Unofficial Portkey Archive

A/N: I know I said I wouldn't get the next chapter out as soon, but it turns out we're leaving a bit later, so I thought I would get this chapter out before we left. Enjoy!!!

Adjusting

"Hermione? Mione? Wake up." Harry again padded her forehead with the wet washcloth worriedly. She had been passed out for nearly half an hour and Harry was starting to worry. He smiled when she squinted her eyes open a little and then quickly shut them, thinking, No, no, it was a dream. I'm dreaming. When I wake up he will be gone. She opened her eyes slowly and whimpered, seeing those bright emerald eyes gazing back at her. He smiled at her lovingly and said,

"Hey." She closed her eyes again and started to get up from the living room couch, Harry helping her before she shook out of his grasp. She walked to the kitchen and sat on a chair by the table, Harry sitting on the opposite end. A tear fell down her cheek as she said,

"You're dead. You've been gone for eleven years. You have to be dead, because if you're alive you wouldn't have left." He gazed at her intently before walking over and taking her hand in his, saying,

"Hermione, I'm alive. I can explain why I've been gone for so long, but I'm back now." He smiled at her tentatively but she just stood up again, pulling her hand out of his grasp and pacing in front of him before walking back to the living room saying angrily as she walked back and forth behind the couch,

"No! You left! If you're alive, it means you left us! You left! And that OBVIOUSLY means you didn't love me, so you can just leave, okay?" With that she collapsed on the couch and sobbed loudly "Just leave." He sat next to her and took her hands in his saying,

"I can't, Mione. I loved you then and I love you now. I can't leave until you hear my side of the story, so…us? `You left us'?" Hermione looked at his eyes with her tearful ones and said,

"It's been eleven years, Harry. Eleven years. I believed, I had to believe you were dead. She grew up never knowing you, believing you were dead. That time can't just be forgotten. And then you just show up at my doorstep! As if those eleven years never happened! Newsflash, Harry, they HAVE!" He looked at her with a confused expression and said,

"She? Hermione, what are you talking about?" Hermione waved her arm to the mantel above the fireplace where pictures were and whispered,

"Our daughter." Harry picked up a recent one of Lily, with her owl and new wand. He fell down on the couch with tears in his eyes and said,

"Daughter? We have a…a daughter." Hermione nodded, saying,

"She was born about nine months after you left. Lily Potter. She started Hogwarts yesterday." A solitary tear fell down Harry's face as he whispered,

"I'm sorry. I'm so damn sorry, Mione. I wasn't here, wasn't here when you needed me." Hermione looked at him, realizing his sincereness, and turned the corner of her lips up a tiny bit, saying,

"Well…you're here now…but that doesn't mean I'm accepting this. You were gone for eleven years, and you better have a damn good excuse as to why!" She settled back into the couch with her arms crossed in front of her with an expression that seemed to say `Well?' He nodded and settled into a chair next to the couch, moving it until he was facing her.

"First of all, Mione, you have to believe that none of this was truly my fault. If it wasn't for this happening though, I probably would have died." Hermione worried her bottom lip with her teeth before nodding slightly. He took a deep breath and continued.

"After my fight with Voldemort, I was weak, on the verge of death. There was probably only one person that could heal me. Merlin was watching, I assume you've read about him. Not all of the legends are true, but he is real, a person who watches and occasionally helps. He took this as a time to use his helping on me, so took me to a sort of underground lair. He healed me, inside and out, after putting me in a coma so I wouldn't be badly hurt. After I was healed he…couldn't wake me up. He apparently tried everything yet couldn't. So today…earlier…I finally did wake up, and left after he had told me everything. Although I hadn't much say in all of this, I truly am sorry. Although Merlin helped me, I want to kill him for missing out on this time from you, and…never knowing my daughter. Lily…I'm glad you chose that name."

Hermione smiled slightly and said,

"Yes, well, despite looking so much like you, I didn't want my daughter to be Harriet. When I saw her eyes, I knew it was Lily. Lily Margaret Potter…Margaret for my mother, of course." He smiled at her tentatively and said,

"Mione…I want to meet her. I want to get to know her. I want to be…"

"Her father?" Hermione interrupted. He nodded and said,

"Although I can't make up for the loss of time, I want to try. Can we do something, make things right again?" Hermione breathed in and out shakily, and whispered,

"This is all happening so fast, Harry. You just turn up after eleven years, expecting things to turn out right? It's like you came back from the dead…it'll take some time. You're Lily's father, of course you should get to know her, she needs it probably more than you do. But for other things…for us…it just…will take some time." She pursed her lips and looked down at her hands, clasped together now in her lap.

