~A/N> I'm sorry for the long wait. Between medical issues with my two year old and tooth issues myself, the
last two weeks have been horrible. This is the next to the last chapter, there will be one more and an epilogue. Thanks
for all the wonderful reviews on the last chapter, they were great! I have to say a HUGE thanks to Spaz141 for being my
awesome beta; I e-mailed this to her this afternoon and she got it back to me tonight! Also, I've started a
murder-mystery story that's H/Hr, and I'm wondering if I should post it or not. I'd love to hear how many
of you would be interested in reading it. Okay, enough of my ramblings, I hope you enjoy the chapter! *One more
thing...the ending is not as it seems and I'm REALLY sorry for the cliffy, but I couldn't help it, so please
don't flame me over it! :)
'Bloody hell' I thought as I grabbed Hermione's hand and followed Dumbledore out of the room. He had just caught us snogging and now we were going to get in trouble for it. I could tell by the look on Hermione's face that she was just as worried as I was and I felt terrible for putting her in this situation. If I had only reigned in my hormones, none of this would have happened.
Dumbledore turned into the study and once we were inside he shut the door, made his way over to one of the chairs in front of the fireplace and sat down without saying a word. I sat on the couch and when Hermione went to pull her hand from mine and sit in a separate chair, I tugged her down next to me; we'd already been caught together, so why should we pretend now?
"First, let me explain why I came to see you in the first place," Dumbledore started, staring at us intently. "I have noticed some...unusual occurrences happening lately that I believe is cause for concern."
After watching us for a moment or two, as if expecting us to say something, he just shrugged slightly and said, "Alright then, let me explain. In recent days I have noticed a shift in magic surrounding this house, it has strengthened and neither I nor any other Order members have made any attempts to reinforce the wards. I further noticed that you and Miss Granger have been growing closer, along with another couple in the house, and there have been some rather strange magical surges that defy explanation."
"What strange magical surges?" Hermione asked at the same time I asked, "What other couple?"
Dumbledore looked from me to her with a smile that held a hint of mystery to it, as if it were taunting, 'I know something you don't know.'
"First things first, I'm sure Miss Granger can enlighten you as to whom the other couple is," he said, that same smile lighting his face. I looked at Hermione expectantly as she looked down at the floor, avoiding my gaze.
"Who's the other couple 'Mione?" I asked, curious.
"Ginny and Draco," she mumbled quietly.
"What?!" I asked angrily, "When did you find that out?"
"This morning, before I ran into you in the corridor," she explained, still not looking at me. "When I walked into the library, I noticed two figures quickly step away from each other. When I realized who they were, I was shocked. Ginny begged me not to tell Ron, and I felt it best not to tell anyone," she explained, talking faster than normal.
"You were going to keep this from me?" I asked angrily. "They can't be together, Ron will kill Draco when he finds out."
"That is precisely why I didn't say anything," she replied, anger also evident in her voice.
"Now on to Miss Granger's question; I know about the incident between the two of you in the library and I believe something happened just before I entered your room?" Dumbledore asked as he looked at me.
"Yes Sir," I replied, my face growing warm, "I felt a surge of magic travel through my body."
"I felt it too," Hermione added, looking at the floor.
Dumbledore's smile grew bigger, if that were possible, as he sat regarding us. "Do either of you know what is causing these things to happen?" he asked.
I shook my head no and Hermione asked, "Might it have something to do with the protection spell that Harry's Mum cast on him before she died?"
"Yes it does," he answered. "Lily's love has always resided inside you Harry, it always will, and if I'm not mistaken Miss Grangers feelings for you has reinforced the protection spell and is making it stronger. You see, Maternal love is something that is imbedded in every woman, whether they have born a child or not; it just becomes strongest when a woman gives birth to her own child. But true love...that is the greatest mystery of all. No one knows why we are drawn to one person, or why we sometimes have to be with many people before we find the one they are meant to be with, but once we find that person we become consumed with it. Maternal love and true love last forever, but only true love has the ability to break our heart and destroy our soul."
Trying to understand everything Dumbledore was saying I asked, "But what does Ginny and Draco being together have to do with any of this?"
"It has to do with Love Harry," he replied, "Love is a very powerful force and when mixed with magic, it can even conquer the foulest evil known to mankind. Miss Weasley's and Mister Malfoy's feelings for each other are inadvertently helping reinforce the wards; I do not think that they know the extent of those feelings, but it is for them to discover in their own time. For now, they are helping to keep you safe."
Hermione and I just sat quietly, both of us mulling over everything Dumbledore had just told us, when he said, "As for the two of you and what it appeared I walked in on, I do not intend to lecture you on proper behavior; the basis for proper behavior has changed greatly since my youth. But I must caution the two of you to think through such a big step before you let your emotions be swept away by the intensity of the moment and you do something you may regret afterwards. True love is pure and if it is meant to be taken to the next level, it will happen in its own time; there is no need to rush."
