Chapter TextKissing Hermione was nothing at all like kissing any other girl. He had known she was a girl since they'd met, and he'd gotten used to her intruding on his sexual thoughts since the middle of last year when he'd figured out that he loved her. Having her pull his shirt off and moan into his mouth while she tasted him tasting her excited him in ways he had no words for. Without his permission, his hands cupped her breasts and pulled at her clothes. An electric fog settled on his mind as she consumed his mouth and fought to free him from his own clothes. He had kissed other girls - Cho, Ginny, and a couple others he couldn't name during some of the quidditch parties. He had enjoyed them, thought they were exciting because kissing was new.
It took one kiss from Hermione to show him how utterly lacking they were. He could feel the love and desire she had for him, he could see it in her flushed skin and frenzied eyes. He finally managed to pull her clothes off, and stared in absolute wonder at the beauty in his lap. he didn't even remember to be embarrassed at having a raging erection in front of her. Her perfect face framed by soft curls, slightly wild from snogging, her kissable neck flowed into her kissable collarbones which supported her perfect breasts. They hung from her chest as perfect globes of creamy white skin, topped with dark pink nipples that he ached to tease and lick and kiss.
So he did.
"Oh god, Harry!" She whined as she crushed his head to her chest. His tongue danced over her left nipple while his fingers brushed the right, and he squeezed them gently as she moaned. He decided immediately he would never ever get enough of her moaning. It was absolute addiction.
"That's perfect." She breathed. "That's perfect, don't stop. Oh god, don't stop."
Her hands were both wrapped around his erection, her cool, smooth, soft fingers gliding up and down him maddeningly. Hermione shuddered and let out a soft groan from deep in her chest, then her eyes opened and look into his. She shifted her weight forward, and guided his now painfully hard length between her legs, then gently settled her weight down on him. The softness of her and the heat that enveloped him was nothing he was prepared for. A deep groan resonated from somewhere at the bottom of his lungs, matched by one from Hermione. They were one. He was inside her. Only the fact that she smiled her love at him from her perfect face lit from inside with happiness and satisfaction kept him from thinking it was somehow wrong. Anything that felt so good had to be wrong. Somehow.
She shifted her weight and brought her hips upward. The sudden loss of her heat made him desperate to get it back, but only for a split second. She lowered herself onto him even further, groaning as she did. Her hands went to her stomach and she shivered with delight. He put his hands to use gliding over her skin - her waist, her ribs, the curves of her breasts, her collarbones, her back, her gorgeous, taut behind. She shivered again while he did, and her breath came faster. She caught her lower lip between her teeth, and the sight of it made him involuntarily grunt and thrust upward into her. She gasped and clenched her hands into claws on his chest, her nails dug into his skin like she was trying to hang on by them.
"Yyeeesss. Mooore." She moaned. She kissed him again.
Harry knew joy, seeing her respond like that. She was enjoying him, and it put such a light in his heart he couldn't have chosen to stop if he wanted to. He continued gliding his fingers over her skin, teasing, rubbing, and pulling gently on her beautiful body as he gently thrust into her in time with her own motions. She gasped with every thrust, she ceased to breathe and began to pant.
"Oh god Harry!" She gasped. Her fingers began to quiver on his chest, then her arms. He gripped her behind in a tight grip, and her forehead slammed into his chest. "IloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIloveyou."
Harry thrust upward again twice more, and that was all he could stand. His mind shattered, leaving a white-hot moment out of time as his body pulsed and pumped his essence into her as he growled. Hermione seemed to break at the same time. Several short screams tore from her throat, pulsing in time with her thrashing.
They both lay still for a short time afterward, unable to form a coherent thought.
When Harry returned to earth, Hermione lay on him, panting and sweating and naked and beautiful. He cradled her to him as the most precious and cherished thing in the universe, and kissed her wherever his lips could reach. Long minutes passed before Hermione roused and nuzzled into his neck.
"Mmmm." She sighed contentedly. "So much better when you're awake."
Harry didn't realize he was crying until he looked at her. She looked out of her glowing cinnamon-chocolate eyes and frowned before kissing his tears away.
"What's wrong, Love?" She asked softly.
"Absolutely nothing." He smiled. "I just... I can't believe how good you make me feel. I never want to not be inside you."
"Mmmm" She nuzzled back into his neck. "That's what I want too."
