"Are you ready?" Harry asked, peeking into the bedroom. Hermione nodded, closing her trunk as she did so.
"Packed and ready to go."
"I can't believe it's time to leave this place," he replied, looking around.
"One more year of school, Harry, and we can officially begin our lives," she said with a smile, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You will be an Auror, and I will go into Magical Law."
"And we'll have four kids."
"Are you still on this?" she asked, rolling her eyes.
"Two boys and two girls."
She shook her head. "Unless they're coming out of you, you better rethink that statement."
"Fine," he said with a playful sigh. She let out a smile. "We need to get going. Molly and Arthur are expecting us for dinner."
She nodded, and grabbed hold of her trunk. He took it from her and shrunk both before placing them into his pocket. He then grabbed hold of her hand, and with a crack they disappeared from the first place they called home as a couple.
"Harry, Hermione," Molly said, wrapping her arms around them as they entered the house. "Did you get everything you need?"
"We did," she replied, taking her trunk from Harry.
"Good. Dinner is almost ready. Ron, take them up to their room, please."
"You're married and I have to chauffeur you around?" he asked, leading the two up the stairs.
"I thought that was your job," Harry said with a grin. He glared at him.
"Here's your room," he replied, showing him the first room on the stairwell. They opened the door and put their trunks into the room before closing the door behind them. "Up for a quick game of chess, mate?"
"You're on."
Hermione smiled as she followed them back down to the living room, running into Ginny as she did so.
"You're here!"
"We're here," she replied with a smile. "Neville's not here?"
"He and Luna both went back home to spend their last night with his grandmum and her father. I'm shocked you're not with your parents tonight."
"They're going to meet us at the station tomorrow. We spent quite a bit of time with them yesterday."
"At least you'll get to see them before you go."
Hermione nodded. They walked into the living room and saw the boys on the ground getting the chess set ready.
"Hermine!" Fleur said, walking into the room. Ginny held back a groan.
"Hello, Fleur."
"I just vanted you to know that everything vis set up and ready."
"Great," she replied, nodding her head. "Thank you so much."
"Zis' my pleasure."
"Dinner's ready!" Molly called from the kitchen.
After everyone went off to bed, the four teenagers stayed up for one final drink. Hermione quickly filled everyone's glasses with the butterbeer before she went to sit next to Harry, smiling as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"Here's to another great year at Hogwarts," he said, holding his glass out.
"Another great year," the other three echoed, clicking their glasses.
"We should probably be getting to sleep soon," Hermione said, looking at the time.
"We're no longer dorm mates. I say we make the most of our time," Ron said, pouring some more into his glass.
"Hermione and I actually want to talk to the both of you about that. Since we have our own common room and an extra bedroom, we'll let all of you come in and hang out if you would like."
"But, it's still our space and would like privacy, so please be considerate."
"Thank you," Ginny said with a smile.
"Thanks."
"As for tonight," Harry said, grabbing the bottle, "I agree with Ron."
"One more glass for me," Hermione replied with a small laugh, holding her glass out to Harry so he could refill it.
"This time last year, the three of you were missing, and Hogwarts had been taken over," Ginny started. "Sitting here a year later, everything is so much different than I would have expected. The war is officially over, Harry and Hermione are happily married and Ron and I are very happy in our own relationships. This has been an upside-down year, and I'm more than happy that we are here, ready to finish our final year of Hogwarts. We may have lost some, but we have gained so much more."
"Cheers," they said, clinking their glasses with her own.
And that followed them to the next morning, when they were awaken by Molly. They had their quick breakfast before they took off towards Kings Cross, Ginny's words from last night ringing through all of their heads.
Yes, it had been a very difficult year. It was a year full of mistakes, misery, and pain. A year full of loss, but a year full of gain.
"We're here," Arthur said, breaking into all of their thoughts. They got out of the cars and grabbed their trunks before entering the station, spotting Hermione's parents almost immediately.
"Mum, dad!" Hermione said, hugging her parents. "Thank you for being here."
"We wouldn't miss this," Melinda said, hugging her daughter back. "Hello, Harry."
