By Your Side | Harry Potter

Tags Include: Book 4: Goblet of Fire, Missing Scene, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter Friendship. They deserve the Best Things. No Intentional Character Bashing

Hermione knew she's become irritable as the holidays drew closer and that Harry noticed. She was hoping to avoid a confrontation until she was home, and use their letters as a way to soothe her attitude to her friend. She doesn't often get her way, so she's not terribly surprised when Harry surprises her in an empty corridor.

'What's wrong?' Harry asks and the panic his question causes almost distracts from how pale he is, or how injured he still appears despite Madam Pomfrey's best efforts. The tournament has taken its toll and was in no way ready to be soothed over and forgotten. The trembling in his limbs gives away the torture he fought through, lived after. The bags under his eyes highlight his lack of sleep and the sick pallor of his skin shows how he's yet to recover, and despite all that, here he is worrying over her.

'Nothing,' Hermione replies quietly, her tongue heavy and awkward in her mouth. They are alone here, thankfully, with Rita still trapped inside her jar; Hermione has no fear of being overheard from anyone that her words aren't directed towards. Still, Harry doesn't deserve them. He has other things to worry about, with more pressing things to deal with.

He reaches up tremulously and his grip on her arm is weak. Harry's been incredibly irritated with how physically and magically weak he's been left, unable to shrug away his latest near death experience like he usually does after escaping their matron's tender mercies. However, like everything else, he's being stubborn about it. If Madam Pomfrey didn't worry about him climbing the walls, he'd still be in the Hospital Ward. Instead, he has a number of potions to consume in the morning and before bed and exercises he has to do in the evening.

'Have I done something wrong?' Harry continues doggedly, unwilling to take Hermione's word for it.

'No,' Hermione is quick to reassure as frustration and guilt coil in her gut. 'Of course not.' He is, for better or worse, her best friend. He's short-tempered and didn't take his studies as seriously as she'd have liked and she's disregarded people in primary school for less. Harry also has a bad habit of sticking his nose into things it didn't belong in and - and he's so good. He'd do just about anything for anyone and doesn't expect anything in return.

'Then, what is it?' Harry frowns restlessly, shifting closer before moving back again. 'I…you've been a bit off and you'll be going home soon and we won't be able to fix it, then.'

'It's nothing you've done, Harry.' Hermione sighs, can feel her toes curling in her brogues. Harry's still staring at her, desperately. There's more focus in his eyes now than there have been in some time, but they are still twice as dark as they should be, shadowed by the weight of his brow. 'But…'

'But,' Harry prompts quickly. 'Please, Hermione. Whatever it is -'

'It's nothing , Harry!' Hermione snaps and instantly regrets it when Harry flinches. He's been a bundle of nerves since he returned from the graveyard, hand constantly twitching for his wand at any provocation. Even Malfoy's known better than to bother him at the moment. 'It's stupid and petty and you shouldn't have to -'

'Let me choose what I should and shouldn't deal with,' Harry interrupts stubbornly.

Hermione bites her lip. 'Back in the second task,' she begins hesitantly and yearns to re-swallow them once they reach Harry's ear and he leans forward attentively. 'I know you'd…made up with Ron by then, but…was he…'

She winces and wishes she could have hid her anxiety over this better, but…Hermione has given everything to her friendship with Harry - because he deserved nothing less - but it's been hard, and it felt…it felt like he overlooked her. It's a selfish thought, she knows that. Merlin help her, a student has been killed and Harry had to watch and Voldemort is back. This is the last thing that should be on her mind.

'Hermione…' Harry breathes after a moment of silence, like what she's said has fully sunk in and he gets it. His grades aside, Harry's sharp; could make leaps of logic that a detective would be jealous of and he's a better judge of character than her.

Hermione fidgets with her hands, bends her ankles sideways in her shoes to keep her standing in front of him. If she ran it would only hurt Harry more and Harry's been hurt enough. 'I know, I know -'

'You're both my best friends,' Harry says and the guilt triples. She almost wishes she'd lied, if only that Harry's trust had been tested enough this year and Hermione doesn't want to add to the number that have abused it, however slight the deception would be. 'But…I think… Hermione, Ron got taken because I would miss him the most.'

Hermione's gaze which shifted somewhere over Harry's left shoulder is glazed and she bites her tongue, her throat tightening in upset. No, she thinks as her eyes sting, absolutely refusing to do this in front of him. She wills the tears away. 'I see…' Her voice sounds shaky, unbelievably hurt and she hates herself for it. Harry's her first, real friend after years of nothing but scorn and derision from her peers. However she feels for Ron she can't help the mounting jealousy, that Ron's gotten to Harry before her, that he held more of his heart than she did.

'No, I don't know if you do,' Harry murmurs before shifting back into her line of sight, insistent. 'I don't get how they knew who to choose, Hermione. But…I - I'd miss Ron more because I don't think you'd ever...go.'

Hermione's heart thumps loudly as her eyes flick back up to meet Harry's gaze. He smiles tiredly in response, with uncertainty. He's better than Ron at talking about feelings, but he's also awkward about it; awkward and uneasy. Like he's been rejected before and doesn't want to risk it again but forces himself to anyway.

'What?' Hermione breathes.

Harry shuffles on his feet. He's always fidgeting, like he's incapable of standing still. Unless he's angry, but then they have bigger problems to worry about if he is. 'You stood by me this whole year. Against Ron. Against our hour and the school. Even that stuff with Skeeter,' he explains as he runs his hand through his hair in a nervous gesture he can barely accomplish at the minute. 'I…don't think I'll ever have the chance to miss you, because I don't think I'll be able to lose you.'

'Oh.' Hermione blinks, tears on the edge of falling as she watches Harry's face, the direct line of his eyes, the pink of his cheeks and how endearingly awkward he seems in the face of too much honesty.

'You…understand?' Harry asks gingerly as the silence between them starts to grow.

Hermione finds a smile pulling at her mouth and Harry doesn't have the chance to move, before she's throwing herself at him for a hug. He barely shies away from her now, like he had at the beginning when their friendship was newer, and his mistreatment at foreign hands fresher. There's barely a pause before Harry's hands curl around her back and that in itself is vindicating.

'Yes,' Hermione responds as a weight leaves her shoulders. 'Yes, I understand.'

'That's - good,' Harry says breathlessly as she squeezes tighter, holds him closer. Hermione almost thinks she can feel his heartbeat against her chest and is thankful for it, with how close she'd come to losing him this time. Every year at Hogwarts has been dangerous in retrospect but this occasion, the threat had rung over them with a clear finality.

'And you'll never have to; miss me, that is,' Hermione promises quietly into his neck and pretends not to notice how his grip on her spasms. Carrying down this road with Harry will be dangerous, but... 'I'm not going anywhere.'