Disclaimer: I've lost count how many times I've put this, but it's all Ms Rowling's, I just mess with it.

A/N: I beginning to think that people have gone off this story, but I'm posting it anyway :-). Thanks to Supernova and Chantal J and Sam for taking the time to review the last chapter, it means a lot. All I have left to say is that this story is now officially finished. I've stopped messing with it and my beta has the last chapter to read over. Which reminds me, big hugs and love to peanuts107 for doing the tedious job of reading this thing over. And thanks to Ellar Shadow Raven for being my previous beta, hope everything goes well with the show. Hope you enjoy this chapter everyone.

What Happened?

Oliver stayed with Hermione for a couple of days before returning home. He'd become quite withdrawn and would barely speak to her. She felt useless but didn't want to tell him everything would be alright as she'd hated being told that herself. Feeling like she had to be strong for his sake, she even did her 'crowd task' by herself without telling him. For those two days she managed a full half an hour each day before feeling like she was going to hyperventilate. But it was beginning to get easier.

When Oliver had gone back home he'd also stopped visiting Hermione everyday, and not wanting to intrude, she stayed away. She'd asked Harry how he was doing at Quidditch and he told her that he seemed fine, like nothing had happened, but of course Harry didn't know what had happened. Then it hurt her a little when Jenny (who was now proudly showing off a bump) told her that Oliver had been still visiting them everyday. Hermione even made Jenny tell her everything that happened with each Quidditch match, just to check that he was okay.

After a second week had passed with no visit off Oliver, Hermione decided it was time to forget about him. She couldn't work out if it'd been her own doing that he'd forgotten about her or that Oliver had given up on the whole idea of helping each other. She continued with the task of standing in the middle of a crowd each day in different places. It seemed to be working, some days she felt quite safe and would quite happily walk around, other days she could barely stay longer than an hour. But deep down she was missing Oliver and sharing this improvement with him.

Jenny had offered to talk with Oliver but Hermione thought it best to live him to his own devices, she even now firmly believed that she'd caused the rift between them. Both Jenny and Harry thought she was being silly but even they couldn't work out what had happened. They were sure something was going to come of it, even at the protestations from Hermione.

The second week without Oliver rolled into the third and feeling like the friendship hadn't completely closed, Hermione wrote him a letter. She wasn't sure why she'd done it but she had; just a simple thank you for helping her the way he had and that she'd never forget it. Harry had argued with her that maybe she'd done it because she was hoping that it would make him visit her and maybe she had.

"I still catch myself missing him," Hermione told Jenny while they sat in Harry and Jenny's garden. The weather had been unusually warm for an April and they were taking full advantage of it.

"Of course you will, honey, you were going to marry him. But I have to tell you that it's just so nice to see you like this," Jenny spoke as she rubbed her ever growing bump. Hermione laughed at Jenny's misunderstanding.

"Not Ron, Oliver," she corrected her, "I mean, of course I still miss Ron with all my heart," Jenny nodded as she leant back against her chair and closed her eyes. "And what do you mean, 'see me like this'?"

"You're beaming, you have life in your eyes again," Jenny explained to her. Hermione looked at her for a moment while she let what Jenny had said sink in. "Are you sure there was nothing more than friendship there?" she asked suddenly, causing Hermione to jump.

"Positive," Hermione chuckled, "there's only so many times I can tell you that before I hex you." Jenny wafted her hand at her lazily to show her that she knew it was nothing more than an empty threat. "I didn't realise how much his friendship really meant to me."

"Go and see him, Hermione," Jenny urged as she idly opened her eyes and peered at her, "But I still don't understand why he suddenly cut himself off from you. Did you have a huge argument?"

"No, nothing like that. I think it might have been me pushing him to hard to keep remembering Catherine," Hermione told again her theory.

"You've said that before, but how could you have pushed him too much, you were both helping each other a lot," Jenny asked desperately hoping that Hermione would give her the answer this time.

"It's something that Oliver needs to tell you. All I can tell you is that it's my own fault I don't have his friendship anymore," Hermione spoke with sadness. She really did feel like there was a gap missing that belonged to Oliver. "I just hope that I wasn't relying on that friendship so much that I can't keep moving forward without it."

"Hermione, it was just a matter of time before you took those first few steps, all Oliver did was give you a nudge to get you going," Jenny told her encouragingly. Hermione nodded thoughtfully, thinking that she had a point. Since her last encounter with Oliver, she'd actually not had a day where she couldn't get out of bed in the morning. "You see, this is now where we will see the real recovery of Hermione. It's time you did it on your own just like I had to let Harry do it on his own after a while."

"I never realised you could be so deep, Jenny," Hermione teased a little. Jenny scowled at her before winking.

"Just don't let Harry know, it's my secret weapon for when I want my own way," she instructed her.

"Your secret is safe with me," Hermione told her with a giggle. Jenny smiled feeling proud of the work Oliver had started on Hermione. And truth be told, she could definitely see the help Hermione had been to Oliver, but it was just so sad that it had to end there. Or did it? Jenny slouched down further into her chair as she felt a plan forming in her mind.

Harry was the first one into the changing room but was soon followed in by Oliver. He greeted him Harry happily before going over to his locker and pulling out his clean uniform. Harry watched him as he did so, still ever confused at why he was acting like nothing had happened with Hermione. It was quite clear it had from what he was hearing from Hermione, but she was giving nothing away. Harry and Jenny were completely clueless as to what was going on between them, but he was sure that it was more than friendship.

