A/N. It was quite enjoyable reading your mostly enthusiastic responses about the last two chapters. You have all been very patient for sticking around and I hope most thought this long journey into the past was worth it.
Someone commented on how the HGness of this fic is overshadowing all the HHr in it. That's unfortunate. The premise is the Epilogue did happen, Harry and Ginny did get married and stayed together for a long time. I couldn't make HG a terrible thing and have them all suffer constantly for almost two decades. Even Hermione did not suffer constantly :lol: They accepted their 'fate' the best they could and moved on as some of us have to in real life :)
I do want Hermione to overcome her insecurity about not being Harry's first choice. She has to deal with the fact that Harry cared for someone else before her (who happens to be her best friend who stll loves him) and that doesn't mean he cares about her less.
As their relationship isn't perfect they have a few things to work out. In this one Harry finds out that their living together isn't her only secret.
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Chapter 31 - Her Little Secrets
A light drizzle fell upon the modest Muggle cemetery in Sutton that dark gloomy Thursday afternoon. Hidden under his Invisibility cloak about fifty feet away, Harry watched as the funeral for Kurt Hugo Granger came to an end, the hundred or so attendees scattering away from his grave. He saw the deceased man's wife, Emiline, walking away escorted by a close family friend into an awaiting black limousine. It slowly drove off leaving Hermione behind.
She was standing alone beside the open earth where her father's body had been lowered into just moments before. While her eyes had been dry throughout the ceremony as she held her Mum who was inconsolable, they weren't dry now. He couldn't just stand there and do nothing.
The man was dead, as far as Harry was concerned the funeral was over and they had respected his wishes of not having Magical folk other than Hermione in attendance. He still couldn't understand how a dying man in his right mind would wish this when he knew that all his daughter's friends were non-Muggles. If he had a problem with him then he should have excluded just him.
He took a calming breath in and out. Perhaps even just for Hermione he would have more respect for the dead.
Assured that there was no one around he put his cloak away and approached. She had her eyes closed and was gritting her teeth, scrounging her face as tears fell down her cheeks. He stood beside her then put his arm around her shoulders. She turned into him, burried her face in his chest and wept silently, her tears immediately soaking his coat and his shirt. Holding her tight, he planted a kiss in her hair, his heart hurting for her. He could only imagine how she felt laying a parent to rest and would never pretend to know. He never knew his father; Hermione would have many memories of him and it would be more difficult for her to let him go.
Until the distressing phone call from her Mum everything seemed fine. Her Dad was supposedly getting better from a persistent cough. It turned out that he had a heart attack and that while on the beach that morning as he was about to paddle out to catch some waves he had another massive one. They got to the Perth hospital within the hour, her father lost consciousness minutes after and passed away before sunset, some three hours later. Hermione and her Mum were with him when he let go of his last breath.
Harry thought it was too bad he didn't get a chance to help mend what broke five years ago. When Hermione explained why she was reluctant to take him to Perth and get to know her parents better she made it seem like it wasn't a big deal.
It was sometime after he moved in with her. Her Mum had just called from Perth (she usually did once or twice a week) and he was trying to convince her to go to Australia and spend maybe just a weekend with them. They were living together and this to him meant she was serious about their relationship too. He wanted to get to know her parents, thinking that perhaps since the idea of him moving in was hers, this was a reasonable next step in the right direction.
She flat out said 'no', a surprise to him. It was as if she had decided this long ago and it wasn't even something that was negotiable. In a previous life he would have lost his temper and likely pouted like a two year old but having 'studied' her for a couple of months now he figured out a better way to get her to change her mind about things like this. But first he had to find out why she didn't want him spending time with her parents.
"Why can't we visit them?"
"Because they won't be able to keep this a secret."
Her answer was automatic, well thought out, and playing to his concern about how being outed would affect her reputation and credibility at the Ministry. The latter was really just about the only thing holding him back from asking her whether she thought it was time to come out in the open and it was something he was working on behind the scenes..
"We can go as friends."
She shook her head, "That's not a good idea."
