The Phoenix Prophecy

The Phoenix Prophecy

Book II – Prologue – Part 2

Hermione:

I was not the least bit surprised that Lemke would have some place where Harry and I could be alone. Nevertheless, I was completely unprepared, and delighted, with this secluded log cabin. It was exactly what I had in mind. The urgency for acquiring the ‘Impervious’ charm in the next ten days no longer mattered. Now that the portal between the Realm and Earth was closed, we could take as much time as we needed to acquire the remainder of the necessary ingredients and petition the dragons to perform the ‘Rite of Fusing.’

Today Harry and I had reached a major turning point in our lives. Even though others might dispute it, I felt confident that we had passed from adolescence into adulthood. By my way of thinking, it was not just the number of years that you had lived, but the actual experiences in life that you had lived through that determined whether you were ready to stand on your own two feet and face the world as an adult. The challenges we had faced, and survived, since coming to the Realm more than qualified us as ready to handle most of what life could throw at us. In addition, having someone to stand by your side that loved and respected you was a priceless gift. For me Harry is that gift. Now I feel that I am ready to move on; Harry seems to be as ready as I am. The time of our independent individuality was over. From now on, we would be equal parts of a whole that was greater than each of us were alone.

The long couch in front of the warm fire was easily wide enough for Harry and me to lie side by side. I set the flasks of juice on the table and stretched out on the couch facing the fire. Resting my head on one of the several pillows scattered about the couch, I patted the empty space beside me invitingly. Harry took off his glasses and placed them next to the tumblers he had set down on the table. After Harry laid down beside me, it took only a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the dim light cast by the fire so that I could see every feature of his face. For several seconds we lay perfectly still and just gazed into each other’s eyes. Even with my mastery of language, words could not begin to convey the joy and happiness that I was feeling at this moment. The longer we looked at each other, the better I felt. Harry reached up and gently pushed several locks of hair from the side of my face. As his fingertips gently touched my face, I felt shivers shoot up and down my spine as desire began to swell from deep inside me. Harry’s fingertips traced a path past my ear to the back of my neck, the shivers continuing as his fingers moved along my skin. Gently placing the palm of his hand on the back of my head, he moved his face towards me. Shutting my eyes as our lips touched, I desperately wanted to give in to the passion that was ready to burst into flames. It would have been so easy to let the ecstasy that I was sure making love would bring overtake me, but I had too many things on my mind that I needed to talk about so that when we finally did have sex it would be as perfect as it possibly could be.

“Harry, we need to talk before we go any further,” I said gently after our lips parted for some badly needed air. “Actually, I need to do most of the talking. All you have to do is listen.

“I am physically ready for us to make love, but there are some things that I need to get off my chest—no, I don’t mean my clothes, so lower your eyebrows and stop grinning—before we take the final step in our relationship.”

“You know, sometimes you talk too much. Not everything in life has to be analyzed in order to enjoy it,” Harry replied, a broad, warm smile on his face.

Before I could answer, he started tickling me. Startled, I let out a loud shriek. Twisting to get away, I quickly found myself on my back with Harry on top of me. Having read that the best defense is a good offense, I started tickling his ribs. I must have hit the right spot because Harry instantly stopped tickling me and grabbed both of my hands. We found ourselves in a slightly awkward position as we had each other by both hands, our arms next to our bodies.

“Harry, if you just can’t wait another second, we can make love right now. But I really do have some things I would like to say to you first.” I knew Harry wouldn’t refuse me if I appealed to his sense of honor and gallantry. Under different circumstances, my tactic might not be considered fair play. At the present moment however, it would get me what I wanted and Harry would not feel that I manipulated him.

“You can talk all night…afterwards—

“What!”

“Well, you did say that if I couldn’t wait that we could make love right now. Or didn’t you really mean it?”

“Yes, I meant what I said,” I replied immediately as he let go of my hands and sat up on his knees facing me. I was so surprised that he didn’t follow my lead that I said the first thing that popped into my mind. Abruptly I realized that I had said exactly what was in my heart. Maybe Harry was right. I did tend to over-analyze everything. Maybe my need to talk was just a way of masking my nervousness.

