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Happily Ever After

Every time I look at you the world just melts away

"But Harry -- what if You-Know-Who's with him?"

"Well -- I was lucky once, wasn't I?" said Harry, pointing at his scar. "I might get lucky again."

Hermione's lip trembled, and she suddenly dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him.

"Hermione!"

"Harry -- you're a great wizard, you know."

"I'm not as good as you," said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him.

"Me!" said Hermione. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things -- friendship and bravery and -- oh Harry -- be careful!"

All my troubles, all my fears dissolve in your affection

His eyes fell instead on the girl next to Krum. His jaw dropped.

It was Hermione.

But she didn't look like Hermione at all. She had done something with her hair; it was no longer bushy but sleek and shiny, and twisted up into an elegant knot at the back of her head. She was wearing robes made of floaty, periwinkle-blue material, and she was holding herself differently, somehow -- or maybe it was the absence of the twenty or so books she usually had slung over her back. She was also smiling -- rather nervously, it was true -- but the reduction in the size of her front teeth was more noticeable than ever; Harry couldn't understand how he hadn't spotted it before.

You've seen me at my weakest but you take me as I am

Harry sat in Ron's bedroom, curtains drawn shut so it was very dark -- despite it being five o'clock in the afternoon. He'd locked the door isolating himself from any other contact with the Weasleys.

He hadn't come out all day and hadn't even gone up to go to the restroom -- needless to say he didn't need to because he hadn't had anything to drink or eat all day -- but he was growing rather restless with the company of just himself.

His thoughts had begun to disturb him as well. He couldn't stop thinking about... Sirius.

There was a sudden rap on the door and a soft voice. "Harry, open up. It's me." He didn't answer. "Harry, I know you're in there. Just let me in."

He sighed as he stood for the door. He hastily wiped some tears from his face with his sleeve but they kept coming.

He unlocked the door and it creaked open. It was Hermione.

She instantly gave him a look of pure sympathy. "Oh Harry..."

She sat them on Ron's bed and pulled his head down to her shoulder where he cried for a long while.

And when I fall you offer me a softer place to land

Harry looked at Hermione, who peered back at him from between the fingers over her face.

"Kind of makes you wish we had Norbert back, doesn't it?" he said and she gave a very shaky laugh.

"Yeh'll do it, then?" said Hagrid, who did not seem to have caught what Harry had just said.

"We'll..." said Harry, already bound by his promise. "We'll try, Hagrid...."

"I knew I could count on yeh, Harry," Hagrid said, beaming in a very watery way and dabbing his face with his handkerchief again. "An' I don' wan' yeh ter put yerself out too much, like.... I know yeh've got exams.... If yeh could jus' nip down here in yer Invisibility Cloak maybe once a week an' have a little chat with him.... I'll wake him up, then -- introduce you --"

"Wha-- no!" said Hermione, jumping up. "Hagrid, no, don't wake him, really, we don't need --"

...................................................................................................................................................................................

"This is Hermy, Grawp! An' she's gonna be comin' an' all! Is'n tha' nice? Eh? Two friends fer yeh ter -- GRAWPY, NO!"

Grawp's hand had shot out of nowhere toward Hermione -- Harry seized her and pulled her backward behind the tree, so that Grawp's fist scraped the trunk but closed on this air.

"BAD BOY, GRAWPY!" Harry heard Hagrid yelling, as Hermione clung to Harry behind the tree, shaking and whimpering.

You stay the course

Out of nowhere, something hit Harry so hard across the face he was knocked off his feet again. He heard Hermione shriek with pain and fall too.

...................................................................................................................................................................................

"Harry -- we've got to go for help --" Hermione gasped; she was bleeding too; the Willow had cut her across the shoulder.

"No! That thing's big enough to eat him; we haven't got time --"

"Harry -- we're never going to get through without help --"

Another branch whipped down at them, twigs clenched like knuckles.

"If that dog can get in, we can," Harry panted, darting here and there, trying to find a way through the vicious, swishing branches, but he couldn't get an inch nearer to the tree roots without being in the range of the tree's blows.

"Oh help, help," Hermione whispered frantically, dancing on the spot, "please..."

