The Bonds of Love

Chapter One - A Violent Beginning

Hermione Granger was bored. This was, admittedly, an unusual state for her;
summer homework or reading about various bits of wizarding trivia could usually
keep her occupied for hours, but there was a niggling feeling in the back of her
mind that something was wrong with Harry, and it was completely ruining her
concentration.

“Perhaps I should call him,” she thought. “Yeah, but what if those horrible
people refuse to let him come to the phone?” asked another part of her mind.
“Well, I am sixteen, almost seventeen, I suppose I could go and see him. I think
they'd have a harder time not letting me see him.” She laid her book down with a
sigh, grabbed her purse and went downstairs.

She scribbled a hasty note to her parents, left it on the kitchen table, and
then went out the front door, locking it behind her.

Truthfully, she was quite worried about Harry. He seemed to simply close in on
himself after Sirius's death at the Ministry, not letting her or Ron in on what
he was feeling. His eyes, normally a lively, sparkling shade of green, had
flattened and turned into hollow pits that spoke of the pain he was feeling, but
wouldn't talk to anyone about. He hardly spoke anymore, and when it he did, it
was short, monosyllabic answers that were the bare minimum necessary for
communication.

Harry... She sighed regretfully, mad at herself that she hadn't told him how she
felt about him before they split up for the summer. Maybe that would have pulled
him out his mood, she thought. Then again, it might have given him something
else to worry about. He had this annoying habit of taking the responsibility of
the lives of the people he loved on his shoulders. It was one of the things that
she loved about him, but it also drove her mad with frustration sometimes.

She stopped at the bus stop, and dug change out of her purse so that she'd have
enough for the trip downtown where she could catch a bus for Little Whinging.
“Too bad I can't take the Floo network,” she thought. “It would be a lot
quicker. Wait a minute,” she thought, “isn't Arabella Figg next door to Harry? I
could Floo from Diagon Alley to Arabella's, couldn't I? Oh, I hope she doesn't
mind.”

That decision made, she boarded the bus that had just stopped in front of her,
and sat staring out the window thinking about Harry as the bus made its
meandering thirty-minute trip to downtown London.

“How do I get through to Harry?” she wondered. “I don't just want to come on to
him like...well, I don't want him thinking that's all I want from him.” “Of
course,” she thought, “I doubt seriously that Harry is going to think that, even
if you stripped naked and tore his clothes off.” She giggled at the image.
“Instead I'd be too busy picking him up off the floor after he fainted,” another
part of her mind said dryly.

“I just want him to know that I love him,” she thought.

“But what about Ron?” asked another part of her mind. “What about him?” she
asked. “I love him like a brother, but that's as far as that goes. We argue too
much for anything more. I just can't see myself living the rest of my life with
Ron Weasley, but Harry...”

She paused for a moment, thinking that normal people would think she was
absolutely nutters with the way she held conversations in her head with herself.
But she'd read somewhere that really intelligent people always did something
like that, and so she didn't let it bother her much at all. It wasn't like she
was schizophrenic or something...those people thought the voices were coming
from outside themselves, and not consciously aware that they were part of
themselves.

She sighed and then grabbed her purse as the bus pulled up at the stop in
downtown London she had been waiting for. Conveniently, it wasn't that far from
the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, which was currently enchanted to resemble an
empty storefront.

Looking around for a moment, she whipped open the door and entered the Leaky
Cauldron. She noticed that the Floo seemed to be unused for the moment and she
went up to the bar to pay the Leaky Cauldron's proprietor Tom for the use of
some Floo powder.

"Miss Granger," he said jovially, "what brings you here? And where are your
friends, Mr. Weasley, and," he lowered his voice, "Mr. Potter?"

"Actually," she replied, also lowering her voice, "it's because of Harry that
I'm here." She looked around a little bit nervously, "I'm worried about him, and
I was going to give him a surprise visit. I know Mrs. Figg lives near him, and I
thought I'd Floo there."

"That's a nice idea," he said with a smile. He pulled the jar of Floo powder
from under the counter and handed her a pinch, "Here you go, on the house."

"Oh, I couldn't," she said, reaching in her pocket for a knut, the going rate.

"It's a gift for Mr. Potter," he said quietly, "I suspect he needs a friend."

She smiled shyly, "thank you."

"No problem, Ms. Granger. You enjoy your visit."

Nodding, she made her way to the fireplace, tossed the powder in, and whirled
away to Arabella Figg's house.

-*~*~*~*~*-

It was a sunny afternoon outside Harry Potter's bedroom window. What he could
see of the yard through the double-strength bars that Uncle Vernon had had
installed looked peaceful and quiet.

He sighed and went back to watching dust motes float in the afternoon sunshine.
The Dursley's still wouldn't let him have his trunk in his room, even after the
impression that the Order had made on them at King's Cross station. It meant
that he would be horribly behind on his homework for the summer, and he could
hear Snape's snide voice commenting "Too busy answering fan mail to do your
homework, Potter?"

He heard the slam of the front door as Uncle Vernon came home from work.
"Potter!" he bellowed, "get down here immediately!"

Harry got up and opened his bedroom door. That was the one concession the
Dursley's had made to the Order; as long as he kept his door shut, he wasn't
locked in. He went downstairs wondering what Uncle Vernon could want with him.
"Potter!" Uncle Vernon bellowed again, as Harry came downstairs.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon?" he asked.

"I've got something for you!"

Harry looked puzzled, for Uncle Vernon had never given him anything before in
his entire life. He looked at his uncle more closely, and wasn't sure he liked
what he saw. The man's eyes were glassy, and he was sweating profusely.

"What is it, Uncle Vernon?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes, Vernon, what is it?" said Aunt Petunia, who had wandered out of the
kitchen to see what the commotion was about. Dudley followed behind her, eating
a chocolate cupcake.

Uncle Vernon seemed to ignore the questions, and said, "I met the most
fascinating man at work today; he was inquiring about a large purchase of
drills. What was his name? Oh, yes, Malfoy, that was it, Lucius Malfoy. Anyway,
Harry, he asked me to give you this." He pulled a pistol out of his pocket and
pointed it with shaking hands at Harry.

"Vernon?" asked Aunt Petunia, alarmed. "What are you doing?"

Harry stood frozen like a deer in headlights, as the barrel of the gun seemed to
swell into a huge black hole.

"Vernon," said Aunt Petunia, "You know you can't do this! Think of what the
neighbors would say! Vernon! We agreed to keep the boy here. I admit he's been
nothing but trouble, but..."

Without taking his eyes off Harry, Uncle Vernon moved his hands slightly, and
with a bang, a third eye appeared in Aunt Petunia's forehead. She slumped to the
ground with a look of disbelief in her eyes.

Dudley, who had been standing behind her, looked with horror at the pieces of
bone, blood, and brain matter that had splattered over him. "Mum!" He screamed.

The scream attracted Vernon's attention, who turned, and before Harry could do
anything about it, shot his son, who dropped without a sound on his mother's
dead body.

Harry forced himself to move at this point, as his uncle's attention returned to
him. Frantically, he dove at the kitchen door, feeling a burning pain across his
back as his uncle's next shot missed impacting solidly against him and instead
creased his back.

Swearing, he picked himself up and hurled himself at the door to the backyard.
It was locked of course, and as he frantically turned the deadbolt, he heard his
uncle's heavy footsteps entering the kitchen.

"Potter! You hold it right there, boy! I've got something for you!"

Harry whipped the door open, and almost fell through the doorway as he felt a
smashing impact against his upper left arm. He heard the report of the pistol a
moment later and knew that he had been shot.

Gasping in agony, he stumbled across the back yard, trampling several of
Petunia's prize rosebushes in the process. Not that she'll care now, a part of
his mind commented cynically.

He crossed into Arabella Figg's yard, hoping that she would be there and could
get him to safety. He stumbled up the front steps, and, using what little
strength he had left, pounded on the door. "Mrs. Figg!" he yelled.

-*~*~*~*~*-

Hermione tumbled out of Arabella Figg's fireplace, and then stood up, brushing
soot off of her clothes.

"Mrs. Figg?" she said loudly. There was no answer. Puzzled, she looked around
and noticed that the house seemed dark and quiet. There was food laid out for
the many cats that seemed to reside here, but otherwise there appeared to be no
one home.

Just my luck, she thought disgustedly. She found Mrs. Figg's Floo powder pot,
took some out, and debated returning home, as she doubted she would be able to
get back in to return home once she left the house. I could come back by more
normal means, she reasoned.

Suddenly, a pounding at the front door attracted her attention. "Mrs. Figg!"
shouted a voice.

That sounded like Harry, she thought as she rushed to the front door.

She unlocked the door, and opened it, and was astounded to see Harry, bleeding
horribly, standing outside it. "Harry?!" she said.

"Hermione?" he asked quizzically, "what are you..."

"Potter!" interrupted a voice, "Just stand still, boy. Mr. Malfoy really wanted
me to give this to you!"

Harry instinctively felt the gun fire, and he pushed Hermione back into the
house as he dove through the doorway. He grunted in pain as he felt yet another
bullet hit him, this time in his lower back.

"Harry!" screamed Hermione. She glanced out the door for a moment and saw a
strangely emotionless Vernon Dursley headed up the sidewalk towards the door. He
was calmly reloading the pistol as he did so.

She reached down and dragged Harry to his feet; he had almost no strength left
and couldn't support himself with the pain in his back and shoulder.

"Get out of here," he whispered, "it's me he wants."

"No way, Harry," said Hermione. She dragged him towards the fireplace, thanking
whatever Gods there were that she had already grabbed some Floo powder. She
could see Vernon Dursley coming in the front door, bringing the gun up as he did
so, as she tossed the powder into the fireplace and shouted "the Burrow!"

-*~*~*~*~*-

Ron Weasley was sitting in his family's sitting room at the Burrow playing a
game of Wizard Chess with his sister Ginny. He wasn't concentrating very hard on
it, which is why he was losing.

"I wonder how Harry and Hermione are doing this summer?" he wondered out loud,
as Ginny, eyebrow raised in amazement at her brother's poor play, moved a pawn
and watched as it clobbered his Queen.

Molly Weasley, who had entered the room carrying a tray with a teapot and
teacups sitting on it, said, "Why don't you owl them, dear?"

"I have been," he said, "I get one word replies from Harry, and Hermione can do
nothing but talk about how worried about Harry she is." He sighed, "I suppose
that's sort of knowing how they're doing...not well."

It was at that moment that there was a burst of fire from the fireplace and
Harry and Hermione fell out of it.

"Harry! Hermione!" shouted Molly Weasley.

"Help Harry," gasped Hermione, "he's been shot. He's dying!"

The three Weasley's immediately moved into action, Ron and Ginny helping
Hermione to place Harry on the couch, while Molly tossed Floo powder into the
fireplace. She stuck her head in the fire and shouted, "Albus!"

"Yes, Molly," came Dumbledore's calm voice from somewhere out of her vision.

"Harry's been hurt badly. We need Poppy here at the Burrow immediately! He's
dying, Albus!"

"We'll be there immediately, Molly!"

Meanwhile, Hermione had ripped off the lower portion of her dress and was using
it as a bandage to stop the bleeding in Harry's shoulder. Ron was doing the same
to the exit wound in Harry's stomach with a tablecloth he'd grabbed off of one
of the side tables. Ginny had run upstairs to grab the small stash of healing
potions they had in the house.

"What happened?" asked Ron, looking at Hermione curiously.

However, Hermione wasn't paying any attention to him; she was too busy talking
to Harry. "Don't you die on me, Harry James Potter! I haven't even gotten to
tell you how much I love you! Don't you dare leave me here!" Tears were running
down her face and dripping onto the makeshift bandage, which was now fairly
soaked with blood.

She loves him, realized Ron with a tinge of jealousy. However, he shoved that
aside for later examination, more concerned with preserving his friend's life.
"Ginny!" he shouted, "Where are those potions?"

"Right here," she gasped, having run the whole way back. Hermione reached over
and grabbed one out her hands, pulling the cork out and upending the bottle over
Harry's mouth. She grabbed another, and before long had upended all ten bottles
over Harry's mouth.

"Come on Harry, " she murmured, not caring if anyone was listening, "come back
to me. I want to marry you, and have your children, and spend the rest of my
life with you. Don't you dare die on me!" She was almost wailing now, hoping to
see some sign of life from Harry.

Molly had been standing nearby, with a look of concern for both Hermione and
Harry on her face. It was obvious there was little she could do at the moment;
her children had taken care of the immediate issue remarkably well.

Harry suddenly coughed, and opened his eyes. "Hermione?" he whispered, reaching
up with his good arm to touch her face. "I wasn't dreaming then. Did you...did
you really say that you loved me?"

"Oh, yes!" she wailed, burying her face in his chest.

Harry looked at Ron, "Hey, mate," he said weakly, smiling, "This wasn't exactly
how I expected to be coming to the Burrow this year."

Ron smiled weakly, but then looked away. Harry frowned.

Ginny laughed suddenly. "Same old Harry, always looking for the bright side of
things."

The fireplace flared, and Albus Dumbledore and Madame Pomphrey stepped through.
Madame Pomphrey immediately moved over to Harry. "Ms. Granger," she said gently,
"you need to move so that I can check him over."

"No," said Hermione, her voice muffled by Harry's chest, "I'm never leaving him
again." She sat upright, and said defiantly to the room at large, "Do you hear
me?! I'm never leaving him again!"

"Hermione," said Harry, "I'm not going anywhere. It's okay. Let her check me
over." He felt strange having to be the logical one at the moment. Hermione
looked at him for a moment, but then moved out of the way, clutching his good
hand.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at the interaction, but merely asked, "what
happened here?"

"I don't know, Albus," replied Molly. "The children came out of the fireplace,
and we haven't had a calm moment since."

"It was Uncle Vernon," said Harry, his voice dry and scratchy. "He came home,
and was mumbling something about Lucius Malfoy wanting him to give me something.
That something was a bullet, apparently."

"Lucius Malfoy?" said Dumbledore in astonishment.

"Yeah," replied Harry.

"I thought he was in Azkaban?" asked Molly.

"He's supposed to be," said Dumbledore, "but with the Dementor's gone..."

"He killed Aunt Petunia and Dudley," said Harry. "He shot me once, in the
shoulder, but then I managed to get out of the house and over to Mrs. Figg's,
where I met Hermione coming out the door."

"Yes, Ms. Granger," said Dumbledore, "why were you there? I am very grateful
that you were, for obvious reasons, but Arabella had left on Order business for
the day."

"I went to see Harry," she replied unsteadily. "I was worried about him; he
hasn't seemed himself since...since the Department of Mysteries...and I wanted
to tell him how much I loved him. Oh, Harry!" she wailed, "I almost lost you."

"Ahem," said Dumbledore, "yes, well...” He smiled at Harry and Hermione for a
moment. "How is he, Poppy?"

"He's lost a lot of blood, Albus, and his shoulder is broken, I suspect from the
bullet hitting it. But with some blood replenishing potions, a little
skele-grow, and plenty of rest, I think he'll be just fine." She answered.

"No bullets in me?" asked Harry, "sometimes they don't go all the way through."

Madame Pomphrey frowned. "No dear, they apparently went straight through you.
That's probably why you lost so much blood." She turned away, muttering under
her breath, "Bloody Muggle weapons!"

"I guess that means I'm staying here then?" asked Harry, sitting up slightly.

Dumbledore frowned. "What concerns me, Harry, is why the wards at Privet drive
did nothing to protect you. Admittedly, Vernon Dursley did live there, which is
why they could not prevent him entry, but they should have prevented him from
inflicting mortal injury on you."

"Is that why you left him there?" snapped Ron, "Even knowing what great bloody
gits they were?"

"Ronald Weasley!" said Molly angrily, "You apologize this instant! And watch
your mouth, young man!"

"Actually, Molly," replied Dumbledore, "no apology is necessary. It is a rather
reasonable question, considering, and one that I suspect Harry would like
answered as well."

Harry nodded, glancing down at where Hermione still held his hand in a tight
grip, sitting next to him on the floor. Her sobs had softened until only the
occasional hiccup could be heard, but she was staring at the floor and didn't
look up at anyone.

"Well, Harry," said Dumbledore, "up until this point, that is exactly what I
thought the wards would do. I can't imagine how Voldemort or his followers could
have found a way around them. And that is exactly what concerns me."

He paused, "I know you aren't going to want to hear this, but I really think
that you should spend the remainder of the summer at..."

"Grimmauld Place, " came Harry's disgusted reply. "Not only do you manage to
arrange for me to cause my godfather's death, but now you want me to spend the
summer at the one place guaranteed to remind me of that fact."

Dumbledore's face saddened, while Molly, already angry at Ron, snapped, "Harry
Potter! How can you say such a thing? Dumbledore has always tried to do what's
right for you..."

Harry sighed, and closed his eyes. "I know." He looked up at Professor
Dumbledore. "Professor, I'm sorry, I've just had a very trying time, and..."

"No Harry, " said Hermione, looking up, "You shouldn't be apologizing. You have
every right to be angry at him." She looked up at Dumbledore a little wildly,
"How can you make him go back there? You know how it hurts him! Why not let him
stay here? Or even at Hogwarts? Can't you keep him safe there?" Her normally
calm voice had risen almost to a shriek.

Harry looked at her concernedly. "Hermione, you're being hysterical." He
squeezed her hand.

She looked back at Harry and continued, "I...You...you almost died, Harry. I...I
know you've been hurt before, but...I just couldn't...I...” With a cry, she got
up and ran out of the room. They heard an “oof” from the front hall, and a
confused, "Hermione? What's wrong?" from Arthur Weasley, and then the front door
slammed as she went outside.

Harry tried to get up and go after her, but the pain in his broken shoulder was
too great. "Ah," he hissed.

Arthur Weasley entered the room. "When did Hermione...?" His voice trailed off
as he noticed the crowd of people in his living room, and Harry lying on the
couch wearing bloodstained clothing and bandages.

"Harry! What happened?"

Harry grunted. "Uncle Vernon decided to use me for target practice."

"What?" asked a confused Arthur Weasley.

"His Uncle decided to shoot him, with that thing the Muggles call a gun."
answered Madame Pomphrey.

"What? But how could that happen? I thought the wards around the house prevented
that sort of thing?"

"So did I," replied Dumbledore grimly, "but it's a moot question at this point,
Petunia Dursley is dead, as is her son. Because of that, the wards will have
dissipated."

"Are you alright, Harry?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"I am now. But Hermione...” Harry frowned, "She's the one who brought me here
from Arabella Figg's house. I saved her from getting shot, that's how I got the
one in my back. I've never seen her like this."

"I'll go check on her," said Molly Weasley, and she left the room.

"Mr. Potter," said Madame Pomphrey, "you need to rest. Decisions about where you
are staying and the like can wait until at least tomorrow. Drink this." She
handed him a potion.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You should be very familiar with it, considering the number of bones you've
broken, or...had removed."

"Yuck, " he said, but then drank all of it. Shortly thereafter his eyes closed
and he fell asleep.

"I mixed a sleeping draught and blood replenisher in there as well. He should
sleep for several hours at least--he needs the rest," she said.

Arthur and Dumbledore nodded.

Arthur said, "Albus, I'm going to see if Shacklebolt and Tonks can nose around
and see if they can discover anything about what happened. A Muggle going
nutters and shooting off one of those popper thingies..."

"A gun, Arthur," came Albus's reply.

"Right, one of those gun thingies. Well, that would probably make the Muggle
news, don't you think?"

Dumbledore nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. And I'm going to ask Severus
if he knows anything as well, or has heard anything. According to Harry, Lucius
Malfoy was behind this, or at least that's what his Uncle was saying as he was
trying to kill him."

"Lucius Malfoy? Hmm, I better have an Auror check Azkaban and make sure that he
hasn't done something similar to what Crouch did."

Albus turned to Madame Pomphrey. "Poppy, are you ready to go?"

"Just a moment, Albus." She turned to Arthur Weasley. "Here is some more blood
replenishing potions. He needs one when he wakes up, and then every couple hours
after until his color is better. Also, here are some more healing potions to
replace those you used today." She handed him a basket with all of the potions
in it.

"We may go now, Albus." There was a flash of light as they flooed back to
Hogwarts.

-*~*~*~*~*-

Molly Weasley went out the front door and found Hermione sitting on the front
porch swing with her face in her hands, crying. She sat down quietly beside her
and rested her hand on Hermione's back. After a moment, Hermione leaned over and
let Molly hug her to her.

"He's alright now, Hermione, " Molly said quietly. "He's going to be alright."

"But he almost wasn't," said Hermione weakly, sniffing back tears. "He was
covered in blood...he...he almost died. And I hadn't even told him how much I
love him."

"Well, that's over now, dear. And there will be plenty of time to tell him just
how much you love him."

"I know, " answered Hermione, her voice growing stronger. "Thank you for helping
him."

"Hermione, I think of him as my own son, of course I would help him," replied
Molly.

Hermione sobbed quietly for a moment. "This is so unlike me, " she said. "I'm
the strong, intellectual one. I don't break down at a moment's notice like
this."

"Hermione," said Molly, "you experienced something horrible today. I don't think
you're being that unreasonable. Plus, I think you just realized the extent of
your emotions for Harry, and that can be a bit unsettling as well."

Hermione nodded.

The porch door opened and Ron stepped out onto the porch. "Harry's asleep. How
is she?" he asked his mum.

"She's fine, Ron. Would you like to sit with her? I need to go get some dinner
started." She got up and entered the house.

He nodded and took his mother's vacated spot on the swing. Hermione had her face
in her hands, her hair hanging down past her face.

"Hey, 'Mione, " he said quietly.

"Hi, Ron." Her reply was equally quiet.

"There's never a boring moment with Harry around, now is there?" He remarked.

"Oh, Ron, " she cried quietly, "I almost lost him today, and before I could even
tell him how I feel about him."

"You really love him, don't you?" he asked quietly, wondering why it didn't hurt
as much as he thought it would to ask that question.

She nodded. "I didn't even realize it until this morning, as I was on my way to
see him, and then...” She gave a small sob.

He reached out and gave her back a tentative pat. "Hermione, " he said, "I just
want you to know that I'm okay with you and Harry. I'm not going to be a jealous
prat, and ignore you for the next six weeks, or however long it was in fourth
year." He sighed, "Besides, we weren't ever going to be more than friends, you
and I, were we?"

Hermione looked up at him in amazement. "Ron, that is without a doubt, the most
grown-up thing I've ever heard you say." She smiled briefly, "Who are you, and
what have you done with Ron?"

He smiled in return.

"How's Harry doing?" she asked.

"He's sleeping. Madame Pomphrey slipped a sleeping potion in his skele-grow." He
looked at her. "He was so worried about you, he actually tried to come after you
when you ran out here."

She sighed. "Oh, Harry..."

He looked at her. "You look about done in. Why don't you go get some sleep in
Ginny's room? Mum can leave some food out for you."

She suddenly sat upright. "I can't stay. I need to go home, or mom and dad are
going to be worrying about me. But Harry, I don't want to leave him."

Ron frowned, "Maybe Dad can think of something; let's go ask him."

They got up and walked into the house. "Dad," Ron called.

"Yes, Ron?" he replied, coming out of the living room. "Keep it down, Harry's
sleeping."

"Hermione needs to let her parents know she staying here tonight. You have any
ideas on how we could do that?"

Arthur smiled. "Well, it just so happens...” He looked nervously at the kitchen
entry. "Let's go out on the porch."

Once out on the porch, he reached into a pocket and pulled out, of all things, a
cell phone.

"What's that, Dad?" asked Ron.

"It's a Muggle device. I think they call it a cellyphone or something like that.
It's like a portable fellytone--operates off of stored eckeltricity. This one
had been charmed by a Death Eater to bite a Muggles ear off if they went to use
it. I removed the curse, however." He handed it to Hermione, "Would you show me
how it works?"

Hermione giggled. "Actually, it's called a cell phone, Mr. Weasley." She flipped
it open, and looked at the signal display. "Hmm. You actually have cell
reception out here. Amazing." She dialed her home phone number.

"Hi, Mom, it's me," she said, and then listened for a minute.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I should've called you and let you know I was leaving," she
said. "Mom, I'm at the Weasley's." She nodded, "I know, I'm sorry. What? Oh, Mr.
Weasley brought home a cell phone from work. Look, Mom, I'm going to be staying
at the Weasley's for a while. We'll be by to get my stuff tomorrow, and I'll
explain then. I promise." She listened for a moment, "How's Harry? Not good,
mom. He...what? His address? Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging. Why?"

Her mother's voice could now be heard coming out of the phone. Hermione held it
away from her ear. "Mom! Mom! Calm down! I'm fine. Harry got shot twice, but
thankfully magic can fix a lot of things...” She resolved not to tell her mother
how close she had come to getting shot herself. "What? He's dead too? The police
shot him? Okay. Okay. Look, mom, the battery is about to run out on this phone.
I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I'm fine, really, I am. I'll see you tomorrow, I
promise!" She hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" asked Ron.

"Apparently the shooting made the evening news, " replied Hermione. "Mom
recognized the name Dursley, and it went downhill from there. Apparently the
police had to shoot Vernon Dursley; he wouldn't give himself up." She frowned,
"we're going to need to go sneak Harry's stuff out of the house tonight. The
police will have the house locked up and we won't be able to get it for quite
awhile, otherwise."

"I can take care of that," said Mr. Weasley.

She added, "Apparently, I was also on the news story. Somebody was there with a
video camera, and got a shot of Harry pushing me back into Mrs. Figg’s house as
Mr. Dursley shot at us. That's why she was so upset."

Hermione handed the phone back to him. "Thanks for letting me use it," she said,
"although whoever owns the phone is going to get charged for the phone call."

"You mean Muggles pay money to use these things?" asked Mr. Weasley in
amazement. "What will they think of next?"

Chapter Two - Family Ties

Hermione woke the next morning, and had a moment of confusion as to where she
was before the events of yesterday came crashing into her mind.

I don't want to go home, she thought. They aren't going to want me to come back
here. But I am not leaving Harry, she thought resolutely.

She got up, noting that Ginny's bed was empty, and got dressed in a clean set of
robes that Mrs. Weasley had left for her. Her clothes from yesterday were too
bloodstained to be used again without cleaning. She went downstairs, and
discovered everyone, including Harry, seated at the table eating breakfast.

"Hi, Hermione," said Ginny, "I tried waking you earlier, but you didn't want to
get up."

Hermione grimaced. "I was a little worn out from yesterday." She sighed, "and
now I have to go home and try to get my stuff without my parents locking me in
the house."

"They won't do that, " said Harry.

"They saw what happened yesterday, Harry. Somebody was watching with a video
camera, and they got a nice shot of you blocking me from getting shot. They ran
it on the evening news last night."

Harry grimaced. "Well, then, " he said, "I'm going with you."

"Harry, you aren't well enough, " said Mrs. Weasley.

"Mrs. Weasley, I can walk on my own, and to be honest with you, I feel better
than I have in weeks," he replied.

She looked at him critically for a moment, "Your color is much better, dear. But
are you sure you want to push yourself like that? Plus how would the two of you
get there?"

Harry looked at Hermione; "You came to Mrs. Figg's from the Leaky Cauldron,
didn't you?"

She nodded.

"Well, it's simple then, we Floo to Diagon Alley, and then take the...bus or
train?" he asked Hermione.

"Bus," she replied.

"...Take the bus from downtown London," he continued.

"But how will you get her stuff back here, Harry? Neither of you are allowed to
use magic yet, you know."

