Reunited With a Happy New Year

Ruddy_Brilliant

Rating: PG13
Genres: Angst, Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 4
Published: 07/12/2004
Last Updated: 09/12/2004
Status: completed

Harry's away on a business trip from newlywed wife Hermione, and Hermione goes to a New Year's party while pining for him. Little does she know what Ron/Luna and Draco/Ginny have planned for her, though....

Chapters

1. Chapter the Only

1. Chapter the Only

Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me, etc. etc. etc. JKR = smart. Me = not. Understood? =D

Hermione Jane Potter bit her lip and stared out the window at the darkening street outside. It was only seven o’clock, but the midst of winter, so nightfall came much earlier. However, Hermione was noticing none of this. Her thoughts were only on her new husband, Harry James Potter. Only three days into their honeymoon, he had been called away on urgent business for the Ministry of Magic, where he worked as an Auror. It seemed that two of the most known and feared Death Eaters in the whole world had been tracked down by the Ministry, and Harry was one of the people chosen to track them down and capture them. It was a grueling task, and very urgent and important, so that was the reason Harry had gone.

That’s all very good, thought Hermione, but why did it have to happen so soon after our honeymoon?! And she buried her head in her arms and burst into tears.

Suddenly, she felt two strong, warm arms wrap around her, and she quickly turned around to find one of her best friends, Ron Weasley, looking at her with worry creasing his brow.

“Hey,” he said softly, “what’s wrong?”

Hermione fought to keep back tears and managed to shake her head. “Nothing’s wrong,” she mumbled, staring at the ground.

Ron smiled and gently cuffed her under the chin. “Hermione...” he said. “Missing him, I know.”

Hermione looked up at him. “Ron-” she said, her voice cracking. “Ron, I-”

And she burst into tears again.

“Oh, Hermione,” whispered Ron, cradling her in his arms. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” he murmured as he rocked her back and forth, comforting her. “It’s okay, Hermione.”

Once Hermione had calmed down, she stepped back from Ron, regaining her composure. “Ron,” she said, “what brought you to my house?”

Ron smiled. “It’s Draco and Ginny’s New Year’s party, Hermione,” he said. “I said I’d come pick you up, remember?”

Hermione gasped. “Their party!” she exclaimed. “Oh no, I completely forgot!”

“That’s okay,” said Ron, shrugging his shoulders. “Just get dressed quickly, and we’ll head on over there.”

Hermione sank down onto a chair, shaking her head. “Oh, Ron,” she whispered. “I can’t. I won’t make it five seconds there by myself without breaking down about Harry. I can’t, Ron, I can’t.”

“Of course you can!” Ron exclaimed. “Hermione, all your friends will be there. You’ll have a blast, and then you’ll be able to tell Harry all about it when he comes back in three days. Come on, Hermione...”

“Ron,” said Hermione, staring at him, “I’ll make a fool of myself. I tell you, I’ll start crying, and everyone will think I’m such a lovesick swain that they’ll never speak to me again.”

“Hermione,” replied Ron, “you’re allowed to miss your new husband. It’s not against the law or anything. I’m sure Harry misses you just as much, and I’m positive that people won’t stop speaking to you just because you miss your new husband terribly at a party.”

“Ron,” tried Hermione one last time, “Ron, I won’t have anyone to kiss at midnight....”

Ron simply smiled. “Hermione, it’s okay,” he said. “Now come on. Get dressed, and then meet me in the car. Luna’s waiting to see you.”

“All right,” Hermione agreed, and she headed upstairs to her room to put on some fancy clothes.

As soon as she was looking presentable, she headed down to Ron’s car, which was parked outside. Ron was in the front seat and Luna was in the back. Hermione opened the other door to the back seat and got in next to Luna.

“Hi Ron, Hi Luna,” she said as she magically locked her house with her wand and settled herself in the car, closing the car door behind her.

“Hi, Hermione,” Luna replied, in her usual dreamy way. “Excited about tonight?”

Hermione shrugged. “As excited as you can be when you’re missing your brand-new husband,” she said listlessly.

Luna nodded sympathetically. “I’m sorry, Hermione,” she said quietly. “I know you love him a lot. I know what you’re going through. And so soon after the wedding, too.”

