Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. This is a work of fanfiction only.

As with the previous chapter, if you have not read J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows yet, you might have some difficulty following parts of this chapter. I am sorry for the delays in getting this chapter out. While much of it had already been written, I decided to add a touch more to it and change some things around. That meant more editing and re-writes. Enjoy this with my compliments, and as always, please feel free to write a review. I want to know what you think.

Accepting Hard Choices

In the dark moonlit bedroom, Hermione rolled over in her sleep. Her head was now resting on Harry's right shoulder and her arm across his chest. This did not stir Harry from his slumber. The dream was keeping him in the depths of sleep. It was fast approaching its end and would soon shock Harry back to consciousness.

Harry was now past the point when Voldemort had hit him with the killing curse, destroying the part of the Dark Lord's soul that had once been encased in his body. He found himself sitting next to Dumbledore in the ethereal version of King's Cross Station, the point between life and death. Harry now knew the truth about so many things. The reason his wand had behaved as it did so many months before, the Deathly Hallows, and Dumbledore's relationship with his family and with Grindewald, were all fresh in his mind. But of all the things Harry had just learned, the most important of these was that he was not dead, at least not yet. Harry now had a choice to make. He could move on to the next great adventure, as Dumbledore had called it, or he could return to life.

Harry reflected on the prospect of death. It was something he once feared, but now he was basking in the warmth of a future of happiness free of pain. There would be no Voldemort or Death Eaters there. His parents, Sirius, Remus, Ron and Ginny would all be there, people that he loved and cared about most of all would be there waiting for him. His thoughts lingered on the possible future that he could now have with Ginny. As much as it seemed like an easy choice to make, something was holding Harry back from accepting death and moving on.

A memory of something Dumbledore had said years before intruded into his thoughts. It was something about choosing between what was right and what was easy. Choosing the next great adventure would be the easy choice, but Harry knew all too well that it was not the right one to make. He thought of the world he would be leaving behind, a world ruled by Lord Voldemort. "I have to go back, don't I," Harry said. It was not a question.

"Harry, that is a decision only you can make," Dumbledore answered. Harry frowned slightly. "I do not wish to get too personal, Harry, but am I correct in assuming that when you used the Resurrection Stone, Ronald and the young Miss Weasley were amongst those loved ones who appeared to you?" Harry gave a solemn nod to the question. "Ahh, that explains the difficulty you are having." They sat quietly for a moment before Dumbledore spoke again, "Harry, no one knows better than I what you have gone through in your life and all that you have lost. Goodness knows that of any person in this world you deserve peace and happiness. Choosing to move on to the next life would give you that opportunity. It is a 'consumation devoutly to wish'd,' as Mr. Shakespeare so accurately put it. I would completely understand and would not fault you in the least if you made the choice to continue on, but Harry, if I know you, even in the slightest, you have already made your decision to do just the opposite."

Harry nodded again. Before this moment, Harry had taken solace in the fact that he would not have to mourn the deaths of Ginny, Ron, Lupin, and Tonks because he was going to them all very soon. With Voldemort left in control, the world of the living would be nothing but pain and misery for anyone and everyone. His thoughts turned to Hermione, the one true friend he still had left in that world and what life would be like for her. Being one of his closest friends and a muggle born would mean that, at best, she would have to spend the rest of her life on the run, and that was only if she managed to escape. If she was captured…Harry shuddered to think of what might happen to her then. Images of her being given to Fenrir Greyback flashed through his mind.

He could not leave Hermione to that fate, not when it was within his power to prevent it.

"Harry, I know it is not an easy choice…"

"But it's the right one," Harry said quickly.

Dumbledore smiled gently and put his hand on Harry's shoulder in a very reassuring way.

Harry was aware of the costs of his decision. They were already creeping in upon him. He would now have to mourn the loss of Remus and Tonks, but most of all, he would have to mourn for Ron and Ginny. Even the knowledge that he would one day be reunited with all of them did not seem to help much. That day would be, perhaps, years or decades from this moment. Until then, Harry would some how have to learn to live without Ron or Ginny. It was a terrible burden but one that Harry was willing to bear. Harry pushed his feelings of sadness back once more. He still had work to do, work that could not be clouded by the pain of grief.

For one last time, the dream moved forward. Harry was again in the world of the living, now lying on the ground at Voldemort's feet, forcing his body to appear as a lifeless corpse. He found himself surprised to feel warmth coming from the Dark Lord's body. If anything, Harry would have expected nothing but coldness. The sound of McGonagall's awful cry was still ringing through Harry's ears, as was the equally awful laugh of Bellatrix Lestrange, who had somehow escaped while he was viewing Snape's memories. Harry had been disheartened to discover Bellatrix waiting with for him with Voldemort and the rest of the Death Eaters, although it was obvious that the Dark Lord was not very pleased with his best lieutenant for getting herself captured at the hands of the Boy Who Lived.

