A/N: Ahoy, there, Mateys! Fluff be on the horizon.
Snuffles' Stay
Chapter Twenty-Two
N.E.W.Ts suddenly came into view before Harry, Ron, and Hermione noticed it. They had spent so much of their time outdoors, in their Animagus forms, that time had passed rather quickly. Ron, however, spent most of his time in the lake on the school grounds, searching the depths of the dark and gloomy water and coming back to report on what he saw to Hermione and Harry.
After being graded on their N.E.W.T exams and taking all of them, the group had extra time to spend doing absolutely nothing except surveying the Hogwarts grounds and saying goodbye to the world they had grown so dear to. Every time Hermione looked at the Fat Lady, she would tear up and walk inside of the Common Room positively howling.
Harry and Ron, however, seemed to be enjoying their freedom and took their leave from Hogwarts as a gift that came far too late. Neither honestly cared about their grades on their N.E.W.Ts, even though Hermione bullied them into studying as she had when they had first taken their O.W.Ls. Even Professor McGonagall thrashed Harry and Ron into studying when she found them sitting on the Common Room floor, in front of the fireplace hearth.
"Oh, come off it, Hermione," Ron had said one evening. "It's not like we're going to be here much longer."
Hermione, frantic, replied, "But the N.E.W.Ts can determine your whole future! Ron, take them seriously!"
"Don't worry, 'Mione," said Harry. "We didn't study that much for our O.W.Ls, and we did all right on them, didn't we, Ron?"
"Yeah! We were even made Prefects, Hermione. That's gotta tell you something."
And so, the N.E.W.T.s passed with very little studying on Ron and Harry's part.
It was just two days until their last day at Hogwarts. Hermione was feeling incredibly weepy and would hug everyone in sight, if they came across her. Most of her evenings were spent patrolling the hallways of the castle, saying goodbye to everyone and everything. She had even run up to Snape and had given him a rather large hug.
Sirius, like the boys, was pleased that the group would soon be graduating. He had confronted them one night on their frolics around the grounds, and they transformed back into their human-states, talking through the night on plans after Hogwarts.
Harry scratched his head and smiled at Sirius. "Well," he said. "I was thinking about going through Auror training… Y'know. Like my dad." Ron nodded in agreement.
"What about you, Hermione?"
Hermione felt herself blushing a fiery red. "Well, I haven't given it much thought, to tell you the truth…"
Talk continued on until the sun shimmered on the horizon. Ron and Harry hurried back into the castle, hidden underneath the Invisibility Cloak, and scrambled back up into the Gryffindor Common Room.
Hermione, however, stayed put with Sirius on the school grounds.
"Listen," he said to her in an undertone. "About after you Graduate…"
"Yes?"
"Stay with me?"
Struck for words, Hermione just… stared. Her mouth dropped open and her body wouldn't respond to her calls. Sirius laughed.
"I wouldn't ask it if I didn't mean it, Hermione. Stay with me?"
Tears struck her eyes and before she knew it, she was clamped onto Sirius' arm. She buried her face into his chest and blew her nose on his shirt. "Really? You really want me to stay with you?" she asked. To be honest, Hermione hadn't been expecting that. She had thought, of course, of asking him to stay with her…
"Really, Hermione. We'll find a place and we can stay there, together. I've been thinking about this for… well, to be honest, a real long time." He ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "I'll give you some time to think about it, if you need it. I don't mind."
Hermione shook her head, sending her hair flying. "No, no. I don't need time to think about it, Sirius. I'd be happy to stay with you."
Sirius's arms wrapped around Hermione's waist and he pressed her closer to him. He kissed the top of her head and rocked her back and fourth, letting her cry into his shirt. Honestly, why did women have to be so… emotional all the time?
Hermione sniffed. "You know… I don't think it'd be right to stay with you, alone, without… without…"
Sirius pushed her away from him a little bit to look at her face. "Without what?"
"Without us… being engaged, first." Hermione looked away. Sirius almost laughed, but caught himself. "I mean, my parents -"
"Do you want to be engaged to me, Hermione?" he asked with sincerity. He put his palms on her cheeks and forced her to look up at him.
"A-are you…?"
"If you want me to be, I am." Simple answer.
Again, Hermione started crying. Her eyes splashed out a multitude of tears that Sirius thought her body couldn't honestly contain. He pulled her close to him once again and rocked her. He could feel his shirt getting positively soaked.
"Of course I do, Sirius. I do, I do, I do, I really do…!"
Sirius kissed the top of her head. "I haven't a thing to give you for it, yet… You'll have to wait a bit for that."
