Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Innocence Faded
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is a billionaire. I rarely have two pennies to rub together. You can't get blood from a turnip. Innocence faded Lyrics belong to Dream Theater.
A/N: The next two chapters were written and posted before this one. I can't remember if I had originally planned on writing any of this out when I started, but I got tired of people telling me that I had a major plothole. So if anything in the next two chapters looks like I was trying to hint at certain things mentioned in this chapter (For instance the father of Jonas and Jenna) the reason is that Ioriginally didn't want to put this at the beginning, but it was too much for aflashback, and I like it this way anyway. Also I know that I'm fudging on the meaning of Imzadi, if anyone actually notices that.
NOW SLASH FREE!!!
So enjoy the
Overture
He fell back into the pillow. He was tired, but not nearly as stressed out as before. She was right, as usual. He looked over at her, saw the satisfied smile on her face.
"How are you feeling?" He asked. He had been worried that he had hurt her.
"Just fine, Imzadi," came her reply, in a dreamy voice worthy of Luna Lovegood.
He was used to her using words he did not know, but this one didn't even sound real. "Come again?"
"What?" she replied, sounding a little more alert.
"That word, em-sah-dee or whatever it was, that you called me. What does it mean?" He asked, knowing he would get an answer that was longer and more complicated than it needed to be. He wasn't disappointed.
"Oh, that. Im-ZA-dee. It's from Star Trek. It's Betazoid for 'first.' Riker and Troi sometimes called each other that," she replied sleepily. Of course, Star Trek. She only mentions it once every bloody week. He suddenly had a chilling thought. /What if /he finds out? What are we going to do? He got up and turned on the WWN receiver, tuning it to a station that played some muggle tunes. On came a song that just made him more depressed as he listened to the lyrics.
Animation
Breathes a cloudless mind
Fascination
Leaves the doubting blind
Until the circle breaks and wisdom lies ahead
The faithful live awake
The rest remain misled
Some will transcend spinning years
One as if time disappears
Innocence faded
The mirror falls behind you
Trinity jaded
I break down walls to find you
Callow and vain
Fixed like a fossil, shrouding pain
Passionless stage
Distant like brothers
Wearing apathetic displays
Sharing flesh like envy in cages
Condescending
Not intending to end
Some will transcend spinning years
One as if time disappears
Innocence faded
The mirror falls behind you
Trinity jaded
I break down walls to find you
Beginnings get complicated
The farther we progress
Opinions are calculated
Immune to openness
Beyond the circles edge
Were driven by her blessings
Forever hesitating
Caught beneath the wheel
Innocence faded
The mirror falls behind you
Cynically jaded
The child will crawl to find you.
Hermione sleepily muttered, "That's our song now, you know." Harry almost didn't catch the joking tone in her voice. He shut the receiver off after the next song, a classy ditty about large formal parties, and when to bed--his own bed.
The next day, they discussed what had happened the previous night and decided that it had to remain their little secret. Neither one knew how much pain the other one felt when they agreed that it was a mistake that must never be repeated.
-------[**]
Harry couldn't believe it. Voldemort was dead, stone dead. 'E was pinin'for the fjords 'e was. 'E's passed on! This Dark Lord is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! 'E's pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! HE IS AN EX-DARK LORD!! I really need to stop watching Monty Python reruns.
Still, something was bothering him. Whatever it was, it had been eating at Harry since his friends had disappeared during the battle. He hadn't had time to notice it at the time. Now that he could notice it he didn't think he would like the answer if he did manage to identify it.
He was right.
No sooner did he manage to identify it than he wished he hadn't. He was in love with Hermione. That he had already known, though he tried to ignore it. He knew that she would never love him. That knowledge had been like a knife through the heart, but he had begun to accept the fact. No, what got to him was that she loved Ron. That realization only served to twist the knife, to rub in his face the fact that the first girl--no, woman/--he'd ever truly /loved would never love him back. He felt that if he were to tell her how he felt, maybe he would feel better. A more rational part of him knew that it would only make it worse if she didn't return the feelings, and would likely ruin their friendship. He fervently ignored that part.
Harry made his decision. He sought out his female best friend, the one person he'd told everything to. Well, almost everything. He was going to fix that as soon as he found her.
