Hey! You asked for a sequel, and here it is! Note: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasely, Neville Longbottom, Lavender Brown, Draco Malfoy, Mr.&Mrs. Granger, Profs. Snape&Sprout, and Hagrid, and everything practically in this story DO NOT belong to me. They belong to J.K.Rowling.. *sniff, sniff* That lucky..... Uh, anyway! This plot *does* belong to me, so if it's like any other story you've read, no infringement was intended. Blah blah... etc. WARNING: This story is HHR!!!! If you are not open to HHR, DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER!!! Now, if yu *are* open to HHR, read on! =D ~*~I.S.~*~
~Waiting For You~
Hermione was crying again. For the second time that night. Harry sat down next to her on the love seat of their apartment in the Muggle World and wrapped an arm around her quivering shoulders. He rested his black head atop her brown one.
"Hermi, don't worry. They'll come around." he said gently.
She sniffed indignantly. "Not mature enough! Hmpf! The idea! We're eighteen years old!" she cried, her brow creasing in fury.
"Maybe it's the 'teen' in 'eighteen'." Harry suggested. "Nobody trusts a teenager nowadays."
Hermione let out another choked hiccup and her lower lip trembled. "Let's elope, Harry!" she said angrily.
"No, Hermi. I want your parents to be at our wedding. I want it to be a happy marriage. Something we won't regret... Something like in fairy tales," he replied softly.
"Fairy tales aren't real, though, Harry," she said harshly. "My parents don't want us to be married, and that's reality! So we'll just have to go on without them!"
"No, Hermione. I won't do that. We'll just have to wait for their approval. What's the hurry? Let's have some fun before we're married."
"I think it's because we didn't date first..." she speculated darkly.
Harry nodded sadly. Maybe.. If we changed it... Hey, Herm? Remember in third year? When you had too many classes? And you used that..."
"We can't use the time device, Harry. Dumbledore destroyed it in sixth year when Malfoy was using it to change his marks in his courses. Remember?"
"Oh, yeah." Harry grinned sheepishly. "I forget: How many weeks of detention did he get?"
"Six."
"Ah."
Silence.
"Let's go to bed, Harry. I'm tired." Hermione complained.
Harry grinned and scooped her small body in his arms, led her into the bedroom, and laid her down on the bed, kissing her forehead lovingly.
"Oh, Hermi-chan, I love you. Even if we're not married, just being with you makes me happy."
"Harry, you're such a sap." she laughed. Her laughter was muffled by another kiss from Harry. And there were many more that night...
~*~*~*~The Next Morning~*~*~*~
"Voldemort has a son?!" Harry screamed into the phone. "At large?...damn.. DAMN!... I can't do that... you know, my fiancee... Hermione Granger... thanks... How long?... I'll have to get back to you on that one... ok... ok. 'Bye."
He turned to see Hermione's tragic face. "What's happened, Harry?"
She was poised in the doorway, her hair ruffled, face white, and one hand clutching her bathrobe shut.
Harry sighed, then went to her and put his arms around her waist. "Hermi-chan, Voldemort has a son, Patrick. He's at large. He's a dark wizard, like his father, though not as powerful. They - the Ministry - want me to go with them hunt for him in South Africa. I'd be gone for six months, minimum."
Hermione's lower lip trembled. "Go, Harry. Likely Patrick's looking for you, anyway. Take him by surprise."
And the tears flowed once more.
~*~*~*~ ~*~*~*~ ~*~*~*~
Extracts From Hermione's Journal Entries:
October 29th
"It seems like Harry's been gone forever, when it's really been one month and twenty-nine days. I just wish I could write to him... I'd be able to tell him I love him, and I miss him... I suppose I must make something of my life, now. I have to stop feeling sorry for myself and do something! I feel live I can't breathe here..."
November 15th
"Well, I'm proud of myself. I have been accepted at Hogwarts as the new Transfiguration teacher when Professor McGonagall retires after Christmas. The trouble is telling Mum and Dad..."
November 30th
"I can't believe Mum and Dad are supporting my job in the Wizarding World! They, who wouldn't let me get a job there when I graduated! Oh, well. I'm an adult now anyway. It's my life. I can't wait 'til I move..."
December 11th
"I saw Ron today. He was showing Lavender the Muggle World. Of course, she wanted to see the mall. Lavender's gotten ever so much nicer... I really do like her now. Ron told me he plans to ask Lavender for her hand in marriage soon. Sigh... Their parents will probably be pleased!"
