authorsnotes: update timeee

lets just say not everything is easily solved ... read on...

do enjoy, follow/fav/review and all that jazz'

songrecs: in my veins - andrew belle (this is harry and hermione, just sayin')

As much as she wanted to step in, charge forward and interrupt, Hermione instead followed, quiet, her tread silent. She knew that Lily would likely walk away if she charged in, as she had asked for Harry and Harry alone, and so she stayed back, within earshot as Lily pulled Harry into the nearest corner, secluded by the study tables, she leaned up against the wall, casual, butterbeer in hand but ears pricked and listening.

"Everything ... okay?" Harry stammered as his Mother came to a stop in front of him. Hermione couldn't imagine how surreal it was, seeing her here, alive, and well, but young, technically younger than him.

Hermione knew Harry had a reverence for his Mother, had only ever seen her in pictures, memories and as a spirit from a wand, she was a mythical figure to him, almost deity like in how little he knew about her but how much he loved her. She wanted to jump in, offer reassurance and comfort, but again she forced herself to stay put, no matter how much she itched to interject herself.

For, this wasn't just about making sure Harry was okay, she'd followed to see what Lily wanted. The odd, searching looks were one thing but this? She needed to know what Lily wanted, or worse suspected.

She had to keep Harry safe, at any and all costs. If that meant obliviating his Mother, so be it.

'You can be ruthless sometimes' Ron had once said to her, eyes wide when she'd explained the curse she'd put on the parchment of the DA. She had felt no shame about it then and felt none about it now. She had been and was now protecting her friends, as she always would.

"No" Lily said, and Hermione had to quash a smile. Harry's Mother was not the delicate flower a few of Harry's memories had painted her, no, she was feisty, as fiery as her red hair, beautiful yes, extremely so, but also quite bossy, a spitfire as James had grinned, hmm spitfire indeed, she couldn't decide if that was more of an amusement or a problem. "I need to talk to you"

Definitely a problem.

"What's up?" Again, Harry sounded painfully awkward, his eyes wide with awe, and again Hermione forced herself to remain against the wall. "I mean… what's going on?"

"I feel like I know you" Lily said, and Hermione near gasped, taking a quick sip of butterbeer to smother any sound, though she did have to choke down a splutter, and force herself to near choke to death so not to draw any attention to herself.

"Um…" Harry began, but Lily barrelled on; just like she would, yes, this was a problem.

"It's the strangest feeling" Lily said, eyes fiery and wide, as she took Harry in, and Hermione could have groaned. "I look at you, and you're just so familiar"

She didn't know anything about mothering herself, and at only 17 the thought of babies made her wrinkle her nose in disgust, mothering instincts or any kind of maternal feeling was not something she was familiar with. No, no, no.

And yet, she'd read and seen in the flesh the truth of mothers and children, the fierce need to protect, to love, to care for. Was Lily feeling that now? For a son who was older than her in this situation? Was she feeling some strange instinctual tug that she couldn't quite place?

Of course, they couldn't just ask her, and Hermione would have sighed if she didn't need to remain silent. It looked like obliviation might be the only option.

But then, as Hermione hovered, would obliviation even work? After all Lily had no idea about their past and still felt this way, would it continue even if Hermione obliviated this conversation? She couldn't obliviate a feeling after all.

Fuck. This was bad, really bad, so bad she would have sworn out loud, a rarity for her. What on earth were they supposed to do? Again she couldn't magic away some mothering instinctual feeling, and yet, they couldn't be uncovered, they couldn't have Lily poking around.

No, they needed to put a stop to this, but how?

"Don't think so" Harry said, clearing his throat, and then he looked his Mother dead in the eye, which didn't seem to help, as Lily's hands fluttered, as though to grab him. "I don't think we've met"

"But then how do I know you?" Lily insisted, and Hermione could see Lily was like her in that way too; a dog with a bone, she had something, she didn't let go.

"You don't" Harry stumbled a touch, "Maybe it's because I look like James, I am a Potter and all" He said, she could see him glance to the side, see her close and she would have smiled at how he seemed to relax just a touch, were she not so tense herself. "Or I could just have one of those faces"

"Yes but…" Now it was time to step in. Hermione could see Lily wasn't going to let this go, and with no current plan, she knew she just needed to stall.

"Harry" She dived in quickly, practically jumping in between of them, so quickly Lily actually flinched. "James has offered to show me a party trick involving marshmallows, want to come see?" A slightly rubbish offering, but hell she'd had to come up with it on the fly.

"Oh god do not let him rope you into that" Lily interjected, though she didn't seem quite relax, her gaze still darting to Harry far too much for Hermione's liking, "But, Harry and I were having a private conversation" She said pointedly, but Hermione didn't move.

