Harry's Album: Part 1
Lying awake in the dark, Harry rolled over and checked the time on the glowing alarm clock. 3:07am. Cursing, he rolled back over and looked at the sleeping form of his wife.
His wife.
The words rolled off his tongue so easily. They'd been married for eighteen months now- it seemed like forever, yet seemed like it was only yesterday that they had met.
In the darkness, he could make out the outline of her body, including the small bump she carried so well. Nothing had changed Harry's life so dramatically than the news that he was going to be a father. She was only five months and already Harry was so excited that he didn't want to wait another day. Every day he came home from work with some new toy or book or just anything for the baby- Hermione was always telling him not to buy anything more, but he just couldn't help himself.
Sighing heavily, he gave up on the idea of getting any more sleep. He only had to be up in two hours to go to work. Carefully, so as not to wake her, he climbed out of bed and threw his dressing gown on. With one last look at her; he headed out of the bedroom and down stairs.
The living room was still full of boxes, owing to the fact that they had only moved into the house a week ago. He knew what he wanted was in a box, and he knew exactly which box. Hermione had marked it 'Harry's Useless Junk' when they had moved from separate flats into one, and it had stayed sealed since. Ripping the tape off, he discovered that what he wanted was actually on the very top.
The album was leather covered. It was once a deep brown, but had been fading and was now a very light brown and very worn. But the album was very important to Harry. It didn't hold photos. It held every memory of his relationship with Hermione- little tokens of things that had happened and places they'd been. She didn't know he kept it- he hadn't put anything in it in so long. But he had things to put in, hidden in another box somewhere.
He made his way over to the lounge and stretched out and opened the album, looked at the picture of the Hogwarts lake and allowed himself to be whisked away into the memory of their first kiss…
The summer was so close that Harry could taste it in the air- only a week to go and there'd be no more school work. Of course, having to go back to the Dursley's put a damper on his spirits, but he wouldn't need to think about essays or anything for eight wonderful weeks.
He stretched out on the grass in the sun and enjoyed the silence of his surrounds. It was a Hogsmeade visit day and all the senior students had relished the chance to escape. The novelty of the village had worn off for Harry and he was more than happy to spend the day on his own.
'I figured you'd be down here,' a voice said from behind and he looked up to see Hermione heading towards him. She laid down on the grass beside him and just grinned to him.
'Why didn't you go into Hogsmeade?' he asked and she shrugged her shoulders.
'I just didn't. Ron did- he went with Luna.'
'What's going on between them?' Harry asked, smiling. He was happy for Ron.
'I think they're together- but it changes every minute,' Hermione said with a small laugh. 'It's so peaceful here.'
'I know. I love coming down here,' he said, sitting up and looking around. 'And it's all ours. No one else knows how to find it.'
'That's why I knew to find you here,' she said, beaming, making Harry beam back at her. They had discovered this secret section of the lake whilst on a walk one morning and had been returning ever since. It had become their secret spot- they hadn't even shared its location with Ron.
'Let's go for a swim,' Harry said suddenly, causing Hermione to look at him like he was insane.
'But- I don't have my suit!' she exclaimed.
'So- swim fully clothed,' he said, standing up and offering her his hand. She looked at him warily for a few seconds, before taking hold of it and allowing herself to be pulled to her feet. They ran down to the water and kicked off their socks and shoes and ran into the water in their jeans and shirts. They swam around for a bit and Harry kept dunking Hermione under water, much to her disgust.
'Harry!' she finally protested after he did it to her again. 'Enough!'
'Sorry,' he said, grinning. 'You can dunk me if you want.'
Hermione shook her head, suddenly becoming aware of the fact that for the last few minutes Harry's arms had been wrapped around her waist and his around her neck… Harry was looking into her eyes… they were close, very close…
'Harry,' she whispered, looking into his eyes. He didn't say a word, just captured her bottom lip with his, and kissed her softly. She fell into his kiss, holding him tighter and kissing him deeper. They broke apart and he just laughed nervously.
'I… I think we've done enough swimming,' he whispered and she nodded. They swam towards the shore and climbed out, both dripping wet from head to toe. They grabbed their socks and shoes and began to make their way up the grass towards the school- but Hermione had other plans.
Halfway up the grass she grabbed hold of Harry and kissed him hard, pulling him down onto the grass with her, where they allowed the hours to simply pass them by…