Hermione Granger and the Beginning of the End

Knew there was somebody somewhere

Got me alone in the dark

Now I know my dream will live on

I've been waiting so long

Nothing will tear us apart

And life is a road that want to keep going

Love is a river I want to keep flowing

Life is a road, now and forever

Wonderful journey

I'll be there when the world stops turning

I'll be there when the storm is through

In the end I want to be standing

At the beginning with you

**

"Come on, Hermione."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Not even for me?"

"Not even for you."

"I really mean so little to you?"

Hermione Granger let out an undignified snort of disbelief in lieu of an answer.

"Come on," Ron wheedled even more forcefully, pulling away from her the parchment she'd been scribbling on. "N.E.W.T.s are over. What could you possibly be working on that's so important?"

"I'm trying to find a job," Hermione informed him as she pulled the parchment back in her direction.

Ron frowned as he peered down at the sheet, and Hermione hastily covered it. "That doesn't look like an application," he noted suspiciously.

"Well, if you must know," Hermione said absently as she dipped her quill into the inkwell and continued to write, still keeping a cautious hand covering her work, "the Daily Prophet needs to see another example of my writing before they can give me a full-time position."

"Oh." Ron paused for all of two seconds before tugging on the parchment once again. "Well, let me see it."

Hermione just swatted his hand away. "Not yet--wait until it's finished. It's just rubbish right now."

"Yeah, right," Ron scoffed with disbelief. "Like anything you do is rubbish." Hermione smiled at the compliment, giving Ron the opportunity to steal the parchment from her once again. "Besides, you have to come with us."

"Oh, do I?" Hermione challenged, eyebrows raised as she looked at both of her best friends. "I have to come with you?"

"Yeah," Harry finally spoke up as Ron physically pulled Hermione from her chair. "You promised."

"I did not promise you two anything!" Hermione protested.

"Oh, but you did," Ron contradicted with a sly smile. He put his arm around Hermione to steer her toward the portrait hole. Harry walked alongside them with a grin of his own. "You may just not remember it."

"What?" Hermione looked back and forth between the two boys that were now chuckling with whatever memory amused them so much.

"You made a promise a while back," Harry reminded her with a self-satisfied smirk. "You promised me that when I killed Voldemort--"

"--I would get utterly and completely pissed," Hermione finished for him. Her eyes widened as she realized that the two boys were leading her toward the front doors. "Now?"

"Why not?" Ron shrugged. "N.E.W.T.s are over, we only have three days left here, what else are we going to do?"

"How about not sneaking off school grounds?" Hermione hissed as the three hurried down the corridor. "And besides, Harry's not eighteen yet--they won't let him in the pub!"

"I think I'll be able to pass if I'm with you two," Harry said confidently. "Besides, would you rather us get caught there, or on school grounds?"

"Neither!" Hermione answered defiantly. "Either way, we could get expelled!"

"Yeah, right," Ron scoffed. "Expel the Boy Who Just Kicked Voldemort's Arse, the Head Girl, and their charming sidekick with a winning smile three ruddy days before we leave?" He flashed the aforementioned smile at her. "Never!"

"It could happen!" Hermione snapped, refusing to allow herself to be swayed by the Weasley charm.

"But it won't," Harry reassured. "We're just going for a few hours. We'll be back before curfew."

"And there's nothing in the Hogwarts prefect guide about leaving the grounds before curfew," Ron reminded her as he tapped the pocket of Hermione's robe where she always kept the Hogwarts rule book.

"It's implied," Hermione argued. "You're just slipping through a loophole, a technicality--"

"Yeah," Ron agreed with a cheeky grin. "We're quite good at that, don't you think?"

Hermione glared up at him, although her resolve was slipping. It would be rather fun to go into Hogsmeade for the evening, and there technically weren't any rules against going into the village before curfew. She had been studying for N.E.W.T.s and working on job-related things for ages. It would be fun to spend a carefree evening with her best friends. Besides, now that Voldemort was gone, this would be the first time they could actually do this. She shouldn't deny Harry and Ron the chance to be reckless teenagers after they had been heroic adults for so long. Especially since...

