INSECURITIES
The following week, Hermione had to give her presentation to the ministry, about the new bill of rights for centaurs.
The audience in the wizengamot had been prepared for the presentation and the entire ministry was present, including Ethan Smith, Hermione's ex-boyfriend.
Aurors were standing guard at the gates, inside and out. Harry and Ron, Head and Deputy Head Aurors, were standing guard inside, at the door across from Hermione.
The brunette was received by a warm greeting from the master of ceremony of the event, the word was given to her and she began her presentation.
Her eloquence in speaking immediately captivated everyone, something that only Hermione had managed to do, demonstrating both her intelligence and her diversity of speech.
As the brunette spoke, Harry, still in the guard position with his hands behind his back, looked at her unable to help but smile at the pride he felt for all that his best friend had achieved. She was an incredible woman. He was proud, happy and completely in love with her, his eyes didn't miss anything the brunette did, it was almost hypnotic.
"These beings, they are as intellectually capable as any of us, deserve the same rights that protect us." She was very focused on what she was doing, but she couldn't help but take a fleeting glance towards where Harry was at the door. She had stopped a bit at the moment when a thought assaulted her.
''By Merlin! He looks so handsome, so sexy in his uniform and as a bodyguard!'' thought the brunette, who immediately shook her head slightly and returned to her presentation, without anyone noticing that she had been distracted. The only one to notice it was him, who at that moment had to become completely serious and avert his gaze so as not to distract her, his body took two steps back as he gave a visual overview of the room.
At the end of his presentation, she came down from the podium with an indelible smile on her face, the success of her presentation was burning.
As she was invaded by endless applause they saw her head towards the doors, where a very happy Harry Potter also walked towards her and extended his arms to wrap her and congratulate her.
They broke away from the embrace and Harry cupped her face with his hands...
"I'm very proud of you," he told her smiling.
"Thank you..." Hermione exclaimed, her voice cracking with emotion.
The auror, unable to resist, placed a kiss on her lips, and a collective gasp was heard from all the women present in the auditorium, who clearly idolized the chosen one.
It was well known that Harry had turned down every single woman who had ever approached him because they were interested in him, and had even turned down one veela, that woman that all or most of the men, because it had their exceptions, in the ministry they were drooling.
There were thousands of looks that burned with jealousy, as well as annoying thoughts in all of them, and the applause stopped before the scene, however the couple immersed in their world remained oblivious to the reactions.
The kiss didn't go unnoticed by Smith either, who just grunted, rolled his eyes, and left the auditorium, obviously annoyed.
Harry broke the kiss without leaving her face, smiling against Hermione's lips and letting out a gasp of pleasure that only she heard.
While behind them was Ronald, a little blushed, but with a huge smile on his face since his two best friends had finally decided to make their relationship official and public, even knowing everything that was coming their way for this.
They knew they loved each other and that was the most important thing to them.
...
The next day, Hermione noticed that the prophet's owl had perched on her kitchen window while she was having breakfast, so she opened the window, removed the newspaper from the animal's paw and deposited her galleon in the small pocket that she was carrying.
The surprise that the chestnut took when she saw the front page of the newspaper, because there was a huge photo in it where Harry Potter was planting a kiss on her lips.
HARRY POTTER
THE MOST FAMOUS MAGICIAN AND THE INSUFFERABLE KNOW-IT-ALL?
After hearing yesterday, an inappropriate bill for the rights of centaurs, exposed by Hermione Granger, we observed that when one of the aurors who were keeping watch on the inside doors of the wizengamot came down from the dais, more specifically, the head of the auror department, Harry Potter, already known throughout the wizarding world as the wizard who defeated the dark lord or the boy who lived, walked towards her to envelop her in a hug and then plant a kiss on her lips.
We had already had a small suspicion, about what could happen between these two, when in the year of the three-wizard tournament, we found them quite affectionate.
Could it be that after being "friends" for so long, Potter has found love in his best friend, the insufferable know-it-all Muggle-born?
