No Place That Far

Author’s Note: The events of this story take place four years after the end of “My Sacrifice”. Harry remembers the dark days of his grief and we find out more about Simon Maxwell---who he is and what he did. You also find out who Julie Maxwell is…

I apologize for leaving things a little unclear at the end of My Sacrifice. I hope this clears things up for you guys. The title of this story is inspired by the song by Sarah Evans “No Place That Far”

Chapter One

It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday

“And I'll take with me the memories
To bring my sunshine after the rain
It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday”’

(Boys II Men, It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday”)

To say that Simon Maxwell was afraid would be a gross understatement. He was always afraid that something would happen that would cause her to remember.

Yet, it had been four years. Four years in which she hadn’t recalled anything on her own. Four years in which she’d been fed false memories and told that they were her own.

She didn’t remember that her real name was Hermione Elizabeth Granger. As far as she knew, she didn’t know anyone named Harry Potter or Ron Weasley. She hadn’t attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry; much less no that such a place existed. To her, witches and wizards were make-believe characters in stories or movies. She was totally unaware that across the ocean, there were people who mourned her “death”. She didn’t know who she really was.

Simon remembered, though. Simon knew it all. He knew how at the bidding of Lord Voldemort, he’d been given the task of taking Hermione Granger away from Harry Potter. Simon had asked why he didn’t just perform “Avada Kedavra” on her if the goal had been to hurt Harry Potter. Voldemort said that in the event of his death, he wanted to make sure that Harry Potter suffered. He wanted any victory of Harry Potter’s to be a hollow one. At Harry’s greatest triumph, Voldemort had said, he will experience his greatest heartbreak. It had all been part of Voldemort’s big plan; his ultimate revenge.

Simon went along with it, of course. He had taken an oath, after all. His loyalty was to Voldemort. He’d performed the memory modification charm on her himself. He’d secured the random girl on the street that they’d given the glamour to so she’d appear to be Hermione Granger. He’d then whisked the real Hermione off clandestinely to America.

So, Hermione Granger was given the new name of Julie Maxwell. She had woken up in an Asheville, North Carolina, hospital room, thinking she’d been the victim of an auto accident. Simon had told her and the hospital staff that he and his “daughter” had moved here from London, following the death of Simon’s wife and Julie’s mother. They’d wanted to start their life anew, but as Simon told the nurses, Julie was taking the move quite hard. She’d decided to take his car without his knowledge and the paramedics had found her slumped over the steering wheel after her car had hit a tree. She didn’t know that Simon had transfigured his vehicle to look like it had just been in a crash.

He’d begun playing the dutiful, caring father that week that she was in the hospital. She’d woken up without a clue as to who she was or how she got there. It had been Simon’s job to help fill in the blanks. She’d taken him at his word and had come to love Simon as her father, though she honestly had no memories of her own to substantiate this.

Simon had to produce fake documents and photos to prove to her that he was who he said she was. This had helped convince her that Simon was telling the truth.

So, she’d started her new life as Julie Maxwell. She finished up high school in Asheville. Soon after, she’d been accepted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she was studying to be an elementary school teacher. She worked as a waitress at one of the local bar and grilles there. For all intents and purposes, she was living a happy life. She had no idea that her “death” had caused such pain and heartache for the ones she’d left behind.

When she’d announced her college plans, he’d been somewhat reluctant to let her go. He didn’t see how he’d be able to keep tabs on her when she was two-hundred miles away, but he had given in when he’s seen how excited she was to get her acceptance letter. He knew that it would be dangerous to have her so far away, but he figured that enough time had passed. If she was going to regain her memories, she would have done it by now. So far, so good.

Yet, for all of Voldemort’s plans, he hadn’t counted on the human, emotional factor. Simon had come to care for “Julie” as a daughter. He hated what he’d done. In the beginning, he’d worried about her finding out and having the well-thought out, well-crafted plan fail. Now, his biggest concern was that she’d find out and hate him. He didn’t think he could bear that. So, he’d kept quiet and gone about life as usual. Still, the guilt gnawed away at him. There were times when he’d come close to telling her, but one look into her brown eyes, brimming with trust and faith, and he’d lost his nerve.

For all intents and purposes, she was his daughter and he loved her as such. He’d rather die than have her hate him. He knew that if Lord Voldemort were still alive today, he’d be very disappointed in the person he’d considered one of his most loyal followers.

London, England

The past four years had not been kind to Harry Potter. Of course, he had contributed to it himself tenfold. What he could remember of the past four years, he wasn’t that proud of. It had been the familiar story of a person racked by guilt and grief seeking comfort in the bottle and with women who had meant little more to him than a warm body on a cold night.

Everyone had tried to help him. Ron, the Weasleys, Dumbledore, Sirius, Lupin, and Hagrid had all tried to get him to quit. He had refused to listen. Ultimately, the decision lay with him. He had to want to quit and he had to get up the stones to do it himself.

The moment of truth came about six months ago…

Flashback

Harry’s Apartment

Harry awoke to the sound of loud knocking. He felt as if someone was trapped inside his head and was banging inside of it trying to get out. He opened his eyes, but immediately shut them as the light hurt his eyes.

He hadn’t even changed out of his clothes from the night before. He’d just crashed out on his bed when he came back from the pub. The knocking persisted and he somehow managed to get out of bed and slowly made his way to the door. He stubbed his toe on the coffee table in the sitting room and cursed loudly.

“Good morning, sunshine!” Ron said when Harry had finally managed to open the door.

“Well, it’s morning, but I think the jury is still out as to whether or not it’s good or not,” Harry said crossly. “How are you?”

He took a seat on the sofa.

“I’d say I was a damn sight better than you from the looks of you this morning. Did you have another great night?” Ron asked. “I heard from Seamus that he saw you down at the pub downing a few pints. From the look of you now, I’d assume that it was more than a few pints.”

Harry wasn’t saying a word; he was slumped over on the couch. His skin was a pale, pasty color.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Harry said hoarsely. “But I don’t think I have the energy to get up and go to the loo.”

Ron quickly went to the kitchen and got the trash can and brought it over to Harry who promptly vomited.

“There, there,” Ron said sarcastically. “Let it all out, Harry.”

“Is there a reason why you’re here?” Harry asked him angrily, when he’d finally come up for air from the trash basket.

“Well, I was at home with absolutely nothing to do, so I thought I’d come by and watch you throw up. It’s become sort of a hobby of mine. I’m thinking about charging admission so others could enjoy it as much as I do.”

“You can leave now if you’ve come here to lecture me again. Let me guess. It was your turn to try and talk some sense into me. Did you draw the short straw this time?”

“Why bother?” Ron asked him. “You’re determined to drink yourself to death, who am I to stop you?”

“Thank you,” Harry said, sitting back on the couch.

“Do you know what I’ve been wondering lately?” Ron asked.

“No, what’s that?” Harry asked. “I’m breathless with anticipation.”

“I wonder what Hermione would think of all this,” Ron asked him. “You know if she could see you now, I bet she’d wonder what she ever saw in you.”

Ron had obviously struck a nerve. Harry’s features softened a bit at the mention of Hermione’s name.

“Look at yourself, Harry!” Ron asked. “You barely made it through your last year at Hogwarts. You had every opportunity in the world, but you squandered away everything. It wasn’t your fault what happened, you know? You didn’t kill Hermione.”

“I might not have performed the spell, but it was me who got her there, wasn’t it?” Harry said, leaning back on the couch.

“Oh, here we go again,” Ron said acerbically. “Let’s all join Harry’s pity party.”

“Shut up, Ron,” Harry said angrily.

“No, I don’t think so,” Ron said. “I’ve sat back and watched you do this to yourself for way too long. This shit has to stop, Harry. You are wasting your life away and you don’t even care. It’s a good thing Hermione isn’t here to see this, she wouldn’t want to see what a cliché you’ve become.”

“How the hell do we know what she’d want?” Harry yelled back at him. “She’s not here!”

“That’s right, Harry,” Ron said. “She’s not. She’s not here. You’ve got to accept that and move on.”

“I can’t!” Harry said. “Don’t you see? She was my life, Ron. And because of me, she ended up dead. You don’t understand because it wasn’t you that did this to her. Okay? Did you hear her dad at the funeral? He asked me to leave. He said he couldn’t bear to look at the person who was responsible for her death.”

“He just lost his daughter, Harry,” Ron said. “What did you expect him to say? He didn’t mean it. He was angry and hurt and sad about what happened. Hell, we all were.”

“He was right, Ron,” Harry said firmly.

“I’m so sick of this,” Ron said. “I’m not going to sit around and watch you destroy your life anymore. I am not going to sit here and watch you excuse it all by saying that you feel bad and it’s your fault when anyone with half a brain knows that it wasn’t.”

“Get out,” Harry said, getting up from the couch and heading over to the door. “You don’t want to be, here? Fine, get out.” He opened the door and stood in the doorway.

“You’re a joke, Harry,” Ron said, walking toward him. “The Boy Who Lived has turned out to be nothing but a drunk, miserable fool. I’m sure wherever Hermione is she’s proud as can be of you. I know I sure the hell am!”

Ron quickly walked past him and out the door. Harry slammed the door as hard as he could behind him.

“Bastard,” Harry muttered.

He walked into the kitchen and pulled a mug out of the sink. He looked in one of his cupboards until he found the bottle of hangover potion that he’d bought in Diagon Alley. He poured himself a glass and took a big swig. It was disgusting to taste, but it did the trick. Within moments, his queasiness and headache were gone.

He sat down at his kitchen table and absently ran his fingers through his hair.

Ron was right, of course. He had barely made it through his last year. He hadn’t been drinking, then. He stopped studying. He barely paid attention in classes and this was when he bothered to show up for them. For the first time since he’d started attending Hogwarts, he didn’t want to be there. Her memory was everywhere. There was a memory of her behind every corner, in every room, in every class. If it hadn’t been for Ron, Ginny, and Neville teaming up to help him, he’d never have gotten through.

After graduation, he’d been offered every job imaginable---Auror, Quidditch, the Ministry of Magic. Hell, he’d even been offered a job with Fred & George in their successful joke shop. He’d turned them all down. He’d lived off the inheritance his parents had left him and bought himself a flat near Diagon Alley.

As he often did, he revisited the night she’d died.

He remembered how he’d cradled her limp body in his arms. Ron and Sirius stood a few feet back, looking just as shell-shocked as Harry. Harry was too concerned about Hermione to notice that officials from the Ministry entered the house, but he did hear one of them ask Sirius, rather tactlessly, “How long is he going to be? We really need to examine the body straightaway.”

It was at those words that Harry completely lost it. He let go of Hermione and stood up and angrily walked over to the man.

“She has a name,” he said angrily. “She’s isn’t just a body, okay? She has a name.”

The Ministry wizard looked sheepishly back at Harry. “I’m sorry, sir. Of course, she does. I apologize.”

Sirius stepped forward and put a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Come on, Harry. We should let these gentlemen do their job. There’s nothing more you can do.”

He’d meant to sound comforting, but Harry didn’t take it that way. Any joy he felt at Sirius’ being alive was quickly drowned out by his grief over Hermione.

“I’m not leaving her,” Harry said solemnly. He got back down on the floor and took her in his arms again. “I’m not leaving her.”

Now nearly four years later, the pain was still so fresh. The wounds hadn’t healed. He knew he was just feeling sorry for himself, but he wondered why everything he loved was taken away from him somehow. His parents, Sirius, and now the one person he loved more than his own life, Hermione…they’d all been taken away.

In his life, he hadn’t known much lasting happiness, but with her, he’d believed it was possible. He’d experienced it. It might have been for a short time, but he’d had it. It had been there, a chance to live a happy, normal life with the girl he loved. Yet, she too, had been taken from him.

He needed her now, to tell him that he was being stupid. To tell him that he was throwing his life away. He needed her, period. He wanted to see her smile. He wanted to see her roll her eyes when he told her he’d put off doing an assignment. He wanted to see her laugh when he tickled her. He wanted to wake up with her again, and feel her breath on his skin.

He knew that everyone wanted him to talk---to tell them how he felt. They wouldn’t understand, though. There was only one person who would. There was only one person he wanted to tell.

So he went to her gravesite that very day. Her parents had her buried in the Granger family plot in a London cemetery. He’d apparated there and as he looked at her tombstone, he felt the tears welling up in his eyes.

Hermione Elizabeth Granger

September 19, 1980—August 14, 1996

Beloved Daughter & Friend

He knelt down on the ground and placed a single pink rose on top of the tombstone.

“I know I haven’t come here as often as I should have. I just, didn’t want you to see me like this. I’ve made quite a mess of my life,” he said softly. “But, you probably know that. You’re probably up their in heaven with my mum and dad shaking your head at me.”

Tears were already flowing down his cheeks as he continued to speak.

“Everyone tells me it wasn’t my fault, but how can I believe that? If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have been at that house. I just stood there and watched as he did it, you know. I just stood there. When you needed me most, I just stood there, Hermione.”

“I let you down,” he said. “It wasn’t just on that night, but all the things that I’ve done since; I don’t even feel like it was me. A part of me died that night with you. I don’t know how to make this up to you, but I think I have a way. I’m going to turn my life around. I want to be the type of person you’d be proud of. I want to be the guy you fell in love with again. It’s going to be hard because you won’t be here kicking me in the bum, but I’m going to try. I owe that to you. I won’t let you down again.”

(End of flashback)

He had managed to do just that. He had turned his life around. It hadn’t been easy, but he’d done it. After undergoing extensive tests, both psychological and physical, he’d been accepted to undergo Auror training. In about a week, he’d leave for Scotland, where he’d undergo his training.

He’d also met someone. Her name was Maggie McCall. She had attended Hogwarts with Harry, Ron and Hermione, but she’d been in Hufflepuff house. She worked at the Ministry of Magic in the same department as Mr. Weasley. Harry had met her at one of the Weasleys parties at the Burrow. She was very nice and although Harry had been reluctant to do so, he’d begun to fall for her. They’d only been dating a couple of months, but things seemed to be going well.

She was supposed to be going with him to Ron’s flat for dinner tonight, but she’d had to travel to Australia on an emergency with the Ministry. So, Harry made his way to Ron and Kit’s flat by himself. Ron and Kit were married nearly a year ago. They’d become quite close in the wake of Hermione’s death. Kit had traveled to London with Hermione’s parents for the funeral. She and Ron had struck up a friendship that slowly evolved into love over the years. When Kit turned 18, she moved to London permanently where she was accepted at one of the universities.

Kit and Ron were now anticipating the birth of their first child. Kit was only two months along, but both of them had been so excited when they’d shared the news with Harry.

Yes, things were finally looking up for everyone.

Harry apparated right outside of Kit and Ron’s apartment. He knocked on their door. Within seconds, Ron had opened the door and looked relieved to see his best friend.

“Thank Merlin you are here,” he said, ushering his friend inside.

“Why’s that?” Harry asked.

“We outnumber her now,” Ron whispered conspiratorially.

“What are you on about?”

“Kit,” Ron said. “I know she’s only two months along, but can you imagine how bad this is going to get? I have seven more months of this to look forward to. I don’t know if I’ll be able to survive.”

“What did you do?” Harry asked him, amused.

“I have no bloody idea,” Ron said. “I offered to help her cook dinner and she snapped at me! So, then I offered to set the table and she said I was doing it wrong! So, I go in here, sit down at the couch and read the newspaper. She comes in here and tells me that I need to get off my lazy ass and help her!”

Harry laughed.

“This isn’t funny,” Ron said. “She’s scaring me, Harry.”

Harry tried to stop laughing, but failed miserably.

Ron was about to respond when Kit walked into the sitting room, smiling broadly at Harry.

“Hi, Harry,” she said, standing on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. “How are you doing?”

“Good,” he said. “How about you?”

Okay,” she said smiling at him. “I hope you like spaghetti. I think I made enough for a small army.”

“Sounds great,” he said, grinning at her.

“I’m sorry Maggie couldn’t join us,” Kit said.

“She is too,” Harry said. “She sends her regards.”

“When’s she coming back?” Kit asked, watching her husband suspiciously as he walked out of the sitting room and into the kitchen.
“She’s supposed to be back sometime tomorrow,” Harry said, watching Kit’s expression and trying not to laugh. Her eyes were fixed on the entryway to the kitchen.

Ron came out of the kitchen a few moments later, chewing on something. When he saw Kit looking at him, he stopped dead in his tracks. He stopped chewing. He looked exactly like the proverbial cat that ate the canary.

“Ronald Weasley,” she said, rounding on him. “What do you have in your mouth?”

Ron mumbled something that sounded like “Nothing” but came out “Nuffing”, seeing as his mouth was obviously full of something.

“Did you sneak a piece of my garlic bread?”

“Just one piece,” he said sheepishly.

“You better be glad that I’m a Muggle,” she said. “If I could do magic, I think I’d turn you into something.”

“It’s one piece of bread, Kit,” Ron protested. He looked to Harry to back him up, but Harry shook his head.

“You’re on your own on this one,” Harry said.

Kit gave Ron one last look of disgust to her husband before retreating to the kitchen, all the while mumbling something incoherent under her breath.

Ron held out his hands helplessly. “You see? Do you see what I’m up against? She makes my mum look like a pushover.”

“Good luck, Ron,” Harry said, laughing. “You’re obviously going to need it.”

A few minutes later, the three of them were seated at the kitchen table busily helping themselves to plates of spaghetti, salad and garlic bread. They ate in silence for a long time.

“So how are things going with you and Maggie?” Ron asked. “Getting serious?”

“Sort of, Mom,” Harry said, joking. “Things are okay.”

“Just okay?” Ron asked. “You don’t talk too much about her. You only brought her over here once. You’re not ashamed of us, are you?”

“No, it’s not that,” Harry said. “I don’t have to spend every waking minute with her now, do I?”

“No,” Ron responded. “But, I mean she seems pretty keen on you. Though, for the life of me, I don’t see why.”

“Thanks,” Harry said sarcastically. “What’s all this talk about Maggie for? You already have our wedding planned, Ron? We only started dating a couple of months ago.”

“It’s just that I think it’s great that you’ve finally met someone,” Ron said.

“Ron, can we not get into this now?” Harry asked him.

“Yeah, sweetie, stop while you’re behind,” Kit said.

“I’m just saying that Harry should-,” Ron started to respond, but Harry cut him off. He pushed his chair back and stood up.

“Kit, I want to thank you for a lovely meal, but I should get going. I’ve got an early start tomorrow.”

“Harry,” Kit said, watching as he placed his napkin down on the table. “You don’t have to go.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you, Harry,” Ron interrupted. “I just don’t want you to screw this up.”

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Ron,” Harry said. “I do, but you know, not everybody can have what you and Kit have.”

“You can,” Ron said. “If you’d just let go of Hermione.”

Harry looked as if someone had slapped him. Kit gasped.

“Ron!” Kit exclaimed, horrified.

Harry regained his composure. “Good night,” he said calmly and walked out of the kitchen. A few seconds later, they heard the door shut behind him.

“You shouldn’t have said that, Ron,” Kit said. “You went too far.”

“It’s about time someone bloody said it, Kit.”

Kit just shook her head.

“You know it was only a matter of time before he chucked Maggie because things didn’t work out, which we all know is a load of rubbish,” Ron said.

“Ron, he hasn’t chucked her yet,” Kit said. “They’re still dating.”

“Yeah, but for how long?” Ron asked. “I know him, Kit. I know him about as well as I know myself. He’s going to break her heart just because the poor girl has one flaw; a flaw she can’t help.

‘What’s that?” Kit asked him.

“She’s not Hermione Granger,” Ron said simply.

Author’s Note: Thanks for the reviews, guys. This is the chapter when you find out a little more about Julie Maxwell (AKA Hermione). We find out what she’s been doing in these past four years. This is a short chapter, but it does give you insight into her character.

Chapter Two

“Everything You Want”

“Somewhere there's speaking
It's already coming in
Oh and it's rising at the back of your mind
You never could get it
Unless you were fed it
Now you're here and you don't know why”

“He's everything you want
He's everything you need
He's everything inside of you
That you wish you could be
He says all the right things
At exactly the right time
But he means nothing to you
And you don't know why”

(“Everything You Want” by Vertical Horizon)

Julie had spent the majority of last night tossing and turning in bed. She’d slept on and off all night, no doubt due to the troubling events of the night before. She’d finally given up on getting any peaceful rest when she saw the sun peeking through her blinds. She turned her clock radio on and got out of bed. Instead of hearing music, she was treated to the sounds of the obnoxious morning show deejay telling his listeners it was going to be a beautiful day.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth. This summer had been quite a scorcher; one of the hottest she could remember since she’d lived in North Carolina. The idea that she’d experience a day without longing to be inside in the comforts of air conditioning did brighten her mood somewhat.

She was wound up way too tight this morning. As she often did when she was stressed out, she decided to go for an early morning run. After brushing her teeth and running a brush through her tangled hair, she quickly discarded her nightgown and put on a sports bra, tank top, shorts and her sneakers. She pulled her shoulder-length brown hair into a sloppy ponytail and grabbed her walkman and keys and headed for the out the door of her apartment.

She decided to take one of her favorite running routes which would lead her into Franklin Street and through the main part of the campus. It was only just past eight in the morning, so the streets weren’t too crowded. Of course, it helped that students had yet to return from summer vacation.

As she jogged along the sidewalks, the only sounds she heard were the sounds of her feet hitting the pavement and the syncopated rhythm from her headphones. She had so much on her mind. She tried to block it all out and concentrate solely on her run, but it proved futile.

This afternoon, she had to complete telephone registration for next semester. She also had to work the late afternoon to closing shift at Billie’s Restaurant & Grill.

Billie’s Restaurant & Grill was one of the best places to grab a sandwich, watch the Tar Heels on one of the big screen televisions or just to meet a friend or a date for a nice evening out. It was located near campus and was frequented by both students and the town’s locals. The cuisine was mostly American food---hamburgers, sandwiches, soups, and salads.

The proprietor was a woman named Billie Scanlon, who was in her early forties. She did most of the cooking herself. Her father had owned and operated the restaurant for years, but had left it to his daughter when he’d died. Billie, who had no children of her own, treated all her employees from the busboys, wait staff, bartenders and kitchen crew as her surrogate family. The majority of her employees were college students, but there were a couple of locals, or townies, who worked there as well. The restaurant was like home, not only to the employees, but also to the customers, whom everyone seemed to know by name.

Julie had worked as a waitress at Billie’s ever since she’d been a freshman. Billie had been somewhat reluctant to hire her, being as Julie had no prior experience waiting tables. Now, three years later, Julie was one of the best waitresses Billie’s had ever seen.

Julie had been like a mom to Julie these three years she’d been at UNC. She couldn’t remember the number of times Billie had listened to her drone on about her problems and provided a shoulder to cry on.

Truth be told, Billie had been the only mother-figure in Julie’s life. Well, at least that she could remember. She had lost her own mother a few years ago to cancer. Tragically, Julie had no memories whatsoever of her mother. When she was 16 years old, Julie had been involved in a car accident that had totally wiped out her memory. Over the years, she’d visited countless specialists, psychiatrists, and therapists who were just as baffled as she was about the cause of her amnesia and why she had yet to regain any of her memories of her previous 16 years. Eventually, she’d had to resign herself to the fact that she was simply not going to get them back. She hadn’t been happy about it, but she’d accepted it.

Her dad had been a big help. He’d sat with her for hours, going over photo albums and sharing stories with her about their family. He’d told her how she’d grown up in East London. He amused her with stories of her always wanting to go to the library, or the museums or to art galleries. Her dad didn’t like to talk too much about her mom. He always seemed to change the subject whenever Julie broached the subject. At first he’d been more than willing to share recollections of her, but lately he’d been downright evasive about her. Julie chalked it up to his lingering grief, so she hadn’t taken it too personal.

She’d basically started her life from scratch when she’d woken up in that hospital bed four years ago. Now, her life was pretty much normal as could be. She’d created her own memories.

Summer was now fading away and pretty soon the fall semester would start. Julie hadn’t taken any courses this summer, but she’d decided to stick around in Chapel Hill. This was in part mostly to the fact that her boyfriend, Robert Chandler Michaels III, better known as Trey, had asked her to stay behind. This fall, he would be entering his first year of medical school and Julie knew that his schedule wouldn’t allow for much free time once classes started again. As their relationship was still somewhat new---they’d only been dating for six months---she’d decided to spend the summer with him in Chapel Hill, taking it easy and working at Billie’s.

She had met Trey at Billie’s. She’d noticed how he’s come in every night for a few weeks and always sat in her station at the restaurant. He was quite handsome in an All-American, clean-cut sort of way. He was about 6 feet tall with an athletic build. He had short, closely cut brown hair. He grew up in Virginia and was two years older than Julie. He wanted to be a cardiologist and was about as driven and ambitious a man as she’d ever met. She enjoyed spending time with him, but something had always made her hold back with him. She didn’t know what it was, but something had caused her not to be as open with him as he probably would have liked.

Instead of dwelling on that, for now, she focused on her run. She had embarked on this run to forget her problems, after all. She couldn’t help but wonder, why did they always seem to follow her?

She walked into Billie’s a little before four o’clock. Her shift didn’t start officially until five, but she’d wanted to try again to get through on the telephone registration system. She’d only been marginally successful earlier in the afternoon. Sheer boredom at listening to the monotone computerized voice on the telephone had caused her to give up and watch a little television.

The restaurant was pretty much deserted, save for a few scattered patrons who were enjoying a late lunch. She waved hello to Chloe and Tim, two of her coworkers, who were engaged in a conversation at the bar.

She made her way quickly to the back room where employees had lockers to store their belongings. The back room was actually quite cozy. It was a small room, but it had a table and chairs, a telephone and a comfortable sofa. It was a great place to eat your dinner or lunch when you had a break or to catch a nap before your shift began. Julie had used it a number of times as a makeshift study hall.

Julie sat her backpack on the floor and took a seat in one of the chairs. She took her course catalog from her backpack and picked up the telephone.

Nearly an hour later, she emerged from the back room, somewhat tired. She’d changed into her work clothes. Billie wasn’t big on uniforms. She’d only insisted that employees stick to a simple black and white theme—black pants, white shirt. Julie had changed into a white camisole top and a pair of black linen Capri pants. She’d pulled her hair back into a French braid.

She nodded hello to Billie, who was standing at the grill.

“Miss Julie,” Billie said warmly. “How the hell are ya, darlin’?”

Julie laughed. “About as good as can be expected, I guess. You know they say telephone registration is supposed to be easier, but I swear it’s about as frustrating as standing in a line.”

Billie nodded. “You get all the classes you wanted?”

“Just about,” Julie said, her nose crinkled up. “All except one, really. It was booked solid. Well, there’s always spring semester.”

“Sweetie, can you take this tray of food out to table 6?” Billie asked her. “I swear that Chloe goes on more cigarette breaks than anyone else I’ve ever known.”

“Sure,” Julie said, tying her half apron around her waist. She grabbed a tray from the counter and loaded the plates onto it. She took the tray out to the customers, who happily dug into the food.

She walked back into the kitchen a few seconds later.

“You better go ahead and eat your dinner while you can,” Billie said. “We’ve got a busy night tonight. I fixed you a sandwich. There’s a bag of chips over there, too.”

“Thanks,” Julie said, eying the food hungrily. “What’s going on tonight?”

“Don’t you remember?” Billie said. “They’re having some big shindig at the Biology Department and they’re welcoming a bunch of international horticulturists or something like that. They booked the banquet room.”

“Oh, great,” Julie said, smiling as she took her sandwich and chips and headed out to the bar. Billie followed her and they both took seats at the bar. “I hope they tip well.”

“Well, you know big groups, they never do,” Billie said.

Julie frowned. She took a bite of her sandwich.

“You sure you’re okay?” Billie asked her. “You look a little preoccupied tonight.”

“Well, I’m okay, I guess,” Julie said thoughtfully. “Well, not really.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“Yeah,” Julie said. “It’s two things really. I’ll go with the bizarre one first.”

“Always good to get those out of the way,” Billie said laughing.

“Okay, I had the strangest dream last night,” Julie said. “I mean, really this totally random dream.”

“Okay,” Billie said, prodding her on.

“Well,” Julie began uncertainly. “I was in this castle, or at least I think it was a castle. I was walking through this corridor and I was with these two other people, but I didn’t get to see their faces for some reason. Anyway, we walked up this staircase and into another corridor. I don’t think we were supposed to be there because we heard something and started to run. The only problem was, we ended up in this room, staring right into the eyes of a three-headed dog. And we’re not talking about some miniature schnauzer, Billie. I’m talking about this huge behemoth of a dog. Luckily, we ran out of the room in time and shut the door on the dog. Then, I woke up.”

Billie stared at her, speechless.

“I told you it was bizarre!” Julie said. “You think I’m insane, don’t you?”

“Honey, if you’ve run a restaurant for as long as I have, you hear some pretty outlandish stories. I’ve heard it all, whether I wanted to or not. Your little three-headed dog dream probably just means that you’re stressed out. You probably just need to take it easy.”

“Take it easy?” Julie said, incredulously. “Yeah, with classes starting back and working here, those words will not exist in my vocabulary.”

Billie laughed. “Well, what was the other thing on your mind?”

Julie slumped in her chair. “Well, it’s more troublesome, actually.”

She paused for a moment and took another bite of her sandwich and a sip of her soda.

“You know how Trey and I went out to eat last night? Well, we were sitting there, talking and enjoying the food. He reaches over the table and takes my hand and says the three little words.”

“He did?” Billie gasped.

Julie nodded; her expression quite sullen.

“Well, why do you look like you just lost your best friend?” Billie asked confused. “I thought hearing those three little words from the guy you’ve been dating would be music to your ears.”

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” Julie asked. “Not for me, though. I really screwed things up.”

“What did you do?” Billie asked. “I’m almost afraid to hear it.”

“Well, he said it and I froze,” Julie said. “I mean, I just sat there for what seemed like an eternity. When I finally regained my voice, do you want to know what I said? I told him I had to go to the bathroom!”

Billie put her hand to her mouth.

“So, I got up and practically ran to the bathroom,” Julie related. “I nearly hyperventilated in the bathroom. He looked so horrified as he watched me walk away, Billie.”

“So, what happened when you got back to the table?”

“Well, he didn’t mention it again, and neither did I. It was so polite and awkward after that.”

“Why do you think you reacted that way?”

“I don’t know,” Julie said, shaking her head.

“Do you love him?”

Julie was silent. She looked very thoughtful as she considered the question at hand.

“Well, he’s really nice. I like him a whole lot. I mean he’s warm, sensitive and sweet.”

“You sound like you’re describing a cocker spaniel, not your boyfriend, Julie,” Billie said bluntly.

“I know,” Julie said morosely. “What’s wrong with me? I have this great guy who cares about me a lot and I can’t help thinking that something’s missing.”

“Well, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you,” Billie said. “I think you shouldn’t have said it, if it wasn’t what you felt in your heart.”

Julie nodded. “I know. It’s just sometimes I think I have this over-inflated view of romance. I mean, I know it’s not all candlelight dinners and walks on the back, but I just always felt that when I fell in love with someone, I’d have no reservations. I’d feel it from head to toe, you know? I’d be able to tell that person that I loved them and not have any doubts or reservations. I just don’t know if I’m at that point with Trey or if I ever will get to that point with him.”

“You hold on to your ideals,” Billie said, patting her on the arm. “You’re still young. You’re Mr. Right is out there. It might be Trey or it might not be. You just don’t do anything until you’re ready. Trust me, I know from experience.”

Julie nodded. “Thanks, Billie.”

“Anytime,” Billie said, getting up from her seat. “I better go and get started on that food for that banquet. You finish up, okay?”

Julie smiled.

“Oh,” Billie said, before walking into the kitchen. “Remind me that I’ve got to put that ad in the paper about the bartender job.”

“You got it,” Julie said.

As she sat there finishing her sandwich, she couldn’t help thinking that her life was about to get even more complicated than it already was.

She had no idea that before the night was over, a chance encounter with a face from her past would set off a chain of events that would change her life forever.

Author’s Note: Thanks guys for the reviews. Glad you’re liking the story. Hope you like this next installment….please let me know if you do!

Chapter Three

Friends

“It seems to me a crime that we should age
These fragile times should never slip us by
A time you never can or shall erase
As friends together watch their childhood fly”

(Elton John “Friends”)

Out of all the subjects Neville Longbottom had taken at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, the one class he enjoyed and excelled at equally had been Herbology. It was no surprise to anyone who knew him that he would take up that as his career. It was well-known that whenever Professor Sprout retired, Neville was first in line to take her place. As Professor Sprout was in hurry to do that, Neville had taken a job with the Ministry of Magic, working in a research capacity. He had gone quite far in a short time. He’d even managed to write a number of studies that had been published in many respected and esteemed journals of Herbology, not only in the United Kingdom, but also in the United States.

It was this that had led him to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He’d been invited by a Muggle friend to attend a three-day symposium at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The school’s biology department in conjunction with the Biology & Horticulture Departments at North Carolina State University and Wake Forest University were holding the symposium on plants and the usage of plants in medical breakthroughs. It was on the last day of the symposium that the professors and specialists were holding a somewhat informal banquet at a local restaurant.

Neville had enjoyed the conference a lot. He’d had the opportunity to meet with a great number of people he’d only had the privilege to read about. He couldn’t believe his luck at actually getting to meet people whose work he’d admired for years.

However, he was looking forward to finally going back home. He was still somewhat out of it with getting used to the time difference and he’d missed his friends and especially his girlfriend, Susan. He and Susan had been dating ever since sixth year at Hogwarts. In addition to her great sense of humor and personality, she had been one of the few people he’d ever known who could actually stand up to his grandmother. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that his grandmother was a somewhat formidable figure in his life and to be quite frank, she scared the bejesus out of him. She’d wanted Neville to go into some other field, instead of Herbology. Susan had told her point blank that Neville was a grown man and could make his own decisions about what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. To say he’d been impressed had been an understatement.

He had thought about blowing off the banquet and just apparating home, but he’d decided that it would be rude to just rush out of there like that.

He and his Muggle friend, Dr. Peter Simon, arrived at Billie’s Bar & Grill at a little after 7 p.m. The hostess, who introduced herself as Lisa, led them back to the banquet room of the restaurant. As they passed by, Neville marveled at the number of people already there. There was the sound of pop music coming over some speakers. The wonderful smell of steak and fresh bread filled the air.

It reminded him a little of The Three Broomsticks and he recalled the number of weekends he’d spent with his friends there in Hogsmeade.

When they arrived in the banquet room, he and Peter exchanged hellos with a number of their fellow guests and exchanged small talk. A blonde waitress with a pixie cut introduced herself as Chloe and asked for his and Peter’s drink orders. Peter ordered a scotch and soda, while Neville chose a beer.

“Neville,” one of the guests was saying. “I bet you aren’t used to weather like this in your neck of the woods.”

“No,” Neville said. “This is a little too hot for my blood, actually, but it’s been quite nice, actually. I wouldn’t mind coming back here for a longer visit, but for holiday instead of work.”

“When are you supposed to be heading back home?” the man asked.

“Early tomorrow morning,” Neville said. “I can’t wait to get back home and share with my colleagues all the wonderful things I found out here.”

“Where was it you said you worked at again?”

Neville froze. He hadn’t really come right out and said where he worked. These men and women were all Muggles, as far as he knew. They’d probably want to lock him up if he told them that he worked for The Ministry of Magic in London. The only one who knew his real identity was Peter, and that was because he was a friend of Dean Thomas’, who was a Muggle-born wizard.

“I, um, am actually between jobs right now,” Neville said. “I’m hoping to eventually sign on at some sort of educational institution, preferably at university level.”

Luckily, the man just nodded and went on to exchange pleasantries and small talk with the other assembled guests. He and Peter shared a look of relief as they watched the man walk away.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

At the same moment Neville was in the banquet room, Julie was busy helping Billie in the kitchen. One of Billie’s assistant cooks had called and said he’d be a little late, due to a family emergency. That left only Billie and Julie to man the kitchen. This wasn’t good news when the restaurant and bar was packed, and there was a banquet room full of people waiting to be served. As luck would have it, Billie had prepared most of their food beforehand, as the Biology Department had requested a catered style dinner. Mostly, they had to load up the barbecue, Brunswick stew, potatoes, potato salad, hushpuppies and Cole slaw onto the large serving platters. The Biology Department had requested a Southern-style menu and Billie had failed to disappoint.

“I swear if Ray doesn’t get here soon, I’m going to see about getting a Voodoo doll and some pins,” Billie said, helping Julie load the platters onto the rolling trays.

“He’ll be here,” Julie said, helpfully. “Besides, I’m in no hurry to get back there and help Chloe with those plant people. She said she’s already had her ass grabbed five times.”

“Maybe I should head on back there,” Billie said, with a laugh. “You know it’s been a long time since I had a date. I imagine one of those plant people as you call them might be like tigers. You know, they always say it’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for.”

Julie stared at her boss, her mouth agape.

“I’m kidding, Julie,” Billie said. “It has been a long time, though.”

“Stay away from the plant people, Billie,” Julie said, laughing. “Stay away from the plant people and no one gets hurt.”

“Very funny, very funny,” Billie said. “Why don’t you take these trays on back to the plant people? I’ll get Tim to help you. Let me know if you see any cute ones!”

“I got your back, Billie,” Julie said, shaking her head. She took the rolling tray and pushed it through the crowded bar and back into the banquet room. The collected guests sighed as she and Tim pushed the trays into the room.

“It’s about time,” she heard someone mutter. She put on a wide smile that couldn’t have been more synthetic.

She and Tim quickly loaded the platters onto the big tables that had been set up in the middle of the room. They’d just finished when Julie felt a shiver. It was the kind of shiver you got when you felt someone staring at you. She tried to shake the feeling and chalk it up to the fact that she’d just laid out platters of food for a group of about 30 people. They were probably just waiting for her to get out of the way so they could dig into the food. Tim said he’d take the trays back and she smiled appreciatively.

She decided to help Chloe out and mingle around to see if anyone needed a refill on their drinks. One older woman asked if she could have some lemon with her iced tea and Julie smiled and said that she’d go and get that from the kitchen and be right back. As she walked out of the room, she felt that same shiver come over her. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around the room to see who was staring at her.

She saw him, standing right against the back wall. He was a short, stocky man with brown hair. He was staring so intensely at her that it almost scared her. She smiled uneasily at him before turning on her heel to walk into the kitchen to get that woman her lemon slices.

This was too strange.

“It couldn’t be!” a voice in Neville’s head kept echoing. “It couldn’t be her!”

It looks just like her, Neville told himself. Yet, she had died nearly four years ago. He’d been to her funeral. He’d seen the devastation on the faces of her family, her friends and her teachers. There was no way that this was Hermione Granger. This couldn’t be, Neville said.

This girl’s hair was a little shorter than Hermione’s had been, but it was the same shade of brown and it wasn’t as bushy as Hermione’s hair sometimes had been. She did have the same warm, brown eyes that Hermione had. Her skin was a little darker than Hermione’s, no doubt due to the North Carolina sun.

This girl was not Hermione Granger. She was just someone who looked amazingly like her, Neville told himself. He shouldn’t be staring at her like that. He couldn’t help it though. From the moment he’d seen her walk in, he’d nearly felt his legs buckle. It was like going through a time warp.

The look on her face when she’d caught him looking at her had caused him to try and focus. He was probably freaking this poor girl out with his strange behavior and his staring at her, his mouth wide open. He needed to get a grip and get one fast.

Just as he thought he would be able to, the girl returned carrying a small bowl of lemon slices. She gave them to one of the women in the group and smiled warmly at a few of the other guests.

Peter walked over to his friend and nudged him. “Are you going to get something to eat or stand here holding up the wall all night, Longbottom?”

“Hmmm?” Neville stammered.

“You look as if you’ve just seen a ghost,” Peter said, worried. “Are you alright?

“Yeah,” Neville said, nodding. He watched as the young woman walked out of the room again. He knew he should probably leave well enough alone, but he couldn’t help it. He had to know, to speak to her, just to give himself peace of mind. “I’m fine. I think I just need to go to the loo. I’ll, um, be right back.”

Peter nodded, worriedly at his friend. “Whatever you say.”

Neville smiled half-heartedly before hurrying out of the room.

He looked around the bar, trying to find the Hermione look-alike. He finally found her standing at the bar, talking with one of the customers. He hesitated only a moment before walking over to her.

“Excuse me, miss?” he said nervously.

She turned around and she flinched a little as she saw who had wanted her attention.

“Yes?” she asked forcedly.

“I don’t mean to bother you, but I think I might have met you some place before?”

“I don’t think so,” she said, looking at him quizzically.

It sounds just like Hermione, Neville said to himself. Her English accent wasn’t as pronounced as it once had been, but it was still there.

“I’m not a psycho or anything,” he said, smiling warmly at her. “I swear I’m not. I just—“

“What?” she asked. She couldn’t help feeling a little more at ease. He seemed pretty harmless. She was still somewhat on guard because that was usually the kinds you had to be on your toes about.

“You remind me of someone,” he said. “My name is Neville Longbottom.”

“Well, nice to meet you, Neville,” she said, shaking his hand. “I think I would remember if I’d ever met someone named Neville Longbottom. It’s quite a unique name, isn’t it? Mine’s about as plain as can be. I’m Julie Maxwell.”

“Oh,” Neville said, his heart sinking a little. He was hoping this would be Hermione. But then again, the Hermione he had known would never willingly leave her friends and school. She had been devastated when her parents had pulled her out of school before sixth year started. She’d been so happy when she’d been able to return. He’d been so happy for Harry and Hermione. He’d always known that eventually they’d end up together. Hermione’s death had hit them all hard, but no one had felt it like Harry.

“Nice to meet you, Julie,” Neville said. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. You just look remarkably like someone I once knew. Did you grow up in London?”

She nodded. “Actually, I did,” she said. “I moved here to the states about four years ago with my dad.”

“I still live in London, now,” Neville said. “I’m here on the symposium.”

“I kind of figured that,” Julie said warmly.

Neville laughed.

“Well, I’m sorry I’m not this girl that you know,” she said. “I probably just look like her. What is it they say, everyone has a twin?”

Neville smiled. “Yeah. That’s what they say. Well, I won’t keep you any longer, Julie. I better get back.”

Julie nodded. “Enjoy the rest of your stay, Neville.”

He nodded and turned to walk away. His mind was racing with questions. This girl grew up in London, and moved her four years ago? That coincided with Hermione’s death. Could it be that something had happened? Could this girl really be Hermione and not even know it? Part of him thought he should just drop this, but he couldn’t help feeling that this was something big. This was something Harry should know about. He couldn’t just let this go. Hermione was his friend. If she was still alive, he’d do anything he could to help her. Harry would know what to do.

Neville sighed with relief. He knew exactly where he would go when he arrived home tomorrow. He hoped Harry would be ready.

Author’s Note: Thanks for the reviews guys. In this chapter, you get some insight into Harry’s new girlfriend, Maggie. I just couldn’t bring myself to write a love scene between them (being the diehard Pumpkin Pie girl that I am) Anyway, this chapter includes two flashback scenes…one from “Again” (which for some stupid reason, I wrote in first person—which I shouldn’t have) and “My Sacrifice”. If you haven’t read those two stories, you might not understand the flashbacks. Anyway, without further ado, here’s the latest chapter. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter Four

Best I Ever Had

“So you sailed away
Into a grey sky morning
Now I'm here to stay
Love can be so boring

Nothing's quite the same now
I just say your name now”

(“Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning”))

Maggie McCall arrived back in London late in the afternoon from Australia. Although she was exhausted, she and Harry went out to eat at one of her favorite Italian restaurants in Muggle London. The food was outstanding, but the conversation had been somewhat troubling. Maggie felt like she was the only one talking and she wasn’t sure that Harry was doing very much of the listening. He had a sort of vacant expression on his face and he’d barely touched his food. She’d told him about the convention in Australia and he’d nodded when he was supposed to and thrown in a “Really?” and a “Yes?” when prompted, but other than that hadn’t contributed at all to the conversation.

She asked him what was wrong, but he wouldn’t say much beyond him and Ron having words last night when Harry had went to his flat for dinner. He didn’t go into much detail, and she knew him well enough by now that she knew when to press the issue and when to let it go. This was one of those times when he obviously wanted to let it go.

They’d taken a walk after dinner and she’d asked him if he was excited to be going to Scotland in the next couple of days to begin his training. His eyes lit up somewhat at this topic and he had talked a little about his plans and how he was looking forward to it.

They made it back to her flat just before midnight and she’d asked him if he wanted to stay over. Considering his mood throughout the night, she was quite surprised when he nodded. Any hope she had a wonderful reunion was dashed when he kept telling her how sleepy and exhausted he was.

As a result, as soon as they entered the flat, he made his way for her bedroom. Almost upon the moment his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light. Maggie laughed. She was exhausted and would love to join him, but she knew she should check on the owl post.

She went into her small kitchen and put the kettle on to make her a nice cup of tea, decaffeinated of course. She sat down at the table and absently began going through the parcels and packages that she’d received since she’d been gone. Her mind was not on this task, though. Her mind was on the man asleep in her bedroom.

She’d been as surprised as everyone else when he’d asked her out. She had attended Hogwarts with Ron, Harry and Hermione, but she hadn’t really known them. She knew of them, of course. Who didn’t? She could still remember how she and her fellow Hufflepuff girls had watched with awe at the way that Harry used to look at Hermione. She could remember a number of her friends saying that they wished they could have someone look at them like that. Maggie had felt the same way. She almost couldn’t believe that she was dating him now. Though, she wasn’t stupid enough to think that he looked at her a fraction of the way he used to look at Hermione.

Their relationship was still so new, though. Hopefully, that would come in time, she’d tell herself.

She’d officially met Harry at one of the Weasleys dinner parties. She worked with Arthur Weasley in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office at the Ministry of Magic. For weeks before the party, she’d suspected that Arthur and Molly were playing matchmaker. Arthur would drop hints during work and when Molly would drop by, she’d talk about how great Harry was. Maggie couldn’t help thinking that Molly should be out selling cars with how persuasive and persistent she was.

At the party, Molly had made a point of seating them side by side at dinner and making sure that they came into close contact throughout the evening. Maggie had heard and read a number of stories about how the death of Hermione Granger had devastated him. She’d also heard of how hard he’d worked to get things in his life back in order. She’d found him to be very friendly and warm and she had to admit feeling a little weak in the knees that first night she’d met him. It was those piercing green eyes.

Although they’d enjoyed each other’s company at the party, she hadn’t thought anything would come of it. She’d been pleasantly surprised when he’d showed up at The Ministry a couple of days later and asked her out to lunch. He’d been so adorably nervous when he’d asked her, she wouldn’t have said no in a million years.

Their relationship had progressed quite nicely, but there was a ghost, literally and figuratively, hanging over their relationship. He’d never said he’d loved her. She had told him how she felt, but he hadn’t said anything. It had hurt her, but she understood that he wasn’t like most men. She’d give him time. When he was ready to say it, he’d say it. She held on that.

What she didn’t tell him was how she’d hear him call out Hermione’s name in his sleep. She hadn’t told him that after the first night they’d made love; she’d woken up to find him out of the bed. She found him, hunched over on his couch, crying. She hadn’t made her presence known to him, then. She’d just let him be. He was obviously feeling guilty for caring about someone else when he still held on tight to his memories of the love of his life.

