Twisting Around
Chapter 8: Hospitality Not Guaranteed
A brilliant display of color filtered into the cave as the sun neared the end of its descent. Harry and Hermione stopped eating their meal to watch the beauty of the sunset. Harry rose from ground and grasping Hermione's hands, helped her to her feet.
Hand in hand, they walked to the cave's entrance. No words were needed, for the silence that existed only served to accentuate the sunset's beauty.
A few minutes passed, and the silence began to disperse. One could hear the rustling of leaves as light breezes whispered through the trees, and the birds of the air could be heard singing.
"I've loved to watch the sunset ever since I was a little girl." Hermione said softly, as Harry let her hand go and wrapped his arms around her from behind.
"The sunset is very pretty, but it can't outshine you." Harry replied, nuzzling her neck."
Hermione fought to contain the smile, but she couldn't prevent the corners of her mouth from turning upward. "Harry, I never knew you were so poetic."
"Don't worry, I'm not. I found that line in one of those trashy romances that Aunt Petunia always reads."
"I should have known" Hermione replied, the smile now in full bloom on her face.
"Of course. After all, since when does Harry Potter need words to show his love for this pretty girl?
Hermione turned her face towards Harry's and accepted the kiss she knew was coming.
"I wish we could stay here longer, but we do need to get going. All the other Death Eaters will have arrived at headquarters by now." Harry said regretfully.
"Yes. Do you think it will be safe for me to go there, or should I find a place to hide?" Hermione asked
Harry thought for a moment. "You should be safe, since you'll be with me. Voldemort needs me right now, and as long as he needs me, he won't dare harm you, and he'll also keep the Death Eaters in line."
"Good, I don't want to leave you for even a moment."
"Me neither"
"Are we going to go now?"
"I think so. You're seventeen now, can you apparate?"
"I've practiced a few times at Hogwarts in the Room of Requirement when I needed something to do when I was hiding from everybody."
"Then this should work. Just remember that hospitality is not guaranteed." Harry said it so solemnly that Hermione had to laugh.
Harry and Hermione shared one last treasured moment in the cave before they apparated together.
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"Where is Potter?" The Dark Lord demanded.
"We do not know, My Lord. He disappeared during the battle." Bellatrix Lestrange was trembling beneath her master's rage.
"You were ordered not to let him out of your sight."
"My Lord, the battle was vicious. There were several members of the order there and we had to focus on the battle."
"I did not ask for excuses. CRUCIO!"
Bellatrix fell to the ground, twitching as pain shot through her body.
Bellatrix's whole existence was pain. Her eyes were blinded by her tears, and she could not hear anything except the sounds of her screaming. When it finally ended, she gasped in relief.
"What is it Malfoy?" She heard the Dark Lord say.
"My Lord. Potter has arrived." Lucius Malfoy said with a disgusted look on his face.
Lord Voldemort did not miss this. "And?"
"My Lord, he brought a mudblood with him."
"I thought he might try something like this. Tell me Malfoy, did Granger come willingly?"
Lucius was not surprised that Voldemort knew who he had been talking about. "It appears that she came willingly. She was always extremely loyal to the Potter brat."
"Bring them in. And do try to be courteous. We must not risk offending Potter at this point. The plan has come too far."
"I hear and obey, My Lord"
"Of course you obey. Terrible things happen to those who don't"
Malfoy disappeared quickly. By the time he reappeared with Potter and Granger, the rest of Voldemort's Inner Circle was already waiting.
Harry had taken off his cloak and given it to Hermione to use, but she had refused to raise the hood. She wanted all the Death Eaters to know who she was.
"Did you ever consider Potter, that being a good occasionally requires one to be on time?" Lord Voldemort asked sardonically.
"Did you ever consider, Voldemort, that being a good host occasionally requires one to understand that there are extenuating circumstances behind a guest's behavior?" Harry replied.
The Death Eaters, who had been muttering, were now going for their wands. Mocking the Dark Lord could not be tolerated.
"Hold!" commanded the Dark Lord. The Death Eaters instantly froze where they were.
The Dark Lord stared into Harry's eyes, while Harry desperately tried not to blink. He knew that the Dark Lord was trying to enter his mind.
"Why did you bring the mudblood here?" Voldemort questioned tonelessly
"She's my friend, and she helped me escape from the order. She attacked Lupin while his guard was down and saved my life."
"And why should we tolerate keeping you around if you are constantly in need of saving, hmmm, Potter?"
"Because you are too afraid to take Dumbledore on by yourself. Everyone knows this. You need me. The question is why should I continue to tolerate helping cowards and those who are unjustly biased against a powerful witch, just because she's muggleborn?"
Harry locked his eyes with Voldemort's. The onlookers watched in interest to see who would win this battle of wills. Neither blinked, and neither looked away.
Finally, while still staring down, Harry, Voldemort broke the silence. "We appear to be at an impasse then. Go to your quarters, and take the mudblood with you. If you want her to stay, then you will have to share what we have generously given you with her. We will not waste our precious resources on a mudblood"
"Your kindness is overwhelming," Came the dry reply.
Harry guided Hermione through headquarters and into his accommodations.
