"Come on, Hermione! We have no classes! You don't have to study all the time, you know!"

            Hermione was in the Gryfindor Common room, trying to study for Transfiguration. She amazingly had no classes for the entire day, as there was to much snow on the ground, and there was no point in continuing. Harry and Ron were eyeing her eagerly, covered in thick robes; they wanted her to come outside with them.

"Everyone else is coming out" said Harry, his bright emerald eyes gazing up at her, "You'll be the only one inside."

This was true; it looked like they were the only students in the castle. She could hear the delighted chatter and hollers from outside.

            "But…" Hermione started, and Harry's eyes softened as he gave her a goofy grin. She sighed, snapped her Advanced Transfiguration book, and stood up. Ron beamed at her.

            "All right!" Hermione said, "As long you leave me out of the snow ball fight, I'll come"

            "Great!" exclaimed Ron, as Harry passed her Hermione her winter robes from the back of the chair. She slipped it on, and followed the skipping Ron outside the portrait of the fat lady. Harry stayed along side her.

            "You must be really good if you're reading Advanced Transfiguration, Hermione" Harry said, smiling. She shrugged.

            "I'm not trying to get advanced or anything, it's just a little background reading, that's all," she answered. Harry nudged her with his arm.

            "Sure, Hermione. Whatever you say," he said, causing Hermione to giggle, and swat at him playfully.

            They had reached the Great hall where only the staff and teachers were drinking tea, and enjoying themselves. It was when Professor Flitwick told them all a joke that made Hermione turn her head to look at them; they were all howling with laughter. Harry pulled open the door to the outside, and Hermione walked out into the white grounds, Harry behind her.

They walked in on something like a fluffy dream. The evergreen trees facing them were dense, and covered with thick, cold snow. All the students were in the distance, either making snow sculptures or having a snowball fight. Fred and George were chasing after an enormous bird that resembled an over grown peacock, followed by a furious Percy, screaming himself hoarse at them. She could just make out Hagrid, in his moleskin overcoat, scrapping drifts of snow off the roof of his hut. Hermione had never seen so much snow in one place in her life.

Harry ran over to Ron, Dean and Seamus, who were already covered in snow. Two snow walls faced each other with a large pile of unused snowballs lay beside each.

"Harry! Over here!" called Dean, who stationed himself behind a wall. Harry ran to him, bending down to grab a handful of snow, avoiding Ron and Seamus starting to early and throwing the snowballs at him. Harry chucked a rather large snowball at Ron face, and dived out of sight behind the wall.

 Hermione laughed, and sat down on a stone gargoyle across from them.

"Oh, It's ON now!" yelled Ron, throwing another snowball over to their side, while Harry and Dean fought back.

"Don't expect us to go easy one you!" Harry yelled, standing up, and wailing a dozen snowballs in Ron's direction. He dived back down to avoid the other snowballs being thorn at him.

"We don't want you to, Harry boy!" called Seamus, ducking to avoid a chunk of snow thrown in his direction by Dean.

            Hermione was having a great time just watching them. She noticed Harry had bewitched the snowballs to dive bomb on Seamus and Ron's heads. She had lost track of time, but kept no notice. After a while, some of the first years had joined them, and helped them chuck snowballs at each other.

            Hermione could remember when they were in their first year having snowball fights in the same spot they were at. The only difference is that everyone looked different and grown up, much like Harry. He had amazingly grown just as tall as Ron, and he now towered over Malfoy, making him look very small and helpless. He didn't call Hermione Mudblood anymore, as Harry was almost always with her, and Malfoy knew Harry would curse him as fast as you could say 'revenge'.

Ginny joined Hermione to watch them fight ecstatically.

            "Did you finish your charms homework, Hermione?" Ginny asked a while later.

            "Yes, I did. Your brother asked me if he could copy off…"

            But she abruptly froze. She could feel wet, cold snow drip down her neck, and down her already soaked robes. Someone had thrown a snowball at her. She turned around to see Harry grinning down at her, hand raised in triumph. Hermione's twisted face of anger broke into a large smile.

