1. Rivalry

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, Harmonians would be celebrating right now…

A/N: My take on the challenge by Detritus, that you can find here: http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26205 Basically, an HP/POTC crossover, I hope I can pull it off nicely! *laughs* Well, anyhow, if you read, please review and let me know what you think of the story! This is my first crossover so I need some kind of input on how I'm doing!

This chapter and probably the next will deal mostly with Ginny and what goes through her mind, so I'm sorry if you lot don't like her much but you'll have to endure her for a bit here. I don't really like her myself, you know, but at times I need her in my stories…

Harry Potter and Davy Jones' Locker

Chapter One: Rivalry

Ginny Weasley was quite cheerful. She was attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for her seventh, and last, year, and she felt she could finally relax. You-Know-Who was gone, thanks to Harry Potter, and now everyone could live their lives without worries of a madman wanting to swipe away all Muggle-Borns and Half-Bloods from the Wizarding World.

Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Won as they called him these days. The object of Ginny's constant daydreams since she was ten, and now she was going to have him all for herself. He had broken up with her just to protect her but now that the war was finished, there was no reason for him not to go back with her.

Of course, she expected him to do that immediately, but he had said he needed time to go through the hurt of the last battle, and somehow she could understand him. He had lost the last link to his parents, Remus Lupin, their previous Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He had seen many of his fellow students fall, and between them there was also her brother, Fred.

Of course, Ginny herself had needed some time to grieve, and dating was the last thing on her mind, even if from the attitude she had in school those last years one would never guess that. She had gone through so many boyfriends to make anyone lose count of them.

But now, now was the time for her and Harry to finally be together. He, Hermione and Ron were attending Hogwarts too, for their last year since they missed it while hunting down the Horcruxes. So, now they were in Ginny's class.

“Perfect” she thought to herself. It would be easier to reconcile herself with Harry if they could spend even more time together.

Finally reaching the Fat Lady, she quickly gave her the password, and entered the Common Room.

“Hey Gin” Ron said, looking up from the chess game he was currently playing with a fellow Gryffindor.

“Hi Ron. Have you seen Harry?” she asked with a smile.

“He's in the Heads Common Room, studying with Hermione” Ron said without looking at her as he was concentrating on his next move.

Ginny's smile fell.

“Of course” she rolled her eyes. “That bookworm can't leave him alone for a moment, can she?” Ginny inwardly fumed.

“I wonder how could I have been best friends with her. Of course she still thinks we are, poor girl” she smirked. “If it wasn't for me, Ron and Harry she would be completely alone, but now she's my rival” she thought.

Needing to calm herself, she went for a walk. When she returned to the common room, however, she saw something that made her get even angrier than she was before.

There they were, Harry and Hermione, sitting on the couch in front of the fire. She was reading a book, “as usual” Ginny thought rolling her eyes. But what caught her eye was that Harry was lying there, with his head on her lap, smiling contentedly as Hermione was roaming her free hand through his hair.

The sight made Ginny's blood boil, but she did her best to remain calm.

“Hi Harry, Hermione” she said with a fake smile approaching them.

“Hi Gin” they both automatically replied, without even looking at her. The redhead was about to say something more when Ron intervened.

“Hey guys, shouldn't we head down to dinner? I'm starved!”

Harry chuckled. “Ron, you're constantly starved!” he said, moving from his position, albeit Ginny could spot some reluctance in that.

Hermione shook her head with a smile too, closing her book and leaving it there, joining the other two members of the “Golden Trio” as they were called, and heading down to the Great Hall. Ginny silently followed them, lost in her own thoughts.

As they were eating, Ginny couldn't help noticing how Ron kept sneaking glances at the Ravenclaw table. She turned and noticed the object of Ron's attention, Luna Lovegood.

“Ron, what's so interesting in Loony?” she said, annoyed. In her perfect plans, Ron and Hermione would get together so that would take her out of the picture, but if her brother got interested in someone else, that part of the plan would not work!

“Don't call her Loony” Hermione, Harry and Ron all said, glaring at her. Ginny sighed.

“OK, ok, I'm sorry” she said, throwing up her hands in defeat. “So, Ron, what's so interesting in Luna?” she asked again.

Harry could see Ron's face grow redder by the minute, and couldn't help a chuckled escaping him. “Seems your brother finds Luna quite fascinating lately, Ginny”

Ron blushed even more, mumbling under his breath as he picked at the food in his plate, suddenly not hungry anymore.

“I think that's sweet” Hermione said with a warm smile, and Harry nodded.

“Luna's a great girl, in her own special way” the raven haired boy said with a grin. Ginny simply had to snort at that, earning herself another round of glares.

“What's up with you, Ginny?” Harry coldly asked her. “If I'm not mistaken, Luna was your friend even before she was ours”

The redhead witch couldn't take it anymore. “What's so special about her, Harry? She speaks nonsense most of the day, her father runs The Quibbler, for Merlin's sake!” then she left in a hurry.

“What the hell is wrong with her?” Ron asked, bewildered.

Hermione sighed, and resumed eating, while Harry looked as confused as Ron. Finally, the brown haired witch spoke.

“I guess since Ginny wants to get back with you, Harry, she hoped me and Ron would hook up so I would be “out of the picture” and not a danger anymore for her” she explained rolling her eyes.

“Me and you?” Ron said, flabbergasted. “I could never…I mean…ok, we kissed last year, but that was in the heat of the moment, in the middle of a war…”

“Tell me about it, Ron. It's me who started that kiss and today I still can't figure out why” Hermione said, with a small blush.

“Must have been my heroic act of leading us to a way to destroy the Horcruxes” Ron said, puffing out his chest in triumph. “After all, it doesn't happen everyday that one can mimic Parseltongue, does it?”

The three of them shared a look, and then burst out laughing.

After dinner, Ron excused himself to go and have a chat with Luna.

“Mate, you've got it bad” Harry teased him. Ron stuck his tongue at him and left. On their way up to the common room, Harry and Hermione kept talking about the last developments between their redhead friend and the Ravenclaw.

“I think it's great Ron has finally warmed up to her” he said.

“I think the turning point has been Fred's funeral. She was there for him, and it kind of did the trick” Hermione grinned.

“Yeah, Luna has her own way to deal with deaths. She tried help me cope with Sirius' one too. Did you know she lost her mother at nine?”

Hermione shook her head. “No, but this explains why she could see Thestrals and we couldn't” she reasoned. “And why she could hear voices from the Veil just like you”

“She's a great girl, albeit a bit strange at times” Harry said with a warm smile.