After they had left, Voldemort addressed his Death Eaters. "Well that was certainly enlightening."
"What is it, My Lord?" Several Death Eaters asked eagerly.
"Potter knows that I am planning on killing him once he kills Dumbledore. He is now planning on how he can defeat me. And this gives us the advantage."
"What?! I don't understand, My Lord" Lucius Malfoy exclaimed.
"I would not expect you to understand. If you weren't such a fool, Malfoy, I would not have needed to break you out of Azkaban after that fiasco you call a mission. It is quite simple. Now, Potter will not kill Dumbledore until he is certain he can defeat me. This means that when he faces me, he will be overconfident, which will make it even easier to destroy him."
"My Lord, let us kill the mudblood now. Potter draws great strength from her."
"No, Malfoy. I order all of you not to harm the mudblood in any way. There is no way to predict how Potter will react. The fool is in love with her. That was the easiest secret I drew out of him. We'll wait to kill the mudblood until right before I destroy Potter. Potter will die knowing how pitiful he really is."
Noise filled the air as the Death Eaters cackled in glee.
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Harry led Hermione deep into the building. They arrived in a dark and dank corridor, which ended in a brick wall at the end. With one quick incantation, the torches on the walls lit up, bathing the area in light.
Hermione started to worry. If this was what the path to Harry's quarters was, then how could his quarters be anywhere near inhabitable.
Stopping before the wall, Harry held out his hand and said "No challenge." This was apparently a password, for the brick wall receded into the floor quickly and silently, with no grinding to be heard.
Stepping into the room, Hermione had all her fears relieved. The room was brightly lit, with white walls and black carpet. There was a desk in one corner, which Hermione noticed bore a strong resemblance to the library table she used to work at, for it was so covered in parchment and books that she could not tell what the desk looked like underneath. A black four poster bed with white curtains was set against the back wall, with a large closet set into the wall next to it. There was a fireplace made of black and white bricks, in front of which sat a very comfortable looking black couch. In the corner opposite the desk, to Hermione's great delight, was a bookcase almost as large as the one in her room at her parents' house, and it was crammed with books of all types.
Harry's voice startled her out of her examination of the room. "I had to use a bit of magic to get it this way, but I think it's quite nice. How do you like it?"
"I love it, Harry. I was afraid this was going to be like the corridor, dark, dank, with all sorts of creepy-crawlies."
"Well, if that's the case, then I love to disappoint"
Hermione smiled warmly at Harry. "I haven't been this happy in so long."
"Neither have I, Hermione."
Harry quickly showed her where the bathroom and the kitchen were before returning to the main room.
"If you'd like, I could conjure up another bed for you. I might have to enlarge the room a little, but it could be done."
"No, Harry. Don't bother. We'll manage just fine. As long as you behave yourself, that is," Hermione finished with a smirk,
Harry grinned back. "I'm more concerned about you behaving yourself. Everyone knows how much of a troublemaker you are"
Hermione gave the expected laugh before turning serious. "What am I going to do about clothes though? All I have is what I'm wearing."
Harry thought for a moment before answering. "How about tomorrow we go to London. We can make a quick trip into Diagon Alley. I can disguise both of us quite convincingly. I've already emptied my Gringotts vault so money shouldn't be a problem."
"Are you sure we won't be found out."
"Positive. Then after we're done in Diagon Alley, how about we head into muggle London and do some more shopping there. We can finish up by going to a restaurant for dinner. Sound good?"
"It sounds great, Harry. It should be a nice first date." Hermione blushed as she said this, but to her relief, she saw that Harry was as red as she was.
Harry walked over to the closet, and Hermione found herself with a face full of clothes. "That should cover tonight," Harry said.
Hermione immediately began undressing so that she could put on the shirt and the pair of shorts that Harry had attacked her with. Harry's face spoke quite clearly of his embarrassment before he turned around.
"Don't be so silly, Harry. If we're going to be living together, you're going to be seeing me like this all the time."
Harry turned around, only to immediately reverse and go back to staring at the wall when he saw Hermione's Hogwarts uniform at her feet, and Hermione herself standing there in only her underwear.
Hermione laughed at him, but he did turn and show his extremely red face when she told him she was done.
"Are you quite done embarrassing me, Hermione?"
"I'll never be done embarrassing you," came the instant reply.
"Well, if that's the case…" Harry started changing, and suddenly it was Hermione's face that resembled a tomato.
"Now who's embarrassed?" Harry said as he laughed.
Once he had finished, Harry walked over to the bed, pulled the covers back, and climbed inside. Hermione promptly joined him, climbing in from the other side. They lay there in silence for a few minutes, just looking at each other, before Hermione rolled over and prepared to fall asleep. With a whisper of "Nox," the lights went out.
It took a few minutes for Harry to work up his courage, but once he did he scooted closer to Hermione and wrapped his arms around her.
Hermione let out a long sigh of content, and the couple soon fell asleep, leaving a beautifully picturesque scene for anybody who was watching.
A/N: There it is. There may be longer waits between chapters now, as I have now run out of the planned beginning and into the unplanned middle. Once I get into the planned ending, then it should pick up again. Reviews are nice, reviews are key.
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