Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, I don't get any money out of this. All you would get from suing me are my depts and trust me you don't want them.
AN: This story was written in response to the First Kiss Challenge by DigitalFoenix at Thanks to CaptainRandom1234, GemmaH121 and Hermione Granger Potter for their kind reviews.
"Hey Ron, where are you going?" Harry called to his best friend who was about to open the portrait hole.
"I'm meeting Luna! We want to enjoy this wonderful afternoon! Have fun studying you two!", Ron called back and was out of the door before either of his two best friends could say another word.
"He does realize that the exams are coming up, doesn't he?" Hermione asked staring at the now closed door.
Harry returned his attention to his Potion's book and tried to concentrate on the mind-boggling variety of illusionary potions they had studied this year. How could anyone remember over 400 different base recipes to create illusions, let alone the thousands of variations you needed to make to obtain a certain result. And as if that wasn't frustrating enough it had to be the nicest and sunniest weather outside. 'I wonder how Hermione can stand this?' Harry thaught after a few minutes. That was when he noticed that Hermione's quill hadn't been scratching for quite some time. In fact, it had made a rather ugly blot where it rested on the parchment.
Looking up Harry noticed that Hermione was still staring at the door. "Galleon for your thaughts, Hermione" he said.
"Wh- sorry, what did you say, Harry?"
"What's so interesting about that door, that you've messed up your parchment?"
"Huh? What are you talking about, Harry?" Hermione asked blinking before she looked down at her notes. "Crap..." Hermione set her quill down and started to look around their table shifting the huge amount of scrolls and books. "Have you seen my wand?"
"Yeah, here it is." Harry said as he dived for the wand he had spied sticking out of a jumble of parchments on the floor.
"Thanks, Harry!" Hermione said and then performed a spell to remove the excess ink from her notes.
When she was about to take her quill back up Harry shot his question. "How can you stand this? It's totally confusing and it's far too hot in here."
"We have to study Harry. And it's not that bad once you've got the base potions..."
"Did you notice there are over 400 of them? And really the effects aren't even the same everywhere... see this one if I add Wormwood before Hellebore it's completely different from the result I get if I do it the other way around!"
"Let me see..." Hermione said and then lauched into a complicated explanation on the properties of the base potion. "... and that's why you get different results, Harry. It's all in 'Confounding Recipes for the Confusion of Minds'... see here..."
"You know I think that title is rather fitting... besides here it says something about getting the same effect as with the reverse order by adding some sort of powdered gem... Argh! I don't get it! I need a break!"
"Harry, we have to study! How else do you think you can pass Snape's exams?"
"I won't gain anything at the moment. I think I'll just go down to the lake for an hour or two... Are you coming too? Don't tell me you're not fed up as well... I saw you staring at that door, you know?"
"Okay, but only for an hour." Hermione agreed reluctantly.
Soon they were out by the lake and walking around it's border away from all the other students that had given up on studying and were enjoying the bright afternoon sun.
"Ahh... this is much better than brooding over books in the Common Room!" Harry said stretching. "Why is it always finest outside when you're swamped with work? It would be far more fun to study when it's stormy outside..."
"Come on Harry, don't tell me you would study harder when it's grizzly out here... I remeber you and Ron saying that it's even worse to study when you don't even have a nice view to console you! At least that's what you said during the winter..."
"Okay, okay, we said something along those lines..." Harry said defensively, "but you have to admit that it's wonderful out here. It's far more of a temptation to hang out with someone out here when it's nice... Or would you rather be here during one of those storms we had this winter?"
"Yeah, it's nice today..." Hermione admitted. "But when it's so tempting to hang out here, why didn't you do that in the first place? I doubt your girlfriend 'what's-her-name-again' is too happy when you spend your time with me rather than her!"
"Not that again! Why doesn't anyone believe me? Karen is not and has never been my girlfriend! How often do I have to repeat that?" Harry replied angrily.
"Yeah, sure! Then why does she tell everybody she's been on the Astronomy Tower with you? And why do you keep staring at her whenever she's near?" Hermione scoffed.
"Whose friend are you? Have you lost your mind? Honestly Hermione it was only that once and she tricked me into it! There's absolutely nothing going on between Karen and me." Harry countered and pleadingly he added "Please, believe me!"
"Then why do you keep staring at her? Why don't you just ignore her? Whenever she is near it's as if everything else melts away, as if she is the only one present..." Hermione asked desperately. "Do you know how frustrating it is when you zone out because of her during a conversation?"
