Author's Note: Well let's first address the one major issue in the last bit. I wrote an anecdote for Harry about a Polar Bear. It totally slipped my mind that Polar Bears were in the North and not South Pole. Sorry about that, and good catch guys. Luckily the Polar Bear thing doesn't effect the story. Well on to other things, Let me just say that the amount of positive responses I've gotten this early in has been awesome, thank you all so much for reading. Hope you enjoy this next bit as well.
Hermione stepped into the hallway. She waited for the sound of the door click behind her before she hugged herself. She smiled and sighed deeply. That had gone well. Much better than she had expected. It was weird for her to see him again. She reminded her of a time in her life when she was strong enough to stand for what she believed. He looked so different now, as if to remind her of the time that had passed.
His travels had changed him though. She wondered if perhaps it had changed him too much. He was her best friend, he had always meant so much to her. When he had told them he was leaving she was destroyed, but she understood. He had needed his time away. To find himself perhaps. Maybe only to crawl out of the dark place he had found himself in. She had hated to see him the way he was before he left. He was dull and listless. Devoid in a way she couldn't describe. A part of him had died when he had been forced to take another life.
But he was back. Different but back. Though there was something growing in her again, like it had during the war. A feeling in the pit of her stomach which glowed inside her and spread warmth through her extremities. When she had seen the picture of him standing next to that pretty girl in a far away land a stab of pain shot through her heart. She was bright enough to decipher the meaning of her emotions. Excepting it was totally different. She had buried these thoughts once before.
Was she ready to possibly destroy the greatest friendship of her life? Was she strong enough to face it if the answer turned out to be no? And more so could she forgive him? While she understood his need to leave it did not mean that his doing so hadn't been a huge emotional blow to her. She was a wreak for weeks. She had never managed to really put herself back together completely. She had never known such loss. She had thought that after the war they would all be together again, but Harry messed that dream up. He put her through something that she wasn't entirely sure she could justify, that she could get over because he was tall and muscular now.
Still, it had gone well. She could only have hoped for that. It had gone well and more so, she was the first to see him. She was the first to see Harry Potter again after three years, and for some reason that made her happy.
* * *
Harry wiped his hand across the fogged bathroom mirror. The heat from his shower had been intense. He felt clean for what must've been the first time in years. He stared at his face. It was older than he remembered. His eyes sunk in deeper, as though the things he had seen in his life had an effect on them. His hair was unruly even when wet but he had managed to push it back over his scalp. He ran his hand through his beard. He wondered if he really should just shave it off. It didn't look terrible, in fact he quiet liked it. It fit on his face. When he had first left it wouldn't have, though when he first left he could barely grow a beard.
For some reason though Hermione calling his beard silly resonated with him. Finally he decided to shave the damned thing off. When he was done he walked into his kitchen and rifled through his fridge to see if Hermione had left anything good. She had told him about her crashing at his flat some nights. He understood, his place was closer to the Ministry. Still he was starving. He found some leftover Chinese and sat in front of the television as he ate. He hadn't watched TV in a long time and found it kind of off putting.
He had sent his owls before he took his shower. He wasn't really sure how long it would be before his first response so he decided to lounge about for awhile. Then he heard the distinct crack noise that signified someone apperating. A sound he hadn't heard in a very long time. He turned his head toward the door and there stood a tall red head man with an excited look on his face.
"Harry!" Ron shouted before he ran forward and pulled Harry into a great big bear hug.
"Good to see you too Ron." Harry coughed out happily.
"Get your clothes on, mate." Ron demanded, "We're going to the pub!"
With that Harry was dressed and out the door. Ron took him round to their favorite pub and they spent their time there catching up and sharing good drinks and hearty laughs. It was like no time had passed between Harry leaving and getting back. They right back into their routine, as the greatest of friends always do. Ron filled Harry in on all he had missed in Quidditch while away and Harry told Ron about the exotic locals of his journey. As the night wore on they found themselves walking through the streets of London. Laughing a little too loudly for the scarce few people also out that late at night.
When they stumbled onto a children's park Harry took a seat on one of the swings. Ron took the swing beside him. Neither made any real attempt to swing, they just let the night air envelop them. Their heads spinning slightly with the euphoric high of old friendships and good beer. Finally Harry said it, the thing that had been on his mind since he first got word of the engagement.
"I can't believe you're getting married."
"I know, right." Ron laughed a little, "Ron Weasly tying the knot. Weird that."
"Luna, too. How did that happen?" Harry wondered.
