Unofficial Portkey Archive

I own nothing really. So there. This is a plot bunny that I got the other day while plowing through the snow to get to work. It's not in either the Circle or Lions universe but an alternate of its own. This is set around a week or two after the end of HBP. Thanks once again to Lady Starlight for her work on this.

A Nighttime Revelation

*****************#4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey**********************

July 3, 1997
1:25 am

Harry Potter lay still in the light from the full moon spilling into his room from a cloudless sky. He sighed softly as he looked unseeingly up at the cracked and stained plaster of his ceiling in the smallest bedroom. Without a conscious effect, his thoughts slid down a floor, to the couch far below and wondered how Hermione was doing on the couch, where Vernon had deigned to let her sleep.

Harry had been alone in his nightmare existence with the Dursleys for a week following the tearful return from Hogwarts, and it had almost, finally broken him. Only the tenuous link of at least one telephone conversation, and an Owl in morning and one more in the evening with Hermione each day, and occasionally one with Ron had kept him sane. Hedwig had been ebullient when Hermione had shown up three days ago, pulling Ron along with her. Of course, that separation had been entirely his fault in the end, Hermione had demanded to return to Privet Drive with him, and had refused to take no for an answer. It was only after Harry had both begged her to spend some time with her parents and given her his oath that he would not do anything without her, curiously she had not included Ron in that vow, that he had gotten her to agree to spend a week with her parents.

All of that led up to Harry's current predicament. Ron had lasted only a single day in the house before Harry and Hermione had sent him back to the Burrow to keep peace for those few weeks until Harry was free of the Dursleys forever, and his magic unbound from the underage magic restrictions. The first morning after the first night that all three of them had spent here, Ron and Harry in Harry's room, and Hermione down on the couch. Vernon refused to let her stay in the guest room as Aunt Marge might show up "any moment," and there would be no "unnaturalness", in his house as would surely happen if she stayed with the boys, the situation had exploded.

Dudley, still harboring a grudge over what the twins had done to him three years prior, and over Dumbledore's visit, had turned and punched Ron one morning out of the blue, just as he had done to Harry for so many years without consequence. Dudley had however failed to realize that the only reason he had gotten away with that in the years since Harry had started to claim his birthright was that Harry, unlike Ron, had a stake in keeping the peace. Ron had no such compunctions, as he had spun and decked Dudley, and cast the Slug Vomiting Curse for good measure.

Fortunately, Vernon had been at work, and Harry had been able to keep the status quo with Petunia, by sending Ron home to the Burrow, and getting Hermione to lift the curse, she had found a counter in her reading somewhere. Now though, that meant that Harry was spending his nights alone again, just like he had been before Hermione and Ron had arrived, usually staring at the ceiling, as his dreams were far worse than the exhaustion. Harry rolled onto his side, looking out the window as he watched the ghostly shape of his familiar diving among the neat gardens of Privet Drive, looking for mice, or perhaps, if she were lucky, a tasty rabbit. His eyes flicked up to the dresser, where twin, glowing yellow eyes looked down on him from a squashed face. Crookshanks had spent every night in his room, instead of with his Mistress, partially to placate Vernon and Petunia, but more likely, Harry thought, because Hermione had told her familiar to keep an eye on him. Crookshanks got along with Hedwig, anyway, unlike Ron's tiny Scoops owl that both of the others barely tolerated.

I wish Hermione had listened to me and stayed at her parents, I'd been alright, really, he thought morosely. Would you have...would you really, Harry?. a separate voice, the voice that reminded him when he was stupid, or when he was veering off the proper path, the same voice that had issued from the lips of the girl in his thoughts, asked. Sure I would...Really...probably not, he sighed, but at least she wouldn't have to be here, with these...things, she's already given me too much, more than I deserve really. A image of a small, faint smile flitted across his thoughts, And why would she do that? She'd do the same for Ron... Really, the voice drawled, smirking, when exactly did she do anything like this for Ron?

She got him on the team-I know she Confunded McClaggen, last year, Harry replied smugly, trying to keep from losing to the voice in his head, even as he knew it was hopeless.

Why did she do that, Harry, really? That helped you as much as it did him...saved you again, this time from having to choose to possibly cut your best friend.

She always is, Harry sighed, but...she could get killed with me, or hurt, and I couldn't take that...not now.

Because I need him along, Harry snapped back to the voice.

Don't you need her as well?

