June 6th, 2003
Ariolo, Switzerland
Hermione
She stood before a large farm gate, one that had a small driveway leading up to a quaint little farmhouse. The house itself looked beautiful nestled between the valleys of the Swiss alps, and surrounding the house were a couple large red barns. She couldn't see anyone but she could see cows grazing in the pasture behind the house, and chickens roaming around in their coup by the front yard.
She looked down uncertainly at the address her trail had led her to, to make sure yet again, but this was undoubtedly it. Months of searching and calling in favors, she had finally found a lead, found him. She put the piece of paper away, and pushed open the farm gate wide enough for her Golf to fit through. She had chosen to drive here instead of apparating simply to allow her the time to prepare, but that was the last thing she felt right then.
She got back into her car and drove slowly down the driveway, not wanting to startle anyone, afterall she had come uninvited. She soon got to the house, and still seeing no sign of anyone around, she pulled in next to the Viper that was already parked there. The red sports car looked completely out of place in the midst of a farm, yet it spoke volumes about the people who lived here.
She got out of her car and was about to walk up to the house when she heard a machine fire up from inside one of the barns. Deciding to walk there instead, she headed towards the barn where the noise was coming from. She went around the house, and walked over to the barn entrance to look in.
The first thing that caught her eye was a little girl in one corner of the barn of about six or seven years old. She was holding a carrot up trying to feed a beautiful brown foal inside one of the stables. She was on her tiptoes and reaching up as far as she could, but still unable to reach the horse which was stretching its neck as far as it could, eagerly eyeing the treat. The little girl huffed to herself, in a way that only children can, and started looking around for something, when she saw her standing at the barn door.
Hermione caught the little girl's eye and had to stop herself from gasping at the familiar emeralds that were gazing back at her. Only one person could have given her those eyes. She watched as the child's face turned into one of confusion, and Hermione was about to wave at her when the little girl ran down to the other end of the barn. Only then did she notice that there was someone else also there, it was a man crouched down in front of a cow, attending to a milking machine. The noise she had heard was the milking machine being fired up. All she could see of him was his legs and his hunched back. The little girl reached him, and started tugging insistently at the man's pants. When he looked down at her, she simply pointed straight at Hermione.
When the man turned around towards her, Hermione almost cried for joy at seeing the face she had been longing to see for years now. He had changed a lot, but to her he looked exactly like how she had imagined. His hair messy as ever, and his eyes softly glowing with power. He had built himself an impressive figure, no longer the pale skinny kid who had saved her in her first year. He had also ditched the glasses, and now looked like a proper farmer with his lean build and fitting clothes. She was giddy to have found him, but clearly those feelings weren't reciprocated because the man's face instantly turned stony at recognizing who she was. He turned away for a moment to turn off the machine and let the cow free, before he wiped his hands on a rag and started walking towards her. The little girl, following close behind him.
He stopped before her, his eyes hard, and his shoulders tense.
"You're trespassing," he said.
She didn't know what she had expected, but those stiff words cut whatever confidence she had, and only served to remind her of what she had done. Her eyes were already starting to prickle, and she had just got here. She was about to reply when the little girl behind the man, spoke up.
"Daddy, can I go get Timmy out of the cage now?"
She had seen the little girl's eyes, but had refused to accept that truth. There was no uncertainty now, the little girl was clearly his daughter, and that only made her feel worse.
She watched as his face easily morphed to a kind loving one as he looked down at his daughter.
"Of course love. Be careful when you walk up the porch steps ok?".
"Okay"
And with that the little girl scampered off towards the house. He watched her run off for a second before turning back towards her, his face once again stony. Hermione felt her throat dry up as she opened her mouth to speak.
" Can we talk, Harry? Please?," she asked, softly.
His eyes only bored harder into hers at that.
"We have nothing to talk about, Granger," he said. His voice harsh and cold. A knife stab would've hurt less then and she couldn't hold back the tear that rolled down her cheek.
"I will go away if you want me to after, but please give me a chance," she pleaded, but that didn't seem to deter Harry.
"No, now go away. Your words five years ago said enough. I came here to get away from everything so don't ruin this too for me."
She let out a choked sob at that, tears now streaming down her face. Her legs gave away and she fell to her knees. She reached out to hold his hands, thankful he didn't instantly pull away, finding whatever comfort she could as she begged him with her eyes.
Harry looked down at her for a moment before looking away. He finally let out a large sigh and took his hands out of hers to rub his forehead, before reaching down and pulling her up.
"Kimmy" called out Harry.
A house elf instantly popped in next to them, startling her. Harry also seemed to gaze at her, almost challenging her to yell at him for having house elves and despite how much she wanted to, she most definitely was not going to cause a quarrel with Harry right now, so she simply lowered her head.
Harry, seeing no reaction from her, looked down at his elf.
"Can you please get Mrs. Granger here a tea with no sugar and a little milk. Can you also please get me a joint."
