A/N:

writing hermione's pov because my brain is messed up and not functioning very well due to school and life in general so im just grateful that i have a teeny chance at writing something thats coherent

thanks to sam for reading through even though i missed the deadline ajshafjhgakjh

not related but i adore linkin park

Paper Memories

"I never knew Dad was that tall as a kid," Rose mumbled sleepily. She yawned and let her head fall back on Scorpius' shoulder. The blonde boy merely grinned and continued skimming through the pages of the photo album.

"Hey, this one looks newer than the others," Albus said. Hermione glanced over to see him pointing at a colour photograph taped to a page towards the end. "I wonder when this was taken."

Hermione came over and took the book into her hands. The photograph, unlike the others in the album, was not moving. Two young men stood side by side against a railing, the flickering lights of a carousel slightly blurred by fog.

"I took this photograph a few years before you were all born," Hermione said. She let her eyes drift over the photograph, fingers tracing the edge of the still-crisp photo paper. "Those two were just like you and Scorpius back then, and unfortunately or not, they still are."

"I thought I was special," Scorpius moaned dramatically, hand on his forehead as he flopped backward onto the couch. Rosie giggled, swatting him on the arm.

"What's the story behind it, then?" she asked, her earlier drowsiness gone, and Hermione found herself casting her mind back to that cool, cloudy day.

XXXXXXXX

It had actually been Ron's idea to go to a Muggle amusement park. When they found out that Harry had never gone to an attraction for any other reason than Dudley's birthday, Ron had let loose a string of curses that Mrs. Weasley would never have allowed to grace the air, and sworn to "do what those gits never had the decency to".

After a long while, Harry had finally been talked into it—not surprisingly, he'd put up a good fight, making enough excuses to put Lockhart to shame. Hermione suspected he just didn't like people paying so much attention to him. Unfortunately, with a best friend like Ron, Harry had probably learned to just roll with it.

The only things left to do then had been fixing the place and time of their outing. Hermione had initially suggested Blackpool's South Pier, since it was one of the more well-known amusement parks around, but Ron had hinted with a gleam in his eye at an even better place he had in mind.

And that was how, on a cloudy morning in January, the three of them wound up in a grassy meadow in the English countryside. They'd stumbled down the grassy slopes. Hermione stumbling along with her arm looped through Ron's, towards the glowing enclosure nestled in the space between the hills.

Ron and Hermione had glanced at Harry then, and Hermione found herself caught off guard by the pure wonder in his eyes. She looked over at Ron, expecting him to laugh at Harry or make a joke about his eyes being the same size as Mooncalves, but he simply gave a half-smile and walked over, cuffing him lightly on the shoulder.

"Come on, mate," he'd said quietly, but Hermione heard it anyway. "The day isn't going to wait forever while you stand there and gawk without actually going in, you know."

Harry had snapped out of it at once, but his eyes shone not with anger but with good-humoured fondness.

"Bloody hell, I thought I was special," he'd snarked back, grinning.

Ron slapped the back of his head before tugging the both of them down the hill.

They'd approached the gates of the amusement park. A young girl with hair twisted into pigtails had deposited their money in a tin by the table. "It's got an Extension Charm to hold all the money, and there are other protective spells on it, that's why you can't steal it," Ron hissed out of the corner of his mouth before handing them three parchment-coloured tickets with gold lettering.

It was a wizard amusement park, and a travelling one, no less. Ron had been there once before with a few relatives. As they walked through the throngs of jostling people, Hermione knew why Ron had wanted them to bring Harry here. He was gazing around at the scene with a wistful look in his eyes. At the same time, there was excitement in his face that had never been there before. He seemed like a child who'd spent years watching other kids play in the sandboxes, but was never able to join in himself.

A need to capture the moment surged through Hermione then, and she raised her camera.

"Stand over there," she told them, and they walked over to the carousel glimmering with golden fairy lights. The air rang with the laughter of children, thick with the sweet scent of moments on the cusp of becoming treasured memories.

Ron slung an arm around Harry, who did the same, and they grinned in unison as the camera flashed.

XXXXXXXX

Just then, the simultaneous cracks of Apparition sounded in the hallway, followed by footsteps. "We've got dinner!" proclaimed Ron, lifting the purple cooler bag which presumably held Mrs. Weasley's cooking.

The sound of scuffling filled the air as everyone dashed towards the kitchen. Hermione watched as Albus, Scorpius and Rose filed through the doorway, then closed the photo album gently.

"Showing off to the kids?" Ron asked. She looked up at him, and he grinned.

"Just reliving some old memories."

Beside Ron, Harry smiled. "Who would've thought that we'd be able to look back on them like this, huh?"

Hermione sighed in agreement. Things had changed so much, and they would continue to change as time went on. But at any rate, she was glad that this—that they had stayed the same.

"Come on," she said, rounding the coffee table. "Before Ginny kills you two for holding up dinner."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "You think she won't kill you too?"

"She's got a point though, mate," Harry whispered at him. "We'd best go now."

Hermione watched their exchange and laughed, shaking her head. These two.

"If you two don't mind, I'd very much like to eat," she said with mock annoyance, pushing past them and striding towards the kitchen.

But even as she made her exit, Hermione didn't have to look behind to know that they wore the same wide smile as her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Team: Wigtown Wanderers

CHASER 3: Connect your fics using the same platonic (friendship or familial) pairing as the focus of your fic.

OPTIONAL PROMPTS:

#4: (dialogue) "I thought I was special."

#9: (object) photo album

#13: (setting) amusement park

Word Count: 1042