A Twist of Fate by CA Crawford

Rating: G
Genres: Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 7
Published: 15/04/2015
Last Updated: 15/04/2015
Status: Completed

Hermione is always dropping in on Harry at his home in Godric's Hollow, but this time is
different from all the rest. Alternate version of the Epilogue.




1. Part One 
------------

A/N: This was actually the first fan fic I ever wrote. I wrote this over a year ago and posted
it to another site. I was feeling a tad nostalgic today and decided to bring it over to Portkey to
share with you guys. I made some small tweaks here and there (there were some truly atrocious
phrases), but it’s largely intact. Exactly how I wrote it back then. I still like it a lot, even if
I like to think I’ve matured as a writer since then. You’ll see a lot of things that I ended up
bringing back in “Continental Holiday” as I was just then starting to form the idea of that story
back then.

Anyways, hope you enjoy! Cheers!

Disclaimer: forever and ever do not own Harry Potter. Alas, my misfortune.

~

Harry sat on the couch in his sitting room lost in thought. His gaze drifted from picture to
picture on the opposing wall: The Order of the Phoenix together one last time before disbanding,
multiple pictures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione receiving awards, and one picture of the three of
them together before the Eiffel Tower on their long-deserved Continental holiday they had taken
four summers ago.

Harry stood up and moved into the kitchen for a drink. The kitchen was much like the rest of the
house in that it was simple. Blue marble tile with matching counters and bright oak-wood cabinetry.
Harry had built it himself with help from Ron and Hermione. He had thought it would be difficult to
talk the Department of Historical Sites and Preservation to allow him to rebuild his parent’s home
in Godric’s Hollow, but defeating the darkest wizard of all time had its privileges.

He heard a soft pop from the direction of his front porch before he heard the door opened and
knew that Hermione had arrived. He strolled into the foyer and was wrapped in a hug before he knew
what hit him.

“Harry! It looks so wonderful! I’m glad you decided to keep the plaque.”

Hermione was beaming at him. It was the first time she had seen the completed home. Harry had
been of mind to completely remove the plaque that had sat in front of the house during its years as
a memorial, but had decided in the end to keep it, albeit with changed wording. After all, part of
the reason he had decided to move here was to honor his parents’ legacy, so it seemed appropriate
that passer-by would still read of Lily and James’ sacrifice all those years ago.

“I’m glad you could make it Hermione. How’s Ron?”

“Oh he’s doing great! He’s really helping George with the shop. They’re thinking of buying out
Honeydukes you know? Don’t know if you heard or not but he also is the regional Wizard Chess
champion!”

Harry and Hermione moved back into the sitting room and sat on the couch as she filled him in on
his other best friend. Ron had moved into Fred and George’s flat above Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes
in Diagon Alley a few years prior. Partly to help run the store, but primarily to help his brother
cope. George was still taking the loss of his twin hard.

“So Hermione, what brings you here?”

Harry had received an owl a week previously that Hermione had wanted to come by. Considering how
busy she generally was with S.P.E.W., her multiple consulting gigs, and how she generally just
stopped by unannounced, the request had seemed odd.

“Well I hadn’t seen you in awhile and I wanted to see the house.” Hermione had turned slightly
pink however, and something about the look on her face told Harry that there was more to this.

Harry gave her a questioning look. “You want to tell me the real reason you wanted to come
by?”

“Well,” Hermione again turned pink but was obviously trying to keep her composure, “I wanted to
talk to you about something.”

“Of course Hermione, what’s on your mind?”

“Well, everything has happened so fast after the war ended. Between the whirlwind of the
immediate aftermath, getting my parents back, doing all those interviews, your Auror training,
S.P.E.W., and everything else…”

Harry got the distinct feeling Hermione wasn’t really here to discuss how busy they had all
been. He decided to simply let her continue.

“I wanted to ask if you had thought about, well you know, settling down?” It was Harry’s turn to
blush as Hermione turned scarlet. He hadn’t expected this.

“Settling down? Like what, getting married? You know people usually have a girlfriend before
they think about getting married.”

Truth be told, there had been a time when Harry *had* thought about getting married. He and
Ginny had gotten together in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts, but after two years
the strain of his auror training, Ginny’s last year of school, and the beginning of her career as a
chaser with the Chudley Cannons had brought an end to the relationship. They had maintained a
friendship and Harry saw her during holidays at the Burrow, but Harry hadn’t dated anyone
since.

“I know. That’s why I wanted to ask about, well, us?” Harry felt a strange mixture of dread and
anticipation in his gut. Hermione had locked eyes with him after her statement and seemed to be
waiting on pins and needles for his response.

“Us?” Harry finally managed weakly.

