The days bled into weeks and still Hermione held her tongue. She had hoped, fervently, that the familiarity of Hogwarts and the presence of people who cared about him would be able to bring back the young man they had last seen at King's Cross last June. The return to his old self had yet to occur and Hermione was beginning to lose hope. As much as she loved and admired the newly mature Harry, she missed the carefree boy she had grown up with. Now instead of sneaking down to the kitchens for a hot chocolate he could be found sitting by the common room fire reading about defenses from Dark curses and studying wizarding wars and battles from times past. And while this seemed just how a young warrior should spend his spare time, it didn't seem right for the Harry she knew.
They hadn't talked much about the recent summer holidays, Hermione and Ron because they didn't want the third member of their group to feel left out and Harry for reasons unknown. Hermione's first course of action then in figuring out the new Harry before her, was figuring out what happened over the summer to cause the old Harry to go into hiding.
As they straightened up the Room of Requirement after the first D.A. meeting of the term, Hermione finally broached the topic.
"Harry, we've been back for nearly three weeks and you've said barely a word about your summer. How was it?"
"The usual. Dudley was out most of the time being a menace to general society and I was stuck doing chores and garden work most of the time. My summer in a nutshell." Harry was turned away from her, picking up the pillows they had been summoning during the meeting, so she was unable to read his face. Something in his voice, however, told her that he wasn't telling her the whole story.
"Well, what about your birthday? Did you get our gifts? And surely you must have been excited to be able to perform spell outside of Hogwarts."
Cracking a small smile, he responded, "Yeah, being able to use magic was pretty nice. I got my chores done much quicker and then I could use my free time to practice the new spells I had looked up for the D.A."
With thinly veiled exasperation, Hermione tried again, "No Harry, I don't want to talk about spells or duties or the D.A. What about you? What made you happy, what made you sad. What happened to you over the summer. That's what I want to know. What are you hiding from us Harry? And why? What happened?" The desperation and hurt in her voice were unmistakable.
Across the room from her Harry turned to face her and slowly sunk to the floor. In one fluid motion Hermione was by his side. Wrapping her arms around his slender shoulders, she whispered "Oh Harry" as she held him close. She sat comforting him on the hard floor until Harry was ready to speak. Quietly he began to recount the events of his seventeenth birthday.
"At exactly midnight, two owls arrived at my window. The first had a form letter from the ministry stating that I was officially of age in the eyes of wizarding law and detailing the privileges and responsibilities that went with it. The second letter…. The second letter was from Gringotts. It informed me that I am now Lord of the House of Potter and Heir to the House of Black. The fortunes of both families had been transferred to my vault" At this his voice broke and Hermione felt him shaking as he tried to swallow the sobs in his throat. After regaining control, Harry continued, " The legacies of two eminent magical clans now rest on my shoulders. When I die the names of my father and godfather will be no more. It ends with me."
You're not going to die Harry" Hermione consoled him, " at least not right now. You have plenty of time to set this to rights. There's more than enough weight on your shoulders, don't take this on as well."
"I don't have a choice Hermione! This legacy is all I have left of my family. I won't let it die as well." A bitter laugh escaped him. "Ironic isn't it? I'm the head of an entire wizarding clan and Heir to another and yet I'm completely alone." Hanging his head, he studied the pattern of wood grain before him.
"You're not alone Harry. Don't you see? There are so many people in this world who love and care about you. Me, Ron, the Weasley's, Dumbledore, Hagrid, even your ducklings. You're surrounded by people who love and admire you Harry. I would do anything, anything, in my power to make your life better. And I'm sure the others would say the same. If I could take the tiniest bit of weight off your shoulders, I would gladly bear it myself." Tears obscured her view, but she recognized the look on her best friend's face; thankfulness tinged with disbelief. Even after all these years, he still had trouble believing he deserved the love and devotion he got from those closest to him. Hermione's heart broke anew and she held him to her chest as the tears slid down her face. After a few moments Harry raised his own tear stained face to look her in the eye.
"Thank you. Just knowing that you feel that way helps. But there's nothing you can do. You can't manipulate time to let me know my parents, you can't stop it to give me time to rest and enjoy my childhood, and you can't speed it up to let me raise a family of my own before I face Voldemort. Its not meant to be. I guess family is something I just wasn't intended to have." A long sigh escaped his lungs, "I accepted the rest of my destiny. In time I'll accept this as well"
"No Harry, don't give up. You're too wonderful a person to not have hopes and dreams to live for. You can have it. Your family's name will live on through you and after you're gone. We can do it. Please."
Sobbing, he locked eyes with the young woman before him. "How Hermione? Are you going to give me a family? Do plan on conjuring up a child for me to love? You can't. Don't worry yourself, this isn't your problem"
"Of course its my problem! You're my best friend." Tearing her eyes away from her best friend, she fell silent. Should she continue? Harry was being honest with her, didn't he deserve the same? She resolved to tell Harry the truth. She loved him. Whether he returned the feelings or not, he deserved to know how she felt. As she opened her mouth to say the words, something else entirely left her lips.
"I'll do it. I'll give you a family. A child. For you, I'll do it." What in Merlin's name had she just said? As soon as the words came flying from her mouth she realized the truth in them. She would gladly have Harry's baby. But it wasn't supposed to come out like that! As she mentally berated herself, Hermione's words slowly sunk in to Harry's psyche.
"Wha… what? You'll do what? You can't. I mean…what?"
"Harry think about it. You can have the family you long for. We can be that family. You, me…your child."
"I can't. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. How selfish would it be to bring a child into the world for my own gratification? Just so I could make up for losing my poor dead parents. I'd be doing the same thing to my son that my parents did to me. Dying for a noble cause and leaving my son to grow up without me. What kind of person would that make me? Not to mention you. I can't ask you to give up your body, put your life on hold just to give me something I don't even deserve! I can't ask you to give up everything you've worked for to become an incubator for my baby!" By now his face was red and his voice was hoarse with passion. Hermione responded with equal fervor.
"You didn't ask me! I offered. And I wouldn't have offered if I didn't think you'd make a wonderful father. I've seen you with the first years. You're caring, and patient and strong. If anyone deserves to know the love of a child its you Harry Potter. Let me do this for you. I want so much to give you this gift. Please."
"Hermione, I can-"
"Shh. Just think about it ok? Think of how great this could be." With those words came silence.
The quiet was both great and terrible. They both thought about what would happen if they had a child. The struggles and the hardships, the confusion and the complexity they would face as parents. But each teenager's train of thought ended with a tiny infant with green eyes and messy black curls.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading and special thank you to everyone who reviewed. Your comments mean a lot to me and as a first time writer I really appreciate the feedback.