            "Harry! You… You…" she said loudly, giggling all the same. He snickered, and tossed the snowball he had in his hands back and forth in a teasing way. Hermione scrambled to her feet, and smiled menacingly back at him. Behind him, Dean was getting walloped by snowballs thrown by Ron and Seamus when Harry wasn't fighting with him.

            "Harry Potter!" she shouted, between giggles, and lunged at him, making him collapse backwards onto a tall snowdrift, bringing her down with him.

            "You deserved it," he said, grinning, "Having second thoughts about not coming outside with us? How horrible!"

            Hermione giggled, and shoved some snows into his face, making him splutter and laugh.

            "And you deserved that!" she exclaimed, giggling. He grinned down at her, making Hermione blush a deep crimson. 'Oh, why now?' she thought, 'Why do I have to break down now?'

            "Are you embarrassed, or just cold?" he asked, sneering. Hermione shoved him, and looked away. He laughed silently. The thought of her this close to Harry was rather amazing and unpredictable. Hermione thought of this, and blushed furiously again.

            "Hermione?" he asked quietly, making her raise her head in nervousness. Hermione didn't know what made her do it. All she knew was her head was slowly drifting towards his, and she felt her lips lock onto his warm lips.

            She half expected for him to pull away, or gasp in surprise, but he did nothing. She was completely and utterly amazed with herself. 'How could I have brought myself up to do this?' she thought to herself. She felt all her doubts and false dreams ebb away onto their intertwined bodies like something that kept her heart together for those years she spent at Hogwarts.

            Then it hit her. It was Harry. She was in love with the famous Harry Potter from the day he saved her life from that troll. She remembered everything that day. To the concerned look he gave her, and from the way he tried his hardest to drag her frozen body out of the bathroom, and away from the troll.

 Then the painful memories of last year, when Harry was forced to take part in a deadly duel against the strongest and most feared wizard of all, Lord Voldemort.

            The vivid images of Harry, collapsing on the ground outside the maze, clutching the wrist of his dead friend, Cedric Diggory had appeared in her mind like a constant head ache. She remembered what Harry looked like; covered in his own blood, and mangled robes. Then herself, wailing in sadness, and the Weasley's, begging Madam Pomfrey to let them know what had happened. She remembered herself painfully thinking Harry was long dead before she could tell him what she felt for him.

 Then she remembered seeing Harry limp into the infirmary with Dumbledore, and a shaggy black dog at his heels, and what Dumbledore had told them before they got to excited. 'Please, Molly, Harry has been through a horrible ordeal that he has just cleared up for me tonight. He needs plenty of rest and sleep'. Harry's weak face and gashed body appeared in Hermione's mind like an explosion going off in her stomach.

Hermione could feel Harry's heart beat against hers, as though all his horrible memories and thoughts were flowing steadily out of him. Hermione felt so bad for him, it was painful, like a dozen people hitting her with an

unforgivable curse at the same time. She could feel tears slowly streams down her cheek, and Harry parted, looking at her concerned. 'The look he always gives me', she thought.

            "What's wrong, Hermione?" he asked quietly. She gazed into his green eyes for a moment, and laid her head on his chest.

            "I was thinking about last year," she mumbled into his robes. Harry stroked her long hair, making her completely comfortable.

            "I'll always be with you so it doesn't come back to you. I just hope you don't feel bad," he said, sweeping away the tears under her eyes. Hermione smiled, and said something she thought she would never have the guts to say.

            "I-I think I'm in love with you, Harry," she said, barely getting he voice half past a whisper. She raised her head to look at him, and she was relieved to see that he was smiling down at her.

            "I love you too, Hermione" he answered, and pecked her on the nose.

A/N: Yep, folks, that'll be a romance I'll never have : ) Sweet, ain't it? H/H ROX!