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Ch18: HERMIONE'S BIRTHDAY PRESENT
So hold me when I'm here
Right me when I'm wrong
Hold me when I'm scared
And love me when I'm gone
Everything I am
And everything in me
Wants to be the one
You wanted me to be
I'll never let you down
Even if I could
I'd give up everything
If only for your good
So hold me when I'm here
Right me when I'm wrong
You can hold me when I'm scared
You won't always be there
So love me when I'm gone
Love me when I'm gone...
(-When I'm gone, 3 Doors Down)
Harry used a lot of the next nights to dream about Hermione. It was incredible how good it felt to dream about her instead of getting visions that Voldemort planted in his mind!
However, what had made Harry a bit uncomfortable at first, was that his dreams had taken a drastic turn. They were no longer so innocent, now he and Hermione would go much further than they had done before. He felt like a freaking pervert, but who was he to stop it really?
Now he had one more reason to put silencing charms around his bed. He could only imagine how embarrassing it would be for the both of them if he was caught moaning and gasping in his sleep, while calling Hermione's name.
Harry spent more time in his bed the morning of Hermione's birthday than usual, before he got up to take a cold shower. He wanted to wake up a bit more before he went down to breakfast.
The lessons with McClaggan was exhausting. The lessons could go on for three or four hours straight with intensive training, and every time he looked like he had been in a battle for days. He had cuts and bruises everywhere, his muscles were sore and stiff, and honestly, it got old. However, he knew it was crucial to learn and he would not have it any other way. Somehow, the pain made him feel like he was doing something and that was the important thing at the moment. He hated to go around doing nothing these days.
McClaggan made Harry be on constant vigilance too. Every time the Professor spotted Harry in the halls he would fire curses at him. The moral was easy: if Harry failed and did not manage to watch himself, McClaggan would push Harry even further the next lesson.
Harry only wished he could fight back; for even though McClaggan did it all the time Harry was still not allowed to practice magic in the halls. He could only thank Merlin for Quidditch reflexes!
However, it was a different story with transfiguration. The lesson where they had been tested for which animal they were most likely to become had ended in complete disaster!
Harry shivered at the memory and quickly took a comb to flatten his hair. He had actually changed his mind about becoming an Animagus.
/Flashback/
"All right Ms. Patil, you are the next," McGonagall's curt voice echoed through the classroom. Every student was standing in a line against the wall, as each one was tested. So far only a couple of people had gotten clear results.
Parvati stepped forward nervously and McGonagall began to take her measurements with her wand. It took a while, but as McGonagall kept doing her business Parvati's shadow slowly started to change form.
It was funny to see each ones shadow change form. It looked absurd even, since your shadow was always something that you carried around. However, there were still many things he did not know about the Wizarding world.
Parvati had kept her eyes closed the whole time, but when she opened her eyes and saw what her form was she grinned widely. Her shadow had formed to something that could be nothing but a small, delicate bird.
Harry was very happy for her and could only hope that he would have the same luck.
McGonagall moved to Lavender next, but was unsuccessful. Apparently Lavender did not have the power and her shadow did not change one bit. Harry was surprised though, because if he was not much mistaken (what would be weird because of her smile) she had no desire to become an Animagus herself.
With a nod of understanding McGonagall moved on to the next person - Neville. Harry had expected to see Neville's shadow changing, but was disappointed to see that it only changed halfway. So far it did not look like anything but some kind of large mammal... apparently Neville missed something.
Hermione was the next one and after that it would be Harry's turn. Harry held his breath; it was now or never of her. Somehow he knew that if it turned out that she did not have the ability then she would think it was all for the best and stop everyone else from becoming one.
Besides, doing it without her would be almost impossible for him, nor did he want to.
He carefully watched Hermione's shadow as McGonagall tested her. No change... no change! Harry was about to lounge at McGonagall when Hermione's shadow suddenly crouched down and began to change. The change was slow and if Harry did not know better then he would have thought that Hermione forced it to change. He did not care though as long as it continued to change.
When the shadow stopped changing everybody, including Harry, held their breath to see what form it had. It looked like a huge, oversized cat, although it was hard to tell.
