Harry and I sat at the kitchen table of the flat that Hermione and Ginny shared. I had not expected them to welcome us home with open arms but I at least expected something other than silence and a cup of tea. Hermione wasn't even home and Ginny didn't know when she would return.
Harry and I had not seen them in over five years. We thought it was for the best. The summer before our seventh year, all of us were holed up at Grimmald Place for safety and to research. After Hermione discovered a breakthrough on how to identify and destroy the horcruxes, Harry and I concocted our plan. Harry loved Ginny and I loved Hermione; we were determined to keep them safe so we took off on our own.
The night before we left, I confessed to Hermione my feelings and was stunned to find that she returned them. I was terrible to her; after confessing my feelings, I snuck into her room and stole her research in the middle of the night, then Harry and I left. I cowardly wrote her a note telling her that I loved her, not to follow us and to move on with her life. I admit it was a cruel way to end it. It took Harry and me close to five years to find and destroy the horcruxes but we finally succeeded and defeated Voldemort.
That was several months ago and the Ministry had been debriefing us in an undisclosed location until now. After seeing my parents, Harry and I knew that we needed to find Ginny and Hermione. Dad told us where to find them but warned us not to expect a warm welcome. I thought he was overreacting until I saw Ginny's face when she opened the door of their flat. At first, there was a hint of relief in her expression followed by anger and a quick slap across both our faces. Now we sit at the kitchen table in silence, well after one in the morning, waiting for Hermione to return.
Ginny stared into her tea, it was obvious she didn't know what to say but finally she spoke. "Mum has been planning a welcome home party since the victory, where have you two been."
Harry decided to answer her, "in Bristol for debriefing."
"Oh, I want you two to know that we didn't just sit here and wait for you two to finish Voldemort off; we all played a role in the war. It didn't go away when you two did. Hermione and I both risked our lives working for the Order." Every word she said dripped with anger and resentment.
"I'm glad you did," I spoke up, "we know we didn't do it on our own. Gin, you know we left to keep you, the family and Hermione safe."
"Well you did a bang up job. Hermione's parents were tortured and murdered. We lost Percy, Charlie and countless friends. Maybe if we had come along it wouldn't have taken you so bloody long."
I could tell the Harry felt the same shame and remorse that I did. We had only learned of the Grangers' and my brothers' deaths during the debriefing. It was something we were trying to prevent by going it alone and it was obviously unsuccessful.
"Where did Hermione go anyway?" Asked Harry trying to steer the conversation.
"A club with her muggle friends probably. It's Friday and she usually goes out after work."
"A club?" laughed Harry slightly, "are we talking about the same Hermione?"
"No, we aren't." She stated succinctly. "The Hermione you knew doesn't exist anymore. She died the night you left." Ginny finally made eye contact with me, making sure I felt the significance of her statement.
Suddenly, we heard the door to their flat open and what sounded like two people stumbling inside. Ginny closed her eyes and hung her head. She muttered great and left the kitchen followed closely my Harry and me.
"Hermione, we have guests." Ginny called before she reached the foyer area.
"What?" Asked an obviously impaired Hermione who was hanging onto a man I didn't recognize. Then she saw us, "You have got to be kidding me." She then turned to the man, "Stanley…"
"It's Sam." He said but all I could think was that she didn't even know this man.
"Sorry, Sam. It looks like we are going to have to call it a night. You have my number right."
He looked around the room, "sure babe, I'll call you." He opened the door and left leaving us all to stare at each other. Hermione looked more beautiful but she wore a short skirt and a tank top that didn't suit her.
"Let me get you a bit of potion then we can all talk." Ginny said to Hermione who followed her to the kitchen.
We stayed where we were and could hear them whispering. Things like I can't believe they're here and of all nights for you to bring a guy home were being muttered before they appeared and directed us to their living room.
The two of them plopped on the couch leaving us to stand and simultaneously said, "Well?"
Harry and I looked at each other and then launched into why we left and how sorry we were. We gave them a brief description of what we encountered and how we defeated Voldemort. They looked unimpressed and completely ticked off. When we were done I sat down in their chair and Harry leaned back against the wall, both of us waiting for a response.
"Sounds like you had a nice time." Mocked Hermione who rolled her eyes and looked at Ginny. "If that's all I'll go on to bed."
