Chapter Text
Hermione refused to talk to Harry after that. She moved around him like a ghost and avoided any eye contact with him. Though she threw up a silencing charm around her room, he could tell she spent the nights crying based on the red rim eyes and puffy face he could see through her curtain of curls. It only added to his ever-present guilt.
He didn’t mean to cause her more pain. Harry just… he had thought that it was time to tell her the truth about how he truly felt and how working with her these past few months without being able to touch her had been pure torture. In hindsight, he hadn’t played that out well at all. He shuddered to think how utterly Gryffindor he had acted, making such bold declarations when it only put Hermione back into her shell.
He was sitting at the kitchen table, attempting to work on their case, when she came out of her room to answer the owl that was perched on the window. She quickly unrolled the scroll that was tied to its foot and read the letter with adept attention. By the time Hermione got to the end of the letter, she visibly sagged in relief.
“Is everything okay?” he asked.
She looked up at him with shock before she schooled her features.
“Yes.”
It was the first word she had spoken to him in nearly two weeks, yet it hurt more than the prolonged silence she had subjected them to. To his surprise, she moved openly towards the kitchen to make a cup of tea and dropped the parchment in front of him.
“I… I asked Michaelson for a transfer.”
Harry immediately jerked out of his seat. “What?”
She flinched away and started to make her way back towards her bedroom. “I can’t keep working like this. This isn’t what I signed on for when I agreed to take the Unspeakable Vows.”
“But…” Harry shook his head. “All of your work….”
Hermione scoffed. “Like you care. Besides, I’m sure you and your new… partner will have no trouble picking up where I left off.”
“Don’t do this,” Harry begged.
She still winced, but this time he got her to stop in the doorway, hand poised on the doorknob.
“You don’t need to move. I’ll- I’ll ask Michaelson for a transfer. Hell, I’ll ask him to send me to another country if that will make you feel better! But please, don’t leave your work behind on my behalf.”
Hermione pursed her lips for a moment before she eventually nodded. “We will see.”
He watched her slowly close the door, locking herself back into self-isolation and away from him. Harry raked his hands through his hair, aggressively pulling at the roots.
Ruddy Rowena, how could he be so stupid! And now he had hurt her twice over?! With glassy eyes filled with unshed tears, Harry pushed himself back against the wall and slid down to the floor. He sent a silent prayer to Merlin, Morgana, and Circe, really, anyone who was willing to listen, that there was a way to fix this. That there had to be a way to release Hermione from her misery.
From him.
He understood now that his arrogance, pride, and selfishness made him the last man on the planet that she could ever fall in love with.
He had truly lost her.
___________________________________
A while later, Harry tentatively knocked on her door. “Hermione, it’s time for our patrol.”
He stepped back and waited for her to appear. She emerged dressed as a tourist, a necessary precaution if they were going to catch this killer.
“Stay close to me. We’re going to be patrolling a less than favorable part of the city,” he warned in a soft voice.
Her only reply was a quick nod of her head.
Today, they were walking around the Gueliz neighborhood while monitoring high foot level traffic areas for any signs that could indicate their suspect. As soon as they entered the shopping center plaza, something triggered Harry’s instincts. He ignored the sweat dripping down his temples, a product of the beating sun, and did a subtle scan of the area. Several people were milling about, minding their own business, or walking with a practiced speed to get inside and beat the penetrating equator rays.
“I wouldn’t normally do this, but stay close,” he warned her, putting his arm around her shoulder.
To his surprise, Hermione didn’t hesitate and actually leaned her body into him.
They walked carefully to an awning near a café when he felt Hermione shuffle even closer to him. “Harry, someone is watching us.”
It was the fear in her voice that spurred him to look around and find that a man was leaning against the wall across the alley from them. He was pretending to be reading a newspaper while discretely making glances in their direction.
“This could be our guy,” Harry whispered.
He felt Hermione stiffen. “I don’t like this.”
“I don’t either,” he agreed as he tightened his arm around her shoulder.
Regardless of her magical ability, he knew that Hermione, by nature, wasn’t a fighter. She was a scholar and could eviscerate you in a verbal debate, but when it came to basic instincts and needing to fight for her life? Harry knew she would hesitate.
He couldn’t give her any room to doubt him.
“Let’s walk down this road. Pretend like we are going back to our hotel,” he stated.
