I Woke Myself Up, a harry potter fanfic

Written for the hphgficexchange on livejournal for hpmuse

Disclaimer: [Insert witty comment] Harry Potter doesn't belong to me.

Summary: Hermione struggles to find who she is and where she should be after the war.

With the War over, everyone assumed things would return to normal. And maybe it did -for the first few months. Most of the Wizarding world remained in shock that Voldemort was dead – for good this time – at the hands of a teenage boy and a simple expelliarmus curse. It didn't seem to matter that these same people had always believe that Harry would once again save them – it still surprised them. For some, it seemed the height of absurdity that a boy not yet out of school had defeated the greatest Dark Lord ever known. Many others were just relieved that the Second War had ended as quickly as it had and with such little death and destruction. The First War had all but destroyed a generation; the Second War had not. The wizards counted it as a blessing.

Funerals and cleanup followed the months after the Final Battle. The Ministry was rebuilt and re-staffed; Death Eater trials were handled; the goblin treaty was renegotiated; homes were rebuilt; the prisoners of the Death Eaters were released and rehabilitated. Life, it seemed, continued. And for one Hermione Granger, it meant reassessing her life.

Since the moment she had received her letter for Hogwarts, she had embraced the Wizarding world, intent on learning everything about it and becoming the best witch she could. Sadly, this ambition had caused her to loosen her holds on the Muggle world, something that hadn't really bothered her until she had left on the horcrux hunt and had to obliviate her parents to keep them safe. It was only after the War had ended and she had gone to find them and reverse the obliviation that some hard truths had made themselves known to her.

One was the arrogance of witches and wizards. Oh, she well knew that the Malfoys of the world considered themselves superior to any Muggle, but she hadn't realized that she had fallen into that same mindset until her parents had forced her to face the consequences of her unilateral decision to keep them safe. Second, she had discovered that being a War hero didn't mean much if she didn't have her NEWTs. While she loved school, she had also wanted to take some time off and recover from the last year. Spending months camping whilst hiding from Voldemort and his Death Eaters had not been conducive to relaxation – especially knowing that without finding the horcruxes, Voldemort could not be killed and the War won for the Light side. Professor McGonagall had quietly informed her that did she not return to take her seventh year at Hogwarts, she would not have another opportunity to take her NEWTs. Thirdly, dating Ronald Weasley no longer seemed as attractive as it once had. After the War had ended, Ron had assumed that they would marry and start on a family. He had thrown a fit when she had told him what Professor McGonagall had said about their NEWTs. He hadn't understood why she would want to continue her education, nor did he seem to understand her desire to work after marriage. Needless to say, she had broken up with him soon after.

Throughout the summer months, while she had gone through these personal revelations, her best friend had remained stubbornly quiet. Harry helped out with the direct aftermath of the War, but after the last funeral that he had attended, he had retreated to Grimmauld Place, only reappearing for trials in which he had to testify. He had taken custody of Teddy Lupin as Andromeda Tonks had refused, too grief stricken by the death of her husband and only child. Molly Weasley had tried to get him to continue living at the Burrow, but he had politely refused and tended to ignore any communications sent to him.

Hermione was one of the few exceptions. Surprisingly, he tended to ignore most of the Weasleys, including Ginny. Similar to everyone assuming that Hermione and Ron would marry, so too had everyone believed Ginny to be the next Mrs. Potter. Harry ignored the presumptions and grieved by himself.

"Why aren't you with Ginny?" Hermione asked one summer day. Teddy giggled as he lay on the floor, blowing bubbles and changing his hair color every few seconds.

Harry shrugged and avoided her gaze. Instead of berating him, she waited patiently for him to answer. Finally, he responded, "I've survived so much, 'Mione. Don't get me wrong. I know Ginny has too, but we also want completely different things in life. She loves the fame that I hate. Plus, I think she got close to a couple of the guys that stayed at Hogwarts this past year."

