Fire - Harry/Demelza Robins

The fire blazed, bathing the Gryffindor common room in a warm glow. Harry Potter sat on the couch facing the fire; the heat seeped into his skin. Demelza Robins sat next to him, their legs barely brushing; her presence sent another kind of warmth through him.

They had been dating for weeks; sneaking quiet moments together after quidditch practice, and sharing stolen kisses in deserted corridors. Harry glanced at her, she turned her head and a smile tugged at her lips. Why Bother Hiding?

Demelza shifted slightly and raised an eyebrow. "What?" she asked, her voice barely audible over the gentle crackle of the fire.

Harry shifted to lean against the arm of the couch. "Do you want to keep hiding this?"

Demelza shook her head. "No, not really. It was fun, but it's exhausting keeping it a secret."

"Why bother then?" Harry asked.

Demelza shrugged, "I don't know."

Harry grinned and reached out to gently pull her closer. She fell softly into him, curling up against his chest and letting out a contented sigh.

"You know this is going to cause a scene," she said, her voice muffled against Harry's chest.

Harry chuckled, "it'll be fun."

Demelza snorted, "I can't wait to see Hermione lose her mind."

Harry laughed and pulled her closer, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Ron was the first to notice; he poked his head over the back of the couch to ask a question before his jaw dropped open. "Um, Harry?"

Harry lifted his face from Demelza's hair. "Yeah mate?"

Ron sputtered silently for a minute before shaking his head. "Never mind."

"Oh honestly Ronald, -" Hermione's head popped over the back of the couch alongside Ron's and promptly froze. "Harry…"

"Yes, Hermione?"

Hermione's eyes flickered between Harry and Demelza, and he could see the cogs turning behind them. "How…how long has this been going on?"

Demelza giggled and lifted her head to look at Hermione. "A few weeks," she said with flushed cheeks.

Hermione was silent for a moment; her eyes continued to flicker between Harry and a slightly flushed Demelza. "Um…why didn't you tell us?"

Harry gave her a lopsided grin before pressing a kiss to Demelza's forehead. "Must have slipped my mind."

Ron raised an eyebrow, "slipped your mind?"

"Well, -" Harry shrugged, "- I've had a lot on my mind."

Demelza giggled and softly kissed Harry. "You have," she said, gently running her hand through his hair.

"I'm sure he has," Ron muttered under his breath, prompting Hermione to smack him upside the head.

Hermione's head disappeared. "Come on Ron, we'll talk about it later."

Ron gave them one final, bewildered glance before his head likewise disappeared.

Harry absently twirled Demelza's hair between his fingers. "Well that was fun."

Demelza nodded against his chest and opened her mouth to speak. But, her reply was cut off by a gasp from behind Harry. She raised her head slightly to see Ginny Weasley standing just behind Harry with a hand covering her mouth. "Hello Ginny."

Harry froze; Ginny's crush on him was common knowledge around the Gryffindor common room. "Hey Ginny," he said, turning his head slightly to see tears forming in the corners of Ginny's eyes.

Ginny opened and closed her mouth several times before turning and storming off, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks.

Harry grimaced, "should've seen that one coming."

"Yeah, she still talks about you all the time," Demelza replied softly.

Harry turned back to Demelza. "Well, -" he moved to lay down with his head resting on the arm of the couch and Demelza on his chest, "- that ship has sailed."

Demelza burrowed back into his chest and curled her feet onto his thighs. "Yeah," she replied.

Harry closed his eyes, "no place I'd rather be."

"Oh my god, -" Katie Bell's voice drifted down towards the pair, "- it's true then?"

Harry opened one eye to see Katie's face hovering above his own, split with a wide smile. "Is what true?"

Katie giggled, "are you two dating?"

Harry nodded, "we have been for a while."

"I knew it!" Katie looked up across the common room, "you owe me a galleon, I told you!"

Harry watched her skip out of sight, ranting about how she won some kind of bet. "What is it with Hogwarts and betting?"

Demelza laughed against Harry's chest, "I don't know, but I'm glad Katie won that bet."

Harry sighed and pulled Demelza up to rest in the crook of his neck, "so am I…so am I."