A/N Welcome to my new story. I had this plot bunny running around in my head and it wouldn't let me focus on my other story so I decided to get it out before continuing with the Hufflepuff Chronicles. This story is fairly canon compliant through the 7th book excluding the epilogue. There are a few AU elements that will be explained in this first chapter and the story will move from there. Hope you enjoy the story. As always, I own nothing and this all belongs to JKR. I write for my own amusement and make no money.

Ch. 1 The Annoucment

Harry Potter stepped out of the fireplace of the Burrow brushing the ash from his clothes. He had not been in this home much during the last three months since the war ended. After Fred's funeral he just seemed to spend less and less time here. He wasn't sure what changed but for some reason, it just didn't seem as welcoming as it used to. Harry took the few minutes before he was noticed to try to think of ponder why that was. He looked around the sitting room where he stood and it was just as welcoming as it had always been. Deciding that it was nothing about the Burrow itself that made him feel any different about the home he shrugged and moved into the kitchen.

As he walked into the kitchen he found Mrs. Weasley working at the stove preparing dinner. She turned around and rushed over to give Harry her patented Weasley hugs. "Harry dear, it's so good to see you. It's been so long. You really should stop by more often. You can't be eating well living by yourself in that depressing house."

Harry accepted the hug but not before taking a deep breath in anticipation of the rib crunching he was sure to come. When he was finally allowed to speak after being released from the hug he smiled down at Mrs. Weasley. "I didn't want to impose on your family any more then I already have Mrs. Weasley. Kreacher and I have fixed Grimmauld Place up nicely and it is quite hospitable and between him and me, we eat pretty well."

Mrs. Weasley just smiled at Harry and patted him on the cheek. "Of course dear," she said in a tone that made it clear she didn't believe him. "But still you should come around more often. You spend too much time alone. I know Ginny would like to see more of you, and so would Ron and Hermione."

With that statement, Harry now realized why he didn't spend more time at the Burrow. Ever since the Final Battle when Ron and Hermione had gotten together, Harry had felt like a third wheel. He felt like an intruder and things just didn't seem right anymore. There were other reasons also but Harry refused to even think about those reasons.

Then there was Ginny. After the Final Battle, it seemed that everyone was expecting her and Harry to resume their relationship. Mrs. Weasley seemed to think that she should be planning their wedding and even dropped less than subtle hints about it. Ginny also seemed to expect everything to go back to the way things were. But things couldn't go back to the way things were. The war had changed Harry. 'Dying has a way of doing that to a person' Harry thought to himself with a mental grimace. The bottom line was that Harry just didn't feel that way about Ginny and the constant hints and suggestions had slowly caused Harry to spend less and less time with the Weasley. He knew he should say something but for some reason he just couldn't bring himself to say the words.

Harry ignored Mrs. Weasley comment and looked around the kitchen. "So any idea what the big surprise is?" Harry asked. "I got a message from Ron and Hermione asking me to come to the Burrow for a big announcement."

Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips at the subject change. "No idea. They just asked if I could throw a big dinner for the whole family as they had an announcement to make. They wouldn't say anything about it though."

Just at that moment the floo flared alive again and out walked George and his girlfriend Angelina. "Harry," George greeted wrapping him in a strong hug. "It's good to see you old chap, you must come down to the store more often. Business is booming."

"Hi George, it's good to see you too." After Fred's death, George had dropped into a deep depression. It had taken Angelina and a few slaps around the head to get George functioning again. When George came out of his depression he threw himself into Weasley Wizard Wheezes. When Harry had stopped by the store a month ago, George had told him that it's what Fred would have done in his place. Angelina and Lee had come on board to help with the store and Ron and Ginny were helping during the summer.

Soon the floo flared alive again and Bill and Fleur stepped in one right after the other. They were quickly followed by Percy and his girlfriend Penelope. Ginny came skipping in soon after and walked over to Harry and gave him a hug and a kiss on his cheek and a small smile before sitting down next to him. Her and Harry exchanged small talk for a few minutes never really touching on the state of their relationship or anything substantial. Everyone settled around the table in the kitchen and conversation flowed back and forth with Harry just sitting and watching with a small smile on his face. No matter what happened the Weasley Family seemed to recover. Soon a small pop announced Mr. Weasley's arrival.

"Good evening Weasleys," he greeted as he took his seat at the head of the table and smiled around at everybody including Harry in his welcoming smile. "I see we are still waiting for the two who requested this dinner and family meeting."

