"...then I declare you bonded for life."
----------------------------
Hermione jogged slowly alongside the Hogwarts Express, waving until it rounded the corner and she could no longer see her daughter waving fervently back at her. She dropped her hand, her smile going with it as though connected by an invisible string. She felt an ache swell in her chest and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I'm going to miss her, too," said Ron, appearing at her side.
"Yeah," replied Hermione, nodding. "I know you will."
"Come on." He took her arm and steered her back toward Harry and Ginny. "Let's go see what's up."
She pasted on the smile that had long since become second nature to her and nodded again, resignedly allowing him to lead her to where the Potters stood. She glanced at Harry just as his fingers fell from his scar. Something in the way he looked made her want to run to him, to fling her arms around him and assure him that everything would be all right just as she would have done so long ago…
The sound of Ginny's voice, however, broke through her reverie, a vivid reminder that it was no longer her place to provide Harry comfort; that it hadn't been for nearly twenty years.
She felt suddenly overwhelmed. She pulled away from Ron and took a faltering step backward. She could feel tears stinging her eyes and she blinked rapidly, hoping they wouldn't fall. She didn't give herself time to contemplate any of what she was feeling, her only thought was that she needed to get away ... fast.
She reached for Ron's forearm and immediately his hand covered hers. "Hermione, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly.
Inwardly she cringed though any desire to allay his worry was far surpassed by a desperate need to escape. "I need you to take Hugo to your folks' house without me, okay? I-"
"Why? What's going on?"
"It's nothing," she said, squeezing his arm in a feeble gesture of reassurance. "I'm fine. I just - I really need some time alone."
"Hermione, tell me-" he started more forcefully.
"Thanks," she said, cutting him off. "I'll be fine, really. I'll see you later."
"Hermione-"
Out of necessity, Hermione blocked out Ron's attempts to talk to her and instead turned her attention to her son. "All right, Hugo. Your dad's going to take you to your grandmother's on his way to work so I'll see you when I get home later." She kissed his forehead and ran a tender hand down his hair. "You be good."
"Always am," said Hugo happily. "See you, mum." With a quick wave he was off and running to find Lily so they could ask Ginny if she could go to the Burrow, too.
Hermione looked at Harry with every intention of saying goodbye but the moment their eyes met she found she couldn't speak; without a sound, she turned and walked away.
She strode quickly through the magical barrier separating Platform 9 3/4 from King's Cross Station and straight out of the terminal without a single thought as to where she might be heading. She didn't know how long she'd been walking or what she'd been thinking or even where she was when she felt a hand grasp her arm and pull her around.
"Hermione-"
The depth of concern in the voice echoed through her in the quiet way he spoke her name. She shook her head, staggering slightly and he grasped her other arm to steady her. "Are you okay?"
She tried to pull away but his hold on her was firm. "I wanted to be alone," she said with as much conviction as she could muster. She tried half-heartedly to push him away. "Please, just…leave."
"I can't," said Harry quietly. "I won't."
Hermione's head fell against his shoulder and she shuddered as his arms enfolded her. "Since when? You never had a problem doing it before."
Harry felt her words cut through him. "I don't know," he whispered against her ear. "I just know that you need me ... that you need to talk."
"I can't."
He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back until he could see her face. "Hermione, what's going on?"
"I don't know," she said, turning her back on him and stepping away to hide her tears. "One minute I was waving goodbye to Rose and the next I just felt...overwhelmed. I just … I needed to get away."
"I'll go if that's what you want," he said, moving closer and putting his hand on her back. "Is it?"
Hermione shrugged and wiped her eyes. "I don't know what I want, Harry," she said softly. "I wish I did."
He walked around her and lifted her chin, raising her eyes to his. "This always scared me," he said, wiping a tear from her cheek. "I never knew what to say or how to comfort you when you cried. You have no idea how many times I tried to be what you needed ... how many times I tried to be there for you. Let me be there for you now, Hermione, I want to try again." He held out his hand, "Will you let me?"
She took his proffered hand in her own. "Oh, Harry…" she said quietly, half shaking her head. "You may regret this, you know."
Harry smiled and squeezed her hand, pulling on her arm until she was walking alongside him.
"By the way, I know what you mean," he said a moment later. "You know, about not knowing what you want."
"It's been nineteen years," she said, sniffling. "I thought you had it all figured out."
"And I thought that if anyone would have it figured out-" he said, looking at her pointedly, "it'd be you."
"Yeah," she sighed. "You'd think so, wouldn't you?"
-->