As It Was Written

Part 2

Over the years, Harry had learned not to bother reading the Daily Prophet because of articles such as the one he had just read. Rita Skeeter and everyone else in the paper loved to embellish stories about anything and anyone, especially about him. When he was at school, it was about his very vocal insistence that Voldemort was back. They claimed it was for fame and glory and called him delusional and attention-seeking. They were greatly influenced by the old Ministry and contributed to distributing its propaganda. But after a Ministry overhaul and Amelia Bones took charge following The War, the Prophet was revamped and had become less of the Ministry's talking block and more of a tabloid newspaper. It could give Witch Weekly a run for its money for all of the rag it had printed. Harry didn't know which version of the Prophet he preferred. He only knew that both versions gave him grief and the damned appendix (Honestly! A whole appendix!) made up most of their grievances.

He only read the paper because his assistant insisted. She had a good laugh about the whole thing and even shared the article across the rest of the department. The Aurors haven't stopped quoting the article since that morning.

Harry looked at the paper again with a blown-up picture of him and Hermione dancing. He watched himself twirl his best friend in the moving photograph before he took her in his arms and smiled at her.

She was so beautiful that evening. The sapphire gown she wore complimented her chocolate eyes and only made them brighter. Her curls were pinned in an elegant chignon with strategically loose tendrils framing her face. Her smile was radiant and Harry felt so at ease to be by her side the whole evening.

Then again, he always did. Being with Hermione always made him feel serene. She was like this rock which grounded him and kept him calm in situations he would rather not be in... like the party. He only attended because he was forced to. He was appointed Head Auror earlier that year following Kingsley's retirement and Eva, his wise and seasoned personal assistant, said that it would be in his best interest to "play the political game" and attend the ball at least once. Everyone would be expecting him to be there, she said, especially now that he held such a high rank. Harry begrudgingly agreed and asked Hermione to accompany him.

Thankfully, she did. He could always count on Hermione. He knew that she disliked to partake in such gatherings as well but she must have seen how anxious he looked so she agreed. And surprisingly, he had a lot of fun. They had a lot of fun. Mingling with the uppity ups of wizarding society wasn't nearly as bad with someone by your side.

Harry looked at the article again and caught a glimpse of the appendix below it. It was a long list indeed and at the very top he saw the familiar headline from his fourth year at Hogwarts.

HARRY POTTER'S SECRET HEARTACHE

He had to smile at that one. He could remember how pissed off Hermione was when she read the article after being described as "a plain, but ambitious girl" who had a particular "taste for famous wizards". She was livid and it was what started his best friend's quest on finding out how the reporter kept getting her information. Her determination was one of the many things Harry admired about Hermione. She would set a goal for herself and would do whatever it takes to see it achieved. Hermione was the one person he knew who never gave up on anything.

The next article on the list was published at the end of what would be their seventh year. The long gap in between articles about his and Hermione's relationship was no doubt due to the witch's threat of exposing the secret Animagus. But after the war, Rita Skeeter took it upon herself to register with the Ministry.

THE HARROWING HUNT FOR HORCRUXES - REVEALED

Harry briefly wondered the reason behind this article's addition to the list and remembered why immediately. The article did indeed detail the seven horcruxes and what was done to destroy them, from Tom Riddle's diary all the way to Harry Potter himself. It was published months after The War and could be considered one of the more accurate and well-researched article the Daily Prophet had ever written. But, even then, there was a bias towards his and Hermione's relationship.

Rita said in the article that Hermione Granger was the constant presence by Harry Potter's side which allowed the wizard to win against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. With her keen intelligence and willingness to help, she was the one who made it possible that Harry Potter survived long enough to vanquish Voldemort.

And Harry had to agree.

He would have been long dead without Hermione.

But Rita went to continue that Hermione Granger's steadfastness at the side of Harry Potter was because of love. She said that Hermione's fierce loyalty and faith in him despite all that had happened transcends that of friendship.

Harry didn't know what to say about that, or think, or even do. Hermione simply brushed the article aside with a roll of her eyes and a shake of her head. So he dismissed the Daily Prophet article just like he had dismissed all the others and went on with his life.

Reading through the list of headlines was nostalgic.

MOVING ON AND MOVING IN... TOGETHER (Ron also moved in with them after the war but the Daily Prophet would leave him out whenever it's convenient for their story. Ron found it hilarious.)

POTTER-GRANGER CELEBRATE AFTER MINISTRY APPOINTMENTS (Again, Ron was there too.)

EVERYTHING IS HARMONIOUS (Harry groaned as he read this one because it was when the public voted on his and Hermione's "couple name" and it was decided to be "Harmony".)

And further down, he saw:

HARMONY ON THE ROCKS (He had to roll his eyes at this. Hermione spent two weeks on holiday with her parents without him and the public freaked out.)

There were a couple more listed until the headlines started to turn unfamiliar. He was told about some of them in passing but he hadn't actually read them.

WEASLEY MARRIES... ARE POTTER/GRANGER NEXT?

LOVE ISLAND - HARMONY IN FIJI

GRANGER ATTACKED! POTTER ON A RAMPAGE!

And the list went on and on.

GRANGER'S DARLING

POTTER: HEAD AUROR

GRANGER DEFENDS HEAD AUROR APPOINTMENT

SLEEPLESS IN SURREY - POTTER/GRANGER CAUGHT ON WEEKEND ROMP IN COUNTRYSIDE

So many headlines which spanned the years of his and Hermione's friendship that it even had a second page. It was astonishing.