Yayyy last one hope you like how it ties up
Love you guys, you are all so awesome,
Sirius xoxo
Chapter 21.
Hermione sat up and looked down at her clothing. She was dressed strangely, she had a white shirt on that went all the way down to her knees and white pants on with bare feet. She noticed instantly that she was no longer pregnant. She looked around and all she could see were white walls and doors and a long corridor just in front of her.
"Hello, is anyone there?" She called out but there was only the echo of her own voice.
She stood up and walked over to the first door on her left but it was locked then she tried the next door on her right but it was locked too. She headed down the long corridor towards the bright light at the end. As she got closer she noticed a field, a green grassy field full of wild flowers of every colour. It looked beautiful and as she stepped outside onto the grass she could feel the grass crunching under her feet. Hermione looked around and even though she couldn't actually see it she felt like she was in a fish bowl.
"Hello!" she called out.
"Hi," the voice came from behind her and she didn't want to turn around. She knew that voice, she would recognise anywhere. She slowly turned around and looked at the person who spoke to her.
"Ginny am I dead?" Ginny smiled and opened her arms and Hermione walked straight into them and hugged her best friend. She felt like she was really there and really holding her.
"Gin, what's happened, how did I die?" Ginny laughed, "No you're not dead Mione, well not yet anyway. You have about 100 more years before you come up here to be with me." Hermione nodded not really knowing what to say.
"Hermione, are you happy with your life?" Hermione looked at her and even though if this was any other situation she probably wouldn't say anything but it was Ginny, her best friend.
"Gin, I don't know, I love Charlotte she's my pride and joy but I don't know about Harry, I just wonder whether it was supposed to be like this." Ginny took her over to a picnic blanket that was laid out on the floor with all her favourite foods and they sat down and ate together.
"Hermione you were always meant to be with Harry. He will do great things with you at his side." "But it's so hard, I feel like I stole him from you, I heard you were the love of his life, I don't know where I fit in." Ginny smiled and continued.
"Harry and I were meant to have Charlotte and you were meant to meet Draco and you were meant to fall for Sirius but more importantly you were meant to be with Harry after all those things had happened. Its important that you understand everything has happened for a reason Hermione."
"Its just so confusing, Draco only used me to get to Harry." Gin popped a strawberry into her mouth and smiled at her.
"No Draco was in your life to force Harry to see how much he wanted you, how much he loved you and also to push him to become the next Minister of Magic. Draco was an integral part of that plan Hermione." Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing, she felt so insignificant in the whole scheme of things. Life was decided for her long before she even knew about it.
"I just can't believe it Ginny, it feels like everything is planned out for me and I have no say or no free will."
"No you do have free will but there are things that are bigger than us Mione, things that are necessary for life to go on. You can decide where you live, what house you live in, how you get married..." Ginny raised an eyebrow at that one.
"... but who you marry, how life pans out and the people that come into your life to touch your soul are all planned out for you. Luna for example, I sent her to you because you were so lost without me. You just didn't connect with anyone like we did so I sent you Luna and Zac and funny thing about that, Zac will be a lovely son in law for you one day." Ginny laughed but Hermione was gobsmacked and all she could say was one thing,
"I was so lost without you, I missed you and needed you so much over the last few years." Hermione started crying and Ginny took her hand and held it.
"Hermione I never left you, when you felt a bit stronger and reasoned with yourself, that was me guiding you sweetheart. I never left you and I never will."
The tears were falling down her face but she felt better knowing that she never left her.
"After almost losing you, Luna will go into research and make a new potion that will help muggle borns to have safe pregnancies from now on. She will credit it all to you, she is truly a great friend."
"What about Harry, where does he stand in all of this?" Hermione was curious.
"Harry was and always will be the only man for you as will you be the only woman for him. He loves you with such deep passion that it consumes his soul. He will be the first to admit that he can't control his passion and desire for you and it makes him make crazy decisions."
