A/N: To me, this is the weakest chapter I've written so far, but its kind of a necessary evil at this point, bridging the gap between the last book and the beginning of my more original content. Plus this fills in the gap between chapters 2 and 3. I did this because I REALLY didn't want to completely rewrite Deathly Hollows. I only want to show the differences in what would have happened if Harry and Hermione had gotten together when Ron left. I couldn't really see too much changing because of they new relationship. So, without further adieu, I present to you...
Chapter 4: Interview with the Vampires
'Why me?' Fame. Glory. Admiration. It isn't often when an individual shuns these things. Most people seek them out. They want them. Need them. And in a sick, twisted, perverted way, when one does try and shun the spotlight, it only serves to fuel the fire more. 'I only did what needed to be done. I didn't do it because I wanted all this. I just want to live my life peacefully. That's all I've ever wanted.'
"Mr. Potter! Mr. Potter!" the throng shouted. The wizarding media was amassed in the Great Hall. Grown men and women shouting, raising their arms high in the air like a sea 11-year-old Hermione Granger's. Flashbulbs were popping and quills scribbling furiously. It was unlfike anyone had every seen. Tfhere wasn't this much media around during the time of Grindelwald. Now, there were over 100 writers and photographers from around the world to cover this one event: The Boy-Who-Conquered speaks.
Harry Potter didn't want to do this. He was dragged into it, kicking and screaming. Fame was not his motivation. He had it. Fame happens when you survive the unsurvivable. Glory came with the territory of being Harry Potter. He didn't seek it. It sought him. Admiration? No other wizard alive was more admired than Harry Potter. He was on the short list of 'Most Admired Wizard of All-Time'. Merlin, Dumbledore, Potter. That's it. That's the list. Yet he was bashful, shy, and modest. The only people he wanted this kind of attention from was his girlfriend, his teachers, and the Weasleys.
"Settle down! Settle down!" yelled out the temporary Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt. He stood out of his chair, and put his hands up, trying to quiet the horde of reporters. Soon, the noise was down to a slight murmur. "We are not here to badger Harry and his friends. We are here to listen to their story. If they do not wish to answer a question, that is there prerogative. Only the few reporters in the front may ask questions. If you do have questions, please make sure they are relevant questions." The minister turned his head to his right, nodded at Harry, and sat down.
There were five people seated in front of the press. Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and the Minister. Harry was leaning forward in his chair; his right hand was holding the left hand of Hermione, their fingers intertwined. He was looking down at the floor, not wanting to make eye contact with the throng. He felt his upper arm bring rubbed by Hermione, and his best friend Ron gently patted his back. He took a deep breath, and began.
"Everyone here thinks of me as a hero. Many people think I want to be a hero. I don't. I've only done what I needed to do. And I couldn't do it without the people seated next to me, my best friends: Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. They were my strength, my reason to keep going. The Weasley's are my family. Without their love, I wouldn't be here. Albus Dumbledore: the greatest, the most powerful, and the kindest wizard I've ever known. He was like a grandfather to me.
"There are so many people that helped me along the way that are no longer alive. My godfather Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Alastor Moody, and countless others. My mum and my dad, for without their sacrifice I wouldn't have made it that night all those years ago.
"I didn't do any of this because I wanted all of the attention. I did it because I wanted me, my friends, and everyone else to live normal, happy lives. It's all I've ever wanted."
Harry finally looked up with tears in his eyes. He saw the reporters in the front row, and sitting dead center was the one he despised above all others. Unfortunately, she would be the asking far too many questions for his liking.
"Harry dear, if I may ask, where were you all year? You were at Albus Dumbledore's funeral, and you seemingly disappeared into thin air," Rita Skeeter asked.
Harry was glad he insisted that Hermione and Ron be there with him. Not only did he want them to receive the recognition that they deserved, but to be there to support him in moments like this. His loathing for the reporter sitting in front of him had not dissipated over the past year. He despised the book she had written about the former Headmaster. Now she sat in front of him, smirking, trying to get a rise out of him. He breathed deeply, trying to calm his quickly rising anger, and answered as calmly as he could.
