Harry Potter and the Desideratum Crusade [Harmione]

6. Beginnings...

Dumbledore was standing on the tower, his hair and his beard being whipped around by the wind. Harry was standing in front of him, his wand out. "Harry, please," Dumbledore begged as Harry raised his wand...

Harry tossed and turned in his sleep, beads of sweat on his forehead.

"No, no," he moaned.

Hermione woke up and saw him thrashing in his bed. She quickly went over and slid next to him. She put her arms around him, trying to console him.

"Shh, it's okay, Harry, it's just a dream," she murmured, wishing she had more sleeping draught.

Harry turned to her and put his arms around her waist, hugging her close without fully waking up. Hermione folded herself around him, stroking his back. Harry became quiet, and relaxed back into a deep sleep. Hermione continued to hold him, willing the bad dreams to go away.

Ron woke up at the noise, rolled over, and watched from his sleeping mat. He saw the tenderness of Hermione's actions and felt a mixture of jealousy and sympathy for Harry. He wouldn't want any of those nightmares that Harry had, but wasn't that his girlfriend? He closed his eyes and sighed. Would he ever be that close to Hermione? He knew that she cared for both of them, and he really wanted to find out how much she cared for him. He drifted off to sleep with thoughts of Hermione hugging him instead of Harry.

Harry was dreaming. He dreamed he could feel a warm body snuggled up to him. He dreamed he could smell a light fragrance of vanilla and jasmine, and he dreamed he had his arms around someone soft. He lay there breathing in that wonderful scent and sleepily ran his hand up and down the soft back. He could feel warmth radiating out from his heart, and making him tingle. It was a wonderful dream...

Hermione was dreaming. She could feel strong arms around her, protectively, and a hand stroking her back. She snuggled closer to the warmth that seemed to radiate from the body beside her. She slowly ran a hand down a muscular back and then back up again. It felt nice just holding Harry...

Hermione woke with a start as she realized where she was. She looked down at Harry's smiling face, as he slowly opened his sleep-filled eyes. When their eyes made contact, he jumped in shock and moved away, his cheeks going hot from the thoughts going through his mind. Hermione blushed at being caught enjoying Harry's company, and sat up.

"How...what..." stammered Harry.

"I'm sorry, Harry. You were having nightmares again last night. I...I guess I fell asleep," she concluded, trying to explain her actions.

Hermione was so embarrassed by being caught, no matter how honorable her intentions were. She knew deep down how much she had enjoyed just lying next to Harry, and she couldn't meet his eyes. She got up and busied herself with gathering up her belongings. Harry watched her for a while, unsure what to say. He finally got up without a word, and left, which hurt Hermione more than she was willing to admit, although she didn't know why.

Ron had watched the whole scene play out before his eyes. It hurt to watch Hermione consoling Harry. How could she love him when she showed such tenderness towards Harry, his best friend? He cared so much for Hermione, but he knew from past experience that challenging her about this would only end in argument. He wasn't too sure how to deal with this.

"All right there, Hermione?" he asked quietly.

"Fine, Ron," Hermione said sharply as she continued to stuff her belongings in her bag.

Ron sighed. He could see she was upset by what had happened. He was annoyed by the thought that he might be losing his chance with her before he even got that first kiss...