December 28th
"Christmas was okay. Presents. Family. Food. The usual. The only thing missing was Harry. God I miss him! My life is so empty without his love. Even with my job starting in a week. I wonder where he is now..."
January 21st
"My as Transfiguration teacher is going along quite nicely. It takes up most of my time, and keeps my mind off of Harry. There's another new teacher here, too. His name is Kevin Cain. He's replacing Snape for Potions. Snape finally landed the Defence Against Dark Arts after Harry left, and he's much more enjoyable because of it. Oh, how things change!"
February 24th
"Life is running it's course. Every day is just another day. I have a bright bunch of kids. Some are stupid. Some are stupid. But there's a girl in third year that reminds me so much of me when I was thirteen. Her name is Heather McVay. This is my last "teen" year. I'm nineteen. It's quite monotonous. But Heather has a bright future, unlike me."
March 22nd
"Harry has been gone for almost half a year. I'm so dead inside. Of course, Hagrid and Professor Sprout assume my seriousness is because I've matured. I haven't told anyone that I'm engaged to Harry Potter. Not even Ron and Lavender. They're going to be married next summer. Ron proposed on Valentine's Day. How.. Romantic..."
~^*^~ ~^*^~ ~^*^~
Hermione pinched her pennies, meaning she saved up. She bought anything that wasn't absolutely necessary. What she did wasn't the best, but second-rate. Everyone thought her cheap, but she didn't care. Her bank account was bulging by the end of summer, during which all she did was write letters to Ron, Lavender, Ginny, Neville, and her parents, and plan for another year of teacher Transfiguration.
She turned twenty that fall, and barely noticed. Every day was the same: teach, plan, save. Teach, plan, save. Autumn grew into winter. Christmas went by. Came a new year.
Life couldn't be any more placid for Hermione. All her friends, or, the little she had left, noticed the cold change in Hermione. It made everyone uncomfortable around her.
March thawed into April. Hermione stared out her window dolefully one dreary Saturday night. Her head rested against the windowsill. Her thin hands were clasped onto her lap. She was praying. As she had done every night for the past year and a half.
Suddenly, a figure Apparated into her bedroom, jolting her from her miseries. Her grey eyes widened.
It was Harry.
"Hermione!" he whispered hoarsely. There was a white scar running down his thin face, and his lightning-shaped had moved up to his hairline. He was bony, sunburned, and... older. But it was him. Him.
Harry.
"Oh, God! Harry!" she choked out and ran into his out-stretched arms. He held her shivering body against him, her breath on his neck, her tears soaking his shirt, and it was paradise.
"I love you!" he whispered passionately. "I thought of you everyday. It was the only thing that kept me going..."
"I love you, too. You have no idea how stuffy the Muggle World became. I applied for the job here to get away. I just became more dead inside..."
"I missed you. But we did catch Patrick. He's in Azkaban right now." Harry announced. "I-I had just been afraid... you may have found... someone.. else.."
"Never, Harry, never. You're the only one for me. My soul-mate."
"Now who's the sap?" he teased.
Hermione laughed, A real laugh. Not the hollow, fake laugh she'd been laughing for over a year. She kissed him. It felt so wonderful, tasted so sweet. She alive again. They backed onto the bed, letting loose all the emotions that had been bottled up for too long. The lights were turned off. The sun gave way to the moon. Lips kissed. Tongues touched, Skin burned. And, evidently, love was made that night!
THE END!!... or is it?
Yay! You asked for it! There's the sequel! -laughs evilly.- Will Harry and Hermione *ever* get married? How will Ron and Lavender's wedding go? What will Mr. and Mrs. Granger think of Harry's return? What was Hermione saving up for? Any *new* arrivals? -snickers.- These questions involve another sequel, right? Right?? Mwah! I'm so evil, aren't I? I didn't mean for this one to be so mushy either, but I was listening to Creed's "Arms Wide Open" and thinking of my b/f, so... Well, you get the idea! Hee! Anyway, please review! NO FLAMING! Especially from the people who aren't open to HHR. Then again, it's pretty dumb for non-HHR people to read this story *because* it's HHR! Gentle reviews only! ^-^;; Happy reading! (And reviewing.)
~*~Insane*SoRa~*~