The Reasons to Live by EmilyPotter

Rating: PG13
Genres: Angst, Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 4
Published: 28/06/2004
Last Updated: 15/07/2005
Status: In Progress

Harry's been gone for eleven years, assumed dead. Hermione was left without a husband, but
with a child. Is Harry alive? What will become of Hermione and their daughter Lily when they find
out the truth?




1. Prologue
-----------



The Reasons to Live

A/N: This is a fic I started a while ago and never finished so I thought I would continue it.
The updates probably won't come too often since it's the second fic I'm working on
right now. It's slightly angsty, but only a bit in the beginning and then a tiny bit every once
in a while. Enjoy!!

Prologue

Eleven years to the day of his death, and I'm still not fully recovered. They never found a
body, but he was assumed dead. If he were alive, he would have come back. That's what I always
tell myself. Every once in a while I just imagine him walking in the door of our house. Everything
would be fine after that. Everything.

I look into the mirror every once in a while, and it's like I've not changed at all and
I've changed completely. My looks are the same, the bushy brown hair, slightly tamed. The plain
brown eyes that he found fascinating (I never understood why), and the slightly curvy body. But my
eyes were alive when he was here. They sparkled when I looked at him, or just knew he was there.
Now they were just…dead.

Sometimes, I just wanted to give up on life, on…everything. I couldn't though, I never
could. It was as if I didn't believe he was truly dead. He had to be, though, he *had* to
be. If he was alive, he would have come home and met his daughter. Yes...daughter. She was born
nine months to the day of his death, on September 6th. Lily Margaret Potter was the
reason I was still alive. I lived for her, and I would keep living for as long as I could. She was
what I had left of him, 10 years old, wildly curly black hair, emerald almond shaped eyes just like
his.

She had my chin, my lips, his eyes, his nose, and his hair. She was all I had, and I
couldn't leave her. She was my reason for life.

A/N: that was just a short prologue, explaining some things. Next we'll have a longer
chapter one!
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2. Life Without Him
-------------------



A/N: Here's chapter one of The Reasons to Live, enjoy!

Life Without Him

“Mum! I can't find it!” Lily Potter yelled down the stairs in a panic. Hermione Potter
sighed, just like she had the whole morning of Lily not being able to find her things.

“What is it this time, Lily?” She yelled back as she started climbing the stairs. Lily, her hair
disheveled and her cheeks red from exhaustion, walked out into the hallway and said,

“Hogwarts, a History.” Hermione smiled slightly at her, but it didn't go to her eyes. She
walked into the messy room, clothes strewn about and what looked like everything in her closet
emptied out. She reached behind the dresser and produced the fat book, dropping it with a plop onto
Lily's bed.

“There.” Lily smiled her thanks and said,

“Mum? Er…could you help me pack?” She looked up at her mother, her almond shaped eyes wide and
pleading. Hermione sighed and said, in a defeated tone,

“I suppose so, Lil, but you won't have my help at Hogwarts, you know.” Lily nodded happily
and sat down on her bed, behind her trunk, eyes wide as her mother magicked things to fly in until
everything she needed was in.

“Anything else you want in there, Lily?” The 10-year-old girl bit her lip and nodded, pointing
to the picture on her bedside table. Hermione breathed in and out quickly and walked over to the
picture, picking it up and looking at it lovingly. It was of her and Harry, on their wedding day at
the age of 18. They were standing under the awning they got married with, their arms around each
other. They would just smile and joke around lovingly in it.

At this point the Hermione picture was smiling out into the distance when Harry picture kissed
her mischievously on the cheek. She looked at him in mock madness and then pulled her to him for a
sound kiss. Then they looked into each other's eyes, smiling lovingly. Hermione smiled slightly
as a tear fell silently down her cheek. She shook herself quickly and brushed the tear away,
walking briskly to the trunk and placing it face down on the pile of robes. She pursed her lips and
tried and failed to smile at Lily.

“Well, there you go Lil, all packed and ready to start school tomorrow. I'll go make lunch.”
She walked quickly out the door and into her room, closing the door firmly and falling against it,
sobbing quietly.

*************

Lily shut her door after seeing her mother go into her own room, and, hearing her sob quietly,
sat down on her bed. She took the picture that her mother had set down in the trunk and looked at
it smiling as her parents waved happily at her. She set it down lovingly, face-up, and took another
picture from a drawer in her bedside table.

This picture was her second favorite, it was of her father, leaning up against the wall of their
living room, the day her parents moved in. Paint cans littered the floor and his clothes were full
of paint specks. He was smiling happily and when Lily looked at it he waved energetically at her.
She smiled slightly and said, as she talked to this picture often,

“I'm going to Hogwarts tomorrow, Dad! I'm starting school! I really hope to make it in
to Gryffindor and maybe even make the house quidditch team just like you did in your first year. I
want to be a seeker just like you! I'm scared how mom's going to be without me though, Dad.
It's like I'm the only thing she's living for, and if I leave there'll be nothing
else. I promised to owl her at least once a week, though!” She smiled sadly, realizing how much she
wanted a real father, instead of just a picture. She kissed the picture Harry on the cheek and
whispered “Wish me luck.” Lily placed the picture next to her favorite in the trunk.

She heard her mother walk downstairs and into the kitchen so she walked down into the living
room and yelled,

“Could I go over to the Weasley's for a bit, Mum? Please?” Hermione walked into the living
room and said,

“I suppose so, Lily. But be back in half an hour.” And as she walked back into the kitchen she
yelled, “And speak clearly!” Lily grabbed a pinch of floo powder from the pot over the fireplace
and stepped in, throwing it down and yelling,

“The Burrow!” She felt that familiar rushing feeling and spun around and around, smiling all the
way. She loved this way of traveling. She landed smoothly in the burrow fireplace and Luna Weasley,
Ron's wife, smiled from her spot on the couch and said,

“Hello, Lily. The twins are up in their room. I assume that's why you came over?” Lily
nodded and walked up the stairs to Maggie and Matt Weasley's room, Ron and Luna's children.
Ron and Luna had moved in with Arthur and Molly when they got married, and had three children,
Maggie and Matt, the twins, and 5-year-old Tammy, who barreled out of her room as Lily passed it
and ran straight into her.

“Ily!” she yelled happily as she flung her arms around Lily's legs. Tammy looked like a
miniature Luna, blond and round-faced, and *very* energetic. Lily bent down and gently pried
Tammy's arms from around her legs, saying,

“Well hullo there, Tam-Bam. How are you today?” Tammy giggled at her nickname and said,

“I'm good. I wish you, Maggie and Matt didn't have to leave tomorrow, though.” She stuck
her bottom lip out in a pout and Lily smiled and hugged her, saying,

“We'll be back, don't worry. And in a few years you'll be going to Hogwarts with
us!” Tammy smiled at that and ran down the stairs, yelling back,

“See ya later, Ily!” Lily laughed as the energetic girl ran down the stairs and continued up to
Maggie and Matt's room. When she walked into the big room they shared, the twins were in an
argument, both red-faced (and eared) to match their flaming hair. Maggie, who looked just like a
miniature Ginny, was stomping her foot down and yelling,

“You TOOK it! I know you did! You thought it'd be funny, so you TOOK it!” Matt, a miniature
Ron, was sitting on his bed opening and closing his mouth as if he wanted to say something, and
then finally stood up and yelled,

“I did not! I swear, I saw it lying on your bed this morning! But I didn't TOUCH it!” Lily
`ahemed' loudly and they both glared at her. She raised an eyebrow and put out her hands in a
`don't attack me' expression, saying,

“What's lost, Mag?” Maggie gritted her teeth and said,

“My quidditch book. It's not *lost* though. Matt *took* it!” Matt gaped at her and
yelled,

“Why would I take it if I have one of my OWN?!” Maggie sat down on the bed forcefully and
said,

“I don't KNOW! Maybe you lost *yours* and decided to take *mine!*” I walked over
to the cabinet between their two beds and picked up a pile of clothes, producing under it a
quidditch book that, in the inside cover, said Maggie Weasley. I turned around as they glared at
each other and handed it to her, saying,

“Here, Maggie. It was on the cabinet.” She opened and closed her mouth and then said,
quietly,

“That's not where I left it…” Matt said a quick `whoops' and then said,

“I thought it was mine, Mag, and then when I realized it was yours I set it down on the cabinet.
Sorry I forgot to tell you.” Maggie looked angry at him for a second and then mumbled, with Lily
raising her eyebrows at her,

“Sorry I thought you took it.” They both smiled at each other slightly. Their fights were quite
common. Lily smiled at them both and sat down next to Maggie, saying,

“So how excited are you guys for Hogwarts?” They both burst out talking at the same time, Maggie
saying something about how she couldn't wait to learn all sorts of charms and Matt saying
something about going to see the quidditch games and wishing he could try out for the house team.
Maggie finished before Matt and he finished with something along the lines of `a keeper just like
Dad'.

Lily laughed at their excitement and said,

“I can only stay for another 20 minutes. So who's up for a game of wizards chess?” Matt
yelled,

“Me!” and dropped his upper half of body off the bed, reaching under it and producing his set.
Lily moved on his bed and set up the pieces while Maggie settled on the floor on the side of the
bed saying,

“I play winner!”

