Pairing: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter

Rating: General

Summary: Just before the first task, Hermione is a mess of nervous fussing over Harry and decides perhaps a muggle tradition is just the thing he needs.

First in the Kiss Me Lucky collection

"Harry, wait."

Hermione's voice halted him faster than any stunner could. His best friend had been anxious ever since his name flew out of that cursed goblet, and her nerves were heightening his own. For weeks, the pair spent every free moment in empty classrooms preparing for the dragon. It had been Harry who stumbled into the plan.

"If I just had my broom," he remarked offhand, but the complaint sent an idea sparking off in Hermione's head. She immediately sped off to the library promptly spending the next four hours pouring over the rules and regulations of the Triwizard Tournament. Close to midnight, she returned to the common room tired but triumphant.

"Harry, you're brilliant."

After the initial shock at the compliment, Harry listened as she detailed the plan she had devised during her marathon research. It was simple. Harry liked simple. Hermione, however, was beginning to question if perhaps simple had been too easy.

With a gentle tug, she pulled him into an empty classroom and paced.

"You're sure your broom isn't going to be hindered by anything, right?" she asked. "You remembered to take it out of your trunk."

"It's laid out on my bed just like we planned."

He watched her make a second, third, fourth pass of the room before grabbing her shoulder.

"Hermione, the plan will work," he assured her giving her arms a gentle squeeze. It didn't balm her nerves as much as he hoped.

"Your wand!" she gasped, eyes wild with irrational panic. "You have it, right? You didn't forget-"

He flourished the wand from his arm holster and bopped her nose with the tip.

"Okay," she breathed before continuing to her next concern. "and you're comfortable with the spell? Did I go over it enough fo-"

"Accio quill."

A long-forgotten quill zoomed through the air into his outstretched hand. He tossed it back to the floor with a satisfied smirk. In truth, he'd been using the spell every chance he could, fine-tuning his casting for it each time, slowly backing up his distance from the summoned object. Hermione had prepared him well.

"And you're sure your window is open? None of your roommates could have closed it?" Before he could even answer, she surged on starting to turn towards the door. "Maybe I should go double-check."

His hands rested on her shoulders again as he ducked his head to meet her eye. Over the summer, he'd grown taller than her. It was only 4 centimeters but still enough to boast being taller.

"It's open," he assured her. He'd quadruple-checked before leaving, even locking the door behind him. "I was the last to leave. Hermione, everything is set up just as we planned."

Her lower lip trembled before she tucked it between her teeth. The fear and worry were hard to expel. Not until he was safely past the dragon and by her side again.

"What is it?" he asked sensing there was more she needed to say.

"Just one more thing." Her eyes darted nervously around the room as her tongue darted out to wet her lips. The last item on her pre-challenge list was the one that required the most courage of all to face. A sigh rushed through her lips before she pressed them to his cheek in the briefest kiss. Despite the short contact, she could feel his cheeks burn under her lips as her own flushed.

"A kiss for good luck," she hurried to explain. "You know, the silly Muggle tradition? Well, I thought you could use it today."

Harry was familiar with the tradition. Usually, the princess kissed a dashing knight or her prince before he ran off into battle. He never fancied himself much of a knight in shining armor, but he was battling a dragon today, wasn't he? Maybe he was a bit more of a knight than he realized, and if it meant receiving good luck kisses from Hermione, he'd take it. And if today was meant for luck, Harry decided to push his just a little further.

"I think you missed," he told her, already pink cheeks flaming a deep red. Her brow drew together in confusion.

"What?"

He took a steely breath before meeting her eyes. The soft brown colour felt like drowning in hot chocolate. Warm and comforting, just like her. Gryffindor courage, he reminded himself.

"You missed." And he pressed his lips to hers. The kiss lasted as long as her peck on the cheek did.

"If the dragon gets me, at least I went for it," he joked, grinning at the gobsmacked look on her face. The comment forced her to recover, however, and she smacked his shoulder hard.

"Don't even say that. You're gonna make it. You have to. It was a good luck kiss, remember?"

"Well I almost never have good luck so maybe I need a few more. You know, just to be sure."

Her smile instantly lifted his mood and confidence. He would defeat the dragon, and he'd do it for her anytime.

Hesitantly, she leaned closer pressing her lips firmly to his this time. He gently cradled the back of her head, trying to remember any of those stupid romance movies his aunt always watched. Her head tilted just the wrong way causing her nose to awkwardly bump his and send his glasses askew. The pair broke apart laughing as he righted his glasses.

"Feel better?" he asked grabbing her hand to pull her towards the pitch.

"You're the one about to face a dragon and you're asking if I feel better?"

He shot her a cheeky grin and laced their fingers together. "If I felt any better, I might explode right now."

Her cheeks flushed red, and he couldn't help but think it was something he could get used to. The dusting of pink across her cheeks was adorable. They walked in silence through the castle to the edge of the champions' tent. In the distance, a horn blew a thirty-minute warning.

"One more," he asked. "For luck right? It's tradition."

"Come back alive, then we'll talk."

He smiled and squeezed her hand one more time before slipping into the championship tent.

He could get used to good luck kisses.