Chapter 1

December 18, 1998. The Christmas holidays were looming on everyone at Hogwarts.

It was the last night before students that wished to return home for the holiday break would leave on the Hogwarts Express. For Hermione Granger, this would be the first Christmas in years that she could spend with her parents and not have any danger lurking in the background from Voldemort – Tom Riddle, as she tried to remember to call him nowadays – and his supporters. Not to mention how lucky she was to even have parents now, having been successful during the summer at finding them in Australia and removing the memory modifications she'd placed on them. All in all, she should be overjoyed about the holidays.

She should be. But she wasn't.

No, she couldn't be happy. Not with all the lingering worries and concerns regarding her best friend, Harry Potter, that plagued her mind. He'd changed so much since the war ended, and definitely not all for the better. Thus, while sitting on her bed as the clock ticked closer to midnight and the rest of her Gryffindor dormmates slept soundly, she began to reminisce about the months since Riddle's demise.

-O-

A couple of days after the Battle of Hogwarts ended, Hermione asked Harry if he would come with her to Australia while she searched for her parents. His only question had been why didn't she ask Ron before all the Weasleys had gone back to the Burrow, given what had occurred between Hermione and Ron during the battle. Her response was that she'd finally been able to sit down and process things the night the battle ended. Once doing so, she realized how much she regretted impulsively kissing him for a comment on house-elves that wasn't even truly praiseworthy, and that she would never be able to let go of the fact that Ron abandoned her and Harry when times were hard during the Horcrux hunt. She then told Harry that, to sum it up, she trusted him while she wasn't sure she could ever trust Ron again now that the war was over.

While Harry appeared grim at her statements, he still immediately agreed to help her. His reasoning, though, of it being his fault that she didn't have parents struck a sad nerve within her. Regardless, after some quick but heavy planning, the two made the flight to Australia a few weeks after the battle, having only told Professor McGonagall the day before they left so that she would be aware in case they weren't back in time for the new school year. Harry's answer about returning for the next year was somewhat hesitant, sparking a flicker of concern in her mind. While Hermione wasn't sure she fully believed him when he told her that it was just an image of Hogwarts during the battle that flashed into his mind at the time, she decided not to dwell on it and focus on their upcoming task.

She and Harry were luckier when they arrived in Australia than at any other time in their lives, having only been searching address directories at a library in Sydney for a few days before Hermione struck gold and found a dentist's office listed under Wendell and Monica Wilkins. When they arrived there by taxi about three hours later, the time was even near closing time for the office, and thus there were no bystanders for the two of them to worry about. After some quick talking on Harry's part, holding her parents' attention as he talked about a fake problem he was having with his teeth, she had enough time to push down her shaky nerves and mutter the counter-spell. Then, she rushed back in front of her parents, as they held their heads like they had headaches, so they would quickly see her. And a minute later, when her parents raised their heads, looked at her with wide but happy eyes, and lunged forward to tightly hug her, she knew that Wendell and Monica Wilkins were gone, and Jack and Miranda Granger had finally returned.

After arriving at her parents' home, her mother first cooked up a quick spaghetti dinner for the four of them to eat. Afterwards, her parents wanted to know what happened in Britain, since the last time they remembered seeing Hermione was when they agreed to her plan about getting out of the country due to the ongoings in the magical community. Hermione began telling them everything she could about what happened since the last summer, from the night she had left for Harry's house all the way up to Voldemort's final demise. Throughout her speech, though it wasn't enough to be obvious to her parents, she could see Harry somewhat shrinking in on himself in her peripheral vision. Her chest grew tight at the guilt he kept carrying on his shoulders, but she carried on through the story.

When Hermione finally finished revealing everything, having gotten late into the night with all that needed to be said, her mother instantly stood from her chair before rushing over to Hermione, pulling her up, and giving her another huge hug. Her father joined a few seconds later, and the two thanked her profusely for coming back to them safe and sound.

