You know how I gave that whole warning a few (more than fifteen) chapters back about cliffhangers? Well, I make no promises to do the same in the future, save for this one comment: if you despite them, you won't like me much in the future. If you just don't like them, then I'd suggest holding off reading Chapter Thirty Eight until Thirty Nine is posted.
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Chapter Thirty One: Liberty
A clash of metal on metal rang out through the nearly empty Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Two heavy breaths later left both people in green cloaks leaping backwards, landing nimbly on their toes, and then standing to their full heights again.
"That's great, both of you!" Kailyn cheered, leaping up from the desk she had been sitting on to watch. "Harry, you're a natural teacher - not that I didn't already know that thanks to the DA, but still! And Hermione, for you to have picked up how to move properly so quickly..."
"Thanks," Harry breathed, sitting down hard on the ground. It was easily one of the most taxing things he had ever been asked to do by the half elf girl... or by anyone save Dumbledore himself, really. Attacking Hermione with his dagger... it sent a shiver up his spine to think about it even now, after the fact.
"You really think I've got the movement down?" Hermione asked, though she didn't sit down. Instead, she turned towards the smaller first year student. "I thought I could have been a bit faster."
"You grew up as a muggle, right?" Hermione blinked her brown eyes twice in surprise before nodding. "Then surely you've heard the expression, `You have to learn to crawl before you can walk?' "
"Of course," Hermione said, pulling her hood down to let her hair loose again. Although she understood the point of having the hood up to train - given that it tended to block out distractions, while not obscuring vision - it was quite warm to keep up all the time. She paused for a moment, and then nodded again. "So, you're saying I'll get better with practice, then?"
"If Harry can stare at your chest to fight with you and not react, then I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how to move properly," Kailyn replied with a grin as she drew both of her short swords easily.
The blush filled Hermione's face instantly, and she knew it went further than just her face - she'd have been surprised if she wasn't red all the way down her neck as well. "I'm not staring there!" Harry said fiercely, drawing his dagger again as he stood quickly. "Like you said in one of my first lessons, it's the collar bone!"
Hermione stepped back quickly as she watched the two go at it. Harry was still quite a bit faster than she was, and seemed to be in a lot more control. He was obviously holding back when he went against her - incentive for her to improve quickly, she supposed.
The biggest challenge that she had to face while fighting with the blade vanished as she sheathed it at her side again in the leather case that Harry had given her. As soon as she had released it and it was covered again, all the visible magical energy in the air vanished again, letting her see everything normally again.
While she might have been mostly used to it while training like they had been, she was much happier being able to see normally again. And watching Harry move so fluently was a treat that she was certainly enjoying being able to indulge in. She had been given the first three lessons by Kailyn, but after that, the half elf had had Harry take over her training.
"You've improved through teaching, Harry," Kailyn said after a surprising clash that left them both leaping apart from each other to regain a safer distance. "Are you aware of that?"
"How do you figure?" Harry demanded as he darted in for an attack of his own. Hermione saw Kailyn flit out of sight for a split second as she leapt backwards - more of her waywatcher training kicking in, though she wasn't nearly as skilled as her grandfather by any means.
Harry seemed to expect this, however, as he fell back into a crouch as he held his blade up before him to defend from Kailyn's counter attacks.
"Next lesson, we'll go over how to fight while trying to escape... I understand that you had a bit of an issue with that a few weeks back..." She said nothing else before starting the counter attack that Harry had expected. After he caught her first sword by the hilt of his dagger, he pushed forward with his legs to fight through her momentum.
The move apparently caught the half elf completely off guard, because she only managed to partially get out of the way. Hermione couldn't stop herself from screaming as Kailyn cried out in pain when Harry's dagger struck her shoulder, piercing it deeply.
All three weapons fell to the ground as Kailyn clutched at her shoulder. A soft white light enveloped her hand and the injury as the skin suddenly knit itself back together. It was only then that Harry slumped onto one knee and tore his cloak off. Hermione gasped in horror and rushed forward to try and help when she saw that his arm was covered in crimson as well, dripping it down the length of his arm and onto the floor.
The door to the classroom slamming open didn't distract her in the slightest as she pressed her hands against the long wound, trying to staunch the flow of blood. "It'll be alright, Harry," she said urgently, looking to Kailyn quickly. "Go get Madame Pomfrey, now!"
"There is no need." She looked up in surprise to find Talisien standing over both of them. "Does it hurt, Harry?"
"What kind of a question is that?" Hermione demanded, only to notice Harry shake his head subtly as though to ask her to let him answer. She closed her mouth instantly and looked down to his injury again, feeling almost as though it was her own heart that was pumping the blood that was eliciting from the wound. Or rather, she almost wished it was, to take away the pain.