"How about Forge and Gred?" said Ron, his mouth full of food.

"Ron! Your manners!" snapped Mrs. Weasley.

"Sorry, Mom, " he said, after swallowing, "I mean George and Fred, they've got
that car of theirs. We could meet them at the shop."

"We?" asked his mother, "Are you going too?"

He rolled his eyes. "Mum, I know the two of them, " he indicated Harry and
Hermione with his fork "are going to need some time to talk privately. I was in
the room when 'Mione declared her undying adoration for all things Harry, you
know." He paused and looked at Harry, "And all I have to say about that is;
you'd better make a similar declaration about her and mean it, or best mate or
no, I will kill you."

Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "Ron Weasley! Is that any way to talk to your best
friend?"

Harry laughed, and said, "Actually, Mrs. Weasley, it's alright. He's just
letting me know where we stand."

"Preferably Diagon Alley, if you ask me, " answered Ron with a smirk.

Harry looked at Hermione, who had stood silent through this exchange, and asked,
"Do you mind if we come along?"

She smiled and said, "Only on the condition that we make a stop at Florean
Fortescue's, after we drop him off at the shop."

Ron pouted for a moment, and then brightened, and said, "Sure, I'll tell Fred
and George all about you two."

Harry groaned while Hermione looked daggers at Ron.

Molly looked thoughtful for a moment, "There is a little bit of shopping I could
get done as well, and beat some of the Hogwarts shopping rush. Too bad we don't
know what your books are yet."

At that moment, they heard a rush of flame from the fireplace in the living
room, and then Albus Dumbledore's voice calling, "Molly?"

"We're in the kitchen, Albus," she answered.

"Ah, Harry, " he said as he entered the kitchen, "you are looking very well, I
am glad to say."

"Thanks, professor," he replied.

"Am I interrupting something?" inquired Dumbledore.

"We were just discussing going and getting Hermione's stuff from her parents
today," answered Harry.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "You feel up to doing something that strenuous
today?"

"Actually, professor, " replied Harry, "I haven't felt this good in quite a
while."

"Most interesting. One would think that you would still be lying in bed--you did
almost die yesterday, Harry."

"Professor, did you have to bring that up?" cried Hermione, "I'm sure he doesn't
want to think about that."

"Hermione..."

"No, Molly, it's alright," said Dumbledore. "Harry, may I ask you a personal
question?"

"I suppose, professor."

"Do you feel connected to Ms. Granger in some way?"

Harry frowned for a moment, thinking it over. "It's weird, " he answered, "but
you're right. It's like there this...this sense of her floating around in my
head. I...I knew she was on her way downstairs before she entered the kitchen.
It's strange..."

Hermione blushed. "Professor, " she mumbled, "actually, I have to admit that I
have a similar feeling about him...like he's floating in the back of my mind."

Dumbledore smiled. "That's alright, my dear. May I cast a spell? I promise that
it won't hurt either of you."

"Of course, Professor, " she answered. "Harry?"

"Go ahead, " he answered.

Dumbledore pulled out his wand and waved it in a peculiar manner, incanting a
phrase that they didn't understand. The result, however, was glowing lines drawn
between every person in the room. Ron was connected to his mother by a bright,
blue line, while Ginny was connected with a bright, pink line. Mrs. Weasley had
additional colored lines connected to her that shot off through the walls of the
kitchen, including a sparkling green and gold line, and a scintillating, rainbow
colored one--they both shot off in the same direction. Dumbledore had several
lines of varying colors as well, including a purple line that extended to Harry.
Ron and Harry had a bright red and gold line stretched between them, and also
between Ron and Hermione. However, the brightest line in the room was the
scintillating, rainbow colored one that stretched between Harry and Hermione. It
easily outshone the others.

"Well, " said Dumbledore, in a tone of amazement. "Molly, have you ever seen one
so bright before?"

It was obvious that Molly Weasley was amazed, "No Albus, I can't say that I
have, " she whispered.

"What are you going on about, mum?" asked Ron. "So they have a bond between
them, so what?"

"Mr. Weasley, " said Dumbledore with a smile, "that line is referred to as a
betrothal bond. They normally come about with the passage of time between two
people who care deeply for one another. Observe your mother's to your father.
Hers is a more typical one. The green and gold one is her marriage bond to
Arthur."

He paused. "But Harry and Hermione have not been aware of their feelings for
each other long enough for a betrothal bond to have been established...under
normal circumstances. However, given yesterday's traumatic occurrences..."
Dumbledore shook his head. "It's obvious why he's in such good health this
morning."

"Why is that, professor?" asked Harry.

"Hermione helped you heal, Harry. That's one of the abilities of a betrothal
bond as strong as yours."

Hermione had been tossing Dumbledore's words around in her head, "I bet that's
why I overslept this morning, " she said, "I was rebuilding the energy I had
transferred to Harry."

"Very good, Ms. Granger," replied Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye. He waved
his wand again and the bonds vanished.

"So, what does a bond like that mean?" asked Harry.

"Well, Harry," replied Ron, with a curious look on his face, "it means you two
are supposed to get married."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, stunned for a moment. "Married, "
squeaked Harry, "umm, Ron, Hermione and I haven't even talked about this yet."

"Ron, they aren't even sure about how they feel about each other yet, "
admonished Ginny, "let's not pile marriage on top of it."

Ron nodded, and then got up from the table and stomped upstairs. "What's with
him?" asked Harry.

Ginny looked at her mother, and an unspoken communication flashed between them.

"I'll go find out," said Ginny. She left the room after her brother.

"Harry, " said Dumbledore, "if you don't mind my asking, how do you feel about
Ms. Granger here."

Harry smiled and squeezed Hermione's hand. "To be honest, professor, I'm still
sorting all of this out. Just yesterday I was shot full of holes and bleeding
all over her. She saved my life, professor. If she hadn't been in that
house...I'd never seen anything more beautiful in my life than when she opened
that door." He swallowed emotionally.

"Harry, " said Hermione quietly, "you saved my life too."

"He was aiming for me, Hermione, " Harry replied, not looking her in the eye. He
knew who that bullet had been intended for, and it wasn't him.

"Harry, " said Hermione, "I don't expect you to tell me you love me. It was
rather sudden, I must admit, this outpouring of my feelings for you."

Harry smiled at her phrasing. "But that's just it--I do love you; I just never
knew how to tell you before. The Dursley's hardly gave me a good example, you
know."

She blushed. "Well, that's good to know." She looked him in the eye, "But you
are still buying me an ice cream at Florean Fortescue's--got it?"

"Yes, ma'am, " he said mock seriously.

She giggled and gave him a hug that would have turned into a kiss, except for
the adults in the room.

"Ahem," said Dumbledore quietly.

Hermione jumped back, blushing furiously. "Sorry, professor," she mumbled.

"Quite alright," he said, eyes twinkling merrily. "I remember being young once."
He turned serious. "Before I leave, I must warn you of a couple of things.
First, and this I think you'll probably like, you can't be apart from each other
right now. Strong as it is, the bond is still growing, which means that it is at
it's most vulnerable right now."

He frowned. "Normally, dreadful things happen to people who interfere with
betrothal or marriage bonds in the Wizarding world. That's why there's no
adultery to speak of. Divorce is possible, but extremely painful for both
parties; so much so that it seldom happens. Marriage is essentially forever in
the wizarding world."

"But Voldemort is not going to care about that much, is he?" asked Harry.

"No, Tom isn't likely to care much at all about that. There are certain dark
magic spells..." Dumbledore shook his head. "Regardless, the closer you two are
to each other, the less vulnerable the bond is, except in one instance."
He looked at them piercingly. "The most vulnerable moment in any wizard or
witches life is when they are making love." Harry and Hermione blushed and
looked down at the floor. "All of your defenses are down; you are completely
open to anyone or anything." He smiled. "As I said, I remember being your age
once, and now that you know your feelings for one another, the pressure will be
there. Unfortunately, the bond will also encourage those activities as well, due
to its nature. I'm not going to tell you not to--that would be foolish. However,
please exercise caution in where you choose to...ahem...engage in such
activities. Also, Ms. Granger, I assume you know the appropriate charms? If not,
I'm sure Molly would be glad to teach them to you."

Harry had never seen Hermione turn as pink as she did now. "Yes, " she squeaked.
Harry himself was feeling rather red-faced and embarrassed, especially having
this discussion in front of Molly Weasley.

Dumbledore smiled once more. "Well, I must be going, I think I've embarrassed
the two of you enough for one day."

"What about Grimmauld Place?" asked Harry tiredly.

"Oh, yes, Grimmauld Place. " Dumbledore turned to Molly Weasley. "I hate to ask
this of you, Molly, but would you mind spending the rest of the summer at
Grimmauld Place? I don't want to leave the two of them alone there."

Molly brightened. "Actually, Dumbledore, I'd be delighted. Harry's going to need
a home to take his bride to, once they're married. We can spend the rest of the
summer cleaning it up and getting it ready for people to live there."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Sounds exciting," he said dryly.

Hermione let out a snort of laughter, and then grabbed his hand. "At least we'll
be together."

He nodded, "As long as your parents don't insist on you staying with them."

She looked at him seriously. "I'm not leaving you."

He frowned. "Hermione, I am not coming between you and your parents. Count
yourself lucky that you actually have ones, and that they care that much about
you."

"Harry..."

"Hermione, dear, ", said Mrs. Weasley. "With proper explanation, I suspect
they'll be fine with you spending the summer with us."

"I hope so, " she said.

"Well, I must be going, " said Dumbledore, "especially if you are all going to
Diagon Alley today."

"Any idea what our textbooks are this year, professor?" asked Hermione.

He smiled. "Actually, Ms. Granger, I do not. I don't believe they've been chosen
yet."

Dumbledore smiled at all of them one more time before he left the kitchen.

Shortly thereafter, they heard the noise of him Flooing away.

"Well," said Mrs. Weasley, "Let's get cleaned up so we can go."

-*~*~*~*~*-

Ginny knocked on Ron's bedroom door. "Ron?" she asked.

"Go away," he snarled.

She opened the door, stepped inside the room, and closed it behind her.

"You don't listen very well, do you?"

"Ron, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, so you're just sitting up here staring at the floor and snarling at me for
no good reason?" she asked with a grin. "Try again."

"Aagghh!" he snarled, "Why does he always get everything? The fame, the fortune,
and now he even gets the girl! I'm just the bloody comedy relief sidekick!"

"Ron, " she said softly, "think about what he had to lose just to 'gain' all
those things. He's famous because his parents died saving his life. The fortune
came from his dead parents as well. Don't you think he'd give all that up just
to have his parents back?"

"And, " she said with some asperity, "he's your friend. He's never treated you
as anything but a friend, and a good one at that. If anything, I think he's
jealous that you actually have a family that loves you and cares for you. He
just had the Dursley's."

"I know, " sighed Ron. "That's why I'm sitting up here. I actually feel guilty
over being mad about Hermione. I 'knew' she wasn't interested in me as anything
more than a friend--especially after the Department of Mysteries. That's why I
said what I did to Harry downstairs."

"So what set you off?"

"It was the betrothal bond thing. They are definitely getting married--have you
ever seen one that strong? And I realized that I wasn't going to be a part of
that, and it hurt. And since when did you start knowing so much about
relationships?"

Ginny grinned at him. "Since my brother started being such a idiot."

"Idiot, huh?" He glared at her.

"Yes, you are. Like Harry isn't going to want you to be his best man at the
wedding? You three are friends, and you'll always be friends, as long as you
aren't idiots about it."

"There you go with that word again." He made a move to grab a pillow to hit her
with.

She smiled and stepped backwards. "Instead of ruining your pillow, why don't we
go play some chess, instead."

He snorted and jumped off the bed. "You're going to lose."

"Hah!"

-*~*~*~*~*-

After cleaning up the kitchen, Molly Weasley wandered into the living room and
noticed Ron and Ginny playing chess.

"Aren't you two ready to go yet? It's getting late, and we have a lot to do."

"Yes, mum," answered Ron. He was losing again, and truthfully, was relieved to
have an excuse to quit playing.

"And Ronald, are you okay with..."

He smiled ruefully at his mother, "Yes, mum, Ginny set me straight about a few
things I hadn't considered. And I thought Hermione was a know-it-all..."

"Oooh, Ron Weasley, " hissed his sister, and stomped up stairs.

Ron and his mother laughed. "Well, go get ready then," she added.

He turned and ran upstairs where he found Harry in their room. "Hey, mate," he
said.

"Hey, Ron, " was the reply. Harry looked at his friend. "You okay with...?"

"Why does everyone insist on asking me that question?" asked Ron. "I meant what
I said to you. You'd better feel the same way about her, or you and I are going
to have words." He changed into some cleaner robes.

Harry flopped down on his bed and said, "Don't get me wrong, mate. I do love
her. But it's all so sudden. One moment I'm full of holes and dying, and the
next I'm waking up to her telling me she loves me. That's not exactly something
we've discussed before."

His face darkened, "And then there's the danger she's in, especially now. I...
Loving me isn't exactly safe." He abruptly shut up, and then said, "You ready to
go?"

"Harry, " said Ron, "you need to talk to her. You think she doesn't know what
kind of danger she's in? For that matter, you think I don't know what risks are
involved in being your best mate?"

Ron sighed, "Ever since Sirius, and then that conversation you had with
Dumbledore, you haven't been talking to anybody. I'd get one word answers from
you when I owled you, or worse, notes that said exactly nothing. I'm supposed to
be your best mate, you know?"

Harry nodded. He started, "Ron, I..." but didn't finish as Molly Weasley's voice
rang up the stairs. "Boys, let go!"

Chapter Three - Diagon Alley

They took the floo from the Burrow to the Leaky Cauldron. After they stepped out
of the fireplace, Mrs. Weasley took Ron and Ginny with her to pick up the few
things she needed. Harry and Hermione were going to meet them at Weasley's
Wizarding Wheezes in an hour. They took a table at Florean Fortescue's; the
owner of which provided the both of them, over Harry's objections, with
chocolate sundaes on the house.

They slurped on their sundaes for a moment, neither of them looking at each
other. "Well, " said Harry, not sure how to even begin this conversation.
"Hermione, I..."

"Harry, " she interrupted him, "I realize how sudden this is. And maybe you
don't even love me..." Her voice broke at that statement, and she blinked at the
water welling in her eyes. She looked down at the table.

"Hermione, " he said, exasperated, "I do love you. I really, really do.
I'm...I'm just not good at these things, you should know that."

"You do?" she said quietly.

Frustrated, he nervously ran his hand through his hair, then grabbed her hand
and held it. "Hermione, look at me." She looked up from the table, and he could
see the uncertainty and fear in her eyes. "I. Love. You." he said.

Her next words stunned him for a moment. "But why?"

Women! He thought distractedly. "Hermione, how could I not love you? You're
beautiful. You're smart. Not to mention you saved my life, and confessed how
much you love me. What more could I want?"

"Harry, I'm not beautiful. My hair is absolutely horrible, and I'm rather plain
looking," she replied. "And I thought being a know-it-all annoyed the heck out
of you."

"It bothers Ron. Not me. And you are beautiful, Hermione; you're the prettiest
girl I know."

"Prettier than Cho Chang?" she inquired archly.

He groaned, wondering when that was going to come up. "Loads prettier,
Hermione."

"Plus, she plays Quidditch, while I won't even get on a broom." She said with a
snort.

"Yeah, why is that?" he asked.

"Don't change the subject, Harry," she said acerbically.

He shook his head in frustration and then stared at her. "'Mione, what ever Cho
and I had, if it was anything, is over and done with now. I love you." He
sighed, "Cho just wanted to be with me because I reminded her of Cedric."

"You sound disappointed, " she said snidely.

He groaned in absolute frustration, wondering where this conversation had gone
so totally wrong. All he had wanted to do was reassure her that he loved her as
much as she loved him, and instead they'd gone completely off the tracks.

"Hermione! I'm not disappointed! I love you! How many times do I have to say
it?" he shouted, ignoring the startled looks from the other patrons in the shop.

“Well, okay then,” she said with a smile.

Harry pounded his head against the table in frustration.

“So Harry,” she said, looking up from her sundae, “You want to tell me what's
had you so upset? Other than Sirius, that is?”

He looked up at her, “Not particularly. When I want to talk about it, I will.”

“Come on, Harry,” she said, “Things are always better when you share them.”

“I said I didn't want to talk about it, Hermione.” he said quietly. “It's my
business, and my business only.”

She looked at him with a completely hurt expression, and then got up and ran out
of the shop.

"Ron's going to kill me," he said miserably to the melted remains of his sundae.

-*~*~*~*~*-

It was as he was walking down Diagon Alley towards the twin's store that he
noticed the jewelry store. It was tucked back in a corner, near Gringotts, and
he wondered why he had never seen it before. On a whim, he went inside. Maybe
some jewelry would say what he didn't seem able to say with his mouth.

The proprietor was standing behind a glass counter that contained some of the
most beautiful jewelry Harry had ever seen. "Welcome to Taliesin's, Mr. Potter,
" he said.

Harry was so used to being recognized that he didn't even think to ask how the
man knew who he was.

"Looking for something for someone special?"

"Yes," said Harry, studying the rings in the case.

"A friend, or someone closer than that?"

"I'm betrothed to her, " he answered absently, entranced by the brilliant shades
of color in the case.

"A betrothal bond, in someone your age? How remarkable, and unusual. In any
case, those rings aren't the ones you want to be looking at then. Those are
friendship rings."

He turned to a cabinet behind the counter and brought out a ring tray covered in
black velvet, which he set on the counter. "Now these are bonding rings, or as
Muggles would refer to them, engagement rings. All of these also have matching
wedding sets."

He paused. "Do you love the lady in question?"

Harry thought about that for a moment. He knew he had told Hermione that he
loved her, and he felt something--something he wasn't sure of. He thought over
the last day or so, her laughter and her tears, her frantic pleas for him not to
die. Somehow he had heard her, unconscious or not. He thought about how he'd
felt when she opened the door to Arabella Figg's house and he'd seen her
standing there, eyes frantic with alarm, with concern for him. And he thought
about how she had been there; refused to leave his side even, throughout the
entire horrible experience, and he realized that he never wanted her to leave
his side again.

"Yes, " he whispered, "more than I can say." As soon as those words had passed
his lips, one of the rings began to glow. Curious, he looked closer at it, and
realized it was perfect.

The band was white gold, with a large, 2-carat diamond mounted in the center. On
the right side of the diamond were mounted a half carat sapphire, and below it,
a half-carat agate. On the left side, were mounted a half-carat ruby above a
half-carat carnelian. Each of the stones was giving off a glow reminiscent of
their color, but the diamond outshone them all.

"What are the other stones," asked Harry.

"Ahh, the sapphire and agate, the two stones on the right, are the birthstones
for September. They protect the wearer from harm and ensure clear thinking," was
the answer.

"September? That's her birth month, " said Harry.

"Is it?" asked the proprietor with a twinkle in his eye. "The other two stones
are a ruby and a carnelian. They are the birthstones for July. The ruby opens
the wearer's heart to love, and wards off misfortune and ill health. It also
reconciles lover's quarrels. Mounted on a bonding ring, they also represent
passion and the promise of the giver's heart. The carnelian also ensures clear
thinking, and also brings luck, protection, and comfort. That's quite a powerful
ring you have there."

The proprietor laughed. "Actually, Mr. Potter, all of my rings in the store are
charmed so that the buyer will always find what he is looking for. Plus, Albus
mentioned that you might be coming in."

"You know Professor Dumbledore?" asked Harry.

"Albus and I are old friends--very old friends."

"Umm, so how much is it?" asked Harry.

The man smiled. "For you, Mr. Potter, there's no charge, for it, or the matching
wedding set. In this, I am paying off an old debt to your father, and to Albus."
He picked the ring up and placed it in a ring box, and placed the simple white
gold wedding bands in another box. He put both boxes in a bag, and handed it to
Harry.

"Good luck with your beloved, Mr. Potter."

"Umm, thank you, sir. Are you sure I can't pay you something for this?"

"No, Mr. Potter. Just mention to Albus the next time you see him that Taliesin
sends his regards."

"The Taliesin?" asked Harry.

He laughed. "Oh no, Mr. Potter, I'm not that old. Now go on, your friends are
waiting for you."

Harry turned and left the shop, letting the door close behind him. He turned
around to give the strange store one more look, and instead found himself
staring at a bare stone wall. He blinked in confusion for a moment, and then,
walked off towards the Weasley's store.

-*~*~*~*~*-

As he neared the store, he could see Ron standing outside with his arms folded
and a glower on his face.

Harry swallowed, but then continued resolutely on his way. As soon as Ron saw
him, his face darkened and he headed towards Harry. "What did you say to her?"
he hissed, drawing back his fist. "She's in there crying all over mum, and it's
all because of you."

"Ron, I really don't know what I said to her to upset her like that. I really
don't! I love her, I don't want to hurt her," said Harry exasperatedly. "She
brought up Cho in Florean's and it all went downhill from there."

"Well, why didn't you come after her, then?" asked Ron, his fist unclenching.

Harry held up the ring box he'd had clenched in his hand. "I needed to buy
something for her, first."

"Whoa, mate. Where'd you get that?" asked Ron, the anger in his face changing to
admiration.

"Weirdest little jewelry store I've ever seen. It was called Taliesin’s,"
answered Harry. "It disappeared after I was done shopping there."

Ron's face turned slightly pale. "You got that at Taliesin’s?" he asked in awe.

"Yeah, why?"

"They say he only sells to special clients by appointment only. He's got some of
the best jewelry in the wizarding world."

"He did mention that Dumbledore had told him that I might be dropping by."

"He knows Dumbledore?" asked Ron, amazement still written on his face.

"Does that really surprise you?" asked Harry. "Dumbledore seems to know
everybody."

"No kidding, " replied Ron. "So, how much did it cost you?"

"That was just it. He gave it to me, along with the matching wedding bands. Said
he was paying off a debt to my father and Dumbledore."

Ron's jaw dropped open. "Mate, you have got all of the luck."

Harry smiled at Ron, "Hang around with me long enough and some just might rub
off on you."

Mrs. Weasley came out the front door of the shop and shouted, "Harry James
Potter! You get in here and apologize to your girlfriend this instant!"

"Yes, ma'am, " he replied. He saw Ron head over to his mother and whisper in her
ear, undoubtedly telling her about the ring, as her face lit up and she smiled
at Harry.

"Well, go on, get in there, and give it to her. But make sure you apologize to
her first."

Harry threw his hands up in the air, and groaned "for what?” He opened the front
door and went in the shop.

The first person he encountered was Fred, or was it George. He'd always had
trouble telling the twins apart. "Hey Harry! So you and Hermione finally
admitted it? It's about time. Now get over there, and make her stop crying."

There was no one else in the store, and Harry must have looked puzzled because
Fred or George told him, "We cleared everybody out. It's a family emergency."
Harry heard the door open behind him, and he looked and saw Molly and Ron
entering the store.

Harry nodded to the twin, and headed over to where quiet sobbing told him
Hermione was sitting. She was huddled in a chair by the fireplace, her hands
over her face, and her shoulders shaking. Ginny was sitting next to her and she
looked up at Harry with an angry look on her face. "Fix it, " was all she said
as she got up and went to join her mother, the twins, and Ron, who were all
standing in the back by the door.

Feeling somewhat chastened, although for what he still didn't know, he placed a
hand on her shoulder and said quietly, "Hey, Hermione."

"Go away, I don't want to see you anymore," came the shaky reply.

He started to feel both scared and angry. Scared that she was telling the truth
about not wanting to see him anymore, and angry that she was being so
uncommunicative about what had upset her.

"'Mione, I truly do not know what I said to make you so upset. The last thing in
the world I want to do is hurt you. I love you." She still hadn't looked up at
him, but at least she hadn't told him to go away.

He reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out the bonding ring box.
"Here, sweetheart, I got you something."

At that, she slowly looked up at him, and then at the ring box in his hand. Her
mouth opened and she quickly covered it with her hand as she gave little gasp of
astonishment.

"What is that, Harry?" she asked.

He got down on one knee in front of her, and he swore her eyes got even wider.
Harry was vaguely aware of the twins watching quietly in the background, and he
knew he was going to pay for this when he least expected it.

"Well, love," he said, "apparently I'm not too good with saying what my heart
feels, so I thought this might say it better." He placed the ring box in her
hand.

She opened the box with trembling hands and gasped at the sight of the ring. "Oh
my," she said with wonder in her voice. Harry took the box from her, and removed
the ring. He closed the box and shoved it back in his pocket. Taking the ring in
one hand, he reached out for her right hand.

She drew the hand back and said, "wrong hand, Harry." He heard the twins muffled
laughter in the background, and Mrs. Weasley's muffled "hush" and knew he'd be
hearing that phrase for the rest of his life. He looked up at her and noticed
the hidden laughter in her eyes. Two can play at that game, he thought.

Reaching out, he took her left hand, took a deep breath, and said rapidly, "Will
you marry me, Hermione Jane Granger? It doesn't have to be today, or next week,
or even next year, but will you marry me?" and placed the ring on her ring
finger.

The room was suddenly so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Oh please, thought
Harry, please say yes. Don't make a fool out of me in front of all of these
people. Please say yes!

Hermione gave a little gasp of astonishment, and then she grabbed Harry in a
headlock as she plastered her lips to his. After a instant of stunned
realization, he kissed back. They came up for air a moment or two later, and
Harry was suddenly aware that the two of them were surrounded by excited
Weasleys. He looked into Hermione's eyes and said, "I take it that was a yes?"

She laughed, hugged him tightly for a moment, and then turned to Ginny and Mrs.
Weasley to show them the ring.

Fred, George, and Ron were suddenly crowded around him. "Wrong hand, Harry?"
said one of the twins in a high-pitched voice.

"Knock it off, Fred, " said Ron. "You looked like you were about to faint there
for a minute, mate, " he said to Harry.

Harry frowned, and said, "You know, I still don't know what she was mad about."

"Harry, " said Ron with a curious look, "You just asked her to marry you, and
she said yes. I'm not sure that's really a concern anymore."

"But..." mumbled Harry. He suddenly got quiet. "She said yes, didn't she?"

"Yes, mate, that she did," replied Ron. He had to grab Harry a moment later and
help him land in a chair as he turned white and his legs gave out from under him.

"What's the matter, Harry?" asked Ron with concern.

"Nothing, " gasped Harry. He looked up at Ron as a huge smile broke over Harry's
face. "She said yes!" he said. He said it again, just to hear it. "She said yes!"

Ron groaned. "Don't go all nutters on me, mate."

Mrs. Weasley came over from where Hermione had been showing off her ring.
"Harry, dear, " she said with a smile, "Congratulations. And I must say, you
certainly have good taste in jewelry. Ron says that you got it at Taliesin's of
all places."

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," answered Harry.

Ginny came over next, "Well, I say you did a darn good job of fixing it, Harry,"
she said laughing.

-*~*~*~*~*-

It was about four o'clock in the afternoon by the time they had all packed into
Fred and George's bright banana yellow 1961 Ford Consul Classic 315.

"That is, without a doubt, the ugliest car on the planet," was Ron's comment
when he first saw it.

"That's why we like it," said the twins.

Ron rode up front with Fred and Ginny, while Hermione, Harry, and Mrs. Weasley
sat in the back. George was staying behind to keep the shop open. "Hate to lose
the business, " he said.

