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…

CHAPTER 4: Moonlit Confessions and Much-Anticipated Sparks

Harry sighed for the umpteenth time. He was cold to his bones, he was frustrated and he was getting more and more desperate with every passing second. For some reason his plans weren't working. Whatever he did, he couldn't make Ron change his mind and Hermione's amused smile didn't help the matters.

So there they were, the three of them walking around the frozen lake in the moonlight. There was a slight breeze but not enough to make them want to go back inside. The dark silhouette of the forest was to their left, the frozen lake with the reflection of the full moon on its surface to their right. It was kind of romantic to be honest.

If only they were alone…

He inhaled deeply, the sharp air filled his lungs. As he let the air out slowly, he watched the vapour leave his mouth. This was what he was doing for the last ten minutes. Watching his breath leave his mouth and listen to Hermione.

Oh, yeah!

She had been talking non-stop for the last ten minutes. If he didn't know what she was talking about, he would think it was the most fascinating topic in the world. But no, she was talking about the 4 feet long essay she wrote for her Arithmancy class ("Professor Vector only wanted 2 feet but I could only shorten it to 4 feet") and what really frustrated him was that she really wasn't bothered that Ron was there with them, ruining their plan (well, his plan to be honest) to be alone.

He knew he was being too harsh on Ron. In the end, the poor guy didn't even know he wanted to be alone with his new girlfriend. Hell! He didn't even know Hermione was his girlfriend. Not that Hermione herself seemed to be aware of that little fact. It was like the last few hours hadn't even happened.

Harry shuffled his feet in the snow as he listened to Hermione's voice ringing in the cold evening air.

"But I'm so glad I finished my Transfiguration essay on Saturday. You know, with the Arithmancy exam coming up, it would really-"

"Wait! What Transfiguration essay?"

Ron's panicked voice made Harry come out of his trance. He turned to his left where Ron was looking at him over Hermione's head between them. It looked like he had just come out of a trance of his own.

"Did we have homework?" He asked alarmed. Harry furrowed his brows. He didn't know such a thing. They had an exam in two days and McGonagall wasn't the type of teacher to give end of the semester homework.

"I don-" Harry started but felt all the air leave his lungs with Hermione's elbow subtly hitting him.

"Yeah, didn't you know?" She asked, turning to Harry and winking at him. "I think Harry did it today at the library."

"Oh, shit!" Ron cursed, "What is it about?"

"Umm…" Harry didn't know what was going on, he certainly did not write any essay today.

"A brief summary of the semester," Hermione said in a heartbeat, not letting him talk. "We'll hand it before the exam."

"Oh, no…" Ron whined, "Why didn't I know of this?"

"You were sleeping for the most of the class." Hermione's cold-hearted tone made Harry shiver more than the air.

"Yeah, you're right… I guess…" Ron muttered. "I better go and start then," he sighed, "See you later." He turned and started walking (almost running) back to the castle.

"So… You wanted to be alone right?" Hermione asked, turning towards him when Ron was away from the earshot.

Harry looked at Hermione, then at his friend's retreating back and then back at Hermione. She was grinning mischievously. And then it dawned on him.

"There is no homework."

Hermione's laugh was enough answer for his bewildered statement.

"Hermione, you are a wicked witch. You're incredible," he said looking at the already small silhouette of his friend. "Poor Ron. He will be so mad when he realises there is no homework."

"It's for his own sake," Hermione replied, still grinning. She took his arm and began walking, making him walk beside her in the process. "He would never study until the last day and then he would beg me to tutor him and he would tag along to our study date."

Harry couldn't help but smile upon hearing her say those two words.

Study date…

So she was very well aware that they had a thing going on. He wasn't just going crazy imagining things. And she wasn't having second thoughts, she was just acting like that because she didn't want other people to know about them.

But didn't that mean she was unsure of them?

"So? What did you have in mind when you asked me out here?" She asked tugging at his arm and pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Nothing actually," he lied. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted.

