DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of the Harry Potter phenomena, which may explain my empty checking account…Hmmmm…..
Chapter 31: Home
"Oh my god!" Lavender Brown screamed, waking up all the girls in the dorm plus the everyone else in Gryffindor. "Hermione's back!"
Everyone rushed at Hermione but she pushed them away. She ran to the bathroom and locked herself in with some very powerful sealing charms. It was only then, when she was safely locked in the bathroom, that she let her burning tears flow freely down her face. She turned and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her lips were still swollen from Sirius' sweet and loving kisses. She reached up her hand and lightly touched her lips, remember the events of last night.
She was still staring at her reflection when a light know sounded at the bathroom door, drawing her attention away from the sad girl staring back at her in the mirror.
"Hermione?" Harry inquired through the door. "Are you in there?"
Brushing the tears from her face, Hermione went over to the door and removed the charms sealing it tightly shut. She opened it slowly and peered out. Harry quickly caught her up in a big hug, holding her tightly against him.
"My god Hermione, it is so good to have you back. I, we, have missed you so much. Nothing has been the same without you."
"It's good to see you too," Hermione said cheerfully, forgetting her sadness, and hugged him back. It was good to see him again and be there with him. She just wished she could have Sirius too. "So what happened while I was gone? The short version please."
Harry stepped back from her and smiled warmly at her. "Voldemort is finally gone. We went to war while you were gone and won. We lost some people, though, including Neville. Ginny and I are together. Draco turned good after the train accident; he felt really bad about what happened and blamed himself. He's dating Dawn Ravinstin, a 6th year Gryffindor who is muggle-borns. Oh, Ron and Luna have hooked up."
Hermione tried to digest all of this information that he had just shared. It seemed that she missed a lot. "Wow, sounds like you guys had a busy year."
Harry smiled. "Yeah, it all was kink of exciting. I could have done without it though. So, what did you do?"
Hermione turned back towards the mirror and muttered something inaudible.
"What was that Hermione?" Harry asked. "I didn't hear you."
"I fell in love," Hermione stated sadly.
Harry's smile fell from his face as he gazed at one of his friend's miserable face. "Oh? With who?"
Hermione gave him a small, sad smile. "Sirius."
"I'm so sorry Hermione," Harry said earnestly. He pulled her into his embrace and hugged her tight. He just held her as she cried desperately into his shoulder. He gently rubbed her back.
"I'm getting your shirt all soggy," Hermione said as she pulled back from him, trying to inject some humor. He tried to smile down at her but failed miserably. "Come on," she urged, "I want to go see everyone."
Harry smiled tenderly and wiped the last tear from her face. Placing an arm reassuringly around her shoulders, he led her out of the bathroom and down to the Great Hall where most of the student body were at the moment. Hermione looked around as they went and noticed the changes that were made since the time of the Marauders. Some pictures were added, some were in different places, and some were just gone.
Upon entering the Great Hall, she was surrounded at once by all her old friends and some people she didn't even know. She didn't know who was hugging her because there were so many people around her, she just hugged them back and kept the smile plastered on her face. Finally someone came to her rescue.
"Miss Granger," Dumbledore called, "if I may have a word?"
Hermione nodded and slipped through the throng of student towards the aging headmaster. She smiled up at him kindly when she reached him.
"I hope you are happy about being back," Dumbledore said.
"Yes sir, I am."
"But….?"
"But I feel as if I have nothing to show for my time there," Hermione added softly.
"Nothing to show?" Dumbledore asked confused. "You made a man see the errors of his ways." Dumbledore turned his gaze up to the staff table. Hermione turned and followed his gaze and found Snape looking intently at her. "And by you doing that," Dumbledore added after a moment, "you saved a lot of lives. Doesn't that make it worth it?"
Hermione nodded her head. "Yeah. I guess I do have something to show."
"You have more than that." Dumbledore reached into his long silver cloak and withdrew an aged letter. "Here, Sirius left this for me to give to you when it was time." He held out the letter for her to take.
Hermione took the letter from his outstretched hands. She stared down at the letter but just couldn't bring herself to read it, not here anyways. It was too personal. It brought back way too many painful memories. She gently tucked the letter into the pocket of her jeans.
"Ah yes, you should read it in private." Dumbledore commented when he saw her tuck the letter away. "One last thing, Sirius left a will. In it, it states that in the event of his death, you, Harry, and Lupin receive the Black House and everything that may be in it. The money in his bank vault will be split between you and Harry."
Hermione looked at him and shook her head fiercely. "No. There is no ways I could live there. I need to get away from everything that holds memories of him. After graduation next week, I have every intention on leaving. I have to get away, I have to get away from the memories."
And with that, Hermione walked away from Dumbledore and out of the Great Hall with Harry closely on her heels.
Dumbledore just watched her with a mixture of admiration and sadness in his eyes.
A/N: Just….sob….one…..sob…..more….sob……chapter! I can't believe it is almost over. But……………GOOD NEWS! The first chapter of the sequel is written on paper. It should appear around the 20-22. The sequel will be called Promises of Tomorrow. The next chapter will go back to June (one year after graduation) where she's sitting on her balcony. Just clearing that up. Hope you guys will like the ending.
Have you ever watched a T-Ball game? Those little kids are so CUTE! Especially when they stand there and talk to the coach of the other team while they're supposed to be playing third. That's what my little cousin did. Needless to say, he did not get much done but he was so cute that nobody cared.
The Last Chapter will be coming MAYBE Monday. I'll try to get it posted ASAP.