We have been approached by several working witches and students of Potter and Weasley, from the auror academy of the ministry, to complain about what seems to be an affair of Potter's, since with so many beautiful witches around him, he has chosen his friend that she's not exactly a beauty, so she has to be something fleeting and unimportant, declare some ladies. We've even been approached by a veela lady, mentioning that Mr. Potter also rejected her by declaring that Hermione Granger is his girlfriend. This last statement makes us think about love affair, since we know that when a man is caught up in love, the charms of a veela beauty have no effect on him.
Many of these ladies, outraged, accuse Granger of having given her love potion (amortentia), because how can Harry Potter notice her when he has so many pretty women around him?
Will this be true? With this handsome wizard and so many beautiful witches behind him, has he chosen Hermione Granger?
We will keep reporting.
Rita Skeeter.
Unbelievable, she crumpled the newspaper with her two hands, being furious.
The one who knew Hermione, knew that she was a strong, dedicated witch and that when she set her mind to something she got it, as well as a very strict witch and attached to the rules. " How can someone think that she would give Harry amortentia? Knowing that she would say that that is wrong, besides that she would not dare to do something like that, especially with Harry."
"Yes, she was a strong witch and put up with a lot, saying that at Hogwarts, she often didn't mind what they said about her appearance and she had spent several years fighting for her friends, especially Harry, to see her as a girl, but she also had a limit, and that article of the prophet had crossed it.''
All her insecurities surfaced again and she collapsed.
''How could Harry have noticed her? Her hair was topsy-turvy, she was not as feminine as other women, only when she had to wear her uniform skirt to go to work and she had to find a way to half tame her hair as well and when it was her turn to go out, she would dress up and put on makeup for her own taste, but otherwise, she wasn't very feminine and not sporty with a Sculptural body, which Harry might like.''
''They were right, she was no beauty compared to the beautiful veela who had kissed Harry before, or compared to any other normal girl."
She felt terrible, she had slid on her kitchen floor holding her legs wrapped in her arms, while she sobbed and had decided not to attend work that day, since she did not want to be seen in those conditions.
Ron was another who had already read the prophet and was furious. He took the newspaper, rolled it up and stormed out of the burrow towards the ministry.
Harry arrived at the ministry getting all eyes on him, which he was used to, but of course he hated. Confused without knowing what was happening, since he had not read the prophet, he went to his office where when he opened the door, his redheaded best friend was waiting for him and with a look on his face that did not show anything good.
"Ron, what's going on?" What are you doing here? And why is everyone outside looking at me weirder than it's supposed to be normal? asked the auror, still confused.
The redhead, realizing that Harry hadn't read the journal, tossed it onto the desk so that it spread out just as Harry was about to sit in his chair.
Seeing the cover, the headline, and reading the article, the green-eyed man's expression changed until he became furious.
"Did you talk to Hermione?" Where is she?" asked the man desperately walking towards the door to go look for her at her office, followed by his best friend.
They arrived at the chestnut's office, but to the surprise of both, because she always arrived early, she was not there, which worried both friends.
They both knew that Hermione was a strong woman and that she wouldn't let herself be crushed by the things that were said about her, but they also knew that she had her limits and talking about her like that in the wizarding world's newspaper was something quite cruel.
"I'll go to her home," the auror declared decisively, while the redhead nodded in agreement.
"Let me know how she is," Ron told him, because he imagined that his friend was not in the best condition.
The black-haired man turned and stormed out of the ministry, avoiding all eyes on him, because at this moment Hermione could be crying and that hurt him more. Looks didn't matter as much as the well-being of his best friend and girlfriend.
Minutes later, he appeared outside the brunette's apartment and walked towards the door, knocked and waited, putting his hands in his pants pockets.
When Hermione opened the door, she was a little surprised and speechless, as well as the pain she felt when Harry saw her still in her pijamas with her hair more tousled and her eyes bloodshot from crying so much. Although it wasn't the first time Harry had seen her in similar conditions, the reason this time made her feel ashamed of herself.
When his friend opened the door, his heart fell apart, he didn't like seeing her cry at all.
"Please go away, Harry," the brunette sobbed as she turned around and walked towards the kitchen.
"No. I'm not leaving until you listen to me," Harry said firmly, walking into the house and closing the door behind him.
