It Takes Time

Green_Eye_Sparkle16

Rating: NC17
Genres: Drama, Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 7
Published: 12/09/2014
Last Updated: 12/09/2014
Status: in_progress

Love is PATIENT. Love is KIND. Love ALWAYS PERSEVERES!

Chapters

1. Compatibility

1. Compatibility

A/N: Hello! It's been a solid oh...I'd say 7 or 8 years since I've written a fanfic. Until recently I've been a bit out of the loop. I'll admit that when JKR's interview with Emma Watson came out, the H/Hr shipper in me came out of hiding for a little bit. Though I think her explanations came like 10 years and a printed epilogue way too late, I was still a little excited to hear that we all weren't as crazy as everyone made us out to be. With this fic, I did want to take JKR's feelings toward the R/Hr and H/G pairings into consideration. I wanted to explore the possibility of those relationships actually being real and continuing after Hogwarts. I didn't want to dismiss it since it was practically rubbed in our faces the last two books. With that being said, I want to assure you that this is 100% a H/Hr story, just stick with me. :) Anyhow, in short the interview led me back to Portkey to reminisce which then led to a writing bug! So, here it is! Hope you enjoy. Reviews and feedback appreciated! *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Compatibility

It was 5 a.m. on a Saturday morning and Harry was unable to get back to sleep. He'd been in an out of it since he fell into bed nearly six hours ago. He closed his eyes with a sigh and willed his mind to shut down, but his thoughts were too occuppied.

The night before had been a rough one. He had just finished a report on his latest Auror case and had been starving after a 12 hour day. He'd gone to the deli down the street from the Ministry of Magic to grab a sandwich before they closed when he ran into Ginny, his ex-girlfriend and her husband of two years, Wilder Vanzen - an extremely large man who played proffessional Quidditch as a Keeper for the Foulmouth Falcons. They'd met at the Quidditch World Cup three years ago.

Harry had surprised himself by being genuinely happy for them. After an otherwise awful break up years ago, he and Ginny had managed to mend their friendship; Harry was grateful for that. But tonight he had felt a pang of what he was sure was loneliness and even a touch of jealously. He felt foolish thinking so, but he knew it was due to the fact that this was another reminder that Ginny had found someone to spend eternity with and he still hadn't.

He'd had some good times with Ginny, but he'd always known that there was something missing between them. They'd had a chemistry that was only surface level and had remained so for years. Eventually it had been their undoing. After their break up, Harry looked back and realized that he'd simply been a naive teenager thinking that he and Ginny would live happily ever after. As he matured he would see clearly that they lacked a certain intimacy, a certain level of communication that was necessary for a successful relationship. Unfortunately it had taken him years into their relationship to realize it, but there it was: Ginny just wasn't his soulmate.

With Ginny, it had been like lightning, smack in the middle of his teenage years when he'd started to see her in a different light. She was beautiful, courageous, funny, stubborn and above all else: wild at heart - and at sixteen, to Harry she was irrisistable. Over the years they'd had a lot of fun. After graduating from Hogwarts Harry had gone straight into Auror training, which kept him ridiculously busy. Kingsley Shacklebolt had become the new Minister for Magic and the very day of is initiation had inisted that Harry join him in the Ministry as an Aurror. He'd wanted Harry to get in the basic training and when the time was right, become a permanent fixture in shaping a new Auror program. Harry was only to happy to oblige.

Ginny had also been quite busy. She had tried out for - and been accepted into the minor league team for the Holyhead Harpies. Between her practices and Harry's training, they barely had time for each other. Occasionally they found time to squeeze in a few professional matches together. Harry could remember one particular match between the Appleby Arrows and Puddlemere United that was so intense it went on for five hours until the Puddlemere Seeker finally caught the Snitch. By the time they had stumbled back to Harry's flat in a drunken stupor they were so riled up from the game that they tumbled into bed and had wild, mindblowing sex.

