Do You Love Me?

Somewhere Only We Know - Keane

“I walked across an empty land,
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand.
I felt the earth beneath my feet,
Sat by the river and it made me complete.
Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on.
So tell me when you're gonna let me in,
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin.

I came across a fallen tree,
I felt the branches of it looking at me
Is this the place we used to love?
Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?

Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on.
So tell me when you're gonna let me in,
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin.
AND if you have a minute why don't we go,
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything.
So why don't we go, somewhere only we know,
Somewhere only we know.”

Chapter 5 - Do You Love Me?

Harry and Hermione arrived slightly early. They piled into the phone booth and received their badges. Next, Hermione relinquished her wand at the security desk. As an Auror, Harry had special clearance.

Truly, their proximity was disconcerting to both of them. They had not expected to be so near each other after their decision six months ago.

Harry was still angry and his temper could flare up at any moment. Hermione wisely noted this. Hermione knew the signs. If she provoked him, he would enter into a tirade definitely reminiscent of his outbursts in Fifth Year.

She knew she deserved his anger. However, she did not want to divulge her reasons for her dissatisfaction six months ago. At least not yet.

They entered the elevator. Harry closed his eyes. Despite working in this building every single day, he could never forget their adventures in the Department of Mysteries five years ago. He lost Sirius here. He also nearly lost his Hermione.

Not that she cared he thought somewhat bitterly. But then he felt her clasping his arm and when he opened his eyes, she was looking at him worriedly. They stared at each other until Harry felt uncomfortable. He reminded himself to be angry. He remembered the six months of questions and the amount of frustration he had felt. He coughed and as politely as he could, he brushed her off.

Hermione felt his rejection acutely. She hadn't realized that she was clasping his arm until he pushed her away.

Soon, they had reached the fifth floor where the Department of International Magical Cooperation was located. Harry and Hermione were directed to the event. Heads turned as the chief guests Harry Potter and Hermione Granger made way into the crowd.

“Harry! Hermione! Over here!” their friend Ron Weasley exclaimed loudly ahead of them.

Ron Weasley and his wife Luna were sitting at a table right in front of the podium from where the Creevey brothers would present the new charity to the Wizarding world.

Ronald Weasley had not changed much in looks since Seventh Year. He was tall no doubt and a steady glaze of freckles adorned his nose and cheeks. His red hair was still his most distinguishable feature. He was just as jolly and cheery. However, fatherhood and the Horcrux Hunt had bestowed him with some sensibility that he had lacked in their schooldays. After the War, he had dated, engaged and married Luna Lovegood to the surprise of many of their classmates. Hermione had joked about the match indeed calling them perfect for each other. She believed they balanced each other's good and bad qualities.

Luna Lovegood was also the same as ever. She still believed in Blibbering Humdingers and Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. She loved wearing beer caps and radishes for earrings. And boy, did she stand out much to the glee of the media who made fun of Luna in their weekly columns. Ofcourse until Mrs. Weasley threatened to send steaming Howlers to any journalists who criticized her daughter-in-law.

The truth was that Luna made Ron feel complete like no other woman could. He was never second-best in her eyes but always first. And Ron looked out for her. She was beautiful with her dirty-blonde hair and grey eyes. Sensitive, and very intelligent despite her mysterious beliefs.

Harry and Hermione went and sat at the table after greeting their friends warmly. Ron kept on looking curiously at his friends wondering why they had come to the event together. Although they were steadily avoiding each other's gazes, they seemed to have called an uneasy truce of sorts.

“Harry, are you hiding any Pigmypuffs? You know how I love surprises,” Luna said.

Harry laughed. “What makes you think I had Pigmypuffs?”

“Ron keeps looking at you strangely. He doesn't like Pigmypuffs very much, I'm afraid.”

Ron blushed. Hermione giggled.

“How's Charlotte?” Hermione asked.

“Cheery as ever. I've been teaching her how to say Quidditch. She's going to say it any day now.”

“Ron,” Hermione said laughing, “She won't be saying Quidditch for awhile. She hasn't even said dada yet. Mind you, da is much easier to say than ma for a young child. However, it is important in language development that you constantly speak to your child. Language is actually one of the first indications of future intelligence. Sam's all ready started cooing and laughing out loud so that's a very good sign.”

“Don't you want her first word to be daddy, Ron?” Harry asked smiling at his besotted friend.

“Nah, it'll come in time. I can't wait until she's old enough to play Quidditch. She's going to break your record, Harry, and become the youngest player to make a Hogwarts house team.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Harry replied cheekily, “Only a Potter will break a Potter record.”

Hermione looked quizzically at Ron.

“Ron, Charlie can't become the youngest player. She's born in February,” Hermione said.

“What? I don't get it.”

“Charlie would have to be born after Harry's birthday in order to be youngest. Harry had just reached eleven when he became Seeker. Charlie would be past 11 and a half if she did get on the team in September the first year.”

“Party-pooper.”

