Ginny's wedding was now a week away and Hermione had been unable to find any time to further her research into Harry's condition. Mrs Weasley seemed fixed on keeping Hermione as involved in the wedding as possible to avoid her spending any time with the boys. After Ginny had asked her to be bridesmaid, a gesture Hermione was genuinely touched at, her mother had seemed hell bent on killing Hermione with kindness. The woman clearly still hadn't accepted the marriage law and it's constraints and seemed to think that if she could get her claws into Hermione it would somehow change the future back to her dream of Hermione and Harry both becoming Weasleys.
Ginny had stuck with the winter wonderland theme and had chosen to dress her bridesmaids in ice blue with silver sprayed flowers weaved into their hair. Hermione had already been subjected to two hair trials, both times Molly had commented on the uncontrollable nature of her mane (It's just so thick dear! Between you and Harry your children will have the most unmanageable hair around!) Hermione had smiled politely both times and on the second had even caught Ginny rolling her eyes at her mother. Hermione had grinned at the bride to be and she had winked back. Even if nothing else comes of this wedding, Hermione thought, at least she had got her friend back.
Ginny was remarkably calm about the upcoming wedding, she'd spent more and more time with Terry recently and she had discovered that they had a lot more than she thought in common. They both had a passion for quidditch and although they were on separate house teams they both appreciated flying on the weekends. Through this, they had become friends and Hermione had started to see Ginny smile again when Terry came and joined them at the Gryffindor table.
Hermione sat now in her room looking at the mirror as she tried to untangle her morning hair. Maybe Mrs Weasley does have a point, Hermione thought wryly. She sighed and just pulled the whole mass into a bun on the top of her head. Looking in the mirror, Hermione could just about see Harry's toes as they poked out the bottom of her duvet. He had stayed with her increasingly often as their wedding was now just over six weeks away and they really needed to get some organising done. She would usually wake to see her best friend's face inches from own and Hermione had to admit that this made her grin first thing in the morning. Harry had also started cuddling her in his sleep, she would often wake to find an arm draped across her waist or back, Hermione was relieved that he didn't appear to find sleeping with her awkward, although she still wasn't sure about the rest of the sharing of the bed that would have to come shortly after getting married.
She pondered that thought for a moment. Harry occasionally kissed her and often held her hand in the corridors now that they were officially engaged but their relationship could hardly be called passionate. They seemed to be like a couple just starting their courtship or just even close friends. Hermione frowned as she noticed Harry roll over in her bed to her side, how would they cope with the strains of married life? And a baby? Harry had said he wanted a normal family, a life where their children could grow up with two parents who loved them and each other. He had made that much clear when he had proposed but Hermione wasn't sure how their relationship was going to progress to that in a little over six weeks.
Glancing at the clock on her dresser, Hermione jumped up and started to gather her belongings. She was off into muggle London today on special permission of the Headmistress. Harry knew that she was off to meet her mother to choose a wedding dress and that much was true. But, Hermione was also off to London to visit a renowned psychiatrist, Doctor Emmeline Lyles. She was desperate to help Harry get better and she knew that if she didn't she would be marrying a very damaged, unpredictable person. Deep down Hermione knew that she would stand by Harry no matter what- the war had proven that- but she could not deny that she wanted her best friend back, the man she thought she could love and knew that she could happily spend the rest of their lives together.
As if on cue, Harry sat up and felt around for his glasses. Finding them, he placed them on his face and smiled sleepily at Hermione who was now stood by the door, bag in hand. "Going without a goodbye?" Harry asked sleepily, his voice still thick.
"I didn't want to wake you, you looked so peaceful and you've slept with no nightmares again." Hermione looked at her fiancé.
"You're clearly working your magic on me Miss Granger." Harry grinned and stretched, "off to London already?"
"Yes, I'm meeting Mum in half an hour." Hermione smiled at Harry and crossed the room to stand by the bed. "I'll see you at dinner."
"See you Mione." Harry reached forward and brushed a hand down her arm before giving her hand a quick squeeze. Hermione tried to ignore the squeeze she felt in her chest as he did that.