I need her alive more, damnit, more than anything; as long as she survives it's all worth it.
Why is that, Harry?

He shook his head against his pillow, refusing to, or afraid to answer the voice in his head, it was a question that had plagued him in the weeks since Dumbledore's funeral. When he let himself think about, which was not often, he wondered why Ginny, whom he had just broken up with, was not in his thoughts, save as in relation to Ron, while Hermione, his best friend Hermione filled them the entire week he was separated from her.

Harry briefly thought about turning on a light to look over a few books, he wasn't going to get any sleep anyway, when he heard a scream pierce the still night.

He never remembered moving, and definitely never remembered blowing his, locked from the outside, bedroom door off of the hinges as he stood and his wand shot across the room like a bullet to his hand. If Harry had taken the time to think, he would have realized that something was wrong just from the door being locked, as Vernon had not bothered to lock it as Hermione was outside of the room anyway. He never stopped, as that scream was the very one that haunted his dreams. Even more than the sight of Cedric falling to the Avada Kedavra, or Sirius tumbling through the veil or of Dumbledore falling lifeless from the Astronomy Tower. That scream, that single two-syllable name, his name, had issued from the one person in this house that he would give anything for, his money, his life, his very soul.

Harry's vision turned red as he flew down the stairs, vaulted around a table that Petunia had holding a vase of flowers, providing one of the few spots of color in an otherwise white interior, and caught sight of the scene on the couch.

Hermione was barely visible under Dudley's bulk as he lay on top of her, pawing at her with a cackling laugh. She was squirming, trying to fight him off, or to reach her wand that Harry saw that Dudley had picked up and tossed across the room from where Hermione had left it sitting on the coffee table close to hand. Harry took two giant strides, and roared an inarticulate yell as he grasped Dudley's pajamas and ripped the huge form from Hermione's petite one. Dudley flew across the room, shattering the coffee table as Harry's emerald eyes glittered darkly as he spun to Dudley. Dudley threw up his hands as Harry's eyes started to glow softly in the gloom, "She was asking for it...look at her, how she's dressed."

Harry's eyes snapped to Hermione for a moment, his eyes widened as he saw Hermione staring back at him in slight shock. The front of the old school shirt of Harry's that she had borrowed to sleep in was ripped open, the buttons torn away, revealing approximately everything from the waist up. Harry clenched his jaw as he tore his gaze from her, and his wand slowly tracked up, aligning precisely with Dudley's forehead. "HARRY, NO," Hermione screamed, snapping from her shock as she leapt up from the couch and dove at his wand hand. Hermione held onto his arm with both of hers, pulling it down before she pressed into him, and wrapped both of her arms around him, trapping his arms. "He's not worth it, Harry," she said softly as she let go, reaching up to pull his eyes to hers.

"He tried..."

"He failed, because of you, Harry," Hermione replied in a whisper, she took a breath and pulled her torn shirt together, and held it with one hand as her other shot out, calling her wand to her. "Run," she said lethally as she leaned back into Harry, and glared across the room at Dudley as the whale-like young man slowly stood.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON," a hated voice roared from the stairs. Vernon stomped into the room, his bristle brush mustache quivering as he took in the scene. Petunia followed him and gasped, loudly.

"They were doing, unnatural things, Dad, I was trying to stop them," Dudley announced instantly, shying away from twin emerald and chocolate glares. Vernon spun to Harry, his mouth already opening when Hermione's wand flicked and no sound came from his lips. He took a threatening step towards her, and bounced back as he slammed into an invisible wall.

Hermione advanced slowly towards Vernon, her eyes blazing as she held the remnants of her shirt together with one hand, and her wand down by her leg with the other. She stopped, looking up at Vernon's bulk, and he involuntarily took a step backwards. "Let me be clear, Vernon, Petunia-" Hermione slid her wand back into the waistband of her sleep pants behind her back, knowing without looking that Harry had his still in hand, "Harry and I are staying here until at least his birthday, after which we will be gone." She held both of their eyes, with hers, "If your bloody wanker of a son, comes near me again, or if he tries to get some sort of revenge against Harry, you won't need to worry about Harry changing you into something...you'll need to worry about me. I won't stop at changing him or you into some creature, or giving you boils or some other joke, I will outright destroy you."