She laughed. "I could wait an eternity. I'm in no rush, as long as I'm with you."
*****
Breakfast that morning was incredibly delicious, Hermione figured. She smiled as she helped herself to eggs, bacon, and toast. Harry and Ron stared at her, watching as she looked at nothing in particular with a dreamy, gazed expression. Ron resisted the urge of smacking her to see what she'd do.
Pavarti and Lavender stared at her with a dreamy expression, also. They whispered among themselves until, finally, Ron asked them what they were talking about.
"Really, Ron. You act as though you've never seen a girl in love, before," Lavender answered simply.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ron asked, bewildered. "What're you on about?"
"Hermione's in love. Look into her eyes and tell me that you can't see it. Who's she in love with? I've gotta know!"
Ron looked seriously at Harry. "I've never seen her like that before. What d'you think-"
*****
Dumbledore watched his students carefully from the Staff Table at the end of the Great Hall. It was the last day of Hogwarts and the seventh years would be departed forever. He wiped an unshed tear from his eye, smiled down at the trio of friends he grew to know so well, and settled back into his chair. He would honestly miss those three, especially…
But, maybe they would come back later on?
Dumbledore had no doubt in his mind that Hermione would someday come to take the position of Charms teacher if ever tiny Professor Flitwick decided to retire. Perhaps Harry would like to be a Quidditch instructor? And Ron… Well, Ron could be one of everything, couldn't he?
The feast was nearly over, and it was nearly time for his end-of-year speech. He didn't look forward to speaking in front of this group this year… It hurt his heart to think that they would be leaving. Oh, the hardships of being a headmaster of a school…
"Settle down, settle down," announced Dumbledore, when the last of the desserts had been cleared away from the tables. "As your Headmaster, I would like to make a few… end of the year announcements."
Several students clapped their hands and 'woot'ed. Others began weeping.
"First of all, I would like to say, congratulations on another successful year ending at Hogwarts. I am very proud of each and every student at this school, and I am very saddened to watch the Seventh Years walk away from Hogwarts.
"Now is the time for you to make decisions that will last the rest of your lives. Whatever you choose can be changed, but choose wisely - for some things cannot be changed. I'm sure that whatever you choose will be the correct thing, and that you will all, each and every one of you, succeed."
Applause rang through the Great Hall. "Hogwarts will always be open to you."
Chapter Twenty-Two
N.E.W.Ts suddenly came into view before Harry, Ron, and Hermione noticed it. They had spent so much of their time outdoors, in their Animagus forms, that time had passed rather quickly. Ron, however, spent most of his time in the lake on the school grounds, searching the depths of the dark and gloomy water and coming back to report on what he saw to Hermione and Harry.
After being graded on their N.E.W.T exams and taking all of them, the group had extra time to spend doing absolutely nothing except surveying the Hogwarts grounds and saying goodbye to the world they had grown so dear to. Every time Hermione looked at the Fat Lady, she would tear up and walk inside of the Common Room positively howling.
Harry and Ron, however, seemed to be enjoying their freedom and took their leave from Hogwarts as a gift that came far too late. Neither honestly cared about their grades on their N.E.W.Ts, even though Hermione bullied them into studying as she had when they had first taken their O.W.Ls. Even Professor McGonagall thrashed Harry and Ron into studying when she found them sitting on the Common Room floor, in front of the fireplace hearth.
"Oh, come off it, Hermione," Ron had said one evening. "It's not like we're going to be here much longer."
Hermione, frantic, replied, "But the N.E.W.Ts can determine your whole future! Ron, take them seriously!"
"Don't worry, 'Mione," said Harry. "We didn't study that much for our O.W.Ls, and we did all right on them, didn't we, Ron?"
"Yeah! We were even made Prefects, Hermione. That's gotta tell you something."
And so, the N.E.W.T.s passed with very little studying on Ron and Harry's part.
It was just two days until their last day at Hogwarts. Hermione was feeling incredibly weepy and would hug everyone in sight, if they came across her. Most of her evenings were spent patrolling the hallways of the castle, saying goodbye to everyone and everything. She had even run up to Snape and had given him a rather large hug.
Sirius, like the boys, was pleased that the group would soon be graduating. He had confronted them one night on their frolics around the grounds, and they transformed back into their human-states, talking through the night on plans after Hogwarts.
Harry scratched his head and smiled at Sirius. "Well," he said. "I was thinking about going through Auror training… Y'know. Like my dad." Ron nodded in agreement.
"What about you, Hermione?"
