Title: All This Time

Summary: Hermione and Harry share an intimate moment in the tent following Ron's absence. With Ron's return, however, Harry pushes Hermione away in an effort to save her heartbreak and she is forced to return to Ron. In the months following the war and with Harry's life no longer in danger, Harry is not willing to let Hermione slip through his fingers again. The question is: Can he win her back?

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made from this work.

Four years later…

Harry cleaned up the mess in the living room at Grimmauld Place. Toys were scattered everywhere and with a deep sigh he picked up the last toy, a stuffed wolf. Harry couldn't help but frown when he held the toy in his hand. It made him think of Hermione. They hadn't spoken in years except for a small letter that she sent with this toy. With a loaded sigh, he threw it back into the toy box.

"Harry!"

He turned towards the call of his voice and made his way towards Regulus' old bedroom. Inside he found the source of the sound, curled up in a tiny bed, clinging desperately to a book. Harry walked over and sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand through the child's turquoise hair.

"Did you pick out a story, Teddy?" Harry asked as he noticed he was holding The Tales of Beadle the Bard.

The tiny boy nodded. "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot."

Harry smiled. It was Teddy's favorite story. He knew why, of course. The story told of a father's death and the magical pot given to his son. The boy didn't understand the gift, in the way that Teddy seemed loss at his parent's absence. Harry tucked Teddy into bed and opened the book to the chosen story and began to read. Halfway through he noticed the tiny boys eyes close and with a flick of Harry's wand all the lights—except for a tiny nightlight—went out and Harry left the room.

When he quietly shut the door behind him, Harry took a moment to assess the changes to the once rundown and creepy house. It was because of Ginny, Mrs. Weasley and Tonk's mother, Andromeda that the place looked livable and cozy now. It took a year to get everything in order, but in order to attain parental rights of Teddy, he needed it. All of the spells, curses and artifacts were long gone from the house and placed in a vault at Gringotts. Harry trusted Andromeda to be responsible for that since she was a descendent of the family of Black herself.

Andromeda and Harry had figured out a way so that Harry could have his social life and work while still being a father figure to Teddy. She was a saint for taking Teddy in when Harry had work with the Ministry or when he needed a night out. It wasn't a perfect setup but it worked for them.

The aftermath of the war had led to many casualties but Harry knew there was a reason he had been named Godfather to Teddy. In the death of his own parents, Harry had found solace and peace in Sirius. He had fought for custody and ultimately won. The fact that he had just defeated the most dangerous wizard of their time may or may not have had something to do with it. Ginny understood and for a short time the three of them had been a tiny family. Eventually Ginny and he parted ways when Harry realized they did not share the same kind of chemistry that had built up in a tent with another girl who just happened to be dating her brother. Ginny had confided in him later on that for some time she had been harboring an interest in Neville Longbottom and they had currently been dating for a year and a half.

As Harry wandered into his room across the hall—a room that had once been Sirius'—he turned on the TV and opened a shoebox that was hidden under his bed. It held newspaper cutouts and letters from Hermione. Despite the heartbreak he caused her, Hermione had stuck with him. She had placed Christmas roses on his parent's grave when they wandered to Godric's Hollow and had taken care of him when Bathilda Bagshot had turned out to be Nagini. He had even watched her fight back tears when he left her and Ron to go to the Forbidden Forest to die.

But he hadn't died. And that was a fact that had bugged Harry for four long years.

The whole reason he had left Hermione was because he had a deep feeling that he wouldn't make it out of the war alive. Hermione had realized it too. Harry had to die for the Horcrux inside him to be destroyed. But Harry had survived. Though he had tried to settle with Ginny, that hadn't worked and now he had to stand by while the girl he loved dated his best friend. He didn't even know if Ron knew about what had happened in the tent. He doubted Hermione would share such an intimate detail. All he knew was that when he had defeated Voldemort and sought out Hermione, she had walked into the Great Hall hand-in-hand with his best friend. Harry wasn't about to hurt them both again and so he remained quiet.

Harry expelled a sigh and pulled the comforter up to his neck. There was nothing he could do about it now.

