Faithful
Final Part
Thanks for reading and all your feedback - it's always appreciated x Hope the final chapter doesn't disappoint.
**Important A/N**: The style changes slightly here - Italics are now the PAST.
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He wasn't coming.
Hermione pressed down on the constant nagging thought in her brain. Give it some time. Just a bit longer.
She shook her head though. Waiting for him again. Sometimes she felt like she'd spent her life doing that.
Or maybe she was at the wrong place?
No, this was it, she was sure. She picked at a blade of grass as she sat crossed legged on the ground.
~~**~~
Just ten more minutes was all she had left to endure.
She twisted her fingers through her necklace.
Just ten more minutes and he would be out of her life forever.
She jumped as Matt stepped into the room.
"Ready to go?"
She nodded and watched him smile and walk away before something made her call him back.
"Matt?"
"Mmm?"
"That…the singing, last night?" The Kiwi Aurors had given them a beautiful farewell after dinner, with some words from Matt and then a song the whole group had sung in their native tongue once he'd finished speaking - as was their custom. He smiled and nodded and she felt a little less self conscious.
"What did that song mean?"
He smiled wider, his white teeth showing. "`Tau Pumau Purotu'." He watched her carefully, almost appraising, before continuing.
"It's a love song. I'm a bit rusty but it loosely translates to;
`You are my dearly loved one, my constant, beautiful love.
The holder of my heart, the star of my sky.
With you I am settled, satisfied, I am whole in your arms.
The one desire of my heart, my body, is you.'
He watched her, paused, regarding her carefully.
"It's not typically a farewell song, but we thought it was fitting. For the two of you."
Her limbs felt numb for a moment, her lips fell open and an almost involuntary `Oh' escaped her.
He nodded and his smile held a trace of sadness for a brief moment. He tapped the door frame with his palm suddenly, snapping her out of her stupor.
"Five minutes?"
She nodded.
~~**~~
Harry walked past the two witches whispering behind their hands, as they glanced at him. He had to expect it but it felt strange, it had been so long that he'd been recognized in that way. He no longer had glasses; an old shaman had sorted that out for him. His scar had faded a lot too over time, but he guessed that with his distinctive eyes and jet black hair, he actually wasn't so different from the boy that had arrived at Hogwarts all those years ago.
The footpath under his feet was new; they had really done this place up lately. There were more shops, another monument in the centre of the square. A new pub had chairs out the front and people dining in the small, sunny courtyard area; he ducked his head a bit as he passed. He didn't want to see anyone he knew.
He had somewhere to be.
~~**~~
He knew it was almost time. And he'd done nothing.
He had let her avoid him the whole weekend. Gone to his hotel room every night, pretending that the cordial, professional way they were treating each other was the way that they always were together.
Matt hadn't bought it. Had asked him, the night before, in the middle of their third beer.
"Listen, where are you heading after this? I thought I heard you telling Kara that you're travelling for a bit."
Harry nodded. "Yeah, I've applied for overseas assignments for a while and I have some leave before then. Why?"
Matt grinned. "Come and stay with my family, down the coast. You'd love it, fishing, surfing, lotsa nice kai." Harry knew enough now to know he meant nice food. He stared at the ground in thought, wondering if he wanted to stay here or move on from the memory of the whole ordeal. Plus he really enjoyed his company, but Matt's intentions towards Hermione was one of the things that had kept him up last night.
"Perfect place to forget your girl troubles."
Harry looked up in surprise and Matt placed a hand on his shoulder.
"She's leaving first thing, catching the morning Portkey when we send Orion through. After we get the bastard off we can head out if you like."
Harry watched him as he stood from his chair and drained his beer then moved towards the lifts heading to their rooms. He turned and walked backwards, smiling.
"So is now or never, bro."
Harry chewed thoughtfully on his lower lip as he watched Matt walk away.
~~**~~
She stood up, stretching her legs out of their stiffness.
She'd pulled all the weeds and trimmed the grass at the bottom of the headstones; clearing off the moss to see the names clearly. The white lilies she'd charmed into a wreath lay on both headstones, gently draping over the grey rock.
He wasn't coming.
The sun was in the middle of the sky, she judged it to be midday. She refused to wear a watch now; clocks had taunted her mercilessly all year.
Staring down at the two headstones she closed her eyes.
Then she heard a distant sound carrying across the church grounds. The squeak of a rusty hinge. She stayed motionless.
Behind her, the kissing gate opened.
~~**~~
She checked the golden bonds tightly binding her prisoner's wrists for one last time before turning to the Aurors. She looked at the cracked orange bucket on the table and checked her watch, knowing that the Portkey was only minutes away as she said goodbye to the team she'd enjoyed working with over the last few days.
