Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me.
Ch46: WHEN EVERY MINUTE COUNTS
I've been trying to nod my head, but it's like I've got a broken neck
Wanting to say I will as my last testament
For you to be saved and me to be brave
We don't have to walk down that aisle
For if marriage ain't enough
Well, at least we'll be loved
More Adventurus by Rilo Kiley
Morning - or afternoon, he wasn't quite sure - greeted Harry by making him squint his eyes against the sharp light which was poking them. He buried his face further down his duvet where something curly that smelled off vanilla tickled his nose. Starting to feel more conscious, Harry became aware that he had his arm wrapped over a warm body in front of him. The body breathed slowly and Harry felt a great wave of relief wash over him when he realised the nightmare was over. He was holding Hermione, she was alive, he was alive, and they were together.
Harry smiled in content and snuggled closer to Hermione. He liked how she felt against him; her nice curves and her thin waist and how his arm seemed to fit perfectly somewhere in between. In her sleep Hermione made a small murmur and moved closer to him and one of her hands moved up to hold Harry's softly. It reminded him of how vulnerable they were. They were strong together, but they were only two, and to Harry it seemed like the whole world was fighting against allowing him happiness. Harry knew that for him happiness meant Hermione and there was no way he was letting her go now.
Sighing, Harry decided to continue to lie beside Hermione silently, watching her sleep although her hair was blocking most of the view. He just wanted to enjoy every moment. Harry found it quite amazing that in spite of being so worn out and tired on his way to Hogwarts from the Stone Edge, he hadn't felt tired at all when he had been in his bed with Hermione. However, after they were done enjoying each other both had almost instantly fallen into a very deep sleep. If anything, their night together had been perfect.
Harry peeked over her shoulder to study her face. She seemed so peaceful and so young when she slept. He could even imagine she was kind of smiling. Harry sighed and gently removed his top hand from hers to brush some hair away from her face. Her eyelids fluttered slightly and she moaned sleepily in protest of losing his hand. Harry smiled and gave his hand back to her. His thoughts running away with him, Harry supposed the Stone Edge had forced both of them become adults for real and he wasn't going to take the innocence he saw on her face now for granted.
Outside Harry's window the birds were celebrating with genuine delight over the sunny weather by chattering away. Some of the sunshine had found its way through one of Harry's curtains and made Hermione's hair glitter. The rest of the dormitory was empty. Harry laid back on his pillow and wished they would never have to move.
Harry wasn't sure how long they had been lying there when Hermione suddenly stirred and turned around to face him.
"Hi," she murmured sleepily, her eyes barely open. She blinked softly in an attempt to clear her eyes.
"Hi," Harry whispered softly back to her, his voice sounding a bit hoarse just like hers did. He smiled as he thought back to the night before once again; her soft kisses and skin and how she had felt inside ... looking at her now, he found her just as beautiful as in the moonlight.
Hermione pulled the blankets a little tighter around them both before resting her forehead against his. Harry had almost expected her to be behaving a bit sheepishly towards him, but she seemed completely comfortable. None of them said anything more for a while and neither wanted to move. Harry noted with dismay that he was starting to feel quite hungry, but did his best to ignore it. Instead he took two fingers under Hermione's chin and brought her head up so he could kiss her again. It worked very well as a distraction from his complaining stomach.
They stayed half an hour more in his bed before Harry had to admit that as a man he could only deny food for so long, and both agreed that a shower would be an advantage. With an adventurous look in her eyes Hermione suggested they could have a shower together which Harry happily agreed to. They ended up spending more time in the shower kissing, touching and giggling rather than getting clean, but it certainly made both of them feel very refreshed.
When they were done Hermione dressed into some of Harry's clothes instead of finding her own from the girls' dormitory. The common room was blissfully empty as well, and they could walk down to hall towards the kitchen hand in hand to eat breakfast in privacy. Dobby greeted them with great child-like delight and served them instantly.
"Dobby is so happy Master is back, Sir!" he exclaimed happily, jumping from foot to foot as he moved about in the kitchen. "Dobby hopes Master and his Misses will enjoy their lunch!"
"Thank you, Dobby," said Harry sincerely. He pulled the chair out for Hermione. "Shall we?"
Hermione nodded and sat down gratefully, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. Within a minute their plates had been filled with bread, eggs, beans, sausages and salad, and on the side they both had a glass of juice that would automatically fill up when they had emptied it.
"It feels like ages since I had a proper meal like this," said Hermione quietly, and seemed to struggle to meet his eyes for a second. Harry got the impression that she wanted to talk more about what had happened to them both in the Stone Edge.