"Yes," Harry said in a tight voice, his teeth clenched together. "Of course it really hurts. Would you mind doing something about it, maybe?"
"Hermione, do you wish to take away this pain from him?" Talisien asked, his voice, and in fact, his entire demeanour still almost disturbingly calm. "Do you want to heal the damage done?" He caught her eyes with his own for a moment and held them for a couple of seconds. Suddenly, the realisation dawned in her. "Then do it."
Hermione looked away from Talisien and back to Harry. "Please, Harry... just trust me," she whispered. He looked up away from his injury quickly at that, his ocean green eyes shining suddenly. She almost felt him relaxing - she did feel his arm relax instantly, and knew that the rest of him did too, despite the pain he was feeling.
"With my life," he whispered in return.
She looked away from his expressive eyes quickly so she could concentrate on the task at hand. Looking carefully at the injury, she saw that his school robe was going to get in the way, so she released his arm for a moment to pull away the cloth. He growled slightly at that, as though biting back an exclamation of pain, but otherwise didn't move, or even tense up again.
Hermione closed her eyes again carefully and looked at the wound in Harry's arm. She could see the complex weaving of colours that made up his magical energy, and wasn't sure where to begin to try and change things. Rather than try, she opened her eyes again and simply concentrated on the cut itself. She tried to force her mind to literally will the muscle back together, the skin to stitch itself closed again, the nerves to heal so the pain would die. She knew what the arm should look like - she knew a lot of Harry's body intimately well after all, though she surpressed the thought of just what she didn't know quickly so as not to lose her train of thought.
A white glow suddenly surrounded her hands and Harry's arm... much like the glow that had surrounded Kailyn's injury when she had set about healing it. It took all of about a minute to repair the minor damage that had been done - minor, she knew, thanks to all the reading she had done in anatomy. It might have been painful, but it was only an arm injury, after all.
Just as quickly as the light had appeared, it faded again, leaving his arm as good as new again. Rather than release him, though, she just threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close to her so she could embrace him fully. She let him out of the hug rather quickly, all things considered, and stood up, offering him a hand up as well.
"'Mione..." Harry started, but Talisien cut him off.
"What you just did, Hermione, is a form of inner magics... the very thing that my mate spoke to you about back in October, I believe. Though rather complex magics, the fact that you can do such a thing tells of the power of your own heart, and your willingness to heal others," Talisien explained. "I will speak with you more once class begins, but I would like for Kailyn and Harry to have a quick word before I send her on her way and let the others inside."
Both Harry and Hermione looked to the doorway at his words, and found the entire advanced class cramped in the frame, staring at the scene inside in shock or amazement. Harry looked down at the ground at his feet and saw the splash of his own blood, and could understand that feeling all too well.
"I would like for you to work from a chair today, Harry. That's more blood down there than I like seeing at any given time," Talisien said calmly, turning to walk away from the three.
It didn't take Kailyn long to reassure Harry that she was fine, too. This was probably because he had seen her heal an injury much earlier in the year anyway, and knew that her healing of herself was fast and almost completely painless. It would take a bit more for either Harry or Hermione to really understand what she said before she picked up her swords, sheathed them in her near invisible sheaths, and was gone from the classroom again.
Apparently, she felt that it spoke volumes about just what type of character Harry was, given that he was willing to be injured himself if it meant succeeding in his own attempts. In other words, if he saw a chance to kill the Dark Lord, she was concerned that he would take it, regardless of what might befall him as well.
Harry managed to purr to Hermione that they would talk about it later just as Talisien let down whatever invisible barrier he had put up in the doorway, allowing the rest of the class inside. Once they had all spoken to both Harry and Hermione about what they had seen - reactions ranging from `Wicked!' to `And you do that for fun?' - Harry took Talisien's advice to sit at the side to read through one of his textbooks.
Meanwhile, Talisien left the rest of the class to work on their own things while he spoke with Hermione in tones so soft that she probably had difficulty hearing some of what he said. At least, she would have, Harry reasoned, if she didn't have the hearing of a kneazle now.
Harry did take the time in class to speak to each member of the Ministry Crew individually, making them all promise to meet in the Room of Requirement after supper, and to tell no one else about it. He had decided that it was time... it was more than time, really, given that January was almost over. They had been at school for a month after the holidays, and he had just kept putting off the talk he knew had to come.
That night was the night. He had decided that when he had woken up that morning with Hermione in his arms. Fortunately, she agreed with him, and made the decision a rather memorable one before they actually got up in the end.