Hermione nodded, "yeah the pregnancy."
"Umm sorry that was set long before his crazy desires took over Hermione. Harry had nothing to do with that conception, James, you'll name him James, is the tie between the two of you other wise you would of stayed with Sirius and spent the rest of your life with him." Hermione gasped now she was totally confused.
"Hang on, I would have stayed with Sirius? How the hell does that work in the larger plan?"
Ginny smiled and continued, "Hermione Draco came into your life so Harry could see how much he loved you but you weren't ready to see it yet. You hadn't experienced that consuming love before, you certainly didn't feel it with Draco, but you needed to feel it or otherwise you wouldn't know you felt it with Harry too. So Sirius stepped in and filled that part of your life you hadn't experienced yet. Right from the first day you met him sparks flew between you and it was only a matter of time before Sirius fell in love with you and you fell for him too. You needed to grow so you could handle Harry's deep all consuming love. Didn't you think it was funny that you did things with Harry that you would of normally had to think through for weeks and weeks Hermione." Hermione looked at her and was clearly confused.
"Hermione you decided to sleep with Harry in a matter of hours, you married him on a day's notice. Every important thing you did with Harry you did on a whim, on a minutes notice, that's because deep down you knew it was right. You know in your heart that you love him just as much as he loves you but you were scared. Too afraid to get hurt, too afraid to put it all out there. You just need to let go and enjoy your life Hermione, stop thinking he is going to leave you, he loves you more than he can show you and he is on the verge of dying right now thinking that he won't hold you again. Stop being afraid to feel and love Hermione, you both deserve to be happy and life is too short to spend your time thinking that its a business arrangement." Hermione gasped in between her tears,
"But how could someone like him love someone like me?" Ginny laughed at her comment and then a serious look crossed her face.
"He thinks the same thing about you every day Hermione, he wonders how someone as beautiful and caring and kind as you could possibly love someone who is so broken. He comes across as confident and in control but he is nothing like that at all. He prays every night that he will be enough for you, he prays that you would find it in your heart to love him even half as much as he loves you. He prays every night that the dreams in your mind would be of him and not someone else. He doesn't know of your feelings for Sirius, he thinks you still think of Draco and it kills him, it breaks his heart every night. The feelings you have for Sirius are different to Harry's, they are real don't get me wrong but they are different and when Sirius meets someone he will realise it too."
Hermione couldn't believe Harry still had those feelings deep inside of him and she felt terrible that she never reassured him that she wasn't going anywhere. She thought more about what Ginny said and she wasn't sure she didn't want an answer to her next question but she asked anyway.
"So Sirius will meet someone and fall in love, will he marry?" Ginny smiled again and nodded, "Yes thanks to you actually. You will introduce him to a lady who will be his new love and they will be so matched even you will wonder why you thought otherwise. It will take him a while because you were his first love, but he will and he will be so happy."
"I don't know that I'm ready for that yet? Is that terribly selfish of me? Its so hard because I do love Harry, like you said its so consuming its takes over my life but I still think of Sirius, ...often." Ginny grabbed her hand and said no, "It's not time yet Hermione, you still need to work through your feelings. Sirius is starting to see that he can never have you for fear of losing Harry and Harry is terribly important to him. That's why he never took it that one step further with you, its not that he didn't want to, it was just that he couldn't. Each hug he pulled back first and the kisses that never followed through."
Hermione was trying to process all this new information and Ginny knew it.
"What about Charlotte, is she happy with me?" Hermione choked on the words and Ginny smiled and told her yes, she is where she was meant to be.
"Hermione there will only be bits of this information that you will remember and when something happens it will be a bit like deja vu." Hermione nodded again and then the two girls sat in silence for a while.
"Ginny?"
"Yeah sweetie what is it?"
"What is happening right now and where is my baby?" she said touching her stomach.
