Blindness

Chapter 27: The Carbon Black Flesh of Living Shadows

1999

Kreacher took Hermione's presence as he took everything else; with calm efficiency. It surprised Harry that little had physically changed, and yet how everything felt so different.

Sleeping with her in his arms was nearly as wonderful as waking up to her beautiful light shining beside him from underneath the Cloak, a blue-violet sunrise he could look forward to every morning.

Not that there weren't a few arguments.

She wanted to reorganize his room, to start. She insisted they needed more space; space for under clothes, space for outer clothes, space for shoes and scarves and gloves and an entire new wardrobe of clothes that all looked the same to him but was apparently vitally unique.

Then she had to expand the library, which he was alright with until she decided she also was going to expand his laboratory.

He thought she ought to have her own. She thought they should share. The discussion lasted nearly three days of heated arguments and then heated make-ups until Kreacher took matters into his own more than capable hands and simply did the work himself.

Now, they had two labs side by side, only they were separated by a half wall and not a true doorway. The both of them had been suitably chastened by an aggravated Kreacher without one word being spoken.

Their schedules were also very different. Harry preferred to stay up late; Hermione to wake up early. Both wanted to fall asleep in each other's arms and wake the same way, which meant someone was going to have to give in.

"I have early classes." Hermione pointed out, as they sat eating breakfast one very, very early day in February. "So I have to be up early, which means I have to go to bed early too."

Harry grunted, trying to feel human at the god-awful early hour of the morning he found himself up at.

"You wake up two hours before your classes start, and your commute only takes, oh, roughly ten seconds by apparition?"

"I need to have time to wake up and prepare for classes." Hermione pointed out with painful calm.

"Why not prepare the night before? And it wouldn't take so long to wake up if you slept in a little longer."

"Not true." Hermione defended. "That makes no sense. It takes me at least an hour to be fully functional."

Harry groaned, and let his head fall onto the solid wooden table with a thump. "Why? Why does it take that long?"

"Not everyone can just roll from bed and conquer the world." Hermione uttered, then reached over to pat his head.

"Now. How do you feel about cats."

It was a statement, not a question. Harry lifted his head and glared suspiciously.

When he raised his magic to Look at her, he found her smiling wickedly.

"You want to get a cat?"

"I miss Hiss." She returned. "Come on, Harry, haven't you ever wanted a pet?"

"I've got a perfectly good owl."

That Kraken took care of.