Sweet Child of Mine
HavaBisqitPotter
Summer 2004
TAGLINE: In the end, it all comes down to who's by your side...
SUMMARY: To his friends, Harry Potter died eight years ago. But when he returns suddenly, he finds that things have changed... Drastically. Now, he must win back the woman he loves and gain back her trust... Before it's too late.
RATING: PG-13 for adult situations, adult language, innuendo, and alcohol content... Oh... And for my mother's fluff chapters.
DISCLAIMER: HARRY POTTER and all related names and indicia are J.K. Rowling's. In other words, I don't own it, so you'd be wasting your time suing. I also ask that you please do not stalk Daniel Radcliffe. (That's my job.) Espío tu hijo. ¿Dónde esta el? (You should know, but if you don't, I'd look it up.)
A/N: Special thanks to my mother (also my beta) who helped me develop this little fluffy plot bunny into something deeper. (Good fajitas do bad things to the mind...) Oh,
and this is also my first HP fic, so please be brutally honest. I honestly want to know
what you think. Keep in mind that the last part (it's italicized) is a flashback. That said, enjoy!
~~Harry~~
Chapter One
Saved the Best for Last
"And now we're standing face to face
Isn't this world a crazy place
Just when I thought our last chance had passed
You go and save the best for last"
'Saved the Best for Last'
-Vanessa Williams
I never wanted to leave her. Never. Not once in our relationship did I want to leave her. In all honesty, I had planned to come back and marry her. My mistake was not coming back.
There were all kinds of excuses; The Death Eaters were still abroad... I needed to find myself... I needed to get my head on straight... It just escalated and grew until BAM! Eight years had gone by and I was still joyriding. But now I know it's time. I'm going home. I figure Ginny Weasley's engagement party is a good enough excuse.
It's been eight years. I shouldn't expect her to be waiting for me. She's probably moved on. She's probably married to someone brilliant like herself and is busy developing a counter curse for something or other... but I can't help but see that tiny little glimmer of hope shining off in the distance. Maybe she still loves me...
I stand outside of the pub that Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan started after Hogwarts. The Snitch's theme is (naturally) 'Quidditch Through the Ages' and there is an entire wall dedicated to me, supposedly the greatest seeker that ever lived. I only wish I still had all of my reflexes.
Seeing Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy standing in the doorway, hands entwined, the diamond ring on her left hand glistening, brings back so many memories... A little red headed girl on Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters... A slick haired boy in Madame Malkin's... That same girl (only not so little, and not so red headed) clutching the boy's neck almost seven years later... whoever would have thought that Ginny Weasley could change Draco Malfoy?
Ginny runs her free hand (her left-done on purpose, I'm sure) through her hair and shakes her head, laughing. She doubles back to me and her smile fades into a look of confusion. She nudges Draco and points to me. "Harry... What... You're supposed to be dead!" She crosses over to me and puts her hands on her hips.
There is a moment of shocked silence and then a collective gasp from everyone in the pub. The bartender doesn't seem to realize that the glass he was filling with Firewhiskey is running over. Every eye is on me.
"Err..." I shrug and shove my hands into my pockets. "Well... I'm alive!" I attempt to joke. She's not smiling. "Err... Surprise?" I look around nervously. You could hear a pin drop.
Ginny scoffs, turns on her heel, and storms back over to Draco.
The crowd seems to take this as a go ahead. They flock to me. People reaching for my arms and legs... People screaming for autographs and girls just plain screaming... Two very pregnant women push through the crowd to me. "I'm pregnant and I'm mean!" One of them snaps.
"Harry!" They fuss, one of them pulling my hair away from my forehead to see the scar.
I brush her hand away. I hate people touching it. Only Hermione... "I wouldn't try that... if... Wait a bloody minute..." I realize whose hand I have grabbed. "Lav... Lavender Brown! Well, bloody hell! How have you been?"
She laughs and I embrace her. "Well, Dean and I are getting on." She sighs and pats her stomach. "This will be our third."
"That's great, Lav! I'm really happy for you." She gets pushed away by her pregnant friend.
"Quit hogging him, Lavender!"
Parvati Patil has wound her arms around my neck. "We've missed you so, Harry."
