Chapter 6: The Dive
Harry was shaking, but this time it wasn't because of the weather. For once he was thankful that he had guardian duty. He had been on watch duty for a good four hours now, but truth be told there wasn't much watching going on out of Harry's eyes. The brisk morning air was colder than ever, but Harry felt as if he was surrounded by fires. A part of his fatigued body attempted to close his eyes, but there were too many thoughts swirling around his brain that the notion of sleep was ridiculous. It would be surprising, Harry thought, if he ever closed his eyes again, for every time his eyes closed and every tiny second that his mind was allowed to wander, he relived the moment which had occurred mere hours ago:
The moment he had almost kissed Hermione Granger.
Harry loosened the scarf around his neck in an attempt to fill his lungs with cold, fresh air. He had no idea what had happened. One moment, he was attempting to cheer Hermione up by reassuring her that somewhere in the world there was a perfect man for her, and then suddenly she was laughing her head off and wrapping her arms around him. There was something about her laugh that just made him stop thinking. He was lost in the sound of her jubilation. Perhaps it was the sudden shift in mood from full-hearted depression to what sounded like sincere joy, perhaps it was an internal pride at being the one to bring her back to her normal self, or perhaps it was the look in her eyes. Harry remembered staring into Hermione's brown orbs, seeing into the depths of not only her soul, but also his own.
"It was definitely those damn eyes…"
If he had just turned away, or broken their hug, this all wouldn't have happened. Then he would be able to think clearly, and then if Voldemort attacked them, he would be able to defend them. Nevertheless, he had been too stupid to react as he should have. It was those damn eyes of hers. He had known Hermione for nearly seven years, and there had not been a day since when she had not appeared in his mind in one shape or form. Yet somehow he had never noticed her eyes before. They were driving him crazy! They haunted him now. Hermione was his best friend, and he had never thought about her in anyway other than that ever. He had not allowed himself to. Hermione was off-limits to the parts of his mind that constantly thought about Ginny. She was a girl who was not a girl. She was…Hermione. She did not have eyes that you could fall into and lose yourself in. Yet somehow, he had.
Harry shivered again, his body burning as the moment replayed itself in his mind. This was all her fault. If she hadn't of hugged him, then their eyes would never have met, then he would not be thinking about them right now. "Stupid Hermione," Harry thought, "Stupid Hermione with her stupid thoughts about the future and her stupid hugs and her big, beautiful stupid eyes which made me act stupid and almost commit the stupidest act that I could have done in my entire life." Harry reassured himself for the millionth time that he was not to blame for almost kissing her, choosing not to try and explain why he had gripped her closer and started to move his wanting lips closer to hers…
"No, forget the eyes. It was definitely those damn lips…"
Harry tried to force the image out of his head. Were Hermione's lips always so alluring? That night they had seemed so warm and inviting, tempting even. He was convinced that somewhere in the Granger bloodline was a Veela or two, for no human woman could possess lips that could make a man's senses fly out the window like Hermione's had done to him. It was as if they were beckoning him, taunting him to claim them as his own. And he had almost fallen for it. The realization struck him again.
"You almost kissed your best friend, you git!"
He rubbed his forehead at the thought, squinting his eyes tightly. What would have happened if his watch had not rung? Obviously, they would have kissed. But then what? Harry played the scenario over and over in his head. The most probable situation would be that Hermione would have stopped mid-kiss and jinxed him back to the last century. If that didn't happened, he would have had to memory charm the both of them just to save himself the embarrassment. It's not that it would have been so horrible to kiss Hermione. He was sure she had researched enough about kissing techniques and such to have a thorough grasp of the maneuver. She was Hermione, after all. That or she had significant practice with Viktor Krum during the brief time that they were together, but that thought made Harry more sick than imagining if he had done the deed himself. It had taken him an extra year, but finally he realized why Ron had gotten so upset at the thought of her and Viktor snogging. However, all these thoughts were nothing compared to the horrors which would have resulted if the other outcome would have occurred.
What if he had kissed Hermione and she had kissed him back?
