In Our Bedroom, After the War
The war is over and we are beginning.
Here it comes! Here comes the first day!
Here it comes! Here comes the first day!
It starts up in our bedroom after the war.
May 17, 2020 (Two years later)
The rain fell in heavy sheets pounding upon the roof.
She loved these days, curled up with a cup of hot tea and a good book. It helped matters that the sound of the rain alone echoed throughout the house; she was alone.
She closed her eyes, enjoying the tranquility of it all.
The doorbell startled her; she wasn't expecting company.
She moved toward the door warily. Through the glass, the distorted image of Harry waved at her. She stared at him for a few moments, curious, but then opened the door.
"Harry! Why didn't you Floo? It's a mess out!"
He shrugged sheepishly and grinned.
"I felt like a walk."
She shook her head at him, but ushered him in nevertheless and then cast a quick drying spell on him.
He smiled at her softly. "Thanks. What would I do without you?"
She stared at him, seeming to actually ponder the question. "I don't know."
"Not a whole lot, I imagine." He quirked.
"Harry-why are you here?" She asked, almost tentatively.
"I'm ready, Hermione."
She licked her lips. "How? How can you-"
"I saw Father Kolter again today."
"Oh. What did he say?"
"'How many years does to take to gain atonement? How long until you can let yourself be happy?'"
Hermione gaped at him.
"I know. Philosophical, isn't he?"
"But-"
"I also saw Ron."
"Oh."
"He said we should just get over ourselves."
"But-"
"I think-I think they're right, Hermione."
The way he said her name made her pause and consider his words.
"It's time to move on. It's time for us to move on." He took a step closer and cupped her face in his hands. "Let's begin, Hermione. Let's start anew."
She closed her eyes, reveling in his touch.
She felt a bit like a actress stepping out of a particularly consuming role-a role so overshadowing that she could not remember how not to act; could not remember how to breathe, move, think, or speak how she used to, before she started pretending. It took some time before she could adjust to the strange sensation, but when she did, she realized what, exactly, Harry was offering, and her response was automatic.
"Okay."
"Okay?" He sounded disbelieving, as though he thought after all this time, after all the years of pain, both given and received, she would have decided he was not worth the effort.
Silly man, for thinking such a thing; she had never been able to stop loving him, even at the worst times.
He should have known that, by now.
She opened her eyes and smiled. "Okay."
How could a single word open up such a gateway of emotions; break down a dam over a decade in the making? How could two simple syllables cause her senses to overload; allow her life to take on an entirely new direction?
It felt unreal-a dream or illusion.
She reached up to touch his lips, her fingers brushing against their slight roughness, moving over their slight part and onto the smooth skin of his cheek.
This is real.
This is what you've been waiting for.
This is Harry.
His green eyes studied her intently as she continued her exploration, up the side of his face, into his hair, back down to his neck, finally coming to rest of his chest. She looked up to meet his gaze, rid of the overriding numbness and ready to feel his warmth.
"I love you," he breathed, releasing the words; prisoners in his mind for far too long.
She knew then she would have gone through it all again, if only to hear him whisper those words in her ear, if only to hear the bare honesty in his voice.
"I know," she whispered. "I love you too."
He smiled tenderly at her. "I know."
His lips brushed against hers, softly, gently, full of promise.
And there it was: the last and first day, the finish and start, the destruction and foundation.
The beginning after the end.
The war is over and we are beginning.
Anew.
Epilogue
It's us-yes, we're back again,
Here to see you through, 'til the day's end.
June 21, 2022 (Two Years Later)
"Mum!"
"Rose! Hugo!"
Her two children launched themselves into her arms, but soon enough Hugo had detached himself and looked up at Hermione with large eyes.
"Mum, when we were on the train Rose-"
"Mum! Don't listen to a word Hugo says-I had to punish him on the train! It's my duty as a prefect!"
A chuckle came from behind her. "Like mother, like daughter."
Rose's entire face lit up and she jumped into Harry's arms, nearly managing to knock him over, despite her small size.
"You give hugs like your mother too." He said with a fond grin.
"Hey, Dad!"
"Hey yourself, nymph. I hope you kept James, Albus, and Lily in line as well."
"James is such a troublemaker," she moaned, after releasing him. "He was especially bad this year, since it was his last." She smiled slyly. "But the Head Girl managed to keep him in line."
"By snogging him in the broom closet," quipped a voice from behind. "'Lo, Dad. Hey, Aunt Hermione!"
"Hello, Al. How was your school year?" Hermione replied giving the boy a hug.
