Unofficial Portkey Archive

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the 'Harry Potter' universe, nor do I make any claim to the lyric bits that I use.

A/N: Yay! Out of the fluff and back into the darkness! This chapter is chock full of angsty goodness, so keep your seat belts buckled! There's really nothing else for me to say here, so… on with the show! (Word Count: 6013)

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Chapter 38: The Necromancer's Ritual

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Maybe in another life, I could find you there.
Pulled away before your time… I can't deal, it's so unfair.

I reach to the sky, and call out your name,
and if I could trade,
I would.

Excerpt from the song, 'Gone Away,' by the band, The Offspring.

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Once the initial awkwardness wore off, Harry found that he was quite enjoying the time he was spending in the large bathtub with his two girls. Kotone was happily swimming around while Hermione just rested the back of her head against the adjacent side of the tub and let the cooling water soothe her sunburned skin.

There were a few times where he had to concentrate on not gawking every time that Hermione shifted her head against the tub's edge, not that there would be anything to see, as she was very careful to keep her body concealed beneath the thick foam that was covering the water's surface.

Kotone, however, held no such obligation to keep her body submerged. She would happily swim from one end of the tub to the other, which in itself was a curious sight to behold, because she would use her hair and tail to help propel her through the water. Harry had ample opportunity to inspect the scars that covered, not only the little girl's back, but also her front, and arms and legs, as well. Everything that she had worn before had covered most of her body, so he was never aware of her condition.

Harry remembered the comment that Ron had made back at 'the house.' He had asked Harry what exactly they knew about Kotone. Ron was right, but he had deftly avoided answering the direct question at the time. He had to admit to himself that he knew almost nothing of her past, only the things that he had specifically asked her. He knew that she arrived in Britain during the Quidditch World Cup match with her parents, and that they had died during the chaos that ensued when the Death Eaters made their appearance there. He knew that she was held by the Ministry after her parents' deaths and was not allowed to contact her homeland, which caused her family's wealth to be stolen by her aunt, leaving her penniless in a foreign land. He knew that her mother was a Priestess and her father, stepfather, really, was a wandsmith back in Japan. Other than that, he didn't really know that much about her at all.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that the only things he knew about her were the tragedies that she had suffered, and it would appear that there was more on that subject that he needed to learn. If he was going to be her parent, guardian, or whatever he was going to be, he needed to know more about her… the good and the bad… what had happened in her past.

When Kotone swam close to him, Harry took hold of one of her hands and brought her in front of him. He turned her around and closely examined the many scars on her back. He couldn't help but to focus on the long, jagged scars that lined her shoulder blades. With as much compassion as he could muster, he concernedly asked her, "Where did you get these scars?"

Kotone looked back at him over her shoulder. She obviously knew exactly what he was asking, because the happiness that had shone in her eyes a moment before was gone, replaced by the sadness that he had seen in them when he had first met her on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Even the painted lower lip on her porcelain mask seemed to quiver as the little girl drew a breath. At that moment, he thought that maybe Hermione had done too good of a job enchanting the mask.

Kotone ashamedly looked away and lowered her head. "Fear can make good people do bad things, and bad people to do worse," was all she said.

"Did… did your parents do this to you?" asked Harry softly.

Kotone spun around. Her eyes were wide as she fervently shook her head while saying, "No! Mother and father loved me. They were very angry when bad things happened to me."

"Then what happened to you?" he asked sincerely.

Kotone's sad eyes met his, and became slightly afraid as she asked, "Are you sure that you want to know?"

Harry's eyes dropped down to the part of her chest that was bobbing above the foam. There was a long, thin scar that ran from the top of her right shoulder, down across her left breast where it disappeared beneath the foam. Another ran horizontally across her breastbone and ended somewhere under her left armpit. There were many others, some small and round, others thick and jagged… and a large, wrinkled pinkish patch that appeared to be a healed-over burn. She seemed to have had quite a few of those burned patches.

His eyes returned to hers and he stiffly nodded.

Kotone closed her eyes for only a moment, and when they opened, Harry saw the bathroom around him disappear as the sensation of time slowing down washed over him. Suddenly, a vast number of memories flashed through his mind, and her entire life was laid out before him, compacted into a few, fleeting minutes.

