Chapter 34

4 July 2003

"You're joking right?" Padma asked, staring at Hermione in shock. "He was in your flat?"

Hermione nodded. "I never took him off the Floo access. Mostly because I didn't even think about it. But I also never thought he'd just barge in like that."

"You've taken him off now, haven't you?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "First thing I did after he left."

"Good."

The two women were in Hermione's flat. Hermione had invited Padma over after work for takeaway and wine. They hadn't had a chance to talk much this week.

Hermione sighed. "I'm well aware of Ron's temper and his tendency to jump to conclusions. And I knew this was going to be a difficult situation for him given it involved both his sister and his best friend. He was always going to be stuck in the middle. But I never thought he'd accuse Harry the way he did."

"Really? Remember how he treated Harry during the Triwizard tournament?"

"We were kids then," Hermione said. "I mean, he has matured since he was fourteen."

"And yet, he still left the two of you on the Horcrux hunt. He wasn't fourteen then."

"No, but," Hermione sighed and shook her head. She was done making excuses for Ron. "No, you're right. Still, it surprised me. And then to turn up here two days later wanting me to help get Harry and Ginny back together? It made no sense."

"Did he really call Harry an unmitigated arsehole?"

Hermione nodded.

"Huh," Padma said.

"What?"

"I had no idea he knew big words like that. Let alone could use them correctly."

Hermione choked on the wine she had just drunk. "Padma!" she spluttered. Still, she couldn't help but laugh.

"I'd apologize, but," Padma shrugged with a smirk.

Hermione shook her head, still chuckling.

"Anyway, how's Harry?"

Hermione sighed. She'd spoken to him every day this week and they'd had dinner at her flat last night. "He's…a bit of a mess. He sent Ginny an owl yesterday, wanting to set up an appointment with his solicitor to start the divorce proceedings. As of last night, he hadn't heard back from her. He's sad, of course, but I also think he just wants to get the process started so he can get things settled."

Padma nodded, thoughtful look on her face as she took a sip of her wine. "Do you think that's the only reason he's trying to get things over with?"

"What do you mean?"

"I think you know what I mean."

"I honestly don't."

"You, Hermione," Padma said.

"Me? I don't-"

"Don't tell me you don't know. I know what you want to happen. Are you saying Harry doesn't want the same thing?"

"We're just friends, Padma."

"He kissed you the other night."

"He was drunk. And he couldn't apologize enough after."

"And when he wanted to talk about it the next day, you told him to just forget about it."

Hermione huffed. "Of course, I did! I could tell he was extremely uncomfortable about the whole thing, and I didn't want that to interfere with me being there for him."

"What if he was uncomfortable about it because he didn't think you wanted him to kiss you? What if he does have feelings for you but he doesn't think you return them because you won't talk about it?"

Another Padma in another universe had told her the same thing about what had happened between her and Harry in the tent during the Horcrux hunt. Hermione sighed. "He's still married, Padma. It doesn't matter if he wants a divorce. He needs time to process everything, to grieve the end of the relationship. I don't," she trailed off shaking her head. "I can't get in the middle of that."

"I understand that," Padma said gently. "All I'm saying is, if you never talk to him about your feelings, how are you supposed to know if he feels the same?"

"I know," Hermione said. "And I will tell him at some point. But now is not the time."

Padma nodded. "I know you're right. I just want you to have what you want. I want you to be happy."

"I know," Hermione said with a smile. "The same goes for you, you know."

"Yes, well, there may have been a development in that area." A slight blush stained her cheeks.

"Really? Do tell." Hermione smirked at her friend.

"Do you remember Gavin Atkinson?"

Hermione froze for a moment at the name. "Is he related to Gareth?"

Padma nodded. "Gareth was his older brother. He was in my House. Gavin was a Hufflepuff, a year ahead of us."

"No, I don't remember Gavin. I only know who Gareth was because he was killed in the Final Battle." Hermione hadn't mentioned that one of the other Padmas had dated Gareth. She hadn't told Padma much about her other selves' dating lives, save what they'd said about getting rid of Ernie. Padma hadn't asked either.

"Right, well, Gavin works in the DRCMC in the Beings division. I needed some information from them for the project I'm working on, and Gavin is my contact. He sort of asked me out."

