Love is a Battlefield

LIAB 12 - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

~*~*~*~

11pm, Tuesday, December 2, 2008
St. Nyssa´s Hospital

After making enquiries as to the status of Kellie´s labour and being told by the fierce-looking mediwitch on duty - who bore more than a passing resemblance to Professor Sprout - that they would simply have to wait, Draco, Ginny, Harry and Hermione were ushered into a small, private waiting room. Kellie had been booked into St. Nyssa´s for the birth because it was the most exclusive and private wizarding hospital in London. Only the wealthy could afford the fees, but Ron and Kellie had considered it worth the cost to allow them the privacy that St. Nyssa´s hospital offered. There was no chance of any information being leaked to the press about patients because any employee found to have said but a word to the ever-present press was fired on the spot. The prestige surrounding the hospital insured that no employee wanted to lose their job in a hurry.

Harry shed the cloak lent to him by Draco and plonked himself down on one of the comfortable lounges. The room was done in subtle creams and earth tones, nothing too offensive. From the little Draco had been able to charm out of the mediwitch, who seemed none too impressed by his efforts (much to the amusement of the other three, who hadn´t been able to stop giggling), they´d surmised that they were in for a bit of a wait, so Harry didn´t hesitate to make himself at home. He looked up at Hermione and patted his knee, and without a word, she, too, threw off her cloak and climbed onto his lap. Harry parted his legs slightly to allow Hermione to sit between them, and she swivelled sideways so she could draw her legs up towards her and rest her head on Harry´s shoulder.

"Right, well, I guess we may as well settle in. I´ll go and get some refreshments," Draco said to no one in particular. "Gin?"

"Just a water please, love," she responded as she hung Harry and Hermione´s cloaks up next to hers on the pegs provided.

"Harry? Hermione?"

Neither of them acknowledged him; Hermione´s fingers trailed lightly over Harry´s lips and he was kissing them every few seconds. Draco rolled his eyes and glanced at his wife. "I´ll get them some water for when they finally decide to rejoin us." He hooked an arm around Ginny´s shoulders as they stood together. They watched as Harry and Hermione smiled at one another, then saw Hermione remove Harry´s glasses and reach behind her to dump them on the lounge. She then placed her hand on his cheek, caressing it softly. It was clear that they were very much wrapped up in their own little world.

Ginny sighed happily as Harry leaned in and covered Hermione´s lips with his own, her arm going around his shoulders as she kissed him back. "Isn´t it just the sweetest thing?" she said quietly to Draco.

"I think that´s my cue to get the drinks. I´ll be back in about an hour when they´re done." He yelped as Ginny smacked his arm. "You might want to keep an eye on them, make sure they don´t sneak off to find an empty room." He disappeared before she could get another swipe in.

Ginny continued to grin as she watched her friends kiss. They weren´t given to public displays of affection in general, although they were much more relaxed around their close friends. She had to admit this was the first time she had seen them kiss so deeply, but she felt nothing but happiness that their separation was well and truly over. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was Harry and Hermione.

"Ginny!"

Ginny turned around to see her parents barrelling towards her, Molly´s cloak flying behind her like a banner in the wind. "Ginny, have we- " Molly stopped and paused as she spotted Harry and Hermione on the lounge. Her face broke into a bright smile. "Oh, bless my soul. Arthur, look," she said, acknowledging her husband who had come to a stop beside her. "They´ve made up!"

"I certainly hope so, because if that´s how they act when they´re fighting, I´d hate to see them when they´re not!" Arthur quipped with a smile. Ginny laughed at her father and her mother´s subsequent glare at him.

"Have we had any word, dear?" Molly grabbed at Ginny´s hand and squeezed it excitedly.

"Not yet, Mum. All Draco could get out of the mediwitch was that we´d just have to wait."

"Speaking of Draco, where he is?"

"I´m here." All three Weasleys turned to see Draco jogging down the corridor, bottles of water in hand. "Hi, Molly." He leaned over and kissed his mother-in-law´s cheek. "Arthur."

Arthur nodded affably at his son-in-law. "How are you, Draco?"

"Fine, thanks. Feeling a bit nauseous because of that- " he nodded his head towards the lounge, "but otherwise fine."

"Oh hush, Draco," Molly chided. "It´s so very..."

"Sweet," Ginny finished for her mother. The two women stood together, sighing happily. Molly kissed her daughter´s cheek and they smiled at each other.

Draco and Arthur exchanged glances. "Women," they muttered simultaneously, earning them both a stern look from their respective wives. All four of them burst into laughter, and they settled down to wile the time away.

*

A few hours later, Draco had gone in search of a mediwitch, determined this time to use every charm available in the powerful Malfoy arsenal, to get a proper update. He had more success with the mediwitch he found, and was able to get access for Molly and Arthur to have a quick visit with Ron and Kellie and ascertain that all was going well, if a bit slowly. Kellie´s mother and sister had arrived from the US to be there for the birth. Fred and George had also made an appearance, carrying a teddy bear that was half their size. The bear was currently white, but they had assured their mother they knew the correct charm to change the bear´s fur to either pink or blue, depending on the outcome.

Harry and Hermione had resurfaced and greeted the new arrivals as they showed. Harry was perched on the arm of the lounge, Hermione standing in front of him. His arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, and he placed periodic kisses on her neck and shoulder. She held a bottle of water, sipping from it and then bringing it up to Harry´s lips so he could have a drink. Draco, Fred and George had taken to making gagging noises at Harry and Hermione´s expense, but had stopped that little game after Ginny threatened to turn them all into frogs unless they behaved.

As the minutes stretched into hours, the waiting began to take its toll on the waiting clan. Ginny dozed lightly on Draco´s shoulder, waking every now and then to ask for news. Fred and George were brainstorming quietly about new products for the business, their loud cackles occasionally earning them a scolding from Molly, who was trying hard to stay awake herself. Gloria and Aimee Mayhugh flicked through photos of Kellie as a baby.

When Ron finally appeared with a small, wrapped bundle in his arms, the only ones awake were Harry and Hermione who, after having curled up together on the lounge and napped for an hour or two, had awoken and gone back to shamelessly indulging in a lengthy snogging session. Ron smiled down at his baby. "Look, little one," he said with a smile. "It looks like your Uncle Harry and Aunt Hermione have made up."

At the sound of their names, Harry and Hermione looked up. "Ron!" they cried out simultaneously.

The Weasleys, Gloria, Aimee and Draco sat up, looking around dazedly. They all leapt to their feet when they saw Ron standing inside the doorway of the waiting room.

"Hi, everyone," he said, stepping into the room and grinning broadly. "Please come and meet our new daughter. We´re sorry to have kept you waiting, aren´t we, sweetheart?"

Molly promptly burst into tears and surged forward, Ron holding the baby down a little so his mother could see her new granddaughter. Everyone else crowded around to look at the newest Weasley, who was red and wrinkled and fast asleep, showing no signs of the trauma of birth. He handed her carefully to Molly and accepted congratulations from his kin. The twins hurriedly stepped back to cast a spell, and the teddy bear that had accompanied them turned pink. They then rejoined their family, who were busy cooing over the baby. Molly passed the baby over to her other grandmother, Gloria, who smiled tearfully.

