Turning Pages Category: Books » Harry Potter Censor: PG Genre: Romance Reviews: 16 Author: Merlyn WS Font Size: Bigger (+) - Smaller (-) Disclaimer: The characters belong to J.K Rowling. The song is ‘I Hope You Dance’ by Lee Ann Womack. Author’s Notes: This is my first songfic and it’s about Harry, Ron and Hermione leaving Hogwarts and where their paths lead them. It’s fairly romantic and there is quite a bit of kissing at the end (just so you know). It was meant to be a happy, but bittersweet fic, but I’m not sure if I made it depressing enough. Oh well, on with the fic. By the way, the story is entirely based around H/G and R/Hr. ~ Turning Pages ~ I hope you never lose your sense of wonder, You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger, May you never take one single breath for granted, God forbid love ever leave you empty-handed. Hermione stood in front of the mirror in her dorm room. Behind her Parvati and Lavender were laughing and giggling in excitement about the Graduation Ball. Hermione stared at her reflection. She carefully studied her eyes, searching for tell-tale lines that might warn others of what she had been through this year, wondering why her mouth was down-turned when everyone else was laughing. Hermione brought her hand up to brush a stray strand of hair from her face, and the pretty silver bracelet caught her eye. She smiled as she watched it dangle there on her wrist. ~ Flashback ~ It was Hermione’s sixteenth birthday. Ron had taken her for a walk along the lake at sunset. Ron had managed to cast a charm and music was playing. They had danced alone by the lake as the sun slowly set and the stars came out. The sky was dark, accented only by twinkling stars when Ron had stopped the music and given Hermione her birthday present. It was a silver bracelet. Hermione had flung her arms around him and they kissed for the first time, under the sky, with the stars and moon beaming down with their approval. ~ End Flashback ~ Hermione smiled a dreamy smile and for a moment the sadness left her eyes. She put her hand down and walked away from the mirror. * * * * * Ron picked up his belongings and packed them away. Tonight was his last night at Hogwarts. His hand came to rest on a photograph of Hermione. She blew him a kiss and smiled at him. He smiled back, before placing it gently into his trunk. Harry stood by the window, staring out into the open air. He refused to turn around, he didn’t want to see the empty room. Everything had been packed away, but there were far too many farewells to be made. He would never come back here again, never come to visit the best of his childhood again. He wondered if he would ever see Dean, Seamus or Neville again. Seven years they had spent here. Seven years of laughter and of sorrow. Where had they gone? I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean, Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens, Promise me you’ll give faith a fighting chance, And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, Hermione walked down the stairs, the whole world seem seemed to be progressing around her in slow motion. She was only aware of Ron’s smiling face in front to her. She walked to his side and greeted Ginny and Harry who were also there. For the Seventh years of 1997, their last assembly was taking place, soon to be followed by their Graduation Ball. Hermione smiled and began talking to Lavender about her new robes, she wished Neville luck for his teaching career and made pointless chatter to other various people whom she spotted. Beside her, Ron and Harry were doing the same. Tonight they would laugh and smile with their friends, trying to momentarily forget that tomorrow they were leaving forever. * * * * * Ginny was dancing with Harry, swaying softly to the music. She laughed as he accidentally trod on her foot, but in her mind she was far away, thinking of a memory more than a year ago. ~ Flashback ~ Ginny laughed as Harry, Ron and Hermione cried out “Surprise” from behind her door. It was her fifteenth birthday and they had decided to throw her a birthday party. She laughed even more when she saw the stack of presents that were piled onto her bed. Ginny opened them one by one, taking notes to thank various aunts and uncles around the world for remembering her birthday. The last present was a little silver box, tied with red ribbon. Ginny picked it up almost gingerly and opened it. It was a golden necklace, exquisitely beautiful. Ginny gasped and quickly read the card. It said simply, To Ginny, with Love, but she recognized the handwriting. She had looked up then and whispered, “Harry?” ~ End Flashback ~ Ginny smiled as the memory ended, and she touched the necklace around her neck, Harry’s arms were warm around her, and the future could wait until tomorrow. I hope you dance, I hope you dance. The mirror in Hermione’s room began to mist over, until the instead of reflecting the room, it began to form a picture of three children. All three wore the Hogwarts regulation black robes and bore the badge of Gryffindor. A small boy with round glasses and a lightening scar on his forehead stood in the center. He looked excited and happy with hair flopping everywhere and was gripping tightly in his right hand a proud Firebolt broomstick. A tall redheaded boy stood on his left, grinning goofily with his robes in disarray. Around his feet and in his hands were chess pieces. A bushy-haired girl stood on the right, she looked neat and was smiling slightly, a thick book tucked under her arm. I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance, Never settle for the path of least resistance, Living might mean taking chances but they’re worth taking, Loving might be a mistake but it’s worth making. Hermione felt wetness on her cheeks as she silently said goodbye to Hogwarts. She wasn’t sure if they were her own tears or the raindrops. Today