"Melinda, Joseph," he replied, giving her a hug and him a handshake.
"Ready to return?" he asked, clapping Harry's shoulder.
"We are," she replied.
"We'll help you get across the barrier," Arthur said, and he and Molly helped Melinda and Joseph across the barrier. Harry and Ron gestured for Ginny and Hermione to go first, and followed behind them, eventually reaching the platform.
"I can't believe we're coming back," Ron said in shock, and Harry nodded in agreement.
"I can't wait," Hermione said, pushing her cart over to Harry.
"Of course you can't," Ron replied, rolling his eyes.
The whistle blew, and they all walked over to put their trunks onto the train. They then turned back to their parents.
"Do you have everything you need?" Molly asked, looking between Harry, Ron and Ginny. They nodded. "Have a great term. Write often."
They nodded. They gave her a quick hug before giving Arthur the same.
"Best of luck to all of you."
Harry turned to Hermione, who was saying goodbye to her parents. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and that's when he noticed.
Everyone who was around was whispering, confirming the rumors to be true.
Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were married.
He rolled his eyes, already annoyed. They had talked about it last night before bed. They knew the rumors that were bound to come, and the pointing and staring. They had gotten enough of that in Hogsmeade and at Hogwarts over the summer.
"Good luck," Melinda said, smiling at her children. "We want both of you to have a great final term."
"So do we," Harry replied with a small smile. Hermione let out a laugh.
The whistle blew again, and her parents gave both of them a hug.
"Love you," Hermione said.
"Love you, too, pumpkin. We'll see you at break."
"Have a good term," Melinda said, giving Harry a hug.
"See you soon," he replied softly.
He then nodded at Hermione and they quickly boarded the train, finding Neville, Luna, Ron and Ginny shortly afterwards. They turned to the window and saw Melinda, Joseph, Molly and Arthur standing there, waving goodbye. The train gave a quick push before it started to slowly take off. It rounded the corner, and the platform was out of sight.
"We need to get to the meeting," Hermione told Harry and Ron.
"Be back soon," Ron said, and Luna nodded in agreement.
They walked out of the compartment. Neville turned to Luna.
"What's it like dating him?"
"It's nice, actually. Last week we went to Diagon Alley and he got me some ice cream and we just hung out."
"My brother does have a heart."
"He really is sweet."
"Have you two shagged yet?"
"No," she replied quietly.
"Harry and Hermione have announced that we're allowed to be in their dorm-within reason, of course. They're going to give us the password, and they do have an extra room they won't be using."
"Are you trying to hook your brother up?" Neville asked in disgust. Ginny thought about it for a minute before she pulled a face.
"I was trying to help Luna, but I wasn't thinking."
"Figures that McGonagall would give the married couple their own dorms," Pansy Parkinson said, glaring at Harry and Hermione.
"Upset that your boyfriend left you?" Harry asked, giving Pansy a look.
"I don't need him anyway," she hissed.
"Can we get started?" Hermione asked, and Pansy mimicked her.
"I would watch it, Pansy. We're in charge of you. We can take points away and put you in detention," Harry replied, glaring back at her. She gave him a look but remained quiet.
"Now that we can get started," Hermione said, shaking her head slightly, "Welcome back to another year of Hogwarts. I have here the list of things that Headmistress and your heads would like for us to know."
She pulled out the list and quickly glanced over it. "Because of the war, the former Great Hall has become a Memorial Chamber. The new Great Hall is the first room on the first corridor. Teachers will be there when we arrive instructing everyone where to go.
"Gryffindor prefects, I have a message from your new Head of House, Professor Sinsitra. She would like to meet with all of you before you go to bed tonight, but after you take care of the first years."
She looked up and watched as all six Gryffindor prefects nodded. She then continued on.
"Ravenclaw, nothing much has changed for your house. Professor Flitwick would like to meet with all of you as well for a quick meeting before your classes tomorrow morning."
They nodded as well. She continued down the list, and she resisted the urge to smile at the next message.