She turned around and started talking and crying. Harry decided to let her finish speaking, as he put his hands back in his pockets and patiently waited.
"Harry, they're right. I'm not a beauty, look at my hair, I'm not very feminine, nor do I have a sculptural body for which any man, especially you..." she said, while embarrassedly lowering her face "I'm not a girl you would notice, I mentioned it to you before," she finished, still sobbing.
"You are the most coveted man in the wizarding world, the most eligible bachelor, why would you settle for me, your know-it-all best friend?" She said between sobs.
"You finished?" the green-eyed asked, looking up a little to fix his girlfriend's honey eyes, without taking his hands out of his pockets, while he watched her nod slowly and shrug her shoulders.
''He looked so imposing and sexy standing in front of me with his hands in his pockets and with that intense green gaze,'' the brunette thought, as he began to speak.
"All right. Now it's my turn to speak and listen carefully, don't interrupt me," Harry asked, seriously and firmly. He was a bit upset by Hermione's last words.
"I love you and I'll tell you why. You are the only woman who knows that I hate my fame and knows why, you are the only one who does not care about my fame and instead of being a crazy woman who chases me for it, you have chased me to take care of the risks of my fame, because you can't bear the idea that because of my impulsiveness, I put myself in danger. You are the only one who has stayed by my side, the only one who never abandoned me when everyone turned their backs on me, you are the only one who has believed in me, even when I did not believe in myself, you are the only one who has known how to put my feet on the ground. You are the only one who, despite being strict with the rules, has broken them by following me, you are the only one who has stayed up all night investigating to help me when I am in danger, you are the only one who, despite being in danger, has stayed by my side, even when I have refused to do so. You're the only one I know who would give her life for me, which you know I don't agree with, but you still would. You were the first to show me affection and care for me from the beginning and you are still the first to do so. Besides, who's always the one to tell me to ignore Rita Skeeter for writing rubbish?" Harry was saying, listing all the things he loved about her, when he saw Hermione try to say something.
"No Hermione, I'm not done. No interruptions. Remember?" He silenced her as he continued with his arguments.
"Not just for those things. You are a woman who does not allow herself to be trampled on by others, you are a self-confident woman, you are a woman who fights and achieves what she sets out to do and I am sure that one day you will fulfill your dream and be a minister of magic. And regarding your physical appearance, Hermione, you are beautiful and sexy, you have nothing to be ashamed of, nor anything to envy all the other women, because you are an intelligent woman, who uses her brain for good and to fight against injustice and that makes you even more attractive. And I don't care that you don't play quidditch or that you don't like it, because regardless of that, I don't remember a single match that I had to play, in which you weren't in the audience supporting me. You read the quidditch books for me. I was the biggest idiot for not having realized the wonderful woman I always had by my side, a woman who loved me and endured so much pain, just to see me happy and who still loves me at this point" Harry had said this and had approached her slowly, until taking her friend's face with her hands "You are unique and incredible, I love you for that, for everything you do for me, for everything you are, inside and outside," the green-eyed clarified, once again seeing the sparkle in Hermione's eyes and kissed her on the lips.
The brunette had gasped at the feel of Harry's lips on hers. She returned the kiss by supporting her arms on the green-eyed man's chest, while he now took her by the waist. It was quite a possessive and intense kiss, so that a moment later they had to break the kiss to breathe.
"Harry..." Hermione sighed breathlessly, a beautiful smile spreading across her face. This made the boy smile as well and he wiped a couple of tears from the chestnut with his fingers.
"I don't like to see you cry," Harry told her, giving her a quick kiss on the lips, "I want you to go upstairs to take a bath and get ready to go to the ministry, because I won't leave without you," he declared firmly.
Minutes later the chestnut was ready, she went downstairs and took Harry's hand, leaving the house together and appearing at the ministry.
They entered the ministry holding hands and feeling happy, while all eyes were on them because of that morning's article, but they didn't seem to care much now. They headed towards Hermione's office. Harry said goodbye with a small kiss and left the brunette in her office, while he walked outside with his next destination in mind.
