"Just say yes, 'Mione!" He would do anything she wanted at this point, just to hear that three lettered word. And it was just the beginning of their relationship, for Merlin's sake!

She laughed delightfully at his impatience, making his heart skip a beat. "Yes, alright! I'll be your girlfriend for two weeks."

"For now," he whispered as he leaned in for their first kiss.

CHAPTER 3: Library Flirtings and Second Thoughts

But his lips didn't meet hers as he expected, instead he felt two slim fingers holding him from leaning any further.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Hermione asked in a whisper, there was amusement in her tone.

"I was just going to check if we had any sparks," Harry said, his lips brushing against her fingers with every movement. She quickly pulled her hand away as if burnt. And, of course, her swift action didn't go unnoticed by him. He just didn't know if it was because she was affected by him in a good way or because she thought he was too close for comfort.

"Well, don't you think it's too soon? We have just started dating, what? Ten seconds ago? We haven't even held hands yet." The words were rushed and there was a small blush adorning her cheeks. She was flustered, so she must be affected by him in a good way.

Harry knew there were now two paths he could choose: 1) He could take a step back and give her some space to get used to their new status or 2) He could stand his ground and have a little fun with this flustered Hermione while he had the chance.

"We have been holding hands for 8 years." He loved flustered Hermione, so of course he chose the second path.

"You know what I mean." She rolled her eyes. Her lips had curled in a small smile, so he knew he was going the right way.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," he whispered, slowly sliding his chair closer to hers. "You want to be wooed."

"I don't want to be wooed!" She gasped. Harry smirked as he rested his elbow on the table in front of her, leaning in slightly.

"It's okay, I understand," he whispered, propping his head with his hand.

"Harry, I don't want you to do such a thing!" She whispered back fiercely. A blush was taking over her face.

"Mmm hmm…" Harry's smirk got bigger. He always loved teasing Hermione and he was enjoying himself more than ever with this new territory Hermione had just granted him by accepting his proposal.

"You know very well I don't expect such a thing from you!" She was still trying to convince him. It was really intriguing for him to see her so flustered over just a little teasing from him.

"From me? So you expect this from someone else, huh?" He frowned in mock-hurt.

"Of course no- You're toying with me." She understood at last. She had squinted her eyes, giving him her you-are-in-trouble glare.

"And I'm enjoying every second of it." But he was in a daring mood, so he didn't take a step back. "I'd love to be wooed, by the way… By you."

"Harry James Potter! If you keep this up, I swear I'll hex you so bad, you'll miss Voldemort's curses!" She hissed. Harry grinned upon hearing her words. He knew he was close to the border now. If he didn't take his next step carefully, Hermione would be mad at him for real but if he said the right thing, she would soften and maybe even return his teasing.

"Aww, 'Mione, you know I prefer you over old Lord Voldemort any time of the day," he pouted, his free hand slowly making its way to hers.

"Are you sure? If I remember correctly, you were really determined to go to him and leave me behind," she retorted. Voldemort jokes were back which meant Hermione was back on track.

Harry let his fingers lightly caress her hand which was resting on her lap, urging her to react to his touch. She turned her hand so his fingers were now grazing her palm, tickling her slightly.

"No need to be jealous, he's gone now. I'm all yours." He thought he was being really smooth… until Hermione snorted... "Hey!"

"Oh, Harry! I think you're the only person who can use a pick-up line about Voldemort and get away with it." She was still laughing and had removed her hand from under his to wipe her eyes.

"Hey!" Harry said again, leaning back in his chair and moving away from her in the process. "I'm trying to be romantic here."

Hermione sobered upon seeing his little pout but there were still traces of her laughter in the form of a smile.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm just not used to seeing you like this," she said softy. She was playing with her quill. Harry's eyes followed the feather twirling between her delicate fingers and felt an itch to reach over and took her hand between his again.

What the hell was happening to him? She was Hermione for Merlin's sake!

Okay, he was not denying that he was attracted to her but he had never felt this way for her before.

Hell! He had never felt this way for anyone before!

So of course it would be for Hermione…

Who else could he be this comfortable with?

It was always meant to be Hermione…

"Harry?" Hermione's concerned voice broke through his thoughts.

"Huh?" Harry asked automatically.

"You zoned out for a minute there." There was a little amusement in her voice too. "Thinking about the good old days with Voldy, huh?"