"Hermione said they would be here at seven." Mrs. Weasley said looking towards the cloak that told time showing it was still five minutes till. "Knowing that girl, they will be here soon."

No sooner had Mrs. Weasley said that then two pops announced the arrival of the last two. Hermione and Ron walked in the back door hand in hand smiling broadly. Harry suddenly had a sinking suspicion on what the big announcement was and he felt his stomach fall. After all the greetings and hugs were exchanged Hermione and Ron took their seats next to Harry.

"Ok you two," Mrs. Weasley said. "You two asked for this family meeting, so what's the big news?"

Hermione and Ron looked at each other still smiling. "Well mum," Ron said. "Yesterday I took Hermione out to dinner, and as we were finishing dissert, I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me." This statement from Ron was followed by complete silence for a good ten seconds and was finally broken by Hermione holding up her left hand where a small diamond ring adorned her finger.

"And I said yes!" Mrs. Weasley's squeal of excitement almost made Harry's ear drums burst.

"That's wonderful dears. I'm so happy for you guys." She jumped to her feet and rushed over wrapping Harry's two friends into a big hug. "We should start planning the wedding."

"We still have some time Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said trying to keep Mrs. Weasley from gathering steam. "We decided to have the wedding next summer after we are done with school."

"What a wonderful idea. That will give us plenty of time to get everything perfect." The rest of the family quickly rose from their seats to congratulate the newly engaged couple. Harry remained in his seat letting the Weasley's have their family moment his heart breaking even more as he looked at Hermione's beaming face. She was happy and that's what mattered. It was his turn to congratulate his best friends and did so with as much enthusiasm as he could muster and made it as believable as he could. He had a lot of practice at acting this part and he was glad for that. Harry did what he had always done at times like these. He smiled. It's what was expected of him and he was quite good at it by now.

Throughout his whole life Harry has had to wear a mask of some sort. While living with his relatives on Private Drive, he learned early on that the best way to survive was to appear meek and draw as little attention to him as possible. When he figured this life lesson out, the beatings became less frequent. When he arrived at Hogwarts, he had to put on a new mask. Harry showed the world the happy child that everyone expected to see. As the years went by it became harder and harder to hold on to the façade of a happy child, and every time it slipped people seemed surprised by his anger and resentment at fate for making him it's chew toy. He learned another lesson that people only saw what they wanted to see. Maintaining his mask became even harder during his fourth year with the Tri-Wizard tournament.

During the year, he spent a lot of time with his bushy haired friend as she was the only one who was helping him live to see the next summer. It was during this time that he started to feel different towards her. Growing up emotionally stunted, he didn't understand the feelings that he was feeling though and he didn't have anybody he could talk to about it. He ended up labeling those feelings for her as what he assumed a sibling felt for each other. Then with Hermione and Ron's fight after the Yule Ball, Harry realized that his two best friends had feelings for each other but neither of them would admit it.

With that revelation all of Harry's insecurities came back in full force. His deep seeded self-esteem problems ingrained in him from a young age by the Dursleys wouldn't allow him to believe that he was worth loving. 'Of course she would like Ron, now one would want a freak like him. She would want someone who came from a loving family like hers.' Then there was the fact that for some reason Harry had a psychopath out for his blood. What sane girl would ever want to be a part of his life? It was during the summer that Harry realized that what he was feeling for Hermione was not what siblings felt for each other. It took living with the Weasleys and Ginny acting normally around him to see how brother and sisters interacted. Combined with the jealousy he felt when he learned that they were at the same place without him, Harry figured out that what he was feeling for Hermione was something more, something deeper. Harry loved Hermione.

Harry tried to get over Hermione all through 5th year even trying to date Cho. That of course turned into a disaster when he tried to talk her into meeting Hermione during their date for the interview with Skeeter. Harry wasn't sorry in the least for the way that turned out. No matter what their relationship was, Hermione would always come first in his life. If the girl couldn't understand that then oh well.

Sixth year put everything in perspective for Harry. When Harry heard the prophecy he felt a small bit of joy that Hermione and Ron seemed to be finally admitting their feelings for each other and moving together. When Ron started to date Lavander and Hermione was crushed, Harry was there for her like he always would be. It broke his heart to see his best friend so distraught over a boy that didn't deserve her. He wanted nothing more than to tell her how he felt when she was crying in his arms but his fate held him back. How could he burden her with someone who had a death sentence on his head? He wouldn't do that to her. He never had any illusions about how his life would turn out. And then there was the strain their friendship went through with his potions book. It might have hurt but he knew that it was for the best. If they drifted apart, maybe it wouldn't hurt her so much when his luck finally ran out. He tried to grasp for a small piece of normal by dating Ginny but deep down he knew that it was just an escape, something to give him an illusion of normalcy in a life that was anything but.

