Adrift

dumbles

Rating: PG13
Genres: Angst, Drama
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 7
Published: 24/07/2009
Last Updated: 31/10/2011
Status: in_progress

It was supposed to be the perfect holiday, but a tragic accident plunges Harry and Hermione adrift in to a new, uncertain life, a life that leaves them both grasping for anything that they can hold onto for a moment in time. As they deal with the angry sea that becomes their lives and the demons that haunt both of them, they discover that sometimes you just need that one person who understands everything about you.

Chapters

1. One

2. Two

3. Three

4. Four

5. Five

6. Six

7. Seven

8. Eight

9. Nine

10. Ten

11. Eleven

12. Twelve

13. Thirteen

14. Fourteen

15. Fifteen

16. Sixteen

17. Seventeen

18. Eighteen

19. Nineteen

20. Twenty

21. Twenty-One

22. Twenty-Two

23. Twenty-Three

24. Twenty Four

1. One

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: Hello all readers.

I hope you can bear with me for a second, I feel I need to give some background on this story before you start to read in the hope that you will understand it, and me a lot better.

This is the first fan fic I have written in two years. It has taken me around a year to complete. Now this is odd for me- I normally never have a fic fully written before I post it. But I know now that that is the reason why I fail so often.

My last fic, ‘The Missing Pieces’, I was writing when a lot of things happened to me. In the space of a month, I almost lost my mother in a serious car accident, my grandfather died suddenly and my sister moved thousands of kilometres away. And because of that, I lost interest in what I was writing.

In fact, to be honest, I lost interest in writing anything. I had other fan fic ideas at that time and they all left me. I have so many unfinished fics clogging my hard drive.

And so for about a year, I didn’t write. I didn’t participate in Harry Potter forums, websites anything. In that time a lot of fantastic things happened and slowly I began to feel like writing again.

I tried to finish some of the fics I had started, but couldn’t do it. I really want to finish ‘The Missing Pieces’ because I was so dedicated to my vision, but I can’t do it. Whenever I read that fic, I remember how crummy I felt as I was trying to write it and I can’t do it.

So a year ago, roughly, I was sitting at work and this idea just popped into my head. Complete and whole. And I began thanking someone that I work in a job where you really can’t watch what I’m doing and as long as I’m doing something involving typing, it can pass as work.

I began writing at work. I would write in emails and email it to myself at home every afternoon. Slowly, piece by piece, ‘Adrift’ was formed.

A lot of elements in the coming story chopped and changed from the original idea. I added and subtracted things every day that I worked on it. Once I have posted everything, I will go back and tell you those original plot points and why I changed them.

So live not in fear of this fic being left half done. It is fully done and as I write these notes, I am separating the chapters into individual files, ready to upload.

I am going to try and upload a new chapter every week. There is twenty-seven chapters and an epilogue, so it should take us through until the end of the year.

The only other thing I need to mention is that at the start of some chapters, you will find a section called ‘Soundtrack’ with the authors notes. Because I am inspired so often by music, something listening to these songs will help put you in the right frame of mind. Some of them are quite unknown songs, others are very popular. But if you have a way of listening to these recommended songs whilst reading, it will help your understanding of my crazy mind and help you understand this fic a bit better.

Now enough of my talk- if you’ve made it to the end, you can now be rewarded with the first chapter of ‘Adrift’.

~*~

ONE

‘Let’s go on holiday.’

Harry looked over the top of his glasses at Ginny, who was sitting opposite him, staring blankly out the window into the garden.

‘Was that a statement or a suggestion?’ he asked, folding up The Daily Prophet and placing it on the coffee table between them.

‘Statement,’ she answered with a smile. ‘How long has it been since we had a kid-free holiday?’

‘Our honeymoon I believe,’ Harry said with a reminiscent smile.

‘Exactly. And now that they’re all at Hogwarts…’

‘It would be the perfect opportunity,’ Harry finished with a smile. ‘I agree.’

‘You do?’

‘You plan it and book it, and I’ll hopefully remember to pack.’

Ginny jumped up off her chair and lent over the coffee table and kissed him firmly.

‘Have I told you lately that you’re wonderful?’

‘Not in the last hour,’ Harry said and they both laughed.

‘Well you are,’ she said, standing upright and looking thoughtful. ‘Do you think we should ask Ron and Hermione?’

‘Ask them what?’

‘You’ve forgotten already?’ she asked with astonishment, rolling her eyes. ‘Ask them on our holiday.’

‘You want your brother to come with you on a romantic holiday?’ Harry asked, laughing.

‘They need a break too,’ Ginny reasoned. ‘And it’d be nice to have some company and some friends there, you know, for the non-romantic moments.’

‘Send them an owl,’ Harry said shrugging his shoulders. ‘See what they think.’

~*~

Hermione sat in her study, slowly reviewing the files she had bought home with her from the office. She didn’t like to bring work home, but now that Rose and Hugo were both at Hogwarts she felt less guilty about it. Ron was working the night shift and wouldn’t be home until she was leaving for work, and so she had set herself up for a long night in her study.

She was getting up from her desk to close the window, as the breeze was starting to make her feel cold, when she saw the owl about to fly through. She held the window open as the owl flew in and dropped its letter, and then flew out again.

Recognising the handwriting, she smiled and tore the envelope open.

HW:

He likes the idea. You just have to convince Ron now.

GP

Hermione laughed as she folded the letter and slipped it into her desk drawer.

The holiday idea had actually been Hermione’s, almost two months ago now. She and Ginny had taken Rose and Lily to London for some girl time and, whilst the younger girls were getting their hair cut, they had gone wandering around the area. Hermione had stopped at the Muggle travel agents window, staring at the advertisements for Mediterranean cruises.

‘Wouldn’t that be nice,’ she said to Ginny, pointing the display out.

Later that day, having coffee in Hermione’s kitchen before Ginny went home, they hatched the plan to convince Ron and Harry that it would be a good idea, and fun. And now that Ginny had talked to Harry, it was up to Hermione to talk to Ron.

Heading downstairs, she stopped at the hallway cupboard and opened it. Sighing at the amount of junk that had been crammed inside, she pulled her wand out and pointed into the middle of the pile.

‘Accio Picnic Basket!’ she cried and the pile shifted and a small picnic basket soared out gracefully towards her.

She carried it to the kitchen and opened the fridge. She randomly pulled out some cheese and salami, and then using her wand she summoned the loaf of bread that Molly had sent over that morning. From the pantry, she grabbed Ron’s favourite snacks and then packed it all up in the picnic basket, gently placing a bottle of Elf wine on top with two glasses.

The security spells on the Ministry of Magic prevented people from apparating in or out between 6pm and 6am, so Hermione reluctantly made her way to the fireplace and picked up a handful of Floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. The green flames sprung up at once and she stepped in, calling ‘Ministry of Magic’ as she did so.

She hated the spinning sensation of travelling through the Floo network, as it reminded her of a fair ride she had gone on as a little girl- a ride which had made her horribly sick. She threw her hands out in front of her as she recognised the fireplace before the Ministry and by doing so ensured that she slid out of the fireplace with a slight amount of grace, shaking ash on to the wooden floor.

The hallways were deserted and it was almost spooky, as only half the lamps were lit. There was noise ahead, coming from the Auror office. As she walked in several of them nodded at her, and several of them jumped, startled. Ron was in his office and she knocked on the door softly before letting herself in and smiling at him.

‘Merlin, you scared me,’ he said when he noticed her standing there.

‘My name’s Hermione, not Merlin. You should know that after all these years,’ she teased, and then held up the picnic basket. ‘Thought you might like to have a picnic, with me, for dinner?’

‘You don’t even have to ask.’

They were quiet as he made space on his desk and she opened the basket and laid out the food and wine.

‘This was a nice surprise,’ Ron said as he laid a thick slice of cheese onto the bread and took a bite. ‘Very unexpected.’

‘Well I like to do nice things for you, occasionally,’ she said with a big smile and Ron looked down, shaking his head.

‘What is it and how much will it cost?’ he asked, remembering the last time she had gone over and above to do something nice for him, they’d ended up buying their house in the country.

‘A holiday,’ Hermione replied and Ron rolled his eyes.

‘Remember our last holiday? Hugo and Rose nearly killed each other.’

‘Well they’ll be at Hogwarts.’

‘A nuisance, sorry, child free holiday?’ Ron asked and looked slightly more interested.

‘With Harry and Ginny,’ Hermione added quickly. ‘Ginny wrote me, asked if we’d like to join them. I thought it would be nice.’

‘It would be,’ Ron said. ‘Where would we be going?’

‘Don’t know, Ginny just said if I talk to you and then we’ll organise it.’

‘Well, tell her I’m in.’

~*~

The owls swooped into the Great Hall at Hogwarts drawing the eyes of the students searching for family owls. James Potter was one of the few students not looking; instead he was focused on his bacon and eggs, and the Charms textbook in front of him.

‘I thought you were supposed to do your reading of a night,’ his sister Lily said, sitting down next to him, and closing the book with a flick of her wand.

‘And I thought you were supposed to leave me alone,’ James said, half playfully, half crossly, as he reopened the book with his own wand and began searching for his page.

‘You’ve got a letter,’ Lily said, handing over an envelope. ‘It’s addressed to you, but the stupid owl delivered it to me. Probably knew that if it delivered it to you, you’d just ignore it.’

James took the envelope from her, tore it opened and pulled out the letter.

‘It’s from mum,’ he said, unfolding it and recognising the handwriting. Lily peered over his shoulder and they both read.

Dear James, Albus and Lily;

How is everything going at school? I hope you are all behaving yourself- remember that Neville and Hagrid will tell us if you aren’t. I can’t believe that I haven’t had an owl about any of you yet; especially you James- please keep it up!

Your father and I, along with Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione, are going to be going on a holiday and we expect to be away for the entire month of November. We will endeavour to write, however we will be staying in areas with a large muggle population, which will make normal communication hard.

If you need to contact us in an emergency, please write to your grandmother and she will contact us through Aunt Hermione’s parents.

James, please make sure you show your brother and sister this letter.

All my love,

Mum

‘Pfft,’ James scoffed, passing the letter back to Lily. ‘It’s like they couldn’t wait for us to bugger off to school so they could go gallivant around without kids in tow.’

‘I think it’s a good thing,’ Lily said airily, standing up. ‘I’d better go show Albus- wonder if Aunt Hermione wrote to Rose and Hugo.’

2. Two

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: First, a big thank you to all the people who reviewed the first chapter and to the many others who may have read it and not reviewed. I encourage everyone to review my fics, just as long as if you’re being critical, it’s constructive (ie, please don’t just write ‘this fic is shit’ or similar- write something like ‘your writing style is a lot different to what I usually read, perhaps if you tried *insert suggestion*’).

Now, second, if you’ve ever read any of my other fics, you will know that I am not a fan of Ron. Of all the characters in the HP world, I cannot write Ron and this is why he tends to die a lot of the time when I’m in charge. In my belief, Ron, not Fred, should have been the Weasley that died… but that’s just because I don’t like him. I even once wrote a fic where, much like Kenny, Ron died in every chapter. It was very therapeutic. So the Ron content in this fic is very minimal, and as always seems to happen, he comes across as a petulant child in some parts. I do apologise to the Ron fans out there, but if you read my other fics, you will see that this is how Ron is in every single one of my fics.

TWO

‘Are you sure this is safe?’

Harry and Hermione laughed at Ron’s nervous question as they sat down in their seats on the plane that would whisk them away on their holiday. Ginny and Harry felt as nervous as Ron did, but neither had been stupid enough to vocalise the thought (and Harry was perfectly aware of how safe it was, the Dursley’s failing to die every time they had flown somewhere).

‘Ron, relax, it’s perfectly safe,’ Hermione reassured him, taking her seat next to him and doing up her seatbelt. ‘Muggles do this all the time.’

‘Why couldn’t we apparate?’ he asked, holding the seatbelt and looking confused by it.

‘Because international apparating is awful,’ Ginny said with a shudder, thinking back to her Quidditch playing days. ‘And brooms are too impractical with luggage, so is Floo powder. And it was too hard to organise a Portkey for all of us. Besides, we agreed on making this holiday and bit of a novelty and doing it like muggle’s. And this is how muggle’s travel.’

Harry buckled himself into his seat and turned to his side and looked over the back of his seat at Hermione.

‘Have you explained the in-flight movie?’ he asked her and Ron looked from Harry to Hermione.

‘What’s an in-flight mooffee?’

‘Honestly, Ron,’ Ginny said, leaning back and closing her eyes. ‘You would’ve thought that you would pick up something from dad’s love of muggles.’

‘Well, I learnt how to drive a car,’ he said proudly, and a passing Muggle stopped and stared at the four of them.

Harry caught Hermione’s eye and they both looked away before they started to laugh.

~*~

The plane took surprisingly little time to fill and then, without warning, started to move. Ron looked frightened for a moment, but rearranged his face into a nonchalant expression.

‘Good morning, ladies and gentleman, this is your captain Sam Hughes speaking, welcoming you aboard British Airways flight BA 340 to Madrid, Spain. The first officer on today’s flight is Joseph Patton and your navigator is Lachlan Manton. Your head stewardess is Sarah Bolston and she is assisted by Meagan Jones, Angela Reid and Craig Phelps. The cabin crew will shortly begin with the safety procedures which you will all need to be aware of. I’ll hand over to Sarah Bolston now and will speak to you again once we’ve reached our cruising altitude.’

Ron watched the safety demonstration with more attention than he had ever paid to any lessons previously. Hermione had buried her face into her novel and was lost in her own world. Ginny was staring out the window and Harry was thumbing through the in-flight magazine, not paying attention to it or the demonstration.

They took off with no problems, Ron looking gleefully out the window as they soared higher and higher. Harry was looking around the cabin at the variety of travellers. He, like Ron and Ginny, had never flown before. When he was younger, the Dursley’s had taken several trips abroad, but each time Harry had been left with Mrs Figg, and on one occasion had spent on horrible week at number 4 with Aunt Marge.

‘Remember when Dad wanted to know how planes stay up?’ Ron asked Ginny, who laughed.

‘Of course- I was the one who got him the books that explained it. He was devastated when he found out that wasn’t secret magic.’

They all laughed as the hostess rolled the trolley past and served their meals.

‘Much better than the food on the Hogwarts Express,’ Ron said, licking his lips and staring hungrily at the warm chicken dinner.

~*~

They landed in Madrid and followed the line of people through customs. There was a slight delay in customs, with their wands being scrutinised. Thankfully, Hermione was able to get hers back rather quickly and confund the custom officials to let them through with no further hassles.

‘You are far to good at that,’ Harry muttered to her as they headed towards the exit. She just laughed.

‘Kingsley will kill me!’

Bypassing the taxi ranks, they walked with their suitcases into the parking garages and took the elevator to the top tier. This area of the parking garage was deserted and they stood together outside of the elevator, gripping wands in pockets with their right hands and luggage with their left.

‘See you on the other side,’ Ginny said with a wink.

They all turned on the spot, eyes shut tightly as they concentrated on their destination. Hermione, with the help of her parents, had tracked their destination down on the internet. When she had suggested the cruise to Ron, he had balked at being on the water for such a long period of time. Harry didn’t want to be at sea either and so they had had to compromise. They were spending a week in a villa on the Spanish coast, before catching a flight to Rome and apparating to Venice for the second week of their holiday. They were yet to decide on the third week and it looked like Harry and Ginny would be touring Tuscany, whilst Hermione and Ron headed to Greece (Harry and Ginny had toured Greece for their honeymoon and preferred to go somewhere they had never been).

Their apparition destination was a small lane directly behind the villa they had rented. The keys had been mailed to Ginny before they had left London and she was the first to re-appear, holding the keys tightly. Hermione was next, then Harry and lastly came Ron, who stumbled a bit as he re-appeared on uneven ground.

They walked around to the front and up the stairs. The villa had a view of the sparkling blue ocean from almost every room. They laid claim to bedrooms and bathrooms. Hermione started to unpack her and Ron’s things into the cupboards, whilst Ron lay on the bed and fiddled with the TV remote, flipping through all the channels at rapid speed.

Down the other end of the house, Ginny was sitting out on the small balcony, watching the ocean. Harry was searching through his suitcase and pulling out shorts and a t shirt, and a pair of beaten up joggers. He got changed and joined Ginny on the balcony, who laughed at him.

‘You’re serious?’ she said, looking him up and down. ‘You’re going for a run?’

‘I didn’t have time before we left,’ Harry said, bending down and kissing her on the forehead. ‘And if I don’t keep up my fitness, I won’t be able to when we get home.’

‘Well be quick at least,’ she chided. ‘And don’t get lost!’

He waved over his shoulder and left the bedroom. Several minutes later she saw him go running down the street, as there was a knock on the door.

‘Come in!’

Hermione came in, smiling. She had changed from her travelling clothes into a white sundress that gave no indication that she had given birth to two children. Ginny looked down at her own clothes (a worn pair of denim cut-offs and one of Harry’s old shirts) and wished that she hadn’t inherited her mothers body shape. She was in no means ‘fat’, but she knew she showed that she had three children in her figure and wished she could go back to the body she had in her Quidditch days.

‘Where’s Harry?’ Hermione asked, sitting down next to Ginny.

‘Running,’ she replied with a smile, and thought that maybe she should start joining him on his runs. ‘He runs for about an hour a day.’

‘And when did this start?’ Hermione asked with a laugh.

‘He was chasing someone at work several months ago,’ Ginny explained. ‘And he got a bit exhausted and realised how unfit he was. So he’s been doing it ever since. I’m starting to think I should join him.’

‘Why?’ Hermione asked with surprise. ‘You are looking fabulous!’

‘Not next to you,’ Ginny said and Hermione laughed.

‘I spend my days running around the ministry and most of the time I forget to have lunch,’ she said with a laugh. ‘And since the kids left for school, we’ve been eating a lot differently at home. Most nights we just have toast or salad. If we remember to have dinner.’

‘I think that’s the difference between us- I’m at home most days and find myself baking cakes and biscuits to send to the kids,’ Ginny said, laughing. ‘And sampling them, of course. But I don’t know how much longer I’ll be doing that.’

‘Why?’

‘I’ve been offered a new job,’ Ginny said with a small smile at her sister-in-law, her most trusted confidante. ‘It’s something I can do as well as writing my column for the Prophet.’

‘Well?’ Hermione asked eagerly.

‘They want me to become the coach of the national Quidditch team,’ Ginny said proudly. Hermione beamed.

‘That’s fantastic, Ginny!’

‘I know- I’m considering doing it. The only problem is that it would mean I would be on the road a fair bit, especially over the coming summer.’

‘But it’s a great opportunity! Have you told Harry?’

‘Not yet,’ Ginny said with a sigh.

‘Why not?’

‘Because he’ll tell me to do it,’ she said and Hermione looked puzzled.

‘Then why is it a problem?’

‘I just want to make sure that I want to do it first.’

‘Do what?’ Ron asked from behind and both women jumped, making him laugh.

‘None of your business,’ Ginny said, shifting sideways in her seat so she could see him. ‘And don’t you knock?’

‘The door was open,’ he said with a shrug and both women rolled their eyes. ‘Anyway, I’m starving.’

‘Of course you are,’ Hermione said, standing up. ‘But I am too. How long will Harry be?’

Ginny looked at her watch and shrugged her shoulders.

‘No idea. Why don’t you two go ahead, I’ll wait here and we’ll join you.’

‘But where are we going?’ Hermione asked. Ginny smiled at her own stupidity, having not realised that they had no idea where anything was.

At that moment, Harry came back into view on the street, panting only slightly as he ran through the gate and up the stairs towards the villa. Ginny leaned over the balcony.

‘You were quick,’ she called down to him and he stopped running underneath the balcony and stared up at all of them.

‘Found a bar that serves food, just down the road.’

‘Well don’t you have perfect timing- I’m on my way,’ Ron said and they all laughed.

3. Three

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: I’m back a little bit earlier than normal for this post- I’m currently bored, so I decided to share some more of this.

Again, a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far and I hope that more of you will review this chapter. I thrive on your words of praise and criticism- the email account that my reviews are emailed to is synced with my Blackberry so I received them instantly and it really makes me feel good when I do get them!

So enjoy this chapter and I will be back with another before the week is out.

THREE

The bar was only half full as the quartet entered and checked out their surroundings. The air was full of smoke and the women made their way out onto the deck that overlooked the beach. Harry and Ron went to the bar and then found their way to their wives at the table, one carrying a tray full of drinks, and the other a tray full of snacks.

Raising her glass, Ginny looked around at all of them and smiled.

‘Here’s to the best holiday ever,’ she said as they clinked glasses and had a sip of their drink.

A jukebox was playing in one corner, playing music none of them recognised. There were several televisions, each tuned to a different network. One was playing soccer, another was playing some sort of news cast and then there was one with music videos. The mesh of noise made everything but immediate conversation indistinguishable.

They took it in turns returning to the bar for more drinks and more food and they settled in for a long night. The sun was slowly setting, casting the deck and beach in a beautiful orange and pink glow, before the sky turned black with a great spattering of stars.

‘Let’s go for a walk on the beach,’ Ron said, standing up and draining his beer.

‘Sounds good to me,’ Harry said, copying him. ‘We can walk back to the villa on the beach.’

Ginny and Hermione stood up too and they had just started to walk down the stairs from the deck to the beach, when Ginny stopped and looked at Harry.

'You didn't happen to pass a shop or a market or something on your run, did you?' she asked him. 'It's just that we have no milk or bread or coffee, or anything edible back at the villa.'

'There's a big outdoor market, just down the road a bit,' Harry said, pointing. 'And there was a few general store type shops just near it, one of them might be open.'

'I might go by there before going back to the villa,' Ginny said. 'Anyone want anything?'

'I'll come,' Ron said eagerly, swaying slightly. 'Can't have my little sister wandering these strange streets on her own!'

'How protective,' Hermione said almost sarcastically, before looking at Harry. 'Looks like it's just me and you, then.'

They waved to Ron and Ginny, who were now leaving through the front door of the bar. Harry and Hermione kept going down the steps that lead from the deck down to the beach, both removing their shoes as their feet touched the cold sand.

'Feels like we're a million miles from home,' Harry said as they strolled along slowly, his head tilted up towards the sky, watching the stars.

'I'm glad Ginny went along with my idea,' she said with a smile, walking a bit further in towards the water and letting a wave crash over her feet.

'Your idea?' Harry asked, confused.

'I suggested the holiday to begin with,' she looked at him slyly. 'I knew we all needed a break, so Ginny and I plotted the whole thing together.'

Harry laughed.

'Why didn't I see this coming,' he said and she laughed too.

They kept walking in silence. There was no moon, but the stars shone brightly down on them. The water was chilly when it hit their feet, despite the fact that it was quite a warm night. Before either of them realised, they were back at the villa, climbing the stairs and letting themselves in.

‘All the shops were closed,’ Ginny informed them as they entered the lounge area. ‘So I’ll go down first thing in the morning. I was talking to a local who said the market opens real early and that it’s cheaper, and better too.’

‘Are you sure you want to go?’ Hermione asked, pulling off the light coat she had worn. ‘I’m quite happy to go.’

‘No, no, I’ll fine to do it.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Women,’ Ron muttered to Harry who laughed, earning them both stern looks.

‘I’ll be fine, Hermione,’ Ginny said with a smile.

‘I think I’m going to go to bed,’ Harry said, to break the silence. ‘Coming, Ginny?’

They waved goodnight to Ron and Hermione, who had seated themselves on the lounge and Ron had switched on the television. Harry changed into his pyjamas in the bedroom, whilst Ginny had a brief shower in the adjoining bathroom. When she came out of the bathroom, Harry was already in bed, flicking slowly through one of the many novels she had bought with her.

‘You tired?’ she asked him, sliding underneath the covers beside him and he shrugged his shoulders.

‘Sort of.’

‘I’ve got something to tell you,’ she said slowly, rolling onto her side and looking at him. She smiled as she realised that he had clammed up, looking incredibly nervous. It was the exact same look that he’d had on his face each time she had told him that she was pregnant.

‘What?’ he managed to say and she smiled.

‘It’s nothing dramatic,’ she started and he relaxed slightly. ‘I’ve been offered a job.’

‘What!’ he exclaimed, rolling onto his side so they were face to face. ‘What job?’

‘National team coach,’ she said softly and Harry beamed at her.

‘Gin, that’s incredible,’ he said, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her tightly into his body. ‘I’m so proud of you.’

‘I knew you would be,’ she said, but then sighed. ‘It just means that I’ll be away from you and the kids for most of the summer.’

