Title: In the Stacks

Pairing(s): H/HR

Type: Ficlet (1,028 words)

Warnings: none

Disclaimer: JKR makes the money, not me. I just do this for entertainment, whether it is just for me or someone else too, remains to be seen. :0)

Author's Notes: Just a little something that I thought up while in Stats one night! A little fluffy at the end, so beware! Enjoy :0)

Hermione sat in a corner of the library with her scrolls, books and pens set out in front of her. She had left the common room in a rush earlier in the day to avoid the boys and their taunts and mockery. She examined the parchment in front of her and was pleased at the way the essay was progressing. She went back to writing and soon after heard his familiar footsteps coming across the floor to the table she was sitting at. She looked up as he approached her table and smiled before she went back to her essay.

Harry sat down at the table with her and took his own things out to study. He wasn't sure why he had come up to the library instead of staying in the common room, but was instantly glad that he had when he saw her smile at him. It wasn't the same smile that she gave to Ron, he knew that now. It was the one that she held aside for him, even if she didn't realize it herself. He stared at the curve of her mouth as she wrote furiously, and her white teeth flashed as she captured her bottom lip, deep in thought. He wondered if those lips were as soft as they looked, and averted his gaze to avoid a sticky situation.

Instead he looked at her golden brown hair and the way it waved slightly before falling down her shoulders; right now the light from the window was dancing on it and bits of red here and there were peaking out. When he looked back to her face, he found her cinnamon eyes staring at him curiously.

"What's wrong Harry?" she asked him, her brows furrowing in question.

"Nothing, it's nothing at all Mione." He told her stumbling over his words and trying to go back to his own essay to hide the deep blush that had spread across his cheeks.

"Alright." She conceded and pushed back her chair. "I'll be back in a moment, I need another book." She told him and walked away.

"Ok." He said lamely and watched her walk away towards the ancient stacks. He read for about five minutes and realized that she wasn't back yet. He got up to go look for her and found her straining to reach a book on the top shelf of the bookcase.

"Mione, all you had to do was come get me." He told her smiling and snatched the book off the shelf to hand it to her.

"I can handle things by myself, Harry." She told him quietly and reached out to take the book. He smirked slightly and handed her the book. As their fingers touched Hermione almost gasped at the spark she felt went through her arm, and wondered if he felt it too. 'Of course not you idiot, this is Harry you're talking about.' She admonished herself. She looked up at him to see if he noticed anything and found a strange look on his face as he stared at her. 'I could drown in those eyes.' She thought as his piercing green eyes burned into her cinnamon ones. 'It's almost like he's looking at my soul.' She thought serenely as the gaze remained locked.

For Harry, time seemed to slow to a crawl when she looked up at him. Her cinnamony- brown eyes sparkled in a lively way and captivated him and he found it hard to look away. Instead he moved forward and leaned over her, his lips lightly touching hers before pulling away again, and practically ran towards the table.

Hermione licked her lips as he retreated and stared at the spot that he had stood in moments before. She shook off her daze and walked briskly back to their table to find him gone. 'Well, he can't just kiss a girl and run off.' She thought completely confused at this point and sat down in a huff. She could still feel his lips on hers and they tingled. She wrote a couple of lines and threw down her quill in frustration. Sighing, she got up and threw her things into her bag and went back to the common room to confront him.

She scurried down the hallways quickly noticing that curfew was in a half hour and soon found herself standing in front of the Fat Lady.

"Vanilla taffy." Hermione said.

"Welcome back Miss. Here you go." The Fat Lady said and swung open for Hermione to walk inside.

She looked around the crowded common room and found him in a corner by himself. She sat down in a chair and waited for the common room to clear out before talking to him. After an hour of waiting she finally got her wish. She looked over the top of her book to see him staring out the window and smiled at the way the moon fell over his face making him look peaceful for once. She got up her courage, walked over to him and plopped down next to him on the window seat. He looked up at her and flushed bright red.

"Mione, about earlier..." he started and then stopped, looking for the words.

"Yes, Harry about earlier." She said and let her words fall off. The close proximity of him was making her head swim all of a sudden, and she smiled at him.

"You're not mad then?" he asked softly.

Hermione said nothing; she just leaned in and placed a kiss on his lips, feeling the same jolt she had gotten the first time. She pulled away and opened her eyes to look at him.

Harry stared at her in disbelief for a moment before kissing her again. He cupped her face in his hand and kissed her looking deep into her eyes. They shared several soft kisses at the window before Harry looked at her again.

"What is it?" she asked softly.

"It's just who would have thought?" he said smiling.

"Thought what?" she asked.

"That I would finally tell you how I felt in the stacks." He laughed and she joined in reveling in the joy of the moment.