Summary: Hermione's admitted it. Harry's admitted it. Now all they want is just one kiss.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and associated characters and events do not belong to me. They belong to the marvellously talented JK Rowling (published under Bloomsbury Press). They are being used solely for entertainment purposes and no money is being made from this work (trust me on this one). No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: Randomness abounds. Review away.
Just One Kiss
Chapter Two :: Bloody Broomsticks
" --- snogging, you say?"
Hermione, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the fireplace, glanced up as Lavender and Parvati sauntered through the portrait hole after lunch, arm in arm and talking in less than discreet tones. She ducked her head back down to her book, intent on ignoring them. When Lavender and Parvati linked arms it could only mean one thing – gossip. And it wasn't exclusively Seventh Year gossip. They were very non-discriminative when it came to that kind of thing – anyone, regardless of age, sex or race was eligible to be gossiped about.
"Oh yes," Lavender said, nodding fervently. "In a broom closet. Ron found them."
Parvati giggled.
Hermione dropped her book into her lap, eyes wide. "Oh dear," she breathed.
"Caused quite a spectacle, I hear," Lavender continued, not paying the least attention to anyone else. "Ron was furious."
Hermione blinked. Huh? Ron was … what?
"Who would have thought," Parvati mused. "Such an unusual couple, I must say. But I suppose we should have seen it coming, shouldn't we? They spend so much time together – it was only a matter of time when you think about it. It's cute though, isn't it? So romantic."
Lavender laughed. "Romantic? I wouldn't use those exact words. Neville and Ginny – the couple of the millennium."
Ah, Neville and Ginny. Hermione heaved a sigh of relief – and then she blinked again.
Ginny and … Neville? Well, this was certainly new. She knew that there was an attraction, but she had no idea things had progressed so far. While Hermione was not in league with the almost instinctive gossiping powers of Lavender and Parvati, she did have a fair share of curiosity on her side particularly seeing as Ginny usually told her everything anyway. And yet somehow this had managed to slip by. Hmm. She made a mental note to interrogate Ginny later.
Hermione didn't have much time to dwell on this rather interesting tidbit of information because, at that moment, the portrait hole swung open and Ron stepped through, scowling dangerously. He shot a dirty look at Lavender and Parvati, who were now loudly discussing the merits of broom cupboards as favourable snogging locations. He spotted Hermione and strode over, settling down on the floor beside her, silently fuming.
Without saying a word, he picked up the fire poker and prodded at the logs in the fireplace. Hermione arched an eyebrow, vaguely wondering if she shouldn't be worried about Ron brandishing pointy instruments. Deciding that he probably wasn't going to get up and inflict bodily harm to anyone anytime soon (unless of course Neville happened to walk though the door at that very moment), she turned back to her book.
"It's a bloody epidemic, that's what it is," Ron muttered.
Hermione barely glanced up. "What is?"
"Snogging in broom closets," Ron said, still scowling. "Everyone's doing it. Justin Finch-Fletchley and Susan Bones, Seamus and that Hufflepuff sixth year, Amanda something or other, you and Harry – "
Hermione's head snapped up, alarmed. "Me and Harry? We were just – "
"And now Ginny and Neville!" Ron finished loudly, ignoring her completely. He turned to Hermione. "Is it something in the water?"
"I doubt that, Ron," Hermione said soothingly. Then she went back to the subject at hand. "Ron, about me and Harry …"
Ron leaned back against the couch and cushioned his head in his arm. "What about you and Harry?"
"Me and Harry … I mean, Harry and I … not to say that there is a Harry and I –" Hermione broke off, having completely lost her train of thought. She tried again. "Well, of course there's a we, but not a we as in Harry and me, a we as in all of us … I mean … No, that's – what I mean to say is, Harry and I weren't – " She trailed off again. "Where was I?"
Ron shrugged, looking decidedly more amused than he had been. His eyes sparkled mischievously. "I believe you were about to tell me about your snog in the broom closet."
This time it was Hermione's turn to scowl. "What I meant to say is that Harry and I weren't – "
"Of course you weren't," Ron interrupted breezily. "That doesn't mean to say you didn't want to."
Hermione flushed scarlet. It was one thing to set her eyes (or her lips as the case may be) on the infamous Boy Who Lived. It was quite another to all but be accused of it by one of her best friends. "Oh, shut up Ron. Harry is – "
"Right here."