"What´s her name?" Fred asked, reaching out to stroke his niece´s face carefully.

"She hasn´t got one yet, actually." Ron´s face showed signs of weariness, but his joy could not be hidden.

"How´s Kel doing? Is she okay?" Hermione placed a hand on Ron´s arm.

Ron nodded. "She´s very tired, but there was little pain. She had some charms cast, so she´s fine. You can go and say hello if you want, she´s in room three."

Hermione smiled and leaned up to kiss Ron´s cheek. "Congratulations, Daddy."

Ron grinned and pulled Hermione into his arms. "It looks like it´s congratulations all round," he said in her ear. "Is everything okay now with you two?"

Hermione pulled back and nodded happily. "We´re fine."

"I´m so pleased." Ron kissed her forehead and let her go. He watched as she kissed Harry softly and took off down the corridor to see Kellie. He then turned to Harry, who was beaming.

"She´s beautiful, Ron."

Ron grinned broadly. "She´s the most perfect, amazing thing I´ve ever seen in my life."

The two best friends stared at each other as another momentous occasion in their lives came to pass; Ron was now a father and he couldn´t be happier that Harry was there to share it with him. Harry stepped forward and embraced Ron, who hugged him back. "Glad you´re here, mate," Ron said softly. "And that everything´s okay with you and Hermione."

Harry let go and smiled. "Me too. Thank you for being there for both of us." They looked at each other for a long moment, then watched as young Miss Weasley was passed around amongst her grandparents, aunts and uncles. Finally, the baby made it back to her father, who had noticed Draco standing back behind the family. "I think you missed someone, angel," he said. "Did you say hello to your Uncle Draco?"

Ron´s gaze met Draco´s as he held his newborn daughter out towards the man who had once been his most bitter enemy. "Would you like to hold her?"

Draco stared at him for a long moment, his face unreadable. Ron watched him glance over at Ginny, then turn back to him. "I´d love to," he said, his voice slightly hoarse. He very carefully took the baby off Ron, making sure to cradle her head. Holding her snugly in the crook of one arm, he brought his other one up to run a finger over her head. "She´s definitely a Weasley, all right," he commented dryly. "Look at the hair!" Everyone laughed; it wasn´t hard to miss the shock of red hair. There certainly was no mistaking that she belonged to Ron.

Ron´s smile faded as he glanced at his sister, who was staring at him with tears rolling down her cheeks. He knew she would understand; this was his way of letting her know that he had no qualms about accepting Draco into the family. Now he was a father, the importance of family was not lost on him, and he didn´t want his sister to think for one moment that he was disapproving of her husband. If Draco made her happy, that was all that mattered to Ron, and he wanted Ginny to know that, once and for all. He reached out and brushed away Ginny´s tears with his thumb. "No tears, squirt. Bubby will cry enough for all of us in the next week."

Ginny let out a sob and flung herself into her brother´s arms. He held her tight, rubbing her back soothingly.

"Making my wife cry, Weasley? Don´t make me hurt you." Draco´s tone was light; his threat could hardly be taken seriously with a baby nestled in his arms. Before Ron could retort, though, the baby awoke and let out a loud wail.

"Making my daughter cry, Malfoy? What did you do, look at her?" Everyone in the room laughed as Draco handed Ron´s daughter back to him. "I think she´s just hungry, so I´d best take her back to her mum."

"Perhaps it would be best if we came back later once you and Kellie have had some rest, love," Molly said knowingly, patting his arm. "Give Kellie our love." She turned to Kellie´s mother. "Would you and Aimee like to come home with us for a spot of tea? You can freshen up before we come back."

Gloria nodded tiredly. "That would be lovely, thank you, Molly."

"Thanks, Mum," Ron chimed in, unable to keep the weariness out of his voice. "I´m sure she´ll love to see you all tonight." After a round of kisses and hugs and reassurances that they would return, everyone gathered their cloaks and said goodbye to Ron and the now screaming baby. Only Harry remained, waiting for Hermione. They gazed down at the baby, who was waving her tiny hands in the air, her face as red as her hair.

"What´s all this noise about?" They looked up to see Hermione striding towards them. "Such a big noise for such a little girl!" She took the baby off Ron and placed her on her shoulder, rocking her gently and rubbing her back, murmuring shushing noises in her ear. Ron and Harry watched in amazement as the baby started to settle down, her cries getting weaker, until there was only muffled noises. "That´s much better, isn´t it?"

Ron and Harry exchanged glances. "Must be a woman thing," Harry said.

"Must be," Ron nodded in agreement.

Hermione turned around, still gently rocking the baby, and smiled. "Your wife would like her daughter back. And we should leave you be so the three of you can spend some time alone." She carefully handed the baby back to her father. "We´ll be back tonight for more cuddles." She kissed Ron´s cheek, weaved her fingers through Harry´s, and dragged him over to grab their cloaks.

Ron glanced over at the bear that Fred and George had left behind. "What am I going to do with that?"

Harry turned and promptly Disapparated the bear to Kellie´s room. "Problem solved."

"Thanks, Harry." Ron held the baby up toward them and waved her fist. "Bye Uncle Harry and Aunt Hermione. See you tonight!" He grinned and disappeared down the corridor.

Harry let go of Hermione´s hand and helped her into her cloak, then put on his. He slung an arm around her shoulder as they headed towards the exit. "How´s Kel?"

"Oh, Harry, she´s just glowing. She´s tired, but she looks so radiant." She brought her arm up and slid it around his waist. "The baby´s just beautiful, isn´t she?"

Harry nodded. "She sure is. So tiny, though. She looks like a doll." He stifled a yawn. "I´m exhausted," he admitted quietly. "It´s been a long night."

"It has," Hermione agreed. She stopped and looked at him. "We both need sleep. Let´s go home."

Harry just kissed her.

~*~*~*~

Ron pushed the door open with his foot, his daughter nestled safely in his arms.

"There she is," his wife said, propped up in bed with several pillows behind her. "I could hear her crying outside. She´s probably hungry."

Ron nodded in agreement and went over to the bed, handing the baby to Kellie and settling next to her. Kellie did as she´d been instructed by the mediwitch and soon, young Miss Weasley was attached to her mother´s breast and greedily gulping down her breakfast.

Ron slung an arm over Kellie´s shoulder and rested his head against hers as they watched their newborn feed. He ran a finger over her head in an unconscious echo of what Draco had done previously, gently playing with the fine hair on her head. "Gotta love that red hair," he commented, every inch the proud father.

Kellie smiled a tired smile. "Oh yes, no mistaking this one is a Weasley." She stifled a yawn. "I could sleep for a thousand years, I think."

Ron grinned. "Somehow, I don´t think this one would wait a thousand years for her next feeding. She has a good pair of lungs, as she demonstrated on her aunt and uncle before."

"I´m so glad they´re back together," Kellie said.

"Me too." Ron leaned over and kissed his wife´s cheek.

They watched their daughter in happy silence until she´d had her fill, moving her mouth slightly and sucking in air. "Here you are, Daddy," Kellie said, handing the baby over. "You can have your first go at burping her."

