A/N: Sorry this took a while to get out, but for some reason I could not get this one to come out as easily as the others and even still I'm kinda eh about it. I think this one might be the last actual chapter, but it depends on if I get an idea to draw out the story a bit more. There is an epilogue for sure. This chapter is un-beta'd so even though I went through it with a fine tooth comb, all mistakes and Americanisms are my own. Please feel free to point them out.
Hermione woke slowly, languidly stretched out next to Harry. She reached across his chest during her stretch and sighed, snuggling into his shoulder. She could get very used to this, if she wasn't already. Harry sighed against her cheek and turned his head toward her mumbling something about Ron eating all the cheese and croutons.
Hermione tilted her head up and watched Harry sleep. She reached up to brush his fringe away from his eyes, her hand trailing down his eyebrow, down around his cheek to his jaw, chin and throat. He had been so peaceful the last few nights, but she knew that it was a temporary lull. She wondered how long it would last.
Without warning, a shrill whistle startled everyone awake. Harry sat up in attack mode, hitting his head on the relatively soft "roof" of the fortress, knocking the mattresses off the bed and onto him and Hermione. Hermione let out a small shriek of surprise and Harry curse soundly when their little hidey hole collapsed around their ears.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" Hermione heard Ron growl angrily from across the room.
"On three," Harry murmured to Hermione. "One, two, three!" With a heave they shoved both mattresses off them and sat up, confused, disheveled and a bit grumpy.
All three teens looked over to the door with annoyed expressions. A young healer, not much older than them, stood by the door with an amused smirk. "Sorry. That was the Slytherin in me," she said not sounding the least bit apologetic. "It's time for you to wake up anyway. You're being discharged in two hours, so get your arses moving."
"Brilliant," Ron growled flopping back on the bed with a sigh when the healer had left. "Hold on a tick."
He sat up and took in the scene between Harry and Hermione with a confused and slightly something else expression. "How long has this been going on?" he asked quietly.
Harry and Hermione shared a wary glance. "Not to sound evasive, but how long has what been going on?" Hermione spoke up cautiously.
"You two, in the fort," Ron replied gesturing at the collapsed structure.
"Um, a few nights?" Harry asked, edging closer to Hermione, looking as if he were going to duck behind her at any moment.
"How come I didn't know about this?"
"Well, you sleep like the dead," Hermione replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "And you always sleep in so late so Harry and I always got up before you. We weren't keeping it from you on purpose," Ok, that was a small fib, she thought to herself, "it just happened to never come up."
"You weren't . . . you know . . ."
"Pulling a you and Luna?" Harry chuckled to which Ron flushed bright pink.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Not that it's any of your business, but no. Well, except for last night. Oh and the night before, but that doesn't really count because Harry was really drunk and passed out mid-snog."
"Oi!" Harry protested, looking over at her. "That was supposed to be a secret!"
Hermione smiled at Ron doubled over laughing then looked over at Harry. "By knocking you down a peg, Ron will feel better about this," she whispered giving Harry an apologetic kiss.
Harry grumbled and groused under his breath, but it was good natured and Hermione loved him all the more for it. With that slightly terrifying thought she stood. "You two get packed. I'm going to take a shower," she announced heading for the bathroom. "I saw that!" she called over her shoulder. She didn't have to turn around to see the exasperated and suffering look shared between her boys.
While showering and dressing, her thoughts slowly drifted from Harry and Ron to Ginny. How - ? She shook her head shutting off the shower. No, she'd better not ask `how.' `How' was irrelevant. As was `why' because if she were completely honest with herself she knew exactly why. `When' was probably a more relevant question. Ok and `how' would be too if nothing more than to satisfy her curiosity.
Hermione shook her thoughts away again and finished brushing her teeth and dressing. When she stepped out, she sighed and rolled her eyes. Neither Ron nor Harry had even attempted to look like they'd started packing. They were, instead, playing a game of Wizard's Chutes and Ladders. Time to bring out the big guns.
"Harry, Ron," she called out sweetly, neatly folding her clothes and stowing them away in her trunk.
She caught them looking apprehensively at each other before looking over at her. "Yes?" Harry asked warily. They both knew that tone of voice.
"You do realize that we've been here for quite a few days and not everything is where it's supposed to be correct?" Hermione smirked, continuing with her packing.
"Er . . ." Ron mumbled. "What d'you mean?"
"Well, just the other day I saw someone's very cute teddy bear boxers lying around where a very sweet Slytherin healer might be able to find them," Hermione said keeping up the saccharine voice. She glanced over at them to gauge their reactions. Harry was flushed and Ron's shoulders were trembling with laughter. "And just yesterday I saw someone's autographed Celestina Warbeck album conveniently hidden nearby where the same healer could find that record."
The tips of Ron's ears turned a startling shade of fuchsia that clashed with his hair. "All right, all right, we'll get packing," he grumbled, dumping the game pieces and board into the box and packing it away.
"It's going to feel weird leaving," Harry said sitting on his bed an hour and a half later freshly showered and newly packed (especially the boxers).
"I don't want to live at the Burrow any more. Is that horrible of me?" Ron asked looking up from where he was picking at the blanket he was sitting cross legged on.
"No, I don't want to live at home either," Hermione murmured from behind Harry. She leaned forward and rested her forehead on his back.
