A/N - this is the last chapter and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading and thanks for those who have left reviews.
Chapter Six
"Lily, honey, you need to calm down," Harry told his daughter for what seemed like the hundredth time since she had wrapped her arms around his waist in greeting ten minutes ago.
"But daddy, I'm going to Hogwarts!" Lily told him just as excitedly as before.
"She's been like this all week," Ginny explained with a smile, "even with me removing as much sugar as I could from her diet."
Harry smiled back then watched his little girl drag poor Hugo off to take a closer look at the train. It had been two years since he stood on this platform to see Albus off and so much had happened since then, so much had changed. He glanced at his ex-wife at his side, her eyes following Lily in case she got into trouble, and thought how lucky he was that she had been a part of his life - an important part of his life - and still was.
"Welcome back, Professor Potter."
Startled from his thoughts, Harry acknowledged the seventh year Hufflepuff who had greeted him only to hear a snort from behind him. He turned to see James and Hermione walking their way.
"Everything okay?" he asked his son.
"I still can't believe they let you teach at school while we're still there," James answered with a frown.
"Well, they do," Harry said as he pulled James into a one armed hug, "it worked alright last year, didn't it?"
"I guess," James grumbled, "let me go, dad. People are watching!"
With a chuckle, Harry removed his arm from the young man at his side (who was now nearly as tall as Harry himself) and turned to Hermione.
"Where's Albus and Rosie?" he asked her, taking her hand as she came to his side.
"Finding their friends," she replied, "hey Ginny."
"Hi Hermione," Ginny welcomed back, and Harry let the two women in his life chat.
Nothing had happened between himself and Hermione for many months. After his divorce from Ginny, he stayed in the Weasley home but in his own room and everything remained extremely platonic while both of them sorted themselves out.
Hermione went back to work for the first time since Rosie had been born. She got a job in the Ministry in the Legal Division and once more became a force to be reckoned with on any case she became involved in.
Harry quit being an Auror. He was offered the job as Head Auror, but turned it down and then walked away all together. He realised it really wasn't what he wanted to do and even though he knew he was very good at the role, he had had enough of the danger and the lifestyle. For a while he stayed home and looked after Lily and Hugo but was then offered the role of Defence of the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. After talking it over with the kids, he accepted the job and was soon to start his second year teaching.
He loved it.
And he loved Hermione, with all his heart. It wasn't until he got the job at Hogwarts and the discussion came up whether he should live at the castle or not did things finally move pass the `purely platonic'. Their first time together was raw and passionate as they practically attacked each other after a rather heated debate on where Harry should live. But since then, they spent time exploring each other and finding out the last secrets that they had hidden from each other for so long.
The children took the change in the relationship with relative ease - James and Albus thinking it was all rather gross, Rose thinking it was romantic (and about time) while Lily and Hugo didn't care either way. Ginny and the other Weasley's also accepted the developments with an understanding of `family.' It helped that Ginny had already moved on and was dating a fellow from her new job.
"Harry?"
Once again, Harry was brought out of his thoughts, this time by a gentle hand on his arm and a soft voice in his ear. Blinking, he looked down into the worried eyes of his…everything.
"I love you," he whispered, quiet enough that only she could hear.
"I love you too," Hermione whispered back, smiling, "are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Just thinking," he replied, kissing her chastely on the mouth.
"Ooh, yuck!" Albus exclaimed as he and Rose walked up, "can you two stop doing that kind of stuff?"
"Shut up, Albus," Rose humped, sounding a lot like her mother, "honestly, they're just kissing. I think it's romantic!"
"Well, I just think it's disgusting," Albus continued with a scowl.
"Just wait, little brother," James piped in, "you won't think it's disgusting when you finally get the courage to snog Sarah!"
James' comment caused mayhem as Albus tried to get to his brother while Rose burst into laughter and the adults chuckled while pretending to regain order. When Lily and Hugo returned, telling them the train was about to go, the mayhem turned into chaos as everyone tried to get onto the train.
James said his good-byes first, quickly heading up to the prefect carriage, his badge pinned proudly to his chest. Albus and Rose tried to go next but were halted as they were reminded to take their younger siblings.
Harry, Hermione and Ginny were left on the platform, waving until they could no longer see the train. Arm in arm, Harry and Hermione turned to Ginny.
"So, we'll see you at Christmas?" Hermione asked.