A/N: Well there's the first chapter. Next will be leaving for Hogwarts and stuff. And then
in chapter three: whatever happened to Harry? Is he *really* dead? PLZ REVIEW!!!

-Emily
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3. Stories and Leaving Home
---------------------------



A/N: All these ideas are just popping into my head for later on in the story.

But nothing for right now in the story.

Argh.

Well here's the next chapter, it's not really getting interesting yet, but it will a bit
more in chapter 3 and then a LOT in chapter 4 (guess what happens then, ;-))

O, and nobody has asked about this, but they might: Hermione does not have a job, Harry left a
fortune behind big enough for her never to need one.

Stories and Leaving Home

Hermione woke up early in the morning, shivering. Her covers were all on the floor and her
sheets were bunched around her feet. She quickly pulled the sheets over her body and scrunched up
into a fetal position as tears fell silently down her cheeks.

She had had the dream again, or rather, the memory. It was looking at the ruins of their battle,
everything gone, including both Harry and Voldemort. Everyone assumed he had somehow killed
Voldemort as Voldemort did something to make his body explode or…something. Hermione had not
believed it, *could* not believe that he was gone. She cried for days, didn't eat, was
throwing up. She thought many times about killing herself…then she found out she was pregnant.

And although it wasn't Harry, it was something to live for, something she *had* to live
for. The dream was remembering the week after he had died, how badly she struggled…it was something
she had wanted to forget, something she had tried to forget…something she could *not*
forget.

She had told Lily things about him, when she had wanted to know. It hurt, but Hermione knew she
had to know about him. And the Weasley's had told Lily things too, about Harry. She knew enough
to know what he was. It hurt to think she would never know *who* he was. Hermione smiled when
she thought about Lily, who was practically an exact mix of Hermione and Harry.

The two non-human things she loved most in the world were quidditch and books. How could that
not be a Harry-Hermione mix? She was smart, brave, considerate, humble, and logical. She had quite
the sense of humor also, and was only seldom mad. But when she was mad, she was *mad.* She was
the perfect daughter, so why wasn't Hermione happy? Harry was gone, that was why. While being a
great daughter, what was a daughter without a father?

And Hermione knew Lily suffered from not having a father. She knew how badly she wanted one, and
sometimes thought about dating again. Everyone told her she should. But no, she had loved Harry so
damn much that the thought of ever being with someone other than him truly disgusted her. And the
reason she didn't date wasn't because deep down inside her she still thought he wasn't
truly gone. Right?

Hermione's thoughts went away as Lily walked into the room. Hermione opened her eyes at the
sound of the door opening and stretched back out from her fetal position. Lily stood shyly in the
doorway and whispered,

“Did I wake you?” Hermione smiled at her lovingly and said,

“No, sweetie, I was already up. Come here.” Lily rushed over to the side of the bed and sat
down. Hermione opened up the sheet to her and she lay next to Hermione, on her side so they were
facing each other.

“I couldn't sleep. I didn't think I'd be nervous about starting school, but I am.
What if I'm put in Slytherin? What if I don't make any new friends?” Hermione hugged her
daughter and said,

“I think you're a surefire Gryffindor, Lil, and if not, you definitely won't be a
Slytherin, no matter what. And you'll make lots of new friends, you're too great of a girl
not to.” Lily smiled and snuggled in close saying,

“Thanks, Mum. Could you…maybe…while we're both up you know…tell me a story about Dad?” She
said the last part very fast and looked up into Hermione's face hesitantly. Hermione smiled
grimly and said,

“I suppose so, Lils. What do you want to hear?” Lily smiled and thought for a moment before
saying,

“Your first kiss. Please?” Hermione sighed in mock defeat and said,

“This must be one of your favorites, huh?” Lily nodded and moved around a bit, getting
comfortable, before she settled just as Hermione started,

“It was Christmas Eve of our sixth year, and we were the only ones staying behind in
Gryffindor…”

**flashback**

Hermione sat in front of the fire with her hot chocolate that Harry had insisted on getting her
from the kitchens, despite her protests about house-elf rights and such. They had just had a heated
snowball fight, ending with both of them collapsing into the snow and lying there, looking at the
stars. They had eventually gotten really cold and gone back to the common room, Harry telling her
to stay there and pampering her utterly, as she complained about how he shouldn't be doing all
this.

She had liked him for a while now, more than a year, so really she was completely enjoying all
this. After he had given her the hot chocolate with a flourish, he went upstairs yelling back
something about a present. She sat on the couch wondering about it as he came downstairs silently
and put his hands over her eyes saying,

“Guess who?” Hermione smirked slightly and said in a mock tone,

“Severus? Is that you, darling?” He took his hands away and drew back in mock horror saying,

“I *knew* it!” They both laughed and Harry sat down beside her and suddenly seemed very
*not* at ease. He drew something from his pocket, a thin golden wrapped box, and put it on
Hermione's lap, mumbling quietly,

“This is for you.” He looked away and Hermione smiled softly, setting her mug down on the table
and saying,

“Harry, you didn't have to get me something. Thank you.” She touched his shoulder and he
looked back at her, smiling. She gently unwrapped the box and opened it, gasping,

“Harry! It's beautiful!” Inside the box was a simple golden chain, and hung on the end was
an oval ruby set in gold. On impulse she reached out and hugged him to her, to his surprise she
thought. He smiled and said,

“It was my Mum's. My dad gave it to her and I…I wanted you to have it.” He looked at her
questioningly, and she looked into his eyes. She pursed her lips and turned around, picking up her
hair and saying,

“Put it on me?” He reached into the box and gently placed the necklace around her neck, clasping
it in the back. His hands seemed to burn her shoulders, and she felt a loss as he pulled his hands
away. She turned back to him and whispered silently, looking down,

“Thank you, Harry.” He lifted her chin in one of his hands and looked at her questioningly. She
gazed into his eyes and started moving her head forward. She stopped halfway there and looked at
him as he looked at her. Maybe she moved, maybe he moved, maybe they both moved, but suddenly their
lips were touching softly. It was chaste, pure, sweet, everything a first kiss should be. And when
they pulled away they just smiled at each other. Harry hugged her to his chest and silently
whispered,

“You're welcome, Hermione.”

**end flashback**

“And from then on we were never apart. The end.” Hermione smiled softly as a tear fell onto
Lily's head. She looked into her daughter's face and realized that she was fast asleep.
Smiling, she brought the sheet farther up and lay her head down, falling into a dreamless
sleep.

*************

“Mum! Wake up! It's already 6 o clock, wake *up!**”* Lily pushed and prodded her
mother until she cracked open her eyes a tiny bit, groggily saying,

“Six o clock? We're not leaving for the Weasley's till ten. I'm going back to
sleep.” She rolled away and closed her eyes again. Lily sighed in exasperation and got on her
mother's other side, saying,

“But Mum! We still have to shower and get dressed and eat breakfast and make sure I'm packed
and…lots more stuff! *Please* get up?” Hermione sighed quietly and sat up, saying,

“Yes, alright. I'll go make you a nice healthy breakfast and you take a shower and get
ready.” Lily jumped out of bed and ran into her room with an adjoined bath while Hermione slowly
got up thinking, *How can that girl be so energetic at 6 in the morning?* She put on a robe
and walked into the kitchen to make breakfast.

Four hours later, armed with a huge trunk and her owl Hedwig (named for the original Hedwig),
Lily got into the fireplace and threw down some floo powder, yelling “The Burrow!” and rushing
away. Hermione left after her with a queasy feeling in her stomach during the ride, thinking
*Ugh, how can Lily like this?*

Lily arrived smoothly and quickly stepped out of the fireplace to be greeted by her best
friends, the twins. She turned back and winced as her mother hit the ground of the fireplace and
toppled over. She walked over and helped Hermione up as she brushed off soot and muttered something
about hating floo powder.

“You could have just apparated, Mum, I don't mind.” Hermione smiled at Lily and said,

“Yes, well, too late now. I will next time.” Right then Ron and Luna walked in and they both
hugged Hermione. Ron stepped back and smiled at her, saying,

“It's nice to see you, Herms.” Luna echoed his sentiments and Hermione smiled with her
eyebrows raised saying,

“You see me every day. But oh well, nice to see you too.” Just then Tammy ran into the room and
into Hermione yelling loudly,

“Aunt Hermy, Aunt Hermy!” Hermione winced at the nickname Tammy had decided to give her while
Ron and Luna just chuckled quietly. She hugged Tammy back and smiled at her when she pulled
away.

“We should probably go if we want to get to the train a bit early,” said Luna. They would be
taking a muggle car to the station. Matt and Maggie took their trunks along with Maggie's white
cat Dessie and Matt's owl Orlando. Lily also picked up her trunk and birdcage and walked out
the door behind them. They all piled into the muggle van and headed to Kings Cross station.