‘The kids and I will be fine,’ Harry assured her. ‘We can survive without you. And we’ll come with you, as much as we can. The kids will think it’s great.’

Ginny kissed him firmly and passionately.

‘You’re wonderful,’ she murmured as Harry waved his wand to turn off the lights.

~*~

Downstairs, Ron and Hermione lay on the lounge, Ron flipping through the television channels. Hermione had her head in his lap, and for the past hour had been battling the urge to fall asleep where she lay.

Unable to stave sleep off for much longer, she slowly rose and headed upstairs silently. One of the many things she loved about her marriage with Ron was how seldom they needed words. From the outset, she had made it clear that she was not obligated to do what Ron was doing, nor was he obligated to do what she was doing. She knew that he would follow her to bed soon, he always did.

She pulled her nightgown on and slid under the covers. She had left the blinds open and the room was bathed in moonlight and as she lay perfectly still and silent, she could hear the waves crashing on the beach.

Closing her eyes, she opened them again slowly and was shocked the find the room now bathed in early morning sunlight. She could hear Ron in the bathroom and she sat up slightly and looked at the clock on the wall next to the balcony door. It was slightly past six am.

‘Good morning,’ Ron said, coming out of the bathroom and kissing her on the forehead.

‘I didn’t hear you come in,’ Hermione said, yawning slightly and laying back down. ‘I had a good sleep.’

‘You stay in bed,’ he ordered, sitting down on the edge and pulling his shoes on. ‘I’m going to the market with Ginny.’

‘Can you bring back something nice for supper?’ Hermione asked, reaching over for her handbag to give him some money. He shook his head and pulled the bag out of her reach.

‘You stay in bed and relax. It’s all under control.’

‘I love you,’ Hermione said with a smile as he reached the bedroom door.

‘I love you too,’ he said, blowing her a kiss. ‘We won’t be long.’

~*~

In the other bedroom, Harry was still snoring as Ginny slid out of bed and dressed quietly. She kissed his forehead gently, earning a sleepy swat as he rolled over and continued to snore.

Smiling and trying not to laugh, she left the bedroom and crept downstairs. She was startled when she reached the bottom of the staircase and found Ron loitering by the front door.

‘Thought I’d tag along,’ he told her, opening the door. ‘Have to protect my baby sister, you know.’

‘Have I ever needed protecting?’ Ginny asked him and they both laughed, making their way outside and down the front stairs.

~*~

Hermione dozed fitfully for another hour, before rising and dressing. The house was silent still, indicating that Ron and Ginny were not yet back and that Harry was obviously still in bed. She collected her novel from the bedside table and headed downstairs. The pool out the back was bathed in sunlight and Hermione laid claim to one of the lounge chairs in the warmth.

She settled in and opened her book, breathing in the stillness of the morning air and the salty seawater smell that invaded the air.

Upstairs, Harry was also climbing out of bed, and he was pulling on his running clothes. He decided, on his was downstairs; to run the opposite way to what he had run yesterday, to see what else he could discover. He also decided that whilst they were here, he would try to do as much beach running as possible- he remembered reading a long time ago that it was an excellent work out and he hadn’t yet been able to try it out.

‘I’ll be back soon,’ he called over his shoulder to Hermione as he slowly jogged away. He didn’t wait for a sign of acknowledgement, just started running.

The sun was bright and warm enough that after a kilometre Harry was sweating profusely. Up ahead he saw the rocks that marked the end of the stretch of beach and he was determined to reach that point before crossing over and running back along the beach.

He was passing through a mainly residential area and was glad he had run the other direction yesterday, discovering the pub and the market and the shops. As he crossed over the road, he was salivating the breakfast that he was hoping would await him when he returned to the villa.

As Harry started to make his way along the beach, Hermione put her book down and looked at her watch. It was almost 9am and she was starting to worry about Ron and Ginny- they had left not long past 6am, and it surely didn’t take this long to walk there and back and get some basic groceries.

She picked up her book again, not really focusing and reading the same sentence multiple times. She heard panting behind her and she jumped, and then relaxed slightly when she saw it was only Harry.

‘Aren’t they back yet?’ he asked with concern and she shook her head.

And then the ground shook and a great plume of smoke began rising into the sky.

4. Four

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: I’ll start again with a huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed and another urging for you to review in any capacity.

I just need to say that I have no experience in the events that follow in this chapter and for people that have, I mean no disrespect if I haven’t adequately expressed things and feelings.

I also have no idea if what I’ve written is possible, but this is something that changed from the original plan, and that tale will get told at the end with all the other changes that were made.

FOUR

Hermione looked at Harry in terror as she jumped off the lounge chair, dropping her book, and stared at the smoke. Harry stood rooted to the spot, a fear in the pit of his stomach that he had not felt in a very long time.

‘Is that…’ Hermione started, but her voice faltered and trailed off.

‘The direction of the market?’ Harry finished for her and she nodded, pulling her hands up to cover her mouth as if she was going to be sick. ‘I think so.’

Without much thought or saying another word, he reached out and took hold of her hands, pulling them away from her mouth. He kept hold of one and began tugging her.

‘Come on,’ he urged, starting to move around to the front of the villa. ‘Hermione!’

The sound of her name seemed to jolt her from her reverie and she began to jog slowly behind him, clutching his hand tightly. They ran down the stairs out the front, onto the street. The curious from other villas were appearing and people were starting to move down the street, in the direction of the market.

The crowd moved faster and faster as it got closer to the market. Harry was still clutching Hermione’s hand in his own and before too long they were running, pushing through the people.

‘Everybody stand back!’ a police officer called from the very front of the crowd. ‘Stand back, let us evacuate the area!’

Harry looked around and saw groups of people clustered around ash and dirt covered people, some bleeding, others wearing a look of shock. People were crying and screaming, adding to the chaos.

‘What do we do?’ Hermione asked Harry, her face stained with tears. ‘We have to find them!’

Harry pushed through the crowd to the police officer who was still shooing people back.

‘My wife is in there,’ he said to the police officer.

‘I can’t let you through,’ the officer said without emotion. ‘We have to make sure the area is safe!’

‘And how long will that take?’ a man older than Harry and Hermione growled at the officer.

‘I don’t know,’ the officer said, honestly and betraying slight terror in his face. ‘I don’t know.’

‘You’d think they’d all be better prepared for this sort of thing,’ the man growled at Harry and Hermione, reminding Harry forcibly of Mad-Eye Moody. ‘But no, something has to blow up before they think about how to react to it. And even then they bloody can’t get it right.’

‘What blew up?’ Harry managed to ask.

‘Gas line,’ someone else said behind them.

‘Gas line?’ the man who reminded Harry of Moody growled. ‘The idiots were doing something to it last week- shut the market down for a couple of days. They probably stuffed it up. Incompetent fools.’

Sirens could be heard coming from the opposite side and through the smoky air, people could be seen moving around. A man suddenly became visible, running forward towards the police officer. They spoke in hushed tones, before the man moved onto the other officers keeping the crowd at bay.

‘We need some volunteers!’ the officer cried, and looked directly at Harry. ‘We need strong people to help move wreckage and look for survivors!’

‘What about the gas?’ another man yelled from behind Harry.

‘The area is secured!’ the officer called back. ‘Come forward now if you want to help!’

Harry turned to Hermione, who was half pushing him.

‘Go, find them,’ she said urgently. Harry looked at her, and then at the older man beside them.

‘I’ll wait here, with your friend,’ he nodded at Harry. ‘I’d be no good out there,’ he added, holding up his leg, which was in a brace.

Harry nodded and turned back to the officer, who nodded at him in turn, and then Harry walked past him and into the smoke.

The scene he walked into was like nothing he had ever come across. The day before, he had jogged past this place. The open air market had been bustling; the stores that opened on to it full as well. The two cafes had been packed with people enjoying the sunshine.

And now it was unrecognisable. Several of the shops and stalls were still on fire, with firemen hosing them down. A police officer in full body armour was handing out gloves and hard hats to the other men coming forward as volunteers, all of whom were gathering around him.

‘It’s a basic search and rescue,’ he was saying loudly. ‘Stay away from the still lit areas, but just shift the rubble around and look for signs of any human. If you find any wallets or personal belongings, call for an officer to come and bag and tag it.’

The crowd slowly disseminated and Harry blindly made his way over to a far corner. Before too long the air was full of cries as belongings were found, survivors and bodies unearthed and the horror of what was happened settled in.

Harry was about to pull his gloves on, when he had a sudden thought, and reached for the waistband of his shorts.

His wand wasn’t there.

‘Damn,’ he said aloud, cursing himself for not taking it with him. He usually never went anywhere without his wand. As he was contemplating whether or not to go back and find Hermione, to borrow her wand, he heard a scream coming from nearby that was slightly muffled.

Ears pricked, he stood totally still, focusing on every sound. He heard the scream again and began to run towards the sound of it, pulling the gloves on as he ran. Up ahead he could see a pile of remains of what had been a flower stall. They were charred and smoking, but not on fire. He reached them and began pulling the wreckage apart. The screaming was getting louder and louder and finally he could see a hand, sticking out and moving around frantically. He grabbed hold of it and held it tightly and the screaming stopped.

‘It’s ok,’ he called in the general direction of the buried person. ‘We’re here to help you.’

‘I… can’t… breathe…’ the woman gasped.

Harry looked wildly around for nearby volunteers, spotting two that were close enough to hear him if he shouted.

‘HEY!’ he bellowed as loud as he could. The two people stopped and turned around. ‘I NEED HELP HERE!’

The volunteers rushed over to him, but not before calling for further help. Before long there was about ten people crowded around, shifting the wreckage around the woman. Harry stayed where he was, holding her hand and speaking to her reassuringly.

He was not aware of how much time had passed, nor was he aware of anything else going on. His focus was this woman, who was almost uncovered. Paramedics had, with Harry’s help, determined her injuries and had hooked her hand up to an IV to slowly give her fluids and pain relief.

A cheer went up as the last of the wreckage was removed from the woman’s body and the paramedics whisked her away. Harry kept hold of her hand for as long as he could and when they reached the ambulance, she looked deep into his eyes.

‘Thank you,’ she said in a whisper and squeezed his hand. Harry squeezed back, and then stood aside as she was loaded into the vehicle and then sped away.

He didn’t move for a few moments. He watched where the ambulance had driven away and then, shaking his head, turned back to the massive amounts of wreckage. He didn’t know if Ron and Ginny had been found yet, and he knew in his heart of hearts that the woman would be the last person they would find alive. He had seen a few sites like this, caused by magical catastrophes and accidents, and he knew the chances of survival. But this was by far the most horrific event he’d attended and he found it sickening.

‘Hey, you!’ a police officer called, jogging over to him. ‘Are you Harry Potter?’

‘Y… yes,’ Harry stammered, wondering how this man knew who he was, thinking it a strange place and time to be recognised.

‘Come with me,’ the officer said sternly, beckoning Harry towards him. Harry was too perplexed to ask questions or argue and they walked along the edges of the site, and then out one of the access roads. The police were blocking the road about a hundred meters ahead and a crowd was milling around them, and then a smaller crowd were milling around the door to a storage facility that was just inside the police barrier.

‘Where are we going?’ Harry finally asked. The officer looked at him mournfully.

‘We’ve set up an emergency centre, for the volunteers. And the dead,’ he said grimly.

‘And why have you come for me?’ Harry’s heart was beating faster and faster and he felt sick in the stomach. The officer looked uncomfortable as they reached the small crowd.

The first person Harry saw was the man he had left Hermione with. And it was at that moment that Harry knew, without a doubt, that his world had ended.

5. Five

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: Sorry for the delay- I meant to have this up earlier this week, but just didn’t get a chance!!!

If you’re a bit sensitive, you might need tissues.

Next chapter should hopefully be up by Saturday afternoon my (Australian) time.

Soundtrack: ‘The Last Day on Earth’ by Katie Miller-Heidke

‘Hear You Me’ by Jimmy Eat World

FIVE

The man came towards Harry and took his hand firmly, half shaking it.

‘I didn’t introduce myself properly before,’ he said as they walked inside. ‘Me names Jack- Jack Thompson. I’m from London, but I’ve been staying out here for a few years with my daughter.’

‘How did…’ Harry started to say, but his mouth was dry and he didn’t even really want to finish the sentence.

‘Hermione heard the police talking about the centre,’ he explained, leading Harry around a group of crying women. ‘We came over here and she talked her way inside, by explaining that she was a nurse and wanted to help- at that stage they weren’t letting anyone in, so she did a good job.’

Harry couldn’t help but be amazed at how good Hermione was at confunding people, but couldn’t express that thought to Jack, who was obviously a muggle. Jack suddenly stopped and turned to face Harry.

‘We’d been here about half an hour,’ he said in a low voice. ‘When they bought him in.’

‘And?’

‘He was in bad shape. Very bad shape. Don’t know why they bought him here instead of shipping him straight off to the hospital. Maybe they were all full, maybe they just knew,’ Jack was looking at a spot over Harry’s shoulder and his voice was anguished, which Harry found strange as they didn’t even know each other. ‘He died as I sent for you to be bought in.’

Harry bit on his bottom lip as hard as he could to stop himself from crying. Jack placed his hand gently on his shoulder and steered him around. Harry felt dazed as they walked, Jack’s words running through his mind.

He died.

It was the hardest thing for Harry to comprehend. Ron. Dead. Ron, his first friend ever. Dead. Ron, the closest thing Harry had ever had to a brother. Dead.

It didn’t feel real.

Jack stopped again and this time, Harry knew why. Not far in front of them sat Hermione, on the floor, her head resting on the slightly raised stretcher. Harry headed towards her and Jack stayed where he was, watching over them.

He tapped her lightly on the shoulder and she looked up at him, her face full of pain and anguish and stained from tears. She leapt to her feet and threw her arms around his neck, dissolving into guttural sobs and burying her head into his shoulder. Harry wrapped his arms around her back and held onto her as tightly as he could, whilst looking over her shoulder at the stretcher.

A white blanket was on top of Ron and was covering everything but his face, which had a large gash down one side and was almost black from dirt, ash and grime. His red hair was filthy and Harry knew, from Hermione’s cries, and what Jack had said, that he didn’t want to look under the blanket.

Very slowly, he lowered himself and Hermione onto their knees, down on the ground beside the stretcher. Hermione’s sobs subsided slightly and she pulled away from him, wiping her eyes on her sleeves and hiccupping slightly.

‘Did… where…’ Harry started to say, but couldn’t get any of the words out. ‘Ginny.’

Hermione shook her head and tears appeared in her eyes again as she looked at him.

‘He didn’t say anything,’ she said, wiping her eyes again. He reached over and took hold of her hand and held it tightly. ‘He… he looked at me… I took his hand… and then…’

She trailed off, but Harry didn’t need her to finish. The look on her face and the tears were enough.

‘I’m sorry, Hermione,’ he said softly and she squeezed his hand.

‘So am I.’

~*~

Night fell around them, huddled in the emergency centre. It hadn’t been long before sunset when they had removed Ron’s body, to go to the morgue. Harry and Jack had needed to restrain Hermione from attacking these strange men who wanted to take her husband away. All three of them sat huddled in a far corner, watching every movement of the other families, and the police and paramedics. Bodies were bought to the centre initially for identification and then removed to the morgue. Thousands of relatives and loved ones were coming and going, searching for information, already knowing the worst.

Jack would walk around every twenty minutes or so, usually when more bodies and people arrived, and reported the information back to Harry and Hermione. The police had bought in several televisions and set them up around the room, showing the live news footage of the continuing dig for survivors (none had been found since the women Harry had helped). They were also discussing the cause of the explosion (it had been the gas line- there had been an underground build up of gas and something had set it off) and the international reaction to the tragedy (the US was sending army troops to help with the clean up).

‘What made you come down here?’ Harry asked Jack, feeling bad for not having asked before, as they both watched Hermione sleep on the floor in front of them.

‘My daughter,’ he said, looking down at her hands. ‘She went shopping for us this morning.’

‘Is she…’

‘I don’t know,’ he said, sighing. ‘That’s why I’m staying here. I’m waiting as well.’

Silence fell between them and Harry looked around the room. He wondered how long it would take for the news all of them were expecting to reach them. As he thought that, there was a flurry of activity around the back entrance and Harry knew that they were bringing more bodies for identification. Jack stood up and Harry did as well, looking at his new friend.

‘I think I want to come.’

They walked silently to the growing crowd around the door, all waiting anxiously. Harry was breathing rapidly, his hands were shaking and his heart felt like it would bounce out of his chest at any moment.

The first stretcher that came in was a woman. A woman with flaming red hair.

‘Ginny,’ he whispered, his head feeling light and his stomach sick. Jack looked at him with worry as Harry began to blindly follow the stretcher. They placed the stretcher down in a less crowded area and Harry looked down.

Ginny looked peaceful, more peaceful than Ron had. She too was covered by a blanket from the neck down, and he had no desire to look at anything but her face, her beautiful face. If he didn’t know better, he would swear she was sleeping.

‘Do you know her?’ the man that had carried her stretcher asked Harry.

‘It’s my wife,’ Harry said, slowly lowering himself to the floor and laying across the stretcher and her body. The man said nothing, just left Harry and Ginny where they were.

He could not cry. As he lay over his wife’s body, he could not find tears to shed. He could remember Cedric Diggory’s father, all those years ago, whose grief had gone past the need for tears. Harry now knew how he had felt.

‘I’m sorry,’ Jack said, startling Harry who had not heard him approach.

Harry could not speak. Jack placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder for the merest of moments, before walking away slowly. Harry buried his head on his wife’s body, his mind blank and his heart aching.

Hermione woke up and for a moment did not know where she was, or what she was doing there. It was when she saw Jack approaching her that the memories came flooding back and she fought back tears.

‘Harry is over there,’ Jack said gently, pointing in Harry’s direction and Hermione knew, somehow, that Ginny had been bought in.

‘Should I…’ she started to say and he nodded.

‘Go to him,’ Jack said nodding. ‘Then I think you both need to get out of here.’

Hermione stepped lightly through the crowd to where Harry was. She was shaking as she approached him, seeing Ginny’s peaceful face. Her chest was tight and the tears were even closer to the surface. She sat down beside him and he looked at her, his face covered in an anguish that she had never seen before.

‘How do we tell the kids?’

6. Six

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, I’m back!

I do apologise for the shortness of that last chapter. Initially, this chapter and the last were one big chapter, but I felt it was too long and that it needed to be separated and the line of ‘How do we tell the kids’ just seemed like a natural ending for it.

But this chapter is a bit longer, so I hope you enjoy! Remember all reviews are welcome, please don’t hesitate to nicely tell me what I’m doing that could be better etc!!!

In the last reviews, I can’t remember who it was I’m sorry, mentioned that I’ve been mixing up my tense on words and using the wrong words (bought instead of brought)… all I can say to that is that most of this was written within emails whilst I was at work, so I was rushing and second, I’m not that good with grammar and stuff- it’s what happens when you spend four years getting kicked out of English every lesson and you miss a full year of school in primary school and wind up missing out on the fundamentals such as grammar and multiplication tables (I was the only one in my 2nd grade class who couldn’t recite them!).

So if there is anymore bad grammar or English, please excuse me! As long as you can get the gist of what’s being said!

SIX

They arrived back at the villa at sunrise. Harry could not believe that it had been exactly twenty four hours earlier that they had all woken up, and gone their separate ways. How fragile life was, he thought walking up the stairs. How quickly things could change.

Walking into the villa, Hermione went into the lounge room and collapsed onto the lounge in a fresh flood of tears. Harry went outside, where Hermione’s book still lay beside the pool, where she had dropped it the day before as they had run.

‘Will you both be alright?’ Jack asked Harry.

Harry turned to Jack and shook his head. It was hard to believe that this man had been a complete stranger at this time the previous day. And yet here he was, still with them after the most difficult night of their lives. They’d still had no word on Jack’s daughter and Harry could not believe that he had not fallen to pieces over the lack of news, nor that he was still with them after all these hours.

‘Will we ever be alright again?’ Harry asked wryly. ‘Thank you, Jack.’

‘Don’t mention it,’ Jack said, clapping Harry on the shoulder. ‘Will you be staying here much longer?’

‘No, we need to get home, to the kids.’

‘Please, come see me before you leave,’ Jack said, shaking Harry’s hand and slowly walking away. Harry watched him go and saw him pause at the top of the stairs as his mobile phone rang in his pocket. He then vanished from sight.

Harry remained in the early sunlight for a moment, before turning around and heading back inside. Hermione was quiet, and he had a feeling she had cried herself to sleep. He kept walking and ended up in the kitchen.

It was only when he was in the kitchen that he realised that he had not eaten in over twenty four hours. He had no desire at all for food, but did get two glasses from the cupboard and poured out two glasses of water. He drank one of them in almost one and then headed back into the lounge room, leaving the second one on the coffee table for Hermione when she woke up.

It was strange, how completely numb he felt. It was almost like he was living in a dream. But every time he blinked, he could see Ginny on that stretcher and he knew that it was real and that it had happened.

Ginny wasn’t coming home again.

He headed upstairs slowly and stood outside the bedroom door, staring at it for a long time before finally opening it. The smell of Ginny’s perfume hit him at once and he swallowed a large lump in his throat as he saw her clothes in a small pile on the floor beside the bed. He hadn’t even seen her yesterday morning. She had left him asleep.

If only he could’ve told her how much he loved her, and kissed her one last time.

The bathroom door was open and he headed for it, closing it behind him and leaning against it, slid to the floor.

It was here that he finally cried.

~*~

Hermione was awake, and heard Harry go upstairs, then heard a door close. She sat up, drank the glass of water in front of her, and then used her wand to summon the cordless telephone to her.

She dialled the number from memory and waited, her breathing growing faster and faster as she listened to the line ring.

‘Hello?’

‘Mum?’ she said and heard an audible gasp.

‘Oh, Hermione love!’ her mother exclaimed. ‘We’ve been watching the news, you’re not anywhere near that explosion are you? Your father and I almost had heart attacks when we heard!’

‘I felt it,’ she said softly and her mother gasped again.

‘Oh, Hermione.’

‘Mum,’ she paused, wishing that the words she was about to say were not true, praying that she could wake up and it was all a nightmare. ‘Ron and Ginny were there.’

There was silence on the line. Tears were slowly sliding down Hermione’s cheeks and she was biting her lip to stop herself from screaming in pain.

‘I’m sorry honey,’ her mother finally said. ‘When are you coming home?’

‘I’m not sure,’ Hermione answered, her voice shaking. ‘But I need you to do something for me.’

‘Anything.’

‘Could you contact Molly? And give her a message? Get her to call us from the post office. I… I want to tell her myself.’

‘Of course.’

‘Thank you, mum.’

As she hung up the phone, the composure slipped and she lay back down and sobbed into the pillow.

~*~

A police officer came to the villa mid-morning with paperwork for both Harry and Hermione to complete. Hermione cried through the entire meeting, and Harry felt like he was a robot, just going through the motions. Once the police officer had left, Hermione ventured upstairs to her bedroom and Harry could hear her crying.

All he felt like doing was raging- he wanted to smash everything in sight and destroy the villa. Anger that he had not felt since the night that Sirius died had started coursing through his veins and he just wanted to explode.

Instead he went for a run. He ran as fast and as hard as he could, his mind whirling as he did so. Memories of Ginny flashed across like a film and after an hour of hard running, he finally stopped and almost collapsed.

It just wasn’t fair; he thought as he braced himself up against a fence and tried to regulate his breathing. How could they have all come through a war fine, and then have life end this way? And the children- Harry’s thoughts had been consumed by them. How was he going to tell them that their mother would not be coming home?

‘You alright?’ A voice said from behind and Harry turned around and felt stunned. It was Jack, standing next to a car, looking at Harry worriedly.

‘I’m fine,’ Harry said. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘You’re outside my house,’ Jack said, which made Harry, despite everything that was happening, laugh.

‘Wasn’t planned,’ Harry explained quickly. ‘I was just running, and I wound up here.’

The passenger door of the car opened and Jack’s attention diverted from Harry to the woman who was climbing out very awkwardly. Harry looked at her and understood the phone call Jack had received as he was leaving the villa earlier. But the woman looked incredibly familiar to Harry.

‘Harry, this is my daughter. Grace,’ Jack said, holding onto Grace’s arm as she leaned back into the car for a set of crutches. ‘Gracie, this is Harry Potter, who I was telling you about. I waited with him last night.’

Grace had the crutches and looked up at Harry and smiled at him, then her father.

