A/N: Hi all. Wow the number of reviews was incredible. I'm now attempting to put more plot into my story, so let's see how interesting I can make this ~eyes glint dangerously~ Hope you like it.
Harry and Hermione spent the night acquainting themselves with their new quarters. Safe to say that by morning they had managed to christen most spaces they could fit on or into. Harry woke up lying snuggled next to Hermione on the rug near the fire. Hermione lay nestled in his arms completely naked, as was he. He traced his finger along the side of her face and drew it across her lips. She stirred slightly, snuggling more firmly into his arms, her eyelids flickering briefly. He then leaned forward and slowly pressed his lips against hers, lightly running his tongue along her lips. Unconsciously her lips parted and he deepened the kiss and he felt her slowly respond as she awoke. Her arms wrapped about his neck and she pressed herself more firmly against him. He kissed her with great passion and his fingers ran through her hair and then his fingers ran down her spine, making her shiver slightly. He broke the kiss and ran his lips down her neck and she moaned at the feeling of his lips, teeth and tongue as he licked, sucked and bit lightly. She moaned softly and lifted her head back, exposing her neck fully to him, allowing full access to his questing mouth.
He ran his hands over her body and cupped her breast, his fingers finding her nipple and squeezed it softly, eliciting another moan from Hermione. She ran her hands down his back and felt his taught muscles and ran her palms down over his backside. He moved his mouth down over her collarbone, kissing and nipping lightly at the skin and then took the nipple he had been playing with into his mouth. Her hands moved back up his back and ran through his hair and held his head there, suckling at her breast. His other hand moved up and cupped her other breast, rolling the nipple between his fingers. He slipped his free hand over her stomach, making her arch in his embrace and slid it between her legs, running his fingers through the dark curls that grew there. Hermione shivered again and moaned loudly at the feelings that Harry was creating all over her body. Harry slipped his fingers in between her folds and slid gently into her, her growing wetness lubricating his fingers. He first slid one then two fingers into her moving slowly at first and Hermione began to rock her hips in time with his movements. His thumb moved up and pressed against her clit and she gasped loudly at the flood of sensation. Harry left her breast and moved his lips up to hers and kissed her deeply with passion. She responded, plunging her tongue into his mouth and finding his, tangled with it, tasting each other. He slipped his fingers out of her and rubbed them over her clit, causing Hermione to moan even louder. He slid between her legs and her thighs parted willingly. He positioned himself and with a groan, he slid into her wetness, savouring the feeling of being in her once more. She wrapped her legs about him as he was fully inside of her, to allow him more access. He began moving slowly within her, Hermione's hips rocking with his rhythm, her hands running up and down his back, drawing fine red lines over his back with her nails. A light sweat broke out on them as they moved, their internal fires rising higher and higher, and their minds being consumed by their lust, love and desire for each other. Hermione sucked Harry's tongue into her mouth and mashed her lips firmly against his, her hands reaching down to grab his backside and pulling him deeper in towards her, driving him deeper still. She cried out into his mouth as he penetrated parts of her he hadn't before, stretching her slightly. She could feel herself beginning to quiver and the tingling sensations began as her climax began, taking her up to the crest of the wave of pleasure and then drowning her in its depths. She cried out again and again as Harry thrust into her harder and faster, feeling his impending orgasm coming. Just as she felt she was about to pass out from the sheer pleasure, Harry groaned and flooded her with his seed, clinging to her as he bucked against her, his face a mask of exquisite pleasure. They lay there intertwined for a few more moments, panting, trying to regain their bearings in the real world. Hermione kissed Harry softly, smiling and said "Well, that was a good way to wake up!"
Harry grinned and chuckled, leaning up on his elbows, looking into her eyes and said "So you won't mind if I do that every morning?"
Hermione giggled softly, wondering if he was always going to be this insatiable and found she liked the idea if he was. She led him to the bathroom where they enjoyed a shared shower, kissing and washing each other's bodies. They then dressed and made their way to the great hall.