She patted his shoulder in sympathy. "I'm sorry, Harry. For what it's worth, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. Better to have discovered it now rather than later."

A comfortable silence descended upon them. Hermione basked in the ability to just relax and not have to fend off questions to things she much rather not even think about, never mind answer. "Are you going back to Hogwarts?" she asked.

"Mmm… yeah. Madam Pomfrey said she'd watch Teddy for me while I'm in classes. Professor McGonagall is allowing me to just come in for my classes, so I don't have to spend the nights or find someone else to watch Teddy."

"How is Teddy?" Hermione wanted to know. At only eighteen, having care of a child was a big responsibility. She didn't doubt that Harry would make a wonderful guardian; if anything, his own experience growing up would prevent that. Although, seeing how Harry had felt responsible for the whole of the Wizarding world when Voldemort had returned, perhaps it wasn't as big a leap as she personally thought it was.

"When Remus told me I was his godfather, I thought he was nutters. I mean, I was seventeen years old and it was the middle of the War and I had no idea if I was even going to survive it." He made a strange, twisted face before continuing. Hermione was just shocked that he had admitted that he hadn't been positive he would live. "I look at him and I can scarcely believe that I'm taking care of him, that this little boy is mine. It's… I keep expecting Moony or Tonks or someone else to come in and tell me it's all a big fat joke and they're dead. It doesn't seem fair, does it? For Teddy to grow up without his parents, I mean. But at the same time, I don't know what I would do without him. When Andromeda relinquished custody for me, I panicked. I know nothing about babies. But then he looked at me and I realized that all that matters is that I love him and show him that."

"I might not know much about babies, Harry, but I'm here if you need me," Hermione offered. He nodded his thanks and looked – not peaceful, but not the dark despair that had been in his eyes after the Final Battle either. Content. He looked content.

"Time for his nap," Harry noted and went to put his godson to sleep. She smiled at how domestic he had become.

Or maybe that part of him had always been there – and she had just not known it.

Graduating Hogwarts just didn't have the same feeling of accomplishment as the death of Voldemort and thus the end of the Second War had. Ironic, but true. Not even gaining Os across the board had excited Hermione. At least her parents had consented to come to the graduation ceremony, flying in from Australia, where they had insisted on remaining. Andromeda had even agreed to sit with them and explain anything they didn't understand. Teddy sat on her lap, looking as happy as any one year old could.

This being the first graduation ceremony after the Last Battle, Professor McGonagall insisted on remembering those students and professors who had lost their life in the War. Most of the speakers had nothing but praise for the graduating class, taking time to highlight whatever they had done during the War – if they were on the side of the Light – as proof of their past and potential future accomplishments. Hermione rather hated it. She could see Harry clenching his fists in anger and he had that expression on his face where he knew he had to be polite but wanted nothing more than to hex someone.

In the end, no one was hexed, but it was a close call. Perhaps Professor McGonagall had seen Harry's expression and realized it for what it was since she had wrapped up the graduation ceremony pretty quickly after getting a good glance at him.

Hermione and Harry sat on the bed, Teddy between them. He was taking a nap and looked like a sweet and angelic child - nothing like the usually rambunctious tot that got into everything. "You leave next week, right?" Harry asked softly, not wanting to wake up his godson. He needed the nap or else he'd grow cranky later on.

Her hand traced an invisible pattern on the quilt that covered the bed. "One of the best Wizarding universities is in Australia. It's an honor that they took me."

"And it keeps you close to your parents," Harry added with a shrewd look in his eyes. She blushed.

