Best of Friends

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ending of Chapter 6:

"Hermione, I will never let anything happen to you..." he smiled and carefully pulled Hermione onto the broom with him. He rose slowly into the starry night sky...

Chapter 7

The Beginning

***

Right here waiting, staying strong
Come and Fall into me

***

Harry and Hermione were on Harry's Firebolt, making their way to his mysterious "secret spot." Hermione was holding on to the handle of the broomstick while Harry was showing her how to steer and holding on to her waist. "God, I hope Hermione likes this...I didn't have too long to put this all together. I still can't believe that idiot! How could he treat Hermione like this...my Hermione like this. I'm lucky that it's so beautiful out here tonight...no clouds, no rain, perfect temperature...and the stars are so bright tonight!" Harry smiled to himself, "What am I talking about? It's perfect...I don't think I could plan this better than if I had a million years. What would I do without that Marauder's Map? If I hadn't discovered this place 'cause of it...I don't know how I could have made Hermione feel better. Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry for what he did to you," Harry pulled her closer to him and held her tighter.

***

You say you've turned it off
Hid your heart upon a shelf
Scared of what it might cost
To take it down for someone else

***

Hermione felt Harry's arms grip her tighter and bringing her closer to Harry's warm body, "Harry is so good to me...almost too good...I've never done anything to deserve him in my life. He's been through more pain than most people see in a lifetime...yet here he is, comforting me. Shouldn't it be the other way around? I'm so selfish! How can I be thinking about myself when Harry's been through so much!" As Harry continued holding on to Hermione, another feeling...stronger than her guilt...began to take hold of Hermione's heart and soul. "I can't remember the last time I've felt so safe...this is so weird! I'm flying hundreds of feet above the ground and on a broomstick no less! But Harry said to trust him, so I let go. But it's still so strange...why don't I feel at least a little bit scared of falling? What does this all mean? Oh, I'm so confused! I promised myself I wouldn't fall for anyone else! Oh, Harry, why did you have to be so...wonderful?"

***

Cause loving him you lost

Too much of yourself

Baby can't you see...that he's not me

And...

***

Harry's breath was starting to get caught in his throat, "We're almost there! I really hope this works, I hate seeing Hermione upset like this. Ugh, Krum, you prat! Why'd you have to go and treat her like this?! She never did anything to you! I only hope that she'll be able to get over this, and allow herself to love again...to be able to love me. Just you wait, Hermione, I'll get you to see that you can always trust me...I'll never hurt you, not if I can help it."

***

I need you to know you can fall into me
That my arms are wide open and will always be
Right here waiting, Staying strong
Come and fall into me

***

As they neared their destination, Hermione had let herself revel in the feel of Harry's strong arm around her, keeping her from falling and to certain death. "His arm around me feels so right...so perfect. Where is he taking me anyway? We've been flying for a while now..."

And then, in the still far off distance...Hermione could see the unmistakable form of...Hogwarts castle.

"Hogwarts?" Hermione asked herself, confused, "Why is he taking me here...of all places? The way he was going about this, I thought he had at least put some effort into thinking about where we were going to go." Although Hermione didn't make it obvious, she was disappointed, and Harry noticed.

"Haha, it's working perfectly. She's disappointed. She'll be completely shocked when we get there."

* * *

When the duo neared Hogwarts, Harry didn't head towards the castle like Hermione assumed, but rather to the...lake. He flew over the lake, toward the bank farthest from the castle. Hermione could see a dim glow coming from a small area. As they neared closer and closer, Hermione could make out a blanket laid across the grass and floating candles nearby. Harry slowed the broom down considerably as he neared the bank. When they were directly above the blanket, he set down carefully, not wanting to startle Hermione.

"Harry...what is this place?" Hermione asked in awe.

"This," Harry replied, "is my secret place. I found it in my second year...when I just needed to get away from everyone, and be by myself. Hagrid is the only one besides me who knows about it, in fact, he's the one who showed it to me."

**Flashback**

12 year-old Harry was sitting in Hagrid's hut, telling him about his problems.

"Everyone thinks that I'm the Heir of Slytherin...sometimes I wish that I could just get away from it all."

Hagrid looked thoughtful for a second and then said, "I can 'elp you there, 'Arry. 'ome on, follow me."

The half-giant stood up, with Harry following, and led him to the place that had become Harry's secret retreat for the past 3 years.

"'Ell, 'Arry...this is it, and ain't no one but me 'hat knows 'bout it."

"Wow...this is great Hagrid! I don't know what to say..."

"Don't say 'nything...just let it become an important part of you...like it was 'o me when I was 'our age..."

"Don't worry, Hagrid....it will be."

**End Flashback*

"Of course, back then I didn't realize just how important it would be..." Harry thought looking fondly towards Hermione.

"Harry...how come you never told Ron and me about this place?" Hermione asked.

"Er...I guess mostly because I just wanted to keep it to myself...no offense."

"Oh...well, then why are you showing it to me now?"

At this question, Harry blushed furiously. "Well...because...since I came to stay with you...something about you and me changed...and well, tonight I finally realized something..."

******

I'll follow any road
Anywhere to get to you
I'll open up my soul
If that's what you need me to do

******

As Hermione listened to Harry, she was looking around this gorgeous place he'd shown her. As Harry fell silent, she turned to look at him. As her eyes fell upon his face, she felt that familiar flutter in her stomach, that feeling that made her go weak in the knees, and that sense of completion she felt just being with him. Hermione struggled to get her voice back, "What did you realize?" she finally managed to whisper.

"That...I'm only whole when I'm with you..." he said nervously...awaiting her reaction.

Tears sprang to Hermione's eyes as she gazed back into Harry's deep emerald eyes...lost for words.