“Yes.” Hermione suddenly shifted her gaze around the room and bit her lip. “I know it’s not
something we’ve ever talked about before…what with Ginny and Ron in the picture.”

Hermione’s gaze found a picture on the wall of the first Christmas at the Burrow after the war,
with Harry and Ginny holding hands and Ron and Hermione looking somewhat uncomfortable next to one
another on the other side of the rest of the Weasley clan. Ron and Hermione had never really
recovered their relationship after the incident in the Forest of Dean, and while they remained
close friends (much to Harry’s relief), there had been a measure of distance between them for
awhile.

Harry tried to find words. He didn’t want to upset Hermione, but had truly been caught off
guard. “Can I ask what made you want to talk about this?”

“It was Ginny actually.” Hermione paused as if to gauge Harry’s reaction, and when it seemed
like nothing was amiss she continued. “I spent some time with her during the offseason and we were
talking. She told me that way back in our first few years at Hogwarts that she had actually been
really jealous of me because of how I was always with you and she asked me if I had ever considered
you as a boyfriend.”

Harry again felt a strange mixture of reactions. While he had long ago gotten used to people
mistaking his and Hermione’s relationship (especially other girls), he found himself powerfully
curious what the answer to Ginny’s question was.

“And what did you tell her?” Harry tried to make the question sound non chalant. He didn’t think
it worked.

“Well, I told her, truthfully, that I had. During our fourth year. But you seemed enamored with
Cho, and I knew that Ron felt something for me. Even if at the time he wasn’t mature enough to know
what to do with it.”

“I never knew that Hermione.” The revelation that his best female friend had considered him as
boyfriend material truly came as a surprise for him.

“Well I never said anything. Like I said, you really liked Cho, and she was much prettier than
me.” Hermione suddenly became very interested in her shoes. “But that’s actually not what Ginny
meant. She was asking if I had thought about it recently.”

At this Hermione again seemed to be waiting for Harry’s reaction. Harry suddenly felt the room
grow a lot warmer.

When it seemed like Harry wasn’t going to reply, Hermione spoke again. “Truthfully Harry, I
hadn’t thought about it until Ginny said something, but….” Again she bit her lip and visibly
tensed. “I’ve been thinking, and you really are the most important man in my life. I mean we spent
seven years watching each others’ backs, helping each other, saving each others’ lives, and saving
the world.” This last statement made her giggle to herself which seemed to spur her on. “Everywhere
I’ve gone you’ve been there Harry. Through everything we’ve gone through you’ve always protected
me. We were a team. Where you couldn’t see a solution I helped you find one, when I couldn’t find
the resolve you gave me courage, and I think you would agree that neither one of us would be
sitting here alive if it wasn’t for the other.”

Hermione stopped and looked at Harry. Harry certainly couldn’t argue with anything she said. He
had lost count of the times Hermione had been directly responsible for saving his life, and he
never would have defeated Voldemort without her; but through all of that he had never thought of
the relationship as anything other than brotherly. He hadn’t been lying to Ron in the Forest of
Dean.

“Okay, that’s all true, but Hermione don’t you think it was like a brother and sister watching
out for each other?”

Hermione seemed to have expected this particular response. “Yes Harry that’s what I thought at
the time. But it’s not just that Harry. You’ve always been the one person I could count on. When we
first saw Ron and Lavender and you followed me and tried to make me feel better, all the time you
spent with me while they were going out, all those times you always came to see me in the Hospital
Wing, the way you supported me when Ron left us, and how you’ve been available to me night and day
for the past five years despite your busy schedule.” Hermione’s eyes were shining at this point.
“Harry I thought a lot about what I was looking for in a husband the past few years. I told myself
I wanted someone who was compassionate, who cared about others, who saw value in people despite
their outward appearances, who valued my opinion, who respected me, who wasn’t jealous or
possessive, who would always be there for me through thick and thin.”

Harry was dumbstruck. He and Hermione had very rarely talked to each other about their dating
lives, and here was Hermione telling him what she was looking for in a husband. Harry was still
having trouble piecing this entire conversation together. “I don’t understand…”

Hermione’s eyes now shone with tears. “Can’t you see Harry?” She remained remarkably calm
considering she looked fit to burst at the seams. “I just described *you*. What I told myself
I wanted was right here in front of me all those years.” With that a tear escaped her eye and
rolled down her cheek. She had a most Hermione-ish look on her face. That face she always wore when
she thought she was right about something.

Harry sat in silence for a few moments. He had truly never expected anything like this from his
best friend. He tried to make it make sense in his mind. Had he ever really thought about what he
wanted in a wife? Wouldn’t he want someone who had his back, who loved him for who he was and not
as “The Chosen One” or “Boy Who Lived”? Wouldn’t he want someone who challenged him and made him
better? Wouldn’t he want someone who was kind, compassionate, and wasn’t afraid to disagree with
him? Wasn’t he describing Hermione?

