DISCLAIMER: Everything belongs to JK Rowling
A/N: I'd like to thank Another for being my beta, you're fantastic! This is my first fanfiction on this site; I really hope it goes well. Please read and review, and I'd appreciate constructive criticism, I'm always striving to write better. Here goes…
Sorry for Love
.:.Chapter 1.:. Auror Business
Hermione Granger lay on her bed inside her London house thinking about life and everything that had happened to her in that time. Sometimes she wished she had a Pensieve, she had as much on her mind as Dumbledore did she thought. Now that she was out of school, had a social life, and was an Auror with Harry Potter, her mind was totally boggled to the extreme. Harry was one of Hermione's best friends, the other being Ron Weasley. Ron was the comic relief of the infamous trio made up of mischief makers, he was that boy who always made someone laugh or cry. He had a slight temper, but got jealous very easily.
But Hermione had grown closer to Harry over the years, over the long, restless years leading up to their adult-hood. None other than Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents when he wasn't even a year old, caused most of that heartache over the years. But he was defeated; defeated and gone for good. It had been three long years since his agonizing death, and the world was starting to be a much better place already. Most of the Death Eaters had died along with their master, but some still lived…in Azkaban. No more heartache…no more angst…no more Voldemort.
Stumbling out of bed, Hermione grabbed a hair tie from her bedside table and pulled her long, curly hair into a messy bun. She was already dressed for work, so she grabbed her briefcase with all her paperwork inside of it and walked down the hall into the living room to apparate to Auror headquarters in the Ministry of Magic.
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It wasn't even 7:00 in the morning when Harry Potter jumped out of bed, ready to go for work. The old wooden floor creaked beneath his feet when he got out of bed, but that didn't bother him. At least he had a house, a very big house. The old dark house had belonged to Sirius Black, Harry's deceased godfather. Being in the house didn't really bother Harry much anymore, now that Sirius had been gone for so long. He had grown used to it, but a pang of sadness came every now and then. If he thought about Sirius like that, falling through the veil, he would never forgive himself. He decided to just not think about it, which always made Harry considerably happier.
While pulling his shoes on over his socks, he thought about his friends who had always been there for him. Ron was still there for him; he worked in the Magical Games and Sports Department in the Ministry of Magic while Hermione and Harry were Aurors. Yes, Hermione had always been there for Harry too…more times then Ron had. Whenever Harry was feeling so horrible that he just wanted to be left alone and cry to himself, Hermione was there. Ron wasn't the kind of friend he could do that with. He was Harry's best mate, his best male friend. Hermione was something more…like a person he could go to for everything.
Grabbing his cloak off the coat rack that replaced Sirius's screaming mother who had been removed from the wall, he left the house and apparated to the Ministry of Magic.
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"Hey Hermione!" Someone was walking over to the petite brown-haired woman overloaded with paperwork.
"Luna," said Hermione, looking at her friend exhaustedly. "Could you help me with this? I'm almost done with it, I just need you to carry my bag," she handed Luna the briefcase.
"Okay Mione," she said, taking the heavy bag. "How are you?"
"I'm exhausted after a long day at work. How about you?" asked Hermione.
"Can't complain. Ron hasn't been home in a while though…he's starting to worry me a little. He's been working in that office non-stop for the past week," she said, shaking her head.
"Well he'll come home soon. London is hosting the Quidditch Cup this year remember? I'm sure that he's overloaded like me."
"Why are you so overloaded?" asked Luna concernedly.
"Oh, just work. It should die down though."
"If you say so." The two women walked into the small yet organized cubicle. Hermione had to be organized, or else she couldn't function. It was like she had OCD, she had to be clean and neat no matter what. Her desk had trays where she put most of the paperwork, and then there were file cabinets under the desk. The only thing that was really out of order was the top of her desk, which had been littered with inter-departmental memos from when she left the office. She heaved the papers into her chair and Luna set her briefcase by her desk. Picking up all the memos, Hermione put the papers she had been carrying into their proper places in the cabinets and trays until she could plop down into her chair. She heaved a great sigh and she looked at Luna who was sitting opposite her in an extra chair.
"How do you keep it so organized?" she asked in awe.
"I'm obsessive when it comes to cleanliness, didn't you know?" Hermione asked.
"I did know. But you have so many papers…" she looked around.
"That's why I go to the muggle department stores to get trays and cabinets unlike some people I know," said Hermione, looking towards Seamus's cubicle across from hers that was very sloppy and papers littered all over the desk. She shook her head. Hermione never knew Seamus as the organized type anyway. Luna shot a faint smile at her and Hermione returned it. Suddenly Hermione thought about something. Why was Luna here? She didn't work at the Ministry…
"So why were you here Luna?" asked Hermione.
