AN: Hey everyone! Sorry about the delay! Had a bit of a hold-up with life over the weekend and while this was finished I couldn't actually get to where I could post it. It's here now though. Hope you all enjoy, and make sure to leave some reviews! I love hearing what you all think.
Making his way to Tomes and Scrolls, Hogsmead's resident bookshop, Harry found his bushy-haired girlfriend waiting on a bench just outside the store, a small paper bag next to her that bore the shop's name on it. She was roughly a quarter of the way through a decently sized book that Harry couldn't make out the title of. Approaching he sat down next to her, and shifted his voice down an octave. "What's a pretty girl like you doing alone in a place like this?" Harry really didn't think the voice he put on was very good, but the joke would be rather funny.
"If you must know, I am waiting for my boyfriend to get here, now if you would kindly leave me alone so I can… Harry!" She started to say angrily, but stopped as she turned to see his face. The frustrated look quickly gave way to a beaming smile as she wrapped her arms around him. "That was mean Harry."
"I dunno, I think it was pretty funny." Harry laughed, tightening their hug. Hermione was not open with more romantic expressions of affection, but she was quite the hugger. "So you already bought something?"
"Oh, yes. I did some light browsing while waiting for you, just of some sections I didn't think you'd have much interest in. More mundane magics. This is a book on knitting charms, since I've been knitting I thought maybe there might be something to make my life a little easier. It seems like magical knitters just enchant the needles themselves to do the knitting, which is a little disappointing." She said, marking her page with a small ribbon in the book and closing it.
"How so?" Harry asked. Knitting seemed like hard work, and required a lot of dexterity, something he wasn't exactly known for.
"While if you need to do it, having the needles knit for you would probably be better, doing it as a hobby… well it takes the fun out of it. I knit when I just want to busy my hands with something to let something else run through my mind, or just to distract myself for a bit. Not holding the needles though, it takes that away." She said, tucking the book into her bag. "There are a few other charms in the book that seem worthwhile though. Permanent dyeing charms, and how to weave a warming spell into the yarn itself. Even a more advanced one that can seamlessly join multiple yarn strands together."
"Sounds useful, but I don't know anything about knitting." Harry said honestly. He knew knitting was Hermione's side hobby, and he had a few pairs of mittens she had made for him over the past couple years.
"Wouldn't expect you to. Now, do you want to go inside?" Hermione asked standing up from her seat.
"Sure." Harry said, taking her hand and being led into the shop. The smell of ink and parchment flooded his nose immediately on entering, and the air felt noticeably dryer in here, a far cry from the constant wet feeling that Scotland seemed to bring. Shelving units liberally littered the establishment, with many tomes contained within. Harry glanced at some of the categories. Each of the Hogwarts subjects were represented, and Harry was of course drawn to the Defense Against the Dark Arts section, Hermione happily followed as he glanced through the titles.
"Looking for anything in particular Harry?" Hermione asked, thumbing through some of the tomes herself. Her hand was currently on a thicker book labeled 'The Art of Warding: Mastering Defensive Spells and Charms', which she pulled out and gave a cursory glance at the back of.
"Not overly, not exactly like there is an 'anti-mass murderer' spell." Harry said with a laugh. He picked up a book labelled as 'Push and Pull: The Offensive Guide to the Summoning and Banishing Charms' "Hmm, this one looks pretty good." Harry said absentmindedly, reading over the back.
Hermione leaned down to see what he had. "That does seem to fit with how you've been training. Why have you been focusing so much on those spells?" She asked, tilting her head a bit.
"I'm not sure, really. They just kind of feel right to use. Maybe it's just because it lets me control how 'lethal' they are. While Dueling is a sport, it is still basically just fighting with rules, people can and do get hurt. Using the summoning and banishing charms lets me incapacitate people effectively without actively hurting them. Flitwick was telling me that many duelists focus on so many offensively minded spells like the flame-throwing charm that they forget to apply more mundane spells to their repertoire, or fail to learn how to counter them." Harry said, continuing his glance over the back of the book. He kept hold of it, it seemed like good reading material.
"Sounds interesting. I've been really enjoying our lessons with you, you're quite the good teacher. Have you thought about maybe teaching Defense or Charms when you graduate?" Hermione asked.
"Thanks, I'm glad you've been liking them. But no, I hadn't really given any thought into being a teacher. Honestly, I kind of want to be a Curse Breaker." Harry said.
"Oh? Why one of those?" Hermione asked. They'd never really had a conversation about their after-graduation plans, having plenty of time to think about it.
