Author's Note: A little bit of the beginning of this story was taken from the The Deathly Hallows pt 2. It's a small part, but it's there. I do not own anything.

I really like the way this story is starting out. I hope you all really enjoy it too.

"Where is he?"

Hermione heard Ron ask the question, but she was very distant from him. She was in a whole another place. She was thinking too hard about everything that was occurring around them. The terrible war that had already taken so many lives, and was taking even more tonight.

Fred, Remus, Tonks…

"Hermione, are you ok?"

She shook her head and turned back to Ron, who was staring at her intently.

"I'm sorry, Ron. I was just thinking."

"Do you have any idea where Harry could have went? Why would he just take off without letting us know where he was going?"

"I don't know, Ron."

"You don't think he went to the forest, do you?"

She immediately spun her head around and stared at Ron in shock. Harry wouldn't've gone to the forest alone, would he?

They had all heard Voldemort's threat. If Harry didn't give himself up within the hour, Voldemort would send him forces back out to start the fighting again. She knew that this had to be going through Harry's head at warp speed, but would he really believe Voldemort would leave everyone alone if Harry went to him?

Surely Harry didn't go…..

"If he did?" she asked, still staring at Ron in shock.

Ron immediately put his arms around her and she ducked her head into his chest. Just then, a figure started moving towards them. They both immediately looked up to see Harry slowly walking towards them, a grim expression on his face. Immediately she stood up and walked over to him, throwing her arms around him. She felt his slide up around her, and in an instant she knew that something was wrong.

"We thought you went to the forest," Ron said, walking up to the both of them.

"I'm going there now," Harry replied, dropping his arms from Hermione and stepping back.

"What?" she whispered, looking at Harry. He started straight into her eyes for a quick moment before he dropped them again, talking much more quietly this time around.

When he was finished, Hermione's eyes watered as he stared at him in shock. She knew what he was referring to, it's what she had suspected for quite some time.

Harry was a Horcrux.

Just like that, a turmoil of emotions rolled through Hermione. She felt like she couldn't believe, like someone, or something, had sucked all the air out of her lungs. She knew what she had to do, even though she already knew what his answer would be.

"I'll go with you!" she exclaimed, her voice cracking as she said the words. She felt Ron walk up next to her and lightly put his arm around her shoulder.

Harry's eyes lit up, and Hermione was mesmerized. She felt a twinge in her stomach as she continued to stare into them, and wasn't sure why. For some reason, she didn't want to look away, and neither did he, for that matter.

"No," Harry responded, walking up to her and taking her hand in his. She suppressed a shiver. "You and Ron need to stay here. Finish the snake, then this will be all over with."

Hermione stood silent, not quite sure what to say. Ron moved away from her and towards Harry, a sad expression etched onto his face.

"Good luck, mate," he said, giving Harry a quick hug. Harry nodded.

"You, too."

With that, Harry turned on his heel and began his ascent to the Forbidden Forest. Hermione's eyes continued to water and Ron wrapped his arm around her shoulder once again…..

The private meeting between the three was a few hours ago. Now, the war was officially over. Harry did it. She still couldn't believe it was all over with. After all this time, they were officially free. Harry was officially free.

Hermione sat outside, taking in the fresh air. She had left Ron inside with his family to mourn Fred, and Harry had decided to go get some rest. She knew she should have stayed with Ron, but she got the feeling that he wanted to be alone and gave him his space.

So that's why she was here. Alone.

She wondered if Harry was asleep yet, or if he was lying in bed thinking. He deserved his rest, not accumulating much since they had been hiding out for months now. Even in the last few days they had received minimal sleep.

"Hey."

She jumped and turned around. To her surprise, Harry was standing there, giving her one of his famous lopsided grins.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. What are you doing out here?"

"Clearing my head," she replied, shivering slightly. He took off his coat, wrapped it around her and sat down next to her. She smiled. "Thanks. I didn't realize it was this cold out here. How'd you find me, anyway?"

He grinned again as he reached into the jacket pocket and pulled out the Marauder's Map. She laughed, shaking her head.

