Chapter 2

June 2001

The next weekend, Hermione had just reached the bottom of the stairs, on her way down from Ginny's old bedroom at the Burrow, when someone grabbed her and pulled her into the empty sitting room.

She would have shrieked if her captor hadn't slapped a hand over her mouth. They'd also wrapped one arm around her chest, pinning her arms down and keeping her from grabbing her wand. She picked her foot up to kick them, but they blocked her with their leg, clearly anticipating the move.

Hermione rolled her eyes. This person was trained in this type of thing, which narrowed down the possibilities to one of two people, and she highly doubted it was Ron. She licked their palm and they quickly pulled their hand away.

"Ew!" Harry hissed.

He finally let her go and Hermione turned to glare at him, cringing at the earthy, yet slightly rotten taste on her tongue. "Gross. What is that taste?"

"I was de-gnoming the garden," Harry shrugged, unable to suppress a small grin.

Hermione hit his shoulder with the back of her hand. "Ugh! And you didn't wash your hands?!"

"That's your own fault. You shouldn't go around licking people's hands," he argued.

"You shouldn't go around throwing your dirty hands over people's mouths!"

"Shh!" Harry silenced her with a wave of his wand. Hermione glowered at him, but he wasn't paying attention. He was straining his ears. Hermione dropped the silencing spell he'd cast and stayed quiet as she heard someone coming down the stairs.

It was probably Ginny coming down from her bedroom. Hermione was fairly certain she was the only other person in the house, right now. Everyone else was outside enjoying the lovely weather.

Hermione peered into the hall and saw a flash of red hair disappear into the kitchen, then she heard the opening and closing of the back door. Once Ginny had left the house, Harry focused back at Hermione.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Harry?! First you grab me, then silence me. You can't just-"

"Sorry," he cut in. He started pacing the room and raking his fingers through his hair, making it untidier than usual.

Hermione studied him and as she took in his appearance, her indignation melted away. He looked awful. To an outsider, he'd probably seem a bit deranged.

He was pacing the room quickly and pulling at his hair, making it stand up at odd angles. She remembered what she'd told Ron earlier in the week, that Harry would take a breakup harder than Ginny. Well, this proved that theory.

Ginny had been upset when Hermione was talking to her upstairs, but besides looking a bit sad and tired, she seemed like her normal self. If Ginny had looked sad and tired, Harry looked devastated and exhausted. Hermione guessed they'd had one of those all-night conversations couples had sometimes.

Not the good kind of talks couples have at the beginning of a relationship, when they're desperate to learn everything about each other. The bad kind, when they have a lot to discuss, and have been putting it off for so long that when they finally get around to it, the painful talk goes on for hours and hours. She'd been there.

Hermione sighed and leaned against the arm of the sofa. "What's wrong, Harry?"

"What did you and Ginny talk about just now?" he asked in a low voice, which Hermione thought was unnecessary since the house was empty.

Hermione shook her head. "I'm not going to tell you. That is a huge violation of priva-"

"Please?" Harry interrupted, stopping to stand in front of Hermione. "I'm in the middle of a potential breakup with the first person I've ever loved. Someone I thought I was going to marry one day. I need your help."

Hermione shook her head and dropped her gaze to the rug. Harry's sad, green eyes were boring into her and she knew if she looked at them for too long, she'd end up giving in.

"Did she explicitly say, 'don't tell Harry?' Because if not, I don't think it's a violation of privacy," he pointed out.

"It was clearly implied," she retorted, still looking at the ground.

"Please?" he said, taking both of her hands in his. "By the way, don't tell Ginny I'm begging like this. See - now this shouldn't be repeated back to her."

"Harry…" Hermione sighed. She looked back up at him, which was a mistake, since he was giving her a very pathetic, yet endearing look.

"Please," he repeated as he squeezed her hands. "I just need to know if we're on the same page. Like, should I be trying to fix this? Is it already over? We talked forever last night, but I still have no idea how this is going to end. If this is going to end. Please help me."

Hermione pulled her hands out of Harry's and crossed her arms over her chest. She let out a long sigh. "I think that Ginny feels your breakup is imminent." Hermione tried to move away, but Harry held her in place.