…a group of jeering young children throwing fist-sized rocks at him. He could actually feel where each stone struck his body. He could feel the bones break and the trickle of blood seeping into his clothes as he lay crying in the dirt, wondering why none of the adults who were watching nearby were trying to help him. One particularly sharp rock had impacted on the base of his left wing, shattering the hollow bone and nearly severing it from his body…

…His aunt as she beat him across his now wingless back with her staff for not feeding her cat while she was out, the same cat that he wasn't allowed anywhere near for fear that he might eat it…

More and more memories flashed by, memories of pain and torment, hatred and fear.

…being trampled by a crowd of people as they fled from the strange men in skull masks. One masked man in particular looked directly at him and, after freezing in shock for a moment, cast some strange curse at him that opened a large gash across his chest…

…finding the burning shell of the magical tent they were staying in for the night and finding his dying parents. He could feel the flaming remnants of the tent falling on him as he tried to create the connection with his mother, only to be buried in the burning remains of the tent before he could help either of them…

…locked in a small cage, staring into eyes that he had seen before… eyes that burned with fear and loathing… the eyes of the man that had cast the curse that tore his chest open at the Quidditch match… the eyes of his jail keeper, Walden MacNair. The man was angry because he was crying so much, but he couldn't help it… he was covered with the painful scabs and blisters from where his skin was charred…

Harry was beginning to feel sick as the dozens of horrific scenes passed unrelentingly through his mind. Endless memories of beatings and neglect, of cruelty and betrayal. A profound sense of despair and hopelessness gripped his heart. Once again, he was reminded that experiencing things through Kotone's eyes wasn't something that he felt he would ever get used to. Still, the assault of memories continued…

…those same eyes laughing at him as he lay starved and naked on the floor of the cage, covered in sweat, blood and his own excrement. The man was speaking to his assistant, an ugly old witch named Yvonne Yaxley, bemoaning the fact that he wasn't allowed to 'cut the beast open' to find out how it could heal so quickly… "I guess I'll just have to keep amusing myself!" the cruel man said as he drew his wand again. An instant later, he screamed in pain as a bone-breaking hex was cast at his leg…

…waking up screaming in his small, dirty room, and peeling back the thin blanket to find that he had been covered with acid worms at some point during the night as a prank. He could feel the slime burning creases into his skin…

The sad, violet eyes that were the entirety of Harry's vision suddenly softened, and a final memory drifted calmly through his mind…

…He was being carried through Diagon Alley by the man who took him from the nightmare that was his orphanage. He looked up at the kind man and said, "Shishi-kun, what will happen to me? I am alone. Parent are dead. Barney-kun is dead. I have nothing. Nobody want ugly animal as me. Where will I go?"

The kind man then said to him in a calm, even voice, "A very clever witch once told me that I have this 'saving people thing,' and since I'm destined to save the Wizarding world, I believe I can work one beautiful little witch into my schedule. You promised to protect me, so I now promise to protect you…"

The feeling of love and happiness that Harry was feeling at that point was nearly overwhelming.

Kotone gently ended the connection and the bathroom emerged into focus as the darkness retreated. He was surprised by the fact that tears were running down his cheeks, but wasn't quite sure if they were caused by the ordeals that he had witnessed or from the feeling he got from the last memory that she had shown him.

"See?" said Kotone with a pleasant smile on her mask, "Things are better now."

Totally forgetting that they were in a bathtub, Harry abruptly pulled Kotone to him and wrapped her in a hug that she returned whole-heartedly. Upon feeling the lines and ridges of the scars on Kotone's bare back, he realized that he was hugging a naked young girl and recoiled from her, holding her at arm's length by her shoulders, which only made her laugh.

"Brother Lion, there is no shame while in family bath! You should get used to this!"

Kotone looked over to Hermione who was sitting nearby, just watching the exchange with an amused expression, knowing exactly how flustered Harry had just become through his own act-before-you-think 'Harryness.'

A grin appeared on Kotone's mask as she said to Hermione, "You are family, too! Get used to it!"

Before Hermione could react, Kotone lunged at her and hugged the older witch just as she had done to Harry, which, in turn, caused Hermione to let out a squeak as she stiffened, although a slight smile curled at the edges of her mouth as she did so.

Kotone released Hermione, still wearing a wide smile. She made her way to the edge of the tub and lifted herself out while cheerfully saying, "Bath time over, I am now all wrinkly!"

Kotone bent down and picked up her discarded swimming costume. She went to the sink and rinsed the sand and salty water out of it before she held it up and looked to Hermione.

Understanding what the girl wanted, Hermione picked up her wand from the edge of the tub and after a moment's thought, transformed the frilly blue swimsuit into what looked like a long, white and gold Kimono.

