authorsnote: I am so getting into this story! this pairing is one of my fav's and is motivating me to write!
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songrecs: you all over me - taylor swift (taylors version)
When they wake, they were more tangled than when they'd fallen asleep.
It was nice though, he could feel the stained tears on his cheek, felt a deep relief that Hermione's hand still clutched his tightly, and that she remained close (maybe too close, as she struggled not to sneeze as her hair crowded his face).
It had been an odd night, he had fallen asleep with tears in his eyes, purely overwhelmed at what had happened, but he had slipped into darkness as Hermione had reassured him, and had slept relatively well, though two nights good sleep wasn't quite enough to wash away a years exhaustion.
It was a start, and he felt better than he had in a long time, more well rested, less achy, more at ease.
And now the feeling of being overwhelmed was fading, and he just smiled, remembering the night before, his Dad, Mum, Sirius, Remus … his family. He'd talked to them, seen them, it felt too good to be true.
And yet as he looked down at Hermione, who'd really made all of this happen, who was still out cold, head on his chest, clutching him, it hadn't been too good to be true, it had been real.
He felt that warmth in his chest, and wanted to rush down to breakfast then, to talk to his Dad, to Sirius, to Remus, maybe see if he wasn't feeling so dazed, he could talk to his Mother. He wanted to jump up and just be at Hogwarts, his home.
Hogwarts had always been his first home.
But he looked down at Hermione, fast asleep, still with dark smudges under her eyes, and silently picked up his wand. 'Tempus' He whispered – only 8:05am.
He was awake but a year of no sleep and knowing Hermione needed more sleep, had him placing down his wand, smoothing Hermione's hair away from his nose, and settling back down, asleep again in minutes.
It was a Sunday, and damn right, they'd earned a lie in.
And besides, it was much easier to sleep with Hermione by his side. They'd gotten so used to it whilst on the run together, and he wasn't sure how either would ever be comfortable sleeping alone again.
Thankfully for now they didn't have to, and so in minutes he was asleep again, the two curled around one another.
It was Hermione who woke next.
She felt rested, well better rested than she had in months. Each night of sleep seemed to help cure the exhaustion she'd simply learned to live with for over a year, it was odd, feeling her body getting used to sleep again, but welcome.
She glanced over at the clock – 9:10am. Early, but thankfully not too early, the sleep has felt well earned, and well deserved.
With a small sigh she forced herself to sit up, Harry is still asleep next to her, his hair ruffled around his face, his smile more alight than she remembers, an ease to him that puts her at ease as well.
She smiles, but decides not to wake him up, they both need as much sleep as they can get, and so she plans to slip away, get ready for the day, maybe read, relax for a bit before shaking Harry awake in an hour or two – they do have stuff to do after all.
Still, as she moves Harry's eyes are fluttering open, and she smiles to herself; they are in tune with one another it seems. She doesn't mirror her best friend, but she knows they bounce off one another's emotions. It comes with their closeness. When Harry is happy, she feels more cheerful, when she is sad, Harry is more morose, and when she wakes, Harry does too.
"It was them Hermione" Is the first thing he says now awake, as he sits up, blinking away sleep.
She smiles at her best friend as he rambles. About his Mother - the green eyes that match his; about his Father - how fun he'd been to talk to, how mischievous; about Sirius - a bad boy through and through but a good laugh; about Remus - kind and yet more reckless than Harry had known.
He talks on and on, and she'd never be able to cut him off. She just smiles, props her head on her hand, watches as he talks about Potter's, Quidditch and family, as he seems to be smiling - properly smiling for the first time in months, and she just grins.
It makes it all worth it. Ron, Ginny, Luna, her parents, all gone now, she feels a pang of hurt, at missing them, but then just refocuses on Harry's smile.
Worth it.
It is a nice start to the morning, Harry smiling ear to ear, his hair slightly mused. She knows her hair is like a haystack, but she can't bring herself to care. Not when Harry looks so happy. She knows she's smiling too.
Worth it.
"And he mentioned quidditch! Tryouts are end of the week, I've got to go for it" Hermione laughs then, she loves he has found some normality in this situation - quidditch of all things! She's glad and rolls her eyes. Though she's the same, she found some normal discussion with Remus last night that had felt normal (and infuriating as she won't admit he might be smarter than her). Normal was good.