After several more moments in thought, Harry looked at Hermione. “Hermione, you know that I care
about you.” Hermione looked primed to interrupt but he shook his head and she understood to let him
finish. “You know that I couldn’t live without you. That I will always be there for you. You know
that I love you. What I want to know is why are you telling me this? Where do you want this to go?”
Hermione actually burst out laughing.

“You really can be thick sometimes Harry Potter.” She smiled and then spoke in that voice that
told Harry that she had planned this next sentence out. The way she spoke took him back to the days
in which her plans involved dodging death and taking on dark wizards. “I just wanted to tell you
about how I am feeling and see what you thought. You don’t have to tell me anything right now. I
want you to take time and think about it and we’ll come back after some time to think separately
and decide where to go from there.”

Harry thought that while this seemed reasonable, he certainly wasn’t sure about the idea in
general. Hermione was looking at him with that same hopeful look she had once given him when she
thought he might knit elf clothing with her. Harry saw no harm in agreeing to think it over. At
least that would give him a chance to process what she had said.

“Okay, we’ll do that then. Let’s take some time to think about it. When you come back we’ll talk
about this again and see how we’re both feeling.”

Hermione beamed at him. “Oh, Harry thank you. I was so worried that you would freak out! That’s
why I’ve been sitting on this for awhile, trying to think of how to talk to you about it. Of course
you already know how I feel about it now, but I mean something could change. I’ll have to think
about what it would mean for Ron..” Hermione gasped. “Ron! Oh, Harry what would we tell Ron?”
Hermione looked close to panic. Harry had seen Hermione ramble and freak out like this before, but
that had usually involved test scores of some kind.

“Calm down Hermione, there’s nothing to even tell him about yet.” Harry said evenly. Hermione
turned scarlet again. “Oh of course. Right. We’re just thinking about it is all. Well, I think I
should be going now. I’m supposed to be at Gringott’s in a couple hours to work with Bill on some
new curse breaking spells he’s been developing.”

Harry escorted her to the entranceway and held open the door for her. As Hermione paused on the
lintel she looked into his eyes. For a moment Harry gazed back into her deep brown eyes. He had
never realized how pretty they were.

“Well, I’ll see you Harry.” Hermione said softly, bringing him into a tight hug. “You’re
everything to me.” Harry again looked into her eyes which were shining again and was at a loss for
words. Hermione hesitated a second before taking a few steps off the lintel and disapparating.

Harry closed the door and walked to his study. The shelves and top of his desk were covered in
items he’d saved from his time at Hogwarts and his many adventures. In a glass case on top of one
of the shelves was Gryffindor’s sword. A cabinet behind his desk held Dumbledore’s pensieve. Harry
took his seat behind his desk and leaned back. Hermione’s short visit had given him a lot to think
about. He reached into the cabinet and brought out the pensieve. Putting his wand to his temple, he
slowly pulled a long white strand from his head and put it into the pensieve. He pushed his head
forward and disappeared into the memory.

He was standing in the Great Hall during the Yule Ball. He immediately spotted himself with
Parvati Patil and Ron with Padma her twin. He turned his gaze however towards the entrance and
towards what he was here for. Sure enough right as he looked came Hermione on Viktor Krum’s
arm.

He didn’t see how it took two looks to recognize her when he was fourteen. She was beautiful. He
looked back at himself and recognized the look of astonishment on his face. He remembered how he
had felt: how he was dumbfounded that he had seemingly never noticed before that Hermione was
indeed a girl and a beautiful one at that.

Looking back to Hermione he noticed something he hadn’t noticed at the time. Hermione’s eyes
seemed to be searching the crowd for someone. When her eyes landed on Harry and saw the look on his
face she smiled, and Harry thought he saw the smallest look of triumph gleam in her eye.

Leaving the memory, Harry returned to his desk. He brought to his hands a photo that sat at the
front of his desk. It was a photo that he, Hermione, and Ron had taken after getting off the
Hogwarts Express after their first year. An eleven year old Harry stood between Ron and Hermione.
As he gazed into the face of that bossy little eleven year old girl, Harry smiled. Maybe he
wouldn’t have to think so long about this after all.



2. Part Two 
------------

~

“Harry, hurry up! We’re going to be late!” Hermione called across the station.

They were walking down King’s Cross Station towards the divide between platforms nine and ten.
She was moving awfully fast for a woman who was seven months pregnant. It was so typical of her to
think they were going to be late. They had arrived at the station a quarter hour early.

Harry looked back to call to his children. “James, Sirius, Rosie come on we had better catch up
to your mother.”