‘Or perhaps he was waiting with you,’ Grace said hoarsely and then it hit Harry where he knew her from. ‘Dad, Harry was the one who found me and helped pulled me from the wreckage. He’s the one I was telling you about.’

Jack looked from Grace to Harry and then laughed.

‘Well I’ll be damned, it’s a small world,’ he said, closing the car door behind Grace. ‘How uncanny that we spent the night together, and I was waiting for the news on Grace, when all along you had saved her life.’

‘Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to give him my name,’ Grace told her father. ‘Otherwise you wouldn’t have had such a stressful night.’

‘I’m glad you’re alright,’ Harry said to Grace and she looked at him sadly.

‘I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘alright’,’ she said with a laugh. ‘Must look better than I feel.’

She paused and looked at Harry sadly.

‘Dad said that you lost your wife,’ Grace said. ‘I’m sorry.’

Harry couldn’t say anything. He bit his lip to force the lump back down his throat.

‘Would you like to come in?’ Jack asked and Harry nodded.

Jack went ahead to unlock the house and Harry followed Grace up the garden path. Jack and Grace’s villa was very similar to the one that Harry was staying in, only it was slightly smaller and only had views on one side. Harry followed Grace into the kitchen, where she sat at the breakfast bar as Jack searched through the fridge.

‘Would you like some lunch, Harry?’ he asked, turning around. ‘We don’t have much, but I could make some sandwiches.’

Before Harry could speak his stomach rumbled loudly and Jack laughed.

‘I think that’s a yes, Dad,’ Grace said, and then looked at Harry. ‘Sit down, Harry.’

Harry sat down next to Grace and they watched Jack slice the bread and make a pile of sandwiches. He placed them all on a large plate and placed smaller ones in front of Harry and Grace. He also placed a plastic container full of sandwiches in front of Harry, who looked at it curiously.

‘For Hermione,’ Jack explained, pointing at the container. ‘I imagine she hasn’t eaten either.’

‘Thank you.’

~*~

When Harry left Jack’s, not only did he have a container full of sandwiches, but he had a large bottle of whisky and half of a stew, which Grace had helped Jack prepare, hobbling around the kitchen on her crutches. He felt guilty for leaving Hermione alone for so long, but he was very grateful for the distraction, and the food, which he knew they both needed.

The villa was dark when he arrived and he turned the hallway light on as he entered the silence. He was panicked for a moment, and then he saw Hermione and Ron’s suitcases sitting beside the door.

‘Hermione?’ he called, walking along slowly, his shoes making no sound on the tiled floor.

‘I’m in here,’ she said so softly that he almost didn’t hear her.

She was sitting in the dark in the lounge room, staring out the window at the sunset. She had her legs pulled up to her chest as she sat, hugging them close, and he knew she hadn’t long stopped crying. Harry approached her slowly, holding the food parcels from Jack so she could see them.

‘I’ve been with Jack,’ he told her, placing the parcels and whisky on the coffee table. ‘He sent some food.’

‘I’m not hungry.’

‘You need to eat,’ he said firmly, taking a seat beside her and taking hold of her hand. ‘You can’t waste away, not now.’

‘Why didn’t I go with him?’ she asked Harry, turning to face him.

‘Because if you had gone as well, what would I tell your kids?’ Harry asked. Her eyes filled with tears and he squeezed her hand.

‘I rang my mother,’ she said softly, leaning over and laying her head on his shoulder. ‘She owled Molly. I just spoke to her on the phone. She’s devastated. Mum also re-scheduled our flights.’

‘I’m assuming that’s why your suitcases are in the hallway?’

‘Yes,’ she said, wiping her eyes with her free hand. ‘And I didn’t want to look at his things. Not now.’

Harry squeezed her hand again, wondering how much she had cried whilst packing the suitcases and knowing that he would do the same when he packed his own bags.

‘When do we fly out?’ he asked her finally.

‘Tomorrow morning. I didn’t see any point delaying. And we need to get to Hogwarts, before the kids find out from someone else.’

Harry reached into his pocket and withdrew his wand. He conjured two glasses and summoned the bottle of whisky from the table. Still using his wand, he poured a small measure of liquid into each glass and then let go of Hermione’s hand and passed her a glass.

‘Let’s have a toast,’ he said slowly and she sat upright and stared at him. ‘To Ron and Ginny.’

‘To Ron and Ginny.’

7. Seven

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: No long winded notes today- just the usual thank you to everyone for reviewing and a reminder to please review with any comments/criticism you may have!

SEVEN

Hermione’s mother was waiting for them as they disembarked their flight. Hermione ran to her and was soon sobbing in her arms. Harry was standing behind them, still feeling numb. He seemed to be able to feel nothing but the numbness. He had ended up drinking most of the whisky previous evening, before packing away his and Ginny’s belongings.

He had cried the entire time.

Watching Hermione and her mother, he became distracted by a row of public telephones behind them. He pointed to the phones, showing Mrs Granger where he was going, but she shook her head and pulled a mobile telephone from her pocket.

Dialling from memory, he rang a number that he had only ever rung a few times in his life, but he felt he had to do this.

‘Hello?’ A woman asked after several rings.

‘Dudley please,’ Harry said stiffly. The phone was put down and he could hear footsteps and voices and then the phone was picked up again.

‘Dudley Dursley.’

‘It’s Harry,’ Harry said simply. He could almost feel Dudley’s shock come through the telephone line.

‘This is a surprise,’ Dudley said slowly. ‘It’s not Christmas yet.’

‘I know. I just felt I needed to tell you something.’

‘What?’

‘Have you seen the news lately? With that incident in Spain.’

‘What about it?’ Dudley asked tersely.

‘I was there,’ Harry said slowly. ‘Ginny and her brother, Ron, died.’

The news was met with silence and for a few moments all Harry could hear was Dudley’s wife in the background, yelling at their children.

‘I’m sorry, Harry,’ Dudley finally said. ‘Thank you for thinking to tell me. Ginny was,’ he paused here and Harry wondered what he was thinking. ‘A wonderful woman.’

Harry was surprised. He and Dudley were on alright terms now and they saw each other maybe twice a year, but Dudley had never given an impression that he liked Ginny at all. In fact, Harry struggled to remember when Dudley had ever spoken to Ginny.

They said goodbye and Harry made his way back over to Hermione and her mother. Together they went to claim their baggage and finally they made their way out to the Granger’s car. They would be going to the Granger’s house, where Harry and Hermione would take the Floo network to Hogwarts. Molly Weasley had arranged for them to arrive in Neville’s office, but had not told Neville the reason for their urgent visit.

It took them over an hour to drive from the airport. Hermione sat in the front with her mother, and looked blankly out the window. Harry was in the back and could not believe it when Hermione said it had taken them that long- to his recollection they had only just left the airport when they arrived at the house.

Harry went through the fire first and after the stress of the past two days, the spinning made him feel incredibly ill. He was relieved to step out of the fireplace into Neville’s office.

‘Harry,’ Neville said, shaking his old house-mates hand as Hermione came spinning into view, and looking at him with obvious concern. ‘So what is all this about? And where are Ron and Ginny?’

There was silence. Harry looked at Hermione, who looked like she would never speak again. Slowly, and trying to stop himself from crying, Harry told Neville the basics of what had happened. By the end of the story, Neville was in tears, hugging Hermione.

‘Can you get the children for us?’ Hermione finally said. Neville tore himself away from her and nodded. He crossed to his desk where he wrote out 5 different notes and then he left the office, returning a few minutes later.

‘They’ll be here soon,’ he told them. ‘Would you like somewhere private to talk?’

‘Yes, please.’

Neville led them through a false wall into his private living area. Harry had been here several times before and it was nice, if not a bit cramped. It was a simple sitting room, which had a bedroom and bathroom coming off it.

He left them there and returned to his office. Several moments later, they could hear all the children as they arrived, confused as to why they were being summoned, especially as Neville was not their head of house. Neville lead them through into the living area and Hermione started to cry as Rose and Hugo rushed over to her.

There was less of a rush from James, Lily and Albus. They were looking from their father and to each other, confusion evident on their faces.

‘Where’s mum?’ James finally asked. Rose and Hugo broke away from their mother, realising that their father wasn’t there either.

‘Sit down, kids,’ Harry said, his voice wavering slightly. Lily burst into tears and Albus helped her to the lounge. All five of them wedged onto it and Harry and Hermione sat on the coffee table in front of them. Neville had quietly left.

‘Something happened whilst we were on holiday,’ Hermione said softly, tears falling down her cheeks.

‘Dad?’ James said, looking from Hermione to Harry. ‘What happened?’

Harry sighed and began explaining the explosion at the market. Lily cried even harder, setting Rose off. Hugo was holding his mothers hand and was wearing an expression of shock and disbelief. Albus was trying his hardest not to cry, but the tears were escaping his eyes and dripping down onto his lap. James was staring at his father, a furious look giving away his anger. As Harry finished the story, James stood up and stalked angrily to the other side of the room and stared out of the window.

Leaving Hermione to console the others, Harry followed his oldest son and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

‘Why,’ James said, his voice shaking. ‘Did you go there, to that muggle place, in the first place?’

‘It was partly your mothers’ idea,’ Harry said gently. ‘James, please don’t get angry.’

‘Tell me how I’m supposed to feel, father,’ he said, turning around and facing Harry. ‘You’ve just burst in and told me that my mother died two days ago. Don’t you realise how I’m feeling?’

‘You seem to have forgotten that I never knew my mother,’ Harry said and his voice was cold and James suddenly looked apologetic. ‘And that two days ago, I lost the woman I love.’

This seemed to sate James’ anger and he backed off, turning around and looking out the window again. Harry left him there and went back over to the others. He sat down on the lounge and Lily climbed into his lap, something she hadn’t done since she was a little girl. Albus was sitting beside him and he leaned into his father.

‘Do we have to stay at school?’ Albus asked softly. All of the children looked at Harry, who in turn looked at Hermione.

‘I don’t see why you can’t come home for a few days,’ he said slowly, still looking at Hermione. She seemed to understand that he was thinking ahead, to the day in the not too distant future when they would hold funerals.

They sat in Neville’s living room for a long time. Neville popped in a few times to see them and on the last occasion, Harry asked him if he could fetch Hagrid.

Hagrid was too big to fit in Neville’s office, so he waited out in the corridor. Harry went to him and told him the news and Hagrid sobbed into one of his gigantic handkerchiefs.

‘How… how are… the kids…’ Hagrid sobbed, mopping his eyes.

‘Terrible, considering,’ Harry said and Hagrid sobbed louder.

Harry was starting to feel uncomfortable with the sobbing half-giant and was relieved when Neville came out and escorted Hagrid down to his hut for Grawp to comfort him. Harry went back into Neville’s office, but found he didn’t want to go back to his family just yet. He had hardly been alone since it had happened and he felt as if he had a barrel of Madam Rosmerta’s mead on his chest. The rage that had surfaced the previous day when he had gone running was bubbling close to the surface and he wished again that he could rant and rave and smash things.

‘Are you alright, Harry?’ Neville asked and Harry jumped, having not heard him come back into the room.

‘I’m fine,’ Harry said dully. ‘Neville, could I borrow a quill and some parchment? And an owl?’

‘In the desk,’ Neville said, pointing. ‘And you can borrow Shirley.’

‘Shirley?’ Harry asked, bemused.

‘My owl,’ Neville explained, rolling his eyes. ‘Hannah named her.’

Harry sat down behind Neville’s desk and pulled out a sheet of parchment and a quill. He wrote a short note and then rolled it up and attached it to the leg of the owl that Neville had bought over. Neville released her out the window and Harry sighed.

As he stood up, Hermione came through the concealed door and smiled weakly at the both of them.

‘I think we should be going,’ she said softly and Harry nodded. She looked at Neville. ‘Neville, I don’t think that Rose and Hugo will be back at school until after the Christmas break. There’s no point in bringing them home and then sending them back for them to come back home a week later.’

‘I agree,’ Neville said and then looked at Harry. ‘Will it be the same for James, Albus and Lily?’

‘I think so,’ Harry nodded at Hermione. ‘It will give them a good bit of time to grieve and recover.’

Neville nodded and as he did so, the kids all appeared from the concealed door one at a time, with James coming last.

Neville set up a fire and tossed Floo powder in. One by one they called ‘The Burrow’ and vanished from sight. Hermione was second last and as she stepped into the fire, Harry grabbed her arm.

‘I won’t be too far behind,’ he told her. ‘I’m going to see Kingsley.’

She nodded as she called ‘The Burrow’ and spun out of sight.

Harry was one of the few people in the Ministry who knew the code name of the Minister’s office, enabling them to have direct access by Floo powder. It was a silent incantation to enable it to stay a secret. Harry thanked Neville for his support and stepped into the fire and vanished from the office.

8. Eight

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: Sorry, another short one! But this will get you through until the next one next week!

The back story in this chapter I stole from another fic that I was working on a long time ago, but abandoned as I just couldn’t get my head fully into it. So, instead of straining my brain over that one, I included it in this and I hope you like it!

Now, as always, please don’t forget to review, even if it is criticism, just as long as you’re nice about it.

EIGHT

Harry closed his eyes as he span through the fireplaces and then stopped suddenly, stepping out into Kingsley’s immaculate office.

‘I got your owl,’ Kingsley said in his deep voice. ‘I’m so sorry, Harry.’

‘Thanks,’ Harry mumbled. He was beginning to feel tired of people telling him they were ‘sorry’.

‘How are you feeling?’

‘Honestly?’ Harry asked, sitting down on one of the chairs in front of Kingsley’s desk. ‘Honestly, Minister, I feel like shit. My wife and my best friend have just died. I’ve just come from telling my children that their mother will never come home. Hermione is a wreck and can hardly see straight, let alone think about making arrangements, so I will have to focus on doing that. I’ve had about 3 hours sleep in two days, and I’ve only eaten a handful of sandwiches and drunk half a bottle of whisky.’

It felt good to Harry to finally get some of his feelings off his chest and he felt no need to stop.

‘Not to mention the guilt I feel for not having thought to get groceries when I went out earlier in the day previous. And for not going with them. And I can’t stop thinking that maybe I was supposed to go with Gin, not Ron. Maybe Gin and I were both supposed to die. Maybe our children were supposed to be orphans, like me. And maybe the universe is now pissed that I lived and will kill me in some other way.’

Harry paused to take a breath and Kingsley stood and crossed the room. He stopped at a side cabinet that had an assortment of photos on it. He picked one up and turned to look at Harry.

‘Harry, you are one of the few people to know about my beloved Lenore,’ he said softly and slowly. ‘You know that she and our son, Edward, were killed by Death Eaters in the first war. But what you don’t know is why.’

Kingsley sighed, placed the photo down and headed over to the window behind his desk and looked out, even though the view didn’t go anywhere.

‘Lenore and I met at Hogwarts and married not long out, not unlike yourself and Ginny. We were both aiming to be Auror’s, but Lenore changed her mind and wanted a family. Edward was born as I commenced Auror training. Now obviously the last thing Voldemort wanted was more Auror’s, and he himself approached me. I was a talented young wizard, he told me. I would go on to do great things. And he would help me achieve those great things.

‘I obviously turned him down and he fled before I could summon anyone. He did not attempt to duel or to hurt me. Instead, he told me I would regret my decision and he would give me a chance to change my mind. That night, I was summoned to the Ministry for an unexpected Auror training class. I don’t know to this day why I didn’t find it strange. I was ignorant then. I did not know how clever the Dark Lord was, I did not know the tricks he would use. When I arrived, there was no such class and I hastened back to our house. When I arrived, I could see the Dark Mark in the sky. Lenore and Edward had been murdered. A message had been written on the wall in some kind of blood, asking me to reconsider now.

‘I joined forces with Dumbledore the day after the funerals and pushed myself through Auror training. I kept my motivations secret and fought the Dark Arts in any way I could.

‘But for a long time after they died, I was a very angry man. I blamed myself for their deaths. I still do. Maybe I should have joined Voldemort. Maybe if I had, Lenore and Edward would still be here. Maybe I wouldn’t be here. Maybe we all wouldn’t be here.

‘But Harry, my point is, that blaming yourself and feeling guilty about things that could have been done different is not very healthy. I was so angry for so long, until Dumbledore helped me. Dumbledore knew the pain all too well and he helped me through a very dark time in my life. And that is why I am telling you this. Do not blame yourself for Ginny and Ron. Feel angry if you need to, cry and rant and rave. But do not ever blame yourself.’

Kingsley fell silent and sat back down at his desk and looked at Harry, all business.

‘Now, I have already spoken with Peggy and she is happy to continue acting in Hermione’s job until she comes back. I didn’t tell her what had happened, just explained that Hermione might not be back for a while. I have also spoken to Charlie and he is also happy to stay in your role.’

Harry nodded along, not really paying attention.

‘Obviously someone will need to be promoted into Ron’s job, but that can wait until you come back to work. You and Hermione can take as much time off as you want, and you can even work from home or only part time if that is what you want.’

Harry kept nodding.

‘I’ve written a statement,’ Kingsley said, handing over a sheet of parchment. ‘Just something very simple.’

Harry took hold of the parchment and read:

Ministry of Magic

Ministers Office

It is with great sadness that I advise of the sad and sudden passing of Mr Ronald Weasley and Mrs Ginny Potter.

Mr Weasley was known throughout our community as a talented Auror who had dedicated his life to the continued eradication of the Dark Arts. As well as his Auror duties, Mr Weasley was often seen at his brothers’ joke shop, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, in Diagon Alley.

Mr Weasley is survived by his wife, Mrs Hermione Weasley and their two children Rose and Hugo.

Mrs Potter will be remembered as one of our finest female Quidditch players. She wrote a regular column for the Daily Prophet, bringing insightful and thoughtful comments on everything from the weekend matches to the issue of illegal potions in competitive sport.

Mrs Potter is survived by her husband, Mr Harry Potter and their three children James, Albus and Lily.

The Potter and Weasley families have requested privacy in their time of grief. A private funeral and memorial service will be held for Mr Weasley and Mrs Potter.

Harry passed the parchment back over to Kingsley, nodding.

‘It’s fine,’ he said. ‘Thank you.’

‘It was no trouble.’

Harry stood up and shook Kingsley’s hand over the desk.

‘I’m sure I will see you soon.’

‘I’m sure you will.’

Harry headed over to the fireplace and took some Floo powder from the pot on the mantle piece and threw it into the fire. He stepped into the green flames and called ‘The Burrow’.

9. Nine

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: Sorry for the delay- meant to have this up earlier in the week but just didn’t get time! I hope you enjoy it! And as always, thank you to everyone who has reviewed and another prod for everyone to please review and tell me what you think (nicely, even if you don’t like it).

NINE

The first person Harry encountered on his arrival at the Burrow was Arthur Weasley. Harry found himself being hugged roughly by his father in law, before Molly came into the kitchen and collapsed in tears at the sight of Harry.

The entire Weasley family had closed ranks and the house was filled to breaking point. Bill and Fleur had arrived; Charlie had come over from Romania. George was there, as was Percy and their children. Teddy Lupin was even there, looking slightly uncomfortable, as if he was intruding on something he shouldn’t be.

Lily attached herself to Harry when he arrived, but Harry saw no sign of his two sons, nor of Hermione, Hugo and Rose. They were all gathered in the lounge room, everyone seemingly still in a state of shock. After a painful half an hour answering everyone’s questions, Harry managed to excuse himself from the group and his daughter and went searching for the others.

He found his sons out the front of the house, sitting in the long grass and staring into the distance. Albus looked as if he had done nothing but cry since he’d arrived, and James was still looking angry and hurt. He left them both there, with the thoughts and memories not dissimilar to what Harry had been having before leaving Spain. He made them promise to come inside soon.

Walking back inside, he headed straight up the stairs. He found his steps were getting slower and slower, until he stopped right outside Ginny’s bedroom. Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened the door and stepped over the threshold.

The smell of her perfume, the same floral one that she had worn for so many years, hit him straight away and tears sprung up straight away. Her bedroom was the same as it had been for years now. He always referred to it as her bedroom, but she would scold him.

‘It’s our bedroom,’ she would tell him. She had redecorated the room and bought a new bed, so that they would both be comfortable when they came to stay. And she had plastered the wall with family photos.

It was these photos that caught Harry’s attention and he slowly walked around the room, looking at each one of them carefully. Ginny was in every single one. Beside the bed were the photos Harry loved the most. They were the pictures he had taken when all three of the children had been born. Ginny was propped up in bed, nursing the small baby in her arms. In Albus’ photo, James was sitting next to his mother, looking at the new baby strangely. And in Lilys’ photo, both boys were with the two girls.

There was a photo in front of these photos, one Harry knew hadn’t been there the last time they had stayed in this room. He knew this, because he remembered when it had been taken and it was the last family photo.

The day before they had taken the kids to Kings Cross to catch the school train, Ginny had insisted on taking a family photo. She got all the kids to change into their Hogwart’s robes and she and Harry had put on nice robes and they had posed in the front hallway. It had become Ginny’s favourite photo and it could be seen pretty much everywhere. Harry knew there were at least three copies in their own house, not to mention in the small photo album Ginny had always carried with her. And she had sent a copy here to Molly and Arthur, which took pride of place on their mantle. Harry himself kept a copy on his desk. And now this copy, which Harry knew Ginny must’ve place there on her last visit before they went away.

‘Harry?’

He turned around and saw Hermione framed in the doorway. She smiled at him softly and headed into the room, taking hold of his hand.

‘I guess we should think about the funerals.’

~*~

Ron and Ginny were buried exactly a week and one day after they had died. Molly had chosen to bury them in the Ottery St Catchpole cemetery, next to Fred. All of their former classmates from Hogwarts attended and offered comfort to Harry and Hermione. The children’s friends and classmates from Hogwarts had been given the day off, and they stood together in sadness. Most of them knew Ron and Ginny, having spent days and sometimes weeks staying with their friends’ families.

Harry managed to speak, very briefly, but Hermione had stayed quiet. She stood in the front, wearing a long black veil to hide her tears and she kept a tight hold on Rose’s hand throughout the entire service and burial.

After the burial, they all made their way to the local pub. Food was spread on a table in the far corner and everyone laughed as they joked about Ron and his love of buffet style dining. All of the children made their way to the park next door, where the younger ones played on the swings and slides, whilst the older ones sat in corners in little groups and talked.

Harry made his way from person to person, being hugged and cried on. The reminiscences were flowing from each person and each memory, no matter the size, caused his heart to ache. He spotted Hermione, across the room from him doing the exact same and wearing a mask of pain that Harry hoped he was disguising better on his own face. Without being obvious, she smiled at him slightly through her pain, and tilted her head to a door beside the bar. Harry nodded and excused himself from one of his colleagues, who was in the middle of long winded story about working with Ron. He beat Hermione to the room

She entered the room, closed the door behind her and lent against it, sighing. Harry just smiled at her and they met in the middle of the room and hugged each other tightly.

‘Do you think they’d notice if we went for a minute?’ she asked him as they broke apart.

‘Why?’

‘I want to go back to the house,’ she said slowly, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. ‘I haven’t been to our house since we came back. And I know the kids would like to go there tonight. I just… I just don’t want to go alone.’

‘I’ll come with you,’ Harry said, taking hold of her hand and squeezing it in his own. ‘But only if you’ll do the same for me.’

Harry kept hold of her hand as she nodded and took another deep breath and they, without having to speak, they turned on the spot.

They landed on the sheltered front lawn of Hermione’s house. It was a simple, but elegant house and over the years Hermione had manicured the gardens to perfection. Hermione approached the front door and used her wand to unlock it.

‘George came over a few days ago,’ Hermione told Harry as he followed her through the door. ‘Opened up a few windows and aired it out.’

The inside looked the same as it had when they had left for their holiday. Ron had left the mail on the hall table and Hermione laughed as she picked it up.

‘I was always scolding him for leaving the mail here,’ she told Harry, putting the mail back where she’d picked it up.

They headed into the living room, then to the dining room and through to the kitchen. Harry started to smile, remembering the times he and Ron had shared drinks in this kitchen whilst the girls were chasing after the kids. He remembered standing in this kitchen, telling Ron that he was an uncle.

It was also in this kitchen that he and Ron had celebrated the births of Rose and Hugo. Harry could see his best friends face as if it had only just happened that morning. So excited he had been. After both had been born, it was hard to stop him thrusting photos of them under the noses of everyone he encountered.

After the kitchen, they went upstairs. Hermione opened the windows in Rose and Hugo’s rooms and closed off the door to Ron’s study, without going in.