Maggie had no delusions that she’d have with Harry what he’d had with Hermione. She did believe, however, that she could make him happy. The problem was that whenever she thought she was making a breakthrough, he’d pull back. She understood and knew why, but it certainly didn’t make it hurt any less.

She gave up on reading her mail. She was too tired to even think about it. She quickly disrobed into her nightgown and climbed into bed beside Harry. She whispered “Nox” and lay her head down on her pillow. The last thought she had before going to sleep was one that had plagued her for weeks now. How would they ever be able to move forward when he couldn’t or wouldn’t let go of his past?

Harry made it back to his own flat the next morning, feeling a little better than he had the night before.

Ron’s words had haunted him the past couple of days. He knew Ron was right. He had to find some way to let go. The problem was he didn’t know if he had the strength and willpower to do it.

He’d be leaving tomorrow to begin his training. He was excited and nervous all at the same time. This trip couldn’t come at a better time, he couldn’t help thinking. He’d have the training to keep his mind off of all this drama.

He took a quick shower and dressed in a pair of sweat pants and an old t-shirt. He went up into the attic to get his trunk down to begin packing. He’d just managed to levitate it down the attic stairs when he heard a loud, persistent knock on his door.

He looked at his watch. It wasn’t even 8 a.m. yet. Who would be calling on him this early? Still, the knocking continued.

“Hold on,” he called out. “I’ll be right there!”

He opened the door and to his surprise, he found Ron, looking disheveled and out of sorts, standing beside Neville, who looked as agitated and wound up as Harry had ever seen him. Ron looked as if he had just gotten out of bed as he was still wearing his t-shirt and boxer shorts. Ron was staring crossly at Neville.

“What’s all this about then?” Harry asked them. “What are you lot doing here this early?”

“Bloody hell if I know!” Ron exclaimed angrily. He shot another cool glare at Neville. “He comes knocking on my door at—“, his voice breaking off. “Merlin’s beard! I don’t even know what the bleeding time is! And he doesn’t even give me a chance to get properly dressed, either! He just tells me that he needs to talk to you and me together right now! That’s all he says!”

Neville looked sheepishly down at the floor.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his eyes wide. “I’m sorry! I just really need to talk to you both. You know that I wouldn’t have done it like this if it wasn’t extremely important.”

“Well, do you mind if we do it inside, Neville?” Ron asked irritably.

Harry stepped back and allowed Neville and Ron to walk through the doorway. He closed the door behind them and followed them into the sitting room. Neville shook off Harry when Harry asked him to sit. He took a seat beside Ron on the couch. Neville silently paced back and forth in front of the couch.

“Neville!” Harry finally said. “Stand still for heaven’s sake! You’re starting to make me nervous.”
“Sorry,” Neville said, with a half-hearted laugh. He finally took a seat in the chair across from them. He looked thoughtful for a few moments, like he was mentally planning how best to say what he had to say.

“Neville,” Ron said impatiently. “You obviously didn’t get me over here at the arse crack of dawn just so we could stare at each other, did you?”

“No,” Neville said solemnly. “It’s just that I don’t really know how to say this to you, to either of you, actually. It seems so far-fetched and implausible. I mean, I wouldn’t have believed it myself if I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes. I mean the resemblance and the pitch and tone of her voice. It’s just so mind-blowing how…much she sounds…and looks…”

Harry and Ron exchanged a look of impatience.

“Neville,” Harry interrupted. “You’re not making any sense. Take a deep breath, and start over.”

Ron looked horrified at Harry.

“No!” he exclaimed. “I mean, you don’t have to star over, Nev. Just give us the relevant details.”

Neville nodded. He took a deep breath and continued. “Well, you know that I was over in the States this past week on a plant symposium?”

Harry nodded. Ron just stared back at Neville.

“Well, it was held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It’s really a beautiful campus. You guys would love it, really. Very hot climate, though. I don’t know how they stand it, really.”

Ron looked as if he was having a terrible time trying to stay calm.

“Neville,” Ron said warningly.

“Oh, right, sorry,” Neville said. “Well, the last night of the symposium there was this banquet dinner for all the guests. They had it at this restaurant in Chapel Hill. One of the waitresses there, Harry, she um,” his voice trailed off.

“One of the waitresses there, what?” Harry prompted.

“Harry, I don’t know how to say this, but I think Hermione may still be alive.”

Harry froze.

“Neville,” Ron said. “If you’re playing a joke on us, this isn’t very funny. You know as well as I do that Hermione died four years ago at Tom Riddle’s old house. For Merlin’s sake, Harry and I watched him perform the curse on her.”

“I wouldn’t joke about this, Ron,” Neville said, seriously. “There was a waitress at this restaurant that looked and sounded just like Hermione. I swear to you both as a Gryffindor that what I’m telling you is the absolute truth. It nearly took my breath away at the resemblance, Harry. She has shorter hair than Hermione did, but it’s the same shade of brown. Her accent isn’t as pronounced as it once was, but she still has it!”

Harry stood up from the couch and silently walked over to the window.

“I went up to her and spoke with her. I think it freaked her out somewhat the way I was staring at her, but I apologized for staring at her. I told her she reminded me of someone. She didn’t seem to recognize me at all. She said she thought she would remember if she’d met someone with a name like Neville Longbottom. She was really quite charming, just like Hermione was. I asked her what her name was and she told me it was Julie. She also told me how she’d grown up here in London, but that she had moved to North Carolina four years ago. Four years, Ron.”

“Coincidence,” Ron said. “This girl isn’t Hermione, Neville.”

“I think she may be, Ron,” Neville said. “I really do.”

“Harry?” Ron asked, turning around to look at his friend. Harry was still silent, staring at the window. “Don’t do this, mate! It’s not Hermione. Neville, this girl probably just has a passing resemblance to her.”

“Ron,” Neville said firmly. “This girl could be Hermione’s twin. I honestly believe it was her. I wanted you lads to know what I saw. You can do with this what you will, but I honestly believe it was her.”

“Harry,” Ron said again. “Come on, mate.”

Harry suddenly turned around. “Neville? You said this girl was a waitress at a restaurant?”

“Yes,” Neville said. “She works at this place called Billie’s Bar & Grill. I have a matchbook in my pocket from there.”

He put a hand in his pocket and pulled out the matchbook. With a shaking hand, he gave it to Harry. Harry looked at it, his eyes glossing over.

“Harry,” Ron said concerned. “Don’t do this to yourself. It’s not her.”

“How do you know that?” Harry asked him, his eyes shining with tears.

“Because we both saw V-voldemort perform that curse on her,” Ron said. “She died! We saw her buried, Harry.”

Harry looked thoughtful for a few moments. The silence in the room was nearly deafening.

“Ron’s probably right, Neville,” Harry said, he dropped the matchbook onto his coffee table. “Thanks for coming by and sharing the news with me, but I don’t think it was her.”

Neville nodded, a look of disappointment coming over his face. “I just thought you should know.”

“I’ll, um, see you out,” Harry said. He walked toward the door and opened it, shaking Neville’s hand before watching him walk out the door.

He walked back into the sitting room where Ron was still sitting on the couch. Harry picked up the matchbook again, looking at it, as if he was waiting for it to give him some sort of information.

“It’s not her, mate,” Ron said.

“Probably not,” Harry said, his voice nearly in a whisper.

“It’s not,” Ron said. “Don’t do this again, Harry. I wish Neville hadn’t come over to tell you this. This is all better left in the past.”

“What if it is her?” Harry asked. “What if it is?”
“It’s not,” Ron said. “Look, you have a train to catch tomorrow morning for Scotland, right? You don’t have time to be thinking about this now! You’ve finally got things back on track, Harry. Don’t blow it now.”

“This ‘Julie’ person isn’t Hermione,” Ron said.

“You’re probably right,” Harry said. “I really should start my packing. I have to get everything done if your mum’s going to give me a going-away dinner, right?”

“Yeah,” Ron said. “You’re still coming, then?”
“Yeah,” Harry said. “I’m the guest of honor, right?”

“Good,” Ron said. “I, um, better get back to Kit, okay?”

“Yeah,” Harry said. “You going to apparate back?”

“Yeah,” Ron said. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Harry didn’t turn around to say goodbye to his friend. When he heard the loud pop signaling Ron’s departure, he finally sat back down on the couch; the matchbook still in his hand.

This was preposterous. It couldn’t be, he tried to tell himself.

A voice in his head kept whispering, “It would explain why you never really felt she was gone. It would explain why you’ve never been able to truly let go.”

Ron was right. He’d seen Voldemort perform the killing curse on Hermione. He’d held her limp body in his arms. He’d watched as they buried her in the Granger family plot. How the hell did she end up in bloody North Carolina? It couldn’t have been her. There was no way it could be her, he thought to himself. But, what if it was? Did he really want to go there again? What if he went to check this out and had his hopes dashed again? What would happen then? There were too many questions floating around in his head and not enough answers.

___________________________________________________

Later that evening, Maggie and Harry arrived at the Burrow for Harry’s going away dinner. The entire Weasley family was in attendance with assembled spouses, dates and children as well as Sirius, Lupin and Tonks.

Harry hadn’t told Maggie about Neville’s visit earlier that day. Ron hadn’t told Kit, either. It was still on both of their minds as they were both the least talkative of the guests at the party.

Harry was in the sitting room watching as Fred and George were engaged in a game of Exploding Snap. Ginny was in the kitchen with Maggie helping Molly with the final preparations for dinner.

Sirius came into the room and saw his godson, standing at the mantle looking at the photographs. The one he was looking at was of Ron, Hermione, and Harry, taken their fourth year at Hogwarts.

“Hey,” Sirius said, coming up behind his godson.

Harry jumped.

“Sorry to startle you, Harry,” he said. “You need to work on that for your training. A good auror is never startled.”

“Well, a good auror probably doesn’t have as much on their mind, either,” Harry said cryptically.

Sirius looked at him confused. “What’s that mean?”

“Nothing,” Harry said. “I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately.”

“She seems nice,” Sirius said, tilting his head to the kitchen. “Seems to like you an awful lot, though I can’t see why.”

“Funny,” Harry said. “She is nice.”

“Are you okay, Harry?” Sirius asked him, seriously. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Harry nodded. “Outside, though. I need some air.”

Sirius nodded and turned to Fred and George. “Boys, if your mum’s looking for us we’ll be outside.”

Fred nodded and went back to the game.

A few minutes later, Harry had told Sirius about Neville’s trip to Chapel Hill and about Julie and how Neville thought this girl was Hermione.

“Well, if anyone should know about coming back from the dead,” Sirius said. “It would be me.”

“So you think Voldemort could have done this?”

“I don’t know,” Sirius said. “I know he was capable of a great deal. I know he had something big planned. He talked about with his guards while I was in captivity. I never found out much about it. I thought it was me, but maybe it had something to do with Hermione.”

“This couldn’t have come at a worse time, Sirius,” Harry said, his voice choking. “I have to go to Scotland tomorrow. I shouldn’t be worrying about whether or not this girl is Hermione when the chances of her being Hermione are slim to none.”

“What do you want to do, Harry?” Sirius said.

“I don’t know,” he said, pacing back and forth. “I mean, if there’s a chance that this is her, I should follow it, shouldn’t I?”

“You’ll do the right thing,” Sirius said. “You always do.”

“Oh, that’s a big help,” Harry said angrily. “Thanks for your wisdom and guidance, godfather.”

“I can’t tell you what to do,” Sirius said. “I never could. You’ve always been one to follow your heart. When has that let you down?”

Harry leaned back against the house. Sirius patted him on the shoulder before walking back into the house. Harry stood out there, looking up at the sky, for a few moments.

Stars, he couldn’t help thinking. He remembered that night back in Atlanta when they’d went to the planetarium.

Flashback

She took me over to one of the telescopes and we took turns looking up into the stars, trying to point out the different planets and constellations we could see. Hermione was taking another turn looking into the telescope when she gasped.

“That sky is amazing,” she said. “Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?”

I looked at her, her face beaming and her cheeks flushed from the cold. Her hair was blowing in the breeze and the moonlight shining down on her, seemed to illuminate her.

“No,” I said, looking at her. I knew, right then, that Hagrid had been right. Lupin had been right. They’d known all along, what I’d been too stupid and blind to see. She was a wonderful girl. She was a wonderful girl that I was falling in love with. Correction, she was a wonderful girl that I knew I was in love with. “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful, Hermione.”

She took her eyes away from the telescope and stared at me. I had been looking right at her as I said that.

“You weren’t even looking up at the sky,” she said.

“I wasn’t talking about the sky,” I said.

A smile played at the corner of her lips. I hoped I hadn’t made her uncomfortable by what I’d just said.

“Oh,” she said.

I looked around at the other people situated around the grounds. A number of people had joined in at the dancing.

“Would you like to dance?” I asked her, extending my hand to her.

She smiled. “I thought you didn’t dance.”

“I don’t, usually,” I said. “For you, I’m willing to make an exception.”

She stood there, staring at me.

“Don’t leave me hanging, here, Hermione,” I said, holding out my other hand to her. “It’s embarrassing. If you’re worried that I’m going to step on your toes, don’t be. You have my word that I promise to try my best and not step on your toes.”

She laughed. “Okay. You should be worried about your toes,” she said. “I’m a menace on a dance floor. You could ask Viktor Krum. I think I stepped on his toes so much he had a limp by the end of the Yule Ball.”

“Come on, Hermy-own-ninny,” I said, taking her hand and leading her to the middle of the grounds.

She laughed and as we stood there listening to the music, we looked around nervously. She hesitantly put her hands on my shoulders and I, just as nervously, put my hands around her waist. Our faces were inches apart as we began to sway to the music. Within seconds, we were comfortable with each other and with the closeness of each other. She pressed her head to my shoulder. For the first time, in a long, long time, I felt light-hearted. I didn’t have a concern in the world, save for the girl who was in my arms. I could smell the scent of her shampoo and it was nearly intoxicating.

Holding her in my arms, I almost felt as if I couldn’t breathe. I moved my hands from her waist to her back and she, in turn, wrapped her arms tight around me. It was almost as if we were all alone, in our own little world.

She lifted her head from my shoulder and our faces were inches apart.

“Are you cold?” I asked her, looking down into her eyes.

She shook her head.

“I feel warm,” she said, looking into my eyes. I felt as if my knees were going to give way at any moment. “I feel warm all over and safe.”

“You are safe,” I said. “I’d never let anything happen to you. You know that don’t you?”

She nodded. “Harry.”

“Hermione,” I whispered, feeling as if I was going to burst if I didn’t kiss her.

I could feel her breath on my cheeks. She was so close. I leaned in towards her and felt my heart racing as my lips met hers in a soft kiss. We pulled away, both somewhat shocked at what had just happened, but still holding on tightly to each other and not breaking eye contact.

Before I could catch my breath, we were kissing again, this time it was much more intense. When we pulled away from each other, I felt dizzy and breathless. I rested my forehead on hers and we stood there for a long time, holding each other.

“See,” she finally said. “I said you weren’t terrible at kissing.”

(END OF FLASHBACK)

He and Hermione had spent a number of wonderful times together underneath the stars.

Then, of course, that was that night in the Astronomy Tower when they’d had their “wedding”.

He couldn’t help remembering the words he’d said to her that night. He couldn’t help remembering what he’d promised her that night.

(FLASHBACK)

He joined her inside the circle and took her hands in his. He smiled at her nervously before beginning to speak.

“People spend forever searching and looking, on a journey to nowhere. And you know what? I guess that could've been me, except I found you. And now I know that my journey began and is going to end with you. I bet you're wondering, maybe, what this stones are for –“

“Yes,” Hermione whispered.

“Well, the thing is that I don’t have a ring that I could give you, so this is sort of like the same thing. I mean, it’s not 14-karat gold or anything like that, but it’s the best that I could do. It represents the bond of our love---an infinite circle without beginning or end, never to be broken. Hermione Elizabeth Granger, I promise that I will carry our love with me forever. We will be joined together as one for now and into eternity.”

She beamed at him as he leaned in and kissed her softly.

“Wait,” she said. “You’re not supposed to do that until after.”

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “Couldn’t help myself.”

“Well, I don’t know how I could follow that,” she said, letting go of his hands for a moment to wipe a tear away from her cheek. She took his hands in hers and then spoke her own vows.

“I knew from the first moment I met you that you would be someone special in my life. I didn’t know how special you’d become to me, but I knew deep down inside my heart that we would mean something to each other, somehow. In the years that I’ve known you, you’ve never ceased to amaze me at how compassionate and kind and caring you are. With everything that’s happened, you still have this great capacity to love and it’s been an amazing thing to witness. I have never known anyone like you, Harry. You are the first person I think of when I wake up and the last person I think of before I go to sleep. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like if you hadn’t been in it. I don’t know how much time we have, but I do know that it was well spent because I spent it with you. So, Harry James Potter, I promise to carry your love with me forever. My heart and soul belong to you from now into eternity.”

By the time she’d finished speaking, Harry too, had tears in his eyes.

Hermione looked at him expectantly.

“You can kiss me now,” she said. “If you want to, that is.”

He nodded and kissed her. They held on to each other for the longest time.

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you,” she replied.

(END OF FLASHBACK)

“Harry?”

“Hmmm?” he said, startled.

It was Maggie.

“You look deep in thought there, mister,” she said. “I have been told to bring the guest of honor inside for the grand feast.”

“Okay,” he said, trying to smile at her.

“You okay?” she asked him, hooking her arm through his.

“Yeah,” he lied, walking with her back into the house.

Kings Cross Station---The next morning…

“So you have everything?” Maggie asked him.

“Yeah,” he said. “I’ve got everything, Mum.”

“Sorry,” Maggie said, sheepishly. “I wish I could go on to the platform with you, but I’ve really got to make that meeting. Arthur’s going to need my research notes.”

“Go ahead,” Harry said. “I’m a big boy. I think I can make the train by myself.”

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll miss you.”

“Yeah, me too,” he said.

He kissed her and watched as she walked away. He stood there for a few moments. He’d loaded his trunk onto a trolley and he pushed it through the station. His mind was racing. He hadn’t slept at all last night. He wasn’t tired, though, surprisingly.

He hadn’t been able to think of anything else since speaking to Neville yesterday morning.

He looked down at his watch and noticed the time was 8:55 a.m. His train would be leaving in less than five minutes. He pushed his trunk toward the platform. He had made his decision. He was going to Scotland. He had a new life now. He had to concentrate on that. This was a great opportunity for him. He had to do this.

And then he heard that voice in his head again. “She never gave up on you, did she?”

He stopped, dead in his tracks and approached the ticket counter. “Excuse me, can I exchange this ticket?”

The woman behind the counter took his ticket. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to Scotland?”

”Yes, ma’am,” he said. “I’m positive.”

Author’s Note: The title of this chapter comes from the title of my first part of the Trilogy---Again. That song by Lenny Kravitz is one of my favorites and I couldn’t resist letting that be the title to this chapter because it just seems to fit perfectly here. I hope you guys enjoy. Thanks to all of you guys who have read and reviewed, you keep me going!

Chapter Five

Again

“I've searched through time, I've always known
That you where there, upon your throne
A lonely queen, without her king
I've longed for you, my love forever”

(Lenny Kravitz’ Again)

Harry had spent the past 15 minutes pacing on the sidewalk in front of Billie’s Bar & Grill. He was scared. Out of all the things in his life he had done, from fighting a basilisk to taking on one of the most powerful wizards in the world, and the idea of simply walking into a restaurant had him scared to death.

What had he done? He’d thrown away his second chance for a start, he thought to himself. There was no way that he’d get another chance like this again. No matter what his name was, he’d burned way too many bridges. With his latest actions, he’d had a feeling that he’d not only burned them, he’d blown them to smithereens.

He didn’t know if anyone would understand what he’d done. Hell, he wasn’t even sure he’d understood it, but he would never have been able to live with himself if he hadn’t at least come here to find out for sure.

“Come on, Harry,” he told himself. “Just open the door and walk on through.”

He took a deep breath and walked inside. It was just after four o’clock in the afternoon. There weren’t that many people inside the restaurant, except for a few people gathered by the bar. Harry looked around and only saw one waitress, who was most certainly not Hermione. This girl had short, spiky blonde hair.

When she saw him standing by the door, she smiled warmly at him.

“Have a seat anywhere, sweetie,” she said.

Harry nodded. He decided to take a seat at the bar, where the other patrons were. An older woman was standing behind the bar and she smiled warmly at Harry as he sat down.

“Good afternoon, darlin’,” she said. “What can I get you to drink?”

Harry smiled nervously at her. “Um, what do you recommend?”

She laughed. “Well, I would want a double martini, but being as I have to cook tonight, I wouldn’t recommend that. How about a glass of iced tea?”

“That sounds great,” he said, taking a menu from her.

She turned around to get him his tea and again, Harry scanned the restaurant for any sign of Hermione.

“Here you are,” the woman said giving him a glass of iced tea. “My name is Billie. I own this fine establishment. I don’t remember seeing you before.”

“I just got into town, actually,” Harry said.

“Well, welcome to Chapel Hill,” she said smiling at him. “I’ll give you a few moments to look over that menu.”

Harry nodded.

He couldn’t believe he was actually here. What would Ron and Maggie say when they heard about this? He hadn’t bothered to send them in a letter explaining what he was doing. There hadn’t been time. He also knew Ron would think he was out of his tree and Maggie would probably be hurt to find out that he had ditched his training to go chase after his dead girlfriend’s doppelganger.

Before leaving London, he’d busily scribbled a note on a piece of parchment to Sirius explaining where he was going and asking him not to tell anyone where he was or what he was doing. The last line of his letter said he’d explain it all later. Yeah, he’d do that, Harry thought, when he figured it out for himself.

So, he’d arrived in Chapel Hill less than an hour ago and checked in at a hotel down the street. He’d felt anxious as he made his way down the street to the restaurant. There were so many questions he had. Mostly, if this was her, how was it possible? He’d seen her die, after all. How was any of this possible? This had to be without a doubt the most surreal experience of his life.

“Have you decided?” Billie’s voice asked, breaking him out of his reverie.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” he said. “Could I have a BLT sandwich with extra mayonnaise and an order of French fries?”

“Sure can,” Billie said, writing this down on her order pad. “Should just be a few minutes.”

“Thanks,” Harry said.

He was about to turn around and scan the restaurant again when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

“Billie!” she exclaimed. “I am so sorry. You wouldn’t believe the line at the bookstore. I came right here from there. You wouldn’t believe the price I had to pay for these things. There mostly used, but I still had to spend over $300 in books.”

Harry turned around and saw her. She was carrying about three heavy bags of books. Her cheeks were flushed and flustered.

He had to stop himself from getting up from the chair and taking her in his arms. It was just like Neville had said. Her hair was a little shorter than it had been and her accent wasn’t as pronounced, but it looked and sounded just like Hermione. She walked right past him, not even looking in his direction. She set her bags of books down on the bar and took a deep breath.

Billie came out from the kitchen.

“Julie,” she said. “Good Lord, girl. You look as if you’ve just run the Boston Marathon.”

“I feel like I have,” she said. “At least I don’t have to worry about working out today. Those books must weight about 30 pounds.”

“Did you buy out the whole store?” Billie asked, her eyes getting big as she surveyed Julie’s purchases.

“I feel like I did,” she said. “I need some tea.”

“By all means,” Billie said. “Let me get you a glass. Have a seat.”

She sat down beside Harry and smiled.

“Hi,” she said.

He looked at her, his mouth agape.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I probably smell to high heaven. You would too, though, if you had to lug three bags of books through campus and down three blocks. I was such an idiot. I should have taken the bus, but I left my bus pass in the apartment and then I didn’t have any change. And I’m telling a total stranger about my problems.”

“It’s, um, it’s okay,” he said quickly. “I don’t mind.”

“Thanks,” she said. Billie gave her a glass of tea which she gratefully took and immediately took a sip of. “You are an angel of mercy, Billie.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Billie said. “Well, I better go and get this fellow’s BLT. You want to have anything to eat before you start your shift?”

“Yeah, that’d be great,” Julie said, smiling gratefully at her. “A BLT sounds great. I guess I’ll be having what you’re having, then.”

Harry smiled. “I guess so.”

“Hey, Billie?” Julie called to her boss. “Did you get any applicants for the bartender job?”

“Oh, just the same yahoos that are always coming in here. One of them had the nerve to ask if that meant he’d get free drinks. Needless to say, he was shown the door pretty quickly.”

“We’ll find someone,” Julie said reassuringly.

“Yeah,” Billie said. “We’re going to have to. I can’t keep doing this and bartending. I’m going to collapse of exhaustion if I keep doing this.”

“You’re just a regular old Jackie-of-all-trades, aren’t you?” Julie asked her jokingly. She nudged Harry, who had tried quite hard within the last few minutes not to stare at the poor girl beside him. She obviously didn’t know who he was from Adam. He didn’t want to scare her half to death by coming across as some sort of stalker within the first five minutes of meeting her.

It was amazing the similarities between this girl and Hermione. She had those same warm, coffee brown eyes that lit up when she talked. He was glad that he was sitting because if he’d been standing when he’d seen her, he had no doubt that he would have passed out. She took his breath away.

“So, are you from across the pond?” Julie asked him.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, turning to look at her.

“Me, too,” she said. “But that seems like ages ago, really.”

“How long have you been here?” he asked, trying so hard to keep his emotions in check.

“Well, I came to the states about four years ago and I’ve been here at UNC for three years,” she said. “Are you a student, too?”

“No,” he said.

“So what brings you here to Chapel Hill?” she asked him curiously.

Harry didn’t know what to say. Somehow saying, “Well, I think you look exactly like my dead girlfriend. In fact, I think there’s an excellent chance that you are. So, that’s why I’m here” didn’t seem like the best route to take.

Luckily, he didn’t have to say that. She cupped her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry. I’m like totally butting into your business and we’ve never even met before. You must think I’m the pushiest person you’ve ever met in your life.”

“It’s okay,” he said, trying to sound reassuring. He laughed. “We can clear that up straightaway. I’m Harry Potter.” He held out his hand.

She shook it enthusiastically.

“Nice to meet you, Harry,” she said smiling at him. “I’m Julie Maxwell.”

The feel of her hand in his after such a long time felt so…he didn’t have words to describe how it felt. It just felt right. He was disappointed when she let go. He told himself that he shouldn’t be thinking like this, he had no confirmation that this was Hermione.

Billie came out a few minutes later carrying two plates and she set them proudly in front of Julie and Harry.

“Be prepared, Harry,” Julie said, putting her napkin in her lap. “That is the best BLT sandwich you’ve ever eaten in your life. Trust me.”

He smiled and took a bite.

“The girl doesn’t lie,” Harry said, after he’d swallowed his bite of sandwich.

Billie beamed at him. “This man’s got good taste.”

“So,” Harry said. “I couldn’t help hearing that you needed a bartender.”

“In the worst way,” Billie said. “You looking for a job?”

“In the worst way,” Harry said, smiling at her.

Billie and Julie chuckled.

“So have you ever bartended before?” Billie asked him quizzically.

“Sure,” Harry said smoothly. “Loads of times. You could say I practically lived in the pubs back home over the last couple of years.”

Truth be told, he’d never bartended in his life. The closest he ever came to bartending would have been potions and somehow he didn’t think Billie wanted him serving up Forgetfulness potions and sleeping draughts. The last part of his statement had been the truth. He’d definitely nearly taken up residence in the pubs back home when he’d been in his self-destruction phase. He hoped she bought it. The best way to get to see if this girl was Hermione would be to work side-by-side with her. This way, he could get to know her and try and find out how she came to be who she was now.

“Really?” Billie said skeptically.

“Oh, yeah,” Harry said, smiling broadly at her again. In situations like this, throwing the old charm on couldn’t hurt, could it?

“Come on, Billie,” Julie chimed in. “We’re pretty desperate. Why don’t you give him a shot?”

Billie looked back and forth between Julie and Harry and then said, “Harry, I hope you don’t mind if I steal her away for a second, but come here, Julie.”

Julie looked nonplussed at her boss and friend, but nevertheless followed her into the kitchen. Harry couldn’t make out what they were saying. Now that Hermione or Julie or whomever she was away from him, he was finally able to take that deep breath that he hadn’t been able to take.

In the kitchen, Billie smiled at Julie.

“What?” Julie asked.

“We don’t even know that guy, Julie,” Billie said. “He just came off the street.”

“Well, I don’t think he looks like an axe murderer or anything,” Julie said, stealing a glance at the handsome man sitting at the bar.

“That’s what the witnesses say when they’re being interviewed on the 11 o’clock news about the guy that no one would have suspected of killing 30 people.”

“Billie!”

“I’m sorry,” Billie said. “So, you think I should hire him?”

“Yes,” Julie said, smiling. “He seems perfectly charming. And if I remember correctly, there was another person that you took a chance on a few years back that you didn’t want to hire, but if I may remind you is now one of your best waitresses?”

“Why are you sticking up for someone you haven’t met before?” Billie asked her.

“I don’t know,” Julie said. “There’s something about him. I think he’s a good guy. A keeper, if you will. Hire him, Billie. Put us all out of our misery of hearing you complain about having to cook and bartend and hire him. I beg you.”

Billie looked at Julie and then looked out at the young man sitting at the bar. He didn’t look like a troublemaker. When she looked at him, she didn’t automatically get warning signs. And Julie seemed to think he was okay. Julie’s opinion was one she trusted.

“Okay,” Billie said.

Julie clapped her hands together. “Yay!!!”

“Why don’t you go break the news to Mr. Green Eyes out there,” Billie said. “Get him to fill out an application. Tell him his first shift will be tomorrow evening at 5:00.”

“Great,” Julie said, smiling.

“You know Trey’s probably not going to like this one bit,” Billie said, winking at her.

“Billie!” Julie said. “I’m not looking to date this guy! I was helping him get a job. That’s all.”

Julie turned on her heels and walked out of the kitchen.

Billie looked knowingly at her friend.

“Uh-huh,” she said, smiling as she watched Julie sit back down beside Harry. “Something tells me you’ll be changing your tune soon enough.”

“So what’s the verdict?” Harry asked when Julie sat down beside him again.

“Well, Mr. Potter,” she said. “I think you’ve just landed yourself a job. You have to fill out some paperwork, of course, but Billie said you can start tomorrow at 5:00. We don’t really have a uniform really. You just have to wear a white shirt and black pants.”

“I think I can handle that,” he said. “Thanks.”

“For what?” she asked him, taking a bite of her sandwich.

“Well, you obviously had to say something to convince her to give me a go, right?”

“You are quite perceptive,” she said smiling at him. “I just remember how it was to come here, looking for a job and having to convince her to hire me. I’ve been in your shoes before and I thought I’d put a good word in for you.”

“I appreciate it,” he said, turning to look at her again. “But, I mean, you don’t even know me.”

She turned to look at him and to her surprise found herself looking right into his piercing green eyes.

“I don’t know,” she said thoughtfully. “You just seem like someone to go to bat for, so to speak.”

“Thanks,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” she said, smiling at him. She looked around the restaurant and noticed that a number of people were filing in for the dinner rush.

“Well, I hate to eat and run, Harry,” she said, pushing back from her stool. “But I better get ready. My shift starts in a few minutes.”

She walked over to where her bags of books were and picked them up.

“Can I give you a hand?” he asked her, getting up from his own seat.

She looked up at him and smiled. “Yeah, that’d be great, actually. I can show you around, too.”

He nodded and picked up two of the bags while she carried the other. He followed her back through the kitchen where she introduced him to the assistant chef Ray and two of the busboys, Mike and Tim.

She led him to the back room where she explained the employees used to eat dinner, take naps and study. He sat the books down on the couch and looked around.

“This looks rather cozy, doesn’t it?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said, looking around the room. “You wouldn’t believe the number of nights I spent in here studying in between breaks.”

“What’s your major?” he asked her.

“Elementary education,” she said. “I want to be a school teacher.”

Harry smiled knowingly at her. That sounded exactly like something Hermione would have wanted to do.

“You must like kids, then,” he said.

“Yeah,” she said. “I do. Everyone says I’ll change my mind once I’m around them all the time, but I don’t think so. I love the idea of helping a child learn how to read and teach them history and languages and all this different stuff. It’s amazing to me that teachers do so much, but get paid so little for what they do.”

Harry nodded. This was Hermione, through and through. The lover of knowledge, the crusader for equality. This was her.

“Don’t get me started on that, though,” she continued. “We could be here talking for hours.”

Harry couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do more than sit and talk with her for hours.

“So what about you?” she asked him. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“Ah,” he said. “I still don’t know. I’m trying to get into law enforcement, actually.”

“Oh, a man who likes to live on the edge,” she said, smiling at him. “Chase down evil doers and put them in their place?”

He laughed. “Something like that.”

“That sounds great,” she said.

“Thanks,” he said, smiling at her.

“Well, I better get on out front,” she said, tying her half-apron around her waist. “I guess you and I will be seeing a lot of each other. You do realize that you signed on for the late night shift?”

“No, I didn’t,” he said, barely able to contain the elation he had at the luck of the two of them having the same shift. It was all falling into place, like he was meant to have come there. It was sort of like a sign that what he was doing was right; that what he had done was the right thing.

She was saying something to him, but he hadn’t heard it.

“Hmmm?” he asked her.

“I asked if you were coming with me?” she repeated. “I wanted to finish showing you around.”

He smiled at her. “Yeah, I’m with you. Right behind you.”

Author’s Note: Thanks to all who have read and reviewed. Sorry for the long time between updates, but I’ve been busy with work…you know the story. I was also lacking motivation until I saw the trailer for POA---and can I say I can’t wait!!!!! I hope you like the update. In this chapter, Harry will meet Trey Julie’s boyfriend for the first time. Harry also goes looking for help from someone who has never steered him in the wrong direction. Please read and review.

Chapter Six

You Don’t Know Me

“You give your hand to me
And then you say goodbye
I watch you walk away
Beside the lucky guy
You'll never, never know
The one who loves you so
You just don't know me”

(The Song is “You Don’t Know Me”---its been done by a number of artists, but I’m most partial to Ray Charles’ version and the version by Jann Arden which is on the My Best Friend’s Wedding soundtrack)

It was hard to believe that less than 48 hours ago, Harry’s life had finally seemed to be coming together. He’d spent four years grieving for the girl he’d loved more than life itself and in the process, he’d thrown away every opportunity and chance he’d been given.

He’d finally started to put that grief and guilt behind him and then he received word from Neville that a Hermione look-alike was alive and well in some town in North Carolina. Everything had sort of spiraled into a tailspin from there. Now, instead of moving on with his life and embarking on his Auror training, he was trying to get the most important part of his past back into his life.

There would be no other chances. He’d known that when he’d pondered over what to do at the train station. Should he go to North Carolina to see who this girl really was? Could she have been Hermione? What is she was? What if she wasn’t? He hadn’t really had time to sensibly weigh the pros and cons of the situation. He’d had to make as split second decision and he’d done the only thing he’d known to do. It had been what Sirius had told him to do that night outside The Burrow. He had to follow his heart. His heart always led him to Hermione, which was why he’d thrown caution to the wind and taken the chance.

In the past couple of hours, he’d experienced nearly every emotion under the sun. He’d heard her voice again and he’d seen her beautiful face. He’d seen her warm smile and heard her melodic laughter.

There was no doubt in his mind that this girl was Hermione Granger. He’d known it in his heart the moment he’d swiveled around on that barstool and saw her walking through the restaurant. He honestly didn’t know how he’d been able to hold it altogether when she’d walked past him without a hint of recognition in her eyes. He honestly didn’t know how he’d been able to keep his emotions in check when she’d sat down beside him at the bar.

His natural instinct upon first seeing her after all this time had been to take her in his arms and hold her. He wanted to tell her how much he’d missed her. Yet, he couldn’t do any of those things that had seemed so natural just a few short years ago. If he had done that upon first seeing her, this girl would probably have ran as fast as she could to the local police station to take out a restraining order.

The cold, hard, and painful truth was that this girl---this Julie Maxwell---didn’t know him from Adam. She had no idea who he was and what they had meant to each other.

Someone had obviously gone to great lengths to ensure that she never found out who she was. But who would do something like this? What would they gain by doing something like this? Not Voldemort, he was dead. He more than likely had something to do with it. He had to have had help, though. Wormtail, possibly? Maybe another Death Eater?

He wanted to find out who had done this to Hermione. He wanted to make that person pay for taking her away from her family, her friends, her home, and from him.

He had to have answers. He couldn’t do this by himself. He needed help and he needed it now. He knew exactly where to go.

“Harry?” Sirius asked somewhat groggily.

“Hey,” Harry said, sheepishly, standing on the doorstep at Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

Sirius looked at his godson concerned.

“I thought you were in North Carolina,” he said, yawning.

“I was,” Harry said. “Can I come in?”

Sirius stood back and allowed Harry to walk inside the house. It was quiet and dark.

“I’m sorry to wake you,” Harry said, seeing for the first time that his godfather was dressed in pajamas and a bath robe, his hair disheveled. “It’s only 7:00 there. I forgot about the time difference.”

“It’s alright,” he said. “Come on in the kitchen. I’ll make us a cup of tea.”

Harry nodded and followed him through the foyer and into the kitchen. He took a seat at the kitchen table and watched as Sirius searched for the kettle.

A few moments later, they were seated at the kitchen table with steaming cups of Earl Grey tea before them.

“So was it Hermione?” Sirius finally asked.

“Yeah,” Harry said, running his hands absently through his hair.

“How can you be sure?”

“I know her better than I know myself, Sirius,” Harry said softly. “It’s her. She on the other hand has no bloody idea who the hell I am. She walked right past me today, do you know that? She didn’t even know who I was!”

Sirius frowned and put a comforting arm on Harry’s shoulder.

“Did you have the chance to talk to her?” Sirius asked him gently.

“Yeah,” Harry said, with a half smile. “I was so nervous, when I was standing outside that restaurant. I don’t think I’d been there 20 minutes when she came through the doors, loaded with books. It was like going back in time.”

“So what did you say to her?” Sirius asked. “You didn’t go the honesty route did you?”

“No,” Harry said shaking his head vehemently. “She thought I was just some new arrival into town. She even helped me get a job there. I start tomorrow evening. We’ll be working the same shift.”

Sirius nodded, his expression disappointed.

“What’s that look for?”

“I wasn’t aware I was giving you any sort of look?”

“Right,” Harry said. “You have that disappointed father look. Of course, I don’t really know what a disappointed father would look like, but I’ve seen movies. You have that I can’t believe you fucked up your life like this look about you, Sirius.”

“I didn’t say anything to you, did I?” Sirius asked. “I’ve never wanted anything more for you than for you to be happy. That’s all that I ever wanted for you, Harry. I won’t lie to you and say that I wasn’t proud about you becoming an Auror because I was. But I know you. I know that you wouldn’t have been able to just let something like this go.”

“Thanks,” Harry said.

“So, you’re going to be a bartender? What do you know about being a bartender?” Sirius asked with a chuckle.

“Not a damn thing,” Harry admitted. “If I’m lucky, everyone will just want to drink beer. How hard would it be to just serve that? And in my favor, I did spend an awful lot of time inside pubs over the past four years. That should count for something.”

“Yeah, well something tells me that these Muggles aren’t going to want to order Ogden’s Fire Whiskey and butterbeer,” Sirius said. “You really got yourself into this pretty good, didn’t you?”

“Well, it’s the best way for me to get close to her again,” Harry said. “Maybe I can find out what she’s been doing these past four years.”

“What do you want me to do?” Sirius asked.

“Can we get Hermione’s grave exhumed?” Harry asked. “Just so we’ll be sure that the body in that grave isn’t hers. I mean, I know it’s not, but I would still like to know.”

“You won’t be able to do that without parental consent,” Sirius said. “I doubt Dr. Granger and his wife would give you that.”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, probably not. But there’s got to be someway that we could find out. Can you check into that? And maybe go see Wormtail in Azkaban and see if he knows anything? Also, do you remember any Death Eaters by the name of Maxwell?”

Sirius looked thoughtful. “The name’s not ringing any bells for me, but I’ll look into it. Why?”

“That’s the name she’s going by now. Julie Maxwell. According to Neville, she’d told him that she had moved to North Carolina from London four years ago with her father. If I find out anything more, I’ll pass it on to you. You still have that mobile telephone I gave you for Christmas?”

Sirius nodded. “Yeah. You want to keep in contact through that?”

Harry smiled. “Yeah. It’d make it a whole lot easier.”

“Okay,” Sirius said. “I’ll check in with you tomorrow with what I’ve found out.”

“Thanks,” Harry said. “I better get back. I’m going to need to find a more permanent residence tomorrow. I can’t live in a hotel, especially when I don’t know how long I’m going to be in North Carolina.”

Harry got up from his chair and smiled at his godfather.

“Harry?” Sirius asked him, giving him a hug.

“Yeah?” Harry said, when they’d finally let go of each other.

“I am proud of you,” Sirius said. “Never ever doubt that.”

Harry beamed one last time at Sirius before apparating back to Chapel Hill.

Trey had surprised Julie outside her last class of the day, carrying a daisy.

“What are you doing here?” she’d asked him, surprised. “I thought you had a full schedule today?”

“I do,” he said. “But even we busy med students get breaks every now and then. I thought I’d walk you to work.”

“Yeah, you probably just want to see if Billie will give you a free piece of pecan pie,” she said, smiling at him.

“Well, that too,” he said smiling at her. “So, if you have no objections, I would like to walk you to work.”

“Okay,” she said. “I know you’re just using me to get free pie from Billie.”

“You figured me out,” he said, winking at her. “It’s my modus operandi. Each year at the beginning of the semester, I pick out poor, unsuspecting waitresses and stalk my prey until I find out how I can use them to my advantage to get free dessert and food from restaurants, diners and food stands.”

“You are such a goofball,” she said, laughing at him.

She took his hands as they walked through the quad toward Franklin Street. It was truly a beautiful, albeit hot and humid day. She was feeling a little better about her situation with Trey. She really hadn’t been fair to him. She’d never really been in love before and hearing him declare his love to her had naturally freaked her out a bit. She would just take things one day at a time and see where things went from there. She’d say it when she was ready and right now, she wasn’t ready. She’d just take things as they went.

“So, I have great news for you,” he said, smiling at her.

“What?” she asked him.

“Well, I happen to know on good authority that the Chelsea Theatre is going to be playing classic movies all month long. And do you know which movie they are playing two weeks from tonight, Miss Maxwell?”

“I have no clue,” she said.

“It just so happens to be your favorite movie of all time,” he said.

“Really?” she asked excitedly.

“The Wizard of Oz,” he said smiling broadly at her. “So, you don’t make any plans. You and I have a date for that night.”

“Okay,” she said. “Are you sure you’ll be alright with that movie? I mean, I know there’s not any cool special effects or people blowing things up, but they do have singing munchkins and really cool monkeys.”

“Yeah, well just don’t tell anyone about it and I think it’ll be alright,” he said.

“Your secret’s safe with me,” she said. “Just promise me you won’t break out with your own chorus of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and we have a deal.”

“I don’t even know all the words to that song,” he said, laughing.

“Yeah, that’s not what I hear,” she said. “I bet that when I’m not around you are singing show tunes and dancing around in your apartment.”

“I do not,” he said.

“That’s not what I hear,” she said playfully. She started to run and he chased after her, both of them laughing the entire way.

Harry arrived at Billie’s a little before five o’clock, dressed in a white button-down shirt and black jeans. He was nervous, to say the very least, but quite excited at the prospect of being in close proximity to Hermione again. He mentally corrected himself. He had to start thinking of her as Julie. He didn’t need to slip up and call her Hermione.

Billie had welcomed him warmly and taken him to the back room where she’d shown him where he could clock in and gave him a key for his locker. They were just going over some of the things about the cash register and tips when Julie came running into the restaurant, out of breath and her cheeks flushed. She was laughing.

“Good Lord, girl,” Billie said. “Are you being chased?”

Julie just panted. She held her finger up to indicate that she was trying to catch her breath.

“I’m going to kill Trey,” she finally managed to say.

“Trey?” Harry asked quizzically.

Since Julie was still trying to catch her breath, Billie took the liberty of answering the question for her.

“Trey is Julie’s boyfriend,” Billie said.

Harry felt like he’d been kicked in the stomach. He tried not to let it show how this had hurt him. Luckily, neither of the women was looking at him as someone else came running into the restaurant at that moment, just as out of breath and winded as Julie.

“You gave me the slip, you evil girl,” he said.

“I did not,” she protested. “Get off of me! You are all hot and sweaty.”

“So are you,” Trey said, hugging her.

“Ugh,” Julie said, breathlessly laughing.

Harry watched the scene unfolding before him and had to fight the urge to curse this guy into oblivion. Who the hell did he think he was? Her boyfriend, you idiot, the little voice in Harry’s head sounded shrilly for him. Sometimes, Harry admitted he really hated that little voice.

“You are going to be late,” Julie said.

“I know, I know,” he said. “It’s your fault, you know.”

For the first time, Trey noticed Harry.

“Hi,” Trey said, nodding at Harry.

“Oh, hi, Harry,” Julie said smiling at him.

“Hi, Julie,” Harry said, warmly.

“I’m so rude,” Julie said shaking her head. “Harry Potter, this is Trey Michaels.”

“Nice to meet you,” Trey said, extending his hand.

Harry shook it. “Likewise.”

“Oh so you’re British, too?” Trey asked.

This guy is a genius, Harry thought sarcastically.

“No, I was born right here in North Carolina,” Harry said, deadpan.

Trey looked confused. Julie, though, broke out into a fit of giggles.

“What?” Trey asked.

“It was a joke, Trey,” she said, elbowing him. “Forgive him Harry; he’s just a boring old med student. They lose their sense of humor straightaway.”

Trey gave Harry an odd look before turning to Billie. “What are the chances of me getting a piece of your fabulous pecan pie to go?”

“One step ahead of you, slick,” Billie said, handing him a paper plate wrapped in aluminum foil.

Trey smiled. “You are the best, Billie.”

“So they tell me,” Billie said. “Now get on out of here so these two can go to work.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Trey said. “I’ll call you, Jules.”

Julie nodded. He kissed her quickly on the cheek before running out of the restaurant.

“I better go get changed,” Julie said.

“Yeah, I better finish getting Harry here acquainted with the bar,” Billie said. “Oh, damn, Harry. I need to go and make a phone call. You stay right here. I’ll be right back. Julie, why don’t you cool off before you get changed? Get yourself a glass of water.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Julie said setting her bag down on the bar and walking over to the refrigerator and pulling a bottle of water out of it. She watched as Billie walked away from them. She smiled at Harry.

“Are you okay?” she asked him.

“Yeah,” he said. “A little nervous about tonight.”

“You’ll be fine,” she said, winking at him. “Besides, you’re old hat at this stuff, right?”

“Yeah,” Harry said. “So that’s your boyfriend?”

“Yeah,” Julie said. “I guess so.”

“How long have you been going out?” Harry asked, trying hard to sound nonplussed.

“Not too long,” she said, taking another sip of her water. “It’s all fairly new, actually.”

“He seems nice,” Harry lied.

“He is,” she said, somewhat wistfully, Harry couldn’t help but notice. “So how about you?”