Hermione felt herself blushing a fiery red. "Well, I haven't given it much thought, to tell you the truth…"
Talk continued on until the sun shimmered on the horizon. Ron and Harry hurried back into the castle, hidden underneath the Invisibility Cloak, and scrambled back up into the Gryffindor Common Room.
Hermione, however, stayed put with Sirius on the school grounds.
"Listen," he said to her in an undertone. "About after you Graduate…"
"Yes?"
"Stay with me?"
Struck for words, Hermione just… stared. Her mouth dropped open and her body wouldn't respond to her calls. Sirius laughed.
"I wouldn't ask it if I didn't mean it, Hermione. Stay with me?"
Tears struck her eyes and before she knew it, she was clamped onto Sirius' arm. She buried her face into his chest and blew her nose on his shirt. "Really? You really want me to stay with you?" she asked. To be honest, Hermione hadn't been expecting that. She had thought, of course, of asking him to stay with her…
"Really, Hermione. We'll find a place and we can stay there, together. I've been thinking about this for… well, to be honest, a real long time." He ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "I'll give you some time to think about it, if you need it. I don't mind."
Hermione shook her head, sending her hair flying. "No, no. I don't need time to think about it, Sirius. I'd be happy to stay with you."
Sirius's arms wrapped around Hermione's waist and he pressed her closer to him. He kissed the top of her head and rocked her back and fourth, letting her cry into his shirt. Honestly, why did women have to be so… emotional all the time?
Hermione sniffed. "You know… I don't think it'd be right to stay with you, alone, without… without…"
Sirius pushed her away from him a little bit to look at her face. "Without what?"
"Without us… being engaged, first." Hermione looked away. Sirius almost laughed, but caught himself. "I mean, my parents -"
"Do you want to be engaged to me, Hermione?" he asked with sincerity. He put his palms on her cheeks and forced her to look up at him.
"A-are you…?"
"If you want me to be, I am." Simple answer.
Again, Hermione started crying. Her eyes splashed out a multitude of tears that Sirius thought her body couldn't honestly contain. He pulled her close to him once again and rocked her. He could feel his shirt getting positively soaked.
"Of course I do, Sirius. I do, I do, I do, I really do…!"
Sirius kissed the top of her head. "I haven't a thing to give you for it, yet… You'll have to wait a bit for that."
She laughed. "I could wait an eternity. I'm in no rush, as long as I'm with you."
Breakfast that morning was incredibly delicious, Hermione figured. She smiled as she helped herself to eggs, bacon, and toast. Harry and Ron stared at her, watching as she looked at nothing in particular with a dreamy, gazed expression. Ron resisted the urge of smacking her to see what she'd do.
Pavarti and Lavender stared at her with a dreamy expression, also. They whispered among themselves until, finally, Ron asked them what they were talking about.
"Really, Ron. You act as though you've never seen a girl in love, before," Lavender answered simply.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ron asked, bewildered. "What're you on about?"
"Hermione's in love. Look into her eyes and tell me that you can't see it. Who's she in love with? I've gotta know!"
Ron looked seriously at Harry. "I've never seen her like that before. What d'you think-"
Dumbledore watched his students carefully from the Staff Table at the end of the Great Hall. It was the last day of Hogwarts and the seventh years would be departed forever. He wiped an unshed tear from his eye, smiled down at the trio of friends he grew to know so well, and settled back into his chair. He would honestly miss those three, especially…
But, maybe they would come back later on?
Dumbledore had no doubt in his mind that Hermione would someday come to take the position of Charms teacher if ever tiny Professor Flitwick decided to retire. Perhaps Harry would like to be a Quidditch instructor? And Ron… Well, Ron could be one of everything, couldn't he?
The feast was nearly over, and it was nearly time for his end-of-year speech. He didn't look forward to speaking in front of this group this year… It hurt his heart to think that they would be leaving. Oh, the hardships of being a headmaster of a school…
"Settle down, settle down," announced Dumbledore, when the last of the desserts had been cleared away from the tables. "As your Headmaster, I would like to make a few… end of the year announcements."
Several students clapped their hands and 'woot'ed. Others began weeping.
"First of all, I would like to say, congratulations on another successful year ending at Hogwarts. I am very proud of each and every student at this school, and I am very saddened to watch the Seventh Years walk away from Hogwarts.
"Now is the time for you to make decisions that will last the rest of your lives. Whatever you choose can be changed, but choose wisely - for some things cannot be changed. I'm sure that whatever you choose will be the correct thing, and that you will all, each and every one of you, succeed."
Applause rang through the Great Hall. "Hogwarts will always be open to you."