A Bond....

MagicalKira

Rating: PG
Genres: Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 6
Published: 14/08/2005
Last Updated: 14/08/2005
Status: in_progress

This goes on from Book 6. Harry and Hermione are holed up in Privet Drive and they tell each other everything. But when they go meet Ron and Ginny at Grimmauld Place, problems arise from that new habit.

Chapters

1. A Bond Between Friends

2. A Bond For Something More

1. A Bond Between Friends

“A Bond…..”

Chapter One

A Bond Between Friends

Harry didn’t want to be there right now, that much was obvious. But, as it was safest at Grimmauld Place while Hogwarts was closed indefinitely. Not even McGonagall knew when or if exactly the school could open safely. All that was known was that with Dumbledore gone; either the world was royally screwed, or it was finally nearing the end of Voldemort’s reign. That and class sizes would be considerably shorter, not being entirely due to the increased Death Eater attacks.

One of the last promises Harry silently made the dying Headmaster was that he would do his best not to get killed without taking Voldemort and as many Death Eaters down with him. Especially Snape, Dumbledore’s killer. Staying safe until then, included going back to those damned Dursleys until his birthday.

Unfortunately, Ron couldn’t (and Harry expected wouldn’t) stay at the magic-hating home with him. Just Hermione and that remained his small and meager beacon of light for the month he was there. She stayed to help him train with actual magic since she was of age and her presence covered him doing magic. She also provided a way of helping him deal with all his grief, which had been building up since the previous summer when Sirius had died, going through the veil.

They talked about everything from battle tactics to feelings for the youngest Weasleys.

Talking to Hermione made Harry realize two things: 1) The ‘feelings’ he had for Ginny were only based on the wish to be normal which the Weasley girl had indeed made him feel, but Harry was anything but normal by far. 2) Talking to Hermione came easier than talking to anyone he’d ever known. Sirius, Dumbledore and even Ron simply because she didn’t judge, pity, laugh, or compare/expect things that James would have done in a similar situation.

One small problem staying at Grimmauld Place at this particular point not having anything to do with the small fact that the house had essentially been bound and sealed when Sirius died. The Weasley family was also staying with him and Hermione. With all the complications, old and new, of the breakup between Harry and Ginny and the lack of action/reaction between Ron and Hermione; if either Weasley caught wind of the bond between Harry and Hermione, all hell’d break loose to be sure. That’s the only description that could be found to describe what would happen.

If something that needed to be shared by either Harry or Hermione; a specific word followed by a look and “I’m going to do something in such and such room for a bit.”

Ginny discovered this and followed them to the room for that particular conversation. She yelled until Ron came to see what was going on.

When she told him what she found, he looked shocked but sounded optimistic nonetheless. “Maybe you just missed something, Ginny. Right Harry?”

Harry hesitated while he tried to find a plausible excuse. “Well Ron….You know it’s kinda funny--”

“Do you mean Ginny’s right?! You two are hiding stuff from her? What about me, huh?! I thought we were best mates!”

When neither Harry nor Hermione could answer, both red heads stormed to their rooms and slammed the doors shut.

“Well at least we won’t be hiding stuff from them no more.” Harry said sitting down on a nearby couch with his elbows on his knees.

“Yeah, but we lost our best friends in the process.” Hermione replied sitting next to him, putting her hand on his back and rubbing it in unconscious and soothing movements.

When it came time to go to bed, Harry and Hermione found their trunks outside their doors. “I guess they want us elsewhere for awhile.” Looking at Hermione, he realized she was crying because of this. “C’mere. It isn’t your fault or mine. Not completely. They overreacted. Okay? C’mon. Let’s go find a place to sleep tonight.” he said as he enveloped her in his embrace where she broke down and cried. Seeing a girl cry didn’t hurt him half as much as it did seeing Hermione cry. That absolutely broke his heart.

After she calmed down some, Harry shrunk their trunks, and lead her on a search for two rooms with single beds. Quite sometime later, they settled for a room with two twin beds.

Harry led a tired Hermione to her bed and returned the trunks to normal size before getting in bed and following her into a fitful slumber by mere seconds.

2. A Bond For Something More

Chapter Two

A Bond For Something More

Harry woke to Hermione knocking some Black family heirloom to the floor, while she wrestled and twisted about in her sheets in her sleep. He recognized the signs of a nightmare, having more than his fair share. Rushing across the room, as he conjured a damp washcloth. He sat next to her and tried to soothe her mind and wake her up. “Hermione? C’mon ‘Mione, wake up for me. It’s just a nightmare. It isn’t real. Everything’s okay.” he said in the most soothing voice he could considering he was actually quite scared out of his mind because it was often him having nightmares and screaming awake. Not Hermione.

