Remembrance

Hermione spread the quilt over she and Harry's bed, thinking about how much she missed him. She knew his career as an Auror was helpful to the greater good, and she was proud of him for that, but when he left for days or weeks at a time, she missed him greatly. As she placed his pillow on the right side of the bed, she felt hot tears come to her eyes. She sank on the bed gently, and put her head in her hands. She would love nothing more for Harry to come up behind her and wrap his strong arms around her shoulders. She knew, though, that was near to impossible. She sighed heavily. As she ran her hand through her light hair, she smiled slightly as she remembered the day she and Harry first met on the train...

Harry and Ron sat in a compartment of the Hogwarts Express, eating sweets and telling one another about themselves. Hermione walked past their compartment, then did a double take as she saw a redheaded boy preparing to do magic on a fat rat in his lap. She backed up to their seats and demanded that she see the magic too. When she saw that the "spell" didn't work, she thought she would show them some real magic. She stepped in front of Harry and repaired his taped glasses with a swift "Oculus Repairo." As his deep green eyes widened, she saw how handsome the boy was. Her face flushed slightly as she said, "Why, you're Harry Potter!" He nodded and showed her his lightening bolt shaped scar. She then introduced herself to both of the boys (the redheaded one's name was Ron Weasley, who would become one of the best friends she's ever had). She knew at that moment, the two boys would be her best friends. To cover her embarrassment at meeting Harry, she turned and left the compartment with some advice about putting on their robes...

She grinned wider at that memory. Who would have thought that from that meeting, she would find the man she would spend the rest of her life with? At that moment, two hands grabbed her shoulders from behind. She shrieked and turned to see a freckled face and a sea of red hair.

"Ginny Weasley! You scared me to death!" Hermione said, placing her hand over her heart, which was beating a mile a minute.

"Sorry, 'Mione. I knocked and knocked at the front door, and when you didn't answer, I figured you were in the shower or something. What were you doing?" Ginny asked, puzzled.

"Oh, I was just thinking. About the day I met Harry and your brother." she replied.

"Ahh, well I know that you leave earth when you think about Harry." Ginny laughed.

"Yeah, I really miss him. I haven't heard from him in two weeks."

"I haven't heard from Draco either. Remember, they were going together on this one." Ginny had married Draco Malfoy last year, who had turned from the dark side to be an Auror.

"Of course! Well, I guess we are in the same boat, then." Hermione said a bit apologetically.

"Yes, we are. Anyway, I was on my way to the market, and I wanted to know if you needed anything, or wanted to come along."

"I really don't feel up to coming with you, but I do need some milk."

"Okay, I will get that. Are you all right, 'Mione?" Ginny asked concernedly.

"I'm fine, I just feel a bit under the weather."

"Well, okay. Feel better. I'll be back soon." she kissed Hermione on the head lightly and went out the front door. While it was true that Hermione hadn't been feeling well, she felt content to be remembering precious memories that she and Harry have shared. She laid back on the bed and remembered the day in their fifth year that she and Harry realized they belonged together...

Hermione sat on the rug in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room, reading yet another book. Even as she read, her mind kept drifting to Harry. She didn't know whether to admit to him that she felt feelings for him or not. It was all very confusing. Her light hair fell across her face, the light dancing on her delicate features. She jumped slightly as she heard footsteps coming down from the boy's dormitories. She looked up and saw Harry descending the stairs, wearing red pajama pants and a form fitting white t shirt.

"Why aren't you in bed, 'Mione?" Harry asked as he sat down beside her.

"Oh, just, um, catching up on some reading." she said.

"At," he looked down to check his watch, "one o'clock in the morning?" he said with a slight smile on his handsome face.

"Well, I couldn't sleep." she said, putting down her book and smoothing her pure white nightgown.

"Me either, actually. I have something on my mind that you may be able to help me with."

"What is it? I'll be glad to help you." she said, looking deep in his eyes.

"Well, I have this friend. It's really his problem. Still up for helping me?"

"Sure." she said, her heart sinking a little. She was hoping it may be what was on her mind too.

"Great. Well, my friend knows this girl. He's really good friends with this girl, but feels something more for her too. The thing is, he's afraid to tell her because what if she doesn't feel the same, you know? It would ruin their friendship. But this is driving my friend absolutely insane," he said with intense feeling, "He really, really wants to tell her, but doesn't want to ruin the thing they already have. What should he do?"

