How Do You Know?

Disclaimer: Not mine, just adding my two cents.

AN: A little one-shot about the aftermath of the battle.

Title: How Do You Know?

Rating: PG13

Pairings: HHR

It was over, that was what mattered to a majority of the people fighting. It was not they were not concerned for the boy-man, just that they were grateful to have made it this far and survive. Unfortunately, that comfort left with the clearing of the smoke, when most saw, for the first time, the results of a battle that had been waging for years and had come home to roost on the grounds of Hogwarts.

Some of the seasoned aurors were able to hide their disgust at the surroundings, but others were less fortunate. Quite a few people lost what little was left in their stomachs, and those sounds could be heard over the quietness of the early morning. Just as the sun crested the horizon was when the battle ended, for some it seemed very quick, for others it took a lifetime. One person in particular had seemed to age years in a matter of minutes, and as she looked around the field littered with bodies, no one dared approach.

In an amazing combination of fate and chance the heart of the battle took place directly beneath the tower that proved to be the last place Harry Potter would see his beloved mentor Dumbledore alive, and the irony of the situation was not lost on anyone. There on the ground lay three figures, two, from outward appearances, seemed to be just beyond school age, while the other appeared almost shriveled and aged, even though only hours before his virility struck fear in the side of light. As the crowd of onlookers approached, they kept their distance, for they were not sure if it was safe to approach the three figures. They could see that the younger two were laying face up, seemingly looking to the heavens, the one with the once platinum hair looked quite mangled, which is what happens when one falls from a height. The odd thing about his appearance was not the configuration of his appendages, which seemed to bend at angles that were not humanly, or wizardly, possible. No, the fact that he had a smile on his face confused most of the onlookers. Most, except for those few who knew what his job had been when the battle began and what he was trying to atone for.

It was up to Draco Malfoy to sound the alarm when he saw the army approaching. Whether it was to make amends for the event ending his sixth year at Hogwarts, or just because he felt that he knew best where to look for the oncoming army, Draco had volunteered to stand guard in the tower and warn the residents within of the impending attack. It came out later that shortly after the warning went out, while Draco was making his way back to help those who would be fighting, he was confronted by one Vincent Crabbe, who was sporting a lovely dark mark on his forearm. Somehow during the preparations taking place to fortify the castle, Crabbe was able to sneak back in undetected. Before Draco could maneuver his way to an opening, he was forced back up the stairs while dodging curses. Once he found himself cornered, he did the only thing he could think of, he shot a reductor curse at the ceiling of the tower, causing it to fall on both him and Crabbe, at least that was the plan. While Draco was firing off his reductor, Crabbe fired a poorly placed expelliarmus hitting Draco's feet causing him to spring backwards out the window. But Draco had done his job, he had given enough warning to save quite a few lives, although how many he would never know.

The other young body was that of Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived. He was lying very still in what appeared to be a puddle of mud and blood, whose blood exactly was not too clear since all three bodies looked rather beaten. His once dark hair had now become a pale gray as a result of the mud staining his recently acquired gleaming white hair. It was common knowledge that a wizard's hair could be used to determine their magical prowess. Most times it was the length that given deference, but those truly schooled knew that the hair color was the real key. Not since Merlin had the hair of someone so young attain the luminous white of a thousand suns, but here it was. Just another sign of how much had changed over the last year since the passing of the great headmaster. As the crowd looked on, a sole figure approached and with what could only be described as reverence, knelt down before his body and began attending to his wounds. Not one person attempted to aid her in this, not because they could not, or were unwilling too, but rather because each person knew that this was more for her than it was for him. She wanted to cleanse his wounds, she wanted to mend his broken bones, and she wanted to be the first one he saw when he awakened.

After attending to the less tricky wounds on his body, Hermione Granger sat cross-legged next to her best friend and gently placed his head on her lap. She pulled out a small flask of water and a white handkerchief from one of her pockets. With the moistened fabric, she carefully cleaned Harry's face paying close attention to his eyes as she did so. She first cleaned his mouth, cheeks and chin, while doing this she surreptitiously checked his pulse, allowing herself to sigh in relief that he was still with them. Rinsing the blood and grime from the kerchief she moved to his eyes next, gently removing his glasses to gain access to his brows and lids. She wanted desperately to look into those green eyes but even her ministrations to them did not serve to stir him. After replacing his glasses Hermione went to clean the most recognizable part of her friend.

As she wiped Harry's forehead she decided to do something she had done quite a few times while they were hunting for horcruxes. Hermione leaned over and put her lips to the scar that adorned his head. Many nights while on their hunt she would find Harry thrashing around in whatever was meant to be his bed that night. She had tried many ways to wake him up or even soothe his anxiety, but the only thing that seemed to work was kissing his scar. If someone asked her why she felt it worked, she would probably explain it off as a physiological reaction to the change in temperature of his scar, but Hermione had her own explanation, one that she kept solely to herself, it was her love for Harry that drove out whatever demons were hiding in his dreams. Of course, he never remembered those nights, which both relieved and killed her.

