Chapter Two: Goodbyes and Remembrances

Mentions of attempted rape in this chapter.

I really do not agree with Fred being killed in book 7. You can't split up the twins. So, he is still alive in this story.

The funeral of Harry and Luna Potter did have many… many wizards and witches in attendance. The ceremony passed by in a blur of tears for Hermione, but she had to make sure that Lily and Pandora were okay which helped Hermione through it. Severus stayed by her side stoically, but he must have known that she needed a little bit of a distraction because he let her be when needed. She was also glad that her parents were in attendance. They stayed in the row behind her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder when needed. Xeno was on the other side of Severus with Minerva and Hagrid completing their front row.

Due to the location at Godric's Hollow, which was also a Muggle town, they lowered the caskets down without magic. Severus than walked over with a shovel and threw some dirt down at what their final resting place would be. Hermione followed and handed the baby over to Severus. She then grabbed the shovel from where Severus placed it and turned to Lily. "Do you want to try yourself?" She asked her charge.

Tears running down her eyes, Lily nodded and took the shovel from Hermione. She could barely lift it but did manage to get some dirt and threw it down.

"Good job Lily." Hermione said. "Why don't you go over by Severus." The new mother then took the shovel back, collected some dirt and threw it over her friends. The shovel was then passed to Xeno then to Minerva then Hagrid and on and on.

Severus, Hermione, Xeno and the girls then had to form the receiving line for all the attendees of the funeral. Minerva gave each of them a hug and then waited back in her chair because she was to attend the memorial after. Hermione, knowing that she would need help, asked Severus to pass her the baby back which he did. Right after, Hagrid swept them both up gently into a hug. "Careful, don't squish Pandora."

The gentle half giant placed them both back down carefully. "Sorry." He replied.

Lily slightly scared hid behind Severus.

"You remember Hagrid, right Lily?" Hermione asked.

The toddler then nodded. "Well Hagrid and all these people just want to tell you how sorry they are for your parents passing remember?"

Another nod.

"So, you can give him a hug, but only if you want to. The same goes for everyone else, okay?"

"Okay." Lily nodded, coming out behind Severus and hugging Hagrid's leg.

Hagrid bent down and gently rubbed the young girls back, renewing his sobs from before. He started to talk, but he was incoherent due to his tears.

After a moment Lily let go, Hagrid moved onto Severus.

The potions master tried to offer his hand in a handshake, but Hagrid wasn't having any of it. Instead, he lifted Severus off the ground in a big bear hug.

Seeing Severus feet dangling made Lily chuckle a little and Hermione gave her a small smile.

Hermione's parents were next, giving all of them a hug and then went to sit by Minerva.

The receiving line continued with people Hermione knew and some she didn't. She had greeted Kingsley Shacklebolt, the current Minister of Magic, Neville Longbottom and his wife Hannah (formerly known as Hannah Abbott), Susan Bones and Padma Patil, Draco and Astoria Malfoy, Horace Slughorn, Filius Flitwick and all of the Hogwarts professors. A sea of red-haired people was next which caused Hermione's heart to pound faster and tension throughout her whole demeanor. First up was Molly and Arthur and both greeted her warmly which eased some of her tension.

Next up were the twins who automatically wrapped their arms around her in a big three-way bear hug. "Okay, okay… can't breathe and you are squishing the baby." She managed to gasp out.

"We just needed…" George started.

"To assure ourselves that you were…" Fred continued.

"Okay and unharmed."

"What with being a mom now and…"

"Having to live with the greasy git."

Hermione got whiplash from keeping up with the twins back and forth conversation and then rolled her eyes. "Do not call Severus that."

"Oh… so he's Severus now."

"Is he?"

She rolled her eyes again. "Yes, he is. Now be nice." She urged them forward and turned to who was next. It was Charlie, Bill, Fleur and Victoria Weasley. They were extremely pleasant as they made their condolences and then kept down the line. Ginny and Percy Weasley rounded out the sea of redheads which made Hermione curious. She wondered where Ron was and if he was going to show his face. Ginny and Percy were very stiff with their condolences and moved up the line swiftly. Ginny was bitter about Harry not choosing her and she partly blamed Hermione for it too. Percy as always had a pretentious air about him like this was beneath him.

The line continued on and eventually the amount of people decreased. Hermione was glad that this was going to be over soon. Looking to the next person in line, anger filled her features as she looked on her former best friend and his family. "So, he did have the gall to show up after all…" Hermione thought.

"Granger." Ronald Weasley spoke and nodded his head towards her.

"Weasley." She bit out. "There was a lovely interview of you posted in the paper. It's funny though that you forgot one thing."