"Should've guessed."

"Ron gave it back to me earlier, after we escaped the Room of Requirement. When I didn't see you with Ron downstairs, I opened it to see where you were."

"Is he ok?" she asked, looking down at her feet. She couldn't imagine what Ron and his family were going through right now. The pain of losing Fred was hard enough on her, and she's not in the family.

"They're together," he replied, looking out into the horizon. "George is taking it the hardest, I believe. I thought it best if they were alone, and I came to find you."

She nodded her head in understanding and lifted her head back up again. She turned her head and looked at him once again. He looked tired, but she could tell he looked relieved. Relieved that it was officially over, and she could not blame him. She felt incredibly relieved, too, and Harry was the one who finished the fight.

"I thought you were going to try and rest."

"I tried," he replied, returning to look at her again. Her eyes connected with hers again, and she found that she couldn't look away yet again. "Got up there and laid down for a while. There was too much commotion going on and I was unable to sleep, so I figured I would come down and talk."

She nodded, and it was silent for a few moments. They both stared up at the stars that were twinkling overhead. A second later, Hermione felt Harry's hand cover hers again and she did shiver this time. He noticed and moved closer to her.

"Are you still cold? I can hold you if you want, to try to keep you warm."

Merlin, yes.

Wait, what?

"I'm fine, thanks," she said, trying to figure out why these thoughts were running through her head.

"No problem."

Another thought quickly popped into her head, and she immediately turned to face Harry, who was surprised at her sudden reaction.

"Hermione, are you ok?"

"Harry, Remus and Tonks…."

"I know," he replied, looking down at the ground. She noticed that he closed his eyes, and her heart broke for him. She knew exactly what he was thinking about. "It's not fair, Hermione. Teddy will now grow up an orphan. He was just born, and his parents were taken away from him."

"And you're his godfather, Harry," she mentioned, watching him carefully. He nodded.

"That I am."

"So what happens next?"

"I talk to Andromeda," he said, and she saw tears run down his face. She quickly wrapped her arms around him and leaned his head onto her shoulder. "I know I'm his godfather, Hermione, but there's no way I'm ready to take care of a baby right now. And that makes me feel awful, because I feel like I'm betraying Remus and Tonks and Teddy. They chose me to take care of him and I can't."

"Harry," she said, drawing his head back up to meet her. "You're the best godfather that you can be to Teddy. You're doing this because you know that it's the best thing for him. He needs to be with his grandmother. And it's not like you won't be able to visit him or care for him. You can have him spend the night or the weekend and take care of him. You will always be a great godfather, Harry, no matter what you choose."

"You really think that?" he asked, blinking his eyes at her. She nodded.

"Of course I do, because I know you are. Harry, everyone will completely understand if you're not ready to take care of Teddy. You have things that you need to sort out. Taking care of a baby takes a lot of time and commitment. What if you decide to come back to school and finish your education? You may not be able to with a baby, or you would have to have Andromeda take care of him. It would take a long time for you to settle down and start a family and a career. Plus, I'm sure Andromeda wants to take care of him. Teddy is the last family member she has left, Harry. I'm sure she will agree with you as well."

He was silent for a moment, staring at her. She felt the twinge begin to rise up in her again, but quickly pushed it away.

"Thank you, Hermione. I really appreciate it. You're helping me feel better about this."

"Glad I can help."

There was silence once again. Hermione was starting to hate it, because silence usually meant that Harry was thinking about something else.

"I'm thinking about getting a flat, though I'm not quite sure where at yet."

"When?"

"Very soon," he replied, looking out over the calm waters of the lake. "Don't get me wrong-I love the Weasley's and they take great care of me, but I feel like I crowd their space, ya know? Especially now with Fred…"

He cut off and looked up at the stars again. Hermione felt her own eyes watering at the thought of Fred, and what the entire gang would have to go through the next couple of weeks.

"Would you mind if I tagged along? We could get a two or three bed flat, maybe invite Ron if he wishes."

He smiled and shook his head, turning to look back at her again.

