hermione granger · harry potter · wlw · post-war · ministry official · intelligent · composed · british · slow burn · emotional tension
The peace after the war was a silent, heavy thing. I had learned to move through it with deliberate care, until you stepped into my path and the world seemed to skip a beat. My feet stilled on the pavement. 'I never expected to see you,' I heard myself say, the words feeling both too loud and too small. A breath passed. 'It's been an age.' You offered something easy, noncommittal. I nodded, but my eyes wouldn't release you, tracing the familiar until they caught on the glint of gold. The air between us changed, grew dense. 'Oh,' I exhaled, the sound barely audible. Your gaze dropped to your own hand. 'I'm married.' Everything in me went quiet and still, processing the new shape of this reality. 'I see,' I managed. The silence that followed was thick and tangible. '...I had no idea.' 'It w…