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"Alright, spill!" Ginny's vibrant voice said the moment the door to the Room of Requirement swung shut behind Harry and Hermione. "How long has that been going on?"
"Hang on..." Ron said slowly, standing up from the small two-seater couch he was sharing with Luna. The Room had provided another comfortable room that looked a lot like the Gryffindor common room, though less vast. "The last few weeks... when you two have snuck off together..."
"We were training, Ron," Harry deadpanned. The look of disbelief on Ron's face nearly had him cracking up, but the thought of why he had gathered them together was keeping his humour in check.
"So you were not continuing work on your special project that you started at Harry's home over the holidays?" Luna asked with a loopy grin to them both. Ron was next to her in an instant trying to take back her words, but it was a little late for that.
"What special project?" Hermione asked. "I thought we told everyone, we were up in the library working on the study aides for Ginny and Colin, that's all. Why, you didn't think that we..." She let out a little `eep' and turned red all at once as she sat down in one of the chairs next to the fireplace, looking away from everyone.
"So you two never..." Neville asked with a grin on his face. Harry was sure it was because he was trying to see just how red they could all make Hermione - a fact that Harry wanted to put an end to right away.
"Voldemort." The silence he had been hoping for came, but the collective shudder that he was almost used to didn't follow the silence, making him grin just a little. "Impressive. No one here is scared of his name any longer, then?"
"I'm terrified of it," Ginny admitted. "Being possessed by him is no laughing matter, you know," she explained. "But it's like Talisien was saying on one of our first days back - fear is fear. Knowing how to handle that fear..."
"I shall have to thank him for that later, then," Harry said calmly, turning away from the group to try and collect his thoughts. He knew what he wanted to tell them... getting there was another matter entirely.
"When were you possessed by Voldemort?" Luna asked in an equally calm voice - almost as though she were simply asking about the weather outside or what was Ginny's favourite flavour of pudding.
That's it... Harry thought to himself as he turned back to the other five. "I'll field that one, Ginny, if that's alright," he offered, cutting her off as she opened her mouth. He took a deep breath to try and relax himself before going on, but it had little effect. "Some of you will be familiar with some of what I'm about to tell you... only one of you will know all of it."
"This is serious, isn't it?" Neville asked in a hushed voice. "Dumbledore's let you in on some great secret, and now you are going to tell each of us, right?"
"In a way, yes," Harry said after a moment. "But I'm only telling you because you all have a right to know. You even know a touch of it, Neville. This is about what happened at the end of last year, but to understand it all, I've got to tell you a bit about my time here at Hogwarts."
"That's a lot of time, mate. Besides, don't most of us know it anyway?" Ron asked.
"Did you ever wonder why everything happened to me, though, Ron? Ever wonder why my first year was plagued with odd rumours, unicorn slayings, and a man named Nicholas Flamel?" Harry countered. When Ron didn't answer, but sank back into the chair, Harry went on. "My first year, for those of you who don't know, was the first time I had ever heard of Voldemort. He had attached himself to the back of our Defense Against the Dark Arts' Professor's head - in spirit form only, mind you. He didn't have a real body at the time. I ran into him in a rarely seen dungeon after a series of tests that I only made it through with help from Ron and Hermione. Neville, you probably remember hearing a bit about that, but in all likelihood, it's news to Ginny and Luna."
"You stopped him from attaining the Philosopher's Stone, then?" Luna said the question more like a statement. "Good for you. A talented first year, for sure."
"Hang on, Harry says he stopped Voldemort in his first year, and all you can say about it is that he's `a talented first year?' " Neville asked in surprise.
"Don't worry, Nev," Harry said with a grin. "I'd never expect to hear a normal statement from our Luna - she wouldn't be herself if we knew what to expect next from her." When no one said anything, Harry closed his eyes to continue, so he wouldn't have to see Ginny's reaction to his second year. "Four years ago, that was when Ginny was possessed. It was thanks to Malfoy senior it happened, and the tool was an old diary. It was also the year I learned that I could speak to snakes, though that fact only helped me find her, not rescue her. It took the sorting hat and Dumbledore's Phoenix Fawkes to help... and I killed a basilisk to do it."
"Gin never told us what it was like down there, Harry," Ron said in a hushed voice. "Never said anything about it save the fact that you saved her. Still feel I owe you for that one."
"Bullocks," Harry said instantly. "No one here owes me anything... if anything, I owe all of you, and more than an explanation too, but that's all I can offer."
"Your third year was that year with all the Dementors, wasn't it?" Luna asked. "There were really strange rumours that year, as I recall... but I don't know what they were about, really..."