When they all broke away, Hermione saw that Harry had moved to the corner of the kitchen, as though staying out of the way. Her mother noticed as well and, to Hermione's surprise, walked up to Harry and gave him a hug, though only for a few seconds. Her father also went over and shook Harry's hand, before they both thanked him for his part in ending the fight and keeping Hermione alive. The guilt in Harry's expression was obvious to see, but Hermione was thankful that nobody brought mention to it. Then, her parents said they were turning in for the night and that they would see her and Harry in the morning.

It was after she and Harry had moved to the living room, chatting quietly on the sofa for a few minutes, when the bombshell was dropped.

-O-

Hermione was startled out of her remembrances for a moment when she felt something jump onto the bed beside her. Looking to her right, she was relieved to see that it was only Crookshanks, who was looking at her with almost a pitying expression, as though he knew of what she was pondering. She scratched his head, taking a shred of comfort from his purring. After a few seconds, Crookshanks then nuzzled her leg before lying down and curling up beside her. It made her smile for a moment, but it was just a mere distraction from the cascade of memories in her mind. And quickly enough, she picked up back where she had stopped.

-O-

"Hermione, I think I'm just going to go back to England already."

She whipped her head to the left, looking at Harry with shock. Fighting to remain quiet so as to not disturb her parents, she cried out, "What?! Why, Harry? We only just found my mum and dad!"

He kept his gaze locked to the floor as he replied, "You deserve to have time to spend with just your parents, after all those times you missed out over these years. I'll just be in the way if I stay."

She implored, "But Harry, Mum and Dad said that they would see both of us in the morning. They obviously don't mind you staying. You don't have to leave."

He remained silent, only closing his eyes and lowering his head. Desperate for some kind of reaction, she scooted closer to him and grabbed both of his hands in her own. That at least caused him to look back at her with a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"If you don't want to stay," she continued with a whisper, "then I'll go with you. We could just stay one night, and then spend a few hours with my parents tomorrow before leaving."

This caused him to grow frustrated and slightly angry. "No, Hermione. You've already given up too much for me in your life. Already given up your family once because of me. You're lucky enough to have been able to find them and bring their memories back. I don't have any family anymore, but you still do. And I want you to take this time with them."

She was stunned, not knowing at all what to say as tears began to build in her eyes. Her silence gave him a chance to remove his hands and stand up from the sofa. Keeping his back to her, he whispered just loud enough for her to hear, "Please, Hermione. Please don't fight me on this."

Using all of her willpower to keep the tears from falling, she said, "How will you even get back? We haven't bought any plane tickets because we never knew when we might return."

He finally turned around to look at her. "I'll take my chances with Apparition. I was able to perform it while supporting a weak Dumbledore and brought him back to Hogsmeade after we got the fake locket. Maybe I can handle extreme distances, too, with enough focus."

That did it. While she was able to keep from sobbing out loud, the tears finally began to fall. He was really going to leave.

She stood from the sofa, noticing that while he was trying to keep his expression as neutral as possible, his eyes were still betraying his own sadness at what was about to happen. Knowing, however, that he was stubborn enough that his mind wouldn't be changed, she simply begged for one last request.

"Will you at least still come back to Hogwarts for the school year? I know your answer to Professor McGonagall was hesitant enough that you weren't sure, but will you come back for me? Please?"

He didn't answer immediately, filling her with an overwhelming turmoil. But then, after probably ten seconds of silence, he finally replied. "I promise I'll be there if you are. I promise I'll be waiting, for no less than an hour before the train is scheduled to leave, at the Muggle side of the entrance to Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters for you to show up on the first day."

She lunged forward and gave him the fiercest hug that she possibly could, still unable to help being afraid of the possibility that she may never see him again. His arms timidly went around her at first, before holding her just as tightly. And for a minute, they just stood there in silence.

It was Harry that finally pulled away first, and when they separated, he took a step back. Then, with a slight shake in his voice, he said, "Hermione, promise me you'll enjoy and appreciate this time you have with your family. And… please tell your parents that I'm so sorry for all the pain I've caused for them and you over the years."

