Chapter 2:
Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes
Number 93 Diagon Alley was a very busy address. The Owl Post official sighed in resignation as he walked out the door. Ginny felt sorry for him but it was her job to pack and ship out all of the mail orders that came into her brothers' joke shop. This had been the second time an official from the Owl Post had come to complain about the volume of daily shipments from their shop. This time Ginny had told him to figure out some way to deliver the hundred odd packages that left here each day. Delivery was his job, her job was filling and sending them out.
"Lunch time Gin," she heard Fred yell to her. A moment later they came into the back of the shop carrying a large bag of takeout food.
Ginny quickly got up and followed her brothers up the back stairs into the kitchen of their flat which was above the shop.
"What did Mr. Owl Post want this time Gin?" George asked as they settled around the table pulling several containers out of the bag.
"Would you believe he wanted me, to tell him, how, to deliver all these packages, every day?"
"Gerr Off!" Fred exclaimed.
"That's his job!" George added.
"That's what I told him. I asked him to give us suggestions, not ask for them. He didn't appreciate that much." Ginny took a bite out of the pizza.
"Well we'll need to hire at least one more to help with the register. It's just too busy down there," Fred sighed.
"Yeah the customers are all over the place and we can't help them all fast enough. I had to kick about twenty people out for our lunch hour," George said regretfully.
"Maybe we can try Ron again," Ginny offered.
"He seemed pretty set on not working this summer though," George commented.
"Hey Gin, what about you go buy something special for yourself. Then show it off in front of Ronniekins!" Fred suggested brightly.
"Yeah, then he'll think of the money he can make, Great idea Fred."
"Hey George, did the girls say when they would be back tonight?"
"Bro, they're getting those supplies we need remember? I expect them back by dinner though."
"Yeah, that's right, I hope they can find everything we need to fill those orders."
They finished eating their lunch and went down to reopen the shop. Ginny went back to work on filling the mail orders but she didn't get far.
George saw Neville Longbottom standing just outside, waiting for the shop to open. George turned around just before Fred unlocked the door and hollered, "Gin, Neville's come to visit."
"Welcome back to our shop Neville," Fred said as he opened the door. He gave Neville a pat on the back as he ushered him inside and out of the path of the awaiting crowd trying to shove past him. Neville had become a regular visitor since school had let out.
This is such a fascinating place and besides, Ginny is here, Neville thought as he walked inside. His Gran visited Diagon Alley almost daily and she always kept him with her. How he had gotten her to agree to allow him to visit the twins shop without her hovering he still wasn't sure. But today, she had agreed and told him she would be back later to retrieve him. Fred left him standing in the corner, just inside the shop, when he had to go help some customers. Then Ginny came out from the back and smiled when she saw him waiting there for her.
"Hi there Ginny, how are you today?"
"Busy, as always around here. Would you like to help me catch up? I've a lot of orders to fill before the owl post picks up."
"Sure, what do you need me to do?" He said while following Ginny towards the stockroom.
"Just find the items for each order from the supplies in the stockroom and I'll box them." She turned and smiled at him again. "Just be careful not to drop anything, who knows what would happen," she teased.
"I promise to be very careful."
They reached the stockroom and Ginny gave him a quick tour. "Everything seems very organized in here, I would think your brothers wouldn't have time to keep it so neat."
"Alicia keeps everything clearly labeled and makes sure the boys have everything they need to keep the store going. Angelina takes care of all the banking and the record keeping. I really don't think the boys could pull this off without their help."
"What about when you need to go back to school? I guess they'll hire someone else to fill the orders?"
"Actually, they were just talking about hiring someone else to help in the shop. It's a madhouse out there most days. Ok, here's the pile of orders. Take them one at a time and collect everything for that order, use a separate basket for each order. When you have a complete order place it over here on my table and I'll check it and box it up."
"All right, that sounds pretty simple."
"Yea it's just that there are a lot of 'em so once you get comfortable start pulling 'em as fast as you can. We have four hours to get these orders ready, with you helping I think we can make it." She smiled encouragingly at him.
Neville smiled back and took the first order from the pile. He headed off into the aisles of bins basket in hand.
She went back to packaging what she had already collected. She was quite surprised that Neville made very few mistakes and they were done at four o'clock.
"Excellent Neville we're done!"
"My legs are tired from all that walking, this place doesn't seem that big but I feel like I have walked miles and miles."
"Well you probably did," Ginny spoke laughing.
"Let's go see what the boys need, they always need help," With that she headed out to the store.
Neville followed close behind, wondering if he could spend the whole summer doing this.
Ginny pulled George aside when they came into the store, "We're done filling today's orders, what do you guys need out here?"
"Wow, already? That's awesome. Hey Neville you want a job? We could sure use the help."
Neville could hardly believe his ears, "I would love to but, I need to ask my Gran first."
"Ok well thanks for helping today, Ginny we need restocking out here. You think Mr. prospective employee and you can take care of that please?"
"Sure George, we're on it."
Ginny grabbed a clipboard from behind the counter and started walking around the shop writing numbers next to each item on the sheet. "Neville, I'm writing down how many of each item we need to bring out from the stockroom, here get started on the first page." She tore the top sheet off and handed it to him.
Neville headed back to the stockroom through the crowd waiting to check out. He heard Fred hollering as he got to the door. "Ginny! Can you handle the register for a bit?" Neville decided he would be doing the restocking all on his own so he went to work on the sheet Ginny had given him.
*** *** ***
Love, Revelations, and Loss
"Thank You Hermione," Harry spoke reverently.
She looked up from her book, "What, are you thanking me for now?"
"For being you, being here, finally making me admit that I love you. For telling me that you love me, supporting me and believing in me. In short, for everything that you do. I may be the hero of the Wizarding world but, I'd be nothing, without you." He spoke very seriously looking into her chocolate brown eyes.
She twisted around from beside him and straddled him upon the couch; she sat firmly in his lap. She wove her fingers together behind his head and held him close to her. His arms wrapped around her waist holding her body close to his. Tilting her head slightly she kissed him firmly on the lips. She teased his tongue with her own but allowed him entry to her mouth when his tongue came questing. The kiss they had shared earlier was loving, this one was passionate. The world seemed to stop for the moment, there was nothing but them. When she finally broke away it was only after she had felt his hardness pressed against her. I made Harry horny, the thrilling thought coursed through her mind, "That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me."
Slightly breathless he could only manage, "You're welcome."
She rubbed herself against his bulging pants and pressed down upon it firmly. Only a few layers of clothes denied him what he desperately desired. He closed his eyes and leaned back onto the couch moaning. She leaned forward and kissed his neck gently a few times where she kissed him, he felt on fire. She kissed right up his jaw to his left ear where she whispered "Tonight, I promise, whatever you want to do, tonight," she slowly sat up, pressing herself teasingly upon his bulging pants once again.
His eyes snapped open and looked at her, his jaw dropping open, "Huh?"
"Tonight, we will consummate our union," She answered mischievously, "I want to be your wife in body and soul, or did you think I was just going to tease?"
He shuddered and closing his mouth stammered, "Are you sure?"
"I'm very sure, unless you don't find me attractive? I could try and make myself look like Cho Chang," she teased.
"No, she means nothing to me, I love you!"
"Well then, let's explore the physical part of our relationship tonight."
"All night, my love."
She settled onto the couch next to him, quickly changing the subject. "Well, since I have made you admit it at last. When did you realize that you loved me? How long have you kept this secret from me?"
