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Back to back, they both panted heavily, attempting to catch their breath. The protective shield Hermione had cast deflected the string of hexes coming from all directions.
Harry’s chest was rising and falling, lifting her up slightly as his body molded to her own. The proximity was necessary; her heart fluttered at the knowledge that he was safe.
"What's the plan?" He labored out, voice strained and gruff. The battle around them had only intensified, and their current reprieve would be short-lived. There were at least four remaining wizards and witches trying everything they could to seriously injure, or even kill, the pair of Aurors.
Merlin, let us survive this.
"The Whomping Willow.” She cringed at her drastic recommendation. They were spent, the magic within her stretched thin.
"No," Harry muttered. He had twisted his head, his mouth moving against the top of her disheveled hair.
"You have a better idea?" She hissed out.
"No."
"Then get ready. The shield will be down in three, two, one."
As their safety barrier dissipated, their movement was instantaneous and fluid. Like a well-rehearsed dance. Harry instantly bellowed three Bombardas in a row, while Hermione swished a succession of Flippendos. They slowly turned in unison, continuing their respective spells. A creative, yet taxing, way to get those surrounding you to retreat.
As they continued their spellwork, the energy around them became static, the air prickling with the start of a dangerous curse heading their way.
“Hermione, watch out!”
Green light flashed as Harry slammed against her, pushing them both to the ground. He instantly shifted her before they made impact, taking the brunt of the landing. Her forehead butted against his chin, and the impact reverberated throughout, even with him taking the brunt of the landing, sending a shockwave through her nervous system.
“Fuck,” he groaned out, his face scrunched up, biting his lower lip.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. She was stopped from attempting to lift herself up, his muscled biceps tightening around her.
“Don’t move,” he warned, the air around them stifling as dust from their own hexes settled. Shadows transmuted across the dank room as their targets retreated quickly.
A loud booming sound echoed across the space as the foundation and walls cracked around them.
“What now?”
“You had to suggest that one,” he chuckled. “Now, Auror Granger, we have to figure out how to get out of here before the building collapses.”
“It worked, didn’t it?” Hermione's hands were settled on his broad chest. She spread out her fingers, trying to relieve some of the tension that had been building up from a long-fought battle. She could stay wrapped up in his embrace forever if it weren’t a matter of life or death.
Again.
Harry laughed, his glasses slipping down his nose as he continued to chortle at her. “Yeah, it worked,” he finally agreed.
“We should find a way out of here,” Hermione huffed, aggravated at his ability to find humor in any situation. He loosened his grip on her, allowing her the ability to start moving out of his embrace.
“We could ap-” She yelped as Harry pulled her back into his chest, covering her head with his arms. A large piece of the concrete ceiling came crashing down right next to them. A dense cloud of dust and debris billowed around them, obstructing their vision.
When Hermione could see her hands again, she noticed the thick coating of dirt covering Harry’s glasses and couldn’t help giggling.
“I can’t see,” he griped, trying to lift his glasses from his face, his bright green eyes squinting at the grime.
“Let me help,” she offered, realizing she had dropped her wand when she was pulled down to safety. “Accio Wand.”
The swishing noise of her wand had given her a general idea of where it was coming from, allowing her to lift her hand before it met the center of her palm. Curling around it, her magic thrummed, allowing her to funnel her magic to cast a Scourgify to clean the lenses.
“Thanks, Mione,” Harry choked out, the air still heavy with the aftermath of damage taken by their desperate spell casting.
She pushed herself out of his loosened grasp, sitting down beside him, and attempted to apparate them out. Nothing happened, except the sense that there was a magical block surrounding them.
“Damn, they must have set an Anti-Apparition.” She surveyed the darkened room, trying to assess their options for escaping.
Harry grumbled as he sat up beside her, his hand lifted to his mussed black hair, which looked even more unruly. Her eyes strained on his large hand as he raked long fingers through to smooth out the strands.
“I am worried about getting out,” she snapped her head to the side before he noticed her staring.
“I’ll send a Patronus. The building was surrounded by the rest of our squad. Ron and Draco will come looking for us.”
“Ah, yes, the Weasley-Malfoys to the rescue,” she gritted out unintentionally.
“Don’t tell me you are still hung up about that.” Harry raised his eyebrows, the concern seeping into his eyes, sending a spasm through the center of her heart. After only a year together, Ron had admitted he had fallen head over heels in love with the white-haired git.
“No, of course not. It’s just… they are so… you know…” She trailed off as she avoided eye contact with the man she had been pining after for longer than she cared to admit. She had hidden her feelings for so long, and he had never indicated he had felt the same way.
Except for that one night, while they were desperately trying to survive.
Holding up both of his hands, he acquiesced to her. “They are both bloody good Aurors, so let’s count our blessings.”
