Re-alignment

Disclaimer: I have not claim to characters or scenes from the Harry Potter series, which belongs to JK Rowling and associates. I get nothing from this except the enjoyment of imagining and writing the story. If I did own any of the Potterverse, I could stop having to work for a living.

Time frame – Post–DH except for the epilogue which I am ignoring, for reasons that should become obvious.

Hermione was already at breakfast with her parents when Harry came down from his room. He approached the table cautiously, not knowing quite what to expect from Elly (who had left his room around 2 in the morning) or from her husband, or for that matter from their daughter.

Gil looked at Harry, looked at Elly, then back to Harry, and said "Thank you Harry." The younger man started to relax his vigilance.

Elly looked at him with a twinkle in her eyes, and asked, "Did you sleep well, Harry?"

He responded, "Yes, thank you, I slept very well."

Gil and Elly started to laugh, and Hermione started to giggle. Harry looked at her in shock, and asked "You knew?"

Hermione looked at him and asked "Who do you think transfigured the soup spoon into a key to your room? Harry, in my family, we discuss everything. Everything! If you are going to stick around with us, you will have to know that and learn to deal with it. Mom was telling you something that you didn't seem to be able to accept from me. Harry, thank you for everything you have done for me." She leaned over to Harry and kissed him.

Harry sat back, stunned. He picked up his coffee cup, and took a large swallow, burning his mouth. Fortunately, he was facing away from the others when his spit the coffee into the plant beside him. Hermione handed him a glass of water, and as he tried to quench the heat, she waved her wand at his mouth, murmuring a healing spell she had learned.

He gasped, and mumbled "Thank you."

He looked over at Gil and Elly, and said "Nothing in my life has prepared me for the last few hours. I am just not used to people being 'nice' to me." The other three laughed at his sheepish look, which indicated that Harry was completely out of his depth. Elly smiled and said (pretend-haughtily), "'Nice', that's what you call it? I thought I did a lot better than just 'nice'! You seemed to enjoy it at the time. Maybe I should have another go."

Elly and Gil laughed, while Hermione and Harry blushed furiously.

Elly reached over and patted Harry's hand. "Don't worry. I have expressed my gratitude, I think, to my satisfaction. Once is sufficient. And Harry, you really do tease easily!"

After breakfast, Harry asked Hermione to take a walk with him. She agreed, and looked over at her mother with a nervous look on her face. It was obvious to the two women that this was the moment of truth for Hermione and Harry. Elly nodded to Hermione to go. This sounded important, for both of them.

As they wandered into the hotel's garden, they found a bench, and Harry sat down, and gestured to Hermione to join him. He looked extremely nervous, and Hermione braced herself for his first words, good or bad. This could be the end of everything, or the start. She didn't know which it was going to be, and the suspense was unnerving.

Harry started talking, almost as if to himself, but obviously to her. "Hermione, your mother tells me that you are afraid I want to cut you out of my life. Is this true?"

Hermione nodded.

Harry looked hurt. "Why would you ever think that?

Hermione pointed out that when she had tried to talk to him in the last few weeks since the party, he refused to talk about them and their situation. She told him of her lingering hurt about Ron, and her shock that he had moved on with his life so quickly. She told him of how she worried that he would hate her for the suicide of her elf. She told him of her dread of abandonment.

Harry reached out and took her hand. He told her of his worries that all his friends were moving on, Ron and Ginny with their quidditch teams, and Hermione with her school and medical studies. He told her how he was sorry that he was neglecting her feelings when she broke up with Ron, as he felt caught between the two of them and didn't want to hurt either by seeming to favour the other, thereby leaving Hermione without support from her best friend. He spoke of his great fear that he was being dragged back into the battles within their world, with the politics and the bigotry, and his pre-occupation with what he could do. He spoke of his wanting to just flee, and his feelings of being unable to leave the wizarding world without his protection. He spoke of his frustration that he seemed to be the one that everybody expected to fix everything. He spoke of his feelings that his parents and Sirius would want him to stay in the wizarding world and help where he could. He spoke of his sense that if he ran away, he would not be honouring their memories, and abandoning what they had died for.

He spoke of his obligations if he stayed, and his self-loathing if he ran.

He then said the words she longed to hear. He said, "Hermione, I need you in my life. You are my best friend, and I cannot live without you."

He then said something she had never expected to hear. "Hermione, will you please marry me?"

It was more of a plea of a desperate man drowning in his troubles than the request of a man offering her almost the whole world.

Hermione thought about her discussions with her mother and father, and she thought about her conversation with a certain blonde (and nude) witch. She thought, "This is too soon. I haven't thought through what I want. Do I want Harry as a husband and as a lover? Do I want to have children with this man? Do I want to have children at all? Is he asking me only out of desperation as the only way he can keep me around? Is he just on the rebound from Ginny? If I say 'no' would I ever see him again? This is too soon."

