Chapter 4

Harry stood speechless, staring at Hermione. He was torn between the urge to run from the room and embracing the friend he had not seen in two long years. Anthony and Paul stood silently in the doorway, their eyes flitting between Harry and Hermione who were both staring intently at each other.

"H-Hermione," stammered Harry, finding his voice. "I-I . . . h-how did you . . . what are you d-doing h-here?"

"Well, I would think that much would be obvious, Harry," said Hermione, crossing her arms over her chest. Harry said nothing but continued to stare at her, shock clearly displayed on his face.

"Is there somewhere we can go and talk?" she asked. "Privately," she added, glancing back at Paul and Anthony.

"Er . . . sure," said Harry. "Follow me," he added, leading her back to his bedroom and closing the door behind them. He could hear Paul and Anthony's hushed whispering from the sitting room before the door clicked closed.

"Well?" said Hermione, looking at Harry expectantly.

"Well what?"

"Why? Why did you leave?" said Hermione. "Do you have any idea what that did to us?"

"I'm sorry," said Harry, dejectedly. He flopped down on his bed and buried his face in his hands. "I had to do it. It was the only way."

"The only way to do what, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"To make sure everyone was safe," answered Harry, refusing to look her in the eye. "I'm the reason they all died. You were better off without me. All of you."

"Is that what you thought? That we would be better off?" said Hermione, her voice steadily rising. "Do you have any idea how crushed Molly was when you disappeared. Ron refuses to even say your name, it hurts so much. And Ginny . . . she thinks you left because of her. She thinks that you didn't love her enough to stay."

Harry's head shot up at this. "That's not true," he said forcefully. "It just wasn't safe if I stayed. There were dozens of Death Eaters that weren't captured that night."

"You can be really thick sometimes," said Hermione, shaking her head in disbelief. "Did you honestly think that just because you weren't there, they wouldn't bother us?"

"Well . . . I . . ."

"Don't worry. Within a week of the battle, the Ministry was able to round up the ones that evaded capture at Hogwarts," said Hermione. "Did you ever see a Death Eater?"

Harry shook his head. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen anyone from the wizarding world since the day he left. Until now, of course.

"Exactly," said Hermione, pacing back and forth in front of him. "They were all captured, Harry. It's over. It's been over for two years."

"But it was all my fault, Hermione. How could I look at any of you knowing that if it wasn't for me, no one would have died," said Harry. He could feel tears forming in his eyes and fought to keep them at bay.

"No one blames you, Harry," said Hermione, raising her arms in exasperation. "Don't you understand that? If it wasn't for you, more people would have died."

"If I would have just turned myself in to Voldemort in the beginning, Fred wouldn't have died. The Weasley's wouldn't have lost their son."

"Harry, aren't you listening to me? No one blames you," said Hermione. The tears that had been threatening now flowed freely down Harry's checks. Hermione closed her eyes and let out a long breath. She sat down on the bed next to Harry and tentatively place her arm around his shoulders. He flinched at her touch but didn't pull away.

"They really don't blame me?" asked Harry.

"No, Harry," said Hermione, shaking her head. "We want you to come back."

"I don't know if I can," said Harry, wiping his face with his sleeve. "It's been two years. Everyone's moved on. I saw Ginny with Dean."

Hermione sighed. "I know. She told me she saw you," she said.

"I still love her, Hermione."

"And I think she still loves you," said Hermione. "She might act like she's happy, but I know her better then she thinks. She doesn't want to marry Dean."

"M-marry? They're getting married?" said Harry. "Hermione, how can I go back? She's obviously moved on. I can't take that from her."

"You're still not listening to me. She's not happy," said Hermione, with more force then she had intended.

"I saw her at that restaurant. She sure looked happy to me."

"Trust me. She's not," said Hermione.

"Do you think she'll forgive me?"

Hermione considered this for a moment. "Maybe," she said. "Maybe not. But there's only one way to find out."

"I don't know," said Harry, hesitantly.

"Oh, come on. We'll floo to my flat tonight. She's there right now," said Hermione, leaping to her feet and holding her hand out for Harry.

"What about Paul and Anthony?"

"What about them?" said Hermione.

"They don't know I'm a wizard," said Harry. "I never told them anything about my life before I met them."

"Oh . . . well . . . you better fill them in then," said Hermione. Harry's mouth fell open in shock.

"Hermione, I can't do that. It's against the law!"

