Hermione woke up on a cold stone floor, confused. As she tried sitting up she quickly realized her whole body ached, she laid back down with a grunt. She opened her eyes and tried to make out her surroundings but the room around her was dark. She took a moment to try remembering where she was and how she had gotten there.
After Harry had defeated Voldemort Hermione had left the Great Hall with hardly a word to anyone, only stopping to make sure everyone knew she was okay. Exhausted she'd gone looking for a quiet place to sleep, but with most of the castle full of people it hadn't been easy. She hadn't been paying much attention to where she was going and she wasn't sure where she had ended up.
She tried sitting up again, but this time more slowly. The pain was still there but this time she was prepared for it, she slowly stood and gave herself a second to adjust before searching the ground for her bag. Finding it she opened it up and pulled out her wand. Holding it up she whispered, "Lumos" immediately the area around her was bathed in a white light.
She quickly realized she had fallen asleep by the door of the Transfiguration classroom, the back of the huge room looked the same as it always had but as she looked towards the front of the room she gasped. There was part of a wall missing, parchment and stone rubble covered the floor. Almost all of the chairs, desks, and empty cages were overturned. A deep sadness overwhelmed her. This was the room in which her favorite professor, the woman she was in love with, had taught her transfiguration, and seeing it in ruins like this caused tears to slip from her eyes.
Quickly wiping her face Hermione turned and exited the classroom, unable to look at it any longer. She wasn't sure where she was going, she just kept walking until she found herself standing across from the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Before she even realized what she was doing she found herself walking back and forth until the door leading to the Room of Requirement appeared.
Hermione hadn't been sure if the door would even appear considering the fiendfyre that had consumed the entire room of hidden things less than twenty-four hours ago. But as she walked up to the door and opened it there were no flames or embers, just a small, moonlit room. She slowly entered the room, and as her eyes fell upon the only object there, a mirror, her heart rate quickened.
She was nervous, 'Get ahold of yourself.' She thought with a shaky inhale and exhale of breath. 'It's not like you don't already know what you'll see in its reflection.' The image of what she'd seen last time passed through her mind. She knew why she had to look again, because even if it hurt, the things the mirror showed her gave her hope. Hope for a better future, a future without pain and war.
With slow steps she finally found herself looking at her own reflection, right away she could see she was standing in front of an undamaged Hogwarts. The sun was setting in the sky and students were slowly making their way back inside. Everything was just as it had been before the battle had happened.
In her arms Hermione noticed she was holding a small toddler with black hair and blue eyes. The little girl's eyes looked just like Hermione's mother, Jean's, eyes. She gave the child a small smile and the girl grinned back. Suddenly the toddler turned away and started to point at something.
Looking beyond her reflection's shoulder Hermione could see Minerva coming out of the castle, she was dressed in her dark green teaching robes, and her hair was in its signature bun. Running quickly ahead of the woman were two young children, a boy and a girl. A third, smaller child, a girl, had stayed behind and was walking hand in hand with Minerva.
As the first two children arrived Hermione recognized the boy to be an older version of the toddler she had seen the first time she had looked into the mirror, he still had the same black hair and green eyes. The girl beside him also had green eyes, though her hair was a very light brown, and you could tell she was the second oldest child. The two stood in front of her and waved before running off again.
When Minerva and the other young child finally arrived they stood in front of her smiling, and she could see the little girl had her dark brown eyes and hair. Minerva released her hold of their little one's hand and wrapped both of her hands around Hermione, giving her and the toddler in her arms quick pecks on the cheek. Hermione smiled at them, the whole scene was making her eyes tear up all over again.
Hermione stood watching the scene in the mirror until the first rays of sunlight began to peak through the room's windows, by which time she was all cried out and tired. She grabbed her bag and headed towards the door, wiping away her tears she gave the mirror one last, long look before shutting the door. Walking through the seventh floor corridors she once again had no idea where she was going, she wandered through the castle, her sadness growing as she looked at all the destruction the Final Battle had caused.
She eventually found herself back on the ground floor, where most of the castle's damage was, the sun still only just coming up over the horizon. As she walked down the corridor that led back to the Transfiguration classroom she decided to have another look at the room to see if she could possibly repair anything. As she entered the classroom she almost panicked and turned around, standing there in the middle of the room was a very familiar woman.