"I was doing some work for my dad. The Quibbler is going out of business I'm afraid, it's no good anymore," she sighed. Hermione knew how much Luna loved working for her dad, and wondered where she'd find another job.
"It's okay Luna, you'll find another job and your dad will be fine," said Hermione reassuringly.
"Oh I've already found one! I've applied for the new Divination teacher at Hogwarts!" she said excitedly. Luna was a Seer, and a very good one at that. It was about time Trelawney got out of that school. She was proud for Luna.
"That's great! I knew Dumbledore would do something about Trelawney," said Hermione.
"Well, Sibyl Trelawney is retiring on her own accord actually. She said she's seen too much coming to actually face it," Luna said, rolling her eyes.
"Oh well it was time she threw it to the dogs. She was getting up in age too. Hopefully she'll be an elementary school teacher somewhere," Hermione laughed and Luna did too. Hermione imagined the poor little children with a teacher who predicted their deaths every few seconds. Suddenly Hermione heard a knock on the side of her cubicle and saw Harry Potter standing in the doorway. What did he want?
"Hello Luna, Hermione," he said, nodding. "Can I speak to you about something Mione? Sorry Luna, it's Auror business," he said in a truly sorry tone of voice. Luna nodded her head, shot a glance at Hermione, and left the cubicle.
"Auror business? What kind?" asked Hermione curiously.
"I just needed to talk to you in private," he said, taking the seat that was occupying Luna moments before.
"About what?"
"Listen," he said, leaning closer to Hermione. "Ron was talking to me the other day and said that Luna's birthday is coming up. He hasn't been around her at all the past few weeks and feels really bad about it. He was wondering if you could help us plan a get together for her. Make her feel like Ron is sorry about not being there for her."
"That sounds like a great idea. She was talking to me about that before you came in and ruined our conversation," said Hermione jokingly. Harry rolled his eyes and looked into her eyes. They were so full of spirit, and cunning.
"Ron said that he couldn't get together with us to plan until next week, so he said that we could do it alone," said Harry quietly.
"Okay sounds great. When do you want to do it?" asked Hermione.
"Maybe tomorrow night at my place. We get off work early tomorrow remember?" said Harry.
"Oh yeah…well that sounds okay. So is there any real Auror business that we need to talk about?" asked Hermione, taking a stack of papers from one of her trays.
"Nope, just that. I'll see you later Mione, I need to go tell Ron you're helping us with it," said Harry, walking out of the room. Hermione shifted in her comfortable office chair. She hadn't been to Grimmauld Place in a long time, it would be fun with just her and Harry. She couldn't wait until tomorrow, when she could help plan Luna's birthday. But something bothered her…she would be alone…in a house…with a boy that had grown up and turned into a very handsome young man who was her best friend.
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Harry was walking towards Ron's office when he ran into someone he really didn't want to see at the moment.
"Hello Harry," said his previous girlfriend, Cho Chang, icily. He had broken up with Cho about a week ago, after they had gotten back together two months earlier. Those weren't the happiest times of his life, more like the most miserable. She had been working as a referee for the Quidditch Games in London, and worked in the Department of Magical Games and Sports since she got out of Hogwarts.
"How are you Cho?" asked Harry in a trying-to-be-nice tone of voice.
"Oh fine, just working you know. I best be off now…see you Harry," she said as she walked off, her long black plait down her back swaying as she walked. Cho was a beautiful woman, but not Harry's type at all. She'd do well with a famous wizard or a Quidditch Player, but not him. Somehow she didn't' satisfy Harry like another girl would…another girl that he still had to find. He walked swiftly into Ron's office and cleared his throat to let his best friend know he was standing right in front of him. Ron didn't take any notice however, he was too buried in paperwork to notice anything. Harry went up to Ron's desk and said, "When you get your nose out of paperwork for a minute I'd like to speak to you." Ron almost jumped out of his seat with horror when he came face to face with Harry.
"Harry! I told you not to do that you bloody git," said Ron, his ears turning red rather easily.
"Sorry, I cleared my throat if you didn't hear me already," said Harry in an irritated tone of voice. Ron rolled his eyes and put down his quill and ink to look up at Harry.
"So what did you want to talk to me about then?" he asked.
"Hermione said yes to `Operation Loony,'" said Harry, making sure that no one was around, knowing no one really was. Ron grinned mischievously and put his feet up onto his desk.
"I see. And was that only because she could be in the same house with you…alone?" he asked.
"No! Why would she do that?" asked Harry, shocked.
"Because she likes you mate! She's probably happy that you broke up with Cho. I've seen her look at you, ever since seventh year she's been like this," said Ron with an air of jealousy in his voice. Ron had loved Hermione since seventh year, and then he noticed Luna for what she was and started going with her instead. But Ron would always be jealous of any relationship Hermione had with a man, no matter what happened. Harry thought it was more out of friendship now, but still.