"What did she say?"

Hermione hated this. She'd never put Harry in the middle of her and Ron and he was doing just that to her, right now. But he was clearly desperate. "I don't know, Harry. She said she loves you, but is worried you don't want the same things. And maybe it isn't over since she was clearly torn. So, if you want to fix your relationship, then talk to her, not me."

She tried to move away again and he grabbed her arm a second time. "Please, just one more thing."

"I hate this and it's not fair. I never did this to you."

Harry dropped her arm fast, like he'd been hit with a stinging hex, and he looked immediately contrite. "Shit. You're right. I'm sorry, Hermione." He turned away and buried his face in his hand, then said into his palm, "You can go back outside. Enjoy the rest of your day."

Hermione took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Ask me your last question, Harry. It's okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Just ask before I change my mind."

"Okay. You said Ginny was torn. What about? The breakup? Do you think there's a chance we can stay together?"

Hermione shrugged. "She told me she was torn because she was worried she'd regret giving up Harry Potter."

"Did she say it like that? 'Harry Potter?'"

"Uh, yeah."

Harry walked to the couch and crumpled into the seat, then buried his head in his hands. The truth that he'd been avoiding for months, that his relationship with Ginny was over, was finally settling in, like a large weight in his chest. He'd been clinging to some hope that they could work it out, that they'd fix this, but he knew in his heart he could never be with anyone who thought of him as the famous Harry Potter.

"What happened, Harry? What's happening here?" Hermione had sat on the couch next to Harry and placed a gentle hand on his back.

"It's over," he whispered. "And it's probably for the best. She only ever loved Harry Potter."

Hermione was speechless, at first. She was alarmed by Harry's abrupt change in demeanor and was struggling to think of a time he'd looked this broken. That morning after Godric's Hollow, when he'd found out about his wand, and when Ron had left them during their Horcrux hunt were the only ones that came to mind. But the war was over. Harry was supposed to be happy now.

She began scratching the top of his back. "I'm sorry, Harry. But I know Ginny loved you for you, and not because you're famous. Maybe at first, when she was eleven, she loved you for all that, but not later."

Harry's palms were wet with tears now, but he kept his face in his hands since he didn't want Hermione to see him crying. He focused on the feeling of her fingers scratching his back as he tried to regain his composure. Eventually, he lifted his head and tried to wipe his eyes with his sleeve as discreetly as possible.

Hermione noticed he'd been crying, but politely looked out of the window while he wiped his tears away.

"My hands smell," Harry said to Hermione when he'd finished wiping his eyes.

She laughed. "Yeah, they don't taste good either."

This time, Harry laughed, and it felt good after all the crying he'd been doing lately. Hermione pulled her wand out and shot a cleaning spell at his hands. He nodded in appreciation before lying his head back on the couch.

"I'm pretty sure it's over," he said to the ceiling.

Hermione shifted on the couch, matching his pose. "I'm sorry, Harry. I know how you feel."

"Yeah, I guess you do."

"Can I ask you something?" Hermione said after a minute or two of staring quietly at the ceiling.

Harry turned his head to look at her. "Yeah, sure."

"You were upset about the Harry Potter thing." He nodded. Hermione saw him watching her out of her periphery but kept her eyes up. "I really hate to say this, Harry, but I think you're going to have to deal with that no matter who you find. Whoever you date next will probably initially be drawn to you because you're famous."

[This wasn't true, but they didn't know that yet.]

Hermione turned her head to face Harry, who was just inches away from her, watching her intently, and frowning at her words. "They'll grow to love you for you, I'm sure of it. But there will probably always be times here and there when they stop and think - wow, I'm with Harry Potter, the Harry Potter. I just - think that's something you'll have to come to terms with."

[Again, not true. There was one witch out there, who was recently single, who did not think of him as Harry Potter, the famous savior of the Wizarding World, but just as Harry, her best friend. But it would be months before Harry harbored any romantic thoughts toward her, and bit longer before she returned the sentiment.]

"I hate that," Harry groaned.

"I know."