"See you Harry." Hermione strode across the room and out into the common room, her heart still beating heavily at the small gesture that Harry had given before she left. Shaking her head, she told herself that this was for him and set out towards the Headmistress' office.
After flooing directly to the Leaky Cauldron and taking the tube through to Oxford Circus, Hermione quickly walked down one of the many side streets to a small wedding boutique. She had planned to meet her mother here, the same shop that she had bought her wedding dress from when she married Hermione's father. Hermione smiled at the repetition of it all, she adored her parents and was so pleased that they chose to forgive her for what she had done during the war. She was also glad that they had decided to accept Harry and the marriage law into their lives, her father was still reluctant but her mother was trying exceptionally hard to keep the peace for her family.
Hermione pushed the door opened and heard the distant tinkling of a bell signifying that a customer had entered. She stood by the desk as a small, dark haired woman approached. She had thick brunette hair that was tied back in a sleek bun, a strict face and was dressed in head to toe black. Hermione thought she was almost a spit for a younger looking Mcgonagall, however Hermione realised this wasn't the case when the woman smiled, for it transformed her face into one that housed pretty features. "Hello, I'm Helen. May I help you?"
"Hermione Granger, I'm here to find a dress. My mother should be joining me?"
"Ah, yes she arrived minutes ago, she's already through in the shop browsing dresses."
Hermione thanked the woman and followed her through to the main body of the shop; sure enough Hermione could see a woman who looked a lot like herself. Jean Granger stood at a similar height to her daughter, with wavy greying hair and a similar bone structure to her daughter. The main difference between the two was the hair and eye colour, where Hermione was dark, her mother was fair. Mrs Granger was already busily sorting through the racks, sorting the dresses and muttering to herself about which ones she thought would suit her daughter and which ones she disliked. Hermione grinned and approached her mother, tapping her on the shoulder, "hi Mum."
Jean turned and grabbed her daughter in a hug, "hello darling! How are you? Now, I've already got a few dresses in mind. Oh, isn't this exciting?"
Hermione laughed at her Mother's enthusiasm, "hold on Mum, let's just go at this carefully. I'm fine, how are you? How's Dad?" Hermione looked at her mother's reaction and was shown a guarded look before her Mum rapidly moved on the conversation. So, Hermione thought, it's just me and Mum then.
The two women made quick work of the racks, whittling down their choices to about 10 dresses. Hermione was then bundled into a changing room with the now strict again Helen and tightly laced, zipped and buttoned into each gown in turn. After the first five that were quickly vetoed, Hermione saw herself in the mirror in number 6. She smiled at her reflection and exited to show her mother the dress she was convinced was the one.
"Oh Hermione!" her mother sighed as she glimpsed her daughter. "You're stunning in that gown."
Hermione turned to face the mirror as Helen fussed with a veil and a fake bouquet; she studied the gown in detail, her mind weighing up the gown as she did with every decision. The dress was quite simple in terms of detail. It began at her shoulders with simple lace detail that covered her cleavage which led down to a simple sweetheart neckline, the dress then flowed down her waist where it then flaired out slightly to a short train. The biggest feature of the dress however, was the scooped back, which apart from where the capped sleeves tied was completely non-existent until her waist where the skirt started and continued into the train. Hermione knew that this was the one, although it wasn't totally what people would expect she didn't care- maybe she was done with what people expected.
Hermione looked over at her mother to see tears rolling down her face, she turned to Helen and just nodded, "this is it. No veil though, just as it is please." Helen smiled and nodded. She knew that this bride had found the one.
"Hermione, it's beautiful, you're so lucky you wore your hair up today. Look at that back! Harry will love you in it."
Hermione jolted back to reality at the mention of Harry's name, what would he think of the dress? Hermione wondered. She tried to look at herself from a strangers eyes, she was sure of the dress and hoped that he would be too. She giggled slightly as she imagined his shock at the daring back to the dress, she hoped he liked it.
