A/N: I do not own any character references by JK Rowling in the Harry Potter series or agree with her comments. This story is a product of my pure imagination. I do not profit from this and will not pay for any commissions for art about this story.
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this.
I thought I had you figured out.
Something's gone terribly wrong.
You're all I wanted,
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this.
I thought I had you figured out.
Can't breathe whenever you're gone,
Can't turn back now, I'm haunted.
I know
I know
I just know
You're not gone, you can't be gone, no
~ Haunted by Taylor Swift
~*~ 15th June 2002 ~*~
The park around her was filled with groups of friends and families, sitting on picnic blankets and in chairs on the large grassy lawn. On the stage, a cover band sang a well-known boy band song she had heard on the radio, and the crowd erupted in cheers.
Hermione sat on a large plaid blanket, eating a slice of melon from the fruit bowl that Fleur had brought. The evening air was warm, and the smell of carnival fare filled it, and for once she felt relaxed.
Ginny lay back on the blanket next to her, singing along to the lyrics. Angelina had her shoes off, digging her toes into the grass as Luna braided Fleur's hair.
Fleur glanced at Hermione. "Did you enroll Rosie in school?"
Hermione nodded as she took a sip of her wine, "She starts in September. I'm not ready, but she is. She's memorizing the books we read and is 'reading' them to her animals and me." She sighed, "I just want to keep her little."
Angelina grinned, "That's every mum ever, but come on, she is a mini-you. She will be fine."
Ginny snorted, "Probably teaching the class by October."
Hermione shook her head, "That's what I'm afraid of."
The band started playing a new song, and Luna stood up, swaying to the music with her arms over her head. Fleur laughed and stood up, pulling Angelina up with her.
"Come on, Hermione," Ginny said, tugging at her hand.
Hermione shook her head, "No, I'll look ridiculous."
Reluctantly, as the other girls insisted, Hermione let Ginny pull her up to stand. Laughing with the girls, she let the music take her away.
After the set finished, they collapsed onto the blanket, and Hermione stared up at the stars appearing in the sky. "She's growing up, and I'm not sure if I can let her."
Luna smiled, "The wonderful thing about children is that you just follow and guide, and they usually turn out pretty good, and you've been raising a pretty good one."
~*~ 14th July 2002 ~*~
Staring at the treacle tart in front of her, Hermione's heart panged. Especially when Rosella destroyed her portion, the sticky treat was all over her face. Pushing her chair back, Hermione excused herself to get a drink of water at the sink and some space as the family chattered around the table.
Fleur cleared her throat as she looked at Bill, who smiled at her, kissing her temple. "Bill and I would like to announce something," Fleur said, "We are expecting again."
Hermione smiled as Molly squealed as she rushed to hug Bill, and Arthur hugged Fleur. George grinned as he teased Bill about needing to add on to Shell Cottage.
Glancing at Rosella, she smiled as she saw Rosella hugging Victoire as they celebrated together. Biting her lip, she wished there were a chance of giving her a sibling in the future. Walking over to her, Hermione ran her hand over Rosella's curls. "It's time to go, sweetheart."
Rosella pouted at her, "Already?"
Hermione grabbed Rosella's little bag of toys and books, and Ron stood up as they gave hugs, then made their way to the floo.
"Where are you guys going again?" Ron asked.
Hermione smiled, "Just to the seaside with Mum and Dad. Since they've come back, they have just been getting their lives back together, and we haven't had time to spend together. A bit of fresh air will do all of us good."
"Well, enjoy yourself," Ron said as he picked Rosella up and hugged her, "Be good for Mumma and listen to her."
Rosella wrapped her little arms around his neck, "I will, Uncle Ron."
Setting her down, Ron ruffled her hair, and Hermione smiled at him before taking Rosella's hand and stepping into the fireplace.
~*~ 17th July 2002 ~*~
The waves lapped gently at the shore as Hermione lay on a chair on a French beach, watching Rosella and her dad yards away as they scooped sand into buckets, trying to build neat towers. Rosella squealed, laughing as the surf touched their castle, and she tried to use her sandy hands to catch the castle before it fell.
Hermione's heart panged. Her little girl would soon be four years old. How had time gone so quickly?