He thought for a little while, "Well not that long really, there have been a lot of hints for the last few years. I've felt a strong tie to you since our first year. Love though? It only became clear to me during last year." He reached down and retrieved her pumpkin juice from the floor. "We need a table in front of the couch." Handing Hermione her glass he retrieved his. After they drank some more he continued. "Thinking back, over the years, it seems several others knew we were more than friends long before we, well before I anyway, realized it, Professor McGonagall for one. The day you were petrified she came down to the Quidditch pitch and announced the match was canceled. She then came to me and told me I had better come with her, not Ron as well, just me. She seemed to know I would need to see you immediately. Then Madame Pomfrey, you know she let me break all the visiting rules to be with you while you were petrified? She was furious at first, I could tell, but she also saw something. Either in my lost expression or the way I would hold your hand and talk to you. Whatever it was, she decided not to worry about when I was there. I saw McGonagall and Dumbledore come and check up on me several times. They never spoke to me then, just watched me there with you then turned and left."
"You know Harry; I knew when you were there. Strangely, I didn't know when anyone else was there, only you. I couldn't see you or feel you; well in a way I guess I could feel you. There was a tingle when you held my hand. It helped me a lot to know you were there. I could feel your presence and it comforted me. In fact it was when I was petrified that I realized you were more than a friend to me. Though my body was frozen my mind was not. I thought for the whole time Harry. I spent a lot of time thinking about my life. What was really important to me? Books and knowledge or friends and companionship? It seemed that whenever I started to get depressed or down I could feel you there for me. It made me feel loved Harry. Your concern for me seemed to surround and comfort me. I think I would have gone insane if it hadn't been for you."
"Really? I was never sure until now that you knew I was there but I did know I needed to be there as often as I could. Anyway, after that, I knew I needed you around but love has always been a strange emotion for me. Before I came to Hogwarts and met you, love was being spoiled and getting everything I wanted. That's what the Dursley's did for Dudley, so that is what I thought love was. You know Hermione you are the first person who ever hugged me or kissed me. Actually Fleur kissed me on the cheeks too but that's a French friendly thing isn't it? Anyway it didn't mean anything to me. Well, I'm sure my parents kissed and hugged me but I can't remember that. When you hugged me in the potion test before you went back and I went to face Quarrel. That, was the first time I had ever felt a hint of what love really was. You touched my soul that night, something, I had never felt before."
"Oh, it must have been terrible never feeling love while you were growing up," She hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek.
He entwined his fingers with hers' and sighed before continuing. "I really don't want to think about that now. Let me finish this, it's hard to talk about it, even to you. Where was I? Oh, yes fourth year was a huge eye opener for me. The morning after the Goblet of Fire picked me to be the fourth champion. Do you remember that?"
"Yes of course, I met you, with a stack of toast so we could talk."
"That one act of yours jolted me to the core. You knew exactly what I needed that morning and got up early to make sure I was ok. Our walks around the lake have always helped me immensely. I think, that morning I realized you were helping me because I was me, not the-boy-who-lived. Later that year, both Rita Skeeter and Viktor brought out that it was obvious to anyone who looked at us that we were in love. I, of course defended you and denied it all but looking back they both saw what I didn't. Then when fourth year ended, you kissed me on the cheek at the train station. I thought about that kiss all summer. Once again it was a first, never had I been kissed before that. I just couldn't believe you kissed me, remember I had been told all my life that I was worthless. You're the one who has built up my confidence over the last five years. But then last year Cho started paying attention to me, I thought she loved me but she only wanted to be close to me to remind her of Cedric. She also made several comments about "my precious Hermione". Remember when you fell in the Department of Mysteries?"
She replied solemnly, "Yes, yes I do."
"If you had died that night I don't think there would have been a Ministry of Magic in the morning. I was lost when you fell, my knees grew weak and I couldn't think. Only when Neville told me you had a pulse and were alive did I gain control again. I'm sure the next thing that would have happened would have been dreadful. I was seconds away from loosing all control and lashing out with every ounce of power I possess. You're the reason I will face Voldemort. The reason I want him gone. Not my parents or the hundreds of people he has killed and made suffer. I'll stop him, so that we can be together. You've been at the center of danger for five years now, because everyone knows you help me. But when it becomes known how much more important you are to me Voldemort will surely make you the number one target. I'll not allow anything to hurt you."
"And while you are protecting me Harry. I will be protecting you. You never seem to think of your own safety so I must. My life without you would be unbearable, don't you ever try to face him without me. I'll come after you; I will not sit and hide while you go to face him. We live or die together Harry Potter."
"All right I have accepted that" he held up his hands in surrender. "That's why I asked you to marry me. Some will think we are too young to get married, maybe we are. We have been through too much together, I can't think of life without you beside me. You have made me understand what love is, what it would feel like to have a home. This room, for the first time in my life, feels like home. Remember at the end of first year I said "I'm not going home, not really?" Well that was because Hogwarts felt more like my home than anywhere I could remember. Now I understand where that feeling came from, you, wherever you are, is my home."
"You know, you continually surprise me, I guess that's one of the many things I love about you," she smiled lovingly.
He took both her hands in his and kissed the backs of them before looking back into her eyes. "I need to tell you about something else."
He seemed to have managed to work up the courage to tell her something that had been deeply troubling him, she could see it in his eyes "What?"
"It's about that prophecy that Voldemort wanted from the Department of Mysteries. It isn't really lost, I know what it says."
"I thought it was too noisy when it broke?"
"Oh, it was, but Dumbledore told me about it later. The prophecy was originally told to him, so of course he knew it. Apparently Voldemort knows only the first two lines of it, not all of it. Here goes, I have it memorized."
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches
Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies
And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not
And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies"
(JK Rowling, OOTP)
"Wow! How many people know this?"
"Three, Dumbledore, you, and I. This has been a very difficult thing for me to come to grips with. You understand that either Voldemort kills me or I kill him?"
"Of course I understand that. But how much of this does Dumbledore believe?"
"All of it, remember third year when Trelawney gave that prophecy about Voldemort coming back? She does have The Gift, that prophesy came true word for word. She is the one that made this prophesy to Dumbledore."
"Oh My!" Hermione covered her open mouth with her hand looking worried.
He became very serious, "Yes, I need to be able to kill Voldemort or he will kill me. This is my fate. I must face him and win. For us, I must win. I'll do what I can to kill him but I don't know if I have it in me to kill anyone, even him."
"If that prophesy is true then you have the power to defeat him, we just don't know what it is."
"I want you to start keeping your wand in reach at all times. We will need to start practicing together if we are going to fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters together."
"Ok, and I know a few spells we can work on together. How about I worry about defending us? That will leave you free to attack. I know some pretty advanced shield charms. What we really need is some way to shield us from the unforgivables."
"Do you think that is possible?"
"Yes, anything is possible if you have enough knowledge and power. I will have the knowledge and I think you have the power. Let's see, we know you can throw off the Imperious Curse. I need to learn how to do that to. I'm a good target for it, being so close to you. You must know that I'm myself at all times or I could be used to mislead you. How do you know I am not under it right now? Haven't I seemed awfully forward today? Doesn't that make you suspicious? We can't have anything shaking our trust in each other. You must know that I am acting of my own free will and that any advice I give you can be trusted as true. Since two people can't control someone at the same time I want you to place me under the Imperious Curse right now, make me do something silly then break it, that way you will know I am not under anyone else's control."
A shocked Harry said, "You want me to cast the Imperious Curse on you? Now?"
"Yes, don't you see? It's the only way, besides I'm sure it will be a lot more pleasant than when we are testing our defenses against the Cruciatus Curse." She shuddered at that thought.
"There is no way I will cast that on you!"
"You must. Do you think the Death Eaters will hesitate? Now stand up and do it now," She stood next to the couch.
He slowly stood taking out his wand. "I'd know if you were not yourself, I can feel your heart, you feel right to me. But to make you happy I'll do as you ask."
