AN - Sorry I haven't given you one of these yet! But that's ok, I wanted to get the story out as fast as I could, and I think I managed that. Thank you all for your Reviews, they really mean a lot to me. This chapter is mostly a fluff chapter, but some information is conveyed too. I didn't want to make Ron out to be the bad guy, so you will see a slightly more at east Ron in this fic. But I may change my mind…Alrighty then, I will get back to writing, and you get back to reviewing. OH! And before I forget, VOTE FOR ME PLEASE! I want to at least do justice to the competition….
READ ON! And review/Vote.
Oh, and please understand my spelling mistakes. I am working without a Beta right now. I wanted to get it out fast. But if someone is willing to do some very quick return beta work, PLEASE email me. Thanks!!!
Chapter Four: Some down Time…Sort of…
A few spells cast around the rooms of Godric's Hollow spruced it up quite a bit, and made it a lot more homely than it had been. Harry had been unable to do it himself. The knowledge of how those marks had appeared there were just too much for him. Hermione seemed to know that he wouldn't be able to do it, so she stepped in far long before he needed to say anything. The house was very nice. It was not all that large; after all, it was a cottage. But still, it was his home. Or it had once been. That was enough for Harry. The sense of security that he got from just being inside the house was amazing.
The first day that they had spent there, Harry had stayed up all night wit his Parents graves. Just talking. Hoping desperately that they were all listening up there: Dumbledore, Sirius, Lilly, and of course his father. They had all died to protect him in one way or another. He had stayed out all night, and in the morning, he had come back inside and fallen to sleep. He slept all day, and Ron and Hermione didn't bother him. It was part of Harry's recovery process he guessed later on. He didn't think that if he had done that, he would have made it through all that easily. Seeing how his parents had died was very hard for Harry, but knowing that they were supporting what he was doing was comforting.
The day after that was normal. Well, as normal as their days were going to get. They spent all day researching, looking at maps, making guesses. That's all they had to go on now. Was guesses, and hypothesis. Things were so difficult without any lead, or starting point. It felt like Harry was just scrambling into nothingness all the time.
R.A.B still remained a mystery, as did where the locket was at the time. The Cup, Harry had no idea where to start looking. Nagini, he would just kill the big snake before he went after Tom. That one at least would be easy. Then there was the great mystery. Something of Gryffindor's, or Ravenclaw's. He had no idea what that was, or even where to start looking for that. It was going to be a long summer Harry guessed. And sure enough, a week past without them gaining any ground what so ever.
Maps were spread out all over the living room floor, they were draped across chairs, and they were tacked to walls. They were all over with little flashing dots on them to show where a possible location was. Harry had never seen so many flashing dots, and after a few days, he had to tell Hermione that she needed to tone them down some. As of right now, they had a few hunches, but again, nothing more than that. Hunches that were guessing where Tom might have hidden another piece of his soul. It was so difficult to just sit around thinking.
Hermione came down the stairs with yet another stack of books, Lilly had loved books as much Hermione did, and for some strange reason had her own mini library in an upstairs room. Hermione lived in there it seemed, but maybe that was because Harry was so wrapped up in everything. He was staring out the window at the white marble headstones when Hermione interrupted his thoughts.
"You know Harry, they were truly amazing people." She said simply.
"Yeah, I don't think I could have ever asked for better parents. I just hope that I can live up to them. That I can live up to the standards that they expect of me. But then again, the standards they set are so much lower than the standers the world has set on me. I just don't know what I feel right now." Harry said, trying to verbalize his thoughts. He had been doing a lot of that recently.
"Don't worry Harry, one day they will all look back and say that you did a great job." She said, placating him immediately. "But I do have a question."
"Sure, anything." Harry said.
"What did your father mean when he said that you had grown since fourth year? How would he know?" Harry could tell that the question had been eating at her for a while, but thankfully she had enough respect to give him some space and time.
