Apologies to everyone - I can't believe it's been so long since I last updated this story. I had major writers block about how to write the last chapter and deleted several different versions until I finally had this version. Thank you for your patience, thanks for all the lovely reviews, and thank for reading. I hope you enjoy this last chapter of `I'd do anything'. Kate
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Chapter 10 - Memories
Harry watched with a grin as his 6th year DADA students filtered out of the classroom, and as the door closed behind the last student he hung his teaching robe onto the hook on the wall, ran a hand through his messy black hair, grabbed his bag and took off jogging through the corridors of Hogwarts. Sneaking through well used secret passages, he was heading towards the large oak doors to the library within minutes. A 7th year prefect glanced at him and then did a double take seeing her Professor jogging along the halls in scruffy blue jeans and a black t shirt. He flashed her a smile, and slowed to a walk as he pushed open the double doors and wandered over to the large desk in the centre of the room.
Hermione was leaning back against the desk chatting with Madam Pince as they sorted books into piles and then magically returned them to their correct locations. He walked leisurely over and rested his head on her shoulder, and arm casually draped around her waist.
"How's the birthday girl?" He asked with a smile. She turned and smiled at him, kissing him lightly on the cheek.
"Very well thank you Professor" she teased.
"Off you run then you two" Madam Pince spoke, gesturing to the two them affectionately. She'd been seeing a lot more of a certain DADA Professor since her favourite student had been back in the library every day. She watched as the pair of them headed back towards the hallways, their arms around each other as if they were made to fit together and she smiled wistfully, happy to see them back together again. She'd always watched them, and the Weasley boy throughout their school years, and while she had her suspicions that those three had been the ones to sneak into the restricted section on numerous occasions she'd always had a soft spot for them; and an inkling that there was perhaps more to Hermione's relationship with the famous Harry Potter than met the eye.
"How was work today then?" Harry asked as they strolled through the corridors of Hogwarts towards his office.
"Pretty good, I think I'm almost done with the first stage of the research, and I've actually had to stop myself from starting to write the first chapter a few times."
"That's great news `Mione" Harry grinned and squeezed her around the waist. She laughed softly.
"You're in a good mood today." She observed happily, looking at him as they walked along.
"Well that's because I finally decided what to get you for your birthday." He grinned cheekily.
"Well I should hope so! It's my birthday today. So when do I get my present?" She grinned, as they paused at Harry's office door until he waved his hand to unlock the door. He stepped back to allow her past and she smiled happily at him and stepped through the door.
"What was that smile for?" He asked curiously as he stepped through behind her and shut the door.
"Just because I love that you hold doors open for me. It's adorable…" She smiled, and reached up to wind her arms around his neck, kissing him softly.
"Now, where's my present - don't think you can get out of that easily!" She laughed, and backed away from him as he playfully tried to tickle her.
"Alright Miss. Impatient, it's in the living room." He said, giving up on trying to tickle her, and linking his hand with hers as they headed through the magical doorway to their home. Hermione had figured out the equations and Harry had performed the complicated charm which linked the blank doorway in his office to a blank doorway added to their own house. They'd moved back into the house the week before term had begun in September, and Hermione had worked with Dobby and Winky to do the place up during the day as she mulled over ideas in her head for her next book. They now had a link to the castle so that Harry could live at home but still give enough time to his students, and be contacted easily if there was a problem with Gryffindor House. Only he and Hermione could use the doorway unless either of them willingly gave permission to an individual, meaning that both their home and Hogwarts were still protected from intruders. The media interest in Hermione's return, and their relationship had not died down at all, and the fact that they were living together had stirred up a hornets nest in the press, despite the fact that they'd lived together with Ron before the war. Harry's favourite moments were evenings sitting in their home alone or with friends, usually Tom, Jennifer, Ron and Luna who appeared to have become inseparable over the last weeks. It seemed as if everything was finally perfect, and how it should have been for all of them once the war had ended. Hermione was researching in the Hogwarts library at the moment, saying that she enjoyed the atmosphere there during research, and that the whispers of students and sounds of pages turning were reassuring. Her study at home was all ready and waiting for her to begin writing the book in earnest once the library became a distraction, Harry would definitely miss having her in school during the day, though it wasn't exactly going to be difficult to pop home and see her at lunch or in free lessons!