Hermione bit her lip as she glanced up at Ron, remembering his hearing a week ago. Although Ron had obviously killed Dolohov to save her life, he still had to go through the formality of the hearing and collect evidence for his defense. Hermione and Harry had helped him spend hours in the library, but nevertheless, Ron had been rather worried about the trial--especially since he had to go in there alone. Ron still wouldn't tell her everything that had happened after he had found her, and she wasn't brave enough to ask--she knew that whatever had occurred, it was giving Ron nightmares nearly every night. They were all still having nightmares, as a matter of fact, but Ron's were the only ones that appeared to be taking a physical toll on him, Hermione noted as she surreptitiously inspected the dark circles under his eyes. He had been so relieved when the Ministry had officially cleared him, and had actually thanked him for taking care of a dangerous criminal like Dolohov, but it wasn't over for him yet. Hermione had never forgotten that day when they'd been stuck in the hospital wing at the end of fifth-year, when he had off-handedly mentioned that he intended to kill Dolohov for her, but she never realized he'd actually do it. Ron was simply too good-hearted of a person to take a human life, especially since he was an empath, and now he had to live with the gnawingly nauseating fact that he had. And for someone like Ron Weasley, it would be a long torturous process before he finally got over what he had done.

She had tried to help him as much as she could, but she felt so helpless at times. She had tried to get him to talk to her about it, but he had closed up straightaway. Even with the reminder of how much talking about Riddle's attack on Ginny had helped him heal, he still wouldn't do it. He wouldn't tell her how he found her, how he had saved her life, and how he had taken care of the wizard who had been haunting her dreams for the past two years. At first Hermione had been rather upset and hurt that he wouldn't open up to her, but Ron had reassured her that it was him. He was just not ready to face it, but he swore that once he was, she would be the first person to know. Hermione sighed as she slipped her hand into Ron's. She had sworn that she would do anything to help him heal, and she knew that right now, going out with her and Harry and just having a good time would be the best thing for him.

"Fine," Hermione conceded with a reluctant smile. Both boys let out a triumphant cheer, and Hermione held up a warning finger. "But I'm only having one drink. That way I can get some work done when we get back."

"Yeah, right," Ron smirked as he winked at Harry over Hermione's head. "We'll just see about that."

**

Hermione giggled as the night air tickled her flushed cheeks. "Just one more round," she wheedled in an utterly charming manner as she tried to stop Ron from propelling her out of the door. The majority of the drunken high had faded, but she had been having so much fun for the past few hours that she didn't want it to end.

Ron, however, was adamant. "I think you've had enough," he said with a laugh, keeping a steady arm around her shoulder. Hermione sighed obediently and wrapped both arms around his waist. She reckoned he was right--Ron and Harry now had plenty of ammunition to use against her for the rest of her life. She certainly didn't want to give them any more. Besides, the warm night was rather lovely. It would be nice to stroll back to school with her two best friends.

"It's a beautiful night," she commented peacefully, nodding up at the bright stars twinkling above them.

All of them paused to take in the balmy summer serenity. "Yeah," Ron agreed contentedly. Hermione smiled into his shirt. This was the most relaxed she had seen Ron in ages. It was a good thing she had agreed to come.

Harry looked down the road, gazing at the breathtaking castle that lay ahead of them. He had always loved just to stop and stare at the first home he had ever really known. A part of him knew just how fortunate he was that his home was still standing. Some of the Death Eaters had managed to escape from Godric's Hollow, and with Lucius Malfoy as their ringleader had still attempted to mount their offensive against the school. They had thought that the school would be completely vulnerable, especially since Dumbledore was dead. However, they hadn't counted on the power of the student body, led by Neville Longbottom, who had expelled the Death Eater army almost entirely on their own without any damage to the castle or to the students. Neville had become almost as big of a celebrity as Harry was, and Harry had been all too happy to share the blinding spotlight with someone. Neville certainly seemed to be enjoying his newfound fame, and Harry couldn't be happier for his friend.