"Imperio," he said pointing his wand at her. Hermione suddenly started doing pushups on the floor. "Well I didn't know you were in such good shape. Ten pushups in a row, that's amazing. Ok, STOP!"
She collapsed onto the floor panting and sweating profusely, "Harry Potter! If I didn't love you I would kill you for making me work like that."
He smiled mischievously, "Well? Do you still want to go to bed with me tonight? Or have you awoken from some terrible nightmare?"
She stood up and walked up to him. Looking very angry, he took a step backwards but she continued until she was inches from him. Suddenly she started kissing him forcefully. He put his arms around her to keep from falling over at the strength of her passion. He nearly leaped out of his skin when he felt her hand groping his privates. She then pulled back from the kiss and spoke in a husky voice that sent a shiver down his spine. "Yes Harry Potter, your mine and I'm going to prove it tonight. Does that answer your question?" She stepped back and reluctantly took her hand off of his once again bulging pants.
She turned away and walked slowly back to sit on the couch, talking as she went. "Now, back to what we were talking about. We must become immune to everything that they will throw at us. I know there are defenses against most stuns and even binds. We will need to get dragon or erupment hide boots, pants, and jackets. They will deflect simple jinxes like jelly legs or even stuns. I need to make a list." With that she got up and went to his desk, she sat and pulled out a piece of parchment and went to work on her list.
He stood contemplating her previous statement. Once his brain managed to restart and catch up with his ears he said, "Ok, what can I do to help?"
"Go expand my books please and bring me; Defenses of Magical Creatures, Advanced Defense from Jinxes, and Dueling Dirty Wizards. Damn, I wish I had a book on fighting as a team." She shook her head and went back to writing her list.
He said, "Ok," and went over to his once small bookshelf and began picking up her books one at a time. None of them were bigger than a deck of cards but he started expanding them and placing them on the shelves. They were, he noticed, in alphabetical order. As he found the books she wanted he took them to her and put them on the desk beside her. She immediately began flipping through them and adding notes to her list.
She looked over at him, "Can we send Hedwig to Flourish and Blotts when she returns from my parents?"
"Sure, make a list of what you need and I'll authorize them to take the money out of my account."
"You don't have to pay for my books!"
"We are engaged to be married are we not? You're about to become rich beyond your wildest dreams. It's your money to! If I had a place to put them all I would buy you a copy of every book that Flourish and Blotts has in stock, with a standing order to send me copies of anything new. Oh wait a minute, I have an idea on that. I think I will gut Grimmauld place after all. How about half the third floor for a library?"
She was blushing profusely, "I do not need a copy of every book they have."
"No, but you would like it wouldn't you?" He laughed heartily at the expression on her face. "I pride myself on knowing what Hermione Gr…sorry, I mean Hermione Potter wants. Have I not given you presents you actually wanted for your birthday and Christmas for the last three years running?"
"Yes, you have, thank you," A suddenly meek and blushing Hermione answered but he noticed she was smiling.
"Anything else I can do to earn another of those smiles?" he asked.
"I'll let you think about ways to earn those. Right now I need to finish my list for Hedwig."
"Ok, how about some lunch then? I'm getting hungry. You?"
"Yes, that sounds good. You pick something please." With that she once again bent over her list.
He smiled and went towards their dining table pulling out his wand. Suddenly he collapsed onto one knee his left hand over his scar, his right clenching his wand. "He's starting early this year" He spoke through his clenched teeth as Hermione appeared at his side, her wand was out ready to help if she could.
"Voldemort is in pain, something hurt him." Then the pain became too intense for words and he collapsed whimpering into Hermione's embrace.
"Ok, let's see what's going on in your head." Pointing her wand at his head she concentrated on being inside his mind and cast, "Legilimens."
Suddenly he felt a calming presence in his mind. Hermione's mind wrapped comfortingly around his. Their thoughts merged. The pain was gone, together they moved towards the searing spike that was his scar. Together they reached out and touched it. A moment of disorientation passed then they were looking upon a scene of destruction. It had been a nice quiet neighborhood somewhere in London. Four houses were burning while four metal rubbish bins were clanking after a terrified looking Wormtail. The unmistakable figure of Mad-Eye Moody stood in front of a burning house, wand raised, his eye flashing brightly as spells flew about him as he dueled with Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry or Hermione gasped, it was impossible to tell where one of them ended and the other began, so entwined were their minds. Voldemort stood, for now they realized it was through his eyes they looked. They saw blisters upon his hands and arms, intense pain seared over all his skin. Whatever it was Moody had hit him with it had hurt him but not killed him. Voldemort moved to assist Bellatrix; she was clearly loosing her duel with Moody. Suddenly Wormtail ran between him and Moody, the rubbish bins tried to devour Voldemort. Raising his wand quickly, "reducto, reducto, reducto, reducto" the last he blasted the fourth one as it clamped to his leg and he felt the bone give way. When Voldemort had destroyed the fourth rubbish bin he found himself on the ground again when he pushed the destroyed bins out of the way he saw Bellatrix laying upon the ground her body smoldering from Moody's killing blow. Rage filled Voldemort, he raised his wand and spat, "Avada Kedavra." Moody spun, trying to dodge, but the spell caught him square in the chest. "NOOOOO!!!" Harry and Hermione screamed together as Moody fell, lifelessly to the ground. His magical eye slowly spun to a stop.
Suddenly the connection to Voldemort was gone. Harry and Hermione huddled together still entwined inside Harry's head. They relived what they had just witnessed; recording all of the details so that Dumbledore would get a detailed report. That must be the Hermione part of them the Harry part thought. Harry felt strangely detached from his emotions. He should feel angry; instead he felt a cold calculating rage that he had never experienced before. Voldemort would pay for this she would make sure of it. Harry now realized where the cold rage came from, that was the Hermione part again. Harry reasserted more control over his own brain. NO Hermione you can't defeat him, only I can - Yes I know that, I will make sure you get that opportunity - When did you learn Legimancy? - This week. - Is this Legimancy? - Yes - This isn't what it was like with Snape, he was like a tornado inside my head - My presence in your mind is comforting because I love you and you love me. If there was any doubt in our minds there is none now. You are welcome to come inside my mind later, I think it will be a lot like this. This could be very useful in coordinating our fighting against Voldemort - Yes, but can we move our bodies too? - Let's try. After a moment of disorientation they stood and clasped hands. They walked to the couch and sat there again. Harry felt Hermione fading, I must leave Harry this is very tiring. Harry gave her a mental kiss as she retreated into her own mind.
She leaned into his embrace and promptly fell asleep, a smile upon her face. He waited a few minutes then picked her up carefully and took her to the bed. Laying her down gently he covered her with the blanket and lightly kissed her upon the cheek, "I love you."
He went and collected their wands from the floor and returned his to the holster on his belt. A holster he recalled that had been given to him by Moody. Damn You Voldemort! His eyes blazing with controlled fury. He took Hermione's wand and placed it on the night stand by the bed, within easy reach if she needed it.
Then he went to his desk and pulled out a fresh piece of parchment. He wrote the report to Dumbledore telling how Moody had died but killed Bellatrix. He did not mention Hermione's presence in his mind. That needed to be their secret for now. He folded and addressed that parchment to await Hedwig's return. Then remembering Hermione's book order he wrote up an authorization to Flourish and Blotts to withdrawal the money from his account. He found Hermione's book list and wrote a note on that as well, warning them of his intentions to purchase a copy of every book they had next month. He folded the parchments together and they joined the report to Dumbledore on the desk.
He went to Hermione's books; he thought he had seen it when he was expanding them. Yes, there it was, in the O's as it should be. Occulmency; What is it and How to do it. He took the massive tome to the couch, pulled out his wand, and conjured that coffee table he had wanted. Moving their glasses from the floor to the table he sat down and began to read. How could one session with Hermione inspire him to understand Occulmency when months of practice with Snape could not?
