A/N: Skipping forward to Hogwarts.
~~~ Chapter 2: Further and Further Away ~~~
Hermione gritted her teeth when she felt eyes on her once more. She refused to acknowledge the gazes, keeping her head down as she continued to do her studies. She was currently at her table in the corner at the back of the library. People knew they weren't to disturb her but that didn't stop people from looking over at her.
She knew she couldn't blame them as she had disappeared for a year after Harry's death. She had heard all the rumours since she had come back. It ranged from her having a breakdown to becoming psycho waiting to kill them all in their sleep. She mentally snorted. She really hated it when people were far more concerned about other people's lives rather than focusing on what was really important…Voldemort.
The Daily Prophets has been reporting mysterious deaths regarding the Wizarding World's most respected Purebloods. Apparently someone has been going around and killing them, making sure they would display the death mark as clear as possible but the Ministry has been making excuses for each person. They had obviously been threatened, under the imperious curse, didn't feel that that anyone could help them. It was beginning to grate on her nerves as she knew that the people who were marked were more than likely had all but begged Voldemort to mark them.
Fudge had stepped down during the summer after Fifth year when it was revealed that Voldemort was most indeed alive, just like Harry had tried to warn everyone since the end of his fourth year. Fudge had tried his hardest to win back the public but after Harry's death, the public had demanded him to step down and he did so, shamed and without a single Knut to rub together.
Amelia Bones should have taken the spot as the minister but unfortunately, a Rufus Scrimgeor, had taken over the spot and, in her opinion; he was just as bad as Fudge. He and Dumbledore had joined up together in a bid to show a united front against Voldemort, to bolster the public's morale. But the more irritating thing was…the arrests. All of them were innocent people who didn't have a connection to the Death Eaters. Lucius Malfoy still walked about the Ministry like he owned the place. They weren't investigating the anonymous reports of who was a death eater. They just ignored them and concentrated on picking out people who had nothing to do with it all.
With Fudge, he was content to sit as Voldemort slowly but surely gathered his followers and rose in powers. He refused to believe Harry's warning and he been thrown out as a result. Scrimgeor, he is arresting left and right with barely any evidence to prove the person was a death eater. All the old members of the Death Eaters weren't being brought in for questioning.
Just because Harry was prophesised to be the one to take down Voldemort didn't mean that there weren't things they could do to stop Voldemort from gaining a foothold into dominating the Wizarding World then the muggle world. They could take their time to gather evidence, to look at the old reports of the first time Tom Riddle had risen to power rather than attacking left and right in hope they would find something.
Shaking her head, Hermione came back to reality and looked down at her homework that she was currently working on. People would tease her because she preferred to do her homework the moment she got it but right now, it was helping her. It kept her distracted for the moment and it gave her plenty of time to do what she needed to do. But at the moment, there was someone sitting across from her doing his best to attract her attention.
"Hermy," the irritating nickname came from Ron. Hermione's hand tightened around her quill, threatening to snap it in half. She didn't know how many times she must tell him to stop calling her by that name. No matter what, it just didn't seem to sink in. Even Harry had stayed faithful to her given name. "Hermy…" Ron tried once more only to flinch when Hermione lifted her eyes and pinned him with a deadly glare.
"Stop calling me that name. My. Name. Is. Hermione." The last statement was emphasised to make it very clear that she would not tolerate any other names. Ron rolled his eyes.
"We've been friends for nearly seven years. I think I have gained a right to call you by a nickname," Ron waved it off.
"Ron," Ron looked at her. "Call me Hermy one more time; I will drop your friendship right here and right now. See how well you can pass your exams without my help." Ron flushed as he remembered getting his exam results before the summer. His mother had been furious and ashamed over how bad his exam marks were that she threatened to kick him out of the house unless he pulled himself up and started working hard for his exams.
"We don't have to worry about the exams right now. It's only the beginning of the year," Ron muttered. Hermione just gritted her teeth as she continued writing, wanting to get her thoughts onto paper before she lost her place. "I…I was just wondering if you would like to be my girlfriend," Ron said. Hermione's hand froze in mid-writing, unable to believe what she was hearing. She lifted her eyes.
"What?" her voice barely above a whisper.