Harry pulled his shirt over his head in one smooth, easy motion and tossed it aside. I had seen Harry without a shirt on many times in the past, but this time was decidedly different. The flickering flames from the fire created patterns of light and shadow on his chest that seemed to make his skin come alive. Harry held out his hands and pulled me to a sitting position. My heart began to race in anticipation of what was to come. Gently, almost timidly, I placed my hands on his shoulders. His skin felt warm and smooth to the tips of my fingers. Gazing into his enchanting eyes, I slowly slid my hands down his chest. The look on his face changed as my hands moved over his skin. His features were softer, more relaxed, but his eyes seemed to blaze in the semi-darkness. I realized with a start that what I was looking at must be passion, ecstasy and desire all rolled into one. As Harry’s eyes slowly closed and his chest rose from a deep breath of air, I felt a rush of exhilaration from the pleasure he seemed to be experiencing from my touch. Nothing I had ever experienced in my life had prepared me for the powerful emotions that were now flowing freely within me. Mum and I had had several frank and open discussions about sex. Now I understood what she had meant when she said that some things could not adequately be put into words, they had to be experienced. Love, sex and having a baby being three of the most common human experiences that defied satisfying descriptions.

When I removed my hands from Harry’s body, he opened his eyes, leaned forward, and kissed my forehead. I swung my legs around so that I could sit with my calves folded beneath my thighs. Our knees were touching as I pulled my jersey up my back and over my head without baring my chest. I don’t know if it was self-consciousness or just some deep-seated feminine instincts, but I took my time removing my jersey. Once the jersey was over my head I slowly pulled each arm free, staring into Harry’s eyes as I did so. The moment of truth arrived and I let my jersey slid down onto my lap without hesitation or misgivings. I heard Harry’s breath catch and I felt a jolt of excitement from the fact that he was so taken with the sight of my naked chest. I had always felt as if Mother Nature had cheated me when it came to the size of my breasts. If Harry thought so, he sure didn’t show it.

Harry’s hands trembled slightly as he placed them on my shoulders. I closed my eyes almost immediately as Harry’s hands caressed me from neck to belly button. Every square inch of my skin seemed to come alive under his touch. The pleasure I was feeling truly was impossible to put into words that would do it justice. I opened my eyes when Harry’s hands reached my waist. For several seconds we sat perfectly still, content just to gaze into each other’s eyes. Without speaking, we both rose to our knees and our bodies melted together in a kiss that seemed to reach to very core of my being.

After what seemed like an eternity of sensual bliss, we broke from our kiss, but not from our embrace. Our bodies were so tightly pressed together that I could have sworn that I felt Harry’s heart beating. The pleasure of having every square inch of my chest in contact with Harry’s chest had aroused my deepest desires. I was as ready as I would every be.

“I love you,” I said and kissed him hungrily.

“Do you want to make love here, or in one of the bedrooms?” I asked when I pulled my lips from his.

“I thought you wanted to talk first.”

“Huh…Harry, I am going to kill you.” I was suddenly taken with another terrifying thought. “You still want to make love, don’t you?”

“I want to make love to you so badly that I can hardly stand waiting another second.”

“Then let’s not wait any—

“Listen to me for just a second. After you hear what I have to say then you decide whether to wait or not. Okay?”

“Well…all right. But make it quick.”

“Okay, I’ll be quick. When you said that we should talk first, I figured that part of the reason might be that you were just as nervous as I was. I could tell by the sound of your voice that you were serious about talking, but I could also sense your nervousness. I figured that we needed some way to get past our initial nervousness and this seemed like a good plan. Besides, can you think of a better way to have a face to face conversation than by being half-naked in each other’s arms?”

For several seconds I just looked at him without replying. I didn’t know whether to kiss him or hit him. After our last kiss, I was way past ready. The last thing I expected was for him to take me up on my desire to talk. After several more seconds passed, I felt my intense desires begin to subside just a little. I knew they weren’t going to diminish too far as we were still locked in a bare-chested embrace. Actually, the more I thought about it, the more Harry’s idea made sense. I felt much more relaxed than I had when we first laid down. In addition, I did feel that there were several important things we needed to talk about.

“You’re right. My desire to talk was partly based on my nervousness, but only partly. After everything that has happed to us today, I think that we need to talk about what has happened so that we can make some sense of what has happened, and what might happen, to us in the future. Loving can wait, but not for too long. Harry, I love you so much. I…

Abruptly, my words caught in my throat and I could not continue. I dropped my face on his shoulder and just clung to him, my hands caressing his bare back from shoulder to waist.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I am,” I replied after I lifted my head and looked into his eyes. “What I was about to say was that I don’t know how I would be able to go on living without you.”