Hermione reached back and took Harry's free hand in hers, the one that was not still holding together the front of her shirt, and intertwined their fingers as she pulled him towards the stairway. Vernon and Petunia moved out of their way as they started up the stairs. Hermione stopped after going halfway up and looked back, a small sardonic smile on her lips, "And for the record, irregardless of whatever Harry and I get up to, the only unnaturalness in this house, is your son." She started off again, pulling on Harry's hand lightly as she led him into his room.

She dropped his hand as the entered the room, and drew her wand. It flashed behind her several times; the door floated up, and rehung itself. It closed with a loud squelch, and the walls and door flashed white as a Silencing Charm took hold. She looked to Harry; her wand tumbled to the floor from suddenly nerveless fingers as she wrapped both arms around him, letting her shirt flutter open. Harry held her awkwardly, trying not to think about it, as Hermione buried her head on his shoulder and began to cry softly. His free hand came up to run through her hair, as she continued to weep quietly.

Finally, after several endless moments in which Harry desperately tried to remember that she was his 'best friend', she snorted softly, and wiped her tears. She took a step backwards, looking up at him, and her face fell slightly as she saw him looking away from her, "Harry, what's wrong?" she whispered, a slightly hurt tone in her voice.

Harry held his wand out towards her, "Um...Hermione, can you fix your shirt, I..."

A brief flush rushed up her face, vanishing almost as quickly as it had come, as a small smile blossomed on her face, "See something you like, Harry?" she asked as her voice dropped slightly.

"Please, Hermione, I...ah...can't...shouldn't..."

Hermione made no move to close her shirt fully, leaving a stripe of skin visible from her throat to her waistband as she reached out and took Harry's wand and tossed it on the nightstand next to his bed. She knelt down and picked up hers and set it next to his, before she sat down on the end of his bed, facing him. "Why shouldn't you, Harry?" Harry shook his head, still not looking at her. "Look at me Harry James," she whispered. Harry felt an odd shiver as she heard his name pass her lips, and involuntarily, he looked at her. She waved towards the bed next to her, and slowly he sat down on the edge. He started to scoot away, but stopped as she reached out and placed her hand on his knee.

"I just shouldn't, Hermione," Harry muttered, "I'm not...you're with..."

"No, I'm not, Harry, I never was," she answered him, leaping ahead to the conclusion. "Lay down, Harry, let's get some sleep," she bit her lip slightly as she considered him. Harry nodded and reached up to grab a pillow from the bed. He tossed it on the floor, "What are you doing?"

"Sleeping on the floor."

"No, you're not, Harry, you are sleeping on this bed, and I am sleeping right next to you," Hermione shot back, she moved to the head of the bed, and crawled under the covers, patting the spot next to her. Realizing defeat, Harry slowly crawled under the covers, and settled at the very far edge of the bed. Hermione rolled her eyes as she moved over and curled up against him. Harry stiffened slightly as she tucked her head on his shoulder. "Relax, Harry, I'm not going to bite...at least not tonight, anyway. Thank you, Harry, for tonight."

"Anytime, Hermione."

Hermione caught his eyes in the moonlight, and reached down, taking his hand in hers, "Why did you think that I was with?"

Harry shrugged, "You two have been sniping at each other since you were eleven...I thought that's what you did, when you were... Everyone always kept claiming that you two had 'tension'".

Hermione's eyes dropped from his, "We tried actually, for about a day--even went out on a date..."

"When?" Harry asked sharply. Hermione's eyebrow crooked slightly, as a tiny grin lit her lips.

"Last week, that first day when you couldn't get a hold of me...and panicked on the phone to my Mum," Hermione said with a snort, "We went out, he had asked me, but there was nothing there, not really," she took a breath, "I think, that if we ever had a thing, its gone."

"I'm sorry, Hermione."

"I'm not." She reached up to touch his cheek, "It wouldn't have lasted, Harry. It wouldn't have, because about halfway through that dinner with Ron, I realized, all we had talked about, and all I had thought about...was you. And I am so, so very sorry that I didn't see it a long time ago."

"Why?" Harry replied quietly, "all I've ever brought into your life is terror and pain...people die when they get close to me, when they become my friend. If you were smart as I know you are, you'd run..."

"I already did," Hermione, whispered darkly, in a tight voice, "I ran all last year, Harry. I was scared, between the Ministry and the Prophesy, and I ran, held my distance from you...and it almost broke me... I won't do it again, Harry, please don't ask me to do that, I'll do anything for you, but not that. And no, whatever hardship you may have brought to me, was outweighed by everything else you've brought into my life. I would have never come out of my hole in the Library if it hadn't been for you. There are more important things than books and cleverness, Harry, things like friendship and-love," she whispered the last, her breath caught in her throat as felt, somehow, that the rest of her life depended on the next few words out of her mouth and his.