This time the feeling of soft lips on his once bloody scar stirred something in him that forced him to awaken. Trying to get his bearings, he opened his eyes and was concerned that he could not see anything, until he realized that what he was seeing was a mass of brown hair covering his face. As Hermione moved back to her upright position, she noticed that he was looking at her and she leaned back in to give him a small hug. There was a loud sigh from the group of onlookers, but the two paid no mind. It was at this moment that Harry decided this might be his last chance to ask the question that had haunted him since the summer before his fifth year.

"Herm. . .io. . .ne I have a que. . .stion. . .to. . .ask be. . .fore I. . ."

Hermione interrupted him and stated rather forcefully, "You are not going to die Harry, you cannot die yet." Even though she sounded confident, there were tears brimming in her eyes, all of the pent up emotion coming to a head.

"Herm. . .io. . .ne pl. . .ease, let me ask. . .just in case." And with a strength that should not have been there he sat up and turned to look her straight in the eye. "Hermione, how do you know when you are in love?" With that he lay back down in her lap and awaited the reply.

At first, Hermione did not know what to say, she tried to remember all of the stories she read growing up. The ones where the princess would find her true love and they would live happily ever after, but she knew he wanted a real answer, not some fairy tale ending. She decided to describe what she knew about love, albeit very little from her perspective.

"Well Harry, my mum once told me that she knew she loved my dad when he showed up at her school in the middle of the night with a bowl of my gran's chicken soup because she was sick. I remember she said that he had to drive home that very night to be able to sit for his exams. So maybe love is the willingness to go out of your way for someone.

"Of course, my father tells me he knew he loved mum when he saw he wearing her swimming costume the summer before their last year at university. I do not know if he has ever told mum that, but it would probably have earned him a swat on the arm. So I guess love also has to be about attraction.

"I also remember my aunt telling me that love is that feeling of butterflies in your stomach when you see the person, and the way that your skin tingles when they touch you. Or it is that feeling of anticipation every time you are about to see them. So, perhaps it is more of a physical reaction to the person.

"There is always the bible, which explains that 'Love is patient and kind', but that seems to be more of a description of how people in love treat each other, which I guess makes sense. Oh, there is also that song by Bryan Adams where he talks about being in love, of course, he was talking about when a man loves a woman, oh, that is another song. My I never realized how many songs about love there were, I just remembered another one by. . ."

Harry placed a single finger on her lips to stop her for a few seconds, and as she looked down he smiled as much as he could and said "No Hermione, how do you know when you are in love?"

Once again, Hermione Granger was at a loss for words, she had never really thought about it before, she knew she was in love, but how? Then as she looked down on him again, she realized what she had been meaning to say all along.

"I know when I am in love, when I risk expulsion every year just to keep him safe. I know when I feel like my heart breaks every time he talks about another girl. I know when he looks at me and my heart melts. I know when I can tell him anything and everything and know that he is hearing and listening. I know when the first thought I have in the morning is when I can see him and the last thought at night is to be in his dreams as he is in mine. I know because he has been my best friend since first year and that no one could ever come between us. I know because I would be willing to risk my life for you, and I would not think twice about it. Most importantly though, I know I am in love because living my life without you would not be worth living. I Love you Harry Potter."

"Thank you, now I know. Hermione Granger, I Love you too." And with that Harry Potter closed his eyes.

At first, Hermione just sat there with his head in her lap, she could feel his breathe getting more and more shallow, but all she could do was hold him, all her preparing meant nothing at this moment, she was frozen. She felt like she could not breathe herself, then the tears came. They began like most tears do, by clinging to her lashes just waiting to fall, then came the torrent of tears. There was no way to know just how soaked she was getting both Harry and herself because at that moment it started to rain. It was as if the heavens themselves were crying for this boy-man who had sacrificed so much for so many. The tears of heaven mixed with Hermione's tears and then the wailing started, she was by no means the only one effected, but her cries could be heard throughout the battlefield, people who hardly knew either of them started to cry just hearing the anguish in her voice. This was a day when all those joined together to cry for those lost on the battlefield and before. This was a day when all those would cry for the boy-who-lived.

A gentle hand reached up and brushed the tears away, and Hermione opened her eyes to stare at the man holding her in his arms. The messy white hair was now cropped short, almost daring someone to look at the scar that adorned his forehead. How different things were now then they were back then. Before he would have done anything to hide the scar, simply because he did not want to be remembered for a stupid scar he had no recollection of earning. Now though, he used the scar to remind the world what was sacrificed for them, and more importantly perhaps, that the person wearing the scar knew what true power could do.

"What's wrong Hermione? You were crying and screaming for a few minutes before I could wake you up."

She cleared her throat and wiped her own eyes before answered, "I was just remembering that day again. Harry I thought I had lost you, just when I found you. I know that sounds corny, but my heart broke that day."

"Love, I have been trying to repair that break ever since. I remember that day very well, and believe me, after hearing you tell me about love, I wasn't about to leave you for anything."

"Harry, how do you know when you are in love?" Hermione asked the question she had been waiting to ask for almost four years.

Harry Potter looked in the eyes of his wife and soon to be mother of his first born, smiled and simply stated, "I just have to look at you."

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