Just a reminder, the characters are in the year 1999.
"And the couch goes....here." Hermione finishes with a flick of her wand, setting down the couch that had been hovering in the air. They both
looked around at their new house, which was all set up.
The front door opened into the living room, which had a wood floor. Every part of the house had a wood floor, except for the tiled bathroom. In the living room there was a TV mounted on the wall, and a large black couch that paired with a love seat, and a cute little glass topped table on both sides of the couch.
The large living room opened up into a dining room and a kitchen, which had a black granite counter and dark wood cabinets and table. Down the hall was a bathroom and three bedrooms- Teddy's, a guest bedroom, and the one Harry and Hermione had decided to share.
"So." Hermione had said. "Three bedrooms..."
"Yeah, we can always just use the third as a guest bedroom." He caught her eye and coughed. "That is, if you want to share a room with me, but if you don't I understand..."
She smiles. "Yes, Harry, I will share a room with you- no need to be worried."
The bathroom was white, with a shower, toilet, sink... the things you need in a bathroom. The floor was white tiles, and the walls were a pleasant gray color.
Harry and Hermione's room was large, with a king size, squishy bed and mint green walls. Hermione had liked that color, and she said that the green would always remind her of him. They had a TV in front of their bed, mounted on the wall as well, and a dresser and closet filled with both of their clothes. Hermione had insisted on adding an enormous bookshelf, and her side of the bed already had a book resting on her bedside table.
It also had a his and hers bathroom connected to it, of which didn't have a shower, but a large jacuzzi bathtub, and a really nice toilet- according to Harry, anyway.
Teddy's bedroom, of course, was adorable.
His walls were painted a robin egg blue, with a wooden floor and white ceiling. Teddy was over a year and a half old now, and he had been moved to a 'big boy bed' by Andromeda, who said that he was starting to climb out of it frequently. He had even started to say a few words- he already knew Harry and Hermione's name, which they had him call them by.
"We definitely should have him call us by our first names." Hermione says. "We can't pressure him into calling us his parents."
Harry nods. "You're right.
So yes, Teddy had a racecar bed. It was white, and it had blue covers. He had a dresser and a toy chest that they had already filled with toys, and a tiny bookshelf for when he started to read. Painted on the walls was a single line of racecars, and they passed right by his bed. He had a tiny dreamcatcher hanging by the window, which had a ledge filled with pillows and stuffed animals for him to sit and look at.
And then the doorbell rang.
"That must be Teddy." Hermione says, and they both walk into the living room, opening the front door wide to see a smiling Andromeda and grinning Teddy. Andromeda also had a bag of his things.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione had seen Teddy frequently since his parents passing, and so he was very familiar with their faces. As soon as the door opened he stretched out his arms- Andromeda was holding him.
"Oh- look at you!" Hermione cooed as Harry scooped him up from Andromeda.
"Harry!" Teddy said. He was nearly reaching his second birthday now, and he knew a few words, but had yet to make a complete sentence. He looked over at Hermione. "Hermy!"
Hermione smiles and takes him from Harry, giving him a tight squeeze. As Hagrid had said some years back, when introducing them all to Grawp, Hermione's name was too hard to pronounce. So Hermione agreed that until he knew more words and spoke better (and maybe after) she would let him call her Hermy, though she said she preferred not to keep it forever.
"It reminds me of Grawp, and honestly, he kind of scares me." She had told Harry.
"Hi Teddy!" Hermione smiled, but she was already beaming, so her smile only grew. "Are you ready to stay here?"
He nods happily.
Harry takes Hermione's free hand and turns to Andromeda. She was looking pale and feverish, and their were beads of sweat glistening on her forehead. Nonetheless, she was smiling contently. "How many words does he know?" Harry asks.
She glances at Teddy. "Just simple names and words- Hermy, Harry, Ron, and Annie, which he calls me... and then hungry, tired, thirsty, yes, no...potty... I think that might be all- oh. And he knows how to say mom and dad... but you can imagine he- he doesn't use those two much." Her voice fades and is clouded over by sadness.
Harry nods. "It's alright, Andromeda- and thank you, for bringing him to me. Are you feeling alright? Do you need to stay the night?"
She shakes her head. "No, thank you- the two of you have been very kind. But I won't intrude on your first night in your new home." She glances down at her watch, which read that the time was half past three. "I best be going- things to do. Errands to run. Take care of him for me." A tear drips from her eye, but she wipes it away, and gives Teddy one last hug, and a kiss on the top of the head. "Goodbye Teddy."
She turns shutting the door behind her.
"Andromeda!" Hermione says suddenly. "Here, Harry, take Teddy- Andromeda!" She rushes after the witch, out the door and into the front yard, which is a bright green lawn and a quite untidy flower bed, complete with a brown, wooden front porch. "Andromeda." She catches the woman's wrist.
Andromeda turns, and there were black tear tracks down her face. "Oh- Hermione." She makes to wipe away her tears, but Hermione catches her other wrist.
"Is everything alright? Harry told me you were sick, back when you sent him the letter about us adopting Teddy... have you gotten any better?" She asks, trying desperately to look into her eyes.
Andromeda shakes her head sadly. "No, my dear, I'm afraid I have only gotten worse."
Hermione nods. "Maybe if you tell me, I can help you-"
She shakes her head vigorously. "No. It won't work- I'm cursed, Hermione. A cursed sickness set upon me by my dear sister. I'm due to die in eleven days."
