Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. Just borrowing them for a story and my own imagination.

Chapter 7

Hermione woke up to her alarm at dawn, getting her arm out just enough to grab her ward and stop the irritating vibration. She then took a moment to assess her current situation. At some point in the night, Harry had laid back on the sofa and Hermione was now tucked in between him and the back of the sofa, essentially spooning the Boy-Who-Lived. This meant that, as much as she wanted to let Harry lie in for a bit longer, Hermione had no safe way to remove herself without waking him up. Or knocking him on the floor, but since that would have the same effect, Hermione decided to go for the gentle approach first.

"Harry? Harry!"

"Mmmm, whashit?" It would seem that the Hope of the Wizarding World was not exactly the most coherent being this early in the morning.

"Harry, I just need to get up, let me out and you can go back to sleep."

"Mmmm, five more minutes…"

With that, Harry turned around to pull Hermione into his arms as he snuggled ferociously into her hair. Hermione let out an exasperated sigh into where her face was smushed into Harry's pec, before deciding to resort to Plan B. With her hand still holding her wand, she aimed for Harry's ribcage as best as she could and wordlessly cast a Tickling Charm.

The effect was immediate. Harry broke out in laughter, quickly falling off the sofa. What Hermione hadn't accounted for was that Harry was still holding her so tightly that when he went down, she went with him. Thankfully, she landed mostly on top of a still-laughing Harry, who had finally let go of her, letting her get up onto her feet. She looked down at Harry, briefly considering letting him keep the Charm for a little longer as a punishment, but decided it wasn't worth the possibility of revenge. She waited until Harry's laugh had faded entirely before addressing him.

"Good morning, Harry! You really should practice 'Constant Vigilance' much more. Would you care to help me with breakfast?"

Harry's responding grumble was drowned out by her giggle as she went to the little kitchen at the back of the cottage. Hermione had to admit, she wasn't used to wizard kitchens. Unlike her parents' kitchen – stocked to the brim with all sorts of appliances for every imaginable function – the incompatibility of magic and electricity meant they relied on a more vintage culinary experience. But with a magical twist of course. It was quite cozy, actually. Romantic in a sense. Something about the quaint little place really called to her soul. Remus certainly knew how to decorate, then again, this might have been his late mother's doing.

The kitchen was a charming blend of rustic simplicity and subtle enchantment. Weathered wooden cabinets lined the walls, their surfaces smooth from decades of use, while a cast-iron stove sat proudly in the corner, always emitting a gentle warmth. Copper pots and pans hung from hooks overhead, catching the golden light that filtered through lace curtains. Instead of modern appliances, enchanted utensils floated patiently, ready to assist at a moment's notice — a whisk that stirred on its own or a kettle that let out a contented sigh as it steamed. A faint scent of herbs and cinnamon lingered in the air as if the walls themselves had absorbed years of culinary magic.

Off in a corner was the entry to a little pantry, one that Remus had warded carefully with cooling and preservation charms to act in lieu of a fridge. The pantry shelves were lined with jars of homemade preserves, dried herbs, and enchanted containers that kept butter, milk, and other products perfectly chilled. It was from here that Hermione gathered her supplies and set about getting down to making a decent breakfast for Remus and Sirius after their long night.

Harry had followed her in shortly after, not going back to sleep just yet, so Hermione put him in charge of the bacon and eggs while she started on the pancakes. The pair worked in silence for a bit until Harry finally broke it.

"Hermione, I…I wanted to just say how lucky I am to have you as my friend."

The witch in question looked at him in puzzlement, unsure of what exactly had prompted this conversation. Harry continued after a pause.

"After Dumbledore d-…after Dumbledore, I was so lost. It was like, the world fell out from under me. I didn't know what to do, who to trust, who to even believe, especially since Snape. It was starting to feel like I was going to be completely alone all over again. I had no one who could even begin to understand what I was going through."

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry that we let you think that, but I swear, we're all_"

"Just, let me finish, Mia. I've been alone for most of my life. I don't even remember my parents, my uncle and aunt never treated me like a human being, let alone family, and even though I had you and Ron, I was still struggling to really fit in. You guys were wonderful, but you couldn't exactly replace the family that I had already lost. And then, when we met Sirius, I was so happy. Here it was, the missing piece of me that I had been searching for my whole life. Sure, it wasn't easy, but just knowing that Sirius was out there whenever I needed made everything so much better.

"But I lost Sirius too. And I just, I couldn't cope. So, when Dumbledore started spending so much time with me, taking me under his wing and teaching me all those things…it felt so good. I wouldn't exactly call him my family, but Dumbledore was there. He always was. So, losing him, it was the worst thing that could have happened. I was so lost. I didn't know what to do. I had started to wonder what was the point. Why keep going through all this pain, over and over again?"