Hermione’s eyes widened with terror. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
Harry inclined his head. “If he’s our man, then we need to corner him. Keep your wand at the ready.”
Hermione bit her lip, but she allowed him to guide her down the side street towards the building up ahead. As if on cue, the man moved and kept a measured distance behind him. There was no doubt he was following them.
Harry slid his wand out of its holster and into his hand, ready to strike at the criminal any moment, when he felt Hermione jerk forward.
“HERMIONE!”
He reached forward and caught her before her body could hit the ground, but the precious seconds he spent saving her bought their perpetrator enough time to stun Harry, too. He felt a stunner hit him in the back. Everything went dark.
_______________________________
Harry felt the sheets beside him move, exposing his warm chest to the cold air of his dorm bedroom. A knowing grin formed across his face as he felt Hermione’s decadent hands roam down his torso and pull his boxers aside.
A seductive chuckle left his lips when she nuzzled her nose against his hardening cock.
“Good morning,” she whispered before licking a long strip up his length.
Harry moaned when he felt her warm, and hot mouth encase him. “Good morning indeed.”
He gripped her bushy mane of curls tightly, forcing her head to stay close as she bobbed up and down.
“So good,” he cooed, prompting her to quicken her pace. Harry’s hips jerked up into her mouth, pushing himself further until he was hitting the back of her throat.
“You take me so well,” he praised, causing her to moan in approval around him.
Harry didn’t last long after that and violently came down her throat. When she released him with a wet pop, he looked down at her with sleepy but sated eyes. “You are so beautiful.”
Hermione blushed, moving up to place a soft and sweet kiss on his lips. “Told you I would repay you for last night.”
Harry hummed. “And it was perfection.”
She lazily laid her head on his shoulder, allowing his arms to draw her close. “We’re graduating today.”
“We are,” he said.
Hermione rolled her neck so that she was looking up into his emerald eyes. “What does that mean for us?”
Harry quirked an eyebrow at her. “What do you mean?”
“I… just mean… where do we go from here. With…” she stammered.
“You mean where do we go with our relationship?” he clarified.
Hermione couldn’t say anything and resumed burying her head into his chest.
Harry tilted her chin up. “I would want nothing more than to continue to see you.”
She sighed in relief. “I want that too.”
They shared another sweet kiss before she pulled back and giggled. “Though, you are going to have to be flexible with me. I anticipate I’ll be hearing back from the Minister any day now with an offer of acceptance to work in the Undersecretary’s office.”
Harry’s smile didn’t quite meet his eyes. “I’m sure. That would mean you would be incredibly busy.”
Hermione nodded. “But I’ll do my best to make time for you.”
“Thank you,” Harry quipped playfully, earning him a slight smack on his shoulder.
____________________________
The ceremony was simple but beautiful, with Hermione giving a short speech since she officially graduated top of their class. Draco, naturally, cheered the loudest as was his obligation as her Best Friend. When it came time, all the students made their way down to the boathouse and boarded the boats they had used in first year to glide across the lake. Then they had been greeting their new cohort, and now they were saying goodbye. When they reached the opposing shore, several classmates hugged friends and family members while sharing in the merriment of the day. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had made special arrangements so that the Grangers could be there to see their daughter on the shoreline, whereas normally, they wouldn’t have been allowed outside the all-magical village of Hogsmeade.
“Well done, Hermione!” Narcissa greeted with an enormous bear hug that only a mother was capable of providing.
Hermione beamed. “Thank you, Narcissa.”
“And I’m sure we will hear from the Ministry any day,” Lucius said with a wink.
Draco came up and playfully nudged her in the arm. “Alright, alright. Stop stealing my parents’ attention.”
“Oh, my dragon,” Narcissa cooed and pinched his cheek. “There is plenty of love and affection to go around.”
“Mother,” Draco groaned in embarrassment, causing the Malfoys and Hermione to laugh. She moved and hugged her parents.
“Well, done, my sweet girl,” Mr. Granger said.
“We are beyond proud of you,” Mrs. Granger added.
“Ah! There’s my cousin!” a booming and commanding voice of Sirius Black came charging through. He had Harry tucked between him and his partner, Remus.
“Sirius, always a pleasure to see you and Remus,” Narcissa greeted before she gave Harry two cheek pinches. “And there is my handsome nephew. Look at you all grown up!”