Harry found her in the wreckage of what had been the Hogwarts library less than twelve hours previously, sitting on what he assumed had once been a bookcase. He walked up and sat beside her. "I knew I'd find you here," he said, sadly. Hermione gave a start but said nothing. The wreckage of the library, where he had spent so much time with her in his six years at Hogwarts, only seemed to emphasize the state of the relationship that could never be. He almost lost his nerve right then. He soldiered on, however. "So, what's your excuse for not being with the Weasleys right now?" Harry asked conversationally, if sadly. "Mine was looking for you."
Hermione looked up, acknowledging his presence for the first time since he had entered the eerily silent library. "Hmm?Oh, I just felt like an outsider, and I needed to get away to let them grieve in peace. I also had some soul searching to do," she said, tears in her eyes.
"What about?" Harry asked, almost dreading the response.
"I...I don't want to say. You'd think Iwas nuts," she said, pointedly avoiding his gaze.
Harry snorted. "At this point in time, that would be like the pot calling the kettle black," he looked at Hermione, deadly serious all of a sudden, then took a deep breath and looked away. He took another deep breath, mustering his courage. "Do you remember that...that 'break' you called it?" He asked. Her face showed fear; her eyes betrayed a secret hope as she nodded. Harry did not notice this as he was staring at the floor. He continued, not waiting for confirmation. "Do you remember the conversation afterwards, where we agreed that it was a mistake never to be repeated?" she nodded again, her features becoming more fearful, her eyes betraying a growing hope. Harry still stared at the floor, and continued, still not waiting for confirmation. "I lied, Hermione," He looked into her eyes. "I didn't think it was a mistake. I love you Hermione. I didn't realize it until after we made that agreement. It tore my heart in two to say that it was a mistake. Every time I reassured Ron that nothing had happened, that nothing could ever happen between us, it hurt more than words can describe," he paused, taking a shuddering breath, barely suppressing the sob that so desperately wanted to escape, "and then, seeing you fawning over Ron in the middle of battle, I almost didn't have the strength to go on. Only by reminding myself that my life was just a small part of what was at stake, that everyone's survival was hinged on my own survival, was I able to continue. I fought for you. I fought on just so that you could be happy one day." He finally succumbed to tears. He stood up and began to walk blindly away.
Hermione was stunned. Harry loved her. He had fought on because he wanted to see her happy. Needless to say, she was touched. Noticing his hasty retreat, she called out to him, "Harry," he came to a halt and turned to face her. "Harry, my imzadi, I've got a confession to make. I...I lied as well. That break was the most magical hour of my life, pardon the pun," she chuckled tearfully. "My only regret was that I wasn't your first. I guess I agreed to forget about it because I was afraid that I hadn't measured up to Ginny, to Cho, to the Patil twins, to that muggle Julie. I love you, I've loved you ever since you rushed into the girls toilet, my knight in shining armor, with his faithful sidekick. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, if you will. I never realized it, however, until that fiasco with Cho on Valentine's Day fifth year. I held a brief hope that you felt the same way about me, until aweek later you got back with Cho. My hope was revived after you broke up with Cho again a month later. When you still did not show any interest, I pushed it aside, even going for the next best thing, the faithful sidekick. I was even able to convince myself I loved him. Until that night. After that, I realized I had forced all those feelings I had for Ron, to the point of threatening our friendship. When Iwas finally able to forgive him for leaving us, I started to overcompensate for my lack of true feelings, as I was afraid that if I told him how I truly felt about him he would abandon us again," she put her head in her hands, then looked up at Harry. "What will he do when he finds out?" she sobbed, throwing her arms around him.
Harry took her face in his hands and brushed the tears away with his thumb. "We'll cross that bridge when we reach it. As for your insecurities, Ginny and I never got past first base. Cho was only once; she cried the whole time, and called me Cedric at the end--that was why we broke up the second time. Padma and Parvati, on the other hand were mind-blowing, but sex with them was just /fucking/, bereft of all emotion, except for the, er, more than sisterly love between the girls," Hermione looked shocked, but said nothing. "Julie, while she was my first, the sensation was, as the Americans say, like waving a hot dog in ahallway. A very large hallway at that," He paused as he collected his thoughts for what he was about to say next. "With you, it was beautiful. It wasn't mind-blowing like with the Patils," She looked offended, and Harry rushed to explain what he meant, "but it was so much better. It was, well, it was like so many cheesy cliches I could use here but won't to spare you and me the embarrassment. The point is I love you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life," he got on one knee. "I don't have a ring, because I didn't expect you to reciprocate my feelings, but will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Hermione looked on the verge of tears. For moment Harry thought that he had said the wrong thing, and was about to apologize--and run for cover, if necessary--until, "Yes Harry, my knight in shining armor, my imzadi, I will," and with that she kissed him. For the next thirty minutes they barely separated long enough to come up for air.