"I can perfectly turn this around but I won't," he humphed.

"Aww, are you cross with me?" Now she was the one resting her elbow on the table and leaning towards him.

"No," Harry said curtly.

"Is that why you are pouting like a little boy?" She had propped her temple on her palm, an amused smile was playing on her lips.

"I'm not pouting!" Harry pouted.

"Yes, you are," she laughed. "And you are damn cute with it." Harry perked up upon hearing her last words.

She called him cute!

"Cute, huh? What else?" He decided to try his luck.

Hermione's laugh was an enough indicator for him that he was doing something right.

"Definitely playful," she responded.

"And?" Now he was pushing his luck but his instincts were saying to go till the end. This was Hermione, after all. If he wasn't going to act on his instincts when it came to her, when else would he?

"Extremely cheeky." Harry had never thought flirting with Hermione would be this fun. The fact that she knew him so well made him relax and say the things that were actually on his mind without restricting himself.

"And?" He asked again suggestively, slightly leaning forward towards her.

"Utterly incorrigible," she retorted at once. She hadn't leaned back when he got closer which was a very good sign for Harry to carry on with their banter.

"Encourageable?" He didn't know if it was his question or his hopeful tone that made her laugh but he certainly wasn't complaining.

"That's not a word," she whispered.

"Too bad. I really thought you were encouraging me for a second there," he winked.

Hermione didn't say anything in return, her laugh slowly leaving its place to a soft smile. The silence was making Harry nervous but he didn't dare to break it. She was staring deep into his eyes. Harry knew this look, she was trying to find an answer.

"What are you thinking?" He asked at last. He wasn't used to not being able to read her thoughts.

"I didn't know you were like this with girls," she said, finally breaking her stare to look over his shoulder. But Harry decided he liked it better when she looked at him. Her averting her eyes meant she was uncomfortable with the topic and it was a situation he'd like to avoid.

"Like what?" He asked, leaning even more so she had no other choice but to look at him.

"Comfortable… Playful… I don't know…" She paused, her chocolate brown eyes were back at doing their thing, penetrating his soul to get answers. "I didn't know you were such a flirt."

"Believe me, I didn't know it either," he answered truthfully. "I guess it's because it's you, you are bringing out new sides of me."

"So you weren't like this with Ginny and Cho?"

Harry thought he could hear a pinch of jealousy in her voice but it could totally be his imagination too.

"Aww, are we jealous now?" He asked, deliberately keeping her gaze to gauge her reaction.

"I-I-I…" She stammered, she wasn't expecting his question. But seeing his cheeky grin must have made her relax, for she raised an eyebrow before asking, "I don't know, should I be?"

"I don't know. Are you a jealous girlfriend?" He shot back daringly.

"I don't know, guess we'll find out together," she responded without breaking eye contact. Harry didn't say anything after that. This time the silence was a pleasant one. They were just enjoying each other's company.

Hermione was still leaning on the table, her head resting on her palm while she was playing with her quill with her other hand. Harry's eyes got caught on the quill again and this time he decided to scratch the itch. He reached for her hand, replacing the feather quill with his fingers.

He had held Hermione's hand thousands of times before, in reassurance, in fear, in sympathy, while running from some sort of trouble or walking away from his parents graves… But this time was different. For one thing, he wasn't the one who initiated most of them before, but mostly because this time there wasn't any motive other than to hold her hand, to touch her, to feel her skin beneath his in the most innocent way possible.

"Let's go outside," he whispered at last, breaking the silence.

"I can't, Harry. I have to study," Hermione whispered back apologetically. "We've been talking for nearly an hour now, I'm already behind." She had gone back to her sitting position as if she had returned to the reality by Harry's unintentional reminder.

"But 'Mione, we've been studying for the last three hours," Harry pouted. At least she hadn't removed her hand from his.

"Don't use that face on me just because I said you look cute, Potter," she said as seriously as she could.

"And don't try to soften me by calling me cute, Granger," Harry retorted. "Let's go outside and walk around a little till dinner. We can study after dinner."

"I really have to study. You know I have an important exam in two days." He knew, Hermione was stressing over her Arithmancy exam for over a week now.

"Yeah, I know," he sighed, slightly squeezing her hand before releasing it and giving her her quill back.

"What? Are you regretting this already?" Hermione asked as she was opening the books she had closed to talk with him. "This is what it's like to date me, Potter. You can back out if you want."

