Time is relative #11

Chapter #11: Intensified nostalgia.

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Harry was so confused right now, he wasn’t expecting anyone to come when he was here and yet, he wasn’t angry nor disappointed to hear that voice, he knew who that person was.

- Hermione! – Harry said with a shocked expression.

The older version of his best friend had a blank expression as her best friend had his wand raised, after realizing what he was doing, Harry quickly put his wand down.

- Don’t worry… Despite what Ron says nowadays I’m not a danger to the magical world! – She joked and Harry sighed relieved.

- Sorry Mione… The paranoia of the wizarding war is still fresh on me, after all, it has been just a few days for me – Harry said before smiling softly at the older woman.

- It’s okay, I have some fault on this too, after all, it was Fleur who told you were here, I should have announced myself – it was obvious she was a little embarrassed but Harry quickly tried to forget about it, he was cool with her.

- It’s fine, you’re the minister of magic you have jurisdiction here, right? – Harry joked about it and she just pouted and even if she was older than him nowadays she still looked cute – Wait… When did I start to see her as cute? – Harry asked himself a little confused about his attitude towards her.

- Well regardless of the power that I hold, I still am your average witch with not-so-average smarts of course, however, don’t let that make you think that I feel superior or something like that – She said with a serious expression.

And it took Harry a few seconds before he started to laugh like crazy and Hermione’s serious expression started to change to a more angry one little by little.

-      Come on Hermione… He’s still young, he’s barely an adult he’s still as immature as ever – She told herself trying to not explode with him.

- Don’t misunderstand me Hermione but… You looked so funny right now trying to act like a politician in front of me, it’s so weird to see this side of you – Harry was still laughing and Hermione couldn’t help but close her eyes and sight, he was still the same as ever, that made her feel happy.

- I’m glad you’re back Harry… Or maybe not? – Hermione didn’t look so amused right now.

And even though she was expecting Harry to compose himself already, it took him a while before he was finally back to his original attitude.

- Look Hermione… I think that you becoming the minister was something that was meant to happen and I don’t know about how your regime has been, however… Throughout the time I spent walking around Diagon Alley, I’ve never heard someone complaining about you unless they were snobs or people who looked wealthy, so… Congratulations, you’ve been doing a good job! – Harry gave her a thumbs up and he seemed sincere or at least his smile was telling her that.

- Thank you – Hermione said completely embarrassed in a low tone.

- However… You got inside my house without permission Hermione, that’s not something a minister should do, so I can’t let you leave like this – Harry now had a stern look and Hermione couldn’t help but gulp.

She was expecting the worst, after all, Harry had defeated the worst wizard in centuries, she was no match for him even though she was older and more experienced, she knew her limits, and when it came to dueling and fighting Harry’s on another level.

But she knew he would never harm her, so, she just stared at him as he moved around the room searching for something and then he happily took what he was looking for and this surprised the older witch.

- Care to join me with a glass, old friend? – Asked Harry as he showed her a bottle of expensive wine, she knew it was expensive due to the way it was labeled she was so used to seeing them due to her constant meetings with important people.

But of all the important people in the world, Harry was the most important for her right now, and this still seemed like a dream for her, to be able to be in the same room as he was even though time had been treating them differently, the feelings were still the same, or at least she was convinced of that.

- I would miss my funeral… But not this, of course, I’d like to accompany you – Hermione smiled at her old friend with a look full of nostalgia.

And it didn’t take too long for Hermione to sit on a couch with Harry, long gone were her stilettos and coat, and her hair was completely free, just like her laughter, as she shared a glass of wine with her friend.

- And then Malfoy tried to pass a law to make his family seem like heroes of war! – Hermione finished telling him and Harry was about to choke on his wine as the laughter erupted once again.

- I can’t believe his guts… However, he’s not wrong when it comes to his mother – Harry said now that he was calmer – What happened to them anyway? – Asked Harry a little worried about the outcome of the poor woman who just loved her son way too much.

- Well, Lucius was obviously incarcerated, and he’s still incarcerated to this day, he was sentenced to fifty years in Azkaban, it was that or the removal of his magical core – Harry gulped after hearing that.

- Has magical science really advanced that far? – Harry was awed by hearing that, he didn’t care about Lucius.

- Yes, magical people are realizing that they were left behind by muggles, there’s a lot of cool stuff that they want to imitate from them – Hermione smiled at him – Technology has advanced so much Harry, now everyone has a cellphone – Hermione’s words clearly surprised him.

- What? But those things are so big and expensive, I remember my uncle having one, a gift from his boss no one but him was allowed to touch it because it was expensive – Harry said not believing what he was hearing.

- Not anymore Harry, they’re actually relatively small and lightweight! – Harry was surprised once again – And to be honest people today use them for a lot of things and calling other people is like the least one they do with them! – Hermione giggled after saying that, she of course has one she can only use in the muggle world because magic breaks that stuff.

- No way… Do video games still exist, by the way? – Asked Harry a little worried.

- Oh, do they? Of course they do, that’s why the Weasley kids have a house in the muggle world just to play video games and use their phones! – Hermione rolled her eyes as she thought about the irony in contrast to her life.

- I’m glad you told me this Hermione… In a few days, I’m going to visit my cousin and I don’t want to look so ignorant about it – Harry said with a worried expression and she nodded at him.

- You can ask me anything you want, I’ll gladly help you to adjust to the modern world – Hermione suggested before she sipped some of her wine.

- Well, this question has nothing to do with the muggle world but it’s more about someone… What happened to Narcissa? – Harry was worried about the person who lied to Voldemort on his behalf.

- Well, thanks to veritaserum it was confirmed that she helped you by lying to Voldemort and they even took a look at her memories, still, people didn’t see this as enough evidence to prevent her from getting sentenced to five years of home arrest – Hermione sighed – We tried to be as neutral as possible but the people wanted to see justice being served, so, the ministry at that time had no other choice but to be kind of extreme with the punishments – Hermione sighed after saying this.

Realizing that they were getting into delicate topics, Harry decided to pour more wine into her glass gaining a smile from the older woman, and they decided to remain like this for a few moments in silence but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, it was calm and nothing serious, the two of them were still having a hard time believing this was happening.

She thought he was dead and gone forever and he thought he was never coming back even though it only took a few minutes for that whole event to end.

Hermione couldn’t help but stare at Harry’s face, she smiled and when he realized what she was doing, he smiled at her too, he didn’t know what to do or say and Hermione was slowly moving her face towards Harry, she was getting closer and closer to him and he didn’t know what she was planning.

However, he just decided to live in the moment and see what was she planning on doing, and surprisingly, joining her lips with his own wasn’t on his list of things that could happen today.