"They took him out and he is doing marvellously he is a special child too Hermione and he will be such a pleasure for you both. Charlotte is putting a lot of energy into him and they will be extremely close. You are still struggling to pull through and Harry and Sirius have made a vigil by your bed both feeling the pain of possibly losing you. You will pull through though and you will be back to normal quite quickly." Hermione nodded again and then she looked back down the hallway towards the two doors that were locked.
"What's behind those two doors Ginny, my future?" Ginny looked down and then said yes quite confidently.
"What do you mean? Why are there two? Is there a choice for me to make?" Ginny shook her head and stood up, she put out her hand and Hermione grabbed it. They both walked towards the hallway and then stood in the middle of the two doors.
"This door is mine Hermione, I go back to where I am now and that door is yours, you go back to your body and recover with your beautiful children and your husband who loves you and deserves your love." Ginny walked over to her door and turned around to see Hermione looking slightly panicked.
"I don't want you to go yet Ginny, I miss you so much." Hermione was crying so hard she didn't believe she could let go of Ginny for a second time.
"I don't think I can say goodbye again Ginny?" Hermione put out her hand and Ginny smiled and walked towards her. She pulled her in for a hug and then kissed her cheek.
"Just remember every time you see a rainbow that's me smiling down on you, putting some colour into your life after the darkness that proceeded it. Remember that I have never left you and never will my friend." Ginny kissed her again and wiped away her tears. She walked over and opened the left door and Hermione looked in and saw herself laying in the hospital bed with Harry sitting on her bed holding her hand, Sirius was sitting in the large chair watching her and Charlotte and Luna were asleep in a makeshift bed.
"They all look so sad."
"They are dying inside Hermione, they are all counting each breath hoping the next one won't be the last. Harry's on the edge and it will only take a skip of your breath for him to totally lose it. Charlotte has faith her mummy will not leave her like I did and she can't wait to go home to play with her brother. Luna is dying inside too hoping she won't lose her best friend but as we speak she is already running ideas in her head about the new tests and potions she will make to ensure this never happens again. Sirius is praying to everyone that he doesn't have to console his Godson for the loss of the love of his life and of course his own pain is consuming his soul. They all need you Hermione, you have always felt like the outsider but you are the glue that keeps this little family together. None of them would survive long without you and luckily they don't have to. Its time to go back and start living again." Hermione nodded even though she couldn't take her eyes off her little family, Luna and Sirius included. She started to take a step but turned around to Ginny one last time, "Will I see you again?" "Not for a long time Mione and I'm happy about that?" Ginny laughed and Hermione smiled. "I love you Ginny, I always will and thank you for making me see what I had before I lost it all." Ginny smiled and then she started drifting back towards the other door and Hermione watched as the door opened and she saw Ginny's dad and brother there on the inside of the door waiting for Ginny to return. The door closed gently and the last thing Hermione saw was Ginny's beautiful smile. She turned around and took a step forward and it felt like she was falling, she closed her eyes and floated down.
The next thing she saw was the white flickering lights on the hospital room ceiling above her bed and she glanced over to see Harry sitting next to her. She lifted her hand and touched his and then she heard Harry scream to Sirius and the others that she was awake. Sirius jumped up and hugged his Godson and the relief was evident on his face. Luna was crying and hugging everyone and Charlotte was smiling her brightest smile. Sirius grabbed Charlotte and Luna and went to go and get the Healers but Harry wasn't going to move away from her side.
"Where's James?" she mumbled out but Harry heard her.
"Sweetheart, he is fine, he is making great progress, just get better ok?" The tears were streaming down his face and she slowly lifted her hand to wipe the tears away and Harry grabbed her hand and cried into it.
"I thought I lost you Mione, I nearly died myself. I couldn't even think of bringing up the kids without you." Harry was still crying and Hermione again wiped his tears away.
"This was all my fault Hermione, I nearly killed you by having my baby, you nearly died." Harry was on the verge of hysteria by this stage.