Harry cracked a grin, or at least it felt like it from where Hermione was sitting. "We've talked about everything else except two things; that last day and this. We probably should've talked about this huh?"
"Do you want to live in Grimmauld?" Ron asked.
Harry sighed. "Not particularly, but it'd be a good place to start until we can find somewhere better."
"Potter, Granger, Weasley," the young healer walked in holding three clipboards. "Just sign here and you'll be on your way. Your father is here to pick all of you up," she said nodding at Ron.
Harry, Hermione and Ron scribbled their signatures on the parchment which rolled up and winked out of sight. "Enjoy your freedom," the healer grinned and left.
"That sounded ominous," Hermione murmured watching her leave.
They shrunk their belongings and stowed them away in their school bags before walking out into the hallway. Hermione felt Harry tense next to her. She half expected the healers to be lined up to cheer them away like in some cheesy Muggle movie where they'd all walk in slow motion, acknowledging the crowd with embarrassed grins and hand waves, but thankfully that did not happen. The floor was too busy and they were only acknowledged by the healers they'd seen regularly. "'Bye! We'll miss you! Good luck!" accompanied with smiles and waves were the only acknowledgments they received and all three of them relaxed.
"You've got all your things?" Mr. Weasley greeted them to which they nodded. "Then let's get back. Molly's been cooking up a storm since yesterday and she's anxious to fuss over you."
Ron rolled his eyes and sighed. "So it begins," he muttered following his father to the apparition point on that floor.
"Have the crowds gone away?" Harry asked.
"Enough," Mr. Weasley replied evasively. "Not completely, but they were able to open up the apparition points and take down some of the extra wards."
The Burrow was exploding with people, smells, and sounds when they arrived just beyond the wards at the end of the drive. Hermione took in the familiar sights and let the comfort seep into her. On one hand it felt really good to be back, almost as good to be out of the ward, but on the other hand she knew that feeling would dissipate within a few days.
Within moments they were enveloped in a sea of red. It felt like a couple of days before when the Weasleys and Order members had visited them, except sunnier and with greater opportunities. After everyone had bestowed their handshakes and hugs, the crowd all but carried them into the garden. Luna approached them, having hung back until the crowd had dissipated, and gave Ron a very enthusiastic kiss hello which gave the twins and Charlie fodder for the rest of the afternoon.
Hermione stuck close to Harry or perhaps Harry stuck close to her, she couldn't really tell, but she got a small thrill that neither seemed very willing to leave each other's side for very long. After about an hour of chatting with Tonks, Bill, and Remus, Hermione finally noticed the one red head she really wanted to talk to missing. "Fred, where's Ginny?" she asked, interrupting a Quidditch "conversation" (really it was more of a "my team's better than your team" boasting) he was having with Ron and Harry.
"She said she'd be here - spoke too soon. There she is," Fred replied nodding toward the garden gate.
Ginny was facing away from the garden, her hands on her hips, her foot tapping in annoyance at something - or more like someone - just on the other side of the house out of sight.
Hermione grinned and gripped Harry's upper arm. "Harry," she whispered. "Be sure to hold onto Ron ok?"
"Why?" he whispered back, watching Ginny cross her arms over her chest impatiently.
"You'll see."
Ginny stepped out of sight around the corner of the house, but returned shortly holding onto a disembodied arm whose body seemed reluctant to come into view. A game of tug-of-war seemed to break out between her and the arm until finally she dragged a morose and pouty looking Draco Malfoy into view.
Hermione sensed Ron tense up on the other side of Harry. She watched his eyes narrow, a lion focusing in on its prey. "Harry," Hermione warned fractions of a second before Ron launched himself off the picnic bench and toward Draco.
Ginny stepped in front of Draco and Harry ran in front of Ron, pushing him back with all his strength. "Ron! No!" Harry growled, bracing a leg behind him and shoving against Ron's chest with all his strength just as Hermione joined them. "Remember the raid!"
Hermione watched Ginny frown and look over at Draco who at least looked a bit sheepish as well as surly. Ron's eyes flickered down to Harry and he stopped advancing toward Draco. "He's still a git, but he did sacrifice a lot for us. And for her," Hermione murmured, laying a calming hand on Ron's shoulder.
Ron shrugged off her hand and turned away, before abruptly turning back. "One tear," he growled, pointing a finger in Draco's face. "One single tear and your arse is mine." Satisfied with that threat, he turned and headed back into the garden and toward Luna.
Harry sighed next to Hermione. "He's going to hate us for a while."
"No, not hate," Hermione replied taking his hand. "Greatly annoyed, but he'll get over it."
"Thank you," Ginny murmured from behind them.
"I didn't know Ron swung that way," Draco mused with a smirk.
"Draco, don't be a prat. Come on, I'm hungry and my brothers are eating all the food," Ginny said taking Draco's arm and half dragging him toward the table where the food was laid out.
Harry sighed and glanced over at Hermione. She knew exactly what he was thinking and smiled back. "Yeah, I know. Good to be home right?"
Harry chuckled while wrapping an arm around her waist. "How much you want to bet Ron and Luna are married by this time next year?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "No bet. Too easy. Now Draco and Ginny . . . ten galleons."
"You're on." He dropped a kiss to her temple and guided them to where Ron and Luna were sitting.
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