------
That night, reluctant as they were to tell the Weasleys the news, they knew that it would be best to tell them sooner rather than later. While Hermione took Ron off to explain it to him in private, Harry was thrown under the bus, as he had to explain it to the rest of the surviving Weasley clan. "I-" he croaked. Seven faces turned in his direction.
Clearing his throat, he began again, "I have an announcement to make. While I would prefer to have Hermione here with me, explaining it to all nine of you," six sets of red-rimmed eyes started shining at this, aseventh turning suspicious, "Hermione had to explain it to Ron separately. Recently I realized how much I love Hermione," Ginny's eyes flashed with anger, and a nearby oil lamp shattered, showering several nearby paintings and tapestries with liquid flames and pelting several bystanders with shards of glass. Harry gulped audibly, then continued, "I had, until this morning, pushed those feelings aside, believing that she did not feel the same. I thought she was in love with Ron, and I was determined not to tell her how I felt. Last night, during the battle, I realized just how much it hurt to know she would never feel the same way about me. I didn't realize this until this morning, and when I did, Iset out to tell her how I felt, to get it off my chest. When I told her, she told me that she loved me, too.
"To make a long story slightly less long, I proposed to her and she accepted,"Harry spared a glance over at Ginny and was glad that it was impossible to directly kill anyone with accidental magic.
Aside from Ginny--and, Harry could safely assume, Ron--the Weasleys were happy for him. While Mrs. Weasley would have preferred that Harry were to marry Ginny, she was still glad he found a nice girl to settle down with.
George pulled Harry aside and said, "Listen, mate, I'm really happy for you. You know we all consider you a part of the family, an honorary Weasley. Well, except for Ginny, of course. The rest of us are really happy for you. Don't worry about Ginny and Ron, though. They'll come around eventually." He paused here, his puffy, bloodshot and red-rimmed eyes tearing up even more than they already had been. "But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to ask you to deliver the eulogy at Fred's funeral."
"Me? Why not a family member? Why not Lee?" Harry asked, surprised.
"I just told you, you are like family to us. I've already discussed this with everyone. Even Lee agrees. Plus, you were there when he...when he..." George trailed off, unable to complete the thought as tears once again spilled down his face.
"If it means that much to you; /if you're sure/," George, unable to say anything, nodded sincerely, "I'd be honored. You two were always there for me, you helped me even when you didn't know who I was. I better stop or I won't have anything to say at the funeral. Stay strong, George, Fred wouldn't want you to be joining him so soon," Harry said, giving George a brotherly embrace.
------
The funeral was not large. It consisted of the surviving Weasley and Prewitt family members, the surviving Order members, the surviving DA members, the twins' employees, and any friends not covered in the above groups. Okay, so it was a large funeral, almost as big as Dumbledore's funeral. Harry was nervous. The last time he had spoken to a group anywhere near this large, nearly half of them had died--including the man he was eulogizing.
Hermione squeezed his hand. "Are you ready?" she asked. He nodded and stood, going to stand by the coffin, which was adorned with a toilet seat, presumably from Hogwarts.
He looked at the audience. Most of the faces were sad, except for Ron who looked at Harry with a cold fury in his one open eye. His other was swollen shut, colored in sickening shades of purple and yellow where Hermione had hit him when he reacted badly to the news. All, even Ron, had tears running down their faces, though Ron's were probably not all from grief.
Harry cleared his throat. "I only knew Fred for seven years. Most of you knew him for far longer. I know all of you have fond memories of our fallen comrade, but I can only tell you what I remember about him. I first met him on 1 September 1991. I was having trouble getting my trunk onto the train. Fred and George helped me, and they didn't even know who I was. In my first quidditch game, when I lost control of my broom, they were ready to catch me should I fall," he paused here.
"I'm sorry, all of my memories of Fred always include George. I could never tell them apart until a few days before my seventeenth birthday," He smiled, and a few of the twin's friends chuckled weakly.