Hearing noises behind her, she looked over to see her mother coming over and opening her own chair. Lowering herself onto it, she looked over at Hermione. "Why do you seem so sad, darling?"
Hermione looked back at Rosella. "Just realizing that she is turning four, and my baby is growing up too fast." She let out a shaky sigh, "Harry has missed so much of it."
Briar Rose sat up and reached over, touching her arm. "The boy I met briefly, the man that I met in Australia… I don't think he would, if he knew. I swear, Hermione, I swear he thought that Rose belonged to Ron."
Hermione shook her head, "Mum, I write to him all the time. I make copies of each one, and I can show them to you." She swallowed the lump in her throat, "Yes, at first I didn't say anything about her. I couldn't bear to do it in a letter. But now he knows everything, he's known everything for a long time."
She swallowed hard, her eyes stinging as she watched Rosella run at the waves for more wet sand. "I… I don't understand it, and it sucks. My heart still loves him, Mum. My brain tells me to move on, that I need to let go, but I can't."
Briar Rose squeezed her arm, "You're still young, Hermione. You've always cared with your whole self. That's why it hurts so much."
Hermione wiped her eyes quickly as she watched her dad pick Rosella up as the water crashed against her legs. "She deserves to know him, Mum. To know where she came from and he deserves to know her too, if he'd only…if he'd only just come home."
~*~ 1st August 2002 ~*~
Hermione hummed as she flipped another pancake onto the growing stack of pancakes on the counter of her kitchen. Rosella was still asleep upstairs after finally drifting off around midnight.
The whoosh of green fire from her fireplace made her jump, and she turned, spatula in hand as her only means of protection, as Ron stepped through the floo.
"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked.
"Is she awake?" Ron asked.
Hermione shook her head, "She had trouble falling asleep last night because she was so excited. So no, not yet. I'm sure we'll know the moment she is, though."
Ron smiled as he moved to lean against the counter beside her. His eyes looked toward the staircase, then back to Hermione. "Merlin, Hermione. I can't believe she's four."
Hermione sighed as she put another pancake on the plate. "It's going by way too fast."
Ron reached over, took the pancake from the plate, and bit into it. "What's your plan for today?" he asked with his mouth full.
"I took the day off," Hermione told him, setting the stack of pancakes on the table. "I'm going to take her to where she can be a princess for the day," she grinned, "We're going to Disney Paris. Fleur's mum said we could floo through her house, and she's letting me borrow her car."
Ron blinked, surprised. "Disney, huh?" He looked back toward the stairs, then back to her. "Would you mind me coming?"
Hermione froze, her head halfway into the refrigerator, grabbing the maple syrup. "You want to come with us? To Disney?"
Ron shrugged, looking so much like his Hogwarts self that it made her heart hurt a bit. "I miss spending time with the two of you. For the longest time, it was just the three of us, remember?"
Hermione bit her lip, "If you buy your ticket, you can come. I can't afford three tickets."
"I can buy mine. I have Muggle cash," Ron said, grinning. He opened his mouth, but the sound of hurried feet running down the stairs cut him off. Smirking, he looked at her, "I think she's up."
Moments later, Rosella ran into the kitchen, her messy curls bouncing as her socked feet slid across the floor. "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!" she screamed as she spotted Ron. Her little eyes widened, "UNCLE RON, IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!"
"No way!" Ron said as she launched herself into his arms and he scooped her up, spinning her around before holding onto her tight. "Happy Birthday, my Rosie Posey," he said as he kissed her cheek. "Mind if I spend your birthday with you and your Mum?"
"Yes!" Rosella shouted, throwing her little arms around his neck. "Best birthday ever!"
Hermione smiled, "Well, Miss Princess, how about we make it even better? Would you want to go to Disney Land?"
Ron flinched as Rosella screamed into his ear, then practically jumped out of his arms to Hermione.
Hermione laughed as she barely held her wiggling, excited daughter, "I think you are happy about it. First, we have to eat breakfast. I even put sprinkles in them."
Rosella was practically vibrating with excitement from the very moment that they stepped through the gates of Disneyland Paris. Her tiara barely held by her curls, her pink princess dress swishing around her legs as she tugged Hermione and Ron down the path toward the castle.
"Mumma, Mumma, look at the castle! Look at the castle!" Rosella said excitedly.