*** *** ***
Union
Harry was getting stiff and hungry, he had been reading for several hours. Crookshanks was curled up against him on the couch sleeping. Then he heard the distinct scratching at his window that signaled an owl had arrived. He quickly stood, placed the book on the coffee table, and went to the window. He let Hedwig in and as she landed on his arm he welcomed her, "Hello girl." He took the letter from her and stroked her chest affectionately. "Rest a while girl, I have more work for you to do today," he placed Hedwig on her perch. "Here's an owl treat girl," she took the treat from him then drained her water bowl and settled down to sleep. Harry closed the window and then took the letter back to the couch. It was addressed to them both so he opened it.
Hermione and Harry,
We have signed the paperwork and sent it to Gringott's with Hedwig. We regret the circumstances that made this necessary but we fully accept this responsibility.
Harry, we will treat you like the son we never had. In fact we will formally adopt you if you so wish. Please consider our home yours now. We will clear out the guest room for you to use.
Emma and I would like to spend our summer vacation with the two of you. We understand that you are probably in danger so will cancel our travel plans. We can come join you there or pick you up and go wherever you want or need to go.
This year our vacation starts August 1st, please let us into your life as much as you can.
Love
Dan and Emma Granger
Harry dried his cheeks and looked at Hermione's sleeping form. What incredible parents she has, I'm beginning to understand why she is such a wonderful person. Having barely met him they were not only willing to become his guardians but provide a home for him. They even offered to adopt him! He thought about that for a moment, still looking at Hermione sleeping in his bed. Adoption would not be right, then he would in some sense be marrying his sister? No he would be content to be their son-in-law. He loved the idea of living with them but he regretted he could probably not do it. They would be married by then and he and Hermione would have to live at Grimmauld place for safety's sake. He made a mental note to talk to her about that. Thank you Sirius, this has helped me more than you could imagine; well maybe you knew and that's why you picked them. "Thank you Sirius," he spoke aloud to no one in particular. He sat thinking about Sirius for a while then shook himself back to present.
Drying his eyes again he stood and went over to the bed. He placed the letter under her wand on the bed and turned to Hedwig. "Wake up girl," Hedwig hooted indignantly at being woken so soon. "Sorry girl. Take this one to Flourish and Blotts then take this one to Dumbledore. Spend the night at Dumbledore's then come back tomorrow, I'm sure we'll have a letter for the Granger's. He tied the letter to Dumbledore on her leg and she took Hermione's book order in her beak. He opened his window and she took off into the setting sun. He closed the window and the curtains this time.
Time for dinner sleeping beauty. He conjured a dozen lit candles about the room then turned off all the lights. Upon their dinner table he conjured a small feast of spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, and chilled pumpkin juice. A warm pumpkin pie sat in the center of the table flanked by four candles. There, he thought I can at least try to start the evening off right. He was very apprehensive about what she had planned for tonight. Was she expecting him to actually know what to do? No, he told himself, she knew he was a virgin, once again Harry Potter placed his complete trust in Hermione's err hands"?
Careful not to wake her prematurely he bent over her, she was so very beautiful when she wasn't worrying about him. He wet his lips then gently pressed them down upon hers. She started responding almost immediately, placing his hands on the bed beside her head and emboldened by her enthusiastic response, he deepened the kiss. He pulled back after a moment, "Wake up sleeping beauty, you skipped lunch and dinner is waiting."
"Dinner?" she asked stretching out.
He couldn't resist, he bent and kissed her again, she wrapped her arms around his neck and refused to let him up for a full minute.
"Oh my, I could get used to waking up like this."
"Good, I'll try to wake you up this way more often. To answer your questions, you have been sleeping since the attack. Hedwig returned with a letter from your parents. I have sent her to Flourish and Blotts and then on to Dumbledore with a report on Moody. I left out only that you were inside my head when we saw the battle. Here is your wand and your parents' letter, they sound like wonderful people and I can't wait to get to know them better." He lay down beside her on the bed and gently ran his fingers through her hair as she read the letter.
"We need to write my parents and tell them about us immediately."
"No, you need to write them and tell them about us. I think they'll take it better coming from you."
"Would you mind them joining us at Grimmauld place next month?"
"How did you know that's where I wanted to go?"
"Please, don't you think I know you well enough to guess that?"
"Ok, let's eat I'm starving," he got up off the bed and helped her stand.
When she saw the feast laid out and all the candles she quickly kissed him on the cheek, "Oh, you do know how to be romantic."
"I'm trying."
They sat down and began working on dinner. Both of them had skipped lunch so ate heartily. After they had made a considerable dent into the meal, he asked "How do you think your parents will take us being engaged?"
"Not as bad as most parents of a sixteen, well almost seventeen, year old girl."
"Why is that?"
She thought for a moment, "Because, my parents met very young, about the same age as us actually. They pretty much grew up together, a lot like we have except they lived near each other. When my parents announced that they were going to get married no one but my grandmother was surprised. She told my mum "You're far too young to understand what love is, I absolutely forbid you to get married until you are twenty one." Well they were only seventeen at the time so that night my parents eloped and were married. To this day I don't think my mum has talked to gran."
"That's pretty terrible."
"Well it's the truth. Before I came here, Dumbledore asked me some very personal questions in front of my parents. He brought up legimancy and that he had, as he put it, some skill in it. Yeah right, he asked me my feelings towards you, you know how he is. I told him and my parents; you are my best friend in the world and I would do anything to help you and that I love you. My dad was pretty shocked I think but mum seemed to already know and accept it. Dumbledore just grinned like I had told him that his chocolate frog card was the most popular one of all. So there you are. I think my dad needs some time but mum will be supportive. My parents tried for ages to have a second child, dad really wanted to have a son but all they got was me."
"Ok, you'll need to write them tomorrow, I told Hedwig to spend tonight with Dumbledore and return tomorrow."
"So it's just you me and Crookshanks tonight then?"
"Yep, just us."
She could tell that he was beginning to get nervous the closer they got to finishing dinner. Though he greatly enjoyed his pumpkin pie he ate only one slice tonight. She thought he was building up his courage to ask her something so she decided to help him, "This has been a wonderful dinner. Thank you. You're so sweet to me, let's go sit on the couch and talk a bit."
He looked visibly relieved, "Sure." He got up and held out his hand to her, she took it and they walked over to the couch.
When they got there she sat down sideways looking at him, "sit facing me please."
He twisted so their knees were touching and she took both his hands, "Look at me."
He looked up, only then realizing he had been refusing to look her in the eyes, "Sorry, guess I'm just nervous about this."
"I know, so am I, but we can learn about this together. There is no one else I would want to be in this situation with."
"I just need to admit that I have only a vague clue about how this works, I'm literally at you're mercy." He let out a breath he was unaware he had been holding.
"I have of course read about it and mum talked to me when I started menstruating at twelve. She took it rather clinically though. I know the spell to prevent myself from becoming pregnant and I know that it will probably hurt me the first time."
"Hurt you how?" He looked taken aback by this.
"Well, a female has a barrier inside that needs to be broken to allow intercourse. I'm not sure what its there for but it is. There will be blood. I would suggest we have the lights off so we are not distracted by that." He become increasingly distraught the more she talked about it, "Stop that, you're crushing my hands."
He released the death-grip he unconsciously had on her small hands, "This sounds terrible, I don't want to hurt you and I don't want to make you bleed."
"That's just the first time, I'm sure tomorrow will be better, though a little sore. I thought talking about it would help you get over your nervousness."
"Yes, it's helping, I think. I'm starting to comprehend how difficult this may be for you, where I'm just worried about embarrassing myself, or you. I'll stop worrying about my own awkwardness and concentrate on getting you through this. I think that will help me a lot."