Ron sat his tiny daughter up on one knee, holding her under the chin with one hand and rubbing her back gently with the other, as he´d been shown. "Come on then, piglet," he said teasingly, earning a laughing nudge from his wife. "Show Daddy what you´ve got."

It only took a few minutes for the baby to do as she´d been asked, and her parents showered her with encouragement and gentle kisses. Kellie took her back to feed her again, and Ron leaned back against the pillows. "So, what are we going to call her?"

~*~*~*~

The dawn was beginning to break by the time they got home, so after giving a demanding Crookshanks a cuddle and a pat, Hermione allowed Harry to lead her upstairs to his bedroom. They both knew they were too tired to think about making love, and neither of them wanted their reunion to be half-hearted, so they settled for undressing each other with kisses. Once they had his pyjamas on, they peeled back the blankets and climbed in. The room was still dark, the blinds effectively blocking any of the morning sun´s rays out, but they didn´t need light to cuddle up together. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder as Harry held her in his arms. No words were necessary; they were content to just soak in each other´s presence.

It didn´t take long for slumber to beckon them, so after sharing one last, sweet kiss, they succumbed.

It was late afternoon when they awoke again. Hermione kept her eyes closed and reached for Harry, much like she had the morning after their fight. This time, however, he was there, and she spooned herself around him, placing a soft kiss on his neck. He held her hands to his chest tightly, and they lay together in silence for quite some time.

"Good morning," she finally murmured, nuzzling his neck.

Harry flipped over in her arms and propped himself up on one elbow. "It sure is." He leaned over and kissed her, long and deep. Lying back down, he brushed hair off her face. "I´ve missed that so much," he confessed in a soft tone.

Hermione traced the outline of his naked face with her fingers. "Me too. It´s been hell not being able to touch you and kiss you. I don´t feel like I´ve had any rest. It was so hard to sleep without you next to me." Her eyes shimmered with tears as she studied his profile. "God, I´ve missed you, Harry. I love you so much." A small sob escaped her lips, and she noticed Harry´s eyes were also misty as he pulled her towards him.

Not one to miss an opportunity, Hermione pushed him back slightly and climbed on top of him. It didn´t take long for their kisses to go from sweet to fiery, and soon enough, Harry had sat up, Hermione straddled in his lap and pulled tight against him. Somehow, whilst not removing his lips from hers, he managed to slide his hands under her top. Pulling it up over her head, he discarded it, greedy for the feel of her skin. He shifted his body enough to allow Hermione to equal their state of attire, then pulled her hips into position. Finally, after twelve long days of heartache, their reunion was complete.

~*~*~*~

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Hermione giggled as Harry continued to guide her forward, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. When he wasn´t looking where they were going, he was kissing her neck. Hermione doubted at this rate that they´d ever make it to Ron and Kellie´s room, but she simply didn´t care.

As they turned the corner into the corridor where the room was situated, Harry pushed Hermione up against the wall and proceeded to kiss her senseless. Caught up in the moment, she wrapped a leg around him, aching to hold him closer. He shifted against her, his arousal obvious, and it was this that reminded Hermione exactly where they were. She reluctantly broke the kiss and looked up at him, his glasses steamed and askew on his nose.

"What´s wrong?" he asked softly.

"While it may not bother you, Mr. Potter, I don´t want to be thrown out of the hospital for indecent behaviour." But the twinkle in Hermione´s eye told Harry she somehow didn´t care if they did get caught.

Harry moved away from her and they straightened themselves up. "Wouldn´t bother me, you know. I could just tell them you had me under Imperius." He grinned cheekily at Hermione as she weaved her fingers through his.

Hermione laughed. "Like anyone would believe that," she said.

Harry kept grinning. "Nah, I guess not."

They finally found the room and knocked on the door, then entered after Ron called out for them to do so. Kellie and Ron were stretched out on the queen bed in the suite, Ron holding their daughter.

"Here they are! About time you two came and visited," Ron said with a smile. "I thought you´d forgotten us with all the shagging you had to catch up on."

"Ron!" Kellie admonished. She turned to look at her friends, who came over to greet her with a kiss. Hermione perched herself on the bed beside Kellie, squeezing her hand, while Harry moved around to Ron´s side to look at his niece again.

"How are you feeling now, Kel?" Harry asked as Ron placed the baby in his arms.

"A lot better than this morning. Giving birth is a very draining experience," she commented with a wry grin.

"I bet it is," Harry muttered. "Makes me glad I´m a man. I just get to do the fun bit." He looked up and winked at Hermione, then went back to cooing at the baby.

"Does she have a name yet?" Hermione asked..

"She sure does," Ron answered. "This is Miss Gemma Renee Weasley."

Hermione let out a happy sigh. "Oh, that´s a beautiful name. Gemma." She looked over at the baby lying in Harry´s arms, and all of a sudden a feeling she couldn´t describe overwhelmed her. The sight of the man she loved holding a baby touched a very deep part of her in a way she could never have imagined. Just then, Harry looked up at her, and their eyes met in complete understanding.

Hermione saw Ron look at his wife out of the corner of her eye, who nodded at him. "Actually, Gemma has something she´d like to ask you two while you´re here. We were having a talk before and she was wondering if you would like to be her godparents."

Harry and Hermione exchanged a warm look, and Harry spoke for both of them. "We´d love to be."

"We´d like to know," Kellie continued, "that if something happened to us, she´d be taken care of. So we´d also like to make you her legal guardians if we die before she turns seventeen."

Gemma gurgled at Harry, her tiny fist peeking out of the blanket to wrap around his little finger as he stroked her cheek softly. "Of course we´d look after her. But nothing will happen to you two."

Ron nodded. "Just in case."

Nothing more needed to be said between the four friends; instead, they focused their attention on the one tiny being who had just brought them even closer together.

~*~*~*~

Friday, December 5, 5.30am

Ginny Malfoy´s knees were drawn up to her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around them. She breathed in deeply and exhaled, willing the tears that had been silently falling for the last half hour to stop. There was no light in the lounge room; it was still completely dark outside, given the early hour of the morning.

It was the dream that had awoken her. A dream that she had not had in a very long time, but one that had always been hovering in her subconscious. Ginny knew this was all part of the healing process and that a small part of her would always grieve for her loss, but the dream had rattled her deeply. She knew what had triggered it, but it didn´t make her grief any easier to cope with.

She stared out of the balcony door from her position on the lounge. Although she could see nothing, it somehow comforted her in a way she couldn´t explain. The knowledge that Draco was also just in the next room eased her pain. She could have woken him, of course, but she wanted to be alone for a little while.

When she felt his hand gently touch her shoulder, she started a bit, but did not turn around to look at her husband. He wordlessly skirted around the lounge and sat next to her, lifting her legs and stretching them out on his lap.

"What are you doing up so early?" he asked gently, his hand reaching up to caress her cheek.

Ginny sniffed. "Bad dream, that´s all." Her voice was quiet, the sadness evident.

"Bad dream about what, beautiful?" Draco´s voice was full of concern, and it was his concern for her that caused Ginny to burst into tears again.