"Well, that obstacle course during my first year, that Quirrell made me run? Well, despite how it ended, it was really fun for me. Thinking on my feet and solving those kinds of problems? It was like… I don't know, I was in my element or something. It felt GOOD to do that. Charlie has told me a bit about what Bill does as a curse breaker, and it sounds really cool. Although it always feels weird planning for a future like that." Harry said, shifting a bit on his feet.
"Oh, why's that?" Hermione asked, leaning over him and getting a look at the back of the book he was reading.
"I don't really know. I've just been kind of going non-stop since I learned I was a wizard. The excitement of 'oh, everythings so new' carried well into the obstacle course for the stone, then it was learning to be a family with the Tonks', then the whole Basilisk debacle, and even now there's what's going on with Sirius. It just never seems like there's a moment to breathe." Harry said. "Planning for a future seems hard when there almost seems like no guarantees the present will work out."
"I think everyone feels like that sometimes." Hermione said. "While you seem to have your own specific brand of world ending problems, everyone gets something like that. I know before I knew I was a witch, I had no idea how I would get through school, because I was getting picked on so much I wondered why I kept going on. Mum and Dad helped me get through that, and I want to help you get through this now. All of us do. Susan, Padma, Daphne, Luna and I, plus the Tonks' and the rest of the Sphinx Club, even Professor Flitwick. We all want to help you learn to be the best Harry you can be, and find what you want to be. So if you want to be a Curse Breaker, then we'll work on you being a Curse Breaker, honestly Harry, you can probably be anything you want to be."
"Well, I don't think I could be a potions master." Harry chuckled.
"I dunno, Daphne says you're remarkably good. Maybe not the prodigy she is, but even Snape seems impressed by her sometimes." Hermione said. "If you really wanted it, I'm sure we could find ways for you to get better." Hermione began moving towards the potions section of the shop but Harry stopped her.
"I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm fine being just decent at Potions. It's not something I feel like I'll want to pursue, and even if that changes, I'll have plenty of time to study up then." Harry said, a smile on his face.
"I guess. I just want to study up on everything, it's so exciting being a witch that I want to know everything!" Hermione said.
"I know, and I get that, but Muggle scientists can't know ALL the science. Just like we can't know ALL the magic. We just have to learn enough about what we can, and then find our specialties." Harry said. "My specialty seems to be charms and defense against the dark arts, which are linked pretty hard together."
"Yes, mine seems to be arithmancy. I did really well in maths at school before all of this, my teachers had actually started introducing higher level algebra to me to give me something to chew on. Maybe I'll be an enchanter someday." Hermione said.
"I'd love to see what you make! I bet it'll be amazing! Maybe you could make me a lightsaber like Luke's!" Harry said, pulling out his wand and making a swoosh noise as he held it like the weapon from a galaxy far far away.
Hermione laughed at his antics. "Maybe, I am still not sure yet though. Another thing I've been thinking of is maybe going into politics, since the research into Buckbeak has opened my eyes to things." She said, sighing a bit.
"Oh, what have you found? I've been trusting you guys to handle it since I've been focused on dueling and patronus practice." Harry said. His plate had been full, and he really didn't have the time to assist in the Buckbeak defense, even though he had wanted to. He trusted Parvati, Hermione, and Luna to handle it though.
"Well, for Buckbeak, we think we have found a precedent from a decision in a case from forty years ago involving a Nundu, we're still checking with Luna's father on that one. What really shocked me looking through the laws though were how… unfriendly they are to muggleborns."
"Oh? I'm still in the dark on that, are they bad?" Harry asked, looking to his bushy-haired girlfriend in concern.
"They are… prejudiced to say the least. Many laws have specific exemptions for older pureblood families, and many more have increased sanctions for those with less than pure blood. Did you know that the first muggleborn Minister of Magic wasn't until the 1960s? Despite there being many incredible muggleborn wizards dating back to the 1700s at least? Even worse than that, it seems that minister was disposed by the pureblood supremacist movement of the time, since shortly afterward he fell ill, and a more favorable pureblood minister was chosen instead." Hermione fumed.
"That… doesn't seem right. You're muggleborn and one of, if not the best witch in our year. You can do anything a pureblooded witch can do. Penelope's muggleborn too, and she's Head Girl." Harry said, feeling a bit upset about it himself. Ted was muggleborn too, and an amazing doctor, did he face these problems too? Harry had never thought to ask.
