The Trio Reunites

Harry Potter shook his head as he walked out of the woods near Godric's Hollow. Apparating was not his favorite method of travel, but it did have its advantages.

He walked until he came to the front of a good sized house. The place looked like it had been well kept. But that wasn't Harry's main concern... it was the two people inside that were on his mind.

It had been a solid year since he had seen anyone he knew. After school and the war had ended, the memories of what happened were too much for him to handle. The deaths of friends haunted him the most: Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, Cho Chang, Fred and George Weasley. The hardest to take was the death of poor Ginny Weasley. The Dark Lord had tortured her into insanity. She committed suicide almost a year and a half ago. And of course, the war had hurt many people, both Wizard and Muggle alike. In fact, there were only three people who walked away relatively unscathed physically - Harry, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, who had ended Voldemort's reign of terror almost as suddenly as it began. Harry's mental anguish, however, was frightening.

The three lived together in a flat in Diagon Alley for a while after the war. But the nightmares and personal guilt caused Harry to have a nervous breakdown. He told Ron and Hermione that he had to go away, to pull himself together, to try to remember who he was, and how to deal with the pain. Before he left, he gave them a substantial amount of money from his vault and told them to buy a house. Ron tried to refuse, but Harry wouldn't take no for an answer. When they asked when he would return. He said, "I don't know. But I will be back. I promise both of you that."

The next morning, he left without saying goodbye.

A month later, he ended up in the mountains of Tibet. He had read that the holy men there were actually Wizards who knew how to help people deal with life-altering events. He stayed 11 months, achieving the inner peace he needed and coming to terms with the demons that haunted him.

And now he was back. His first stop had been The Burrow. Mrs. Weasley fussed over him as usual and filled him in on the events of the past year. She mentioned that Ron and Hermione had indeed purchased a house. She also mentioned (rather
disappointingly) that the two had not gotten married. This was odd news to Harry. He knew that they loved each other and had talked about marriage long before he had left. He assumed they would have tied the knot by now.

After a small but wonderful meal, Molly told him where the house was. He thanked Mrs. Weasley and Apparated straight over.

Now, standing in front of the house he had paid for, he walked up the steps shaking. He was very nervous. As he was about to knock on the door, he listened for a moment. Silence was the only sound he heard. 'Maybe they're not home' he told himself.

Then he heard a voice.

"Are you okay up there?" It was a woman's voice, and Harry instantly recognized it as Hermione's.

Then he heard Ron from what seemed like an upstairs room.

"I'm fine. It's still gonna take forever to get this done."

He almost lost his nerve. He turned to leave when a voice spoke in his head.

"Where do you think you're going?! Those are your friends and you're not going anywhere until you see them! You're a Gryffindor, dammit! Use that courage of yours and get on with it!"

He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The sound seemed to echo until he heard Ron speak again.

"'Mione, would you get that?"

"All right."

He took another deep breath as he heard footsteps come toward the door. As he let it out, the door slowly opened.

"What can I..." He voice trailed off. Her mouth hung open in disbelief. She was still as beautiful as Harry remembered. The long bushy hair, the warm thoughtful face. Everything. She was holding a glass and dropped it, but Harry caught it thanks to those Seeker reflexes of his. He set the glass on the floor, stood back up and made eye contact.

"Harry?" asked Hermione, her voice wavering.

"Hello Hermione." With that, she jumped into his arms and embraced him. She held him tightly as he hugged her back. 'Man, I forgot how good this feels' he thought as he let go of her. She seemed to be short of breath, but quickly recovered and invited him inside.

"Ron! Come down here quick!" she yelled as he shut the door. He looked around and was impressed. The house was not gigantic, but it was large enough. The entryway sported a high ceiling with a chandelier. A stairway started to his left and went soaring upwards. It was there that he heard footsteps and a grumbling voice.

"I am never gonna get that damn room done if I'm... Oh my God! Harry!" Ron quickly ran down the stairs and embraced Harry, who was not ready for it. He recovered and hugged him back.

"It's great to see you," said Ron after he let Harry go. "Why didn't you owl us?"

"I wanted to surprise you," said Harry with a smile while looking around. "I see you took my advice to heart. This place looks wonderful. Show me around."

They both grabbed Harry's hands and led him upstairs. The area housed four bedrooms and a spacious bathroom. The first three rooms were of a modest size, but Harry's eyes widened when he came to the fourth room. It was enormous and had its own bathroom. There was no furniture in the room and it was unfinished, telling him that this was the room that Ron was trying to get finished. At his suggestion, the three covered the windows and went to work finishing the room. Harry waved his wand expertly, coloring the walls a deep shade of blue. Ron went over the trim and other areas. They stepped out briefly, allowing Hermione to clean the carpet and bring the furniture into the room. The last thing to go in the room was the bed, which seemed to be larger than king sized.

Tired but feeling accomplished, the three walked downstairs. They went through the living room and the dining room before coming to the kitchen. It was well stocked with pots and pans, and the stove and counters were immaculate. It was a cook's
dream kitchen if he ever saw one.

"So, how have things been?" asked Harry as he sat at the table.

"Not bad," replied Hermione, "I've been working for the Ministry in the archives, which I knew you wouldn't be surprised with."

"I joined the Cannons for about six months," said Ron. "But I just couldn't get into Quidditch without you being around. So I'm thinking about becoming an Auror."

