Chapter 3: Conflicting letters

Summary: Harry writes a letter to Hermione. That's all I'm telling you!

Thanks for all my reviews everyone! Sorry it took me like years to update this, but at least I am, right?

Oh! And you're finally going to find out about Perdita's name and where it came from!

(Spiffy divider thingy. Woot!)

The day was long and never seemed to end for Harry. He was so unable to focus for the entire day that one of his students nearly got their hand blown off when another student was jokingly practicing curses. Thankfully, Harry was quick to recognize the name of the curse and immediately made a shield around the frightened 6th year girl. The boy got in trouble and was sent to McGonagall. Harry couldn't stop thinking about Hermione and Perdita, and finally decided to write Hermione a letter.

"Alright, this shouldn't be too hard. I'll just spill out all these thoughts I've had all day," Harry said aloud when he sat at his desk, blank parchment in front of him and a quill ready to write. He dipped the quill in the ink a few more times before finally setting it on the top of the parchment.

"Dear Hermione," Harry wrote. He then started at the words and crossed them out vigorously. "How can I start a letter to her as if it's just a normal letter? I have to think of a better was to start it." So, deciding to use this paper as a rough draft, he wrote just simply her name next to where the previous header had once been. But her name didn't remain there long, for no more then two seconds after dotting the 'i' in her name, he crossed it out. He then tried several other headings such as 'Dear Miss Granger', but decided it sounded too much like a formal letter that one would receive from Hogwarts or something. Also, he realized that 'Miss Granger' was hardly her title anymore. She was some of man's wife. She was now 'Mrs. Whatever'. And although Harry wanted to address her formally, he didn't want to have to call Perdita up to his room at ten at night to ask her the last name of her stepfather. He couldn't even begin to imagine what sort of explanation he could give her.

"Merlin, Hedwig! Why is this so hard? Why can't I just write this damn letter to her?" Harry asked his aging owl. She merely hooted at him and began to groom herself. Harry sighed and looked around his room. He suddenly spotted his wedding picture of him and Cho. Harry watched as he lifted Cho's veil and they leaned in to kiss, the kiss neither chaste nor passionate. It was simply a romantic kiss that ended with them smiling. "Great, now I feel guilty!" Harry said. He leaned over his desk and turned the picture so that it wasn't facing him. He couldn't write a letter to Hermione if Cho was supposedly watching. Cho hated Hermione, and she didn't hide this fact one bit.

(Flashback)

"Harry, are you sure you want to take this job?" Cho asked when Harry was offered the job. Harry looked across their lavish living room at his new bride of three months and nodded.

"What else do you expect me to do with my life, Cho? Join you as co-owner of the Witch Weekly or something? I've gotten rid of every threat possible and now I have nothing to do," Harry asked.

He and Cho had lost contact with one another ever since she graduated but they met up again when she came to interview him after the battle with Voldemort was over, way back when she was simply still a writer for the magazine she was now the owner of. They had gotten to talking a bit about school and Harry suddenly found himself realizing that he was still very attracted to her. He ended up taking her out on a date, which was followed by many more. They continued to date on and off for nearly six years, most of the off time only because one or the other had to be away for a long time, Cho with her magazine and Harry with his 'warding off of rising Dark Lords' as Cho had once written in her article. But, of course, Cho wanted to plan the perfect wedding, so it was another year until they were actually married. Everyone swore that Cho would rob Harry blind of all his money planning their wedding, but Harry kept a very close watch on all that she spent, having actually set up an exclusive account that she could only spend on their wedding, and once she ran out, she had to pay for it herself.

"What about working on a family with me?" Cho snapped, angry that Harry could possibly want to do anything but spend time with her. They had just married and she was supposed to be his top priority. That was just how it had to be.

