DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books and Scholastic Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author notes : This could be placed as a chapter in Interludes, the last one maybe, but I got to finished it first, so here it is. You don't need to read Interludes to understand this one shot. However, if you want to know how Harry and Hermione got together, check it out.
=====================
My heart falters whenever you are near
You are my air
You are my water
My essence
The very core of my existence
So here I am captured in your arms
Take my sweet surrender.
***
He woke up this morning and said to himself that he will live his life today. After years of slaving it out against all types of adversities - well, okay they were all because of Voldemort mainly - he can now start working for his own happiness. His years in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was about to end, seven years of adventure, with a great mixture of excitement, happiness, sorrow and fear of meeting death on any given day.
The famous Harry James Potter, a young man of seventeen, his life could fill volumes of books. Before he was even born, his destiny was already foretold. He may have vanquished the Dark Lord Voldemort and fulfilled the prophecy but he truly believed that that was not the end of it all.
"Harry, are you ready?" asked Ron, a friend cum brother whom he met on their very first train trip to Hogwarts. "I'm starving…"
"Aren't you always?" Harry answered back. "Can't you find a better excuse?"
The boy's dormitory door opened and there she was fresh as a morning dew on a beautiful spring bloom. Hermione Jane Granger, my girl - woman - and friend, Harry thought.
She sat on Harry's bed. "Have you guys started packing?"
"No and we don't plan to until tonight," Ron shrugged. "Come on, my tummy is grumbling!" He pulled her up and prodded her out of the room. "This could be our last breakfast here at school; do you think Dobby and his lot prepared anything special?"
"Ron, the house elves are not only here to fill your insatiable appetite," she said rolling her eyes.
They sat at their usual place at the Gryffindor table. It was quite a feast all right, fried German sausages, ham, bacon and eggs, heaps of toasts with a wide array of jams, and bowls of porridge.
Harry placed a scoop of sugar on his porridge and asked, "When do you think are we going to get the result of our NEWTs?"
Hermione almost knocked over her mug of milk when she stiffened upon hearing Harry's question. "Should be soon… I mean… we need them if we want to get a job, wouldn't we?" she said all the while placing a serving of bacon and eggs on her plate.
"Yeah, right. Do you still plan to become an Auror, Harry?" Ron asked with his mouth still full.
Harry paused and pondered. "I have not thought of any plans for the future for quite some time now, given the fear all year long that I might drop dead any second," he replied. He suddenly felt sorry that he wasn't entirely telling the truth.
"Well then, how about you Hermione?" Ron turned to her. "I bet you have everything well planned out, in different blinking colours."
"I'm - I'm not sure," Hermione stuttered as she eyed Harry. "What if I failed some of my NEWTs?" she added.
It was Ron's turn to roll his eyes. "If that day comes… Merlin, help us! I may have to get me-self a job scrubbing floor at the Leaky Cauldron."
"How about you? What's your plan?" Hermione asked heatedly.
Ron took a big gulp from his mug of pumpkin juice. "If I don't receive any offers to play professional Quidditch, I might have to find a job at the Ministry. You think Percy's old job fits me?" he asked her.
Hermione's brows furrowed. "You need a lot of qualifications for that - "
"Hermione, I'm not a pompous ass like Percy!" Ron cut her off. "Anyway, why do you have so little faith in me?"
"I do not!" she exclaimed looking at Harry pleading for help.
"You do not want to go there…" Harry said blandly, shaking his head sideways.
"I don't believe this! My - my boys ganging up on me," she huffed glaring at them.
"Ms. Granger," Professor McGonagall interrupted. "A word please… in my office." The three of them was quite surprised at the intrusion and didn't say anything and finished their food in a hurry.
Hermione stood first and waived them goodbye, "See you later guys."
Moments later, Ron and Harry left the Great Hall. "Wow! No more lessons, homeworks and Snape. Who would have thought he'd live through that curse he got during the attack?" Ron said smiling widely.
"He was lucky… I pity those students, whom we will leave behind, though," Harry said thoughtfully. "He has become a more bitter git."
"Do you want to visit Hagrid?" Ron asked as they stepped out to the Hogwarts' grounds.
"Maybe later," Harry mumbled as he saw Hagrid towering other some third-year students around him. "He's in class. What do you think they are working on this time?"
Ron squinted toward Hagrid's hut, "Nifflers… you think I could nick one? As a souvenir…" he explained.
