Hi guys!

So yes, this is it! The final part :) Thank you to all who have followed and/or favorited over the last couple of days and a special thanks to all the reviewers. I've had such a great time, thank you! Please tell me what you thought of this ending. I hope you all stay safe and healthy in these trying times. May the ending to this story brighten your day.

Love,

Flora

'Harry, where are we going?' Hermione asked in a hushed tone, as they exited the Gryffindor common room. 'I told you I needed to study tonight-...'

'You trust me, right?' Harry said, with a grin. 'I told you it's important.'

'Important enough to break curfew? I'm a Prefect, for crying out loud! If you would only tell me-...'

'I won't. Now stop protesting and get under that cloak.'

Hermione groaned, with a very irritated look on her face, as she let him drape the silky fabric over her head. 'You're going to be the death of me someday, I just know it,' she mumbled. Harry laughed, as they began their descend from Gryffindor tower.

The walk to the Room of Requirement hadn't been that long, but it hadn't stopped Harry from feeling more anxious with ever steep he took. He had a lump in his throat and his stomach just couldn't stop making these somersaults, no matter how hard he tried. He was nervous alright, but everything considered, it was a good kind of nervous. And it was about bloody time.

They quickly made their way to the 7th corridor. He made sure Hermione followed him as he walked three times past the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy and his ballet-dancing trolls. When the wooden door appeared, he smiled contently.

The room had accommodated to Harry's needs, as it was not as big as during DA-practice, but still spacious enough not to make them feel trapped. It looked cozy, somewhat alike Gryffindor Common Room, without all the red and gold, but with a comfortable sofa, some armchairs and a burning fireplace. A pick-up was playing some light jazz music and Harry felt at ease immediately. He would be able to do this, he convinced himself.

'This looks nice,' Hermione said, breaking his train of thought, 'but I still don't understand why you brought me here tonight.'

Harry cleared his throat. 'I want to discuss that day,' he said, turning to face her. He had no idea where to start now that he stood before her, even though he had practiced it in his head over and over. It was a lot more difficult now she actually stood in front of him and he thought of all the ways his plan could backfire.

'Oh,' she replied, tense. 'What about it?'

He could still back out, he thought for a fleeting moment. He still could make up some excuse and they would just go back to the tower and... No. He was a Gryffindor, for crying out loud. If he wouldn't dare to make this step now, how would he ever face Voldemort?

'Snape knows,' he decided, not to cut to the chase immediately. 'He found out during Occlumency.'

Her eyes widened.

'What did he see? Did he hear his-...'

'Yes, he did. He first thought it was some weird dream of mine...' - Hermione laughed out loud - 'but then I confessed to him what it was.'

Hermione's eyes lit up brightly, as she was trying to picture Harry's awkward moment with their despised teacher.

'That must have been a fun conversation,' she mocked him, friendly slapping his arm.

'He assured me I would be scrubbing cauldrons for ages if I would ever mention it to anyone,' Harry chuckled. 'So I guess it's a good thing we decided to keep it a secret.'

'Wouldn't want that,' Hermione wisely nodded. 'I would pick Azkaban over having detention with Snape for the rest of my life... But that's it? Why did you bring me here to tell that?'

Okay, then. Here it was. The moment. He braced himself and gave her a tight smile.

'No, that's not it,' Harry hesitated, looking down. There was a slight pause, but then he realized that it was now or never. He took a deep breath and returned his gaze to her - to her beautiful brown eyes, and he looked at the tiny freckles on top of her nose. 'Snape also asked how I managed to prematurely break the spell, Hermione.'

Even though the hearth cast shadows over her face, Harry saw that Hermione turned a bit pale. He also noticed that her hands began to shake.

'Ah. You told him I helped you, didn't you?' she said, feigning calmness quite obviously.

'Yes. And I asked him what made you immune to the perfume, and he said that you weren't. That you noticed the effects too.'

Hermione did something very un-Hermione-like: she stayed silent. More than anything this confirmed for Harry that he had been right. He felt a pang in his chest - how could he not have known earlier? Why hadn't he seen the signs? He must have caused her incredible heartache: the one person who had never tried to hurt him, was hurting now because of his actions. He felt himself reach out for her trembling fingers, and weaved his own around them. She looked at their hands, now intertwined, and raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled at him.