"When Christmas came around my first year, and I received a sweater from Mrs. Weasley, just like them, they seemed to accept me as a brother," Harry paused here, to regain his composure. As soon as he was sure he could continue without breaking down, he said, "That really meant a lot to me," despite his best efforts his voice cracked with greif. "It was the first time in my life I felt like I had a family," Harry went on to describe many of his fondest memories of Fred, all of which also included George. The way they mocked the theory that Harry was the heir of Slytherin, their beards after the failed attempt at crossing the age line, how they were reluctant to take the money he offered them to start their joke shop, their departure from Hogwarts in the middle of his fifth year, the bravery they showed in retrieving him from the Dursleys less than a year previously. He told of how he had died laughing, happy that his family was whole again.
"Until the end, he was a teammate, a partner-in-crime, a business associate, abrother-in-arms, and I'll miss him," with that he went and sat down. After the funeral most of the Weasleys--except for Ginny and Ron--came over to thank him. He offered his most sincere condolences.
-------
24 August 1998
In one week Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Defeater of Voldemort, would step through the barrier to Platform 9 3/4 as the latest Head Boy of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was looking forward to that day, but right now all he could think of was how happy he was that this day had finally arrived. Today he was going to marry the woman of his dreams. Sure, he was nervous. He would have preferred to have Ron as his best man, but Ron had turned him down, refusing to even attend. Instead, he had Neville as his best man with George, Charlie and Bill filling the role of groomsmen. Hermione's maid of honor was Luna, as Ginny, like Ron, had refused to even attend, and the other bridesmaids were Parvati, Padma, and Fleur.
Harry was a little uncomfortable about having two of his former girlfriends as part of the wedding party, especially those two, but Hermione had insisted, he relented, and they accepted. Fleur was there as a way of thanking her for all she had done for them in the spring.
It had been a real challenge getting all the wizards to wear suits instead of robes, as it was a muggle ceremony, but they had succeeded. The witches' dress robes didn't look that much different from any formal dress, so that wasn't much of a problem.
The music changed to a traditional wedding march. Hermione's parents had insisted on it, though Hermione had wanted"Canon in D." Harry was secretly glad to have gone with the cliche, since even he recognized it, clueless as he was about marriage traditions. He looked up to see Hermione, a vision in white making her way down the aisle. He'd never seen a vision of beauty such as the one before him. The closest he could think of was the way she looked at the Yule Ball in fourth year, and even that was a very distant second. He was so mesmerized by her beauty that he barely paid attention to the service. Neville had to jab him in the back when it came time to read the vows he had written.
"Hermione, my love, you are my better half, and that's not just a cliche, it's the truth. You have never abandoned me since we've been friends, even if I've abandoned you from time to time. You've saved my sorry behind more times than I care to admit. Without you, I'd never have made it this far. I don't know what I've done to deserve you, but I vow that I will never change. I will always love you," Harry said from the bottom of his heart.
Hermione's eyes were shining with tears of joy as she said, "Harry, my knight in shining armor, my one true love, I never will abandon you. You've saved my life on at least three separate occasions. I owe you more than I can ever repay you, and all I can give you is my love and devotion. I promise that no matter what, I will always love you."
Harry would remember little else from the ceremony and reception, except that their first dance was to the song "Innocence Faded," by Dream Theater, which was her favorite band. He wasn't sure why that specific song was chosen, except that it was a good reason, which Hermione had explained to him.
------
The next two and a half years would be the happiest of his life, with Hermione giving birth to a set of twins, which they name Jonas Henry and Jennifer Haley Potter, a little over two years after the wedding. Harry slowly drifted apart from Hermione after the birth of the twins, and just over a year after the twins were born, Harry divorced Hermione and shortly after that he married Ginny.
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A/N: Another chapter down. (That does seem weird to put at the end of a prologue, doesn't it?) I don't believe that I could have written this without the next two having been written. I hope to make the story eight or nine chapters, including Overture and the epilogue, which will not be called 'Epilogue.' I do wonder if anyone will recognize the pattern of the chapter names. Probably not, as the musical reference is fairly obscure. "Innocence Faded" is the song whose lyrics appear earlier in this chapter, and a few times in later chapters. I was listening to "Score XOX: 20th Anniversary World Tour: Live with the Octavarium Orchestra" by Dream Theater (whew, that's along album title. Good album, though, particularly the Three-disc version) when I started writing the story, and that's where the title came from and I particularly like how the lyrics are so versatile, or at least the chorus.
Oh yeah
Questions? Comments? Plotholes? Just put them in a review and I'll try to respond to them.