"It's hard to explain love." Ron sounded so much wiser than he ever had before, "Sometimes it stares you in the face for years and you just don't have the courage to take a chance. That's what it was for me and Luna."
"Yeah?" Harry asked nervously. This was a new kind of conversation for them. As best friends they had discussed so much, but never love. Not really.
"Sure. She was there, mate." Ron paused, letting himself get washed over in the nostalgia, "I always thought she was pretty and everything, but I was never the kind of man that could forgive her, her oddities. Not until you left."
"I left?" Harry asked concerned.
"Yeah." Ron answered, "That's when it all stared to come together for me. Hermione and me had been over for so long before you left, we just hadn't said the words. You left and I realized that it was okay to do something for yourself. I realized that all of us were a little messed up and shaken about the war." Ron sighed, "You never stopped showing us the path, mate. You never stopped leading us."
"Wow. Thank you." Harry smiled.
"And look, not to sound mean or anything, " Ron prefaced, "But when you left it ripped a hole in the world. And don't, there is no need to apologize, we all understand."
Harry nodded and indicated Ron continue.
"We all sort of started to wonder what was going to happen next. None of us had really thought about life without Harry Potter." Ron stared into the night sky, "Never thought we'd have to. But you're leaving, Merlin did that force us to. We grew up. We moved on and we found a way to live."
"And Luna was your way?" Harry asked.
"Yes." Ron looked at his old friend and smiled, "After Hermione and I broke it off she gave me time and space. But she was around, you know. We had dinner together and we hung out, we watched rubbish on TV. It was great, just to have her there. We even talked about you."
"Me?" Harry looked into the face of his best friend trying to find traces of whether he had hurt him or not.
"Yeah you." Ron smiled, "We talked about you and my family. About Hermione and about the war. We talked about Fred, how much I missed him. Eventually she was just the one. I loved her before I realized I did. It's sort of a long story, but turns out she loved me too. Two years in I asked her to marry me."
"That's awesome. Really fantastic." Harry clapped his hand on Ron's shoulder.
"It is." Ron nodded, "Thing of it is though, we were going to put it off. We had a couple of times already."
"Why?" Harry asked concerned.
"Don't be a git." Ron chided warmly, "Because I would never be able to get married with you for my best man."
"Ron, I don't know what to say." Harry was touched.
"Say you'll be my best man then."
"Ron," Harry began, emotion welling in his throat, "You never even had to ask. You're my best mate. Of course I will."
"Great, oh you owe me a bachelor party by the way." Ron kidded.
"Right. Where am I going to find a clown and a blow up play pen this late in the season?" Harry shot back.
"Dunno." Ron grinned, "but we'll manage."
"About the wedding." Harry confessed, "I don't really know who I'm bringing as a plus one."
"We'll manage that too." Ron grinned in his devious way.
The boys talked for a little while about anything and everything before they decided to pack it in for the night. Ron went home, he had apparently moved into a place with Luna and left the burrow. Harry went home. As soon as he was in he saw the pile of mail at his window sill. The owls all gone. He took off his jacket and hung it in the closet before he crossed the living room and scooped up all of his post.
There were letters from everyone, welcoming him back and demanding that they see him before the wedding. He would try to find the time. There was one though, which was addressed to him in the cramped but pretty handwriting he remembered as Ginny's. He opened it and was suddenly lost again.
Harry,
It's great to hear that you're back. We need to meet up. I don't think we ever really settled things between you and I. It took your absence to make me realize it, Harry. I love you. Please, come see me.
Love always, Ginny.
Harry just stared at the letter. He hated to confess it to anyone, but he hadn't thought about Ginny at all in several months. He didn't know how he felt about her. He didn't know what he would say to her when and if he did meet her. What's more he had a weird tugging in the pit of his stomach that told him his heart belong to another. He couldn't tell who, he just knew that whatever else he could give Ginny, his heart was not his own property anymore. His head sunk in self pity as he realized he wasn't the sort that put things off anymore either. He would have to meet up with Ginny, but he didn't want to hurt her. He was sure his leaving had hurt enough people.
Besides which, it's not to say he didn't like her. She was strong and courageous and even beautiful. Harry had loved her once. He couldn't deny that. Also it was really close to Ron's wedding for him to go breaking the guy's sister's heart. "Happy wedding, this is your crying sister", Harry thought grimly. He sighed and looked at the hall that lead to his room. He figured he'd give his old bed a try and worry about everything else in the morning.