"Sort of?" Hermione asked in amusement.

"Okay, fine, he's taking me to dinner tomorrow night."

Hermione grinned.

"I had a little bit of a crush on his brother when I was a fourth year. Is that weird?" Padma asked, looking a bit nervous.

"That you had the crush or that you're going out with his brother?"

Padma rolled her eyes. "The second one, obviously."

Hermoine laughed. "Did you ever tell Gareth you had a crush on him?"

"Of course not!" Padma said. "I was only a fourth year. He was a seventh year. Completely unattainable."

"And have you compared the two of them when you think about Gavin?"

"No," Padma said. "I mean, I really couldn't. I didn't even know Gareth. I just saw him around the Common Room and thought he was fit. They don't even look that much alike."

"Then no, it's not weird at all." Hermione smiled. "And I'm happy for you."

"Thanks. I mean it's just a first date. It might not come to anything."

Hermione shrugged as she took another sip of wine. "And maybe it will." If Gavin was anything like his older brother in personality, then it might just come to something. The Padma that had dated Gareth had been very happy, after all.

"Maybe," Padma said.

Hermione didn't miss the little smile playing about her friend's lips. Maybe indeed.

7 July 2003

Hermione was in the kitchen making herself something to eat when she heard the Floo activate. It wasn't the chime of a Floo call, which meant someone was in her flat. She'd taken Ron off last week, which only left, Harry, Padma, or Luna. Padma was on a second date with Gavin tonight and as far as Hermione was aware, Luna was still out of the country.

"Harry?" she said as she walked into her living room. He was pacing back and forth across the carpet in front of the fireplace and he looked furious.

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

"She didn't show."

"Sorry?"

"Ginny. She didn't show up to our appointment with Dalton." Dalton was Harry's solicitor. "He stayed late just for us because Ginny insisted this was the only time she could meet. And she didn't fucking show up!" He ran his hands through his hair in agitation.

"I Floo called Ron's flat because I thought that's where she was staying but no one answered. I even sent her an owl. We waited for an hour, Hermione!"

"I'm sorry, Harry."

He stopped pacing and sat down on the couch, head in his hands. "I can't deal with this."

"Maybe something happened. Did you stop at Grimmauld to see if she sent you an owl? Or left a note?"

"No," Harry sighed. "I came straight here from Dalton's office."

It warmed Hermione's heart that he'd come to her first. "Do you want to go check? I'm almost finished with supper and there's plenty for both of us."

"Yeah, all right," Harry said with a sigh. "Thanks, Hermione." He stepped back through the Floo.

Hermione drew in a deep breath. Ginny had taken three days to respond to his owl about meeting with the solicitor, but Harry hadn't told Hermione that Ginny had been so limited on when she could meet. And honestly, Hermione wondered why. The Harpies were off this week, they didn't have another match for three weeks. Hermione knew Ginny's schedule as well as anyone. The team practiced for the two weeks leading up to a match. If they had a longer break like this, Gwenog gave them time off. Ginny was obviously being difficult on purpose.

Harry came back through the Floo a few minutes later. "Nothing." He didn't look angry anymore, just defeated.

"Maybe you need to talk to her in person, instead of by owl," Hermione suggested.

"I don't even know where she is."

"I'm sure Ron does. Or Molly."

Harry looked at her for a moment. "I can't. I can't talk to them yet. Ron's still angry and Molly, I-" he broke off abruptly, looking pained.

Hermione wrapped her arms around him, drawing him into a hug. Molly and Arthur had always been like surrogate parents to Harry. Not knowing if he would be able to keep that relationship now that he and Ginny were divorcing had to be hurting him just as much.

Harry clung to her tightly, burying his face in her hair. She ran a hand up and down his back. "It'll be all right."

He sighed. "I don't know if it will be."

Hermoine pulled back from him slightly and looked up at him. "No matter what happens, I'm here for you. Always."

Harry smiled softly. "I know." They stared at one another for a few moments before Hermione looked away. Harry pulled her back into him, and they stood that way for a while before she had to reluctantly pull away to tend to the food.

Harry grabbed her hand before she could get too far. "Hermione?"

She looked back over her shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Thank you."

She smiled, then squeezed his hand before letting go and walking into the kitchen.