"I would ask you to marry me right now, but you already said yes." He smiled and kissed her neck.
She chuckled softly. "Always and forever, Harry. You and me. No matter what."
"Always and forever, Hermione. You and me. No matter what."
They snuggled together for a long while, until they looked around and realized they'd just made love in a rented lounge.
Hermione looked at him somewhat sheepishly and kissed him before levering herself off him and the sofa.
"Sorry." She said.
"For what?"
"Attacking you. It must be the hormones or something, I was just so..."
"No."
"No?"
"No. Never EVER apologize for making me feel like that. Just don't. I don't care why, I don't care where, I don't care when. I will happily make love to you. No apologies."
She smiled and kissed him. "Alright then, same goes for you."
"It still feels like the top of my head is missing."
"We should find it before we go." She smiled and crinkled her nose at him in a way that made the sun seem pale and insignificant.
Harry grinned at her and got off the sofa as well, and helped her put her clothes back on. They cleaned each other and the room as well as they could with just magic, and made sure there weren't any smells or... leftovers... before they turned to leave.
He took her hand and kissed her fingers as they walked out of the Leaky Cauldron into Diagon Alley, and didn't let go of her hand even as the goblin teller looked up at him over his glasses.
"Can I help you?" The goblin asked.
Harry bowed. "I hope so. I'm Harry Potter, I'm here to apologize and pay for any damages caused by our actions."
The goblin looked surprised for just a brief second. "Come with me, I will show you to your account manager."
"Thank you. I have an account manager?"
The goblin didn't answer, he just led them to the right through a door behind a conference room, and through several hallways carved from solid rock. The goblin opened a door in the middle of a long hallway full of doors, and bid them take a seat.
"Manager Gutspike will be with you shortly." He said, then closed the door behind him as he left.
Before either of them could think of anything to say about the situation, the door opened again and another goblin walked in. This one was taller and wider than the previous one, and though neither of them had much insight into goblin facial expressions, this one seemed very pissed off.
"Mister Potter." He growled as he walked in and stood behind the desk they were seated in front of, "Why have you never answered a single owl you were sent? Why am I only meeting you for the first time after your eighteenth birthday?!"
Harry frowned. "I've never received an owl from Gringotts. Not one. Not ever."
The goblin looked around at the room as if expecting something, and then sighed. "Very well. We will have to investigate the causes of our owls being waylaid at a future date. You told Thumbhammer you wish to apologize and make reparations, yes?"
With that, Harry focused again and took a deep breath. After a quick look at Hermione, he bowed.
"Yes. I am very sorry for the actions we took against your bank and your people, and not just for the physical damage we caused. If I had been more educated in the magical world, I might have known to just come and ask to speak to someone in charge about our suspicions of a dark object in the vaults, but I let myself be affected by the prejudices of those around me, and for that I am deeply ashamed. I place myself at the mercy of whoever is in charge both for monetary repayment and any punishment the goblin nation sees fit to bestow."
"We place ourselves at your mercy." Hermione frowned at him.
Harry frowned back and looked at her now-hidden belly with hard eyes, and she understood the message. She wasn't just her anymore.
"You would claim sole responsibility and absolve Miss Granger and Mister Weasley of any guilt?"
Harry looked back at Gutspike. "I would. I know neither of them can afford much. I just hope I have enough in my vault to cover the damages."
Gutspike pushed a sheet of parchment across the desk and laid a quill on top of it. "Just sign at the bottom, Mister Potter, and sole responsibility will be yours."
Harry picked up the parchment and read it, and it did indeed say that he was claiming sole responsibility for the break in and out. it did not say anything else, and that was why he read it. He signed the bottom with the quill provided, and Gutspike took the parchment back. It disappeared with a click of his fingers. Gutspike then showed a great many spiked teeth in a shark-like grin.
"Your grandfather would be most proud of you, Mister Potter. Most proud." He clicked his fingers again, and four ledgers and a beautifully polished, ornately carved wooden box appeared on the desktop.
"You knew my Grandfather?"
"I took over from Steelgrunt as Potter account manager during his time as Lord Potter. Your grandfather was a brilliant man - which brings me to the objects on the desk." He opened one of the ledgers and spun it so it faced Harry. "The personal Potter account vault."
