Dedicated to:
Shannon, Alex, Eli, Maria, Aina, Lu, Sharon, Mitch, Kelli, Monz, Perla, and Joana(as well all of the other Harmony shippers out there, who just talk to me as frequently) :D
They say a picture is worth a 1000 words and Harry and Hermione made sure that they fulfilled the age-old saying by capturing each as many of their Hogwarts experiences as possible.
At the beginning of 2nd year, Hermione had brought a camera with her as well as blank photo album back with her. Late one night in the common room after everyone had gone to bed, she found Harry drifting off on the sofa and made her way over to him.
"Harry, do you know why I have this?" She gestured to the book she was holding.
"No, Hermione, what's it for?" He asked groggily.
"Well, I was thinking, we only get to experience this once; not only our childhood, but being here at Hogwarts! Wouldn't it be nice to have some pictures to look back on when we're older and they're all we got?" She explained.
He thought about it for a minute and thought that was an amazing idea. "Yeah, Hermione, you're right! We should have something to look back on when we're older."
With that moment in mind, Harry opened up the album like he did every week and flipped to the first picture. It was one of Nearly-Headless Nick passing through Ron, which explained the hilarious facial expression Ron was wearing.
Flipping a few more pages, he found a picture of himself flying back from conquering the Hungarian Horntail and on the following page was one of Hermione at the top of a staircase in a gorgeous gown, ready to accompany Viktor to the Yule Ball (although her eyes never strayed from Harry for too long).
Next page: Hermione's relieved face upon seeing Harry resurface from the black lake during the 2nd task. He turns the page, and sees one of the best highlights of all his Hogwarts years - Hermione kissing him on Platform 9 ¾ before leaving for the summer.
From then on, the pictures focused more and more on Harry and Hermione. From being in Hogsmeade to running the DA even to the hospital wing after the Department of Mysteries attack. Then because of the horcruxes and whatnot, there was a bit of a gap in the photos and the next photo was the whole of Hogwarts outside of the castle following the final battle.
Harry had to grin at this picture because he noticed his and Hermione's hands were intertwined and it took him back to that moment and the mere minutes following it…
"It's over, Harry. It's finally over." She stated with a smile.
He replied, "Actually, Hermione, it's not even close to over. I haven't quite finished what I set out to accomplish."
Her smile was replaced with a look of puzzlement. "What are you talking about, Harry?"
As much as Harry loved seeing her confused, he couldn't wait anymore. He extended his hands to cup her face and leaned forward until their lips connected. It wasn't often that Hermione was confused followed by speechless, but this was exactly the case. They separated for air and all Hermione could do was stare into his magnetizing green eyes, desperately searching for what she had hoped that meant.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that, Hermione." She could only grin at this admission. "On a side note, how would you feel if I asked you to be my girlfriend?" He asked off-hand.
"Oh, Harry, you have no idea how long I've wanted to hear that."
He turned a few pages skipping over a few vacations the four of them took (Ron voted against the idea of being a 'third-wheel', so he insisted on bringing Luna as company) and landed on the page with pictures from their wedding: The packed muggle church, Hermione walking down the aisle, the pair of them exchanging vows, and of course, the kiss that bonded them for life.
His eyes started glistening thinking back to just how happy he was on that day. He continued flipping pages, passing through the wedding reception (chuckling at seeing McGonagall having a dance with Hagrid, and even Draco spiking the punch bowl!). He mindlessly flipped a few pages until he saw a beautiful baby girl with amazing emerald eyes in the comfort of her mothers' arms.
Heather Minerva Potter was named in tradition of girls named after flowers, but Harry and Hermione also felt the need to honor their former Head of House/Headmistress of Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall. A few more pages turned, a few more birthdays gone by; now Heather was about 5 years old and her brilliant green eyes were now trumped by her bushy brown hair.
"Hmmm, she has your eyes and my hair… only thing left to find out is if she'll love quidditch or love books." Hermione finished with a smile.
As it turned out, Heather inherited her fathers' seeking abilities and 5 minutes after lifting off the ground in her first year, she made the Gryffindor team (and with a strong backing from the headmistress, no one had any objections). Upon hearing this, Harry teased Hermione non-stop; "I always knew she would take after me! What a great girl!"
But a year later, Hermione would have her payback.
Apparently, Heather received top marks in all her classes and was threatening to become the top of her class. "How about that? Behind all that hair is a brain!"
The wind picked up and blew the album a few pages more and it showed Harry and Hermione standing in front of the Eiffel Tower just as the day was ending, creating a beautiful atmosphere. That was the vacation they took for their 25th anniversary.
Harry turned a couple more pages and realized there was only one picture left; it was one of him, Hermione, Heather, Ron, Luna, and their son, Milo. The photo was relatively new in that it was posted in the album maybe a year ago. Harry could see how much he and his friends had aged just by the fact that Heather was a beautiful woman of about 45 or so.
He couldn't stop the tears from flowing upon realizing he had reached the end of the album. He slammed the album shut and pushed it off to the side. He reached forward to graze the cold slab of stone and trace the lettering;
Hermione Jean Potter (née Granger)
Born: September 19, 1979
Died: March 16, 2050 [Breast Cancer]
Brightest Witch of Her Age; Founder of SPEW; Loving Wife, Loving Mother, Loving Woman
"Nobody said it was easy, It's such a shame for us to part. Nobody said it was easy, No one ever said it would be this hard. Oh take me back to the start."
At reading the quote, Harry's tears were now freely flowing and he had no control over stopping them.
"Merlin, Hermione, Why did you have to go?" He rested his head on the headstone for a minute and then moves up to plant a gentle kiss on the stone, then mentally reprimanded himself for not bringing anything to give to her.
There was a loud crack a few feet behind him, followed by, "Here you go, Dad." He glanced towards the voice and was happy to see his own daughter standing there with a wreath of roses in hand.
"It really is amazing just how similar you and your mother are." He gratefully took the wreath from Heather and placed it adjacent to her headstone. He slowly got up and was now fully standing, looking down he saw the empty patch of dirt beside Hermione had been gated off. Harry had reserved that spot for when he passed so that he and Hermione could be side-by-side in death, just as they were by each others' side in life.
"I miss you so much, Hermione." He whispered, knowing that she was always with him and she would know the sincerity of his comment. Whether she heard him or not, he did not know. But 2 drops of rain hit him on the face and he figured he should go before it started storming. Picking up the photo album from the ground, he looked behind him to see his daughter standing some feet away. Heather had given her father his space and was standing next to a bare oak tree.
"Ready to go dad?" She inquired. He started towards his daughter when he could have sworn he heard a soft voice saying "oh, Harry…"
He turned his head back to look at the grave and saw nothing but the rose petals on the wreath blowing gently with the breeze. Shaking it off, he reached Heather and took her hand in his and they were gone.
"Until next week, my love." Hermione whispered watching her family depart, another couple tears escaping her eyes. And with that, the sky opened and the rain began to fall.