Prompt #510 – Twilight – For Good – slashluv18 – Harry Potter

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Title: For Good
Fandom: Harry Potter
Prompts: #510 – Twilight
Warnings: None
Pairings: Harry/Hermione
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,915
Summary: After Ron left, things changed between Harry and Hermione. Is the change for good?

It was twilight when Harry entered the tent.
Hermione laid on the cot. Her eyes were red and puffy, but at least she was no longer crying.
Harry rubbed the back of his head, unsure of how to help her. He was never good when it came to comforting crying girls. His brief stint with Cho proved that, but this was Hermione. She was the most important person in his life, and he couldn't walk away when he knew she was hurting.
He sat down on the edge of her cot, not wanting to crowd her. He was silent for a few moments, but he eventually broke it like he knew he had to. "Are you okay? You haven't cried like that since Ron first left."
Hermione forced herself into a seating position, and he reached out to her in order to help her, and she smiled gratefully. "I wasn't crying because of Ron," she muttered stubbornly.
He raised his eyebrows disbelievingly.
She saw the look and rolled her eyes. "Okay, maybe a little bit, but he really isn't the reason."
Harry decided to believe her. "Okay. If you aren't crying because Ron left then what's the reason?"
Hermione's brown eyes locked with his own emerald gaze, and he gulped nervously. She was looking at him in a way she had never looked at him before, a way he used to look at her before he realized she would always choose Ron over him. Or at least he thought she would until she decided to stay with him on the hunt.
He wasn't sure why she was suddenly looking at him like this and butterflies flew inside his stomach. "Hermione?" he urged, hoping to break the somewhat uneasy silence and maybe get her unflinching gaze off of him.
Hermione took a shuddering breath. "It's strange. This whole time, I've always focused on Ron as the perfect boyfriend. And like magic, I no longer find myself believing that."
When she stopped speaking, as if that explained everything, Harry squeezed her hand. "Okay. That made you cry?" He slowly asked, unsure where she was going with that statement. He decided to not remind her that Ron had a habit of making her cry, and to Harry, the redhead really didn't seem to be boyfriend material, at least not for someone as wonderful as Hermione.
"I took for granted that you were always at my side and were the one to do everything you could to make me feel better. Merlin, if it hadn't been for you in first year, I might have been killed by that troll. I doubt Ron would have thought about me in the bathroom. You've always been there when I've needed you, and I don't think I've ever thanked you."
"Hermione, you've been there for me as well. In first year, we would never have found the stone if it hadn't been for your brains. In second year, you figured out it was a Basilisk. In third year, you helped save Sirius." He closed his eyes as he remembered that the safeness had only been temporary. He opened them after he collected himself and continued, "In fourth year, when everyone turned against me, calling me an attention-seeker and a cheater, you stood beside me. In fifth year, you did everything you could to help me, even when my emotions were going haywire thanks to my connection with You-Know-Who. Last year was rough for everyone, but you still tried to help me despite everything."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Because of Ron and Lavender, I was a bitch to you last year. You shouldn't excuse me when I treated you horribly."
Harry cupped her cheek. "I'll always excuse you because I know you didn't really mean it. You were just angry and hurt and jealous. It's something I can understand."
Hermione closed her eyes and leaned into his hand. "Because you were jealous of Dean when he was dating Ginny, right?"
It was on the tip of his tongue to say yes. Agreeing would be the safe answer. The more he thought about it, though, the more he realized he was done being safe. Hermione was looking at him in a way that made him think he might have a chance. And his feelings had never gone away even if he had stomped on them until they were buried as deep as possible. And he was a Gryffindor. He was supposed to be brave and take chances. If he didn't, how could he ever get what he wanted?
So, he took a deep breath and took the plunge that would forever change his relationship with Hermione, either in a good way or a bad way. "No, not because of Ginny and Dean. Because I was jealous when I realized you liked Ron. Because that meant I didn't have a chance with you."
There. Now it was out in the open and he could never take back the words.
Hermione opened her eyes as he let go of her cheek. "You mean that?"
Harry nodded. She didn't seem disgusted, so that was a good thing.
"I never allowed myself to think of you as anything more than a friend, but I couldn't help it the last few weeks with us only having each other to rely on."
"Do you mean there's a chance?" he hopefully asked.
She bit her bottom lip and then seemed to steel herself. "Does this answer your question?"
Before he could ask her about what she meant, she was kissing him with shy uncertainty. Harry was just as uncertain, but he pressed back, not wanting her to think he didn't enjoy the turn of events.
