\u201cHermione, I need your help.\u201d Harry was deep in thought. \u201cYou figured it out so much earlier than me. You\u2019re both smarter and more perceptive than me. Please, advise me. I don\u2019t want to mess this up. I want to put it right. What am I not seeing? Tell me what to do\u201d.<\/p>\n
She finished her apple. \u201cHow do you feel about her? Be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI always used to call her \u2018the scary girl\u2019 internally. That\u2019s weird, because I find probably four people scary in the whole world. Voldemort. Snape. Bellatrix Lestrange. I can\u2019t think who the fourth one might be. They are all the most dangerous monsters in the world.\u201c<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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\u2019s the most beautiful girl I ever saw, she\u2019s 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\u2019m scared of how important she is to me, and because the way she\u2019s important is in contrast with the points of contention we had between us, that were too important to dismiss\u201d, he mused.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat were the points of contention, and are they still so now?\u201d She looked straight into his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, obviously, she\u2019s 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\u201d, he nodded, satisfied with his conclusion. \u201cI don\u2019t think she believes in any of the evil stuff any more. I think she\u2019s just trying to survive and save her parents\u2019 lives\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarry, I need to know one thing. How serious are you with her? I\u2019m asking you this because she\u2019s a serious person. Don\u2019t play with her heart. She\u2019s not a school girlfriend. She\u2019s the kind you say \u2018yes\u2019 to at the altar, and you mean it forever\u201d, Hermione looked at him seriously.<\/p>\n
\u201cHermione, she and I used to talk about what eye colour our children will have. I remembered it just before. I don\u2019t know how or why I repressed it. I don\u2019t 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\u2019m absolutely ashamed of myself\u201d, Harry shivered slightly and rubbed his forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s 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 \u2013 she\u2019s a serious person. She chose you extremely long ago. She never wavered. You\u2019re the one who broke you up. She\u2019s not the kind of a person you can ever play with if you don\u2019t mean it, and by \u2018mean it\u2019, it truly is what eye colour your children will have, and where you will live when you\u2019re both old and grey. You need to treat her with the utmost respect and seriousness, because from what you told me, she\u2019s in a desperate situation. You will either dedicate your life to dealing with this, or we shouldn\u2019t even be having this conversation\u201d, she emphasised her point.<\/p>\n
Harry thought about it for a moment. \u201cI was always serious. That\u2019s why I found her terrifying. I was scared of either falling for her while she\u2019s 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\u2019t particularly care. How do I make this right after I messed it up so thoroughly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGo 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\u2019m correct, the only thing she ever wanted to hear is that you love her, that you want her, and that you\u2019re as committed to her as she is to you. Harry, you\u2019re a very direct, loyal and committed person, but I\u2019m afraid she is even more so. You can\u2019t 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 \u2013 when she\u2019s wrong, it\u2019s 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\u2019s wonderful to be loved by you\u201d, she finished with a smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do love you, you know\u201d, Harry hugged her. \u201cThank you. You found me a way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSay a good word for me when you get to truly talk to her, ok?\u201d, Hermione smiled widely. \u201cI never want to be on bad terms with that woman. She\u2019s too wonderful not to have as a friend, and I wouldn\u2019t want to miss it\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cHermione Granger\u201d \u2013 a familiar voice sounded and Hermione froze in anticipation and uncertainty. \u201cYou 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\u201d, Lyra bowed deeply before Hermione, whose lip started trembling and her eyes swam in tears. \u201cAnd 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\u201d, she smiled shyly.<\/p>\n
Hermione didn\u2019t trust her voice and just embraced her. \u201cThank you, Lyra\u201d, she whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo; 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?\u201d, Lyra begged, and Hermione nodded.<\/p>\n
Lyra waved her wand and two packages appeared. \u201cThis 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\u201d, she winked. \u201cThe second gift is a box of very fine chocolates. We might share those over a cup of tea, if you will have me\u201d, she smiled angelically. \u201cAnd if you could be my maid of honour at our wedding, it would be my greatest honour and privilege\u201d, she concluded mischievously.<\/p>\n
Hermione just hugged her again and cried for real.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cHermione, I need your help.\u201d Harry was deep in thought. \u201cYou figured it out so much earlier than me. You\u2019re both smarter and more perceptive than me. Please, advise me. I don\u2019t want to mess this up. I want to … Continue reading