Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any characters, locations, or situations associated with the universe (although the plot might be directly stolen from DH in the future, but it will have a more…preferable twist than cannon. Haven't decided yet.)
Chapter 1: Revelations
Harry Potter stared out into the seemingly endless white in front of him. He did not know specifically where he was, but he vaguely remembered Hermione saying something about the northern border of London before they had last apparated. The bitter cold nipped at his nose and ears, both body parts becoming increasingly redder as the hours of his watch shift progressed.
They were searching the country for another Horcrux…or at least they were supposed to be. Despite countless movement across England for months, the trio had failed to procure any leads as to where Voldemort had hidden the other pieces. Countless nights were spent discussing all the clues they had gathered, but often these brainstorming sessions ended inconclusively, usually with a hunger-driven bicker fest between Ron and Hermione which would cause Harry to suddenly become "tired" and want to go to sleep.
During more peaceful times, the scene in front of Harry might have been less depressing, even beautiful. The snowy hill where he sat outside the tent reminded him of the times he would look outside his window in Gryffindor tower onto the grounds of Hogwarts after the first snow of the season. Those times seemed so long ago. The landscape around him looked pristine and innocent, completely ignorant of the disastrous war that was occurring around it which was taking more lives everyday.
Harry thought immediately of Mad-Eye, his old professor and protector, and his companion Hedwig the owl, a fresh wave of tears being offset by the now constant pain in his scar. The two had been the latest casualties in a growing list of people Harry was forced to say goodbye to. The worst part was, having been on the run from the Ministry and the Dark Lord himself, Harry did not even know for sure if the rest of his friends and loved ones were still alive.
His mind leapt from face to face…Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, his professors at school, Lupin, Tonks, Neville, Luna, Ginny (his heart had an especially large jump on the thought of his ex-girlfriend)…were they all alright? When he resurfaced, would they all be together at the Burrow or in a row of names in a graveyard? His thoughts then jumped to Hermione. At least he knew that she was safe, sleeping on a bunk in the magical tent behind him.
A sudden chill passed through Harry's body, ending in a resounding shiver on his neck and chest. Instinctively his right hand flew to the locket hanging around his chest. Slowly, Harry ran his finger over the locket of Salazar Slytherin. Harry frowned, a forgotten but obvious thought coming back to his distracted mind. Even if they were to find the rest of the Horcruxes, they still had no way of destroying them. Hermione had said that they needed weapons imbued with the greatest of magics in order to destroy the soul-bearing items, and to their dismay the only weapon of which they knew had such power was sitting in an office hundreds of miles away.
A sudden wind caused Harry to squint his eyes and mutter a small curse under his breath. The quest to destroy the fragments of Voldemort's soul had been strictly his own, and as time went by with little to no progress in finding the remaining pieces, Harry felt more and more remorseful for letting his two best friends come along. After all, although he had been given permission by Dumbledore to tell Ron and Hermione about his mission, the choice to let them come, and also the deadly consequences which might result of such companionship, was strictly by his own permission. He had heard them mutter behind his back at the building hopelessness of their situation, and he couldn't blame them for their despair. He himself was beginning to feel like it was a lost cause, and that the doom of the modern wizarding world was going to be entirely his fault.
Suddenly, a pain seared his forehead and caused him to scream. He was walking down a narrow alley of a small village. Slightly further down, he turned into an alcove and banged on the first door on his right. The door was barely cracked open when Harry saw it explode, the hallway immediately filling with bolts of green light…
"Harry…HARRY! Are you alright?" he heard a panicked voice say.
Harry opened his eyes and realized he was no longer perched on his box, but rather was staring up into a darkening, snowing sky. Directly above him was a bushy-haired young woman, eyes puffy from a mix of cold and tears.
"I'm ok, I think. Just my scar…"
"I heard you screaming from inside, I thought people had come to take you and…" Hermione trailed off. She was still dressed in her pajamas, having forgotten to put on a coat in her rush to comfort her friend. Bits of snow were intermingling with her hair and face.
"Hermione, really. It's alright, no need to worry, it's over now. Come on, let's get you inside before you freeze to death," said Harry.
"Me freeze to death? You've been out here for ten hours! We're supposed to take shifts, remember? Just because you're the Chosen One, it doesn't mean you have permission to go back on our schedule!" said Hermione in her matter-of-fact tone. It reminded Harry of the several times she had berated him and Ron for not sticking to their homework routines which Hermione had set for them.