"Uneventful, but alright. Those OWLs were nasty though."
"Oh, Mum-the OWLs-I know I wrote you about them saying I thought I'd done fine, but then I realized that I might have put Entwhistle instead of Entwistile on that one History of Magic question, so I'm-"
"Ugh-not again. You're barmy, Rose."
"Shut it, Hugo!"
"You are-completely mad, that one. I'm going to find Dad, Mum." His lip twitched uncomfortably. "Hi, Uncle Harry."
"Hey, Hugo."
Harry and Hermione exchanged glances. He shrugged; she sighed and took his hand in her own.
"Well, that was sufficiently awkward. Hey, Dad, Aunt Hermione."
A smirking James Potter emerged from the crowd, his arm around an attractive girl with dirty blonde hair and a Head Girl badge still pinned to her robes.
"James! And this must be your Head Girl! I've heard quite a bit about you, Selina." Harry extended his hand and the girl shook it, blushing furiously.
"Selina, this is my Dad and my, erm, Aunt Hermione."
"Pleased to meet you, Selina."
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Potter-erm-Weasley-erm-Granger?"
Harry, Hermione, Rose, Albus, and James all laughed.
"Any, or all, of the above, actually."
"Don't worry, Sel," James said with a smile. "Everyone gets confused."
"It's a rather unusual situation." Harry admitted with a wry grin, squeezing Hermione's hand gently.
"Someone confused about family titles again? Eh, what's new?"
"Hi Daddy!" Rose moved from Harry's side to give Ron a hug.
"Hugo and Lily have been telling me about your school year, Rosie-sounds like you've got them on a tight leash!"
Rose rolled her eyes. "Hugo and Lily are just bitter because I always catch them. At least James has the decency to be sneaky. Where are they anyways?"
"With your Aunt Ginny. She and `Call me Stanley Jr.' are over on the other side of the platform."
The kids laughed.
"Ron-"
"Hermione, he's terrible! Honestly, what a wank-"
"Ron!"
"It's your fault, really, if you and Harry had just-"
Harry shook his head, cutting Ron off. "I'll never know how you manage to make jokes about the most dramatic episode of our lives, Ron."
"Eh, defense mechanism. `Sides, I'm mature and whatnot."
James snickered and nudged Selina, who was staring at the trio with wide, disbelieving eyes. "Yes, my family is crazy. Yes, they're always like this. No, things aren't always as awkward as you'd think."
"Oh, as mature as a crup, Ronald."
"Ah, but see, I've matured past the flobberworm level, so I'm moving up in the world!"
"Honestly!"
Harry grinned, watching his two friends bicker, feeling oddly satisfied. Hermione leaned further into him; he wrapped his arm around her waist.
Perhaps things we not perfect. Ginny only spoke to them when absolutely necessary, and Lily and Hugo tended to avoid the situation all together, but really, in the end, he had his health, his best mate, his children, and Hermione; all was well.
A/N: Originally, I had a relatively different ending, without the epilogue portion and a few other major differences. I was fine with this ending, as in the end, I wrote it as a challenge to myself, and I was just happy to be done with it. (Really happy to be done with it; I had a terrible time writing this story). But then I received so many lovely reviews, and so many people expressed interest in Rose that I decided to expand on my original concluding chapter. After all, I felt it only proper that I write an epilogue of my own. (And yes, I used the same last line-It was only appropriate, now that things really are well.)
As for the ridiculously happy ending-well, Harry and Hermione deserved it, I think. I really put them through hell in this one. And besides, I'm simply unable to write anything but a happy ending. Lol.
Thanks to everyone who read this story, and especially to those who even reviewed-I very much enjoyed both your encouragement and criticisms! I wasn't expecting nearly so much response; I thought this fandom was rather dead now, actually, but apparently, we're still hanging in there! Actually, this was going to be my last piece of fanfiction, (and though I'll definitely never write something this heavy again), my muses did decide to jump-start after Harry Potter ended. Go figure. Right now I have a story in the works, already longer than this one, based off of the `Death Eater Hermione' challenge. It's a ton of fun to write, not at all like pulling teeth, as it was for IOB, ATW. So anyways, look out for `Our Nameless Will'.
Thanks also to my wonderful beta, Ivesia19. I wouldn't have posted this story at all without you.
One last thing, if any of you ever want to talk about music (or anything), hit me up at my Live Journal (http://imstillsleeping.livejournal.com) -I put up recommendations there all the time, and I'd love to receive recs from you all as well! I'm such an indie junkie. Heh.
Thanks again everyone, I hope you all enjoyed the ride!
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