A helpful user that goes by the username cosmopolitan made some suggestions, and I've decided to take them into account, so I would like to thank them for the suggestions, which inspired me to improve it where I could
A/N: The next two chapters were written and posted before this one. I can't remember if I had originally planned on writing any of this out when I started, but I got tired of people telling me that I had a major plothole. So if anything in the next two chapters looks like I was trying to hint at certain things mentioned in this chapter (For instance the father of Jonas and Jenna) the reason is that Ioriginally didn't want to put this at the beginning, but it was too much for aflashback, and I like it this way anyway. Also I know that I'm fudging on the meaning of Imzadi, if anyone actually notices that.
NOW SLASH FREE!!!
So enjoy the
Overture
He fell back into the pillow. He was tired, but not nearly as stressed out as before. She was right, as usual. He looked over at her, saw the satisfied smile on her face.
"How are you feeling?" He asked. He had been worried that he had hurt her.
"Just fine, Imzadi," came her reply, in a dreamy voice worthy of Luna Lovegood.
He was used to her using words he did not know, but this one didn't even sound real. "Come again?"
"What?" she replied, sounding a little more alert.
"That word, em-sah-dee or whatever it was, that you called me. What does it mean?" He asked, knowing he would get an answer that was longer and more complicated than it needed to be. He wasn't disappointed.
"Oh, that. Im-ZA-dee. It's from Star Trek. It's Betazoid for 'first.' Riker and Troi sometimes called each other that," she replied sleepily. Of course, Star Trek. She only mentions it once every bloody week. He suddenly had a chilling thought. /What if /he finds out? What are we going to do? He got up and turned on the WWN receiver, tuning it to a station that played some muggle tunes. On came a song that just made him more depressed as he listened to the lyrics.
Animation
Breathes a cloudless mind
Fascination
Leaves the doubting blind
Until the circle breaks and wisdom lies ahead
The faithful live awake
The rest remain misled
Some will transcend spinning years
One as if time disappears
Innocence faded
The mirror falls behind you
Trinity jaded
I break down walls to find you
Callow and vain
Fixed like a fossil, shrouding pain
Passionless stage
Distant like brothers
Wearing apathetic displays
Sharing flesh like envy in cages
Condescending
Not intending to end
Some will transcend spinning years
One as if time disappears
Innocence faded
The mirror falls behind you
Trinity jaded
I break down walls to find you
Beginnings get complicated
The farther we progress
Opinions are calculated
Immune to openness
Beyond the circles edge
Were driven by her blessings
Forever hesitating
Caught beneath the wheel
Innocence faded
The mirror falls behind you
Cynically jaded
The child will crawl to find you.
Hermione sleepily muttered, "That's our song now, you know." Harry almost didn't catch the joking tone in her voice. He shut the receiver off after the next song, a classy ditty about large formal parties, and when to bed--his own bed.
The next day, they discussed what had happened the previous night and decided that it had to remain their little secret. Neither one knew how much pain the other one felt when they agreed that it was a mistake that must never be repeated.
-------[**]
Harry couldn't believe it. Voldemort was dead, stone dead. 'E was pinin'for the fjords 'e was. 'E's passed on! This Dark Lord is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! 'E's pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! HE IS AN EX-DARK LORD!! I really need to stop watching Monty Python reruns.
Still, something was bothering him. Whatever it was, it had been eating at Harry since his friends had disappeared during the battle. He hadn't had time to notice it at the time. Now that he could notice it he didn't think he would like the answer if he did manage to identify it.
He was right.
No sooner did he manage to identify it than he wished he hadn't. He was in love with Hermione. That he had already known, though he tried to ignore it. He knew that she would never love him. That knowledge had been like a knife through the heart, but he had begun to accept the fact. No, what got to him was that she loved Ron. That realization only served to twist the knife, to rub in his face the fact that the first girl--no, woman/--he'd ever truly /loved would never love him back. He felt that if he were to tell her how he felt, maybe he would feel better. A more rational part of him knew that it would only make it worse if she didn't return the feelings, and would likely ruin their friendship. He fervently ignored that part.
Harry made his decision. He sought out his female best friend, the one person he'd told everything to. Well, almost everything. He was going to fix that as soon as he found her.
