A/N:

This is my first Harry Potter fanfic. Not the first one that I have written, not the first one that I have finished, but the first one that I've liked. I wrote it after the end of Deathly Hollows, when J. K. Rowling had consoled the Harry/Hermione shippers by stating that, "it could've gone that way." I liked that statement, so I sat down and wrote this fanfic.

The story is set after Deathly Hallows, but before the time skip. It's sort of a trip down memory lane, featuring some of my favorite scenes from Harry Potter (though with different point of view). Thus, there is going to be MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES! Just to be safe... Oh, and I know that the picture is of Harry and Ginny, not Harry and Hermione, but I thought it fit, so I hope no one minds. ^^

ANYWAY… I hope you like it! Reviews would be greatly appreciated! (:

DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Entertainment. I own nothing.

The One

Hermione cuddled up in her favourite armchair with a hot cup of tea. She looked out of the window, where an autumn storm was raging. She shuddered a bit when the wind shrieked, throwing leaves up against the glass. The rain was falling heavily on the ground, pounding forcefully on the roof.

When the weather was like this, Hermione was more than a little thankful for her stable house, and especially for her cosy living room. When Hermione and Ron had been looking for a home, Hermione had instantly fallen in love with this place. The house, located in Godric's Hollow, was an old, beautiful brick building with three bedrooms, a big kitchen, plus the wonderful, spacy living room with fireplace.

Hermione sighed, taking another sip of her tea, and looking into the flames. Even though, the storm raced outside, she felt warm and protected by the fireplace. Moreover, this chair in front of the fireplace was a good place to think. Hermione often lost herself in her thoughts when watching the dancing flames.

The brunette sighed once more. She looked around the room, adorning the beautiful handcraft in the high ceilings, the solid brick walls, and the perfectly shaped edges of the fireplace. But although, she loved the house for its beauty, there was an even more important reason for her love for it. Located in Godric's Hollow, the house was in the perfect distance to her parents, her in-laws, and more importantly, her best friend.

Harry. Hermione stirred in teacup with a spoon, before taking another sip. Harry, Harry, Harry… She tasted the name in her mind, enjoying the warm feeling it sent through her body. Hermione sank back in her armchair, closing her eyes, letting the memories of her best friend flood her mind.

We have made so many memories together… Hermione could remember each and every one of their important conversations, beautiful moments, and exciting adventures. She could see them all flashing behind her eyes in a chaotic order. Still, some of the memories were too important, too central to blend in with the others.

One of those were the conversation they'd had, when they had conquered three-headed dogs, living check boards, and poisonous potions in order to find the Philosopher's Stone.

Hermione looked at the little, black-haired boy in front of her. She knew that one she left this room, she mightn't ever see her again. Her lip trembled.

Suddenly, she dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him.

"Hermione!"

"Harry… You're a great wizard, you know!" she told him, hugging him tightly.

"I'm not as good as you," Harry said, seeming very embarrassed, when she let go of him.

"Me!" Hermione replied. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things… friendship and bravery, and…" She shook her head, looking at his face. "Oh, Harry! Please be careful!"

Hermione could feel her heart starting to race, as she reveled in the memory. She remembered everything so clearly. She had been so scared… scared for herself, scared for Ron, but mostly, scared for Harry. She still felt her heartbeat pick up, her hands starting to sweat, and her breath becoming slightly uneven, when thinking of what could have happened… what might have happened… what almost happened.

Hermione shook her head, shaking of the painful memories. In order to brighten up a little, she let her mind wander to happier memories.

One such memory was the one of their reunion, when Hermione had been in the hospital after being attacked by the Basilisk, and Harry had taken on both Lord Voldemort and the frightening monster. It was his bravery that had saved her.

Hermione ran into the Great Hall, searching for her two best friends. She ran by the Gryffindor table, her eyes fixed on the tousled, black hair in the middle of the crowd.

