Never Leave

Title: Never Leave



Chapter 1: Searching For You



Summary: He left her...but with a little help, magic, and ghosts, will she be able to find him again?



Author's Note: I've been planning this for a long time; I just never found the time to publish it.



Disclaimer: The characters are all owned by J. K. Rowling - nothing but the plot is mine!



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It was ordinary, normal day. People were going about their normal lives, not having much time to stop by and chat…they were just living. Well, that was probably a good thing, since it showed that the War was over and that the light was victorious. No one was afraid to come outside and enjoy the bright day, there were no Death Eaters on the loose. It was a happy, peaceful time for most.



Except for two.



These two people weren't your ordinary people, they were heroes. They helped the Wizarding World to become what it was today. The two people in question were Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley. We all know that these two are 2/3 of the Golden Trio, heroes, saviors…..yadda yadda yadda. You would think they would be the happiest, most at peace, now that the War was over. But it was due to the disappearance of one, Harry Potter, the real hero, which had them worried.



Of course, the rest of the Wizarding World wasn't very worried. They believed the man to be on a long, well – deserved holiday, now that the war was over. But the occupants of most of the man's life knew better. They knew Harry would never do something like that. He would at least tell them before going somewhere. No, they knew his behavior had been off.



So, when a girl with long, bushy brown hair and caramel eyes was walking down the street on a bright morning, there was no question as to why she was there. The girl, Hermione Granger, was wearing purple t-shirt, faded light blue tight jeans, and black sneakers. She seemed not to know where she was going. She just walked along the street, thinking of the last time she saw her other best friend…



It had been three days after the War was over, and people were celebrating with joy. They had come to terms with all the losses and death's, and had realized exactly what they had missed out on because of the War. There was a celebration going on, right then, in the Burrow, where half-drunk red-heads were drinking to the brave souls who died, and hoping for a better future. It was on this date that Harry Potter found himself outside the Burrow, thinking. He relished the few moments he had alone, to think. The sky was a dark color, the stars shining brightly.



"Boo!" a girls' voice whispered in his ear from behind and the entranced man gave a startled jump. He found himself looking at Hermione Granger, whose eyes were full of mischievous mirth. It wasn't until now that Harry realized how much he didn't want to be alone on this night. How he wanted only his other two friends with him.



The last three days had been utter torture, with photographers and journalists trying to dig out some story on the famous "Chosen One" Harry now truly realized what he really wanted….Hermione and Ron. Those who had stuck by him through everything. "Hermione?" he asked, "What is it?"



The girl had now stopped laughing and smiled at him. "Nothing. It was just getting stuffy in there. I wanted a moment of peace, you know. A little time for myself, maybe with you and Ron. It's been Hell these past few days, what with the reporters and all," It was indeed true, Harry knew.



Harry nodded to her in agreement and then proceeded on thinking. He felt Hermione fall into step beside him, also thinking. Neither of them had realized until know what had been going on. It was just a blur. Fred was gone, Remus was gone, Tonks was gone. So many people died playing hero.



Harry hadn't realized he had said the last sentence out loud before Hermione leaned against him and murmured, "But there are so many still here,"



"There would be more if I wasn't stupid enough to endanger th –"Harry's sentence was cut off when Hermione put a finger against his lips.



"Shut up, Harry," she said, hints of anger in her voice, before she proceeded to kiss him.



That was the last time she saw him. After that one kiss, he had gone inside, Hermione following suit. That was the last anyone had ever seen of him…..



When they found out that he had left, the Weasley's weren't very worried, except for Ginny. Hermione could still remember the younger girls' voice….."Oh, Harry, why did he leave me? We didn't even get the chance to get together after the War was over!" and she had burst into tears. Hermione had been more than a little annoyed then. It was a bit disheartening to hear Ginny crying over Harry when Hermione herself had just kissed him the night before, never really regretting it. Hermione had instantly mentally hit herself. Harry and Ginny were meant for each other. What could she do to stop that?