"Of course. I can't expect everything to be perfect. I should…probably go. I'll call tomorrow, okay?" Hermione nodded and quickly smiled at him. He walked towards the front door, and, after grimacing at the now rainy storm going on outside, walked out.

Hermione bit her lip again and took a deep breath before running after him out into the rain. It immediately soaked her as she stood on the sidewalk, the big plops of water landing on her body.

"Harry!" She yelled as she ran out after him. He was beside the street with his wand out. He turned around and took a step forward, looking questionably at her. She, at a loss of what to say, asked,

"What are you doing?" He stayed where he was and yelled,

"I was about to call the knight bus!" She groaned and yelled,

"You can't let the wizarding world know you're back yet, Harry! People would get too many ideas!" He walked towards her until their dripping wet faces were only one foot apart.

"What do you propose I do, then?" He asked.

She breathed in and out shakily as she looked at his unruly hair pasted onto his forehead from the rain. She hadn't remembered how good he looked. She got a hold of herself quickly and shrugged, saying softly,

"You could stay here. I'm the only one that knows, after all." He looked into her soft eyes, full of kindness, and smiled, saying,

"I suppose I could do that." She turned her face away, not being able to look into those intense emerald eyes again for fear she would grab him in her arms and kiss him senseless. She walked towards the house, him still standing there, and said,

"Well, come on then, let's get you out of these wet clothes. I still have most of yours in a box." He followed her inside the house and couldn't help notice how beautiful she looked with her curly wet hair around her face and her wet clothes sticking to her…no! He would not allow these thoughts yet, not when she was still getting used to him. He clenched his fists before following her into their bedroom where she reached into a box in the closet and produced a large T-shirt and sweatpants. She tried and failed to smile brightly and handed them to him, saying,

"Well, there you go, you can change in the bathroom and I'll change in here." He looked at him with his brows furrowed and said,

"Hermione, it's nothing-" She cut him off saying,

"I know it's nothing you haven't seen before, but…Harry…eleven years. Just change in the bathroom." He nodded and walked into the adjoined bathroom, closing the door tightly behind him. She sighed and took some pajama pants and a spaghetti strap white tank top out of her dresser, getting out of her wet clothes and putting them on. When Harry walked out she was at the mirror, wringing out her wet hair before brushing it out quickly. She jumped when she saw him behind her and he touched her shoulder, saying,

"It's okay, Mione. Just me." She shivered at his touch and walked out into the living room, him following her as she said,

"Well, it's late. I'll set up the couch for you." She quickly took the cushions off and pulled out the couch bed, walking to the linen closet in the hallway and taking sheets, pillows, and a blanket. As she walked in she said,

"It's not the most comfortable, but it's the only thing we have other than Lily's bed and my…our…my bed…it's what we have, so it'll have to do I suppose." She smiled quickly, fakely, and thought Smooth, Hermione, smooth. She put the sheets and pillows on, quickly followed by the blanket. She then turned away, biting her lip as Harry contemplated her.

He noticed her being rushed, nervous, and shaky. It was because of him, he knew. He would be staying with her overnight after an absence of eleven years. If she still felt the way he did, then, well, it would be a bit awkward.

"Shall I make us some tea?" Harry asked, trying to get her to calm down. She turned around quickly and said,

"What? Tea? Oh, yes…I suppose. I'll just sit here and…sit here." She perched uncomfortably on the edge of the same chair Harry had been sitting on earlier and thought to herself, Why I'm acting like a nervous schoolgirl! I'm nearly thirty and acting sixteen! I really do need to be calmer, but…Harry's back and I…I still love him so…With that she leaned back and closed her eyes to a frustrating groan. A few minutes later Harry walked out with two mugs of tea and said,

"Mione? Tea's ready." She jumped up from leaning back and said,

"Oh, thank you Harry." He smiled and perched on the edge of the couch bed, handing her one of the mugs. They both sipped at it a bit and it was terribly uncomfortable until Harry said quietly,

