DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.
.
Chapter 6: The Surname
"Harry, guess what?" said Tonks from her perch on top of the washing machine, and she wiggled her left hand at him; a ring glittered there.
"You got married?" Harry yelped, looking from her to Lupin.
-J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
.
"How's our patient in Room 302?"
Hermione recognized the voice of her close friend and colleague, Susan Davies (formerly Bones). "Hmm... Mr. Goldstein is recovering well. The rashes are gone, so he'll be discharged tomorrow," she replied while writing on her clipboard.
Susan joined her behind the counter of the third-floor reception area and studied some files.
They both looked up at the sound of quick footsteps approaching them. "Healers," Trainee-Healer Jones greeted them politely. "There's a new patient at Room 305 - Anastasia Burbage, twenty-one, a cashier at Flourish and Blotts, Charms accident - incessant giggling."
"I'll go," she volunteered.
"No, no," said Susan kindly, stopping her by placing a hand on her arm. "It's half-past eleven. You should go. Ced's waiting for you at the Apparition point."
She froze for a moment. Ced seldom dropped by her workplace, usually only on special occasions and when he had to bring a patient - particularly a time-traveling patient.
"Did he come here with a patient?" she asked, wondering if something happened to Albus Potter.
Susan shook her head. "I don't think so. Maybe it's your anniversary or something? Don't keep him waiting. Go home, and I'll take care of things here. See you tomorrow," her friend said while gathering a clipboard and other things, stepping out of the counter.
Hermione went to the staff room and discarded the green robe she was wearing. She placed it on the laundry basket carefully after a quick Scourgify. She washed up quickly (she always did before going home) and fixed herself in front of the mirror, then grabbed her bag. She used the staff stairs to make it to the Apparition Point on the fifth floor.
The Apparition Point of the hospital was a foyer with paintings (not moving) on the walls. There were a few wingback chairs, and two fireplaces for underage witches or wizards, or those who were too weak to Apparate.
There, on one of the chairs, she found her husband sitting comfortably, elbows on the arms of the chair, legs stretched out, and eyes closed.
Hermione stopped two feet away, smiling at the handsome face of her husband - from Ced's soft, brown hair, to his Patrician nose, down to his kissable lips, then chiseled jaw with the five o'clock shadow she was so fond of.
She took in his attire - a white shirt under unbuttoned navy blue Oxford. Through the thin cotton shirt, she could see his broad and muscled chest. He may be an Unspeakable now, but Cedric still had the body of an athlete.
Hermione was drifted from her daydream when her husband opened one eye and smiled at her teasingly. "Enjoying the view, Healer Granger?"
Hermione laughed and moved closer to take his hand with her left. "It's Healer Diggory for you."
When she started as a trainee, she was Trainee-Healer Granger. But after three years, when she finished her training and became a full-fledged healer, she was already married to Ced, so she became Healer Diggory.
Ced smiled, looking up at her intently while fiddling her wedding band and engagement ring.
She frowned but smiled. "I know that look."
"What?" he chuckled, squeezing her hand.
"Ask away," she replied instead.
"When we were still students, you worked very hard to make your parents proud and change other people's views of Hufflepuff and Muggleborns. Why didn't you keep your maiden name? Not that I'm complaining, but you always wanted people to know the 'Granger' name, the 'Granger' Muggle-born."
"Because I'm married," she replied promptly. "Don't you think it's rather romantic to share a surname and everyone would think, 'oh, they're family'? It's a sign of devotion and family unity."
Ced smiled fondly and got up on his feet without letting go of her hand. Using his free hand, he pulled her to a hug. "Let's go somewhere."
"Why? And why did you fetch me, by the way? Not complaining, but who's looking after the kids?" she asked.
"Mum and Dad," he replied. "They stayed for the night but did not ask too much about Albus because I told them he's involved in a case."
"So, where are we going?" She looked up to him fondly. "Am I missing something?"
Ced kissed the tip of her nose. "You think too much. Relax." He pulled her closer, and they Disapparated.