"That law was rewritten. If the wizard feels that the muggle in question is trustworthy, he or she can divulge certain information about the wizarding world. And if they take it badly, I'll just obliviate them. I do work for the Ministry," said Hermione, matter-of-factly.

"Well, ok then. Here goes nothing," said Harry. He accepted Hermione's offered hand and got to his feet. With his hand on the door knob, he glanced back at her and she nodded encouragingly. Out in the sitting room, he found Paul and Anthony sitting together on the sofa watching tv. At the sound of Harry approaching, they both turned around and looked at him expectantly.

"Well . . . er . . . I have something I need to tell you guys," began Harry. He moved to the armchair opposite the sofa and sat down. "I'm a wizard," he blurted. Paul and Anthony looked at one another before bursting out laughing.

"That's funny," said Anthony. "Seriously though, what did you want to tell us?"

"That's it," said Harry. "I'm a wizard. And Hermione here," he said, motioning toward Hermione who was standing next to the sofa, "she's a witch."

"It's true," said Hermione.

"Ok, ok. I'll play along for a minute," said Paul. "Prove it."

Harry pulled his wand from his pocket and held it up. With a flick, a book lying on the side table flew through the air and landed in Harry's outstretched hand. Both Paul and Anthony's mouths flew open and shock.

"How did you . . .?" said Anthony, blinking a few times and shaking his head in disbelief.

"I'll give you the really condensed version for now," said Harry. When neither of them spoke, he continued, "I went to a school called Hogwarts since I was eleven. It's a magical school and that's where I met Hermione. While I was there, there was this evil wizard called Voldemort. He killed my parents when I was a kid and was trying to kill me. Well, about two years ago, there was this huge battle at this school and I killed him, ending the war. A lot of people died and I felt that it was my fault, so I left. But now . . . I think I'm going to go back for a while," he said. He glanced over at Hermione, who nodded her approval.

"Wow," said Paul. "I always knew you were different. I just had no idea."

"Yeah, well," said Harry, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "There you have it."

"Ok," said Paul and Anthony in unison.

"Really?" said Harry.

"Yeah, really. I mean, it's a bit of a shock, but you're still Harry," said Paul. "It actually explains a few things."

"Harry, are you ready?" said Hermione. Harry nodded and got to his feet.

"I'll see you guys in a bit," said Harry. He made his way over to where Hermione was standing next to the fireplace. She pointed her wand at the grate, lighting a fire. Pulling a bag of floo powder from her handbag, she tossed a handful into the flames. Paul and Anthony watched in astonishment as she stepped into the fire and disappeared in a rush of emerald flames. Harry stepped in after her and had one last fleeting glance at his flat before a rushing sound filled his ears and he was spun uncontrollably through the fireplace.

* * * * *

Ginny paced around Hermione's small sitting room. "Why isn't she back yet?" she said out loud, although no one was there to hear her. It was decided that Ginny would wait for Hermione at her flat since Ron was still working nights. At first, Hermione had suggested that she wait for her at the Burrow, but Ginny had objected, saying that it would be impossible for her to hide her anxiety from her mother. She was already pretty certain Molly knew something was up as it was and she had no idea how she would explain the situation.

She glanced down at her watch for what felt like the hundredth time that night. Hermione had been gone for three hours. Looking back now, she wished she had gone with her. That way, she would at least know what was going on. Sighing in exasperation, Ginny flopped down on the sofa and crossed her arms over her chest. She still had no idea what she was going to do if Hermione had somehow gotten through to Harry. I'm engaged for Merlin's sake, she thought to herself. The bottom line was that Harry had run off and she had moved on. One part of her hoped that Harry would stay where ever it is he ran off to, but another part of her yearned to be near him, to have him in her life once again.

A sudden whooshing sound made Ginny jump to her feet. There was a swirl of green flames and Hermione came stepping out of the fireplace, brushing soot from her clothes.

"It's about time," said Ginny, rushing to greet her friend. "What happened? Tell me everything."

Before Hermione could respond, however, there was a second swirl of green flames from the fireplace and out stepped a bespeckled man with untidy, raven colored hair. She withdrew her wand and pointed it at the space between his eyes.

"How dare you!" she screamed. Harry raised his arms in surrender and looked pleadingly at Hermione for help.

A shield charm erupted between Harry and Ginny, knocking her off balance. Harry spun around, looking for the source of the spell, and found Ron standing in the doorway, his chest heaving.

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A/N: Let me know what you think so far! Please review!