‘I can’t deal with it yet,’ she said softly and Harry didn’t even think twice about it. He already knew that he would be doing the same with Ginny’s study at his own house very soon.

Standing on the threshold of her bedroom, Hermione felt her eyes welling up with tears. She turned to look at Harry, who stepped sideways into her study. She understood what he meant by it. This was something she had to do on her own.

Stepping inside, she saw that Ron had left his side of the wardrobe wide open, the contents spilling out. Like the mail, it was something that she had scolded him over so many times.

‘How can you expect the kids to keep their rooms clean if you can’t even manage it?’ she had said on so many occasions.

She now bitterly regretted all the tiny fights they’d had over the year about things like his wardrobe, or the mail. They didn’t seem worth it now.

His imprint was still on the pillows, sitting slightly askew on the bed. She wondered what it would be like to get into that bed, knowing that she would be sleeping alone for the rest of her life.

She opened the windows, as she had done in the other bedrooms, and made her way out. She had conquered her fear of returning to the house, the fear of the memories that it held. Walking into every room sliced her heart with a cold knife of loneliness and heartbreak, a feeling she knew would ease in time, as hard as it seemed right now.

And now it was time for Harry to make the same visit.

They disapparated from the front lawn to Harry’s front lawn. His walk around was a lot quicker than Hermione’s. They had a cleaning lady who came in twice a week, a nice old muggle woman from the nearby village who didn’t seem to notice the differences and oddities between a ‘normal’ house and the one she cleaned.

Hermione, exhausted by the emotions of seeing her own house, waiting in the lounge for him. She smiled at the memory of many a coffee shared in this room, sharing news and gossip. Harry didn’t know that Hermione had known about each of his children before he did. Ginny had confided in her each time, and for James, Hermione had even been there whilst Ginny did the test.

‘I can’t do it alone,’ she had told her fearfully.

Close to a year later, Hermione had understood that fear of the unknown and Ginny had been there for her.

Just as Ron had been for Harry, Ginny had always been there for Hermione.

Hermione wiped away the few tears that had escaped as Harry came back into the room, looking exhausted. Without saying a word, they held hands tightly and spun on the spot.

No one had noticed that they had been missing for a while when they returned to the pub. The kids had come in from the park and found their parents and everyone was starting to leave. Harry, Hermione, all of their kids and the rest of the Weasley’s made their way back to the Burrow, and used the Floo network from there to their-own houses.

10. Ten

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: I’m back! Wasn’t planning on updating until tomorrow, but I’m waiting for something cook and I thought whilst I’m waiting it would be the best chance to update for you all! As always, please review even if you’re not happy! There’s been some points bought up in the reviews that I am going to address- just haven’t had a chance yet! But for now, enjoy!

TEN

‘Hey Mum,’ Rose said to Hermione as they sat down to dinner. ‘Are we going to be putting up the Christmas decorations?’

Hermione stopped halfway into the dining room and looked at her daughter. Two weeks had passed since the funerals, three since Ron had died and Christmas was fast approaching. Normally the decorations would be out and the tree up, ready and waiting to be decorated when Rose and Hugo came home from Hogwarts.

‘I hadn’t thought about them,’ Hermione said honestly, sitting down and looking from Rose to Hugo. ‘Do you guys want to put them up?’

‘Maybe not as many,’ Hugo said sadly. ‘Dad won’t be here to put the Angel on the tree.’

‘Maybe you can put the Angel on the tree,’ Hermione suggested, her hand shaking slightly as she picked up her fork.

At once, she knew she had said one of the many things that upset the kids. Hugo sighed and put his own fork down and got up and left the dining room. Rose looked at her mother, her eyes filling with tears.

‘I hate this,’ Rose said softly, pushing her dinner aside and following her brother.

Hermione rested her head in her hands, rubbed her eyes and took several deep breaths. She had tried to make life normal for Rose and Hugo, as normal as it could be. She cried herself to sleep every night, but tried not to show too much emotion around the kids. She didn’t want them to know how much of a wreck she really was.

Having also lost her appetite, she used her wand to send the plates back into the kitchen and followed Rose and Hugo. Rose was in the lounge room, flipping through the assignments that Hogwarts had sent her. Hermione headed upstairs to Hugo’s room and found him sitting on his bed, staring at the wall.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, knocking on the door and entering the room, sitting on the bed beside her only son. ‘I know how much Dad putting the Angel on the tree meant to you.’

‘I don’t think we should do Christmas,’ Hugo said, looking away and wiping his eyes on his arm. ‘It won’t be right.’

‘No, it won’t be,’ Hermione said, nodding. ‘But not doing Christmas this year, we’re just delaying the sadness. It’ll be hard no matter when we do it, and if we leave it, it’ll get harder.’

‘Such a mum answer,’ Hugo said and Hermione laughed, and put an arm around his shoulder and hugged him.

‘So shoot me,’ she teased. ‘I’m not going to make you do something you don’t want to do.’

‘I know.’

She kissed the side of her son’s head and stood up, looking down at him.

‘We’re good?’

‘We’re good.’

He smiled at her, very slightly and stood up.

‘I’m going to go do some homework.’

Hermione followed him out of the room and stood at the top of the stairs and watched him as he walked down and went into the lounge room and sat on the floor in front of his sister, pulling a book and some parchment towards him. She watched them for a few minutes, before turning away and heading into her study. As she turned to shut the door, her eyes fell on the still closed door to Ron’s study.

She still hadn’t gone in.

A owl hooted softly as she closed the door and she smiled to see Nathaniel, Harry’s owl, sitting on the window sill. She approached slowly and untied the small scroll of parchment.

Hermione,

Same place, same time?

Harry

She put the letter down on her desk as Nathaniel flew out the window. She walked over to the door and opened it slightly and listened. Rose and Hugo were quiet. They wouldn’t notice she had gone.

She closed her eyes and turned on the spot. When she reopened her eyes, she was standing in a small park, beside a pond that in the daytime was filled with ducks, but was quiet at night.

Moments after she arrived, she heard a small pop and saw Harry walking towards her. They hugged, holding each other tight and then began to walk the path around the pond, holding hands.

‘How are you?’ Harry asked her.

‘As well as I can be,’ she said. ‘I feel like I’m smiling more. That’s a start, isn’t it?’

‘I guess,’ he said, shrugging his shoulders. ‘I went to work today.’

‘How did that go?’

‘It was strange. Everyone was great- they bought me up to date on everything and I got a memo out for people to apply for Ron’s position.’

‘I can’t even think about going to work,’ she said softly. ‘I’ve been wondering if I need to go back.’

‘Surely you guys would have enough savings in Gringott’s for you to be able to stay home for a while?’ Harry asked. Hermione nodded, marvelling at how easy it was to talk about personal things like money with Harry. Nothing was secret between them anymore. They needed each other too much to keep secrets.

‘I did some sums. If we’re very careful with our budget, I wouldn’t have to work again until the kids are out of Hogwarts. But I don’t want to be thinking about money too much, especially with the kids. I want them to enjoy themselves and I want to have the money there to do that.’

‘Would you sell the house at Ottery St Catchpole?’

‘No,’ she answered firmly. ‘Too many family memories. I could never sell it.’

‘I feel the same,’ Harry said truthfully. ‘Someone asked if I’d be moving into London now that I’m on my own.’

‘What did you say?’

‘That I’m not on my own,’ they both laughed. ‘Could you imagine the kids if I said we’d be living in London?’

‘James would kill you. How is he?’

‘He’s very angry. He takes his anger out on Albus a lot. I have to keep them separated. I set up the attic as a new bedroom for him, something bigger to give him more space, but he’s still carrying on. Albus spends most of his time hiding in his bedroom in terror. Lily is the only one he will listen to.’

‘He just needs time,’ Hermione said wisely. ‘Rose asked me if we were putting up the Christmas decorations still.’

‘And?’

‘I said if they want to, we will. I want to, I want to treat it like nothing has happened. Hugo was very upset when I suggest he hang the Angel. Ron always hung the Angel.’

‘You don’t have to plan everything. Just see what happens. Christmas is still a long way away,’ Harry said, checking his watch. ‘We should get back. I didn’t tell them I was going out, for all I know my house has been blown up.’

‘Tomorrow?’ Hermione asked.

‘I’ll owl you.’

Harry kissed her on the cheek and let go of her hand and turned on the spot. He apparated directly into his bedroom and straightaway could hear raised voices coming from down the hallway.

He headed down to Albus’s room and stood in the doorway. James was in there, towering over his younger brother.

‘Don’t touch my stuff!’ James yelled at Albus. ‘You always wreck it!’

‘It’s mine!’ Albus yelled back. ‘Mum gave it to me!’

‘Don’t lie!’ James’s voice hit a high pitch and Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. In his mind he could see a very different teenage boy yelling the same thing and he shuddered, and then felt disgusted for even comparing his son to Tom Riddle.

‘What’s going on?’ Harry asked and James jumped, startled.

‘James reckons that the Quidditch board game from mum last Christmas is his. But mum gave it to me.’

‘Your mother gave it to both of you,’ Harry said, looking between them. ‘James, was Albus already playing it?’

‘I was,’ James said haughtily. Harry looked at his youngest son, who was almost in tears. ‘And he plays it wrong and breaks it.’

‘Stop treating me like a five year old,’ Albus said to James, a sulk in his voice.

‘Stop acting like a five year old,’ James retorted.

‘Boys, enough,’ Harry said firmly, looking between them. ‘I don’t know what is causing this, but enough is enough. James, you need to start being nicer to Albus. And Albus, you need to start being nicer to James. You used to be so close and it hurts me to see you fighting all the time. And if your mother was here, it would be hurting her too.’

‘Yeah, well, thanks to you our mother isn’t here now, is she?’ James said fiercely to Harry, stalking past him and out of the room.

Harry was at a loss for words. He looked at Albus, who looked away.

‘Leave me alone, dad,’ he said and Harry backed out of the room.

He wandered through the house, ending up sitting in the sunroom. It was dark and cold sitting there, the only light was coming from the lounge room behind him.

It was here that Lily found him and she sat down next to her father and snuggled into him.

‘I hate it when the boys fight,’ she said sadly. ‘It makes me miss mum.’

‘Same here,’ Harry said, putting his arm around her so she could snuggle in closer.

‘Will they ever be friends again?’

‘I don’t know. I hope so.’

‘So do I. Cause we’ll need each other if we lose you too.’

Harry looked down at his daughter. She often said things that seemed too wise for someone so young. She was right though- more than anything, more than they needed their father or mother, the three of them needed each other.

And Harry hoped that the boys would realise this before it was too late.

11. Eleven

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: Hi all, apologies for the delay in this update!!! I’ve had one of those weeks this week and I had completely forgot to give you the next chapter!!! But it’s a nice long one, so I hope you like! And remember, please review no matter what you think!

ELEVEN

Three days before Christmas, the Weasley’s and Potter’s migrated to their homes near Ottery St Catchpole and settled in. Molly was awaiting both families when they arrived and held all of her grandchildren close. Teddy Lupin came with the Potter’s and soon after arriving managed to get James aside and take him on a long walk.

Teddy had been witness to a fight several days before between Harry and James and it concerned him. He and James had always been close friends, despite the age gap, and he was hoping he could say something that would make James realise how horrible he was being to his father and siblings.

‘Can’t believe we had to come here,’ James said when they were out of earshot of the other occupants of the house. ‘I wanted to stay at home, but dad said we had to come.’

‘Your dad’s right,’ Teddy said. ‘You did have to come. You have to keep everything normal.’

‘But nothing is normal,’ James looked pained as he looked at the older boy. ‘Teddy, I don’t know my father.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Teddy looked at him puzzled. ‘You know Harry.’

‘No, I mean I don’t know him. I don’t know what he likes, stuff like that. I don’t know his favourite song. Or colour. I don’t know about his life, aside from what’s in books. Dad’s always been a mystery to me.’

‘Why?’

‘He was never home,’ James said with a shrug. ‘When I was younger anyway. Once I started at the old muggle school that we went to before Hogwarts he seemed to be home more, but I was at school and stuff. That’s why dad’s always been a bit closer to Al and Lily. But mum was always around and there for me. And now she’s not.’

‘Have you tried to get to know him?’ Teddy suggested. James shrugged his shoulders.

‘Kinda figured it was too late. And besides, if it wasn’t for him, mum would still be alive,’ James said, sounding sulky. Teddy sighed and shook his head.

‘James, I get the anger. I get why you’re feeling the way you are.’

‘How can you?’

‘You’re forgetting I never had parents,’ Teddy said evenly and James rolled his eyes.

‘I’m so sick of hearing people say things like that,’ he said, kicking a stone that was visible through the snow. ‘What is it with your generation and mum and dad’s?’

‘It’s what happens when there’s been a war,’ Teddy said softly. ‘When I started Hogwarts, half of my class only had one parent. Sure, they had all remarried and they had a stepparent, but most had lost a mother or a father, most had never known them. I was the only one who had no parents. I never felt any different, until my fourth year. They had a parents day and I was embarrassed. I didn’t want to invite my grandmother and so I did the whole day on my own. And afterwards I was so angry. Angry at my parents. I know they died for a reason, but at the same time I thought that I should’ve been a good enough reason for them to not die. I was angry for a long time after that.’

‘What snapped you out of it? You’re not angry now.’

‘A couple of people,’ Teddy said, smiling. ‘Your dad for one. He reminded me that whilst I didn’t have a traditional set of parents, I had my grandmother and I had him and Ginny. Your dad was always good to me. And I’m glad- I wouldn’t be so close with you if he wasn’t.’

‘You’re like a big brother to us, Teddy,’ James told him. ‘I’ve almost corrected people at time when they’ve called me the eldest.’

‘And that’s why I’m glad I have you all,’ Teddy chuckled. ‘And the rest of the Weasley’s.’

‘You’ll always have the Weasley’s,’ James said with a grin. ‘Especially when you ‘make an honest woman’ out of Vic.’

‘Stop using extendable ears on your grandmother,’ Teddy said gruffly, but smiling anyway. ‘But as I was saying, you can’t stay angry forever.’

‘I can try,’ James said with typical teenage stubbornness.

‘You can, but in the end you’ll only hurt yourself,’ Teddy said wisely. ‘And it’s not too late to get to know your father. Just talk to him. You’ll be surprised.’

They had completed a full lap of the house and they walked back inside in silence. Harry was standing in the kitchen as they entered and he looked at Teddy curiously. Teddy shook his head and Harry knew that he shouldn’t ask what was going on, not yet anyway. James walked straight past him, into the lounge room where his siblings and cousins were setting up the Christmas tree that they had bought with them from home.

Teddy was about to say something to Harry, when the door into the lounge room burst open and Hermione came into the kitchen, carrying a tray full of empty mugs.

‘They seem to be enjoying themselves,’ she said airily, using her wand to send the mugs flying into the sink and start washing themselves.

Harry couldn’t explain it, but as he stood there, listening to Hermione talk about the decorating process going on in the next room, he felt an enormous wave of grief crash into him. He had been feeling better, despite the fact that it was the holiday season. Returning to work had helped a lot. But the reality of a Christmas without Ginny was suddenly daunting and the task of raising three kids alone seemed impossible. Harry knew he couldn’t stay in the kitchen any longer.

Without a word to Hermione or Teddy, he ran for the back door and out into the yard. And he didn’t stop running. It was incredibly hard to run through snow and it slowed him down a lot, but he didn’t care. He felt like he had the day after Ron and Ginny had died, felt the hot anger burning inside of him.

He reached the boundary fence and leant on it, sweat dripping from his forehead. He knew he shouldn’t stay outside, he wasn’t wearing anything to protect him from the cold and didn’t have his wand with him, but he didn’t care.

‘Harry?’ Hermione’s voice cut through the still air about half an hour later. Harry was still leaning against the fence, starting to feel incredibly cold.

‘Over here,’ Harry called back. He heard her footsteps and saw her standing there, holding his cloak. She handed it to him and he gratefully took it and swung it over his shoulders. ‘Thanks.’

‘Are you okay?’ she asked with concern. ‘Teddy is really worried. So was I.’

‘I’m fine,’ he said, trying to convince himself of that fact. ‘I just needed to get out of there.’

‘I understand,’ she said softly. ‘Why do you think I washed the mugs up? I had to get away from the decorating.’

‘The kids seem to be doing alright though,’ Harry said. ‘Except James.’

‘Teddy said he spoke to James,’ she told him as they started to walk together in the direction of the house. ‘He didn’t say what James said though. He’s really worried.’

‘I think it’ll do James good to go back to Hogwarts,’ Harry said, sighing. ‘He needs a normal life again. Not that it will ever be the normal he knew.’

‘I’m going back to work after Christmas,’ Hermione said after they’d walked along for several moments in silence. ‘I spoke to Kingsley. Peggy will work with me and I’ll just work what I feel like.’

‘Work’s the one thing that has kept me going,’ he told her honestly. ‘One of the best things I did was go back to work.’

They kept walking in silence. The house had come back into view and as they were making their way closer, light snow started to fall on them. Hermione laughed as she stopped and looked up to the sky, closing her eyes.

‘Ron and I would always go for a walk when we came to the village for Christmas,’ she explained to Harry, still looking up at the sky. ‘And without fail, it would start to snow on us as we got close to home.’

Harry found himself smiling too as he watched her. She sighed as she looked down and looked Harry in the face. It was the first time he had seen her smile happily since they had come home from Spain and he had forgotten how nice her smile was, how pretty she was when she did smile. Sure, she had smiled at times and it was slowly becoming more frequent. But nothing like this. Never just a truly happy smile.

He shook his head to clear these thoughts and they kept walking. They had to shake the snow out of their hair when they got inside and hung their cloaks on the hooks just inside the back door.

‘I guess we should check on the kids.’

~*~

Christmas Day dawned with the surprise of an extra foot of snow. Hermione had gotten up early to lay out the present for Rose and Hugo and instead of going back to bed, she had settled into the window seat in the lounge, watching the snow drift lazily past.

She had cried whilst setting out the presents. For thirteen years she had gotten up early to lay out the presents, with Ron beside her. And now she was doing it alone.

Rose and Hugo had asked to go visit Ron’s grave before they went to breakfast at the Burrow and whilst she had agreed to it, she was feeling uneasy. She hadn’t visited the grave yet. She couldn’t bring herself to do it.

‘Merry Christmas, mum,’ Rose said from the doorway, making Hermione jump slightly in fright. It was obvious that Rose had been crying and several minutes later when Hugo appeared, he had the same tear tracks as his sister.

They all cried together when they opened their presents. Hermione had given both of them something special that had belonged to their father and she was expecting the tears.

‘No more tears today,’ she said as they pulled on their cloaks and winter boots.

Both kids nodded and took hold of Hermione’s hands. She gripped them tightly and turned on the spot. Side-along apparation was never pleasant for any one involved and today was no different. She was glad it was so instant.

Rose and Hugo stood in front of Ron’s grave for a while and Hermione watched them from a distance. She wanted to give them their own time, and she wanted to have some of her own. After half an hour they both made their way over to the bench she was sitting on and hugged her.

She made her way to the grave, the gravestone looking even newer in the crisp white snow. She crouched down and traced her finger over his name and took a deep breath.

‘Hello,’ she said softly, feeling incredibly self-conscious. ‘I miss you so much, Ron. I miss seeing you and feeling you with me. I miss falling asleep beside you and waking up the same.

‘I wish I’d never wanted to go on holiday. I wish we’d just stayed home. Then I wouldn’t be here, talking to a piece of stone. I love you so much sweetheart. And even though you’re gone, I will always love you. I gave my heart to you.

‘Speaking of giving, I gave Hugo your watch for Christmas. I know you wanted to give it to him for his seventeenth birthday, I know its tradition, but I wanted to give it to him now. He needed something to take with him of yours. That’s why I gave Rose your wedding ring. She’ll wear it on the chain I put it on and take it everywhere with her. They needed a piece of you and I’m glad I did it.

‘We’re going now. Your mum has made breakfast for us, as usual. No doubt she will come down later, to see Fred and Ginny as well. I love you, Ron.

‘Goodbye.’

She stood up again and turned her back on the grave. It felt strange, but talking had done her good. She felt like she had now said goodbye to him properly. She made her way back over to Rose and Hugo and they disapparated together, to the Burrow.

It was as they vanished that Harry appeared, holding a small bouquet of flowers. He had sent James, Albus and Lily ahead to the Burrow, promising they could come later. Opening the presents had been hard enough for them, and James was still in his constant bad mood.

As he made his way to Ginny’s grave, beside Ron’s, he saw all the footprints and knew whom they belonged to.

As Hermione had done in front of Ron’s grave, Harry crouched down in the snow, placing the flowers directly in front of the headstone. He didn’t speak, he couldn’t find the words. He let the tears that he had been fighting back all morning sting his face and fall to the ground. He thought of everything that they had shared in their lives together.

He had been in love with Ginny for more than half his life and now she, like so many other people he had loved, was buried below him, under a blanket of snow. He couldn’t even bring himself to look at Ron’s grave.

‘Harry?’ a voice behind him said and he jumped. A woman was standing there, a woman he recognised but couldn’t place. It wasn’t until he saw the old man behind her that he realised.

‘Grace? Jack?’

‘Hello Harry,’ Jack said, warmly shaking Harry’s hand as Harry stood up. ‘We didn’t mean to interrupt you.’

‘What are you doing here?’ Harry asked in shock.

‘My wife was from the village,’ Jack explained. ‘Grace’s mum. We come back to England for Christmas every year, to see the other family members, and we always come out here to say hello. Strange coincidence that Ron and Ginny were from here too. Though we lived here for many years and never heard of the Weasley’s.’

‘They tend to keep to themselves,’ Harry said and Jack smiled at him.

‘As we should’ve done,’ Jack said apologetically. ‘Is Hermione in the village too?’

‘Yes,’ Harry answered. ‘We’ll both be around until New Years.’

‘There’s always a New Years party in the village pub, as you probably know. If you feel up to it, come and join us for a drink. I’ll shout,’ Jack added with a smile. ‘It’s the least I can do for the man who saved my Grace.’

‘We’ll try and make it,’ Harry said and both Jack and Grace smiled.

‘Excellent. Well, Merry Christmas, Harry.’

‘Merry Christmas Jack, and same to you Grace.’

‘Bye Harry,’ Grace said softly as they walked away towards the other side of the cemetery.

Harry crouched down in the snow again and ran his hand across the headstone.

‘Goodbye, Ginny.’

And then, after a quick look over his shoulder to make sure he couldn’t be seen, he disapparated.

12. Twelve

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: I’m back people! Hope you’re still enjoying reading this- I promise there is a few more twists and turns to come!

So as usual, please don’t forget to review! And if you don’t get an update next week, I do apologise, it just means I forgot to email myself the file as I’m actually going on holiday to see my oldest friend who just had a baby! So if you don’t hear anything from me next week, I promise the latest the next chapter will be will be next Sunday.

TWELVE

Christmas day passed quickly and as he Flooed home with his children, Harry felt as if it hadn’t been that much more different that usual. Molly had cooked up a storm and they’d all had fourth and fifth helpings of everything, and taken some home too. Harry believed he had an entire turkey sliced up and served in the containers of leftovers he had been forced into taking.

The children had all been spoilt with presents, including a hand-knitted sweater from their grandmother. Harry often marvelled at how Molly managed to do as much as she did- she knitted sweaters for each of her children and grandchildren.

Harry went straight into the kitchen with the leftovers when they arrived home and the children all slumped onto the soft chairs in the lounge room.

‘Why does Grandma cook so much?’ moaned Albus, undoing the belt buckle on his jeans and sighing heavily.

‘Well you chose to have seven helpings,’ James snapped.

Harry heard this exchange from the kitchen and just shook his head. Teddy had filled him in on his conversation with James and Harry was hoping that James would change his attitude. But no such luck- he had been just as angry and miserable and argumentative. Harry was starting to count down until the day that he put all three of them on the train back to Hogwarts. He loved his children dearly, but he needed a break from them.

‘Hot chocolate?’ he called out and heard nothing back. Instead, he flicked his wand at the kettle on the stove and when the water boiled, made himself a strong cup of black coffee.

He walked back into the lounge room and smiled. Lily had fallen asleep with her head in Albus’s lap. Albus looked as if he was fighting sleep, holding onto his sisters hand. James wasn’t in the room and Harry walked upstairs, looking into all of the rooms as he went. He found James laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

Harry knew better now than to go in and try and speak to James. Instead he kept walking into his own bedroom and shut the door. He had bought a few files with him that he wanted to review and whilst he knew it wasn’t very Christmas-y to do so tonight, he needed something to distract himself.