“How about me what?” Harry asked.

“Did you leave anyone behind? Bring anyone along?” she asked.

“There was someone,” he said nervously. “I mean, there is, but it’s complicated.”

“I know what you mean,” Julie said. “Will you be alright while I go get changed?”

“Yeah,” he said smiling at her.

“And don’t worry about tonight,” she said. “You’ll do fine. If you need any help, you just ask me, okay?”

“You might come to regret that statement,” he said laughing.

She smiled broadly at him. For a moment there eyes locked and Harry almost felt as if there was a flicker of remembrance in her gaze. Within a second, though, she broke their eye contact and smiled nervously at him. She then turned and walked away.

“Harry?”

“Hmmm?” he asked, startled.

Billie was staring at him, smiling.

“You ready to finish what we were talking about?” she asked him, smiling at him. She knew he’d been watching Julie as she walked away. From the look in her eyes, she’d been watching them for some time.

“Of course,” Harry said, trying to regain his composure.

Billie smiled knowingly again at him. “Well, let’s get back to it, then.”

Later that evening, Julie was enjoying a free moment to herself and she was eating dinner in the back room. The crowd had been pleasantly light tonight and she was enjoying her plate of grilled chicken and pasta when the door opened up.

“You have to help me,” Harry said, taking a seat at the table beside her. He looked quite flustered and his cheeks were red. His shirt sleeves had been rolled up and he looked as if he was about to lose it

“What’s going on?” she asked concerned.

“I have no bloody idea what I’m doing!”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Someone just ordered something called a Long Island Ice Tea,” he said. “I have no idea what that is.”

Julie smiled compassionately.

“You’ve never done this before have you?” she asked him. She furrowed her eyebrows at him.

“Not exactly,” he said sheepishly.

She looked at him and saw his charming smile and his brilliant green eyes. She wasn’t going to rat him out to Billie. She didn’t know what it was, but something about those eyes told her she could trust him. She was going to help him. She stood up from her chair and pulled him up from his chair.

“Come on,” she said, taking his hand and leading him out of the back room and through the kitchen. He followed her, a look of disbelief in his eyes.

She silently pulled out a bottle of vodka, tequila, rum, gin, and some Coca-Cola from the shelf behind the bar. She took a highball glass from the table behind them and mixed the drink expertly. Harry watched her in amazement.

“And that, Mr. Potter,” she said, smiling at him. “Is how you make a Long Island Ice Tea.”

He beamed at her. It reminded him of times when he’d watch her in potions class expertly mixing the ingredients.

“Thanks, Her-, I mean, thanks, Julie,” he said gratefully.

She smiled at him. “You’re lucky it’s a light crowd tonight.”

He nodded.

“Tell you what,” she said. “Tonight after lock up, you and I are going to have a Bartending 101 class. You better be prepared. There will be a test.”

“Why are you doing this for me?” he asked her.

She looked at him and smiled.

“I don’t know,” she said honestly. And she didn’t know. Something in her heart told her to trust this person. Something in her heart told her that this was a good guy. There was something about him that made her comfortable.

“I remember what it was like my first day here,” she said. “I was about as nervous and clumsy as they come. I must have broken about eight plates and dozens of glasses that night. I guess I remember what it was like to be the rookie.”

“Whatever the reason, thanks,” Harry said, touching her arm.

She smiled.

“You’re welcome,” she said. “But you are going to owe me big time, mister. Big time.”

She walked away from him laughing. When she was sitting back in the back room again, she couldn’t help thinking of what she’d just said to Harry. It honestly didn’t make sense why she was helping someone like this that she barely knew. Hell, they’d just met yesterday.

Yet, she hadn’t even had to think twice about helping him. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

Author’s Note: Thanks for all the reviews, ya’ll. I really appreciate you taking the time to read and let me know what you think. I would like to give a special thanks to Ash who helped me with my writer’s block and gave me a little idea about the last part of this chapter. I am going to be going on vacation next week, and I hope to post at least one more chapter before I leave. We’ll see how that goes, but I hope you enjoy this latest chapter…

Chapter Seven

I’ve Been In Love Before

“Catch my breath, close my eyes

Don't believe a word

Things she said, overheard

Something wrong inside

Once you won't admit it, then you know you're in it”

(“I’ve Been In Love Before”, The Cutting Crew)

Sirius Black was again awoken by the sound of persistent knocking on his door. He stumbled out of the bed and down the stairs, grumbling all the way. He loved his godson, he really did, but he’d have to teach him when to call at a proper time.

To his surprise when he opened the door, he found Kit and Ron on his doorstep. A few feet behind them, stood Maggie. All three looked confused, upset and worried.

Ron was clutching a piece of paper, which looked to be The Daily Prophet.

“Good morning,” Sirius said. “Won’t you come inside?”

He stood back and allowed the three of them to come inside.

“Have you seen this?” Ron asked him, once they were all inside the foyer.

“No,” Sirius said somewhat irritably. “As I was asleep before you came knocking on my door, I don’t believe I have seen it. Is that today’s issue?”

Ron nodded and thrust the paper into Sirius’ hands. Sirius looked at it for a moment and then gasped.

There on the front page in big, bold letters was the headline: POTTER A NO-SHOW FOR TRAINING. WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN!

Sirius looked up at Ron before continuing to read the accompanying article.

The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, can now be known as The Man Who Skipped Out on Auror Training. It seems Potter was scheduled to begin his training at a top-secret location in Scotland, but according to sources close to the training program, Potter never showed up.

This is seemingly just another chapter in the breakdown of The Boy Who Lived. It seems that his heartbreak over the loss of his girlfriend and best friend Hermione Granger. Miss Granger died at the hands of He-Who- Must-Not-Be- Named four years ago. Potter’s grief was said to be so immense that he cut himself off from all of his friends and squandered away all of his opportunities.

It had seemed that Potter was finally getting things back on track, but this latest development would suggest otherwise. Keep reading The Daily Prophet to find out the latest developments on Potter’s disappearance.

Sirius read the article again before looking up at the muggle, the witch and the wizard looking back at him, expecting answers.

“Did he go where I think he went?” Ron asked him pointblank.

“What do you mean?” Kit asked her husband surprised.

“Yeah, Ron,” Maggie chimed in. “Do you know where Harry is? Why didn’t you say anything?”

Sirius held up his hand. “Calm down, you lot. Let’s go into the kitchen. I’ll tell you what’s happened.”

They followed him inside the kitchen. No one accepted his offer for tea, they wanted answers. They each took seats at the round table. Sirius looked at Ron.

“He is exactly where you think he is,” Sirius said softly.

Ron slammed his fist down on the table. “How could you have let him do that, Sirius?”

“Ron, Harry is a grown man! He can do whatever he wants. I am in no position to tell him what to do or what not to do,” Sirius said plainly.

“That’s bull, Sirius,” Ron said emphatically. “You could have told him the truth. You could have told him that what Neville saw was complete and utter wishful thinking on Neville’s part. Now, he’s somehow convinced Harry that this is the truth? For Merlin’s sake! He was just getting everything back on track and then something like this happens. I swear, the next time I see Neville, I’ll—“

But Ron never finished his sentence. Kit, who’d been listening totally confused, blurted out, “Will someone please back up and tell me what’s going on?”

Ron took a deep breath. “A few days ago, Neville was in North Carolina. He saw a woman there who he said resembled Hermione. He said she was the spitting image of Hermione. I told Harry that this was all a load of rubbish, but I knew it got to him. He said it hadn’t, but I knew it did. Now, I guess he’s blown away the last chance he had to go chasing after someone who looks like Hermione.”

“Oh my God,” Kit said softly. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“Hermione is alive?” Kit choked out. Maggie was silent. Her face fell.

“Not you too, Kit,” Ron said angrily. “She’s not alive. I saw her die! I saw that bastard perform the spell on her that killed her! It’s not her!”

“Well, if it wasn’t her, Harry would have come back by now, wouldn’t he?” Kit asked.

“Harry believes that it is her,” Sirius said quietly. “I think chances are that she is. I’m working on seeing about getting a positive identification on the body in Hermione’s grave. It’s a little tricky without parental consent. Harry doesn’t want to tell Hermione’s parents until he’s sure. He feels he’s been responsible for so much of their pain; he doesn’t want to get their hopes up for naught. But, he believes that this girl in North Carolina is Hermione.”

“Well, of course he does,” Ron said sarcastically. “But it’s not her. Where is he exactly, anyway? I think I should go and talk to him about this and talk some sense into him.”

“You will do no such thing, Ronald Weasley,” Kit said forcefully. “You leave Harry alone. Let him do this. We have to know. Don’t you want to know? If this girl is Hermione, we have to know what happened. We have to get her back to us; to her family and friends who love her.”

Ron’s own eyes shined with fresh tears. “I don’t want to see him get hurt again. I don’t want to lose my best friend.”

“You won’t,” Kit said. “Harry’s doing the right thing. If he’s successful, the Dream Team will be reunited. Don’t you want that?”

Ron smiled a half smile. “More than you know.”

“Well, let him do this,” Kit said, putting a hand on her husband’s shoulder. “I can’t believe it.”

Kit looked at Sirius, about to ask another question, but as she did so, she caught the eye of Maggie. She cupped a hand over her mouth.

“Oh, Maggie,” Kit said. “I’m so sorry. We’re being completely insensitive to you.”

Maggie looked shell-shocked, to say the least. “It’s okay,” she said, not sounding genuine at all. “I understand. She was your friend.”

“Don’t make any decisions until you talk to him, Maggie,” Sirius said. “He cares a great deal about you.”

“I know that,” Maggie said, tears now shining in her own eyes. “I’m not stupid you know. I know that he loved her more than he’s ever loved anyone in his life. I knew that when I got involved with him. I knew the risks, but I went for it anyway. I had no idea something like this would happen. He’s never really been able to let her go. Something like this just proves it.”

No one said anything to refute what she said. There was no need to lie to her to make her feel better. They knew that what she’d just said was the truth as she did.

“He’s been checking in with me,” Sirius said. “I’ll let him know that you three know what’s going on, but please keep this between these walls. We can’t have this getting out. I need your word on this.”

They all three nodded.

“Good,” Sirius said. “Now, who’s up for tea?”

A couple days later, Harry walked into the restaurant a few minutes before his shift was scheduled to start. He was surprised to find Julie sitting at the bar. She had her nose in a book and as he looked at her, a wave of nostalgia came over him. How many times had he seen Hermione just like that?

“How’s everyone’s favorite bartender?” Julie asked him cheekily, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“Good,” he said smiling at her. “I think I’m getting the hang of it.”

“Well, you should be,” she smiled at him. “I happen to be a great teacher.”

“Yes, you are,” Harry agreed, laughing. “What brings you in here? I thought you had the night off?”

“I do,” she said. “Trey’s supposed to take me out to see my favorite movie tonight. He had a late class so he asked if he could pick me up here.”

Harry’s face fell at the mention of Trey.

“Your favorite movie?” he asked her. “What’s that?”

She looked down at the floor. “You’re going to think it’s silly.”

“I could never think it’s silly,” he said. “Tell you what, you tell me you’re favorite movie and then you can ask me any question and I’ll answer it for you. Fair trade?”

“I suppose so,” she said, smiling at him. “Okay, my favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz”.

He smiled at her. “What’s so bad about that?”

“Well, it’s a kid’s movie, isn’t it?” she asked him. “Do you want to know why I love it so much?”

“Sure,” Harry said, stepping behind the bar and leaning forward on his elbows to meet her gaze.

“Well, I was in a car accident when I was 16,” she told him. Harry leaned in. This was the first time she’d ever brought forth any details about her past life. He hadn’t wanted to push her too quickly; afraid he might scare her off for seeming so pushy and forward for someone she just met.

“I woke up in the hospital a few days later without an idea of who I was or how I got there,” she said. “I mean, I didn’t even know my own father! Can you believe that? Anyway, I spent some time in the hospital, recuperating and undergoing all these tests. It was such a depressing time. This one day, I was going down the hall and there in the children’s ward, a group of kids were watching this movie on the VCR. I wandered in and sat down and something about that movie spoke to me. It made me feel like everything would be okay. It was the only thing that made sense to me at the time. I know it sounds funny, but it just made me feel okay.”

Harry just listened to her, amazed. He resisted the urge to hold her, but it was such a strong, natural feeling to want to comfort her in that way.

“Now that you think I am a complete nut case, I’ll understand if you want someone else to supervise your bartending training,” she said to him.

“I would never think you’re a nutcase,” he said. “I kind of like that movie, too.”

“I’m not the only one, then,” she said, winking at him. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Thanks,” he said. “And anyway, I think I’m getting the hang of this old bartending stuff.”

“You are,” she said. “Besides, most people just want whatever’s on draft. You can’t go wrong with beer. Though, I’ve never really had much of a taste for it. To me, it tastes just like urine.”

“Tasted a lot of urine, have you?” Harry couldn’t resist asking her.

She slapped him playfully on the hand. “You know what I mean! I mean, how I imagine urine would taste, you wanker!”

He laughed at her, enjoying the closeness that seemed to build between them each day.

Billie stepped out of the kitchen. She smiled warmly at Harry. “Hey, Harry.”

“Hey, Billie,” Harry said, still laughing along with Julie.

“You’ve got a phone call,” Billie said. “Trey.”

Julie smiled. “Be right back.”

Billie watched Julie go in the back and turned to see Harry doing the same.

Billie couldn’t resist smiling at him. She was quite taken with this young man, who had been nothing but polite and accommodating from the moment he’d entered the bar. She had pretty much developed a keen sense of picking out someone who was sincere and someone who was just a bull-shitter in her many years of owning a bar. It was one of things she prided herself in. Although she didn’t know Harry very well yet, she knew he was one of the good ones. She’d also noticed her new bartender’s fondness for her best waitress.

“You can close your mouth there, Harry,” Billie said, raising her eyebrow at him. “You’re starting to let flies in.”

Harry’s cheeks reddened. He picked up a sponge from under the counter and began to wipe the top of the bar.

“Don’t worry,” Billie said. “You’re secret’s safe with me.”

“My secret?” Harry asked.

“Your little crush on Julie,” Billie said. “Don’t worry, I don’t think she’s picked up on it yet. Though I can’t see why. You should see yourself when you’re around her. I admit I haven’t known you very long, but you light up like a Christmas tree whenever you’re around her.”

Harry couldn’t help smiling back at Billie. He liked her immensely. He was glad that Hermione had someone like her in her life.

“She’s a great girl,” Billie said. “Smart, too. She’ll catch on, Harry. I’ll put in a good word for you.”

“I thought you liked Trey,” Harry asked.

”I do,” Billie said, but leaned in and whispered, “But I don’t think he’s the one for Julie. Don’t tell her I said that!”

“You’re secret’s safe with me, too,” he said, smiling at her. “Thanks, Billie.”

Julie came out of the back just then, her face a little crestfallen.

“What is it, sweetheart?” Billie asked concerned.

“Nothing,” Julie said. “Trey had to cancel. They have a lab or something tonight that he didn’t know about.”

“Aw, sweetie, I’m sorry,” Billie said. “I know how much you wanted to see it.”

“Yeah,” Julie said. “It’s okay. I mean, I have the movie at home. I was just looking forward to seeing it on a big screen.”

“And you still can,” Billie said.

“By myself?” Julie asked.

“No, not by yourself,” she said. “With our newest bartender here, of course.”

“But, Harry has to work,” Julie said.

“Not tonight, he doesn’t,” Billie said, winking sideways at Harry.

“I couldn’t ask him to do that,” Julie said, looking at Harry sympathetically. “Won’t you need him here tonight?”

“Tuesdays are always slow,” Billie said. “I want you two to go. Ray can fill in behind the bar.”

“Are you sure?” Julie asked. “What am I saying? Harry, you don’t have to do this!”

“What time does it start?” he asked her.

“Seven,” she said. “But you really don’t have to do this.”

“I know I don’t,” he said. “But I want to. Besides, that could be the question you were supposed to ask me in exchange for telling me what you’re favorite movie was. Remember, fair trade?”

She couldn’t resist beaming at him.

“Get out of here,” Billie said pushing them.

“I think you’re trying to get rid of us,” Julie said, turning around to face Billie.

“I’m trying to give you two kids a night off,” Billie said. “You know what an indecisive person I can be, Julie. You better get on out of here before I change my mind.”

“Okay,” Julie said. She turned to face Harry and took his hand. “You ready to go?”

He nodded. As they walked out the door, he mouthed the words “Thank you” to Billie.

The movie let out sometime after 9:00 p.m. It was a nice night and Julie asked if Harry wouldn’t mind a walk down Franklin Street. He tried not to sound too enthusiastic when he said yes.

They enjoyed good-natured banter as they walked along. He teased her a little about the movie and she gave back as good as she got.

They passed one of the coffee houses and Julie led him inside. Once inside, they settled down at one of the tables.

Julie took a sip of her cappuccino and looked at Harry pointblank.

“What?” he asked her.

“How did you get that scar?” she asked him. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that.”

He looked a little uncomfortable at her question. He couldn’t tell her the truth, could he?

“Childhood accident,” he said.

“It must be nice to remember your childhood,” she said wistfully. “I wish I could recall mine.”

You and me both, Harry couldn’t help thinking.

“You don’t remember anything?” he asked her. “From before your accident I mean?”

She shook her head sadly.

“Not for lack of trying, mind you. I’ve been to so many shrinks in the past four years and no one knows why I’m blocking all of this out. There’s no real reason for me not to remember it. The best they can come up with is the head trauma I sustained from the accident.”

“But you don’t buy that?” he asked her.

“No,” she said. “I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m not going to get my memory back, but I can’t give up on the need I have to find out why. My dad’s been really helpful.”

“Your dad?” Harry asked her. “What about your mum?”

“I don’t remember my mother,” she said melancholy. “She died in London right before we moved here. My father said she had cancer. He said that was the reason we moved here. There were too many memories of her there and he wanted us to have a fresh start. It’s been hard, but we’ve always had each other.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your mother,” Harry said. He wanted so badly to tell her that her real mother was alive and well with her real father in Atlanta, Georgia.

He wanted to find out more about this “father” of hers, though.

“What does your dad do?” he asked her.

“Well, he’s a writer,” she said. “He freelances articles for this nature magazine. He’s always going on hikes and things like that back home in Asheville. It’s in the mountains.”

“Maybe I’ve heard of his work?” Harry probed.

“I don’t know. His name is Simon Maxwell.”

Harry shook his head. “Doesn’t ring any bells.”

He would, however, remember that name to Sirius when he talked to him next.

“Enough about me, though,” Julie said. “You are pretty closed up about your past, Mr. Potter. So, it’s your turn, fair trade? Spill all the secrets of your sordid little past, mister. And don’t leave out any details.”

“Anyone ever accuse you of being pushy?” he asked her, smiling.

“Yes,” she said seriously. “But it’s never stopped me before.”

“Okay,” he said. “What did you want to know?”

“Where did you grow up?” she asked, her eyes lighting up.

“Surrey,” he said.

“Where did you go to school?”

“A boarding school in Scotland,” he said.

“What about your parents?”

“My parents,” he said.

“Yeah,” she said. “What do they do?”

“They, um, died when I was just a baby,” he said uncomfortably.

“Oh, Harry,” she said. “I am so sorry. Can I ask how it happened?”

“They were killed,” Harry said, not meeting her gaze.

“Oh,” she said. “Did they catch who did it?”

“Yeah,” Harry said solemnly. “A few years later the person responsible died.”

“I’m sorry,” she said softly, putting her hand on his arm.

“It’s okay,” he said. “It’s never been easy to talk about.”

“I understand,” she said, smiling sympathetically at him. “How do you get through something like that? I mean, I don’t really remember my mother, but I-“

Her voice trailed off. He looked up into her brown eyes and felt an overwhelming sadness. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her. How it was her love that made him strong enough to get through every bad thing that had happened to him.

“It’s okay,” he said. “I was sent to live with my only known relatives, the Dursleys when I was just a child. The less said about them the better.”

“Not a pleasant experience, I gather,” she said.

“That is the understatement of the century,” he said, laughing. “I can honestly say that if it wasn’t for Hogwarts, I wouldn’t have made it. Well, that and Ron and Hermione.”

He realized too soon afterwards that he shouldn’t have said so much to her. It was too late to take it all back.

“Ron and Hermione?” she asked. “Well, isn’t that an unusual name? That’s not one you hear all the time. Especially around this area. Who are this Ron and Hermione?”

“My, um, best friends,” he said. He would never be able to describe how strange it was to sit here and talk to Hermione about Hermione.

“Partners in crime?” she asked.

He smiled. “How did you guess?”

“I’m quite perceptive,” she said. “What are they like?”

“Well, Ron can be an infuriating prat, but other than that, he’s a great guy. He comes from this large family, who sort of adopted me. He’s the youngest son and his brothers give him a hard time, but he’s really a great guy. He was my first friend my own age.”

“What does he do now?” Julie asked.

“Well, he works in the government,” Harry asked, hating to lie to her. The only comforting thought was that he wasn’t blatantly lying, he was just telling half-truths. “He’s married to an American girl named Kit. They are going to be having a baby in the next few months.”

Julie smiled. “What about Hermione?”

Harry looked thoughtful. “How much time do you have?”

She smiled back at him.

“I don’t think I could adequately tell you what she meant to me,” he said. “She was this bossy, insufferable know-it-all when Ron and I met her. Ron, particularly, couldn’t stand her. They used to have some of the worst rows you’ve ever seen. I tell you to this day, I can’t find anyone who could banter back and forth like the two of them. It used to drive me crazy. They were always at each other’s throats. Total opposites. Like oil and water.”

“I don’t understand how you became friends if you thought she was a bossy, insufferable know-it-all.”

Harry smiled wistfully. “We went through something that changed all that. You know there are certain things you go through with someone that you can’t not escape being friends with them? Well, something like that happened between the three of us and we were pretty much inseparable after that.”

She just smiled and to Harry’s relief, didn’t push too much further for details.

“Is she the girl you told me about? The one you said was complicated?”

“Yeah,” Harry said, taking a sip of his coffee. “You know how they say everyone has a soul mate? I never believed that until I fell in love with her. She had this way of making you feel like you could do anything. She was always kicking me in the arse to get my act together. She was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“You keep talking about her in the past tense?” Julie asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “She died when we were 16.”

“Oh, Harry,” she said, again reaching across the table for his hand. “I had no idea. I can’t believe all the tragedy that you’ve faced in your life. It makes me wonder.”

“What’s that?” he asked her.

“How you could turn out as well as you did,” she said. “You seem like such a great guy. You could have turned out different, but look at you.”

“I’m not that great,” he said, relieved that they were finished talking about Hermione. He was afraid that if they talked about her any further, he’d tell her everything and it wasn’t time for that. It was way too soon for that. He didn’t want to scare her. That was the last thing he ever wanted to do.

“Yes you are,” she said. “I mean, I know I haven’t known you very long, but you are the nicest guy I’ve met in a long time.”

”Thanks,” he said. “You know you’re alright, too.”

She blushed. “Thanks.”

The lights of the coffee house blinked on and off, signaling to the customers that the place would soon close.

“Ready to go home?” he asked her.

A few minutes later, they were standing outside Julie’s apartment door. They were still enjoying each other’s company and were laughing about the movie when Julie stopped to pull her keys out of her purse.

“Well, I had a great evening, Harry,” she said. “I’m sorry you got dragged into it.”

“I had a great time, too,” he said smiling at her. He didn’t want this night to end. The dim light in the hallway reflected off her hair and she had an almost ethereal glow to her. He wanted so badly to kiss her.

She looked up into his green eyes. She, too, was finding that she didn’t want this evening to end either.

“Well, good night,” she whispered.

“Good night,” he said. Neither of them moved. They just continued to stand there in the hallway, staring into each other’s eyes.

It was Harry who made the first move. He lost all ability to think as he looked at her, into those beautiful brown eyes. He did what felt the most natural and he leaned in and kissed her, softly. To his surprise, she returned the kiss, just as enthusiastically as he did.

When it was over, they pulled away from each other, breathless. Julie looked at Harry, not knowing what to say or do. She could never remember ever being kissed like that in her life. She was about to step forward and bridge the distance between them again, when a voice called out, “Hey, Julie. I came by earlier but you were out. Now, I see with why.”

It was Trey. He didn’t at all seem pleased with what he’d just witnessed.

Author’s Note: Chapter Eight as promised before I go on vacation. I will be back on Thursday so you won’t have to wait terribly long for an update. I might do some writing on the ride down to Myrtle Beach….it all depends though. I hope you guys enjoy this. Thanks so much for all the great reviews! You guys keep me going!!!!! Now, I am off to start packing….

Chapter Eight

Standing Still

“Do you want me, like I want you?
Or am I standing still, beneath the darkened sky?
Or am I standing still, with the scenery flying by?
Or am I standing still, out of the corner of my eye?
Was that you passing me by?”

(Jewel “Standing Still”)

It was Harry who made the first move. He lost all ability to think as he looked at her, into those beautiful brown eyes. He did what felt the most natural and he leaned in and kissed her, softly. To his surprise, she returned the kiss, just as enthusiastically as he did.

When it was over, they pulled away from each other, breathless. Julie looked at Harry, not knowing what to say or do. She could never remember ever being kissed like that in her life. She was about to step forward and bridge the distance between them again, when a voice called out, “Hey, Julie. I came by earlier but you were out. Now, I see with why.”

It was Trey. He didn’t at all seem pleased with what he’d just witnessed.

As she stood there in the hallway of her apartment building, she hadn’t really heard Trey’s question. She didn’t even register his arrival. No, she was too preoccupied with what had just happened and with looking into Harry’s green eyes.

“Hmmm?” she finally managed to choke out.

“I asked you what the hell was going on, Julie.” Trey asked again, his voice impatient and angry.

“This, um, this isn’t what you think it is,” Julie said softly.

At the same time, Harry blurted out. “This isn’t what you think it is.”

“It’s not?” Trey asked in disbelief.

Julie scrambled for an excuse, but she had none. She didn’t know why it had happened. It had surprised her to say the least, but it hadn’t felt rushed or sudden. It had felt right. For some reason, it had felt right.

“No, it’s not,” Julie said. “Harry took me out to see the movie, just as friends, Trey.”

“Do you make a habit of making out with your friends in your hallway?” Trey asked angrily.

“This wasn’t her fault,” Harry said firmly. “I was the one who kissed her.”

“Looked to me like she was kissing you back,” Trey said, turning his attention back on Julie. “It didn’t look like a friendly peck on the cheek, either.”

Neither Harry nor Julie spoke, but were still somewhat in a daze over what had just happened moments before.

““Because you want to know what happened from my point of view? Earlier tonight I had to cancel our date because of a class. I felt really bad about it so when the class let out I came by here, but you were out. So, I went by Billie’s thinking you’d be there, but low and behold, you weren’t there, either. I took a chance that you might be back here, so I come here. I find you kissing this guy who you only met a few days ago in your hallway. That’s what I saw. That’s what I think happened. Now, if the two of you could fill me in on the how and the why, I’m waiting to hear it.”

“I-it was my fault,” Harry stammered. The comment was directed at Trey, but Harry’s eyes were still fixated on Hermione. If he’d had any doubts that Julie was Hermione, they’d all been swept away with that kiss.

“Is that so?” Trey asked, his voice rising again. He stepped toward Harry, his fists clenched. Julie hurriedly stepped between them, and put her arms out to separate them.

“Would you two please stop it?” she asked pleadingly. “Please just stop it. Can we not do this here? My neighbors are probably listening.”

“Now you’re worried about your neighbors?” Trey asked incredulously. “You have no problem making out with this guy in your halls, but you’ll draw the line at a fight in the hallway.”

“Don’t talk to her like that!” Harry said, rounding on Trey.

“Please, don’t do this,” Julie said, turning to face Harry. She looked desperately at him, pleading with him to stay in control. “I think you should go, Harry.”

“Yeah, go away, Harry,” Trey said, staring icily at him.

Harry didn’t look at him. He didn’t care about this guy. If he had his wand, he wouldn’t have hesitated to turn him into a slug. It was out of his love for Hermione, that he didn’t do anything.

“I don’t want to leave you alone with him,” Harry said, looking into her brown eyes.

“I’ll be okay,” she said softly. “Just go. I’ll see you at work, okay? Thanks for the evening.”

“Her-, Julie,” he quickly covered. “I’m sorry.”

“Me, too,” she said. “I’ll see you.”

He took one last look at her before reluctantly walking away. He heard them mutter something to each other and then he heard the sound of her door being closed.

“What did I just do?” he couldn’t help thinking.

“What’s going on, Julie?” Trey asked when they were in her apartment, seated side by side on the couch.

“I don’t know,” she said.

“You can’t do something like that and tell me you don’t know what happened,” he said. “I’m your boyfriend, right? I deserve an explanation.”

“If I had one, I’d give it to you,” she said truthfully. “When you called and cancelled out on me, Billie suggested I go with Harry. We went to the movie and then for coffee afterward. We were saying goodnight and it just sort of happened.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” she said truthfully.

“You don’t know?” he asked her, laughing. “You don’t know?”

She stood up from the couch, feeling very uncomfortable. She wanted to be alone. She wanted to be alone so she could think about what had just happened. She needed to process what had happened. She couldn’t do that with him there, begging her for answers that she didn’t have.

“Just be honest with me, Julie. Are you happy with me?” he asked her. He didn’t wait for an answer. “I mean, I can’t speak for you, but I’m falling in love with you. I’ve told you that before, and I know it freaked you out a bit, but it’s what I feel. Can’t you tell me how you feel?”

She could feel his eyes on her, but she didn’t dare turn around to look at him.

“Can you at least tell me that this kiss you had with him didn’t mean anything? Can you tell me that it was just a one-time thing?”

“I can’t tell you that,” she said. “Because I honestly don’t know what it meant.”

“I don’t accept that,” he said.

She turned around, her eyes finally meeting his.

“What do you want me to say? Do you want me to be honest? Because all the things you want me to say, I can’t say right now. I know you don’t want to hear that, but that’s the truth, okay? I don’t know what I’m thinking or what I’m feeling. I know this is a clichéd response, but I just need some space. Can you give that to me?”

“If that’s what you want,” he said solemnly. “I’ll give it to you.”

“Thank you,” she said, looking away from him again.

“I guess I should go,” he said, turning to walk away. He stopped before he got to the door. He turned around and looked at her.

“Julie?” he called to her. She hesitated a moment before turning around.

“Yeah?” she said weakly.

“I’ll give you all the time and space that you need,” he said. “But, I think you should ask yourself something. Ask yourself if you’re willing to give up what we have for someone that you’ve known for a few days?”

She had no answer for him. He gave her one last look before shutting the door behind him.

She walked over to her couch and let out a deep breath. She curled up on the couch and felt warm tears stinging her eyes. She was so confused. What had happened? Why did she feel such a connection with someone she had only known for such a short time? Something didn’t make sense. She could still feel his kiss on her lips. She could still feel how light-headed it had made her. She’d never been kissed like that before.

She closed her eyes to try and block it out, but she could still see his warm green eyes staring back at her. This was crazy, she thought to herself. Trey’s right. I’ve only known him for a few days, she rationalized. We’d just had this conversation about how tough our lives had been and it just sort of got out of hand after that. That’s all it was, wasn’t it? She wasn’t sure. She wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

Harry hadn’t been able to sleep much the night before. He too had trouble getting the previous evening’s events out of his head. He wanted to know what had happened after he’d left her. If that jerk laid one hand on her, he’d….well, he didn’t like to think about what he’d do.

He arrived at Billie’s a little before 5:00 for his shift. He hadn’t done much during the day. He’d called Sirius for news and was disappointed to hear that Sirius’ trip to Azkaban to visit Wormtail had proved fruitless. According to Sirius, four years in Azkaban had caused Wormtail to lose his mind. He’d spoken in what Sirius politely called gibberish and offered nothing useful to the investigation. Sirius was still working on getting identification on the body in Hermione’s grave and he’d promised to look for information on Simon Maxwell.

Sirius broke the news to Harry about The Daily Prophet. He also told Harry how Kit, Maggie and Ron had shown up on his doorstep looking for answers. He’d told them the truth and asked them to keep Harry’s whereabouts between the four of them. He’d also told Harry that Maggie had not taken the news well. Harry immediately felt guilty. He hadn’t been very fair to Maggie. She was a great girl and given different circumstances, maybe he could have even fallen in love with her, but there was one problem. His heart belonged to, and always had belonged to Hermione Granger. Nothing would ever change that. He just had to help her remember. But how?

Even though Harry couldn’t stand Trey, he could begrudgingly see that Trey genuinely cared for Julie. How could you not? How did Julie feel about Trey? Harry had no clear idea. She didn’t talk much about him, so that had to be a good sign, Harry couldn’t help thinking.

Harry clocked in and made his way back out front to the bar. He found Billie and the assistant chef, Ray, arguing about something.

“Ray?” Billie was saying, her eyes large, “You aren’t seriously considering service hot dogs and chili at a wedding reception!”

“Why not?” Ray asked confused.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me!” Billie exclaimed. “I’m sure every woman in the world dreams of her wedding and her wedding reception and hopes and prays that they serve hot dogs and chili. I can’t believe you!”

“It was just a suggestion,” Ray said sheepishly.

“A totally asinine suggestion,” Billie said, laughing. “Hey, Harry.”

She smiled warmly at him as he walked through the kitchen.

“What’s going on?” Harry asked, amused by what he’d just heard.

“Ray is single-handedly trying to ruin the Peterson-Thomas wedding reception that we’re having here on Saturday,” Billie said, shooting a derisive look at her assistant chef. Ray just grumbled something before walking out. “Which reminds me, can you come in a little early to help set up for that? We’re closing the restaurant for the reception.”

“Sure,” Harry asked.

“Great,” she said. “So, how was the big night last night? I haven’t heard from Miss Julie. She called in sick earlier and wasn’t really giving details.”

Harry had a sinking suspicion that Julie wasn’t sick at all. She was avoiding him. How could he have been so stupid?

“So how did it go?” Billie asked, winking at him.

“It went,” Harry said glumly.

“Oh,” Billie said. “That’s one thing I don’t understand about you men. You have no concept of giving details. You keep things to yes and no answers and simple one to three word sentences. It used to drive me crazy about my ex-husband Frank. Not that I’m comparing you to Frank….the only thing you could compare to Frank to get a fair comparison is dog poop on your shoe.”

Despite his morose mood, Harry couldn’t help laughing.

“Let’s not talk about Frank though,” Billie said shaking her head. “I’ll get depressed too and we won’t have much fun. So, spill it. What happened?”

“We had a really nice time,” Harry began. “We enjoyed the movie and then we went for coffee afterwards and we talked about our lives and she told me about her accident and I told her about my life back home. We made a sort of connection, you know? I walked her home and we were saying good night, and –“

“You kissed her!” Billie interjected a broad smile on her face.

“Yeah,” Harry said. “I know it was too soon, but I just—she looked so pretty standing in the dim light of the hallway and I just couldn’t help it.”

“Well, what’s so wrong about that?” Billie asked. “Did she kiss you back?”

“Yeah,” Harry said. “And then Trey showed up.”

“Uh-oh,” Billie said. “Perfect timing he has.”

“Yeah,” Harry said. “He wasn’t too happy, mind you, to find his girlfriend and another man kissing on her doorstep. Anyway, it was this really weird, awkward situation and she asked me to leave so she could talk to him.”

“Oh, Lord,” Billie said.

“Yeah,” Harry concurred. “I think I may have blown it.”

“Don’t say that,” Billie said. “I think you’ve still got a great chance. Don’t you give up hope, Harry. Besides, you’ve got something that Trey doesn’t have.”

“What’s that?” Harry asked her confused.

“Me on your side,” Billie said. “And I don’t want to brag but I am a good person to have as an ally.”

“Thanks,” Harry said, smiling. “I think I’m going to need all the help I can get.”

“Well, we better get ready for the dinner crowd,” Billie said, noticing that the bar was starting to become crowded. “Think positive, Harry.”

_______________________________________________________________

Julie was sitting on her couch in her apartment, wearing an old t-shirt and a pair of pajama pants. She wore no make up and she’s pulled her hair back into a sloppy ponytail. She was in what could only be called a veg-out, hiding out state of mind.

She was trying to catch up on some of her reading for her Early Childhood Development Skills class when she heard a knock on the door. She looked at her watch. It was just before midnight. Who would be calling on her now?

She walked over to the door and looked through the peephole. She sighed. Harry.

“Just a moment,” she said. She quickly went to the mirror to see if she looked presentable. Her skin was pale and she looked tired. She straightened up her a little bit and pinched her cheeks to make them look a little rosier.

She then ran back to the door and hesitated only a moment before opening it up.

“Hi,” she said, staring at him. He looked great as always. He was wearing the white button-down shirt and black pants that he’d obviously worn to work. The shirt was now tucked out and a little wrinkled. Her heart fluttered a bit as she looked at him.

“Hi,” he said, smiling nervously at her. “I wanted to make sure you were okay. Billie said you called in sick.”

“I’m feeling better,” she said.

“I didn’t wake you?”

“No, I was just doing some reading,” she said. “Would you like to come in?”

“Yeah,” he said. “If it’s okay.”

She nodded and stood back allowing him to come inside. She ushered for him to have a seat on her couch and he did.

“You have a really nice place,” he said. “It’s a lot bigger than my room.”

“You got a place on Columbia Street?” she asked him. “At the boarding house, right?”

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s not much, but it’ll do for now.”

“Yeah,” she said, taking a seat in the chair across from him.

“I’m sorry if what happened last night made you uncomfortable,” he said.

“I should be apologizing,” she said.

“Why? I was the one who kissed you,” he said.

“Well, I kissed you back,” she said.

“Yeah,” he said, looking into her eyes.

They didn’t say anything for awhile. They just looked at each other. Harry was the one who broke the silence.

“I don’t want to be a complication in your life, Julie,” he said quickly. “Last night was the best night I’ve had in a long time. I shouldn’t have done that last night. I’m not really sorry that I did it, but I shouldn’t have been so forward.”

“It’s okay,” she said, shyly. “I didn’t mind.”

Harry looked up surprised.

”Things are so complicated right now,” she said looking away from him. “It’s not your fault, Harry. Trey and I had some problems before you came into my life. I’m not sure if I really know where he fits in my life. He cares about me a great deal and I don’t want to hurt him.”

“I understand,” he said.

“So, would it be alright if we went back to just being friends for now?” she asked suddenly.

“Pretend like the kiss never happened?” he asked her.

“Yeah,” she said. “Just start over from scratch.”

“If that’s what you want, I’ll do it,” he said. “Consider it forgotten.”

“Good,” she said weakly.

“Good,” he said. “Well, I’ll, um, let you get back to your reading.”

“Okay,” she said. “Thanks for coming by and checking on me.”

”You’re welcome,” he said. “See you tomorrow night at work?”

“Of course,” she said, smiling at him. She got up from the chair and led him out of the apartment.

At the doorstep, he turned around to look at her.

“Good night,” he said.

“Good night,” she said. She wanted to stop him, but something held her back.

She closed the door behind him and again felt tears come to her eyes. She had just lied to him. She didn’t think it would be possible to forget that kiss. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to forget it.

Author’s Note: Thanks guys for all the reviews! I returned from vacation relaxed and broke…let’s just say you get me anywhere near an Old Navy outlet and I am going to do some damage. I didn’t get any writing done during my vacation, but when I came back I was hit with inspiration and this is the result. I hope you like it. The title of this chapter as well as this part of the story comes from one of my favorite songs, “No Place That Far” by Sara Evans. If you haven’t heard it before, you should definitely listen to it. In this chapter, Julie has a dream about Harry and something monumental will happen. I hope you enjoy. As always, please read and review…

Chapter Nine

No Place That Far

Julie was usually one who thrived under stress. In the past two weeks, she’d seen her love life become about as complicated as it could possibly be. She’d also had to deal with writing and researching a paper for one of her psychology courses. To top it all off, she still had to juggle all of this with her work schedule at Billie’s. For someone who usually thrived under stressful situations, she felt as if she was drowning in it right about now.

Luckily, keeping busy was keeping her from thinking too much about Trey or Harry. Well, that was what she told herself. She had been able to think of little else besides them, to tell the truth. How could she explain to anyone else let alone herself the connection she felt to someone she had only known for such a short time? How could she not love Trey after all that he had done for her? He was a sweet guy who deserved better than someone who honestly didn’t know how she felt about him or anything else anymore.

On Thursday night, she had a counseling session with one of her professors. She went home immediately following the session pretty much feeling dead on her feet. Usually, she liked to read before going to sleep, but she was too tired to even lift a book, let alone read one that night.

As soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep.

She was dreaming again…

She was in some sort of room. The room looked almost like a cabin living room. There was a comfortable large sofa sitting in front of a fire that was burning in a large brick fireplace. There was a wooden table in the middle of the room. There were two place settings at the table. The table’s centerpiece was two lit tapered candles. The middle of the table was laden down with every a variety of foods---roast turkey, vegetables, dinner rolls, and some sort of drinks that Julie couldn’t recognize.

There was a large Christmas tree in the corner of the room, decorated in silver garland and ornaments. A single silver star topped the tree and a handful of presents were sitting underneath the tree. Julie was standing beside the table; busily making sure that everything was just in place. She heard the door close and she turned expectantly to see….Harry? It didn’t look like the Harry she knew now. This Harry was a little younger. Julie reckoned he was about 16 years old in the dream.

She turned to face him and whispered, “Happy Christmas.”

“What are you doing here?” he finally managed to get out.

“Spending Christmas with you, of course,” she said.

“With me?” he asked her. “I thought you were going home for Christmas.”

“I am home,” she said, her brown eyes staring intently into his. “Wherever you are, that is my home.”

He looked at her, feeling as if he was going to cry.

“I, um, should go,” he said.

“No,” she said simply.

“What?” he asked her.

She stepped closer. “You walked away from me once, and I let you go. I’m not going to let that happen again. We have come through far too much for it to end like that.”

He turned back toward the door, but she grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around to face her.

“Look at me,” she said, her voice catching in her throat. “I know what you’re doing. I think on some level, I understand why you’re doing it, but you know, you could have asked me how I felt about it!”

“I’m doing what—“, he began, but she stopped him.

“You’re doing the same thing my parents did a few months ago, remember? They were planning my life for me without asking me what I wanted. They didn’t stop to ask, Harry. You decided to cut yourself out of my life, not caring what I had to say about it. Well, you’re going to hear what I have to say about it!”

A few moments later, she found herself and Harry sitting on the sofa in front of the fire.

“No one is guaranteed time,” she was saying to him. “We don’t know how much we have. We should enjoy the time we do have and cherish the people we have in our lives. I don’t know about you, but these past couple weeks have been horrible. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life like that, wanting to be with you, but denied that chance because you were afraid that I’d end up dead. I’m afraid of a lot of things, too, Harry, but I’ve never been afraid of you. I’m afraid of losing you for no good reason.”

He was quiet. She stroked his cheek with her fingers.

“What do you want, Harry?” she asked him.

“You,” he said softly. He took her hands in his. “I want you.”

“My Harry,” she said, smiling at him.

“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I love you so much. I never want to hurt you.”

“Then stay with me,” she said. “Don’t push me away.”

She awoke with a start. She looked around the room, scared at how real the dream had seemed. What in the world was that all about? She had to ask herself. It had seemed so real, so vivid. The feelings she felt in the dream were so intense.

She looked at the clock radio on her bedside table. It was just past 2:30 in the morning. She laid her head back down on the pillow and took a deep breath. Everything in her life was going haywire these days. When would anything make sense? Would it ever make sense? It was a while before she was finally able to go back to sleep.

Since she had a few minutes before she had to leave for her first class, she decided to give her father a call. She hoped he would be home.

She quickly dialed the number. After two rings, her father’s familiar voice came on the line.

“Daddy?” she asked.

“Julie!” he exclaimed, surprised. “How are you sweetheart?”

“I’m okay,” Julie said, unconvincingly. Simon picked up on it immediately.

“You don’t sound okay,” he said. “What’s wrong?”

“I called to see how you were, Daddy,” she said, with a hollow laugh.

“Well, I’m okay, but I’m wondering how you are,” he asked. “Is it something with your classes? Trey?”

“Everything’s okay,” she said. “Really, I’m just a little stressed from my classes and work.”

“Well, you need to take time for yourself every now and then,” Simon said. “You know, you are going to run yourself ragged if you keep up at the pace you go on all the time.”

She laughed. “Keeping busy is the only thing keeping me sane, Dad.”

“You’ve always been like that,” Simon told her. “But you need to take time for yourself every now and again. It’s really the best thing for you. Are you sure that’s all there is, Julie? You know you can tell me anything.”

“I know,” she said. “Really, I just needed to hear your voice.”

“Well, you can call me anytime, sweetie,” Simon said.

“I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you, too, sweetie,” he said. “Take care of yourself. And you call anytime you need to, okay?”

“I will,” she said. “I better get to class.”

“Bye, Julie.”

She hung the phone back up. Why hadn’t she asked him the questions that were on her mind? Talking about the past was always a sore subject for her father. She knew it pained him to remember things he’d worked hard to forget. Hell, they’d moved to another country to start over. Sometimes, she wanted answers. The only problem was she was sometimes afraid to ask the questions. The last thing she wanted to do was upset her father. If she was going to find out answers, she’d have to do it on her own.

The next couple of days passed in a blur for Julie. Classes took up most of her time. She hadn’t told anyone about the bizarre, yet vivid dream she’d had about Harry. She’d honestly tried to put both the dream and the kiss they’d shared behind her, but it was always on her mind. Unfortunately, things between she and Harry had become what could only be called as awkwardly polite. They spoke only in passing and usually only when Julie was placing drink orders for customers.

Despite appearances, Julie had a feeling that Harry, too, was having trouble putting the kiss behind them. Sometimes, when he thought she wasn’t looking, she’d catch him glancing her way. She knew this because she was also guilty of doing the same.

She also had very little contact with Trey. He’d called and left a message on her answering machine, but she hadn’t returned the call. She felt like a terrible person for doing it, but she honestly didn’t know what to say. She was still confused today as she’d been the night he’d caught her and Harry kissing in the hall.

Weekends usually proved to be a good diversion, but this weekend was going to be the exception to the rule. Saturday, Billie’s Restaurant & Grill was going to be closed off to the public for a private wedding reception. A large crowd of people were expected and the employees were bracing themselves for a long, hectic day.

Billie and Ray had prepared a lavish feast of baked chicken, roasted vegetables, dinner rolls and various pastries and desserts. The couple had hired a deejay to provide music. The wedding planner had nearly driven Billie crazy by coming over at 7:00 a.m. to decorate the restaurant with flowers. Billie had joked to Julie that the restaurant was going to have so many pink flowers it was going to look like it had been hosed down with Pepto-Bismol. It had been Julie’s job to keep Billie calm in the midst of all the chaos.

The reception was scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. and would last until the last guest leaves. The staff had prepared itself for the long haul. Julie arrived at about 2:00 p.m. She and the other staff wore their own clothes to help set up tables and prepare place settings. They would all change into work clothes a few moments before the guests arrived.

She hadn’t seen Harry since she’d arrived. Billie had sent Harry and Tim out for last-minute supplies and to pick up the champagne from Billie’s distributor.