"Slythern house, this may take a bit. Your Head of House Professor Slughorn and Headmistress McGonagall are issuing a clear message: there will be no more favoritism. In the past, the Slythern household has been shown great amounts of favoritism. No longer. All professors have been ordered to treat every student, regardless of house, fairly, or else they will be reported. Also, any prefect caught bullying a student will automatically lose their prefect status."
"That's not right!" Pansy said, speaking once again.
"I think it's plenty right. Snape let all of you get away with way too much. It's about time a foot was put down," Ron replied, and every other prefect expect the Slytherns nodded in agreement.
"Moving on," Harry replied, earning another nasty look from Pansy. "We all know how hard this term will be for everyone. People we went to school with died. Family members died. Some people have wounds that will never heal. As leaders, we need to try to be there. This is going to be a very difficult year for everyone involved."
Most of the prefects nodded in agreement. Hermione dropped her head, feeling sad for all of the lives lost in the battle.
"With the message portion done, it's time to work on rounds."
They continued on with the meeting for another half-hour before everyone was dismissed. Hermione turned and smiled at Harry.
"What?"
"Thanks for sticking up for me."
"You know how long I have been wanting to tell her off?" he said with a grin. She laughed.
"I have a feeling the Slythern house is not going to have a good year."
"Probably not," he replied.
"Are you two done?" Ron asked, making a sick look. They rolled their eyes.
"Let's get back to the compartment," Hermione said, shaking her head.
They walked back to the compartment and saw Neville and Ginny kissing. Ron pounded on the door.
"Oi! Stop that!"
"It's called snogging, Ronald. Like this," Hermione said, pressing her lips to Harry's.
"Ron doesn't know because he doesn't do it with his girlfriend," Ginny replied, and Ron glared at her.
"I do too snog my girlfriend. Where is she, anyway?"
"She went to go change."
"So the two of you decided to make this your snogging compartment?"
"Grow up, Ron," Hermione sighed, as she and Harry moved past him to sit down.
He growled but sat down next to Neville. Luna returned a minute later and sat next to Ron.
"How was the meeting?" she asked.
"It was good. Slythern's aren't too happy with the new rules that were put in place."
"I can only imagine as much," Ginny replied with a laugh.
"And they also brought up the fact that our Head Boy and Girl are married."
"I bet people are loving that," Neville said, shaking his head.
"They'll get over it," Ginny replied. "No one deserves those positions more than you two do."
"We're not worried about it," Harry said, and Hermione nodded in agreement.
The hours rolled by, and soon the train began to roll to a stop. Harry gently shook Hermione awake, and they gathered their supplies to step off of the train. Half of the group went in one carriage while the other half went in the other. They soon arrived at the castle, and saw the teachers directing students to where the new Great Hall was.
And as they entered the Great Hall, Harry caught the rumors and whispers start up again.
Word had officially gotten out that a married couple were Head Boy and Girl. As he sat and listened to the rumors around them, he wondered briefly how people would be reacting to that.
A married couple as Head Boy and Girl.
The doors opened, and the new first years walked through, led by Sinistra, looking both amazed and terrified. Harry glanced over at Hermione, who was interested in the sorting ceremony, and smiled softly, everything that has happened after the battle until now playing in his head.
The bond. The bond that somehow occurred on that cold Christmas Eve night. That bond that caused their marriage. Their decision to divorce initially, then the decision to stay together. The week in Australia. Their engagement. Their entire summer. His birthday. Her birthday.
Before he realized, the ceremony was over and McGonagall was taking her stand.
"Welcome to another year of Hogwarts," she started, looking around at all of her students. "As you can see, some things have changed from the previous years. Our former Great Hall has been converted into a Memorial Chamber. Also, the dorm rooms have been altered slightly to accommodate for the extra students who have decided to return. As always, the Forbidden Forest is off limits.
"Gryffindor house, your new Head of House is Professor Sinistra. Slythern House, your Head of House is Professor Slughorn. I would also like to introduce Professor Peter Bryan as your new Transfiguration teacher, Professor Ryan Wilson as your new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor, and Professor Christina Wallace as your new Muggle Studies instructor."
