Disclaimer: Yer know, what's to say that I'm really not Ms Rowling attempting different stories with me own characters? huh? But you're right, I'm just a nobody from the North of England.

A/N: Big big thanks to SeverusSnape'sLove and articuno for reviewing, it really means a lot to me. Now everyone, this is the last chapter for this story, it's the end and I can hear the halleluja chrous now from you all ;-). But could I ask the biggest favour from you all, could whoever's been reading this story review to say they were reading it and whether it was a good or bad story in their opinion. I just want to know how many, if any, were reading. I'd really appreciate. Hope you enjoy this last chapter.

Expression of Love

Oliver took his time showering and changing back into his clothes after Quidditch practice and so did Harry, but for different reasons than Oliver. He was there to make sure that he went back to Hermione's to tell her everything. It was more for his sake than his own to make him tell her now as he knew what Jenny could be like if people delayed proclaiming their love.

Finally he was ready along with Harry and they both looked at each other with that knowing look.

"I tell you what, I'll come with you, but I'll hide away in the kitchen," Harry offered his support. Oliver shook his head with a smile.

"No it's alright, but thanks anyway," he told him as he pulled his wand out of his locker, "If she doesn't feel the same, do you think she'll stay friends with me?"

"I reckon she will, you weren't there when she was trying to work out what she'd done wrong," Harry pointed out cheekily knowing that this wouldn't make Oliver feel any better. Oliver took in a deep breath and puffed it out quickly.

"Right. I'm going. Wish me luck," he told Harry but had Disapparate before Harry had barely gotten 'good' out of his mouth. He Apparated into Hermione's kitchen where he found her at the table picking at her lunch. She jumped and dropped her fork on the floor when she heard the familiar 'crack' reverberated through the kitchen that came with Oliver when he Apparated in.

"Have you got a death wish for me today?" Hermione asked rhetorically with a smirk. Oliver laughed nervously as he bent down to pick the fork up for her. "Do you want my pasta, I'm not hungry?" He shook his head at her offering before sitting down at the table with her. She looked at him thoughtfully before standing up to throw away the contents of her bowl. As she sat back down she rubbed his arm which sent shivers up his spine. "Are you okay? You're looking pale."

"I'm fine," he told her with his voice coming out a little higher than he intended, "Are you okay? Or are you not a big eater anyway?" He pointed to the bin where Hermione's discard pasta was sitting.

"I'm not a big eater when I have a lot going on in my mind," she told him honestly. He really looked at her face since he'd arrived and noticed that she had a thin layer of sweat across her forehead.

"What's the matter?" he asked, his mind racing with all sorts of bad scenarios. The worst one that kept staying at the front was that she had a terminal illness.

"It's just…I…you know when…" she took a breath while looking down at her hands that were constantly twisting round each other on the table, "I…you…I really, really missed you," Hermione told him with a great whoosh of air. Oliver took her hands in to his before she could twist them any more. He'd forgotten his own nerves over worry for what was going on with Hermione.

"Please tell me nothing serious has happened," he pleaded with her, tears stinging in his eyes. She frowned as she tried to work out what he meant but it didn't take long to register. There he was panicking that she was dying and all that really was the matter was that she wanted to tell him she loved him. Very much.

"Oh, Oliver," she cried as she manoeuvred her chair round the table so that she was right next to him, "it's not what you're thinking." She wrapped her arms around his neck and he gratefully accepted the hug by placing his arms tightly around her waist.

"Promise me," he whispered in to her ear.

"I promise," she told him before pulling away, "But there is something serious I need to tell you about." The worry written across Oliver's face increased tenfold. She sighed lightly as she realised that it was now or never. "Oliver...I…loveyovermuch!" The last part of her sentence came out as one word but he still got the gist of what Hermione had said to him. It had caused him to slip off his chair and knock his chin on the table.

"Ow," he mumbled while rubbing his chin. Hermione couldn't help herself when she laughed at him nervously. "Don't laugh, I think I've broke my jaw!" She rolled her eyes, grateful that what she had just said was forgotten about for now. She knelt down to him and gave him her hands to help him up. Instead of taking her hands, Oliver stared at them. Slowly his gaze wandered up her arms and eventually to her eyes. Her heart jumped once his eyes met hers.