Harry's mind, however, was not on Bellatrix's escape. It was not important how she had gotten out or even that she had. What was important to him now was finding the perfect moment to return to life. He listened as the Hogwarts defenders gathered around the entrance to the castle. Some of them were muttering in disbelief while others were just crying. Harry suddenly found an uncomfortable feeling surging through his body, as though something he could not control was about to happen.

"NO! HARRY!!" Hermione screamed. It was the most terrible sound Harry had ever heard in his life. Then he heard the pounding footsteps of someone running forward. They were followed by a loud bang and another scream from Hermione's mouth.

"Which one is this?" Voldemort asked. Harry could feel the Dark Lord step away from his body.

"It is the Granger girl, my Lord." Harry heard Lucius Malfoy reply.

"Ah yes, one of Harry Potter's closest friends. By all means, let her come forward. Let her prove to them all that their saviour is dead," he heard Voldemort say in an almost celebratory tone. "Come on little girl, tell them all that Harry Potter is no more."

"Get over there," Dolohov sneered. Harry dared a quick peek through the slits of his eyes to see Hermione being shoved forward towards him. He watched a half-second longer, long enough to see her take a running step towards him. He closed his eyes and waited. In just over a heartbeat, Harry felt Hermione kneel down beside him. He could hear her sniffling back the tears. Then a pair of warm, very soft, and very trembling hands gently placed themselves on either side of his face. Harry held his breath as he felt her lean closer to him. She was very close to him now, close enough that he could smell the mixture of smoke, sweat, and tears coming from Hermione. "Oh, please Harry. Not you too. Please not you…" Her voice trailed off into sobs. He felt a tear drop land on his cheek. It was so hard for Harry to keep himself from reacting to Hermione. More than anything he wanted to open his eyes and whisper back to her that he was not gone, that everything was going to be alright. But he feared how Hermione would react, feared that she would never be able to fully conceal the truth that Harry Potter was indeed alive and waiting for his moment to strike back.

Hermione remained leaning over Harry for several more seconds before Bellatrix yelled out "All right, that's enough crying over your dead boyfriend, you filthy Mudblood!"

"DON'T YOU TOUCH ME!" Hermione screamed as Harry felt her being pulled away from him. Hermione nudged his body several times with her knees as she struggled to break free of Bellatrix's grasp. Harry just went with the movements, suppressing the urge to protect his body each time Hermione's knees bumped into him. Finally, Hermione must have broken free because Harry next felt her lips pressing on his forehead, giving him a long kiss goodbye.

"Ahh…how touching," Voldemort's voice said, echoing his triumph. "Too bad Dumbledore's theories on love are not enough to resurrect your hero. I would liked to have killed him in a proper duel."

"YOU BASTARD!" Hermione screamed. Harry felt her leave his side quickly. He knew she was going to charge at Voldemort. There was another loud bang and he heard Hermione hit the ground, crying.

"Oh, it is a shame that you are Muggleborn. From all that I have heard you are quite a clever witch, and you seem to have great bravery as well. We could use someone like you. Unfortunately, we cannot allow your Muggle blood to contaminate the new society we are going to build." Voldemort said.

"Oh that's rich coming from you," Hermione said defiantly. "Have you forgotten that your own father was a Muggle, Tom Riddle!"

A collective gasp was issued from the onlookers. "How dare you speak such lies about the Dark Lord," Bellatrix raged. "My Lord, please let me deal with this filthy little Mudblood. I will make her pay for her insolence."

"Thank you, Bella, but no. I can attend to this myself." Harry opened his eyes just enough to see Hermione on the ground, propping herself up on her elbows, staring defiantly at Lord Voldemort. The Dark Lord stared right back down at her. Harry felt nothing but dread at that moment. He knew what was coming, yet he did nothing. He just lay there, watching as Voldemort raised his wand and yelled "Crucio!". The curse sent Hermione writing and screaming in pain.

Harry's eyes flashed open to the darkness of his bedroom. His heart was pounding in his chest and his face was covered in a cold sweat. He always woke up at the same point in the dream, never before or later. Hermione's screams of pain still echoed in his mind. He blinked his eyes several times, just to be sure that he was now awake. Then he felt the warm arm stretched out across his bare chest and the scent of strawberries from tidy mass of hair now resting against his shoulder. Yes, he was again conscious. The dream was over. Harry was back in the real world, and the past was once again just a very bad memory.