"We're still having some problems," she finally admitted. "I thought it was the right decision at the time. I couldn't think of any other way to protect them. I made a mistake, you see. I hid so much from them that they never understood just how awful the War would be. What wizards would love to do to them, simply because they, as Muggles, had a witch for a daughter. And now that they know, it's all mixed up with what I did to them. I think they hate the Wizarding world." It pained her. All she had ever wanted, since the moment she had started at Hogwarts, was to show her parents what she could do with magic. And now, they wanted nothing to do with it.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. For what, she could only begin to guess. For being her best friend and thrusting her into the limelight. For dragging her on a horcrux hunt for months. For walking into a forest without a word to anyone so he could die. For leaving her all alone at Hogwarts for their last year, even if he still came to classes. For the loss of her innocence and her disillusionment of the Wizarding world.

For some other sin only he knew.

"It's not your fault," she finally said. He smiled and grabbed her hand in his.

"You're going to do wonderful, you know that," he assured her. He had complete faith in her ability to succeed in whatever she put her mind to.

"I'll miss you," she confessed. He squeezed her hand gently in his.

"I will too."

Australia allowed her to reconnect with her parents in a way her return to Hogwarts had not. It helped that the university had both Muggle and Magical courses; her parents liked that she had continued her Muggle education in some manner. Hermione enjoyed being able to show her parents what magic she learned – and she finally began to reveal to them in greater detail than ever before, her life at Hogwarts.

They didn't love how much she had kept from them. It certainly caused a setback in their reconciliation. She had persevered though, intent on recapturing some aspect of her old relationship with her parents.

Funnily enough, it was a conversation with Harry that had her look at everything a bit differently.

"I just don't get it," she had complained. "I'm trying so much and they keep pushing me away." It had upset her more than she had ever thought it would.

"Maybe instead of forcing everything back into the way it used to be, you should focus on building something new," he had suggested. That simple suggestion had stunned her and she had realized he was right. She had spent so much time trying to force her parents back into the roles they had occupied before the obliviate that she had ignored the simple truth that the time when she was Mummy and Daddy's little witch who could do no wrong had, quite simply, passed. She would never recapture that.

Afterward, she called her mother and actually listened to what her parents had to say. At first, her parents hadn't known what to think, but they quickly came to accept the olive branch Hermione had extended and by the end of her first year at uni, they had established a familial unit once again.

She missed Harry. Phone and floo calls and owl posts helped, but it wasn't the same. He did his best to keep her up to date with his life – and Teddy's numerous accomplishments – but she always wondered what he got up to that he didn't include in his letters or calls. She tried to discretely ask some of the friends with whom she still kept in touch, but they didn't know much either. Harry loved his privacy and concentrated on raising Teddy.

The thing was Harry had been such a part of her life for eight years. Her entire life from that Halloween in first year until she had left for Australia had been wrapped in his in some way or another. She knew him in a way she didn't really know anyone else.

"Are you coming back to England for the hols?" Harry asked.

"Probably not," Hermione told him, regret in her voice. "My parents asked me to join them. I mean, I probably could grab an International port key and visit for a few days, but…" She didn't elaborate but she knew he probably understood that returning to England would not help the relationship she had reformed with her parents.

"We'll miss you," Harry finally said.

Not all of her life was spent trying to get her parents to love her again. She had classes for one, but she also had friends and acquaintances. Her fellow witches and wizards knew of her role during the War and for the most part don't question her about what it had been like. A few had made the mistake of pushing when they had first met her. She had sent them to the hospital. They left her alone after that.

But she did have friends; people she met for coffee or for a meal or for a trip to the cinema. People who didn't know her as part of the Golden Trio, even if they knew she had been an integral part in the War.

Some days she attended her classes and turned to say something to Harry, only to remember he wasn't here with her. She couldn't help but eye the Defense teacher with suspicion, until she consciously remembered this wasn't Britain or Hogwarts and teachers didn't try and kill their students.

"What are you doing with your life, Harry?" she asked some time in the middle of her second year.

"Does it matter?" he retorted. "I'm the Boy-Who-Lived-To-Conquer-Voldemort."

"Do you even work? Or do you stay locked up in Grimmauld?"

"I want Teddy to have a good childhood." Unlike his own lay unspoken between them.

"It's not healthy!" she said.

