~A/N> Sorry this chapter took so long. The past two weeks were spent working on Harmony Podcast #12, which came
out last Saturday. I've worked on this chapter all week and finally have it finished. There's a little cliffy
at the end, but I'm going to work on the new chapter all weekend so that I can have it up next week. If you get a
chance, please check out my website www.harmonypodcast.com and I've
just recently become co-owner of another site, Witherwings, with Jordan, it's creator- www.witherwings.net . I hope you enjoy this chapter and until next week, happy
reading! :D
When Harry awakened, he found himself staring into a pair of very bright brown eyes, both of which held a sparkle of mischief in them. "Good morning," she whispered.
"Morning?" he asked, looking toward the window where the shade was drawn, but the sunshine that shone on it brightened the room. "How long have you been awake?"
"I'd guess for about an hour now," she replied. "You looked so peaceful, I didn't have the heart to wake you."
"Well, you should have," he said, a bite to his words. "I've been worried about you, not to mention angry as hell."
"Why are you so upset with me?" she asked, looking at him as if he'd gone mad.
"Why?" he asked, disbelief replacing the bite his words held. "Maybe it was because you shielded me, and not yourself? Maybe it's because you willingly risked your life to protect mine...maybe..."
"Maybe you're being a git," she said, cutting him off. "I did what I was supposed to do Harry, I protected you."
"Did you ever think that I could have helped you?" he asked, his face confessing anger while his eyes spoke of relief and worry at the same time. "I am magical, and there is such a thing as a shielding spell. You haven't learned all the defensive spells yet, and you knew how weak you were, you could have asked if I could do something to help."
"You were doing something," she answered, feeling her anger growing from the small flicker of annoyance she had been feeling. "If I remember correctly, you were busy steering your broom and concentrating on getting us off Hogwarts grounds alive. I did what I felt was right, and I'm sorry if you don't agree with my actions, but there's no use arguing over them now. I'm fine, so can we not waste time arguing about it anymore?" She watched as he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times soundlessly, and then slumped back onto the bed, his head hitting the pillow. As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and reached over to where his glasses had fallen when he had gone to sleep with them on, she said, "I wasn't just unconscious. I uh-wasn't even in my body apparently."
"What?!" he asked, rolling to face her. "What do you mean, you weren't here?"
"After that curse hit me and everything went black, I opened my eyes what seemed like only moments later, and found myself in this strange place. It was as if I was walking in the clouds, and for a minute I thought I was dead. Then a woman greeted me and said that I was in Elysian, a safe-haven for Soul Guardians and magical beings...a place where Shadocks couldn't possess my soul, which I didn't know was possible." She got quiet for a moment as she remembered the events and when Harry reached out and placed his hand over hers she said, "Harry, I saw my mum again...and yours. I spoke with Lily."
His hand slid from hers slowly as he studied her face and then leveled his gaze on hers. She couldn't help but be reminded of Lily as she stared into his intense emerald eyes, and before he could completely withdraw it, she reached out to take his hand this time. "You...You spoke to my mum?"
"Yes," she replied quietly, keeping her gaze locked on his. "She was in Elysian with my mum, to help me understand where I was and to explain a few very important things to me." Interlocking her fingers with his, she gently brushed her thumb back and forth on his as she revealed, "You've told me what a powerful witch she was, but there's something you don't know Harry...she was a Soul Guardian as well."
She felt it immediately, how his body tensed at her revelation. "What? But how...why wouldn't I know that? And wouldn't that make me one as well?"
"First, only women can be Guardians. I don't know why, but apparently there are many families of Soul Guardians and the Evans were one of them. Your Aunt Petunia is one as well, but like my mum, she refused to acknowledge that part of herself. She was jealous of your mum, not only for being both a Guardian and magical, but because she also had James. It seems that on the same day your aunt brought your uncle to meet her parents, your mum brought James over too. Your grandparents took to your dad immediately and ignored Vernon, which made your aunt angry and spiteful. There's an Evans family Soul Guardian notebook, just like the one my family passed down to me, that you were supposed to receive long before now. Your aunt, being the horrible person that she is, kept it from you to get back at your mum. She didn't even take into account how it could or would affect you, or that it would give you insight into your heritage, she just wanted to get revenge on her dead sister." Taking a deep, calming breath due to the fact that she could feel the waves of anger radiating from him, she confessed, "I know where to find the notebook...your mum told me. We need to go to your aunt's house and get it Harry, it's rightfully yours."
