We Were There

A/N: I need you to know how long I slaved over this chapter. I decided against splitting it up. I wanted to get rid of the first few months by dedicating one moth to one chapter. From here on out, the chapters will more than likely only have things from one day, rather than a few days of only one month. I just needed to get the foundations of the story worked out, and guess what, they are. Please respect my version of Ginny. I portray her the way I think she would handle the situations she faces. Please review. I desperately want to know what you guys think of this story.



Disclaimer: I do not make money, nor will I. This is a fanfiction. I don\'t own Harry Potter, and never will-as saddening as that is.

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Chapter 4

May 13th, 2004





She closed her eyes, the droplets beating against her skin. The clouds were black, while the sky remained blue. It was a nice paradox. The water from the raindrops left her feeling breathless. It was the only thing left to enable her to glimpse back into her past life. Her heart tried to court a smile, but her mouth did not respond. Her brain and heart no longer ruled her body. She\'d become detached from civilization outside of her own world.



She held the ring in her left palm. It sparkled against the static of the rain. If she wasn\'t at home, she was in the rain. And if she wasn\'t in the rain, she was on the road that led her to it.



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May 13th, 2001



"Harry, why can\'t you ever sleep in? I feel that you don\'t get enough sleep lately," Hermione told Harry, sipping her coffee. Recently, she\'d been around her mother, who drank loads of coffee daily, so she was catching on with the habit. She resented her mother, dearly, as she hated coffee. Honestly, she couldn\'t fathom a reason why she still chose to drink it. It came rather unconsciously. She cocked her head to where her left ear touched her left shoulder. She felt her neck crack. She felt more relaxed.



She looked to him and he merely shrugged. While she had her coffee fix, Harry apparently went mute most of the time. On April thirty-first, Hermione could no longer hold it within herself, and her curiosity got the best of her. Since she never could muster up the courage to ask Ron, she simply relied on Harry everything regarding to how making love felt like, how the morning after went, and initially if everything was as magical as everyone else seemed to preach to her.



However, instead of gaining any ground on any answers, Harry just grew very hostile, almost cold, getting very angry at her. She hated to out Ron, but she couldn\'t help herself. Now the two of them, Harry and she, were hardly on speaking terms. Hell, it took her so much to let her pride down and talk to him this morning. It was a ridiculous matter, and she knew they both knew it. In the end, Ron got angry at her for going off and asking Harry about the one subject he\'d asked her not to dig into, so the three of the \'Golden Trio\' weren\'t speaking, all due to Hermione\'s curiosity.



Nearly two weeks had passed, so enough was enough, she thought. She sighed, placing her cup on the table, "Harry, please talk to me. I was only curious! Eventually I, too, will have to...you know, so I\'d only hoped that you\'d share a few tidbits of information with me."



He pounded his fist on the wooded surface of the table, making the liquid in her cup shake and rattle. "Don\'t bring that up!"



She looked offended, "Listen, Harry, I know for you it is sickening to think of me doing that, me being like your sister and all, but don\'t go being mad at me for nearly two weeks! You\'re being not only childish, but selfish!"



She saw his eyes narrow and his mouth molding into the shape of a frown. He looked away, soon after, his lids closing. He sighed, "You\'re more to me than a sister, Hermione. You\'re all I\'ve got, aside from Ron and his family. I don\'t think it is sickening to think of you doing that, however, I do find it uncomfortable talking about my life with you."



Hermione stood from her chair, flustered, "What do you mean you find it uncomfortable? That\'s all you have ever done with me! Ever since first year, we have been close, Harry, so don\'t go off and lie to me!"



"Well, you should already know about sex! You don\'t need me for answering your useless questions!" he fought.



"I\'m still a virgin!" she hollered a bit too harshly. She saw his face become void of any emotion.



He swallowed and she saw his fist curl into a tight ball on the table. "What?" he nearly whispered.



Hermione had never been so embarrassed in all of her life. A faint blush appeared, but she still continued, "Ron and I never found time enough to make love, if that was even what it would have been called."



"How?" was all he replied.