She tearfully replied, "I… I promise, Harry. And I promise I'll be there on the first of September."

His overall expression didn't change, but his mouth twitched upward for an instant. Then, he took two more steps back and said, "Since I've got the things that I need in my mokeskin pouch," patting his chest where the pouch was hidden under his clothes, "I'm just going to Apparate from here. You should probably cover your ears. There's no telling how loud this might be if it works, given the distance involved."

She nodded before saying with a trembling voice, "I'll… I'll see you later, Harry."

He paused for a second before whispering just as shakily, "See you, Hermione."

She nodded again and plugged her ears with her index fingers, feeling even more tears building in her eyes with this farewell. Harry closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath. Then, with the loudest crack she'd ever heard, he was gone. And when her parents rushed into the living room a minute later, having been bewildered at the loud sound, they arrived to the sight of her on her knees, sobbing harder than they'd ever before seen from her.

The next day, it took many hours of arguing with her parents to convince them that Harry should not be blamed for leaving, as he had felt completely guilty about Hermione giving them up, and he only thought that she needed proper time with her family. She was ashamed, though, about needing to tell them of how he lost his own parents as a small child, grew up with relatives that despised him, and then lost the last links to his family in Sirius and Remus because of the war. That, combined with the apology from Harry that he wanted to give them, got her parents to finally understand Harry's mindset about leaving, and they returned to being thankful for his part in helping her stay alive through his and her ordeals. They also said, somewhat surprising her given how vehemently they were against Harry when they first found out he was gone, that they wished he hadn't left so quickly, so that they could try their hardest to convince him that it truly was alright if he had stayed with them.

Thanks in large part to Hermione wanting desperately to return in time to be at Hogwarts for the upcoming school year, her parents decided to return to England as soon as possible. The three ended up having to stay in Australia for about two months to make sure all business for the journey home was taken care of, but they were able to enjoy some of the time as a kind of vacation together and reconnect as a family. Hermione felt no small amount of joy at being able to finally show off lots of magic to her parents, who were amazed with her abilities and did not hesitate to say how proud they were at what she was able to accomplish.

One thing the whole family felt lucky for was that, though they obviously needed to make payments for the utilities to start those again, they were able to keep their old house since it had already been paid off during Hermione's childhood thanks to an inheritance from Miranda's mother when she died. And when all was said and done, Jack and Miranda were both glad to be back in familiar territory when the three arrived home around the second week of August.

For Hermione, however, the return home was quite bittersweet. Because, while she ultimately was glad to have spent the summer with her parents, it brought home the fact that she'd had no contact with Harry since the day he left Australia. She hated how she couldn't even send him a letter for his birthday, since they never found any sort of magical community in or around the town where her parents had chosen to live and therefore had no owl postage. And with snail mail, the only address she could have even tried was Grimmauld Place, which wouldn't work anyway given all the protections on the old house. Thus, once she'd unpacked all her things for her room, she immediately sat down and wrote out two letters to send off at the post office in Diagon Alley, one for Harry and the other for Professor McGonagall.

The letter for McGonagall was brief, simply saying that she was back in England and would be able to attend the first day of school in September.

In her letter for Harry, however, she started by telling him that she'd only just returned to England, and that she hoped everything was going well for him. She wrote how utterly sorry she was that she'd been unable to contact him at all for his birthday, not having any magical means of mail transport. Finally, she said that she missed him, that she would be at King's Cross on the first day of September, and that she hoped things were still well enough between them that he would come.

The idea that she now couldn't discount the possibility that he wouldn't show up pained her very soul. Harry had been so angry when people didn't contact him for weeks during the summer after fourth year. How would he feel after she'd gone two months without talking to him, even if her circumstances couldn't allow it?