"Rubbish. Pure rubbish Ron! She's my best friend, not to mention yours. How could she like me like that?"
"Because she has always been there for you, when I wasn't able to. I think your relationship with her is stronger than the force of nature," said Ron seriously. That was one thing Ron was right about…they did have a very strong relationship.
"Whatever you say mate. See you later," said Harry as he walked out of his best friend's office, feeling slightly nervous all of a sudden. He didn't like Hermione more than a friend…he couldn't like her more than that…could he?
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When Hermione reached home at about 7:00 at night, she kicked off her shoes and put her cloak on a coat rack outside the living room of her home. Hermione now lived in a house that had belonged to her grandmother in London. It was close to Harry and Ron, and highly convenient. It was a pretty small home, only one floor with two bedrooms, a study, a hallway bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen. She loved the house, she could remember going there when she was younger and helping her grandma with the garden and baking cookies in the kitchen. The house held a lot of memories…all of them priceless and unforgettable.
Hermione thought about the night she was going to spend with Harry making plans for Luna's birthday. She wondered what they would plan…but that wasn't what was worrying her. What was worrying her was the fact that she was going to be alone in a house with Harry for the first time in a while. She shouldn't feel worried about it; after all he was her best friend. But something about Harry made Hermione slightly nervous when she was alone with him. She had just started having this feeling in her last year at Hogwarts, when Harry was older, wiser, filled out, and very handsome. Almost all the girls liked him at the time, but he didn't fancy any of them as far as she knew. Ron had gotten an injury after Voldemort's defeat, at which Hermione and Ron were present. He was in the Hospital Wing for the rest of the term, in that time Harry and Hermione had gotten a lot closer. When Harry was going through very rough times, Hermione was there. When Hermione was going through rough times, Harry was there. After they had left school however, that closeness started to fade a bit. Although they saw each other every day of the week at the Ministry, and saw each other on weekends with Ron usually, it wasn't the same. Ron was always there now, and Harry and Hermione barely got any time alone anymore. Maybe that close bond would come back however, when Hermione went over to Grimmauld Place to plan a party with Harry.
After thinking about Harry so much she was getting a headache, Hermione hopped into the shower and changed into her pajamas. Her hair had lost most of its bushiness, now it was soft and silky. She had let it grow past her shoulders too, now it was down to her mid-back. She had kept her bangs, but they were in need of a severe trim. Once in bed and reading a book, Crookshanks hopped onto the bed and Hermione scratched his ears. He was a really old cat now, and she sometimes thought he was getting arthritis in his legs and crooked tail because he barely moved anymore. But she was devoted to him, as he was to her. He had made friends with Sirius, which Hermione thought was quite funny after she thought about it. Her ginger cat walked to the end of the bed after having his proper attention and curled up into a ball at her feet. Yawning widely and rubbing her sleepy eyes, Hermione fluffed her pillow, turned out the light, and fell into a dreamless slumber.
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Harry got out of his robes and changed into his pajamas rather slowly when he got home, because he was very tired. Another hard day at work, another day passed away. The more he thought about work the more he thought about Hermione. He had been hiding this when he talked to Ron that afternoon, but somehow Harry did feel a new feeling towards Hermione now. It was more than just friendship…but it wasn't like he fancied her. She was what kept him going, someone he went to when he had problems or needed to talk about something.
Harry started thinking about what Ron said that afternoon even more…
"Because she likes you mate! She's probably happy that you broke up with Cho. I've seen her look at you, ever since seventh year she's been like this!"
Ron was probably right about that. He had to stay away from the topic of Cho Chang, because whenever Harry brought her name up during a conversation with Hermione, she always went into a rage about how mean she was. When Harry was dating Cho again, Hermione kept her rants to a minimum whenever he talked about Cho. But as soon as they broke up again, she started again.
Harry finally focused his thoughts on something else for a change. Luna was a Seer, would she know about the secret birthday operation? Even if she did, it would be good for Ron, Harry, and Hermione to treat her to a dinner or get-together. Thank goodness she didn't say anything when she saw it coming. She was a great person; she wouldn't ruin something like that…he didn't think. Where would they go? What would they do? Harry had to figure that out tomorrow…when he was with Hermione…in this house…
After he had taken a shower and gotten his paperwork together for the next day, Harry climbed into bed, turned out the light, and stared at the high ceiling. It was like he couldn't sleep tonight, he had too many thoughts going through his head. He decided just to clear his mind like he used to do for Occlumency lessons with dear old Professor Snape and tried to fall into a restful night's sleep.
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