"We could ask George," Hermione suggested as she and Harry ate. "Or Bill. If they don't know where she is, I'm sure they could find out."

"I think I'm just going to send her an owl and ask her to come to Grimmauld. Tell her I want to talk," Harry said.

Hermione nodded. She hesitated for a few moments before she finally asked him what she'd been wanting to since he'd arrived. "Do you think she wants to try and work things out? Maybe that's why she didn't come to the meeting?"

"Even if she does, it's not going to happen," Harry said firmly. "I've been doing a lot of thinking this past week and I realized that things haven't been good for a long time now. And it's not just about kids or the fact that she's also in love with someone else. There's so many other things." He sighed, dropping his fork onto his plate. "I honestly don't think we've been truly happy since our first anniversary."

Hermione was a bit surprised to hear this. Harry hadn't mentioned anything until recently and she'd seen no evidence of it either. Of course, that didn't mean much. She and Ron had been good at hiding things from their family and friends too. But still, as close as she and Harry were, she would have thought she'd have some idea.

"That long?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "It was little things at first, you know? But it all just kind of kept building up until I couldn't ignore it or brush it off anymore. I tried to fix things or change things, I really did, but Ginny, I don't know. She never seemed to think anything was wrong. I just, I don't think we're meant for each other."

"I know exactly what you mean," Hermione said. She felt the same way about her and Ron.

"Anyway, Dalton told me I could file the papers without her but it's messier. It would be the same as if she'd contested the divorce. I'd rather not go that route if I don't have to."

Hermoine nodded. "If she doesn't respond to your owl, I'm happy to talk to George if you'd rather not go to the shop."

"What if Ron's there?"

Hermione shrugged. "Then he is. It's none of his business whom I talk to."

"No, I mean, if he hears you asking George, he'll go straight to Ginny and tell her you're butting into our business or something."

"Considering Ron is already in your business, I don't see the problem." She hadn't told Harry about Ron's visit to her flat the other day, but Harry would think she was talking about Ron coming to Grimmauld anyway.

"Well, Ron's her brother. I'm sure he thinks it's different."

Hermione snorted. "I'm sure he does. If you think it would cause problems with Ginny, I'll stay out of it. I don't want to mess anything up for you."

"Let's just see if she answers my owl, yeah? But thanks."

Hermione smiled. "Of course, Harry." She waved her wand to send the dishes to the sink. "You want to stay for a while? We could watch a film or something."

"Yeah, all right," he agreed.

They sat together on the couch, shoulders brushing, bowl of popcorn resting on their legs. Hermione honestly wasn't paying all that much attention to the film, hyper aware of Harry's presence beside her. It was silly, really. They'd done this dozens of times over the years. But it was different now that she knew what she wanted, after everything she'd experienced in the last universe.

Harry shifted on the couch, slouching back a bit more and Hermione grabbed the bowl of popcorn before the small bit left spilled. She offered it to Harry but he shook his head. Hermione set the popcorn on the side table and settled back into the couch with Harry. He rested his arm across the back and Hermione scooted a bit further, so her head was leaning back against his shoulder.

Again, it wasn't a strange position to find them in. They'd always been rather tactile with one another. And she was sure that Harry didn't find it different than any other time. Hermione had to remind herself that it wasn't different from any other time. Not yet at least.

She bit back a sigh and turned her attention back to the telly. She had to stop this before she did something she would regret. Now wasn't the time; Harry wasn't ready. She wasn't about to ruin anything that might be between them before it even started.

She heard a chime from the Floo and sat up, looking at the fireplace. Ginny's face appeared. Hermione was so shocked she couldn't even speak. Not that she and Ginny weren't friends, but she was the last person Hermione would have thought she'd see in her fireplace. She felt Harry sit up straight next to her.

"Hi, Hermione. Do you-" Ginny trailed off as she caught sight of Harry. The redhead glanced between Hermione and Harry, taking in their position on the couch and the darkness of the room, Hermione was sure. She could feel the irritation rolling off Harry as he stood.

"Where were you?" Harry demanded.

"I shouldn't be surprised to find you here," Ginny said ignoring Harry's question entirely.

"I asked you a question, Ginny."

"And I'm not going to have this conversation with you through the Floo," Ginny snapped. "Especially not in front of her." She sent Hermione a glare. "I'm at home. You can come here if you want to talk." Ginny's head disappeared and the connection broke.

