A/N: Just a short one-shot for all you H/Hr fans about Valentine's day! WARNING: CONTAINS EXTREME AMOUNTS OF FLUFF. Please review!
Of Mishaps & Valentine's
"Knitting?"
"No."
"Doing homework?"
"Not really in the mood for it tonight."
"Er—how about we walk around? Gets the blood moving, you know? I know how cold it is, Hermione."
"I'm just not in the mood for anything tonight, Harry. I feel sort of… pathetic, you know? It's Valentine's tonight and I'm spending it with my best friend doing nothing interesting of the sort. I mean, even Ron's got someone to be with, no offense to him though. I just don't understand why no one would want to be with me on Valentine's."
"Nonsense. I'm with you, right here on this couch."
"Come to think about it, why aren't you out tonight? I figured you'd have some gorgeous girl on your arm."
"I've not had a date in ages. Doesn't matter, though. I don't even care."
"It's all my fault, isn't it?"
"What's all your fault?"
"That you don't have a girlfriend! Honestly, Harry! All of the girls in this school are jealous of me because you're my best friend. They'd never date you if I was always with you,"
"What? Hermione—you're mental. I'm with you because I want to be with you. And if no girl in this school can be my girlfriend without getting jealous of you, then I don't want them."
"Oh, Harry,"
"What?"
"That—that was just so sweet,"
"Sweet Merlin, Hermione! For the love of—don't cry!"
"Sorry. It's just—that was the nicest thing you've ever said to me,"
"Is that a subtle yet rude clue about the fact that I don't compliment you often?"
"Perhaps."
"Mmm-hmm. I can take a hint, Granger. No need to be so soft on me."
"…"
"…"
"…You know what? I've decided to hate Valentine's."
"Hate Valentine's? How can you hate Valentine's? It's the day of love,"
"Well, that's what makes it so ironic, isn't it?"
"Why would you in the first place?"
"Because it's a stupid holiday. It's stupid and annoying, and unfair."
"Unfair?"
"Yes, unfair. Unfair because they celebrate what only couples have. Whether married or not."
"Oh? What about love between parents and their child? Love between a brother and a sister? Love between relatives? What about love between friends?"
"Well, yes, but—"
"But?"
"Oh, you're horrible."
"Do you have a quill and some parchment?"
"What would you need that for?"
"I need to write down the date I proved Hermione Granger wrong,"
"Ha, ha. Funny, Potter."
"I thought so."
"Hmm…"
"Hmm what?"
"I was just thinking that I should swear of love."
"Swear off love? Hermione, you really are mental."
"No, not the kinds of love between families and friends, but, you know, the mushy, lovey-dovey, unfair kind of love."
"Ohh, that kind of love."
"Yes, that kind of love."
"So you're swearing it off then? You're not going to love anybody of the opposite gender aside from your family?"
"For the time being, yes."
"But what if someone really loves you? What if he loves the way you talk, the way you wave your hands about to get your point through, the way you quirk your eyebrow up and down when trying to prove someone wrong, the way you have a sheet of parchment underneath your other one in case it blots? What if he loves how you chew your bottom lip when you worry? What if he loves S.P.E.W? What if he actually wants the house elves to be freed? What if he loves the look of concentration on your face when you encounter a difficult Arithmancy problem? What if he loves how you want everyone to be better? What if he truly loves you?"
"Er—well—"
"Yes?"
"Oh, fine. Only then will undo my swearing off of love. But only if he truly loves me."
"Good. I wouldn't want my best friend to swear off love, now."
"Hmm,"
"Hmm?"
"I was just wondering…"
"Wondering what?"
"Why you're so concerned with me swearing off love."
"Oh, well—I wouldn't want my best friend to live life without love, now, would I? You'd be a very unhappy Hermione Granger."
"Well, that goes without saying, but…"
"But?"
"I just had a feeling that your reasons ran much deeper than that. You were extremely persistent after I swore off love for the time being. I was just wondering why you thought you had to insist so much."
"W-well, you're my best friend, and I want you to be happy, and you can't exactly be happy without lo—"
"Yes, yes. I already said that that goes without saying."
"Um, it's probably because—"
"Unless…"
"Unless what?"
