Diamonds are Forever

Chapter 3

The Reunion

[ Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Period.]

           Hermione opened her eyes. Her mind reeled as she searched her surroundings to find out where in Merlin's name she was. Her mind whirred into action and she confirmed the pieces of information it was sending her. It told her that she was on her side, facing the door, in the Hospital Wing. Good. At least she knew where she was. The young witch wracked her brain to figure out why she was there. All of a sudden, the memory of what had happened hit her like a freight train. Graduation. The speech. The diamond. Harry. Hermione jolted up in bed, hand to her chest, feeling as if her heart was breaking all over again. Reaching to finger-comb her hair, her hand trailed up her body. Her hand bumped an object when she reached the hollow of her neck. The necklace. That goddamn necklace.

           Her hands pulled at the necklace, as her mind willed it to break so she could dispose of the item of clothing that had given her such a fright. Her eyes closed with the effort. A hand grasped the two of hers and a low voice gently spoke, "You don't want to break the present I got you, now do you?"

            That voice! No, it couldn't possibly be. Hermione's eyes sprang open and met with a pair of brilliant green. What the…? "Harry?"

            "Yep." Harry hardly had time to utter the one syllable before Hermione flung her arms around his neck, crying so hard her entire body shook. She buried her head into his shoulder. He pat her back, his other arm winding around her waist to hug her. "Shhh. Hermione. It's just me."

            Hermione's muffled voice remarked tearfully, "'Just you.' You'd figure that with that reply, that you just came back from a fishing trip."

            "Now, 'Mione. That's silly. I don't even like fish." He grinned as her head came up off his shoulder to face him, half smiling and half ready to kill him.

            Hermione settled on slightly pissed. "Arsehole." Harry laughed and Hermione felt all the pain and sadness lift off her shoulders. She was still a little angry. "Harry, where the heck WERE you? You had me devastated. It was the worst year in my life and I spent it missing you. Not to mention poor Ron and the other Weasleys. Ginny cried for days."

            "They knew I was safe. I was at Sirius' place"

            "WHAT?! And no one bothered to tell me that you were safe at Sirius' house? What am I? Chopped liver?" Hermione was yelling now. She wore a look of utmost hurt. Harry sighed. This reunion wasn't happening as well as he expected. He went to hold her hand, but she pulled it away. He tried again and grasped it. She fought to make him let go.

            "Hermione. Calm down."

            "CALM DOWN?! YOU'RE TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN? AFTER A HELLISH YEAR AT HOGWARTS MOURNING, THE BOY I'M IN LOVE WITH SUDDENLY APPEARS FROM THE DEAD AND IS…sitting on my bed." The realization dawned on her. She stopped yelling, but still looked at Harry, arms crossed.

            Harry hugged her to himself. "Hermione. Lucius Malfoy didn't kill me. I killed him. I bear the scars of that night here…" He pointed to his legs. "And here." He brought his hand to his heart. He continued, "However, because of our idiotic former Minister of Magic, I had to go undercover. Malfoy had him around his pinkie. The two of them were cocktail buddies. Believe it or not." He smiled, letting her go. She didn't smile, still shocked by the fact he was there.

He stopped smiling and finished the story. "Regardless that I just killed a known Death Eater, Mr. Fudge put a price on my head. Luckily for me, just last week, Fudge was killed himself." He saw the look of horror on her face. "Chill, Hermione. I didn't kill him. Although I certainly wanted to.  Voldemort did. Turns out our Minister of Magic was a Death Eater. In Fudge's place went his cronies. They were also in league with Tom Riddle. Anyway, when Mr. Weasley finally became Minister, Mr. Weasley pardoned me."

            "Harry, V-voldemort was still around when you disappeared. He was found dead in the middle of seventh year. Why couldn't you return then?"

