Unofficial Portkey Archive

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document.write(''); chapter fifteen: Obsession

Hermione dreamt of Harry. She dreamt of his smile, his lips and teeth and the way his eyes glowed when he thought something was really funny. She dreamt of his laugh and how very contagious it could be. She dreamt of how it felt to be in his arms.

When she awoke, there was a dark figure across the room. She tensed, fearing that it was Dudley, but as her eyes cleared, she realized with a start that it was Kimmy. Silent, she watched as Kimmy held up her hand, admiring it. It took Hermione a moment to realize that Kimmy was wearing her wedding ring.

" You must really be insane," Hermione said, her voice trembling. Kimmy whirled around and looked at her guiltily. Quaking with rage, Hermione rose to her feet. "You're absolutely daft if you think that this is going to help you win over Harry."

Kimmy had composed herself by this time. " Good morning, Hermione. How did you sleep?"

Hermione ignored the question. " Is that what this is really all about? Your pathetic attempt to steal my husband?"

Kimmy smiled coolly. " We've been over this, Hermione. I kidnapped you to keep an ancient prophecy from coming to pass--"

" Funny thing is," Hermione snapped, " You're the only one who seems to be working against this prophecy. At first, other people were helping you out, but everyone else seems to have given it up. So why is it that you're the only one who still cares so very much?" She walked over until she and Kimmy were eye to eye. "Seems to me like maybe you started out working against the prophecy, but then you fell in love with Harry. And it seems to me that now you think there might be a chance of getting him back. But Harry isn't that stupid, Kimmy. I'm positive that he knows you're behind this, just as I'm positive that he'll never, EVER touch you."

The smile was gone from Kimmy's face now. " Don't get angry, Hermione," she sneered, " it only makes you look more mousy and plain." She glanced back toward the door. "Dudley, bring in the tea."

Dudley brought in the tea set and put it down in a table in the center of the room. When he was done, he moved to the corner, smiling oddly at Hermione. She shuddered and looked away from him.

Kimmy sat down at the table, struggling to compose herself. " Come and have tea, Hermione."

Hermione wished that she could make some dramatic gesture like turning over the table or spitting on the food, but the truth was that she was absolutely ravenous. Calmly, she sat across from Kimmy and, glaring at the other woman, began to eat.

Kimmy was silent for a moment, merely watching her, and then she forced a smile. " Truth be told, Hermione, your accusations aren't so very far off-base. Somewhere along the line, I did fall in love with Harry. That's why it's so important for me to save him now." She glared at Hermione meaningfully.

" If you really loved Harry," Hermione countered, " you'd want him to be happy. You wouldn't destroy his life this way."

" I'm not the one destined to destroy him," Kimmy reminded her. " And besides-who's to say that I'm making Harry miserable? He may think he loves you now, but we had a connection together."

Hermione glared at her. " You were controlling his mind. You had a spell on him."

Kimmy's eyes gleamed. " Or did I? I cast the spell, yes, but Harry's proven himself to be able to withstand the Imperius curse before, hasn't he? So he couldn't have let me control him if he didn't really want it."

Her mouth gaping, Hermione tried to think of a proper response, but the truth was she had no argument for that. It was a little odd, wasn't it? Why hadn't Harry been able to ward of Kimmy when he could ward off other wizards who had performed the same spell?

Instead, Hermione looked at Kimmy earnestly, trying to appeal to the last shred of humanity and sanity in the other woman. " Kimmy, please. I love Harry. I'm not going to destroy him. But me being away from him just might. He loves me, Kimmy--"

" He won't after today." Kimmy said softly.

Hermione stared at her, a strange sense of foreboding overcoming her. " What do you mean?"

All of a sudden, it seemed, Hermione's body began to feel slow and sluggish. Her vision blurred in and out of focus before sharpening once more on Kimmy's features. There was an odd gleam in Kimmy's eye.

" I figured it out." Kimmy confided. " What was the one thing that could make Harry stop loving you?"

" Nothing," Hermione said vehemently, though she was afraid now, " there isn't anything that could make him stop loving me, Kimmy."

Kimmy shook her head. " No matter how much Harry may think he loves you, Hermione, there's one thing that he couldn't stand. One thing that's haunted him his entire life: The Dursleys."

Hermione glanced over at Dudley. " I don't understand..."

She was becoming drowsier and drowsier by the minute. Her mind was wide awake, but her body was giving out on her. *The tea*, she realized with horror, *Kimmy put something in the tea...*

Kimmy was watching her intently. " All his life, Harry's been given Dudley's hand me downs. His old clothes, his old room, his old toys. He developed quite a complex about it over the years, you know."