He asked calmly in a non-accusatory tone, "What aren't you telling me?"
After briefly thinking about it she told him the truth, "I hope you won't take this the wrong way. My Dad and I had a falling out after I restored their memories. He was upset about the memory alteration and because he can't stay mad at me he's mad at the magical world; mostly you really, seeing that you kind of represent it."
She was trying to lessen the weight of the blow, and it was a heavy one. He didn't care what other people thought of him but he kind of hoped her parents would at least like him. It was important that they would think of him deserving of their daughter's affection, something he never imagined he would ever have a problem with.
As Hermione gave him what was a toned-down version of events he realized how stupid he was. How could he not think that her parents would have a problem with their teenage daughter altering their memories and sending them off to Australia to be different people, even if it was to save their lives? If he was her father he would be livid.
"It's really just my Dad and he'll get over it, in a decade or so," she half-joked.
"'Hermione, this is a big deal. Let me talk to him."
"Trust me on this, it's not the right time," she replied, "If I wanted to soften him up he knows you'd be the last person I would take with me. I suspect he'll deduce what's going on quickly and I can't trust my Dad not to cause problems. They are planning to visit soon. Maybe then?"
It was one of those 'soons' that never came and it was now too late. He asked her then why she never told anyone about her Dad and she said it was because there wasn't much anyone could do about it and there was no sense making everybody feel bad. She seemed to do that more than necessary, keep stuff, sometimes little, sometimes big, from people she cared about so they wouldn't get hurt. That was her flaw; she couldn't trust others to be able to handle the truth and do the right thing with it. So she kept them because she could and because no one really asked.
He stroked her hair gently, wondering what other secrets like the one she was burying today burdened her. She pulled away, brushing the remaining tears off her face with one hand. In her other hand was a white flower; a delicate, flawless orchid. She had ordered it especially from a Muggle flower shop and asked him to pick it up for her while she readied herself this morning. The flower had gotten somewhat squished between them and that upset her more. Without asking, he magically revived it making it look more vibrant than before.
She took his hand in hers and squeezed it in thanks. With tears brimming once again, she planted a kiss on it, stepped forward and let go of it, letting it fall into the void below.
"I'm sorry, Dad," he barely heard her say then she turned and walked away towards the pedestrian path that led back to the cemetery entrance.
As they did that he caught a glimpse of the tombstone immediately next to her father's grave. It was so close to his and so far removed from the rest it had to belong to one of her closest relatives. Curiosity filled him as he read the fading inscription on it.
Patricia Louise Granger
Born 14 February 1988
Died 19 September 1989
Beloved Daughter, Little Sister
Hermione kept going and he couldn't ask her about it, not then. Her sister likely, one who died on her tenth birthday. It made sense now why she preferred not to celebrate whenever hers came around. It was yet another detail about her she chose to keep to herself. For a brief moment he thought about looking into her employee file. It was convenient, easy and would give him instant gratification but it would be wrong. Like most things about them he figured knowing her more would come with time. He was sure the matter of a deceased sister would come up again.
Her Dad's sudden death devastated her and it was days before she could talk about him without breaking into tears. She told Harry she wished she had time to tell him how sorry she was. She never really did apologize even if to her she had no choice on the matter.
Her Mum had gone back to Perth, turning down her offer to stay with her in London. It was a spirited discussion. Secretly he was relieved. Her staying would have meant him moving out, temporarily, until he got the Ministry problem sorted out. He didn't feel good thinking that, about it in the end being about what he wanted and not what she did, but he couldn't lie to himself.
After the funeral they kept busy with work. Hermione joined a Ministry committee that would address the free elves situation and Harry got funding into it by agreeing to get involved in the Ministry Tourism's Harry Potter Magical tour. It had been in the works for a while and was going to happen whether he liked it or not. He made sure Hermione was in on it too for he needed her eye to see all possible repercussions of such an endeavour. Simply put they had to make sure it would be factual but leave out stuff about the Hallows and Horcruxes. Hermione thought it wasn't such a good idea but came to realize there were some things they couldn't prevent. That and it was for a good cause. The other good thing about it was that they could be certain the tour didn't include anyplace anywhere near their private pond.