"Oh, you mean you brought me out here to freeze to death?" She laughed, she knew he was hiding something. He knew her enough to know that she was waiting for him to open up.

"I…" He began, "Hermione, I know I asked you out but…" He didn't know how to ask if she was having second thoughts without giving her second thoughts if she wasn't having any.

Sounds complicated, right?

"Are you having second thoughts?" She asked, making him choke on his own breath. "Do you want to cancel our agreement?"

"I- What?! NO!" Harry nearly shouted around his coughing. "I mean, no, of course not! And don't call it an agreement, I'm serious about giving us a try. You make it sound like it's a… a… I don't know the word for that," Harry frowned.

"An arranged relationship between two people who can't seem to find someone to love themselves for who they are so they are giving their best friend a shot?" If it wasn't for the playful glint in her eyes, Hermione's serious tone would have made Harry really nervous with this exceptionally clinical description of what they were really doing.

"Yeah… But it's not just that, right?" Harry asked. He really wished he could be as playful as Hermione right now but he was really anxious about her real thoughts. Sure, they had nice moments in the library (Nice? More like heated with sexual tension like he had never felt before) but he still wanted to be sure. He had to ask her one last time if she was really okay with dating him or was she doing it because he wanted her to.

"Harry…" She sighed and stopped walking to turn towards him. She pulled her arm away from his and hugged herself. "What is it? Just tell me."

Harry inhaled the cold air, feeling it fill his lungs.

"Hermione, look… I… I just want to be sure that you really want this." He put his finger against her lips as she opened them to speak. They were cold, unlike earlier in the library. "No, let me finish," he said and pulled his hand away when he saw her small nod. "I'm… not a romantic bloke and I… I most certainly don't understand these relationship things."

He stopped to give a little chuckle. He was staring down at his boots buried in the snow, he couldn't look at her, afraid of seeing sympathy in her chocolatey depths. He didn't want her sympathy, he wanted her to really give them a shot because she believed that there could be something great between them, not because she felt sorry for him.

"I… I feel like I'm changing as a person… since defeating Voldemort. I can see a future for me now. I'm… not afraid of imagining it. And I'm… I'm really comfortable with you, you know? I wouldn't be saying these things if it was any other woman beside me now." He paused. He had to see her eyes. Yes, he was afraid but he was a Gryffindor, wasn't he?

He slowly looked up, she was staring at him but there wasn't sympathy in her eyes. No, there was something else. He couldn't really put his finger on it but he most certainly liked what he saw.

"I trust you," he continued, never breaking the stare, "I respect you, I love you as a friend. And I'm almost certain you feel the same way about me."

"Oh, Harry… This is the first time you said you loved me," Hermione whispered shakily. He could see that her eyes had gotten teary.

"You know me, I'm not a vocal person when it comes to feelings," he muttered uncomfortably. He was pushing his limits. Yeah, he may have been more open and relaxed back in the library but for some reason this was different. This conversation felt more serious, the atmosphere was more… tangible. He couldn't hide behind his jokes and teasing this time.

"But I should have told you this before. You are one of my best friends. You were there with me, beside me, every step of the way. I'd die without you and your friendship. And I love you… as a friend… and possibl-"

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione cut his monologue with her catchphrase and jumped on him, hugging him so tightly and tackling him backwards in the process.

Harry felt the coldness of the snow and the warmth of the girl upon him at the same time but the kiss Hermione planted on his cheek was what made his insides warm up. This may not be the first kiss Hermione gave him but this was most certainly the best kiss anyone had ever given him. And it was ridiculously chaste, in fact it was so chaste and simple, it made him crave for more.

"Oh, Harry, I love you, too." He knew that she meant it as a friend, she didn't need to add that but that didn't deter him from imagining the day that she would say that as something more.