“Now kids, you walk into the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't worry, you'll
go right through it. Just run through it with your trolley and you'll end up at platform 9 and
¾.” Ron said as they approached the barriers. Tammy went first, giggling like she had a secret or
something, and walking in with her mouth and eyes wide open. Maggie and Matt shrugged at each other
and went in one after the other, Lily following them. Ron, Luna, and Hermione headed in last.

Tammy had found her 7-year-old cousin Samantha Malfoy, Draco and Ginny's daughter, and was
playing with her. Maggie and Lily were arm in arm talking to Bill and Fleur Weasley's daughter
Emily, a third year, and Matt was joking around with his cousins Fred and George Weasley. Fred was
George and his wife's son, and George was Fred and his wife's son. Although just cousins,
they looked almost identical and were often mistaken for twins.

After meeting some people, and reminiscing with parents they had gone to school with, Hermione,
Ron, and Luna hugged their children goodbye. Hermione had tears in her eyes as she said,

“Be good to all your teachers, and do your homework. Have a good time sweetheart, I'll miss
you.” She pursed her lips and Lily threw her arms around Hermione's middle, saying,

“Oh Mum, I'll owl you once a week *at the least,* and I promise to be good and do my
homework. And I'll miss you too. Love you.” Hermione smiled at her daughter and said,

“Love you too, Lils. See you Christmas Break!” Lily smiled at her and said,

“Yup! Better get me something good!” They hugged again and Lily followed Maggie, Matt, Emily,
Fred, and George onto the scarlet train. *W**e**ll* *then, she**'s
gone,* Hermione thought as she waved back to Lily as the train moved off. She tried to smile at
Ron and Luna, but instead a tear fell down her face. They knew right away what she was thinking,
which was, *I* *wish Harry cou**ld have been here to see this,* and they all hugged
her close, even Tammy, although she didn't know why.

“I'll be all right, you guys. Thanks.” They all smiled at each other and walked off without
saying anything. Nothing needed to be said. When they got to the car they hugged again, and Luna
said,

“Come over anytime, okay? We'll still have Tammy and Arthur and Molly, but it'll be
quiet without the twins. And I'm sure it'll be deathly quiet for you without Lily. So…so
come over anytime you want to.” They smiled again and Hermione said,

“Thanks, I will.” She hugged Luna and apparated back to her living room, falling on the couch
and sobbing her heart out.

A/N: Aww, poor Hermione…but you see how depressed she is without Harry? And it's been 11
years! Next chapter…whatever happened to that Harry Potter? REVIEW!!!!

-Emily
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4. Waking Up
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A/N: Thanks a lot to all those who have reviewed so far!! Here's the next chapter, enjoy
it!

Waking Up

“Hermione!” Harry Potter yelled, bursting up from his bed. His first thought was *where am
I?* And then *how long have I been* gone? The last thing he remembered was fainting, after
killing Voldemort. Now he was standing in a cold stone room, probably underground, with a plain bed
in the middle, attached to what looked like a wizarding sort of monitor. He sat on the bed and
thought for a moment. The main thought in his head was *Where's Hermione?*

As he thought, a man came into a room through a metal door smiling. He was short and thin, with
wispy gray hair and light blue eyes.

“You're up! Took you long enough!” Harry looked at him suspiciously and thought about the
multitude of questions he had, starting with,

“The last thing I remember is fainting after my fight with Voldemort, injured and dying. Now I
feel fine, cured. How long has it been?” The man looked at him with a sympathetic expression,
saying,

“I don't know if you're quite ready for that. I'll just start with telling you why
you are here. After the fight with Voldemort, I was the only one there with you. I had watched the
whole battle, and was afraid you would die because no one was coming. I knew I was the only one who
had the power to heal you, for you had both mental and physical scars. So I took you with me, to my
`underground hole' home. I put you in a coma of sorts so you wouldn't be hurt as I healed
you. In about a year, you were fully healed so could wake up.”

Harry looked at him apprehensively and said,

“So…it hasn't been too long after a year, then?” The man looked suddenly a little fearful
and backed up a bit as he said,

“Well you see…the thing is…you didn't wake up when I would have liked you too. I think you
might have been scared to have been captured or something. So…you slept…” Harry jumped up and
slammed the man against the wall with his hands around the man's neck as if to choke him. Harry
gritted his teeth and said,

“How long?” The man looked away but Harry squeezed his neck a little harder and said, “How.
Long.” The man nodded as if to say `I'll tell you' so Harry backed off.

“You might want to sit down.” The man said, as he stayed pressed against the wall. Harry glared
at him so he just shrugged as if saying `Or not'. He went on and said,

“Well…Harry…for all I tried you just wouldn't wake up…and…and…it's been eleven years.”
He said the last part softly and Harry just looked at him and said, as if to make sure he had heard
him right,

“Eleven years.” The man nodded and Harry just looked at him, saying,

“Hermione?” The man swallowed and whispered,

“She thinks you're dead. Everyone does, I'm the only one that knows.” Harry glared at
him again and said,

“Why? Why couldn't you have told anyone? Why did you have to keep it secret?” The man
shrugged and said,

“At first, I was afraid people wouldn't let me heal you. Also, they don't know I exist.
I was scared of exposure. After a couple years, I knew I couldn't tell because not only would I
be exposed, I'd probably be killed. As it got to a decade, I knew I would have to keep it a
secret forever.” Harry let one tear slide down his face as he thought about his wife, and said,

“Well, while I'd like to kill you, I probably shouldn't. I'll be going now, but one
last question. Who are you?” The man smiled grimly and said,

“I don't really have a name. Some call me, for a better loss of words, Merlin. I am not the
wizard they talk about with Arthur and Excalibur, don't know if he even existed. I'm
someone that watches…and helps every once in a while…for special people.” He winked at Harry but
Harry didn't smile. Merlin continued, saying,

“And you can go. But if you could, make up a story not involving me. You can tell those closest
to you I suppose if you're sure you can trust them. But to the rest of the world, make up a
story, something about how Voldemort had transferred you to a place where you couldn't get back
or something. I'd rather people not know me.” Harry started for the door but turned around,
saying,

“Although I don't know if you made the right decisions, I might have died without you.
So…thank you. And before I go, how's Hermione?” Merlin smiled at the thanks and said,

“She's had trouble coping over the years. I know you're worrying, but don't,
she's not remarried. She does have someone helping her through things, though. I suppose
I'll let her tell you about them, wouldn't want to get into family business.” Harry smiled
grimly but was a little confused at Merlin's statement. He walked out the door into a big room
that had a mirror on one side along with a couch and a small kitchen on the other. He looked into
the mirror and realized that he hadn't really changed that much. He was wearing a pair of
muggle jeans and a green shirt, brand new. *Guess Merlin dressed me…don't know how I feel
about that…*he shrugged it off and started for some stairs at the other side of the room.

He wondered where exactly he was, but when he opened a trap door and stepped onto a muggle
sidewalk, he realized he was in muggle London. But people didn't seem to notice him at all;
they just walked past as if someone hadn't just come up from underground. Harry closed the trap
door and it looked exactly like the paved sidewalk. He shrugged and walked towards the nearest bus
stop, thinking, *Eleven years…feels like I never left…this is so weird…at least I know where
I'll go!*

*************

Hermione woke up and looked at the clock, groaning when she was 11-o clock AM. She had tossed
and turned all night and finally gotten to sleep around 8. She turned around, almost forgetting
that Harry was gone. She did this quite a lot. Seeing no Harry laying next to her, she shut her
eyes tightly to prevent the tears that were threatening to come, and gulped. She sat up and put her
favorite robe on, fluffy and white. She stood up and started for the bathroom, brushing her hair a
little and teeth before going to the kitchen to make lunch or a snack.

She jumped up from crouching in front of the fridge when she heard the doorbell ring. Taking out
the stuff she needed to make a sandwich, she closed the fridge and started walking towards the
door. *Wonder who it could be? Maybe Ron and Luna apparated over…don't know why they would
have to use the doorbell thought. Probably one of those door salesman.* She opened the door
ready to say `No thank you' and was greeted by the sight of…Harry Potter. She stood there for a
second with her mouth open and her eyes wide, thinking, *No, no, I'm dreaming. He's
dead.* Dead. Her thoughts went away as he said,

“Hi `Mione,” smiling at her hesitantly. She whimpered a little “Harry?” and then fell forward in
a dead faint.

A/N: hehehe, cliffie…I know I'm evil, but u love me for it, right? I might get the next
chapter out 2morrow but I don't know…if not then then I'll get it out Friday probably!

-Emily
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5. Adjusting
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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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6. AN
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A/N: This is just an author's note telling my readers that I have reloaded the last chapter,
so instead of the authors note, we have a chapter! So read it!!

-Emily
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7. Changes
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A/N: I'm really really sorry about the delay, but my sister was home these past few days and
she decided to take over the computer. So I've had no time to write. But here's the next
chapter now! Yay!!

Changes

Hermione woke up with a smile on her face, quickly turning into a frown, and thought *My that
was a good dream. Too bad it's over.* She sighed, pulling back the covers and getting out of
bed. She walked over to her bureau and took out a jean skirt and a light blue tank top. She walked
to the adjoining bath and took a quick shower, shampooing her hair and then putting conditioner
in.