Setting the coffee down on the desk in the corner, he bent down to pick up his work bag.

‘Harry?’

He jumped whilst holding the work bag and papers went everywhere. He looked wildly around and saw Hermione’s head in the fireplace.

‘You scared the hell out of me,’ he growled, crouching down.

‘Sorry,’ she said, but with a smile. ‘I just wanted to get the rest of the story you were telling me.’

‘Which story?’

‘About Grace and Jack.’

‘Oh yeah,’ Harry had completely forgotten that he’d started to tell her about his encounter that morning. ‘They invited us to spend New Years with them at the village pub.’

‘I hadn’t even thought about New Years,’ Hermione said sadly.

‘Well, we’ve still got a few days. And I didn’t promise that we’d be there. We’ll see how we feel.’

‘I’m just glad we got through Christmas.’

‘Me too, Hermione. Me too.’

~*~

New Years came around a lot quicker than Harry was expecting. The morning of New Years Eve found Bill and Fleur offering to take James, Lily, Albus, Rose and Hugo up to Shell Cottage for the night. The kids all jumped at the chance to be by the sea, even if it was snowing and cold.

Harry and Hermione waved goodbye to them as they climbed into the fireplace and both sighed heavily once they were gone.

‘I do actually feel sorry for Bill and Fleur,’ Harry said with a small chuckle. ‘I hope James behaves himself.’

‘I’m sure he will- they wouldn’t dare misbehave for their favourite ‘cool’ uncle.’

‘So, about New Years,’ Harry said as they walked into the kitchen. Hermione sighed.

‘I guess it wouldn’t kill us to get out of the house for a bit,’ she said, shrugging her shoulders. ‘We can go see Jack and Grace, be polite and come home.’

‘Sounds like a good way to spend the night,’ Harry agreed. ‘Why don’t I come and meet you at your place, say at 7pm? You’re closer to the village then I am.’

‘I guess I’ll see you at 7.’

~*~

Harry dusted off his best pants and shirt that were stashed in the back of his cupboard and got dressed. He then pulled on his long muggle coat and walked to Hermione’s house and found her waiting outside.

‘You look nice,’ he said, giving her a brief hug and kiss on the cheek. She was wearing a long skirt with boots underneath and a jumper that he knew Molly had made.

It wasn’t that far from Hermione’s to the pub and the snow held off whilst they were walking. It was just starting to snow by the time they arrived and the party inside was in full swing.

Hermione found a table whilst Harry went to the bar and got drinks. He wove and ducked through the crowd to get back to her, trying not to spill the drinks and failing miserably, suddenly grateful that his shirt was dark coloured.

‘Here’s to the New Year,’ Hermione said, lifting her glass in a toast. Harry did the same and as the glasses connected, they heard a short, sharp laugh from behind.

‘Bad luck to toast the New Year before midnight,’ Jack said with a laugh. Grace was behind him, smiling widely at Harry and Hermione.

Jack and Grace joined them at the table and Harry was surprised at how quickly the time was going. The drinks kept flowing, and so did the conversation. Harry was fascinated by some of Jack’s stories. He kept looking at Hermione worriedly, but she seemed to be having as much fun as he was. By 11:30 the pub was really rocking and Harry’d had enough of sitting down.

‘Wanna dance?’ he asked Hermione who laughed.

‘I don’t dance!’

‘Oh yes you do,’ Harry said and they both laughed. ‘You’re a damn good dancer.’

She took a deep breath and held out her hand. He took it and led her out near the band that were playing, in the middle of the already dancing couples. The song changed as they got there and Hermione smiled even wider.

‘I used to dance to this song with my dad!’ she exclaimed, taking hold of Harry’s hand and pulling him closer.

Even though the song was a lively one, it called for close dancing and Harry just followed Hermione’s lead. He’d never really got the hang of the dancing thing.

The song ended on a high note and Hermione joined in the clapping. Jack and Grace had made their way over to them and they were holding out glasses of champagne for them.

‘Well, we’re about to begin the final countdown!’ the lead singer of the band called into the microphone. ‘Make sure you’ve got a drink and someone to kiss!’

Harry was suddenly very aware how close Grace was too him.

‘Ten!’

The tops of their arms were brushing.

‘Nine!’

She was starting to blush.

‘Eight!’

Hermione was staring furiously.

‘Seven!’

Jack had seemingly vanished into the swelling crowd.

‘Six!’

Harry was starting to feel uncomfortable.

‘Five!’

Grace had started to turn towards him.

‘Four!’

Hermione took a step closer to him.

‘Three!’

Harry wished he wasn’t in a room full of muggles so he could grab Hermione and disapparate.

‘Two!’

Grace was way to close.

‘ONE!’ the singer called and streamers exploded everywhere.

‘Happy New Year!’ chorused around the pub as couples began to kiss.

Even though Harry knew it was coming, he wasn’t quick enough to duck out of the way as Grace came in for a kiss. Their lips met, and almost as quickly they were parted and Harry saw an arm go flying past his face.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Grace spat, straightening herself and glaring at Hermione, clutching the side of her face.

‘What do I think I’m doing? What do you think you’re doing?’ Hermione said fiercely. ‘Harry’s wife only just died, and you’re making a move?’

‘Making a move?’ Grace laughed. Harry, sensing danger and the eyes of the entire pub on them, grabbed Hermione’s still outstretched arm.

‘Let’s go, Hermione,’ he said. He half dragged her across the pub to get their jackets and then out the door into the snow.

‘That bitch,’ she growled as they got outside. ‘Who does she think she is?’

‘Did you have to punch her?’ Harry asked, stopping Hermione and staring her in the face.

‘So you wanted her to kiss you?’

‘No,’ Harry said honestly. ‘But there was a better way to handle the situation!’

‘Well you didn’t seem to want to handle it,’ she snapped. ‘You were just going to let her do it!’

‘Is it that big of a deal?’ Harry asked. Hermione shot daggers at him. ‘I saved her life, Hermione.’

‘So that gives her free reign?’

‘No! But it does change things slightly!’

‘How? How does saving her life change things ‘slightly’?’

‘I don’t know, it just does!’

‘Harry, you don’t even know this woman!’

‘Neither do you! And you just almost knocked her out!’

‘Should’ve just hexed her.’

‘Hermione!’ Harry exclaimed. He hadn’t seen her like this in years, and he was pleased he hadn’t.

They walked along in silence, back to Hermione’s. He walked her to the door and she stopped in the doorway and looked sheepish.

‘I guess I did kinda over-react,’ she said simply, kissing Harry on the cheek and opening the door. ‘Night, Harry.’

Harry walked away, feeling confused. Why did it not bother him so much that Grace had tried to kiss him? He stopped walking for a moment and counted slowly in his head.

Over the course of the night he’d had twelve drinks of different natures. Could it be the alcohol coursing through his system that was helping block the reality of the situation? Could it be the alcohol helping him not feel guilty? Certainly the more he drank, the less he thought about Ginny. Was that a good thing? Did he want to think about her less?

He mulled this over as he continued to walk to his own house. The longer he walked the more convinced he was of the alcohols influence- he was starting to feel angry with Grace, even though he hardly knew her and would probably never see her again. Yes, he had saved her life, but as Hermione said, it didn’t give her free reign. She should’ve respected that he had just lost his wife.

And he knew that Hermione’s reaction, whilst extreme, had been justified. It was just strange to know that it took him so long after the actual thing for him to come to this conclusion, and that made him even more confused.

Mind spinning, Harry collapsed onto the bed as soon as he got home and within minutes, had slipped into a deep sleep.

13. Thirteen

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, I’m a lot later than I thought I was going to be with this!!! I’ve been flat out since coming back from holiday. But the best part for you guys is that now it’s a shorter wait from this update to the next!!!

As always, please review even if you don’t like what I’m doing- just please be nice is all I ask for!

THIRTEEN

‘Don’t forget to write!’ Hermione called to Rose as she and Hugo leaned out the window of the Hogwarts Express. Steam was rising in the cold morning air and two windows down from Rose and Hugo, Lily and Albus leaned out and waved to Harry.

‘Behave yourselves!’ Harry called and they laughed. Behind them, he could see James sitting down, obviously sulking. James had tried to tell Harry that morning that he wasn’t going back to school, but Harry had forced him out the door and into the car.

‘I hate you,’ had been the last words he’d spoken all morning.

He and Hermione waved until the train was out of sight and they simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief, causing them both to giggle slightly.

‘I’ll see you at work?’ he asked her, seriously. She nodded.

‘Yes, yes I’ll be there.’

He smiled at her as he disapparated into his office. He found himself sighing as the room came into view, as the pile of reports on his desk had grown since the previous day when he had left it. He sat down in his chair and immediately contemplated going to find a strong cup of coffee.

‘Morning, Harry,’ Charlie Cassidy said from the doorway, with a big smile on his face and two tall coffee cups.

‘Oh, hey Charlie,’ Harry replied, silently complaining that Charlie was so good at his job that he knew to bring coffee.

Charlie was Ron’s replacement as second in charge. He had filled in for Ron and Harry both on so many occasions that when Harry had to make the decision to replace Ron the only hard part was knowing he wouldn’t be working with Ron anymore. He was very comfortable working with Charlie, though he missed his best friend every day at this time.

‘Kids get back to school ok?’ Charlie asked, handing over one of the coffees and sitting down in front of Harry’s desk.

‘Yeah, fine, just fine,’ Harry sighed. If Ron was here, he’d be able to get his worries about James off his chest.

Although, if Ron was here, Ginny would be too and there would be no worries about James.

They got down to work then, reviewing all the reports that had been completed on various incidents, making a pile of incidents to bump right back to the Magical Law Enforcers.

‘I swear sometimes they just don’t want to work,’ Charlie said grumpily as he added a twelfth incident folder to the pile. ‘There is no need for any of these to make their way up to us.’

‘Hermione comes back today,’ Harry said, not looking up from the report he was going over. ‘I’ll get her to have a word around the department and get it straightened out.’

They went back to work and barely ten minutes had passed when there was a knock on the door.

‘Excuse me, Mr Potter?’

Harry looked up and saw Peggy, Hermione’s fill in, standing in the doorway looking nervous.

‘Yes, Peggy?’

‘Mrs Weasley said that I was to come to you today if she didn’t come in.’

‘Hermione’s not here yet?’ Peggy shook her head.

‘She said you’d get her here if she didn’t come. And I need her here- she’s got a meeting with the Minister in three hours.’

Harry knew that Kingsley wouldn’t care if Hermione had to reschedule, but they all pretended that they weren’t as close as they all really were and Kingsley didn’t like to be seen publicly showing favouritism.

‘Charlie, will you be right if I go?’

‘No sweat, Harry,’ Charlie said picking up the remainder of the pile that they hadn’t gone through. ‘I’ll pass these back when I’ve done my signing.’

Charlie and Peggy left and Harry disapparated straight away. He marched straight up Hermione’s front path, through the front door and stood in the entryway.

‘Hermione?’ He called. He heard muffled noises coming from the lounge room. ‘Hermione, what’s going on?’

The muffled noises turned into something being banged hard on the floor. He raced through the small foyer and through the open door into the lounge room.

The massive Christmas tree that stood in the corner beside the fireplace had fallen over and from underneath, Harry could see one of Hermione’s arms, banging a large wooden ornament on the floor.

‘Shit, Hermione, what happened?’ he said, getting down on the floor and taking hold of her hand. ‘I’ll get this off you.’

He pulled his wand out of the inside of his robes and pointed it at the tree. As he waved it, he could’ve sworn he heard her mumble ‘swish and flick’.

As he silently said ‘wingardium levoisa’, the tree rose into the air and he manoeuvred it so that it went back to where it belonged. As soon as he put it down, he dropped to his knees again and rolled Hermione onto her back.

‘Are you alright?’

‘I’m fine,’ she gasped, wincing and placing a hand to her chest. ‘Think I broke a rib.’

‘That’s not fine,’ he grumbled at her. ‘How did this happen?’

‘I wanted to put the decorations away,’ she said miserably. ‘I wasn’t really thinking all to well and I guess my charm to remove them all was too strong and everything just toppled over.’

‘You shouldn’t have done it alone.’

‘I know,’ she said sheepishly. ‘But I was trying to put off going to work.’

Harry laughed.

‘Well, you’ve done that now!’

~*~

After much debate, Harry managed to get Hermione to consent to going to the doctor in her village- despite how long she had been involved in the magical world, she still believed that magic and medicine didn’t mix and didn’t trust the healers at St Mungos. The doctor confirmed that the rib was broken and sent her home with some pain killers and a warning about over doing herself. Harry sent an owl to Kingsley, Peggy and Charlie explaining to them what had happened (leaving out how it had happened, to spare Hermione the embarrassment) and then set about getting Hermione comfortable.

‘I feel like an idiot,’ she moaned as Harry tucked her into bed and handed her some of the pain killers.

‘Well, you are an idiot,’ he said simply, but with a small smile. The smile vanished when he sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her seriously. ‘I think you should come stay with me.’

Hermione looked at him, confused.

‘I think, for a little while anyway, that you should come stay with me at Grimmauld Place.’

‘Why?’

‘Hermione, you’ve been alone for one day and you could have died. Now I know a Christmas tree isn’t always going to fall on you, but had you not said anything to Peggy, warning her that you might chicken out of coming to work, I wouldn’t have found you for another five, maybe six hours.’

She looked away from him.

‘I know you want to be here, where you have all your memories of Ron. But I want you to be safe and right now, the only solution I have is both of us staying at Grimmauld Place. Just a temporary thing. Just until we’re a bit more used to this whole ‘being alone’ thing.’

She still didn’t look at him, but he knew she was crying.

‘I’m going to go home and get some stuff, and I’ll be back in a little bit. I’ll sleep on the lounge tonight, just to be near you.’

He patted her gently on the leg and was at the bedroom door before he heard her speak softly.

‘You’re right,’ he looked back at her and she was staring at him blankly. ‘Thank you, Harry.’

~*~

Hermione moved some of her things into Harry’s a week after the Christmas tree incident. He had cleared out two of the bedrooms on the second floor for her use and helped her settle in. He was using the top two bedrooms that had once belonged to Sirius and Regulus.

She felt slightly guilty as she packed her things, but she knew it was only a temporary thing. It was going to be so temporary that she wasn’t even going to tell Rose and Hugo. They didn’t need to know.

Two weeks after the accident, she finally returned to work. In many ways it was a relief. She didn’t realise how much of a distraction it was and before too long she was bringing arm fulls of files home with her to review and was dictating letters to her quill at the same time.

This is what she was doing in late April when Harry knocked on the door to the bedroom she’d turned into an office and waited for her to finish her letter.

‘Sorry to interrupt,’ he said with a smile. She smiled back at him, brushing a loose piece of hair out of her face.

‘I needed a quick break,’ she told him, picking up her coffee cup. One sip told her that it was cold, so she grabbed her wand and heated it up quickly.

‘I had a thought today.’

‘That could be dangerous.’

‘Well, it could be,’ she looked at him oddly. ‘I was thinking that we should go out to dinner.’

She choked on her coffee.

‘What?’

‘I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of eating quick meals and leftovers. And the last few weeks, I’ve actually felt inclined to do something other than be at home.’

He didn’t tell her that he’d been leaving work early every day for a month now to have a quiet drink at the Leaky Cauldron. It was comforting to be there, around other people and just socialise. Since November his life had revolved around his grief and somehow by being out with people, it eased it slightly. And in the back of his mind he knew that every drink was bringing him some peace, was dulling the things that kept him up at night. It made him feel good and helped him to sleep every night.

‘Harry… I don’t think I’m ready,’ she said quietly. ‘If I’m not working, all I do is think about...’

‘Which is why I think this would be good for you,’ he urged. She looked at him, her eyes full of worry.

‘I’ll think about it.’

14. Fourteen

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.’

15. Fifteen

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: I’m back and I’m actually early!!! Not really much to say here, just a huge thanks to those who are reviewing- you make my day!!!

FIFTEEN

Harry and Hermione were both sitting in the kitchen when Neville appeared in the fireplace. They’d both had a horrendous day at work, fighting off the rumours. They had separately sent out a statement that the report was entirely false.

Neville’s appearance shocked them at first, until he started to speak.

‘I’ve just had James in here,’ he said and then ran through the conversation they’d had. Harry swore under his breath and Hermione went pale.

‘Should we come up there and talk to all the kids?’ Hermione asked. Neville shook his head.

‘I think that this guy from the paper is thinking you’ll do that,’ he said grimly. ‘I’ve had reports that he’s staying in Hogsmeade. Obviously waiting for you to appear. And if you both come to talk to your kids, he’ll write a new story that you’ve come clean to the children about their new family life.’

Harry was amazed at how easily Neville could come to the same conclusion as Harry had. He hadn’t told Hermione that he’d dispatched two Auror’s to follow Meyer’s and find out everything they could from his past. They had reported to him that afternoon that they had tracked him to Hogsmeade and Harry had immediately known what he was planning.

‘So,’ Neville said, a small grin on his face. ‘Is there any truth to any of this?’

‘Of course not,’ Hermione snapped. ‘My husband died almost 5 months ago, I’m not going to move onto his best friend and brother in law.’

‘Just thought I’d check,’ Neville said apologetically. ‘Look, I’ll get all the kids up here tomorrow. You can speak to them all at once, or just to your own. But you need to speak to them as soon as possible.’

Neville left the fireplace then and they both took their seats at the table again. Harry summoned a bottle of Firewhiskey and poured himself a generous amount.

‘Why did he have to publish this today?’ he wondered out loud. ‘Why not Saturday or Sunday? It would have been easier to deal with then.’

‘Because he’s a twerp,’ Hermione said. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you recognised the photographer?’

‘Because I hoped it would be nothing,’ Harry sighed. ‘I hoped he hadn’t gotten anything too good and that something else would take precedence. Obviously not.’

‘I guess we just have to ride this storm out,’ she said as Harry finished his Firewhiskey and poured another.

~*~

By the end of that week the storm had passed. To everyone’s relief, one of the members of an up and coming band had been caught in a compromising position with his step-mother and by the following weekend, it was all everyone could talk about.

They had separately spoken to their children and assured them that it was all lies and that nothing was going on. James had been fairly silent throughout the chat with his father, but Harry was so used to that now that it didn’t even bother him.

It was Sunday night and Hermione was in the drawing room watching as the sun was slowly setting. She’d finished all the work she’d bought home with her for the weekend and it was whilst she was relaxing with one of the many books that could be found around Grimmauld place that she realised that she hadn’t seen Harry since dinner on Friday night. It amazed her that she could go several days without seeing him. But she was staying up late, working and sleeping late in the morning. It was easy enough to miss each other, if he left late and came home even later.

Despite what he had said at their dinner the previous week, she was starting to worry about him. The night that the story about them had come out, she had found him still at the kitchen table the next morning with two empty bottles of Firewhiskey. And she knew he was frequenting the Leaky Cauldron a lot. It had been worrying her for a while now.

She sighed heavily and put her book down. As if on cue, the front door opened and closed and she heard heavy footsteps on the stairs. She hadn’t lit any lamps yet and she watched from the darkness as Harry stumbled past the door. She waited and then followed and watched him make his way up to the top floor and into the room he was using as his bedroom.

She didn’t mention this to Harry and he never said anything to her either. It made her sad to think that he couldn’t come to her. She felt guilty too. Was it her presence and trying to make her feel better that had made him go down this path?

They went about their lives as they had done and on Wednesday, Hermione received an urgent memo from Kingsley, requesting her presence immediately.

‘What’s up?’ she asked as she closed the door to his office and took a seat.

‘Boone Campbell, our ambassador in Australia has quit,’ Kingsley explained. ‘Effective of the 1st of September.’

‘Why so much notice?’

‘Because he knows how long it can take to fill an ambassador’s position permanently.’

‘And how long is it exactly?’ Hermione asked.

‘It can take up to a year,’ Kingsley sighed. ‘We can get people to relieve in the role, but a permanent ambassador has to be approved by the country they will be residing in. And that process can take a while, depending on the country. Australia, thank heavens, is pretty quick. But from when he departs in September it will be at least Christmas before the permanent person can be fully approved and start.’

‘And why are you telling me this?’ Hermione enquired.

‘Because the person who takes the role cannot act in the role whilst they’re going through the approval process,’ Kingsley explained. ‘Now I’ve got someone in mind for the job on a permanent basis, but I need someone that I could send for those few months after Boone leaves.’

‘And that’s why you summoned me,’ Hermione filled in the blanks.

‘I know it’s a big ask,’ Kingsley looked at her with concern. ‘But I know in the time period in question, the children will be at school. And I think it would do you good to do something different for a while.

‘I’ll have to think about it,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘And discuss this with the children. When do you need to know.’

‘I hate to put pressure on you,’ he said, looking slightly worried. ‘But I need to know by the end of the week.’

~*~

Hermione went home early that day. Instead of returning to Grimmauld Place, she went to her own house. She had made a point of returning at least once a week, to keep it looking habited so that Rose and Hugo wouldn’t suspect that she hadn’t been living there.

She wandered through the hallways and rooms, using her wand to clear dust and cobwebs and thought about the offer that had been made to her. Long ago Kingsley had tried to get Hermione to take on a stronger role in international wizarding politics, but she had refused. She had been pregnant with Hugo at the time and she was hoping she could be the sort of mother who was around for her kids, even though she had to work.

Entering Ron’s study she sat down in his chair and looked around. She didn’t know why for so long she had refused to come in here. She had only dared to after the whole Prophet fiasco and she had found it oddly comforting to be surrounded by a room that was completely Ron. If it were possible for a room to be the embodiment of a person, this room was it for Ron.

This was only her third visit to the room and she hadn’t yet touched anything in it. It still felt too raw to even think about touching and moving his things. She knew she wouldn’t be able to do it for a long time. But she also knew now that it was ok to not do it. You didn’t have to remove the person from your life completely. Everyone was full of advice on what was best to do, but most of those people had never been in her shoes. And she was dealing a lot better now.

And so she sat, staring out the window over the immaculate gardens, thinking about the offer Kingsley had made her. She knew that Rose and Hugo would be fine if she went- they would be in school, after all, and Harry was around if they needed something urgently.

Harry.

Hermione sighed as she thought of him. Over the last few days, she had been thinking about what he had said at dinner, and also thinking about things he had done. And she had realised, to her shock, that for the first time since November she wasn’t the one who needed caring for. It had also been a shock to her to realise how much she had been leaning on Harry, now that she didn’t need him so much.

It was Harry who needed caring for now. And it was she that he would need to lean on. She had run into Hannah in Diagon Alley just that morning and Hannah had expressed her concern over Harry and his habits at the Leaky Cauldron.

‘He’s in the Cauldron every day,’ Hannah had told her. ‘He comes in every afternoon, about an hour before most people at the Ministry finish. And lately he’s started to come in at lunch.’

Hermione had known since Kingsley had spoken to her that Harry would take the news hardest. And it was Harry she was most worried about talking too.

It was dark when she finally decided to go back to London. She decided to use the Floo and when she arrived in the kitchen of Grimmauld place, she went to the cupboard where they kept the clothes brush.

Opening the cupboard, she stared in shock. She hadn’t used the Floo into Grimmauld place for a while, so hadn’t needed the clothes brush. But the small cupboard was full of empty bottles. Firewhisky, mead and butterbeer. She couldn’t even see the clothes brush.

She closed the cupboard and took a deep breath. She was going to have to say something now.

If Harry came home.

16. Sixteen

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: Only a short one today, sorry guys!!! And I’ve had it sitting here ready to go for like 2 weeks now, I just haven’t gotten around to posting it!!! To make it up to you, I will post the next chapter once you’ve had a chance to digest this one!!!

As always, please leave me any comments- just be nice!!!

SIXTEEN

The sound of the front door closing startled Hermione into action. With a quick wave of her wand the pots on the stove began to bubble and steam. She heard footsteps on the stairs and turned around at the exact moment that Harry walked into the basement.

‘Thought I’d make something nice for dinner,’ she said brightly, sending plates and cutlery to the table.

‘Oh, that’s nice,’ Harry said with a smile. ‘Anything I can do to help?’

‘Just sit down, it’s ready,’ she said as the big pots soared through the air and landed gracefully on the table. ‘It’s not much, just a stew and some extra vegetables.’

‘It smells delicious,’ Harry said serving himself a large plateful. Hermione sat down and waited for Harry to finish before she served herself.

‘Late night at the office?’ she asked. Harry smiled.

‘Yeah, we’re trying out a few new procedures and they’re taking a bit longer to adjust too,’ Harry said, feeling uncomfortable at the lie.