At around 4:00 p.m., Julie made her way toward the back room to get changed into her work clothes. She found the door to the backroom slightly ajar. She peered through the door and gasped at what she saw. It was Harry. He was standing in front of his locker, shirtless. His back was to her. She knew she shouldn’t be staring, but she couldn’t help it. His white button-down shirt was hanging over a chair. He turned around to get it and Julie caught sight of his chest. She could feel her jaw drop as she looked at him. He was absolutely…well, words escaped her. He was a lot more athletic and muscular than he appeared when he was fully-clothed. His stomach was toned and well-defined. His skin was slightly tanned.

“Julie?” a voice said behind her. She turned with a start to see Ray standing behind her, carrying a box.

“Mind if I scoot past you? I need to put this back here,” Ray said, peering at her over the box.

“Uh, sure,” she said, standing back to allow Ray to pass by her into the room.

Her cheeks flushed red as she saw to her horror Harry staring back at her. He now had his shirt on, but it was unbuttoned. She looked for all intents and purposes exactly like the cat that ate the canary. He knew she’d been watching him.

“Hi,” he said softly. His green eyes pierced into her and she felt as if she would just melt right there.

“Hi,” she responded. “I, um, was just---“

“Just what?” he asked, smiling at her.

“Just, um, well I was going to get changed and I didn’t know anyone was in here,” she finished quickly.

“Oh,” he said, buttoning his shirt up quickly. “Well, I’m finished.”
“Good,” she said, wishing that the floor would open up and swallow her whole to put her out of her embarrassing misery.

“Thanks, guys,” Ray said, walking between them and out of the room. Harry stepped a little closer. “It’s all yours.”

They stared at each other for a moment before Harry walked out of the room and she was left holding the door knob. She shakily walked inside the room and closed the door softly behind her. She rested her back against the door and let out a deep breath. “Oh my God,” she whispered to herself.

Julie quickly changed into a white short-sleeved, lace top with a black mini-skirt that was embroidered with small white flowers at the hem. She pulled her hair back into a low ponytail and wore a pair of pearl drop earrings. On her feet, she wore a pair of black Mary Jane mules. For some reason, she took extra care of her appearance that she usually did. She wanted to look pretty today. That was a lie. She knew why she wanted to look especially pretty today and she knew who she wanted to impress.

She made her way out of the back room and into the kitchen where she saw Billie and Ray engaged in another war of words. She was Harry leaning against the bar and laughing at the two of them. She came out of the kitchen and stood beside him where they exchanged knowing looks.

“What’s this all about?” she asked him.

Harry leaned in, a conspiratorial look in his eyes. “Well, Billie asked Ray to taste the vegetables and make sure they seemed alright. Well, he did so and mentioned that she might need to add a little more spice to them and apparently that was the straw that broke the southern belle’s back.”

“Poor Ray,” Julie said, her eyebrows furrowing. “How long has this been going on?”
“Ten minutes now,” Harry said, with a laugh. “She’s threatened him with a spatula about twice. He’s still in one piece so that’s got to count for something.”

Julie laughed and walked over to the partition between the kitchen and the bar and quietly closed the curtain. “She’s usually like this during big events like this. It puts her on edge a little bit.”

Harry nodded.

“Much better,” Julie said, turning around to smile at him. “This way if anything happens, we couldn’t be called to testify as witnesses.”

“Good plan,” Harry said. As she turned around, he was finally able to get a good look at her. She looked amazing.

“Wow,” he said.

“What?” she asked, looking at him, confused.

“You look beautiful,” he said, smiling at her.

She couldn’t help blushing. He smiled broadly back at her.

“I mean it,” he said. “You look amazing.”

“You say that now,” she said, “Just you wait until I’ve spilled champagne and food all over this white shirt. You know, I think I may have to talk to Billie about the color scheme we have to wear here. I mean, when you think about it white isn’t exactly the easiest color to….I’m rambling. Sorry. I tend to do that when I’m nervous.”

“Why are you nervous?” he asked her.

“I don’t know,” she said, with a slight laugh. “I honestly couldn’t tell you.”

“Are you sure about that?” he asked her.

“No,” she said, meeting his eyes.

“Tell you what,” he began, “let’s just have a good time today and put any awkwardness and nervousness behind us. You think you can do that?”

She laughed. “I think so. Besides, we’ll probably be so busy we won’t even have to worry about it.”

“Probably,” Harry said, smiling again at her.

“Should be fun, though,” she said, helping him get a tray of glasses from underneath the bar. “At least they haven’t got some really cheesy band playing really awful music. I swear you are going to hate that you missed it, but there was this one couple that had this polka band play their reception here. To this day, when I hear polka music, which mind you, I don’t hear on a regular basis, but when I do hear it, I cringe.”

“You’re doing it again,” Harry said, his eyes twinkling at he looked her.

“Doing what?” she asked, knowing full well that she had been rambling.

“Don’t play innocent,” he said. “You were rambling again.”
“Sorry,” she said, sheepishly. “It won’t happen again.”

“I don’t mind,” he said. “You’re cute when you ramble.”

“It’s a gift I have,” she said, flinging a dish rag at him.

“Hey,” he said, throwing the dish rag back at her, “That wasn’t very ladylike, Miss Maxwell.”

“That’s what you get for calling me cute,” she said, laughing at him.

“Would you prefer adorable, sweet, charming, or lovable?”

Julie was about to respond when Billie suddenly came barreling out of the kitchen. She was muttering something incoherent to herself as she walked toward Harry and Julie. Needless to say, she didn’t look very happy.

“I swear, I am going to kill Ray,” Billie said. “That man is going to be the death of me. That kitchen isn’t big enough for the both of us. Can you believe he had the nerve to tell me that I needed to add more spice to the vegetables? More spice he says! I spent nearly all last night preparing this food with not much help from him, I might add. So he decides to contribute by telling me that I need to add more spice.”

“Go easy on Ray, Billie,” Julie said helpfully. “It takes a lot of guts for someone to go into that kitchen with you. Ray’s heart is in the right place.”

“I’m not that bad, am I?” Billie asked her, putting her hands on her hips.

Harry and Julie stepped closer together and gave each other worried looks. “In order to protect my job and our friendship, Billie, I’m afraid I’m going to have to plead the Fifth on that one,” Julie said, holding up her hands.

“Me, too,” Harry said, standing closer to Julie. They were both trying and failing to stifle their laughter.

“You know I used to like the two of you,” Billie said, a smile playing at the corner of her lips despite herself. “Well, come on kids, let’s add some more spice and get this wedding reception started.”

An hour later, the restaurant was crowded with the wedding party and the wedding guests. The bride and groom, Trisha & Paul Thomas, were dancing their first dance together as a married couple. A crowd of people gathered around the dance floor to watch them. Julie was seated at a bar stool at the end of the bar, taking a rest and watching the couple dancing.

Julie’s co-worker Chloe came by and took a seat beside her.

“Billie didn’t see me go out for my smoke break, did she?” Chloe asked, looking around the restaurant for their boss. She sighed in relief when she found Billie no where to be found in the immediate vicinity.

“No,” Julie said, her eyes still on the dancing couple on the floor. “I don’t think so. She’s still in the back with Ray.”

“Good,” Chloe said. “That’s all I need for her to start arguing with me after the pounding she put on Ray today.”

“Yeah,” Chloe said. “Don’t tell me you’re getting all sentimental watching this?”

“A little,” Julie admitted. “Who wouldn’t? It’s so sweet to see someone so happy like that. It makes you think that love can actually work out.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Chloe said. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you. The new bartender, Harry? I’ve seen you and him chatting a few times and I was just wondering if you knew what his story was?”

“His story?” Julie asked, taking her eyes away from the dance floor. She caught sight of Harry at the end of the bar, serving a drink to one of the guests.

“Yeah,” Chloe said. “He’s pretty hot, don’t you think?”

“You think Harry’s hot?” Julie asked, feeling uncomfortable at the way this conversation seemed to be going.

“Yeah, I mean don’t you?” Chloe asked. “I mean, I know you’ve got Trey and all, but you’re not blind, Julie. He’s hot and I think he’s a nice guy, too, from what I’ve seen. I mean, that’s pretty rare to find in a guy.”

“Yeah,” Julie said, finding herself staring at Harry.

Chloe followed Julie’s gaze. Chloe gave Julie a knowing smile. “Uh-huh.”

“What?” Julie asked.

“So you have noticed he’s hot?” Chloe asked.

“I have not,” Julie said, a little louder than she planned.

“Me thinks the lady doth protest too much,” Chloe said, smiling at her. “Don’t worry. I won’t make a move on the guy you’ve got your eye on.”

“I haven’t got my eye on him,” Julie said. “If you wanted to ask Harry out, I wouldn’t---I mean, I wouldn’t have any say in that, would I?”

“You wouldn’t mind if I asked him out?” Chloe asked, not believing a word Julie was saying.

“Of course not,” Julie lied. The mere idea of it incensed her.

“Well, here comes Mr. Wonderful now,” Chloe said, cocking her head in Harry’s direction.

Harry had come up behind them.

“Hi, Harry,” Chloe said, winking at him. She leaned forward so as to give Harry a better look at her cleavage. Julie couldn’t help rolling her eyes at Chloe’s not so secretive flirting attempts. To Julie’s delight, Harry didn’t take the bait.

“Hi, Chloe,” Harry said simply. “Billie said she needed you to help her in the kitchen.”

“Oh, Lord,” Chloe said, getting up from the stool. “If you guys don’t hear from me in 10 minutes, send for reinforcements.”

Julie laughed. “Good luck.”

They both watched as Chloe walked into the kitchen.

“How’s it going?” Harry asked her.

“Good,” she said. “You?”

“Okay,” he said, leaning on his elbows on the bar. “You taking a quick break?”

“Yeah, watching the happy couple dance,” she said, looking again at the dance floor as Trisha and Paul finished their dance. Trisha and Paul smiled and shared a kiss before urging their guests to join them on the dance floor.

“So why aren’t you out their shaking your groove thing?” he asked her.

“Shaking my groove thing?” she asked him in mock disbelief. “I could ask you the same question.”

“Well, I don’t know how to do the Electric Slide or the Macarena and I’d have to be seriously drunk to do The Chicken Dance,” he said.

“You know, I think I’d pay to see you do The Chicken Dance,” she said giggling.

“There isn’t enough money in the free world to get me to do that,” he said, shaking his head.

“Ah, you’re no fun,” she said, getting up from her barstool and picking up her tray. “Well, in that case, I’m getting back to work.”

“Yeah, work it on to that dance floor, girl,” Harry called after her.

“I will if you will,” she said, walking away laughing.

What Harry hadn’t told Julie was that being at this wedding reception, he couldn’t help remembering a day nearly five years ago when he and Hermione had exchanged their own vows to each other in the Astronomy Tower. It seemed like such a lifetime ago. He wished she would remember. There had to be some way to help her reclaim those memories.

He could still see her in her beautiful white dress, her eyes shining with tears as she recited her own vows. He could still see how she smiled when he’d told her how much she’d meant to him.

He wanted so much to tell her who she was and what she was and who she was to him. She wouldn’t understand now. It was too damn soon to go telling her these things. If he ever had the chance to meet Simon Maxwell, he’d make that man regret the day he’d decided to help take part in some carefully crafted plan to rob Hermione from the people who loved and cared about her. He hoped Sirius was having luck finding out who Simon Maxwell really was.

His gaze traveled across the room, searching for her. He found her bent over a table, putting some empty plates on her tray. She turned and smiled good-naturedly at someone who said something to her in passing. She laughed.

She walked toward the bar. “I need a strawberry daiquiri and a club soda.”

“Coming right up,” Harry said, getting two glasses. He quickly fixed the drinks and watched as Julie placed them onto her serving tray.

“And to think it was only a few short weeks ago when you had no idea what you were doing,” she said smiling at him. She was enjoying the flirty conversation she and Harry had been engaging in all evening. It was fun and she needed something fun in her life right now.

“Well, I had a good teacher,” he said.

She brought the drinks over to the table and came back to stand by the bar. She and Harry were just watching the other couples dance.

“You two kids should dance,” an older woman said. She was sitting a few seats down from them and was smiling broadly at them.

“Everyone should dance.”

“We’re working, ma’am,” Julie said, smiling at her. “I don’t think we could dance.”

“You can take a break, can’t you?” she asked. “It’s a party after all. Besides, I think he really would like to dance with you. Wouldn’t you?” She looked over at Harry, who was almost speechless.

“Do you think Billie would mind?” he asked Julie.

“Well, if we just danced once I don’t think she’d mind,” Julie said.

Harry walked around the bar and offered Julie his hand.

“What do you say?” he asked her. The older woman was beaming at the two of them.

“Okay,” she said, taking his hand.

The fast song the deejay had been playing ended and a slower one started. Julie hesitated a moment before putting her arms around Harry’s neck. He placed his hands on her waist and they began to move to the music.

“I can't imagine, any greater fear
Then waking up, with out you near
And though the sun, would still shine on
My whole world, would all be gone
But not for long”

As Harry listened to the lyrics and enjoyed the feeling of holding her once again, he pulled her closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and she rested her head on his chest.

“If I had to run
If I had to crawl
If I had to swim a hundred rivers
Just to climb a thousand walls
Always know that I would find a way
To get to where you are
There's no place that far”

It was as if everyone else in the room faded away and it was only the two of them. He wondered if this was affecting her as much as it was him. She lifted her head and with their arms still wrapped around each other, she looked up at him.

“It wouldn't matter, why we're apart
The lonely miles, two stubborn hearts
And nothing short, of God above
Could turn me away, from your love
I need you that much”

“Harry?”

“Yeah?” he asked, still looking down at her.

Their faces were inches apart. He was about to lean in and kiss her when she suddenly broke free from their embrace and walked quickly toward the kitchen, leaving him alone on the dance floor.

********************************************

He’d debated on whether or not to follow her. He asked Tim to cover the bar for him while he went to check on Julie. He needed to find out what was wrong with her. Why had she run away from him? He walked through the kitchen and found Ray.

“Ray, have you seen Julie?” he asked him.

“She went up to the roof,” Ray said. “She didn’t look too good, Harry.”

“Yeah,” Harry said. “If anyone asks, I’ll be right back.”

Harry walked out the back door to the restaurant and climbed the staircase up to the roof. He found her looking out over the ledge. He could hear her sobbing as he came closer.

“Julie?” he asked hesitantly.

She didn’t turn around.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry, Harry.”

“For what?” he asked, standing beside her.

“I’m scared,” she said.

A sudden gust of wind blew a loose strand of Julie’s hair across her cheek and mouth. Harry’s hand rose gently, as if he were going to smooth the strand away, but he reconsidered and instead, tightly clasped his hands in front of him.

“What are you scared of?” he asked her instead.

“How I’m feeling,” she said simply. “How I’m feeling scares me to death.”

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m confused, but everything seems to make perfect sense. I say I’m not going to think about something and I only think about it more. I say I don’t understand something, but I can see clearly what it is.”

She laughed nervously.

“Julie,” he said softly. He put an arm on her shoulder and turned her gently to face him. She didn’t look in his eyes, though. “Please look at me, Julie.”

She did so and he saw that her eyes were still shining with tears.

“I never have liked to see you cry,” he said. He took his hand to her face and gently wiped a tear away from her cheek.

She didn’t pick up on the clue to what he’d just said. Right now, he didn’t care. He knew she felt something for him. He wanted to hear her say it. He needed to hear her say it.

“Harry,” she whispered.

She stepped closer to him and slowly touched his cheek.

“Just tell me you feel something,” he said. “Please.”

“I do,” she said softly. “I think I’m falling for you.”

“So you’re half way there, then?” he asked. She laughed.

He bent his head down, smiling reassuringly at her, and very slowly pressed his lips to hers. She didn’t pull away to his great relief. He deepened the kiss and felt her arms wrap around him. She started to stroke the base of his spine. He lost all ability to think. There was only her. Everything he had done, he had done for her.

He moved down to kiss the nape of her neck and he took in the sweet smell of her skin.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you,” she said back, without thinking, without question. It was just as she’d imagined it would always be. “I love you, Harry.”

Author’s Note:
Thanks for all the reviews. I really appreciate it guys! Below, I have used two scenes from Book 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I had to paraphrase a bit to fit the storyline. I hope you enjoy. A special thanks to Ash for all the feedback and help!

Chapter 10

Do What You Have to Do

“What ravages of spirit

conjured this temptuous rage

created you a monster

broken by the rules of love

and fate has lead you through it

you do what you have to do

and fate has led you through it

you do what you have to do ...”

(Do What You Have to Do by Sarah McLachlan) 

“Harry,” Julie said, laughing as he kissed her neck. “We better get back inside. Billie’s probably going to tar and feather us for shirking our responsibilities.”

“It would be worth it,” he said, smiling broadly at her before kissing her softly on the lips.

“This is going to sound so cheesy,” she began, “but I never knew it could be like this.”

“Like what?” he asked her.

“Feeling like all my insides were going haywire all at once,” she said. “I feel like that whenever you’re around.”

“You’ve never felt that way with anyone before?” he asked.

“No,” she said. “To tell you the truth I’ve never been in love with anyone before. I mean, I’ve dated, but I’ve never been in love before. Something’s always held me back.”

He pulled away from her. He felt guilty. He had been with other women since Hermione’s “death”. Yes, these women had meant nothing more to him than a warm body on a cold night, but he’d still been with them. The way he’d lived his life these past four years was not something he was proud of. He’d been lonely. He knew it wasn’t a valid excuse. He comforted himself with the fact that he had never given anyone else his heart. It was she who owned it then and it was she who owned it now. She always would and there was nothing he could do or would do to change that.

He was also angry. He wanted to tell her that she had been in love before. He wanted to tell her that they’d shared a happy life together before someone had taken her from him. He wanted her to remember that night when they’d given their virginity to each other. He wanted to her remember how they’d exchanged their own sacred vows.

“Harry?” she asked, putting her hand on his shoulder. “Did I do something wrong? Did I say something wrong?”

He turned around to face her.

“No,” he said, smiling reassuringly at her. “It’s nothing. You’ve made me so happy tonight. You have no idea how much.”

He rested his forehead against hers. Their arms were wrapped tightly around each other. The night air was cool and Julie couldn’t help shivering.

“Are you cold?”

She nodded. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and pulled her closer. She rested her head on his shoulder and he kissed the top of her head.

“You know ever since my accident, something’s always seemed off. Something’s always seemed like it was missing. For the first time in a long time, it feels as if everything’s as it should be. This feels right. This feels so right,” she said. “Almost as if it was meant to be.”

“I feel the same way,” he whispered. He pulled away from her and tilted her chin up and kissed her softly again. “Say it again.”

“I love you,” she said, smiling. “I love you.”

He stroked her cheek with his thumb and pulled her closer to kiss her again.

“We really better get back downstairs,” Julie said grudgingly.

“Okay,” he said. He took her hand in his and reluctantly led her toward the staircase. She stopped him when they were halfway down the stairs.

“Can we, um, continue this after work?” she asked, nervously biting her bottom lip. “At your place?”

“Are you sure?” he asked her, trying to contain his happiness at what she’d just said.

Instead of answering him, she pulled him into another deep kiss.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, laughing. She smiled knowingly at him and then pushed him forward down the stairs.

When the opened the backdoor to the restaurant, they didn’t see that Billie and Ray were in the kitchen talking with Trey. Trey was holding a bouquet of carnations. He broke into a wide smile when he heard Julie’s voice, but his smile quickly faded when he saw that she wasn’t alone and that she was holding Harry’s hand. When Julie caught sight of Trey, her own smile disappeared.

“Trey,” she said softly.

“I, um, thought I’d stop by and see how you were doing,” he said looking away from her. “Obviously, I needn’t have worried. You seem to be doing alright.”

He angrily dropped the flowers onto the floor and stormed out of the kitchen.

“Billie?” Julie asked helplessly.

“Go ahead,” Billie said, a worried, confused expression on her own face. “The party’s winding down anyway.”

“Thanks,” Julie said quickly. “I’m sorry, Harry.”

She quickly turned around and looked at him before rushing out behind Trey.

Harry could only look on in disbelief.

Meanwhile…

London 2:00 a.m.

Ron Weasley groggily got out of bed and promptly let out a string of expletives as he stubbed his toe on the bedside table.

“Ron!” Kit exclaimed sleepily. “You’ll wake up the whole neighborhood!”

“Merlin forbid the whole neighborhood doesn’t get any sleep. I mean, as long as I’m awake!” Ron answered back angrily. “We wouldn’t want to keep the neighbor’s up, would we?”

“Will you just go see who it is knocking on the door, please?” she asked.

“That’s what I’m trying to do before the bloody table got in my way,” he said.

“Yeah, it’s the table’s fault,” Kit said, lying back down on her pillow.

Ron gave his wife one last look of derision before heading out of the bedroom and down the hall toward the door. He was muttering under his breath all the way.

He opened the door to find a very distraught looking Harry.

“What the bloody hell are you doing here at this time of night, Harry?” Ron asked. “You know between you and Neville, I’m never going to get any sleep. It’s like you have no concept of time. I mean, I know you’re in America and there’s a time difference, but think about it for once, will you?”

He quickly regretted what he said when he saw how upset his friend was.

“Geez, Harry,” he said. “You look like shit.”

“Thanks, Ron,” Harry said, sarcastically.

“Come on in,” Ron said, standing back to allow him entrance into the flat.

“Kit!” he called to his wife. “Harry’s here!”

A few moments later Kit came into the sitting room, in her robe and slippers.

“Is everything okay?” she asked. “Is Hermione alright?”

“I don’t know,” Harry said. “I have no idea. I’m losing my mind with this. It’s like one step forward and two steps back with her. One minute I think I’m making progress and then the next thing you know something derails it.”

“What happened?” Kit asked.

Harry explained to them about how he’d taken her to the movies a few weeks ago and how they’d talked and had a good time. He told them about the kiss they’d shared and how Trey had interrupted.

“Trey?” Ron asked. “She’s dating some guy named Trey?”

“Yeah,” Harry said.

“Trey? What kind of name is Trey? I mean that’s like something you put plates on, isn’t it?” Ron asked.

“Ron!” Kit said, hitting her husband playfully on the arm. “Go on, Harry.”

So Harry continued his story. He told them how they’d decided to put the kiss behind them and try to continue as friends. He explained how they still spoke at work, but things were still sort of awkward between them. He told them how everything came to a head that evening during the wedding reception when they’d flirted at work and enjoyed each other’s company. He told them how they’d shared a dance and how Julie had run out. He told them how he followed her up to the roof where they’d kissed and confessed their feelings for each other.

“Well, that’s good isn’t it?” Ron asked.

“You would think, wouldn’t you?” Harry asked. “So we go back downstairs and Trey’s inside waiting to talk to her. He saw us holding hands and went all spare and ran out of the restaurant. She ran after him.”

“Oh,” Kit said.

“Oh, is right,” Harry said. “I know I’m supposed to be patient and understanding, but this is getting to be more than I can possibly stand. Do you have any idea how hard it is to look at her and hear her talk about how she’s never been in love before? How hard it was to have her look at me and not know who the hell I was? She has all these memories that were robbed of her and I can’t do anything about it.”

“Is there anyway you can break the spell that’s on her?” Kit asked helpfully. “I mean if it was a memory charm, can you do anything to reverse it?”

“Not until we know exactly what was done to her and by whom,” Harry asked. “I need to find out more about this Simon Maxwell. That’s the guy who’s passed himself off as her father.”

“I’d like to be there when you meet him,” Ron said angrily. “I’d like to beat his brains out for what he did to her.”

“Do you know much about him?” Kit asked.

“He told her that her mother had died from cancer and that he’d moved them to the states to start over. How could he do that to her? What kind of sick bastard would do this to someone?” Harry asked. “And she cares about him, too. You can see it in her eyes when she talks about him. She thinks of this man as her dad. She has no idea what he’s done to her.”

“It’ll break her heart when she finds out,” Kit said.

“Yeah,” Harry said, finally sitting down on the couch. His shoulders shrugged and he felt as if he was about to break down. Kit got up from her own seat and walked over to him. She put a comforting arm around him.

“She probably just ran out after this Trey person to explain to him what happened,” Kit said. “She did tell you she loved you, right? That’s a start.”

“Yeah,” Harry said. “I wish I could believe that.”

“You can,” Kit said. “She’ll remember, Harry. I know you don’t want to hear this, but it’s just going to take time. You have to have faith. Have faith in the love you have for her. She will remember.”

“I want to believe that,” he said. “It just seems like just when I think something’s happening, something else comes along to muck it all up again.”

“Why don’t you try and get her in situations that might bring up memories?” Ron asked.

“I can’t very well bring her here to London?” Harry asked. “Or to Hogwarts?”

“Well, no, but you can put her in situations that might bring up memories,” Kit said helpfully. “Like that time you and she went to the planetarium in Atlanta? You could do something like that in North Carolina.”

“Maybe you could tell her that you’re a wizard, Harry,” Ron said. “You could tell her that and maybe it would help her get something back.”

“I can’t do that, Ron,” Harry said. “She’s been living as a Muggle for four years. She’d think I was nutters if I pulled out my wand.”

Ron snickered.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Ron,” Kit said. As she thought about what Ron had just said, she too broke out into giggles. Before too long, Harry started to laugh too.

“I shouldn’t be laughing about this,” Harry said.

“You shouldn’t feel guilty for laughing,” Kit said. “You’re either going to laugh or cry about something like this or you’re going to go crazy. We all need to laugh every once in awhile. That’s part of the reason why I married this goofball.”

“Hey,” Ron said. “I’m offended by that!”

“It’s a compliment,” she said quickly. “Your sense of humor is one of your most attractive qualities, Ron.”

“That’s better,” Ron said, puffing his chest out.

“You see what I have to put up with 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?” Kit asked Harry.

“Yeah,” Harry said. “You must be on a mission from God, Kit.”

“When did this become a pick on Ron session?” Ron asked.

“Cutting you down always makes me feel better, Ron,” Harry said, laughing.

“Well, you need to get Hermione back here, Harry,” Ron said. “I miss having someone to infuriate. I’m the one always getting picked on these days. She needs to come back and give me some relief from that.”

“He will bring her back,” Kit said, smiling at Harry. “Harry’s going to get Hermione back for him and for us.”

*********************************************************

At the same time that Harry was talking with Kit and Ron, Julie had caught up to Trey at his apartment.

“Hi,” she said, when he answered the door.

“Hi,” he said angrily.

“Can I come in?” she asked.

“Suit yourself,” he said, ushering her inside.

“Thanks,” she said.

They were silent for a few moments, neither really knowing what to say. It was Julie who broke the silence.

“Trey,” she began, “I’m really sorry for what you saw at the restaurant. I had no idea you were going to be there when we came back downstairs.”

“Oh, so it’s my fault,” Trey asked. “I’m so sorry that I interrupted your interlude.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she said.

“Who the hell is that guy, Julie?” Trey asked her, his eyes blazing with anger. “Who the hell is he? We were doing just fine until he comes along.”

“We weren’t doing fine, Trey,” she said softly. “Do you remember how you told me you loved me that night? What did I do? I ran off to the bathroom. That’s not a typical response is it? And it’s not you. It’s me. I know that’s the biggest cliché when things like this happen, but I just couldn’t say it back to you. You don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t love you as much as you deserve to be loved. You are a wonderful guy, Trey. You’ve been a special person to me for a long time. I care about you a great deal, but—“

“You don’t love me,” Trey interjected. “You don’t love me.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

“We’ve known each other for months, Julie,” Trey said. “This guy comes into town a few weeks ago and now you’re in love with him? It doesn’t make sense.”

“I know it doesn’t,” she said. “I can’t make sense of it anymore than you can, but it’s something I just know. And it doesn’t matter how long you’ve known someone. You don’t always have a say in who you fall in love with or why. I know you don’t want to hear this, but I need to tell you this.”

“So you’ll feel better?” he asked angrily.

“No, so you’ll understand,” she said.

“I don’t understand,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything you could possibly say that could make me understand this. What I don’t understand is why you aren’t asking yourself these same questions. Julie, a few weeks ago, you didn’t even know this guy. And now you’re in love with him?”

“I have asked myself these questions, Trey,” she argued. “I might not have an answer as to why or when it happened, but I know it’s there. I can’t do anything to change it.”

“Don’t do this, Julie,” Trey said. “Don’t throw us away.”

“You deserve to have someone in your life who will love you back as much as you love them. It’s not me, Trey. I wish it could have been. Honestly, even if Harry hadn’t come into the picture, I don’t know if you and I would have gone anywhere. Something was holding me back.”

“What was holding you back?”

“I don’t know,” she said simply.

“I hear that a lot from you,” he said. “You use it as an excuse. You use it as an excuse not to get close to anyone.”

“I do not,” she retorted.

“Why don’t you just go, Julie?” Trey asked. “You obviously don’t want to be here with me. Go back to Mr. Perfect. See how long it takes before something holds you back with him, too.”

“Trey,” Julie said.

“Go,” he said, walking to the door and opening it. “I hope you’ll be very happy. I hope we can still be friends. It’s all for the best, right? I covered all the relationship ending appropriate things to say, didn’t I?”

She had no answer for him.

“Goodbye, Trey,” she said. She took one last look at him before she walked out. He closed the door behind her.

She broke down in tears when she walked outside the apartment building.

She managed to collect her thoughts and get a handle on her emotions as she made her way to the bus stop.

She stopped suddenly when she felt a searing pain in her head. She doubled over and put a hand to her forehead. What the hell is going on, she asked herself silently.

In a flash, she had a vision.

She was running behind Harry. They were near a lake of some sort. It was dark and the only sounds that she could hear came from the distance. It sounded to Julie like a yelping dog. She and Harry must have been running toward the dog because as they ran the sounds seemed closer and closer. The yelping stopped abruptly and to Julie’s surprise, she didn’t find a dog, but a man, who was crouched on all fours, his hands over his head.

“No000,” he was moaning. “Nooooo….please…”

Julie turned toward Harry and she saw these horrible creatures gliding in a black mass around the lakeside toward them. Julie spun around, feeling very cold all of a sudden. Everywhere she turned, she saw these horrible creatures coming at her, encircling her and Harry.

“Hermione, think of something happy!” Harry yelled to her, raising something that looked like a stick at the figures that were fast approaching them. He stepped closer to her and pulled her close to him as he pointed the stick at them again.

“Expecto Patronum! Hermione, help me! Expecto patronum!”

Julie saw herself try and repeat the words Harry had said. “Expecto-“ she whispered, “expecto---expecto---“

But she couldn’t say it for some reason and those dark figures kept coming in closer and closer. They seemed to form a solid wall around them.

Then, everything went black.

Julie tried to catch her breath, but before she could, she had another vision. This time, she was on a train. She was walking down the aisles trying to find something. She saw herself stop at one of the compartments and look in on the occupants of the compartment. One was a young boy of about 11 years of age with flaming red hair. He was holding a rat on his lap and another boy, who looked like Harry would have at the age of 11. He was wearing a pair of broken glasses.

“Has anyone seen a toad? Neville’s lost one,” she said to the two boys.

“We’ve already told him we haven’t seen in,” the red-haired boy said impatiently to her. She hadn’t really been listening to him, though. She looked at the stick in his hand.

“Oh, are you doing magic? Let’s see it, then.”

Julie saw herself sit down across from the boy and although the red-haired boy looked taken aback, he cleared his throat and said, “Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow.”

Julie watched as he waved his stick at the rat, but nothing happened. The rat stayed gray and fast asleep on the boy’s lap.

“Are you sure that’s a real spell?” she heard herself ask him. “Well, it’s not very good, is it? I’ve tried a few simple spells just for practice and it’s all worked for me. Nobody in my family’s magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it’s the very best school of witchcraft there is, I’ve heard---I’ve learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough—I’m Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?”

The two boys exchanged looks with each other.

“I’m Ron Weasley,” the red-haired boy muttered.

“Harry Potter,” the other boy said.

“Are you really?” Julie heard herself ask the boy. “I know all about you, of course---I got a few extra books for background reading, and you’re in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.

“Am I?” Harry said, looking somewhat dazed by what she’d just said.

“Goodness, didn’t you know, I’d have found out everything I could if it was me,” Julie heard herself say, rather bossily. “Do either of you know what house you’ll be in? I’ve been asking around, and I hope I’m in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn’t be too bad…Anyway, we’d better go and look for Neville’s toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we’ll be there soon.”

Everything faded to black again. Julie found herself sitting on the cold concrete.

What is going on? She had to ask herself. Why was Harry calling her “Hermione”? This Neville in her vision, was he the same Neville who’d visited the restaurant a few months ago alarmed that she bore a striking resemblance to someone he knew? And what were those horrible, dark figures that had threatened her and Harry? She felt as if she couldn’t breathe. Whose memories were they?

Author’s Note: Thanks for the reviews, guys! I really appreciate it. I have paraphrased a portion of Book Five: Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix. A certain someone has another flashback. I hope you enjoy. I hope to update again real soon, so as not to leave you all hanging…

Chapter Eleven

Don’t Dream It’s Over

“There is freedom within, there is freedom without
Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup
There's a battle ahead, many battles are lost
But you'll never see the end of the road
While you're traveling with me”

(“Don’t Dream It’s Over” versions by both Crowded House and by Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer)

Harry spent the night at Ron and Kit’s, well the rest of the morning. He’d been much too tired to argue that he really should be getting back to Chapel Hill to check on Julie. So he hadn’t protested too vehemently when Kit handed him a pillow and a blanket and told him to get some rest. He planned on apparating back to Chapel Hill as soon as he woke up.

Or, at least that was what he’d planned on doing. His mobile woke him up sometime at 9 a.m. It was Sirius. He wouldn’t go into much detail, but said he had important news that he had to tell Harry. Ron agreed to tag along. They both apparated outside The Leaky Cauldron a good fifteen minutes after Sirius’ phone call.

It was with trepidation that Harry walked into the pub. Sirius and Lupin had settled in at a table near the back. They appeared deep in conversation, serious expressions on both their faces.

“Please tell me you have good news,” Harry said, after they’d all exchanged hellos. Sirius and Lupin exchanged a look, which only made Harry more anxious.

“We were able to determine that the body in Hermione’s grave is definitely not hers,” Sirius said solemnly.

“How did you find out? Surely, Hermione’s parents didn’t consent to—“, Ron began.

“No,” Sirius said, shaking his head. “They aren’t privy to what’s going on at the moment. No, Remus, here, had some connections at the Ministry. He was able to get his hands on a device that can determine someone’s identity. It’s not used commonly today, but a number of aurors used them when a great lot of death eaters were using polyjuice potions and glamours to disguise themselves as others. We were able to use one to determine the identity of the body in Hermione’s grave.”

“Which is?” Harry asked.

“A woman named Millicent Calloway,” Lupin answered. “She was a 45 year old vagrant. Our guess is that they lured her off the streets with the promise of a decent meal or some wages. She was either given an extended polyjuice potion or there was some sort of charm or spell used to make her take on the appearance of Hermione. She had no family to speak of, so her disappearance went unnoticed.”

“They thought of everything, didn’t they?” Ron asked amazed.

“Did you find anything on this Simon Maxwell?” Harry asked. “Any connection to Voldemort?”

“Well, Sirius and I went over the records of all known Death Eaters over the past 30 years,” Lupin said. “We couldn’t find anything for a Simon Maxwell.”

Harry’s face fell.

“But,” Sirius said hastily. “We did cross reference the listings by aliases and came up with a man by the name of Maxwell Cambridge, who used the aliases of Simon Cambridge and Simon Maxwell. He was heavily involved with Voldemort at the height of his power.”

“And?” Harry prompted.

“Nearly four and a half years ago, he disappeared from sight. He hadn’t been seen or heard in Europe or Asia since then,” Lupin finished.

“Remus has a friend in the police department in Asheville, North Carolina, who did some checking on this Simon Maxwell for us. According to his findings, Simon Maxwell bought a moderately priced home in the Asheville suburbs. The realtor who sold him the house said he mentioned a teenage daughter, but that she wasn’t with him when he was shown the house or when the lease was turned over to Simon. Shortly after moving there, his daughter was rushed to the hospital as she had been in a car accident. The doctors were gobsmacked about how she arrived in the condition she was in. Apparently, her car hit a tree, but she was in a coma-like state for days. When she woke up, she had no memory of who she was or how she got there.”

“He was all too willing to fill in the blanks for her, wasn’t he?” Harry asked bitterly.

“Yeah,” Lupin said. “Anyway, she underwent extensive therapy and tests to determine the cause of her memory loss, but no concrete explanation was ever given or found. From all appearances, he was the model father. He works as a freelance writer these days to support himself and his daughter.”

“Model father?” Ron asked. “How could he do this to her?”

“That’s what I intend to find out,” Harry said coolly.

“It won’t be easy, Harry,” Sirius said. “From what you’ve told me, Hermione sees this man as her father. She won’t be all too willing to see him as a fake and a phony who robbed her of her memories.”

“I’ll find a way to make her believe me,” Harry said. “I’m not going to let him do any more damage to her.”

“We’ll help you any way we can,” Sirius said. The others nodded.

“You might need to come with me,” Harry said. “Hermione’s always been one who needs proof. She’s going to need concrete evidence.”

“Let’s go, then,” Ron said. “I’m ready to see my best friend.”

“Me, too, Ron,” Harry said, smiling. “Me, too.”

Julie was finally able to make it back to her apartment. To her immense relief, the pain in her head subsided and she was able to make it home with no other flashbacks or visions or memories. She was at a loss as to what any of it was or what it all meant.

Why was she imagining herself as this girl, Hermione? The same girl that Harry had told her had been his best friend, the girl he had loved. Maybe that was it, she tried to reassure herself. He had talked so much about her, Julie felt as if she knew her. She was just picturing the stories Harry had told her in her mind. Yet, these visions had been so clear and so vivid. They felt like real, actual memories, but they couldn’t be hers. Could they? She wasn’t Hermione Granger. She was Julie Maxwell, only daughter of Simon and Ann Maxwell. She was just really stressed out, right? There had to be a logical explanation for it, but she was at a complete loss as to what it was, or what it could possibly be.

She took a Tylenol PM to help her get to sleep, and was thankfully able to get a few hours of peaceful, dreamless sleep. She awoke the next morning, which was a Sunday. Thankfully, she wasn’t scheduled to work and being as it was the weekend, she didn’t have to worry about classes.

She decided to spend the day taking it easy. Hopefully, this was all just her body’s response to all the stress in her life at the moment. She managed to catch up on some reading for one of her classes. She cleaned her kitchen and bathroom. She listened to some music. The day seemed to be going well. Best of all, there were no memory flashes or visions that she couldn’t explain. Maybe, it had all been a fluke, she couldn’t help wondering.

At around three in the afternoon, she decided to make herself a quick cup of tea. As she stood over the stove waiting for the water to boil, she felt that familiar searing pain in her head again.

She was standing outside a huge house and she rang the doorbell. A red-haired girl answered the door. Julie could barely hear her over the incessant, loud screaming from somewhere in the house. The woman’s cold, shrill voice kept hollering out, “STAINS OF DISHONOR, FILTHY HALF-BREEDS, BLOOD TRAITORS, CHILDREN OF FILTH…”

Julie and the red-haired girl rolled their eyes at the sounds coming from somewhere in the house. She gave the girl a quick hug and asked something about the girl’s father.

“He’s okay,” the girl said bravely. “He’s still at St. Mungo’s. Mum’s going to take us to see him tomorrow. I’m so glad you came, Hermione.”

Julie nodded to the girl.

“How is Harry?” Julie heard herself ask.

“No one knows,” the red-haired girl said. “He’s holed himself upstairs with Buckbeak. He won’t come down to talk to anyone. Mum’s lit a fire in his bedroom and set out some sandwiches, but he hasn’t been in there. It’s really good that you’ve come. Maybe you can get him to come downstairs and talk to us.”

“Of course,” Julie heard herself say. “I’ll be right back. Hopefully, I won’t be alone.”

“Good luck,” the red-haired girl said.

Julie saw herself going quickly up the stairs, all the way trying to shake snow from her hair and her cloak.

She walked determinedly toward a door and insistently knocked hard on it with her fist.

“I know you’re in there,” she said. “Will you please come out? I want to talk to you.”

Harry opened the door and Julie could see that he wasn’t alone. This strange creature had the body of a horse and the head of an eagle. It was scratching at the floor for something.

“What are you doing here?” Harry asked her surprised. “I thought you were skiing with your mum and dad.”

“Well, to tell the truth, skiing’s not really my thing,” she replied. “So, I’ve come for Christmas. But don’t tell Ron that, I told him it’s really good because he kept laughing so much. Anyway, Mum and Dad are a bit disappointed, but I’ve told them that everyone who’s serious about the exams is staying at Hogwarts to study. They want me to do well, they’ll understand.”

“Anyway,” she continued rather briskly, “let’s go to your bedroom, Ron’s mum’s lit a fire ion there and she’s sent up some sandwiches.”

Julie was brought out of the flashback as she noticed the water nearly boiling over. She was losing her mind. Not only was she having flashes of another person’s memories, but she was now picturing nonsensical creatures.

She went to the telephone and despite her hands shaking; she was able to dial her father’s number. The answering machine picked up. She couldn’t leave him a message. What was she going to say, “Hey, Dad? Julie here. Just wanted to let you know that I’m losing my mind. Take care.” So, she hung up before the beep.

She turned the stove off and forgot about her tea. She wasn’t thirsty. She wasn’t hungry. She was scared.

There was one person who could help her. There was one person who could possibly provide answers. If anything, the sight of his face and his warm, green eyes could at least provide some comfort. She went into her bedroom and threw on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Please be home, Harry, she thought as she closed her door behind her. I really need you, she whispered.

At the moment, Harry was sitting in his rented room with Ron, Sirius, and Lupin going over old photo albums and papers. They were discussing the best course of action to take with the Hermione situation. Ron had wanted to immediately go and see his friend, but Harry had nixed that idea right away.

“She doesn’t need to be bombarded with this information right away,” Harry said. “It’ll scare her off. She doesn’t need that.”

“Harry’s right,” Sirius said. “He should be the one to present the information to her and then we can come in and corroborate his story.”

“This isn’t a bloody investigation, Sirius,” Ron snapped. “This is my friend. This is Harry’s girlfriend. You’re acting as if you’re presenting a case to the Wizengamot!”

“I’m sorry,” Sirius said. “I just think it would be a good idea if Harry presented the information to her. How would you feel if someone came up to you and started calling you by another name and told you everything you thought about yourself was a lie?”

Ron looked thoughtful. “You’re right. It doesn’t mean I have to like it, but you’re right.”

Sirius nodded.

“This could all backfire on me,” Harry said. “I could lose her forever.”

“Don’t think like that, Harry,” Lupin said.

“Easy for you to say,” Harry said sullenly.

There was a knock on the door and the sound of it startled everyone.

“Who is that?” Ron asked, looking at Harry.

“I don’t know,” Harry said, getting up from his seat on the sofa and walking over to the door. “It could be the landlady. She’s always coming up here offering me muffins and pastries.”

“Sweet,” Ron said.

“Do you ever think of anything besides your stomach?” Lupin asked, laughing.

“You sound like Kit,” Ron said, joining in the laughter.

“Well, she’s eating for two now,” Lupin said. “What’s your excuse?”

Ron was about to answer when Harry opened the door to reveal…Hermione.

“Oh,” she said, embarrassed. “You have company. I shouldn’t have dropped by unannounced.”

“It’s, um, okay,” Harry said quickly. “Really, Julie.”

Ron felt his mouth drop as he took in the sight of this girl. She was exactly as Neville and Harry had described her. She was a little older, the hair was a little shorter and the voice was not as heavily accented, but this was Hermione. There was no doubt in his mind as he gaped at her.

“Hi,” she said, looking over Harry’s shoulder at the three men, who were strangers to her. Her eyes lingered on Ron, and a momentary flutter of recognition flashed in her eyes.

“I have to go,” she said quickly and turned around. Harry grabbed her arm.

“Please don’t go,” Harry said.

She reluctantly turned around.

“What happened?” he asked her.

“Can we talk in private?” she asked.

“Of course,’ he said. He gave his friends a look that clearly said, “I’ll handle this” and closed the door softly behind him. They took a seat on the steps.

“What is it?” he asked concerned.

“I need you to tell me the truth,” she said.

“Okay,” he said, worried. “What do you want to know?”

“Why am I having these flashbacks of you, me and that man in there—the red-haired one,” she asked. Her eyes were red and puffy as if she had been crying.

“You’ve had flashbacks?” Harry asked, hopefully.

“I don’t know what the hell they are,” she said. “Last night, I went to Trey’s to apologize to him about how I’d hurt him. As you can imagine, he didn’t take it too well.”

“Did he hurt you?” Harry asked, clenching his fists.

Julie touched his arm.

“No,” she said. “He would never hit me. He just wasn’t too happy with me. We didn’t part on the best terms. Anyway, as I was leaving, I had this sharp pain in my head. I saw you and me in the woods. We were running from something. These dark, cloaked figures were closing in around us. You pointed something at them to try and get them to go away, but they kept closing in around us. You wanted me to help you, but it was so cold. The next thing I know, everything went dark.”

Harry felt an overwhelming sense of hope rising in him. She was remembering. He didn’t care how or why. The important thing was she was remembering.

“The other one I had was meeting you and that man in there on a train. We were all kids. He was trying to turn a rat yellow,” she said.

“And I’ve had these strange dreams,” she continued, when Harry didn’t say anything. “There was this one where I was running away from a three-headed dog. I was with these two other boys, but I couldn’t see their faces.”

“Then, I dreamed the other night of you and I in this cozy looking room. It was Christmas. You were trying to push me away for some reason, but I wasn’t going to let you. You told me you loved me.”

Tears were welling up in her eyes as she related these flashbacks to Harry. He grabbed her hand and reassuringly stroked it softly.

“You called me Hermione in these flashbacks,” she said softly. “What’s going on? Can you help me? Can you explain to me what’s going on?”

He took a deep breath.

“I think so,” he said.

“You don’t think I’m going crazy, do you?” she asked, a tear falling down her cheek. He took his hand to her face and gently wiped the tear away.

“You’re not crazy,” he whispered. “There’s a perfectly logical explanation for what you’ve experienced and what you’ve seen.”

“Okay,” she said, looking at him expectantly. “And this would be?”

“Those visions you’ve been having? Those flashbacks?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Those are your memories,” he said with conviction. “Those are your memories, Hermione.”

Author’s Note: Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it!!!! I hope you are all having a great holiday. I took advantage of my free time before the big dinner to do some writing, so I hope you like this chapter…it has a little bit of everything in it. Please tell me what you think, as I know you all will!!!!

Chapter 12

Broken Arrow

“Do you feel what I feel
Can we make it so that’s part of the deal
I gotta hold you in these arms of steel
Lay your heart on the line this time”

”I wanna breathe when you breathe
When you whisper like that hot summer breeze
Count the beads of sweat that cover me
Didn’t you show me a sign this time”

(Broken Arrow by Rod Stewart)

“What did you just call me?” she asked him. “What did you just say?”

“I said that those flashbacks you’ve been having,” he said. “Those are your memories coming back to you. You’re finally getting them back, Hermione.”