"Baby, don't get mad. You know how badly I want to start a family but I also want to get more money into our account before that happens. I know that I'm still receiving money from the Ministry for all the work I do for them, and you make a lot at the Witch Weekly, but I just want some security," Harry said. This was a lie, of course. Harry was already bored with Cho and her constant 'Let's go shopping. Let's make love. Pay attention to me!' attitude she had adapted to since they got married. He couldn't believe how different she was from what he thought when they were in school. She always seemed so sweet and caring, but now she was just demanding and quite, to be specific, an attention whore. Besides, he was sick of his house. He had bought all that he wanted and did as much possible with his house, and yet was already bored. He needed something to occupy his time, and some time away from Cho.

"Harry, I don't want you taking this job," Cho said.

"And why not?" Harry replied.

"Because of Granger," Cho replied simply.

"What? What about her?" Harry asked, stunned. Her name hadn't even been brought up since they had dated. He had almost forgotten completely about her. Sure, he was still in contact with Ron, Ron was his best man after all, but Hermione seemed to drop off the face of the Earth. He had only seen a few pictures of her, all of which were the same. They always depicted either Lavender and Hermione or all three or all three and their kids and they'd all just be smiling and laughing, nothing ever unique about the images.

"I can bet you anything that she's married and has a kid of her own. And I don't have a doubt in my mind that her kid will go to Hogwarts. And you'll teach her child, which means you'll fall in love with her all over again through her kid and leave me," Cho said, slamming her magazine on the arm of her chair.

"Cho honey, you're overreacting just a bit, don't you think?" Harry said.

"No I'm not! Harry, I remember that on our first date all those years ago, all you could do was talk about her!" Cho snapped.

'All you could talk about was Cedric,' Harry thought cruelly, but knew that she'd probably hex him if he said that. So, he opted for something different to say. "Cho, a lot was going on back then. I couldn't help my conversations."

Cho got up and walked over to him, standing directly in front of him in her low-cut dark green dress, her black hair pinned up by her hairstylist and her brown eyes covered in too much makeup staring down at him in a glare. Harry hated when her makeup artist did it this way. He loved looking at her when she was natural, like Hermione always was. "Listen to me Harry Potter. I see how you stare longingly at her pictures at Ron's house, I'm not blind. But you better understand that I know enough about you to ruin your entire life. My readers would just die to hear all of the intimate details of the famous Harry Potter's life. Just remember one thing, and that is that you married me, and not her," Cho said threateningly.

Although Cho was as intimidating as anyone in the world, Harry knew full well he had the upper hand in their relationship. Cho was in mad love with him and his money, although Harry never knew which she loved more, though sometimes it was quite obvious. "Cho, I'm taking this job whether you like it or not," at this Harry stood up, looking down at his shorter wife. She practically shrunk in size as she looked up at her husband, the fear in her eyes overcoming her glare. "Now I'm going to write back to them telling them I accept and you're going to get over it, alright?"

"You just better not leave me Harry," Cho said. She almost sounded sad. Harry leaned down and kissed her passionately.

"Forget about Hermione or else I will," Harry told her, looking down at her lust-filled eyes.

"Only if you forget about those old feelings. You're mine," Cho replied possessively.

Harry pulled her closer to him. "No, you're mine."

(End of Flashback)

Harry surprised even himself with his actions that day. Never before had he used his natural power over Cho to get something he wanted out of her, yet he was surprised to find that it worked. Cho shut her mouth about Hermione, seeming to forget that such a person existed in their lives. He made a promise to her to visit as often as he could, and thus far had come home every weekend when he could. But now that school had started up, he had already sent her a letter saying that it was most likely impossible for them to see each other for the next few weeks. Cho sent back the reply that it was alright, which led Harry to suspect that she was almost grateful that Harry wasn't coming home. Suddenly remembering these suspicions, Harry found his courage to write to Hermione, even starting the letter out with "My Dear Forgotten Hermione".

"Take this to Hermione. Good luck finding her, but I know you can," Harry told Hedwig. She nipped his finger affectionately and went flying. Harry watched her as she soared into the night.