"What's that?"

"That you and Harry haven't been friends for years. How convenient of you to lie about that and get your five minutes of fame again." She was amused at the redhead turning even more red in anger.

"I'm plenty famous." He bit out.

"Right… you keep telling yourself that." She placated him. "You will always just be a shadow behind a greater man."

"Excuse you." Lavender Weasley interrupted with a huff.

"You are excused." Hermione said, glaring at the married couple before her. They got the idea as they backed away and left.

A hand was placed on her shoulder. "You okay?"

"I will be." She answered.

Luckily, there were two people left in the receiving line and then they were finally done. Everybody invited to the small memorial afterwards at the house then formed a procession as they walked the couple of blocks. Once inside, Hermione directed everyone to the refreshments while Severus took their guests coats. Xeno was currently entertaining his granddaughter Lily.

Realizing that her arms were tired, Hermione looked down at Pandora. Seeing that the babe was asleep, she placed her in her bassinet and then disappeared upstairs.

Two people noticed her retreat. One of them went over to the other. "Why don't you go see to the lass?" Minerva asked Severus.

The potions master looked towards his charges.

"I will make sure they are taken care of. Now you make sure that Hermione is as well."

He nodded and slowly went upstairs. Coming to his co-parent's door, he knocked.

"One second." He heard muffled through the door.

After a moment, the door was swung open. Severus immediately noticed the tear tracks down Hermione's cheeks which she had hastily tried to wipe away unsuccessfully. "May I come in? Don't worry. Minerva is making sure everything is okay during our absence."

A nod was her response as she stepped to the side to let him in.

Severus then sat in an armchair next to the bed and just waited. If she wanted to confide in him, he knew that he needed to be patient.

Hermione sat down on her bed across from Severus. She took deep calming breaths. "Ron… he tried to rape me. He would have succeeded too if Harry hadn't come in." She confessed. The words were hard to say, but she knew that she needed to say them. "That is why Harry and I stopped talking to him after the war." Her voice started to crack and wobble by the end and fresh tears fell down her face. "With the interview Ron did and seeing him today, it really brought all of those memories back."

Severus' nostrils flared in anger at the moronic redheaded weasel. If he ever had the poor excuse for a man in the same room as him, he wouldn't hesitate to mete out payback. "I am sorry you had to go through that Hermione. No one should ever have to go through something like that, but there are sick people in this world." He sighed.

"It was worse after Ron had that interview with the Daily Prophet and all of the names he called me. I wanted to hide in my bed and never come out. Harry helped me rise above though. He was my brother in all but blood." Tears formed in her eyes. "I miss him." A sob escaped her throat. "I miss him so much."

"As loathed as I am to admit it, I miss him as well." Said that part of him that didn't want to talk about his feelings or emotions. "He didn't have to treat me with respect and kindness after the war, but he did even after everything. I was not a nice man to Harry or you. Harry gave me his forgiveness regardless even though I did not deserve it. I have since apologized to him and am lucky that I got to a place where I called him a friend. I would like to apologize to you as well for my hurtful comments. I know that I did it before, but you deserve to hear it again." He thought back to the names he had called her and the mockery he made of her teeth. He knew the girl should hold animosity towards him for those things and he wanted to atone.

"There is no need. I have already forgiven you a long time ago."

"Why?" He questioned.

"Once your role as a spy in the war came out after the battle, I realized that you were playing a role. A role that if not played very carefully could have you killed. You could not show kindness to a Muggleborn student like me especially because I was Harry's best friend."

"You and that brilliant brain of yours." He said quietly chuckling. "If anyone could figure it out, it would be you."

"I thank you for the compliment." She smiled.

"Now make sure it doesn't go to your head and inflate that ego of yours, will you?"

She gasped. "I do not have an ego."

"You have to admit though that you were a teachers' pet." He chided with a raised eyebrow.

"I guess I was a bit of a teachers' pet." She admitted.

"A bit?" He asked incredulously.

"Okay a lot." She confessed.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Now that's more like it."

"Quiet you." She glared at him half-heartedly. "I'm sorry for not helping you right away after Lily vomited and for taking a picture of it. Do you honestly believe anyone would have believed me if I told them? That you the great, pardon me for saying this, bat of the Dungeons didn't avoid being thrown up on? I do not agree with that name for you by the way."

"I've heard worse names called about me." He shrugged.

"I know there have been some near misses at Hogwarts, but you always managed to avoid any accident or sick child." The bushy-haired woman continued.

"That is true although Minerva witnessed some of it and I know she will back your story now. Looking back on it, I would have been amused as well. I do not fault you for doing it, but do not show it to too many people." Severus threatened.