''Offices of the Daily prophet''
They would listen to him and they would know the fury of Harry Potter, for having hurt Hermione. They would already know what he was capable of defending his best friend.
He had arrived with firm steps and clearly furious at the offices of the daily prophet, there were people who greeted him but he ignored everyone, his eyes sparkled with anger, his clenched hands and his exalted face caused several people to step aside.
He walked directly into where Rita Skeeter's office was located, barring the door and silencing the office.
"Muffliato," Harry muttered, turning his back to the door and resting his wand on his left shoulder.
Seeing him, the woman stood up in surprise and gave him an incredulous look, with a rather "provocative" and conceited posture.
"What are you here for, Potter?" she asked scornfully.
Harry had leaned against a table behind him, trying to control his anger, his face seeming to contort more.
"What am I here for?! Well, you know!" Harry snapped.
"I may have a slight idea; however, I can only tell you that I was very professional when writing about... well, you know... right?" Said the journalist with a mocking and flirtatious smile.
"How unprofessional you are! Believing and writing things that are told to you by a bunch of crazy female fans! All for the fame of Harry Potter, right?" the green-eyed man told her, with a tone that did not hide his anger at all.
Rita tried to protest and say something, but Harry cut her off, with a loud bang on her desk.
"If you publish an article in which you hurt Hermione again! You are going to regret it! Well, I remind you that she and I have proof that you are an illegal animagus. So, I come to demand that you publish an article, apologizing to my best friend and also my girlfriend..." said the boy, quite angry and gritting his teeth, unable to contain the fury that managed to escape from him, because by his wand came out a blue light that hit a picture on the wall behind Rita, it was a photo of her.
The painting exploded causing pieces of glass to fly, which scared the journalist, who, turning to see the remaining pieces of paper and wood, gasped. Harry, unfazed, stared at her.
"You have been warned! Unless you want me to reveal your secret and send you to Azkaban, for the illegal use of magic!" had shouted the auror, finally losing his temper and with his eyes full of anger.
The female reporter, scared to see how things in her office began to vibrate and some others to explode, she had no choice but to accept, her head just nodded at the terrifying look that the auror was giving her.
"If I see Hermione feel bad again or shed a single tear because of the prophet, specifically you, you're going to know me and I won't be as tolerant as I am right now," he declared, managing to contain his fury a bit by doing a little short breaths to control himself.
After a few more seconds, Harry stormed out of Skeeter's office, leaving her also very upset and scared by his fit of anger.
Returning to the ministry, he met Ronald before entering his office.
"Hermione is fine. She's calmer now, I've brought her to work and I've gone to take care of Rita Skeeter," Harry said, ending with an annoyed tone in his voice.
"You did what?!" asked the surprised and incredulous redhead.
"What you heard. Tomorrow there will be an article from the prophet with her apologies or I'll reveal her little animagus secret," Harry finished.
"You're capable of anything for Hermione, huh?" said Ron, with an amused tone.
"Remember what she did for me. In fourth year she caught her and made her publish my version of Voldemort's return. And well, not only that, if we start listing everything, she's done for me, isn't it?" the auror reminded the redhead.
"Certain. She deserves those apologies and more," Ron said, agreeing with his best friend.
...
Several weeks later, Harry and Hermione were walking together down the main corridor of the ministry, towards an elevator. As they were talking it came up when Hermione was jealous of Harry's apprentice auror veela.
"Don't even remind me, Harry," said the brunette clenching her teeth, "besides that she's still a girl, what do she think? She doesn't have much to brag about, other than being a veela. You can tell that she has made a few arrangements on her face and not to mention her body. You can tell that she paints her hair and it should be retouched, because her hair is white. Hermione finished furiously, while Harry just looked at her and smiled, shaking his head and lowering his head, with his hands in his trouser pockets and leaning with his back against the wall of the elevator.
"What are you laughing at?" asked the honey-eyed girl, somewhat annoyed.
"Hermione, Hermione...you talking bad about a girl, about a student, are you done talking bad about Amelie?" Harry asked, still with a smile on his face. "I laugh that you remember her and keep getting jealous, when you shouldn't be," he clarified, taking his hands out of his pockets, approaching her and cupping her face to kiss her and draw a sigh by joining their lips.
