Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me, I'm just borrowing
A/N: Thanks again to my beta Danielle
Harry's first training session with Dumbledore was more than he could ever have imagined. He learned, through the headmaster's pensive of Tom Riddle's past, of how he came to be an orphan and how he came to be at Hogwarts. Some of what he had learned he didn't want to dwell on.
His head was swimming when he returned to the common room. He was hoping to go over everything with Hermione, but she was nowhere to be found.
Ron was at a table in the far corner of the room and it appeared he was actually studying. As Harry got closer to him, he wasn't surprised by what he saw. The table was littered with stacks of parchment covered with marks and lines and symbols, maps of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade and other surrounding locales, and books ranging from 'Defensive Strategies for Magical Battles' to 'The Official Aurors Guide to Strategy and Planning'
Harry picked up the latter book, but Ron didn't even notice he was there. "I hope you didn't nick this. Moody's liable to turn you into something worse than a ferret."
Ron jumped and raised his head to glare at Harry. "Blimey, Harry! You should have a bell around your neck," Ron said and grabbed the book back. "And I'll have you know Moody's letting me borrow this."
The past two weeks in Defense Against the Dark Arts had been hectic. After finishing their review, they had moved straight into N.E.W.T level spells and battle strategy. Ron's aptitude in chess gave him a clear advantage on the subject and he obviously enjoyed it. Not only was he completing the homework on time without prodding from Hermione, he was also reading ahead and doing extra research on his own.
They had all been focusing on their work more. Seeing how their lessons would aid in the battle was incentive for doing well. Harry's new relationship with Hermione wasn't all that different from the old one. 'Except for the snogging of course' he thought with a grin.
Hermione had thrown herself into studying with a fervor she had never shown before. She rushed off to the library before classes, after classes, during every free period and often well into the night. Harry could only recall one night in the last week that she had spent in the common room with them and that was because she had fallen asleep. Shaking himself out of his reverie, he turned his attention back to Ron.
"So, Hermione in the library again?" he asked.
"Yeah, she never came back after dinner. Must have went straight there," Ron answered before turning back to his papers.
"Well, I'm going to go see if I can track her down. I had my first training session with Dumbledore and I wanted to tell you both together."
"Yeah, sure mate. Sounds good," Ron said, absently waving his hand in Harry's general direction.
Harry pulled the invisibility cloak around him and left the common room, still shaking his head over this new Ron.
The halls were silent, but Harry still felt more at ease under cover. He slid in the door to the library quickly as someone was leaving. Harry took an all too familiar path to the back, far corner near the restricted section and was rewarded for his effort.
There, at the largest table Madame Pince had, the one usually reserved for those doing group projects, sat Hermione. Her hair must have been bothering her as she'd pulled it back at some point during her studies and secured it with some extra quills, which made it seem as if she had some odd sort of head dress on. Books were stacked so high and in so many piles that Harry wondered how she'd had enough time to pull them all, much less read them. He was however, relieved to see that although she looked tired, she didn't look sick. Her relapse after the Order meeting scared him more than he cared to admit, but she had been getting better since then.
Harry took a surreptitious look around and stowed the cloak before making himself known.
"Hey," he whispered as he approached the table.
She jumped unexpectedly. "Harry!"
"Sorry, you were concentrating so hard…" he trailed off looking apologetic. Sitting at the table, he leaned in hoping she'd forgive him with a kiss.
"You're rotten," she declared, but relented and brushed her lips against his.
"So, any luck?" he asked, even though she had yet to really tell him what she was looking for.
At this, Hermione dropped the quill she had been writing with and rubbed both hands over her face. "Maybe. I feel like I'm on to something, I just don't know what it is yet."
"Well I know you'll figure it out. There's nothing the great, talented, beautiful, and incredibly brilliant Hermione Granger doesn't succeed at."
Hermione swatted his arm but she was grinning. "I wish I had half your confidence. There's a piece of this puzzle missing. I just need to keep looking."
"You know, I could help you if you'd just tell me what it is you're doing," he said, trying not so subtly to fish for information.
