Chapter 1
Harry splashed cold water on his face and stared at the blurry reflection in the enchanted no mist mirror. The prefect's bathroom was full of warm steam and the bubbles he had put in the bath were popping against each other. He had come away from the hubbub of the common room to contemplate what to do about his romantic, or lack of, romantic situation.
Harry had always known. There had always been something; a little frisson of static when they touched, that feeling of his heart beating out of his chest when they were closer to each other than usual. As usual, as he had for seven years, Harry had kept his feelings to himself, but now as they were starting a new chapter, Harry knew it was make or break time.
With a flick of his wand, Harry cast away the bubbles, steam and humidity from the bathroom and began to dress. Glancing at himself in the mirror, he shook his head with frustration, still not having made up his mind what to do. He ran his hand through his messy hair and shrugged as he left the bathroom to head back to the common room and straight to bed.
At least that's was his plan. Hermione and Ginny on the other hand had other ideas.
'Harry!' Hermione called after him as he rounded the corridor and walked a little faster hoping to evade her.
'HARRY POTTER! Don't you pretend you can't hear her!' shouted Ginny with the same high pitched mothering tone Molly Weasley used when giving out to her family. Harry stopped and grimaced, knowing that he would never get his chance of an early night contemplating his woes now.
'Yes Ginny! Hermione.' He nodded at them in turn, not trying to hide his displeasure at being caught. 'What can I do for you?' Harry leaned against the wall and waited for their response.
'Harry! Where have you been? You know it's our last few days in Hogwarts before we leave! We though that you'd at least show your face at the last DA meeting of the year Even Ronald didn't show up!' Hermione ranted at him but she could see that he was genuinely disappointed to have missed it.
'Hermione, Ginny I really am sorry. It completely slipped my mind. I really did intend to go, I wanted to hand over the baton to Ginny. I was hoping that it'd continue as an extracurricular. Even spoke to McGonagall about it last week.' He looked earnestly at the two women in front of him and they softened immediately.
'Don't worry about it Harry, if Professor McGonagall is on board, I'm sure she will let you come back next year and host the next meeting letting everyone know I'm in charge now!' Ginny laughed and linked arms with Harry and Hermione.
'Come on, let's get you to bed! Big day tomorrow, handing over Quidditch captain to me too Harry! Can't have you missing that!' Ginny punched Harry in the bicep and climbed in though the entrance into the Gryffindor common room and Hermione couldn't help but laugh.
When Ginny had disappeared, Hermione took Harry's hand and looked at him with a softness he knew only too well from her having spent so much time just the two of them when they were hunting for Horcruxes.
'Harry, I know something is bothering you, I know you're worried about moving on from here. Hogwarts is the only real home you've ever known but you will be OK when you leave.' Her eyes began to well up and the conversation he was hoping to avoid with Hermione had started.
'You and Ron will be off being Aurors and I'll work for the Ministry, but I won't see you every day. I don't know if I can not see the two of you every day anymore. After all we've been through together, the three of us. I need you both.' Hermione pulled Harry into a hug and a small sob escaped her. 'I'm scared .' she whispered into his chest and he rested his chin on her head.
'Me too, Hermione.' Harry hugged her tight, took a deep breath and knew then and there exactly what he had to do.
They stood for a minute whilst Hermione dried her tears and Harry steeled himself for what was to come next.
'We will always be there for each other Hermione. You, me and Ron, we're like the Deathly Hollows …' Hermione smiled and nodded, finishing his sentence for him.
'Pretty useful individually but a force to be reckoned with when we are together?' she laughed.
'Yeah Hermione, something like that!' he draped his arm over her shoulder, gave the Fat Lady the password and they entered the common room laughing.
Harry made small talk with Seamus and Neville about how their plans after Hogwarts were developing. Neville planned to travel and research Herbology and Seamus had plans to set up with George Weasley making fireworks given that he had a special talent in pyrotechnics. Arry learned both Seamus and Neville intended to watch a meteor shower with Firenze the centaur in the Forbidden Forest that night and delighted in not having to listen to Seamus's snoring or Neville's sleep talking.
Relieved for the peace and quiet of an early night, Harry scanned the common room looking for Ron but couldn't see him. He bid his friends goodnight climbed the staircase to the dorm wondering where Ron could be.
