Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other characters, though I wish I did. They are all property of J.K. Rowling and her business associates.

The Days After

1 - Aftermath

It was still early in the morning, a few hours after the battle. Hermione was sitting in the great hall besides Ron together with the other Weasleys, mourning Fred. She was exhausted and she felt dirtier than ever. Ron seemed to be in shock. He was staring without seeing, not even feeling Hermione caressing his cheek, not responding when she tried to hold his hand.

She heard some steps near her. Turning her head she saw Dean approaching the group. His clothes were stained and torn, much like everybody else's. He patted Ron on the shoulder. "I've just found out about Fred. I'm really sorry" he said. Ron just looked at him and then slumped his shoulders back.

"I'm sure he appreciates your kind words," Hermione told Dean, "but he is currently unable to show it to you."

"That's alright," said Dean. "I'm sure he hurts a lot."

He then turned to Ginny and took her hand. Ginny lifted her head from her mother's shoulder and looked at him.

"I'm so sorry", he said. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Ginny looked surprised for a moment, and then she jumped up and hugged him tightly. "Oh, Dean, I'm so glad you have survived!" Surprised, Dean hugged her back reluctantly.

"Come, sit here with us", told him Ginny, moving a bit closer to her mom to make room for him.

Dean sat on the bench and she promptly put her head on his shoulder and took his hand in hers, caressing it with the other.

Ron, now sitting next to Dean, didn't seem to notice anything, but Hermione started thinking about Harry. He had just saved the wizarding world from its worst nightmare, and his supposed girlfriend, the one who had said she would wait for him no matter what, was already finding consolation in somebody else's arms. It didn't seem fair to her, but she couldn't reprimand the girl. Ginny was probably as shocked as the rest of her family and maybe this didn't really mean anything beyond friendship. Yet it bothered Hermione.

She continued sitting with Ron, holding his unresponsive hand, murmuring some soft words in his ear, but to no avail.

"Hermione! Ron!"

She lifted her eyes. Lavender was coming towards them. Her cloths looked just as bad as Hermione's, yet her curves seemed to be even more accentuated by the tears and the dirt.

"I've just been released from the hospital wing", said Lavender as she approached.

"Are you OK now?" asked Hermione.

"As good as new – thanks to you. That horrible werewolf didn't manage to bite me before you hexed him. He just tore into my robes, but didn't reach my skin. I had plenty other bruises and cuts, though, but Madam Pomfrey has fixed them in no time."

Ron stirred suddenly out of his stupor. "Lavender! How are you?"

"I just came to thank Hermione. I heard about Fred. I'm so sorry! I wish I could do something to help."

"Well, you can stay with us for awhile. Hermione, could you please move a little to make room for Lavender?" asked Ron.

He sounded politer than ever. Somehow, this didn't improve Hermione's mood. She stood up. "Never mind. I need to get some rest. I'll see you later."

She stepped away, towards the doors of the great hall. She paused at the doors and looked back. Ron was talking animatedly with Lavender and Ginny was resting her head on Dean's chest, holding his hand.

'It's so unfair!' thought Hermione.

She left the hall, not really knowing where to go. She wandered through the corridors feeling quite hurt. She had tried to be there for Ron, yet he only noticed Lavender. Maybe he didn't really love her? She knew Ron loved her as a friend – no doubt about it, but did he love her otherwise as well? Would he be willing to spend the rest of his life with her? The answer seemed quite obvious, painfully obvious. But then... was she ready to spend the rest of her life with Ron? She was not quite sure of the answer. She remembered being so sure of it when they had still been at the Burrow, and then at Grimmauld Place and in the tent... Until Ron left, that is. Now she wasn't certain. Could she stand his fits of anger, his tendency to break out at times of stress? She was not so sure he really was the right man for her.

A nagging question popped up in her mind and she couldn't brush it away. 'Do you really love him?'

She tried to push that question down, into the abyss where she pushed all the inappropriate feelings and the unthinkable thoughts, but it wouldn't be pushed. 'I love him dearly... as a friend' she thought, 'yet I'm not really in love with him, although there were times I thought I was.'

She still managed to keep the thought about who she really loved down there, keep it under the lid. She feared to let that feeling surface. She couldn't face it; Not now; Not yet...

Her feet took her automatically to where they used to go for six years when she was exhausted – to the Gryffindor common room. She only noticed where she was when she reached the portrait of the fat lady. It was hanging askew, as if somebody had severed the hinges.

"You may go in", said the fat lady. "No password needed."

