Apologies to everyone reading "I'd do anything" - there will be one more chapter to bring closure to the fic, but I've had a complete block about how to write it. I did write the whole thing as an epilogue but it just wasn't right and was promptly deleted - I've become a bit of a perfectionist about that one as it's turned out to be my favourite of all my fics. Anyway, in the meantime here's some more of "Liminality"
Kate
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Hermione had never really seen the significance of New Years Eve or of New Years Resolutions. You're no more likely to stick to a new resolution in January than at any other time of year, and in so many ways, resolutions mean more when they're made unprompted.
Sitting reclined in her first class seat, she gazed out of the window into the clouds, just beginning to be touched with pink as sun began to set as she left England behind. Below was nothing but the Atlantic Ocean, above was nothing but clouds and sky, she was leaving behind one life, making a choice, and starting a new adventure, not knowing how long it would take.
This was the time to make resolutions, though they were more life-goals than resolutions, if they didn't work out then they didn't work out and there was a reason for it. It wasn't that she'd given in to Trewlaney's ideas of fate and destiny, but more that she'd come to accept her known beliefs. During the war they'd been faced with battles that would forever change the minds of all those present, she'd seen things her parents could never imagine, yet, through it all she'd remained strong. Partly, her strength was born out of necessity, Harry needed her, so she would survive and she would be strong; but during long nights keeping watch under a starry sky she had confronted her own beliefs, and come to her own understanding of how to marry her parents religious beliefs with her knowledge of magic, and her own experiences of the harsh realities of life.
Hermione believed that things happened for a reason, and that there were choices along the way through life which shaped how things worked out, she was guided by her own moral compass, and she often came back to thinking of Dumbledore's words so many years ago about choosing between what is right and what is easy. The important thing to her now was knowing what she felt to be right, and what she felt to be wrong, and if she could live her life along these lines then in the end everything would work out. It was a curious sort of optimism, and was now further fuelled by her distance from her old life as she sat speeding through the air towards her new life.
This was the time that things were either going to happen with Harry or not happen, she just felt deep down that having an ocean between them was going to decide once and for all which direction their relationship would take. And whatever happened, happened. She wouldn't fight it anymore, she wouldn't run from it - if Harry didn't feel that way about her then they would remain the best of friends, neither of them would need to run off an hide or sever all contact, that wasn't who they were. Sure, she wasn't exactly showing off her Gryffindor colours in hiding her true feelings for Harry, but deep down she would never run from the truth, she had always acknowledged her own feelings.
With a wistful smile she remembered that day that she had realised, it hadn't been a bolt from the blue, nothing dramatic, no great romantic moment, it had simply been a look. Ron and Harry had been having some epic debate on some minute sporting point at the table in Grimmauld Place, she had wandered into the kitchen to get a cup of tea and they had looked over and smiled at her, she smiled back and at that moment as she watched Harry smile at her she had just realised that was completely in love with him. Needless to say, her tea had gone cold as she'd sat on her favourite window seat in the dingy library, simply basking in the knowledge that she was in love.
Hermione chuckled silently to herself as she brought herself back to the present and accepted a bag of peanuts and a drink from the flight attendant. God, she could be so overly dramatic at times, all this waffling away to herself about liminality and moments of realisation and belief were beginning to seem pretentious even to her, that little voice in her head that sounded remarkably like Ron was saying "Thanks Professor, think I've got it now, no more lectures please". She smiled again to herself, and plugged herself into the little tv screen in front of her, losing herself in the escapism of film. That was enough thinking of Harry. Enough.
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