"Harry!"

The black-haired boy looked up, his whole face cracking into a smile when he saw her face.

"You solved it! You solved it!" Hermione shouted excitedly, running towards him. Harry stood up, seeing her come running. Hermione's face was one big smile, as she ran right into his embrace.

Hermione smiled, enjoying the warmth of the happy memory. She still remembered that particular feast; it had been one of the best she had ever attended. Everyone had been so happy, so relieved, and so determined to have a good time, and the feast had continued until morning.

Hermione remembered thinking back then that that would be the biggest adventure she would ever experience. But of course, she had been wrong. In fact, it hadn't even been ten months, when she, Ron, and Harry had been thrown into an even bigger adventure than the ones before.

That was an outrageous time… Hermione had received a Time-Turner in order to follow her busy schedule, but when Hagrid's pet, Buckbeak had been executed, and Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, had been about to receive the same fate, Hermione and Harry had used the Time-Turner to travel back in time and save them both. Hermione still couldn't believe that they had succeeded.

Also, she couldn't help smiling, thinking of the time of night, when everything, including her and Harry's heroic rescue, Dumbledore's secret approval, and Snape's bitter disappointment, had been resolved, and Ron woke up, completely unaware of all the things that had happened.

Harry and Hermione sat in the ward in silence, trying to sort out their jumbled thoughts. But the silence didn't last long. There was a low moan from the other end of the ward. Ron had woken up. They could see him sitting up, rubbing his head, and looking around.

"What… what happened?" he groaned. "Harry? Why are we in here? Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin? What's going on?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other.

"You explain," Harry said, taking a piece of chocolate.

Hermione chuckled, thinking of Ron's confused expression, and her and Harry's informed look. She suddenly remembered that it was the first time she had thought that she and Harry worked better together than she and Ron.

She took a sip of her tea, holding it in her mouth for a bit, as she pondered. Even though, she loved Ron, she and Harry had an understanding that she had never found with anyone else. Ron was the one she loved, the one she was passionate with; but Harry was the one she came to, the one she trusted, and the one who understood her.

Of course, there had been times in the past, when Hermione had thought there might be more to her and Harry's relationship than friendship. She couldn't remember the exact moment when those thoughts had occurred; however, she could remember some of the occasions, where the thoughts had made themselves clear to her.

One of those occasions was the Yule Ball that took place during the Triwizard Tournament. That was such a crazy time… Harry had been forced to compete in the Triwizard Tournament, alongside Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delacour, and Victor Krum. Hermione had had to watch him battle dragons, fight sea monsters, and overcome all kinds of horrors in an infinite maze. And finally, he'd had take on Lord Voldemort, and watch him kill Cedric.

Hermione shuddered involuntarily, thinking of the horrors. To calm herself, she took a big swallow of her tea. The Triwizard Tournament had been terrible. She had hated everything about it, except for the Yule Ball. The Yule Ball had been very enjoyable. Hermione had gone with Victor Krum of all people. And for once in her life, she had made an effort with her looks, smoothing out her hair, putting on makeup, and wearing a beautiful gown. But the best part of the night was the way that Harry had looked at her when he saw her.

The four champions were to enter the Great Hall in procession, before the beginning of the ball. They were also supposed to have the first dance. Hermione couldn't help feeling rather nervous, as she stood in line with Krum, right behind Harry and Parvati.

She saw that Harry looked at Cedric and Cho for a moment before moving his eyes elsewhere, trying to seem preoccupied; probably so he wouldn't have to watch their happy faces or have to talk to them and pretend to be having fun.

Suddenly, his eyes fell on her.

She watched as his expression went from curiosity to recognition to surprise. His jaw dropped. She couldn't help blushing a little bit under his intense stare. Of course, she knew she looked pretty. She had smoothed down her usually curly hair and put it up in an elegant knot at the back of her head. She was wearing robes made of a floaty, periwinkle-blue material, which elegantly smoothed around her figure.