'I want you to know that I care a lot about you, Hermione,' Harry said, softly. 'More than I care about anyone in this world. You were the first one in my life who showed me affection. You were the first person I can remember who hugged me and actually cared about me. Cared for me deeply. And I want you to know that... I feel that too.'

Harry didn't know how he managed to get the words out of his throat - with Cho it had seemed impossible. But this was Hermione. His best friend. With her, everything seemed so easy.

'Whenever we're together, I feel at ease. A lot of bad things have happened for the past year, and I'm sure are going to happen over the course of the next few years, but when I'm here, standing in front of you, so close to you... I feel so strong. And when I look at you, I just feel so... Blessed, I guess? I feel blessed to have such a great person, to have someone by my side who I know will be there for me, no matter what. I feel blessed to have found someone who... Who makes me feel like I can take on the entire world. I am so grateful to have you in my life, Hermione. So grateful. You have no idea.'

'Oh Harry,' Hermione said, her eyes beaming and somewhat glistening. 'That's so sweet, I mean, I-...'

Harry cut her answer short by squeezing her fingers lightly. He gave her a sweet smile, telling her with his expression that it was okay, that she could say all those words to him later.

'I want to prove it to you. Don't speak yet. I want to show you, just how much I care.'

'What do you mean-...' Hermione started, but when she saw what Harry took from his robes, she replied with an almost silent "Oh".

Harry dangled a very familiar looking vial in front of her eyes. The label on it made sure that she couldn't be mistaken. Odoratus Amabitur.

'How did you get that?' she managed to ask, clearly shocked.

'I nicked it as soon as Snape replaced it. I'm not sure he's noticed yet - if he has, I will have to come up with a really good excuse, but I don't care. I also stole the antidote from the cabinet in his private quarters - I managed to sneak away during Fred and George's swamp stunt.'

He held out another vial and placed them both on the little table.

'You're going to get in so much trouble over that,' Hermione gasped. 'Harry, you should be more careful. We have talked about this, Umbridge wants nothing more but a good excuse to expel you from Hogwarts-...'

'I don't care,' Harry said, simply. 'I want to show you how I feel. I want you to use the perfume on you.'

He took off the cap of the first vial, showing a small spraying head. Hermione looked surprised, then she pursed her lips.

'No, Harry. I couldn't possibly do that.'

'Hermione-...'

'You might think you feel the same, but you don't know that. You don't know what it will do! What if you go crazy and-...'

'I brought us to this private room, just to have no one else possibly being affected by it,' Harry soothed. 'If I do go crazy, the antidote is in the other vial, and I'm sure you'll be able to convince me to let you spray it on yourself, without me harassing you.'

'No,' Hermione said, firmly now. 'Harry, I get that you feel like you owe me some kind of repayment, but this is not the way. If I spray the antidote on myself and you break from the spell, you won't remember anything, and-...'

'You remembered everything, right?'

'Yes, but that's only because I wasn't affected-...'

'You were affected,' Harry reminded her. 'Snape told me. Didn't you see the glow on my skin? Didn't you smell-...'

'Of course I did,' Hermione exclaimed, frustrated now. 'But that's different, Harry.'

'It's not,' Harry soothed. 'It will be exactly the same.'

Hermione looked heartbroken.

'But what if it won't be, Harry? What then?'

And this time she didn't mean the antidote, but she asked something more meaningful, more deep. He looked at her sad, insecure expression - she was so vulnerable in this moment, and he couldn't bear to look at her agony. Boldly, Harry took one step towards her and brought his right hand up to cradle her face. He softly touched her cheek, tracing small, soothing lines on her face, gently putting some stray hairs behind her ears. Her face felt so soft to his touch. He brought his face closer to hers, making their noses slightly touch, and Harry noticed that Hermione was holding her breath.

'You trust me, right?' he repeated.

Her eyes were so close, that Harry had problems focusing on them clearly, but he could see the look in her eyes was one of bold determination.

