-Chapter 3-
Hermione stood in the small restaurant in Ottery St. Catchpole. She checked her watch, it was 1:30. Harry and Luna would be at the Burrow right now, talking to the Molly and Arthur. Hermione wandered around the small village. She saw the paper shop where George and Fred had borderline stalked one of the girls working there one Christmas. There was a Muggle market with all sorts of fresh produce out front and a small butcher shop next to that. As she walked down the street she spotted a bookstore and stepped inside. An odd old man rushed to the door, his arms full of books, when he heard the bell. Hermione noticed a painting of Dumbledore on the wall and smiled.
"Can I help you, miss? Looking for a nice novel or travel guide?"
"I'm just browsing, thank you." Hermione nodded to the painting on the wall. "Albus Dumbledore."
The old man smiled. "Aha, a witch! Sometimes it is hard to tell, you know? You young magical folk sometimes blend in with the Muggles. Did you have the pleasure of knowing him?"
"I did. I studied at Hogwarts the last six years he was Headmaster."
"Ah, yes. You must have known Harry Potter then! Fine young man, comes around the village on occasion. Very close with the Weasley family, they live just south of here."
"Yes, Harry and I are good friends. As a matter of fact I am meeting him here in the village later today along with Mr. and Mrs. Diggory."
"Hermione Granger! Amos talked about you. Said you are interested in purchasing the land he owns down by the river. Would you mind terribly doing me a favor?"
"I…uh…okay. What can I do?"
The old man rummaged behind his counter and pulled out a black book. It looked fairly new and the gold lettering on the spine read The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts: Second Edition.
"I've been collecting signatures through of those who fought in the second war. You're mentioned several times, sidekick to Mr. Potter, brightest witch of your age and all. Oh what am I saying, you've read the book of course!" The old man laughed and opened the front cover revealing dozens of signatures. Hermione saw several names she recognized. He handed her a quill and she scoured the page, found the spot she wanted and signed right underneath Ginny's name.
"Actually I haven't read the second edition," Hermione said. "While I am here though, do you have a copy of The History of Magic? I'm afraid mine is on its last thread of the binding. I've had it rebound twice but it just keeps falling apart."
"Of course Miss Granger, over there," he gestured to a shelf by the staircase. "So you want to move that close to Molly and Arthur?" the old man talked loudly while Hermione browsed through the books. "I'm surprised. Rita Skeeter had quite a heyday over Ginny Weasley's behavior after the young lady started playing for Holyhead. Wrote that her suspensions and fighting were a result of being heartbroken after you left her at the altar for a Russian you met only hours before the wedding. Said the poor Weasley girl spent two months at St. Mungo's to recover from trying to poison herself."
Hermione turned red. She found the book and headed towards the counter.
"Rita Skeeter is nothing more than a gossiping dolt," Hermione said as she tossed the book on the counter. "And Ginny and I are getting married in September, I'll have you know."
"Well...congratulations on the upcoming wedding." The old man turned red. "Would you like a copy of this as well?" he asked, showing Hermione a copy of the book she just signed.
"No, thank you. This is all." Hermione checked her watch. 1:55.
"All right, four Galleons and two Sickles then."
Hermione paid the old man then left the shop. She walked far enough out of the village that no one would see her then disapparated. She landed just outside of what was left of the original Lovegood house. She hadn't been there since it collapsed. She set her bag down close to the falling over fence and walked around.
There were two loud cracks behind her and she turned to see Harry and Luna. Hermione walked over and put an arm around Luna's shoulder. Luna looked around and started moving toward the overgrown path that led to the pile of debris that was her childhood home. She pulled away from Hermione and wandered around.
"Where did they go, Harry?" Hermione asked. "After all this happened. She...she never really talked about it at Hogwarts."
Luna walked around aimlessly. The two followed her slowly.
"They moved around a lot. Basically lived out of an enchanted tent. Xeno saw it as a good opportunity to commune with nature or something like that. I saw it a few times when I would pick her up for dates. It was actually rather nice."
They watched as Luna walked through the pile of bricks and peered at some of the still standing walls. Harry walked up to her and slid an arm around her waist. Luna turned to her husband and buried her head in his chest. Harry wrapped his arms around her tight. Hermione walked up to the pair and looked around, there in the debris was a large piece that Hermione couldn't figure out how it had stayed intact. It was almost the whole of Luna's bedroom ceiling with the faded portraits of her, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Neville painted on it.
The blonde was sobbing into Harry's chest and he held her up, knowing she would collapse if he didn't. Hermione looked around and saw remnants of a printing press, dishes, and furniture.
"Do you want to leave now?" Harry asked Luna.
"I don't know." Luna pulled away from Harry, her eyes red and bloodshot. She sat down on a rock and looked around.
