Author's note: My goodness! This took forever to write, mainly due to a terrible case of the dreaded writer's block. I wrote and rewrote and rewrote. I still don't know if I'm satisfied. If you're expecting a lovely reunion…you'll be disappointed. But, don't desert me. There is a method to my madness! Their will be happiness, but not for awhile. And you'll learn soon enough what really happened…Don't hate me! LOL! Please read and review!
Chapter Six
Separate Ways
"Here we stand
Worlds apart, hearts broken in two, two, two
Sleepless nights
Losing ground
I'm reaching for you, you, you
Feelin' that it's gone
Can change your mind
If we can't go on
To survive the tide love divide"
(Journey, "Separate Ways")
The plane touched down at Heathrow Airport shortly after 2 p.m. The flight had been quite long and although she'd brought some books with her to read during the flight, she might as well have left them home. She hadn't read word one of any of the books she'd brought along in her carry-on bag.
She'd tried to carry on a conversation with a nice older woman who was visiting Europe for the first time ever. She'd complained good-naturedly about the fact that she was stuck back in coach while her older sister and traveling companion were living it up in first-class. Hermione had politely listened, but both she and the other woman knew Hermione's thoughts were not in the here and now.
Ever since she'd told Abby the whole story about Harry (well, not entirely the whole story…she had left the magic parts out), she'd been able to think of nothing else. Abby had listened like a good friend and had said something that Hermione had thought about a number of times over the years, but had never voiced out loud to herself or to anyone else.
"I don't understand," Abby had said. "You guys sound like something out a fairy tale. So, you had problems. Everyone does. You can work those out. If you love each other enough, you can work them out. I don't honestly understand why you left."
And Hermione had given her the safe answer of "I had to." Although Abby hadn't known Hermione for very long, she did know her well enough to know that that wasn't an acceptable answer. So, Hermione said the only thing that she could think of, "I don't know."
"Well, that's more like it, then," Abby had told her, trying to cheer her up.
She'd told Abby that night about her plans to get Harry to sign the papers. He obviously wasn't responding via the post. It was time for desperate measures.
"I'm going back home to London," she'd said firmly. "And I'm not leaving until I have his signature on these papers."
Abby had looked at her, skeptically.
"What's that look for?" Hermione has asked.
"You're going home to London to see the love of your life again, Hermione," Abby said, her tone indicating that this was the most obvious thing in the world.
"A man that I think you still love. And you think you're just going to waltz back into his life, hand him some papers and that will be all there is?"
Hermione had nodded uncertainly.
"And I thought you were smart," Abby had said seriously. "Things are never that easy and this thing isn't going to be that easy, either. Not by a long-shot. And I think you're fooling yourself big-time if you think it will be."
Hermione had scoffed at this notion and had pretended that it was going to be just fine, but deep down she knew that Abby had a valid point. It was never easy for Hermione to admit she was wrong and with something as important as this, she couldn't afford to be.
After collecting her luggage from baggage claim, she hailed a taxi that brought her to the Leaky Cauldron. Tom, the innkeeper, had been quite happy to see her and enveloped her in a warm hug. Hermione was glad that the pub wasn't too crowded being as it was mid-afternoon. She checked into a room upstairs and unpacked her luggage. She freshened up a bit and then set off for Thackerey Drive.
She hadn't changed too much in the past two years, appearance wise. She still had her brown hair that she'd amazingly been able to tame with the help of some Muggle hair-care products. She'd cut her hair recently and it now was shoulder-length and curly, instead of bushy and long. She had thought about changing her clothes before setting off for the cottage, but thought better of it. She decided to stay with her blue jeans and her red cotton v-neck t-shirt. She did grab a sweater from her suitcase in case the weather turned cooler. Despite herself, she checked her reflection in the mirror three times before finally walking out the door. Feeling silly, she rolled her eyes at her actions. She wasn't meeting Harry for a date, after all. He probably wouldn't care what she looked like these days, just as she shouldn't care about what he looked like now.
But, you do.
That little voice inside her head was really starting to tick her off.
****
Thankfully, helping Remus with the mission hadn't been anything more than a quick goodbye party from all his mates in the department. They'd met down at The Hogs' Head and they'd all shared stories and tales from previous cases. It had been an enjoyable evening that had only been tempered by the fact that Harry came home, alone to any empty house. That wasn't entirely true, however, as he had Sam.
