~ Home for the Summer~
A/N: A special thank you goes out to LilFlyergirl for all her help on the upcoming chapters!
Summary: Two months after the birth, their world is about to be mangled with.
Chapter Nine: Resolutions Part Two
Every human being by some unknown force must love their offspring, their child, their own flesh ad blood. From birth and beyond death. Hermoine and Harry were no different. For the girl, their journey into parenthood begins day one of the pregnancy. Though the nine months, or seven months in Hermoine's case, day by day, they've already become a mother. Fatherhood does not begin into fatherhood does not begin until first holding that newborn baby, of course, Harry had to wait until he regained consciousness. He adapted very well very fast with his daughter. Still attending Hogwarts, still playing Quidditch, still being Harry, just now with a baby. Hermoine admired the relationship he formed with Ella, because he wanted to, not just because he was the father. Such a small package could do wonders for revealing true feelings for someone who was always there.
" I love you Harry, I always have. From the moment I first saw you on the train to the night with, the diary. And now, with this baby, I have no reason to ever stop loving you". Of course, no one overheard Hermoine's rehearsal, except her two month old daughter. But, while she watched her mother, she had no idea what she was saying. " You're right, I sound desperate and pathetic" Hermoine took her daughter's actions of chewing on her blanket to be negative towards what she was really thinking. " Alright, here's what else I got" she closed her eyes, preparing with a deep breath. " Harry".
He had just entered the dorm to hear his name, " yes?".
Hermoine jumped, her back had been facing him when he returned from Quidditch practice. " Oh, nothing".
Harry left his broom in the corner, walking over to the cradle, made by Ron as a gift, gently kissing Ella's head. He looked over at Hermoine, whom was fiddling with her fingers trying to get over the strange feeling in her stomach from what she had been practicing to say. He dared the question lingering in his mind all day. " How would you like to have dinner tonight, together?".
She creased her nose in an adorable fashion, " don't we have dinner together every night?".
" Well, yes" Harry bent down, gathering Ella in his arms, " but I meant, alone".
Hermoine mocked an eyebrow, " I don't think that all is ever empty".
Ella tried to claw at Harry's cheek, he kept moving his head in the other direction. " I know, I meant, on a picnic, or something".
" In the middle of January?" she hated making it difficult, she didn't even know why, but she knew she didn't mean to, or want to. Hermoine was in love with his idea, that's not all she was in love with.
Harry shrugged, " snow has never been a problem before".
Hermoine's smile cringed, " okay" she looked in the other direction, " I have to get to class right now".
" Meet me at the Quidditch field when the sun goes down" he smiled.
When returning from class, Hermoine found herself to be alone, something very rare in that dorm room. No Harry, or Ella, or Ron. The sun had just slipped past the horizon, leaving rays of glowing pick and orange across the sky. Sundown, exactly what he told her. Outside, there were footprints in the snow leading in the same direction at the Quidditch field, something larger had been dragged along next to them.
The entire field was a crystal white color across the colored rims that surrounded the diameter. Hermoine walked to the center where Harry stood, a dark blanket at his feet. He smiled when she was near him.
" Why did you want me to come at sunset?" by the looks of his flushed cheeks, he had been there for sometime.
" Sit down, I'll show you" Hermoine gently sat crossing her legs, Harry knelt at her side. " Close your eyes" she did so, hearing him command a spell she could not recognize right away. " Open them".
She gasped, " o-oh my god, Harry, it's absolutely beautiful". From the top of each seating tower to the bottom of the audience cubicles, each inch wrapped in long strands of little light bulbs, which were now lit. Illuminating and reflecting on each snowflake, it was a breath taking sight. " I can't believe you went through so much trouble".
" It was dark" he joked.
Hermoine looked at the lights behind her, " this must have taken forever".
" No, not really".
" But it's so cold".
Harry scooted closer, cuddling her so they could keep each warm. " It wasn't too bad".
Hermoine gently took the drawstring of his robe into her fingers, " you never complain, it's like nothing ever bothers you".
" That's not entirely true" his way of telling that it had to do with her.
He felt her breath shiver, " what bothers you?".
Harry looked down to see her eyes were closed and he already knew that feeling. Both were caught up in the moment in which they did not know what would happen next. Hermoine reached across her body to grab his elbow next to her chest. Harry bent down to her neck, gently placing his lips on her skin. She twitched slightly at the sudden warmth. Gently, her ever so slightly kissed her neck, as her breath became more ragged. Each few seconds, moving down her jaw line, soon enough making it to the corner of her mouth. The same moment, Hermoine shifted more into him. What they both strongly felt was going to happen, had nothing to do with their past. Maybe the diary, but not the fact that they had a daughter together.
" Harry, Hermoine!" the screaming startled them enough that they returned to normal positions. Ron came bolting across the field, his cloak creating a straight trail behind him. He collapsed before the blanket, desperately gasping for air, making the deep bruise near his right ear very visible.
" Ron? What's wrong?" Hermoine leaned forward.
He managed one word between his struggle, " Ella".
Harry grew extremely worried, " what about her?".
Ron continued panting and coughing, recovering slowly, " someone took Ella".
" What!" Hermoine and Harry eagerly exclaimed.
" Someone came in, I didn't see him when he knocked me out. I came to only a minute ago, and she was gone. I looked everywhere".
They left Ron in the snow, running faster than ever before, ignoring how tired their muscles already were. The cold air bit at their cheekbones and eyelids. Once inside the school, they were ready to deal with the shifting staircase, which luckily did not move. Hermoine slipped on the same step as before, but Harry grabbed her arm on time.
An empty cradle was the first thing either saw when entering the dorm. Maybe they would have continued to look, if it wasn't for that red envelope, sitting on the window sill.