Chapter Fourteen

Monday morning saw Harry arrive at work, wholly unprepared for what he was about to face. He'd managed to avoid dealing with the aftermath of his new Boy-Who-Saved-Us-All status because of Hannah's intervention, but now he was on his own and Hannah made sure he knew it.

Because now, well, he suspected that things were expected of him.

In his attempt to show his employees that he was still the same old Harry Potter, he arrived early, Mia's coffee in hand and tried his best to show them that he was still the morning person that they all hated.

Several people came out of their offices to greet him, shaking his hand and welcoming him back with gusto.

It was not lost on Harry that Hermione Granger was not one of them. He supposed that she was just trying to give him space but, despite that, he made sure not to look through her open office door when he was eventually able to disappear into his own. As usual, he left his door open. Nothing changed. He was determined to make sure that his little trip to the Ministry changed very little about the way Potter & Sons ran, as a family.

Harry was allowed to get settled before he was called into action for the first time.

Mia knocked on his open door and walked in, several files in hand. "I haven't scheduled any meeting for you today," she said carefully. "I thought you might want to spend the day getting up to speed on what's been happening since - "

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Since my family decided do persecute me?"

Mia shrugged. "Something like that." She placed the files on his desk in front of him. "Neville will probably come in to see you later. Dad wanted me to let him know when you arrived. I suspect the two of you have quite a bit to discuss. And Her - " she halted.

Harry couldn't help releasing a chuckle. "And Hermione?"

"Probably just wants to talk financial stuff."

He rolled his eyes. "Sure she does."

Mia smiled fondly. "How are you really, Harry?"

"I'm fine," he said, and she gave him a disbelieving look. "Okay, well, I will be fine. It'll just take some time to adjust to things, I suppose."

Mia understood that. "Fine," she huffed good-naturedly, turning to head out. "Just shout if you need anything."

Harry waited until she was gone to let out a long sigh. It was going to be a long day.

And he wasn't wrong.

After a lengthy chat with Neville, about things ranging from his health to how scary Hannah was; Harry was roped into another prolonged talk with Remus, which turned uncomfortable the moment the older wizard brought up the issue of Bennet Potter.

"I know we hate him and everything," Remus began, but Harry promptly cut him off.

"I don't hate him," he said seriously.

Remus made no comment. "As I was saying, I know we hate him and everything, but he did set out his plans for ways to improve the company, Harry, and not all of them are terrible."

"Was this before or after he was trying to sell it for profit?"

Remus shifted awkwardly. "Probably before," he replied.

"To make it more lucrative."

Remus sighed. "If there is one good thing to come out of this whole ordeal, Harry; it would be this," he said, sounding every bit his age. "It wouldn't hurt to take a look, would it?"

Harry huffed, trying to draw upon everything he had not to throw all his anger at his brother into denying Remus this request. "Fine."

Remus placed the necessary documents in front of Harry. "For what it's worth; he was an awful boss, but he does know business."

"He's James Potter's son; of course he does."

Remus just nodded, before he stood up and left Harry to his musings. It took the raven-haired wizard a few minutes to work up the will to do as Remus asked and read through his brother's proposals. The older Potter did make it difficult to hate him, didn't he?

Harry was still busy with the documents, taking notes and making alterations when she arrived. Hermione stood in his doorway for a moment, just watching him, before she made her presence known by knocking gently on his already-open door.

Harry forced himself not to react, and just waved a hand to beckon her inside. "Is there something you need?" he asked, watching as she took a seat opposite him.

She took a deep breath, visibly steeling herself. "Welcome back," she eventually said, surprising him; "and just your signature, actually." From the look on his face, she just about managed a smile. "I get that we do have things to talk about, but we don't have to do that today, or any time soon."

Harry just nodded.

Hermione passed him several files. "There's a report on Anthony Goldstein's account in there that I think you should look through. I think you'll be impressed."

Harry started to page through the first file. It was going to take him a few days to get up to speed on everything that happened while he'd been out of commission. "I'll do that," he said; "and get them back to you as soon as possible."

Hermione nodded stiffly, before she stood up. She hesitated for a moment, needing to ask him something that seemed to be niggling at her. "We were happy, weren't we?"

He frowned. "What?"

"Before," she said. "Before everything. We were happy, right?"