In the two years he had been separated from Hermione, he hadn't had a serious relationship with anyone. Sure, he'd received offers, but he didn't feel it was fair to date someone casually while his heart belonged with anyone else. It'd be a waste of his time and their time and Harry didn't need the hassle right now. Of course, Ron said it was a load of codswallop and that Harry was still carrying a torch for Hermione. He'd offered numerous times to set him up, but Harry had turned him down flat every time.
By no means had he lived the life of a monk, either. He'd had a couple of casual flings while on assignment (none while he and Hermione were still together, of course). Those women had just served a purpose as a warm body on a cold night. Harry had found out something about himself, though. He didn't like doing that. When he thought something like that would make him feel better, it only made him feel worse.
Logically, of course, he knew he should move on. He was beginning to think that she wasn't ever coming back. He just had to learn to accept it, once and for all. Which was why, he'd agreed to take Lisa Turpin to D.J. Malfoy's birthday party in a couple of days. Lisa had been a classmate at Hogwarts' and she worked in public relations for Ron's Quidditch team. She seemed nice enough and it would be good to get out of the house for an evening, even if it was to a five-year old's birthday party.
It seemed like all Harry did these days besides work was spend time at home with Sam, watching movies or working on his new venture.
When he and Hermione had went on their year long holiday after graduation, the trip soaked up a lot of Harry's inheritance. Coupled with them being a newlywed couple struggling to make their way on their own, their funds had been depleted over the years. An Auror's salary was good, but not great. He'd saved up money as he could as soon as he'd decided on what he wanted to do.
If all went well, things would be in place about three months from now. It was risky, and truth be told, he knew nothing about running his own business, but since when had he let risk and fear stop him? Besides, he knew that this was something he wanted to do. The more and more he worked on it, the more and more he became excited and happy about it. He hoped that it would be just what he needed to get what he'd always wanted; what he'd lost. In a few short months, he'd know.
At around 3 p.m., he was getting cabin fever and decided to take Sam for a walk around the neighborhood. The weather was absolutely fantastic and Harry grabbed Sam's leash and the two of them set off for the walk around Thackerey Drive and into Diagon Alley.
****
Hermione knocked on the door for the second time. She peered into the windows, but couldn't see or hear any activity at all.
What if he wasn't home? What if I have come all this way and he's off in bloody Russia or sodding Egypt?
"Harry!" she called, knocking at the door again.
"Excuse me, miss?"
Hermione turned around, startled.
"Can I help you?"
An older woman Hermione didn't recognize was staring at her from across the street.
"I was looking for Harry Potter?" Hermione asked, stepping closer to the woman. She squinted as she tried to get a better look at the woman.
"Are you another one of those groupies coming to bother that poor boy? Hasn't he been through enough these past few years than to have you girls coming around here wanting to save his soul? I think you should all leave him alone! He's put up some wards you know to fend off your kind. Did you find out how to break them?"
Hermione shook her head. "I'm not a groupie, honestly. I'm his wife!"
The woman huffed. "Likely story! They all say that! They're his wife or his long-lost sister!"
Hermione shook her head again. "Really, ma'am. I'm Hermione Granger Potter."
The woman narrowed her eyes and took a few tentative steps toward Hermione.
"Well, I'll be!" the woman exclaimed. "You sure are!"
Hermione smiled in relief.
Before Hermione could stop her, the woman gave her a warm hug. Hermione hesitated a moment before hugging her back.
"That husband of yours is such a kind man! Of course, I don't have to tell you that, I'm sure! He's got such a good heart. My husband Al and I moved in here a year and a half ago, and Harry's always checking up on us to make sure we're doing okay."
Hermione couldn't help but smile. That sounded exactly like Harry.
"I'm Madeline Stevens," the woman said, extending her hand and smiling warmly at Hermione. "Everyone calls me Maddy."
"Nice to meet you, Maddy," Hermione said pleasantly, shaking her hand. She looked back across the street at the cottage.
"It was really sad about what happened between the two of you," Maddy said sympathetically. "I still remember reading about it in the papers. It's always sad to see someone break up especially two people who seemed to fit like a glove!"
Hermione shifted uncomfortably and averted her eyes from Maddy's sympathetic gaze.
"Well, the important thing is that you're home now," Maddy said happily. "Home is where the heart is, isn't that what they always say?"
"They do say that," Hermione said, still looking at the ground. "They also say you can't go home again, though, too, right?"
"Rubbish!" Maddy exclaimed. "That's a bunch of codswallop if you ask me."
"Maybe," Hermione said, with a halfhearted laugh.
"Well, I won't keep you too long, Hermione," Maddy said. "I know you're dying to see Harry. If he's not answering the door, he's probably out back or walking with Sam."
