Harmione One Shots

Like Gravity

Summary: The first night after the war was won was no more than an extension of the day. It was somber and still, much like the universe before the collision that created the solar system. So too shall two souls crash, pulled inward like gravity.

Ship: HarryPotterxHermioneGranger

All credit goes to MsPolaPotter on Ao3

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The first night after the war was won was no more than an extension of the day.

Once the remains of Voldemort were cleared and buried, double and triple checked to make sure that there was indeed no coming back from the dead this time, the reality of it all started to sink in.

It was when the exhaustion truly began to seep into Hermione's bones. She fell on her knees and wept: from fatigue, from grief, from relief.

Nobody saw it happen. Everyone was too preoccupied patching up wounds, crying over lost loved ones, and holding tight the ones who had survived. When she felt warm hands on her shoulders, she didn't need to look at who it was–she knew.

She turned in Harry's arms and sobbed into his shirt. She looked up at him, and the reality that she hadn't lost him made something click inside her chest. Relief crashed into her body after finally getting to hold him wholly, even though his "death" had been just a few minutes.

"Fucking bastard, never do that to me again!" she sobbed, hitting his chest repeatedly.

Harry laughed, the warm breath hitting her neck. He truly was here, he was alive . And so was she. They had made it.

He held her just as tightly on the stone floor, almost like an anchor. He allowed her to cry out all of her emotions, all of her overwhelm, he simply wrapped his arms around her shoulders, relishing in the relief that she, too, was alive and whole.

"We need to rest," he told her simply, after several minutes. "It's been a long day and we have a lot ahead of us. We should get our strength back before they start looking for us again."

Hermione allowed herself to be pulled up. They walked away from the Great Hall side by side, arms around one another. They saw Ron with his family and thought it best to leave him be. After all, things had never really returned to normal between the three of them.

In these last moments of invisibility, Hermione was grateful to have Harry by her side. After today, things will never be the same. Who knows where she, Harry or Ron would be in the next 24 hours? Right now, she's grateful to enjoy this little bit of peace with the only person who truly understood just what she went through. Because truly, what she and Harry now had was something beyond explanation.

After Ron left, the adjustment had been difficult, to say the least. Ron took with him a piece of Hermione that never returned and left behind a tear that Harry had to mend.

Once they were past the initial grief, Harry rose to the occasion. He always had a mug of tea ready for her in the morning. He took care of most of the chores so Hermione could focus on studying and finding ways to make sure they were fed and watered. He did his best to make Hermione smile, whether it's inviting her to dance to staticky tunes on their busted radio or wheedling her to swim in nearby bodies of water.

In turn, Hermione tended to him whenever he had nightmares, climbing into his cot and scratching his back softly to let him know he was not alone. Soon enough, they figured out that sleeping together reduced the nightmares for both of them, Hermione scratching his back and Harry running his fingers through her hair as they both did their best to fall asleep. Some nights they were a little more reckless, the seeming hopelessness from the war falling upon them at the same time, that they would do more in bed than just sleep.