The days until September passed in a blur. Hermione knew that her parents were concerned about her, because there was always an undercurrent of sadness present in her. They were aware that she was missing Harry, and nothing would be able to fix her if she never saw him again. Even the letter from McGonagall, who was now the actual headmistress, that contained the Head Girl badge for her only brought a fleeting moment of joy, though it also gave her some confusion when McGonagall wrote how she believed that Hermione would be quite pleased with the choice of the Head Boy.

With just a few days before the end of the summer break, however, an owl with an unmarked letter arrived while the Granger family was having breakfast. Hermione was suspicious but didn't detect any kind of magic at all from the mail when she checked it with her wand, so she decided to take the risk. When she opened it up, she quickly realized and told her parents exactly who the sender could be. The letter stated just one simple sentence.

I'll be there, Hermione.

While the statement couldn't wash away all her fears, it gave her just enough of a flicker of hope that things may turn out alright.

When the first day of school arrived, Hermione was more anxious than ever and urged her parents to leave before nine o'clock in the morning. It would take them probably an hour to drive to King's Cross, and Harry's words in Australia told her that he would be waiting at the Hogwarts platform entrance by no later than ten. It annoyed her a bit when her parents both chuckled at her wishes, almost as though they knew a secret, but they did as she wanted. When they arrived, it took all her willpower to walk with her parents, rather than leaving them behind with her trunk to run to the platform entrance.

When the barrier to the platform was in sight, she froze, causing her parents to look at her in confusion until they followed her gaze and realized exactly what made her stop.

Harry was standing there, next to a cart with his school trunk.

Before Hermione could do anything, her parents each put a hand on her shoulders. Then, her mother said, "We know you'll want time to catch up with him, so we'll leave the two of you alone."

When Hermione looked to her father in confusion, he just nodded and added, "Your mother's right. We won't get in your way here. Take care, and know that we love you."

She gave them a small smile and said, "I love you too, Mum and Dad."

When her parents walked away, all other thoughts left her mind as she left the cart with her trunk behind and immediately sprinted over to Harry. He only had just enough time to look up right before she crashed into him with a hug. It took a couple of seconds, but she knew he realized it was her when his arms slowly wrapped around her.

She choked out, "You came. You really came. I wasn't completely sure if you still would after I didn't contact you for two months, and I'm so sorry for that because we didn't have any magical postage means in or even near the area where my parents lived in Australia, and I was so terrified that you might be furious and I would never see you again – "

"Hermione."

He interrupted her rambling, and loosened his hold. As she pulled back to look at him, he quietly and seriously said, "I promised I would be here, waiting for you until the train would leave at eleven. I promised to come back to school if you were. I was never mad at you. And I'm not going to break a promise to you."

As grave as his tone was, she couldn't help but smile at his comment. She hoped this meant that things would be able to go back to normal. Well, normal without the threat of a megalomaniac hanging over their heads, at least.

Oh, how naïve she was, as she learned through the progression of the term.

On a positive note, she found out that Harry had actually been named Head Boy. Apparently, McGonagall even said there would be no refusing this honor because he had more than earned it with his leadership qualities throughout the years, even if he had been wrongfully denied a prefect position in fifth and sixth year. Seeing a genuine smile appear on his face, even for just a second, when Hermione showed him the Head Girl badge filled her with warmth.

Then, there was the surprising fact that Harry had apparently become quite studious over the summer. He said that he went back to Hogwarts and stayed there, having McGonagall's permission to remain in the castle for the rest of the summer since she would also be staying even once all the repairs were finished. Then, he spent most of his time either studying curriculum books from past school years, figuring that it couldn't hurt to brush up on earlier spells, or going through the library. Hermione was pleased to see him taking his studies seriously now, though there was a cold tingle in her mind when he said, "I needed to have something to do, even if it was something that I didn't like at first."

Finally, Harry did still hang around with her, and with both his newfound study habits and their Head duties and patrols, the two of them were spending much more time together than ever before at school.

But that was where the positivity ended.

