"Stay"
A/N: It's been quite awhile since I last wrote a fan fiction so it's quite different this time around. The Epilogue is the only thing that I ignored when I wrote this, so everything that happens in the books up until then happened in my fic as well. Reviews are always welcome and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own any part of the Harry Potter series.
The doorbell chimed loudly through out the Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, but the old house-elf had gotten to the door faster than the messy raven-haired teenager had the chance.
Sitting back down in the seat he had vacated to answer the door, Harry Potter reached across the kitchen table for his bottle of Butterbeer. He absent mindedly sipped his drink and awaited Kreacher's return from (what he had assumed was) fetching the post.
Harry barely had the time to register a familiar voice making it's way down the corridor, before Kreacher appeared in the door way.
"Miss Hermione Granger is here to see Master Harry Potter." The house-elf announced before retreating out of the room to let Hermione enter.
Harry gaped at the sudden appearance of his best friend.
"Um, hi Harry." said Hermione, wishing to break the uncomfortable silence that had fallen since her arrival.
"Hermione!" exclaimed Harry as his mouth broke into a smile. He got out of his chair to give her a brief hug before asking, "What are you doing here?"
"I hope it is alright, I couldn't think of anywhere else to go." She said quietly, looking down at her hands that were now fidgeting rather distractedly.
"Of course it's alright." He assured, before gesturing soundlessly to the chair opposite his own, sensing her discomfort. It was only after she moved gracefully across the kitchen towards the offered seat that Harry noticed her attire. Hermione was wearing an emerald green (a shade that was much like his eyes) dress that clung to her upper body before falling at her waist in a flowing manner. Harry had not seen his best friend in such formal attire since one of Horace Slughorn's dinner parties back in their sixth year at Hogwarts.
"Blimey Hermione, you look wonderful." Harry blurted out before he could stop himself. Cursing silently at himself, he could feel his cheeks heating up as a result of blushing. Before he was able to say more than he wanted again, Harry changed the subject. "So – err, what are you doing here?"
"Well, I've just left Ronald." Hermione began timidly, before rushing to finish the story. She gestured to her dress before continuing. "He and I had a date, you see."
In order to stop himself from staring at Hermione any longer, Harry left his chair yet again and stood leaning with his back against the stove.
"Why aren't you with him then?" he asked in an intentional sharp tone. He was overcome with a strange feeling of annoyance by the fact that his two best friends had just been on a date.
"We broke up." she said simply, before adding, "Don't worry, we're still best friends, we finally realized we aren't good for each other."
Harry took a few moments to respond, letting this new found information settle. The aforementioned feeling of annoyance had now been replaced by a sense of joy. What was going on with him?
"Er- well I'm sorry anyhow." Hermione raised her eyebrows when she detected the obvious tone in his voice when he lied. "Okay, you got me. I'm not sorry, I didn't think the two of you would last. Neither of you could go five minutes without arguing."
"Yeah, I realize that now." She replied with a hint of finality. Seeking to take the conversation's attention away from her, she posed Harry a question. "So where's Ginny?"
"We never got back together." He replied unwillingly, now was not the time Harry wished to discuss his ill-fated relationship with Ginny.
Much to his relief, Hermione seemed to sense his discomfort and changed the subject.
"Harry, can I ask you a question?" Hermione asked tentatively. Worried by her tone of voice, he slowly nodded his head allowing her to continue.
"My parents are still in Australia and even though there are no harsh feelings between Ron and I, we both agreed I shouldn't stay at the Burrow for awhile…"
Her voice trailed away, but Harry understood enough that she didn't have to finish the though.
"Do you mean you want to live here?" Harry asked eagerly, the thought of living in this empty house with Hermione was a happy one. He continued before she had the chance to respond. "Absolutely! Come on, let me show you around."
He grasped her hand and led her out of kitchen, smiling at the now relieved expression that had settled upon Hermione's face.
Number Twelve Grimmauld Place was unlike Hermione had ever seen it. Hands still linked, Harry led her around the once familiar house, quickly explaining that Kreacher had enlisted the help of other House-Elves from Hogwarts to clean the entirety of the house. Their worked sure paid off, Hermione noted, as she passed numerous shiny portrait frames on the walls.
As they passed the second door on the left, something had caught Hermione's eye. Though the cleaning had brightened the overall look of the house, the walls still had the dark and gloomy effect which made a room catch Hermione's attention. Letting go of the comfort of Harry's hand for the first time since leaving the kitchen, Hermione moved towards the slightly ajar door, and pushed it completely open to reveal the entirety of the brightly lit room.