Draco snickered over his mother’s shoulder while Harry fought the wave of embarrassment. “Hi, Aunt Cissy.”
“We have such exciting news to share, so it’s good that the whole family is here,” Sirius announced, gaining everyone’s attention that was within earshot. “The letter arrived only this morning, but Minister Fudge has offered Harry a position within the Undersecretary’s office!”
At first, no one said anything until Narcissa offered her polite congratulations and Lucius a nod of approval. Hermione looked murderous for a moment, but she schooled her features and turned back to her parents.
“Can we leave,” she asked quietly.
Her mother looked stunned but nodded her head. “I’m sure we can. If that’s what you want.”
“Don’t you want to spend some more time with your schoolmates?” her father asked.
Hermione shook her head. “I’d like to go home now.”
“Aright,” Mr. Granger conceded. “Let me ask Mr. Malfoy if it’s possible to modify the portkey he gave us.”
“Come on, sweet girl.” Her mother linked her arm with Hermione’s and started to guide her up the hill towards the village. They didn’t get very far before the rush of running footsteps caused them to turn around.
“Hermione?” Harry panted. “Where are you going?”
She gave her mother a soft smile. “Could you give us a moment?”
“Of course,” Mrs. Granger said, stepping away to allow the two some privacy.
Harry looked between them, confused for a breath. “Why are you leaving? I thought you would be coming back to Malfoy Manor for dinner?”
Hermione glared at him, her eyes brutal and unforgiving. “You lied to me.”
“What?”
“You lied. You knew how much I wanted that job… how much…” she trailed off as hot angry tears streaked her cheeks. “Why didn’t you tell me you applied?”
Harry blinked at her for a moment before he shook his head. “You’re seriously getting mad at me over something I can’t control?”
Hermione saw red. “Something you can’t control? You could not have gone after the same position that I was going for! Why did you do it? Did you just want to win one more challenge? See who the Minister would select? Or was this revenge because I beat you for the top spot?”
“What? No!” Harry protested before he rolled his eyes. “You’re overreacting, Hermione.”
It was at that moment that he knew he made a mistake. Harry watched helplessly as Hermione’s face shone with hurt and heartbreak before she closed off any signs of emotion. “Fuck off, Potter.”
“Hermione…”
“We’re done,” she snapped with finality. “I never want to see you again.”
She ignored him calling after her as she wiped the tears from her eyes and rejoined her parents. They didn’t ask any questions when they got back home and ordered Thai for dinner, nor did they have her elaborate after and allowed her to go to bed in peace. Alone in her room, Hermione picked up the pieces of her shattered heart and began looking through other various acceptance offers. She had quite a few from many departments in the Ministry and even a few from private businesses. Hell, Lucius had been practically begging her to help run Malfoy Industries, but she knew deep down that her passion lay with research and development.
It was then that she found a letter she had not yet opened. It was from Director Michaelson who was offering her a position in the Department of Mysteries. The acceptance package was… generous, for a lack of a better word, but the level of secrecy left Hermione a bit skeptical. She wouldn’t fully know what she was getting into until she agreed to the position.
Taking a steadying breath, she pulled out a piece of parchment and owled her acceptance that night.
It wouldn’t be until two years after she worked there that Draco told her at lunch Harry’s fate. He had declined the offer from Minister Fudge and was working in the Auror office. The blond gave her some shite about following in his father’s footsteps, but Hermione always wondered if he had done it for her.
______________________
The first thing Harry registered was the headache one typically gets when being stunned. The second, was that his hands were cuffed to a headboard above his head and that he could hear someone sobbing not too far from where he was being held. There was a sharp pain as he moved his neck towards the noise, causing him to wince a moment before he opened his eyes. His vision was blurry because his glasses were missing, but he could make out a silhouette of a female body next to him.
“Hermione?” he croaked out.
“H… Harry?” she stuttered through her tears.
“Are you alright?” he asked before clarifying, “Are you hurt?”
“I… don’t think… so….”
“Can you see where we are? Bastard took my glasses,” Harry revealed.
Hermione gulped. “It’s… a warehouse.”
“Okay. Is there anything that you recognize?”
He could hear her trying to move her body against her own bindings, maneuvering to give her any hint of a clue. “It’s… dark and hard to see with the spotlight shining on me.”