Hermione put on a towel and quickly brushed her teeth, before searching for her brush. *I must
have left it in the living room yesterday,* she thought before walking into her bedroom and then
out to the living room. She couldn't find it there so walked into the kitchen and grabbed it
from a counter by the door.

“Morning, Mione!” Hermione jumped and looked at the source of the voice, coming from in front of
the refrigerator. It was…Harry.

“Mione?” Harry said, looking at her questionably. *But…it was a dream. No! It's real!*
Without another thought Hermione ran to Harry and wrapped him in a fierce hug saying,

“It is real! You're back. You're back!” Harry hugged her back before stepping away and
smiling timidly, saying,

“I thought we had established this last night, Hermione.” She smiled at him slightly before
saying,

“I er…thought it might have been a dream.” She looked at the floor and realized that the only
thing she had on was a towel.

“I'm just…wearing a towel, aren't I? Well then, I'll go.” She quickly ran out of the
room blushing, before thinking, *I'm going crazy, aren't I? Harry's seen me in much
less than just a towel. It's so weird, so different. He's back. Things are going to
change.* She walked back to her room and brushed out her hair before putting on her
undergarments and then her shirt and skirt. She looked at herself critically in the mirror.
*There's something different. Something's changed already, what is it? The bags under my
eyes are gone, but…they're sparkling! My eyes are sparkling again!* She jumped up and down
excitedly before casting a drying charm on her hair and walking into the kitchen.

When Hermione walked in, she saw Harry in front of the stove and heard something sizzling.

“What are you making?” She asked as she came up behind him. He turned smiled, saying,

“Bacon and eggs. Scrambled with cheese, just the way you like them.” She smiled at him and
said,

“I do hope you mean the eggs. I don't know how bacon would taste with cheese.” He chuckled
and nodded, saying,

“Yeah, it is the eggs. I could've just used magic but…I felt like doing it the old fashioned
way.” Hermione smiled her radiant smile at him and said softly,

“That was nice of you, Harry.” They looked at each other for a moment before Harry jumping back
around and, realizing the food was done, put the bacon onto one of the plates he had waiting, and
the eggs on another. Hermione opened a cupboard and quickly got out two plates, and cups, before
reaching into a drawer and getting two forks. She reached into the fridge to get the pumpkin juice
and turned around, not finding it, to see Harry smiling, holding it in his hand.

“We always have pumpkin juice for every meal. I got it out already.” They smiled at each other
before Hermione walked over to the table and set the silverware and plates in front of Harry and
her's places at the dinner table, as Harry set down the food and the pumpkin juice. She smiled
at him weakly as she thought, *It**'s weird, everything**'s so different and
yet**…the same.* They both reached onto the plates and grabbed a piece of bacon and then
piled some eggs onto their plates. Harry poured pumpkin juice into both of their glasses and they
finished their breakfast in silence.

Hermione sighed, saying,

“I didn't eat that much, yet it feels like I've eaten a hippogriff.” Harry smiled and
said,

“I feel the same. I don't want to get up to do the dishes.” Hermione raised an eyebrow at
him and said,

“Has that eleven year coma made you *completely* forget magic, Harry?” She smiled at him
teasingly before levitating all the dishes into the sink and casting a few cleaning and drying
charms. Harry smiled his lopsided grin at her and said,

“So…what do you want to do today, Mione?” She thought for a moment before saying,

“Absolutely nothing at all.” Harry smiled at her and said,

“Sounds pretty good to me.” They sat for a moment before Hermione jumped up and said,

“Lily! She doesn't know! Oh, I have to owl her. And…and Dumbledore! He'll know what to
do about telling the people, and he'll have to help us ease Lily into the idea of you being
back. Oh there's so much to do!” She said all this very fast before bustling into the living
room and grabbing parchment and a quill, quickly writing a note to Dumbledore telling him some of
the situation and asking permission to visit Hogwarts to tell Lily about it.

Harry walked into the room and saw Hermione with a panicked expression on her face, looking for
the owl.

“Mione. Just…calm down, okay? Everything will be all right.” He said soothingly as he wrapped
her in his strong arms.

“But Harry! How will she react to having a father after all these years? How will
*everyone* react, Harry? Everything's so confusing…” Hermione said before burying her head
in Harry's chest and breathing in and out deeply.

“We'll work it out, Mione. We'll work it out. Today let's just…relax, okay?”
Hermione looked up at his worried face and smiled slightly, whispering,

“Okay.” Harry smiled back at her and gave her a quick peck on the lips. They wrapped themselves
up in a warm embrace and turned their heads, alarmed, as a noise came from the fireplace. Luna
appeared in the fireplace with Tammy in her arms, followed by a loud pop as Ron apparated over. He
looked worriedly at Tammy and said,

“Was that okay, Tammy? It's all right if you were scared.” Tammy jumped down from Luna's
arms and yelled,

“It was fun! Aunt Hermy!” She said this when she turned and saw Hermione, running towards her to
hug her legs. Hermione gulped worriedly as she saw Ron and Luna look in hers and Harry's
direction. Both their mouths dropped open before they both promptly fainted.

*************

Lily's first days at Hogwarts had been amazing. She loved all her classes and had made many
new friends. She had been sorted into Gryffindor, of course, along with Maggie and Matt. The other
first years in Gryffindor included Emma Wood (Oliver Wood's, the famous quidditch player's,
daughter), Maggie & Matt, Katie Anderson, Angie Jordan (Lee Jordan's daughter), Thomas
Malfoy (More Draco and Ginny spawn), Sean Grant, and Michael Finnigan (Seamus and Lavender's
son).

Emma Wood instantly became a very good friend of the trio. She had shoulder length blonde hair
and was petite for her age. She went running every day and wanted to be a chaser. Angie Jordan and
Katie Anderson were very energetic and seemed to be great pranksters. Thomas was nice and quite
smart, Matt and him had always gotten along quite well, being the sons of the two youngest
Weasleys. Sean Grant, a muggleborn, and Michael Finnigan were best friends instantly, almost like a
younger Dean and Seamus.

Lily liked most of her teachers. She liked Potions a lot; Professor Snape was really nice to her
and on the first day she had earned 10 points for Gryffindor by answering his questions. The
Transfiguration professor, Professor Lawrence, was young and new. She was very funny and energetic.
Professor Longbottom, the Herbology professor, was really nice to her and she found she liked this
class a lot. In DADA, the professor was Professor Tonks, an old friend of her mother's. This
class was one of her favorites. History of Magic was pretty boring, since the ghost Professor Binns
still taught it. And Charms was still taught by Professor Flitwick, who was very energetic and
excited.

On her fourth day of classes Lily was very excited, for it was the day they would have flying
lessons! She woke up early with Maggie and Emma, who were also anxious to learn how to fly.

“I wonder how much we get to try today. I hope it won't be too boring, since Daddy has
taught me a lot already,” Emma said as she walked down to the common room with Maggie and Lily.
Lily smiled at her, saying,

“It must be so exciting, having a famous quidditch player for a dad!” Emma nodded and said,

“Well, I get to go to all the games and stuff, but there's always people crowding him on the
street and stuff, mostly girls. Sometimes I just want to yell, `He's married and has two kids!
Lay off!'” Lily and Maggie both giggled as they met up with Matt and Thomas and started off to
breakfast. Everyone being a fan of flying, they automatically got caught up on talking about their
upcoming lesson with the Slytherins, quidditch, and the like.

“Dad was a Slytherin in Hogwarts, you know, but I'm glad I got Mum's house preference.
The Slytherin's are so mean and…”

Matt cut in jokingly saying,

“Greasy?” Thomas and Maggie laughed at his reference to Professor Snape while Emma and Lily,
both fans of him, glared at them.

“I like Professor Snape a lot, you guys. He's perfectly nice. Remember the ten points to
Gryffindor?” Lily said defiantly. Matt raised his eyebrows slightly and said,

“As opposed to the twenty points *off* of Gryffindor?” Emma glared at him and said,

“That was all your and Thomas's fault. You should not have dumped your cauldron on that poor
Slytherin boy. He *still* has the boils.” While Thomas snickered at that, Matt gaped at her
and said,

“It was his own fault for being mean to Lily. And he's the most evil of all of them, stupid
rat-faced whiny…” He rambled off on how much he hated the Slytherin's, while Lily smiled at him
and said,

“It was perfectly nice of you to stick up for me like that,” she gave him a peck on the cheek
and he blushed, “but you didn't have to give him irreversible boils. Although…it was a little
funny.” They all cracked up as they walked into the great hall and took their seats at the
Gryffindor table and started eating. With their mouths full of food Matt, Thomas, Michael, and Sean
began talking about quidditch. Katie leaned forward towards Emma, Lily, and Maggie so her straight
long red hair fell onto the table and said,

“Don't tell anyone, but Angie and I have found a secret passageway already. It's behind
the portrait of Douglas the Doomed. It leads to-” Fred and George had just come to the table and
sat down beside their two new favorite partner's in crime as George cut in saying,

“It leads to the teacher's dormitories! We didn't find that till last year, as second
years!” George hugged the black-haired Angie and yelled loudly,

“This here is one of my new best friends!” Angie giggled with Katie as Fred hugged *her*.
They let go and George turned to his cousin, Lily, and Emma and said,

“You girls excited for your flying lesson?” This started the three girls on talking about
quidditch with Fred and George for the rest of breakfast.