"What about those books from the library you never returned?" Harry chuckled.
"Oh - thanks for reminding me," Ron said looking around hoping that no one overheard their conversation. "I do plan to return them, less weight to bring home. Do you think Madam Pince won't notice the Fantastical Beast I lost last year?"
Harry just shook his head in disbelief at Ron's imprudence. "I'll be off to do my final Head Boy duties…"
"Or look for Hermione?" Ron said jauntily.
"Yeah and that too."
Ron turned towards the Gryffindor tower but Harry did not do what he had promised. He instead, went straight to the lake and sat under their favourite beech tree to contemplate, and hoped that Hermione will find him there. An hour later and he heard a rustling of robes approaching his hideaway.
"There you are," she said, pulling him in a tight embrace and kissing him on both cheeks. "Anything wrong?"
"Nothing… So what was your meeting with McGonagall all about?" he asked.
"Oh, just some school stuff. What about you?" she gazed at him intently. "You seem jittery."
Harry ran his fingers through his already rumpled hair. "Well, you know that I have already fulfilled my destiny with Voldemort… I guess it's now time to face my other destiny - "
"What?" Hermione snorted. "Tell me, how many prophecies are there about you, honestly?" she enquired crossing her arms on her chest.
"Just one."
"One, okay - one?"
"I'm talking about you, Hermione" he drawled.
"Oh!" she caught her voice. "You were… about to -," she stammered.
"Yes," he replied.
"Sorry… I didn't mean to - Why don't you start over again?" she pleaded. Hermione sat on a large boulder protruding from the ground. "I won't interrupt… promise."
Harry took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts. So much for romanticism, he thought. He made another quick glance at Hermione flashing her sweetest smile and he suddenly felt his heart pounding harder.
"Hermione, you're not making things easier!" he exclaimed.
"What do you want me to do? I'll just sit here… pretend you're not with me… and you'll surprise me…" she wriggled still beaming at him.
"The moment's gone… forget about it," he said absently. He approached her and decided to sit beside her.
"No… no… go ahead, you can do it," she told him keeping him from sitting and placing him in front of her. He sat beside her nevertheless and squeezed her into a tight hug. Harry did not say a thing for a while. So they just sat by that rock, leaning on each other, hands entwined and watching the lake.
"I love you," Hermione whispered.
"I know."
"Always," she added.
Harry kissed the top of her head and uttered, "Uh-hmm…" He looked down on her and saw the glint on her eyes. "I haven't got a ring… too busy to go shopping for one," he said softly.
"It doesn't matter," she replied. "You could give me a pebble and I would still cherish it."
"Is that so?" he asked surprised at what she just said. "Well then, I shouldn't have spent a lot of time making this," he took out a ring made off grass blades from his pocket.
Her eyes widened and she took it from him. "You shouldn't have… oh, it's pretty!" she said excitedly, studying the green band ingeniously made by Harry. She put it on. "It fits!" she exclaimed.
He nodded grinning widely, feeling so proud of himself.
"On my pinkie!"
"What?"
Hermione let out a hearty laugh, "Just kidding, I know you placed a charm on it. It's lovely - I'm going to keep it forever… just like you."
Harry locked into her eyes. "They said… They said that every Romeo has his own Juliet. Well, I guess, I can proudly say that you are my Queen in my very own little fairy tale." He paused and saw that Hermione's eyes were starting to water. "You are my answered prayer… My dream come true… everything I had ever wished for. You are my reason for surviving. "
Hermione's tears freely flowed but Harry continued. "I never thought I'd ever find someone like you… a love that's true. I am willing to give away everything just to hold you forever… Hermione, I want to spend the rest of my life with you…"
She was so choked up with joy that she could not find any words to say. "I'm not asking you to marry me yet," he added afraid that she'll reject him. "I know we're still young."
"Only if you promise me that your marriage vow will be as beautiful as that," she said firmly.
"What?"
"Of course, I'll marry you. You prat!" she exclaimed. "You think I'll ever let you go? I'll marry you anywhere, anytime" she added.
Harry wiped away her tears and kissed her tenderly. After their lips parted, they just stared in each other eyes, letting those orbs dance to their secret sensuous symphony. "I love you," he whispered. "Always."
Harry continued. "There's another thing I wanted to tell you. Since you said you want to stay with me…"
"What is it?"
