Author's Note: I haven't done anything Harmony related in a while, and my roleplays with them are sluggish. So there's my reason. Anyway, hope you all enjoy.
Title: This Doesn't Have to end in Tragedy.
Summary: In an AU setting, Ginny died in Year Two down in the Chamber of Secrets (not really named that well if you ask me) and Ron and Harry's friendship shattered in Year Four and could not be repaired which leaves Harry and Hermione to deal with the trials of the upcoming war and the loss of Harry's Godfather. A series of interactions, one for each year in school and then something extra: How Harry and Hermione lost everything they cared about and how they found something new in each other.
Warnings: None to give really...
Pairing: Harry and Hermione of course.
This Doesn't Have to end in Tragedy.
It was the night Harry, Ron, and Hermione had agreed to go down and confront He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named that Harry pulled Hermione Granger aside in the dark halls of Hogwarts that they first felt something. A something neither of them were aware of at the moment. Harry pressed Hermione back against the cold stone while they were waiting for Ron. The young wizard's breath was soft and uneven. He was clearly uneasy about the endeavor laid out for them and he met Hermione's eyes and finally calmed down. "You don't have to do this you know, this has nothing to do with you, Hermione." Harry said quietly. Here he had friends and the warm memories of Quidditch, it was more than he could ever ask for. He didn't want to go back home now. And so if his crazy idea, his crazy past endangered anyone, he would never forgive himself. Even for an eleven year old, Harry knew what was right and what was wrong. And dragging a smart pretty witch into his dangerous trouble was very wrong.
Very wrong indeed.
"I'm going with you." Hermione insisted and put her hands on his shoulders, giving a firm squeeze. "I'm already involved and that's okay with me." She carried on. "I'm going to see this through Harry Potter, there's nothing you can do or say to stop me." She smiled. "We're doing this together." And it was with her confidence to boldly break more school rules that Harry stepped away from the shadows and back into the dim light provided by the candles. The trio was complete when Ron hurried out of the bathroom and they returned back under the safety of the Invisibility Cloak, hurrying to go soothe Fluffy.
After everything they had been through, after the suffering and loss of a life, Harry Potter couldn't look at himself in the mirror. How could he? He had fought so hard, done so much and yet Ginny was dead. A girl was dead and it was all his fault. He didn't understand anything. While everyone was in the Great Hall, eating one of the last dinners of the year, Harry Potter was sulking in the bathroom, his only company was Moaning Myrtle. The boy was dressed in his robes and his outer appearance would suggest nothing was eating him away. But inside he felt torn up and just so lost. It was footsteps that brought Harry out of his daze, he looked up from where he was, slouched against the wall facing the entry to the chamber. He didn't have to look up to know who was standing in front of him with their polished petite shoes. "I'm not in the mood Hermione." He said quietly.
"I know." She said and knelt down beside him. She had just been cured less than a day ago and was still feeling a little weak but the witch had insisted on finding Harry. She had even skipped catching up on school work to go and find him. Hermione looked at the pale cut up bruised face of her friend. Reaching forward, she brushed a finger along his cheek as if to wipe out a tear, but there was nothing there.
"I'm not crying."
"I know." Hermione repeated and retracted her finger. "I wish you were though." She found herself say before she could explain. "I mean, you've been through so much and I just think if you let it out-"
"Ginny, has been through so much! I have done nothing!" His outburst caused Hermione to back away ever so slightly before slowly leaning back in toward Harry's personal space. She wished he would look at her, do something. Instead he just seemed like a lifeless doll slouched over without any sign of a beating heart inside of him and it broke hers terribly. "She's died because..."
"She's dead because You-Know-Who got to her." Hermione insisted and put a hand on his arm and tried to get him to look at her but she knew she would be looking into ghost eyes. "You did so much, we all did." She said, her voice rising as she spoke. "Don't say such things, Harry. Don't blame yourself." She found her own powerful voice slowly starting to crack. The overwhelming notion that Harry could have died was too much for the young witch to bear. "Harry, please don't do this to yourself..." She lowered her head, missing Harry raise his own to finally turn to look at her.
"It could have been you." He muttered and put a hand on the weak hand clutching his arm. This caused Hermione to look up and finally meet his watery gaze. "It could have been you or it could have been Ron and I-" He was cut off by Hermione throwing her arms around him, knowing him sideways onto his back. He looked up at her and she reached down and brushed away the newly formed tears. And it was in that moment, that Harry felt alive again, to have another heart against his own warm up his own bitter blood and make him breathe again.
