Unofficial Portkey Archive

Hermione bit her lip nervously as she slowly ascended the stairs that led to the Astronomy Tower. Her heart beat rapidly behind her ribcage and she kept running a shaking hand through her brown curls. She stopped short in front of the wooden door, eyes fixed on the handle and her mind determinedly set on feeling the presence of the person on the other side.

Since Harry had finally acquired his powers yesterday evening, Hermione found her new born sense of Empathy to be very strong. Every time she passed a person in the corridors, she felt their feelings and heard their thoughts without even trying. Dumbledore had excused the Four Heirs from attending classes so they could all cope with their losses and learn to control their powers. A meeting had been set up for the next day with Dumbledore in his study along with several of the teachers. It seemed as if they would all be moved somewhere else for the training to finally begin.

Hermione was very grateful to Dumbledore for ending her classroom time. She knew if she was in a small area with a large amount of people her senses would be overloaded and she would most likely pass out. Being in the Common Room every night was bad enough and it took her hours to go to sleep now. Permanent dark circles now lay under her eyes and she always felt exhausted. Dumbledore had told her this would pass though, once she learned to control her Empathic ability and only use it when necessary.

Hermione had met no one in the halls though and her head was allowed a short time of rest. She certainly needed it after some of the rather........interesting thoughts she had been hearing from people lately. Shaking her head slightly she made herself concentrate more and focused firmly on working her powers. A strong surge of sadness and anger flew at her and nearly knocked her off of her feet. Hermione steadied herself by grabbing the doorframe and managed to grab the cold metal door handle in her hand and twist the knob.

Very slowly and silently, the heavy door swung open. Darkness greeted her eyes at first until they adjusted. She stepped quietly into the room and her eyes immediately fell on the figure leaning against the stone ledge of the tower, his back to her, and the wind lightly ruffling his hair. Hermione caught her breath at how magnificent he looked, silhouetted in the moonlight. The scene was perfect and she could have stood there for hours just staring at him. Seconds later, the perfect moment was shattered by his voice.

"What are you doing here, Hermione?" Harry said quietly.

Hermione blinked, tearing herself away from her daydreams, and tried to focus on him better. Harry still hadn't turned around but he had obviously felt her there. With a small gulp, she took an unsure step forward before speaking.

"I....I thought I'd find you here."

Harry sighed deeply and shifted a little but continued to gaze steadily at the star-studded sky. "That doesn't answer my question," he responded, "I know you're not one for rule-breaking. You shouldn't be up here. What if Filch had caught you?"

"Oh, and its ok for you to come up here?" she snapped back.

"Yes," he answered in a tired voice, "I needed to think."

Hermione let out a soft snort and stepped closer to him. She refused to let herself enter his thoughts and though she still had little control over it, only his feelings floated into her. There was a deep, running pain that tore through Harry. There were scars that went deeper than the surface and there was much suffering. She could also feel the want to cry. She lifted her hand up as she moved toward him, as if wanting to reach out to him in any way she could.

"Harry......" she trailed off.

"Don't read into my mind, Hermione," Harry said firmly, finally turning around to face her. His bright green eyes watched her blankly but Hermione knew him well enough to read below that expressionless facade he always put up when he was in pain. She didn't need to read his mind to know that. Harry was hurting, crumbling beneath the weight of so much suffering and death that he was about ready to break. She knew he would explode from it one day. He was like a ticking bomb, set to go off but not just yet.

"Why can't I?" she said stubbornly, putting her hands on her hips, "its not like you'll ever tell me how you feel."

"You don't need to know my problems, I'll deal with them myself. You have enough on your mind." Harry glared back at her and spun away from her again, putting his head in his hands.

Hermione finally stepped up next to him and very gently put a hand on his shoulder. He flinched and moved away from her, not noticing the hurt look on Hermione's face. "Stop pushing me away, Harry," she whispered, "I'll just keep going after you."

"WHY?!" he yelled suddenly, making her jump, "Why do you give a damn about me?! I'll just get you killed, I almost got you killed last year! Stay away from me, Hermione. I'm just dangerous for you."