And he wasn't there.
She forced herself not to look around the room anymore, and stepped gratefully into Matt's friendly hug.
"Come back and see us soon, alright?"
She nodded into his shoulder, gruffly warning herself to keep her tears stemmed.
"Hermione."
She heard Matt's voice vibrate through his chest. He had his hands on her shoulders now, and squeezed them twice quickly. She looked up at him, confused at the odd expression on his face. He raised his eyebrows and motioned his head slightly.
She turned to look.
Harry was standing there, in the doorway. Managing to look out of breath, shocked, dazed and ill all at the same time.
He mouthed her name but no sound came out. She stared, as if not sure if he was real.
"Go." Matt tilted his head. "Don't think, just go."
She nodded curtly, and somehow her legs carried her towards Harry. He stood frozen, watching.
"Breathe." She muttered quietly to herself as she got nearer to him.
"Just breathe."
~~**~~
Standing at the edge of the footpath, Harry waited for a car to pass before crossing the road.
He walked to the gate and stared at the church, so different now with summer blooms in the trees surrounding it. In his memories of it, it was always snow covered, deep snow drifts lining the path.
He ran his hand on the fence. Now that he was here, at the moment he'd waited on for so long, he felt like savoring it.
She might not be here.
It was a very real possibility.
Could he take it? He closed his eyes, remembering the feel of her hand in his, on the night they had found his parents graves, here, together. Why hadn't he realised then?
He could take it if she wasn't here. He'd just wait some more.
Slowly, he went forward and opened the gate.
~~**~~
It had hit him with a force that had propelled him out of the chair and to the door of his room, wrenching it open.
He was striding down the halls of the old hotel before he really knew what he was doing.
But suddenly all the reasons, the rules, the anguish and torment had dissolved and he'd felt like he was zeroing in on one small dot on the letter he'd been reading.
It was another one from Ginny. Another just the same as the many others he'd been receiving, from both Molly and Ginny. Although the tone was different every time, sometimes scathing and bitter, sometimes telling him he could take his time and make sure this is what he really wanted - they were always in the same vein.
Still he'd been reading and rereading the letters, never replying but carrying the guilt with him every day from morning till night. Now the last letter was lying abandoned on the floor of his room, where it had fallen from his hands.
He sped up, running now, and dodging people in the hall, punching the lift buttons and waiting a beat before darting over to the stairwell. He apparated down as many flights as was safe in a muggle hotel but still couldn't get to the lobby fast enough.
"Be there. Please still be there."
He murmured the words through numb lips, the desperation starting to grip him.
"Hermione." He practiced the sound of her name on his tongue.
Then he was at the room he knew the Portkey was leaving from.
He took a shaky breath.
~~**~~
"You're here."
He smiled, taking her in, small and fragile, standing in the grass in front of his parents' graves. The white lilies behind her seemed to glow, struck by the bright sunshine.
"So are you."
He walked towards her, slowly, and with every step it felt like something in him was unraveling. She hadn't smiled at him yet, just stared, as if unsure he was really there and not of her imagination.
A few steps from her he stopped.
"I've missed you."
She smiled sadly and her response was almost a whisper. "I've always missed you. Even when I was with you."
He nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. Then he cleared his throat and wondered how, in a moment like this, one he'd been waiting on for so long, he could feel nervous. He wanted to step closer to her but something about her seemed as if she was fragile as glass.
He stayed still and gestured at the headstones.
"Thanks. They're really beautiful."
She glanced back at the lilies and smiled, reaching out and touching one gently.
"I thought they were fitting." She turned back to him and reached a hand out.
~~**~~
He had taken her hand and turned immediately, avoiding her eyes, leading her away from the room, from the Aurors watching after them with smug smiles, past a few doorways until he pushed open a fire escape door.
They were in the open air now, on a tiny square of a balcony, used for smokers' breaks and identical to the ones above and below, connected by precarious ladders.
He grabbed her shoulders instinctively, the perilous height and proportions of the balcony making him protective, but now he was close, the closest he'd been since…
Since Shell Cottage.
She clung on to him though, scared, nervous, aware that it wasn't just because of the height they were at. Her fingers gripped his arms and she found his eyes were the best place to look.
He glanced around and then stared back at her.
"Sorry. There's nowhere else…"
"…it's okay. I know."
He gripped her closer then.
"I…" Words started to fail him and he looked away. Hermione sagged a little; sure he was going to give up.
Then he squeezed his eyes shut tight and made a disapproving noise, shaking his head and then clutching her a little harder before roughly yanking her to him and kissing her full on the mouth.
