A/N: Okay, so, really long time since I've posted anything here! Before you splatter me with innumerable pieces of fruit and a few root vegetables, let me promise that I have been writing profusely-I just haven't finished anything yet. I'm actually working on a new novel, which I may or may not post in the near future, depending on the amount of work I'm able to do on it.
That being said, please enjoy this long-overdue instalment of TNGA as a peace offering, since I realized just how mean the last cliffy was upon rereading the piece.
~*~
"Harry! Harry!"
Harry's hand slid limply away from Hermione's as he turned, stunned, towards the source of the sound. Three figures, clad in Muggle clothes, were running towards him over the great expanse of grass that surrounded his first real home. It only took a second for his brain to recognize them, and then he was running faster than he had ever run before, running to them as though they might disappear if he didn't make it in time.
There was a great "Oof!" as they all collided with one another, and then Harry's world became a jumble of happy voices and arms squeezing him from all sides.
"Mum!" he cried in joyful disbelief. "Dad! Sirius!"
It took a minute, but the noise finally died down and he found himself wrapped up in his mother's arms. Again, he felt incredibly grateful for the fact that people were tangible in this place. It allowed him to hug his parents for the very first time.
"Mum," he murmured, resting his head on her shoulder. He closed his eyes for a moment as her pretty red hair brushed against his face and was surprised, but not all that bothered, when he began to feel tears gathering behind his eyelids.
"Oh, Harry," she whispered back, giving him a squeeze. "My beautiful little boy."
A hand clapped him on the back and Harry opened his slightly damp eyes to see his father smiling down at him.
"What am I, chopped liver?" James asked lightly, holding out his arms. Harry held on to his mother for one more second before moving to hug his father. He was slightly embarrassed when a small sniffle escaped him. Here he was, meeting his father for the first time, and he was crying like a girl.
"There, now," James said quietly, pulling his son close to him. "It's all right."
Harry might have been less embarrassed about his crying if he had been able to see that his father wasn't looking all that manly either.
~*~
Hermione sat on the wooden steps leading up to the gazebo-like structure from which she and Harry had emerged and watched with a smile on her lips as her best friend and three of his lost loved ones were reunited. She didn't mind that he had forgotten about her. It made her happy, watching him hug his mother and father, watching Sirius grab him in a crushing bear hug, laughing his bark-like laugh all the while. It was nice to see him smiling, surrounded by people who loved him, finally getting to enjoy freedom from everything that had burdened him throughout his life.
Still, happy as she was to be able to watch the joyful scene going on in front of her, a part of her mind still wondered why she was here. Had it simply been a matter of being in the same place at the same time as Harry when they were both killed by Voldemort? Did timing have anything to do with where one ended up after death? Was it because she and Harry had been killed by the same man, the same wand, the same curse? She couldn't seem to work out a plausible explanation, no matter how much she thought about it. Every time she came up with a way to justify her presence in what was obviously Harry's "heaven", Sirius became a flaw in her explanation. If being killed at the same time was the reason, Lily and James being here together made perfect sense, but Sirius had died years later. If being killed by the same man or the same wand sent people to the same place, Sirius threw the theory off yet again. Voldemort hadn't killed him; he had gone through the veil at the Department of Mysteries. So what was the reason for people ending up in the same afterlife?
She didn't have time to think about it any further before the flaw in all of her theories came jogging up to the place where she sat.
"So it is you," he said with a smile. "I thought you looked familiar. Nice to see you again, Hermione. Though I don't suppose that these are the best of circumstances for a reunion," he added, probably realizing exactly what he was smiling about.
She chuckled softly and accepted the hand that he offered to help her up. "Maybe not, but it's nice to see you again too, Sirius. How are you?" she asked.
"Dead," he replied wryly.
She rolled her eyes. "Besides the obvious."
He smiled again. "Great. Really great."
He looked it. For the first time since Hermione had met him, he looked happy and healthy instead of lonely and gaunt. As he began to walk back toward Lily, James and Harry, she saw a spring in his step that had never been there before. Being back with his friends in their old haunt was obviously doing him some good.
She knew that he meant for her to follow him, but she hesitated in front of the steps. He noticed within a few moments and turned back around, a questioning expression on his face.
"Aren't you coming?" he asked.
She suddenly felt very shy. "I don't know. I feel like I'm intruding on something."
His expression softened. "You're not. Come on, Lily and James are going to want to meet you," he said, gesturing for her to follow him. "They don't bite," he added encouragingly.
Hermione hesitated again. "Are you sure? This all seems a little personal…"
Sirius rolled his eyes at her and walked back to take her by the hand and pull her bodily along with him.
"Harry's had his personal moment," he assured her as he led her toward the three Potters. "If you're here, you're welcome."
Upon hearing that, Hermione turned to face him as they walked. "Sirius, do you have any idea why I'm-"
She didn't get to finish before they reached Lily, James and Harry. The two eldest Potters smiled at her, while the youngest looked rather sheepish.
"You didn't say that anyone had come with you, Harry," said James, giving his son a look.
"I… guess I forgot," he admitted, "but only for a second," he added in an attempt to redeem himself. "Mum, Dad, this is-"
"We know, love," Lily gently cut him off. "Did you think we would let you go all these years without checking up on you now and then?" she asked when he blinked in surprise. Stepping forward, she offered her son's best friend a smile. "Hello, Hermione."