Crookshanks darted forward. He slithered between the battering branches like a snake and placed his front paws upon a knot on the trunk.

Abruptly, as though the tree had been turned to marble, it stopped moving. Not a leaf twitched or shook.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione whispered uncertainly. She now grasped Harry's arm painfully hard. "How did he know --?"

"He's friends with that dog," said Harry grimly. "I've seen them together. Come on -- and keep your wand out--"

They covered the distance to the trunk in seconds, but before they had reached the gap in the roots, Crookshanks had slid into it with a flick of his bottlebrush tail. Harry went next; he crawled forward, headfirst, and slid down an earthy slope to the bottom of a very low tunnel. Crookshanks was a little way along, his eyes flashing in the light from Harry's wand. Seconds later, Hermione slithered down beside him.

"Where's Ron?" she whispered in a terrified voice.

"This way," said Harry, setting off, bent-backed, after Crookshanks.

You hold the line, you keep it all together

Harry broke away from the table where Fred and George had started juggling butterbeer bottles and went over to [Hermione].

"Did you even come to the match?" he asked her.

"Of course I did," said Hermione in a strangely high pitched voice, not looking up. "And I'm very glad we won, and I think you did really well, but I need to read this by Monday."

"Come on, Hermione, come and have some food," Harry said, looking over at Ron and wondering whether he was in a good enough mood to bury the hatchet.

"I can't, Harry. I've still got four hundred and twenty-two pages to read!" said Hermione, now sounding slightly hysterical. "Anyway..." She glanced over at Ron too. "He doesn't want me to join in."

There was no arguing with this, as Ron chose that moment to say loudly, "If Scabbers hadn't just been eaten, he could have had some of those Fudge Flies. He used to really like them --"

Hermione burst into tears. Before Harry could say or do anything, she tucked the enormous book under her arm, and, still sobbing, ran toward the staircase to the girls' dormitories and out of sight.

"Can't you give her a break?" Harry asked Ron quietly.

You're the one true thing I know I can believe in

"I called for time-out!" Wood roared at his team. "Come on, under here --"

They huddled at the edge of the field under a large umbrella; Harry took off his glasses and wiped them hurriedly on his robes.

"What's the score?"

"We're fifty points up," said Wood, "but unless we get the Snitch soon, we'll be playing into the night."

"I've got no chance with these on," Harry said exasperatedly, waving his glasses.

At that very moment, Hermione appeared at his shoulder; she was holding her cloak over her head and was, inexplicably, beaming.

"I've had an idea, Harry! Give me your glasses, quick!"

He handed them to her, and as the team watched in amazement, Hermione tapped them with her wand and said, "Impervius!"

"There!" she said, handing them back to Harry. "They'll repel water!"

Wood looked as though he could have kissed her.

"Brilliant!" he called hoarsely after her as she disappeared into the crowd. "Okay, team, let's go for it!"

Hermione's spell had done the trick. Harry was still numb with cold, still wetter than he'd ever been in his life, but he could see.

You're all the things that I desire, you save me, you complete me

"Let me through, please," came Percy's voice and he came bustling importantly through the crowd. "What's the holdup here? You can't all have forgotten the password -- excuse me, I'm Head Boy --"

And then a silence fell over the crowd, from the front first, so that a chill seemed to spread down the corridor. They heard Percy say, in a suddenly sharp voice, "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore. Quick."

People's heads turned; those at the back were standing on tiptoe.

"What's going on?" said Ginny, who had just arrived.

A moment later, Professor Dumbledore was there, sweeping toward the portrait; the Gryffindors squeezed together to let him through, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved closer to see what the trouble was.

"Oh my --" Hermione grabbed Harry's arm.

The Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait.

You're the one true thing I know I can believe

Harry was sitting with Ron and Hermione, removed from the center of things, trying not to think about the [first task], because every time he did, he had the horrible sensation that something very large was fighting to get out of his stomach.

"You're going to be fine," Hermione told him, though she looked positively terrified.

I get mad so easy but you give me room to breathe

Harry knew that Hermione meant well, but that didn't stop him from being angry with her. He had been the owner of the best broom in the world for a short hours, and now, because of her interference, he didn't know whether he would ever see it again. He was positive there was nothing wrong with the Firebolt now, but what sort of state would it be in once it had been subject to all sorts of anti-jinx tests?