That night, after returning from a day at the Burrow, Harry and Ginny broke up. In the middle of it, Harry's mind was drifting. He was worried about what Witch Weekly would say about this. He wondered if he'd be okay alone in this large house. He hoped he would still be able to go to the Burrow whenever he wanted, and that Molly and Arthur wouldn't be angry with him.

None of his worries were about Ginny, specifically, which just confirmed that this was probably the right decision for them.

[It was, for the record. They both went on to find partners much better suited to them.]

It was the weekend after Harry and Ginny's breakup, and Harry was currently lying on his back on Hermione's couch, throwing a Quaffle up and down. He'd been surprised to find it in Hermione's closet and guessed Ron must have left it behind. That thought made him feel a little sick.

He'd been finding little bits of Ginny around Grimmauld Place, in the most innocuous places. One of her extra brooms tucked into the back of the hall closet, a hair bobble stuffed between the sofa cushion, and those salt and vinegar crisps she liked (which Harry hated, since they'd been a favorite of Dudley's growing up, and always reminded Harry of the Dursleys), stuffed in the back of the pantry.

What was he supposed to do with it all? Collect it in a box and give it back to her one day? Was she making a Harry box at her flat? Or maybe she was just tossing his things in the rubbish bin.

Hermione was working at her desk by the window, literally biting on her tongue to keep from snapping at Harry. The thump, thump, thump of Harry catching the Quaffle was driving her crazy and she couldn't focus on finishing up the materials for her presentation to the Elders on Wednesday.

It was actually rare for her to see Harry alone outside of their Thursday lunches. He usually spent his time with Ginny, and when she was busy, with Ron. It was obvious why he wasn't with Ginny today, and he'd been vague about Ron's whereabouts, which Hermione figured meant he was with Lucy. Harry had come to her as a last resort.

Even though she'd told him she'd be busy working when he showed up at her flat this morning, he'd stayed. She guessed it was because he hated being alone. After the war, it had actually been an issue for him. He was living alone at Grimmauld Place while Ginny and Hermione were finishing their last year at Hogwarts, and Ron was living in George's flat above the joke shop.

Harry was having regular panic attacks back then and barely slept. His mind kept convincing him everyone in his life was gone. It took Ron a few months to figure out what was going on, since Harry was the type to keep that sort of thing to himself. But one night, Ron stopped by to pick up something he'd left at Harry's earlier, and he found Harry was curled up in a ball on the couch, overtaken by violent sobs.

He'd been convinced initially that Ron was a ghost, since the nightmare playing out in his mind then was the one where everyone he loved had died in the war, leaving him all alone. After proving to Harry that he was indeed alive, Ron stayed with him, sitting quietly on the couch until Harry calmed down.

Harry had been unbelievably embarrassed and as he'd been searching for the right words to describe what had been going on without alarming his friend, Ron had cut in. He explained that he'd come over to ask if he could live at Grimmauld Place. George's flat was too small and the constant banging sounds from his experiments were keeping Ron up at night. It was just temporary, Ron claimed. Until he could afford to get a place of his own.

They had both known that's not why Ron had come over, but Harry accepted the gift Ron was offering. He let him stay rent-free, as long as he wanted, and they never talked about that night again. Ron had told Hermione all of this when she'd questioned why he was leaving George alone, but she was sworn to never tell Harry that she knew.

Hermione figured by now, all that had passed. Ron moved out after a year, and by then, Ginny had graduated and slept over most nights. It was probably not need that had brought Harry to Hermione's flat this morning, but boredom.

Hermione finally snapped, unable to hold in her frustration. "Can you put up a silencing charm or something? I told you I had to work, and you said you'd be quiet."

Harry sat up on the couch, unphased by her scolding. "You're boring," he said pointedly.

She shrugged. "I know that, but that's also why I wasn't your first pick. I know Ron and Ginny aren't options today, but you have other friends, like Luna and Neville."

"I don't want them to know how pathetic I am."

Hermione couldn't help but smile at his honest admission. "And I'm allowed to know?"

"You've seen me much worse," he said simply.

Hermione gave him another smile. It was hard to be annoyed with him when he was so clearly hurting. She sighed. "What about that report you told me about at lunch? The one you've been putting off."

"What about it?"

"Do it. Now. Then we'll both be working." She motioned toward the desk behind her.

