AN: So, uh, long time no see?


Chapter 11

"Locate Hermione Granger."

Feeling his heart slam in his chest, Harry tapped his wand to the map to find his girlfriend. He felt motivated from his talk with their Slytherin friend, the blonde giving him a much-needed swift kick in the arse and his hungry eyes searched the map for her. He originally started running toward the castle, going off Daphne's words that she was headed toward Flitwick's, but he wanted to catch her before he got there, lest he be in the receiving ire of the Charms Professor. He was a Master Duelist after all, Harry shuddered at the thought of having to go through the half-goblin to reach Hermione.

Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he watched all the names fade into the map, his green eyes searching for his girlfriend's. His girlfriend. His bushy-haired know-it-all stubborn witch. His Hermione, his chest ached at that thought.

There! She was on the staircase, heading right where Daphne had said. Thank you, Daphne. Mentally promising that the next Honeydukes visit was on him for the blonde Slytherin, he shoved the map in his pocket and took off like a bat out of hell.

I wish I had my firebolt, Harry thought as he felt a burn in his lungs from sprinting. He'd be there in two seconds flat if he was on his broom, then thought of McGonagall's reaction if she caught him flying in the corridor on his broom. Detentions for life.

Harry tried to think of what he was going to say to Hermione, apologize obviously; tell her that he loved her definitely, but there were things they needed to talk about. She needed to not badger him about speaking, he needed to open up and not lash out and crawl into a shell and blame himself. They needed to communicate, they needed to be a team, they needed to talk to each other and understand each other.

Feelings, he wasn't so good at. He understood that about himself. It was hard to undo the twelve years of abuse and neglect that he had gone through, the physical things were pretty easy to fix. Remus had brewed potions to help him put on more weight, for his stomach to be able to expand and take more food, but he always knew he was going to be on the short side of the class. He was fine with that; the mental scars were the hardest to get rid of.

He knew he was getting better; Hermione was helping him with that. He had trusted her enough to unburden himself onto her, letting it all out about his childhood. She didn't judge him, she just cared for him, protected him. While Love was originally a foreign concept, only going off Sirius and Remus' stories of his parents and how in love they were, how his dad would have done anything for his mum. Somehow, he knew that he and Hermione had the same thing.

He needed to tell her that she was the most important person to him, that he owed his life to her, that he loved her more than life itself. That he thought she was beautiful and incredible and her brilliance scared him and enthralled him. That he was scared that she would be taken from him. Someone had already tried to with the tournament, he winced as the memory of her awake at the bottom of the Lake. It would be burned in his brain until the day he died.

Daphne had said she loved him. She was in love with him. Him. Moodiness and all, she loved him, protected him, called him out on his shit. Hermione - brightest witch of the age - loved him. Her face with that beaming bright smile entered his brain and a knife twisted in his gut with how close he had come to losing her. The merman holding a spear to her throat, her almost drowning, him killing the creatures to protect her. He didn't regret it, he would do anything to protect her, but the unsettling feeling of having killed is like a rock in his gut.

It also scared and worried him about what he would do to protect Hermione. How far would he go to protect her? What would he do to protect her? Who would he kill to protect her? What would he do to see that smile on her face? What would he do to make sure that she was never scared?

His mind roared the answer.

Anything!

His feet picked up the pace, finding energy reserves he didn't know he had.

Grabbing onto the wall for leverage, he rounded the corner, intending on cutting off her way to Flitwick's and his chest swooped when he finally saw her.

He yelled, a little more loud than necessary, "Hermione!"

The Ravenclaw had been walking with her head down so she hadn't seen him coming. Snapping her head up at her name, wide brown eyes met his and the knife in his gut twisted even more. She had been crying, Daphne had told him that of course, but actually seeing it on her face was killing him. She looked devastated and hurt, though she immediately tried to mask it when she saw him.

Harry was already striding over to her while she straightened her shoulders and 'discreetly' wiped her eyes.

"Harry, I'm so-" she didn't even get to finish as Harry gently grabbed her face and covered her lips with his.

The kiss was sweet and soft, giving her an exit to pull away if she wanted. She didn't. Instead, she raised her own hands to cover his on her face and returned the kiss, he felt more tears leave her eyes and moved his thumbs to wipe them away. He willed his own tears to not fall.

Though he didn't want to pull away, he had to tell her.

"I love you," Harry whispered to her, "I love you, Hermione."

A sob escaped her at the words and she threw her arms around his neck, "Oh, Harry. I love you, too."

