A/N: The usual disclaimers apply, I apologize again for the brief delay and hope that I will soon have updates coming more frequently. I am glad to hear that you all are enjoying the story thus far, as I have seen a few of you comment, this version of the story is not mutiparing, however the original story Forever is. At this time I am looking for a new Beta Reader for both this story and the original Forever, if you or anyone you may know might be interested in the position please do not hesitate to reach out via PM here on FanFiction. Anyway, infomercials out of the way, I hope you have all been having a wonderful 2023. Back to the show shall we.

Harry awoke with a start, realizing that he was not alone as he took in the aroma of lavender and lilac that he knew belonged to Hermione. He smiled softly as he reached over and grabbed his glasses from the nightstand beside the bed, he let his mind once again reviewing the events of yesterday. He was without a doubt the luckiest man alive, he had married not only his best friend but his Soul Mate.

He sighed as he felt that she was still asleep, her dreams flitting briefly through their mental connection. He smiled as he realized she was dreaming about the...Garden? He could still remember the beautiful place that they had found themselves in after the Hallway, where he had found her and they had spent hours if not days talking and simply being together.

Looking at the clock on the wall he was surprised to find that it was already nine in the morning. It had been a long time since they had both slept this late and he felt odd, realizing that they had not spoken to Ron in nearly four days. He sighed, they would have to catch up to him soon and update him on everything that had happened over the last few days.

He froze as he felt her stir from her slumber, he must have been too loud in his thoughts. She looked up at him from where she had been sleeping on his chest and smiled softly.

"Good morning." He said gently, a soft smile on his lips.

"Good morning." She said quietly, yawning despite the fact that they had slept nearly eleven hours. "What time is -SHIT!"

He laughed as he pulled her closer. "It's ok love, it's Saturday." he said softly as he felt her mentally ranting about how long they had slept.

"Still...we slept way to late." She said and he could sense her anxiety. "We should get down to breakfast, I am sure people are wondering where we are."

Harry shrugged, he didn't really care what everyone else thought. "Let them, what we do and where we are is our business."

She smirked. "You say that, wait till they realize we are together."

He smiled softly. "They will talk, we will be questioned, we'll answer and then go on our merry way." He said with a sigh, though he knew that she was right this was going to bring a lot of gossip about.

"Well, shall we go and get showered before we go down?"

He nodded and together they got out of the bed and went to their respective wardrobes, he busied himself pulling out some jeans and other clothes as it was the weekend they were allowed to dress more casually. He let his mind wander again as he pulled together a suitable outfit and then headed out of the room with her in search of the bathroom. They were surprised when they found that instead of showers there was a large pool in the room for them to bathe together.

He looked over at her to find her staring back at him with a worried look on her face. "I can wait." He said softly as he turned to head back to their bedroom.

"Wait!" She called as he reached the door. "It's ok, it will be faster if we just bathe together."

He turned back from the door and raised his brows in question. "Are you sure?" He asked.

She nodded. "Harry, we are bound for life and we are married." She said, trying to be logical in her reasoning. "If we are to be together for the rest of our lives, I think that eventually we will do more than just bathe together."

He nodded in understanding. "Fair enough." he said as he set his things back down on the bench nearest him to begin getting ready for the bath.

"J-just don't look yet." She said as he heard her getting her own things ready.

"I won't" He called back as he proceeded to strip down as quickly as he could so that they could get in before seeing each other again.

A few moments latter he heard a splash and knew that she was in the bath. He quickly downed the rest of his clothing and slipped in before turning to find her at the other end of the pool.

"See, not so bad." She said as she maneuvered so that just her neck and head were above the water.

He smiled and turned back to grab some of the soap that the bathroom had been supplied with. He began to relax as he washed away the last few days, his mind again slipping back to think on everything that had occurred.

You know we can talk about it. She said as she interrupted his thoughts. I do not regret any moment of our relationship, nor do I ever wish for us to end.

I know. He said as he turned to look at her, a gentle sigh escaping his lips. "I just wish we could have had a normal relationship."

They both burst into laughter at his statement, the idea that anything normal ever happening in their lives seemed to be a joke. The walls rang with their laughter and soon they found themselves nearly touching as they swam together in the pool, all sense of insecurities lost as they stared into each others eyes.

Finally he broke the silence. "I love you Hermione." he said softly as he reached out and gently caressed her cheek with his hand. "I will always love you."

She nuzzled his hand and then sighed her content. "And I will always love you, Harry, forever."

"Always." He said softly as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her gently, letting his own feelings for her pour into their connection and the kiss.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Together they entered the Great Hall thirty minutes later, she was surprised that they had only received a few stares from the other students at their linked hands. She smiled as they settled down beside Ron who looked at them perplexed as they joined him.

"Where they bloody hell have you two been?" He asked as he looked from their linked hands to them. "So, you finally did it?"

Harry laughed as she turned to raise an eyebrow at Ron. "Did what?" She asked, no they had not had sex if that was what he was implying.