"Good to see you Ms. Skeeter," he said, his statement dripping is sarcasm. His hand that was holding Hermione's tightened, and she responded in kind, giving him the support to go on. "We, and by we, I mean Hermione, Ron and myself, went searching for Dark Artifacts related to Voldemort. They needed to be neutralized in order for him to be defeated," he said flatly.
"What types of objects were they?" another reporter asked two seats to the left of Rita.
Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance. 'Did I not just completely avoid saying exactly what they were? Bloody hell, aren't these so-called reporters supposed to go to school or something?' Harry gritted his teeth and shook his head before he replied.
"Can't tell you. I don't want anyone else to get the idea. I'll say this, it was horrible, and no one should have to go through what we went through. That's all I'll say about them."
"Why can't you Harry dear? If You-Know-Who can do it, why not someone else? Shouldn't it be common knowledge so future witches and wizards can easily defend against them?" Rita piped up.
"No. Next question," Harry said tersely. A murmuring wave swept through the Great Hall with his answer. Obviously, they were surprised how close to the vest the young man sitting in front of them was keeping this secret. 'Why can't they just drop it?'
"Well, what can you tell us about these so-called 'Dark Artifacts'?" a reporter, apparently from Asia judging by the accent, asked. Harry closed his eyes forcefully, the blood beginning to boil in his veins, and his teeth clinched tightly. Hermione leaned over and whispered in his ear, saying that she would try and deal with the nosy reporters.
"Perhaps I can explain a little better than Harry here. These objects were horrible, despicable, and should never be dealt with again. They are the most evil, vile things I've ever had to learn about, and had the displeasure of dealing with. They are responsible for the death of many people, including Albus Dumbledore."
The collective 'gasp' that washed through the hall was astounding. Even Headmistress McGonagall and Minister Kingsley joined the shocked onlookers and reporters. The only people not shaken by that announcement were the two boys to Hermione's left.
Harry had already gone into detail with his two closest friends about the memories of Severus Snape. At first, both of them were appalled that Harry would actually side with the former Potions Master. But Harry was able to persuade them into watching Snape's memories, which was clearly enough for the both of them to agree with Harry.
Hermione took watching the memories the hardest however. When the conversation between Snape and Dumbledore about Harry needing to die was viewed, she started crying. By the end of it, she had thrown her arms around Harry's neck, burying her head into the crook of his shoulder, bawling her eyes out. She was clinging to him as if he were going to drop dead at that moment.
"That's why you didn't say good-bye!" she wailed into his shoulder as her tears flowed freely. "I wouldn't let you go, but you had too! I'm sorry Harry! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have said those things last night! I just thought that you were being a noble prat! You had to die Harry! Oh Harry! I can't imagine what this was like for you!"
Harry did his best to comfort his weeping girlfriend. He constantly rubbed her back, and tried running his hands through her bushy hair. Finally, when he started to knead her scalp, did she slowly begin to calm down. He didn't say anything, all he did was "Shh" her, trying to relieve the stress of her overwhelming emotions.
Ron however had a different reaction. Being the ever clever chess champion of the group, he understood. He knew what Harry had done. He may not have agreed with the method, nor understood how, but he knew why. Ron had always been able to see the game of chess in the grand scheme. Harry had shown that he had not only the metal fortitude to go through with it, but with the complete understanding that sometimes, you have to sacrifice the Queen to win the game.
As the shock wave from Hermione's bombshell subsided, the reaction was almost intimidate. Nearly every reporter jumped to their feet. Overwhelmingly, they shouted the same three things in various forms: How do you know? What about Severus Snape? And how did it happen?