“My name’s not Hermione, Harry,” she said, her voice faltering. “It’s Julie. I’m Julie Maxwell.”

“No,” he said calmly, taking her hands in his again. “I was sure the moment that I saw you.” He cupped her cheek in his hand, his eyes looking deep into hers.

“You are Hermione Elizabeth Granger. You were born on September 19, 1981. You are the only child of Robert and Karen Granger. They’re both dentists. They lived in London until the summer before you turned 16. They were worried about your safety so they moved with you to Atlanta, Georgia.”

Julie let go of his hands and got to her feet. She didn’t want to listen to him. He didn’t know what he was talking about. She wasn’t Hermione, she was Julie. She was Julie. She didn’t leave. She didn’t think she could. It took all her energy to stand up. She leaned against the wall in the narrow hall for support.

“I know you don’t want to hear this,” he said, his voice pleading. “But you have to listen to me. Four years ago, I thought I’d lost you forever. I never in a million years thought that I’d find you again, but something led me here. Something’s caused you to fall in love with someone that you barely know, Julie! You said so yourself the connection between you and I is so strong. You said you didn’t know why it was there, but you felt it. Don’t you think there has to be a reason behind it? Don’t you want to know?”

“What are you playing at, Harry?” she asked him, falling back against the wall. “Why are you doing this to me?”

He got to his feet and walked over to her. He got down on his knees and looked her straight in the eyes. He took hold of her arms.

“I would never play with your emotions or your feelings,” he said. “You have to believe me on that? And I’m not doing this to you. I’m doing this for you. You’ve been lied to for four years. You were taken away from people who loved you and cared about you. Don’t you want to know how? Don’t you want to know who you were?”

“I know who I am,” she said, tears falling down her cheeks again.

“No you don’t,” he said. “But you’re starting to remember.”

He took her in his arms and held her tightly. She resisted only for a moment before letting him pull her closer.

“I love you so much,” he whispered into her ear. “If you don’t believe anything else, you can believe that.”

She let go of him and touched his cheek.

“Will you please just listen to what I have to say?” he asked. “That’s all I’m asking. If you want to run away after what I’ve told you, I’ll hate it, but I’ll understand. I just want you to listen to what I have to say first before you make any decisions, okay? Can you do that for me?”

She looked thoughtful for a moment. She nodded. She wiped a tear away from her cheek and leaned her back straight against the wall. A stoic expression came over her face as she looked expectantly at Harry to begin what he was going to say.

He had so much he wanted to tell her, but no idea how much he should reveal to her at this time. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off when he was so close to having her back. Given the fact that she hadn’t run away yet, he took this as a good sign and began.

“A good man once told me that the truth was a beautiful and terrible thing, and therefore should be treated with great caution. I know this is going to sound about as farfetched an idea as you’ve probably heard, but go with me on this,” he said with a slight laugh. “I’m not like most guys and you aren’t like most girls.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked confused.

“Well, I’m a wizard,” he said simply. “And you’re a witch.”

“E-excuse me,” she choked out. “Did you just say that you’re a, um, wizard, and that I’m a witch?”

He nodded. She wanted to laugh, but she saw from his expression that he was serious. This wasn’t a joke to him. One look in his eyes and she saw that he meant what he was saying.

“O-kay,” she said skeptically.

“We both attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry,” he said. “It’s one of the most prestigious magical academies in the world. We met for the first time on the train, just like in your vision. You were helping Neville Longbottom try and find his toad. You came into the compartment where Ron and I were and you had to have been the most pushy, confident person I’d ever met. To be honest, I had no idea what to make of you and neither did Ron.”

She listened to him, but her expression was unreadable.

“To make a long story short, we became friends, you and Ron and I,” Harry said. “Best friends, actually.”

“Okay,” she said. “So if this school was so great and I had good friends,” she said questioningly, “why would my parents move me to America?”

He nervously ran his hands through his hair again. His shoulders slumped and he took a deep breath.

“They were afraid for your safety because you were friends with me,” he said. “They were afraid that you would die if you continued to associate with me.”

“But why?” she asked.

“Well, I’m not just your ordinary, run of the mill wizard,” he said. “When I was a baby, one of the most powerful and dark wizards of our time tried to kill me. My parents died at his hands and he tried to kill me, too, but he couldn’t do it. It’s not really important why right now, but the thing is that he marked me as an equal.”

“How?”

In response, he pulled back his bangs so she could see his scar again. She hesitantly raised her hand and with her finger lightly traced its shape.

“He spent a long time trying to kill me,” he said. “You and Ron were at my side through all of it. You ended up hurt sometimes and there was always a chance that you could die because of it, but you never flinched, Hermione. You knew the risks, but you stood by my side. I never would have made it through any of it had it not been for you.”

“The summer before our sixth year at Hogwarts,” he continued. “Your parents moved you out of the country. We didn’t even get the chance to say a proper goodbye. When I found out, I was so angry and hurt. I wanted to find a way to get to you and make sure you were okay.”

“You did, didn’t you?”

He nodded and a wave of his own pleasant memories of their secret visits in Atlanta came over him.

“We fell in love,” he said. “I think something was always there to begin with, but we weren’t ready to see it or feel it until it was the right time. Being pulled apart like we were kind of sped that process up, so to speak,” he said. “It took some time, but your parents finally relented to let you come back to school.”

“We were together then?” she asked him.

He took her hand in his and stroked it softly. “Yeah,” he said. “We loved each other so much, Hermione. You said you remember that Christmas we spent together?’

She smiled as she recalled the flashback she’d had of them in that cozy room.

“You tried to push me away,” she said, her voice choking over the words. “You thought you were doing what was best for me, but I told you that I didn’t care what the risks were. I knew that I loved you and that you loved me and that we’d face whatever came our way together.”

Her eyes were glossy as she said these words and Harry felt a wave of elation come over him.

“That’s right,” he said happily. “We made love that night for the first time.”

She smiled shyly at him.

“We didn’t fool ourselves into thinking that something couldn’t happen, but we decided to concentrate on what we had and what we felt,” he said. “I was going to begin an extensive training session with some of our professors to help me defeat Voldemort.”

“Voldemort?” she asked him.

“That’s the big, evil, dark wizard,” he said.

“This sounds like a movie,” she said. “It doesn’t sound like real life.”

“It was real,” Harry said. “It was very, very real.”

“Go on,” she said softly.

“Well, you started to worry that we might never see each other again as you were going back home to Atlanta and I was going to stay at school for the summer,” he said. “We said vows to each other the night before school ended for the term.”

“You set up candles and flowers in the Astronomy Tower,” she said, her voice in a whisper.

“That’s right,” he said, again stroking her hand softly with his own.

“Well, what we didn’t know was that this Lord Voldemort had this elaborate plan set in motion that would use you and my love for you against me.”

“I don’t understand,” she said.

“He staged your death, Hermione,” he said. “He made me think that you had died. I’m not sure on the entire specifics of the plan, but he wanted to be sure that if he died, he’d still claim a sort of victory over me by using the one person I cared most in the world. He figured if I lost you in the greatest triumph of my life, the victory would be hollow. He was right. I wanted to die with you, Hermione. I nearly did. I spent the next three and a half years basically running myself into an early grave.”

“How did he stage my death?” she asked.

“His followers went by the name of Death Eaters. We think one of his Death Eaters helped him carry out this plan,” he said. “They took you away from England and gave you a new name and a new life and figured no one would be the wiser.”

The realization of what he was saying sunk in slowly, but painfully.

She shook her head. “No,” she said firmly. “He, he wouldn’t do that, Harry.”

“Simon Maxwell,” Harry said matter-of-factly, “isn’t your father, Hermione. He’s lied to you for four years. He’s led you to believe all his lies and he didn’t care that there were people mourning your death. He didn’t care.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “That isn’t true. He’s my father, Harry. He wouldn’t have done that. You don’t know him. He’s a sweet man. He stayed with me after my accident. He helped me recover. He’s putting me through college.”

He put a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it away. She got to her feet again, but she didn’t walk away. She stood there, fresh tears falling down her face.

“I know you don’t want to believe this about someone you care a great deal about, but you have to know that I would never say something like this to deliberately hurt you. I’m telling you the truth, Hermione,” he said.

“No,” she said. “This can’t be.”

“Look at the coincidences, Hermione,” he said. “Four years ago, we lost you. Four years ago, you moved here from London to start a new life with your ‘father.’ You feel an instant connection with someone you supposedly just met? These flashbacks you’ve been having? Why would you be having them if they weren’t your memories?”

His tone wasn’t forceful or pressing, he was telling her this firmly, but gently.

“Those men in my room have been helping me investigate what happened to you and who your ‘father’ really is,” Harry said. “If you come inside with me, they can tell you everything we’ve found out. Please.”

She didn’t look at him. Her eyes were fixed solely on the floor. She was tapping her foot nervously against the floor.

“Please,” he said, holding out a hand to her. She hesitated a moment before raising her own shaking hand to allow him to take it in his.

“Okay,” she said.

He smiled reassuringly at her. “Okay.”

He put an arm around her and she felt herself relax against his chest. They walked into the room and the three men looked up expectantly at them as they entered.

“Is everything alright?” Lupin asked, looking concerned at Hermione.

“I think so,” Harry said softly. “Hermione, this is Remus Lupin. He taught us during our third-year at Hogwarts.”

Lupin got up from the sofa and walked over to Hermione. He extended his hand to her. She looked nervously at Harry, who nodded supportively at her.

She shook Lupin’s hand and smiled nervously at him.

Sirius, too, had arisen from his seat. He stood beside Lupin.

“This old man,” Harry said, laughing “is my godfather, Sirius Black.”

“Old man?” Sirius said, trying to look affronted. “You are more and more like your dad everyday, Harry.”

He turned his thoughtful gaze on to Hermione. He smiled good-naturedly at her.

“It’s great to see you again, Hermione,” Sirius said.

Hermione could only nod as he smiled at her.

Harry’s gaze turned to Ron, whose mouth was agape at the sight before him.

“And this,” Harry said, cocking his head toward Ron, “is Ron Weasley.”

“Hermione,” Ron said softly. “Is that really you?”

He quickly got to his feet and took her in his arms to embrace her. She looked taken aback at the gesture and didn’t return the hug.

“I’m sorry,” he said sheepishly when he finally let her go. “It’s just really good to see you.”

Lupin ushered Hermione and Harry over to the sofa to take a seat. They did so, Hermione held tightly on to Harry’s hand.

“Can I get you anything?” Sirius asked helpfully.

“Could I have a glass of water,” she said, nearly inaudibly.

“Coming right up,” Sirius said, walking away from the living room and into the small kitchenette area. He grabbed an empty glass from the cabinet and filled the glass with a cup of bottled water from Harry’s small refrigerator. He walked back over to her and handed her the glass of water. Her hands were still shaking, so Harry took the glass and placed it in front of her on the coffee table.

They each sat there in the small room, no words spoken, all eyes seemingly focused on Hermione. She was trying hard to stay in control of her emotions. She felt as if her entire world was falling apart around her and she had no idea what to do to make things right again.

“Um, Sirius,” Harry said, looking at his godfather. “Why don’t you tell Hermione what you found out about Simon?”

He took her hand in his and gave it a comforting squeeze.

She turned her gaze to Sirius.

“Well, um,” Sirius said. “I’m not sure of all that Harry’s told you, but the man that you know as Simon Maxwell, isn’t the man that you think he is or that he’s told you he is.”

Her stony expression gave nothing away. She was listening, but it was hard to tell what she was making of any of it.

“We, that is Professor Lupin and I, did some investigation of Death Eaters in the past and we came up with a man by the name of Maxwell Cambridge. Upon further investigation, we discovered that he went by the aliases of Simon Maxwell and Simon Cambridge. He was heavily involved with Lord Voldemort. He disappeared from sight four and a half years ago. No one has seen or heard from him until now.”

Sirius handed her the paperwork he held in his hand and with shaky hands she took it and pored over the words and sentences on the piece of parchment.

“This,” she said after a moment. “Can’t be true.”

“I’m afraid it is,” Lupin answered. “We believe that he was involved in a plan to take you away from Harry and all the people who loved you. My guess is that he performed some sort of memory spell or charm to take away your memories so you’d have no recollection of who you really were.”

She didn’t say anything in response. She dropped the papers to the floor.

“I, c-cant believe this,” she whispered. “This isn’t true, Harry.”

“Hermione,” Harry said, moving to embrace her, but she shied away and stood up from the couch.

“Don’t call me that,” she said. “That’s not my name! My name is Julie.”

She looked around at the men, who were all staring at her, expressions of concern and worry all over their faces.

“I, um, I have to get out of here,” she said shakily. “I can’t breathe.”

She moved quickly past Harry, who got up and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Please,” she said. “Please let me go. I can’t be here right now. I can’t hear any more of this. Please, just let me go.”

Harry hesitated a moment before letting go of her shoulder. She bolted out of the door and down the stairs.

“Harry,” Sirius began.

“Don’t,” Harry said, his eyes still focused on the opened door.

“She’ll come around,” Sirius said softly. “It’s a bit of a shock right now, but she’ll come around.”

“I’m glad that you’re so sure,” Harry said, sitting back down on the couch. “Because I think what I’ve told her today just cost me the woman I love.”

Billie was just closing up the restaurant on Sunday evening when she heard a knock on the door. She walked over to the door and pulled up the shade to reveal Julie. She looked horrible.

Billie quickly unlocked the door and ushered her friend inside.

“Sweetheart?” she asked her. “What is it?”

Julie didn’t say anything. She just walked into Billie’s open arms and dissolved into wretched sobs.

“Julie?” Billie said, patting her on the back as they hugged. “Sweetie, what happened? You’re scaring me. Do you want to talk about it?”

Billie let go of her friend and looked her straight in the eyes. Julie nodded.

“Okay,” she said. “You go and sit down at the bar. I’m going to get you a cup of coffee, okay?”

Again, Julie didn’t say a word and only nodded as she walked in a daze toward the bar and sat on one of the barstools. She watched, disinterested, as Billie quickly put a pot of coffee on and poured the two of them two steaming mugs.

Billie stood on the other side of the bar, her chin resting on her fist.

“What happened?”

Julie was using her finger to trace the top of her coffee mug. She didn’t know where to start, but she knew she’d feel better if she talked this out. So, she did. She told Billie what had happened with Trey the night of the wedding reception. She told her about the flashes of memories she’d experienced that night and the next day. She told her how she’d gone to Harry for answers. She told her what Harry had said. She told her about meeting the other men at Harry’s apartment. She told her what they’d said about her father.

“That’s kind of a lot to take in at one sitting, isn’t it, darlin’?” Billie asked her.

“Yeah,” Julie said with a shrug.

“Well, let me get this straight? You’re a witch, Harry’s a wizard. Your father helped a big bad evil guy take you away from your family and friends by staging your death and cleaning out your memory. Does that cover everything?” Billie asked.

“I think so,” she said.

“And to think I thought my problems with Frank were bad,” Billie said, with a laugh. “Sorry, my pathetic attempt at humor to make light of the situation.”

“I don’t know what to believe,” Julie said.

“Are you sure about that?” Billie asked her.

“What does that mean?” Julie asked confused.

“Well, when he told you all of this, what did your gut tell you?” Billie asked her.

“My gut feeling was that he was crazy,” she said thoughtfully. “But from everything I know about Harry, which isn’t really a lot considering what I heard to day, but from what I know of him I don’t think he’s crazy. I mean, they had proof, Billie. Papers. Documents. Pictures. It was all there in black and white.”

“Magic, huh? Well, it would explain a lot,” Billie said. “Do you remember that time you first started working here? We had that huge party and there were all these drunk, obnoxious businessmen in here? Do you remember how that one group of guys stiffed you on a tip? Do you remember how angry you were? You looked at them and they all proceeded to fall to the floor on the spot. That was spooky as hell, Julie.”

“Don’t tell me you believe this?” Julie asked.

“Well, it would make sense,” Billie said. “There’s too many holes in what your father told you, Julie. It seems awfully coincidental that you had your accident four years ago right after the time when this Hermione Granger supposedly died?”

“I can’t believe this, Billie,” Julie said, shaking her head. “If I believe this, what does that say about my dad? You didn’t see him when I was in the hospital. He barely left my side. He told me stories about my mother and about our life. He was so sweet and caring and understanding. He raised me!”

“This sounds like something out a movie, doesn’t it?” Billie asked her, patting her on the arm.

“Granted, we haven’t known Harry for very long, he doesn’t send off any bells and whistles that scream crazy lunatic,” Billie said. “One look in that boy’s eyes and you can tell he loves you, Julie.”

“He loves Hermione Granger,” Julie said. “That’s not me.”

“Are you sure about that?” Billie asked.

“I’m not sure of anything anymore,” Julie said, sadly.

“He loves you,” Billie said. “And you love him, too. I can see it in your eyes when you talk about him.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Julie said.

Billie shook her head. “It matters more than anything and you know it. “

Julie nodded. “I love him so much it hurts, Billie.”

“Why is that when you supposedly have just met him, Julie?” Billie asked. “Think about it. You’re one of the most rational and logical people I’ve ever met. You’re not one who throws caution to the wind. When you give your heart, you give it because you know it’s the right thing to do. You gave it to him because you knew in your heart that was what you were supposed to do. I believe him, Julie. And I know it scares you to death, but I think you believe him, too.”

“Yeah,” Julie said. “And you’re right. It scares the hell out of me.”

Harry sat alone and dejected in his apartment. Ron, Lupin and Sirius had all apparated back to London. Ron had wanted to stay behind, but Harry told him he wouldn’t be good company. So, with a promise to keep them posted on any developments, he bid them goodbye.

He was sitting in his apartment, feeling about as low as he’d felt in a long time. He couldn’t get that hurt, confused image of her face out of his head. He couldn’t imagine what she was going through. He wanted to help her, though. Yet, he had never felt more helpless than he did at this moment.

There was a soft knock on his door. He got up from the couch and walked over dejectedly to the door. To his surprise, Julie was standing outside his door.

“Hi,” he whispered.

“Hi,” she said softly.

Her eyes were still puffy and her cheeks were flushed from the cold, but to Harry she was beautiful.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“What are you sorry for?” he asked her. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I was only thinking about me,” she said. “About what you said and how it affected me. I didn’t think of how this would affect you; how this has affected you.”

“Are you saying you believe me?” he asked her.

“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” she said sadly. She shivered.

“Come on in,” he said, standing back so she could walk inside. “Have a seat, please.”

She did and he joined her on the couch.

“Please understand what you’re asking of me, Harry,” she said pleadingly. “If I believe you, I’m going against everything I’ve known these past few years and everything I believed in. You’re asking me to go against my father.”

“He’s not your father,” Harry said firmly. “He took you away from everyone who loved you. He took you away from me. I want to kill him for what he did to you.”

“Don’t talk like that,” she said, putting a hand on his leg. “The man you described for me today—that’s not my father. That’s not the man that I’ve known. He took care of me. He sent me to college.”

“I know this is hard for you,” he said. “I’m just so glad that you came back.”

“Yeah,” she whispered.

“I don’t know what to believe in anymore,” she said again. “I feel like everything is falling apart around me and I have no way to steady things anymore. I don’t know what to do or where to turn.”

He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes.

“Can you answer something for me?” he asked her.

“If I can,” she answered. Her eyes were fixed on the floor.

“Do you love me?” he asked her.

She didn’t answer and avoided his piercing gaze. He took his hand and gently tilted her chin up to look at her. “Do you love me?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “I love you.”

He smiled.

“Believe in that,” he told her, resting his forehead against hers. “Trust in that.”

She caressed his cheek softly.

“That’s all I have right now,” she said. “How could he have done this to me?”

“Let’s not think about him, tonight,” he said softly. “Tonight isn’t about him. It’s about you and me.”

He pulled away from her and looking into her eyes, he searched for a silent acceptance of what he was about to do. She took the initiative and brought her face in closer and within seconds they were kissing. It started out soft and gentle, but increasingly became more and more passionate.

He brought her mouth to his again, kissing her with an urgency that he hoped conveyed to her the love, the desperation and the frustration he’d felt all the years with out her. When he released her, his breathing was harsh, his green eyes intense.

“I love you so much,” he said, tears shining in his own eyes to match hers. He nuzzled his nose against her warm cheek and proceeded to plant kisses all along her cheek and down to her neck. The taste of him was so familiar to her even though she couldn’t exactly put her finger as to why or how. She didn’t really care at the moment.

She brought her mouth to his again, running her fingers through his hair as she did so. Her head swayed a little, but the kiss remained unbroken as she freed a trapped hand and rested it on his face. His cheeks were warm and a little stubbly.

She broke away from him, but still looked into his eyes. She took her hand to his shirt and slowly began to unbutton his shirt, never letting her eyes leave his. She pulled it away from him and then touched his bare, warm skin.

Harry couldn’t’ take it anymore. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her again with impatient kisses.

“Not here,” he whispered, reluctantly breaking their kiss. He got up from the sofa and took her hand in his and led her to the bedroom. He laid her back onto the bed and she pulled him on top of her. They kissed as if starved---engulfing, whole-mouthed intense kisses that seemingly had no limit.

“I love you,” she breathed. She pushed him away for a moment and pulled her sweatshirt over her head and tossed it on the floor. He watched with a slight smile as she slowly removed her lace bra. She raised her eyebrow at him suggestively and tugged at the leg of his pants. He took the hint and quickly undid the zipper and pulled them off as well as his boxer shorts. They sat there on the bed, taking in the sight of each other’s naked forms. She looked deep into his eyes and then put her arm on his shoulder. She fell back onto the bed, taking him with her. Again, they kissed, trying to make up for the lost time, caressing each other’s bare, warm skin. He planted kisses along her breasts and down her stomach. She couldn’t help marveling at how he knew exactly where to touch, exactly where to kiss to make her melt.

“Mmmm,” she purred as he worked his way back up to her face and finally claiming her lips in a sweet, soft kiss.

When he entered her, she kept her eyes open, her back arched. She wrapped her arms tightly around his back, taking in the familiar scent of his skin and the soft touch of his skin.

She felt like she was finally home. It was with him that she belonged. She had no doubt of that.

Author’s Note: There is a line in this chapter that I borrowed from Book 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Sorry for the delay in an update…I spent the entire day yesterday putting up Christmas decorations, etc…not fun…very tiring…but at least it’s done. I hope that you enjoy this chapter and please tell me what you think! Title of this chapter comes from one of my favorite songs, “Forever and For Always” by Shania Twain…beautiful song.

Chapter 13

Forever & For Always

“In your arms I can still feel the way you
want me when you hold me
I can still hear the words you whispered
when you told me
I can stay right here forever in your arms”

”And there ain't no way--
I'm lettin' you go now
And there ain't no way--
and there ain't not how
I'll never see that day....”

(“Forever & For Always” by Shania Twain)

Harry woke up the next morning and to his dismay, he was alone in the bed. Had what happened last night just been a dream, he wondered. He looked myopically around the room and reached absently for the bedside table for his glasses. He found them and looked around the small room. She was standing in the corner of the room, looking out the window. He smiled as he saw that she’d put on his shirt. The sight of her standing there, in profile, with the early morning sunlight shining on her face, took his breath away.

He pulled the sheets away from him and sat up in bed, with his legs hanging over the edge of the bed. He found his boxer shorts among the pile of clothing and quickly put them on. He walked over to where she was standing and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Good morning,” he whispered, kissing her neck.

“Good morning,” she said, laughing as his tongue tickled her neck.

They were silent for a moment, holding each other and looking out the window.

“Is everything okay?” he asked her finally.

“No,” she said simply. She felt his arms go tense as he held her.

She turned to face him.

“Between us, everything is wonderful,” she said, touching his cheek. “Everything else…that’s another story altogether.”

“I know it’s hard,” he said to her. “But you’re not in this alone.”

She nodded and went willingly into his comforting arms.

“So,” she said a few moments later. “This magic stuff? Was I any good at it?”

He looked at her amazed. “Are you kidding me? You were, excuse me are, the best I’ve ever seen. I don’t think there was a spell that you couldn’t do.”

“I wish I could remember,” she said wistfully.

“You will,” he said. “It’s just going to take time.”

He looked quite thoughtful for a moment.

“What?” she asked him.

“I have an idea!” he said, taking her by the hand and leading her back to the bed.

“I think I like your idea,” she said giggling.

“Not that,” he said, sitting down on the bed. He turned to her and then grinned. “Well, not just yet.”

She smiled and took a seat beside him on the bed.

He reached over her to the bedside table and opened the drawer and pulled out his wand.

“This is my wand,” he said. “Wanna try it out?”

She looked at him, a mixture of awe and uncertainty on her face. “I couldn’t.”

“Of course you can,” he said, handing it to her. “It’s just like riding a bike.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah.”

“It is,” he said. “We’ll start off easy. I know, we’ll do the first one we ever learned back at Hogwarts. You made Ron so mad! You were able to do this first off and Ron---well, let’s just say he had a little trouble.”

“Okay,” she said. “What is it?”

“The ability to make things fly,” he said. He took his wand back from Hermione’s hand and showed her the proper way to hold the wand and how to perform the correct wrist movement. He stopped suddenly and a far away look came over his face. He gave out a laugh.

“What?” she asked. “What’s so funny?”

“It is so surreal that I am teaching you how to do something,” he said. “If it hadn’t been for you, I don’t think Ron or I would have made it through any of our classes.”

“Quite the little procrastinators were you?” she asked amused.

“You could say that,” he said. “I used to like to call it organizationally challenged.”

“I like to call that a crock of shit,” she said, laughing.

“Hey,” he said, trying to look affronted.

“Now are you going to show me how to do this or what?” she asked him, poking him in the side.

“Alright, alright,” he said, shaking his head. “All you have to do is use the proper movement and say the words properly and you’ll be able to do it.”

She nodded and watched in awe as Harry swished and flicked the wand and pointed it at a book on the table. He said clearly and concisely, “Wingardium Leviosa!”

Hermione watched enthralled as she watched the book rise off the table and hover about four feet above the table.

“That’s absolutely brilliant,” she said, her voice in an excited whisper.

“Thanks,” he said, smiling broadly. He took the book from the air and placed it back onto the table. He handed her the wand and looked expectantly at her.

“Let’s see you do it,” he said. “Just do like I showed you and say “wingardium leviosa.”

She nodded and using her wrist just as Harry had, she swished and flicked the wand and said, “Wingardium Leviosa!” To her delight, the book rose up in the air and hovered just like it had when Harry had performed the spell.

“Amazing,” he said. “See, you’re a natural.”

“I could have used this when I was moving into my apartment,” she said. “Moving furniture isn’t fun. This could have saved me a lot of back pain.”

He smiled.

“Would you want to look at some photo albums?” he asked her.

She nodded and he walked over to the coffee table and came back a few seconds later carrying two leather-bound photo albums. He gave her a reassuring smile as he sat down beside her again and handed her one of the albums.

She opened the album and gasped as she saw that unlike photographs she’d seen in the past---the people in these photos were moving around.

“Harry?” she asked, looking at him in disbelief. “These photos!”

“Oh, yeah,” he explained. “In the wizarding world, are photos and portraits are like that.”

She gasped again as she watched a photograph of herself, Harry and this Ron person. In the photo, the photo Hermione was waving enthusiastically up at the real-life Hermione.

“So, um, when was this one taken?” she asked, still looking at the photo with her mouth agape.

“I think that was during first-year,” he said. “We were in the common room when one of Ron’s older brothers was fooling around with a camera taking photos of everyone.”

“Why am I rolling my eyes at Ron in this photo?” she asked him.

Harry laughed. “You and Ron have what I would call a love-hate relationship,” he said. “You loved to get on each others’ nerves. In fact, I think you pretty much had it down to an art. We weren’t always friends, the three of us.”

She looked alarmed. “What happened?”

“Well, I think it was just us being typical 11-year olds,” Harry said thoughtfully. “Ron thought you were mental when first met you.”

“I can’t say as I blame him,” Hermione said with a slight laugh. “In the flashback I had of meeting the two of you, I was positively a terror. I don’t think I even gave the two of you a chance to contribute to the conversation. I must have been talking a mile a minute.”

Harry couldn’t help but nod and Hermione poked him again in the side.

“So, what changed?” she asked. “What made us become friends?”

“Well, it’s kind of ironic that I just showed you the Wingardium Leviosa spell,” Harry started. “Like I told you before, you were the only one to get it right away. It annoyed Ron to no end. He tried to get it and you told him that if he didn’t stop he was going to take someone’s eye out. Then, you proceeded to show him exactly how to do it, and he was really cheesed off about it, to tell you the truth. Well, afterwards when we were walking out of class, he was telling all of us what a nightmare you were and how it was no wonder you didn’t have any friends. You walked past us and you heard every word he’d said.”

He looked at her and she looked a little hurt by what he had just said. He put a comforting arm on her shoulder.

“Well, that evening happened to be Halloween and at dinner that night, you weren’t there. One of the other girls said that they’d seen you in the girls’ bathroom crying over what Ron had said. Anyway, someone let a troll loose in the castle.”

Hermione interjected at that moment. “Excuse me? Did you just say a troll? Why do I think that you’re not talking about one of those annoying dolls with the different color hair?”

“Because I’m not,” he said winking at her. “This was a fully grown mountain troll! We’re talking 12-feet tall, ugly, big…and carrying a club in his hand. Anyway, we were all heading to our common rooms while the professors sorted it out. I suddenly remembered that you didn’t know about the troll. So, Ron and I went looking for you.”

“You saved me?” she asked. “My heroes!”

Harry laughed. “Well, it wasn’t pretty. I jumped on him and the best I could do was stick my wand up his nose. He was about to hit me with the club when Ron took out his wand and did the old Wingardium Leviosa and the club flew out of his hand, rose up and then proceeded to hit him hard on his head. Knocked him out completely.”

“And that’s how we became friends?” she asked, in utter astonishment.

“Yeah, well there’s some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a 12-foot mountain troll is one of them, I guess,” Harry said.

Hermione nodded and they continued to look through both photo albums. Harry would point out where the photo was taken and who the various people were. When they finished, Harry noticed there were fresh tears in her eyes.

“What is it?” he asked, taking the albums from her lap and placing them on the floor.

“It’s just,” she began, wiping a tear away from her cheek. “What if I don’t remember anything else, Harry? I looked at these photos and they all look like someone else’s life. They aren’t my memories anymore! What if I never get it back?”

He took her in his arms and stroked her back. “Shhhhh. It’s okay, Hermione. You will get them back.”

“But what if I don’t,” she said, her voice muffled as she had pressed her face into Harry’s chest.

“Hey,” he said, releasing her from the embrace and cupping her chin in his hand. “If you don’t, you don’t. We’ll just have to create new memories. We already have.”

“We sure have,” she said softly, leaning in to kiss him.

“I love you,” he said when they broke away from each other. “I’m going to be by your side through all of this. Professor Lupin, who you met yesterday, well, he’s got friends in The Ministry of Magic and at St. Mungo’s who have been working on memory research for years. New breakthroughs are being made on a daily basis. They’ll find something that’ll bring your memories back. If they don’t, we’ll be disappointed, of course, but that’s not what’s important. The important thing is that we’re together again. That’s what matters to me.”

“That’s what matters to me, too,” she said, smiling through her tears. “I’ve been looking for you these four years, you know that? I didn’t always know what I was looking for, but I knew that I’d find it someday. It was you, Harry.”

“I love you,” he whispered again to her and took her in his arms again as they fell back onto the bed.

Hermione and Harry walked into Billie’s a little after five for the start of their shift. They had made plans to go and see Simon Maxwell in Asheville the next evening. Hermione was nervous to say the least. It wasn’t something she was looking forward to, but it was something that had to be done. She had no idea what he could say to explain what he’d done to her. There wasn’t anything he could say that would make her forgive him for what he’d done. How could he have done that? She couldn’t help asking herself that question over and over.

She was also looking toward this inevitable confrontation with a sense of trepidation. She was worried that Harry might not be able to keep his emotions in check when they talked with Simon. She hoped he’d be able to keep things in control, but she knew it would be hard for him. Every time they mentioned Simon, this cold, angry look came into Harry’s eyes. She couldn’t blame him. When she tried to wrap herself around the pain that he must have gone through these past four years, she felt an overwhelming sense of anger toward her “Father”. From what Harry had told her, his life these past four years had been a big struggle, to say the least.

She also thought about her parents…her real parents. While she had no memory at all of them, Harry told her about them. She couldn’t imagine the pain they must have gone through to lose their only daughter, their only child. That was a type of heartbreak that Hermione hoped she’d never have to experience in her own life.

After their visit with Simon, Harry said they’d go to Atlanta to let her parents know that their daughter was very much alive. Hermione had been hesitant about this.

“Won’t it hurt them when I look at them as if their strangers?” she asked. “Maybe I should wait until I have all my memories back.”

“They’ll want to see you,” Harry had said. “I think they’ll understand. They’ll be so glad that you’re alive. It’s been very hard on them these past four years.”

Hermione had acquiesced.

So, they walked into Billie’s hand-in-hand that evening. Billie smiled knowingly at them as they approached her in the kitchen.

“So, I take it that everything’s okay?” Billie asked, after hugging the two of them.

“Not entirely,” Hermione said. “But it’s getting there.”

“Good,” Billie said. “So what should I call you now? Julie? Hermione? Darlin’?”

“Hermione,” she said with a look at Harry. “I’m going to need to get used to hearing myself called that.”

“Alright,” Billie said. “Hermione. That has a nice ring to it.”

“Well, I better go and get clocked in,” Hermione said, kissing Harry on the cheek before walking to the back room. Billie pulled Harry back.

“Harry,” she said. “I’m glad everything worked out.”

“Me, too,” Harry said. “I wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done for her. I’m glad that she had you in her life.”

“She’s a great girl,” Billie said, her eyes twinkling. “So a wizard, huh?”

“She does tell you everything, doesn’t she?” Harry asked with a laugh.

“Yeah,” Billie said. “Hey, do you think you could help me out with lottery numbers? We don’t have the lottery here in North Carolina, but I go up to Virginia every now and then to get some tickets. You have any way of seeing into the future?”

Harry shook his head. “If I did, I think I would have done that already,” he said with a laugh.

“Spoken like a true smartass,” Billie said laughing at him. “I knew I liked you for a reason.”

Harry couldn’t help but laugh back as he walked back toward the backroom so he, too, could clock in for work.

Julie was just wrapping her half-apron around her waist, when he came in.

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked her. “With tomorrow? I know it won’t be easy.”

She nodded. “I have to be. I need to hear from him why he did this.”

Harry nodded and took her in his arms, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

“Promise me, you won’t do anything rash, Harry,” she asked him.

He was silent.

“I can’t promise you that,” he said. “I know you don’t want to hear that, Hermione, but that man deserves to die for what he did to you; to all of us.”

“I know,” she said. “But I don’t want to lose you to prison. Promise me you won’t do anything rash.”

He rested his forehead against hers, they were looking right into each other’s eyes.

“I’ll try,” he said softly. “I can promise you that I’ll try.”

“Okay,” she said.

“Okay,” he repeated.

She couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that came over her when she thought about this inevitable confrontation. She said a silent prayer that everything would be okay. She finally had the chance to be happy. She prayed that nothing would happen to screw this up. Not now, when they were both so close to regaining their life together that had been robbed of them four years ago.

Author’s Note: Thanks for the reviews. The big confrontation will happen next chapter ( I promise). I’m getting some help with that (action scenes are not my forte so to speak). Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. This chapter contains the song “Crazy Love”…the version I’m using is the one by Brian McKnight. There is also a great version done by Van Morrison.

Chapter Fourteen

Crazy Love

The evening went by in a blur. It had been a busy night at Billie’s. The first college basketball game of the season had brought a crowd of happy fans and students in after the end of the game. The joint was, as Billie kept happily telling her employees, was definitely jumping. Harry kept busy filling and refilling glasses and mugs. He kept one eye on the customers and one on Hermione.

Hermione. He was finally able to call her by her rightful name. It was like music to his ears. He finally had her back. Sure, she hadn’t regained all of her memories, and truth be told, might never reclaim all of them. The important thing was that she believed him and believed in what they had. As Sirius had reminded him earlier, the past is important, but you can’t get all caught up in it. You have to concentrate on what you had now and making that last. He never fully appreciated the honesty and truth to those words until tonight when he watched her. It was in the way she’d catch his eye across the restaurant and smile sweetly at him. It was in the way her eyes lit up when she looked at him. It was all that and more.

The only thing that put a damper on any of it was the inevitable confrontation with Simon Maxwell tomorrow afternoon. He honestly had no idea how he’d be able to stay in control. As far as Harry was concerned, there was nothing that man could say that could excuse or explain what he had done. What could he possibly say to justify his actions? He was a jumble of emotions the more he thought about it. He hated the fact that Hermione was going to have to confront this man, who was a fake and a fraud. The man that she had trusted and cared about was nothing more than a cold-hearted phony. He hated subjecting her to that kind of pain, but he knew that this was something she had to do. It was the only way that they could move forward. It still didn’t make it any easier.

“Harry?” Chloe’s voice said. He blinked and focused on her. She was standing in front of the bar, her hands on her hips.

“Sorry, Chloe,” he said. “What’s going on?”

“I’ve been trying to get you to get me two Long Island Ice Teas for 10 minutes,” she said, laughing. “You were all spaced out on me.”

“Sorry,” he said, quickly grabbing the bottles from under the bar and grabbing two glasses. He expertly filled the two glasses full and placed them on Chloe’s tray. “She just shook her head and laughed as she walked away from the bar.

“Hey, buddy?” a customer asked him. “Can I get a butterbeer?”

Harry did a double take and too his delight and surprise, saw Ron and Sirius, staring back at him.

“What are you lot doing here?” Harry asked them, having to raise his voice, as the bar was extremely loud at the moment.

“WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE DOING OKAY,” Ron yelled over the din of the crowd. “MAN! THIS PLACE IS PACKED!”

Sirius flinched as Ron screamed directly in his ear.

Harry stifled a laugh at the look on Sirius’ face.

“CAN WE TALK SOMEWHERE LESS NOISIER?” Sirius asked Harry, deliberately yelling the question in Ron’s ear.

Harry motioned to Tim, his fellow bartender. He walked over and told Tim he was taking a quick break and asked if he could cover for him. Tim nodded and Harry waved his hands, gesturing for Sirius and Ron to come behind the bar. They followed him into the kitchen.

Billie looked up from the grill when she saw Harry walk into the kitchen, followed by two strangers. Her eyes lit up when she caught sight of Sirius.

“Well, well, well,” she said, smiling at Sirius. “And who might you be?”

Sirius chuckled and extended his hand. “I might be Sirius Black.”

“And I might be available,” Billie said, shaking his hand and winking at him.

Sirius returned her smile.

“Billie Murphy,” Harry said, gesturing at her. “This is my godfather, Sirius Black. And this is Ron Weasley, my best friend.”

Billie reluctantly let go of Sirius’ hand and extended hers toward Ron. Ron shook it good-naturedly and gawked at the obvious flirtatious behavior Billie was shooting in Sirius’ direction.

“Any godfather of Harry’s,” Billie said in her best southern drawl, “is a good friend of mine.”

Ron shot Harry a look of utter astonishment and Harry tried not to laugh.

“I was wondering if we could have a moment in the back,” Harry said. “We need to talk.”

“Sure,” Billie said. “Why don’t you use my office? It’s quiet. You won’t be interrupted.”

“Thanks,” he said. “I should probably go and get Jul-, I mean Hermione.”

“Don’t be too long,” Billie cautioned. “We’ve got quite a crowd out there.”

Harry nodded and left his friend and godfather with Billie. He walked back out into the restaurant and scanned the crowded room for Hermione. He saw her in the corner, clearing a table. He came up behind her and put his arms around her waist.

“You better not be that guy from Table 6 who promised me a big tip if I showed him some cleavage,” she said, without turning around.

“No, I’m not that guy,” he said in her ear, “But, if you show me your cleavage, I won’t have any complaints.”

She playfully nudged him in the stomach with her elbow before turning around and laughing at him.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Sirius and Ron are here,” he said.

“Oh,” she said.

“They want to talk about the game plan for tomorrow if you’re up for it,” he said. “Billie said we could have a few minutes.”

She looked thoughtful for a moment.

“What is it?” he asked her. But, he needn’t have had to. He knew what it was.

“I’m scared,” she said, biting her bottom lip. “Not about Ron or Sirius. About tomorrow. We don’t know what we’re going to be walking into tomorrow and that scares me to death.”

“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered in her ear.

“You don’t know that,” she said, still avoiding his gaze. “You can’t promise me that.”

“Hey,” he said, cupping her chin in his palm. “Whatever happens tomorrow we’re going to face it together. I can promise you that. Okay?”

Although she had a million doubts, she nodded and gave him a smile.

“So, you want to go and meet with Sirius and Ron with me?” he asked her, taking her hand in his.

“Okay,” she said.

They slowly made their way through the crowd and back toward the kitchen. Ron sighed in relief when they returned as Billie and Sirius’ were obviously doing some serious flirting.

“Thank Merlin you’re back,” he said. “I was beginning to feel like a third wheel or fifth wheel or whatever it is. She’s intense.”

“Oh, honestly!” Hermione said. “She’s just being friendly.”

Ron looked at Hermione and broke into a huge grin. “She is back! No one can say ‘Oh, honestly!’ like our Hermione.”

He grabbed her in a big bear hug and spun her around. Although she was a bit taken aback by the gesture, she giggled as he spun her around.

“Well, I’m getting there,” she said, when he finally put her back down on the floor.

“This is all well and good,” Sirius said, breaking away from Billie. His voice was solemn and his tone direct. “But we really need to talk about what we’re going to do.”

They nodded. The levity of the situation was broken as they walked quickly into Billie’s office and closed the door behind them.

Later on that night, Hermione and Harry were closing up the bar. Billie left to take the evening’s take into the night deposit box at the bank. The jukebox was playing as Harry busily put glasses away and Hermione was wiping tables with a rag.

Harry was staring at her. She turned and saw him smiling at her.

“What?” she asked him.

“Just looking,” he said.

“Watching me clean off tables?”

“No,” he said. “Just watching you.”

“Well, in the immortal words of Billie Murphy, ‘If you’ve got time to lean, you’ve got time to clean’,” she said, laughing.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, winking at her. “I think Billie really liked Sirius.”

“What gave it away?” Hermione asked him, continuing to clean the tables. “Was it the incessant flirting? How she really sugar-coated her southern accent?”

“I would have to say her grabbing his arse on his way out the door,” Harry said.

“Yeah, I could see how you might think that was a come on,” Hermione said, walking over to the bar.

“Well, I don’t think he minded too much,” Harry said, laughing.

She sat down at one of the stools and rested her chin on her fist. She looked quite thoughtful and Harry dropped his own rag and looked at her.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I can’t stop thinking about tomorrow.”

“Trust me,” he said, taking her hands in his. “We’ve faced a lot worse than this together.”

“I’ll take your word on that,” she said.

“Okay,” he said, coming from around the bar and offering his hands to her.

“What?” she asked confused.

“This calls for desperate measures.”

“What does?” she asked.

“We’re going to get your mind off of this for one more night,” he said.

She looked a little unsure, but intrigued as she let him lead her to the dance floor. He let go of her and whispered, “Stay here.”

She nodded and watched as he walked over to the jukebox. A few moments later the fast-paced, syncopated rhythm was replaced by the opening notes of a soft ballad. He walked toward her and crooked his finger at her and beaming at him, she went to him willingly as he took her in his arms.

“I can hear her heart beat for a thousand miles
And the heavens open up every time she smiles
And when I come home to her that's where I belong
Yet I'm running to her like a river's song”

He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist as she rested her head on his chest.

“She gives me love love love love crazy love
She gives me love love love love crazy love...

”She's got a fine sense of humor when I'm feeling low down
And when I come home to her when the sun goes down
She takes away my troubles, takes away my grief
Takes away my heartache in the night like a thief.”

“She's got love love love love crazy love
Yes I need her in the daytime
Yes I need her in the night”

He moved his hands from her waist and whispered in her ear softly, “I love you.”

She smiled and looked up at him, her eyes absorbed in the warmness of his

Emerald green eyes. She stood on tiptoe and her lips brushed his and she felt everything in her body go warm. She pulled away from him and felt breathless and light-headed. He took his hand to her warm cheek and caressed it softly. He smiled and lowered his head and nuzzled her neck. She let out a light laugh as the sensation of his mouth on her soft skin tickled her.

”I want to throw my arms around her
To kiss her, hug her, kiss her, hug her tight
And when I'm returning from so far away
She gives me such sweet lovin' brightens up my day
And makes me righteous and makes me whole
And it makes me mellow down to my soul”

“She gives me love love love love crazy love
She gives me love love love love crazy love...”

The music stopped but they were still lost in each other. He whispered, “Do you want to get out of here?”

“And soon!” she managed to answer back, with a sly smile.

“Go get your things and I’ll make sure everything’s locked up,” he said. She nodded. She started to walk away, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back in for a warm, sensuous kiss.

“You keep doing that,” she said, when he finally pulled away from her. “And we’ll never make it past the parking lot.”

He nodded. “You’re right.”

She ran toward the back room as he quickly made sure the doors were locked with a flick of his wand, which he pulled from his pocket. With another flick of his wand, the blinds on the windows came down.

Julie’s footsteps came hurriedly through the restaurant as she appeared at his side with her backpack.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Let’s go,” he said.

The bus ride back to Hermione’s flat was nearly excruciating to Harry. He wished that she’d known how to apparate so they could have taken care of the trip home in seconds flat. Her close proximity on the bus was nearly driving him crazy.

Luckily, the bus ride was only a 15 minute one and when the bus dropped them off a block away from Hermione’s apartment, they took off on a race to the apartment.

Breathless and laughing, they stopped at the staircase, trying to catch their breath before continuing upstairs. Harry pulled her to him suddenly and captured her lips in a kiss, full of desire and want.

She pulled away, feeling lightheaded and took his hand and they ascended the stairs. She fumbled her way through her backpack to find her keys and Harry laughed as he took out his wand and pointed it at the doorknob.

“Alohamora!” he said.

Hermione watched as the door opened.

“I have got to learn that one, too,” she said, her mouth agape.

“Later,” he said, pulling her close to him in another mind-blowing kiss.

“Why, Miss Granger,” he said softly. “Whatever will the neighbors think?”

She gave him a smirk. “Oh, I could care less what the neighbors think.”

“I think I’ve been a bad influence on you,” he said, planting another kiss on her neck. His breath was hot on her skin.

She pulled him into the apartment. He closed the door behind them and again, he took her in his arms, his lips teasingly brushing against hers. He deepened the kiss and she let out a contented sigh as he worked his way down her neck. While he did this, she took one of her hands and undid his belt. Not wanting to be outdone, he stopped kissing her neck and looking deep into her eyes, unbuttoned the buttons on her shirt and letting the shirt fall to the floor. He unfastened her bra and gently caressed her skin. She tugged impatiently at his shirt and he quickly lifted it over his head and then leaned down and picked her up, carrying her to the bedroom.

The next morning, Harry made them a quick breakfast. They were going to drive to Asheville. Billie was letting them borrow her car. She dropped the keys off at almost 10. She gave them both a hug and wished them good luck.