"Honey, that's not the castle. That's the hotel that we have to walk past to get to the castle," Hermione grinned as they hurried past the fountains and gardens. Beneath the hotel were the gates leading inside. After a very anxious and excited Rosella waited impatiently in the queue, they were finally inside the park.
"Where's the castle?" Rosella asked impatiently.
"Soon, honey. We have to go beyond the town square," Hermione stated as they continued to walk, and suddenly Rosella froze just beyond the gazebo.
"Mumma… Mumma, is that the castle?" she asked wide-eyed, looking at the end of Main Street.
Hermione smiled, "That is the castle."
"LET'S GO!" Rosella yelled excitedly.
Ron laughed, looking over at Hermione, "Well, come on now. Let's go!"
By the time they made it to the castle, Rosella was nearly running and froze once, stepping inside. "It's real. It's real, Mumma, castles are real."
Hermione couldn't help but laugh, "Yes, sweetheart. It's real."
Ron snorted, "Wait until you go to Hogwarts, Rosie Posey. This is nothing on Hogwarts."
Rosella gasped, "Can I go tomorrow?"
"Now, you aren't old enough, Princess Rosella, until then," Ron said as he knelt before her. "This will have to be your castle."
Rosella nodded, her tiara nearly falling off her head. "Yes! I'm Princess Rosella, and you are my knight in shinin' armors, Uncle Ron."
Ron grinned as he stood up, saluting her, "Where to, Princess?"
Rosella took his hand and ran off, dragging him behind her, "Let's go!"
Hermione smiled, watching them as she took her camera out and snapped a picture of the two of them.
The rest of the day was a whirlwind of rides, a parade, and far too many sweets for Hermione's liking. Rosella was pulled up in a musical show with Ariel and nearly fainted as she called her, "Your highness, the birthday girl," thanks to the little badge on her dress. Hermione's face was sore from the smile that hadn't left her face, but not as sore as her feet were.
To end the evening, she, Ron, and Rosella had boarded the steam train at the Main Street Station for a tour of the park. After a short five minutes, Rosella, her tiara lopsided as she lay against Ron, her dress covered in spots of melted chocolate ice cream, started to droop while they waited for passengers to board at the Frontierland Depot. By the time they had entered the dark tunnel showing behind the scenes of one of the rides, when they exited back into daylight, Rosella's eyes were closed, and Ron had his arm around her as she melted into his side.
Ron grinned, "Guess it was too much fun."
Hermione laughed, "She usually takes a short nap still, and she partied right through it. I figured we'd at least get to the car before she crashed."
Ron brushed back curls from her face, "I think she had fun at least."
Hermione leaned her head against the side of the car, "I'm exhausted at how much fun she had."
Until the end of the ride, neither spoke. Effortlessly, Ron picked her up as it was time to exit, and Rosella barely stirred as she lay her head on Ron's shoulder. They made it back to the car, and Ron gently set Rosella in her car seat so that Hermione could fasten her in.
Ron broke the silence as she shut the door. "You're doing brilliant with her, you know."
Hermione looked up at him, "You think so?"
Ron nodded, "She is happy, smart as you were, I'd imagine. She's you, Hermione. It's all you."
Her throat tightened. "Thanks, Ron."
Ron let out a breath as he looked up at the sun that was getting lower in the sky. "I could get used to days like this: you, me, Rosie. Almost makes me wonder what it would have been like if…" he trailed off.
Hermione took his hand, "Ron, you have Luna, and let's be honest. We would have killed each other. There is no what if. We wouldn't have worked."
Ron nodded, "I'm not saying that I want to date you. That ship has set sail and… I think, I might love Luna. Could you imagine what our sprogs would be like?"
Hermione smiled, "You two are great together."
~*~ 2nd August 2002 ~*~
Dinner had been eaten, and presents had been unwrapped, and Rosella was twirling around in her new dress from Bill and Fleur, wearing her birthday tiara made for her by Luna, along with her usual one. She and Victoire ran around the orchard together as Ron, Charlie, and Bill flew around the orchard.
Fred and George stepped outside, arriving late. George carried a package nearly as tall as Rosella.
"Rosie! Come here!" Fred yelled.
Rosella skipped over to them, "Like my dress, Uncle Fred?"
"Love it, but I think you'll like this even better," Fred said as George handed her the box.