I could feel my face burning and when I looked over at Hermione, I could see that her entire face was a bright red color. When it seemed Dumbledore had nothing more to say I stood up and without looking at him said, "Thank you Sir."
"You are quite welcome Harry," he replied, a hint of amusement in his voice. When Hermione stood up I took her hand in mine once more and proceeded to make my way towards the library door. Just before we reached it Dumbledore said, "Oh, I almost forgot...I believe this is the book you were searching for Miss Granger?"
When we turned around, he was holding up a very old looking book. Hermione released my hand and made her way over to retrieve it from him; the moment she took hold of the book Dumbledore whispered something to her and I noticed that her face became an even darker shade of red. I heard her mumble something in reply and then she quickly turned and made her way back to where I was standing.
"Let's go," she said as she quickly grabbed my hand and almost dragged me out of the room. Once we were in the corridor and the door was shut behind us I stopped her and asked, "What did he say to you?"
"He said that if I ever needed to 'talk' to someone about what we were about to do earlier, I could always go to Professor McGonagall or Mrs. Weasley," she replied without looking up from the floor. When I started to laugh she quickly brought her head up to glare at me and said, "I'm glad you think it's funny." As I continued to laugh she started to walk away from me and then stopped a couple of steps away. "Oh, by the way," she said, turning back to me, a smirk playing at her lips, "he said he would be having a talk with you about it later."
~*~
I had to laugh at the expression on Harry's face; he looked like he had just taken a Bludger in the stomach. I made my way to my room, intent on reading the book that Professor Dumbledore had given me. It was all about protection spells and I was anxious to read about the one Lily had cast on Harry. According to Dumbledore, my love for Harry was making the spell stronger; if I could figure out how to strengthen it even more, it could help Harry live through the final battle with Voldemort.
I found the spell that Lily used, it was listed as 'Amor Munimentum Defixum', or love protection spell. I read through all the information on the spell and almost dropped the book as I came to a section labeled Protection Spells for Significant Others: Demorior Defixum. As I read through the section I felt my chest tighten; it was a Sacrificial Spell and if I were to cast this spell on Harry and he were hit with the killing curse, I would die instead of him.
I grabbed some parchment and started to make notes on the various spells I found; including another protection-by-marriage spell. 'Iugum Munimentum Defixum' was a spell that could only be performed after being wed or handfasted, and even though I loved Harry more than life itself, I didn't think this spell was even an option for us at this point. We were going to be starting our last year at Hogwarts in a few weeks and neither of us was anywhere near ready to marry, even if it was to save Harry's life. There was one last protection spell, Commendo Difixum, but it had nothing to do with love, just general protection. That wouldn't be strong enough...
I had been immersed in my notes and was startled by the sudden knock on my door. Putting the parchment in the book to keep my spot, I yelled, "Come in," and watched as Harry opened the door and walked over to sit next to me on the bed.
"What are you doing?" he asked, looking at the big book in my lap.
"I'm trying to find out more about the protection spell your Mum cast," I replied, "What are you up to?"
"Well, Remus just came to see me and he said that I'm to meet Dumbledore in the library in twenty minutes," he answered, looking glum. I tried not to smile at his distress, but I couldn't help it; when he looked at me and saw my smile, he glared at me. "I'm glad you find this funny; this is all your fault you know."
"What do you mean 'it's all my fault'? If I recall correctly, you are the one that started all this," I said, defending myself.
"Well, if you didn't look so beautiful all the time, I wouldn't be drawn to you nearly so much," he said, smiling at me in a way that made me want to pounce on him. Trying to ignore the slow burn that had suddenly started in my lower abdomen, I shook my head and tried to focus on what he was saying.
"If you would learn to control your hormones, you wouldn't be having to sit though a sex talk with Dumbledore," I shot back, watching as all the color drained from his face.
"You're evil," he growled, "and I hope that McGonagall comes to talk to you while I'm talking to Dumbledore."
I felt the smile melt off my face as I considered the possibility; I shuddered at the thought of discussing sex with my head-of-house. She may be my favorite teacher, but I'd much rather talk to Mrs. Weasley about that particular subject.
Seeing my reaction to his comment, Harry said, "See, that's exactly how I feel," and then leaned forward slightly to give me a kiss.
Just as Harry started to deepen the kiss, I pulled back reluctantly and said, "You'd better get going; this is what got us into trouble in the first place."
He sighed and said, "I guess you're right; I'd better go." I watched as he slowly walked over towards the door and just as he put his hand on the doorknob he turned back to me and said, "I wouldn't be going through this if it were anyone else, you know; you're worth all the suffering I'm about to go through."
With a big smile on my face and love filling my heart I said, "I love you Harry."
"I love you too," he said with an equally large smile and then walked out the door.