"Congratulations Ms. Granger," said McGonagall with one of her rare smiles. "You have the ability."
Hermione's smile brightened Harry's day, at least for one more minute until McGonagall began to test him. Harry closed his eyes and focused on the magic inside him, like they were instructed to.
The silence in the room was almost dizzying, and Harry opened his left eye to see what they saw. His heart leapt in his throat. His shadow was changing!
At the moment it looked a lot like Parvati's bird, although bigger and not completely formed. Harry was about to grin widely, however, when his shadow seemed to change its mind. It changed back!
He watched silently in disbelief as the shadow melted to a ball before it began to stretch. And stretch. Then it stretched some more. Harry was horrified when he saw what it was. It was...
"A snake!" said Lavender with a gasp, and she was right. Everyone saw it and there was no doubt in the world.
Harry's Animagus form was a snake. And a large one at that.
/End Flashback/
Harry gritted his teeth as he gave up combing his hair. Akin, who usually stayed in his backpack or in his dormitory while Harry attended to classes, had been delighted at the news and wanted him to begin to practice right away. Harry refused though. He didn't want to be a snake, it was too Slytherin!
The whole school knew and not surprisingly people had began to shy him again. It was weird to see small first years escape from him.
Harry sighed; it was no use to stay away from them. It was not his fault after all, right?
Putting on some dry clothes he went down to breakfast. What greeted him was not the cheerful mood he had been hoping for, but grim faces and low whispering. For once it did not seem to be about him.
"What's up?" asked Harry, and sat down beside Hermione.
"Oh, it's awful!" said Hermione sorrowful, shaking her head. "It's been another attack. A big one."
"Yeah," said Seamus, "fifty muggles and twenty-two wizards killed."
"Dementors?" asked Harry, feeling sick.
"And Death Eaters," added Ron. Harry noted that the boy didn't have so much appetite as he used to.
"Didn't you dream it?" whispered Hermione, bending her head close to his, exposing a very smooth - looking neck and an adorable earlobe.
Harry shook his head, desperately trying to hide the blush he felt creeping up his chin. How inappropriate! He scolded himself.
"Let's check the names!" said Dean urgently and the others nodded. However, before they could do that, they were disturbed by a rasp bird voice.
Harry turned his head sharply and heard many others in the hall gasp.
There was an absolute and total silence as they watched the black, ugly raven fly ungracefully around the hall, looking and searching...
It searched the hall a couple of rounds and the air was so tick with tension that someone could have cut it with a knife. Harry thought it looked like an ordinary raven at first, but as it made its way towards the Gryffindor table - because it did, unmistakably - he saw that the raven was not like any other ravens he had seen before. This was so ugly it looked like it had been dead for moths, almost like a Thestral in bird form. The raven made a turn and flew towards Ginny and Dean. Dean looked puzzled, but Ginny looked more terrified than she had been in the Department of Mysteries. Whatever it was it was not good and one of them was about to pay.
It settled in front of Dean, sticking out its foot, that had a black letter with red band fastened to it. Ginny let out a choked sob of relief, her eyes full of tears, and so - surprisingly - did Ron. Harry couldn't ever remember seeing the two Weasleys in a state like this.
What was going on?
Dean looked shaky as he unfastened the letter and even though it was hard to tell, Harry could have sworn he saw him pale considerately. Dean began to read the letter slowly, the Great Hall silent and waiting. When he, however, reached the end of the letter, he frowned and began to read it all over again. And again. And again.
Somehow McGonagall had managed to get to their table without anyone noticing and placed a wrinkled hand on Dean's shoulder.
"Come Mr. Thomas, let's go to my office, shall we?"
It took some time before Dean gave any response and Harry felt bad for him. Somehow he now had a good feeling what the letter contained.
It took some moments before Harry could take his eyes from the spot where Dean had just been to where Dumbledore was speaking in the front of the hall.
"...and that is why we have decided that all classes are cancelled until noon. My condolences to everybody who knew someone involved in the attack. This is a difficult time, and it is important that we stand together and support each other. Thank you."