‘Sounds like fun,’ she said, brightly. ‘I had a meeting with Kingsley today.’

‘Oh yeah?’

‘Yeah,’ she stopped eating and looked across the table at him. ‘He’s asked me to go to Australia for three and a half months.’

Harry choked on a sprout.

‘What?’ he spluttered, staring at her incredulously. ‘What did you say?’

‘Yes,’ she said simply. She had decided this whilst waiting for Harry and didn’t bother to mention that she hadn’t told Kingsley her answer yet, nor spoken to Rose and Hugo.

‘That’s a big decision,’ Harry said slowly. ‘And a big move. Are you sure you’re up for it?’

‘I spent the afternoon thinking about it,’ she said with a shrug of her shoulders. ‘I think it’s the right thing for me to do at this moment in time.’

Harry opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again. They ate in silence for a few moments.

‘I went to get the clothes brush today,’ Hermione said airily.

‘Oh,’ was all Harry said. She knew instantly that he knew what she was talking about.

‘What are all those bottles in the cupboard?’

‘Oh, old rubbish,’ Harry said quickly. ‘I moved them in there a few weeks ago, meaning to throw them out. But I’d forgotten about them.’

‘Well there’s a reasonable explanation,’ Hermione muttered to herself as Harry filled his mouth to render conversation impossible.

They finished dinner in silence.

~*~

Later that night, Hermione was in her office and Harry knocked on her door and came in. He stood in the doorway silently for a few moments, watching her.

‘Are you really going to Australia?’

She looked up from the big, fat book she was scouring through for a little known fact and nodded.

‘I’m leaving September 1st. After the kids have gone back to Hogwarts.’

‘I just can’t believe you’d leave,’ Harry said, perching himself on the edge of her desk.

‘It’s not forever,’ she assured him. ‘Just until Christmas. Kingsley promised me that I would be back before Hogwarts broke up for the holidays.’

‘Of course he tells you it’s not forever,’ Harry said bitterly. ‘It’s how it always starts out. And then before you know it, it’ll just keep being extended until you’ve been in Australia for half your life.’

‘It won’t be like that,’ she said. ‘I’ll be acting as ambassador, I have to go by Christmas as that’s when the replacement will be taking over.’

‘I still don’t like it,’ Harry said arrogantly. ‘I don’t think you should go.’

‘Well, I am,’ Hermione said shortly. ‘So just deal with it.’

‘Just deal with it?’ he spat back at her. ‘Wow, what supportive words.’

‘I shouldn’t be giving you supportive words,’ she said rudely. ‘You should be saying them to me.’

‘Well, I’m sorry. I’m sorry if all that I’ve done for the last few months is give you support. I’m sorry if I’m feeling like you’re throwing everything back in my face by running off to Australia. I’m sorry if I feel like you’re running away from things that need to be dealt with.’

‘WHAT!’ Hermione dropped her book and stood up in her anger. ‘We’ve supported each other, Harry. And yes, I did need more help at first. But guess what? I’m doing better than you are now. And you hate me because I’m ready to do something like this and you’re not. I’m not throwing everything back in your face- if it wasn’t for you I would be in no condition right now to even think about leaving the house. I will be forever grateful to you, for helping me how you have. And I am not running away. I’ve accepted the cards that fate dealt me and I’ve realised that I can’t stop myself from being happy, just because Ron isn’t here to be happy with me.’

They stared at each other angrily.

‘Face the truth, Harry,’ she said bitterly. ‘You’re losing it. You’ve talked yourself into being confident and happy and putting this brave face on, but you’re none of it. The only way you can deal right now is to drink yourself into a stupor.’

Harry just stared at her.

‘Yeah, I know about it. Cleaning out old bottles, Harry? How stupid do you think I am? Does it block out the pain, Harry? Or does it make you see Ginny? Or both?’

Harry didn’t answer, he just walked out of the room, slamming the door as he did.

~*~

Hermione could not remember that last time she and Harry were at such odds with each other. Sure, they’d had their fights when they were teenagers, but it was nothing like this. She felt bad about some of the things she had said, but she had meant every single one of them. And he needed to hear them. After two weeks of cold shoulders and complete silence, Hermione’d had enough.

‘I’m moving back to my house,’ she said to him as they passed each other on the stairs.

‘Ok,’ was all he said.

Frustrated, Hermione resisted the urge to slam the door. Downstairs, she heard the front slam. Obviously Harry wasn’t able to resist urges as well as she could. It made her feel slightly smug.

Out on the street, Harry regretted slamming the door as soon as he’d done it, but he couldn’t change it. Besides, he was angry at Hermione and door slamming suited his anger just fine.

He couldn’t believe she was going to Australia, but he also couldn’t believe how angry he was about the whole thing, especially about the things she had said to him the other night. He knew it was a fantastic opportunity for her and he was incredibly happy for her.

But he was most angry over how long she would be gone for. She would be gone for three and a half months, and in that time was the anniversary of their trip to Spain.

And more than anything Harry was dreading spending that day on his own. Harry knew she had been right when she had bought up his drinking. It hadn’t started out this way, but the more he drank, the less pain he felt. He couldn’t get through the day without something to block the pain. He’d pushed it away for too long, tried to focus on helping her and his kids. It was now coming back to bite him.

Slowly he made his way through the muggle streets to the main shopping area. There was a pub here that he’d been enjoying coming too, ever since he figured out that Hannah was paying attention to his visiting habits at the Leaky Cauldron.

It was here that he would stay, completely unaware that several blocks away Hermione was doing what she had said she would.

It took him three days to notice that she was gone.

17. Seventeen

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: I apologise for the delay- I swear I’m getting worse at this!!! I’ll sit down and review a chapter, make any amendments needed and then start writing my notes, get distracted and then forget for a few days!!!

But I hope the wait is worth it for you.

As always, please leave any comments, just remember to play nice. If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all (I don’t even know why I keep putting this, cause all my reviewers so far have been WONDERFUL and I promise that soon I will respond to some comments that have been left, just haven’t had time to go through them!).

SEVENTEEN

Hermione hadn’t realised that living at her own house would be as easy as it became. She didn’t know what made her cry more the first night she returned- missing Ron or missing Harry.

The next few weeks passed slowly. When Hermione woke up on the morning that the kids would be coming home from Hogwarts it felt like it had been an eternity since she had left Harry’s house.

They hadn’t spoken since that night. Several times, she had tried to approach his office at work, but just found she couldn’t. And she knew she needed too- Harry needed her more than ever and she couldn’t even bear to look at him.

The train wouldn’t arrive until late in the day, so she spent the morning tidying up the house and making sure they would feel comfortable when they got home. She had stocked up on all their favourite foods and would spend the next two weeks cooking all their favourite dinners.

She drove into London and got parking right out the front of Kings Cross. There were hoards of other Hogwarts parents crowding in front of the barrier to Platform 9 ¾ and she wondered, as she always did, what the muggles must think of this one day of every year, with all the strange people hanging around.

The students began appearing in dribs and drabs and happy reunions were taking place all around her.

‘MUM!’

She smiled widely as Rose and Hugo appeared and ran towards her. She had a sudden longing for the days when they were smaller and able to be scooped up into her arms. Instead she had to settle for hugging them each in turn.

‘How was the trip?’ she asked them as they began wheeling the trunks and owls towards the exit, very slowly as they were caught in a crush of people.

‘The usual,’ Rose said boredly. ‘We sat with James, Al and Lily. And of course, James and Al fought the whole way.’

‘They’re still fighting?’ Hermione asked.

‘It’s getting worse,’ Hugo moaned. ‘James found out that Al has a crush on Lucy Wool, and he’s been teasing him non-stop.’

‘But Al’s giving it back just as good,’ Rose reminded her brother and then looked at her mother. ‘Al somehow found out that James has a girlfriend, that none of us knew about. He won’t tell us much, but every time James starts on him, he just says that he knows his secret and James shuts up for a minute.’

‘Good lord,’ Hermione said with a laugh. She had forgotten what it was like to be a teenager and have raging hormones, and the fact that they had been the exact same at that age. She still remembered when Percy and Penelope had started being boyfriend and girlfriend in her second year, and how immature they had all been about it.

‘Uncle Harry!’ Hugo called out suddenly and broke into a run, forcing his way through the crowd. Hermione looked up and saw Harry just coming into the station. Harry hugged the boy quickly and then looked up at Hermione.

‘You’re late,’ Rose said to him. He laughed.

‘Got held up at work,’ he told the girl and she rolled her eyes.

‘It’s a Saturday, Uncle Harry.’

‘And I work some Saturday’s, silly,’ he said with a smile. ‘Have James, Al and Lil got through the barrier yet?’

‘They were just behind us,’ Hugo told him.

‘We’ve got to get going,’ Hermione said to Harry, then looked at her kids. They looked at her curiously, but didn’t say anything.

They took off out the front and Harry headed through the station and got to the barrier as the last of the students were coming through. Standing to one side were James, Al and Lily, looking around anxiously for their father.

‘Well, what are you waiting for?’ he said loudly as he approached them. Lily’s face lit up into a massive grin and she ran to him, hugging him tightly.

‘Nice way to show up one time,’ James said sarcastically.

‘Leave him alone,’ Albus said. ‘He probably got caught in traffic.’

‘Lovely to see you too, James,’ Harry said, already feeling worn out. ‘Shall we go?’

The Potter’s trooped through the station, Lily not letting go of her father the whole way to the car. Harry kept looking over his shoulder at his sons, marvelling at how much they’d changed. James had grown up a lot since Harry had last seen him and it made Harry sad that his oldest son was becoming a man.

James and Albus managed to keep the peace in the car and it wasn’t until they were upstairs unpacking that the fights started.

‘Oh just leave me alone, James!’ Albus bellowed. Harry was in the kitchen with Lily and she just rolled her eyes.

‘Don’t even bother, dad,’ she said. ‘This is normal.’

‘They fight like this at school?’

‘Maybe a little bit worse,’ Lily said with a shrug. ‘James moved out of the tower for a month, just after Easter.’

‘Why did none of you tell me this?’ Harry asked, astounded.

‘Wasn’t my place, dad,’ Lily said simply. ‘James crashed in Neville’s office for a month, Al was happy and then they kinda adopted a truce.’

‘A truce?’

‘Well, more like the silent treatment.’

Harry shook his head as the bellowing continued.

‘How long until September?’ he muttered to himself, sighing heavily. Lily smiled at him sadly.

~*~

After a long day of travelling, Rose and Hugo drifted off to bed a lot earlier than they usually would. Hermione stayed up for not much longer and then checked them before she went to bed.

Hugo was sound asleep, sprawled across the bed in a manner that reminded her strongly of Ron. So many nights, Hermione had felt like she was being forced out of their bed from Ron’s spreading out. They’d bought a king sized bed and it even wasn’t big enough for him, with his long gangly limbs.

She bent over her son and kissed him gently on his messy hair. He didn’t even stir.

Up the hallway, she went into Rose’s room and wasn’t surprised to see her daughter still awake, reading.

‘Rosie,’ she said with a smile. ‘I thought you were tired.’

‘I was,’ she said, not looking up from her book. ‘But then I remembered this book and really wanted to read some more.’

Hermione sat down on the bed next to her and looked at the title of the book.

‘The Second War: The Real Story of Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort,’ she looked from the book to her daughter. ‘Honey, you’ve grown up hearing these stories.’

‘I know,’ she shrugged. ‘But I wanted to read them from a third party prospective, see how their ‘truth’ matches with the real truth.’

‘You’re too much like me for your own good,’ Hermione said with a laugh. Rose laughed too and put the book down.

‘Mum,’ she said, looking nervous. ‘What’s happening with you and Uncle Harry?’

‘What do you mean?’ Hermione was thrown by the question.

‘Why aren’t you talking?’

‘We’re talking,’ if she wasn’t so shocked at Rose, Hermione knew she’d be proud of how observant her daughter was. She had always been like that.

‘No you’re not,’ Rose said wisely. ‘I could tell, at Kings Cross. So what happened.’

‘Oh, nothing,’ Hermione said airily. ‘We’re just having a little bit of a fight, it’s nothing to concern yourself with. Just one of the hundred we’ve already had and will have in the future.’

Rose nodded and picked up her book, but Hermione knew she didn’t believe the thin lie.

‘Don’t stay up too much longer,’ she said and Rose nodded.

‘Night, mum.’

‘Night, Rosie.’

~*~

Harry had sent the boys to their room after dinner, finally having had enough of their fighting. Lily had excused herself not long after, saying she had homework and Harry sat alone in the living room, feeling like a failure as a father.

He poured another glass of Firewhisky and stared out the window into the starry sky. It was different being at this house again. It was a relief to get away from Grimmauld place, but it was hard to be here with the memories. And the kids were going to kill him soon.

He didn’t know what to do about James and his anger. And poor Albus who seemed to bear the brunt of it all the time. Harry had noticed that Albus was backing down most of the time if James started, although he had started to say something that had shut James up- he made a mental note to ask Albus what that was about.

And then Lily, on the outside, missing her mother and seeming to drift away into womanhood with every passing minute. It pained Harry to see her, to see her growing up and knowing how much she would need her mother. He was grateful for the strong female influence she had through her aunts and grandmother, but he knew it wasn’t the same as having a mother around.

Upstairs, Lily crept along the hallway into James’s room. He was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He looked at her when she walked in, and then looked back at the ceiling.

‘What do you want,’ he said rudely.

‘I just want to tell you that you’re a prat,’ she said, folding her arms and staring at him. ‘You need to get over yourself.’

‘Oh, go away.’

‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘James, you’re killing Albus and dad with the way you act. I know you’re pissed about mum, we all are. But it won’t bring her back. You need to start talking to dad, not ignoring him or yelling at him.’

‘Easy enough for you to say,’ he spat back at her, sitting up. ‘You and dad have always had this great bond. Same with Al and dad. But me- I had nothing. Lil, I don’t know dad. I don’t know anything about him.’

‘Well find out,’ Lily said, rolling her eyes. ‘Just walk up to him and ask him what his favourite colour is. What music he likes.’

‘And then what?’ he felt annoyed with her statement- it was pretty much what Teddy had told him at Christmas and, if he hadn’t listened to Teddy, there was no way he was listening to his little sister.

‘I don’t know,’ Lily said exasperated. ‘But it’s like a game of chess, James. One of you has to make the first move. So are you going to be black or white?’

And with that she left the room. James sighed and rolled onto his back again and stared at the ceiling.

18. Eighteen

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: Hi everyone! I do apologise for the extended delay in updating- I’m currently going through the last chapters and adding and amending things- I’ve had some great ideas over the last week and I’m trying to fit them in!

As always, please review and play nice!

Soundtrack: ‘Down Here’ by Lori Carson

EIGHTEEN

James surprised Lily a week into the holidays when he turned up one afternoon after being dropped off by the local muggle boys, who he had gone to primary school with.

‘Well that’s different,’ Lily said to him from her perch on the front porch as he waved goodbye to the modern sports car making it’s way back down the drive.

‘So now I’m not allowed to hang out with friends?’

‘James, you haven’t seen those boys since you were ten.’

‘You were with me when I ran into them the other day,’ James snapped.

‘Funny, I don’t remember that.’

‘Funny, I don’t remember your face being like that.’

‘Oh, how mature.’

‘They’re just happy to have someone new around,’ he said. ‘They think the fact that we go to boarding school sucks. And they don’t care about what happened to mum- because it was a muggle event, they know all about it and are just glad it wasn’t them.’

‘James, they’re like two years older than you!’

‘Lily, just shut up, alright?’ James snarled at her. ‘Just keep your nose out of my business, alright? And don’t tell dad, cause he’ll just carry on. I’m fine, the guys have got my back and I’m having fun. So just butt out.’

He stalked into the house. Lily rolled her eyes and went back to her magazine. She had been with James the week before when he had found these boys again, and she did remember it. She had watched him leave moments after Harry did every morning and return just before Harry came home. She was certain that Harry didn’t know what James had been doing, or whom he had been doing it with. But she was also certain that Harry didn’t really know anything anymore and probably even didn’t realise that all three of them were home. As worried as she was for her brother, she was even more worried for her father.

At just twelve, she felt responsible for all of them.

Albus was sitting in the living room, playing solitaire with exploding snap cards. James sat down next to him on the lounge and Albus wrinkled his nose.

‘You stink,’ he said, turning his head away. ‘Have you been smoking or something?’

‘You’re all so NOSY!’ James yelled, before getting up again and stomping out of the room and up the stairs and slamming his bedroom door.

Lily didn’t move from her place on the porch and Albus smiled as he turned over an ace, just as the deck of cards exploded.

Just a normal day in the Potter house.

Harry was home early that day and had bought dinner home with him. He was just serving up when James came into the kitchen.

‘I’m going out,’ he said, putting on a pair of sunglasses.

‘Where, and who with?’ Harry asked, taken aback.

‘Just out, with some friends,’ he replied.

‘Be back by midnight,’ Harry called wearily after his retreating back. He didn’t have the energy to fight with James tonight. It’d been a long day and he just wanted to get dinner over and done with so that he could go hide in his study with a bottle of Firewhisky.

With James out of the house, dinner was quite enjoyable. It was nice for it not to be ruined by argument and bad tempers and Harry actually found himself laughing as Albus and Lily told more stories from Hogwarts. He thought back to his own summer holidays and was glad his children had someone to share their stories with.

After doing the dishes, he finally made it up to his study and poured himself a large Firewhisky. He drank it in one go and proceeded to pull some work out of his briefcase and start going over it slowly.

At some point Lily and Albus both called out they were going to bed, and Harry replied with a quick ‘goodnight’. It was almost midnight when he did check the clock and he laughed to himself.

‘No wonder Lily and Albus went to bed,’ he said out loud.

He poured another drink and began to work again and had barely started when there was a knock on the door. He rolled his eyes as he stood up. Obviously James had forgotten his key.

He went downstairs, using his wand to flick lights on as he went. Reaching the front door, he noticed from the windows in the living room that there were flashing blue and red lights outside. This confused Harry immensely.

Opening the door, it was a shock to see two police officers standing there, with grave looks on their face.

‘Mr Potter?’ one of them asked.

‘Yes?’ Harry asked, confused.

‘I’m Constable Tobiter, this is Constable Darlton. May we come in?’

‘Of course,’ Harry was still confused and thanking himself for putting his wand away before opening the door. He led the two constables into the living room and spied Lily on the stairs, with a horrified look on her face.

‘Mr Potter, are you the father of James Potter?’

‘Yes,’ Harry answered. His stomach was churning, he somehow knew that it wasn’t anything good when two muggle police officer knock on your door late at night and ask about your son.

‘Your son was involved in an accident,’ one of them said (Harry didn’t know which one was which).

‘An accident?’

‘A sports car carrying five adolescent males over turned on one of the back roads,’ the other officer explained. ‘We believe that they may have been drinking.’

Harry was speechless.

‘Two of the occupants died on scene,’ the officer continued. Harry started to feel faint. ‘Your son, James, was taken by helicopter to London in a serious condition.’

At this, Lily burst into the room, followed by Albus.

‘How serious?’ Harry managed to ask.

‘We’re not sure,’ one of the officers replied. ‘But we’ve come to escort you to the hospital. And your other children, and your wife.’

‘My wife is dead,’ Harry managed to gasp. ‘Lil, Al, go get dressed.’

The officers waited in the living room as they all went upstairs and dressed. Harry paid no attention to what he was putting on, just pulled things on. When they all met downstairs, Lily and Albus looked much the same.

One of the officers took the police car, whilst the other one drove Harry’s car. He sat in the passenger seat, feeling numb. In his mind he was thinking how grateful he was that one of them was driving, to him it would’ve been quite funny if they’d had to book him for drink driving.

‘Do you need to call anyone, Mr Potter?’ the officer asked as they sped along. Harry was very grateful for having spent the extra money on buying a good quality car that could keep the speeds they were going. They were following the patrol car and the flashing of the red and blue lights was almost making him feel sick.

Or maybe it was the fear about James.

‘I…’ Harry started (a good minute after the question had been asked), but trailed off. Who could he call? The only person he really knew in the muggle world was Dudley.

‘Call Aunt Hermione,’ Lily said from the backseat. ‘She’s at Nannie Grangers.’

Harry was about to say that they didn’t have a ‘Nannie Granger’ but then realised what Lily was telling him to do. The officer handed over a mobile telephone and Harry dialled the number from memory, praying he had it right.

‘Hello?’ a sleepy voice answered.

‘Mrs Granger, it’s Harry. Harry Potter.’

‘Harry?’ Mrs Granger was confused. ‘It’s so late.’

‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘But I need you to get a message to Hermione. I can’t at the moment and you’re the only way I could think off.’

‘Of course, dear,’ she said with a yawn, picking up a piece of paper and a pen.

‘There’s been an accident,’ Harry said simply. ‘James is in hospital in London. I’m on my way now with police escort. Albus and Lily are with me.’

‘Oh, Harry!’ Mrs Granger exclaimed. ‘Is James alright?’

‘We don’t know,’ Harry said, swallowing the lump in his throat.

‘I’ll get on to her now,’ she said. ‘Would you like her to meet you there?’

‘Yes, please. Thank you.’

He closed the phone and gave it back to the officer as the lights of London came into view.

~*~

By dawn, Harry was pacing the halls of the ICU whilst Albus and Lily slept on the hard plastic chairs.

James was in a coma. He’d been the back, middle passenger and hadn’t been wearing a seatbelt. Harry thought he would scream if he heard the words ‘lucky to be alive’ again.

Harry knew what had saved James was his magical blood and it was frustrating to Harry that he couldn’t get him transferred to St Mungos, where he would be healed so much quicker. He had snuck away for an hour in the early hours of the morning and gone to see Kingsley, who was powerless to help him. They would have to wait this out in the muggle hospital.

Harry stopped his pacing and sat down in one of the uncomfortable chairs and put his head into his hands and closed his eyes. For the last hour what had kept him pacing was the headache that had come on from the bottle of whisky he’d drunk before the frantic trip into London. And then the shock of the seriousness of the situation had sobered him up immediately.

James had almost died.

‘Oh, Harry!’

At the sound of his name, he jumped out of the chair and turned around. Hermione was running towards him, Rose and Hugo just behind.

‘We came as fast as we could,’ she said, hugging him tightly. ‘How is he?’

‘He’s in a coma,’ Harry said dully. ‘He’s fractured his skull, broken both his legs, his left arm and there’s a suspected spinal injury too.’

‘What can I do?’ she asked. Rose and Hugo had gone to sit with Lily and Albus, who had woken up at the sound of Hermione’s voice.

‘I don’t know,’ Harry said hoarsely.

She led him over to the hard chairs and they sat down. She kept hold of his hands and after a few moments, he began to speak.

‘There were five of them in the car,’ he said slowly. ‘It has five seats, but realistically should only seat two or three. They’d been drinking.’

‘Who was he with?’

‘Some muggle boys,’ Harry looked at her. ‘I didn’t even know he was still friends with these boys. They’re all older than him as well. Hermione, he’s not even fifteen yet. And he was hanging around with sixteen and seventeen year old boys. And drinking!’

Hermione just raised her eyebrows at him. It was very hypocritical of Harry to be angry with James for drinking, considering his own habits. But she didn’t say anything. Now was not the time.

‘Two of the boys died,’ Harry continued. ‘The other two in the backseat with James. The police and trauma doctors are saying it’s a miracle. To be unrestrained, in the middle, in a vehicle roll over and survive? The first doctor I spoke to said that in his career he’s never heard of it. He’s never even seen a patient who’d been in this sort of crash.’

‘What about the other two?’

‘They’re in another hospital. They sent James here because it’s the top trauma hospital in England. I just want to get him to St Mungos.’

Hermione patted his hand. The silence resumed and Lily and Albus woke. The four teenagers went off in search of sustenance and not long after they’d left a doctor emerged from James’s room.

‘Mr Potter?’ he said, walking towards Harry and Hermione. ‘Are you Mrs Potter?’

‘No,’ Hermione said quickly. ‘I’m Harry’s sister-in-law.’

‘Well, I need to speak to Mr Potter alone.’

‘She can stay,’ Harry said. ‘Since my wife died, she’s been the closest thing to a mother that my children have had.’

Hermione couldn’t help but give a sad smile.

‘Let’s got to my office,’ the doctor said, not wanting to argue. Many years on the ICU had taught him not to argue.

His office was only a short way up the corridor and they all sat down and he looked at them gravely over the desk.