She hasn't thought too much about the normality. Quidditch (she near grimaces that means another year of sat shivering in the stands, she will of course, always to support Harry). She realises they'll be going to classes, Hogsmeade, normal stuff. It seems so impossible, and yet sorely needed.
Normality, she'd never craved it so much before. Being Harry Potter's best friend meant kissing normality goodbye, adventure after adventure replacing any boring 'normal' year of school. And yet, now she realises for a little while things can be normal, even if just for a little while.
"I'm happy for you Harry" She says, snapping out of her thoughts. "Really" And she is, truly - worth it.
"Are you okay?" She nods then, Harry can be sensitive when he needs to, and as he threads his fingers through hers, she lets out a little sigh of content. Yes, her best friend knows when she needs him.
"Seeing you happy" She pauses then, thinks of her parents, feels that pang, but it's easily diminished when she thinks of Harry's smile. "Makes it all worth it"
"Are you sure?" She resists the urge to roll her eyes - Harry will always be selfless, the saviour, always one to place his own happiness second. He is a hero, it's his best quality and the one that makes her want to strangle him sometimes.
They had both been placed in Gryffindor for a reason. She knows she's brave, reckless even sometimes (though nowhere near on the scale of the Potter sat next to her), but she had always had a chance to go to Ravenclaw, hell, part of her thinks if she hadn't been a muggleborn she might have ended up in Slytherin! But Harry? He's a Gryffindor.
She remembers when he confided in her, one-night shivering in the tent about the hat, about what it had said…
'It said I could have been Slytherin Hermione' They were both cold, tired, hungry. Huddled together in the bunk bed, backs against the wall, holding onto one another as rain lashed against the sides of their tent, as they chewed on some old bread, ignoring the pangs of hunger.
At least they were together, that was the only silver lining, as she cast another warming charm, as she moved a little closer to her best friend, and he rubbed a hand up and down her arm.
'It said Slytherin could lead me to greatness' His voice had dropped to a whisper, and she searched about for his hand, threading her fingers through his, clutching him tightly.
'Maybe it could have' She offers, Harry won't be reassured by dismissal here, 'But you went to Gryffindor' She shakes her head as Harry looks down at her, desperately searching for her reaction, 'Where you belong, if it even matters, does it?'
'Doesn't it?' He whispers, and she shakes her head again, 'I had to ask not to go to Slytherin'
'And that proves why, if it does matter, you are a Gryffindor' She says, and she knows that's what he needed to hear, and offers more, 'You were brave enough at 11, to ask a sentient magical being, on your first day of Hogwarts, to ask it to listen to you' She grins then, and can see Harry smile a little too, 'Doesn't get more Gryffindor than that'
'I guess that's true' He says, and she nods, with a smile, resting her head on Harry's shoulder, casting another warming charm.
'It is' She nods, and can feel the tension in her best friends shoulders relax. 'You're a Gryffindor Harry, through and through, and even if you were in Slytherin, you'd still be my best friend'
'You think so?' He asks, and she nods, no doubt, no hesitation.
'You and I would have always found one another' It's those words from her that relax them both, and allows them, for the first time in months, a somewhat decent night of sleep.
"Very sure" She leans forward then, snapping out of her own thoughts, pulls him into a hug, "And besides, I have you"
"Always" He doesn't even hesitate to reply and that chases the last pang away. And they sit for several minutes, still mused from sleep, still in pyjamas as Gryffindor Tower wakes around them.
Content, happy, together.
Worth it.
"Come on then" Hermione says, not wanting to break the moment but knows alas - they have stuff to do today, their little bubble of trying to sleep, relax and adjust needs to come with them.
To Diagon Alley.
They had come here with their wands, the clothes on their backs, what was left in her bag and little else. Thankfully the castle provided the basics of warm robes, and clothes, but they needed more than that, they needed books, equipment, clothes, Harry needed a broom! They had much to pick up, and so she forced herself out of bed, and Harry with a reluctant sigh followed.
She opened the trunk at the end of the bed and looked through. The night before they'd packed away the rest of their clothes, mostly jumpers, tops, and jeans, they'd each need a full school wardrobe.
They had some books, particularly Hermione was glad to see textbooks on every major subject, and a few gems that she knew would be too advanced for this era and would need to remain locked away for the moment.
