~A/N> Happy Holidays everyone! Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy it. Thanks for all the great reviews
on the last chapter, and thanks again to Lisa for her help! BTW, HTV 7 and Harmony Podcast 17 are now available as well
:)
After splashing her face with cold water, Hermione assured Harry that she would be okay and went to her room to change. When she walked in, Luna was sitting on her bed and immediately got up, walked up to her, and enveloped her in a gentle hug.
"Are you okay?" she asked, pulling away and taking in Hermione's pale face and the dark circles underneath her eyes.
"Not especially, but I'll survive," Hermione replied, grateful to have such a caring friend.
"What happened before?" Luna asked, gently guiding Hermione over to her bed, getting her to sit down next to her.
Hermione explained everything just as she had to Harry, and then told Luna what Harry had done for her in the bathroom. When she finished explaining it all, Luna had a very strange look on her face. "What is it?" Hermione asked.
"You and Harry are so alike. You've both been through so much...losing your families, having dark and evil beings after you, and all this magic inside of you that you don't know how to control yet...you're two lost souls that have finally found a kindred spirit in the other. You two deserve some peace and happiness."
Listening to her talk, Hermione detected a note of sadness in her voice and felt it coming from her as well and she asked, "What aren't you saying, Luna?"
Luna didn't look at all surprised by the question and quietly answered, "Neither of you will find the happiness you deserve; I've seen it."
Hermione's breath caught for a second at her words but then she asked, "But what you see can be changed, can't it? The future is never set in stone."
Luna sat quietly, thinking of all the times she'd 'seen' events happen and the fact that all of them had so far come to pass. Deciding that it was better to keep that to herself she replied, "No, there is sometimes a chance it can be changed. We'll just have to work hard to alter the outcome." When Hermione smiled, she smiled back, feeling disappointed in herself for lying to her friend. The lie was just a band-aid temporarily covering the wound, and when it was pulled off, she feared the pain was going to be too much for any of them to bare.
~*~
When they walked downstairs, they were met by Harry, Ron, and Remus, who were waiting for them in the sitting room. When she noted the looks on their faces she asked, "Now what is it? I don't know how many more mood swings I can take today..." She saw just the corner of Remus's mouth twitch and she smiled at him, lightening the mood in the room a bit.
"Well, after contacting Firenze and giving him the details of your horrendous night, he has requested that you and Harry go to Hogwarts this morning to train. Sorcha will be meeting you there as well, so the training will be a combined effort," Remus replied.
"Training with Firenze and Sorcha...at the same time? My head already hurts just thinking about it," Hermione said, a look of dread on her face.
"How do you think I feel?" Harry asked, walking over to stand next to her. "This will more than likely be training for you with me as the subject to be practiced on."
"What're you on about?" Ron asked. "At least you don't have to stay here to be tortured by Tonks, Mad Eye, and Shackelbolt again."
"Have a session with Sorcha, then come complain to me," Harry replied.
"Alright, enough stalling," Remus said, interrupting. "Harry and Hermione, you're coming with me to Hogwarts. Ron and Luna, you're presence is requested in the training room. We'll meet up again tonight at dinner."
The four of them groaned at the thought of training throughout the entire day, but did as they were told. They were training for the fight of their lives after all, so what was a day of painful exercises and spellwork compared to dying in battle?
~*~
"No...no...NO!!!"
Harry and Hermione glared at Sorcha, who stood in the middle of the Room of Requirement screaming at them for any little slip up Hermione made. Harry was mad on Hermione's behalf...she was new to all of this, both magic and Guardianship...why couldn't Sorcha just ease up on her?
"You think I am being too hard on your Guardian?!" Sorcha asked loudly, walking up to stand in front of him. "Well?"
"I-uh...well..." he stuttered, forgetting that she was a bit of an empath herself. Steeling his courage he looked her in the eyes and said, "Yes, I do."
"We'll see if you feel that way after you are dead because she failed to protect you like she is supposed to!" Sorcha barked, whipping her glare from him to Hermione.
He knew that her words had struck home with Hermione because she had gone very pale and looked to be on the verge of tears. After the night she had, he didn't think her psyche could take much more torture than it'd already been through. He knew that this training session had been a bad idea after all that had happened. When one lone tear escaped from Hermione's eye and snaked it's way down her cheek, he felt something in him snap.