Rosella tore at the paper, her eyes widening as she pulled out a small broomstick, a junior model just the size for her. "A broom!" she gasped, "Uncle Fred, Uncle George! I have my own broom like Aunt Ginny!"
George knelt next to her, "It won't go more than a meter off the ground, but it will get you used to flying."
Hermione looked at them in shock. Marching over to them, she grabbed each twin firmly by the ear. "Fred, George," she said, pulling them toward the house, ignoring their protests. "There is no way in hell that I am letting my four-year-old fly on a broomstick. Limited or not. Do you hear me?"
"Oww," Fred hissed
"It's a meter, you crazy woman!" George yelled, "It's like stepping on a chair!"
"I don't care if it's one centimeter or one meter," Hermione snapped. "She's FOUR. Absolutely not!"
Walking back outside past the kitchen, there was a collection of gifts: an art set from Ron and Luna, dresses from Fleur and Bill, and books from Ginny and Charlie that Rosella had already begun reading to Victoire. The two cakes had been sliced and still lay on the table: one shaped like a pink-and-purple castle, the other like a quaffle for Ginny, who was celebrating her birthday while participating in the World Cup with the Harpies. Hermione came through the door to see Ginny standing, watching everything with her broom in her hand.
Ginny glanced back at her, "Mind if I take her up? Nothing fancy, just a little float around."
Hermione bit her lip. "I just… I don't feel comfortable with her being up in the air."
Ginny sighed. "If Harry were here, would you let him take her?"
Hermione froze.
Ginny shook her head. "Hermione, you can't wait around for him. I miss him too, but I don't think he's coming back."
Hermione swallowed hard. "He is going to come home. I know that he is."
"When was the last time you heard from him?" Ginny pressed.
Her question was like a punch in her chest. "He… he doesn't write much until he moves to the next place. He… he sent Rosella that snowglobe though."
Ginny looked up at her brothers as they flew around. "Look… I thought I was in love with him for years. But now that I've found true love with Neville, I realize it was infatuation. I was looking for a fairy tale." She turned to Hermione, "I don't want you to waste your life on someone who left you, left Rosie… and never came back. Especially when he knows about her. Because Hermione…" Ginny's gaze dropped, "I don't think the Harry that came back out of the forest is the one we know… or knew, anymore."
Hermione's throat tightened as Ginny walked out into the orchard and wrapped her arms around herself.
"I think it's time to pack it up for a bit," Bill stated as he came down to the ground.
As Ron's feet hit the ground, Rosella laughed as she ran over to Ron, "Horsey, Uncle Ron! Horsey!"
Ron laughed as he picked her up and placed her on his shoulders. Hermione smiled as she headed inside to help Molly, as Ron ran around the back garden with her.
"Everything alright?" Molly asked as Hermione put the lid on Rosella's cake.
Hermione shook her head. "It's just harder as she gets older. You'd think I'd be used to him not being here anymore, but… it doesn't get any easier."
Molly gave her a sympathetic smile. "I miss him, I wonder about him a lot. I just…" Molly trailed off as everyone started coming in the back door, laughing.
Hermione turned away, brushing her tears away, then froze as she heard a thump followed by a scream.
"Ron, you idiot!" Ginny yelled.
Hermione rushed over to find Ron kneeling over Rosella, who was lying on the ground, completely still. "What the hell happened?" she asked, dropping to her knees.
"She was on my shoulders, and I didn't even think about the door frame. She hit her head on the side of the house, then let go of me and fell backward. I'm so sorry!" Ron said as Molly ran out with a towel.
"Move!" Molly said as she put a towel over Rosella's head to stop some of the bleeding and looked over her head injury. Looking at Hermione, "Hermione, take her to St. Mungo's, just to be safe."
Ron gathered her up in his arms and popped away with her. Hermione quickly disapparated after him.
"Help! Someone help!" Ron yelled as Hermione arrived at the front entrance of St. Mungo's.
A healer ran over. "What happened?"
"She hit her head, and she won't wake up," Ron said, "Please, please help her!"
The healer turned to a medi-witch, "Page the children's department." He said as he conjured a stretcher, "I'll take her."
