Disclaimer: I disclaim Harry Potter. Always.
Day 37: Always
"So how long will you be gone for?" Hermione asked, looking between her fiancé and her best friend.
Harry shook his head, "We don't know. As long as it takes to track Nott down."
Two days before, the Ministry of Magic had finally gotten a lead on the Death Eater, who up until then, had evaded capture. Bringing him in would be Harry and Ron's first major mission.
Hermione nodded vaguely at Harry's answer, a slight frown on her face.
"What is it?" Ron asked, "You okay?"
"It's just… it feels strange," Hermione admitted, "Sitting around at home while the two of you go off on a mission without me. It was always the three of us, you know? We always did this kind of stuff together. Ever since the troll…"
"You could have been an Auror too," Ron said, "They'd have been thrilled to have you, brightest witch of your age and all." He smirked at her slightly and Hermione blushed. She knew both Ron and Harry had been a bit disappointed when she hadn't joined up with them.
"I just think I can do more good where I am," she said quietly, repeating the words she had said when she had first made the choice. She didn't regret her decision to go to work in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures – it was a department that desperately needed some serious changes, and ensuring rights for non-wizard creatures was something she'd been passionate about for a long time. But still, the urge to take off with Harry and Ron on this mission was more powerful than she had expected.
"Hey, even if you're not going out into the field with us, we're still a team," Harry said quietly, "Hell, half of our plan to capture him was your idea."
"That's true," Hermione admitted with a small smile.
"Yeah, and whenever I'm about to do something stupid, it's your voice I hear in my head telling me not to be an idiot," Ron added in.
That got a startled laugh out of Hermione as she looked up at her fiancé, "Is that supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing?"
Ron smirked, "Both." His tone was matter-of-fact.
Hermione raised her eyebrows at Harry, "And do you hear my voice in your head too?"
"I admit nothing," a small smile was playing across Harry's face, but there was a seriousness in his eye as well, "The point is, you're always with us, Hermione. Even when you're not. Just like back in second year when you figured out everything about the basilisk and found a way to tell us even though you were petrified. That hasn't changed. It's still the three of us. Always will be."
I knew I wanted to write about the trio with this word, but I wasn't sure what exactly I wanted to write at first. I even vaguely considered a deathbed scene with an elderly Harry, but that was too depressing for me. Hope you liked this one.