Unofficial Portkey Archive

Disclaimer: I own nothing of the 'Harry Potter' universe, and I don't own any of the lyric bits that I use to enhance the story. I don't make any money at all by writing this.

A/N: Here we go. As you can probably tell after reading the first half of this chapter, things are starting to heat up. After reading the second half, you can definitely tell that things are starting to heat up! This chapter certainly justifies the NC-17 rating, so if you are too young, stop reading now! There are plenty of milder rated stories out there, so don't make me sad by having your mind corrupted by my musings. I figured that all of you reviewers, (and by default, you readers also) have been very, very, very patient in waiting for the HHr fluff to begin. Here's a bit of a taste for you, my way of saying 'thanks for hanging in there with me!' Many of you might think that it's a bit sudden, but be honest with yourself… you've been anxiously awaiting for something like this to happen! I don't want to hear any complaints! Just think, if they're acting like this without the bond, just imagine what's going to happen once it's repaired! As always, R & R & Enjoy! (I know, the lyrics are a bit long, but VERY fitting, don't you think?)

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Chapter 37: A Different Kind of Fire

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I can't fight this feeling any longer,
and yet I'm still afraid to let it flow.
What started out as friendship has grown stronger,
I only wish I had the strength to let it show.

'Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore.
I've forgotten what I started fighting for,
and if I have to crawl upon the floor…
come crushing through your door…
Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore.

Excerpt from the song, 'Can't Fight This Feeling' by the band, REO Speedwagon.

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Ron was walking hurriedly from his brothers' shop towards the archway that led back to the Leaky Cauldron. He had left the house many hours before, and spent more time at Luna's house than he felt he really should have. His arms were now loaded with bags of food, supplies, and other items that, while not absolutely necessary, he picked up for himself anyway. Even though the items were magically reduced in size, the sheer quantity of items that he had purchased filled quite a few bags.

He had made a quick stop at Gringotts after he left Luna at her house to pick up some money to replenish the house's stores, figuring that the place would be their base of operations while searching for the remaining horcruxes. He took a little more gold than he was planning to, but thought that it wouldn't hurt for them to have a bit more pocket money, seeing how difficult it was for Harry to get around without being harassed by Death Eaters or the Ministry.

Of course, he quickly found that having that extra money in his pocket supplied a temptation that he couldn't quite resist. After buying what seemed like nearly half of the stock at 'Stella's Staples,' the provisioner in Diagon alley, he left with two large bags of shrunken foodstuffs. He then stopped by 'Quality Quidditch Supplies,' where he spent an inordinate amount of time browsing through their wares. He spent more time than money there, his only purchase being a maintenance guide for his model of broom to repair the braking and cushioning charm that Ginny had so thoughtlessly tampered with.

After leaving the sports store, he planned on making a trip to his brothers' shop to buy all the tricks and pranks that he had so coveted every time he went there. On the way, he stopped to get owl treats, as well as a new cage for Pig. He also ran in to the apothecary to grab some potion ingredients that he thought they might need, as well as several other shops that had things that caught his eye. It was weird for him at first, as he never had much of his own money to spend, but the strangeness quickly passed as he purchased item after item from the various vendors.

He was brought roughly back to reality as he passed Ollivander's shop, where he was reminded of their task at hand. He did eventually end up at 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes,' but only to check in with his brothers to see what progress they were making on discovering the protections on the Alley's shops and on the items they were developing for Harry. They told him how they checked out the protections on Ollivander's shop and sent what they found out to Harry by owl. Ron never saw the letter, but he knew he was usually 'busy' with Luna and could quite easily have missed seeing it. Harry would tell him about it eventually, anyway.

He left their shop a few minutes later carrying all his bags from the provisioner… and a few newly developed pranks that he surely couldn't live without.

