At the Beginning With You [Harmione]

19. Or Maybe Not

Life is a road
And I want to keep going
Love is a river

I wanna keep flowing
Life is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful journey

I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

-- 'At the Beginning' by Richard Marx and Donna Lewis from the movie Anastasia

  ❾¾ ❾¾❾¾❾¾ ❾¾❾¾❾¾  

"I'm sorry to come over so late," Hermione said quietly when she and Harry went to sit in the living room.

"Don't worry about it, you know you're always welcome here, no matter how ridiculously late it is," Harry said with a smile and Hermione returned it. But the smile fell from his face and he asked seriously, "So, I'm confused, are you moving in, or are you going to do like before where you're here but still keep your flat?" Hermione sighed.

"If the offer's still there, I think I'll take it."

"Of course it's still there. But what made you change your mind?"

"The minute I walked out the door, it just felt like I had left forever. That I never was going to come back, even if I said I would. And with that thought I missed Teddy horribly. I know what I said, and I think I overreacted a little bit. So then I figured what the hell? You've got the space so why not move in permanently?" Harry smiled and shrugged.

"Yeah why not? But if you're worried about handouts, Hermione, I can charge you rent if you like," he teased causing Hermione to laugh.

"Only if you want to, Harry."

"No, I'm not going to charge you rent. That'd be ridiculous."

"So what did Ron say when I left?"

"He just asked how the evening went."

"That's it?"

"Yep." Harry said, purposefully omitting a majority of his conversation with Ron. With what Ron had said to him plus his strange dream that he had, the topic of his and Ron's conversation was not a talk he wanted to have with Hermione just yet. He needed to figure things out first. And on that thought, he needed to find a way to kick Ron out in the morning before he could get to Hermione.

Hermione gave him a suspicious look noticing that there was something he wasn't telling her, but she let it go and said, "Well, I suppose. It's late, and it's been an eventful evening. I think we should go to bed." Harry nodded in agreement and they both bid each other good night and went to their respective rooms.

❾¾ ❾¾❾¾❾¾ ❾¾❾¾❾¾

"Is this real? Or has it been happening inside my head?"
"Of course it's happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

Harry woke again for the fourth time since he went back to bed after Hermione had come back that night. He kept having that same memory run through his head. Why did he keep dreaming about that part of his conversation with Dumbledore? In context, Harry had been talking about what Dumbledore had told him about the Horcruxes and the Deathly Hallows, and how he, Harry had been carrying around a seventh of Voldemort's soul all his life, and he had been at that moment sitting in some form of limbo between life and death. At the end of their conversation Harry had asked Dumbledore if all of it was real or just his imagination. But now he was dreaming about just that question and Dumbledore's reply, and out of context it was very confusing. He heaved an aggravated sigh and ran his fingers through his hair and tugged lightly, completely wide awake after his fourth dream. Giving the blurry ceiling a frustrated glare, he rolled onto his side and punched his pillow beneath his head to fluff it a little. He squinted at the red letters on the digital alarm clock that pierced the darkness. 5:37. He scowled at the time and threw his blankets back, grabbed his glasses and put them on, and left his room going downstairs. He laid down on the couch and turned on the TV. He stared at the TV but never really saw what was on the screen. He was too deep in thought to notice the infomercial selling a knife set and the salesman demonstrating that the knives could cut glass. Because apparently every kitchen needs glass cutting knives.