Just Really Good Friends Ch. 2

Hermione stood in her room for a moment. She remembered the room vividly. The summers she had spent with the order in this house. It had been touched up a little, but it was still the same room. A bed on one side, a bookshelf at the foot and a small lamp for when she had spent up many nights reading until Ginny had told her to stop and go to bed because the light was keeping her up. On the other side was Ginny's bed. A broom still leaning against the wall at the foot of the bed and a faded and ripped up picture of the 1995 Holyhead Harpies team picture, still cheering and holding up the 1994 League Cup, hoping for another good year. As Hermione took a step closer and saw that the bed, the broom, the wall; They all remained untouched, a layer of dust, covering it. It broke her heart a little to see that. Not because of her relationship with Ginny, but because of Harry's. Harry had strong feelings for her. Legitimate or not, Hermione was unsure, but either way she couldn't imagine how painful it must have been for Harry. For her to just break up wtih him and strand him like that. She moved back to the burrow and was upset for a while. Mrs. Weasley had provided a shoulder to cry on, but when it came to talking about boys again, Hermione had become the first choice. Hermione understood that some relationships just don't last. She especially understood that now, considering her current feelings toward Ron. Hermione wasn't upset about the break up. She had given up on trying to show Harry what girl was right for him and after she fell in with Ron, she knew she couldn't anymore. She had tried to tell him that there were some girls who only liked him for that scar of his, but it was time for him to learn on his own. Who was she to control his life? No matter what she wanted. Ginny had been quick to move on, bringing Dean Thomas over to the house more than once or twice to do some 'practicing.'Hermione was furious for a while. She went back to her parents, just telling Ron that she was going to be visiting her parents for a while. She knew that Harry wouldn't be feeling the same way. He would be upset as he still obviously is, considering the untouched side of the room.

Hermione slipped out of her shoes and sat down on her bed, setting the stack of sheets next to her. She scooted back so her back was against the wall and she crossed her legs in front of her, looking at the opposite wall. She looked back briefly at all the times she had talked and gossiped to Ginny about Harry and her other male suitors. She had subtly encouraged Ginny to go after Dean or Michael or whoever it was she was pining for. Because she knew that Ginny was only going after Harry out of hero worship. Right? Hermione played with a loose thread on her beaded handbag, idly thinking about everything as her highly functioning mind always did. It wasn't so long ago that Hermione and Harry and Ron were together up against forces of great evil, fighting against the odds to destroy the horcuxes. It wasn't so long ago that she was forced to make one of the biggest decisions of her life. Harry, the boy she had watched grow into a man. The boy with a lightning bolt scar and the weight of the world on his shoulders, so much weight she couldn't help, but want to ease the load. And Ron. Someone she cared deeply for. The one she couldn't help, but love as one of her closest male friends. The boy who could make her cry at the drop of a hat. She didn't want to have to decide between them. She loved them both. They were her closest friends. Why couldn't they just be together? Ron could always make her laugh and even though they bickered it was moments like those when she enjoyed being his friend. And Harry. Hermione couldn't remember a time when she was upset with Harry. The only time she could even think was when he tried to do things on his own. She was there to help him. She knew that if  she hadn't gone along she would be completely useless, sick with fear that he might be hurt. That she might not see him again. She needed to see him again. "I'll go with you." was the last thing that she said to Harry as he went to face his death. The bravest man she ever knew. She spent all those years doing whatever she  could to help him complete his mission. The mission he inherited. All of that effort to end with him going to die. "I'll go with you." Was her decision. She would face death beside her closest friend than be left behind. Hours earlier as she dropped everything to embrace Ron Weasley, the man that had given her and is currently giving her so much heartache. They were up against almost unbeatable odds. She needed to figure things out and as a lack of judgment decision, she threw herself into the arms of Ron Weasley for the first time, embracing him, only to not feel a thing. There was no spark. No colors. No angelic chorus. It was akin to kissing her brother. And that was the moment of no return. She felt so obligated to stay with Ron. Fred's death was hard on the whole family and after Ginny broke up with Harry she didn't want to break up with Ron and make matters worse. She remembered the sorrow she felt when he had left them that night. They needed to work together to help each other and survive through this so Voldemort could be defeated and they could live a normal life. Ron was always so stubborn. So much that it would break her heart. She felt so broken and lost sometimes and other times she was just so mad at him. She knew it was the horcrux that was making him lash out like that, but she still couldn't stand it. He was just so stubborn. She flashed to that night. Harry and she were on the brink of hopelessness, thinking that there was nothing they could do. She looked up at him hesitantly as he offered her his hand. They danced.  They danced away their sadness, their pain. They were able to relax and distract themselves long enough to halt their depression. As the song ended, they looked at each other. A sense of longing passing between them. She sighed and walked away from him.

There were times, much like this that she hadn't walked away from him that night. She never felt like she had to work to be comfortable with him. When Ron was making her so infuriated she couldn't think straight Harry would be there to calm her down. A hand to squeeze. A body to hug. A shoulder to cry on. Harry was the one who should could be with. They were compatible. It was now that she knew that it might have been too late. Harry was still getting over Ginny and Hermione was stuck with Ron. Molly was making sure of that, giving them plenty of time alone. She rubbed her face and let her hair down as she thought back to why she was here.

