Harmione One Shots

Into the Rainbow

Summary: Hermione gets tired of waiting for Harry to make a move. Or, five times Harry and Hermione almost became a couple and the one time she did something about it.

Ship: HarryPotterxHermioneGranger

All credit goes to Lisera on Ao3

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It started with a hug. Not an ordinary hug, but a hug for her life. Now that all the uproar and speculations over how Sirius Black, the securely barricaded convict, had escaped right under the Minister of Magic's nose had subsided, Hermione Granger was left to reflect on the events of that night in relative silence in the company of her partner in crime. The other Gryffindor students paid the pair of them hardly any attention as they passed through the common room. After all, seeing Hermione Granger and Harry Potter sitting together on the sofa was not a remarkable sight to them by any means. Really, the only thing unusual about the scene was that they were not accompanied by their loud redheaded friend. But as they had heard, he was still in the hospital wing recovering from a rather nasty leg injury, so his absence could not be helped. Still, everything seemed normal.

But for Hermione, something felt undoubtedly unusual and different. She let her head fall to the side where it gently met Harry's shoulder, feeling the ends of his hair brush over her forehead as he shifted on the sofa. A nook formed, and her body leaned in, unable to resist the call for comfort. She recognized now that was what his presence meant to her. And this closeness—it brought back the words he had said to her that night.

"You'd better hold on to me—"

And they had been so close. Just like this. She had clutched his waist, holding on for her life as they flew through the skies on that great beast. It was only after her feet had touched solid ground, after they had returned to their time, after the relief of having escaped from the dementors with their lives and souls intact settled, that her body had finally allowed her mind to ponder the preposterous thought that had abruptly appeared in her head.

Do I...fancy Harry now?

She felt her face turn pink—much more so than the color of the jacket she was wearing. It was what she had been wearing that night as well. At least it was clean now. But this newfound emotion, why did it make her feel a little—

Her body jolted forward and she stood up in an effort to stifle the sudden surge of embarrassment. Was it not enough that they were best friends? If something went wrong... She remembered the fight about the Firebolt from earlier that year, and how she had thought she had ruined everything—ruined the best friendship she had ever had...

No. Surely whatever she was feeling would not last. She had simply gotten caught up in the swirl of new emotions that came with the chaos of that night. It was only her overactive imagination that was making her believe she had crossed into a whole new world on that hippogriff ride—one that displayed everything in such vibrant and tempting colors.

"Ahh!" Hermione squeaked as a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back onto the couch. Her shoulder ran into his and she felt the stares of at least a dozen pair of eyes on her as her face flushed and Harry's laugh rang in her ear. "What was that for?" she hissed, hitting his arm. They were so close now that a mere tilt of her head would have meant her lips would come in contact with his cheek.

Harry shrugged and grinned. That stupid grin. That stupid, stupid grin. Why did it make her feel so strange now?

"I don't know," he said. "I didn't want you to leave just yet. Where were you going?"

"Nowhere," Hermione said. "I just wanted to...stretch." She moved a couple inches away from him, feeling it was prudent to place some distance between them. But though she sensed the danger, her head still naturally turned towards him.