Author's Note: I've gotten some questions from those of you who read The Bond, so I am going to clarify them here for you. Some of you asked for a sequel, and some things in the story that didn't get clarified. I am still thinking about a sequel to that story. I left some things open for that reason. I wanted you to think about what may have happened.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my next story. This one will focus on Harry and Hermione through the beginning of their marriage, with flashbacks from their past. I hope you all enjoy!

A young man with black hair walked through the Ministry of Magic, ignoring all of the people staring at him as he did so. He made his way to the Auror's Office and put his bag and paperwork onto the desk, stretching his arms above his head as he did so.

He had been away for a week now.

He turned his head to look at the clock, letting out an angry sigh as it read 10:00 p.m. They were about half-hour later than they had expected to return, and while he was exhausted, he was more than eager to return home to his wife.

With paperwork still left to file.

'I'll do it when I get back to work,' he thought, pushing the folder deeper onto his desk. He grabbed for his bag and threw it over his shoulder, making his way out of the Ministry as he did so. He was eager to return home to her, and was hoping more than anything that she was still awake when he got there.

"Hermione?" Harry called, walking through the door. The candles in the flat were dim, and he looked around again for Hermione, wondering where she could be. "Hermione, are you here?"

"In here," she called back. He dropped his bag onto the floor and walked to the bedroom, his eyes widening in surprise.

The candles were also dim low in the room. His eyes immediately snapped to the bed, widening them as he saw Hermione laying across it. A seductive smile was on her face, and she was wearing a short, ruby red silk nightgown.

He had never seen anything so beautiful.

"Hermione?"

"Welcome home," she said, sliding off of the bed. His mouth went dry as the gown smoothed out and stopped mid-thigh. "I've missed you."

"Wow," he replied, pressing his hands against the silk. She smirked.

"Like what you see?"

"You're beautiful."

"You have no idea how much I've missed you," she said, running her hands across his chest. She then played with the first button on his shirt.

"You either, love," he said, running his hands up and down the sides of her body. "I've been away for too long."

"You've only been gone a week," she replied with a laugh wrapping her arms around his neck.

He didn't reply, but pressed his lips to hers. She smiled against them as he picked her up and carried her over to the bed.

"Maybe I should go away more often," he said sometime later, his breathing erratic. She smiled, her own breathing erratic.

"You know I hate it when you're away."

"I hate it when I'm away, too," he replied, turning to face her. He laid his hand against her cheek before leaning down to press their lips together. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

"Must have gotten a cold. Whatever it was, it's gone now."

"It must have been me. I come back and now it's gone. I must be a miracle worker."

"I'm sure it was you," she replied, rolling her eyes. He grinned.

"We both know it was."

"Well, handsome, I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

"So am I. Goodnight, love."

"Goodnight, Harry," she whispered, giving him a soft kiss.

"Hermione?" he said with a gruff voice, reaching his hand to her side of the bed. When he found it empty, he sat up and grabbed for his glasses, noticing that the bed was empty when he put them on. He slid out of bed and put a pair of boxers on before walking out of the bedroom, breathing in the scent coming from the kitchen.

'Good morning to you, too.'

He walked into the kitchen and saw her standing in front of the stove, cooking breakfast. A smirk filled his face as he saw her wearing his shirt from last night.

"Morning, sexy," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Good morning, handsome. You slept in rather late."

"I was up quite late last night," he said, pressing a kiss to her neck. She smirked. "By the way, you look amazing in my shirt."

"Do I now?" she asked, turning around to face him. He nodded, running his eyes up and down her body. "Would it look better on the floor?"

"You drive me crazy."

"I love the power I have over you."

"I am at your complete mercy," he replied, holding his hands up.

"In that case," she said, her lips just inches from his, "you finish breakfast."

He gaped at her as she smirked and walked over to the table. He then finished breakfast and sat it onto plates before putting them onto the table, giving his wife a playful glare as he did so. When he was all finished, he sat down across from her and made himself a plate.

"Today's Ron's birthday," she said, after a few minutes of silence. He smacked his head.

"I completely forgot."

"You've been busy. Molly is having a dinner for him tonight."

"Great," he said, taking a bite of his eggs. "I'm surprised he isn't doing his own thing."

"I think he wanted to, but Emma convinced him otherwise."

"How are they doing, by the way?"

"They're doing great. I'm happy he's finally found someone he's happy with, instead of his usual one-night stands."

"He really enjoyed himself then."

"Would you ever trade me up for one-night stands?"

"Never. You're the best I've ever had."

"I'm the only one you've ever had."

"That's why you're the best."

"Aren't you sweet," she replied, spreading jelly onto her toast. "Can you believe we've been married for a year next month?"

"It's so hard to believe. I still remember the first time you kissed me."

"So do I," she replied with a smile. She then got out of her seat and sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck as she did so. "I also remember the first time we made love."

"Maybe we could recreate that night," he said, kissing her neck. She threw her head back and let out a moan.

