A/N: Thanks to everyone for your reviews, and I'm sorry about the accidental uploading of Chapter Two and deleting it, making everyone think there was a second chapter. Here is Chapter Three. Oh, and on this sentence: "SSSSSSfdkfldfdslhfsdffdsfdsfdskjlgjklzgdsnklagsfdjslkfdjslk;fjslk;jfksl;fjkls'd;he said that she'd meet Harry in front of the fountain of Magical Brethren so that they could go to his house." On the word `She,' there's a lot of letters separating the S and h. Sorry about that as well, it doesn't show up on Microsoft Word, but it shows when I upload it to Portkey… Oh well, enjoy the chapter!
.::.Chapter Three: Almost.::.
Hermione finally finished with everything in her office and set off downstairs. SSSSSSfdkfldfdslhfsdffdsfdsfdskjlgjklzgdsnklagsfdjslkfdjslk;fjslk;jfksl;fjkls'd;he said that she'd meet Harry in front of the fountain of Magical Brethren so that they could go to his house. Her heart was beating fast, she felt like she was sweating in the blazing heat, and to top it all off she tried to imagine what the night's events would come to. She stepped into the large lift that transported her downstairs and sighed as it went all the way down to the bottom floor.
.+.
Harry waited downstairs in front of the Fountain. He remembered in his fifth year when it had blown apart to save him and Dumbledore…when Voldemort had almost been defeated…. But he wasn't. Harry had finally defeated Voldemort with something the he himself didn't know he had in his last year at Hogwarts.
"I'll say one last thing before I kill you Potter," said Voldemort. Harry was lying there on the ground in the Hogwarts Mountains, miles from the school…when people were lying dead or unconscious all around him…
"A-and w-w-what is that?" Harry managed to get out. He had been hit with three Cruciatus curses, and felt as if his legs were paralyzed. He had dodged the Avada Kedavra curse once more and there was no one there to save him. Dumbledore was gone…his only hope was gone…Sirus was gone…he'd be with Sirius again…
"You will never, ever defeat Lord Voldemort," and all went silent as he raised his wand. Harry scrambled to the ground and raised his wand also. To Harry's utter bewilderment, his wand shot a jet of golden light towards Voldemort. He watched as Voldemort was lifted into the air, his body was twisting as if it was a towel wringing out water, and he vanished. Harry was gaping at what he had just seen. What had his wand just done? What was that light? But before he could answer himself, Harry's mind drifted off…..
.+.
"Harry?" asked a soft, feminine voice. Harry slowly opened his eyes and realized that he was in the hospital wing. Hermione's face was coming into view and he scrambled for his glasses. Was he having a dream? Or was he really there with her?
"Hermione," he said barely above a whisper. She smiled at him as she lifted her hand to his face. He loved the feeling he got at her touch, warmth spread through his body. She had several scratches on her face, and she had on her pajamas. He could hear voices from behind her, so he sat up in bed and reached for his glasses after Hermione walked off.
"We're glad you're awake Harry," said someone from a short distance. It was Lupin. Thank goodness he was alive….
"Yeah," said Harry. To be honest, he didn't really want to be awake, didn't want to face the world after what had happened. Ron was lying in a bed next to him, unconscious. Harry didn't have a memory of what happened to him.
"Ron was conscious a while ago, but then went back to sleep," said Lupin. Harry nodded his head while he remained looking down at the floor. One thing flashed across his mind. One thing about the battle he did remember, but was afraid to ask how the person was.
"How is Neville?" he asked quietly. Lupin and Hermione exchanged worried glances and Hermione looked over at him with a sorrowful face.
"He was in really bad shape…Dumbledore had to take him to St. Mungo's." Wait a second, did Hermione just say Dumbledore?
"Dumbledore's alive?" he asked. Remus took this one.
"Yes Harry, he's alive. He was amazingly enough knocked unconscious in the battle just like many others, but that didn't stop him. No, he's still with us." Relief spread over Harry. He had hoped with all his heart that nothing had happened to Dumbledore. Thank goodness, nothing did. Harry was beginning to feel fatigue once more and lay his head back down on his pillow. He heard someone walk over to his bedside.
"Go back to sleep Harry, you need rest," said a soft voice in his ear. Hermione planted a kiss on his cheek as he drifted off to another slumber with a slight grin planted on his face.
.+.
"Harry?" said a voice from a distance. Harry snapped back to life and realized the present day Hermione was standing in front of him, a perplexed look on her face. She didn't look so different now, even though her body had filled out and her hair wasn't nearly as bushy as it had been. It was still curly however, and was longer. She still looked beautiful…even though she had gone through so much... He was feeling something go through him that he had never felt for anyone before. What are you're feelings for her? Harry snapped back to life for the second time that day.
"Oh, sorry, I drifted off for a moment…ready to go?" he asked her. She nodded her head and apparated to Grimmauld Place. Harry did the same thing right after her.