On the way to their flying lesson the five children were practically bouncing off the walls from
excitement. They reached the quidditch pitch where the Slytherins already were and Madam Hooch
started talking about the dangers of flying. Right before they were going to try going up in the
air, Professor Dumbledore walked onto the field. The children, who most had not yet seen him up
close, gasped in awe as he came down.

He walked up to Madam Hooch and showed her a note. She gasped slightly and her eyes widened as
they glanced towards Lily. Dumbledore said something to her quietly and she nodded. He then smiled
and said,

“Lily Potter, if you could come with me please.” Her eyes widened and she looked helplessly
towards her friends. Maggie shrugged and patted her on the shoulder as she walked past her and
after Dumbledore. *This is going to be about the dungbombs Matt* *and* *Thomas put off,
isn**'t it? I* told *them not to do it!* She was so scared as she walked after
Dumbledore that she wasn't even that amazed as he said the password to his office and the
stairs appeared. She stepped onto them silently and also was too scared to be in awe of his office.
She smiled slightly at the phoenix she saw, though.

“Sit down, please,” Dumbledore said with a smile as he looked down at her through his half-moon
spectacles. She sat down before his desk and he sat down behind it, clasping his hands together on
top of it and smiling, saying,

“Well, Lily, how have your first few days gone? I am most sorry I've pulled you out of your
flying lesson.” She swallowed and said, her eyes wide and fearful,

“That's okay, Professor Dumbledore…Sir…. My first days have er…gone good. I like all my
classes. But well, Professor, if this is about the dungbombs, I *swear* to you, it
w-wasn't me that set them off.” Dumbledore looked confused for a second before he chuckled
quietly and said,

“No, that's not it, Lily. I'm sure it wasn't you though, anyway. I just am talking
to you to tell you that your mother will be visiting in a couple of days. She has a…well…a surprise
for you, that I'm sure you'll be most happy about. You may return to your lesson now.” Lily
was surprised at something so mild as this to be called to the headmaster's office, but stood
up and said,

“Well, er…thank you then. Goodbye.” She walked out the door and onto the staircase, wondering
about what surprise would be big enough for her mother to come all the way here. She thought about
it all through her flying lesson, and for the rest of the day.

A/N: Well…there was a sort of boring chapter. I could have written more but I figured you had
waited long enough for the next chapter. So please review! And if you're going to say something
bad about it, please tell me how I can improve on the part you didn't like. On another story I
received the worst review a person could get, just being mean about it! It got me a bit angry,
so…well…be nice about it, please? Review!!!!
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8. Reunions and Introductions
-----------------------------



A/N: Here's the next chappie of The Reasons to Live…hope u enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Although it'd be really really awesome if I was J.K. Rowling…I am not…*sobs*.
I'd rather own Daniel Radcliffe and Tom Felton…and Sean Biggerstaff (nummy) than the
characters, though!! Hehe…

Reunions and Introductions

Hermione bit her lip as they sat in a chair, Hermione on Harry's lap, looking at Ron and
Luna. Harry had placed them both on the bed and they were still blacked out.

“Do you think they…fell asleep?” Hermione asked worriedly as they looked at their faces.

“I…don't *think* so…they were pretty shocked…” Harry whispered as he leaned his head on
Hermione's shoulder.

“Well, the only thing we can do now is wait, I guess. I'm going to go get something to
drink. Butterbeer?” Harry nodded as he looked on at Ron and Luna, thinking *has it really been
eleven years since* *I* *saw them last? It seems like just yesterday**…*Right
then Tammy, who Harry had begun to think of as `mini-Luna' jumped on his lap from where she was
sitting on the floor playing with a wizarding chess set.

“Uncle Harry,” which she called him at Hermione's insistence, “Why is Mummy and Daddy still
sleeping? They did that all last night!” Harry smiled at her as she got settled onto his lap and
said,

“Well, Tammy, your Mum and Dad were very surprised to see me, so they went into another kind of
sleep. They fainted.” She nodded as she snuggled into Harry's arms and yawned,

“Ohh. I see. They making me tired too, I gonna take nap now.” With that she rested her head on
Harry's arm and fell asleep. He smiled at her sleeping head and brushed a tendril of hair out
of her eyes. Hermione, who had seen the whole scene, smiled at him from the doorway before walking
over with a butterbeer and whispering,

“Quite the charm you've got there, Potter.” He smiled at her and said,

“She's sweet, huh?” Hermione sat in another chair after she handed a butterbeer to Harry and
whispered,

“The sweetest. Also the wildest. I can't believe you got her to sleep in the daytime.” Harry
smiled proudly at that when Ron woke up with a yell, turning to Hermione and saying,

“Herms, I had the weirdest dream ever.” With that she bit her lip and whispered,

“Shh, you'll wake her.” She pointed to Tammy lying in Harry's arms and Ron's head
turned to Harry. With a whimper he fell back to the bed. Hermione looked at him, thinking he had
fainted again, but his eyes were wide open as he said,

“Harry? You're…alive?” Tammy squinted her eyes open and smiled at Harry before putting her
thumb in her mouth and reaching her other arm over to Ron. He picked her up and set her in his lap
where she fell asleep again and Harry said,

“Well…yeah. Before you say anything, let us tell you the whole story.” With that Harry and
Hermione switched off telling parts of the story of why Harry was gone and why he was back, etc.
etc. Luna woke up a little after they started, putting her arms around Ron's waist and her head
on his shoulder as she listened to the rest of the story. At the end both of them were staring at
Harry and Hermione in awe. Luna had a peaceful smile on her face and Ron's mouth was wide open
before he said,

“So…so you're back then? For good?” Harry smiled at him and said,

“I never *truly* left, Ron.” He smiled at him then and said,

“Well, it's good to have you here, mate. Got any food, Herms?” She coughed slightly and
said,

“Ron, you just find out your best friend is practically back from the dead, and all you can
think about is food?” Ron put a hurt expression on his face and said,

“Well, there's lots of stuff going on in here,” he pointed to his head, “I'd rather just
ignore all that and go back to the way things used to be.” Tammy woke up and yawned, seeing her mum
awake and moving to her lap. Luna smiled and brushed through Tammy's blonde hair with her hand
while saying with her head tilted,

“That sounds pretty good to me, you guys.” Hermione smiled and said,

“Yeah…that does sound good, Harry. How about it?” Harry smiled and said,

“Thought you'd never ask, Mione!” With that she stood up and put her empty butterbeer bottle
on a coaster on a small table, before walking over to Harry and giving him a kiss on the cheek. He
growled and pulled her onto his lap tickling her sides as she giggled and said,

“Ah, stop! Harry, stop! Stop or I'll never kiss you again.” She looked at him with a smirk
and he stopped quickly. Luna laughed quietly and said,

“It's good to have you back, Hermione.” Hermione looked at her with a confused expression
and said,

“I think you're a bit confused, Loon. I wasn't the one gone for eleven years!” Luna
looked at her with a thoughtful expression and said,

“You practically were, Herms. You weren't the same.” Harry hugged Hermione around the waist
and whispered,

“I'm sorry, Mione.” She swatted him on the shoulder and said,

“Oh, Harry, it wasn't your fault.” They moved their heads to kiss but right when they
touched Ron `ahemed' and they moved away, both raising their eyebrows at him. He looked at them
and said,

“People here. *Hungry* people.” Hermione glared at him and looked at her muggle watch,
saying,

“I suppose we can make some sandwiches for lunch. Luna, want to help me in the kitchen?” She
nodded and set Tammy back in Ron's lap, saying,

“*Don**'t* wake her up. She's actually sleeping before 10 o clock at night!”
Hermione smiled proudly and said,

“All Harry's doing, by the way.” Harry smiled slightly and Luna looked at him and said,

“I'm amazed, Harry. I think that's the first time that's happened since she was a
baby!” He shrugged and Luna and Hermione walked into the kitchen to make the sandwiches.

“Wizard's chess?” Ron smiled and picked up the set from the floor, moving the small table
between the bed and the chair they were sitting on and setting up the pieces. They started playing
and talking, both feeling kind of awkward and yet kind of…the same.

“How's parenting treating you?” Harry said as he moved his rook. Ron smiled happily as he
ruffled Tammy's hair and said,

“Better than you could imagine. Maggie and Matt are amazing, and Tammy here is wonderful. I love
it.” Harry smiled at this and said quietly,

“I'm sorry I missed out on your kids growing up. I'm even sorrier that I missed out on
Lily growing up.” Ron smiled grimly and said,

“She's a great kid, Harry. I'm sure you'll be just as much of a father to her once
you meet her then if you'd been here her whole life. Parenting is hard, but so rewarding,” he
leaned forward and whispered, “Luna and I are trying for another. Her cousins are all twins and
triplets, so who knows, we could have another pair of twins.” He smiled happily and Harry smiled at
him, saying,

“That's wonderful, Ron. I'll get to be here for another kid of yours.” Hermione and Luna
walked in right then with a plateful of sandwiches and Harry and Ron moved their chess game to make
room for them. They all grabbed one and ate quickly. Well, Ron grabbed two.