Harry sighed as he reveled in the glory of the castle for a few moments longer. "I can't believe we're leaving," Harry admitted quietly. He scuffed his shoe absently against the gravel path with a sigh before starting to walk again, a dejected little-boy expression on his pensive face. It was funny--although he had only been drunk one or two times, he found that it had always made him feel more melancholic rather than giddy. And now, the nostalgia of leaving Hogwarts forever was making him feel almost sick inside. "I don't know--it's kind of scary, don't you think?"

"You're leaving a part of your life behind," Ron supplied. "Who wouldn't be scared?" He, too, found himself gazing at Hogwarts, and his arm tightened around Hermione. "It does feel weird, doesn't it?" He nodded toward Harry. "Reckon it felt like when the war ended."

"It's not really over though," Harry contradicted. "Even with Voldemort gone, there's still Death Eaters out there. We never caught Lucius Malfoy. Who knows when he's coming back? And then there's the Lestranges, and who knows who else is out there?" Harry sighed and raised his eyes to the stars again as he contemplated his never-ending destiny of saving the world. "There's always going to be evil out there, and I'm always going to have to fight it. It will never really end--I'll always be fighting..."

"You'll always be winning," Ron interjected. "You're always going to beat them, mate."

"That's why you're going to be an Auror," Hermione piped in from her position against Ron's shoulder.

"I know, I know," Harry agreed. "And I want to be a part of the fight--it's my choice. I want to do this." They were at the gates to the castle, and he paused again to run his fingers over the stone. "It's just a bit overwhelming at times."

It wasn't like Harry to be so doubtful of his future, and Ron and Hermione exchanged glances, trying to discern who was going to handle this. Ron decided it should be him, since he was definitely the most sober at the moment. "It's going to be brilliant, though," Ron said helpfully. "Living on our own--you never have to go back to the Dursleys--"

"Just think about it, Harry," Hermione interrupted, pushing away from Ron and waving her hands wide. "We have our whole lives ahead of us! You're going to start Auror training, Ron's going to work for his dad and reapply for Auror school next year, and Kingsley already told him that he'll get the one spot, so we know you two will be working together before we know it. I'll be writing brilliant stories for the Prophet and proving to people like Rita bloody Skeeter that you don't have to be nasty and vicious to write fascinating stories for world-renowned newspapers. We'll be living in London, one of the best cities in the entire world--we could go out to the pub like this every night if we wanted to, and I really think we should. And I know how you feel Harry, I'm just as scared as you are, but I'm so excited too--because now with Voldemort gone, we're going to be free--we can do anything we want!"

Slightly out of breath from her rambling, Hermione paused and dropped her arms limply to the side, waiting expectantly for a response from either one of her friends. Ron was just grinning at her exuberance. "It's hard not to love her," he commented to Harry.

For some reason, probably the alcohol bubbling away in her veins, that was the sweetest thing anyone had said to her, so Hermione strode over to Ron, wrapped her arms around his neck, and tried to show Ron just how much he meant to her. Ron, however, averted his mouth. "Ah, ah, ah," he warned, nodding toward Harry. "Not in front of the children."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Please, who would want to see that?"

"Who wouldn't?" Ron countered cheekily. "We do it very well."

"We certainly do," Hermione interjected very seriously. Harry still looked nauseous at the thought of seeing his two best friends snogging, so Hermione hastily racked her brain for something more appropriate to discuss. Besides, she and Ron could always snog later. A bright idea came to her and she jumped back from Ron's arms, clapping her hands together excitedly. "We should go on a holiday!"

"What?" Harry asked in confusion at the complete change of subject. Ron just laughed--he was quite used to the lightning fast way Hermione's mind could jump from one thing to another.

"All of us--together!" Hermione suggested brightly. "Neither of you have been out of the country, and I've been loads of times, but there are still so many places I want to see--or maybe we could go back to one of the places I've already been. France is lovely over the summer, and I've always wanted to go to Italy--Rome has the archives for the ancient records of all of the magical schools in Europe--I've always wanted to research Hogwarts and see how accurate Hogwarts: A History really is..."