Neither of them really touched their breakfast. They were both nervous and tense about what lay ahead. Harry had held her all night in his arms and part of him wished that they wouldn’t have to do this. He wanted nothing more to take her back home to London and forget that Simon Maxwell existed. But, an even stronger part of him wanted to make this man pay for what he had done. He wanted this man to feel the pain that he had unleashed on everyone that loved Hermione when he decided he was going to take part in this great plan of Lord Voldemort’s. He didn’t tell Hermione how much he longed to make this man suffer for what he’d done. He didn’t want to scare her. She was already on edge as it was. Without question, this wouldn’t be easy for either of them.

The plan called for Sirius and Ron to apparate two houses down from Simon’s home. Hermione was to enter first and surprise her “father.” Then, Harry would enter. That was the plan. What happened after that was anyone’s guess. No one knew exactly how Simon would react. The important thing was that no one was under any false pretenses. This would be a dangerous situation. This man was known as a ruthless Death Eater. They were going by the “expect the worst, but plan for the best” scenario. It was the only way to go about it.

They arrived in Asheville just after sundown. Hermione was fidgeting in the passenger’s side of the vehicle. She was looking around as the sights got more and more familiar. An overwhelming sense of dread was coming over her. Harry had tried to reassure her, but it was almost no use. This wasn’t something she enjoyed doing. Yet, she knew it was something she had to do. It was the only way she would truly be able to get her life back. To understand what had happened, she needed to know why. She had to know why.

Harry parked the car a few houses down from Simon’s. A few minutes later, Sirius and Ron apparated and sat in the backseat of the car.

“You ready for this?” Harry asked her.

“As I’ll ever be,” she said.

He took her hands in his and stroked them reassuringly.

“You can do it,” he said.

She nodded.

“Be careful,” he said. “And just remember you won’t be in there alone for very long with him.”

She nodded again. He kissed her quickly and with words of encouragement from Ron and Sirius, she took a shaky hand to the door handle and got out of the car.

Harry put on a brave face as he watched her walk down the sidewalk and toward the house she’d called home for four years.

She bit her bottom lip as she walked up the sidewalk toward her home. She prayed her “father” would be home. The lights of the two-story split level home were on. That was a good sign. She knocked softly at the door and within a few moments, she heard footsteps approaching.

Her dad opened the door and gasped in surprise.

“Julie!” he said, shocked. “What on earth are you doing here, sweetie? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” she said, putting on a smile. “Everything’s fine. I just missed you, Dad. I wanted to see you.”

“Well, you know you don’t need an excuse to do that,” he said, ushering her inside. “This is your home. Come on in.”

She smiled and tried not to look nervous as she followed him inside.

Please let this work, she prayed silently. Please.

Author’s Note:
This is a revised Chapter 15…I have written this myself in response to some of the reviews I received. I admit that I should probably have written the previous Chapter 15 myself, but I was worried about how the confrontation should go so I asked a really good friend of mine to help me out. He did so and I thought he did an excellent job, but I do admit that it didn’t really go along with how the story had progressed so far. This is my version of Chapter 15 and I hope that you enjoy this. I would like to thank ShadowMaster for all his help. He is truly a very talented writer and a great friend.

Chapter Fifteen

Sympathy for the Devil

“Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But what's confusing you
Is just the nature of my game
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints”

(The Rolling Stones)

Hermione followed Simon through the foyer into the living room. He stopped suddenly and turned around to embrace her. The move took her by surprise, and she tried to not look so taken aback by his gesture.

“I’ve missed you, sweetheart,” he said, finally letting go of her. “The last time you came home was just before Easter.”

“Dad, it hasn’t been that long,” she said. “So, what have you been up to?”

“Just writing,” he said. “Keeping busy, you know.”

She nodded, and took a seat on the couch.

“Have you eaten?” he asked. “I made some lasagna for dinner. I could warm you up a plate. It was always your favorite, you know.”

She couldn’t believe he was being so civilized, so normal. Of course, he had no idea that she knew who he really was and what he had done, but she still couldn’t believe it. She wanted to scream at him. She wanted to ask him why he did this to her. Now wasn’t the time for that, though. There was a plan and she had to stick to it.

She shook her head. “No, dad,” she said. “I’m okay, really.”

“It’s no trouble,” he said.

“I know,” she said, a little more abruptly than she had planned. “I’m not hungry.”

“Okay,” he said, a little taken aback at her tone.

Hermione cursed silently to herself. She couldn’t give herself away, just yet.

“Sorry, I’m a little tired from classes and all,” she said.

“Understandable,” he said, taking a seat in his favorite armchair across from the couch. “So how is Trey?”

“I don’t know,” she said, avoiding meeting his gaze. “We’ve broken up.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “You seem to be taking it well.”

“Well, it wasn’t working for a long time,” she said. “It didn’t help that someone else entered the picture, too.”

“Oh?” he asked surprised.

“Yeah,” she said. “It was unexpected, of course, but I fell for someone I worked with.”

“Really?” he asked. “Well, tell me about this new man.”

“Well, he’s great,” she said. “You know how it is when you meet someone and you feel like you’ve known them forever? It was like that for him and me. We had this connection right from the start.”

Simon nodded.

Hermione prepared to move in for the kill. “I can’t really explain it. It was sort of…magical, you know?”

She searched his eyes for any recognition at her emphasis on the word “magical”, but he didn’t let on that it had bothered him.

“It was like that for me and your mum,” Simon said.

“Was it?” Hermione asked. This was her opening so she went for it.

Simon nodded, a far away look coming over his face.

“You know, we’ve never really talked that much about mom,” she began. “I mean, after my accident, you told me a bunch of stuff and showed me the photo albums, but after that, you never really talked about her all that much.”

Simon shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

“Well, you, um, were already going through such a terrible ordeal with your recovery and I didn’t think we should dwell in the painful memories of the past.”

“But they weren’t painful,” Hermione said, pressing. “I mean, she was my mother, after all. I want to talk about her. I want to know about what she was like. I mean, if I can’t ask you those questions, who can I ask?”

Simon got up from the chair and paced back and forth in front of the coffee table.

“Julie,” he began, but she cut him off.

“No, Dad,” she said. “We’ve avoided this for way too long. I mean, we never even went back to London to see our relatives. They never contacted us.”

“Well, I, um, told you that her family was against her marrying me,” he said, avoiding her penetrating gaze. “They pretty much cut her off without a second glance once we were married.”

“I know that’s what you said,” she said, leaning forward. “But, it just doesn’t make sense, Dad. I’m their granddaughter. Why wouldn’t her parents want to see me?”

“They just didn’t!” Simon said, angrily. He saw the confused expression on her face and tried to cover up his outburst. “I’m s-sorry, Julie. I shouldn’t have said that like that. This has always been hard to talk about.”

“We need to talk about it, Dad,” she said. “In case you’ve forgotten, not only did you lose a wife, but I lost a mother. Not only that, I have no memory of her. Yes, you showed me pictures and you’ve told me vague details, but you always changed the subject when I wanted to know more. Now, I know you might not want to talk about it, but I need to know. Please.”

He took a seat on the couch beside her. He took her hands in his.

“Julie, you’re all that I have left,” he said, his eyes penetrating on hers. “I need you to understand that this is extremely difficult for me to talk about. I can’t, um…”

His voice trailed off and he dropped her hands. Again, he stood up and began pacing nervously.

“You can’t what?” she asked him, impatiently.

“I, um, know that you need to talk about this and you want to hear this, but this just isn’t the time,” he said.

There was a deafening silence in the room as Simon continued to pace and Hermione just looked at him in disbelief.

“Please, Dad,” she said, tears falling down her cheeks. “Tell me.”

“Your mother…well, she loved you very much,” he said, his back to her. He stood at the window. His voice sounded quite hollow and his tone seemed clipped. It was almost as if he was reading the words instead of speaking from his heart.

“I know that,” she said.

“Well, when we got the news that your mother’s cancer had spread, we prepared for the worst,” he said. “The doctors said she had no chance of survival. We were all devastated by this news. You, most of all. You were the light of your mother’s eyes. She loved you so much.”

Hermione didn’t respond. She sat back on the couch and folded her arms across her chest as she listened to his tale.

“The cancer spread really quickly. Each day she progressively got worse,” he said solemnly. “You never left her side. You would read to her everyday, and um, you’d sleep on the floor beside her bed. You set up a pallet on the floor and you refused to go anywhere because you thought that she might need you. You kept her going, you know that? She would have never made it as long as she did, if, um, you hadn’t been there. You kept me going. It was because of you, um, that I was able to carry on after your mum’s death. I wanted nothing more than to just crawl away and join her, but I promised her, that um, I would make sure you were okay and that you lived a happy, healthy childhood like we planned.”

Hermione exhaled. She couldn’t believe him. He was playing on her sympathies and her guilt. He had done it from the start. She sat there looking at this man--this man who she had loved as a father and this overwhelming sense of hatred and disgust came over her.

“Happy?” she asked him. She gave out a hollow sounding laugh.

Simon turned around and looked at her, surprised. “You’ve been happy, haven’t you? I mean, I did all that I could for you, you know that don’t you? I mean, I brought you here so you’d have a new life with a number of opportunities that you might not have had.”

“A new life?” she repeated bitterly.

“What’s brought all this on, Julie?” he asked, his eyes were full of concern. “Why are you asking all of these questions about the past? I mean, we’ve agreed before that we would do all we could to put it behind us and move forward. I thought that was what you wanted to.”

“We agreed?” she asked, incredulously. “We agreed? I believe it was you, Dad, who decided that for the both of us and I had no choice but to go along with what you said and what you told me.”

Simon opened his mouth to respond, but the sound of the doorbell interrupted him. Simon looked away from his daughter.

“Who could that be?” he asked. “It’s pretty late for visitors.”

“It’s probably my boyfriend,” Hermione said, absently wiping away a tear from her cheek. “He brought me here to Asheville. He had something he had to do so he said he’d meet me here.”

“Oh,” Simon said, his expression brightening. He was visibly relieved at this arrival that would no doubt change the subject.

“You stay here,” Hermione said, getting up from the couch. “I’ll go get the door.”

“Alright, Julie,” Simon said. As she walked past him, he gave her a reassuring, comforting pat on her shoulder. It took every ounce of self-control she had not to shake off his hand. She gave him a half-hearted smile as she made her way through the foyer to the front door.

As expected, Harry was waiting at the front door. He looked intently at her as she opened the door. At the sight of her red, tear-filled eyes, a cold, angry expression came over his features. Hermione looked up at him.

“I’m okay,” she whispered. “Just stay in control, Harry. Really, I’m okay.”

“Did he hurt you?” he asked, putting his hands on her shoulder.

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Not physically, anyway.”

He nodded and took her in his arms for a warm embrace. She let her head rest against his chest and felt safe and warm in his arms. She wished that they could just walk out that door right now and never look back. That wasn’t part of the plan, and she knew that. Besides, she wanted to hear him explain his actions. She needed to hear him try to explain what he’d done. She finally let go of Harry and taking his hand, led him through the foyer to the living room.

Simon was sitting in his favorite armchair again, his head in his hands. He looked for all intents and purposes like a defeated, little man. Hermione heard Harry take a long, deep breath as he took in Simon Maxwell for the first time.

Hermione cleared her throat. “Dad?”

Simon lifted his head up and stood up from the chair. He gave his daughter a reassuring smile and looked past her at the young man standing in his living room. The color drained from his face.

“Dad,” Hermione said, putting a smile on her face. “This is Harry Potter.”

Simon fell back onto the chair. His mouth agape.

“Harry,” Simon choked out.

“Nice to meet you, sir,” Harry said, stepping forward and extending his hand for Simon to shake. Simon didn’t even seem to notice. Harry brought his hand back to his side.

“Julie,” Simon said, looking glassy-eyed at his daughter.

“Oh, come now, Dad,” she said. “Don’t you think it’s time you stopped calling me that? I mean, it’s not even my name, is it?”

“What are you talking about?” Simon asked.

“I’m talking about the fact that my name is not Julie Maxwell,” she spat back at him. “I’m not your daughter. I never have been. This isn’t my home. Every word out of your mouth to me has been a lie.”

“No,” Simon said, helplessly. “It hasn’t been a lie. You don’t understand, Julie.”

“Why don’t you clear it up for her, then?” Harry interjected angrily. “Clear it up for the both of us, you son-of-a-bitch! I, for one, would love to hear how you could explain what you did to her.”

Simon was silent. He looked down at the floor.

“What’s the matter?” Hermione asked coldly. “I get it! You’ve been lying for so long now; I think you wouldn’t know the truth if it came up and bit you on the arse, would you?”

“Julie,” Simon began.

“My name,” Hermione said, as calmly as she could muster. “Is not Julie. It’s Hermione. Elizabeth. Granger.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said, tears falling down his face.

“You’re sorry?” Harry asked in disbelief. “Well, that makes it alright, then? You’re sorry?”

Simon didn’t answer, his chest heaved with uncontrollable sobs.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done to her?” Harry continued. “She had a family, friends and people who cared about her and have spent the past four years mourning her death. You could have stopped that a long time ago, but no. You had to keep up this horrible plan of a dead wizard! You’re nothing more than a coward, Simon. You took her away from her family. You took her away from her friends. You took her away from me! Not only that, but you took her memories from her and replaced them with your own version of the truth. You held her prisoner in a life that was never really hers. You’ve fed her nothing but lies for four years. And for what? What do you have to show for it? Just some misplaced, misguided loyalty to a dead wizard.”

“I love my daughter,” Simon choked out. “I love my daughter.”

“I’m not your daughter!” Hermione screamed at him.

Hermione collapsed to the floor, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. Harry wrapped her in his arms and hugged her tightly.

Simon watched the scene unfold and tentatively arose from his chair and walked over to where Hermione and Harry stood embracing. He put a hand on her back.

“You are my daughter,” he said. Hermione let go of Harry and turned around to look at Simon. “You are my daughter in every way that counts. Everything I did, I did out of love for you. Please believe that.”

Harry couldn’t take it anymore. He laughed. He pushed Simon’s hand away from Hermione and then proceeded to push him forcefully against the wall.

“You’re unbelievable!” Harry said angrily. He rounded on Simon again as Simon tried to get up.

“Harry!” Hermione called after him, trying to hold him back.

Harry shrugged her arm away. He drew back his arm and punched Simon solidly in the jaw. Simon’s head fell back against the fireplace.

Harry turned to look at Hermione.

“Harry,” she said softly. Neither of them noticed that Simon had gotten up from the floor and picked up a fireplace poker and was about to hit Harry over the head with it. Harry turned just in time to see his approach and ducked. Unfortunately, the move took Hermione totally by surprise and was hit hard over the head. She stumbled and fell back onto the floor.

“Hermione!” Harry called out as Simon called out “Julie!”

Harry looked down at her, lying unconscious on the floor. All thoughts of Simon went out the door and he kneeled down to check on her. He felt around for a pulse and to his relief, there was one.

Simon stepped forward and Harry pushed him back against the wall of the fireplace.

”Don’t you go near her, you bastard!” Harry yelled at him.

“Hermione,” Harry said, rubbing her cheek with his hand. “Come on, sweetie, wake up.”

“I never meant to hurt her,” he said. “I only wanted to knock you out so I could talk to her. She wouldn’t listen to me with you here. I would never hurt my Julie.”

“Never meant to hurt her?” Harry repeated, turning to face Simon properly. He felt the anger and rage welling up fresh in him again.

“Look at her!” Harry said, gesturing at her unconscious form. You’ve done nothing but hurt her since you came into her life. How could you have done this to her!”

He looked back and forth between Hermione and Simon, feeling an uncontrollable rage surging through him. Simon, on the other hand, looked stricken and worried as his eyes were focused solely on Hermione.

“I never wanted her to find out this way,” Simon said.

“You make me sick,” Harry retorted. He got to his feet and shoved Simon down to the floor. He then kicked him with all his might in the stomach. Simon coughed and moaned in pain.

“GET UP!” Harry ordered him.

Simon tried to sit up against the fireplace, but he was choking up blood.

“GET UP!” Harry repeated. “GET UP YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH!”

Simon nodded and struggled to his feet. There was a loud “pop” as Sirius and Ron apparated inside the house. They both stared at Harry and Simon. Ron looked around the room for Hermione and saw her lying on the floor, her body listless. He ran to her side as Sirius went to Harry, who proceeded to unload a myriad of punches, kicks, hits and shoves on Simon.

Sirius grabbed Harry’s arm. Harry violently shrugged it off.

“She doesn’t look good, Harry,” Ron called to his friend. “Her pulse is weak.”

This news only seemed to enrage Harry further.

”Harry!” Sirius said, again trying to restrain his godson. “Harry! Stop it!”

Sirius tightened his grip on Harry’s shoulder.

“You’re not worth it!” Harry spat at Simon. “You aren’t worth any of it!”

Harry fell to his knees.

Simon, bloodied, bruised and disoriented, tried to catch his breath.

Sirius grabbed his wand and muttered a spell which caused ropes to shoot out of the tip of the wand. The ropes bound Simon’s hands and legs.

“I’ll, um, take him into Azkaban,” Sirius said, putting a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “You and Ron look after Hermione. Take her into St. Mungo’s. They can help her there.”

Harry nodded. The mention of Hermione’s name brought Harry back into the moment and he turned and looked worried at his girlfriend, who still lay unconscious cradled in Ron’s arms.

Harry nodded at Sirius and watched as Sirius gathered Simon up and heard the loud “pop” as they apparated to Azkaban.

Harry got to his feet and walked over to Hermione and Ron.

“She’ll be okay,” Ron said, looking worried. “She has to be, Harry.”

Harry nodded. “We can’t lose her again, Ron. I can’t lose her again.”

Author’s Note:

Thanks for all the reviews. I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter. Song inspiration is from one of my favorite songs by P.M. Dawn “I’d Die Without You”.

Chapter 16

I’d Die Without You

“Oh, I apologize for all the things I’ve done.
But now I’m underwater and I’m drowning...
Is it my turn to be the one to cry?
Isn’t it amazing how some things just completely turn around...?
So take every little piece of my heart...
So take every little piece of my soul...
So take every little piece of my mind...
’cause if you’re gone... inside...
I’d die without you...”

(P.M. Dawn “I’d Die Without You”)

Harry felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu as he and Ron sat in the waiting room at St. Mungo’s. It seemed to Harry that no matter what they did or where they went, they almost inevitably ended up here in a hospital ward. Was it too much to ask for a moment’s peace and happiness, he couldn’t help but wonder.

They’d arrived at St. Mungo’s nearly two hours ago. A team of medi-wizards had taken Hermione back in the examining rooms. They hadn’t heard anything and they were starting to get antsy.

Ron had phoned Kit and she’d shown up a few minutes ago, accompanied by his mother. Sirius arrived at the hospital shortly after the Weasleys. He’d briefed Harry on Simon’s arrival at Azkaban. After bringing everyone up to date on Hermione, they’d decided that someone needed to go and tell the Grangers the news that their daughter was indeed alive. Knowing that neither Harry nor Ron would want to leave Hermione’s side, Sirius had volunteered to go and get her parents. Harry knew that the joy her parents would feel in finding their daughter alive would be short-lived once they discovered their daughter had sustained another injury.

Molly offered to go with Sirius to tell the Grangers and he gratefully accepted. They apparated straightaway.

That left only Harry, Ron, and Kit in the waiting room. Harry, who was exhausted after the day’s events, was slumped over in his chair. Ron was sitting back on his chair and Kit was thumbing absently through an old issue of Witch Weekly.

“Kit,” Ron began apprehensively.

“Yeah?” she asked, not looking away from the magazine.

“Maybe you should go home,” he said quickly. “I mean, we really don’t know how long we’ll be here. It could be hours before we hear anything else about how she’s doing. I just think with your pregnancy and the stress of the situation, it might be best if you go home and get some rest.”

“Why?” Kit asked, dropping the magazine back on the table. “I’m pregnant, Ron, not incapacitated.”

“I just think that this isn’t the best environment for you to be in right now with your condition,” he said, looking to Harry for confirmation. Harry, though, was barely staying awake, let alone looking to be a participant in this conversation.

“I’m okay, Ron,” Kit said, smiling at her husband. “I’m not going anywhere until I know she’s okay. She’s my friend, too. Not only that, Harry’s my friend, too. He needs the support of his friends now. And, I know a certain redhead who wants me here whether or not he admits to himself or not.”

“You’re right,” Ron said, leaning in and kissing his wife’s cheek.

“Harry?” Kit asked, looking at her friend. “Are you okay?”

He didn’t respond. He just stared off into space.

“Harry?” she asked him again. “Are you okay?”

He looked over at his friends, tears shining in his green eyes. Although he’d been victorious in capturing the man who’d ruined his and Hermione’s lives four years ago, he sat there now feeling bruised, defeated and worried. It was a place he’d visited in his mind many times over the past few years. It was a place he didn’t like to be. In this place, he was helpless. In this place, he was powerless to protect those he loved.

He had no answer for Kit; no answer for himself. He honestly didn’t know.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Ron and Kit went downstairs to get some coffee and even though Harry told them he wasn’t hungry or thirsty, they’d promised to bring him back something.

He looked at the front desk, praying that someone would come and tell him something. This not knowing how she was doing was sheer torture. The receptionist at the desk caught his eye and gave him a look full of pity and sympathy. Harry looked away.

No matter how many times someone told him none of this was his fault or that he had no way of knowing how to prevent this, he didn’t have to look far to point the blame. It was his fault that she was back there in that examining room. It was her friendship with him that had put her in more danger than even she could have imagined. It was his love for her and hers for him that led to the events that had transpired over the past four years. Voldemort got back at Harry by hurting the one person Harry loved more than anyone else. It hadn’t been her fault, Harry thought to himself.

He wondered how his life would have been if he’d just shut himself off from friends and from family and lived a solitary life, depending on no one but himself. It would have been a lonely existence, yes, but the people he loved would be safe. But, would they be happy? A voice in his head called out. He tried to shake that thought. That thought was selfish.

But no matter which way he looked at it or what he thought about it, he always came to one jarring conclusion each time. The truth of the matter was that he loved her and she loved him. Things beyond either of their control threatened to tear them apart, but somehow they’d always managed to find their way back to each other.

And no matter how many times he told himself it would be best if he walked away and left her alone, he knew he could never do that. Because he had lived life without her for four years and it had been a living hell. He’d lived life with her and without her and he never wanted to be without her again. He couldn’t walk away even if he wanted to.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Sean Talley was the medi-wizard in charge of Hermione’s case. He was an older gentleman who almost reminded Harry of Dumbledore. He was a grandfatherly type who had worked at St. Mungo’s for nearly forty years. Molly had assured Harry that he was one of the best around.

It was sometime later that morning when Sean came out of the examining rooms and surveyed the three worried people hanging on his every word. He gave them a slight smile that he knew neither reassured or comforted them.

“Is she awake?” Kit asked him.

“No, I’m afraid not,” Sean said solemnly. “She sustained a really tough blow to the head. Some of the muggle doctors call a condition like this a severe concussion. There’s really nothing we can do but watch and see.”

“She will wake up, though, won’t she?” Ron asked.

Sean’s face clouded over. “We’re doing everything we can for her. From what I hear of this witch, she’s quite strong. We’ll do everything we can to help her pull through.”

“Can I see her?” Harry asked.

Sean nodded. “I think that would do her a world of good. Come on back.”

Harry nodded. Everyone watched as he followed Sean silently back to Hermione’s room.

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Harry walked into her room and he felt a lump rise in his throat as he looked at her, sleeping peacefully on the bed. There was a gauze bandage on her forehead and there was an IV-like machine that was pumping healing potions into her arm. As Harry stood there in the doorway of her room, watching her, an overwhelming feeling of sadness came over him.

Where was the fairness in all of this, he couldn’t help but wonder. After four years, he’d found her. He couldn’t lose her again. They couldn’t have come all this way just to be torn apart again. He couldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t let that happen.

“Hermione,” he whispered, taking a seat beside her. A single tear fell down his face as he looked at her pale face. He took her hand in his and lightly stroked it. Her skin was cold.

“I don’t know if you can hear me,” he said, looking at her. “But I hope you know that I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, okay? You can’t get rid of me that easily, you know that by now, right?”

He gave a slight laugh.

“I love you so much,” he said. “I don’t know if I ever told you that enough when we were kids. It seems like such a lifetime ago, now. If I didn’t say it or show it enough, I’m sorry. You know how we guys can be. I just hope that you know and that you’ve always known that there will never be anyone for me, but you. I didn’t know it was possible to love someone so much until I fell in love with you.”

He clasped her hand tighter in his.

“So, when you wake up, and I know that you will because Hermione Granger never fails at anything, right?” he said, leaning forward in the seat. “When you wake up, I’m going to ask you something and we’re going to live a long, happy life together, okay?”

He got up from the chair and with his hands shaking and tears falling down his cheeks; he leaned over her and softly kissed her forehead.

”I love you,” he whispered. “If you can’t remember anything else, remember that.”

When he turned around, to his surprise, Sirius was standing in the doorway. He wasn’t alone. He was flanked on either side by Karen and Robert Granger. They looked different from the last time he’d seen them at Hermione’s “funeral”. Karen Granger was dressed in a pale blue sweater and a pair of khaki pants. Her hair was pulled back into a makeshift bun. Her eyes were red and puffy. Her cheeks were flushed.

Robert Granger’s hair was much greyer than the last time Harry had seen him. He wore a white button-down shirt and a pair of black trousers. He, too, had bloodshot eyes and he seemed quite apprehensive standing in the doorway.

Karen Granger stepped past Harry and took a long look at the young woman lying in the hospital bed. She gave out a gasp and nearly fainted. Sirius was able to cross the room quickly to catch her and he held her as she broke down in sobs.

Robert Granger stared coldly at Harry before coming to his wife’s side. He took Karen in his arms as they both looked at their daughter.

“Is she real?” Karen choked out. “Is that really her?”

“It’s really her, Dr. Granger,” Harry said.

“Robert,” Karen said, holding onto her husband for support. “It’s really her. It’s Hermione. My baby.”

Robert only nodded as fresh tears came to his eyes as he looked at his daughter. He and his wife tentatively took steps closer to the bed. Harry watched as Karen Granger extended a shaking hand to her daughter’s face and caressed her cheek softly. Robert stood on the other side of the bed and took hold of his daughter’s hand. He leaned down and brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

“My little girl,” Robert whispered hoarsely.

Harry and Sirius felt like intruders on this family reunion and they quietly slipped out of the room to let them have a moment with their daughter.

Molly was standing just outside the door. She smiled reassuringly at Harry and gave him a warm hug.

“How’d they take the news?” Harry asked.

“Robert wanted to throw us out,” Sirius said. “He didn’t believe us at first, but Karen she stopped him. She made him listen to us. Molly helped tremendously, of course.”

“Thank you,” Harry said, smiling at Molly. “Thank you both. I don’t think I could have done it.”

Sirius nodded.

“She’ll be okay,” Sirius said. He put an arm on his godson’s shoulder. “I’m not just saying it because I know it’s what you want to hear, either. I know that girl in that room. She’s as strong and as smart as they come.”

”And stubborn,” Harry piped in.

“To a fault,” Sirius said, with a chuckle.

At that moment, Sean came walking down the hall and motioned for Harry, Sirius and Molly to come into the room. They all assembled around Hermione’s bedside and listened intently to what Sean had to say. He repeated for her parents what he’d told the others earlier. They listened and asked questions and thanked Sean for all that he had done.

“If there’s anything we can do for you,” Sean said. “Don’t hesitate to ask.”

Robert nodded. He turned his stare to Harry and what he said next was said in a clipped, concise tone.

“I don’t want him anywhere near my daughter,” Robert said, pointing at Harry. Harry looked away from Hermione and up at her father, shocked at what he’d just heard.

“With all due respect, Dr. Granger,” Sirius said. “If it wasn’t for Harry, you might never have found your daughter again.”

“With all due respect, Sirius,” Robert retorted. “If it wasn’t for Harry, my daughter wouldn’t be in a hospital bed recovering from another accident that he was directly responsible for. What’s this make, Harry? How many times have we been here before? Let’s see, there was the time she was petrified. There was the time she was attacked by Dementors. There was the time that she risked her life to help you at the Ministry of Magic. There was the time she was kidnapped and her death was staged. Now, we’ve come full circle, haven’t we? Right back where we started from.”

Harry listened and with each word Robert Granger said, he felt as if he was being punched in the gut.

“I, um, didn’t mean for any of this to happen, sir,” Harry said.

”And that makes it okay?” Robert spat back angrily. “That makes it alright, does it? We never should have let her go back to that school, Karen. We had her away from him and she was doing okay. We should never have caved in.”

“You don’t have any control over where she is anymore,” Sirius said, trying to stay calm. “Harry and Hermione are adults.”

“She’s my daughter,” Robert said, angrily. “I am going to do everything in my power to make sure she stays as far away from him as possible.”

“Stop it!” Karen suddenly spoke up. “Listen to yourself, Robert. Our daughter is lying here and all you can think to do is fight with Harry and yell at Harry. This isn’t doing her any good. For the love of God, just let it be for once. Don’t worry about this now. When she wakes up, the last thing she’s going to need to see is this fighting. Can’t you just be happy that we have her back? Isn’t that enough for now?”

Robert looked down at his daughter and only nodded.

“I think visiting hours are over for now,” Sean said. “She needs to be in a calm, controlled, relaxed environment. One visitor at a time from now on.”

The group nodded.

“I’ll sit with her,” Karen said, pulling up the chair Harry had used earlier.

With one last look at Hermione, Harry reluctantly followed the others out of the room.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Harry and Sirius came back out to the waiting room to find Ron and Kit talking animatedly with Fred, George and Ginny. Molly had offered to take Robert down to the cafeteria to get a cup of coffee and he’d gratefully accepted.

When Harry and Sirius approached them, the conversation abruptly halted.

“We came as soon as we heard, Harry,” Ginny said, giving him a hug.

“Yeah,” Fred said. “We closed the shop right away when we heard. Is she doing okay?”

“No change,” Harry said, glumly, taking a seat beside Ron. Sirius shook hands with Fred and George and received his own welcoming hug from Ginny. After the pleasantries were exchanged, Sirius took a seat directly opposite Kit.

“So, I take it things went well with Hermione’s mum and dad, then?” Ron asked.

Kit smacked her husband on the arm.

“Sorry,” Ron said, sheepishly.

Sirius related for the others briefly what had transpired between Harry and Hermione’s father.

“That’s a load of rubbish,” Ron said.

“Yeah,” Fred agreed.

“He’s probably just upset about Hermione,” George said. “People tend to say things like that under stressful situations. They don’t usually mean what they say; they’re just speaking out of anger.”

Fred looked at his brother as if he’d just grown another head.

“What?” George asked.

“Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?” Fred said, in mock disbelief. “That was the deepest thing you’ve ever said in your life. You’re not going to go all Percy on me now are you? Because I’ve gotta tell you, one Percy in the family is one too many, George.”

“Oh, sod off, Fred,” George said, shoving his brother.

“That’s more like it,” Fred said.

Despite the levity of the past few hours, Harry couldn’t help but laugh at the antics of the Weasley twins. One of their better qualities was their ability to use humor to try and raise someone’s spirits. It could be an annoying and an endearing quality. Harry appreciated it immensely at this moment.

“My brothers,” Ginny said proudly. “We rent them out for parties and weddings.”

“I wouldn’t take a sickle for them,” Ron said. In response, Fred ruffled his younger brother’s hair. Kit chuckled.

“Ickle Ronniekins is just jealous,” George said.

“Kit,” Ron said, looking to his wife to take up for him.

“You’re on your own on this one, Ickle Ronniekins,” Kit said, laughing.

Ron tried to look angry, but he, too, couldn’t help laughing.

It was at that moment that Karen Granger came through the double doors and into the waiting room. The room immediately got quiet. They each stared expectantly at her.

“Harry?” Karen asked.

“Yeah?” Harry asked, worried. Karen’s expression was almost unreadable.

“She’s, um,” Karen choked out.

Harry wanted to get to his feet, but couldn’t stand. Surely, she wasn’t going to tell him that, well, that Hermione had---

“She’s awake,” Karen said, tears fell down her face, but she was smiling broadly. “Hermione’s awake!”

(EVIL CLIFFHANGER, I KNOW…BUT I COULDN’T HELP IT!!!! OVERLY DRAMATIC, I KNOW!!!!! INSERT EVIL LAUGH>>>>>>>)

Author’s Note: Thanks for the reviews, guys! Please be sure to read the author’s note at the bottom of the chapter!) 

Chapter 17 

Possession

“Listen as the wind blows from across the great divide

voices trapped in yearning, memories trapped in time

the night is my companion, and solitude my guide

would I spend forever here and not be satisfied?”

(Sarah McLachlan “Possession”)

“She’s awake, Harry,” Karen repeated.

Harry took in this news as Fred, George, Ginny, Ron and Kit got excitedly to their feet.

Hugs were exchanged and people patted each other on the back. Harry, happy as he was at the news, couldn’t help but notice Karen’s tear-stained face and puffy eyes.

“How is she?” he asked her, but he had a feeling what the answer was.

“She, um, didn’t know me from Adam,” Karen said sadly. “I’m her mother, for heaven’s sake! And she didn’t know who I was!”

“I’m sorry,” Harry said, opening his arms and Karen willingly collapsed against him.

“Sirius told us what had happened, but I never in a million years prepared myself for how it would feel to have her look at me and not know who I was,” Karen sobbed.

“I know how you feel,” he said, patting her on the back. “It nearly killed me when I first saw her a few months back and she didn’t have any clue as to who I was.”

Karen let go of Harry and nodded. Kit went to her side and put a comforting arm around her. Karen smiled half-heartedly at her.

“She wants to remember,” Harry told her. “She really does. It’s just going to take some time.”

“This is too much,” Karen said. “It seems so surreal.”

“She’s back with us,” Harry said. “Just concentrate on that. She’s alive and she’s back with us. And she wants to get her memory back. She wants that more than anything. We just have to be there for her and help her anyway we can.”

Karen nodded. “Thank you, Harry. I’m glad that she’s had you.”

“If it wasn’t for-,” Harry began, but Karen cut him off.

“Don’t say that,” Karen said. “Sirius was right. If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have her back with us. Don’t listen to any of that Harry. My daughter loves you and always has. It’s hard for Robert, but he’ll come around.”

“I hope so,” Harry said meaningfully.

“He will,” Karen said. “Don’t you worry about that now, though. Go to Hermione. She needs you now.”

He nodded and with a slight smile at the group, he walked back through the double doors.

When he made it down the hall to her room, he looked at her before walking into the room. She was sitting up in bed, her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and she was…crying. She looked lost and his heart broke just looking at her.

“Hey,” he said knocking on the door. She looked up expectantly and despite her sadness she smiled broadly when she saw him. She quickly wiped away the tears from her face and tried to appear calm and collected.

“Hey,” she whispered, letting him give her a warm, tight embrace. She pressed her cheek to his shoulder. “What happened, Harry? What happened with my fa-, I mean, with Simon.”

“He’s in Azkaban,” Harry said.

She crinkled up her nose in confusion. “Azka-what?”

“Azkaban,” Harry repeated. “The wizarding prison. Sirius dropped him off a few hours ago. I don’t think he’ll ever see the light of day again. He’ll be there a long time. He’ll never hurt you again.”

“He did a good enough job while he had the opportunity,” Hermione said sarcastically. “I still can’t believe any of this is real.”

Harry took her hands in his. “I know this is hard for you, but you’re not alone in this, you know that, right?”

She nodded. “I feel like you’re all I can count on now. You’re all that I know.”

“It’ll come back to you,” Harry said encouragingly.

“But, what if it doesn’t?” she asked. “I mean, that woman who was in here when I woke up, she was my mother, right? She didn’t say so, but when I woke up, she was standing over me and she was crying and I didn’t know who she was. She started to cry again and I didn’t know what to do or what to say. I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings or make her upset, Harry. I just don’t know where I fit in anymore or where I belong.”

“Hey,” Harry said, getting up from the chair and wrapping his arms around her. “It’s okay. Your mom’s a great lady. She knows this is going to be hard for you. She understands. We all do. And as to where you fit in, Miss Granger, you will always fit with me. Okay?”

She nodded and he leaned in and softly kissed her lips.

“I love you,” she whispered, resting her forehead against his.

“I love you, too,” he said. They stayed like that for a few moments, just enjoying the healing power of being together and enjoying the closeness.

“How do you feel?” he asked her a few moments later.

“Like I have the worst headache in the world,” she said. “Luckily, I have a pretty thick skull.”

“Well, I would say hard-headed,” he said cheekily.

“Well, don’t think that just because I’m in this hospital bed, I can’t still knock you out,” Hermione said. “Just you wait until I get all that magic training back, and you’ll wish you were never born, Harry Potter.”

“That’s my girl,” Harry said, laughing. “I look forward to it.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

A few minutes later, Hermione and Harry were interrupted from their chat by a knock on the door. The healer, Sean, came into the room, followed by Hermione’s parents. Sean extended a hand to his patient and smiled at her.

“Well, it’s nice to meet The Hermione Granger,” Sean said, shaking her hand. “I’ve heard loads about you, of course.”

“Can you share it with me, then?” Hermione asked. “I need all the help I can get.”

Sean chuckled. “Well, I think there are a few more people more qualified to help you with that. Hermione, these are your parents. This is Robert Granger.”

Robert stepped forward and smiled at his daughter. Hermione looked up at him and her lower lip trembled as she looked at him.

“Hey, sweetie,” Robert said, giving her a hug. Hermione looked nervously at Harry and hesitantly put her arms around her dad. She smiled half-heartedly at him. Robert stepped back and allowed his wife to come closer.

“And this,” Sean said, motioning toward Karen, “is your mother, Karen Granger.”

Karen didn’t say anything, but went to her daughter’s side and gave her a hug, too.

“I’m sorry,” Hermione said, crying again. “I’m sorry about earlier.”

“It’s okay,” Karen said, tears falling down her own cheeks again. She cupped her daughter’s face in her hands. “It’s not important now. You’re back with us. That’s all that matters.”

Hermione smiled. “Thank you.”

“Well, Hermione,” Sean said. “I don’t know how much Harry has told you, but you sustained a head injury that we were able to treat with some old medical charms and some potions that we were able to inject into your bloodstream. It was a little touch and go for a while, but I think you’re going to be okay.”

“Thank you,” Hermione said. “Thank you for helping me.”

“My pleasure,” Sean said. “We need to discuss now where you’ll be staying.”

Harry was about to speak up when Robert beat him to the punch, so to speak.

“She’ll be staying with us, of course,” Robert interjected. At his words, Hermione visibly cringed.

“Dr. Granger,” Harry began. “I really don’t think—“

“I don’t give a damn what you think, Harry,” Robert said coldly. “My daughter is going to recover from this without your help.”

Robert looked back at his wife. “We can rent a place here, like we talked about, Karen. We can close up the practice for awhile, until Hermione’s back on her feet. Then, we’ll bring her back home to Atlanta with us.”

Hermione watched as this man---a man, she had no recollection of---planned out where she’d be spending her life. She stared at him in disbelief.

“Pardon me,” Hermione said, looking at Robert. “You want me to stay with you?”

“Well, of course,” Robert said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “I think that would be best.”

He gave his daughter a condescending look before turning back around to talk to Sean. This only infuriated Hermione even more.

“I’m sorry, but I am going to have to disagree with you,” she said.

Robert turned back around and Hermione could see a look of shock and utter amazement on his face.

“This isn’t really open for discussion,” Robert said calmly.

“Yes, I believe it is open for discussion,” Hermione said. “I don’t mean to be blunt, here, but you act as if I’m five years old! I’m sorry, but I don’t have any memory of who you are. I know you don’t want to hear that, but I don’t. And now you want me to live with you, but I just don’t think I can.”

“Hermione,” Robert interrupted.

“Let me finish,” she said, holding up her hand. “Four years ago, I woke up in a hospital in North Carolina, not having a clue as to how I got there or who I was. There was a man there who filled in all the blanks for me.”

“Surely, you don’t think I’m anything like—“

“Please, let me finish,” Hermione said. “I’m not the same person I was four years ago. Things are different this time. The one person that I trust and the one person I feel safe with is Harry. And I know you might not want to hear that and you might not understand it, but that’s the way it is. I love him and I believe in him just as he believes in me and loves me. And I’ll be damned if you’re going to take that away from me.”

“I’m not a child anymore,” she continued, her cheeks flushed with anger. “You can’t tell me what to do or who I can see! And you might not like the decision I have made, but I hope you’ll respect it. I want you to be a part of my life, I really do! I want to know both you and my mother again, but it’s going to be on my terms, not yours.”

“Hermione,” Robert said.

“Drop it, Robert,” Karen spoke up. “Just let it go for once. If you keep this up, you’re going to push her away. You can’t do that when we’ve got her back.”

“Do you even care what he’s done to you?” Robert said, motioning angrily at Harry, ignoring his wife’s plea.

“Yes, I do,” Hermione said. “He’s taken care of me. He’s cared about me. He loves me. That’s what he’s done for me.”

At these words, Harry pushed gently past her father and took Hermione’s hands in his.

“If she accepts,” Harry said, looking at Hermione. “I’d like her to stay with me.”

“I’d like that,” Hermione said, smiling up at him.

Robert opened his mouth to say something, but Karen put an arm on his shoulder. She looked pleadingly at him to not mess up the gift they’d been given---their daughter was back with them. It might not have been the reunion they’d have wanted, but it was a reunion, nevertheless. They had their daughter back and they didn’t need to mess it up by pushing her away.

Robert reluctantly nodded and grasped his wife’s hand tightly before turning back around to face his daughter.

“I’m not a bad person, Hermione,” Robert said stoically. “Someday, I hope that you will be a parent. It’ll be the most important responsibility and job you’ll ever have in your life. You try and do what’s best for your child and you never stop worrying about them. I lost you four years ago and it was the worst experience I’ve ever gone through in my life. We’ve been given this incredible gift---getting you back. I don’t want to lose you again and I’m afraid that if you stay with this man that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”

“I know you care about me,” Hermione said. “I can’t even imagine what it was like for you and I’m sorry that what happened caused you pain and grief. This is just as hard on me as it is on you. I have all these people coming in here talking to me and looking into my eyes, expecting me to know who they are and I don’t. I hate the pain that causes them. I want to remember so badly, but I can’t. It’s the most frustrating thing that I’m not sure anyone can understand.”

“But you weren’t alone in your grief,” she said. “Harry was hurting, too. He never meant for any of this to happen. When he found out where I was, he dropped everything to find me. You’re acting as if he’s done all of this on purpose, but you couldn’t be further from the truth! I want to get to know you again, both of you. I want you to be part of my life. But, you have to recognize and accept that Harry is a part of my life, too. Please don’t ask me to choose, because you won’t be happy with my answer.”

Robert stared at his daughter for a long time. Karen, in turn, was staring at her husband, silently willing him to accept their daughter’s wishes.

“You’re going to have to give me some time,” Robert finally said.

“Take all the time you need,” she said.

To her amazement, Robert extended his hand toward Harry.

“I’m sorry, Harry,” Robert said.

“Me, too,” Harry said, shaking his hand.

“Thank you,” Hermione said softly.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Later that day, Harry relented to go back to his own flat to get some rest. Hermione told him half-mockingly and half-seriously that he looked like death warmed over and he needed to get some sleep. He didn’t want to leave her, but she begged him to get some rest.

He went back to his flat, which had been empty for months. He looked at the mound of owl post that was waiting on his coffee table and just shook his head. He walked past the letters and went into the bathroom to take a nice, long shower.

Following his shower, he pulled on a pair of pajama pants and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

A few hours later, he woke up and was just going through some of the post when the doorbell rang. He was surprised to see a pair of guests. The surprise being that they were the last two people he’d ever expected to see together.

“This has to be a sign of the Apocalypse,” Harry said, ushering his guests inside.

(Author’s note: Don’t throw stones at the writer---I know it’s another cliffhanger, but I had to do it!!! I’m addicted to the cliffhanger. Is there a support group for us? Hello, my name is Amy and I am addicted to cliffhangers. Can anyone help me???? To make up for this, I wanted to let you all know---those of you who enjoyed my first fan fiction “All Along”—I will be writing a one-shot Christmas companion piece to that—full of fluff and no cliffhangers! I hope to post it soon!)

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I wasn’t going to get this chapter posted until after Christmas but I had some unexpected motivation, so I had to get it out or else. Luckily, I was able to write this one with ease and no writer’s block. I hope everyone has a very, Merry Christmas!!!!! If you haven’t yet, please read my Christmas fiction, “Please Come Home for Christmas” PORTKEY.ORG >> Please Come Home For Christmas - Chapter: 1---it is a companion piece to “All Along”.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 18

Across the Universe

“Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes
They call me on and on across the universe
Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box
They tumble blindly as they make their way across the universe”

“Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world”

(“Across the Universe” by my favorite band The Beatles)

“This has to be a sign of the Apocalypse,” Harry said, ushering his guests inside.

“I must say I never thought I’d see you darken my doorstep,” Harry said, looking at the tall, thin man with pasty white skin and who was dressed all in black.

Sirius chuckled. “Believe me; he didn’t want to come here, either. But he wants to help.”

“He wants to help?” Harry asked chagrined. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Since when has he ever wanted to help me?”

“I told you he would act like this,” Severus Snape said coldly to Sirius. “I don’t know why I agreed to come here at all. It’s not as if he wants my help.”

“Harry, Severus,” Sirius said, stepping between them. “Please. This is very important. Harry, please hear what I have to say. If you still want to throw him out afterwards, you can and I won’t stop you, but I think this is something you have to hear. It could change everything.”

Harry looked thoroughly unconvinced. It was no secret, and never had been that he was the least favorite of Severus Snape’s people. Harry reckoned that Snape would probably have preferred to be sent to a spa for a makeover than spend one second in Harry’s presence. Still, if Sirius had brought him here, there had to be a good reason. He trusted Sirius’ judgment.

Harry nodded and walked into the sitting room. He and Sirius sat down on the couch and Snape took a seat in the armchair. He looked about as uncomfortable and out of place as Harry had ever seen him.

“So,” Sirius said, clapping his hands together, nervously.

“So,” Harry said.

“Are we going to waste time just sitting here looking at each other are you going to get on with it, Black?” Snape said impatiently. “I don’t have all day to play catch up with you and Potter, alright?”

“No one’s twisting your arm to be here, Snape,” Harry spat back at him.

“Fine,” Snape said, getting up from the chair.

“Sit down!” Sirius said. “Please. Will the two of you please put aside the petty differences and the misunderstandings and bad blood between you and concentrate on the greater good, here. We’re all here because we care about Hermione.”

Snape sat back down, but Harry looked at his godfather incredulously.

“He doesn’t care about anyone or anything else but himself, Sirius,” Harry said. “He doesn’t care about me and he sure as hell doesn’t give a damn about Hermione!”

“Contrary to popular belief, Potter,” Snape said coolly. “I am not just some poor, heartless bastard. I was deeply sorry to hear about what happened to Miss Granger.”

Harry stared back at Snape, shocked at what he had just said.

“I never wanted anything bad to happen to her, or to you, for that matter,” Snape said, his voice softening a bit.