"I was just going to ask if you wanted to. That way, we could still be together. But tell me, why do you want to live with me?"

"Where ever you go, I go, Harry."

He smiled and nodded his head. "I had a feeling you would say something like that."

"You know me too well," she said, grinning. Just as quickly as her grin came, it left, replaced with a sad expression on her face. "I need to go find my parents, Harry. I have to bring them back."

"I'm going with you."

"Harry-"

"Hermione, don't argue this. There's no way I'm letting you go alone. We don't need something happening to you, too. I am coming with you, and I'm sure Ron will as well. What do you say, one last adventure?"

She laughed and nodded, wiping her eyes as she did so. Suddenly, they both felt a presence behind them and turned around to see Ron standing there.

"Hi," she smiled up at him. He nodded and sat down between them.

"Hey."

"How are you?" Harry asked, clapping his friend on the back.

"I've been better," he replied, dropping his head for a second before raising it back up. "So, what have you two been talking about?"

"Several things," Harry replied, looking out into the lake. "I'm going with Hermione to Australia to help find her parents."

"He thinks," she mumbled, earning a chuckle from both Ron and Harry, and she had no idea how Harry even heard her so far away.

"I'm going too," Ron replied, turning to face her.

"Ron, you should stay here with your family. You all need to be together right now."

"I just want to get away from here, Hermione. There's too much going on and I just need to clear my head."

"Thank you, Ron," she replied, turning to look away from the both of them. She shivered again and wrapped Harry's jacket tighter around her, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Ron.

"Maybe we should head back inside."

Harry nodded in agreement, stood up and helped Ron and Hermione to their feet. Together, they walked back up to the castle and returned to the Great Hall.

They stood together, looking at all the destruction, the fighters and the fallen. As they held hands, reminding each other that they all made it, they are also reminded of the fact that they had lost, there was destruction, and that the next couple of weeks would be extremely difficult for them, but there were together. They would make it through together.

Glancing down, Hermione quickly noticed that she was holding on tightly to Harry's hand, and she felt another shiver pass through her. This time, she knew it wasn't from the cold.

Quickly breaking away, Hermione turned to them and said, "I'm pretty tired. I think I'm going to turn in and see if I can sleep."

"Do you want us to come with you?" Ron asked, taking a step towards her. She took a step backwards and shook her head.

"No, but thank you. I'm going to Gryffindor tower. Goodnight."

With that, she turned on her heel and quickly walked out of the Great Hall. Turning to face Harry, Ron held an expression of complete confusion.

"What's her problem? Is she ok?"

"I don't know, Ron. She was fine earlier."

"She might just be tired. We probably just need to give her some space."

Harry was silent for a moment before he turned and said, "Did anything happen between you two? You've been kind of awkward with each other."

Ron blushed and looked down at his feet, stepping from side to side. "We may have snogged after we escaped from the chamber."

He looked back up and awaited Harry's reaction, fearing that his friend may tease him. Harry didn't however, continuing to look out across the hall. His lips were pressed together, and Ron could see them form a small smile.

"It's about time, mate."

Ron blushed again and looked back down at his feet.

As soon as Hermione left the Great Hall, she knew exactly where she needed to go. She also knew that she needed to do it quickly before Ron or Harry caught on to what she was up to.

'I appreciate the fact that Ron and Harry want to come with me, but I need to do this on my own. I have to do this on my own. Ron needs to be with his family and Harry needs to get rest. He's done too much in too short of a time.'

She stopped in front of the door to the headmistresses' office, and stopped short. Would Harry and Ron be mad at her for doing this? If they did get mad, how would she make it up to them?

The staircase magically revealed itself, and Hermione quickly descended it. The door to the office was already open, so she knocked quickly and looked around for Professor McGonagall.

"Professor?" she asked, continuing to look around.

"Ms. Granger," Professor McGonagall responded, walked up behind her. Hermione jumped and turned around, "is there something that I can help you with?"

"I need a favor, professor."

"What is that, Ms. Granger?"

"I need to get to Australia, as quickly as possible and without Ron and Harry finding out."