A/N / Disclaimer: I am not, nor shall I ever be, JK Rowling. I make no claim of ownership on her IP and am writing this purely for the opportunity to play in her universe.
This is my first ever fan fiction after lurking this sight for nearly two years. The characters will be slightly OOC and ignores the epilogue. It will most likely end up H/Hr by the end, but I'm not sure yet. Please feel free to leave constructive criticism if you wish and enjoy the story.
Chapter 1
"Hey, Hermione?"
"Yes, Harry?" aforementioned young woman replied.
"I think I want to go back to Hogwarts," Harry stated simply.
This brought Hermione to an abrupt halt. Harry made it a couple more steps before he realized his walking companion was no longer next to him. He turned around to see Hermione with a look of absolute shock on her face.
"What?" he asked, slightly concerned and quickly looking around to make sure there were no threats nearby, knowing there were still a few seditious elements on the run that hadn't been caught in the few months since the final battle. When he saw the park they were walking through was deserted save for them, he looked back at Hermione to see her expression had changed. Her mouth was no longer hanging open in surprise. Instead, she had her head slightly cocked to the side as she looked at him as if he were a particularly difficult problem to solve.
"What, why? I thought you and Ron had decided to take the fast track into the Auror Corps. together that Kingsley offered you," Hermione said confusedly. After seeing Harry slightly grimace, she quickly added, "not that I'm arguing against it, mind you! I just… what changed?"
"Well, I had an epiphany the other day. You see, I woke up at The Burrow the other day and realized something: I'm free! I'm beholden to nothing and no one except what and those I choose to be. For the first time in my life, I can do what I want, when I want, and no one has a right to complain." At her raised eyebrow, Harry quickly added, "within the law, of course!"
With a smirk, she replied, "of course." She took a step closer to him and put her hand on his shoulder, a slight look of concern on her face. "Is this why you moved to Grimmauld a few days ago?"
"Yeah," Harry said, looking down at the ground and scuffing his shoe in apparent shame. "I love the Weasleys to death, but I felt controlled… stifled. Between Ron, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley, I have no freedom in that house. Almost everything I wanted to go do for fun was vetoed by at least one of them, especially if it was in the Muggle world." At Hermione's cringe, his eyebrow rose this time, but he continued, "I haven't left The Burrow in weeks and I'm never alone. Even when I want to go for a fly to clear my head, as soon as one of them sees a broom, it turns into a pick-up quidditch game. I never thought I'd get tired of quidditch. I don't even know if I want to keep playing when I get back to school."
This last part was said so quietly that Hermione almost didn't catch it, but when she finally processed his closing grumble, she immediately replied, "Oh, Harry! Don't say that. You love quidditch! Don't let people not giving you space ruin something you enjoy so much! Promise me you'll at least play the first game before you make up your mind."
Harry rolled his eyes, but replied, "I suppose," with a huff.
She shot him a look that said, you know I'm right. Internally, he had to agree. She was very good at helping him to avoid overly dramatic decisions. He highly doubted he'd be alive today if it wasn't for her helping him reason things out at times.
Once she saw true acquiescence in his eyes, she decided to continue with her questioning. "So, how did this epiphany and yearning for freedom and—dare I say it… teenage rebellion?—lead to you deciding against joining the Aurors and instead return to a highly structured and rule governed environment such as a SCHOOL?" she asked with a hint of amusement in her eyes and a slight curl to her lips.
With a slightly sheepish smile, and a slight nod at her point, he replied, "Yeah, I guess that doesn't make a ton of sense, does it?" He had a full-blown grin by the time he finished his statement. He quickly grabbed her hand off his shoulder and led her over to a nearby bench before taking a seat and looking around to gather his thoughts.
As Hermione joined him, he answered her, "Two reasons. First, I'm exhausted. I've been fighting since I was 11 years old, and from fourth year on, most especially last year on the run, I've just grown tired of it. Maybe I'll still join the Aurors someday, but right now, I just need a break. I want to relax and have some fun. I want to have an excuse to really act like a kid for the first time in my life and going straight to a career in law enforcement is not exactly conducive to that goal."
Hermione looked at him in bemusement before returning with, "Harry, it's NEWT year. It's going to still require work."
"I know," he replied with a sardonic smirk. "But, I'll make you a deal. I promise to study harder than I ever have before so long as you promise not to go crazy studying and have some fun too."
Eyeing him critically for a few moments, she rejoined with, "pinky promise?" while holding up her right hand with her pinky sticking out, a small smile gracing her face.
Grinning wide and taking her pinky with his, he gave the only logical reply, "pinky promise."
"Now, what's reason number two?"
"Before we get to that, what was that cringe for earlier when I mentioned going out into the Muggle world?" Harry asked.
Sighing and turning to stare out at the park around her, she slumped her shoulders slightly and simply said, "Ron."
"Yeah… he's not too happy with me at the moment."
Hermione shot him a questioning look at that, which he simply gave a brief nod in reply to, which she understood to mean that Ron wasn't happy about Harry backing out of the Auror offer. She also knew that this probably was a large reason why he moved into Grimmauld. Ron was difficult to deal with when he let his temper get away from him.