Hermione trembled and a tear ran down her face. This was what she was so afraid of, he was pushing her away even more than before. It had started last year and now it was escalating. Harry had started to warm up just slightly at the beginning of this year but as soon as Hagrid had died, the wall had gone right back up, even stronger than before.

"Harry, please, just tell ---"

"You don't know what it's like," he said quietly, cutting her off, "you don't know what it's like to watch every person you ever cared for die around you. Since I was one year old, all I've been surrounded by is death. Everywhere. I can't escape it. Every person I let near me, who I let myself care about and love, they die. I'm a worse curse than the Avada Kedavra." He let out a very bitter, harsh laugh. "Bloody hell, I don't need Voldemort around anymore to kill off those I care about or anybody for that matter, I do it well enough by myself." Harry's hands clenched into fists and he bowed his head.

Hermione watched him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Don't say that Harry. It's not true, you know that."

"Oh yeah!" he said harshly, spinning around to face her once more, his face screwed up in an effort to stop himself from both crying and exploding in anger. "Let me name off the list for you, ok Hermione? Want to hear it? Want to hear again every name of who has died because of me? I'm sure you don't mind....." he spat.

Hermione shook violently and silent tears now ran down her face. "Oh please, Harry. No....." she begged.

Harry ignored her though and started counting off on his fingers, keeping his eyes fixed on her face the entire time. "Let's see......Dad, Mum, Quirrell, Bertha Jorkins, Cedric, Sirius, Hagrid," he paused, "Ah yes! And we can't forget those who almost died now can we? Ginny, you, Colin, Justin, Penelope all in second year. Last year! Ron, Luna, Neville, you and Ginny once again! I'm a curse, Hermione, a bloody curse! Now I finally understand why everyone steers clear of me, I would too if I were them." He lowered his hands and stared at Hermione again.

She had fallen to the floor, the flow of tears never stopping. Her light sobs echoed strangely in the tower and she was rocking back and forth. "Stop," she kept muttering under her breath.

Harry slumped his shoulders and walked away from her to the other side of the tower, staring out toward Hogsmeade. "Just forget you ever knew me, Hermione, you'll be safer that way. Stay away from me and stop being my friend," he said quietly, a tear of his own sliding down his cheek.

This statement angered Hermione greatly and she leapt to her feet, tears still falling from her eyes but now they were shining with fury. "How dare you, Harry James Potter! How dare you! Don't tell me who to stay away from and who to be around. Don't tell me not to be your friend and don't you dare tell me to forget you! I can't forget you, I won't ever forget you. You're too much a part of my life now for me to just drop you and act like I don't care. I won't let the weight of everything rest on you alone. I knew from the moment I became your friend there would be danger involved but such is the life of being a friend of Harry Potter's. I don't care about any of the danger you go through, I don't care about Voldemort, all I care about is you and I will not leave you now."

Hermione stopped her speech, breathing hard. Harry had become very tense at her words but said nothing. She started speaking once more, this time more softly. "Don't make me leave you, Harry. I need you too much now. I can understand you better now, I lost my parents too, remember? You, me, Ginny, even Malfoy, are all in something together now. We're more deeply connected than you can imagine. Don't walk away from this, Harry. They need you, I need you."

Hermione watched with bated breath, waiting for Harry to respond to her words, hoping he had understood her underlying meaning to her statements. Finally Harry turned and slid down against the wall, sitting on the floor and pulling his knees up to his chest. He stared up at her, looking like a lost, little boy and her heart melted. His cheeks were stained with tears and his emerald eyes were shining brighter than ever. "I can't do it, Hermione," he whispered, not daring to look at her.

Hermione walked silently over to him and sat down next to him. Cautiously, she put her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. He made no move to respond to her touch but he didn't flinch away from her this time either. He continued slowly, encouraged by her show of comfort and affection.