They made the trip to Hermione's house rather quickly, since they didn't have to
stop like the bus did. Harry and Hermione held hands the entire way, but didn't
say anything to each other, content merely to enjoy each other's company, while
Harry looked out at parts of London he hadn't seen before.

Ron and Fred apparently decided to respect the engaged couple's unspoken request
for privacy, and instead wound up in a quiet argument over which team would win
the Quidditch World Cup this year, while Ginny and her mother talked quietly.
They pulled up in the driveway, and it suddenly crashed down on Harry that he
was meeting his fiancé’s parents, and not under the best of circumstances.

"They're going to hate me, " he moaned quietly.

"They will not, " returned Hermione fiercely.

"'Mione, I almost got you killed, " he said, "They are not going to like me."

"We'll see about that, " was her only answer, and she dragged him up the
sidewalk to the front door. She opened the door, and walked inside, making sure
that Harry was still behind her. The Weasley's had elected to stay with the car
for the moment.

"Mum, I'm home!" she said.

"Hermione!" Elizabeth Granger came running out of the kitchen and engulfed her
daughter in a hug. "I was so worried about you."

"I'm okay, mum, really I am. Harry was hurt a lot worse."

Elizabeth Granger noticed Harry standing inside the doorway, nervously fidgeting
with his hair.

"Harry, is it?" she inquired, with a friendly smile.

"Yes, ma'am, " Harry said nervously.

"Well, you can't have been hurt too badly if you're well enough to be keeping my
daughter company today," she said.

"Actually, mum, " said Hermione, "that's one of the things that we need to tell
you about. But first, where's daddy?"

"He's still at the office, dear. He should be home soon, in time for dinner. Are
you staying for dinner, Harry?"

"Umm, " he said, looking at Hermione.

She sighed, "Mum, Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Ginny, and Fred are out in the car. Can we
bring them in? Explaining all of this is going to take some time, and I'd rather
we were all comfortable when we did it."

"Certainly, dear," answered her mother. Hermione opened the front door and went
outside for a moment, leaving Harry standing in the front hall with her mother.

"Harry, " she said warmly, "I saw yesterday how you pushed her out of the way
when that man was shooting at you. Thank you so much for saving my baby girl. I
don't know what I would have done if I had lost her." She walked over to him and
gave him a gentle hug. "Thank you."

"But it also looked like that bullet hit you, Harry," she said, drawing back and
looking at him.

"It did, " he said, quietly. "Magic is a wonderful thing, and so is your
daughter."

She frowned, "You mean that magic can heal you that quickly?"

"Sometimes, " he said, returning her frown.

The front door swung open and Hermione entered, followed by the Weasley's.
Hermione frowned as she took in the scene with Harry and her mother.

"Harry, what's wrong?" asked Hermione.

"Nothing, Hermione. She just was thanking me for saving you yesterday."

"Why were you frowning?"

"No reason, love," he said, and then turned bright red as he realized what he'd
said.

Chapter Four - Trials and Tribulations

"Love?" asked Mrs. Granger, with a pointed expression at her daughter. "Is there
something...?” It was at that point that she saw the ring her daughter was
nervously twisting on her finger. "Hermione Jane Granger! Where did you get
that?"

"Harry gave it to me, " Hermione said quietly.

"I think your father and I need to have a talk with you and Harry, Hermione. And
then I think Harry needs to go home for a while until we get this sorted out."

"Mum, I think it's a bit more complicated than you realize," said Hermione, and
then realizing what that might sound like, "I'm not pregnant mother, really, I'm
not. But things are extremely complicated right now, and I need you and Daddy to
listen to me and Harry and the Weasley's carefully. Please. " Hermione was
begging, something she seldom did, but this was very important to her.

Elizabeth Granger sighed, and said, "Alright, lets go in the sitting room and
all sit down. Can I bring anyone tea?"

Fred and Ginny declined, while Hermione, Harry, Ron, and his mother accepted.
"May I help?" asked Molly.

Elizabeth looked at her for a moment, and then smiled. "I don't suppose you
could just magic it out her, could you? It would save me the trouble of having
to go get it."

"Well, I can't 'magic' your tea set out her, but I can certainly conjure up a
pot of tea and some cups."

"That would be fine, " said Elizabeth.

They went in the sitting room, where Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Ginny, and Fred all took
seats on the large couch that adorned one wall, while Harry and Hermione took
the loveseat on the other wall to her mother's obvious displeasure. Her mother
sat down on a chair across from the big couch. Mrs. Weasley pulled out her wand
and waved it across the coffee table, conjuring up a steaming teapot and eight cups.

It was at that moment they heard the front door open, and a male voice call,
"Hey, whose car is that in the driveway, hon?"

"We're in here, Bob, " answered Elizabeth.

Robert Granger entered the room and stopped dead. "What's going on?" he asked.

"That's what I'm trying to find out, " answered his wife.

"Hi Daddy, " said Hermione quietly.

"Hermione! Are you all right?" He went over to give his daughter a hug, and then
he noticed Harry.

"Hey, aren't you that young man that pushed my daughter out of the way of that
madman's gun?"

"Yes, sir, " answered Harry, nervously.

"That isn't all he did for our daughter, Bob, " said Elizabeth, "Take a look at
her ring finger."

"Hermione?" he said.

Sighing, she held up her ring finger and showed him the ring. "Hmm, well he
definitely has good taste, I will say that."

"Bob, this isn't a joking matter, " said Elizabeth angrily.

"I wasn't joking, honey, it is a beautiful ring."

"Well, sit down so we can figure this out. Hermione insists that she isn't
pregnant, but that things are complicated, and that they have some things to
explain to us."

"Okay, " he said, and took the chair to his wife's right. "Who wants to start?
Hermione?"

"Well, Daddy, I went to check on Harry yesterday. He'd been worrying me for a
while, and I wanted to tell him how I felt about him. He didn't have the best
home life, and I was hoping to cheer him up."

"The best home life?" inquired her mother.

Hermione looked embarrassed for a moment. "The people he was living with were
rather abusive, mother. After all, the man shooting at me and Harry was his uncle."

"His uncle?" asked her father, incredulously. He looked at Harry for a second.
"How can you even be up walking around, anyway? It looked from the news footage
that your were bleeding and that the bullet intended for my daughter hit you?"

Harry coughed. "Actually, Mr. Granger, that bullet did hit me, right about here, "
he said, indicating a spot on his lower back directly above a kidney. "That
was the second one; the first one broke my shoulder.

"Son, how are you walking around? You should be in a hospital."

"Actually, Mr. Granger, if it hadn't been for Hermione, I'd be dead. As it was,
if she hadn't gotten those healing potions into me when she did, I would have
still died."

"Magic is that powerful?" asked Elizabeth.

"It can be, " answered Molly Weasley, "Plus there was some additional magic at
play we didn't know about at the time. But I'll let Hermione tell you about that."

"Hermione?" asked her mother.

Hermione was twisting her hair nervously. "Well, I mentioned that I had gone to
tell Harry that I loved him, right?"

Her parents nodded.

"Well, this is where it gets complicated. The wizarding world does things
differently in a lot of ways, but none more so than engagement and marriage."
Hermione paused and took a sip of tea. "The wizarding world doesn't have
adultery, or marital abuse, or very much divorce at all because engagement and
marriage are magical contracts that are entered into, and the nature of the
contracts does not allow any of that. For instance, adulterers typically have
very bad luck, luck that can be bad enough to kill them, or abusers have any
abuse they inflict on their spouse magically inflicted on them at the same
time."

"What's that got to do with you and this young man?" asked her father.

"Well, entering into these contracts creates a magical bond between the two
people. Usually, it is only through specific rituals that these bonds are
created, however, sometimes magic takes things into it's own hands."

She took another sip of tea, amazed that her hands weren't shaking, as she so calmly
told her parents about why she was engaged to a young man they barely knew.

"As near as we can tell, " said Hermione, "The trauma of..." here her voice
broke and she had to set the teacup down before she spilled it. Harry took her
hand in his and squeezed it tight. "The trauma of watching Harry nearly die,
after he got shot protecting me, when I hadn't even been able to tell him how
much I loved him..." She finally broke down into tears at this point, and Harry
somehow found the strength to continue.

"That trauma, " said Harry, "created what is known as a betrothal bond between
me and Hermione. Essentially we became magically engaged without me even asking
her to marry me." He smiled at that, "although I rectified that oversight later
when I gave her the ring. But, also, that bond is why I'm sitting here today. It
enabled Hermione to heal me, without even realizing what she was doing. If she
hadn't done that, I'd still be lying in bed. Oh, I'd be in better shape than a
Muggle would be, who doesn't have access to healing potions, and couldn't use
them even if he did, but I'd still be in bed."

"Why couldn't a Muggle use them?" asked Hermione's mother.

"Because they use the magic internal to our bodies. Muggles lack that internal
magical ability, and so there's nothing for the potion to work with...” Harry's
voice trailed off in amazement as even Ron stared at him with open-mouthed
astonishment.

"Mate, where are you coming up with this stuff?" asked Ron. "You're sounding
like Hermione."

Hermione snorted at that and looked up at Ron. "What was that, Ron Weasley?
Perhaps I should let you do your own homework for a while, instead of helping
you with it, then maybe you'll learn some of this stuff."

"But he's right, 'Mione. I know I don't know some of this stuff, but you do..."
Harry trailed off. Closing his eyes, he felt for the sense of Hermione that
floated around the back of head, and tried to zero in on it. As soon as he did
so, he immediately recognized that the bond was the source of the knowledge he
now possessed. He opened his eyes and laughed, and turned to see Hermione
looking at him curiously.

"I felt you touch me," she said, "in my mind."

He nodded. "You're the source of my new-found knowledge. Apparently I'm pulling
it right across the bond." He smiled. "I bet you know a whole lot of useless
Quidditch trivia now that you didn't before.

Hermione's parents were staring at them with an indefinable emotion in their
eyes. It almost looked like jealousy, but then disappeared.

"So, you two are getting married," asked her mother, "just like that?"

"Do you have one of these bonds, Mrs. Weasley?" asked Hermione's father,
interrupting his wife.

"Oh, yes, " she said. She smiled fondly at Harry and Hermione, "mine isn't
nearly as strong as theirs is, but then they both are special. Arthur and I
can't read information out of each other's mind like they can. Those two are
probably the strongest wizard and witch in recent history."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that my daughter is so talented," said Elizabeth with a
smile. "Harry, if you don't mind my asking, just why were you living with those
people?"

Harry's face darkened and he said quietly, "Because my parents were murdered
when I was just 13 months old."

"Murdered?" exclaimed Mrs. Granger. "Was it a robbery gone bad?"

Harry shook his head. "No, they died protecting me. The man that murdered them
was actually trying to kill me."

"What? Why? You were only thirteen months old! What could you do?" asked Mr.
Granger.

"It wasn't what I could do then, it was what I could grow up to do." His face
tightened and some of the Harry he'd been at the end of last year came back.
"It's what I'm going to do," he snarled.

"Harry?" said Hermione calmingly.

"I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Granger," he said with a quick smile, "This is the
nasty part of what we have to tell you."

Between the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione, they managed to explain to the
Grangers about Voldemort, his aims, and an edited version of what they had been
facing so far. By the time they were done, it had grown dark outside, and the
Grangers definitely knew more about the wizarding world than they ever really
wanted to.

"So you are saying that my daughter will be safer from this Voldemort person if
she stays at this house of yours, than if she stays here?" asked Mr. Granger.

His wife just sat quietly, her eyes never leaving either Hermione or Harry.

"Yes," said Molly. "He Who Must Not Be Named and his followers don't know where
the house is, and there is no possible way of finding it. She will be very safe there."

"Hermione, are you sure about all of this?" asked her mother.

"Yes, mum, I've never been more sure about anything."

Her mother nodded. "Alright dear, that's good enough for me. Run up and get your
things, you may go."

"Yes!” Harry, as Hermione and Ginny ran upstairs to get her school stuff.

"Mr. Potter, " said Mr. Granger, "I expect you to take very good care of my
daughter, do you hear me? You won't like what happens if I hear that you aren't,
you understand me? Magic or no, I will find a way to make you miserable."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Granger," he replied.

Mrs. Granger came over and gave him a hug. "You will come and visit, won't you?"

"Mrs. Granger, I have no intention of keeping Hermione from seeing you. Besides,
I doubt she would let me get away with it." He grinned. "You have a very
strong-willed daughter."

"I know, " was all she said.

Hermione and Ginny came clumping back down stairs with Hermione's trunk, and
Crookshanks in a cat carrier.

"A cat carrier?" asked Harry.

"It does make him easier to carry," she said.

At that moment, the fireplace flared and Dumbledore, Tonks, and Mad-Eye Moody
stepped through.

"What the..." said Mr. Granger. "It's never done that before," he said, looking at
the fireplace curiously.

"Yes, Indeed." said Dumbledore with a smile. "Good evening everyone, " he continued,
as Tonks and Moody went around casting silencing charms on the windows, doors and
walls of the room. Tonks gave Harry a wink as she went by him.

"I am afraid that I am going to have to ask everyone here to accompany me to
number 12 Grimmauld place immediately," continued the Headmaster. "Hermione, if
you would help your mother through the Floo, and Harry, if you would be so kind
as to help Mr. Granger. Thank you."

It was at that moment that a searing pain shot through Harry's scar, and he
dropped to his knees in agony. He was dimly aware of Hermione shouting his name,
and he felt her grabbing his hand. As soon as she touched him, the pain
vanished, and Harry gasped in relief.

"Harry, was that Voldemort?" she asked.

"Yeah, " he gasped. "He's outside, and very happy about something."

A head appeared in the fireplace and said, "Albus, we're having trouble holding
the connection open to the network. Something is attacking it. You're going to
have to hurry!"

Tonks and Mad-Eye went through the room, handing out Floo powder to everyone
present.

"Go ahead, Ms. Granger, take your mother through." Hermione held her mother's
hand and said, "Remember, step when I do, and don't let go of my hand." She
tossed down the Floo powder and said "Number 12 Grimmauld Place!" They
disappeared in a flash.

"Interesting way to travel," was Mr. Granger's comment.

"I'm glad you think so, " growled Moody, "'cause you're next. Go on Harry."

"Yes, Professor Moody."

"Call me Mad-Eye, Harry. I never actually taught any classes at that school of
yours. Bit difficult to do, being locked up in a trunk, don't you think?"

"Yes, Mad-Eye."

"Go on, get out of here. And watch out for trouble. Remember..." he growled.

"Constant vigilance!" they finished together.

Harry tossed down the Floo powder and said "Number 12 Grimmauld Place." They
vanished in a burst of flame.

Chapter Five - Grimmauld Place

Harry and Bob Granger stepped out of the fireplace at Number 12, Grimmauld
Place, and were immediately assaulted by the two women in their lives.

"Harry, " said Hermione as she threw her arms around him and kissed him,
ignoring the fact that her parents were watching the interchange with bemused
expressions on their faces.

Harry was also aware that Remus Lupin and Arthur Weasley were watching in the
background as well.

"Um, Harry, " said Remus, "would you two move out of the way so you don't get
run over by the next batch coming through?"

Right after Harry and Hermione flopped down on a couch, Ginny came through with
Hermione's trunk and cat carrier. She was then followed by Ron, and Fred, and
then Molly Weasley, whom Arthur immediately swept into a hug.

"Harry," said Hermione, "does your scar always hurt that much?" They were
quietly holding hands on the couch. Her parents had been dragged into a corner
and were having a conversation with Mr. Weasley. He was undoubtedly indulging
his fascination with Muggles with them.

"When Voldemort is around, yes." He looked at her for a moment. "When you took
my hand, the pain went away."

Ron dropped to the floor in front of them. "You two okay?"

Harry nodded tiredly. "I think we're just a little tired, is all."

Molly Weasley had been standing nearby and overheard his comment. "That's
probably a good idea, children. Up to bed with you." She smiled at Harry and
Hermione, who were still holding hands and hadn't moved. "Hermione? Harry?" she
said.

They looked up at her. "Bedtime, you two, and it had better be separate rooms!"

Hermione and Harry both blushed. "I'd better say good night to my parents, "
said Hermione. "You go on up, Harry. I'll see you tomorrow."

He nodded. "I love you, Hermione." He paused. "It's been an interesting day,
hasn't it?"

She smiled, “Yes, it has. Good night, Harry."

“Night.” He turned and went upstairs to the bedrooms.

Hermione went over to her mother. Her father seemed to be having a very involved
conversation with Arthur Weasley about Muggle dentistry, and she didn't want to
disturb them. "Mum, " she said.

"Yes, sweetheart?" said her mother.

"I'm going up to bed now--it's been a very long day."

Her mother smiled, "Yes it has." She frowned, "You aren't sleeping with Harry,
are you?"

Hermione blushed. "No, mum. Ginny and I share a room."

"Well, that's alright then." She looked around, "Where are your father and I
sleeping?"

"There are plenty of bedrooms, mum. Although you might find some of the contents
a little strange."

"Whose house is this, dear?" she asked.

Hermione frowned. "It used to belong to Harry's godfather, but it's Harry's
now."

"What happened to his godfather?"

"He was killed at the end of school." Hermione paused, and sniffed back tears,
"you know mum, when I think about all that Harry's had to go through--losing his
parents, the Dursleys, constantly in danger from Voldemort, and then losing his
godfather, after only being able to know him for two years; I'm surprised that
he's as strong as he is."

Elizabeth studied her daughter for a moment, and then said quietly, "You really
love him, don't you?"

Hermione stared at her mother for a moment. "Is it that obvious?"

Her mother looked back at her daughter and said, "Yes, it is." She paused and
blinked back tears of her own. "You know, Hermione, I think I always despaired
of you ever finding someone to love. You were always buried in your books, or
studying. And don't get me wrong, those things are important, but they aren't
everything."

"And then you went off to this wizard school, and things changed a little bit.
But you were still studying all the time, and even though your two best friends
are boys, you never acted like a teenager in love."

Hermione grimaced. "You weren't there fourth year when I was dating Victor
Krum."

"Who?" asked her mother.

"He's a Bulgarian Quidditch player, but it was never serious. I acted like a
complete twit."

Her mother laughed. "Well, I wasn't there to see it." She turned serious again,
"And then you came home from school a few weeks ago, and I could tell that there
was something wrong. You couldn't concentrate on your studies, you were always
distracted, and you kept sending owls off, at least daily."

She took a deep breath, "And then we have yesterday and today. Can you imagine
my reaction when I turn on the five o'clock news and see my daughter, who I love
very much, being pushed out of the way of a madman's bullet? Who then drops in
the next day to tell me she's magically engaged to a young man I know nothing
about, and that she can't stay in her own house because she's in danger from a
psychotic racist--is racist the right word--wizard?"

She pulled Hermione into a hug. "I love you, your father loves you " she said,
"and to be honest, after seeing you two together today, I think that Harry
really loves you too." She paused and then smiled wickedly. "Don't you dare tell
your father this, " she whispered, "but if you and Harry happen to wind up in
the same bedroom this evening, I promise not to get upset about it." She paused
and looked serious for a moment, "I also don't think that you should go off and
get pregnant, either. You aren't married yet."

Hermione blushed, and said, "Actually, I doubt that Harry and I would do that.
Dumbledore warned us that there are some dangers associated with...” She paused,
embarrassed, and then squeaked, "...making love when our bond is so new. It's
quite possible that Voldemort might be able to hurt us, because that's the one
time every defense you have is completely down, and you are extremely
vulnerable."

"That's interesting, " said her mother. "Well, what I said still goes, I think I
can trust you to know what's right."

Hermione looked up at her mother, "Thank you. You don't know how much that means
to me." She giggled. "You might want to let Mrs. Weasley know it's okay. She's
already warned us to sleep in separate bedrooms."

"I'll speak to her, " said her mother. "They are a little...odd, aren't they?"

"What do you mean?"

"They're different. They're so fascinated with things that you and I take for
granted. I've never heard anybody discuss the mechanics of a root canal, of all
things, with such interest, unless they were a fellow dentist. Most people don't
even want to think about them."

"Well, part of that is just Mr. Weasley, " said Hermione with a smile, "He's
simply fascinated with Muggles--he actually collects electrical plugs, if you
can believe it."

"They're good to you, aren't they?" asked her mother quietly.

"Oh yes, " said Hermione, smiling, "they're my home away from home. I mean,
they'll never replace you and dad, but if I have to be away from you, then with
Harry and the Weasleys is where I want to be."

Her mother smiled, "I understand, dear. Well, go say goodnight to your father,
and then head up to bed."

Hermione turned, gave her father a hug, and said, "Goodnight, Daddy."

He smiled, "Goodnight, sweetheart. Pleasant dreams."

She turned and ran upstairs.

-*~*~*~*~*-

Elizabeth Granger wandered out to the kitchen, where she found Mrs. Weasley
waving her wand around and apparently cleaning things by shouting something that
sounded like "scourgify" at them.

"Well, that would certainly be a useful thing to be able to do," she said.

Molly laughed, "Yes it is."

Elizabeth smiled. "Hermione asked me to mention to you that I told her it was
alright if she and Harry wound up in the same bedroom tonight. She'd mentioned
that you'd warned them about that."

Molly looked at her and smiled, "Well, they are teenagers, you know. I've raised
quite a few--except for Ginny, they've all been boys."

"That must have been interesting."

Molly could tell that Elizabeth wanted to talk. "Shall we have some tea?"

"That would be lovely." They sat down together at the kitchen table, and Molly
conjured up a pot of tea and two cups.

"There's no way you could teach me to do that?" asked Elizabeth Granger with a
hint of wistfulness in her voice.

"I'm sorry, dear, but it just wouldn't work for you."

"I know." Elizabeth picked up her teacup and took a sip. "Molly, may I call you
Molly?"

"Of course, " answered Mrs. Weasley, sipping her own tea.

"Molly, what can you tell me about that young man that my daughter is so in love
with? Oh, I know he loves her enough to save her life at risk to his own, but I
really don't know much else. Hermione never talks about what happens during the
school year with me, but I get the impression that there is a lot she's not
telling me."

Molly nodded. "There is that. I don't know how much I should be telling you
without violating her trust in me, but you are her mother, and you deserve to
know more." She took another sip of tea.

"Harry is without a doubt the most amazing young man I know. He's suffered
through so much, and yet he still manages to keep being largely cheerful. I
don't know how he does it."

"Hermione mentioned that he lost his godfather a few months ago..."

"Did she tell you the whole story?"

"I doubt it."

Molly nodded, "Well the short version is that Sirius, that was Harry's
godfather, was falsely accused of the murder of Harry's parents and a number of
Muggles and wound up spending 12 years in Azkaban prison." Molly shuddered,
"Azkaban is not a nice place. How he maintained his sanity, I'll never
understand..."

"Anyway," she continued, "he escaped two years ago, and was trying to protect
Harry from the real murderer, who believe it or not, was hiding as my son Ron's
pet rat. Harry eventually discovered the truth--he initially thought, as we did,
that Sirius would try to kill him. But the real murderer, Peter Pettigrew,
escaped in the confusion, and so there was no way we could clear Sirius's name.
So he had to stay in hiding." She sipped some tea.

"You have to understand that Harry had grown up despairing of ever meeting
someone who would simply treat him as Harry, rather than the prophesied savior
of the Wizarding World. Sirius did that, but Harry almost never got to see him
because it was too dangerous for Sirius to be seen in public. And then he died
last month, after promising Harry a home with him away from the Dursley's."

"How was he killed?" asked Elizabeth as she took a sip of tea.

Molly sighed. "Harry was tricked by He Who Must Not Be Named into thinking that
Sirius was a prisoner of his. He was going to go off and rescue Sirius by
himself, but Ron and Hermione wouldn't let him. Instead they gathered up a bunch
of friends of theirs who had been teaching each other how to fight dark wizards,
and charged off to the rescue." Molly took a sip of tea, noticing that her hands
were shaking.

"Are you all right?" asked Elizabeth, concerned.

"Yes. You just have no idea how close we came to losing all of them that day.
You see, they charged off into a trap that had been set for them, and we had to
come riding to the rescue. Sirius was one of the wizards there that day, and he
was killed." She paused and sipped some tea. "Harry still blames himself for
that to this day."

"Hermione was there?" asked Elizabeth, concerned.

"Oh, yes, those three are inseparable. They never do anything without each
other." She paused and looked at Elizabeth, "And before you get mad at Harry for
putting your daughter in danger, understand that she and Ron most likely forced
him to allow them to come. Harry hates to put his friends in danger, because
he's lost just about everybody he cares about, and he wants to hang onto what he
has left."

"Okay, " said Elizabeth. "Do you think Harry really loves my daughter?"

"Without a doubt. I think they've been feeling that way for a while now, but
neither of them could recognize it for what it was. These last few days have
simply brought to the surface what was already there, although I must admit it
was a particularly spectacular way of doing it. Those two never do anything that
isn't less than impressive."

"Umm." Elizabeth took another sip of tea, and was surprised to find the cup
empty. "How much danger are they in?"

"Harry? Hermione?" asked Molly.

"All of them, your son as well."

"Well, He Who Must Not Named wants to kill Harry, it's that simple. Everybody
around him is in danger; even you are, look at what happened tonight. We try our
best to protect them, but we aren't always successful."

"It just bothers me, " replied Elizabeth, "They are only children."

Molly smiled, "Well, you daughter is only a few months away from being an adult
in the Wizarding World."

"I know, and that frightens me more than you know.” She shook her head. “Tell me
more about Harry."

They talked for another half-hour before their husbands came to drag them away
to bed.

-*~*~*~*~*-

Hermione noticed that the light was already out in Harry and Ron's room, and she
decided, as much as she liked the idea, that she wasn't going to wake Harry just
to share his bed. He needs his rest, she thought.

Somebody had already brought her trunk up to the room she shared with Ginny, and
she rummaged through it quietly until she found a nightgown which she slipped
into, and then slipped into bed.

Ginny came in a moment later. "So, " she said, "what's it like, being bonded?"

Hermione sighed. "I've been bonded all of a day. I can't say that I really
know."

"There is that," replied Ginny. "So...you want to tell me what got you so upset
at Harry today?"

“I'm worried about him, Ginny. I asked him about why he's been so upset this
summer.”

“Isn't it Sirius?”

“It's more than Sirius, Ginny, but he just won't talk about it. Anyway, he
snapped at me and told me that it was his problem.” She sighed. “I suppose I
should have been more understanding and rode it out; Merlin knows, I've done
that a thousand times before. But I was just so angry at him.”

“You've put up with Harry's mood swings before, what was different this time?”

"I'm not sure, Ginny, " replied Hermione, "I think it might have been the bond.
I was feeling his own anger without realizing what it was, and it just added to
my own." She sighed, "But I'll never tell him that, and it certainly couldn't
have turned out better."

Ginny giggled. "That is so true. I thought he was going to faint for a moment
there."

"He's so cute when he's like that, " said Hermione.

"That is some ring he got you," said Ginny, "And from Taliesin's no less."

"Taliesin's? What's that?" asked Hermione, "I've never heard of them before."

"You've never heard of Taliesin's? They're only the MOST exclusive jewelry store
in the wizarding world. They say he only sells to very select people. Not just
anyone can shop there."

"Wow," said Hermione, bemused. "So how did Harry..."

"He's Harry; things like that just happen to him. Of course, this time it was a
good thing instead of a bad one," said Ginny. "Actually, Ron told me, that Harry
told him, that apparently Dumbledore told Taliesin that Harry might be by
today."

