Unofficial Portkey Archive

Author's Note:

First, I have to say that I am very, very sorry with the time it took me to post this. I can only say that being an history major in university takes up a lot of time, and I also have a pretty much full-time job. I went from having a little time to having no time at all, as I became swamped with exams, papers and seminars. But here it is.

This is the last part of Midnight Kiss, the final chapter. But, I will be writting a sequel, which I hope you all read as the first part will be posted very soon (and I *really* mean it this time).

Thanks to everyone for reading, I hope you will keep on reading the sequel and thanks so much to everyone for commenting. Above all, thanks to by beautiful and amazing beta reader, Sen. I love you darling ;).

Not many people can say they have made a habit of waking up from a bad night with a redhead looking over them. I can. Still, the name that I whispered as I came to invariably remained the same.

'Harry?'

I blinked a few times to bring my vision into focus, Ginny's face becoming clear. A sea of red curls fell towards me as the youngest Weasley was crouching over my resting form on the leather couch of Harry's flat. It was the second time that Ginny had woken me up in such a fashion in that week alone, and I couldn't count the number of times either she or Ron had done so in the last six months. I'd taken a habit of spending my evenings in his now-empty apartment, ever since Ron had moved in with Luna and more often than not, I fell asleep there.

'Sorry, it's just me...'

I pulled myself up into a sitting position as Ginny took the place on the edge of the couch, my eyes going to the window. It was still dark out and as the fog of sleep dissipated, I remembered what day it was. 'Gin, what are you doing here? It's your wedding day; you should be getting your beauty rest.'

'Nah, I couldn't sleep even if I wanted to. I'm way too worried about everything.'

'I'd be worried, too, if I had to marry Malfoy in less than twenty-four hours,' I snorted, absently rubbing the remainders of sleep from my eyes. I didn't see Ginny's cold glare, but I could almost feel it and I gave her a playful shove with my foot. She swatted my foot away with her hand and we giggled, both forgetting our worries for a few seconds. The moment was soon over and she dropped her face in her hands with a sigh.

'Hey...Don't worry, it's ok. Don't you get cold feet now, Malfoy's ego would never recover if you called the whole thing off,' I joked in an attempt to lighten the mood. Ginny's voice was muffled when she replied with her face still hidden.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to drop this on you, I know you're worried sick about Harry...'

'No, no...Stop that nonsense, if you need to talk, I'm here for you!'

She looked up with a shy smile on her face and I reached to brush a strand of hair away from her eyes, then I put a comforting hand on her shoulder. 'It's ok Ginny, you love Draco and he loves you, you really have nothing to worry about.'

Ginny nodded and sighed, leaning her head back. We talked for a few more minutes and gradually, her responses became less coherent and more lax, until she stopped answering and I realized she had fallen asleep. I left her my place on the couch, covered her with a blanket and roamed around Harry's home like I constantly did when I was left alone in it. Six months... Six months of waiting for news of any kind and receiving none. Six months of missing Harry, of craving for him.

I knew he wasn't dead, or at least I had clung to the hope that if he had died, Tonks would have the decency to tell me. But alive didn't mean well. I'd tried the best I could to stay in a good state of mind, but everybody's concern was starting to smother me. Ron had first found me sleeping in Harry's bed before he'd moved out, and ever since, the two Weasley siblings had made a habit of checking the flat every night to make sure that I wasn't alone. Some nights, when the need for him became too great, I even found myself wishing that he hadn't told me the truth before he left. Then, I drifted back to the one night we had shared together, and I knew I could never be able to give up the memory of his beautiful confession.

I sat on his bed, looking over at the bridesmaid dress that I was set to wear in a few hours's time and had laid down on the bed in preparation. Its long flowing veils had a light pink tint and swept the floor when I walked, even with my heels. It was summer, so the spaghetti straps that tied behind the neck and the low back were perfect for the exterior wedding on the grounds of Malfoy Manor. It was beautiful, especially considering all the horror stories I'd heard about bridesmaid dresses and I wished that Harry would see me in it, but now it seemed highly unlikely. It was much more girly than I'd ever been while in school: if my relationship with Ron had left me with anything positive, it was the boost of confidence that came with being seen as an object of desire. My buck teeth were long gone and my bushy hair was also a thing of the past, thankfully. I would never be as gorgeous as Ginny, but in Harry's eyes, I was beautiful and that was all that mattered.

My eyelids were becoming heavy and I yawned, stretching my legs to get into a sleeping position. I closed my eyes, hoping to get a few hours of sleep in before it was time to go.

Ginny and I apparated to the Burrow the next morning, with her things and mine so we could get ready. Her dress was even more stunning than ours, as it should be and her red curls fell in cascades on her bare shoulders with a discreet crown of white flowers as the only ornament. Molly cried the whole time Ginny put on her dress and I did her hair; Luna stared at the dress with her large blue eyes, and Fleur made sure her own hair and makeup held a strong competition to those of the bride. When I was the only one left, Ginny and I retired to her old room, and she helped me get ready. She needed to talk, and she knew I did too.

'Did you talk to Tonks this morning?' she asked, pinning my hair up and making some tendrils fall into bouncing curls like only she could. I nodded slowly, staring down at my hands. Ginny decorated my hair with baby's breath as I raved on. I'd flooed her when Ginny was still asleep as soon as I'd woken up, asked her if she could give me any news. I'd broken down into tears, but I wasn't about to tell Ginny that. She didn't need it and I knew she could guess it without me having to say it.