"Fucking hell," Harry said, scrubbing a hand down his face.

Hermione looked at him nervously. Nothing had been going on, of course, and Ginny was well aware of how close the two of them were. So why did Hermione feel so guilty? She shouldn't, she knew that. It's not like Ginny knew how Hermione felt about Harry.

"I'm sorry she was rude," Harry said with a sigh.

"Don't worry about it. Just go talk to her."

"Yeah," Harry sighed again. "Thanks for supper and for, you know, everything."

Hermione smiled. "Good night, Harry."

"Night." He gave her a peck on the cheek and then disappeared through the Floo himself.

Hermione heaved a sigh and plopped back down on the couch. She really hoped Harry would get a resolution to all of this soon.

"Where the hell were you?" Harry demanded as he stepped into the sitting room of Grimmauld Place.

"What were you doing at Hermione's?" Ginny asked, ignoring his question.

"We had dinner and then decided to watch a film."

"You looked rather cozy," Ginny said accusingly.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to do this with you. There is nothing going on between me and Hermione. Now, why didn't you come to the meeting? Dalton stayed late because you said this was the only time you could meet."

Ginny still didn't answer for a moment, studying him intently. Then she sighed and sat down on one of the couches. "I just…couldn't."

"You couldn't," Harry repeated.

"I don't, I don't want this, Harry. A divorce? I just, we can work it out, can't we? We haven't even tried."

Harry sighed. He sat down on the couch opposite her. "Can you honestly say that you've been happy the last couple of years?"

"Of course, I have."

"Truly happy? Don't lie to me, Ginny."

"Not all the time but no one is happy all the time."

"No, they're not. But it's more than that, Gin and I think you know that. And I've tried, I honestly have. I've done everything I can think of to keep us together, but I can't do it anymore."

"If you'd just stop pressuring me about having a baby, I-"

"No," Harry said interrupting her. "No, you don't get to do that. I haven't been pressuring you. I've simply asked questions. And you haven't been able to give me any answers."

Ginny jumped to her feet. "You're always bringing it up even when I've told you I don't know when I'll be ready. You're always asking!"

Harry's temper rose. "I am not always asking. You told me last year that you thought you'd be ready in a year. I never brought it up again until recently. Because you told me you thought you'd be ready! And when you said you still wanted to wait, yes, I was disappointed, but I understood. The thing is, Ginny, you haven't been able to give me a straight answer as to whether you're ever going to be ready. Which leads me to believe that you're not. And thanks for telling Ron I'm pressuring you by the way. It's great to have your supposed best friend think you're a complete wanker that's trying to force his wife to have a baby."

She scowled at him, arms crossed over her chest. "Ron's my brother. Of course, I was going to talk to him."

"You didn't talk to him; you lied to him!" Harry shouted. "Or at the very least, you didn't correct him when he jumped to the wrong conclusion." All the fight suddenly went out of Harry. He was so tired of arguing about this.

"If you don't want to have children, Ginny, there's nothing wrong with that. It's your right to decide." She opened her mouth to respond but Harry held up a hand to stop her. "But I do want kids. I always have and you've always known that. If you've changed your mind, no amount of trying in the world is going to save this marriage. And I refuse to have a baby with you if you don't really want one. I lived in a household where I wasn't wanted, and I will not subject a child of mine to that."

"I would never treat a child like the Dursleys treated you!" Ginny said indignantly.

"I know that, but there are all kinds of rejection, Ginny."

They stared at one another for a few moments. "Not to mention that you've all but admitted you're in love with someone else."

"That's nothing," Ginny said immediately. "And it's not going to be anything, I swear."

Harry shook his head. "You can tell yourself that all you like but it will always be there between us. And even if it weren't, it doesn't solve our other problem. I think that one is insurmountable."

Tears formed in Ginny's eyes and honestly, Harry felt like crying himself. As much as he had come to accept things over the last couple of weeks, it was still the end of his marriage. "We need to reschedule with Dalton."

As soon as he said it, Ginny started crying in earnest.

"And you have to show up this time."

She nodded miserably. Harry pulled her into his arms, and she clung to him. "I'm sorry, Gin."