Hermione wasn't really sure exactly what a real kimono consisted of, so she had turned it into a fluffy robe that merely looked like one. Even so, Kotone seemed thrilled with it as she slipped it around her body and walked out of the bathroom with her still-wet feet slapping on the tiled floor leaving damp footprints in her wake.

As Harry watched Kotone's retreating, and now thankfully clothed back, he had a chance to analyze the memories that she had shared with him. All he had known of her before told of a sweet, polite, and caring young girl, despite her physical appearance. He found it hard to believe that anyone could treat someone like her with such unbridled cruelty, such malice.

He thought that fear alone couldn't account for how she was perceived and treated by nearly everyone that she encountered. Sure, children could be cruel, as he was well aware, but even taking into account that her childhood had taken place in a foreign country with a completely different culture than what he was used to, the idea that a public stoning by other children her own age was just inconceivable.

"I saw what she showed you," said Hermione softly, breaking him out of his thoughts, "I saw the visions, but I couldn't feel what she was going through like you obviously did. I don't know if she actually intended for me to see, or if it's just a side-effect of my own magic. The same kind of thing happened when she tried to help you just after you first touched the locket. I could understand what she was saying and what she was trying to do for you…"

"Well, I'm going to make sure she's alright," said Harry as he stood up and moved to get out of the tub, but froze when he realized what Hermione would see the moment he lifted himself out from the waist-deep water. He reached out, intending to grab his pants that were still on the floor nearby, but found that they were just a few inches out of his reach.

"Here, let me help," said Hermione as she picked up her wand. With a swish and a flick, she incanted, "Wingardium Leviosa."

Harry watched in dismay as his trousers, which still contained his underwear, lifted up from the floor, and then hovered over to the counter next to the sink where they neatly folded themselves.

When Harry turned to face her with a panic-stricken expression, Hermione sweetly said, "It's only fair, Harry… after all, you've seen me at a disadvantage twice, now." She was blinking innocently, and wearing the most angelic expression he had ever seen on her… except for the devilish glint in her eyes that clearly betrayed her innocent act.

Without his wand, Harry felt as naked as he actually was. He gave her one last, pleading look, but it was clear that she had no intention whatsoever of levitating his clothes back over to him. With a steeling sigh, he climbed out of the water and hurried over to the counter, grabbed his clothes and began to quickly dress himself.

Harry was just fastening his buckle when he turned back embarrassedly to Hermione, only to find her looking at him with a dazed, glassy-eyed stare. He opened his mouth to apologize, but when nothing came out, he just sighed and walked out of the bathroom while pulling on his shirt.

When Harry left the bathroom, he was mildly surprised to find Kotone curled up on the polar bearskin rug, fast asleep. As he carefully lifted her from the floor, he wished he still had his wand. He would have transfigured the crib in the nursery into a small bed for her. He carried her up the stairs and laid her on the bed, then sat beside her a watched her as she slept until he heard movement from downstairs.

He watched Hermione walk from the bathroom, fully clothed once again in her black sweatsuit. She looked around for a moment, and then drew her wand as she began magically cleaning away all of the dust that had built up over the last decade.

Harry couldn't help but to stare at her as she worked, gracefully manipulating her wand as she artfully danced around the room. Her dark eyes were set in concentration as she moved from area to area. She would give her wrist a twist and a cloud of dust rose into the air, and then compacted into a floating pebble before it vanished completely. Her slow, elegant movements and the methodical manner in which she was circuiting the room were mesmerizing to him.

A crazy thought crossed his mind when he pictured her doing those spells without clothes on. In his mind's eye, he could almost see the way her breasts were swinging as she waved her wand around. He could imagine the lines of her back and the curve of her buttocks as she lightly stepped towards a new area to clean. He didn't even realize he was studying her every move until he saw her abruptly stop when she reached the fireplace.

He suddenly noticed that she was looking up at him watching her. She still had a cloud of dust suspended in the air. Harry rose from the bed and descended the stairs. Hermione was looking at him with an odd, almost frightened expression as he approached her.

"Is everything alright?" asked Harry in a concerned voice, thinking that maybe she was afraid that he was angry with her about the little joke she had played on him in the bathroom.

Hermione vanished the dust cloud, then looked to Harry and quickly said, "I… I think I'll go for a short walk. I… I need some air."

Without another word, she walked to the front door and stepped out into the gathering night.

Harry thought briefly about following her to ask her why she seemed so upset, but she obviously needed some time alone. He glanced around the half-cleaned room and quickly discovered that there really wasn't anything to do there. There weren't even any books around.