Yawning loudly as he entered the dorm, Harry undressed to his boxers, kicked his shoes under the bed and flopped face down and gracelessly onto his pillow.
Rolling over and resting his head in his hands, Harry allowed himself to daydream about the love he felt, about how it would go if the conversation he was dreading just then went well. He bit his bottom lip and groaned softly and flexed his hips at the thought of their lips meeting and their fingers intertwined.
Just as he lifted his wand to enchant the curtains to close around his bed, Ron burst into the dorm and threw himself onto his bed fully clothed. Harry sat up on his elbows and opened his mouth to say something smart when Ron grumbled, 'Don't mate. Just don't.'
'Come on Ron, at least get undressed.' Harry climbed off his bed and pulled Ron's shoes off one by one placing them on the trunk at the bottom of the bed. Ron groaned loudly and rolled over pulling off his jumper and t-shirt.
'I am not prepared for this being a grown up shit at all Harry. Mum sent me an owl today with a list of things she's found for us to use at the new house. "Just so you don't buy new!"' He imitated his mother's voice and threw a scrunched up letter at Harry with Mrs Weasley's writing on it. Harry scanned the list and couldn't see the harm in any of the items she had gathered until he came to the third from the bottom.
'Er, Ron what's a 'Safe Things Box'?' he looked up at Ron, who was now sat on his bed in his boxers surrounded by his dirty clothes. Ron shrugged and shook his head.
'I've no idea mate! I don't even know why she's bothering! It's not like we couldn't fend for ourselves when we went hunting for Horcruxes! I mean, yeah we smelled a bit and if Hermione hadn't cooked we probably would have lost more weight but come on! I'm telling you now Harry, Mum will be over all the time! Cleaning and nosing and still being in my business!' He stomped over to the window and opened it wide.
'At least we won't have to buy a sieve for all the baking we intend to do!' said Harry cheerily as he sat down on Ron's bed and tossed the letter on the cabinet. 'It'll be fine Ron, I could be moving in to the house in Godric's Hollow on my own. I'm glad I'll have company and you know your Mum means well. Plus I don't think this is what's really eating you up.'
Ron turned and saw Harry looking at him expectantly and smiled to himself. Closing the gap between him and his bed he ran his fingers through his hair and laid down behind Harry.
'Big changes mate. Responsibilities. Plus as usual you're footing the bill. It's hard to take.' He rested his head on his hand and scratched his chest.
'If you weren't such a crap cook you'd be on dinner duty for the first year Ron, instead you're on dishes and making sure we don't kill the plants.' Harry shoved Ron so he rolled back onto his back. 'Ron, the house is something that I had to do, I had to rebuild the home I never had with my parents and I'm so glad I don't have to live in it alone. We will earn the same as Aurors, you won't know what to do with the money you make, enjoy it! Treat your mother! Buy George and Seamus's new brand of fireworks and scare the life out of everyone if you want. Stop moping about the fact that I've rebuilt a house. It is what it is.'
Ron looked at his friend and smiled. 'Thanks mate'.
Harry stood and walked over to his own bed and laid down before asking, 'Ron, you do realise that on more than one occasion we saved the wizarding world and fought the greatest dark wizard ever known and we started this when we were eleven?'
Ron leant up again and rolled his eyes. 'Yes Harry I get it, we are going to be fine. Shut up and let me go to sleep.'
'No you pillock, you've just complained about responsibilities. What the hell do you think we have had on our shoulders for the past 7 years?' Harry threw a Rook from the Wizard Chess set beside him at Ron's head. Ron dodged it expertly and launched himself onto the floor to dodge another one and crawled across the floor to pull Harry down with him and began beating him with his shoe.
Ron shouted light-heartedly, 'You think you're so smart Harry! Think I'll start calling you Hermione.' The two of them laughed and detangled themselves from each other and climbed back into their own beds.
'Night Harry', Ron yawned and he started to snore almost instantly.
Harry lay in his bed and mused over how he and Ron could still get on the way they did when they were only eleven and smiled to himself. 'Right Potter, this is it. Tomorrow is the day. No matter how scary, no matter how nervous you are, no matter how much you think that it could be a mistake; tomorrow is the day you tell Ron just how you feel for him. It's now or never.'