Now that was a scary thought. Harry had never in his seven year relationship with Hermione ever considered her to be anything more than a friend. Sure, it seemed as if every single person around them had noticed something going on between them (Viktor, Cho, half the population of the wizarding world thanks to Rita Skeeter…), but they both had brushed off the idea. It was a ridiculous accusation. To say that Hermione and him were ever going to get together was like mixing oil and water. It would never happen, no matter how hard the world threw them at each other. Hermione was just a friend. A friend with facial features which made him forget the long list of reasons he had just created. She was just a friend with an amazing body…
"What am I talking about?! What does her body have anything to do with this?!"
Harry was going crazy. The sun was now clearly rising, the sunlight highlighting the confliction in his face. In an attempt to stifle his confusion, he picked up a handful of snow and crushed it into his face, the coolness seeming to melt away as steam as soon as it made contact with his burning skin. He was in the middle of a war to vanquish evil once and for all, and he was going to fail because of his closest ally. He had never both hated and loved her so much at the same time before.
Harry's head hurt. Girls were too complicated.
He heard the tent flap open behind him and the distinct sound of a zipper climbing up a winter coat. Harry closed his eyes and prayed that the noise had just been the wind, that the inevitable first confrontation between him and Hermione would be postponed for another moment in time.
Then again, Harry Potter had never been lucky when it came to prayer.
"HERmioNE," Harry managed to squeak out, keeping his eyes closed. "You're up early."
He heard her inhale a deep breath, and then there was a moment where the only thing that could be heard was the wind blowing across their bundles of clothing. "ImgoinginsearchforsomefoodforbreakfastIllbebacksoonokseeyou," sputtered Hermione in one breath as she sprinted past Harry. By the time Harry's mind had interpreted the sentence, Hermione's form was disappearing into the nearby forest, the only evidence that she had been there at all being the trail of boot-shaped imprints which she had left in the wake of her escape.
"Well if that wasn't a sign that things are weird…"
Harry frowned. This was the spooning incident all over again. Only this time, he couldn't blame his actions on a natural urge to empty his bladder.
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Hermione turned again, flipping the pillow she was lying down on over in an attempt to get comfortable. She had thought that sleep would come easily to her as it would provide her a chance to forget what had happened, but that would have been too easy. She couldn't stop herself from thinking about how she had almost kissed Harry. She groaned as she tossed once again under the sheets.
It wasn't that she wanted to ignore the fact that they had almost kissed. All that did was leave an uncomfortable air of silence around them, and they seemed to be going through a lot of that lately anyway. One of them would eventually be able to blame the whole fiasco on something or another and they would be able to move on with their lives, adding the situation to their funny list of stories that neither would ever laugh at. No, what Hermione did want to forget was the notion which was pulling at the back of her brain, preventing her from falling asleep:
She had wanted it to happen.
Hermione opened her eyes and shook her head violently in an attempt to empty her mind. Whenever she had accidentally let her mind wander, it instantly returned to the moment where there lips had almost met. Her heart did back flips, and the butterflies in her stomach scurried so fast it seemed as if they would burst out of her at any moment. It was as if her whole body was cheering him on, wanting him to take their relationship to the next level. "But WHY?" Hermione asked herself as she sat up in bed. She sighed angrily. This was driving her insane.
It made no sense. No matter which route of logic she tried to reason their behavior with, the path always led her nowhere. There was no way that he and she would ever want to be together. It was too weird. "Otters do not mate with stags," Hermione said to herself, "despite how seductive the otter found the stag." Hermione shook her head again. When had she started to think like that? It was another unsolved mystery. Every time her mind tried to convince her that she did not fancy Harry, the more her heart questioned whether or not she truly did. "But I can't!" she contemplated. They had spent so many years denying the fact that they had feelings between them that they had long passed the opportunity to turn their relationship into something more. You don't just wake up one day and it dawns on you that you and your best friend are perfect for one another. That happened only in books. This was reality.
Hermione couldn't take it anymore. She needed to get some fresh air and attempt to clear her mind. Slipping her boots on and grabbing her thick coat, she made her way to the entrance of the tent (she did not need to change. She hadn't even bothered to put on her pajamas in her burning desire to get to sleep). It wasn't until she had a hand on the cold canvas that she heard the sound of snow being crushed, followed closely by a muffled grunt. Her shoulders slackened. She had totally forgotten that Harry was on watch. This had been an unexpected road block, but she couldn't back out now. A few seconds of awkward conversation were much better than returning to the…unfriendly thoughts which waited for her under the sheets.