She looked at the longing on Harry's face and she smiled as she came to a decision. She thought, "Better too soon than leaving it too late. Much better!"

"Harry, I accept. I will marry you. Thank you for asking me."

Harry hugged her and kissed her with all his might. As this was considerable, she pushed him away slightly, and mumbled "Not quite so hard, please. I know my parents are dentists, but really you don't need to use so much force to get your point across. Harry, we will have lots of time and opportunity; you don't have to get all your, our, kissing in just one episode."

"Now, just to straighten out some details. Will I be Mrs Potter or Mrs Black?" She snickered.

Harry looked surprised. He remembered Hermione's detailing of Luna's inquiry as to this topic.

He said "I don't know. I hadn't thought that far ahead. I guess I never really thought of myself as a Black. To me, I have always been just Harry Potter, so I think it would be Mrs Potter. I think that my mum and dad would like it if you become Mrs Potter. But if you want to be Mrs Black, I'm willing to negotiate."

Hermione smiled at him and kissed him again with slightly lowered eyes. "I think being Mrs Potter would suit me perfectly. I do appreciate being given the choice."

"Okay, next item. Who is going to be Mrs Black? Are you thinking of Pansy?"

Harry looked stunned. This was not something he ever imagined being asked by the woman who had just agreed to marry him. "I don't know. I have to admit that I never thought about it much. For all that Pansy has given me an unbreakable oath of loyalty, I'm not sure I trust her all that much, yet. I mean, for most of the time we have known her, she did her best to make sure I would never trust her – I know in my mind that I can, but in my heart it is kind of hard to get away from that history. Anyway, like I said, I didn't really think about being a Black, so I really haven't considered the options. Who do you think would be good for the job?"

Hermione looked at him in amazement. "You're saying I get to choose your other wife?"

Harry sputtered, and Hermione laughed. She said "You know, you do tease easily." She kissed him again, and out of the corner of her eye, noticed her parents in the other side of the garden hugging each other and smiling to each other.

Harry bit his lip, and said quietly, "Hermione, you know I value your opinion. You're a lot smarter than I am. Maybe not 'choose', but certainly I would want your advice on the choice. Actually, I think it might be wise to leave the job open for a while."

Hermione looked at him with a puzzled expression. "How so?"

Harry nodded as he thought. "If you recall, Pansy said that a lot of the Old Family marriages were essentially social and political alliances, not love matches. If I have to have a second wife because of wizarding politics, maybe I... No, maybe we should use that fact to our own advantage. Jack suggested I turn the tables on them. If the post of Mrs Black is vacant, there is the opportunity to work some of the politics."

Hermione looked at Harry in mock disgust. "If you're going to turn into a political animal, maybe I had better reconsider."

Harry looked at her with sudden tears in his eyes, and replied "Please Hermione, don't even joke about that. Don't! I couldn't bear to lose you."

Hermione was reminded that, for all Harry's strengths, in some ways he was still the little friendless abused orphan she had first met on the train. Her flippant remark had hit far too close to the bone.

She kissed him again, and said "Damn, you're fragile sometimes. Okay, no reconsideration. So, Mrs Black is on hold. For a while, anyway."

Harry smiled and hugged her, and added, "Just as long as Mrs. Potter is willing to be held for a while too."

Hermione smiled and said "I think I can manage that. Okay, so what about Luna?"

Harry looked a bit surprised. "God, I just proposed to one woman and she has me marrying the entire neighbourhood! Okay. Luna? Well, I like Luna. She's fun to be with, certainly got a different point of view on things, and she is a good and very faithful friend. We owe her a lot, with helping run the DA while we were hunting for the horcruxes, and fighting at our sides. I could accept her as a continuing part of my life. But as a wife, or rather a concubine? I don't know. I don't know how I feel about that."

"I mean, I always assumed it would be just me and my one wife, when I allowed myself to dream that I would survive the war with Voldemort. I was shocked when I was told that I had to have two wives, or they would take away the inheritances that my parents and godfather had to die for me to have. To add another, I don't know. What do you think? Hermione, could you accept Luna as a part of our family. She mentioned that you would be the 'Lady of the House', so you should have some say in the matter. If I remember correctly, she offered to crawl into your bed, too."

Hermione punched Harry in the shoulder. "You're trying to dump all the hard decisions on me again! I like Luna, but as I told Mum, I'm really not certain how I feel about having to share my husband. Husband – I like the sound of that. You are right though, we do owe her a lot, but that much? Then again, you could do much worse. Can I think about it some more?"

Harry nodded. "I think we both need to think about it some more. If we are going to stay in the British wizarding world, and right now, I can't see how we would not, we're going to be doing things we never thought of before, and living in a way we never thought of. We need to think about a lot of things."

Harry stood and taking Hermione by the hands pulled her up to her feet. He said "Shall we go tell your parents? I believe custom dictates I have to ask their permission."

Hermione looked at him and shook her head. "Harry, wizarding couples still need to do that. But in the regular outside world, things have moved on. They don't do that anymore. However, I think that they would be pleased if you did."