"You've got enough to be going on about right now. Speaking of which, how was your training with Dumbledore?" she asked, ending his quest for information.
"That's why I'm here actually. I came to get you so I can tell you and Ron about it. And I think it's time you called it a night anyways," he said seriously. "I don't want you getting sick again."
"You're sweet," she said softly and gave him another kiss before standing up and muttering a spell Harry didn't quite catch. In a flash all the books disappeared. Another wave of her wand and the rest of her belongings were packed neatly in her bag.
Harry chose to forego the cloak on the way back to the common room. Small moments like these, where he got to walk the halls of Hogwarts, hand intertwined with Hermione's, were going to become rarer and he wanted to enjoy them while he could.
Ron was in the exact same place he had been when Harry had left, but this time he looked up as they came in and began to pack up his things.
The common room had emptied out, again leaving just the trio to gather in front of the dying fire.
Ron and Hermione sat on the couch and looked to Harry expectantly. He pulled the armchair over so it was facing them and told them everything he knew.
They sat and listened silently, Hermione looked as if she may interrupt a time or two but kept herself in check. When he was done, he sat back and waited for their responses.
Harry could see Hermione's brain working and he knew she was already thinking of things he hadn't.
Ron suddenly broke the silence. "Merlin Harry, did you know before that you and Voldemort had such a similar past?"
Harry and Hermione both turned to Ron, mouths agape. Hermione began to speak, but was too flabbergasted at first. "That's…that's what I was about to say. Well done, Ron," she added approvingly.
Ron smiled. "I'm not completely daft, you know."
"So do you think that's important then? That we're so…similar?" Harry choked out the last word, loathing admitting such a connection.
Hermione's small hands made their way into his field of vision and clasped them with his.
"You are not him, Harry. And knowing what you've learned today just proves that more," she said softly.
"How can you say that?" he asked dejectedly. He hadn't wanted to share this information with them; he couldn't even bring himself to think about it. He was beginning the slow slide to wallowing when Hermione pulled him out.
"I can say that because it's true," she responded strongly. "Harry, your similar pasts show how truly different you are. Some could say that by growing up in an orphanage, Voldemort had a better childhood than you did. I'm sure he at the very least received regular meals and had a bed to sleep in." Hermione more than less spat the last words out, her despise of the Dursley's showing through. "But you, growing up the way you did, and having every right to be jaded and hateful. You're not though; it's part of who you are. That's not something you can learn or something that can be conditioned, it's part of your being."
"She's right, mate," Ron picked up. "You didn't know anything about the wizarding world our first day here, but you knew enough to not align yourself with Malfoy, and enough to tell the sorting hat to not put you in Slytherin."
Hermione flashed Ron a grateful smile. "Don't you see? You two are polar opposites. Night and Day. Black and White. Good and …" Hermione stopped herself and their eyes all met in an instant of understanding.
"…evil," Harry finished for her.
Hermione launched from the couch, too excited to stay seated. She was fairly flying around the common room now. "Why haven't I seen it before! Where does the 'good' come from? Where does the 'evil' come from? Voldemort was born this way. It's who he is and he's found a way to tap into it, to capitalize on the pure evil that's in him." She spun quickly to find Harry, grabbing his arms as she finished her realization. "But one can't exist without the other Harry! If there's power from the evil there must be power from the good! And you have the good! And good always wins!!" Hermione's face was flushed with her excitement, her eyes were shining and he didn't think he'd ever seen her have a bigger grin or look more beautiful.
Harry crushed her to him, feeling his lips bruise from the force of their kiss. He buried his face in her neck and whispered, "I can really win."
They broke apart, still grinning and looked to Ron who was dumbstruck. Shaking his head he rose from the couch and approached them, his smile getting wider the closer he got.
Hermione let out an 'Eeep!' as Ron suddenly grabbed her up by the waist and raised her high into the air before grabbing her in a bear hug and spinning her around. "You're a bloody genius 'Mione!" he said, smacking a kiss on her cheek and setting her down. He reached over and clapped Harry on the back. "No worries, right? All we have to do now is figure out how to access the power of pure good. Should be a snap."