Disclaimer: Well, as we all know I do not own anything except the plot (which is entirely mine!)

Friends till the end of time...

Don't want to close my eyes

I don't want to fall asleep

Cause I'd miss you baby

And I don't want to miss a thing

Cause even when I dream of you

The sweetest dream will never do

I'd still miss you baby

And I don't want to miss a thing

(I don't to miss a thing, Aerosmith)

Despair. That's all I feel. There is no meaning in my life. All the hidden emotions that are kept inside me made me want to explode. For the first time in my life I am so sure about my feelings. I know it is love. Pure and endless love. I love him with all the power of my heart. And all I get is his friendship. Priceless but not enough.

It all began so sudden. I didn't wanted at first to admit -even to myself- that I considered him as someone more that a friend. But every single time I glanced at him I knew that he was something more. He was everything to me. And I just couldn't picture my life without him. We had the perfect friendship. We had been through a lot together. And we overcame really difficult situations. That's what brought us even closer. He was always there for me and I was always there for him. So it was inevitable for me to take things further. I thought that we could have a really special relationship. But as it seems I thought wrong...

And here I am, on our graduation day, laying down by the lake, watching at the star-spangled sky and crying. It's already midnight and we are leaving at the morning. And to make things worse, he will leave for the auror training next month. For the next 5 or 6 years I will probably see him only at Christmas, Easter and -as it seems- at summer holidays. Only the thought of this drowns me in depression. I already miss him. And I really don't know how am I going to get over that.

"Hermione?" I suddenly hear a familiar voice calling me from behind. I quickly wipe away the tears from my eyes and turn around to face the person I least wanted to see at that time. It was him.

"Harry? What are you doing here? I thought you had gone to bed when I was at the common room". I say with a shaking voice and I pray he wouldn't notice my misty eyes.

"Indeed I went, but I couldn't sleep. You know it's our last night here and all. I am really going to miss this place. By the way what are you doing here? I thought that our innocent Head Girl would never wander at the grounds after curfew." He says with a little smile as he lay besides me.

Thank god he didn't realize anything.

"Well Mister Lawful, if I remember correctly, we have done it together countless times in the past. Besides, practically we are not students any more. Or are you afraid of a prospective suspension?" I answer smiling and trying to forget my previous thoughts.

"Sure you have a point here! But you didn't answer my question young lady. What made you sleep out, away from the comfort of your cozy bed?" he asks me with another smile that makes my heart melt.

"Hey! I wasn't sleeping here. I was at the common room, I couldn't sleep either and I thought that the cool wind would relax me." I answer calmly even though I was never good at telling lies.

"Lovely night, isn't it?" I add quickly trying to change the subject.

He doesn't say anything. He just nods. And now he is gazing at the stars. He looks so perfect, so sweet. Yet he looks so distant at the same time. I want to touch him. To kiss him. I move closer and I don't know what possesses me but somehow my hand moves to his face and I start caressing him. He doesn't respond but he doesn't say anything either so I keep caressing him. It feels so right. My fingers are now making circles on his chest and after that I place my head on it and close my eyes.

Without saying a word he embraces me and with his free hand he strokes my cheek. It is so tender that gives me hope and confidence not to stop.

"I wouldn't mind sleeping here." he said all of a sudden leaving me speechless.

And although I believed that after his last statement I wouldn't be able to form a simple sentence I answered with all the courage that was left in me "Well... Neither would I"

He doesn't answer back but his hand is now stroking my hair. For a moment I believed that I was dreaming. But even if I am dreaming I don't want this dream ever to end. I lost track of time. We stayed like that I don't know for how long. We aren't speaking. We have our eyes closed and I'm not thinking about nothing except that we are together and I can feel his breath teasing my neck. Hearing his heart beating makes me feel alive. Makes me feel in love.

Without thinking my finger forms the word 'I', and after that the word 'love' and finally the word 'you' on his chest. "I LOVE YOU". I really do love him and I want to scream it to the top of my lungs but I am too afraid even to whisper it. I don't know if he understood it at all but I rub immediately the forbidden phrase as if I was trying to erase it from his memory and act like it was never there. He doesn't respond so I assume that he didn't pay attention to what I was doing and he thought of that as a common caress.

Anyhow, I am still not speaking. I am enjoying the perfection of the moment. I open my eyes and turn on my side so I can face him. He looks once again so peaceful and cute. It is now that I realize what he truly means to me. Unawares he opened his eyes and saw me looking straight at him. I keep staring him without blinking.