Behind her, the two men and woman stood up and smiled amongst the studies. They sat back down and McGonagall turned back to the students.
"With that, we shall eat."
She waved her hands, and the food appeared on the table. Everyone quickly dug in, hungry from the train ride. Hermione glanced up and saw Ron's plate, and shook her head, wondering how he could eat that much.
Everyone was promptly dismissed after dinner, and Harry and Hermione stood outside of the Great Hall, wondering where their dorms were at.
"Potters," McGonagall said, walking up to them, "shall I walk you to your dorm?"
They nodded, and started to follow her. They walked up to the third floor, and walked to the end of it before she stopped at a portrait of a knight, staring and waiting for them.
"Sir Killan, I would like to introduce to you your new Head Boy and Girl, Harry and Hermione Potter. Can you inform them of the new password?"
"Certainly, Headmistress. The password to get into your dormitory is Stronger Together."
"Stronger together," they repeated, and he opened the door to let them through. They followed McGonagall, and their mouths opened as they saw their common room for the first time.
"What do you think?"
"It's huge," Hermione said without thinking. McGonagall smiled.
"And it's yours. Congratulations."
"Professor," Harry said, and she turned towards him, "did you chose us because of our marriage?"
"Is that the newest rumor going around?" she asked with a small smile. "I chose the both of you even before I knew about your marriage. There's no one better for the position, and every one of the professors here agreed with me. We don't care about your marital status. We just care about who's the best for the position."
"Thank you, professor," he said, and Hermione nodded in agreement.
"Even though you're married, anything marriage-related stays in the dormitory. Do you understand?"
They nodded. She gave both of them a stern look.
"Best of luck."
She turned and walked out of the dormitory. Hermione turned to Harry and smiled.
"Our own dorms to ourselves," she said, placing her hands on his chest.
"You sound excited about that," he replied with a grin.
"I am," she said seductively, popping open the first button to his shirt.
"It's pretty late, and we have to be up early tomorrow. Shall we retreat to our room?" he asked, holding his hand out. She let out a small smile and grabbed for it.
"How's the dorm?" Ginny asked Hermione at lunch the next day.
"It's amazing. The rooms and bathroom are so big."
"Luna and I are going to go there during our break."
"I'm sure Harry and Ron will be in there as well."
"How does it feel to be back at Hogwarts?"
"It's different. I have missed this place, but after everything that has happened it feels like it's a different place."
"I know," Ginny replied, looking around the new Great Hall.
"Ladies," Harry said, sitting next to Hermione. She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss.
"How was class?"
"This will be a hard term," he replied, filling his plate. "How was Ancient Runes?"
"I really enjoy that class."
"Of course you do."
"Harry, I'm working on a time for Quidditich tryouts and I'll let you and Ron know when."
"Great," he said, taking a bite.
"Will you take everyone back to our dorms?" Hermione asked, and he nodded in agreement.
"Of course. Off to the library already?"
"I already have six-inches of parchment due by the next class."
"See you later?" he asked, and she nodded.
"Always," she said with a smile, and grabbed her bag before walking away. He turned back to Ginny, who was eyeing him.
"What?"
"Nothing," she said, taking a bite of her own food.
"Ok then," he replied.
"Have you seen my boyfriend, by chance?"
"He and Ron were right behind me."
"There they are," she said, as Ron and Neville walked in.
"Hey there," Neville said, giving her a quick kiss.
"Do that on your own time," Ron said, avoiding them.
"Don't worry, Ron, one day you'll become a man and snog your girlfriend."
He didn't reply, but glared at his sister. Harry and Neville let out a laugh.
"Like you're perfect," he shot at Harry. He held up his wedding band.
"Married, mate."
"By accident."
"Still married."
"And, if you've forgotten, they are having a Christmas Eve wedding," Ginny said with excitement.
"I'm just glad Bill and Fleur are helping out. It takes a lot of the stress off of Hermione."
"As much as I hate to say it, Fleur did have a beautiful wedding before it was interrupted."
"Hermione's excited. She can't wait to see what's planned."