When she had been given her Time Turner, it was a great honor for Hermione Granger and yet it would also be a burden to bear. She couldn't tell her two best friends about it and she had to be very careful when using it. During the year she had been careful about going to class and class alone and yet it was after a fight within the Golden Trio, that Hermione had dashed off to use her Time Turner to go back and change things. It was in her upset rage that made her choose to do so. Having secured an empty classroom, she wiped her eyes and slipped out the golden device and was about to turn it until she heard knocking. She ducked behind a desk and quickly turned the device around to account for the last two hours. She was taken back and she quickly got out from her hiding spot. Luckily for her, she had picked a classroom which didn't have anyone in it two hours ago, save for Mrs. Norris.
Walking along, she retraced her steps and found who she was looking for: Harry Potter. She walked over and pulled him over to a small hallway. "Harry, I want you to know that I'm sorry."
"Hermione, what are you talking about?"
"Harry, I'm so sorry. I need to fix this. I don't want any of us to fight." She quickly said, still fueled on her high emotions to properly calm down and actually think her actions through. It seemed she was acting like Ronald more and more. "I said something I shouldn't have...we all said things we shouldn't have and we can't have that fight Harry, we can't." She then pulled him further down the hall, intent on holding Harry back a while. "This is important to listen to me. At dinner tonight Ron's going to make a joke and then it's going to get out of hand and-"
"Hermione, what's going on?" Harry was too confused to really follow. Hermione was never this out of it.
"I...I've been given this," She flashed her Time Turner. "I've been using this to get to all of my classes this year." She explained. "I'm only supposed to use this for school related things and...and if anyone knows about this, this incident I'm trying to fix, well..." She didn't want to go there and just sighed. "This let's me go back in time and I realize you might think it's better to just fix the issue that comes up in two hours but it's not. It's not Harry and I'm so sorry." Hermione said frantically. "So please...please for the sake of our friendship, change the topic to anything. Something like Quidditch or something..."
"Okay okay Hermione." Harry said, still a bit lost but he knew he had to calm her down and just go with it. She knew what she was doing, usually. "I promise we'll stay friends." He smiled. She slowly returned the gesture and looked over her shoulder. "Now you have to get to Potions and I have to go, thank you Harry." And with that, the Hermione from the future scurried off, knowing she would be the only one to remember the harsh words slung from her, Ron and Harry. And hopefully this odd incident would be forgotten to Harry. Or maybe it would be their own little secret.
Ron and Harry were no longer speaking.
Hermione and Ron were no longer speaking.
And the Yule Ball had been the final nail in their coffin. The Golden Trio was no more. Hermione, Harry and Ron all got into such a heated argument that night that three Professors had to break it up. They all were given separate detentions and a whopping 300 points were taken from their House. On their way back to the Common Room, Harry stopped Hermione to let Ron go ahead of them. Hermione turned her head back to Harry, whom she had fearlessly defended against Ron's tirade. Ron still believed Harry put his name in the Goblet, Ron still blamed Harry for Ginny's death and Ron accused Harry of stealing Hermione away. Harry accused Ron of being a bad friend. Hermione accused Ron of being irrational, jealous and idiotic. And Harry had accused Ron of being selfish and dim witted. And yet no one had touched upon the idea Ron tossed out into the open, that Harry had supposedly stolen Hermione away.
Away from who?
Hermione wasn't with Ron or Harry.
"I can't believe him." Hermione grumbled. "He ruins everything. He can't look past himself to see you're in danger."
"He still blames me..." Harry said quietly, unable to shake the words Ron yelled at him. That it was his fault his baby sister was gone. Hermione hugged Harry and propped her chin on his shoulder. "I know it's not my fault but I still could have done something...and now I'm here and he probably couldn't be happier."
"No Harry. Don't think that." Hermione said and pulled away. "He's just jealous that you always get the attention but he doesn't see that most of it isn't good."
"You've stuck by me, 'Mione." Harry smiled and took her hand. "I wish he was as great as you."
"He's not." She said flatly, as if it were so obvious. This caused them to both chuckle and she laced her fingers with his own. "You know with all that fighting we barely got to dance." She said. Harry perked up and put his hand on her waist and held up their hands together and began to lead Hermione in the waltz they had been shown how to do. It felt so natural with her, their movements effortlessly in tune with one another.
"This could be my last dance with a pretty girl, I'm glad it's you..." He confessed.
"Don't say that."
"Say what? I think you're pretty."
"This isn't going to be your last dance with me, Harry Potter." She smiled as they moved along the empty hallway.