Ron was furious with Hermione too. As far as he was concerned, the stripping-down of a brand new Firebolt was nothing less than criminal damage. Hermione, who remained convinced that she had acted for the best, started avoiding the common room.

No matter what I say or do 'cause you're too good to fight about it

"WHO HAD TO GET PAST DRAGONS AND SPHINXES AND EVERY OTHER FOUL THING LAST YEAR? WHO SAW HIM COME BACK? WHO HAD TO ESCAPE FROM HIM? ME!"

Ron was standing there with his mouth half-open, clearly stunned and at a loss for anything to say, while Hermione looked on the verge of tears.

"BUT WHY SHOULD I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY SHOULD ANYONE BOTHER TO TELL ME WHAT'S HAPPENING?"

"Harry, we wanted to tell you, we really did --" Hermione began.

"CAN'T'VE WANTED TO THAT MUCH, CAN YOU, OR YOU'D HAVE SENT ME AN OWL, BUT DUMBLEDORE MADE YOU SWEAR --"

"Well, he did --"

"FOUR WEEKS I'VE BEN STUCK IN PRIVET DRIVE, NICKING PAPERS OUT OF BINS TO TRY AND FIND OUT WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON --"

"We wanted to --"

"I SUPPOSE YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A REAL LAUGH, HAVEN'T YOU, ALL HOLED UP HERE TOGETHER --"

"No honest -- Harry, we're really sorry!" said Hermione desperately, her eyes now sparkling with tears. "You're absolutely right, Harry -- I'd be furious if it was me!"

Even when I have to push just to see how far you'll go

"Smart plan," he spat at Hermione, keen to release some of his fury. "Really smart plan. Where do we go from here?"

"We need to get back to the castle," said Hermione faintly.

"By the time we've done that, Sirius'll probably be dead!" said Harry, kicking a nearby tree in temper; there was a high-pitched chattering overhead and he looked up to see an angry bowtruckle flexing its long twig-like fingers at him.

"Well, we can't do anything without wands," said Hermione hopelessly, dragging herself up again. "Anyway, Harry, how exactly were you planning to get all the way to London?"

"Yeah, we were just wondering that," said a familiar voice from behind her.

Harry and Hermione moved instinctively together, peering through the trees, as Ron came into sight, closely followed by Ginny, Neville, and Luna. All of them looked a little worse for wear -- there were several long scratches running the length of Ginny's cheek, a large purple lump was swelling above Neville's right eye, Ron's lip was bleeding worse than ever -- but all were looking rather pleased with themselves.

"So," said Ron, pushing aside a low-hanging branch and holding out Harry's wand, "had any ideas?"

You won't stoop down to battle but you never turn to go

"Okay," said Hermione, "well then, Harry, you and I will be under the Invisibility Cloak, and we'll sneak into the office and you can talk to Sirius ---"

"He's not there, Hermione!"

"I mean, you can -- can check wether Sirius is at home or not while I keep watch, I don't think you should be in there alone, Lee's already proved the window's a weak spot, sending those nifflers through it."

Even through his anger and impatience Harry recognized Hermione's offer to accompany him into Umbridge's office as a sign of solidarity and loyalty.

"I... okay, thanks," he muttered.

Love is just the antidote, nothing else can kill me

"This is it, Hermione--"

Hermione put her hands on Buckbeak's back and Harry gave her a leg up. Then he placed his foot on one of the lower branches of the bush and climbed up in front of her. He pulled Buckbeak's rope back over his neck and tied it to the other side of his collar like reins.

"Ready?" he whispered to Hermione. "You'd better hold on to me --"

He nudged Buckbeak's sides with his heels.

Buckbeak soared into the dark air. Harry gripped his flanks with his knees, feeling the great wings rising powerfully beneath them. Hermione was holding Harry very tight around the waist; he could hear her muttering, "Oh no -- I don't like this -- oh, I really don't like this --"

There are times I can't decide when I can't tell up from down

"I got it back," said Harry, grinning at her and holding up the Firebolt.