"You're going to love her dress," Ginny said, smiling at him.
"She won't let me see it."
"Well duh," she replied, rolling her eyes. "No seeing the dress until the wedding."
"That's why she won't get her present until the very last minute of her birthday," he replied with a grin, taking a bite of his food.
"That's harsh," she said with a small laugh.
"I'm full," he said, pushing his plate away.
"I'll be done soon," Ron said, taking another bite.
They waited for Ron and Neville to finish their lunches before Harry led him back to the common room. He told them the password before saying it to the portrait hole, watching as it opened. He turned back around and smiled as his friends looked around in amazement.
"I can't believe how big this place is."
"We couldn't either. The bedrooms and bathroom are just as big."
"Can we look?" Ginny asked, and Harry nodded. They walked into the bathroom, shaking their heads. "You definitely deserve this."
"I'm just glad that we get to be together."
"I would be, too," Neville said. "Congratulations, mate."
"Thanks."
"Shall we start our homework?" Ginny asked, reaching for her bag. They nodded, and crouched around the coffee table. They spent the rest of their free time getting a head start on their homework before the rest of their classes.
After they finished their homework, they started on the path down to the Potions classroom. They met Hermione down there, who was waiting for the class to start.
"Get your assignment done?" Harry asked her, kissing her cheek. She nodded.
"Completely done."
"Harry, m'boy!" Slughorn said, walking up to him. "Congratulations on your wedding! I'm saddened that I didn't hear about that, though."
"Well, it was a shock to everyone, sir," he replied, and Hermione laughed slightly.
"Well, congratulations to the both of you."
"Thank you," they echoed, and followed him into the classroom.
The next few weeks went by, and everyone became engrossed in their schoolwork. They had all gone through the stress of O.W.L.s, and thought that was bad enough, but the stress of N.E.W.T.s was even worse. They were becoming more and more loaded with homework as the days went on, and they all wondered briefly if they would get a break anytime soon.
Gryffindor tryouts were the first week after they had gone back. Hermione, Luna and Neville had accompanied them to the pitch, and Hermione couldn't help but smile as she saw Harry's reaction to being back down on the pitch, broom in hand and ready to go.
And when Ginny had the Seekers tryout first, she could see the peaceful look that appeared on his face as he mounted his broom and took off, chasing after the snitch that had been set free.
She closed her eyes and smiled. He even felt at peace.
Then it was time for Keeper tryouts, and Ron looked nervous and he took stand in front of the goalposts. As the quaffles were thrown at him, she noted that he had only missed one of them, and looked much more confident than he did when he tried out back in their sixth year.
"How do you think I did?" Harry asked, sitting next to her.
"You did great. Ron's doing great, too."
"I've missed this," he replied, looking out amongst the pitch.
"I know you have. It's nice to be back without having to worry about anything."
He nodded in agreement, watching as Ron flew back down onto the pitch to talk to his sister. He eventually joined them in the stands and watched the rest of the tryouts, which continued on four a few more hours before Ginny finally made her decision, and put her team together.
They had made the team as the Seeker and Keeper.
They had practice three times a week, and Hermione could already see a difference in Harry. All of the muscle he had lost during the hunt became more toned and tightened, and she couldn't seem to take her eyes off of him lately.
The 19th eventually rolled around, Hermione didn't even realize that it was her actual birthday. However, that didn't go unnoticed by her husband, who was concerned about how much time she was spending on her homework.
"Good morning," he said, giving her a quick kiss when she came out of the bedroom. "Happy birthday."
"I didn't even realize it was my birthday."
"That's because you have been working a little too hard. Take the day off today."
"I can't."
"Yes, you can. You're already way ahead on your assignments."
"I can take some time," she said in defeat, seeing the look on his face. "I don't have a lot."
"Deal," he said, kissing her head. "Ready to go to breakfast?"
She nodded, and they walked down to the Great Hall. They were greeted by Ron, Luna, Ginny and Neville, all of whom wished her a happy birthday.
"Thank you," she said, sitting down next to Harry.