"I understand if you don't feel the same about me," she whispered her words in hopes that he didn't hear them. Her gaze now lowered to her hands that were still outstretched to help Oliver. She dropped them while she could still feel his eyes on her. "Please don't let me lose you as a friend, I couldn't bare that." Her voice was pleading as she kept her eyes on the floor.

Suddenly a 'pop' echoed through the silent kitchen and Harry was stood by the sink. He literally hopped alternately on to each foot, sweat racing down the sides of his face and a look of excitement mixed in with fear on his face.

"Jenny's waters have broken," he exclaimed hysterically. Hermione was up and on her feet in the blink of an eye, "She wants you there, Hermione!" Then he glanced down and spotted Oliver. "You can come too!" On that last note, he Disapparated with another 'pop'.

Hermione turned to face Oliver, an awkwardness passing over them. The hovered between wondering if they should continue their conversation before they go or do they just go and ignore the matter at hand for now?

"We best go before Harry has a breakdown," Oliver suggested as he shakily stood up, his chin still throbbing but no cut visible. Hermione nodded dejected feeling like that was it; she had officially ruined her friendship with Oliver. She walked past Oliver to go into the living room for her wand when he grabbed her by the arm, "I-"

"Don't, please," she begged without looking at him. She gently pulled her arm away and continued into the living room. She heard a 'crack' to signal that he'd gone; she spent a couple of minutes composing herself, keeping her tears at bay. When she felt ready, she picked her wand up off the coffee table and Disapparated.

"Where have you been, you irresponsible woman! I was at your house nearly an hour ago!" Harry wailed hysterically while shaking her by the arms.

"Har-ry, I on-ly to-ok a coup-le of min-ut-es," she managed to get out to him between the shakes. Finally she pushed him off her and froze him with her speciality of 'Petrificus Totalus'. "I know you have all these feelings running wild right now, BUT GET A GRIP!" Harry blinked at her as she leant over him getting her point across. She reversed the spell taking a step back from him.

"Sorry," he mumbled to her. He stood up to lead the way from the living room to the bedroom he shared with Jenny.

"Where's Oliver?" Hermione asked just before they reached the bedroom where she could hear Jenny frantically walking round.

"In the kitchen." He turned back to Hermione, grabbed her arm and pushed her into the bedroom. "She's threatened to kill me twice, please calm her down," he begged before disappearing back down the stairs.

Hermione stepped further into the room to find Jenny walking up and down by the window. She paused for a moment when she saw Hermione, smiled and then continued.

"When did your waters break?" she asked walking over to Jenny to make her stay still. She could see worry in her eyes and so she pulled her into a tight hug.

"It happened about half an hour ago, maybe a bit longer," she told Hermione holding on tightly. She was terrified at the thought of pain now that labour was in its early stages. She'd yet to have a contraction and she was dreading it. Hermione pulled away and lead her over to the bed and sat her down. "I'm scared, Hermione."

"It'll be fine, I promise," she reassured Jenny while kneeling down in front of her. Then a strong pain started to spread across her abdomen causing Jenny to double over. Her first contraction had just hit her and it was worst than she thought it would be.

"Get…Harry!" she huffed while trying to breathe through the pain. Hermione nodded and stood up. She'd just reached the door when Jenny called to her again, "Don't leave me!" Hermione looked between her and the space outside the bedroom desperately trying to work out what to do for her.

"HARRY!" she yelled, "COME HERE!" She raced back to Jenny, making her take her hands while the last of the contraction rolled through her. Harry got to the room with Oliver in tow as Jenny flopped sideways on the bed in relief that the contraction was over. "You should go to the hospital now, they'll have something to ease the pain," Hermione suggested. Harry climbed onto the bed with his wife; she held her arms out for him and held on tightly once he was in them. Hermione glanced at the doorway to find Oliver sheepishly watching, not sure whether to stay or go.

