Chapter twenty five

'I have to say something here, Snape, I do not want Ginny returning to Hogwarts with him after knowing what he did to Lily,' Molly said as she placed Harry on the floor, Arthur instantly casting his sticking charms.

'I told Minerva that if he leaves then I will not reveal what he did, she agreed. He won't be staying at Hogwarts. I wasn't going allow him anywhere near Harry, not after the way he treated me as a student, but after Lily, no, he's lucky I didn't kill him.'

'So when I go back, we'll have a new defence against the dark arts teacher?' Hermione asked.

'Yes, but Hermione, you're smarter than any seventh year, why do you want to return?'

'I want my N.E.W.T.s.' Hermione said simply.

'You want everyone to see that you can do the work, to prove to everyone just how clever you are?'

'In a way, but until I can work out what I would like to do, I will need those results for a job.'

'Yes, you probably will. Now I know I'm James, I can return to my old job, I worked from home, so that will help with Harry.'

'Harry never knew what you did,' Ron said.

'I was a financial advisor, I help people get their finances in order, helped them invest so they could live a comfortable life later on. I also offered assistance to get people started in business or investments. The Potter family has always been wealthy, so I used part of that to help good people that couldn't help themselves. I helped when three of the shops in Diagon Alley were up for sale, the Apothecary, Owlops and Madame Malkins, I leant them the money to buy their business, worked out a payment plan that would allow them to pay me back but leave them with plenty to run their business and live comfortably.'

'Harry helped us with our shop,' George said, 'Not quite the same, but it was there, like you in a way.'

'Yes, Harry felt the need to help but also it was something he could do which would help everyone.'

'Maybe you could give us some advice, I hate working for the goblins, so does Fleur,' Bill said.

'Then we can sit down together and go through everything. You will need all documentation on what you have, what you earn, what you own, what you would like to do if it was possible. I will go through it and give you my advice on if it's possible with help or if it might be out of your reach, but I might also be able to give you other options for you to consider. I would assume you would like to start a family in the near future, which means only one lot of money coming into the household at one point.'

'Yes, we would.'

'Then when you get everything together, owl me and I can work on a time to sit with you and discuss everything. Arthur, you should do the same, all your children are of age now, you could use some of your money when you return to work for your future. It's something you can think about.'

'It's like we're listening to a completely different person. I see Harry, but it doesn't sound like Harry in anyway,' Hermione said.

'Because I'm not Harry, the Harry that was me was a lot like my father, he skipped any part of his parents. Maybe now Harry is going to grow up like any child, with a parent that loves him, he might bring out some of me or Lily. I know this is a lot to get used to Hermione, especially for you and Ron, but I am James, it does not mean we won't still be friends. I can feel that inside, my love for you, my love for my friends,' James smiled at Hermione, then Ron before turning to Neville and Luna, 'It's like the love I had for Sirius and Remus, I have that same love for you.'

'I need an answer to something that you would tell us that Harry never did?' Hermione asked.

'If I can tell you I will Hermione.'

'Harry refused to tell us he loved us, he did, we know he did. I would say I love you he would say me too, but never the words, why?'

'He told Sirius he loved him, he died. Albus told Harry it was going to be love that would help defeat Voldemort, Voldemort died. He knows his parents would have said they loved him, which we did, he said it to us, a lot, even for how young he is. Harry started to connect the word and meaning of love with death. He was scared that if he said I love you, you would die, he wasn't going to risk it.'

'So that's why, bloody hell,' Ron sighed then saw Hermione nod, 'You knew this?'

'I suspected that was the reason, but you know we could never push Harry for an answer to something he didn't want to talk about.'

'You are very intuitive towards Harry, you picked things up that he hoped you never would. He was more cautious around you for that reason.'

'Okay, Hermione got her answer, I would like one that Harry wouldn't tell me.'

'Go ahead Ron.'

'He seemed to talk to Hermione more than me, it was like his friendship with us was changing, from me being his best mate to being closer to Hermione. I could never work out if it was just me or if it was real.'

'It was real, Hermione never once deserted him, she always believed him even if the evidence didn't. You told Harry to piss off because you believed he put his name in the goblet of fire when he didn't. During the horcrux hunt, you left him, Hermione who loved you stayed with Harry, she never deserted him even for the boy she loved. To Harry that was complete loyalty, something he always looked for, loyalty and trust. So he came to completely trust Hermione because he knew she was loyal to him. He feels the same about Neville and Luna, complete trust. When you returned Ron, you saved his life, that was the start of him forgiving you and again trusting you. If all this with me never came about, he would still be trying to trust you, but it would have come, eventually. He loved you but felt like you betrayed him, so it would have taken time for him to fully believe in you again. So that was the difference and had nothing to do with Hermione being a gorgeous woman, as you've been worried about even after they have both told you they think of each other as brother and sister, you still were concerned.'

'I think I like James, he tells us everything, Harry was so stubborn. But it's true though, seeing the way Harry spoke with Hermione, interact with her, I was still worried. So tell me this James, you don't see Hermione that way do you?' Ron said but that one question showed everyone that Ron was still a little insecure, which naturally made the Weasley siblings all laugh, James shook his head in amusement, Hermione, she pulled Ron's face to hers and snogged him right there in front of everyone to show Ron she only wanted him, she belonged to him and only him.