Harry looked at the number at the bottom of the page, dumbfounded. It was in constant flux, gaining and losing galleons every few seconds, but there were eight digits in the number. Harry just looked up at Gutspike, uncomprehendingly.
"It says you don't have to work for a living, Mister Potter."
Harry just nodded dumbly.
Gutspike took that ledger and closed it, then gave him another. This one had nine digits at the bottom. "The Potter business vault account." he said.
"That's... unbelievable." Harry said. He looked to Hermione for help, his eyes wide, but she could only frown back at him, clearly worried.
"These are all copies of the main Ledgers I keep here in this office, they are yours to keep. The other two ledgers are the inventories of the Potter Items Vault and the Potter Library Vault."
Hermione's hand clamped onto his forearm as Gutspike said 'library vault'.
Gutspike picked up the ornate wooden box and made a series of complicated gestures overtop of it, culminating with a click of his fingers. An unseen latch let go, and the lid of the box rose a fraction of an inch to indicate it was open.
Gutspike opened the lid and turned the box to face Harry. There were two rings inside the box, one thick one with a large square emerald and a gold crest on top of the emerald, and a smaller one that was the same, but more feminine.
"Your House rings. Yours is the larger, of course. By putting the ring on your finger, you agree to be weighed by House Potter and will either be accepted or rejected. House Potter has always suffered from the attentions of greedy connivers, so you should know that none of them who put the ring on lived." Gutspike flashed them another shark grin.
"Is this..." Harry stared, and Hermione could see he felt lost. She could see the little boy who had never had candy before. He was still inside Harry, and it brought tears to her eyes.
"Is this really for me? I'm not sitting in someone else's place?" He asked.
"Well, if you're not Harry Potter, I suppose you should be prepared for a gruesome death. If you are Harry Potter, then it is your birthright, yes."
Harry looked at Hermione, who nodded and smiled in support. He reached out and plucked the man's ring from its place, and slipped it on the ring finger of his right hand. It grew warm, and suddenly shrunk to fit his finger perfectly. For a few seconds, nothing happened, and Harry looked to Hermione, who could only look back at him. Then a soft green glow began at the ring, and grew to encompass both him and Hermione.
Gutspike gaped at them, and when the glow faded, he immediately scribbled some notes.
"Well. That was unexpected. Apparently House Potter is enthusiastically behind your ascension to Lordship. Congratulations, Lord Potter."
"Uhh.. Thank you." Harry's mind reeled. "Can I ask you a... well, maybe a personal question, I'm not sure."
"I can always choose not to answer, Lord Potter, please go ahead."
"Well, this isn't the question, but first could you just call me Harry please? This Lord Potter thing is making me feel weird."
"Delighted, Harry. Your question?"
"Do you know anything about magical marriages? I mean, I don't even know if goblins get married or are monogamous or anything, and I don't mean to give offense, I just don't know."
"I am happily married, thank you Harry. As long as Magic recognizes your intent to be married, almost any ceremony will do. I understand wizarding ceremonies can run the gamut from simple to complicated, egalitarian to binding. Goblins are very forthright and generally aren't fond of dithering, and our ceremonies reflect such."
"Thank you." Harry said. He looked at Hermione. "I know we'll have to have another wedding, with your parents and the dress and flowers and the whole thing, but I really want to put that ring on you right now."
Hermione only pulled him into a hug and kissed him quietly.
Harry turned back to Gutspike when she let go. "Could we get married? LIke right now? Would you show us the goblin ceremony? Please?"
Gutspike was quiet for a moment. "You would marry a witch with a goblin ceremony?" He asked quietly.
"Unless you can think of a reason not to, Hermione?" He asked her.
"No, I would be happy to. I have to admit I've never researched anything about magical marriages so I'm in the same boat with you, Harry."
Gutspike drew a deep breath and let it out. "Then would you allow me a moment to gather witnesses? I can assure you I will vouch for their integrity."
"That would be fine with me." Hermione said.
"Me too." Harry agreed.
"Shame there's no way to get Luna or Neville here in a few minutes." Harry said after Gutspike left the room. "We'll have to invite them to the next one. I could see Nev being my best man."
"That would be brilliant. Would you get married in Australia? I mean, we should have it soon..."
"Absolutely. We'll talk about it of course, but I don't want a lot of people there. I don't think we'd have a lot of people there anyway. Your mum and dad of course, Nev, Luna, George and whoever he wants as a date, Bill and Fleur you think?"