"Hey," Draco said soothingly, pulling his crying wife onto his lap and into his arms. "It was only a dream, sweetheart."

Ginny opened her mouth to speak, but couldn´t form the words, so she instead laid her head on Draco´s shoulder and took comfort in his presence, allowing him to hold her tight. They sat silently together on the lounge for long moments, Draco´s hands stroking her gently, his lips kissing her forehead every now and then.

Finally, Ginny quieted and her tears subsided. "I´m sorry," she whispered.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Gin," Draco said. "Do you want to talk?"

Ginny raised her face up, knowing it was mere inches from Draco´s. She lifted a hand to touch his cheek. "Isn´t Gemma such a beautiful baby?"

Draco didn´t answer for a few seconds. "Yes, she is." He paused, wondering if he´d guessed correctly as to the source of Ginny´s sadness. "Did you have a dream about Grace?"

Ginny´s eyes filled afresh at the name of the daughter they had lost tumbling from her husband´s lips. In the fourth year of their relationship, Ginny and Draco had been on the verge of separation. Going through what had been the roughest patch ever, they´d been shocked to discover Ginny was pregnant. In the midst of their stormy relationship, Ginny had not remembered to recast her contraceptive spell, which needed to be done annually.

After the initial shock had faded, they´d talked. Talked more in one night than they had in the previous six months. Both expressed surprise at the thought of becoming parents, and dismay at the thought of bringing a baby into an unstable relationship, but when all had been said and done, Ginny and Draco had realised they were still deeply in love with each other, and had made a vow to work through their problems.

They had chosen to tell no one about the pregnancy straight away, as they were still sorting their relationship out and wanted to get used to the idea of parenthood. Although they were close to Ginny´s family and their friends, they were both still private people when it came to their relationship, so neither of them were unhappy at the decision to keep it quiet. They went to Ginny´s gynowizard for regular check ups and were able to learn when Ginny was nine weeks pregnant that their child was a girl, thanks to magical technology.

They spent the next two weeks planning and looking at baby items and discussing names. However, their joy was short lived when, at eleven weeks, Ginny had miscarried their baby.

The gynowizard was not able to tell them why, other than to say Ginny´s body had naturally rejected the baby because of an abnormality in the chromosomes. He´d offered them his deepest sympathy and gave them parchments on how to cope with the tragedy.

The loss of their unexpected but much wanted daughter had devastated them both, and after several furious fights, they´d agreed to go on a long holiday, away from the world at large, to mourn their loss. While there, they´d named their daughter Grace and spent the two months away talking about her and holding each other while they cried together. By the end of the holiday, they were closer than they ever had been.

Ginny had had several dreams about Grace in the following months; dreams of her being pregnant, of holding a strawberry blonde baby in her arms, of carrying a toddler around. As time had gone by, the dreams - and their grief - had faded, but neither of them had ever forgotten their child.

"Yes," Ginny whispered. "I haven´t thought about her in a while, but seeing Gemma yesterday, with her red hair... " She trailed off, not needing to explain anything to Draco, because he knew her so well, he understood exactly what she was feeling. She caressed his warm cheek softly, the stubble feeling familiar against her skin. Touching Draco comforted her, as it always did. "She´d be four now, you know. Almost ready for school."

"I know." Draco´s voice was husky in the dark. "What can I do to make it better, Gin?"

A solitary tear slid down Ginny´s cheek as she leaned forward and kissed her husband softly. "Nothing you don´t already do, darling." She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close.

They stayed that way for some time, comforted by each other´s embrace. Eventually, Ginny pulled back slightly and rested her head on Draco´s shoulder. His arms were still loosely wrapped around her waist. "Do you--" Draco cleared his throat and started again. "Do you want to try for another baby, beautiful?"

Ginny raised her head and thought about it for a moment. "I don´t think I´m ready yet, Draco. I really want to enjoy being Mrs. Malfoy for a little while." For the first time that morning, Ginny smiled. Then, she had a thought. "Do you want to have a baby now?"

"Honestly? No. I love our life, Gin. How it´s just you and me. How we can do whatever we like whenever we like. A baby is such a big responsibility. I´m selfish enough to admit I don´t want to share you yet, not with anyone. That doesn´t mean that, at some stage, I don´t want to have a baby with you, but I´m happy with things as they are right now." He kissed her gently. "Whenever you´re ready, though, I´m willing to talk about it. I think we´ll both know when it´s time."

"Yes, I think we will." She kissed him one last time, then got up off his lap. "I think I might try and get another hour´s sleep. Are you coming back to bed, or are you up for the day?"

Draco didn´t answer verbally, instead getting off the lounge behind her and taking her hand in his, then leading her back to their bedroom.

~*~*~*~

Hermione closed her eyes as Harry´s fingers gently massaged her scalp. They moved round and round in soft, slow circles, not pressing too hard or too softly. Their showering together had been one of the things she´d missed the most during their separation.

"I could stay here all day," she commented with a smile. "I just love this."

She felt his lips place a kiss on her wet shoulder. "I must say, the view is very nice."

"Harry," she started with a laugh. "I never knew you were such a pervert."

"Can´t help it." She could almost see him shrugging casually. "It´s all your fault for being so delectable." He kissed her shoulder again, but this time, his tongue darted out to lick away the water.

Hermione´s body tingled from his words as she moved away to stand directly under the spray of the water to wash the conditioner out of her hair. When she opened her eyes, Harry was standing right in front of her. He caught her eyes, then slowly looked her up and down. Hermione found herself blushing under his smoldering gaze. "Harry," she whimpered.

He pulled her to him and kissed her, hard. Without a shred of protest, she let him push her up against the wall, his fingers touching her in places that made her want to scream. She hooked a leg around his hip and prayed he took the hint.

He did.

~*~*~*~

The next few weeks leading up to Christmas were some of the busiest Hermione had ever experienced in her life. She returned to work the Monday following her reunion with Harry, much to Elias´ relief. After accepting an apology from Elias and offering one of her own, the matter was all but forgotten. She, Harry and Elias talked more about the company and they gave her complete access to all documentation relating to it. Hermione had had no idea the company actually made so much money, nor that it employed so many wizards. She was astounded at the sheer size of the operation, and was really in awe of how well Elias, with Harry in the background, had run it for so long. She´d also thought to ask Harry how it was that he only had level three clearance when he owned the company. He´d explained to her that the security orb had been programmed to only recognise him as Jago when he gave the override command. Hermione was duly impressed.

Kellie and Gemma were released from hospital three days after Gemma had made her early morning arrival, and Harry and Hermione popped over every day to see her. Hermione cooked dinner on more than a few occasions so Kellie and Ron could have a break. Ron was not planning to return to the shop before the new year so they were allowing their manager, Erin, to run it for them in their absence. He was very much an involved father, doting on both his girls and making sure Kellie got enough rest. It really warmed Hermione´s heart to see her best friend slip into this new and important role in his life with a minimum of fuss and the greatest of aplomb, and more than once it had made her think privately about what kind of father Harry would be. For she knew now that she wanted Harry to be the father of her children; in fact, she´d thought of little else. Hermione realised she was probably just clucky because of Gemma, but she didn´t care. She knew Harry would be a wonderful father, in spite of his upbringing. She just hoped he knew that.

