The sound of Hermione's breathing haunts Harry's ears every night he as he tries to fall asleep.
The ghost of her rolled over in her bed across from Harry in the tent stays in his mind's eye long after he closes his eyes to the surroundings of the dorm room. He can almost smell her perfume in the air, feel the steam from the burning hot shower she always took right before she crawled into bed surrounding him. It's like she's crawled under his skin, implanted herself in his heart, burned herself into his brain.
He can't ever fall asleep.
Surprisingly, it's not the nightmares. It's the lack of her.
How quickly a person becomes a comfort.
Months in a tent with only her has changed the way Harry operates. He grew to become used to her, to leaving her the corner part of the couch with the pillow she always used to rest her large books on, to having her leave a cup of tea for him with a stasis charm for when he woke up, to figuring out her patterns and quietly orbiting around each other when they did.
He knows she's still at Hogwarts, even in the same common room as him.
And yet he misses her.
It's an ache in his heart, one that won't go away, an expanse that seems to grow deeper in the nighttime as the boys around him drop off and doze away. Ron's snores keep him awake and he pulls his curtains shut to muffle the noise, but the shadows come around him darker and more looming and all of the sudden Harry's sitting up and panting in panic.
He flings the curtains open around his bed and all of the sudden he can see her.
Her face is framed in moonlight, pale and sharp and gaunt from their time on the run. The circles under her eyes are dark and pronounced, as if she hasn't slept in a very long time. Knowing her and the nightmares she started having after Malfoy Manor, she hasn't.
Harry is jumpy now from the war, but Hermione's presence is so calming and welcome that her being there doesn't scare him, but relaxes him.
"I'm sorry," she whispers. "I just couldn't sleep. I needed to make sure that you're-" her voice cracks, and she clears it and stops her sentence. Her eyes are glistening in the moonlight now.
"I'm okay," Harry whispers back.
They stare at each other. Harry's heart has slowed back to normal beating, and Hermione rubs her eyes. She comes and sits next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. Harry breathes her in quietly and takes her hand in his without even thinking about it. Another remnant of the war, one from the near constant hand holding they did under the invisibility cloak at night. Her hand is familiar in his, soft and cold as always.
"I miss you," she murmurs.
Harry's heart aches. "I miss you too," he murmurs back, a tear rolling down his face.
Hermione snuggles into him, releasing his hand to wrap it around his waist. Harry wraps his around her back, holding her around her hips. She presses her face into the crook of his neck, and Harry puts his into the top of her curls. It feels so comfortable here. Harry pulls her closer with his other hand, practically pulling her onto his lap.
"'M tired," she mumbles into his neck, her breath hot against his skin. He shivers.
"Let's go to bed," he mutters back, pressing a kiss into the top of her head. He feels her nod and then lets go so they can clamber back into his bed. He shuts the drapes around them, cocooning them in darkness, a darkness that before felt oppressive and terrifying and now feels warm and inviting. Hermione's eyes are glittering in the darkness and Harry lays down facing her. She scoots forward to be closer to him. He can smell her peppermint toothpaste and almond scented leave in conditioner. He grabs her by the waist and pulls her all the way in, bringing her into his chest. She hums lightly, snuggling her face into his t-shirt.
It feels like home.
"Goodnight, thank you," Hermione whispers into his chest.
"Goodnight love," he whispers into her forehead, pressing a kiss there. She hums again and Harry's heart skips a beat.
Harry waits until she falls asleep, waits up to hear the oh so familiar sound of her soft breathing. He internalizes it, feeling the rhythm settle under his skin, and then he too falls asleep, holding her tight to his chest.