"Well, as much as I don't want to see Ron or Ginny after these last few months, we probably should invite Mr. and Mrs. as well."
Harry nodded. "I do owe them a fair bit for getting me away from the Dursleys and being a decent family model." Harry nodded.
"As it will be our wedding as well, I won't have any difficulty asking anyone to leave if they cause problems. I'm sure I probably won't even get the chance with my father there." Hermione smiled.
"Good. We'll talk about it more later." Harry said as Gutspike re-entered the room with four other goblins.
One of them approached harry and Hermione. "Gutspike says you wish to be married right now in a goblin ceremony, is this so?"
Harry stood and shook the goblin's hand. "Yes sir. We are only really semi-knowledgeable about muggle marriage customs. I thought that because Gutspike knew my grandfather that he's been around for a while and would know a lot more about magical marriages than either of us. I hope it won't cause any offense if we do this?"
The goblin let out a grating, pulsing hiss that he realized was probably laughter. "Offense to whom, Lord Potter? Certainly not to the goblin nation! To witches and wizards, well that is less clear."
"We were only really worried about causing offense to your nation, sir. Witches and Wizards have been causing offense to us since we arrived." Hermione said.
All five goblins laughed at that.
Gutspike handed Harry a wickedly sharp dagger, hilt first. Harry accepted it, and Hermione stood beside him.
"What do we do with this?" He asked.
"Each of you must cut your palms, deeply enough that blood flows easily, but try not to cut through any tendons. Once blood flows, clasp hands so that your blood mixes, and say 'You are mine and I am yours.' Magic will show you whether your marriage is valid." Gutspike said.
"That's it?"
"Time is gold, Lord - excuse me, Harry."
Harry nodded and looked at Hermione. "I have Dittany in my bag." She said as she smiled at him.
"I love you." He said.
"I love you." She replied.
Harry cut his palm slowly, gauging how deep the cut was before completing it. It stung. Blood welled to the surface and began to pool in his palm as he handed the dagger to Hermione hilt first. She cut her own hand the same way, and Harry offered his hand with its little pool of blood. She put hers overtop of his, and some of the blood dribbled out between their fingers.
"You are mine and I am yours." He said as he looked into her beautiful cinnamon chocolate eyes.
"You are mine and I am yours." She said as she looked back into his emerald ones.
Their hands began to feel warm, and a silver nimbus surrounded their hands. It began to spread up their arms, across their chests and down their bodies until they were entirely aglow, then the nimbus deepened to a warm golden colour, before flashing to an intense white. A tingling warmth blossomed on Harry's forehead where his scar was, and he watched Hermione's eyes widen as she looked at it. Just as the glow became too much to look at, it faded away to nothing, leaving them wondering exactly what that meant. The cuts on their hands were gone, as though they'd never been there.
"Congratulations, Lord and Lady Potter." The new goblin said. It was the same one who had greeted them before. The other four seemed to be content not to speak.
"Thank you, er...?"
"Ragnok."
"Thank you, Ragnok. And thank you all for coming, especially when time is gold. Thank you all for letting me know about all this. I had no idea..." Harry said. He picked up the Potter ring from out of the carved box, and slipped it onto Hermione's finger. Just as his had done, it resized itself, and emitted a bright green glow over both of them.
"Brilliant." She smiled at him.
"I daresay that might have been worth waiting for." Ragnok said, and hissed laughter again as he and the other three exited the room.
"Our Gratitude." Gutspike said. "Was there anything else I could assist you with?"
"Thank you for everything so far, Manager Gutspike. What do I owe for the damages? I'd like to get that taken care of before anything else."
Gutspike waved a hand. "Seven hundred twenty-one thousand, four hundred five galleons, three sickles and a knut. It was handled when you signed the responsibility form."
Harry frowned. "You mean before I looked at the ledger?"
"Yes." Gutspike replied.
Harry blinked and looked at Hermione, who looked just as lost as he felt. "Okay then... I guess we'll need some money... also, we may be in Australia for an extended time. Is there some way to contact you or will I be assigned a different account manager? How does that work? Sorry for taking all your time, I'm... I should have come a long time ago. Sorry."
"No need to apologize, Harry. Certainly not on my account."
