Hm, this and the next chapter will be rather mild and slow moving…by Chapter 4, the action will pick up considerably…that's a promise, but till then, please bear with me…
Disclaimer: Characters, JK, plot - me.
Chapter Two
The sun shone through the window, its rays settling on the sleeping couple; they were squished together by the physical impracticability of the bed they lay on.
Harry slowly awoke to a blinding headache. Initially, he had not an explanation, but suddenly it came back to him - the previous night he and Hermione had been having dinner with Ron and Luna. Of course, the wine; too much, and a hangover could be expected the following morning. If only he could remember what that spell was…
Valiantly trying to keep the room in focus, Harry shuffled in the bathroom, and closed the door behind him.
The click of the lock on the door startled the other occupant of the bed awake. Hermione stirred, and then yawned and stretched, much resembling her quarry, Crookshanks. Incidentally, the kneazle in question slipped through the door, and with a well-timed jump, landed beside Hermione on the bed.
"Hey there, Crookshanks," she spoke softly to her pet.
Harry exited the bathroom at precisely that moment, and looked at Hermione, playing with Crookshanks. He smiled at the sight, and she caught him looking, before returning his grin with a brilliant one of her own. Yes, his future certainly included Hermione, Harry thought.
"Sleep well?" he asked.
"Actually, yes. I don't even have a headache," she answered him. "Quite wondrous too, considering the amount of wine we consumed last night."
"Lucky you," Harry grumbled. "By the way, d'you remember that hangover spell you told me about one time?"
"Of course," Hermione said confidently, and performed the said charm on Harry, mastering the complicated wand movement quite nicely.
**
Shortly after, the two lovers sat at the kitchen table, sipping their obligatory morning cup of coffee, and going through the day's copy of the Daily Prophet.
"So, what are we up to today?" Harry said conversationally, while flipping a page of the paper.
"We have to go to the Burrow, I believe. The others will be worried about you," Hermione answered.
"Not to mention Ginny," Harry said. "She brought me back, but I have no interest in her. Do I thank her, or scold her…"
"I don't know, Harry. We'll have to see when we visit after breakfast today."
As it was said, so it happened. Apparating to the front gates of the Weasley home was not a complicated affair, but the following interactions were bound to be rather difficult.
"Just relax, Harry," Hermione spoke in his ear, as Mrs. Weasley came out of the house, waving them to come in.
They walked the short distance to the front door, and entered the Burrow, Molly fussing behind them about how they could catch a cold because of the chilly morning.
"Come on now, in you go," she was saying.
The entirety of the Order, which, needless to say, included the Weasleys, was assembled in the enlarged kitchen, waiting to see whether the rumors were true that Harry was back.
Harry noticed Ginny looked particularly radiant. Not surprisingly, the chest monster did not make its presence known, despite Ginny's efforts to make sure she appeared exceptionally beautiful.
Remus stepped forward, a sullen, but resolute expression etched in his features.
"Harry," he looked hard at him. "The Order and I have come to a consensus. If you think that you must rejoin James and Lily, then we cannot stop you, even if we will miss you greatly."
"Remus…"
His father's best friend continued, as if he hadn't heard Harry.
"However, if you decide to stay, we will openly welcome you back, Harry. The choice is entirely yours."
"I've decided to stay, and I have Ginny to thank for that," Harry said, selecting his words carefully. "Without her dedication, I would have never realized that life is worth living for."
Ginny beamed at him.
"So does that mean, you know…me and you…" she looked at him hopefully.
"I'm sorry, Gin. My heart belongs to Hermione. Always has and always will. I hope you understand. I don't want to upset you. There is someone special out there for you too," Harry said, and ended on what he hoped was a right note.
Ginny looked sad, but seemed to finally begin to come to terms that she could never have Harry, in spite of her idyllic dreams.
"Can we at least be friends?" she asked.
"Certainly, we can," Harry answered with a smile, and the two of them hugged.
It felt good to be on good terms with Ginny again. The awkwardness between them was not gone entirely, but Harry could at least talk to her more normally again.
A collective sigh of relief issued from the members of the Order. Visibly relaxed, they began to converse among themselves about this latest positive turn of events, and Remus Lupin looked happier than he had in a long time, according to Mrs. Weasley.
It was true. A grin had broken out on the werewolf's face, and he seemed unable to remove it.
A cork bottle popped from somewhere within the crowd, and an angry retort issued from someone who had been hit with it.
"Butterbeer all around!" a voice shouted, and was answered by numerous cheers. Harry joined in, feeling genuinely happy.
The rest of the day continued in very high spirits, and merged seamlessly into the night. Barely sober, the Order began to utter their goodbyes around midnight, and most made their way out into the night, apparating from the yard towards their destinations.
At around one o'clock in the morning, the Burrow was quiet again.
Harry and Hermione also wished their parting greetings, and walked out in the cool night air.
"Have a good time, Harry?"
"I can't believe it, Hermione. My life, you, and our future together…it couldn't be better."
"Believe it, Harry. Because it's real," Hermione answered, as a lingering kiss was exchanged between them.
Two loud cracks announced the departure of our favourite couple, as a pair of eyes looked on from the Burrow.
"Yes," Remus said quietly to himself, "they will be happy together."
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