Hey guys, so one day this story idea kinda popped into my head, I mostly wrote it for myself, but then decided to post it here
Hey guys, so one day this story idea kinda popped into my head, I mostly wrote it for myself, but then decided to post it here. So if there are any sort of grammar mistakes, I'm very sorry, but like I said this was mostly for myself, and I wasn't sure I was going to share it until recently, so forgive me. Anyway I hope you enjoy this. I've enjoyed writing it.
Disclalimer: I don't anything from harry potter world.
"Ronald, would you get down here? We're gonna be late" yelled Hermione Granger from the bottom of the stairs in the burrow. She heard a mumbled response come from upstairs and a bunch of thunks, as she was sure that Ron was scrambling around.
It was September 1st, the start of another school year, and as usual, everyone was running late. Hermione walked back into the kitchen, still fragrant from the mornings breakfast, to wait for Ron and chuckled as she watched her best friend Harry try and clean Teddy, his godson's, face. Teddy had been staying back and forth between Tonk's mother Andromeda's house and the burrow where Harry was staying, so that he could be close to his godfather.. Teddy's hair turned a violet color as he giggled and turned his face, again avoiding the napkin that Harry was inching towards the baby's face.
Harry shot an exasperated look at an amused Ginny who was looking on with a small smile, and she walked toward Harry to help her man. Ginny must have had the magic touch, because the giggling baby held still and allowed Ginny to put the food in his mouth. Harry looked on amazed.
"How do you always do that Gin? I think he must like you better" Harry mused, as he pulled Ginny in for a kiss.
"Nah I don't think that's it, he just knows that he can give his godfather a hard time, because you'll never stop loving him. Plus I'm a woman, we've got the magic touch when it comes to you boys" she replied.
Teddy giggled and they both turned back to look at him with smiles on their faces. They knew that their future together would someday hold a baby of their own, and they considered watching Teddy to be good practice.
Hermione couldn't help but wonder at how natural and perfect they seemed to be as a family. She hoped that one day she and Ron could form such a perfect picture. At that moment Mrs. Weasley came bustling into the kitchen closely followed by a yawning Ron.
"Honestly Ron! It's not that early. Besides you could just come back and sleep if you wanted" Hermione chided. Ron shot her a sheepish grin and pulled her into a hug.
"Are you guys ready?" asked Mrs. Weasley "Arthur is in the car waiting". All the teens in the house nodded their consent, and said their goodbyes to Molly and Teddy. Once they were out of earshot from the kitchen and on their way to the car Ron pulled Hermione aside for a moment.
"Are you sure you wanna do this Mione?" he asked her as he took her hand in his.
"Ron" she said in annoyed tone "I've already told you, this is really important to me. I really want to finish my schooling, and feel like I did it the right way. I don't want to be handed…"
"I know" Ron interrupted "but It's just that Harry, Neville, and I are finally getting a place of our own, and it wont be the same without you. Just think… no mom or dad anymore. We could sleep next to each other every night, and have uninterrupted alone time. Besides, it's not like you need to do this, you've been offered every job imaginable."
Hermione sighed and gave Ron a frustrated look. "Look I don't want to fight right now Ron. I just need you to understand that this is something that I feel like I need to do. you'll still be able to see me. Mcgonnagal has given Ginny, Luna, and me a special room so that you guys can come visit us easily. It will be fine, I just need you to support me on this." Hermione squeezed Ron's hand in reassurance and stretched up for a kiss.
"I love you Ron" she said, breaking the kiss.
"I love you too Hermione, and I do support you. It'll just be hard to not have you around all the time."
"I know, but we'll be okay. Have fun with the guys… do all sorts of guy things" Hermione said, "this may be your last chance" she added as an afterthought, looking forward to the time when she could move in with Ron.
"Are you guys coming?" yelled Ginny from the car. After another kiss, Hermione and Ron walked hand in hand to join the other couple in the car with Mr. Weasley. They were to meet Luna at the Train station, and the three girls would depart to school without their boys.
"Wow Hermione. I still can't believe you're going back to Hogwarts without me and Ron. You aren't gonna have anyone to get you in trouble" said Harry in the car. Hermione reached across Ginny and playfully hit Harry on the leg.
"Whatever am I going to do? a quiet school year? Oh no!" laughed Hermione.
"Well I'm pretty sure Hermione, that I could get you in a fair amount of trouble too… if you ever get bored or anything" said Ginny with a mischievous smile.
"Except none of the teachers would ever dream of getting you in trouble" interjected Ron. "They're just all so proud that you've chosen to finish your schooling. Not to mention that you were one of the main leaders of the reconstruction projects at Hogwarts"
After the battle of Hogwarts many people had chipped in to help rebuild areas of the school that had been destroyed, and there were now many beautiful war memorials across the grounds to remind everyone of all the sacrifices. Among the leaders of the reconstruction, were Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys, so all of the teachers had a special regard for them.
