For bingblot, who asked...
Part VIII
For Disclaimers and author's notes, see Part I. Thanks for all of your lovely reviews; keep them coming! I especially want to know what you think of the end.
Harry needn't have worried that Hermione would act different toward him after his confession of his feelings for her. When the door to the Grangers' house opened she let out a huge shriek and engulfed him in a hug that nearly knocked him off his feet.
"Oh, Harry, I was so afraid Moody would change his mind and not let you come," she said, then noticed him and added, "Sorry, Professor."
"Don't worry, Miss Granger," he replied, "Just get Harry inside where your wards will protect him and I'll keep an eye out for anything suspicious out here."
Once the door was shut, Hermione smiled at him with a touch of nerves. "I'm sorry, Harry, I don't have anything planned for being here. We had such a great day planned in Diagon Alley and honestly, I just think Professor Moody is being paranoid…"
"It's all right, Hermione. As long as I get to spend the day with you I don't care what we do," Harry reassured her.
Hermione turned pink and replied, "Well, since it's your birthday, would you like to try to make a cake?"
"Sure," Harry grinned.
"Don't expect much," she warned, "Without magic I'm rubbish in the kitchen."
"I don't care; let's try anyway," he answered.
They found a simple recipe and started mixing together ingredients. They discussed their summers, keeping things light until Harry finally built up the courage to say, "Hermione, I need to tell you something."
"Sure, Harry, by now you should know that you can tell me anything," she answered as she sifted flour into the mixing bowl.
"Well, you know how the prophecy about me and Voldemort was destroyed in the Department of Mysteries? Well, that's not the whole truth. Dumbledore was the one who heard the prophecy in the first place - Trelawney made it - and he let me see it through his Pensieve last year," Harry said with a speed that rivaled Hermione's usual pace.
"You know the prophecy?" Hermione asked with raised eyebrows, "Oh Harry, what was it?"
"Well, it said that a baby would be born at the end of the seventh month, to parents who had defied the dark lord three times. This boy would have the power to vanquish the dark lord and he would mark him his equal," Harry began, brushing his bangs down over his scar self-consciously. "He would have a power the dark lord knows not, but either he or the dark lord must die at the other's hand. So basically, I either have to murder Voldemort or die."
The mixing bowl crashed to the floor and shattered, making a huge mess. Hermione didn't even give it a second look, though, as she enfolded Harry in another giant hug.
"You can't think this will change anything, can you Harry?" she whispered and led him into her living room, clinging to him all the way. "What we said last night - that's still true. I love you, Harry. You know that love <i>is</i> the power you have that Voldemort doesn't."
Before Harry could protest, he found her lips on his. He quite enjoyed the sensation, so he kissed her back with passion he didn't know he possessed. He buried his hands in her bushy hair, feeling overwhelmed at her being in his arms and the softness of her body pressed against his, yet somehow doing this with Hermione felt more like home than any place ever had.
Hermione finally broke off the kiss and giggled slightly, "See? I told you you're not bad at kissing!" Harry laughed in spite of himself. "Now about this prophecy - Harry, I know you're scared, but it's really nothing we didn't already suspect. We'll find a way around it, I know we will."
"But Hermione, it was really specific. It said neither Voldemort nor I could live while the other survived."
"Well, Harry, I know you don't like the idea of killing anyone - even him - but think of all the things he's done. If it's the only way, you'll make it through somehow. You've escaped him four times already and there's no way I'm going to lose you now."
More kissing helped convince him that he really could do anything - even slay the dark lord. Then he remembered the other problem with them being together and broke off the kiss. "Hermione, what about Ron?"
"What about him?"
"Well, I think he fancies you. He's not going to be happy about, you know, this," Harry fumbled.
Hermione sighed, "No, he probably won't be. I don't want to hurt him, but I won't stop loving you just to make him feel better. I can't. I could no more pretend this never happened than I could capture a room full of Cornish Pixies without a wand."
Harry chuckled at the image as he remembered the catastrophic encounter they'd had with the little beasts years previously. His smile turned a bit grim as he replied, "I feel the same way. We'll have to find a good way to tell him, though."
"I'll do it," Hermione volunteered immediately. "I'm the one he fancies, after all."
"No." Harry said determinedly. "He may lash out when he finds out and I'd much rather have him punch me than you."
"I suppose," Hermione agreed reluctantly, "I don't think he'd become violent, though…"
She started to kiss Harry again, but they were interrupted by the smoke alarm. They rushed into the kitchen to find that when Hermione had pre-heated the oven, something had been on the bottom of it and had caught fire. They grabbed towels and attempted to fan the smoke out of the house. Eventually, they managed to get the smoke alarm quieted.
They quickly realized that it wasn't the only claxon in the area. There was still an alarm coming from somewhere else in the neighborhood. Harry headed to the door to investigate and ran headlong into Tonks, who was laden with Diagon Alley bags.
"Wotcher, Harry, Hermione," she said, passing them the bags. "There are Muggle Bobbies all over the place and Mad-eye went to investigate. I'm to make sure you two stay here where you're safe." Her eyes fall on the mess they'd left in the kitchen, "Oh dear, what happened here?"
Harry and Hermione blushed guiltily, which Tonks pretended not to notice. "No worries, I can clean it up in no time." She cast several cleaning spells and magically repaired Hermione's mother's bowl.
Just as the kitchen was put to rights, Moody came through the front door. "Bad news. A girl was murdered a block over - at #7 Oakridge Court."
Hermione gasped, "That's awful! Do they know who did it?"