“Yes, absolutely.”
Harry braced his hands on either side of him and jumped up. His own wand was snugly placed into its holster. His competency had always been a turn-on, her heart skipping a few beats as she observed his towering figure.
They both flinched at the continued echoes of the building slowly breaking apart, spurring him to cast his Patronus.
Hermione was mesmerized by the sheer size of the stag that was conjured as it waited for instructions.
“Ron, we are stuck on the bottom floor of the North building. We can’t apparate. Please, send help.”
The majestic stag rushed out of the room, disappearing through the cracked wall.
“I’m going to take a look around, see if there is another way out,” Harry stretched, showing a small sliver of his defined abs.
“Alright,” she breathed out heavily. Her cheeks heated up at her obviously ogling the wizard.
Get a grip, Granger.
“No argument?” Harry quipped, as his eyes locked on hers. His smile brightened her mood instantly, but she couldn’t let him know that he had that effect on her.
“I don’t always argue,” she stated indignantly, crossing her arms as she watched him slowly walk around the rubble. “Be careful, Harry.”
“Always am,” he winked at her before slowly moving to the other side of the room.
After a short while, something rumbled against the side of the building. She bounced into a crouched position. Wand raised.
“What was that?” She called out to Harry, who was no longer visible through casted shadows on the opposite side of the floor.
“There is a crack in the wall over here. I think we can squeeze out,” he shouted back. “Come this way, it’s perfectly safe.”
She cast a Lumos in the dingy environment, and a small area of light surrounded her. Hermione moved towards where she had heard his voice; trust spurred her forward. “Harry, keep talking.”
“This way, love,” he shouted over the loud creaking, as pieces of the walls and ceiling continued to crumble around them.
Love.
She tried to ignore the endearment, even though he had never called her that before.
“Are you clo-”
She bumped into a solid form, hands coming down to her hips, the warmth of them sending a jolt to her core.
“Close,” Harry whispered, his hands firmly remaining on her body. Her eyes fluttered as she took in his emerald ones. “There you are.”
“Hello?” A muffled voice came from the other side of the wall. “Harry, Mione. Are you in there?”
Harry slowly lifted his hands from her, hesitating for a beat before turning towards the voice of their best friend. “Yeah, mate. We are right here.”
“Do you think you can make it out? Draco has set up a few barriers to help keep this side of the structure stable.” Ron was yelling louder than necessary. Harry chortled as he gestured for her to go through.
“Golden girls, first.”
Hermione slapped him on the side of his arm before she sidled through the crack. A hand waited for her, grasping it as she was assisted the rest of the way. Draco nodded to her before helping Harry.
“Thanks, Ferret,” he ground out, his face red from the exertion it must have taken to push through the tight space.
A tall wizard wrapped himself around her from the side, lifting her off the ground with a twirl.
“Thank the gods you are safe, Mione.” Ron beamed down at her.
“Hey, what about me?” Harry moved in to wrap both of them into a tighter hug.
“You are all so very strange,” Draco drawled. The building instantly collapsed behind him.
❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥
After the medi-witch had determined they were both unharmed, they were debriefed on the rest of the operation. The four culprits had been apprehended when they attempted to escape from the building, their own barrier preventing them from escaping.
“Another case closed successfully. One less poaching ring out there to terrorize defenseless creatures.”
“Success?” Hermione scoffed. “We need to rethink our life choices. The two of us attract danger.”
“Nah, we were made for this. You and me, together. The best team.”
Hermione faced him, her chin lifted slightly as she studied his face. His chiseled cheekbones and plum lips pulled her in.
“Really? The best. You have better options. All the choices in the world, actually.”
He studied her as he pushed rogue strands of her hair behind her ears. “You are the only choice. An easy choice.”
Her heartbeat pulsed in her throat as he looked down towards her lips, before flicking his eyes back up to watch her reaction. Her cheeks warmed up as the blood rushed towards her face; her cheeks would be bright red by now, and there was nothing she could do to hide from him. Even with all the grime she was sure was covered in, he would know that he had caused her to blush.
“Harry?”
“You, Hermione. It’s always been you.”
Before she could process the words, he surged forward, his lips crushed against her own. She moaned as his tongue licked across the seam of her already parted lips. He groaned when she allowed his tongue to lick into her mouth, joining her own in a fevered kiss.
“Get a room,” Ron snapped out behind them.
“We can finish up here,” Draco added helpfully.
Harry held her firmly in place; his forehead rested on her own as they both panted. She realized she didn’t want to spend another moment denying her feelings.
"I need you, Harry."
He growled, kissing her again, leaving her lips bruised and puffy.
“My place or yours?” His voice dripped with desire, matching her own.
“Mine.”