Hermione laughed, "Somehow that doesn't surprise me." She yawned. "It's been a
very long day, Ginny. I think I'm going to go to sleep now."

"Okay. Goodnight, Hermione."

The girls turned the lights out and went to sleep.

It was a couple hours later that Hermione snapped awake. She knew from the
turmoil in the back of her mind that Harry was most likely having a nightmare.
She got out of bed, threw on her dressing gown, and quietly slipped out the door
and down the hall to Harry and Ron's room.

She quietly opened the door and went inside. In the dim moonlight coming through
the window, she could see Harry tossing and turning in his bed, quietly mumbling
in his sleep. Ron, on the other hand, was sleeping like a rock, flat on his
back, and snoring rather loudly.

She went around to the right side of Harry's bed, removed her dressing gown, and
slipped under the covers next to him. Almost as soon as she touched him, the
tossing and turning stopped, and the feelings of panic and fear that she was
feeling through the bond ebbed away to nothing. She spooned up against his back,
whispered in his ear, "I love you, Harry," and went back to sleep.

Chapter Six – Bondus Averto

When she woke up again, daylight was streaming through the window, and a pair of intense
green eyes was staring at her. "Hey, sleepyhead, what are you doing in here?" he whispered.

"Mum said it would be alright, " she whispered back. His eyes widened.

They were interrupted by a groan, "You guys make me sick. I thought mum said separate rooms?"

"Well MY mother said it would be alright, " answered Hermione. "Besides, it's not like we
did anything but sleep."

"Ewww," said Ron, "I don't even want to consider that."

Hermione reached down, grabbed her dressing gown from the floor, and then slipped it on
under the covers.

"What, you starkers?" asked Ron with a grimace, "Double eww..."

"No, Ron, " she said primly, "I was wearing a nightgown, I simply didn't want to dress in
front of you." She slipped out of bed, gave Harry a kiss, and went out the door.

"We need to get you a girlfriend, " said Harry, with a grin.

Ron groaned. "That's all I need. I have a hard enough time understanding her--and she's
not my girlfriend."

"Ron, mate, " said Harry seriously, "are you really okay with this?"

Ron sat up and looked at Harry. "Harry, I meant what I said yesterday. Hermione and I
weren't meant to be...hell, I knew that last year. But if you hurt her, well, what that bond
will do to you will be NOTHING to what I do to you, got me?"

Harry nodded.

"Good. Now can we drop it? I'm hungry." He got out of bed, and started to dress. "Let's
hurry up and get downstairs so you two can moon at each other while I'm eating."

He wasn't expecting that pillow that knocked him on the floor while he had one leg in his pants,
and the other out.

-*~*~*~*~*-

When Harry and Ron finally thumped downstairs, they were both laughing and acting like nothing
had changed between them. They both knew that things had changed in a rather significant way,
but neither felt that it was worth worrying about.

They came into the kitchen and found the Grangers, Ginny, Remus, and Molly sitting around the
table eating breakfast. Harry flopped down into the open chair next to Hermione, and Ron sat
next to his sister, across from Harry.

"And how did you two sleep last night?" inquired Mrs. Weasley.

"I slept great, " said Ron with a laugh, "but it was kind of gross waking up and seeing those two
lying in bed staring at each other. And that is ALL they were doing."

Hermione and Harry both turned bright red.

"Oh, really, " inquired Mr. Granger. He eyed Harry and Hermione thoughtfully for a moment,
and then smiled. "Don't worry, sweetheart, your mother told me last night what she told you."

Molly Weasley raised an eyebrow and said, "That better have been all they were doing with
you in the room."

If Harry and Hermione could have turned any redder, they would've. "Mrs. Weasley, "
choked out Harry, "please..."

She laughed. "I know you wouldn't do anything, either of you. But it was fun to see your
expressions."

There was a burst of flame from the kitchen fireplace and Dumbledore stepped through.

"Professor!" said Harry, "Are Tonks and Mad-Eye okay?"

"They're fine, Harry, " answered Dumbledore. He looked at the Grangers. "However, I do
have some bad news."

"What?" asked Mr. Granger, paling slightly.

"When Voldemort and the Death Eaters realized that you had successfully escaped last night,
they took out their frustration on the only thing available...I'm sorry, but they destroyed your
home."

Mr. and Mrs. Granger turned white, while Hermione gasped. Harry grabbed her hand and
held it, but his mood was shifting from the happy one he'd been in earlier to...

"Harry James Potter, " said Hermione, "Don't you do it! This was not your fault!" She
started crying, "Harry, please, I need your support, not you feeling guilty about something
you had nothing to do with!"

The table went silent at Hermione's outburst.

"'Mione, honey, they were only there because they were looking for me. If I hadn't been there..."

"Harry! That's not true, and you know it!" She paused, "Harry, what am I?"

"What?" he said completely confused.

"What am I?" she insisted.

"I don't know what you mean, " he said.

"To them, I am nothing but a dirty mudblood, and my parents are nothing but Muggles!
That is what I mean." She quieted. "Harry, they would have done this regardless of whether
or not you were there." She looked fiercely at him, "But the difference is, because you were
there, my parents are still alive. Love; don't you know how much that means to me?
The house can be replaced, but they can't!" She stared down at the table, her eyes suspiciously wet.

Mr. Granger spoke up. "Harry, speaking as the owner of the house in question, she makes
a very good point." He squeezed his wife's hand. "Yes, we had a lot of memories tied up in
that house, and some things that meant a lot to us, but things can be replaced. Our lives can't."

"Harry, " said Mrs. Granger, "Bob's right. We had insurance, although I suspect that they'll
probably tell us it was an act of God and refuse to pay. But that isn't your fault either."

Harry looked embarrassed for a moment, and then turned to Hermione and hugged him to
her while she finally gave in to her feelings and cried in his arms.

"That leads us to our other problem, " said Dumbledore. "For the present time, your lives
will be in great danger. I realize that you are not going to want to take time away from your
dentistry practice, but I believe I can arrange adequate protection for the times that you are
there. However, unless Harry objects to the idea, I think you should continue to reside here
until the danger has passed."

Harry looked up at that and said, "No, I have no problem with that. They can stay here as
long as they want."

"Thank you, Harry, " said Dumbledore.

“Harry, thank you,” said Hermione, wiping tears out of her eyes.

He patted her hand, and smiled. “Can't very well throw my future in-laws out on the street,
now can I?” he joked, “What kind of impression do you think that would make?”

She giggled.

Dumbledore looked at Hermione's parents. “I suggest you take the rest of the day off today,
and adjust to your new surroundings. It can be quite surprising to non-magical people when
they live in a magical household—and this house in particular.”

“We can't just stay here all the time though,” said Elizabeth Granger, “Our patients depend
on us.”

Dumbledore smiled at her. “I have no doubt of that. Tomorrow, I will have a couple of
Aurors arrive to escort you to work.”

“Aurors?” asked Mr. Granger.

“Magical policemen, daddy,” answered Hermione.

“You have that kind of pull? I thought you were just the headmaster of Hermione's
school,” said Mr. Granger.

Dumbledore smiled slightly, “You might say I have a few contacts in high places.”

Ron snorted.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he said, “Yes, Mr. Weasley?”

“Nothing, Headmaster,” Ron replied and he went back to shoveling food in his mouth.

“Oh, one more thing. While I realize that you children are not supposed to use magic
while on summer holidays until you are of age; I just thought you might like to know
that the Ministry can't detect it here. Feel free to help Mrs. Weasley clean the house.”

Dumbledore smiled and flooed back to Hogwarts.

-*~*~*~*~*-

After breakfast, Harry and Hermione wandered out to the front hall where the annoying
picture of Mrs. Black had hung and found nothing there. Instead the wall looked scorched
and blackened, and soot covered the ceiling above where the painting used to hang.

Remus wandered out after them. “Wondering where it went?” he asked.

They nodded.

“Finally decided to try a Muggle method. Doused it in gasoline and then tossed an incendio
after it. Singed my eyebrows, but it got rid of the painting.” He sighed, “I wish I'd done it
earlier. I think Sirius would have enjoyed it.”

Harry nodded. “Yes, he would've. That was the sort of thing he liked to do.”

Hermione squeezed Harry's hand and looked at him reassuringly.

“You take good care of Harry, Hermione,” said Remus.

She blushed.

He studied them for a moment. “You know, you two seem to be good for each other. Harry
seems less brooding and worried about what's coming, and you Hermione, are suddenly
more open about your feelings and you spend less time with your books.”

Hermione looked at him, “My priorities have shifted slightly, Harry's happiness is now most
important, with grades a close second of course.” She laughed, “I haven't changed that much.”

“That's pretty much the same with me, Professor Lupin,” said Harry. “Hermione can't be happy
if I'm brooding and unhappy, so I try not to be.”

Hermione looked at Harry for a moment, “I'll be right back, okay?”

“Sure,” he answered.

She went back into the kitchen.

“So, how's bonded life, Harry?” asked Remus with a smile.

“Umm, this is only day three, but I'm enjoying it so far. I think we're still trying to figure out this thing.”

“You really love her, don't you?”

“More than anything,” said Harry. He suddenly grinned and said quietly, “Except maybe Quidditch,
but don't tell her I said that.” Remus grinned.

“I heard that, Harry Potter!” said Hermione from the kitchen.

Harry looked at the kitchen entry in amazement. “How the...oh, the bond. Arrgh.”

Hermione came out of the kitchen. “Come on you,” she said. “We need to talk.” They went upstairs
to the library. “Mrs. Weasley said she'd keep Ron and Ginny occupied for a while, so that we could
have a talk about a few things,” said Hermione.

“Okay,” answered Harry.

“However, I suggest we clean as well. We're going to be spending some time in here studying, and
I for one would prefer a clean study area.”

“We are?”

“Harry, we both have assignments due, and I would say that you probably haven't even been able
to get started on yours because of the Dursley's, am I right?”

He nodded ruefully, “Yeah, I remember hearing Snape in my head saying something like 'too busy
answering fan mail to do your homework, Potter?' when they made me put my trunk under the
stairs this summer.”

She smiled. “He really has it in for you, doesn't he?”

Harry sighed, remembering what he'd seen in the pensieve.

“What's wrong,” asked Hermione, concerned.

“Umm.”

“Harry?”

He looked at her. “I can trust you to not tell anyone this, right? I...I don't want to violate Snape's privacy.”

“Violate Snape's privacy?” she exclaimed.

Harry nodded. “It's something I learned when he was trying to teach me Occlumency—it was a memory
he tried to keep from me by putting it in a pensieve, but I looked at it when he wasn't in the room.”

She looked at him. “Harry, of course you can trust me. I won't tell anyone about it.”

He smiled, and said, “I should have known that without even asking. Snape doesn't exactly hate me; it's
my father he's mad at. Apparently my father teased and tormented him unmercifully while they were at
Hogwarts, and since dad is dead, he takes it out on me.”

“That's hardly fair, Harry. Haven't you tried to do something about it?”

“Like what?” he inquired, “Until Snape gets over his anger at my father; which isn't bloody likely, he's
not going to see anything in me except my father.”

“Harry,” said Hermione with concern.

“Let's just drop it, okay? It's not something that we can do anything about.” She sighed, and then
nodded. She looked away for a moment, and then looked critically at the dusty, heavy, black
drapes covering the windows. “You mind if I change these to something else? I was thinking
something in a flower print—this place is depressing.”

He laughed. “Making your mark on your home already?” He came up behind her where she stood
looking at the drapes and drew her into a hug, her back pressed up against him. He playfully
nuzzled the back of her neck with his lips and she giggled.

“Harry, if we keep this up, we'll never get anything done.” She stepped away from him and drew
her wand from the pocket in her robes. “Go dust books or something.”

“Yes, ma'am,” he said fondly.

It took her almost ten minutes of transfiguring the drapes before she settled on one particular print.
Harry had to admit that it distinctly improved the room's appearance.

“That looks nice, Hermione,” he said.

“Thank you, Harry,” she said absently, as she moved onto transfiguring the black tablecloth covering
a small, round table that sat next to one of the reading chairs into a lace doily. “Harry,” she said, as
she waved her wand.

“Yes, love?” he asked, as he sent a scourgify shooting along the row of books he was currently cleaning.

“What else had you so upset this summer? Besides Sirius, that is...” She could feel the sudden turmoil
and fear that the question generated along their bond, and she turned to him in concern. “Harry?”

He looked at her tiredly for a moment, and then flopped down in one of the chairs, hiding his face in
his hands. After a moment, he looked up at her and said, “You know, I'm so used to depending on
myself for everything that it gets overwhelming at times.” His face darkened. “But I absolutely refuse
to make my friends, much as they want to, carry any of my load. You've suffered enough because of
me. The Weasley's aren't speaking to Percy, your parents have lost their home, and all of us have to
live our lives in hiding because of me.”

“Harry,” she said.

“No, let me finish. I love you, Hermione, and if there's one thing I know about love it's that you don't
hurt the ones you love.” His mood darkened even further as he continued. “I...I don't know how long
you and I are going to be together, but we're going to enjoy every minute of it.”

Really worried now, Hermione walked over to in front of him, knelt down, and took his hands in hers.
She looked earnestly up into his suddenly tired looking face. He looks so old, she thought briefly.
“Harry, talk to me please. I didn't confess my love for you just so we can think it's going to end at
some point. We're forever, so you might as well get used to the idea.”

He looked at her angrily for a moment, “Don't promise things you have no control over. Sirius
promised me a home away from the Dursley's and look what happened to him. He's dead.”

He paused, “There's no guarantee that I'm going to survive this war. I probably only have a
couple more years before I screw up and get myself killed, and I don't want to do that to
you.” He frowned. “Why did I ever ask you to marry me? You need somebody that's going
to be around after all this is over—that can take care of you properly.”

Hermione said nothing for a moment trying to control the emotions that raged out of control
in her heart. She reached to the back of her mind to the bond with Harry and tried to identify
what she felt there: grief, anguish, fear, and an overwhelming depression that threatened to
drown everything. But the depression didn't seem natural, almost as if it was being created
externally. Interested, she tried to follow the depression back to it's source.

“Hermione? What are you doing,” asked Harry.

“Shh, sweetheart,” she replied, “There's something not right here, and I'm trying to figure it out.”

Harry's mind was an interesting collection of colors, feelings, and memories. She tried to stay
away from those, as she didn't want him to feel any more violated than he already did. She
was here without permission, and she didn't want him to raise his defenses.

Eventually, she found what she was looking for; a thin tendril of virulent green shot through
with purple and black overtones that seemed to be feeding Harry's depression.
“What is this?” she thought.

“What is it, Hermione?” thought Harry, having caught her interest through the bond.

“Can you see this?” she asked in her mind.

“Yes, what is it?” He replied.

“It seems to be causing your depression”, she replied. “Of course, I'm not Madame Pomphrey...”

“Madame Pomphrey has never done anything like this before”, he replied wryly.

“She'd better not,” shot back Hermione.

“What do we do about it?”

“I'm not sure,” she replied. Mentally, she pictured herself casting a finite incantatem at whatever
it was, and was rewarded with it changing color. It was now shot through with streaks of red.

“Ow!” said Harry, out loud.

“Sorry,” she thought.

“Whatever you're doing, hurry up and finish please,” he said. “That hurt!” Encouraged, she
looked at it again, and saw that the streaks of red were beginning to dissipate, and it was
returning to it's normal coloring.

“Harry,” she thought, “I'm going to have to hit it harder. I suspect that this will hurt.”

“Are you sure you know what you're doing?” he thought back.

“Harry, this is not natural. The closer I get to it, the more evil I feel radiated from it,” she sent to him.

Okay, Hermione, she thought, you're supposed to be the strongest witch of your generation,
so let's just see how strong you are. “Finite Incantatem,” she thought fiercely, putting as much
of herself as she dared behind it.

She was dimly aware of Harry jerking away from her hands as he gasped in pain. The
whatever-it-was was now shot through with bright red streaks, and seemed to be dissipating
around the edges as she watched. But as the moments passed, it slowly returned to its normal color.

Something is feeding this thing, she thought.

Gingerly, she mentally reached out and touched it, and for a moment was overwhelmed with feelings
of depression. However, because it wasn't intended for her, she could push those feelings aside. She
found a thin tendril of energy that was linked to it and followed it back.

She became aware that she was leaving Harry's body, and thought back to him, “Harry, can you pull
me back if I get lost?”

“I think so, Hermione,” he answered. “Maybe you shouldn't be doing this though, it's probably very dangerous.”

Ignoring that, she plunged on, left the confines of number 12 Grimmauld Place and was soon seeing the
English countryside from the air. The tendril of energy was leading her towards a house next to a
graveyard that she'd never seen before. The transit was getting easier, and she almost felt as if
something was pulling her along.

She suddenly felt a wave of fear and horror from Harry. “Hermione!” He mentally shouted, “Stay
away from that house, Voldemort is there!” Horrified, she tried to pull back, but was no longer able to,
something had her in a tight grip.

“Harry,” she screamed, “help!” Suddenly, he was there beside her. “Okay,” he said grimly, “we're going
to face this together. If he wants you, he's going through me first.”

“We fight him together,” she said. “Together, we're much stronger than by ourselves.”

Harry nodded.

They were drawn down into the house, and into a sitting room lit only by the glow of a fireplace.

“Well,” came a sinister voice, “Wormtail, we have guests. Please ensure that we aren't disturbed.”

“Yes, master,” said an obsequious Peter Pettigrew as he bowed his way out of the room.

Voldemort turned towards Harry and Hermione. “Mr. Potter, and the mudblood Granger, your
girlfriend,” he said snidely.

“You can see us,” asked Harry.

“Of course I can see you, foolish boy!” snapped Voldemort. “What, that bumbling idiot
Dumbledore didn't explain this to you? Did the mudblood discover in one of her books how
to travel out of body, and you just thought you'd come see what I was doing?”

He rubbed his hands together happily. “It's just as well, when they find you both dead without a
mark on you, they won't know how it even happened.”

He pointed his wand at Hermione. “I think we'll start with her. It will please me no end to see the
expression on your face, Harry, when she dies from the pain. Crucio!” he shouted.

Hermione gasped as an incredible wave of agony rolled over her body, and then she was
screaming, unable to stop herself.

“Stop it, “ yelled Harry, “It's me you want, not her. Leave her alone!”

“Oh, my dear boy,” laughed Voldemort, “You are really dense aren't you? By hurting her, I am
hurting you, much more so than if I just tickled you with Crucio.”

Desperate, Harry tried to throw a mental block between Hermione and the pain, and was amazed
when it worked.

Hermione suddenly stopped screaming, and instead floated next to Harry, gasping.

“Hmm,” said Voldemort, “figured out a way to protect her from it, have you? I wonder if you can
do that when you yourself are...Crucio!” He shouted, this time at Harry. Harry felt only the briefest
instant of pain before Hermione blocked him from it.

“How are you doing this?” snarled Voldemort.

Hermione, meanwhile, had found the tendril of energy linking Voldemort to the spell in Harry's mind,
and with a whispered “Finite Incantatem” had severed it at the source. Voldemort's attention was so
distracted by what was going on that he never noticed.

“Harry”, she whispered mentally, “We can go back now.”

“What could be giving you the strength to...” Voldemort held up his wand and muttered the same
words that Dumbledore had muttered a lifetime ago in the kitchen at the Weasleys.

“A betrothal bond! With a mudblood!” muttered Voldemort as he saw the scintillating rainbow
colored link appear between them. “And a particularly strong one at that. There are ways to deal
with those, though.”

“Harry, we can go now,” whispered Hermione urgently.

“I'm trying,” he muttered back, “but I don't know what I'm doing.”

Voldemort had meanwhile, taken down a book and was paging through it quickly. “Yes, here it is.
Yes. Yes. This should work quite well.” He looked up at Harry and Hermione, “and the best part
is that it is very painful. Bondus Averto!” he yelled, with a complex wave of his wand.

Harry and Hermione suddenly felt as if they were both dipped in molten lava. “Harry!” screamed
Hermione, as she reached across the distance between them.

“Hermione!” he screamed back.

Suddenly, something snapped them both back into their bodies at Number 12 Grimmauld Place,
and they both looked up with tear streaked faces at a very concerned looking Albus Dumbledore.
Madame Pomphrey was hovering over Dumbledore's shoulder. Remus Lupin and Molly Weasley
were clustered around them. The Grangers were hovering in the background.

"Harry,” said Dumbledore, “Hermione.”

“What were you thinking, you foolish children!” shouted Molly Weasley, “We almost lost you!”

“What happened?” asked Dumbledore.

Harry took a breath, “Could you cast that spell?” he said, “You know, the one that reveals bonds.”

“Certainly, Harry. Why?” asked Dumbledore, as he waved his wand.

Unfortunately, as soon as Dumbledore cast the spell, it was obvious why Harry was worried.
Instead of the bright, scintillating, rainbow color it had been earlier, it was dull and fading. As they
watched, it suddenly began to retract from Hermione, and she gave a gasp, cried “Harry!” and
collapsed. Harry swept her up into his arms.

“Hermione!” he shouted.

“What's wrong?” asked an anguished Mrs. Granger.

“Hermione!” shouted Harry again.

Madame Pomphrey looked at Harry's face, and then waved her wand over Hermione's body.
She looked at Albus and shook her head quietly, while tears formed in her eyes.

Harry looked at this interplay with grim determination, “She's not going to die,” he growled.
“If you think that I'm going to let Voldemort take her away from me now, you don't know me
very well.”

“Voldemort!” gasped Mrs. Weasley.

Harry, holding Hermione in his arms, pushed his way through them, kicked open the door to
the library, and went down the hall to his bedroom. He laid Hermione down on his bed, kneeled
beside it, and took her hand in his hands, and kissed it.

“You know,” he said to her in a conversational tone of voice, “When I woke up after almost
dying, I woke to the voice of an angel telling me she loved me.” Tears started to run down his
face, and he was dimly aware of other people coming into the room. “I don't have any other
memories like that. All I can remember is Aunt Petunia telling me how much trouble I was, and
how I was a freak. But you changed all that, Hermione. You made me realize that I was
deserving of someone's love.” He could hear Mrs. Granger and Mrs. Weasley weeping.

“You can't leave me, love, not now that we've just figured all this out.” He laughed miserably,
“You know, we could've avoided all this if I had just talked to you in the first place; but no! I
had to be all noble and try to protect you from what I thought you couldn't handle. And now
look at us.”

"Please Hermione, come back to me.” He felt a hand descend on his shoulder.

“Harry,” said Remus quietly.

Harry looked up at Remus, and at that moment a tear, running down Harry's face, dripped
onto Hermione's ring. The ring burst into brilliant color, easily outshining the room lights. As
Harry looked down in amazement, he could see Hermione's breathing stabilize, and color
return to her face. He gave a startled gasp.

Madame Pomphrey was immediately by his side, examining Hermione. After a moment or
two, she smiled and said, “She's going to be alright, Harry. She's going to be alright.”

Harry sighed in relief, and bowed his head over Hermione's hand. “Our bond?” he mumbled.

“It’s growing Harry,” said Dumbledore's calm voice.

Harry nodded in relief. In truth, he was again aware of Hermione's presence in the back of his
mind, which hadn't been there since the horrible moment when the bond shrank.

Hermione coughed, and then opened her eyes. “Harry?” she asked weakly.

“Right here, love,” he answered.

“Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry,” she whispered.

“For what?” he asked.

“I should've listened to you when you said it was too dangerous.”

He squeezed her hand tightly, and then looked at her. “So, you're going to listen to me next
time I tell you something is too dangerous?” He grinned at her. “I suppose I'll have to do the
same for you, since you're much better it than I am.”

She laughed weakly.

“What happened, children?” asked Dumbledore.

“We were talking,” said Harry, “and she asked me about what else had me so upset this
summer...besides Sirius dying...and I gave her this big speech about how I didn't want to lay
my problems on her.”

“It just didn't seem like him, he was so down and depressed” she whispered, “So I used the
bond to look inside him, at his feelings, and I found something that didn't belong. His depression
was being magically created.”

“She tried to remove it, but it kept regenerating itself, so she decided to track down it's source,
which led her outside of the house,” continued Harry.

Hermione started to cry. “Harry warned me it might be dangerous and not to do it, but I love
him so much, and I hated to see him that way.”

“Following the source led us to the Riddle house,” said Harry with a grimace, “But even though
I warned her not to go in it, she couldn't turn back—Voldemort had already trapped her. I wasn't
going to let her face him alone, so I went with her.”

Dumbledore looked at the two of them with concern. “What happened then, Harry?”

“We figured out pretty quickly how protect each other from the Crucio's he threw at us. Apparently
we can protect each other through the bond.” He swallowed, “It took him awhile, but he figured out
the bond, and then he cast something that sounded like bondus...”

“Bondus averto, yes, I am aware of the spell” said Dumbledore. “We teach you about the three main
unforgivables, but there are a number we don't mention because their use is so rare that many are
thankfully forgotten. That is one of them. It shatters the bond between bondmates; however, it is possible
to defend against it, and I think that will be part of your training once you return to Hogwarts, especially
since Tom is now aware of your bond.”

Harry nodded.

“Whose this Tom you keep referring to?” asked Mr. Granger, “I thought it was Voldemort that was the problem.”

“They are the same person,” said Dumbledore, “Voldemort's original name was Tom Riddle.” He turned back to
Harry and Hermione. “I hope you realize how lucky the both of you were. If Mrs. Weasley hadn't come in to
check on you, and then summoned me, you'd both be lying dead in the library.”

They both nodded, and said at the same time, “We're sorry, professor.” They then looked at each other.

“Well, I see you two are going to be alright. If you feel the need to explore more of the bonds abilities at a later
date, feel free, but please, stay within the bounds of the house.” He looked at Hermione. “Ms. Granger, were
you successful in removing the psychis curse from Harry?”

“Is that what that was?” she asked, suddenly interested. “I've read about them, but I'd never seen one before.”

“You're not likely to again,” said Madame Pomphrey, “Unless you go into medicine. They are very difficult to
cast, and require an intimate knowledge of the person involved.”

Hermione nodded, “I think I was able to, Professor. We had a few minutes while Voldemort was occupied
with trying to figure out why we could block Crucio. I severed the connection between Voldemort and the spell.”

“Hmm. Poppy?”

“Let me see.” She waved her wand at Harry. “Yes, there's where it was, but it's gone now.”

“Good,” said Dumbledore. He smiled at Hermione, “You know Ms. Granger, there are much easier ways of dealing with
a psychis curse than the way you chose to.”

She smiled ruefully, “I'll keep that in mind.”

Chapter Seven – Scenes from an Italian Café

The next several weeks passed quickly. The house was given a complete cleaning from top
to bottom, and Hermione showed a sudden interest (and Harry had to admit, a talent) in
interior decorating, as she transfigured the heavy, dark, depressing furnishings and draperies
into light woods and flowery prints. Her touch did not extend to the entire house; she allowed
Harry to claim one room as his own—he and Ron decorated it with various bits of Quidditch
memorabilia.

The sudden profusion of bright colors had a salutary effect on the attitudes of everyone living in
the house; it was a very rare day that a frown was seen. Hermione's parents watched their
daughter's decorating passion with a bemused look, almost as if they were unable to accept the
sudden appearance of artistic ability in their eminently logical, bookworm daughter.

