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.

A/N: So this is extremely late but RL got in the way and honestly when I came back to it I lost the voice of the characters. I had every intention of deleting every chapter but the first and turning this into a O/S but I wanted to get your thoughts on this chapter before doing so. Originally I was going to wait until DH came out on DVD to get back in the Harmony Bubble but I just couldn't make you wait much longer. If I continue… this story will not be longer than 10 chapters. It's just a matter of getting there. Anyways…. Enjoy!

"Happy birthday!"

Everyone in the room yelled with joy as Mrs. Weasley blew out her candles, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. She went to grab the paper plates to prepare slices of cake when Mr. Weasley touched her hand and made a "tsk" sound. She smiled and relented as Ginny and a pregnant Fleur went about handing out pieces of cake.

"I want a piece!" Teddy screamed from beside Harry. He held out his hands a pretty far distance apart in front of him and stated, "A piece this big!"

A few people laughed and Harry leaned down to his godson. "Well, go over there and get a piece. Ron's on line and we all know how big of a stomach he has."

Teddy's mouth dropped as he pushed his way through the crowd of people to get to the front of the line. Harry watched on with a smile. He was nervous, to say the least, about returning to the Weasley's. This was to be an overnight stay since the following day would be Halloween and the Weasley's hadn't wanted Teddy to miss the fun.

Ginny and Harry didn't have a difficult breakup. In fact, they had split up rather amicably. They knew they had been drifting apart and neither understood why they had held on for so long. But the guilt over what he had done with Hermione had made it difficult to see Ron. Sure, the two weren't dating at that point but Harry had known about his feelings for them and acted selfishly. Even now as he watched Hermione hand her piece of cake to an anxious Teddy, he felt the guilt wash over him.

She ran a gentle hand through Teddy's turquoise hair and smiled as a happy smile crossed the small boy's cake. For a moment Teddy debated taking the cake and running over to where Bill and Fleur's eldest, Victoire, sat or handing back the cake. He was very hungry though and so with an enthusiastic 'thanks', he ran to the end of the table and sat next to the tiny blonde haired girl. Harry looked on as Teddy talked animatedly with Victoire and her cousins: Fred, Molly, and Lucy.

"You did a good job with him, Harry."

Harry turned to see Ron standing next to him scarfing down the cake on his plate. Ron had put on a few pounds since Harry had last seen him which made him pudgy around his middle. With a smile, he answered. "Thanks. Still don't know what Lupin and Tonks were thinking."

"I do." Ron replied and there wasn't a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"Ron about the last couple years… I'm sorry I haven't been around. Just with Ginny and the break—"

Ron cut him off. "I understand. Now more than ever." His gaze wondered over to Hermione and Harry felt the pang of guilt for his neglect. He had been so caught up in gaining Hermione's affections that he had forgotten the obvious pain his best friend was in. Harry's eyes glanced at her too. She was laughing and smiling at something George's wife, Angelina, was saying and pressing a tentative hand to her protruding stomach. It was impossible for Harry to stop the smile that tugged at his lips as he watched her be so happy and care-free.

"Sorry about that, mate." Ron stated with a groan, snapping Harry out of his staring. Harry followed his gaze and saw Neville wrapping his arms around Ginny and placing a tiny kiss at the nape of her neck. There wasn't a single emotion elicited from Harry at the scene. He was long since over Ginny. She could never hold a candle to a moment that took place in a tent far away from here. At the memory, his gaze traveled back to Hermione and as if she felt his eyes on her, she turned to him with a curious look.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Harry clapped his hand on Ron's shoulder and the two wondered outside. Away from Hermione. Away from her gaze. "Nothing to worry about. It's been years. She's moved on as I expected her to."

"I can't even imagine Hermione being with anyone else." Ron shook his head as if to banish the thought. "She was with someone else before me," Ron stated and Harry couldn't help but look away from his friend. "She wouldn't tell me who but I know it was Krum. I keep waiting to read about it. To find out she's back with him."

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Harry turned to his best friend. "You can't keep doing this to yourself. If you two don't… get back together, it's inevitable that she'll be with someone else. She isn't joining a convent."

"Curiosity got the better of me towards the end. I was thinking about proposing to her and I just couldn't handle the fact that she had this secret from me. A husband she know who his wife's previous lovers, right?" He paused but before Harry could answer continued, "You both always had your secrets but after the war that all seemed to have stopped. I didn't need to know what happened while I was gone or all those other times because it didn't affect us. But this, this is different."