"Unless you actually know someone who loves me that way. But that would be inhumanly impossible. After all, what kind of person in their right mind would love Hermione Granger, best friend of Harry Potter and bookworm? Unless, of course, it's just to get to meet the amazing Boy-Who-Lived or to have a smart girlfriend to do homework for them. Of course, I wouldn't steep so low as to date someone like that—"
"You know, I'm starting to wish you hadn't come to this school and met Ron and Malfoy because it really buggered up your self-esteem."
"Hush. Now, tell me, do you know someone who loves me that way? Aside from the fact that it may be uncharacteristically impossible for anybody to—"
"Yes. But I'm not telling who it is, so don't go getting any ideas of making me tell."
"How about a hint?"
"He's in Gryffindor. There. That's all I'm going to tell you, Hermione. Now, sod off."
"Don't be daft, there are too many boys in Gryffindor. Now, another hint."
"Um, he's a good friend of yours."
"Merlin, it's Colin Creevey, isn't it?"
"NO."
"Well then, who is it?"
"I already told you, I'm not telling you."
"Come on, Harry. Please?"
"I already said, no."
"Pretty please?"
"Nope."
"Pretty please with a cherry on top?"
"You know, I've never seen you beg before. This is a fruitful evening. Oh, and no."
"I'm really toying with the idea of hitting you over the head with a book."
"Why do you need to know anyway?"
"I don't know. Just for the sake of satisfying my curiosity."
"Well, I will not reveal anything. He trusted me with this information."
"It's not Ron, then. Thank goodness. He'd never admit to anyone if he fancied someone like me."
"Well, it used to be Ron. And then he met Luna and forgot all about you."
"That's good, I guess. Besides, what kind of person wouldn't forget about me? I'm not even pretty enough to be remembered. Or the least bit interesting to keep around. You know, one day, Ron's going to marry Luna, and you're going to marry some beautiful girl who you can talk to as easily as you can to me. And where will I be? I'll be sitting all alone with my twenty dozen cats."
"I didn't mean it like that, Hermione."
"I know you didn't. It's not in your nature to be cruel. I just—I'm just wondering what's wrong with me."
"Don't cry, Hermione. There's absolutely nothing wrong with you,"
"Really? Then why I am sitting here on Valentine's, the most stupid and idiotic holiday in the universe, with my best friend? I mean, let's face it, Harry, I'm not the kind of person a guy would look at even once. And that boy you were talking about, I don't even think he's real. He's probably just some made-up person you created to placate my constant whining."
"He's very real, Hermione. And he loves you very much. He wanted to ask you out tonight but he couldn't. He was just too bloody nervous. And now he feels like an arse because he let the love of his life suffer on the day of love."
"Liar."
"I'm not lying!"
"Then how come he isn't here? How come he knows I'm down here sobbing because I don't think anyone could love a boring person like me? How come he isn't comforting me?"
"He's trying to."
"Harry…"
"Hmm?"
"It's you, isn't it?"
"How'd you guess?"
"Oh, Harry!"
"Feel better now? You found out who it was."
"I can't believe you've never told me."
"It was a secret. You might've hexed me into oblivion anyway."
"No, I wouldn't have. Maybe I wouldn't have believed you, but still. Oh, Harry, I can't believe you love me!"
"I take it you love me too?"
"Of course, I do. How long have you loved me anyway?"
"About third year. It just hit me, you know? Whenever I saw you that year, I just—felt something. And then we were riding on Buckbeak, and I just looked at you and thought, 'Shit. She's The One.' It just hit me like that."
"Oh, Harry."
"Now, how about you? How long have you fancied me?"
"Well, it started as a schoolgirl crush in first year after you jumped on that troll's back. And then it just grew into something more. But then you decided to date Cho, so I gave up on it for a while, and then in this year, you didn't even show any interest in me whatsoever, so—mph!"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"That was so unfair."
"Yes, a lot of things seem to be unfair tonight."
"Oh, hush."
"You know I only dated Cho because I saw you with Viktor, right?"
"I can't believe you. You've loved me for nearly three years and you haven't told me."
"Me? What about you? You've had this crush on me since first year and you've only told me now! On our sixth year!"
"At least it's out now, isn't it?"
"Yeah, yeah. I take it you've undid your swear off love?"
"Yes. Thank you, Harry."
"No, Hermione, thank you."
THE END!