Chapter 27: Epilogue ***************************The Burrow***********************************
June 17, 2005
"RONALD get out of my kitchen." Molly Weasley yelled, annoyed at her flame-haired son. This was the 5th time this week that she had been trying to clean and still couldn't get anything done. "I know that you are disappointed, but they are still your friends." She hated any of her children being like this, but even she had known years ago that while Hermione may love her son, it was as a brother, not as he had wanted. She had gotten hints from Ginny, but it was the events of almost two years ago now, with the rise of You-Know-Who and the aftermath of that event that had cemented it in her mind. The way that Hermione had tried to let Ron know without saying anything that she wasn't interested. Her rejection of the Christmas presents at Grimmauld place and the next year at the Burrow, the lack of attention to his problems. But even more than the lack of interest towards Ron, it was the constant attention towards another that had clinched the deal in Molly's eyes.
Her looking at him when he didn't notice. The fact that she would go calm him down, or would have the guts to stand up to him and fight when no one else would dare. And that he did the same for her. I don't know what I should think, yes I am sad for Ron, but I am ecstatic for Harry and Hermione, I would adapt Harry in a instant if Dumbledore would allow it. Merlin, I'd adopt both of them, if something happened to her parents. They are my children too in all that counts. This is like when I had to console George, after Fred grabbed some girl instead of him, but it's so much more. Neither of those two were ever in love like this, I saw Harry and Hermione on the platform, I saw that it nearly killed them to be apart, and that she nearly killed that idiot son of Petunia's when he slugged Harry in the stomach.
Of course that was perhaps the stupidest thing I have ever seen, with damn near the entire surviving cast of the Order present, but that idiot thought he was safe, because of that idiotic underage restriction. I'm just glad that Hermione didn't have Harry's "Accidental Magic" record, so Arthur was able to squash the inquiry and was able to get her off with just a warning. Anyway, this is ridiculous, it's been a week since they got back and all he has done is mope about. "Ron get out of the house and don't come back until this evening." She continued as she supervised the pile of soapy dishes in the sink cleaning themselves.
"SURE!" Ron snapped, he jumped up and out of the House, slamming the door in the process. He felt a slight jolt as he walked though the door and heard a soft thump.
"Ummph."
Ron glanced down and saw a petite girl, with long red hair sitting on her butt on the ground in front of him. "RON WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GOING DAMMIT!" Ginny hollered from the ground, you've already got enough women mad at you Ronald, apologize, a vaguely ethereal voice whispered in his head.
"Sorry Gin," Ron muttered as he helped her up and then without another word, continued walking off. He slammed open the garden gate and started down a gravel path between the trees, a couple of deer looked up and scampered away.
"Were are you going?" Ginny yelled after him. Dumbarse brothers, she thought with a silent sigh.
"To town, to get drunk or something, hell I don't know." He replied and stomped off towards the village.
**************Village of Ottery St. Catchpole*******************
Ron walked into a pub named the "Stinky Cat," ordered a pint and sat down in a back corner. The pub was a normal muggle one, there was a football game on the teley hanging in a corner, and a couple of drunks were throwing darts, to the accompaniment of occasional curses as they missed. He stared into the drink and then slammed half of it in a gulp. What the hell, What gives Harry the right to take her, he has everything, he's rich, everyone loves him, and then he takes her from me. Ron took another drink and signaled for a refill. He's the Quiddich golden boy, the great hero, the one with all the powers, hell he's probably the Heir to Gryffindor too. I guess I wasn't good enough for her. He paused his internal monologue, that's not fair Ron,
A different voice in his head replied, Yeah, sure he's rich and famous, and you know how he got that way. You know that he would give it all away in a second to get his family and Sirius back. You were there in the room when he would wake up screaming as he watched Sirius and his parents die, as he cried out when he remembered you, yes you Ronald, his best friend being hurt, and somewhere inside you knew that when he woke up screaming that the last image that he saw was Hermione laying on the ground. You knew then that he loved her just like you knew and wouldn't admit it that she loved him back in fifth year. They were both just too afraid. A refill came and he drunk that a in a couple of gulps. No, you knew before, like in second year.
Yeah, he admitted grumpily, but I thought she would love me too. Before he could go on with this mental tirade he heard a soft voice from the other side of the table.