Ron was waiting for them at Gryffindor table and they greeted him cheerily and loaded their plates with bacon, eggs, sausages and fried tomatoes. Ron's eyebrows lifted in question at the amount of food on their plate. Harry and Hermione both shrugged and began to eat. Ron gave them a knowing smile and continued eating his own meal. Luna soon joined them and sat next to Ron, giving him a kiss on the cheek in greeting. Ron stopped eating long enough to smile at her and return the kiss after wiping his mouth and she giggled, touching his cheek and pulled an empty plate towards her and began to butter some toast, saying "So are you two taking full advantage of your private accommodations?"
Ron choked on his food and Luna patted him firmly on the back. Harry and Hermione both turned crimson, but Hermione gave Luna a smile and a quick nod. It was Harry's turn to choke on his food, not believing Hermione's forwardness. Ron also gaped at Hermione, but kept eating, deciding that it was more important to get sustenance than question anything said.
Harry looked up to the head table and caught Dumbledore's eye. He smiled and winked in welcome. He then tilted his head, indicating that he wished to see Harry afterwards and Harry nodded and indicated Hermione with a questioning look. Dumbledore nodded slightly and Harry understood. He leaned over and whispered in Hermione's ear "Professor Dumbledore wants to see us after breakfast."
Hermione looked up at the head table and then back to Harry and nodded, smiling and kissed Harry on the cheek. When they finished their meal, they told Ron they would catch up with him and walked up to the entrance to Dumbledore's office. They rose up and entered the office.
"Hello Fawx." Harry greeted and patted the phoenix on the head. Hermione came over and Harry guided her hands over the bird's silky feathers. Fawx croaked at Hermione and Harry smiled, saying "I think he likes you."
Hermione smiled as well. At this point, Professor Dumbledore came in and smiled, saying "I'm glad you have made Fawx's acquaintance Hermione. He is a good friend to those who are loyal to me."
They all sat down around Dumbledore's desk and Dumbledore steepled his fingers in front of his face and said "Now Harry, I have asked you and Hermione here on serious business. The dark lord has heard of your relationship and in my opinion is bound to try to get to you through Hermione. He has tried a number of times to attack you directly and has failed. He may perhaps think that Hermione is somewhat of a soft target."
Harry's hand found Hermione's and he squeezed her hand reassuringly. He looked Dumbledore directly in the eyes and asked "So, what can we do sir?"
Dumbledore shifted his gaze between the two in front of him. He said softly "The only thing we can do for now is to stay vigilant and take precautions to make sure that you are both safe. I suggest that you both start taking occlumency and legilimency lessons. Owing to the fact that Professor Snape was not as compliant as I had hoped last year, I will take you both through the lessons. I have already taken the liberty of placing protections around your home, Hermione, so don't worry about your parents. They are constantly protected, as are you while you are in the school grounds."
Harry got the picture and asked "So, you want us to remain on the school grounds at all times then? No trips to Hogsmead?"
Dumbledore nodded and Harry looked at Hermione to gauge her reaction. She didn't seem to mind though and she said "Well I don't mind that as long as I am with Harry."
Dumbledore nodded and smiled, then continued "I have also taken the liberty of talking to Professor Moody. He has agreed to give you both extra lessons in defence against the dark arts. He has informed me that you two are already advanced, but he will be teaching you far more advanced spells. You may consider this early Auror training, since that used to be his occupation. Also he has requested an assistant to help him with your training, since you will both be facing more than one opponent on occasion, should something happen. The death eaters are known to like the odds stacked in their favour, which is apparent by the fact that they were all there waiting for you at the department last year Harry, expecting that you would come on your own."
Harry and Hermione both nodded their acceptance of this and Dumbledore added as a parting word "Oh and keep up the Da training as well as the marauders. They will be important to safeguard the both of you and the school."