The month of May also brought about an opportunity to bring their relationship closer to being out in the open. With John's impending retirement Harry had been suggesting for weeks that they prepare for the transition. Trussell moved into upper management leaving a supervisory position vacant and she was the logical choice. Unpopular as she was with Trussell and the soon to be Head Auror Humptail, John and Kingsley were on Hermione's side. He hated the politics but it was the nature of the beast. He had to learn to play it if he wanted to get things done. It wasn't enough being Harry Potter and while that was how it should be, there were times when that being so would have been handy.
She took the job reluctantly, confessing that she still wasn't sure if she wanted to stay. He convinced her to take it anyway; there was no harm to do so and if she decided it wasn't what she wanted she could always step down. He admitted to her that he selfishly wanted her to stay, that there was so much more they could do together than apart. No pressure, he added. In the back of his head he was thinking that although she would understand how he wouldn't be able to tell her everything about work if she resigned, it would be a bonus if she stayed so they could freely discuss cases. He was so used to having her as a sounding board. She helped him think clearly, well after they got most distractions out of the way.
Her promotion made him feel more at ease. They were equal in rank now and if someone found out they were lovers it wouldn't matter as much anymore. As the reasons for keeping their relationship secret fell one by one he felt more confident that he could broach the topic again. Everyday with her was proof that this was right, that it would last. Looking into her brown eyes every morning he woke up next to her he had no doubt that she felt the same way about him even though she hadn't admitted anything of the sort. He wanted them to be free of their secret. He was weary of watching other men hit on her and of women asking if he was interested. And without that freedom discussions of 'forever' would be much more difficult. Forever happy in secret while a romantic notion was really unrealistic.
But there was one reason why she was holding back. Ginny. Just as he thought the longer they kept their relationship secret the harder it would be for Hermione to tell Ginny about them. She couldn't get past the idea of telling Ginny convinced that Ginny would get hurt.
Ginny had called her a few times around the time her Dad died, offering to come. Hermione declined and Ginny didn't insist. From what he gathered Ginny didn't have much spare time these days. Between the games and practices, there were interviews, guest appearances and product promotions. Ginny had become an overnight Quidditch superstar. Harpies management and Ginny's agent were striking while the iron was hot and taking advantage of her skyrocketing popularity.
While he was concerned about how she was getting 'used' and gave her his cautious advice during a phone conversation, he kept that from Hermione. Ginny was still a touchy subject between them. It was the reason why he decided not to attend any of her games. He wanted to go, particularly on her first one, just to show support. He still cared about her as a friend and the fact that she invited him meant she wanted him to be there. It seemed not long ago when he listened to her imagine what it would be like to play her first game as a professional, how nerve-racking it would be and she confirmed that her first was exactly how she thought it would be. She called him to chastise him lightheartedly about not coming and invited him to her next game. He couldn't because he couldn't bear the thought of making Hermione feel terrible, even if she would have had no reason to.
As unfounded as Hermione's insecurities about Ginny were they existed and they weren't in a place in their relationship yet to make her feel differently. Ginny was his ex-girlfriend and Hermione had a front row seat witnessing all of that. She still felt like she stole him from Ginny. Telling her that she had no reason to feel insecure wouldn't work; she'd have to arrive at the conclusion herself. It would take time to make her truly believe that she was the centre of his life now and a huge part of that, he believed, was for Ginny and the rest of the world to know that they were a couple.
To him it was now inevitable. It was no longer a matter of if they would come out in the open but when. And when the time came it would be better if Hermione realized that she couldn't prevent all the bad feelings in the world from happening and that even if Ginny or Ron or whoever else did get hurt, then they would have to deal with it.
As Trussell didn't want to show her the ropes Harry was more than willing to do it himself. It wasn't hard. Hermione was a natural. She had always been a quick and decisive thinker, and her instincts more often than not were right. If there was one thing that she needed work on was her patience with her team. She expected as much hard work and dedication from each and every Auror under her as she put out. She needed a lot of work on that.