"Can I sit?" Luna Lovegood asked breathlessly from the other side of the table. She looked like usual, alternately looking around the room as if expecting something to appear from the walls or staring at him intently. Her blond hair was held up in a knot; with...bloody hell is that her wand? But I suppose muggles; just think it's a stick. She stared at Ron, though small glasses that Ron knew from experience that she occasionally forgot. And what country she's in sometimes too. There was something different in that stare today, something Ron just couldn't place. She does look cute today though. Huh?
"Sure Luna" Ron replied, he never really liked drinking alone, or doing anything alone really. It was if he had let himself think about it, probably one of the reasons he had fixated on Hermione.
"Thank you Ronald, I hate to have to drink standing up, the fire-bellied snap moths might fly into my hair, and you know how they are?" She replied and waved her hand around as if indicating the flight path of the invisible moths.
Ron sputtered the drink he had been taking at that moment, "Sure do Luna" So what if she's insane, she's a friend, isn't she?
"Did you and Harry get over that little argument?" She asked as she sat down, a small little airy smile on her face.
"That LITTLE ARGUMENT LUNA?" Ron half yelled and attracted the attention of half the bar. He quieted down and responded more normally. "He was sneaking around behind my back Luna." With a bitter reply, not expecting a response, after all even Mum didn't want to face his temper, having kicked him out for the day. To his disquiet Luna's happy expression fell from her face, I'm sorry Luna, it's not your fault, and you don't deserve me yelling at you. But she didn't back off or leave; even his sister had this morning.
He did get a response, Luna looked at him, the slightly vacant look gone from her eyes, "Ronald, they weren't sneaking, you just had blinded yourself." She blinked slowly but she didn't drop her gaze from his.
"So you think I'm not good enough either?" Ron snapped back, though he instantly hated himself for the manner of his response, for some reason.
"No" Luna replied with a whisper, a hurt look in her eyes, which somehow both calmed Ron and caused him pain at the same time.
"I'm sorry Loony"
"For what?"
"I'm just sorry."
Luna didn't speak; she just reached across the table and laid a hand on top of one of his.
********************Granger Family Home, Canton England.*****************
July 31, 2005
10:29 am
You could hear Dumbledore, Moody, Lupin and Tonks talking to Roger and Jane Granger from down the hall. They seemed to be getting along fine as everyone laughed at a Muggle joke that Remus had picked up in a pup in London last week. In Hermione's room however, the situation was different. Hermione was standing dressed in worn jeans, sneaks and one of Harry's Gryffindor Lions sweatshirts. She had just thrown them on while she was trying to figure out what to wear to go pick up Harry. She had at least ten outfits on the bed and was successively holding them up to herself and looking at herself in the mirror. A soft knock was heard at the door. "Who is it?" She snapped at the door.
"Me" replied Tonks.
"Come in." Hermione sighed and turned back to the mirror.
"Wotcher girl, what is taking you so long? We are going to be late." As Tonks walked in, "Ohh!" She saw the problem at once. I'm glad I don't have that problem. I do like that jumper though, I wonder if I can borrow it? Tonks thought with an hidden smile.
"And I suppose you never have this problem" Hermione asked exasperatedly, after all Tonks was a metamorph and could change her appearance including her clothes at will. She flung down the outfits on her bed and collapsed on it with a loud squeak.
"No not really, at least I don't have to hold the outfits up, it does give me a headache to change that many times though." She replied honestly, with a slight grin, her nose scrunching up and her hair changing color to her favorite, bubble gum pink, from her natural black, shrinking and pulling up into spikes on her head, then back down into a short, ruffled hairstyle.
"You did that just to show off" a pause, then Hermione asked plaintively from where she was laying on her back on her bed, the clothes that she had just thrown down getting wrinkled. "Well what would you suggest?"
"Well you could go with what God gave you, though that might just cause the downfall of society as all our defenders including Harry, would drop dead." Tonks replied with a grin.
"Dammit Tonks" Hermione responded, then started giggling, she couldn't help it, as the image of the mighty Harry Potter fainting dead away at her appearance crossed her mind.
"Do you love him girl?" Tonks asked with a thoughtful face. Thinking of her and Lupin, and how they had found each other this last year.
