A/N: Hey again! Sorry for missing the update yesterday; hopefully this one makes up for it! Last real chapter - two more Epilogues after this!
Enjoy!
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The moment Harry and Hermione opened the door to Number Twelve, there was a cacophony of loud thumps from the living room as Hagrid hurried into the front hall, almost shaking the house as he went. When he saw the broomstick in Harry's hand, his face split into a huge grin and, without warning, he seized Harry and pulled him into another bone-crushing hug, making Harry grit his teeth and making Hermione cringe sympathetically. Thankfully, Hagrid set Harry down a moment later, leaving the boy to plaster a smile on his face and try not to show that he thought Hagrid might have cracked his ribs all over again, judging by the ache in his chest. He reminded himself that the half-giant really meant well, and besides, Hagrid couldn't have known about his ribs, not having been able to witness the duel.
"So, yeh won, then, Harry?" Hagrid asked cheerfully, beaming.
"Yup," Harry replied, trying to sound cheerful as well.
"Ah, I knew yeh would, Harry," said Hagrid. "Yeh're James all over again, yeh are, and he was a right master when it came ter duellin'."
Harry's smile became genuine. He always liked it when people compared him to his father, even if the man had been a bit arrogant in his youth. "Thanks, Hagrid," he replied, just as Professor McGonagall appeared in the front hall.
"You've won, I presume?" she asked, eyeing the broomstick in Harry's hand.
Harry nodded, and was surprised when Professor McGonagall's lips stretched into one of her rare small smiles, which was friendly, albeit a little tight. Minerva McGonagall had never really been big on smiles.
"Might I ask if this victory resulted from an exceptional knowledge of Transfiguration?" she asked, her eyebrows raised and a chuckle in her voice. Transfiguration had never been Harry's forte.
Harry grinned sheepishly and shook his head.
"But he did conjure a flock of sparrows out of thin air," Hermione said helpfully.
"Did he, now?" asked Professor McGonagall, looking proud. "From what I remember, Hermione, you were the only one who ever managed to do anything like that," she said, surprising the two teenagers, who had always been referred to as 'Mr. Potter' and 'Miss Granger' by their Transfiguration professor.
"He went one better, too," Hermione added. "He actually managed to get one of those sparrows to steal Ron's wand for him!"
Professor McGonagall actually chuckled at that. "Nice work, Harry," she said approvingly.
Harry blushed a little at the praise.
"Now," said Professor McGonagall, "we'd best be going. I assume you'd like a bit of a rest, Harry, and your Portkey leaves in just a little while, Hagrid."
Hagrid nodded. "Well, I'll be seein' yeh soon, Harry," he said, clapping the poor boy on the back as he headed for the door and nearly making Harry double over as his ribs screamed in protest. "Yeh too, Hermione," Hagrid added, nodding to her.
"Bye, Hagrid," said Hermione, while Harry managed a wave, not wanting to speak.
Professor McGonagall followed Hagrid out the door with a wave to the two teenagers, and Harry managed to keep the smile plastered on his face until the door was closed again, at which point he let out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding and let himself slump a little, easing the ache in his ribs.
"Poor thing," Hermione said sympathetically, kissing his cheek. "Here," she said, pulling her wand from her pocket once more and touching it to his chest. "Peomorsus," she murmured, and Harry breathed a small sigh of relief as the pain in his chest numbed. Where or when she had learned that spell, he did not know, but he was very glad that she had.
"You're amazing, you know," he told her.
She turned a little pink. "Thanks. Come on," she said, taking his hand again, "let's get you upstairs so you can lie down for a little while."
Harry didn't protest, as lying down sounded very good at the moment, and he let her lead him through the house until they reached the room that they had slept in the night before. Hermione took the broomstick from Harry and leaned it against the wall as he laid both his and Ron's wands on the nightstand and, after removing his shoes, flopped down on the bed, suddenly rather tired. Hermione settled herself on the bed beside him, sitting cross-legged and looking down at him thoughtfully.
"Sickle for your thoughts, 'Mione?" he asked, noticing the way she was looking at him.
"I'm trying to decide whether I should be mad at you or not," she informed him.
"I vote 'not'," he said, raising his hand as though voting. She rolled her eyes.
"I think I should be mad at you, for being an overly proud prat and agreeing to duel Ron before you even took half a second to think about the consequences," she said.
He pouted. "I'm not overly proud."
"OK, maybe you're not proud, but you sure put on an Oscar-worthy macho-man act before," she pointed out. "What was with the Voldemort imitation?"
Harry shrugged. "I was just doing what Ron was doing," he said. "I wasn't going to look like a coward in front of him."