Once they both had arrived at their destination, Hermione looked around the house. It was very different from the way she remembered it, when it used to be dark and dreary.
"Oh Harry, I love what you did with the place!" she gasped as Harry came into view.
"Thanks, I did it myself, with the help of an interior decorator. I felt really ridiculous doing it of course, but it was worth it," he said. Hermione let out a laugh and sat down on one of the couches. It was one of the most comfortable things she'd ever sat on, and she sighed as she sunk down into the cushion. The walls of the house were now a dark forest green, most of the furniture was wooden, paintings that used to be on the walls were taken out, and much to her satisfaction, Mrs. Black's portrait had been removed, and a grandfather clock stood in it's place.
"Like the furniture do you?" he asked, smiling at his best friend. He was glad to see her relaxing; he knew that she hadn't done so in ages.
"Yes, I love it," she said, looking around the room once more.
"So do you want anything to drink?" asked Harry, walking into the kitchen.
"Can I have some water?" he heard her call. He nodded his head and pulled some filtered water out of the refrigerator, pulled out two glasses from the cupboard, and filled them both evenly. Once he was done, he walked into the living room with their beverages. There was a few moments' silence while each of them glanced at each other between sips of water.
"So, do you have any ideas for Operation Loony?" asked Harry. Hermione was caught a bit off guard. Why wasn't she thinking about Luna? Wasn't that what she was supposed to have her mind focused on?
"Yeah, maybe we could get together at a café or restaurant in Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley; or a lovely place in the muggle community. I know some really nice places where we could go. Do you have any thoughts?" she asked. Harry shook his head and said, "Nope." Hermione had come over to Harry's house to discuss plans for Luna's birthday and no one was getting anywhere. She wondered whether that was the only reason she was here…
"I don't think that we should plan it anywhere until we get in touch with Ron," said Harry, wanting to direct the conversation away from Luna. Hermione nodded her head slowly while staring at Harry questioningly and turned to take another sip of her water. Surprisingly enough, her throat was getting dry, despite the water….
Before long, Harry and Hermione had gotten into a discussion about their previous years at Hogwarts. He was talking about when she had taken the Polyjuice Potion in her second year, and she was remembering it quite clearly now. She had turned into a cat, and sprouted a tail. Remembering Hogwarts memories were the best of times, especially when you were with someone you had experienced most of them with. There wasn't one huge or small memory at Hogwarts or in the wizarding world hat Hermione could remember without Harry playing a part of it. That was something that she would cherish always, Harry always being a part of the happy memories stowed away in her mind. She didn't know how long their one conversation lasted, but she knew that it was well into the night and she was so tired that she couldn't even get out of her chair.
"I wonder how long we've been talking?" asked Harry, looking at his watch. It was now nearing 11:00 at night, he couldn't believe it.
"A while," said Hermione. She had glanced at the clock on the wall opposite her.
"Yep. You look tired," he said, looking at Hermione. She had dark circles under her eyes and her face was pale.
"I am," she laughed softly. "I better get home before I fall asleep here…," she said as she tried to lift herself up off the couch. Harry went over to her and pushed her back down gently. She eyed him incredulously. He looked into her honey brown eyes while she moved closer to him intentionally as she situated herself on the couch. She screwed her face up in mixed confusion and sadness. She pushed a stray hair from his face and looked away quickly as several tears started to well up in her eyes.
"W-well, I'd better get home…thanks for having me, Harry," she said. What was stopping her from doing the one thing that would make her happy? What was stopping her from pulling him close and running her hands through his hair? She didn't dare answer herself as she began to get up off the couch again.
"Hermione, wait." She looked around at his hand, which was on her arm. He was wearing a look that Hermione couldn't describe. It was more like he was speaking to her without moving his lips. "Please don't leave," was what he seemed to be saying to her.
"What?" she asked with her voice slightly shaky as she tried to avoid her emotions. Harry looked into her eyes once more. He knew the way he felt about her…he was so sure….
"Forget it," he said flatly as he let her go. She looked at him for a moment, and then closed her eyes and dissapparated from his home. Thoughts were reeling through Harry's mind about what just happened as he ran a trembling hand through his hair. What was that feeling he had? What was he going to say to her just then? Was she crying? Too many questions he was asking himself, when none of them had been answered. He needed his many questions answered. The thing was that Hermione was the only person who did have the answers.
.+.
When Hermione got home she threw her cloak on the couch and ran through the house to get to her bedroom. Thoughts were going through her mind that seemed insane, yet were very true. What she had felt for Harry was something one could only feel for a person they wanted to be with. Was she sure that was the feeling she had? Had that been the feeling? Why hadn't she done anything about it? She was asking herself way too many questions, what she needed was them to be answered. But who could answer them? She pulled off her clothes, put on her pajamas, and got into bed. She seriously doubted whether she could sleep tonight. More tears made their way down her cheek before she finally decided to do something about it and turned her face to the pillow where she could cry herself to sleep.
-->