The kiss was hard, determined. But it surprised her how quickly it changed, into something more gentle, and tinged with desperate relief. The sensation took them both off guard, shaking them with the depth and speed of feeling and with an effort he set her back, resting his forehead on hers. His eyes were squeezed shut again as they stood like that, breathing heavily, then he spoke.
"Please just… listen."
She nodded numbly.
He opened his eyes.
~~**~~
He savored the moment again for a split second, before stepping forward and taking her hand.
She grasped his with both of hers, looking down at her thumbs as they ran over the barely visible white scratches that used to read `I must not tell lies.' He waited, breathing in her scent, waited for her to speak.
"So, has it been long enough?"
He smiled, and reached to tuck her hair behind one ear. She still didn't look up at him.
"You tell me."
She looked up then, and her eyes were full with tears. She smiled.
"Far too long."
The grin spread, slowly, right across his face. He rubbed a palm over his lips then stepped forward into her, tucking the hair behind both ears then, and moving his hands to hold her face.
Her grin grew wider too as the tears spilled out and he wiped them with the soft pads of his thumbs. She laughed, the sound building up inside of her while he kissed her temple, her hair, buried his face in her neck. He wound his arms tight around her shoulders and they rocked side to side, with her still laughing some.
He pulled back and looked down at her.
"How did I not see this the first time we were here?"
She laughed more at that and he wrapped her into his chest again.
~~**~~
He moved his hands down to hers and watched his thumbs as they ran over her knuckles. She waited patiently. Finally he began to talk.
"There were so many years where I had no one. At the time… I didn't know any different. Then with Ron, I got this instant family, and it was everything I thought I wanted. I wanted to grab onto that with both hands, and Ginny was the best way for me to do that. And even though they became my everything - and I will destroy that if I do this to her…I can't control it. You're the only one I need in my life. I only need you."
He brought her fingers up to his lips, brushing them absently against the soft skin and still avoiding her eyes.
"So if it goes back to me being alone like that again then so be it - as long as …maybe this time I can share alone with you."
He shook his head, correcting himself. "If you can't make that decision, that's okay too. But I've gone too far now to go back. I won't keep lying to myself. And I'll just have to love you… wherever you are in the world."
He pressed his forehead to hers.
"I'm so sorry, Hermione. For everything, I'm sorry."
She couldn't see him through her tears now, but reached up to cup his face and bring his lips to hers, slowly, gently, kissing him. She held her lips there, breathing him in, messing her fingers in his hair. When she pulled away, she stepped slightly back from him.
"Harry." They looked at each other properly, finally.
"I want that too. I've only ever wanted to be part of your life, no matter how. And so I made bad decisions too." She ran a hand down his face and smiled sadly. "I made really bad decisions."
Then her hand dropped to her side.
"And I don't want to make another one. I want… to be sure. Because, I'd wait forever for you." He watched her carefully, then nodded.
"I don't want to take you from Ginny. I want you to be a boy who just decides he likes ME. For me, without all this complication we've managed to create… do you know what I mean?"
He traced her lips with his thumb and she shivered but he smiled.
"I think so."
She gripped his shirt, and pressed her forehead on his chest where she felt his next words run through her.
"I'd wait forever."
She nodded at that, and he gently set her back holding her face, searching her eyes. Then he grinned. "But can we make it a year?"
She laughed and nodded and he kissed the bridge of her nose.
"A year," she agreed. "To the day. And we'll meet…."
"Where I first fell in love with you."
She felt her stomach drop at his words but his gaze didn't waiver. "Where I first realised that no one in this world knows me the way you know me." He shook his head and let his hands fall to hers again. "Where I should have realised what I had."
She squinted up at him, unsure, but settled on nodding. He frowned at her, then pulled her against him, breathing in deeply as they kissed, a kiss that could be their very last. Finally he let her go, and she felt horribly cold all of a sudden. He squeezed her hand.
"You've got a Portkey to catch."
~~**~~
The witch and the wizard walked out of the small graveyard, her arm around his waist, his around her shoulders. They walked up and out, down the road, to stand in front of an overgrown section and an old house covered in ivy.
Local muggle villagers noticed them over the next few months, noted the tall young man with the dark messy hair and how he looked so like that James Potter who used to live there. He came back every weekend, and so did the young woman with the lovely curly hair.
They worked tirelessly on restoring the house until it was beautiful again, the garden even lovelier than it ever was. It was discovered that the young man was the Potter's son, though sadly they were no longer alive. No one knew the story, but the locals took a shine to him, and his beautiful girlfriend. They didn't know what had happened to his family but everyone was glad he seemed so happy now, and they were made very welcome.
And it was uncanny what a picture they made, to anyone who'd known his parents, years later when they had their own dark haired boy with bright green eyes, how much they reminded them, of the Potters who'd gone before.
~the end~
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