Harry had become so brooding, almost constantly so. To her shock, he'd not only given up playing Quidditch this year but also hadn't even once gone out to fly on days where they had no classes. The reason he gave her was that he'd had enough of almost dying to last at least three lifetimes, but Hermione felt there had to be more since he'd always loved to fly. She had obviously noticed his seriousness and guilt at times when they were planning and then going through their trip to Australia, like how he blamed himself for her losing her parents for a year, but she was worried to death about how those feelings had not only lingered but were actively growing worse to the point that he was now giving up activities he used to enjoy. No matter how many times she tried to get him to talk to her even a little about what was troubling him, he would brush it off as just worries about doing well for the school year.

Of course, at least he gave her the courtesy of allowing her to even ask.

Related to his brooding, Hermione found that Harry was also quick to lash out if he felt someone was stepping within his boundaries, though he still had enough sense to never let it get in the way of their Head duties. He always allowed others to ask academic questions, or questions about the school itself in the case of younger students. He also allowed, even if somewhat reluctantly, others to study with the two of them if so desired, since word had quickly spread about Harry's newfound devotion to studying. That, however, was as far as he would let people go.

If anyone besides Hermione started trying to veer into personal topics, like the war, events at Hogwarts from past years, or even just how things had been for him, he would immediately shut them down. In a calm yet angry manner, he would say that he wasn't answering any questions that weren't related to school material, and that the person could leave if they weren't here to learn. Even Neville, Luna, and Ginny received that kind of treatment when they ventured into such territory.

Neville and Luna at least learned after that to keep things academically related. The time with Ginny, on the other hand, had been the only time the girl spoke to them all year. She'd tried, against Hermione's protests, to make Harry answer why he hadn't contacted her or Ron since the battle ended, especially since she'd been waiting for him ever since they broke up at Dumbledore's funeral. Harry quietly but viciously told the Weasley girl that she had never known him at all, and he could never be with someone who actually thought that he would be happy going out to fight in the war. He also said that he was never going to be able to forget about Ron's abandonment of him and Hermione during the war, once he'd had time to sit and think about things after the war's end. He ended by saying that Ron, having not returned to school for an actual seventh year, would have to bring his arse to Hogwarts himself if he wanted to hear it in person, because Harry was finished.

Ginny ran off in tears at the end of Harry's tirade. Hermione had been too stunned to say anything, though her mind was running just enough to wonder if the reason he gave about Ron was what he actually felt or if it was because that was how she felt, since it was the exact reason that she'd told Harry for only wanting him to come with her to Australia. She knew, however, that she probably wouldn't get much of a straight answer with Harry's new temperament.

Finally, at least once a week, Hermione would wake up at her usual morning time, always having been the first to rise in prior years, and find Harry already studying in the common room. What concerned her was how he would always have been there for at least two hours. She started asking if he was having nightmares, and he would cryptically say that it was just war memories, and that he was sure she had some of the same. While he was right about her having flashbacks to the time during the war, she'd still been able to get her normal sleep thus far, and her bad dreams were never so frequent as they seemed to be for Harry. But he would never give any more information to her when she tried asking.

Though she never slacked on her duties and still kept up with her academics, which she had to for the latter considering that Harry was actually right there to challenge her in their classes together with how much he'd applied himself since the summer, her mind was constantly plagued with her concerns about Harry. She wished she could help him, to make him happy in any way possible, but she could never get him to open up to her. And somehow, as the term kept passing and her anxieties grew deeper by the week, she never fully realized what her feelings meant until she received a response from her parents about the holiday break that was almost upon Hogwarts.

Most of their letter had been an expression of joy that she would be coming home for Christmas. They also, however, surprisingly made mention of Harry, asking how he'd been and wanting her to tell him that they hoped everything was going well. Her mother even left a teasing remark, saying that she hoped Harry and Hermione knew there were other ways to spend time together outside of books, since Hermione had mentioned to her parents in an earlier letter about how much more seriously Harry was taking his academics this year.