The smirk on Harry's face could be seen from across the room. He knew exactly what Hermione had done, and chuckled to himself for not thinking of it on his own. 'That clever little witch. I should have thought of that myself. But, she isn't the smartest witch of her generation for nothing! Can't get them to drop a topic? Give them something shiny to oogle at. That's so great. "Oooh, look! Shiny object!" Ha!'
Harry looked over the stunned reporters, still inwardly laughing as Hermione had completely shifted their focus with just two words: Albus Dumbledore. He lifted his left arm, his hand open, palm facing the crowd, trying to get their attention. Which quite frankly, didn't take long. He was Harry Potter, every word he spoke was like gold to them.
"Severus Snape, was a man I despised with a passion for all my time at Hogwarts. He treated me as a verbal punching bag. He purposely destroyed my work. He went out of his way to favor Slytherin. He hated my father, and because I look like him, he hated me by proxy. Yet when Voldemort returned, he willingly walked into the dragon's cave and fed us inside information about him and his inner circle. He did it everyday starting at the end of my fourth year, when Voldemort came back. Severus Snape put his life on the line everyday. And I'm sure you're wondering why?"
Harry paused.
For a full ten seconds.
There wasn't a person not on the edge of their seat.
Doubly so for Headmistress McGonagall. She had helped to shoo the now deceased Headmaster out of the school. She had done everything to try and undermine his authority. She would never punish students unless it was a blatant and violent act, or in front of Snape and the Carrows. Though there was one thing that she had always wondered about. Snape never punished those closest to the trio as hard. Now it was perfectly clear. He was truly on their side. So much so, that he had to be the bad guy. Always. That was the only way to fool Voldemort. Anything less would have led to his death.
"Because Severus Snape loved my mother." Harry said, as calmly and coolly as possible. Another collective 'gasp' came from everyone who was not the trio. This time however, hushed silence came after. Harry waited for everyone to regain their wits, and continued. "They grew up together. They were very close friends, not unlike myself and Hermione. My mother and Snape had a falling out, and their friendship never recovered. He turned to the Death Eaters. She turned to my father."
Harry paused for a moment, inwardly asking himself if he wanted to give full disclosure to everyone. He certainly didn't want to talk about the prophecy, nor Snape's role in how his parents died. The only way to repair Snape's reputation was to try and convince them that he was truly on their side. Which when witnessing his memories, he was. And revealing that he had a hand in the deaths of James and Lily Potter, would only serve to confuse everyone more.
"When Voldemort targeted my family, Snape pleaded with him to spare my mother." Harry paused briefly, letting out a long breath. "After my parents died, he came to Dumbledore and became a spy. His help and information led to countless lives being saved, including my own. He should be recognized as a hero, a key component to winning this war." A wave of chatter spilled through the hall, and the scratching of quills taking down quotes. Harry didn't want to continue with the current topic, so he waited for a question.
"Mr. Potter, when did you begin this quest for these Dark Artifacts?" asked a middle-aged and gray-haired man in the second row.
"We began last summer. We were all at the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. The Ministry fell to Voldemort, Kingsley sent word to us of an attack that was coming. We left immediately afterward. Had it not been for Hermione's planning, and having everything we needed in her pouch, there's a good chance we wouldn't have survived.
"That's when the three of us started. Professor Dumbledore began before we did. I really have no idea how long he was working on it. He brought me into it at the beginning of my sixth year."
After a slight pause, Hermione jumped in. "Harry had private lessons with the professor throughout that year. Ron and I didn't know at first what they were. Harry convinced Dumbledore to let us in on it, knowing it was bothering Harry not to tell us. That was about a month into the school year." Hermione squeezed Harry's hand, as the two teens looked at each other and smiled.
Another reporter, this time a female, stood up and asked, "Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, Mr Weasley, what was the worst thing you encountered on your adventure?"