"Thank you. I knew you would understand and you won't make fun of my appearance or anything." She looked down as she made her last comment.
He cupped her chin and made her look up at him again, "Hermione, you're beautiful. I know you don't believe that but I want you to. Try this, see yourself from my perspective for a minute. Use legimancy on me and search for my feelings towards you." He pulled out her wand and offered it to her.
She thought for a moment before pointing her wand at him, "Legilimens," she spoke quietly looking into his eyes.
He felt a rush of images, thousands of images permanently etched into his brain, of her. This was more like what had happened with Snape. Strangely the first one that went through his head was of her when she had used cat hair in the Polyjuice potion, for some reason that image had always a very endearing. She kept the images going through his mind for some time, there didn't really seem to be an end to them and he relaxed and offered her some images that he was fond of, Hermione reading in the library, knitting socks for house elves, watching him play Quidditch, her elation at him finishing the first task, the second task, kissing him on the cheek.
Through all the images the details of her were always clear and sharp, he never glossed over her appearance, and he always paid attention to every detail about her. She suddenly knew that there was nothing he had seen that he rejected. He accepted her for who she was, not some image of perfection she had always hoped to attain. Harry respected her, admired her, and loved her for who she was, the images and feelings in his mind hammered that home to her like nothing else. He could have told her a million times but the images spoke for themselves. Harry Potter loved her, he had tried to hide nothing from her probing thoughts, his mind was naked before her. She lowered her wand, still looking into his eyes she leaned forward and they kissed again. Their lips met and he immediately embraced her, she held his head gently, she pushed her tongue into his mouth, he opened his mouth to her and met her tongue with his. She wanted to express how much she appreciated his willingness to open his mind to her. She had never understood the level of trust he put in her, he gave her his life to do with as she pleased. She was going to show him just how much she loved him.
She pulled back from their kiss for a moment, "Thank you Harry, thank you. There is one thing I want to do before we make love. I want us to stand naked and look at each other in the light, and then we can turn out the lights and fumble around until we figure it out ok?"
A visibly shaken Harry gulped loudly, "Pity we're in Gryffindor, or we could claim cowardice, ok, I don't want to know why I'll just do as told."
He pushed her back out of his lap and still holding her hands he helped her up. "Mind if I undress you and you can undress me? We can take turns so we both end up naked together."
Her lower lip was trembling but she clamped her teeth onto it and nodded her head yes. She had suggested this to help them get comfortable but found it amazing that he was actually going through with it. He came closer to her and kissing her on the neck pulled her jumper up. He pulled away from her neck long enough to pull it over her head, being careful of her long hair getting tangled he threw it into the corner. He returned to kissing her neck tenderly.
She only had her bra on her top now. She waited for him to pull away and when he did she started unbuttoning his shirt, she kissed his chest as she undid each button. She stood up and pushed his shirt off of his shoulders, she leaned forward and kissed his strong shoulders as his shirt slowly slid down his back she threw it into the corner with hers.
When she stepped back Harry pushed her gently onto the couch. Once she was sitting he knelt in front of her, lifted her skirt to just above her knees he kissed each of her knees then reached for her shoes. He continued kissing the tops of her knees as he removed her shoes and then her stockings; they joined the growing pile in the corner. Her breath was very shallow as she basked in the attention he was giving her. He held up each of her bare feet in turn and kissed all the way down to her toes from her knees, her legs were smooth as silk. He stepped back and held out his hands to help her up, she took them and stood now only wearing her undergarments and her skirt. She turned him around, reversing their positions on the couch.
He sat down and leaned back on the couch. She saw his pants were straining at the crotch otherwise he looked completely relaxed. There was no longer any need for words between them. She knelt before him and took off first his left then his right shoe; she slowly removed his socks, gently dragging with her fingernails as she did so. Again he shivered at the touch but tried to stay as still as possible. When he was barefoot she stood and helped him stand.
Now he was wearing only his boxers and pants. She stood there trembling slightly as he embraced her, he kissed her forehead then went to kissing her left ear, as he did this he reached behind her and unzipped her skirt. She felt it release and slide down her legs, she stepped to the side slightly and hooking her skirt with one foot kicked it into the growing pile.
Without breaking away, she reached between them and unbuckled his belt, then unbuttoned and finally unzipped his pants. She felt his member released from its bonds, it nearly leapt into her hand. She gently caressed it through his cotton boxers, then hooked his pants with her thumbs she started kissing down his chest as she slowly knelt, pulling his pants down with her. He obligingly stepped out of his pants and she threw them into the corner. As she stood she couldn't resist looking at his bulging boxers, they stood out well over six inches. A thrill coursed through her as she realized he was well endowed. She could also feel moisture forming between her legs her knickers suddenly becoming wet. As she stood slowly she kissed his chest, she knew what was next to be removed.
When she finished standing up she turned her back to him so he could see the clasp on her bra. She felt his trembling hands release the clasp; she took a deep breath to steady herself and turned to face him, holding her arms out slightly, waiting for him to remove her bra. He looked her in the eyes questioningly and she nodded her head. He reached up and pulled the bra down and off her arms; she looked at him meekly as he viewed her breasts for the first time. They were much larger than he thought they would be, but she always wore baggy clothes. She had small slightly pink nipples which had been flattened by her bra but now, as he watched intently they moved and became erect. He once again met her eyes and seeing her blush smiled warmly at her.
She immediately stepped a little closer and knelt quickly, snatching his boxers as she went down, they were suddenly around his ankles, he once again stepped out of them and she threw them somewhere. She looked directly at his penis, inches away from her, he was magnificent. As she stood again she gently caressed his chest with her breasts, her hand found his manhood and gently grasped it. He moaned but quickly fell silent, staring her in the eyes he slowly knelt before her, kissing her straight down, passing between her breasts, she released his manhood when he had dropped too low.
He kissed her stomach and all the way down, over her belly button and to her knickers. He followed her example and pulled them down suddenly. He was very surprised to find only beautiful folds of skin, she had no pubic hair. He looked up into her eyes again questioningly, she mouthed one word magic. He grinned and stood as she kicked her knickers away somewhere. This time he reached up in front of her and gently cupped her breasts. She closed her eyes and moaned quietly, he gently rubbed the palm of his hand over her breasts, feeling her hard nipples fold over and pop back up when the pressure had passed.
"NOX," He spoke commandingly to the room. Though his wand was in the corner somewhere the room was suddenly plunged into darkness. She placed her arms around his neck and locked her fingers together. He squatted a little and reached behind her knees and with his left arm supporting her back he picked her up and walked slowly to their bed. She snuggled against him, relishing in his strength, he had a lot of muscle tone and she silently thanked Oliver Wood for instilling such a hard practice regimen into the Quidditch team.
He paused when he got to the bed. She reached down and moved the comforter and sheet out of the way. He placed her upon the bed and slid in beside her. She felt his member hard against her hip, and then he lifted his hip a little and was able to slide closer to her, his member sliding over her leg. He slid his right hand across her stomach and up to cup her left breast again. Squeezing gently he started kissing her cheek; she turned her head to meet his mouth they kissed deeply. They lay there for a while she started stroking him with her left hand and he continued to caress her breasts, alternating between them every few moments. They kissed on and on as he slowly worked his right hand down her body pausing frequently to squeeze her gently. Finally she met his hand and placed it between her legs. She spread her legs apart to make it easier for him to feel her.
He found her very wet and slippery; she moved his hand up and down, pressing his hand into the folds of her skin. She moaned into their kiss, intense pleasure spreading out from her loins. She shuddered and her breath caught. She continued to encourage him to move his fingers between her legs. She splayed her legs far apart, making sure he felt with his fingers the hole he needed to enter. When she was sure he knew his destination she pushed him up on top of her, she held his manhood again and guided it down.
