AN: Heya all! I'm sorry I've been away so long. To say life has thrown me a curveball in an understatement. In the past couple months I've gone from a single carefree 25 year old, to being responsible for a toddler. I lover her to death, but it's taken some serious adjustment. I think we're in a good place now. Anyway, I hope ya'll like this update and be on the look out for an update on all of my stories (including Ferocity!) coming soon!
Much love to the world's best Beta, DarkNorseLady. :)
2. Before you say Goodbye
It felt like he'd taken a stunner directly to his heart. Harry quickly turned away from the embracing couple who had yet to see him and ran straight into Ginny.
"They picked quite a time to realise it, didn't they?" she gave him a small smile.
"Yeah," he replied weakly, bringing one hand up to rub the back of his neck. Turning once more to face Ron and Hermione, Harry let out a ragged breath. "Gin, can you get everyone out of here for me? I'll be back in a minute."
"Uh, how was that for you?" Ron asked, looking down to where his hand still held hers.
"Ron, you're one of my best friends, but…" Hermione trailed off.
"That was dreadful?" he finished her sentence with a laugh.
"It was," she smiled back.
"Hey guys," Ginny's sudden appearance caused them both to jump, "I don't mean to break this up, but Harry needs everyone out of this room. I think he has an idea about where to find the Diadem."
Out in the corridor, the two rushed to where Harry was waiting.
"You've found the Diadem?" Hermione was the first to speak.
"I think so," Harry replied, "but it doesn't do us much good if we can't destroy it."
"Leave that to me," Ron puffed out his chest, "I have an idea. Hermione, you still have the cup, right?"
"Yes."
"Then you should come with me. Harry, we'll meet you back here as soon as we can." Turning, Ron gripped Hermione's hand, and the two quickly made their way toward the staircase.
Harry took a shaky breath before turning to see Ginny lead the last of the stragglers from the Room of Requirement. He forcibly returned her smile, before beginning to pace back and forth in front of the now empty wall.
"You love him, don't you?" Ron broke the silence of the girl's bathroom. Neither had spoken a word since Hermione had used the fang to stab the cup, and he was worried she'd never mention the fact that as the Horcrux was dying it was an image of Ginny and Harry that she faced.
"Of course I do," she said just above a whisper, "I love both of you. You're my best friends."
"No," he shook his head, "It's different. You love me, but you're in love with him." Ron stepped toward her and used a finger to lift her face toward him. "It's ok Hermione; I'm not going to lose my temper or feel left out of anything. You're both the best friends I could ask for, and I want you both to be happy. Besides, I think the kiss earlier was proof enough that we don't belong together in that way." He said the last part with a grin.
Hermione wiped a few tears away as a strangled laugh escaped. "You're really ok with this then?"
"Well, as long as you name your first born after me," his wink caused her to laugh again. Wrapping an arm around her, he pulled her close and dropped a kiss onto her forehead. "Don't you worry about me, I promise I just want you both to be happy. Now though, we've got another Horcrux to find and a war to win."
Silently, she moved to slip her hand into his and lead him out of the bathroom.
Entering the Room of Requirement Hermione easily found Harry. She fondly smiled watching him jump at the statue that the Diadem sat on. Picking up a discarded broom she walked toward him and used the broom to knock the Horcrux to the ground.
He jumped, before turning to look at her wide-eyed. "Oh, Hermione! Thanks, I didn't think of that." Harry looked around," Where is Ron?"
"What?" she turned to look behind her, "he was just right here."
The next thing they knew there was yelling coming from across the room and Ron was running toward them, followed closely by Draco and Crabbe. The three boys were too preoccupied with what was behind them to bother continuing their argument.
"Wha-" before Harry could get his question out, Draco cut him off.
"Goyle cast Feindfyre, and the imbecile could not control it. I suggest you save your questions and look for a way to get out of here."
Noticing the broom in Hermione's hand Harry's eyes lit up with an idea, "Hermione, where did you find that broom, are there any more?"
"Over there," she gestured to behind Ron, "there were two more. If we double up on two of the brooms, then we should be able to get out alright." She bit her lip and looked at Harry cautiously, "for proper weight distribution I think it'd work out best if you ride with Malfoy, me with Crabbe, and Ron by himself. We don't know what kind of condition these brooms are in or how well they'll hold us."