"You- You're cursed? By Bellatrix?" Andromeda nods, and Hermione lets out a frustrated cry, releasing Andromeda's wrists and kicking her lawn. "Why does Bellatrix have to ruin everything? Why? Can't we just have one happy moment, without her tarnishing it? Even when the stupid witch was dead, she still managed to cause havoc- and even capture a student! And now, here she is, letting you die because of some silly curse she set upon you?"
Andromeda, who was now alarmed, sets a calming palm on her shoulder. "My dear, I understand that my sister has done nothing but bad, I do. I was fighting my sister on a mission during the war, when it had not yet ended, and she cursed me- an ancient spell, who's cure had been long forgotten."
Hermione looks down at Andromeda's pale hand, which was ice cold against Hermione's skin- she was wearing a tank top. Her nails were messily painted blue, with nail polish splattered onto her skin. Hermione knew instantly that Teddy had painted them for her. "So you're just going to... die? Just like that? You haven't tried any potions, or spells-"
Andromeda frowns. "I've tried everything there is to try! None of it has worked in the slightest. I'm still sick, and I'm still going to die in eleven days."
"How do you know it's eleven days?"
Andromeda presses her her lips into a thin, pink line. "I did some reading on it- I have the Doomed Of Death Curse. After the curse is set upon you, you will live exactly two more years, before dying the day you were cursed."
Hermione shoves her wrists next to her face, pressing the heel of her palm into her temple. "I don't know what to do."
Andromeda smiles at her softly. "Let me die."
And then she apparates.
~~~~~
"So." Hermione says. She was perched on she and Harry's bed, already finished getting ready for bed. Teddy was asleep in his room, and Harry was brushing his teeth.
"So." Harry says, spitting into the sink. He glances up into the mirror, smiling at her reflection.
"I suppose you know about Andromeda's curse then?" Hermione says. Her hair was wet from her shower, and tied up in a ponytail, which she tightens with a harsh yank.
Harry pops the toothbrush back into his mouth. "Yes."
Hermione rolls her eyes and lies back into the thick, white pillows on their bed. "Care to elaborate?"
"I'd really rather not."
"Mm."
Harry looks at her reflection again, studying her expression closely. "I was going to tell you tonight." He says finally. "But I assume you found out on your own?"
Hermione nods stiffly, sitting back up. "I had to ask. And when I did, I found out she was going to die in eleven days. Did you know that part too> Or that there is no known way to save her? Or that she was cursed by her own good for nothing sister?"
Harry rinses his toothbrush and puts it away in the cabinet, turning back to face her. "Yes- Hermione, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But please- let's not make our first night here miserable."
She takes a deep breath in. "Alright."
"Excellent." He says, stretching. He reaches his hands out, and Hermione hears his shoulders pop. When he lifts his hand up, his shirt comes up a bit as well, revealing a tan strip of skin. She looks away, and out the window instead.
He surprises her by placing his hands on the bed, still standing while she sits on the bed, and pressing his lips to hers. She feels him smile, and she does for a second too. She breaks away a bit. "Harry," she says. "We have Teddy here."
He kisses her cheek lightly, trailing up to her nose. "I'm only kissing you. We've never gone further than that- despite my desire too."
That thought makes her smile, but she places a hand lightly on his chest and pushes him back a bit. He was grinning wickedly. "Harry!"
His smile only grows. "What? We have to be honest with each other. Don't tell me the furthest you've ever wanted to continue was kissing."
She looks at his hands, which were still on either side of her. "Depends. With whom are we talking about me kissing?"
"Me."
She looks up. He was still grinning. "You know that I was on the same thought process you were- wait." She looks at his face, and he looked like he was trying his hardest not to laugh. "You're joking aren't you?" Harry laughs and she turns bright red. "You were joking the entire time! About all of it! You were only going to kiss me- you made me a nervous wreck, you prat!" She throws one of the pillows at him while he continues to laugh.
Lying down, she covers up with the blankets and turns away from him, facing the balcony, which had glass doors with the blinds drawn shut on them.
She feels his hand on her back. "Hermione." He was still chuckling, so she stays silent. "Hermione." He shakes her shoulder a bit.
Then he goes to the foot of the bed, and crawls up beside her on the bed, their faces inches apart.
She glares at him, her face still beat red.
"Come on- you aren't mad, right?"
She takes him in- he had matured much since the first day she met him. His face was sharper now, strong angles and yet soft corners. And his eyes were such a beautiful, intense green...
"Hermione, please don't be mad."
She focuses on the conversation again. "I'm not mad."
"Liar."
She hides a smile. "I'm not lying. I'm just embarrassed."
He grins now, and takes on of her hands, starting to play with her fingers. "Why? It's only me."
"Exactly. You weren't even serious about what we were talking about, and I was."
"Who says I wasn't serious?"
She looks up at him, but he wasn't looking at her- he was still staring at her fingers. "What?"
"Well, duh, I've thought exactly what I said I have. But I agree with you- we aren't going that far yet. Not until after we get married." Hermione's heart leaps with joy at his words. "I only wanted to kiss you- it's one of my favorite things to do."
"Shut up." Hermione laughs, giving his shoulder a light shove.
Harry smiles, and kisses her forehead lightly. "Lets watch a movie."
She grabs the remote off of the table and turns the TV on, smiling as she feels him wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her into his chest. Sharing a room with him definitely won't be too bad, she thinks to herself as she drifts off into a deep sleep.