The Grangers were greeted every morning by a pair of Aurors who would accompany them to
their dental practice. They offered a free dental checkup to any Auror that wanted one, although
they stopped after Tonks accepted one day. None of them would talk about what happened, but
Harry and Hermione noticed that Hermione's parents never looked at Tonks quite the same again.
The Grangers were also somewhat wary of Remus Lupin after an idle remark at breakfast one
morning a day or so before a full moon revealed his affliction.

After some discussion between the adults, it was decided that Harry and Hermione could share a
room together; she was still sneaking into his room every night when he had a nightmare as it was.
Ron moved to the room next door, and every once and a while would make some joking comment
at breakfast about the noises he heard at night. As for Harry and Hermione, they weren't actually
doing anything beyond sleeping at night; they had decided after their experience with Voldemort
they didn't want to take the risk.

“It gives us something to look forward to,” said Hermione, who, once she had learned to deal with
the unsettled feeling that having Harry constantly in the back of her mind gave her, returned to her
usual logical self.

The one complaint that any of them had was that they couldn't go outside and play Quidditch.
Grimmauld place only had a small, attached kitchen garden, and not the large backyard the Burrow
had. However, this had a beneficial effect on Harry and Ron's study habits; since Harry was seldom
found anywhere without Hermione, and once the cleaning and redecorating was done she went right
back to finishing her summer homework, that's where Harry and Ron wound up. Ron was occasionally
heard to grumble that all this studying couldn't possibly be healthy, but he also managed to get his
homework done as well. The three of them had managed to mend their friendship, and things had gone
back to the way they were before the beginning of the summer. The three of them seemed to be quite
happy, which is why Hermione's response one afternoon shortly before Harry's birthday was
completely unexpected.

The three of them were sitting in the library. Harry and Ron were playing a game of Wizard Chess, while
Hermione was curled up in a chair reading some obscure tome she'd found in Grimmauld Place's library.

“What do you want for your birthday, Harry?” she asked, looking up from her book.

“What?” he said absently, concentrating as Ron moved his knight to fork a bishop and rook.

“What do you want for your birthday?”

“I don't know,” he said, as he moved his rook out of danger, only to frown as Ron captured Harry's bishop
and announced, “Check.”

“Well, what do you think you want?” she insisted.

“Hermione, can you wait until I've finished this game? I'm losing here.”

He heard her sniff, apparently insulted, and he looked up to see her put the book down and stomp out of the
room. A moment later he heard their bedroom door slam shut. He looked at Ron and raised an eyebrow.

“You'd better go find out what's wrong, mate.” said Ron, “we can leave this game set up until later.” He
grinned at Harry, “After watching you two, I am SO glad I don't have a girlfriend. Too much trouble.”

“You don't know the half of it,” said Harry. He got up and walked out of the room and down the hall to
the bedroom. He placed his ear against the door for a moment and was certain he heard crying coming
from inside.

He knocked on the door, “'Mione?”

“Go away,” was the response.

“I don't think so, sweetheart.” He tried the door but found it locked. “You want to open this door, or shall I?”

There was no answer, but after a moment, he heard the lock click open. He opened the door and found
Hermione huddled on their bed crying. He shut the door behind him, and said, “'Mione, what's wrong?”

Her response was totally unexpected and left him dumbfounded. “You don't love me anymore!”

Harry stood there a moment just staring at her. “Hermione, what do you mean I don't love you?” He
mentally checked that the bond was still up—it was and was broadcasting all of Hermione's grief and
sadness to him. “'Mione, Can't you feel the bond?” He tried broadcasting love to her through it.

“Oh, fine,” she cried, “The bond's okay, therefore we must be okay.” She looked up at him angrily.
“Merlin, you are so dense sometimes! You spend just about all of your time with Ron, even though I'm
in the same room with you! I would appreciate it if you would spend some time with me as well!”

“But what about at nighttime?” he asked, truly confused.

“Oh yes, nighttime,” she snarled. “You know, Harry, it's not any easier for me waiting than it is for you.
I feel your arousal sometimes at night, you know, and that...” she paused for a moment and looked away,
“but there's nothing we can do about that, and I've accepted it.” She looked back at him fiercely and said,
“However, it would be a lot easier for me if you would just pay some attention to me once in a while!
Conjure up some flowers; set it up so we eat dinner together, just the two of us, things like that!”

Harry slumped down on the edge of the bed. “You're really angry about this, aren't you?” he asked quietly,
embarrassed at himself because he knew she was right. He had been spending too much time with Ron
lately. At first, he told himself that it was because he was trying to rebuild his friendship with Ron, but then,
after it was obvious that the rift had been healed—if there had ever been one, he thought—he was still
spending time with Ron.

“I'm sorry, 'Mione,” he said with a sigh, “You're right. I have been spending a lot of time with Ron. It's
comfortable. It's the way things used to be...” He noticed her starting to tear up again and quickly said,
“Don't take that the wrong way. I don't want you to go away. I love you.” He sighed, “It's just that the
way the three of us were became a habit for me. Ron and I would be playing chess or goofing off, and
you'd be sitting in a corner reading. I forgot that things had changed.” He took her hand in his. “I'm really,
really sorry.” He looked at her across the tops of his glasses with this puppy-dog expression that soon
had her giggling.

“Oh Harry,” she sighed as she sat up and gave him a hug. “You are such a dolt some times.” She let him
go and said, “You can go away now. I have to order your birthday present, and since you never told me
what you wanted, it's my choice,” she said with an evil grin.

He groaned. “Knowing you, it's going to be something imminently practical and boring. Probably a quill
that tells me when I misspell a word.”

She laughed. “It's not like you couldn't use one. Go on, get out of here.” She pushed him towards the door.

“Okay, okay, I'm going. However, don't complain that I'm not spending enough time with you when it's you
pushing me out the door,” he said teasingly.

“Oh, I still will,” she said with a mischievous grin. “Please tell Ginny to come up here if you see her,” she added.

“Why?” he asked as he went out the door, “so you can gossip about how badly you're treated?”

“Harry,” replied Hermione dangerously but with humor in her eyes.

“I'm leaving.”

The door slammed behind him.

-*~*~*~*~*-

Harry went downstairs to the kitchen, where he found Mrs. Weasley preparing dinner.

“Hi Harry,” she said, “You two get everything sorted out?”

“How did you know?” he asked, amazed, ”Is it written on my forehead or something?”

“Actually, dear, it's the bond's doing. You and Hermione have accepted this house as your home, and the bond
ensures harmony by creating a happy atmosphere in the house. You must have noticed how happy everyone's
been lately. Anyway, when you two have a disagreement, the atmosphere in the house changes. You may not
notice it, but we do.”

"Oh,” he said. “Do you think it would be possible for Hermione and I to eat dinner privately tonight, maybe in
that small room behind where the Order meets all the time?”

“She was feeling that you don't pay enough attention to her, wasn't she?” asked Mrs. Weasley with a grin.

“Yeah,” he said ashamedly.

“Harry, it takes time to learn all the in's and out's of a relationship. Merlin knows, you certainly didn't grow up
seeing a good relationship, so it's normal to not know what to do,” she replied. “You're a good boy, Harry, and
I know you do your best.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Weasley,” he said, embarrassed.

“So, you'd better go get that room ready for her tonight. Is there a table in there? You'll need one if there isn't. Take
the one out of the Order's meeting room, they aren't meeting tonight.”

“Okay,” he said, and started to head out of the kitchen.

“Harry,” she said.

“Yes,” he said, stopping.

“If you do it all yourself, she'll be a lot more impressed. I'll keep Ron busy if needed.”

“Oh, right,” he said, “By the way, where's Ginny? Hermione wanted to see her.”

“Ginny!” yelled Mrs. Weasley.

“Yes, mum,” came Ginny's answer from the living room.

“Hermione wanted to talk to you. She's up in her room.”

“Okay!”

They heard her thump up the stairs.

“Well, Harry, you'd better go get started on that room.”

“Yes, ma'am,” he said. He left the kitchen and went down the hall to the room.

He opened the door and discovered that this was probably the only room in the house that had not received the
benefit of Hermione's sudden interest in interior decorating.

It was not a particularly large room; it was rectangular in shape and more long than wide as Harry viewed it from
the doorway. He set to with a will, and made short work of the dust and cobwebs with a few scourgify charms.
Most of the room’s contents seemed to have been removed at some point so he didn't have to try to deal with any
of the potentially dangerous objects that seemed to have accumulated in the Black house.

He was trying to figure out the best way to squeeze the table from the meeting room into this room, when, with a bang,
Dobby appeared in the room.

“Greetings, Master Harry Potter, sir!” he said cheerfully, “Dobby is here to help!”

“Hi Dobby,” said Harry, “How did you know I needed help?”

“Headmaster Dumbledore told me, Master Harry Potter, sir! What is Master Harry Potter trying to do?”

“Dumbledore didn't tell you?”

Dobby suddenly frowned and started to beat his head against the wall. “Oh, Dobby is bad house elf. Dobby didn't wait
to hear what Master Harry Potter needed help with!”

“Dobby, stop!” said Harry. “It's alright. I certainly can tell you what I'm trying to do.”

“What is Master Harry Potter doing?”

“I want to give Hermione a really special dinner tonight, just the two of us.”

“What kind of dinner, Master Harry Potter, sir?”

“Hmm,” said Harry, “I was thinking Italian.”

“Dobby can do Italian, Master Harry Potter, sir!” said the house elf excitedly.

He snapped his fingers, and suddenly the room looked like an outdoor Italian cafe, or what Harry suspected was an
outdoor Italian cafe, having never been to one before.

There was a small, round table and two wicker chairs in the center of the room. The table was covered with a white
tablecloth. In the center of the table was a vase with a single red rose, and to either side of the vase were lit candles.
The ceiling of the room had vanished and had been replaced with a representation of the night sky, with a much larger
than normal full moon hanging low on the horizon providing additional light.

One wall of the room had transformed into a backdrop representation of a storefront, and the other long wall had
transformed into what looked to be view of a river, with the moon reflected in it. The two shorter walls had vanished,
although the doorway remained, giving the rather unusual look of a doorway in the middle of the street. And playing in
the background was quiet, romantic music.

Harry stood there, simply dumbfounded.

“Does Master Harry like it?” asked Dobby anxiously.

Harry finally found his voice. “Dobby, it's perfect! How did you do it?”

“Dobby is a house elf, Master Harry, sir, even if Dobby wants paying. But Master Harry doesn't have to pay Dobby for
this, Master Harry is a friend.”

Harry smiled. “Dobby, thank you.”

Dobby looked at Harry, “If Master Harry will take Dobby's advice, Master Harry should go change his robes, they're
kind of dirty.”

Harry laughed. “Thanks, Dobby.” He turned to leave just as Mrs. Weasley came in the door.

“Harry, are you about ready in here...” Her voice trailed off in amazement as she saw the room.

“Harry...how?”

“Dobby helped, Mistress Weasley,” piped up the house elf from where he was standing behind Harry.

Molly Weasley smiled.

“Do you think she'll like it, Mrs. Weasley?” asked Harry, somewhat anxiously, “I mean, I didn't do all of it myself.
Heck, I wouldn't know where to begin...”

“Harry, if this doesn't make her think that you love her, nothing will.” answered Molly. “Now go up and change.
I had Ginny make sure that Hermione was wearing something nice tonight as well. We came up with the excuse
that we're having important dinner guests, so don't be surprised if you see Ginny and Ron dressed up as well.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Weasley.”

He left the room, barely aware that Mrs. Weasley was following behind him. She closed the door. He went up
the stairs to the room he shared with Hermione, and found it empty. She must be getting dressed in Ginny's room,
he thought. He stripped off his dirty robes, and pulled his dress robes out of his chest. He put them on, and then
stopped in front of the mirror. He brushed at his hair with his hands, trying to make it resemble something other
than his trademark mess.

“Here, let me,” came Hermione's soft voice behind him. She had a hairbrush in her hand, and she brushed his hair
until it actually looked neat, but still hid his scar behind his bangs.

He turned to look at her, and felt his jaw drop. She was wearing gorgeous emerald green dress robes with matching
earrings. The color of the robes seemed to accent her brown eyes in a way that Harry had never seen before, and
the deep vee of the neckline accentuated her breasts in a way that Harry found rather arousing. Her hair had been
brushed until it hung neatly around her, framing her face in a very attractive way.

Harry leaned over and gave her a kiss. “You look magnificent tonight,” he said.

“Thank you, Harry,” she said shyly. “I wonder who these guests are that I have to dress up so much for?” she asked.

“I don't know,” answered Harry.

She stepped back and looked at him critically. “You look pretty good yourself, you know.”

He smiled. “Shall we go down, Ms. Granger?” he asked, offering her his arm.

“I would love to, Mr. Potter,” she returned, placing her arm in his.

They left the room and walked downstairs where they were greeted by Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Granger, who had just
come home from work and whom Molly had filled in on what was happening.

“You look marvelous, Harry” said Mrs. Weasley, while Mrs. Granger fussed over her daughter.

“Who are the guests tonight, Mrs. Weasley?” asked Hermione.

“You'll see, dear,” she answered. “Harry, would you like to show her?”

Harry took Hermione's arm in his again, and led her down the hall towards the room.

“Harry, this isn't the way to the kitchen. What's going on?” asked Hermione exasperatedly. “Why do I get the feeling you
aren't telling me the truth about something?”

“Because, my dear,” he answered as he opened the door of the room, and escorted her inside, “I'm not.”

Hermione gasped in astonishment. “Harry, how?”

At that moment, Dobby, dressed as a waiter, came up to them. “Would Sir and Madam like to be seated?”

“Dobby?” asked Hermione in astonishment, “what are you doing?”

“Dobby is helping Master Harry give his bondmate a date,” he answered with a big smile, and then dropped back
into character as their waiter.

“This way, sir and madam,” he said.

Harry escorted Hermione over to the table, pulled out a chair for her, and waited while she seated herself. He then
went around to the other side of the table and seated himself.

“Menu, Madam?” inquired Dobby as he offered one to Hermione. Harry stifled a giggle. He watched as Hermione accepted
the menu from Dobby, and then looked around the setting.

“Harry, how did you do this?” she asked, amazed.

“Menu, sir?” asked Dobby as he offered one to Harry.

“Thank you, Dobby,” he said as he took the menu from the house elf.

“Actually, 'Mione, it was Dobby who did all this. I just mentioned that I wanted Italian, and, well, here it is.”

“Harry, it's lovely,” she said.

“Would sir or madam like something to drink,” asked Dobby.

“'Mione?” inquired Harry.

“Just water for me, Dobby,” she said.

Dobby seemed to turn his nose up at the idea. “If Dobby may, ma'am, he would recommend the 1992 Les Clos
Grand Cru Chablis for the appetizer.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Harry. “Wine?”

He shrugged. “Why not? This is our night, after all.” He reached across the table and took her hand in his as he
told Dobby, “The lady and I will both have a glass.”

“Very good, sir,” answered Dobby, and two wine glasses filled with a white wine appeared on the table.
“Would sir or madam like an appetizer?”

Harry looked down at his menu as Hermione did the same. “See anything, sweetheart?” he asked.

“How about the bruschetta?” she asked. “It's not fancy, but I'm not in the mood to try anything else.”

“That works for me,” said Harry. He turned to Dobby. “We'll have the bruschetta.”

Dobby nodded, and the garlic bread appeared on the table. “Dobby will return to get your main
course selections in a little while. Enjoy your meal.” He disappeared.

Neither Harry nor Hermione said anything for a moment. Harry took a sip of his wine, and then took a piece of
the bruschetta, which he bit into, letting the garlic and butter work their magic on his tongue.

Hermione took a sip of wine, and then looked at Harry. “This...this is simply wonderful. I'm sorry I got so upset
at you this afternoon.”

“Don't be,” he returned. “If you hadn't said anything, I don't think I would have realized that there was anything
wrong. You were right, you know. I am incredibly dense sometimes.”

She smiled and gave a small laugh. “Oh, Harry,” she said fondly. She looked around at the décor and shook
her head. “This is all so amazing. I forget what house elves are capable of sometimes.”

“I was pretty amazed myself,” said Harry. “Dobby just snapped his fingers and 'poof' all this was here.”

“Poof?” she inquired with a small giggle.

“Yeah, poof,” he said.

They finished their appetizer in silence, content to merely watch each other. Shortly after they had finished, Dobby
reappeared and took their main course requests. Harry decided to have the veal tortellini alla panna, while Hermione
went with spaghetti with meat sauce. “Not very original,” she said, “but I'm not feeling adventurous tonight.” Dobby
presented Harry with another glass of the white wine, while he filled Hermione's glass with a medium red.

They ate their main dishes in a comfortable silence punctuated with small talk, and before long Dobby was bringing
dessert to the table, Italian ice cream for both of them.

"Harry," said Hermione shyly.

"Yes, love?"

"Thank you for tonight. This has been absolutely wonderful."

He smiled across the table at her.

-*~*~*~*~*-

When they came out of their private little paradise, the house was quiet. Harry looked at the clock above the mantle,
which read, "You really should be in bed." Mrs. Weasley came shuffling out of the kitchen with a cup of tea in her hand.
"Oh, there you are!" she said brightly. "How was it, dear?" she asked Hermione.

Hermione blushed. "It was wonderful, Mrs. Weasley. Thank you."

"Oh, don't thank me, dear. It was all Harry's idea, although I might have talked to Dumbledore about sending Dobby...”
Her eyes twinkled. "Now you two run along to bed, it's very late."

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley," they chorused, and ran up the stairs.

Molly sighed and went back into the kitchen, where Elizabeth Granger was sitting at the table, staring morosely into the
cup of tea in front of her. She looked up when Molly entered the room. "So how are they?"

Molly smiled. "As much in love as ever, if not a little bit more so after tonight."

Elizabeth sighed. "And this doesn't strike you as slightly strange?"

"What do you mean?" asked Molly, taking a seat at the table, and freshening her cup of tea from the pot.

"Hermione's only sixteen, and Harry's even younger." She frowned. "Maybe I'm just being too Mugglish--is that even a
word? Is this sort of thing normal in your world and I'm just over-reacting? Or am I being an overprotective mother? This
summer has been the most bizarre one of my life." She sighed and took a sip of tea.

Molly reflected that this was the reason that most Muggles had their memories adjusted so they didn't remember their
encounters with the Wizarding World. It wasn't to be cruel; it was so they wouldn't have to deal with these sorts of
concerns. But circumstances were definitely different in this case.

Molly replied, "The magical world does do things a little bit differently; it isn't all that unusual for people to get married
at a younger age then they do in your world." She took a sip of tea, and said reflectively, "Harry and Hermione are a
little bit younger than average, but then nothing they do is really normal. If anybody had told me five years ago that those
children, including my Ron, were going to face He Who Must Not Be Named as many times as they have, and walk
away, I would have laughed in their face."

"Why do you call this Voldemort person that?" asked Elizabeth curiously.

Molly laughed. "I don't really know...not anymore...it's an ingrained habit, I suppose. Not mentioning his name supposedly
keeps his attention off of you, but I guess that isn't really working anymore."

"Yeah," replied Elizabeth. She looked down at her cup. "So, how did this war come about anyway?"

Molly sighed. "The reasons for it are both thousands of years old, and as current as last week. Sad to say, the major
bone of contention is how we should treat Muggles."

"Oh?"

"Yes," said Molly, "He Who...Voldemort, leads the faction that believes that Muggles are little better than vermin, and
should be treated as such. In particular, they hate the idea of Muggles marrying into Wizarding families and producing
children. They believe it pollutes the 'pure' blood of the Wizarding families. They call them 'mudbloods'."

"That sounds horrifyingly familiar," said Elizabeth.

"Yes, a bit like that Bitler character, isn't it?"

"It was Hitler, but yes."

"However, not all Wizarding families feel that way. We don't, and Harry's family certainly didn't. Harry's mother came
from a Muggle family, after all."

Elizabeth looked up at Molly and noticed how tired she looked. "You should be asleep, you look done in."

Molly looked down at her tea. "I haven't been sleeping well lately," she said. "Nightmares. Too many family members
involved in this damn mess. Of my seven children, two are actively fighting the war, one thinks his father is mad for
believing Dumbledore, and the others always seem to be involved whether I want them to or not."

She looked at Elizabeth apologetically, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be dumping this on you. You lost your house and everything
you had, and then wound having to live among people I'm sure you find completely strange. It's just that it's been a while
since I had a sympathetic female ear to talk to."

Elizabeth smiled back sympathetically. "It's alright. If the truth were known, I haven't been sleeping very well either. Between
losing the house, and everything that's happened with Hermione, well...actually it's nice having some one to talk to that I can
be completely open with. My other friends would definitely not understand about Hermione's unique abilities."

"There is that," said Molly wryly.

"And Bob, I can talk to him, but he's just so...male...sometimes. He just doesn't get it. He figures we're safe here, and we can
still go be dentists during the day, and he likes Harry, and…” Elizabeth sighed. "I'd just like my life back, you know? I'd like to
be able to go to work without having to have Aurors watching me all day, and have my own house. Not that I'm unappreciative
of Harry letting us live here, but it isn't my house."

She paused for a moment, and then said, "What really bothers me is that it's starting to feel like my daughter and her husband's
house, and I just wasn't prepared to become a mother-in-law at my age. I figured I'd have a few more years."

"Elizabeth, Harry intends nothing but the best for your daughter."

Elizabeth sighed. "I know that, I see how they are with each other. And in fact, if all they had to face was the normal ups and
downs of married life, I'd give them my blessing and be done with it—it’s not like Harry can't take care of her." She looked
at Molly, "That's part of what worries me, oddly enough, what that boy has had to go through to be as mature as he is at
almost sixteen..."

Molly nodded. "I know what you mean. We wanted to give Harry as normal a childhood as possible, but events have just
conspired against us."

Elizabeth yawned and looked at her watch. “Yeesh, 2 a.m. I've got to try and get some sleep tonight. I do have to go to work
tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow is Harry's birthday, so we'll be having a party at dinner,” answered Molly.

“Should Bob and I get him a gift?”

“I think you already have,” answered Molly, “The only one he really wants.”

“Hermione.”

Molly nodded.

Chapter Eight – Harry's Birthday

When Harry awoke the next morning; it was to the comforting feeling of Hermione spooned up against him. As was his usual practice, he turned around and kissed her nose, which caused her to wrinkle it in a manner he found most attractive, before she opened her eyes. He was feeling a little unsettled this morning; he'd had the most vividly erotic dream involving Hermione and a quiet beach the previous night.

He wondered if she might not have had the same dream, when she opened her eyes, saw him inches away from her, and blushed bright red. "Hi," she squeaked.

"Hey," he said softly. "Did you sleep well?"

She blushed harder.

"Oh," he said, nodding, and said teasingly, "Dreamed about a beach, did you?" He leaned over and kissed her on the lips. For a moment, she kissed him passionately, and then murmured, "We can't do this." She pulled away from him and jumped out of bed, breathing heavily. He just laid there looking at her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I was just afraid that..."

"I know," he answered, smiling, "It's alright."

At that moment their door burst open and Ron burst into the room, "Happy Birthday, mate!" He noticed Hermione's heavy breathing, and Harry's smile and raised an eyebrow. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Nah, mate," said Harry. "Actually, you may have just saved us from ourselves," he said with a smile.

Hermione smiled at Harry.

"You're both nutters," said Ron, "Absolutely barking mad."

"I'm going to go get dressed, birthday boy," said Hermione with a happy grin as she leaned over and gave Harry a quick peck on the cheek.

"Okay, love," he returned.

Ron rolled his eyes as Hermione slipped out of the room.

-*~*~*~*~*-

A few minutes later, the three of them were clattering downstairs to breakfast. They found Mr. And Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and the twins sitting around the table.

"Happy Birthday, Harry!" they all chorused.

Harry smiled, "Thanks, guys."

Arthur Weasley cleared his throat. "Harry, I've got a bit of a surprise for all of you. I know how cooped up feeling you've been here in the house, so I've arranged with Dumbledore and few other Order members for you guys to go fly your brooms around the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch today. I think we can keep you safe there."

"Wow," said Harry, "Thanks, Mr. Weasley!" He looked at Hermione, "Think I might get you on a broom today?"

She looked pensive. "I'll...I'll think about it, Harry. I promise."

Harry smiled. "Okay, sweetheart. If you don't want to, that's okay too."

She smiled back at him.

They sat down to a typical huge Weasley breakfast. Harry stuffed himself on bacon and scrambled eggs, and finished it off with kippers and toast. Almost as soon as he and Ron were done eating, they raced upstairs to get their brooms. They came back down to find everyone else waiting in the living room.

"Ready, Harry?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"Yes, sir," he replied, moving over next to Hermione to give her a hug. Fred and George were watching this avidly, and then one of them said in falsetto voice, "Wrong hand, Harry." They both broke into laughter.

Hermione blushed, but Harry was too excited about getting to leave the house to let it bother him, he just pulled her tighter to him, and then kissed her on the lips. This caused a series of gagging noises to come from Ron and the twins until Molly said, "Will you three knock it off, right now!"

"All right then," said Mr. Weasley after the noises stopped and Harry and Hermione had separated. "We'll be flooing directly to the Great Hall at Hogwarts." He pointed to a bowl on the mantle, "Floo powder's in there. Harry, Hermione, you can go first."

Harry gallantly bowed to Hermione, "After you, my love."

She giggled, took some floo powder, shouted "Hogwarts!" and vanished in a burst of green smoke. Harry followed after her.

When he stepped out into the Great Hall, he saw Hermione talking to Remus Lupin and Professor Dumbledore. "Hey, Harry, guess what?" she said happily.

"What, sweetheart?"

"Professor Lupin is going to be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts again this year."

"Really?" said Harry, breaking into a smile," That's great news, Remus."

Remus smiled, cleared his throat, and said with fake pompousness, "That's Professor Lupin to you, Mr. Potter."

"Yes, sir, Professor Lupin, sir," said Harry jokingly.

Remus laughed. "Only in class, Harry, and that goes for you too, Hermione."

"Oh, really, I couldn't," she said shyly.

Ron came out of the fireplace next. "You ready to go flying, Harry?"

"Sure, Ron, " said Harry, "Say hello to our new old Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Lupin."

"All right!" said Ron, "Maybe we'll finally get to learn something this year."

"You mean you found Professor Umbridge's teaching methods less than educational?" inquired Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye.

Ron just rolled his eyes.

"Harry," said Remus, "I'll want to talk to you at some point before classes start so we can figure out what you covered in the D.A., so that I don't rehash old ground for you older students." Harry nodded. "Also, Professor Dumbledore has informed me that he has no intention of disbanding the D.A., but instead thinks that it needs a faculty adviser, namely me."

"Good," said Harry, "We could've really used your help last year."

"Harry," said Dumbledore, "Given what the Defense Association managed to accomplish in the Department of Mysteries last year, you did quite well on your own."

Harry frowned, "I just wish we could've accomplished more."

Remus frowned. "Harry..."

Harry held up a hand to stop him, while Hermione took his other and squeezed it. "Remus, it's all right. It doesn't hurt as much as it used to." He smiled at Hermione. "Someone keeps reminding me that it's okay to move on."

Remus nodded.

Harry turned to Dumbledore. "Professor, I've been meaning to tell you this for awhile now, but Taliesin sends his regards."

"Does he now?" inquired Dumbledore with a smile, "Did you find his wares to your taste?"

Harry held up Hermione's hand with the ring and let Dumbledore see it. "Ah, that's the ring that saved Ms. Granger's life. I really should have recognized his craftsmanship earlier."