He had to move down on the bed before she was happy with his position. She raised her hips as she pulled him down towards her. When the tip of his member pressed into her and it seemed right to her she released him and instead grabbed his lower back. They had not stopped kissing for anything but rudimentary breathing. She spoke into his mouth, "now," and digging her nails into his back she pulled him down into her.
He thrust into her hard. She whimpered into his mouth but continued pulling him towards her. She squirmed a bit trying to make it more comfortable. He broke away from the kiss but she snarled at him, "Kiss me, damn it." He kissed her fiercely, trying to distract her from the pain. She held him motionless inside her for a minute then gently pushed him up a little. He understood, and started slowly moving in and out of her. He had been so wrapped up in helping her, but now he became aware of the intense pleasure that he was feeling. This was perfection, completion, a union the likes of which he had never imagined possible.
Just as he was beginning to savor the feelings, he became aware of intense pain off in the distance. He looked into her eyes concerned, but she seemed to have passed through most of her pain. She was starting to move with him and intensifying the feeling ten-fold. The pain in the distance became much more pronounced. Suddenly he knew where it was coming from. He stopped abruptly and leaned on his elbows. He quickly reached out in the vague direction of where her wand had ended up and instantly it was in his hand. He thrust it into her hand, "Get in my head now," he ordered. She looked confused but concentrated and then, "Legilimens," she spoke quietly looking into his eyes.
Instantly she was there, her mind entwining with his. What is the matter? Why am I here? Then he started his body moving again. She suddenly felt his pleasure, her own adding to it. She decided to try and have him feel her pleasure too so she shared it with him. She became aware that somewhere a man was screaming in agony. What is that? How is this hurting you? - That's not me, it's Voldemort my love. Harry had been picking up speed with his thrusts and now was moving fast. They focused on their shared pleasure. This was a complete union, minds and bodies. Somewhere in the distance they heard Voldemort scream in pain, they closed the link to him with a thought. Instantly they concentrated on the pleasure they were sharing. She started retreating back to her own mind but he held onto her, feeding her the energy she needed to maintain the mental link. He wanted her there for the whole thing, entwined with him, feeling each other's pleasure.
An eternity later he exploded within her, when she experienced his release she quickly reached hers. They lay there shuddering. Minds and bodies intertwined, he thrust a few more times but then stopped and collapsed onto her. They were both panting heavily. Only now did he allow her to retreat into her own mind. He had continued to give her the energy needed to maintain the mental link. He hoped he had given her enough to keep her from falling asleep now. He turned his head and began kissing her gently on the cheek. They were far too tired to speak at this moment. But he had to express his love for her physically now that her mind was no longer with his.
She opened her eyes and looked into his, "Wow, that was amazing!"
He chuckled lightly, "Good, I hope we will only get better"
"Do you realize what you did?"
Still chuckling he replied, "No my love, tell me."
"Well the most amazing part to me was giving me the power to maintain that link. I slept for four hours after a ten minute session earlier, now I have spent half an hour inside your head and I'm not even tired. You have immense magical power."
"Really? I just did what needed doing. I wanted you to stay with me so I helped you do it."
"Yes, that's the difference between us. I follow the spells to the letter to get the results I want, you make the result into what you want and let the spells be damned."
He could not believe they were having an intellectual discussion while he was still quite hard within her. He wiggled a little to remind her of that fact then spoke "Let's go take a shower, I'm sure we both need it."
"Together?" she sounded scared at the thought.
"Yes, together."
She swallowed and nodded her agreement.
Reluctantly he pulled out of her. When she began to sit up he wouldn't let her, instead he picked her up and carried her to the bathroom, never taking his eyes from hers. The feeling of his sweaty skin on her skin was absolutely thrilling. He walked straight into the shower before placing her on her feet. She realized she was still holding her wand so spoke a quick, "Lumos" several lit candles appeared around the bathroom, two in the shower with them.
She put her wand up on top of the sliding door to the shower and he turned on the water. It was cold at first but that was welcome, the shower soon warmed and they began washing each other.
He noticed her wet hair reached just past her butt it was much shorter dry. He lathered up her entire body first, blocking most of the water from her with his body. His back stung where she had dug in her nails but he ignored it, she needed him. When her top was completely lathered he knelt before her, water streaming onto his head, he washed her bottom half, careful to remove all the blood from between her legs. He was surprised there was so little. It was very important to him that he take care of her. He felt like she had sacrificed herself for him.
Hermione couldn't believe how perfect this night had turned out. Never had she imagined that he would be so willing to help her. Hell he was washing her from head to toe and it felt so good! She exalted in the feel of his hands rubbing over her entire body. Was this because he knew her so well and subconsciously understood her needs? OH HELL QUIT ANALYZING, ENJOY IT! She yelled at herself.
When he was done washing her body he started washing her hair, while he was working on that she found the soap and started lathering him up. He felt so strong and full of energy, she had to stop to help him wash the soap out of her hair, and then she went back to work washing him. She washed his broad shoulders and chest, when she got to his back she gasped at the gouges her nails had left in his back. He had completely ignored them just to take care of her. She carefully cleaned out his wounds, he hardly winced, and then grabbed her wand to cast a small healing charm on him and put away her wand. It was her turn to kneel before him and wash his lower half. Like the Gryffindor she was she grasped his still stiff member and lathered it up, she paid particular attention to making sure he was clean. He just leaned on the wall and moaned quietly.
When she finished washing him she quickly placed her mouth around the tip of him and sucked, she pushed her mouth over him as far as she could. He seemed frozen in place, not daring to move. She was nearly gagging with him pressed against the back of her throat but she had to try this. She held him tightly around the base and pumped her mouth over him several times.
Suddenly she released him and stood up, looking at him through her thick eyelashes. He seemed to be begging her for more. He picked her up and put her back against the wall of the shower. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. He reached down and aligned himself with her again. She loosened her grip on his waist to slide down onto him.
Once he was inside her again she leaned against the wall and he started stroking in and out of her again. This felt completely different, the water cascading around them he stood in the shower supporting her, just when his legs could stand it no longer he felt himself reaching his climax, he rammed himself as deeply as he could, she cried out and reached her own climax. He immediately slid onto the floor, taking her with him. She reached up and turned off the shower and they sat there for several minutes breathing heavily.
Hermione stood and got them both towels. She wrapped her hair into one then started drying herself off. Harry slowly started to dry himself, still sitting on the floor of the shower. "Join me in bed when you get dried off," she picked up her wand from the top of the sliding door to the shower and headed towards the bed.
He just nodded and smiled at her then started struggling to his feet. When he got to the bed he was ready to collapse and fall asleep, she was already lying on the bed under the sheets. Her hair was still wrapped in the towel. He slid into bed next to her and realized that she was still naked as well. This kept getting better he thought but he was definitely too tired to do anything more about it tonight. She snuggled up to him as he lay on his back within a minute he was sound asleep.
He was awakened by Hermione slipping him inside of her again. She was on top of him, straddling his legs. She leaned forward and pressed her right nipple against his lips. He eagerly reached up and seized her breasts, latching his mouth onto her teasing nipple. She moaned as she worked herself up and down his member. She moved slowly at first, finding the extent of her mobility. She had to work for a long time to get him to his third climax of the night, her body glistened with sweat, he had alternated between which breast he was suckling on but never let up on them both. She had made herself climax several times while getting him to his.
