Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. What, you think if I did we would have such pairings at the end? *rolls eyes*
A/N: This is a collection of one-shots about moments in DH that I thought could turn into Harry and Hermione being together, if only JK had wanted it to happen. So…hope you'll enjoy! They'll always start with a small part quoted from the book, just to let you know where we are at the moment.
I'm going to be out of town for a couple weeks from today, so you'll have to wait this time to get the new chapter, but I hope to find all of you still interested in this when I come back!
Where Deathly Hallows Could Have Turned Harmonian
Burial Of An Hero
Slowly, under his murmured instruction, deep cuts appeared upon the rock's surface. He knew that Hermione could have done it more neatly, and probably more quickly, but he wanted to mark the spot as he had wanted to dig the grave. When Harry stood up again, the stone read:
Here lies Dobby, a Free Elf
"He'd have liked it" a voice behind him spoke softly.
"Hermione, you should rest" he started, turning to see her, but she stopped him with a sign of her hand.
"I know, Harry" she said. "But I had to see you, once they told me Dobby was dead"
Harry looked at her, and felt his sadness come back. He knew with her he could be honest, she had always understood him, and with her he had no need to act strong. She would know how he felt even if he tried to hide it, so what was the point in doing it?
He fell to his knees, sobbing loudly, and she did the same, hugging him.
"It's not your fault" she whispered soothingly. "He was, after all, a Free Elf, and chose to help us. You didn't force him to"
"I know, but…it's like Dumbledore's funeral all again, you know? I feel helpless, I don't know what to do, and people for whom I care about keep dying around me…I don't know what I'd do if the next was Ron…" he continued, then looked at her. "Or you…"
Her breath caught in her throat at the emotion in his eyes when he said that.
"Harry, I can't promise you we won't die. We are at war, and it can happen. But can you promise me something?"
He looked at her, wiping away the last tears, and nodded. In doing so, he noticed once again how beautiful she had become with time. But after all he had always known she was, since their fourth year, at least. The moonlight cast an angelic glow on her, and he felt he could deny her nothing.
"Promise me that if I or Ron will die, you'll go on with your life, Harry" she said, and he could see she meant it. "You can have an happy life with Ginny if we win this war, and I don't want sadness to take it from you, if the worst happens to me or Ron"
Ginny. She was suggesting he could have a married life with Ginny. Honestly, he couldn't see the redhead as the mother of his children. He could see her as a girlfriend that made him feel good, relax when he was stressed. But there was little to zero emotional connection between them. Hermione, instead…well, the two of them had always been able to complete each other's thoughts, each other's sentences. She had always been the one that could drag him out of his self imposed sorrow when someone around him died.
He knew he could not live without Hermione. But if promising her he would go on no matter what could make her happy, he would.
"I promise" he finally said. She smiled, and his heart soared for the first time since they escaped Malfoy Manor.
They were still holding each other, and she started crying too. He caressed her back, trying to soothe her like she had done for him.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned. "Are you hurting somewhere?"
"No, Harry" she whispered. "Thanks for asking, though. No, I just realized I wouldn't be able to go on if you died" she honestly admitted, and Harry felt his heart fill with joy at the revelation.
"You know what, Hermione? Neither could I" he said, pushing her back just enough to look at her in her eyes.
She knew from his gaze her was telling the truth.
"You're a part of me, Hermione. I've just lately realized how much I really need you. If you had left, when Ron did…well, I dunno how I would have coped. Probably I'd have got myself killed in Godric's Hollow, where Vol-You-Know-Who" he said, hating himself for it, but there was the Taboo after all, and he caught himself before telling the name again, "was waiting for me"
She smiled weakly, and wiped her tears. "You defeated him many times, you would have once more" she said, cupping his cheek.
Harry didn't really know who started, but they moved closer and closer, their faces leaning in like drawn one to the other, and their lips met.
He felt a jolt of electricity pass through him at the contact with the soft skin of her lips. He then thought of Ron, how he fancied Hermione, how he had told the redhead she was just as sister for him, not that he would be kissing his sister so maybe he was wrong on that, but still…plus he suspected she liked Ron too, so he broke the contact.
"Hermione, I'm sorry, I…"
"Harry, do you regret it?" she asked, searching his eyes for an answer. In those green orbs she could see that no, he wasn't regretting the kiss at all.
"No" he said, truthfully. "But…you like Ron…" he started, and she looked at him like he had sprouted a second head.
"Ron? Why do you think I fancy him?" she asked. Harry noticed she was shivering so he wrapped his arms around her once again, his jacket by now in Dobby's grave.
"Well, you two seem to be getting closer lately, and you cried so much when he left…"
"Oh, silly" she said, grinning. "I was crying because he was being a git when you needed him the most, and I didn't know if I would be enough to help you in your mission…"
At those words, Harry felt a sudden rush of affection for her, and pressed his lips to hers again. She shot her eyes open in surprise but then relaxed and laced her arms around his neck, kissing him back. She deepened it then, running her tongue on his lower lip, and he let her in, welcoming her with his own tongue. A frenzied dance started in their mouths, and Harry ran one hand on her back, while the other was caressing her hair, revelling in its softness and smoothness. It wasn't bushy anymore, and he loved the feeling of it. He could have been doing that all day.
She, on her part, moaned into his mouth, and put one hand on the nape of his neck, pushing his lips even harder on hers, treasuring the feeling that she knew would probably not enjoy again till the end of the war, at least.
From inside the house, Ron looked at them through a window.
"Seems they found each other at last" Luna serenely commented, near him.
"Yes, they have" the redhead confirmed, with a sad smile. "I kind of always knew they would, soon or later"
"Didn't you fancy her?" Luna asked, curious.
"Yeah, I do" Ron truthfully replied. "But Harry…well, he lost his parents, and he has the weight of both Wizarding and Muggle worlds on his shoulders…I think he deserves some happiness, and who am I to deny him that?" he ended with a smile.
Luna took his hand in hers and squeezed it. "I think you said a really mature thing, Ronald" she complimented him, and their eyes locked. Ron blushed.
"You do?"
The blonde girl just nodded, and Ron smiled, never leaving her hand. Turning again to the scene outside, he felt he was truly happy for his friends. Getting over his crush for Hermione would take some time, but he knew he could do it.
In the meantime, Harry and Hermione were now resting their foreheads one on the other. He sighed.
"What's that for?"
"Nothing. For the first time in my life, I feel truly happy, but I know it might not last" he said. "However, I'll do my best to ensure it does" he said, looking at her tenderly.
She melted under his gaze, and kissed him again, this time it was sweet and gentle, not lust involved but only true, deep, everlasting love.
"You'll defeat him, Harry. I know you will" she said understanding what he had been thinking about, and he felt that if she believed in him, then he really had a chance.
Voldemort would die, and he would have his happy future with her.
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