She rolled her eyes, "With him in Auror training and me at Hogwarts the first year of our relationship halted things, sexually, for us, plus with me not being ready for a time after that. Then, when Arthur had a heart attack a year back, Ron spent all of his time away from me and his work as an Auror, hoping to make up for lost time with his father. Ron took Arthur\'s scare very difficultly, so it was only naturally he\'d spend his time away from his flat and at the Burrow. And then things started to fade into what it was for the last six month."



"Hermione—" he began, though he stopped himself. He slowly stood up and walked over to her. His arms wrapped around her and she allowed her arms to take his body. Her neck fit on the left side of his head perfectly, she thought. It was always so. He was, and always would be, her secret hero. It was him who gave her friendship at Hogwarts. It was Harry that gave her the great adventure she had always yearned for as a child. Harry was always around and there for her when she needed him to be. She didn\'t know why she\'d just realized that.



Her eyes closed and she inhaled, smelling the familiar scent he gave off. It was nice, comforting, and so very known. Hermione felt a hand of his go behind her head, his fingers playing with her head. It felt nice. "Harry, I\'m sorry if I crossed my boundaries with you. I never wanted you to feel uncomfortable. I just was curious, and you know that it gets the best of me sometimes."



He laughed, causing her to smile. It had that effect on her, always. "I really don\'t know, though."



Her brows furrowed closely together and she pushed away from his body a bit, looking into his eyes, "You don\'t know what?"



"What making love feels like, though I know what having sex with someone is like. The morning after is always the same. It\'s cold and so very predictable, at least for me. With Cho, the experience was so very scary and so very numbing. With Ginny…" he trailed off, going into very private territory.



She backed away from him, leaning against the counter, still facing him, "What about her?" Her voice was very soft and alluring, Harry thought. He couldn\'t ever read her expressions to peek into her thoughts. He hated thinking he was the only one who felt the way he did about her. He thirsted for her feelings, yet he felt relieved to not know them. He felt insecure about her ever loving him back the way he did with her. Never getting the chance to get rejected was comforting, but nerve racking nonetheless.



"Ginny has never been anything I\'d hoped she would be," he answered back, very quietly. He thought it wasn\'t too revealing.



"Well, don\'t you love her?" she pressed.



He shook his head, "I think I am with her to try to be in love with her, but no, I have never been in love with her. As Ron\'s sister, and my friend, I love her. But I have never been able to look at her the way I wish I could. I\'m such a prat." He sighed and leaned against the countertop next to Hermione, sliding to sit on the tiled flooring of the kitchen. He let a hand support his forehead as his elbow rested on his bent knee. He cursed aloud and then sighed heavily.



He felt a hand on his shoulder, so he lowered his hand and looked to Hermione, who now sat beside him on the floor. The expression upon her features sent him to become dazed, thinking of what could be between them. She lowered her head to his shoulder, so, naturally, he allowed his head to rest on hers. They fit so perfectly, and he thought she\'d never know. He cursed the day she fell for Ron. "We all have our problems and secrets we don\'t want to voice, Harry. When you are with someone, it should be with purpose, and not for experimental expectations. Does she know that you don\'t love her in the same she does you?" she said quietly asked. When he shook his head, she sighed, her hand falling onto his to grasp it. Her hand was so warm. He clasped his hand to hers in response, "It\'s not fair, Harry. You\'re always doing things because people expect you to do them, or because you feel it is out of necessity. Although Ginny is a friend to me, it seems like she is keeping you prisoner out of your own sense of kindness and obligation—and because you know she loves you. Why do you keep yourself bound to a relationship that you\'ll never be happy with?"



Harry\'s other hand fell on top of hers, "That\'s partially why I am still with her, Hermione, but don\'t you ever think that I am with her to forget other things?" He desperately wanted her to simply catch on. It was so much easier if that happened, but he doubted she would have fathomed he loved her the way he did.



Hermione placed her other hand on top of his, all four hands grasping the others softly, "Are you telling me that you are with her to forget someone else?"



Harry, frustrated, shook his head, "All I am saying is that you always give me too much credit, Hermione. I just need you to stop thinking of me as some God-sent Saint. No one is perfect. Not even me."