He knew he had been gone from the house for quite the while, but he didn't think his absence would be noticed that much. He also thought it was a good idea to give Harry and Hermione a little 'alone time,' knowing that Hermione had worked herself up into a frightful state over the previous few days. He made a few other stops along the way back to pick up a few odds and ends that he felt might be useful to them, but there was something he couldn't quite lay a finger on that was eating at the back of his mind. As he hurried along toward the Leaky Cauldron, he was suddenly aware that his pace had quickened, so much so that he was almost into a jog. He had to consciously slow himself down to a brisk walk.

By the time he entered the Leaky Cauldron his heart was pounding. He could feel moisture running down between his shoulder blades and down the sides of his face. He thought he might have picked up a touch of fever, but when he wiped the sweat away from his face awkwardly with an overfull hand, he felt that his skin was cold and clammy. It was almost as if he were having a panic attack.

He set his bags down with Tom behind the bar and practically stumbled his way to the bathroom. He closed and locked the door behind him, then went to a basin and splashed water onto his face.

Something wasn't right. He knew it… he could feel it.

He looked up from the basin and into the mirror. His thoughts drifted to the previous weekend where he was told that he was a Diviner… blessed with the 'Inner Eye,' as Trelawney liked to call it. Despite his uneasy feeling, he had to stifle a chuckle as he mused about being able to foretell the future. Honestly, if he could really see into the future, he and his family wouldn't be as poor as they were.

But still, he did 'see' Kotone on the floor crying as her hand bled before it even happened. It's true that he had never lost a chess game, even against far more experienced players, without even having to think much about strategy… he just knew where to move the pieces.

The more he thought about it, the more perplexed he became. He's tall, and somewhat clumsy, and has trouble focusing on whatever task was at hand. Still, when it came to goalkeeping in Quidditch, he was a natural, whenever he wasn't excessively nervous, of course. When he was able to concentrate, he could almost tell where the quaffle was going to go even before it left the chaser's hand.

He couldn't help but to think that this 'feeling' that was suddenly coming over him had something to do with this supposed 'sight' of his. More to prove to himself that it was a load of rubbish rather than anything else, he sat himself on the loo and closed his eyes while resting the tip of his wand against his forehead.

He felt just as foolish as when he did it back at the house, still, he had to get rid of this uneasiness that was creeping up his spine. After only about thirty seconds, he was ready to give up. The last time he did this, which was also the first time, it had taken over thirty minutes to begin 'seeing' anything, and he wasn't very keen on hanging around a dirty bathroom for anywhere near as long.

He gave it another minute before he let out a frustrated grunt and opened his eyes. He expected to see the bare, wooden wall on the inside of the Leaky Cauldron's loo, but that wasn't what met his eyes. In a way, he could still see the wall, but it appeared as if it were made of a dark, transparent glass. The scene beyond this 'glass' was of Diagon Alley, specifically, the part of the Alley that was directly in front of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He watched the scene as a few wizarding families hurried by, seemingly anxious to spend as little time in the open as possible, as was normal behavior since the return of Voldemort. He also saw his brother briefly step out through the door and lay something on the ground before returning inside the shop.

A pair of hooded figures walked into his view and stopped in front of his brothers' shop. They were facing away from the building as they exchanged words, but were looking in the direction he was 'seeing' from. Cold dread seeped into his chest as he recognized the two figures as being the Carrow siblings, Amycus and his sister, Alecto… two of the Death Eaters he had seen in Hogwarts the night Dumbledore died.

Ron watched in stunned silence as the two siblings donned their skull masks and then turned to face the store. Alecto sent a powerful Reducto at the shop, which turned the front door into splinters. At the same time Amycus sent an Incendio through the newly created opening and into the shop. Without pausing, they continued to send a combination of both spells into the shop.

Inside of his brothers' shop, Ron could see dozens of people running and flailing about before the smoke obscured his view. Within moments, the entire building was spewing flames out of every window, sending clouds of billowing black smoke into the afternoon sky. Amycus grinned at his sister, then sent the Dark Mark into the sky before they both vanished in the fall of colour produced by a pair of portkeys.