"Ugh," he twisted his face in disgust. "I don't want to do that."

"If you sit down and focus on it, how long will it take? An hour?"

Harry nodded. He didn't like where this was going.

"Do the report. Then when you're done, I'll put all this work away and we can go do something fun. Anything you want."

"I don't have anything I need."

"Go get it." Hermione waved toward the door and turned back in her chair.

"It's far," he whined.

"You know magic. Now stop whining."

Harry rolled his eyes, but did get up. He dragged his feet on the way to the door and once he was on the landing outside her wards, he Apparated to the doorstep of Grimmauld Place.

He walked to his room and grabbed his bag as he wondered if hanging out with Hermione was always going to result in him doing work on the weekends. If so, he'd need to find a plan B. But she'd said this was rare. She usually tried to keep her weekends free, she just had that big presentation coming up.

When Harry returned to her flat, he spread his papers over the coffee table, taking as long as possible. Hermione had barely moved at the sound of him coming in. She was bent over her desk, lost in thought.

"Why do you work so hard?" he asked her.

She finished the current line she was working on before turning to face him. She was wearing an expression of extreme annoyance. "I know you're stalling. I'm going to humor you and answer this one question, then you're going to shut up, and if you don't, I'm going to hex you."

Harry smiled at her and shook his head. It had been a long time since he'd tried to interfere with her work. He'd forgotten how aggressive she could be.

She sighed. "I work hard because I have to, Harry. I'm working from behind."

Harry cocked his head in confusion. "How so? You're smarter than everyone."

"Yeah, I am," she said without a hint of arrogance. It was something she could admit freely to Harry, but would never say to anyone else. "And it's a good thing, since I have to be better, and smarter, to stay even with my peers. And even better than that to get ahead."

He looked confused.

"Harry, I'm Muggleborn," she continued to explain. "That still follows me around. People don't want to kill us anymore, but they think we're less than other wizards. I'm also a witch, in a patriarchal society. And, well, I'm having a hard time getting out of your shadow, too."

That last one caught Harry off guard. "What? What do you mean?"

"The other week, I heard Boyle talking to my boss, Benson, about my new law. Benson was surprised I'd managed to get all the creatures to agree, then Boyle reminded him that I was your friend. He said it just like that. 'Well, remember who her best friend is.' As if any part of that had a thing to do with you."

"I never -" Harry started to argue but Hermione cut him off.

"I know, Harry, I do. I know you haven't done anything to cause this sort of thing. It's just - the whole situation. I don't blame you; I blame them."

Harry looked sad. He'd never known. He was trying to think of a way to fix this, but nothing was coming to mind.

"I'm sorry you have to deal with all that," he said sincerely.

"It's fine. I have a good work ethic, and I can handle it. Recognizing everything working against me has been half the battle."

"I think you're brilliant." Hermione waved him away dismissively, which made Harry press on. "No, really, listen. I know you hear it a lot, that you're smart, but it's more than that. Lots of people are intelligent, but the way you apply it, combined with how hard you work, and with how much you genuinely care. That's unique. If anyone is going to break through all those obstacles, it's you."

Harry's words enveloped Hermione like a warm hug. He was right, people told her often that she was smart and clever, but few people had given her a compliment like this, which truly spoke to who she was. She watched him for several seconds before eventually snapping out of her reverie.

"Thanks, Harry," she said with a smile. "Now can you shut up and let me work?"

Harry's expression turned serious. "Do you - ? Er. Is one hour enough for whatever you have there? I don't want to bother you, Hermione."

Hermione smiled. Harry was so sweet. "I'll be fine. Breaks are good, remember?"

A little over an hour later, Harry was putting the finishing touches on his case report. It felt good to have it done and now it wouldn't be looming over him all of next week. But he wasn't going to tell Hermione that, since he didn't want this to become a regular occurrence.

"I'm done," he announced proudly.

Hermione nodded and turned to face him. "Okay, I'm ready for fun. What's it going to be?"

Harry jumped up from the couch. "Flying."

Hermione's face fell. "What? No."

"You said anything I wanted."

"I'm an awful flier. I don't even have a broom."

"Ginny left an extra at my place, you can use that one."