As for the present moment, however, Hermione was alone in a long street, no one else there. She was searching for someone who didn't want to be found, someone who had trusted her with everything but his location. Frustrated, the young girl felt the tears picking at her eyes. She felt so helpless, so…tired. Did she ask Harry to go? Or maybe, she had driven him away. Completely and utterly frustrated, the girl let out an anguished scream.



"Something wrong, dear?" a voice asked Hermione, sounding concerned.



"No," Hermione turned to look at the woman, wiping crossly and roughly against her pink cheeks. The woman had long, red hair, and was a little taller than Hermione. She was pretty; looking like the envy of most girls. But to Hermione, the only thing that mattered was that the woman had green eyes. The same shade of green as Harry…..



After a small pause, the woman said, "Have you ever had the feeling that some memory of yours was a dream? Like it was impossible, but a gut feeling told you it was real? Have you felt that you needed proof that a person or place had once existed out of your memories?"



Hermione nodded, slowly, eyes still trained upon the woman, who was no longer looking at her. She was, instead, looking up at the pale blue sky. "Yes. When I first found out I was a witch, I felt like it was too good to be true. After my first year, I hopelessly sent owls to Harry and Ron, just to know that even if Hogwarts and magic wasn't real, at least they were. After the defeat of Lord Voldemort, I again thought it was too good to be true," The younger girl didn't know why she was confiding these things into a person, much less a stranger. But Hermione couldn't stop. They were Harry's eyes….



"Have you ever stopped and thought through that smart, pretty head of yours, that maybe, he needed the same, living proof? Maybe proof of those who he had only heard stories of, those who he had no more memory of? Have you thought it that he also believed it all to be a dream? A dream extraordinary, yet a dream. Would he possibly need some assurance which accused that it wasn't all a lie?" the woman was now disappearing, but Hermione was in a trance. The pieces of the puzzle were coming together. By the time Hermione had drawn a conclusion, the woman was gone.



Quickly, Hermione took out her wand, and with a sound crack of apparition, she was gone.



When she rematerialized, Hermione was in Godric's Hollow; and there was Harry. He stood there, in front of his parents' graves, tears trailing down his cheeks. He was talking, telling them about anything and everything. Hogwarts, the Dursley's, the Horcrux Hunt, the Weasley's, and the highlight of his talk – Hermione Granger. He chattered on and on about the beautiful girl with caramel eyes and chocolate hair. All the while, tears running down his face.



Finally, Hermione made up her mind, she went up to him, and embraced him. She brushed away his tears, while she began crying herself. "I'm here, Harry. I'm here,"



"I know," he said.



"Don't ever leave," she commanded.



"I won't ever leave. I'm sorry, Hermione,"



"I know you are," Hermione whispered, before he caught his lips with hers, their embrace forever.



"I love you," she said as they came out of the kiss. He put his forehead against hers.



"I love you too," he replied, before kissing her again.



Unbeknownst to the oblivious couple, a woman with long red hair and bright green eyes and a man with messy raven locks, brown eyes, and glasses were watching them, peaceful smiles on their faces.



"Took them long enough," the man whispered to his own wife, a smile on his face.



The woman hit him playfully on the arm and said, "Be nice. That's your son and soon-to-be daughter-in-law we're talking about…"



"Although I don't know why he didn't go for the red-head," the man muttered.



The woman rolled her eyes, "That girl? The Weasley girl? Please. My son can do so much better than that clingy little gold-digger –"



The woman was apparently going to say more, but the man kissed her, effectively ruining her rant. "Come on. Let's go back,"



The woman pouted teasingly, "I want to watch them. They're so sweet and romantic. It's like their story is out of a book,"



The man rolled his eyes this time, "We can watch them from up there. We do it anyway. Now come on, Padfoot and I were planning a prank on ol' Snivellus,"



The woman hit him again, "Sev helped our son in the end,"



"Not for the boys' good, I assure you," the man muttered under his breath.



"What was that?" she asked menacingly.



"Let's go, Lily-Flower," and the two of them slowly disappeared.



Harry and Hermione were still kissing, but Hermione had come out long enough to see a woman with long red hair disappearing slowly. Thinking that it was her imagination; the girl shook her head and kissed Harry again.



Yes, there was finally peace.