“Now that's our Hermione,” said Fred Weasley as George made rude fart noises in the background.

“Stop it, you two,” Hermione mockingly warned as she grinned widely, “Or I'll refer you to Professor McGonagall.”

“Ronniekins, Luna, Harry, Hermione,” Fred and George said nodding to each member sitting at the table.

“Where are Ginny and Neville? The ceremony is starting soon,” George asked.

“They're going to be late. She Flooed us earlier,” Luna said.

“Mum's not going to be making it. She couldn't help remembering Dad and Charlie today,” Fred said.

Everyone nodded solemnly. Charlie and Arthur Weasley died during the course of the War.

“Don't blame her,” Ron said sadly. Today was the anniversary of the end of the War. A War that began five years ago at the end of Sixth Year and left many serious casualties and widespread destruction in his wake.

Luna kissed her husband on the cheek.

Somehow this public display of affection caused Harry and Hermione to simultaneously look at each other.

Just then a voice shouted, “Sonorus!” and Colin Creevey began to speak.

“Welcome! Welcome!” the young Creevey said glancing around at the tables in front of the stage, “It is my pleasure tonight to host the first ever War Veterans' Charity benefit event tonight. Today is an emotional night for me as it is for many of us. It is a reminder that it was only five brief years ago that darkness ended. Yet it is also a reminder that the war itself has not ended. But then who better to speak of our case then the man himself. Wizards and witches, please welcome Harry Potter to the stage!”

“Now? Isn't it a bit too early? I thought Harry was supposed to speak much later in the evening,” Ron said to Luna.

“I'll admit. It's strange,” Hermione said nudging Harry forward.

Harry smiled hesitatingly and walked up to the stage skipping stairs at a time as he ascended. Colin stopped him and whispered something in Harry's ear. Harry briefly nodded before moving to the podium and performing the same spell Colin had.

“I know many of you were expecting me to speak later in the evening after the Minister of Magic but it looks there is a magical warp heading our way. This as I have explained to the Ministry is another repercussion of the War. Magical warps affect the limitations of time and space. I would recommend that most of you take the Knight Bus home tonight instead of apparating since a greater number of body splintering cases have been reported during last two warps.”

“No wonder,” Fred said.

“Moving on… It's five years after the fact and yet we still seek a sense of normalcy in our lives,” Harry continued boring his gaze onto each one individual in the audience, “But at what price are we leaving the War behind us? After the War, I was ready to move on. I cut my connections with the media and the Wizarding world only keeping contact with my close friends. You know, Ron and Hermione, though not necessarily agreeing with my decisions supported me. Or atleast Ron fully did.”

Harry laughed. Hermione smiled sheepishly. They had temporarily forgotten the animosity between them.

“Hermione was worried that I was becoming too withdrawn. One day, Hermione invited me to the hospital. She was in her first days of Healer training. I agreed. Hermione is not a person who arrives late to any engagement but that day she was. That's how I met seven-year-old Abigail. I'm not sure if Hermione had this planned. She never told me. I wouldn't put it beyond her though. After all, Abby's mother was Hermione's patient. Well, Abby. How can I describe her? She was amazing. She had this sweet, unaffected nature. and I almost immediately felt a connection with her.

“Right when I arrived she was sitting quietly in a chair reading a book. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I believe. I sat next to her as I waited for Hermione. She instantly started talking to me. She didn't recognize me. But she saw my Quidditch shoes and we began a conversation on the topic. She loved watching Quidditch. She could describe all the moves and the techniques of the game like an expert. Imagine my surprise then when she told me she had never flown or used a broom previously.

“I asked her why. Apparently, her mother was hospitalized and her father dead. Her poor parents had fought bravely in the War in the hopes of a better future. During the War, her parents never had the time to show Abby the use of a broom. And now? Her mother was fighting every day for survival. Beautiful, bubbly Abby had no aunts or uncles to speak of to take care of her. So this is how she spent her time. Instead of playing games and enjoying and discovering life every day, this lively girl was confined to the four walls of a hospital helping her mother who was undergoing therapy. Sure enough, this incident shocked me.

“I was a coward. I had decided to leave a War that had not ended yet. Recovery had only just begun. I was letting people suffer,” Harry said finally choking on his words as he remembered the incident.

“I kept in touch with Abby and paid her mother's hospital bills. Luckily, her mother recovered. But I wondered… When the main breadwinner in a family is dead, how are the remaining members supposed to recover? How are they supposed to pay the ever-piling bills? What if one of them is sick like in Abby's case? Do we let these things just happen for a War that belonged to no individual alone but to this community as a whole? These questions plagued me. That's when Hermione came up with this idea to begin a War Veterans' charity that will address the needs of those handicapped by the war,” he said locking his eyes with an emotional Hermione's.