They'd cultivated themselves as foreign purebloods after all, and though Harry had fit himself in, Hermione could still keep up the air of slight aloofness, it helped after all, especially in situations like this to seem a little strange.

"Well, if I'm not seeing James mess around with marshmallows, Harry needs to accompany me to the kitchen" Hermione said, boldly, feeling awkward herself at being a touch rude, but all she had in mind was to get Harry out of this conversation, and Lily's prying, "He knows I cannot possibly have a third drink without some food"

"Yeap" Harry said quickly, clearly sensing Hermione's intent, and though he looked reluctant to walk away from his Mother, he followed Hermione's train of thought and aim; leave now before she dug further, "Don't want you asleep inside the hour or Sirius will never stop teasing" He said, though again he looked torn.

"You know you should really make it clear you two are a couple, a few people have already asked me about you Harry and a few guys have eyed you Hermione" Lily said then, crossing her arms, looking annoyed and even a touch malicious.

Yes, Lily Evans was no sunflower, she was a firecracker.

Harry spluttered then and Hermione's eyes widened at her comments, both at the idea that she and Harry were a couple; the connection they shared already ran far deeper than that, but romantic they were not, and at the idea of guys 'eyeing her up', that sounded false if she'd ever heard a lie.

"We're not a couple" Hermione said flatly, but still linked her arm through Harry's, it was time to move on before Lily decided to drop any more bombshells, "Just best friends"

"Sure" Lily fired back, offering a glare, before turning back to Harry, "We're not finished"

"You are for now" Hermione sent straight down, and she noticed Lily's eyes widen, as though to protest, but at that Harry whisked her away, clearly not keen on seeing a fight between his best friend and Mother, and he didn't stop until they were well out of the Common Room.

They didn't stop at all until they reached a concealed alcove near by and quickly dipped inside, where both of them leaned against the wall and let out a sigh.

"Well, that's a problem" Harry offered, and Hermione nodded.

A problem indeed.

Ten minutes later and they were hiding in an empty classroom, door locked, cushions under bums, and a pile of snacks in-between them, courtesy of the House Elves who liked her far more in this time.

Ten minutes later and no closer to a solution for the Lily Evans problem (though Harry had asked her not to call it that with a roll of his eyes), they had resorted to just eating, and she had even cracked and reached for some non-sugar-free cakes, things were that desperate.

"We obviously can't hurt her" She nodded at that, it hadn't even crossed her mind, not Harry's Mother, never. "Does Obliviation hurt?" She heard the doubt in her friends voice, and paused in looking through the cakes and took her hand in his, offering a squeeze.

"No" She said gently, and with a smile before reaching for a cake covered in cream and chocolate, much more Ron's speed than hers, but this was a hard time, "That was the first thing I thought of, it won't work" She said with a shake of her head, settling back against the cushions, "Obliviation is for memories, not feelings"

"Damn" Harry said, taking a cake too, licking a bit of cream off his finger, which was at odds with his contemplative look, to which she managed a grin.

"Yeah, and I can't think of a single other spell" She said then, after a few seconds, her grin fading.

"That's a first" He sounded teasing, and she rolled her eyes, offering him a mock glare, but her smile returned a touch. In this situation they had to laugh.

Though she didn't like it; being without a solution, that wasn't her usual way of doing things, not at all. She usually had an answer for most things, and the ones she didn't Harry did. This time neither of them did, and that worried her.

They needed to be prepared for anything, including this.

"What about a potion?" Harry offered, and she shook her head immediately.

"Wouldn't even know where to start looking, and again, how do you take away a feeling?" She said, for that was what she'd been considering since she considered obliviation; how did you?

"No idea" Harry said and she nodded, neither did she, and that feeling she most certainly didn't like.

"No, that's the problem" She paused, took a bite of the cake; too sweet, but again necessary in a situation like this, "Clearly Lily recognises you because she's your Mother and feels some kind of instinctual pull or something, how do we get rid of that?" Again how? Again she found no answer.

"Should we?" Harry said then, and she raised an eyebrow; what did he mean? "I mean, would that mess up the future?"

Fuck, she hadn't even considered that.

Well now that probably put any intervention of that kind off the table; she could see where Harry was going with this; if they got rid of Lily's maternal feelings now, would they ever return? Now that could mess up the future in a number of ways, too many ways.

"I have no idea, so there is another problem I hadn't thought of" She said out loud, more to herself than Harry. Yeap, any magical solution was now off the table, not that they'd had one anyway she supposed.

