DISCLAIMER: The amazing world of Harry Potter sadly is not owned by me. It is owned by J.K. Rowling. (Who in case you are wondering rocks my socks!)
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Chapter 1: Living Without You
From the outside, she looked like the typical 22 year old woman. But, if you looked closer, you would see that she was anything but normal. She was after all Hermione. One–third of the famous Golden Trio, and the "brains behind it all."
And besides that, she had gone through an unusual amount of pain in her short lifetime. Physical? No. Emotional? Hell yes. Again, looking from the outside, she would come off as the typical post Voldemort witch, with her bubbly personality, "bright" and "lively" brown eyes, and always surrounded by her friends. However, if you once again take a closer look, you would see that Hermione's eyes had lost their brightness and liveliness long ago… and her personality, though still bubbly, was now somewhat forced.
Why, do you ask? Because, in Hermione's 22 years on this earth, she knew what it felt like to love and be loved back, knew how it felt to loose the one person that she loved more than anything else in the world, and she knew what it felt like to have to see that same person in a miniature version every single day.
Yes, Hermione certainly did seem to have been dealt a bad hand.
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Hermione was woken up by her son who jumped on the bed and screamed, "Wake up Mommy! It's a new day!" Hermione groggily opened her eyes. Two steely gray ones were staring back at her.
"Good morning Luke," she said as she wrapped her arms around the small boy.
"Do you know what time it is?" Luke asked her.
"Time to let Mommy get some sleep?" Hermione asked hopefully.
"No! Time to get up and make Luke yummies!" He patted her hair and giggled.
Hermione sighed and rolled over to get out of bed. "What do you want for breakfast today?"
"CHOCOLATE CHIPS!" he screeched.
Hermione laughed. Picking him up she said, "How about some pancakes?"
"Mmm! I like pannicakes! And CHOCOLATE CHIPS!"
Walking into the kitchen and placing Luke in a chair, she got out the ingredients for pancakes and began to mix it up. Glancing out the window, she thought, He is just like his father. He was always up before the sun too…
Knowing that tears would be coming shortly, Hermione pushed all thoughts out of her head and concentrated on getting the batter mixed and cooked. She was so intently concentrating that she didn't even notice Harry walking into the room until he tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hermione? Did you hear me?"
"Oh sorry Harry, what did you say?"
"I asked what you were making and if you wanted some coffee," Harry replied. He was looking at her worriedly.
Hermione replied, "Pancakes, and yes I would love some coffee."
He returned a moment later with a cup in his hand. As she took it from him, he asked quietly, "Are you alright Hermione?"
"Yes," she lied, turning away from him.
She could feel him watching her the entire time she made breakfast. It was making Hermione feel slightly uncomfortable. "I'm fine, Harry, really I am," she said as she placed a plate in front of Luke and Harry.
He only shrugged and picked up the paper. He always could tell when she was lying and Hermione hated him for that. Sighing, she sat down and bit into an apple.
It was quiet for awhile with the only sound being that of forks hitting plates and the pages of the paper rustling. Hermione stared out the window, watching the sun come up.
She just couldn't help herself. This after all was a special day. Well, used to be a special day anyway. Hermione always watched the sun rise whenever a day like this came along. It helped remind her of the best two years of her life. Back when her life made sense, back when she still felt whole.
Don't get me wrong, she loved Luke more than she could have thought humanly possible, but her heart felt like it was missing a chunk. And that chunk belonged with Draco Malfoy.
She was once again torn from her thoughts as Ginny walked into the room holding a screaming child. "Morning Hermione," she said loudly over the child's screaming.
"Morning Ginny," Hermione replied, "Having troubles with James this morning?"
Hermione's best friend looked at her and said, "He woke up and tried to bite my nose!"
She smiled, remembering Luke and the terrible twos. It had been a nightmare. Breakfast was no longer peaceful and quiet, but chaotic and ungodly loud. Luke, seeing that he had someone to impress (James), had started throwing his food at Harry, who tried to act annoyed but was really enjoying the little food fight.
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One hour and two very naughty boys later, Hermione and Ginny sat at the table sipping on coffee and tea. "How are you feeling today?" Hermione asked.
"A lot better, now that the morning sickness has finally stopped. How are you today?"
"About as well as can be expected. It's still really hard, you know? It's like everything I do reminds me of Draco."
Ginny nodded, looking at her cup.
"Today he would have been 23," Hermione said to no one in particular.
"Listen, Hermione. I've been thinking…"
"Yes?" she asked, knowing what Ginny was about to say.
"Well, I was thinking that um, don't you think it's about time that you start seeing new people? It's been over three years…"
As if she didn't know that. After all, it had been over three years since she was able to get a good night sleep, over three years since she had felt the touch of his lips on hers… Instead, she said, "I think you are probably right. I can't just mope around all the time. And Luke needs a father figure in his life."
The next day Hermione and Luke baked chocolate chip cookies. (She had finally given in to him… he was just too good at making those pouty faces.) She was in the middle of taking a cookie off the pan when she heard the question she was dreading.
"Momma, where's Daddy?" Luke asked. Hermione froze, spatula in midair, cookie teetering dangerously on the edge. She stared at him. She had always known this day would come sooner than later…
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A/N: How do you like it so far? Sorry for the cliffhanger! lol Leave me a review and tell me what you think, and remember constructive criticism is always welcome!