"Harry," she mumbled out and he said yes, "Harry it's not your fault it was meant to be, I wouldn't change anything. I love you." Harry stared at her, she had never said it before and he was sure he misheard.
"Did you just say...?" Hermione nodded and smiled, "Yes Harry I love you." Harry leant forward and hugged her so tightly and said to her, "I love you so much Mrs Potter, you are my life you know that?" Hermione nodded and then as she moved again to clear away his tears the Healers came rushing in. Scans and tests were done and it was nearly an hour before she could talk to anyone again. They brought the baby in in his special bed so she could see him and she was so pleased he was so strong. Charlotte spent her time holding his hand and when one nurse told her not to, Hermione said her brother needs his big sister and she is to hold him as often as she likes. It was days before she could actually sit up and talk to everyone and it was nice to be able to have time with Luna during the day without the boys.
"Luna thank you for everything, I know you haven't been working and just staying here with me, so thank you from the bottom of my heart." Luna hugged her friend and told her about the details of her eight day sleep. Hermione smiled as she watched her chat on and on and thanked Ginny for bringing her into her life. That afternoon Sirius arrived before Harry and when he walked in he wasn't sure whether to stay or not but she smiled at him and patted the side of the bed next to her and he walked over and sat down.
"You gave us quite the scare."
"I'm sorry." Sirius looked at her and the frustration was evident on his face. Hermione lifted her hand and stroked his cheek and he closed his eyes at her touch.
"I've never seen Harry like that Hermione, I thought he was going to die right here watching you. It killed me to watch it." Hermione nodded and then asked him a question he wasn't expecting.
"How do you feel about everything?" Sirius looked at her and he stood up and walked over to the window.
"I kept thinking I was going to watch you die. I kept thinking about Harry, Charlotte and Luna and how they would cope but then I thought about me, how would I cope? How do I lose someone who is so special to me?"
"What did you come up with?" Hermione asked quietly.
"I didn't come up with any thing I just prayed you wouldn't die, I prayed I wouldn't have to deal with it and I prayed that Goodbye wasn't the last word I spoke to you. I needed you to come back because he needs you so much Hermione." Sirius continued looking out of the window and Hermione spoke again,
"Only him? Not you too?" Hermione looked at him and he turned around to look at her.
"Yes me too, it was and always will be me too Hermione but I have to reign it in, Harry is deeply upset that I don't visit and I can't and won't avoid you any longer. Plus I can't stay away from you anymore either."
"Good I'm glad but I have to tell you something Sirius," Sirius nodded and told her he already knew about the wedding and she nodded too but looked down at her hands. He walked back over to the bed and sat down and she looked up at him.
"I am happy if you are Hermione?" Hermione smiled and nodded, "Yes Sirius I am happy, Harry does truly love me and I understand that now and I love him too." Sirius couldn't believe how it hurt to hear those words but also he felt relief, relief for Harry.
".. but on some level I love you too Sirius although I love him more. Does that make sense?" Hermione looked at him and she was very relieved to see he smiled. "Yes strangely it does Hermione. I feel happy that you are happy and I'm pleased that I am not in love with someone who hates me." Hermione laughed and told him she could never hate him. Sirius took her hand and went to kiss the back of her hand but changed his mind and leant forward and kissed her forehead like he always did. At that moment Harry walked in and he stopped dead in his tracks.
"Finally you two worked out your differences now can we go back to being a real family?" Sirius smiled and nodded and so did Hermione. Harry walked up and kissed her on the lips and then put some more gifts on the side of her bed.
"I have great news Hermione, James is doing so well they told us as soon as your ready to leave he can come home with us." Hermione was so pleased, she couldn't wait to get out of the hospital.