*************

“Today was fun. I enjoyed being with Ron and Luna and Tammy.” Harry said as they sat down after
the Weasley's left. They had stayed for supper and headed home when it was getting late.

“Yeah, it was. I can't believe they're having another kid. Wonder if this one will get
*both* of their genes instead of just one person's.” Harry laughed at that, having seen a
picture of Maggie and Matt. Hermione leaned in to kiss him but right as their lips touched she
pulled away and said,

“Oh! Dumbledore said we could go to Hogwarts tomorrow. He also said he knew you weren't
dead.” She smirked slightly at his and he chuckled quietly, saying,

*“**Sure* he knew. Now, where were we?” Hermione leaned in and whispered,

“Right about here.” She kissed him and before long their tongues were in a fierce battle. They
both stood up and didn't break the kiss for a while until Hermione pulled away and said.

“It's late.” Harry nodded and said,

“Yeah, we should be heading to bed I guess.” Hermione smiled slightly and said,

“You didn't let me finish, Harry. It's late…but I'm not tired.” She grabbed his hand
and pulled him to their bedroom. Right before they entered it Harry looked into her beautiful
chocolate eyes and said,

“Mione? Are you sure?” She smiled at him and worried her bottom lip with her teeth before
saying,

“Yes, Harry. Now kiss me before I change my mind.” He swooped in and before long they were
wrapped up in a passionate embrace. They stumbled into the room.

*************

They woke up late in the morning in a tight embrace, their legs tangled together, Hermione's
head resting on Harry's bare chest. She opened her eyes and smiled before looking up into those
intense emerald orbs. He smiled at her and whispered,

“Did you sleep well?” She kissed his chest and whispered back,

“Better than I have in years. Last night was…” She rambled off and Harry said quietly,

“Amazing?” She tilted her head and said,

“Nah. Better than amazing. Spectacular.” They smiled at each other and he leaned down for a
quick kiss. He looked at the muggle alarm clock that said 11:00 and then at the wizarding clock
that was flashing `get up you sleepyheads!' He laughed quietly and said,

“Definitely. What time do you want to head to Hogwarts? It's already 11.” Hermione stretched
and said,

“Probably around lunchtime, noon will be good.” She looked up to Harry's eyes with a
concerned expression and said, “Are you scared?” He thought for a moment before saying,

“Kind of. But I'm mostly…excited.” She smiled at him and said,

“That's good. We should get ready, Harry. You take a shower and I'll go make us some
toast or something.” He mock saluted her as he stood up and said,

“Yes Ma'am!” She sat up in bed, giggling, and said,

“Go, sailor, before I drag you back into bed with me!” He smiled at her and walked into the
adjoining bathroom, closing the door behind him. She shook her head with a smile and put a robe on,
before walking to the kitchen.

*************

Lily sat in her beauty desk, complete with a mirror and plenty of drawers (all the girls were
provided with one), and slowly brushed out her long curly hair. `It's quite curly, isn't
it?' Her mirror commented as Lily worked through a tangle.

“Yes, curly and *unmanageable!**”* She said the last word as she yanked the brush
through the tangle, smiling triumphantly and then wincing, “Ow.” `It's like your father's
then, being unmanageable.' With that Lily leaned forward and said,

“You knew my father?” The mirror chuckled and said, `I talked to a different mirror that knew
him. I just know that he could never manage his hair.' Lily smiled at that and said,

“Yes, well, he's dead now.” She continued brushing through her hair as the mirror said
quietly, `Is he?' For some reason, the way the mirror said that made Lily annoyed and confused.
Being done with her hair, she threw the brush down and stood up, saying,

“Yes, he is!” She slipped her robe on over her clothes and put her black shoes on, looking at
her reflection quickly in the mirror. She patted her wild hair and looked into her emerald orbs
before smiling slightly, pleased, and walking out the door. She was the last one out of the
dormitory and her friends were waiting for her in the common room. Matt smiled as she came down and
said quietly,

“You look nice today, Lils.” She smiled at him and blushed, saying,

“Thanks, Matt. Er…you too.” He blushed back and Maggie and Emma both linked their arms into
Lily's, Maggie saying,

“On to breakfast?” Lily's stomach growled and she laughed, saying,

“Yes, please!”

All through breakfast and her first class, History of Magic, Lily was distressed. The way the
mirror had said that, `Is he?' in that thoughtful tone just…*bugged* her. Was the mirror
just finding out he was dead, or was it questioning that he *was* dead? *It**'s
just a stupid mirror,* *I* *shouldn**'t let it be getting to me!* She thought
as the class ended. She quickly took down the notes of what was for homework smiling. She started
to lunch, no longer distressed over what the mirror had said, and happily chatted with Emma and
Maggie.

When she reached her table, Dumbledore walked up to her and said,

“Lily, if you could come with me, please. Your mother's here. Oh, you can bring a sandwich
up to my office.” She had told her friends about her mother coming and they had formulated many
ideas as to why, Lily's favorite being she had an evil twin that her mother was finally telling
her about. This was Matt's idea. They all smiled at her now as Lily prepared a sandwich. Matt
nodded as if Dumbledore was proving his idea right, and Lily smiled, shaking her head.

She followed after the headmaster, taking a bite out of her turkey sandwich and heading to his
office. When they got there, Dumbledore said his password quietly, and it sounded like he said
`peanut butter gumdrops'. Lily raised an eyebrow at this but followed him onto the staircase
and into the office.

*************

Harry bit his lip as he heard the stairs moving and looked toward Hermione worriedly. She smiled
slightly as if to reassure him and said,

“Maybe it's better if I explain the situation first. Maybe she won't faint then. If she
sees you right away she might.” Harry nodded in understanding. People did tend to faint when they
saw him, with an exception of Dumbledore and Tammy. He smiled at Hermione before moving beyond a
corner, out of sight from Dumbledore's desk.

Lily smiled when she saw her mother. She set down her sandwich on Dumbledore's desk and ran
to give her a hug. Hermione clutched Lily to her and said,

“It seems much more than a few days since I saw you last. How's school going?” Lily stepped
back and said,

“It's going good. I've told you most of everything in my owls, though, not much more to
tell. Why…er…why am I here? I don't have an evil twin that you've been hiding from me, do
I?” Hermione laughed slightly at that and said,

“Definitely *not,* Lils. I'm actually here to…well…tell you something…about your
father.” Lily's mind quickly flashed to the mirror, saying `Is he?' but quickly pushed it
out of her thoughts. Hermione bit her bottom lip before saying,

“You might want to sit down, Lily.” Lily sat down and looked at her mother with a confused
expression.

“What's this all about, Mum?” She said, putting her legs under her as she settled into the
squashy armchair. Hermione breathed in and out quickly before saying,

“Well, Lily. Your father…well…your father is…is alive.” She looked at her daughter worriedly but
Lily's expression was frozen with her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open.

“Lily? Lily?!” She quickly moved her hand in front of Lily's eyes while Lily jumped and
said,

“OH, sorry, Mum. I sort of blacked out for a second there. I actually thought you said that Dad
was *alive.**”* She laughed a little before seeing her mother's truthful expression
and stopping. “He's…alive?” Hermione nodded slowly and said,

“Before you say anything or get mad, let me explain it to you. I got plenty mad for the both of
us, believe me.” Hermione sat down in a chair opposite Lily and explained to her the whole story,
having memorized it by now. When she was done Lily had an expression on her face quite like
Ron's when he heard the story.

“So,” she swallowed, “He's gonna be like…my dad now? He's going to live with us and
stuff?” Hermione bit her lip again worriedly and said quietly,

“Why don't you ask him yourself? Harry, you can come out now.” Harry walked into sight and
Lily looked at him silently. Before she could say anything, though, Harry walked towards her and
kneeled so he was at her level.

“Before you say anything, Lily, I want to say some things to you. I know I was gone for your
whole life so far, and I'm beyond sorry for that. I'm not going to pretend that those
eleven years never happened. But I'm hoping I can become your father, even though I was gone
all those years. It kills me that I wasn't here to see you grow up, and I want to make it up to
you. So…will you be my daughter?” Lily smiled slightly and softly said,

“You're eyes look like mine.” Harry nodded slowly and said,

“Just like your grandma's.” They looked at each other for a second before Lily smiled
broadly and said,

“Yes, I'll be your daughter!” Harry smiled at her happily and then said tentatively,

“Can I…hug you?” Lily smiled shyly and nodded, before Harry picked her up and hugged her,
spinning his daughter…his *daughter* around as she giggled happily. He stopped spinning and
they continued hugging. Lily whispered softly,

“It's good to have you back, Dad.” He smiled and set her down. They both looked to where
they heard a huge sob and saw Hermione, a bright smile on her face and tears falling down her
cheeks. Her family moved to hug her and she smiled at both of their happy faces.