The irony of what Ron said wasn't lost on Harry. It was during Ron's absence when the biggest secret of all had occurred. The very answer Ron sought was found in the very person he was standing next to. Once again Harry felt overwhelmed with guilt and he nearly divulged his secret if George hadn't beckoned them back inside to watch Mrs. Weasley open presents.

Teddy was sleeping soundly besides Harry in the tiny cot at the Weasley's house. The Burrow was at full capacity yet somehow the Weasley's had managed to fit everyone comfortably. But still sleep evaded Harry as he stared at the ceiling. He needed air and being surrounded by a place of his childhood and knowing Hermione was a few bedrooms away was making him feel suffocated.

He got out of the cot and tucked Teddy in. The tiny boy wrapped his arms tighter around the bear in his arms. Harry pushed back his hair and tip-toed out of the room. He made his way soundlessly out of the house and began walking towards the tiny shed up on a nearby hill. There was a chair by the door and Harry sat in it and looked over the expanse valley of land below.

As he sat, the thoughts that filled his mind began to unravel. How was he going to get himself out of the mess he made? He slept with his best friend's girl. Had walked out on her when he realized he was falling for her. Then the two of them had lied about it for four years. Now all he wanted was to be able to be with her and show her how sorry he was. He could make up for it if she just let him. She had loved him once. She could certainly love him again.

But how could he do that with all that Ron was dealing with? Sure, in phone calls and correspondence it was easier to forget that Hermione had been his. They two men had talked more about business than relationships. Harry figured it was due mainly because Ron didn't want to discuss Harry's love life after his sister. Harry knew Ron had heard the stories. After Ginny, Harry had tried to quell the need for Hermione by bedding women but no one seemed to bring out feelings. No one came close to what Hermione had made him feel.

Once again he felt torn. Something told him Hermione was his soul mate. Even though they had drifted apart it was mainly his doing and the fact that he couldn't bear to see her in the arms of his best friend. It had nothing to do with chemistry and love. Something a gaze stirred up inside him. Despite her attitude towards him, Harry knew she felt it to. But how could he win back her affections after all the hurt he had caused her?

Even though he didn't believe he deserved her now… he just had to try. He just had to figure out whether to tell Ron now or wait until after he had won over Hermione's heart or broken his own. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration as he once again thought about how screwed up his life had become. Harry wasn't supposed to be alive right now. If he had died, everything else would've fell into its place as it was supposed to. But his continued existence had only made his choice to leave Hermione that much harder. A part of him, deep inside, hated himself for putting her through that kind of pain. He pulled at his hair in an effort to stop his self-loathing.

"Trouble sleeping?"

Harry looked up to see Hermione approaching in a pair of plaid pajama bottoms and a sweater wrapped tightly around her body. As she saw him turn towards her she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and stepped closer. He tried to quell the anger in his voice that was more directed at himself than her but that didn't stop it from seeping into his tone as Harry stood and stated, "You could say that."

Silence passed between them before Hermione spoke. "I saw you speaking to Ron earlier."

"He is my friend."

"I know that." She said in a frustrated voice.

Harry released a heavy sigh. "Just ask what you want to ask, Hermione."

He was over their little game. If all that she wanted was to talk about Ron then he wanted to get it over and done with as fast as possible. Harry had escaped into the quiet to get away from her and figure out his thoughts and the best way to win her over. Sure the tone in his voice and his short-clipped manner was taking two steps back in what little progress they had made, but having her around and not being able to touch her was driving him mad. And he may or may not have been taking that out on her for looking so damn tempting.

"Did I do something?" she asked.

Harry ran his fingers through his hair once again. "Let's see." Harry paused and began to pace in front of her. "Ron explained to me the reason behind your breakup. Good to know I played a part in that."

As her mouth dropped open and she began to fidget with the hem of her sweater, Harry realized something. Even through all that confidence she was still very much still the insecure yet strong girl he left crying in a tent many years ago. He instantly regretted his harsh attitude towards her and stepped into her personal space and placing his hands on her shoulders. Their eyes met and Harry tried to not shiver under the intensity of them.

"I'm just sick of sneaking around."

Hermione's mouth set in a hard line as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You didn't seem to have a problem before."

"Before I stepped back because I thought you were happy. I had made my decision to let you go and by surviving I had to live with the consequences. But now…. It's different."

'Different how?" she asked, taking her plump bottom lip between her teeth.

"I'm not letting you go this time."