Her head snapped up at that, her eyes widening. She knew that marijuana was a widely used recreational drug and was ok to be used in moderation, but she would never have guessed that Harry would get into it. Clearly a lot had changed in Harry in the last 5 years. She tried to ignore her own jab inside her head that it was completely her fault.
Kimmy nodded her head. "Right away, Master Harry," she said and popped away.
After Kimmy popped away, Harry said nothing and walked past her towards the back of the house where she could see a table with a couple chairs around it. She silently followed him there. They had barely sat down when Kimmy popped back in with her tea and Harry's joint.
"Thank you, Kimmy," said Harry and Kimmy was about to pop away when she in a moment of impulse did something that even surprised herself, something she would never be able to explain why she actually did it.
"Kimmy, I'm sorry to bother you, but can you get me a joint too?"
Kimmy simply looked towards Harry, who in turn was looking at her with eyebrows raised, but he nodded his assent to Kimmy nonetheless. Kimmy quickly brought her, her very first joint. She had come here to ask forgiveness from Harry, but here she was about to smoke with him. Harry always seemed to bring out her crazier side so she supposed she shouldn't be surprised.
She watched as Harry took out a lighter and lit his joint. He then proceeded to take a whiff, he held it in for a moment before exhaling a large puff of smoke off to the side. He then offered her the lighter. Thinking it couldn't possibly be too bad if Harry was able to do it so easily, she lit her joint up too and took a large whiff.
Big Mistake.
The smoke had barely reached the back of her throat when she started violently coughing. Her eyes started watering up for the second time, and her lungs were heaving at the unfamiliar feeling. All the while laughter rang in her ears from across the table where Harry looked like he was having a fit. It took her five minutes to feel herself again, and by then Harry too looked like he had his fill and was simply looking at her in amusement.
"Your first Hermione?" His voice holding a teasing quality to it, reminding her of the past.
She glared at him in response, but was secretly happy he was calling her Hermione once again. She also went for another pull, albeit smaller this time. Her throat still burned a little but she was starting to get used to it, and the pleasant buzz she got in the back of her head wasn;t unpleasant. The amusement aside, it was time she did what she came here for.
"Harry, I came here to say sorry. I allowed my head to rule over my heart all those years years ago, and I've regretted it ever since. I know I hurt you badly, your words that night have never stopped repeating themselves, and they made me realize what I had lost. I tried to live with what I did, but I can't. I need you. You were the best thing that ever happened to me, and I will do anything to have you back. Even if that means I can't have you all to myself. Will you give me a chance?"
By the time she had stopped speaking, her words were almost a whisper. She had tried to be brave and keep her head up while she poured her words out, but couldn't because she feared what Harry's reaction would be. Her only hope was that he wouldn't tell her to get out of his life.
Harry remained silent for a while after her words. She had almost begun to fear that he had simply left when he spoke up.
"You will never realize how badly you hurt me that day. You meant everything to me, had you just asked, I would've gone to hell and back for you, but instead you left me, completely out of the blue without even giving me a reason. I struggled for months after, and I was slowly just drowning in my own sorrows until one day, one day when she came into my life. She gave me that hope I desperately needed to keep fighting. She will come first in my life no matter what."
That was more than enough for Hermione, it wasn't a rejection and that's all that mattered to her right then. She had already accepted the fact that she had messed up, so if she needed to be a mistress or a second wife to stay in his life, she would gladly do so if he gave her the chance. She looked up to meet Harry's eyes again, who was looking at her with a somber expression on his face.
"I'm happy you found someone to love, Harry. You deserve a lot of things, things that I ruined for the both of us, but I'm here to try and fix that. I made a mistake, and if I have to be your second wife to be a part of your life, I am ready. I only hope you and your wife give me a chance."
She watched as Harry's face suddenly turned into a frown, and she mentally kicked herself for saying something she shouldn't have. She was about to apologize when she saw him sniggering. Now it was her turn to be frowning.
"What?!"
Harry simply rolled his eyes, his face one again somber.
"You thought I had a wife?"
She was getting even more confused now.
"Harry, you have a daughter who looks exactly like you, and you said you found someone to love again."
"I was talking about my flower, my daughter. I magically adopted her later." He said simply.
Relief coursed through her veins. She would have happily taken a second position but was glad she didn't also have to convince someone else to let her in. Her relief though came too soon, Harry's next words brought her mistakes back into reality.
"I don't know why you came back after 5 years but I no longer trust you like I used to, so if you really want to be with me again, you'll have to prove yourself. I have been looking for a farm hand for the past couple weeks, unsuccessfully so. I no longer need to look for one now that you're here. Your responsibilities start tomorrow morning at 6 am sharp, make sure you're here. I will allow you the night to go get your things. You will be given a room to stay, and food to eat. If you aren't here tomorrow morning, I'll consider you coming here today a farce and nothing but an impulse decision. I'll simply move on with my life like before."
With that ultimatum Harry swiftly got up and walked away, leaving Hermione to plan exactly how she was going to win Harry's heart once again.