Chapter 13

Hermione looked up from her seat and saw the seatbelt light flash. The plane was soon going to land in Rome. She was obviously excited about visiting Italy, but she wished it were under better circumstances. The young witch had remained quiet for almost the entire flight. Actually, she was silent for the majority of the morning as well.

Ron was concerned at first when they woke up, but instantly forgot about it after Harry prepared breakfast. Harry on the other hand, was clearly aware of the reason for her silence and, to her chagrin, refused to ask her about it. About last night. Even when they were alone, or at least whispering distance from Ron's chomping, they never talked about it. Was she going to ask him? She didn't want to. She figured she had done enough last night.

The young witch checked her watch and tried to calculate Ron's travel time. If she was correct, she usually was, Ron was almost halfway to Egypt to meet Harry's contact, Charlie. Neville was supposed to travel with him, but he was delayed due to extra work with Shacklebot. After the "disappearance" of Mrs. Robinson, Neville was placed in charge of almost all of her daily duties. However, according to Neville, he was already doing most of the work. It would be another day or two before Neville could join Ron in Cairo.

She turned her head away from the window since she was starting to become nauseous and closed the flap. Harry was buried in a magazine. His eyes were darting from side to side of the page. However, she'd catch him staring at her every now and then. It was clear to her that he wasn't reading. If he was, his eyelids would be drooping and he'd be yawning more frequently. He had only yawned once and only once the entire flight, and that was when he first opened the magazine.

"I think we should talk about it," Hermione broke the silence, the irritating silence, and startled Harry. He jumped at the sound of her voice, causing him to tear the pages between his fingers.

"S-sure," Harry muttered with a fake smile as he placed the magazine into the pouch of the seat in front of him, Hermione hated fake smiles. "I mean, if you want to."

"Of course I want to," she said quickly. A sense of annoyance and concern was in her voice. The young witch adjusted in the seat to where she was facing him.

"What is there to say, exactly?" He asked, his words were pleading for a response. It was obvious he was treading in unfamiliar waters. Maybe he'd never been in such a scenario with Ginny? Or maybe this was due to the fact that he had been void of any real contact with his friends? Whatever the case, Hermione was not in the mood of leading him by hand, but she'd do it if she had to. Just this once.

"You know what, Mr. Potter," Hermione began, "never mind." She looked out of the corner of her eye and saw despair creep across Harry's face. Of course, he had been away for too long. He couldn't even tell she was being sarcastic with him, at least when he wasn't pretending to be Logan.

"Look," Harry said, "I'm sorry about last night. It's not that I didn't want to…" He was at a loss of words. It was cute, she thought. Sort of. At least he was trying to communicate with her and this was the first step to getting things back to normal. Or whatever one could call normal.

When they were young, their relationship was platonic, except for a number of times. However, she'd always push those moments out of her heart and mind. So in a way, when it came to them, Hermione was also treading in unfamiliar waters, or more like flailing. She was beginning to over think things. What was she going to do? What should she say to make everything better? The young witch had to regain her composure and make things right.

"It was awkward?" Hermione didn't know why she said that, but it seemed to have worked. She wasn't testing him, but the young witch wanted to know what he was thinking. This was the best way to generate a genuine response from him.

"Yes," he replied with a half smile. Hermione was now confused. Her plan just backfired. Then Harry noticed the dismay on her face. "No. No. Not that kind of awkward."

"Then what kind of awkward, exactly?" Her eyebrow cocked.

"It's just… We were on Ron's couch…" He tried to explain frantically.

"Ron's couch?" What was he talking about?

"Yes, and he was in the next room…"

Then it hit her. "Oh. Oh my God, Harry, I'm so sorry for putting you in that position. I didn't even realize…"

"No, don't be. It's alright." He tried to assure her. Hermione felt like their roles had instantly switched. She really was flailing.

"Okay, okay."

"Look, I'm not even sure if I'm even ready. It's been a long time, and we've both changed and grown, some of us, maybe for the worst…" Hermione saw the sadness in his face. It certainly had been too long.

"Harry, don't talk like that," she protested. "I know you've been gone for a long time, but you're still a good person."

"It's just," Harry muttered, "I've been living a different life for so long. Sometimes it's hard to remember which person I really am."

"Well, let me remind you," Hermione carefully took his hands into hers. "You're Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived and hero of the Second Wizarding War. You're a person that will help anyone in need; you'll even go as far as risk your own safety to do so. You're smart, funny, and kind. And most importantly? You, Harry, are my best friend." Harry remained quiet as he digested the information.

"Th-thanks, Hermione," he smiled softly. "I'm sorry about all of this."

"Don't be."

"Just give me some time. I'll get there."

"I should actually be apologizing to you," said Hermione. "I understand, Harry. Last night, I obviously wasn't thinking things through. I'll give you all the time you need. I just want you know to that I'm here for you, and always will be."

"I know. Me too." Harry leaned over and kissed her on the forehead before taking the magazine out of the pouch. The butterflies in Hermione stomach were gone. However, Hermione had the strange inclination to have a little "fun" with their current predicament.

"Harry?" she purred softly.

"Yes," he turned his attention back to her.

"Did you like it?" Hermione bit her lower lip.

"Did I like it?" He was dumbfounded.

"Yeah. I don't recall you ever saying you liked it." Hermione watched Harry turn bright red.

"Of course," Harry replied quickly. "Of coursed I liked it. I mean… I mean…" He noticed the large grin on her face and realized he was being played. "Very funny." Hermione giggled softly and returned a kiss on his cheek.

"You really are amazing, Mr. Potter."

"I should be saying the same thing, Miss Granger."

At that moment the airplane landed on the tarmac. There were a few bumps on the way down, but it was a relatively soft landing, just like their conversation. It took them about 20 minutes to exit the plane, but Hermione was not complaining. Even though it would take Harry some time to completely embrace their new relationship, he spent every minute in the plane holding her hand. They were in Rome, and they were about to embark on another adventure. Hermione could barely contain herself.