Unable to hold herself up any longer, Hermione slumped to the ground. She closed her eyes, and when she had opened them again, Dudley was standing over her.

" Harry won't be able to handle having Dudley's leftovers," Kimmy said quietly, "not again."

It took Hermione a moment to process this information, and with a sudden rush, she realized what the words meant.

She screamed.

***

It had taken them most of the night, but through the combined efforts of Ron, Draco, Harry, and Ginny, the Dursleys had finally cracked and given away the information.

After learning that Dudley was even more involved than Petunia or Vernon, Harry seemed to become even more enraged, if that was even possible. As Ginny tried to calm him, Draco and Ron took turns interrogating Vernon and Petunia, who turned out to be surprisingly stubborn. The two were nearly at their wits end when suddenly Petunia caught Draco's eye and gave her head a little nod in Vernon's direction.

Frowning, Draco glanced over at Ron. " Ur, Weasel, why don't we try splitting them up? That might make them crack faster. You take the whale, and I'll take Mrs. Dursley, here."

As soon as Ron and Vernon were out of the room, Draco began turning back to Petunia. " So, you suddenly feel like--"

He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening at the sight of Petunia Dursley. She had hiked up her skirt to her knees, revealing two very knobby, pale legs, and was smiling at him in what was supposed to be a seductive manner.

Recovering his shock, Draco forced a grin. " Why, you naughty little minx..."

Petunia flushed at this, obviously not accustomed to receiving compliments, but met Draco's gaze with an almost sickening urgency. " There's always been something strangely intoxicating about a handsome wizard," she informed him, licking her thin lips hungrily.

Forcing back a shudder, Draco continued to grin. " And I've always had a thing for Muggles, myself. But before we can have any real fun, I'm afraid you're gonna have to tell me where they've taken Hermione..."

A few minutes later, Draco called the others back into the room. " I know where to go." he informed them.

Harry merely stared at him for a moment and then crushed him in an enthusiastic embrace. " How did you do it?"

Embarrassed, Draco pushed away from him, though he did look pleased with himself. " Can't help it that I'm irresistible to women..."

Ginny frowned at this.

After tying Vernon and a fuming Petunia in the living room, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Draco apparated to a nearby abandoned prison. Bracing themselves, they pushed open the doors and began to walk through.

There was a loud crack, and all but Harry were repelled backward. They hit the ground with a thud, discomfited but not really hurt.

" Are you all right?" Harry inquired anxiously.

" Don't worry," Ron called back sorely, " my bones broke my fall."

Ginny let out a groan. " Kimmy must have charmed the door to keep everyone out," she surmised.

Draco frowned. " But for some reason, that doesn't include you, Potter."

There was silence as they tried to sort out what this meant. " Do you think it's some sort of trap?" Harry wondered aloud.

Before anyone could reply, a bloodcurdling scream filled the air. And suddenly, there was no time to worry about curses or traps.

" Hermione!" Harry cried and raced toward the sound. His blood was pumping in his ears. Instinctively, he knew that if he didn't get to Hermione soon, something horrible was going to happen...

He ran through various hallways, searching frantically until his eyes fell upon a single, barred door. Without hesitating, he threw himself into the room.

Hermione was on the ground, her body oddly limp, though her eyes were wide and filled with utmost terror. Dudley was kneeling beside her, using one hand to pin her down at the throat as the other hand began to slowly inch past her beltline. At the sight of Harry, Hermione let out a plaintive gasp. " Harry!"

Harry's green eyes flashed with rage, and he threw himself forward, crashing into the other man. Though Dudley was twice Harry's size, the force of the blow threw him backward. Harry picked himself back up again, and in an instant, his wand was in hand, and he was shouting every non-illegal incantation that he could think of. By the time he was through, Dudley was unconscious on the ground, puss oozing from a face that looked even more like a pig than it had before.

Trembling now from his anger and from realizing what could have happened had he been only a moment later, Harry stumbled back over to his wife, falling beside her on his knees. " Hermione..." Gingerly, he took her into his arms, cradling her. " Are you all right? Oh, Merlin...I'm so sorry..."

" I'm all right, Harry," Hermione reassured him, though her voice was shaking, "Kimmy put something in my drink, but it'll wear off I think...I'm just glad you're here." A sudden thought seemed to strike her, and she met his gaze earnestly. " Harry, Kimmy's still around here somewhere. She's completely obsessed with you-I don't know what sort of desperate thing she'll do..."

There was a short, bitter laugh behind them. Harry turned to see Kimmy, her wand pulled and aimed at him, her eyes determined.

" Hello, Harry. Long time no see."

***

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