had come all to soon and they were finally leaving Hogwarts, forever. She turned around hastily as the train hooted. It was time to board the Hogwarts Express. Ron touched her elbow and smiled at her, as though offering her some silent support. They all sat together in the same carriage, her, Ron and Harry. A habit started seven years ago. And about to end today, Hermione couldn’t help thinking. They all stared out the window silently watching the countryside whirl past them, each of them thinking how many last times had gone by. Harry sighed and decided to try and make joke. “Well, this isn’t all that bad. I shouldn’t be glum, I don’t have to go back to the Dursley’s this summer.” No, you don’t, Hermione agreed silently, but you have to leave for Switzerland to play Quidditch. And the only reason you’re safe now is because Voldemort has been defeated. Hermione shuddered, even dead and only in her thoughts, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named still scared her and haunted her nightmares. She recalled how his defeat had come about and how he had used herself and Ron as tools against Harry. As though aware of her thoughts, Ron placed a comforting arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. Hermione turned and thanked him with her eyes. As she snuggled into his embrace, she thought how glad she was that he was safe and they were together. * * * * * Harry walked off the train slowly, followed by Hermione and Ron. The formed a small circle on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, amidst the loud rushing crowds surrounding them. He looked at Ron and Hermione silently, words could never express how he was feeling. Soon, he would leave for Switzerland, Hermione would leave for an overseas journalism apprenticeship and Ron would stay behind, training to be Auror. Hermione looked about her and began talking whimsically all the thoughts Harry had just been thinking. “I wonder when we’ll see each other again. Today’s our last day together, tomorrow we start off on our own paths. I wonder if I’ll ever see Lavender or Parvati again, I wonder how Neville will enjoy being a teacher at Hogwarts, I wonder who will have my dorm room next year….I’m babbling, aren’t I?” Ron placed a hand around her waist. “Don’t worry, we’ll always be together, no matter how far apart we are.” Harry tried to laugh, to agree with the same easy confidence, but his face remained bleak. Ginny appeared next to him, out of breathe. She looked at him silently and he wanted to say something cheerful to smother the sadness in her eyes. She spoke first, the words tumbling out of her mouth, “I know you leave England tomorrow, Harry. And I just wanted to give you this.” She pressed a something into his hand. “Don’t open it until you’re out of England. And remember, I want you to come back, so this isn’t goodbye.” With that, Ginny kissed him quickly, before turning around and walking away, her last ounce of self-control devoted to holding back her tears. Don’t let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter, When you come close to selling out reconsider, Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance, And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, Hermione sat by the edge of the lake. She was in a park, in the middle of Paris. Lakes held special meaning for her still, and she often went there to think. She was a freelance journalist and had traveled all over the world, writing. It had been four years since she graduated from Hogwarts and left on her apprenticeship. She had never looked back since, and her stays in England and been short and infrequent. Hermione held a letter in her hand, which she only recently received from Ron. Dear Hermione, I miss you. It’s been so long since I last saw you, that I even dream of you at night. And in my dreams, you are coming back. It’s time, don’t you think? The Daily Prophet has promised you a job if you come back to stay. And if you do come back, I’ll have a surprise waiting for you. Love, Ron. Hermione tried to chuckle, but it got caught in her throat. Trust Ron to try and tempt me back with a surprise, she thought laughingly, as a tear dropped from her eye. It hit the water and caused the water’s surface to ripple. For one moment Hermione’s reflection faded away and instead, she saw Ron’s looking back at her in the water, smiling his characteristic cheerful grin. She smiled back, but by then the vision had already dissolved. Maybe Ron was right, maybe it was time to go back. * * * * * Harry sat in a crowed office, the rain pounding against the window and his light flickering. He had left Quidditch after sustaining a knee injury and now worked abroad for the Ministry of Magic’s Diplomatic Relations Department. The job meant long hours and lots of paperwork, and he hadn’t been back in England since Graduation. Often he felt like the papers around him drained more than just his energy. After working for so long, Harry often felt soulless and dull. The only thing that kept him going was the thought of Ginny. He still kept the letter she had given him on the last day of Hogwarts in his drawer, taking it out to read when the world became too much for him. The poignant words always seemed fresh no matter how many times he read it, despite the fact that the letter itself was faded yellow. Dear Harry, You’re leaving England at the moment, and I don’t think you’ll be back for a long time. But wherever you are, you take my heart and my love with you. I’ll always be here, waiting for you, knowing that one day you’ll be back to stay. I wish you the best of luck, wherever the future may take you. Love forever, Ginny. Harry smoothed the letter out, it’s pages now splattered with tears stains, some had come with the letter, and some had been added by him over the years. Harry had just gotten a letter from Hermione that day, informing him that she was