One night, a couple of weeks before Christmas after trimming the Christmas tree and wrapping presents, Harry and Hermione sat together in the bathtub located in the main bathroom. Candles were the only illumination in the room, but it was all they needed. Hermione was facing Harry, her knees drawn up towards her chest on either side of him. Harry ran his fingers up and down her thighs, caressing her gently in the water. Bubbles floated along the top and the scent of vanilla permeated the air.

"We should do this more often," Hermione commented, lazily moving her fingers in circles at the back of Harry´s neck. He leaned in and kissed her shoulder, then trailed his lips up her neck. Her hair was loosely pinned up on the crown of her head, allowing Harry unencumbered access to her neck, which he took full advantage of.

"It makes a nice change from the shower," Harry agreed. "A lot more relaxed."

Hermione smiled and placed a finger under his chin, tilting his face up towards her so she could kiss him thoroughly. "Never let it be said I don´t do anything properly," she murmured against his lips.

Harry kissed her back just as slowly before answering. "You won´t hear me complaining."

Hermione slid her arms around his neck. "Good, because time you use complaining is time you´re wasting not kissing me." Harry just smiled and placed a soapy hand on the back of her head, tilting it so he could kiss her until neither of them could breathe.

"Never let it be said I waste time not kissing you," Harry said when they finally separated. Hermione laughed and rested her forehead against his. He continued to place soft kisses on her lips every few seconds.

"I want to redecorate," Hermione exclaimed out of the blue.

Harry pulled back to look at her properly. "Redecorate what?"

"Well," Hermione began tentatively. "There´s not really much point in us having separate bedrooms anymore, is there?"

Harry kissed her in response.

"So," she went on, "we can make my bedroom a guest room and redo yours for us, since it´s the master bedroom. I want to make the ensuite larger, too, so we can have a bigger shower and put in a nice, big bathtub to indulge in this more often." She bit her lip. "What do you think?"

"Whatever you want is fine with me, my love," he murmured, returning to his earlier task of smothering her neck with kisses.

"Shall we get a new bed?"

At this, Harry stopped kissing her neck and looked at her. "What´s wrong with mine?"

"Nothing´s wrong with yours. I just thought we could get a new one that´s ours."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Don´t think you can fool me, Miss Granger. You just want an excuse to spend all my money."

Hermione´s jaw dropped. "I... I... that´s- "

Harry laughed and kissed her. "I´m teasing. You can spend as much as you like. It´s our money now. Yours and mine. Speaking of which, I want you to come to Gringotts with me so I can have your name put on my vault."

"You want to do that?"

Harry could hear the doubt in her tone. "Why are you so surprised? Of course I want to do that. Whatever I have is yours now too, Hermione."

To his utter dismay, tears welled up in Hermione´s eyes.

"Oh, Harry," she said softly. "That is just so... I love you."

Harry just smiled. "I love you more."

"No you don´t."

"Yes I do."

"No you- "

Hermione never got to finish her sentence because Harry´s lips were in the way.

"Yes I do," Harry declared long moments later, nipping her bottom lip.

"How about we love each other equally," Hermione said breathlessly.

Harry laughed. "That works for me. So, will you come with me tomorrow and fix the vault up?"

"Yes, I will. I´ll have my money shifted across to yours then."

Harry kissed her nose. "You don´t need to do that. You can still keep yours."

"I do believe a certain someone just told me that whatever was his is mine now too, so I can´t for the life of me think why he would imagine it´s not reciprocal." Hermione blew away a bubble that had ventured too close to her face.

"Point taken," Harry said with a sheepish smile. His face then sobered. "How much money have you got, exactly?"

Hermione grinned. "Wouldn´t you like to know?"

"I would." Harry´s curiousity had been piqued. "How much are you worth, Dr Granger?"

Hermione tilted her head and blew away another bubble. "About three hundred thousand galleons, give or take."

Harry whistled. "You´ve saved that much money?"

"I´ve always been a good saver."

"So it would seem."

Hermione studied him carefully, then wrapped her arms around his neck and moved forward until their faces were almost touching. "So when we merge our vaults tomorrow, what am I going to be worth then?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Sure you want to know?"

"Of course I do."

Harry appeared to be doing mental calculations in his head. "Let´s see, with your three hundred thousand... " He trailed off for a few seconds, then leaned in and whispered in her ear.

Hermione could not hide her astonishment. "Are you serious? That´s... that´s... "

"A lot of money?" Harry said helpfully.

"I had no idea you were worth so much! Where did it all come from?"

"Well, I had my inheritance from Mum and Dad. I had interest from Gringotts for sixteen years. Then, of course, I bought the house and sunk most of what I had left into PGW, putting the rest into investments. PGW only made enough money to keep afloat for the first few years, but then it began to pick up. Once a certain beautiful witch joined the company, it really turned around and I began to make a personal profit. The last few years have been very good."

"Wow," Hermione exclaimed. "I had no idea you were so rich. Had I known, I´d have snagged you a lot sooner." Her eyes glinted in the candlelight. "Now I´ll never let you go."

Harry smiled. "I certainly hope not."

Hermione kissed him, long and passionately. "I´d love you even if you only had one galleon in your vault, Harry," she murmured against his lips.

"I know, sweetheart."

They pulled apart far enough to be able to look into each other´s eyes, and the rest of their conversation was held without words.

~*~*~*~

Christmas Eve, 2008

Hermione hummed happily as she waltzed around the kitchen, cooking dinner. Harry had been sent out on a last minute mission to buy a Christmas present for Bill´s latest witch, whom they´d only found out an hour ago was attending tomorrow´s Christmas party. Hermione, not wanting anyone to feel left out, had not thought in the frenzy leading up to Christmas to buy an extra present just in case, so she´d sent Harry out to get something suitable while she cooked dinner. A new song started on the radio and Hermione sang along as she stirred the vegetables.

"Well, somebody´s in a good mood!" a teasing voice said from the doorway.

Hermione looked up to find Harry leaning against the doorway, and a slow smile spread across her face. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, standing up on her toes. "Maybe someone´s just pleased that her incredibly sexy boyfriend is home so she can kiss him madly like she´s wanted to ever since he left." Without waiting for a response, she kissed him firmly.

Harry had a slightly dazed look on his face when she finally let him go long seconds later. "Wow," he said, putting down the bag he carried. "Let me try that again."

Hermione laughed as he disappeared behind the wall and came back two seconds later. "Honey, I´m home," he said with a mischievous smile. "Miss me?"

Hermione blinked. "Miss you? Did you go somewhere?"

Harry growled and pulled her into his arms, her laughter loud. "Funny, you are. What am I going to do with such a funny witch?"

"Kiss me?" Hermione suggested with a sly grin.

"That works for me." And kiss her he did, until they were both breathless and panting.

They separated with one last kiss and Hermione checked the vegetables while Harry picked up the shopping bag. "So what did you get her?"

"I have no idea if... what´s her name again?"