"Sam?" Hermione asked.
Maddy didn't divulge anything further about who this Sam person was. She just simply nodded as if everyone should know who Sam was. To Hermione's surprise, she felt a wave of jealousy wash over her.
Could 'Sam' be short for Samantha? And who is this Samantha when she's at home? And why is she after Harry? Is she some groupie? He's not the type to go shagging every Samantha, Rachel and Cynthia. Or is he? Oh, bugger! Quit being jealous, Hermione! He has every right to shag whomever he wants to. You're not together anymore. That little voice in my head is really, really starting to get on my nerves.
"I'm sure he'll be along any moment," Maddy said. "You could wait for him on the front steps. It's such a lovely day to be outside."
Hermione nodded, questions flooding in her mind about who this Sam person was. She focused her attention back to Maddy who said that she just put the kettle on and inquired about whether or not Hermione would like some tea. Hermione thanked her for the generosity, but told Maddy that she'd just wait for Harry across the street.
After saying polite goodbyes, Hermione walked slowly toward the cottage. She felt like she had when they'd take that long walk to the dungeons for Potions at Hogwarts. An overwhelming sense of dread came over her with each step. This was the hardest thing she'd ever done in her life. With each step, she told herself to focus. She told herself that it was silly to be scared to face Harry. He'd been her friend since she was 11 years old. He'd been the love of her life for as long as she could…
She hadn't been sitting on the porch swing for more than two minutes when she saw him coming down the street. He was walking a dog and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief when she gathered that this must be the Sam that Maddy was referring to.
Although she felt as if she would faint at any moment, she got to her feet, somewhat shakily and began walking toward him. He hadn't changed much. Neither had that feeling she used to get whenever he'd walk into a room. She could feel her stomach doing flip-flops and she felt a little lightheaded as she took him in properly for the first time in two years.
His hair was still as messy as ever, but it never looked anything short of adorable on him. It was shorter than she remembered and his skin was tanner than she recalled. He wore a pair of baggy khaki shorts and a simple white cotton t-shirt. Hermione grabbed hold of the railing for support.
She stared at him, willing him to look her away, but he was concentrating on steering Sam away from Maddy's yard. He laughed as he tugged lightly on the leash and brought Sam back in the right direction. As he did so, his eyes caught sight of what he thought was a mirage. He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw her standing at the foot of the front steps. If he'd wanted to move, he couldn't have. Neither could she.
Sam, however, broke the silence for them, by breaking free from Harry and making a beeline for Hermione. Before anyone knew what happened, Sam had pounced excitedly on Hermione, knocking her to the grass. Harry ran toward them, afraid that Sam was attacking Hermione. When he got closer, he could see that Sam had taken an instant liking to Hermione and was licking Hermione's face. She was laughing.
"Sam!" Harry called, finally pulling him away from Hermione.
"It's okay," Hermione said, getting to her feet, and dusting herself off. "So, this is Sam."
"Yeah, this is Sam," Harry said, holding onto the leash and trying to prevent Sam from flying at Hermione, once again.
"He's adorable!" Hermione said, getting back down to pet Sam, who nuzzled into her neck.
"He's a handful," Harry said, a cool tone to his voice. He walked past her briskly and started for the door.
"Harry," Hermione said, staring after him.
"What?" he asked. He opened the door and ushered the dog inside and closed the door behind him. Sam barked loudly to let Harry know he wasn't happy to be shut out from this conversation. They both chose to ignore the incessant barks coming from inside the cottage and Harry stepped back down off the porch to face Hermione.
"Why are you here?" he asked her.
"You know why I'm here!" Hermione said angrily. "I came all this way so your stubborn arse could sign these papers."
She reached around into her pocketbook and pulled out the thick envelope. With shaking hands, she opened the envelope and took the papers out.
"See," she said, showing them to him. "There's one copy for you, one for me and one copy for the lawyers."
He handed the papers back to her without so much as looking at them.
"Come on, Harry," Hermione said, trying to keep her voice down. "Let's just end this once and for all."
Harry laughed.
"What's so funny?" she asked, incredulously.
"Nothing," he said, sitting down on the steps. "It's just funny to me that you show up here after two years and without so much as a 'Hello, Harry, nice to see you' and expect me to sign papers that I haven't even read yet."
"You don't have to read them," Hermione spat back. "You know very well what they say. I'm not trying to take you for every knut and sickle you have! I just want to end this as quickly and as painlessly as possible."