They spent the car ride laughing and reminiscing, all of them carefree, and enjoying their time together. The world was a much different place since Voldemort had been destroyed. People were still mourning and trying to find ways to move on with their life. There were also still a couple of loose deatheaters, and other such matters that needed to be taken care of, but the new ministry under the leadership of Kingsley was doing a fine job. Harry, Neville, and Ron all planned on joining the aurors the next day, after a summer of light training (since Kingsley had said they were already seasoned warriors). and reconstruction of the ministry. Hermione had been offered an auror job too, as well as many other job offers, but it was her goal to finish school. After all, the year of hiding and fighting had not diminished her love of learning, which was probably still her biggest passion.
In no time at all the teens had reached the train station, and met up with Luna who was there with Neville, who was to see her off. They had become a couple shortly after the final battle, during all the reconstruction of the school, in which everybody spent countless hours together. The couples all said a long goodbye with promises to write and to see each other as soon as possible. And for the first time, Hermione got on the train with a slight ache in her heart, because her boyfriend and her best friend were not by her side on this journey.
The months went by quickly and soon it was the winter holidays, and everyone was gathered again inside of the burrow. Molly would still not allow Ginny to sleep in an unsupervised house with Harry, since she was still in school. So for the time being, Harry and Ron were back at the burrow with their girls. Hermione had gone and seen her parents for a week in the beginning of the holidays with Ron proudly by her side. She truly cherished all of her time with them, because there had been a period where she wasn't sure if she would be able to find them again in Australia after the war. It had taken her a couple of weeks, but sure enough she had found her parents and removed the memory charms. They were very pleased to find out that Hermione and Ron were finally together, since they had heard so much about this particular young man.
Currently however, Hermione was back at the burrow for the second half of the holiday, and she sat on the couch next to Ron reflecting on life. School was going well for the three girls, and their boys had been doing very well as aurors. There were only a couple more loose deatheaters that they had to find, and Hermione was very pleased in the new sense of responsibility that Ron had acquired from becoming a working man. They all loved Kingsley, but he was very disciplined and demanded only the highest level of work from all his employees, he pushed everyone to do their best work. It wasn't Hogwarts, Ron couldn't get by with only mediocre work anymore, and he learned that quickly.
Life was going well for everybody. Molly was still looking after Teddy every other week, with Harry's help. Bill and Fleur were expecting their first child, Percy was engaged to a witch named Audrey, and George was on the verge of proposing to Angelina. Charlie had recently gotten a promotion at work, granting him more time off (which Molly almost demanded he use to come visit more often). All of this news had Molly as happy as could be. And of course she was very proud of Ron and Ginny, as well as Hermione and Harry.
Hermione was pulled out of her thoughts by a rumble of laughter from the corner, where Teddy was changing his nose and hair color at a very quick speed, which was earning many laughs from Harry, Ginny, and Fleur. Hermione smiled, as she was very strongly reminded of Tonks, and the times she would do the exact same thing. The pig nose was still her favorite. She still mourned for everyone that was lost, but she and everyone else were moving on just fine. Mrs. Weasley and George particularly, still had some rough days, but everyone was finding it was easy to move on when you're surrounded by so much love and goodness. Plus, there was a promise of new life in Fleur, which was always an uplifting thought. Their baby was due on the year anniversary of the battle of Hogwarts, and defeat of Voldemort, and that seemed very fitting. Fleur would hardly leave Teddy alone, it was obvious that she was very excited to become a mother.
Hermione tuned into the conversation that was happening next to her. Ron was debating something about quidditch with Bill, which was very typical, but still not very interesting to her. She gave Ron a quick kiss on the cheek and got up to get some pumpkin juice for something to do. She found Charlie in the kitchen looking out the window into the wintry scene before him.
"Hey Charlie" she said brightly, while grabbing a cup of pumpkin juice. She had gotten to know Charlie quite well over the summer, since he had stayed in London to mourn with his family and help with all the rebuilding. He had only gone back to Romania a couple of days before she left for school, and they were both very sad when he had to leave. They still wrote letters and always talked on the floo. They had discovered over the summer that they were kindred souls in a way, and that they had much in common. It was an easy, natural companionship.
The rest of the Weasleys had been surprised by how quickly Hermione and Charlie had grown close, especially because of the seven year age difference, but they too soon found that the companionship was very natural. Hermione had always felt a very strange closeness to Charlie, it was never like she was his sister, but something more that she couldn't put her finger on, and Charlie reciprocated those same feelings. But if truth be told Charlie could figure out what those feelings were, though he never tried to think of it, in fear of creating a messy situation. Instead Charlie had to settle, but he figured that settling was better than stirring up a lot of drama.
" Hey Hermione" he smiled.
"Care for some company?" she asked. He hesitated and his brow creased a little. "or if you wanna be alone I can totally understand that too… I know it gets kinda overwhelming with everyone here." She turned to walk away but he put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"Wait… I don't want you to go. I'm just in a weird mood, sorry" he said as he gave her an apologetic grin and wrapped his hand around the back of his neck massaging it a little.
"Is everything okay? she asked. He looked into her eyes deeply for a moment, and took his hand off her shoulder and instead wrapped it around her waist pulling her into a hug. He knew she would understand him, but first he just needed a hug.