She only cried harder. "I love you, Harry."

He hugged her a bit tighter but didn't repeat the sentiment. It wouldn't have helped anything.

10 July 2003

"How did it go?" Hermione asked. She'd come to Grimmauld after work at Harry's request. The two of them had seen one another every day this week, either having lunch or spending time together in the evenings. Hermione wasn't going to deny that she enjoyed it. Today, he and Ginny were supposed to have met with Dalton about the divorce.

"Well, she showed up at least," Harry said with a sigh.

Hermione grimaced. "That bad?"

"Not really, I guess. We just didn't get everything settled. She spent a lot of time trying to remind me of happier times, dragging her feet on actually discussing the divorce. She doesn't want Grimmauld, although she wouldn't admit that at first. It wasn't until I agreed to buy her a flat that she gave in. That's about all we agreed on today. Dalton had another appointment, so we had to end before we were finished. We're supposed to meet again Monday morning before she goes back to Holyhead."

"What else is there to decide?"

"Money, of course. I told you that I wanted to just give her one lump sum and be done with it. Dalton gave her a number, but she wants monthly payments instead."

"For how long?"

"Ten years unless she marries again. It still comes out to be the same total in the end."

Hermione thought that was a good incentive for Ginny not to get married again but didn't say anything.

"It's just, I feel like if I can just give her the money all at once it's more of a clean break, you know?"

Hermione nodded. "She agreed with the amount though?"

"Not explicitly. I think if I agree to the monthly payments, she'll ask for more. I really don't care. I've got plenty of gold. I just want this over with." Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Kreacher popped in then. "Dinner is ready, Master Harry."

"Thanks, Kreacher."

The House elf nodded and disappeared. Harry and Hermione stood and made their way down to the kitchen.

"How are you otherwise?" Hermione asked as they tucked into their food.

Harry shrugged. "I'm sad, of course. And it's a bit exhausting to think about starting over with someone else. Not that I'm ready for that right now anyway. But mostly, I feel like a weight's been lifted. Like, I've been trying for so long to hold this thing together that it's just a relief to not have to do it anymore."

Hermione nodded. "I've been feeling all of that too since I broke things off with Ron." She glanced up at Harry. "Have you spoken to him?"

Harry shook his head. "He sent me an owl, but I haven't responded. I'm still upset about what he said to me."

Hermione was a bit surprised that Harry hadn't contacted Ron yet. Normally, as soon as Ron came back after an argument, Harry automatically forgave him. Then they moved on like nothing had happened.

"He didn't actually apologize. Called it a misunderstanding," Harry said. "And while I'm sure it was on his part, Ginny all but admitted that to me, I still can't believe he thought I'd do something like that."

"I told him the same thing when he came to my flat." Hermione immediately swore in her head. She hadn't planned to tell Harry about that.

Harry's eyes narrowed. "When did he come to your flat?"

Hermione sighed. "Two days after he came here. I'd forgotten to take him off the Floo access and he was waiting for me when I got home from work."

Harry grimaced. "He's lucky he didn't get hexed."

"I wanted to, trust me," Hermione said, and Harry chuckled. "Anyway, he started off telling me that he thought we should help you and Ginny get back together. He said that he might have overreacted when he was here but that he knew that you two still loved one another and that you were just having a 'rough time' right now." She rolled her eyes. "I told him that if he wanted to know what really happened, he should ask Ginny again or talk to you. That it wasn't my place to say. Then he left and I took him off my Floo."

Harry studied her for a few moments. "Why do I think you're not telling me everything?"

"I'm telling you the important things," she replied. "The rest of it doesn't matter." She wasn't about to tell Harry that Ron had called him an unmitigated arsehole.

"After his reaction, I'm surprised he wanted us back together."

"I think that was more Ginny's doing than his."

Harry shook his head with a sigh. "That's what I don't understand."

"What? That she wants you back?" Hermione asked.

"I mean, I do understand, but on the other hand, if we divorce, she's got the freedom to be with Alex. Who she's in love with. So, why fight so hard to stay with me?"

"She loves you too," Hermione said.

"I know that but," Harry shook his head. "I don't know, there's just something that doesn't make sense. When I left the hotel, she was upset, we both were. But she also seemed, I don't know, relieved maybe? But now it's almost as if she wants to pretend none of that happened and that we still belong together."