"I'm having the baby here," Jenny finally spoke once she'd got her breath back. Hermione turned back to her to find her smiling happily at Harry. "Harry's parents lived in this house. Harry spent his first year in this house. I want their grandchild to be born in it," she explained to Hermione while keeping her eyes on Harry. Hermione smiled at the thoughtfulness and stood up.

"I'll go and get someone to come here then," Hermione told them before disappearing out of the bedroom. She moved past Oliver without looking at him or acknowledging him. It wasn't that she was ignoring him on purpose; she just needed to not think about what she had told him and his reaction.

Oliver had gone with Hermione to the hospital in silence, he simply watched her as she went about her business to find Jenny's assigned Medi-witch. They had to wait a few minutes as she was with another couple who'd had their baby that morning. During that time, they sat in the foyer of St. Mungo's in an awkward silence, no one re-approaching the subject. Finally a plump looking woman with curly, blonde hair came out to greet them happily.

"I hear Jenny Potter has gone into early labour," she spoke in a voice that was so husky it was like she had a sore throat. Hermione had to refrain herself from asking if she'd had a cold and concentrate on telling her about Jenny. A few more minutes later and they were all back at Harry and Jenny's house.

Hermione and Oliver stayed downstairs while the Medi-witch went about her business with the Potters. It would have been the perfect time to broach their early conversation but neither one of them did. Oliver desperately wanted to let her know everything was okay, he wanted her too; needed her. But his nerves were failing him terribly, even with the knowledge that she loved him too.

Hermione refused to bring it up again because she believed he'd already given her his answer with his silence. She pottered around the kitchen trying to keep her mind off of it while she listened to clock ticking on the kitchen windowsill, which would have Jenny's wails of pain join it from time to time.

After a couple of hours had passed, they had both silently begun to play Wizard chess with the set that Harry liked to keep on display in the living room. Still neither one spoke while the gaps between Jenny's cries of pain or shouts of ill wishes at Harry were getting shorter.

Once Oliver had realised, forty minutes into the game, that he had lost the game, he glanced up at Hermione. She was staring intensely at the board while her queen flirted with his last knight. Then he saw it, a tear in the corner that was threatening to spill over. 'Well done, Oliver, you're hurting her and not doing anything about it!' he mentally berated himself. 'It's now or never you big wimp! You don't do it and you'll lose her!' a tiny voice screamed in his head.

He was nervously biting his nails while trying to get his wording right in his mind but it wasn't happening. He stood up abruptly causing Hermione to slightly jump and the tear finally slid down. She kept her head down but he still caught her hastily wiping it away. Why couldn't he just tell her? He knew she was going to return his feelings so what was the matter with him? He sat back down as quickly as he had stood.

Then ever so slowly, he slid the chess set away from the corner of the kitchen table so that it was in the centre. Hermione was still staring at the place it had been, Oliver kept his gaze on her face while he pulled his chair round the corner of the table and turned her chair to face him. She looked up in surprise, no more tears ready to fall but they were there, just well hidden.

It didn't take any words to finally tell Hermione what she had wanted to hear from him, he instead cupped her face with his hands and leant forward to kiss her. At first she was too shocked to respond but then she slowly melted into the tender kiss herself. Her heart was racing as she felt her body relax into his arms.

"I'M A DAD!" a shout came flooding down to them from the bedroom. Hermione and Oliver jumped apart and raced upstairs. Hermione gingerly stepped into the bedroom to see if it was okay to come in. Jenny lay sweating and exhausted on the bed with a blanket loosely thrown over her while Harry showered her with kisses. The Medi-witch was stood at a Moses basket stand with blankets all over it that hadn't been there before. And there in the middle of the blankets a tiny face could be seen poking through while the Medi-witch wiped the little person clean.

"Come in," Jenny instructed weakly to Hermione with a smile. Harry nodded excited as he waved at her. Hermione stepped in and walked over to where the baby was, she felt an overwhelming happiness take over her when the baby started to cry as its arms broke free from the blankets. "Oliver, come in, don't stay there," Jenny instructed the man hovering in the doorway. He smiled shyly before walking over to stand with Hermione.