When Hermione and Harry told Gil and Elly of their agreement, Harry asked them for their permission to marry.

The young couple were shocked when Gil and Elly both said "No!"

Hermione burst into tears. She felt she was going to lose her parents again, or her new fiancé.

Then Gil smiled and hugged Hermione. He said "It is a father's duty to look after his daughter's interests, even when she doesn't. I do not give my permission for your marriage, unless Harry can promise me a couple of things."

Harry quietly and formally asked, through his tight throat (at the apparent rejection) "What promises do you require of me, sir?"

Gil replied, "Hermione tells us that you are being as-it-were 'called back into active service', to fight the bigots and idiots. Is that correct?"

Harry nodded.

Gil then said, "In a fight, people get hurt. You know this. In a war, you have to kill people. You know this, and you have done this. But this fight is likely going to be different, Harry. It will be a political fight. They can be just as vicious, but not necessarily as deadly, most of the time. I would rather you and Hermione got away from it completely, but that's apparently not going to happen."

"Harry, we raised Hermione in the church, and one of the Ten Commandments is 'Thou shalt not kill.' They also say 'an eye for an eye', so self-defense is obviously allowed.

"In a war, people are trying to kill you, so you have to kill them before that can happen. In the fight you are going into, this may happen, and if someone tries to kill or hurt you or Hermione, I expect you to protect her and yourself. If you need to kill in self-defence, then it is self-defence, and I can accept that. But I will not have you planning to kill to make the political fight easier. I will not have you plan to kill! That is murder, and I will not have my daughter marry a murderer! Will you promise me that you will not kill unless it is absolutely required to save other lives?"

Harry nodded, and replied "Gil, I promise you I will not kill again, unless it is absolutely necessary to protect others. I have killed, and I do not like it. I hate that I could not find any other way to do what had to be done. I will not kill if it is just for my own protection." Hermione looked at him in shock at this declaration. He turned to her and said "Hermione, I know what killing can do to your soul; Voldemort murdered to create his horcruxes, and it split his soul into pieces. I will not kill just to protect myself." He smiled a bit, and added, "Now, I am not saying that my alternate responses will be altogether pleasant for the other guy."

Hermione hugged Harry, who then turned to Gil and Elly. He asked, "Is this satisfactory, and are there other promises you require?"

Gil looked at Elly, who nodded her agreement. Gil looked at Harry and spoke "Do you remember our discussion when we were in Crete? Yes? With all that ouzo, I wasn't sure you would. I said I was not happy that your world was going to require you to have two official wives, and perhaps more sub-wives or concubines, seemingly to have you repopulate the wizarding world all by yourself. Well, with some help from Hermione and the others, obviously."

Gil reached over and took Elly's hand. "Harry, please promise us that, whoever you may choose as your other wives, be certain they are someone that Elly and I can respect as well. We need to meet them, and see whether they are worthy to share our daughter's husband. We will not have our daughter a laughing stock because of your bad choices! Promise us that you will do nothing that will hurt Hermione because of your other wives. I know you will hurt each other occasionally; all humans do. But I insist that you respect Hermione and make sure that she is not hurt in this. Promise us this, or say goodbye to us."

Harry thought about this statement. Gil and Elly were not happy about what might transpire and the obligations that Harry was taking on, and their concern was for the woman he (belately) realized that he loved as more than just a sister. He nodded and said "I promise you, just as you say. I will not cause Hermione heartache or ridicule because of choices that I am obliged to make concerning marriages."

Gil looked at Elly, who nodded. Harry had made promises which would be very difficult to keep, but they knew he would keep them or die trying. Gil nodded as well, and held out his hand for Harry to shake. As Harry took his hand, Gil pulled him into a tight hug, saying "Welcome to the family!"

That night, Harry heard his hotel room door being opened, briefly. Instantly, his wand was in his right hand as he called "Accio glasses! Lumos!", and looked at who had entered. Hermione Granger stood there in his room in a bulky bathrobe.

She looked at Harry in the bed, and said "Harry, you have been like a brother to me, and I have been like a sister to you. I know you have seen me on the beach with my breasts exposed, and in your pool with nothing at all on, and I have seen you in a similar state. But for most of the time we have known each other, you did not see me as a girl, or as a woman, and I did not think of you as a man - just a man. By the time we were at an age to think in those ways, I was with Ron and you were with Ginny. There was no chance of us being just a man and a woman together, or thinking that way. It is now time that that changed."

"You have asked me to be your wife. You have offered to be my husband, and I have accepted. It is time we started thinking of each other as a man and a woman." She took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

She opened her bathrobe and let it slide to the floor. She stood in Harry's gaze wearing only a shear purple nightgown.

She smiled with a sultry look, and said, "Oh yes. Mum says you don't care for nighties", as she slipped the straps of her gown off her shoulders, letting the garment fall to the floor, joining the bathrobe.