Once in the common room, Hermione proceeded towards the steps to the girl's dormitories. She stopped in front of them.

'Do I really want to go and sleep there all alone?' she asked herself. She knew the answer. After the many months she had used to sleep in close proximity to Ron and Harry, she didn't fancy being there alone, especially not after what had happened during the last day.

'Harry said he intended to sleep in his bed. Maybe I can go to his dormitory. Both Ron and Dean are not there, neither is Neville. I could use one of the unoccupied beds.' she thought.

She climbed to the boys' dormitory and then opened the door silently. There were five beds in the room, but only one had its drapes closed. She tiptoed to that bed and tried listening. She heard Harry's breathing, but it didn't sound like he was sleeping. She dared peek behind the drapes.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" asked Harry, quite bewildered.

"Well, I thought I needed a rest, and I didn't like staying alone in the girls' dormitory. I just don't want to be alone right now."

"Oh…" Harry seemed to be at loss of words for a moment.

"How is Ginny?" he asked after an awkward silence.

"She's coping well, I think. Dean and Lavender are staying with the Weasleys for awhile." She hesitated and then added against her better judgment: "Ginny seems to find comfort with Dean."

Harry winced and Hermione felt as if she was causing him pain. She didn't like the feeling.

"I don't really have any claim on her," said Harry. "I've officially broken with her after Dumbledore's funeral, and she had really been Dean's girlfriend for much longer than she'd been mine." Hermione thought he was accepting the news quite stoically.

"And… How is Ron?" asked Harry, after another pause.

"I stayed with him until Lavender came around. She seems to get a response from him where I can't." It hurt her to say these words, but she felt as if she deserved it for hurting Harry before.

"Oh, I see…" said Harry. There was another awkward silence. "So, where do you want to sleep?" he finally asked.

"I don't really know. I thought about Ron's bed, but somehow… it doesn't seem right." A certain idea sparked in her mind and reached her mouth before she could think it over. "May I sleep along with you in your bed?"

Harry seemed confused. "It's not like we have never slept very close" she added hurriedly. "We have spent months in that small tent, you know…"

He smiled apologetically. "It would be a tight fit. This bed is not very large, you know."

"Oh, I can fix that!" she said. She pointed her wand to the bed and murmured a spell. The bed widened, becoming suitable for two people. Harry moved to the far end, making room for Hermione besides him.

"Well, you may sleep here, if you want."

Hermione stood up and removed her robes.

"What are you doing?" asked Harry, quite alarmed.

"You don't expect me to go to bed wearing these dirty robes, do you?"

"No, but…"

"What are you wearing now, that you intend to sleep?"

"Just my boxers, but…"

"Then I should also wear just my underwear. It's not as if you haven't seen me that way during our quest, you know."

Hermione wasn't really sure that he had seen her in her underwear, but considering the situation in the tent, he needed to try very hard not to see anything whenever she was changing. She believed he really had a chance for a glimpse or two. She knew for certain that Ron had seen her at least twice. And then – her bikini swimsuit was much smaller than her normal underwear, so it didn't really bother her.

Harry had nothing more to say. He just looked towards her as if dumbstruck, while Hermione removed her shirt and her pants, staying in her bra and panties only. She then climbed to the bed, closed the drapes and pulled on the blanket.

Hermione was lying on her back, very aware of the body of the man lying next to her, yet her thoughts drifted. She remembered the kiss in the room of requirements before the battle. Was it so meaningless? She had thought that it implied a promise, that it indicated love, but… well… it was Ron. Maybe it only meant he was excited and nothing more. He never really said he loved her…He surely wasn't interested in her in the great hall, whereas Lavender…

She felt the tears creeping to her eyes and she tried to stop them, but before long she was weeping silently, letting out her exhaustion, her worries and her frustration.

"Hermione, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Harry's voice sounded so sincere. He was really worried about her. What right did she have to worry him after he had saved her and others from doom? Yet she couldn't stop herself.

"Hermione, don't cry. It's all over now. No more Dark Lord; No more death-eaters; No more hiding. You shouldn't cry…" She knew he felt so lost when she cried. He had never learned how to cope with a crying girl.

She turned towards him. "It's not that…" she managed to say between sobs. "I just… don't know."

She hated not knowing and he knew that. It was unacceptable for the "know-it-all" Hermione.

"Then what is it? Please let me help you…" he begged.

Hermione tried to calm herself enough to answer, not really sure what to say. After a while she calmed down enough to talk.

