Hey lovely people reading my story. Here is the next chapter, sorry it's taken forever to get it out. I apologize more at the end. Read and enjoy!
Time jump to the following Sunday
Harry (and his children)
The week had gone by very slowly for Harry. Work was never ending and he was quickly becoming disenchanted with his work. Being an Auror was not what he expected. There was too much kissing up and politics. Harry was not the type to suck up and play politics to get ahead in work. It was because of this that he was stuck in the office, doing paperwork for those who DID play.
His children also knew something was wrong with their father. They had tried all week to make him less sad. They had tried making special artwork (Albus made a spectacular macaroni sculpture of a cat), making dinner (James had succeeded in setting that on fire), and reading him bed time stories.
"I can't wait for Aunt Hermione to get here. He was so much better after their talk last week." James said to Albus while bouncing baby Lily on his legs.
"I KNOW. I don't know what she did, but she's a magic maker, that one. I really hope she can fix him again. By the way, have you heard from Mum since she left?" Albus looked up from drawing shapes in the carpet.
"No, I haven't. I don't expect we will. Didn't you hear them? Mum and Dad were fighting right before she left. They were both crying on the kitchen floor." James had stopped bouncing Lily, and hugged her tightly instead, a sad look on both his and his brothers face.
"Well, let's go get some breakfast, shall we? I think it would be best not to be around when Aunt Hermione is here." James, being the elder, asked, trying to be responsible and helpful to his father.
"Hey kids!" Harry called from the base of the stairs. "It's time to eat. Aunt Hermione will be here soon! I also heard she's bringing over Rosie."
"ROSIE!" James and Albus screamed. Holding a gurgling baby Lily, James and Albus ran down the stairs in a blur, waiting for their cousin.
They didn't wait long before there was a knock at the front door. James hastily threw Lily into his father's waiting arms.
"Rosie! I haven't seen you in forever! Come on, I have new toys to show you!" Albus grabbed her hand, tugging her towards the stairs.
"Not until you guys eat. After breakfast you can show her everything." Harry directed them to the kitchen, still holding Lily.
"Hey Hermione," Harry greeted her with a kiss to her temple. "How was your week?"
"My week was long, excruciating, and dreadful. I could keep going if you'd like?" Hermione responded cheekily, tossing her coat into the coat closet in the entrance way.
"No need. I understand how you feel." Harry frowned and looked at the floor. "But don't worry, we'll get to that soon enough, right?"
"Yes, quite right. Now, did you want me to make breakfast for the kids? I know you hate cooking…" Hermione was already rolling up the sleeves of her fashionably oversized jumper which hung on the edges of her shoulders and digging in the fridge. "I see you have eggs and cheese and… jalapeños? Wow Harry, you really need to go shopping more often! Do you have any bread and nutella? I'll make them some toast." She bent down to the lowest shelf in the pantry and Harry got a fabulous few of her backside. She may have had two children but she was in excellent shape. Or so the leggings she wore implied.
Harry had been staring (and enjoying) and before he knew it, Hermione was snapping her fingers in front of his face. "Off in la-la-land, Potter? Be glad you didn't drop your child this time. Albus isn't paying enough attention to save her today." She giggled and continued to make toast for everyone.
It seemed they were all one big happy family: Hermione (the mum) making breakfast, Harry (the dad) watching her make breakfast/lusting after her backside, the children playing in the sitting room and the new baby Lily babbling away happily on Harry's lap.
'Woa, better watch yourself there Potter! Hermione is not, nor will she ever be, your wife. You already have a wonderful, amazing… loud, rough, and mostly angry wife. Again, watch yourself Potter. If Ginny heard you thinking that, you'd have a face full of her bat-boogey hex before you could even think Protego. However, there is nothing wrong with admiring an amazing backside… even if it IS Hermione's Harry's inner dialog had distracted him enough to not realize he had food in front of him.
"Again with the spacing out Potter! You might as well buy a house in La-La-Land for all the time you spend there." Hermione chastised jokingly.
"And I'm sure the house there would be cheaper than the house I currently own!" Harry joked back. "The mortgage on this house is insane. Good thing I'm Harry Potter 'boy-who-defeated-the-darkest-wizard-of-all-time' and managed to get the price lowered on this house!"
Hermione
"Wasn't it YOU who insisted on living in Godric's Hallow? Ginny told me she would've been happy living near her parents." Hermione waved a nutella full knife in an accusatory manner. "To be honest though," she slammed the knife into the nutella jar and put her hands on the counter, "I think she wanted a large house. She wanted the glamour and the 'lifestyle of the rich and famous', so to speak. She never was one to settle for plain."
Harry's shoulders slumped a bit. He ran his hands across Lily's head trying to sooth himself.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything until we started our session. Let me give the kids their toast and we can start." Hermione magick'ed the plates full of toast and glasses of juice into the living room.
"Hey guys, here's some toast. I'm sorry I didn't make anything better. And you can't just transfigure food out of thin air, you can only multiply what you have and unfortunately, you don't have all that much right now. Your father really needs to go shopping." She handed each child a plate and a glass and told them to go upstairs to play.
"Thanks for the education Aunt Hermione!" Albus shouted as he ran up the stairs.
"There never is a bad time for education!" Hermione happily sang, arranging herself on the sofa. "Alright Harry, time to start our session. Now, I've brought some psychology books with," at this she pulled large books out from her purse, which had a similar undetectable extension charm not unlike the one on her beaded handbag, "and I thought we should start with the symptomology. So, go on, tell me how you feel and have been feeling." She then whipped out a notebook and a quill, crossed her legs and leaned forward, analyzing every aspect of Harry.