"I just feel like I'm eleven again and suddenly being told I'm a wizard and have no idea what to do. I don't know anything about money except that I can buy things with it. I don't even know what questions I should be asking. Does Gringott's offer economics courses for idiots or something?"
Hermione's hand gripped his and didn't let go.
"Unfortunately for you, we do not. If we did, we might find ourselves out of a job."
Harry smiled. "Hadn't thought of that. Good point. I guess I'll have to learn as much as I can -" He squeezed Hermione's hand and smiled at her, "We'll have to learn as much as we can on our own then. Does Gringott's have debit cards or anything like that? We will probably have to switch between galleons and pounds or ...what do they use in Australia? Pounds?"
"Dollars." Gutspike replied.
"Yes, we'll have to switch back and forth fairly often, I imagine."
"Your House rings will function as... debit cards... within magical spaces and will deal in Galleons. For the non-magical spaces and different non-magical currencies, we have Gringott's wallets. If you'll excuse me, I'll be right back with some."
"Thank you, Gutspike." Harry said.
Gutspike strode out of the room again and returned a few minutes later with two black dragon-skin wallets, one in bifold style, and one clutch style.
"The wallets themselves are one hundred galleons each, and the conversion and banishing services they're linked to are a further ten galleons per month. You have simply to speak the amount you require to the wallet, and after a short delay, the requested amount will be sent into the wallet." Gutspike said when he returned.
"That's brilliant." Hermione said, eyeing the clutch.
"We'll take both. Thank you, Gutspike."
Gutspike nodded.
"If I wanted to buy a house in Australia, that's far more money than muggle authorities would accept in cash - how would I go about that?"
"Simply send a macaw to your local branch of Gringott's, or visit. Arrangements would all be made locally."
"Brilliant. Thank you again, you've been just great." Harry held out a hand to the goblin, who shook it.
Hermione picked the clutch up off the desk and tucked it under her arm, then also shook the goblin's hand. "Thank you so much, Manager Gutspike. You've been a great deal of help."
"Thank you for finally visiting, before I had to declare you dead." Gutspike did that hissing laughter thing again. Was that a joke? Harry showed his teeth in an uncomprehending rictus, and quietly followed Hermione out of the bank altogether.
He stood in the center of Diagon Alley and reeled. He held Hermione's hand as though he was about to fly away like Aunt Marge had done so long ago. She smiled at him, and knew his brain was not answering the phone, she could see it in his eyes. Of course she could. They had just done this yesterday... Fortescue's was open now. Part of one building was brightly painted as though it were brand new. He had kissed Hermione. Made love to her. She loved him too. She had just married him. He was married. To Hermione.
Harry stopped outside Gringott's with a wild look on his face. She could see he was having a moment of realization. She'd had several in the weeks when she'd first started to show - those moments where the gravity of what you were doing slapped you in the face. She still had no regrets.
He gripped her hand almost painfully, as though he were afraid he was about to fall off the planet. She stood next to him - next to her husband - and rubbed his back as it seemed he were about to start hyperventilating.
Harry was alive. He was awake. He loved her. He loved their baby. She breathed heavily herself, but more to prevent tears than due to to any reality-defining epiphanies. She smiled at him when his eyes finally focused. She could almost see reality spinning around his head like a whirling disc that screeched to a halt when he looked into her eyes. His grip on her hand relaxed, and he took a deep breath, then kissed her fingers.
"Come on." He said. "I owe you a mint chocolate chip." He grinned, and the world was bright again. Always thoughtful, unfailingly kind, and he loved her. There was nothing she couldn't do.
"Just a small, Harry. Too much isn't good for..."
Harry's eyes fairly glowed as he stepped into her and held her gently. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I nearly forgot." He whispered. "Thank you for being a wonderful mother. I... I can't help but feel like this is all a dream... I can't... I'm not allowed to feel this good. To be this happy." He brushed her hair behind her ear, and twirled his finger in one of her curls, almost abashedly.
She took his face between her hands and looked him in the eyes. "Harry James Potter, you had better get used to it, because both of us will be counting on you. Nobody but nobody has earned more happiness than you, Harry. You deserve every second of every happiness that exists in this world, and I aim to see you get it. I love you, Harry. You and me, forever and ever."
Tears glistened in his eyes as he kissed her then, and the feel of his soft lips beneath the scruff made her toes tingle.
"You and me." He whispered. "Forever and ever."