Hermione nodded in agreement and they were off to the Malfoy mansion.

Once they were there, Ron parked the car in a suitable spot, and they all got out and headed inside. At the door, a butler took their coats and they immediately made their way over to Draco and Ginny, who were at the very front of the room, greeting their guests.

“Hey, lil’ sis,” said Ron as they met the two. “How’s it going?”

Ginny smiled at him and cuffed him playfully on the arm, then turned to Hermione and Luna. “Hi, you two!” she exclaimed. “So glad you could come!”

“Very glad,” agreed Draco, hooking arms with Ginny. He smiled at them, then frowned and said, “Hermione.... oh, Harry’s away on urgent business, isn’t he....”

Hermione nodded, finding herself trying very hard to keep the tears down. “Yeah,” she murmured quietly. “He is.”

Ginny gave her a sympathetic look. “He’ll be back soon, Hermione,” she said in a comforting tone. “In the meanwhile, enjoy yourself at our house! The drinks and snacks are right over there.”

“Thanks,” Ron said, smiling at Draco and Ginny. “We’ll see you two later.”

They nodded and smiled and turned towards their next guests as Ron, Luna, and Hermione headed towards the food. But after a few minutes of standing and sipping champagne and eating little cheese cubes, Luna began tugging at Ron’s sleeve, wanting to dance.

“Okay, okay,” agreed Ron with a laugh, giving in. He looked at Hermione. “You okay?” he asked, with a worried look in his eyes.

Hermione nodded and smiled. “Fine,” she managed to say. “You go have fun.”

Ron and Luna grinned at her and headed out into the dancing crowd. Hermione wandered over to a corner of the room and stood there, watching everyone look so happy and merry. She thought about Harry again, and the thought nearly made her break down as she watched all the other couples dance by with happy smiles on their faces, lost in each other. She watched Ron and Luna dance by more than once, caught up in each other. She watched Neville Longbottom and his wife, Susan Bones, chase each other around the room and finally catch one another and share a deep kiss. She watched all her former classmates dance and play and just generally enjoy each other’s company.

The evening went on, and Hermione was still in her corner. She had been watching everyone all night, and she was just about to sink into a sobbing mess on the floor right now. What with seeing all her friends and former classmates dance and look so happy, it was a wonder that she hadn’t already.

Ron and Luna hadn’t been back to talk to Hermione all night. They’d been so caught up in each other that they’d most likely forgotten about everyone else. Only Susan Bones had spotted her and come over to exchange a few words, but had left, too, when Neville had come over and taken her away to dance, grinning, in his arms.

Hermione sighed as a slow dance started, and all the couples out on the dance floor began to dance, holding each other. She spotted Draco and Ginny near the middle, Ginny’s head on Draco’s shoulder and his arms tightly wrapped around her.

Hermione felt a few tears slide down her face, and she quickly turned to face the wall as more tears started their journey from her eyes down. She just felt alone, isolated, as if her whole world was falling down before her eyes because the man whom she regarded as her world, her husband, wasn’t there. And she felt as if she most certainly was going to break down in a few minutes.

All of a sudden, Hermione felt two strong, familiar, warm arms wrap tightly around her and hold her to them. She started and twisted around to see who her comforter was this time, and nearly fainted when she saw her husband’s bright green eyes looking back at her.

“Oh, Harry,” whispered Hermione before she burst into sobs, tears running down her face as she turned around and threw herself into Harry’s waiting arms.

Harry wrapped his warm arms tightly around her and pressed her against him. “Hermione, Hermione, I’ve missed you so much,” he murmured into her hair as he wrapped his arms even tighter around her, as if he didn’t want to let go of her for a very long time.

Once Hermione had gathered herself, she looked up into Harry’s eyes and said, “Harry, you came back three days early!”

Harry smiled and kissed her gently on the lips. “Why else, but to be with you,” he said. “I took a great risk in capturing the two Death Eaters ahead of schedule just so I could come back home and be with my wife whom I’ve missed so terribly,” he replied, a few tears glistening in his eyes.

“Oh, Harry,” whispered Hermione, tears shining in her eyes, too. “I’ve missed you so much, too. I didn’t even want to come tonight; Ron made me.”