“Harry James Potter, if I didn't know better I'd say you have a thing for her too” Hermione teased him nudging him on the shoulder.

“Me? No, no. I just happen to think she's a great friend, and I'm glad Ron is giving her a chance” he concluded with a smile.

They settled on the couch, enjoying the warmth coming from the fireplace. For it being just middle October, the weather was quite cold already.

An hour passed, and finally Ron came back.

“Hey there, lover boy,” Harry called out to him, at which Ron replied with a roll of his eyes, “enjoyed your little rendezvous?”

“Very much, Harry, thanks” Ron said, playing along. “By the way, have you seen Ginny?”

“Actually, no” Hermione said with a frown.

“Oh, well, she must be doing patrols for her prefect duties” they reasoned.

How far from truth they were. Ginny was currently holed up in the Room of Requirements, reading over books the room had provided her. She had a task to complete, and she never went back to Gryffindor Tower that night.

It was too urgent to waste time sleeping.

“If I can't count on Ron to take Hermione away, then I must take care of her myself” she said with an evil smirk.

Then, finally, after six hours reading, her eyes lit up as she stumbled upon an ancient legend.

“Yes, this is it. Davy Jones' locker is a good enough place to keep her away from my Harry” she laughed to herself after reading the pages twice, her brown eyes shining with an evil glint.

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2. Evil Plan

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, Harmonians would be celebrating right now…

This chapter still deals mostly with Ginny and what goes through her mind, so I'm sorry if you lot don't like her much but you'll have to endure her for a bit here. I don't really like her myself, you know, but at times I need her in my stories…

Harry Potter and Davy Jones' Locker

Chapter Two: Evil Plan

Ginny reread the legend about Davy Jones, or, better, she reread the Muggle legend on him, then in the book was then explained that Davy Jones actually existed, with his ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman, his pet, the Kraken, and of course his feared Locker existed too.

The Muggle sailors kept saying that one died on the sea, he would end in Davy Jones' Locker, it was their euphemism for death at sea. Davy Jones was believed by them to be the devil of the sea, and this legend was the strongest around 1800, when it first spread, but even now many of them fear to talk about him.

“Muggles can be really silly at times” Ginny mused while reading the Wizarding counterpart for the legend.

Davy Jones was yes a sailor, but he was also a wizard, who had managed the unthinkable. He had carved his heart out of his chest, and hid it away, and yet, he kept living. It was speculated in the book that he did so after being betrayed by his lover, and since then he changed the task assigned to him by Calipso, the goddess of the sea, from accompanying the souls of those dead in the sea to tormenting and killing sailors, to take them on his ship, which was named The Flying Dutchman. However, removing his heart had somehow robbed him of his magical powers, possibly because all of his magical core was now focused on keeping him alive even without an heart in his chest.

As a result, some other wizards had managed to bind him to a spell to summon him, as long as they were in proximity of water, as he can't step on land if not once every ten years, and he would have to obey to his summoner, which was something Muggles didn't know, though, as well as most of the wizards. The tricky part was that he could be ordered only one thing every ten years. After all, the Devil of the Sea wasn't to be treated like a slave. It was merely a form to be able to control him if the need arose.

With most of the Wizarding communities currently placed far from the sea, the knowledge of that spell had gone lost, as it wasn't useful anymore.

Memorizing the incantation to summon the Devil of the Sea, Ginny closed the book and left the Room of Requirements. Since she had missed dinner, she was quite hungry, so she headed down to the Great Hall to grab a bite before going to class.

She found Harry, Hermione and Ron already there, with Hermione sitting on Harry's right side and Ron in front of the raven haired wizard. On Harry's left was Neville, so Ginny was forced to sit in front of Hermione.

Inwardly rolling her eyes, the redhead witch collected some toast, jam, bacon and eggs on her plate and started eating.

“Where have you been last night, Ginny?” Ron inquired.

“It's not your business, Ron” she haughtily replied, taking a sip of her orange juice.

Harry kept looking at her disdainfully. He had not forgotten what she had said about Luna, and he had no intention to do so. Hermione, seeing his enraged expression, took his hand in her own and squeezed it lightly.

Harry looked at her, and his anger melted away. Giving her a curt nod, he continued eating his breakfast completely ignoring Ginny.

On her part, the redhead witch noticed the scene, and almost snorted.

“Enjoy it till you can, Granger, because soon you will find yourself in a place of madness and loneliness” she thought.

Days passed, and Ginny was busy brewing the Polyjuice potion. She needed it for her perfect plan, and it took a month to brew.

“This delays things a bit” the witch mused while stirring the contents of her cauldron, “but in the end one month is nothing if then I can have Harry all for myself for a whole life” she happily thought. Now she just needed Hermione's hair and to wait till the potion was ready.

Entering the Head Quarters to get the hair she needed wasn't an easy thing, with the password and all, but she managed. After the Luna incident, she had acted as the good girl they all thought she was, she even asked everyone of them for forgiveness, claiming she wasn't feeling too well that day. So, it wasn't hard to convince Hermione to help her with an Arithmancy essay. After all, that was Hermione's favourite subject, and she was always eager to work on it.

While they were studying, Ginny claimed to need to go to the bathroom, So Hermione showed her the way to the Head Girl one, and there she stole some of the brunette's hair from the hairbrush. Pocketing them, she returned to the little common room Hermione and Harry shared, and resumed studying with the Head Girl.

That night, she added the hair to the potion, and pocketed a vial of it. Then, she headed down to the Black Lake, and there she took a long breath.

Closing her eyes, she focused on the incantation to summon Davy Jones.

Drawing a complex wand motion in the air, she finally uttered the words for the spell: “Diabolum Maris Convoco!”

Suddenly the surface of the lake started to move, and a figure slowly emerged from it.

Now, Ginny knew Davy Jones had become a monster, but what she found herself looking at was something she didn't expect. There was nothing indicating he had once been a man. His face was that of an octopus, as well as his right arm. His left arm was that of a crab, and his right leg too. He was an assembly of sea creatures, and quite repugnant at that.

“It's no wonder he's so feared” Ginny mused, while staring at him.

“Who dares summon Davy Jones, the Devil of the Sea?” suddenly he said in a menacing tone, looking directly at Ginny.

“I-I'm Ginny Weasley” she squeaked, then cleared her throat. “I mean, I'm Ginny Weasley” she repeated, this time with normal voice.