Seamus appears at her side. "Now, Parvati, don't lie to him!" He winks at me and Parvati hits him on the arm. "I was only kidding. It hasn't been the same without you here, mate." He shakes my hand and turns his head to Draco and Ginny.
She's stamping her foot and pointing her finger at me. Her ears have gone red and her eyes flash dangerously. "Uh-oh..." Seamus sighs. "Dean, break out the hose. Looks like we're going to need to cool Ginny off."
Draco vehemently shakes his head and Ginny strides over to the bar. I watch her down a shot of... something and motion for another.
I am quite aware of the crowd pressing in on us now. "Uhh... Seamus, Dean... Is there somewhere that we can go talk? I mean, we're attracting quite a crowd."
Seamus nods. "Let's go open a room, love," he says to Parvati, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Dean and Lavender will show you back, Harry." They take off. I crane my neck looking for her... She has to be here...
Lavender pulls me into a quick hug. "If you're looking for Hermione, she's right over there." She points a perfectly manicured finger towards the left side of the pub. She winks at me and leads Dean towards the back of the bar.
"Harry!" "Mr. Potter!" "Harry, Harry!" "This way, Mr. Potter! Harry Potter!" The crowd's calls are muffled and strangely eerie as I make my way toward her. She hasn't seen me yet. She's sitting there, looking absolutely gorgeous, sipping a club soda. A wave of emotions comes over me and I have to fight the tears back. I have dreamed of this moment for the last eight years. She sighs and rests her chin in her hands. I know she is bored. Partying was never something she enjoyed.
"Harry!" I am swept into the arms of Mrs. Weasley. Her face is more lined that it was and there is more white in her hair, but her eyes hold the same warmth that welcomed me into the Burrow when I was a scrawny boy of twelve.
"Harry!" Mr. Weasley shakes my hand and soon I am surrounded by red hair. Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George...
"Where is-"
Ginny pushes her way through her family. "Potter!" I turn around and feel her fist connect with my nose.
"Ohhh..." I whimper and try to stem the bleeding. "God, Gin... You sure know how to pack a punch..."
She stops, mouth half open, and looks at me confusedly. "Th... Thanks..." She stammers, pulls out her wand and, with a few well-chosen words, has stopped the bleeding. Then she embraces me. "Welcome back, Harry. I'm sorry I acted like such a drama queen... It's just that... Well, everyone thought you were dead... And, err... Well, you've kind of... you know... hijacked my engagement party..."
I nod. "It's quite all right, Gin... Let's go sit in the back and talk. We have a lot of catching up to do." She smiles and motions for Draco to join her. As they make their way toward the back, I decide to ask Hermione if she'll come with me.
She's talking to Colin Creevey. He hasn't changed one bit and his camera still appears to be permanently attached to his hands. She looks over my way at this precise moment and our eyes meet. Her smile fades into a look of shock and her eyebrows knit together. A highly confused Colin looks my way and raises his camera. Hermione pushes it back down and stands up, starting toward me.
Our eyes never part as we make our way across the floor. I am no longer aware of the calls going on around me. There is no one else in the room... Everything else is a blurry haze... There is a funny feeling behind my navel, almost like the feeling a portkey gives... But this is no portkey. This is the woman I love.
We meet in the center of the room. Her lips are parted slightly and her chest slowly rises and falls with each breath she takes. "Hermione..." I whisper, leaning in to catch the subtle traces of vanilla in her hair.
"Harry..." She breathes, backing away slowly. She then brushes away the hair that always falls into my eyes, and traces the scar on my forehead like she always used to do. "It's really you... I've dreamed of this..." I close my eyes and surrender to her touch, then take her fingers and bring them to my lips.
I kiss each one and then whisper against her fingertips, "I told you I'd come back for you..."
She pulls her hand away and looks at me. Her eyes narrow and cloud.
"Hermione... What's wr-"
She pulls back her fist and it collides with the underside of my jaw. It catches me off guard and before I know it, I am sprawled on the floor, looking up at her through watery eyes. It's the second time this evening I've been punched by a woman... There must be something in the water... She's got one hell of a right hook...
"Hermione... I though you would be ecstatic!" I pull myself up and stand in front of her.