Harry had gotten quieter, his voice trembling as he recounted the events of the summer. Hermione could feel the lump in her throat, remembering how despaired Harry was at Dumbledore's funeral, but only just realising how much the younger man had gone through without her knowing. She put her hand over where his lay on the countertop between them, offering him her support.

"But, Mia, you changed everything. You gave me something to actually live for. When I first got your letter telling me what you and Remus had done, I couldn't believe it. I thought it was a trick. Even when I talked to Sirius through the mirror, I still thought I was dreaming. It was only now that I got to see him in person that it clicked. I'm not alone. I have Sirius. I have Remus. But most of all, I have you. You, my beautiful, brilliant best friend, who literally went and raised the dead, and gave me back my family. A family, that now definitely includes you, to be clear. I am so, so incredibly lucky to have you in my life, and so truly grateful. Mia, thank you, truly from the bottom of my heart."

Harry suddenly found himself with an armful of sobbing witch, who held onto her best friend with a vicelike grip. He didn't hesitate before returning the crushing hug, once again allowing his nostrils to be accosted by her riotous curls, just letting her cry it out.

Hermione was happy for Harry, and it really made her feel so wonderful to hear his gratitude, but hearing him call her family broke something in her. All she could think of at that moment were her parents, wondering whether they had already left the country and whether she would ever actually see them again. As her thoughts ran deeper, her sobs grew in intensity until she finally blurted out everything to Harry, who kept holding her until she finished her story and ran out of tears.

They stayed like that for a while longer, until a burnt smell started to permeate throughout the room.

"The bacon!"

Harry whipped around to try and salvage what he could from the pan and suddenly Hermione started to giggle, which then turned into a full-blown laugh.

"What? What is it?"

"Your back…it's covered in flour!"

Sure enough, on Harry's back were two perfectly Hermione-sized handprints in white flour, a stark contrast to his dark t-shirt. Harry tried to crane his neck to get a look but gave up once Hermione's laugh just grew louder.

"Oh, think that's funny, do you? Then take this!"

Hermione was shocked by the sudden appearance of flour on her face, creating a white cast and giving her a mild ghostly appearance. She glared at a now laughing Harry, before get another handful of flour and launching it at his face.

Things escalated quickly after that. By the time Sirius and Remus finally made their way into the kitchen, Hermione was in a headlock, wiping syrup on Harry's trousers while Harry rubbed butter into her hair, the pair covered in flour and whatever else they could get their hands on. The kitchen was a mess, the previously pristine space now covered in a sticky layer of white.

"What in the name of Merlin are you two doing?!"

The two in question froze, before looking up sheepishly at the two older wizards. They quickly let go of each other and tried to explain themselves, but Remus interrupted them.

"Nope, I don't want to know. Absolutely not."

They all looked at each other fighting grins, before bursting out in loud gales of laughter. Tidying up was quick, the beauty of magic, and Harry and Sirius took over breakfast, while Hermione went to fix up Remus. While Sirius had managed to do some basic first aid to handle any major injuries, both wizards were still covered in a great deal of cuts and scrapes that Hermione could heal with more precision. It was as she was cleaning out a particularly nasty cut on Remus' forearm that Hermione view suddenly distorted completely.

The air shimmered with a strange, ethereal glow as Hermione's vision sharpened. Before her, a woman of haunting beauty knelt beside a man, her long black hair cascading like a dark waterfall around her. Every movement was fluid and graceful as she tended to the man's wounds with delicate, practiced hands. His silver hair glinted softly under the light, the strands catching like threads of moonlight. Though his face was partially obscured, there was an unsettling familiarity in the sharp lines of his profile. A shiver traced Hermione's spine, her breath hitching as the woman whispered something gentle. The man stirred and turned toward Hermione, his stormy eyes softening as they met hers. A warm smile broke across his face, his expression lighting up with a joy so genuine it took her breath away.

In that moment, the hazy fragments of her recurring dreams crystallized — it was him. The man who haunted her nights, who lingered in the corners of her mind. He was here, seeing her, recognizing her, and a wave of unspoken connection washed over her. For reasons she couldn't yet fathom, he was happy to see her, and that truth filled her with a strange, impossible comfort.

The world around her rippled like a stone dropped in water, the light fracturing into shards of brightness. A dizzying rush overtook her, her limbs turned to lead, and the vision splintered apart. The last thing she registered was the man's gentle smile, before darkness surged forward and she crumpled to the ground, consciousness slipping away like sand through her fingers.

Author's note: Hi everyone! Sorry for all the notifications you might have received, I just went back over previous chapters to add in the disclaimer and fix a few formatting issues here and there. So to make up for the shorter chapter last time, I made this one a fair bit longer. I hope everyone likes it. Please let me know by leaving a review, I really do appreciate it. I hope to have Chapter 8 out by New Year's, provided life doesn't get in the way. Thank you everyone, and see you soon.