He sighed. She could imagine him rubbing his scar as he only did when he was frustrated. "I'm doing some work for the Ministry," he finally admitted. "They're letting me work at home, so I don't need to leave Teddy by himself."

Sometimes, she felt an immense amount of jealousy towards Teddy. It was completely irrational. Harry was her friend. She knew he told her things he didn't mention to anyone else: not Ron, nor Neville, not McGonagall, nor Kingsley. And yet... She was jealous of a toddler who had Harry's love and attention. She knew that Harry would do anything for his godson. So did the rest of the world, after Harry took out some idiots who clearly thought kidnapping Harry's ward would work. She had heard from Neville who had heard from Hannah who had heard from Susan who had heard from Percy that Kingsley had politely – but firmly – asked Harry in the future to leave enough of his attackers alive for interrogation and punishment. No one had been brave enough to even make an attempt since.

"I don't understand why I think I have to compete with a bloody child!" she complained to Luna when the bemused blonde stopped by to visit while searching for a crumple-horned snorkack.

"You love him," Luna replied, sounding remarkably sane. It was almost enough to make Hermione sober. She peered at the other witch through bleary eyes, her mouth gaping.

"Wha…?" she asked.

"You should go and visit him," Luna advised.

"Hermione, you don't need to spend all your time with us," her mother informed her.

"What?" Hermione asked, her heart pounding. Were her parents throwing her out again?

Her mother sighed and patted her hand. "Look honey, your father and I appreciate everything you've done to re-establish a relationship with us. But we love you and it's not going to change just because you go back to visit your friends in Britain. We never stopped loving you, you know. We were just angry that you made decisions about our life without asking or taking our wants into consideration."

Hermione blinked back tears; she had been so used to trying to regain her parent's affections that she hadn't realized she had always had them. Or that they had noticed.

It stunned her. What else hadn't she realized? Her mind flitted back to the drunken conversation she had had with Luna.

"So it's entirely possible that I'm in love with you," Hermione informed Harry when he opened the door to his home.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked her, his green eyes blinking in astonishment.

She pushed past him and dropped her coat on the sofa in the parlor. "I like what you've done here," she commented, taking in all the changes he had made in the intervening years. Grimmauld was now as light as it had once been dark. Toys dotted the surface and evidence of a child living here was everywhere. "Where's Teddy?"

"Andromeda has him for the day," Harry absently replied. He still stared at her with wide eyes. He sighed deeply and ruffled his hair. "Can we start this conversation again? You're in love with me?"

"You don't have to sound so surprised," Hermione protested, feeling a little hurt.

"Not feel surprised? Hermione, we haven't seen each other in years and the first words out of your mouth is that?"

"But we talk and write all the time," she felt compelled to point out.

"It's not the same," he insisted.

"Why not?" she huffed, arms folded across her chest.

"It just isn't."

"I don't understand!" Hermione slurred. "Why doesn't he believe me?"

Neville awkwardly patted her on her shoulder and shared a bemused look with his wife. He carefully moved her glass of fire whiskey away from her hand.

"Hermione, maybe he doesn't want to risk it," Hannah suggested.

"Why not? We're best friends!" she whined.

"You don't live here," Hannah pointed out.

"Oh," Hermione pouted. Her mind tried to process what Hannah had said and why it was important. It proved too much as she passed out.

"Oh dear," Hannah sighed.

"Ugh…" Hermione moaned as she woke up, her head pounding, her stomach swirling and her mouth dry.

"Here, take this," Hannah offered, shoving a vial into her hand.

Without even looking, Hermione downed it and sighed as the hangover potion did its work. She swung up into a sitting position and rubbed her temples. "I made a fool of myself last night, didn't I?" she asked as she remembered the night's events.

"Not a fool, but yeah. You were a bit blotto," Hannah confirmed in a cheerful tone.

"Damn," Hermione cursed softly.

"Look, it might not be any of my business, but if you're serious about Harry, you need to decide to do something about it."