Harry was utterly speechless. This didn’t seem right, somehow. Snape had a conscience? This was about as surreal an experience as he could ever remember.

“Which brings us here,” Sirius interjected.

“Alright,” Harry said.

“For the past few years,” Sirius began. “Sniv-, I mean, Severus, here, has been working on some potions.”

“Well,” Harry said exasperated. “He’s the Potions Master at Hogwarts, Sirius. I would expect he would be working on potions.”

“Not just any potion, Harry,” Sirius said. “He’s been working on memory modification potions. Namely, he’s been working on one that would allow those whose memory has been erased, to regain their lost memories…completely.”

Harry took an audible deep breath at what his godfather had just said.

“For real?” Harry asked, looking back and forth between Snape and Sirius.

“For real,” Sirius said with a smile. “He came to me this morning at the Ministry wanting to share what he’d found. He told me all about his research and his experiments and what he could do to help Hermione.”

“What’s the catch?” Harry asked. “There’s got to be something you’re not telling me about this.”

Sirius exchanged a pensive look with Snape. “Well, there are some other things that you must know about this before we could even entertain the notion of giving this potion to Hermione.”

“Like what?” Harry asked.

“Well, this potion has never been tested on human subjects,” Snape finished. “I’ve only tested it on insects and lab rats.”

“Well, now we cut to the chase,” Harry said, contemplatively. “You’ve never tested this on a human and now you want me---someone you can’t stand---to allow you to use Hermione as their guinea pig?”

“Harry,” Sirius interrupted.

”No,” Harry said, ignoring his godfather’s words. “It’s now all making sense. The pieces are beginning to fit finally. He doesn’t give a damn about Hermione or her wellbeing. He just needs a test subject. I knew that this was too good to be true. I’m not going to allow him to use her and put her life in jeopardy so that he can get his name in all the Potions’ Journals!”

“Better to put her in jeopardy by constantly putting her in danger as she fights at your side against the Dark Lord?” Snape asked sarcastically.

“Why you miserable son-of-a-bitch!” Harry asked, making a move forward at Snape. Sirius reacted quickly and held his godson back.

“Touch a nerve there, did I, Potter?” Snape asked almost gleefully.

Harry stared coolly back at Snape, his cheeks red with anger, his eyes cold with hatred and distaste.

“If you would allow me to finish,” Snape said, leaning back in the chair. “I’d tell you that I’m fairly certain that this potion could help Miss Granger.”

“Fairly certain?” Harry asked. “Fairly certain? I’m sorry, but fairly certain isn’t good enough reason to sacrifice her health. So, tell me, Snape. Tell me what could possibly happen to her if she agrees to take this?”

Again, Sirius and Snape exchanged pensive, worried looks.

“Well?” Harry asked again.

“Well, best-case scenario, we give the potion to her and she remembers everything about her life before she was taken from us,” Sirius said.

“And the worst-case scenario?” Harry asked.

Snape looked straight at Harry. “She takes the potion and she could forget everything. She’d be alive, but it wouldn’t be any kind of life she’d want. You remember what happened to Frank and Alice Longbottom? What happened to them would be mild compared to what could happen to Hermione.”

Harry felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him at those words.

“Well, it’s settled, then,” Harry said, after a few moments of silence. “We can’t give this to her.”

“That’s not your choice to make, is it?” Snape asked.

“Although I hate to admit it,” Sirius said. “He’s right, Harry. Hermione needs to know that there is something out here that could help her regain her memories. Then, she can make the decision for herself whether or not she wants to try this.”

“She’ll never agree to it,” Harry said. “She’s been through enough. We’ve all been through enough. Not just me, but her parents. If we give this to her and she---well, it would be like losing her all over again. I don’t want to go through that again.”

“You’re assuming the worst could happen,” Sirius said. “And I don’t blame you for that. You should never enter into anything without considering the pros and cons of each situation. Merlin! I sound just like Remus!”

Harry didn’t laugh at this.

“Let her make the decision, Harry,” Sirius said. “It is her choice to make, after all, not yours.”

“I know,” he said, getting up from the couch and looking out the window. “I know it is. I just don’t want anything else to happen to her. She’s already been through way too much.”

“Well, we both know that she’s never been one to like someone to tell her what she was and wasn’t going to do,” Sirius said. “She needs to be made aware of the options available to her. Then, when she knows what could and couldn’t happen, then she can make her decision. She’s got a good head on her shoulders. She’ll choose what’s best for her.”

“I know all that,” he said.

The room was silent as Harry thought about everything that he’d just heard. Snape fidgeted uncomfortably in his chair. Sirius shot him a warning look. Snape just rolled his eyes.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Snape said. “I do have to get back to Hogwarts. Let’s go and tell Miss Granger about this.”

Harry stood stick still, staring out the window.

“Okay,” he said, finally turning around. “Let’s go.”

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

At the same time that Harry was talking with Snape and Sirius, Hermione was visiting with Kit and Ron. Hermione’s parents had decided to go and check into a hotel and promised to come back soon.

“So how far along are you?” Hermione asked Kit.

“Six months to the day,” Kit said. “I can’t believe I have three more months of this to endure. I’m already the size of a beached whale.”

“You’re not,” Hermione said genuinely. “You’re positively glowing.”

“This is what getting by on very little sleep gets you,” Kit said. “A positively glowing face.”

“I’m sorry,” Hermione said. “You should probably be at home. You didn’t have to stay here for me.”

“It’s exactly where I want to be,” Kit said sincerely. “You’re my friend. You need me and this is where I’m going to be---where we both are going to be.” She looked over at her husband.

“Right,” Ron agreed.

“So you’re not a witch,” Hermione said.

“No,” Kit said. “I’m about as Muggle as they come.”

“How did your parents react to the marriage?” Hermione asked.

“Oh, well my mum was surprised at first,” Kit said.

“To say the least,” Ron said. “She thought I was just some traveling magician like that David Copperhead person.”

”Copperfield,” Kit corrected. “Like David Copperfield.”

“Her exact words when she met me were, “No daughter of mine is going to go traveling around to carnival shows with some two-bit magician,” Ron said.

“But she came around?” Hermione asked.

“Yeah,” Ron said. “After I showed her a few spells. See, I turned her hair brown.”

“And that helped?” Hermione asked.

“Yes,” Kit said. “My mother was going gray and with Ron here---she has her own personal color stylist.”

“Don’t tell anyone that,” Ron told Hermione. “That’s all Fred and George need is any further ammunition to drive me crazy with.”

“Fred and George?” Hermione asked. “Your twin brothers, right?”

“Yes, twin terrors, more like,” Ron said. “They pretty much live to make my life a living hell.”

“I’ve been told that I did a good job of that, too,” Hermione said.

“No, you just nagged me to death all the time,” Ron said. “You were always pushing me to finish my essay or do my homework and to catch up on my reading.”

“But I drove you crazy?” Hermione asked, laughing.

”Absolutely nutters,” Ron concurred. “But I’m glad you’re back. More than glad, actually.”

“Me, too,” she said. “I wish I could remember everything.”

”You will,” Kit said optimistically. “Just give it time.”

”Well, I’ve definitely got loads of that,” Hermione said.

There was a slight knock at the door and Ron, Kit and Hermione turned expectantly to see Sirius, Harry and Snape standing in the doorway.

“What’s he doing here?” Ron asked, looking pointedly at Snape.

“I’ll tell you later,” Harry said. “Could we have a moment with Hermione?”

Ron looked worriedly at Harry, but nodded.

“Sure,” he said, turning back to face Hermione. He leaned in and planted a kiss on her cheek. Kit grasped her friend’s hand tightly.

“We’ll be back soon,” Ron said.

“Take care, Hermione,” Kit said.

“Thank you both for stopping by,” Hermione said. They all watched as Kit and Ron exited the room. Harry closed the door tightly behind them.

“What’s going on?” Hermione asked.

“There’s something we need to talk about,” Harry said, stepping past Sirius and Snape and giving his girlfriend a kiss hello.

“You look worried, Harry,” she said. “Is something wrong?”

Harry motioned for Sirius and Snape to come closer.

“Hello, Sirius,” Hermione said.

“Hermione,” Sirius said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“This is, um, Severus Snape,” Harry said, tilting his head towards the dark cloaked figure standing beside Sirius. “He taught you and me at Hogwarts. He was the Potions Master at Hogwarts.”

“Nice to meet you,” Hermione said, extending her hand to him. “I know it sounds strange to say if I knew you before, but—“

“It’s okay,” Snape said, shaking her hand. “I understand.”

Hermione smiled good-naturedly at him before turning her attention back to Harry.

“What’s going on Harry?” she asked.

“Um, there’s something you have to know,” he said.

“What?” she asked. “Please tell me its good news. I can’t take any more bad news.”

Harry looked worriedly at Sirius before continuing. “Well, it’s up to you to decide if you think it’s good or bad.”

“Okay,” she said, confused. “Shoot.”

Harry took a seat beside her bed and took her hand in his.

“You’re scaring me, Harry,” she said. “Please tell me what’s going on.”

He was silent for a moment and her heart went out to him. Whatever this was, it was obviously quite troubling for him.

“Tell me,” she urged.

He looked up into her brown eyes and took a deep breath.

“Okay,” he began.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I KNOW IT’S ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER, BUT I COULDN’T STOP MYSELF!!!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME..IT IS CHRISTMAS AFTER ALL!!!

Author’s note: I hope everyone had a nice Christmas! Sorry about the cliffhanger last time. I can promise you that this chapter will not end with a cliffhanger. I know you’re wondering who are you and what have you done with Amynoelle---the resident Cliffhanger queen. Well, I’m trying not to be so predictable. Don’t worry…I’m sure I have a good cliffie left in me somewhere. Enjoy!

Chapter Nineteen

Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me

“I'd climb right up to the sky
I'd take down the stars
Just to be in your arms, baby
I'd go and capture the moon
That's what I would do
Just to hear you say that you love me”

(“Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me” Faith Hill featuring Tim McGraw)

“What is it?” she asked again. “Come on, tell me.”

“Well,” Harry began, taking her hands in his and looking into her brown eyes. “There could be a way for you to get all of your memories back, Hermione.”

Her eyes lit up in surprise and excitement as she took in what he had just said.

“Really?” she asked. “Well, what is it? What do we have to do?”

“Well, Professor Snape has been working, for the past few years, on a potion that could reverse the effects of the spell that was cast on you four years ago,” Harry said slowly.

She looked excitedly at Professor Snape and at Sirius and then her attention focused back on Harry. If this was such good news, why were none of the men in the room smiling back at her? She couldn’t help but wonder. Her own smile faded as she saw the grave, somber expressions on their faces.

“Okay,” she said, looking Harry straight in the eyes. “What aren’t you telling me, then?”

“Um,” Harry said nervously.

“Harry, please,” she said. “What aren’t you telling me about this? I mean, this is what we’ve both wanted---for me to remember everything, right? You say that there’s a way for me to do that, but instead of looking happy, you look like you’ve just lost your best friend. Why? I mean, isn’t that what you want—for me to remember?”

“Of course,” he said, looking at her. “I want that more than anything.”

“But?” she asked.

“But, there’s something about this potion that you need to know before you make a decision as to whether or not you want to take it,” Harry said. “Now, I told you how Professor Snape has been working on this for a long time. Well, he’s only tested it on lab rats and spiders. It’s never been tested on a human being before.”

Hermione’s face fell. The room was deathly silent for a few moments as she processed what Harry had just said. She looked over at Snape.

“So, you don’t really know what could happen to me, then?” she asked him softly.

“Well, there are two possible outcomes,” Snape said. Harry noticed that his voice, which usually sounded cold and impersonal, had taken on a softer, almost sympathetic tone. “In the best possible outcome, you would take the potion and awaken with all your memories in tact.”

“And the other?” Hermione asked.

“The other would be that you take the potion and it could compromise your mental health,” Snape said. “For all intents and purposes, you’d be in a catatonic-like state and when you awoke, you’d be wiped out of all your memories both current and past.”

“Oh my Lord,” Hermione whispered. Tears were welling up in her eyes. “It never ends, does it? Any ray of light that comes my way always seems to be taken away by some dark cloud.”

Harry looked at Hermione and then at Sirius and Snape. “Could you two please give us a moment?”

“Sure,” Sirius said. “We’ll just be right outside.”

Harry and Hermione watched as the two men left the room and closed the door behind them. Harry took Hermione’s hand again and lightly stroked it.

“You don’t have to take this, Hermione,” Harry said. “I just wanted you to know what was going on. You don’t have to do this at all. It doesn’t matter to me whether or not you remember what happened when we went to the Department of Mysteries in our fifth year or if you remember that impromptu wedding ceremony we had when we were in our sixth year. What’s important to me---what I care about most of all---is your health. I want you safe, sound and with me. It’s my fault that you’re here right now, but I swear I’ll spend the rest of our lives together making up for it. The important thing is that you’re happy and you’re safe. Nothing else matters to me, but that. Okay?”

“I know,” she said, touching his cheek. “I know that you don’t want to put me in any danger. I never want to hear you blaming yourself for any of this because it’s not your fault, Harry. You didn’t ask for this and you certainly didn’t want or ask for any of this to happen to me. I don’t blame you for this at all, and I certainly won’t allow you to blame yourself.”

He nodded.

“But, I want you to understand something about me,” she said. “I don’t like seeing the people who I knew and who I cared about when I was Hermione Granger look at me for some sign of recognition and some indication that I know who they are or what they’re talking about. It kills me when I see their heart breaking because I can’t recall events that we shared or things that we did. It is the most frustrating thing that I’ve ever had to go through.”

“I know it is,” he said.

“No, you don’t,” she said, a single tear falling down her cheek. “But, I do know that you’re here for me and you have been every step of the way.”

“And I still will be, regardless of whether or not you remember or not,” he said. “Hermione, think about this. You are already starting to recall bits and pieces of your past. Perhaps, with time, they’ll come back on their own. You don’t need to do this. We will all still love you and care about you regardless of whether or not you ever get your memory back.”

She nodded.

“But what if this doesn’t work, Hermione? You could lose---we could lose---everything we’ve worked so hard to get back.”

“I’d like to talk to Professor Snape again,” she said. “I’d like to hear some more about this potion. Could I talk to him again? Please?”

“Sure,” Harry said. “I’ll, um, go get him.”

“I’d like to talk to him alone,” she said. “If you don’t mind.”

He actually minded very much, but one look at her, and he could tell it was important to her.

“Sure,” he said. “I’ll be right outside.”

“Okay,” she said, giving him a slight smile.

Harry turned on his heels and walked outside her room. He found Sirius and Snape sitting on two chairs, just outside the room. They weren’t talking and Snape looked just as surly as ever.

“She would like to talk to you, Professor Snape,” Harry said.

Snape nodded and got up from his chair.

“Please don’t do anything to upset her,” Harry said, grabbing Snape’s arm. “She’s already been through enough.”

Harry expected a sarcastic, scathing remark from Snape, but to his surprise, Snape simply nodded and walked into the room. He closed the door behind him.

Sirius put a comforting arm on his godson’s shoulder.

“You’ve been through enough, too,” Sirius said.

Harry didn’t say anything. He hung his head and felt as if the weight of the world was resting square on his shoulders.

“How’s she holding up?” Sirius asked.

“Okay,” Harry said. “I’m the nervous wreck. She wanted to talk to him alone to hear more about the potion.”

“Do you think she’s going to do it?” Sirius asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “If I were a betting man, I’d say she was going to do it. And not because she wants to remember as much as she wants to make it easier on everyone else. She feels like she’d be letting everyone down.”

“Harry,” Sirius began, but his godson interrupted him.

“No,” he said. “I can’t lose her again, Sirius. It nearly killed me the last time. I can’t let it happen again. And I don’t know what to say to her or to tell her because I can’t tell her that everything’s going to be okay. I never can tell her that and be one-hundred percent certain that I’m telling her the truth.”

“She knows that, Harry,” Sirius said.

Harry nodded. “How do I stop feeling guilty for that?”

“I don’t know,” Sirius said. “But, I don’t think that she wants you to tell her it’ll be okay, Harry. You’re not a god. You have no control over the future or what’s going to happen---no one does. What you do have control over is how you choose to live the life that you have now---what she needs from you now more than anything else, is to know that you’ll be there for her no matter what happens and that you’ll support her in whatever decision she decides to make. Because, Harry, this is her decision to make.”

“Yeah,” Harry said. “How’d you get to be so wise?”

“Well, I don’t know if I’d call it wise,” Sirius said. “I think it was all that time I had to spend on my own alone with my own thoughts. You start to get some insight into things that you might not have otherwise thought about.”

“Sirius Black, Intellectual Thinker,” Harry said.

“Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” Sirius said with a chuckle. “I think I’m going to put that on a card and pass it around.”

“They’d never believe you,” Harry said.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Sirius said. “Once a Marauder, always a Marauder.”

They were silent for a few minutes and then Harry spoke again.

“Could you do me a favor?” Harry asked.

“Anything,” Sirius said.

“Could you apparate to Chapel Hill and tell Billie how she’s doing,” Harry said. “I imagine she’s worried sick. I haven’t had a chance to get back with her since we left and I know she’d appreciate hearing any news.”

“Sure,” Sirius said. “I’ll leave straight-away.”

“Watch your back,” Harry said. “I think Billie fancies you.”

“She does not,” Sirius said modestly.

“Oh, she so does,” Harry said. “I think she told Hermione that if she had the chance and let me make sure I’m quoting this correctly, but she told her that if she had the chance, ‘she’d like to put you a plate and sop you up with a biscuit.’”

“Sop me up with a biscuit?” Sirius said, laughing. “Oh, how I do love how those southern women talk!”

“Well watch your back,” Harry cautioned. “Make that your arse.”

“Well, I have been told that I have one of the finest--,” Sirius began, but Harry waved him off.

“Too much information,” Harry said. “Way too much information. Just get out of here!”

Sirius smiled. “Okay, okay. Give Hermione my love.”

“I will,” Harry said. He watched as his godfather walked down the hall. He looked at the still closed door. What was taking so long?

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
*************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Snape told Hermione all about his research, his experiments, the success ratio, etc. She asked all the pertinent questions and he slowly explained the procedure.

When he had finished answering her questions and was about to get ready to go, she stopped him.

“Could I ask you one more question?”

“Certainly,” he answered.

“If the situation were reversed, would you do this?” she asked. “I mean, would you take the chance?”

Snape looked taken aback somewhat by the question. He thoughtfully considered it.

“Miss Granger,” he began. “I didn’t live a life like the one you’ve led. I don’t have very many friends. I don’t have much family to speak of, save for a couple of distant cousins. I’ve lived a very lonely, solitary life. I’ve thrown myself into my work. I don’t tell you this to make you feel sorry for me, or anything like that. Pity is not one of my favorite emotions and I certainly don’t want or ask for it from you. I tell you this to let you know that I envy you for what you have. You have people who care about you and love you. That is a wonderful gift. Not too many of us are lucky enough to have that, but you do. If I had what you had, I’d seriously consider it.”

She took in what he had said. She simply nodded.

“I know that’s not a very good answer,” he began.

She shook her head. “No,” she said. “It was a very good answer. Thank you for your honesty and your candor, sir. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me about all of this.”

Snape nodded. He looked a little uncomfortable, standing in front of her.

“You will let me know what you decide?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said.

And with that, he was gone.

Hermione stared at the closed door for a few moments. She wasn’t surprised to see Harry walk back through the door.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” he said. “Is everything okay?”

“No,” she said. “I have a lot to think about, don’t I?”

“You’re considering this, then?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “Professor Snape explained it all to me. At least, I know what I’ll be up against if I decide to do this.”

He opened his mouth to argue with her, but he saw in her eyes that she was determined to think about this. His conversation with Sirius floated back into his head. She needed his support right now. He could give her that. He might not be able to give her peace of mind right now, but he could give her his support.

“Whatever you decide,” he said, kissing her forehead. “I’ll support you.”

“Thank you,” she said, touching his cheek. He leaned in and softly kissed her.

“I love you,” she said.

“I’m kind of crazy about you, too,” he said.

“Good answer,” she said, with a smile.

Author’s Note: Inspiration from the Beatles yet again…I hope you guys enjoy this. This is another lead up chapter. The next chapter will be a big, fluffy event followed by her finally taking the potion. I know you guys feel like I’m stalling, but I’m not…I just didn’t want to rush it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. The next chapter will be up really soon, I promise!!!!

Chapter 20

All You Need Is Love

“There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy”

”Nothing you can make that can't be made
No one you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It's easy”

(The Beatles “All You Need is Love”)

She had tried not to think about it. She had been told that she needed to rest and that she needed to keep her mind clear. That was what she had tried to do, but she could think of little else but that potion and the implications of both taking it and not taking it.

She had woken up in the middle of the night and grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill and busily wrote out a pro/con list of taking the potion. She had worked diligently on the list for the past forty-five minutes. Among the things she had written were:

Cons:

(1) It doesn’t work---I lose everything.

Pros:

(1) Stop causing pain to those who care about me.

(2) I could remember everything.

(3) Harry and I can move forward completely.

(4) I will regain my family, my friends, and my life.

(5) When people tell me stories about this Hermione person, I will know exactly who they are talking about and I will know without a shadow of a doubt that she is me and I am her.

(6) Things will finally be normal. Or, as normal as they can be, for someone who is a witch and is in love with one of the most famous wizards of our time.

As she read and reread the list, she knew that there was only one possible conclusion. What was it that Harry had said she was when she was at Hogwarts---a Gryffindor? He had given her a book that he had said had been her favorite, Hogwarts: a History. She had read about Gryffindors in that book. What were they supposed to be? Brave, courageous. It would certainly be brave and courageous to take this potion now, wouldn’t it? Her decision had been made, then. It was what she was going to do and there would be no turning back once the decision was made. As she sat there, alone in her hospital room, she knew what she was going to do. All that was left to do now was to tell Harry and prepare for this one event that would change her life forever.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Harry arrived at St. Mungo’s the following morning at around 8:00 a.m. He was carrying a bouquet of pink roses and couldn’t help feeling nervous about his visit with Hermione. He had no way of knowing whether or not she had made up her mind yet as to what she was going to do. This would explain the reason why he hadn’t slept very much at all the night before and why he hadn’t even touched his breakfast. If he knew Hermione, she hadn’t been able to sleep much either. He reckoned that she had thought about little else but this potion.

He rounded the corridor and walked briskly past the receptionist. He walked the long hallway down to Room 323 and knocked softly on the door. There was no answer. He felt a familiar sense of panic, but quickly put the kibosh on that when he remembered that she was in a secure place. St. Mungo’s was heavily guarded and Simon Maxwell was behind bars in Azkaban.

He opened the door slightly and peered inside. Hermione was in the room, fast asleep. She looked absolutely beautiful. The sunlight was peeking through the blinds and illuminated her face. He tiptoed into the room and closed the door behind him. He walked over to her bedside and leaning over, kissed her softly on the lips.

“Tom Cruise?” she said dreamily, a smile playing on her lips. “At last, you’ve found me!”

“Tom Cruise?” Harry asked, standing back. “Tom Cruise?”

“Only joking,” she said, laughing. “I knew it was you the whole time! Honestly! I awoke when I heard you knock.”

Harry looked unconvinced.

“Sensitive, aren’t we?” Hermione asked, chuckling.

“Just a little,” he said.

“What’s that behind your back?” she asked.

”Oh,” he said. “I brought you some flowers.”

“You did?” she asked, her face lighting up.

He pulled the bouquet from behind his back and she clapped her hands excitedly. “They’re beautiful, Harry.”

“Even if they come from just plain, old Harry Potter and not suave, handsome, charming Tom Cruise,” Harry teased.

“I’d take plain, old Harry Potter any day,” she said.

“Good answer,” he said, leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. He placed the bouquet in an empty vase. He set it on her bedside table.

“How’d you sleep last night?” she asked.

“About as well as could be expected,” Harry said. “How are you doing?”

“I slept about as much as you then,” she said. “I couldn’t stop thinking about that potion. I even woke up in the middle of the night to make out a stupid list of reasons why I should and shouldn’t take the stupid thing.”

“Sounds like something you’d do,” he said.

“Yeah,” she said. “And I’ve made a decision.”

”So soon?” he asked, feeling the overwhelming need to sit down. He did in the chair beside the bed. He took her hand in his.

“To be honest, I think the decision was made for me the moment I knew that this potion existed,” she said.

Harry took a deep breath. “You’re going to take it, then?”

She simply nodded.

“I can’t even consider the possibility that it won’t work, Harry,” she said. “I have to go into this thinking that it will work. I have to believe in that.”

“You make it sound so easy,” he said softly. She couldn’t help noticing that his grip on her hand was tighter.

“I need you to believe that, too,” she said, her eyes seemingly boring into him.

“If anything happens to you, I don’t know—“ he began.

“Shhh,” she said. “Don’t talk like that.”

“We have to consider it, though,” he said.

“And I have,” she said. “I’ve thought about this very carefully, Harry.”

“You don’t have to do this for me,” he said. “Or for anyone else, you know that, right? No one will be upset with you if you didn’t do it. They’d understand.”

“I know they would,” she said. “But I wouldn’t. I need to do this. I want the life I had back, Harry. And besides, what kind of Gryffindor would I be if I just walked away from a challenge? I happen to know of another person in this room who didn’t always take the easy way out of things, either. Do you remember how you told me how you felt when Neville told you I was alive? You didn’t believe him, did you, at first? You didn’t want to believe him because you worked so hard to get your life back on track. You had everything in the world waiting for you, but you knew that you had to find out for sure because you knew that I never gave up on you and that you would never give up on me, right? Not only do I want to do this, Harry. I need to do this. For me. For you. For us.”

Harry felt tears welling up in his eyes.

“You are the bravest person I’ve ever met in my entire life,” he whispered. “And I’ve never been more proud of you than I am at this very moment.”

She smiled.

”Thank you,” she said.

He got up from the chair and took his hand and lightly stroked her cheek. He kissed her softly.

“Will you go tell Professor Snape?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said, still holding her.

“Have faith, Harry,” she whispered. “Have faith.”

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Harry sent Hedwig with a letter to Professor Snape letting him know that Hermione had decided to take the potion. Harry was about to go back into Hermione’s room when he was Sirius walking down the hall. It was who was with Sirius that surprised him.

Billie was walking beside Sirius looking around the halls of the hospital, her eyes wide with amazement and her mouth agape.

“Harry, darlin’!” she called out when she saw him.

“Billie!” Harry said, walking quickly toward her and Sirius. “What are you doing here?”

She gave him a bear hug.

“My girl needs me,” she said. “And I wouldn’t let this one get away without taking me to see her.”

Sirius smiled knowingly at Billie. “More like she refused to let me go.”

“Never underestimate the power of a southern woman,” Billie said, proudly.

“You know,” Sirius began, “I’ve seen a number of things in my day. I will have to say that you scare me a little bit, and I kind of like that about you.”

Billie winked at him. Harry couldn’t help but laugh.

“Where is she now?” Billie asked.

“In her room,” he said. “Breaking the news to her parents that she’s going to take the potion. Merlin knows how her dad will react to this.”

“If past behavior is any indication, he won’t be too pleased,” Sirius said.

They stopped right in front of her room and sure enough the sound of her father’s booming voice could be heard even through the closed door.

“Absolutely not,” her father was saying as the three of them walked in the room. Harry gave Hermione a sympathetic smile as she rolled her eyes at him.

“Robert,” Karen was saying, but she stopped when she noticed that Harry and Sirius had entered the room.

“Billie!” Hermione said, getting off of the bed and nearly leaping to her friend. She hugged her tightly and smiled broadly.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Hermione said.

“There’s no other place I’d be,” she said, winking at her. “Everyone back home sends their love.”

“How’s Ray?” Hermione asked conspiratorially. “You haven’t killed him yet.”

“Not for lack of trying,” Billie said, smiling at Hermione. “Sirius came back to tell me how you were doing and I made him take me back here with him so I could see for myself how you were.”

“I’m so glad he did,” she said, smiling broadly at Sirius. She let go of Billie and gave him a hug.

Hermione’s parents watched in detached disbelief as their daughter warmly greeted Billie, Sirius and Harry.

“Hermione,” Robert said. “Who is this?”

Hermione looked away from Billie.

“This is Billie Murphy,” Hermione said. “She’s my boss at the restaurant I told you about. She’s been like a mother to me these past few years.”

A hurt expression came over Karen’s face at this, but she quickly tried to cover it up. This didn’t go unnoticed by Harry. His heart went out to Karen. This couldn’t have been easy for her.

“It’s nice to meet you, Billie,” Karen said, gathering her composure together. She extended her hand to Billie. Billie smiled compassionately at Karen. Instead of shaking her hand, Billie gave Karen a hug, which surprised her a little bit.

“You have a great daughter,” Billie said. “You should be very proud.”

“We are,” Karen said, smiling at her. “Thank you for being there for her.”

“She was there for me, too,” Billie said, smiling at Hermione.

Robert looked impatiently at his daughter. “We were in the middle of a conversation, Hermione.”

“For the umpteenth time,” Hermione said, her smile fading from her face. “I am not going to change my mind. I’ve decided to do this and that’s final. This isn’t your decision to make.”

Robert looked taken aback by this. “You’re my daughter, Hermione.”

“I’m also an adult,” Hermione said firmly. “Don’t you want me to remember my childhood? Don’t you want me to remember family gatherings and holidays and all that stuff that families do?”

“Of course, I do,” Robert said. “But not like this. You have no way of knowing that this will work.”

“You’re right, I don’t know,” she said. “But I’m taking a chance that it will. I really want to do this.”

“And nothing I say is going to change your mind?” Robert said.

“Nope,” Hermione said simply.

He looked angry and for a moment, Hermione thought that he was going to walk away.

“Okay,” he said.

“What?” Hermione asked him, not sure if she’d heard him right.

“This isn’t easy for me,” Robert said. “But I support you in the decision you’ve made. You’ve never been one to go into something without knowing the precautions and the consequences. If you want to do this, I know it’s because you’ve examined it thoroughly and made a wise decision. You’ve always had a good head on your shoulders, even if I didn’t always tell you that enough.”

Hermione gave her father a hug after he’d finished speaking.

“Thank you,” she whispered. Karen, too, looked on at her husband in awe.

Harry couldn’t help musing to himself that perhaps he was living in a parallel universe. Hermione’s father was actually being reasonable. Snape and Sirius were being civil to each other. And Snape, of all people, held the key to Hermione getting her memory back. What in the world could possibly happen next? Malfoy getting nominated for sainthood? Perish the thought, Harry said to himself.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

After everyone had cleared out, Hermione sat back down on her bed. The only person left in the room with her was Harry and he was being uncharacteristically quiet. He had been for the majority of the morning. Of course, with her father and Billie, there really hadn’t been any room for him to talk.

She looked up at him and saw that he was grinning at her.

“What?” she asked him.

He didn’t answer her, and kept staring at her with a broad, goofy grin on his face.

“What?” she asked.

He came closer to her and took her hand in his.

“You’re scaring me a little bit, what is it?” she asked him.

“I’m going to ask you something,” he told her. Suddenly, he felt really nervous. He didn’t know what she would say to what he wanted to ask her, but he prayed that she’d answer in the affirmative. Have faith, he told himself.

“Okay,” she said, warily. “No more bad news, though. I think we’ve fulfilled our quota of bad news for at least a decade.”

“Well, I don’t think its bad news,” he said. “If you answer the way I hope you answer, it won’t be bad news.”

She felt her breath catch in her throat as he got down on one knee. He held on to her hand, which was now trembling.

“Harry,” she whispered.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow morning,” he told her. “I mean, we have to have complete faith that it’s going to work and everything will be fine. And I do. I really do, but I don’t want to take a chance. I don’t want you to go through with this without having you know---without showing you how much I love you and how committed I am to you and to what we have.”

He nervously let go of her hand and pulled a simple silver, diamond ring from his pocket. Hermione gasped.

“Hermione Elizabeth Granger?” he asked, taking her hand again. “Will you marry me?”

She couldn’t speak. Her hands were shaking and tears were welling up in her eyes. She didn’t know how they could be---it seemed like she’d cried enough to fill the Thames River the past few days.

“Now would be a good time to answer me,” he said, winking at her. “This floor is murder on my knee.”

She laughed. “Yes,” she said, smiling at him. “Yes, I will marry you.”

He got up from the floor and took her in his arms, kissing her face, her lips, her cheek, her neck.

“When are we going to get married?” she asked him. “And where? This is all really short notice.”

“You leave that to me,” he said. “Ginny, Billie, Kit.”

Hermione looked in amazement as the three women came into the room carrying packages and a dress bag.

“She said yes,” Harry said. Billie whooped loudly and Kit started crying.

“Smashing,” Ginny said, giving first Harry and then Hermione congratulatory hugs.

“As if there was any doubt,” Hermione said.

“So,” Harry said, his eyes twinkling. “The girls here are going to help you get ready. And just leave the rest to me.”

“You’re going to plan a wedding by yourself?” Hermione asked.

“No,” Harry said. “I’m going to have a little help.”

“Okay,” she said, smiling at him.

“So, you get all dressed up and all that girl stuff and you leave the rest to me,” Harry said. “And the next time I see you will be at the chapel.”

”It’s a date,” Hermione said, smiling at him.

“I’m going to hold you to that,” he said.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she said.

Author’s note: Sorry, this one took so long to get out. I had a little writer’s block! You know how bad that can be! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter (THE WEDDING). There will probably be two more chapters of this and that will be all for this fiction of mine. Thank you all for taking the time to read and review it and let me know what you think!

Chapter 21

Come What May

“Never knew I could feel like this
Like I've never seen the sky before
I want to vanish inside your kiss
Every day I Love You more and more”

”Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing
Telling me to give you everything
Seasons may change, winter to spring
But I Love You, until the end of time”

”Come what may
Come what may
I will Love You
Until my dying day”

(From the “Moulin Rouge” Soundtrack)

Since he’d left Hermione earlier that morning at the hospital, Harry had been moving at one speed—fast. His exhilaration that Hermione had agreed to become his wife couldn’t really be enjoyed at the moment as he now had the monumental task of planning a wedding in only a few short hours time. While Ginny, Billie and Kit were helping Hermione get ready, Sirius, Ron and Molly were helping him with the major details. Molly had volunteered to do all of the cooking and promised to whip up a wedding cake that would end all wedding cakes. Harry had told her not to go overboard, but she had just winked at him with a knowing smile.

He could hardly believe that by the end of the day, he would be someone’s husband. More importantly, he would be Hermione’s husband and she would be his wife. It all seemed so grownup to Harry. Sure, he and Hermione had exchanged their own vows that night at Hogwarts a few years back, but that hadn’t been the actual, real thing. This was going to be a real wedding with rings, the wedding dress, the cake, the official ceremony. He had rushed along all morning with the help of Ron and Sirius obtaining a license at the registrar’s office, picking up his best suit from the dry cleaner’s. He’d asked both Ron and Sirius to stand up for him as sort of co-best men. He had no idea what Hermione was going to do for her side of the wedding party.

He had just finished making arrangements with a florist in Diagon Alley when it hit him all of a sudden that he had forgotten one very important detail. Of course, the moment he’d thought about it, he felt somewhat nauseous. This wouldn’t be easy to do and he had absolutely no idea how they’d react. Yet, they had to be a part of it. There was no other way around it. With a heavy heart, he made his way to the downtown London hotel where the Grangers were staying.

______________________________________________________________________

Harry took a long, deep breath before knocking on their door. It was Karen who opened the door.

“Harry?” Karen said, surprised to see him. “What on earth are you doing here?

“I needed to talk to you and Dr. Granger,” he said, avoiding her inquisitive gaze.

Seeing the serious expression on his face, Karen felt a sudden sense of panic.

”Is everything okay?” Karen said. “Hermione? She’s alright, isn’t she?”

“Yes,” Harry said, quickly. “She’s fine. Nothing to worry about, honestly. But, she is the reason why I’m here and why I need to talk to you.”

Karen breathed a sigh of relief. “Of course,” she said, smiling at him. “Come on inside. We were going to be heading back to the hospital once Robert finished checking his voice mail.”

Coming into the medium-sized hotel suite, Harry saw Dr. Granger sitting on the couch, just turning off his mobile.

“Harry?” Robert said, looking up in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“He needed to talk to us about Hermione,” Karen said, taking a seat beside her husband.

“Is everything okay?” Robert asked, frowning.

“Everything’s fine. I just wanted to talk to you about something,” he replied apprehensively.

Karen and Robert exchanged glances and Karen asked Harry to sit down. He sat on the end of one of the full-size beds directly across from the Grangers.

“I know that the three of us haven’t always seen eye-to-eye where Hermione was concerned,” Harry began, after taking a deep breath. “But, I think that we all have the same common interest at heart. We all love her very much and want her to be safe and happy. I know you haven’t always believed that I was the best person to give her that kind of life. To tell you the truth, neither did I. I tried to push her away time and time again, but she wouldn’t hear of it. You know how stubborn she can be.”

Karen and Robert laughed at this.

“I love your daughter with all my heart,” Harry said seriously. “When I lost her four years ago, I lost everything. Yet, somehow, by some miracle, we’ve got her back. We’ve already lost four years that we should have had together. Neither of us wants to waste any more time.”

Harry looked at them earnestly before he dropped the bomb on them.

”This morning, I asked her to marry me and to my great relief and amazement, she said yes.”

Harry watched them both as they took in this news. Karen put a shaky hand over her mouth and then quickly took it away. To Harry’s relief, he saw a smile playing on her lips. Robert, on the other hand, was unreadable. His expression was stone-faced. Harry, who had fought against the greatest Dark Lord of the wizarding world, felt intimidated sitting across from this Muggle. Neither he nor Hermione needed his blessing, but Harry knew that if Hermione regained her memory tomorrow morning, the fact that her father blessed her marriage, would mean so much. Harry mentally corrected himself---not if, but when. He had to believe that this potion would work.

“You’re getting married?” Karen finally asked. “When?”

“Tonight at the chapel in St. Mungo’s,” Harry said. “We wanted to do this before she takes the potion tomorrow morning.”

“So soon?” Karen asked.

“Under the circumstances, it has to be,” Harry said. “She’s in her hospital room right now getting the full bridal treatment from Ginny, Kit and Billie.”

At this, Karen’s face fell.

“I know she’d love it if you went there and helped her get ready,” Harry said.

“Really?” Karen asked hopefully. “I wouldn’t be getting in the way? I mean, she doesn’t even—“

“You’re the mother of the bride, after all,” Harry said, with a smile. “She needs you there with her.”

Karen nodded.

“So, do we have your blessing?” Harry asked. He looked up nervously at the two of them.

Karen looked at her husband, who still sat there, his expression unreadable. He was still clutching his mobile telephone. He looked shell-shocked.

“Robert,” Karen asked, putting a hand on her husband’s shoulder.

Robert focused his attention on his wife.

“Give Harry your blessing,” she said, her voice had a pleading tone to it.

“I don’t know if I can,” he choked out.

Harry’s smile faded quickly.

“It’s not everyday that you hear that your daughter’s getting married,” Robert said. “Hell, four days ago, I thought my daughter was dead. Then, I find out she’s alive and that she doesn’t have any memory of me or of anyone else for that matter. Now, you come here to tell me, that the night before she takes a potion that could either help her or render her a vegetable the rest of her life; that you intend to marry her. Forgive me if I don’t know how to react to this.”

“Robert,” Karen said. “Please, I thought you said that you were going to support Hermione in the decisions that she made, even if you didn’t always understand or agree with them? That’s what you said this morning, right?”

“I know what I said,” Robert said angrily. “I just--.”

“You just, what?” Harry asked. “I don’t mean to sound harsh, here, but sometimes it’s like two steps forward and two steps back with you, Dr. Granger. Don’t you think I feel guilty about what happened to Hermione? About what’s happened to her? If I could change any of it, I would, but I can’t. We love each other. We found our way back to each other despite all the odds against us, we did it. Now, tonight at 7:00, I’m marrying your daughter. I don’t need your blessing and neither does she---we’re both adults. We would love for you to be there. She needs your support and it would mean so much to her if you’d give her away tonight. Please. Can’t we put aside our differences for one night? Hate me all you want, Dr. Granger. Don’t punish Hermione for it. She doesn’t deserve it.”

Robert stood up from the couch and walked to the window. Karen looked at him in disbelief.

“Harry,” Karen said after a few minutes silence. “Would you mind giving me a lift to the hospital?”

“Not at all,” Harry said. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes,” Karen said. “Robert, are you going to come tonight?”

He didn’t answer his wife. He continued to stand stick still, looking out the window.

“Robert, please,” Karen said, in one last attempt to reason with her husband. “Don’t do this. You’ll regret this, please.”

“You’d better get going,” Robert said coldly.

Karen gave her husband one last scathing look before following Harry out of the hotel room. Only after they left did Robert finally break down in tears.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Harry and Karen arrived at St. Mungo’s twenty minutes later. He knocked on the door to Hermione’s hospital room and when he heard a voice ask who was there, he looked at his future mother-in-law with a look of confusion.

“Harry,” he said simply.

He heard a few gasps and the sounds of footsteps scurrying behind the door.

“He can’t come in here!” a voice he recognized as Ginny’s said from behind the door. “It’s bad luck, Harry! Go away!”

“Not until I drop someone off,” he said, winking at Karen.

“Okay,” Ginny said. “But you have to close your eyes and promise that you won’t open them or I’ll do a spell that will make you impotent.”

“Ginny!” a voice exclaimed, that Harry automatically recognized as Kit’s.

“Can you do that?” Harry heard Billie ask. With a laugh and an embarrassed look at Karen, he listened in as Billie explained to Ginny that she had an ex-husband she was dying to get back at.

“We don’t have all day, ladies!” Harry called to them.

“Close your eyes!” Ginny said, as she opened the door. Harry rolled his eyes before closing them tightly. Karen took his arm.

“I’ll lead you along, Harry,” she said with a laugh.

“Thank you,” he said. “Is this really necessary? I mean, I have already seen her today.”

“Well, that’s a technicality,” Kit said. “You really shouldn’t see her before the wedding and since this is a very spur-of-the-moment, shotgun type wedding, we’re willing to let you get by on that, but you have to keep your eyes closed from this moment on.”

“Oh, okay,” he said. “Hermione? You’re being awfully quiet.”

She called to him from behind the curtains Ginny had pulled around her bed, “I’m okay. You really wouldn’t want to see me right now, anyway, Harry. I have something called a mud mask all over my face. Trust me if you saw me like this, you’d run all the way back to North Carolina.”

“I don’t care if you’re covered in mud,” Harry said with a laugh. “I’d still think you were the most beautiful, most gorgeous girl in the entire world.”

The girls in the room gave a collective set of “oohs” and “ahhs” over this last comment.

“That’s so sweet!” Ginny asked. “But you’re still not getting a quick peek at the bride, Loverboy.”

“I meant every word I just said,” he said, with a laugh. “I was not trying to get a quick peek at my girlfriend. Hey, and if I have to do this eyes-closed thing, I think she should, too. You make sure she isn’t getting any quick looks at me, either. It’s only fair.”

“Typical man,” Kit said. “Okay, deal.”

“I wanted to bring Hermione’s mum over so she could help out,” he said. “If that’s okay with you, Hermione?”

He felt Karen let go of his arm and heard her walk closer toward Hermione.

“I’d love it,” he heard Hermione say. “I’m glad you’re here. As you can see, I need all the help I can get.”

”My work here is done,” Harry said, inching blindly back out of the room. “Don’t you forget, Granger, we have a date at 7 tonight.”

“I’ll be the one down front with the veil,” she said, laughing.

After they were absolutely positive Harry had left the premises, Ginny pulled back the curtains of the bed.

“Are you sure you want to marry him?” Ginny asked. “He’s a daft git, you do realize that?”

“Yes, I do,” Hermione said with a laugh. “But, he’s my daft git.”

“Let’s get this mud mask off of her,” Kit said. “She’s been in it long enough.”

“Thank you,” Hermione said gratefully.

Ginny took out her wand and with a quick flick; the mud mask was gone from Hermione’s face. They were about to get started on the next step when Billie distracted them by asking Ginny, again, about this impotency spell.

“I mean if you met Frank, Ginny, you’d understand completely,” Billie said. “This would be the perfect revenge!”

Hermione laughed as she watched Billie and Ginny step away from the bed to discuss the merits of impotency spells. Kit, Hermione and Karen laughed. Kit, sensing that Hermione might want time alone with her mother moved to join the conversation between Billie and Ginny.

“I can’t believe you’re getting married,” Karen said, handing Hermione a washcloth so she could wipe away the stray pieces of mud mask that Ginny’s spell had missed.

“You and me both,” Hermione said. “I’m so glad that Harry told you about our plans. I mean, I know I don’t really remember you and my father, but I couldn’t imagine getting married without you there.”

Karen’s face fell.

“What is it? You are staying for the ceremony, right?” Hermione asked.

Karen nodded. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”

“But?” Hermione asked.

“Um, your father…he’s…not…coming,” Karen said weakly. “I wish that he would. This has all been so hard on him. He truly wants what’s best for you.”

“What’s best for me is Harry,” Hermione said. “If he can’t accept that, I don’t want him at the wedding.”

”I understand,” Karen said, but she couldn’t help noticing that despite Hermione’s firm tone, the news that her father---even one she had no memories of----would not be attending her wedding had hurt her.

“I’m sorry, Hermione,” Karen said. “I wish he felt differently.”

“Me, too,” Hermione said. “But, I am very glad that you’re here.”

“I am, too,” Karen said. “Oh, and I have something for you that I think you would like to be wearing when you get married.”

Karen pulled out a beautiful silver chain with a silver heart pendant.

“That’s beautiful,” Hermione said. She took the necklace from her mother and ran her index finger along the beautiful pendant.

“I know,” Karen said. “It was yours. Harry gave this to you for your 16^th birthday. You wore it all the time! When we heard that you’d been found, I took it from your jewelry box and brought it with us. I knew that you’d want to have it back.”

The other women gathered around the bed to look at the necklace.

“Well, that gives you your something old,” Billie said. “Though if we were in a bind, I was willing to let you use me for that, because I am definitely something old.”

“Oh, Billie,” Hermione said, with a laugh.

“That leaves us with something new, something borrowed and something blue,” Ginny said.

They all thought on these three items for a few minutes.

“I’ve got it!” Kit said. She took off her small diamond earrings.

“You can borrow my earrings,” Kit said. “Ron gave them to me when I found out I was pregnant.”

“Are you sure?” Hermione asked. “They’re beautiful, Kit.”

“Of course,” Kit said, handing them to Hermione.

“Okay, two down,” Billie said. “Two more to go.”

“I’ll transfigure this hair bow into a blue garter,” Ginny said.

“You’ll do what with what?” Hermione and Billie said at the same time.

“Just go with me on this,” Ginny said. “In a minute, you’ll have a blue garter. Carry on, guys. You still have to come up with something new.”

“Her dress!” Kit screamed. “The dress is new.”

“Ginny, I can’t thank you enough,” Hermione said. “Where did you get such a beautiful dress? I mean, it’s almost as if it was made for me.”

“I have a friend who has a shop in Muggle London and they let me have any dress I wanted,” Ginny said. “They owed me a favor. I asked Colin to take some promotional photographs for them. I saw that dress and immediately knew it was just the dress for you, Hermione.”