With a gulp, Hermione lifted the entrance flap and took a cautionary step outside. The sun had just risen, and the winter breeze stung her eyes. Thankfully, Harry had his back turned to her. "Good, maybe he's fallen asleep and hasn't noticed…"
"HERmioNE," Hermione heard the slumped form of Harry utter with a cracked voice. "You're up early."
She took a breath as if to speak, but no words came out. How do you greet someone who you were about to snog a few hours ago? "ImgoinginsearchforsomefoodforbreakfastIllbebacksoonokseeyou," she said, running as fast as she could into the nearby forest, not stopping to see if Harry had reacted to her eloquent speaking. "Very smooth, Hermione," she thought as she slapped herself on the forehead. She had no idea where she was going, but now she couldn't go back to the tent without food unless she wanted her cover blown. Sighing, she started her search for some sort of edible substance for them to consume for their morning meal, the thoughts of the previous nights, at least temporarily, being pushed to the back of her mind.
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Harry switched his crossed legs as he sipped on his morning tea. After a long draught, he paused to take a look at his watch. "She's been gone for over an hour…" said Harry, putting down his tea cup. He squinted and tried to peer into the forest for any sign of her. Although he knew that Hermione was more than capable to defend herself, he was still worried. She had forgotten to take the invisibility cloak as they usually did when they went out to scavenge, and there had been several times where he had to stop himself from chasing after her footsteps to make sure she was ok. He checked his watch again. It hadn't even moved a minute, but it had felt like an eternity to Harry.
His muscles aching from hours of inactivity, Harry stood up and stretched. He was overreacting. "Calm down Harry, she'll be back any minute." It seemed only minutes ago that he was thankful that she was distancing herself from him, gracious of the fact that they could prolong talking about their almost-kiss. However, as soon as those thoughts passed from his head he was taken over by fear. She left in such a hurry, did she know where she was going? What if the Death Eaters had found her? How would he ever know that she was in trouble? It made him sick to think about it, although what made this day different than the other days he had let her wander alone into mysterious woods in search for food was beyond him.
His thoughts were interrupted by a gleaming light shining from the forest edge. Harry smiled as he let out a deep breath. She was safe. The source of light moved toward the tent, increasing in size by the second.
"Hermione, thank Merlin! I was worried!" Harry sheepishly yelled in the direction of the light.
But whatever it was didn't respond to his call. The smile slipped off Harry's face. This wasn't Hermione, this was something else. At first Harry had thought it was the small light that could be summoned to the tip of a wand, but this light was much too large for it to be a simple lumos spell. He rubbed his eyes, for surely this was his fatigued mind playing tricks on him. When his eyes opened, whatever it was was still approaching him. Harry drew his wand defensively as the light bounced closer and closer. There was something odd. The light seemed to be silver.
Harry lowered his wand. It was a patronus. The luminescent animal came to a stop close enough to him that if he had reached out his hand he could touch it, had the being had any physical features for him to come into contact with. It was a beautiful doe, a mirror image of the stag which Harry had summoned many times before. He knew that he should be more suspect about magical beings which came out of nowhere and approached him, but something about the doe told his gut that it did not mean him harm.
"Who do you belong to?" asked Harry, still gaping at the ethereal animal who was attempting to nuzzle his hand.
The doe lifted her head and stared at Harry, not giving any sign of an answer to his question. She gently tilted her head toward the forest, as if beckoning him to follow. Then, slowly and with an air of grace, she began to walk back to where she came from.
"Wait! Don't go!" Harry called to it as she continued to step away from him. Common sense told him to stay, but instinct and a thirst for knowledge overpowered his logic. He knew this could all be a trap, a clever ruse to make him vulnerable, but he also felt that a god-sent opportunity was slipping away silently amongst the trees. Muttering a few extra protective charms and sealing the tent, Harry chased after the patronus, the last few rays of glinting silver striping through the forest wall. By the time Harry caught up to it they were several yards into the thick vegetation. Despite it being morning, barely any sunlight shone through the dense canopy, the only light shining from the magical guide in front of him.