Ron blinked and found himself staring at the dirty wooden wall of the Leaky Cauldron's loo. He immediately threw himself from the seat and burst out of the bathroom, across the tavern and out through the back door towards Diagon Alley. The tears in his eyes made it difficult to find the right brick to tap, but managed to get through with little wasted time.

As he ran, he passed by a family that was hurriedly walking in the same direction that he was going. He immediately recognized them as one the families that passed by while he was watching the 'vision.' This caused him to run even faster.

When his brothers' shop came into view, he was greatly relieved to see that there weren't any flames or smoke pouring from the building… 'Yet…' he thought to himself.

Ron burst noisily through the shop's front door, causing Verity to squeak out and jump in surprise as she dropped the pile of boxes she held that were intended for the shelves. Ignoring the startled young witch, he ran through the busy center aisle, pushing patrons out of the way. He leapt over the counter and burst into the back room, finding both Fred and George levitating and stacking large boxes of stock with their wands.

Ron began speaking in a panicked voice, "You've got to get everyone out of here! Death Eaters are coming!"

The boxes the twins were levitating fell heavily to the floor, one breaking open and sending a few dozen golf ball-sized glass balls rolling across the floor while the other landed with the distinct sound of bottles breaking, causing a runny, foul-smelling liquid to seep from the seams.

"What are you on about, Ron?" said George angrily.

"Death Eaters, they'll be here any minute!" exclaimed Ron as he looked back through the doorway towards the front of the store. He noticed more than a few patrons standing there frozen and looking at him fearfully.

"See here now! You're upsetting out clientele!" said Fred as he dragged Ron the rest of the way into the room and shut the door, "Now, what makes you think that there are Death Eaters coming here?"

"Because I saw them attacking! The Carrows' will be here any second! They're going to blow the door in and send in Incendios. This whole building is going to be burned down… with everyone here in it if we don't get out of here now!"

Fred and George exchanged skeptical glances. Fred began laughing while George wore an amused grin as he said, "Right, now why would they come for us?"

"The owl with your report on Ollivander's… Harry never got it!" said Ron desperately, begging his brothers to believe him, "They've probably been watching you all this time and have been intercepting your mail!"

Ron realized that if that truly was the reason for the attack, then Voldemort probably knows that Harry is after the horcrux in the closed wand shop. He would have to let Harry know, but getting his brothers to safety was his immediate concern. The twins' grins both faltered a bit, but it was clear to Ron that they still didn't believe him… or didn't believe him enough to clear out of their shop right away. He had to convince them.

"Listen, I saw what they are about to do to the building. I put myself in a trance or something, and I saw them set this place on fire! They're going to be here in a minute!"

Both the twins laughed, and Fred said, "Who the bloody hell told you that you were a seer?"

"Hermione," was all Ron said.

The twins' laughter instantly died away. They looked hard at Ron for a few moments, and then looked at each other.

"What do you think?" said George.

"Hermione's not a kidder, is she?" asked Fred rhetorically.

"Well, I can't say we haven't thought about something like this happening," said George.

"True, and if Ronniekins here is right, this may be the perfect way to test it out."

George grinned, pulled out his wand and turned to Ron, "Bring the memory of what you saw to the front of your mind… picture what happened as clearly as you can."

Ron wondered what the hell they were up to, but did as he was told. George placed his wand against Ron's temple and slowly drew the memory from his head.

"Hmm, it's a short one, but I think it'll do," said Fred as he watched his twin carry the wispy memory over to their workbench and insert the memory into a small glass box that had tiny runes etched around each corner. They held it up to a candle and stared into it for a few moments.

"Alright, I'll loop it after forty-two seconds," said George as he tapped the box with his wand, "that'll keep the flames and smoke visible until we dispel it."

Alright, then, let's go!" said Fred excitedly.

Ron followed the twins out of the back room. George carried the box to the front of the shop and laid it on the sidewalk just outside of the door. He tapped the box once more to activate it, and then returned inside. Meanwhile, Fred was busy gathering up his customers and herding them towards the back of the store away from the front door, all the while telling them that they were about to get a free sample of one of their newest products.

