A/N: Here is another chapter for you and this time it is not a cliffie! Enough of cliffies for the moment. From this chapter onwards the story will mainly revolve around Harry and Hermione (except some parts of the next chapter). If you don't want that to happen and want to see other characters too, please let me know in your reviews. I'll change the story accordingly.
Again I thank all the reviewers. The last few chapters have provided a huge amount of response. I wonder if the cliffies have anything to do with that. I'll figure out after this chapter. Life has been very busy, so I've not been able to answer the last few reviews. I apologize for that and promise to answer them by tomorrow. Please keep the reviews coming. Happy reading!
Chapter Eighteen: Home Sweet Home
Hermione's eyes brightened on Harry's question. "Of course, Harry! That's a great idea," she said hugging him tightly. As Harry held her, he wondered how quickly time could change. Just sometime ago she wasn't talking to him. Now they were about to start a new life together.
"I'm so glad Hermione. I couldn't stay a day a without you. Even during the forced breakup, your sight kept me sane. We have a lot of planning to do. Is it a good time now?" asked Harry.
"I'm always game! I can't believe this. This is so exciting. We are going to be living together. When did you plan this? I'd thought about it before. Like you said even I can't do a day without you. I love you so much Harry!" said Hermione. Harry softly kissed her.
"Okay, we have our Easter holidays soon. We'll look for our home at that time. We'll book a room at Leaky Cauldron and operate from there. What do you say to that?" asked Harry.
"That's fine but I need to spend a couple of days with my parents before that. Of course you'll have to come with me," replied Hermione.
"Hermione, I've already intruded during the summer holidays. You'll want to spend some time with your parents alone. So wouldn't it be better if I stayed at Hogwarts during that time?" questioned Harry.
"Don't you dare Harry! I'm not giving the news of our moving in to my parents alone. You'll have to be with me as you are involved too. And anyway you wouldn't be able to live two days without me," Hermione said with a sly grin.
"You know my weaknesses. But I hadn't thought about telling your parents. I hope they take it well. You're their baby girl after all," said Harry.
"My parents have always been supportive of me. I don't expect this time to be any different. They may have some difficulty in accepting the fact that I've grown up but they'll be okay," replied Hermione.
The Easter holidays were still some way off and they had their second pre-NEWTs coming up. So the focus over the next few days was on studies. Harry didn't let Hermione's sight distract him like the previous time. However there was another distraction before the tests began. They had to attend Cho's hearing at the ministry.
The hearing was going as was expected. Hermione, Harry, McGonagall and Madam Pince presented their cases. Cho had no defense. She looked defeated. She made no attempt to question the charges against her. The Ministry official, Graeme Smith, who was judging the case called for a short break before announcing the final judgment.
Harry and Hermione were having a snack at the cafeteria when somebody interrupted them. Harry looked at her coldly as she spoke. It was Marietta.
"Can I have a word with alone, Er… Potter," she said nervously.
"Whatever you have to say, you can say here," replied Harry nervously. Marietta took a seat.
"I understand the torture Cho put you through but I'm begging you for mercy. I've known Cho since childhood and she's not a bad person. The only reason she did this was because she loves you Harry," said Marietta.
"Don't you dare use that word between me and Cho! People like you and Cho don't know what love is. To you, guys are just a mode to climb up the ladder. I don't want to hear any more about this," shouted Harry.
"Please Harry! I'm begging you. The case is registered under Granger's name as she was the victim. So if she withdraws the charges Cho will be free. I've checked this with the authorities. Both of us will forever be indebted to you two," pleaded Marietta. Hermione spoke before Harry could answer.
"Marietta, what Cho did was equivalent to crimes of a deatheater. If we don't press the charges, we'll be encouraging the Dark side. Other people would be inclined to do what Cho did. As responsible citizens we are not willing to let that happen. So it's final. Cho is guilty and will face her punishment," she said sternly. Marietta kept sitting hoping for them to change their minds.
"If you've finished you can leave!" said Harry rudely. Marietta quietly got up and walked away. As predicted by McGonagall, Cho was sentenced to Azkaban for life. Harry and Hermione couldn't have been happier with the verdict.
The pre-NEWTs passed well and it was time for the Easter holidays. For the first time Harry was going to spend Easter away from Hogwarts. Hermione had written to her parents informing that she and Harry would be staying for two days. She hadn't mentioned why they weren't staying longer. They said goodbye to Ron, Luna and the other Gryffindor's before setting out.
