The Promise

Chapter 5: Paintings and Pictures

"Back to You" By John Mayer

Back to you, It always comes around,

Back to you,

I tried to forget you,

I tried to stay away,

But it´s too late.

Over you, I´m never over,

Over you,

There´s something about you,

It´s just the way you move,

The way you move me.

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A few minutes later Hermione found herself sitting in a fairly sized kitchen, while Harry prepared some sandwiches and pumpkin juice for lunch. Yes, she had decided to stay. She´d come all this way after 10 years and she wasn´t ready to lose Harry again, even if he was only a friend. And was there really anything wrong with being just friends? After all she´d done it for six wonderful years before there was any romantic connection between them.

"So Hermione, what have you been up to?" There were two things Harry wanted to learn from asking this question, first, why hadn´t she responded to his letters and second, if she was in a relationship. In her usual coy self, Hermione elegantly avoided both.

"Lets see. Where to start? Well after leaving King´s Cross I pretty much went home and read. I know, no surprise so lets just say it wasn´t the best summer as you can imagine I could only mope around for so long. Come September I was enrolled at a University, going for a degree in medical research and Muggle relations. After two more years of school I moved back home and got an amazing job as a lab researcher at a Muggle hospital, though I have a wizard boss. I still live with my parents but I just bought a house of my own." Hermione took a deep breath and smiled.

`God is she beautiful,´ thought Harry, `...She´s also a terrible liar; I know she´s leaving something out! Why would she by her own house...or with whom?´

Hermione interrupted his thoughts. "Speaking of new homes, what led you to move to Watford?"

"Well, after I left Kings Cross I went to the Dursley´s, and collected my things, I had every so much as you can imagine. Then I thanked them." Harry smiled

"You thanked them? Harry why?"

"I thanked them for being the most horrible people because I truly learned what greed and vanity would do to people, and I know I will never turn out to be like them. They were flabbergasted to say the least so I wished them a good life and left for good!"

"Oh Harry you didn´t!" Hermione said laughing

"No one was there to tell me differently, I was finally in control of my life. I could do anything, go anywhere... yet at the same time my life was missing something."

Hermione faintly smiled in spite of herself, she had felt the loneliness too.

"Never the less I stayed with Sirius for about a week, then began to travel. Oh, Hermione it was incredible. I´ve never dreamed of such places. I visited Rome and Paris, Tokyo, Egypt, I even stopped in The States for a bit."

His face was glowing, Hermione would have loved it, then again she was supposed to be there with him, but she left it all behind for an education and security.

"After a while," Harry continued, "I started to miss England and came home. Sirius is living in Hogsmeade, so I originally moved in with him but the attention was too much for me, and to be truthful for him as well. I was mobbed daily by witches and photographers every time I attempted to leave the house. So I started looking for a house of my own and that´s when I found this. Major steal I must say, it looks small from the front but a few space expanding charms have been added so it´s rather large. Maybe when we´re done eating I´ll show you around."

Hermione smiled, "That´d be great."

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The two friends continued to eat, engaging in typical chitchat, trying to catch up on years of lost memories. After about an hour, Hermione noticed relationships had yet to grace their conversation. Though she knew it was a risky subject, mainly because of her resent engagement she was curious to see if Harry had moved on.

"So Harry, you´ve told me of the mobs if witches, and a few wizards, swooning over you but are you in any relationships?"

He paused, thinking of what to say, after all she was his ex-girlfriend, not to mention the only girl he ever loved.

"Not currently, but I´ve been in a few, nothing serious. I moved around too much for them and I never really loved any of them. What about you?"

`Uh-oh,´

thought Hermione, `play it cool and try not to say too much about Charles.´ "Same with me. No one serious at first, just a few guys I´ve gone out with on occasion."

`At first,´

thought Harry, `but what about now?´ He saw her shift do to the awkwardness of the topic and he decided to drop it for now, at least she was there.

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The two finished eating and Hermione rose from her seat, reaching her hand out. "Here let me do the dishes."

"Hermione this is my house and you´re my guest, I´ll get them."

"Oh, don´t be such a prat, you fed me impromptu after I just showed up at your door, it´s the least I can do." Harry smiled, giving in.

"You know," Hermione said, "you still haven´t proven to me you can cook, cold cut sandwiches aren`t my idea of a cuisine."

"Well then you´ll just have to stay for dinner, won´t you?"

Hermione giggled, not saying yes or no to the proposition, just reaching across the table with her hand out to grab Harry´s dish.

As her hand extended towards Harry, he saw it. Mockingly shinning up at him was a gorgeous diamond engagement ring. He froze, feeling a sharp pain in his heart.

"Harry? Harry what´s wrong?" she sounded sincerely concerned

"Bloody hell Hermione, your engaged." Hermione´s smile quickly left her and she set down the plates in her hands for fear of dropping them.

