Chapter 15-Resurrection
It was a long, quiet week at home for Harry. Not counting Janie's constant chatter, Ben's temper tantrums about not getting things that he thought he needed at that moment and the usual coming and going of owls, Hermione was very quiet and strangely cordial. Part of Harry denied that it had anything to do with him, although, deep down, he knew he had pissed her off. He tried to think of a way to fix things between them but whenever he'd get up the nerve to say something, it seemed to leave him just as fast.
Gryffindor courage? All out the window.
At work Harry was finally managing to keep up in the physical department of his job. He felt stronger, faster and was even amazed at how quickly he was able to now defend himself by hand. He had another week of learning secret, defensive spells that certain people, who remained nameless, had conjured up.
Hermione was always cordial to him at work. On any given day they were in the same office together for only four hours.
Harry knew he was going to have to talk about why he had freaked out with the word "wedding" and
come up with a reasonable explanation for why he had just blurted out "no" to her request for that magical
birth control charms.
It was on Friday that inspiration came to him in the form of Ron, the last person he ever expected to be able to help in a situation like this. He had broken down and told Ron he thought Hermione was angry with him after he had asked how living with her was going.
"Harry, you're just going to have to talk to her. Remember, I was married to her. I learned the hard way. A piece of advice: when she's more polite to you than ever it's time to realize you did something wrong. What did you do anyway?" Ron asked as Harry leaned up against the wall, trying to rub his headache away after a long day. Harry thought carefully about his response, not quite sure what he should tell Ron. Thankfully, Ginny flew into her picture and chided Ron for being nosey.
"You're right Ron. I'm just going to have to talk to her. I've tried to talk but I lose my courage and even if I did manage to get out a question over the past four days we probably couldn't finish the conversation. We both have been working hard here, and then your son is having some kind of growth spurt making him the crankiest kid ever." Harry looked up and saw Ron smiling.
"Yep, he's a Weasley. Keep feeding him, that'll make him happier," Ron laughed. "I wonder how tall he'll be when he's my age?"
"Probably taller than me," Harry answered his ears picking up Hermione's voice before he saw her turn the corner.
"Good luck, mate. Remember, listen to her and don't interrupt her when she talks. If she stops talking for more than a few seconds, that means she is waiting for you to respond," Ron whispered hurriedly then ducked into Ginny's frame, grabbing his broom and a moment later they were both dots in her painted blue sky.
Hermione only glanced at him while she talked quietly to a quill that was taking down her every word as she dictated her weekly report to the Minister. Harry smiled at her and continued down the hall, seeking out Arthur's office to see if he and Molly could possibly watch the children. He knew the children wouldn't give them anytime before bed to chat, and over the past few nights, Hermione was in bed before he was; always asleep when he finally made his way to their room.
After a short chat with Arthur and a quick exchange of owls, it was decided that Arthur would take the children home
with them and, if need be, they could sleep there since the next day was Saturday. It'd be a treat for the children
to be spoiled, eat candy and run around the crooked stairs. Not wanting to upset Janie by appearing at Day Care then
leaving without her, he quickly scribbled out a memo to be sent to Lavender explaining that the children's
grandfather would be the one taking them home.
Now, to tell Hermione. He hoped she wouldn't be angry…
"Well, I could sure use a break from Ben's constant "no's" and screaming. It'll be nice to read in peace," was her answer as she busied herself by straightening up her desk, which was already perfectly neat in Harry's eyes.
"I asked Arthur so we could have some peace and quiet to talk," Harry explained softly seeing her hands still around a stack of folders. Her face was looking down at her desk but her saw her nod slightly and her eyes close for a few seconds. A look of exhaustion passed over her face which was quickly replaced with her neutral look that she had perfected of over the past few days.
"Fine. We can get take out."
Harry wasn't going to argue with that comment and seeing his chance to hurry home and shower before she was done he grabbed his bag and stood up. Quickly he walked around the desk and planted a quick kiss on her cheek.