It took another week and the little family went home. Harry decided on having a welcome home party but Hermione convinced him to wait a few months and make it a christening party for James, The time flew by and the party was enormous. They had announced to the press that they were married and they had children and they were surprisingly supportive. Luna and Hermione pulled the whole thing together and it was a huge success. Hermione introduced Sirius to a friend of hers from the hospital, Julia who was originally Draco's secretary and they seemed to hit it off straight away. Luna and Neville had a great time as well and while everyone was talking in the lounge, the door bell went off and Harry went to answer it. Hermione was standing close by and she watched Harry's face change at the person who was at the door. She walked over and saw Ron Weasley standing there.
"Umm Ron what is it you wanted?" Hermione asked as she could see her husband was reigning in his temper.
"Hi Hermione I came to apologise for everything that happened last year and I wanted to congratulate you Harry on becoming Minister and your new family. Umm Calloway and Malfoy were both charged and convicted of killing my father and brother last week. I felt I owed you an apology." Harry nodded and then Hermione asked him to give them a couple of seconds. She stepped outside with Ron and sat down on the verandah chairs.
"Why did you come here today Ron?" Ron looked nervously at her but continued on.
"Lately I have been having these dreams that I need to make amends, its like something is telling me its important. I know it sounds stupid but I just wanted to come." Hermione smiled and knew that Ginny was guiding her in the direction she needed to go.
"OK Ron thank you for coming and leave Harry up to me, I will get him to come around." Ron smiled and nodded and then stood up to leave. He looked at Hermione and asked her one final question, "Do you think she would have ever forgiven me?" Hermione smiled.
"Yes I know she did Ron, she would never hold a grudge its not her style." Ron smiled and as his face was going red she knew he was choking up so she let him go. She watched him leave and then she felt two arms around her waist and she immediately hugged his arms.
"Harry do you ever feel that you are in the right place at the right time and everything is just perfect?" Harry snuggled into her shoulder and then spoke, "Yes Hermione every single day that I see your smile and see you with our children and every single time you tell me you love me." Hermione smiled and looked up to see the most brightest glistening rainbow she had ever seen.
EPILOGUE
Dear Diary,
I am sitting here looking out over the grounds of the Potter Estate and I can't help but think back. Mum ended up having two more kids after James, Rosebud and Lukey-Boy, better known as Rose and Luke. Mum could only have them after my mother in law (Luna Longbottom) invented the new research drug that helped people like my mum, a muggle-born, to have babies to really strong magical people like dad.
Dad ended up staying on as Minister for years and years and last year he was awarded the Longest serving Minister of all times. James, my brother took over last year at the ceremony and me, Dad and Mum couldn't of been prouder.
My grandad Sirius met a nice lady, Julia a friend of mum's and they ended up getting married. They are happy and even though it took him a long time to be able to talk to mum without having to leave the room, he is finally happy.
Mum and Dad don't know it but I am a Seer and I saw every thing that has got them to where they are today. Grandad and Mum were really close but after she nearly lost James and she spoke to my biological mother in her dream-like coma, she realised how much she truly loved my dad and they have been inseparable ever since.
Dad did confess to Mum that he knew about Grandad and her relationship and even though they never told me, nothing gets passed me. I must admit even I shed a tear when I saw that conversation in my dream. Dad told Mum he never said anything because he stood to loose the most, his Godfather and the love of his life. So touching my father but he was honest and sincere.
It took a while but we started visiting my maternal grandmother, Molly Weasley. As a child I didn't understand it but being the person I am it didn't take long for me to get the whole picture. Dad slowly made amends with Uncle Ron and he then took us over to meet the rest of the family. It was nice having Christmas's together and Uncle Ron's daughter which is my cousin Felicity is my best friend.
I am happily married to my long time best friend Zachary Longbottom and we are expecting twin girls in another two months. We have named them Ginerva and Hermione after the two women who made me who I am today. We are super excited but not as much as mum and dad are.
Over the years Mum and Dad never doubted their love for one another and all of us lived a life that they write about in Fairytales.
Love
Charlotte Potter-Longbottom