disclaimer: i dont own harry potter, i wish i did tho. i'm pretty broke right now !
PROTECTING HERMIONE:
He had always protected her. It was instinct. It was involuntary. Quite honestly, he couldn't stop it if he tried. And believe me, he had tried.
He had tried in fourth year, when he first realized that it wasn't brotherly instinct. It would ruin our relationship! He thought. He tried to stop protecting her from that evil monster from Bulgaria. He didn't want to see her hurt. He didn't want to see her cry.
He had tried to protect her on the chessboard. He sacrificed his life for her. He woke up to her face above him, pressing a cold towel to his forehead. He had tried to help her, but she had to help him in the end.
He had tried to keep her from getting involved in the attacks. He had tried, and tried to make sure he wasn't one of the petrified. But it wasn't enough. But he had made dang sure that her body in the hospital wing was protected. He would replace the flowers on her bedside table, and make sure her clothes were always straight. He would even steal the invisibility cloak and go down to read books to her. He never told her that he really had read Hogwarts, A History. He would look at her, and he swore he could see her eyes soften when he sang her lullabies. He went in the Forbidden Forest, and faced spiders. Not just your ordinary little house spiders. Bigger than car spiders. It was all for the sake of protecting her.
He had tried to protect her from Sirius, that awful murderer. But his leg had prevented her. He had tried to suck up the pain, so she wouldn't endure any. But it wasn't enough this time either. She and Harry ran off on the adventure, and he was stuck in the hospital wing, praying that she was okay. He was worrying so hard he because delusional. People couldn't be in two places at once. But he had protected her from an innocent man.
He protected her from things to come. The Triwizard Tournament was the scariest part of his life that far. Hers too most likely. He sure hoped it was the scariest part of her life. He hadn't done a very good job of protecting her if it wasn't.
He tried, and he just couldn't protect her at the ministry of magic. It was impossible. He ran, and he dodged hexes, and got so mad at Dolohov after she told him the whole story. He loathed that man with a passion.
He tried to protect her by dating Lavender. He wasn't good enough for her, and Lavender was an easy catch. If he had given in, which everyone knew he had on the inside, he would have screwed it up while they were together. She would be even more heartbroken.
When he was poisoned, his last thought was her name. While he was asleep in the hospital wing, he heard her talking, and she sounded like an angel. He whispered her name. Things were alright after that. There was no more Lavender. But that wasn't the end of protecting her.
He did protect her at the fight in Hogwarts. Death Eaters were running all over the place, and the kids were fighting as well as they could. All of the spells were just miraculously missing them by mere centimeters. The Felix Felis must have done it. They were fighting better than ever. Maybe because of the situation. He saw the passion in her and Ginny's eyes. Ginny was fighting for Harry. Her eyes were angry, the amber was clouded over by hatred and passion. He wished that the passion wasn't for hate, but for love.
He had held her at Dumbledore's funeral. He had tried to make all of the hurt go away. He hated to see her cry, to see her hurt. He could see the sad passion in her eyes now. He knew that this was only the beginning of protecting her.
He had handed her a handkerchief when she cried over her parents. And he had put his arm around her. He had asked her to dance, suddenly, out of the blue. He had held her more, getting more and more physically comfortable with her. He knew it was comforting her. He knew that it was what she wanted. But it was so terrifying at the wedding when the Death Eaters came. He could hear her screaming his name, wanting to know where he was. He found her and grabbed her hand and she apparated off.
He had once again tried to protect her in the middle of the night, when he woke up to her sobs. He held her in his arms and let her cry into his shoulders. He let his shirt slowly become soaked. He let her take her anger and anguish out of him.
He thought he was going crazy. Her screams bounced off all of the walls, piercing his heart with every passing second. He was sobbing, screaming, praying that she would be alright, remembering all of the fantastic times, thinking that this was the end. He would die without her. He couldn't live without her. He realized at that second, that he needed her, and he wanted her so badly. He was in love with her. He couldn't take it any longer. He burst up into the room.
He sat next to her bed, stroking her hair, smoothing her sheets. He cleaned her cuts from the chandelier every 30 minutes. Dobby was dead now. He wished it hadn't happened right after the mansion incident. It was too much.
He let his barrier down. Tears poured out of his eyes, his body shook with the force of the tears. He felt her hand move under his, and he cried with joy. She was alright.
She was the one who had made the first move. She had kissed him. He finally knew what it was like to kiss her. And he was glad. It was better then anything he had ever experienced before. Better then Honeydukes, flying, and Butterbeer altogether. He thanked Merlin for SPEW.
He was seething. Nobody, and he meant NOBODY, curses his girl. He threw curse after curse, fighting right next to her, while she threw stronger curse after stronger curse. He decided right then and there, that them protecting each other was the best way that it worked.
He sat on the hospital bed with his wife. His Wife. And his daughter. His wonderful daughter rose. He was her father.
He was glad his job was protecting Hermione. He wouldn't have it any other way.