He wandered into the kitchen and gave a cursory inspection of the coldbox, larder and inside of the various cabinets. He knew there wasn't any food in the house, and even if there was, it would have been long spoiled by this time.

Harry made his way into the nursery and began looking around at all of the obviously unused furniture. He noted that the crib and changing table were both upholstered in a light yellow. Maybe they didn't know if they were going to have a boy or a girl and chose a neutral colour. After all, they could always use magic to change the colour afterwards.

He gave one last look around before he returned to the main room. He quietly walked up the stairs and looked at Kotone as she fitfully slept. He could see that her legs and tail were twitching underneath her long kimono, and her eyes were pressed tightly shut. Every once in a while she would let out a soft moan or a pained gasp. He could only guess which of her tortured memories she was currently reliving.

He wondered if he should wake her, but decided just to let her sleep. He knew from experience that if you don't wake up during a dream, you most likely wouldn't remember even having it. He fondly rested the backs of his fingers against her temple and brushed his thumb lightly across her white brow. He smiled to himself as he saw that her eyes seemed to relax slightly under his touch.

As the night was comfortably warm, he left her resting above the covers. He walked to the doors to the balcony and stepped outside. As he looked over the beach, he saw what could only be Hermione, sitting very close to the shoreline inside of a circle of pulsating, dark violet light. The light reminded him of the blacklights that were placed in the bug-zappers that the neighbors turned on at night during parties and evening cook-outs. A spiraling vortex of magic from the circle that surrounded her shot up into the sky. small bits of energy that resembled fluttering flower petals danced along the vortex as they ascended into the air.

He couldn't tell what she was doing from that distance, but he suddenly became very anxious. He was just staring at the odd scene until the circle gave one last flash of bright violet light then extinguished altogether. A distant, piercing scream cut through the night as he watched Hermione slump onto her side.

Cold fear gripped Harry's chest as he climbed over the railing and let himself hang from balcony's deck before letting go and dropping the final few feet to the ground. He then ran off in a full sprint across the sand towards the shoreline.

Although it was only a half moon hanging low in the clear night sky, it shed just enough light for him to see the horrifying scene that met him when he arrived at Hermione's side.

She was lying curled up on her side inside of the wide circle of blackened sand. When he knelt down and lifted her back into a seated position, he felt the cloth of her sweatshirt was wet and sticky. He looked at Hermione's face and thought that her complexion looked deathly white, and he couldn't tell if she was even breathing. He pulled one of his hands back and in the dim light, saw that it was covered in blood. He looked down in horror and saw that she sand beneath her was also drenched in blood.

"What did you do?" he asked in a desperate whisper as he lifted her from the sand and began to walk as quickly as he could towards the house. Although the air was warm, she felt deathly cold in his arms… colder than any living thing should feel.

"Don't you dare leave me, Hermione!" he whispered to her while choking back his tears, "Not now! Not ever! You can't leave me now! I love you!"

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Hermione stepped from the bathroom and nervously looked around. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Harry sitting next to Kotone on the bed up in the loft. She was thankful that he wasn't there waiting for her… she didn't think that she could handle it at the moment.

Desperate for some 'busy work' to help keep her mind from wandering off, she began to clean. While she was growing up, whenever she was upset or anxious, she would spend the day cleaning her room, which always seemed to please that lazy nanny that used to take care of her. It meant that the obnoxious wench had less to do herself that she was still going to be paid for.

After a minute, she started getting into the cleaning routine. She hadn't often had the opportunity to practice her housekeeping spells since she'd come of age the previous September. She became so focused that she forgot that Harry was watching her, which is just what she hoped would happen. Her sunburn was even forgotten, thanks to the chilling charm that she had cast on her clothes. She would barely be able to move without it.

How she loved being a witch! She could scarcely remember what life was like before she learned of the magical world. Using magic just came so naturally to her, she wondered how she survived without it for so long. A slash here and her bed was made! A jab there and her tea that she neglected due to a particularly interesting chapter was hot and fresh again! A glide and a flick and the dust cloud she was levitating condensed, and with another jab, vanished entirely!

She had just made it to the fireplace area when she glanced around to compare the difference between the area she had cleaned and what was left to be done. It was then that she made her mistake.

She accidentally glanced up and her concentration was instantly broken. She saw those green eyes of his staring down at her from between the posts of the banister that lined the loft. She saw the expression on his face, a peculiar combination of appreciation, wonder, admiration, and… and…

'Oh… my… God…' was the only thought that crossed her mind. The effect on her was immediate. She felt the queasy churning in her stomach, the pressure in her chest that made it difficult for her to breathe, and the heat that spread through her from between her legs and seemed to ignite her very soul.