"Umm…" For a moment Harry didn't know what to say, it was possible that he didn't even know how to form a sentence. Hermione's solid weight on him was very distracting. He cleared his throat, "Ahem… If I knew you were waiting for me to say this, I'd have said it sooner. I thought you knew that I love you… and Ron," he added as an afterthought.

Since Hermione's face was hidden in the crook of his neck, he couldn't see her face but he could definitely feel her breath. Her warm breath was moistening his neck, tickling his insides and when she lifted her head to talk, Harry felt the already cold air freezing his warmed skin.

"To be honest, I had a sneaking suspicion about that." Upon seeing his frown, she laughed, "Just kidding, of course I knew," she added as she rolled off of him to the side, "It just feels good to hear it sometimes."

Harry closed his eyes at the loss. It was ridiculous to feel this way about something as simple as not having her on top of him anymore.

Woah! That had come out way more sexual than he had intended. Those are dangerous waters, Potter!

"Harry?" Hermione's voice shook him from his –slightlyinappropriate- thoughts. She had lain down beside him and, to Harry's delight, her head was resting on his shoulder.

"'Mione?" He asked back with the same tone she used.

"What are you thinking?"

Harry felt himself redden at her question. Thanking the gods above for the cold air to blame his flushed cheeks, he cleared his throat, "Ahem… Nothing in particular…"

She didn't say anything in return, allowing an uncomfortable silence to fall over them. The stillness of the night almost making Harry regret not saying what he was actually thinking of.

After a few minutes that actually felt like hours to Harry, Hermione's soft voice broke the silence, "I'm sure."

"What?" Harry was so busy trying not to think of her head on his shoulder, he couldn't understand what she meant by that. Had he missed something?

"You asked me if I really wanted this and I'm answering you: Yes, I want to try this. I'm sure."

Harry turned his head to look down at her, she was looking at the night sky. Harry could only see a part of her face from this angle.

"Are you sure?" His question made her laugh slightly and turn her face towards him.

"Did you just ask me if I'm sure of being sure?" She asked, her eyes were twinkling like the stars above them.

"Umm, I guess I did." He grinned sheepishly. "One can never be so sure, you know."

Hermione's laugh turned into a content smile as she put her head back on his shoulder.

"Well, you don't have to worry about this, Harry James Potter. If I wasn't sure before, I am now." She snuggled into his shoulder as if trying to get comfortable with her pillow. "So far you are doing a good job at assuring me."

Harry was at a loss for words. He was snuggling with Hermione, his best friend, in the middle of the night, on the snow and he was enjoying it. Actually, he was enjoying it so much, he never wanted to go back. His robes were certainly thick enough to keep him warm and there was Hermione's warmth too. But what if she was cold?

"Maybe you should cast that spell you did last time," he said after a long, or maybe short, silence. "To make the snow warm. I wouldn't want you to be cold because of me."

"Nah, then I'd be too comfortable to move," she answered. Harry could see her slight smile.

"I think you're already comfortable." Harry grinned, turning his face towards the star filled sky but keeping his stare on her from the corner of his eye. If the cold wasn't deceiving him, Hermione was blushing. She made to move away from him but he extended his arm, which was lying on his stomach up until that point, and put it around her shoulders, making her lie on his chest. "I didn't say I wasn't comfortable."

Yep, she was definitely blushing.

Hermione once again got comfortable on his chest, her left hand found his right one which was wrapped around her shoulder.

"This may be the first time you ever initiated a hug with me," she said in a low voice, as if she was afraid of making him realise what he was doing. Little did she know he was very aware of what he was doing. "Actually, earlier in the library, I guess it was the first time you ever touched me. Of course, aside from all the times we had to touch, it was the first time you touched me without any reason." Her eyes were fixed on the stars above, it was almost like she was talking to herself.

"I'm not- I mean… It's not-" Harry didn't know how to put his thoughts into sentences. He knew what he wanted to say but thoughts were just thoughts, they were refusing to be defined by words.

"I know," Hermione said, lightly squeezing his hand. "You are not a tactile person. You don't really like to touch people or be touched by them."