Harry turned at the mention of the two groups he had formed and said, his hand on the door handle
"Well Professor, I would like to have help in teaching them if I could, perhaps Moody or his assistant could come to our sessions and give a hand?"
Dumbledore nodded, smiling and Harry followed Hermione back down the staircase and out into the corridor.
As they walked to the remainder of their first lesson, Harry squeezed Hermione's hand and said "Are you ok?"
Hermione looked at Harry for a moment and sighed, saying "Well I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared. Not just for me Harry, but for you as well. It was nice that we had this time to focus on each other, but I knew sooner or later that the reality of our situation would come into play. To answer the question you haven't asked me Harry, I knew full well that this would probably make me more of a target since the dark lord found out about us. It is a risk I am willing to take. I am not going to let him rule my life and make decisions for me as to how I can lead my life. I love you and I am going to marry you and that's final!"
Harry grinned at this and saluted her, which caused her to break into giggles. He stopped and turned to her and took her into his arms and said "Don't worry 'Mione. We'll be able to do this. All it means is that we have to be careful, that's all."
Hermione nodded, her head resting on his chest, and then she looked up at him and grinned, saying "Well if we need to have a change of scenery, there is always the room of requirement. It will become any place we want to, like The Three Broomsticks, if we want it, Dobby can provide the butter beer from the kitchens."
Harry looked at Hermione, startled and realised that she was right about the room. He smiled and said with an accusatory stare
"You've been thinking about this for quite a while haven't you?"
Hermione shrugged and said in her matter-of-fact voice "Well, it was logical that Voldemort should eventually find out about us. It would only be logical for us to stay within the grounds, since the wards of the castle are there to protect the students from attack. I assumed that sooner or later Professor Dumbledore would ask us to become more vigilant and stay within the walls."
Harry nodded and found he could not fault her logic in this matter. He also reasoned to himself that most of the wizarding world knew most of his life and that quite public display they made in Diagon Alley and the subsequent article about it would have alerted those who covertly worked for the dark side. They continued walking, discussing plans for the Da and the Marauders. They also wondered at the assistant that Moody was going to hire, speculating who it would be. Harry hoped that it was someone in particular, but kept his mouth shut, not wanting to jinx it by saying it out loud.
They spent the rest of the day planning the next DA meeting and going through Harry's defence against the dark arts books he had purchased from Flourish and Blotts, as well as the book Lupin and Sirius had given Harry for Christmas the previous year. They clued Ron in on what was going on and the content of their conversation with Dumbledore. He shrugged when he heard they were not allowed to leave the school grounds, saying "Well I knew it would happen sooner or later. Look how they reacted when they thought Sirius was after Harry Now he has Voldemort himself after you, as do you Hermione. It's a wonder they don't have guards around you all the time." Harry had thought about this, but had dismissed it, thinking he would probably be able to protect himself and Hermione better than any guard they could hire.
During dinner time, he signalled all the Marauders that they should gather about. They all came and sat around Harry inconspicuously, since they were all most Gryffindors anyhow and Luna had become an honorary one because of her relationship with Ron. Harry cleared his throat and said, pretending to butter a roll
"We have something to discuss with all of you tonight. It can't wait till the next Da meeting. We'll all meet at the room tonight around the usual time."
They all nodded, understanding this cryptic remark. At seven thirty, all of the Marauders were at the room of requirement seated in the table that Harry had thought up. They sat and waited patiently for Harry to begin.
"I want you all to know first that 'Mione and I had a meeting with Dumbledore this morning. He informed us that his spies within the dark side have gained information that Voldemort has learned of Hermione and me and our impending wedding. He has decided to target Hermione as well as me, in case he can't get to me, getting the woman I love is the next best thing in his reasoning it seems."
The Marauders sat there, shocked as Harry continued
"Dumbledore has decided that 'Mione and I need advanced training in defence against the dark arts. Moody will be teaching us additional lessons. I have also asked that either Moody or the new assistant he is getting come to our sessions to help out with your training as well. The simple reasoning for this is that if you guys are around us when we are attacked, because I am sure we will be, you will need to be able to fight and protect yourselves as well. We held our own against the death eaters at the department, but it showed great deficiencies in our learning."