It was a deep kiss and they were so in their world that they didn't realize that the elevator had opened the bars, until someone cleared their throats so that they could be unstuck so they could enter the elevator. Pulling apart and realizing that it was Amelie, who Hermione had been finishing off, they both blushed and Hermione, just to please herself and make the girl now inside the lift furious, pulled Harry by his auror jacket and she kissed him impetuously again before leaving the elevator, taking his hand and pulling him with it.
"Now tell me, how did you feel when Viktor or Bertram wanted to try something with me?" Hermione asked, watching Harry tense and grit his teeth at the name of the bulgarian player and the german auror. "You don't have to be jealous either," she clarified.
"All right! you got your point!" said the green-eyed "But I'm not interested in all the witches that are behind me and I don't understand why they bother me so much."
"You know that there is another reason besides your fame why women persecute you? Or not?" Hermione asked at her best friend's innocence regarding his physical attractiveness.
"There is more?" the green-eyed man asked, confused, with a gesture of disbelief.
"You're handsome," replied the brunette, smiling and rolling her eyes.
"Thank you..." replied the auror shyly.
"Honestly! No, you have not understood" Hermione continued. "You're really handsome!" The girl clarified enthusiastically, making the man blush.
"And I remind you that in addition to this, you are educated, kind, attractive" she continued, without realizing that she was repeating about his physical attractiveness "and after the war, you have gained more knowledge and experience, now you are a very good auror, that makes you a very good match for any girl and although they all chase you for your fame, the fact that you are so handsome is a point in favor and although I know that none of that really matters to you, I remind you that even if you are no longer single" she continued, emphasizing that last one "you're still the most eligible man in the wizarding world." Hermione clarified in her know-it-all tone, giving Harry a sweet smile at the end.
Hermione had reminded Harry of a witch weekly article they had written about how he was the most eligible wizard for both, women and men, which made him feel a little uncomfortable and then he remembered that Christmas party at the ministry where he had to escape from several woman who had tried to kiss him by conjuring mistletoe on top of them.
flash back
Harry walked to his office after saying good morning, when his secretary called him to hand him a magazine that was open to a certain page, but what caught his attention was the rather flushed face of his secretary as she handed him the magazine and looked at his confused face.
He took the magazine in his hands and closed it to see the cover, realizing that it was witch weekly, a popular magazine for witches created by Tobias Misslethorpe that featured articles, surveys, advice columns, and recipes. It also contained a lot of news about celebrities and quidditch players.
"There's something about you on the page that was open," the secretary said with a sad tone, " I thought you'd like to know," she said, lowering her face.
Harry turned back to the page the woman had shown him and with an expression of disbelief, he walked into his office as he read the undisguised title that headed the article:
''HARRY POTTER THE MOST DESIRABLE MAN IN THE WIZARDING WORLD?''
The auror walked around his desk to sit in his chair and continue reading the article in his hands.
''And here we are, years after the defeat of the dark lord, fulfilling the promise we made to write the article about his victory. The chosen one. The famous Harry Potter, who since he faced the triwizard tournament in his fourth year, has won the admiration of many women.
Today we have come to confirm that Mr. Potter, according to a large number of witches who have approached us, continues to be the most handsome, eligible and desirable man for all witches and even some wizards in our magical world.''
Coming to this part and reading about it being desirable for wizards as well, Harry felt a bit uneasy.
"Many witches who were classmates with this handsome wizard at Hogwarts have told us that as Mr. Potter grew old and played quidditch like a pro, he was acquiring the muscular body every woman would drool over."
''Now, it should be noted that Potter gained experience after the war and then became the most lethal and outstanding auror, thus obtaining an sculptural body that plays perfectly with those beautiful green eyes, for which women continue to fall in love...''
By the time he got to this part, Harry decided not to read any further, as he'd had enough, plus the last paragraph had concluded that Rita Skeeter found him attractive, which made him scowl at the thought. remember that the detestable journalist had flirted with him many times and without any shame.
End of flashback .
