Note: Someone asked for an epilogue, so... here's an epilogue.
As he sank his teeth into the soft flesh, Harry felt a surge of power wash over him. His entire body felt like lightning, and it felt good. So much power, so much... force.
He viciously shook the animal, breaking its spine and other bones.
Then he stopped to look around.
The forest around was holding its breath, waiting for the beast to satisfy its hunger and bloodlust. Violence, not for its own sake but as an inevitable part of the everlasting cycle.
Something moved in the nearby undergrowth.
Harry growled and let go of his prey, wiping blood and fur away with a quick motion. His inner wolf was still self-conscious about the look of things, it seemed.
But, as he was about to jump the unknown creature, he smelled death, decay, and mold. He knew that smell.
A Death Eater.
Suddenly, a disillusionment was being dropped and a dark, tall figure stood in the forest, no twenty paces away from him.
Harry roared in anger.
The Death Eater raised a wand and started firing the Killing Curse.
Dodging the lethal green light, Harry tried to get closer to his enemy, but no matter how nimbly he moved, the Death Eater seemed to know exactly where he would land.
Then, mid-air, he found himself right in front of one of the Avadas. As his vision was filled with a sickly green color, Harry felt an abyss open up underneath him and...
Gasping for breath, Harry woke from his dream.
It took him a moment to reconcile the quiet room around him, to see that the shadows didn't hold a threat but piles of books and the occasional piece of parchment.
He knew before looking that he was alone in the four-poster bed.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he took in Hermione's familiar scent.
Friend.
Safety.
Pack.
Mate.
As his heartbeat calmed down, Harry noticed another living creature within the quarters. There was a faint heartbeat somewhere above him, and a scent of... dust?
He looked up to see Hedwig sitting on one of the wooden beams underneath the ceiling. She blinked at him, apparently still half-asleep.
"Sorry girl, just a dream", he mumbled. "You can go back to sleep."
Hedwig hooted quietly and closed her eyes.
Harry, knowing that sleep would evade him for the rest of this early morning, combed his wild hair with his fingers and began looking for his trousers.
This would be the day.
His final exam.
No more learning, no more tests, no more... Hogwarts.
Eight years - well, maybe seven actual school years, if he was honest. All those adventures and running after Horcruxes and Dark Wizards had taken a toll on his education, at least the academic part. But for all that time, this had been a home for him.
A home with some very dark corners, spiders, and the occasional Death Eater jumping out of one of the secret corridors, but a home nonetheless.
What now?
Harry followed the familiar line of thought as he put on clothes and went to the small bathroom. As he brushed his teeth, he imagined a house somewhere, and a garden, and...
A knock on the door.
He knew it was Ron. Nobody else hit the wood this up high on the left side and there was a faint scent of treacle tarts and pumpkin juice coming from the hallway.
"Coming!"
He opened the door to see his mate holding a half-empty tray of food. "You're up early. Did something happen?"
"Nah." Ron peeked over Harry's shoulder. "Is everyone decent in here?"
"Piss off."
But the redhead just bumped his shoulder and moved past him. "Not today, you need to help me with Transfiguration. I think I'm gonna fail."
Harry groaned as he turned around. "And you're coming up with that now, a few hours before we take the bloody exams?"
Ron nodded, another tart already in his mouth.
"Hermione will kill you."
A shrug was all his housemate could muster.
"Alright. Let me wash up and then we'll hit the library."
Trying to swallow his food and smile, Ron managed neither. Hedwig would probably take care of the crumbs on the floor, though, Harry thought.
"After some morning exercise."
"Oh, come on, Harry. This is madness. I can't work out this early, my body..."
"... is perfectly capable of moving more than just your jaw. You woke me, this is what you get." Harry went back to the bathroom.
"You were already awake." Ron grew desperate.
"You can't prove that."
"Bloody werewolves." His mate sighed. "Fine, torture me then, what choice do I have."
"I can always bite you?"
Ron waved him off, but at that exact moment, Harry's stomach growled loud enough to cause an echo in the bathroom.
The boys looked at each other, then they started laughing.
"Okay, maybe I should get some breakfast first", Harry conceded.
Ron grunted. "Please do, I don't like the looks you're giving me."
"Those are official Quidditch captain looks and entirely related to your lack of enthusiasm concerning a morning run."
"Merlin... what happened to the guy who would sleep in with me and procrastinate until the last moment?" Ron dramatically raised his hand toward the ceiling. "Someone please do something!"
