Remedy

A Bargain to Care

Potions remained one of the more awkward classes after they returned from the holidays. Neither Ron nor Daphne changed seats, instead, they both tried to pretend the other didn't exist despite the fact they were less than four feet apart. If Daphne turned to face Harry, then Ron immediately leaned slightly back in his chair, his chin tilting up as he stared at the ceiling.

Daphne's face barely twitched in response to Ron's juvenile behavior and instead, she focused intensely on Harry with an overly pleasant smile. "Was it clockwise or counterclockwise after adding the bat wing?"

Harry did his best to act completely normal. "Uh, that was six stirs clockwise."

"Thank you, Harry. I knew I could rely on you ." The emphasis was as sharp as her smile as Daphne turned back to her potion. Harry quite thought she hadn't really needed to ask him at all.

He glanced discreetly at Ron who looked like he was grinding his teeth. Then he looked behind Ron at Hermione catching her gaze. She shrugged as if to say there was nothing either of them could do.

When class ended Ron took off like a shot, practically shoving people out of his way, and managed to be the first one out of the door. Harry stayed back to clean up the remaining mess of ingredients they had left after the potion was complete and turned in their results for grading. That complete he stepped next to Hermione who had finished about the same time and held out his hand. She met his eyes with a small smile, handing over her book bag with a low-voiced thank you.

They were among the last to leave as their next class was quite close and they could afford to take their time. When Hermione's hand brushed by his as they walked, Harry caught it, lacing their fingers together. Hermione's hand tightened on his briefly and he met her eyes, seeing the faint blush in her cheeks.

Harry wasn't sure what he expected from Hermione now that their relationship had changed. She had always been so enthusiastically affectionate with him often wrapping her arms around him with the least provocation. But for some reason the shift in their relationship had made her more hesitant, which he couldn't understand.

Perhaps he needed to reassure her in some way. There weren't too many people he knew in committed relationships but perhaps it wouldn't be too strange to ask Charlotte. How did one reassure their...

Was girlfriend the right word? Girlfriend seemed too juvenile after everything they had been together. Too impermanent for everything that Hermione meant to him. And it put her in a category where he had thought of other girls when he was younger and the label just didn't seem quite right.

Hermione was vital to him. She had gone from being the bossy know it all he had met his first day to the bossy know-it-all that he had to have. Even thinking about those things made his heart speed up, half in fear and half in excitement.

Hermione glanced back at him and hesitated. Then she tugged him abruptly into one of the little alcoves along the corridor. She stepped closer to him, bringing his hand up with hers, resting their tangled hands against his chest. "You're quiet." She said softly as she stepped closer still, their hands now trapped between them.

Harry tilted his head lower, his gaze going from her lips to her dark eyes, then back again to her lips when she licked them. "I was thinking."

He could feel her heartbeat from where their hands were squeezed between them. It should have been awkward standing like that, their hands twisted together and trapped between their chests. But it wasn't.

At all.

Her heart beat steadily against him, while his jerked wildly in his chest. His nostrils flared as he tried to suck in the short supply of air that existed for him.