Harry pushed the cart with James’ trunk towards the invisible barrier that gave way to reveal a
scarlet train on platform nine and three quarters. Hermione was already waiting with an impatient
look on her face. Strolling towards them across the platform strode a tall red headed man with a
beautiful woman that seemed to glide rather than walk.

“Bill! Fleur! Good to see you!” Harry greeted Bill with a handshake and Fleur planted a kiss on
each of Harry’s cheeks. “’Arry! Eet is so good to see you!” As she bent down to see the children,
Harry had to laugh at their different reactions. Rose simply strode up and took Fleur’s hand.

“Hi! My name is Rosie Potter! My mum has told me all about you!”

Rosie was certainly her mother’s child. James meanwhile was attempting to push his sister out of
the way, clearly hoping to be greeted with a kiss as his father had been.

“Ah! And I bet ‘zees is James!” James blushed but unabashedly stuck his cheek out. Fleur planted
a kiss that sent James red cheeks to scarlet. Bill laughed and asked what James thought about his
first departure to Hogwarts.

“It’s going to be great! I’ll meet lots of new friends and I’m going to be on the Quidditch team
as a first year! Just like my dad!”

With that he ran his hand through his hair to send it further into a mess than it already was.
James had definitely been appropriately named. Meanwhile Sirius had attempted to climb the cart and
trunk and had knocked it off, spilling its contents everywhere.

“Sirius Potter!” Hermione picked up the young boy by his wrist and gave him a withering
look.

“Sorry mum. Just wanted a spot of fun. After all it’s not like I’m going to Hogwarts this year…”
Harry gave his son a smile. “Just one more year Sirius.”

At that moment Hermione used her wand to return James’ trunk to working order and began to fuss
over him as Harry bid goodbye to Bill and Fleur. Their daughter Victoire had already boarded the
train.

“Now remember no dueling in the halls. And no being out after dark. Pay attention in class. I
packed a homework journal for you to keep track of your assignments.”

Harry had a distinct feeling his son’s homework journal would end up in the same place as the
one Hermione had given him all those years ago. At that moment the whistle blew and Harry gave his
son a fierce embrace as James grabbed his trunk and headed for the train. In her rush to continue
giving him advice, Hermione nearly forgot to kiss her son goodbye.

“Don’t worry mum! Let go you’re embarrassing me!”

Hermione released her bone crunching hug and watched as her oldest son boarded the Hogwarts
Express. The final whistle blew, and as the train pulled out of the station James stuck his head
out of the window to wave a final goodbye. Harry and Hermione both waved back until he was out of
sight, Hermione brushing a tear from her eye. Harry grabbed her by the hand, picked Rose up into
his other arm and lead his family back out towards the car.

“Don’t worry about him Hermione, he’ll be fine.” Harry said soothingly.

“I know, I’m just worried he’s going to get expelled. That boy has no sense when to stop getting
in trouble.” Hermione had an exasperated look on her face that Harry knew all too well. James was
definitely a handful.

“Don’t worry Hermione.” Harry looked at her with a devilish grin. “It’s going to be pretty hard
to catch him when he has the Marauder’s Map and the Invisibility Cloak.”

“HARRY JAMES POTTER!!”

Harry simply laughed. He knew his wife thought it irresponsible. Then again, he had been called
that plenty of times in their 14 year marriage by his wife. In the end she always forgave him. He
needn’t remind her of the many rules she herself broke in all her years at Hogwarts. For her part,
Hermione blamed the messy haired boy with a scar that always seemed to need her help getting out of
trouble.

Harry changed the subject. “Is Ron still coming over for dinner tonight?”

“Luna called earlier and said they’d come as soon as he got off work. They said it nearly broke
Fergus’ heart to have to wait one more year for Hogwarts.”

As the kids loaded into the car Harry and Hermione stood together for a moment of quiet before
the drive home. They could hear the kids giggling in the back seat. They were both smart enough to
know when Mum and Dad were “being romantic” in their words.

“How are you feeling?” Harry asked his wife.

“Like I always thought I would feel watching my first child leave for Hogwarts. Happy, yet a
little sad and nostalgic.” Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry’s shoulders. “But I always knew
that I would have the best man in the world standing next to me, and he would make me feel
alright.”

“So you always knew you were going to marry me?” Harry teased as he wrapped his arms around
Hermione. Hermione simply smiled and planted a kiss on his lips before they both climbed into the
car, the children collapsing into fits of giggles in the back seat.

As Harry drove home thought about all the times growing up he had wanted to be someone else. All
the times he would have happily traded places with almost anyone. Looking at Hermione next to him
and his children, Harry knew there were nowhere and no one else he would rather be.