"So Italy's out," Ron said loudly as both he and Harry rolled their eyes at the thought of spending numerous summer days in a dusty hall of records.

"You wouldn't have to come with me," Hermione reminded him. "The three of you could go lie on the beach or sightsee or whatever while I went--"

"Yes, we could, but, love, that would somewhat defeat the purpose of going on holiday with you," Ron argued with a knowing smile. "If we went on holiday together, I would want to spend time with you."

"Oh." Hermione blushed bright pink. She couldn't argue with that logic.

"Besides," Ron jabbed his thumb in Harry's direction, "I've seen enough of this git for a good long time. It's not as though I want to live with him or anything."

Hermione giggled quietly. Ron and Harry had already secured a flat to share in London together, while Hermione was going to live with her aunt until she found a place of her own. Of course, Ron had wanted her to move in with him and Harry, but Hermione had declined. As much as she wanted to, she had decided that it wouldn't be right to live with Ron until they were--well, until much later in her life.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Why would I want to go on holiday with that Weasley when I could go with the one who--"

"You know, as funny as you find it to joke about dating my little sister, it's really not," Ron interrupted sharply, but his irritation only produced a loud laugh from both Harry and Hermione. He shot a glare at both of his best friends, although there was no real anger behind it.

Hermione just bit back a fresh smile in response. "I just thought of another place I would want to go," she announced happily.

"Let's hear it," Ron said loudly, hoping to get Harry to stop laughing.

It was quite difficult to keep a straight face, but Hermione somehow managed to remain perfectly serious as she looked at Ron dead on. "Well," she said slowly, "I would love to go to Bulgaria--"

Harry was now laughing so hard that he had to hold himself up on the front gate. Hermione couldn't stop a giggle or two from escaping, but her eyes never strayed from Ron's, her eyebrows raised as if to ask him just what he was prepared to do about her cheeky challenge.

Ron just stared back for another moment, and although his eyes remained locked with Hermione's, he spoke to Harry. "Hey, mate," he said in a deadly serious voice that worried Hermione for a few seconds. It had honestly just been a joke--she hadn't meant to really hurt him. "You might want to close your eyes." Hermione let out a gleeful little yelp when he suddenly grabbed her around the waist and pulled her toward him. "I need to show this one why she's never going to want to go to that bloody place."

Hermione barely found time to giggle before Ron reminded her in a perfectly delicious manner of just why she'd never had any interest in visiting Viktor Krum. Harry, with his hands slapped over his glasses, let them go for a few seconds before speaking up. "Fine," he shouted to ensure that they heard him. "You two go right ahead. Have fun. Just ignore me. Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine. I'll just go find your baby sister so we can do the same. She's really quite good at it, you know, she does this thing with her--"

Ron almost shoved Hermione away from him so that Harry would reconsider going to snog his sister. He didn't mind his sister and his best friend as a couple, but he didn't want to know anything about how they spent their time alone.

Hermione, however, wanted to pursue to the topic. "I bet she is." Hermione responded to Harry's comment with the utmost sincerity. "If all Weasleys kiss the same way, then wow." She waved her hands wildly again with an air of finality. "And that's all I can say on that matter."

Ron just stared as Harry started to laugh again. Ron shook his head. "You would think that knowing that girl for seven years, she couldn't do anything to surprise me." His ears started to turn red as he tried to ignore Harry's suggestive snickers and banish the thought of his sister having similar kissing methods.

"You want to be really surprised?" Hermione grinned wickedly up at her boyfriend.

"And now I really am going to find your sister," Harry said loudly with a slight look of distaste on his face. He had already seen much more than he ever wanted to. He waved slightly as he started toward the castle. "You two have fun."

"Harry?" Hermione called after him, waiting until he had turned around before continuing. "It really will be brilliant."

Harry looked at her and then at Ron, who was nodding his head in agreement, and then finally at his beloved Hogwarts, the home he had fought so hard to preserve. "Yeah," he said quietly with a trace of an excited, hopeful smile. "I know it will be." He nodded at them again. "See you," he called before walking up the path, feet crunching in the dirt as he disappeared from sight.

