Understanding
by Ydream08
Chapter 8
That had slipped. Right?
It was cold and silent in the Godric's Hollow. As Harry was stood by his parents' graves, Hermione looked out for the two of them. They were alone though. Odd, considering she expected to be attacked.
The hunt has made her paranoid.
She moved on from the Peverell grave. Upon hearing Harry's sniff, Hermione went next to him. A glance at his face gave away how miserable he was.
Hermione conjured flowers to pay their respects to the Potter family grave, and held onto Harry's arm for support, resting her head by his shoulder.
He was not alone, Hermione wanted to show. She was here for him.
I miss you both. I always have… I'm sorry. Sorry for all that happened. Sirius has died, you know.
Doesn't matter. Look out for me, yeah? I want to see you all but not yet… not when I have her.
Mum, Dad, meet Hermione Granger. She- well, I love her. And she loves me. And for now, that's all that matters.
Oh God-
She poured Dittany over his wound, but for the love of Merlin, please let it help with a snake's venom!
"Harry," Hermione cried as he shook. They were safe at least, she had Disapparated away.
It was worse than when he had learned his broomstick splattered into pieces back in third year.
"I'm sorry, Harry. I really am." Hermione pleaded. "We can share mine."
"It's not the same, Hermione. I can't believe my fucking wand split into two."
The tension in his shoulders never left for the remaining day. Hermione had to admit, the two of them could no longer bear any bad news.
As nothing got better, it seemed to matter more that they held each other at nights. Some nights, it felt so right and perfect to have each other that neither Harry nor Hermione minded the danger of their situation. Hermione held him. Kissed him. Made love to him.
He shouted her name. Cried her name. Whispered her name.
Then it was silence. Only the beats of their hearts. Warm and alive.
Ron was back.
"I'm happy for you," mumbled Ron, not so silent as to avoid from Hermione hearing it. "For the two of you. I- I guess, I missed my chance."
Hermione rose from where she read -pretended to read- the Tales of Beedle the Bard. Not even bothering to mark where she left it, Hermione stretched her legs and opted to wander around. She didn't particularly want to overhear whatever Ronald was going to say. It had been inevitable to disclose their relationship to him. Harry refused to sleep anywhere else than next to her.
It had saddened to hear Ron's story of how the Deluminator brought him to them. His affection had not been what Hermione desired, not for the past year at least.
She had thought it had been clear even if her relationship with Harry had never been public in any degree.
Hermione didn't care for Ron in that way anymore. To know that he did, care for her deeply at that, broke her heart.
At least, he and Harry were alright. Harry wasn't the kind of person who would reply 'You never had a chance with her to begin with,' just out of spite at Ron's previous statement of, 'I missed my chance'.
Hermione would have felt a cruel satisfaction on that kind of reply, but Harry was a sweetheart and one of the reasons Hermione loved him so much was that he valued his friendships and had a way of maintaining that level of sincere conversation. When he was feeling like it anyway.
Ron was, for the both of them, a dear friend none wanted to end things. They had been through too much to part ways that easily because every obstacle had strengthened their relationship.
The simplest example would be from first year. Hermione remembered well the comment of her friend back then that had made her cry in the bathroom that was eventually visited by the troll. Sure, the two bickered afterwards and sometimes name called (especially in third year) but Hermione would never forget how Ron stood up for Malfoy and Snape both for calling her a know-it-all.
Ron has grown. And that singular memory was from years back.
All of them changed and grew as the years passed, and it showed promise that Hermione knew it was for the better.
Right now, Ron was struggling because he had ended up being discarded. Hermione had chosen Harry instead of him. All his life, Ron had always been chosen last if at all. He was rarely prefered, actually. A child of seven, he was loved but not as the best or the first or the most.
Becoming friends with Harry despite this inner conflict had presented problems especially in fourth year. Till then it had always been Harry. But that year when the Goblet chose Harry Potter, Ron had lost it, Hermione remembered. Their friendship had been strained.
Now? Ron tried to be supportive. Some days, heck some hours of a single day, when he couldn't manage (Hermione could see it in his broken but furious eyes) he took time for himself and conversed later with the two of them about random things.
Ron was trying to make work of his frustration without misdirecting it to them. And for that, Harry was more open and understanding with him.
"Anyway, like I said, I'm happy. It's the three of us again. When I was away, it felt awful. Right now I know we can do anything, you know." Hermione had not walked out of the ear shot. The two males sat outside the tent by the fire. "All we need is the plan. I was thinking…"
"Shhh," Hermione hissed just as Ron was about to probably mention the rumors he heard on his days alone. She flicked her wand and the fire extinguished, and for better measure Hermione cast a silencing charm over the other two in case they shouted out what was wrong.
It was the Snatchers. Lately, they have been wandering close to their camp. We should move.
When the lackeys of Voldemort disappeared, Hermione walked back to Harry and Ron.
"You are still reading that book?" Ron asked as he gently took it.
Hermione didn't mind, "We should go. I don't know why but they have been frequenting, the Snatchers."
Hermione glanced around, and then turned back to the males to find Harry and Ron scrutinizing a page of Hermione's book.
"Hermione, what's this?" asked Harry showing the triangle drawing. Hermione had seen it countless times. It was at best a meaningless doodle. At worst key to everything. Because Hermione had no idea what it meant.
"It looks familiar, you know," Ron mumbled, but it was Harry to whom the glint of recognition dawned.
"I saw this! Well, not like… Luna's dad had a necklace of it. I saw it back at Bill's wedding. I'm hundred percent sure."
"That treacherous little bleeder! Can't we trust anyone these days?" complained Ron the moment they were Apparated back at the woods. Visit with Xenophilius Lovegood had not turned out the way they had planned.
Hermione was about to put up warding but they were already surrounded. The Snatchers. The same ones that had circled around their camp all those weeks.
For Merlin's sake, why hadn't she taken them elsewhere!
Hello!
THANK YOU so much for the amazing response. I'm happy that you're all enjoying this story. I am meaning to keep it short, at most 12 chapters. So heads up for that. Longer chapters for later in the war and after it, of course. Hope you'll be around!
Note: The underlined is a direct quote from the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
-Ydream08