Harry Potter woke up to rain beating on the windows of his bedroom. The room was dark, as it always was when he woke up. Due to his Auror schedule, he worked nights and slept days, even when he had a day off, as was the case today.

He pushed himself out of bed, looking for his cigarettes. He pulled one out and lit it, inhaling deeply. He grabbed his glasses and slid them on his face. He was just now coming out of his post-war shell shock, it having come into effect just a month after the fall of Voldemort.

He could hear Ron and Hermione talking softly in the living room of his and Ron's shared flat. Hermione. She was all he'd been able to think about for the past few months. They had become even closer during their time searching for the Hallows after Ron had abandoned them. And he, Harry, was so in love with her. He could still remember those extra cold nights in their tent when they'd had to keep warm. He could still feel her lips on his collarbone as he ran his hands over her perfect hips. He shook his head to clear all the memories of her perfect body and of all those perfect nights together. She had always been his light in the dark, his saving grace. But now, his destiny was calling him.

The world expected him to fall in love with the red-haired beauty that was Ginny Weasley. In looks, she was just like his mother. Like father, like son, correct? They wanted him to follow his Oedipus complex. The perfect storybook ending to the tale of the century, one tabloid had said. Never mind that Hermione, the woman he loved with all his heart, was more like his mother than his best mate's sister ever would be. He stubbed his cigarette out in the ashtray on his nightstand. Ginny was beautiful, but Hermione was gorgeous. Hermione was most definitely the brightest witch of their age, despite her Muggleborn heritage, as had been the case with Lily Evans Potter in her day. Harry had heard stories about his mother from the Order members. She had been selfless and caring, more than willing to help everyone before she herself even admitted any need for anything. That was how his Hermione was. Harry had seen her put himself and Ron before her own needs so many times over the years that he had known her.

Yes, he was in love with her.

And he wanted everything when it came to her. The suburban house, the four kids, the dog, the whole shebang, he wanted it and he wanted it with her.

But it didn't matter and it never would.

He reached down and picked up a pair of sweatpants off the floor and pulled them on. He stuffed the pack of cigarettes in his pocket along with a Muggle lighter, readying himself to deal with what he had to face. Mustering his Gryffindor courage, he went out into the living area of the flat. His best friends were sitting on the loveseat, laughing softly at something one of them had said. Harry quietly began fixing himself a pot of coffee, trying to ignore them. Ron and Hermione had been an 'item' since the war ended. It still hurt Harry to even think about it, not to mention be around it like this. For it to be so blatantly pushed in front of his face was some of the worst pain he had ever felt. Every time he saw them together, it was like someone was ripping his heart out and stabbing it repeatedly. Not that they would ever know that, no, let them be in love, he'd thought, let them be happy. Ron had never found out about the deep relationship Harry and Hermione had shared in his absence. And Harry knew that he never would. It was just some unspoken rule between him and Hermione.

Eventually, Harry's coffee finished percolating and eventually, Ron and Hermione got up off the couch and headed for Ron's room. Harry blew on his coffee, the mug raised to his mouth, as they passed. Ron smiled at him but Hermione caught his eye. Harry had never seen her eyes look so desperate, save for their first night of being together. He could read her every emotion with one look. She didn't want this anymore. She didn't want what was about to happen, even though Harry knew that it had happened many times before, first with him and now with Ron. He could see in her eyes that she wanted him instead of Ron, that she still loved him.

And that was all he needed.

The wind was cold and it cut through the tent like a blade. Harry had lost track of time and was just laying flat on his bunk when Hermione came in to trade the watch shift with him. She touched his hand to see if he was awake. Her fingers were like ice. Her face was tearstained from crying and red from the piercing wind. Her beautiful, chocolate brown eyes were bloodshot again and Harry immediately felt guilty and solely responsible for her lack of sleep. But he knew that wasn't the entire reason she wasn't sleeping. She was so upset about Ron leaving. It broke Harry's heart to see her so devastated and not be able to do anything about it. He loved her more than anything, not that he would dare admit that to her, but he wanted to at least keep her safe from any harm that he could.

"Harry," she said. "It's your t-turn."

He sat up in his bunk, grabbing the blanket as he did so. He leapt down and wrapped her in his arms, placing the blanket around her shoulders. "Hermione, you're frozen solid."

She shivered as she shook her head, trying to deny his claim. "N-no, I'm n-not, H-Harry."

He looked down his nose at her, over the rims of his glasses, as he began to fix her a cup of hot cocoa.

She smiled, "M-maybe you h-have a p-p-point." Her teeth chattered.

He smiled at her as he handed her the steaming mug. She accepted it gratefully and took a long sip, sighing as it filled her with warmth. He put his arm around her as she placed her head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head. Watch duty could wait a little while longer.

"Harry?"

"Mm?"