"We're so glad to have you again Harry," said Diana Granger welcoming Harry when the two of them arrived.
"It's a pleasure Dr. Granger. Thank you so much for your hospitality," replied Harry.
"Mum, you haven't said a word to me. I hope Harry hasn't taken my place," said Hermione, pretending to be offended.
"Nobody can take your place sweetheart. I thought you knew that," said Diana, kissing Hermione on the cheek.
"Diana, did you realize you were just talking to our daughter's boyfriend," said Robert coming into the room.
"Oh I'd almost forgotten! I'm seeing you two after so long, so I didn't take what had happened in between into consideration. I'm sure you make a superb couple. My congratulations to both of you, though it has been quite some time," said Diana.
"Same goes for me! Looking at the two of you reminds me of my teenage years with Diana. I hope you are looking after my daughter Harry," said Robert. Both Harry and Hermione were blushing madly.
"Yes Dr. Granger, she means a lot to me," replied Harry shyly. They spent a relaxing day at Hermione's house. After dinner all of them were sitting down in the living room. It was time for them to reveal their future plans. Harry felt nervous. He didn't know what the reaction of Hermione's parents would be. Robert provided them with a perfect opening.
"So Hermione, what are your plans after you graduate from Hogwarts," asked Robert.
"I plan to get into academics. I'll get into EIWE that is the English Institute of Wizarding Education. I'll get my degree from there. Maybe after that I'll spend time in research till I get a teaching job at Hogwarts," replied Hermione.
"So where are you planning to stay? We know that you'd like to get your own place but we'd love you to continue staying with us. Whatever you choose, we're with you." said Robert. Hermione knew this was the opportunity. She glanced towards Harry who nodded.
"Actually dad, Harry and I have decided to move in together," she said simply, preparing herself for the worst. Nobody said anything at first. Harry was waiting with baited breath.
"Are you two sure about this? You've just started dating. Wouldn't it be better if you waited for a year or so?" asked Diana uncertainly looking at Robert. Harry spoke before Hermione could object.
"I and Hermione have never really dated. Normally people date to get to know each other better. By the time we got together we knew each other better than ourselves. Once we were together I realized I couldn't spend a day without Hermione. So I asked her to move in with me," explained Harry calmly.
"Are both of you really sure you'd be able to manage this? Handling a house is not easy. I understand your reasons but you could easily postpone the move slightly," asked Robert, speaking for the first time.
"Yes dad both of us are sure. The reason we are staying here for only two days is that we plan to look over houses. Before the holidays end we want to buy the house and start all the work that will be required. In that way, by the time we come out of Hogwarts, the place will be ready," replied Hermione.
"If that is what you two want, we're okay with it," said Robert exchanging a look with Diana. Hermione smiled and hugged both her parents. A few tears filled Diana's eyes. Hermione looked at her concerned.
"It's okay. I'm just finding it hard to believe that my baby is so grown up. She's big enough to live on her own," said Diana sniffling.
"Oh Mum! I'll always be your baby. And I'll have Harry to look after me," said Hermione hugging her mother again. Harry watched the whole scene and wondered what the reaction of his parents would have been.
Next day Hermione went for shopping with her mother. Harry was at home with Robert. Robert asked him they could have a talk. Harry wasn't surprised as he'd expected this. Hermione had warned him the previous night.
"Do you love Hermione?" asked Robert.
"Yes I do. I'd been a fool not to realize it sooner. This year while describing the qualities of my ideal girl I realized only one girl could satisfy them," replied Harry. He had decided to tell truths as far as possible.
"What are you planning in life?" asked Robert.
"I basically have two options. One is to be an auror that is to hunt dark wizards and the other is to play Quidditch professionally. Given a choice I'd probably choose the second but that would keep me away from Hermione for long periods of time. So I'd go for the first," replied Harry. He felt like he was being interviewed. Robert sensed his discomfort.
"Harry, I don't want to grill you but you have to understand. Hermione is my only daughter and I'm just looking out for her. Don't worry, I won't ask anything about your private lives. I'm not sure if I want the correct answers to those," said Robert. Harry tried not to look embarrassed.