"Well, uh…" not being used to such scrutiny, Harry was very uncomfortable. "You see… it's these nightmares really. I don't remember the details, but I remember the feelings. I always feel panicked and anxious and scared." He hung his head after this admission, feeling slightly un-manly.
After furiously scribbling in her notebook, Hermione took note of Harry's body language. "Oh Harry. Don't be ashamed. It seems only normal that you need tor react in some way from the war. This is your mind's way of dealing with everything." She reached out and put her hand on his knee.
"But why hasn't it STOPPED? It's been YEARS since the war. I should've dealt with it by now." Harry plucked at the wool of his jumper.
"That's the thing Harry. I don't think you HAVE dealt with it." She sighed and leaned back in her chair. "You see, Ron and I fought a LOT in the early months of our marriage. As you know, we didn't waste a lot of time getting married. But it was because of that and because neither of us had dealt with our emotions, decompressed or anything form the war." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Those months were very hard. We said some really nasty things, things we still are hurt by. But we did talk everything out finally. We finally discussed his leaving me, us, during the horcrux hunt. I hate to admit it, but some days I still fear he will up and leave." She looked at the carpet and heaved a sigh. She swiped at her face before she looked back at Harry. "But we TALKED. We sorted everything through. And that's what you and I are going to do now."
And that's exactly what they did for the next six months.
*Time Jump (A/N: sorry, I know most people hate these, as do I but I don't want to write out every session.) *
Harry
Over the three months of therapy, Harry and Hermione once again found themselves very comfortable with each other. But Harry was starting to feel something he knew he shouldn't feel for his best friend's wife.
He lay awake at night, thinking about her eyes, her amazing chocolate eyes with eyelashes to die for. Or so he assumed most women would die to have her eyelashes. He thought of the way she blushed when he complimented her on certain outfits. Often, he would think of her FABULOUS backside, which often ended with him needing to wank off in the bathroom or a cold shower.
He knew it was wrong on so many levels. But Hermione had always been there for him, followed him to hell and back. She was ALWAYS there, the one constant in his life. It surprised him that it took him THIS long to figure it out, after they had both gotten married and had families and lives that could be destroyed if Harry ever made a move.
But at the same time, it seemed only natural that he should fall for her. She was his compliment to everything: He was athletic, she a scholar. He overly emotional and irrational where she was calm and collected. He rushed in headfirst while she (over) analyzed every minute detail. How could he NOT fall for her? His infatuation with her had begun the day she had bent over to look in his fridge wearing those lovely leggings. Before he knew it, he was where he was now: fantasizing over his best (female) friend.
The next day, which was Sunday, it was nearly impossible to look at Hermione in the eye. He was ashamed to feel the way he did given the timing and the situation.
Hermione
"Alright Harry. So last week, we touched on possibly facing and re-living some of the experiences of the war. I think it might help you somewhat. What do you think?" Hermione asked, facing the kitchen counter. She was making tomato soup and grilled cheeses for everyone.
"I-I think that would be ok." Harry stuttered. It was obvious to Hermione he was not ready for such a treatment.
"No, it won't be ok. I can tell you're not ready. So how about we talk through a few experiences that don't hurt all that much. How about Fleur's wedding?" She was twirling her hand above the spoon that was stirring the soup. Hermione was quite proud of mastering a few wandless and wordless spells and actions.
"I think I'd like to talk about when I was dead. Did I ever tell you? I saw Dumbledore again…" Harry whispered to his hands.
Hermione sucked in a breath and stared at Harry. "No Harry," she whispered quietly, "you didn't tell me that… Why don't you tell me?"
Harry proceeded to tell her everything, about the disgusting piece of Voldemort's soul, King's Cross, the choice to either 'move on' or return to life and his ultimate choice to return to life.
"I told you before Harry, you have this "saving people" complex." Hermione giggled. "But I am truly glad you came back. I don't know what I would've done without you."
How true that statement was, Harry would never know. It's not that she regretted a single thing in her life. No, Hermione was very pleased with how everything turned out. She would not change a thing. But she loved Harry James Potter. That's not to say she didn't love her husband. On the contrary, she loved him very much. She just loved Harry as well. Each man had a part of her heart. She loved them both equally, but it was Ron that made his move, not Harry. But if he HAD made a move, her life would be with Harry, she would've been Mrs. Harry Potter. Some days, she imagined her life with Harry, but she never let herself feel for too long. She loved her husband and her children to the ends of the earth and back, or as Rose said "to the moon and fifty ten times over".
By the end of today's session, Hermione was running late for dinner. She hastily grabbed her things from the front closet and stuffed her feet into her boots.
"Alright Harry. I'm glad we made more progress today! You're doing so well." She beamed up at him. She stood up on her tip toes to kiss his cheek at the same moment Harry turned to kiss her cheek. Somehow, they ended up fully kissing. They stood there, wide eyed, lips still touching for a few moments, before Hermione, the always rational one, lowered herself from her tip toes.
"Well, that was… I should be going now!" Her voice rose an octave every syllable.
"Err, right then. Bye 'Mione." Looking into his eyes, Hermione saw something more than platonic love. Oh shit.
Alright, my lovely readers! I am so sorry I haven't posted until now. College got busy and my job is more demanding than I thought. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am hoping to push out another chapter soon. I actually have one of the last chapters written, I don't write in order. So that's driving me to finish. But I'm trying to NOT rush this story. If you think I'm rushing, let me know! Review if you think I've earned one! If you have suggestions for the story, review or PM me. Or if there is a scene you would like to see written, same thing. I'm open to suggestions. No flames, constructive criticism welcome!