Hermione swallowed hard as Rosella, now lying limp on the stretcher, was whisked away by the healer. Her curls were matted with blood. Her tiara fell to the ground when Ron transferred her to the stretcher, now tinged in blood. Hermione's stomach twisted so violently, she thought she was going to be sick.
Ron was pale beside her, his hands trembling, covered in Rosella's blood as the medi-witch looked at them. "We'll scan her immediately. You'll have to wait out here while we examine her. Someone will get you as soon as she is transferred to the children's department."
"Wait, I can't be with her?" Hermione asked frantically, "She's only four years old!"
"Ma'am, just let us do our jobs," the medi-witch said as she, too, went through the double doors.
Hermione collapsed into the chair behind her in disbelief. Ron sat beside her.
"I'm so sorry," Ron whispered, holding her blood-covered tiara in his hands, "I didn't… I didn't think. I should've known."
"Don't," Hermione said as she shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "Don't say… anything. Just… don't."
They sat in silence, for what seemed like an eternity, until Ron stood up, "I… I have to go wash up… I can't…"
"Go," Hermione told him.
Every second dragged out like a lifetime. Every time the doors opened, her heart somehow raced faster.
Finally, as Ron started walking back over to her, the doors opened again, and for a moment, Hermione thought she saw Harry's twin as a healer in pale green robes stepped out. "Miss Granger?"
Hermione shot to her feet. "How is she? Please… please tell me that she's alright."
The healer nodded, smiling at her. "Your daughter has a concussion, a nasty contusion on her forehead and the back of her head, thankfully, no fractures or internal bleeding. We have our best healers working on her. She is stable now, but she will wake up soon."
Ron caught her as her knees nearly gave out. Pressing her hand to her mouth, she sobbed.
"You'll be able to go back to her in a few minutes. Someone will come back out to get you when we transfer her upstairs. We will keep her for at least a day for observation," The healer told them.
"Thank you," Hermione said as Ron pulled her to his chest.
Ron rubbed her back, "I'm so sorry."
Hermione looked up at him, "Accidents happen. You didn't mean to hurt her. I was just so scared."
Ron laid his chin on her head, "Fucking hell, I never want to be that scared again."
/\/ <3 /\/ <3 /\/
Looking out the windows down below, Harry felt as if he were looking down onto another world. He had traveled most of the world, first the European continent, then Africa, and then Asia, before moving to Australia and then to America. Where he had been when the head healer of St. Mungo's, Nathan Scott, had reached out to him through the Institute, asking if he could come back home for a tour and an interview after their mind-healing discovery. Harry had told him no at the time. He had signed a contract with Healers Without Borders and wanted to honour that contract. But Nathan had been persistent, and he asked him to come before he moved to the Texas border. Just a visit, no pressure. If he were willing, they would wait for him.
"Harry? Sorry, I'm all yours again."
Harry turned around to see Nathan standing behind him. "Sorry, I was lost in thought."
"Come with me, I'll show you our emergency department," Nathan said, leading him toward the lift. "It's been how long since you've been gone?"
Harry inhaled, "I left after the battle. Kingsley helped me make connections with Scandinavia and France first, and afterward, the Ministry developed a travel plan with other Ministries. I've been making connections of my own with the major wizarding districts."
The lift doors opened as medi-witches buzzed around them in the Emergency Department. "So, when are you heading back here?" Nathan asked.
"I plan to come back next summer after my Healers Without Borders contract is up. I need some time, though, to get things in order," Harry said as he stopped and looked at Nathan, "If you'll have me, I'd love to start working here in September of next year."
A medi-witch ran down the hall to them. "Healer Scott! We have a four-year-old with a possible concussion, contusions to her head, with blood loss coming into room three."
"Thank you, Maria," Nathan said as he hurried to a room where a small stretcher was being brought in, and Harry followed behind to see the process.
"Name?" Nathan asked, coming to stand next to the little girl.
"Rose Granger," the Healer stated.
Harry's heart dropped as he stepped further into the room to see dark red hair, matted with blood, that was still pouring from her forehead. Her skin was pale… but that nose. It was Hermione's nose.
Nathan stepped in front of his view as he took out a flashlight, "Pupils are equal and reactive."
"Can I?" Harry found himself saying.
Nathan looked at Rose, then back to Harry. "I know your history. Are you sure?"