Although she was joking, Harry knew this was something Hermione often thought about. She believed people thought she was boring because of her organised life and tight study schedule. And even though, every now and then, her studying habits restricted his wants and desires, he really admired her ambition and dedication.

"I'm just disappointed that we can't study together. I don't know anything about Arithmancy," Harry joked back.

"Aww, it's okay. We can study Transfiguration after my Arithmancy exam. In fact, you should start studying now. So you won't cram on Wednesday."

Oh, right… As the semester break was in two weeks, they were officially in their exam week. Hence the reason they were in the library for half of the day. Since Hermione took more courses than him, she had more exams too.

"But you'll help me later, right? After you've studied, that is," Harry asked hopefully. The year-long break they had to take because of the Horcrux hunt had made going back to school harder for him. He felt like he had forgotten what it was like to be a student.

"Of course. We'll revise everything but you have to study first," Hermione pointed at his books, motioning for him to go back to his place at the other side of the table.

"So can we say it's a date?" Harry asked as he went back to his previous seat right across from her, the view was surely better there anyways.

Hermione laughed lightly at his question, "Yes, we can call it a date. I mean, what else would I want in a date other than studying Transfiguration with an attractive guy in the library?"

"Attractive, huh?" Harry repeated saucily.

"Harry…" was all she said before going back to her studies but he could see the smile she tried to hide behind her books. Harry sighed and opened his book too. Hermione was right, he had to study, otherwise he'd be in trouble.

He leaned back on his chair and rested the book against the table's edge. As his eyes scanned over the lines and the chart of wand movements required for the charm, he could hear Hermione's quill scratching away on a piece of parchment. He couldn't help but look up at her.

Even without the temptation of watching her, he was having trouble concentrating but now, knowing she was reciprocating his feelings, knowing he would be spending his time near her without trying to repress his feelings towards her, knowing he was allowed to touch her as more than a friend, he couldn't help but feel excited for the future. And this was the thought that amazed him the most: After nearly eight years of fighting evil and trying to stay alive, and even counting the childhood he never had, he could finally look to the future and be excited about it. He had fought all his life to have a future and now he had it. And above it all, he had the chance to have it with the young woman sitting before him.

He couldn't mess this up.

Harry let his eyes roam over Hermione's face, or at least what he could see of it. Her hair was up in a messy bun, held in place by her wand. He couldn't get his head around how girls could do things like that. But he liked it. He liked it when she had her hair down too but when she had it up, he could see her long neck better. His hand itched to touch her right where her neck met her jaw, just beneath her ear. Her skin looked so soft, he bet it would feel just as soft under his fingers… or lips…

"McGonagall won't ask about my face." Harry jerked back into reality with Hermione's words. Her tone was serious but he could see the smile she was trying to hold back.

"Now, that would be one exam I could study for day and night," Harry replied, leaning forward and resting his chin on his palm. Hermione raised one eyebrow and mimicked his movement by resting her chin on her palm.

"So you are saying after 8 years, you still don't know my face by heart." She was still holding back that smile he so wanted to see.

"No, I'm saying I'll never get tired of looking at that face but I would like to study it a little closer if you don't mind."

And there it was, that shy but pleased smile. She averted her eyes from his after a few seconds of intense gazing and started gathering her books.

"Let's go to dinner, suddenly I'm starving," she said quickly.

"Yeah, me too," Harry whispered as he packed his stuff. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Hermione didn't hear him.

In a few seconds, they were walking out of the library to go to the Great Hall for dinner. Hermione had her heavy looking book bag in one hand and another book in the other hand, holding it close to her. Harry looked at her full hands and sighed. He had hoped to hold her hand as they walked side by side.

He adjusted his backpack on his shoulder and reached towards her bag.

"Let me carry this for you."

But Hermione didn't let go.

"No, it's okay. I can carry my own stuff."

Harry sighed, Hermione and her I-am-a-strong-independent-woman-who-don't-need-no-man side.

"I know you can do it but I want to carry it," he said and went to take it from her hand.

And again she didn't let go.

"It isn't heavy, Harry. I charmed it."

Ah, of course she had charmed it! How else would she carry the entire library with her all day?

"I want to carry it because it's getting in the way, 'Mione."