"I swore I'd never go back there," he said in a low, angry voice. "And going back now...I'm not sure I could guarantee that I wouldn't try to harm any of them for keeping this from me. If aunt Petunia knew about it, then I'm sure Vernon did too. It probably gave them such great satisfaction knowing that they were keeping something so important, something they knew would be valuable to me, hidden."
"I'll go with you," she said, letting go of his hand so that she could bring her hand up to his face. Caressing his cheek, she scooted closer to him so that his arm was under her neck and she said, "If you go there with the intention of hurting them, you'd be no better than they are, and I know what a wonderful person you are. Let me go with you so that I can be there to support you, and show them that you're not alone like they think...show them that you have someone who cares for you unconditionally. Let them know that you're not alone and that you have me."
"Do I have you?" he asked quietly, the insecure little boy in him showing through.
"Yes, you do," she replied, leaning her forehead against his. "If yesterday morning didn't prove that, I'm not sure what will."
"That could just be hormones, or the link that we share," he said, looking unsurely into her eyes.
"I don't think it is," she answered. "It's not something we have to rush into, we have time to see if it's real or not. But I think what I feel is real."
"Me too," he agreed, and then touched his lips to hers in a tender kiss.
Before they could seperate, the door to the room opened and a female voice said, "Wotcher Harry, how's...Oh."
Looking over at the pink haired witch that had walked in, Harry said, "Hello Tonks," as Hermione looked down at the bedspread, her cheeks aflame with embarrassment.
"I-well, I was just coming up to check on Hermione and see how you were. Remus had to go to Hogwarts this morning and asked if I would stay here with you. I um- I guess that you're feeling better Hermione?"
"Yes, I am, thank you," Hermione replied, never daring to look at Tonks.
Clearing his throat uncomfortably, he said, "I'll be down in a few minutes to make some breakfast for us, if you haven't eaten yet?"
"I have," Tonks replied. "But I can help you out if you like."
Thinking of how accident prone his friend, the Auror was, he replied, "Thanks, but I can handle it. I've had enough practice cooking for the Dursley's."
"Okay then, I'll see you downstairs in a bit. Nice to see you're feeling better Hermione."
"Thank you," Hermione said, daring a glance the other woman's way. Seeing the knowing smirk on her face, Hermione quickly turned back toward Harry, unable to meet his eyes either.
Nodding at her as she closed the door behind her, Harry waited until Tonks was gone before saying, "That was Remus's better half...they're due to be married after the war is over."
"Really?" Hermione replied, daring to look up at him. Seeing how dark his eyes had gotten, she said, "They seem like such an unlikely pair."
"What's that saying? 'Opposites attract'," he replied, smiling. "They're good for one another, and she takes care of him during his transformations every month."
"During the full moon," Hermione said. "Firenze told me that he was a werewolf and how he was once the Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. He's very adept at defense spells, it's a shame he still doesn't teach it."
"There were too many students and parents that refused to have a werewolf as a teacher," Harry replied. "Their intolerance forced him out of a job he loved."
Both of them were quiet for a bit before Harry sat up and said, "Well, I had better go down and floo Madam Pomfrey so that she can come examine you. I promised that I would as soon as you were awake. Then I'm going to make some breakfast."
"Okay...I suppose I'll just lay here then and wait for her," Hermione replied, turning so that she could watch him make his way to the door. Wishing that he still lay next to her in bed, Hermione focused in on him after she had realized he had been saying something and asked, "What?"
Smiling at her knowingly he repeated, "I said, I'll see you down in the kitchen after Madam Pomfrey leaves, unless you'd like me to bring some breakfast up here to you?"
"I'll, uh, be down if Madam Pomfrey says it's okay for me to get out of bed," she replied, damning the picture of him back in bed with her as they ate breakfast together out of her head.
"Alright, see you in a bit," he said, making his way out of the room.
"Yeah," she mumbled as she sank back down under the covers, wishing that she could stop remembering how good it felt to have his arms wrapped around her.
~*~
After Madam Pomfrey examined her and found that her body had in fact completely healed itself, she was cleared to get out of bed and was told that she could return to Hogwarts that night. Making her way down to the kitchen, Hermione walked into the room to find Harry, Remus, and Tonks all happily talking and eating. A pang of longing hit her as she remembered breakfasts such as this with her parents. When Tonks looked toward her and saw the sad look on her face she asked, "Alright there, Hermione?"
Coming out of her thoughts, she looked up to find the three of them looking at her now, and she felt her cheeks warm under their worried expressions. "I'm fine," she replied quietly. "Just...remembering is all."