"I know that," was all she said. Silence fell on them for a few moments. Finally, she spoke again, "Harry?"



"What?"



"I passed out of Auror training," she softly said.



Harry pushed away from her and stared into her brown eyes that he often became lost within in shock. His blood became cold and he noticed she looked rather stoic and defiant, "Why are trying to become an Auror?"



"Listen, Harry, I know that it is dangerous, but it\'s not like I haven\'t faced danger before. Plus, I\'ve been reading up on some other magic we didn\'t learn at Hogwarts, so I more or less self-taught myself the roots of being an Auror. It took a while, and I purposely did not tell anyone, but I was given the opportunity to join you and Ron as an Auror, and I took it. Kingsley told me that he needed someone with my vast knowledge, so I became an Auror. You know better than most how I hate to mooch off of anyone, and I hate how much time I have on my hands, so I am becoming an Auror. I start in two weeks. I didn\'t tell anyone, but the reason Professor McGonagall invited me to Hogwarts was to give me an official recommendation," she explained. Her eyes were fire, prepared for whatever it was Harry would try to convince her against this.



He just shook his head and cursed loudly. His hands went to his hair and soon, the black mess became even more disheveled. He glared towards her, and then she noticed that his expressions softened when she met his gaze. She found that peculiar. "Hermione, I know I have no right to dictate your life, but please reconsider. It\'s dangerous, time-consuming, and very risky. I wish you would be rational about this," he pressed.



She just rolled her eyes, "Ever since that day in the train back in first year, my life became dangerous, time-consuming, and risky, Harry. You brought that all to me, so don\'t play protective now. I want to do something with my life, but all I have done is mope around all day. Today, I did something that was so not like me, and I\'m happy about it. You know I don\'t ever regret the day I met you, so I know I won\'t regret this decision. Please back me up on this."



He narrowed his eyes. She was right. He did bring her all of the dangers she\'d faced. Suddenly, he regretted ever involving her in the Voldemort affairs, and yet, he was secretly grateful to Voldemort. Because of him, he was able to get close to Hermione and Ron. Even though Voldemort killed his family, he inevitably gave Harry a new one. It was a sickening thought, but he was glad of his past. Harry was so screwed up, sometimes. And he knew it. "All right, Hermione."



She smiled, kissing him on his cheek. She stood up and spun around. Her hand reached down towards Harry, which he gladly took, and she pulled him up. They uncoordinatedly danced around the kitchen; both of them were sent to pure happiness and laughter, though Harry remained worried. That was natural though.



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May 19th, 2001



Harry, Hermione, and Ron went to Diagon Alley. It was a Saturday, and the two boys were given the day off, in order to help Hermione collect a last few things for her new task of being an Auror. A broom was one of them. "I just don\'t see the point in getting one of those pieces of floating twigs if I\'ll never use it," she spouted, trying to talk her way out of buying her first broom. She was scared of them—plain and simple. Her two best friends knew this much. And still they were forcing her to buy one…



"Hermione, it\'s in the job description. You knew this much when you agreed to be an Auror," Ron reminded curtly. He and Harry seemed to find the matter humorous, so when they chuckled, she would mutter under her breath the few hexes she learned to perform without her wand. Eventually they stopped and Harry suggested that they went to George\'s shop since they were in the area. They agreed, though Hermione knew they would go back for the broom.



"Oi! Angelina, where is my lard of a brother?" Ron shouted, looking all around the shop.



Angelina\'s head popped from the second level of the store and she held a warm smile. She\'d been working with George since Fred\'s funeral. Ron grew to know more about her in the short time he worked here with his brother. Angelina was fairly obvious with her feelings for George, but he seemed to not notice. In school, she\'d dated Fred, so George thought it would betray Fred to date her, though everyone all knew he fancied her as well. "Would you put a cork in it? He\'s up in his flat. I\'ll go get him. Ginny\'s here, too," she said as she walked to get George.