They stepped into the living room and Harry grinned to see that everything looked just as perfect as it had when he'd left it earlier in the day, every surface was covered in tiny candles, giving a soft, warm glow to the cosy room. Sitting in the centre of the low antique coffee table in the centre of the room was a large box, wrapped in a big red satin ribbon. Hermione let out a small gasp of surprise, and turned in his arms to kiss him passionately.
"I love you" she said softly. Harry smiled at her and gently brushed a strand of hair from her eyes.
"Wow, and you haven't even opened your present yet, I think I'm going to like this evening." She laughed and kissed him again.
Hermione sat down in her favourite spot on the sofa and looked around her happily, taking in everything and smiling up at Harry as he reappeared from the kitchen holding two champagne flutes of what looked like her favourite wine in the world. "Ooh, is that Gratien & Meyer Sparkling Red?" She asked excitedly. He nodded and handed her a glass before taking a seat next to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.
"I just wish your parents were here to drink it with us, though your Dad always had an issue about sharing this particular wine." Harry smiled.
"Thanks Harry." She held up her glass and carefully inhaled the scent of the wine.
"What are we toasting to then?"
"To us" He replied simply, clinking their glasses together and taking a sip of wine before kissing her on the forehead.
Harry watched her happily as she carefully undid the bow on her present, laying it on the table, only his Hermione unwrapped presents as if the wrapping was just as important as the gift. She gasped as she opened the lid of the box and carefully lifted her present from it, pushed the box to the floor and laid the gift in the centre of the table.
"Oh Harry…a pensieve…" She knelt in front of it, gently tracing out the lines of the ancient runes lining the edges of the basin.
"The pensieve isn't the real present, it's just on loan…" He said, kneeling down next to her and carefully pulling a small velvet bag from underneath the sofa, "…these are".
Hermione gently took the bag from him and happy tears formed in her eyes as she saw the small vial inside.
"You got me memories." She said happily through her tears.
"I thought we could go on a picnic" Harry said simply, before he was engulfed in hair as she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.
"It's perfect Harry"
"Let me run and pick up the picnic from the kitchen and we can start"
Harry returned from the kitchen with a small basket in his hand and a blanket flung over his shoulder. Hermione was standing over the pensieve eagerly, holding the small vial as if it contained the elixir of life. At his nod, she carefully uncorked the memories and tipped them into the pensieve, watching as the silvery threads swirled around the basin. Grasping his free hand they leaned over the basin and with a tugging feeling they found themselves standing on the Hogwarts Express looking at Harry and Ron's eleven year old selves. Hermione's hand went to her mouth.
"Oh, look how young you both are!" She laughed, "I'd forgotten about Ron having dirt on his nose." She smiled. At Harry's gesture they sat down on the benches and observed the conversation, and then it happened, the door opened and there was a young Hermione bossily asking them if they'd seen a toad. They sat watching and listening, talking to each other, and tucking into some cheese biscuits Dobby had made them specially.
The memory soon began to fade, and seeing Hermione's disappointed face Harry took her hand. "Don't worry, it was just one of many, the highlights of Harry and Hermione as it were" he smiled. She smiled tenderly back at him, and looked around her trying to figure out where they were now. The hallway was dark and rather cold, and then she heard the voices coming towards them and there were herself, Ron, Neville and Harry coming towards the Fat Lady looking rather shaken. She realised they must have just met the infamous Fluffy for the first time and she chuckled to hear the line Ron and Harry still teased her about to this day. A moment later and they watching themselves riding high about Hogwarts on Beaky's back as they flew to rescue Sirius. Over the next few hours as the snacked on food, she relived favourite moments of her Hogwarts days, most of which she had only read about before. She giggled to see Harry and Ron's 14 year old faces realise that it was her on Victor Krum's arm for the Yule Ball, and then suddenly she was in a memory that she didn't remember reading about in her diaries.
She and Harry were no standing on the hill overlooking Hogsmeade, one of Harry's usual apparition spots when coming to the village or to Hogwarts, where they had shared their second-first kiss not so long ago. Hermione turned to see Harry carefully laying out the picnic blanket he had brought with them and walked over to take a seat beside him on it. It looked cold in the memory but she felt warm.