Harry's eyes fluttered open at the thought of it, but not for reasons that one might assume. He remembered his sex life with Ginny being nothing short of amazing. But when they weren't tumbling into bed after amazing Quidditch matches or snogging each other senseless after having a bit much to drink on days off, their lives together seemed to unravle. In the beginning things had been good between them. They were both young and ready to take on the world; nothing could get in their way. And when you're that young and carefree, sex is as good of a reason as any to keep things moving along. But as the years passed, both seemed to want something more from the other. Harry began to feel the strain of his past and wanted nothing more than to take root and find some routine in his life.

Ginny on the other hand had wanted to keep moving at a pace that quickly became too intense for Harry. She had commited herself fully to her Quidditch matches, which Harry was only to happy to support, but her job required her to travel a lot. Often she would, for lack of a better word - whine that Harry couldn't join her. Harry would always attend her home games, but he had just been too focused on his Auror training to pull himself out of it for more than a day or two.

The off-season was the worst. There were no more matches and no more practices which freed up Ginny's schedule immensely. She would come to Harry's flat and insist they take an impromptu trip to Brazil or go to a concert every other night or buy a horde of Pygmy Puffs and name them all Benny and Joon (she had developed a taste for Muggle cinema also). These suggestions were fine at one point in Harry's life, but they were becoming a constant in Ginny's day in and day out. Harry began to wonder if she was getting bored. He had been focusing a lot on Auror training and maybe he could pay a little more attention to Ginny by taking her on a short trip or something. It certainly wouldn't kill him to get away for a bit. After all, back at Hogwarts he was always getting into mischief with Ron and Hermione, not to mention defeating dark wizarding overlords. It couldn't possibly get much more out of control than that.

Harry had planned a small weekend trip to the country, once but Ginny had caught the stomach flu and without saying a word to her the surprise had gone out the window. Harry knew something wasn't right with his relationship when he simply blamed the timing of it all and didn't try again.

After what felt like an eternity Harry had finished Auror training and was assigned to a partner named Garrett Flynn. Harry and Garrett were instantly compatible as partners, both respected each other and had each others backs in difficult situations. To increase skill and performance, both would train diligently for hours after work and head out for a drink after. Not suprisingly, Ginny became jealous. Whenever they had time together she would make a point to suggest that Harry had lost interest in her and that he'd rather spend time with his partner. At his, Harry would get angry because she was not entirely wrong, but he hadn't wanted to admit it to himself, much less her. But it was true, he had been ignoring her on purpose.

One night, after a particulary long day, Harry snapped. He had come home ready to kick off his shoes and relax only to find Ginny in his kitchen, dressed to the nines announcing that they were going out for the night...again. She had just finished a shot of Firewhiskey when Harry errupted. "Enough!" he'd said. "I can't do this anymore, Ginny." He hadn't meant to say the things he said following, or to hurt her feelings but what was done was done. He'd told her that they just weren't meant to be together, that they just weren't as compatible as they once had been years ago. He could see her now, after an hour of screaming at each other, her eyes puffy from crying, her face red with anger, grabbing her purse and storming out.

Later that week, after Harry had cooled off, he went to Ginny's flat and tried to sincerely apologize. He'd gotten a slap on the cheek and a slammed door in his face. He truly had felt horrible about how he'd managed the situation. Later that day, he'd gone home to hear Ron's voice in his living room. Ron's head was floating in the fireplace and he began telling Harry off the moment he rounded the corner. He'd expected that. What he hadn't expected was Hermione to floo him from Ron's flat minutes later apologizing for his profanity.

"Harry, I'm sorry about Ron being so crass," she had said. "I know you would never intentionally hurt Ginny. Ron's just gone into big brother mode, you understand."

"Yeah, I know," Harry had said. "It's alright, I deserved that. I shouldn't have broken up with her that way."

"Yes, you could have been a bit more tactful," Hermione sighed. "But you two have been having trouble for awhile now, haven't you? I mean, last we talked you told me you were barely speaking to each other."

Harry had taken off his glasses at this point and was now pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, Hermione," Harry sighed. "I...I just...things just aren't the same as they were when we were teenagers. I just couldn't keep up with her anymore, you know?"

Hermione cleared her throat a little and said, "I can certainly understand that," with what Harry though sounded like a little hint of annoyance. They'd talked a little more before Hermione had to go. Ron had just got back from a walk and was still in a foul mood.

