ALWAYS & FOREVERMORE | harmione

𝐱𝐱. 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 & 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞

𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

One year later

The word 'forever' meant unchanging, not ceasing, continuous. The word 'forever' didn't leave room for doubts, or abandonment— it acted as a never-ending promise, a security. The word 'forever' is what kept her by his side, taking on the world with him. She had promised, and he knew better than everyone else that she was entirely serious.

Hermione stood there in complete silence, her hands lightly brushing over the rough surface of the concrete pillar that was hiding her whereabouts. Her eyes flickered over to his silhouette, standing a mere twenty feet away from her. She watched as his focus was glued to the horizon, staring absentmindedly at the golden sun that had dipped just below the surface of the Black Lake.

They were actually leaving Hogwarts, weren't they? Of course, Hermione wouldn't willingly say that she was too pleased, but she knew that her place was with Harry— the word 'forever' ensured that. Gingerly, the brunette crept out from her hiding place, approaching the raven-haired boy.

"Harry..." She murmured, setting her hand on top of the balcony's railing.

Hermione half expected Harry to be startled at her sudden presence, but he remained expressionless, his focus still attached to the sunset. Falling quiet once more, she joined him, looking off the astronomy tower as well. Her hand moved to rest on his, her thumb rubbing small circles on the soft skin of his wrist.

"I'm sorry—" He said, his voice fainter than a whisper. "I know how important Hogwarts is to you, and I don't want to drag you away from it."

Harry sighed, refusing to look at her. It was selfish to ask her to leave school and help him hunt the Horcruxes, but he still did. Truth be told, he couldn't imagine doing it without her, doing anything without her.

"Look at me, Harry." Hermione replied, her tone of voice stricter than it had previously been. He jerked his head in her direction without a second thought, their eyes meeting.

"I'm not upset. I want to stay with you, trust me. Would Hermione Granger do anything that she didn't wholeheartedly want to?" She teased, chuckling in an attempt to make him smile as well.

Harry snickered lightly, offering her a slight, but genuine smile. He nodded, agreeing to her words. Her hand remained on top of his, acting as a reminder of her presence— her promise.

The wind picked up now, a cool nighttime breeze blowing into the astronomy tower. It picked up Hermione's curls, lightly blowing them behind her. She closed her eyes, scooting closer to Harry and resting her head on his shoulder. He tensed for a moment, before relaxing and setting his head on hers.

"It'll be alright—" The curly-headed girl muttered, "—I promise, we'll make it out alive. I have faith in you Harry, and I'll be here with you the whole time."

Her words caused him some peace of mind, allowing him to momentarily forget about all the pressure that the entire wizarding world had placed on him. He was just sixteen, Hermione thought, yet they expected so much of him. It truly angered her, he had been through so much and didn't deserve any of it.

"Thank you..." Harry replied a few minutes later, removing his head from on top of hers, and pulling her into a tight hug.

He wrapped his arms around the small of her back, burying his head into her large mass of curls. His shoulders were tense, evidently showing all the stress he had been under. Although it had been a year since Sirius' death, Harry's nightmares progressively had become worse.

Her hands found their way into his messy hair, soothingly running her fingers through it. She felt his hot breath against her neck, tickling her skin. Hermione's hands traveled down to his back, clutching onto his loose jumper, pulling herself closer to him.

They cried, wrapped tightly in each other's embrace, much too afraid of letting go. Neither of them knew what would happen in the future. They weren't guaranteed to live another day, weren't guaranteed to survive, despite what Hermione had promised. Deep down they knew that, they knew that the moments they had with each other could come to an end any day now.

"I love you so much—" Harry whispered against her skin, his arms still fastened securely around her waist. "I'm so grateful for you, and I'll do everything in my power to protect you, protect us." He stopped for a brief second. "But I can't guarantee that we'll—"

"Shh— I know. That's a risk we're both willing to take. As long as we have each other, we'll be just fine, we always will be." Hermione replied, shooting down his worries.

He loosened his grip on her a tad, moving his head out of her neck. Their glossy eyes met, seemingly communicating without words. Her hand wandered up to Harry's damp cheek, using her thumb to wipe away a stray tear. His lips pressed together into a thin line as he nuzzled the side of his face against Hermione's warm hands.

Bringing his hand to the back of her head, Harry guided his face towards hers, interlocking their lips together. This kiss, unlike any of their past ones, was more passionate, since both of them knew it held the possibility of being the last. Hermione gripped onto his hair, tugging slightly at the dark strands. Harry groaned against her lips, picking her up, and wrapping her legs around his waist.

He quickly moved them to the nearest pillar, pushing Hermione's back against it, and deepening the kiss. Using his arm to steady them, Harry placed it above her head, pushing against the pillar. Hermione moaned softly as he pushed his tongue into her mouth, his hands roaming under her shirt, clutching at her bare waist. With one last peck, Harry pulled away for breath, resting his forehead against hers. Her legs remained latched around his midriff for a minute or two, catching her breath before lowering herself.

"I love you too, Harry." She mumbled in response to what he had said earlier, her voice coming out somewhat breathless.

He smirked, running a hand through his messy locks in an attempt to fix them. Chuckling, Harry grabbed her hand, giddily pulling her back towards the balcony railing.

"I'm not worried anymore." He said, offering her a large grin. "I have you to save my ass."

Hermione snorted, playfully smacking his shoulder. "Oh please—! You're more than capable of saving your own ass."

Snickering, Harry watched as she sighed, rolling her eyes in amusement.

"But in all seriousness, we'll be alright, Hermione. And we'll have each other, always and forevermore!" He beamed, his eyes lighting up excitingly. It reminded Hermione of a young child who had just opened an anticipated Christmas present.

"Always and forevermore? That's the dorkiest thing I've ever heard you say. Seriously, Harry." Hermione groaned in embarrassment, biting her lip to refrain from smiling.

The both of them broke out into a fit of laughter, falling into silence once they had calmed down. Hermione connected their hands once more, resting her head against his shoulder. Their gaze fell back onto the horizon just as it had before, watching as the sun was completely submerged under the water, and all became quiet.