"Selea."

"I have no idea if Selea will like this or not, but the choices were somewhat limited at this late hour." He held the bag out to Hermione for inspection and she glanced into it, nodding her approval.

"I´m sure it´s fine. It´s not like we had a great deal of notice, anyway. Why don´t you wrap it and stick it under the tree while I serve dinner up?"

Harry performed the Summoning Charm to get the equipment needed, then waved his wand and watched as the present was wrapped with the aid of magic. He added a bow as a final touch, then took it into the living room and placed it under the tree with the mountain of other presents. "Hermione," he yelled out. "I think we might have gone a bit overboard with the presents this year, don´t you?"

She waited until Harry came back into the kitchen and sat down at the table, dinner in front of them, before responding. "Maybe," she conceded. She picked up her fork and stabbed a mushroom. "But I love to buy presents for our family and friends," Hermione said, her eyes shining brightly. "I love Christmas. It´s my favourite holiday of the year."

Harry reached over and squeezed her hand. "Mine too," he said with a grin.

~*~

A few hours later, Hermione was curled into the crook of Harry´s shoulder. They were lying on their mattress which, on a whim, Harry had levitated down from their bedroom and placed under the Christmas tree. After much giggling and some serious kissing, they´d turned out all the lights bar those that flashed down on them from the tree and ended up very naked and very sweaty.

The coloured lights blinked a rainbow across Harry´s chest, and Hermione watched them for a few long moments in contented silence. She eventually leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "Sickle for your thoughts," she whispered.

He turned his head towards her, running a finger down her cheek gently. Harry always looked so different without his glasses on, Hermione thought. He was more exposed. Sometimes, when she looked into his eyes with his glasses off, she thought she could see into his soul, for his eyes hid nothing from her.

Harry gathered his thoughts as he gazed upon her face, the lights flashing behind her. "I´ve been thinking," he started. "How would you feel if I left the Ministry and actively took over PGW?"

Hermione laid back and turned her head towards him. "Well, it´s entirely your decision, Harry. I thought you liked working at the Ministry."

"I do," Harry answered. "But now that you know and it´s no longer a secret, I´d like to be involved on a day-to-day basis. Elias has done a great job, but it would be a lot easier if I didn´t have to sneak out every time he wants to ask me something." He propped himself up on one elbow, the blanket he´d put over them falling down. "I´m very proud of this company, Hermione, and of everything that it has achieved. I´d just like to be more involved, that´s all. I´ll still be on call for the Ministry; I´m sure Percy wouldn´t hesitate to owl me if he needed me."

Hermione took a deep breath. "Harry, I´m going to be completely honest with you, because if we´ve learned anything over the last month, it´s that we shouldn´t keep secrets from each other." She looked directly at him. "I don´t think I could continue to work there as your employee if you took over the company. You´re my partner, my equal. I can´t have you be my boss at work."

Harry stared at her for such a long time that Hermione began to fear she´d said the wrong thing, even though it was what she felt in her heart. "Somehow, I knew you´d say that." The ghost of a smile crossed his face, and he leaned over and kissed her. "I wouldn´t expect you to be my employee, Hermione. You are my partner, in every sense of the word." Sitting up and slipping his glasses on, he summoned a neatly wrapped cylindrical shaped parcel from under the tree. "I wasn´t going to give you this until tomorrow, but since I think it would be appropriate now, you can have one early."

Hermione sat up, her heart beating wildly, as she took the parcel from Harry´s hands and unwrapped it. Inside was a piece of parchment with a crimson ribbon around it. She undid the ribbon, broke the seal, and unrolled the parchment.

Using the lights from the tree and the glow of the fire behind them, she read the words on the cream surface. When she got to the end, she sighed and looked up. "Oh, Harry," she said, her eyes filling with tears. "You don´t have to do this."

Harry took the parchment gently from her hands and placed it carefully on the floor next to him, then took Hermione´s hands in his. "Yes, I do, Hermione," he began. "You´ve worked so hard building this company from one that was struggling to stay afloat to one that is incredibly successful."

"I´m not the only person who works there, Harry," she interjected.

"I know, it´s a team effort," he agreed. "But you really turned it around. You, Hermione. With your dedication and hard work. So it´s only fair that I give you half my share of the company." He blinked, a lump suddenly forming in his throat. "I really want you to have it, Hermione. Help me run our company."

Hermione looked at him for a long moment and then nodded, placing her hand on his cheek. "Yes," she said tearfully. "I will. Thank you so much."

He pulled her into his arms and they hugged for a long time. After sharing a sweet kiss, they separated. "So, who owns the other thirty percent? Elias?"

"Elias owns ten percent, as does Sirius. Up until I had this drawn up, I had the other eighty. But now, you and I have thirty five percent each, and I´d like to give the other ten to Ron, since we´re using his name as part of our company´s." He smiled. "I´d also like Ron to have a say if something ever happened to us."

Hermione nodded. "I think that´s a great idea. I´m confident the three of them could sort it out." She laid back down and watched the blinking lights. "They´re so pretty, aren´t they? I always loved camping in the lounge room Christmas Eve as a girl. I wanted to wait up for Santa, but he never came until I was asleep." She smiled at the childhood memory, then frowned as she saw Harry´s face. He was propped up on one elbow, deep in thought. "I´m sorry, Harry. I know Christmas was never a big deal for you as a child. I should have thought before I spoke."

Harry placed a finger against her lips. "Don´t apologise for my lousy childhood, Hermione. It wasn´t your fault."

Hermione´s lips thinned. "I hate them for what they did to you," she said fiercely.

Harry stroked her hair soothingly, not quite ready to dredge up bad memories. "It was a long time ago, honey."

"I know." They both lay next to each other, touching in some way. After a few long moments, Hermione turned to him, the twinkle back in her eye. "How about I give you a Christmas Eve you´ll never forget to make up for it?"

Harry just grinned in response.

~*~*~*~

Christmas Day, The Burrow

Hermione sat on the back step, watching the small crowd of people as they milled about the back yard. Although it was winter, nobody was cold, thanks to the various charms and spells cast by Arthur before everyone´s arrival. A huge, enclosed marquee had been erected around the back of the house so that they could all be outside without worrying about the weather. Although Molly and Arthur had made the Burrow bigger with the money the twins had given them, the back yard was still more spacious and comfortable. After all, there were nineteen people spending Christmas Day at the Burrow.

Hermione counted them all off in her head. Molly and Arthur, Bill and Selea, Charlie, Percy (who´d surprised the entire family by turning up with Penny and announcing they were giving their marriage one more try), Fred, George, Ron, Kellie, Gemma, Ginny and Draco, she and Harry. The Weasleys also invited Sirius and Hermione´s parents to join them, after Harry and Hermione had told them they would only be there for dinner because they´d had breakfast planned with Vincent and Judy and lunch with Sirius. This way, they could all spend the day together and nobody had to worry about travelling from place to place. Vincent and Judy Granger had been intrigued by the idea of having a magical Christmas, and pleased to be invited to attend the renewal of Ginny and Draco´s vows. In the end, with Gemma arriving and Christmas coming up, Ginny, Draco and Molly had decided it would be best to combine all the events into one day of celebration and have the ceremony on Christmas Day.