Harry closed his eyes for an instant, "That scares me more than anything else, Hermione." He took a deep breath as his eyes opened again, "Because the one thing, maybe the only thing, that I can't stand is see you hurt, and there's no guarantee that I won't hurt you..." He muttered something under his breath that Hermione did not quite catch, though somehow, she thought it was a prayer or some other entreaty to the gods. He swallowed heavily, "You getting hurt, or...dying, is what has kept me awake for the last week."

"Join the club," Hermione whispered softly enough that Harry only knew what she said by reading her lips, in the moonlight. His eyes widened as he realized what she had said and she nodded, "Me too, Harry...what's yours...me dying under torture, the AK?"

"Sometimes worse," Harry admitted, "Cedric, then Sirius, then Dumbledore...then you. It always ends with you." He sighed softly as she settled close and his arm tightened around her of its own accord.

Hermione nodded and rolled over, spooning back against him. She smiled slightly as Harry carefully kept his hand on her waist, before the smile vanished slowly, "With me, its just you, well occasionally if I've had a bad day, Ron and my parents get thrown in the cauldron, too, but its usually just you. The details vary, some nights it's seeing you on the ground at the base of the tower, sometimes Voldemort drags me in front of him as he tortures you, some nights, the worst ones...they do things...to me, or you, before they kill us."

"That's what I'm afraid of, Mione," Harry whispered, Hermione smiled at the diminutive, and placed her hand over his on where it rested on her belly. "Not for me, I already know that I'm-"

"Going to be right there with me, one way or the other," she interrupted. "I hitched my star to yours when I was twelve, Harry...I knew then, somehow, what that might mean."

"This is a lot scarier than Tom ever was," Harry said softly as he breathed in the smell of her shampoo. "I should feel even more nervous than I am. This just seems so-"

"Normal," Hermione supplied, "yeah, that's the scary, and sad part, Harry. We could have. We should have, there should have been, no Viktor, no Cho."

"No Ginny, no Ron," Harry nodded, "we weren't ready when we were thirteen, Hermione. At least I wasn't, especially because of these wankers." He waved in the air, indicating the house around them, before he dropped his hand back to her, landing higher on her bare waist that he had previously dared.

"I hate them," Hermione announced suddenly.

"I would hope so," Harry replied and Hermione let out a soft purr of contentment as she felt his lips, finally, brush her hair. "Dudley just tried to have his way with you. He's done it before, attacked girls around here, or so I've heard, but they've never caught him at it."

"Not for that," Hermione whispered, "at least not in the main, Dudley's a foul, loathsome toad." Harry smiled slightly as she recognized the epithet from third year. "But for the hell they put you through, for making you sleep in a cupboard, for making you doubt what you should have always known." She rolled back over, to face him. Their gazes locked from a distance of only several inches, and both teens swallowed heavily. Hermione bit her lip, raising her hand to tangle in his hair. Her shirt fell open all the way with the movement, but neither one noticed. "Scared?"

"I'm terrified beyond belief," Harry admitted as he finally did glance down, his eyes driven by his hormones for just an instant, his face flushed slightly, but Hermione just smiled softly. "There's no going back is there?"

"There never was, Harry, there never was." She smirked slightly, "I will admit that it's not how I envisioned you first seeing my tits..."

"That's not what I meant," Harry laughed. "And I begged you to repair your shirt, remember?"

"I know," Hermione replied seriously, "but the damage was already done as they say...and I can't say that I mind terribly if you see them...or perhaps more than that." She watched his eyes slowly pan down her face to rest on her lips as they were talking, "You are going to kiss me, right?"

"Was thinking about it," Harry admitted. Behind them, the window slid open, courtesy of a handy charm that Hermione had put on it when she arrived to automatically let Hedwig in. The snowy owl ghosted in, unnoticed by the humans in the room and glided to a stop on the dresser next to Crookshanks. The two familiars shared a look, before Hedwig took flight once more, flitted across to her cage and settled in, and Crookshanks yawned, closed his eyes and went to sleep.