(Hermione's house)

"Hermione, there is an owl over here that I don't know. He's rather impatient," Cameron called to his wife the next morning. Hermione came into the kitchen to see a snowy owl pecking at a man's fingers, an unmarked letter at her feet.

"That isn't just any owl! Her name is Hedwig!" Hermione said, excited to see the old owl. Hedwig looked up at Hermione and flew over to her, dropping the letter in Hermione's hands before landing on her shoulder. Hermione set the letter down and affectionately pet Hedwig. "I can't believe you're still alive," Hermione said. Hedwig gave her an evil look and Hermione laughed. "I'm just kidding Hedwig. You're the strongest owl I know." Hedwig hooted happily. "Cameron, give Hedwig something to eat."

"So I take it you know this owl?" Cameron asked, cautiously offering the snowy owl some bacon. Hedwig fiercely took it, causing Cameron to recoil quickly.

"Know her? Of course I do! She's—," Hermione paused, knowing Harry's name was on the tip of her tongue, she quickly changed her mind on what she was going to say, "a friend's owl." She smiled fondly at the unaddressed envelope. "You're such an amazing owl Hedwig. I can't believe you found me," Hermione told the owl as she walked out of the kitchen and into the living room.

"Hermione who is that letter from?" Cameron asked Hermione, watching his wife walk into the living room in a happy trance.

"Just an old friend," Hermione said, settling herself in her usual armchair and turning the envelope over. She gently tore the letter open, but just before she reached to grab the folded parchment enclosed, she had a thought. 'This letter is from Harry. What could he possibly want to write to me about? This can't be good news if he wants to write to me.' That was enough for her to rip the letter from its envelope and quickly unfold it.

My Dear Forgotten Hermione,

I've tried several times to write this letter and every time, I couldn't manage to say what I wanted to say. Imagine me, the famous Harry Potter, not knowing what to say to his own best friend. But I suppose it's hard to talk to someone after not speaking to them for nearly eleven years. So many things can happen in that amount of time; things such as getting married, having kids, and starting careers. Speaking of, congratulations on your marriage and the birth of your daughter. I'm yet to hear of any business success.

I'm sure that you've already heard all about my marriage to Cho Chang. Can you believe I married Cho? The object of my passion for always half of Hogwarts, that I later gave up on, ended up marrying me. Actually, the story of how we met up again is quite interesting, but I won't bore you with such details (although Lord knows you've bored Ron and me with worse…just kidding) Just, to be short, she interviewed me and we ended up going out of a date that night. I would be very interesting to find out how you met your husband, so maybe one day we may exchange stories.

Speaking of stories, I was going through some Shakespeare the other day. Yes, I read Shakespeare. I know you're looking shocked, but get over it; I'm a very cultured man. So, back to the point, I was reading the classic 'A Winter's Tale'. I found it humorous how much it related to us. It's all about how a king, Leontes, suspects that his wife, Hermione, is having an affair with his best friend and his best friend is banished while she gets put in jail. While in jail, she gives birth to their baby with her friend there to help her through it. She dies and it is said that her daughter is also dead. At the end, Leontes meets his daughter at an older age and his wife is brought back to life.

Notice any similarities? I happened to. There's the obvious one that you have the exact name as the queen, and also the king is the name of my zodiac (give or take some letters). So, getting past those, let's look at the rest of them. Although I'm positive that you didn't sleep with Ron (correct me if I'm wrong, or at least tell Lavender) we did sleep together. And, you left while I, like Leontes, was unaware. You gave birth to a child with the help of your friend, Lavender in this case. You suddenly disappear, as if you died, and I never knew of a daughter. The end of the play has Leontes meeting his daughter and Hermione being brought back to life. Oh, did I forget to mention that Perdita was the name of their daughter, as well the name of ours?