"It's just… I didn't grow up that way. I'm not used to it," he whispered. After all these years and he could still be amazed at the way she knew him.

"I know that too," she whispered back as if she heard his thoughts, he could hear her slight smile.

"Yeah, you know me," he sighed into the cold air. "Sometimes it can be scary how well you know me. Almost like you're in my head."

"Aww, don't be scared. I'm not a pervert like Voldemort. I don't go around snooping in your mind," she teased, "I just like to know things. And frankly, I love knowing things about my favourite things."

Harry felt his heart almost skip a beat upon hearing her words. Her favourite things…

"To be honest, I wouldn't mind having you in my mind instead of an old man. My teenage dreams would be far better with you in them, for sure." His teasing words earned him a gasp and a smack on the chest from Hermione.

"You are getting cheekier and cheekier, Potter."

"Then, I guess I'm lucky that I'm your favourite thing, huh?" He replied. Flirting with Hermione was rapidly becoming one his hobbies. She was good at comebacks, maybe it was a result of her bickering with Ron but theirs were not bickering, theirs were banters, more playful, more teasing.

"Well, for the record, I didn't say you are my favourite thing," she retorted.

"You implied it." He shrugged, making her head lightly bop on his shoulder.

"I may have. But I didn't say it." Her sing-song voice made him chuckle.

"I like this," he said simply, he was not entirely sure of what he was referring to. He just liked it.

"Yeah, me too," she answered. She had understood him once again.

"The stars are beautiful tonight."

"Mmm-hmm. The moon, too." Harry's eyes moved towards the full moon, it was very bright, almost too bright.

"I guess you can check off 'moonlit walks around the lake' on your to-do list," he said referring to the conversation they had last Friday that started all of this.

"We could say that…" She answered, her eyes focused on the full moon. "But I'd like to do it without Ron tagging along… and in warmer weather." Harry restrained himself from turning towards her after her last remark but he saw her wince slightly out of the corner of his eye. If he wasn't watching for her reaction, he would have missed it. She cleared her throat and elaborated, "Not that it's certain that we'll be together by then… but still…" Her voice trailed off towards the end.

Although he very much wanted to answer her doubtful remark, he decided to ignore it for the moment.

"It's my turn now. We should fly," he said instead, bumping her shoulder with his hand wrapped around her. Upon seeing her terrified look, he added, "Not now, I'll arrange something soon."

"Harry, it's cold," Hermione tried to object. Harry knew her enough to know that cold was the least of her worries when it came to flying.

"I know a spell to keep warm while flying. How do you think we play Quidditch without freezing our arses off?" He smirked when he saw her pout. "But we can fly in warmer weather, too. The afternoons in the spring are marvellous for flying. Quite romantic," he fished for a reaction.

"Well… I guess we should agree to disagree on this one. You know that I don't like flying."

"No, I think what you don't like is heights," he answered confidently.

"Harry, flying may not be one of my strongest suits but I know that it's done up in the air." Even though Harry couldn't see her face, he was sure that Hermione had just rolled her eyes at him.

"Yes but I'll be there to keep you safe. Just like I did when we flew on Buckbeak," Harry tried, he really wanted to convince her that it was a good idea.

"For your information, I didn't like that," Hermione stated.

"Yeah, I can still hear your screams in my head." Hermione once again smacked his chest.

"Don't be a jerk." Her laugh made it sound like an endearment. "But really Harry, I'm not good with flying. Maybe it's for the best if we establish this from the beginning." She stopped for a few seconds but Harry didn't cut in, he knew she was trying to gather her thoughts. "I don't like heights… I'm not good at flying… I can never be your dream girl. No, let me finish," she stopped him when he opened his mouth to object. "I'm not saying you won't be happy with me, I'm just saying I can't be that 'right person' you want to go on romantic afternoon flights with."