Harry nodded. “That’s fair.”
“What’s going to happen? Are… are we going to die?”
Her voice was so soft and broken that it shattered Harry’s heart. Before he could reply, a deep and maniacal chuckle reverberated through their prison.
“Well, well, well. Have I captured a prize indeed! Harry Potter… the Boy-Who-Lived,” the unknown man said.
Harry watched his shadow of a figure stalk around their beds. Though he couldn’t make out the stranger’s face, he pictured the man with a sick, satisfied grin.
“What do you want?” Harry spat.
He heard Hermione quiver as the shadow lorded over her.
“Don’t touch her!”
The perpetrator laughed and came to lean over Harry. His horrible face suddenly became clear in Harry’s near-sightedness. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
Harry gasped and then gritted his teeth. “Percy Weasley.”
“Oh, good. You remember,” he drawled with an evil smile. “Though I’m surprised, considering you ignored me when I was Head Boy and then dismissed me when you handed over your rejection letter to the Minister.”
“Is that what this was about? Making me pay for my sins?” Harry spat out.
Percy shrugged. “What is it you think you have to pay for, Potter? Guilty conscience much?”
“Don’t change the subject. Why? Why are you trying to force soul bonds?” Harry questioned.
Percy rolled his eyes. “Of course, you care about all the others, even if they are inconsequential.”
“They were real people!” Harry yelled.
“I only needed them to draw you out,” Percy admitted as he stroked Harry’s cheek. He jerked back from the repulsive touch.
“Let’s recap then, shall we?” Percy teased as he prepared to jump head first into his evil monologue. “This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You, Mr. tall, dark, and handsome, have gone your entire life without having any consequences for your decisions. Well, not today.”
“I don’t even know you!” Harry shouted.
Percy tsked. “Not personally, but you knew my family.”
“What are you…”
“Wow, you really don’t remember,” Percy’s face dropped before he steeled his gaze. “After you rejected the offer and went off to play with the DMLE, you met my sister at the Ministry Annual Ball.”
“When? I go every year with my family,” Harry spat.
“The first year you were hired at the Ministry, you… you vile man! You’re telling me you don’t remember sleeping with my sister?”
Harry’s expression suddenly contorted into one of recognition. “You mean Ginny?” He shook his head. “I didn’t sleep with her at that ball. We were introduced by mutual friends at a party and had a one-night stand. I wasn’t looking for anything serious going forward and she said she was leaving for Holyhead. Anything between us was consensual and I never saw her again!”
“No! No! That’s not right! You’re the reason she’s dead!”
“You’re wrong,” Harry argued. “Look, I admit I’m a lot of things, but I would never take someone against their will, nor would I kill them!”
“Then explain to me why she died the night after her wedding? Hmm? If you and Miss Granger are such experts in soul bond magic, then why didn’t hers take?” Percy demanded.
For just a moment, he no longer looked like a killer. He was an older brother grieving the loss of his younger sister. It made Harry want to sympathize, even as an only child.
“I… I don’t kno–didn’t know. I’m sorry…”
“‘Sorry’ doesn’t bring her back! She died because her soul bond didn’t take. Do you know why? Because she. Was. In love. With you !”
“I’m telling you, I met her once!” Harry yelled desperately. Why was he arguing with this man?
“You’re lying!”
“STOP IT!”
The men paused and looked over to Hermione, who was crying and shaking against her cuffs. “Percy,” she said slowly. “You remember me, right?”
The redhead didn’t say anything for a long while. He grunted, “I’ve seen you around the Ministry.”
“And I was at Ginny’s wedding,” Hermione revealed, though her tone was quiet as she explained herself. “I was friends with the groom, with Neville. He confided in me and said that he felt like Ginny was having second thoughts about the ceremony and asked me to go check on her.” She ignored Percy’s shaking head and pushed forward in a more confident voice. “I found her with someone else, someone who I think her heart truly belonged to.”
“It’s not true,” Percy denied.
“It was!” Hermione insisted. “She was in love with a blonde girl–I think she might have been in Ravenclaw.”
Harry went through his mind, trying to remember all the people in his house who fit the description. Eventually, he landed on Luna Lovegood, someone who was a year younger than him. She was such a strange girl, but she always hung around the youngest Weasley...
“No!” Percy yelled, clutching the side of his face.