"What do you mean?"

"For starters, you could move back to Britain," Hannah suggested.

"Why does it matter where I live?"

Hannah snorted. "I may not be as close to Harry as Neville is, but even I know he's not going to risk getting into a relationship when his significant other lives halfway around the world."

Harry didn't comment about her absence the night before. "Feel better?" he asked as he handed her a cup of coffee.

"Yeah," she replied, sipping from the mug and not surprised to find it prepared exactly as she liked.

"Well, I'll make sure to keep Teddy quiet," he offered. "In case you have a bit of a relapse."

Visiting the Burrow seemed awkward after the years she had spent away. As a child, she had loved visiting the Weasleys, knowing it meant a return to the Wizarding world. She knew Harry had felt the same, though for him, it had always meant an escape from his relatives. She felt a certain amount of nostalgia for those halcyon days, when the War hadn't really started and they were innocent. Or when the War had ended and all the Weasleys plus Harry and her had returned to the Burrow to mourn and rest after the Final Battle. Harry hadn't stayed long and she had left soon after him, intent on finding her parents and reversing the obliviate.

It wasn't that Molly and Arthur hadn't welcomed her to their home, but after she and Ron had broken up, it had felt strange. Her connection to the Weasley family had begun with Ron, even if she had later become friendly with Ginny. Molly – like many – had assumed she and Ron would marry after the War. And while she was welcome after they broke up, the shadow of disappointment had always hung around her interactions with the Weasley family.

"What do you plan to do now that you're done with school?" Ginny asked as they walked down to the pond.

"I don't know," Hermione shrugged. "I had thought about staying in Australia, but…" How to explain that Australia had her parents but Britain had everything else? Everything she had done as a teenager bound her to the land more than anything else. In her time back and reconnecting with friends and old schoolmates, she had realized just how much she had missed Britain.

"You could probably teach at Hogwarts. Or the Ministry will take you. I always assumed you would end up teaching. Or make a try to reform the Ministry," Ginny revealed with a mischievous grin.

"Everyone made assumptions back then," Hermione noted.

"Do you regret moving to Australia?"

"Not really. I needed my parents."

They walked in silence for a moment. "Mom keeps asking Ron when he's going to ask Parvati to marry him."

"He's dating Parvati now?" Hermione asked. "What, is he trying to date the whole of Gryffindor?"

"No, just your year," Ginny giggled. They continued to walk in silence. "What about you? Are you dating anyone?"

"No. Haven't really found anyone," Hermione answered with a shrug.

"I imagine it's difficult for anyone to live up to Harry," Ginny commented, a shrewd glint in her eye.

"What? What do you mean?" Hermione stuttered.

"Come on, Hermione. Everyone knows that you and Harry are pretty much perfect for each other," she chided.

Hermione gave an unladylike snort. "Try telling him that." She paused. "What about you?"

"What? Me and Harry?" Ginny asked. Hermione nodded and Ginny smiled sadly at her. "Once maybe. But we grew up into very different people. He was always an ideal for me, but he's not the hero I once thought he was and I'm not what he needs. It took me a while to accept that, but I do."

"He's just Harry," Hermione agreed, understanding what Ginny meant. Harry abhorred the spotlight and preferred to remain in the background. He would do what needed done, but given the choice, he would rather keep away from those who wanted to put him on a pedestal. It didn't mean he wasn't a hero, just not the one that the press and most of the Wizarding world wanted to make him into.

"You should move back," Ginny urged. "Harry needs someone. Someone other than friends and Teddy."

"I'll think about it," Hermione finally conceded.

"I'm not going back to Australia," Hermione announced at dinner.

"Oh?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I spoke to Professor McGonagall. She's asked me to take over as the Muggle Studies professor. She wants me to revamp the course, make it into something worthwhile. Modernize it." Her heart pounded, wondering what he would say.