"Well, when Tom and I dueled," Harry used Voldemort's real name now. They all did. Almost in respect for Dumbledore, they tried to be as much like him as they could. Voldemort only feared Dumbledore, and the reason he did was because Dumbledore didn't fear him. So if they wanted to be half as powerful as Dumbledore had been they would have to start fearing less and trusting more. Harry had brought this up to them in the first few days, and they agreed. "at the end of our fourth year, in the graveyard you know?" Harry asked, making sure she knew when he was talking about.
She closed her eyes and nodded. "Yeah…."
"Well, when I forced the Prior Incatatum back on him, the last spells were forced from his wand. And since he had been dead for a long while, the last couple of things he did were my parent's murder. So when that happened, echoes of my parents came out. They talked to me for a moment, and gave me encouragement. I saw them, and they saw me. So that is what he is talking about." Harry said, seeing the battle in his minds eye. It was hard to think about. But again, he used that night as a catalyst for his battle now. Harry knew what had to be done now, and he wasn't going to stop because of the past. Nothing but what was a head mattered now.
"Wow," Hermione breathed. "I didn't know all that happened."
"Yeah, it was a nasty night." Harry recollected.
"Well, Harry, I have been thinking. I think that we need to get a move on soon. We can't hide here forever. We really only have till the school year starts to be safe here. From what I can tell, we really need to leave here about a week before term would start." She said having thought this out well.
"Why is that Hermione? I mean…what is the difference?" Harry asked, sitting up in the chair, and focusing on her.
"Because once Tom realizes that we aren't at school, he is going to go looking for us. At least for now, we have the protection of him not knowing where we are. He is waiting for us to go back to Hogwarts, and when we don't, he is going to be after us like flies to honey." Stated Hermione. It was very simple really, and Harry realized that once again, she was right. She was right most of the time.
"Of course…why didn't I think of that! We need to gear up to leave…." Harry said, trailing off, wondering where they would go first. He started to sit up, but when he realized he had no idea where he was going, he sat back down. "Where are we going to go though?" Harry asked, now feeling slightly taken down.
"Well, I think the first place that we need to go is to Hogwarts." She said matter-of-factly. This surprised Harry.
"What do you mean? I thought we weren't going back." Harry asked, hoping that she didn't really want to. He defiantly didn't want to do another year of schooling.
"No no, we need to go back there because I think a Horcrux is there…." Hermione said simply and with out a doubt, much pride.
This time Harry came careening right out of his chair. "What?! How!? Why?! When!?" Incoherent babble followed. Harry was so excited that maybe they had a lead.
"Well, I base it on what Dumbledore said." Hermione stated, preparing herself to launch full into lecture mode. At the moment, Harry didn't care. "He said that Hogwarts was the place that Tom felt most comfortable. It was the place that had felt like home for him. It was the most important place for him. Wouldn't it make sense that he would leave a part of himself there?" Hermione said smiling as she finished.
Harry frowened as he thought it made sense, but something was off. "What about the diary? He left that at Hogwarts." Harry said, hating to shoot down the idea.
"No, he left that with Lucius Malfoy telling him that it was cursed object. Naturally, when Lucius heard that, he bestowed it upon the first person he could get his hands on that he hated. Ginny. The diary was never intended to go to Hogwarts, that's just where it was. I think there is still something else there." Hermione said, apparently having thought this one through. The girl was so smart.
"Hermione! Your brilliant!!!" Harry grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into a hug, and then spun her in circles. When she landed Harry looked into her eyes for a moment. But a moment turned into a minute, and a minute turned into two. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was smiling. Her hair was swept in front of her face, and it framed her features in a way that Harry had never seen. Her eyes were sparkling with the excitement of discovery and of learning something new. He had seen that sparkle before. Whenever she had found out the answer to a hard problem. He loved that look. But not because she was his problem solver, no, he loved it because that was the look she got when she was completely happy. When she was in a complete state of euphoria, she got that look in her eyes. That was the look he loved. But he had never seen it like this. He had never seen her like this.
Why had he never seen her like this? What had stopped from seeing this in her before? What had stopped him from seeing the beauty behind her eyes. The absolute perfection of the cinnamon brown orbs. Where had his best friend gone and the beauty in his arms come from?