'Always,' she answered.

With one free hand, he picked up the Odoratus Amabitur.

'Do you want to do it yourself?'

Hermione nodded. As Harry set a step back, to give her some space, she took the vial from him and gave it one, tiny pump. He saw the liquid falling on her skin, and the next moment, he saw her skin absorb the perfume. She immediately became radiant - but to Harry, she had always been like that.

'And?' she asked. 'Any urge to attack me or go crazy? How do I look?'

Harry smiled at her.

'You're Hermione,' he said. 'A little more radiant, maybe, but still. Just Hermione.'

'And... That's a good thing, right?'

He smiled at her gently, remembering their conversation in the Shrieking Shack.

'Believe me, Hermione. It's the best thing.'

He stepped closer to her again, reveling in the smell that she emitted much more strongly than usual, that familiar smell that he had recognized, all those weeks back. Maybe it was the perfume, or maybe it was just the way she looked at him, but all his nerves had evaporated and had made room for a whole different emotion - anticipation. With one swoop he pulled her into his arms, and with the next he felt his lips brush against hers. For a moment he halted, sensing that this was about to happen, and how excited that made him feel. He felt Hermione breath softly against his skin and he smiled. He wanted this, more than anything.

He pressed his lips unto hers - softly at first, but more firmly the second, at awe with how good it felt. Her lips were soft, tempting, heavenly. He melted against her, as their lips met each other, over and over. The feeling of Hermione against him felt so normal, so natural. He waived one hand in her brown curls, one hand pressed the small of her back against him, making them both flush. He realized he wanted to taste her, and just when the thought popped into his head, Hermione anticipated his thoughts by opening her mouth to him. He sighed softly into their embrace as he tentatively brought his tongue against her, shooting sparks throughout his entire body as they met. Her smell ebbed away slowly, but lingered on him still, and he half-noticed that the glow surrounding her began to fade as well. He didn't care. He wanted Hermione, with his entire being, like had had not wanted anything in his life before.

They kissed again, and again, until they gasped for breath, and then they kissed some more. Then, suddenly, they started chuckling together, and then they started laughing. One more kiss - another eruption of laughter, the beautiful sound of her sweet voice, filling the room. He looked at her - his bushy-haired, big-brained, best friend, wearing an over-sized jumper and softly bleached jeans. At this moment, with her slightly puffed lips and even crazier hair, she couldn't have been more perfect.

'You are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, Hermione,' he said softly.

'Harry-...' she began, but he did not let her finish. He locked her in a kiss again, opening his mouth, slowly tasting her with his tongue, enjoying their closeness. Hermione made a appreciative murmur and ruffled through his hair.

When they broke apart, they were silent for a mere second, before bursting out laughing again. He loved the sound of her laughing voice, Harry realized, and he felt happiness coarse through him like a whirlwind.

'Is the perfume still working?' Hermione asked. 'It should have stopped, I mean, we kissed after all... Am I still glowing?'

'You always do,' Harry said, slyly, which earned him slap on his arm. He feigned pain and grinned. 'Ouch, is that a way to repay me?'

'Absolutely,' Hermione said, with a half stern, half amused look on her face. 'You made me so nervous with that entire speech of yours! Couldn't you have just kissed me when we walked in here, without using the vials?'

'I wanted to do it properly,' Harry apologized. 'And this was memorable, won't you agree? So memorable that, perhaps, we should-...'

His words got lost when Hermione kissed him again, her hands firmly placed around his shoulders. He chuckled into their kiss, pulling her close against him, basking in the warmth of her embrace. He wished he could stay in that room with her forever. When they finally let go again, Harry felt incredibly proud of himself. They made themselves decent again, by straightening their hair and their clothes and they shared a happy, knowingly smile.

'You should go back tomorrow to give those vials to professor Snape,' Hermione said, her bossy self again. 'And, although I really have enjoyed this, I should remind you that we have our OWL's coming up in six weeks, and...'

Harry smiled at her contently, listening about her strict studying schedule, while putting the vials away in his robes again. Then he held out his hand, which she took, and they left the Room of Requirements, both silently thanking Neville for his clumsiness.