Harry nodded once. "The happiest, Hermione."

"It's easy to forget, isn't it?"

Harry blinked, suddenly thoughtful. "It is," he said softly, agreeing with her. Because he felt as if he had forgotten. Everyone assumed that the two of them could make each other happy but, really, could they?

They were different people now, who weren't against hurting each other. What sort of relationship could they possibly have?

Would it be a happy one?

Harry and Hermione's next talk occurred two weeks later, after a night working late in the offices. Thing both inside and outside the office had calmed down and the papers finally stopped printing all their sensationalistic articles about Harry, which was a relief.

On said, night, there was no pizza, nor was there any boxed wine. Which was better, Harry supposed. Both of them had to be fully aware for this conversation. They were in Harry's office, poring over the end-of-month reports. It'd been surprisingly easy to revert back to professionalism - if they'd ever actually been professional before. Hermione didn't try to talk to him about the other things, and Harry didn't actively try to avoid her. Even though they were perfectly civil with each other, even sharing a few light jokes; neither of them could shake that feeling that there was something heavy hanging over them.

And that was the night that it all came crashing down on them.

In all honestly, Harry didn't know how it started. One second, they were discussing the month's surprising profits with a group of employees; and the next, it was just the two of them, absently reminiscing about their Hogwarts' days.

And then they were talking about Bennet, and Harry visibly tensed, his facial expression turning into a hard-set frown.

Hermione watched the change happen and, for a cowardly moment, she wanted to avoid the subject altogether. But they couldn't. If they were going to get anywhere, then no topics could be off limits, particularly this one.

"Have you spoken to him since?" Hermione asked him, shifting slightly in her seat opposite his desk so she could face him properly.

"Since when?"

She blinked. "The trial."

"I haven't," he replied. "Why? Have you?"

She waited a beat before she nodded. "He stopped by my apartment to pick up his things," she explained truthfully, watching as his eyes darkened. "And, well, he returned my things as well. It was strange."

"What was?"

"He was."

Harry frowned. "What does that mean?"

She shook her head. "I don't know," she confessed, because she really didn't know. Everything about the last meeting between her and the man she almost decided to spend the rest of her life with had left her feeling uneasy. Bennet had seemed genuine, and truly apologetic. But she'd taken it all in with a grain of salt. How was it possible that there were two entirely different sides to one man? "But we had a small talk, and - "

"And what?"

She took a deep breath. "Putting it plainly: it's now definitely over between the two of us."

Even though Harry was able to guess at such a thing; having her say it out loud was still disarming. It was over. He honestly didn't know how he felt about that. What was he supposed to say? That's fantastic? Took you long enough? Let's throw a party?

Hermione tilted her head to the side expectantly, as if she were just waiting for him to say something.

He didn't know why, but the expectation in her eyes spiked his otherwise-subdued anger. "Am I supposed to be happy for you?" he asked bluntly, and she flinched. "What is it about you and Cho that makes bouncing between the Potter boys so appealing?"

She definitely hadn't been expecting that, and the flash of hurt in her eyes made Harry grimace.

"Sorry," he said quickly, automatically. "Merlin, Hermione, that was so uncalled for. I'm so sorry."

She blinked a few times, trying to imagine where he was coming from. His two girlfriends had, at some point or the other, been involved with his big brother. It had to be a bitter pill to swallow. "Why are you so mad?" she asked suddenly.

Harry's immediate response was to scoff, but he remained still. Why was he so mad? "Do you know what it was like?" he asked, meeting her gaze; "watching you with him; knowing that he was the one you picked. That, for the umpteenth time in my life, Bennet would come first when it came to the most important person in my life. Forget my parents; bloody hell, forget Cho. But you, Hermione. It was different, and it fucking hurt. It still does."

She stared at him for a moment before she spoke. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" he rushed. "Why are you sorry? Why should you be? You made your choices and I made mine."

"And look where we are, Harry," she hurried as well, needing to get the words out. "Look at us! At the end of the day, it's just you and it's just me. Whatever choices we made before; they don't matter because look where we ended up. Right now, none of it matters."

But it did. For Harry, there was still something; something that he just couldn't shake and, until he did; he knew that whatever this had the potential to be wouldn't work.