Somehow, that implication from her mother was when the epiphany finally hit her, the realization about why she was constantly concerned for Harry. Why she'd been so happy that he went to Australia with her, and so devastated that he left. Why she'd been so afraid of never seeing him again. And why she was utterly determined to help him any way she could.

Hermione Granger was in love with Harry Potter.

-O-

Finally coming to the end of her recollections, and trying to be as silent as possible so that neither her roommates nor Crookshanks would wake up, Hermione moved to stand up out of the bed. Yes, she was in love with Harry. Maybe she always had been, when she recalled how Harry had essentially always been by far the most important person in her life since they became friends. Well, barring a certain sixth year of school where she acted like a complete bitch to him many times all because she thought Ron was not only a guaranteed choice to try for a boyfriend but also the only choice available for her. And look how well that turned out, especially since her newfound reflections made her think that she'd only tried so hard for Ron in order to get over her subconscious feelings about Harry…

Still, the revelation itself didn't do much good right now, beyond giving her more clarity regarding her parents' knowing laughs when she'd rushed them out of the house on the first day of school. It didn't change the fact that Harry was obstinate in giving up any information about what pained him. She was going to have to make a choice soon as to whether she should risk their friendship to try and push Harry to open up to her. The possibility of ruining her friendship with Harry, all because of her love for him and wanting to help him, frightened her to the very core.

She tried to shake that morbid thought out of her head, as she made her way down to the Gryffindor common room as quietly as possible. She froze, however, when she stepped off the final stair.

Harry was at the table in the corner, a couple of school books strewn about as though he was studying. But she could tell that he wasn't actually reading anything. In fact, his gaze was simply locked onto the table, as though he was staring off into space. He looked… almost broken.

After what felt like a full minute, even though he should have been able to see her out of the side of his eye, he still hadn't noticed her at all. This was somehow more terrifying to her than anything she'd ever witnessed with Harry. He didn't even pay attention to her as she walked up to the table.

"Harry," she shakily whispered.

This managed to be enough to startle him, as he fearfully looked to his left to find her a step away, staring at him in concern. After a couple of deep breaths, he opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by her grabbing a chair, placing it right beside him, and sitting down. Taking his left hand in her right one, she continued speaking with a trembling voice.

"Harry. Please tell me what's wrong, what's been troubling you for so long. We both know how much you've changed since the war ended in May. You've become so brooding all the time. You won't allow anyone to get close to you. You've almost obsessively thrown yourself into studying, and don't even fly on your broom anymore. And I know you're coming down here because of nightmares, which you never elaborate on. Please, Harry, I want you to be happy. I'll do anything to help you. Just please, tell me why you're hurting so much."

She could feel tears building up, but she was desperately trying to hold them back because she wanted to be strong for him. Whatever was going on, he needed support, and she would do whatever it took to give that to him.

Harry's expression became utterly downcast, probably the most emotion she'd seen in him all year. He lowered his head, and then murmured so quietly that she would have missed it if she hadn't been right beside him.

"I… I don't know what to do, Hermione."

A small part of her sadness was replaced with confusion. "Harry, all I'm asking is for you to talk to me. I promise that whatever you say will never go beyond the two of us."

He looked up, with tears in his eyes and the most despondent expression she'd ever seen on him. "No, Hermione. I mean… I don't know what to do with my life, now that Riddle is dead."

The statement shocked her. But when she recalled what he told her when they reunited on the first day of school, how he'd taken up studying as basically a means of occupying time, it began to make sense. She'd just greatly underestimated what he meant by needing something to do.

There was only one thing she could think to say, and she was nervous that it might only make things worse. "Harry, you can do whatever you want. You don't have to fight anymore. You can do whatever will make you happy."