"Are you hungry?" Harry asked, getting up from the table to fetch a plate of food that was sitting on the hob. Taking the warming charm off of it, he set it down on the table in front of her as she sat in the empty seat across from where he sat.
Looking down at the food, she realized just how hungry she was and said, "I am, actually. Thank you, Harry."
"Not a problem," Harry replied with a warm smile.
As she began to eat the wonderful breakfast that Harry had made, she swallowed and said, "We need to go to your aunt's house this afternoon, before we return to Hogwarts."
"This afternoon?" Harry repeated, lowering the fork that had been on it's way to his mouth. "You didn't say we had to go today."
"I can't explain it, but I have this feeling that if we don't go retrieve your mother's Notebook today, it'll be gone when we go to get it."
Remus looked between Harry and Hermione and asked, "Lily had a notebook?"
Harry looked at him and replied, "Don't suppose that you knew that my mum and aunt Petunia were Soul Guardians?"
"I had no idea," Remus replied, looking surprised.
Hermione proceeded to fill him in on what had happened to her the day before, her conversation with her mum and Lily, and ended by saying, "And today Harry and I need to go to his aunt's house to get the Notebook before she gets rid of it."
"We'll go with you," Tonks stated, looking across the table to Remus, then back at Harry. "It's not safe for you to go by yourself."
With a sigh of resignation, Harry said, "Alright, we'll go today."
Taking the last bite of food, Hermione took a drink of her pumpkin juice and then got up from the table to put her plate in the sink. Turning to face them she said, "I'm just going to go shower and change, and then I'll be ready to go."
"I'll clean things up while you do that," Harry replied, walking over to the sink.
As he started washing them the muggle way Hermione walked up behind him and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Keeping myself busy while you get ready," he replied. "If I don't do something I'll just think about how I'm about to go see the three people I thought I'd never have to see again...the three people who hate me the most, after Voldemort that is."
As he spoke his voice got lower and took on an angry tone, and the next thing she knew the glass next to him on the sink shattered. Crying out, she ducked behind him, but not before a shard of glass shot toward her and cut her arm. Hissing at the pain, she covered the cut with her hand as Harry turned quickly to look at her. When he saw the trickle of blood that made it's way under her hand and down her arm he said, "Oh god Hermione, I'm so sorry."
"You didn't do it on purpose," she said soothingly, lifting her hand from the cut. Closing her eyes in concentration, Harry, Remus and Tonks watched as her palm glowed blue for a moment and the cut healed. Opening her eyes, she saw that they were all watching and said, "I've, uh, been practicing."
"I still hurt you," Harry said, angry with himself.
When he stalked off she tried to stop him, but Remus said, "It's best to just let him go for now. Why don't you go get ready, and I'll check on him shortly to make sure he's okay. He just needs to cool down a bit."
"Alright," she said, reluctantly making her way upstairs to get ready. If this was any indication of how the day was going to go, she was dreading it already.
~*~
Petunia Dursley put down the dish towel she was holding when she heard knocking on the front door. Wondering who it could be on a Sunday afternoon, she opened the front door and gasped when she saw her nephew standing on the front porch with a girl that was like Lily. Even though she didn't want to, she could see the yellow flares of color all around her signifying her as one of them, and she grabbed the door to steady herself as she suddenly felt very faint.
Hermione looked at the woman who opened the door and knew immediately that she was Mrs. Petunia Evans Dursley, Harry's aunt and a Soul Guardian. Even though it was very, very faint, her aura still had the same yellow flares as other Guardians, except for her's was tinged white around the edges. Noticing the look of fear and disgust that flashed in her eyes, Hermione glared at the woman and watched as she leaned heavily against the door.
"Aunt Petunia, are you okay?" Harry asked, his voice holding only a trace of concern.
"W-What are you doing here?" she asked, not answering his question. "You said you wouldn't be coming back."
"I didn't think I would be," he replied, narrowing his eyes at her and then Hermione watched as he visibly forced himself to relax and take a deep, calming breath. "May we come in, there's something I need to ask you about?"
Hermione watched as her eyes widened and then she turned to look behind her, toward the top of the stairs. "I don't think Vernon would want me to let you in."
"I'm not asking Vernon, I'm asking you if I can come in and speak to you about something important," Harry replied through clenched teeth.
Hermione reached out and took his hand, lacing her fingers through his, and squeezed lightly. When he looked at her, she gave him a calm smile and turned back to his aunt, who was staring at their joined hands. "Mrs. Dursley, we need to speak to you about Lily's Notebook."