"Professor, he mentioned something about a debt to you and my father. Can you tell me anything about that?" asked Harry curiously.

"That is a tale for another time, Harry. Go have fun with your friends. I dare say Mr. Weasley's about ready to fly off without you." He indicated a rather impatient looking Ron.

"Harry, we invited a few other people to your party," said Ginny coming up to stand next to Hermione, "I hope you don't mind."

"Who'd you invite?" asked Harry.

"Neville and Luna," answered Ginny.

"You invited Looney Lovegood?" asked Ron, "Why?"

"Because I for one like her company!" snapped Ginny.

"Well did you stop to think if maybe Harry might want her around? It is his birthday?" asked Ron.

"Ron," said Harry, "drop it, mate. Luna's not so bad."

"Oh?" inquired Hermione with a dangerous glint in her eye.

"Whoa," said Harry, holding up his hands in surrender, "Let's not go there. I love you, Ms. Granger, and no one else." He took her in his arms and kissed her deeply, figuring that if her mouth was blocked, she couldn't say anything.

It was at that moment that Neville and Luna came out of the fireplace, and Harry could see the look of astonishment on Neville's face over Hermione's shoulder. As they came up for air, Harry could hear Neville asking Ron, "How long's that been going on?"

"All bloody summer, Neville," was the answer. "They're bleeding bonded already, if you can believe it."

"Mr. Weasley, please watch your language, and try not to blurt out everything all at once." said Dumbledore, "Their bond, regardless of who already knows about it, should stay somewhat of a secret, please. Mr. Longbottom and Ms. Lovegood, please keep that tidbit of information to yourselves, if you would."

Neville nodded, and then walked over to Harry. "Congratulations, Harry," he said, offering his hand.

Harry shook it. "Thanks, Neville. How's your summer been so far?"

"Not nearly as interesting as yours, it sounds like. Got a new plant." He sighed sadly, "Visited my parents. Pretty much the same old summer."

Harry smiled. "There are parts of my summer I wish hadn't been so exciting." He glanced at Hermione, and then hugged her. "This is one part I don't want to change, but I could have really done without being shot."

"Shot?" asked Neville, "you mean with a Muggle gun?"

"Yes," answered Harry, "Twice. I almost died. If it hadn't been for Hermione here, well..."

"Wow."

"Are...are your parents any better?" asked Hermione shyly.

Neville sighed sadly. "No, not really."

"Are we going to go flying?" asked Ron, his patience stretched to the breaking point.

"Sure, Ron," said Harry. "Is that okay, professor?"

"Go," said Remus, "Have fun."

-*~*~*~*~*-

The eight of them made their way out of the Great Hall, out the main doors of Hogwarts, and into the beautiful sunshine outside. The five boys were walking ahead of the three girls, as they were in a hurry to get to the pitch, Ron and Harry especially so. The girls were trailing along behind, and Hermione reflected to herself that she'd better get used to Harry acting like this where Quidditch was involved.

"So, Hermione," said Luna, "You and Harry. I knew that was going to happen last year."

"Oh?" inquired Hermione. "Did a crumple-horned snorkack tell you?"

Luna looked at her superciliously. "Hermione, everyone knows that crumple-horned snorkack's can't talk. No, it was just a feeling I had." She sighed, "I'm usually right about those feelings, you know." She stared dreamily at the back of Ron's head where he was walking next to Harry. "Yes, I'm usually right about those feelings."

Hermione raised an eyebrow and looked over at Ginny, who was looking back at her with an equally strange look; they burst into giggles.

"You may laugh," said Luna, "But you'll see that I'm right." She looked at Hermione, "That's a beautiful ring you have there; did Harry get it for you?"

Hermione smiled. "Yes, from some place called Taliesin's, I believe."

"Oh, Taliesin's," said Luna in a knowing tone, "Yes, it would be from there, wouldn't it? Interesting man, Taliesin."

"Oh?" asked Hermione disbelievingly.

"If you don't believe in crumple-horned snorkacks," said Luna, "Then how are you going to believe that Taliesin is a contemporary of Merlin himself?"

"He's over a thousand years old?" said Hermione. "I'm sorry, but I definitely cannot believe that. No one has ever lived that long."

Luna just sighed.

They reached the pitch and the boys mounted their brooms while the girls sat in the stands and talked about anything but Taliesin and Luna's feelings about relationships.

After about a half-hour of zooming around on his broom, Harry flew down to Hermione. "So," he said, "You going to come flying with me?"

She looked away, suddenly ashamed. "Harry, I can't."

"Why not, love?"

"I...I'm afraid of heights, Harry," she said.

He hopped off his broom and swept her into a hug, while Ginny and Luna wandered a short distance away to give them some privacy.

"It's okay, sweetheart," he said, "You'll be flying with me, on my broom. I'll be holding on to you—I'd never let you fall."

"I don't know, Harry," she said worriedly. "What if something happens?"

Harry lifted her chin with his finger so that he could look into her eyes. "Hey, where's my strong girl that isn't afraid of anything? Remember our little discussion about listening to each other about when things are dangerous? Well, that goes for when things aren't dangerous either--and I'm telling you, this isn't dangerous. Trust me?"

She bit her lip. "I...I don't know, Harry." She looked away.

"Look, how about we just take a simple flight around the pitch? Nothing fancy, just you and me and the broom."

She looked back at him, and then at the Firebolt, and then took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. "I think I can handle that. But nothing fancy," she said seriously, "This is going to be hard enough as it is."

"Okay," he said. He mounted the broom and said, "Climb on behind me, and hold on tight." She climbed onto the broom behind Harry and clinched her arms around his middle, with her head lying between his shoulders.

"You okay back there?" he asked.

"Yes," she said nervously.

"Here we go," he said, "I'll take it nice and slow." They took off from the stands and commenced to lazily circle the pitch about ten feet above the ground.

After they'd completed one circuit of the pitch, Harry asked, "How you doing back there?"

Hermione sounded like she'd regained a little of her usual confidence. "This...this isn't so bad."

"You want to try by yourself?"

"No," she said, "I'm not quite ready for that yet."

Harry smiled. "Okay."

Ron flew up next to them. "What you guys doing?"

"I'm getting Hermione used to flying," said Harry.

"Used to flying? Why?"

"Ron, when was the last time you saw me on a broom?" asked Hermione, clutching Harry tightly.

"Uhh..." Ron suddenly looked puzzled, "Now that you mention it, I don't think I've seen you on a broom since first year."

"Right." She swallowed, and looked away. "I'm afraid of heights," she said softly.

"Oh." said Ron. He noticed Ginny and Luna flying up towards the twins and Neville; apparently they'd borrowed school brooms, and flew off to meet them. They soon had an impromptu game of Quidditch going, which Harry and Hermione watched while circling the pitch.

"Don't you want to be playing?" she asked.

"Sure," he answered, "But I also like spending time with you. Besides, there will plenty of time for Quidditch during the school year..." He frowned, "assuming they let me play again, anyway."

"I don't know why not," answered Hermione. "It's not like that Umbridge cow is here anymore, and you are the best Seeker Gryffindor's ever had."

"I hope you're right," he answered. "You want to try going a little bit higher?"

"Okay," she answered, and hugged him.

They continued to lazily circle the pitch until Harry could see Remus waving at them from the ground below. They flew down to meet him.

"Time to go, Harry," he said. "Did you have fun? I noticed you weren't playing Quidditch."

Harry smiled and hugged Hermione. "What we did was a little more important than a game I can play during the school year. I might actually have Hermione on a broom by herself before too long."

Remus laughed.

The rest of the group landed and they trooped off in a group back to the Great Hall, where they found the Headmaster waiting for them.

"Ms. Lovegood, I have spoken to your father, and Mr. Longbottom, your grandmother, and have obtained permission for the both of you to attend Harry's birthday party this evening." He frowned. "The place where Harry is currently living is a secret, and while this is not to imply a lack of trust in either of you, I do not wish to reveal the secret to you at this time. Therefore, each of you must floo there with someone who is already in on the secret."

"I'll take Neville," said Ginny quickly.

Fred and George snickered and then gave Ron a push. "Hey! What?"

"Ronald, would you be so kind?" inquired Luna.

"Um, yeah, sure," he said, flustered.

-*~*~*~*~*-

When they arrived back at Grimmauld Place, they were immediately sent upstairs to clean up. When the girls arrived in Ginny's room, the first thing that Hermione noticed was that Hedwig was sitting on the bed she normally slept in with a small package tied to her leg.

"Oh, good," said Hermione, "I was hoping I'd get an answer soon." She untied the package from Hedwig's leg and gave her an owl treat. "Thanks, Hedwig," she said.

She unwrapped the package and found that it was a letter wrapped around a ring box. She looked at the ring box for a moment, frowning. "What's this?" she muttered, "I told him I couldn't afford..."

She started to read the letter:

Dear Ms. Granger,

Please find enclosed the matching promise ring to your engagement ring.

Before you start to worry about payment, understand that in sending you this ring I am finally closing a debt that I have owed to Mr. Potter's father and Albus Dumbledore for a number of years now. I suppose I should explain about that debt now as Mr. Potter deserves to know.

Several years ago, James Potter intended on buying his engagement and wedding jewelry from me. Even then, I was the exclusive place to shop, and Albus had to make the arrangements for James, including pre-payment. I always demanded pre-payment in those days.

Unfortunately, in those days I also had a fascination with excessive drinking, and I chose to get monumentally drunk rather than complete the rings I had promised James Potter. Unfortunately, alcoholism and addiction are not strictly Muggle afflictions. Due to that, I also missed the appointment I had with him. I regret to say I was too embarrassed to show up.

I suspect James was rather disappointed with me, and he obtained his wedding jewelry elsewhere, and went on to marry. I kept intending to return his money to him, but at the time it simply proved easier to continually forget about it. Eventually, Albus came to me, shortly after the events at Godric's Hollow, and said a few things that caused me to re-evaluate my life. I quit drinking, and waited until such time as I could repay the debt that I owed James Potter.

So, in a sense, these rings were paid for a long time ago, Ms. Granger.

Thank you,

Taliesin

P.S. If you ever need further jewelry purchases, your owls will find me.

Hermione set the letter aside, and opened the ring box. She heard Ginny and Luna gasp in amazement. The ring distinctly matched her own, in that the design was similar, but it was definitely masculine. The ring itself was much wider, and the setting lacked the central diamond that her ring had. However, the four birthstones remained the same, but were much larger, and arranged in a cloverleaf pattern.

"Wow," she said. "Do you think he'll like it?" she asked the two other girls.

"I think," said Luna, "that he'd be a fool not to."

"Yeah," said Ginny, "I think he'll like it."

Hermione closed the ring box and set it on the bed. She changed out of her robes, and after some dithering, put on dress robes of a deep rose color. She brushed her hair out, and then got ready to go downstairs with Luna and Ginny, putting the ring box in a pocket of her robes. They went downstairs where they found the boys, the Grangers, Mr. Weasley, and Remus Lupin already seated at the kitchen table, Harry barely visible behind the stack of gifts in front of him. Mrs. Weasley was bustling around, placing plates of food on the table. Hermione sat down next to him.

"Happy Birthday, sweetheart" she said, and leaned over to kiss him.

"Thanks, love," he answered.

"So, Harry," said Mr. Granger, "Did you have a nice day today?"

"Yes, Mr. Granger," he said. "I finally got your daughter to fly on a broom today. I think it's the first time since first year."

"Oh, really?" he asked.

"Daddy," said Hermione, embarrassed, "You know how I am about heights."

"I thought all witches were supposed to have broomsticks," he said with a laugh, but then noticed that no one else was laughing. He shut up, embarrassed.

"That's alright, Mr. Granger," said Harry. "Brooms are somewhat like bicycles in the Muggle world, and not everyone rides one." He looked at Mrs. Weasley, "When was the last time you flew on a broom, Mrs. Weasley?"

"Oh, I don't know dear, a long time ago, I suppose. I really don't have time much anymore."

"So, mate", said Ron, "You going to open those?"

Harry laughed and started opening his gifts. The Weasley twins had given him a complete set of their products, including a jumbo sized Skiving Snackbox. "It'll last for two years, Harry," they said.

Ginny had given him another tin of broom polish. "I noticed you were getting low last year," was her comment.

Ron had given Harry a collection of Harry's favorite candies, including Berty Botts Every-Flavor Beans and a bunch of Chocolate Frogs.

Remus's gift was a bit more practical. It was a book entitled Defense Against The Dark Arts: A Practitioner's Guide by Constance Vigiliance. Harry raised an eyebrow. "This is a joke, right? Constance Vigiliance?"

Remus laughed. "Actually, no it's not. That's the sixth year text. Mad-Eye wrote it, believe it or not, and that was his pen-name."

Harry groaned and set it aside. He looked at Hermione, "So love, where's the quill?"

She grinned at him, "Actually, Harry, I got you..."

At that moment, the fireplace flared and Severus Snape entered the kitchen. "Potter!" he yelled. "How many times have you been told not to send owls from here? Do you think you're so special that you can just break the rules anytime you feel like it?"

Harry looked back astonished, and a little angry. "I haven't sent any owls, Professor!" he snapped.

"Then how do you explain a snowy owl flying here?" snapped Snape, "You're the only one with the blasted bird in residence here!"

Hermione made a small noise. Snape turned on her. "Yes, Ms. Granger? Going to tell me that your lover there was getting something for you?" he asked snidely.

"Now just a minute!" shouted Harry and Mr. Granger at the same time, jumping up from their chairs.

"Professor Snape," said Hermione in a small voice, "I forgot. I was getting Harry his birthday present."

"Oh, well that just makes it all better, now doesn't it?" shouted Snape, "You were getting your snogging partner his birthday present! You're lucky I was the only one who saw the blasted bird! If any of the Dark Lord's followers had seen it... He was so pleased after your last little visit!"

"Severus, please!" said Molly Weasley.

"Who are you to talk to my daughter that way?" shouted Mr. Granger, "And just how do you know what that Voldemort fellow thinks anyway?"

Severus looked at him. "A Muggle, here? Now I know Albus has lost his mind!" He whipped out his wand, and shouted "Obliviate!" at the same time that Harry shouted "Protego!" Snape's charm bounced off of Harry's shield, as Remus and Arthur Weasley both jumped out of their chairs, and Bob Granger turned pale.

"Severus, that was uncalled for!" shouted Arthur Weasley.

"You know the rules, Arthur! He's a Muggle!" snarled Snape.

"Excuse me," said Harry, breathing heavily.

"What, Potter?" snapped Snape, at the same time Arthur said, "Yes, Harry?"

"This is my house, correct?"

"Yes," said Arthur.

"Then I want Professor Snape to leave. Unless it's an Order meeting, he is no longer welcome here." Harry looked angrily at Snape, "That is my fiance's father. As far as I am concerned, he is family, and NO ONE, I don't care who they are, treats my family that way!"

Snape sniffed contemptuously, which caused Harry to get even angrier. He walked up until he was standing almost nose to nose with Snape. Inside he was quaking with fear, and he knew that he had just thrown any chance of being an Auror out the window, because Snape would never let him in Advanced Potions now, but this was Hermione that Snape was insulting, and Harry flatly refused to allow that any longer.

"Professor," Harry said almost conversationally, "You have been rude to me since that first day in potions. You have treated me with contempt and with no respect. For that matter, you have treated my friends the same way. That stops today!"

Harry cleared his throat and continued, while the rest of the people in the room looked on in stunned amazement. "I know some of the reasons why you've treated me this way, and out of respect for YOUR privacy, I won't go into them. However, I have this to say about that. I am not my father. However, you've never given me a chance to prove that. In addition, I would like to say that I am well aware of what you do for the Order, and believe it or not, I respect you for that, but that does not give you license to be rude."

Snape looked away for a moment and then turned back to Harry, eyes blazing, "Potter, you know nothing!"

"Really," said Harry. "Whatever you may think, I know this. You will not treat me, my family, or my friends with a lack of respect anymore, or we will have words." He paused. "You will apologize to Hermione and to her father, and then you will leave."

He stepped back from Snape, trying hard to keep from shaking. Snape looked stunned for a moment, and Harry could see a number of different emotions crossing his face. Finally, he turned to Hermione and said, "Ms. Granger, I am afraid that my emotions got the better of me. Please accept my apologies for the way that I spoke to you."

Hermione swallowed, stunned. "Umm, sure. Uh, Thank you, Professor Snape, apologies accepted."

Snape gave a slight bow and turned to Bob Granger. "Mr...Granger, is it?"

Bob nodded.

"My behavior towards you was unconscionable, and I humble beg your apology for my actions."

"Umm. Okay," replied Mr. Granger, "Just don't do it again."

Snape bowed again. He walked to the fireplace, took some floo powder from the pot, and turned a vicious glare on Harry. "Mr. Potter," was all he said though, and flooed away.

Harry let out a huge sigh and collapsed back into his chair. There was stunned silence in the room for a moment, and then one of the twins said, "Did you see the look on his face? Way to go, Harry! That showed the ugly git!" Neville, Ginny, and Luna were looking at Harry with stunned respect on their faces.

Ron said in amazement, "Cor, mate! Where'd that come from?"

"I don't really know," replied Harry, "I was just tired of him not showing anybody any respect." He sighed, "I'm never going to be an Auror now though, Snape will never let me in Advanced Potions now, regardless of what I got on my O.W.L.S."

"If I might ask," said Mr. Granger, "just what would that spell have done to me?"

"He wanted to make you forget what you had heard," said Harry.

"Why?"

Arthur Weasley held up a hand. "Harry, much as I disagree with Severus's actions, the fact is, the less they know, the less they are in danger."

Harry looked at him for a moment, sighed, and nodded. "Mr. Granger, I'm sorry, but I can't tell you."

Bob looked disgruntled for a moment, but then nodded. "Alright, Harry, from you, I'll accept that." He smiled, "And since you so obviously consider me family, why don't you just call me Bob?"

Harry smiled. "Okay, Bob."

"Harry," Hermione said.

"Yes, love?" he said, turning to her.

She brought the ring box out of her pocket. "Here's what all the fuss was about. I'm sorry I didn't have time to wrap it, but it arrived right before the party."

Harry took the ring box from her and opened it. "Wow!" he said, "Taliesin's?"

She nodded. "It's the promise ring counterpart to my engagement ring."

"Hermione Jane Granger," said her mother, "How did you afford that?"

"Actually, mum, it didn't cost me anything. There is a letter that came with it that explains why, but Harry should read it first because it involves his father," replied Hermione.

"Oh," said Harry, "The mysterious debt Taliesin mentioned when I got your ring."

"He explains it in the letter," said Hermione.

Harry removed the ring from the box and slid it onto his right ring finger. It fit perfectly. "Thanks love," he said, "it's fantastic." He gave her a kiss.

"Harry?" said Remus.

"Yes?"

"Just how long have you had that bottled up inside you? What you said to Severus?"

"Just about forever," said Harry, "I just couldn't take him insulting Hermione anymore, especially not in that way. That...that was just nasty."

Remus nodded sympathetically. "I'll speak to Albus about Advanced Potions. Maybe we can do something. By the way, what were your O.W.L. scores, anyway?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know. I haven't received mine yet."

Neville looked shocked. "I got mine a couple of days ago."

Arthur Weasley smacked his forehead. "I knew I'd forgotten to give you something." He went over to his briefcase and removed several envelopes. "Because you were here, the Ministry owls couldn't find you."

He handed an scroll to Harry, another to Hermione, and the third to Ron.

Harry looked at his with trepidation. He turned to Hermione. "You first."

She laughed and unrolled her letter. Her eyes got very round as she read her scores. "Oh, my, Harry, look! I got all O's!"

Harry blinked, stunned, and then gave her a big hug. "That's great! Not that we really would have expected anything else from you."

She smiled nervously.

Harry opened his and then gasped, "I don't believe it."

"Don't believe what, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"I got 'O's in Defense, and... in potions." He said, stunned.

"You're joking, Harry," said Ron.

"I'm not," he said, "it's right here. E's in everything else except Astronomy, Divination, and History of Magic. A's for Astronomy and History of Magic, and a fail for Divination. But then I expected that."

Ron opened his and scanned it rapidly, his face falling as he did so. Finally, he threw it down in disgust, looked at his mother, and ran out of the room.

Harry picked it up and looked at it. He could see the main problem; Ron had failed to obtain a single O in anything. He had E's in Charms, Defense, and Care of Magical Creatures, and A's in pretty much everything else except Divination, which he too had failed. Without a word, he handed it to Mrs. Weasley.

"Neville, Luna, Ginny, you want to go up to the library with us?" he asked, wanting to be out of the room when Mrs. Weasley dealt with Ron's grades.

"Sure, Harry," said Neville, as Luna nodded, and Ginny stood up. Together the five of them headed upstairs.

-*~*~*~*~*-

Author's Note: I'm not fond of author's notes, because I feel they break up the flow of the story. However, I would like to thank all of my reviewers so far. Fear not, Chapter Nine is on it's way, but RL is starting to interfere with my writing time and so it's going to take a little bit longer to get chapters out. As usual, I am always interested in constructive criticism, so feel free to provide that. Flames will be sprayed with a fire extinguisher and tossed in the circular file.

Chapter Nine - Conversations

As the group of them passed Ron's bedroom door, Harry said, "You guys go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute." He knocked on Ron's door as they went on down the hall.

"Go away!" shouted Ron.

"Ron, mate," said Harry, "What was wrong with those results?"

The door whipped open in front of him and Ron stared at him with incredulous disbelief written on his face. "What do you mean, what was wrong with those results? Harry, have you gone blind? I got five P's and four T's!" He was shouting. "I'm surprised I don't hear mum shouting up at me now!"

Harry looked at him strangely for a minute. "Ron, mate, that was not what I saw when I looked at the report. You didn't have any O's, true, but you definitely had more E's than A's. The only thing I remember you failing was Divination, but who cares about that?"

Ron looked at him puzzled, and then pushed past Harry and went downstairs, Harry following in his wake.

They went into the living room, where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were examining Ron's results with an odd look on their faces.

"Ron?" said Molly, "While I would have liked to see at least one O on here, these aren't the worst O.W.L. results I've ever seen." She gave a pointed look at the twins who were staring up at the ceiling and whistling.

"Can I see them again, mum?" asked Ron, and held out his hand for the report.

"Sure, dear." She handed him the results.

Ron unrolled it again and looked at. "See, Harry," he said, "Five P's and four T's."

"What?" said Molly, curiously.

Harry looked at the results, but only saw what he had seen earlier. "Sorry, mate," he answered, "I just don't see it."

Ron turned on the twins, who had just quietly stood up and were attempting to sneak out of the room. "Hold it you two!" he shouted. "Which one of you did it?"

"Why, Ronald," said one of the twins, "Whatever do you mean? Surely you don't think that we would stoop so low as to interfere with official Ministry communications, do you?"

"So both of you did it!" shouted Ron.

In arguing with Ron, the twins had failed to notice their mother coming up behind them until she had grabbed them both by their earlobes. "You two may own your own shop and be making good money," she said quietly but earnestly, "but I am still your mother!" She yanked lightly on their earlobes.

"Ow, mum!"

"Change it back."

"Yes, mum!" they both said.

She let go of their earlobes, and one of the twins held out his hand for the results. Ron handed them to him silently. The twin waved his wand over the scroll, "Finite Incantatem!"

Ron looked disgusted. "That's all it would've taken?"

The twin nodded, "We should've made you do it yourself."

Ron just growled in disgust and grabbed the results back, and he and Harry ran upstairs to join the others.

-*~*~*~*~*-

The day after next marked the arrival of their Hogwarts letters; these arrived via Dumbledore rather than standard owl post. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and Remus were all seated at the table eating breakfast. Neville and Luna had gone home the evening of the party, and the twins had decided that making themselves scarce would avoid the wrath of mum--they were at the shop.

The fireplace flared and Dumbledore stepped into the kitchen. "Good morning, everyone," he said. "I have your Hogwarts letters with me. Given the fuss a certain faculty member has made about owls, I thought it wise to bring them myself." He looked at Harry and Hermione, "Speaking of which, Harry and Hermione, if I might speak with the two of you alone?"

"Sure, Professor," said Harry, with a glance at Hermione, who nodded. Having finished their breakfasts, they both got up from the table.

"Where did you want to talk, Professor?" asked Harry.

"How about the marvelous room that Dobby created out of the spare room? I've only heard about it, and would like to see it."

"He hasn't changed it back yet?" asked Harry, who hadn't been back in the room since the night with Hermione.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "He says that he can't change it back."

"Oh," said Harry, "Well, that's actually good. I do plan on using it again."

The three of them walked out of the kitchen and back to the spare room. Harry opened the door and allowed Dumbledore and Hermione to enter, before following behind them.

Dobby came up to greet them. "Hello, Master Harry, sir! Headmaster! and Ms. Hermione!"

"Hi Dobby," said Harry, as Dumbledore looked around the room, obviously impressed. "Why aren't you back at Hogwarts?"

"Master Harry sir, Dobby lives here now. Headmaster said so."

Harry glanced at Dumbledore, who was busy inspecting the illusion of the waterfront view. He could have sworn he saw the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes increase.

"Oh," said Harry. "How come you haven't been helping Mrs. Weasley?"

Dobby's eyes got big. "Mistress Weasley told Dobby not to help! Mistress Weasley likes to do things herself. Mistress Weasley says that once she goes back to her own house, Dobby may help."

Harry smiled. "That's okay, Dobby."

"Harry," said Dumbledore, turning towards him and Hermione.

"Yes, Professor?"

"I really wish that you hadn't confronted Professor Snape yesterday." He held up a hand to forestall Harry's outraged objection. "Yes, Harry, I heard what happened. Arthur and Remus told me all about it." He smiled. "They were quite proud of you. And I agree that you were well justified in your response, given what happened. But the incident has created some unfortunate repercussions."

"Oh, right," snapped Harry, "So I should have just stood there and let him insult my fiance, and cast spells on her father without any reason whatsoever?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Harry, I will say it bluntly. I was unable to get him to agree to let you in Advanced Potions even with your O level O.W.L. That level only makes you eligible for consideration, it does not guarantee you a place in class. That is still left to the teacher's discretion."

Harry looked down at the floor. "I was afraid of that." He looked up, "Actually, I've been giving it some thought, Professor, and I'm no longer sure that an Auror is actually what I want to be." He glanced at Hermione, who was looking at him interestedly. "I haven't mentioned this to Hermione yet, either, so this will be new for both of you."

He continued, "You know, the whole time I've been at Hogwarts, I've been focused on one thing; defeating Voldemort. And to be honest, I haven't had time to think about anything beyond fighting Dark Wizards--until this summer." He looked fondly at Hermione. "Assuming that I come through the battle with Voldemort, and I'm not convinced I will, do I really want to make Hermione continue to worry about me when I'm out hunting Dark Wizards?"

Dumbledore looked at Harry with an unreadable expression in his eyes.

"I mean, I love her, and nothing interests me more than settling down some place quiet and just being Harry and Hermione--not Harry Potter, Savior of the Wizarding World, and wife--but just plain old Harry and Hermione Potter. I am so tired of the reactions I get, and after I defeat Voldemort, it's only going to get worse." He sighed, "What do you think, sweetheart?"

Hermione turned to look at him and smiled. "Harry, you can be anything you want. But I will say that I like the idea of you having a less dangerous job--I would like having you around for a number of years."

He smiled. "Unless Voldemort kills me, I'm not going anywhere."

She frowned. "I wish you'd stop saying that."