Harry nodded as he rolled his sleeves up and held his hands up for the medi-witch to do a sanitation spell, then looked out his wand. "Not that I want to do a trial on her, I've learned some things that could help shorten her recovery time and her scar."
Nathan stepped away. "Teach me."
Harry stepped over and looked at her tiny body. Taking a breath, he cast a monitoring spell as he started sealing the cut on her forehead with a method he'd learned in Africa that sewed up each layer of skin with Nathan watching his entire process.
The back of her head was bruised more than cut, so a quick spell he had learned in China had the healing of the bruising started. Searching the monitoring charm for a brain bleed and not finding one, he cast a charm that he learned in Australia that slowly cut down the swelling in the membranes to lessen the chance of damage or headaches.
Running his thumb over the jagged cut on her head, her little eyelids fluttered in response, and he smiled as she reminded him of Hermione fighting sleep back in their third year.
Harry stepped back and looked at Nathan, "She should be fine."
Nathan smiled as he looked at her monitoring charm. "You'll be a great addition to our team, Potter."
"Thanks," Harry said as he stepped out of the way for Nathan and the other healer to examine her further, and her eyes fluttered open. Her head rolled in his direction, and she smiled a smile that was so Hermione, making his chest hurt. "Daddy"
The healer who had brought her into the room cleaned his hands and then stepped out of the room as Harry stepped out to let him pass. "I'll tell Ms. Granger that her daughter is stable."
As he walked through the double doors, he saw Hermione for a moment. Just as gorgeous as she had been when he left. Then his heart fell as Ron, covered with his daughter's blood on his shirt, came over as the doors shut.
Harry glanced back at the little girl, her eyes shut again, and his chest constricted so tightly he thought I might collapse. The smile that had been tilted just like Hermione's was now just faint against her small lips.
"Remarkable work. Her vitals are steady, and swelling is already decreasing. You've saved her at least a three-day stay, Potter." Nathan said.
Harry barely heard him as his eyes darted from her dark red hair, down the familiar slope of her nose. The same one that he'd traced his fingers and eyes over the course of the two months they had together, in the memories that still haunted his nights. Down to the chin, that was different from Hermione's, proving that outside of the red hair, she wasn't exactly Hermione's twin. But he couldn't place whose chin it was. Maybe Molly's.
"Potter, if you'll come with me, we'll go over contractual terms," Nathan said, pulling his eyes away from Rose.
Harry followed him, running his hand through his hair. His heart was still pounding as he heard the little girl's voice echoing in his head.
Daddy.
Shoving the thought away with the pain, in her confusion, when she opened her eyes, she must have been looking for Ron.
They reached the end of the hall and waited for the lift. Beside him, Nathan took a stack of files from a medi-witch, who merely nodded at Harry, making Nathan shake his head. "The press couldn't leave you alone for the longest time," he said as another pair of medi-witches bustled past them, not sparing Harry even a glance. "Must be nice, I imagine, to have been out of touch long enough that you're practically unrecognizable."
Harry scoffed, forcing his hands into his pockets. "It helps when you also bought a controlling interest in the newspaper."
Nathan's eyebrows shot up as the lift finally came to a stop and they entered. Pressing the button for the top floor, he looked at Harry. "You did?"
Harry nodded once, a small smirk on his lips. "It was the only way to make sure my story and some others I was close to stopped being theirs."
The lift doors started shuddering shut, and out of the corner of his eye, Harry caught the double doors on the other end of the corridor opening.
Hermione stepped through. At a distance, he could see her, frazzled, eyes wide with panic, pale as they rolled her daughter's bed into the corridor.
The doors sealed shut in front of him, closing off his view. Pressing back against the lift wall, he closed his eyes.
"You'll like working here, Potter. We have good people. It will be a fresh start." Nathan said, looking through the files in his hands.
"Yeah, a fresh start," Harry mumbled.
"Miss Granger," A medi-witch said as she walked over to them, "You can head back. We are moving her right now, and she is starting to wake up."
Hermione jumped up, "Thank you!"
Pushing her way through the double doors, she came up next to her little bed as they moved it out into the hall. Rosella looked around sleepily, "Mumma."
Her curls had been cleaned, and a small bandage was all that was on her head, but she was pale and looked far too small in the bed as Hermione took her hand. "Mumma is here."
"Where's Daddy?" Rosella asked, "Where did he go?"