"That figures," Harry said with a shrug. "You never hear what any rumours are about, remember? But third year was a strange one... an escaped convict from Azkaban was after me," he said, his voice getting a little softer. "Managed to sneak right into Hogwarts to see me, too. Only... he wasn't here to kill me like everyone thought... he was here to see me, as well as something else... He was after someone else to kill..." He looked up meaningfully at Ron and Ginny. "It was Scabbers. More commonly known as Peter Pettigrew... or better still, Wormtail."
"We all know who Sirius Black was to you," Neville said softly. "And I know what it's like... to lose someone you never got the chance to really get to know."
"That's the thing, Neville," Harry whispered. "I had the chance... I just never really took it." He then straightened again, hardening his resolve to go on. "At the end of the year, I found out about Wormtail from Sirius and our Professor Lupin - he's my new godfather, by the way, appointed by Sirius himself. Then Snape had to stick his nose in... things went downhill, to such a point that Lupin turned werewolf and Wormtail escaped, leaving Sirius in one of our towers awaiting a Dementor's kiss, and Ron, Hermione, and I trapped in the Hospital Wing."
"You actually gonna tell me what happened now?" Ron asked in surprise. "I stopped trying to get it out of you two before fourth year started! I just knew you'd never tell me the whole story..."
"With good reason, Ron!" Hermione piped up now, having been mostly silent until that point. "We meddled with time, changed things around... it's completely illegal, not to mention dangerous as anything! Harry saw himself, even!"
"'Mione..." Harry said softly, and she looked to him instantly, worried that she might have said too much. He smiled to her and shook his head. "I never really thanked you for that." He then looked to everyone else. "We went back in time using a time turner, and then rescued the hippogryff Buckbeak - who prefers Beaky, by the way - and then Sirius Black... my godfather. Unfortunately, with Wormtail gone, there was no way that he could walk around as a free man."
"We know about fourth year," Luna piped up. "In the interview you gave Rita Skeeter for my dad's paper, you told everyone all about it."
Harry nodded and sighed. "I'll skip fourth year, then. Last year... that's the hardest one to really talk about." Steeling himself once again, he went on with as solid a voice as possible, well aware that it would probably crack more than once. "First, that cow Umbridge comes along... then, over Christmas, I thought I was being possessed by Voldemort. Turns out, he was just using my eyes and body, but not really possessing me. That didn't come until much later."
"Later?" Ron and Neville both asked in surprise. "Possessed?"
"Yeah, but I'll get to that," Harry promised. "Anyway, long story short, after I screwed up and got Dumbledore removed from here, I got the message from Voldemort that you all know about... about Sirius being held captive in the Department of Mysteries. Of course, we all know that wasn't the case... but thank you all for supporting me anyway," he sighed. "It's because of that that I owe you all so much."
"Bugger to that, Harry," Neville said, the rare determination shining in his voice suddenly. "You don't owe us anything - in fact, it's because of you that I actually stand a chance at knowing what I'm doing to fight in this war! Not to mention how Gran feels about the whole thing... you don't owe us."
"You could have all been killed!" Harry shouted in return. "All of you! Ron, you were attacked by brains, remember? Still having night terrors caused by other people's memories, are you?" Ron looked shocked at being called out at this, but Harry didn't wait for his answer before looking to Luna instead. "Luna, any idea how lucky you are that they couldn't cast the killing curse on us for fear of breaking the orb I held? If they had, that stunner would have killed you instead! Ginny, how's your ankle? Still limping around at all when the pain suddenly flares back to life?"
Whirling on Neville and Hermione, who were the two sitting by the fireplace, he saw that they were shocked by his outburst as well. "How's the nose, Neville? Can't smell the herbs as well as you used to be able to anymore, can you? Thanks to my brilliant idea, you can't even enjoy Herbology as much as you used to! And `Mione..." he started, but suddenly found himself cut off as a Full Body Bind struck him from behind.
He watched as Hermione stood up slowly, and, though he tried to fight her off, he could do nothing as she pressed her lips against his, despite everyone else being present. "You did nothing to any of us, Harry," she said softly. He could hear the others agreeing in the background, but he could only focus on the witch who had her arms wrapped around him - he really couldn't do much else at the time anyway. "We chose to come with you, even though we knew it was dangerous. We chose to come..."
Harry breaking out of the curse seemed to shock her, as he suddenly had his arms around her, too, holding her close to him and breathing in deeply of her scent. While he couldn't necessarily use her eyes - and more importantly, he guessed, her ability in Legilimency - to calm down, the smell of her shampoo was, oddly enough, all that it took this time.