"More than I can say." Hermione replied her eyes alight.
"Does he love you?"
"Yes" Hermione replied in a whisper, as if she still couldn't believe it.
"Then he's won't care if you are as shabby as Lupin as long as you show up." Tonks replied and gave her a brief hug.
Hermione just smiled at that image, "Ok" and as they walked to the living room where the rest were, she asked Tonks in an undertone, "So you don't care that Lupin is shabby?"
"No, not really." Tonks whispered back.
Jane Granger looked at her daughter and then glanced at her husband. Good choice girl, she thought at Hermione, they knew Harry, and they too had known for years, it seemed like the only two that had not known were Harry and Hermione. He had after all, been the opening topic of every conversation that they had had with their daughter over the last six years about school, or most everything else actually. Of course Hermione had carefully edited her adventures, but her mother had known there was more there than Hermione had told her. She had not been able to leave out the petrification when she was twelve, or the damage from that fight in the Ministry of Magic last year. When she had come home that day from the train, and still had to be taking potions her father had almost tried to block her from returning, and had even yelled about that damn boy hurting his little girl. A comment that had shown her parents just how far they could push their very powerful daughter.
Of her friends, the Weasley's fast temper and Harry's slower, hotter one was legendary, however Hermione's if possible, was worse; it was just buried deeper. It was really was good that the occasional smashed kitchen was okay by the Ministry especially after the incident at the train platform this year, they just tended to come down on things like transfiguring one's aunt to a weather balloon. Hermione had apologized after the fight with her parents and ran to her room from her thoughtful mother and still angry father.
Dumbledore had quietly come that evening and talked to the Grangers, and had reveled things that Jane was relatively sure that that Harry himself still didn't know. With her persuasion, Roger had relented and apologized to his daughter. The situation had come to a head last Christmas, as circumstances dictated the war coming to their front door so to speak, and her destiny had been revealed to her parents, in a wandfight in the mall outside of town.
Dumbledore looked at the group, "now that we are all here, lets go." His eyes were sparkling full bore today.
Hermione ran over and hugged her mum and dad goodbye and kissed them on the cheek. "I'll try to stop back bye before we head back to school."
"Sure dear," Jane replied with a smile.
"Ok then, Hermione you tuck in close to Remus just in case, you don't have as much experience at this than the others." With a nod and a series of pops they were gone.
TO BE CONTINUED in Harry Potter and the Lions of Gryffindor.
Afterword:
I originally wasn't going to write this book, I was originally going to start with Lions however now I'm glad I that have. I especially didn't think this thing would turn into a 240+ page book, but here it is. The next book was what I started with, and I hope you all like it. I really wish to thank my friends whom read this and whom kept me from going too overboard, but its balls to the wall from now on folks. The hardest part of this story was actually keeping Harry and Hermione apart, at least officially, until chapter 24, but that's what my outline said, so I stuck to it, however if you read closely, you can probably tell that I almost bowed to temptation and let them get together, fully, at Christmas. I'm glad I held off though, I think it works better this way.
The Dumbledore prank had been originally cut from this book, and due to reviews on another site, it made it back in, I hope it worked where it was.
Next book; well let's just say that it will be R rated and maybe NC17. I mean it, violence, sex, cursing: all the good parts of life. I changed the rating of Darkness down to PG-13, as the violence and other things aren't as extreme as they will become. This is a war, boys and girls with a very nasty adversary. I think you can figure out the pairings, but there are surprises still in store. Several of which have buried clues in this book, so maybe you already figured them out, but some of them don't.
Recommended Listening.
Evanescence-Fallen. The whole bloody album seems to fit this story and the following one, even more so. There is a hint there. :)
Three Doors Down- The Better Life, and Away From the Sun. Hold Me When I'm Gone is especially suitable for Chapter 2 when Harry reveals the prophesy to Hermione, as I don't think Harry thinks he will survive the war at that point.
The Armageddon Soundtrack, I don't know why, it just seemed to work.
Hoobastank. Neved actually recommended this album in his Solidus Trilogy, and it's pretty good.
Nickleback-Feeling Too Damn good. Ain't that always the case? This song will also fit in very well in a late chapter in the sequel.
Van Halen-Dreams. The song is old but good.