He cupped her cheek and angled his head, deepening the kiss. When air became an issue, he pulled back. "Wow," he murmured.
"Wow," she echoed, red coloring her cheeks.
It was late but neither of them felt tired. Even so, they needed to check their surroundings so they headed out of the tent.
Hermione rested her head against his shoulder and it felt natural, like she belonged there. "I'm kind of hoping Ron doesn't come back. We survived this long without him, and I can imagine how he would take us kissing and maybe becoming more."
Harry's heart jumped but not in a good way. "Maybe? I thought..."
She quickly looked into his eyes. "I want us to be more, but we have to be realistic when there's a war going on. I think we should put everything on hold until the war is over."
"And then your mind will have changed," he muttered pessimistically.
"That's not true," Hermione argued. "I know how I feel about you, and I won't deny it any longer. Harry –"
She was interrupted by the sight of a doe-shaped Patronus.
Harry locked eyes with her. "Let's go."
After that, everything happened so fast. Harry jumped into a frozen lake after breaking it with Hermione's wand to retrieve Godric Gryffindor's sword. He couldn't get to it because Salazar Slytherin's locket wrapped itself tightly around Harry's neck, cutting his flesh, and he couldn't come to the surface for air.
Hermione screamed, trying to figure out what to do. Her mind was completely blank as tried to think of a spell to help. She was about ready to jump in after him, but a certain missing redhead beat her to it.
When Ron came back to the surface, Hermione took Harry, dragging him to a safe patch of ground, rubbing his back as he coughed.
When he realized he was on dry ground, he joked, "Hermione, you saved me again, huh? That's becoming a habit of yours."
Hermione shook her head and pointed to Ron who was holding the locket he had cut from Harry's neck.
Harry blinked. "Ron, you're back," he stated, not sure what else to say, especially with what happened earlier between Harry and Hermione.
Ron explained he had been looking for the two of them all day and admonished Harry for not taking the Horcrux off first. He mentioned something moving behind the trees, but that wasn't important right then to Harry.
He moved away from Hermione, putting distance between them, mentally preparing himself for the time that Hermione would decide Ron was the one she wanted after all. He dressed himself and stated, "You have to destroy the locket."
Harry got the locket open and a voice began speaking to Ron, teasing him.
Ron looked sick.
Harry closed his eyes, suddenly feeling guilty for his feelings for Hermione when two figures, who looked eerily like Harry and Hermione, appeared, making everything worse. "Stab the locket," Harry commanded, wanted to shut up the horrible voices.
When the two figures kissed, Harry gulped, knowing that Ron would see that as the utmost betrayal.
Still, Ron overcame his weakness and smashed the locket with the sword, destroying the Horcrux.
"The locket lied, right?" Ron asked quietly. "You two don't actually like each other like that, right?"
Harry didn't look at Hermione when he answered. "Of course we don't. Hermione..." he paused, hating himself just a little bit. "Hermione is like my sister. That's all."
Hermione shook her head and took Harry's hand. "No, Harry, we're not lying. I know what you believe is going to happen when the war is over, but I'm going to prove to you that you're wrong."
She faced Ron. "I liked you Ron, but I also liked Harry. And the last few weeks, my feelings for you have lessened and my feelings for Harry have become greater. And I won't say I'm sorry for the chance. You took me for granted that I would always be there waiting for you. In fourth year for the Yule Ball, you thought I wouldn't have a date than acted like an arse all night because I did have a date. And all last year when you dated Lavender, you acted as if I would always be there on the sidelines. Well, I'm done waiting for someone who has never done anything to show me he's committed to something more than friendship. I'm done waiting for someone who takes me for granted. Harry has proven his commitment over and over again, and I like him. A lot. When this war is over, I want to be with him. And if you can't deal with that, you should leave once again."
The whole rant was spoken calmly, but she was sure she got her point across. She finally looked at Harry. "You thought when I said I wanted to wait for the war to be over, it meant I would change my mind about you and me. I won't, but we need to focus on staying alive so there's a future where we're able to be together. Do you understand now?"
Harry nodded, a small smile blooming on his face. He took her hand and held it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to it. "I understand," he breathed.
They both looked at Ron who had been oddly quiet. "I really messed up, didn't I?"
Hermione nodded.
"Do I have any chance?"
Hermione's eyes softened slightly. "Not as my boyfriend, but you could work on being my friend."
Ron looked at the ground. "Should we go back to camp?"
Hermione and Harry looked at each other. It wasn't the acceptance they wanted, but that question meant Ron would try, and right then and there, it was all they could hope for.