Harry found her in the wreckage of what had been the Hogwarts library less than twelve hours previously, sitting on what he assumed had once been a bookcase. He walked up and sat beside her. "I knew I'd find you here," he said, sadly. Hermione gave a start but said nothing. The wreckage of the library, where he had spent so much time with her in his six years at Hogwarts, only seemed to emphasize the state of the relationship that could never be. He almost lost his nerve right then. He soldiered on, however. "So, what's your excuse for not being with the Weasleys right now?" Harry asked conversationally, if sadly. "Mine was looking for you."
Hermione looked up, acknowledging his presence for the first time since he had entered the eerily silent library. "Hmm?Oh, I just felt like an outsider, and I needed to get away to let them grieve in peace. I also had some soul searching to do," she said, tears in her eyes.
"What about?" Harry asked, almost dreading the response.
"I...I don't want to say. You'd think Iwas nuts," she said, pointedly avoiding his gaze.
Harry snorted. "At this point in time, that would be like the pot calling the kettle black," he looked at Hermione, deadly serious all of a sudden, then took a deep breath and looked away. He took another deep breath, mustering his courage. "Do you remember that...that 'break' you called it?" He asked. Her face showed fear; her eyes betrayed a secret hope as she nodded. Harry did not notice this as he was staring at the floor. He continued, not waiting for confirmation. "Do you remember the conversation afterwards, where we agreed that it was a mistake never to be repeated?" she nodded again, her features becoming more fearful, her eyes betraying a growing hope. Harry still stared at the floor, and continued, still not waiting for confirmation. "I lied, Hermione," He looked into her eyes. "I didn't think it was a mistake. I love you Hermione. I didn't realize it until after we made that agreement. It tore my heart in two to say that it was a mistake. Every time I reassured Ron that nothing had happened, that nothing could ever happen between us, it hurt more than words can describe," he paused, taking a shuddering breath, barely suppressing the sob that so desperately wanted to escape, "and then, seeing you fawning over Ron in the middle of battle, I almost didn't have the strength to go on. Only by reminding myself that my life was just a small part of what was at stake, that everyone's survival was hinged on my own survival, was I able to continue. I fought for you. I fought on just so that you could be happy one day." He finally succumbed to tears. He stood up and began to walk blindly away.
Hermione was stunned. Harry loved her. He had fought on because he wanted to see her happy. Needless to say, she was touched. Noticing his hasty retreat, she called out to him, "Harry," he came to a halt and turned to face her. "Harry, my imzadi, I've got a confession to make. I...I lied as well. That break was the most magical hour of my life, pardon the pun," she chuckled tearfully. "My only regret was that I wasn't your first. I guess I agreed to forget about it because I was afraid that I hadn't measured up to Ginny, to Cho, to the Patil twins, to that muggle Julie. I love you, I've loved you ever since you rushed into the girls toilet, my knight in shining armor, with his faithful sidekick. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, if you will. I never realized it, however, until that fiasco with Cho on Valentine's Day fifth year. I held a brief hope that you felt the same way about me, until aweek later you got back with Cho. My hope was revived after you broke up with Cho again a month later. When you still did not show any interest, I pushed it aside, even going for the next best thing, the faithful sidekick. I was even able to convince myself I loved him. Until that night. After that, I realized I had forced all those feelings I had for Ron, to the point of threatening our friendship. When Iwas finally able to forgive him for leaving us, I started to overcompensate for my lack of true feelings, as I was afraid that if I told him how I truly felt about him he would abandon us again," she put her head in her hands, then looked up at Harry. "What will he do when he finds out?" she sobbed, throwing her arms around him.
Harry took her face in his hands and brushed the tears away with his thumb. "We'll cross that bridge when we reach it. As for your insecurities, Ginny and I never got past first base. Cho was only once; she cried the whole time, and called me Cedric at the end--that was why we broke up the second time. Padma and Parvati, on the other hand were mind-blowing, but sex with them was just /fucking/, bereft of all emotion, except for the, er, more than sisterly love between the girls," Hermione looked shocked, but said nothing. "Julie, while she was my first, the sensation was, as the Americans say, like waving a hot dog in ahallway. A very large hallway at that," He paused as he collected his thoughts for what he was about to say next. "With you, it was beautiful. It wasn't mind-blowing like with the Patils," She looked offended, and Harry rushed to explain what he meant, "but it was so much better. It was, well, it was like so many cheesy cliches I could use here but won't to spare you and me the embarrassment. The point is I love you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life," he got on one knee. "I don't have a ring, because I didn't expect you to reciprocate my feelings, but will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Hermione looked on the verge of tears. For moment Harry thought that he had said the wrong thing, and was about to apologize--and run for cover, if necessary--until, "Yes Harry, my knight in shining armor, my imzadi, I will," and with that she kissed him. For the next thirty minutes they barely separated long enough to come up for air.