Hermione had no idea that what she had done would affect her so profoundly. She shouldn't have done it! Why did she do it? What on earth possessed her to make Harry get out of the tub naked? Now that image of him was forever etched in her mind… the water and suds running down his back and over his firm buns… the way his thigh muscles stretched as he lifted one leg over the rim to climb out… the very revealing view of his manhood hanging between his legs as he made his way to his clothes. She saw it from behind as he was walking away from her… from behind!

She had seen the other girls in Gryffindor Tower naked plenty of times, especially Lavender Brown, who seemed to have no modesty at all… but she had never before seen a guy naked. She had nothing to compare Harry to, but the weapon he was wielding seemed gargantuan to her. It could have just been her perspective, or maybe shock, but she had to wonder how something that large could be used for pleasure. The thought was both thrilling and terrifying at the same time.

She blinked and found Harry standing right in front of her. How did he get down from the loft so quickly? Her mind was buzzing, and she was having a hard time stringing two coherent thoughts together. If she didn't get out of the room right away, she was going to be in trouble. She thought Harry had asked her something, but all she could really hear was her blood pounding in her ears, seemingly blocking out all other sound. She finally managed to draw a breath and said the first thing that came to her, "I… I think I'll go for a short walk. I… I need some air."

Once out of Harry's presence, she found that her train of thought was slowly starting to move again. Of course, she knew it was the effect of that damned elixir of Ginny's… or rather, the absence of its effects. For almost two years her normal hormonal desires were repressed, so now that she was feeling them again, she had no idea how to handle them. If she had felt them all along, her… horniness… could be dealt with easily. Now, the feelings were so new, and so strong, that she was having a difficult time believing that they were at all 'normal' for a girl of her age.

Now Hermione could fully understand the late-night conversations between the girls in the tower, conversations that she never joined in with because she couldn't really relate to their 'boy-crazy' attitudes. The uncomfortable dampness in her knickers was testament to the fact that she could now relate very well to those conversations, thank you very much.

As she walked towards the shore, she began to analyze her feelings. She had been so angry and annoyed at Harry for so long due to the elixir's effects, it's amazing to her that even remained friends. The change in their relationship over the previous few years was so gradual that she couldn't even tell exactly when those feelings surfaced. If it wasn't for the fact that she was in love with him at the time and that they shared the soul bond, she was sure that they would have ended up much less than strangers because of that damned elixir.

Now that the effects were gone, she felt none of the bitterness or spite towards him, and now she felt like she was falling in love with him all over again. She knew that without the soul bond they could still love each other. Since the beginning of man, people have been in love, have gotten married and raised families, and have grown old together without ever having a 'soul bond' with each other.

Yes, she could once again feel the love and affection for Harry, but it paled in comparison to how it felt when they were connected by the bond. She missed being able to tell exactly what he was thinking with just a glance. She missed the way they could hold an entire conversation without uttering a word. She missed the way she could 'feel' when he was close by without even having to see him.

She wanted that again more than anything and the only way to get it back was to eliminate the leech that was attached to Harry's soul… and the only way to do that was to perform the enhancement ritual.

Hermione stopped a few yards away from where the waves met the beach and looked out over the water. She knew that the ritual was dangerous. It worked differently for each person to attempt it, so there was no way for her to tell exactly if or how it would affect her. For a Necromancer, she needed to experience death in order to understand it. It was a risk she was more than willing to take.

She took her wand and traced a wide circle in the sand, then sat herself in the center. She took a deep, calming breath and let it out slowly through her nose, then said the incantation, 'Vitae Adficio,' which caused the ring in the sand to ignite in a bright, violet light. She then closed her eyes while touching her wand to her forehead to enter her state. Almost immediately, the slowly spinning Yin-Yang appeared and she felt the sensation of time slowing around her.

She opened her eyes and took in the surreal view around her. She couldn't move her body, but her soul form seemed to have a sort of omnivision. The waves were barely moving, rolling very slowly onto the shore. Even the sounds of the insects and night birds were eerily low pitched as they made their usual nocturnal noises.

Getting right to the task at hand, she shifted her soul so that it was detached from her physical body, but didn't leave its confines. Although she couldn't directly feel it, she could sense life being sapped from her body. She looked at herself and could see the blood seeping out of her chest, soaking through her clothes and pooling in the sand beneath her, even though there was no physical wound.