Another one gone because of him.
Harry spent the first three days without Sirius holed up in his room at Grimmauld Place. He didn't speak to anyone, he didn't eat anything and he didn't think of anyone except Sirius and the plans they had made. All the hope which had welled up inside of his heart was now gone, evaporated. Harry had lost his only real family, the only person to care about him. He had the door locked but knew anyone on the outside could open it easily. And yet no one did for the first 72 hours, everyone respected his need for space but it was on the morning of the fourth day that Hermione entered the room with a tray of food that Harry finally moved from his position on the cold floor.
A blanket was around him and he looked rather sleep deprived. "Harry, you need to eat something." Was the first thing she said as she set the tray down on the bed he was leaning against. She was about to pull the drapes away to let in some light when she saw Harry wince in anticipation so she just pulled them slightly and left most of the room alone in darkness. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked him, moving back to sit on the bed next to the tray she had made. Since Ronald was no longer their friend, Molly didn't flutter around anymore. Hermione was left to take care of Harry. Lupin and Tonks showed up every so often but it had just been Hermione who had stayed back to tend to her friend. "You really should."
"Why should I talk about it? What can I even say? I lost him, Hermione."
"In physicality, yes you did but not spiritually." She tried to explain. "Right now you feel he's left you but like your mother and father, part of him still rests within you." Hermione explained and leaned forward to put a hand on the top of his head. "You have lost contact with him but if you think about it, he's not gone." That was all she could say before she got up and left him alone to clean himself up and eat. Before she closed the door behind her, she looked back and smiled. "Cheer up Harry, Sirius would say that he wouldn't want you adding to this house's depressing value." With that, the door shut and Harry's lips cracked a bit of a fond smile as he turned to see what his stomach could handle.
And what his heart could handle.
It was at one of Slughorn's Gatsby-like parties that Harry saw Hermione eyeing Ron and his date from across the room. After the big fight two years ago, Harry knew Hermione still harbored something for the redhead. He hoped it was just hate and not the opposite. He handed her a glass of punch and took her head, leading her off to be alone. He sipped his drink and the girl did the same. "This is probably the most normal year we've had since we first met." Hermione commented.
"Yeah, sorry about that." Harry laughed.
"No, it's okay. The danger has been...more than I could have imagined but...I'm still fine with it." She replied and set her cup down on one of the tables by them. "I mean, you've changed my life but I assure you, it's for the better. I hope you can say the same." She smiled.
"I can." Harry grinned and stepped closer and it was in that moment that the two teens found a sense of normalcy. A sense that the world might not end, that war might not kill them, that they could be two ordinary muggles someplace, at another party in London. His green eyes locked with her soft toned ones and before either could lean in, Neville hurried in past them mumbling something about needing to pee. Hermione broke away and said she had to go, as it was getting late. And that was one of the few nights that Harry and Hermione didn't walk back to the Common Room together.
Of all the nights he would have liked to be alone with her.
They had been traveling so far, for so long.
Harry forgot what it was like to live in a world that wasn't out to get him. And yet through the troubling times, Hermione was by his side as they hid and snuck around. They camped out in remote locations while hunting down the pesky made Horcruxes. The two got along well and rarely fought. They rarely disagreed about where to go. It just seemed like they were in a perfect harmony with one another that the journey wasn't as hard as it could be. Ron ended up siding with Draco but that was all the two knew about him. They didn't care though. Harry had come to terms that not everyone could be saved, or should be saved. The important one to protect was always by his side.
Most nights the two would dance to the static music on the radio and when there wasn't any, they would still dance like in their fourth year. Harry felt so peaceful with Hermione that the war no longer kept him up at night, he was focused and determined. Hermione felt so safe with Harry that she didn't have to worry about being attacked or something happening to them, she was happy and carefree. And together they ended up going back to Hogwarts to lead everyone to the final battle.
"We can do this." Harry told Hermione as he prepared to go into the forest as summoned.
"We will do this, we will win." Hermione nodded, their expressions chiseled from the same sturdy rock of unmovable determination and understanding. And together, the two headed down into the forest, both ready to put and end to all the hurt.
After the war, Hermione and Harry moved into Grimmuald Place, her parents were allowed to stay with them and they were finally able to begin their life together. A life which didn't include wars or horcruxes or anything of that sort. Hermione and Harry both became teachers in the muggle world and in the wizarding world. And every night Harry would end the day by dancing with his beautiful woman and kissing her, thankful that the war had granted him one prize and that was the companion and love of someone who he would never lose.