"I just can't do it anymore. I can't go through the death and suffering anymore. I can't wait for Voldemort to take another person away from me. I can't take having the fate of the wizarding world in my hands. I can't stand being the bloody hero and savior anymore. I'm always looked at to make things better and I can't take it anymore. I'm not perfect, I'm not unbreakable. I'm human. I make mistakes, I make wrong choices, I can be hurt, I can die, but no one seems to realize that. They look at the scar on my forehead and think instantly I can do everything. They think Voldemort will fall over dead just by looking at me. It's not that easy. I wish it were but it's not. I may not be able to stop Voldemort. One of us is going to die and it will most likely be me."

Hermione's arms stiffened around him and she lifted her head slightly. "Wha...what are you talking about, Harry? One of you has to die? What do you mean?" She feared his answer but listened any way.

Harry sighed once more and ran a hand through his hair. He had never told anyone the Prophecy about him and Voldemort and he hesitated telling Hermione now. The Prophecy of Merlin had been enough for her, could she handle this one as well? Harry chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully before making up his mind. He opened his mouth and began in a low voice, "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......."

Harry had repeated the words so many times in his head he had them memorized perfectly. Hermione pulled away from him so sharply it was as though his skin was burning. He turned to face her, seeing her outline faintly in the dark. Her cinnamon eyes were wide in horror and her hand was covering her mouth. Well, I didn't make her rethink her friendship with me before but I certainly will now, he thought grimly.

Hermione surprised him though and the next second she threw her arms around him once more and was hugging him tightly. She was crying into his neck and he awkwardly put his own arms around her to hug her back. "You can't die, Harry, you just can't," he heard her muffled words faintly, "We'll stop him, you me, Ginny, and Draco. We're suppose to fight him together, right? Maybe you are meant to kill each other but it doesn't say you can't have help. Think about the Prophecy of Merlin. Together we'll fight him and win."

Harry was crying now as well and he gripped Hermione tighter to him, never loving her more than he did at that moment. She pulled away once more but kept her arms around his neck. She smiled slightly. "I'm not leaving you now, Harry. I'll always be here. Ron will be too. Voldemort is going to have to put up one awful fight to get to you."

Harry smiled back at her. "Thank you, Hermione," he said softly. She sniffled and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. She stood up and offered a hand down to him which he took. Harry found his footing and realized that they were standing only inches apart. Hermione stared up at him and blinked rapidly.

She looks so beautiful right now, Harry thought. He lifted his thumb up and wiped more tears away from her face. The silver rays from the moon hit her, making her eyes sparkle more than usual. He smiled gently at her and Hermione averted her eyes nervously. He cupped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look back up at him. When her brown eyes finally met his green ones, he smiled once more and said, "You're beautiful."

Hermione gave a small gasp and stared at Harry in wonder. He leaned forward just slightly, as if asking silent permission. Hermione nodded slowly and her eyes fluttered close. The next moment, Harry's lips were pressed against her own and fireworks went off in her head. Her arms slipped around his neck and his went firmly around her waist. They both lost themselves in the gentle but deep kiss, their true feelings for each other finally bursting to the surface.

And in that one kiss, both Harry and Hermione came to meet the most powerful magic in the world. Love.

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Author's Note: Thank you once more to all my amazing reviewers and all your wonderful messages of support! You made me feel tons better and I'm estatic that you love this story so much! It means the world to me!

I know this chapter is a little shorter but I really wanted to throw this in here. It's a bit more angsty than my previous chapters but it's a total H/Hr scene which I hope made you guys happy. I needed to get them together, I can't stand having them apart for too long. I hope you enjoyed it and don't worry, action will be coming shortly but this is also a romance fic so there's your romance, lol.

If you haven't noticed yet, this story is gonna be hella long I think. It's already chapter 10 and I haven't even gotten to the training yet! I hope you guys enjoy long stories, lol. I promise to get to the training within the next 4 chapters. Hold me to that, lol, well, don't hold me to it too much.

Ahh yes, and the title of the chapter, I wonder if anyone will catch why I named it what I did, if you do catch it, big thumbs up to you! LOL, if I could award Portkey points to anyone who guesses it correctly, I would! :)

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please please review and I will update again as fast as possible!
Much Love,
PhoenixFirebolt