Harry smirked. "Fine, last time I do something nice for you then," he said, which elicited an eye roll and a small, grateful smile from Hermione before she started to lead him inside of the tent. He pulled his arm away from her hand quickly. "Hey, you know that someone should always keep watch..."
"Oh, Harry. The wards we have been more than enough to keep us hidden. Not to mention that there are no known people in this area for at least seven miles, and even if there were, the blizzard is picking up and the temperature is expected to drop below…"
"Alright alright, let's go inside!" Harry cried, pushing his best friend into the tent and following her inside, but not before peaking over his shoulder one last time to make sure no one was coming. The sun was just a sliver over the horizon now, and the snowfall was coming down faster than ever. Harry sealed the flap of the tent before taking a seat near Hermione's blue conjured flames, his clothes becoming damper as the remnants of snowfall began to melt away.
The magical tent he was in still awestruck Harry. Although small from the outside, the inside was a comfortable set of beds, a bathroom, and a kitchen. It amazed Harry how such a large portable home could fit inside of Hermione's small purse. He smiled, remembering the first time he had encountered the magical habitat. They were at the Quidditch World Cup, the Weasleys, Hermione, and him, and his smile broadened as he remembered that only he and Hermione knew how to set up the damn thing. It seemed so long ago now, being able to just go on an outing for pleasure without having to worry about being taken away by throngs of Death Eaters. It seemed so long ago that he had been entirely happy.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, noticing his slight frown as she put down some tea on the table.
"Huh? Oh nothing, just reminiscing. Remember when we first saw this tent? Harry asked, deciding there was no harm in telling Hermione the truth. She smiled immediately.
"Ah yes, the World Cup! Remember Mr. Weasley being so confused as to how to set it up?" She let out a giggle. "Oh, it seems so long ago, doesn't it? I remember that day! You and Ron…" Hermione's voice trailed off, the smile vanishing from her face.
A very thick silence filled the tent, as Harry watched the shadows of the flames dance on Hermione's down turned face. They hadn't spoken about Ron for days, not after he had stormed out on the two of them for feeling like their quest was taking them nowhere. Harry had been so angry at his red-haired companion…for betraying him, for giving up, for leaving him in his hour of need. But most of all, although Harry would never admit it to him, he was angry at him that for every minute he was gone, his anger was replaced with loneliness. Splotches of moisture were beginning to fall on Hermione's legs, but no sound came from her mouth.
Harry took back his thoughts. Harry was angriest at Ron for turning Hermione into this.
It was several moments before Harry broke the silence. "I'm sure he's ok Herm…"
"It's over," interrupted Hermione sternly.
Harry was quite confused and taken back from her outburst. "What do you mean?" he said tentatively, although in his heart he had a notion where the conversation was heading.
"Me and him…Ron. I'm just done with him," said Hermione, staring directly into the fire, her teacup shaking in her hand.
"Now Hermione, don't be so…" Harry started
"So what Harry? WHAT? Do you think I enjoy waiting for him to grow up and be a man? Do you think I want a person who snogs Lavender Brown out of jealousy…to make me jealous? Do you think I want to date a guy who makes me cry almost as much as he makes me smile?" Hermione yelled, now staring at Harry, the tears freely flowing.
"Well, to be fair Hermione, you guys weren't technically dating…"
"I DON'T CARE! Call if whatever the bloody hell you want, but I'm done with him, and done with the way he treats me. I'm done with crying myself to sleep waiting for him to come back, I'm done with…"
She paused to hiccup and wipe her nose with a conjured tissue. Harry took the opportunity to throw in a few words of defense for Ron, but they were to no avail. Now Hermione was bawling uncontrollably.
"Don't defend him, why must you take his side? How would you like it if Ginny acted like…"
A touch of anger mixed in with Harry's slew of emotions. The situation was getting much worse by the second. "You leave Ginny out of this…"
"Well, not all of us can have a partner who is just perfect in every aspect, like you."
Hermione matched Harry's angry glare with one of equal force. The fire was roaring wildly in-between them, but the heat of the flame was nothing compared to the tension in the room. Suddenly, a loud sound came from the door flap, and both jumped and pointed their wands at the noise.
Hermione sighed. "Just the wind…"
Harry was relieved that they were safe for the time being, but he wasn't ready to let go of the heated argument they were having. They stared at one another for what felt like hours, neither one wanting to let go of their pride.