He stared at her tentatively, afraid that she might not like what he was about to say. "I'm tired, Hermione. I just want to live a simple life from now on. I think I've had enough magic to last me a lifetime. Do - do you understand what I mean?"
Hermione smiled at him knowingly. "Yes. You want us to live as Muggles… leave the wizarding world behind."
"Yeah… Can - can you?" he asked.
"Of course, Harry. For you, I'd go anywhere. If you are true to your word that you'll stay with me forever, I think we'll still have magic until the end of our days," she replied.
"We will have to say our goodbyes to them, you know," he muttered. "And that will be hard, one final goodbye…" His thoughts flee to his friends now enjoying the school grounds.
"What about our kids? I'm sure they'll be magical…"
Harry was surprised by Hermione's remark, he snorted, "Now you're thinking about kids?"
"Well… when the time comes… surely they will receive a letter from Hogwarts when they turn eleven," she responded.
He gazed at the lake solemnly. "When that time comes, they have a choice."
"A choice, yes… when the time comes."
Another reflective moment passed through them. The grounds seemed to be quiet, void of any living creature but them. Hermione broke the silence, "You'll be going back to the Dursley's then?"
"Goodness no!" he exclaimed. "I asked for Tonk's help. My parent's vault at Gringotts has been emptied and well as Siruis'. He should not have told me its number," he chuckled. "Everything now was converted to Muggle money which should be able to get me a decent place to live and pay for my education."
"You're going to a university?" she asked now beaming.
"Aren't you? Or a college maybe," he said tentatively.
Hermione smiled the widest grin, "Yes… yes, we need a good education if we want to survive in the Muggle world. Oh, my parents would be ecstatic!"
Harry was delighted that she was pleasantly surprised with his plan. Hermione ranted on and on about which courses would be perfect for them. "I'm sure my parent's would suggest Dentistry," she said. "You have got to help me talk them out off it." Harry merely nodded with a smile.
"So can you now tell me why Professor McGonagall wanted to see you?" he asked her absently.
"She offered me a teaching position here at Hogwarts," she replied.
"And?" Harry said feeling remorseful that somehow he had haltered Hermione's chances of a better career.
"I declined. Somehow I knew that I won't be spending the rest of my life in this magical world," she sighed.
They stayed by the edge of the lake dreaming and planning until they noticed that they had completely missed lunch. Harry then decided to head back to the castle and stroll the lawn with Hermione in his arms. He felt contentment and pride that he certainly had lived his life today.
***
The final train ride was somber. Telling all their friends of their plans had been painful. What was even more agonizing was breaking it to Ron, their best friend for seven years.
"Ron, I do hope you understand where this is all coming from," Hermione said choking in tears.
"I do - you may not have noticed it - I knew in some way that this is where our adventure will lead to…" Ron said in between silent sobs.
Harry allowed his tears to flow freely knowing this was not the time to hide one's emotions. "We'll see each other again, though I am not sure when."
When the train stopped at the Kings' Cross station, Harry's heart seemed to drop at the pit of his stomach. Never had he thought that this goodbye would be the hardest he will ever have to do.
A second year girl, whom he doesn't know personally, overtook them but stopped as she recognized who they were and waved, "See yah, Harry!"
"Do you think we can live a life of anonymity?" Hermione asked softly keeping others from overhearing them.
"I hope so," Harry replied.
Hermione studied his face and said, "We can take care of your glasses, and your hair, but what about that famous thing on your forehead?" Harry didn't answer her.
He looked back at Ron by the cabin door helping Ginny lunge their trunks out of the train. When he caught their gaze, he gave them a pensive smile and his final wave. Hermione did the same.
He turned and simply closed his eyes in deep concentration and a second later he felt a slight tingling on his face. Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and together they stepped through the passageway back to the Muggle world.
Harry never thought that the only thing he liked in his appearance before he had ever heard of the magical world he belongs to - a scar, shaped like a bolt of lighting - could be the bane of his very existence. He said a silent prayer hoping that he can now live a serene life without that familiar scar.
=====================
A/N : Harry's proposal, I owe it from my colleague whose cubicle is right next to mine. For days he's been listening to this song, which he sings along with. So one day, I took my notebook, where I keep ideas for stories or lines I could use, and jot down the lines he's spewing in a toneless tune. I made changes here and there, of course.
Please leave a review, let me know what you think of this.