Almost as soon as the front door was closed, Ron saw a pair of black-cloaked figures stop across the Alley.

"They're here!" whispered Ron to the twins.

"Alright, then, wands out, and keep the shields up," said George quietly.

"You know what will happen if even one gets through," finished Fred.

Ron and Fred held out their wands and said, "Protego!" while George waited for the first spell from the Death Eaters to be cast.

As if on cue, the two Death Eaters quickly turned and began firing spells at the front of the shop as George sent an activation spell at the box, then began casting his own shielding spell. All of the Death Eaters' hastily cast spells impacted harmlessly on the hastily produced shields. After a minute, the two Death Eaters grinned maliciously at each other before Amycus held his wand aloft and yelled, "Morsmordre!" casting the Dark mark in the sky above the Alley. A moment later, the pair had vanished in a fall of colour.

Fred and George began laughing hysterically, very pleased with their own brilliance. Ron wore a confused expression as he stepped through the doorway to inspect the front of the building. As soon as he walked out into the street, he heard the loud crackling of a fire burning. He turned around to see the building just as he had seen it in his vision… Flames and smoke were pouring out of the doorway and every window on both floors. He could tell after a few seconds that the licks of flame were repeating themselves, as if he were watching a wizard photograph of the conflagration resetting itself. He didn't even bother to wonder about the paradox of seeing flames from a memory of a future that had never taken place.

The walls of the building suddenly flashed blue and all of the flame and smoke disappeared. He saw George standing in the doorway to his shop and holding the glass box while Fred was inside speaking loudly to the cheering crowd, who were obviously thrilled with the show they had just seen.

Honestly, Ron wasn't sure why the patrons were cheering when all they could have seen were a pair of Death Eaters attacking the shop's proprietors until George explained that Fred had handed each of the patrons a five minute demonstration sample of their 'Patented Daydream Charm' and all they had seen during the attack was the first five minutes of that year's Quidditch World Cup, also mentioning that the entire match was available on a sixteen hour Daydream Charm for those who were unable to attend the game themselves.

"Listen, I need get to the Leaky Cauldron, I have to get to Harry's right away," said Ron to his brother, "He needs to know about the owl and the attack here."

"Well, use the floo up in our flat," offered George, "it'll be quicker than heading to the other end of the Alley."

"I left some stuff with Tom at the Cauldron that I'll need to bring with me," replied Ron as turned to leave, "you just take care of yourselves, I'll be alright."

Ron hurried back through Diagon Alley, ignoring all the frightened looks from the denizens who witnessed the 'attack,' and was soon at the back door to the tavern. After collecting his supplies from Tom and paying for some floo powder, he stepped to the large fireplace and jostled his many bags as he prepared to toss it into the low flames. It was then that he discovered what Harry and Hermione had found out earlier… he couldn't remember where he was supposed to return to… he was never told the address.

After a moment's thought, he an idea came to him. He had to get Pig to deliver a warning to Harry. He tossed the floo powder into the hearth, stepped into the emerald green flames and called out, "The Burrow."

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The glowing rift that hung suspended in the air closed abruptly and disappeared, leaving the stench of brimstone and sulphurous smoke drifting in the light breeze. She watched in despair and the smoky, ethereal serpent coiled back around the translucent figure of the lion sitting before her. Time seemed to speed up around her as she dispelled her 'state.'

"This is impossible!" yelled Hermione in frustration as she stood up and began pacing through the sand.

Hermione had just finished the fourth iteration of the banishment ritual, with the same result every time… the fragment refused to separate from the host.

Harry leaned forward and rested his aching forehead in his hands. He looked up into the mid-afternoon sky, shading his eyes from the glaring sun and said, "Let's go inside, I think I'm getting a sunburn."

Harry had removed his shirt hours earlier, just after Hermione transfigured her totally unsuitable black sweatshirt and pants in to a modest, white one-piece swimming costume with a matching see-through sarong as a wrap. She also re-transfigured Kotone's worn, gray nightshirt into an old fashioned, light-blue frilly one-piece so that she could play in the surf.