The walls were covered in a stunning shade of light blue except for a few select areas that contained photographs. Forgetting that she was merely a guest in his house, Hermione entered the room and went to closely inspect the moving pictures. A smile fell upon her face when she saw a woman with long red hair and a pair of emerald eyes Hermione knew so well. Lily Potter appeared to be laughing at three grown men in the adjacent picture. The three men, Sirius Black, James Potter and Remus Lupin, were wrestling each other in a playful manner giving them the appearance of being much younger.
Tearing her eyes away from the Marauders, Hermione glanced about the room, shocked to find a small crib in the far corner and several toys littered about the floor.
"It's for Teddy." Harry explained at once, as Hermione cast him a curious look. "This is the first room I really set to work on fixing."
Hermione walked over to the dresser and picked up a toy broomstick, smiling fondly at Harry.
"He lives with Tonk's mum af-after-" He was unable to continue his sentence; the loss of Tonks and Lupin still affected him deeply. Harry cleared his throat before continuing. "I am his Godfather after all, therefore little Teddy will spend some time with me occasionally. I wanted him to have a home, even if it wasn't a permanent one. I don't want him to have the life I had because of Voldemort."
Harry had turned to face the moving pictures of his parents, godfather and old professor as he finished his explanation.
Wordlessly, Hermione returned the broomstick to its previous spot and made her way across the room to stand beside Harry.
"You truly are remarkable, you know that Harry?" He turned to face Hermione at the sound of his name but he seemed too lost in his own thoughts to register the compliment Hermione had just delivered.
"Hermione, what if Teddy doesn't want to live here? I don't want to be an awful Godfather."
"Look at me," Hermione took his hands within hers and stared into the fearful green eyes that belonged to Harry, "Teddy is lucky to have a Godfather like you. I know you're going to be brilliant as a Godfather, just as you will be when you're a father." She added the last part with a hint of a small twinkle in her eye.
Harry was unsure of what to say at the thoughtfulness of Hermione's words, therefore he simply enclosed the space between them and wrapped his arms around her warm body. The moment she responded to the hug, Harry's worries had vanished and all he could concentrate was the relief he felt when he had Hermione in his arms.
Suddenly conscious that he held onto the hug for too long, Harry let go of Hermione immediately. He raised one of his arms to scratch the back of his head, and in doing so he caused his shirt to lift up slightly revealing his toned stomach. This did not go unnoticed by Hermione, who turned pink and hastily turned away. Confusion set in Harry's mind – since when does Hermione blush at the sight of his exposed skin?
"Come on, let me show you to my room." said Harry, leading the way out of Teddy's room. "It's not nearly as prepared as Teddy's is, but it's the second best room in the house. I haven't gotten around to arranging all the other rooms yet, so you can take my room and I'll crash on the couch."
They had reached the doorway of Harry's room, when Hermione gave him a disapproving look.
"You most certainly are not. We shared a tent for most of last year, I'm sure we can go with sharing a room for a little while. Plus, I learned a few tricks." With a wave of her wand, a spare blanket rose from Harry's bed and Transfigured into a cozy little cot in the middle of the floor. With a triumphant smile and another flick of her wand, a pillow landed neatly at the end of the bed.
"Fine, but you sleep in my bed. I get the cot." Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but Harry shook his head as if to say it was not worth fighting the issue.
It was one hour later when the both of them settled down in their respective beds, the conversation dwindling down as they became more and more sleepy. Harry had just shut his eyes and begun falling asleep when he heard Hermione's voice calling out his name.
"Did you say something?" Harry asked into the darkness of his bedroom.
"Yeah," Hermione whispered back. Her voice sounded nervous and small. "I don't want to be alone tonight. Do you think maybe you could bunk in here with me?"
Harry's stomach flipped over a couple of times at the suggestion of sharing a bed with Hermione. A battle raged within his head about his decision; would it be wise to share a bed with Hermione? Don't be ridiculous, replied a small voice in his head, she's your best friend and has been for seven years, nothing will become of this. Harry's heart leapt at the thought of something more occurring with Hermione. No, you can't do this, Harry. It's not right. What will Ron say if he finds out? Ron's inevitable reaction confirmed Harry's decision to deny Hermione's offer, however he spoke before he had the chance to stop himself.
"Sure, Hermione," Silently cursing himself once again, Harry extracted himself from his bed and cautiously felt his way across the room towards his familiar bed. He climbed into bed, careful not to make any contact with Hermione, and pulled the blankets over his body.
"Goodnight, Harry." whispered Hermione in a voice that sounded safe.
" 'Night Hermione." Harry whispered back, before closing his eyes and letting sleep take over.