Hermione frowned as she looked at the healer, and Ron came up next to her.
"She may be a bit confused," The healer explained, wheeling her into the corridor down toward the lift.
Hermione leaned forward and kissed her forehead as they waited for the lift. "Oh, baby girl, you had me so scared."
"I'm okay, Mumma. Just sleepy," Rosella said, closing her eyes.
Hermione inhaled, resting her head against Rosella's and frowning when she smelled something familiar. The lift doors opened, and the healer pushed her into it. Hermione stepped inside, and as soon as the doors closed, the memory of her burying her face into Harry's neck overwhelmed her. Swallowing hard as she looked at Ron, she shook her head. There was no way it could have been him.
~*~ 2nd September 2002 ~*~
Hermione squinted as the sunlight fell upon her eyes as she drove to Rosella's first day of nursery school. She had been lucky to secure Rosella a spot at the Early Childhood Academy near her house, where Rosella could go to both Preschool and year one. Looking in the rearview, she saw Rosella rocking her little head to the music on the radio, her tiara slightly crooked as she hummed to herself.
"Mumma, are we there yet?" she asked, pulling her little bookbag covered in animals onto her lap.
Hermione pulled into the car park. "We're here, sweetheart." She parked the car and turned to look back at Rosella's little mirror so that she could see her face. "Ready to show everyone how awesome you are?"
"I'm a brave princess," Rosella said as her little feet tapped on the backseat of the car, and she grinned.
Once they were in the doorway, Rosella's courage faltered. Her little hands clutched onto Hermione's trousers as they were let inside by the Headmistress.
"Welcome to Spring Hill Academy," the Headmistress said with a kind smile. "This must be Rosella."
"This is Rosella, and I am Hermione," Hermione said, shaking the Headmistress's hand.
"Welcome, I am Mrs. James. I'll take you down to her classroom," Mrs. James stated.
Hermione placed a hand on Rosella's curls. "It's alright, sweetheart. Let's go meet your teacher."
They were led down a bright corridor, its walls covered in finger paintings and pictures of students, until they reached the upper nursery classroom. The door was open, its shelves covered in puzzles, dolls, and bins of blocks.
A young woman walked over to them, smiling. "Good morning! You must be Rosella. I'm Miss Bailey," she said, crouching down to Rosella's height. "Can I show you your cubby?"
Rosella hid her face in Hermione's leg, so Hermione gently guided her as she followed Miss Bailey.
"This is your cubby," she said, pointing to a wooden cubby with Rosella's name written on it.
A little girl with blonde pigtails walked over them, holding a little doll. "Hi! I'm Annie, do you want to play?"
Rosella looked up to Hermione, and Hermione smiled, "Go have fun, sweetheart."
Rosella bit her lip before slowly letting go of Hermione's trousers as she followed Annie over to the dollhouse. Hermione stood watching as Rosella started giggling.
"If you have any concerns, feel free to call us," Miss Bailey told Hermione.
Hermione nodded, her throat tight. "Thank you."
At the door, she glanced back one more time to see Rosella at the dollhouse, already talking Annie's ear off as if they'd always known each other.
Taking a shaky breath, she left the room, not looking back as she left the building, trying to hold back her tears.
In the quiet of her car, she started the engine but didn't drive away. Leaning her head back against the headrest, tears spilled before she could stop them.
Her baby is growing up, and there is nothing she can do to slow things down.
~*~ 7th September 2002 ~*~
Hermione dipped her brush into a pool of blue paint on her tray, then swept it across the canvas as she painted the background in the painting class the girls had dragged her to.
Luna was perched beside her, painting a background with a touch of purple. "So how was Rosella's first week of school?"
Hermione smiled. "She loved it. I took the day off and ate a whole container of ice cream, crying until I picked her up. She has already made a friend named Annie, a sweet little girl. Rose hasn't stopped talking about her all week."
"That's lovely," Luna said as she added a yellow splotch to her canvas. "It's always good to have friends."
Hermione smiled as she looked at her old friends who had stuck by her side. "That is for sure."
The group worked in silence, listening to the instructor, until it was time to let their backgrounds dry before moving on to the next step.
Angelina set her brush down and leaned back to look at Hermione. "Oh, I never got a chance to ask, did Harry contact you or see you last month?"
