there's no way (that it's not going there)
As the song's volume receded until it stopped completely, paving the way for the white noise that had played before, Harry released a heavy sigh as his head stopped leaning into Hermione's shoulder.
The atmosphere of the tent, so warm and inviting seconds ago, dropped; the cold of the forest's winter seeped back inside and the howling of the wind spoke of a daunting world out of their shelter.
Harry's hands squeezed his best friend's waist one last time before reluctantly removing themselves slowly, dropping to his side as he watched Hermione taking a shaking breath as her arms untangled from his neck. Their eyes met, and their movements froze; if one were to be standing before them, they'd see the exact moment in which both of them got lost in each other's eyes, searching for something as their bodies drew closer and closer.
Before either of them knew it, Hermione's hand gripped the young man's neck and drew him closer; Harry's arm tangled around her waist as their lips met fiercely and desperately; the sound of the outside were silenced as they got lost in the sensation of comfort that the kiss provided them, along with the burning feeling that threatened to swallow their chests.
Before long, both of them separated quickly and tried to control their breathing, still tangled together and looking at each other's eyes with excitement and uncertainty. Harry swallowed nervously but his lips moved of their own will, lifting up in a smile as the young man opened his mouth to speak.
"Hermione—"
"Harry—"
Both of their statements came to a stop when they realized that the dim light inside the tent had shifted dramatically; the glow of Hermione's conjured fire was undermined by the bright, pale light that shone from outside of the confines of the tent.
When they both stepped outside, wands ready to attack, they found themselves face to face with a glowing patronus, a doe, who flicked her ears at them twice and ran for the canopy of trees that found themselves just across their camping sight.
Later, drenched in freezing water and with their missing redhead best friend following behind them, Harry gripped the Sword of Gryffindor as his eyes met Hermione's, willing the magical artifact to give him the courage he needed to speak with her.
When he spied Ron's hopeful eyes searching for the girl's, the black haired man sighed quietly and dropped Hermione's gaze with a resigned smile.
Harry gasped inaudibly. His eyes, unfocused without his glasses, narrowed as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. He couldn't see a thing, not even the blotches of color he'd normally be a witness of in the odd occasion when his glasses weren't on his nose, so that mean that it was still night, perhaps early morning.
Searching through the darkness, moving his hand across the small table next to his for poster bed, his fingers closed around the metal framing of his glasses and in a few seconds he put them on, no relieved to be able to make sense of his shared room.
He was right; it was early morning, judging by the way he could barely make out the first batch of sunlight in the distance, painting the horizon a pale blue with a splash of yellow. His dorm mates were still sound asleep; Seamus' snores drowned out any other kind of sound that the others might've done, but after seven years of sleeping in the same room as him neither Harry nor the others minded much.
Harry sighed again and rubbed his face with both hands, willing his heartbeat to slow down as the vestiges of his dream memory remained on the forefront of his mind. It had felt so real—it had been real, but the way he remembered almost every detail of those few moments scared him, mostly because of the longing that threatened to overshadow any other feeling.
Knowing that he couldn't be able to go to sleep, Harry grumbled under his breath as he prepared himself for the day as quietly as he could. When he was at the last step before leaving the dorm room—tying his tie—his name was whispered by the young man in the bed next to his.
"You're awake?" Harry answered quietly, turning to look at the tired redhead who had showed his face from under the covers.
"Not really, but you are," Ron whispered, frowning. "Which I find disturbing, at this hour. Merlin, Harry, the sun's not even halfway up."
Harry shrugged. "I couldn't sleep."
"You seem to be having trouble sleeping lately," At Harry's raised eyebrow, Ron huffed. "I pay attention to things, you know?"
"Could've fooled me, mate."
"Oh, shut up," Ron waved a hand lazily, somehow seeming less awake than a second ago. "Just tell me what's bothering you and I can help."
…as their lips met fiercely and desperately…
"It's nothing, Ron." Harry turned his back to his best friend, willing the heat on his cheeks to go away as he ignored the memory once more. "I'm fine, really. Just the usual nightmares, that's all."
Ron's frown could barely be seen with the help of the morning light and his voice held a tone of softness that the black haired man knew appeared when the redhead was uncertain. "You want to talk about it?"
Harry shook his head. "No. I'm good, mate. I'll just go down early."
The way he answered made it clear to the redhead man that his best friend didn't want to continue with this line of conversation, so he nodded once more and whispered a farewell before his head dropped back into his pillow.
