As promised, Harry and Hermione wrote to each other over the summer. Harry
had his own apartment in London while Hermione traveled with her parents.
Both seemed back to their usual selves, and they never mentioned Ron in
their correspondence. Hermione would tell him where she had been, where she
was going, what she saw. Harry told her funny stories of what he'd been
doing in the city and kept her up-to-date on the national Quidditch
happenings. And they always made plans to meet up when she was back in the
country, even if she was only here to do her laundry and take off again.
On September 1st, Harry and Hermione apparated to the Ministry of Magic to begin their three year Auror training. Hermione, of course, helped Harry with all the logical and intellectual feats they were expected to perform, while Harry helped her with her reflexes and some of the more complicated spells. Hermione worked as a freelance writer during training and also lived in her own flat. Harry, still living easily off his inheritance but getting very bored, worked as a Quidditch referee most weekends.
Their training seemed to fly by, and in no time at all Harry and Hermione were sharing an office, working diligently to catch the latest Dark wizards. They were always given the same assignments, as they were the new dynamic duo.
Harry and Hermione's relationship never changed. Hermione was too afraid to lose her best friend to try to change it. Harry never thought about it. But if he had, he would have realized they were pleasantly hovering the line between friend and lover. They spent most of their free time together, talking about everything from work to Quidditch to news to Muggles to Ron. On one memorable occasion Harry admitted to Hermione that he felt responsible for Ron's death. Hermione promptly crawled into his lap took his face in her hands, and looked him in the eye.
"Harry James Potter," she said firmly. "That was not your fault. You heard the second prophecy. It had to be that way. Besides, Ron would have wanted to die for a cause like that. You are not to blame."
Harry met her eyes, gave a small nod and lightly kissed her. They curled up on the couch and fell asleep, Harry silently thanking her for hours.
There was one topic Harry and Hermione never discussed: their love lives. Well, they never talked about Harry's love life; Hermione had none to speak of. She couldn't imagine being with anyone but Harry. He, on the other hand, had too many one-night stands to name. But none of them ever lasted more than a week. He didn't know it, but Harry was subconsciously comparing the girls to one woman. One he thought he hadn't met yet.
On September 1st, Harry and Hermione apparated to the Ministry of Magic to begin their three year Auror training. Hermione, of course, helped Harry with all the logical and intellectual feats they were expected to perform, while Harry helped her with her reflexes and some of the more complicated spells. Hermione worked as a freelance writer during training and also lived in her own flat. Harry, still living easily off his inheritance but getting very bored, worked as a Quidditch referee most weekends.
Their training seemed to fly by, and in no time at all Harry and Hermione were sharing an office, working diligently to catch the latest Dark wizards. They were always given the same assignments, as they were the new dynamic duo.
Harry and Hermione's relationship never changed. Hermione was too afraid to lose her best friend to try to change it. Harry never thought about it. But if he had, he would have realized they were pleasantly hovering the line between friend and lover. They spent most of their free time together, talking about everything from work to Quidditch to news to Muggles to Ron. On one memorable occasion Harry admitted to Hermione that he felt responsible for Ron's death. Hermione promptly crawled into his lap took his face in her hands, and looked him in the eye.
"Harry James Potter," she said firmly. "That was not your fault. You heard the second prophecy. It had to be that way. Besides, Ron would have wanted to die for a cause like that. You are not to blame."
Harry met her eyes, gave a small nod and lightly kissed her. They curled up on the couch and fell asleep, Harry silently thanking her for hours.
There was one topic Harry and Hermione never discussed: their love lives. Well, they never talked about Harry's love life; Hermione had none to speak of. She couldn't imagine being with anyone but Harry. He, on the other hand, had too many one-night stands to name. But none of them ever lasted more than a week. He didn't know it, but Harry was subconsciously comparing the girls to one woman. One he thought he hadn't met yet.