She had to time it just right. She had to reconnect to her body the instant before death. If done correctly, the bleeding would stop and she would be able to 'see' death, and in the process create a union between her soul and the realm of the afterlife. If she reconnected to her body too early, the union wouldn't properly form. If she reconnected to her body too late, she would simply die.

Hermione looked up from the blood-soaked sand, only to discover that the surrounding beach, the ocean, and the surrounding foliage had faded into darkness. For a terrifying instant, she thought she had let her concentration slip and missed the moment that she had to reconnect, but she could somehow feel that her body was still clinging to life.

Suddenly, she was surrounded by an extremely bright, white light, although it did nothing to illuminate her physical surroundings. Instead, all that she saw was a rolling landscape that appeared to be made out of a dense fog. Gradually, she could make out shapes, shadowy figures moving amidst the fog. As she watched, more and more figures seemed to appear out of nowhere, a vast multitude that seemed to stretch to the horizon and beyond.

Hermione sat and watched the scene around her. At first glance, the figures near to her seemed to be milling around aimlessly, apparently performing some common, mundane task that only they could see. The figures moved, sometimes through each other, none of them aware of either her or the host of other souls around them.

She recalled that the book stated that the plane of the afterlife worked in the same way as magic, with various frequencies and harmonics that divided the different dimensions of the great beyond. Concentrating on the Necromantic nature of her magic, she tried to 'shift' her existence in that realm. The effect was immediate and startling.

She found that she couldn't change her presence in the afterlife, but she could 'filter out' the different dimensions so that only one appeared in her consciousness. The vast throng of figures disappeared from her sight, leaving a relative few moving and interacting with each other.

The fog around her disappeared, leaving a busy cityscape in its place. The figures were no longer vague outlines of humanoids, but took on the physical appearance of people. She also found that they could also see and interact with her, as she immediately drew the attention of several of the figures near her.

As much as she wanted to, she didn't have the time to hold a lengthy conversation with dead strangers. She wanted to learn as much as she could about the afterlife in the time allotted to her. She could still feel the painfully slow rhythm of her heartbeat in her physical body, but she knew that time was quickly running out.

She shifted her consciousness and the urban scene around her faded into wide rural farmland. People were tending the fields, too busy with their own tasks to even notice her. She shifted a few more times, each time a different type of landscape surrounded her.

She could feel her heartbeat slowing. Realizing that it was nearly time, she shifted herself one last time and a different dimension appeared around her, but this one shocked her to her very core. The atmosphere around her was stifling hot, and the air was thick with a sickening, yellow smoke. If she could breathe in that realm, she was sure that all she would do was cough and gasp. There were many, many people in this realm, and none of them appeared to be having a very good time. Unlike herself, the people in this world did breathe, and the effect of the poisonous air on them was obvious.

She had to get out of there. She couldn't stand to see the tormented souls a moment longer. She allowed the dimensions to overlap once again, and once again, the fog surrounded her and the multitude of souls became a mass of faceless, ghostly outlines.

With no small effort, she willed herself out of her state, and was immediately aware of the terrible pain that seemed to permeate her entire body. All she could do was let out an anguished cry as she realized that something was definitely wrong. Her body seemed unwilling to accept her soul back. It was as if she were existing in both realms, but welcome in neither. There was still just blackness around her, no dense, foggy landscape or lush, tropical island… just nothingness. She felt herself starting to panic as she became increasingly disoriented.

Suddenly, a feminine voice seemed to echo around her. It was a soft, vaguely familiar voice, but she just couldn't quite place where she had heard it before. In a calming tone, the voice said, 'Do not fear… your man is coming to lead you home.'

Hermione didn't answer, or rather, couldn't answer. The pain was so intense that she couldn't seem to form a response at all. Then she heard another voice. This one she definitely knew. He sounded panicked as his words echoed from above her, 'Don't you dare leave me, Hermione! Not now! Not ever!'

As she followed his voice, she felt the pain in her body subside. She could feel her soul bonding with her body once again. She could tell that she was alive, but just barely. She couldn't help but to smile inside as she heard him say, 'You can't leave me now! I love you!'

Just before unconsciousness fully claimed her, she thought to herself, 'Don't worry, I could never leave you… I love you, too.'

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A/N: Fun Fact!: When I originally wrote the scene in the bathroom, I had Hermione stick his clothes to the ceiling rather than folding them up and putting them on the counter. Would Hermione have actually made Harry jump up to retrieve his modesty?