"Good on you, 'Mione. You'll do a good job," Harry congratulated her.

"Thanks," she smiled. "I'm looking forward to it." She waited to see if he would say anything else. He continued to happily eat his dinner. She sighed with frustration.

"Is something the matter?" he looked up, concern filling his eyes.

"No," she told him glumly. She wanted him to feel something at having her remain in Britain – but she also wasn't going to push him.

"Did your parents not take it well?" he asked, sympathy dripping from his words.

She shook her head. "They're not surprised, really. They rather figured I would remain here, if I came back to visit. I think they would like it if I returned, but they're not going to keep me from this opportunity. Obtaining a teaching post at a school like Hogwarts is not something to sneer at, and they know that."

"You heading back to get your things?"

"No. They're going to ship my books and some of the more personal things, but most everything else I can buy here."

"Well, I'm sure you'll do wonderful," he smiled.

"Sure," she replied, disappointed that he hadn't seemed to make the connection between her desire to remain in Britain and her desire for him.

Harry leaned against the doorjamb, watching as Hermione packed. Normally, she would find such behavior annoying, but she can't find the energy to scold him. Instead, she concentrated on filling her trunk, making sure she hadn't left anything behind in the wardrobes.

"Got everything?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Should do," she replied as she took another glance around the room. Seeing nothing else that belonged to her, she closed the lid.

"Well, you're always welcome here, you know that," he said.

She shrugged. She did, but it was also nice to hear him say that. "What are you going to do without me here?" she teased. She was curious, actually, since as near as she could tell, he didn't socialize all that much. Or rather, he didn't go out into public places, unless he could avoid it.

"I'm sure I'll molder away in here with only Teddy for company," he lightly replied.

"Oh, Harry," she sighed. "You know we only worry, right?"

"I know," he grumbled. "I just wish everyone would stop trying to – it's not like I stay locked up in here and refuse to see people."

She didn't have the heart to remind him – yet again – that the reason people bothered him was that they worried he would continue to waste the best years of his life. Harry was young, not even twenty-five yet and unlike most people his age – Muggle or Wizard – he rarely went out and saw people.

"What about a girlfriend?" she finally asked.

He shrugged in response. "I've got Teddy to think of. Anyone I date has to see beyond the scar and realize Teddy will always come first. And… not many do," he smiled, a bit self-deprecating.

"So… there's no one you're interested in?" Her palms were sweaty and she surreptitiously wiped them against her trousers.

"There might be someone," he said. "Don't know yet, though."

"Oh," she said, wondering if he would elaborate. He didn't.

"We are just waiting for our Defense professor before we begin," Professor McGonagall (Minerva, Hermione reminded herself) said.

"We still haven't managed to have a Defense professor remain on staff for longer than a year," Filius turned and explained to Hermione.

"Well, this one should stay," Minerva insisted, a twinkle in her eye and so very reminiscent of Professor Dumbledore, that it made Hermione's breath catch in her throat.

"I'm sure the students will appreciate that!" Pomona snorted. "They could use some consistency in the curriculum."

Before anyone else could reply, a familiar looking messy-haired man pushed open the door. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized with a crooked smile. "Andi was running a bit late."

"Harry?!" Hermione almost shouted. She reddened as her fellow professors turned to look at her.

"Hey, Hermione," he replied, ruffling his hair and ducking his head. She pursed her lips, holding back the tirade she wanted to unleash on him for not telling her. This wasn't the place or the time to do so.

Minerva, she could see, stifled a grin before beginning her opening remarks on the new term. Hermione did her best to pay attention, taking notes on the important information she shared, whilst wondering furiously how many others had known of Harry's new employment.

Hermione rapped impatiently on the portrait that guarded Harry's door. Her arms folded under her chest, her foot tapping, a frown on her face – she looked like a woman on a mission and one that that many would happily avoid. Harry didn't; he simply opened his door and let her in.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded.