She started to get up but I yelled "Wait!" and Ginny held her back. "Tell us about what you have been doing."
"You're joking, right?" Smarted Hermione.
Ginny cut her off before she could go into a tirade. "Well, I work as a medi-nurse at St. Mungo's and Hermione works for the Department of Mysteries so she can't really tell you about her job. For the past five years we finished school then worked for the Order all while holding down steady jobs. Hermione's single and I've been dating Chris for almost three years and we got engaged four months ago. That's it in a nutshell."
Hermione just remained silent while Ginny did all the talking, I was getting the impression that she may never forgive us.
"Look," I said, "I know it's going to take a long time for you two to forgive us for what we did."
"You mean lying and telling someone you love them just so you can sleep with them, take their research and then leave in the middle of the night not to be seen for five years." Hermione saw the look Harry gave me; I had never told him that I slept with her. "Oh, did you not know what a classy guy he was? Don't worry it was nothing to write home about." She smirked then rolled her eyes and sank further into the couch.
"'Mione I'm sorry." I pleaded.
"Whatever, and don't call me that, I hate that nickname." She turned to Ginny, "I'm going to bed, see you in the morning." No one stopped her thing time as she left the room.
Harry and I looked at each other slightly dumbfounded. Ginny spoke up, "what did you expect? This was hardest on Hermione; you should have heard the rumors that surrounded her after you guys left. I know she's changed, but she had to in order to cope." She stood up and continued, "I'm tired and I want going to go to bed too. I'm sure I'll see you at the Burrow soon enough."
She showed us the door and we left. Once in the hall we apparated back to the Burrow. When we stepped into the living room we saw that dad had stayed up, looking over some newspaper clippings in some scrapbooks by a single candle.
"I told you two not to expect much. I can see by your expressions that it didn't exactly go as planned."
"No; I guess the idea of them waiting for us was pretty stupid." I nervously laughed.
"I saved some news clippings just in case you came back. I don't want you two to think that I'm unhappy that you are home and that you are safe; I couldn't be more proud of both of you. I just want you to know that life went on here without you and that your leaving had many consequences, many I'm sure you didn't intend."
My dad got up and went to bed after leaving the scrapbooks on the table. Harry and I walked over and each picked one up. There were articles speculating why we left and many questioning why we left Hermione behind. The articles first seemed to insinuate that she was pregnant and then months later they started on about how Harry and I didn't have confidence in someone muggle-born. Then the articles switched tactics and began to blame our leaving on Hermione and even went as far as accusing her of dark magic. It was all ridiculous lies and each story was more sensational than the next and I understood what Ginny said about Hermione having to change in order to cope with the press that seemed to hound her for most of her seventh year.
Harry handed me a particularly insane article about me and Lavender Brown. She had told the paper that I had broken up with her in order to protect her and that we had been deeply in love. Lavender went on to say that Hermione was insanely jealous of her and in love with me and that she was a constant distraction to our efforts. I couldn't help but laugh at her attention seeking article but felt horrible for Hermione who seemed to be at the center of gossip since our departure.
It appeared as the years went on the articles went from front page news to the gossip sections. Rita Skeeter seemed to enjoy dragging Hermione's character through the mud as she detailed her boyfriends and her late nights out on the town. Luckily the stories began to be few and far between until the end of the war when the speculation began again full force regarding our homecoming.
I slammed the book shut. A third book was filled with articles wondering where we were; investigations of sightings and different battles. There were notes beside some of them indicating that dad was following clues to determine our location and condition. I felt guilty and ashamed for how we left things and not getting word to my parents that we were okay.
"Well it's too late now mate, the deed is done." Said Harry in a defeated tone.
"I know. I can't believe all the trash about 'Mione, it seems that my family was the only one to defend her. I think it's safe to say she'll not forgive us anytime soon."
"What about me? Ginny's getting married." Harry said looking as though a rug had just been pulled out from under him. "I always thought I'd come back and we'd rekindle our relationship, but we were just kids when we went out you know. It's ridiculous to think that life wouldn't go on here without us."
"We knew what the consequences were; we just didn't want to believe that they could actually happen." I stood up and made for the steps. "I'm going to bed; my mind and my heart can't handle anymore of this tonight."