Hermione was staring at the empty parchment rhythmically hitting the table with her quill. She needed just one reason. One reason. But she couldn't find any.
How could she not notice it earlier? If it was so obvious to Harry it should have been obvious to her as well. If she hadn't fancied Ron, she wouldn't have been so moved by his behaviour, right? If she hadn't fancied Ron, she wouldn't have been so jealous about him, right? But was she really jealous about him? Did she really want to be with him or maybe she was just craving for his attention. Was she really that shallow? Was she missing something?
He wasn't even nice for her. She cried because of him many times, too many times to accept it. Did she fancy him just because she saw an opportunity to change him into someone who will meet her expectations?
'What did this poor table do to you?' Harry asked sitting next to Hermione. She put her quill down in hurry and looked at him.
'Merlin, you froze pretty badly.' She noticed, taking his hand in hers. 'You should have used warming charm! Why are you so reckless? The game is in a week!'
'Believe me, I've used it more than once but it has finally worn off.' He said pulling his wand out of his packet. He cast the spell one more time but it didn't work.
'Can I try?' Hermione asked. He just nodded his head. But her charm didn't work either.
'I guess I'm a lost cause.' He said shrugging.
'You're just too frozen for a common spell.' She stated. 'So we will use a simple way.' She waved her wand and summoned a blanket. She wrapped it around Harry and sneaked under it next to him. He put his arm around her and made himself comfortable.
They didn't talk much. They were just sitting in comfortable silence watching cracking fireplace. Hermione wasn't use to it. She wasn't a kind of person who can stand lack of activity for more than five minutes. But to her surprise she managed to free her mind from all the problems she used to analyse over and over again. She was relaxed. It just felt good.
'How long are they going to continue this charade?' Ron wondered watching Harry and Hermione cuddling on the couch across the room.
'And why do you think this is a charade?' Ginny looked at her brother with a rosen eyebrow.
'Come on, it's so obvious they don't fancy each other!' He answered, clearly irritated. 'Who do they think they're fooling?'
'Honestly, Ronald Billius Weasley' She started. 'I'm sure they're fooling anybody but themselves.'
'What?'
'Oh, please! One day they will be telling their grandchildren how stupid they were playing a couple and not noticing the true feelings are involved.'
'You're wrong! Hermione will marry me one day!' Ron stated.
'It's too late for you.' She shrugged. 'You should have asked her out before she experienced being Harry's girlfriend. I'm sure you can't beat him right now.'
Harry looked pale and scared. He was staring at his empty plate not able to eat a thing. What if they loose? What if he tortured his teammates with countless training sessions for nothing? He looked across the table and met Ron's gaze. He was nervous as well but at least he was able to swallow some sausages. That's good. The keeper needs to be strong.
'Harry' Hermione's worried voice came to him as she gently touched his arm. 'Eat something, please.' He looked at her not really noticing her. 'Are you okay?'
'I'm fine.' He said shortly. He was going to leave but Hermione started to fill his plate with various things.
'You're not going to go until you eat something.'
'I have a game to play.'
'So you better start eating right now.' She smiled. 'And don't look at me like I killed your brother. I'm just taking care of you.'
'If you force me to eat anything, I will vomit.'
'You're the best seeker and the most dedicated captain this team can have. You'll win this game, I'm sure of it.' She said and kissed his cheek. 'And now one bite.' She placed a toast in front of his mouth.
'Merlin you're so stubborn.' He whined but took a bite. 'Ok, let's go and kick some asses, guys!'
'Come on, Harry!' Hermione whispered, clenching her fists. She was so concerned she didn't notice she was hurting her palms with her nails. Gryffindor leaded with only 20 points and she was almost sure Ron wasn't going to bare the pressure much longer.
She was watching Harry hoping he would catch the snitch anytime soon.
And finally he did.
She jumped and shouted for joy. She tried to rush down the stands as soon as possible but she stuck between other students.
Harry landed on the pitch and shook hands with his teammates. Hermione was slowly moving forward watching him carefully. Ginny jumped off her broom, hugged her captain and kissed his cheek enthusiastically, too enthusiastically for Hermione to like.
Shouldn't she celebrate this moment with her boyfriend rather than mine? Hermione wondered. Her heart skipped a bit as she realized what thought has just came through her mind. Of course, she can, he's just my fake boyfriend.
When she finally got to the pitch most of the players were moving towards locker room. Harry went along between Ron and Dean chatting cheerfully about the game. As he noticed Hermione he stopped and smiled brightly. She was going to jump on him and hug him tightly like she did numerous time before but all of a sudden she couldn't bring herself to make a move. She just stopped few inches from him considering her options with her stomach twisted.
But Harry couldn't realize what was going on in her head. He was so excited about the winning, he didn't notice her confusion. For the first time he put his hands on her waist and pulled her closer. She felt her breasts pressed against his chest separated only by their clothes. It was supposed to be a quick kiss. Just a short brush of lips like it was before. But she had no idea why she opened her mouth just a little and let their tongues collide. She was overwhelmed by this new experience, an unexpected shiver run through her body, his smell was all over in the air around her. Her heart beat faster and faster. She was sure he could feel it through their joined chests. Her face flushed. She took a deep breath as they finally parted. He gently touched her cheek and put a loose strain of her hair behind her ear. She smiled shyly.
'You were right, we won!' He said cheerfully. They won indeed but all of a sudden it didn't matter any longer. She's just kissed Harry Potter and for the first time she really liked it.