‘Mr Potter, we’ve been running tests on your son since he arrived last night. Our final conclusion is that he has managed to avoid a serious spinal injury, however we will need to monitor for signs as we go,’ he paused and took a breath. ‘It’s his head that I’m most worried about. The skull fracture is pretty bad, but there is a lot of swelling and fluid build up.’

‘What can you do?’ Hermione asked for Harry, who was just staring at the doctor vacantly.

‘We need to send him into surgery. Once in there we can relieve the pressure on his brain and we can also set his fractures better.’

‘What are the risks?’

‘The same risks that come with any neurological surgery. There’s a risk of permanent brain damage and in the worst case scenario, he could die on the table.’

‘And if he doesn’t have the surgery?’ Harry finally spoke.

‘The risks are even greater.’

19. Nineteen

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: Hi everyone!!!

Sorry for the extended delay between updates. My computer went into the shop for repairs and I just got it back today. But it’s all working again and it gave me a chance to do a lot of reworking.

In this chapter there is 2 parts that almost didn’t make it. One was put in because I’ve always had this thing about how the wizards blend into the muggle world. The other was something that has been put in and out of this chapter so many times that I just thought I’d leave it in and if you don’t like it, you don’t like it.

I will try and get another update up by Christmas. And again, I do apologise for the delay! And as always, don’t care what you have to say about this, as long as you do it nicely.

NINETEEN

James went into surgery and it was a long wait in the ICU for the others. Harry was surprised when he managed to sleep for an hour. He woke up feeling groggy and for a moment didn’t know where he was.

And then it hit him. In a hospital. Waiting for James to come out, waiting for news. He turned his head from side to side, trying to work out the kink from sleeping sideways on plastic chairs. A headache had come on whilst he’d slept and he decided to go on a mission to find some aspirin.

Lily and Rose were reading magazines in the corner, Albus and Hugo were talking quietly and Hermione was nowhere to be seen. He didn’t say anything to the kids as he left, just wandered out into the corridor. He found the nurses station, empty of nurses.

‘God bless the NHS,’ he said, rolling his eyes. He didn’t really want to leave this floor; he wanted to be around in case James came up.

He went over to a nearby water cooler and poured himself a cup of ice cold water and drank it down quickly. It seemed to help his head and he felt a bit more awake and alert than he had. He was desperately wishing he had some Firewhisky and cursed himself for not grabbing some.

He wondered if he had time to run out to an off-license and get something.

‘No!” he said to himself, louder than he thought he had as a passing doctor looked at him strangely.

He couldn’t believe himself. Had he really just seriously thought that? He wouldn’t leave the floor to get himself an aspirin, but he’d leave to get something to drink.

Suddenly, like a wave, it hit Harry. He was grateful for a chair that was next to the nurses station and he fumbled his way over to it and sat down. He felt like he was watching himself from someone else’s perspective.

Was this how everyone else saw him? Was this how Hermione saw him? And his kids- did they see him like this?

And even worse- seeing him like this, had this set up the circumstances that led to James being out drinking with those boys? Could Harry lose his son to his own selfishness?

He was still trying to catch his breath and get his mind off the horrible thoughts that were rattling around in there when he saw Hermione walking towards him, with a woman right behind her, following her.

He noticed she was looking rather disgruntled and she came and stood next to him, but said nothing.

‘Mr Potter,’ the woman said with a smile. ‘I’m Katie Pace, I’m a social worker.’

‘A social worker?’ Harry repeated stupidly, wondering why she was here.

‘Mr Potter, in cases like your son’s, the hospital is obligated to call for a social worker. We need to determine if this was caused by family circumstances and if the family environment is the right place for him to recover.’

Harry looked from Katie to Hermione, who was looking angry.

‘Mrs Weasley here has explained to me the circumstances relating to James’s mother; however I do still need to speak with both you and James. We need to make sure that his needs are being met within the home and that it will be an environment that he can recover in.’

‘I don’t understand,’ Harry said in a low voice. ‘James was just hanging around with some friends and as boys do, they got carried away and had an accident.’

‘Mr Potter, your son had a blood alcohol reading of 0.17. He had been drinking heavily. As had all the other males in the car.’

‘And that’s cause to involved social workers?’

‘Other factors are in play as well, Mr Potter,’ Katie said firmly. ‘The fact that neither his mother or yourself have ever held employment, though you have title deeds to two rather large properties and own two very nice cars. The fact that you have no visible bank accounts. And the fact that Mrs Potter is deceased. These are all factors that have us very concerned about James’s future and whether or not staying with you is the best thing for him.’

Suddenly, the lights in the hallway flickered and several machines in other rooms began to beep. Katie looked blank and then looked at Harry oddly.

‘I must apologise for inconveniencing you,’ she said in an odd voice, before turning around and walking off. Harry looked at Hermione, who was blushing.

‘Kingsley will kill me,’ she moaned. ‘I know I always say that, and it makes it seem like I’m always wiping the memories of muggles, But I couldn’t let it go on any longer. I had to wipe her memory.’

Harry realised that her hands were both in her pockets and he knew she was clutching her wand.

‘Thanks,’ he managed to say.

They went back into the waiting room and not long after, the doctor returned and his expression was the closest to a smile that Harry had seen on it.

‘Everything went good,’ he told them all. The two boys gave a small cheer and the two girls let out a sigh of relief. Hermione took hold of Harry’s hand a squeezed it. ‘Now it’s just a waiting game. We’re going to keep him medicated and in a coma, until we know for sure that the swelling has gone down, and then we’ll start bringing him around.’

‘Can we see him?’ Lily asked.

‘Of course,’ the doctor said. ‘But only two at a time and you will all need to be careful. For now, we cannot allow anyone to touch him, but you will be able to see him up close.’

Harry let Albus and Lily go in first and he stood outside and watched them through the glass. They walked in hand in hand to the bed and stood there and looked at James. There were so many tubes and machines and it almost looked like his whole body was covered in plaster. Lily began to cry and Albus put his arm around her.

Rose and Hugo went next and didn’t stay very long. The four kids then went back to the waiting room, leaving Harry and Hermione.

‘Shall we?’ she asked.

They walked in slowly and Harry got as close to the bed as he dared. James had looked so grown up when he had arrived home the week before, and now he looked like a child again. Memories of James as a small child came flooding back to Harry and he choked up.

‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered. ‘I’m sorry I wasn’t a stronger man, a better father. I’m sorry I was never there for you. I’m sorry that your mum isn’t around.’

Hermione held onto his hand tightly and struggled to hold back tears.

‘I love you, son.’

~*~

By the evening Harry had convinced the nurses to set up a bed for him in the waiting room and had told Hermione to take the kids to Grimmauld place to stay. They didn’t all need to be here.

He sat on the bed, watching people walk past in the hallway, feeling sick to the stomach and with shaking hands. He felt worse than he had when he’d woken up that morning and was feeling worse with every passing minute.

Not able to stand it any longer, he got up and started walking the halls. After an hour of pacing the ICU halls, he got in the elevator and headed down a floor and began pacing. Luckily this new route took him past one of the cafeterias and he was able to get a coffee for his pacing, which helped settle his shaking hands.

He stopped pacing and sat down on a comfy chair and sighed. He could hear a voice from the room behind, a familiar voice, and, curiosity getting the better of him, he looked inside.

‘Harry?’ the woman said and Harry’s jaw nearly dropped.

‘Grace?’ he got up and went into the room.

He wanted to laugh- how many times could fate throw them together like this?

‘What are you doing here?’ she asked him.

‘James was in an accident,’ he said softly. ‘He’s in the ICU.’

‘I’m sorry,’ she said sadly.

‘What are you doing here?’

Grace pointed to the bed. Jack was laying there, with several tubes coming off him, not nearly as many as on James.

‘End stage cancer,’ she said sadly. ‘He’s been battling it for years. Its finally going to take him.’

‘I’m sorry Grace. I didn’t know.’

‘Don’t be,’ she said and Harry was stunned to see she was smiling. ‘He never really liked people to know. He wanted to live out the rest of his life without people feeling sorry for him. He’s been in pain for years and sick for most of my life, and too proud to admit to both. But he wants this now. He wants to be free.’

They fell silent then and Harry sat down on one side of the bed, Grace on the other. And they just sat and watched Jack. The machines would beep every time he took a breath and Harry was starting to hold his breath if it didn’t beep, waiting for the alarms to start.

‘I’m sorry about New Years,’ Grace said suddenly. ‘I don’t know what came over me. I’ve been sad for so long, growing up without a mother and having a father who was sick my whole life. I just felt happy that night, and very grateful to you for giving me that happy night, by pulling me out of the wreckage. And I just lost my mind.’

‘It’s ok,’ Harry said. ‘I wasn’t mad, just shocked.’

‘I don’t know if I ever really said it, but thank you for what you did for me in Spain,’ she reached over the bed and took hold of his hand.

‘You’re welcome,’ Harry said, feeling very awkward.

It was at that moment that the machine didn’t beep. Only a second passed before the alarms started. Nurses came running in, as did a doctor. Harry crossed over to Grace’s side of the bed and they backed away and let the doctor do his thing.

‘He’s gone,’ the doctor said to Grace solemnly after a few minutes. Grace sighed and Harry knew it was in relief.

It felt odd to Harry to be in this room, sharing in Grace’s happy grief. These were people he hardly knew, people he wouldn’t know if Ginny hadn’t gone to the market that day. It felt strange to have emotions over this man dying, a man he had only met three times.

He excused himself from the room, only after promising Grace that they would keep in touch. He couldn’t say it to her, but he had a feeling that he wouldn’t see her again. Why fate had bought them together so many times, he did not know, but he felt sure it wouldn’t happen again.

But something had happened to him in that room. It was only as he walked back towards the elevator that he realised. He wasn’t shaking as much. His head felt clearer.

He actually felt like Harry for the first time in a very long time. Harry, who right now needed to be with his son.

~*~

Harry lived and breathed the hospital for the next week. Hermione took Lily, Albus, Rose and Hugo to Grimmauld Place and would bring them every day to visit, but Harry never left. The nurses took pity on him and allowed him to sit on a chair in the corner of James’s room through the day and they even gave him access to the good coffee in the nurses lounge.

On the eighth day, Harry headed downstairs to the cafeteria and grabbed a tray of food and sat down in his usual corner and opened the paper. He was halfway through his breakfast when he heard rushing feet. He looked up over the top of the paper and saw one of the nurses that had been looking after James running towards him.

‘Harry!’ she called as she got closer (the formalities of being called ‘Mr Potter’ had vanished around the 3rd day). ‘He’s waking up!’

Harry didn’t think twice. He jumped out of his seat and sprinted behind her, leaving his breakfast on the table. The elevator seemed to take forever to come down to their level and even longer to rise back to the ICU.

The nurse headed straight back into James’s room, but Harry was stopped at the door by the doctor.

‘Let us bring him around,’ the doctor said firmly. ‘Then you can see him.’

Harry watched anxiously through the glass as they did their work. Equipment was getting rushed in and out and it seemed more to Harry that they were trying to save him, not bring him around. After what seemed like forever, the doctor came back out and was actually smiling.

‘He’s awake,’ he said, almost proudly. ‘He can’t speak yet; as he’s still on breathing equipment and has a feeding tube, but we should be able remove them in the morning. He just needs to have a sleep without being medicated. But you can see him.’

Harry’s hands started to shake as he walked into the room and looked at James. It was nice to see his eyes open, his eyes that were the exact same as Ginny’s.

‘It’s nice to see you awake,’ Harry said, bending over and kissing James on the forehead. He dragged the chair from the corner of them room and sat down next to the bed. ‘Albus and Lily will be very happy to see you.’

James made a groaning noise and Harry took hold of the hand that didn’t have an IV going into it.

‘I hope you’re not in too much pain. Can you squeeze my hand?’ Harry felt a small stab of pain as James squeezed harder than he had expected him too. ‘The doctor said he should be able to take the tubes away tomorrow morning. And then you’ll be able to talk.’

James squeezed Harry’s hand again and then closed his eyes for a long moment and then opened them again.

‘Are you tired?’ he asked and his hand was squeezed again. ‘Get to sleep. I’ll be in the waiting room. I…’ Harry’s voice faulted. ‘I love you, James. And I’m so happy that you’re awake.’

20. Twenty

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: Hello loyal readers! And happy festive season! It’s Christmas Eve here in Australia, and I said I’d have an update before Christmas!

As always, hope you enjoy the update. And remember to review and be nice!

TWENTY

Hermione and all the kids were back the next morning and they all waited anxiously whilst the tubes were removed from James. Once the doctor gave them the all clear, Harry sent Lily and Albus in first.

‘Hey,’ James whispered hoarsely after they’d given him the best hug they could give him whilst he was strapped into the bed.

‘Don’t you ever do this to us again,’ Lily said, crossing her arms and looking at him. ‘We’ve been so scared.’

‘Sorry.’

‘At least you’re not dead,’ Albus said and Lily hit him on the arm.

‘Real nice, Al, real nice.’

‘Well, what else am I supposed to say? Hope you feel well rested after being in a coma for eight days? Is it true what they say and a coma is ‘just like a holiday, just a little less painful’?’

James looked at Albus in surprise. He’d never heard his brother so sarcastic before.

‘I swear you’re turning into Uncle Ron,’ Lily said, rolling her eyes.

‘How’s dad?’ James managed to ask, snapping the attention back to him.

‘He looks a little less stressed now you’re awake,’ Lily told him. ‘You know he hasn’t left the hospital since you came in?’

‘Yeah, he’s lived in the waiting room,’ Albus added. ‘He was pretty scared.’

‘So what was the accident like?’ Lily asked. James closed his eyes.

‘Scary.’

‘Do you remember it all?’

‘I blacked out,’ James said as quickly as he could. Lily opened her mouth to say something else, but Harry cleared his throat from the doorway.

‘Want to leave those questions for the police?’ he said, indicating to the two officers behind him.

‘Come on, Al and Lily. Let’s go home and let your grandmother know that James is awake,’ Hermione said from behind the police. Harry turned to face the officers as Hermione and the kids went past.

‘I hope the doctor explained my sons condition to you,’ Harry said and the officers nodded. ‘At any time that James wishes, the interview will terminate.’

James heard Harry from the bed and was grateful. He didn’t really know what to say and he didn’t know how much he could say. He knew that Rex and Josh had died and that Joel and Keith were pretty knocked around. But if Rex was dead, did it really matter what happened in the crash?

He didn’t really hear the two police as they introduced themselves, but refocused when he realised the questions were starting.

‘Who was in the car at the time of the accident?’

What a stupid question James thought. It wasn’t like they didn’t already know anything.

‘And who was driving.’

‘Rex was driving,’ James said, his voice cracking. ‘Keith was next to him. Joel, Josh and I were in the back seat.’

‘What was the approximant speed at the time of the crash?’

‘I don’t know,’ James said, looking away. ‘But I was screaming for them to slow down. I knew that we were going to fast.’

‘How did the accident happen?’

‘Something ran out on to the road,’ he closed his eyes and he was back on that road. He could hear himself yelling out, could see the look on Rex’s face as he realised they were going over. He could smell the fuel leaking and the blood.

‘How much had you all had to drink?’

‘We’d been drinking beer at Keith’s house. I don’t remember exactly how much I drank. It was a lot though.’

‘Was this the first time you participated in drinking alcohol?’

‘Yes.’

‘Did any one take any drugs?’

‘I think Keith and Joel had some pot,’ James said, avoiding his fathers eyes. ‘But that shit fucks you up.’

Both police chuckled slightly.

‘Why were you out on the back roads?’

‘Rex wanted to see how fast the car could go,’ James’s voice cut out towards the end of the sentence. Harry helped him have a small sip of water.

‘Walk us through what happened immediately prior to the crash.’

‘Rex was winding the engine up,’ he spoke slowly and with his eyes closed, as though he was watching it all happen again on the inside of his eyes. ‘We hit a straight and he floored it. I was feeling sick from the beer, but didn’t want to say anything. I just started yelling at him to stop being so stupid. But Joel and Josh kept telling me to be quiet. And then I saw the, well I don’t know what it was. But it was something on the road. I yelled at Rex to swerve or brake, but he sped up even more. We hit it. We flipped over it and then rolled down the embankment. I didn’t have my seatbelt on. I bounced around and when we stopped rolling, I was in the front seat. And the only conscious one. I found someone’s mobile and rung for help. And then I passed out and don’t remember anything else.’

There was silence as the officers wrote down what he had said.

‘Thank you, James. That’s all we need.’

Harry stood up with the officers and followed them into the hallway.

‘What will happen to my son?’

‘He’s admitted to underage drinking,’ one of them said. ‘It is a chargeable offence. But by the time his BAC had been taken, paramedics had pumped him full of morphine and other drugs for pain. So we’re inclined to rule the results invalid. Poor kid lost two of his friends and is pretty badly hurt. We don’t think drinking will be a problem from now on. And from all accounts, he’s a good boy. We spoke with Mrs Weasley yesterday and she produced some of his school records which prove that he is not normally this sort of boy.’

Harry was incredibly relieved.

‘Thank you,’ he said, shaking both their hands and heading back into James’ room.

‘I’m sorry Dad,’ James said.

‘Don’t be,’ Harry said, placing a hand on his arm. ‘I know I haven’t been the best father.’

‘I haven’t been the best son,’ James cut in.

‘It’s not too late to change it all. I can be around more, take an interest. I can give away a lot of my work and stay home with you more when you’re home.’

James nodded as best he could.

‘Dad,’ he said with curiosity. ‘What’s your favourite colour?’

~*~

Harry got out of the hospital that afternoon. Molly was sitting with James and Hermione was entertaining the kids. He found a deserted alley and disapparated from behind some bins.

The cemetery was bathed in sunlight and the grass seemed to be even greener than the grass in the paddocks around it. He made his way slowly through the headstones, before finally stopping in front of Ginny’s.

‘I really could’ve used you over the last week, Gin,’ he said softly. ‘I would’ve loved to see James pull this sort of a thing with you around.’

He bent down and pulled a few weeds away that were starting to grow around the base of the headstone.

‘I think things are going to be good now,’ he continued. ‘I think James will settle down. And I’m going to be home more. I actually don’t want to work anymore. It’s a good distraction, but it’s not the same. It’s not the same without Ron around. And it’s not the same coming home and talking to you about the office.

‘To be honest, Gin, nothing is the same without you. But I’ve realised that’s OK. I know now that things have to change, and sometimes it’s for the best. And whilst it’s hard and I have the most changing to do, it can be done.

‘I’m going to make you proud, Ginny. I promise.’

~*~

When Harry got back to the hospital, Molly had left and Hermione had come back with Lily and Albus.

‘Rose and Hugo went with Molly,’ she told Harry as he sat down next to her in the waiting room. ‘So I thought Lily and Al could have some alone time with James.’

‘Thanks,’ he said with a small smile.

‘Why don’t you sleep at home tonight?’ she suggested. ‘I can stay here. I think it will do you good. And if anything happens, you can be back in a heartbeat.’

‘I’m going to stay here,’ Harry said firmly. ‘I’m not leaving him. Not now.’

‘The offers there,’ she said, patting him on the knee as she got up.

He watched her walk away and sighed. That was the longest conversation they’d had through all of this. She had been there the whole time, supporting him and looking after Albus and Lily. But they had hardly spoken.

Harry knew one of the many things he had to do was make things right with Hermione. But for now, he was at a complete loss on how to make this happen.

21. Twenty-One

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: Hello readers! First, I want to start with a massive apology!

Remember how back in my notes for chapter 19 I mentioned that my computer was in the shop? Well, I got it back and it worked great, but... it then exploded. Not literally, but it died all together on me. I was incredibly grateful that I had a feeling that it was going to do it and I saved everything onto my 1TB external.

Problem was, I was without a computer. And very broke and unable to buy one.

So I scrimped and saved my pennies and was finally able to buy a new computer! Yay! So I’m back now and going to get this finished (albiet a lot later than what I intended!). But rest assured, I had never forgotten you!!!

TWENTY ONE

After almost two weeks, James was allowed home. Harry had arranged for a private healer to stay with them and fix him magically. He would be back to new in no time.

Molly had all but moved in with them as well. Once James was awake, she had taken it upon herself to take control of everyone. She had kicked Harry out of the hospital for a full day, and he took Lily, Albus, Rose and Hugo to the zoo for something to do.

Hermione had fully stocked their kitchen and Molly had made a good dent in those stocks preparing massive meals.

Once James was home, Harry began spending at least two hours a day with him. They played chess or cards and just talked. After spending the best part of a year being angry with each other for no reason, and spending all their time before that not knowing each other, it was nice for both. James taught Harry how to play poker, something he had never learnt. James was surprisingly good and told Harry all about the poker club he’d set up amongst his year at Hogwarts.

Harry had been waiting for James to mention the other boys that had been in the car, but he never did. The funerals for the two that died had been held and whilst he saw James read about them in the paper, he never once mentioned going.

After a week at home, with magic healing him, he was well enough to walk and a cheer erupted for him the first morning he walked down to breakfast on his own. Teddy had joined them for the meal, to see how James was, and despite the protests from the healer and his grandmother, James went for a walk around the yard with Teddy.

‘So no more muggle escapades?’ Teddy asked and James laughed weakly.

‘Quidditch is safer than a sports car,’ James told him.

‘From what your dad’s told me, you’re lucky to be able to play Quidditch. You came quite close to dying.’

‘I know,’ James said. ‘I’m so glad I was in a coma and wasn’t aware of it. But in the car, I thought I was dead. And you want to know something stupid?’

‘What?’

‘My last thought in the car was that I was going to die a muggle,’ he said with a laugh. ‘I didn’t even deserve to die doing some cool magic.’

Teddy laughed.

‘I notice things with you and Harry are good.’

‘You were right,’ James smiled. ‘It wasn’t too late.’

‘What about you and Al?’

‘He still annoys me, but I don’t feel so angry anymore,’ James looked uncomfortable for a moment. ‘I don’t know what happened, but when I woke up, I just didn’t feel angry anymore. About anything. It was like waking up with a clean slate.’

‘Maybe you just needed to let go, and the coma helped?’

‘I dunno,’ James shrugged. ‘Looks like I’d better get back inside.’

The healer and Molly were glaring out at them from the kitchen window. Teddy laughed.

‘You just look after yourself, kid.’

~*~

By the time September arrived, James had made a full recovery from his injuries and had been delighting his visiting Hogwarts friends with his thrilling tale of survival from the muggle killing machine.

Harry couldn’t believe it when he realised that it was the last day of the holidays. He had spent the entire day washing school robes and helping track down books and other supplies.

Hermione came over with Rose and Hugo in the afternoon, bearing all the required shopping from Diagon Alley. Taking all five teenagers to the busy shopping strip was a bad idea, from past experience, and so Hermione had offered to do the shopping for them all.

It was hard for Harry to pretend things were normal with Hermione, but a silent agreement had been reached that they would try in front of the children. Aside from her few visits here and his fewer visits to her, they still hadn’t really spoken.

‘How have you been?’ Hermione asked him, bringing a pile of dirty plates into the kitchen after their very noisy dinner in the lounge room.

‘Pretty good,’ Harry replied, waving his wand and getting the dishes to clean themselves. ‘Busy, with the kids and work. It’ll be a relief to get them back to school!’

‘How have things been with James?’

‘Wonderful,’ Harry said, with a genuine smile. ‘I think the accident scared him a lot. He’s been a fantastic kid lately.’

‘Are you drinking?’

Harry stopped, his wand in mid air from stacking dishes in the cupboard again. He spun around and faced her, but she wasn’t looking at him.

‘My son almost died,’ he said softly.

‘I know. But have you been drinking?’

‘If you have to ask, you obviously don’t know me too well.’

‘I obviously don’t,’ she said tartly. ‘Considering I never thought you’d be stupid enough to drown your problems in alcohol.’

‘Yeah, well, I was stupid. But almost losing my son made me re-evaluate a few things.’

‘I wish I could believe that,’ she sighed sadly.

‘Believe what you want,’ Harry snapped and turned to walk out of the kitchen. ‘I know the truth and that’s all that matters.’

He passed through the lounge room, ignoring the kids and went straight upstairs to his study. He could hear footsteps behind him and he had just sat down when Hermione walked in and stood in the doorway and folded her arms.

‘I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.’

‘No you’re not,’ Harry said with a shrug. ‘You’re sorry that I’m madder than I was.’

‘What can I say Harry?’ she said, throwing her hands up and rolling her eyes. ‘It’s not like you’ve given me a reason to believe you.’

‘You’re right, I haven’t. Except for however many years we’ve been friends. Doesn’t that give some sort of automatic trust?’