She collapsed onto him exhausted. He reached down and pulled the sheets up over them. He turned to kiss her but she had already fallen asleep, a blissful smile upon her face. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
*** *** ***
The Park
Harry could get used to waking up next to this angel, his angel, he corrected himself. She was so very beautiful and precious to him. Last night, wow, Harry was still quite shocked by it. They had made love, which had definitely not been sex; there was no doubt in his mind that they had made love. She was the completion of his soul. He watched her breathe slowly as she slept close beside him. She was on her back, his left arm was her pillow, and her bushy brown hair formed a halo around her head. The sheet was up just far enough to cover her soft breasts, he watched them intently as they rose and fell to her rhythmic breathing.
Once again he felt the stirring in his loins. Again? he told himself, they had done it three times last night, shouldn't that be enough? No he told himself he would never get enough of her. He thought about how to awaken her, then contemplating her luscious breasts he decided how. He lifted the sheet off of her and pulled it down to her stomach. Then he slid down so his mouth was over her right nipple, simultaneously he cupped her left breast and latched his hungry mouth onto her nipple.
Hermione gasped at awakening to this unfamiliar but pleasant sensation. She stretched out while he continued massaging and suckling. After she relaxed from stretching she teased, "Haven't you had enough?"
He reluctantly pulled off her nipple, causing her breast to stretch upwards as he did so. "I don't think I'll ever grow tired of anything related to you. Whether we are doing this." He once again gave her nipple a long drawn out sucking before continuing, "or studying." He pulled his arm out from under her head and got up on his knees. She spread her legs wide as he climbed between them.
She reached down and grasped his member, stroking it gently she guided it towards her waiting opening. She knew he did not need the guidance but she enjoyed touching him and he didn't seem to mind in the least. He slipped smoothly inside of her, he paused for a moment once he was fully inside. They both relished the feeling of completeness this offered them; he looked down at her hungrily then collapsed onto his elbows and brought his mouth to hers. She returned his kiss, passion growing inside of her as they began to move together. They seemed to have already found an understanding and no longer had to worry about the mechanics of it all.
Harry could feel Voldemort squirming somewhere in agony again, then he did what they had done the night before, he closed his mind to that connection. Voldemort was gone, the world was just them, and nothing else existed at the moment. An eternity later they again reached their culmination together, they seemed so perfectly matched. They lay there just relaxing in the perfection of it all softly kissing. Some time later the unmistakable sounds of an owl at the window intruded upon them.
He got up and first went to the corner where his pants were and found his wand. Then he opened the curtains and the window to allow Hedwig to enter. She flew in and landed on her perch. He closed the window and curtain then approached her released her letter. He looked at it, it was a reply from Dumbledore.
Hermione had also gotten up when she saw it was Hedwig. She walked straight to the bathroom, pinching Harry on the rear as he took the letter from Hedwig. "I'm going to shower."
Harry watched her retreating into the bathroom and again longed to follow her but his grumbling stomach told him there were other priorities to deal with. He noticed she did leave the door open though. He absolutely loved the fact that she seemed to no longer be shy about her body with him. Hell, she had just paraded by him, the only thing she took with her to the bathroom was her wand. Oh he loved the uninhibited Hermione he had discovered last night.
The letter from Dumbledore was brief.
Harry and Hermione,
Thank you for the report. The funeral will be tomorrow night. I will arrive at 6pm to take you to it and return you afterwards.
Albus Dumbledore
He went to the table and conjured their breakfast. He ate absently for a minute then went into the bathroom. She was just stepping out of the shower when he arrived. They exchanged a brief kiss, his hand trailing along her wet stomach, and then he went into the shower. When he emerged she was in her robe, her hair wrapped in a towel, eating breakfast and reading Albus' letter. He quickly dried off and slipped on a pair of boxers. When he joined her at the table she asked, "I wonder where the funeral will be held?"
"No idea"
"I want to go outside today and walk around. Show me the neighborhood please."
"Ok, how about a walk to the park, it's not far away and I will even show you where I was attacked by the Dementors."
"Thank you. I want to see some of the places you have grown up in."
"Well in that case we should start with the cupboard under the stairs, which was my room until four years ago. I have spent more than half my life in there." He had tried to make it a joke but it hadn't come across that way to her.
She stood up and walked around the table to him. She knelt beside his chair and with conviction in her voice she again gave him the assurance he needed. "I will make it up to you, how these people treated you is despicable. You deserve love, compassion, and support. I will give you all I can." She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him fiercely. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and matched the intensity of the hug.
"I know you will, you always have. You're all the family I need, you always have been."
"Thank you, but don't forget my parents, they want to be the parents you never had. I know they will help you to."
He nodded, unable to speak at the moment. They separated and she went back to her chair. He bent to finishing his toast. When they were done eating they got dressed to face the day. He noticed that she moved her wand holster inside her left sleeve along her forearm; his went under his shirt along his belt.
"Duru aperen," she spoke waving her wand at the blank wall. Harry's bedroom door, which had been missing since she created the bathroom the other day, was suddenly in the blank space. He moved to open it but as he expected Vernon had locked it. She quickly cast, "alohamora," and the door opened in his hand. The house was quiet as he stepped into the hallway, Vernon was probably at work and Dudley would be out with his gang. They went down the stairs, Harry heard Hermione close the door and whisper a locking charm before joining him on the stairs. He walked quickly to the front door and quietly pulled it open. They stepped into the mid-morning sun, closing the door behind them. They walked down the sidewalk, arms around each others waists; just enjoying each others company.
They had gotten about halfway to the park when they encountered Dudley and his gang. There was no avoiding them; they were walking towards them on the same sidewalk. She felt Harry tense for this encounter. She gave him a squeeze of support and they released each other's waists. He stepped slightly in front of her and she looked around wearily as she reached into her sleeve to grasp the handle of her wand. She would only use it if he couldn't handle the situation but there were five boys and only one Harry.
When they got close she could see Dudley's sneer of superiority and when they stopped Harry and Dudley were only five feet apart. Dudley spoke first, "Well if it isn't potty and his whore." The gang, including Dudley roared in laughter.
Instantly Harry moved, blindingly fast, he closed the gap to Dudley and punched him square in the nose. Dudley dropped like he had been hit with a sledgehammer. Without pausing Harry retreated to stand protectively between the gang and Hermione. She had caught a glimpse of his face, he looked absolutely menacing. She felt a moment of sympathy for anyone who tried to oppose him, then a thrill as she finally realized that she was the reason for his reaction.
"No one and I mean NO ONE insults Hermione, any of you lot need some convincing?" Dudley moaned on the ground but seemed unable to move yet. The remaining four boys, all bigger than Harry, merely shook their heads no. "Just leave us alone then," the gang abandoned their leader on the ground and scattered. Still trembling he took Hermione's hand and they walked around Dudley, continuing towards the park.
She rubbed the knuckles of his right hand, they were sure to be sore after that punch. She held his hand up to her mouth and kissed it tenderly. "Thank you Harry, you're always my hero."
There were several groups of children playing around the park. They walked over to a bench near the middle of the park and sat down, Harry's arm around her shoulders, hers around his waist.
"So how many children to you want to have?" She said as she was watching a little girl with long red hair play with her slightly older brother on the jungle gym.
"Umm let's worry about the wedding first. And umm did you remember to do that spell to keep from getting pregnant?" He whispered the last question into her ear.
"Of course. I would never forget something that important. So do you want a big public wedding or a small private one?"
"Private, definitely private. There will come a time when I want the whole world to know how important you are to me. For now I think it would be a very bad idea to advertise your importance to Voldemort and his supporters."
Hermione nodded her head, following his reasoning. "Ok, I can accept that for now but everyone at school will see the ring, when we get one that is. Maybe we can have a secret keeper so that only those we tell can see the ring. Hmmm, I'll have to research that."
"That sounds like a good idea. I will be the secret keeper for your ring and you be the one for mine."
"Ok, if it's possible that is."