Taking a step forward, he came face to face with Sorcha and ignoring Remus and Firenze calling to him in the background, he glared down at her and yelled, "Why must you do that? Why do you push and push until you break her? She's been through hell and back overnight, she should be able to take a break to recover her bearings, not here having you berate her and tear her down even more when everyone but you can see she's working her arse off!"
The moment he started yelling she felt it; Hermione could actually feel how much Harry cared about her. It started as a warm feeling around her heart that seemed to spread to her very soul, and she couldn't remember a time when she had felt so strong, or more loved.
Firenze was the first to see it, and then Remus noticed it...a golden glow had surrounded Hermione as Harry yelled at Sorcha and the more he yelled, the brighter the glow became. Suddenly, without warning, the glow turned into a flash of light and the next thing any of them knew, Sorcha had vanished from the room.
Harry, looking at the empty spot where Sorcha had just been standing, stood blinking stupidly for a moment before he turned toward Hermione and asked, "What the hell just happened?"
"I-I have no idea," Hermione said, her eyes wide. She had a really terrible feeling that she had caused Sorcha to disappear, but for the life of her she had no clue as to how she did it.
As Remus stood wondering as well, Firenze walked silently to the door of the room and opened it. There, standing out in the corridor, was a very surprised looking Sorcha. She blinked a few times, staring at Firenze, and then walked past him into the room. Stopping just a little ways in, she looked to Remus and said, "She just mentally teleported me out of the room! First she can heal, and now this? I thought you said she had just begun Guardian training before you contacted me?"
"She had," Remus replied.
"I have been working with her on the more natural aspects of magic...tapping into her inner magical core to draw upon the power she will need for her Guardian duties, and Mister Lupin has been working with her on Defense Against the Dark Arts training, more traditional magic such as spells and jinxs," Firenze explained in a calm, even tone, which seemed to relax everyone in the room. "Had you not been so confrontational, Madame Sorcha, you would have noticed that Hermione had taken on a golden glow just before you disappeared. I do believe that she and Mister Potter are starting to bond, and that she is more powerful than any of us imagined."
Sorcha was quiet for a bit after Firenze finished speaking, and then walked up to Hermione. Looking the young girl in the eye, she said, "I am sorry, Hermione, for belittling you the way I did. I was only trying to teach you our ways in the same manner that I was taught. I should have thought back to my training days, and maybe I would have remembered just how much I despised my teacher for the way she taught me."
Hermione was flabbergasted, to say the least. Was Sorcha actually apologizing to her? Realizing that a response was expected from her, she cleared her throat and said, "That's quite alright Sorcha, I understand why you did what you did; it was in Harry and I's best interest. Your ways are a bit harsh and hurtful though."
While silence reigned in the Room of Requirement, Remus spoke up and said, "Why don't we work on some defense spells for a little while? We can come back to the Guardian training later on, perhaps?"
"Of course," Sorcha replied. Giving Hermione what looked to be a smile (Hermione could have sworn the corners of her lips were upturned for a second), she made her way from the room with an unspoken promise to return later in the day.
As soon as the door to the room closed behind her, it seemed as if they all sighed in relief, glad for even a brief respite from the witch.
~*~
"Locomotor Mortis!"
As Hermione's legs locked together and she started to fall, she thrust her wand in front of her and called, "Petrificus totalus!"
"Protego!" Harry countered, shielding himself from her spell, giving her enough time to take the leg-locking spell off of herself with a quick 'Finite incantatum.'
Still laying on the floor on her stomach, she waited until she saw Harry's shield drop and cast a quick, "Conjunctiva!"
"Ahh! Damn it!" Harry yelled, angry that she had hit him. Even with his glasses on, he couldn't make out a damn thing clearly, everything was just blurry shapes of various sizes. As he stopped the spell, Hermione took advantage of the split second it gave her to get up and back on her feet, ready to continue the duel.
"Language, Harry," Remus admonished, watching on as the two faced off. Firenze had gone to speak with McGonagall, so after a bit of instruction he had been watching Harry and Hermione duel for quite some time now, the two holding their own against the other. He knew that Harry was holding back though, and he could see that the boy's temper was starting to get the better of him after that last spell. When Harry started cursing, Remus knew he was close to his breaking point, which was usually when he became uncontrolled and unfocused. Hermione, on the other hand, seemed to be keeping her wits about her; that was probably an easy thing to do after what Sorcha had put her through though.