"Would you be my girlfriend?" Ron asked, more confident. "Everyone is expecting us to get together, you know. Beside, with You-Know-Who on the loose and Harry isn't around to save us anymore, we should make the best of what we have." The scrape of Hermione's chair being pushed back forcefully broke Ron out of his thoughts and he saw Hermione was gathering up her stuff. "You haven't answered my question." Hermione shot him a glare.
"No, I will not be your girlfriend," Hermione informed him. Ron stared at her, dumbstruck. He had been positive that Hermione had harboured feelings for him.
"No?" he repeated.
"No," she confirmed.
"Why?" Ron asked, confused. "We like each other. Everyone thinks we belong to each other." Ron stood up.
"I do not belong to anyone, Ronald Weasley," Hermione bit out as she picked up her carefully stacked books, papers and quills before she glared at him. "I have never harboured any romantic feelings for you so whoever `everyone' is, they have gotten their information wrong."
"Is…is it because of Harry?" Ron asked unthinkingly. Hermione froze, her breath caught in her lungs as she stared at Ron disbelievingly. "He's dead, Hermione. He's not coming back." He reached out to touch her, to bring her back to reality and to make her see that being with him was the best thing for her. Hermione, however, had a different idea and stepped back, moving out of Ron's reach.
"I know Harry's dead," she hissed out, her lower lip trembling when she said Harry's name. "I know Harry's dead," She repeated, shaking her head, "So don't you dare use Harry as an excuse why I won't go out with you. Don't you dare!" she turned on her heels and stormed out of the library, leaving Ron staring after her.
Anger rushed through her veins, giving her the energy she needed to reach the Gryffindor's portrait.
"Password?" the Fat Lady asked softly when she spotted Hermione walking toward her.
"Seeker's Snitch," Hermione replied in a controlled voice. The Fat Lady nodded, swinging open to let the young witch in. Hermione made her way through the Common Room, ignoring her classmates as they watched her, hurrying up the stairs of the girls' room until she reached a dead end of the stairs. Looking behind her to make sure there was no one there, she pressed her hand against the wall and it shimmered, allowing her to pass through it like it was made of liquid.
Once she passed through the wall, it reverted back to its solid form, betraying nothing to any passer-by.
The room was simple with a four poster double bed in the middle of the room. There was a desk off to the right, where she set down her bundle. To the left were a wardrobe and her trunk. There was a door next to her trunk, leading the way to the bathroom. No one knew of the room and Hermione was happy to keep it that way. When she had returned to Hogwarts, she didn't want to share a room with the girls and had asked Dobby if he knew of a place for her to stay. He found this room and she had taken it straight away. The girls assumed that she was staying somewhere else in the castle.
Hermione moved over to her desk and set the books and papers down, placing her bag next to it before she paced the room almost violently for a few moments. She couldn't believe Ron. How could he even think about asking her out…especially with Voldemort out in the world building his power each day? Oh, she knew that Ron may have harboured some romantic feelings for her and she had entertained the idea back in her fourth year but seeing his jealousy against Harry made her wonder if Ron genuinely wanted her for her…or if she was just something he didn't want Harry Potter to have. It ate at her whenever she thought of Ron's jealously toward Harry. Harry had never wanted his fame and the money and all the girls. All he wanted was his parents and god-father but Ron, being narrow-minded, never saw that. He let his jealously get in the way.
Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Hermione sighed as she sat down on the bed, looking at the small bedside table to see the dagger, the same dagger she had tried to take her own life with, sitting on it. The edge of the blade was still stained with her blood, the only evidence that she had come close. She closed her eyes, resisting the temptation to give into her initial desire and she lay down on her side on her bed.
It wasn't her bed from her dormitory, it was Harry's bed. The boys just assumed that Professor McGonagall had removed it but Hermione had found a way to move it into her secret room. The scent of Harry still lingered on the bed and she hadn't wanted to give it up.
Lost in her thoughts, Hermione was startled when she felt a shift in the bed but she didn't open her eyes.
"What happened to the Hermione Granger who would kick my arse because I wasn't doing my homework?" the voice asked. A faint smile crossed Hermione's lips.
"I can still kick your arse," she assured the voice and got a chuckle in return.
"I know you could…but you're different," the voice told her and Hermione felt her smile fade.