After much cajoling, Draco had reluctantly agreed to let Percy officiate over the wedding ceremony, using his powers as Minister of Magic. The renewal took place in the early afternoon and this time, Draco and Ginny wore robes. Hermione struggled to stay awake throughout it all, as Harry had kept her up half the night and Percy seemed intent on dragging the whole thing out as long as he could. She whispered often to her parents, who were seated beside her, and explained certain phrases and procedures to them. They smiled and nodded, but Hermione knew they didn´t really understand a lot of it.

She had to laugh, though, when towards the end of the ceremony, Draco snapped at Percy and said he´d like to kiss his bride before he celebrated his 100^th birthday. A small snicker went through the gathering, but they all silently thanked Draco for saying something and speeding it up. Percy sensed his long commentary about the seriousness of the commitment Ginny and Draco were undertaking was not being fully appreciated, so he finished up and the crowd clapped loudly when Draco finally got to kiss his bride.

Molly had put on a spread of cold meats and salads and soups for a light lunch, as the roast was being saved for dinner. Hermione had helped herself and retreated to the back step, to take a breather and enjoy the day, pleased that all the people she loved were under the same roof. It was a rare sight, and one Hermione didn´t take for granted.

She finished her lunch and put the plate to her side. "Is this seat taken?" a distinctively male voice asked. Hermione looked up to find Draco standing over her. He´d shed his robes and was dressed like everyone else - warmly. He was clad in blue jeans and a black turtleneck jumper.

"Not at all," Hermione said with a smile.

Draco sat down on the step in front of her. "What a day. I´m exhausted already. I didn´t think Percy was ever going to shut up."

Hermione laughed and, caught up in the festivity and the occasion of Christmas Day, placed her arms around Draco´s shoulders and hugged him. "Merry Christmas, Draco. And congratulations." She kissed his cheek.

He placed a hand on her knee and squeezed it affectionately. "Right back at you, Granger." He looked up at her slyly. "Although if the way Potter looks at you means anything, you won´t be Granger for much longer, will you?"

Hermione cocked her head. "What do you mean by that?"

Draco took a swig of the butterbeer he´d been holding in his left hand. "I mean this is it, kiddo. Anyone can see just by looking at you two that this one is for keeps." He looked at Hermione, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Do you not agree?"

"Of course this is it, Draco," Hermione said contemplatively. "I´ll never love another man like I do Harry. It´s just that we´ve never talked about marriage. It´s early days yet."

"I know that," Draco responded affably. "No one´s asking you to marry him right now... although, I´m sure if you asked Percy--"

"Perish the thought, Malfoy," Hermione said with a laugh. "I think we´ve suffered enough today, don´t you? I know he means well, but I never thought it was going to end."

"Neither did I," Draco said wryly. "I thought I was going to have to threaten to shag her in front of everyone to shut him up."

"Moving in on my witch, Malfoy?" a voice interjected. "You´re a married man, you know." Harry´s face was serious, but his tone was teasing. "Didn´t take him long, did it?" he said to Ron, who stood next to him.

"Disgusting," Ron agreed with a tut. "He´s been married all of a few hours and he´s homing in on Hermione in front of everyone. You should be ashamed of yourself, Malfoy."

"Shut it, Weasley. You´re just jealous because I can pull in the witches and you can´t."

"And that is my cue to depart." Hermione stood up and kissed Harry, then wandered over to where Ginny and Kellie sat, taking turns cuddling Gemma.

Harry and Ron sat on the steps next to Draco, and the three men watched in silence as Hermione picked up the baby, cradling her, while Ginny and Kellie looked on.

"You know, lads," Ron said eventually. "I think we might just be the three luckiest wizards alive."

Draco nodded and clinked his butterbeer against Ron´s. "I´ll drink to that."

"Amen," Harry added, and the three men shared a smile.

~*~*~*~

New Year´s Eve, 2008.
PGW Industries

The party was in full swing by the time he arrived there. He was anxious and annoyed - anxious because he´d wanted to be there before his goddess arrived, and annoyed because his date had taken so bloody long to get ready. It wasn´t as if she could do anything to make her face look better, anyway. No amount of charms would help her. But still, she was his only way into the party, so he´d bitten his tongue and said nothing.

Moving away from his date as quickly as possible, using the excuse that he was going to get them some punch, his carefully trained eyes scoured the room - to find her standing over to one side, her fingers firmly entwined with Potter´s. He resisted the urge to spit on the ground when he saw the tall, dark-haired wizard. What could Potter give her that he couldn´t? Nothing, that´s what. Absolutely nothing. He wondered if perhaps somehow Potter had managed to curse Hermione, to make her think she was in love with him. It was a possibility. Slim, he admitted silently, but one worth investigating.

Hermione. Just her name was enough to send a delicious shiver down his spine. He could stand and stare at her for hours. He did, sometimes. He´d covered one entire wall of his bedroom with photos and pictures of her. In some of them, she winked at him; in one, she blew him a kiss. He always patted his cheek when he looked at that one. Some of them showed a pensive Hermione, some a playful one. He had an entire gamut of emotions in pictures and looking at them never failed to make him smile.

Tonight, the sight of her both made him weak in the knees and angry enough to want to pound someone into a wall. Preferably Potter. He had been very, very disappointed in his Hermione when he´d discovered the rumours were true. How could she be in love with Potter? He wasn´t anything special. In fact, he´d always found him somewhat boring. Personable enough, but no spark. Nothing to make him unique.

He reached up and smoothed down a straight blond hair. He was pleased he´d chosen a blond charm tonight; he´d caught the eye of more than one witch on the way in. If he was lucky, he might even score later. Of course, none of them held a candle to his Hermione, but it was better than sleeping alone.

He´d taken the correct precautions to ensure his identity would not be known. Tricking the security system on the way in had been difficult, but he´d managed to work it out. He´d been in PGW Industries before, of course, but he couldn´t risk anyone knowing he was here now.

Realising it was not wise to stand and stare, he looked at his Hermione one last time and made his way to the punch bowl.

~*~

"It´s such a large turnout, Elias. I´m so pleased." Hermione´s face glowed as she looked around the party, the company´s hundreds of employees laughing and drinking and enjoying themselves. Harry and Hermione had arrived later than most, having had a few drinks with Draco and Ginny beforehand. It was Ron and Kellie´s wedding anniversary, so they´d chosen to go out for a romantic dinner, leaving the baby with Molly and Arthur for a few hours.

The older wizard nodded and sipped his drink. "Yes. A perfect time to make the announcement, I daresay." He glanced over at Harry. "Nervous about being revealed, Harry?"

Harry nodded once. "A little. What if people aren´t happy about it?"

"Why wouldn´t they be happy about it, honey?" Hermione interrupted. "I´m sure there´ll be some surprise, but nobody will be upset. Why would they? I think a lot of people will be pleased to know they´re working for you. And proud, too." She leaned up and gave him a soft kiss, in deference to their company.

"Thank you," he murmured, kissing her forehead. "Well, let´s get it over with, then."