"That's just it, Hermione," his voice quivering with almost every word. "My entire life has been nothing but struggling and fighting. The years with the Dursleys, the dangers here at Hogwarts every year, the fickleness of the population where they call me a savior one minute and then hate me as a terrible threat the next, and then Riddle and his Death Eaters. And the job of ending Riddle was placed on my shoulders all because one old man put all of his stock in a prophecy and never prepared anyone else to take the mantle if things went terribly wrong.

"Hell, I only chose a career path as an Auror in fifth year, when we had those meetings, because I thought it was the only thing that I could do with everything surrounding Riddle. Now that the bastard is gone, what's even the point of that? It feels like the only purpose I ever had in life is complete. And that's what a lot of my nightmares have been about, and why I've thrown myself into studying so much since it gave me some busy work on which I can focus. How do I go on when I have no clue of what to do anymore?"

He started crying, and Hermione was so close to doing the same. He'd been holding these feelings in for so long that they were finally overflowing. She wanted to ask what had caused things to come to such a forefront now, when he beat her to the punch.

"I've known the issue for certain ever since I came back from Australia, but I was able to push it down whenever I started thinking too much about it. But the worst part finally hit me tonight, with the holidays coming up. Everyone will be going back to their families, enjoying Christmas with no danger from Riddle and his supporters. Even you're going home. But it feels like there's no more place for me now. No one I'll be able to really celebrate the holidays with. And before you say the Weasleys, we both know that I torched any friendship we had with Ron and Ginny so badly that neither of us will probably ever be welcome at the Weasley house now. And even if I hadn't, I don't think they could ever understand my feelings anyway."

He lowered his head again before making one final comment. "So yeah, now you know what's been on my mind since that night in Australia, and probably since the end of the war even if I hadn't yet realized it. I have no idea what to do about it. And I'm sorry that I've made you worry so much because of it."

As Harry finally became silent, Hermione felt her own tears begin to flow. The burden of carrying the weight of the world had finally crushed him. Harry thought that he had nothing more for which to fight with the war over, and no family with which to joyfully celebrate their first Christmas in so long without danger over their heads.

That last thought, however, caused an idea to drop in her mind with the force of a wrecking ball and stop her tears. A family to celebrate with. Perhaps a family that had asked about him when they sent a letter expressing joy that their daughter would return home for Christmas…

Hermione didn't give herself any more time to think on whether this might be a bad idea. It was something she could do to give him even just a temporary bit of happiness. Thus, she grabbed his other hand before giving his hands what she hoped was a comforting squeeze. He did finally look back up at her when she did so, and she immediately spoke her idea out loud.

"Come with me."

His despondence was replaced by puzzlement. "Hermione, it's the middle of the night. Where would we go?"

She frantically shook her head. "No, Harry. Tomorrow, come with me. Stay with me and my parents over the holidays."

His eyes widened a bit with surprise. "Hermione, I… I couldn't do that. I don't want to intrude on time you can spend with your family."

No, she refused to let this happen again. Looks like the time to risk by far her closest friendship had arrived.

She firmly replied, "So you would rather be miserable here for two weeks than take the chance of getting some happiness by coming with me?"

He fired right back, "If it means not making your family have to deal with all of my issues, then yes, that's what I'll do."

Her first instinct was to tell him how that was absolute garbage. She knew, however, that it would just make him dig his heels in even more with that misplaced nobility of his. But she had a good argument to use in the fact that her parents had wished Harry had stayed during the summer and also asked about how he was doing in their last letter.

"Harry, do you know what my parents said to me after you left?"

Guilt and shame instantly darkened his expression. "I would imagine that they hate my guts more than anyone else in history, considering how I made you cry that night."

"Maybe at first they did. But I… I told them about some of the things that happened to you in the war, your horrible relatives, and the people that you've lost in your life." His expression began to get hard, so she spoke as quickly as she could. "I'm sorry for doing so, since I know it isn't my place to talk about your life to someone else. It worked, though, because my parents came around and were able to understand why you thought you might be intruding on us. Mum and Dad even wished that you hadn't left so early so they could tell you that they would have been alright with you staying."