Hermione wanted to say something about Ginny's penchant for the spotlight but held it back. Ginny was well-known in her own right, but being married to Harry Potter made her even more so. And she enjoyed it. Harry knew that as well as Hermione did. If he thought that had something to do with Ginny's backtracking, then he'd come to it eventually.

Hermione also wondered if Molly had anything to do with Ginny's attitude. It was only recently that divorce in the wizarding world had become more common, and it was still extremely rare amongst Purebloods. Molly was very old-fashioned in many ways. If the Weasley matriarch had said something to her daughter, it would make sense that Ginny was trying to stall or get Harry to change his mind altogether. Hermione was trying to be there for Harry but not overstep her bounds. It was a difficult line to walk at times.

They ate in silence for several minutes. Harry appeared to be deep in thought and Hermione let him ruminate. He'd tell her what he was thinking when he was ready. After a few minutes, he seemed to shake off his thoughts about Ginny and moved on to something else.

"I ran into Arthur this morning."

Hermione looked up from her plate. "At the Ministry?"

Harry nodded. "In the lift."

"What happened?"

"There were other people in the lift so it's not like we could say much. We said hello to each other, and he stood next to me. Just before he got off the lift, he squeezed my shoulder and gave me this sad smile. And that was it." Harry sighed and slumped back in his seat.

Hermione wasn't really surprised by Arthur's reaction. The man was much calmer than his wife and much more likely to see both sides. He'd always treated Harry like another son and Hermione was sure that he was grieving possibly losing that given the divorce. Hermione hoped for Harry's sake that he could eventually continue his relationship with Arthur and Molly. Ginny traveled enough with the Harpies that Harry should at least be able to see them while she was gone.

"You could try talking to them," Hermione said. "Or maybe just Arthur to start. He's less reactive that Molly."

"Yeah, maybe," Harry said, idly pushing his fork around his plate. Hermione knew that Harry was thinking about the family dinner at the Burrow on Sunday. He hadn't been at the gathering last weekend, of course. While this one would likely be smaller, she knew Charlie wouldn't be there for certain, it would still be the second week in a row Harry hadn't gone. She didn't think he'd missed two Sundays in a row since the early days after the war when he and Ron were in Auror training.

"Do you want to go to my parents' with me on Sunday?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked up at her.

"I've having dinner with them. You can come if you like."

"I don't want to intrude," Harry said.

"Don't be silly, Harry. My parents love you. And Mum always makes more food that the three of us can eat."

Harry didn't answer, clearly hesitant.

Hermione reached over and covered his hand with her own. "I'm not trying to replace the Burrow with my parents. I just thought it might be a nice distraction. For both of us."

Truth be told, Hermione missed those dinners a bit herself. She hadn't seen any of the Weasleys outside of Ron and Ginny since before Hermione had disappeared from the DOM. Although it had only been a few weeks for them, it had been over two months for her.

"You're sure they won't mind?" Harry asked.

"Of course not," Hermione said. "Like I said, they love you."

"All right then. Thanks, Hermione." He squeezed her hand and gave her a smile.

Hermione smiled back, then gently pulled her hand away from his. She returned to her plate, unable to help the flutter in her belly when Harry looked at her like that.

11 July 2003

"Granger, follow me," Croaker barked as Hermione walked into the DOM that morning. She veered away from her office and followed her boss down the corridor to one of the experimentation rooms.

"Yes, sir?" she said once he'd closed and warded the door behind her.

"I've finished analyzing the spells on this." He pointed to the Universe Hopper, suspended in a containment field, hovering above the table. "I've come to the conclusion that we'll need to unravel them first, before we try to dismantle the rest of it."

Hermione nodded. That made sense. They'd spoken several times over the course of the last two weeks and had decided that the best option to destroy the Universe Hopper was to take it apart. They still had no idea where the sand in the middle disc had come from. Hermione wished again that she'd gotten at least some information from Augustus about the construction of the device. At the time, she'd been more concerned about getting home than worrying about what she was going to do with it when she did.

Their current plan was to remove the rings from the disc. To do that, they had to neutralize the runes, which wasn't a problem. But first, they would have to remove all of the spells and charms on the device itself. They didn't want to attempt to remove the rings without doing so. They couldn't be sure that the device wouldn't activate in some way if they did.