Harry smiled. “Remember to remind me to thank Ron for following the plan,” he said, a very mischievous glint in his sparkling green eyes.

Hermione suddenly realized what he had meant and her head snapped up to his. “Wha- you- plan- you planned all of this!” she exclaimed, the beginnings of a smile spreading across her face. “You knew- Ron- all planning- oh, Harry, I love you!!!!!!!!!” she exclaimed, throwing herself back into his arms and squeezing him so tightly it was a wonder he could still breathe.

Harry smiled and wound his fingers through Hermione’s hair, fingering her soft, shiny, chestnut-colored curls. Hermione pulled back, looking at him, and said, “Harry... you captured the two Death Eaters days in advance, risking your life, just to be with me?”

“Yes, just you,” replied Harry, his hands gently framing her petite face, “just the love of my life.”

A few tears spilled onto Hermione’s cheeks again as Harry gently leaned down and kissed her. She wound her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, and his hands left her face and wrapped firmly around her waist, pressing her against him.

“Very nice, very nice,” came a familiar voice, and Harry and Hermione broke apart to find Draco, Ginny, Ron, and Luna standing there looking at them, all with extremely pleased expressions on their faces.

Hermione blushed and looked down, but Harry grinned. “Much thanks, all of you,” he said, “for helping me surprise the love of my life. Love you all. And just why the hell are you standing here watching us? We’ve been away from each other for a week. At least leave us in peace to make out.”

All the four who were watching them burst out laughing, and Draco, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, said, “All right, guys. Let’s leave them alone so that they can... uh... you know...” Lowering his voice just enough so that Harry and Hermione could still hear him, he whispered, “shag.”

Hermione’s head snapped up, and she looked at Draco with a shocked expression on her face. “Draco!” she exclaimed. “Harry and I are not going to shag in the middle of the floor!”

“Oh, I don’t know about that, Hermione,” commented Harry casually. “When I’ve been away from the love of my life for so long, my brain and uh- other parts of my anatomy- do some pretty crazy things.”

Draco, Ginny, Ron, and Luna burst out laughing again, and Hermione’s face turned bright red. “Oh, come on, Hermione,” said Harry gently, cuffing her under the chin. “You know I would never do anything you wouldn’t want to do.”

Hermione suddenly turned to him and, with a light jump, had wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. “Well, Mr. Potter,” she said in an exceedingly seductive tone. “Maybe I want to shag with you in the middle of the floor.”

The four bystanders were practically rolling on the floor; they were laughing so hard. Now it was Harry’s turn to turn bright red, but he quickly regained his composure and gave her butt a little squeeze, causing her to shriek and look reprovingly at him. “Sure, wife,” he agreed casually, “we can shag in the middle of the floor. No problem at all.”

Choking with laughter, Draco shook Harry’s hand and the four made their way away to dance, still practically keeled over with laughs.

Harry and Hermione grinned and Hermione lightly slipped down from her spot on Harry. “Darn,” Harry said. “I was kinda liking you up there.”

Hermione gave him a very seductive smile. “Maybe later in the night,” she said, grinning. “For now, it’s almost midnight. Let’s dance.”

Almost before she had said that, a slow dance came on, and Harry gently took Hermione’s hand and led her out onto the dance floor. He gathered her into his arms and the couple slowly started to move back and forth to the music, murmuring words of love in the other’s ear.

The two glanced up as Draco and Ginny made their way onto a little platform and announced, “There’s only one minute left ‘til midnight! Everyone get with their partners and get ready for a major smoochfest!”

Harry grinned at Hermione and pulled her even closer to him. Hermione snuggled into his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck as the whole room counted down the seconds to midnight.

“10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...” Harry whispered in Hermione’s ear. “...0...” Balloons and confetti showered from the ceiling as he captured Hermione’s lips with his own. The two deepened the kiss, pulling each other even closer as Harry slipped his tongue in between her lips, and soon they were completely lost in each other.

When they finally pulled back, Harry smiled at Hermione and whispered softly, “Happy New Year, Hermione. I love you so, so much.”

Tears glistened in Hermione’s eyes as she responded, “I love you too, Harry. More than you will ever know.”

And the two fell back in each other’s embrace, their lips joining once more.