Title: Promise Me
Ship: Harry/Hermione
Name/Pen Name: Giovanni/Harry85
Word Count: 1142
Theme #/Theme: #4/ The First Kiss
Challenge count: 4/7 finished

Content: PG-13
Spoilers: Books 1-6
Warnings: none
Summary: Harry is about to go and meet Voldemort to close the bills. Hermione helps him find a reason to stay alive.

Disclaimer: I don’t own HP. I wish I did, but no, it’s not mine, it’s property of JK Rowling.


Promise Me

The sky was dark, and the thunders were terrifying. Hogwarts Castle looked quite scary and eerie in that weather. A lighting illuminated the face of a boy, who was looking outside feeling his heart heavy.

As he pushed back his hair, the boy revealed a scar on his forehead. Harry Potter sighed, and closed his eyes.

This was going to be the night he had been living for.

The night where he would close his bills with Tom Riddle, or Lord Voldemort as he was mostly known. In a way or another, tonight it would end.

He had worked hard with his friends to find and destroy the Horcruxes. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, they had stood by him in that quest, and he was thankful for that. He doubted he would have made it to where he was now if it wasn’t for them, especially Hermione.

The young witch held a special spot in Harry Potter’s heart, and he had sworn to himself he would keep her safe, whatever it cost, even his own life.

If he had to die to vanquish Voldemort from Earth once and for all, he would. At least, she and Ron would be safe, and free to love each other. Harry had no silly illusions that she might love him back.

And, tonight he would try to avenge all of them who had died at Voldemort’s hands, or those of his minions, and even those who didn’t die but met a far worse fate, like the Longbottoms. Flashes of Sirius falling through the veil, Dumbledore being killed by Snape, of Cedric lying on the ground in that graveyard…all of this passed through his mind, and he felt rage boiling inside him. Of course there were his parents too.

As he stood there, eyes closed in concentration, steeling his resolve to go and start the final confrontation, he felt an hand resting on his shoulder. He had never heard steps approaching, so deep in thought he was, but he immediately knew who was behind him.

“Hermione” he said, void of emotion. He had to stay that way.
“Harry” she said, softly.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, not turning to meet her gaze.

“I had to see you before you left” she admitted, pushing herself closer to him.

“Why? Why am I so important for you?” he said, struggling to keep his emotions in check. “I did nothing but ruining the others’ lives since I was born. My parents, Sirius, Cedric, Dumbledore…all fallen because of me. Even you and Ron…both of you sacrificed lots to follow me through my adventures”

She was suddenly angry.

“Harry James Potter, don’t you dare keep thinking you’re the cause of all this. Dumbledore, Sirius, your parents...they all knew what they were against. They chose to fight him, knowing the risks involved. Me and Ron…we chose to follow you too, you didn’t force us to”

“What about Cedric?” he snapped, hastily turning. “Did he choose too?”

She was a bit scared. She had never seen such rage and hatred in his eyes, and it shook her from within.

Suddenly he saw tears falling down her cheeks, and his gaze softened. If there was something he couldn’t stand it was to see Hermione sad, or crying.

“I’m sorry” he said, turning again, so that his back was to her. He felt her wrapping her arms around his waist.

“Please, Harry” she started, still sobbing. “Don’t let hatred consume you. It’s not who you’ve grown to be, it’s not how you can survive this fight”

“What if I didn’t care about surviving?” he said after a moment of silence.

“What do you mean?” she asked, confused and worried that he might have already given up hope.

“There’s nothing left for me in this world. Every bit of my family was taken away. We are almost out of Hogwarts, and if I come back with victory, I’ll have to face fame, that I loathe. There won’t be anything to make me happy, if I come back alive”

“What about me…and Ron?” she said, adding the redhead’s name as an afterthought.

Harry hollowly laughed. “You’ll have each other, you don’t need me”

That was the moment he felt something connecting with his cheek, and then a strong stinging there.

She had slapped him hard, and looked at him enraged.

“What did you do that for?” he calmly asked, touching the red spot on his face.

“You don’t understand a thing!” she said, before running away in tears. His heart broke, and even if he had to get going, he ran after her. Seeker reflexes kicked in, and he caught her wrist, pulling her back to him.

She landed on his chest, while he held her, crying and staining his shirt with her tears. It didn’t matter, outside rain was increasing its pace so he would be soaked to the bone anyhow as soon as he left.

“I’m sorry” he said softly, holding her close. “I hate to see you crying”

She looked up at him, and smiled through her tears.

“Promise me you’ll come back alive, then” she said, locking eyes with him. Green orbs met brown ones, and it was like the connection was magnetic. Both felt the other moving closer, till Harry could feel her hot breath on his lips.

As he closed the remaining distance, and they kissed, he felt whole. He felt like he had found the missing part of his soul, and when their tongues met for the first time, battling fiercely in each other’s mouth, a feeling of content settled in his chest. As they kissed, Harry pulled her so close their bodies seemed to melt into each other, and he tentatively slid an hand under her shirt, caressing her back, and her tummy. It felt incredible, for both of them, and if they had had time, things would have probably gone further. Harry wanted to keep doing that forever, and there was only a way for that to happen.

Breaking the contact, he looked once again in her hazel eyes.

“I’ll come back alive” he said, softly, but with deep emotion. She could see in his eyes he wasn’t fuelled by hatred anymore, but by something stronger and deeper, and she knew he would keep his promise.

With a last lingering look at her, Harry grabbed his Firebolt and ran out of the castle, into the storm, and flew faster than he had ever done. The cloak kept him from being noticed by Muggles, but they would have probably had an hard time spotting him even without it, so fast he was flying.

He was in a haste to reach Voldemort and kill him for good. Then, he would have the happiness he had always dreamed of, and Hermione would be the main reason of it.