~*~
I suffered through my 'talk' with Dumbledore, embarrassed the entire time, and left as soon as he was done telling me about what Muggles call the 'birds and bees'. I would rather have been clueless my first time and fumbled my way through it than have to sit there listening to a hundred and fifty year old wizard talk about sex; just that thought alone was enough of a deterrent, and after discussing it with Hermione, we decided to wait for a little while longer.
The rest of our time at Grimmauld was spent working out and training with Ginny, Ron and Draco; thankfully Ron was still oblivious about his sister and his worst enemy being a couple and no one was in a rush to clue him in. Hermione and I had walked into different rooms in the house and interrupted a couple of their snog sessions, but as I told an irate Draco, better us than Ron.
As for Hermione and I, we were growing closer every day. When I was away from her I felt as if I needed to be near her, like I was being drawn back to her, and I felt as if my body would go up in flames every time I touched her during our own snog sessions. She had explained that it was all part of the lingering protection spell; whatever it was, I was enjoying it immensely.
Finally the day came for us to return to Hogwarts; it had been eight months since we'd left the school and we were all ready to go back. The morning we were to leave Mr. Weasley, Tonks and Kingsley were there to take us to Kings Cross Station.
"Let's go, let's go, you're going to be late!" called Mrs. Weasley up the stairs. Ginny was the only one not ready to leave, and she was holding us up.
Finally she came running down the stairs and grabbed the cage in which her new owl was perched; she had named him Draconius and thankfully Ron hadn't figured out who he was named after yet. We all hurried out the door; Ron, Hermione and I in one group while Ginny and Draco were in the other. I was surprised when Ron didn't make any sarcastic comments about them walking together and when I looked questioningly at him he said, "My Dad's with them, if that snake tries anything, he'll have him to answer to."
We walked up in front of the station about twenty minutes later and hurriedly put our luggage onto carts; we only had five minutes before the train left. As we ran through the barrier and turned our luggage over to the person in charge of loading it onto the train, I smiled at the sight of the enormous red engine. A wave of sadness washed over me as I realized this would be my last train ride to Hogwarts. As if sensing my mood, Hermione walked over, grabbed my hand and said, "Come on Harry, let's go find Ron, he's saving us a seat."
The train ride went more quickly than I had hoped, and as I stepped out onto the platform the first person I saw was Hagrid.
" 'ello 'arry!" he exclaimed as he patted me on the back so hard I almost fell to my knees.
"Hi Hagrid," I replied as Hermione walked up behind me and started to rub the spot on my back he had more than likely bruised.
" 'ello 'ermione," he said, giving her a huge, toothy smile.
"Hello Hagrid," she replied, returning his smile, "Did you have a good summer?"
"It was alrigh', " he answered, fidgeting, "Jus' had some things to do fer Professor Dumbledore."
Knowing he was referring to Order business, we just nodded in acknowledgement and I said, "We'd better get a carriage; we'll see you later Hagrid!"
"Come 'n visit when ya have a chance," he said. Agreeing to visit him the first chance we got, Hermione and I quickly made our way over to where Ron was standing in front of a carriage. After arriving at the castle, we made our way into the Great Hall for the Welcoming feast. While we ate and caught up with our other friends, Hermione suddenly nudged me in the side and said, "Harry, look," while pointing at the head table.
When I looked in the direction she was pointing, I was shocked to see a person I didn't recognize sitting where Professor Snape usually sat. I tried to think back to the last time I had seen him and realized it had been the day we had left the Burrow to go to Grimmauld Place.
After we were done eating, Hermione and I made our way over to Dumbledore's office. We had spoken to Professor McGonagall before leaving the Hall and she had informed us of the password; I felt a strange sense of dread come over me as we made our way up the stairs to the office door. After Dumbledore called for us to come in, we made our way to the two seats in front of his desk.
"What can I do for you?" he asked, continuing to write on a piece of parchment.
"Sir, Hermione and I noticed during dinner that Professor Snape was missing from his usual spot at the Head Table. The last time either of us saw him was the day after the attack on the Burrow; is he on a mission for the Order?" I asked, hoping he would give us a straight answer; I didn't want to admit that I was worried about Snape.
Professor Dumbledore looked up from the parchment, staring at Hermione and I with an unreadable expression on his face. We watched as he stood up slowly and made his way around the desk to stand in front of us. A chair appeared behind him and he sat down as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Sighing, he said, "I'm afraid not Harry; the last time you saw him was the last time anyone saw him. Voldemort had summoned him that morning, and despite my objections, he left anyway."
For the first time in my memory, Dumbledore seemed truly worried. Looking every one of his one hundred and fifty years, he looked me directly in the eyes and said, "I'm sorry to say that Professor Snape is dead."
Just so you know, the one thing everyone has been waiting for will happen in the next chapter!! :)