Harry took her into his arms and hugged her. "Look love, I'm not planning on dying, and I'm going to do my darndest to make sure that doesn't happen, but it's still a possibility." He let her go and stepped back.

Dumbledore interrupted, "You know, Harry, this will disappoint Professor McGonagall. She was absolutely determined to make sure you became an Auror. Have you given any thought as to what you would like to do?"

Harry smiled. "Teach. I got to thinking about how well I'd done with the D.A. and realized that I really enjoy doing what I was doing with them. Plus, it strikes me as a relatively low stress profession."

Dumbledore smiled. "Indeed, unless you have a Harry Potter to teach." He looked at Harry, "Assuming your N.E.W.T.S. are the same quality as your O.W.L.s, I'm sure something could be found for you at Hogwarts. Who knows, you might be the first Defense Against the Dark Arts professor to last more than one year."

Harry said, "You know, Hermione, I never asked what you wanted to do, once we leave Hogwarts."

She sighed. "I'm not really sure, Harry. I've thought about teaching, but I'd also like to go on and get a more advanced degree. Magical Research really interests me--finding new ways of casting spells, and new spell effects, and things like that."

"Where would you get a degree like that?" asked Harry.

"There are various places," answered Dumbledore, "but we can discuss that at another time." He cleared his throat, "Well, now that we have the Advanced Potions issue out of the way, there are a few other items. One; rather than taking the train this year, You, Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley, and Ms. Weasley will be flooing to Hogwarts." Dumbledore frowned. "We received some rather disturbing indications that Tom and his followers will attack the Hogwarts Express if you are on it."

"Are you sure he won't attack if I'm not on the train?" asked Harry.

"Severus says that he is particularly interested in targeting you, Ms. Granger, and Mr. Weasley. If he discovers that you are safely at Hogwarts, he most likely will not expend the resources such an attack would cost him. And we will have Aurors on the train."

Dumbledore smiled. "You see Harry, I told you at the end of last year that I would start telling you more, and I keep my promises."

"What else did you tell him last year?" asked Hermione. "I've been trying to get him to tell me all summer, and something always happens to prevent it."

Dumbledore looked at Harry, "You still haven't told her about it?"

"I've been meaning to, but like she said, something always happens."

"Told me about what?" asked a frustrated Hermione.

"There's a prophecy about me," said Harry. "That's what we were fighting over that day in the Department of Mysteries."

"But it was broken, wasn't it?"

"Only the record of it, Ms. Granger," said Dumbledore. "However, the memory of it is still quite strong in my mind. Considering that Sybil did make it in my presence."

"Professor Trelawney?" asked Hermione skeptically.

"Whatever your opinion of Divination and of Professor Trelawney's abilities, know that she occasionally does have a flash of the sight--in her case, it's just very rare," replied Dumbledore.

"What did this prophecy say?" asked Hermione.

"Basically it said that either I had to kill Voldemort or he had to kill me. 'Neither can live while both survive' I think is what it said," replied Harry. He paused and frowned, "I'd been obsessing over the fact that I actually have to kill someone in order for me to survive. That's why I was so down at the beginning of the summer."

"Well," said Hermione, "that does explain quite a bit." She hugged Harry. "We'll face this together, okay? We're much stronger together than apart."

Dumbledore said, "And that rather conveniently brings me to the last couple of things that I have to say. First, one of the things that you and Ms. Granger should start exploring Harry, is the idea of simultaneously casting the same spell. If done correctly, you can feed the spell with twice the available energy, and in some cases, even more than that, because of the strength of your bond. But it takes practice, and it isn't something that I can help you with, other than to give you a push in the right direction."

"The second thing I think you will particularly like. Wizarding tradition from centuries ago holds that bondmates may live together, and up until recently, bondmates had their own quarters at Hogwarts."

"Why don't they now?" asked Harry.

"Mostly because bonding seemed to fall by the wayside in the last thirty years or so. In the older tradition it was not that uncommon for seventh years to be married together, and sixth years to be bonded, but in the last thirty years or so, that practice has all but vanished. I suspect it was a revolt against feeling like you were expected to be married upon finishing school, which at one time, was very common."

"So, how does that affect us?" asked Hermione.

"Well, it allows you to live together," said Dumbledore. "I've had the house elves open up one of the old bonded couple apartments. You'll be able to access it through the portrait of Godric Gryffindor in the Gryffindor common room."

"Live together at school?" asked Harry incredulously.

"Yes," said Dumbledore, "Just as you have here. I suggest you continue to avoid physical intimacy together although Hogwarts would be the safest place I can think of...You have been avoiding it?" He inquired with a tilt of his head.

Harry and Hermione both blushed but nodded. "We've sort of decided to wait until we're married, Professor," said Harry.

"Good," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"One final thing, I've arranged for Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody to pick up your school supplies for all of you. Making a trip to Diagon Alley now would not be wise for any of you. Ever since your impromptu visit this summer, Tom has been pushing for your capture." Dumbledore smiled apologetically at Harry, "That is largely the reason Severus was so upset last evening. He knew what Voldemort was asking of his followers, and knew that the slightest hint of your existence would be followed up without question."

"Umm," said Harry, "That still didn't give him an excuse to be rude. Was anything ever found out about what happened with Uncle Vernon?"

Dumbledore's face darkened. "Apparently it was Lucius Malfoy, Harry. He has indeed escaped from Azkaban. As to how they circumvented the wards, I still have no answers. They had dissipated by the time I was able to go to Privet Drive."

Harry nodded. "So Malfoy managed to escape?"

"Yes. Now that the Dementors have joined Voldemort, they apparently broke Malfoy out at his direction. We can't trust that anyone will remain in Azkaban anymore."

"That's just wonderful," said Hermione sarcastically.

"Indeed," said Dumbledore. "Enjoy the last four weeks of summer. You'll be flooing to Hogwarts a day early."

"Thanks, Professor," said Harry.

-*~*~*~*~*-

Before they knew it, those four weeks were gone, and then they were hastily packing trunks; more out of habit than any real deadline needing to be met. It simply didn't feel like the end of the summer if they weren't frantically packing trunks.

Dinner the night before they were supposed to floo to Hogwarts was a buoyant affair.

"Well, Harry," said Mr. Granger, "You're going to take care of my Hermione, right?"

"Yes, sir," said Harry, with a loving glance at Hermione. She smiled back at him.

"Harry," said Mrs. Granger, "We'll be moving out once we get the insurance settlement. It looks like they're going to pay up--for some reason, they seem to think it was a natural gas explosion."

"Don't hurry on my account," said Harry, "I know Hermione and I would both feel safer with you here."

"Harry," said Mrs. Granger with a smile, "I know that. But this isn't our home; it's yours and Hermione's, and I feel like I'm interfering."

Harry shook his head, "You're not, you know."

Hermione said, "We will see you here at Christmas?"

Her father smiled, "Of course, sweetheart. Besides, even after we get the insurance money, it's going to take them a while to rebuild the house. I doubt we'll be moved back in before January."

"Arthur and I will continue to stay here with them, Hermione," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione.

"Molly, that isn't necessary," said Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth, I'm sorry, but two Muggles should not attempt to live in this house alone. You couldn't even get back in without magical assistance," said Molly apologetically.

"But what about your own home?" asked Elizabeth.

"My son Charlie is watching it for us."

"Charlie's back from Romania?" asked Ron, "How come he hasn't been by to see us?"

"He's been rather busy," answered Arthur Weasley.

"Order stuff?" asked Ron.

His father nodded.

"What was he doing in Romania?" asked Mr. Granger.

"Studying dragons, among other things," answered Ron.

"Dragons?" asked Mr. Granger, "They really exist?"

"Of course they do," said Ron, "There's all kinds; Hungarian Horntails and Hebridean Blacks, Common Welsh Greens, and Norwegian Ridgebacks." He frowned. "There's more, but I can't remember the rest."

Hermione shook her head in disgust. "Ron, that was one of the questions on our Care of Magical Creatures O.W.L. Name the ten species of dragons."

He snorted. "Well, since I have absolutely no doubt that you can do it, I won't ask. All 'O's, indeed."

"I'm not completely happy with you, Ron," said Mrs. Weasley warningly, "You could have at least gotten one 'O' on your own O.W.L.s"

Ron closed his mouth and glowered at the table.

"Harry?" said Arthur Weasley.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley?"

"Were you able to get into Advanced Potions? Remus and I spoke to Albus about what happened."

"I should think that he could get into Advanced Potions with a 'O' in the subject," said Mrs. Weasley.

Harry looked at Mrs. Weasley and smiled. "Unfortunately, Professor Snape didn't see it that way," he said. "'O' grade or not, he's not letting me in."

"As Headmaster Dumbledore explained, admission to the N.E.W.T. level classes is still at the discretion of the instructor. I suppose I could make a huge fuss--I do have an 'O' in potions, after all; but I'm not sure I want to be an Auror anymore."

"Why not, Harry?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

He looked at Hermione with a happy smile. "I've had a lot to think about this summer, and the future was part of it. I'm not sure that I want to put Hermione through the worry of me being an Auror; it's bad enough she has to worry about Voldemort."

Molly Weasley nodded. "Believe it or not, I can understand that," she said with a fond glance at her husband.

-*~*~*~*~*-

Later, after the children had finally gone up to bed, and the house had quieted down for the evening, except for Arthur and Bob indulging in their nightly game of Wizard Chess, Molly joined Elizabeth in the kitchen for their almost nightly ritual of talk over tea.

"Molly," said Elizabeth, as Mrs. Weasley heated the tea with a wave of her wand, and brought it over to the table. "Are you sure you're alright with staying here with us? We can always find somewhere else to stay--there's Bob's parents house."

"Elizabeth, it isn't a problem." Molly took a deep breath and looked at her with a serious expression. "Actually, that was something I needed to talk to you about. You see, we know that Voldemort knows about Harry and Hermione's bond. We can keep them safe at Hogwarts--the quarters that have been prepared for them there have been under preparation since Albus knew about the bond; they are as heavily shielded and warded as Albus and other Order members could make them. The children are incredibly vulnerable right now, and will be for the next year. Should anything happen to one of them, the other WILL die, and there isn't anything we can do about it. We aren't even certain why Hermione didn't die back in July, except that ring of Taliesin's had something to do with it."

Molly took a sip of tea. "Elizabeth, you and Bob are also a point of vulnerability for both Harry and Hermione. Knowing them as I do, if Voldemort got his hands on either or both of you, he would have the perfect bait for a trap. Harry couldn't not try to rescue you. That's just the kind of person he is."

Elizabeth looked away for a moment. "You're saying we need to stay here."

"I know this isn't easy for you. I doubt things have gotten any less strange for you even though you've been forced into knowing more about my world than you ever probably wanted to know."

"Bob seems to be having an easier time of it," said Elizabeth. "But then, he was always more of the dreamer than I was. I catch him sometimes, when he doesn't know I'm watching, and he'll be staring wistfully at some magical thing and I know he's just wishing that we could have those things too. We haven't really talked about it, but I know he'd love to be discussing...Quidditch, I think you call it...with Harry, just like he's always talking about football or cricket with his other friends."

Molly looked thoughtful for a moment. "Elizabeth, do you regret that your daughter is a witch?"

"No, of course not," was the reply. "She's never been happier."

"Say that Hermione was in all other respects the same, except that she wasn't a witch. Would you be jealous of her intelligence? Are you jealous of other people's intelligence? Somebody like that...Einstein, I think his name is...are you jealous of his abilities?"

"Well, no, of course not. Einstein was a genius; he was born that way."

"Exactly. So was your daughter. So was I. So was Harry. We all have talents that other people don't have. Being a witch or a wizard is truly just another talent, and not everybody can be one."

Elizabeth smiled. "I am being a little silly, aren't I?"

"No, I don't think you're being silly. It was for these reasons and others that the decision was made to separate the Wizarding World from the Muggle world so many years ago. Yes, many of us would like to help you with your problems magically, but we can't. For some of us, given that our lifespans are much longer than your own, the Salem Witch Trials in America are somewhat recent history."

"We Muggles haven't been the nicest people throughout the years, have we?" asked Elizabeth with a wry expression.

"No, you haven't. And to be honest, you scare us. You can destroy entire cities without a second thought, and that is something we can't defend against," said Molly.

"You don't have spells that could do something similar?"

"No," answered Molly, "Because if we did, Voldemort would have used them already. Killing several thousand Muggles just to kill Harry wouldn't bother him in the slightest."

Elizabeth nodded, and took a sip of tea. She looked at Molly and smiled. "Thank you for being so nice to us. Even if we are just silly Muggles."

Molly smiled. "I don't think you're a silly Muggle, Elizabeth. I think you are an intelligent woman thrown into a situation beyond your experience. And I don't think that having you and your husband here is a problem. I know Arthur hasn't had this much fun in years, and I really enjoy our talks--it's given me some insight into your world that I didn't realize I needed. The biggest problem with the separation of our two worlds is that we really don't understand each other."

Elizabeth nodded. "I can see that. I actually feel a little bit closer to Hermione now, because I understand a little more about the world she's entering. Oh, I know, I'll never be the one that she'll come to for magically related problems because I just can't understand them, and that does hurt a little--I understand she had to go to the school nurse when she started her monthlies because you even handle that differently. I feel less and less like her mother some days."

"Elizabeth, you've raised a wonderful child. Arthur and I have always enjoyed it when she came to visit. She's obviously very bright, and when you consider the things that she's chosen to face, also extremely strong. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"Thank you, Molly," said Elizabeth, "Coming from you, having raised as many as you have, that means a lot."

Molly looked pensive. "I can't say that I'm perfect, by any means. Percy...Have I told you about Percy?"

"No, who is Percy?"

"My third oldest son. He currently works at the Ministry of Magic as an aid to the current Minister, Cornelius Fudge."

Elizabeth smiled. "That must make you proud; having a son that high up in government."

Molly frowned. "It used to, until he chose the Minister over his own family." She swallowed. "He decided to believe that Dumbledore was trying to stage a revolt against Fudge with his talk of Voldemort's return, that Harry was either lying or mentally unstable, and that his own...his own father was an imbecile for listening to Dumbledore! Arthur and Percy don't speak to each other at all, even at work. Percy moved out, and has his own flat in London now. We haven't seen him in months." She blinked her eyes furiously.

"Oh, Molly, that's terrible," said Elizabeth sympathetically.

Molly nodded. "And...and the thing is, I can't even blame Percy for this. I always taught him that he should stick to his convictions; I guess he learned that lesson a little too well. No, I blame Voldemort, even for that. If he wasn't here, there never would have been the question."

Elizabeth nodded. "Voldemort is the definition of evil, isn't he? He corrupts merely by his presence, without any action on his part."

"That he definitely is," said Molly reflectively. She looked at Elizabeth. "So, have you talked to Hermione about her wedding yet?"

"No. I was kind of leaving that up to her." Elizabeth shook her head and looked down at her cup of tea. "I'm still trying to get used to the idea."

Molly patted her hand comfortingly.

"Well," said Elizabeth," We'd better go make sure those husbands of ours get some sleep tonight. I swear, if you let them, they'd play that silly game all night."

Molly laughed and they both got up from the table to go put their husbands to bed.

A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to post this. RL is really eating into my writing time, plus I had a bit of a block on this chapter. R & R Please! Hope you like it.

Chapter Ten - Hogwarts

The next morning after breakfast, since Harry and Ron had their trunks already packed, they snuck off to the library for a game of Wizard Chess. Hermione came in a little while later, and Harry could see her out of the corner of his eye going through the books on the shelves. The bond was relaying contentment and interest, so he concentrated on his game.

"Harry?" said Hermione, as he was contemplating a move.

"Yes, love?" he said absently.

"I could use your help here!" she said.

Harry looked up at her. "With what?"

"There are a bunch of books here that I want to take with me. Quite a few of them aren't in the Hogwarts library."

Harry looked at the stack of books that she had sitting in front of her and groaned.

"What do you need those for?" asked Ron.

"Well," she said, "A couple of them are about betrothal bonds, these two are potions references I haven't seen before, and the rest are various references about the subjects I'll be taking."

"Can't they wait until Ron and I've finished this game?"

"No, they can't," she said with a tone that Harry had come to recognize meant danger.

"Yes, dear," he sighed. He looked at Ron apologetically, and then got up to help Hermione with the books.

Ron just shook his head, but wisely said nothing.

Harry picked up a large stack of books, and followed Hermione, who was carrying a smaller stack, down the hall to their room. She set the books down on the floor next to her trunk, which was lying open with various bits of stuff scattered about.

"Didn't you just pack this thing yesterday?" he asked, as he set his own stack down next to the stack she'd placed on the floor.

"I had to make room for the books," she said. She started layering them neatly in the bottom of the trunk. After a moment, Harry began to help her, and they soon had all of the books placed in the trunk.

He started handing her the rest of her stuff, but paused when he came to her underwear.

She looked up to see why he'd stopped handing her stuff, and groaned in exasperation, "Honestly, Harry, it's just underwear."

He blushed and handed it to her. She looked at him with a naughty twinkle in her eyes, and added, "If you have that much problem with my underwear when I'm not wearing it, what are you going to do when that's ALL I'm wearing?"

He blushed even harder, reached out, grabbed her, and started tickling her ribs.

"Harry!" she laughed, "Stop that!"

He said nothing, gave her a wicked grin, and continued tickling her until she was gasping with laughter. She suddenly lost her balance and fell back on the floor, pulling Harry down on top of her. The tickling stopped, and she was confronted with an amazingly green pair of eyes staring into her own brown ones.

"Shall we find out what I'll do with your underwear?" he asked, with a look in his eye that made her heart race.

"Umm," she said, lifting her head up to give him a kiss. "I don't think now would be the best time, Harry, especially since Ginny's standing in the doorway, but maybe later."

He looked up, and Ginny was indeed standing in the doorway, obviously trying very hard to hold back giggles, and also blushing somewhat. Harry gave Hermione one more kiss before climbing off of her, and then offering her his hand to pull her off the floor. She pulled herself to her feet and brushed off her robes.

"I came up to tell you that Mum says you'd better be ready to go soon. I've got my trunk packed already,” said Ginny.

Harry glanced at Hermione. "We've almost got her trunk done."

Ginny laughed, "I can see that."

They finished packing Hermione's trunk (there really wasn't much left to pack), closed it up, and dragged it downstairs to the kitchen, where they placed it next to the rest of the trunks.

Mrs. Weasley, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, and Remus Lupin were standing in the kitchen waiting for them. Mrs. Weasley fussed over Ginny and Ron, while the Grangers came up to Harry and Hermione.

Elizabeth Granger swept her daughter into a hug. "Now, you be careful, sweetheart. I know you've got Harry and everybody else to watch out for you, but...I'm going to miss you so much."

Hermione hugged her mother back with unshed tears glistening in her eyes. "You take care of yourself, mum. I don't want any sad messages about you while I'm school. Besides, how's a girl supposed to get married without her parents?"

Elizabeth laughed.

Bob Granger had shaken Harry's hand, and then pulled him into a brief, manly hug. "Now, you take care of my girl, you hear me? And take care of yourself, son. I want to hear more about Quidditch."

Harry smiled, "I might be able to arrange for us to go to a Quidditch match at some point, or...” He looked at Remus. "Remus, is there anyway we might arrange for the Grangers to come watch a Quidditch match at Hogwarts?"

Remus looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'll talk to Albus about it and let you know."

"Thanks, Remus."

Hermione came over to her father and gave him a hug. "Take care, Daddy, and I'll see you at Christmas, okay?"

He squeezed her back. "I'll be fine, sweetheart. You take care of good care of you and Harry, okay? I've already told him to make sure he takes care of you."

Hermione grinned.

Finally, the goodbyes were over, and the four children stepped through the floo network to Hogwarts.

-*~*~*~*~*-

The children tumbled out of the floo into the Gryffindor common room. While the children brushed their robes off, house elves quickly moved their trunks up to their respective rooms. Harry and Hermione noticed with some interest that both of their trunks were taken away behind the portrait of Godric Gryffindor that now hung in the common room.

Dumbledore was waiting for them standing by the portrait. "Harry, Hermione, here are the living quarters that I told you about. I would assume that you like to inspect them, and perhaps show Mr. and Ms. Weasley them as well."

"Okay, Professor," said Harry. The four of them went over to the portrait.

"Currently, the portrait will only open for you and Hermione, Harry," said Dumbledore. "You may instruct Godric as to anyone else you wish to be able to enter, and under what circumstances they may enter. I would suggest that you limit it only to a small number of friends, as you may always open the door for anyone else. Staff will always have entry privileges, although they will not burst in on you unless they feel you are in danger for some reason. If you feel that any staff member has abused this right, please come see me about it."

Harry and Hermione nodded.

Dumbledore turned towards the painting. "Godric, if you would?"

The painting swung open, and Dumbledore, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron stepped through the opening and into a spacious room decorated as a living area. There was a fireplace on the wall opposite the opening they had just stepped through, and a long, low, rectangular table that stretched perpendicular to the fireplace. There was a comfortable looking couch on one side of the table, and several comfortable chairs scattered around as well. The wall that the couch was facing had another doorway in it. To either side of the doorway were empty bookshelves.

Dumbledore led them through the doorway into what was obviously Harry and Hermione's bedroom. A bed twice the width of the typical Hogwarts dorm bed had its headboard against the far wall. On the right hand wall were two doors, and on the left wall was a single door. Dumbledore pointed to the two doors on the right.

"The further door is your bath, and the closer one is a closet, I believe."

"What's the one on the left," asked Harry.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Why don't you open it and find out, Harry."

Intrigued, Harry and Hermione walked over to the door and pulled it open. It appeared to lead to a balcony overlooking Hogwart's grounds, but from fairly high up. Harry and Hermione went out on to the balcony, followed by Ron and Ginny. Dumbledore remained in the doorway.

"Wow, professor," said Hermione, "This is great."

Dumbledore smiled. "Thank you, Ms. Granger. However, it isn't real. Oh, the view is real enough, but you will find that you can't go beyond the balcony wall. Trying to use a broom to fly off this balcony will only result in you running into a wall. It's enchanted so that you can feel the breezes, and it will feel like you are outdoors. It doesn't rain, however."

"That's good," said Harry. He looked at Dumbledore and said, "It seems strange to have this here when all you have to do is go outside."

"Well, Harry, one of the things the designers of Hogwarts wanted to do was give every student a window or some other form of access to the outdoors--it is healthier, you know." said Hermione with some asperity. "Really, if you'd read Hogwarts: A History, you'd know all that."

"Yes, Ms. Granger," said Dumbledore with a smile. "The bonded student quarters are equipped with balconies because the designers felt that it was more romantic."

They went back inside the apartment. "Well, I really have other things I need to get to," said Dumbledore. "The Start of Year feast is in two hours. I trust that you will be settled by then."

"Yes, Headmaster," chorused the four of them. Dumbledore winked and then left the apartment.

Hermione looked at Ron and Ginny. "You two had better go get unpacked, then."

Ron looked puzzled. "What unpacking? There's almost nothing to unpack. It all stays in my trunk."

Ginny, a bit quicker on the uptake, grabbed Ron by the arm and started to drag him out of the room. "Come on, big brother, let's go find some trouble to get into."

"What? Ginny?"

"Honestly, Ron," said Ginny exasperatedly, "Can't you see they want some time alone?"

"Oh, right," he said. "See you later, Harry."

"Bye, Ron," said Harry.

Once the Weasley's had left the apartment, and the painting had closed behind them, Hermione let out a sigh and said, "Well, let's get unpacked."

Harry looked at her for a moment, and was overcome with a feeling of love for her. Why at this particular moment, he felt so strongly, he couldn't say, but he went with it, and swept Hermione into a hug.

She giggled, "Harry...we'll never get done at this rate."

He looked into her brown eyes and said, "You know, Ms. Granger, at this moment I am wishing that I could call you Mrs. Potter."

She blushed. His bright green eyes were unnerving her. "Harry...I...I know we haven't discussed the wedding much at all." She smiled at him. "That's not to say I'm not interested. When were you thinking of?"

He smiled back at her. "Well, the sooner the better, as far as I'm concerned. But, I want to give you the wedding you deserve, so I was thinking around Easter."

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Easter, yes, I think that's enough time. I'd better owl my mother...but first, we need to get unpacked."

It took them the better part of an hour to get everything unpacked and put away to Hermione's satisfaction. Their robes and other clothes got hung neatly in the large, walk-in closet off their bedroom. All of their books (most of which were Hermione's) were placed on the bookshelves in the living area. This is what took the most amount of time, as Hermione was constantly rearranging them to her satisfaction. Harry's Wizard Chess set was set on a small, square table between two of the comfortable chairs next to the fireplace, and his broom was placed on a pair of brackets above the mantle--it looked like the brackets had been placed there specifically for the purpose.

After he'd finished hanging the broom, he looked over towards where she was busily engaged at unpacking a number of different nick-knacks that she'd somehow managed to cram in her trunk--most of the decorations in the room were hers--and said, "Love, I'm going to go check out the bathroom. Be right back."

She mumbled something that sounded like "Okay" and he wandered off. He came back a few minutes later, after having done what he needed to do, and discovered that, in his absence, she'd placed a couple of pictures on the mantle. One was a Muggle photograph of her parents; they were smiling happily at the camera. The other was a framed copy of one of the few pictures of his parents that he had; his dad was waving at the camera with one hand while his other was wrapped around Lily. She was holding Harry as a baby and smiling down at him with such love in her eyes that he felt a lump appear in his throat, and felt tears welling up in his eyes.

Hermione felt his distress through the bond and came over to hug him. "Oh, Harry, I'm sorry. I didn't realize...” She went to remove the photo from the mantle, and Harry made a motion to stop her.

"It's alright," he said huskily, "I was just wishing that they could be here, especially for the wedding. I...I still wish I could have gotten to know them." He brushed the tears out of his eyes. "I don't know why I'm getting so emotional about this. It's not like I haven't looked at that photo a thousand times before."

Hermione hugged him tightly, and then pressed her lips to his tightly. When they came up for air, she said quietly, "You've never gotten married before, either."

They quickly finished up with unpacking, and then got ready to go downstairs to dinner. They met Ron and Ginny in the Gryffindor common room.

"Unpacking, hunh?" asked Ron with a joking glint in his eye.

"Actually," answered Harry, "That's exactly what we were doing. You'd be amazed at the amount of junk she had squeezed into that trunk. I know we unpacked more than I helped pack in it." He shook his head in disbelief.

Hermione and Ginny looked at each other with these superior expressions on their faces and then burst into giggles.

"They're both barking mad," said Ron with a grin.

Harry snorted.

The four of them went downstairs to dinner and took seats at the Gryffindor table just as other students began to filter in. They were soon surrounded by Neville, Dean, Seamus, the Creevy Brothers, Lavender, Parvati, and assorted other Gryffindors.

"We didn't see you on the train," said Dean to Ron. "But there were Aurors all over it."

"They were afraid that V...Voldemort would attack the train if we were on it," answered Ron.

"So how'd you get here?"

"Floo."

"Weasley," said a snide voice, "You really talk too much. You're lucky school has not started yet, otherwise I'd be taking points." They looked up to see Professor Snape standing behind them. He looked across Ron and Dean to where Harry and Hermione were sitting.

"Potter. Granger." He sniffed and then walked on.

Professor McGonagall brought the first years into the hall. As she passed the Gryffindor table, she favored Harry and Hermione with a smile.

Harry could hear Lavender asking Hermione, "How was your summer?"