Harry had noticed during the pauses between each failed attempt to rid him of Voldemort's soul fragment that Kotone was having a wonderful time trying to catch some of the larger fish that ventured too close to her. Whenever she had caught one, she'd take off her mask and happily pop it into her mouth. He thought it odd that he found it so amusing, but just attributed it to him finally being used to her strange eating habits. He had also noticed after Kotone came in from the water that the little girl's pale skin was turning just as red as his.

When they entered the house and were finally out of the glaring afternoon sun, Harry saw that Hermione had a burn worse than both his and Kotone's combined. Her skin was an angry shade of red, especially around her shoulders and upper back where the sun had been beating down on her. He briefly wondered how she could have obtained such a worse burn than he did, but then realized that while she was in her 'state,' time passed more slowly for her than for those around her. To Harry, they had been in the sun for almost three hours, but to Hermione, she was sitting in the sun for probably double that… maybe even more.

Hermione winced in pain as she carefully settled into the zebra-patterned couch and closed her eyes. Within a minute, she was asleep.

Harry looked at her sympathetically for a moment, and then looked at his own reddening skin. He sighed and said to himself, "I think it's bath time."

Kotone, who was standing just outside of the open doorway shaking the sand and seawater from her hair, looked up in surprise when he said that it was bath time. A happy smile formed on her mask's painted lips.

He walked into the bathroom and turned on the tap to the massive tub and adjusted the temperature so that the water was barely tepid. The tub was easily the size of the one in the prefect's bath at Hogwarts.

As soon as the tap was turned on, the light in the room dimmed dramatically and a set of a dozen floating candles surrounded the tub from a concealed recess in the wall. The candles lit themselves while suspended around the bath, illuminating the room in a soft, pleasantly flickering light.

Although he didn't have any soap with him, the water coming from the tap obviously contained some sort of scented oil or soap because as the tub filled, the surface was covered in thick foam. He shed his sweatpants and underwear, and as soon as the tub was half-way filled he slipped into the water, rested the back of his head against the rim and closed his eyes, listening to the rush of the water from the tap as it echoed throughout the large room.

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Hermione was awakened by a sharp, stinging pain on her shoulder, which turned out Kotone's hand that was lightly touching her tender skin. When she looked up, she was met with the young half-witch's smiling eyes and grinning mask.

"Come, Miss Eagle," said Kotone, "It is time for bath. Cool water will help the burn."

Hermione watched Kotone's retreating back as she practically skipped into the bathroom, leaving the door open behind her. Hermione carefully lifted herself from the sofa and slowly walked to the open doorway while tiredly rubbing her eyes.

'Yes, maybe a cool, relaxing bath is just what I need,' Hermione thought to herself. She was still upset with herself for failing to rid Harry of that soul piece. She didn't know exactly why it didn't work, but she had some theories. Maybe it was rooted to Harry too deeply, or maybe it was because it wasn't a true horcrux because it was unintentionally placed within his scar. The one theory that kept running through her head more often than all the others was that she simply wasn't powerful enough to banish a fragment that old.

She had read about a ritual to enhance one's power in Kotone's book. It stated that the ritual would irrevocably transform the subject into a 'purer' form of their specialty. For a Sorcerer, a Mage, or any of the other types of wizards, it seemed that whatever changes the ritual produced, it would be a positive thing. Sometimes the changes were not only in power and personality, but also in one's physical appearance. She wasn't so sure that being a 'purer' Necromancer could be considered positive, but if it would help Harry… if it would help to get their soul bond back… anything would be worth it. She just hoped that Harry would accept whatever changes were made to her.