"Well, I hoped I could eventually get Ron's attention, Ron's love. He may only be second-best, but it will have to do. He did say he didn't like Lavender anymore, but now…"

Harry seemed to miss the last sentence. "Second-best? Then who is your first choice?"

She just couldn't put her mind in gear. The answer got out of her mouth before she even thought of it. "You were my first choice, but I never thought I could be good enough for you and then you love Ginny, so…"

"You love me?" His voice sounded surprised, even shocked, but in a positive way.

"Yes! I've loved you since you saved me from the troll, you silly boy!" she heard herself crying, totally out of control.

"Oh, Hermione!" he said, suddenly engulfing her in his arms and holding her as close to him as possible.

Her mind finally kicked in. "What do you mean?" she asked. She tried to sound stern, but the feeling of his hands on her almost naked body was too overwhelming. It sounded more like a coy question.

"I always thought you had no interest in me, except as a friend. I didn't think you would ever love me the way I do. I could never even hope…" He just hugged her more tightly.

"Harry, kiss me, please!" It sounded like a command and like a prayer bound in one. He just couldn't refuse. His lips found hers and they both engaged in a long, passionate kiss. Their hands soon started an exploration trip of their own. They were exploring each other's body with the passion they had suppressed for so long and with the urgency that the war had set into them. The few items they were wearing were flung out of the bed shortly after.

"Be gentle, please. It is my first time" said Hermione some moments later.

"Mine as well" was the answer.

As their love making continued, a golden mist started forming between their bodies, wherever they touched each other. As they were reaching their climax it was becoming a virtual cloud, shrouding them from the world. None of them even noticed it. They only had eyes for each other. Once they reached climax, the mist dissipated, as if absorbed into their bodies.

Some time later they were both lying in bed, covered in sweat and grinning at each other.

"I love you, Hermione. I want you to always be part of my life for as long as I live" said Harry.

"I love you Harry and always will" she said.

They hugged each other again and soon fell into a peaceful sleep, still hugging.

There were sounds coming from the common room through the stairs. Hermione woke up, noticing Harry's eyes opening instantly.

"Someone may come here soon. It would be better nobody sees you here" whispered Harry.

"Are you ashamed of me or of what we've done?" She suddenly felt unsure.

"Never! But it can cause some talk which you may not like. I'd rather nobody know about us until we decide to make it known."

"Well, OK." Hermione felt relieved. He was only protecting her, as usual.

"Just take the Invisibility Cloak, it's on the side table, and go to your dormitory. You would probably want to change, as well. You do have your handbag with you, don't you?"

"Yes. I'll go there. Just one more kiss …"

They shared another passionate kiss before Hermione grabbed the cloak and her discarded clothes and disappeared silently through the half-open door. Harry got up, put his boxers on, shrunk the bed to its original size and went back to bed.

Several more days were spent repairing some of the damage to the school, tending to the injured and preparing for the funerals of the dead. Hermione and Harry were busy helping wherever needed. The dormitories were crowded with all the survivors and families of the dead and the wounded. The aurors conducted a through investigation, interrogating each survivor of both sides for as many details as they could remember in order to write as detailed a report of the war as possible.

Harry was also interviewed by several journalists from Britain and from other countries. He tried as much as he could to bring Ron and Hermione to the attention of the media and always stated that their help had been crucial for the success of their mission, yet he still received most of the attention. Harry and Hermione could hardly even find time for a sneak kiss during these days.

Ten days after the battle they buried on the Hogwarts grounds, near Dumbledore's tomb, those dead whose families had chosen so. The others were sent to wherever their families had chosen to bury them.

Harry and Hermione came along with the Weasleys to the Burrow to bury Fred near the house where he had lived most of his short life. They stood one step back from the family, along with Lavender and Dean.

"You may stay with us for as long as you want," told them Mrs. Weasley after the funeral. "You are practically family."

"Thank you", said Hermione, "I'd love to stay, but I have to go and find my parents and give them back their memories, and the sooner the better."

"I understand, dear. Go find them. They deserve their life back just as much as you deserve it. What about you, Harry?"

"I don't think Hermione should do it all alone. I know Ron can't come now, but I intend to go with Hermione and help her, I promise to come to the Burrow once I'm back."

"Oh, bless you, dear. You know our home is always open for you," said Mrs. Weasley. She hugged them both. They then said goodbye to Ron, who seemed detached once again, and to Ginny, who was crying softly on Dean's shoulder.

They managed to bring the Grangers home two weeks later. Harry helped Hermione find them and accompanied them back to their home and then left for the Burrow, leaving Hermione to catch up with her parents and to tell them all about the year they were separated.