They held hands as they entered Fortescue's, and there were no eyes that were not looking at them as they ordered. Mr. Fortescue took a few minutes to get to them, he seemed to be the only one working, and business was nearly as brisk as usual.
"Ah, Mister Potter." He beamed when he saw them.
Harry held up her hand in his. "And Missus."
Florean's eyebrows rose. "Congratulations!" He grinned.
"Thank you." Harry beamed back. She'd never seen him smile so fully. "Two small mint chocolate chip, please."
Florean scooped their small dishes of ice cream and handed them over, and waved Harry away when he tried to pay. "Nonsense!" He said. "I can't do much, but a free bowl for newlyweds is an honor and a privilege."
"Thank you, Mister Fortescue." Harry smiled at him, and then smiled at her.
"Florean, please."
"Thank you, Florean." She said, and smiled at both of them.
It took ten minutes to eat the ice cream and most of it was gooey by the time they hit the bottom of the bowl. Both of them kept looking at each other and talking without speaking for long moments at a time, and so the ice cream melted.
"How do you feel?" Harry asked her.
"Happy." She smiled back at him.
He smiled back, but shook his head. "Good to know, but I meant physically. You feel up to going to the ministry, getting a portkey and just leaving? We can get settled once we get there and start looking for your parents first thing in the morning?"
"Physically I'm fine. I could do with a long night's sleep, but letting myself get too run down isn't good for... so I don't. Not that I'm not thrilled, but why the rush?"
Harry shrugged. "I started thinking about your parents, about how mad they're going to be when we undo it. Then I realized we're kind of on a schedule, and the sooner we find them and do it, the longer they'll have to get over that and reconnect with you... us, before..."
"So you want to leave right now so my parents have one day longer."
"Essentially. I know once they get over it you'll be happier."
There it was. The fundamentally Harry part of Harry only wanted to make her happy. Harry was a terrible liar, so she knew that was his real motivation, and it felt like getting everything she wanted on Christmas morning for no other reason than he wanted to see her smile. She still didn't think she deserved him, but they were married now, it was too late to back out.
She nodded. "Alright. Let's go then. Sooner we get there and get settled the sooner we can have a shower." She looked at him through half-lidded eyes, and let her desire to be warm and wet and naked against him show through.
He stood up immediately and held out his hand as his eyes flared with understanding.
She might not ever understand why he found her desirable, but the fact that he did felt absolutely brilliant.
The ministry hadn't changed any in the year or so since they'd been there, and thankfully there were no courtrooms or kidnappings or disgusting potions this time. They joined the queue that started just inside the doors to the International Portkey office, and resigned themselves to at least a half-hour wait.
"Have you got quill and parch- what am I asking, of course you have quill and parchment." Harry smiled at her. "May I use some? I figure we should write a couple notes, it'll be easier to do here than in Australia."
"Neville and Luna?" She asked.
"Yeah. And Mrs. Weasley. Did she ever come visit?"
"No. Ginny the second day, then Ron after four weeks when I told him to fuck off."
Harry slid his arms around her just beneath her breasts and held her close. "Sorry for that, Hermione. Not in a fault way, just that it couldn't have been fun or easy."
She hugged his arms around her. "Not fun, but surprisingly easy. After everything, it had been a long time coming. I want to question whether he was ever really a friend or just putting up with me because of you, but maybe that's unkind. Then again, he had the gall to literally ask 'what about me' with you lying there mostly dead."
"Whichever it turns out to be, we have each other now and we'll face whatever comes together." The words the horcrux said to Ron haunted the back of his mind, but Hermione didn't need to know, and it was better left in the past.
"Mmm. Well said, husband." She kissed him quickly, then dug parchment and quill from her bag. He had to use her back to write on, so she held the inkpot up for him to dip the quill into. When the three notes were finished, he showed them to her as he re-stoppered the inkpot and cleaned the quill.
"Those are good. Well done." She kissed him.
After she put it back in her bag, he kissed the back of her neck and made her shiver. "I'll just drop these off to owl post and be back in a moment."
She nodded, and he strode quickly back through the doors and into the Atrium.
She was nearly at the desk when he returned more than twenty minutes later. He strode up to her and kissed her forehead. "Sorry I'm late. I got the mail issue sorted, so hopefully I won't miss another of Gringott's owls."
"Oh. Good. I guess I could put up with you being gone that long for a good cause." She smiled and kissed his cheek.
