The Houses Competition, challenge round 1

House: Gryffindor

Class:DADA

Prompts chosen:[Trope] Friends to lovers

Word Count:1144

Summary: With only each other to rely on, Harry and Hermione realize just how much the other means to them.

Title: O Children

Hermione sat on the edge of her cot and stared blankly out the front of the tent, watching as the rain drizzled down from the corner as it piled up in the small divot of the tent. The cold, rainy weather hadn't stopped for a week. The dampness in the air sank deeply into her bones, making their situation all the more depressing. They hardly had any food left, knowing that they needed to risk their lives again on a grocery run. Ron had been gone for nearly a month, and Hermione couldn't help but blame herself for it, thinking that she could have said something to get Ron to stay. And worst of all, she had the damn horcrux hanging around her neck. She was hungry, depressed, and irritable to the point that even the slight sound of Harry's breathing was putting her on edge.

They'd been on the run for months, and the small forms of comfort were few and far between. Hermione wouldn't have minded if they managed to make any progress, but they haven't managed to do anything. They didn't know where any of the other horcruxes were; they didn't know where the Sword of Gryffindor was, and that was the only thing that could destroy these abominations.

Hermione couldn't help but agree with Ron a little; doing nothing was hard, and what was harder was not knowing what the next step was, but she couldn't bring herself to blame Harry. She made a list in her head of everyone she could blame. Voldermort for starters, Dumbledore for not giving them a better start. She blamed Ron for leaving. They were all miserable, but that didn't mean you got to abandon your friends. She blamed all the Death Eaters, and she blamed Malfoy; she wasn't sure what for, but she was sure he belonged on the list somewhere.

She also put herself on the list. Perhaps if she had studied and read more, she would have been able to figure out what the next step was instead of them sitting around waiting for something to come along. She was supposed to be the smart one; she was the one that was supposed to figure things out, yet she had nothing. She felt like she was letting Harry down; she was letting the magical world down. Hermione felt as if the weight of the world was crushing her with its expectations.

Letting out a long sigh, she reached over and took the wireless set that Arthur and Remus helped her charm to receive both magical and muggle broadcasts. She tuned the radio, no longer wanting to listen to the misery of the world. Fifteen witches and wizards had gone missing since this morning; eight muggle borns were found dead, their bodies mangled. Hermione could only imagine the pain that they went through. The only small reassurance that they got was that no one that they knew was being named.

Hermione fiddled with the dial, searching for anything that didn't talk about the dark times that they were going through. She finally found a muggle program, stopping briefly as she listened to the man. "Alright listeners, I know times are hard right now, so let's see if we can brighten your night up with some amazing music. Our next song is going to be O Children by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds," the man introduced before the song started to play. Hermione listened for a couple of seconds before setting the wireless back on the table, figuring this was the best thing she would be able to find.

Harry was in the middle of his self-pity party, books laid out on the table as he tried to figure out where to go from here. He was trying to find any clue on where the sword might be when he heard Hermione flip through the stations until she landed on someone playing music. Harry sat in silence for a moment, listening to the song that was being played, before getting up and making his way to Hermione, waiting for her to look up before holding out his hand to her.

Hermione looked at the hand before looking up at Harry. She was about to decline, but something she couldn't explain washed over her. She bit her bottom lip a little as she accepted the invitation, and she was rewarded with one of Harry's goofy grins as he pulled her up out of her cot and into the middle of the living area.

Harry, noticing the locket around her neck, reached up behind her and gently tugged it over her head before placing it on the table. "We can let it go, just for a little while."

Hermione forced out a small smile, immediately feeling more herself the moment the horcrux was taken off. All of the hostile energy she had been feeling for the past hour started to melt away.

Harry took her hands and they clumsily started to twirl each other around the tent. The music on the radio crooned through the static, and Hermione could feel herself start to smile. Harry suddenly placed his hand on her lower back and dipped her, causing her to let out a surprise laugh before Harry pulled her back into his arms. Hermione was grateful for the distraction; this was the first time in weeks that she didn't think about what was happening. Right now, it was just her and Harry. There was no Voldermort; they weren't on the run; their lives weren't in danger; it was just the two of them. For a brief moment, Hemrione forgot about the world.

Hermione took Harry's hand and moved herself outwards, giving Harry the chance to spin, not realizing how awkward it was going to be with Harry's height difference. Hermione ended up having to stretch her arm all the way up so Harry could twirl himself underneath. Hermione laughed as Harry brought her back in and held his arm up, giving her the chance to twirl around before bringing her back into his arms and holding her close as the song started to taper off.

Harry hesitated for a moment before leaning in the rest of the way, pressing his lips firmly against hers. Wide eyed, Hermine didn't have time to respond as Harry quickly pulled away just as fast as he went in for the kiss. Eyes wide with panic, Harry found himself stuttering before blurting out the words, "I'm sorry!" before hurriedly trying to pull away, but Hermione's grip on him tightened.

"It's alright…I liked it," Hermione whispered as she offered up a nervous smile.

"...yeah?" Harry asked hesitatingly.

"Yeah," Hermione reassured him as she pulled Harry in and kissed him, pouring everything she felt into that one kiss, continuing to sway side to side even though the song had long since ended.