"Wanted it to be a surprise," he replied. He moved towards his bedroom. "I'm unpacking in here," he explained.

"Did everyone else know?"

"Just Minerva and Filius. And Andi, since I needed her to watch Teddy for the meeting."

"Oh." Hermione sat on the edge of his bed, feeling a bit lost. Once, Harry would have gone to her and asked her for advice on whether he should take the job or not. Once, he would have shared with her the excitement at teaching at Hogwarts.

"I didn't want to spoil your excitement," he told her abruptly. "You were so excited about the position, and everyone was so happy for you. I didn't want to spoil that for you."

"Oh, Harry," she sighed, shaking her head. It was such a Harry reason. "It wouldn't have."

He shrugged in response, seemingly intent on unpacking his trunk into the wardrobe. She looked around the room, noting that he had already placed personal photographs around the room: his parents, Sirius, Remus, the Golden Trio, other members of the DA, and a family portrait of Harry, Teddy and Andromeda.

"Is Teddy going to live here too?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Apparently, there are arrangements that can be made for professors who have families. Besides, Teddy will be in school himself, when I'm teaching, so I won't really need to find a minder."

"He's going to school?" She hadn't realized he was old enough to start his schooling, but then she still had a difficult time remembering that they weren't just out of Hogwarts, flush with the success of a year that hadn't included many death threats. Or at least none that were serious.

"Lavender, Dean and Justin started a school for kids that combines Wizarding culture with basic Muggle subjects, like reading, math, science, and history."

"I'm surprised the purebloods didn't protest it," Hermione commented.

"Oh, they tried," Harry told her, a dark tone in his voice. "Too many others backed it, though. The classes are small, but the kids seem to learn a lot. They've been petitioning to enroll Muggleborns, but that's going to require some careful maneuvering. In a few years, I can see it happening."

"Things have changed," Hermione noted. She didn't think something like this would have found even minimal support before the War.

"A lot of things have," he agreed, joining her on the bed.

"I missed Britain," she said abruptly. "Everyone here, of course. But my friends, and Hogwarts, too."

"You needed to make things right with your parents," Harry reminded her.

"I know," she agreed. "I just… I feel like I don't quite fit in here anymore."

"You'll manage. You always do. You're Hermione Granger, most brilliant witch of our generation."

She shook her head, blushing at his comment. Hermione tilted her head, taking a long look at Harry. "Why take the position, Harry? Why now? I know they asked you after we graduated. Why wait so long?"

"Maybe I needed a reason to accept," he replied.

"Harry?" she asked, her voice trembling. Ever since he had ignored her declaration of love, she had done her best to pretend she had never said the words. They had easily slipped back into the camaraderie that had defined so much of their friendship over the years and if there were nights when she yearned for something more, she had ruthlessly suppressed it. She didn't want to jump to conclusions; he could mean so many different things by that comment.

"You're staying," he answered. "Figured I might as well see where we might lead. If you're still interested."

"Are… are you saying you want to try being us?" She needed the clarification. Needed to know where they stood.

"Yeah, 'Mione, I am. I think we've wasted enough time, don't you?" He leaned forward and kissed her gently, one hand cupping her face as he gently explored her lips. She opened her lips beneath his, tentatively exploring his mouth, learning his taste and what he liked. They parted and he gave her a shy smile. She returned it, pulling him towards her.

"Yes, Harry. I think we have," she told him.

"You and Harry, huh?" Hannah asked as she pushed a tankard of butterbeer towards Hermione. She flushed.

"How'd you know?" she asked.

"You both look happy."

Glancing over to where Harry sat joking and talking with Neville, Justin, Dean, Ginny and Lavender, she had to agree. Harry glowed with happiness in a way she hadn't seen him do since the defeat of Voldemort, before anyone had known the list of the dead.

"Thanks, Hannah," she finally said, before rejoining Harry and the others. Harry pulled her into his embrace and she snuggled against him, feeling that everything had finally fallen into place.

/fin