"Hoot."
Harry chuckled. "That's right. Hedwig. Come on mate. Last one will be bitten by werewolves."
As he ran out of the former prefect's room and jumped into the Gryffindor tower staircase, he heard Ron curse behind him.
Hermione held up the old notebook that she'd just found in the depths of her beaded bag.
When was the last time she'd written in it?
Eons ago, it seemed, although she knew it was more like four or so months.
A collection of facts and theories about Voldemort, his Horcruxes, and the magical powers of life and death. Random, personal, and deeply emotional.
But also, the past.
"Time flies."
She thumbed through the pages, smelling the parchment and faint traces of dried rain, sweat, and something sweet. The toffees Harry had brought one day to cheer her up after her transformation.
"Ah, Miss Granger." Madame Pince came up to her desk, carrying a clipboard. "You want to return the study materials you borrowed?"
"Yes." Hermione motioned to the three tall stacks of tomes and books to her left.
"I see." Madame Pince raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on Hermione's obvious studiousness and began noting the books.
Hermione waited patiently and listened to the older woman's heartbeat and the scratching of her quill to pass the time. It was a good mediation technique that Remus had taught her.
Thinking about him made her sad, but she didn't shy away from it.
They all were still working through the fallout of Voldemort's war.
"I believe that's all, Miss Granger." Madame Pince turned toward her.
"Thank you." She managed a tired smile. "And... thank you for everything."
The librarian gave her an intense look before smiling back - something Hermione had never seen before. "You're very welcome, Miss Granger. It has been a pleasure seeing you study and grow within these walls." She nodded. "I wish you all the best on your path, wherever it might lead you."
"That... I don't know what to say." Hermione felt herself blush. "Thank you, Madame Pince."
"Don't hesitate to visit whenever you're back. You can call me Irma." The librarian nodded again, then turned and left Hermione.
"I... I'm Hermione", she whispered to herself.
She took a breath and realized she was still holding her old notebook.
It was time to let go.
Carefully, she put it on Madame Pince's desk and scribbled a quick note to put on top.
Something for the History section, maybe?
Thanks for everything.
- H
Hermione left without looking back.
Harry was so absorbed by the soothing murmur of the nearby brook that he didn't hear her footsteps until she was within arm's reach.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself."
He put an arm around her as she sat down on the damp grass. It would be a cold night, but they were both so hotblooded these days, it only mattered in terms of keeping their clothes dry.
Harry felt her heartbeat fall into sync with his own.
"How did it go?" He nuzzled her hair.
"Minerva actually cried and asked me to rethink my decision, but... I'm good."
"Hm."
Hermione snuggled into him. "And you?"
"I think I aced it."
"Really?"
"Yup." Harry nodded to himself. "Had to help Ron with Transfiguration though."
"Figures. I know the daft idiot didn't prepare anything!"
"Well, he..."
Hermione nudged him. "Calm down, I won't ruin your renewed bromance."
"You're terrible."
"And you need a haircut."
Harry immediately felt his top hair. "I do not!"
"Oh yes, mister. Tomorrow, the day after at the latest. It's hard to see your actual face these days."
"Hey, I thought you like it like that..."
Hermione looked up at him and despite the moon's bright reflection, Harry could see the mischief in her eyes. "You!"
Instead of answering, she gave him a quick kiss.
They listened to the brook in silence for a while.
"So." Harry felt the wolf in him stir slightly. The full moon was still a few days out, but the yearning to roam the Forest of Dean freely grew stronger.
"Yes?"
"What now? School's over. Is this where this so-called adult life begins?"
Hermione snickered. "Yes, something like that."
"I have to say, I'm not impressed." Harry looked up at the moon. "I thought there would be... more, you know?"
"More than coming back from the dead after you were killed you mean?" She snorted. "Boys."
"Speaking of, do you want to get naked?"
Hermione let go of him. "Harry Potter, what in the name...?"
He grinned. "Not... well, maybe like that, but... you know." He nodded toward the quiet forest around them.
"Oh."
"What say you, pack mate?"
Hermione shook her head. "That sounds... weird."
Harry moved closer to her. "And how, pray tell, should I address you while being all alone with you, Miss Granger?"
She looked him in the eyes. "Well... "
But before she could finish her sentence, Harry leaned forward to kiss her and she let go of her thoughts, and of everything else.
