Chapter 3: Snogging One of Your Best Mates
Several weeks later, there was a Quidditch game between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Harry could not play because he had one of his secret meetings with Dumbledore. When he returned to the Common Room, fearing the team had lost without him, he instead found a celebration.
"We won! We won!" Ron yelled to him. "450 to 140! We won!"
Harry looked around; there was Hermione running toward him; she had a hard blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her.
Hermione gave a squeal of surprise into Harry's mouth. Yet she did not pull away. She instead let herself get used to the feeling of his lips pressed against her own. Harry continued to kiss her unabated, feeling her out, seeing if this was alright. After a few moments, to his astonishment, Hermione let out a sigh of pleasure and happily began to return his very public display of affection. She was letting him know: Yes, yes, this is alright. Yes, yes, you can kiss me. After several long moments, or it might have been half an hour - or possibly several sunlit days - they broke apart.
The pair looked around. The Common Room was hushed and people were staring at them with stunned expressions on their faces. Harry's eyes searched for Ron. He finally found him near the back of the crowd. After a long silence, he shrugged as if to say If you have to, you have to.
The great monster inside of of him roaring in triumph, he grinned down at Hermione, who smiled shyly back. He whispered in her ear, "Can I kiss you again?"
"May I," she corrected, as if she was his teacher and not his new lover.
"May I kiss you again?"
She grinned with amusement. "Yes, you may." Harry and Hermione snogged more passionately and everyone cheered.