The temperature immediately dropped in the room. An uneasy feeling came over everyone there. Harry, Hermione and Ron simply looked at each other. Nothing needed to be said. The nauseous feeling in the pit of their stomachs said enough. 'What was worst? What kind of question is that?' All three shuttered at the same time. Harry wanted nothing more than to ignore the question, but Hermione had different thoughts.
Hermione knew that Harry had to talk about the things he had been through. She knew it wouldn't be good for him to keep all that hurt, anger, and pain bottled up inside, especially considering she wanted her Harry to relax on their vacation to Australia.
"We experienced things that no one should have to. Not just one, not two, but many." Hermione took a deep breath, and bit her lower lip before continuing. "The worst for me, was seeing Harry carried out of the Forbidden Forest just a few days ago. I think I speak for a lot of people in this room in saying I was heartbroken." Nodding heads throughout the room accompanied her statement, including the woman to her right, Headmistress McGonagall.
"It was without a doubt, that worst thing ever to happen in my life," Hermione continued, a small trickle of tears escaping her eyes. "I saw the man I love, dead. Nothing can be worse than that. I can't tell you how happy I was to see him alive just a few minutes later." Harry reached out with a conjured handkerchief and dabbled her tears away. Finally, Hermione threw her arms around Harry's neck, and pulled him into a tight hug. The sound of snapping camera shutters filled the Hall as the two embraced, a perfect 'photo-op' to accompany their stories.
As they finally separated, the Headmistress spoke up. "I believe Ms. Granger, that everyone who was there felt the same way. Harry is an extremely unique young man that I've had the pleasure of having in my house for his time at Hogwarts. Seeing Harry in the arms of Hagrid," Minerva said as she began to dab her own tears. "I've never had children, but that was as close as I've ever felt to losing a child."
Harry was leaning forward, his head turned towards his Head of House. When she finished, he got up from his chair, and much like with Hermione, gave a big hug to the Headmistress. Everyone who knew Minerva McGonagall couldn't believe their eyes. No one had ever seen her show this much emotion, let alone hug a student. But as was his norm, Harry made people do things they normally wouldn't do.
The Headmistress finally let Harry go, but as he started to back away, she reached up and cupped his face with her hands, forcing him to look at her face. Her usual stern look was gone, her eyes weren't steely nor focused. They were full of joy and happiness. She was smiling widely. Well, for Minerva McGonagall it was a wide smile. Harry couldn't help but return it. She patted his left cheek with her hand and let him go, and he returned to his seat.
Harry looked out over the crowd once more, and reminded himself of the question that was asked. He was disappointed that Hermione had answered it instead of ignoring it. Now he felt obligated to also give an answer.
His thoughts wandered to all the horrible things he had encountered during the past year. Pain, near-death, and tragedy were prominent throughout his memories. In Godric's Hollow, both he and Hermione had nearly died. If it wasn't for her quick thinking and actions, he most certainly would have died. Looking back, he couldn't believe how foolish he had been. He had been led by a complete stranger into a dark room without Hermione. It was not the last of his mistakes.
Another mistake of his led to their capture and imprisonment at Malfoy Manor. He had forgotten about the Taboo on the word Voldemort. Within moments of uttering the name of his greatest adversary, the trio was surrounded. They were transported to the Malfoy estate, and locked in the basement with Ollivander and Luna Lovegood.
When Hermione was brought out of the basement for questioning, Harry begged them to take him. He remembered the evil look on Bellatrix's face as she dragged Hermione away from him. Harry was torn a part seeing her taken from his side. The worst was yet to come however. Hearing the love of his life scream in agony from the torture was ten times worse than experiencing it himself. He banged and banged on the door, trying to burst through the heavy wooden door with his fists. He screamed her name at the top of his lungs, desperate to save her.
Only when he searched his pockets did he find help in the form of the small piece of broken glass. Within the mirror, he saw a flash of blue. He called out for help, saying that they were at Malfoy Manor. Moments later, Dobby appeared. Harry had never been so happy to see his little house elf friend.