“I can see you're scared, lassie” Jones taunted her. “And you're right” he added then, glaring at the girl. “I don't like being summoned like a ship boy”

Ginny glared back, the infamous Weasley temper starting to rise.

“Well, you have to obey now, though, don't you?” she defiantly spat. “I summoned you so you have to follow my orders”

Jones wasn't pleased but he knew it was true.

“Very well then, lassie. Speak”

“It's simple. I want you to take one person to your Locker and keep her there for the eternity” Ginny smugly said, already imagining Hermione alone in a salty desert, going mad. It was extremely satisfying.

“What do I get from that?” Jones spat, out of habit. He usually didn't act without something he could gain in return.

“Well, you have to obey me anyhow so you don't really have a choice, now, do you?” she smirked. “But, since I'm feeling rather generous at the moment, I guess you could keep her as your personal wench, once she's gone mad. I know you haven't enjoyed the body of a woman in years, possibly centuries…”

Jones glared at her. He didn't think it was good enough a reward, but he had to accept all the same. “Fine. But for me to bring her to the Locker, I need to send the Kraken after her, thus I need to mark her”

“I know. This is why I have here a potion that will change me into her for an hour, so that you can mark her hand through me” Ginny explained, taking the vial of Polyjuice from her pocket and drinking it. She slowly changed into Hermione, then she took another vial of potion. It was a ruby red liquid, and was meant to actually establish a link between the real Hermione's body and the Polyjuiced one's. Finally, Ginny/Hermione extended her hand toward Jones.

He wrapped his slimy tentacle around it, and then released her. Ginny had to close her eyes at the pain on her left hand. She then looked at it, and noticed how a black spot had appeared.

“You'll need to figure out a way to bring here the Kraken, lassie. It can't travel on land, and here we are quite far from the sea. And then, you will have to summon it to start its hunt for the prey”

“That's why I've ready a Portkey for you. You touch it to the Kraken and it will be transported inside the lake” she explained, giving him one of her old socks, just after casting the Portus spell on it. Jones grabbed the sock, and then vanished as Ginny dismissed him.

In the meantime, in the castle, the real Hermione woke up with a start at the pain in her hand. She looked at it, and noticed the black spot too.

She wondered what that was about, but then decided to go back to sleep. She would figure out a way to remove it the next day.

However, the next morning, try as she might, she couldn't get rid of it. Harry suggested she go visit Pomfrey, but the school nurse wasn't able to remove it either, nor was McGonagall.

Dumbledore's portrait said he had seen it once but couldn't remember what it was, and Ginny released the breath she was holding. If the old headmaster had figured out that, her plan would have been ruined before even actually starting.

That afternoon, claiming to want to raise Hermione's spirits, Ginny suggested the two of them went studying near the lake. They had, after all, a free period, while the boys had Care of Magical Creatures.

She hoped Jones had already transported the Kraken there, but even if he hadn't, trying didn't cost anything.

As they sat under a tree, Ginny silently cast a Silencing Charm spell on the area so that no one could hear eventual cries of help from Hermione, and almost half an hour after they had started studying, she stunned her friend. Then, she spoke the incantation to summon the Kraken that Jones had given her.

“Let no joyful voice be heard! Let no man look up at the sky with hope! And Let this day be cursed by we who ready to wake... the KRAKEN!” she cried.

A tentacle suddenly slithered out of the lake and it grabbed the brown haired witch by the ankle and dragged her down under the surface. Ginny grinned to herself when the other witch didn't reappear.

“Adieu, Hermione Granger!” she thought, laughing and returning to the castle.

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3. Davy Jones' Locker, Part I

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, Harmonians would be celebrating right now…

In this chapter there will be parts from HBP that I thought would be good as Hermione's hallucinations, so I will take them directly from the book. It will be like those moments never really happened, and she is imagining them, if not for one, that she actually remembers, but it gives her a different reaction from what's in canon. I'm sure you'll be able to guess which one it is. ;)

Harry Potter and Davy Jones' Locker

Chapter Three: Davy Jones' Locker, Part I

Hermione woke up, still a bit dizzy for the stunner, in a dark sort of cave.

Immediately, the horrible smell caught her nose, and she had to muster all her willpower not to vomit right there. Not that it would have made much difference, after all.

“Where the Hell am I?” she wondered, feeling for her wand, and finding she didn't have it.

“The last thing I remember was that I was studying near the lake with Ginny…” she reasoned, trying to find an explanation to her current situation.

Moving slightly from the spot she was seated on, she found the “walls” of her prison to be soft, almost flesh-like. And, she could hear a sound like waves coming from outside.

“The sea?” she whispered, dumbfounded. “How have I arrived to the sea?”

She didn't have much time to wonder about that though, because suddenly she could feel the “walls” around her tense, and a moment later she found herself in the salty water. Sputtering out what she had inhaled, she turned and caught a glimpse of a retreating sea creature.

From her point of view, it seemed like a whale for its size. And yet, she could notice tentacles like those of an octopus.

“I was inside that…thing?” she wondered for a moment, before starting to swim toward the shore she could see not too afar.

Luckily, her parents had often brought her to the seaside when she was a little girl so she had not problem swimming. As she finally touched the white sand of the beach, she lay there for some time, resting.

After all, she must have swum for at least half a mile. Regaining her breath, she suddenly understood why she was there. Ginny must have done something to bring her away from Hogwarts, and out of Harry's life.

“Oh, Ginny…what have you done?” she whimpered, then finally standing up she decided it was not the time to cry over herself. First of all she needed to find something to eat, and then wait for some ship to bring her back to the civilized world.

As she walked toward the center of the island, she could see the landscape changing from a beach to a salty desert. However, her mind was already subject to the effects of Davy Jones' Locker, so she didn't pay attention to that change.

She could focus only on what was going through her mind, and she reacted in a very un-Hermione manner to it

“Slug Club” repeated Ron with a sneer worthy of Malfoy. “It's pathetic. Well, I hope you enjoy your party. Why don't you try getting off with McLaggen, then Slughorn can make you King and Queen slug…”

“We're allowed to bring guests” Hermione said to the empty, dry desert, just like Ron was in front of her, “and I was going to ask you to come, but if you think it's that stupid then I won't bother!”

Harry suddenly wished the pod had flown a little further, so that he need not have been sitting there with the pair of them. Unnoticed by either, he seized the bowl that contained the pod and began to try and open it by the noisiest and most energetic means he could think of; unfortunately, he could still hear every word of their conversation.