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That night, reluctant as they were to tell the Weasleys the news, they knew that it would be best to tell them sooner rather than later. While Hermione took Ron off to explain it to him in private, Harry was thrown under the bus, as he had to explain it to the rest of the surviving Weasley clan. "I-" he croaked. Seven faces turned in his direction.
Clearing his throat, he began again, "I have an announcement to make. While I would prefer to have Hermione here with me, explaining it to all nine of you," six sets of red-rimmed eyes started shining at this, aseventh turning suspicious, "Hermione had to explain it to Ron separately. Recently I realized how much I love Hermione," Ginny's eyes flashed with anger, and a nearby oil lamp shattered, showering several nearby paintings and tapestries with liquid flames and pelting several bystanders with shards of glass. Harry gulped audibly, then continued, "I had, until this morning, pushed those feelings aside, believing that she did not feel the same. I thought she was in love with Ron, and I was determined not to tell her how I felt. Last night, during the battle, I realized just how much it hurt to know she would never feel the same way about me. I didn't realize this until this morning, and when I did, Iset out to tell her how I felt, to get it off my chest. When I told her, she told me that she loved me, too.
"To make a long story slightly less long, I proposed to her and she accepted,"Harry spared a glance over at Ginny and was glad that it was impossible to directly kill anyone with accidental magic.
Aside from Ginny--and, Harry could safely assume, Ron--the Weasleys were happy for him. While Mrs. Weasley would have preferred that Harry were to marry Ginny, she was still glad he found a nice girl to settle down with.
George pulled Harry aside and said, "Listen, mate, I'm really happy for you. You know we all consider you a part of the family, an honorary Weasley. Well, except for Ginny, of course. The rest of us are really happy for you. Don't worry about Ginny and Ron, though. They'll come around eventually." He paused here, his puffy, bloodshot and red-rimmed eyes tearing up even more than they already had been. "But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to ask you to deliver the eulogy at Fred's funeral."
"Me? Why not a family member? Why not Lee?" Harry asked, surprised.
"I just told you, you are like family to us. I've already discussed this with everyone. Even Lee agrees. Plus, you were there when he...when he..." George trailed off, unable to complete the thought as tears once again spilled down his face.
"If it means that much to you; /if you're sure/," George, unable to say anything, nodded sincerely, "I'd be honored. You two were always there for me, you helped me even when you didn't know who I was. I better stop or I won't have anything to say at the funeral. Stay strong, George, Fred wouldn't want you to be joining him so soon," Harry said, giving George a brotherly embrace.
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The funeral was not large. It consisted of the surviving Weasley and Prewitt family members, the surviving Order members, the surviving DA members, the twins' employees, and any friends not covered in the above groups. Okay, so it was a large funeral, almost as big as Dumbledore's funeral. Harry was nervous. The last time he had spoken to a group anywhere near this large, nearly half of them had died--including the man he was eulogizing.
Hermione squeezed his hand. "Are you ready?" she asked. He nodded and stood, going to stand by the coffin, which was adorned with a toilet seat, presumably from Hogwarts.
He looked at the audience. Most of the faces were sad, except for Ron who looked at Harry with a cold fury in his one open eye. His other was swollen shut, colored in sickening shades of purple and yellow where Hermione had hit him when he reacted badly to the news. All, even Ron, had tears running down their faces, though Ron's were probably not all from grief.
Harry cleared his throat. "I only knew Fred for seven years. Most of you knew him for far longer. I know all of you have fond memories of our fallen comrade, but I can only tell you what I remember about him. I first met him on 1 September 1991. I was having trouble getting my trunk onto the train. Fred and George helped me, and they didn't even know who I was. In my first quidditch game, when I lost control of my broom, they were ready to catch me should I fall," he paused here.
"I'm sorry, all of my memories of Fred always include George. I could never tell them apart until a few days before my seventeenth birthday," He smiled, and a few of the twin's friends chuckled weakly.
