A/N: This might be a bit of a controversial chapter. Please, enjoy it. This is basically what it all had been building up to. It is actually what inspired this fic: this scene.
Chapter 13
Harry, Hermione and, Kate had stayed the night on Saturday and all of Sunday. They had been planning to stay until Monday but Bridge persuaded them otherwise. They had already exhausted all the tourist places and each of them had spent a considerable amount of time by Caitlyn's bedside. There came a time when there was nothing else you could do. Truth be told Caitlyn looked a bit better that day with everyone around. All Bridget hoped was that it could last. On Sunday night they all said goodbye to Remus, Anabella, Caitlyn and Bridget and wished them all well. Harry promised that if he didn't get a call from Bridget tomorrow he would make sure to check up on them and make sure everything was okay.
When they got back to the house Harry immediately tucked Kate in bed, with a hasty good night to Hermione. It was obvious that he wasn't in the mood to talk but Hermione wouldn't be put off.
When he got back into his bedroom he had a nasty surprise when he found Hermione sitting on his bed. He groaned and shook his head. The two of them hadn't had a serious talk since she had first come back and Harry had been hoping for never. But Hermione was just too damn stubborn. Instead of walking right back out of the room like he had been tempted to do, he walked over to the bed and sat down next to Hermione, trying to play it cool.
"So, `Mione, what do you want?"
She glared at him. "Don't call me that," she snapped. She got up and paced as the veil of silence once again covered the room. After a few minutes of the silence she turned around with angry tears shining in her eyes. "What happened to us?"
At first Harry was clearly taken aback at the question. He had been expecting something but as for what he was still in the dark. "Wha-what do you mean by that?"
She threw her head back and laughed. "What happened to us, our friendship? There was never an uncomfortable moment; we could always talk to each other. But look at us now. You are practically avoiding me! What happened to us?" At this point she was stomping her feet in anger, with tears running unchecked down her cheeks.
"Maybe the reason I have to avoid you is for my own sake. Maybe I want nothing more than to be what we were, but we can't. Things change, friendships alter," Harry replied quietly.
Hermione looked at him sharply. "Are you implying that me going away is what did this?"
"Maybe," Harry said a bit louder this time, he was getting angry too. "You never did tell me why you had to go away. Maybe nothing would have changed if you hadn't."
"Do you want to know why I left? Well okay then!" She sat back down on the edge of the bed, wringing her hands. "Everything was getting out of control," she started in a more controlled voice, toned down almost to a whisper. "You could have died! What if you had? What would I have done? It's impossible for even someone like me to handle all of that and I guess I just snapped. I couldn't handle it and I had to leave. I don't know what made me stay away for so long but I did and now…" she trailed off and her face once again hardened.
"Now what?" Harry persisted.
She shook her head. "Why didn't you write me? I didn't think that you guys even wanted me to come back. Maybe that is why."
Harry stood up angrily. "But that is not true! I wrote you almost everyday. I talked to you about everything, I even told you about…" He stopped, shaking his head. "And then I sent you an engagement announcement, a wedding invitation, Kate's birth announcement," he ticked each one of on his fingers. "And even an invitation to every one of Kate's birthday parties along with Christmas cards, and birthday cards and everything else!"
He sat back down, smoldering, and Hermione almost believed that she could see smoke coming out of his ears. "I did my job and waited for you to do yours and smarten up so that you could come back."
"Well I never got any letters, I can tell you that."
"Well then I have no idea what happened to them. Hedwig always came back with nothing. Why did you finally decide to come back?"
She gave him a strange look and then nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I just wanted to come back. Maybe I expected something…but after being away for eight years, well, I guess it was always hopeless."
Harry was understandably confused, he didn't want to set her off again, fighting with her had never been his favorite activity but he was truly interested. "What do you mean? What had you expected?"
Hermione chewed on her bottom lip and looked down at the floor. "Harry…When I was away I found something out. But I was too scared to go back for fear of rejection. I guess maybe never coming back would have been the better decision. But I couldn't stay away any longer. I needed to know how you felt and well…" she trailed off and hesitated slightly. "I found out that I love you but nothing can happen. You are with Bridget and I am not the sort of person to do that. I am sorry, really sorry." With that she got up and hastened out the door.
Harry tried to stop her but to no avail. In the distance he could hear the front door slamming and then nothing. He lay back in his bed, shaking as silent sobs racked his body.
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Kate bounced down to Hermione's room at dawn on Monday morning and frowned when she saw that she wasn't there. Hermione had promised her that she could watch the sunrise with her in the morning; she must have already gone ahead. Shivering in the cool morning air she headed out to the porch and was upset to find it void of life. Hermione wasn't there either. She went back into the house and ran into her father in the kitchen. Harry was getting himself a cup of coffee and was going out to watch the sunrise himself.
"Kate, honey, you are up early. Well, this is a wonderful surprise."
Kate smiled and replied, "I was going to watch the sunrise with Hermione. She told me it was beautiful. But she isn't out there." She gestured out to the porch, not noticing Harry's face twisting into a grimace as she mentioned Hermione's name. "So where is she? Do you know?"