Hermione fell silent, her eyes never leaving his. She could almost see the cogwheels turning in his head. Whatever happened now wouldn't be a decision to be made lightly. And, really, whatever he needed her to do to convince him that this was what she wanted; she was willing to do it.

"Did you tell him?" he suddenly asked, practically blurting it out. He reasoned that it was one of the reasons he was so angry and he just needed to know.

Hermione frowned. "Did I tell him what?"

"Did you tell Bennet that I asked you - practically begged you - not to marry him?"

She looked confused for a moment, before her face took on an expression of understanding. "That's why you're so mad?"

Harry dropped his gaze, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"Oh, Harry," she said, leaning forward. "Of course I didn't tell him," she assured him. "You asked me not to, remember?"

"I remember," he said stiffly.

Hermione stood up, moved to close his office door - despite the late hour - and then walked around his desk. For a moment, they both panicked over what she might try to do, so it was a bit of a surprise when she turned his desk chair to face her and went down on her haunches in front of him. She placed a finger under his chin and forced him to look at her.

"It could have been Legilimency, I wouldn't know," she said seriously, calmly. "I know that I've given you endless reasons to doubt me, but I promise you that I never told him anything that we discussed," she said slowly, realising that this was something he needed to hear her say. He needed to see the truth in her eyes.

Harry wasn't sure what it was, but it felt like a fist that had been squeezing his heart finally let go, and his shoulders sagged in relief. He didn't know why he cared so much, but he did. He wanted to be able to trust her, and know that what they shared would remain theirs; would remain sacred.

Hermione watched the tension leave his body, and she made a mental note to question him on why this bothered him so much another time. Because, for the first time since the wedding-that-wasn't; Hermione believed that there would be another time. She was just so relieved.

"Although I wouldn't call what we had discussions," Hermione said, trying to ease the tension further.

He just managed a slight smile, which barely reached his eyes.

"We're going to be okay, Harry," she said gently, dropping her hand and resting it on his forearm.

"How can you be so sure?" he asked quietly.

"Because you found a way to forgive me before, so you'll be able to do it again," she said simply.

He swallowed. "But can you forgive me?"

She blinked. "For what?"

"For everything," he said, looking into her eyes. "For Cho, for leaving, for not contacting you when I came back, for making it so difficult for you to be happy, for - " he sighed. "Can you?"

Hermione rose up and enclosed him in her arms, her face pressed into the crook of his neck. "I already have," she whispered, her breath tickling his skin.

"But how? Why?" he asked, needing to know.

"The same reason that you did," she said knowingly, pulling back so she could look at his face. "Because I love you, Harry."

He stared at her, clearly stunned by her confession.

She couldn't help but be a little amused by how bewildered he looked. "Because I love you and you love me too."

"And, just how do you know that?" he asked, recalling a somewhat similar conversation from the night of their Graduation Ball.

"It's just the way it's supposed to be, right from the moment we met."

He couldn't help his smile. He could tell that she meant every word. "Are you going to kiss me?" he asked, suddenly nervous.

Hermione leaned forward ever so slightly. They were close enough to touch and Harry's heart was beating a mile a minute. "Do you want me to?"

That was a loaded question.

"There's no rush, Harry," she offered quietly, moving away from him so she could breathe air that didn't smell like him. It was a futile attempt, she realised, because the entire office smelt like him. She placed her hands on his knees to use as leverage as she stood up, her own knees clicking.

"We should start you running again," Harry said, raising an eyebrow.

She let out a light chuckle as she made her back around the desk and resumed her seat. She was almost surprised by how embarrassed she suddenly felt. It felt like nothing, and yet so much had just been accomplished.

"I'm not ready," he finally concluded, nodding his head at the sound of his own words. "I don't think either of is."

Hermione was inclined to agree with him.

"The whole world is watching, Hermione," he said; "and, as horrible as it sounds - my own feelings aside - I don't want to give them what they want just yet."

Somehow, Hermione could understand that. He was right that they weren't ready. She wasn't lying when she said there was no rush. "But it is what you want?"

Harry grinned at her, feeling calmer than he had in quite some time. "Definitely."

.

Something tells me we could have had forever.

The words kept replaying in Harry's mind, even as he stood waiting for the boardroom to fill with his employees. From the looks on their faces, Harry suspected that they were about as comfortable with Bennet's presence as Harry was.