They had to talk, they had to communicate, but right now, was for them to heal. They kissed once more, Harry feeling like he could punch through steel, like he could fly without a broom, like he could walk up to Voldemort right then and there and defeat him without breaking a sweat. Through her and her love, Harry could do anything. Together, they would get through anything.

Harry slipped his arms around her waist and lifted her up, gently spinning her around and eliciting the best sound in the world - Hermione's laughter.

-oOo-

Amelia Bones sat in her office, gazing at the files on her desk from where she had dropped them twenty minutes ago. She knew it. She fucking knew that Poppy wouldn't do that to her children. She loved those students at Hogwarts as the children she never had. No way would she ever put them in danger.

One week of testing had concluded that Poppy Pomfrey had traces of the Imperius.

Whoever had put her under the Unforgivable had been detail oriented, and this was not the first time they had done this. They couldn't even extract any memories to see who had done this, that whole day in Poppy's mind had been obliviated to hell and back. The poor Healer was so distraught, practically inconsolable when she had been read her charges. While most criminals put on a show of ignorance and sadness at being arrested, Amelia could see right through it. Poppy was genuine, which got her hackles up.

Being the Head of DMLE had its perks, even when Cornelius Fudge babbled some drivel to save face, she could easily cut across him and let him know that despite being Minister of Magic, he could not interfere in open investigations. It was probably one of the only things that saved Sirius Black from being kissed immediately without a trial.

"Fucking wanker," Amelia growled, walking over to the wall in her office. Tapping her wand on a certain spot, it allowed her to pull it open and reveal her secret stash. Pouring a glass of fire whiskey, she quickly tossed it back before pouring another. It was going to be a long night. Between investigating the death of Aurora Sinistra, the child endangerment charges from Poppy Pomfrey, the hundreds of letters from parents of children at Hogwarts concerned for their safety and wondering what she was going to do about it, worrying about Susan's safety at Hogwarts, and now Cornelius up her arse to have Poppy kissed and be done with it, she was going to need a lot more glasses of whiskey to get through the week.

And it was only Tuesday.

"Fuck," she muttered, pouring a third glass.

-oOo-

It had only taken Elena a day to put in her notice, effective immediately and a week to pack up her belongings. The longest part had been changing her address and transferring her meager bank account funds to Gringotts. She had sold all of her furniture, knowing she didn't need it while at Hogwarts where it would be provided. She gazed at the empty apartment and smiled. Freedom.

She had uncovered some of her old Hogwarts stuff in a box tucked way back into her closet and had fun trying on her old robes from seventh year and reading through her old Potions notes. The photo album had brought the fun to a halt, however, looking through the album full of her old friends, mostly ghosts. Then she had reached the part of her Hogwarts journey that mostly revolved around him. The first glance at those grey eyes gazing at her with what she thought was love, she snapped it closed and resisted the urge, for the hundredth time, of throwing the whole album in the fireplace. Instead, she gingerly placed it back into the box which she shrunk and placed in her bag.

"Wednesday, come on," she called, watching as the black cat jumped off the counter and walked right into her carrier. Her bottomless bag over one shoulder and Wednesday's carrier over the other, Elena glanced back at the apartment once more before closing the door. Metaphorically and physically, closing a dreary chapter in her life and off to open a new, hopefully more exciting, one.

She apparated to the Floo Port in Salem, hefting Wednesday's carrier up higher on her shoulder and headed over to the appropriate Floo. There was a bored looking man in his early twenties manning the desk there – the magical version of a customs officer - reading this month's edition of Quidditch Illustrated. He was dressed in Auror robes and didn't even glance up as she approached him, causing her to have to clear her throat to get his attention. Sighing, he placed the magazine down and took his wand out to scan the identification card in her hand. She also handed him her official offer letter from Hogwarts, him scanning it to prove its authenticity.

America had started this process, being a little more far along technology wise against its British counterpart. In fact, most of the Magical World was farther along than Britain, that didn't mean they were perfect however, but given Britain's apparent habit of producing Dark Lords, America tightened its Magical Travel system. Not exactly for the best, Elena thought, thinking about how difficult it was to initially get into America those years ago. The Magical world would need a huge overhaul and soon.

"Elena Hall," the Auror read, handing the card back to her before conjuring her pass and powder to use the Floo. "Where are you headed, Miss Hall?"

"I'm headed home," she smiled at the man, anxiously bouncing on her feet.