“You were going to ask me?” asked Ron, in a completely different voice.

“Yes” Hermione said, again to no one, angrily. “But obviously if you'd rather I got off with McLaggen…”

As she was speaking, Hermione was walking, swaggering a bit, the hot sun over her and nowhere to hide in some shadow and get a bit of cool. But she didn't care, it was like she was completely in another world.

Harry looked into the corner she was indicating. There, in full view of the whole room, stood Ron wrapped so closely around Lavender Brown it was hard to tell whose hands were whose.

“It looks like he's eating her face, doesn't it?” said Ginny dispassionately. “But I suppose he's got to refine his technique somehow. Good game, Harry”

She patted him on the arm; Harry felt a swooping sensation in his stomach, but then she walked off to help herself to more Butterbeer. Crookshanks trotted after her, his yellow eyes fixed upon Arnold.

Harry turned away from Ron, who did not look like surfacing soon, just in time to see the portrait hole closing. With a sinking feeling he thought he saw a mane of bushy brown hair whipping out of sight.

He darted forward, sidestepped Romilda Vane again, and pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady. The corridor outside seemed to be deserted.

“Hermione?”

He found her in the first unlocked classroom he tried. She was sitting on the teacher's desk, alone except for a small ring of yellow birds circling her head, which she had just conjured up out of midair.. Harry could not help admiring her spellwork at a time like this.

“Oh, hello Harry” Hermione said, imagining the raven haired boy in front of her. “I was just practising”

“Yeah…they're…er…really good…” said Harry.

He had no idea what to say to her.

“Ron seems to be enjoying the celebrations” Hermione said.

“Does he?” said Harry

“Don't pretend you didn't see him” Hermione said, “He wasn't exactly hiding, was…”

The door behind them burst open. To Harry's horror, Ron came in, laughing, pulling Lavender by the hand.

“Oh” he said, drawing up short at the sight of Harry and Hermione.

“Oops” said Lavender, and she backed out of the room, giggling. The door swung shut behind her.

Hermione moved like she was going to leave the imaginary room she thought she was in, sliding down from the desk she had imagined she was sitting.

“You shouldn't leave Lavender waiting outside” she said quietly. “She'll wonder where you've gone”

She walked, still with a bit of a swagger, and then moved like she was opening a door.

“Oppugno!” she the shrieked, mimicking a spell, but she had no wand. It was meant to send the imaginary birds she had thought she had conjured toward the imaginary Ron from the scene she was living in her head. Then, she tripped and fell to the ground, a giggle escaping her lips, as she closed her eyes.

Another hallucination came to her mind.

“I love you, Hermione” said Ron, sinking back in his chair, rubbing his eyes wearily.

Hermione imagined she was blushing. “Don't let Lavender hear you saying that”

“I won't” Ron said into his hands. “Or maybe I will…then she'll ditch me…”

Hermione sighed. She felt confused, like someone was planting into her brain thoughts and images that didn't belong to her.

But she couldn't dwell on the matter because another image assaulted her, completely involving her in the setting.

Harry looked around; there was Ginny running towards him; she had a hard, blazing look in he face as she threw her arms around him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her.

After several long moments, or it might have been half an hour, or possibly several sunlit days, they broke apart. The room had gone very quiet. Then several people wolf-whistled, and there was an outbreak of nervous giggling. Harry looked over the top of Ginny's head to see Dean Thomas holding shattered glass in his hand and Romilda Vane looking as thought she might throw something.

Hermione found herself scowling, even if the hallucination required for her to beam.

Harry's eyes sought Ron. At last he found him, still clutching the cup and wearing an expression appropriate to having been clubbed over the head. For a fraction of a second they looked at each other, then Ron gave a tiny jerk of the head that Harry understood to mean, “Well, if you must…”

Suddenly Hermione jerked, taking a long gulp of hot air into her lungs. “Harry!” she screamed as tears came to her eyes.

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4. Where Is Hermione?

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, Harmonians would be celebrating right now…

Harry and Ron find out what Ginny did. What will be their reaction?

Harry Potter and Davy Jones' Locker

Chapter Four: Where Is Hermione?

Ginny was almost bouncing with glee at the perfect success of her plan. Sure, now the hard part came, because someone was bound to notice Hermione's disappearance, but she was sure she would be able to catch Harry's attention completely, now that the bookworm was out of the way forever.

Might be tricky at first, but in the long run she was confident she could pull it off.

So, it was with a much better mood than the previous days that she joined her brother and the object of her affections at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, for dinner.

“Ginny, have you seen Hermione?” Harry asked. He knew they had gone outside together.

“Oh, she said she had to check some things at the library” the redhead dismissively said. “You know how she is” she added then with a slight roll of the eyes.

Harry said nothing, just resumed eating his meal, while Ron was barely aware of the conversation. Nothing could deter Ron Weasley's focus on food.

When they finally left the Great Hall to go back to the common room, Ron excused himself, his ears turning slightly pink, as he claimed he had something to take care of.

“Something, or someone?” Harry teased him with a big grin. He was actually happy that Ron was interested in Luna, for two reasons. First of all, Luna was really a nice girl, and he must admit she was pretty too, so he was glad Ron had picked such a girl for himself, one that Harry knew was perfectly suited for him, even if she was a bit strange at times.

Then, there was the second, slightly more selfish reason.

If Ron fancied Luna, then he didn't fancy Hermione. And considering the feelings Harry had been developing for their bushy haired friend while they were alone in the tent searching for the Horcruxes, it was a good thing that he didn't have to worry about how Ron would take it, when he would finally find the heart to ask her out.

Ginny, oblivious to Harry's internal musings, was for once happy that Ron was leaving them alone to go spend time with Luna. With a bit of luck, they might have some moments for themselves in the common room, after everyone else had left.

However, once there, Harry busied himself in the essays they had to do for McGonagall and Flitwick, and barely acknowledged her presence in the room. When finally two sixth years, being the last in the common room beside them, went upstairs to the dorms, she decided some “convincing” was due.

She walked toward him, and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind.

“Harry” she breathed in his hear, in what she tried to make a seductive tone.

He gently unhooked her arms from around him and continued scribbling on the parchment, not even bothering to look at her. At the third failed attempt, Harry finally raised his eyes from what he was doing and glared at her.

“Ginny, can't you take an hint?” he finally exploded. “I'm busy” he briskly said. He knew the redhead still hoped they could go back together. If he had to be truthful with himself, he wondered what had he seen in her two years ago.