When she felt they landed on solid ground, Hermione didn't have the chance to look around because her husband kissed her instantly and she felt something hard and solid behind her. Ced moved forward, making her walk backward until her back rested firmly on a wall. Realizing where they were, she responded to his eager kisses, and when his hands traveled to her bum, she didn't stop herself from moaning.
She yelped when he lifted her off the ground and guided her legs around his waist. Their kiss broke, but Ced continued to kiss her down the neck and just above her breasts. "Want you," he whispered breathlessly.
Hermione raised her head to give him more access and to enjoy the feeling. It's been a while since they visited their treehouse - their first house, Ced joked years ago.
Hermione suddenly felt cold, and when she looked down, her shirt, skirt, and undergarments were on the floor. Ced vanished his own clothing next without releasing his hold to her bum. She could feel his hardness pressing against her belly. Her one hand reached for it and held it firmly. Her husband groaned in pleasure and returned to kissing her lips, jaw, neck, and chest. He ducked his head, even more, to reach for her left breast and sucked like a hungry child.
"Urgh," she managed to say, one hand was still holding Ced's hardness (which he gripped tighter) and the other was holding his head, pulling him even closer to her breast.
Ced's mouth abandoned her left breast to pay attention to the other. One of his hands also traveled between their bodies to give her very sensitive nub a massage. That made her release his cock, and scream in pleasure.
"You like that, love?" he asked sweetly.
Hermione opened her eyes to meet his gaze. "Yeah. You're... uh," she moaned again when Ced's fingers hit the spot. "The best," she managed to say.
"I love you so fucking much, Hermione Granger."
"Diggory," she corrected him even though she was panting.
He grinned and kissed her fully on the mouth. "Hermione Diggory," he breathed after a kiss. "Want to be inside you." He released her nub and soon, his hardness was at the right place.
Against the wall, they joined and made love. They declared their love for each other in between panting. Hermione didn't know yet what brought this on, but she was happy. Happy that Ced still crave for her body and he still made her legs go jelly. And most of all, she was happy that they could still make love with excitement as if they were teenagers.
.
"So, what brought this on?" she asked with a smile after they cleaned up and were laying on the mattress Ced transfigured for the two of them. Ced was lying on his back, an arm around her body, and the other was behind his head. Hermione was lying on her stomach, her chin on his chest.
Ced smiled when his grey eyes met hers. "I missed you. I missed this," he said.
She grinned and played with the little hair on his chest. There was a comfortable silence. One thing she liked about him and their relationship, they didn't feel like they had to talk all the time. For some people, silence meant tension. Silence meant there was something wrong. But not for Hermione and Ced. Silence, for them, was welcome.
"I learned something," he said after a few moments.
She returned her attention to him. "Yeah?"
"I died during the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament," he told her hesitantly.
Her hands have a mind of its own. They instantly went to Ced's shoulders and she pressed her head to his chest.
Ced understood her reaction, so he wrapped both of his arms around her waist and kissed the crown of her head. "I'm here," he assured her.
She sighed heavily and nodded, facing him again. "What else happened?"
"Someone - a dark witch - used my father to convince Albus to go back in time. I can't tell you the details but in all of the alternate universes Albus visited, except here, Voldemort won, and in one universe, looks like you never got your Hogwarts acceptance letter."
She frowned deeply. "Wait. You died in his original timeline? And that's why they used your Dad to manipulate Albus?" she asked, scared of the answer.
Ced nodded. "And you ended up with another wizard. You have Rose and Hugo, but your surname remained Granger."
"Oh, my god," she breathed and sat up. "That's odd," she said, shaking her head.
Ced got up as well and rested his back against the wall. He pulled her in between his legs. "Hey, that's not going to happen here. That's in another world," he said, obviously trying to comfort her.
She melted into his arms. "I wonder how many timelines are there in which we are together."
She felt him kiss her forehead and he ran a hand on her hair. "I don't know but for me, this universe matters. And I will always be thankful that I was with Aunt Pomona that day, and she took me with her to deliver your Hogwarts acceptance letter."