A/N: Written for the 2018 Harry Potter Cross Gen Fest. Many thanks to my two betas, gaeilgerua & dustnight88. Enjoy this pure bit of fluff!
Disclaimer: The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling, Scholastic and WB. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story.
Two Souls Healing
Hermione wasn't quite sure how it happened, but she knew that she loved Andromeda. It was like, one moment she just looked at Andromeda and knew. She knew that despite all the obstacles and challenges that they had faced, she loved her.
A few months after the war, Hermione ended up back in England, having failed to restore her parents' memories. Somehow, she ended up being drawn to Teddy. That sweet, innocent boy who had lost so much, gave her hope. She spent more and more time with him and Harry, and then slowly, him and Andromeda.
The two witches grew closer as they grieved together and healed. Andromeda made tea just how Hermione liked it, and she always listened to Hermione when she needed to cry. Hermione found out that Andromeda loved when she read aloud.
It was slow, but somehow, it happened. One summer evening, nearly a year after the end of the war, Hermione worked up the courage to kiss Andromeda.
And just like that, they fell together like two pieces of a puzzle.
"What are you thinking about?" Andromeda asked, interrupting Hermione's thoughts.
She turned and faced her lover. "Hmmm?" she asked, looking to Andromeda. She smiled when she saw Teddy making silly faces at his grandmother when he realised she wasn't looking.
"I can tell that you're lost in thoughts," Andromeda murmured. "You've got that look on your face."
Hermione blushed. "Just thinking about how lucky I am to have you."
Andromeda scoffed. "Oh, stop it," she murmured, though her cheeks were pink. She looked down at Teddy and made a face back at him. He giggled.
"Can I see him?"
Andromeda nodded. She put Teddy down and watched as he toddled over to Hermione. She picked him up, nuzzling him lovingly. Over the last six months, while she had grown closer with Andromeda, she had also grown closer to Teddy. She loved the little boy as if he were her own.
"The two of you make me happy," Andromeda said quietly. "It warms my heart to see you get along like this."
"I love him," Hermione answered honestly. "Just like I love you."
"I don't deserve your love."
"That's nonsense," Hermione told her, looking at her matter-of-factly. "We've already had this conversation, Andy, let's not have it again."
"I'm too old," Andromeda said, looking at Hermione. "I keep thinking one of these days you're going to come to your senses."
"And I keep thinking one of these days you'll stop sounding so crazy," Hermione teased back.
"Very well," she murmured. "If you insist."
"Of course I insist," Hermione answered. She got up, putting Teddy down onto his play mat before moving towards Andromeda. She sat down on the sofa next to her. "You were there for me when I had no one."
"You didn't have no one," Andromeda countered.
"We were the same," Hermione pointed out. "I've lost my parents, and you've lost Tonks and Ted. We've both lost two very important people to us, and while we still have those that love us and care for us, it isn't the same. You were able to help me through my pain, Andy, in ways that you don't even realise."
"I barely did anything," Andromeda protested.
"You did, and you didn't even know it. You were everything I didn't know I needed until I got to know you better."
Andromeda reached out and cupped Hermione's cheek. "I don't know what I did to deserve another chance at love, but I'm beyond grateful to have you."
Hermione smiled. "I feel the same, and I won't be changing my mind any time soon," she teased.
"I can't help the nerves," Andromeda said, shaking her head. She looked at Hermione thoughtfully. "I do have a question for you, though."
"What's that?" Hermione asked, looking at Andromeda closely. Suddenly, her lover was nervous, where she hadn't been moments before. Hermione could see it in her body language.
"So, we've been together for some timeā¦"
Hermione nodded.
Andromeda looked at her, fidgeting with her hands. "Would you like to move in with me?"
Eyes widened, Hermione was speechless. "You want me to move in? Live here with you and Teddy?"
Andromeda nodded. "I know it's a big decision, of course, so don't feel pressured to say yes. I don't want you to be uncomfortable with anything, or do anything you don't want to commit to."
Hermione considered it. She had been living with Harry and Ron at Grimmauld Place, but it wasn't quite a home. Harry and Ron were happy to be there, but Hermione couldn't shake the eerie silence or feelings that she got late at night in the old Black house.
"Andromeda, I would love to move in. Nothing would make me happier than living here with you and Teddy." Hermione smiled, reaching out and taking Andromeda's hands into her own. She squeezed them lightly. "Yes."
"Really?"
"Don't be daft, really," Hermione assured her. "You know I haven't been comfortable at Grimmauld Place. I'd love to move in."
"You can have your own room if you'd like."
"Don't be silly," Hermione replied. "I want to move in to be with you." She smiled mischievously. "I have no objections to sharing your bed."
Andromeda laughed. "Yes, well, that was one reason behind my thought process."
Hermione laughed also. "And what were the others?"
"Well, you do make the most delicious pancakes."
Hermione laughed even harder. "Andy, I'll make you pancakes every day of the week."
"Promise?" she asked, a teasing smile on the older woman's face.
Hermione nodded eagerly. "Nothing would make me happier than to make you and Teddy pancakes every day for the rest of my life."
Andromeda leant in and lightly kissed Hermione. She pulled away, smiling. "Nothing would make me happier, either."
Hermione kissed her back. "Love you, Andy."
"And I, you," Andromeda replied.
"Pancakes!" Teddy shouted, before giggling.
The two of them burst out laughing once more. Hermione grinned. "Looks like we'll be having pancakes for dinner."
"Pancakes, pancakes!" Teddy chanted, standing up.
Looking at Andromeda, Hermione knew that she wouldn't have it any other way.