They had a few bits of equipment, a pewter cauldron she'd thought they might need on the road, but they'd need potions agreements, stuff for Astronomy and Herbology, they'd need to buy for every subject. Harry would need a broom; she'd need to make sure she had all the correct textbooks.
Thankfully money wasn't an issue.
Before obliviating her parents she'd taken out her college fund and turned it to galleons, and Harry in a burst of wisdom had stored several bags of galleons at the Dursley's the year before they'd left. They had healthy amount between them, all stored in her bag, plus relics they'd need to store in their vault.
That would be their first stop: Gringotts, and then the shops to purchase everything they needed.
"What are you keeping on you?" She asked as she picked up some clothes from the trunk, jumper, jeans, trainers, and Harry did the same though offered her a glare as she claimed his quidditch jumper to wear, leaving him with his green Weasley jumper, snitch and all.
"I've got the map, the snitch, the shard of mirror" Harry said, patting the pouch around his neck, "The fake locket" He paused then and glanced inside, "I think that's everything"
"You'll keep ahold of the Elder Wand?" She asked, as she looked at it by the bedside and he nodded.
"I don't want it to fall into the wrong hands, but I don't think we should destroy it, I might put it in the vault, since I've repaired mine " She nodded at that, and began to pull on her clothes, as Harry turned from her to do the same, offering her some privacy but allowing their conversation to continue.
"I'll keep my bag on me, with the essentials if we need to make a run for it, but otherwise I think we need to make an effort to settle here, open a Gringotts account, settle into classes" Harry nodded at her words, and smiled, as did she, she knew they had been on the run for over a year, settling down would feel strange, but what better place to do it?
"Won't classes be different?" Harry asked and she nodded.
"Probably easier" She said with a dip of her head, "Maybe hard to adjust as some stuff won't have been discovered"
Harry nodded then, "We'll sit our OWLS this year"
"Yeah, I think we need to do our best, the Order won't take underperformers"
"Agreed" Harry said then and she almost laughed, here was the day her best friend agreed about performing well in exams – she had lived to see it.
"Haha" He mocked then, practically reading her mind, "I'll still beat you in Defence"
She couldn't help the huff of outrage that left her then, and Harry laughed too, "Sorry" He offered before laughing again, to which she joined.
God it felt good to laugh.
"So, to Diagon then?" Harry asked and she nodded, slipping on her shoes, waving her wand to make the bed (though not perfectly, she'd never bothered too much with domestic charms), and grabbing her bag as Harry did the same.
"I think we can use Dumbledore's floo" She said, and so they set off.
The Common Room was mostly empty as they arrived, and they actually got a few waves which they returned as they made their way to the door, they had much to cram into one day.
"Hey" They were stopped though, and Hermione immediately knew by who, especially as Harry smiled at the recognition of the person's voice.
Lily.
"Where are you two going?" She asked, and Hermione remarked that Harry's Mother was quite nosy, not that she begrudged it, it was a trait of hers too.
"For supplies" Hermione offered, for again Harry was a little awe struck, Lily too in a sense, which unnerved Hermione a little. Lily looked at her with a smidge of suspicion but with Harry she just looked a little starstruck.
She knew there was no way Lily could know, but could she tell? Feel something? Were her instincts as a Mother telling her something? Hermione didn't know but she hoped not, they couldn't afford to have someone poking around.
Though at Harry's smile she softened towards the slightly nosy Lily Evans, anyone who made her best friend smile like that was on the right side of her.
"To Diagon?" Lily asked raising an eyebrow and Harry nodded.
"Yeah, for school stuff" And Lily nodded then, suspicion gone, hmmm … it was strange, she'd need to talk to Harry about that later … if she could get him to stop mooning over his Mother in the flesh and blood for long enough.
"Well see ya" Hermione said, yanking on Harry's arm. She can see her friend doesn't want to leave and Lily lingers for a second even as they step through the portrait hole, but then the door shuts and she can link her arm through Harry's and practically steer him to Dumbledore's office.
She doesn't voice anything about his Mother now, not when he smiles so, but she will, she'll have to.
"Lemon Drops" She says and the Gargoyle hops aside, the password the same as yesterday. They are soon ascending the steps, and are knocking on the Headmasters door, she's not surprised he answers immediately, always awake and alert.
She muses then whether Dumbledore sleeps, it seems odd but he must.