She's nodding intensely. "You did? You thought that you could just come back here after eight years and I'd fall right back into your arms? Yeah, well, that always was your problem, Harry! Your head was too big for its own good." Ouch... Tears are streaming down her cheeks. "WHY DID YOU COME BACK?" Not good. Hermione Granger is screaming at me. "WHY IN BLOODY HELL ARE YOU BACK HERE? YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD! I'VE SPENT THE LAST EIGHT YEARS OF MY LIFE BELIEVING YOU WERE DEAD! I MOURNED FOR YOU! MERLIN, WE HAD A BLOODY HEADSTONE MADE FOR YOU!"
"Hermione..." I lower my voice, hoping that she will follow suit, and put my hands on her shoulders. "can't we talk about this?"
She throws my hands off her shoulders. "I CAN'T JUST PICK UP LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED! YOU TOLD ME THAT IF YOU HADN'T COME BACK IN A FEW MONTHS, YOU WOULDN'T BE COMING BACK! EIGHT YEARS, POTTER. EIGHT SODDING YEARS! I'M NOT SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD ANYMORE, HARRY! TOO MUCH HAS HAPPENED... I'VE BEEN THROUGH TOO MUCH TO JUST TAKE UP WITH YOU AGAIN!"
"'Mione..."
"DO NOT CALL ME THAT!"
"People are staring..." And they truly are. Every eye in the pub is on us... I know how much she hates attention, so I'm trying this angle... And did she just call me by my last name?
"AND THAT WOULD BOTHER YOU HOW? YOU'VE ALWAYS LOVED BEING IN THE LIMELIGHT! IT WAS PART OF THAT SODDING BIG HEAD!" She stares at me, panting and tears still falling.
"Hermione..." Ron steps out of nowhere and puts his arm around her. "Shh..." He breathes into her hair... (I used to do that.) "Come on, love... I'll take you home. Everything will be fine... I promise... We'll get through it."
She points a shaky finger at me. "He... He left..." Funny, she didn't have any problem finding words a few minutes ago.
"I know... I was there, remember?" He lays her cloak over her shoulders. "Come on... Let's go home..."
She nods and Ron turns back to me. "We need to talk, Harry... I'll be back later. Stay here."
Hermione sniffs. "He has problems with that one, Ron."
He kisses her forehead. (I used to do that, too.) "I'm serious, Harry. Stay here."
I nod and watch as my two best friends Disapparate.
* * *
I sit upright in bed and desperately try to remember what exactly is happening today. I know it's something important... Quidditch... No... That was last week... I rack my brain for five minutes before I hear Ron muttering. "Ron..." I hiss. "Ron!"
"Hmm... What? Are the spiders attacking?" He blinks lazily and sits up.
"Spiders?" I ask quizzically.
Ron looks around and answers, "Erm... Never mind... Now, what did you wake me up for?"
"I thought the spiders were attacking." I say gravely, somehow managing to keep a straight face.
"Oh, shut up, Harry!" He heaves a pillow at me.
I catch it easily, like an oversized snitch, and scratch my head. "What's happening today? I know it's something important... I just can't quite place it... I know it's not Quidditch... I'm pretty sure it's not Hogsmeade... Help me here, please."
Ron stares at me. "Blimey, mate... You have problems if you can't remember what today is..."
I shrug. "Okay... So, apparently it is pretty important..."
Ron sighs. "Harry... Check your trunk." He points to it.
I lean over the end of my bed. "Lumos..." I whisper and the tip of my wand flares. I dig around in the trunk and pull out an oblong box. I remember. "T... Tonight?"
"Yeah..." he nods. "You said you were going to do it tonight before you left in the morning."
I sigh. "Tomorrow? I can't believe it's finally here. I mean... In forty-eight hours, Voldemort or I will be dead... Possibly both. Nox," I extinguish my wand. "I mean to say... Our lives will be snuffed out... Just like someone says... nox."
He hits me playfully on the shoulder. "Come on, Harry... You're not going to die! You defeated him when you were just a year old... Surely you can do it as a seventeen-year-old."
My eyes rest on the box and I turn it over and over in my hands. "You'll take care of her if I don't come back." It's truly a statement rather than a question.
He nods and we sit in silence, watching the sun rise, knowing that an unspoken agreement had just been made between us. We both love Hermione. I have complete faith in the fact that if I'm gone Ron will be there, just like he always has.