Hermione was the first speak. "Harry…I'm sorry about all this. These feelings have been inside me for days and holding them in just made them worse."
Despite himself, Harry found his heart instantly warmed by Hermione's plea for forgiveness. "Don't worry about it Hermione, I'm sorry for getting all defensive too." She smiled and took a deep breath before getting up to bring their teacups to the sink. Harry turned his head and followed Hermione to the kitchen with his gaze.
"To be perfectly honest, I knew you two would eventually get together, but I never thought you guys were," Harry paused to gather the right words, "long-term material."
Hermione let out a boisterous laugh, which made Harry smile wider than he had for days. To hear her laugh was a much better distraction then the silent sobs he heard whenever she thought he wasn't paying attention.
"Well, since we're being perfectly honest," smirked Hermione, as she rejoined Harry at the table, "I never thought you and Ginny would have lasted this long."
Harry's jaw dropped slightly. Hermione's words came as a shock to his system. Wasn't it her who helped get them together in the first place? For the first time in awhile, Harry was at a loss of words.
"What? It's the truth! I mean, you have this antipathy for the girls who fawn over you for being famous, and you end up dating the first person you ever knew to hold you on such a high pedestal!" Hermione said, guiltily enjoying making her best friend squirm uncomfortably.
Harry figured now was the time to stand up for himself, before having to hear more of Hermione's revelations. "She is not a fan girl, and I'll have you know that we have much more lasting power than you think!"
Hermione was now enthralled, much to Harry's dismay. He knew he was slowly walking backwards into a dead end. "For example?" Hermione asked, in what Harry figured was her best Rita Skeeter impression.
"Well, our relationship isn't based on bickering and occasional flashes of potential!" Harry stated, immediately regretting his words in fear of starting another wave of Ron-induced crying. Fortunately, Hermione seemed unshaken by his comment, and even returned it with a playful roll of the eyes.
"Oh yes," said Hermione, "a relationship based on good looks, quidditch skills, and snoggability is MUCH better than what Ron and I had."
Harry opened his mouth to rebuttal, but instead stopped to think of what Hermione had just said. Surely, she couldn't be right about his relationship with Ginny. Yes, he was initially attracted to her for her looks, and he admitted that her abilities as a Chaser didn't hurt her. But there had to be more to his infatuation with the youngest Weasley, for it felt different then it had been with Cho. Was Hermione right? Was that all his relationship with Ginny had been? And since when did he start referring to his relationship with Ginny in the past tense?
Hermione's smile faded as she realized that Harry had stopped talking. Had she gone too far in her playful talking? They had never talked one on one about their love lives before, and she relished the opportunity to burrow into her best friend's heart, for she always knew that he and Ginny were a big mistake.
"Alright, assuming your logic is correct," As it always is, Harry added mentally, "Why is it that my feelings for her were…are so much more intense than the ones I felt for Cho?"
Hermione pondered for a moment before answering. "Cho was a crush, but your relationship was very…complicated because of Cedric. But Ginny returned your feelings, and it made it that much more real." She stopped, wondering if she should continue. A slight nod from Harry answered her unasked question. "Maybe it was the fact that you knew your days might be numbered. Maybe it was the fact that she was part of your adopted family, and dating her would make you feel more interlinked with them. Whatever it was, you were drawn closer to anybody who would fill the insecurity of never having a chance to experience love first hand from your parents."
Harry paused in thought, never before as amazed and respectful of Hermione's brilliance. He stared at her as the words seeped in. The conjured fire highlighted the features of her face, and for the first time Harry realized that Hermione, the girl he had known for several years as being his source for information and understanding, was actually quite beautiful. Yes, she had looked quite stunning at the Yule Ball and at Bill and Fleur's wedding, but even now, with her eyes red from tears and lack of sleep and her hair wet from snow, sitting in her pajamas on the opposite side of a table, she looked gorgeous.
"Something wrong?"
"Huh? What's up?"
"You're spacing out…everything OK?"
"Oh yeah," Harry said, snapping back to reality. "Just thinking about what you said." Hermione shot him a curious look. "We sure know how to choose them, don't we?"
Hermione erupted in a fit of laughter, and Harry couldn't help but join her. Outside the snow continued to fall and the night was getting increasingly darker, but inside their tent, the fires of mirth and friendship kept the two friends warm.