Harry watched as her eyes widened and shifted between his own. Those words had been filled with such truth and firmness that it was difficult to dismiss them. Being this close, having her fill up his senses, made it clear how much he needed her and craved her with every part of him. He made her nervous and he would use this to his advantage.

"I let you go once," he continued. "I'm not letting you go again. It was fine when I believed I had made the right choice to let you be happy but I see the way you are when I'm around. Nothing's stopping us except your anger at the actions of a boy who believed himself meant for dead."

"That wasn't your choice to make," Hermione yelled, the fire and ire building in her voice.

Harry inched closer. "You wouldn't have let me go."

And with that, the truth was out. That had been the only reasoning behind his decision. He may have loved Hermione but he owed it to the world to save them… to save her. Despite the help of his friends, Harry had always known the final showdown would come down to Voldemort and himself. Worrying about Hermione's safety or the fact that the Dark Lord could've used her as leverage was worth hurting them both.

Hermione's eyes began to brim with unshed tears as Harry watched on. But her fire had overcome her need to cry. "Damn right, I wouldn't have. I was with you every step of the way. Why shouldn't I have fought beside you in the end?"

"It wasn't your fight."

"Yes, it was. It always was. Ever since you saved my life from the troll back in first year."

His hands lifted to hold her face as his thumbs brushed away the trail of tears that had fallen during her argument. "I couldn't stand the thought of you dead, Hermione. I couldn't take that chance."

"And you think I could?" she whispered.

She leaned in his palm and nestled into his touch. For a moment they stood there at a loss for words. Hermione's eyes drifted close as Harry moved his hand to caress her lips. Her pulled it out from between her teeth and rubbed it with the pad of his thumb. She sighed at the touch and suddenly Harry couldn't help himself. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

Hermione responded gently at first but then she pushed her tongue into his mouth and tasted him. Her hands gripped Harry's hoodie and pulled him closer to her as Harry's hands got lost in the silky smoothness of her hair. She devoured his mouth, her tongue tangling and massaging his as she kissed him for all he was worth.

As she pulled him flush against her, Harry's cock hardened and began to test the confines of his pajama pants. He had a hard time swallowing back the moan that wanted to burst forth from his lips as she bit his bottom lip. Harry was scared that any sudden movement, any guttural moan could make her realize what she was doing and send her running back to the house.

It was more than he could take and he gripped the nape of her neck and angled her head the way he wanted and returned her kiss in fervor. After four long years, her body was back and molding against his once again reminding him how perfect they fit. As his fingers grazed the sliver of skin between her camisole and pajama bottoms, Hermione moaned into his mouth and deepened the kiss.

Suddenly, as if realizing her actions, she pushed him away and Harry was left to look into her dark brown eyes. He searched for the truth there. If she truly loved him back and her stubbornness was just getting in the way. Her dark eyes gazed at him, filled with desire, and it burned him. His hands drifted and gripped her hips, not allowing her to run away from him.

Her head shook as she repeated "no" and removed his hands from her hips. "I'm sorry. I got caught up. This can't happen."

Before he could answer, she turned as walked down the hill back towards the Burrow. Harry stared after her, in shock. How could she have walked away after a kiss like that? He was still trying to regain control of his breathing. Then he realized what was happening and raced after her. "Hermione, wait."

She froze, unable to face him. "Why? Can't handle someone walking away from you?"

Harry stepped in front of her. "You felt the same thing I did up there. Why are you fighting this?"

"Because you broke me." She frowned. "Do you know what it was like to finally have you after months and years of wanting you only for you to walk away and say it was a mistake? I'm sorry for leading you on. I got caught up in the moments and the memories. That won't happen again."

Hermione turned to walk away but Harry gripped her arm to stop her. "I meant what I said. I'm not letting you go this time. That was only a taste of what were capable of."

"Good luck," she responded meeting his eyes. "But I meant what I said about it not happening again."

Harry felt his anger rise as she turned and walked away again. It was then that he realized he had to stop banking on their sexual tension and begin to rebuild the foundations of their relationship. And to do that he had to go back to being the kind of guy he was throughout their friendship. That required time with her and he was sure he knew just how to get her to agree to some. "You're scared."

She turned on her heel and glared at him. "No, I'm not."

"Then agree to go on a date with me."

"What's the catch?" Hermione asked as she narrowed her eyes.

Harry walked towards her, all smiles. "One date. Once a week. For a month. Make your decision about us then. Whatever you say will be final. No more arguments and walks down memory lane."

She walked forward and held her hand out. "Deal."

"Deal," Harry repeated as he shook her hand.