Tattoos on this Town

OK all so I got the idea for this one-shot listening to the song “Tattoos on this Town” by Jason Aldean, anything in ‘’ is a direct quote from this song. I know it’s not a Dramoine fic, but I think the idea of the Golden Trio reflecting on their years at Hogwarts is really sweet and sentimental, especially for me… I hope you enjoy! Please let me know what you think about this one!
This story’s not Epilogue-friendly, and it also includes a recent song, so the ages of the three are off. It should be pretty in character and otherwise plot-conducive, please let me know if I made any mistakes!


‘It sure left its mark on us, we sure left our mark on it…’
The words of the old Jason Aldean song slowly drifted through Hermione’s bedroom window, magically magnified so that the three friends could hear the soft music even though they were lying in the garden below. The war was over, Harry reigning triumphant in the final battle of Hogwarts. The three of them had just finished their last year at Hogwarts, choosing to return to help rebuild the school and finish their education, all at Hermione’s coaxing. The next day would start their new lives as adults, the finality of the situation finally sinking in on the three.
Hermione had chosen to pursue a career in Magical Law Enforcement, and would begin working with the Ministry to abolish the archaic pureblood laws that remained on the books.
Harry and Ron had been easily accepted into the Auror program, and they were off to a camp in America to star their training tomorrow.
But right now, the three friends were just lying on the warm ground, staring up at the night sky. Hermione’s parents were out of town, agreeing to let the three friends have this night to themselves. They had not had much alone time in the past year since Voldemort’s death, almost every waking moment being taken up by either school, publicity, or significant others.
Yes, Harry and Ginny were back together, and Ron had spent many nights away from the tower, trying to get away from what was going on in the bed next to him.
Ron and Hermione had tried to make things work after that final battle, but they had finally decided they were not meant to be romantic partners, both finding much more enjoyment in being just friends. Ron had actually rekindled his relationship with Lavender, and Hermione and Harry secretly agreed that a proposal would be coming in the near future, once they got back from Auror camp.
“Hey, Hermione, knut for your thoughts.” Ron’s voice was soft, heavy with the relaxation of the perfect night.
“Oh, just thinking about tomorrow.” Hermione didn’t want to get into another relationship debate with the boys, especially with their separation so close.
“Hermione, we agreed to not think about it.” Harry chimed in, obviously frustrated by his friend’s line of thought.
“Come on, Harry, you know you’re thinking about it just as much as I am. I mean, we go out into the world tomorrow. I know that you and Ron will be away from the craziness that is Britain after Voldemort’s death,” here she ignored Ron’s slight shudder at his name, he still couldn’t get over it, even though the wizard was most definitely deceased, “but I’m still here. I’m working at the Ministry for goodness sakes! I’m going to be swamped by reporters and…and…” Here she had to stop, feeling herself getting worked up to a frenzy by her wild thoughts.
“Hermione, hey! Calm down! You’ll be fine, I promise,” Harry sat up on her right, leaning in to wrap his arm around her shoulder. Ron quickly followed on her left, his arm snaking around her waist. The three of them sat like that, listening to the soft strains of the song drift out Hermione’s bedroom window.
‘Everywhere, it’s where we are, it gets me right, in my heart…’
“Remember first year when Ron finally got his shit together to hit that troll in the head with its own club?” Harry began, looking at his two best friends, the two people who meant the most to him, even more than Ginny did.
“And Hermione had fucked up priorities? ‘We’ll be killed…Or worse, expelled!’” Ron mimicked Hermione’s high pitched whine from first year.
“How about second year when Ron pissed himself thinking he had to interact with spiders? Or anytime that Ginny saw Harry those first few years and he almost passed out his face got so red?” Hermione quickly countered their stories with some of her own.
They continued this for a while, remembering with fondness their school years.
“Remember searching for the Horcruxes?” Harry finally spoke what was on their minds.
“Remember the way Tonks and Lupin would look at each other?” Hermione brought up their friends, tears brimming in her eyes at the loss of two wonderful people.
“Remember the way Fred used to laugh? How him and George made that thing that gave you a black eye?” Ron choked up, thinking of his brother. It was the first time the other two had heard him directly mention Fred.
“Remember Dumbledore’s opening speeches? How ridiculous they always seemed, yet how he seemed to…know exactly what was going to happen?”
“And Sirius… Third year when we rescued him.”
“I still can’t believe you didn’t take me on that one.”
Their thoughts turned to stories of their fallen comrades, all three of them ending up sobbing by the end of their memories. They all needed it. After a year of skirting the issue, it was finally in the open. They ended up falling asleep on each other early in the morning, the Jason Aldean song playing on repeat. The three friends were finally at peace, finally ready to face the world and all the struggles it would bring.
‘We laid a lot of memories down, and we'll always be hangin' around, like tattoos on this town!’