"You're off your game today" More teasing, and she was thankful for it, the situation was dire. She shuffled closer to Harry, but rolled her eyes again, could hardly let him get away with it, even as she leaned in closer, bringing their cushions together, resting her head on her best friends shoulder whilst taking a bite of cake.

There, that felt a touch better.

"Shut up" She said, and she practically felt Harry grin.

"We could just act dumb every-time she asks" Harry said and she resisted the urge to fire back then.

"She seemed insistent, reminded me of me" She said, not shaking her head, too comfortable, another bite of cake going down. A little better still.

"Reminded me of you too, weird" Harry said, leaning in closer, settling down, both of them cosier now, which was something at least, though she couldn't really be cosy with anyone else; not anymore.

Her and Harry had forged something in the war, not just a closeness to one another, but the inability to do so with anyone else, she had realised that when others hugs made her flinch and yet Harry's had her leaning in. Their connection was for them, and them alone.

"Why was it weird?" She asked.

"Because you're not my Mother" Harry said as though it were obvious and she snorted.

"No" She said, and then she grinned, "Apparently people think we're a couple though"

"I know" Harry said, and she didn't quite notice he sounded a touch off, before he plowed on, he probably hadn't noticed himself, "But also apparently I'm an object of desire, and here I'm not even the Chosen One" Back to teasing, that slight moment forgotten, by both of them, not even recognised.

"Ha, ha" She said flatly, though she was grinning, this was better, easier, at least she could laugh, rather than dwell in frustration, "Apparently I'm being eyed up too" She teased, and again she didn't quite notice as Harry tensed a touch, and again neither did he.

Neither of them did, not yet anyway.

"I know, if you were my girlfriend I'd be offended" He fired back, and she rolled her eyes, finishing off her cake.

"I'm offended anyway" Hermione said, though didn't elaborate, for she didn't really know how to, and instead decided to go practical, "Well anyway, we do not need romance right now"

"Agreed" Harry said a little too quickly, but then he teased again "First we have to figure out how to stop my Mother, who is now somehow younger than me, from figuring out I'm her time travelling son" He shrugged and she hissed as he displaced her head before he settled back down, and she with him, tucked into his side.

Where she felt she belonged, and he next to her.

"So only something minor then" She said as she snuggled down, her eyes finding the clock; almost Midnight, lateish, though it was the weekend ahead of them, no plans this time.

Though she wouldn't sleep in, couldn't, not anymore. Even after months on the run, of sleep deprivation and exhaustion, her body couldn't really sleep for more than seven hours, and she knew Harry was the same.

Just one of the many, many consequences of war.

Though relatively, some light insomnia was minor.

"I don't ask for much" Harry jolted her back to the present, and back to a smile.

"Hardly anything really" She countered, and again she could see Harry from the corner of her eye smiling too.

"Honestly you shouldn't complain, my problems are the easiest to deal with" He said.

"Uh-hu, I'd say seven years tells me different" She shot back, and then he was grinning, and she too. Harry's happiness always amplified her own.

"No idea what you mean" Harry said with a shake of his head, and she just scoffed before snuggling down a touch more. She smiled as Harry reached for his robes he'd discarded before draping them over her.

Another consequence of war; being able to sleep anyway, if only for a few hours.

And yet, as she near drifted off, she felt Harry move, and she practically growled, before he was pulling her to her feet, wrapping his robe around her, and steering her back to the Common Room, damn him, he was right to do so, but she'd been as comfortable as she could get nowadays, and very ready to drop off to sleep.

"Come on" He offered, as they approached the Fat Lady, whispered the password, and climbed inside, the party roared on but thankfully the Marauders were by the fire distracted as they reached for more marshmallows for whatever trick they had planned, and so they made it to the stairs unimpeded. "Time for bed Sleeping Beauty"

"Don't" Hermione mumbled as Harry hurried them to the top of the Tower, to their room, she couldn't sleep without him, not anymore. "People will think we're a couple" She said with a grin, teasing.

"Wouldn't want that" Harry mocked, but again he tensed, and this time she did notice, but was being tucked into bed, Harry climbing in beside her, and was asleep and forgetting it before she could ask why.

Harry took a little longer to fall asleep, and yet just as with Hermione, neither of them really processed why the idea of them being a couple had been met with teasing by them both, but also, meant something more deep down.

So deep even, neither of them had even realised it.

sooo thoughts?

harry and hermione are currently himbos who can't even process their own feelings, don't blame our poor bbys, they have had lots of trauma.

and yes, CLEARLY this fic is going to be extreme slow-burn, but there will be flames when it happens (and a few along the way)

do leave a review, I love to hear your thoughts, fav/follow for updates!

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