Elias nodded and smiled his encouragement, then made his way up to the stage. "Sonorus," he said. "May I have your attention please?" The crowd stopped and gathered around, a few shushes heard throughout. "Are you all having a good time?" The crowd yelled out, and Elias cupped his ear in an exaggerated motion. They screamed louder for a few seconds until Elias indicated for them to quiet down again. "It´s traditional for me to give you the company update on behalf of myself and Jago, but I thought this year you might like to hear from the man himself."

He watched as glances were exchanged, some mouths opened, and muted hushes rippled through the crowd. "Jago has specifically asked to be here tonight, because he is finally ready to reveal his identity. As of tomorrow, he will be taking over the running of the company, so I would like you to put your hands together for PGW´s owner... " He trailed off, looking at Harry one last time. "Mr. Harry Potter."

Nobody said a word. There was a shocked silence as all heads turned to where Harry stood. Hermione squeezed his hand tightly, and he reluctantly let go of his grip on her hand as he took a slightly shaky step forward. He´d been right, they weren´t happy. He wasn´t sure how he made it up to the stage, but make it up he did. Shaking Elias´ hand, he turned to the crowd.

The roof of his mouth had gone very dry, and Harry found he couldn´t talk. His eyes sought out those that would give him strength, and he watched as Hermione took a step towards him and started to clap. For a few seconds, she was the only one who did so, her eyes never leaving his, the proud smile in them hard to miss. Eventually, a few others joined in, then more, until the whole room was clapping loudly and a cacophony of cheers could be heard.

Harry breathed out in relief and felt his face go a little red. "Thank you," he said a few times, until the din died down. "Thank you. I realise this must be somewhat of a shock to a lot of you, and I thank you for being so understanding. This year has been a most successful one for us, both financially and in terms of the number of projects successfully completed.

"Elias has always kept me fully up to date with every PGW project, and I´m aware of how much hard work each and every one of you puts into your projects. For that, I can´t thank you enough.

However, there is someone I would like to thank in particular. Without her, PGW would not be as successful as it is today. She has agreed to help me run the company, so please welcome to the stage my partner, Dr. Hermione Granger."

The crowd applauded again, as Hermione was well liked and respected amongst her peers. She blushed slightly and quickly made her way up to Harry. To their audience´s delight, she kissed him soundly. Once they had everyone´s attention again, Harry gave a brief but thorough run down of where the company stood for the new year and explained the change in ownership. He updated them on all the major projects currently being undertaken and the results of those that had been completed during the year.

Once business was done, he thanked them once more and asked everyone to join him on the dance floor. Soon, the floor was a whirl of robes as couples got together to dance.

Harry wasn´t able to escape the attention of a lot of the witches present, and he soon found himself being partner to one witch after another. He knew most of them on sight, having approved each one´s employment personally, but some names escaped him, so he was pleased when a familiar face asked to cut in.

"Hi Sue," he said, hugging her warmly. He knew Sue Fealy from the Ministry; she´d been working with the Aurors on cases where her expertise as a forensic pathowitch was highly sought after. Two years previously, she´d applied for an opening at PGW, and Harry had snapped her up on the spot. The older witch hugged him back. "Hello, boss," she said teasingly. "What a nice surprise!"

They spent a couple of songs catching up, Harry politely declining invitations from other witches, until one of them happened to be the woman he loved. When the live band struck up a slow song, he kissed Sue´s cheek and pulled Hermione into his arms. She snaked her arms up, her fingers playing with the hair on the nape of his neck.

"I told you it wouldn´t be that bad, didn´t I? Everyone is thrilled." Hermione´s grin was slightly smug and, had they been in a more appropriate setting, Harry would have been happy to indulge in wiping it off her face with a few well-placed kisses.

"So you did, Dr. Granger," he said. "I knew you were useful for something."

"I´m useful for a lot of things," Hermione retorted.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "So I´m discovering."

Hermione smacked his shoulder playfully. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Potter," she said in a mock-disgusted tone.

Before Harry could respond with a smart comment, however, they were interrupted once again by Elias, who stated it was time to start the count down to the New Year. Everyone joined in enthusiastically as the count began, and as they got down to ten, Harry and Hermione looked at each other and counted together. When they reached zero and 2008 became 2009, everyone cheered wildly as kisses were exchanged.

But no kiss was quite as tender as the one the newly revealed owners of PGW Industries gave each other. They got lost in the crowd, forgetting the presence of everyone else. Wrapped up in each other´s arms, neither Harry nor Hermione could think of anywhere else they´d rather be at that moment.

"I love you," Harry said, nipping on Hermione´s bottom lip as he pulled back.

"I love you, too," she responded. "Happy New Year, my love."

~*~

He threw the lamp across the room and it shattered into pieces that fell on the cream carpet. He paced in front of his wall of photographs, many images of Hermione having left their respective frames.

His hair was now back to its normal colour and the charm taken off his eyes. He was back in the sanctuary of his home, the only place where he could display his true feelings for Hermione. At the moment, though, he was not happy with his goddess. Where was her dignity? Kissing Potter like that in front of everyone like some cheap whore. Hermione was so much classier than that, he would not have believed it if he hadn´t seen it with his own eyes.

It was clear that being... involved with Potter was not healthy for Hermione. She seemed to have forgotten who she was.

He would just have to teach her that being with Harry Potter wasn´t what she needed.

He was.

~*~*~*~

Author´s notes: This is the final chapter of "Love is a Battlefield". Never fear, the gang will all be back in the sequel, "Love is a Crime", which is set to start nine months after LIAB. However, I will not be releasing chapter one of LIAC until after OoTP has been released due to plot reasons - I need to know who survives Book 5. It will also give me a chance to finish all the other projects I´d put to the side while writing LIAB.

I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who stuck with me throughout the story. Your reviews, comments and emails have meant a great deal to me and your support and encouragement played no small part in getting this story done. Please do leave feedback for this chapter - I´d love to hear what you thought of it.

If you´d like to be kept up to date about LIAC, read along with one shots from the LIAB universe, join the competition which is about to commence, or read my other fics, please feel free to join me at PGW Industries. You can also read about the sequel on my livejournal and my fics on my fics journal.

Love Gordon drew me a wonderful pic of Kellie and Gemma, so go here to see it. Don´t forget to send her feedback at [email protected]

Want some really good Harry/Hermione fic to read? I offer you the following four fics, which deserve to be widely read and highly praised. You can try Stigmatized by Ariana and Never Let Them See You Bleed by Cadey. Or why not try The Coin by Rhett´s Lady. Good fics one and all.

However, if you haven´t read the "Remember Me" Series by Quidditch Mom, you are really missing a treat. She´s up to fic three in her universe, and there really are no words to do it justice. You´ve got Harry/Hermione, you´ve got Draco/Ginny, you´ve got romance, humour, mystery, action, drama - what more could you ask for? So if you haven´t read it, then hop on over to the first one, Remember Me. The sequel is The Joining of the Three and the third in the series is Dark Obsession.

That´s it from me, folks. Thank you again for your support and encouragement over the last nineteen months as LIAB was written.

Cheers
Lissanne