3

Nothing but the Facts

Chapter One

One Month, Three Days, Six Hours

One month, three days, six hours and fifteen seconds. That's how long it had been. That was the exact moment when the running stopped, when the world tilted, when the past could be left in the past, when Voldemort had finally been defeated.

1,783 was the number of fatalities from that final day at Hogwarts. Of that number, 565 were Hogwarts students, 992 were families and friends gathered at Hogwarts to help, 223 were various Ministry officials, house elves, giants, centaurs and others who fought against Voldemort. The final three; Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, and Fred Weasley were the ones she, Hermione, was closest too. They were the losses that hurt the most. There was not a day that didn't go by when she didn't think of them. It broke her heart to think that sweet little Teddy would never grow up with his parents, the same way Harry had grown up. She fought back the tears every time she heard Ron and his brothers reminisce about Fred.

Thirty-four was the number of times she woke up screaming from another nightmare, one nightmare for every night that past since that fateful day. Some were the same, Hagrid carrying Harry's lifeless body in his arms from the Forbidden Forrest, Collin Creevey lying dead in the midst of the battle, Ron mourning briefly over Fred's lifeless form. And of course some were different; coming home to find her parents dead or finding Ron and Harry had not survived the battle, Voldemort still alive.

Hermione sighed and tucked her notebook away. She pulled it out daily to record some meaningless fact. But it was this simple task of keeping track of something so mundane that kept her sane. She knew that facts, the cornerstones of knowledge were a constant and knowledge was definitely something Hermione could relate to. Her notebook didn't contain just the horrible facts; some were much more lighthearted, like how many times she stumbled upon Ginny and Harry kissing. Looking out the window of the room she shared with Ginny she giggled as she rummaged for her notebook to change a number from 12 to 13 as she spied Ginny and Harry under a shade tree kissing again. She flipped to the page she needed, her eyes catching the page that held how many times her and Ron had kissed, or how many times cried, the number of times she talked to her parents, the number of scars she had, and the number of times she had to remind herself that Ron and Harry were both still alive.

Tucking her notebook away once again, Hermione sighed and began sorting through the pile of clothes on the bed, some hers and some Ginny's. There was a knock on the door and she looked up to see Ron standing in the door.

"Do you really have to leave?" He was leaning against the frame, hands in his pockets, shoulders slumped, and his voice was quiet.

Hermione placed the shirt she was folding into her trunk and gave him a watery smile, "I need to be with my parents Ron. I miss them so much and I need to see them, to feel them." She turned to gaze outside the window trying to wipe the tears away before he saw them. She felt him before she saw him. He had moved from the door and was next to her, holding her in his arms. Once in his comforting embrace she was unable to hold back the tears.

"I'm sorry Hermione; I didn't mean to get you upset. Of course you need to see your parents. It's just," he paused and she looked up at him. A breeze floated through the window, softly blowing her hair across her face.

"It's just what?" she asked as he gently brushed her hair back, his fingers slowly tracing the contours of her face.

"It's just I'm really gonna miss you."

She placed one hand on his cheek and stood on her tiptoes, kissing him lightly on the lips. "I'm going to miss you too."

Ron let out a sigh and pulled Hermione back into his arms, resting his cheek lightly on the top of her head. They pulled apart as they heard voices coming up the stairs, Ginny in the lead, "Ten Galleons that he's in the room with Hermione."

Ron moved to the window as Ginny's voice got louder. Hermione gasped as she watched him jump and ran to the window bracing herself as she looked down. Her heart pounded as she realized he was standing precariously on a ledge just beneath the window sill. Looking up with a grin, Ron put a finger to his lips motioning for Hermione to keep quiet. She nodded, confused as to the secrecy, but turned around and grabbed a random article of clothing from the bed as Harry and Ginny came through the doors. Ginny scanned the room, her eyes narrowing suspiciously at Hermione, "Where's my brother?"

Hermione glanced up finding the match to the sock she was holding, "which one?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Ron, who else? Now where is he?"

Hermione shrugged, "I told him I was coming up here to pack and at the first sign of domestic work he said something about food and the kitchen."

Ginny sighed as Harry grinned at her, "Fork it over."

"Damn, I hate when you win." Ginny reached into her pocket to pull out some gold coins.

Hermione looked amused, "What did Harry win?"

Harry smirked, "She bet me ten galleons that Ron was up here with you, and now she's mad because she lost."

Hermione laughed as Ginny shoved Harry out the door, "come on, let's go find Ron." She turned around just as Ron crawled back through the window. "May I ask why you found it necessary to hide from Harry and Ginny?"

Ron shrugged, "It was mostly Ginny. I heard her mention a bet and figured she needed to be wrong. Being the youngest and the only girl tends to go to her head a bit if you know what I mean."

Hermione nodded as Ron sat down. Seconds later the door opened again with Ginny and Harry standing there. "Ha!" Ginny was beaming. "Now you owe me twenty Potter!"

Hermione crinkled her forehead, "Twenty? I thought the bet was for ten?"

Ginny grinned, "We had two bets. The first was that Ron was up here with you and technically he was. The second bet was that he would hear us and hide, then show up after we left."

Harry handed Ginny the coins, "Remind me never to bet against your sister."
"I would mate, but she'll manage to sucker you in again sooner or later."

Hermione gasped, "Ronald Weasley, that's a horrible thing to say about your sister."

He had the good grace to flinch as she hit him with the socks she had been holding, "Well it's true. I mean I still haven't learned not to bet against her."

Harry laughed, "If that's the case then I'm in trouble."

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