Harry took a breath and leaned forward, his eyes slipping closed as he felt his lips brush hers. A beat later, his heart stopped as a jolt shook him to the core. His eyes snapped open to find chocolate ones holding the same amazed look, before they came together again. A brief flitter of a tongue against his lips, they opened, and Hermione's mouth greeted his. Harry's heart restarted as a jolt that had nothing, and everything to do with the sensations of her breasts pressing into him, separated by only his thin shirt, shot through his gut, and the feeling of being, home, at her lips on his.

Hermione pulled away slightly, sitting up enough to remove her shirt fully before settling down next to him again. Harry held her gaze as she slowly wormed her hands under the hem of Harry's t-shirt and began to tug on it. "We don't have to do this," he said, his voice wavering just slightly.

"I know," she returned, as she ran her thumbs along his stomach, running along the lines of the muscles she found there. Slowly, with his willing assistance, she peeled his t-shirt off and tossed it in the general direction of the dresser. Crookshanks let out a soft "merow," and shook off the shirt from where it had landed on him and jumped down, padding over to find a new bed in a half full basket of laundry in the corner of the room. "But I really want to."

"Alright," Harry whispered, as he leaned back in...

8: 25 am

A shaft of sunlight pierced the morning haze that had rolled in, bathing a bed, in the tiniest room bedroom, in an otherwise totally normal room, in a soft glow. Harry blinked his eyes open, and turned his head slightly to his left, and smiled softly at the curtain of chestnut hair spilled over his shoulder. Hermione had snuggled in, her cheek on his shoulder as she lay on her stomach, half on and half off of him, with her legs tangled with his. The light sheet that they had thrown over themselves had fallen to their hips, stopping just on the slope of her bum. Harry glanced down towards their feet, feeling a heavy weight there. He slightly rolled his eyes as he found Crookshanks sprawled over their covered feet, with his head turned towards the head of the bed, watching.

Hermione stirred slightly on his shoulder and chocolate eyes blinked open. She let slip a small yawn and smiled at him, "Morning, Harry."

Years later, he would still be amazed that two simple words that she had spoken to him, literally thousands of times over the almost seven years that they had known each other, could cause such a spike of emotion in his gut, but they did. "Morning, Hermione," he managed. She nodded slightly, before turning her head enough to kiss his collarbone. "Did you sleep, alright?" he asked nervously, for lack of anything better to say.

Hermione nodded, knowing as usual, what he was trying to say, "For the first time in ages, yeah." She closed her eyes for a moment, "Can we stay here all day?" She stretched, looking just like her feline familiar, as she moved up, to drop her lips to his. Harry's hands came up to pull her more fully on top of him as her fingers tangled in his hair. Her head turned slightly to clear his nose as she kissed him, sighing against his mouth as she felt his tongue dance over her lips, and opened to him.

After several moments, she pulled away, a bare inch or two, panting slightly; before she stretched further to kiss his forehead, her lips catching the edge of his scar. Hermione settled her head under his chin and smiled, contently. "Sure we can, Love," Harry absently ran his hand up and down her back, fingers running along the bumps in her spine causing Hermione to purr contently. He cocked his head slightly, considering, "Do you want to know a secret?"

"Ooh, something about you I don't know?"

"There's not much, but yeah. Though in your defense, I didn't learn until this last week," Harry explained. Hermione didn't move from her comfortable perch, but he felt her interest anyway. "Last week, while I was waiting for you guys to get here-I got a large package from Gringotts, really pissed off Hedwig," Hedwig hooted softly in agreement, and the teens laughed, before Harry's voice took on an odd tone, "Seems that even though I don't turn seventeen for a month, Gringotts sent along a listing of my accounts to review, before my majority."

"Harry," Hermione said softly, lifting up enough to look him in the eyes, concern darkening hers. Harry smiled slightly, reassuring her, before lifting his head up enough to kiss her before dropping back to the pillows.

"It's alright, Hermione, I'm fine..." Harry whispered. She watched him a moment, before nodding and settling back into her former location. Harry kissed the top of her head, before sighing contently. "Anyway," he went on, "I was bored, and I couldn't stand to look at another spell book, sorry, Hermione."

"It's alright, Harry, I understand."

"Thanks, in the package, there were a whole bunch of papers I had to sign, most of them from the Black and Potter trusts, taking over the accounts and such. Since I don't currently have a guardian in the Wizarding world, much of the monies and such are in trusts managed by Gringotts until I'm seventeen. But the most interesting thing was the Potter family property listing..." Harry paused, Hermione waited, "You've been here for a few days, you've seen how they spoil Dudley?" Hermione nodded against his chest. "Vernon doesn't make enough money to support them, especially not Dudley in the manner they've grown accustomed to."