Turning back to the park, Hermione continued, "you know he went with me to Australia to fetch my parents. It was… awkward. He was a well spring of faux pas and accidental bigotry. The number of times he insulted my parents and I without realizing what he was doing was astounding. He just does not understand the non-magical world and that I will still be a part of it. I was raised in it, it's ingrained in me, and my most formative years were spent in it. There's no way to switch that off, and he just can't get that." At this point she knew she was beginning to rant, but she just had to vent with someone that could empathize with her. Besides, she saw him nodding sympathetically out of the corner of her eye, so she knew he understood her need. "I'm just glad my parents didn't catch the vast majority of his goofs. Still, they caught enough to be decidedly unhappy with him, regardless of his ignorance. Honestly, I'm kind of glad it happened." At Harry's slightly startled face, she clarified, "I love him dearly, but it made me realize that it's more as an annoying little brother than anything else. He's grown up a lot in the last couple of years, especially since he came back during the hunt, but a solitary truly selfless thought for creatures he normally views as below him does mean he's changed completely. He still has a long way to go, and I don't know that I want that burden after all we've been through."
"Ha! See, I knew you'd understand!" Harry exclaimed.
"Yes, Harry, I do. I was planning on having some fun this year as well. Maybe not as much as I will now that you'll be there too, but still."
"So, that's why Ron was so sour the first couple weeks after you got back. That's actually what started me on my epiphany. He was quite cross when he realized you weren't going to be at the Burrow the rest of the summer. I think he was really hoping he'd have that time to woo you back."
"Yes, spending time with my parents to repair our strained relationship after regaining their memories was the perfect excuse to avoid that awkwardness." Harry snorted in amusement at that. "And, started you on your epiphany?" Hermione asked confusedly.
"Hey, not all of us are Hermione Granger, smartest witch of the age! We mere mortals have to let our epiphanies percolate a bit before they come to us sometimes."
She snorted at that, shaking her head in mirth. "What about Ginny?" she asked. "I may be a girl, but I do know that being attached is seen as a limitation to the fun a bloke can have." She couldn't help but roll her eyes as she finished that thought.
Harry just laughed, loudly a boisterously. When he recovered, he said, "Hermione Granger! That was almost… scandalous!"
"Boys! I'm a nearly 19-year-old woman, not a hermit!" she said, as she smacked Harry on the arm, rolling her eyes as she did so.
Harry startled a bit at that, quickly shaking the thought of her being just as human as he away as he proceeded to answer her question. "I honestly don't know. We haven't got back together; you know that. It's going to stay that way for now, especially since she just won't let it go sometimes. Part of my epiphany, ya know? Anyway, as much as it may disappoint Sirius from wherever he's watching from, I'm not sure if chasing after girls is going to be part of my fun. I kind of want to work on myself, you know? Figure out who I am beyond this rather crazy life I've lived so far."
"Don't write it off completely," she replied. "You deserve the love and affection of a good woman more than anyone."
"I won't, I promise, but it's certainly not my top priority. The same goes for you though. I don't know anyone that deserves all the romance and adoration in the world more than you do."
She just nodded at that and thought about what they'd discussed so far. They sat for a couple minutes in a comfortable silence, each thinking about the year ahead and what changes it might bring. It wasn't long though before Hermione realized that Harry had yet to fully explain his reasoning behind his change of mind, so asked, "What's reason two?"
Harry was silent for a moment, feeling decidedly uncomfortable voicing this thought after their most recent exchange. However, he knew she deserved to hear this more than anything else. "You," he breathed out, looking away a bit and feeling an ever so slight blush break out on his face.
"Me?!" Hermione asked incredulously.
"Yes, you! In the last seven years, through all the mess that my life has been, there has only been a single person that has supported me unreservedly, no qualms whatsoever, without being some kind of rabid fan. That's you. Even when we had our few spats throughout the years, it was always to do with something in relation to my safety and wellbeing. I'd be a shite friend indeed if I abandoned you now."
With a film of tears sparkling her eyes, Hermione leaned over and gave him hug and a kiss on his cheek, telling him, "Oh, Harry, you don't have to do that. You don't need to prove anything to me. Thank you though. That means more to me than you may ever truly know. And, language!" she finished with a teary laugh.
His sheepish smile was back as he replied, "I know I don't, but I want to."
She gave him an extra fierce hug at this, before leaning back, looking him in the eyes, and asking, "So, Mr. Potter, what do your plans for fun this year entail then?"
With a mischievous grin that would rival Sirius Black himself, he stated, "I'm declaring a prank war on the whole school… including you!"
She just looked at him like he'd gone barmy for a moment before she broke out in gales of laughter as she pulled him up off the bench to walk back to her parents' place a few blocks away. He pestered her all the way back about just why she found that so funny, but he could do nothing to pry it out of her. The last couple of weeks before the start of the new school year proved just a fruitless every time he asked.