"I still can't believe you're going to have a winter wedding," Ginny smiled, "but yes, of course I'll be there. It's not every day you see your ex-husband marry your sister-in-law." Giving both Harry and Hermione a good-bye peck on the cheek, Ginny left them alone for the first time for quite a while.
With a contented grin, Harry looked down at Hermione, ready to leave the platform and head home, wanting to make the most of the time he had with her until he needed to head to Hogwarts for the first school dinner of the year. He found her staring absently at where the train had gone, her eyes glistening with a light film of tears.
"Hugo will be fine, love," he soothed, pulling her into a gentle hug.
"Oh, I know," she replied, pulling him closer, "it's just that, he's my baby and now he's gone. Plus, he's more like Ron than just his looks - he feels like he's already in James, Albus and Rose's shadows. I just hope his insecurities don't mess him up like they did…"
"I'll keep an eye on him."
"You can't favour him, Harry," she countered with a frown.
"And I won't," he assured, "I promise. Just encourage him when he needs encouragement, like I do all the other students. He'll be fine. Come on, let's go home."
"Actually, can we grab a coffee or something?" Hermione asked, turning with Harry towards the exit, "I need to talk to you about something."
"What is it?" he immediately questioned, his curiosity piqued.
"No, I want talk to you properly," she told him as she made her way through the gateway into Muggle King's Cross.
"You're talking to me properly now," he said as followed her and was once more at her side.
"Harry!" she admonished and continued to do so every time Harry asked her what it was about during the short trip to a local café.
It wasn't until they were seated, their drinks in front of them, that Hermione let him know what was on her mind. By this time, Harry was getting a bit worried - he has learnt to dread the words `we need to talk' (as did many men). He thought everything was going well, that Hermione was happy - he knew he was. Suddenly he felt a slither of fear that soon everything was going to go horribly wrong.
"Well," she started, looking nervously at him, "I was talking to the girls at the office," the girls being women aged from early thirties to sixty-four and the office being where wizarding law began and formulated and then debated by some of the smartest witches and wizards in Britain, "and we were discussing the pile of trash that had been printed about us in `Witches Weekly', and how there were so many untruths about us, well, you really, out there," which there were - though not as many stories as when Harry and Ginny's divorce was discovered or when it was leaked that Harry was living with Hermione. The press had them on their front pages for months.
"And?" Harry prompted when she paused to have a long sip of her coffee.
"Um, well, Clare said that I should write a book, get the real truth out there," she continued, "and the others all agreed. I said no, initially, but I've been thinking about it," she paused again and looked at Harry with a soft half smile on her face, "do you remember that night, in the tent…"
"Of course I do," Harry smiled back, taking her hand from her cup of tea and holding it gently, "remembering that night made me realise just how much I love you."
"I know," Hermione said wistfully, giving Harry's hand an affectionate squeeze, "took you a while, but you got there in the end."
"Yes I did," he chuckled before adding seriously, "and I also remember that I asked you to tell my story truthfully if I didn't make it - that's what you're thinking of now, isn't it?"
"Anything I write would pass by you first, Harry," she told him enthusiastically, "and if you say no, I won't do it…"
"Yes," he cut in, stopping her in her tracks.
"Yes?"
"Yes," he repeated, "I think it would brilliant if you wrote our story -yours, mine and Ron's."
"You do?"
"Why are you so surprised?" he asked her as he leant over and gently ran his thumb down the side of her face, "you know me better than anyone else and you know my story better than anyone else. You would let the people know the truth, that I'm not perfect, that I'm actually human and make mistakes just like everyone else. You would tell my life like it actually is…"
"And leave out all the rest," she interrupted, taking his hand and kissing its' palm.
"Right," he agreed, thinking how incredibly lucky he was to have met this woman a lifetime ago and that she alone was still by his side, "and leave out all the rest."
A/N2 - well, there you go. Not one of my best, but the idea felt good when I first thought of it, and then by the time I finished it had turned into a bit of a chore. But I was determined to finish before I started the next one, and finish I did! Thank you for all of those faithful that have stuck with me, it's great seeing regular names. And the comments are generally nice and truthful. I don't think I'll write a canon fiction (that includes the epilogue) again - it's just so difficult! You either have to kill the Weasley's off, have horrible divorces or it's an affair…sigh.
Anyway, until next time - thanks for reading.
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