Author's notes:

Standard disclaimer, I own nothing. It all belongs to JKR.

This is just a little something that bit me after reading a number of similar stories and I thought I'd give it a try. You can assume the story is canon compliant up to the just about the end of Harry's rescue of Ginny in Chamber of Secrets. It goes AU when he falls unconscious before Fawkes arrives to drip tears in the wound on his arm.

This is a stand alone story not related in any way to any of my other works

I'm going to be posting very short chapters. Don't worry though, the story is complete and I'll post a chapter a day.

Enjoy,

Sorcerer's Muse

Finally, Peace.

Chapter XXVIII

Hermione

"Well of course there had to be some attraction," Hermione said. She and Lis were out having a lunch together while Harry was off with Lis' mother and sisters to select flowers. There was a bit of a role reversal between Harry and his intended going on with the wedding planning. Of course as Lis was the only one working and her practice schedule was steadily ramping up it only made sense for Harry to take point on the planning and scheduling. That he had, only told Hermione what she needed to know about Lis and how much Harry wanted this.

It had taken a while for her to recognize it. One didn't just come down off the high of fighting for your life on a daily basis for eight years running. Maybe she should have recognized the signs in them both when Harry passed on professional quidditch and she had accepted a position as the Hogwarts librarian. She would be the first to tell you she could spend hours in pretty much any library and Hogwarts had one that rivaled any in the world. But it certainly hadn't been her dream during the early years of their schooling. Maybe Harry had fallen a little closer to his loves with his acceptance of the position of Hogwarts' flying instructor. With him having spent months in hospital after the last confrontation with Voldemort she'd only been too happy for him to set aside his thoughts of being auror. And it had kept them from being apart. Something neither had been capable of dealing with at the time.

"But there were other factors that contributed to it as well; some of them maybe not the best for basing a relationship on."

"How do you mean?" Lis asked.

"Well, even before Harry asked me to the ball, neither of us had too many other people in our lives. I mean, there were some, your brother, Ron, being one. But we, and Harry specifically, were pariahs in the school. You saw it the year you were there. It happened the year before that too. Third year, with Sirius escaping Azkaban and the fear that provoked before he managed to prove his innocence, well no one wanted much to do with Harry and, by default, Ron or myself either. And then by the time the tournament came around things had long past reached a boiling point with Ron, and even the twins to some extent, in regards to Harry's continued enquiries about you. And then Harry's name came out of the Goblet and suddenly it was the two of us against the world. So, you know, I think it was almost inevitable we turned to each other. And war, for all its atrocities, can bind people together in ways those not involved just can't fathom. I mean we've broken up, but I still love him. Not romantically," she hastened to add. "But he is a part of me. I will always be there for him." She stopped, considering. "But the war did end. And we had a moment to breathe, and I think after a while we just both realized we weren't meant to be together that way."

"And do you think… if the war hadn't—"

"The war ended, Lis," Hermione cut her off. "Harry and I ended. What ifs, should haves, could haves, they don't matter. It ended. We ended. And he found you. Either one of us has had ample opportunity to change that narrative. We've known where the other was. We've been in contact. I've had dozens of instances where I stopped and thought about the why and what and if I really was happy to let him go and I never once came after him. Nor did he come back to me. I can understand you might have some discomfort regarding me. But I know Harry. I know him better than anyone; yourself included yet, I imagine. And even if I wanted him back, he doesn't want me. I'm happy for him. You may find that difficult to believe, but I don't think there's ever been a time I was more so."

Lis let out a slow breath as she considered Hermione's words. It was true she worried about Harry's relationship with Hermione. They had been together a long time. As Hermione pointed out they'd been through things few others could understand. Even only after a few days of Hermione being there for the wedding it was plain to see there was a trust between them that was difficult not to be jealous of. They still wordlessly helped each other and seemed to know what the other was thinking. She'd watched Harry trying to teach Hermione to surf the other day and he'd just stood there letting her fail again and again without offering the few words that would have corrected the problem in minutes. Finally Hermione had figured it out and promptly demanded to know why he hadn't said anything. He'd responded with the thought she would have ignored him and done everything different she could think of first before heeding his advice and she'd have been there two hours falling on her face instead of one. She'd glowered, but hadn't contradicted him and from that point on had accepted any advice he gave her. It had been very instructive in driving home there was a woman he knew far better than her and she hadn't liked it at all.

Though it did go a long way towards explaining something she'd overheard him telling Joe. Men, Harry had said, were doers, problem solvers, they just jumped in and dealt with it. Women were thinkers and talkers and when they came to a man, be they friend, boyfriend, fiancée, husband or what have you, and started talking about a problem or issue, they very often didn't want you to fix it or come up with a solution, they just wanted you to listen while they figured the answer for themselves. In most cases, it was far better to keep your mouth shut with whatever answer you'd come up with till such time as they asked you for it. She wondered now if there had been a time Hermione had told him she hadn't wanted an answer, she just wanted him to listen.

"Thank you, Hermione," she said. "I appreciate you being honest with me."

Hermione reached across the table and took Lis' hands in hers. "It may have gotten pushed to the side. But I do know you have never been far from Harry's thoughts. Not since that day. I don't know for sure, but I think, maybe, something happened down there. And I know I told you what ifs weren't important, but I see Harry with you now and I'm not certain he and I would have ever been if your parents hadn't sent you away… Be careful with him Lis," she implored. "Harry is incredibly strong. But he is also far more fragile than you might think. More than anyone, you, I fear, have the power to break him."

Author's notes:

Going all the way back to the first chapter, given what they went through together it really would be sad for Harry and Hermione to not be able to remain close.