Bennet Potter was standing alone, right next to the main door, looking about ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble.

Something tells me we could have had forever.

He and Hermione could.

They had a better chance than Lily and Sirius did right now. At least Hermione was saved from the inevitable divorce.

Harry, admittedly, felt a little heartsore whenever he thought of his mother. They hadn't spoken since the trial and he learned from Sirius that Lily had no intention of reconciling with her second son; not when she blamed him for the downward spiral of her second marriage.

She might even blame him for the first as well.

Harry quickly got the meeting started. This was his third month back at work, and things had been running relatively smoothly since. This was the first time the entire senior company were all meeting to discuss what had happened, and now what would.

"Thank you all for coming," Harry said, his voice clear and commanding. "I won't keep you long, as I'm sure we all have work to get back to. Firstly, I'd like to thank you all for your patience, as well as your support through this truly testing time." Harry couldn't help glancing at his brother, who seemed to be inching closer to the door.

Harry continued. "While I was away, I was afforded the time to think about what this company means, and what this family means. I want this company to grow, but I want us to remain true to our own values, as well as the ones put in place by my father. With that said, I would like to take the opportunity to inform you all that Potter & Sons will be expanding."

There was a bit of murmuring that Harry allowed to taper off before he spoke again. "Potter & Sons is going to be opening an office in Bulgaria, which will be headed by our very own Bennet Potter." Harry waited for the protests, and was surprised by what looked like shocked silence. He even risked a smile because of it, and the look he exchanged with Hermione only made his smile widen.

"It wasn't a decision that I made easily," he said, feeling as if he had to explain. "It's no secret that I am not a fan of Bennet, but this is a family business and, despite his shortcomings, Bennet is family. He does good work. The Bulgarian branch will, undoubtedly, be smaller than this one. We have already acquired a location, and are beginning the process of hiring. I'm telling you this because, if you're interested in working with Bennet in Bulgaria, then you will be given preference to new hires. I'll need to know of your decision by the end of next week."

Harry's gaze, once again, drifted towards Hermione, who was sitting in her usual seat. She was watching him intently, as if she knew something that he didn't, which was entirely possible.

"In the meantime, the plans for the branch of Potter & Sons are well underway, and I am also happy to say that we are doing much better than expected." Harry flashed a grin and someone fell into a small coughing fit in the back of the boardroom.

Harry was calling it the Boy-Who-Lived-Effect, and the only way he was getting through all the sudden publicity and attention was to laugh at it.

"We can only go up from here," Harry said, his tone heavy and light at the same time. "Let's get back to work."

Harry had to answer a few questions once he ended the meeting. Slowly, people filtered out of the boardroom, until it was only Harry, Remus and Bennet left.

"It went surprisingly better than I thought it would," Remus commented, looking between the two brothers. "I was expecting mutiny."

"Maybe they're scared of me," Harry suggested, sounding amused. He did kill tens of Death Eaters when he was fourteen years old.

Remus just rolled his eyes. "I better get back to work," he said. "Bennet."

Bennet nodded once. "Remus."

Harry shifted awkwardly, before he looked at Bennet. "Come on; I'll walk you out."

Bennet looked somewhat relieved to be out of Remus' presence. The werewolf just couldn't forgive Bennet's actions towards Harry, or towards James Potter's company, and it translated into ever word he said and every move he made.

"I don't think he likes me all that much," Bennet commented as they made their way towards the elevators.

"I think you'll find there's a long line of people who don't like you all that much right now," Harry said, unable to resist.

Bennet nodded thoughtfully. "I deserved that."

Harry didn't entertain the thought that his brother was sorry about what had happened for even a second, but there was definitely something melancholy about this moment; something oddly genuine.

The two brothers had spent most of the morning finalising the plans for Bulgaria and, once Bennet left; Harry wasn't certain he'd actually want to see Bennet Potter ever again.

Sure, they would be forced to talk because of work, but there was nothing personal there. They were brothers who'd never actually had any form of relationship. At least, not since before Hogwarts. It was Voldemort's fault; maybe even their parents and Dumbledore for putting so much stock in the fable of the Boy-Who-Lived. But it was all over now.

At least, Harry hoped.

"You're a good man, Harry," Bennet suddenly said. "Definitely a better man than I."