Everyone nodded agreeing with Harry's conclusions, still shocked at the news. Ron spoke up first, saying
"Do you know if we can trust this assistant that Moody is getting though Harry? We don't know if he may be working for the Dark Lord."
Harry nodded, respect growing for Ron's maturity. He looked at Hermione, who said "Well Ron, we figure that Dumbledore and Moody would only bring someone in they trust implicitly to help in such an important role."
Ron got the hidden meaning behind Hermione's words, that it would probably be one of the order that would work with Moody and nodded, satisfied. Harry got to his feet and said
"Well I just wanted to let you all know the latest as we found out. I trust you all with our lives, because that is what I am doing by telling you all of this. The two of us are also confined to the grounds of Hogwarts now as well because of the increased danger. We would be too easy a target in Hogsmead for an attack. All of you be on your guard though, as all of my friends are probably targets. Always travel together or in pairs if you have to. Never walk alone in Hogsmead. Understand?"
They all nodded, getting to their feet as well and quietly left, making their way back to Gryffindore tower. Harry and Hermione went with Ron to see Luna safely back to Ravenclaw tower. When they finally arrived back at the portrait hole, Harry and Hermione said goodnight to Ron, who climbed through the hole and they walked back down the corridor and greeted Griselda, who opened the passage for them. They walked through and sat down in the couch in front of the roaring fire. Harry sat staring into the fire and thinking deep thoughts. Hermione sat nestled against him and watched his facial features, trying to glean his thoughts. Finally, he came out of his reverie and smiled at her, leaning down to kiss her softly.
"Sorry, was just thinking that my life was never made to be easy."
Hermione grinned and touched his face tenderly, then sat up and said
"Well I have been thinking for a while about what Dumbledore has said and how we are now more of a target. Now if from what you have told me is true, you are usually protected during the summer by a form of ancient magic that Dumbledore enforced using his magic and the sacrifice your mother made, right?"
Harry nodded, puzzled where Hermione was going with this. Hermione continued
"Well, Voldemort obviously didn't think about ancient magic being that important, otherwise he would have known that your mother's sacrifice would have granted you protection. He could have just stunned her or something, rather than kill her and then finish you off."
Harry nodded, understanding her reasoning on this point.
"Well," Hermione continued, "that means that there might be some form of ancient magic that we can use to protect ourselves when we are attacked. All we need to do is to find the right magic."
Harry smiled, nodding and hugged Hermione close to him, saying
"You're brilliant, you know that?"
Hermione giggled softly and nodded, looking happy. They both decided to approach Professor Dumbledore with the idea in the morning. They snuggled in the couch together, enjoying the warmth of the fire and then went to bed, making passionate love, then talking, hands and bodies intertwined about their future in a Voldemort free environment. They soon fell asleep, Hermione into dreamless sleep. Harry, however, began to have one of those dreams he had had just after Sirius had died in the department. He kept seeing Cedric dying in the graveyard and then his dream switched to the department. He didn't want to dream this and thought desperately for Hermione. He felt a presence and behind him he heard a door open. He looked around and there was Hermione. He rushed over to her, throwing his arms about her. She held him close to her and whispered "It's ok, I'm here now."
Harry felt the room about him change as he held her and opening his eyes, he was relieved to see their common room. He stared at Hermione and asked "But how did you get in my dreams?"
Hermione shrugged, smiling and said
"Well I heard you needed me, so I came. It wasn't hard, I just focussed on your face and I found myself behind that door."
She waved toward the door she had come from as she spoke. Harry smiled again and led Hermione over to the couch. They both sank down into its depths and Harry said, resting his head on her shoulder
"You always make me safe."
Hermione wrapped her arms about him and they drifted together into a mist of dreamless sleep.