Thought was lost to Harry's mind. Without thinking of the repercussions, without thinking of what it would mean, he leaned down and pressed his lips to his best friends. The sweet taste that he met there was so much more than he expected. It tasted like caramel, and pumpkin juice at the same time. For a second he could almost taste books and parchment. Of course that only made him think of Hermione more. That only reminded him of who she was on a whole.
In an instant, the second that he placed his lips on hers, he remembered every moment of their friendship. The bossy girl on the train. The scared girl in the bathroom. The petrified girl in second year. The brave and headstrong girl that rode the hippogriff with him. The girl that had stood by his side during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. The one that had trusted him to go after his Godfather even though she knew he was wrong. Through it all, she had been there for him. She had been his friend. But the trust that the two of them shared tempted to make Harry believe something more.
The light kiss that it started as had changed, now they had their arms wrapped around one another and were trying to press themselves as close together as they could. How had his hands get wrapped in her hair? Harry pulled away slowly. Staring into her eyes the whole time. It had never felt like that with Ginny, that's for sure….
Harry was about to open his mouth to ask what had just happened, but someone else beat him too it.
"Well, I think asking what was going on is redundant. And I also think that you just put me and Lavender to shame Harry." Ron said with a grin from the stairway. Harry started at the sound of the voice, but he didn't pull out of Hermione's arms. He didn't want to.
"Well, I am glad your not mad Ron, but I think I need a minute to talk to Hermione, and then we have something that all three of us need to discuss." Harry said levelly. Even though his breathing was still ragged.
"Sure mate," He laughed then. "Don't know if you'll get a word in edgewise though." He chuckled again, and then left the room.
"Hermione, what did just happen?" Harry asked, raising an eye brow, but still holding her.
"I don't know Harry," She looked pensive for a moment, and almost smacked her lips. "I did rather like it though." She said, almost to herself as much as to Harry.
"Well where does that leave us? I can't lead you into anymore danger than I already have. But I know a part of me has wanted to do that for a long time." Harry said, and took a deep breath. He was about to tell her something that he had been holding back for a long while. "Hermione, I haven't been true to you or myself recently. Ever since the end of 6th year, ever since…Dumbledore died, ever since then I have wanted to tell you. I realized how short life was all of a sudden. It started when Sirius died, but when you kind of `left' last year, and then he died…well, I realized how much you mean to me, and also how little time we have on this planet. I know it sounds very worldly, and romantic, but it's true." Harry paused, looking for the effect he was getting. Ironically she was crying. Harry decided to continue even though it was obviously causing her pain. He did let her go a little more. "I just…I needed you all last year, and its like I said, I didn't know what I had till it was gone, and then I realized that I wanted something more. Something that at the time it seemed that only Ron was going to get. I wanted to be with you. Not with Ginny, I wanted to be with the only one who understood me. I wanted to be with the one person who I would trust anything too. I wanted to be with you Hermione." He hung his head. "I understand that this is upsetting you, and I hope that we haven't ruined our friendship based on that…that…wonderful kiss." Harry finished lamely, trying not to feel to down. "I shouldn't have said that…" Harry almost laughed at the reminder of Hagrid, but this was a bad time.
"Oh Harry, I'm not upset…I have been wanting to do that for a long long time…" She threw her arms around his neck, and they more or less picked up where they left off a minute previous.
"Harry, I know we are seventeen, but admit it, we are more adult than anyone else could be. We have been through more together than most people can say. We have done it all together, and through it all, I realized that I loved you. Not the way I love Ron. I love him like a brother, and I was more infatuated with the idea that someone liked me back. Don't say anything Harry." She said with a smirk, when he opened his mouth. "But you Harry, you're different. You were always there for me. You were always my backup and more. I can't explain it to you Harry, but you hold a different place in my heart than Ron does…and honestly…if you think that Ron and I even stood a chance, you're delusional!" Hermione said with earnest. "I do love you Harry. Very very much." She then again kissed him for all she was worth.
Harry pulled back and looked at her, he looked at his Hermione. "I love you too Hermione."
After a while of getting to know one another on a more intimate level, Harry turned to Hermione with a smirk on his (bruised) lips. "So what about this Horcrux?"
Hermione laughed. "You're impossible Harry!"
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