Hermione had retained enough sense to shut her mouth as she looked up into the startlingly green eyes that had haunted her thoughts since yesterday afternoon. She unthinkingly nibbled at her lower lip. "Hello Harry."
"Hey Harry."
Harry tore his gaze away from Hermione long enough to pin Ron with an amused grin. "I saw Neville outside. Ginny's trying to convince him to come inside."
"Oh, is he really?" Ron said, eyes gleaming speculatively as he glanced over his shoulder at the portrait hole. "Right outside?"
"Be nice, Ron," Hermione warned him, turning back to her book. "There will be no murder and mayhem today."
"And the Head Girl has spoken," Harry finished teasingly. He looked at Ron. "Can't do anything now, mate, or she'll clobber you with a broomstick."
Ron sighed and leaned back against the couch.
After much cajoling and promises of a continued existence, Neville finally scrambled through the portrait hole. He wisely circumvented the area in front of the fireplace and instead firmly secreted himself in a corner of the common room. Ginny sat close by, patting his arm in reassurance and shaking her head laughingly at Ron every few minutes. Ron glared and gripped the fire poker.
Neville saw this and, appearing slightly nauseated, looked as though he'd rather be having a nice cup of tea with the Dark Lord rather than be anywhere near Ron.
Ron's face turned several shades of purple as Ginny leaned in and kissed Neville on the cheek.
"A bloody epidemic," Ron muttered malevolently, dropping the poker and crossing his arms.
Hermione looked up from her book and caught Harry's amused smile. His eyes swept lazily over the occupants of the common room. Hermione followed his example. Ginny and Neville were now gazing soundlessly at each other, Lavender and Parvati were sitting at a nearby table sighing and smiling at the romance of it all. Several second years were playing an enthusiastic game of Exploding Snap. There were many explosions and the occasional smell of singed hair. Two forth year students were practicing a Levitation Charm on a third student who had fallen asleep over his homework. Hermione watched as he rose three inches out of his chair.
"Wands down, boys," Hermione called loudly.
The fourth years looked up sheepishly and, seeing a displeased Head Girl, promptly tucked their wands inside their robes. The third boy grunted as he fell back onto the chair with a soft thud.
Hermione shook her head. "Honestly," she murmured.
Her eyes fell finally back on Harry. She flushed slightly when she realised that he was regarding her silently, but held his gaze.
She wasn't quite sure how long they'd been staring at each other when Ron stood up and stretched languidly.
"Time to go, Harry," he said, shooting another glare in Neville's direction.
Harry slowly tore his gaze away from Hermione and blinked up at Ron. "Where are we going?"
Ron looked at Harry as though he'd suddenly sprouted a second head. "Where are we …? But you – and then we …" he trailed off and pinned Harry with a searching look. Something seemed to click because he then looked, strangely enough, from Harry to Hermione and then back again. He sighed in defeat. "Oh, bloody wonderful. It is an epidemic!"
"Ron, what are you – "
Harry broke off, looking rather bewildered as Ron shot him a disgusted look, crossed his arms, and shook his head despairingly. "Harry, Harry, Harry …"
After several more murmured 'Harry's', Harry finally threw his arms up. "What?"
"Ready for training, mon Capitan?" Ginny interrupted cheerfully, coming up beside her beloved brother, who was still muttering Harry's name despondently. She paused for a moment, glancing sideways at Ron and her brow furrowed slightly. She looked toward Hermione, eyebrow arched in silent question.
Hermione shrugged. "Don't look at me. I haven't a clue as to what's going on with that boy."
"Training?" Harry said, as though it were an utterly foreign concept. "For what?"
Now Ginny turned her questioning gaze to Harry. She looked at Hermione again.
"It's a guy thing," Hermione assured her.
"Quidditch!" Ron said loudly. Several people in the common room looked up curiously. "We have Quidditch training!"
"Oh," Harry said slowly. He shot Hermione a quick grin. "I knew that."
"I wonder if anyone's been practicing Confundus Charms," Ginny mused.
Ron rolled his eyes – whether he was doing so at Ginny or Harry was up for debate – and disappeared upstairs to collect his broom.
Harry stood and prepared to follow. He then changed ideas mid-step and promptly sat down on the couch. His hand reached out and, after a moment's hesitation, tugged at Hermione's hair.
Hermione, who had become fully aware of his presence the second he'd sat down, tilted her head up.