"I think riding a hippogriff in the middle of the night is the most romantic thing I've ever done," Harry replied, "If we ignore the fact that we were racing against time to save Sirius... and of course your screams." This time it was him who rushed to stop her before she could cut in, "And we talked about this earlier, I don't want a sporty girl, I don't care if you can't fly. I'm not thirteen anymore, my expectations from a relationship is more than common hobbies."

His last words were the beginning of a long silence. He didn't have anything else to say, he felt like after this point, pushing Hermione to fly with him wouldn't be right. He had said his opinion on the subject, the ball was now in her court.

Hermione was staring at the sky, the concentration on her face looked like she was trying to read the stars to know what to say. After a few minutes of silence, filled with animal sounds coming from the Forbidden Forest, she whispered out of nowhere, "In ancient times, the hippogriff was the symbol of love."

Her words made him smile, so this was what she had been thinking for the last few minutes: Love.

"No wonder it felt romantic then."

"According to some sources, the hippogriff is the symbol of impossible love."

Harry's smile fell for a split second but he recovered quickly. "Well, I can't see anything impossible about us. I think we passed that 'impossible' stage when we battled magical creatures, destroyed cursed objects and defeated a dark lord." He turned his head to kiss her temple but changed his mind at the last moment, he pressed his nose to her head lying on his chest and whispered, "Now is the time to concentrate on the 'love' part of our relationship, both as friends and hopefully more."

"I guess you're right." She smiled into his chest.

"Of course, I am. I'm Harry Potter," Harry replied with fake-confidence.

"Oh, I'm sorry. How could I have doubted the Chosen One?" She mocked him with a grin.

"It's okay, just don't let it happen again."

They'd been lying on the snow for nearly twenty minutes now and even though it was chilly, Harry didn't want to go inside just yet. He just hoped Hermione wasn't cold. He wanted to ask but he didn't want her to think he wanted to go inside. In the end, he decided to tighten his arm around her in hopes of warming her –and just because he liked holding her close.

"This is weird," he heard himself murmur.

"What is it?" Hermione asked raising her head to look at his face. Harry hadn't intended to say this out loud but since he had, he decided to continue.

"We've hugged countless times before but none of them felt this way." His unsure whisper was barely heard but her closeness helped her to catch every word.

"I don't think we really hugged before. I mean I hugged you, you just put your arms around me in return." Harry wanted to object but he couldn't remember initiating a hug with her or with anyone else for that matter. Like Hermione had said he just wasn't that kind of a person. "Have you ever cuddled with anyone before?"

It was like she could hear his thoughts.

"No… But if this is cuddling, then I like it," Harry answered honestly and added with a moment of boldness, "Can we do this more often?"

His question made Hermione laugh. If it was anyone else, it would make him very nervous but he knew that she wasn't laughing at him, she was just enjoying the moment. Hermione would never laugh at him for something like that.

"Did I ever tell you how much I like the Post-War Harry?" She asked abruptly, craning her neck to be able to stare in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" He asked, his voice came out hoarse, NOW he was nervous. She was so close, all he had to do was raise his head and his lips would meet hers. But he couldn't do that, not yet.

"You are not afraid of feeling anymore," Hermione stated. She had decided to turn in his arm and cross her arms on his chest to rest her head on them. She was half lying on him now.

"You mean I was before?" Harry was having a hard time trying to concentrate on her words while his body wanted to concentrate on other -ahem- attributes of her.

"Weren't you?" She asked back, fortunately for Harry, she didn't wait for an answer before continuing, "You were afraid of losing the people you cared about, all of us were but naturally yours was a bigger fear."

Harry looked into her eyes darkened with the night, "Were you afraid of losing me?"

"Are you really asking this?" She sounded somewhat offended. "It was –and probably is- one of my biggest fears since-" She stopped herself before she could finish her sentence. If she hadn't averted her eyes, Harry probably would have overlooked it but not now, not when she was acting like she had let one of her deepest secrets slip out.

"Yeah? You can't turn back now, Miss Granger. What are you hiding?" Harry enquired, putting his arms around her waist in order to prevent her escape.