"I know," replied Harry, but left it at that. He knew exactly what she meant, but he didn't want to bring it up just yet. Actually he just wanted to forget everything about it and pretend it had never happened.
Hermione said nothing more about it and they ate in a rather comfortable silence.
"That was delicious," remarked Hermione when they had finished their meal.
"Yes, it was," Harry agreed, and got up to take her hand. "Thanks again, Dobby."
"Dobby is happy to, Sir!" said the little house elf eagerly. "Dobby wishes Master and Misses a good day!"
"You too, Dobby," said Hermione kindly, squeezing Harry's hand. "Would you mind sitting outside by the lake, Harry?"
"Not at all."
They walked out of the castle and towards a few threes by the lake in silence. Harry was afraid to talk about what had happened and Hermione seemed to be deep in thought. Glancing at her, Harry could see that sometimes she would frown and bite her lip, and he instinctually knew she was anxious about the future and also their future together. Neither of them knew how much the last dose of the potion would affect him as soon as the Dark Lord made a move. The spell Hermione had casted on Harry to make him throw up may not prevent the potion from working. Both Harry and Hermione knew that sooner or later that day they would have to find Snape and Dumbledore to try to sort things out with them and get answers to their questions. However, before then they deserved a few moments of bliss and Harry was determined to enjoy every minute of it.
The weather outside was getting cloudy, but the sun from that morning had left its mark by making the air warm and humid. Bees and butterflies were flying around like they were confused and didn't know where to go. A bust of wind made them tumble sideways and they had to fight to regain control. Sitting on a branch not too far away from them hungry crows were watching intently. Harry ignored that tree and went to the one he considered his favourite. That tree had a particularly thick trunk that could support both of their backs without being too uncomfortable and also gave them a good look over the school lake as an added bonus. Harry liked the lake and how he and Hermione had bathed together in the beginning of the year. That memory made him smile. Together, Hermione sighted and put her chin down on his shoulder while holding his upper arm softly and thoughtfully. Shifting slightly to look at him, Harry felt his heart flutter when her eyes met his. He suddenly became aware of how the water reflected back onto her face, painting all sorts of patterns across her soft skin. He also noticed how the slight and uncertain sunlight made her hair glitter; similar to how freshly fallen snow would in the winter. He then noticed her eyes lower towards his lips. He took the hint and kissed her, softly and firmly. She tasted very good and Harry eagerly kept on kissing her for a good twenty minutes until they were interrupted by someone clearing his or her voice.
Looking up, Harry saw the person he had considered his best friend for many years: Ron.
Hermione turned her head and saw the red haired boy too. Squealing, she jumped to her feet and gave Ron a bone crushing hug.
"Ron!" she exclaimed joyfully, pulling back to see her face with a big grin. Ron was grinning back at her, and Harry felt a pang of jealousy when he remembered Ron had insisted on Hermione giving him a shot of a romantic relationship with him last summer, and that he quite possibly still had feelings for her. At the same time Harry's wand sprouted out a few angry sparks which was unnoticed by anyone except Harry himself.
"Hello," Harry shot in to interrupt them. Hermione was his! And no one was taking her away from him.
Ron's eyes shifted from Hermione to Harry and he offered Harry a smile as well. "Hi Harry. Good job on bringing her back!"
"Of course I was bringing her back. Could not very well let her stay there and rot, could I?" remarked Harry, he was unable to keep his voice from not sounding the slightest bit accusing. He almost added `And what did you do to help?' but managed to refrain himself.
Hermione shrugged uncomfortably and sat back down beside Harry. After a moment's hesitation Ron decided to do the same, only directly in front of Harry and Hermione and therefore blocking the view to the lake. The sun was completely hidden behind a cloud now and Harry suddenly realised that what was not hidden was his Dark Mark since he was only wearing a t-shirt. He shifted his left arm so the mark was pointing towards the ground and not from an angle where Ron could happen to see it.
"So!" said Ron, looking quickly between Hermione and Harry. "Don't leave me in the dark! Go on. Tell me what happened!"
When Hermione seemed to struggle to find the right words, Harry shot in: "It is not that easy to explain, Ron."
"But it's similar to our experiences from other years, isn't it?" Ron questioned, getting a little bit defensive. "We've been through stuff before, it's not like I can't handle to hear about it."
