“Hermione, I need your help.” Harry was deep in thought. “You figured it out so much earlier than me. You’re both smarter and more perceptive than me. Please, advise me. I don’t want to mess this up. I want to put it right. What am I not seeing? Tell me what to do”.

She finished her apple. “How do you feel about her? Be honest.”

“I always used to call her ‘the scary girl’ internally. That’s weird, because I find probably four people scary in the whole world. Voldemort. Snape. Bellatrix Lestrange. I can’t think who the fourth one might be. They are all the most dangerous monsters in the world.“

“I found her genuinely scary. I was thinking why, because it made no sense. She never harmed me. She never threatened me. She was always kind to me. I had the deepest conversations in my life with her and Dumbledore. She’s the most beautiful girl I ever saw, she’s more beautiful than anything I could possibly imagine. Her mind is crystal clear, powerful and pure. Her heart feels like the most amazing place in the world. What I actually think is that I’m scared of how important she is to me, and because the way she’s important is in contrast with the points of contention we had between us, that were too important to dismiss”, he mused.

“What were the points of contention, and are they still so now?” She looked straight into his eyes.

“Well, obviously, she’s a child of Death Eaters who worship Voldemort and she kept justifying both Voldemort and her parents, which I found terrifying. In hindsight, I was terrified of falling for her the way I should, while she has those attitudes and opinions”, he nodded, satisfied with his conclusion. “I don’t think she believes in any of the evil stuff any more. I think she’s just trying to survive and save her parents’ lives”.

“Harry, I need to know one thing. How serious are you with her? I’m asking you this because she’s a serious person. Don’t play with her heart. She’s not a school girlfriend. She’s the kind you say ‘yes’ to at the altar, and you mean it forever”, Hermione looked at him seriously.

“Hermione, she and I used to talk about what eye colour our children will have. I remembered it just before. I don’t know how or why I repressed it. I don’t know if she can forgive me for hurting her so much and abandoning her for two years. My behaviour towards her was horrible and I’m absolutely ashamed of myself”, Harry shivered slightly and rubbed his forehead.

“That’s the easy part. What I want to know is, do you want to ask her to marry you? Are you really, really serious? I have to repeat this – she’s a serious person. She chose you extremely long ago. She never wavered. You’re the one who broke you up. She’s not the kind of a person you can ever play with if you don’t mean it, and by ‘mean it’, it truly is what eye colour your children will have, and where you will live when you’re both old and grey. You need to treat her with the utmost respect and seriousness, because from what you told me, she’s in a desperate situation. You will either dedicate your life to dealing with this, or we shouldn’t even be having this conversation”, she emphasised her point.

Harry thought about it for a moment. “I was always serious. That’s why I found her terrifying. I was scared of either falling for her while she’s with the Death Eaters, or messing this up, because both options look terrifying. Yes, I want her as my wife. Forever. I want to bind my fate to hers. Whether we die together or have children and grandchildren, I don’t particularly care. How do I make this right after I messed it up so thoroughly?”

“Go to her as soon as you can, preferably at the funeral tomorrow, and confess. Tell her that you love her and that you want her. Ask if she will have you. Tell her the greatest truth you feel, directly. There should be no games, no nonsense or ambiguities of any kind. If I’m correct, the only thing she ever wanted to hear is that you love her, that you want her, and that you’re as committed to her as she is to you. Harry, you’re a very direct, loyal and committed person, but I’m afraid she is even more so. You can’t even imagine how serious she is. I saw her only in passing. She used to insult me with the stupid Death Eater nonsense. I will tell you, nothing ever hurt me as much as her insults, because of how seriously she meant them, and how much it hurt to be hated by such a great person. They no longer hurt because I think she changed her mind, but I would never, ever want to have that woman as an enemy. I would be thrilled to have her as a friend. She is incredibly focused, virtuous, moral, pure of heart and loyal. In that, she looks like your exact counterpart. I understand why you had reservations – when she’s wrong, it’s a terrible thing. She can do horrible evil when her will power combines with ignorance. But I suspect that to be loved by her would feel incredibly wonderful, the way it’s wonderful to be loved by you”, she finished with a smile.

“I do love you, you know”, Harry hugged her. “Thank you. You found me a way.”

“Say a good word for me when you get to truly talk to her, ok?”, Hermione smiled widely. “I never want to be on bad terms with that woman. She’s too wonderful not to have as a friend, and I wouldn’t want to miss it”.

…

“Hermione Granger” – a familiar voice sounded and Hermione froze in anticipation and uncertainty. “You killed Fenrir Greyback in battle. I swore vengeance against that vermin, but you did my work for me, and for this, I am in your debt. I am, however, already deeply in your debt for many years, for petty, pointless and untrue insults I directed at the good, pure woman who never did me any harm or wronged me in any way. Please, accept my deepest apologies”, Lyra bowed deeply before Hermione, whose lip started trembling and her eyes swam in tears. “And if you can find a way in your beautiful heart to forgive me, it would be my honour if you could consider me a friend”, she smiled shyly.

Hermione didn’t trust her voice and just embraced her. “Thank you, Lyra”, she whispered.

“No; thank you, Hermione, for being so patient with my terrible nonsense while I was learning. I cannot tell you how ashamed I was of the way I treated you while I was surrounded by that horrid vermin in my ancestral home, when I saw the ultimate end products of that ideology, and how terribly I wronged you. I yearned to apologise to you for years, but I had no opportunity to do so. But now, will you accept a gift from a friend?”, Lyra begged, and Hermione nodded.

Lyra waved her wand and two packages appeared. “This is a very ancient, rare tome from the Malfoy family library. I hear there are only three copies in existence, and this is one of them. I heard that you appreciate old books”, she winked. “The second gift is a box of very fine chocolates. We might share those over a cup of tea, if you will have me”, she smiled angelically. “And if you could be my maid of honour at our wedding, it would be my greatest honour and privilege”, she concluded mischievously.

Hermione just hugged her again and cried for real.