A/N: Thank you for deciding to read my story. I do not own any characters associated with Harry Potter; they would all belong to JKR! Please read and review.
NOTE: It follows the deathly hallows but disregards the Epilogue.
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Time & Tide waits for no one
SUMMARY:
Harry Potter had just defeated Lord Voldemort & the magical world was finally at peace. But Hermione's life had started to become more confusing than ever
"I have always wondered about love but I never ever fathomed that I would fall for my best friend"-Hermione Granger
Chapter 1: The end of the war
Life is pretty confusing at times, thought Hermione Granger as she walked away from the great hall after the final battle at Hogwarts. Harry Potter had just defeated Lord Voldemort & the magical world was finally at peace.
The sixth year at Hogwarts had strained their friendship because of the relationship between Harry and Ginny & the tension between her & Ron, but that didn't mean she cared less about Harry. Of course, she would rather have Harry with Ginny rather than any stupid girl like Cho who never understood their friendship. Moreover she really liked Ginny and considered her as the sister she never had.
When Voldemort announced that he had killed Harry, a part of her died. She still couldn't believe she had almost lost Harry. He was always her best friend, the best friend who stood by her side in times of need. Ron was her best friend too. But they rowed like enemies. After their kiss in the Room of Requirement…maybe they will become more.
After the demise of Lord Voldemort she had joined the Weasleys in their grief. They had lost Fred and Molly wanted all the family members to be together. Ginny and Ron were in tears and George and Harry were nowhere to be seen.
She knew Harry was sad. He had lost Lupin who was his last remaining connection to his father. She also knew that he was somewhere outside on the school grounds trying to relieve his pain. She slowly disengaged from the group in order to go outside and search for Harry. As she suspected, he was sitting beside Dumbledore's tomb looking at the half moon which was faintly visible over the horizon.
She put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hermione what are you doing down here? You should be in the castle with Ron." Said Harry without turning back to look at her face.
"I could say the same for you Harry."
"Yeah, I know" and he became quiet.
"Harry I know you lost Professor Lupin …"
"Hermione I don't want to talk about it."
"Don't shut your friends out Harry. Don't shut me out…I can't bear to see you like this."
"WHAT SHOULD I SAY HERMIONE? I AM SORRY THAT HE DIED OR PERHAPS IT WAS A GOOD THING BECAUSE HE IS NOW FINALLY FREE OF THE CURSE THAT TORTURED HIM THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE."
"Harry I didn't mean that…."
"I know Hermione but you don't know what it is like to loose the people whom you love during every stage of your life."
"I know what it is like to loose the people I love. Just because I never mentioned my family affairs with you and Ron doesn't mean that I had a really good life."
"I….I am sorry Hermione. I shouldn't have shouted at you. I feel really guilty that I wasn't as close to Lupin as I was with Sirius."
"Harry don't you dare blame yourself. You always had the burden of saving the world on your shoulders."
"Yeah, my saving people thing…."
"Harry, Professor Lupin is happy wherever he is. He is now with his friends. At least he got to marry Tonks and live his life a little bit. Also, he had not left you alone. He left you a special someone to remember him by…Teddy. The Marauder blood still lives in both of you. "
"I know Hermione. I am happy that Teddy is alive, But I still feel guilty that if I had killed Voldemort a bit earlier, then, Remus and Tonks would have been alive and Teddy could have grown in a comfortable environment with his parents."
"Harry, you are a human being. You did all you could. Think about the countless lives you have saved in the near future. If you haven't defeated Voldemort today, he would have killed even more people. If you need more proof, look at me. If it weren't for you and Ron, I would have died in my first year. Harry, don't dwell on bad things, think about the good things you did for the countless people around you. "
"Hermione you still don't know the half of it. Snape…."
"I know that you are really confused about him. He loved your mother, Harry. To love or to be loved is never a bad thing."
"I understand that Hermione. I am not ashamed of the fact that Snape loved my mother. I find it impossible to believe that the person I hated second after Voldemort was my mother's best friend."
"Everything in life works in the form of a cycle. One action leads to a chain of events. If you erase a particular action in the past, then the events following it will be affected. If your mother and Professor Snape weren't best friends, he would never have learned to love her. Snape's love for your mother not only saved your life but led to the ultimate demise of Voldemort."
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The day of the funeral:
Hermione's POV:
It was the day of the funeral. The sky was quite cloudy as if it was about to rain. The atmosphere mirrored the grief of our hearts. But a ray of sunshine could be seen amidst all this gloom. It made me think that life may be sorrowful at present but there was still some hope for the future. All was not lost. Most of us are alive and we have our whole life ahead of us. Maybe…it held some happiness for me in the near future.
I was standing their apart from the Weasley's so that I wouldn't be an intruder in their grief. I knew the Weasley's considered me as a part of their family, but every family needs some 'alone' time during such situations.
Mr. and Mrs.Weasley were in tears. My heart still grieves for them. Bill was being comforted by Fleur. Ron, Percy, Charlie and George were huddled together. They were trying to comfort George whose grief knew no bounds. He had lost his one constant companion in life. There was no more Fred. Even George with his joking mannerisms wouldn't be his usual self without him because there was no George without Fred. Suddenly it felt as if our whole life had become dull.
Harry was still grieving from the death of Fred, Professor Lupin and Professor Snape. But after Yesterday's talk, Harry had tried to forget his grief by offering comfort to Ginny and Mrs. Tonks. Mr. Tonks had just taken a wailing Teddy from her arms but wasn't successful in calming him down.
"Mr. Tonks, please give Teddy to me. I will try to calm him down."
"Thank you Miss. Granger" he said after handling the baby to her.
She slowly took Teddy in her arms and walked towards the backyard, hushing him gently as she went. The baby astonishingly stopped crying and went asleep in her arms. She was always amazing with babies. She was about to sit on the shade of a nearby tree when she heard Ron's voice behind her.
"Hermione…."
They sat by the tree. Both of them were silent for sometime.
When she saw Ron's saddened yet brave face, she couldn't bear the silence any more and said" Ron, don't u dare try to put that false facade of bravery in front of me. I am your friend. I know you too well to believe you stupid little act. I know that you are hurting. Yesterday, I asked Harry to not shut me out of his life and I am asking the same thing from you."
"I know Hermione and I am sorry. Actually, I should say sorry to Harry for all the horrible things I have done to him. I should have trusted him explicitly during our fourth year and during the horcrux hunt."
"Ron mistakes happen to each and every person. A person's greatness lies in understanding his mistakes and trying to avoid the same in the future."
"I don't know how Harry coped with all this loss. He had lost all the people he loved…..his parents, Sirius, Dumbledore and Lupin. Yet he tried to be strong during all these times and finally vanquished Voldemort."
"Ron, I don't know how he did it. Harry is an incredibly courageous and loyal friend. There is no one like Harry in this whole world. He would put his very life in front of the crossfire to save the people he loves. He is truly precious…."
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END NOTES:
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