The snide smile he was wearing faded at her words. "Painlessly? For who? You?"
"It doesn't have to be like this, Harry," Hermione said, trying to reason with him.
"I bet your parents don't even know you're home," Harry continued, getting up from the steps and walking back toward the door. "You know it nearly killed them when you cut them out of your life, too."
"What?" Hermione asked, amazed. "Since when are you on their side?"
"I'm not on anyone's side," Harry said. "I'm just saying that you should get to your mum and dad's house and let them know you're okay and then we'll talk about signing some papers."
"You're giving me an ultimatum?"
"I'm not giving you anything," Harry said, walking into the house and closing the door firmly behind him.
Hermione stared after him indignantly and then quickly walked back up the stairs and tried to open the door, which was locked. She glared at it before taking her wand from her pocketbook and muttering, "Alohamora". The door didn't open.
Harry pulled open the blinds and smirked at her.
"Not going to work," he said, before turning on his heels and walking into the kitchen.
Hermione resisted the urge to scream bloody murder when an idea came to her suddenly.
Harry walked quickly over to the refrigerator and pulled out a beer and effortlessly popped open the can and took a long swig. He felt a tap on his shoulder and nearly dropped the can when he turned around to see Hermione smiling broadly at him.
"I wasn't the best in our class at Hogwarts for nothing, now was I?" she said smugly.
"Hermione!"
"Can't we try and do this as civilized as possible," Hermione said, watching as Harry walked past her again and Hermione followed him into the bedroom.
"What are you doing?" she asked, as she walked into the room.
"Leaving," he said. "You should recognize the gesture."
She scoffed.
"You should go and see your parents," he said, turning to face her.
"That's my business," Hermione said coolly.
"Those people are the only family you have," he said to her. "You should go and see them and let them know you're okay."
Hermione chose to ignore his words. "The only reason you're not signing these papers is because I want you too!"
"Wrong!" he retorted. "The reason I won't sign them is because right now pissing you off is quite enjoyable to me."
He took off his shirt and Hermione couldn't help staring at him.
"W-what are you doing?"
"Changing clothes," he said. "You've seen this before, right?"
She averted her eyes. "Do you have to do that here?"
"It's my bedroom," he said. "Would you rather I did it in the middle of Diagon Alley?"
Her voice shaky, she said, "I don't care where you get dressed or don't get dressed!"
He pulled on a fresh shirt and smiled at her, disbelief written all over his face.
"Uh-huh," he said, walking past her again and back into the sitting room.
"Okay," Hermione said, following behind him. "You want to do this the hard way; we can do it the hard way."
"What are you going to do?" he asked her.
"I'm going to be your shadow," she said. "You're going to be so sick of me; you'll be begging to sign those papers."
"You can follow me from now until the cows come home, Hermione," Harry said confidently. "I'm not signing those papers."
"You will," she said. "I can be quite stubborn."
"So can I," he said, stepping close to her. Their faces were inches apart.
"You are unbelievable!" she said, standing on her tiptoes to look him directly in the eyes.
"So are you," he said. "Go see your parents."
"Leave it, Harry."
Sam whimpered at Hermione's feet and she looked reluctantly away from Harry.
Harry couldn't help but smile at the affection his dog was showing Hermione.
"He's an adorable dog," Hermione said, petting Sam. "I bet Crookshanks gives him a run for his money."
She looked up expectantly at him, for news of where her beloved cat was. She felt stupid for not thinking of it before.
"Crookshanks died," Harry said.
"What?" Hermione asked, speechless.
"You weren't here," he said coolly. He regretted his tone when he saw her reaction.
"How?" Hermione asked, her hand going over her mouth in shock.
"The vet said he'd been sick for quite some time," Harry said. "They put him to sleep a few months back."
"Oh my," Hermione said, getting unsteadily to her feet. Taking pity on her, Harry led her over to the sofa.
"I'm sorry," he said, genuinely, patting her on the back.
Hermione nodded.
"Why, um, why didn't you tell me?" she asked, looking up at him, tears shining in her eyes.
"I didn't know how to reach you," he said. "You didn't leave any forwarding address when you left. If I could have found you, I would have."
Hermione sunk lower on the sofa. She brought her hand to her face again and as she did so, Harry caught sight of something on her hand.
He took her hand in his and looked at the gold band on her ring finger.
"Looks like I wasn't the only one keeping secrets," he said, feeling as if he'd just been kicked in the stomach.
Someone please tell me this isn't happening.
They were both thinking the same thought at exactly the same time.