He let out a small whine, which turned into a growl when he saw the sneer on Malfoy's face. "I don't like this any more than you do St Potter, but she's right. Unless of course, you'd rather me be on the broom with your girlfriend." Malfoy smirked at the rage in Harry's eyes.
Pushing past him, Harry grabbed the two remaining brooms and inspected them. Hermione was right; they were in questionable condition at best. Looking up to see the fire quickly spreading toward them he turned to hand the final broom to Ron, before mounting his own.
Once everyone was on a broom, the five teens took off straight toward the fire, pulling up to go above the flames and toward the door.
Once they were all safe, Harry watched as the diadem crumbled into nothing from the effects of the fire.
"We have one more," he turned to see Ron inspecting Hermione for injury. "We need to find the snake." Harry closed his eyes tight in concentration. Opening them back up he looked at his friends. "He's in the Shrieking Shack, and Snape is with him."
Emotions were running high as the three returned to the castle. Though none of them had been particularly fond of Professor Snape, seeing him die before their eyes had left them all shaky.
"I have to go to the Headmaster's office and view these memories. I think you two should go to the Great Hall and let everyone know you're safe."
Nodding, Ron wrapped an arm around Hermione and led her in the opposite direction of Harry. He watched longingly after her for a moment before the reality of the night crashed back around him and he headed up the stairs.
As Harry made his way back down the staircase from Dumbledore's office, he was even more resolute in his decisions. Approaching the Great Hall, Harry felt as if he were walking toward his death, part of him supposed that's precisely what he was doing.
No matter what he told himself, he wasn't ready for the sight that greeted him on the other side of the doors. So many were dead, even more were injured. In the far corner of the hall, he watched as the Weasley family stood embracing one another, the only sound coming from the normally rambunctious family was Molly's grief-stricken sobs.
Harry then turned to look at where Hermione was standing alone, peering down at the bodies of Remus and Tonks. The realisation hit him that this war had created yet another orphan. There was another young boy who would grow up not knowing what it felt like to ride on his father's shoulders or have his mother tuck him into bed at night.
Pulling his invisibility cloak around himself, he moved to stand beside Hermione. He watched her for several seconds, trying to use this time to memorise her face. Harry stood beside her for another couple minutes, resisting the urge to reach out and comfort her, wanting nothing more than to hold her as they grieved together. It wasn't until Ron was approaching that he decided it was time to make his way toward the forbidden forest.
Harry had barely made it out of the Great Hall before running directly into Neville. Pulling the hood of his cloak down, Harry revealed himself to the other Gryffindor boy.
"Oh, Harry," Neville clutched his chest, "I didn't see you there, but I guess that was the point." He gestured to where the cloak was still concealing Harry's body, a brow raised.
"Sorry Neville. I should have been paying closer attention." He paused for a second, "Hey, can I ask you for a favour?"
"Yeah, anything."
"If you get a chance, and I don't get to it first, will you kill that bloody snake? It's one of the last things tying him here. As long as it's alive, he can't be killed."
"Yeah, definitely. If I get the shot, I'll take it."
"Thanks, and one more thing, Neville?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you please make sure Hermione is safe, regardless of what happens today?"
Neville looked at his friend with sad eyes, "you have my word."
Harry nodded, before pulling his hood back up and making his way out of the castle.
She felt like her world was crumbling around her. The past few hours had been enough to make Hermione question everything she'd thought she knew about her life, but through it all, the knowledge that at the end of it she'd have Harry helped her pull through.
Now though, she was wrapped in Ron's arms as sobs wracked her body. Neville was speaking, but she didn't register a thing he was saying. Hermione found herself staring blankly at the crumpled body of the boy she loved.
It felt like hours had passed when Ron squeezed her tightly to him and whispered in her ear. "I know it hurts, but now is not the time to mourn. We have to fight, to win this for Harry."
Nodding she took a steadying breath, before pulling herself from his grasp. She'd pull herself together and win this for Harry.
The end of the battle came quicker than she'd expected. Once it had become apparent that Harry was alive, and Neville had killed the snake, chaos ensued. Hermione soon found herself fighting side by side with Ginny in the Great Hall.
Soon after the fall of Bellatrix, she watched in awe as The Boy Who Lived became The Man Who Defeated. After assisting with the gathering of the remaining supporters of Voldemort and tending to the injured, she gratefully made her way to what was left of the Gryffindor common room and up the familiar stairs to where her bed welcomed her.