He shook his head without meeting her eyes. "Well then why don't you come with me? I think it will be just as pretty without her."
She held onto his hand and looked up at his face with complete innocence. "No, Daddy, not pretty, beautiful. The sunrise is beautiful," she corrected impatiently as they walked out together onto the porch.
As they watched she chatted his ear off, telling him that it was truly beautiful and asking if one day they could watch the sunset because she thought it would be just as beautiful but very unique. At one point Harry almost lost it.
"Kate just - just be quiet! Just enjoy the natural beauty of it." Kate glowered at him but fell silent. Her father was looking out at the horizon and she cast him a sideways glance, keeping one eye on the majesty unfolding before her. She saw one fat tear rolling down his face and she was instantly concerned.
As they walked in she took his hand and swung his arm back and forth. "What's the matter Daddy? Can you tell me where Hermione really is? I don't think she is even in the house right now? Did she go somewhere? When is she coming back?"
"Kate, relax, sweetheart."
"Daddy!"
"Kate you are acting like your five!"
"But, Daddy, I am five," she retorted hotly, rolling her eyes.
He shook his head and led her into the kitchen and sat her down. All through breakfast she glared at him as he read his newspaper, ignoring her completely. After both of them finished eating he left for work with only a kiss and a goodbye. Now she was alone with Kya.
Oh Kya! What a perfect idea. The house elf always knew about everything that went on in the house. Kate got up and went to search for her. Her search brought her up to the attic where Kya was rummaging around, obviously trying to find some mischief to make.
"Kya," Kate said sharply, her little voice echoing off the rafters and startling Kya. "You need to help me with something."
Kya turned to her with a cold look. "Mistress, I can't think of anything that you could possibly need from me. After all I am just a lowly house elf, nothing more."
"Oh, stuff it, Kya. What do you want from me? If you want me to tell you that you are the best house elf a girl could ever have then you are out of luck. Lying isn't very polite." She replied dryly. "And if you don't I can always tell daddy that you aren't doing your job, you can be out of here within the minute." She snapped her fingers for effect and smirked.
"My, my I can't believe you have sunk so low as black mail. I see that I have really overestimated you."
"Oh, no, Kya I really don't think you will object to this. I am trying to find Hermione, she disappeared and I need to make sure that she is okay. Do you know where she went?"
Kya made a face. "Okay fine, your father and Miss Hermione got into a fight. Hermione then proceeded to run out into the street." Kya leaned forward, her voice but a whisper. "I have sufficient evidence that she has lodgings at the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley."
Kate laughed out loud. This was getting really ridiculous. Maybe the threats were a bit much but she was really concerned about Hermione and Kya was just out of control. "Okay Ky, in all seriousness. That is really where she went?"
Kya actually cracked a real smile. "Yeah I followed her. I figured that someone was going to want to look for her at some point."
"Okay, thanks, um, one more thing. You are supposed to be taking care of me so can you come with me? It doesn't really look good for a five year old to be walking the streets alone you know."
Kya nodded in agreement. They walked down the street together looking like a normal young girl out on a walk with her house elf to do the shopping or just going to visit somewhere. They lived in a magical community very close to Diagon Alley so it was really easy to get there. Kate felt strange as she was walking with Kya without being at each other's necks.
As they stepped into the Leaky Cauldron Kate once again took the lead, stalking straight up to the counter and smiling broadly up at the innkeeper. "Hello Tom. Can you tell me what room Hermione Granger is in?"
"Well, Miss Potter, of course. I don't see how I can refuse you. She is in room number 12. You can go on up there, sweetheart, she should be up by now."
She left Kya to wait behind and practically ran up to room number 12. Biting her lip, she tentatively reached out to knock on the door.
"Who's there?"
"Hermione?"
"Kate, dear, is that you?" The door opened to reveal Hermione. Her hair was messed up slightly and her clothes were wrinkled from having slept in them the night before. Her eyes were slightly red and Kate could tell that she had been crying. "Come in."
"Hermione what is the matter?"
"Oh, nothing sweetie," Hermione replied, wiped away the fresh tears that had welled up in her eyes. "Come, sit. I am guessing that you want to talk about something."
"Hermione, as you might have guessed by now, I kind of figured what your fight with Daddy was about. I think I understand why you left and, well, I guess it is good you did. You know I probably wouldn't be born if you hadn't. Daddy would have probably been married to you."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, Hermione, how thick can you get? My dad really loved you and he probably would have married you if you had stayed. From what I have heard it took him quite a while to get over your leaving and I am still not sure he ever really accepted it fully."
Suddenly, a thought popped into Hermione's head, a memory of a sort from a few days ago. "Kate remember when you said that if `I had never came you would never have met me'? What exactly did you mean when you said that? I couldn't understand it then and the answer still eludes me now. Can you tell me?"
Kate cocked her head to the side, looking thoughtful, obviously trying to decide whether to tell her the truth or not and how exactly to say it.
"I meant that if you had never come I would never had met the woman that my father loved - and still loves so much."
