Title: Adrift
Summary: It was supposed to be the perfect holiday, but a tragic accident plunges Harry and Hermione adrift in to a new, uncertain life.
Rating: PG-13 for language and adult themes
Authors Notes: Well, this was a lot later than I was planning!!! Things have just been hectic here since I came back from holiday- I had 2 weeks off from work and out of that I didn't spend a single full day at home!!! And heading back to work has been a nightmare- I've just been promoted so I'm trying to tidy up my current job for a handover and I've only got 6 more days to do it!!! Plus, my husband has just started a new job and we're trying to get into a new routine (which involves me walking 2.2 klms home from work every day). So life has just been hectic!!!
So I hope you like this chapter and I do apologise for it being like a week overdue- I will try and aim to get the next one up by Wednesday and then another one on Friday to get back on track!!!
And as always, comments and reviews are loved, just please be nice!!!
FOURTEEN
It was May before Hermione finally decided to give Harry's idea of going out to dinner a try. By then she knew he had been going to the Leaky Cauldron every afternoon, and she was slightly worried by how much later he was starting to stay.
She had ended up making a compromise with him. They could go out to dinner on a Friday night, to avoid clashing with work, and that she would choose the place. He was just so happy that she was willing to leave the house for something other than work that he agreed.
They ended up going to a place that had just opened in Diagon Alley. It was modelled on very chic muggle restaurants and was doing a roaring trade with the younger witches and wizards who desired somewhere to hang out in London other than the Leaky Cauldron.
The reservation was for quite early and there was only a small crowd when they arrived. They took their time over dinner and Hermione found herself talking more than she had in months. They talked about work, the kids, people they'd gone to school with.
The coffee had just been served when the conversation turned to Spain and everything they had lost.
'In the beginning, I felt like this weight was on my chest and shoulders and it was going to crush me,' Harry said softly. 'But then, after Christmas it started to lift. I visited her grave on Christmas day, on my own. And I guess I said goodbye.'
'And it doesn't hurt anymore?'
'It still hurts,' Harry confessed. 'It hurts like hell. Every day there are a thousand things that make me think of her. If something funny happens at work, I still think to make a mental note to tell Ginny. But it doesn't make me sad any more. If anything, I feel kind of numb now.'
She looked at him, pondering his words and noticed him tip the rest of his whisky into his coffee. She didn't say anything.
'I wish I was at that stage,' Hermione said glumly. 'I still cry most nights. I've just been burying myself in work, because it helps me forget. And I feel so stupid when I get upset, because I know I'm stronger than this and I know that I'm not alone and that I have two wonderful children, but it's like half my body has been amputated.'
'You've been feeling better lately though, haven't you?' Harry asked. He'd been watching her closely when he was around and in many ways she was slowly returning to who she had been before last November. She didn't seem to just be an empty shell anymore. The spark that made her who she was was slowly returning.
'I guess,' she shrugged. 'I don't get down as much. And being around you has really helped. You were right in getting me to move in with you.'
Harry didn't confess that it was as much for his own good as it was for hers.
It was almost 10pm when they paid the cheque- being a modern woman Hermione refused to let Harry pay the whole thing- and they headed outside. The air was quite crisp and chilly and Harry, who had bought a cloak, shrugged it off his shoulders and draped it over Hermione.
'Thanks,' she said, smiling up at him.
Suddenly the black night was interrupted by flashing light. Harry looked around, stunned and saw a man he knew was a photographer for the Daily Prophet. Harry stared at him for a moment and didn't like the look on the man's face. His stomach began to churn and he had a really bad feeling.
He said nothing to Hermione, just nudged her forwards and once they were a little bit further along Diagon Alley, they disappareted back to Grimmauld place.
~*~
HARRY POTTER AND HERMIONE WEASLEY MOVE ON AFTER TRADEGY.
Peter Meyer, reporting from London
It was one of the most unexpected celebrity sightings in a while and certainly one of the most juicy! Yours truly was on hand last night to witness The Harry Potter and Hermione Weasley exiting from a romantic dinner in Diagon Alley.
As this photo shows, they're obviously more than friends and in-laws (Potter and Weasley's deceased partners were brother and sister). Upon exiting into the cold night air, Potter graciously handed over his cloak to his lady.
Copies of this photo were sent over the weekend to body language experts who all agreed and said that the gesture was one of obvious affection.
'And the smile on Mrs Weasley's face indicates that there is something more going on here,' one of them reported, on the condition of anonymity.