Hermione stood there fighting with herself over whether or not to enter the room or just leave the woman alone. After silently standing there for a few minutes she finally started to walk towards Minerva, at hearing her footsteps the woman turned with her wand drawn, but at seeing who it was she quickly lowered it and turned back around. From the glimpse of Minerva's face she had seen Hermione could tell the woman had been crying. Her eyes were still red and puffy.
Hermione once again hesitated, 'Maybe I should give her some privacy?' Pushing through her fears she started to walk into the room, and without even a glance in the other woman's direction she pulled out her wand and started repairing broken chairs and desks. As soon as Minerva realized what Hermione was doing she quietly joined in, the work was slow but by the time the sun had fully risen into the sky they were done.
Hermione looked over their work, everything was back in its proper place and the room was looking better than it had in years. The floor had been cleared and cleaned of all the trash and rubble that had covered it, all the desks and chairs looked brand new, and it was as if the hole in the wall had never been there. Hermione looked over at the woman across the room from her, watching as Minerva walked around the room looking over their work.
The braid the woman's hair had been in had come undone sometime when they had first started working, and her silky black hair now hung messily halfway down her back. She wore only her dark inner robe and a shawl, both of which were now covered in a light dust. Hermione could see dark circles under Minerva's eyes, which were most likely caused by a sleepless night, and her square gold-rimmed glasses were currently missing from their normal place on the woman's nose.
As Hermione continued staring at the woman Minerva eventually turned from her inspection of the room and locked eyes with her, a small smile grew on the older woman's lips. Hermione's face grew hot as she tried to understand the strange emotions in the woman's eyes. And after what seemed like hours she finally had to look away, she took a moment to get her emotions under control before risking another look at Minerva, the woman had gone back to her inspection of the room. She gave a sigh of relief, she'd been afraid that she'd given something away, but it seemed that, at least for now, her feelings were safe.
Having been so caught up in her thoughts Hermione hadn't noticed Minerva approaching her until she felt the woman's hand on her shoulder, and with a slight jump she turned to face the older woman. "I'm sorry if I frightened you Miss Gran-" Minerva paused and glanced into her eyes before continuing. "Hermione, I just wanted you to know how truly grateful to you I am…"
The woman hesitated, looking unsure; she seemed to be having an internal conflict with herself. With a deep breath Minerva closed her eyes and drew her into a close hug, it caught Hermione off guard but after the initial shock had worn off she quickly returned the hug. At no point in time could she ever remember this woman giving anyone a hug, this was a very special moment so she decided to make it last.
Tightening her hold around the older woman Hermione allowed herself to take in the moment, with Minerva's sweet smell and the warmth of her body surrounding her Hermione felt as though everything that had gone on in the last year had never happened. A feeling of content filled her, being this close to Minerva felt right. The hug lasted for another few minutes until the other woman, with one last squeeze, started to pull away and Hermione was forced to let go.
Looking up at the older woman Hermione's eyes went to Minerva's light pink lips, and without really thinking about the consequences she closed her eyes and kissed the woman. At first Minerva stiffened, and Hermione was afraid she was about to be pushed away, but as she wrapped her hands around Minerva's shoulders and pulled her closer the woman quickly relaxed into the kiss.
Hermione's heart was pounding out of her chest, and her head started to spin as she felt Minerva's hands softly cup her face. The woman's lips were warm and soft, she allowed her lips to lightly brush against Minerva's, the whole time holding back a moan. But as her hands started to move down to the other woman's hips it seemed Minerva suddenly realized what they were doing. The older woman once again tensed but this time she did push Hermione, gently, away from her.
With a whispered "I'm sorry." Minerva quickly fled from the room, leaving Hermione all on her own. She was overcome with pain, Minerva would never be able to look at her again and it was all her because she couldn't control herself.
Tears clouding her vision Hermione stumbled up to the front of the classroom and sat down behind Minerva's desk. She searched through her bag and pulled out a blanket. Laying down she cried herself to sleep, using the blanket as a pillow for her head, as she drifted off she thought of Minerva's soft lips.
Hermione found herself sitting in the Great Hall, the room around her looking just as magnificent as it had her first night at Hogwarts. Looking to her right she could see Minerva was sitting right beside her, smiling, and as she looked out over the crowd of students she spotted four familiar children waving up at her. She smiled down at them, happiness swelling up in her. She couldn't even bring herself to care that it was only just a dream.
AN: Let me know what you think. -Fae