“What's wrong, Mione?” Harry said as he hugged her and Lily tightly. She smiled broader at
him and said,

“I'm just so *happy!**”* They all laughed and moved away from each other as
Dumbledore cleared his throat.

“Although I hate to break up this…reunion…of sorts, Lily will be late for class. I'm sure
you'll have plenty of time with your father over the next years, Lily.” She smiled at
Dumbledore and turned to her father, saying,

“How about it, Dad? Promise you'll stay with us forever, so I can have lots of time with
you?” He smiled at her and said,

“I'll stay forever, Lils. I promise.” All three of them hugged again before Lily headed to
her next class with a promise to owl them once a week at least. *I have a* dad! Lily thought
as she walked out of Dumbledore's office.

Harry turned to Hermione and kissed the tip of her nose, saying,

“I have a daughter, Mione. A *daughter.**”* Hermione laughed at him and pulled him in
for a kiss, before saying,

“You sure do, Mr. Potter. You sure do.”

A/N: I know you guys probably want a longer chapter but this was practically seven pages! And
that's a lot for me! So hope you enjoyed it, sorry if you thought it was cheesy at the end, but
OH WELL! Please review, and I suppose you can flame. But do it *nicely.* I'm pretty busy
with my play right now, but I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible!
Promise!

-Emily
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9. A New Life
-------------



A/N: Okay, here's the last chapter of The Reasons to Live. I'm letting my readers
choose, it's either a long epilogue, maybe three parts of one, where Lily and Matt might get
together, ;-). Or a sequel that's based on their children with some Harry and Hermione stuff.
So pick one, I'll do either! Here it is!! OH, and Luna is a little OC, but only because I want
her to be, in this story she's changed a little, as most people do when they get older,
:-D.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for all of the offspring. That and
the plot, is all I own. If I owned everything, then I'd be J.K. Rowling, and very rich. Sadly I
am not, *cries*.

A New Life

**The Boy Who Lived…Again**

*By Luna Weasley*

*Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, actually lived again, without us knowing it! He is in fact
alive! I've had an exclusive interview with him to figure out why he was gone all these
years.*

*After the battle with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, who is finally proven completely dead, an
unknown death-eater cast a spell on Mr. Potter. It cast him to America where he remembered
everything he had learned, but nothing of his memories or who he was. He found jobs around America
for years, never knowing who he truly was. He called himself Chuck Thompson.*

*Finally, in early September, he came back to England. It was just meant as a trip, but on
this `trip' he saw his wife Hermione Potter. She immediately knew who he was, of course, and
brought him to Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The
renowned wizard immediately knew what curse was cast upon him and explained it to Harry.*

*It turns out that Harry Potter, or `Chuck Thompson', had been having dreams of his real
past, that included Hermione and Professor Dumbledore. He believed them, and a counter-curse was
cast upon him by Dumbledore to recover his memory. He is now finally back, and met the daughter he
never knew just a week ago, it was a tearfelt reunion…or introduction, should I say? He is now back
in our world, and has gained a job at the Ministry of Magic in the Magical Games and Sports
department.*

*I, for one, welcome the boy who lived back with open arms. I hope everyone else does
too.*

“Well?” Luna asked from her spot on the couch in the Potter's living room.

Harry put down the paper and looked at her with his eyebrows raised, saying, “Chuck Thompson?”
Hermione giggled slightly and stopped when Harry glared at her. “What? It's funny,” she said
with a hurt look. With that she clamped her hand over her mouth and jumped up from the couch,
running to the bathroom.

“She's been doing that all week. She should go to a healer and find out what's wrong.”
Harry said as he looked worriedly after his wife. Luna nodded slowly as Ron walked into the room
armed with a box of cookies, Tammy following him in a trance.

“Where'd Ermimee go?” Ron said with his mouth full of cookies. Luna looked at him with a
disgusted expression and said, “She's…sick. Do you have to talk like that?” He nodded and
smiled at her. Harry shook his head and rolled his eyes. With that Hermione walked back in to the
room with a weak smile.

“I've been doing that all week. Sorry, guys.” She said, sitting again next to Luna on the
couch. Luna looked at her with a worried expression.

“Hermione? You say you've been throwing up all week? And Harry came back about two weeks
ago?” Hermione nodded with a confused expression before clapping her hand up to her mouth.

“You don't think that…that…” Hermione said and looked towards Luna's growing stomach.
“I'm pregnant?” She smiled and hugged Luna tightly. Harry had jumped when he heard the word
`pregnant', but now was smiling broadly.

“I'm gonna be a daddy? Again?” He jumped up with an excited whoop and grabbed Hermione in a
fierce hug, spinning her around as she laughed at him.

“Well, there's a spell to make sure. Want me to do it?” Hermione nodded excitedly and Luna
took her wand out, muttering a couple of words before a few green sparks came out of the end. “You
are! Almost two weeks along!” Hermione jumped up excitedly.

“I'm pregnant! I have to owl Lily!” She ran to her desk as Harry sat back in his chair
smiling like a madman. Ron looked up from his cookies with a happy expression and clapped Harry on
the back.

“Congratulations, mate!” Harry nodded happily, saying, “I'm going to be a daddy.” Luna and
Ron looked at each other, stifling their laughter at Harry's craziness.

**May 28****th**

“This! Is…all…your…FAULT!” Hermione yelled from her bed in St. Mungo's to Harry, who was
sitting on a chair next to her, his hand purple from his wife squeezing it. She breathed
`hee-hee-hoo-hoo' while glaring at Harry, squeezing his hand even tighter as she pushed again
after the healer's instruction.

“Just…breathe, Mione. Hee hee hoo hoo. Oww, you have no *idea* how much my hand hurts right
now.” Harry said, wincing. Hermione pushed and glared at him with knives in her eyes.

“I…don't…KNOW? You…(breathe) try…(push) child…birth!” He looked at her and said,

“Oh…right, sorry, Mione. Just…push, push!” He copied the healer as he said it.

“Its head is out, Mrs. Potter, just push harder! Push!” Yelled the healer from his spot at the
end of the bed. She squeezed Harry's hand and he winced, saying,

“You can do it, Hermione. I love you.” He smiled at her and she just glared back as she pushed
again.

“Okay, Hermione, it's almost out. One more BIG push and it'll be out! Now push!” The
healer said. Hermione yelled and pushed one more time, to the sound of a baby wailing. Harry ran
over to the healer as he cast a cleansing charm and wrapped the baby up in a pink blanket.

“Congratulations, Mr. Potter, it's a girl.” He handed Harry the bundled up baby and he
walked quickly to Hermione, rocking his new daughter back and forth before handing her to
Hermione.

“Oh! She has my hair; hopefully it won't be bushy. And your eyes, I'd be okay if all of
our children got your eyes.” Harry leaned down for a kiss and they both smiled as they pulled
apart.

“What do you want to name her?” Harry whispered as he sat in the chair again and brushed his
fingers through the baby's hair.

“How about…Carissa Rose Potter? Rose is my grandma's name.” Harry smiled at his wife and
kissed her nose before kissing Carissa on the forehead, saying, “Carissa it is then. My daughter.”
Lily ran into the room right then, saying,

“I flooed over as soon as I heard, how is she? What'd you name her?” Hermione patted the bed
beside her and Lily jumped up next to her.

“Meet your new sister, Carissa Rose Potter.” Lily smiled as Hermione handed her the baby and she
cradled it carefully.

“She has our eyes, Dad.” Harry nodded and kissed both of his daughters on the forehead.

“My little green-eyed daughters.” With that he got up onto the bed behind Hermione. She lay her
head in his lap and looked up at him, saying, “I love you, Harry.” He smiled at her and said,

“I love you too, Mione.” They leaned in to kiss but Lily groaned and said,

“Do you guys have to do that in front of your children?” Hermione laughed and hugged Lily to
her. They lay on that small hospital bed like that, Lily holding Carissa, Hermione hugging Lily,
with her head in her husband's lap. She smiled at her family and thought, *Now* this *is
a reason to live.*

The End

A/N: Ok, now it's your turn to choose, long epilogue and no sequel, or short epilogue and
sequel. It's your choice, so you'll have to review to choose! So review!! Right now!!!
Thank you!

-Emily
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10. Epilogue
------------



A/N: Okay, I started this epilogue a LONG time ago, and am just finishing it now…eek…Well, I
just got caught up in all the different fanfictions out there, and my favorite isn't even H/Hr
now. I'm writing a Draco/Hermione AND a Snape/Hermione at the moment (which might just gross
some of you guys out, otherwise you can check them out at ff.net, my pen name's EmzyTrish).
Anyway, I went back to my account at portkey the other day and looked at some of my reviews, and
thought *`I can**'t just leave this story hanging!**'* So here I am, writing
a short epilogue and a sequel. I couldn't get to sleep last night with all the different plot
bunnies hopping around inside my head looking for food. I actually got up at 1 AM and started
writing an outline. *Well,* without further ado, I give you the epilogue of `The Reasons to
Live'!

p.s. I just hope that Hermione won't die in HP and the HBP, because that would just really
depress me and basically ruin my fanfiction career…otherwise, I might try to add some of that canon
into the sequel.