Harry sighed as he closed the door of the dorm room behind him, rubbing his chest softly as he went down the stairs and took in the emptiness of the common room before him. The fire was lit but without the usual strength to it, giving the room a cozy atmosphere that invited the back haired man to sit on the sofa facing the chimney.
He'd been having those kind of dreams ever since he stepped foot on Hogwarts after the war; he had been reluctant to return to school, and Shacklebolt's Auror offer had sounded incredibly tempting…but he needed closure. He didn't think he'd ever, truly and fully, get over what happened inside of this walls but being back here and having one normal year of school life would be enough.
Now, instead of worrying about Voldermort's murder attempts he was worrying about fulfilling his Quidditch captain duties, passing his classes, and dealing with his feelings for one of his two best friends, the latter being the hardest of the three.
Harry sighed once more and rubbed his face. "This needs to stop…"
"What does?"
Hermione's voice startled him, and Harry's head snapped towards the loveseat to the right of the sofa where his best friend was curled up; she was still on her sleepwear, with a heavy book cradled on her hands and her hair as untamed as it had always been. Harry's chest stuttered and he took a small breath before addressing her.
"Hey," He whispered. "You okay?"
"I could ask the same," Hermione retorted, closing her book after putting a scrap of parchment in between the pages. "The sun's not fully up and you're in the common room. Everything okay?"
Harry shrugged uncomfortable, suddenly realizing that this was the first time he'd been truly and completely alone with Hermione since the end of the war a few months back. The aftermath had been intense; there were plenty of funerals and the Weasleys didn't let either of them out of their sight until it was time to go back to Hogwarts, and then classes had started and Ron was always with them—
Harry shook his head and sent a small smile towards the girl. "Everything's great. I'm just having a hard time adjusting to being back here, with everyone…"
"I know," Hermione sighed and got up from her place, walking a few steps and sitting down next to him; Harry swallowed, she was so close. "The other day I woke up in a panic thinking that Death Eaters were storming the castle only to realize that it was some Second Years that had bought some of Fred and George's products."
Harry, despite the uneasy feeling on his stomach, snorted softly. "They're so young, by Merlin."
Hermione hummed and said nothing as she leaned on the back of the sofa with her front turned towards him. Harry was avoiding her eyes, but he could feel as hers stared at his face in deep thought. Suddenly, a hand caressed the back of his head softly, and the young man startled and turned his head towards Hermione.
The girl hummed again, staring at his eyes. "Are you sure you're okay? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"
I'm so attracted to everything about you but our other best friend fancies you and I don't want to do anything to jeopardize neither of our friendships.
Harry swallowed again. "No, everything's fine, really."
Neither of them spoke again; Hermione's hand racked through his wild hair, messing it up even further as it traveled from his nape of the beck towards the top of his head. Harry didn't mind; he closed his eyes at her touch, enjoying the intimate moment.
"If I tell you something, do you promise not to run away?"
Her question confused him, and Harry opened his eyes and turned to her fully, missing the contact of her hand but deciding that this was more important. They were so close; knees and elbows touching and their faces inches from the other. If he were to lean forward, they'd be close enough to kiss.
"Why do you think I'd run?"
"Well, you have been avoiding me ever since we came back to Hogwarts." Hermione stated, voice light and teasing but her eyes bore on his, telling him that she was serious.
"I haven't been avoiding you," Harry said weakly. "I've been…busy."
"Hmmm," Hermione nodded slowly. "So...do you promise to stay?"
"Of course," Harry didn't hesitate to answer.
The bushy haired girl took another moment to settle her thoughts; her hand no longer traveling through his hair now deposited itself on his arm and squeezing slightly. Hermione's head snapped up to fully meet his gaze as she leaned forward slowly.
"I've been thinking about that day on the tent," She whispered. "The day we found Ron and the sword, I mean."
Harry's breath hitched softly as he continued to stare at his best friend, his memories of the days brutally putting themselves at the forefront of his mind for a few seconds before he willed them away.
Hermione continued speaking. "It was so cold that day, I remember our food froze before we were even halfway done with it, and the tent…It was the first time in the hunt that I thought that maybe we wouldn't make it, but…you grabbed my hand and twirled me around to the beat of the song, and somehow I knew that everything would be okay."
It was too much for Harry; the way her eyes shined and her lips pulled up in a smile made him want to throw caution to the wind and just kiss her like he had all those months ago.