"Lumos!" Harry shouted as his wand tip ignited with light. Side by side, Harry and the doe traveled deeper into the belly of the forest. This all seemed so surreal. The further the patronus took Harry from the tent, the less sound came from around them. It was as if they were traveling into a world of dreams, mysterious visions which only revealed themselves inch by inch. However, Harry knew in his heart that the doe would not lead him into danger. As long as it was by his side, he was safe.
Suddenly, the forest ended in a shower of sunlight. They stopped right at the edge of the woods, the animal turning her head to glance at her human companion. She tilted her nose back and forth, telling Harry wordlessly to continue on into the wide open.
"But what about you?" asked Harry, fearing the worst.
In response, the doe turned around and galloped back into the darkness of the forest. Harry called out in hopes of stopping it, but before he could reach her she had disappeared into the air.
Fear engulfed Harry's heart. He had been too gullible. The mysterious patronus had led him far from the tent, through a path Harry had no way of retracing, and now he was alone. Instinctively, Harry readied his wand. At any moment, dozens of Death Eaters would swarm him and take him right to the Dark Lord's grasp. Knowing that there was nowhere left to go but forward, Harry took a step into the light.
To his surprise, he was not ambushed by a flash of curses and jinxes. As a matter of fact, the field he had stepped into seemed untouched by human hands, mounds of grassy snow surrounding a small pool of frozen water no bigger than a human body. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, but kept his wand out and his senses ready. He cautiously walked around the perimeter of the opening, as if something were to appear suddenly out of thin air. It was a few minutes before Harry saw an oddity in the center pool. On one side of the ditch, unlike the icy blue of the rest of the area, there was a moving section that gleamed black in the sun.
Harry moved closer to investigate. Cautiously, he peeked into the forest puddle. What he saw made his jaw drop.
There at the bottom of the pool, reflecting small glimpses of sunlight into Harry's glasses, was the sword of Godric Gryffindor.
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Hermione swore as she sucked on her thumb. As she was picking some berries off the bush in front of her, she had accidentally pricked her finger on a thorn which had been hidden from the light of her wand. She picked up the fruit she had dropped and placed them into her jacket pocket along with the handful of mushrooms she had found a couple minutes prior.
Despite it being the middle of winter, Hermione had removed her scarf and hat and had strung them through a hoop on her pants. It seemed as if the outside world did not exist inside this forest, not even the slightest hint of sunlight penetrating the dense tree limbs above her. She had placed a tracking charm on a few landmarks along her way to insure that she could find her way back to the tent fine, a feat which would have been impossible without the aid of magic. If it wasn't for the light coming from the tip of her wand, she would have wandered throughout the forest forever, for there was nothing but darkness beyond the halo of brightness surrounding her.
Standing up and brushing the dust off her clothing, Hermione began her journey back to the tent. The walk had done her good. She had been able to control her emotions, managing to falsify a face of nonchalance after several minutes of practice. Any romantic feelings she had harbored for Harry temporarily had been reasoned down, and she was confident that when she had to come into contact with him she would be able to treat him as if nothing had happened. Nothing had happened anyway, so there was no reason to act anything other than normal.
Lost in her thoughts, Hermione was surprised to find herself tumbling towards the ground, landing with a resounding thud!. She looked behind her and noticed that she had tripped over a tree root that she had failed to step over. During the fall, the contents of her pockets had freed themselves and scattered onto the ground, her wand laying several yards in front of her hidden in the grass. For what seemed like the hundredth time today, Harry had managed to make Hermione lose control of her basic motor skills.
"This boy is going to be the death of me…"
When their lunch had once again found comfort inside of Hermione's jacket, she reached to grab her illuminated wand. However, as soon as she had grabbed it, she saw another light approaching far away in the distance. "Nox!" she whispered, the light quickly disappearing around her, leaving her alone in the darkness of the trees. Hermione pressed herself against the trunk of a nearby tree, trying not to make a sound as the aura of light came closer into view. From her position, Hermione could tell that it was not the orange glow of a lamp, but rather a silvery light that she had come to associate with magic. It was only a few hundred feet from her now, and she could distinctly see that it was a patronus in the form of a large doe. But it wasn't alone.