Harry got out of bed carefully, so as not to wake Hermione. As he pulled his arm out from underneath her head, she rolled over onto her other side, facing away from him. He looked at her for a moment, again admiring how beautiful and amazing she was. How could I have been so blind? Harry thought to himself. He put his robe on and made his way to the bathroom. When he flipped the bathroom light switch, the brightness of the lights forced Harry to close his eyes in order to protect them the harsh light. As he stood there, waiting for his eyes to become more accustomed to the light, Harry's thoughts recounted the dream he had just woken up from. It was only then that he realized how early both instances of the dream had begun. The dream usually began at the point when he was on the ground at Voldemort's feet, forcing him to only relive the moments when Hermione was writing in agony under the effects of the Cruciatus Curse. On one other occasion had his dream forced him to live through the deaths of Ron and Ginny.

He knew why their deaths had been present tonight. While a day had not passed when Harry did not give them both at least some thought, for almost two months now, Ron and Ginny had been on his thoughts with much greater frequency. It was during this period of time when Harry really began to come to terms with his feelings for Hermione.

Until a few weeks ago, Harry would never have called Hermione his girlfriend, let alone ever say that he loved her. She was just his best and closest friend in the world, nothing more. Even at those times when they were not together and he felt a great longing to see her, Harry simply told himself that it was only because he missed his best friend's company. When they went out or spent time together, even though it was happening on an almost daily basis, he never saw them as going out on dates or being romantic in the least. Harry preferred to think of their time together as nothing other than two very good friends hanging out with one another. Granted, even good friends normally don't end their evenings making passionate love to one another and happily waking up in each others arms the following morning. Harry had always preferred to see this as what Muggles called "friends with benefits" and nothing more.

Of course, Harry now knew that he had been in denial. He had been in denial because he felt guilty. Ron had been in love with her, and even though he was dead, this fact should have made Hermione off limits to Harry. By being in love with her, Harry was betraying his best friend. He also could not forget Ginny. How could he be in love with someone else when he was still so much in love with Ginny? Yet, Harry was in love with Hermione. Denying the truth had been the only way for him to assuage the guilt that he felt.

Then, not quite two months ago, the day came when Harry journeyed to Hogwarts. He had gone there to attend the dedication ceremony of the portrait of Severus Snape, something Harry had lobbied long and hard for with the Hogwarts Board of Governors. After the ceremony, Harry spent the day giving lectures to the advanced Defense Aagainst the Dark Arts classes. When the day's classes were finished, Professor McGonagall, now in her final year as Headmistress of Hogwarts, told him that Professor Dumbledore, or rather his portrait, wanted a few private words with Harry. Harry gladly accepted the invitation. When he left the meeting, Harry had a new perspective on his life. It was not something that he had wanted to hear, but rather, something he needed to hear.

It did not happen immediately, but over the next several weeks, Harry gradually began to see the truth. He began to realize that everything he felt for Hermione had gone far beyond a strong bond of friendship. He was deeply in love with her. It was this gradual process of acceptance that had brought Ron and Ginny to the forefront of his thoughts. He began to ask the same old questions he had asked himself before: Would they both understand? Would they be okay with it? Harry tried to tell himself that they would, but it was never enough.

The process of acceptance had culminated on just the previous evening. He and Hermione were having a nice quiet dinner at a muggle café, when he found his hand in hers, and he was staring deeply into her eyes. Harry had looked deeply into Hermione's eyes many times before but now something was different. It was one of those few moments in a person's life when everything seems to slow down, giving the person unusual clarity and focus. For the first time, Harry actually noticed the way she was staring back at him. She had the same look of intensity and desire on her face that he was sure was on his own. He knew right then and there how she felt about him and how he felt about her.

However, Harry did not say the words that needed to be said. He had been too lost in the moment to say them. Now, standing there in the bathroom, looking at his own blurry reflection in the mirror, he wished that he could kick himself very hard, and in a very rude place, for not saying them at dinner, or even as they made love that night.

As Hermione fell asleep in his arms and the strawberry scent of her hair filled his nose, Harry decided that it was time to damn the guilt and move his relationship with Hermione forward. His decision meant that the dream would come again that night, and with Ron and Ginny having been so much in his thoughts recently, it was little wonder why their deaths had been a part of the dreams. Perhaps it was his mind's way of reminding him that they were dead, that it was okay to move. Whatever the reason, the time for feeling guilty was now passed. Although he was certain that the guilt would be ever present, Harry was willing to pay that price for his choice to love Hermione now and forever.