Disclaimer: It's all Jo Rowling's. I just play with the characters and make them do the things I think they should do.
<><><><><>
Just a few short minutes after Harry and Hermione had returned to their hotel room, there was a knock on their door. Before Harry could get up to answer it, a stream of witches and wizards came flooding into the room. Harry looked at them in shock; Hermione was still cuddled against his chest.
"Alright, Harry, what the bloomin' hell is going on here!" Remus Lupin was furious.
"What are you talking about?" Harry was confused. Almost every member of the Order of the Phoenix surrounded him. He was receiving stern glares from Headmistress McGonagall and Alastor Moody. Kingsley Shacklebolt and the Weasley men stood off to one side, giving Molly Weasley and Tonks a chance to check the young couple over.
"Going off on your own, hiding out here for three days, and brutally maiming Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle?!" he had never been this mad at anyone before, but Lupin was positively steaming. "The first two we can get past, but you put three men in St. Mungo's today! And you're-you're glowing?" Lupin was now confused. Everyone in the room had been so concerned for Harry and Hermione's welfare that they hadn't stopped to realize that the two of them were now bright enough to light up the entire room.
Molly had had her moment to fuss over the teens, and now Tonks was sitting on the bed with Harry, a comforting arm around his shoulder.
"Remus, love, don't be so hard on the poor guy. I'm sure he's got an explanation." She said, gently rubbing Harry's back. It was clear that they had just been through something awful.
"What did you do to Hermione?" Molly asked in a shrill voice. "She's in shock!"
"I didn't do anything," Harry muttered, never taking his eyes off of her. Her eyes were open and still brimming with tears, but they weren't focusing on anything. She just seemed to be staring off in the distance.
"Then what happened, Mr. Potter? And could you possibly explain to us why you two resemble a torch?" Minerva McGonagall had been worrying for the last few days about her two favourite students, and she was just as puzzled as the rest of them as to Hermione's catatonic-like state.
"Harry," Tonks said gently, ignoring everyone else, "Did Draco have anything to do with this?"
Harry nodded.
"What happened?" she asked, knowing that it would still be fresh in Harry's mind. It would hurt for him to tell her, but she was hoping he'd say it anyway.
"Hermione and I, we-we fought," he said quietly, still holding her as carefully as he could. "I was mad at her, so I left and said I was going to take a walk and I'd be back. She came after me. I didn't know and was heading back to the hotel when I put my ring back on and I heard her calling out to me. She was trapped in an alley with them…" he trailed off, softly tracing a finger along Hermione's cheek.
Tonks took 'them' to mean Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. "Were they trying to hurt her?" she prompted.
Harry nodded. "When I got there Draco had her wrists tied and Crabbe and Goyle were holding her legs to the ground. He was-he…" Tears began to slip down Harry's face as he pulled Hermione even closer and buried himself in her hair.
"Harry, I know it hurts, but you have to tell us. Otherwise you'll have to go to trial for the altercation, and we don't want that," Tonks reasoned.
"I'd heard Hermione saying that they wanted her to become a Death Eater because Voldemort thought she'd be useful, but if she wouldn't do it of her own free will then they'd kill her." He choked back his tears. "When I got there Malfoy was on his knees and he about to undo his pants and he was-oh Merlin, he was going to-" Harry went silent, his tears now flowing freely.
Tonks looked around at the other Order members. They all seemed to understand what Harry couldn't bring himself to say. The junior Death Eaters had found them just an hour before the Order had, and Hermione had almost been killed. They knew exactly what Malfoy was about to do by Harry's admission that he'd been undressing when he arrived, and not a single one could blame him for his actions.
Molly Weasley was thoroughly upset now, and Arthur had been holding her back the last few minutes. She could see the love between the two of them, and even though part of her was angry and felt that it should've been Ginny that Harry felt that way for, she couldn't help but feel relieved that it wasn't. Then she'd be staring at Ginny lying in shock in Harry's arms. It would've been Ginny whom Malfoy and his friends tried to rape and kill. Even though it wasn't her daughter lying there, Molly was still upset. She'd always cared for Harry like he was another one of her boys, and Hermione had spent enough summers at the Burrow for Molly to be concerned about her well-being.
Arthur couldn't restrain his wife any longer. Mrs. Weasley marched straight over to Harry and attempted to remove Hermione from his arms. "We've got to get her to St. Mungo's, dear. She needs to be treated for shock, and most likely some bruises and abrasions as well. Come along now, I'll Apparate her there myself."
"No!" Harry shouted, nearly knocking Molly back to the floor with the volume and force of his words.
Lupin could see that he'd stood back long enough while the women handled things. He had to step back in. "Harry, she needs to go to St. Mungo's and you can't Apparate her there yourself, so just-"
"I can, and I will." He said through gritted teeth. He was not letting go of Hermione. "I Apparated her back from the alleyway and I'll Apparate her to St. Mungo's."
Everyone in the room was shocked. "Harry," Tonks began, "we figured you could Apparate yourself but you can do Side-Along Apparition already?"
Harry nodded. "So can 'Mione. We went to Paris last night for dinner," he said softly, remembering the previous night. "She Apparated and I held on to her, so that the Ministry couldn't complain about me Apparating before I was seventeen."
"And you Apparated her into the hotel room from the alleyway?" Tonks asked in wonder.
"I don't care if the Ministry doesn't like it, I wasn't about to walk down the streets of London carrying her after that. I wanted to get her back here as soon as I could." He said defensively.
"Harry, I don't think you understand what Tonks is trying to figure out here." Minerva stepped forward. "Side-Along Apparition is very difficult. It is difficult for many adult wizards to do. Out of those of us in the Order, the only ones capable are myself, Molly, Tonks, and when he was still with us, Dumbledore. What we're trying to tell you is that it is very advanced magic, much like your Patronus charm. We're not mad at you or concerned about you Apparating before you come of age. We're amazed that you can do it."