She sent him a happy smile, very much aware of the recent flattering reduction of her front teeth.

"Hi, Harry," she said, blushing a little more. "Hi, Parvati."

Parvati stared at her in uninhibited, unflattering shock. But Harry looked at her with adoring eyes, his mouth still hanging open in amazement.

Hermione smiled, thinking of her best friend's amazed expression. Even though, Krum, Ron, and even Draco Malfoy had stared at her in the same overwhelmed way, it was Harry's complimenting stare that had flattered her the most.

She took another swallow of her tea, holding it in her mouth for a moment while she pondered her thoughts. Although, she had liked, even loved Ron most of her life, there was undoubtedly a part of her that had loved Harry, too. Of course, she had tried her best to hide her emotions, especially from Harry and Ron, but also from herself.

But she had felt them. One of the clearest examples of that was when Harry and Cho had been dating, and Harry had told her about his first kiss with Cho. Even though, Hermione had tried to hide it, she hadn't been able to help being a little jealous.

But the clearest example of all had been the following year, when Professor Slughorn had presented their Potions class with three powerful potions of different nature.

Professor Slughorn praised Hermione's recognition of Veritasium and Polyjuice. Then, he went on to the next potion in the row. "Now, this one here . . . Yes, my dear?" Slughorn said, looking slightly bemused, as Hermione raised her hand in the air again.

"It's Amortentia!" she stated.

"It is indeed. It seems almost foolish to ask," Slughorn said, looking mightily impressed, "but I assume you know what it does?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "It's the most powerful love potion in the world!"

"That's right! You recognized it, I suppose, by its distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen?"

"And the steam rising in characteristic spirals," Hermione said enthusiastically. "It's supposed to smell differently to each person, according to what attracts them." She sniffed in the aroma. "For example, I can smell freshly mown grass, new parchment, and spearment toothpaste, and -"

But she turned slightly pink and didn't complete the sentence. She had been about to continue with 'holly, and birch from a Firebolt's tail', which would have given her way instantly. She had stopped herself at the very last second.

Hermione's lips curled into a smile once more, thinking of that particular moment. Although, she was falling out of love with her best friend at the time, she still hadn't been able to suppress her physical reactions.

And the fact was, that she had been in love with Harry. She had been in love with Ron, too, though. And she had never been able to distinguish her love for Harry from her friendly feelings towards him. And that was probably why she had been so much surer of her love for Ron.

Hermione sighed, taking another big swallow of her tea. She was aware that Ron had known she had loved Harry. The whole thing had blown up while they were on their search for Horcruxes. She remembered Ron's hurt eyes, bitter accusations, and dramatic exit, when he fled their tent one night in the middle of nowhere. Hermione hated that memory, partly because he had broken her heart, and partly because his accusations were true.

Hermione took another swallow of her tea. She couldn't help wondering… Even though, she was with Ron; even though, she was happy; even though, her feelings for Harry been short-lived and shaky… Could things have turned out differently?

She swallowed the rest of her tea, while wondering. Could she have loved Harry instead of Ron? She was pretty sure that she could. After all, Harry was the one who was there for her, the one who understood her, and the one whose friendship meant the world or even more to her. But could she have been with Harry? Instead of Ron? She would say it was possible. She had loved Harry, wanting to be with him before. She reckoned, that if he had loved her and wanted to be with her as well, they could have been together. But could Harry really be… the one? She was pretty sure that he couldn't. She had loved both Ron and Harry, and the possibility of being with either one of them had been there. Thus, Harry couldn't be the one. But so, Ron wasn't the one, either.

Hermione stared into the flames in the fireplace. She could have loved Harry, but she loved Ron. She could have been with Harry, but she had ended up with Ron. But still… No matter the end results, the truth was clear to her. It could have gone that way. It just didn't.

She sighed, looking into her teacup. It was empty.