"Harry, I hate it." Harry had crossed the room now and was holding his hand out for her. She ignored it and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I hate working on the weekends but I did that for you," Harry pointed out.

"That's different."

"How?"

"This is a real phobia," she said insistently. Just the thought of flying high in the air was making Hermione's heart race.

"I have a true fear of doing work outside the work week. Plus, you need to get better, you promised," he waved his outstretched hand, but she didn't take it.

"I'm very depressed from my breakup, I think this might be one of the only things to get me out of this funk," he deadpanned.

Hermione tried to kick him, but he jumped out of the way. "I cannot believe that's working on me. What is wrong with me?" she grumbled to herself.

"You're an incredible person who would do anything for her friends," Harry said with his most charming smile, offering his hand again.

"Fine. But I will be no more than ten feet off the ground the whole time."

She very grudgingly placed her hand in his and he yanked her toward the door, eager to get them in the air before she could change her mind.

The next day, Harry was at the Burrow, bouncing Teddy on his lap while he talked to George, when Ron tapped his shoulder and motioned for him to join him at the side of the house. Harry instantly went into what Ginny called, "Auror mode" and a hundred tragedies played through his mind in quick succession. Someone was hurt, there'd been a break-in at Azkaban, one of their informants had been discovered, someone had died…

"Relax, it's nothing serious," Ron said as soon as he saw the panic in Harry's eyes.

Harry gave him a sheepish grin and bent to put Teddy on the ground. Teddy wrapped his arm around Harry's leg and they both looked back at Ron. "What is it?"

Ron gave him an odd look. It was a mixture of guilt and discomfort. "Uh, it's Hermione," he explained.

Harry looked around, but he didn't see Hermione anywhere.

"She's in the house. She disappeared over thirty minutes ago. Can you go check on her?"

Harry nodded knowingly. Lucy was here today. Ron was introducing her to his family. Ron had warned Hermione ahead of time and she'd decided to come anyway. She'd told Harry that if she was going to stay friends with Ron, she'd have to meet his girlfriend eventually and may as well get it over with.

Harry was kicking himself for not noticing her absence sooner. He blamed Teddy, who was in an especially clingy mood today.

"I mean, I'd go," Ron continued, "but, well, I bet I'm not who she wants to see. You know," he cocked his head toward Lucy.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I'll go."

He tried to convince Teddy to stay with Ron, but his godson protested loudly and insisted on remaining attached to Harry. Harry sighed and put a Featherlight Charm on Teddy before picking him up and walking back to the house.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he met Ginny, who had come in from the front door.

"Oh, hi." They both said in union.

They stepped back, putting several feet between them, and looked at each other awkwardly. It was Ginny who broke the silence. "How are you?" Ginny asked.

"Good. I mean, sad, but good."

"Yeah. Me too."

They were silent again, and it must have been bad, since even Teddy had picked up on it and was quiet, which was rare for him.

"I miss you, Harry. I want to fast forward past this awkwardness and get to the part where we're friends again," Ginny admitted with a small smile. Harry looked away from her. She looked really pretty today, and he wished she could stop looking so beautiful for a little while, at least until he was completely over her.

Though he couldn't help but smile at her admission. He felt the same way. This was harder than he'd thought it would be. The fact that they'd been unnecessarily mean to each near the end probably wasn't helping. He was pretty sure Ron and Hermione hadn't spouted off all the things they disliked about the other person in the middle of their breakup.

But what hurt worse than any of the things Ginny had said to him, was the lingering doubt Harry had that maybe she'd only ever loved him because he was famous. Hermione's words were still echoing in his mind. She told me she was worried she'd regret giving up Harry Potter.

This was Ginny, he reminded himself. She was incredible, and still one of his best friends, and he didn't want her out of his life. "I -'' he faltered and took a moment to take a breath.

"Starting again," he murmured. Ginny gave him an encouraging smile. "I'm sorry. I said some awful things to you. I was just...hurting...and I guess I wanted you to be hurting too."

She nodded. "Me too, everything you just said, same for me. I'm so sorry, Harry. I didn't mean any of it."

The awkward silence started to settle back in, but Ginny tried to get ahead of it this time. "Uh, were you going upstairs?"