"Well," she said, leaning close to him, seeing what he was up to, "your friend should tell her. If he keeps it to himself, he could lose something that only comes once in a lifetime. That would be a tragedy. Tell her." she said, purposely leaving off the "he should."

"I will," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper as he leaned close to her face, "I'll tell her." He kissed her lips gently. All thoughts flew from her head except "Thank you, God." as she kissed him back...

That was one of the best nights of her life. Ever since then, she and Harry had been together. There wasn't a moment when either one of them regretted taking their friendship to the next level. It truly was meant to be. Their marriage was proof of that. They had been married for two years now, and they had been two of the best years of her life. She sighed a little, knowing she needed to get up and take care of some housework that needed to be done. As she stood up, a wave of nausea swept over her. She ran to the bathroom and vomited. As she sat on her knees at the foot of the toilet, she thought of something wondrous. She got up and ran to the calendar. It had been eighty days since her last cycle. Hope rose in her chest as she grabbed her coat, scarf, and car keys and ran to the car. She drove to the grocery store down the street and bought a home pregnancy test. She drove back home quickly and raced into the house to do the test. She bit her lip hard as she watched the lines appear. Two! That meant... she jumped at least a foot into the air as she realized she was pregnant! She screamed with joy and ran to the phone. Just as she was about to dial Ginny's number, she heard a knock at the door. She ran to it and opened it, pulled Ginny in by the wrist and shrieked, "I'm pregnant!"

"You are? Oh my gosh!" Ginny dropped the milk in surprise and grabbed Hermione into a tight hug.

"I am! I just did the test!" she said, smiling from ear to ear.

"Oh, honey, I'm so happy!" Ginny said as she bent over to pick up the jug of milk. She sat it on the table and hugged Hermione again.

"Oh, but I wish Harry were here... " Hermione said a little sadly.

"He'll be back soon. He will be so pleased! He's wanted to be a daddy for the longest time, hasn't he?" Ginny said as she sat next to Hermione.

"Oh, oh yes. He has. I can't wait to tell him. He talked about having a baby on our wedding day..."

As Harry and Hermione danced to a Muggle artist's song "When You Say Nothing At All," Harry put one hand on Hermione's flushed cheek and looked deep in her brown eyes.

"You are so beautiful. I am so lucky to have you for my bride." he said, moving his thumb around on her cheek.

"Oh, Harry, I love you so much." she said, kissing him gently.

"I love you too, baby. And speaking of babies, I can't wait for us to have one." he said a bit dreamily.

"Aw, me either. I wonder what he or she will look like?"
"I'm sure it will be beautiful if it looks anything like you." he said, and kissed her nose.

"Thank you, honey. You have a lot of good looks to give it yourself." she said.

"Thank you, thank you very much." he said playfully.

"I love ya, babe."

"I love you too." With a bit of magic, they were dancing up on thin air, above the guests. She looked down and held on to his shoulders a little tighter. With everyone around looking, he kissed her and said, "Don't worry, I'll never let you fall..."

Hermione's eyes were filled with tears as she finished reminiscing that lovely day.

"I remember that. That's how Draco proposed to me. In the air like Harry lifted you that day. Draco really looks up to Harry, you know." Ginny said sincerely.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Hermione said.

"It really is. We're all a miracle." Ginny said, placing her hand on Hermione's shoulder.

"I know." Hermione said, placing her hand on top of Ginny's.

*The Next Morning*

Hermione lay in the bed, her hair flowing over the pillow, and the morning sun shining on her face. Her eyes fluttered open slowly, and she saw Harry sitting on the bed next to her, smiling down at her.

"Harry! You're home!" she yelped, sitting up and wrapping her arms around him.

"I'm home, darling, I'm home." he said, stroking her hair gently.

"I have some wonderful news for you." she said, looking in his eyes.

"And what's that?" he asked, holding her hand.

"I'm pregnant." she said, a smile breaking over her face.

"You are! Yessss!" he yelled, jumping up and swinging her in a circle in his arms.

"I found out yesterday." she said, kissing his cheek.

"Oh, 'Mione, I'm so happy! This makes my day. My month... My life!" he kissed her again, picking her up. He sat her down on her feet again gently, pushed her hair out of her face, and smiled. "You are the most beautiful creature that God ever made. I'm so fortunate to have you. For the rest of my life." She looked up into his eyes, smiling broadly. "I'm glad to have you forever too, Harry James Potter. You are my love." she kissed him gently on the chin.

"All right, 'Mione, let's go do some celebrating."

"That sounds great to me." she said, and they left to rejoice the soon-to-be part of their family.