"Wow. I can see it now. Ron, the wonder Auror."

"Hey!" Ron tapped Harry lightly on the shoulder and they all laughed. "Anyway, where have you been all this time?"

Harry then told them about Tibet. Hermione seemed to take a deep interest as Harry described the wizards and the land. He told them what he went through and how he came to terms with his past.

"Wow, it definitely seems like it helped. You look so peaceful, Harry," said Hermione, looking at him with a sense of awe.

"I am," he replied. "There are a few things we need to talk about. But I think dinner is in order first. I'll cook." They started to protest, but Harry would have none of it. "I learned to cook while I was in Tibet and I think you'll like what I have in mind."

Harry looked through the kitchen and gathered ingredients. Anything they didn't have he conjured up and added. After some time, the table was filled with the wonderful smells of Tibetan cooking, consisting of Thenthuk (a noodle soup with chicken and beef), Momos (dumplings filled with vegetables) and Tibetan bread. As they ate, Ron and Hermione agreed that it was one of the best meals they had ever had.

After they were sufficiently full, Harry waved his wand and piled the dishes in the sink. They went into the living room and settled into the sofa. Ron disappeared for a minute and came back with a bottle of wine and three glasses. Before he sat down, Ron handed the bottle to Harry.

"We found this wine and saved it for when you came back." Harry looked at the label on the bottle and jumped when he saw that it had been bottled on his birthday and was as old as he was. He pulled cork out and filled the glasses. Each of them drank a glass when Harry spoke up.

"Before I arrived here, I went to your mom's house, Ron," said Harry as he refilled their glasses. Ron and Hermione looked at each other as Harry stood up and walked around to face them. "And she filled me in on what's been going on. There's only one thing I need to know... Why haven't the two of you gotten married?"

Ron's face went red and his gaze dropped to the floor. Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "Well," she said, "it's kind of hard to explain..."

"What's to explain?" asked Harry. "You two have been with each other for quite awhile. You even talked about it before I left. What's wrong?"

Ron lifted his head. "There's nothing wrong. If you mean between us, everything's wonderful. It's just... can you explain it, Hermione? I don't think I can."

Hermione stood up and walked over to Harry. She looked him right in the eye. "After you left, we did as you asked. We bought this house and moved in immediately. We've been getting along as best we can. But through everything Ron and I have done together, there was always something missing. And for the longest time, we couldn't figure out what it was. But in the back of our minds we knew what was missing. You."

Harry was taken aback. "Me? I don't... I'll just get in the way..."

"No you won't," said Ron, who was now standing beside Hermione. "Remember all the things we went through? All the hell and all the happiness? It was because we were together. The three of us. Hermione and I realized that we can't be truly happy and content... unless you're here with us."

Harry was still taking this all in when Hermione spoke. "What we're trying to say Harry is that we love you. We've always loved you as a friend. But since you've been away, that love has changed. We love you as more than that now. It's just so hard to explain."

Harry took a step back and sat in the chair. He was immersed in thought then finally spoke.

"So you want me to be with you and Ron at the same time?"

Hermione saw the puzzlement in his eyes. She walked over and pushed him back into the chair, then straddled his lap. Her face was inches from his. She looked deep into his eyes. He saw comfort and... was it lust?

"I think it will be easier to show you," she whispered. She turned her head and kissed him. It was soft at first, and then she pried his lips open with her tongue. She explored his mouth and sighed. He put his arms around her and pulled her in closer. 'Gods, it was never this good in my dreams' he thought. He suddenly remembered who he was kissing and opened his eyes and looked at Ron, expecting him to be upset. He was startled when he saw a small smile and a similar look of lust on Ron's face.

Hermione pulled away from Harry's mouth and stood up. She took his arm, making him stand, and they went over to Ron. Harry looked into Ron's eyes and stepped forward. Ron put his arms around Harry and crashed into his lips. Harry was stunned at first but eased into the kiss. As Ron explored his mouth, the realization finally came to Harry. 'They love me so much that they want to spend the rest of their lives with me,' he thought. 'And frankly, I want that as much as they do."

A soft moan broke their concentration. They looked over and saw Hermione leaning against the doorway. Her head was tilted back and her eyes were closed. She had one hand on her breast while the other was down inside her jeans. Harry looked at Ron and smiled.

"Let's go upstairs and try the new bed," he said with a wicked grin. Ron shook his head in agreement. Harry walked over and picked up Hermione. She squealed with glee as they went upstairs.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A while later, the three lovers collapsed on the bed in a loving tangle of arms and legs.

"That was just... incredible," Hermione finally said when she caught her breath. She looked into Harry's eyes. "Now do you understand?"

"Yes I do," he said, looking at both of them. A thought came to his head. "Why are there three other rooms in the house, then?"

"Those," said Ron, "Are for your belongings and for when you need some private time. This room, and the rest of the house, is for us. You can pick your room tomorrow." Harry looked out of the window. Darkness had fallen.

"Yeah, I suppose I can do it tomorrow," he said. "Besides, I don't want to move."

Ron smiled and pulled the covers over them. "I love you both." He spooned up against Hermione and went to sleep. Hermione gave Harry one last kiss and closed her eyes. "I love you, too." The last thing Harry said before sleep over took him made him smile.

"I love you both. It's good to be home."