Here, There, and Everywhere

Here, There, and Everywhere

Chapter 03: not quite the same

"A prat," Hermione spoke with a hint of good humor in her voice. She looked at the two young men in front of her and couldn't help but feel a strange wetness coming to her eyes. She wasn't innocent enough, or even naive enough, to think that being with the two of them, together again, after so much time wouldn't 'touch' her. However, Hermione hadn't anticipated it would be that much.

Seeing and talking with Ron had been an intense- and necessary- experience, but, in a way it had been easy. However many issues they had had, it was something concrete. They knew exactly what their scars were.

And they both knew that they weren't only about Romilda Vane.

However, the same couldn't be said about Harry. Nothing between her and the dark haired wizard had been clear for quite a long time. In fact, there wasn't a specific problem- there was just that something, that unspoken truth, those half lies.

She hadn't lied when she told Ron she didn't loved Harry. Everything that had - and hadn't- happened had nothing to do with love.

It had been healing.

They were just healing; like two friends helping each other.

They had decided - so long ago - that that was nothing.

So, why couldn't she forget?

"Ron," Hermione said, looking at her ex-boyfriend, "I think Charlie needs to be rescued from your mum and Ginny."

She saw Ron looking between her and Harry before giving a short nod. He came towards her.

"Be nice to him, Miss Granger," he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek and then walking away before she had the chance to reply.

"I don't think you have the right to call me a prat, Hermione," Harry blurted. "I'm sorry for having walked away after-" He let out a harsh laugh. "-after my exclamation, but you have no right to call me a prat. You lied to me. Worse, you didn't say anything!"

Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing. Hadn't Ron just talked to him? She wanted to scream at him, to tell him he had no right to be calling himself the victim. Where was he when she needed him five years ago?

Too bloody occupied with that damn Ginny Weasley!

Don't go there, Granger, she instructed herself. It had taken her years to forgive.

Hermione glanced at Harry and spoke, "I'm sorry, Harry. I-I should have told you. I-" She looked down at her hands, biting her lips. Suddenly it seemed that all her walls had gone down. It was like she was a teenager, a shy little girl all over again. "-I should have written, I should have-"

"Yes, you should have, Hermione," Harry cut her off. "I am not saying that I'm not happy for you, for seeing you after so many years." He ran a hand through his hair. "Do you have any idea how much I missed you? How much it hurt me everytime you responded to my letters with a business note?" Hermione opened her mouth to say something but Harry continued on. "Charlie is a great guy. I'm sure he is. And part of me is happy for knowing that you found a good guy but this- this doesn't excuse all those years of silence. We were supposed to be best friends, Hermione!"

Hermione felt a wave of anger rising inside her. She just wanted to say sorry, to apologize for not telling him about Charlie, but now he was complaining about the time she was away? If he missed her so much why hadn't he Apparated or Portkeyed to Hungary? It wasn't like he didn't know where she lived!

"No to mention he was too busy when you needed him!" a voice hissed in her head.

"Oh that's rich, Harry Potter!" she cried in annoyance. "I am trying to say I'm sorry and you decide to stay right there in your usual pity party?! What about when I needed you? What about five years ago when I needed a shoulder to cry on? Huh? Where were you then, Harry?"

Harry stood up from the bench, his face going crimson with anger and disbelief. "I can't fucking believe you, Hermione!" He snorted out aloud. "Me? I am the one having a pity party? If I remember correctly, you are the one who wanted to be alone! Not to mention I had my own problems." He shook his head. "Oh! Not to mention that even if I had talked to you, you had gone to bloody Hungary less than a week after!"

Feeling suddenly tired, Hermione decided she wasn't in the mood for a row. She was mature enough to know that both of them had been wrong. She just wanted to be done with arguing about it over and over again. She wanted to go back inside, catch up with Ginny, eat Mrs. Weasley's delicious food, nuzzle against Charlie's...

"You know what, Harry? Just forget it!" She held up her hands in mock surrender. "I am too tired and too old for this! I'm not that little witch that seemed to love nagging you anymore. I already gave you my apologies. It's up to you to accept them or not."

Not wanting to hear any kind of reply, Hermione walked away.