Harry's anger instantly evaporated and gave way to shock. She kept talking before he could interrupt with anything, deciding to drop the surprise from her parents and hoping it would convince him to stay with her for the holidays.

"And in the letter that I received from them earlier this week about coming home for Christmas, there was one section specifically about you. Asking how you'd been, and to tell you that they hoped you were doing well. You shouldn't have anything to worry about, if this is all about facing my parents."

His mouth fell open with that reveal. The confusion in his face would have been adorable were it not for the circumstances. She kept quiet, allowing him to compose himself. After a minute, Harry finally spoke.

"Your parents won't be expecting me. What if they refuse because of that?"

His comment lifted Hermione's spirit a little bit. Not only was he finally on the hook with her idea, but she also had an easy answer for his question. She replied with a hint of teasing, "I was able to convince them to still think well of you even after they found me in tears right after you left Australia. Convincing them to let you stay with us during the holidays should be small potatoes."

Harry lowered his head, laughing a bit at her answer. When he grew quiet after a few seconds and lifted his head, her heart fluttered at seeing a smile on his face, the first real smile she could recall since probably the first few days of the term. When it began to falter, as though he'd thought of some other reason to refuse her offer, she squeezed his hands again before making what she hoped would be her final argument.

"It's only because of you," she gently whispered, "that I, and everyone in Britain, can enjoy peace with our families without danger around the corner. It's because of you that we can all live again. Please, Harry, I want to do the same for you. Please, let me help you."

He looked down at their joined hands, and his expression grew more pensive than she'd ever seen. She remained silent, simply waiting until he made a decision. If he still wanted to be obstinate, then she was going to have to disappoint her parents, because there was zero chance that she was leaving his side after his confession. Of course, she would then have to fight with him on that point, considering how he was refusing to come with her on the basis that she should enjoy more time with her family. The path depended entirely upon him.

Another minute passed before Harry finally looked back up to her. While he still had a somewhat unhappy look in his eyes, his lips were just barely curled up in a smile. Then, he said, "Alright. You win… I'll come."

Her eyes went wide, and Hermione couldn't stop the smile that grew on her face. "You mean it?"

When he nodded, she let go of his hands but then immediately leaned forward and wrapped him in a hug. After a couple of seconds, she felt his arms hold her tightly as well.

"Thank you," she whispered into his ear. "I promise you won't regret this."

He replied just as quietly, "You've never let me down, Hermione. If anything, you should be the one worried about regretting this."

She pulled back so that she could look him in the eyes. "As long as you're on the train with me tomorrow, I could never regret it."

He went quiet again, as though he had no idea how to react to her statement. But then, he began to gather his books from the table before pushing his chair back and standing up. Her confusion must have been obvious because he responded, "I guess I better pack my things and get some sleep, then. That way, I won't have to worry about rushing things when I wake up."

She felt more happiness at his declaration than she'd felt since that morning at King's Cross. Deciding that this was the best way the night could end, and also wanting a good memory to associate with her next words, she merely told him, "I'll see you later, Harry."

Her hopes that he would recognize the phrasing worked, as his eyes widened just a bit in recognition. Then, he warmly replied, "See you, Hermione." And with that, he climbed the steps to the boys' dormitory and disappeared from sight.

Hermione sat for another few seconds before getting up and heading back to the girls' dorm. She had an opportunity to give Harry even just a small bit of peace over the next two weeks, and she would do whatever it took to make sure he received it.


A/N: This story was inspired by the Christmas challenge announcement posted in the HMS Harmony Discord server (if you're a Harmony fan, check it out at discord dot com/invite/zeU6XHbtrJ). I can't guarantee, though, that the story will actually be completed before Christmas given my full-time job, since I only have 3 chapters written thus far in the last 2 weeks (and Ch. 2 and 3 aren't even proofread yet), and it looks like this story might include at least 8 chapters. But, my hope is to have it done by then, and I will certainly try my best to accomplish that.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading, and I hope you stay tuned!