“That could have rejected the bond….”
“NO!”
Percy moved back and raised his wand. “I’ll prove it should have taken. I’ll make you see! Let’s begin, shall we?” His voice shook with a terrifying mania.
A flash of yellow light blinded Harry for a moment before he felt a rope of pure magic wrap around his core. Percy was performing a bonding ritual. The tether whipped across to Hermione, connecting them with ancient runes. They were bound together… that is if they both accepted the bond.
“ Colligare. Amare. ”
To bind. To love.
The rope wrapped tighter sending a shock through his stomach and chest.
“ Foveam. Adorare .”
To cherish. To adore.
He heard Hermione gasp, and he felt the bond begin to open. Harry suddenly became acutely aware of emotions that were not his own–fear, despair.
“ Nunc et in perpetuum. ”
Now and forever.
The cord disappeared when the bond cemented. It was such powerful magic that it made Harry’s eyes flutter closed as he fully accepted the connection between him and Hermione. When he’d said he’d fallen for her, that what he’d done haunted him? He hadn’t been lying, not at all... Maybe… Maybe there was a chance they could survive this. That if she accepted the bond, they could work on their relationship, and he could fix what he’d broken.
He just needed more time…
“Oh, wow, wow, wow!” Percy exclaimed in awed fascination. “You two are the most successful coupling I have encountered! Hardly any sign of rejection… Though, your little lady over there is having some, shall we say, second thoughts.”
What was this lunatic saying? Was Hermione attempting to reject the bond? Or was it simply the helplessness and dejection that he was feeling from her side. He didn’t get to find out.
A team of Unspeakables and Aurors barged into the warehouse, taking out Percy and freeing them. Harry didn’t get to see his body, only the green flash of the Avada before someone was standing near his bed.
“It’s alright, Unspeakable Potter. We’ll get you out in a few seconds.”
Harry sighed in relief as the cuffs came off, and he was able to sit up. He thanked the man who gave him his glasses. “Draco?!” He blinked in shock.
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t get your knickers in a twist. My best friend missed her portkey home, so naturally, I’m going to call half the Department down here to see if you murdered her.”
Harry ignored the sarcasm coming from his cousin and leaned forward to hug Draco for the first time since he could remember. At first, the blond was so shocked that he didn’t know how to react, but then Draco’s body moved, and his arms returned the gesture.
“Mr. Malfoy! We have a problem,” one of the Healers who had come on the team voiced, calling Draco and Harry over to Hermione’s bed.
“For some reason, her pulse is dropping,” an Assistant Healer pointed out.
“We need to get her back to St. Mungo’s now,” the Healer ordered.
Harry felt his heart stop as the medical witches began administering a sleeping draft and preparing Hermione for emergency portkey transportation. He didn’t know he was moving to stop them until he felt Draco’s arms holding him back.
“Let them do their job, Potter,” his cousin warned.
“What’s happening?” he asked with a shaky voice. “What are you going to do to her?!”
“Unspeakable Potter! If you don’t calm down right now, then we will be forced to stun you!”
“Hermione!” Harry shouted as she disappeared within the whirl of the transportation magic. He stared at the spot where she had been before everything went black again.
_______________________________
Harry woke again in a hospital bed, which he presumed was in a room in St. Mungo’s. He blinked up at the ceiling, once again finding his vision blurred.
“Ah, so you are awake,” the voice of Theo Nott said as he gave Harry the missing spectacles. The action felt like Deja-vu as he regained clear sight.
“It’s good to see you,” Harry said. He sat up and looked around. “Where’s Hermione?”
“Ah,” Theo nodded and crossed his arms. “Your… what should I call her? Bond mate? Lost lover?” He paused for dramatic effect. “Wife?”
Harry rolled his eyes. “She’s not my wife.”
“After the ceremony, Percy Weasley performed on you, legally and magically, she is,” Theo corrected.
“Shit,” Harry cursed. “You just had to be a lawyer.”
Theo shrugged. “It comes with the territory, but Hermione’s not doing so hot, to answer your question.”
Harry jumped out of bed. “What do you mean?”
“It’s nothing the Healers haven’t stabilized, but she is having doubts about the bond.”
“But she did accept it?” Harry clarified.
“As far as they can tell, yes,” Theo answered.
“I need to see her.”
