Harmione One Shots

Stay

Summary: "You never left me," he whispered in her hair. "I never will."

Ship: HarryPotterxHermioneGranger

All credit goes to jonathansnowflake on Ao3

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Hermione had her head on his lap, Harry's hand was playing with her hair, gently tugging the strands. They had spent the last few hours like this, both too exhausted to do anything other than just lay there.

Once her tears had dried, once she had gotten out of bed, Harry had been there. He held her tight and whispered nothings in her ear. It was nice, to be close to someone like that. No one had held her in months.

They drank black tea and had pretended this was just another summer. They were going back to Hogwarts soon. Ron would come in at any moment.

Only he never did.

Hermione's heart hurt. She ached for Ron, she wanted him back. He wasn't coming back.

She woke refreshed. Harry spent the morning rolling his neck, he had fallen asleep sitting up.

They each grabbed a book from Hermione's beaded bag. Horcruxes were vile magic. Still, maybe in understanding how they were created they could figure out how to destroy them.

They broke for lunch.

"Why didn't you leave with him?" Harry asked over their meager meal made of wild mushrooms and toast. "I would understand, this isn't what you signed up for."

Hermione put the slice of bread back on her plate. "I signed up to help you, Harry. That's what I intend to do."

She opened up Secrets of the Darkest Arts and began reading again. It certainly wasn't something she liked reading, but never before had Hermione been more grateful that she'd saved these books from Molly's purge of the Black library.

Weeks passed. Flesh melted off their bones.

Harry danced with her one night, a cheesy muggle song playing on the radio. They finished the bottle of vodka she had packed away.

His hand wandered lower in her back. She didn't say anything.

He was having a nightmare when she crawled into his bed. Her arms wrapped around him, trying to comfort without words. He was her best friend.

Harry woke, turned in her embrace. They were face to face, sharing the same breath. His eyes were on her lips.

He pressed his head into her shoulder. She didn't know why she was disappointed.

The weeks passed, they researched. Nothing came of it. They went to Godric's Hollow, Harry's wand was destroyed. Ron came back, things were tense. It wasn't the joyful reunion Hermione had hoped for months ago.

Standing in the drawing room of Malfoy manor, stripped of their wands, Hermione shuddered. The gleam in Bellatrix Lestrange's eyes sent cold down her spine.

Then, unbearable pain. Pain, pain, pain. Unending, unrelenting. Her mind was locked tight, she couldn't escape into it.

Searing heat reeked havoc over her body, her nerves were burning. Pain.

"What did you take from my vault?" Lestrange screeched.

"Nothing." It was barely a whimper. "Nothing we didn't go to your vault."

"Filthy mudblood liar."

A knife tore at her flesh. Carving deep into her arm, the curse running through her veins.

Harry burst through the doors. Hair wild, wand in hand. He saved her, kept his arms around her.

They spent a month in Bill and Fleurs cottage. Bill tried his best to contain the curse. The scar burned, it always would.

Harry was with her everyday, holding a damp cloth to her head. Then, when she was better, getting used to the burning, they plotted.

When she saw Hagrid carrying the body, a scream tore out of her. Harry.

When Voldemort's body hit the floor, she couldn't help the relieved sobs from escaping. She clung to Harry, arms wrapped tight around him.

He kissed her then, hand in her hair, hand on her waist.

"You never left me," he whispered in her hair.

"I never will."

Life was hard, even after Voldemort was gone. They lived together at Grimmauld Place, comforted each other after nightmares. Most nights they didn't sleep, sitting up together until the sky turned pink again.

He was always touching her, to reassure himself she was still there. They drank too much, smoked too much. Dulling the pain of loved ones lost, easy to forget a memories when their minds were dulled.

He licked over the scar on her side, called her beautiful as he traced it with his tongue. Harry's fingers were inside her, hers were tugging at his hair. Bliss.

"Don't ever leave me, Hermione," he said once they were done. "I don't think I could bear it."

"I won't," she said. It was a promise, one she kept.