All this also meant she had to put in more hours at work and less time with him. Lying alone in their bed for the sixth straight night and missing her terribly was making him question just how brilliant the idea of her taking the job was and he was the one who suggested it.
He couldn't stand it anymore. He got up from bed, got dressed and Disapparated just outside a shabby inn on Juxtapose Alley, a block east of Knockturn Alley, where Hermione and Dean had been spending the past nights doing surveillance on Borgin and Burkes. He nodded at the innkeeper who was a Ministry informer, went up the flight of stairs and rapped on room three.
Dean's footsteps drew closer and he opened the door after a brief pause.
"Harry, what are you doing here?" Dean asked.
Hermione was near the window and had turned towards the door. Their eyes met and he quickly dispelled her worry.
"I was just in the neighborhood," he replied, "Any luck?"
Days ago Hermione's team found a hot Jollyweather locket being auctioned off at a charity sale and traced it back to a legitimate purchase from Borgin and Burkes.
"Old man Blutus is no fun to watch," Dean complained. "If he is involved in the Jollyweather robbery something else would have turned up by now. Maybe the locket ending up on the store shelves was just a bad buying mistake."
Hermione disagreed, "He and his partner have been in the business way too long to fall for hot merchandise."
"Then they should also know better than to be caught with hot stuff in their inventory," Dean pointed out.
"We've been here almost a week and we haven't found anything else; not one violation," she noted.
"That's odd for a place in Knockturn Alley," Harry commented.
"Exactly. They know we're watching," she concluded.
"Do you want to wrap up surveillance?" he asked her.
She thought for a moment then answered, "Seeing that Borgin and Burkes is our one link to the elusive Dodgey I think we should keep at it. The merchandise is too valuable to sit on for a long time. They'll break, get sloppy and try to move some of it through the store again. But maybe we should let them think we're looking elsewhere."
"I like where you're going with this," Dean approved, "I can start asking informers about a possible Dodgey sighting with their less legit competitors. Nothing official."
"Sounds good," Hermione concurred.
Harry suggested, "You might want to consider having the team stake out from a different place tomorrow."
"Right," she must have noted the slight annoyance in his voice about the whole thing dragging on for much longer.
"So, Boss Lady," Dean's chosen endearment for his newly promoted partner annoyed her no end but there was nothing she could do about it, "Does this mean I can go home now and watch the tail end of West Ham's game against Manchester?"
They both looked hopefully at her as they waited for her response.
"Yes, you may go."
"Yes!"
Harry laughed as he heard her rant on how pathetic it was that some soccer game seemed more important than catching crooks and how most days she felt like she was dealing with children. Dean was too happy to notice or care. Her partner put away their surveillance gadgets in record time and even offered to drop them off at the Ministry. Then he left.
"Finally," he took her in his arms and pulled her in after the door closed, her warm familiar body falling against his in place, "I thought he'd never leave."
"Harry, you're as bad as he is. I'm working," she was protesting in words but not in deed; he kind of liked making her feel conflicted like this.
"You just packed up and sent your partner home to watch football," he reminded her, leaned down and brushed his lips lightly against hers.
"I wish you wouldn't remind me about that," she groaned, realizing what she just did.
"Let me take your mind off it then."
She never had a chance. He pressed his mouth fully upon hers and kissed her as he had wanted to for days, taking in the sweetness and passion she gave back, feeling her very same longing for him.
"Is this what you came here for?" there was relief in the strain in her tired eyes and she brought her arms around his neck.
"Well..." he raised his brows and her soft laughter signalled her understanding and approval of its meaning, "It's not the only thing."
His deprived carnal instincts pretty much took control after. His mouth found hers again, more fiercely this time, kissing her roughly. Without even knowing it he had lifted her effortlessly halfway across the room onto the perfectly made bed, setting them both on it, pinning her entirely under his weight. He kissed her raw until her lips parted with a sigh, her body, willing and open for his taking. Her tongue met and carressed his as she pulled his breath into her.