Disclaimer: Not mine…end of story…

Epilogue

“JAMES POTTER! COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!” A seven-year-old boy ran squealing down the stairs
with his older sister hot on his heels. He ran into his room and propelled himself onto his bed,
hiding his head in the pillow. His 20-year-old sister walked into the room with an angry
expression, steam (literally) coming out of her ears. She encountered a young girl with dark brown
hair in two plaits and blue eyes sitting on the bed with an innocent expression on her face,
reading a book.

“Where is he?” Lily said with her teeth clenched, the steam coming out turning multi-colored.
The girl looked up and stifled a laugh at the steam, before saying angelically,

“I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Jackie, tell me right now. I can either hex just him, or hex you both. Tell me.” The girl
sighed and stood up, pulling a light silvery cloak off from the boy. Lily rolled her eyes and cast
a quick spell to stop her ears from shooting out steam.

“You can either tell me who gave you that candy, or tell Dad what you were doing with that
invisibility cloak in your room,” Lily said, shaking out her curly black hair and putting a hand on
her hip. The boy bit his lip and mumbled quietly `frumagig'. Jackie smiled slightly and mouthed
`fred and george'. Lily took the invisibility cloak and turned with a huff, walking out the
door and shaking her head. She walked up the west staircase of the Potter Manor and up to her
parent's room, closing her eyes and opening the door. There came a laugh from inside the
room.

“We're not doing anything, honey. Your father's not even here.” Said a Hermione Potter,
sitting in a chair and reading, not changed much since ten years ago.

“Well, you never know with you two. I swear, it's like you want *another* kid. Five
isn't enough? And speaking of kids, James snuck me some of Fred and George's steaming ear
candy, and `borrowed' Dad's invisibility cloak.” Lily said, walking into the room and
tapping the bottom of the chest of drawers with her wand in an intricate rhythm. A hidden drawer
popped open, and Lily put the invisibility cloak in, closing the drawer again.

“Well, honestly! How do you kids figure these out, he must change the place and the spell at
least twice a week! And how did James get hold of a wand?” Hermione asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
Lily shrugged.

“Don't ask me, he causes more trouble than I can keep track of. Can't imagine what him
and Jackie will be like when they get to Hogwarts.”

Hermione shook her head and smiled, saying,

“Double trouble, huh? It really pertains to all twins, doesn't it?”

Lily giggled slightly.

“And triplets,” she added, thinking of Ron and Luna's triplets: Alec, Andrew, and Abigail,
who were all friends with Carissa. They were now 9 years old, James and Jacqueline were 7, and the
Potter's 5th child, Sirius, had just turned 4. “So how's the book coming, Mum?”
Lily asked, walking over to the bed and sitting on it.

“It's coming along fine, although I'm stuck at the moment. Whoever thought that writing
an article on house elf rights would lead me to writing books?” Hermione answered, smiling
wryly.

Just then, in quick succession, came a ringing of the doorbell, a shouted greeting followed by a
yelling up the stairs of “Matt's heeeeeere!” and another yelling of “Sirius! I am trying to
read, so do *try* to keep it quiet!” Lily smiled broadly before remarking “Never a quiet
moment in the Potter home.”

Hermione smiled warmly at her oldest daughter. “It would be unnatural if there ever was one,
dear. Now go see what Matt's up to, and I'll speak to James about the candy.”

“Aye aye, captain,” Lily replied with a mock salute before smiling at her mother and exiting the
room, walking towards the staircase.

Hermione stood up from her chair with a groan and put the book she was reading for inspiration
on the bedside table. “Now, why did I decide to have five children?” she asked herself while
walking out.

“Matt's here, Lily!” Sirius yelled as his sister reached the bottom step. She smiled
brightly at Matt before walking over to her little brother.

“I heard you the first time, Mr. Sirius!” She said to him, picking the 4-year-old boy up and
spinning him around to his delight. She set him down with a groan. “My, you're getting big,
Siri. Now go pester Matt.” The boy smiled mischievously with an `I've got an idea' look on
his face before running towards James' room.

“Lily! He's probably off to get some of my uncle's tricks to play on me now! What a way
to greet your boyfriend. Honestly.” Lily giggled slightly, walking over to him and putting her arms
around his neck.

“Well, perhaps this will suffice as an apology, then.” They both moved towards a kiss and Matt
placed his arms around Lily's waist, pulling her closer. Lily pulled away fairly quickly and
whispered, “Ah ah ah, Matthew Weasley. There are children in this house after all.”

“They've probably been disturbed enough by their parents, I suppose.” He reluctantly added
as Lily smiled warmly at him.

“Now, Mr. Weasley. Come tell me all about how your quidditch games have been going, how
you've missed me terribly, and how you refused all those devoted fan girls wanting a quick snog
and told them all how devoted you were to me.” Lily said with a small smirk, pulling Matt onto the
couch where they snuggled together with his arm around her shoulders.

“Oh, is that what I was supposed to do?” He asked jokingly, poking her in the side. She swatted
him on the shoulder with a `not funny' look, and said, “No, really, Matt. I want to know how
quidditch has been going.” He smiled towards her quickly and hugged her closer.

“Quidditch is good, although Coach has been working us mercilessly. I have missed you terribly,
though, Lils. I came here as soon as I got home to see you.”

“Matt Weasley! How are you? Quidditch going good?” Harry Potter asked, walking into the room
with Sirius on his back. Matt stood up to answer him.

“I'm doing good, Mr. Potter. The tour went very well.” He answered with a smile.

“Mr. Potter? Just because you're dating my daughter doesn't change what you've
always called me, Matt.” He admonished quickly, setting Sirius down.

“Oh, sorry, Harry. Just trying to suck up a bit.”

Lily smiled at Matt and pulled him back down to sit next to her. “I'm fairly sure that Dad
approves of you, Matt.” He shrugged at her, the tips of his ears turning red, much like his
father's.

“Daddy! You're home!” Carissa Potter exclaimed, walking into the room with a book under her
arm. She had grown to be a tall nine-year-old, with straight brown hair the color of
Hermione's, and Harry's emerald eyes.

“Am I now? Kids, my memory is truly going,” He said, shaking his head sadly. Lily and Carissa
looked at each other with identical eye rolls, while Matt smiled slightly and Sirius laughed.
“Well, I'm off to find your mother and go over the campaign. Don't be making trouble!”

“I'm twenty years old, Dad!” Lily admonished him, shaking her head with a smirk. Carissa sat
down on one of the chairs to read to Sirius, who only seemed to calm down when she was around.
Harry left the room with a smile on his face.

“Well, you should probably go see your parents, Matt, if it's true you came to see me
first.” Lily told her boyfriend, standing up and pulling him up with her.

“Yeah, I suppose you're right, Lils. Do you want to get the gang together tonight, go out to
dinner at The Three Broomsticks or something?” He asked her as they both walked towards the
entrance of the Potter's home.

“Sure, I'll owl Thomas and Emma if you want to talk to Maggie. And tell her to invite
Michael.”

“I shall do that. Talk to you later?” He pulled Lily towards him and she nodded. They kissed
goodbye and he left the house and grounds before disapparating. She walked towards her room to owl
her friends.

In the meantime, Harry had found Hermione walking out of James' room (which was across a
bathroom from Jackie's) with a disgruntled expression on her face, which lit up when she caught
sight of Harry.

“Harry! When did you get home? I thought you'd be at the ministry until supper at least.”
She said to him as he wrapped her up in a kiss.

“Ah, the minister-to-be can have an afternoon off to be with his family every once in a while,”
He answered with a smirk as they walked towards their room, arms around each other's
waists.

“A bit sure of your campaign, aren't you, Harry?” She asked with her eyebrows raised, as
they reached the stairs.

“Well, the people want a beautiful minister's wife, and it just so happens that I have one
of those,” he answered, kissing her cheek as they reached their bedroom door.

“Compliments, Mr. Potter, will get you *everywhere*.” Hermione said with a smile, pulling
him to her for a kiss as they stumbled into the bedroom.

So despite all that happened to the Potter family throughout the years, they were all together,
and they were all *happy.* To Lily, it seemed that she had always had her father. He had made
up for missing eleven years by simply loving and supporting her. When Hermione was sad, it was
never for long, for she always had Harry near her to make her happy again. And Harry couldn't
have asked for a better life. As for the rest of the Potters…well…that is for another time.

And there you have it, folks. `The Reasons to Live' is over! Hope you all enjoyed it. Now,
I'll wait to start the sequel until I've read HP and the HBP, so you should expect the
first chapter sometime next week or so. I figure that I'll have it set 8 years after this
epilogue, so Lily is 28, Carissa's 17, the twins are 15, and Sirius is 12. There will be some
surprising things in it, and it will focus a lot on the children, although Harry and Hermione will
definitely have their moments. I think that I'll simply call it `The Potter Family'. PLEASE
REVIEW!! I know it's been awhile since I've posted something for this story, but I hope my
fans haven't left me! And please look for the sequel!

-Emily

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