"I'm sorry Hermoine, it's just... I can't help it, whenever I see Karen I get this overwhelming urge to go and strangle her. Not only has she managed to convince everyone that she is my girlfriend, even my friends who should know better..." At this Harry looked accusingly at Hermione. "But she also managed to make me kind of invisible to the girl I really love. Try as I might she doesn't seem to notice how much I care for her..." They had reached a secluded bay on the far side of lake by now and Harry sat down on a rock near the shore and looked down at the water.
"So... there is someone then? And she doesn't notice you?" Hermione asked sounding slightly taken aback. She slowly walked over to Harry and sat down next to him. "But how's that possible?" she continued grabbing Harry's arm.
"You know me better than anyone else, tell me why did you think I was after Karen?" Harry asked looking up at Hermione.
"I just told you, it was beause you always tune out of it whenever she comes near. And... well you should hear what she's been telling everybody... I mean I saw you that night when you came back down from the Astronomy Tower and..." Hermione looked down at her hands playing with the hem of her school shirt.
"And what Hermione?"
Hermione gulped and said, "... and then I saw you kiss her. And when I heard the next day what you two did up there..."
"One, Karen kissed me, she took me completely by surprise and it was over before I could even react. And two, we didn't do anything up there! She got me up there because she asked me to help her carrying some stuff she needed for her Astronomy class that night. And then, when we got back down she kissed me. I can't believe you fell for all that gossip she spread... You of all people should know me better than that."
"I'm sorry Harry..."
"It's allright, I should have told you sooner. Maybe you would have noticed me then..." Harry trailed off ad looked down again.
"... What do you mean noticed you... when did I not notice you?..." Hermione asked confused.
"You never noticed that I've tried to spend as much time as possible with you. I study with you, I walk you to your classes... Hermione I spend each waking hour thinking of you... and you think I'm in love with someone else..."
"You... wait a minute... that girl you were talking about just now... were you talking about me?" Hermione asked staring at Harry.
Harry took a deep breath and looked up. "Yes, I-I was... I know it's stupid, but I love you Hermione, you and no one else. Bu-" He didn't get any further as he was effectively silenced by Hermione capturing his lips with hers. After a second or two to process this he finally responded.
Draco and his companions Crabbe and Goyle entered this scluded spot just in time to hear Potter's final words before Granger kissed him. They stared at the scene before them in shock. As he was about to say something to make his presence known and end the disgusting scene of Potter and Granger kissing, Draco noticed the wind rising around them. At first it was only a slow circling wind carrying a few of last years leaves around, but within seconds the wind freshened up and began to rattle the branches of the nearby trees. The phenomenon expanded as the wind grew stronger and stronger. Soon the trees were swaying with the force of the wind, the waves on the lake grew higher and dark clouds began to spread out from a point directly above the couple.
Draco didn't know what to do as he and his fellows had a hard time staying on their feet, but when he saw the clouds light up from lightning and heard thunder rolling around he decided he had to stop this. There was no way they could get away from here and he didn't fancy being out here in a thunderstorm. So he made his way towards Potter and Granger struggling against the ever growing wind.
He finally reached them as the rain set in. "STOP IT ALREADY!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, but the wind carried his words away so he couldn't even hear them himself, let alone the two before him who seemed to be completely oblivious to the storm raging around them.
With another herculean effort (and praying that he wouldn't contamine himself in the process) he reached out and grabbed Granger's shoulder. Just then the wind finally swept him off his feet, but he managed to hold onto Granger long enough to pull her away from Potter. Immideately the storm weakened.
Harry and Hermione first noticed the dying storm when their lips parted. Hermione was dragged backwards by a strange tugging at shoulder and had it not been for Harry holding her, she might have fallen onto the now muddy ground. They looked around and noticed the fading clouds, the dying wind, the mud and some snapped trees around them, but nowhere could they spot a reason for Hermiones being pulled away.
When the scene around them finally settled in Hermione asked. "Harry, do you have any idea what happened here? It looks as if a storm has been raging..."
"No idea Hermione, but you know... I think I want to go back inside... this place isn't as nice as it was when we came here and well, I think we're kind of soaked!"
"Yeah, let's go and get out of these soaking garments before we catch a cold..." Hermione said and kissed Harry again. "But you know, that kiss was kind of... wow...", she continued a few minutes later when they got up and walked back towards the castle.
They didn't notice Malfoy paddling towards the shore behind them or Crabbe and Goyle hanging in a tree. They were far to caught up in each other to notice them... and maybe it's a good thing that only their first kiss set off a storm... it might have been a very stormy summer otherwise...