Harry was less on edge now that McGonagall had explained. "Then I'll Apparate her there right now. Any problems with that?"
No one was going to argue with him.
"One more thing," he said, "How did you find us?"
"Pig found you," Molly said, looking at her husband. "When he came back to us after Ginny had written you her letters, he was carrying something shiny in his mouth. Turns out he'd found a chocolate that the hotel puts on the pillows at night, eaten it, and thought that the gold wrapper was something worth bringing home. It had the hotel logo on it."
"Given my former position with the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts office, I've spent a lot of time in Muggle London. I recognized the logo and alerted the other Order members." Arthur explained, almost feeling sorry for Harry. Clearly he hadn't wanted to be found, but here they were anyway.
"We think that Voldemort may have had Death Eaters stationed in London keeping an eye out for you," McGonagall looked Harry in the eye. "When you two left after your fight this morning they must have spotted Hermione leaving, but not you, Harry. Otherwise they would've made an attempt to capture you and take you back to Voldemort."
Harry realized he would have to be much more careful in the future to avoid detection. Rather than voice his concerns to the Order, he simply stood, still cradling Hermione to his chest. "And now that we're clear on that, I'm taking Hermione to St. Mungo's."
With that, they were gone.
"Did you see that?" Tonks whispered, "I didn't even hear him go!"
"That's the quietest Apparition I've ever heard," Arthur Weasley commented.
"Why were they glowing?" asked Molly.
Lupin had a theory regarding that. "Did anyone else notice Harry said he'd heard Hermione's cries for help after he put a ring back on?"
Everyone nodded.
"I think that he may have found Lily and James' old wedding rings in his vault at Gringotts."
"The one with the Glitra diamond?" Molly asked excitedly. She thought the rings had been lost in the attack when Harry was a baby, and she'd always wondered what had happened to it.
Lupin nodded. "Remember how Lily and James seemed to communicate silently? I think it had to do with the diamond. There were rumours that they could do something like that."
"So you think Harry found the rings and now both he and Hermione are wearing them, enabling them to hear each other's thoughts?" McGonagall asked.
"Exactly." Said Remus.
"Well, that must come in handy," she said.
<><><><><>
When Harry arrived at St. Mungo's, he was immediately ushered into a private room by a Mediwitch. He carefully laid Hermione out on the hospital bed, still clutching her hand in his own.
"What happened to her?" said the witch, quickly performing a few spells to alleviate any pain Hermione might be feeling. She didn't look up to see the pained expression on Harry's face, much less to realize that Harry Potter was standing in front of her.
"Got caught by herself in an alleyway, and nearly was raped and killed." It was tough for Harry to say the words, but he knew he wouldn't be allowed to stay in the room with her if he couldn't keep himself together.
The Mediwitch locked eyes with him, realizing who he was. "Harry Potter?" she asked, connecting his name with the three men who had been brought in only a half hour earlier.
He nodded.
"I assume you would like this case treated with the greatest discretion possible." She said, checking Hermione's vital signs.
Again, Harry nodded. "I should warn you, I don't intend on leaving this room until she does," he said calmly. The Mediwitch nodded and left the room. Seconds later a second witch entered.
"I'm Healer Danby," she introduced herself. "And the patient is?"
"Hermione Jane Granger." Harry offered.
Healer Danby smiled. "You're Harry Potter." She said, "I've been informed that you have no intentions of leaving Miss Granger unsupervised, correct?"
"I promised her I'd never leave her alone again. If I hadn't done that in the first place, she wouldn't be here right now." He said, blaming himself.
"Nonsense, Mr. Potter," Healer Danby paused to administer a potion to Hermione. "She's in shock, which I'm sure you know. I've just given her something to bring her out of it as soon as possible. In the meantime, I think you should have some of this." She held a cup out to him, waiting for him to take it.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Draught of Peace," she replied. "You look as though you need to calm down a bit, and this will help."
Harry took the potion, and handed the cup back to the Healer.
"Fantastic," she said with a smile. "Now, you just make yourself comfortable, and I'll be back to check on Miss Granger shortly. Try to get some sleep if you can, Mr. Potter."
Nodding, Harry shuffled a chair closer to the bed and sat down. He rested his head on the mattress, still holding Hermione's hand.
<><><><><>
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, My Lord, but Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle are in St. Mungo's and barely alive." Severus Snape stood before Lord Voldemort, doing his best not to show his fear.
"What?" Voldemort hissed. "How?"
Snape cleared his throat. "They were part of the team that was standing guard over London, looking for Potter. They found Hermione Granger instead."
"And did they tell her that I wished to speak with her?"
"I don't know, My Lord, I only discovered their blood and magical signature in an alleyway. Potter got to them before I could. Someone must have spotted them from the main road and brought them to the hospital."
Voldemort was silent for a moment, lamenting the demise of Draco Malfoy. "How were they injured?"
"Draco lost his wand arm. I believe that Potter used a combination of the Reducto charm and the Severing charm."
"And the other two?"
Snape hung his head, not looking the Dark Lord in the eyes. "I'm afraid that Potter used a spell on them which I invented years ago. Sectumsempra; it causes deep gashes in the skin, and if left untreated the victim will bleed to death."
Voldemort nodded. "Crabbe and Goyle were unfortunate causalities, and I shall not worry if they end up in the morgue of St. Mungo's. Malfoy is the only one I am sorry to hear about; he has such potential. Who was supposed to be keeping an eye on them?"
"Amycus, sir."
"Have him killed. You are dismissed."
"Yes, My Lord." Snape bowed and left.