"Tell me about Lily. I'd like to know what she's like. Of course, if she turned out exactly like you then she's perfect." Hermione smiled and flushed slightly as she set her tea down on a small table next to the chair. She started, saying,

"Well, somehow she turned quite a bit like you, and only part me. Her two favorite material things in the world are quidditch and books." Harry smiled at the quidditch reference, and Hermione continued with,

"Yes, she'd like to be a seeker someday. Probably because of all the tales she's heard of you. She's quite intelligent, and really a beautiful young girl as you saw in the picture. She is sort of like me except probably a lot more fun loving. She shows emotion just like everyone else but is terribly optimistic. She's brave, loyal, logical, and has absolutely the kindest heart in the world. She's a wonderful person…a wonderful daughter." Hermione smiled at Harry sincerely and he smiled back, saying,

"I'm so sorry I've missed her life thus far. But I promise, I will make it up to her…and you." He looked at her with such sincereness in his eyes that she felt she would believe anything he said, even if he told her he was madly in love with Dolores Umbridge. She held back her laughter at this thought and just whispered,

"I believe you. Would you like to know more about Lily?" He nodded and she continued.

"Her best friends are Maggie and Matt Weasley. They're twins, Ron and Luna's children. They look exactly like Ron and Ginny. They also have a five year old, Tammy. Lily can be quite the prankster when flanked by Maggie and Matt, they make a trio that could probably measure up to ours. Everyone loves her dearly; anyone that meets her instantly falls in love with her. I know I loved her from that first look in her eyes. They're so like yours, you know. And she has a fiery temper, one that could measure up to any one of the Weasley's. Like I said, she's the most wonderful person you could hope to meet." Hermione smiled as she finished her tea and stood up, looking at the muggle clock.

"I…it's getting late, I should get to bed." She turned around and quickly walked towards the hallway. Harry stood up as she left and said,

"Hermione, wait." She turned back and looked at him with what she hoped was not a `yes, please kiss me to the very inch of my life' expression. He looked at her with a slight smile and said,

"Thank you, for letting me stay." Hermione nodded and smiled, saying,

"You don't have to thank me, it's my pleasure. But you're welcome." They smiled at each other as Hermione thought, It's my great pleasure, unfortunately. Harry started to sit back down until Hermione said, not wanting to leave him,

"Harry?" He walked to the side of the bed and she walked over to him, breathing in and out quickly, as their faces were only inches apart. Before she could back out, Hermione leaned forward and stood on her tiptoes, kissing him squarely on the lips. She pulled back after a few seconds and said,

"I-I'm sorry, I-" He put a finger to her lips and whispered,

"Don't apologize." Before either could say any more they both leaned forward and pressed their lips together. His hands went around her waist as her's went around his neck and played with his hair. It was sweet, a loving kiss until they both realized just how much they had missed each other and kissed fiercely, a fiery passion behind it, mashing their lips together as their tongue's danced, a kiss making up for those eleven years missed.

When they pulled apart both were breathless and lips were swollen. Hermione pursed her lips thoughtfully and looked into his eyes before saying,

"I still love you Harry. I never stopped, not once." Harry looked into her beautiful chocolate eyes and replied,

"Although I was unconscious most of the time," this earned a smile from Hermione, "I never stopped loving you either. And I never will." Hermione smiled mischievously and said,

"We're still married technically, you know. I'm still Hermione Potter." He smiled back at her and let out a light chuckle. Hermione quickly kissed him on the cheek and said,

"Like I said, it will still take some time to get used to this…there's a lot to get used to…but…not much time." She smiled again and said,

"Good night Mr. Potter." Before turning around and walking to her bedroom. He silently whispered,

"Good night, Mrs. Potter." He smiled and lay down on his couch bed after turning off the lights.

They both slept silently, with happy dreams. And for the first time since Harry had `died', although Lily had brought her joy, Hermione felt complete happiness. They slept with smiles on their faces.

A/N: Aww, I know, pretty fluffy. Some of you might think it's moving a little too fast, but they both love each other and haven't seen each other for eleven years! And it's not like Harry really did anything wrong! So this is perfectly fine, and Hermione hasn't accepted it completely yet…I'll get the next chapter out probably Tuesday, MAYBE Monday, and I'll try to get some new ideas as I'm enjoying the fourth of July in Wisconsin! (I live in Minnesota, but have a cabin there)

-Emily

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