"Getting in the way of what?" She asked but this time she let him take the bag, probably out of curiosity. It was indeed very light, almost non-existent in his hand. He passed the bag to his left hand and held out his right to her.

"This," he just said in answer. Hermione looked down at his hand and then at his face and then looked down again before she placed her hand in his. This might be the hundredth time that they held hands but this was the first time she blushed like that upon doing it.

Harry closed his hand around hers and began walking again.

"You were right. Holding hands is an important step. I'm glad we didn't skip it," he said without turning his head towards her but he could see the shy smile adorning her lips. And he knew if she had a free hand, he would be punched in the arm.

"You are surely talking too much tonight, aren't you?" She bumped her shoulder against his instead.

"I'm compensating for you." He mimicked her action. "You're uncharacteristically quiet."

Hermione looked down at their intertwined hands.

"I'm trying to get used to it," she whispered.

Harry turned his gaze to her but didn't say anything. He had thought she was shy about their new status but her actions were starting to make him anxious. He couldn't be sure if she was just nervous -in an excited way- or if she was having second thoughts. But before he could gather his courage to ask, they were in front of the big oak doors of the Great Hall.

And he felt Hermione remove her hand from his.

Instinctively he looked towards her and when he saw the apologetic smile on her face, he felt a little better. It was still new for them and he could understand why she may want to keep this between them for a while.

They went and sat across from Ron at their usual place. As he had left them when they were just thirty minutes in in their studying, he threw a guilty look towards them.

"How are you mate? Do you still have your will to live after studying all afternoon?" Before Harry could answer, Ron winced, "Ouch, Hermione! Why did you do that for?" As he bent down to rub the spot Hermione had just kicked him at, Harry reached to his left and took the roasted potato plate.

"Actually, I'm great Ron. I can easily say it was the best study session ever." As he put some potatoes on Hermione's plate, he saw her trying to hide her smile behind the jug of pumpkin juice. She poured some for Harry and put the glass in front of him. The kick must have been enough warning for Ron because he didn't choose to say anything after that. Harry and Hermione filled each other's plates like they always did and began eating in silence.

The three of them were enjoying their meal with the occasional talk and pass of plates when Harry decided to try his chance again.

"So, how about a walk around the lake after dinner?" He asked in his lowest voice possible without downright whispering.

"I'm down for it." Apparently, it wasn't low enough as Ron had answered him across from the table. Harry, doing his hardest to hide his disappointment, threw a smile at his best mate before turning his eyes at the real subject of his question: His other best friend and new girlfriend.

"You, 'Mione? Are you down for it too?" No matter how hard he'd try, he was sure Hermione would be able to detect the frustration and disappointment in his voice.

"Yeah, okay," she said matter-of-factly, like she didn't know for how long and how much he had been asking this, like she didn't know why he wanted this, like the last couple of hours were just a figment of his imagination and she wasn't aware of his affections towards her.

Harry let out a deep sigh before gulping down his pumpkin juice. As if Hermione's indifference wasn't enough, now he had Ron to entertain instead of making sure Hermione wasn't having second thoughts about them.

And then he felt it, her warm hand sliding into his under the table, her first attempt at a contact after being a couple.

And all of his frustration went out of the window in an instant.

She slightly squeezed his hand before letting him go to refill his glass of pumpkin juice.

"Thank you."

His words were more for her reassurance than the pumpkin juice and she knew it. He knew that she knew it. It was in the way she smiled at him, it was in the way she looked in his eyes for that millisecond before going back to her plate, it was in the way she rested her knee against his.

But he had to ask her nonetheless… He had to make sure she was a hundred percent okay with them… And to do this, he had to have her alone… In other words, he had to find a way to get rid of Ron…

A/N: 1) I'm not very pleased with this chapter but I don't think it'll get any better than this. I've been re-reading this chapter for the last week and I couldn't change anything. I just hope you liked it.

2) This is the longest fanfiction (with a plot) I've ever written and it isn't even halfway done yet. It's just hard for me to write continuous chapters, so please don't mind the inconsistencies and if you see one that is crucial, please let me know.

3) "Incorrigible/Encourageable" exchange is from a fanfiction I adore: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered by cheering charm (If you want the link, just write in the reviews or DM me). I just wanted to include it as a tribute and I may use it again in the later chapters.

4) Lastly and most importantly, thank you for the positive feedback, I really appreciate it -xo