Harry Potter does not belong to me.

Peaceful moments were so hard to come by when you were on the run, constantly worried about being discovered. She remembered nights spent alone outside the tent, sitting by the fire, hoping nothing would pose a threat and that they'd get through another day. That was as close to peaceful as she ever got. Even that was tainted.

But now that was all over. There was no more running. No more hiding. No more sleepless nights spent in her cot, staring up at the ceiling of the tent, wondering. Wondering if her parents were alright and happy in their new life. If the Weasleys were doing as well as could be expected in a war-riddled world. If Ron was safe and if he would ever come back to her.

The thought of Ron always brought tears to her eyes. The things he had said right before leaving them hurt the most. But in the back of her mind, Hermione knew that he was not to blame for what happened that night. He was just as scared as she was or even Harry. He had a family to worry about. And that damn horcrux seemed to affect him the most.

She knew what Ron had been thinking, that she loved Harry instead of him. She would never forget the hurt look on his face before leaving the tent that night. She needed to make sure that she never saw that look on his face ever again. But with everything that had just happened, with all the people they had just lost, she knew that it was easier said than done. She was willing to try her hardest though.

She walked the halls of a broken Hogwarts School looking for that one head of red hair that would make all her worries disappear. While walking, she came across many people, some sitting, some talking. Others crying and mourning. There was something else in their eyes though. Something that gave Hermione hope that one day, all would be right. There was a look of relief. She wondered if she would find that same look in the blue eyes of the boy she had kissed just hours ago.

After searching for what felt like hours, she decided to try the Hogwarts grounds. Her breath caught when she saw him sitting on the edge of the lake, his eyes straight ahead, throwing rocks into the water and watching it ripple. She sat down next to him but he didn't look up. He just continued to stare.

Hermione started to panic. What if he didn't want her? What if he changed his mind? What if he kissed her because they were in the middle of a war where anything could happen and he just wanted to do something before something did happen? She didn't know what to say. And so she said the first thing that came to mind.

"Can we make this work? I mean, can we really make this work? It just seems like every time we're making progress something comes and messes it up. And I know we've all just been through something traumatic. And I know that Fred just died and that you and your family have a lot of healing to do. But I'd like to believe that through all this mess we can make things work because I –"

"Hermione" he said it so softly, almost as if he didn't want her to hear it. "Let's just sit for a while okay?"

She looked at him then, studied him for the first time in months. His hair was unruly, sticking in every direction as if he'd just rolled out of bed. His hands we covered in mud, his clothes were torn, and on his nose, just like when she had first met him what felt like decades ago, was a large streak of dirt. It was the same boy she remembered and the same one that she'd loved for so long.

It could all wait.

She grabbed his hand and entwined their fingers, looking out at the sunset. "Yeah, let's sit".

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