"Sorry," Harry ground out, his teeth grinding together as he tried to reign in his temper. Hermione had been through enough lately, he refused to face her in a duel and hit her with every spell he knew.
"That's fine Harry, but stop holding back," Remus replied.
"You're holding back?" Hermione asked, standing completely still and glaring at him. "Harry Potter, do you think I'm not good enough to duel you and protect myself?"
"No! I mean yes, you're good enough. I just didn't want to...oh bloody hell," he muttered. Realizing what he had said he added, "Sorry again, Remus."
"Why are you holding back? Because of what I went through last night? Because you think I can't defend myself sufficiently enough?" she fired at him, advancing on him a step at a time with each question.
"Hermione, I think you might be picking up on Harry's anger a bit," Remus warned, not liking what he was seeing.
"No, let her go Remus, I don't mind answering her," Harry replied, practically nose-to-nose with her now. "Yes, I was holding back and yes, it was because of last night and the hell you went through. You deserve some sort of break after everything that's happened!"
"No I don't! Did it ever occur to you that if I'm to protect you while you defeat Voldemort I need to be able to duel and protect myself as well?" she yelled at him, closing what little distance was left between them. "Do you think that Voldemort or Damien will go easy on me because I've had a bad day? I highly doubt it. Unlike you, I don't plan on dying anytime soon. I haven't given up."
Poor Remus didn't know what hit him. All he knew was that he was suddenly flying through the air, propelled by some great force that had come from nowhere, and somehow when he hit the wall it was a soft hit. Reaching behind him, he felt the wall to find that it was padded. Thankfully the room had felt his fear of a hard impact and changed just in time. When he finally got his bearings he stood up and dusted himself off, righting his clothes. When he turned to check on Harry and Hermione he stopped, a smile slowly spreading across his face.
There, in the middle of all the chaos they stood, surrounded by a blue shield of light that was giving off a golden glow. Harry and Hermione stood wrapped in each other's arms, oblivious to everything around them as they kissed. Turning his back on the scene, Remus thought of how the room should be righted, and watched as the room transformed itself back to normal. Afterwards, he turned back to the couple (who were still kissing) and cleared his throat loudly to get their attention. Thankfully it worked.
Hermione was the first to hear Remus, and coming to her senses she broke the kiss, opening her eyes to look up at Harry. He stood staring back at her, and the look in his eyes made her shiver; it was predatory, full of promises and words left unsaid. As she broke the stare, she looked around them at the blue-golden shield surrounding them, wondering where it had come from. Hearing the door to the room open, the two teens turned to see Firenze, Sorcha, and McGonagall all walking in, looking at them in awe.
"How is this possible?" Sorcha asked, walking up to them. Seeing the puzzled looks on their faces, she turned to Hermione and said, "Concentrate on lowering your shield Hermione."
Doing as she was told, Hermione closed her eyes and relaxed, thinking how she wanted her shield to dissapate. When she opened her eyes, the golden orb was gone, but the blue one still remained around them. "What...?"
Sorcha turned to Harry and said, "Harry, do the same. Close your eyes, relax your mind, and concentrate on how you want the shield to be gone."
He did as she said as well, and when he opened his eyes they were no longer surrounded by colour. Realizing they were still holding each other, they slowly released the other, their cheeks coloring from embarrassment as the four adults in the room continued to watch them closely.
"Madame Sorcha, what exactly just happened?" Headmistress McGonagall asked, coming to stand at her side.
"I believe," Sorcha replied, "That Harry has just gotten in touch with his inner Guardian."
"But that's not possible," Hermione said adamantly. "There's never been a male Soul Guardian, only females can be Guardians, it said so in both Lily's and my mother's notebooks."
"And they were correct, there has never been a male Soul Guardian," Sorcha confirmed. "Headmistress McGonagall was kind enough to let me borrow one of the books from the Library so that I could do some research. Before Harry, there has only been one male child born to a Soul Guardian, the rest have been females and have automatically inherited the gift. The Evan's family has always produced powerful Guardian offspring, and they've all been female...until Harry was born. The only other male born to a Soul Guardian was killed by Damien when he was two years old, and that was in 1853, to my Great-Great Aunt Metilda."
They all stood there, taking in everything she had said, until Firenze broke the silence. "This means that Harry has some sort of Guardian power in him as well which leads to an even greater discovery...we now have an advantage against Voldemort and Damien. One that they will never think possible."