"It's not, and maybe when I'm older I'll get into politics and do something about it. For now, I'll stick to raising awareness, and becoming the best witch I can be, just to prove those pureblood supremacists wrong." Hermione said.
"Here here." said a voice from the back. Turning over, Harry and Hermione saw a small man with dark skin, wearing a yellow turban on his head. "Apologies for interrupting, but I saw your enthusiasm and wanted to be supportive. I too am a muggleborn, you see, and would love to see a future where we are not treated as second class citizens."
"Well, you have my word I'll help fight for that future however I can." Harry said, flashing a smile towards the shop owner. Hopefully encouragement from Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived would be good for him. Harry didn't like flaunting his fame, but it has its uses.
"I'm sure you will. Now, how about you two come along and pay for your books, you've only got a short amount of time before the carriages leave for Hogwarts again, and I would hate for you to get in trouble for being late." He said, moving over to his till.
Harry and Hermione bought their books and made their way to the carriages hand in hand. Sitting in a smaller one together, Harry collapsed into his seat.
"Tired Harry?" Hermione asked, looking at her boyfriend.
"Yeah, guess those potions just delay tiredness, not cure it. Hopefully Luna doesn't want to do something too active for her date, if she does, I'll need to reschedule it for tomorrow." Harry said, sighing a bit. His physical endurance was pretty good, and none of the girls had had him do anything physical on their dates, but mentally and emotionally? It was hard to be ON for that long, to be an active and interesting boyfriend and person for four straight hours.
"This takes a lot out of you huh?" Hermione asked, sitting next to him.
"Probably just where I'm not used to it. A lot of the time I just turn my brain off and go with the flow, just snuggling up with you girls and reading a book or playing a game doesn't need me to devote specific energy to being there, not in the same way a date does. Especially since I was worrying about everyone having a good time." Harry said. "I'm glad Daphne did the scheduling, if I had to do it things would have gone a lot worse."
"Well, you don't have to do everything alone Harry, we're here with you, and are active participants in our relationships too. We will let you know if we want or need something. So what I need you to do right now is just relax, how about you lie here in my lap for the rest of the carriage ride and I'll play with your hair." Hermione said, her face going a bit pink. Harry smiled and did as he was instructed, and simply enjoyed this brief moment of closeness with Hermione. "I love you, Harry. I'm so glad we met on the train that day."
"I love you too, Mione." Harry said.
"Mione?" She asked.
"Well, I think it's cuter than Herms would be. I can do something else if you don't like it." Harry said.
"No… Mione's good. Unfortunately your name doesn't shorten down any for me to do anything with it." Hermione said.
The rest of the carriage ride was a quiet affair, and it was all Harry could do to not fall asleep on Hermione's lap. Arriving at Hogwarts proper, Harry stood up and straightened his hair. "How's it look?" he asked Hermione.
"As messy as always, though I'm not one to talk." Hermione said, taking a moment to smooth a part of it down.
Harry smiled at her and the pair shared a quick hug and a kiss, before Harry waved goodbye and made his way to the Sphinx Club room. Since Luna hadn't gotten to go to Hogsmeade, her date had to take place in the castle, and that was their agreed meeting spot. Stepping in, Harry found Luna in a pretty white sundress, complete with a wide brimmed tan hat. She smiled at him as he came in. "Hello Harry, ready for our date?" She asked, her blue eyes sparkling in the beams of light that came through the windows of the Sphinx Club room.
"Yes I am Luna, what have you got planned for us?" Harry asked, making his way over to her and taking her hand. She giggled a bit.
"Well, what I really want is for you to tell me a story." Luna said, sitting the pair of them down on one of the couches.
"Oh? I don't think I know any stories." Harry said, a bit shocked. While he had no idea of anything Luna would want to do for a date, since their last one was bound somewhat by opportunity and circumstance, this was surprising.
"Oh, you know this one. I wasn't around for your first year, to know what it was like for when you first arrived into the wizarding world. I've heard bits and pieces, but I want to hear all of it. And I want you to tell it to me. I know my Harry as a person, I know he loves me and cares for me. But I also know he's been through a lot of hardship, so I want to hear his story. That, and it's not fair that the others get to know and I don't." Luna put on an exaggerated pouty face at the end of her speech, but quickly fell into giggles and failed to hold it. Harry laughed with her.
"Alright, I'll tell you." Harry said, after giving her a quick peck on the lips for making him laugh.