That meant they still had Defense Against Dark Arts, Harry thought, and felt guilty for looking forward to it. He looked at the raven again and suppressed a shiver; it was the most ugly bird he had ever seen. Its feathers were dull and messy, and its feet had claws that reminded him of a spider. However, it was its eyes that made it look most horrid, they were yellow, black and empty, and were staring right at Harry as if saying: `I will see you again soon...'
Suppressing a new shiver, Harry gently took the daily prophet from Dean's seat. He was just about to read it when Hermione took one hand over his gently.
"Don't," she said softly. "He'll tell us when he's ready."
"But..." Harry protested. "Everybody else's going to read about it!"
"That'll be their choice," said Hermione firmly, "besides, they might not know what they're looking for."
Harry shrugged and looked over at Ron who was staring at Hermione angrily, opening and closing his mouth.
"What a way to celebrate your birthday, huh?" said Harry apolitically and stroked her chin. "What do you say to go out for a bit? We have a free period after all."
"I'd love to," said Hermione and blushed prettily. Ron scoffed.
They both knew that in times like that they needed to hold on to the good moments, and Harry had planned this carefully. It was just a little sooner than he had expected.
They linked arms all the way down to the entrance of the school, nodding politely to McGonagall and even to Filch when they passed each other on the way.
Harry opened the large, wooden door and was greeted by a high and warm sun.
Still holding hands with Hermione, he guided her to a nearby bench and sat down. Somehow this reminded him of when they were outside the restaurant, only this time nothing was going to ruin the moment.
Harry reached his hand down in his pockets, and fished up a small, wrapped present and enlarged it. Smiling, he gave the gift to Hermione, praying that she would like it. He did not know what to do if she did not.
Carefully, she took the gift from Harry's hands. She used some moments to feel around the edges before opening it with such tenderness that he wished she could do the same to him. When she had unwrapped the present it fell down in her lap and she gasped loudly. She turned to Harry with hot tears in her eyes.
"Is this..?"
"Yes," said Harry, and took her hand in his. "It's a two - ways mirror. That way - as long as we carries it with us - we can talk to each other whenever and wherever we are. I have one that belonged to my dad. Sirius gave it to me last Christmas, but I never got myself to use it or even open it. Actually," Harry admitted, feeling the well - known shame wash over him, "I did not opened it until the day we left Hogwarts for the summer. This one-" said Harry, nodding to the mirror Hermione held in her hands, "-belonged to Sirius. I can't think of anyone I would rather share it with than you."
"Oh, Harry," said Hermione, her tears flowing freely down her cheeks now. "It's wonderful! You have no idea how much this means to me."
Harry smiled and brushed some of her hot tears away with the palm of his hand before both of them got up from the bench. They both shivered a little, and could not help but laugh.
"You're so wonderful," said Hermione, and leaned in to kiss him lightly on the lips. Harry pulled her closer, smiling to himself. The kiss was tender and passionate and spoke more than words could ever hope to achieve.
However, when he was about to deepen the kiss, Hermione pulled away:
"If you want more... you'll have to catch me first!" she said with a wink, then began to run away. Her hair hang as a curtain of curls behind her and the mirror she had in one hand reflected the light from the sun. Harry was yet again struck with her beauty.
He stared after her for some moments; blessing his luck, before he recovered.
Grinning, he started to run after her, catching up the distance fast without even being short of breath. All the mornings he had used to run through the summer must had done him good.
Hermione, however, was faster than she appeared to be and she reached the lake before he did. When Harry finally caught up with her, he grabbed her arm and pulled her in for a well-deserved kiss.
This time Hermione deepened the kiss herself and he felt her chest rising and falling dramatically for being short of breath under him. Harry stroked the back of her hair gently, his other hand resting around her waist. He was oblivious to anything except the beautiful girl in front of him and the hot sun on his face.
Hermione rested a finger on his cheek, and broke off the kiss slowly, smiling with mischief. Harry, afraid hat she would run off again, kept a firm grip on her arm, but she just kept smiling up at him before she started to undress.
Harry stared at her with wide eyes, his mind racing furiously and slightly panicking. What was she doing? Did she expect him to -?
Hermione stepped out of her pants and took of her Hogwarts robe and the top underneath, so that the only thing that was left on her was black underwear. The sun glowed on her already tanned skin and Harry could not take his eyes of her.