Hermione waited until she was sure that Harry was gone before resolutely returning to Ron's side to pick right up where they left off--which they did for several long, glorious minutes. "What was that for?" Ron asked when it finally ended, ears glowing red with pleasure.

Hermione entwined her fingers through the hair at the back of his head, eyes radiating with wistful joy. "I just always want to remember tonight," she answered contentedly. "I had so much fun, Ron. Thank you for making me go, and I guess--I guess I just wanted to thank you."

"You know, I've actually done loads of stuff for you," Ron commented with all seriousness. "I really should be thanked properly for all of it." He absently pushed aside a few strands of hair that were blowing in her face and stared down expectedly. "So, go ahead. Thank me as much as you like."

Hermione coyly extricated herself from Ron's arms. "Maybe when we're in Bulgaria," she retorted.

Hermione Granger actually squealed when Ron reached out to seize her again. "I thought you were supposed to be the clever one," Ron teased as Hermione playfully tried to struggle free. "But obviously, you have not learned your lessons." He sighed melodramatically. "I reckon I'll just have to teach them to you again." Hermione thought he was going to kiss her again. However, looking a bit nervous, he moved her hands from his neck and gently tugged her back onto the grounds. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked as Ron led her toward a small clearing flooded with moonlight.

"Well," Ron drawled out. "Rumor has it that you've always wanted to dance in the moonlight." Hermione's jaw dropped. How on earth did he know that? He was empath, not a mind reader. Ron let her remain mutely shocked for a few seconds before he laughed and satisfied her curiosity. "You told me when we went up to the Astronomy Tower that last time you were a bit under the influence."

"Oh," Hermione replied before cocking an eyebrow. "So?"

"Well," Ron pretended to think hard. "There seems to be moonlight, there seems to be you, I know that I'm here, and from what I understand, you need a boy and a girl-"

He pulled his wand out and flicked it once so that a soft strain of music echoed across the grounds. "--and some music."

"Ron," Hermione breathed with a dumb, huge smile that only grew larger when Ron abruptly grabbed her hand and spun her exuberantly around. "Ron!" she protested with a laugh as he began to lead her through a series of dizzying spins, dips, and complicated dance steps performed with less than a great deal of skill. Apparently, the dance lessons from Fred and George had not been all that successful. "This is not what I had in mind exactly," she informed him, although she was enjoying herself immensely. She, too, had never been the greatest of dancers, despite her love for it. Viktor had always made her feel awkward whenever they danced together at the Yule Ball, but Ron made her feel safe and protected as always. He was letting her know by dancing just as atrociously as she was that it was okay be awful as long as they had fun.

"Come on, Hermione," Ron cajoled as he nodded his head with the beat, except that he was slightly out of rhythm, so he ended up just looking ridiculous. "Just feel the music!" he ordered as he spun around wildly, causing Hermione to almost double over with another fit of laughter. Only Ron Weasley could make the silliest, most absurd actions utterly adorable. He rolled his eyes with mock anger at her obvious disregard for his dancing skills. "You, obviously, are not a fine connoisseur for the dance like I am," he said haughtily.

"Ooh, since when did you learn to use three syllable words?" Hermione retorted cheekily.

Ron raised his eyebrows to match her cheeky air. "Didn't you know that the lovely homework planner you gave me teaches you that sort of crap?" Hermione giggled again, and with another roll of his eyes, Ron heaved a melodramatic sigh. "Fine," he agreed as though she had just asked him to give up the Chudley Cannons and support the Tornadoes instead. As he spun her around, he pulled out his wand and flicked it again. The fast, upbeat number faded into a much slower song, and when he pulled her back to him, he was acting anything but silly. "Better?"

Hermione could only nod. She recognized this song instantly. It was the first slow song the Weird Sisters had played at the Yule Ball three years ago--it had been the first song she had ever danced to, and it had been with Viktor sodding Krum. And it should have been with Ron bloody Weasley. She had wanted it to be with Ron so badly.