‘It obviously doesn’t matter to you how long we’ve been friends for. You don’t want anything to do with me.’

‘And now you’re just being absurd!’ he said with a half laugh. ‘What on earth makes you think I don’t want anything to do with you?’

‘Well,’ she started and then stopped.

‘Don’t even think about saying that I haven’t talked to you. It’s a bit hard when we’re fighting.’

She folded her arms again and just stared at him. And as they stared at each other, Harry knew that their fight was over. It was strange how they could just get over something in an instant.

‘So tomorrow’s going to be a big day. What time does your portkey leave?’

22. Twenty-Two

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: Nothing to say but ‘enjoy’!!!

TWENTY TWO

‘Come on, Albus, you’ll miss the train!’

The Potter’s ran through Kings Cross, pushing three overloaded trolleys. Harry checked his watch and had a sudden flashback to his second year, when he and Ron had missed the train.

At least he knew Dobby wasn’t going to seal the concealed entrance to the train platform. That was one thing.

Without much regard for the surrounding muggles, they ran through the barrier one by one, Harry being the last. They had one minute to spare as Harry helped hurriedly unload the trunks and cages onto the train.

‘Write to me!’ he called as the train started to move. ‘And behave yourselves!’

He waved frantically to the three of them as the train picked up speed. Further down the train he could see Rose and Hugo leaving out, waving to him as well. He walked backwards up the platform, still waving, and was soon next to Hermione.

‘I didn’t think you were coming,’ she said, giggling at how much he was panting in exhaustion after the rush.

‘I didn’t think we were either,’ Harry said, catching his breath long enough to laugh slightly. ‘I think I need to start running again.’

The Hogwart’s Express was out of sight now and all the parents on the platform were slowly making their way towards the barrier, or disapparting with little ‘pop’s’.

‘Guess it’s time for our goodbye,’ Harry said, sounding a lot sadder than he planned too.

‘Portkey leaves in half an hour,’ Hermione said nervously. ‘You’ll check on the house?’

‘Of course. You’ll come back?’

‘I’ll be home for Christmas.’

They both waved at friends that were ahead of them or behind them as they joined the end of the line at the barrier.

‘I wish we’d made up before now,’ Harry said. ‘I just got you back and you’re going again.’

‘Honestly, Harry, it’ll feel like I was never even gone!’

~*~

From Kings Cross, Hermione headed to the Ministry and into Kingsley’s office. Her step was light as she walked the luxuriously carpeted halls. She wasn’t sure what had happened with Harry the night before, but she knew it was good. It had been hard, not speaking and being mad. And she believed him now. Since James’s accident, he hadn’t touched a single drink.

‘Good morning, Hermione,’ Kingsley greeted her brightly. ‘Just in time.’

He pointed to a small object on his desk.

‘I guess I should get going.’

‘I will be in touch soon,’ Kingsley smiled at her. ‘Good luck.’

She took hold of the small silver ball and held it tight in her hand. After only a few moments, she felt the hook like sensation around her middle and got pulled forwards. She closed her eyes tight, only opening them when she had stopped moving.

‘Welcome to Sydney,’ a voice with a different accent greeted her as she opened her eyes.

‘Thanks,’ she said breathlessly. ‘Overseas travel by Portkey isn’t a very pleasant experience.’

‘Better than flying,’ the man said ruefully. ‘Your arse starts to hurt as you’re flying over the Atlantic and by the time you land here, you’re frozen to the broom. Believe me, I know.’

She laughed.

‘Well, I’m obviously Hermione.’

‘How rude of me,’ he took hold of her hand and shook it vigorously. ‘Kevin. Kevin Langmore. I’ll be your assistant, your punching bag, your guide and pretty much anything you want me to be. My official title however is just Assistant. I’ve been asking for years to be called ‘Supreme Underlord’ and have your role renamed ‘Supreme Overlord’ but they just won’t agree to it.’

Hermione followed Kevin on a tour of the consulate and met the staff, realising that she would never remember any of their names. She told this to Kevin fearfully, who just laughed.

‘Don’t worry, I’m just happy that I’ve remembered all of their names as I introduced them to you,’ he said. ‘Would’ve been a bit embarrassing if I did forget, seeing as though I’ve worked here for 10 years.’

Hermione laughed and felt a lot better. She liked Kevin and she could see that working with him would be a lot of fun.

The tour ended as they headed up a flight of stairs to the top most floor and he handed her a set of keys.

‘This is your residence. You don’t have to live here, if you don’t want too. But the kitchen downstairs will cook all your meals and the cleaning and laundry get done for you, so I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to. And if you don’t want to, mind not telling anyone and just letting me live here? The lease on my place is up and the real estate market in Sydney is shocking- muggle and wizarding.’

‘Thank you, Kevin,’ she said, taking the keys from him and laughing. ‘If the market is that bad, I guess I have no choice but to live here. I will see you tomorrow?’

‘Yes- we’ve got a lot to do tomorrow. A few meetings with the Australians. Should be fun. And if you don’t want to do that, they’ll be more than happy if we cancel and we can just nick off to the beach.’

Hermione laughed and waved goodbye to him, unlocking the door and stepping into her new home.

The apartment wasn’t very large, but was decorated nicely. Walking in, she walked straight into a comfortable sitting room. She could see a small kitchen coming off this and a small dining area. Along a small hallway was the two bedrooms and a bathroom. It was perfect, considering she wasn’t here for very long. In the largest of the bedrooms she found the things she had sent in advance and she changed into more comfortable clothing.

In the very corner of the sitting room was a magnificent desk and sitting on a perch above this desk was an owl. She wasted no time hurrying over and drawing out a sheet of fresh parchment

Harry,

Just wanted to write and let you know that I have arrived safely.

I’m glad that we were able to move on from our fight before I left. I would have felt horrible being over here, knowing that we were mad at each other.

And I didn’t realise until last night how much I had missed you.

I’ll write again soon.

Love,

Hermione

She attached the letter to the owls foot and sent it out the window. Then, she turned her attention to the large stack of files marked ‘for your review’.

‘Three and a half months to go.’

~*~

It took Harry three days to reply to Hermione’s letter. It had arrived whilst he’d been sharing lunch in his office with Teddy and he’d put it away unread until that night.

The other two days had been spent trying to figure out what to say. After writing a letter to the kids at Hogwarts, he’d sat at his desk and started his reply.

Dear Hermione,

Thank you for your letter. I’m sorry it has taken me so long to write back- I’ve been catching up on work that I put aside over the summer whilst James was injured. I thought I’d delegated most of it, but it’s surprising how much it can build up.

I’m glad you arrived safely- not much chance of a Portkey going wrong though! I hope that everyone is treating you good and that you’re enjoying yourself. If not, only three and a half months until you come home.

I just wanted to say... I never really apologised to you for our fight. Once James had his accident, I did a lot of thinking and I realised what you had said was right. I was masking my pain at losing Ginny.

And I didn’t realise until you weren’t around that you were better for the pain than any drink. Just being close to you makes me feel happy. I can’t really explain how it makes me feel. But I know now that I need you in my life and I won’t ever make that mistake again. I promise.

I miss you and I’m looking forward to you coming home. Maybe you being away for a while and us writing will help bring us closer again. It’s funny, I almost feel like a teenager again and that it’s just the summer break. In my mind it feels like in a few weeks we’ll be back on the train to Hogwarts.

If only life was that simple.

Love,

Harry

~*~

‘Yes, yes, yes!’ James cheered as he scanned the Gryffindor notice board at the end of the first week of term. ‘First Hogsmeade visit- end of October!’

Other students started to gather around, muttering excitedly. James turned around and found his siblings and cousins behind him.

‘I wish we could go,’ Hugo said sadly to Lily. James heard this and looked at Rose and raised his eyebrows.

‘No, James.’

‘No one will ever know!’

‘Dad and Uncle Harry didn’t want us to use it like this!’

‘Why else did they give it to us?’ James asked.

‘What are you talking about?’ Albus asked them.

‘Come with me,’ James said, winking.

They all headed up the stairs into the fifth year boys dormitory and James closed the door and cast a locking charm to ensure privacy.

‘Dad gave this to Teddy originally,’ he explained. ‘And when Teddy left, he gave it to me. I told Rose when she started and she, of course, dobbed.’

‘Well I didn’t think it was right,’ she said, folding her arms.

‘But Dad and Uncle Ron turned a blind eye,’ James continued, ignoring her. He bent down into his trunk and pulled up an old looking piece of parchment. ‘Thank god you told Uncle Ron, not Aunt Hermione. She would’ve killed us.’

‘Well, she wasn’t home that day,’ Rose said rudely.

‘What-‘ Albus started, but all of them shushed him.

‘I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,’ James said, pointing his wand to the parchment and laying it flat on his bed.

Lily gasped as she looked at it, staring at her brother with wide eyes.

‘Grandad and Sirius and Remus made this map when they were students,’ James explained. ‘It shows everything. Including-’

‘Secret passage ways out of the school,’ Hugo said in amazement. James nodded.

‘And one that leads right into Honeydukes.’

Hugo and Lily stared at each other in amazement. James, enjoying the effect, bent into his trunk again and pulled up a cloak made of shimmering, flowing material.

‘Dad’s invisibility cloak!’ Albus exclaimed.

‘He doesn’t know I have it,’ James said in warning. ‘So don’t blab.’

‘So what you’re saying is we should take the cloak and map and come into Hogsmeade?’

‘Of course not- think of how many school rules you’ll be breaking!’ James exclaimed, winking. ‘Now, come on, Albus and Rose. What do you say we go get some dinner?’

The oldest three left the room. As soon as the door closed, Lily reached out and snapped the cloak and map into her hands and stowed them under her robes.

‘Lil,’ Hugo started to say.

‘You don’t have to come,’ she said to him. ‘But don’t tell if I do.’

23. Twenty-Three

Authors Notes: Hi all, hope you all had a good Easter (if you celebrate it, that is). Hope you enjoy the chapter, I’m looking forward to your reviews! TWENTY THREE

Dear Harry,

Can you believe it’s almost Halloween? Time is just flying. Do you remember the first Halloween we had at Hogwarts, when we defeated the troll? I should’ve known then that being friends with you would only bring disaster my way! But I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I’m kind of glad sometimes that we got up to so much mischief- it’s given me a good eye for it now and poor Rose and Hugo can’t even think about doing anything without me knowing what they’re up to!

I’m still really enjoying myself here in Australia. My role is mainly socialising and networking within the community, making friends who could become allies for us in the future. I never thought I would enjoy work like this, but I really do like it. It’s fascinating meeting the locals here and observing them- you’d think seeing as though the Australians are descendant from the British our customs and habits would be similar, but even the language is different! It took me a little while to get used to them referring to the loo as a ‘dunny’. And nothing bothers the Australian’s on staff- nothing! The most common response to a question is ‘no worries’.

Not to mention that it’s also very nice that the weather is starting to get nice and warm with summer on the way.

And before you even think it, no it doesn’t mean that I’m going to stay here forever. I will be back the day before term breaks at Hogwarts, so I can pick Rose and Hugo up from the train.

So how are things at the ministry? Did you get my official correspondence about getting an auror representee here in Australia? Though I shouldn’t be talking work right now, I just want to make sure you got it! Besides, if you consider the proposal has merits, you may just need to travel out here yourself and check it out.

I can’t wait until Christmas, to see you and the kids.

Love,

Hermione

~*~

Dear Hermione,

Yes, of course I remember that first Halloween! We’ve had some crazy times together over the last thirty years. I wish I could say the same about my three, but they still manage to pull the wool over my eyes. But, what can I say- many of my greatest memories come from the mischief we used to get up to (like the troll in the bathroom).

You’re enjoying socialising? Why couldn’t you find this enjoyment years ago- it would have saved me plenty of nights when Ginny wanted to go out, but no one would go with her! I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself though. It’s good to see you enjoying yourself.

Please don’t tease me about the weather- the days here are getting colder and longer.

And I only thought that for a second.

And yes I got your mail. You should have my rejection by now (sorry). We’ve been surprisingly busy lately, and I would have loved to have come and visit and have a handy excuse (not to mention have the Ministry pay for it), but I wouldn’t have been able to get away.

I’m heading up to Hogsmeade on Saturday. I spoke to Neville and it’s the first student day for the year and I’m planning on surprising the kids. I’ll let you know what happens.

Missing you.

Love,

Harry

~*~

Harry opened his eyes and he was standing on the familiar main street of Hogsmeade. Ahead he could see the bright orange of Weasley Wizard Wheeze’s Hogsmeade shop and he smiled. Being the first Hogsmeade visit of the year, George would surely be in the shop. He would have to stop in and say hello.

It was quite cold and Harry decided to head to The Three Broomsticks to warm up and keep an eye out for James, Albus and Rose.

‘Morning, Rosmerta,’ he said brightly as he walked in. The woman’s eyes lit up as she saw him.

‘Harry Potter!’ she exclaimed. ‘I haven’t seen you in years! I’m so sorry about Ginny, dear. I just felt so sad when I found out! And your poor children!’

‘Thank you, Rosmerta,’ he said, taking a seat at the bar. He still felt uncomfortable when he saw people he hadn’t seen since Ginny’s death- what was he supposed to say?

‘Mead? Or Firewhiskey?’

‘I might have a Gillywater, thanks,’ Harry said and Rosmerta looked at him oddly. ‘Just trying to cut back. And I have a few things to do today. And,’ he paused, checked his watch, and chuckled. ‘It’s a bit early. Even for me.’

Rosmerta laughed and sent the drink towards him with his wand.

‘Oh look, here come the masses.’

Harry followed her gaze out the window and saw the mass of black cloaks descending from Hogwarts.

‘Suppose you’re waiting for your lot?’

‘Thought I’d say hi.’

‘Go have a more comfortable seat,’ she said with a smile. ‘I’ll send them your way when they come in.’

Harry made his way across the pub into one of the more comfortable chairs up the back. He pulled his newspaper out from his pocket and pretended to read it whilst he waited.

~*~

‘Let’s go,’ Albus said to James, crankily, as they stood outside Honeydukes. Rose was standing with them, flicking through a small book. They’d waited inside the shop for about an hour, but they were being to look suspicious, so they hurriedly paid for their candy and moved outside and out of sight of the owners.

‘They’ve chickened out,’ she said sounding bored as she lazily turned a page. ‘Hugo would’ve talked Lily out of it.’

‘Thanks, sis,’ Hugo said, his head appearing from nowhere suddenly. Rose jumped, causing Albus and James to laugh.

‘Ready?’ Lily asked, appearing beside Hugo. She pulled the cloak off both of them and tucked it and the map into her robes.

The five of them walked up the main street together, keeping Lily and Hugo in the middle. They had a few tense moments when they saw Neville coming towards them, but they managed to get into Gladrags before he spotted the two second-years.

‘Put the cloak back on,’ Rose hissed at them as they watched Neville pass. ‘It’s too dangerous. You’ll be in so much trouble.’

‘Relax,’ Lily told her. ‘Who else could we run into? The other teachers are all busy today- I checked.’

They headed back out again and James pointed to the Three Broomsticks.

‘Let’s go have a drink and figure out what we want to do next.’

Inside the pub, Harry had finished his absent minded flick through the newspaper and he put it down, taking another sip of his Gillywater. The pub was slowly filling, but he still had a good view of the door.

He started to laugh when the door opened and James walked in, followed by Lily and Hugo, with Albus and Rose coming in last. He caught Rosmerta’s eye and made the quiet sign, pointing to the two that shouldn’t have been there. She winked at him and served the five teenagers without saying a word.

Harry waited until they were seated at a table, talking loudly before he approached.

‘Fancy seeing you here,’ he said. Hugo jumped and spilt his Butterbeer down his front. Lily went pale white and just stared at him.

‘Dad?’

‘Was just in the neighbourhood,’ he said, shrugging his shoulders and drawing a chair up to the table. He looked at his oldest son and smiled.

‘So you gave them the map,’ he said and James looked away. Harry looked back at Lily and smiled. ‘And you’ve got my cloak too.’

‘Don’t be mad,’ Lily said in a small voice and Harry laughed.

‘If you promise to put the cloak on once you’ve had your drink and go straight back to school, I won’t be mad.’

‘Please don’t tell mum,’ Hugo almost whispered.

‘Afraid I’ll have too,’ Harry said and the boy winced. ‘Parents code,’ he added with a wink.

‘So why are you here?’ Albus asked with curiosity.

‘Wanted to check up on you all,’ Harry said briskly. ‘And wanted to tell you something.’

He looked at all of them once, then focused on his own children.

‘I’m going to Spain next month,’ he said slowly. ‘To pay my respects for Ginny, and Ron.’

They reacted as he knew they would. The two girls looked like they would cry. James looked angry, Albus confused and Hugo just sad.

‘I will only be gone overnight,’ he assured them. ‘I’m taking a portkey there and back.’

‘Is it safe?’ Lily asked fearfully.

‘Safer than it was a year ago,’ he told them truthfully. ‘The muggles have security organised for the anniversary. The cause of the gas leak has been fixed, there’s nothing to worry about.’

He stood up and looked at their faces.

‘I just wanted to let you all know. I will arrange with Neville to visit you when I return.’

He ruffled the boys hair, kissed the girls on the cheek and headed out the door, disapparting from the street.

~*~

Dear Hermione,

I know I only just wrote, but I had an interesting day today. I went to Hogsmeade as I said I would, and you’ll never guess who was there.

Seems mine and Ron’s talent for trouble has been passed on to all of them (bar Rose who seemed like she didn’t want to be part of it at all).

Lily and Hugo used the map and the cloak to sneak into Hogsmeade.

After getting caught by me, I don’t think they’ll do it again in a hurry.

Don’t be too hard on Hugo when you write to him. Don’t send him a howler. I’m going to write to Neville and ask him to keep an eye on them next Hogsmeade visit too.

Wish you were going to be home in November.

See you at Christmas.

Love,

Harry

24. Twenty Four

Authors Notes: Well, I bet you all had given up and you thought I would never get around to updating this fic again! Well I'm finally here!

So why the incredibly long delay? Well, since I last updated this fic I have lived about ten lives- changing jobs twice and starting to commute 80 kilometers a day was just the start of it! So there has been so little time for fics! Not to mention that I also lost the most recent version of the story- I had about 3 on the go at once and one of them, I used to work on at the job I was at when I last updated. But in the rush when I left that job (I was leaving 2 days before going overseas and starting the new job as soon as I got back!) I didn't know which of my 7 email addresses I had sent it too! And the inboxes of all 7 fill with so much crap so easily and it has only been now that I have finally had time to be able to sit down, find it and organise uploading the last chapters.

But if you're still reading it, I really and truly hope you enjoy it and I'm going to do my best to get the story finished by the end of the year!

TWENTY FOUR

‘Are you sure everything will be right here?’ Hermione asked Kevin nervously from her office. Kevin smiled at her.

‘Mrs Weas- Hermione,’ he corrected on her glare. ‘Everything will be fine. You’ll only be gone for one night, two days. The engagements that were scheduled have been rearranged and there’s nothing that we can’t do without you.’

‘I don’t know what I’d do without you Kevin.’

‘You’d probably be curled up in the corner, shaking,’ he said and they both laughed.

The silver ball on the desk glowed slightly and Hermione placed her pinkie finger on it and felt herself being dragged forwards.

When she opened her eyes, she was standing in a familiar lane.

‘Don’t cry,’ she told herself firmly, placing the ball into her pocket. She looked around and noticed the ground just ahead. It was scuffed, as if someone had been there and gone into the bushes in a hurry.

Her mind kicked in straight away and she clutched her wand tightly inside the sleeve of the thin cardigan she was wearing.

‘Reveal yourself!’ she called, turning to face the bushes.

‘Hold your spell!” a voice replied. She pulled her wand out pointed it at the bush.

The bush started to quiver and she saw someone start to emerge.

‘Hermione?’ they said and she laughed.

‘Harry, what are you doing here?’

The relief of seeing that it was only Harry soared through her and without thinking she flung herself at him and hugged him tightly.

‘I had to come,’ he said, holding her as tightly as she was holding him.

‘Same.’

They hugged for a long time, before breaking apart and walking down the lane together, hand in hand. As they walked, he could see the house they had stayed in a year ago.

The sight made him squeeze Hermione’s hand. She squeezed back.

~*~

‘Dad’ll be in Spain by now,’ Lily said, sitting down on a lounge in the common room beside James.

‘Good for him,’ he said, not looking up from the book of poker hints Harry had given him over the summer.

‘Please don’t revert back to how you were,’ Lily begged him. ‘You’ve been so much better since your accident. We can all stand to be around you.’

‘He shouldn’t go back there.’

‘He wants to pay his respects for mum,’ she said sadly. ‘If we didn’t have school, I would’ve gone with him.’

‘You don’t see Aunt Hermione going.’

‘That’s because she’s in Australia, across the other side of the world. I’m sure if she was closer, she’d go too.’

~*~

The site that had been the markets once upon a time had been cleared and barricaded. At the point that had been the entrance, a temporary memorial had been erected. Wreaths of flowers with names lay here, along with photos and mementos of those who had been lost.

Groups of people stood around, spread out from the other groups, but each group huddled in close. Harry gripped Hermione’s hand tighter and reached into his jacket pocket.

Inside was one of the very few muggle photographs of the four of them. He smiled as he looked at it.

Ginny looked so happy here. Her long red hair was sparkling in the sunlight and she was smiling so widely.

Ron looked happy too, but he wasn’t looking at the camera. He was looking at Hermione beside him, smiling at her. It was clear from his expression that the only thing he was thinking about was her.

He showed the photo to Hermione and she nodded, knowing what he wanted to do. They both crouched in front of the barricade and, slyly using his wand, attached the photo to the growing number of them on the barricade.

They stepped back and looked at it for a moment.

‘I love you, Ginny,’ Harry said softly.

‘I miss you, Ron,’ Hermione said at the same time. ‘And I love you.’

They stood there for a few moments and then Hermione looked up at him.

‘Want to go back to that pub?’

They walked up to the pub they had last eaten in as a foursome. They sat at the same table and ordered the same food.

And for the first time in year, they talked about Ron and Ginny. Not about missing them, but told stories and laughed. They didn’t even realise that it was getting dark, until Hermione looked up and stared at the stars.

‘This has been nice,’ she told him with a smile. ‘I’m glad I came.’

‘I’m glad you did too,’ Harry said. ‘Just wish you’d told me you were coming.’

‘You should have told me,’ she said and they both laughed.

Harry paid their tab at the bar and they headed out and down to the beach. They walked until they couldn’t see the pub no more and Hermione sat down on the sand and kicked off her shoes. Harry did the same and they sat there together in quiet.

After a while, they laid down as they talked and Hermione rolled onto her side and looked Harry in the face.

‘I wish I didn’t have to go back to Sydney,’ she said sadly.

‘So do I.’

He rolled onto his side and met her gaze.

‘I’m counting down until you come home,’ Harry said slowly.

‘So am I,’ she whispered.

Harry bent his head and touched his forehead to hers. Hermione’s heart started to beat faster and she took hold of the hand she could reach and held it tight. His green eyes looked deep into hers and her heart felt like it would beat out of her chest. She felt frozen in place- she knew she should move, but she didn't want too.

‘I think we should go,’ he said suddenly, sitting up, shaking Hermione into action.

‘Yes. Good idea.’

~*~

They walked back to the village holding hands and Hermione’s motel was the first stop. They stood outside the door to her room, before Harry kissed her on the cheek and headed to his own motel.

Once inside the room, Hermione lent against the door and slid down to the floor.

It was strange. She was here to pay tribute to her husband, but what exactly had happened back on the beach? She and Harry had been writing to each other every other day since she had gone to Australia, and she had never really read too much into them.

And why was Harry counting down until she came home? And why was she so eager to go back?

Her head felt heavy as she picked herself up and laid down on the hard bed and stared at the ceiling.

It’s only been a year.

Ron would want you to be happy.

It’s only been a year.

It’s not like Harry is a stranger.

It’s only been a year.

Ginny would be happy as well.

It’s only been a year.

The children would be happy.

It’s only been a year.

These thought carried her off to sleep and when the bright sunlight awoke her in the morning, she was just as confused.

Several blocks away, Harry hadn’t slept at all. He knew what he had been about to do on the beach and he was glad he had stopped it. Hermione was his best friends wife.

And he didn’t know what had made him want to do what he wanted to do. After everything that they had gone through in the last year, and the separation of the last few months

‘Maybe it’s just being here,’ he reasoned with himself as he headed into the bathroom and washed his face.