            "I killed him, Hermione. Regardless on what Fudge had on me for Lucius, when Voldemort appeared on the grounds of Hogwarts, I didn't hesitate on killing him. You see, Voldemort believed me dead." At her look of skepticism, he explained. "As many powers as he had, he was still human. Snape's Occulmency lessons came in handy and I blocked him from my thoughts permanently. To make him believe I was killed, I faked my own death by slashing myself with my own magic across my legs. I cried out and pretended I was dying. At the "moment of death", I shut off my thoughts to him with a spell Snape and I made in secret. As smart as the Dark Lord was, he never knew that Snape, Dumbledore, and I had it planned. We tricked him, Hermione." A smile of complete bliss entered his features.

            Hermione sat silently, jaw so low it looked as if she was cleaning the floor with it. "So, Harry, you stayed in hiding at Sirius's. How did you make it to Hogwarts?"

            "During the school year, I stayed around, living in the Forbidden Forest. I found Voldie there and the next two words out of my mouth were Avada Kevadra. His defenses were totally down. It amazes me that those two words did in 10 seconds what we had tried to do for several years. Killing Tom Riddle worsened the price on my head. Fudge knew I was alive and did nothing to discourage what the Prophet said. He figured that if he let the people believe that their hero was dead, then he would have free reign. The Weasleys found out from Dumbledore the day I killed Tom. In fact, they found out as Dumbledore told them. I came out from under my Invisibility Cloak and scared the Bejesus out of George. He hasn't let me forget it either." Harry chuckled.

            Hermione frowned deeper. "One last question. Why didn't you tell me?"

            Harry sighed. "The fewer people the better. Knowing you, we would have been married the second I revealed myself to you. Also, Fudge was keeping an eye on you. Literally. He had your moves monitored and watched all your visitors. The minute I showed my face to you, I'd be off on a jolly old trip to Azkaban. He didn't bug Ron because he figured Ron would tell Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley would tell Fudge. Idiot. Mr. Weasley was tortured to find out if he knew. God save him, he didn't buckle. As it was, Ron was not allowed to tell you either. It hurt him and he still feels guilty. I couldn't tell you until today because as of noon today, a new Ministry has started. As of today, we in the wizarding world start anew."

            "A fine actor that Ron is. Comforting me over you and fully knowing that you were going to make your appearance."

            "A fine actress you are, pretending to still be mad at me."

            Hermione rolled her eyes and Harry wiped the tears from her cheeks. She laughed, smiling for the first time in a year.  With all her might, she tackled him to the bed. "Harry James Potter. You do that to me again and I swear to God, I'll kill you myself."

            Harry smiled and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. Hermione put hers behind his neck. She lowered her face to his and they kissed, making up for lost time. His hand traveled lower as his head kissed the hollow of her neck. She tilted her head back.

            "Ahem." A stern voice cleared her throat from the doorway. Without looking, they both knew it was Minerva McGonagall. The professor looked at them, arms across her chest. Minerva tried to hide the smile and the tears brimming in her eyes. She cleared her throat and tried to sound like the normal Mc Gonagall everyone knew and loathed. "Mr. Potter. Miss Granger. If I still had authority over you, I'd deduct fifty house points each. Seeing as you both graduated Hogwarts…" She smiled. "I have no disciplinary powers over you. I do request that the two of you join the rest of your graduating class in the Great Hall."

            Hermione got off Harry and the two of them blushed slightly. They fixed each other's clothing and hair. Harry took her hand and touched the stone in the ring on her finger. "You still have this, Hermione?" he asked.

            "Of course. It's a diamond that represented our love. Diamonds mean forever. When I promised you I'd love you forever, I meant it."

            They smiled at each other and Harry offered the crook of his arm. Hermione laced her arm through his and they set off for the Great Hall. As they left the doorway, following Professor McGonagall, Harry kissed her cheek and whispered. "I love you, my diamond. From now until forever."

The End

A/N

Amazingly, I am back!

When I get horrid writers block, I sometimes neglect a story for a long time until I get a brainstorm. Here is that brainstorm. ^_^

Those of you who still remember me, enjoy. Thank you for reading. And thank you for the comments. 3

H/Hr forever.

--Sarah (sarahstar521@hotmail.com)