"I know," he whispered into her ear. "I know you did. And all I can really do is say... thanks. To each of you."
"Hey," Neville said, and Harry pulled his face out of Hermione's hair to look at the other sixth year Gryffindor standing up to face him. "Even knowing it was a trap, I'd do it all again anyway. Besides, I'm still enjoying Herbology, despite what you might think.""
Harry took a deep, long, slow breath as he separated from Hermione and took a step back so he could see everyone. "Do you all want to know why all of these things are happening now, to me? Why Voldemort tried to kill me in my first year, why he wants me dead even still, why he lured us to the Ministry that night?"
When no one said anything, he couldn't help but grin inwardly to himself. He guessed they were all trying to figure out what to say without much success. "Did anyone here know that the Sorting Hat tried to put me in Slytherin at first?" He held up a hand to keep them from shouting anything at all so he could keep going. "I also told you that I was possessed once - that was last year. In the Ministry, when Voldemort appeared, he possessed me. I remember the pain... it was so intense, worse that the Cruiciatus Curse... I begged Dumbledore to kill me. I wanted to die, it hurt so badly."
The stunned look on everyone's faces told him all he needed to know on what they thought of that fact. Hermione had heard this part before, but even she looked shocked to hear him repeat it so openly.
"Harry?" Neville called softly. When he actually looked over at his dorm mate, Neville leaned forward a little. "It can only be called natural sometimes, when the pain is too great. The fact that you are still here attests to your strengths." He then leaned back. "This is about what we spoke about before I found out about my parents, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Harry said softly. "Yeah... it is." Sitting down on the rock ground in front of the fireplace, he closed his eyes and consciously brought forward his memories of that day... the day everything changed for him. "I nearly destroyed Dumbledore's office before he told me... and then he apologised for not telling me earlier. Said he cared too much." He sighed and bowed his head. "I understand what he meant now... he didn't want me to feel burdened."
"With what, Harry?" Ron asked quietly, breaking the silence that had fallen in the room after Harry's last declaration. Harry slowly brought his eyes back up to meet those of his first friend at Hogwarts, and kept the gaze for a moment before moving onto Luna.
He looked to Ginny next, then Neville, and let his eyes linger on Hermione. She knew of what the prophecy held, but had never heard it. No one had... save for Dumbledore and himself. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies..." Harry paused for a moment to wet his dry lips and looked carefully into Hermione's deep, rich brown eyes. "And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not..."
"Harry, what..." Ginny started, only to have Luna shush her. It was merely the fact that it was Luna that actually made the words die on Ginny's lips - she hadn't expected it from the odd Ravenclaw her brother had fallen for.
"And either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives..." Harry stood up slowly from the ground and squared his shoulders, now looking down into Hermione's eyes. He had never let his gaze wander after he started, and he wasn't about to now. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."
It took several minutes for anyone to say anything after Harry's words died in the room. That wasn't to say it was completely silent, however. Hermione was most certainly crying, though doing it almost silently, and Harry was holding her against him, trying to reassure her by rocking her, but he wasn't saying anything either.
"Blimey."
"Ron, there is a time for words like that, and a time for something much stronger," Ginny said firmly. "I just won't say them, because I think they might upset Hermione a little bit more than she already is."
"So... what's it mean?" Ron asked slowly, nodding to his sister's comments. "I mean, I get the gist of it, but..."
"It means, Ronald, that Harry is the only one who can kill Voldemort," Luna said with a matter-of-fact kind of voice. It was one of the few times anyone had heard her sound determined about something - or rather, speak with an almost normal voice, which meant she sounded determined, even if that wasn't her intention.
"Bullocks."
"Weren't you listening at all?" Neville demanded, standing up quickly to come to Harry's support - it was obvious he wasn't going to, given how he was still holding Hermione. "Either must die at the hand of the other? Mark him as his equal?
"Yeah, I heard him!" Ron said firmly, standing up to face Neville. "But that doesn't mean I have to agree!"
"What would it take to convince you, then?"
"Just tell me why my best mate has to go off to find and kill some nutter because of blasted Divination!" Ron countered. If it was a different time, Harry probably would have laughed at Ron calling VOldemort a nutter. As it was, the indignant expression on Neville's face suddenly faded, and he stood down a little.
"You're scared for him."
"What's your point?"
"Why do you think he hid this from all of us for so long?"
Ron stopped with his mouth open and a finger pointing at Neville as though to blast into him again, but no words came out. After a second or two, he snapped his mouth shut and looked puzzled. "Good point," he admitted. "Oi, Harry, ya got an answer to that, or not?"