“Harry…”
“Theo, you don’t understand. If I can just… talk to her.” Harry began pacing around the room, looking for his wand.
“Draco took it,” Theo revealed, knowing what his friend was looking for.
Harry huffed, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation. “Then where’s Draco? Can I get out of here now?”
“Whoa, Mate. Calm down. He’s with Hermione.”
“Theo, please,” Harry pleaded. “Please, take me to them.”
Theo sighed before eventually nodding his head. “Alright, but I’m not taking the blame if we get kicked out.”
His best friend guided him through a series of hallways until they were standing outside an in-patient room. Harry could hear the voices of Hermione and Draco speaking to a Healer when he knocked on the door. Harry opened his mouth to announce his presence, but any words died in his throat as soon as he made eye contact with Hermione. She was dressed in a white gown, her wild curls fanning out around her like a halo on the pillow. Her amber eyes were wide with both fear and anticipation when he approached her bed.
“Unspeakable Potter,” the Healer said. “I’ll give you two a moment. Mr. Malfoy, if you could please follow me?”
“Certainly,” Draco inclined his head and promised Hermione that he would be back later.
“Hey,” Harry stopped the blond. “Don’t walk off with my wand.”
Draco rolled his eyes and handed it over without complaint.
The silence was heavy at first when everyone left the room, neither Harry nor Hermione knowing what to say to the other about their circumstances. Harry slowly sat in the chair by her bed and reached hesitantly for her hand.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
Hermione gave him a small smile. “Fine.”
“Theo mentioned something about you not feeling well.”
She bit her bottom lip, clearly trying to hide the information from him.
“Please?” he begged. “What is it?”
“I didn’t reject the bond, but it’s not entirely stable on my end,” Hermione revealed.
Harry nodded. “It's understandable that you would have reservations.”
“I’m stabilized for now, but… this isn’t a long-term solution,” she continued. “Eventually, the bond will completely crash, and…And take us with it.”
He leaned forward and brought his free hand to stroke the side of her face. “If that’s what you want, then I won’t stop you.”
Hermione’s brows raised. “What?” She shook her head. “Harry, we don’t have another option.”
He gave her a soft smile. “You’ve worked with soul bonds longer than me, and you know that’s not true.”
Her mouth was agape as she simply stared at him. Tears began to fall from her eyes, and her mask finally cracked. “I’m scared to fully embrace it because I… I keep thinking what would happen if you hurt me again. I wouldn’t get another chance to start over.”
“We don’t need another chance.” He stroked her cheek. “Hermione, I swear to you, I’m going to do everything in my power to make you happy. I don’t ever want to have to watch you walk away again,” he promised.
Harry didn’t hesitate this time as he closed the gap between them. Her lips tasted better than he remembered, and her curls were softer to his touch. He trailed his hand up so that it was cradling the back of her head, giving them a better angle and keeping their lips connected. Hermione moaned into his mouth, spurring him to deepen the kiss.
It was an act of commitment, a pledge of devotion that Harry hoped to seal. Despite all he’d done, he hoped that Hermione could feel the love he was pouring into her, giving her all that he had to offer. They pulled back with a gasp as the bond sparked, then fully snapped into place.
“You…” Harry breathed.
“Yes,” she nodded, fresh tears in her eyes as she cupped the side of his face. “I’m choosing you.”
Pure elation filled his heart as he leaned down again to reclaim her mouth, but before he could, someone cleared their throats. Harry groaned, looking over his shoulder to find Draco and Theo standing there with their hands intertwined.
He smirked. “Well, it’s about damn time.”
Theo shrugged. “Figured after watching you two idiots we would admit that we had feelings for one another.”
Draco tightened his grip in Theo’s. “We didn’t want to have something as extreme as a forced bonding to push us together.”
Hermione blushed and buried her face into Harry’s chest while he stroked her hair comfortingly.
“Anyway, we just wanted to let you know that the Healer said you are free to be discharged,” Theo informed them.
Hermione looked up at Harry, hope shining in her eyes as she pushed herself up and began making preparations to leave the ward. As he waited for her outside the door, Harry couldn’t help but bask in their bond. He loved being able to feel all her nervous energy, excitement, and ambition for their future. The road would be long, and it still wouldn’t be easy, but deep down, they knew the truth. They had always been meant to be together.