"May I ask you something?" Her voice was soft, almost sad.

"Of course, Hermione. Anything," he said to her, moving so he could see her face.

She took a deep breath, "Are you really in love with Ginny?"

Her question stunned him. He hadn't expected this, not in the middle of their desperate search for Horcruxes. He thought for a few minutes before responding. "In all honesty, Hermione, I don't think I ever was."

She sighed what seemed to be a sigh of relief and sagged against his shoulder. He was confused. "Why d'you ask Hermione?"

She took a deep breath. "Because.. I love you, Harry. I always have." Her voice was quiet. "It was never Ron, it's always been you. I thought he was the one for me but, no, not after he abandoned you like this, not after he abandoned us!"

Harry felt like the world had stopped spinning. She loved him? How could an angel like Hermione love him, the eternal screw-up? She was so wonderful, he didn't deserve her. He could hear his heartbeat, loud in the silence that had fallen between them. He looked at her, her brown eyes melting his heart. He was a sucker for those chocolate brown eyes of hers. Then, he did something crazy, something that he had never dared do before, no matter how much he had wanted to. He kissed her.

Her lips fashioned themselves to his in a way that Ginny's never had. Her face was cold but her lips were not, due to the hot cocoa, and she tasted every bit as sweet as he'd always imagined she would. He slid his hand up her neck, into her thick mane of curls. Pulling her onto his lap with his other hand, he deepened the kiss, running his tongue along her bottom lip. She gasped as he pulled at her hair. He thought he was in total control of the situation until she pushed him back onto her bunk, kissing him fiercely. Never had Harry had a more powerful or emotional kiss. He had to stop himself from moaning aloud as she pressed her body on his.

They pulled away softly, both panting for breath. "I love you too, Hermione. So much."

And for the next hour, neither of them slept, neither of them stood watch and neither of them was cold.

Harry found himself staring out the window, holding his cup of coffee, and remembering his and Hermione's first 'I love you's. She and Ron had only been gone for about twenty minutes, but Harry didn't even want to think about what was going on in there. He gave up on his staring after a few more minutes and opened up the book he had sitting on the coffee table. He smiled as he ran his finger over the embossed title, Hogwarts: A History. She would be proud of him for finally reading her favorite book. He opened it to the page he had last left off at and began reading. It wasn't long after that that he heard the scream.

It was one full of anger and frustration. If he listened hard enough, he could hear the words, "You don't understand, Ron! You never have!" Suddenly, a door slammed open and Hermione came stalking out angrily, her clothes and hair in wild disarray. She fumbled with her shirt, trying to re-button it but failed because her hands were shaking so bad.

Harry put down his book and went over to her. "Hermione," he said gently. "What happened?"

Her voice shook as tears cascaded down her face. "Not here, Harry. Just get me out of here first."

He nodded and took her arm, Apparating them away just as Ron came running out of his room.

Less than an hour later, Hermione sat on the bed in the Muggle hotel room Harry had gotten for them, wearing a large hooded sweatshirt of his and a pair of sweatpants he had bought for her in the hotel gift shop. He was wearing sweatpants and a plain white tee-shirt. Due to their abrupt departure, he hadn't put on any shoes and had therefore had to call Kreacher to bring him some, along with some gold he'd had in his room and the sweater Hermione was now wearing.

He sat down beside her on the king sized bed. Rubbing her back, he gently asked her, "What happened with Ron?"

She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, taking a shaky breath. "He wanted me to sleep with him. Again. Even after I've repeatedly told him that I don't want to. He's never been that insistent on it. He always just says, 'Okay,' and falls asleep with me in his arms. But tonight, no.. Tonight was different. He looked at me like.. Like I was a piece of meat and he was starving to death. It scared me. I told him n-no," her voice broke and tears began to roll down her cheeks again. "I told him no, and that I was done with him. I told him that I didn't want to be with him anymore. Then he got mad, saying that I never really wanted him in the first place." She laughed weakly. "You should have seen the look on his face when I told him that he was right."

Harry wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against the pillows with him and kissing her forehead. She laid her head on his chest and sighed. "What else did you tell him?" He asked.

"What else could I tell him? I told him that I'd always been in love with you, ever since third year," Hermione said.

Harry smiled at her frank honesty. "That long, huh?"

"It's always been you," she said as she kissed him.

It was then that Harry realized, this was the destiny that was calling him.

(A/N: This was originally going to be a 500-700 word angsty one-shot, but I just kept writing and writing and it turned into 2,000+ words with the possibility of a second part. It was loosely inspired/based on the song "Mr. Brightside" by the Killers.

So, review. Tell me what you loved and what you hated, what you might want to see in a second installment and just how much you love me. :) I'm willing to hear it all.

Reviews will give me more inspiration to write!

Happy early Independence Day, USA!

-E.)