A Thank-You Long in Coming

Dedicated to the crew of the HMS Pumpkin Pie.

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"Well, we had better get some sleep, Harry," Hermione said as they approached the stairs to the dormitories.

Harry checked his watch. It was one in the morning, and they'd been studying for five hours straight. He couldn't believe the time had flown... but he didn't care. He'd been spending time with Hermione, and loving every minute of it, even though most of the time had been spent writing an essay for History of Magic. He'd also spent some of the time realising just how good a friend Hermione was, realising how much her friendship had really meant to him, and that he'd never told her how much he appreciated it. Mostly because he'd never known until now just how much he really did appreciate her. Nor had he noticed how pretty Hermione was.

Wait, did I just think Hermione's pretty? Harry thought to himself. Yes, you did. Admit it, she's very pretty, best friend or not... and you're still thinking about that kiss she gave you last year, regardless of what it meant.

"Yes, you're right," Harry replied as they ascended the stairs. "Double Potions first up, and I certainly don't want to give Snape any excuse to take points off Gryffindor."

They reached the top of the stairs and turned to face each other.

"Sleep well, Harry. See you in the morning," Hermione said, turning towards the girls' dormitories.

"Pleasant Dreams, Hermione. Good night," Harry replied, but before she entered the girls' dormitories, he suddenly blurted out, "Hermione?"

Hermione was rather surprised, as she turned back to face Harry. The way Harry had said her name was rather sudden. "Yes, Harry?"

"I - I just wanted to say..." and before Harry said another word, he threw his arms around Hermione, hugging her close, much in the same way she had done to him in first year. Hermione was very surprised by this show of affection initially, but very quickly hugged him back. They just stood like that awhile content to share the closeness, before Harry broke the uneasy silence.

"I never said thankyou, Hermione. All these years I've taken your friendship for granted. You were there for me last year when noone else believed that I didn't put my name in the Goblet of Fire, you were there in second year when I was suspected of being the Heir of Slytherin. You helped me save my Godfather from a fate worse than death. And did I ever once thank you? No... I'm such a selfish git. I want you to know that I really do appreciate everything you've done for me... our friendship means a lot to me."

They finally pulled apart, and Hermione replied.

"You're welcome, Harry. It is nice to hear you say thank you, I won't deny that, but even if you hadn't, I'll always be there for you. Our friendship means as much to me as it does to you, Harry."

"I hope it always will, Hermione. Good night," Harry said, and before he turned to go, he impulsively kissed Hermione on the cheek.

"Good night, Harry," he heard Hermione reply as he went through the door to the boys' dormitories.

When Harry made it back to his own dorm, he had a hundred thoughts racing through his mind. He'd hugged Hermione. He'd kissed Hermione. On the cheek, granted, but he still kissed her. Did this mean his feelings for her were going beyond friendship. No, he rationalised. It was a friendly hug, and a friendly peck on the cheek, and it meant nothing more.

But, as he went to get into bed, a voice in his mind asked him: Then if it meant nothing more than friendship, why is your pulse racing and why are you replaying every moment of what just happened in your head?

Needless to say, Harry's sleep that night was at best, restless.