"Mr Potter, Ms Granger, how can I help you this fine Sunday?" He offers ushering them inside. She feels that twinge of suspicion at Dumbledore, he is the greatest wizard of all time, and she knows Harry still trusts his mentor completely, and Dumbledore's refusal to meddle in time is certainly a point in his favour but she can't totally trust the Headmaster, not anymore.
He had kept too much from them, for a good reason, that she understands, but still.
"We need identity documents Sir" She says, and he nods immediately before heading to his desk, "And to use your floo to go to Diagon please"
"Of course, of course" He says with a nod, and again she feels that hint of curiosity that he is so content not to ask them questions, not to meddle. It is against her nature for one, she is far too curious to not ask, but Dumbledore seems to have some self-control she doesn't. Perhaps it comes with time, perhaps he had meant what he'd said yesterday, 'I am truly curious, which is rare for me nowadays'.
He smiles at her as he lifts his head, and that twinkle in his eye makes her think he knows exactly what she's thinking, and it amuses him.
He then hands her a set of papers, she can see they are ornate, on thick parchment, detailing their births, their magical signatures, all forged of course, but she knows if anyone can trick the Goblins, it's Dumbledore.
Harry doesn't even question them, he trusts Dumbledore to do them right, so does she in a sense, but she supposes she wasn't as exposed to him, only heard about his motives second hand. Harry sat in this office for hours upon hours learning from him, perhaps he has more reason to trust. Or more reason to not be as suspicious as she is.
"And these will get us past the Goblins Sir?" She asks, and Dumbledore just smiles, not offended in the slightest. In fact, she gets the sense he approves of her due diligence and inquisitiveness.
"Yes" He says with a nod, before walking to his floo. With a simple flick of his hand the flames jump, and he grabs a flowerpot full of floo powder, she note's the sides of the pot are covered in yellow flowers, and they match those on his robes.
"They'll give you everything you need here" He says, and then nothing more. Harry nods, and takes a handful of powder. He is still a little starstruck by Dumbledore too, as Harry is with everyone around him at the moment. Not that she can blame him.
She's not the type to get starstruck, or she probably would be too. Seeing Dumbledore alive again does bring her some comfort, but she had come back with Harry expecting it to be the two of them, against the world in a sense … and with Dumbledore's dismissal of wanting to know their story, perhaps it still is.
"Come on then Hermione" Harry says, and she realises she's been musing in her own thoughts, and so she nods, thanks Dumbledore who just smiles and gives them a wave as first Harry steps in to the floo and calls out for the Alley. She goes second, and nods at Dumbledore as she steps in, he nods back before turning to his desk.
"Diagon Alley" She calls, and then with a crackle of green flames she is gone.
The Leaky Cauldron looked exactly the same.
It struck her that it hadn't changed at all. Tom looked the same, the bar, the chairs, all of it. There were warm fires lit in the places around the room, more than one rowdy conversation happening, and the air smelt like butterbeer.
She turned to Harry, smiling at him as he gave her a grin back and inhaled the air - so he was thinking the same. The little pub they'd spent plenty of times in over their summers had not changed a bit, it was oddly comforting.
She wondered if the rest of the Alley would be the same.
"Where to first?" Harry asked her and she shrugged checking for her bag and wand.
"Gringotts?" She asked, papers for their identities forged by Dumbledore around Harry's neck in his moleskin pouch. He nodded then patting it, and they fell into step with one another before heading out into the Alley.
They made their way quietly down to Gringotts both of them not needing to make conversation. That was one of the very things she liked about Harry and their friendship - there wasn't always the need to fill the air with chatter, sometimes they could just walk side by side in silence, comfortably without feeling the need to talk.
She knew he was doing the same as her, observing the Alley as they walked through it. It was quiet compared to the summer but fairly bustling as it was a weekend. She preferred that, though crowds were disconcerting to her after so long spent alone with just Harry and Ron, it was easier to get lost in them.
In fact, as she glanced over at Harry she could see him smiling at the anonymity and she grinned to herself. His lack of fame in this time was a blessing she knew Harry enjoyed and was grateful for. Her best friend had never been a glory hunter.
As the crowd grew once they made their way towards Gringotts, Harry took her hand and she slipped hers into his. It was natural, without thought, their fingers interlocking with no shame, no blushing, no worries.
