Author's Comments: I don't own anything having to do with the Harry Potter franchise.
Chapter Ten: Resolutions
The sun was shining brightly in the early morning over New York. For once, Hermione was able to attend a funeral without it being cloudy and raining. Padma walked with Hermione as they followed the funeral procession. Both were dressed in black; Hermione a dress, and Padma a skirt and white top.
"I don't know why we're here," Padma whispered as everyone began to gather around the two grave sites.
"We have to pay our respects," Hermione replied.
"But for Draco? He tried to kill you and Harry, and he would have succeeded had those two police officers not been there. Unfortunately, he did kill Cho."
"I feel so bad about her death. After all, she was your best friend."
"She was once yours too."
Both girls fell silent as the funeral procession began for Draco Malfoy and Cho Chang, whose caskets were positioned next to each other. However, the burial sites would be in separate locations. Draco would be buried in his families own private grave site, while Cho would be buried near the grave of her grandparents. Both in the cemetery that Harry's mother was laid to rest in.
The priest that spoke at the funeral didn't take too long, and soon Hermione and Padma were leaving the cemetery, talking quietly as they passed through the iron gates.
"So how's Harry doing?"
"Last I checked, he was stable"
"It must have been so horrible, waiting while they took him in to the emergency room."
"It really was. I was such a nervous wreck. Just ask Ron. He had to continually calm me down so that I didn't breakdown and cry. Plus, it was a huge relief to have the doctor tell me that Harry was going to be okay as soon as they were done in the operating room."
"I am so happy that he's alright, Hermione. I know how hard it would have been for you if he, well, died."
Hermione nodded silently as they continued to walk along. "I'm going to visit him this afternoon. Hopefully, he'll be awake. Just being able to see him alive is good, but I'll feel even better when I can talk to him again."
"You haven't been able to see him yet?"
"No. Though he's going to be okay, the doctor wanted to keep him under observation just to make sure. Today is the first day that I can visit him, so I hope you don't mind that I'm going to go soon and head down to the hospital. I can call you later if you and Ron want to come and visit him. That is, if he's awake and feels like seeing people."
"That's fine. And I would appreciate it if you would call us. Ron really wants to see him to, almost as much as you," Padma said with a laugh.
Hermione smiled softly. "I miss him more. Trust me on this one."
Padma laughed. "Oh, right. You miss certain body parts that Harry has."
Hermione's face flushed red. "No comment."
"Oh my gosh! You two did it!"
"Did what?"
Padma struggled lightly with the words. "It!"
Hermione's face continued to turn darker shades of red.
"Tell me already!"
Hermione sighed softly. "Fine. Yes, we did."
Padma squealed lightly, hugging Hermione. "I'm so happy for you. He really loves you, doesn't he?"
"Yes, he does."
"You better not let him go."
"I don't plan on it."
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The first thing that Harry noticed as he slowly woke up in the hospital was a steady beeping noise, which he realized was a machine monitoring his heart rate as he began to go through the stages of waking up. The hospital room that he was in was dark, but only because the lights were off. He was sure that they had left them off so he could sleep. For an odd reason, Harry couldn't remember how he came to be in the hospital, and then remembered once he looked down at himself. Underneath his hospital gown, a small bandage was tape to his chest. The bullet wound. It all came back to Harry in quick flashes. Draco holding Hermione captive. Draco shooting Harry. And as he fell, he saw Officer Rudlaff shoot Draco square in the head, which caused him to let go of Hermione. Oh Hermione. He loved her so much, and was extremely thankful to be alive. He could remember Hermione coming to his side, but it began to get cloudy after he was loaded into the ambulance.
With a quick glance around the room, Harry found it to be empty. No one else was in the room with him. It wasn't a surprise. Harry's father was also in the hospital. But he at least thought that Hermione would be by his side. He knew deep down in his heart that he would never leave hers.
Suddenly, the door opened, and Harry looked over to it. Harry's father, James, stood in the doorway, still dressed in his very own hospital room.
"Dad?" Harry asked. "You're awake?"
"Yes, Harry, I am. And I see that so are you, finally. I was starting to worry."
"How long have you been awake?"
"I've been up for a few days now. In fact, I woke up a few hours before they brought you in. I was just as worried about you as Hermione was. After losing your mother, it would break my heart to lose you too," James explained as he sat down carefully in a chair next to Harry's bed.
Harry watched his father, trying not to cry at the mention of his mother.
"Harry, I know I haven't been the best father in the world to you. Work always kept me away at the office. You were closer to your mother than you'll ever be to me. But I still love you. You're my son, and I promise you that things are going to change. I'm going to change. I just hope that you'll want to make this change with me."
"I will, Dad. I will."
"I love you, son."
"I love you too, Dad."
"I'm not the only one who loves you, son. Anyone can easily see that Hermione is in love with you. I just hope that you return those feelings."
"I do," replied Harry.
"Good. Because she's here to see you."
Harry smiled as the door opened again, and Hermione stepped in. The loving warmth spread throughout his body at the sight of her. Hermione returned the smile, walking over towards them.
"I think I'll give you two some time alone. I need to go talk to your doctor anyways. With luck, you'll be able to go home in a few days," James commented as he left the room, shutting the door behind himself.
"Hey Hermione," Harry said, smirking.