"Oliver," Harry started, hoping that he was doing the right thing for Hermione, "how come you……what exactly……." Harry fidgeted while he tried to find the right question to ask him. Oliver watched with amusement as he continued to get changed. He made three more attempts before finding the right question or more like the right thing to say. "Hermione feels like you blame her for something, she won't tell me what, but she's definitely feels at fault for something that happened," he told Oliver in one breath.

Oliver had stopped what he was doing and stared at Harry. Should he tell Harry, or continue as though nothing has happened? He continued changing without saying a word or looking Harry in the eye, while Harry remained still and watched him. Finally he said something as he closed his locker.

"Hermione did nothing wrong. The only thing she can be blamed for is caring about my feelings too much," Oliver told him truthfully before he walked over to the broom cupboard. Harry frowned at his answer but didn't pursue it as he watched Oliver leave the changing room for the pitch.

Harry's mind wasn't on the practice as he tried to figure out what Oliver had meant by his answer. He wanted Hermione to be happy and he had seen her at her happiest when Oliver was there. But even though she was still forcing herself back into her old life without Oliver, Harry could see that she wanted him there with her as she moved on.

"Why have you stopped talking to her?" Harry asked him as they walked back into the changing room together.

"I haven't stopped talking to her," Oliver told him with a confused look. "What makes you think I've stopped talking to her?" Harry suddenly stopped feeling confused causing his team mates to bump into him from the sudden block in their path.

"Harry, you ain't a ghost, so shift," Daniel Walters, one of the Beaters, snapped as he huffed past. Oliver turned round and walked back to Harry.

"You do realise that it's been nearly a month since you last saw Hermione, don't you?" Harry informed him more than asked. "That's why I, and more to the point, Hermione thinks you've stopped talking to her."

"I know how long it's been, Harry, I just can't be near her right now," Oliver told him huffily before storming off, leaving Harry to chase after him.

"What's she blaming herself for, Oliver?" Harry demanded and spun him back round, "I won't have you leaving her to feel she's done something wrong when you and I both know she hasn't." Oliver sighed loudly as he pushed his hands through his hair roughly.

"It's all to do with Catherine and Ron and how we're helping each other. I can't…there was this list…" he looked at Harry and half turned to the wall before looking back at Harry, "I'm not……..ready," he forced out the last word as though it took all his strength to say it.

"For what?" Harry asked completely losing the thread of where the conversation was going. Oliver started fussing around in the small, now deserted, hallway. He kept tapping the wall with his feet and then giving it a small punch. He glanced back at Harry before speaking.

"I….look, I……," he shook his head, "I can't do this, Harry, just tell her I'm sorry and I'll see her soon……I promise," he told him earnestly before turning and walking off to the changing room. Harry shrugged his shoulders to himself, not sure what Oliver was trying to tell him and slowly made his way back to the changing room himself.

Harry went home and told Jenny about Oliver, hoping that she could work out what he had been trying to tell Harry. Jenny was none the wiser either, except for her theory that maybe he really liked Hermione but Harry had scratched that. It was quite clear that he still loved Catherine too much to move onto someone else.

"I don't get why it is they'll only keep this to themselves, it can't be that bad….can it?" Harry asked uncertainly while Jenny and he prepared dinner. Jenny shook her head while throwing some potatoes into the sink to wash themselves.

"I think it's more something they'd shared between them that hurt more than they were expecting," Jenny told him. Harry stopped to look at her before continuing with picking the healthy carrots off the pile of vegetables.

"And how've you worked that one out?" he inquired as he moved to throw the carrots in with the potatoes.

"I'm not sure; I just think they were doing something to help each other. I mean, look at all that time spent together and then suddenly Oliver's staying away," she pointed out to him as she flicked her wand at the wet vegetables causing the skins to slip off them with ease. "But you do know we have to do something, it's obvious that they need each other." Harry froze as he let his wand fill a pan with water.

"I don't like that tone, Jenny, your plans get me into ridiculous trouble, especially with your father for some reason," Harry pouted as he pulled his wand up before the water flowed over the edge.

"This plan will in no way, not even the slightest bit, get you into trouble with my dad," Jenny giggled as she remembered one particular memory from the previous month involving chewing gum and glue, "No, this plan will push Hermione and Oliver together."

"But just fifteen minutes ago you said that Oliver still loves Catherine, and it's pretty much a given Hermione still loves Ron. So tell me, why do you want to push them together?" Harry asked as he sent the chicken flying into the oven.

"Oh pay attention, Harry," Jenny sighed as though he'd just missed a most significant detail, "I don't mean get together romantically. I mean they've obviously have become attached to each other as friends, it just be a shame to see it go to waste." Harry scratched his head in bewilderment trying to work out what was going on in his wife's head.

"I heard myself say it, I know I did, but I'll say it again. Oliver wants time to himself from what I can work out. However, he seems to definitely have plans to get back in touch with Hermione soon," Harry sent a knife over to Jenny's side to chop up the broccoli and cauliflower, "So I don't see how we need to push them together." Jenny tutted in annoyance before sending the carrots and potatoes to be chopped as well.

"You never get my plans. If we leave Oliver and Hermione to do it in their own time then it'll never happen. Hermione will go on wishing she still had him as a friend but won't do anything and Oliver will continue to have his 'space' because he's a man, and men never admit when they've had enough of their 'space'," she told him pointedly while she supervised the chopping of the vegetables.

"How does your mind work?" Harry asked loudly, feeling completely outraged at her train of thought. Jenny turned round with a reply ready to leave her mouth but Harry held his hand up, "Please don't tell me. I'll just wait to see how this plan gets me into trouble."

"You could always blame the hormones," she joked while pulling her dress tight to show her bump off fully. Harry smiled before walking over to give her stomach a kiss.