He gulped; surely she was not about to do just what he was thinking?
"Come," whispered Hermione and guided him towards the lake. Realization dawned for him, she wanted a bath. He almost laughed of his own silliness, but some part of him (that he did not really want to give much thought to at the moment) was more than a little disappointed.
Nervous, he started to step out of his own clothes as Hermione started to step into the water. Luckily he had on reasonable boxers for once, that were also blissfully wide.
Undressed and safe he decided to have a little fun. Without warning he started to run towards her, splashing water everywhere.
"Harry!" she shrieked, but Harry grabbed her waist and leapt deeper into the water with her so they had to swim.
Harry, suddenly aware of that he was not a terribly good swimmer, took a better hold of her.
Hermione, however, decided it was time for revenge and ducked under the water to tickle him. Laughing, he pulled her up and used a moment to study her features.
She looked - if possibly - more beautiful than ever. Her hair, no longer wearing any resemblance of being bushy because of the water, hang in dark tendrils down her back and there were small water drops on her eyelashes.
Harry kissed her softly and allowed them to just float weightless in the water. Hermione wrapped her legs around him as they kissed and the feeling of her against him as tightly as she was now made the warm feeling he had inside to increase.
However, who was he to say it was love? He had never truly experienced it before so how could he know that what he was feeling was more than teenage hormones?
He remembered Voldemort's, or rather the Boggart's words `I'll kill everyone you love, Harry...' all too well. It did not matter if the words was from a boggart or not, it was still true. However, just as much as he could not allow himself to believe that what he felt was love he could not let Hermione go. He wanted her, he needed her, and he never wanted to leave her or hurt her in any way. He cared for her more than he had ever cared for anyone before. It was scary, but also comforting in a weird sort of way.
"Hermione," he moaned, and she smiled against his lips.
"Yeah?"
"Don't leave me."
Hermione paused for a moment before answering. "I won't. I'll always be there for you."
That was not exactly the answer Harry wanted, but he could settle with it. At least for now. Their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend was still fairly new, and it would be stupid of him to expect her to give him promises of undying love. She was there now and that was all that mattered at the moment...
-
For the next few hours Harry felt as though he was walking on a cloud and the threat from Voldemort seemed ages away. Even the fact that his Animagus form was a snake did not bother him much. That was not to last, however.
When Harry, Hermione, Parvati and Ron went to their DADA class that day around noon, Harry was in for another nasty surprise.
It started as it always did: They read a text in their defense book for twenty minutes, then McClaggan would speak for another twenty, and then the rest of the period would be practical. It was what McClaggan had to show them while he was speaking that messed up Harry's day, and loudly too.
The professor had told them about discovering dark arts and had used a sneakoscope as an example. However, when McClaggan had held it up high for the class to see, the detector started to spin and screech loudly. Harry could almost feel the item stare at him, and instinctually he knew that he was the one the detector reacted to.
He had no idea what to do as McClaggan moved closer to him step by step; looking around the class, but he felt just as bad as he had back in his second year when he had been framed for attacking and petrifying several people. This time, however, he had no excuse: he knew there was a reason for it to react. Oh yes, there had not passed much time since Harry had used some Dark Arts, even though it was not on purpose. Besides, he realized, his link with Voldemort had grown stronger. Harry remember with dismay something from the `All About The Unforgivables' book he had read over the summer:
When the caster put so much emotion in the curse as he or she would have to do for the curse to work properly, it is not without a prize. Not only would the caster risk a life-sentence in Azkaban, the Wizard Prison guarded by Dementors, but the caster's soul would also be affected. The soul would be forever marked, depending on how much the caster enjoyed it.
The feeling of power is addict able, and the caster will in most cases feel strongly tempted to use an Unforgivable again in the future. If recently used, it would have an effect on Dark Detectors,-
Harry's head started to spin. He remembered stopping at that exact sentence and tossing the book across the room in frustration. Now, as McClaggan only had a few steps left, he deeply regretted that. What was he going to do now?
- .
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Thanks to Harry/HermioneAlways who reviewed the last chapter.
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