It was the very question that Harry had dreaded hearing the moment he had decided to finally tell them. He knew his own reasons, of course, but to explain them to others, even his closest friends... "What do you expect me to do now?" Harry asked calmly.
"What do I..." Ron stopped again, but this time shook his head. "Isn't it obvious? You're gonna train up the DA, and together, we'll go hunt down the bleeding bastard so we can all get on with our lives!"
"I'm not taking anybody when I go to face him!" Harry shouted, his green eyes blazing with a fury not seen within them for a very long time. "I don't plan on letting anyone get killed like that! This is my prophecy, my fate, my destiny, and my bloody decision!"
He stopped shouting the moment Hermione's hand touched his shoulder, and he whirled on her quickly, but she cut him off with a finger on his lips. "We are going to be behind you, Harry, whether you like it or not."
"If you're behind me, then how am I supposed to duck?"
"With us behind you," Ron said firmly, coming up to grasp his other shoulder. "You won't have to duck."
Harry didn't reply - really, no words would even come to his mouth - as Ginny placed her hand on his shoulder as well. Luna put hers on top of Ron's, and Neville put his next to Hermione's. "We're all behind you. We know you'll lead us in the right direction to end this."
"I am no leader."
"That's bullocks, mate. Pure bullocks. What do you think you've been doin with the DA for the past year and a half?"
"And I can't do this alone."
Hermione leaned in despite the close quarters of everyone else to place a soft, lingering kiss on his lips. "I wouldn't leave you alone."
"None of us will," Luna said, her voice still strangely normal, and not dreamy like usual.
"Just don't expect a kiss from each of us," Ron quipped. "You might be like a brother to me, but you've seen how my brothers share family bonds - and in case you've forgotten, it isn't anything like that!"
Ron's ill choice of humour actually brought a bit of a smile to Harry's mouth and he sighed. "Thanks. All of you, thanks. I don't know what to say."
"Say you'll do it," Ginny suggested. "We all know you can, that you will, but do you know it, too?"
Harry nodded firmly, putting a hand on top of Hermione's. "Voldemort will die by my hand."
"And the rest of us will make sure you get to him first," Neville promised.
Once the others pulled away, Hermione sniffled to try and keep back a fresh wave of tears. She knew that they would be supportive of Harry - she wished she had been able to get her act together earlier, but actually hearing the whole prophecy was a bit nerve wracking - but this was more than she had thought they would do.
"It's alright," Harry said softly, obviously talking only to Hermione despite the fact that everyone else was still there. "You knew about it beforehand, remember? Now you've just heard the whole thing."
"And it doesn't change a thing," Hermione whispered as she held out her arms to hug him again. "I love you."
"I know," he whispered into her ear, brushing her brown hair aside first to gain access.
Before he could say anything else, Hermione's wand started to vibrate again, and she looked up in surprise as she separated from Harry. "It's five minutes to curfew!" she said in an almost hiss. "We've all got to get moving, now!"
"Hermione, I need to talk to Harry for a minute first," Ron said, sitting down again. "We'll be fine getting back - Merlin knows we've done it enough times to be able to pull it off again, even without the cloak."
"Good night, Ronald," Luna said, leaning down to give him a kiss. "Garble wayho."
"Garble wayho," Ron whispered in return, giving her a quick kiss on the nose herself before standing up and walking out the door that Hermione was holding open for them.
She paused for a minute after Neville and Ginny had both left as well, obviously debating about letting Ron have his way or telling them both to get back to Gryffindor tower right away. Finally, she sighed and nodded, walking out the door and closing it silently behind her.
"Garble wayho?" Harry couldn't help but ask the moment the door was closed. "What was all that about?"
Ron shrugged and leaned back in the couch. "One of Luna's phrases," he said, as though that explained everything. "You know, like Dumbledore's words during our first year speech - I think nitwit was in there, come to think of it, which means he could have been insulting us..."
"And do I want to know what `garble wayho' means, exactly?"
"If you can't figure it out, then I'm not gonna tell you," Ron said with a grin as he sat forward again. "Besides, I'm sure you've said the same thing in English to Hermione, right?"
"Wh..." Harry cut himself off and shook his head. "So that's what it means, huh?"
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Did you tell her that you love her yet?"
"What?" Harry asked in surprise. "What makes you think that?"
Ron's chipper attitude suddenly vanished, and he was on his feet very quickly, standing so close to Harry that it made them both more than a little uncomfortable, but Ron didn't back down. "You telling me you don't, then? After what you two..."
Apparently, Ron didn't want to actually say what he thought Harry and Hermione got up to when they were alone, but the point was made loud and clear. "Look, I haven't even told her yet! What makes you think I'm gonna just up and tell you now?"