***

July 2^nd , 2006

00:15 am

Hermione's apartment, London

Hermione's bedroom

Lying on her queen size bed, Hermione absently watched Charlie finish putting on his clothes.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay here with you tonight?" Charlie asked kindly as he finished buttoning his shirt. He walked over to her and sat down on the edge of the bed, taking her hand in his.

Hermione smiled at him but shook her head. "No, Charlie," she said, "you better go. You know how Molly is." Charlie rolled his eyes at her. "You go back to The Burrow. I'll be fine. It's not like I never lived alone or don't know this apartment, for that matter."

"I know, love." Charlie brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. "I am over thirty and my mum still doesn't want me to share an apartment with a girl." He let out a small laugh. "What a pathetic man!"

Hermione shook her head, and sat up on the bed, wrapping her arms around him. "No, not pathetic." She closed her eyes briefly only to open them again a moment later. It was good to feel the fabric of his shirt scratching against her naked skin. "Just wise. You- we- know how antiquated Molly is." She opened a couple of buttons and kissed his chest before looking up at him. "Besides, this way we look like two naughty and passionate teenagers." She smiled slyly. "Isn't that exciting?"

Charlie laughed playfully before sobering up. "But I'm not only talking about this, luv," he said seriously, "I am talking about what happened earlier between you and Harry. You didn't say a word-"

Sighing exasperatedly, Hermione let go of him and got off the bed. "There's nothing to talk about," she muttered as she began picking up her displaced clothes from the floor and putting them on.

Hermione didn't want to talk about that. If Harry wanted to be childish, he had gotten his wish. She was too tired to beg for his forgiveness.

Goddammit, so she had made a mistake! Yeah! But she had said she was sorry! It wasn't like he was most perfect human being in the world!

Humph!

She let out a deep breath as she felt Charlie wrapping his arms around her. "Hermione, love, I know that you, Harry, and Ron went through a lot of things that-" He let go of her and paused for a moment, then ran a hand through his hair. "I think you need to solve this situation with Harry while it's still in its beginning." Hermione groaned at her fiancé, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Don't look at me like that, Hermione. You know I'm right. You made a mistake. You should have told him. He is your best friend. Even more so than Ron. And it isn't just about that. You know you should have written back-"

"But I wrote!"

"Please, Hermione! I mean real letters!" he closed the distance between them and grabbed her on the shoulder, squeezing gently. "Talk to him, Hermione. Explain things. You two need to have a real conversation." He gave her a lopsided grin. "Not to mention that he'll have quite a surprise tomorrow, won't he?"

"I'll talk with him." Hermione laughed genuinely. She had forgotten... "He'll be so pissed!"

***

Ministry of Magic

Aurors Department

Kingsley's Office

07:45 am

Kingsley Shacklebolt was speaking, or at least his mouth was opening and closing, and words were coming out of it, but Hermione wasn't really paying attention. Of course, she nodded occasionally, replying with the usual 'yes, sir', but that was all just an act.

She was dreading it.

Dreading the moment when he would open the door and walk in.

And once again Hermione wondered when life had turned out to be so complicated.

'Since you received that letter when you were eleven, Granger!' a voice replied in her head.

When she had gone to Hungary, she knew a new phase of her life was beginning. It wasn't just about a new country, a new language, a new everything.

It wasn't even about her breaking up with Ron. It was about herself.

Sometimes she found herself feeling so cliché, so like a heroine of one those sappy Muggle novels.

The girl that abandons everything to find herself...

Hermione Granger could have laughed.

However, moving to Hungary was the best thing she had ever done.

There, she finally discovered it was fine to- sometimes- be a little silly, a little more easy-going, and, most importantly, a little selfish.

It was fine to think about herself first.

Not that she actually managed to do it.

And there, she met Charlie...

Or re-met.

She and Charlie Weasley.

Thinking about that could easily bring a smile to her face.

Who would have ever thought?

But then, after five years of living in her own self-made fairy tale, it was time to go back and-

"Hermione?" A very well known voice woke her up from her reverie. She turned towards the door and looked at Harry, who was looking between her and Kingsley, confused. "Sir?"

Kingsley got up from his chair and walked out from behind his desk, stopping in the middle of the room between Hermione and Harry.

She noted he had a big smile on his face.

'Maybe too big', she thought.

"Mister Potter, let me introduce your new partner, Miss Hermione Granger."

Harry just looked at them, mouth agape, eyes opened wide in shock.

***