"And there's that pride again," Hermione said, in an 'I-told-you-so' kind of way.
Harry shrugged again. "OK, so maybe I acted a little proud before, but you have to admit that I kind of had to act that way."
"Why's that?"
"Well, I was defending us, wasn't I?" asked Harry.
"Defending us?" she repeated.
"Yeah. You know, us," he said, reaching out and taking her hand. "Ron had the mad idea that he deserved to be with you more than I do, so I had to prove that he didn't, didn't I?"
"I suppose you did," Hermione agreed. "Not that I really care if Ron thinks that he deserves to be with me more than you do," she added. "You know that I don't want to be with him, Harry," she said, idly stroking the back of his hand with her thumb. "You do, right?"
"Yes, I do," Harry assured her, "but I had to make sure that he knew it too, didn't I?"
"I suppose," she agreed. "But did you have to duel him?" she asked. "You nearly gave me a heart attack after you hit that tree! I thought you'd punctured a lung or something."
"It's the whole 'proving that I deserve you' thing again, love," said Harry. "If I refused to duel Ron, I would have looked like a total coward."
Hermione sighed. "I guess… But you still scared the living daylights out of me, lying there and looking half-dead."
"Sorry," Harry said apologetically. "But, hey, I won, right? No magic or Quidditch for Ron for two months!" he said happily.
Hermione rolled her eyes again. "Is winning all that matters to you boys or what?"
"Well, sometimes it is, but this time what matters is that Ron should stop bothering us about being together now," Harry replied. "And he can't do much about it for two whole months, anyway, 'cause I've got his wand!" he said with a smile.
"That's a relief," said Hermione. "Ron and Ginny were awfully quick to turn their wands on us before."
"But Ginny did end up taking the news quite well, after she got her angry outburst out of the way," said Harry, trying to be fair.
"Yeah, she did," Hermione agreed. "I suppose it helped that you two had already broken up properly, though. As for me and Ron," she said with a sigh, "neither of us ever really knew what we wanted, did we? We were never together and we never broke up. All we ever had was that weird sort of half-relationship, consisting of one quarter snogging and three quarters fighting."
Harry made a face. "Yuck. I don't want to hear about you and Ron snogging," he protested.
Hermione rolled her eyes yet again. "Well, if you don't like snogging, I suppose we ought to stop doing that, hm?"
Harry pretended to be horrified. "No! Not that! Anything but that!"
Hermione chuckled and lay down beside him, kissing his cheek. "I don't think either of us could cope if we gave up snogging."
Harry shook his head. "Nope. That would be nothing short of agonizing."
"Speaking of which, how are you feeling?" asked Hermione. "Still sore?"
Harry shook his head again. "Not really, though whatever spell you used on me before made my chest feel weird," he said. Having the majority of your upper body suddenly become completely numb was a rather strange sensation, after all. "What was that, anyway?"
"Just a Pain-Numbing Charm," said Hermione. "Pretty simple, in comparison to some of the other Healing charms out there."
Harry nodded. "What about that other spell you used on me back in the clearing? What was that?" he asked.
"Injury Detection Spell," she replied. "Slightly more complicated."
Harry looked at her curiously. "If it just detects injuries, how did you know that I only cracked my ribs instead of breaking them?"
"Those blue lights would have been quite a bit brighter if the bones had actually been broken," Hermione replied at once. "Those dim ones just indicate small cracks or hairline fractures."
"Where'd you learn all of that?" asked Harry, surprised. "We never learned that sort of magic at school. Kind of stupid, really," he mused, "considering that it would save a lot of people from having to take trips to the hospital wing for minor injuries."
"True, but it isn't really a good idea for young witches and wizards to try Healing spells on themselves or others, considering that they can go badly wrong if you don't do them properly. The earliest anyone could learn them is probably sixth or seventh year, once everyone's already mastered the simple things," said Hermione. "I've been teaching myself a little bit from some spellbooks that I bought at Flourish and Blotts a little while ago, so that's where I learned the spells that I used today. I'm thinking of being a Healer," she told him.
That was definitely news to Harry. "Oh?"
She nodded. "I have all of the qualifications and everything, except for my N.E.W.Ts."
"What happened to taking S.P.E.W further?" asked Harry. "I thought that you wanted to protect elfish welfare all over the world."
"I can always keep trying to take S.P.E.W further," said Hermione, "but I don't think that I could really make a living doing that. Especially considering the unbelievable amount of interest that the Society has gotten so far," she said sardonically.
Harry gave her a sympathetic look and squeezed her hand encouragingly. "Come on, 'Mione, don't forget that you were dealing with a bunch of teenagers when you first thought of S.P.E.W. I'm sure that there are plenty of adults who would be interested in helping the elves. You and I can't be the only people who care," he reminded her. "After all, Dumbledore paid Dobby, didn't he? And he gave Winky proper clothes and everything."