leaving France for England because for her, it was time to go home. Maybe Hermione was right. Four years was a very long time to be away for. It was time to go back. Back to the Weasley’s, to Ron, and to….Ginny. I hope you dance, I hope you dance, (Time is a wheel in constant motion, always rolling us along,) I hope you dance, I hope you dance. (Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone.) The scene in the mirror had changed. The three who had once been children were now young women and men. The bushy-haired young woman now had sleek hair and stylish robes. In her hands, the book had been replaced with a notepad and pen. The red headed young man was now even taller, in his hands he held his wand sternly, but his eyes still danced with laughter and there were still chess pieces scattered about his feet. The black-haired young man with the lightning scar and glasses no longer held a broomstick proudly. Instead, he wore simple robes and a diplomatic badge. His expression was tired and withdrawn, but sometimes the light in his eyes would flicker again. The scene now included a fourth member, a young woman with short red hair. She had a determined mouth and kind eyes, wearing the robes of a barrister and she played wistfully with a gold necklace around her neck. I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean, Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens, Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance, And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, Hermione was sitting in the park where Ron had told her to meet him. She had arrived in England last night, but Ron had wanted to meet her by the park lake, near twilight. Hermione watched as the water rippled. Tonight reminded her of her sixteenth birthday, all those years ago when Ron first gave her the bracelet. She heard someone call her name and looked up. It was Ron. Her heart leapt up and formed a lump in her throat. Hermione quickly scrambled to her feet and began running to meet him, before flinging her arms around him and embracing him for dear life. They stood there, under the stars, holding onto each other as Hermione’s tears came pouring down like happy rain. Ron brushed her tears away softy, “Don’t cry, Hermione. I have a surprise for you.” Hermione looked up and Ron was holding out a jewellery box to her. “Remember you’re sixteenth birthday, Hermione?” She gasped as she opened it. It was diamond ring. “Marry me,” Ron proposed, “Never leave me again.” Hermione looked at the hopeful expression on his face and her heart melted. The answer was easy. She grabbed his shoulders, pulled him towards her and kissed him. Kissed him with all the longing, all the passion, all the emotion she’d kept bottled up for four years and hoped that it would answer Ron for her. * * * * * Harry barely recognized Ginny when he saw her. She had cut her red hair short and her mouth had a different set to it. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. She embraced him the moment he had turned around, and Harry knew that coming back to England was inevitable; he could never stay away because Ginny was here. Ginny smiled at him, “Hermione’s also back. She’s already at the Burrow with Ron. They’re engaged.” Harry smiled back. He wasn’t surprised that Ron and Hermione had decided to tie the knot. Looking at Ginny, Harry kicked himself for not bringing a ring with him. Ginny’s smile broadened as she handed him a silver box. “It’s homecoming present. Remember how you gave it to me holding a necklace for my fifteenth birthday Harry?” Harry took the box and opened it. In it was a golden band. Ginny grinned at him as he turned incredulous eyes towards her. “It’s the 21st Century. Women can propose to men too,” her voice dropped to a whisper, “Will you marry me, Harry?” “Yes. Yes, I will.” And with that he took her into his arms and kissed her. He was home. Dance, I hope you dance. I hope you dance, I hope you dance, (Time is a wheel in constant motion, always rolling us along,) I hope you dance, I hope you dance. (Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone.) The scene in Hermione’s mirror changed once again. The brown haired woman stands, juggling her notepad as she hands a baby to the redheaded man. They stand in front of their home, grinning obliviously and a toddler sits at the man’s feet, playing with the scattered chess pieces. The red haired woman stands at the altar in a weeding dress, opposite to the black haired man. He reaches over to lift her veil and they seal their wedding vows with a heart felt kiss. Then the scene faded and the mirror began once more reflecting its surroundings, although sometimes if you try hard enough, you can catch a glimpse of Harry and Ginny, Hermione and Ron. Somewhere Love and Friendship found each other. Somewhere the wheel of time is spinning. And somewhere the pages of a book are turning…. Author’s Notes: I hope you liked that. I was inspired to write a songfic after reading ‘Viva Forever’ by Kay Willow. If you haven’t read it, you really should. It’s fantastic. I got the idea of a mirror scene for my chorus bits showing the characters as they change from her use of a photograph in it. Ok, that’s all folks, remember to review because reviews mean a lot to me and I do enjoy getting them. Cheerios! ~ Also the time line is worked in with the idea that Harry was born in 1980, which is why he graduates in 1997 and four years later, it’s 2001, just in time for the 21st century. Ron is a different kind of Auror. Not the kind that go about prosecuting Death Eaters, but the type that stamps out dark magic, to prevent someone like Voldemort ever rising again. Review Story ( be a responsible reader and write a review) Title: Turning Pages Name: Email: (optional) Review: If you feel that this entry violates any of the guidelines set by FanFiction.Net please click here to notify the staff.