"Nothing important." She tried to brush it off but when he didn't give in, she continued in a whisper, as if she was wishing for him not to hear, "It was my boggart."

"Your boggart was losing me?" He half-asked half-stated, it was becoming a habit of him. Upon seeing Hermione's nod, he elaborated his question, "So, you're saying your boggart changed after third year. But where did you encounter another boggart? In the Grimmauld Place?"

"I didn't." Hermione's voice was even lighter than before, making Harry strain to hear it. "It didn't change."

"But I remember you saying your boggart was McGonagall telling you that you'd failed all of your classes."

Hermione cleared her throat as if collecting her confidence and finally looked in his eyes again after what felt like forever to Harry.

"I didn't say she said I'd failed all of my classes."

"But-"

"I said she said I'd failed everything." Her simple words had so much meaning behind them, Harry had to stop for a second to comprehend them.

"You… You mean your boggart was failing… in everything."

"More specifically, failing you," she murmured but this time her tone wasn't due to insecurity; they were so close, she just didn't need to speak any louder than a whisper. "Failing meant losing you. And I couldn't bear that thought –I still can't."

Harry felt like all words had left him. He couldn't do anything other than stare at Hermione. He had never seen her from this close before. She was even more beautiful. Before he could collect his thoughts, he felt Hermione shiver in his arms.

"Do you want to go inside?" He heard himself ask. Although he didn't want to go back just yet, it was getting late and he certainly didn't want Hermione to get sick because of him.

Hermione nodded and pushed herself up from his chest, helping Harry up along the way. They shook off the snow from their cloaks before starting towards the castle door.

As they were walking Harry saw Hermione shiver once again. With a confidence gained from their night together, Harry put his arm around her to keep her warm. And to keep her close.

"I hope you don't get sick because of me. It'll be a tough week," Harry said, rubbing her arm up and down to warm her.

Hermione took out her wand and with a smooth movement Harry felt himself warm up. He reluctantly let go of her. After all, she didn't need his embrace to keep warm anymore.

"Oh, I guess that's more practical."

Hermione laughed and snuggled closer to him, putting her arms around his middle. "But I think this is better."

Harry put his arm back around her. He was feeling feelings he never felt before. "Much better.

Harry felt Hermione draw back as they neared the entrance of the Gryffindor Common Room. Since the corridors were mostly deserted due to the late hour, they could hold hands all the way back but it seemed like she didn't want to risk being seen. Just before they turned the corner to the portrait of the Fat Lady, Hermione stopped, making Harry stop with her.

"This was a lovely night. Thank you," she said, giving his hand a one last squeeze.

"The night isn't over yet," Harry smiled. He really didn't want it to be over.

"No, it isn't over for us as best friends but I feel like it's too early to give them any ideas." She smiled but he could see the sorrowful look in her eyes. "I don't think I'm ready for questions I don't know the answers of. Neither are you."

"You're right," Harry sighed. "But it won't always be like this, right?" His hopeful tone must have done the deed as Hermione gave him a short hug.

"Of course not. First we'll get comfortable with us, then they'll know."

"Okay," he said, letting go of her. Just as Hermione made a move to go, Harry stopped her. "Oh, and Hermione, I definitely felt sparks."

"Wha-" Harry pecked her cheek before she could even finish her sentence and proceeded to the portrait hole, leaving a dazed Hermione behind.

A/N: I'm sorry! I know it's been so long you probably had to go back for a quick reminder but, guys, believe me, I'm doing my best. Trust me, I didn't neglect my stories, I've been writing this for the past three months. It's just... My life isn't going exactly how I'd like it to go right now BUT I'm doing my best. Writing fanfiction is -and always has been- my safe haven. Believe me when I say being busy and having writer's block at the same time really sucks. But do you know what is good for curing writer's block? REVIEWS! Just saying...

Love you and hope to see you soon(er than three months).

Take care, bye -xo