Harry had his face buried in his hands, reliving the terrifying moments. Hermione knew what he was thinking of, so she tried the best she could to help him. Much like Harry had done all those months ago in the tent to comfort her, she started massaging his back and shoulders, doing her best to relieve his stress. After a few moments, the effect was evident in Harry's body language, as his tense muscles finally started to relax. He then started to tell his story.
"Without a doubt, the worst for me was being forced to listen while Hermione was under the Cruciatus Curse. I had to hear her scream. I couldn't do anything. I felt so helpless. I never want to go through that ever again."
A quiet hush came over the crowd. They were clamoring for the rest of the story. Harry had stopped suddenly, his emotions clearly getting the better of him. Hermione wrapped her arms around him, again trying to comfort her boyfriend. Fortunately for the reporters, Ron decided to take up the story from there, knowing exactly what Harry was talking about.
"We were at Malfoy Manor when that happened. Bellatrix Lestange was the one who has torturing Hermione. We were captured by a group of Death Eaters after Harry uttered the Taboo word. We managed to escape with the help of a house-elf named Dobby, who was quite fond of Harry. Unfortunately, in our escape of Malfoy Manor, Dobby was killed. Harry buried him in a proper grave, because that little house-elf did so much for us. Another victim of this war."
When Ron finally finished, the silence in the Hall was deafening. Everyone who was there happened to be thinking the same thing: Just how close did we come to not winning this war? It was painfully obvious that Harry and his friends had endured many hardships in the past year, all because they were trying to rid the world of an evil unseen in generations.
A younger looking witch in the second row stood up. She looked around the room, and decided to ask her question. "Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, if I may ask, in an attempt to lighten the mood a little here, just how long have the two of you been a couple? Officially?"
There was a small chuckle that went through the throng. This seemed to be the perfect question. The tension was effectively broken, and it appeared that Harry and Hermione were more than happy to answer.
"We've been officially together since before Christmas. Best decision I've ever made," Harry said, looking at his long-time best friend, now girlfriend. "And no, I don't know the exact date, not because I'm not a good boyfriend, we just didn't have a calender in the tent with us. I know it was about two to three weeks before Christmas."
"December 9th or 10th, I do believe." Ron spoke up. Both Harry and Hermione looked over at the redhead, puzzled. Both of them really weren't sure of the exact date when they decided to get together. But Ron did know when he left, and after talking with the two of them, figured they got together three days after he left, which put them on the 9th or the 10th. However, as a group, they all decided never to acknowledge that Ron left them for a month. It was just better that way they decided.
The happy couple simply nodded in agreement with Ron."Yes, that sounds right, doesn't it Harry?" Hermione interjected. Harry put his arm around Hermione, and nodded. They both smiled, and gave a give peck on the lips, which resulted in having nearly every female in the Hall 'Aw' at the two teenagers.
"Well Harry, I guess this means you won't be on Witch Weekly's 'Most Eligible Wizard's' now?" Rita Skeeter interjected. "I'm also glad to see I was right during the Triwizard Tournament, wasn't I?"
Harry looked at Rita with an amused expression on his face. "Ms. Skeeter, first off, you were wrong back then. Hermione and I were not a couple in our fourth year. Merely best friends, as we are now. But as you can tell, we are together, and we're quite happy about that. Turns out you were just a couple years too early. As for Witch Weekly, I could care less. I have the one woman I could ever possibly want right here with me. No other could come close. I'm happy, and I hope everyone else will understand that."
"Are there any wedding bells planned in the near future?" asked the Witch Weekly reporter.
Ron decided that this was a good time to throw in his two knuts. "If you ask me, they're already an old married couple. They've always acted like they are, even before they got together. Its the way they look at each other, and know what the other is thinking. It drives me barking mad when they do. They'll just cock an eyebrow at each other, and boom, they have a whole ten minutes conversation in that one look. Its scary sometimes. So to me, they're already married."
