A Simple Answer

He said, "Hermione, hey!"

I said, "Hey, Harry!"

Harry Potter, one of my best friends, was walking toward me. But there was something he had in mind that I wasn't to find out until that night.

He was dressed in a pair of worn-out jeans and a Quidditch sweater that Mrs. Weasley had knitted for him. It looked as if he had actually combed his hair.

This was a little bit over-the-top for me. I mean, he combed his hair. Seriously! I mean, no offense to him or anything, but he normally doesn't dress this well unless he's trying to impress someone or something like that. Who could he be trying to impress?

I found out who it was after I asked him.

"Woah, Harry, who are you trying to impress?"

"Umm...what do you mean?"

"It's um...kind of obvious. You're wearing CLEAN jeans, an NEW sweater, and a pair of CLEAN sneakers. Objections?"

"Well...I was wondering...maybe you'd like to...um...I dunno...go, like, prafexis?"

"Prafexis?"

"I mean, practice some hexes."

"Harry, are you all right? You normally don't like to do stuff like that."

"Well, then, how about we take a stroll in the hallway?"

"Umm...o...kay."

So, we went for a stroll. We had an excellent conversation about the Triwizard Tournament last year, about Ron, about our classes, how we hate Professor Snape and Draco Malfoy and his gang, about our upcoming O.W.L.'s. I'm still not sure where we were, because I think I lost consciousness after what happened next.

"So, you still like Krum?"

"Krum? I never really ever liked him," I said in confusion. "You know, Ginny's still crushing on you." I grinned.

"Duh." We both laughed. Laughed like we never had laughed before.

"Did you hear about Hannah and Ernie from Hufflepuff?"

"No, what?"

"They got together."

Harry, having not heard this before, looked shocked; indeed, they were an unlikely couple. I, on the other hand, was not, for Harry's previous crush, from Ravenclaw, who was now a sixth year, Cho Chang, had told me. I was still a bit uncomfortable with the whole arrangement.

"Interesting."

"Tell me about it." There was an awkward pause. We walked through the park. The first star had just peeked out as we walked side by side. Eventually, we took hands, which was a little weird, considering that we were best friends, nothing more.

Harry broke the silence.

"To answer the first question you asked, the answer is...'you.'"

I was puzzled. But I had no time to figure this out. We sat down on a nearby bench.

I was never prepared for what happened next.

My best friend just kissed me.

After that, I asked Harry, "What was that?"

"For everything."

Then he kissed me again. I savored it. Each and every moment of that kiss, I savored it. I don't know why, but for some reason it felt good to have Harry kiss me. Like I had been waiting for that special kiss all my life.

Then he spoke again.

"The person I was trying to impress...was you."