"You haven't?" That statement seemed to make Ron even madder than the previous one had. "What's wrong with you? Don't you have any idea how much that's got to hurt her, when she tells you all the time, and you never give a proper answer?"
"Butt out, Ron!" Harry practically shouted in his face. "This doesn't concern you! You wouldn't understand!"
"She's not going to die if you tell her!" The two were literally nose to nose by this point, glaring directly into each other's eyes. When Harry looked away suddenly at his words, Ron leapt on the opportunity. "Aha! That is it, isn't it? That's why you haven't told her!"
"Lucky guess," Harry mumbled, taking the seat that Hermione had been sitting in earlier.
"My arse!" Ron plunked himself down in the seat across from Harry, still glowering at him. "What do you think the two of us talked about while you and Luna were talking about me down by the lake?"
"Uh, maybe Prefect duties?" Harry asked sarcastically. "Given that I don't know what those are, I couldn't say!"
"Try you!" Ron countered. "Yeah, that's right. Our Hermione's worried... she doesn't know what to think. One minute, she's thinking that you don't care about her at all, and the next, she just knows that she is your everything! Look, mate, you've gotta tell her, before she goes more mental than she already is!" Ron seemed to have calmed down a bit if he was making cracks about her. "And, I've gotta be honest with you - I don't think I could handle a more mental Hermione!"
"I can't tell her!" Harry growled, not looking at Ron anymore, but instead, looking at the slowly dwindling fire. "It's not as easy as you make it sound."
"Sure it is!" Ron said immediately. "Just sit down with her, and..."
"Dammit, Ron, let me finish!" Harry roared, standing up to stare down at his friend. "Her dying is only part of the reason! What about me?"
"What about you?" Ron asked, clearly confused by this sudden twist.
"And either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives..." Harry repeated in an almost monotone before opening his eyes, looking more livid than he had for quite some time. "Did you conveniently forget about that already?"
"I don't see what that prophecy has to do with..."
"I could die against Voldemort!" Harry shouted. "And if I told her before that happened, where would that leave her? I can't do that to her! I can't, and I won't!"
"How long has she known about it?" Ron asked after a few minutes of watching Harry simply pace up and down the short length of the room.
"July 31," Harry said automatically.
"Blimey, that long?" Ron asked in surprise, but didn't wait for an answer. "Look, it's not important when, really, just that it was a long time ago. You told me at the November Ball that you had only gotten together shortly before that, right?" When Harry nodded, Ron shrugged his shoulders. "So don't you think she's considered that possibility? The one that you could be stolen from us?"
"Yeah, but..."
"But nothing!" Ron said, calm again without any real warning. "She's thought about it - knowing her, I wouldn't be surprise to find charts and tables made up with the pros and cons, and all the risks mapped out, would you? And you know what? It didn't make a lick of difference - she still means it every time she says it to you."
"I know," Harry whispered, moving towards the door. "And that's what makes it so hard for me to say it in return." He didn't give Ron any more time to talk to him about the subject before pulling the door open, forcing them both into silence to maintain secrecy as they snuck back to the common room. They did have a close encounter with Filtch, and a near miss with Peeves (fortunately, both cancelled each other out when Peeves spotted Filch first and went tearing after him to drop a statue on the caretaker's cat), but otherwise, made it without concern.
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"Kailyn saw something in today's lesson, didn't she?" Hermione whispered to Harry once he joined her in his bed and closed the curtains. She was back in her blue camisole and silk pants again - Harry had whispered something to her about enjoying the silk at some stage, and she wasn't going to be caught unprepared, though that wasn't exactly on her mind right then. "What did she mean?"
Harry caught her hand that was lazily circling around on his bare chest and held it still. "If you want to talk to me, you really shouldn't do that right now..." he whispered in return, leaning over to capture her lips with his own. She pulled back quickly, though, and he sighed as he leaned his head onto his pillow again and looked into her eyes. She wasn't lying on top of him just yet either - just next to him, with an arm on him. "I thought you knew what she meant..."
"I'm hoping I was wrong," Hermione replied, biting her lower lip. It took all of Harry's concentration not to lean down to take over for her, but he doubted she would appreciate that - he could tell that she felt this was a very serious discussion, and he had promised that they would talk about it later, after all.
Harry closed his eyes rather than trust himself not to act on his impulses and sighed. "All she meant was that I can take foolish risks sometimes. We both already knew that, right?"
"That's not what she meant at all!" Hermione countered almost instantly. "And you know it!"