"Harry?" Hermione whispered, clutching the tree tighter. What was he doing away from the tent, and why was he following an untrustworthy patronus? Maybe he knew something that she didn't, but it was more than likely that he had been tricked into a trap. They had almost reached rock bottom in the search for the Horcruxes, and she admitted that anyone could be manipulated in such a state of despair. He did tend to act on instinct rather than think a plan through, anyway. Scared that Harry might get himself into danger, she decided to trail after him.
She followed him and his companion for what seemed like miles of huge trees and thorny bushes, oftentimes having to stop and hide so that he wouldn't notice her. It was unusually silent in the forest, so every cracked twig and rustle of fallen leaves could be enough to reveal her sleuthing. But Harry never seemed to turn around, completely enthralled in the light of the doe. It seemed to Hermione like Harry wasn't scared one bit about where he was heading to, almost as if the patronus was a trusted guardian. Hermione, however, wasn't as accepting of the intruders unknown intentions.
Suddenly, Harry and the doe stopped at a clearing in the trees, causing Hermione to crouch behind the nearest bush. Her heart beat faster, fearing that one of them had noticed her presence. She peered over the bush just in time to see the animal heading towards her position. Defensively, Hermione pulled out her wand and waited for the inevitable. Harry seemed to be trying to stop the doe from its forward progress, but it ignored his pleas. It was now a few feet from her, its light eliminating the shadows in the shrubs around her. In her mind, Hermione prepared a defensive spell, prepping for the fight that was sure to come. However, right before Hermione sprung up to protect herself, the doe vanished into thin air. Releasing her held breath, she looked over the bush to check on Harry.
He had disappeared from her sight, and she quickly approached the clearing to get a better view. Hiding behind a gigantic pine tree, she peered around the side, where she could see the entire snow-covered field. Harry was slowly circling the opening, as if expecting an enemy to apparate into view at any moment. Hermione couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride towards her best friend; He was doing exactly what she would have done in the situation. She debated the thought of revealing herself to him, but she decided against it. If they were going to get ambushed, it would be better for her to remain hidden so they would have an advantage against the enemy. Also, Hermione was sure that Harry would shoot a wave of curses at anything that jumped out at him, and she wasn't in the mood to die at the hand of an ally today.
Hermione noticed Harry now moving towards the center of the field. She had not seen it before, but clearly there was a pool of iced-over water surrounded by a mound of grass, however she could not see into it from her current position. Harry slowly approached the water. Hermione stifled a scream when he peeked over the edge and jumped back suddenly. What had he seen? He quickly recovered himself and peered into the water again, this time bringing his lit wand to the surface as if to get a better view at whatever was at the bottom.
There was nothing Hermione wanted to know more at the moment then what Harry was seeing. She had never been good with mysteries, and it killed her to remain stationary when something so surprising to Harry was only a few yards away from her. "You need to stay still for his protection, just in case…" she reminded herself, biting her lower lip. Harry was now pacing around the pool, alternating between scratching his head and peering into the depths of the water. He seemed to be having an argument with himself. After several moments, he stopped at the side of the ditch where the water seemed to be flowing freely. Hermione held her breath, hoping that Harry wouldn't do something to endanger his life. He stood still and took a deep breath, his body language showing that he had painstakingly come to a decision. Then he did something that Hermione had not expected:
He started to take off his clothes.
Hermione's jaw almost hit the floor as she instinctively turned away, her vision completely blocked by the trunk of the tree. Of all the things Harry could have done, taking a swim in the frigid conditions was definitely the last thing she had expected. The mysterious patronus may not have killed him directly, but he would surely freeze to death if he attempted to retrieve whatever was at the bottom of the pool. She had to stop this. With a breath of determination, she quickly side-stepped into view.