"Fancy some fresh air," Harry asked with a fleeting smile.
With some careful effort, Hermione suppressed the urge to leap up and tango across the room. "That's not a bad idea," she said, a fair deal calmer than she felt. Inside, her heart was thumping erratically and her stomach was a mass of fluttering butterflies. If she'd been standing up, she felt positively sure that her knees would have given out from sheer happiness.
Harry grinned.
Hermione watched him take the stairs to the dormitories two at a time, and took a deep breath. This is ridiculous, she told herself. You've watched him practice millions of time. Which was true. Lately, if the weather permitted, she'd taken to gathering her books and joining Harry, Ron and Ginny on the Quidditch pitch while they trained. Granted, she did a lot more studying of Harry than she did any of her books, but really, a girl needed some time away from her school books every once in a while.
Still, as far as she could remember, this was the first time Harry had actually asked her to come along …
Hermione grabbed her Arithmancy book and a worn leather-bound copy of Hogwarts, A History and joined a silent Ginny by the portrait hole. Ginny gave her an oddly appraising look, took in Hermione's flushed cheeks and bright eyes, and bit back a grin.
Harry and Ron arrived downstairs moments later and the four of them made their way down to the Quidditch pitch.
They were soon joined by the other four members of the team, beaters Nathan White and Jackson Cruz, and Chasers Matti O'Malley and Dominic Lorenzo. As the team shuffled off into the changing rooms, Hermione started toward the stands.
"Oooh …" she said, startled. She wasn't the only one who had turned out to watch.
Miranda Appleby, Hillary Chalmers, Willow Emmanuels, Audrey Aurelia and Kelli-Ann Mason were huddled together in the first row, chatting excitedly and occasionally searching the Quidditch pitch for signs of activity.
As Hermione settled into a seat on the topmost row, several sections away from the chattering girls and directly beside a set of goal hoops, she set her books down on the wooden bench and pulled out her Omnioculars. She caught a glimmer of dark red fabric; Harry was leading the team onto the field. He paused, looked up to Hermione's usual section, and waved.
Then he skidded to a stop so abruptly that Ron walked right into him.
Hermione couldn't help but grin at the stunned expression on Harry's face.
It was several seconds before Ron snapped Harry out of his terrified stupor and gently nudged him onto his broom.
The second Harry was up in the air, the girls below took to cheering loudly at every move he made. Harry studiously ignored them for as long as he could, until one particularly loud declaration of 'Harry Potter is the best!' made him almost fall off his broom.
Hermione followed his progress through the air almost as closely as the overzealous girls below did. Her Arithmancy book lay forgotten beside her, and her eyes were glued to the Omnioculars. While she herself absolutely hated the very idea of flying, she loved to watch Harry. Stick the boy on his Firebolt and he sliced effortlessly, almost gracefully, through the air. He had perfect control over the broomstick, and each movement was smooth and flawless. She didn't know much about flying or Quidditch, but she was knowledgeable enough to know without a doubt, that Harry was one of the best fliers she'd ever seen.
She was so caught up in watching Harry that, for a moment, she didn't realise that she'd lost sight of him. The team appeared to be practicing the Mazarro Manoeuvre; Ginny and Matti were weaving in and out around Dominic, the Quaffle sailing effortlessly between the three of them as they sped toward her end of the field where Ron, who had become a rather adept Keeper, was in front of the middle hoop, making lazy loops on his broom.
But Harry was nowhere to be found.
"He's gone!" she heard one of the girls exclaim.
Three seconds later, a hand slapped across her mouth. She dropped her Omnioculars as she suddenly found herself falling backwards, right out of the stands and into empty air.
She let out a muffled shriek.
"I've got you," Harry whispered, his mouth very close to her ear. "It's alright."
Hermione nodded blankly. She was sitting sideways on Harry's broom, her legs dangling over his left thigh. His right arm was around her waist, gripping the broom, the other still pressed against her mouth. She leaned slightly forward and snuck a peek down at the ground, which appeared very, very far away from her vantage point. She let out a horrified shriek, her eyes wide, and reflexively brought her hands up to wind around Harry's neck.
"Are you insane?!" she yelped once he pulled his hand away from her mouth. She tilted her head back slightly to look him in the face. "You're gonna get us killed! You're gonna get me killed!"
He grinned. "Aww Hermione, don't you trust me?"