The main course finished and dissert was served. The women still talked about wedding plans while the men started to talk Quidditch and whether the league would be starting up again. Harry half listened to the talk while his thoughts drifted back to the hunt for the Horcruxes. That had been both the best and worst times of Harry's life. Even though he was running around all of England being hunted by who knows what, he spent the whole time with Hermione. When Ron left and she chose to stay a small flame was re-ignited in his heart. He had a little hope again. He tried to comfort her in the first few days after Ron left but nothing would console her. The flame though was snuffed out once again though on the night that they danced. It was the most magical night of his life. It was just him and her dancing together to music in their heads. Harry thought that this was his chance. He had done the right thing and let Ron and Hermione try to work out their feelings for each other. But now Ron was gone and she was here. He slowly leaned in and she mirrored his movements. He was sure it was going to happen but at the last moment she turned away.

Harry's heart was once again broken. 'Of course she doesn't want you. You're marked for death. It's for the best. Ron will come to his senses again and she will get the man she wants. While you will face Voldemort and do what you were born to do and die.' When Ron came back he had to perform an Oscar worthy performance to convince Ron that he didn't love Hermione and that to him, she was just a sister. Finally the last battle came and Harry watched as Hermione and Ron snogged in the middle of the fight. He quickly hid his heart ache with a quick quip and his cheeky grin.

Then the end he knew was coming. It was time for him to finally face the music. It wasn't as hard as he thought. When he walked past the Great Hall and saw the Weasleys all together with Hermione their holding on to Ron, he knew that this was for the best. If his death would allow her to live a happy life free from Voldemort, then that was a sacrifice he could make. Hermione would be happy and no one else would have to die for him. Besides, he would finally be with his family.

Harry was brought out of his reverie by Hermione waving her hand in front of his face. "Harry, are you paying attention?"

Harry focused on his best friend and gave her the smile she was expecting. "Sorry Hermione, I zoned out there for a minute. Food comma, you know."

Hermione laughed. "Mrs. Weasley's food does have that effect sometimes. I'm glad you could make it Harry. We haven't seen much of you lately."

"Yah, sorry about that, but I've been pretty busy. I've been spending a lot of time with Teddy and Andromeda and cleaning Grimmauld Place."

"I understand, we've been pretty busy also. Ron is helping out George in the shop and I've been helping with the cleanup at Hogwarts. You won't believe how much work we've done. It should be ready to open by September 1st. I'm glad we will be able to finish our 7th year and take our NEWTS. Just think all four of us will be together again and in most of the same classes. You, Ginny, Ron and I can go to Hogsmead together."

Harry nodded non-committedly. Hermione also seemed to be on the 'Get Harry and Ginny back together' bandwagon lately and she would arrange lunches together where Ginny would just happen to also show up. He finally caught on to it the third time they met for lunch and Ginny just happened to be in the neighborhood also.

"I mean," she continued not noticing his mind wandering again "you will need your NEWTS if you're going to join the Auror Academy. I mean, I'm sure Kingsley would let you in anyways but you still should take the tests."

Harry continued to nod. This was the other thing that seemed to be 'expected' of him. He was now supposed to join the Auror and continue to chase down Dark Wizards for the rest of his life. Harry was not in the mood to listen to another speech on all the good he could do as an Auror and how he would be a natural at it. Harry yawned covering his mouth before Hermione could get going.

"I'm sorry Hermione, but I am exhausted. I think I'm going to head home. Walk me to the apparition point?"

"Oh, sure, I guess it is getting pretty late." Hermione smiled as the two of them walked out the back door.

"Hermione, are you happy? I mean, you're still young, there is no need to rush in to this." Harry asked nervously.

"I couldn't be happier Harry. I know we are young, but we aren't getting married till after Hogwarts. Lots of people get married right out of Hogwarts. Your parents did as did Molly and Arthur. We've known each other for almost 7 years and spent the majority of our time together."

Harry nodded "Okay, as long as you're happy, I'm happy." And again, Harry smiled. After a quick hug, he disapperated back to Grimmauld place. He was able to hold the smile until he walked into the door and closed it behind him. A silent summoning charm produced a bottle of Ogden's Finest flying into his hands. Removing the cap, he stumbled up to the Sirius's old room and began to try to drink until his heart no longer hurt.

A/N Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please rate and review and let me know what you think.