"It was bound to happen," she told the voice. "No one can stay the same after what happened."
"I'm sorry," the voice apologised but Hermione shook her head as she shifted so she was facing him.
"Don't be. We knew that they would come after one of us," she told him, lifting her hand to cup his cheek. "They came for you." Tears filled her eyes. His green eyes softened as he moved in closer, his hand covering hers.
"Don't cry," he whispered.
"They tortured you," she told him tearfully. "I lost…" he reached over and kissed her softly to prevent her from saying anything else. He hated seeing her cry. Whenever Ron would make her cry, it tore his heart and made him angry toward the tall boy. But to be the reason why Hermione was crying broke his heart into pieces.
Her hand clutched desperately at the black shirt he was wearing. She shifted so she could move in closer to him, sliding her left thigh over his hip. His right hand came down and caressed the soft skin of her thigh, pulling her in further so they were pressed against each other. Despite their actions, their kisses were soft, comforting.
Soon they broke apart, he rubbed his nose against hers and she opened her eyes to meet bright green ones again.
"Harry," she whispered as he pressed his forehead against hers.
"Please don't mourn for me, Hermione," he pleaded, his thumb stroking her cheek. "I can't bear to see you cry."
"You were taken away from me," she sniffled as more tears filled her eyes. "How can I not mourn for you, Harry? You were the one thing that made Hogwarts worth it." He closed his eyes. "I miss you. I miss the way I feel safe around you. I miss the way I get excited whenever I learn something new because I can share it with you. I miss the way you can comfort me just by being there. I miss your smile whenever I ramble…" He opened his eyes.
"Because you're cute when you ramble," he cut in with a soft smile and she blushed.
"I miss you," she finished lamely as she fought hard to keep her tears at bay. It wasn't fair that she had lost her best friend, it just wasn't.
"You'll get through it," he promised her. "You'll be stronger in the end, that I promise." He kissed her again and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in further, needing to feel him against her. His hand tightened on her thigh as he thrusted himself up into her, rubbing against her.
They broke lip contact to breathe as one by one; their clothes were removed until she could feel nothing but his skin against hers, his heart beating under his ribs and his breath on her shoulder as he kissed her neck.
Her hands ran over the soft skin of his back. He was on top of her, heavy and real with the soft cotton underneath her. His hands caressed her body, committing it to memory as he slid into her, filling her up. He grabbed her hands, linking their fingers and brought them up to pin them into the pillow beside her head before he pulled out and thrusted into her as deep as he could go. There was a twinge of pain but Hermione pushed it out of her mind. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pushing her hips up to meet his downward thrusts.
It was gentle, savouring as they got acquainted with the other bodies, learning what they liked. He would stare down at her with bright green eyes as she would stare up at him with dark brown ones.
Hermione came with a gasp of his name, her hips arching up into his, her legs locked around his waist and her walls, warm and soft, tightened around him. He groaned as he emptied himself into her before he slumped down, his head resting on her chest as she sighed, her eyes closed and a lazy smile crossed her lips. Her hands played with the thick dark locks before she bent her head and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.
It felt good to feel him against her. He felt good, heavy and real. It was so easy to believe that the last year hadn't happened. That she was back in her fifth year and he was still alive and whole. She closed her eyes as a tear slipped free. He reached up and brushed the tear away before placing a kiss in the valley between her breasts.
Regaining his strength, he lifted himself up and brushed his lips over hers before he shifted so they were on their sides. His fingers lightly caressed her body as she snuggled into him, resting her head on his chest to feel his heart beating. It felt good to feel it and to hear it once more.
"Harry…" she started but an index finger over her lips stopped her.
"Sleep," he ordered her softly, his other hand brushing over her hair. She gave him a soft smile.
"I love you so much, Harry," Hermione whispered as she eyes closed, allowing her to fall into a deep sleep, unaware that Harry was no longer there.
TBC
Yep - not very smutty but then again, it's not meant to be…
Fic Request: I'm looking for any stories that have Harry growing up with the Tonks or at least have Harry/Tonks developing a Brother/Sister relationship with Harry/Hermione. I don't mind whatever pairing Tonks is in. Again, if anyone can help me out, just leave it in a Review or a Private Message. Thanks.
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