Petunia gasped and Hermione swore that her eyes were going to pop out of her head at any moment. "H-How did you know about t-that?"
"If we could just come inside, I'd be happy to tell you. But I'm not going to stand outside your house like an unwelcome visitor and answer anymore of your questions," Hermione answered, glaring at the easily unlikable woman that stood before her.
Harry smiled down at her proudly as Petunia's mouth moved wordlessly while she glared at her. Finally she sighed and stood back, motioning for Harry and Hermione to come inside. He looked back at where Remus was hidden and knew that Tonks was across the street at Mrs. Figg's house, keeping watch as well. Waiting as Hermione entered first, Harry followed her inside and waited for his aunt to shut the door. He watched her as she stood by the door, unmoving, staring at the two of them while she fidgeted nervously. He couldn't remember ever seeing his aunt fidget before...it was a strange sight to behold.
"Could we sit down?" Hermione asked as she motioned toward the sofa.
"I think it'd be best if we go into the dining room and sit at the table," Petunia replied, making her way nervously down the hallway that led to the room.
Once the three of them were seated at the table, Hermione said, "Now, as I was saying before, I've recently found out that Harry's mother and your sister, Lily, was a Soul Guardian and that she kept a Notebook. I'm sure you've figured out by now that I'm a Guardian as well...even when you try to suppress your ability, you can still tell when someone is a Guardian. I've just recently found out that I'm a Guardian, and yesterday while unconscious, I found myself in Elysian." Hermione watched Petunia closely to see her reaction...to see just how much she knew about being a Soul Guardian...and when she saw a flicker of recognition in her eyes she knew that Petunia knew more than she let on. "Since you seem to know of Elysian, I won't go into it. While there, I spoke with my mum and met Lily, who came to tell me of her family's heritage and of the Notebook you were supposed to give Harry a long time ago. She's very disappointed in you, Petunia."
"It's Mrs. Dursley to you," Petunia said haughtily, as if Hermione wasn't good enough to use her first name, and Harry's grip on her hand suddenly became tighter.
"It's okay Harry," Hermione said, turning to him. "Your aunt's rudeness doesn't bother me, and you shouldn't let it bother you. She's only trying to cover up the fact that she's upset about your mum's disappointment in her. She cares more for Lily than she'll ever admit."
"How do you know that?" Harry asked quietly.
"My empathic abilities have been getting stronger lately, and your aunt's emotions are rolling off of her in waves, slamming into me," she replied, just as quietly. Harry gave her a small smile and turned back to his aunt, who was watching them closely, as if expecting them to attack her or something. "Now," Hermione started, "Would you please go get the Notebook? That way Harry and I can leave quickly...we all know that you don't want your husband to know we're here."
"Petunia?" came a bellowing call from above, causing Petunia to jump. She looked toward the door of the dining room fearfully as heavy footfalls were heard on the stairs. Hermione, knowing that both her husband and son were coming downstairs, let go of Harry's hand so that she could draw her wand from it's resting place inside her cloak pocket. She knew that they would not be happy to see Harry there, or her for that matter. She could sense the impending explosion that was soon to come from his uncle, and she hated the dread and loathing she could feel coming from Harry. Trying to block her empathic power so that her emotions didn't come into play if she had to cast any spells, she took a deep, calming breath as Vernon and Dudley Dursley appeared in the doorway.
The moment Vernon saw Harry, his face started to turn purple before he yelled, "What are you doing in my house, boy?! You were not to come back here again!"
When she saw him start to advance on Harry with a very violent look upon his face, she pointed her wand at him and said, "Imbellis." Doing the same to Dudley, she turned back to Petunia and said, "I think Vernon has hurt Harry enough over the years, don't you?"
"How dare you use magic in my home!" Petunia cried, looking at her unmoving husband and son. "What have you done to them?!"
"It's just a mild stasis spell," Hermione answered calmly. "That way we can continue talking without their loud interruptions and crude comments about Harry and myself. So, as I was saying before all the chaos, would you please go and get the Notebook that rightfully belongs to Harry?"
"Why should I?" Petunia spat angrily. "I don't believe that you spoke to Lily, and how do I know that you're not trying to get it for some devious plan of your own?"
"Now really Petunia, we all know that you don't believe that," came a calm, airy voice.
With her eyes wide and full of fear, Petunia turned to see the ghostly image of her sister Lily standing there and proceeded to faint dead away.
"Well, that didn't go very well, did it?" Lily asked, smiling at Hermione.
Hermione smiled back at her when suddenly Harry gasped next to her and asked, "Mum?"