"We're going to Grandma Dromeda's!" Teddy sang as he danced.

Harry chuckled as they walked up the curved pathway that led to Andromeda's door. She must have heard them because the door opened up and there stood the kind woman. She resembled her older sister, Bellatrix, in a way, only with softer features. She was tall and thin with wide, kind light brown eyes and curly brown hair. Her face brightened when Teddy released Harry's hand and ran toward his grandmother. She picked him up with ease and smothered him with kisses as Harry wandered over. Andromeda led them both into the house and set Teddy down in front of the TV where she already had one of his favorite shows on.

"I don't reckon you've seen the paper?" She asked Harry.

"No. Why?"

Andromeda ghosted into the kitchen and grabbed the folded newspaper. With a knowing look on her face she handed it over to Harry who opened it. His eyes registered shock as he stared at the front page. There in moving picture was Hermione frowning with a grumbled Ron. Harry's eyes scanned the headline.

WAR HEROINE AND HERO BREAK-UP

"Is this for real?" Harry asked.

Andromeda nodded. "Molly called yesterday to confirm it. Said Ronald's heartbroken about it but things hadn't been going well for a while."

"Ron hadn't written anything in his letters."

She sat down and pushed a cup of tea in Harry's direction. "This isn't exactly something you put in a letter. And you hadn't stopped by for a visit in a long time."

"Well, with Ginny and I no longer dating… I didn't want it to be awkward for anyone."

Andromeda reached over and touched Harry's hand. "They've been like a family to you. Two years is far too long to go without a visit."

"We write." Harry stated awkwardly.

She stared too long before letting go of his hand and standing up to clean there mugs. Harry shifted awkwardly in his chair. He now had this uncontrollable need to go see Hermione. Memories of her tears when they were on the run filled his mind and he felt a painful heartache. Would she even let him comfort her? The last time he had attempted he had caused them both even more pain. But things were different now. Death no longer loomed over them, forcing a wedge between them.

"Teddy and I will visit soon." Harry called out to Andromeda's backside.

"Visit where?" Teddy asked as he wandered in.

Harry picked him up and set him on his lap. "To the Burrow."

Teddy's brown eyes lit up and a huge grin set on his face. "Really?" he asked in a hopeful voice.

"Yes. Really." Harry couldn't help but smile back at the young boy. He sent a sideways glance to Andromeda. "Besides we could use some of Molly's infamous cooking."

Andromeda turned to glower her eyes at Harry. "I think I do a fairly good job feeding you two."

"But Molly gives us this much." Teddy stretched his arms out to a wingspan, gesturing the enormous amount of food Mrs. Weasley gave them whenever they visited or vice versa.

"Yes, she does beat me out on that part."

"Mm hmm." Teddy answered.

"Speaking of food…. What would you boys like for breakfast?"

Harry looked at Teddy who had placed one of his fingers on his chin and seemed to be pondering the question. It was hard not to smile around Teddy. He was full of energy and life that all unwanted emotions soon passed. Ever since he was two he had kept the turquoise hair as a permanent factor. Andromeda and Harry were relieved when they had noticed the werewolf gene had not passed on from Lupin but instead Tonks gene of Metamorphmagus. All the more reason to keep Andromeda close since she had experience with raising Metamophmagus'. Harry didn't have a clue on how to deal with his constant physical changes or help him control them.

Teddy smiled. "Cereal! The one with all the colors."

"Harry?"

"I'll be fine with just some toast. Thanks, Andromeda."

"Spanks!" Teddy yelled out with enthusiasm.

Andromeda poured Teddy's bowl of cereal and placed it in front of him before making toast for Harry and herself. It was ready fairly quickly and soon enough the three of them were eating in comfortable silence. The only sound was the cartoons playing in the background.

Harry was the first to finish. He stood and ruffled Teddy's hair. "I'm going to head out to work. You going to be okay here?"

"Yessum." Teddy answered and lifted his head up so Harry could kiss his forehead.

"I'll be back later. Have fun!"

He stepped towards the fireplace and grabbed some Floo Powder and called into the air "Ministry of Magic." With a puff of smoke he was gone.