The day had been so nice. She made dinner with Ron's help and the rest of the Weasley family was out, visiting Charlie in Romania. They had a lovely meal. They shared a dessert and were sitting on the couch talking as Hermione skimmed through a copy of Dragon's Blood and How to Use It. It was one of the things that was keeping her together. That Ron knew her well enough to let her read when she wanted to.

"So, now that you're graduated from Hogwarts what are you going to do? The Aurors' would be gaining a very capable wizard." Ron said with his goofy smile. Hermione put her book down in her lap and looked over at him briefly.

"I was thinking, I'd become a teacher at Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall said I showed an incredible ability. She said it would be wasteful to use it against roving bands of dark wizards." Hermione had said proudly. She wanted to become a teacher. She wanted to be able to spend her time in Hogwarts. Where she loved to be and where she met Harry and Ron and where her future began. Where she discovered the world of magic and learned to bend it to control it to do the impossible. Where she fought beside her closest friends and the people that would be in her life until the end. She looked over at Ron who was shaking his head.

"It's not a waste. You'd be saving lives. Why would you want to be some stuffy old teacher?" Ron said with a scoff. "We lost a lot of people in the war. You have to become an auror." Hermione pulled away from him and the couch and faced.

"So, I'm stuffy, now?" Hermione said with a raised eyebrow. Ron rolled his eyes.

"If you become a teacher, you will be. Be an auror. Being a teacher bites. Do you really think McGonagall enjoys teaching runny nosed kids?" Hermione was seeing this as just a fun little fight, but she felt a little offended.

"I'll remind you that you used to be one of those runny nosed kids!" She said, hitting him in the arm with her book. "I want to become a teacher, Ronald. No matter how stuffy and boring it makes me."

"Hermione, I don't like teachers. Teachers are boring stuffy old gits. I want to date an auror. If you don't want to be an auror then you should just stay home." Ron said with another scoff. A scoff that just made Hermione furious. She stood up from the couch and grabbed her beaded bag off the table.

"Fine, then, Ronald!" She grabbed her jacket and slipped it on before slipping her book into her bag and starting toward the door. "Maybe, I'll just go home and stay there!" She slipped out the door and ignored Ron's calls to come back. She pulled out her wand and apparated straight into 12 Grimmauld Place. It was the first place she thought of. She didn't want to admit it, but it was. There was a part of her that longed to be with Harry in 12 Grimmauld Place. To be with him like she was with Ron except things would be different. They wouldn't be fighting. She wouldn't be upset. Every time Hermione apparated to Harry's because she was fighting with Ron she had to fight away the feelings she inevitably had for the boy who lived. It was that part that she had to keep buried down. She was with Ron and he was with Ginny. And Harry was still getting over Ginny as far as Hermione knew. That didn't stop Hermione from keeping the feeling of Harry holding her and dancing with her that night at camp fresh in her mind. She wanted it now more than ever.

Hermione brushed it away with the sleeve of her jacket and stood up from the bed, producing her wand from her pocket. "Accio pajamas." She said quietly toward her bag. There was a small whoosh as a pair of soft blue pajamas tied into a bundle popped out of her beaded bag. She caught them and set them on the bed before making sure the door was closed and taking off her jacket. She yawned and started to change into her pajamas. As she was changing she found herself humming a song. It was one of her favorite songs. She was feeling relaxed. She folded her clothes and tied them into a bundle before placing them into her bag and lying down on the bed, the stack of sheets at her feet. She didn't realize how tired she was until she was relaxed and lying down. She had gotten so worked up with Ron and so angry she had to leave. Now that she was away from that and somewhere else she could calm down. She could finally just fall asleep. She found herself doing exactly that. "Hey, little train...wait for me..." She mumbled before drifting to sleep.

The next morning came far too quickly for Hermione's taste. She had been dreaming something enjoyable. What it was? She couldn't remember, but she could tell it was something she was happy about considering the smile on her face. She woke up slowly though she was forced to adjust to her new environment quickly. She sat up quickly as she heard the sound of screaming. It was coming from two places, meaning she needed to hurry. She started to stand, but found a blanket on top of her. She froze for a moment at the prospect of Harry coming into the room last night and placing the blanket over her, kissing her forehead good night and slipping out, not looking for any credit or any reward. Just as an innocent gesture. Her heart raced for a moment before she shook herself back to the screaming. She stepped into a pair of loafers and hurried downstairs to Teddy's room to find the baby screaming and crying, his hair a bright vibrant purple. She scooped him up and bounced him a little, trying to remember the lullaby Harry had sung the previous night. "Sleep small...baby...oh drat." She sighed and cradled the child before hurrying back up the stairs into Harry's room. She held Teddy with one hand, bouncing him slightly as she brushed Harry's face. He was in a cold sweat and he was thrashing so much, she thought he might hurt himself.

"Harry, you need to calm down. You're okay. You're safe." She said calmly, bouncing the baby again. "Harry, I'm here. You're okay. You're safe. Everything's alright."