Hermione froze, her cup of tea just shy of her lips. "I haven't heard from Harry for a while. Why?"
Angelina hesitated, pulling her braids back into a scrunchie. "He was here. Like, here in London."
Hermione set her cup down quickly, the tea sloshing out onto the table as her heart sputtered. "What do you mean, he was here?"
Angelina groaned, "I shouldn't have said anything. We weren't supposed to. It was the day that Fred mentioned you had to rush Rosie to St. Mungo's. Harry was there that day. Our lead healer, Nathan Scott, has been trying to recruit him. Somehow, he finally talked him into coming."
Hermione stared blankly at the painting, remembering the man who looked so much like Harry, who had been in the Emergency Department. "Is he…" she swallowed, "Is he coming home?"
Angelina shook her head. "No. Nathan couldn't convince him. Harry is still bound to his contract with Healers Without Borders."
Hermione swallowed hard, her throat and heart aching as she bit her lip. "Why didn't he stop by? Why didn't he…" she trailed off.
"Does he even have your new address?" Angelina asked.
Hermione groaned as she pressed a hand to her forehead. "No, but he knows where the Burrow is. He could have gone there."
Luna reached over and touched Hermione's arm lightly. "Write to him. I think some misunderstandings are going on."
Hermione sat on her stool as the instructor started back up. Everything around her was becoming background noise. All Hermione could do was hear her thoughts on repeat in her head. If he was here… why didn't he want to see us?
Hermione gently closed Rosella's door, the melodies of the lullaby charm drifting in the air. Walking down to the kitchen, she sighed as she rolled her neck.
Inside the kitchen, Briar Rose uncorked a bottle of red wine and poured it into two glasses.
"Mum, I thought you were heading to bed," Hermione said, confused.
"Oh, I am," Briar Rose said, pushing the glass towards her. "But I thought you needed this. When you came in, you looked like something had gone on. You don't have to tell me what, but I figured you could use this."
Hermione bit her lip as she accepted the glass. "Thanks."
Briar Rose leaned over and kissed Hermione's forehead. "Goodnight, darling."
"Goodnight," Hermione muttered. She took a sip, closing her eyes as her mother disappeared upstairs.
The kitchen was quiet. The only sound came from the ticking of the clock as Hermione turned out the lights and carried her glass upstairs to her office.
The August budget report lay open on her desk, the columns of numbers blurring as she stared at them. With a huff, she set the parchment aside and tipped back her glass, finishing it.
Reaching for a clean sheet, she picked up her pen.
Harry,
I don't want to get Angelina in trouble, but she told me you were home. Why didn't you tell me? I would have loved to see you, and Rosella would have loved to see you, too. Why are you avoiding us?
It was Rosella's first week of nursery school, and we would have loved for you to be there. She is four years old now, Harry. Four years old and so smart. I wish you were here to see it.
Hermione stared at the ink as it dried, her heart hammering against her ribs. Tipping her glass back, trying to catch the last drops, she let out a sigh.
Folding the letter with trembling hands, she called for her owl, Cinnamon. The little owl fluffed its feathers before coming to sit on her desk.
"Take this to Harry," she stated, tying the parchment to its leg. Opening the window, it took off into the cool night, hoping it would easily make it to Texas.
Preview of Chapter 29 – What If I Never Get Over You?
His eyes drifted back to the floo entrance just as a new group stepped out. For a moment, the room seemed to shift, the crowd just nameless blurs, until one figure was clear as day as Ron walked away from her.
His breath caught, and his pulse thundered in his ears.
She was radiant in a silver dress that caught the twinkling light. Hermione. His Hermione. Well, at least in his mind. She wasn't smiling, her eyes sweeping the crowd, searching for someone. Then her eyes met his.
It was like a spell hit his chest all over again. The years between them, the unsent letters, the pain, the distance. It all was swept away in one look.
He opened his mouth, "Hermione," he whispered as if she could even hear him.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me that was there from the beginning," Melinda said as she reappeared at his side, sliding her hand into the crook of his arm as if staking claim on him.
Harry swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry as his eyes darted back to Hermione.
She was frozen, like a silver Venus de Milo turned into stone. Her face was pale and her eyes wide.
Harry's chest twisted, but only one word was in his head. Fuck.