"Got together." He stated matter-of-factly. "Took you long enough."

She felt her eyes widen in surprise at his remark. "Um..."

Ron laughed and she could see the smile on his face as Harry simply nodded before pulling over two plates and beginning to fill them both. "Yes." he said though he did not provide further explanation.

"I see, and you two have been where?" Ron asked again.

She sighed, wondering just how much Harry intended to tell him as she felt him going over how best to do so. Should we tell him everything? She asked in their shared space.

We have to tell him some of it. He said as he gently cuddled her in their mental area. I don't really want him to know everything, but we have to tell him something.

She sighed and then turned back to Ron. "Well, since you ask, we had to go to London yesterday."

Ron nodded. "I see, that still doesn't explain the last two days before that."

Harry sighed. "Ron, we can't tell you everything right now, but we will tell you some of it later in private, ok?"

Ron nodded though she could tell that he was brimming with ideas. "Yeah, ok." He said as he turned his attention back to his breakfast and threw himself into eating.

Harry laughed as she rolled her eyes and then she turned to the plate that he had set before. She was unsurprised to find that he had only put what he knew she liked on her plate, eggs with just a couple of slices of bacon and some toast. She gently wrapped everything up into one of her favorite sandwiches before starting on her own breakfast.

As they ate, she and Harry continued to cuddle in their shared mental space. She had already become so accustomed to him being there that she didn't know how she had ever spent all the years prior alone. It was amazing everything that they could now do together even if they were apart physically. Inwardly she sighed, this was so much more than she had ever hoped for.

I love you. She smiled, feeling her lips curl on her face at his words. He was so sincere she knew that she would never be able to doubt him, not that she would have, but it was still nice to hear him say it so much now.

I love you too. She hummed softly, surprised that she was doing so audibly. Oops, need to get this under control or we are going to end up in trouble. He laughed at her response but she could also see his own physical reactions as well.

"You two sure are in a very good mood." Ron said, breaking their reverie with his observations. "Sure you don't want to just tell me now so that I can rest a little more easier here?"

She shook her head as she felt her husband do so as well. "We'll tell you after breakfast." Harry said as she inwardly groaned at how astute their friend was proving to be.

Maybe we should just sit here without cuddling or talking...here? She suggested as she started to pull herself back into her own separate space. She felt his disappointment but he agreed and returned to his own area, though she knew that he could still feel her just as she could him. It was not that she wanted to be away from him, but it would be easier to keep things less...noticeable than they were doing before.

He chuckled at her thoughts but this time managed to keep it only in their mental connection. She could feel his determination to keep his physical self separated from their mental as she too tried to focus on just that.

Finally after what felt like hours but was really only about twenty minutes the three of them left the Great Hall and exited out into the grounds. They could see several other students out enjoying the last vestiges of the warm weather as the cold would soon be settling in. As they made their way down to the Lake, she kept her place beside Harry, once more her hand linked with his as they walked.

Once they were at the hidden little cove that the three knew where they were sheltered from prying eyes, they settled and she and Harry cuddled up together while Ron sat off by himself. He continued to watch the two of them with interest but he did not pry. Finally after several moments she knew it was time to finally tell him.

"Ron." She began and then faltered, once more unsure what exactly to say.

"Yes?" he asked as he looked the two of them over.

She sighed. "Harry and I are not just together." She said, deciding that it would be best to let him know about their marriage as well. "We...when we got together on Tuesday, we ended up forming a Soul Bond later that night."

Ron blinked and she could tell he was confused. "A what?" He asked as he looked between the two of them.

"A Soul Bond." She said again, realizing this was going to be a long discussion. "They are a very rare and very special thing. We are Soul Mates, as such we share a soul, mind, our magical cores, even our lifespan is now linked."

Ron's eyes widened as he took in the information. "Wow...that's, wow."

Harry nodded and gently sighed. "Yeah, we're also legally adults now." He said as she felt him watching Ron. "And...we're married."

Ron nearly fell off the rock he was sitting on at the news. "What, how did that happen?"

She explained all about the events of Tuesday evening, not telling him everything just a very brief synopsis of what they had shared and the events following. She allowed Harry to tell him about his Titles and the events at the bank. She was somewhat surprised when he told Ron about the Firebolt and how he had also donated seven of them to the Gryffindor House Quidditch Team.

Ron for the most part followed along with everything that they had told him, she could tell that he had plenty of questions and she did her best to answer them or Harry did when she didn't or couldn't. At last as the tale finished itself and Harry informed Ron about their private quarters the redhead seemed to be mulling everything over.

"Lord Potter, Gryffindor, Peverell and Heir to House Black." Ron said, ticking them off on his fingers. "That's a lot Harry, there are a lot of laws that go into effect when a Wizard holds Titles to more than one House."

Harry nodded. "Yes, well, our Bond overrides any marriage contracts that may have been in place due to that." he said with a frown. "There were a few actually, but they are all now pushed off onto our children."