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Hermione lay on her bed. Kate had left a few hours back with Hermione's assurance that she would come and see her soon. The young girl's last words were still resounding in her head, refusing to let go and disappear into a shadowy void in the back of her head. She couldn't believe it, she wouldn't believe it. Though Kate was really intelligent and could see into the future she wasn't sure if she could trust the words that Kate had spoken. She didn't know what she would do if what Kate said wasn't true. Or maybe it was that she couldn't trust herself now that she knew that he might in fact love her too.
The only question Hermione had was how, after all these years, could Harry possibly still love her. He had a wife and a child. Aren't those normal signs to show that someone had moved on? Maybe he thought he had moved on but when she came back they returned and…OH! This was all her fault. And then what was she thinking, that now that they both realized their feelings for each other would that just mean they are going to finally get together? No, of course not, because back to the fact that he had a wife and daughter. She wasn't going to be the person the rip that little family apart.
She shook her head and buried her face into her pillow. She wasn't like that, and she couldn't give Harry the chance to let his feelings get too far as to do something drastic. What she had to do was go away again. As much as she didn't want to she found that she couldn't avoid it.
Screaming into her pillow, she closed her eyes and wished that she could go back in time and never have caused all this hurt and confusion. If only she had never left she could be with Harry now but really she would have never known about her feelings but what if she hadn't. What would have happened then? She was tired to thinking in what ifs. It was no life trying to figure out what could have been. She had to leave it was the way.
Now that that was settled she just had to make sure she had everything and then she had to decide where to go. She pushed herself up and hauled herself off of the bed, though to her dismay she found that she had left all of her stuff at the Potter's house. She sighed and sat back down on the bed. There was no way that she was going to be able to go back there. But she thought that maybe it was worth a try. And maybe if Harry was still at work she could get in and out undetected by him.
Gathering her coat, she stood and pushed open the door. She hurriedly swept her way down the stairs. Out on the street she tried to remember how to navigate through the winding roads to find the house. When she got she stopped short, seeing no one in the house. She slipped through the back door, carefully avoiding the magic wards that Harry had set up. They were so easy to get past that Hermione had to laugh. Before she left she made a mental note to make them stronger.
Creeping up into the house, she made her way up to the room that she had been staying in. Needless to say she wasn't too good at the stealth aspect of the whole situation so as she was walking up the stairs the stair creaked underneath her foot and she froze. Kate's ears were very keen so she was at Hermione's side in almost less than a second.
"Oh, Hermione," she breathed, "You are back. I am so happy that you decided to come back. Why are you sneaking? You know that you are always welcome here." She babbled on and on.
Hermione put up a hand, quickly thinking of an excuse. "I was just going up to bed. I am really tired and I just didn't want to bother you."
This seemed to be okay with Kate and she nodded. "Okay, I will make sure that no one bothers you." With that she flashed Hermione a smile and skipped off.
Hermione sighed with relief and she finished her trip up to her room. When she got up there she slumped against the doorframe and sighed again. Squeezing her eyes shut, she rubbed her temples and stepped into the room. It was exactly the same as when she had left it. Well of course it was because she had only been in there last a day earlier. She slowly moved about, gathering all of her stuff. She couldn't believe that she was leaving again but what else could she do? Bridget didn't deserve this.
She got up and was about to leave when she heard a knock on the door. "Hello?" she said, thinking that is was Kate. She was surprised to hear a male voice answer.
"Hermione."
She gasped and backed away, dropping her bags to the floor. "No," she moaned. "No, please go away."
The door creaked open oblivious to her plea and she backed up again, falling back onto the bed.
"Hermione, please, we need to talk."
"Harry, I can't do this. Just please let me leave. I promise I won't bother you anymore. I'll go away, I promise." Her last words came out in less than a whisper and she tried to choke back the sob that was trying to escape.
He didn't stop and came even closer, sitting next to her on the bed. "I heard that Kate talked to you. She is a smart girl, my daughter. Too smart." He smiled ruefully. "Everything that she told you…" He stopped and gulped. "I am so sorry to have put you through all of this. Forgive me."
"I can forgive me if you let me go. I don't want to cause anymore trouble here." Biting her lip, she slid off the bed and backed into the corner, inching towards the door.
Harry got up to and stepped toward her, catching her wrist in his hand in one fluid movement. "Hermione," he said simply, his eyes pleading. Hermione had no idea what he wanted from her; she just needed to get away. "Can we just start over?"
"Start over?" Hermione spluttered, all thoughts of running away disappearing from her head as she tried to figure out what Harry meant.
He didn't answer but just stared at her, his intense emerald green eyes boring into her own. Her eyes watered, and she cringed under his gaze but still she didn't break the contact. There was no way to know who stepped forward first but needless to say one second they were frozen, staring at each other; the next they were but an inch apart, one of them moving to fill the gap.
She was pulled into his arms; her lips caught into his own. The world blurred around them and they were lost in each other's arms, completely and totally in love. This was how it was meant to be and how it would always be. Both were in heaven, all rational thoughts chased from their minds; at that moment both of them realized that it was never too late for true love.
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