"Take me to our room," she whispered, her eyes darkening. He picked her up and quickly walked into their bedroom, closing the door with his foot behind him.

"Harry?" Hermione said, pushing the door open. She lit the candle with her wand and stopped dead in her tracks as she saw him sitting on the bed staring out the window. Confusion filled her mind as she walked over and sat down next to him. "Harry, is something wrong?"

"We're going nowhere, Hermione," he said, rubbing his wand. "Not only that, but we lost Ron."

"He made his choice," she replied softly, trying to force herself not to cry. "He left us, and now we have to pick up the pieces."

"How are we going to do that?" he asked, standing up. She closed her eyes, ready to face the anger that was sure to come. "We are stuck here in this forest with nothing to go on."

"We'll get it figured out. I promise."

He let out a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair. "We came in here without a plan. It's costing us."

"Everything we do may cost us. It's how we do things, but we can't continue on like this. Ron is-he's gone. We have to move on."

She wiped her eyes, hating herself for letting a few tears escape. He bit his fingernail before turning around to look at her, his heart breaking at the look on her face.

"Don't cry, Hermione," he said, feeling as awkward as he did with Cho.

"I'm sorry," she replied softly, shaking her head. He let out a small sigh and sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"You're hurting. You don't need to apologize for that."

She dropped her head. He rubbed her shoulder, trying to find the words to say that could make her feel better.

"At least we have each other, right?" he asked softly, and she turned her head towards him.

"We do," she replied quietly, reaching over to grab his hand. He gave her a small smile, and something fluttered in her stomach.

She found she couldn't turn away from his green eyes.

Something was pulling her in. She couldn't figure out what, but she couldn't get away from him. His green eyes were shining behind his glasses, and there was a look that she couldn't identify.

And before she knew it, she was kissing him.

He was in shock, unable to move. She broke away from him, fear coursing through her system as she saw the look on his face.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, pressing her fingers to her lips. "I'm so sorry."

Without saying another word, she stood up and walked out of the room.

"Hermione?" a soft voice said, shaking her awake. She awoke with a start, looking into the face of her grinning husband. "Did I scare you?"

"A little, you prat. What time is it?"

"Half-past four."

"You let me sleep that long? We need to get to the Weasley's soon!"

"I didn't want to wake you. You looked peaceful."

"I need to take a shower," she said, pushing the blankets off of her. He helped her out of the bed and she walked into the bathroom, turning on the shower and hopping in. "You need to shave."

"What?" he asked, and she smiled through the curtain. "You don't like my beard?"

"You're too stubbly for my liking."

"Lucky for you, I was going to shave it off anyway," he replied with a grin, watching as she stuck her head out the curtain and gave him a look.

"Just get ready, would you? I need to in a few minutes."

"Then you need to finish taking a shower."

"Prat," she said, returning back to the showerhead. He chuckled as he wet his razor and began to shave.

"I must have worn you out," he said a few minutes later, wiping his face off. The showerhead turned off and she grabbed for her towel.

"I did have a lot of fun last night."

"And this morning," he replied with a grin. She smiled as she placed her hands on his face, rubbing his smooth skin as she did so.

"Much better."

"I agree. I'm not a beard person."

"And now, I can kiss you."

She reached up and pressed their lips together. He broke away a minute later and wrapped his arms around her back, kissing her head as he did so.

"I have a question for you."

"Ask away."

"Would you like to go on a date tomorrow after we come back from work?"

"Sounds fun," she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I would love to."

"Great," he said, breaking away from her. She moved in front of the mirror while he went to change.

"Hermione?" he called out sometime later, looking in the bedroom for her. He then walked into the bathroom and smiled as he saw her standing in front of the bathroom mirror brushing her hair. He wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her head, watching as she laid her hands on his arm. "Ready to go?"

"Just about," she said, giving him a necklace. She pulled her hair up and watched as he put the necklace on.

It was the necklace he had gotten her for their first anniversary.

The diamond shun in the light. She put her hand on the necklace, smiling as she did so. Her engagement ring and wedding band flashed back in the mirror, and she looked back up at him, feeling incredibly happy.

"Ready," she said, turning towards him. He leaned down and pressed their lips together.

"You look beautiful."

"Than-"

She pressed her hand to her mouth before turning to the toilet. He quickly bent down next to her and held her hair, rubbing her back as he did so.

"I thought you were feeling better."

"I thought so, too," she replied, pressing her cheek to the seat.

He continued to rub her back. "Maybe we should stay home."

"It's Ron's birthday. We can't stay home."

"Hermione, you're sick. Ron will understand. You need to go back to bed."

"I'm fine, Harry, really. We should go to the party."

He growled before helping her up. She wiped her mouth off and flushed the toilet before washing her hands off.

"You should be resting."

"I'm fine. Don't worry yourself over me. Now, are you ready to go?"

"I don't like this. At least take a potion."

"I'll be fine, love. We won't stay very long, but we need to show up."

"Fine," he said with sigh, removing his coat. "You're going to want this. It's cold outside."