They sat in silence for a while; she rested her head on his shoulder as they watched the kids playing. Suddenly the little girl fell from the top of the jungle gym, her brother reached to grab her but missed. As he unconsciously summoned the force to cushion the girl's fall she suddenly stopped in mid air, then gently floated to the ground. he looked at Hermione but she was looking questioningly at him. They both shrugged and looked around, no one else seemed to have noticed, not even their mother who was sitting on the bench next to them reading a book. They looked back at the boy who was now on the ground with his sister talking to her. He looked up and met their eyes; Hermione was struck by the piercing green eyes she had seen only one other place, on Harry. The boy looked to be about eleven, he had light red hair and those piercing green eyes. Hermione tried to see the girl's eyes and after a moment the girl also looked at them, she had those same green eyes.
"Harry do you know that boy?"
"Yes his name is Mark Evans, that's his sister Melony. I think he is about eleven and she should be nine. Dudley and his gang beat him up last summer. Why do you ask?"
Hermione's heart was beating very fast. Wasn't 'Evans' Harry's mothers' maiden name? Yes Definitely. Could this boy be related to Harry somehow? He had the same eyes as Harry, eyes that had always been described as matching Lily's and Lily had red hair, like the two siblings, a quick glance at the mother confirmed she was a blond so the hair most likely came from the father. This needed some research; she couldn't let Harry get his hopes up though.
"Nothing really, we should make sure Dumbledore knows he is magical though, he must have stopped her fall if we didn't"
"Yeah, ok"
"So where do you want to have the wedding Harry?" She asked to distract him from the boy.
"No idea yet, I do know I don't want it here or at Grimmauld place. Maybe at school?"
"Hmm maybe, we need to ask for suggestions I guess."
"Lets go home, I'm getting hungry and I still want to show you that alley."
"Ok." They got up and walked out of the park arms again wrapped around each other's waists.
They passed through the alley without stopping, it was just an empty alley during the day and Hermione had heard the story in great detail before. Just seeing the place was all she had wanted anyway. Dudley was not home when they arrived and apparently Petunia was still out somewhere. They went quietly up to Harry's room; Hermione unlocked the door then locked and banished it once they were inside. He felt relief at being safely back in his room with her. He kept thinking about what could have happened with Dudley. Sensing his distress she hugged him tightly.
"Thank you," she pulled back far enough to bring her lips to his and kiss him warmly. She felt the stress flow out of him as he released his pent up magical energy slowly. She hugged him tightly again then took a step back. "I need to write to my mum and Dumbledore. I think you should write to Ron. They all need to know about us being engaged."
Harry sighed but seemed to accept it. "All right dear. I will write the letter to Ron but I want you to check it before we send it."
"Ok love." Hermione went to her school supplies and took out her quills, ink, and parchment. Harry went to his desk and tried to think how he would break the sudden news of their impending wedding to his best friend. Hermione quickly wrote the letter to Professor Dumbledore.
Professor Dumbledore,
I believe Harry is ready to hear your proposal. Much has happened in the last two days. We have read the will and he has at least accepted that Sirius is gone. Since you were a witness to his will I am sure you are aware of the contents. I believe that Sirius was right. My parents are the correct choice as his new guardians. He desperately needs a family and this one comes complete with his fiancée.
We will be moving to Grimmauld place on August 1st, and staying there with my parents who wanted to spend time getting to know Harry. They will pick us up and drive us there.
We have begun practicing Occulmency. He seems to be picking it up very well. He should soon be able to control Voldemort's access to his thoughts.
We were both very saddened by Alastor's death.
Love
Hermione Potter
She thought for a while then wrote to her mother. Harry had at last come up with what he thought was the only way to manage his task.
Ron,
I hope your summer is going well. I must admit that mine started out rather badly but is now improved quite dramatically.
If I understand it correctly it happened like this. Hermione sent a letter to Dumbledore complaining that I needed someone to talk to. He then spoke to her parents and brought her here.
Yes Hermione is here at Privet Drive with me. She has forced me to come to grips with Padfoot's death. We have read his will and I have inherited Grimmauld place. Hermione's parents will be picking us up on August 1st to go there with us. You are all welcome to join us there for August.
Ok now for the hard part Ron. Hermione and I are in love, well we have been for some time but have now admitted it. We are also engaged to be married. I am terribly sorry that we can't tell you about this in person. Please don't hate us; we are not trying to cut you out of our friendship. You are still a very important friend to us both.
Please Owl us with your feelings on this and whether or not we can expect you all to join us at Grimmauld place next month.
All our Best
Harry & Hermione
"Mione come read this please."
Hermione, who was just finishing folding her letter to her mother, got up and came to Harry's desk. She read it over and then nodded her head. "I hope that does it, straight forward and not hiding anything, its how he needs to hear it."
"Yep that's what I thought." He folded the letter and addressed it to Ron, The Burrow. He got up and walked towards Hedwig. She was sleeping on her perch and he felt sorry for the task he was about to give her. He gently rubbed her chest feathers. "Wake up girl"
Hedwig opened her eyes and looked around, she saw the letter Harry was holding and the two that Hermione was approaching with and hooted indignantly. "I know girl I'm sorry but these need delivering. Take this one to Dumbledore first then on to Ron and then to the Grangers." Hermione tied the letters for Ron and the Grangers onto her legs; she took Dumbledore's in her beak while Harry went and opened the window.
"Hedwig, please try and deliver the letter to my mum when dad is not around."
Hedwig hooted her understanding and flew out the window into the noon day sun.
Harry closed the window behind Hedwig and turning gave her a quizzical look she answered, "I wrote that to my mum, I told her about us and what we did last night. I think she will understand our situation quickly and am leaving it up to her as to how and when to tell Dad. I think it will be a shock to him, he is just getting used to the idea that his little girl is in love and now she is getting married."
Harry came over to her and pulled her into a hug, she quickly embraced him as well. "It will work out, I'm sure it will" he reached up and ran his fingers gently through her long hair.
"I think we should have some lunch then practice Occulmency. I did tell Dumbledore that we had been practicing, which I guess we have but I want you to be able to shut him out if he tests you tomorrow."
"Ok, you have, as always, my full attention. Lead on," They walked to the table and he sat down.
Standing on the other side of the table she pulled out her wand and asked, "What would you like Harry?"
He looked at her mischievously, "Well, when you ask it like that?"
"Later Harry, Later, let's get us fed and practiced, then we can relax all we want, that's a promise my love, that's a promise." He looked slightly disappointed at her refusal but she could tell he was just pretending.
"Then let's see how good a pizza you can conjure; how about one with a thin crust, sausage and mushrooms?"
"Ok, but don't expect too much. She waved her wand over the table, "conjurus," and a large steaming pizza appeared just like he had requested. "Well try it; at least it doesn't look burnt."
He picked up a slice and bit into it; he chewed and swallowed before answering her question, "A little chewy for thin crust but well done my dear."
"Well I like thicker crusts, ok, conjurus," and a pair of glasses of chilled pumpkin juice appeared on the table. She sat down and picked up her own slice of pizza and started eating.
A/N: Many have asked if this story will be different from the first. In many minor ways yes it is. It does follow the original plot however. I have learned much since my first paltry attempts at writing. This version I hope reflects much of that. It is in no way perfect, merely improved. I will be posting a chapter 27 on the original Summer , that will match the last chapter of Take 2. As to what I have been doing in my absence? Writing a novel actually. No it isn't done. The pending arrival of HBP however makes my concluding this story critical. If I did not finish it before that book came out it would never be complete. I would have to re-write based on that we will learn in that book. For JKR would have changed the universe I envisioned this taking place. Thank you all for the warm welcome back, It is truly appreciated… Gil? What do you mean you may now be able to complete that story sitting on your pc? Email me, let's talk some more.
Love all,
Gol