Chapter 3:

The warm June sun beat down on the lawn as the mourners stood in rows with tears in their eyes. Ron snaked as arm around Hermione's waist and pulled her close. This was their third funeral in a week, and luckily it was their last. All of the funerals were starting to wear everyone out, especially Hermione.

Once the ceremony was over, Harry broke away from the crowds of people to say goodbye privately. In his arms he cradled a fast asleep Teddy. He walked across the lawn, weaving through other headstones to his destination. He raked his fingers through his hair as he stood in front of two of the five headstones that stood in a straight line and gathered his thoughts.

"Don't worry about Teddy, I promise I'll do my best to raise him. I know it's not the same as being raised by you guys, but it's something." Teddy whimpered in his sleep. "Rest in peace, Remus and Tonks," Harry said softly. Before turning to leave, he glanced at the other three headstones. A small smile played across his lips. The Marauders were all finally together, along with Tonks and Lily.

That evening, Harry and Ginny were curled up on the couch together while Hermione sat in what was becoming her favorite armchair, and Ron sat cross-legged on the floor by her feet. Teddy was fast asleep in his crib in a corner of Harry's room.

"Who do you think will run Hogwarts now?" Ginny asked no one in particular. Everyone shrugged.

"It's hard to tell. There's just so much cleaning up to do," Ron replied. "Plus, it's hard to find someone to top Dumbledore."

"How could Snape kill him? I mean, if they were so close, wouldn't he have figured it out?" Hermione asked.

"No, Dumbledore asked Snape to do it."

"What!?" Ron, Ginny and Hermione all exclaimed at the same time as their heads whipped around to face Harry. He found himself telling everyone about what he had found out after Snape's death. Everyone listened intently to his short story.

Once he was done, Ron asked, "So that bastard was just doing what he was told?"

"Ronald!" Hermione scolded.

"What!? I'm just asking a question!"

"It's your tone and language! Snape sacrificed his life for all of us! Did you think about that? Or the fact that he had to kill one of his closest friends?" His face fell as her words sank in.

"No, I guess not," he mumbled in obvious defeat.

"See, that's what you do. You have a hot temper, and you jump to conclusions without thinking. It happened before, and you left!"

"I left because you pissed me off."

"Oh that's right, it's always my fault."

"That's not what I said."

"But that's what you implied!" Ginny felt very confused as to what was going on. She had no clue what either of them were really talking about and felt out of the loop. "You know what; I just can't take it anymore." With that said Hermione got to her feet and stormed out of the room. Sighing, Ron rushed after her to try and make amends.

By the time Ron got up to Hermione's room, she had already locked the door. He pulled out his wand, but it didn't do anything to help.

"Come on, 'Mione, let me in," he pleaded through the door in hopes that it might actually work.

"Go away!"

"No, I want to talk to you. I'm sorry for getting all upset."

"You don't even get it! I'm not angry about that." Sighing, he leaned against the door frame. Sometimes he just didn't understand the female species.

"Then let me know why you're mad so I can help." He paused. "Please baby?" He sounded so desperate to talk that Hermione couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He heard a click, indicating that the door had been unlocked.

When Ron entered Hermione's room, he found her sitting on her bed in shorts and a spaghetti strap tank top. He took a seat on the bed next to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked as gently as possible. She turned slightly to face him.

"See, you don't even realize what you do. You immediately attacked Snape without thinking. He made one of the ultimate sacrifices. Not only did he give up his life, but he also killed his friend. What if you had to kill Harry? What if you had to kill me?" she asked quietly. He froze for a few seconds as he contemplated these unexpected words.

"I don't know," he confessed. "I never thought of it like that."

"See, sometimes you don't think. You're so intelligent, so act like it." He slid his hand on top of hers.

"Are you better now?" She shrugged.

"I guess."

"Do you want to talk about anything else?"

"No, I just want to go to bed." He kissed her cheek softly to say goodnight and left the room. Once he was gone, Hermione curled up under the blankets. She was so exhausted that sleep quickly claimed her.

Harry and Ginny stayed up together past midnight. Harry was the first one to get up to go to bed. He stood up and hovered over her. Their lips met in a tender kiss.

"Goodnight," he mumbled against her amazingly soft lips. His warm breath tickled her skin. She wound her fingers through is wild hair and pulled him in for a deeper kiss. Harry braced himself against the couch as he happily returned the affection. By the time the kiss broke off, they were both out of breath.

"Goodnight," Ginny said. He kissed her forehead softly before leaving.

As Harry passed by Hermione's room, he heard some whimpering sounds. He opened the door cautiously and found her whimpering in her sleep. He approached the bed and gently shook her awake. Gasping, her eyes shot open.

"Are you okay, 'Mione?" he whispered into the semidarkness. She nodded as she propped herself up on one elbow.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It was, uh, just a bad dream."

"Are you okay now? Do you need me to get Ron?"

"I don't need Ron for everything. I was just fine without him before." There was a sense of bitterness in her voice from her fight with Ron earlier that evening.

"No you weren't," Harry argued.

"Really, Harry, I'm fine. Night."

"Night." He reluctantly left Hermione alone to go to sleep himself. She pulled her quilt tightly around her shoulder and succumbed to an almost hesitant sleep.