"We caught a few Death Eaters lurking around Diagon Alley." John Dawlish stated as they made their way towards the elevators. "Roughed them up a bit before we sent them to Azkaban."

"Who are they even following now?" Harry asked.

Dawlish shrugged. "Malfoy's on the run. There can't be many others who could sustain power. It's basically just small groups now."

They reached the entryway for the elevators and Harry heard the sound of one approaching. He readied himself but he was in no way prepared for what he saw. There, stepping out of the now stopped elevator, was Hermione. She pushed a lock of hair behind her straightened hair and Harry let his eyes wander. She was dressed in a fitted navy dress that hugged her curves. The legs that had once been wrapped around him were out in the open for his eyes to see and he followed them down to a pair of high heels that he longed to dig into his back.

Her eyes lifted and she faltered in her step. Harry watched on as her eyes registered shock then hurt then anger before finally settling on a kind look. He knew she was feigning kindness given their surroundings. Hermione seemed to fidget under his gaze but Harry had yet to move a muscle.

"Hello, Harry." She stated.

"Hermione."

She bit her bottom lip. "It's good to see you. How's Teddy?"

"He's good. He's with Andromeda today."

Harry motioned for Dawlish to continue onto the elevators, and with a curt nod to Hermione, Dawlish did as he was told. Now it was just the two of them in the small hallway and Harry could feel the tension rise between them. It took everything inside him not to have his way with her now. That dress was doing more damage to him than good.

"How is she?" Hermione asked shifting her weight to the other foot. Harry's eyes drifted to her toned legs.

Harry's voice broke. "Good." He couldn't help but notice that Hermione was trying to keep her eyes on him for as little as possible. "How are you, Hermione? I saw the paper."

Her mouth set in a straight line. "Why, Harry? Want to comfort me again? We both know you did such a fine job last time."

Harry leaned in to whisper. "I don't know. Fine doesn't seem the right word for it. I thought it was rather incredible, don't you?"

The low whimper that escaped her lips was enough to give him hope. He still had a chance if he played this right. His eyes drifted downwards and watched the slight rise and fall of her chest that was pushed up with the help of the lace bra poking out of her dress. Harry felt himself harden instantly. Hermione pushed Harry away from her and he could feel the spark in their touch. Hermione, on the other hand, seemed determined to deny their attraction.

"Before or after you ran out of the tent?"

"Come on, Hermione." Harry breathed.

She shook her head. "No. You do not get to do this. You walked out on me. Remember?"

"I know. I wanted to talk about that. It was a mistake."

"You've said that before." Hermione whispered with a roll of her eyes.

"Can't you see that I was trying to protect you? If we continued with… that… and something happened to me…" Harry drifted off. "I wouldn't have been able to leave and you wouldn't have let me."

"No, Harry Potter. We go almost two years without so much as a word being said between us and now that you see I'm unattached you wanna have another go at it? It's not happening."

She turned to leave but Harry grabbed her arm. "You're telling me that if I had been honest things would be different?"

Harry watched as the hurt filled her eyes. Their eyes met and Harry felt rocked to his very core. "It was my first time," she breathed. "As my best friend you should've known better."

Hermione pulled her arm free and continued down the hallway and away from the elevators where Harry stood. He had to win her back. He had to get her to forgive him. Yeah, he had been a foolish teenager but his best interest had always been her safety. Ron was the safe choice for her and he had let her make that choice even though it killed him. When she had run to hug him despite her better judgment, despite what he had done, he had seen the look Ron gave him. The look that told Harry he knew he would never mean as much to Hermione as Harry did. Ron accepted it and loved her anyways. She had let him love her and they had been in love… up until now.

Now she was single and Harry knew she felt the attraction between them. It was something that had been building up since first year. He couldn't walk away now. Not after seeing her again and knowing that attraction still existed despite the distance he had put between them.

She had always secretly enjoyed when he was being cocky and so with a yell Harry said, "And by the way, Hermione… That dress does amazing things to your ass."

He watched as she stopped dead in her tracks and turned towards him and all he could do was wink and laugh as he backed into the elevator and watched her figure grow smaller as he disappeared from there.