Hermione smiled. "It was interesting, to say the least."

"What happened?"

"Well, I got my house destroyed by Death Eaters," she said dryly.

"Oh, my God!" said Lavender, "Why?"

"Hmm," said Hermione, "I'm Muggle-born. My parents are Muggles. I know Harry. I exist." She looked at Lavender with a smile. "Do they really need a reason? I'm not mad at you. I'm just a little sensitive on the subject."

Lavender nodded.

The conversation was interrupted by the Sorting Ceremony, which was followed by Dumbledore's speech.

"I'd like to welcome everyone back to another year at Hogwarts. I have a few announcements to make before we can eat. First, no doubt the more observant of you noticed the presence of Aurors on the Hogwarts Express. This was to protect you from Voldemort." There was a swell of muttered conversation through the room. "Make no mistake, regardless of what the Ministry would have you believe, he has returned."

"Second, the Forbidden Forest is off-limits to all students. I say this every year, and yet certain students..." He gave a glance at the Gryffindor table, which resulted in laughter from every other house except the Slytherins, "persist in ignoring this warning. Please, for your own safety, stay out of there."

"Third, I would like to re-introduce our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. After last years disastrous class, I am proud to say that Professor Lupin is returning to us." This resulted in cheers from the Gryffindor table. Professor Dumbledore looked pointedly at the Slytherin table, most of whom were grumbling among themselves. "Yes, Professor Lupin is a werewolf. There is no need to remind us of this fact."

"That brings me to my final announcement. Given the seriousness of what we are facing, we cannot afford any divisiveness right now. We can't be Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin; we must be Hogwarts, if we are to survive." He paused and looked out over the room. "Make no mistake, we are at war. I don't expect it to come to us here, but any weakness we show will increase that likelihood. We must be united."

"So, with that in mind...dig in!"

Food appeared on the tables and the students ate with relish. Somehow, the question of Harry and Hermione's summers did not come up again in conversation--they knew that their relationship would become public knowledge soon enough, but it was nice to eat one meal without being under excessive scrutiny from their classmates. Somehow, also, their matching rings went unnoticed. They finished their dinners, and Hermione and Ron got up to take the first years up to the Gryffindor dormitories.

Harry took a seat at one of the tables in the Gryffindor common room where he was joined by Dean and Seamus.

"Hey, Harry, how was your summer?" asked Dean.

Harry smiled. "Eventful," he said.

Dean said, "Harry, don't you live in Little Whinging?"

Harry looked at him. "Yeah, why?"

"I could have sworn I saw you and Hermione on the news this summer. Something about some bloke going nutters and shooting the neighborhood up."

Harry looked across the room to the girl’s staircase where he saw Hermione come downstairs. She came over to the table and sat down next to Harry.

"Dean was just asking me about a news story he saw this summer, 'Mione," said Harry.

"Yeah, was it you?" insisted Seamus.

Harry sighed. "Yeah, the bloke who went 'nutters' was my Uncle Vernon. Only he wasn't nutters; Lucius Malfoy had cursed him into trying to kill me. What you saw was Hermione saving my life. If she hadn't been there, I would've bled to death. He hit me twice; broke my shoulder and plugged a kidney."

"Bloody hell, Harry!" said Dean. "Why aren't you still in the hospital?"

Harry looked at Hermione briefly, and then mumbled, "I was lucky."

At that moment, Ron sat down in front of Harry. "So, what are we talking about?" he asked.

"Harry getting shot," said Seamus.

"Yeah, you should have seen him. Bloody mess when Hermione brought him through the floo to the Burrow. Bleeding everywhere, almost died," said Ron.

Harry sighed. "I'd rather we didn't talk about this."

Ron said, "Sorry, mate."

Harry nodded and then yawned. "I'm going to bed, I'm dead tired."

"You look it," said Ron. He grinned wickedly, "You actually going to get any sleep tonight?"

Harry just shook his head, "Ron, that joke was old awhile ago."

"Where's your trunk, Harry?" asked Seamus. "I didn't see it up in the room."

"That's because it's not," replied Harry. "It's behind that painting over there." He pointed at the picture of Godric Gryffindor on the wall.

"Oh? Why?"

"You're about to find out," was the reply. Harry held his hand out to Hermione, "Coming to bed, dear?" He enjoyed very much the shocked expressions on Dean and Seamus's faces.

Hermione took his hand and stood up. "Yes, I think I will. But first...” She came up to him, wrapped him in a hug, and kissed him hard. After a moment of stunned delay, Harry returned the kiss. After what seemed like hours, although it couldn't have been more than a minute or so, Ron clearing his throat brought them back to reality.

The common room was utterly silent; everyone seemed to be watching Harry and Hermione, including Professor McGonagall, who had come in the room.

"Mr. Potter," she said, "And Ms. Granger, I don't think I really need to tell you that the common room is not the place for public displays of affection. That is why you have your own room." Her face was serious, but her eyes were showing her amusement. "I don't want to have to tell you again, because then I would have to take points."

"Yes, Professor," they answered.

"Professor," said Hermione, "I only did that because I thought it would be the simplest way to answer everyone's questions."

"Indeed, Ms. Granger. However, I daresay it only created more." The twinkle in her eye grew larger. "Anyway, off to bed with the both of you. Classes start tomorrow."

"Yes, professor," they answered.

Harry escorted Hermione over to the portrait, where, to the stunned amazement of the other Gryffindors, they opened it, entered, and closed it behind them.

Chapter Eleven - Encounters

The drawing room of the Riddle House was still only dimly lit by the fire in the fireplace. Voldemort sat in an armchair facing the fire, his face hidden inside a deep hood.

"Wormtail," he hissed.

"Yes, Master," replied Peter Pettigrew as moved to stand submissively next to his master.

"Dumbledore and Potter are fools. Certainly, I can't enter in to Potter's mind easily anymore, but the mudblood's...Potter's bond gives me access to her mind." Voldemort shifted in his chair. "So, they think they will be getting married at Easter, do they?" He laughed , the sound chilling Pettigrew's already cold heart. "Oh, I think they'll have a wedding they'll never forget for as long as they live...which won't be very long indeed!"

"Summon my loyal Death Eaters. I want them to stop all actions against Muggles, the Ministry, and Dumbledore's so-called Order. We're basically going to disappear from now until Easter."

"Won't that raise suspicions, master?"

"You dare to question me? Perhaps a little...Crucio!...will remind you who the master is here!" snapped Voldemort. He left Pettigrew writhing under the curse, while he continued to speak. "Besides, if they can't find us, it's not really going to matter if it does, now is it, Wormtail?"

He lifted the curse, allowing Pettigrew to gasp, "I would think not, master."

"That leaves one small problem." said Voldemort. "I think it's time we dealt with Severus--dear traitor Severus... I've given him a number of chances, but this owl incident... I will no longer abide him!" he hissed. "Have the...conference room prepared. And send Lucius and Bellatrix in to see me. Severus should be arriving soon..."

-*~*~*~*~*-

Professor Snape hissed in pain as he hurried along the hall leading towards the Headmaster's office. He didn't have much time, but he needed to tell Albus that he was being summoned at such an odd hour. 'It probably doesn't mean anything good,' he reflected.

He reached the entrance to the Headmaster's office and snarled the password "chocolate frog" at the guardian statue. The door opened and he hurried up the stairs.

"What is it, Severus?" asked Dumbledore, as Snape entered his office.

"I'm being summoned, but something about it doesn't feel right. For one thing, it's bloody six-thirty in the morning--he never wants to see me during the day!"

"Hmm," said Dumbledore with a concerned look in his eyes. He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out small wooden box with a lock on the front. He unlocked it and pulled out a simple gold chain with a small ruby pendant attached. "Here," he said, handing it to Severus, "Wear this."

"What is it?"

"It's the only help I can give you at this short notice. Merely by willing it, you can stop time for everyone except yourself for approximately five minutes. Use it wisely though, it only works once, and once those five minutes are up, you had better be on your way back here."

"Yes, Headmaster," said Snape. "What's to stop them from removing it?"

"Only you can remove it once it's on."

"Very well," replied Snape. He slipped it on over his head and hid it beneath his robes.

"Severus," said Dumbledore, "Be careful. Your worth to us is more than just as a spy in Tom's service. We'd hate to lose you."

"Potter wouldn't miss me," growled Snape.

"Severus..." Dumbledore shook his head. "Now is not the time to discuss your feelings towards Harry. But when you make it back, would you consider again taking him into Advanced Potions?"

Severus considered for a second. "If I make it back, I'll think about it. But I make no promises."

"Good enough, Severus. Good Luck."

Professor Snape nodded and swept out of the office, hurrying to the apparition point outside of Hogsmeade. As he apparated to Little Hangleton, he wondered if this was the last time he'd see the castle.

-*~*~*~*~*-

He arrived in the graveyard next to the house. The dawn was somewhat chill and he pulled his robes closer around him as he strode up to the house. The moon still hung high in the sky; just a fingernail joining the rising sun in providing a steadily brightening light to illuminate the path that he'd walked so many times before. No matter what happened today, he figured this was the last time he'd be walking it.

There was no one guarding the front door which was the first sign that something was unusual about this morning. There was always someone waiting at the door. He entered the house and walked toward the drawing room, where he knew the Dark Lord awaited. As he approached the room, he heard muttered conversation involving the words "Potter" and "Easter", and he mentally filed it away as being possibly important.

Snape recognized a number of the other Death Eaters in the room when he entered. They weren't masked, which was another sign that something was wrong.

"You summoned me, my lord?" he asked as he entered.

"Yes, Severus," hissed Voldemort. "Why did you not tell me about Potter's owl being seen near where we suspect the Order of having their headquarters?"

"My lord? When was this? I was not aware of this." Snape occluded fiercely as Voldemort turned and stared into his eyes. After a moment, Voldemort turned away shaking his head.

"Severus, Severus, you can't even tell a believable lie. You were SEEN! Crucio!"

Snape dropped to his knees as pure agony swept through his body. He gritted his teeth and refused to scream. Voldemort held him under the spell for what felt like hours even though it was but minutes. When he finally released him, Snape dropped to his hands, gasping for breath.

"Severus, I've long been aware of your...shall we say...divided loyalties. I kept hoping that you would realize the error of your ways and return to the fold." He tapped his fingertips together. "Apparently I was a fool. I don't like feeling like I'm a fool, Severus," said Voldemort quietly.

"Stand up Severus!" he suddenly shouted.

Snape wearily got to his feet, and stared back at the Dark Lord.

"Still defiant, Severus? Crucio!"

Snape managed to remain standing this time, although the pain was just as bad as before. Only a slight groan escaped his mouth.

"Bella," said Voldemort, "Take his wand."

"Yes, Master," she said. She walked up to Snape where he stood gasping after the latest cruciatus curse, and gave him a twisted smile. "Oh, Severus...no wait, what was it my erstwhile blood traitor cousin called you...Snivellus, wasn't it? Yes, Snivellus. You really thought you could fool our Lord?" She plucked his wand out of his sleeve and then brought a knee up swiftly into his groin. He dropped to the floor and curled into a ball, hoping they wouldn't notice him trying to reach the pendant. "That's for being a traitor!"

"Bella," hissed Voldemort.

She stepped back immediately. "Yes, Master."

"McNair, Lucius, Stand him up immediately."

McNair and Lucius Malfoy each took one of Snape's arms and lifted him to his feet.

"Severus, what were you reaching for?" asked Voldemort with a growl. "Strip him!"

Several Death Eaters tore Snape's robes off of him, revealing the pendant.

"What's this?" asked Voldemort. "Goyle, remove it from him!"

"Too scared to take it yourself, my lord?" sneered Snape hoarsely. He spat at Voldemort but missed. McNair slugged him in the stomach.

"Do not insult the Dark Lord!" shouted Malfoy.

"Goyle!" snapped Voldemort.

Goyle came up to Severus and reached for the pendant, but his hand passed right through it. "I can't touch it, my lord," said Goyle nervously.

"Fool!" snapped Voldemort. He pushed Goyle aside and reached for the pendant himself, but hissed when his hand passed right though it as well.

"So, only Severus can remove it. How clever of Dumbledore..."

"What if we remove his head, master," said Bellatrix Lestrange with an insane gleam in her eyes. "Then we could remove it."

"Yes, Bella, that would probably work," answered Voldemort, "But that would also deprive us of the hours of fun I intend to have with this traitor...Not that he will enjoy them." He paused for a moment, "No I have a better idea. Imperio!" He shouted.

Snape felt the feelings of well-being and complete willingness creep over him.

"Remove the pendant, Severus," said Voldemort.

With a snarl, Snape threw off the curse.

Voldemort growled, "Still strong-willed? I can fix that! Crucio! Bella! Dolohov! With me!"

Bella and Antonin Dolohov added their crucio's to Voldemort's, and they held Snape under the curse until he could no longer help himself and screamed in utter agony, falling on the floor. After a few minutes of this, Voldemort hissed, "Enough!"

Snape lay gasping on the floor, his muscles twitching, and tears running down his face.

"Imperio! Remove the pendant, Severus!" snapped Voldemort.

Severus's hands twitched and one crept up his chest toward the pendant. It was obvious that he was fighting it, and finally, as he was about to touch it, he managed to snarl "No!" and throw the curse off.

"Do you really want to end up like the Longbottoms' Severus? Of course, that would save you from knowing your death's coming, wouldn't it?" asked Voldemort in a conversational tone of voice. "You will remove that pendant eventually, you know."

"Let's do this again, shall we? Crucio!" He nodded at Dolohov and Bella, and they again added their curses to Voldemort's. They held him under even longer this time, until he was so hoarse from screaming that he could no longer scream, and he lost control of his bladder and the scent of urine invaded the room.

"Aw, Snivellus wet his pants," laughed Bella.

"Enough," snapped Voldemort, and they removed the curses from Snape.

"Imperio! Remove the pendant, Severus!"

Snape no longer had the energy to fight the curse, and his hand went up, took the pendant and was about to remove it, when it flashed and everyone stopped moving. He climbed to his feet wearily, using the unmoving figure of Lucius Malfoy as a ladder. He stumbled his way over to Bellatrix and removed his wand from where she had it stuck through her robe sash.

He stumbled and crawled his way out of the house, his legs refusing to hold him up for longer than a couple of minutes at a time. On the front porch, he slipped on the steps and rolled down them, groaning in pain at the abuse his already horribly abused body was taking. The sun was already risen into the sky, and he realized that he'd been in the house for at least an hour.

He was half-way to the graveyard when he heard shouts from the house, and he forced his body to hurry, knowing that he didn't have much time. He'd reached the boundaries of the apparation wards just as he heard feet pounding behind him, and he gratefully apparated just as he heard Bellatrix Lestrange shout the beginnings of a petrification curse.

-*~*~*~*~*-

As had been fairly standard for most of the summer, Hermione opened her eyes to find an intensely green pair looking into hers.

"Good morning, love," said Harry.

"Good morning." She smiled back at him.

They crawled out of bed, and got ready to go down to breakfast. "I wonder what our schedules will look like?" wondered Harry.

"Well, mine will be full as usual," said Hermione. "I'm taking N.E.W.T.s in all of my O.W.L. subjects."

Harry shook his head and smiled. "You say that so calmly. I'd be a nervous wreck."

He went over to where she was standing in front of the mirror brushing her hair and gave her a hug. "I don't believe that I've told you how much I love you this morning, Ms. Granger."

She turned around in his arms and looked at him with a smile. "I don't believe you have either, Mr. Potter. Are you going to rectify that?"

He gave her a gentle kiss. "I love you, Ms. Granger, with all of my heart," he said, after their lips had parted. He hugged her tight to his chest.

Hermione never felt more safe and content than when she was encircled by Harry's arms. She snuggled into the hug, closed her eyes, and just enjoyed the feelings of peace and safety she got when in his arms. After a minute or two of that, they separated from each other with a sigh, and went down to breakfast.

Entering the Great Hall together, they noticed there were a large number of Gryffindors gathered around the end of the table where Harry and Hermione normally sat. As they approached, the crowd of students parted and revealed two empty spaces side by side at the table.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other for a moment, and Harry said to Ron, who was sitting on one side of the empty area, "What's this all about?"

"Oh, you know," said Ron with a grin, "Everybody just wants to know what's going on with you two."

Harry sighed and looked at Hermione, who was looking just a little bit put out at all of the attention.

"Look," she said, holding up her engagement ring, "We're engaged, okay? It's a long story how we got to be that way, and I for one don't feel like repeating it. There are parts of it I don't like remembering..."

Harry added, "There's an old wizarding tradition that allows engaged couples to live together; that's why we have our room in the tower. Now can we please eat our breakfast in peace?"

"Go on, back to your seats," came the voice of Professor McGonagall as she pressed through the crowd of Gryffindors. "I have your schedules to hand out."

Harry waited until Hermione had seated herself at the table before sitting next to her.

He said quietly, "I didn't think it would attract this much attention."

She smiled back at him. "It'll die down eventually."

"Hermione," said Lavender, who was sitting across from her, "Can I see your ring? I didn't get a good look at it."

Hermione exended her hand across the table so that Lavender could see the ring.

"Oh, my God!" she squealed, "That's gorgeous. You have good taste, Harry."

Harry blushed. "Thanks," he said.

Professor McGonagall came by and handed Harry, Hermione, and Ron their schedules. They examined them while eating their breakfasts, and discovered that while they shared a number of classes together, such as Care of Magical Creatures(which they had next), Defense Against the Dark Arts, and a couple of others; Harry and Hermione also had blank areas in their schedules labelled "Headmaster's Office".

"These must be for that extra training Professor Dumbledore was talking about," said Hermione. She frowned, "Some of the classes I signed up for aren't on here, I wonder why?"

"Because, Ms. Granger," said Professor McGonagall who'd been standing near them, "You can't use a time-turner this year." She lowered her voice so that only Harry, Hermione, and Ron could hear, "It would have very adverse effects on your bond."

Hermione frowned for a moment, but then smiled at Harry and squeezed his hand. "That's alright," she said, "I'd rather spend time with you anyway."

-*~*~*~*~*-

The trio was making their way across the lawn to Hagrid's cabin for Care of Magical Creatures, when there was a scream from a first year girl in front of them.

Harry looked up in time to see an exhausted, half-naked Professor Snape crash to the ground just inside the front gates. "Come on!" he said, and ran over to Snape.

"What happened, Professor?" asked Hermione.

"Granger," gasped Snape, obviously in pain, "Must see the Headmaster."

"Let's get you to the hospital wing," said Harry. "Ron, go find Professor Dumbledore and have him meet us there."

Ron nodded and ran off towards the Castle.

Harry got one of Snape's arms around his shoulders, and with Hermione's help, started towards the hospital wing.

They were just entering the ward when Dumbledore and Ron came through the doors behind them. "Poppy!" shouted Dumbledore.

"Yes, Albus?" she said, coming out of her office. "Oh, dear," she said as she caught sight of Professor Snape. "What happened?"

"He came in the front gate looking like this," answered Harry. He and Hermione guided Snape over to a bed and allowed him to collapse on to it.

"Severus, what happened?" asked Dumbledore concernedly.

"I was right," Snape gasped. "Potter's owl. I was seen that day. Dark Lord...knows..I was traitor." He was shaking all over as if he were suffering from extreme chills.

Hermione turned a bit pale at his words. Harry took her hand in his and gave it a comforting squeeze.

Madame Pomphrey came bustling over. "Albus, I really must insist you continue this later. Professor Snape needs to rest."

"What about my classes?" asked Snape through chattering teeth. His hands were almost jumping off the bed, they were shaking so badly.

"You are in no condition to teach, Severus," said Madame Pomphrey, alarmed. "You need to rest. What curses did they use on you?"

Severus made an effort to stop his teeth from chattering and growled, "Crucio, imperio, and physical abuse. Who's going to teach my classes?" He tried to sit up, but gasped in pain.

"Severus!" snapped Madame Pomphrey. She waved her wand and cast a diagnostic spell, then frowned. "Albus, he has suffered nerve damage of some kind. You need to leave so I can treat him!"

"Very well, Poppy," replied Dumbledore to Madame Pomphrey. He looked at Snape. "Rest, Severus, I'll take care of your classes. Come, children."

"Wait," gasped Snape, "One more thing. They were... talking... about Potter... and Easter. Might be...important." He fainted. Madame Pomphrey shooed them away from the bed, and drew the curtains around it.

Dumbledore left the hospital ward, Harry, Hermione, and Ron trailing after him.

"Professor," asked Hermione, once they had left the hospital ward, "What did he mean in there...about Harry's owl?"

Dumbledore looked at her and frowned regretfully. "I'm afraid that he was seen when he saw Harry's owl returning to Grimmauld Place. He didn't report it to Tom, and that gave him away. He was summoned this morning..."

He stopped in the hallway in front of his office and looked closely at Hermione, who was looking very guilty and upset. "Ms. Granger, you are not to blame yourself for this. Severus knew that something was wrong when he was summoned this morning; he didn't have to go, but he chose to anyway. That is not your fault."

"But, Professor," she said, "If I hadn't sent Hedwig out in the first place, none of this would've happened!" Tears were running down her face at the thought that she'd been responsible for causing hurt to someone.

"Ms. Granger...Hermione, Severus has been getting hints that he was under suspicion for a while now." Dumbledore smiled at her, "This isn't your fault, Ms. Granger."

Harry drew her into a hug. "Come on, love. Professor Dumbeldore's right. Snape..."

"Professor Snape, Harry," interupted Dumbledore.

"Right, Professor Snape knew what he was risking when he got involved in this, love. This isn't your fault."

"But what if he'd died?" she sniffed, "My stupidity almost killed him, and all over a silly birthday present I could have gotten you anytime."

Harry twisted his ring nervously on his finger. "Sweetheart..."

"No!" she said, "I could've gotten you that once we'd gotten to Hogwarts. It would've been a little late, but at least I wouldn't have endangered anyone!"

Dumbledore had been watching this with an unreadable expression on his face. "Ms. Granger, you must not blame yourself for this." He turned to Harry. "Do you know of anything concerning yourself and Easter that they might have been talking about?"

Harry paled slightly and glanced at Hermione, who was looking back at Harry with a concerned and teary expression. He cleared his throat. "That's...that's when Hermione and I were discussing having our wedding. But we haven't mentioned that to anyone! You haven't owled your mum yet, have you, sweetheart?"

Hermione shook her head negatively. "We were only discussing it yesterday; I haven't had time to. What's going on, Harry?" she asked plaintively. "How did they find out?"

Harry shook his head with a look at Dumbledore. "I don't know, love. I certainly haven't been visited by Voldemort that I know about. My scar hasn't hurt in weeks."

Ron said at this point, "It wouldn't have anything to do with their bond, would it, Professor?"

"I don't know, Mr. Weasley," answered Dumbledore. "However, Harry, when you and Hermione come for your lessons in protecting your bond, I think we'd better work on occlumency as well... for both you and Ms. Granger."

He looked at them. "Your first lesson is tonight after dinner. Please be prompt. The three of you had best be off to Care of Magical Creatures now. Tell Hagrid to come see me if he has any questions as to why you are late."

"Thanks, Professor," said Harry. He still had his arm around Hermione as he pulled her away down the hall, Ron trailing behind.

"Why'd you get so upset, 'Mione?" asked Ron, "It's only Snape, for crying out loud."

Hermione glared at Ron, "Ronald Weasley, you are the most insensitive, and uncaring, excuse for a human being I've ever met! 'It's only Snape, indeed!' He's a person, and he deserves our respect for that if nothing else! Ron, he almost died because I screwed up! I don't EVER want to hear you talk that way in front of me again!"

She looked at Harry angrily and snapped, "And that goes for you too!" She pulled away from him and stomped off down the hall to the main entrance, leaving Harry standing there with a gaping mouth.

"What did I say?" he muttered. He glared at Ron for a second, and then took off down the hall after her. "'Mione, wait! What did I say? Why are you mad at me?"

-*~*~*~*~*-

Harry had caught up with Hermione just outside the main entrance, and by the time they'd reached Hagrid's hut, she was speaking to him again. She hadn't been really mad at him--after all, he hadn't really said anything--it's just she knew how he felt about Snape, and the bond had fed her his subconcious agreement with Ron's words.

She still wasn't speaking to Ron however. Hagrid had the three of them team up together since they were the last to arrive at class. Harry had explained to Hagrid why they were late in hushed tones, not wanting Malfoy and his cronies to overhear.

Hagrid led the three of them over to a barrel filled with water and said, "This 'un's yours."

"Um, Hagrid," said Harry, "It's a barrel of water."

"Naw, Harry, it's a water selkie," replied Hagrid.

"A water selkie?" said Hermione skeptically. "Aren't they supposed to be very dangerous?"

"Not if you raise 'em up from a kit, Hermione," said Hagrid.

She'd looked unconvinced, but spent the rest of the class period working with Harry and Ron, although more with Harry than Ron.

"Harry, ask Ron to pass me the pond lily extract, please," she said. Harry rolled his eyes, but did as she asked.

A little while later, Ron said, "Harry, ask your grumpy girlfriend there for the Selkie food please."

And so the rest of the class period passed, Harry getting more and more frustrated with the two of them. He was more sympathetic to her feelings than Ron's however, having been where she was emotionally before. He could feel through the bond how upset she was about having inadventently been the cause of Professor Snape's injuries, and that was something he had a lot of empathy for. There were days that he still blamed himself for Sirius's death, although those had gotten far fewer than they were at the beginning of the summer. He tried to keep only the empathy and sympathy visible through the bond, but he knew some of the frustration was showing as well.

Needless to say, he was very grateful when the class came to an end, and the three of them headed up towards the castle for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

A snide voice brought the three of them to a halt. "Hey, potty, what's it like shagging a mudblood?"

Harry felt his anger rush back, and he whipped around. Hermione grabbed his hand before he could whip out his wand, though, and said, "Harry, it's not worth it." She was feeding him calmness through the bond, and he could feel his initial reaction fading away.

"Wouldn't you like to know, Malfoy," he responded.

Draco sneered. "No, not really. Some of us have much better taste than that. Besides," he continued snootily, "I don't have to taste the milk to know it's rotten, I can tell by the smell."

"Oh, good one," said Hermione, "Did your mommy teach you that one? Because we know you aren't smart enough to come up with something like that on your own."

Draco's face twisted. "Tell the mudblood to keep her mouth shut, Potter, or I'll shut it for her."

Ron snarled, "Malfoy, you great bloody git, I'd like..."

Harry held up his hand to interupt Ron, and gave a sigh, "Draco, you simply don't scare us any more. After all, if that muggle-born git that your dear old dad worships doesn't scare me, why should you? You're nothing." He shook his head in mock sorrow, "And you really need to come up with better material, 'Tell the mudblood to keep her mouth shut, Potter, or I'll shut it for her' is not only overused, but also not possible." Harry's face darkened and he snarled, "If you do anything to her, I won't care if I get expelled for what I will do to you, got me?"

Harry and Hermione turned around and headed for the castle. After a moment of glaring at Malfoy, Ron turned and followed them.

"You'll be dead by Halloween!" shouted Malfoy, "All three of you!"

"Here!, what's all this noise, then?" asked Hagrid. "Go on, Mr. Malfoy, you'll be late, and I won't be writin' you a note."

Draco snarled, "Freak!" and stomped up towards the castle, Goyle and Nott following.

"That'll be ten points from Slytherin, Mr. Malfoy," returned Hagrid. He turned and went back inside his cabin.