Just Good Friends

When Hermione opened her eyes the next morning, it took her a few moments to realize where she was. When she did, a small smile crossed her face. She looked at the clock. 6:00. Classes didn't start for another two and a half hours, but she wanted to take her time getting ready. Besides, she wanted to get a bit of reading done before breakfast, and she and Harry had to go down early so they could get a chance to eat before helping the first-years to their classes. At the thought of her best friend, the boy whose room was a mere stroll across the common room away, a faint blush crept to her cheeks. Hermione thought of waking him up, but dismissed the idea. It was a bit too early to wake him up, besides, she wanted to go ahead and get her shower so he didn't have to wait for it when he finally woke. Hermione grabbed her crimson robe from its peg on the back of the door and went on to the bathroom.

The main color in the bathroom was gold. There was a long double sink along the left wall with a long rectangular mirror over it. The toilet was to the right of the sink, and to the left of the golden-colored tile wall. To the immediate right of the door were two cabinets that held any and everything Harry and Hermione could possibly need; Hermione's things in the one closest to the door, Harry's in the one farther along the wall. There was a brass towel stand pushed up against the far wall with crimson and gold towels and washcloths hung on it; Harry's on one side, Hermione's on the other. The bathtub was in the far right corner of the room, a bit away from the two closet walls. It had golden clawed feet and a golden metal shower head. The curtain was red with gold lions on it. The bathroom was just big enough for both Harry and Hermione to be able to get ready in the mornings without crowding each other out.

Hermione opened her cabinet and found an assortment of bath bubbles and shower gels. After showering and washing her long hair, she pulled on her robe and was on her way to her room. Before the bathroom door was even closed, she heard that familiar voice. "Morning, Hermione."

Hermione turned and saw Harry walking out of his room, hair even messier than usual, glasses crooked, looking as if he was not at all ready to be out of bed. "Hey Harry. Sleep well?" She was really asking if he had slept more than a couple of hours, if the nightmares that had visited him so frequently at the beginning of the summer had returned. But Harry just smiled and said, in a rather spacey tone, that he'd slept just fine. Hermione attributed it to sleepiness, he wasn't lying to her, she would've known if he had been. "Well, I'd better go and get dressed."

"What a shame, I was enjoying the view."

"I'm sure you were, but you'll have to wait until later to stare at my gorgeous body, because I've got to get dressed if I plan on getting any breakfast."

"Mione, it's not even seven o'clock. Breakfast hasn't started yet."

"I know, but I wanted to finish early so I could help any first years who needed it. Besides, I want to look through the first couple of chapters in the Charms book again to see if there's anything I missed."

"I doubt you missed anything, and even if you did, it wouldn't matter. You're going to be ahead of everyone in the class either way."

"Still, I like to be prepared." Harry just shook his head and walked into the bathroom, while Hermione went into her room and proceeded to get dressed.

Harry shook his head, splattering water all over the shower curtain. He wasn't quite sure he was awake yet. Seeing Hermione standing there, in only her bathrobe, so much like the dream he had been having...he shook his head again, trying to forget the dream. He didn't know why she had affected him like that just then; he'd seen her in her bathrobe tons of times this summer, but he'd never been quite as affected as he had been a few minutes ago. He knew it had something to do with the dream...no, he didn't want to think about the dream. He couldn't really remember it, but he got a funny feeling thinking about it and didn't really want to. The feeling had started when he woke up, gotten stronger when he saw Hermione, and even stronger when he made the joke about the nice view.

Harry then realized why it had gotten so strong. For the first time, he was realizing how nice the view was. He hadn't really thought of it before, thinking of Hermione only as a friend, practically a sister, but that had changed over the summer, and he wasn't quite sure he liked it. Sure, he had known that Hermione was pretty for quite a while now, but he had always shoved the idea away somewhere in the back of his mind. Now it was refusing to be tossed out, staring him right in the face and Harry was being forced to stare back.

Harry turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, drying himself off with a crimson towel. He wrapped it around his waist and stepped out of the bathroom, walking across the common room to his own bedroom door.