...................................................................................................................................................................................

"Can I sit down, then?" Harry asked Hermione.

"I suppose so," said Hermione, moving a great stack of parchment.

Harry looked around at the cluttered table, at the long Airthmancy essay on which the ink was still glistening, at the even longer Muggle Studies essay ("Explain Why Muggles Need Electricity") and at the rune translation Hermione was now poring over.

"How are you getting through all this stuff?" Harry asked her.

"Oh, well -- working hard," said Hermione. Close-up, Harry saw that she looked almost as tired as Lupin.

You make me feel less crazy when otherwise I'd drown

(Lee Jordan:)"Open it, Harry! Go on! Let's just see what's inside it!"

"He's supposed to work out the clue on his own," Hermione said swiftly. "It's in the tournament rules."

"I was supposed to work out how to get past the dragon on my own too," Harry muttered so only Hermione could hear him, and she grinned rather guiltily.

But you pick me up and brush me off, and tell me I'm okay

Hermione let her robes fall and Ron backed into the sink.

Her face was covered in black fur. Her eyes had turned yellow and there were long, pointed ears poking through her hair.

"It was a c-cat hair!" she howled. "M-Millicent Bullstrode m-must have a cat! And the p-potion isn't supposed to be used for animal transformations!"

"Uh-oh," said Ron.

"You'll be teased something dreadful," said Myrtle happily.

"It's okay, Hermione," said Harry.

Sometimes that's just what we need to get us through the day

"Well done, Ha--"

But the Death Eater Hermione had just struck dumb made a slashing movement with his wand from which flew a streak of what looked like purple flame. It passed right across Hermione's chest; she gave a tiny "oh!" as though of surprise and then crumpled onto the floor where she lay motionless.

"HERMIONE!"

Harry fell to his knees beside her.

...................................................................................................................................................................................

A whine of panic inside his head was preventing him from thinking properly. He had one hand on Hermione's shoulder, which was still warm, yet did not dare look at her properly. Don't let her be dead, don't let her be dead, it's my fault if she's dead.....

...................................................................................................................................................................................

(Neville:) "Dat's a pulse, Harry, I'b sure id is...."

Such a powerful wave of relief swept through Harry that for a moment, he felt light headed.

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

Hermione dreamt all of that during the night. Harry hadn't known that she was still semi-conscious when he was being threatened by Dolohov. After that, it got fuzzy. Next thing she knew she had woken up in the Hospital Wing with Ron, Luna, and Ginny, all resting peacefully.

She heard yelling in the distance, shaking her from her dreams. "HERMIONE!" It was Harry, but--

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Hermione reached from under the satin covers, blindly searching for the alarm clock that was going off. She found it and turned it off. She groaned and got out of bed.

Hermione had graduated and moved into her own home in Muggle London. She had made herself a small fortune -- quite a bit of money but never as much as Harry owned in the Gringotts vaults -- with her job as an Auror for the Wizard prison, Azkaban. During the duel, Voldemort had brought along his members and the Dementors as planned. Harry wasn't alone either. A mass of fighters -- including all of the Order -- were with him.

It was months since Harry had defeated You-Know-Who. Yet everything had not turned out as expected. Harry had been hit with the Avada Kedavra curse -- it rickishayed off of course -- hitting Voldemort and killing him instead -- but Harry had been rendered into unconsciousness, reaching a coma.

Hermione had visited him nearly every other day, at St. Mungo's, since and planned on visiting the next day.

She had just sat with the Daily Prophet in her lap and Crookshanks at her ankles when the doorbell rang... again and again and again.

"I'm coming!" she yelled. "Hold your horses!"

The person continued to bang on the door furiously not ceasing until she reached the door and pulled it open rather irritably. But her features softened immediately.

It was Ron Weasley.

"Hermione, you have to come quick!" he said, pulling her out the door impatiently.

"Wha-- I'm visiting him tomorrow. Did you just Apparate here?" she asked anxiously. Ron nodded hastily. "Ron, how could you! What if any Muggles saw?" she whined.

"No time --" he said, pulling her out into her long yard surrounded by the greenest grass. "You have to come -- now!"