“It’s amazing,” Billie agreed.

“Well, there we go,” Karen said. “I think you’re all set.”

“Yeah,” Hermione said, feeling a sense of warmth, friendship and love with the assembled ladies in the room. She couldn’t believe that in less than a few hours, she’d be married. Despite the obvious feeling that she was about to marry the man she loved, the preparation for the ceremony and the ceremony itself had taken her mind off of the potion. She didn’t have time to think about tomorrow morning and what would happen. She was getting married and at the moment that was all she was allowing herself to think about.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

With two hours to go before the ceremony, her groom to be was pacing in the empty hospital room that the St. Mungo’s staff let them use as a dressing room. Ron was listening to music on Kit’s CD walkman and was singing so off-key that if Harry wasn’t so nervous, he’d have been laughing his arse off.

Sirius, who wasn’t nervous, was laughing at Ron. Ron was sitting on the hospital bed in his white shirt and black pants and was bobbing his head up and down to the music.

“Did you get the rings?” Harry asked Sirius.

“Right here,” Sirius said, patting his shirt pocket.

“Okay,” Harry said, pacing. “Molly’s taking care of the cake and the other food and—“

He was interrupted by Ron’s horrible, off-key singing.

“I CAN’T GET NO SATISFACTION!” Ron sang. “I CAN’T GET NO SATISFACTION. CAUSE I TRY AND I TRY AND I TRY AND I TRY. I CAN’T GET NO I CAN’T GET NO. WHEN I’M DRIVIN’ IN MY CAR, AND THE MAN COMES ON THE RADIO AND HE’S TELLIN’ ME MORE AND MORE ABOUT SOME USELESS INFORMATION SUPPOSED TO FIRE MY IMAGINATION…”

Harry walked over to Ron and pulled the headphones cord out abruptly.

“Harry!” Ron exclaimed. “What’s the matter?”

“Absolutely nothing,” Harry said sarcastically. “Nothing at all, Ron. I was quite enjoying you singing bloody off-key about not getting any satisfaction!”

Sirius guffawed and stepped between them.

“I wasn’t that bad, was I?” Ron asked, looking at Sirius.

“Don’t quit your day job, Ron,” Sirius said. “Let’s just stay cool, calm and collected, shall we?”

“Easy for you to say,” Harry said.

“You’re going to be okay,” Sirius said. “Besides, just think that after you go through this, you have the honeymoon to look forward to.”

“Honeymoon? What kind of honeymoon could we have in a hospital?” Harry asked. “I hadn’t even thought about that part.”

”Well, luckily for you, I did,” Sirius said. He handed Harry a key card.

“What’s this?” Harry asked.

”A key card to your honeymoon suite at The Ritz,” Sirius asked.

“But Hermione can’t leave the hospital, I mean-,” Harry began.

“I cleared it with Sean,” Sirius said. “You just make sure she’s back here first thing tomorrow morning so she can take that potion.”

“Thanks,” Harry said. “I don’t know what to say. I mean, The Ritz—that’s really expensive, Sirius.”

“How often does your godson get married?” Sirius asked hypothetically. “You and Hermione are my family. This is my wedding gift to the two of you.”

“Thanks,” Harry said, smiling at him. He hugged his godfather. “Thank you so much.”

“You know, I hate that we didn’t get to give you a stag weekend,” Ron said. “I would have loved to plan that for you.”

”You’re just upset because Kit didn’t let you have a proper stag weekend before the two of you got married,” Harry said, with a laugh.

“You’d be upset too if she’d had Percy plan the whole thing,” Ron said. “That was the most boring weekend of my entire life! I swear it’d be more fun watching paint dry than that what he planned.”

“I don’t remember much of it,” Harry said. “I think I’d drunk my weight in Firewhiskey that evening.”

“You don’t want to remember that weekend,” Ron said. “Percy has to be the most boring person on the planet. He’s my brother and I love him, but he is dull, dull, dull. Actually, you were the most entertaining part of the weekend, Harry.”

“Dare I ask what he did?” Sirius asked.

“Zip it, Mick Jagger!” Harry said to his best mate. “You tell anyone this and I’ll hex you into next week.”

Ron nodded sheepishly, but when Harry turned his back, he mouthed “I’ll tell you later” to Sirius, who stifled a laugh.

“Relax, Harry,” Sirius said. “All that’s left now is the ceremony.”

“Yeah,” Harry said, with a smile. “The ceremony.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The moment of truth finally arrived and Harry, Sirius and Ron made their way downstairs to the chapel. Harry felt as if his heart was beating a mile a minute. As they walked down the aisle, Harry saw with approval that Hermione’s favorite flower, pink roses, lined the aisle and were placed in beautiful bouquets at the altar.

Harry nodded at the guests as he walked down the aisle. Molly and Arthur were sitting with Fred, George, and Percy. Percy’s wife Penelope was cradling their two-month old daughter and she smiled warmly at Harry as he walked down the aisle. Fred’s girlfriend Angelina gave him the thumbs-up sign and George’s wife Susan was playfully swatting her boyfriend’s arm.

Harry caught sight of Hagrid, who was bawling like a baby. Harry smiled at him and this only set Hagrid off again, crying. To Harry’s surprise, Professors McGonagall and Sprout were there, too, sitting beside Madame Pince. Neville, Dean, Seamus and Lavender Brown made up the rest of the guest list. Colin Creevey was taking photographs for them and was busily snapping away as the groomsmen and groom made their way to the front of the chapel.

Ron had sent out owls to everyone he could think of. With it being on short notice, Harry hadn’t expected this great a turnout. It was wonderful. Everyone that they cared about and loved was here and it was small and it was personal and it was perfect.

Professor Dumbledore winked at him as he stood in front of him. Harry didn’t know that Dumbledore was to perform the ceremony. Yet another of Sirius’ surprises.

“About time, Harry?” Dumbledore said.

“Yes, sir,” Harry said.

“I’ve done a few of these ceremonies and let me tell you if you’re feeling nervous, it’ll all go away once you see your bride,” he said.

Harry was about to respond when he heard the familiar sounds of “The Wedding March”. The door to the chapel opened and Ginny walked through the doors first. She wore a lovely pale pink strapless dress and carried a bouquet of pink roses. She smiled at her parents as she walked down the aisle.

Next, Billie came walking down the aisle—sashaying all the way. She winked at Sirius as she did so. If Harry wasn’t mistaken, Sirius winked back. Something was going on there, Harry could definitely see that. He had thought it was more one-sided on Billie’s part, but maybe Sirius was starting to warm up to the sweet, Southern woman.

Then, Hermione’s maid-of-honor Kit came walking down the aisle. She was wearing a pale pink maternity dress and also carrying a bouquet of pink roses. She winked at her husband as she took her place beside Billie.

Then, the doors closed again as “Here Comes the Bride” began to play.

Hermione was about to walk down the aisle on the arm of Remus Lupin, who had agreed to give her away. They were about to reopen the doors when a voice interrupted them.

“I’m not too late, am I?”

Hermione and Lupin turned and were surprised to see Robert Granger walking quickly toward them.

Hermione felt tears come to her eyes.

“No,” she said. “You’re not late at all. Right on time.”

“Good,” he said, taking his daughter’s hand.

“Thank you, Remus,” Hermione said, as Lupin smiled and walked through the doors. He just nodded at Harry, who was surprised to see Lupin without Hermione. Lupin gave Harry a reassuring nod.

To Harry’s surprise, he saw the doors open again and Hermione walked down the aisle on the arm of her father. Harry didn’t have too much time to take this fact in as he was nearly breathless as he watched the beautiful girl walking towards him.

She wore a velvet satin strapless A-line gown with princess seams and was lavishly decorated with heavy beading and sequins. It had silver embroidery at the waist, skirt and hem. She wore a simple lace veil and her hair was down and styled in ringlet curls.

“Told you,” Dumbledore whispered to Harry.

Hermione smiled nervously at Harry, who beamed back at her.

“Wow,” he whispered, looking at her. “I mean, wow. You look absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.”

“Thanks,” she whispered back. “You clean up nice, too.”

“Family, friends, and guests,” Dumbledore began. “We are here today to celebrate the joining of Harry James Potter and Hermione Elizabeth Granger in marriage.”

”Who gives this woman in marriage?” Dumbledore asked.

Still holding his daughter’s arm, Robert stepped forward and said with a smile to his daughter, “Her mother and I do.”

Hermione beamed at Robert as Robert gave her hand to Harry.

“Thank you,” Harry said with a smile to Robert. Robert Granger simply nodded at the young man who would become his son-in-law in a few moments. He smiled at his daughter before taking his seat beside his wife, who touched his shoulder affectionately.

Harry and Hermione, with their arms linked, then turned to face Dumbledore.

“Will you please, as an expression that your hearts are joined together in love,
now please join your hands?” Dumbledore asked of them. Hermione handed her bouquet to Kit.

Harry turned to Hermione as she did the same. He took both her hands in his and gave her a bright smile.

“Today, we gather here today to watch as these two people Harry James Potter and Hermione Elizabeth Granger, pledge their love and commitment to each other. If there is anything you remember of this marriage ceremony, it is that it was love that brought you here today, it is only love which can make it a glorious union, and it is by love which your marriage shall endure."

“This ceremony today isn’t only for Harry and Hermione, but for us, their friends and family. For we have watched their friendship develop into a deep, abiding love. The love that they were lucky enough to find in each other is one that has known no boundaries; a love that has bridged a wide distance. Their time apart, while painful and heartbreaking, has only fortified their love and commitment to each other.”

“If I can offer them any advice, it would be to treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves. When frustration, difficult and fear assail your relationship - as they threaten all relationships at one time or another - remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong. In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives - remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight."

“That being said,” Dumbledore continued. “Can anyone here show just cause why these two should not be joined in matrimony? Let him speak now or forever after hold his peace?”

Harry and Hermione stiffened a bit at these words. Fate was on their side, today, as there was no objection, no sound. Dumbledore looked at them both, his eyes twinkling.

“Harry and Hermione have decided to say their own vows,” Dumbledore said. “Hermione, ladies first.”

Hermione smiled. “For the longest time, I’ve felt as if a part of me was missing. I didn’t know what it was or why I felt that way, I just knew. When a certain person walked into my life a few short months ago, I knew in my heart that this person meant something to me. I knew that I felt such a strong connection to him, even though I thought I had just met him. I found out the truth about who I was and I felt as if my world had been turned upside down. I was angry and upset and so devastated. There was something in the back of my mind that told me to go where I felt safe, where I felt loved. That led me back to Harry. That led us here.”

Harry held on tighter to her hand.

“I love you more than I ever thought possible,” she continued. “You are my safe place. It is with you that I feel warm, safe and secure. It is with you that I feel happy and loved and needed. It is with you that I have found my home. You are the only home that I know. It was your love that brought me back here. It is your love that will be with me when I go through good and bad times. I hope that I can do for you what you’ve done for me. I don’t need memories to tell me how I feel. I know with my whole heart and soul that I love you and that will never change.”

Harry felt tears coming to his eyes as he listened to her speak. How will I ever top that, he couldn’t help asking himself.

“Harry,” Dumbledore prompted him.

“I don’t know where to start,” Harry said honestly. The guests giggled at this.

“I don’t know where to start because I don’t think there are words to describe how much you mean to me,” Harry said. “When I lost you a few years ago, I didn’t know how in the world I would go on. I didn’t feel as if anything meant anything if you weren’t there to share it with me. I don’t think I told you enough back then how much I love you and how much you complete me. I won’t make that mistake this time. I was given an incredible gift when I found out that you were still alive. I’m not going to take that for granted. I’m going to spend the rest of my life---our lives--showing you and telling you how much you mean to me. Through good and bad, you’ve always been there for me. I needed that. I needed you. I need you. When I was cold, it was you who brought me warmth. When my life was dark, it was you that brought me light. I love you, Hermione Elizabeth Granger, with all that I am and with all that I have.”

Hermione beamed at him from underneath her veil.

“Well said,” Dumbledore said, smiling at them. “Well said, indeed.”

Harry, do you take Hermione Elizabeth Granger, to be your wedded wife, to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, and keep her, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to her, so long as you both shall live?”

“I do,” Harry said happily.

“Good answer,” Hermione whispered.

“Hermione, do you take Harry James Potter, to be your wedded husband to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to him, so long as you both shall live?

Hermione smiled. “I definitely do.”

The guests laughed.

“Do we have the rings?” Dumbledore asked, looking toward Sirius. Sirius pulled the two silver wedding bands from his pocket and handed them to Dumbledore. With a wave of his hand, the rings levitated in front of Harry and Hermione.

“These rings are a symbol of your love and promise to each other. Hermione, please take Harry’s ring and place it on his finger,” Dumbledore said.

Hermione took the ring and with a shaky hand, placed it on Harry’s finger.

“With this ring, I thee wed,” she said.

“Harry, take Hermione’s ring and place it on her finger,” Dumbledore said.

“With this ring, I thee wed,” he said. His hand lingered on hers and it was taking all his willpower not to take her in his arms and kiss her. That would come soon enough, Harry reminded himself.

“Very well, indeed,” Dumbledore said. “For as much as Harry and Hermione have consented together in matrimony, and have witnessed the same before this company and have pledged their love and loyalty to each other, and have declared the same by the joining and the giving of rings, I, therefore, pronounce that they are husband and wife. Harry Potter, you may kiss your wife.”

Harry pulled back Hermione’s veil and saw her brown eyes filled with tears of happiness. He whispered, “I love you” before brushing his lips across hers in a sweet kiss.

The guests rose to their feet applauding as the wedding march played. Hand in hand, they walked out of the chapel.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Following a short reception, Harry and Hermione made their way to their hotel room. The bellman was leading the way to their room, carrying the overnight bag that both of them had packed.

“I can’t believe we’re actually married,” Hermione said. “Married. Us. You and me.”

“Yes, we are,” Harry said.

“I can’t believe Sirius arranged this for us,” she said. “This place is amazing.”

“Here you go, Mr. and Mrs. Potter,” the bellman said. “There’s fresh champagne in the bedroom and if you need anything else, just give us a call.”

Hermione watched as Harry tipped the bellman and was about to walk through the doorway when he protested.

“No, no, no,” he said. “We’re going to do this right. Stop right there, Mrs. Potter.”

“Okay, Mr. Granger,” she said. She started to laugh when he bent his knees and picked her up. He carried her over the threshold. They were both laughing as he kicked the door shut with his leg and proceeded to carry her to the king size bed.

“Are you going to put me down?” she asked.

“How about right here?” he asked, setting her down on the bed.

“Perfect,” she said. “Absolutely perfect.”

And it was. Tomorrow might be another story, but for tonight everything was perfect.

Chapter 22

It’s You

“If tomorrow never comes
I would want just one thing
I would tell it to the stars and the sun
I would write it for the world to see
And it's you
The light changes when you're in the room
Oh it's you
Oh it's you

If tomorrow never comes
I would want just one wish
To kiss your quiet mouth
Trace the steps of my fingertips
And it's you
The light changes when you're in the room
Oh it's you
Oh it's you
Oh it's you

Oh it's you
Oh it's you
Oh it's you
Oh it's you..”

(It’s You, by Michelle Branch)

Hermione awoke in the middle of the night and try as she might; she wasn’t able to get back to sleep. She looked at the beautiful silver ring on her finger and felt an overwhelming sense of disbelief. She turned her head slightly to get a glimpse of her sleeping husband. Husband! She had a husband. Not only that, she was someone’s wife.

If someone had told her a few weeks ago that this was how all of this would play out, she’d have laughed in their face. Yet, here she was. Her life, as she had known it, had been uprooted and turned upside down. She didn’t know it was possible to experience every known emotion on the human emotional scale in such a short period of time. Through it all, there had been one constant---Harry. He had been there for her, holding her hand every step of the way. Even when she didn’t know him, she knew he was out there, looking for her and holding on to her memory in his heart. He was what she had wanted and needed all this time. He was here. He was with her. And a few hours ago, he’d promised to never leave her side.

And here she was, happy. Happy was an understatement, she couldn’t help musing to herself. She was…well, she didn’t rightly know a word that could do it justice. This felt right. This felt like what she’d been waiting for her whole life.

Yet, she couldn’t shake the overwhelming scared feeling that had been with her all this time. She hadn’t told anyone this, not even Harry. She was scared. As the hours dwindled away, the feelings only got stronger.

Fate couldn’t be this cruel, could it? How could she finally have everything she’d always wanted, only to be on the verge of having it all slip away? She cursed herself for thinking this way. She’d put on a brave face for everyone. She told them all---her parents, Harry, Ron and Kit, Billie and Sirius---that this potion would do the trick. She was the one telling them to have faith that it would work and everything would be like it was. That was what they all wanted to hear and it was what she so desperately wanted to believe.

Yet, lying here, she had so many doubts. There was a good chance that it might not work.

Why couldn’t time stand still? In just a few short hours, she’d be back at St. Mungo’s taking a potion that could allow her to reclaim her memories and her life, or she’d be condemning herself to a life that she wouldn’t want to live. A pang of guilt hit her suddenly as she looked at Harry, lying peacefully, happily beside her. What had she done to him? If this didn’t work, he would have married a woman he had no chance of a life with. Yet, she hadn’t even thought of that. She’d been so happy and surprised when he’d proposed. She hadn’t even stopped to think of anything but her own happiness. How could she have been so selfish? She lightly lifted Harry’s arm from her waist and slid out from under the warmth of the sheets and duvet.

She picked up Harry’s dress shirt from the floor and slipped it on. Fresh tears stung at her eyes. She curled up on the sofa in the suite and sat there, staring off into space. She had no idea how long she’d been sitting there when a hoarse voice called out to her.

“Hermione?”

She looked up to see Harry, with nothing but his boxer shorts on, staring at her myopically.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked, rubbing his eyes sleepily. “I woke up and you were gone.”

She turned her head away and quickly wiped a tear from her cheek. She said a silent prayer that he hadn’t seen her crying.

“I just—“, she began, but her voice trailed off.

Within moments, Harry had crossed the room and took her in his arms.

“What is it, sweetheart?” he asked, rubbing her back. “Come on. It’s okay. You can tell me.”

“We shouldn’t have gotten married, Harry,” she finally managed to whisper.

“What?” he asked, staring at her, taken aback.

“We shouldn’t have gotten married,” Hermione repeated. “If this doesn’t work tomorrow, have you even thought about the consequences? I don’t want you to spend the rest of your life, sitting at my bedside as I stare out into space, not knowing you or myself or anything.”

“Hermione,” Harry said, cupping her face in his hands. “Did you listen to the vows I made to you?”

“Well, of course I did,” she said. “I listened to every word.”

“Well, do you remember the part when I told you I would ‘love you, comfort you, and keep you for better or for worse, in sickness and in health’…any word of that ringing a bell for you?”

“Yes,” she said, looking into his green eyes.

“Well, I’ve never been one to break promises, especially to someone I love more than life itself,” Harry said, taking her hand. “When I said that, I meant that.”

“But, Harry,” Hermione protested. “I was so selfish. I didn’t think of any of this before the ceremony. How could I have done this to you? Now you’re stuck in a marriage with someone who could be a vegetable for all intents and purposes tomorrow.”

Harry couldn’t believe he was hearing her right.

“Hermione,” Harry said, almost at a loss for what to say. “First of all, you are the most unselfish person I know in my entire life. You care so much about everyone and everything. It’s one of the many things I love about you.”

She smiled at him.

“Secondly, when you ask me how you could have done this to me? I have to agree with you,” he said.

She looked up in surprise.

“How could you have saved my life time and time again? How could you have been the most beautiful, sweetest and smartest and charming person I’ve ever met? How could you have made me love you so much I can’t even see straight? I don’t know how you did it, but you did. You’re a part of me and I’m a part of you. I have never regretted anything we’ve done together or any moment that we’ve shared together. And I never will regret it. So, as depressing as it may be, Miss Granger, you’re stuck with me for the next fifty or sixty years.”

He looked into her brown eyes and took his hand to her cheek and pulled her in for a sweet kiss.

“That’s Mrs. Potter now. Thank you, very much,” she said cheekily.

“I love you,” he said, resting his forehead against hers. “That’s for always and that’s forever. Nothing will ever change that. Nothing.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered.

“That’s what I wanted to hear,” he said, smiling at her. “Now, if I’m not mistaken, we are still on our honeymoon, correct?”

“Yes,” she said, laughing.

“Well, what are we doing out here?” he asked her. “There’s that big, comfortable, warm bed in there.”

“Yes, there is,” she said, taking his hand.

“It would be shame to waste it, don’t you think?” he asked, winking at her.

“Terrible shame,” she said, as she raced him back to the bedroom.

*********************************************************

By the next morning, Hermione still felt scared, but was resigned to what she was about to do. She and Harry had a quick breakfast and after checking out of the hotel, made their way back to the hospital.

Hermione’s parents, Billie and Sirius, Kit and Ron, and the other Weasleys (save for Charlie and Bill, who were out of the country, but had sent their best wishes) were all present and accounted for.

Sean, Hermione’s healer, came out of the back room, accompanied by Professor Snape, who looked as surly and intimidating as ever.

“Well,” Sean said. “I think we’ve prepared everything. Are you ready to go?”

Hermione didn’t know how she’d be able to stand, her knees felt like jelly. Holding on to Harry’s hand, she managed to get to her feet. She didn’t speak to Sean, only nodded her head.

“Okay,” he said. “The procedure will be painless for Hermione. She won’t feel any pain or discomfort. From what Professor Snape has told me, she will drink the potion and will fall under a deep sleep. We will not know how long she will be asleep for, it’s varied in all of his experiments.”

“Can we go back there with her?” Karen asked.

Sean nodded. “Only two at a time, I’m afraid. Hospital procedure.”

Robert stepped forward. “I think Karen and Harry should be with her.”

Hermione looked up in surprise. This man was surprising her all the time now. She expected he would want to be one of the ones to accompany her to her room.

“Not that I don’t want to be there with you, but I think this is how it should be,” Robert said, looking meaningfully at Harry. “She is your wife, after all.”

“Thank you,” Harry said.

“Right, then,” Sean said. “Hermione, let’s get you ready, then.”

Hermione nodded and turned to her friends and family. She gave them each a hug and tried to keep her emotions in check as she listened to them all wish her well and good luck.

She took Harry’s hand as they walked the long corridor with her mother and Sean and Snape to her room.

“Please let this work,” she whispered under her breath. “Please let this work.”

Harry came back into the waiting room a couple of hours later, followed by Karen. They both looked tired and drained as they came back into the room.

“How is she?” Molly asked.

“Asleep,” Karen said, giving Molly a hug. “All that’s left now is to wait.”

Robert stood up. “Would it be alright if I went back there now?”

Harry nodded. “I’m sure she’d like that.”

Karen smiled at Billie. “Why don’t you go with Robert, Billie?”

“Are you sure?” Billie asked, getting to her feet.

Karen smiled and nodded.

Billie and Robert walked away and toward Hermione’s room as Harry took a seat on the sofa beside Ron and Kit.

“Karen,” Molly said. “How about you and Arthur and I go get some tea? You look like you could use it.”

“I would love that,” Karen said. “Harry, if anything happens?”

“I’ll come and get you straightaway,” Harry said, giving her a slight smile.

“Thanks,” she said.

When Arthur, Molly and Karen were gone, Ron told Harry that Fred and George had to get back to the shop, but promised to come back later. Ginny had to check in with her office and had volunteered to bring them all back some lunch.

“That’s really nice of her,” Harry said. “But, I don’t think I could eat. I feel sick to my stomach.”

Kit looked at Harry sympathetically. “Is she really doing okay?”

“I don’t know,” Harry said. “She just looks as if she’s taking a long nap.”

No one knew what to say. Ron knew Harry well enough by now to know when to let things go and not push the issue. This was one of those times. Ron sat all the way back on the sofa. Kit rested her head on her husband’s shoulder.

They sat there in silence until they heard the sound of footsteps approaching them. Harry looked up in surprise to see Maggie McCall walking nervously toward them.

It had been months since he’d seen her. He’d treated her badly and the full realization of what he’d done to her hit him as he looked at her. He hadn’t even thought about her throughout any of this.

“Hi,” she said softly.

“Maggie,” Ron said. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Kit punched her husband on the arm.

“What?” Ron asked.

Kit didn’t answer him; she only rolled her eyes.

”Why don’t we go and get something to eat down in the cafeteria?” Kit asked. “I’m craving some kippers right about now.”

“You don’t even like kippers,” Ron said, his eyes still fixed on Maggie and Harry.

“I do now,” Kit said; her eyebrows were raised at her husband, who was totally clueless to Kit’s hints to give Harry and Maggie some privacy.

“Ronald Weasley!” Kit said, getting to her feet. “If you don’t take me to the cafeteria downstairs right now and go with me to get kippers, I’m going to make your life a living hell.”

Ron stared at her, openmouthed.

“And you know I can do it,” Kit said, her voice saccharin sweet.

”Yes, dear,” Ron said, finally getting the point. “We’ll just be downstairs.”

Harry nodded. “I’ll have someone come and get you if anything happens.”

“Thanks,” Ron said. Before walking away with Kit, he mouthed the words “Good luck” to Harry.

With Kit and Ron gone, Harry and Maggie were alone in the waiting room. Neither of them really knew what to say. Maggie hesitated a moment before taking a seat beside Harry.

“So, how’ve you been?” Harry finally asked. It was a stupid thing to say, but it was honestly the only thing he could think of to say.

Maggie looked a little taken aback by the question, but she gave a slight smile.

“Alright,” she said softly. “I heard about your wedding. I guess congratulations are in order.”

“I’m sorry, Maggie,” Harry said truthfully. “I know that it doesn’t begin to make up for how I treated you, but I truly am sorry. You have every right to be angry with me and hate my guts and want to curse me into oblivion.”

Maggie laughed. “Don’t think I haven’t thought about it.”

Harry gave a slight chuckle at this.

“How is she--Hermione?” Maggie asked. “Arthur told me about what was happening.”

“I should have told you,” Harry said guiltily. “I should have told you a lot of things.”

“Yes, you should have,” she said. “But you have been a little preoccupied. It’s not every day the love of your life returns from the dead.”

Harry couldn’t look at her. He felt like a piece of shit.

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking down at the floor.

“You said that,” she said. “I know you are, Harry. I know I should hate you, but I don’t think I could ever do that. I won’t lie to you, I wish things could have played out differently, but I think everything happens for a reason. You and I weren’t really meant to be. You’re where you belong. You’re with who you should be with. I don’t think I ever stood a chance.”

Harry was silent.

“I don’t blame you. I really don’t. I knew what I was getting myself into when we started dating. I heard all the stories about the mythical love of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. I wasn’t deluding myself into thinking I could ever take her place. I just wanted to have my own place in your heart.”

“You did,” Harry said, looking up at her finally. “You did have a place in my heart.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “How could I? It all belonged to Hermione Granger.”

“I never meant to hurt you,” Harry said. “Geez, I feel as I’m just spouting out all the clichés that blokes say when they break up with someone. I wish I knew what to say to you.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “There is no perfect way to break someone’s heart. And you forgot to say that you hoped that we’d always be friends and that someday we’d be able to look back on all this and laugh.”

“Yeah,” Harry said, smiling at her. “Not to mention the old, ‘It’s not you, It’s me’, line.”

“You beat me to the punch on that one,” she said. “I do hope that everything works out for you and Hermione. She’s a lucky girl.”

“I’m the lucky one,” he said.

“Well, I better go,” she said. “Busy day at the office and all that. Take care of yourself, Harry.”

“You, too,” he said, giving her a hug. She smiled at him before turning on her heel to walk away.

“Maggie?” Harry called after her.

She turned around. “Yeah?”

“Thank you,” he said.

“For what?” she asked, confused.

“For being a part of my life,” he said. “You were a very important, special part of my life.”

“Goodbye, Harry Potter,” she said softly, giving him a smile.

************************************************************************

Sirius sat down at Hermione’s bedside and took her hand in his.

“Hermione, Hermione, Hermione,” Sirius said, taking a deep breath. “I don’t know if you can hear me or not, but I want to thank you for all that you did for Harry. Correction--all that you’ve done for Harry. He wasn’t dealt a very kind hand in his life, but he’s gotten through all of that and I think that’s due in large part to you.”

Sirius smiled as he remembered that thirteen-year old girl who’d stood along side Harry and helped him escape on Buckbeak those many years ago.

“You know, I’ve never told Harry this, but when I first met you, I could tell that you cared about him,” he said. “I could see it in your eyes. Someone once told me that you can tell a lot about people by their eyes—that they never lie. I saw that when I met you and saw how you looked at my godson. He’s lucky to have had you in his life, in more ways than one.”

“If James and Lily were here, I think—no, I know---that they’d be proud of their son for making such a great choice in a wife,” Sirius said. “They would have loved you. They would have loved you for the man you helped their son become. I’ve always thought of Harry as my son and I hope you know that I love you just like a daughter.”

“So,” Sirius said, smiling down at her. “You make sure you wake up with all your memories in tact, young lady. I don’t think any of could take it if we lost you again.”

He bent down and kissed her on the forehead.

“Fight for it, Hermione,” Sirius said softly. “We need you to much to let you go again.”

With those words and one last look at Hermione, Sirius walked out of the room.

***************************************************************

A few moments later, Ron walked into Hermione’s room and felt tears come to his eyes as he looked at his best friend. She did look as if she was taking a long, peaceful nap.

“Hermione Granger,” he said, wiping a tear from his face. “If you tell anyone that I was crying, well, I’ll just—I don’t rightly know what I’ll do, but it won’t be pretty.”

He took a seat at her bedside.

“I, um, don’t know what to say, really,” he said. “I seem to get that way a lot around you, huh? You have this knack of knowing what to say to push my buttons. I guess, I did the same to you, so it’s only fair.”

He laughed.

“We sure took bantering to a whole new level, didn’t we?” Ron said. “To tell you the truth, I never thought you were mental. I mean, don’t get me wrong, you had your mental-like moments, but I never thought you were nutters, or anything like that.”

“I know I used to drive you crazy,” he said, smiling as he remembered the number of times she’d been exasperated with him over something. “If I had a knut for every time you rolled your eyes at me or said ‘honestly!’ I don’t think I’d have to work another day in my life.”

“If it hadn’t been for you, Hermione, I wouldn’t have met Kit,” Ron said. “She’s the best thing in my life. I like to give her a hard time, too. She rises to the occasion just like you used to do. Thank you for bringing her into my life, Hermione.”

Ron looked at his best friend, still lying peacefully on her bed.

“We haven’t asked Harry yet, but Kit and I decided that we wanted the two of you to be our baby’s godparents,” Ron said. “With me as a dad that baby’s going to need all the help he can get, right?”

“Oh, and I’m going to tell you something now that I never confessed to you, but I think you always knew,” he said, his eyes twinkling at her. “That night during fourth year when we were discussing the Yule Ball and I pissed you off because I asked you to the ball as a last resort? You said that just because it took me three years to notice, it didn’t mean that no else had spotted you were a girl? I always knew that Hermione. I was such a jackass to you, then, wasn’t I? It was because I had this massive crush on you, though. It wouldn’t have worked out between us, though. We would have killed each other! Besides, I think you and I ended up as we were supposed to---friends. We’re both with who we were always supposed to be with.”

“Harry needs you, Hermione,” Ron said. “He always has. You didn’t get a chance to see him after you ‘died’. It wasn’t a pretty picture. It was like he lost a part of himself and I guess he did. I know I’d be the same if I ever lost Kit.”

“Don’t you go telling everyone how mushy I got,” Ron said with a laugh. “I have a reputation to protect after all.”

*************************************************************************

Kit and Billie walked in a few moments after Ron did.

“What should we do?” Kit asked. “Talk to her? Do you think she knows we’re here?”

“I think so,” Billie said. “I hope so.”

“She’s something else, isn’t she?” Kit asked. “Some people will do anything to take a nap. I might have to get my hands on that potion after I give birth. I hear that I’m not going to have a pleasant night’s sleep for at least 18 years.”

Billie laughed.

“I have two children to raise,” Kit said, her voice deadpan.

“Two?” Billie asked, amazed. “I didn’t know that you are Ron were having twins.”

“We’re not,” Kit said, smiling. “I have to take care of the baby and her father, the overgrown child.”

Billie chortled.

“Now, I know exactly what Hermione was talking about when she’d tell me stories about Ron and Harry. He can be such a doofus, sometimes, but he’s my doofus and I love him for it.”

“That’s the way it should be,” Billie said.

“So, what’s going on with you and Mr. Black?” Kit asked.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Billie said. “We’re just two adults.”

“With the hots for each other,” Kit finished for her.

“I wouldn’t say the hots, just the extremely warms,” Billie said. “He is a good-looking son-of-a-gun isn’t he?”

“Sounds like someone likes him,” Kit said.

“He does sort of melt my butter,” Billie said, blushing.

“Oh, it’s so good to have someone here who knows my old, Southern colloquiums,” Kit said. “Us, Southern belles have to stick together.”

“That we do,” Billie said.

Kit looked down at her friend.

“She’s going to be okay,” Kit said. “I just know it.”

“I think so, too,” Billie said, smiling at Kit. “I think so too.”

***********************************************************************

Around midnight, Harry was the only one by Hermione’s bedside. The others, save for Robert and Karen had all gone home. Robert and Karen were sleeping in one of the spare hospital rooms and Harry was finding it hard to stay awake himself as he sat at Hermione’s side.

He felt emotionally drained from the day’s events. He leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes. He fell asleep, although he fought it every step of the way.

Sometime during the night, he awoke when he felt someone clutching his hand. He awoke with a start and as the room was very dark, he couldn’t see a thing.

“Harry?”

ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER!!!!! HAAAAAHAAAAAAHAAAAA (EVIL LAUGHTER) I couldn’t resist!!!! I apologize for the delay in getting this one out. I had a bad case of writer’s block. I knew what I wanted to happen in the chapter, but was at a loss at how to write it. I don’t know if I like how it turned out, but here it is, for better or for worse. I know you guys will let me know what you think!!!! Thanks for all the feedback, ya’ll!!!!

Author’s Note: CLIFFHANGER FREE ZONE!!!! LAST CHAPTER OF THIS STORY…

Chapter 23

“I Believe in You and Me”

“I believe in you and me
I believe that we will be
In love eternally
Well as far as I can see
You will always be the one
For me (Oh yes, you will)”

“And I believe in dreams again
I believe that love will never end
And like the river finds the sea
I was lost, now I'm free
Cuz I believe In you and me”

“I will never leave your side
I will never hurt your pride
When all the chips are down, baby
Then I will always be around
Just to be right where you are
My love, you know I love you, boy”

(Whitney Houston (from The Preacher’s Wife Soundtrack)

“Harry?” the woman’s voice said again.

Harry quickly fumbled in the dark for the switch on the lamp to light the room. He managed to do so, but not before stubbing his toe on the bedside table and yelping out in pain.

“You’re going to wake up the entire hospital with that racket, Harry!” the voice said again, this time much clearer, and not as hoarse.

“Hermione?” Harry asked, looking at her awake on the bed, her eyes wide open. Her cheeks were flushed and tiny beads of sweat were running down her face.

“Are you alright?” he asked her. He took her hand in his and smiled down at her, placing a kiss on her forehead.

“I think so,” she said. “How long have I been out?”

He looked quickly at his watch. “Almost 11 hours by now. Are you okay?”

She looked thoughtful as she sat up in bed. Harry pushed her pillows back and helped her sit up comfortably.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “Should I get Sean?”

“Don’t go,” she said, quickly. “Please don’t leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. It suddenly dawned on him that she was talking. She was alert. She wasn’t in a vegetable-like state. She was…

“Hermione?” he asked her cautiously. “Are you—I mean---can you remember?”

She looked puzzled as she watched his face. Her brown eyes grew wide as she took him in.

She didn’t say a word and the silence was about to kill him.

“June 4, 1992,” she said simply.

“What?” he asked, incredulous.

“June 4, 1992,” she said again, her eyes twinkling.

“I heard you,” he said. “What about June 4, 1992.”

“That, my dear husband, is the day that I knew how I felt about you.”

“What?” he asked.

“Honestly!” she said, rolling her eyes. “You do remember our first year at Hogwarts, don’t you? We went down the trap door to try and stop Snape from stealing the Sorcerer’s Stone. Well, at least we thought it was Snape. Anyway, you were about to go off on your own and you were telling me to go back and help Ron. I gave you this massive hug—I think I scared you half to death when I did that! Well, that was the night that I knew that I would love you for the rest of my life. I know it sounds stupid and maybe at the time it was just a stupid school girl thing, but that’s the way I felt and that’s the way it was.”

“You remember that?” Harry asked, suddenly overcome with emotion.

“I remember everything,” she said, her eyes shining with tears, but there was a bright smile on her face as she looked at him. “I remember everything, Harry.”

He took her in his arms and felt as if the biggest weight in the world had suddenly been lifted off his shoulders.

“Your mum and dad? Ron, everything?” he asked her.

“Yes,” she said beaming at him.

Harry could barely contain his elation at this joyous news.

“I have to go tell everyone,” he said. He let go of Hermione and ran to the door. He looked back at her and grinned.

“Go and get Sean Talley immediately,” he called from the doorway to Hermione’s room. “Get Hermione’s parents! Now!”

“Harry!” Hermione called to him, laughing. “You’ll wake up the entire hospital!”

”I don’t care!” he said. “They should be awake and celebrating with us!”

“What is it?” Karen Granger said coming into the room, followed by Robert. They were both somewhat disheveled in appearance and they both looked absolutely exhausted and emotionally drained.

They stepped into the room and looked at their daughter, awake and alert sitting up in her bed.

“Mum!” Hermione said her voice breaking. “Mum, I remember, everything.”

Karen felt as if her legs were about to give way so she grabbed onto her husband for support.

“Sweetheart, is this true?” Karen asked breathlessly.

Hermione smiled at her mother. “Do you remember when Billy Smythe from next door didn’t invite me to his seventh birthday party? I was so upset that I peeked through the fence and managed to levitate his cake over his head and when you caught me, the cake dropped all over him.”

Karen cupped a hand over her mouth.

“And you never knew this, Mum, but when Daddy used to retire to his study to work on some journal articles, he was usually listening to Beatles albums and smoking cigars.”

“Is this true?” Karen said, looking at her husband.

“Well, I, um,” Robert said defensively.

“You said you gave that up ages ago,” Karen said.

“Well, it helps me to relax,” Robert said. He broke out in a grin and looked at his daughter. “You told me you’d never tell your mother about that.”

“Well,” Hermione said. “We women have to stick together, don’t we?”

Robert and Karen stepped to their daughter’s bed and enveloped her in warm hugs and kisses. Tears were flowing right and left and the newest member of the Granger family, Harry, was looking at it all, shedding his own tears of delight.

At that moment, Sean Talley came into the room followed by Ron and Kit. Ron was still dressed in his boxer shorts and a t-shirt and Kit was wearing a long flannel night gown.

“We flooed here straightaway when the nurse notified us,” Ron said sleepily. “What’s going on?”

“Ickle Ronniekins!” Hermione said, laughing at him. “And Kit-Kat!”

Ron and Kit looked incredulously at the bed and saw Hermione beaming back at them.

“She’s awake!” Ron mumbled. “She’s really, truly awake! She’s awake!”

“Hello, Captain Obvious,” Hermione said, rolling her eyes at Ron. “I am awake. You were always quick to notice things.”

“That’s the Hermione I know and love,” Ron said. “I know that eye-roll anywhere!”

He gave her a big hug and as he did so, Hermione whispered in his ear.

“Don’t worry,” she said smiling at him. “I won’t tell anyone what a truly sensitive man you are.”

“You heard me?” he asked, pulling back from their hug.

“Yes,” she said, winking at him. “I wasn’t the cleverest witch at Hogwarts for nothing now, was I? Don’t worry, Ron. Your secret is safe with me. I have suspected this all along, though. When you cut down to the quick of things, you really are just a man capable of collapsing into a tub of emotional goo, aren’t you?”

He laughed at her. “Zip it, Granger.”

“We’ll see,” she said cheekily to him.

Kit came over just then and tears were shining in her eyes as she hugged her friend.

“I missed you,” Kit said.

“I missed you, too,” Hermione said, smiling at her. “We have loads to catch up on, you and I.”

“Yes, we do,” Kit said. “Yes, we do.”

At that moment, Sirius and Billie came breezing into the room.

“As I live and breathe,” Sirius said, looking at the assembled group. His eyes fell on Hermione and he beamed back at her.

“You are a sight for sore eyes, Mrs. Potter,” he said.

“So are you,” she said. “So are you, Sirius Black.”

For the next few minutes, Sean seemed to forget hospital visitor protocol as everyone shared in laughter and excitement at Hermione’s recovery. He didn’t have the heart to break up the celebration. This was one of the reason’s he was involved in healing---the joy it brought to the faces of those whom he helped. This was one of those times. There was a time and a place for rules, but this wasn’t it. Every now and then, rules needed to be broken.

He gave a knowing smile to his patient before closing the door to let her enjoy her friends and family, as she now knew and remembered every last one of them.

*************************

The next day, Hermione was packing up her belongings with the help of Harry when a knock on the door got their attention.

“I’ll get that,” Harry said, walking over to the door and swinging it open. It was Severus Snape.

“Professor, what are you doing here?” Hermione asked.

“I heard you were awake,” he said solemnly. “I wanted to thank you.”

“Thank me?” Hermione asked. “It’s I who should be thanking you. You gave me back my memories. I don’t know how in the world I could ever repay you for that.”

“Me, either,” Harry said, looking earnestly at the man who had held him in contempt for many years. “You gave us both an incredible gift, Professor Snape. I’ll never forget you for that.”

Snape gave a slight smile. At least, Harry and Hermione thought it was a smile. Snape’s bottom lip moved a little.

“There’s no need to thank me,” Snape said uncomfortably. “I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I’m glad that I could help.”

“Me, too,” Hermione said sincerely.

“Well, I’ll just be off then,” Snape said. He turned to leave, but Hermione called after him. She hesitated a moment before going up to her former professor and giving him a hug. Snape looked quite taken aback by this gesture, but did pat Hermione’s back as they embraced.

“Thank you,” she said. “I’ll never forget what you did for me.”

“You’re, um, welcome,” Snape said awkwardly. “Good day.”

“Good day,” Hermione said. Harry put an arm around his wife as they watched Snape leave the room. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder.

“Weird isn’t it?” Harry asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “Who would ever have thought after all that happened between us that he’d be the one to help us out?”

Harry nodded and placed a kiss on the top of Hermione’s head.

“It just goes to show you, doesn’t it?” Hermione said softly. “There’s a little good in everyone. You just have to dig a little harder to find it sometimes.”

****************************************

The next day after Harry and Hermione enjoyed a little time alone together at Harry’s flat, the Weasleys held a large party at the Burrow to celebrate Hermione’s recovery. All the Weasleys were present as were Hermione’s parents, Billie and Sirius, Professor Lupin, Hagrid, Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. Even some of their fellow Gryffindors had made an appearance at the party.

It was quite a joyous occasion and Hermione enjoyed being back with her friends and family. She and Harry were apart a good deal at the party as someone was always taking Hermione away to share a memory or have a quick chat. Their eyes would meet across the room occasionally and they’d wink at each other and exchange long glances at each other.

Toward the end of the party, Harry finally made his way back to his wife and looked at her before he made his announcement. She gave him a nod, letting him know that it was okay to share their news.

“Everyone,” Harry said, calling out to them. “I have something I’d like to say. First of all, we wanted to thank everyone for coming here today to help us celebrate. We can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done to help us throughout this whole ordeal.”

“Here, here!” Arthur said, raising his glass of wine.

“Hermione and I have an announcement to make,” Harry said.

“Oh, Merlin’s beard!” Molly said, emotionally. “They’re going to have a baby!”

The crowd gave out a collective gasp and then “oohs” and “ahhs” could be heard all over the room.

“No, we’re not going to have a baby,” Hermione said, standing beside her husband. “At least not yet!”

“We’re, um, going to be going back to the States,” Harry said. All around them, faces fell at this news. “Not permanently, of course.”

“Just until I finish up school at Carolina,” Hermione said. “I’ve worked really hard with my studies and I don’t want to give that all up. Becoming a teacher is very important to me. I want to finish up what I started there. If Billie will still have me, I’d like to continue working with her.”

“I need all the help I can get,” Billie drawled from beside Sirius. “Of course, you can come back and work for me, Hermione. Who’ll stop me from killing Ray?”

Hermione laughed. “Thank you.”

“We don’t know what we’ll happen in the next couple of years,” Harry said. “But this will always be our home and you all will always be our family. That can’t change no matter how far apart we are.”

“That’s right,” Hermione said. “And be prepared to get sick to death of hearing from us on the telephone and e-mail and owl post.”

“E-mail?” Molly asked. “What on earth is e-mail?”

“Oh, it’s fascinating, Molly,” Arthur said to his wife. “It’s absolutely fascinating. Except when you get something called ‘spam’, the muggles can’t stand spam.”

“Spam?” Molly asked chagrined.

“Mum,” Ron said, rolling his eyes. “You are so out of it.”

Kit playfully slapped her husband on the arm. “Okay, Ron. You calling your mom out of it is like the pot calling the kettle black. You still don’t know how to use my computer.”

“That thing is possessed,” Ron said.

“Oh, excuse me,” Kit said. “I didn’t realize I’d married Bill Gates.”

“Bill who?” Ron asked.

“Point taken,” Kit said, laughing.

Harry and Hermione laughed as they surveyed their family and friends.

“You sure you want to leave all this?” Hermione asked. “You’ve already given up so much for me, Harry.”

Harry looked at her. His green eyes were wide with disbelief.

“I’d give up the world for you,” Harry said, resting his forehead on hers. “You know that, don’t you?”

“I know,” she said, wrapping her arms around him. “I’d do the same for you. I just feel like it’s a lot to ask for you to move away from your home and your life.”

“My home and my life are with you,” he said simply. “Wherever you are, that’s where I want to be.”

“I love you,” she said. “I love you so much.”

He kissed her softly and they still stood there, their arms wrapped tightly around each other. It seemed as if everyone else just drifted away as they held each other.

“I love you,” he said.

“Maybe we can have that normal life we’ve always wanted,” Hermione said.

“This normal thing you speak of,” Harry said laughing. “What is that?”

“I don’t know,” Hermione said. “But I’m ready to find out.”

Author’s Note: Well, that’s the end of this one, folks! I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I want to thank all of you who took the time to give me your opinion---good or bad. I needed the encouragement!

I am planning an all new story that I will be posting soon. It’s still in the planning stages. It will tentatively be titled “Circle of Friends”---this is subject to change. Keep a look out for it! Again, thanks to all of you for reading my little story!!!!

Special thanks go out to the following: Angel-Wing, ShadowMaster, Ash, ECR Potter, VicariousLeigh, Caroline Delacour, erroompotter, The Sweetest Things, Catianna Granger, IssaBissa, KypDurron, Sophie, Muirnin, Love’s Fool, Shawn Pickett, Jenna, and everyone else who read and reviewed!!!! THANK YA’LL.

GO TAR HEELS!!!!! (shameless plug for my alma mater!!!!)