A sad sort of look crossed Hermione's face. "I miss Dobby," she said quietly. The little elf had been killed while trying to protect Harry and Hermione from a particularly vicious gang of Snatchers, who had been lurking in a forest that the pair had Apparated to, planning on making it their next 'campsite'. Apparently, Voldemort had had groups of his followers stationed in just about every forest in Britain and England, trying to find the Boy-Who-Lived and his companions (well, companion, after Ron left, but Voldemort didn't know that). Desperate for relief from the seemingly endless battle that had ensued, Harry had ducked behind a tree and used the fraction of an instant during which he was safe from attack to use the mirror shard in which he had often seen the mysterious blue eye, asking whoever the eye belonged to for help, and Dobby had appeared alongside him moments later. The elf had fought bravely and had driven the Snatchers away, but just when it had seemed the fight was over, a determined Snatcher had shot a Killing Curse at Harry through the trees. Dobby, being the devoted elf that he was, had dived in front of Harry and taken the curse for him, his way of ultimately repaying Harry for freeing him all those years ago.
"I miss him too," said Harry. "I can't believe he took a Killing Curse for me."
"I can," said Hermione. "You were his hero, Harry. He probably thought that the sun itself revolved around you."
Harry blushed a little. "Well, not to be 'overly proud' or anything, but it seems that most people think like that, and they wouldn't all take a Killing Curse for me."
"No, I'm pretty sure that most of them wouldn't," Hermione agreed, "but it was different with Dobby, wasn't it? I mean, you saved him from a place where he was beaten, insulted, and treated like a slave on a daily basis, not to mention that you treated him like an equal right from the start, instead of looking down on him because of who he was. Dobby loved you, I'm sure of it, and he would have done anything to protect you."
Harry sighed softly. "I know, but I can't help but feel… responsible, in a way, because he died protecting me."
"I understand," Hermione said sympathetically, "but it's not your fault. You didn't force Dobby to take the curse for you; he did it of his own free will. It was what he wanted, Harry, and I'm sure that wherever he is, he's more proud of himself than he's ever been." She chuckled a little. "He's probably strutting around in the nicest pair of socks he could have ever dreamed of, telling everyone he meets about how he saved Harry Potter."
That made Harry smile a little. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, 'Mione."
"For what?"
"For making me feel better," Harry replied.
"Oh," said Hermione. "Well, you're welcome. Anytime."
The two of them lapsed into comfortable silence for a few moments, before Harry finally asked a question that had been nagging at the back of his mind ever since the moments before his duel against Ron.
"'Mione?"
"Mm?"
"Are you mad at me for picking you to be my second?" asked Harry, feeling both curious and a little afraid of her answer.
Hermione sighed almost inaudibly. "I don't know. A little bit, I guess. I mean, you know that I would never refuse to fight for you-"
Harry nodded.
"-but it did kind of irk me that you picked me just so you could annoy Ron. I know that's why you chose me as your second, Harry," she informed him. "There were eleven other people in that clearing that would have been completely willing to be your second - including Remus and Tonks, both of whom are a lot more skilled with magic than I am - but you chose me right away because you knew that it would bother Ron. I'm sorry if this hurts your feelings, but I think that you were being a little bit selfish, volunteering me like that. I wonder if you ever even considered the possibility of me getting hurt, if I ended up taking your place?" she asked, making Harry's insides squirm guiltily. No, it had never crossed his mind that Hermione was probably the person who was most likely to be injured, considering the fact that she was one of the two people that Ron was furious with. He hadn't considered her safety, not even for a moment. He had been too busy trying to get on Ron's nerves.
"No, I didn't," he admitted. "You're right, I never even thought that you could get hurt if you ended up having to replace me. I was so focused on trying to make Ron mad that I didn't even think about the consequences of picking you as my second. I'm sorry," he said apologetically. "I shouldn't have been so selfish. Forgive me?" he asked.
Hermione's expression softened. "Of course," she said. "As long as you can admit that you probably should have thought a little more beforehand."
"I admit it," said Harry.
"Then you're forgiven," said Hermione, kissing his cheek. "Like I said, you know I'm always ready to fight for you."
"I know," said Harry, squeezing her hand again. "And I'm grateful for that."
Hermione smiled warmly in response while Harry shifted around uncomfortably, a nagging ache developing in his chest again.
"And I'd also be very grateful if you'd cast that Pain-Numbing Charm of yours again," he added.
She frowned slightly. "Your chest's hurting again already?"
"Just a little bit," he replied, not wanting to worry her.