He even remembered the day of the party at the ministry, there were also several women who had tried to ask him to dance, or even kiss and had been rejected by him in the kindest way possible, letting them know that he did not dance and running away from the girls. who conjured up the mistletoe, until he had exhausted their patience. The only woman he'd ever danced with of his own free will was Hermione, in the tent when they were looking for horcruxes and she really was the only woman he'd dance with if she asked him to.
flash back
Harry was by the bar they had set up, sitting on one of the stools, having a glass of firewhiskey, having run from four women who had conjured mistletoe to kiss him, when he saw another beautiful woman approaching him. It was Kingsley's young secretary, who seemed to have an obsession with him, because according to the minister, her eyes shine every time she saw him pass or was mentioned. She just hoped it wasn't another one trying to conjure up the mistletoe. He'd had enough of crazy women trying to kiss him.
He didn't pay much attention to her, thinking she was going to the bar to order a drink, until he realized she was walking right towards him.
"Potter! Come dance" she approached him coquettishly, with a mischievous smile on her lips, taking the glass he was holding in his hands and putting it on the bar.
"No, thanks. I do not dance" he said in a slightly irritating way, trying to move his hand away from the woman who wanted to take him to the dance floor. He was starting to get annoyed.
"Oh, come on! It will be fun," the woman insisted, trying to take Harry's hand again, who once again pushed her away from him.
At the woman's second attempt to ask him to dance, Harry was already fed up, since he had fled from other women under the mistletoe and others wanting to take him dancing. With the latter his patience ran out.
"Dammit! I have told you...!" Harry had begun to exclaim, losing patience, when he saw his best friend approaching him, just at the moment when he needed to be rescued.
Hermione had seen his annoyed face and could tell that Harry was about to yell at the woman in front of him, so she decided that she had to do something to get Harry out of there.
"Hermione! I have promised you a dance!" Harry improvised to get away from the woman, who started to protest, but couldn't finish because Hermione had extended her hand and Harry took it without hesitating to follow her towards the floor.
When Harry noticed, the woman behind them who was standing by the bar didn't look very happy and seemed to be cursing Hermione, as he had told her not to dance and now hhe was on his way to dance with his best friend.
"Thank you, Mione..." Harry said, still walking on the track and holding hands with the chestnut.
"No problem, I could tell you were upset and I wasn't going to leave you there," Hermione stated, receiving a smile from Harry.
"Hey," the raven continued, "you look beautiful," Harry confessed, making Hermione blush.
The green-eyed auror noticed that his best friend had blushed, but assumed that it was the fact that she was embarrassed by compliments, as she always blushed whenever someone complimented her.
"Thank you, Harry," the brunette responded to his flattery, "you're also very handsome, no wonder I've seen several women conjure a mistletoe to kiss you," Hermione teased with a slight smile.
"Don't remind me. I've had enough for today," the green-eyed auror declared "tell me about you? I've seen Ethan Smith keep his eyes on you and to be honest I can't blame him."
"Oh, he's been insisting on asking me out. Maybe I will," declared the brunette, receiving a warning from Harry.
"Just take care. I wouldn't want to see you hurt or I'll kill him," Harry assured with a serious tone.
Hermione saw from Harry's face that he was serious. He had always been quite overprotective of her. In fact, he and Ron on a few occasions took on a bodyguard role with her.
At Harry's statement, the brunette nodded slightly, sighed, and continued talking with her best friend.
"What about you? You've got so many women after you, someday you'll have to find one to share your life with," Hermione said, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder as they continued to sway to the music.
"Until I find someone who isn't interested in my fame and my money, I think I'll be quite single," the auror clarified, taking Hermione's waist gently and his other hand free of hers.
"Oh Harry" the brunette whispered and smiled slightly " You deserve all the happiness in the world. You deserve someone who loves you just the way you are, for being Harry, but someone who accepts the whole package and with whom you can build the family you so desire."
"Mione... promise me that even if one day I get married, you'll still be a part of my life," Harry asked, looking into his best friend's eyes and letting out a sigh.
"Harry, I will never leave you, I will always be there for you. It won't be so easy for you to get rid of me" Hermione assured, hugging Harry fully and receiving the hug back, with a kiss on her head.