Even before she entered the bathroom, Hermione heard the water running into the tub as Kotone quickly stripped out of her still-damp bathing costume. She did notice the lit candles and thought it was a very pleasant touch. She closed the door behind her while politely averting her eyes from Kotone, not really wanting to see the little half-demon in the buff. Instead, she turned to look at her reflection in the wide mirror above the tan marble sink. She watched herself gingerly peel off the shoulder straps of her suit and pull the top half down to her waist. She turned slightly to see that her back was frightfully reddened, even where the suit had covered her skin. When she transfigured her clothes, she made the material a tan-through mesh, which she now was fully regretting.

Just as Hermione bent down to guide the material over her burned legs, she heard Kotone giggle as she splashed heavily into the water. She had just lifted one foot out of the bathing costume that was now pooled around one ankle when heard an odd, gasping sound from behind her.

Hermione quickly turned her head to see what had made the strange noise. At the same time, a very male voice yelled out, "Kotone?"

Hermione's heart stopped.

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Harry was lurking in that neverland somewhere between consciousness and sleep. The cooling water around him and the sound of the flowing tap was lulling him into such a relaxed state that he never noticed the entrance of his two girls.

The same, recurring dream was making it's appearance once again. He was in the darkened hallway of his house, the one that he couldn't recall the location to. The same door was before him, but this time it was left ajar. He easily opened it, revealing a scene that was both foreign and familiar.

There was Hermione, standing once again in the absurdly large, open clamshell, but the room that was usually there was now a lush, tropical setting. Rain was pouring down on Hermione as she ran a bar of soap down her naked frame. She turned when she noticed him standing in the doorway and gave him a beaming smile. It was quite the refreshing change from her kneeling in the shell while crying her eyes out.

Hermione let out a soft, high-pitched giggle in a voice that, while somewhat familiar, wasn't her own. She bent down and scooped some water out of the shell and tossed it at his face.

Harry's eyes flew open when he felt the water around him abruptly shift as Kotone practically jumped into the other end of the tub, which caused the wave that splashed him in the face, waking him from the very pleasant dream. His stalled, foggy mind was searching for a reason why he was seeing Kotone naked in a bathtub. He couldn't keep the loud gasp of surprise from escaping his lungs as he looked confusedly at the little half-demon happily smiling at him.

"Kotone?" he asked stupidly as the fog of his semi-sleep left him.

Movement from the other side of the darkened room caught his eye, and he looked over just in time to see Hermione, facing away from him, bent fully over… and completely naked. From his vantage point inside of the in-floor tub, he had an unrestricted view of her most intimate womanly bits. Even in the dim lighting, he could see each fold and bulge of her vaginal area through the sparse, neatly trimmed pubic hair that ended just before the little, puckered knot of her anus. Although he tried, he couldn't tear his eyes from that image.

Upon hearing his gasp, he saw her head snap around to face him. She stood there frozen for a few heartbeats before emitting a comically loud squeak as she abruptly stood and spun around. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on whose position you were in, this gave Harry an unrestricted frontal view of Hermione's assets.

The effect on Harry was immediate. With every beat of his racing heart, he felt the blood being pushed into his penis and within seconds it was standing at full attention and throbbing in time with his rapid pulse. Even before the elixir stole away those feelings from him, he had never experienced that kind of intense reaction. Now that he was getting the full measure of his hormonal urges, it didn't immediately occur to him to look away from his apparently mortified best friend.

Hermione suddenly dropped down to the floor, doubled over with her arms over her breasts. True, she was embarrassed about Harry seeing her, once again, completely exposed, but there was also another reaction that gripped her when she saw the burning desire in his eyes. He was looking at her as if she were the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen… the sexiest woman on the planet. Nobody had ever looked at her like that before. That, in turn, ignited a fire within her belly, burning it's way up into her chest and down into her loins. Her breath started coming out in short pants, not from anxiety, but from extreme lust, and she felt the moisture virtually running along her arse cheeks and down the inside of her thighs. With her embarrassment, desire, and sunburn, her skin was practically glowing crimson.

The strange mixture of embarrassment and desire was so completely foreign to her that she didn't know how to immediately react. Why was his gaze having such a drastic effect on her libido? Was she some sort of closet exhibitionist?