“Hermione, I feel exactly the same way about you. Even though I know it’s not possible, I wish we could stay here, wrapped in each other’s arms forever.”

“We are together, here, now. Let’s enjoy every moment of it. I don’t think anyone is going to come looking for us until we are ready to return.”

I pulled Harry’s lips to mine, intending to kiss him softly. From the moment our lips touched, I felt desire and hunger flare up in an instant. Within seconds, demanding passion overtook me. Talking being the farthest thing from my mind at the moment, we collapsed to the couch and melted in a unity that words cannot describe. I will vividly remember what happened next until the day that I die.

Harry:

I woke suddenly. For an instant I didn’t know where I was. When my eyes focused and I saw Hermione smiling at me from just a few inches in front of my face, the memories of everything that had happened in the past couple of hours came rushing back. We were wrapped in each other’s arms, snug and warm on the couch in front of the fire. The comforter I had liberated from one of the bedrooms covered us from neck to toe. I knew that the real world was just outside the door of the cottage, but for the moment Hermione was all the world there was for me. I was mildly surprised that we didn’t seem any different in some way after having sex. I’m not sure what I expected, but I thought something would be different. My love for her was no stronger than it had been before. She was, is, and forever will be the world without end to me.

“Have I told you how much I love you?” I asked as she snuggled even closer to me.

“At least a hundred times, but don’t stop as I will never grow tired of hearing you say it,” she replied and pressed her lips against mine for a lingering, but undemanding, kiss.

“Is it to late to have that little chat you wanted to have earlier?”

“Actually, it will probably be easier now that we have shared almost everything there is to share with each other.”

“What could possible be left to share? We have shared everything from the top of our heads to the tip of our toes.”

“I wasn’t referring to our bodies, which we have shared to our mutual delight and satisfaction. What is left is our inner most thoughts and feelings. Once we bare our souls to each other, we will truly hold each other’s lives in our hands. For some reason that I do not yet fully understand, I feel much less apprehensive about discussing some of the things that I feel I must tell you.”

“I know you will anyway, but try not to over-analyze your feelings. It might be just the simple fact that two people who love each other as much as we do and have become comfortable with sharing their bodies can tell each other things they would not even tell their own tooth-brush.”

“You might be right. Anyway, I’m glad that you feel we are comfortable with each other as I feel the same way too. I take it that you are not disappointed in what your future wife has to offer in the way of physical attributes.”

“Quit fishing for compliments, dear one. You know that I think you the most beautiful woman I have seen from the top of your head to the tips of your lovely toes.”

“I had better be the ‘only’ woman you have seen that much of.” Hermione tried to sound forceful as she pushed me over onto my back, rolled on top of me, and propped herself up on her elbows.

“Nice view,” I said looking down at the small space between our bodies.

“You are a very crude man,” she replied in mock disgust after glancing at what I was obviously staring at.

“Nope, just a growing boy that knows what he likes,” I replied and pulled her lips to mine before she could think of a retort. We spent the next several minutes playfully kissing and caressing each other. I could have keep this up for hours on end, but the same thought started to recur repeatedly.

“What’s wrong?” Hermione asked when I rolled both of us back onto our sides.

“Unless you disagree, I think we should get married as soon as possible.”

For the next several seconds she was thoughtfully quiet. I had expected her to say something almost immediately. When she didn’t I knew from experience that she was analyzing all the ramifications of what I had just said.

“Nothing would make me happier than to get married immediately. The reason I took so long in answering you was that I was trying to think of the best way to get Sirius and Madelyn to go along with our desire to be married at once. If Madelyn is right about not being able to return to Earth—a point that I am unwilling to concede without exhausting every possibility—then we are finished with our formal education and will have to make our way in this world just like every other man and woman. For every argument that they might make as to why we should wait, I feel certain that we can make a convincing counter-argument. As for their number one argument that we are too young, well I don’t feel all that young anymore. Especially after everything we have been through in the past couple of weeks.”