"Oh, yeah. I was going to check on Hermione."

"Oh, me too."

"Oh."

"Oh!" Teddy chimed in. He had assumed, incorrectly, that nervously saying "Oh" was some sort of game.

Ginny and Harry shared a small laugh while Harry wondered how many "Ohs" they were going to say in this conversation.

[Excluding Teddy's "Oh," they'd uttered five "Ohs" so far, and the count would rise to seven before the conversation was over.]

Damn, this is so uncomfortable, Harry thought to himself. Out loud, he said, "Um, you go ahead," as he motioned up the stairs.

Ginny shook her head. "No, you have Teddy, and there aren't many people he can't cheer up." She reached over and tickled Teddy's neck. Teddy let out a small squeal.

Ginny turned back toward the front door. "Oh, uh, Ginny. I have some of your things that you left at the house. A jumper, your old broom, some other stuff like that. Do you want it?"

"Oh, right. I found some of your stuff too. We can do a swap later today if you're up for it."

It sounded like the worst thing ever. Even worse than this conversation. But Harry still said, "Sure."

"Okay, good luck," she replied, cocking her head toward the top of the stairs. "See you later."

Harry took a long breath. "That was painful," he told Teddy.

"You have an owie?"

"Yeah," Harry responded with a small laugh.

"Where?"

"On my heart."

Teddy looked alarmed. His eyes were currently dark, like Tonk's natural eyes, and were swimming with concern. "Don't worry," Harry rushed to reassure him. "It'll heal. Just like that cut you got on your leg last week. It's already gone." Teddy nodded.

"Now we're going to go see how Hermione is. She has an owie on her heart, too."

Teddy nodded seriously. They were outside Ginny's room now. Harry rapped gently on the closed door before letting himself inside. Hermione was perched in the window seat, looking out the window. She had her back against the wall and her legs pulled up to her chest.

When she looked over her shoulder at Harry, she didn't seem surprised to see him. She gave him a small nod before turning back to the window.

Harry sat on the edge of Ginny's bed, a few feet away from Hermione, and let Teddy down. Teddy was eager to explore the new room. He got on his hands and knees and crawled under the bed to see what he could find.

Hermione stayed quiet and kept her gaze outside.

"Are you okay, Hermione?"

She nodded.

"Is this because of Lucy?"

She waited a long time to respond. Teddy had found an old Quaffle and was kicking it around the room. Harry was splitting his attention between his godson and making sure he didn't destroy anything, and Hermione. When Hermione started talking, he scooped Teddy up onto his lap and shushed him. Teddy picked up on Harry's serious tone and stayed quiet.

"I'm over Ron - well - I'm on my way," Hermione was saying. "But my replacement," her voice caught in her throat. "Seeing my flaws highlighted as strengths in the person he picked - it's hard not to let that hurt."

"What? I don't understand." Hermione was touched by Harry's genuine confusion.

"I've always been a bit reserved, and you know I'm not very fun, you said so yourself just yesterday. And - I don't know - I've never been into all that girly stuff, or especially pretty and Lucy, well, she's all those things, isn't she?"

Harry was at a complete loss for words. There was so much he wanted to tell her but couldn't figure out how to put into words. He wanted to tell Hermione that she was fun, and pretty, and that it didn't matter that she was shy, because so was Harry. And that after she got comfortable around someone, she was the most loyal friend imaginable.

He wanted to tell her that Lucy may be nice and gregarious, but past that, there was no depth. But he didn't get a chance because Teddy was pulling on his shirt. "What, Teddy? I'm talking to Hermione."

Teddy turned his hair pink and his nose into a snout, then shouted, "Piggy!"

[It's worth noting that three-year-old children, while very cute, are also very obnoxious, and something they hate more than all else, is conversations that aren't centered on them.]

Harry gave Hermione an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. I couldn't get him to stay with anyone else."

"It's fine."

Teddy turned to Hermione. "You have a owie on you heart?"

Hermione let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I guess I do."

Teddy crept to her and whispered in her ear in that very loud way toddlers did, "So does Harry."