"That's adorable," he glanced up at her, bored and not amused in the slightest. "Where are you headed, Miss Hall?"

Elena didn't even mind his tone, she just smiled wider, "Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"What is your business at Hogwarts?"

"I'm the new Potions Professor."

"How long will you be staying in Scotland?"

"Hopefully forever."

"Have you settled all of your affairs here?"

"Yes."

Handing her the pass and powder, he waved her through, activating the Floo. Picking up his magazine once more, he offered. "Good luck, Miss Hall. Have a wonderful day."

"Hogwarts," Elena excitedly stepped into the Floo.

"Brits," the Auror shook his head once she was gone, before getting lost in an article around the newest Quidditch Seeker trade. "Jefferson to United? No fucking way."

-oOo-

"I thought you were going to hate me."

Harry and Hermione were in the Room of Requirement, in their own private bubble all cuddled up on a very large and plush blue couch. The fireplace held a warm, roaring fire. Mugs of hot chocolate sat on the room provided table in front of them. Harry laid back on the couch witch Hermione fused to his side, you couldn't fit a piece of parchment between them. And they breathed easy for the first time in days.

After their last kiss in the corridor, she had immediately grabbed his hand and they had hurried as fast as they could to the Room, eager to kiss and talk and snog and laugh and kiss some more. Immediately, they sought each other's lips, somehow stumbling and collapsing right on the provided large couch in the most heated snogging session they have ever had. It was searching, it was comforting, it was healing. Both teens had desperately needed it. A good bit of snogging never hurt anybody. Harry joked to himself that he would fight with Hermione more if it had led to more of this making up.

Their snogging eventually settled to light and lazy kisses before they cuddled close and saw that a certain little elf had left them the mugs of hot chocolate. Cuddled close, Harry buried his face in her wild hair and they both sighed in contentment, the crackling of the fire the only noise in their comfortable silence, until Harry whispered those heartbreaking words.

Hermione glanced up to see her boyfriend's eyes closed, afraid of meeting hers, afraid of her reaction. That this last hour was just a dream and that they were still not talking. Reaching her hand up, she gently cupped his cheek and after a couple of seconds, he looked down at her.

She gently rubbed her thumb against his cheek, brushing away the stray tear that escaped. "I could never hate you, Harry."

"I killed two mermen," Harry croaked, her heart breaking at the devastated look on his face. "Viciously. I've never...I didn't even know what I was doing. I just needed to protect you."

Silence grew between the two, Hermione processing his words. Needing to find the right words to navigate this very delicate conversation. Just tell it from the heart, she heeded the advice her mother had given her, when trying to figure out a way to tell Harry that she loved him.

"I would do the same," Hermione affirmed, looking deep into his eyes. Another tear escaped and she gently brushed it away again. "I would do anything to protect you, Harry."

He took a deep breath, "Professor Sinistra and then Madam Pomfrey," Harry whispered, it all started flowing out, the levee completely breaking. "It just all happened so fast, and then you almost drowned because of this tournament that I'm involved in against my will. It just...it became too much and I snapped. I was scared that you would hate me so I guess I just wanted to...push you away. I need you, Hermione. I...I need you."

"I was so scared," Hermione admitted, before quickly adding lest the boy start blaming himself. "Not of you. Never of you. I just remember walking into McGonagall's office, seeing Cho and then waking up surrounded by water in the dark. I thought I was going to die and I just...I regretted not telling you that I love you."

Harry tightened his hold around Hermione, his heart rate rising as the images flashed in his mind. Hermione desperately trying to swim up and kick out of her restraints, the spear at her throat, thinking she was going to drown. Taking a deep breath and focusing on the witch in his arms, alive and warm and breathing. He buried his head in her hair again and a small smile curved at his lips.

"Remind me to thank Fleur again for the bubble head charm," Harry said, causing his witch to laugh.

"Agreed."

"You are the most important person in my life, Hermione. I don't know what I would do without you."

"I love you."

Harry smiled and kissed her head, "I love you too."

So the couple loved, and laughed, and hugged, and kissed, and healed. Together.

All was well.


AN: Yo, what if I just fucking ended the story right there, lmao. I'm not, but like how shitty would that be. Almost as shitty as the ending we got in DH. Anyway, thanks for reading. Chapter 12 is about halfway done. Going to work between this and my other story, Assassination, to keep my muse flowing.

If you wanted to know who my Elena is, it's Michelle Williams (Not Destiny's Child) when she had that adorable pixie cut.