"Wait!" Luna said, before shifting herself around. Now she was lying with her head on his lap, and her feet dangled over the side of the small loveseat they were sitting on. Harry took a moment to notice she was barefoot. "Alright, now you can tell me."
Waving off his confusion at her lack of footwear, Harry started at the beginning. "One day at my Aunt and Uncle's house, we had an owl show up at the window during morning breakfast…."
Harry continued his tale, talking about the swarm of owls on Privet Drive. The trip to the tower just before his birthday, and Hagrid showing up and taking him away. He told her of his first trip to Diagon Alley, meeting the goblins for the first time, and seeing Hagrid take the Philosopher's Stone out of the vault. He told her of meeting Hermione at the station, and then meeting Neville, Tracey, and Hannah in their train car, and the search for Trevor that introduced him to Padma and Parvati. He told her of the boat ride over, and how he and Hermione first met Ron Weasley. Then the sorting, and his argument with the Hat to not be in Slytherin. From there it was learning magic, and the beginnings of the Sphinx Club. The fight with the troll in the bathroom, Flitwick taking him away from the abusive Dursleys, and then becoming his dueling apprentice. There was the encounter on the third floor with Fluffy, and the heist of Norbert from the castle, both of which Luna enjoyed immensely. Then there was the final section, Quirrel's gauntlet, and what became of that.
"That's pretty much everything from the first year, after that I just went home and tried to figure out how to be a family with the Tonks'." Harry finished, rubbing his thumb over the back of Luna's hands. They were smaller than his, and significantly lighter in color.
"That's certainly an exciting year you had. A bit of a shame I couldn't have been there to help you with it." Luna said, taking his hand and playing idly with his fingers.
"Nothing to be done for it, really." Harry said, letting his youngest girlfriend play with his hand. Luna seemed relaxed being with him, and that filled Harry with a form of joy.
"What do you plan to do now, Harry?" Luna asked, still idly moving his fingers about.
"Well, I intend to be sitting here letting you play with my hand until you're bored of it, then probably go to sleep in my dorm." Harry said, looking down at her.
"No, longer term. Not this day, but bigger plans?" She asked, still not moving her eyes from his hands.
"Ah, well… I guess just keep doing what I have been. Do well in classes, train with Professor Flitwick, eventually get the Patronus on lock. Make sure you girls all feel equally loved. From there? I don't know, I'm just kind of rolling with the punches, the future seems so easy to change, why bother trying to figure it out?" Harry said. "Is that a good answer?"
"Good enough. I just wanted to see how you were doing. We hadn't had a moment to relax since we buckled down on the Buckbeak case and the self defense training. You've been pushing yourself too much." Luna said.
"What do you mean? I'm doing fine." Harry said, looking down at her.
"You think you are, but I can see it. You're getting worn down. You'll come out of it, get stronger from it, that's what you do. I just hope that you can find some peace before it gets to you." Luna said.
"Honestly Luna, you're freaking me out a bit here." Harry said, tensing up in his seat.
"I suppose I probably am. Do try not to worry about it too much. Just, take a break sometimes okay? For me. What's the point of living life if you don't take some time to just enjoy it? I'm sure you spent all of today trying to make sure that each of us had a good time on our dates, but did you stop to make sure you did as well?" Luna asked.
"I had a good time with all the girls." Harry said.
"Yes, but you were still worried the entire time about it. You didn't just let it happen. You should do that sometimes, just let it happen. We all love you Harry, some of us are farther along in that love than others, but we all love you. We want you to be happy just as much or more than you want us to be happy." Luna said. "I love you Harry, you were a beacon of light I didn't know I needed. A friend when I thought I would have none. Even now, you've given me a little extra time than the other girls because I didn't get to go to Hogsmeade. You're a good boyfriend Harry, but you don't need to try so hard." Luna said, before leaning up and giving him a kiss. "I can't wait until we're older, when we can really think about things like getting married and starting a family. I think I'll quite like being a mom."
"I'm sure you'll be a great mother Luna." Harry said, squeezing her hand a bit. That's something Harry hadn't really thought about at all. Long term family? Marriage? It had barely crossed his mind.
"We'll see, we'll see where the future takes us. Just know I'm here for it with you Harry." Luna said, sitting up and hugging him, pushing her face into his shoulder.
Harry held her for a moment, before sighing and hugging her tightly. Luna was right, the future was something for the future to worry about. This moment right now was what it was all about. Just Harry holding a girl he loved in his arms, he only wished he had more arms so he could hold all of his girls.