"It was…" Hermione muttered, her eyes unfocused as she tried to find the words. "I've never felt like that, Harry. You kissed me and I forgot where we were and what we were doing. It was just you and I in that moment and as much as I love Ron, I wished that that doe hadn't found us when she did, because that way maybe you would've leaned in for more."
Harry blinked owlishly for a few seconds before the words sun in, and heat crept from his neck to his cheeks but his expression didn't change; it was one of confusion and awe as his jaw fell open slightly.
"And I assumed you just wanted to focus on ending the war, Merlin knows it was more important," Hermione sighed as her hand moved and cupped his cheek, feeling the stubble and caressing it. "But then we came back and you would barely look me in the eye, much less be alone with me."
Harry swallowed and whispered in a voice that was higher than usual. "We had to get accustomed to being back in school."
"Oh, I know," Hermione nodded. "But it's been like three months and you've been very weird lately, and from the amount of looks you've thrown at my mouth for the past few weeks I can conclude that you've been thinking about our kiss too, so that only leave me with one question: what's holding you back from kissing me?"
Harry cleared his throat and his head turned slightly to his right as his eyes gazed upon the stairs which led to the boy's dorm rooms; a finger pressed himself against his cheek and turned him back again as Hermione threw a quick look to where he was previously seeing.
"If this is about a certain redhead best friend that's up there," She started. "I feel the need to clarify that there's nothing going on between us, and also question why you'd think there is something in the first place."
"He looked at you," Harry blurted out eyes wide and voice soft. "He looked at you that day, when we came back. I had this speech in my mind and how to bring the kiss up with you but he looked—he looked at you so longingly, Hermione, I didn't find it in me to mention it to him, much less ask you out in front of him. I didn't…I didn't want to do that do him, we'd just fixed our friendship with him."
Hermione nodded, understanding. "And after? When we came back to Hogwarts?"
"It's the same thing," Harry argued weakly. "He fancies you, Hermione."
"He thinks he fancies me," She scoffed softly but smiled. "I assure you that was never going to go anywhere, Harry. He doesn't have feelings for me, and I don't have feelings for him. I've been thinking about you too much for me to even consider the possibility. You really are a good kisser."
Harry's cheeks got even redder but his lips moved upwards of their own will, and he felt contentment flow through his veins. "Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"I really, really want to kiss you again." Harry whispered, moving closer.
"I think I've made it extremely clear that I want that, too." Hermione smiled as she leaned forward.
The kiss was desperate, a result of months of doubt and holding back; Harry wrapped his arms around her frame and pulled her towards him, encasing her in his warmth as her arms wound around his neck to pull him even closer. The common room disappeared; only both of them existed as the drowned on each other's lips and presence, and it took a heavy clap and a loud clearing of throat to get their attention.
Both of them broke the kiss but didn't let go of each other, turning their heads to where their mutual best friend was standing; his hair was sticking up in every direction and his pajamas were ruffled from a night of good sleep. His eyes were halfway dropped, as if he had just woken up.
"By Merlin, don't ever kiss in front of me if you're going to be making those noises every time." Ron grumbled.
"Noises?" Hermione asked.
"The moaning, bloody hell, I heard it even before I was halfway down the stairs." He answered, frowning.
Harry cleared his throat, embarrassed. "How—How much of that did you hear?"
"Enough to be traumatized for the rest of my merry life, but hey," Ron shrugged and pointed between both of his best friends. "At least you two got your heads out of your arses, which is a win."
"Don't be so crass, Ronald," Hermione scoffed. "We were having a conversation."
"Sure," Ron nodded sarcastically. "I literally just came here because I felt bad about leaving Harry sulking alone but I guess you have that covered, Hermione. I'll just go back and sleep a few more hours, alright? Have fun you two, don't do anything that might get you into trouble with mum."
Harry watched as his best friend climbed the stairs and he couldn't help but shout his name. "Ron!"
The redhead in question turned back and watched as his black haired best friend nervously moved his gazed between the bushy haired girl and Ron himself, so the redhead just snorted and shook his head.
"I'm happy for you, mate!" That was the last thing Ron said before disappearing back into the dorm room.
"See?" Hermione said as she played with the hair at the back of his head. "Told you so."
Harry said nothing more as he dived into her lips once more, moving around and laying her down on the sofa as he moved on top of her like a starving man.