Disclaimer/Author's note: I don't own the rights to Harry Potter. Thank you to those who review; it means a lot! On to part 67.

Snow, #67

When It Snows

My breath caught in my throat when Harry burst into the exhilarated common room. It almost always did when he made a sudden entrance. I stopped breathing altogether when he swooped down and kissed Ginny.

I knew it was coming to this. I did. I'd even helped them, pushed him along, reassured her that he really was that great. I worked at getting them together. I fit their emotional issues in between my studying. I helped them figure out that they were perfect for each other, of course. They always had been. I told Harry with confidence that the rumors about Ginny weren't true. (They were.) I told Ginny that Harry talked about her all the time. (He'd never brought her up.) I manufactured some sort of love out of naïve fancy. It made me happy to see them excited and hopeful.

Especially Harry. With even the smallest of hints that Ginny and Dean might be on the rocks, his face would light up. It rarely did that anymore. He smiled when I mentioned her name, laughed when I related something comedic she'd uttered. It was so nice to see him happy about someone other than Ron and me. I convinced myself that it was right, this lying. It was right to give this tragic boy something good in his life. He deserved the chance to be normal, to like someone, possibly love them. I wanted Harry happy again, wanted him to be the buoyant boy he'd been at eleven.

But he was sixteen now, and he was kissing our best friend's sister. I knew it was coming to this, I did. In fact, it wasn't even an issue of Ginny being Ron's sister. It was an issue of Ginny being another girl. Another girl that wasn't me. Another girl that was beaming up at Harry, her red curls shining, as he looked anxiously around for Ron.

I saw Ron nod to him with a sort of brave grimace from across the Common Room. I was holed up with a book by the fire. It took Harry longer to find me. I wasn't sure why he did; it wasn't like he needed my permission. When he found my eyes, the elation drained somewhat from his features. He was still smiling, but he was no longer so pleased. I put my head down quickly, hiding my face. He'd seen the look on my face, probably the tears forming. Harry could always tell when I was about to cry, something Ron didn't notice even when it happened. He'd come over here, worrying over me, causing Ginny to grow worried as well, then suspicious. I got up quickly, weaving in and out of people and their butterbeers, hastening for the portrait hole. Thankfully, the happy couple had moved enough away from it that I could slip through unnoticed.

The fifth classroom on the left after leaving Gryffindor Tower was my favorite. It was deserted, and had been for years, judging by the faded notes on the blackboard. It was for some sort of Advanced Charms class then, and the withered theory had since been proven false. It was also the first one that was always unlocked.

I lit the lamps, wiping my eyes while doing so. I resolved not to cry anymore, to focus on something else. Charms work. It always calmed me down, and it seemed fitting for the locale. I was just getting a good snowfall going when Harry came through the door. He got within four feet of me before I could speak, and even then my voice was hoarse.

"How'd you find me?"

He smiled sadly. "This was the same classroom you came to after Ron and Lavender… you know, at that party. With the birds."

I half-smiled back, remembering Ron's look of horror as the cloud of canaries came shooting at him. I hopped off the desk I'd been sitting on. I focused on making it snow harder. "How'd you slip away?" I asked wryly, surprised that Ginny wasn't attached to his arm by now.

"I said I'd left something in Snape's office after detention."

"And Ginny didn't offer to come with you?" I quirked an eyebrow; knowing Ginny, it seemed strange.

"Well, Ron had gotten to us by that point, so he said he'd watch her until I got back," Harry explained, looking sheepish.

I laughed; it was just so Ron. I had the snow swirling lightly now, around and between us.

"Congratulations," I said, when the silence grew from comfortable to heavy.

Harry looked away from the dancing flakes and back to me. He looked serious now. "Why'd you run off, Hermione?"

I dropped his gaze. The snow moved faster, sticking to my hair and his clothes.

"Hermione, what's wrong? You know I'm no good at guessing about this. All I know is something is wrong."

When I didn't answer, he stepped closer, forcing me to look at him to avoid further awkwardness. He sighed heavily when I still wouldn't talk.

"Fine. Is it something Ron did?" he asked.

I shook my head.

He looked pained as he asked, "Is it something I did?"

I bit my lip and focused my gaze on his knees. Awkwardness be damned.

"Hermione?"

He moved closer, putting his hand on my shoulder. We were too close for the snow to go between us anymore. It spun thicker around us.

"It's Ginny, right?"

I nodded, barely. He sighed again, sounding defeated. "Ron was right for once."

I looked up, confused. "What?"

"Ron, he said… He kept saying that you, you know, that you… liked me," Harry said, trailing off into a whisper.

My eyes widened, giving me away. "I'm sorry, Harry. I--I'm so sorry. Look, forget about it. It's not important if I… you know. Just, don't worry about it," I stammered.

"He always said something else, too," Harry continued. "He always accused me of fancying you as well. It killed me, lying to him and saying that I didn't."

I was trying to comprehend what he'd just said when his lips found mine. The kiss was gentle, chaste, but firm. Harry didn't want me to be able to over think and then misinterpret this.

He pulled back from me a bit, his hand on my cheek lightly, and looked at the snow. He laughed abruptly. "Hermione, it's like a blizzard in here!"

I tore my eyes from his face and realized he was right. Blushing, I lifted my wand to calm the warm, dry snow.

Harry stopped my movements, bending to kiss me again, his hand slipping from my cheek to tangle in my hair. His other hand had closed around mine and my wand. The kiss deepened and I marveled at how, three years younger than Krum, he was much better at this. When we broke apart, I motioned to the now full-out storm rushing around us, holding us in a cylinder of white.

"You know, this isn't helping matters," I said, smiling weakly. He laughed brightly again, making my stomach flip.

"It's alright. I rather like it like this. It's like we have our own little winter world."

"Winter wonderland," I said softly against his lips. After some time, I pushed him away. "What about Ron?"

"He already knows, so I can't imagine he'll be too difficult to deal with. He probably won't talk to us for a month or so, but we've both dealt with that before."

"And Ginny?"

Harry shrugged. "Honestly? She'll probably have moved on by tomorrow evening. It's an old fancy, what she and I have. Fancies pass."

Though reassured by his words, something about his talk of fancies passing made me feel sad. Harry noticed.

"Ron was always wrong about me fancying you, you know."

I stopped breathing again, and not because Harry's mouth was on mine or because he was snogging Ginny. "Really?" I asked, my voice unnaturally high.

He shook his head. "I don't fancy you; I'm infatuated with you. I've tried to lie about it to him, myself even, but I've known since Third Year, right after we rescued Sirius, when the Dementors were closing in. You collapsed beside me, and I realized there was no way I could fight them off alone. I realized I couldn't save you, and it terrified me more than anything else ever had."

"And this infatuation, it's different than fancying?" I asked, my throat dry.

"Yes, don't you remember? Fancies fade. Infatuations are a whole different story."

"Oh. Yes. Of course," I said, not knowing what else to say. He grinned at my unusual quietness. My whole body felt warmed.

"Why did you ever encourage me to date Ginny?" he asked curiously, still grinning.

"I wanted you to be happy," I said shyly, "no matter who that was with. I wanted you to smile more."

He laughed. "Hermione, I smile more with you than with anyone I know. I can't believe you haven't realized that yet, Ron certainly has. He's also noticed that you laugh more with me than is 'healthy'."

I was doing just that when he kissed me again.