When were you planning on telling me about her, Hermione? I had to be shocked out of my mind when I saw her. I find out I have my first year Gryffindor's, and I'm looking over the list as she walks in, and I can't believe myself. She looks just like me! How could you expect me not to notice? Didn't Ron tell you I was the Defense Against the Dark Art's teacher? He's known ever since I got offered the job. You can't just send Perdita to Hogwarts and expect me not to sense she's mine!

Okay, I know I sound mad, but I'm not. I'm shocked and my mind is still a jumbled mess. I just can't believe that we have a daughter. And don't even sit there thinking 'How could he possibly know that she was his?' like I know you are, because I'm not an idiot. She's the spitting image of me, although it's very obvious she's your daughter as well. Besides, all of the dates match up perfectly. She's my daughter and there's no denying it.

Please Hermione, write me back. I need to talk to you in person and not just through a stupid letter. I know we promised we'd never talk about that night, but ever since I found out what it resulted in, we have to. I give you my word that I won't tell Perdita who I am in relation to her until I've discussed it with you. We can meet up at Hogsmead in a week, where I am to be a chaperone. We should probably pick a place where the students won't be, especially Vince, Jamie, Stephen, Kaitlyn, Christen, and Cynthia. Any Weasley is one that we must avoid since they all know about our situation. I know for a fact that if they notice us talking, they'll tell either Jeremy or Heather, who will tell Perdita about it all. Everything would be exposed for the worst. Write me back with an idea.

Forever loving,

Harry

Hermione sat there staring at the letter after having read it four times over. Harry knew. He knew about Perdita. He even met her. And she was positive that if Harry could sense the fact that Perdita was his daughter, she could probably sense that Harry was her father. Hermione suddenly found herself cursing her stupid idea for giving Perdita her name, but she never imagined that Harry would discover the connection, much less read Shakespeare! Also, she was ready to send Ron a Howler for never telling her about Harry's new job.

She then found herself staring at the end of the letter. 'Forever loving'; such an odd ending. Sure, they used to always end their letters with 'love', but that was a platonic love. Hermione couldn't tell if he meant his ending in a platonic way or in a romantic way.

"Of course it was platonic. We're both married. He knows that," Hermione told herself.

"What darling?" Cameron asked. Hermione looked up to see her husband sitting across from her. She had no idea when he had gotten there.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all," Hermione lied. She then got out of her chair and made her way into the study, finding Hedwig perched on a shelf. "Waiting for a reply I take it?" Hermione questioned the bird. Hedwig hooted in reply and Hermione smiled in an amused way. "I figured as much. Let me write a quick reply and you can be on your way," Hermione told Hedwig. Hermione set Harry's letter in a drawer and took out some blank paper, pulling a pen from her drawer and beginning to write Harry back. When she was done, she rolled the letter up and tied it to Hedwig's leg, not bothering with an envelope. "Have a good flight girl," Hermione said, petting Hedwig before the snowy owl flew off. Hermione sat by the window, watching Hedwig fly off into the night, waiting until she disappeared until she left the study.

(Hogwarts)

"Hedwig!" Harry cried out that night when his bird flew into his room. It was nearly midnight and Harry had been grading papers when Hedwig arrived. He was very excited to see the note attached to her leg, Harry quickly untying it before letting Hedwig go to her usual perch.

Harry unrolled the letter and began reading the text, noting with amusement that Hermione had used regular, blank paper and a plain old pen. It was so like her to stick with her Muggle things even though she was a full-on witch.

My Dear Harry,

Well, Ron will be receiving a Howler from me for not telling me that Perdita would be going to school with you. But, in reply to your letter, we shall meet in the back room at the Hogs Head. There will be no students there.

Yours lovingly,

Hermione

Harry set the letter down and sighed. He couldn't wait until that next Saturday.

-End of chapter!

Oh! Look how they signed their letters…amazingly specific or just a platonic thing? Please review! I'm trying as hard as I can to update! Thanks!

-Serenity