Laughter washed through the Great Hall. Both Harry and Hermione were glaring at their best friend, who could only chuckle at the looks he was getting from the two of them. He knew they weren't really mad at him, but were instead happy that their redheaded friend saw how close the two of them were.
Harry then leaned over and looked at Minister Shacklebolt, and nodded again. With that simple gesture, the Minster rose to his feet.
"It appears that Mr. Potter has reached his limit on answering questions today, and with what we've all heard and seen today, I would hope that everyone here will respect these fine young people and give them some privacy. Thank you all for coming today." As one, the throng of reporters leaped to their feet, yelling and screaming out last second questions, trying to get one more answer from the now famous Trio. But with an easy wave, the five of them walked out of the Great Hall, and away form the reporters.
Harry and Hermione walked out holding hands, with Harry next to the Minister. He leaned over and whispered in Kingsley's ear. "I need to talk to you. Meet in the Headmistress' office in few minutes?" Kingsley agreed. The Trio walked back to the Gryffindor common room as the Minister and the Headmistress walked to her office.
Once they reached the common room, Harry and Hermione fell onto the couch together, with Hermione laying on Harry with his arms wrapped tightly around her. Ron sat on one of the comfy seats close to the couple. There they sat in total silence, except for the crackling sound coming from the fire. Ron sat still, while Harry ran his hands through Hermione's hair. It was one of the few things that really relaxed him.
Finally, Harry broke the silence. "Ron, just to let you know, Hermione and I are going to Australia to find her parents. I don't know how long we'll be gone, but we plan on making it a vacation. Hope you don't mind that you're not going, but we feel we need to spend time as a couple while we're there."
"No, I don't mind. I understand. I think I need some time to myself come to think of it. Plus with what happened to Fred..."
"I know Ron, I know. Just remember, we're always here for you mate."
After a brief pause, Harry looked at his male best friend, the young man he considered a brother, the one he had met all those years ago on the train. His first friend. "Always," he reiterated. Ron smiled and nodded at his famous best friend.
Harry nudged Hermione, prodding her to get up. Reluctantly, she did. Once she was off of him, he got to his feet as well. Hand in hand, they walked together to the Headmistress' office, where Kinglsey and Minerva were waiting for them.
Halfway there, Harry spoke up. "'Mione? You ready to go get your parents?"
"Absolutely. I hope they're alright. Plus, I get to introduce them to my new boyfriend," she replied, a large smile on her face. She couldn't wait to introduce Harry to her parents. Sure, they had met him before, but this time would be different. Harry would be the first, and with a little luck, last, boyfriend she would introduce to them. She was radiating happiness, which Harry could feel.
"Don't worry, we'll find them. I just hope your father doesn't kill me. I think I'd rather face Voldemort again than face your dad."
"Oh come on, he's not that bad."
"You say that because you're his little sweet princess. I'm the guy whose trying to steal his daughter away from him and corrupting her innocence. Big difference."
"He's already met you though."
"I don't think meeting him as a 12-year-old and now is at all similar. I'm the boyfriend now, not just a friend."
"Well, I know mum will like you. And she knows how to deal with my dad. She likes you already. I've told her all about you, so I think she's been waiting for me to introduce you as my boyfriend for a couple years now."
Harry couldn't help but cling to the idea that Hermione's mother would protect him. She sounded like he was already accepted by her, so all he had to do was not screw it up. After dealing with all the things he had in his life, not screwing up seemed rather simple.
As they reached the Headmistress' office, they knew what was in store for them once they entered. It was officially the beginning of their life together. No more Voldemort, no more prophecies, not more fighting for their lives on a daily basis. Just Harry and Hermione against the world. And maybe with some help from Ron too.
Harry looked at his beautiful girlfriend, and had one overriding thought at the moment, 'Australia, and vacation, here we come!'
A/N P.S.: Vacation time for Harry and Hermione in beautiful Australia! Whoo! I've been looking forward to the next chapter. Until next time!