Potter and Weasley were of course devastated last November when their respective spouses were killed in a Muggle incident in Spain. Since then, both have kept a low profile. Before this photo was taken, we had received unconfirmed reports that Mrs Weasley was now residing with Mr Potter in London.
I guess we can now confirm these reports. Stay tuned to the Daily Prophet, your best resource for celebrity news!
James slammed the newspaper down, shaking with rage. He turned to the side and his sister was looking at him with concern.
'What?' she asked. Without saying a word, he slid the paper over to her. She read the article and laughed.
'That Peter Meyer is a pathological liar,' she said to him when she finished, throwing the paper at him. 'You're not going to believe him are you?'
At that moment, Rose and Hugo joined them, both holding a copy of the paper and both with the same expression as James.
'Do you think it's true?' Hugo asked in horror. Rose rolled her eyes and looked at Lily.
'I'm assuming you know how many lies this guy normally comes out with,' Rose asked her cousin and she nodded.
'Of course. This is the same guy who reported that mum was returning to professional Quidditch and was going to play on the England team at the next world cup, all due to her passionate affair with the new coach.'
'I never heard that one,' James said, looking at his sister.
'Was just as we finished school for last summer,' Lily said with a shrug. 'We all had a good laugh.'
'But what are they doing, going out to restaurants?' Hugo asked.
'Obviously having dinner,' Albus answered, coming to join his family. 'What a load of rubbish!'
'Especially those 'unconfirmed reports' that they're living together,' Rose scoffed. 'As if mum would leave the house. That's where all her memories of dad are.'
'You can't deny that the photo is suss,' James said, switching tactics. 'I mean, look at how Aunt Hermione is looking at dad.'
'James, that's how they always look at each other,' Rose answered, picking up one of the papers and looking at the photo closely. 'They always have. I asked mum about it once- she said that once you've gone through the things that she, dad and Uncle Harry went through it changes the nature of your friendship. She said that the three of them are bonded in so many unexplainable ways, and that whilst dad is the love of her life, she loves Uncle Harry like a brother.'
They all pondered Rose's words for a few moments and their silence was interrupted by a loud laugh from the Slytherin table and Scorpious Malfoy looked at them in glee.
'You lot couldn't be more inbred if you tried!' he called, grinning wildly. 'Not just cousins, but step-siblings as well?'
'That's not inbred, you dimwit,' Rose called back. 'Besides, you're not one to talk. Have you looked at your family tree lately?'
They all laughed and Scorpious scowled and turned away. They all knew he'd be back for another round.
That day was one of the worse that all five of them had ever had at Hogwarts. It seemed that everyone in the school had read the article and the reactions varied. All of Rose's friends seemed to get excited thinking that there would maybe be a wedding on the horizon. James's friends all laughed at him and then didn't say anything more. Lily was greeted with a combination of happiness, shock and disgust, as was Hugo. Albus had very few friends outside of his cousins and managed to avoid most of the comments.
After classes, James was in the library studying when he heard more people whispering and pointing. He'd had enough by this stage and he headed out of the library. He wandered aimlessly around the castle, finally ending up in Neville's office.
'Are you alright, James?' Neville asked after about five minutes of silence. James had taken to visiting Neville quite often and Neville knew him well enough to know that something was bothering him.
Neville himself hadn't read the newspaper that day, but enough students had been talking about it that he knew what was going on.
'Could they really be, you know, a couple?' he finally asked. Neville shrugged.
'Would it really be that bad if they were?' he asked the boy. 'I've known your parents and family for a long time, James. And I know that your father loved your mother beyond anything. And the same for Hermione and Ron. But they're both adults with a long life ahead of them. It's not wrong if they want to have a bit of love.'
'It is wrong,' James snapped, standing up and looking angry. 'It's disrespectful to mum's memory! It's almost like dad wanted mum to die so that he could hook up with Aunt Hermione!'
'James, I'm sure that's not the case.'
'And could they really be living together? Would he really do that?'
Neville didn't say anything. Hermione had confided in him about their living arrangements, and made him promise to not tell the children. She would move back into their house before they all came home.
'Perhaps you should talk to your father,' Neville suggested. 'I can only say what I think. He'd be able to reassure you a bit more.'
James nodded.
'Could you arrange for me to talk to him via Floo?' he asked. 'I know you're not supposed to, but it would help me. It would help all of us.'
'I'll see what I can do.'