The scene in front of her made her stop mid-motion. Harry had removed his jacket and sweaters, and his shirt had just hit the floor when Hermione had regained her vision of the field. He was now standing in the opening only in his pants and boots. Hermione gawked. Never before had she seen anything more…she couldn't even complete the thought. She couldn't stop staring at her half-naked best friend. Years of quidditch and magical training had certainly done wonders for his once thin and frail physique. Hermione could tell that she was blushing furiously, her mind remanding her for not turning away, but her eyes remained glued on his chest and muscles.
"Wow…"
Harry shivered before bending down to remove his shoes. This snapped Hermione back into her senses. She had to stop Harry from committing suicide, that's the entire reason she had followed him in the first place. Trying to shake the image of him topless out of her head, she took a defiant step forward. She tried to call out to him, but the words were trapped in her throat as she lost control of her motions once again. Harry had just removed his pants, and he was now standing in front of her in only his underwear. Hermione commanded her head to turn, but instead she just covered her mouth. Here he was, the famous Harry Potter, her best friend, standing nearly starkers in front of her, and instead of turning away she was staring. It was as if a part of her, a part with much more influence than her common sense, wanted to look at him. To be honest, Hermione thought, she could be looking at much worse things that her practically naked best friend.
Harry sat down in the snow, dipping his legs into the pool. A wince of pain covered his face as all feeling below his waist disappeared from his body. Hermione pinched herself, trying to break the hypnotic gaze that Harry's body had trapped her in. "He's about to die!" Hermione screamed to herself, the sudden realization enough to regain movement in her legs. She ran after him, stopping a few feet before she reached him, his head turned away from her position and his arms showing signs that he was ready to completely submerge himself in the icy depths. She sighed silently. Things were about to get quite awkward.
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Harry suppressed a scream of agony as he buried his legs in the water, the cold slicing into him like thousands of tiny knives. He bit his lip, trying to calm himself. This was the only way that he could retrieve the sword, and he knew more than anybody that the artifact was essential in his quest to destroy Voldemort. Taking a deep breath, Harry realized that if he didn't finish the task quickly he would never recover from the death-like chill of the frigid water. Slowly, he pushed on his arms and started to slide into the pool.
Hem hem!
The noise made Harry shoot out of the water and fall back first into a bed of snow. The cough had sounded almost identical to the cough of Dolores Umbridge, and he turned his eyes quickly toward the new guest in the clearing. His heart dropped from his chest. He wished that it had been Umbridge.
Somehow, Hermione had appeared behind him, glaring down at him with a look mixed with both concern and anger.
"Hermione!" Harry managed to say, attempting to cover his body with his hands. "What are you…"
"You better have a bloody good reason why you are practically naked in a snowy field in the middle of winter, about to willingly dive into a frozen pool of water which you will surely die in!" Hermione practically screamed at him, pointing her wand accusingly. She seemed to show no physical sign that Harry was standing in only his underwear in front of her, but he was blushing furiously enough for the both of them.
All he could do was point a shivering finger into the pool. Hermione angrily peered over the edge into the dark pool, and her face immediately softened. She looked between Harry and the water in disbelief.
"Is that…Gryfindor's sword?" she asked, getting on her knees to take a closer look at the gleaming object at the bottom of the pool.
"Yeah, I think so," said Harry as he joined her side, "that's why I was going in there. We need it, Hermione."
"I know we do, Harry," said Hermione, complete understanding in her voice, "have you tried summoning it?"
"Yeah," responded Harry. "Nothing. It's almost as if I need to prove my worth in order to retrieve it."
Hermione nodded, as if she was mulling over the facts in her head. "Well, I think you're right," she said after a moment, turning her head to look at Harry. She quickly turned her head as soon as she made eye contact with Harry's body. "But why the bloody hell would you do it naked?"
Harry blushed at Hermione's choice of words. He had removed his clothes so that on his journey back he would have some way to warm his body. Not knowing the hot-air charm like Hermione and Dumbledore did, Harry had determined that the trip back in damp clothing was more likely to kill him than the minute or so he would be submerged in the pool. But now that Hermione was here, he could do the dive with all his clothes on. Quickly, he redressed, thankful that Hermione kept her face turned as he slid his clothes back onto his freezing body.