"So?" Hermione murmured, "So he's a spoiled little child, what's that have to do with what your parents left you?"

"Us, Hermione," Harry replied so softly she almost didn't hear him. "That's if you'll have me?" Her eyes widened in momentary shock, before she nodded mutely against his chest. He let himself grin for a moment, before he went on, "So I'm looking through the bloody huge ledger, I think I own a house in Hogsmeade by the way, and see an entry for Surrey...I look a bit closer and see that one of the Potter trusts holds the mortgage to this place, note said it was a second mortgage, suppose they needed it to feed Dudley. The line item mentioned that the loan was in default..."

"What are you going to do about it?"

Harry shrugged, "I don't know, I did have the Goblins hold off on foreclosing, for now, anyway...suppose it depends."

"On what, Harry?"

"On how they treat you for the rest of my exile here," Harry could feel her glare, "and me, I guess, though it really doesn't matter about me," he added in a bare whisper.

"Harry James, of course you matter" Hermione snapped as she pushed up to hang over his face, glaring down at him, her hair falling to form a curtain around their faces. "You are the only thing that's worth a damn in this house." Her eyebrow crooked, "Do you understand, Harry?" He nodded, slowly, before she smiled softly and kissed his nose. She relaxed back against him, her eyes falling closed as he fingers resumed their slow trail up and down her back, "What are we going to do when we get to the Burrow, Harry?"

"I hold your hand a lot, and don't get more than ten feet away from you at any time," Harry replied with such an air of certitude; that Hermione giggled softly.

"What about...Ginny?" she asked in a small voice, suddenly unsure, "She might cause a scene...she already told me she was over you once...what if she-what if Molly goes spare, because I hurt her daughter?"

"We leave, I don't want to cause a fight at Bill's wedding, I care for them too much for that," he shrugged, "but I care for you more. I won't make you stay there if they're like that. There's no choice, not between you and them."

Hermione nodded after a minute, "We are going to have to tell Ron, Harry. Even though he and I agreed that we were best friends only, he deserves to know. I don't want him to think we are keeping things from him."

"As soon as we see him," Harry agreed, "I don't want to do it in a letter, Hermione. Maybe we can owl him today, have him meet us at the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow for lunch."

She nodded, "I'll Apparate us there, tomorrow, at least we can get something to eat there, since they don't seem to have any compunctions about feeding you," she stretched, sitting up and Harry groaned. Hermione laughed, bent down and kissed him, before swinging her legs from the very mussed bed and standing up. She felt Harry's eyes on her the entire way as she crossed the room to his dresser, giving him a small shake on the way for good measure. She opened his top drawer, pulled a large Gryffindor Lions T-shirt and pulled it over her head; it was huge on her, hanging down to her knees.

"So, because we're together, you think you can steal my clothes, do you?" Harry grinned, as he reached over the side of the bed, found his discarded sleep pants and pulled them on before standing and walking over to her, grabbing his wand on the way. She folded herself into his arms, leaning her head back to receive a kiss.

"Yes," Hermione replied succinctly, before she reached around him, to pluck his wand from his waistband. She turned and flicked it at the space next to the bed. A small table appeared with a soft pop, a swish, and eggs, bacon, toast, muffins and a pitcher of pumpkin juice along with a pair of goblets appeared. "And I even cook, too."

"I knew there was a reason that I kept you around," Harry muttered as she slipped his wand back where she had gotten it from, took his hand and let him back to the edge of the bed. She cocked her head slightly as she sat down, and filled the glasses from the pitcher.

"Is that the only reason?" she teased, feeding him a bit of muffin.

Harry swallowed, "Well that, and your brains, your incredibly sexy body-and the fact that I'd be utterly lost without you," he admitted to the soft look he saw in her eyes as she gazed on him from a few inches away.

"I...suppose those are good enough," she replied after a moment. She dropped her head to his shoulder for a second before straightening up and glancing to the window as it slid open, allowing for a small, tiny ball of feathers. Hedwig turned her head, following the tiny owl with glaring amber eyes as it described a rather erratic flight path towards Harry and Hermione. Hermione's hand shot up, and with the benefit of years of experience with the third member of the Trio's owl, snapped the tiny owl from the air. Hermione looked down at the owl, at a tiny roll of parchment that was attached to Pigwidgeon's leg and detached it.