He broke off from her dizzying spell, breathless, heart pounding against his chest, the tightness in his pants eager to explode. Gazing into her eyes they were filled with the same desire. Then a glint of mischief sprang from them and before he could ask her what she was up to, she had unfastened his belt, unzipped his pants and had his fullness in her hand, stroking it and making gentle squeezing motions up and down his fully grown length.
"Not yet," he tried to say into her ear as he needed all his strength and concentration to prevent him from coming right then.
"I want you now, Harry," she whispered invitingly in his then took his earlobe between her lips and ran her tongue smoothly against it.
It was unbearable. The need to feel himself inside her was overpowering he couldn't wait any longer. He sat back on his heels, tugged her pants down and just about ripped her knickers off of her. Still both half dressed he plunged himself into her warm moist spot, the pleasant tightness with which she encased him encouraging him to seek more pleasures within. She let out a short sharp cry as he did and bit her lower lip.
"That hurt," he said to her, concerned, having seen this happen before, when he took her too soon and she wasn't ready.
"It'll pass," she reassured him, urging him to go on.
He waited for her to adjust to his sudden intrusion then moved himself in and out of her as she lay back, watching the tension on her face replaced by more positive expressions. He felt her wetter and hotter with each incursion and there was not much he could do to prolong it. In one deep final thrust he gave her everything he had, clutching her body by the hips tightly against his as he did. As breathless as he was, she sat up, moved herself against him a couple of times and peaked. She kissed him arduously with the same satisfied smile he had.
They snogged languidly after, seemingly for ages, then she stopped suddenly, her body tensing up and her expression changing as her sight went past him to the door behind.
"Dean!"
With Hermione still on him he turned the best he could and looked over his back to see a surprised but amused Dean standing near the door.
"Oh, whatever you do, please don't move," Dean quickly said as Hermione reflexively wanted to get off, "I don't want to be seeing more of either of you. By the way, nice ass, Harry."
"Um, thanks," he could think of no other way to answer that, this being the first time he was having such a conversation with Dean in a compromised position.
Hermione was in near panic.
"How long have you been...?!"
"Standing here? Thankfully not long but long enough to guess what happened before," then he scolded them, "Geez, you guys nearly gave me a heart attack. If you two want to sneak around and don't want others to find out you're sleeping together you should really lock the doors when you do this."
It was sensible advice. Harry winced. Hermione turned and glowered at him for missing his one assignment.
"Sorry," he apologize then asked Dean the first question that came to his mind, "Why did you come back?"
Not that the why mattered so much than the fact that he did.
"I left my phone somewhere. I remember seeing it, on the bed," he defended himself, the expression on his face quite funny as the prospect of his phone being in their current vicinity dawned on him, "Well, I hope it's not there. It was a perfectly good phone. I should get going. Maybe the game is still on. I'm really sorry for interrupting this high level meeting."
Harry laughed with him as Dean said that. Even Hermione let out an embarrassed smile.
"I'll talk to you guys tomorrow," Dean made for the exit.
"Dean..." she called out after him with a concerned tone in her voice.
Her partner understood, "I know. Mum's the word. Though you know I'm going to want to hear the lame reason you guys have for not telling anyone."
Harry would love to hear what Hermione would tell Dean too. Dean finding out was definitely a good thing. At least there was now one other person that Hermione could talk with about their situation. It was hard but he was big enough to admit that they were not an island and as much as they were pretty good on their own they couldn't be everything to each other. She needed someone other than him to talk to about Ginny.
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A/N. I am glad JKR left most of Hermione's background off Canon. There will be more about her little sister in a future chapter - those who know my writing know that will be of relevance at some point
And to those who are wondering when we're going back to the present I still have a few key scenes to write. There's still Jean Peverell and one involving Ginny that will force Hermione to choose. On a happy note Warren's back in the next chapter. There's also the appearance of someone Hermione wished she would never see again in her life.