"You know I could have this rebuilt, Luna," Harry said as he sat down next to his wife and put an arm around her waist. "All of it. It could be like a vacation home. We could come out here on weekends so the boys and this one," Harry put a hand on Luna's stomach, "can have a place to run off their energy. You know we have plenty of means to do so. We could get the gardens growing again and you could even set back up The Quibbler if you wanted. I'd build you an entire space just for printing and offices. I'd even hire a full staff so you wouldn't have to worry about things."
Luna cried harder and Harry held her tighter.
"You…you would…do that…" Luna got out between sobs.
"Luna, sweetheart, I love you and you know I would do absolutely anything for you. If it is what you want then we'll do it."
Luna could only nod and smile a little. Hermione put a hand on the blonde's shoulder.
"Ginny and I would love having you close by on the weekends. Lennox would have children to play with, it would be wonderful. He loves playing with the twins."
Luna smiled even bigger. "Okay. Yes. I…I would like that."
"I'll set up a meeting with a contractor first thing Monday morning," Harry said. He smiled as he looked into Luna's bright blue eyes and kissed her.
Harry, Luna, and Hermione apparated to just outside the village. Hermione lead them to the small restaurant where they were to meet the Diggorys. They were already at a table, the three joined them.
"Good to see you Harry," Amos said. "How's the Auror office treating you?"
"I'm doing quite well there, sir. Robards reckons that I'll have his job after he leaves."
"Good! Good for you!" Amos smiled. "I suppose Miss Granger here has told you of the deal we're negotiating?"
"Yeah, she has. Luna and I thought we would come down here with her to have a look around."
"Well, Miss Granger have you made your decision?"
"I have and at the advice of Harry I have for you an order of transfer from Gringotts for four thousand Galleons."
Amos looked half disappointed at the fact that he was selling the land he always meant for his only son to one day reside on.
"All you have to do is sign this and the copy then." He pushed the land deed towards Hermione along with a quill. She looked over the deed quickly. Fifteen acres of land...sole responsibility...legal and binding contract. She scribbled her name on the first paper, then the second and smiled. Amos took one copy and Hermione the other.
After saying goodbye Harry, Luna, and Hermione apparated to the clearing of land Hermione had just bought. The circular clearing was quite large with a wide path carved out on the east side acting as a driveway from the main road out of Ottery St. Catchpole; there was more than enough room for a modest size house, gardens, a garage, and still have plenty of space for a yard.
"This is great, Hermione. Which way is the Burrow?" Harry asked.
Hermione pointed south into the forest. "I want to clear out a wide path and have a footbridge put in over the river that would lead right up to the Burrow so we don't have to go out the driveway and around to get there." She walked over towards the gravel driveway. "I picture the house over here. Nothing too big, basement, ground floor, and top floor. Then a garage here at the end of the driveway." She walked almost to the edge of the forest. "Then," she said moving to the north side of the clearing, "gardens here in the back. Fresh fruits and vegetables in the summertime, wouldn't that be magnificent? The old woodshed would be perfect for storing everything we'd need."
"That sounds wonderful, Hermione," Luna said with a smile, looking around. Hermione walked to the west side of the clearing.
"Of course all of this would be space for the kids to play and it would be fantastic for parties and holidays. I'll make sure the builders put plenty of windows on the west end of the house, perhaps even a sunroom."
"I'm going to have to find some really patient builders for you, aren't I?" Harry laughed.
"I don't want anything incredibly upscale, really. A kitchen, sitting room, dining room, half-bathroom and study on the ground floor then the master suite plus two or three more bedrooms on the top floor with at least two more bathrooms. I haven't decided on the basement, possibly have it furnished to be like a common room, you know? Or I guess more bedrooms depending on how many kids we have. I do want a cellar for all of the fresh produce, I know."
"You could have your own library," Harry half-joked.
"I could…" Hermione said with a smile.
"I think it sounds quite charming, Hermione," Luna said as she wandered around.
"How long would something like I described take, Harry? I don't want shoddy quick work, I want everything to be done up to code and legally. Money is of no concern." Hermione walked around taking mental notes.
"Well if you got with a good Wizard contractor right away," Harry thought for a moment, counting to himself. "I'd say that it would be done in time for the wedding. Maybe even before."
"Perfect, that would be perfect. I could move in before the wedding even, tell Ginny that we can't go to my flat anymore for some reason or another. I'll think of something."
"Why not have the wedding here?" Luna suggested.
"No…not the wedding. Ginny wants it at the Burrow. The reception though…if I got the path cleared and the footbridge built and of course there's always apparating…we could have the reception here. I don't know how I could pull that off though."
"You have plenty of time to plan, just worry about the house for now," Harry said. "I've got a whole list of designers and builders at work from when we added on to Azkaban."
"I can do the designs. I just need someone to make them happen."