"And?" Hermione asked.

He sighed. "It's not going to be easy. We may need a third person to help stabilize the device while we remove the charms from it."

"Padma already knows a bit about it," Hermione said. Padma knew more than a 'bit', but Hermione wasn't about to tell Croaker that. "It would probably be easiest to loop her in."

"I agree," Croaker said. "I'll leave that to you. Tell her as much as you think she needs to know."

"Yes, sir."

Croaker stared at her for a moment. "Before you do that, this is still going to be dangerous, Granger. If you'd rather not participate given everything you've dealt with already, I'll understand. I can brief another Unspeakable if I need to."

Hermione felt a wave of affection for her boss. True he was grumpy and rather abrasive at times, but she knew that was more about the job he held and how long he'd held it than anything. "Thank you, sir. But I want to see this through."

He gave her a sharp nod. "Very well, then. Brief Patil and if she's willing to assist, we'll begin next week."

"Yes, sir."

They exited the room and Croaker cast all manner of wards on it to keep everyone else out. "I've found a few more sources I'd like you to look over to see if you can find anything else about the sand."

Hermione nodded. "Where did they come from?" She'd gone through all the information the DOM library had to offer, plus a few things from Croaker's personal library.

"A few scrolls I've managed to get my hands on," he said, not giving her any other information. Hermione knew he had contacts everywhere. She also knew he wouldn't say anything else about it. "You'll need translation spells."

"All right." They stopped off at his office and he handed Hermione three scrolls that looked older than anything she'd ever handled before. She looked up at him in surprise.

"Don't worry, they've all got the requisite preservation charms. Still, be careful."

"Of course, sir." She reverently took the scrolls from his hands.

One of the corners of Croaker's mouth lifted slightly; the closest thing to a smile Hermione had ever seen on his face. "Enjoy, Granger."

She grinned and carried the scrolls back to her office.

13 July 2003

Hermione and Harry landed in her parents' back garden. Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and towed him toward the back door.

"Mum? Dad? We're here," Hermione called as she stepped inside. She squeezed Harry's hand before she let go. He followed her into the living room.

"Hello, Hermione," her dad said, giving her a hug and kiss on the top of the head. "Harry, good to see you." He held out his hand to Harry who shook it.

"Thank you for having me, Dr. Granger," Harry replied.

"None of that. It's Richard."

"Richard," Harry repeated with a smile.

"Hello, sweetheart," Hermione's mum said as she came out of the kitchen. She kissed Hermione's cheek and hugged her.

"Hi, Mum."

"Harry, hello." Her mum hugged Harry as well. Harry's cheeks pinkened as he returned the hug. Hermione grinned at both of them. Her mum pulled back and looked Harry over. "How have you been? We haven't seen you in a while."

"I've been all right, Dr. Granger."

Her mum frowned. "I believe I've told you to call me Jean. We're not at my office."

Harry chuckled. "Jean, of course."

She patted his shoulder with a smile and the four of them sat down to talk.

Hermione couldn't help the smile that graced her face as Harry interacted with her parents. He was a bit stiff at first but relaxed after a joke from her dad. Harry had visited before, although this was the longest amount of time he'd spent with them. Still, he seemed to be fairly comfortable rather quickly. And there was none of the stilted conversation that there usually was with Ron. Not even when her dad asked Harry which football team he supported, and Harry admitted he really didn't know much, that his uncle had been more of a rugby fan than football.

Once her husband began explaining the finer points of football to Harry, Jean rolled her eyes and asked Hermione to help her in the kitchen. Harry, polite as always, asked if there was anything he could do. Her mother thanked him, but declined, telling him to relax and enjoy himself. Hermione followed her mum into the kitchen.

"So, Hermione Jean," her mum began. Hermione frowned. She hadn't done anything to cause her mother to middle name her as far as she was aware. Her mum crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her daughter. "You haven't done something you shouldn't, have you?"

Hermione looked at her mother in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, he may be getting a divorce, but right now that man is still married."

"Mum, it's not like that," Hermione insisted. "Harry is just my friend."

Her mother studied her intently and Hermione couldn't help but fidget.

"But you'd like him to be more." Her mother didn't phrase it as a question, simply a fact.