Hermione rested her head on Harry's chest and they sat swaying gently to the music. She was thinking about their conversation and how much she wanted to be the one to start a family with Harry. She had felt her heart race when she confessed that she looked beautiful and that he didn't blame Ethan for not taking his eyes off her, but she was quite clear that her green-eyed best friend only saw her as his best friend.
Later that night, Harry was at a table talking with Ron.
"So friend, how many women did you kiss today?" asked the slightly mocking redhead, making Harry roll his eyes.
"Really?" Harry asked incredulously. "I'm fed up, I had to run away from four who conjured mistletoe to kiss me and then from those who wanted me to dance," explained the raven irritated.
" How many would not wish to be you at this moment?" Said the redhead with an ironic smile.
"Women chase me and I'm tired, because the worst thing is that they only want me for my fame and my money," Harry replied, leaning back in the chair and crossing his arms over his chest.
"Says the most eligible man in the wizarding world?" Ron said teasingly, making Harry roll his eyes once more and let out a sarcastic snort.
"I know someone who doesn't chase you for your fame and your money," Ron assured with a slight knowing smile. "Hermione," the redhead declared, making Harry look at him incredulously.
"She's my best friend and I love her, but I don't see her that way," Harry said, "besides, she's a beautiful and brilliant woman, why would she notice me? She deserves better," the green-eyed auror clarified.
"Hey, I just said that she sees you as Harry and isn't someone who is merely interested in your fame and money. She's our best friend and she's one of a kind," Ron declared, taking a swallow of firewhisky.
"We agree on that," Harry said, agreeing with his best friend.
With this, Ron realized that his best friend had no idea how their best friend in common felt about him and dropped the subject, knowing that Harry, up to that point, hadn't looked at her romantically.
End of flashback
"Harry... you're so much more handsome than Viktor and Bertram. This is one of the reasons why I never said anything, because I have always been a simple and not very attractive girl and you have always been really handsome. That's why everyone say you can get any woman you want," Hermione finished, lowering her gaze and blushing.
Harry was actually blushing after Hermione's speech, but that didn't stop him from reaching out to her and cupping her face in his hands.
"Don't ever say you're not attractive again. For some reason you've also had Viktor, Bertram, even McLaggen after you. And of course, let's not forget about Smith" the green-eyed man argued, making her look him in the eye "I really like you, Hermione, and why be with any woman who finds me handsome, when I have the only woman who will be with me? Does she care about me and love me for being just Harry? The only woman I love," Harry told her making her blush so much that she possibly came to compete with the Weasleys' red hair.
"You are a wonderful man, Harry. Humble, selfless, generous, brave, chivalrous, gentle, you put your life before others, you have a hero complex that makes my heart stop." After a pause where Hermione looked at him deeply, she continued, "All my life I dreamed with someone with whom I could be myself, and after a long road I found it in you... you are my ideal person, and I love everything about you in many aspects. I know life isn't always perfect, but with you by my side it gets pretty close. I love you so much, Harry, and I swear to you that if anything were to happen to you, you wouldn't just break my heart... I'd be completely devastated," Hermione said sobbing.
After a heartbeat Harry pulled Hermione over and hugged her with all his strength.
"I really like you so much and I love you, I don't know what I would do if I lost you, Harry. I can't live without you" exclaimed the chestnut, sticking her head into the chest of the auror.
Harry was speechless. He was the one who couldn't live without her, he couldn't lose her. Now he saw that she felt the same way about him, but he was never going to understand that, he didn't deserve her.
Harry pulled away to meet the brunette's gaze and told her with all his love.
"Hermione. I'm here with you and I won't walk away, I promise," Harry assured.
The man approached her once more and hugged her again but this time with a protective embrace.
Hermione just clung to his chest, hugging him tighter and burst into tears, soaking Harry's auror jacket, which he didn't care about.
Hellooo
Yes, I'm back here after almost three months. I'm sorry, but muggle life keeps me busy.
I don't know when I'll update the next one, because you already know muggle life and I also have my other breaking fic in progress, but I promise to try to update it in less time.
I hope you liked it and I appreciate your comments, favorites and others.
We will read soon.