a grain of truth

I was just going through the stack of floppies I have, trying to clean them out, when I came across this.

It was written for Sabs, on her birthday, but I thought I'd share it. Since it's Potter! Potter, people, for the first time in, like, an age. How exciting!



[Potter, 'One of the Great Love Stories']

You know their reputation as the most boring couple in the history of the wizarding world.

It amuses you, really.

Because it is, simultaneously, the most spot-on and ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard.

They are boring. Exceedingly boring, in fact. They eat together and walk between classes together and study together and sit in front of the fire together. The only time they seem to be apart is when he’s at Quidditch practice, or she’s running Prefect meetings. Other than those times, though, they’re perpetually together. In fact, sometimes it seems as if nothing has changed since they were ‘just friends.’

Because when they were just friends they were constantly together. The only difference, it seems, is the kisses before they part, or their hands that reach out for each other instinctively, or his hand resting at the small of her back.

They are like an old married couple, already, at eighteen.

So, for the rest of the population of Hogwarts, they are snore-inducing indeed.

They provide no gossip for the rest of the students; there are no loud fights or embarrassing gropings, no wandering eyes or passionate make-ups. They quietly go about their lives, separately and together, seeming to ignore everyone’s eyes on them.

They didn’t even cause a commotion when they first got together. No one even knows how it happened. Hell, you don’t even know how it happened, and you’re their best friend. You went to bed one night and woke up the next morning and they were holding hands on the way to breakfast. They hadn’t said anything and you hadn’t said anything and simply raised your eyebrows when they kissed each other before the two of you went down to the pitch for Quidditch practice.

You’d held your tongue until practice was over and you were left in the changing rooms with him. ‘So, you and Hermione?’ you’d said, slinging your bag over your shoulder.

He’d looked at you, a small smile on his face and said, ‘Yeah. I’m in love with her.’

You’d nodded and said, ‘Alright then.’

You hadn’t planned on saying anything to Hermione, but she’d cornered you later that night, penning you in your chair as you attempted an essay for Binns with her eyes alone. She sat down, staring at you and said, ‘So, Harry and I.’

You’d nodded and almost laughed. ‘So you and Harry.’

She’d nodded back, her eyes never leaving yours, and said, ‘It’s not going to be a problem, right.’ It was statement, not a question.

You’d smirked and assured her, ‘It’s not a problem.’

‘Good,’ she said, patted you on the hand and left.

It still makes you smile to think about.

But that was the extent of the drama.

It’s no wonder they are considered coma-worthy.

They provided no drama getting together; they provide no drama being together. That first morning, you’d seen the student body hold its collective breath, just waiting. They’d finally settled an on-going bet; there had been whispers and nudges and money changing hands and they’d sat there, across from each other as always, seemingly blissfully unaware. She’d read her Daily Prophet, he’d swiped the sports section like he did every morning and she’d stuck her tongue out.

It was all so normal and natural and you wanted to laugh at the disappointed expressions on people’s faces.

In the weeks following, the whispers and nudges and expectant expressions started to dwindle. Everyone got sick of waiting for a fight or for him to ravish her during breakfast one morning. Soon, the whispers and nudges and sidelong glances stopped (or stopped as much as they ever did) and they settled into their reputation as the most boring couple in the history of the wizarding world.

So, it is true. They are boring. You know that.

You also know they’re also absolutely in love with each other.

You guess that’s why they’re considered so boring. They are so secure in their relationship and so in tune with each other, that they have no need for drama or misunderstandings. They love each other. Full stop. And that’s that.

But that’s why you know they’re not boring.

Because you knew them before and you know than now and while much of it is the same, most of it is not. Just the way they look at each other is different. The way they are together is different.

For one thing, they’re much happier. Things, obviously, are not sunshine and roses all the time, but they make each other happier than you’d ever thought they’d be. It’s the way she smiles at him whenever he comes in the portrait hole. It’s the way he pulls her to him and kisses her temple when you’re in the dungeons, waiting for Snape. It’s the way she laughs at whatever he whispers in her ear when she gets too tense in the library. It’s the way he smirks proudly whenever she verbally quashes Malfoy.

It’s just the way they are together.

And you don’t think it could ever be boring.

It’s certainly not boring when she comes into the Common Room one evening, asking if he’s been cheating on her again. He just raises his eyebrows and smirks, asking ‘Who’s it this time, then?’

‘Padma,’ she tells him, laying a magazine on top of your table.

‘Ah,’ he says, glancing at the picture of he and Padma ducking into the Three Broomsticks the last Hogsmeade weekend and then pulls her on to his lap.

She snakes her arm around his shoulders and tells him, ‘You need to be more careful, Mr Potter. You’ll notice that my tryst with Neville didn’t make the papers. And I was with him all day.’

He laughs and kisses her, then pulls back and says, ‘I wonder how disappointed people would be if they knew it was just stuff for the DA.’

She squeezes him quickly and gets up, taking the magazine with her. ‘Get back to work, you two. If you’re not done by 11, I’m not looking those essays over.’

It’s certainly not boring when you accidentally stumble across them snogging one day. You’re just ambling down the hall, killing time before a DA meeting, vaguely thinking of going down the kitchens and seeing what Dobby can round up and you just turn a corner, and there they are.

Just...there. Against the wall, kissing as if the sky was falling and the world was going to come crashing down around their ears.

You thought your eyebrows might have singed off from the heat emanating from them.

It’s certainly not boring when Hermione gets that look in her eye whenever anyone mentions Voldemort. You’ve never seen anyone look like that. Where she used to look petrified and determined, now the look of resolution and love almost knocks you back. She has decided to forget about the all-consuming fear that still grips most of you and just fight. You think she’ll do anything to get Harry through it and back to her and you think that if the look on her face is any indication, she will. She can’t afford not to; she refuses to be without him and if she has to kill the Dark Lord to do it, then so be it.

You can see something similar in his eyes. He has something real, tangible to fight for now. It’s not just the wizarding world or the memory of Sirius or for his parent’s honour. It’s to get back to her, to be able to have a life with her. It’s for her. It’s an awesome thing to see.

And it’s certainly not boring.

You don’t see how it could be.

It’s Harry Potter.

And Hermione Granger.

They’re not boring separately, so you can’t imagine them being boring together.

You think that this will be a case where time will be the judge.

They may not be very exciting or loud or dramatic.

They’re on a slow burn. Not fast and furious and all-consuming and spent quickly. They have their moments, of course they do, you think, recalling that snog. They have their moments of setting the world on fire. But they have so much more than that. Their burn is a slow, steady one that will last forever, you think.

You can imagine books and articles, photos and documentaries in the future. You see yourself and their children and your teachers and friends, reminiscing about how you all knew it from the first moment.

You don’t think anyone will say they are boring then.

It makes you smile to think about.

One of the great love stories, indeed.

END



Harry/Hermione - He’d looked at you, a small smile on his face and said, ‘Yeah. I’m in love with her.’