Prologue:

Harry and Hermione were in the Forbidden Forest. Harry leaned against a tree whilst Hermione couldn't help but pace back and forth, checking her watch every thirty seconds. Buckbeak was rooting around for worms nearby. They had explained to him the wait and that he needed to be patient if he wanted to escape with Sirius. The hippogryph was very intelligent and seemed to have understood every word.

"Hermione, could you stop pacing, you're making me even more nervous than I already am," Harry complained.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Hermione said, stopping immediately. "It's just we have a very small window to fly up to Professor Flitwick's office and free Sirius. I don't want to miss it," she said, checking her watch once again. "Besides, it's a little chilly. I'm moving around to keep warm."

Harry knew there was still a few minutes or so before his father would appear and save him and Sirius from the swarm of dementors. It would be another ten minutes after that before Sirius would be in Flitwick's Office.

"Well then come here," he gestured. "I'm cold too." Each taking a few steps towards one another, Harry and Hermione closed the distance. Harry enveloped Hermione in a warm hug. She quickly put her arms around him as well. This was the first time Hermione could recall hugging Harry that wasn't due to saying goodbye prior to summer break or Harry being injured. They stood like that for some time. It was nice.

Hermione began to draw small shapes on Harry's back, much like her mother and father do to her when sharing a long hug. Harry shivered and Hermione stopped and pulled away. "S…sorry," she apologized needlessly, thinking her fingers trailing up and down his back had been unwelcome.

"Hermione, that felt… really nice," Harry said. "I don't think I've ever had a hug quite like that before." Hermione was saddened by this statement as she hadn't perceived it to be a particularly amazing hug by any stretch of the words.

"Sometimes I forget you don't get hugs from your relatives," Hermione lamented.

"I think I've only ever been hugged by Ron once or twice, Mrs. Weasley maybe three times, and you about five times now," Harry said.

Hermione's eyes began to water. Ten hugs in his whole life. How very sad. "Harry, would it be alright if I… hugged you more often?" she asked. "You definitely deserve much more affection than you receive."

"If it's not too annoying I would like that a lot, actually," Harry said with a lopsided smile.

Hermione closed the distance between them once more and pulled him into an even tighter hug. "How about I hug you every morning when we say hello and every evening before bed," she suggested. "That way you get two hugs a day at a minimum. You definitely deserve them. If Ron gets jealous or whatever then he can have a hug at those times as well, even if he doesn't need them as badly as you do." She buried her head into his neck and ran her fingers up and down his back once again. The hug lasted much longer than the first. When she finally pulled away she realized that Harry was crying.

"Thank you, Hermione," Harry said, wiping away his tears. "You have no idea how much I needed that or how much I'm looking forward to more of them."

"Well, Harry, you better get used to it," Hermione smiled. A moment later, however, there was a chill running down her spine. She jumped towards Harry once more putting a hand timidly on his chest as if asking to be protected.

"Dementors," she said. "Oh gosh, is this the part where all the dementors show up? What did you say happened again to scare them away?"

"It was my dad," Harry smiled. "My dad shows up right about here and casts a patronus so strong that it chases away a hundred dementors."

"A hundred!" Hermione squeaked. "I didn't realize there were so many. Harry, we're far too close to where it will happen, this is dangerous."

"I want to see him again, Hermione," Harry said. "I need to see my dad… look, there's Sirius… and me as well."

"And there's the dementors," Hermione said, tucking in close to Harry's side for warmth. They both watched across the lake as hundreds of dementors swarmed Sirius and Harry's past self.

"It's looking bad over there," Harry said. "Any second now, he'll show up… right here… where is he?"

"Harry, your father's… gone. He's not showing up," Hermione consoled. "Oh no, Harry. You and Sirius… you're dying."

Something clicked in Harry's head. He couldn't allow his past self to die. If he did allow it, he'd never live long enough to get that amazing hug from Hermione or hold her close as they are doing now. His father wasn't coming. Someone else had to help.

Stepping away from Hermione, Harry approached the lake and thought of the happiest memory he could muster. It was a very recent memory in fact. He thought of being held by his best friend, Hermione, and of how much he wanted to be held by her again and again in the future. It filled him with joy completely to the brim.

He shouted, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!!" and to his amazement, out of his very own wand sprung a corporeal patronus. A brilliant stag. A beacon of light and hope. Prongs rode again that night.