"It's okay Dr. Granger; I'd be the same way with my daughter. I'll treat Hermione to the best of my capabilities. Like all couples we surely will have our moments of disagreements but we'll fight through them," said Harry.
"One last question Harry. I'm not sure if you are ready to answer this. Have you two ever thought of marriage?" asked Robert.
"We've never spoken about it. At the moment we are too young to take a step like that. I cannot see a future without Hermione. So it should logically be the next step. I'll speak about it with her," replied Harry.
"That's wise of you," said Robert. The rest of the day passed without incident. The following morning Harry and Hermione bid farewell to the Grangers and settled down at the room Harry had booked in Leaky Cauldron. Ever since Hermione had come out of Cho's spell they had been sleeping together. So staying in a room wouldn't be a problem. Not that they would be staying in the room. Their schedule was packed. They had an early lunch before setting off to look at the houses. They had short listed three places from the advertisements in the Daily Prophet.
The first house was a small cottage. It was located in a highly populous area. The rooms were of a relatively small size though the living room was pretty big. There was no garden to speak off, just a few flowerbeds.
"So what do you think?" asked Hermione.
"I think it's too small my liking. We'll be cramped even in the largest bedroom. The only advantage is the living room," replied Harry.
"The area will be really crowded. I'd like a slightly isolated place," said Hermione.
"Doesn't look promising. Let's check the others. We'll come back to it if nothing better comes up," suggested Harry. They headed to the next house. Even this one was in a reasonably crowded area. The house was a lot bigger though. However there was a major problem. As the house was very old a lot of systems were faulty. To get the house in order would be a huge expenditure.
"This is better than the last one but it is in a bad shape," said Hermione.
"I'm not happy about the dense population of this area. I'd also like to have a garden. The repairs can be managed. Don't worry about the expenditure," said Harry. Now only one place remained. As they went there, the first thing they noticed was that it was in a semi-urban area. So it was sparsely populated.
"That's a major plus point straightway," said Hermione. The house was bigger than the previous two. It was set on top of a small hillock. There was a front garden as well as a back lawn. There was greenery all around. Only a few houses peppered the lush green fields. The house looked relatively modern.
"Looks pretty good from the outside," commented Harry. The inside was even better. There were plenty of rooms of varying sizes. Most of them were quite large.
"There is a master bedroom, two guestrooms, a large study for both of us, a living room, four bathrooms, kitchen cum dining, a sunroom and a room for your library," said Harry.
"I don't need a room for my library Harry!" exclaimed Hermione.
"I don't want the study to be cluttered. I know you are very neat and organized but at the rate you buy books…" Harry trailed off and sighed. Hermione hit him on the arm.
"Okay fine! This looks very good. Almost like my dream house," said Hermione.
"I completely agree. It's spacious and well aired. The windows provide a marvelous view," replied Harry.
"There is just one problem. The price will probably overshoot our budget," said Hermione.
"I thought about that. But if we bought the previous place and furnished it, the overall cost wouldn't be much less. And both of us like this one much more," replied Harry.
"My parents had offered to lend some money but I refused. I wanted us to do this ourselves. Maybe we can take a loan," said Hermione.
"That's my girl! I'm proud of you for that. We wouldn't need to take a loan. I'll get out some extra galleons from my vault. We'll be a bit tight for a couple of years but we'll manage. Both of us will be earning during these years," said Harry.
"So this is final! We'd better sign the papers and make the payment. Unlike muggles getting a new place isn't a long drawn out process for us," said Hermione happily. Both of them went back to Leaky Cauldron satisfied with their choice.
Harry had asked the owner, Frank Lampard, to meet them for the final dealings the following evening. At the decided time they were all present at their new house to be. The formalities were completed and Frank handed them the keys. The house was theirs.
"I can't believe it. It's ours!" said Hermione.
"Who would have thought the two of us would be living in such a nice place?" said Harry putting his arms around Hermione.
"We need to decide a name for it," said Hermione.
"If you don't mind, I already have a name in mind. We can change it if you want. It's Peaceden," said Harry. Hermione smiled at him.
"That's perfect Harry. It suits our home beautifully. With you having killed Voldemort it becomes even more appropriate. You brought peace to the world," replied Hermione. Both of them spent the evening sitting on the floor and chatting. They didn't feel like leaving. Both of them were very proud to have acquired a house like this.