Harry bit back a retort, silently willing the elevator to arrive quicker.

Bennet put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "You take care of yourself, okay," he said, looking at Harry's face. It was the last thing he would say, and they both knew it.

Harry watched him go. The elevator doors sliding shut was surprisingly therapeutic in that it signified an end for Harry. Somehow, the other Potter reached some kind of closure; some form of peace that had nothing to do with his brother.

It was to do with Harry Potter, himself.

Cho was gone. Bennet was gone. And now, it truly was just Harry; and Hermione. If he really allowed himself to think about it; he would have to accept that it was probably what they both wanted.

Harry couldn't deny that he wanted Hermione.

Desperately.

But was he ready for it now? Were they?

Harry wasted little more time thinking about it as he turned away from the elevator doors and went straight to Hermione's office. He was surprised to find her door open and he stood in the doorway for quite some time, just watching her work.

Merlin, she was perfect.

And she could be his, and he could be hers.

Hermione startled when she finally noticed him, her hand clutching at her chest as her heartbeat spiked. "Hey you," she eventually said, offering him a genuine smile.

For some reason, Harry couldn't stop himself from returning her smile as he stepped into her office and closed the door behind him.

She looked a little surprised by his actions. The last few months had been awkward at best, and this was the first time he'd looked remotely Harry-like in all that time. They still talked in passing, sometimes over coffee, and they'd even shared lunch meetings before, but there was still that bit of hesitancy in him.

But now, it looked like it was gone.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, cautiously, which only made him smile that bit wider. "Harry?"

"I love you," he just sort of said. "And you love me too."

Hermione didn't dare breathe, in case this all turned out to be some sick joke.

"I always thought our version of events would be different," he said quietly. "This isn't the way it was supposed to be, Hermione. We are supposed to be together. I know that now." Harry moved around her desk to stand next to her.

Hermione turned in her desk chair to face him, her heart thumping in her chest.

"We didn't have a lot of time together the last time," he said seriously; "but I want to see how far this can go. Something tells me that we can have forever."

She swallowed thickly. "Is this your way of telling me that you're ready now?"

Harry waited a beat before he nodded. He suddenly didn't trust himself to speak.

Slowly, a happy smile crept across Hermione's face. Then she raised an eyebrow, almost daring him to do something, or say something more.

Harry didn't utter another word, but he did bend down to kiss her, his heart rate suddenly rising. The action surprised her for a moment, but she eventually kissed him back, her hands moving to touch the skin of his face. Her lips felt different and yet the same, but all he was thinking about was Hermione Granger, and nobody else.

Hermione even entertained the idea that she was dreaming, but then his tongue was in her mouth and she was tasting him, and it was everything.

This.

He was everything.

When Harry finally left her office, he was sporting a stupid smile, and there was an undeniable bounce in his step that didn't go unnoticed by several of his employees. On his way into his own office, Harry stopped at Mia's desk, his smile contagious and somewhat flirtatious.

"Hey, Mia," he said, getting her attention; "do you remember that office pool you once never told me about?"

Mia frowned, thinking back. Then her eyes widened. "Umm, are you referring to the ongoing bet on how long it would be before you and Hermione ended up doing it in the office?" she asked in a rushed whisper. "That one I never told you about?"

He nodded, leaning forward conspiratorially. "That exact one."

Mia beamed at him. "What about it?"

"Well," he sounded, allowing his happiness to filter into his tone of voice. "I suppose I'd like to place a bet."

Mia waited a beat, and then she squealed. "Oh my Merlin!" she exclaimed, practically bouncing in her chair. "Harry Potter! You have to tell me everything. Now!"

Harry chuckled as he stood up straight. "And why would I do that?"

"Because you love me, and wouldn't dare leave me out of the loop," she countered playfully.

Harry eyed her for a moment, before his features softened. "I'll think about it," he eventually said. "And I guess I'll talk to Hermione about it," he added, looking bewildered that that was now a thing he could do - or had to do, depending on how you looked at it; "maybe we'll sit you and Teddy down and - "

"And what?" she rushed.

He smiled at her, his eyes shining brightly. "I don't know," he said happily. Wow, he was happy. "I guess we'd sit you down and do what we always do."

"And what's that?"

He flashed one last smile as he started on his way to his office. "Well, we'd tell you our version of events."

Fin