Wanderer

Freedom

Harry jumped up when he saw her, rushing over to give her a cuddle that seemed to last forever. Hermione felt her eyes grow wet and her throat close up and she clutched him tighter, breathing him in. He was in no hurry to let her go, whether it was because he'd missed her or because he heard the hitch in her breath as she tried to stop herself from crying; either way, she was grateful for it.

He only pulled away when she patted his shoulder clumsily, rubbing her hand in circles over his back. Harry smiled at her. "Happy New Year."

Hermione swallowed thickly. It was a moment before she could get the words out. "Happy New Year, Harry."

Her smile was strained and she couldn't look at Draco behind her.

"Mum missed you," said Ron, coming over to pull her into a big bear hug. Hermione melted into him. He was taller than Harry, longer and thicker arms, warmer and more solid. He smelled like woodsmoke and something sweet. She sighed into his chest. "She kept telling me off for not Apparating to Hogwarts and dragging you back home."

Hermione grinned despite herself. Her voice was muffled. "You can't Apparate in or out of Hogwarts. It's in-"

"Hogwarts: A History," Ron finished for her, flopping his cheek on the top of her head and groaning. "I know. You've only told me a million times."

She pinched his side and he leapt away, offence and mirth laughing in his bright eyes. "Touchy!"

Hermione laughed. She unravelled her scarf, taking off her winter garb because a warmth had settled within her. She realised a moment later how quiet it had gotten.

"Draco." Harry cleared his throat. Scratched the back of his neck. He held out his hand, then seemed to think better of it, and clapped the Slytherin on the shoulder instead. He offered him a smile. "Happy New Year."

Draco's lips were tight but Hermione knew it was genuine when he smiled back. "Happy New Year, Potter."

"Uh, you can call me Harry," he said, laughing slightly.

Draco smirked and shook his head. "You'll always be Potter to me."

"Whatever, Malfoy. Come give us a hand if you're done loitering in the doorway."

Draco raised an eyebrow but didn't comment, simply removing his scarf and coat and laying them both over the back of a chair. Hermione noticed then that the room was vastly different from how she remembered it. The boys had been busy; they'd transfigured the bed into a large desk big enough for four people in the centre of the room and each pillow into a cushioned chair. The canvas painting on the far wall had been cleared and instead, there was a cork board, with a few notes and scraps of paper already stuck to it.

"I do hope you plan on putting everything back when you're done," said Hermione, though she was well aware the lightness of her voice gave away how impressed she was with their spellwork.

Ron looked affronted. "What do you take us for, Mione? Do we strike you as people who don't clean up their messes?"

She raised her eyebrows at him and demanded, "Do you not remember any of our time at Hogwarts? The troll? The giant Chess Board? The car with a mind of its own still running about in the Forbidden Forest? The-?"

"Alright!" he cut her off, grinning, hands up in surrender. "We get your point."

"I mean, the car's not really running though, is it," said Harry. "More just spluttering about, running over the odd giant spider-"

She lobbed a pen at his head and he managed to duck just in time for it to sail past his hair. Harry shot her an incredulous look. "I have enough scars on my forehead, don't you think, Hermione? And to answer your question," he continued, sitting down at the desk and leaning back to take them all in. "We've booked out this room for the next three months. Figured we'd be here a lot."