Finally she calmed down and was waking up. The very moment she saw Harry, saw he was alive and okay, she threw her arms around his neck and buried her head into his shoulder, whispering “You’re okay…You’re okay…He didn’t kill you….” Harry did the only thing he could do. He held her while she cried her fears away. Later on, he tried to lay her back down and go back to his own bed. But Hermione had different plans. Since her nightmare had obviously centered around Harry dieing, she didn’t want to wake up without the affirmation that he was not dead and quite alive and well physically. She held on tightly to his neck and started whimpering until he spoke again.

“It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere ‘Mione. I just need to expand the bed since it isn’t big enough for us both at the moment, okay? It’ll only be for a second.” he soothed as he laid her back down on the bed. The entire time he felt her watch him, making sure he was still there, as he made his bed disappear, moved the nightstand to where the bed had been, enlarged her bed and linens, and conjured a pillow for himself. Then he stuck his wand under the pillow, gathered her in his arms, and covered them both, rubbing her back until she fell into a restful slumber with him following suit.

The next thing Harry remembered was waking up to see a pair of rested chocolate colored eyes watching him. “Morning. Sorry about last night.” she said, sitting up.

“How many times have you done the same for me whenever I’ve had a nightmare? I only helped out my best friend.” he replied, confused about why she was acting like this.

“Yeah, but I should have let you go back to your own bed. Not doing that was weak of me. We don’t have time for weak.” She said, more to herself than Harry.

“So I was being weak by asking you to stay whenever I had a nightmare?” he replied, raising an eyebrow.

“NO! It’s different for you. You’ve seen things I haven’t. Things I wouldn’t wish on Malfoy or Voldemort. Although the fact that Voldemort caused and did most of them, makes it a moot point, but you understand my meaning.” She said, putting a hand on his cheek. He put his over hers and pulled them down to rest, together in her lap.

“So I’m allowed to have nightmares about my deepest, darkest fears; while you, my most trusted friend and confidante, has to suffer her burden and the one I have when I have a nightmare? I don’t think so. Spill. What had you in tears and clinging to me like there’s no tomorrow? I remember you saying something about me being alright and not dead.” he said sitting up next to her, as she rested against the wall.

Hermione looked like she had been told to take Trelawny’s class again. And pass it too. “Fine. We were back at Hogwarts, and McGonagall made us Head Boy and Girl. (a/n: I think she really will too) And we go into the Defense Against the Dark Arts room for class and Snape’s in there. As soon as he sees you, he turns into V-Voldemort and he shoots the Killing Curse at you. I didn’t react fast enough and you die right there in front of me and I couldn’t save you. That’s what Voldemort kept saying when he killed me too. That the mudblood couldn’t save the most important person to her. She was too stupid.” by this point Hermione was in tears again. Harry pulled her into his arms again and held her while she cried. When she was all cried out, he pulled up her chin so he could look into her puffy and red chocolate brown eyes.

Then he spoke. “Voldemort did not kill me or you. He will have to kill me first to get anywhere within shooting distance of you. That’s the only possible way for your nightmare to happen. Neither of us will die anytime soon. That will happen when we’re old and warm in our beds, asleep. I’ll do my damnedest to make sure of that! Okay?” he flicked his gaze to her lips which were slightly parted.

She unconsciously ran her tongue over her lips. He realized what he was doing just before he met her lips with his. Her lips felt so soft, pliant and slightly chapped from endless study sessions with little to eat. The moment felt like it lasted forever but really only was a few seconds. Harry pulled away expecting a slap in the face, but when nothing came, he opened his eyes to see Hermione looking at him with love in hers. ‘Wait! Hermione Granger loves me? That can’t be possible! She’d be--’ his thoughts went unfinished because she kissed him.

This kiss started out much the same as the first, but then it quickly changed. It became much more passionate. Harry ran his tongue along the seam of her lips begging for entrance. She granted and they both alternated between exploring the other’s mouth and a sensual, passionate, heated dance of tongues.

Only when oxygen had become an necessity, did Harry pull away. This time, opening his eyes proved what he had seen before. She loved him. And he knew that his own emerald green eyes reflected the same love back to her.

If only Ron and Ginny saw things the same way as Harry and Hermione.