Ch03

She had noticed, he could see it in her eyes as they widened in understanding. Even as the silence stretched on, still neither one could look away, and everything became… heavier… as the moment suddenly pulled them under. It was as if the earth itself was moving them closer and closer together as each fell under the other's spell. At some point after he'd taken that last step she had placed her hands on his chest. It only just registered with him then.

Even captured in the heavy undertow of the moment, Hermione found herself thinking, her mind racing in fact. Was this really happening? What about Ginny? What about Ron? Hermione hesitated. Harry noticed and paused, the moment slowly loosening its hold on him. He was going to pull away, she could feel it. Feel it… and suddenly she found that where her hands rested on his chest felt like corded steel under warm velvet.

God he was strong, when had Harry grown so strong?

For Hermione, taking notice of that one thing about Harry was like a key turning in a lock. A flood gate opened and Hermione's heart raced ever faster as that flood brought a wash of clarity to it. She finally saw in a new light all the things about him she had taken for granted through all their years of friendship.

Harry was strong. And kind, and loyal, and… tender. Yes, that was the right word. Tender. He had always been there with a soft hand for her whenever she was in pain. And patience. Harry was not a patient person and had not been even when he was a boy. But for her he always seemed to manage it, if not all the time at least when she really needed it. The last few months were clear evidence of that. Ron had broken her heart when he left the way he did and it had been the single most painful experience of her life to date. She'd been a shell for a while, a walking automaton.

Without a word or a glance and without any expectations, Harry had picked up those pieces of her shattered heart. Then with quiet kindness and with a sense of patience Hermione had never thought him to possess he carefully reassembled those pieces and gently held them together until she was standing on her own again.

The moment was nearly gone and Harry began to pull away… he was pulling away! Suddenly all the things she'd noticed, all the things she'd missed, none of it mattered anymore. This was it. She didn't know what it was but she knew that if she tried to think it through she would miss it. So Hermione stopped. She stopped thinking, she stopped analyzing, and she stopped letting her mind run away with her heart. It was time to let her heart lead for once. And so Hermione lead with her heart.