As if hearing her thoughts, Ron spoke quietly into her ear. "It should have been like this."

"What should?" Hermione asked.

"The Yule Ball," Ron elaborated. His grip on her waist tightened, one finger sliding up and down her shirt as if to convince himself she was really there dancing in his arms. "It should have been like this. I should have asked you." Even though this admittance was three years too late, Hermione was grateful for it all the same, and she smiled into his shoulder. "And I wanted to--I swear I did--but," Ron sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't."

"I don't care," Hermione reassured him. Ron raised his eyebrows in disbelief. The row they had had immediately after the ball certainly proved otherwise. "Yes, it would have been wonderful if you had, but this is wonderful now, too." She tilted her head back, gazing at the moonlight reflecting in his eyes. "It doesn't matter that you didn't ask me then, Ron, just like it doesn't matter that it took so long for us to get here. All that really matters is that we're here now, because now that we are here, nothing is ever going to change that." She stood slightly on tiptoe to whisper into his ear. "And you're right--I don't want to go to Bulgaria."

Ron chuckled quietly, but he didn't say anything else. Words weren't necessary. Hermione just gazed at him, wondering how on earth she and Ron had gotten here. If anyone had told her seven years ago that the rude little boy with the dirt on his nose would end up being her knight in shining armor, her saving grace, the love of her life, she probably would have fell to the floor with laughter. Who would ever think that the tall boy with the decrepit hand-me-down rat, used wand and robes, and the quick temper would end up dancing with her in the moonlight? She certainly hadn't seen it coming, and after reading loads of novels, Hermione had been quite adept at guessing the ending to stories. However, she never would have expected this, and at the same time, she couldn't have hoped or prayed for anything better--it just simply didn't get any better than this. After all they'd been through, she knew that moments like this were precious and irreplaceable, so Hermione nestled closer into Ron's chest and held on for dear life to possibly one of the most romantic moments of her life.

The two of them had certainly come along way, Hermione thought as she recalled every row, every bump in the road, and every other little thing that had attempted to tear her and Ron apart. Their journey to this perfect place had certainly been a long and bumpy one, plagued with doubts, uncertainties, betrayal, and fears. And it had been awful to live through all of it, but they survived. They survived, and had lived through some pretty damn wonderful stretches, as well. There had been a lot of angst and pain, but there had also been a lot of hope and light. And because of all of the darkness they had endured, they were now going to be stronger than ever. She knew that no matter what, they were going to make it.

Although her days at Hogwarts might be over, her life had only really just begun. One part of her life might be ending, but that didn't mean her story was over. There was still a long way to go, and although Voldemort was gone and the war was over, it still might not be a very easy road to travel on. In fact, it probably wouldn't be, knowing her and Ron's temperaments and history. There would probably be more rows, more doubts, and more fears, because although they were a pretty damned powerful witch and wizard, they were also still two young people hopelessly in love with each other. And that meant stupid, human fears clouding their judgment and causing them to make bad decisions. Hermione knew it wouldn't be smooth sailing from now on. They had to restart their lives in a few days, and for the first time ever live completely on their own. They had to learn to support themselves and each other in an entirely new way. They had to complete the last, final steps from childhood to adulthood before their relationship could move to an even higher level, and it wouldn't be easy. There were going to be more bumps and twists and turns in the road they were now traveling down together, and Hermione knew it was going to be quite difficult.

As the final notes to the song faded and Hermione stood on her tiptoes to thank Ron once again for his thoughtfulness, she smiled in excited anticipation. Despite her doubts and fears, she couldn't help being hopelessly thrilled to start this part of her life with her prat. Because as long as they ended up in the place that she was dying to be with him, it didn't matter what thorny course their road took. As long as she ended up with him, it would all be worth it. Hell, just being with him was worth enduring the depths of hell.

Besides, Hermione reminded herself as she and Ron started toward the castle with their fingers entwined, it wasn't as though the journey would only be complicated and difficult.

It really would be brilliant.