Yes, she was pretty. But Hermione had grown to be a pretty girl too. Maybe not supermodel-like, but the brown haired witch was definitely pretty.

Yes, Ginny had been able to distract him from what he had to do, from his fate. But considering how dating her and forgetting about his duties got Dumbledore killed, and yes, the Headmaster was going to die anyhow, but this didn't lessen the guilt Harry still felt at times, he wasn't so sure it was a good thing.

Plus, he suspected she still saw him as The Boy Who Won, not just Harry like he hoped his girlfriend would see him. He had never cared for money or fame, and if there was something he wished, it was to find someone who could appreciate him for who he truly was, not the title he carried. And till now the only girl able to do that had been Hermione.

Hermione, who had been near him at every moment, even when Ron wouldn't, for his jealousy issues. He had forgiven his best mate for the two times he had deserted him, but he hadn't forgotten them.

Hermione, who was the real reason he was still alive today, because honestly, without her he might have been dead who knows how long ago.

Hermione, who had been hurt so many times just to be on his side, when she just had to call herself out of the fight to be relatively safe. Well, maybe not safe, but safer than being at his side in every battle. He still had nightmares at night about her being tortured at Malfoy Manor. He could still feel her screams go through him like physical pain, if he thought back to that day.

Hermione…who still hadn't come back from the library, so late at night.

Sighing, as he knew she was stubborn and could stay up all night if she reckoned she had to finish something, he gathered his books and finally retreated to the Heads Quarters, without even a glance at Ginny who was currently sulking on the sofa in front of the fire, upset that her plan to “seduce” him had failed.

After changing to his night clothes, Harry entered his bed and was soon asleep, dreams of Hermione making his rest definitely pleasurable.

Next morning, he quickly showered, then dressed, and knocked on Hermione's door to ask her if she wanted to go down together for breakfast.

He, however, got no response.

“Probably she fell asleep in the library and has already gone down to the Great Hall” he guessed. It wouldn't be the first time.

So, he went to wake up Ron and waited for his mate to dress, then they headed down to grab something to eat. Harry hoped to find Hermione there.

He didn't. Wondering where she could be, he hastily gulped down a couple sausages, one toast and a glass of pumpkin juice, and went to check the library.

Madam Pince glared at him as he burst inside her sanctuary and started searching for his friend, but he didn't care. He looked in every angle, at every table, but there was no sign of her.

Harry then started to get suspicious.

Running out of the room, he met Ron who was going back to Gryffindor Tower to fetch his books for their first class.

“She's not there” Harry said, catching his breath. “Have you seen Ginny?”

The redhead girl had not heard the first part of the conversation, so she guessed he was just searching for her to spend time together.

“I'm here Harry” she sweetly said. He glared at her, grabbed her by one arm and dragged her all the way to the Room of Requirements.

Ron followed them, and noticed the scene was causing many other students to wonder what was going on. Harry didn't care, and once the door finally appeared, he dragged Ginny inside, ignoring her protests, and slammed it shut after Ron entered.

“Where. Is. Hermione?” he growled, his green eyes dark with rage. Ginny flinched for the briefest moment, then looked at him defiantly.

“How can I know?” she spat.

Harry glared at her, then ran an hand through his hair. Finally, he sighed.

“Ginny, tell me where she is” he said, grabbing his wand. “Don't force me to do something I don't want to”

“I don't know” Ginny shouted, and moved to leave, but Ron stopped her.

“You know, Gin, it's highly suspicious that you two were out together and since then no one saw her” her brother said, glaring. He might not be the brightest bloke around the castle but he wasn't completely stupid.

She glared back.

“Ok, then. Since you are being unreasonable…” Harry said, and pointed his wand at her. “Legilimens!” he shouted.

Ginny never stood a chance. She had never practiced Occlumency, and honestly, even if she had, there was no way for her to resist Harry's assault on her mind, being that the raven haired wizard poured all his strength in it. She could feel his unkind search through her memories, looking for something specific, the waves of his attack rummaging through her thoughts with raw power. She could feel his anger.

Finally, he found what he was searching. He looked at her reading those books, he heard her formulate her plan, and he saw her lure Hermione in the trap she had set, all of this even if she was trying to push him away from those images as hard as she could.

Finally the connection broke. Harry was horrified.

Ron looked at his best friend and wondered what could have shocked him so much.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?” Harry finally shouted. “You sent her to Davy Jones' Locker!”

“What?” Ron asked, confused.

“The bottom of the sea, Ron. Where supposedly the sailors who die on the sea end. It's a place of eternal rest, or a place for Davy Jones, known as the Devil of the Sea, to keep souls for the eternity” Harry explained. He was familiar with the Muggle legend as he had once managed to nick a book that talked of it from Dudley's room, probably borrowed from someone of his gang, given the Dursleys' dislike for anything out of the ordinary.

“WHAT?” Ron shouted, then turned toward his sister. “Ginny! What the hell has possessed you to do something like that?”

“She was always between me and Harry, I had to do something to get rid of her” the redhead excused herself.

Harry laughed hollowly. “You damned her to an eternity of madness just so you could try to get me back?” he snorted at the absurdity of it all. “Ginny, you never stood a chance. I'm sorry to say this of your sister, Ron,” he said, turning toward his mate who nodded in understanding, “but Hermione has always been far better than you, Ginny, in every aspect” he spat, while Ron was still glaring daggers at his sister.

Then, Harry conjured a chair and ropes, he bound her to it, and spoke. “Now, you'll tell us all what you've done, and how we can get her back”

Ginny sighed, and then started talking. This was not how she had expected the plan to go, not at all.

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5. Planning

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, Harmonians would be celebrating right now…

Start of the organization of a rescue mission, let's see how that turns out!

Harry Potter and Davy Jones' Locker

Chapter Five: Planning

Once Ginny's explanation of what she had done was finished, Ron was extremely pale.

“What are we going to do now?” he whispered.

Harry was silent, pacing the room and thinking of a way to reach the Locker and retrieve Hermione. The problem was that no one had ever been to the Locker and back again, so no one really knew where it was. There were rumours of maps that would lead to the end of the world, but those were of times when the Earth was believed to be flat, thus they were of no interest for them now.

After all, it was common knowledge that the Earth was not flat.

Silence reigned in the Room of Requirements , as the three of them tried to think some solution to this mess. As unwilling as she was, even Ginny tried to find a way to retrieve Hermione. She knew Harry would not stop till he had her back, so what was the point of not cooperating?

