It's The Great Pumpkin, Harry Potter!

It's the Great Pumpkin, Harry Potter (06)

Chapter Six. A Moment Never Measured

For ever after, they never knew how long they sat there, looking into each other's eyes. It may have been seconds ... it could have been minutes ... they never knew.

All that each could remember was that they had turned and smiled at each other at the antics of their friends ... the next thing was a vision of eyes ... brown eyes with flecks of gold and the diamond-like sparkle of unshed tears ... green eyes behind round, shiny glasses, shimmering with a hint of untold regrets.

They didn't speak ... not a word, not a whisper.

They spoke to each other through their eyes ... for long moments, they spoke only with their eyes -- recalling incidents in their past together when one saved the other's life ... thinking back to the moments of companionship when they had no one to turn to but each other ... remembering the times when one was in danger and the other could do nothing but watch and wait ... evoking memories of good times, bad times, terrifying moments ... but always, always, remembering the moments when they touched and felt strength in the other ...

They never even heard Ron shouting, 'Harry! Hermione! There's a troll in the room!' Neither did they see Ginny shoving Ron away and trying to stuff the toy stag in his mouth to shut him up.

Their lips brushed.

And then again ... feeling warmth passing between them ... sensing their breaths mingling together ... the skin barely touching, but feeling a connection that went deeper than their physical selves ...

Their hands cupped each other's faces as their eyes stayed locked on each other ... and for a time that neither could measure, they held each other that way.

Their lips finally met ... but it was soft.

Poignant.

Tender.

In the back of their minds, the same thought formed ... where was the passion that they had heard about, read about? Where were the fireworks that they were told to expect, exploding in their minds with the sparkle of a thousand falling stars? Where was the heat, the energy, the fire they had heard should happen at this moment?

There was none of that.

There was just ... completion.

Beyond their locked eyes, Ron had pulled a furiously struggling Ginny up the stairways to the dormitories, ignoring her muffled pleas of 'I wanna watch this, Ron! Geroff me! Let me get Colin's camera!'

Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione, and lifted her from her seat. Hermione, light as a feather, wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes still locked on his.

Their lips locked. Mouths pressed closer ... tongues soon touched ... exploring each other's teeth ... gums ... the inside of their mouths. The taste and smell of pumpkins and cinnamon mingled with mint invaded their minds ... light-headed, their heads danced ... their hands continued brushing each other's hair ... turning unruly and bushy hair even more unruly and bushy ... the skin of their arms and hands brushed each other's necks ... velvet-smooth sensations coursed from their forearms to their brains.

They stopped, and pulled away for a second, only for her head to fall back on his chest, and his face to fall forward on her hair. They drew in deep, ragged breaths, taking in each other's smells ... committing that moment, and their smells, to their memories.

By this time, Ron had bodily thrown Ginny into her room and was on his way to his dormitory, but he had stopped by the landing ... and gaped at the tableau before him. With a sudden grin, he pulled out his wand and whispered, "Nox" - extinguishing all light in the room, except for the fire blazing in the fireplace -something that the two on the couch did not even discern.

Having done his duty in the name of modesty, he sat down to watch, unaware of the soft, padding footsteps coming down from the girls' dormitories.

Harry's hands lifted Hermione's head to his, and he laid his lips next to her ear. She could feel his warm breath on her hair, blowing away the strands that surrounded the shell of her ear. She felt Harry's tongue licking her ear ... leaving behind a coolness that made her shiver ... he wrapped his arms around her, as if to keep her warm, but only to hold her tighter to his chest.

She felt him taking in a deep breath and she placed her lips beside his ear, blowing at the strands of air there ... and both spoke, for the first time in what they were never able to say were seconds, minutes or hours:

I love you.

They whispered the words to each other, exhaling the words into each other's ears at the same time.

I love you.

Harry moved his lips to kiss her ear and whispered, "I love you, Hermione Granger."

She wrapped her arms even more tightly around him, and whispered back, "I love you too, Harry Potter."

"Stay with me tonight?" At a nod, he lifted her to the sofa, where they sat side by side - but Hermione lifted her legs and draped them over his lap. She pillowed her head on his shoulder, and he quietly rested his head on her hair. Holding each other, they quietly drifted off to sleep ... neither speaking ... but knowing that this was a moment they will always treasure.

With a quiet sigh, Ron stood up to go to his room - and nearly crashed into someone behind him. With a quiet yelp, the other person (persons?) suddenly ran up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. He shook his head and, smiling broadly, quietly went to his room for a well-earned rest.