“I also enrolled in Auror Academy the next day. I remember the conversation with Hermione. I told Hermione my decision. She hugged me. I guess that was the last bit of encouragement I needed, he continued never moving his eyes from the figure of Hermione in the first row of tables in front of him, “My point though is that we take personal responsibility for this War. Let us be the generation that truly ended this war. Let us not leave the burden of unpaid debts on our sons and daughters. I dare you to move.

“I ask you to make the most of the opportunities offered to you,” he finally muttered more to himself and the audience.

“So please today, donate as much as you can to this worthy cause. Make a contribution. Even as much as a few knuts could add up and change the lives of thousands of wizards and witches living in the aftermath of the War. Thank you.”

Harry had not realized how many people were attending the event until he heard it. The applause. Thunderous. People were giving him a standing ovation. Harry was a good speaker. Yet this was definitely not one of his best speeches. It was simple. Non-descriptive. Bare minimum of details. Yet the speech had touched the hearts of every single person in the audience. Five years later. They had tried to forget and lose every single imprint of the War. But this War could not and would not be erased from the minds of these people. They had lived and breathed the scent of destruction. It was because of this boy - this man - this hero who was their Savior that the War had “ended”. So when Harry Potter commanded his people to open their eyes, they would. And they did.

Hermione could not stop crying. Back then, she knew he didn't have to return to the Wizarding World. But he had returned for her and for the Wizarding World. She felt like her heart was bursting. She loved him. She loved him. She loved him. Again, how could she have doubted it? She had been miserable when Harry had withdrawn from the Wizarding World. He had kept contact but she saw him rarely. So she had jumped at an opportunity to invite Harry to the hospital. And that day, for some reason, she had instructed Abby to sit in the guest lobby instead of the main lobby so that she could be closer to her mother's hospital room.

As the applause died down and Harry came back to his seat, Hermione reached over and hugged Harry. He stiffened in her embrace but eventually returned it. The hug lasted only for a few seconds but it seemed like eternity to our favorite couple. Yet the anger and the resentment soon returned. The magic lasted only a few seconds. But no doubt it left some lasting impressions on both Harry and Hermione.

Soon, Colin approached the podium again.

“Attention wizard and witches, I hate to cut this evening short but a warp is indeed moving in on us. I think everyone should head home before the situation begins. Do not apparate out of London. I repeat. Do not apparate out of London. Since we have to end this event now, volunteers from War Veterans will be flooing and visiting all of you to collect your generous donations. More information is being handed out at the exit. Thank you and good evening!”

“Good thing Ginny didn't come today! She would have had a hard time going home on the Knight Bus since she's pregnant and all but wait…”

“Hermione, do you want to stay with us tonight since you won't be able to apparate outside of London to your parents' house?” Luna asked.

“I don't know. If the warp continues, it will be hard to get to work from your house since you guys basically live on the other side of London and the Knight Bus will be too crowded in the morning.”

Ron looked at Harry furtively. Harry could house Hermione for the night, couldn't he? The hospital was just walking distance from Harry's - and once Hermione's - apartment.

Harry frowned back. All was still not right in Harmony land.

Hermione noticing Harry's and Ron's reactions suddenly realized what an awkward position she had put Harry in.

“You know what? The warp hasn't started yet. I could still apparate home now and take muggle transportation to work in the morning. So I guess I'll see you guys soon. Thanks for bringing me, Harry! Bye Fred! Bye George!” Hermione exclaimed quickly hugging everyone including Harry. She then turned to leave.

Harry seemed to be in a daze. He couldn't stop staring at Hermione's retreating figure.

“Harry? Harry? Yoo-hoo!! Harry!” Ron exclaimed. Harry quickly came out of his stupor and ran after Hermione.

He grabbed her wrist turning her around.

“What do you think you are doing?” he asked.

“Going home,” she said trying to remove her wrist from his grasp before she started crying again and did something really stupid like kiss him.

“Oh no, you're not. It's not safe. Call it my saving-people thing or whatever but it's better if you stay in London tonight. Okay?”

Would it be the worst thing if she did kiss him?

“Okay.”

(A/N): Long chapter. Drama ensues next. I'm finding it harder for Harry to be angry at Hermione… But they have to have their row! I'm really not sure what the response to this chapter will be. I think you learn a lot more background about Harry and Hermione on their road to becoming a couple…Wasn't Abby a nice touch? And I had to use a lot of magic in this chapter to create situations leading up to the row-fiasco. This was a difficult chapter to write so it took longer. I hope you like it!! Please, please review.

Once again I must thank all my anonymous reviewers, Bra4goten, LilytheSpitfire, cincoquatro, mushypeas, gingercat, izzieq, awaltzforanight, Particle_Accelerator, 101309, azi, autumnRose, Julesy, pottercrazy, Minnimione, Bimrin, CrimsonTemplar, Kiera, h/hr4ever, Tank03, lorel, NicholePotter86, HermionePotter726, rainbow star, passion fruit, mathiasgranger, harry_mione_love, Free28 and alayneni for your continual support! You guys are my drive and my inspiration!

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