"Harry let's spend the night here. From tomorrow furnishing and painting will start. We can apparate to the nearest market and grab something to eat. I'll conjure some mattresses and we'll be comfortable," suggested Hermione.
"If that's what you want I'm more than willing," replied Harry. They did as planned. They packed burgers for dinner. Hermione conjured the mattresses. They slept soundly in the night. In the morning the painters and the carpenters arrived. Within minutes work started in full swing. Harry and Hermione went off for shopping. They had to buy furniture, decorations, appliances and other things for their place.
The shopping proved more difficult than expected. As they realized their tastes were opposite. There were conflicts about colors, styles, designs etc.
"I think the plane one looks a lot better," said Harry.
"Come on Harry! The floral one is so cute. A bit of flowers couldn't hurt," argued Hermione.
"At the rate we are progressing it'll be the next century, by the time we are finished. Just reminding you that we have only one day," said Harry.
"Do you have a better idea? All we have been doing since morning is arguing over what to get. I didn't know our choices were so different," replied Hermione heatedly.
"Actually I have a better idea. We need to get this done by today. Let's divide the house in two. You do one part and I'll do the other. Eventually both of us will have to be happy with end product. I'm sure we'll get used to it," suggested Harry.
"Fine. But I get the master bedroom," said Hermione.
"Okay. I'll take the living room. These are the two main rooms we'll be in. The study we'll do half and half. Each one does his or her own area," replied Harry.
"I'm sorry Harry for reacting the way I did. I should have been more adjusting," said Hermione remorsefully.
"It's okay. For once it was my brain which worked out a perfect solution. What I said wasn't rigid. We can always consult each other while planning everything out. I'm sure everything will be great," said Harry. Their shopping finished by the afternoon. A lorry delivered their products to their home. Since they were in a muggle market they couldn't shrink everything and take away. When everything was at home Harry shrunk them and placed them in one room.
"We'll need someone to put things in their places once all the painting and furnishing is complete. We can ask McGonagall for permission to check things here one evening," said Hermione.
"I'll ask Kreacher. He can supervise the work. I'll tell him what to put where. In that way the house will be completely ready when we come back. Don't worry, I'm going to give him a hat and pay him for everything," replied Harry. He wrote a note to McGonagall asking her to release Kreacher.
Kreacher arrived the following day. When Harry gave him a hat, he was stunned.
"You are a free houselve now. But I want you to manage the house till we come back. I'll be paying you for that," said Harry. Kreacher bowed in agreement. Harry gave him certain instructions and left for the Leaky Cauldron with Hermione.
The holidays passed away fast. Most of the time was spent in looking over the work at their new house. On the last night before their departure for Hogwarts, they were sitting on their bed at the Leaky Cauldron. Such relaxed moments had been a rarity since they had left Hermione's house.
"We've been doing rather well, haven't we?" asked Hermione mischievously. Harry didn't get her point.
"What do you mean?" asked Harry.
"We've been sleeping together for over a month and have managed to abstain," replied Hermione.
"Oh that," said Harry understanding. "So what's your general view on that?" he added.
"My views have changed with time. For most of my life I thought that my first time would be after marriage. Later I thought the first time would be when I was completely sure of it," replied Hermione.
"And what's your current view?" pressed Harry.
"Since we are being so open I'll tell you the truth. It's taken all my willpower to stop myself every time we've been intimate. I keep telling myself that the wait would be worth it. However I don't have any rigid rules. I trust you completely and know that you wouldn't do anything against my wishes," said Hermione.
"That's good to hear. It'll get more difficult once we start living together. Even I'm not very rigid but I'm afraid that one day it'll just happen and we might regret it," said Harry.
"Don't worry Harry. When it happens it'll happen. None of us have any moral restrictions. I'm already protected. So we won't regret it. However I want our first time to be extra special. So I'd suggest let's hold it until the end of the academic year. Once we're into our home, we'll take things from there," said Hermione.
"You are the most intelligent person I've ever met. No wonder I love you so much. We'll do as you say. I'm glad we were able to talk about this. Most people never talk about it and it happens suddenly. If taking things a bit slow leads to better results, I'm all for it," replied Harry. They went to sleep holding each other.
Next afternoon they boarded the Hogwarts express and arrived at Hogwarts. This was their last forty five days in the school they had grown up in.