"Harry given you your present yet?" Ginny asked, grinning slightly.
"He'll be stubborn and won't give it to me until later."
He didn't say anything, but looked away from her. She lightly punched his shoulder.
"You're so mean."
"I know," he replied, grinning slightly.
"When are you going to give it to me?"
"When the time is right."
"So, never?"
The corners of his mouth curled. "Maybe."
"Are they always like this?" Luna whispered to Ron.
"Makes me sick to my stomach," he whispered back.
"You need to relax," Harry said later that night, rubbing Hermione's shoulders.
"I can't. I have loads of homework to do."
"It's Saturday night," he whispered into her ear, pressing light kisses to her neck. "No classes until Monday. It's also your birthday."
"Harry," she half-sighed half-moaned. "I need to get this done."
He didn't say anything, but continued to press kisses against her neck. She dropped her quill and pressed her hand against the back of his neck, letting out a moan as he kissed a sensitive part of her neck.
"This can wait until tomorrow," she breathed out, letting out a disgruntled groan when she felt him grin against her skin.
"That's my girl," he whispered into her ear.
She got up off the floor and pressed their lips together, falling onto the couch when he fell backwards on it. His hands rested on her waist while hers worked on getting his shirt over his head. He sat up and assisted her in removing it before he laid back down on the couch. Her hands ran over his chest, enjoying the feel of his smooth, muscular chest under her hands.
"I'm so glad you've gone back to Quidditich," she breathed out when his lips moved to her neck again. He pulled away and grinned.
"Why's that?"
"No reason," she said, pulling away to run her eyes over his body. He sat them back up and removed her top, throwing it onto the floor as he did so.
"So beautiful," he whispered, running his hands across her flat stomach. She grabbed for his hand and took him to their shared bedroom, falling onto the bed when he lightly pushed her onto it.
"That was amazing," she said shortly afterwards, still attempting to get her breathing under control. Harry was still laying on her chest, and she smiled slightly. She knew that he loved to lay on her chest. She lifted her hand up and gently ran it through his hair.
"Am I hurting you?" he asked quietly.
"It's not bad."
He rolled off of her and to his side, taking her in his arms as he did so. She buried her head into his chest and lightly pressed a kiss to it. He moved away from her slightly and pulled open the drawer to his nightstand, pulling something out.
"Happy birthday," he said, handing her a wrapped package. She sat up in the bed and unwrapped the gift, revealing a black box. She gave him a quick look before she opened the box, her mouth falling open.
It was a golden snitch with the words I Open at the Close etched into it.
"Harry," she whispered, running her fingers across the words. "I thought you lost this in the forest."
"I did," he replied quietly. "This is a copy, and I engraved the words onto it."
She stared at the snitch in shock, unable to form any words. According to him, this snitch held the resurrection stone in it, and he used the stone to talk to his parents, Sirius and Remus again.
"I don't ever want this to open, because it being opened means I have to leave, and I never want to leave you again."
Her eyes watered as she processed his words. She then grabbed the snitch and held it in her hand, never wanting to let go of it.
"I love you," she choked out, turning to face him. He reached up and wiped the tears off of her face.
"I love you, too," he replied, lightly pressing their lips together.
On the Monday after her birthday, Hermione let out a sigh as she slowly walked back into her common room, her mind wandering more than it ever has before. She was scared, and she knew that Harry was probably feeling her and would ask why she was feeling that way later.
She had a right to be scared, after all.
She eventually entered the common room and jumped back in shock as she saw Ginny sitting on the floor, working on some of her homework.
"Hi there."
"Hi."
"What's the matter?"
"What do you mean?"
"It just seems like something's wrong."
She hesitated for a minute before asking, "Is anyone else here?"
"No, just me. What's wrong?"
"I screwed up, Ginny," she sighed, sitting on the couch next to her.
"What do you mean?"
She dropped her eyes. "I don't even know where to begin."
"Begin with what?"
"Harry and I have always used protection. I made sure of it."
"Protection? What are you-?" her eyes widened as the realization dawned on her, and she stood up. "Are you pregnant?"