Hermione sighed. "I must not have cast the charm very well, then. It's supposed to last a few hours, at least."
"Well, nobody said you have to be a full-blown Healer just yet, love," Harry reminded her. "You just need a little bit of practice, and then I'm sure you'll be the best Healer St. Mungo's has ever seen."
That elicited a small grin from Hermione. "And I'm sure I'll get loads of practice, hanging around you all the time," she chuckled, before sitting up and casting the charm on him again. "You're notoriously accident-prone, you know."
Harry pouted a little. "I'm not accident-prone," he protested, "I've just had to deal with Quirrel, a cursed Bludger, a narcissistic Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dementors, Voldemort and his cronies, and now Ron."
"True," Hermione agreed, settling down beside him again. After a moment, she sighed softly. Hermione was doing a lot of sighing lately.
"What's up?" asked Harry.
"It's just… I never thought that I'd have to patch you up after you duelled Ron," she explained. "I mean, I know that you two have always had your differences, and that's normal. I know that nobody's perfect, and everybody gets on someone's bad side every once in a while, but you and Ron have never ended up resorting to violence before. You almost did, back in the tent, but I got between you two back then and kept you from fighting each other. Maybe I should've just let you hex each other silly," she said, a slight frown on her lips. "Maybe then you wouldn't have had to have such a fierce duel today. Maybe you two could still be friends, if I'd let you vent your feelings back in the tent," she said sadly. "Maybe it's all my fault that Ron's so mad at you."
Harry shook his head. "It's not your fault, 'Mione, and don't let yourself think that. Ron and I have been on pretty shaky ground ever since he gave me the silent treatment after my name came out of the Goblet, back in fourth year, and he finally just pushed things too far back in the tent, deserting us the way he did. I thought that maybe, if I tried hard to forgive him, we could be friends again, but seeing the way he acted today, like I was some sort of… monster, just because I finally found a way to be happy, it just… Well, Ron and I aren't going to be best mates again. I could have tried to forgive him, I was ready to do that if he was, but seeing him turn his wand on me without a moment's hesitation, just because I love you, broke our friendship apart for good," he finished.
"Oh, Harry…" said Hermione, snuggling a little bit closer to him. "I guess this just shows who the bigger person is, huh?"
"I suppose," Harry agreed. "But maybe Ron will come around, in time. Maybe he just needs a little time to adjust. I mean, he acted like a real jerk today, and he was a bit of a coward during our duel, trying to Stun me right off and all, but there might be some hope left for him. I don't think that I'll ever be able to call him my best mate again, not after all the things he's done, but I think that we might be able to be friendly with each other if we both calm down a little and stop fighting over who gets to be the alpha male. I hope we can be civil around each other, at the very least."
"I hope so too," said Hermione. "I don't think I could stand it if you two had to duel each other every time one of you came within twenty feet of the other."
Harry chuckled for a moment before his chuckle was interrupted by a yawn. He had a hunch that Hermione's Pain-Numbing Charms were making him sleepy.
"Tired?" she asked with a small grin.
"Mm, a bit," he replied, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.
"You should take a nap," said Hermione, sitting up. "The whole point of coming back here was to let you rest, after all." She let go of his hand and got to her feet. "Here, get up for a second."
Harry obeyed, swinging his legs off of the bed and getting to his feet. The minute he was standing, Hermione pulled the sheets back a bit and gestured to the bed.
"In you get," she said, and Harry obeyed with a grin.
"Planning on tucking me in, 'Mione?" he asked.
"That's exactly what I plan on doing," she replied. "Come on, then, take off your glasses and lie down. You need your rest."
Harry obeyed, grinning all the while. Hermione pulled the sheets up to his neck and planted a light kiss on his lips.
"Sleep well, Harry. Call me if you need anything," she said as she walked to the door.
Harry smiled. "Will do, 'Mione," he said. "Love you."
Hermione returned the smile as she stepped out of the room.
"Love you too, Harry," she replied, and quietly pulled the door closed. A few moments later, Harry fell asleep with a small smile on his lips, feeling highly satisfied and, in a way, quite peaceful. Somehow, all felt right in the world. He had, in the space of less than a year, fulfilled the prophecy that had been haunting him for years, finally saving the wizarding world by defeating Voldemort with a single rebounding curse, and he had found true love in his best friend of almost seven years. Then, today, he had finally made that love public, and had further proven that he was serious about his relationship with Hermione by agreeing to duel his ex-best mate, winning not only the redhead's wand and broomstick, but the freedom to love Hermione without ever having to feel guilty again. He was, at long last, free; free to live without fear and love without any vague hint of remorse. He was finally happy.
All was well.