"It was part of it!" Harry objected before opening his eyes to face her again. She looked quite upset, and had traces of tears in her eyes, but also looked slightly angry. Never a good combination, really. "She meant that I would kill Voldemort if I saw a chance to do it... regardless of whether or not it would kill me at the same time," he admitted.
"And?"
"And what?"
"Don't play dumb with me, Harry James Potter!" she hissed, pulling her hand away from his warmth, leaving him with a cold feeling on his chest suddenly. "Was she right?"
"I have to kill him, `Mione," Harry said softly, knowing that she probably wasn't going to like his answer at all. "And if that means I have to die in the process... I guess that will be that."
"And you're just okay with that?"
Harry was never happier that he had cast the privacy charms around his bed than he was right then - she had shouted at him in anger and sat up in the bed. There was no question that the others would know if he hadn't.
"No, I'm not okay with that," Harry said firmly, sitting up to face her, pretending to be a little braver than he actually felt at the moment. "But if it would keep you safe... keep my friends safe, then yeah... I would."
Seeing a very angry Hermione sitting next to him in her pajamas was not something Harry had ever really wanted to see (even if it did denounce the theory that girls could be hot when they were mad), but he hadn't wanted to lie to her, either.
He wasn't sure what to expect, really, so he simply scrunched his eyes closed and hoped that it would be over soon. After a minute of just sitting there, Hermione let out an exasperated sound and thumped down on the bed. He opened his eyes to see her curled up towards the wall.
"You are so lucky that I don't think I can sleep in a bed without you anymore, or I would be so far gone!" she whispered fiercely to him. "Obviously, the promise you made to me awhile ago means nothing then, does it?"
"'Mione..." Harry groaned, putting a hand on her shoulder to try and get her to at least roll over to face him. She swatted his hand away from her and curled up a little tighter. "C'mon, `Mione... at least listen..."
"Gimme your blanket," she replied, reaching down to pull at it. Harry shrugged and pulled it out from the edges of the mattress, and watched as she wrapped it around her tightly before curling back up to face the wall again. "I don't care that mum told me never to go to sleep mad... I don't want to talk to you right now, Harry."
"But..."
"Save it."
Harry sighed - he tried to do it mostly to himself so she wouldn't get mad at him for that too - and laid back down. Without the blankets, it was going to be a little hard to get to sleep, but he could have dealt with that if not for the angry witch lying next to him. Even if he was comfortable, with her angry and in the same bed, it would not have been a good night.
He laid there, quite certain that there was no way he was going to be able to get any sleep whatsoever for a couple of hours at least before he finally noticed it. Hermione's breathing had finally slowed down to a relaxed, even pace, which told him without a doubt that she was finally asleep.
"At least one of us can sleep tonight," he muttered as he sat back up again slowly. Looked down to Hermione, he was startled to see that she had literally cried herself to sleep without him even realising it, and that fact brought a prickle to his own eyes. "Oh God... I'm sorry, `Mione," he whispered, brushing a strand of hair away from her nose. "I'm so, so sorry..."
"Ron was right... I've been such a prat about everything," he whispered, leaning down to get a little closer to her without getting close enough to risk waking her. "You are everything to me... everything... you hold my heart, and there's no questioning that. Without question, I love you... but instead of telling you that, I just go ahead and hurt you like this..."
He closed his eyes and squeezed out a couple of his own tears, feeling them roll down his cheeks before he trusted even a simple whisper not to betray him. "I wish I could tell you, I really do. I will, too... just not yet, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you somehow, I promise. The only thing I can tell you now is that I won't get myself killed when I take him on. You've given me a reason to live before I face him again... why wouldn't I want to come back to that?"
"I'm so sorry... I'll do everything I can to make sure I can come back... back to your beautiful smile, your wonderfully expressive eyes, your exquisite bushy brown hair... back home to you," he whispered, getting as close to her ear as he dared. "You've given me a reason with your dream... I guess it's my turn now. I'll be coming back... just make sure that when we go, you come back, too. Your dream can't happen if either of us..."
Fearing that he wouldn't be able to keep back the sob that was caught in his throat as he looked down at her sleeping form and saw the tears stains on her cheeks again that told of how she had managed to fall asleep, he pulled away from her and curled up on the other side of the bed.
He was cold without the blanket, given that the sheet was quite thin, especially for winter. But given what he had just done to his precious angel, how badly he had just hurt her... he felt that, for once, he truely deserved to be cold while he cried himself into a fitful sleep.
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Author's Note (2): Well, some of you may hate me now. Sorry about that. Hope you liked the chapter, anyway!
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Until the sun sets upon a broken world…
The Shadows
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