"I'm heading back to shower. I'll see you there," Harry touched her hand and felt her fingers close around his for a second, giving him a great sense of relief that he hadn't messed up too badly. He had been scared to touch her the past few days, seeing how her reaction to him had become "impersonal". He knew he should've talked that night, not avoided the marriage issue, given her some answer about that comment about the healer and the birth control charms. But, the truth was, he was still reeling from the fact that he had fallen for his best friend in a way he had never envisioned. And how it still amazed him that she stayed and was there every morning and every night.
As Harry showered and did his best to straighten up, knowing that Hermione would stress if she saw all the toys scattered about, he tried to understand where his relationship was taking him. Before he got very far in his reflections he heard Hermione walk in the front door.
"You didn't apparate?" Harry asked folding Ben's blanket and laying it on top of the toy chest in their living room. His house was way too big for the four of them and the idea was still rolling around in his head about finding something a little more like the house he and Hermione were used too. One that was similar to the Muggle one's they grew up in; where the cupboard under the stairs would be used for storage, not a jail for a child.
"I was afraid I'd step on a toy," Hermione said glancing around as she set down her bag next to Harry's. "But I see you took care of that."
"Yeah, It was bad," he agreed taking the bag of Chinese food from her hands and nervously began setting the boxes out on the kitchen table. He knew Hermione's habits now as well as his own; she'd go upstairs and change into a comfortable pair of pants, a loose shirt, wipe off all makeup (if she wore any that day) then pour herself a glass of wine before she was ready to talk. He took care of the wine part, trying to put himself at ease as much as her. He knew most of his actions were because of the guilt he felt for shutting down on her when a very serious subject had arisen.
She appeared in the doorway, hair freshly brushed, the smell of lavender soap rolling gently across the space that stood between him and her. She smiled her thanks as she slipped into her chair and lifted the wine glass, taking a delicate sip. Harry tore his eyes away from her mouth trying to figure out how to start this conversation. Luckily, Hermione did it for him.
"Would you like to start or would you like me?"
"Probably be best if you went ahead," Harry murmured and took a bite of his cashew chicken, barely tasting it.
"I guess I should start off by saying I'm surprised with everything we've been through, said and done that you would shut down with what I thought was a fair and simple question," Hermione began then took another sip of wine. Harry busied himself with eating since he really wanted to yell out, `Simple? Says you!'
She was quiet for so long that he ventured a look up from his rice and saw she was watching him carefully. Remembering Ron's words he figured she wanted an answer, or some kind of response. Taking a deep breath he let it out quietly measuring the words that came to his head.
"Well, I think I was still shocked that Charles was already talking of us getting married. To be honest, I hadn't thought that far ahead. I haven't allowed myself to as it has only been a bit over a year since they died." Harry lowered his eyes and shrugged slightly not knowing what else to say.
"Why couldn't you have said, days ago, exactly what you just told me now? It would've been much easier to just say, `I never thought that far ahead, Hermione.' And, honestly Harry, I hadn't really either until Charles mentioned it."
"Probably…well, because…maybe I thought you had and would've been mad that I hadn't. You know if Charles thought that then other people have too."
"Not especially. Charles may turn out to be related to my family and I believe he is trying to connect the dots around his potential new family. Has anyone else said anything to you?"
"No. I mean Luna makes her Luna-ish comments but nothing like what Charles said," Harry pushed his food around in the small box and then looked up at her. He could see tired circles under her eyes and watched her pick through her vegetables, seeking out the broccoli.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. I shouldn't have ignored your question. And, about the other thing…I still don't know why I responded the way I did." She looked up surprised that he was moving on in the conversation, and addressing the issues that had been bothering her.
"You hardly ever blurt out anything, Harry," her eyes met his and he felt the familiar, happy swoop of his stomach when their eyes locked together. He could see she was relaxing a bit and wasn't as angry with him anymore. "What was the first thought that went through your head when I mentioned I was thinking of going to look into the charm?"
"I don't know," he sighed. "It's your body Hermione. I have no right to tell you what to do with it."
"No, you don't. Seeing as we are together it would be nice to have your input into such matters as these. I still want to know what your first thought was. Think hard for me. It may help you…us…understand some of what we are talking about."
Harry dropped his gaze, trying to conjure up what he felt when she had brought up that idea.