"I promise, only close friends and family." She smiled.

"This also means that I get to pay you back with a photo of your own." He smirked at her.

"As you should." She chuckled. "We should get back downstairs."

"As you wish." He nodded, following her and slightly admiring the view as he went, not that he would admit it even to himself.

Once downstairs, they glanced around at everyone. Pandora was a hit with everyone as most babies are. Lily was also entertaining in her own way and had captivated the attention of Hagrid. Sadness however permeated the air, and she knew that is not what Harry would want.

"If I could have your attention please?" Hermione asked the room full of people. Once all the chatter ceased, she continued. "I want to thank you all for coming to the funeral and memorial for Harry and Luna Potter. Luna was a great friend and a very kind generous person. I will miss her companionship. Harry…" She cleared her throat to keep going. "Harry was my brother in all but blood. He was fiercely loyal and an all-around great guy. He would not want to be mourned. He would want to be celebrated. So, if you could all raise your glass." She grabbed a refreshment of her own and lifted it up. "Let us all cheer to Harry and Luna."

Shouts of to Harry and Luna were heard all around the room by the guests in attendance.

Navigating the way through the room to Susan, Hermione saw Severus making his way over to Draco. She greeted her friend with another hug. "Susan, I have something that I need to ask you before you leave."

"You name it Hermione."

"Would you be godmother to Pandora?" Hermione asking while biting her lip.

A shriek was heard throughout the room. "Are you kidding? Of course, I will." Susan's arms wrapped back around Hermione. "Thank you for thinking of me."

"You are my best girlfriend since we bumped into each other at the Ministry of Magic. Of course, I would pick you." She squeezed her friend back.

"You are my best girlfriend too. You know besides my actual girlfriend Padma." She joked. The hug ended and then they chatted some more before Susan had to leave.

Severus made his way over once he saw that Hermione was unattended. "I take it Ms. Bones took it well?"

"I am sure everyone heard her positive reaction." She laughed. "How did Draco take it?"

"Quite well." He spoke, not wanting to elaborate further.

Watching the room, she smiled. "Good, I'm glad. That wraps up some loose ends."

"Undoubtedly."

People slowly started to trickle out after that, saying their goodbyes beforehand.

Soon it was just Hagrid, Minerva, Xeno and Hermione's parents left.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I think Harry and Luna would have liked that." Minerva said.

Hermione smiled. "I think they would have as well."

A couple of weeks later and the occupants at Godric's Hollow had fallen into a routine. Lily loved to request stories from Severus the most because of his voice and Severus kept saying that all of the books were complete rubbish.

On Tuesday's and Thursday's, Severus would do his research which left Hermione alone with the children. To make up for it, Severus would take the children to the park on Monday's and Wednesday's which gave Hermione some blessed alone time.

Hermione always made coffee and breakfast in the morning. She would always make sure that his cup of coffee was ready before he came down. One morning, she asked Lily to very gently and slowly deliver his cup of coffee which she did splendidly. Severus was quite impressed, so he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

The next morning, Hermione was the one to deliver his cup of coffee.

Lily saw that she was about to move away and huffed in disagreement. "What about her kiss?" She asked Severus.

Hermione's cheeks became a bright red and there was some tint to the potions master's cheeks as well. However, he knew that Lily wouldn't give up until he acquiesced to her request. He very gently placed a kiss upon Hermione's cheek.

Lily nodded looking satisfied and then turned back to her breakfast.

Every morning after that… Hermione would get a kiss upon the cheek.

Since Hermione did breakfast, Severus would always make dinner. Lunch was normally either leftovers or something simple. After Severus delivered her dinner one night, Hermione got up the courage to return the favor and kissed Severus' cheek.

A faint blush was found on his face, but soon after that… it became the norm.

They also had great intellectual conversations from anything potions to arithmancy. Sometimes the conversations would turn more into a debate which each stating their side of reasoning. They would not always agree, but in the end, agreed to disagree especially for Lily and Pandora's sake. One of their arguments had caused Severus and Hermione to not speak to each other for two days which was not a good thing when raising two children.

When they would put the kids down for a nap, the silence of those hours would become comfortable for both of them. They would both curl up in the sitting room with a book.

After Severus heard what happened to Hermione, he didn't question the fact that she had her wand on her at all times. There were some close calls though with her almost hexing him. He didn't blame her though and he knew that during his spying days, he was even worse. Hermione would apologize profusely, but he just repeated that it was not needed and there was nothing to forgive.

Before they knew it, they were a family. There was just one thing missing…