Hermione froze at the sound of that, not that she didn't want any, but the thought of children was so far from her mind that his words nearly made her fall out of his arms. He caught her and held her more closely as he steadied her and she smiled, curling back into him and his security, his love and affection.

"Wow, and here I thought nothing could override those laws." Ron said with a frown. "Pureblood laws can be ruthless, especially when it comes to marriage contracts and continuing family lines."

Hermione and Harry nodded as they explained that their Bond, due to its rarity and uniqueness was able to push those laws aside. She wondered again at how dreadful the Pureblood society must really be to enforce such nonsense.

"Well, at least you don't have to worry about marrying some ugly toad or anything." Ron muttered as he sighed. "My Parents luckily have been able to work around any contracts for our family, or have at least been able to make it so that the contracts are by choice and not enforced."

She nodded, she had liked his Parents from the moment that she had met them this past summer. Sure she had seen them on the platform the last couple of years, but she had not really gotten to know them until the night that they all spent at the Leakey Cauldron before coming back to Hogwarts. It was odd to think that Ron and his family were all Purebloods considering how unlike most of the others they were.

"Well, I wouldn't say that all of my family are unlike the others." Ron said with a frown of disgust. "Aunt Muriel thinks that we should be following the contracts more closely and has tried to insist that Dad betroth Ginny to someone to bring in better fortunes."

She raised her eyebrow. "Really? But we both know that Ginny only loves..." She stopped herself before she finished the sentence but realized too late that he had heard her mentally.

"What, Ginny wants to marry me?" Harry asked with a frown.

Ron blinked. "How do you know about that?"

Harry blushed. "Um...Hermione told me j-just now."

Ron looked between the two of them and then it seemed to dawn on him. "You can hear each others thoughts?"

They nodded and he whistled. "Wow, this Soul Bond thing seems all sorts of fucked up."

They laughed and she sighed. "You have no idea, but it's not bad." She said gently. "We enjoy it, though it does make it hard to keep appearances up since we don't want everyone to know about our marriage yet and especially about the Bond. Only those we trust are ever going to be told about the Bond."

Ron nodded. "I swear I won't tell anyone, that's private and should remain that way unless you want someone to know."

"Exactly." She and Harry both said at the exact same time which caused Ron's eyes to nearly explode from his head.

"Woah, please don't do that again." He said, laughing after a few minutes. "That was way too much like Fred and George, I don't think I can handle that all the time."

Harry laughed. "We can't help it, sometimes it happens." He said and she nodded. "Besides, we are still ourselves you know."

Ron nodded, "I can tell." He said with a grin. "Still, it must be weird having someone in your head all the time?"

Hermione smiled. "No actually, it's quite nice." She said as she gently pulled Harry's face down and gave him a soft kiss. "Very nice really."

"Oy, you're not alone here!"

They both rolled their eyes as they turned back to stare at him. "Oh do let's be realistic here Ron." Harry said with a grin. "If she or I want to kiss it's going to eventually happen whether you or other people are around or not."

Ron shrugged. "Well...lets just not make it embarrassing ok, some of us still don't have a girlfriend." He sighed heavily and added. "Or have ever had one for that matter."

Hermione smiled and gently reached out a hand to set on his arm. "You'll find someone someday Ron, you just have to wait for the right person."

He nodded then suddenly seemed to remember something. "Oh, I...well I guess I didn't loose him so much as Scabbers turned out to be a-"

"We know." Harry said and they both watched as Ron shuddered. "I've met Sirius, he's great!"

Ron smiled. "Yeah, he and I got to speak a little the morning after Pettigrew was captured." Ron said as he began to tell them about his past few days. "He really is a nice man, little wild at times, but he's great."

"He's also my God Father." Harry said as she felt him remember to tell Ron.

"Really?" Ron said with a grin. "You're going to be awfully busy getting to know him."

"Yeah, He, my Parents and Professor Lupin went to school together." Harry said as he continued to tell Ron the news. "He's also innocent of all of his charges."

Ron nodded. "I figured as much after I saw Pettigrew and Sirius did explain a lot of it to me during our lunch."

She smiled, she was glad that Ron was taking the time to get to know Sirius too. It seemed that Ron had also been quite busy over the past couple of days as he had taken a newfound liking to Crookshanks. She was somewhat surprised at this but found that his explanation that the Kneazle had been a mess without her made her appreciate him and his general love for animals.

The next couple of hours was spent talking about the rest of the visit to London, Ron again showed his envy over the Firebolt to which she noticed that Harry was putting together a small idea for a Christmas gift for him. She mentally voiced her approval of the idea, though reminded him that Ron did have brothers to which he simply shrugged and added them to the list of those receiving Christmas presents this year. She inwardly and outwardly smiled at the thought and then the conversation slowly continued on to other topics.

A/N: Well, I hope you liked the new chapter. It's a little bumpy in places but it had a hard time wanting to be put to paper. As I said above, if you or anyone you know may be interested in Beta Reading simply PM me here and we can discuss the details further. Thank you all again and I will see you next chapter.