Hermione smiled, and practically knocked over the chair that James had been sitting in to get to him. She was careful not to press too hard against his chest as she hugged him and began to kiss him. He eagerly returned the kisses.
"Simmer down there, Hermione," Harry said with a smile. "You can't get me too excited. I'm not well enough to do that yet."
Hermione laughed softly, kissing him again before sitting in the chair.
"You don't know how good it is to see you awake. You really had me worried there. I was so scared of losing you."
"Well, I was a little scared of being lost," Harry said with a smile.
"I'm just still so happy that you're alright."
"Well, you don't have to worry anymore, nor will you have to ever worry again. Nothing like this will ever happen again, hopefully. And I'm never going to leave you, even if you want me to."
Hermione smiled, kissing him again. "I will never ask you to leave."
"Good. Makes things so much easier for me."
"Are you glad that your Dad is awake?"
"Yes, I am, actually. It surprised me when he came in."
"He was so nice to me when they brought you in. He treated me like I was a member of the family," Hermione muttered.
"Well, one day you will be," Harry said with his usual suave smile.
Hermione looked up at him, a small smile on her face. "You mean that?"
"I do."
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After getting called by Hermione, Ron and Padma were able to visit Harry. They spent several hours down at the hospital, the four of them together. Nothing could have been better than spending time with your friends, especially those that you might not see everyday once out of high school, which was actually going to end in less than a month. Then summer would come, and shortly after, they would be off to college.
"Padma, I really want you to come with me."
"I want to go with you, Ron, but the college that you're going to doesn't have a strong background with the field I want to go into."
"Padma, you can go to any college in the country to study Psychology."
"I know, but the college I want to go to specializes in it, and many of the graduates were able to get good jobs with other well renowned psychologists and psychiatrists."
Ron said softly, looking away from her momentarily. "Then I'll go with you."
"What?" Padma asked.
"I'll go with you instead."
"Are you sure?"
"Definitely. And I don't care if the college doesn't have a good background with my field of study. I will go anyways. Nothing is going to keep me away from you, not again."
Padma smiled softly, kissing Ron. "I love you, redhead."
"And I love you, lead foot."
Padma laughed as she and Ron fell down on to his bed.
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Four Years Later
Their kisses were passionate, and they grew hotter by the second. Harry slowly moved on top of Hermione, making love to her in their bed. Moans escaped her throat as he continued to move inside of her. Her nails raked across his back, only causing him to go slower, delaying the pleasure she badly wanted. Hermione kissed him deeply as the waves of pleasure overcame them, and soon she was laying in his arms, her head rested against his chest. Her hand carefully brushed over the small scar that Harry had in the middle of his chest, kissing it lightly.
"As always, that was amazing," Hermione whispered.
"I'm glad I could make you feel better," Harry replied with a sexy grin upon his face.
"It was the perfect ending to a perfect day."
"But the day isn't over yet," Harry said, the grin still there.
Hermione laughed. "Give me a little time before we go again."
"Alright, my love, the future Mrs. Harry Potter."
Harry held her left hand in his, looking at the engagement ring upon her finger, the engagement ring that he had given her earlier in the day when he proposed to her.
"I can't wait to tell Padma. It will be good to talk to her. I haven't talked to her in awhile. And you haven't talked to Ron for some time either."
"True. It would be a good idea for us both to talk to them. That way, you can ask Padma to be your maid of honor, and I ca ask Ron to be my best man."
"But we have to tell them to not plan on it being soon. We agreed earlier to get married after college." Harry and Hermione lived in an apartment together on campus at Northwestern University in Illinois, just by Chicago. They were near the end of their third year of college. Hermione followed Harry to Northwestern, where he majored in Journalism so that he could be an author. Hermione went to study art there.
"I can't wait to call my parents," Hermione said with a laugh.
"Well, you don't have to."
Hermione looked up at him. "Why?"
"Because I asked them first, and they obviously agreed that I could ask you to marry me."
Hermione smiled. "I still want to call them anyways. And you can call your Dad."
"He already knows too."
"How many people already know?"
"Just your parents and my father. No one else."
Hermione kissed him gently, and Harry kissed her back.
"I'm so glad that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you," Harry whispered as he pull her into his arms, kissing her passionately.
"I love you," Hermione whispered.
"And I love you too," Harry replied, laughing as Hermione slowly pulled him towards her, giggling as she pulled the sheet up over them both.
The End
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Comments: I have really enjoyed writing this story, and I hope that all of you enjoyed the ending of my story. It has taken me just short of a year to write this, and I have loved every second of it. This story is very important to me, since I based how some of the characters are on many people that I know and love in my life. Those people should know which characters I based them on. Please review my story. The great reviews inspire me to write even better stories. For those of you who like the pairing of Harry and Hermione, please read my other Harry Potter story, Harry Potter and the Ring of Erishans. It will also have the pairing of Harry and Hermione, and takes place at Hogwarts. Read that and enjoy it.
I will continue to write Harry Potter fanfiction so that all of you readers can enjoy my style of writing and the wonderful stories that spring forth from my imagination. Thank you so much for all of your support, and I look forward to getting that support for my future stories.
ChristheJediKnight
And on a final note, to an old church friend of mine (who has been bugging me every so often, wanting to know who I based Hermione on), here is the answer. I based Hermione on this old church friend, who I still talk to quite often.