"Harry...I wanted to tell you, I truly did but...I...I wasn´t sure how you´d react and we had just started talking and it just felt so good and...."

"Shhh, Hermione it´s ok." She looked up at him, shocked. "Really it is," Harry put on his best fake smile, "I´m happy for you." he could feel his chest tighten.

"Really?" She looked at him with such hope in her eyes.

"Yes! I swear on Godric Gryffindor´s grave." Harry stood up and walked over to Hermione, kissing her on the check and engulfing her in a hug.

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After cleaning up the kitchen Harry offered to show her around the house. It was quite large, yet still had a cozy feeling. Hermione supposed one could only wish for a large house after living in a cupboard under the stairs for ten years.

After touring the upstairs they made their way outside. Harry had an extensive garden and in the distance pointed out the river he often boated in. Gardening, along with boating, had been a hobby Harry had picked up over the years and Hermione had to admit he was quite good at it as she looked at the arrangement of lilies next to her. As she turned to follow Harry he handed he a red rose. Smiling she accepted it and followed him back into the house.

Time passed quickly as they made their way around the first floor. Finally finishing back in the kitchen. Harry was just about to speak when he saw an owl tapping on the window. Letting him in, Harry took a piece of parchment from the owl´s leg and he flew out the window. After opening and scanning the letter, Harry said. "This is important, do you mind if I go and write a response?"

"Is anything wrong?"

"Oh no, just important"

"Well then of course not. I´ll just wait here."

Harry turned and went up the stairs near the front door. Hermione stood in the kitchen, looking around. There was a door to the right of her she hadn´t noticed before. Something about it was curious. Debating if it was impolite to just walk into a closed room, curiosity got the better of her and she turned the handle and entered. Unlike the other rooms she´d been in, this one was virtually empty.

On the left wall was a gorgeous fireplace. As Hermione stepped up to it she was aghast. Above the fireplace was her painting. The painting she had done of Lily several years ago for Harry. She would never forget that painting as long as she lived. Ironically enough the day she had painted it was the day Ron was killed by Death Eaters. There was no real connection between Ron and the painting of Lily, but Hermione couldn´t help think of Ron when she saw it.

After staring at it for a while something else caught her eye. On the mantelpiece sat a picture that sent chills down Hermione´s back. It was of her and Harry kissing each other in front of Hogwarts. She remembered the day perfectly. Colin Creevy had taken it for Harry as one last favour before they had graduated. Colin felt bad for bugging Harry all those years, but in the end they both became rather good friends.

Looking at the picture Hermione realized something was different about her. Sure she was only eighteen, a far cry from her current age, but that wasn´t it. In the picture she just looked so, happy. Her eyes were glowing with love and she had the biggest smile on her face as she leaned into Harry´s kiss. She hadn´t the genuine of an emotion since she had left Hogwarts, that fact frightened Hermione. Was she about to make the biggest mistake of her life?

Hermione hadn´t noticed but Harry had slipped into the room and stood quietly in the doorway. He knew what he had to do now; the first mission in Harry Potter´s life was to renew Hermione and his love.

"Hey." Hermione jumped, rather startled

"Harry... the door... and I..."

"It´s ok," he said as he moved next to her, ignoring the picture in her hand, instead staring up at Lily.

"You kept it?"

" Why would I ever through it away Hermione! It´s the most beautiful thing I´ve ever seen... just like the artist." Hermione blushed and giggled, surprising herself. Moving closer to each other, Harry wrapped his arms around her waist in friendly, yet ever so faintly intimate way.

"Tomorrow," he began, in a soft voice, "are you doing anything?"

"N...No" Hermione found it was getting rather hard to speak.

"Then let me show you around the town, we can shop for a bit. When we´re all done we can come back here and I´ll make you a dinner, to prove I can cook." he smiled at her irresistibly.

"That sounds great. Meet me in front of the White House Hotel on Uptown Road around 1 o´clock?"

"Great, I´ll be there." Harry looked down into Hermione eyes. "I´m really glad your back Herm., I truly have missed you so much."

"I know what you mean." she smiled up at him and in an instant flung her arms around him pulling him tight into a hug. After a while she relaxed and left her head to rest on his chest, just enjoying his presence and wonder what the hell she was going to do now.

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Back in Hermione´s room at the White House Hotel the phone rang for the fifth time that day.

"The person who is staying in this room is currently not available, please leave a message." The answering machine had kicked on.

"Hermione", said a woman in an irritated voice, " it´s Mum, I´m starting to worry, where have you been all day? Call me!"

Hermione entered her room a few minutes later, a smile plastered to her face. Nothing could make her day bad, for that matter nothing could ruin this weekend, she finally felt like something was right in her life.