Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
"Harry…"
The name of the young man escaped Ginny's lips, and a second later, she was into his embrace, hiding her face into the crock of his neck.
"I knew that you were alive…," she continued with her eyes closed, oblivious to everything but her own thoughts.
Hermione was behind Harry, next to Ron, and was trying to answer to everyone's questions. They weren't many, but they had a lot of questions, so many questions that it was hard to follow. At the same time, her eyes were still on Harry and Ginny, for a reason that was beyond her. Why did she want so bad to see how Harry would react to Ginny's embrace? To be fair, they were supposed to be a couple since the end of their sixth year. She's his girlfriend, she said to herself, surprised to feel her heart beat faster while looking at them.
"Are you alright?," she heard Harry ask Ginny. "I've heard about the cruciatus curse… Tell me that you're okay."
His voice was full of concern, and when he took Ginny's head into his hands and she put herself on tiptoe to kiss him, Hermione looked away, ashamed to act like a voyeur. It wasn't her story; it was Harry and Ginny's, the one that they were building together since at least last year.
"It's over now," Ginny answered before kissing The Boy Who Lived again. "I'm just glad to have you here, oh Merlin, Harry, it was so hard without you…"
Ginny had never been that demonstrative toward anyone, even her own parents, which seemed to surprise Harry as much as Hermione. But he hide it well to everyone — not well enough for her to not see him freeze for a second when Ginny uttered these words.
"I need to find something," he eventually said while breaking free from her embrace. "I need to find something that is in the castle," he repeated louder for everyone to hear.
At least half a dozen of student started to ask many questions, creating a babel of noises, distracting Hermione from Harry and Ginny for a few moments.
There were more important things to take care of right now, and she smiled back at Ron absentmindedly.
"Congratulations, by the way," Hermione eventually said when they arrived in front of another Auror's office: the fifth of the afternoon.
"Congratulations?"
"You're quite young to be the Head of the Auror Office if you want my opinion."
Harry simply nodded, and he was about to knock at the door when Hermione put her hand over his forearm. He froze, fighting the need to push her hand away and to tell her to keep her distances.
"Harry…," she began, her voice unsure.
"Please don't, Hermione. I don't want to hear you right now. Please save your apologies for someone interested in them."
"I was not about to apologize," she snapped, retiring her hand as if he burnt her.
"Why did you touch me then? To remember the good old days?," he snarled.
"I… I don't…"
"You don't know? Oh, this is interesting. For once, Hermione Granger doesn't know something. To be honest, you know anything. You are here to do your job, so do it. But do not think that you… That you and I are going to be friends in the future. You decided to leave five years ago, and… Merlin knows how hard I tried to find you and to bring you back, but… but you made your decision and it's not my fault. For once, it's your fault, Hermione. I apologized more than once and it wasn't enough, was it? It was your own fucking decision."
With a last look for her, he turned around and knocked at the door, leaving her speechless. Hermione wanted to tell him so many things, to defend herself, and she didn't know if it was out of pride or because she really needed him to understand her point of view.
"Alright," she simply said while the door opened in front of them.
"What is that for?," the Auror who opened the door asked, and Hermione introduced herself, not waiting for Harry to do it.
"I just have a couple of questions for you, if you don't mind," she continued, struggling to smile.
"Marcus, I have things to do," Harry almost cut Hermione off. "Please walk Miss Granger off after your interview."
"But… But you can't leave, y—"
"As the Head of Auror Office, I trust Marcus enough to do this job for me. Have a nice day."
Harry Potter turned around, not waiting for her to retort, and Hermione looked at him walking from her with a weird twinge of regret.
"Can we start, Miss Granger?," Marcus asked, and Hermione was drawn from her torpor.
"Of course…"
"You did what?"
Kingsley Shacklebolt haw knew from the beginning that it was a bad idea to ask Harry Potter to look after Hermione Granger during her stay at the Ministry. But he couldn't do differently; it was the protocol, and he needed to stick with it. And so did Harry.
"I can't spend one more minute with her, Kingsley, I'm sorry, bu—"
"It is not possible, Harry, and you know it."
"Nobody has to know that I am not with her constantly! You can just ask someone else to do it, and…"
"It is the protocol, Auror Potter!"
Harry cringed, as if Kingsley had insulted him. Kingsley Shacklebolt was a friend, a true and loyal friend since he was a teenager, and the last thing that Harry wanted was to disappoint him.
"I know the protocol very well, Minister."
"So you have to follow it. I am sorry, Harry," he continued, his voice softer this time. "I truly am sorry, but you cannot put your feelings before your duty. It is just a matter of a week. Besides, Hermione was your closest friend during so many years… I cannot believe that your relationship with her is so poisoned that you cannot stand to be in the same room without loosing your temper like that."
"You don't know what happened…," Harry muttered, his hand gently caressing his glass of whisky.
"And I am not asking you to tell me what happened. I am just asking you to do your job."
Harry remained silent, but eventually nodded.
"Alright. What is she supposed to do tomorrow?"
"I don't know yet, you have to check with her. She told me before leaving for her hotel that she would be here around 9 o'clock. Be sure to be here to greet her and to follow her during her investigations. Moreover, there are a few things that you need to do for me too."
"I am listening."
"As you may know, things are not the best between the United States' Ministry and ours. I suspect their Minister of Magic to spy us, in a way…"
"What is the problem with Hermione?"
"Think twice, Harry…"
"You think that she is involved in this mess… You think that she is the psy," Harry retorted after a few moments of silence.
Shacklebolt nodded, and drank a mouthful of whisky.
"Exactly. I think — and I am not the only one — that Tellington was just a way for Peter Grindwald to send someone here; someone that couldn't be seen as a suspect because we know her, because she is our friend."
"She's not."
"Their Minister of Magic is not supposed to know that. As far as he is concerned, you are her best friend, and I am sure that Hermione was wise enough to keep your… little conflict quiet. Anyway… You have to keep an eye on her. This is the main reason why you are the best person to follow Hermione; you are our best asset. That, and… the protocol, of course."
"You could have told me this before," Harry mumbled.
"I thought that your conscientiousness would have been enough, to be honest," Kingsley chuckled.
"So I have to spy on her, while she thinks that she is the one who is spying, right?"
"Well, to be fair, we don't know for sure that she is spying for Grindwald, so…"
"She wouldn't have come here, knowing that I would be around, if it wasn't for a good reason. I know Hermione."
"Don't be too harsh on her, Harry. She is a great woman."
Harry raised an eyebrow, and cleared his throat before talking again.
"She was a great woman. She truly was before leaving for good without an explanation."
"Listen… I don't know what happened, but maybe that it is time for peace, don't you think? I know you since you are a kid, Harry, and I know that her absence affected you more than you admit it. Just… don't let your bitterness destroys everything."
Kingsley Shacklebolt didn't wait for Harry to retort, and left the room without another word. Alone, Harry continued to stare at the fireplace for a minute or two, lost in his thoughts.
She was here, finally. After all these years, Hermione Granger was in London, and the only think that Harry wanted to do was to go knock at her door and kiss her like there was no tomorrow. But he couldn't; he couldn't do it after all that happened in the past. It was like a heavy burden over his shoulders, preventing him from doing what he really wanted.
He had kissed her before; several times. He had explored her mouth with the greed of a teenager, touching her body with his impatient hands. She had moaned under his touch, and it was a feeling that he would never forget.
Never.