Harry gave her an odd look, and she applied her mind to what she'd just said.
"Sorry, Harry." She looked up at him. "I guess after nearly losing you... I don't want to let you out of my sight for fear I won't see you again. I don't mean to be clingy, but..."
He wrapped his arms around her again. "I understand, and I feel exactly the same. I know it was just a nightmare now, but at the time... I lost you over and over, Hermione. Sorry for worrying you, and don't hold it against me if I'm a little clingy as well."
She smiled and looked into his eyes again. "No apologies, Harry. I love you, so I'm going to worry, no matter what. Much as I expect you will."
He quirked one side of his mouth in a roguish grin. "Less than I would if I didn't know you could wipe the floor with pretty much anyone. War heroine."
She snorted. "I think most of that was luck. I'm looking forward to getting settled so we can have a training routine. We can always be better."
"I agree, and that's a brilliant idea. Have I mentioned you're brilliant?" He kissed the back of her head.
"Not nearly often enough." She winked at him.
The line moved forward, as sometimes happens in queues, and they found themselves at the desk, facing a bored, highly undervalued witch by the name of Amalthea. At least, that's what it said on her nametag.
"Destination?" She asked.
"Sydney, Australia." Hermione answered.
"Date of travel?"
"Immediately if possible, please."
Amalthea nodded, and wrote the destination and time on a slip of parchment that looked pre-prepared.
"Twenty galleons." Amalthea said in the same monotone she'd been using since they arrived. She slid the invoice - the pre-prepared slip of parchment she'd been writing on - across the desk toward Hermione, who touched her ring to the signature portion of the slip. A house crest blazed into being there, and PAID appeared across the top of the invoice in green ink.
Amalthea paid no attention. Rich purebloods were all alike.
"Booth two." She said, and waved them off.
"Thank you." Hermione said with a smile, but Amalthea was already looking past her to the next customer.
"Destination?" They heard her ask as they walked away toward booth two.
As soon as they closed the door to booth two, a piece of broken ceramic appeared on the tiny table. Hermione picked it up, and when Harry touched it as well, they were on their way.
Molly folded the Prophet back up again and set it on Arthur's chair. He'd want to finish reading it when he got home. It was a load of rubbish as it always was, but he liked it nonetheless. She thought about preparing dinner, but then realized that yesterday's leftovers were still waiting. She kept forgetting that it was just the two of them in the house now, and constantly made far too much food.
She thought about doing some cleaning, and then decided she couldn't be arsed. What would be the point anyway? it was only her and Arthur now. Even Ginny was on the other side of Britain in Holyhead for training camp. Ron and George were in Diagon, and Bill and Charley were where they'd been for ages on the continent.
She took a deep breath and sighed. She would have to find something to do with herself soon. She climbed out of Arthur's chair and looked around for a moment. She supposed she would have to start cleaning anyway, there wasn't anything else to do. She pulled out her wand and raised it to cast, but there was a TAPTAP at the window.
An owl! Lovely!
She opened the window and went immediately to the stasis cabinet for a tidbit of chicken for the bird. She took the note from its holder on the bird's leg, then fed it the chicken.
"Thank you!" She said happily. The bird dove back out the window and was gone.
It was addressed to her!
She unrolled the parchment and smoothed it out with her wand, and settled at the table to read.
Dear Mrs. Weasley,
I will be in Australia by the time you read this. Right now I am uncertain whether I will be coming back, so I wanted to say thank you before I left. Thank you for being there for me when I needed someone, thank you for making me feel like part of the family, thank you for coming to see me when I was in a coma.
If I don't see you again, I hope you have a wonderful life.
-Harry.
She read it again, and then again.
Harry had been in a coma?
Neville closed his textbook and sighed.
The curtains hung limply, their colour faded. Somehow the immense stones of the castle let the cold wind through, and clothing didn't seem to help. Conversations were quiet and halting, like silence had a will of its own and didn't like interruptions. They had all helped to vanquish a terrible evil, but it felt like all that had really happened was their friends had died.