Maybe if she was able to help, he would see her in a better way…

Hours flied, without them being able to come up with some kind of plan. Finally, Ron grinned.

“We need to find Jones' heart” he said. Harry and Ginny looked at him like he had grown a second head.

“Reason. We can't reach the Locker, right? But he can. However, we can't summon him and order him to bring her back because he obeys only to an order every ten years, and since Ginny has already summoned him, we would have to wait ten years to use this way. Not a choice” he said with finality, seeing the slight hope in Ginny's eyes.

The redhead inwardly sighed.

“So, we have to force him to bring her back. And since the only way to kill him is to stab his heart, we need to find it, so we have leverage over him”

“Ron, no one has ever been able to find his heart!” Ginny protested. “Plus, it's hidden into a locked chest, we would need the key to open it”

“She's right mate” Harry said, sadly.

“No, she's not” Ron objected. “First of all, no one found it, yes, but how many tried? How many wizards? I don't think it's such a common desire to find his heart. As for the chest, a simple unlocking spell will open it. After all, he can't have sealed it by magic, because once he tore his heart out, he lost his magic powers, from what Ginny told us she found out on those books” he reasoned.

Harry suddenly raised his head to look at his best mate. Ron was right, how could have he missed such a detail? Jones might have been a wizard once, but he wasn't anymore.

“Still, we have no idea how to find the chest with the heart” Ginny pointed out.

“Eh, well, we will figure out something” Ron sheepishly said. Harry grinned at his best friend. Being so good at chess had to be useful for something, and in fact it was not the first time Ron had come out with a brilliant strategy.

“Let's go tell McGonagall” the raven haired wizard said. He and the two Weasleys sprinted through the castle, till they reached the gargoyle.

“Hem…does anyone know the password?” Harry asked.

He was met with two blank faces.

“Good” he muttered. Luckily, ten minutes later, the gargoyle sprung to life as the Headmistress was leaving her office.

“Potter, what are the three of you doing here?” the stern Professor asked.

“We need to speak with you about something, but we would prefer to do so inside your office, if that's ok” Harry said. From his eyes, the Headmistress understood it was something important, so she lead them back into the room, and after everyone was seated, she finally spoke.

“So, what's the matter?”

“Hermione is missing” Harry bluntly said. There was no need to lose time with useless chat.

“Ms. Granger?” McGonagall asked, surprised. “How…”

Ginny interrupted. “It's my fault” she said, becoming red on her ears. “I was annoyed because she was always in Harry's company, so I thought to take her out of the equation, and I ended doing something terrible” she said, realizing for the first time since starting her plan how cruel it was toward Hermione, and feeling ashamed for her actions. She quickly told the Headmistress what she had done.

“Ms. Weasley, I'm appalled. Summoning the Devil of the Sea for such a trivial matter” the Professor sternly said.

“Well, however,” Harry interrupted. There would be time to lecture Ginny once they were back with Hermione, but now he didn't want to lose a single minute, “we figured out a way to force Jones to bring Hermione back. We need to go search for his heart”

“And I imagine you already have a plan on how to find it ?” they heard a voice from behind the Headmistress. Looking up, they were met with the twinkling blue eyes of Dumbledore's portrait.

“Actually, no” Harry dejectedly admitted. “We have no idea where it may be and how to find it”

“Well, I'm sure there is some kind of object in your possession that you might find useful” the old Headmaster said, smiling.

Harry rummaged his mind thinking about everything he possessed, but he had no idea what could help him in this quest. Seeing his blank face, Dumbledore's portrait sighed.

“You have a map, if I'm not mistaken. A very special map at that” he said, again with a twinkle in his eyes.

“The Marauders' Map?” Harry dumbly said. “How can it help? It only shows Hogwarts!”

“Ah, well, sometimes there is more than meets the eye, Harry. Especially in the Wizarding World. You should have learned it by now” the old Headmaster smiled

“So you're saying Harry's map can guide us to the heart of Davy Jones?” Ron, who had been silent till then, asked.

“Not right now, Mr. Weasley. Not right now. But, I'm sure if you were to wander into the Restricted Section of our library, you could find a book or two on magical maps of every kind. I believe the original Marauders used them to make the map in the first place, so you should be able to figure out exactly what charms they have used on it” the previous Headmaster explained with a wink.

Harry grinned. It was a chance to find out a bit more about his father and his friends, plus he had a slight idea of what the Headmaster meant. Probably, showing Hogwarts and everyone in it was only one of the functions of the map, and others could be unlocked with the right spell, or password.

After assuring the Headmistress that they would be careful, the three of them quickly made their way to the library, and particularly, to the Restricted Section. Scanning the books on the shelves, finally they were able to locate the volumes Dumbledore had hinted at.

“Magical Maps And Affinities” Ron said, reading the title of the huge book Harry had given him. Ginny was instead scanning the pages of Got Lost? The Right Charm to Find the Way.

Ron groaned. If there was something he hated, it was to do research. But, this time it was necessary, as there wasn't Hermione to do that for them. Not that he thought of Hermione only as a way to copy homework, of course, but that was a plus of being friends with her.

Time flew, and before they knew it, it was dark outside. They had skipped lunch, and even Harry had to admit he was famished, so they headed down to the Great Hall for supper. However, they made a quick business of that, and then resumed their reading.

Every now and then, someone would think they had found the right thing, but a moment later the excitement would die as the following lines showed it wasn't.

Tired, Ron and Ginny soon fell asleep while rereading the notes they had taken during the day. If they could not find how to unlock other functions of the Marauders Map, they could always make one of their own for the purpose.

Harry, instead, didn't stop a single moment reading. He could, now and then, spot notes on the sides of the pages, and he had to smile. Reading them, he recognised Lupin's writing, and from what was written in other ones, he guessed it was either his father or Sirius' doing.

At least, now he knew that was the book they had used for the Map.

As drowsiness was finally catching up with him, and he felt he was losing the battle to remain awake, he noticed a new chapter about tracking spells included in the map. He noticed how there were side notes there too, and his heart started to beat faster, his attention suddenly raised, and any trace of tiredness ebbing away.

He quickly read through the chapter, and finally found the incantation.

Moving quietly, so that he wouldn't wake up Ron or Ginny, he went to retrieve the map in his trunk. Then, he returned to the Room of Requirements where they had brought the books to read them without Madam Pince looming over them.