A few weeks later, Harry and Ginny were able to sit down and have a civil conversation. Harry explained that he cared for her, and that he understood what drove her wild nature, but that ultimately he wasn't the right man for her. He made sure, by the end of their conversation that she knew that she deserved someone better, more wonderful and more worthy of her time. It was true of course, that Harry had never cared for her enough or treated her the way she deserved. There were tears in Ginny's eyes when Harry admitted this and he almost took it all back. Ultimately though, he knew his heart would never fully be in it. He would be lying though, if he said that the conversation hadn't been gut wrenching. But, it was the right thing to do - for Ginny and for himself.

As time passed, he and Ginny managed to fall into a natural friendship, devoid of resentment. Harry was sure there had to be magic involved, because as far as he knew, exes hardly ever ended on good terms. Ron on the other hand had been a little harder to placate. He held a bit of a big brother grudge against Harry for a few months before Ginny and Hermione convinced him that Harry wasn't the devil.

Over the next two years Harry dated on and off, but could never get past the first date. There was just something lacking in every woman he dated. On dates he was always polite, always a gentleman, but he never got there hopes up for a second. He would say goodnight and be off. Occassionaly, natural urges would best him and he would find himself in an awkward situation: A woman lying next to him in bed, whom he wouldn't see after he made them breakfast and thanked them for a fun night. Most woman took this easily enough, others didn't, but Harry never took it personally.

Now, as Harry lie awake in his bed (alone) in the dark hours of the morning, thinking about the drama that was his love life, he could not help but think about someone else's dramatic love life. Ron and Hermione were going through their share of lover's spats and the latest one was a doozy from what Harry had gathered. The two had become a pair right after Harry and Ginny had announced their relationship. Everyone had been shocked, of course, except Harry whom had always known they fancied each other.

So, for the last six years they had been dating. Ron had tried to get Hermione to move into his flat for the last five, but she refused on principle, believing that they ought to be married first. This conversation, Harry remembered, prompted Ron to propose to Hermione the very next day. Boy had that been a mistake. Ron apparently had gotten down on one knee only seconds before Hermione yanked him to his feet and told him flat out "No!" and that he was out of his mind if he thought she was going to marry him out of convenience. Harry remembered her once telling Ron that he had the emotional range of a teaspoon. Turned out she had sort of been right. Years had passed since that proposal and Ron hadn't tried again. And to Harry's knowledge, neither had Hermione.

For now, the two remained in their own flats, both being in each other's lives but really going nowhere, Harry had observed. Ron had become a Quidditch Little League coach, a position in which he had not seen himself in...ever, but had grown to love. He was one hundred percent devoted to his team 'round the clock - practices, drills, more practices, taking the team out for butterbeers and pizza after a win. Ron's head was pretty much always in the game.

Hermione, on the other hand had put that wonderful brain of hers to good use. She'd also landed herself a job at the Ministry of Magic at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Her first task, of course was to improve the working and living conditions of mistreated House Elves. Harry had always mareveled at how, when Hermione put her mind to it, always got results. Not but four months into her new position and she had single handedly made S.P.E.W. a reality within the Ministry.

Harry rolled onto his side to look at his bedside clock. It was nearly 5:15 in the morning and Harry still had yet to sleep. Thinking about Hermione reminded him that he had about four and a half hours before he was due to meet her for breakfast. She had floo'd him two days ago asking if he'd like to meet up. Harry'd agreed instantly, thinking nothing of it of course. It had been over a week or so since he'd spent any real time with Hermione. Or Ron for that matter, which made Harry wonder if he was to join them for breakfast.

Harry and Hermione often had lunch together at the Ministry when time permited and he remembered that last week she'd mentioned something about she and Ron having another row. Apparently they were getting more frequent. He wondered if he'd hear more about that in the morning, which made him think that maybe Ron might not join them for breakfast after all. The last time he had seen Ron was at Bill and Fleur's daughter, Victorie's third birthday party, a month ago. He remembered Ron seeming a bit off that day.

Harry rolled onto his back again and rubbed at his tired eyes. Go to sleep! He willed himself over and over until finally his mind surrendered and went dark.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Please let me know what you think. I've got the next chapter outlinde, but not written yet. Hope to have it up soon though!