“From one point of view we are almost a year older than Ron and Gretchen were when they got married,” I replied. “You know, it might be helpful to discuss this with Professor McGonagall first. Due the fact that she is your great grandmother, she would have the final say-so.”

“Good point, Harry. I also thought of talking with Walt and Martha. I’m pretty sure they would be receptive to the idea.”

“That’s true. They were married quite young as I remember. Sirius is the one most likely to object. I know he feels that he has to make up for my parent’s death by protecting me. I don’t blame him for that. I just wish that he would ease off a bit.”

“Well, there isn’t much we can do about it until later. Right now I just want to snuggle up against my future husband and get some sleep. I’m exhausted.”

“Do you want to use one on the beds in the other rooms, or just sleep here on the couch?”

“Here is just fine. With you on one side and the back of the couch on the other I feel warm and safe. Besides, I am too tired to get up and walk to the bedroom. Wake me when you wake. I love you.”

After she kissed me she rolled on her back and then to her opposite side. Pressing her back against my chest and pulling my left arm around her waist, she wiggled herself into a comfortable position and was asleep within minutes.

It took me a while longer to drift off to sleep as I spent several minutes thinking about the tremendous responsibility I had willingly accepted. Hermione would make the perfect wife for me. I could only hope and pray that I would be an equally good husband for her. It was a good thing that I was nearly exhausted myself or I would never have fallen asleep. Gently kissing her shoulder, I closed my eyes and thought only of how much I loved the woman lying beside me.

Albus Dumbledore:

Dreams, endless dreams, were all that I remembered when I finally became aware that I was conscious. I did not know how long I had been dreaming, I just knew that it was for a considerable length of time. Whether my eyes were open or shut, all I could see was total blackness. I tried to feel any part of my body, but nothing was there to be felt. Relaxing my mind as much as possible, I attempted to recall the last thing that had happened to me before I awoke from my dreams.

For several minutes my mind was a complete blank. Then suddenly I felt a stabbing pain in my chest followed by an intense burning sensation in my right arm. Without warning, a series of intense images flooded my mind and I knew what had happened. I had died. Kai had mortally wounded me with his spear. The last images were of Harry and Hermione looking on horrified as I lay dying. Their anguish was so intense that it caused me to cry out, but I heard no sound.

I had no idea where I was. All I knew for certain was that I was not among the living. Even though no one knows what happens when you die, this is not what I expected. As there was little else I could do, I just waited patiently for something to change. Unable to gauge the passage of time with any certainty, I did not know how much time had passed when I first detected a faint white light glowing some where in front of me. Whether the light was inches in front on me or miles away I had no way of determining. As I watched the white light grew stronger, split into two distinct sources of light, and continued to grow.

After what must have been several minutes, the lights began to take shape. After several more minutes, the shapes were undeniably human in form. As I continued to watch, the features of the two ghosts—or at least that is what I assumed them to be—came into focus. Marcus and Athene were floating in front of me. Each was smiling pleasantly while they held hands. Marcus reached out with his hand and touched me. Instantly I took on the same wispy, white form that they possessed.

“My dear, old friend, it is good to see you again,” the ghost that looked like Marcus said cordially. “I truly wish that our meeting could be under better circumstances. Kai and Nyssa’s treachery has been a nasty business, very nasty.”

“How do I know that this is not more of their treachery?” I asked, switching my gaze between the two of them.

“Sensible question, to which I have a sensible answer. You don’t.” Marcus replied, smiling evasively as he always did when he did not wish to answer a direct question. “Kai and Nyssa have been observing wizard-kind for many, many centuries. Any question that you might ask, they would probably have the answer.”

“That does not leave me with many options,” I replied.

“Only one. Faith, my old friend. It comes down to faith.”

Marcus, if he was indeed Marcus, was correct. I had no other option. I decided to accept them for who they professed themselves to be. At least until some event proved them to be otherwise.

“All right. For the moment I will accept you both for who you say you are. Now, why have you come to me?”

“Albus, you have not changed one damn bit in the past one hundred years. You are still as wary as you ever were,” Marcus replied, a broad grin spreading across his face. “As to why we have come, I am afraid that it is a matter of the utmost urgency. The lives of your young students are in grave danger. They must be persuaded from entering the Dark Forest at all costs. If they enter the forest, they will fall under the spell of Mortius and will suffer the pain of the ‘living death.’