Taking a long gulp of air to encourage himself, he pointed the wand at the map, activated it with the usual password, and then cast the incantation written in the book.

“Tracking tabula apparere”

Suddenly the map changed, and it became completely blank if not for a question written on it.

What is it that you seek?

“Davy Jones' heart” Harry said, and he saw the map change to a geographical map of the Caribbean, with a flashing dot on a miniscule island.

Under the map there were two instructions.

Say Extendo to zoom in, Restringo to zoom out

Harry zoomed in enough o see the name of the island. “Isla Cruces” he muttered, grinning.

“Hermione, don't worry. I'm coming” he said to the dark night, looking out of the window, his green eyes flashing with determination.

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6. The Heart of the Devil

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, Harmonians would be celebrating right now…

The action begins now! Let's see how Harry and the other two deal with the feared Devil of the Sea and his crew!

Harry Potter and Davy Jones' Locker

Chapter Six: The Heart of The Devil

Harry finally let sleep take him. It was crucial that they didn't lose time, but it was also crucial that they start the mission well rested. Who knew what might await them on that island?

Soon, his sleep was filled with dreams of a certain young witch, a contented smile on his face. That was how Ginny found him the next morning, being the first to have woken up.

“I'm sure he's thinking of her” she wistfully said. It was becoming more and more clear how she would never be able to regain his heart, and maybe, just maybe, she was learning to accept it. Of course, she could have used a love potion like her mother did, but she wanted him to love her for who she was, not for a potion, and that was not going to happen.

While she was occupied with these thoughts, Harry began to stir. After looking around and remembering where he was, he noticed she was awake.

“I've found it” he said with a grin.

“What?”

“The charm to use the map to find the heart. I found it while you two were sleeping, and I know the heart is hid on a Caribbean island called Isla Cruces” he explained, while gently waking up Ron.

After repeating what he found to his best mate, Harry suggested they went to have something to eat.

Then, a chat with the Headmistress was in order, to grant them the permit to leave.

Professor McGonagall listened attentively to what they had to say, and then sighed.

“Well, I guess you will leave even if I try to stop you, so what's the point in trying?” she said, giving them a stern look but Harry knew she was approving of what they were going to do. After all, Hermione was one of her favourite students.

“I, however, would be more happy if you took someone of the Order with you” she suggested.

Harry shook his head. “There's no time for that” he said with a tone of finality.

“Very well then. Go” the older witch said, and in a flash the three of them were out of the room and running on the staircases. Harry suggested they got their brooms, just to be sure, and so they did, shrinking them and putting them in their pockets. Then, they headed outside the castle, where they started running through the grounds toward Hogsmeade, Harry always shouting to his two companions to run faster.

Finally, out of breath, they reached the village.

“Harry, mate…give me a moment” Ron implored, and Harry had to admit they needed to calm down a bit before Apparating, otherwise they would risk to get splinched.

Ron was sitting on the ground, wiping the sweat from his brow, and panting.

“Hey, mate, you really need to work on your stamina a bit” Harry joked, and Ron mock glared at him, before grinning. “I guess I need to do that” he finally admitted.

Then, the three of them concentrated on where they wanted to arrive, and felt the usual sensation of tight bands fastening around their chests, darkness enveloping them, before they found themselves in the salty water of the Atlantic Ocean, few meters from a white shore.

They swam toward the land, and proceeded to dry themselves with a couple charms. Then, Harry took his map.

“Where are we?” he asked to the map, pointing his wand at it. He had read about how to find out where they were on the books from the Restricted Section.

Soon, he saw the image on the map zoom in, till he could read the label. “Isla Bella” he muttered. Scanning the parchment for Isla Cruces, he noticed it was just few miles away, on the north.

“We missed it” he said. “Isla Cruces is that way” he explained, turning toward the right direction. Ron and Ginny followed his gaze, and that was the moment they saw it.

Suddenly, from the water, a large ship emerged. It was battered, and yet it sailed fast.

“The Flying Dutchman!” Harry shouted. “Damn!” he then swore under his breath. “We need the brooms, and fast!” he ordered. All three of them resumed their brooms to their original size, and swiftly mounted, starting to fly in the direction of the island, the same direction the ship was going to.

“Prepare to fight” Harry commanded, raising his wand. And he had a right to do so. As he reached the ship, he could see the cannons were ready to fire. A moment later, a cannonball was flying toward him.

With a feint, he easily dodged it. “I can dodge a Bludger, I can dodge your cannonballs” he grinned to himself, boasting a bit. However, on the third cannonball flying inches from him, he decided he had had enough.

“Reducto!” he shouted, pointing his wand at one of the cannons, blasting it away. Ron and Ginny soon followed the lead, and an harsh battle made of Blasting Spells and cannonballs ensued.

Ginny's broom was hit on the tail, and she was falling down into the ocean when Ron dived and grabbed her from one arm. Harry provided cover for them while the redhead helped his sister mount his broom.

Davy Jones was angry. No one had ever been able to silence his ship blasting away all the cannons. “Turn to starboard! Ready the triple cannons!” he bellowed, and from the prow of the ship two triple cannons emerged. Soon, the Dutchman was pointing them at the three teenagers.

“Blimey!” Ron muttered.

“You two, fly to the island! I'll take care of them!” Harry shouted.

Ron nodded and flattened on his broom, Ginny holding onto him and doing the same. Harry knew if Jones wanted to get them he would have to turn the ship, but if he did, Harry could blast away his cannons without risking to be shot himself, as the cannons would be turned away from him.

So, the ship didn't move, allowing the two Weasleys to fly away.

Harry watched the ship attentively, then he suddenly dived as three cannonballs, smaller than the other ones but still deadly, flew toward him. He accelerated his Firebolt to exit the fire range of the ship, then fired his Reducto. The first of the triple cannons was destroyed, pieces of metal landing on the ship, or into the water, where they would rest forever on the bottom of the Ocean.

Harry then flew straight toward the other cannon, casting a Shield charm on himself. He dodged two of the balls fired at him, the third however hit the shield and broke through it. Having lost great of its strength, the impact with Harry's right shoulder wasn't devastating, however it managed to knock him off his broom. He remained attached to it just with one hand, and he knew he would be an easy target if he didn't do something soon.

Loosening his grip on the handle of the Firebolt, he let himself fall into the water, but while he was falling he got a clear shot at the cannon, and he fired.

“Reducto!”

The light of the spell hit the weapon and reduced it to silence.