She and Harry had reached a level of comfortable around one another when they had been on the run, and that wasn't going to way. Not after what they'd experienced, just the two of them - together.
They arrived at Gringotts quickly, no one could miss the huge bank towering over the Alley. It had seemed intimidating to her before but now as she looked at it, a wry smile on her face, she knew it wasn't as impenetrable as the Goblins claimed.
It seemed Harry had the same thought, letting out a laugh at her expression, and she found herself grinning too, a giggle leaving her.
"Not too scary now" He teased, and she laughed again - she remembered Harry's mad plan; leap onto the back of a dragon! He certainly did have his reckless streak, as he had proven time and time again, and she had gone along with. Was she as reckless as he? Not quite, but she had come far from refusing to break the rules.
"No" She agreed, laughing again, as did Harry. "But let's try and leave by the front door this time"
They let out their last laughs as Harry nodded, "Deal" Before they released one another to step through the security protocols and into the bank.
She tried not to shiver as she was scanned, as they stepped through the ornate golden doors, though she did find herself reaching for Harry's hand as they made their way to the front desk. She thought of the dragon guarding the vaults down below and felt a pang for the poor thing. At least in another life it had been rescued.
"State names and purpose" The reedy voice of the Goblin spoke as they approached the desk, Hermione glanced at Harry who nodded at her. Yeap, she was the one to do the talking.
It was usually the way, in situations of explaining and reasoning Harry left to her but in moments of bold braveness and standing up Harry took charge.
It worked, as did all their dynamics. She felt a little twist of her stomach then as she thought of Ron, the 3rd in their trio, she missed him and didn't want to admit to herself that their dynamic would be fine without him. It would have to be, she knew they had made the right choice in leaving him behind.
Ron had much to lose, they only had one another.
Harry nudged her then and she realised she needed to speak up, and so she cleared her throat before handing over the papers.
She felt a little nervous, the last time they'd been here they'd been breaking the law too. But though her trust in Dumbledore wasn't completely where it had been, she fully trusted him to be able to deceive the Goblins.
"My name is Hermione Blishwick" She said, putting a little bit of what she called 'snobbery' into her tone, "This is Harry Potter. We were living in France before moving here recently, we are here to open new vaults"
"New?" The Goblin sneered as his partner analysed the papers, magnifying glass flicking and flashing as he looked over their new identities.
She felt a little pang that the name Granger was gone, but it made sense, even if she didn't like it.
"Yes" She said, reminded of the last time she'd been here, masquerading as Bellatrix Lestrange of all people and looked down her nose at the goblin, whilst shaking in fear on the inside. She feels much that way now, though comforted by the papers they've handed over.
"You don't need to open new vaults" The goblin sneers, "Or do you not both want the inheritance clearly bequeathed to you as the last living relatives of your lines?"
She means to school her expression, but her eyebrows raise involuntarily, she's thankful it's not just her though, as she looks over at a very surprised Harry. Neither of them are good at being stoic, though she is slightly better she supposes.
"Of course" She manages to recover, "Please take us both to them" The goblin sneers at her but nods to his companion who scoops up two keys and jerks his head for them to follow as he moves into the depths of the bank.
She glances at Harry as they follow to one of the carts that will take them deeper in. He offers her a slightly cheeky smile and she rolls her eyes - of course they are both thinking of the last time they were here again.
Breaking and entering, fighting goblins and wizards alike, fleeing on the back of a dragon. Pretty typical for them.
She had thought this time might be slightly less eventful: open their vaults, deposit everything and then go into the alley, but as they both climb into the cart and she finds herself taking Harry's hand again for some comfort, and the Goblin glares at them both of them as he says, "To the Blishwick vault first" Perhaps it will be more eventful than they'd both planned.
Isn't that just them? As the cart jumps forward and her other hand grabs the side, and the vaults around them become clear, she near smiles at the thought. Yes, things going not to plan and slightly off the rails? She glances at Harry who smiles at her; definitely them.
sooo thoughts?
I had to split diagon into 2 chapters - the next chapter is proving thick!
so, what does everyone think of the current situation? not quite what we expected! at the moment it is somewhat calm but just wait ... drama incoming soon!
do let me know your thoughts, I loove to hear them! follow/fav for updates
also shameless shill: do check out my oneshot harry/hermione: exile. I also have a 2nd oneshot for this beloved pairing in the works so keep an eye out!
speak soon