"NO!" she snapped. He grinned again, mischievously and her eyes widened slightly.
She let out another shriek as, with the slightest nudge, he pointed the broom downward and spiralled toward the ground. Her arms tightened around his neck and she buried her face in his shoulder.
"Alright! Alright! I trust you!"
"That's better," Harry said, slowing down.
Hermione released her death grip on his neck a little. Despite the frantic thumping of her heart, her face was pressed against his Quidditch robes which smelled delightfully Harry-like, so she really wasn't in any particular hurry to pull away. She peered over his shoulder and realised that they were still behind the stands. She could hear the girls discussing Harry's sudden disappearance, the soft sound as the Gryffindor team zoomed around on their brooms, Ron's muffled shouting.
She felt Harry's hand on the small of her back and she pulled away slightly.
"Are you going to take me back up?" she asked quietly.
Harry leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers, his eyes locked on hers. "Do you want me to?"
Hermione sighed involuntarily. "I'm not too fussed," she said laconically.
Harry smiled disarmingly and Hermione felt her heartbeat bolt up another notch.
His forehead was a bit sweaty and the air was decidedly colder up here, but really, once she got past the whole fear of heights thing, this flying business really wasn't so bad.
Almost without realising it, her fingers had slipped into his hair. She played absently with the hair at the back of his neck. She felt his arm tighten around her waist and her breathing quickened. The butterflies took up residence in her stomach again and she felt her eyes slip shut – he was so close …
She felt Harry jolt back away from her.
"Aaaahhhhh! Watch out!"
Her eyes snapped open, her head whipped around, and she let out yet another shriek. "HARRY!"
Ron was speeding through the air toward them, clutching his broom tightly, and yelling for all he was worth.
Unable to reach his wand and acting on sheer impulse, Harry went into a sudden dive, a look of intense concentration on his face. "Hang on tight, Hermione!" he shouted. Hermione nodded mutely, thinking, slightly hysterically, 'Ha! As though I'd be able to do anything else!'
"Oh no, oh no, oh no …" she muttered into the fabric of his Quidditch robes. The wind whipped through her hair as they sped inexorably down and she again pressed her face into his shoulder, her arms tightening around his neck. Harry aside, she was really beginning to rethink this flying situation!
"Harry! I'm going to kill you –" she moved her face away to glance over her shoulder and saw the ground rushing up to meet her. "– OH MY GOD!"
They were going way too fast to stop. It seemed like an eternity before they hit the ground.
And hit the ground they did.
Hermione found herself flattened against the soft grass just outside the Quidditch pitch, a broomstick on one side and a slightly dazed Harry on the other. Every single part of her body was aching – and the parts that were currently under Harry's weight were deliciously numb.
Hermione pushed herself up slowly, sitting back on her heels.
Her eyes then flew to Harry, who had darted up and scrambled toward her. "Hermione, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she said, rubbing her wrist.
Harry reached a hand and touched his fingertips to her cheek. "Are you sure?"
Hermione smiled and closed her eyes briefly at his touch. "Positive."
Harry returned her smile and leaned closer …
"Harry!" Ron came to a skidding halt nearby, completely unscathed.
Hermione and Harry jumped apart and whirled around. Harry's hand dropped down to his side.
"Oh god, Harry!" Ron said, attempting to rush over before he'd even dismounted. As a result, he tripped and landed face first. He straightened up. "I'm sorry! That git Malfoy --- " Ron pulled Harry to his feet and broke off as he noticed Hermione looking decidedly worse for wear. "Hermione?!"
Harry gazed at Hermione for a long moment before reaching down to help her to her feet. He looked over her shoulder and sighed.
Hermione turned to find the Gryffindor Quidditch team, the five goggling girls, and half a dozen students hurrying toward them. She sighed in exasperation, pushing thoughts of bruises and unexpected crash-landings out of her mind.
He had been about to kiss her.
And they were interrupted.
Thwarted again.
Hermione allowed herself to be ushered back to the castle. Along the way she contemplated her situation.
That second attempt – thwarted though it was – was a step in the right direction, she was sure of it. Newly motivated, she snuck a glance at Harry, who was preoccupied with Ron's explanations and wildly gesticulating hands.
Her eyes narrowed.
Harry still owed her a kiss.
And by all that was good in the world, she was going to get it!
Even if she had to lock Ron up in the Astronomy tower to do it.
… tbc