"When Christmas came around my first year, and I received a sweater from Mrs. Weasley, just like them, they seemed to accept me as a brother," Harry paused here, to regain his composure. As soon as he was sure he could continue without breaking down, he said, "That really meant a lot to me," despite his best efforts his voice cracked with greif. "It was the first time in my life I felt like I had a family," Harry went on to describe many of his fondest memories of Fred, all of which also included George. The way they mocked the theory that Harry was the heir of Slytherin, their beards after the failed attempt at crossing the age line, how they were reluctant to take the money he offered them to start their joke shop, their departure from Hogwarts in the middle of his fifth year, the bravery they showed in retrieving him from the Dursleys less than a year previously. He told of how he had died laughing, happy that his family was whole again.
"Until the end, he was a teammate, a partner-in-crime, a business associate, abrother-in-arms, and I'll miss him," with that he went and sat down. After the funeral most of the Weasleys--except for Ginny and Ron--came over to thank him. He offered his most sincere condolences.
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24 August 1998
In one week Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Defeater of Voldemort, would step through the barrier to Platform 9 3/4 as the latest Head Boy of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was looking forward to that day, but right now all he could think of was how happy he was that this day had finally arrived. Today he was going to marry the woman of his dreams. Sure, he was nervous. He would have preferred to have Ron as his best man, but Ron had turned him down, refusing to even attend. Instead, he had Neville as his best man with George, Charlie and Bill filling the role of groomsmen. Hermione's maid of honor was Luna, as Ginny, like Ron, had refused to even attend, and the other bridesmaids were Parvati, Padma, and Fleur.
Harry was a little uncomfortable about having two of his former girlfriends as part of the wedding party, especially those two, but Hermione had insisted, he relented, and they accepted. Fleur was there as a way of thanking her for all she had done for them in the spring.
It had been a real challenge getting all the wizards to wear suits instead of robes, as it was a muggle ceremony, but they had succeeded. The witches' dress robes didn't look that much different from any formal dress, so that wasn't much of a problem.
The music changed to a traditional wedding march. Hermione's parents had insisted on it, though Hermione had wanted"Canon in D." Harry was secretly glad to have gone with the cliche, since even he recognized it, clueless as he was about marriage traditions. He looked up to see Hermione, a vision in white making her way down the aisle. He'd never seen a vision of beauty such as the one before him. The closest he could think of was the way she looked at the Yule Ball in fourth year, and even that was a very distant second. He was so mesmerized by her beauty that he barely paid attention to the service. Neville had to jab him in the back when it came time to read the vows he had written.
"Hermione, my love, you are my better half, and that's not just a cliche, it's the truth. You have never abandoned me since we've been friends, even if I've abandoned you from time to time. You've saved my sorry behind more times than I care to admit. Without you, I'd never have made it this far. I don't know what I've done to deserve you, but I vow that I will never change. I will always love you," Harry said from the bottom of his heart.
Hermione's eyes were shining with tears of joy as she said, "Harry, my knight in shining armor, my one true love, I never will abandon you. You've saved my life on at least three separate occasions. I owe you more than I can ever repay you, and all I can give you is my love and devotion. I promise that no matter what, I will always love you."
Harry would remember little else from the ceremony and reception, except that their first dance was to the song "Innocence Faded," by Dream Theater, which was her favorite band. He wasn't sure why that specific song was chosen, except that it was a good reason, which Hermione had explained to him.
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The next two and a half years would be the happiest of his life, with Hermione giving birth to a set of twins, which they name Jonas Henry and Jennifer Haley Potter, a little over two years after the wedding. Harry slowly drifted apart from Hermione after the birth of the twins, and just over a year after the twins were born, Harry divorced Hermione and shortly after that he married Ginny.
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A/N: Another chapter down. (That does seem weird to put at the end of a prologue, doesn't it?) I don't believe that I could have written this without the next two having been written. I hope to make the story eight or nine chapters, including Overture and the epilogue, which will not be called 'Epilogue.' I do wonder if anyone will recognize the pattern of the chapter names. Probably not, as the musical reference is fairly obscure. "Innocence Faded" is the song whose lyrics appear earlier in this chapter, and a few times in later chapters. I was listening to "Score XOX: 20th Anniversary World Tour: Live with the Octavarium Orchestra" by Dream Theater (whew, that's along album title. Good album, though, particularly the Three-disc version) when I started writing the story, and that's where the title came from and I particularly like how the lyrics are so versatile, or at least the chorus.
Oh yeah
Questions? Comments? Plotholes? Just put them in a review and I'll try to respond to them.
A helpful user that goes by the username cosmopolitan made some suggestions, and I've decided to take them into account, so I would like to thank them for the suggestions, which inspired me to improve it where I could
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