Left Behind

  Chapter 1

Harry Potter was a smart boy…or rather man, at the age of 20. He lived alone at the familiar address of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. Alone. He was a man now, tall, muscular, eyes the shade of emeralds, a smile that would make your heart melt.  His body, well it definitely did turn out for the better. Indeed, those long practices at Qudditch did pay off when Harry was on the school team, but enough about that. We're talking three years later. Three. Very. Long. Years. After Hogwarts, though, Harry decided on becoming an Auror. What he didn't know was how much life and dedication was meant for this job. So for three years, Harry had been working his rump off, coming home in the wee hours, and barely getting any sleep. Talking to no one in particular, but himself, since he did live alone.

Sometimes though, Hedwig would be around to hear of Harry mourning about the love of his life, but lately, at the mention of her name, she would take flight and wouldn't return for days at a time. That certain girl, whom Harry would think about often, had very bushy brown hair, eyes the shade of chocolate, and a smile that would take Harry's breath away.

At night, he would lie in his bed and think a lot about her. His mind would say to move on and forget about her. His heart would tell him not to forget her, but to run to her, tell her how he felt. He was at the point where he couldn't take it anymore. He would have fantasies often about running to her house and spilling his heart out to her, but again, there was always that one thing, that one lingering thought on his mind that told him to never run up to her and scream "I LOVE YOU!!" and that was rejection… Damn you!

Yes, Harry Potter was scared. Indeed scared of her reaction if he had told her on that one particular day back at Hogwarts. In fact, that was the very last time he saw her beautiful face smiling back at him. The girl, who is, I'm sure you've guessed by now, was none other then Hermione Granger. Hermione. His Hermione.  She has such a beautiful name. How he missed her so much. How he can remember every little detail from that exact afternoon. With her in mind the memories soon came swimming back to him. If was as if it was yesterday.

Flashback: Last day at Hogwarts…

"When will we see you again?" Hermione and Ron said in unison. "Soon enough I assure you." Harry said sounded gloomy. "I'll really miss you two," he continued. It was the afternoon after graduation. Harry was packing up to leave for London. He was to live in Sirius's old house while training to be an Auror. He didn't know when he'd see his two best and only friends again. The reason for why he'd rarely see his friends was because of his availability at home. Harry was to travel the world through his training, and was only allowed to come home on holiday vacation, which was a rare treat.  "Harry, are you sure you really want to do this?" Hermione said sounding on the verge of tears. "Yes, I'm sure. You know that Mione." Harry stated. God she loved how he called her Mione. He gently brushed the side of cheek with his hand. "I know, but you don't know how long the training is, and when you'll be through with all of this, and." She trailed off. Harry just looked into her eyes. "I'll be back before you know it." Harry simply said. He could feel the lump in his throat start to build. He wasn't going to cry. Not in front of her. "I can't believe you're really doing this mate." Ron said sadly. There was a long moments silence until Hermione spoke up. "I'll miss you Harry." was all she said. With that, Harry got the nerve to hug her tightly and kissed her on the forehead. How he wished he could stay with her forever. How he wanted to hold her at night. How he wanted to wake up to her every single morning, 365 days of the year. He could go on and on about her, but all he said was,  "I won't be too long, I promise." And with that he disapparated with a simple pop.

Present…

Sometimes Harry often thought that he had made a mistake, leaving his Mione. That's right his Mione. But now there was nothing to do but wait. Wait for all hell to be over with. Wait for the training to get through. Wait for her, and yet he had been waiting. Three years to be exact. We've heard this before. Harry did promise Hermione one thing though, that he would return to her. She'd think him of a prat, an idiot for that matter if he showed up randomly tomorrow at her house. That is if she was still living with her parents.  Ron though, had himself a flat last Harry heard. The flat Ron shared with was with none other then Lavender Brown. A fellow Gryffindor at Hogwarts. Harry could recall Ron writing him through owl, telling him that he'd found the girl of his dreams. True, Harry was happy for Ron and all, but he himself wanted to settle down. You know, eventually. But his long days in training kept him very much occupied. Harry's only friend at the moment was his pet owl, Hedwig. Hedwig was out for the evening though, probably off hunting, so he really was truly alone. Maybe I shouldn't have done this. He thought. Don't be such a prat Harry; of course you did the right thing!  He lay down on his bed and argued with his brain. Which got to be an annoyance. Looking up at the clock told him that it was 3am. Maybe I could write to her. He thought about that for a second, but at that precise moment Hedwig floated in. She gave him a friendly hoot and entered her cage. Maybe I will tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day right?

The next morning Harry awoke with a horrible headache. Probably from lack of sleep or too much thinking. He'd been getting these lately. You know, those really really bad headaches in the morning. How he hated them. Damn her, I'd be perfectly fine if I wasn't so madly in love with her! He thought to himself. Here he goes again, thinking of her once more. He did persuade himself in writing her in the morning. So, after a long, might I add very long shower, he got dressed and searched for some parchment and quill. He felt foolish. What the hell was he to write after three years. Maybe he'll ask her out to lunch? That sounded logical. In conclusion to this question his final letter came out like this.

Dear Hermione,

Hi, it's Harry. You're probably wondering why I'd be writing to you after such a long period of time, I know, I'm sorry. Things have been really hectic here. I haven't had any time for myself, but with the holidays coming around, I've had the pleasure in getting some vacation time. I've been home for the past week and a half since Christmas is right around the corner. I know I've been a prat lately. I know you're probably mad at me, but please Hermione would you do me a favor in going out to lunch with me? I know I haven't been the best friend lately, but would you just hear me out? Please? There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while… Write back with your response as soon as possible. If you don't write back within the next couple of weeks, I'll understand. If you can come though, meet me in front of the three broomsticks by early sunset on Saturday…

Love Always,

Harry

There he was done, now all he needed was Hedwig. Harry didn't need to look far because she was sitting in her cage, munching on something dead. Harry didn't need to know what, but simply asked her gently to please bring this to Hermione as soon as possible. Hedwig replied with a simple hoot and flew through the window, flying to wherever his Hermione was at the moment.