That made Hermione laugh for real. Harry was glad to see her smiling, though he would have preferred if he'd been the one to cause it, not Teddy. But he couldn't help but notice that her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Here, I have something to show you," Hermione was saying to Teddy. She pulled her wand out of her pocket and conjured a small yellow canary. Teddy clapped and began chasing it around the room.

"What's with you and conjuring birds anytime you're upset about Ron?" Harry quipped.

Hermione let out a small laugh. "You're right. I'd nearly forgotten about that."

The bird was flying around Hermione's head now. She opened the window to let it out, then called Teddy back to her. "Now you're going to try it, okay?"

She muttered the incantation for the Avis Charm, then another incantation Harry didn't recognize before handing her wand to Teddy. "Okay, now say, 'Birdie!'"

To Harry's astonishment, when Teddy flicked the wand and cried, "Buddy!" a yellow bird flew out of the tip.

Teddy shrieked in glee, then started laughing fully, in a way that took over his whole body. It was the sort of pure, all-consuming laugh that young children did that was rare, but when it happened, captivated all the adults in the vicinity. Harry and Hermione started laughing too, and Harry was happy to note that the sadness in Hermione's eyes had dissipated slightly.

"Again! Again!" Teddy yelled, pointing the wand at Hermione. Harry grabbed it quickly out of his hands and handed it back to her.

"How did you do that?" Harry asked.

Hermione explained as she set up the spell again, that she'd been messing around with her wand one day and figured out a way to get it to delay firing a spell. She hadn't found any real use for that sort of thing until now, however.

She looked back at Teddy and before handing him her wand again, said sternly, "We're only going to do this two more times, okay? Can you show me how many that is with your fingers?"

Teddy nodded seriously and held both of his index fingers up in front of his face.

"Very good," Hermione said with a smile. "Okay, here you go. Say 'birdie' again."

As Harry watched Hermione with Teddy, he could not believe that in weighing herself against Lucy (or any other witch, for that matter), that she'd found herself lacking. Maybe Lucy was blonde and bubbly, but this was Hermione. Powerful, strong, impressive. But also, loving, kind, and compassionate.

A curl had fallen into Hermione's face and Harry got the urge to reach out and tuck it behind her ear. Before he could do so, or even wonder why he wanted to, Teddy pulled on it, then turned his hair brown and curly in a pretty good imitation of her hair.

"Ow, um, thank you, Teddy," Hermione said as she freed her hair from his small, but firm grip and tucked it behind her ear.

She looked at Harry and saw a glint in his eyes that she'd never seen there before. It seemed familiar, but she couldn't place it.

[The look was attraction, but neither of them recognized it as such at the time.]

There was something niggling in the back of Harry's mind, a familiar feeling, but before he could consider it further, Teddy shot sparks out of Hermione's wand.

"Okay, I think I need that back now," Hermione said, reaching out for her wand.

Teddy pouted, but reluctantly gave it up.

"You know what, Teddy?" Harry asked him.

"What?"

"Hermione here is incredible," Harry began, his eyes locked on Hermione's. "She is the most impressive witch I've ever met, and even though I've known her for years, she still manages to astound me with her brilliance. You're going to have to teach me that delaying spell," he added in an undertone to Hermione.

[It was too bad Harry never got a chance to say all the things about Hermione that had popped into his head previously, but this was a solid alternative.]

Tears stung Hermione's eyes, but she couldn't draw her eyes away from Harry's piercing gaze to wipe them, so she blinked the tears back instead.

Just then, sensing the conversation was drifting away from him again, Teddy climbed onto Hermione's lap and started pointing at the birds he'd made which were flying just outside the window.

"I made it! I made it!" he was exclaiming as he pointed to each one.

Hermione brushed her hand against Harry's knee and mouthed, "Thank you," before turning to focus on Teddy.

A/N: Gosh Teddy, just shut up and let these two have their moment! Three-year-olds are the worst. I have twin three-year-old girls, so I'm the expert on this.

Anyway, if you're on Tumblr, you can find me at Alexandra-Emerson. I forgot to mention it initially, but my beta reader is Lancashire Witch for this story and she is awesome. This is the fourth story she's helped me with. Many thanks to her!

I'm glad you all enjoyed the first chapter so much, I hope you liked this one too. Thanks for reading!