"What is it?" Crookshanks spilled from her arms.

"It's Harry, Hermione! He's awake!" Ron said urgently. "Now let's go!"

This barely registered with her, but suddenly it hit her like a brick. "WHAT?"

"He wouldn't stop yelling for you! Come on!"

Hermione pinched herself and it proved to hurt. She wasn't dreaming and that was enough. With two loud cracks Hermione and Ron had gone.

She could hear his yells from outside the glass window with the poorly dressed dummy. "We're here to see Harry Potter!" she said quickly. Ron and Hermione sprinted through the glass that felt like cool water and vanished.

"HERMIONE!" they could hear faintly.

Harry was on the fourth floor of Spell Damage. Hermione practically threw herself up the stairs and down the hall to room 474 on the right. His yells were louder than ever and she almost tripped when she saw him walking out his own room. She stopped for a moment, in pure shock.

He was actually awake. Ron hadn't lied.

Tears filled her eyes as she saw Harry smile and hold his arms out to her. She ran to him and threw her arms around him, nearly knocking his glasses off.

"Oh Harry -- it's really you -- it is -- Ron said you were awake -- what are you doing out of bed -- you should be lying down and -- oh Harry, they said you'd never wake up!" She said all of this very fast. She wouldn't let go and Harry had to pry her fingers from his neck; he couldn't breathe.

They had also said his memory might be altered but it didn't seem to be.

"Hermione! I'm sorry I kept you waiting. I told you I'd come for you but I didn't," Harry said, smiling and gazing into her chocolate brown eyes. "I'm so sorry." He held her incredibly close to him.

"I don't care," Hermione whispered, clinging to him for dear life. "All I care about is you!"

He leaned down and kissed her like he had the night they made love. He couldn't believe he'd been asleep for so many months. He was so ecstatic to just be with Hermione, that nothing else mattered.

Hermione continued to stick to him, sobbing ceaselessly, speaking in a whisper. "I love you, I love you, I love you!"

Ron caught up with Hermione, clutching at his side and doubling over, putting up a finger to signal that he needed a moment to collect himself. He stood finally and gave Harry a grin. "It's... it's good to see you, mate!"

Hermione let go of him allowing Ron and Harry to share a manly hug. "W-We missed you, Harry."

"I missed you guys, too."

Ron and Harry separated. A red-haired girl came running down the hall just then. "Harry! Harry! What do you think

you're doing!"

It was Ginny Weasley. She jumped at Harry and threw her arms and legs around him. Harry spun her a couple of times, both laughing, and sat her back on her feet. She drew away, keeping him at arms length. "Oh it's so good to see you!"

"It's good to see you too, Ginny," Harry said happily.

Harry and Ginny were like brother and sister. And even though she had crushed on him for five years, it was okay with her. It was better this way.

Hermione smiled and she looked at Ron who was watching, smiling too.

"You better get into bed," Ginny said hurriedly, patting his shoulder. "Mum is coming and she'll murder you if you're up and about."

"That's a good idea," said Hermione, agreeing.

"Do I have too?" Harry asked, disappointed. "Haven't I done enough lying down for a while?"

They all laughed and managed to have Harry tucked in, glasses on the bedside table, by the time Mrs. Weasley bustled in, Mr. Weasley behind him. Tears, too, were in her eyes and she commenced with pushing his bangs back to check his forehead for fever -- like he was eleven years old again.

"Mrs. Weasley, I'm fine, please," Harry tried to say.

"Oh as soon as you can leave I'm taking you home and fattening you up a bit," she said in her motherly anxious voice. "I can't believe this place --" She continued on about how horrible this place was, how glad she was to see him, like everyone else, fawning over him, and kept fluffing his pillows and tucking him in again and again.

There was no use fighting it. It was Mrs. Weasley. She was like his mother. The Weasley's his family, and Hermione -- of course -- his girlfriend, maybe more someday.

A medi-witch had entered the room to tell them Harry still needed to relax and should be left alone but Mrs. Weasley snapped at her, "Oh shut up!" The medi-witch gaped at her and left the room at once.

So this was truly the Fairy Tale type ending Hermione had always dreamed about. Because it truly was Happy Ever After. It really was this time.