Prompt by Harmony Daily Prompts on Twitter: say something
Hermione stood catatonic on the floor of Twelve Grimmauld Place, bottle of wine frozen in hand.
The world seemed to slow down to a halt. The candlelight stopped dancing on the dinner table. The swish of curtains stopped in midair. Her muscles froze and her brain started working.
It was only Harry who's moving at this point.
"Oh Godric, please say something," he said desperately. The man was trembling. He wiped his palms on his jeans. He took a tiny step forward towards Hermione, then another one back. He was stuck in this dance of wanting to go to her but not knowing whether she'd be repulsed at his touch for a minute.
What was Hermione supposed to say?
Something idiotic like, "Yes Harry, I have been in love with you too and I want us to stop this ridiculous arrangement of dinner and a good fuck while pretending to not have feelings for you"?
Harry rubbed his palms all over his face.
"I've ruined it. I've ruined it, haven't I? You don't feel the same way?" He nodded maniacally, and then started pacing all around the living room. "That's fine, that's fine. We can pretend like I didn't say anything. Just. Please, Mione. I don't want to lose you. Tell me I'm not about to lose you."
For a blip, a life without Harry flashed before Hermione's eyes. It was disgusting. Unbearable. She didn't want it.
But what if they failed at this? What if she too stopped pretending and gave in to the thing beating behind her ribcage whenever she saw him out of the corner of her eye, and then they end up losing everything over something ridiculous like uncapped toothpaste or towels on the floor?
Oh God. She was already thinking about moving in with him.
"I can—I can leave," Harry offered. "I'll go to Ron and Luna's. You can stay here, and do...whatever you have to do. Just owl them when you're ready to leave. Feel free to stay the night!" He threw his arms in the air and turned towards the Floo.
In a flash, the sense flooded back to Hermione, like cool water rushing through her body.
Was she really about to do this? Were they really about to do this? Put everything on the line and give whatever this was between them a proper try?
"Harry," she managed to croak before Harry could put his fingers in the Floo powder. He turned around. Far too quickly—she couldn't imagine it would have been comfortable. "I—I think I'm in love with you too."
Immediately, far too quickly, he crossed the room back to her and crashed his mouth against hers. Hermione reciprocated the action far too eagerly, her hands traveling all over his back. They'd done this before, multiple times, but with the last barrier finally overcome, they poured everything into this one kiss that would change their lives for the better.