"Yes," Moody answered grimly, "It was a Muggle ne'er-do-well, but the police were baffled because he had galleons in his possession."
"No!" cried Tonks.
"I'm afraid so," Moody continued, "The girl was about the same age as Miss Granger here, had brown hair, and was only a block away. I think we can safely assume that he hit the wrong target. They stabbed her in the stomach and carved a lightning bolt into her forehead."
"Oh this is terrible," Hermione looked like she was in shock. "It must have been Carlotta. And it was meant for me," she finished quietly as a single tear ran down her cheek.
"No, it's me they're after. They wanted to hurt you to demoralize me," Harry growled, hugging Hermione protectively.
"This is exactly the reason I was upset to find out you two were involved," Moody snarled. "It makes Miss Granger even more of a target. You will have to go to Grimmauld Place for the rest of the summer; they could try this Muggle hit-man thing on you too, Harry."
Harry nodded, mutely, still holding Hermione as she cried.
Meanwhile, Tonks went to the telephone and called the Grangers' office. "Penelope? There's been an attack in the neighborhood and we're pretty sure they were after Hermione. Mr. and Mrs. Granger are going to have to go into hiding as we discussed." She listened for a moment, "Yes, Hermione is safe, but you'll have to tell them about the danger they and she are in. Are you and Oliver prepared to accompany her parents into hiding in France? Good. We'll send their belongings along soon."
When she got off the phone she turned to Hermione and said, "Your parents will be fine, but you won't be able to see them for a while." Hermione nodded, tears spilling over afresh. "They'll be safe with Penelope and Oliver, I promise. Now, Mad Eye, I need you to go to the Burrow; the Weasleys are likely targets for being close to Harry as well."
Moody nodded and clumped his way out the door to where he could Apparate. Tonks looked at Harry and Hermione, still locked in an embrace. All humor had gone out of her face. "Now I need to talk to the two of you seriously before we set off to Grimmauld Place. Let's go sit down in the living room."
They followed her mutely and sat down together on the sofa. She faced them in an easy chair. "I was thrilled to find out that you two were in love, but I shouldn't have been. It's too soon, and it's what Lord Voldemort would see as a weakness he could exploit."
Hermione started to protest, but Tonks continued unsmilingly, "I have to ask the two of you to do something to keep each other safe. It's a huge sacrifice, but I think it's necessary."
"What do you want?" Harry asked, "I'd do anything to keep Hermione safe."
"I'm glad you feel that way, Harry," Tonks replied sadly. "I'm going to need to Obliviate your memories of your love for each other."
"No!" Hermione cried. "Never! I wouldn't be myself if I didn't love Harry. I wouldn't give it up to save Ron's feelings, I won't give it up for my own safety."
"But, love," Harry said, hugging her, "If it's the only way to keep you safe, I think we should do it. Don't get me wrong - I want to feel the way I've felt about you today forever, but I couldn't live with myself if that had been you instead of Carlotta."
"I'm already a target, Harry," she argued, "They didn't know we were romantically involved when they sent that Muggle nutter after me. I won't give up my love for you, Harry, I just won't!"
"It's not forever, Hermione," Tonks broke in quietly. "I would enchant the memories into an item - something dear to you. Then the love would be released at the right moment for it to help Harry defeat Voldemort. It would be the power that he's not expecting that way, rather than being something he can exploit."
"I hate this," Hermione cried. "But if you really think it will save Harry in the long run, I'll do it." She turned to Harry, "Before we forget, I want you to know that I love you more than anything in this world. I don't think I'll be myself again until the love is released - I've loved you for too long. It's too big a part of who I am."
He hugged her closer, his own tears mixing with hers. "I didn't realize how much I loved you until the other night, Hermione. Even though I won't know it, I'll be waiting to love you again with baited breath. Something might happen with someone else, but there's no way I'll know real love without you."
"All right, now," said Tonks gently, "What object would you like me to use to store the memories in?"
"How about this necklace," Hermione answered immediately. "I wear it constantly to remind me of my sister. That way it would be with us whenever the love needs to be released."
"Good idea," Tonks replied. "Now, I need you to sit slightly apart from each other." They complied reluctantly and she cast "Obliviate" at each of them in turn. Silver threads like those in a pensieve spun before her until she cast "Coacervare Recordatio" at Hermione's necklace.
Nothing visible happened except that Harry and Hermione did not return to their embrace. Tonks put on false cheerfulness and said, "Now that that's all sorted out, let's go to Grimmauld Place and give Harry a birthday celebration he'll remember, shall we? Then we'll send Harry back to Privet Drive, but I think Dumbledore said something about sending him a letter and taking him away from there soon anyway."
The teens nodded and went out to the street to catch the Knight Bus. They didn't notice Tonks wiping away a tear as they left.
The End.
Author's Note: I hadn't originally intended for this to end so sadly. However, after HBP came out I saw this as a way to make the story not completely AU. It also makes sense to me that losing her love for Harry (and not knowing about it) could have caused the personality transplant I saw in Hermione in HBP. As for Harry's chest monster, well, all I can say is, that's lust, not love. "Soulmates," my foot, Jo, if you don't mind my saying so (or frankly, even if you do).
As for what happens now, it's rather up to you. I am writing a follow-up and need a beta for it, but you can imagine in the meantime... Maybe they never find out what happened because Tonks died during the war. Maybe Hermione's necklace activates while they're on the Horcrux hunt or sometime later when she really needs it to happen. Maybe Tonks writes a letter telling them how to release the spell from the necklace, but Teddy doesn't find it for, oh, let's say twenty years. Vote for your favorite option or suggest something else if you wish.