Soon, George appeared before the three of them. His hair had significantly grown out. All knew it was to hide his missing ear, but no one ever had the guts to say anything. Hermione was the first one to do anything. While with Ron, George and Hermione grew terribly close, so when they saw each other, they shared a casual embrace and talked about a lot of random subjects the other knew nothing about. When they got into any heated arguments, the rest of the Weasley family usually sat around, staring intently gaining entertainment at their bantering. It was good fun, Molly always claimed.



"George, how\'s business? Are you selling anything remotely productive to the education process of future students?" Hermione joked, smiling.



George rolled his eyes, though his lips carried a smile, too, "Geez, Hermes, if I did that, I would go bankrupt."



She sighed, "I told you to stop calling me that, Georgia."



"That I\'ll do, once you get rid of that emasculating name for me. I\'ve told you that Georgia is a state in the States, not a name for a man," he explained.



She just laughed. "And it is a country in Eastern Europe, but I\'m surprised you knew that," she retorted smugly.



Ron lightly slapped his brother\'s arm, "Look, you, we need a potion to make this girl who calls herself a witch not scared of a broom anymore."



George rubbed his arm, "Have you tried Liquid Luck, bro?"



Harry couldn\'t help, but to laugh and smile. Hermione stomped her foot on the floor and it happened to hit Harry\'s toes—total accident, of course. "I will not remind everyone what it did to Harry back in sixth year, let alone what Ron thought it did to him for that game. I will not stoop that low, because I pride myself on having natural luck."



"That\'s because you\'re too rational. And might I remind you of how unlucky you are to be this poor excuse for a brother\'s friend, not to mention the famous Harry Potter\'s. Let\'s face it, you\'re the most unlucky little witch I ever knew," George teased.



Hermione frowned, "I will just simply just run. There, problem solved."



"Honestly, Hermione, you need a broom, and I\'ll be the one to teach you everything you need to know. I was the Quidditch captain and Seeker," Harry said a little too proudly. Hermione gave him a dirty look and she swatted at his head. Luckily for him, she didn\'t hit too head on, so there was minimal pain.



"Men," was all she replied.



The four of them turned as they heard footsteps travelling down the stairs. Both Angelina and Ginny took the steps in unison. Angelina flocked toward George, taking her place to the side of him, while Ginny took her place next to Harry. She casually knocked into Hermione, though she apologized. Hermione kindly accepted it, though she suspected Ginny was angry with her, and she didn\'t know why. Harry rolled his eyes discreetly as Ginny wrapped her arm in his.



"Please, Ginny, not here in front of me," groaned Ron in protest to their physical contact.



Ginny stuck out her tongue, "I\'m a grown woman, Ron. You\'ve got to get over that. He\'s my boyfriend and I love him. It\'s only natural that I shag him, too."



Hermione shook her head, smiling and giggling quietly. "Ron, lay off, will you?"



Ron looked to Hermione, "Hermione, she\'s so young! And him! He\'s my best friend! It\'s disgusting!"



She took her turn to sigh, shaking her head, "They of age, Ron. And it\'s a part of life. I\'m sure you thought that in sixth year, too." Her arms folded as she knew that she\'d won their small feud.



Ron merely blushed more likely in response to his climbing fury. He looked livid, "Hermione!"



George clapped his hands, "Oh! Goody! What next, what next?" He didn\'t hide his laughter.



Everyone knew what she was digging at. In their sixth year, Ron shagged Lavender, though she\'d gotten him severely drunk. Still, he had sex with the girl, and that\'s all that counted in Hermione\'s mind.



Angelina sighed, "George, we have work to do." She lightly pushed on his shoulder. Though he towered over her, everyone knew she held the most power here. It was truly comical.



George grunted, "I\'m the boss, Dammit! I\'ll do it when I feel like doing it!" Somehow, he grew enough courage to look down at her. Her eyes flamed over and the group saw him flinch slightly. He placed a hand behind his hair and he began to giggle nervously. George looked to the group and waved franticly, "Gotta go!" He nearly ran back up the stairs.



Angelina waited until she heard the click of his flat door to start her fit of laughter. "I\'m glad that he at least listens to me," she mentioned before she returned behind the counter.



