2 Library

They spent the whole morning in the library. Hermione didn't need his help in her research. Instead, she showed him where all ancestry books were kept and helped him find the Potter and the Black books, as well as the Peverell one before sitting at the other side of the table with some advanced potions and charms books.

Harry was fascinated. Scanning the Potter family tree he saw some connection with other families, some of which he'd heard about before. The first magical Potter on the tree lived more than a thousand years back. A few generations later, his ancestor married the Gryffindor heiress, practically absorbing that line. Another generation later, it was one of Slytherin's descendants that married into the Potter line. She wasn't an heiress, though. Could that be the reason he could talk to snakes?

Harry also noticed that every few generations, the bride was a Muggle or a Muggle-born. Some of the others were also second generation only. This made him understand why the blood purists hated Potter.

He found that his ancestors also absorbed other lines, including the Peverell line, explaining why he had inherited the invisibility cloak. He noticed the Black woman who married his great-grandfather, allowing him to become the Black heir, as Sirius willed.

Browsing through the Peverell and the Black books helped him understand the importance of his family's connections. He also started to get a rough estimate of his fortunes. There was no direct reference to the richness of each family, yet the amounts paid as bride price and the dowries were clearly detailed. The numbers were high enough to suffice for a lifetime of laziness for the couple, yet they were probably only a small fraction of the total value of each family.

He was still immersed in the family history when Hermione's cry of joy brought him back to reality. "What have you found?" he asked.

Hermione turned immediately into her lecture mode. "The hangover potion is supposed to work perfectly for regular alcohol-induced drunkenness. Firewhisky is not merely alcohol, though. Besides the high percentage of alcohol, it contains some magical ingredients to give it more 'punch', as they say. These ingredients make the hangover potion also act as a mild oblivating potion. When I prepared the potion, I wasn't aware of the kind of booze you were drinking, or I would have made a different potion. Now, there's an antidote for that oblivation. It will take me a few hours to prepare, but I have access to all the ingredients, so it should pose no problem."

"Can't you just use a charm?"

Hermione shook her head. "That would not be as effective and may not restore all the memories. It can restore last night's memories, if you want it now."

Harry thought of Susan. It would be nice to remember what they did before falling asleep, he thought, although he could guess quite accurately, he believed. "Can you cast it now? At least Susan would know I remember what we've done."

"Susan? You said you didn't remember any of the girls. How come you remember her?"

Harry cringed internally. He hadn't intended to tell Hermione about Susan staying overnight, yet his big mouth made it impossible. Well, he didn't really like keeping a secret from Hermione. "She stayed overnight and greeted me good-morning. I was embarrassed I couldn't remember what had happened before we slept."

"She should have left as soon as you fell asleep. That was clearly explained to her!"

Harry took her hand in his to calm her down. "It turned out alright. I didn't hex her and didn't harm her. She told me you were afraid of that."

"Still, she should have left earlier. I came to check on you one night, hearing you thrashing in your dream, and barely escaped unharmed. It was too dangerous to let them stay overnight."

He smiled at her reassuringly. "Maybe this 'treatment' helped calm me down. Susan said she enjoyed being with me and she was too excited to fall asleep when I did. She's probably still sleeping in that bed now."

There was a flash of something undecipherable in Hermione's eyes. "I hope she leaves before we return. It would be quite embarrassing if she doesn't," Hermione mumbled.

"Why? Didn't you make sure that the others left on time?"

Hermione blushed. "I did, at first. I even had to wake a few up after they fell asleep, exhausted by your stamina."

"I'm sure Susan will try not to act in any way that could embarrass you if we find her there. She knows you're the one for me." Harnessing all his Gryffindor courage, he added, "You're the one I love."

Hermione's eyes became tearful. "Harry, you should not say it if you don't mean it. That would be cruel."

Harry took both her hands in his. "Hermione, it took me a long time to realize what you mean to me, and I'm still not through with that, but I already know one thing for sure: I want you to be at my side throughout my life, I want to raise our children with you, I want to make you Lady Potter and to show you how important you are to me throughout the rest of my life. I really mean it."

It took Hermione a moment to realize what he meant. She moved closer to him, her eyes tearing some more. "I want to raise our children with you, if you like. I want to be with you for as long as you'll want me, Harry."

A scene he had once seen on television, or maybe just read about, flashed into his memory. He knelt in front of Hermione and said formally, "Miss Granger, will you honour me in accepting to become my wife? I promise to do my best to keep you happy for as long as I live."

Hermione knelt as well. "I accept your offer, Lord Potter, and I'll do my best to never disappoint you and never let you down. I love you, Harry."

Harry moved his head to kiss her. She met him halfway between them, kissing him back with as much enthusiasm as he was putting into the kiss.

It didn't last, though. They parted after only a short while. They didn't need to talk as they both knew this was just a beginning for something much greater, much more wonderful.

They silently collected the books and put them back. As they were leaving the library hand in hand, Harry said, "I now owe you an engagement ring."

"You owe me nothing. We're one now, and I don't mind any ring."

"But I still want you to have a nice engagement ring to show off. I don't know where I'll get the money for it, though."