"Aren't you sleeping?" he asks tonelessly.

"No." I say simply.

"Why?" he asks again but I don't answer.

He closed his eyes again but I didn't. I want to have the more of him that is possible. He opens his eyes again, see me, smile and close them. And then again and again and again. He always finds me looking straight into his eyes. After a while he opened his eyes and stayed still. But he turned so that he could stare at the sky.

"Have you ever heard the song 'I don't want to miss a thing?" I ask all of a sudden. Its lyrics represented fully our current situation. At least that's exactly how I feel.

"Yes" he answers after a little pause.

"You have?"

"Yes, why?"

I wanted to scream 'because that's how I feel, you idiot. Don't you understand?' but I didn't.

I simply say "Nothing" without wanting to take things even further. But I move closer so now I am resting in his arms. It fells so right to be in his arms and to hold me.

We stay still again without talking. I can feel that he is not sleeping. And then all of a sudden he speaks with a tone very different. His voice doesn't match with the rest picture.

"Hermione, I have to tell you" he is quick and if I am not mistaken somehow cold.

"I hear you," I answer emotionlessly as I break from his embrace and sit so I can face him.

"I believe we have to stop this" his answer came unexpectedly and felt like a knife that tore my heart.

I feel like loosing the earth beneath my feet.

Maybe I'm indeed dreaming. My worst nightmare becomes true.

"Stop what?" I say trying to appear clueless.

"You know" he answers calmly.

"No, I'm not" I say a little more sharply that I intended.

"This 'friendly' behavior" he answered with the same calmness in his voice.

"What are you talking about?" I answer trying very hard to stay calm myself.

"Do you want us to be something more than just friends?" He asks nervously.

"I... I..." I couldn't say 'I don't'. I was caught unprepared for such a question. Of course I wanted.

But before I had the time to think for a proper answer to his rhetorical question (the answer was obviously yes), he talked again.

"I think it is for the best if we stayed friends."

I am taken aback by what he said.

"I beg your pardon? Who said I don't? So what? You think you are Mr. Perfect who can have any girl begging on her knees, don't you?" now I am angry and I can't hold my emotions.

"Hey, hey, hey... calm down Herm. I didn't say that. It is just; you know... lately, the last few months you act somehow strange. In a way that friends don't." he is neither that calm anymore.

"If I act strange, you act strange too."

"I act strange?" he asks and he seems really clueless.

"I believe so" I answer as I try to make things out.

"I don't think so. I haven't done anything that crosses the line of the friendship. You probably misunderstood me" he states as if he wanted to make things clear.

"And even if I did something that you thought of it as something more I want to apologize. I didn't mean to. I want to be your friend." He adds giving me time to think of my answer.

"If I misunderstood you, you misunderstood me too. And I didn't mean to take things further either. Maybe you want me to go to the other side of the lake. So you will know that my motives are only friendly. That's fine with me." I said, as I was ready to get up and run away. Run away from the realization I couldn't accept.

But before I could stand on my feet he pulled me back.

"Hey, I never said such a thing. And I never will. It is just that you are my best friend and I wouldn't want to lose you. Ever. But anyway maybe it was my fault. Sorry. So friends?"

I sat back and looked in his eyes. I can't speak. I just nod. He looks sad.

"Sure?" he asks again worried.

"Sure" I whisper although I'm not so sure if I sounded convincing at all.

But before he had time to press the subject more I add quickly "Goodnight" and I closed my eyes.

I'm not well. To be exact I am far from being well. I want to shout, to cry and to yell that I cannot be just a friend to him.

I opened my eyes just to find his closed.

Maybe he is already sleeping but I can't. I didn't want to accept what he had just said.

I am gazing at the stars. I try to count them but they are countless. They never end. Just like my love for him.

"Harry?" I whisper.

No answer.

"Harry?" I repeat again a bit more loudly. He slowly opens his eyes.

"What is it?" he says sleepily.

It is now or never. I take a deep breath and say hesitatingly.

"I believe that sometime we have to continue the conversation we started before"

"I thought that this conversation was over. Isn't it?"

"No it's not." And before I let him speak again I add slowly

"Things are complicated"

"Are they?" he asks quietly

"Aren't they?" I ask back.

"They are," he confesses finally.

To be continued....

A/N: I hope you liked it. It's my first attempt to upload a fic so I would really appreciate it if you reviewed to tell me your opinion on this.