After changing back into her clothes and organising delivery details with Helen, Hermione left the shop with her mother. She bid her goodbye, using the swift return to school as an excuse and began to walk down Tottenham Court Road towards Great Portland Street Hospital where Doctor Lyles was based.
Hermione was on the hunt for answers. She thought to herself as she walked. She hoped that this meeting would offer them.
As she approached the hospital, Hermione started to reconsider what she was doing. She was worried that they would tell her that Harry had too much trauma, that the lack of what Hermione could tell them would leave the Doctor unable to help Harry altogether. She knew she couldn't tell them about the war without some kind of memory charm after and Hermione did not want to subject someone to that again if she didn't have to. She just wanted some answers to start with, to help Harry.
Taking a deep breath she walked into the hospital, it was a clean place, with a welcoming reception area and chairs dotted about for patients and family. Hermione bypassed those and walked to the desk. "Excuse me, I have an appointment with Doctor Lyles, the name's Monica Wilkins."
The receptionist looked up, for a split second Hermione thought she saw recognition in her eyes. Then, she smiled, "certainly, wait a moment for me please." The receptionist typed on the keyboard, "second floor, third door on the right."
Hermione thanked the woman and walked to the staircase, she shook off the feeling that the receptionist was watching her go and ascended the stairs, taking them quickly so that she was soon out of sight.
Hermione found the door and knocked lightly, her hands shaking slightly from nerves as she waited for the sof, "come in." that she heard before turning the handle and making her way inside.
The office was again neat and welcoming, with some chairs casually arranged near a desk that had a minimal amount of papers on it. Behind the desk sat a middle aged woman who wore thick framed glasses around green eyes. She was blonde and wore her hair pinned back off her open, honest looking face. Hermione felt herself relax in the presence of this woman instantly, there was something about her that just put Hermione at ease.
"Can I help you?"
The question interrupted Hermione's thoughts, she moved forward and stood by the desk, "I'm Monica Wilkins, I wrote to you seeking advice about my partner, I'm worried about him after some recent events and wasn't sure what I could do for him."
"Ok, Monica. Take a seat and start by explaining what your concern is. Is your partner not with you? It would make it easier if you had bought him with you."
"Apologies, he is known to be resistant to others helping him. He has always tried to do things himself but I think he doesn't realise what is happening to him."
Hermione then proceeded to tell Doctor Lyles about Harry's condition, likening him to a soldier that had been captured to create a muggle scenario. She kept the detail to a minimum so that there would less chance for a slip up. Doctor Lyles listened attentively and occasionally asked the odd question for her notes. At the end of Hermione's description Doctor Lyles capped her pen and looked at Hermione, "Miss Wilkins, I believe your guess is correct, your partner sounds like a complex case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He has been under long periods of intense stress and experienced unusual circumstances for prolonged periods of time. I would need to meet him in order to decide the best course of treatment. Would that be possible?"
"I'm not sure."
"If I could meet him I would be able to assess his need to see if he is a potential candidate for cognitive behavioural therapy. Some cases do fix themselves so to speak, however with so much trauma it sounds like therapy may be the best way to help him cope. I recommend you make another appointment to bring him here again."
"I'll try, thank you Doctor." Hermione shook her hand and exited the building, avoiding the receptionist's eyes this time. Her mind was buzzing, Dumbledore seemed to be correct, Harry needed help and now she had to find a way to talk to him about it. After discussing it with the Doctor Lyles she was desperate to get him to come to the hospital with her. She would try hard to help him, she seemed trust worthy.
Hermione quickly returned back to the Leaky Cauldron to floo back to Hogwarts, thinking practically about how to talk to Harry. She entered the Headmaster's office and turned to see Dumbledore looking at her expectantly, she smiled reassuringly and nodded at him, hoping that for now this would be enough. She wanted to get to dinner, to see Harry and to share parts of the day with him until she worked out how to share all of the day with him.
Sorry it's been so long. I wanted to post something. I'm not sure it's the best but it needed to be done to move the story in the right direction.