"I," Hermione began. She could feel her face heat. "I don't, I don't know."

Her mum huffed a laugh. "It's rather obvious, sweetheart."

Hermione looked at her mother in shock. "It's, I, what?"

"Oh, not to Harry, I don't think. Or to your father, although he might have a bit of an idea. But to me, yes."

"How?"

"It's the way you look at him," her mum said.

"I was just smiling," Hermione grumbled. Not that her mum hadn't always been very good at reading her, it was a bit annoying sometimes.

"It was the way you were smiling. Soft, fond, affectionate." Her mum paused. "Loving."

Hermione sighed and sat down at the kitchen table, putting her head in her hands. Her mum sat down beside her, putting a hand on her daughter's back. "Talk to me, love."

"I, I do want more than just friendship," Hermione said, biting her lip and fighting the tears that she could feel gathering.

"Oh, Hermione." Her mum wrapped her arms around her. They sat in silence for a few moments. When her mum pulled back from her, she tucked a curl behind Hermione's ear and cupped her cheek. "You've just gotten out of a long-term relationship and Harry isn't even divorced yet. Do you think this might just be, I don't know, some kind of loneliness talking? Harry's been your best friend since you were twelve. It makes sense that he's who you would turn to."

Hermione shook her head. "It's not that. I really love him, Mum." She looked up and met her mum's gaze. "I've been in love with him for a long time."

"How long?"

"Since the Horcrux hunt." Once she'd restored their memories, Hermione had told her parents everything. Even all the things she'd kept from them over her years at Hogwarts. "Maybe even before that, I don't know."

"I remember you having a crush on him at one point, but I thought you'd gotten over that."

"I thought I did too," Hermione said with a small laugh. "But when we were on the run, after Ron left, we were both so miserable. And one night, things just sort of…happened." Hermione felt her cheeks heat. She and her mum had talked about sex and relationships before but never so directly. Her mum squeezed her hand and nodded.

Hermione cleared her throat. "After, I just, I don't know, it felt…right. But Harry, he seemed so…awkward and uncomfortable. I knew he still loved Ginny and probably felt like we'd betrayed Ron or something, even though Ron and I weren't together at that point." Hermione took a breath. "I didn't want what had happened to interfere with the hunt or our friendship or anything, so I said that we could just pretend that it never happened." She shrugged. "So, we did. And then he got back together with Ginny, and I started dating Ron and that was that."

Her mum sighed and smiled sadly. "I just want you to be careful, Hermione."

"What do you mean?"

"Harry was married for several years. No matter what's happened, he's going to need time to get over that relationship. For that matter, so are you. You and Ron were together almost as long as Harry and Ginny were. I don't want you to jump into something too quickly and regret it later. There is such a thing as a rebound, you know."

"I know, Mum. And I'm not planning to push anything, I swear. But I can't help how I feel."

Her mum hugged her again. "I know you can't. Just…please be patient, all right?"

Hermione nodded against her mother's shoulder. After a few moments, her mum pulled back. "Let's get the food on. Your father is going to start wondering what's taking so long."

Hermione chuckled and rose to help her mother bring the food to the table.

"Sorry my dad spent so much time talking to you about football," Hermione said, as they stepped into her flat after leaving her parents' that night. "He's a bit obsessed."

Harry laughed. "It was fine, honestly. I actually wouldn't mind going to a match sometime."

Hermione grinned. "Don't let him hear you say that. He'll have the tickets bought before you can finish the sentence."

Harry laughed again, then sobered. "Thanks for inviting me. I did have a good time and it, it helped today."

"I'm glad," Hermione said with a smile.

They stood looking at one another for several moments. Hermione felt her heart speed up but remembered her discussion with her mum. Now was not the time.

Harry finally dropped his gaze, running a hand through his hair. "I should, I should go."

"Right," Hermione said. "You've got that meeting tomorrow."

"Yeah," Harry said with a sigh. He and Ginny were meeting with Dalton again.

"Good luck, Harry."

"Thanks." He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. It felt like he lingered a bit but that was probably just wishful thinking on Hermione's part. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Hermione could only nod.

"Night, Hermione," Harry said as he stepped into the Floo.

"Night, Harry," she managed and then he disappeared in a swirl of green flame.