As the weeks passed, it became evident that everyone grieves differently. Molly grieved by doting on her remaining children and delighting in the fact that her first grandchild was on the way. In the weeks since their victory, Mrs Weasley had been busy at work making sure each of her children, including Hermione had clean clothes, a warm bed, and a full stomach.
Ron grieved by throwing his all into his budding relationship with Pansy Parkinson. The first time Hermione had come across the two snogging under the tree behind the Burrow, she'd been shocked to say the least. Now though, she couldn't deny the genuine affection the couple held for one another.
Harry grieved by, well, no one was sure how he was grieving. The morning after the battle he'd asked for space, and seeing everything he'd given up over the years no one even batted an eye. Their best estimate was that he'd been holed up in Grimmauld Place, but no one was really sure. Hermione had gone to see him a week after the battle, but he didn't answer.
Hermione grieved by putting her all into work. Once Kingsley took over as the Minister of Magic he instantly offered her a job on his council. She'd put in countless hours, many more than had been required of her, to not only distract herself from the losses of battle, but also from her worry about Harry's recent absence. She had been surprised when Kingsley called her into his office late one Wednesday evening.
"Ah, Hermione," he walked around his desk to embrace her in greeting, "I was hoping I'd catch you before you left for the evening." He guided her to sit in the chair across the desk from his own. "I'm sure you are curious about why I wanted to meet with you."
"Just a little bit," she smiled at him.
"Well, as much as I've appreciated your help getting things done around here, myself and a few others aren't sure this is the right position for you." He paused, smiling mischievously when her face fell. "There is an opening to be a liaison in the treatment of magical creatures department, and I couldn't think of a better candidate."
"Kingsley, you scared me," she softly scolded. Laughing when he had the decency to look ashamed. "This is an amazing offer, but I must ask, is there some sort of catch?"
He took a moment to shuffle some papers around his desk before holding one out to her. "The position is based out of France and will require you to move there. If you accept the position, it'll be expected that you are ready to move in three weeks. The Ministry will help you find a place to live, and pay the moving expenses, of course."
"Oh, I'm not sure Kingsley." She bit her bottom lip. "I'm not sure I can leave everyone behind. When do you need a decision by?"
"Take your time, Hermione, think it over." He held paperwork out to her. "I don't need a final decision for another week, and please understand that regardless of the choice you make, you'll always have a place in the Ministry as long as I'm here."
She smiled gratefully at him, before standing to exit his office. There were many things she had to consider.
She was running late for lunch at the Burrow, but the sight of Harry down by the lake caused her to stop in her tracks. From the looks of it, he was deep in conversation with Ginny. She watched them for several minutes, before seeing Harry get down on one knee, and pull something from his pocket before watching Ginny leap into his arms and kiss him.
Hermione's head was spinning as she made her way up the rest of the walk to the door and into the Burrow's kitchen. She barely made it up the stairs and into Ron's bedroom before breaking down into tears. Within a minute Ron and Pansy were behind her, and she was wrapped in Ron's arms.
"What happened, Hermione?" He rubbed soothing circles on her back.
"G-G-Ginny," she sobbed into his chest, "and H-Harry." Pulling back she looked up and let out a loud hiccup. "They're getting married, Ron. He got down on one knee and gave her a ring, then kissed her. I, I thought he and I had something. I thought I was special."
Before Ron could respond Pansy was pulling his arms from around Hermione. "Ron, love, why don't you head downstairs and let your family know Hermione is ok. I'll help her up here, and we'll be down in a few moments."
He looked at her with a quirked brow, before she raised both of hers in response and all but pushed him out of his bedroom.
Once the two girls were alone, Pansy wrapped Hermione in a tight hug. "Let me give you some advice." She led the other girl to sit on the edge of Ron's bed. "The best remedy for a broken heart is distance. I know the type of person you are, you're going to want to be a martyr and be the doting friend for Harry and Ginny. Don't. You need to take a vacation. Travel. Go to a new place and snog a stranger. Do whatever you have to do to not dwell on this. You have given up so much of yourself for those boys. You need to do something for you."
Hermione took a shaky breath and wiped her remaining tears away before nodding. It was in that moment she decided when she got home she'd owl Kingsley and accept the job.