Their friends had died, and that was going to take some getting used to. He knew that. He just didn't see how coming back to school so soon was a good idea. yes, he wanted to study and take his N.E.W.T.s, but a few months to get over friends dying? That was asking a little much. Even though the castle was repaired and you would never know there had been a battle at all, there was simply no joy present. Seventh year was supposed to be your crowning glory, the year when you were top dog and supposed to show all the squirts how things were done. Instead, the seventh years were ghosts. Nobody saw them, they didn't want to be seen. Nobody cared about house points or Quidditch or anything really. Even Neville just wanted to pass his tests and leave.
A tapping sound broke him from his reverie and called his attention to the window. A couple of the younger kids looked up, but it was Neville who put his book on the table and went to open the window.
The owl hopped inside as a blast of cold air entered with it, and it stuck its leg out at him. He gave it a couple of owl treats from the jar on the desk by the window, and took the message from its holder. The owl then dove back out the window with its treats and Neville shut the pane behind it.
The message had his name on it.
Curious, he unfurled it and read it right there.
Dear Neville,
I woke up this morning at about seven. Hermione and I were married about ten, and we left for Australia about half eleven. We're likely in Australia by the time you read this, we're here to find and restore Hermione's parents.
I want to thank you for coming to see me and Hermione while I was out of it. She won't say it, but I can tell your and Luna's visits were very helpful for her, so thank you for that. Please don't tell anyone what I'm telling you in this letter, we're only letting people know who we count as true friends, and only you and Luna have lived up to the title.
We will be having another wedding soon, so that Hermione's parents can attend, and I'd like it if you'd be my Best Man. We do have something else to ask of you as well, something official and House Potter-ey, but we'll wait until we see you for that. Best not to put it in print.
We'll send another note when we get settled here, when we have someplace to receive mail and such and let you know where we are and how to reach us.
Thanks again, Nev.
Your friends, Harry and Hermione.
Neville started laughing and crying at the same time.
Harry was alive. Not just not dead, he was awake and moving a million miles an hour again. Some of the gloom lifted. Some of the colour came back into the red and gold. He could just see the terrified expression on Harry's face as he stood there and married Hermione. Shit, he married Hermione.
"Good on ya, mate. Good on ya. About bloody time." He said to himself.
Every eye in the room was fixed on him as he wiped his eyes and grinned.
"Harry's awake." He said.
The oppressive silence shattered.
Luna smiled in satisfaction as the mauve-coloured mist she'd sprayed settled over the knotty hole in the bark. She gave it a little push with a blown breath, and almost instantly several dozen chittering maroon creatures fled the tree as quickly as they could in the direction of the lake.
"Truculents three, Lovegood one." She said with a smile. "At least now the potion works."
From her vantage point at the top of her tall ladder, it was easy to see the owl flapping toward her.
"Who would be sending me mail way out here, I wonder?"
She tucked the small potion mister into her jacket pocket, and climbed down the ladder. At least someone was thinking of her enough to send a letter, and that made her happy.
Several small green stalk-like figures appeared on the branches of nearby trees and just sat, waving side to side happily. She hoped they would be able to save this tree. Hopefully the truculents hadn't infested it too long.
The owl landed on her ladder and stuck its leg out toward her. She slipped a bit of jerky from her bag and offered it in exchange for the letter. It CHKCHKed happily, and then took off again, back in the direction it had come. She watched it for a moment, then waved with a smile.
The letter had her name on the front, but she expected that. She was the only one out here, after all.
Dear Luna,
I woke up this morning at about seven. Hermione and I were married about ten, and we left for Australia about half eleven. We're likely in Australia by the time you read this, we're here to find and restore Hermione's parents.
I want to thank you for coming to see me and Hermione while I was out of it. She won't say it, but I can tell your and Neville's visits were very helpful for her, so thank you for that. Please don't tell anyone what I'm telling you in this letter, we're only letting people know who we count as true friends, and only you and Neville have lived up to the title.
We will be having another wedding soon, so that Hermione's parents can attend, and Hermione would like to know if you'd be her Maid of Honour. We do have something else to ask of you as well, something official and House Potter-ey, but we'll wait until we see you for that. Best not to put it in print.
We'll send another note when we get settled here, when we have someplace to receive mail and such and let you know where we are and how to reach us.
Thanks again Luna,
Your friends, Harry and Hermione.
"Well, that's nice. I'm glad you're finally better, Harry." She said happily. "Maid of Honour sounds nice. I hope it isn't too complicated." She turned to the bowtruckles sitting in the treebranches.
"Do you think I could be a Maid of Honour if I'm not a virgin?"