"I am not saying that. All I am saying is that this was nothing like those other times," Harry tried to explain. "Before, when we managed to get ourselves into danger, we were only in true danger for a short period of time. Usually the day after we would be out of the trouble and in the hands of adults who healed all our wounds before they had real time to hurt, we got plenty of rest, food and drinks, we got everything we needed straight afterwards. This time was different, for both of us." Harry cast a glance towards Hermione. She looked apprehensive, and her lips who had been swollen from kissing were slowly returning to their normal thickness. "This time, there was no escape … the pain was just there, constantly, and you knew it could only get worse. That was the worst bit. Not seeing the end of the tunnel. And when you have reached that point, they can do anything to you…"
Harry broke off, feeling he had said a lot, maybe too much.
"Yeah, yeah," said Ron impatiently. "But what really happened?!"
Harry sent Ron a quick, impatient glare. Hermione finally spoke up.
"We were in captivity. I had to spend most of my time in a cage, waiting to be questioned. But there was nearly no water or food in all this time … that's bad enough, but Harry got it worse I think," she offered.
"No food and no drinks..?" gasped Ron, stunned.
"Yes, that's right," said Hermione, a knowing look in her eyes. She knew it was the best way to make Ron understand a small fraction of what they had been through. Again, Harry felt proud by thinking of how smart his girlfriend was. He hoped she was his girlfriend again at least.
"That must've been awful," said Ron. "I would've rolled over and died after five hours tops."
"Come on, Ron. That's not true!" encouraged Hermione, then jokily added: "You would've done at least six."
The corners of Ron's mouth pulled upwards and soon he was laughing. Hermione giggled, like she was trying to be polite. Harry merely watched them both. He didn't want to pretend for one second that it was funny, he didn't see the point.
When Ron had recovered from his amusement, he kicked up some earth with the sole of his shoe and wrapped his hands around his knees. "Well. I'll join you next time there is something."
"That is nice, Ron," said Harry with a sigh.
"You know if you had told me you were going I would've come with this time as well."
Harry raised his eyebrows. "OK…"
Hermione took Harry's hand and squeezed it. Harry was grateful; she had a very calming effect on him.
"But maybe that was a good thing," suggested Ron surprisingly. "I mean, you're here, right. If I had come with you, I might've screwed it up."
Harry shrugged, knowing Ron was right about that. He didn't want to think about the complications that could have arisen had Ron came with him to the Stone Edge. "Maybe, but it wouldn't have been your fault. The whole situation was just-"
"-impossible," Hermione continued. "And very horrible. I never, ever want to go back there!"
"I'm glad you both made it out OK," said Ron quietly after a moment's pause. "Hogwarts hasn't been the same without you. I'm sorry for how things were last fall and if I behaved badly. I've missed you."
Hermione grinned affectionately, looking touched. "That means a lot. You seem older somehow too. I suppose you must've matured quite a bit!"
Ron smiled thinly. "I guess I have."
"Well, it had to happen sooner or later," joked Harry, and quickly had to duck away from a handful of grass Ron threw at him.
Harry was happy that the ice seemed to be broken. Unfortunately, it was not to last long.
Ron seemed to struggle with what he was about to say next. "I've got some bad news though, mate … your snake, he's, erm, gone missing."
Harry stared at him. "What?"
"Seamus or Dean took him somewhere. They really don't like snakes…"
Harry let go of Hermione's hand and stood up. He felt ice cold. Without a word he turned away from their alarmed faces and started to walk briskly towards the castle. He knew that if he stayed chances were he would take it out on Ron. It is not Ron's fault, he told himself sternly, feeling his stomach clench in worry and anger. It would not be fair to take it out on him. In fact, Akin might still be OK…
"Harry, wait!"called Hermione. Harry heard her approach with small running steps behind him. Ron followed along too, but not as hurriedly.
"What are you planning to do?"
"We will see," replied Harry. He hadn't planned anything other than following his gut feeling.
Hermione seemed to know what he was thinking, and she leaned close to his ear so she could talk without Ron hearing her.
"You don't know if Akin's hurt. Remember Sirius? Investigate everything first."
Harry snorted. Of course he remembered Sirius! How could he not?
"Just…" Hermione lowered her voice further. "Just don't use any dark arts. The potion was a dark potion, doing dark arts might just make it stronger … magic is connected like that…"
At the mention of dark arts, Harry felt his wand glow warm. It was less than a day since he had used them last, but he already wanted to use them again….
"Promise me!" insisted Hermione urgently.
Ron finally caught up with them and Harry used that as an excuse to not answer her. He wanted to promise her, but he honestly didn't know if he could keep his words.
With Ron and Hermione flanking him on each shoulder, Harry walked determinedly towards the Gryffindor common room. He wanted a word with Seamous and Dean.
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