"Charlie?" she said, sounding muffled, as her head was pulled into his chest "you're worrying me, what's wrong?" she looked up at him through her lashes, and he sighed and let her go.
"It's just…" he began, and then paused. Hermione squeezed his hand, urging him on. "this always happens at family gatherings like this, and I feel so stupid, but it just starts to get me" he said, and he looked into her concerned eyes. "I just feel like such a disappointment to my mom. Everyone always has such good news, either someone is pregnant or engaged or whatever…. These are the things she dreams of hearing, not about some stupid job promotion. I can see disappointment in her eyes every time I come home with out a special woman on my arm. She wants that sort of happy family news out of me, but I don't know if I can ever give it to her. Normally this never bothers me, but here, around everyone and all these blossoming loves and families, and around her, it really becomes clear that I'm not giving her what she wants." As Charlie finished, he looked away from Hermione's eyes and back out the window, feeling sort of embarrassed.
"Oh Charlie" she exclaimed with passion "You are not a disappointment. You are doing great things with your life, no one should be ashamed or disappointed of that. I think you're mom worries that you're lonely, because she wants you to be happy, but she does not feel any disappointment, I'm sure of it. You and her just have a different set of priorities, she doesn't understand how you can be happy, because the domestic life is one that she wants so bad, but that's not what you want so bad… you want to work with dragons and be free, and that's what you are doing, so you should be proud of yourself, and I know that she is proud of you."
They stood next to each other for a while in silence before Charlie sighed and turned back to Hermione, "thank you" he told her. "I haven't really been able to express my feelings like that with anyone here, because I feel like in a way, everyone else sort of feels how mom does, ya know? They all want the domestic life. They're happy with settling down, so they wouldn't understand my fears of losing some freedom or my priorities, but I knew that you would understand, and it really helped to get some perspective."
Hermione pulled Charlie into a hug. "Anytime, I'm always here for you, and you never have to be afraid to tell me anything, because you're right. I understand a lot of what you say, and chances are I usually feel the same way. You know that by now." Hermione pulled away from the hug and smiled up at Charlie, and he smiled back. "So do you wanna go help me interrupt this quidditch conversation that has been going on for ages?" she asked him with a sheepish grin.
"Quidditch?" he asked, his eyes lighting up.
"Oh no… I forgot that you played too. I will never escape from quidditch conversations" Hermione groaned. Charlie laughed and patted her on the back.
"I'm afraid not… well not if you plan on hanging around this family anyway."
All in all Hermione had a good holiday with the Weasleys and Harry. She got to spend lots of time with Ron, and she felt like everyday they grew closer and closer, and every day she felt more and more sure that one day she would officially be part of the family. However, sometimes that thought scared her. She saw how Ron idolized his mother, and she knew that in a way, that was sort of what he was after, but she also felt sure that when it came down to it Ron would love her enough to understand her needs. So it was with another ache in her heart that she left the burrow for her last term of school.
The last months of school went by very quickly for Hermione, in a blur of studying and occasional happy breaks for Percy's wedding and for the birth of Fleur and Bills child, Victoire, a week before graduation, and on the same day as the war memorial. Charlies sad smiles never went unnoticed by Hermione on these special occasions, and she always tried to reassure him and make him feel better in their floo talks or letters. It was hard for Charlie to say whether it made him feel better or not, because he knew in his heart that he needed a woman like Hermione, but that she was an original, and there was no other. He felt that there was no hope for him, Hermione would end up with Ron, everybody knew it, although he wasn't sure if it was the best fit for Hermione. So every time she reassured him that he would find someone special, or that it didn't matter, he just had to pretend that he believed her so that she would feel better. She could never know his real feelings for her, he couldn't risk their friendship, which is the only sort of relationship he could have with her.
Charlie did a good job of hiding his true feelings, because Hermione remained oblivious them, but she too entertained the same sort of thoughts. She knew she loved Ron, but sometimes she couldn't help but imagine herself with Charlie. Sometimes with Ron, the relationship seemed forced… they were great friends, so it seemed like a natural transition, but Hermione sometimes worried it wasn't. Ron and she had very different priorities out of life, and she wasn't sure how bad those priorities would clash when they were trying to make a life together. These thoughts were often on her mind, as well as thoughts of the steadily approaching graduation.
The day of graduation Hermione gave a speech as the top student of the class, and everyone she knew and loved was there, and she knew all the dead to be there in her heart and in her words. She was close to all the dead from the war, on the Hogwarts grounds.
Later that night, she, Ginny and Luna held a graduation party, where they got to speak all about their exciting futures. Luna was planning on exploring the world as a naturalist, which is why she and Neville had broken up a couple months earlier. Luna needed another free spirit, but since their breakup Neville had been seeing Hannah Abbott and they were going strong. Ginny planned to play quidditch with the holyhead harpies, and Hermione was geared up to start work at the ministry of magic in the department for regulation and control of magical creatures in the office of house elf relocation. The biggest news of the night was still yet to come.