He thought of how desperate Ginny had been to have a baby but felt like a failure when, month after month, she found out she wasn't pregnant. He remembered feeling helpless that he couldn't give her the one thing she truly wanted, then vividly remembered the moment the healer said she was pregnant and the joy that spread over Ginny's freckled face. And the relief that flooded through him at the same time.
"What're you thinking?"
Harry answered quietly, twisting his fork around in his hand.
"About Ginny and how hard it was to get pregnant."
"That's completely understandable and I know that wasn't an easy time for you two. However, you know these charms are temporary? You mentioned Ginny didn't have any of them performed on her."
"No, she didn't and I remember you telling me that. Do they know that for sure though? That they don't have any lasting effects?"
"I haven't heard anything to the contrary," she replied, now reaching over and stilling his hand. She curved her fingers around his palm and held tight. "I'm trying to look at this from your view. What I come up with is this: someone who was your best friend for years moves into your home with her son. A relationship that is more than just friendly develops. At the same time, both of us are trying to get our minds around the portraits, the fact that they'll never come back and how they'll respond to us being together. Then someone comes up and says if we ever got married, they'd be related to our children."
She squeezed his hand and he squeezed back, glancing up at her as pieces of a puzzle slowly trickled into their correct place, connecting with neurons in his brain.
She continued, seeing she was on the right path, enjoying that her powers of deduction hadn't failed her. "Having more children was something you hadn't thought of doing with anyone else but your wife and then I mention the charm which means we can't conceive a child for a specific length of time, then Charles mentions marriage and children. Unless I misread you, which I rarely do Harry, it forced you to open your eyes to the more future future."
She was right, as usual. That's exactly what he was being forced to do; to think beyond today. Nodding, he tugged her hand towards him and covered it gently with his free one.
"Yeah, I really was only thinking of today and tomorrow and never really got any further. I'm guessing that the deaths of Ginny and Ron, then the two months in Rome settled me into that way of thinking. How could I envision a future with anyone else that wasn't the mother of my child? How could I know when Janie would be ready to go home?"
"So your response now, as an adult, to freaking out is shutting down," Hermione asked joking and smiling a bit for the first time in days. Chuckling, Harry smiled back.
"Yeah, I guess so. No one to take my anger out on anymore since Voldemort is gone."
"Yeah, well…about that," Hermione gently pulled her hand out of his and sat back in her chair. She had effectively closed one subject and opened another in only a few words.
"What?" Harry asked sharply his senses on alert. He had a brief flashback to watching Voldemort fall to the ground stone dead and knew, rationally, that he was truly gone. But a part of him always wondered if he truly did die.
"Right before I left I received an interesting report. Clogkey is going over it right now but it looks as if a small group of people were trying to procure some Dark Art items and have been seen meeting in small groups. They are reported to be wearing black cloaks and covering their faces. Rumor is they may have one invisibility cloak also. Isabel and John have been watching them closely and managed to snag someone who was hovering about the area they were meeting in yesterday."
"Really? Is this the group you told me about that is the biggest threat? About fifteen or so people that keep moving and buying things from different places?"
"Yes, we're dubbing them the Shadows because people see them one minute then they don't. It's like the light has to be just right and you can see them, then when we go in to try and find them they're gone." Hermione sent their empty cartons to the trash and accio'd her bag to the table. She pulled out a few files and set them on the table, keeping her hand on top of them.
"I don't have to go over confidentiality and all those rules with you again. Once you see this person you may want to talk about it with Neville or whoever."
"I understand the rules." He tried to sound patient but his eyes were riveted to the folder in front of him.
"Right before I left the office, John sent me a picture of the person they apprehended. He is in custody and is on his way of being secretly transported back to the Ministry. He is claiming innocence."
"Right. Don't they all?" Harry retorted rolling his eyes.
Hermione nodded and pushed the folder to him. "His picture is on top. I don't think you'll need to read any of the information I had to pull on him, as you probably know everything about him anyway." She sat back and watched him open the folder.
Harry sucked in a lungful of air and stared down at the 8x10 picture.
Draco Malfoy's face stared defiantly back up at him.
A/N: I am currently taking a class which requires me to study quite a bit, so these chapters will be posted much more slowly. Thanks for sticking with the story! We are into the last 1/3 of it I believe!ermioHe
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