Kotone was looking back and forth between Harry and Hermione with a curious expression in her eyes. She stood from the tub and climbed out, giving Harry much the same view as Hermione had given him moments before, although the effect on him was entirely different. He gawked at the strangeness of seeing a prehensile tail protruding from the base of her spine near the top of her buttocks before he tore his eyes from that area and got his first good look at the rest of the half-demon's body.

From the nape of her neck to the base of her tail were red kanji characters tattooed down her back along her spine. He saw two long, pink scars running vertically along each of her shoulder blades. He also noticed that she had numerous other scars in various places across her back. He made a mental note to ask her about those scars when the circumstances weren't so awkward.

As she walked towards Hermione, Harry noticed something that he wasn't aware of before. Kotone had breasts. Not the tiny little saucer shaped breasts that you'd expect to find on a ten-year-old, but a fully developed pair that protruded noticeably from her chest. With what she wore, how she carried herself, and having such a small, thin frame, they were virtually unnoticeable when she was clothed, even when he was carrying her, but were quite apparent while naked.

"Miss Eagle," said Kotone in a curious voice, "Why are you not getting into bath? Is it not bathing time?"

"Kotone," said Hermione in a strained voice, "Harry's already taking a bath! Why did you bring be in here with him already in the tub!"

Kotone looked back at Harry, obviously confused for a moment, but then turned back to Hermione and smiled, "In Japan, my family bathe together all the time. We are family now, so we can have family bath!"

Hermione let out a nervous laugh and said, "We… we're not a family just yet! We've never… I've never seen him naked before! That's just not done in this part of the world!"

"What is wrong with naked?" asked Kotone, "You have very nice body, not scary like mine. You should not have shame when you are so beautiful! It is only bath to get clean and relax, to become closer as family should."

Then Kotone looked critically between Hermione and Harry, who was still in the tub, averting his eyes and wisely remaining silent. The smile on Kotone's mask fell slightly as she asked Harry, "You are to be family, are you not? This is your Washi, you are her Shishi. Once bond is completed, you will be together forever, nothing can change that."

Now that he had finally wrestled his hormones into submission, which was no small feat, Harry looked towards his two girls, this time without the surprised leer that he wore when he first noticed Hermione in the room, but with a sincere conviction that shone clearly in his words.

"When I agreed to repair the bond, I knew what I was saying. I knew what it meant, for both of us. I remember what it felt like to be in love. I told you that I want to feel it again, and I know once the bond is back in place, I won't ever want to lose it again. To answer your question, yes… if after the bond is repaired we feel the same way as before, then I can assure you that we will be a family… that is, if that's what Hermione wants, as well…"

Harry's higher brain functions took a momentary vacation as he saw a thin, lithe body carry two jiggling mounds of flesh towards him at an alarming speed. A moment later, a large wave of foamy bathwater struck him fully in the face. The next thing he knew, a pair of soft hands were resting on the back of his shoulders with an equally soft pair of lips were firmly pressed against his. He blinked the soapy water out of his eyes to find Hermione kissing him passionately. It only took a moment for his brain to engage before he began to fervently kiss her back. He threw his arms around her, but that caused her to freeze as she sharply inhaled through her nose, but her lips didn't break their contact with his.

After a minute, they broke the kiss and she leaned into his embrace, but this time he was fully aware of her sunburned skin. He could once again feel her breasts pressing into his chest, but this time, there wasn't any clothing to get in the way.

Before his higher cognitive functions left him again, he heard her breathe into his ear, "Why, Mister Potter, I do believe that you've just proposed to me."

Either totally oblivious to what was happening, or just not wanting to miss a thing, Kotone walked up to the tub, stepped into the water, and began bathing herself while the painted lips on her mask seemed etched in a wide, satisfied grin.

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Fun Fact: When I first envisioned the house, I *almost* made the bathtub a big clamshell, but thought that it would have been a bit much. They needed the maneuvering room, anyway!