The scroll grew to normal size and Harry scowled slightly, "Ron's just showing off because he can use magic outside of school," he griped and Hermione laughed. Harry gave her a hurt look. Hermione leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"Alright?" Harry nodded, and Hermione opened the scroll. Pig fluttered down, stole a piece of bacon larger than he was and flew over to land next to Hedwig on her perch. She did not look happy, but seemed content to ignore the other owl. "Let's see what he had to say," she looked down to see:

Harry and Hermione,

Luna was over here, helping Ginny with the wedding preparations, she told me to write this to both of you. I don't know why, she's barmy after all, but I figured it couldn't hurt. I've spelled this letter with something Bill showed me, he said he learned it from Dumbledore, so unless Herms is right and I am absolutely pants at magic, only you two should be able to read this.

Hermione laughed and shrugged, "I was mad at him." Harry just nodded, and bent back to the missive:

It's bloody insane here, you probably should be glad you're not here. Fleur and Mum are like two bloody Hungarian Horntails, they're always in each other's faces about what color flowers, or if we should have roast beef or turkey on the buffet. (I voted for both, but they pulled their wands on me.) I wish I was there with you two, though it was worth it punching that bloody git in the face. I've been thinking, I know Hermione is laughing right now, but I've started to put aside a few supplies, food and such for our "trip". When do we want to leave, right after the wedding or what?

I think Ginny is starting to figure out that we are up to something, she's always watching me, or asking when you are going to get here, Harry. I understand why you broke up with her mate. She's my sister, and I love her, but she's changed over the last year, like she's a different person, bloody hormones.

Hermione looked rather affronted as Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She smiled up at him briefly, before looking back to Ron's letter.

I know that you two are cut off from the news, there in Muggle hell, but that dark guy hasn't done much. If this were a chess match, I'd think he was shocked that a go-for-broke move actually worked, and he didn't have a plan to follow, it happened all the time with me playing you Harry. Mum is still trying her damnest to keep me or Ginny from learning anything that the group is up to, but they are stunned, shocked. I think it's just us three guys. The Trio out to save the world. Yea. The Death Eaters better run now.

Harry closed his eyes, sighing, trying to keep the tears from escaping his closed lids. He leaned into Hermione's fingers as they came up as they ran through his hair. Hermione lowered the letter to the tray and put her other arm around Harry, leaning her head forward to touch his. She waited a moment, "Alright, Harry?" He nodded, not speaking, opening his eyes. Hermione's thumb came up to wipe the tears that had escaped the corners of his eyes. She read the thanks in his eyes before she picked the letter up again, and canted it so they both could finish it.

If you can escape your captors tomorrow for a bit, can we meet up at Diagon Alley? I want to visit the Twins' store, and it gives us a place to talk away from prying ears. I also think that they might have a few things for us, they aren't as stupid as Mum makes them out to be.

P.S. Hermione, be careful, I've seen how Dudley looks at you when he doesn't think Harry or I are watching, be careful. I would hate to have to Kedavra his arse.

Hermione looked to Harry and shrugged slightly, "It would have been nice if he told me earlier." She reached behind Harry, and grabbed her wand from the bedside table and flicked it in the direction of Harry's trunk. A blank parchment, followed by an inkbottle and Harry's eagle feather quill that she had given him years ago floated over to drop next to her. "I'll tell him we'll meet him for lunch tomorrow?" Harry nodded, and Hermione scrawled a quick note, and waved to Pig. The note shrunk and attached itself to the Scoops Owl with a vague wand gesture, "Take that to Ron, Pig," Hermione commanded softly. The owl vibrated in its excitement, before taking flight, orbiting around their heads several times and heading out the window. Hedwig looked rather, relieved, and closed her eyes. "What now, Harry?"

He shrugged and lay back on the bed. Hermione shrugged and dropped next to him, the remains of breakfast abandoned, at least until their Familiars realized they were not paying attention any longer, and curled up at his side. "We try to figure out how to break, Us, to Ron, and start training, really training, and studying."

"We can start that later today, right?" Hermione whispered as she closed her eyes and nuzzled his shoulder.

"Sure, Hermione."

A/N: There you go, as one can tell there could easily be a NC-17 component to this fic (or maybe there already is :) ) Let me know what you think.

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