As Harry saw her tears he continued, "I know that Krum broke your heart...he tried to move too fast...but Hermione...I'll wait for you...until you're ready. I'll wait forever if you ask me to...because all I want is for you to be happy. All you have to do...is tell me when."

******

But now baby it's your move
All you've got to do
Is believe in love, just believe in us
Now...

******

Hermione couldn't bring herself to say anything...much less move toward Harry. So, Harry did it for her. As he finished saying what he needed to, he moved toward her and held her firmly but gently as if proving his love for her. She finally managed to bring her arms up and hold Harry tightly around his neck, tears falling through her eyes. They held each other for what seemed like an eternity before Hermione finally gathered enough strength to whisper one simple word that would forever the relationship between the two...

******

I need you to know you can fall into me
That my arms are wide open and will always be
Right here waiting, Staying strong
Come and fall into me

******

"When."

Harry pulled out of the hug and looked at Hermione with joy in his eyes. He searched hers and found exactly what he needed to verify that Hermione was truly ready...

******

Just believe in love, just believe in us
Baby....

******

He smiled out of pure joy and love and leaned forward. As their lips met in a gentle and passionate kiss...every good feeling in the world just seemed to soar between them. Hermione returned the kiss just as passionately as Harry and brought her hands up behind Harry's head, her fingers running through his unruly raven hair. Harry kept one hand on her waist, but brought the other one up to gently caress her cheek as they kissed. They were both surprised (to some extent) to feel how their lips seemed to fit perfectly...as if they were never meant to kiss another. And from that moment on...they knew...they knew that they would spend the rest of their life together...no matter what happened. They would get through it and their relationship would be able to withstand anything...and everything.

******

I need you to know you can fall into me
That my arms are wide open and will always be
Right here waiting, Staying strong
Come and fall into me

******

After they had kissed for what seemed to be forever, Harry and Hermione flew back home...to take care of one...last...thing.

Harry watched as Hermione took the letter Krum had sent her and walked towards the fireplace. The flames danced in her eyes as she took the letter and threw it into the fire, symbolizing the Krum was to mean nothing more to her from this moment on, that she would forget about him for the rest of her life. After the letter had ceased to be anything more than ashes scattered around her fireplace, she turned to Harry...and smiled.

******

Come and fall into me
Baby, fall into me

******

He returned her smile along with a look of love and compassion in his eyes...he slowly moved to Hermione again...took her in his arms...and kissed her as if he would never get the chance again.

The two of them were so caught up in each other that they both failed to notice a young red-haired man staring at them from the doorway...

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A/N: Okay, I know...it took me forever to post! I'm sorry, but a heck of a lotta stuff happened to me so I either couldn't work on it or wasn't up to it. I hope you like this chapter, it's what you were waiting for! Don't worry, this is nowhere near the ending of this fic! I've grown to be very partial to it! I hope you were satisfied with this chapter, I worked very hard to finish it tonight! Well, I'll try my hardest to get chapter 8 up soon!

~Jen

Thanks to:

PotterGal- hope I didn't keep you in suspense forever! J

Fangboy- too lazy, huh? Haha, I know the feeling, thanks for reading my fic, and taking the time to review!

Coconut-ice_agent_h/h- Thanks, thanks, and thanks! For each of your three people! I'm glad you like the story so much. Hehe, I know I'm not fair, but hey...who said life is fair? Hope this chapter met your expectations! I'll ttyl!

Snoopy511- Haha, thanks for reviewing! Not to mention actually talking to me online! I love meeting people online, it's so....refreshing! Haha, well, I'll ttyl!

Sarah- thank you so much! I'm glad you think that this story is good! Hope you liked this chapter!

Godric Gryffindor- Are you still alive?? Well, I certainly hope so! Wouldn't want you to miss this chapter! Thanks for reviewing and enjoy!

Uglinessrox55- Thank you for being so faithful to me! I always love seeing your reviews! Hope you like this chapter! And thanks for the motivation!

Athena73- Ask and ye shall receive! J Hope you enjoyed the kiss!

M4X- Thanks for reviewing and I hope you liked this chapter! And please...put the knife down...?

Lady Sunlight- All right, I updated! Twice! Haha, hope you enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed writing them! I finally let them kiss! And thanks for putting me on your faves list, I feel so honored and special!

DB17- Yeah, I know...I am a bit cruel, hopefully I made it up?

Sirius Black- Thanks for pointing out the whole hair thing, hope I answered your question sufficiently. Thanks for writing, and aren't you glad I didn't include a disturbance this time?!

Lamina Court- Hey! Thanks for reviewing...yet again! Haha, you can always go on and on and on and on with me! I'll ttyl!

Crinos-X- Yes, this certainly helped with the motivation! I'm so happy you like my story! *grins from ear to ear*

Harrypotterfreak- Ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok...I updated! Hope you liked it and thanks for reviewing!

Lil' Hermione- Thanks! Here's Chapter 7! And I'm so glad to see that your stories are so successful!

Tiny dancer- Yeah...I liked the cliffie idea...I almost used it again for this chapter, but I decided I didn't want to destroy the mood. Thanks for reviewing and it was my pleasure to review for your story!

Midnite star watcher- I know, I hated making Krum so mean...but I felt like it was necessary to get where I wanted to go! Well, here's the update, and you finally got to see where Harry takes her!

Leah- I hope you're not upset and that you liked this chapter! Thanks so much for reviewing!

Sparkles- And last but not least...thanks for reviewing. I know I need to make my chapters longer...but it's so hard!! Anyway, just for you I reached a new high! 1, 690 words (Not including my author's note or thanks!) I know it's still not that long...but I'm getting there, I hope! I'll ttyl!

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO TAKES THE TIME TO READ THIS STORY!!!!!

And remember...MORE REVIEWS = MORE MOTIVATION = FASTER POSTING!!!!