Harry left Jenny to join them, the Medi-witch finally done with her cleaning and check-ups, handed the bundle to him.

"I'd like you both to meet Lily Hermione Potter," Harry proudly told them. Hermione gasped as she clung onto Oliver with tears in her eyes. "She would have had Ron but then I think she might get bullied with a boy's name." Hermione was completely sobbing as he handed her Lily.

"She's beautiful," Hermione wailed while walking over to Jenny and handing Lily to her, "She's got your eyes, Harry." Jenny looked down at her daughter and agreed with Hermione.

"Well done, Harry," Oliver praised him with a big bear hug, a smile plastered over his face too. Harry grinned goofily at him when they pulled apart.

"I'm a daddy," he told them in a tone that said he didn't quite believe it yet.

The sun was just setting when Jenny finally fell asleep after giving Lily her first feed. Everyone tip-toed out of the room while the Medi-witch stayed to do her final bits and bobs on the baby before going. Hermione hugged Harry properly once they were in the kitchen. Her best friend who she'd known since she was eleven was a father, it made her want children herself for the first time since in a long time.

"Now you have to promise me, Hermione, that you'll make sure she does well in school. Teach her everything you know, I want the best for my daughter," Harry instructed sternly with a paternal instinct that had already taken over. Hermione nodded with a grin that had been there since she'd heard the baby's name. "And you," he pointed at Oliver sitting at the table with a grin to match Hermione's, "You will teach her everything about Quidditch." Oliver saluted him as his answer.

"I'm so happy for you, Harry. I feel like I've just had a baby myself I'm that happy," she told him excitedly. "What does it feel like to have this whole little person relying on you?"

"It's scary and exciting all at the same time; it's just…..I can't put what I'm feeling into words…..you'll just know when you become a mum," he told her as he sat down at the table with Oliver. She joined him and sat opposite Oliver.

"Maybe she will soon enough," Oliver spoke quietly, so quietly that neither Hermione nor Harry was sure he'd spoke. Harry frowned as he looked at him.

"Did I miss something while I was watching Lily come into the world?" Harry quizzed excitedly, his gaze jumping between Oliver and Hermione. Hermione blushed while Oliver watched her with nothing but love in his eyes for her. "You finally told her!" Oliver nodded.

"Well, she actually told me first," he added as an afterthought. Harry's eyebrows shot up into his hairline.

"You never said, Hermione," Harry's voice was now bordering a squeak, all the events of the day catching up with him.

"Well, with Oliver not talking to me, I thought I'd done something wrong, so I didn't want to get my hopes up," she told Harry honestly while keeping her gaze on Oliver.

"It's about time is all I can say," Harry praised with a pat on the back to Oliver. "It's nice to see you both moving on, you know?" Both Hermione and Oliver nodded thoughtfully. A silence passed over them while they thought about everything that had happened; the loss of loved ones, the gaining of someone new to love and the birth of a beautiful baby.

Harry was smiling to himself staring up at the ceiling, a small bubble of excitement was building up inside of him just thinking about what he would do with his little girl as she grew up. A movement from Oliver pulled him back to reality causing him to look at him and find him walking over to Hermione. Harry nearly swallowed his tongue when he watched Oliver slowly sink down onto one knee. Hermione had actually screamed.

"Marry me?" he simply said to her with a nervous smile that kept wavering on his lips. Hermione was speechless, wasn't it too soon? He could sense her hesitation and immediately stepped in with his fight. "Life really is short and precious to waste away, as we've both learnt these past few years. So please, lets not waste anymore time." She opened her both and then closed it, she had been completely floored by this unexpected turn of events. Harry was leaning intensely on the table while staring at Hermione, waiting for her answer.

"Yes," she finally told him throwing out all reasonable thoughts. He was right; losing Ron had shown how easily a life could be over. It was time she lived it more fully. Harry was up and jumping around like a lunatic while Oliver calmly moved forward and kissed her. Finally two hearts that had been very much shattered were well and truly healed.