"You have more than enough in your vaults, I believe."

Harry shrugged. "I can't go to Gringotts and claim it. Not after breaking into a vault, stealing a dragon and causing so much damage."

Hermione smiled. "I thought so too, but we've got that letter a few days ago, stating that the benefits to Gringotts due to ending the war surpass the damages we've caused, so that they will only charge us a token penalty and see this matter closed."

Harry frowned. "I don't remember any such letter."

She cringed. "It's probably one of those suppressed memories. They arrived in the evening. You read yours and left it on the couch. I didn't want it to get lost, so I put it aside, along with my letter. I couldn't refrain from noticing they were practically one and the same."

Harry smiled reassuringly. "You may read any mail I get. I trust you more than I trust myself, you know."

"Oh, Harry! You shouldn't say that! I trust you just the same."

He chuckled. "That's good to know."

They were already back in the "heroes' apartment" now. Kreacher appeared as soon as they stepped into the common room. "Would master and mistress like lunch now?"

Harry looked at Hermione, who smiled at him, before answering, "Yes. Please bring it here in ten minutes, so we have time to wash our hands and refresh first."

Kreacher bowed. "As you wish," he said and disappeared.

"He's been calling me 'mistress' ever since we settled here," Hermione said in a complaint. "I told him I was not his mistress, but he didn't seem to listen."

"Well, maybe he likes you," Harry suggested, "or maybe he knows something we don't."

Hermione sighed and said nothing. She just went to her room to put down her notes and use the loo. Harry watched her go and then turned to his room to use his own bathroom.

As he opened the door he saw that his bed was still occupied. Susan was sprawled on the bed, evidently in deep slumber. He enjoyed looking at her nude form for a moment, and then continued as intended. He made sure to close the door softly as he returned to the common room.

"She's still there?" Hermione asked, more like stating it.

"Yes, sleeping like a lug. Well, she said she didn't get any sleep during the night, being too excited."

Hermione looked pensive during lunch. At Harry's urging, she only said, "Let's leave this to later, after I help you restore your memories."

Harry thought there was something else as well, but he failed to see what.

"I'm going to the potions lab," she said as soon as they finished lunch. "I suggest you read some more about your ancestry and maybe about high-class etiquette as well. It can help you sooner than expected."

"Don't I get to kiss my fiancée first?" he asked in mock annoyance.

"Oh, you do!" she said, attacking his lips in a fierce kiss. It soon turned into a passionate snog and Harry felt an urge to let his hands roam. Hermione stopped the snog before he acted on that urge, though. "We'd better leave something for later," she said breathlessly. There was a hint of a promise in her voice.

He escorted her part of the way, until each took a different route to their destinations. Walking alone, Harry could finally notice how much damage had been inflicted on the castle. He saw teams of house-elves working to restore the castle to its previous state. Professor Flitwick was with one of the teams and greeted Harry cordially. Harry was glad that the fallen wall where Fred had met his demise was already repaired. It would have been too painful a reminder otherwise.

Hermione came to search for him about four hours later. "The potion is ready. We only need to let it cool for another hour. Time enough for dinner, I suppose."

Harry had mixed feelings when he found his room empty. He liked seeing naked Susan there, but thought it was better for his relations with Hermione that the bed was newly made with fresh linen, leaving no sign of the night (and morning) activities.

Kreacher served dinner as soon as they took their seats at the dining table. Harry was a bit worried about the memories he would soon regain. Wouldn't some be too painful to bear? Weren't these the reason for his drinking? Yet he didn't feel like drinking any more. He hoped he would not be too overwhelmed. He wanted to be with Hermione and start, as they both seemed to hope, a lifetime relationship of love and affection.

Hermione was also silent. She was worried about Harry's feelings once he remembered all those girls who visited his bed. Would he still want her at all? She didn't feel very sure even compared to Susan, yet other young women with whom Harry had shared the bed were even more attractive. She felt her confidence plummet. She was still determined to always be by Harry's side, but she wondered what role she would really have.

"I'm going to bring the potion," she said as they finished eating. "You'll need to take one portion now and another in the morning. You should have all your memories back by lunchtime."

She then hurried out of the room, as if afraid he would regret their engagement.

Harry sat and waited. There was nothing else he could do. There was no television there and no radio and surprisingly there were no books either. Whatever Hermione was reading, she was probably keeping it in her room. Not having anything to occupy himself, Harry let his thoughts wander back to their conversation before lunch. Was Hermione really happy that he had proposed? Wasn't she acting that way just to spare his feelings? She was such a good friend, always caring for him more than she cared for herself, that such a deed was not unthinkable for her. How could he know if she really loved him the way he loved her? Was there even a way to compare love with love?

He then thought about the memories that would soon be restored. He wondered how many girls he shagged. Hermione said he even had three in his bed at once! He couldn't understand how he managed to satisfy even one. He had been a virgin until the battle, for Merlin's sake! What if any of them got pregnant? What would Hermione do in that case? Yet Hermione let Susan and a few more shag him with no contraceptive charm. Was she really fine with them getting pregnant?