After a moment, Hermione stood up as Harry returned to the pool, standing beside her. Despite his previous determination, the few seconds in the water that Harry had experienced seemed to hurt his confidence more than help it. Retrieving the sword was not going to be an enjoyable experience. Every part of his body begged him not to do it, but he knew that the action was necessary.
"Are you ready?" asked Hermione, failing to disguise the fear in her voice.
"Better now than later," Harry said, trying to calm his breathing. He felt Hermione's hand wrap around his, giving him a reassuring squeeze.
"Wait, here," he said, reaching into the top of his layers of clothing. His hand returned from the depths of his sweaters with a silver locket, which he quickly handed to Hermione. "This does odd things, the last thing I want is for it to react when it realizes I'm in possession of an object which will eventually destroy it." Hermione nodded in agreement as she grasped the Horcrux in her free hand.
Harry took one final deep breath, letting go of Hermione's hand. In one quick motion, he dove into the pool, the only evidence remaining of his existence being the ripples which slowly floated towards the edges of the water. Hermione crossed her fingers and held her breath, frozen in fear. For every second that passed, the thought that Harry might never return to the surface became more plausible. Hermione stood helpless, praying that he would be alright.
"Come on Harry, the world needs you…I need you…"
Time froze in Hermione's eyes. He had been down there an eternity. She could see it in her mind's eye, the image of her dragging Harry's cold, lifeless body out of the pool becoming more life-like with every passing moment. Somehow, she suppressed the urge to dive in after him, hanging on to the hope that he would come out ok.
Bubbles floated to the surface of the water, and Hermione fell to her knees in anticipation. She was sure that Harry was drowning.
"HARRY! HARRY!" she screamed as loud as she could, hoping that her words would penetrate the depths of the pool. The darkness of the water prevented her from seeing any part of his body.
A second later, there was a significant lurch in the water as Harry appeared, clutching the sword in his arms, shaking uncontrollably. With strength she did not know she possessed, Hermione managed to pull Harry completely out of the water, resting his head across her knees. Her wand went flying through the air, every warming charm she knew escaping her mouth in attempt to recolor Harry's blue face. He was still breathing, but only enough to keep himself alive.
"Come on Harry," she muttered, abandoning magic and instead rubbing his body with her hands in an attempt to warm him up.
It was several minutes before Harry had regained the strength to speak. "Hermione," he said, looking up into his best friend's tear-streaked face, "Nothing to worry about, it was just a swim."
Hermione burst into tears of joy as she smothered Harry's forehead with kisses. Harry smiled back at her, taking a moment to rest in Hermione's arms. After Hermione had finished her assault, she assisted him to his feet, brushing the snow off of his back and her pants. They had finally made progress. With the sword now in their possession, they could finally destroy the locket and any other Horcrux they managed to find.
"Now, let's get rid of that Horcrux, shall we?" Harry asked, smiling at Hermione.
She nodded in agreement, reaching into her pocket to retrieve the necklace. She frowned at the realization that her pocket was empty.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, looking at Hermione with genuine concern.
Hermione retraced her steps. She had never put the locket in her pocket, she had been holding onto it when Harry had jumped into the pool. She sighed in relief when she found it lying in the snow, inches away from the tip of the sword. Looking at the two objects closer, she beckoned Harry over.
"Look Harry, the locket…"
Harry turned his gaze away from Hermione and on to the Horcrux. Only then had he noticed that the object which had before remained eternally locked was now wide-open in front of them. Harry turned to Hermione and she shrugged, informing Harry that she didn't know either why it had finally decided to open to them. Cautiously, he reached out to grab the locket.
Suddenly, the booming voice of Voldemort filled their ears, drowning out Hermione's scream. "YOU WILL NOT TAMPER WITH THE SOUL OF THE DARK LORD!" Harry barely had time to turn when a dark red bolt shot out of the locket, striking Hermione in the heart. She crumpled over silently.
"HERMI…" Harry attempted to scream, reaching over to grab Hermione. However, he had just gotten off his knees when an identical force of magic struck him, causing his vision to go black. He collapsed instantly, his head landing on her body. The image of Hermione lying deathly still filled his mind before Harry completely succumbed to unconsciousness.