Harry wanted nothing more than for Ginny to let go of him, so he cleared his throat, "Let\'s go get that broom, Hermione." He saw her cringe, causing him to chuckle quietly. When he looked to Ginny, he could tell she was growing very skeptical.



"I don\'t think you are needed. Ron was in Quidditch, so he\'ll know what broom to buy for her. We, however, need to talk," Ginny began. She looked towards Hermione with acid in her eyes. When Hermione uncomfortably nodded, she faced Harry once more and smiled sweetly, "Let\'s go!"



Harry had no choice in the matter. Ginny decided it best to apparate, instead of walk, to the Leaky Cauldron. She held tight to his hand and guided him to their usual table. He sat down, but not without hesitations. Ginny sat directly across from him, her smile still on her mouth. "What do we need to talk about?" Harry asked. His voice was monotonous and almost bored.



"Harry, I was going to ask if I can move in. It\'s well passed our time to do so. We\'ve been together for nearly four years," she told him, rather than asked him. He knew it was her command.



"Does this have anything to do with Hermione living with me?" Harry asked, avoiding the subject completely. He would never allow Ginny to possibly come between him and Hermione, if they ever were to have a relationship. Harry needed Hermione to fall in love with him, and he knew she never would with Ginny in the way. Hermione was terribly loyal, even to those who weren\'t the closest of friends. Harry recalled the earlier years at Hogwarts, when the two girls really did get along rather splendidly. Harry suspected that Ginny only wanted to get close to Hermione to ensure that Harry and her had nothing going on. He could have been wrong, but his reasoning explained things so clearly.



Her face fell into a frown, "Of course not, Harry! I just want to move out of the Burrow. And my job doesn\'t pay quite enough to allow me to live alone."



"So live with Ron," Harry suggested in a serious tone.



He saw tears welling up. She looked away, her ginger hair hiding her face perfectly. A hand wiped her eyes and she looked back towards him, "I was hoping you would allow me to live with you."



"With Hermione entering as a new Auror, I would have no time to spare for you, so you see, it really is a wasted subject. I have to train Hermione to the best of my ability, and she already has asked me to train her at Grimmauld Place, too. You know how prepared she like to be. She hates being behind, so I have already promised my time to her," he explained.



"I get it, Harry," she said, anger embedded into her face. She casually stood up, grabbed her things and made for the door.



"Ginny." Harry said. He sighed, "Ginny!" She slammed the door and the few spectators in the place all looked back at Harry. "Well, fuck…"



Instead of making it a wasted trip, Harry grabbed a shot of firewhiskey before he left altogether. Too bad one shot turned into five, and then shortly became ten. By the time he realized it, night had claimed the once bright day outside of the window. His head was practically glued to the counter. His life was such a mess. He needed to keep Ginny happy in order for his plan to actually work, but what was his plan again? Merlin, for the life of him, he could not remember. All he recalled was the face of Hermione. He smiled.



A hand rubbed his back tenderly. He was too tired to see who it was, so he let whoever was there grab his arm to throw across their shoulders in order to support Harry\'s lame body. When they were outside, the wind blew and he saw a lock of curly, brunette hair fly in front of his gaze. He gathered enough strength to look. It was Hermione.



She apparated back to Grimmauld Place and guided him up the stairs to his room. She tucked him in and kissed his forehead. Caught up in his drunkenness, he spoke, "Hermione, I love you."



He only saw a mess of blur grow closer to him, feeling her kiss his forehead, "Oh, Harry, I love you, too. Now you rest up. In the morning, I\'ll make you a breakfast worthy to overcome the nasty hangover you\'ll sure have."



She would never know what he meant. He truly loved her, but she continually mistook it for brotherly affection. God he was in trouble. He was in for a long summer. But never had he been more determined, more driven to gain her love in return for his. He treasured her, but she didn\'t know. Oh, but she would know in good time. That was his last thought before his inevitable sleep that claimed him.



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A/N: PLEASE REVIEW! I need to know if I am doing things properly, or improperly. I crave for feedback, because I want this story to be up to the best of your standards.