"You'll get cold, too," she said, watching as he wrapped the coat around her shoulders.

"I'll be fine. Ready?"

"Yeah," she said, watching as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and led her outside. With a crack they apparited away and reappeared in the backyard of The Burrow.

"Can't wait for the weather to start warming up," she said, smiling softly as they slowly walked up to the house.

"Me, either."

"Harry, wait," she said, stopping him. He immediately panicked.

"Are you going to get sick again?"

"No," she said quickly. "I've been trying to tell you something and I-"

"There you are!" Ron said, throwing open the door. "I was wondering when you lot would get here."

"We're here now," Harry replied with a grin. "Happy birthday."

"Happy birthday, Ron," she said, giving him a hug.

"Come on in," he said, moving to let them in.

"We'll be there in a minute, mate," he said, and Ron nodded, quietly closing the door behind him. "What were you going to tell me?"

She stared at him for a minute before shaking her head. "It's nothing. We can talk about it later."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "Let's go enjoy the party."

He smiled before opening the door. They walked inside and were immediately greeted by Mrs. Weasley.

"Welcome home, Harry."

"Thank you, Molly," he replied, giving her a hug. Hermione did the same.

"How are you both?"

"We're good. We've been busy with work."

"We understand. It's so good to see both of you again."

"Same, Molly."

"Come on in. The party has just started."

He grabbed hold of Hermione's hand and walked into the living room, finding it difficult to maneuver around all the people. They found an open space in the corner of the room and stood there.

"You look tired," he said, pushing a piece of her hair behind her ear. She laid her head on his shoulder.

"It feels like it's been a long day."

"We won't stay long, Hermione," he whispered, kissing her head.

"Hi!" Ginny said, rushing up to them. She gave both of them a hug.

"Hi, Ginny. How's it going with Dean?"

"Oh, it's great. He's so wonderful."

"Glad to hear that."

"I'm going to get a drink," Hermione said, rubbing Harry's arm.

"I'll get it," he said, and he turned and walked towards the kitchen.

"How are you?" Ginny asked.

"I'm fine. I'm happy he's back. It's been so hard without him."

"He was only gone a week, Hermione," Ginny said, rolling her eyes.

"Whoa," she said, falling slightly. Ginny wrapped her arms around her.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just got a little dizzy."

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, returning to the room.

"She got dizzy."

"I'm fine."

"Sit down. I brought you some pumpkin juice," he said, giving her the cup.

"Thank you. I'm actually going to lay down for a little bit."

"I told you that you should have stayed home and gotten rest."

"I told you I'm fine."

"What's going on?" Ginny asked, looking worried.

"Hermione's been getting sick."

"I'm fine," she let out with a sigh, giving Harry a look. "It's just a little cold."

"You can lay down in my old bedroom if you would like."

"Thank you," she said, nodding her head to Ginny before disappearing upstairs. Harry let out a sigh.

"She's stubborn."

"That's why she married you, Harry," she replied with a grin. He rolled his eyes but let out a smile.

"Mate, where have you been?" Ron asked, walking up to him.

"Here."

"Where's Emma?" Ginny asked, looking around.

"She's around. She was talking to Fleur last I saw."

"I'm going to see if I can find her."

"Happy birthday, mate."

"Thanks."

"How are you? It feels like it's been a while since I've seen you."

"You've been away. I've been away. One of the bad things about being an Auror."

"How's Emma?"

"She's great. We're moving in together soon."

"Congratulations, mate," he replied, clapping his shoulder.

"Thanks. Where's Hermione?"

"She's not feeling well. She's laying down upstairs."

"I could have Emma check on her and make sure she's alright. Hey, Emma!"

"Yes?" the brunette asked, walking over to her boyfriend.

"Can you check on Hermione? Harry's says she's not feeling well."

"What's wrong?"

"She's been getting sick and she's extremely tired. She started getting sick when I left, but she said she's been feeling better. She got sick again earlier."

"Really?" she said, nodding her head. "Where is she?"

"She's in Ginny's old room. I appreciate this, Emma."

"No problem, Harry. I'll go make sure she's ok."

He nodded his thanks, and she turned to walk upstairs. She stopped outside of Ginny's bedroom before knocking on the door, hearing the soft "come in" after she did so.

"It's me," she said, walking through the door. "I hope I didn't wake you."

"No, I'm just laying down."

"How are you feeling?" she asked, taking her wand out.

"Horrible. I can't stop getting sick, and Harry's getting worried."

"When do you plan on telling him?" she asked, running her wand over her stomach.

"Tomorrow. He's taking me on a date."

"Everything looks great," she said, looking at the picture that suddenly appeared. "Are you out of nausea potions?"

"I kept meaning to get some more from you."

"I'll get you some tomorrow. For now, just get some rest. You're going to need it."

"Thank you, Emma," she replied, repositioning her pillow.

"Congratulations, by the way," she replied, rubbing Hermione's hand. "You and Harry are going to be great parents."