'He'll come back, you know he will. He sent Voldemort skidding back to hell and now that he has a life with you to look forward to, he'll do anything to come back to you.'

I nodded again, my own tear-filled eyes looking back at me from the mirror in front of us. I hated feeling this way. I wanted to go back to the carefree feelings of a few months ago, of trading jokes with my friends and scolding Harry and Ron, of having nights out with Ginny. Ever since New Year's, everything had seemed so dramatic. 'Just think of when he'll be back, and then you'll spend so much time together you'll want him gone again just so you can get some rest.'

'Ginny!' I exclaimed, my cheeks reddening even though I hoped she was right. She poked me in the ribs with her index finger, making me giggle, then leaned her chin on top of my shoulder to look over at our reflection. 'You'll see. Everything will be fine.'

Still, as I led the way for Ginny and watched her walk up the aisle, I felt my throat constrict. She looked so happy, fulfilled. I feared that I'd never have that.

The ceremony was beautiful, I'd never seen Malfoy smile without harmful intent so much in one day and Molly cried throughout the entire ceremony. Ron stood as best man, alongside Blaise, which made for an entertaining picture. I even found myself shedding a few tears when Draco swept Ginny in his arms and kissed her. Although the prospect of becoming Mrs. Malfoy didn't particularly appeal to me, I envied her.

It seemed that the entire wizarding world had come to the party, from both sides. The Malfoy family and their friends were sitting on one side under the large white tent, and the Order of the Phoenix alumni and such were on the other side. For the time being, they had all put their grudge aside as if Ginny and Malfoy's union meant something, like it buried the hatchet of the war even for just one night.

I danced a bit with Ron and even with the Weasley twins, but mostly I kept to myself at the center table, my eyes exploring the crowd.

'I come back and find you all alone in your corner, moping. Honestly, what did they do to you?'

After what I felt was an eternity of sitting there, in shock, I whipped my head around and looked over my shoulder at the tall and dark man standing behind me. Slightly emaciated, looking tired and his skin tanned, Harry was still the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Within seconds I was in his arms, kissing his face and his lips, holding him against me. He could barely get a word out, but I heard him laugh and I started shedding tears of joy, because it was like I only then realized that he was truly there. Alive. Well. Mine.

'Merlin, Hermione, I missed you so much.'

It wasn't long before we were interrupted by a small crowd of friends, the newlyweds, the Weasleys and Luna. Most of them knew that Harry had been away, not all of them knew why, but they were all beyond happy to see him back after the long absence of half a year. I could see in his eyes that he only wished he could pull me away from the crowd to do unholy things to me, and the reddening in my cheeks showed that I craved the same thing, but this was Ginny and Draco's day and we had to be there for them.

At the first occasion, Harry dragged me to the dance floor and swirled me into a valse, his hand clasped on my waist. 'I can't believe you're back...can't believe you're here.'

He smiled at me as his only response and pulled me closer.

I couldn't believe how beautiful she was. Like a fully blossomed flower, leaving no trace of the geeky know-it-all she used to be. Not that she didn't have her charm back then, the passion in her eyes, her soft features, her small frame...she'd always been pretty, but now she was beautiful. 'There was never a day when I didn't want to come back. It was sheer torture, being away from you, even worse than Ron's singing, I swear.'

It was true. The mission itself had been horrible, but the worst part of it all had been spending my nights wondering how she was, if she missed me as much as I missed her, and worrying about what the next day held. Would something happen to keep me from coming back and seeing her again? Most of the time, I didn't sleep and beat myself up for wasting a year's worth of time with her. Sitting in the darkness of the safe house where I spent my nights, uncertain if the wards would hold and protect me for another night, I made myself a promise. If I ever came back, I would never let her go.

My heart literally bouncing in my chest, my hands shaking more than they ever had even when I was facing Voldemort, I stopped dancing and reached into the pocket of my formal robes. I'd only been back for mere hours, most of which had been spent debriefing Tonks. I'd found a new set of robes hanging in my closets when I'd gone home, and it made no doubt that Hermione had been the one to purchase them. I smiled at the turn of events that had brought me back on that very day as I slipped them on. And now, I smiled again as I got down on one knee and looked up at Hermione's shocked expression. Around us, people probably stopped dancing to watch the Boy-Who-Lived propose to the woman he loved and I knew it would probably make the front page the next morning, alongside pictures of the Malfoy heir's lavish wedding, but I didn't have a care.

It had been my mother's ring, and it only seemed right that Hermione should be the one to wear it. 'Mione, I'm a fool, I know it. I wouldn't have lived to see a second year in Hogwarts if you hadn't been there to carry me, with your concern and your wits, through the years and the fights. It's my time to carry you now, to care for your heart and make sure that it never gets broken, ever again.'

She gasped and clasped her hand over her mouth, tears in her eyes. In the background, a bell marked the passing hour. 'Will you marry me?'

Hermione lowered her hand and smiled, but remained silent. Her silence was killing me. 'Mione, please?'

'Harry...it's midnight.'

I frowned, not quite understanding what she meant by that. Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears as she pulled my hand up to make me stand. 'It's midnight. Kiss me...'

I broke out in laughter, then executed myself, taking her lips as I dipped her and people cheered, with the firm intention to never let her go.

Author's final note: Hope you enjoyed, hope you'll stay with me ;) Don't ask me what happened during Harry's mission in your comments, I won't tell because it's a large part of the sequel and I simply won't answer because it'd ruin some of the story and plot.