"When are we?" She asked him as she snuggled into his side, resting her head on his shoulder.
"18th January 2002, Hogsmeade was an Order of the Phoenix stronghold and we had a perimeter blocking all entrance and exits. This was a designated apparition point, it was coded to our magical signatures. We'd been at the castle for an Order meeting, we'd destroyed the 5th Horcrux a few days before and were heading back to our latest safe-house to start planning again…here we are" Harry said pointing down the hill. Hermione looked and saw three shapes slowly making their way up towards the apparition point. Harry was rummaging in the picnic basket and carefully withdrew a large carrot cake from the basket and placed it in front of them, lighting the candle with a wave of his hand. Hermione smiled at him again, and her gaze wandered back at their younger selves, who were now reaching the top of the hill.
"I still don't understand why we're here." She mused.
"You will" Harry said, kissing the top of her head, and returning his gaze to the scene unfolding before them as young Hermione began to speak.
"Oh boys, I think it's going to snow!" She said excitedly.
Harry laughed softly, "Only you would be excited or surprised by snow in Scotland in the middle of the coldest January I can remember"
Hermione playfully swatted him on the arm.
"Oh be quiet, I'm allowed to be childlike once in a while. There's nothing quite like the smell of snow, making snow angels, snowmen and having snowball fights." Harry smiled at her indulgently, as Ron laughed.
"I'm with you on the snowball fights but I'm freezing my arse off Herms, I'll see you back there." Ron said and with a distinct pop he was gone.
Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry, "What's the betting he's already eaten that last slice of his Mum's carrot cake before we get home?"
"I'd say that's pretty likely" Harry laughed, "He hates it that you love carrot cake so much and that he has to share"
"Can we stay a minute and see if it snows?" Hermione asked, turning to Harry, her face almost covered by a fluffy hat pulled down to her eyes, and a scarf wrapped across her nose.
"Alright snowgirl, but only if you conjure up some of those trademark blue flames." They smiled at each other a little shyly and sat down on the hard ground, huddled together for warmth as Hermione conjured a jar of bright blue flames to warm their hands.
Harry and Hermione watching the memory, sat smiling at the two of them as Harry cut into the carrot cake and handed her a slice. "So this is why you called me snowgirl that day in the kitchen" she pondered. Harry smiled at her a little sadly. "I used to call you snowgirl a lot" he said softly before taking a bite of cake. They were pulled back to the memory before them by Hermione's delighted laugh as a few snowflakes fell from the sky. She threw her head back and stuck her tongue out to catch them, urging young Harry to do the same, the two laughed together and were soon making snow angels.
"Come on, let's make a snowman!" She yelled excitedly. Harry laughed. "Definitely a snowman, not a snowgirl or a snowelf?" He teased her. She giggled, "How about today we'll stick with tradition and make a snowman, SPEW can wait for another day". She turned to see his reaction and seemed surprised to find him right behind her, their faces were inches apart, she smiled up at him shyly, and he gently brushed a hand over her cheek. "You've got snowflakes in your eyelashes" he said softly before lowering his head and kissing her softly. Soon they were wrapped up in each others arms kissing, amidst the snow and quiet of the Scottish hillside, the lights of Hogwarts just visible in the distance through the thickening snowfall.
Hermione watched them happily, before turning to Harry and kissing him thoroughly.
"Thank you" she whispered in his ear, burying her face in his shoulder and hugging him tightly. She turned as she heard a laugh behind her and watched as Harry picked her up and twirled her around, both of them laughing before kissing once more and disappearing with a pop.
She stood and walked over to look over at the snowangels they had made in the grass, hearing Harry stand and follow her.
"Hermione?" She turned hearing the tentative note in his voice and what she saw made her eyes fill with tears once more. He was standing before her in the snow, holding an open box containing a diamond glittering in the moonlight.
"Will you always be my snowgirl?" He asked softly with a smile. A dazzling smile burst across her face and she ran the two steps towards him and kissed him.
"Yes Harry", she watched his smile spread across his face and reach his sparkling green eyes and kissed him once more.
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