kiss you! And I am NOT YOUR girlfriend!" Hermione ended her tirade making the room fall into silence before it erupted in guffaws from most the people present.

Ron whole face turned red, Hermione couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment or anger but she didn't really care. Ginny glared. Luna smiled brightly. Neville looked even more uncomfortable but seemed to be trying not to laugh. Harry was looking at her with his eyebrows raised. They stared at each other for a long while. For Hermione all the sound of the other occupants in the room faded away, she couldn't tell how long they stayed like that, like they usually did, they seemed to be communicating without words, she felt her heart skip a beat at what she saw on his eyes and he saw the same on hers. They shyly smiled at each other.

What Harry and Hermione hadn't told anybody, was that, during that time that Ron abandoned them, Harry realized Ginny was not the one for him, that she still cared more about the "Boy-Who-Lived" persona that about him, she just had gotten better at handling her fan-girling. With her he would never have the quiet and simple he craved, she cared to much about being in the spotlight, she would pressure him to become an Auror, and although he had wanted to be one before it was no longer the case, he wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his life but he was sure he did not want to keep fighting and hunting dark wizards and witches. And Hermione too realized Ron was not right for her, they would fight about every little thing, he had no respect for her preferences, always mocking her studious ways, her believes and showing very little to no respect to her muggle origins. While being alone together, Harry and Hermione realized how a healthy relationship should be, they respected each other and if they fought, it never escalated to the screaming matches that they would have with the Weasleys, they would talk it out and come to an understanding that pleased both of them. It was then when Harry asked Hermione to give themselves a chance to be together after the war was over and she had gladly agreed.

It was that memory that prompted Harry to get up from his seat but as he was about to walk towards Hermione a very loud screech caused him to stop and look to his side towards the noise. Those that had been sitting next to Ginny jumped away from her as she threw a tantrum, banging her fist against the couch screeching like a banshee. She got up and glared at Hermione, Ron soon followed her lead. They tried to pull their wands but someone stunned them before they could try anything. Hermione and Harry turned to look at Luna and Neville, their wands still pointing at the Weasley siblings just in case. Harry and Hermione nodded their thanks to their friends.

With a sigh, Harry continued on his way to Hermione. When he reached her, he offered his hand to her and pulled her up from her seat. With another silent conversation, Hermione beamed at him, wrapping her arms around his neck, they leaned into each other and shared their first kiss. The room erupted in cheers, hoots and clapping. Some screamed "Finally!" And others "Now, that's something to celebrate!"

When the couple broke apart, they smiled goofily at each other and leaned their foreheads against each other "Now, that's a kiss" Hermione said causing more laughs around the room.

A/N: That's it, very short I know but I hope you liked it. I'm still working on my other WIPs and I've a new ones I want to try. Hope I've something new soon.

Sorry for my grammar/spelling mistakes.