Then, Harry Accioed his Firebolt to him, and quickly fled to the island where Ron and Ginny were waiting for him.

As he arrived, he checked the map, and lead them to where the flashing dot was. “We need to dig, I guess” he said.

Using their wands, it was easy for them to find the chest.

Ron grabbed it and pulled it outside the hole. All of them could easily hear the heart thumping inside.

“Bloody Hell, it's true then!” the redhead exclaimed.

“I very well hope so, otherwise we would have come here in vain” Harry grinned. As he was ready to unlock it, though, he heard noises from the beach.

“Damn” he swore. Jones' minions were there, ready to battle them.

“They're fast” Ron said, impressed. Being half creatures of the sea, it took them a few seconds to reach the beach from the ship. Jones didn't come, as he couldn't step on land if not every ten years.

“Ready to fight” Harry ordered, his eyes darkening, as he pointed his wand at the first of them. “Stupefy!” he cried, and the “man” fell down unconscious. Ron and Ginny quickly followed the example, and soon they had the upper hand.

Or, so they thought.

“Let no joyful voice be heard! Let no man look up at the sky with hope! And Let this day be cursed by we who ready to wake... the KRAKEN!” they heard Jones shout from the ship.

“Oh, no, the Kraken!” Ginny whimpered.

Soon, an huge tentacle emerged from the water, directed toward them. The beast could not near the beach too much but its impressive tentacles could still reach them.

“Sectumsempra!” Harry cried, cutting off the offending limb. It was a quick work for the three teens to dispose of the tentacles, and then they directed their spells at the body of the beast, killing it once and for all.

However, that had distracted them from Jones' minions, and one of them had managed to collect the chest and run back to the ship.

Ginny noticed him just as he was entering the water.

“Harry!” she called, pointing her finger at where the half human creature was. There was not time to stun him as it had already transported himself on the Dutchman.

“Grab your brooms and fly to the ship!” Harry commanded, mounting his Firebolt and speeding toward the Dutchman. They needed to reach it before he went underwater, otherwise every chance to save Hermione would be lost.

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7. Sacrifice

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, Harmonians would be celebrating right now…

The fight continues here, let's see what Harry and the two Weasleys will do to get the heart back!

Harry Potter and Davy Jones' Locker

Chapter Seven: Sacrifice

There was a reason why the Firebolt was the finest broom in the Wizarding World. As fast as the Dutchman was, Harry was upon them in no time. To stop the ship, there was just one thing to do.

“Stupeficium!” he cried, pointing his wand at the “man” behind the wheel. Then, before someone else could take his place and continue manoeuvring the ship, he landed on the deck, wand at the ready.

Jones was clutching the chest with his heart inside, and Harry aimed at it.

“Accio Chest!”

However, before he could grab it and fly away again, he was surrounded by Jones' minions, and had to use a shield charm to protect himself from their swords, cutlers and various Muggle Weapons, including some guns.

Luckily, Ron and Ginny arrived and started battling them, leaving Harry in a better situation.

Jones, though, didn't lose time to draw his sword and attack the raven haired boy.

“Fancy a duel, ship boy?”

“Anytime, Jones” Harry replied with a sneer after disposing of two of his men. He had battled Voldemort, surely he could battle this guy. He fired a volley of curses to the captain of the Dutchman, but to no avail, because Jones deflected them all with the blade of his sword.

“I was a wizard once, boy. I know how to defend myself from your childish jinxes” the other snarled, and moved to attack.

“Very well then” Harry spat, moving his wand in the air. “If it is a swordfight you seek, a sword fight you shall have” he finished, conjuring a sword identical to Gryffindor's one, and grabbing it with ease.

In the meantime, Ron and Ginny were having some difficulties with the rest of Jones' crew. They were advantaged by using magic, but the other side was advantaged by being a big number.

“Sectumsempra!” Ron cried, and effectively slashed one of them at the waist. A series of fishes erupted from the wound instead of blood.

“Ugh” the redhead grunted, disgusted by the scene.

“Ginny, remind me to not eat fish for a long time after this is over” he then joked, challenging another enemy. His sister rolled her eyes with a smile while focusing on the battle.

At the centre of the deck a fierce duel was going on, swords clashing, and no one of the opponents gaining the upper hand on the other. Jones was impressed, he didn't think that boy to be this skilled with the sword. Harry, on his part, was acting merely on instinct and reflexes, not having been properly trained at the use of such weapon, and relying on his only other experience with it, when he had killed the Basilisk in his second year.

Suddenly, he slipped, and Jones took the chance to grab the chest and aim his sword at Harry's heart, but the blow hit the wood of the deck, as the young wizard had Apparated himself on the top of the main tree of the ship. Jones followed him there and the duel continued on the precarious equilibrium of their new positions.

Jones was at a disadvantage here, because he had to steady himself and the heavy chest he was holding too, which gave Harry the chance to attack more often. A blow hit the chest and made Jones lose his grip on it, sending it flying toward the ocean.

“Ron! The chest!” Harry bellowed, and the redhead boy Accioed it at him. With a nod he reassured Harry, then everyone focused again on the battle.

Harry decided there was no reason to duel in that uncomfortable situation, so he Apparated back to the deck, where Jones followed him swiftly.

Ron and Ginny were now continuously assaulted by two or three enemies together, which made using magic difficult as they hadn't time to aim their hexes. So they decided to rely on swordfight too. Taking the weapons from two fallen enemies, they started dodging blows and responding the best they could, now and then protecting themselves behind magical shields they conjured.

However, it was evident their lack of skill with a Muggle weapon, and a blow from an enemy eluded Ginny's guard and opened a deep gash on her left shoulder, staining her clothes with the blood quickly exiting from the wound.

“Ginny!” Ron cried, and that had Harry turn his head toward where they were battling. He noticed the wound, so after he parried a blow from Jones, the raven haired boy cast an healing spell on the redhead girl, who was already getting pale for blood loss. She would need a Blood Replenishing Potion once this was finished, but for now she was safe, albeit a bit weak.

Seeing his sister hurt enraged Ron, who slashed his sword in a mad fury, managing to knock away the weapons of the two enemies currently duelling with him. When one of them tried to tackle him with his bare hands, Ron gave him a well aimed blow with his elbow, and the resulting “crack” told his he managed to break some kind of bone in the opponent, who fell to the ground in pain. Then, he resumed helping Ginny.

As they fought side by side, he managed to crack a joke.

“Luckily Harry had been attentive in that lesson on the Healing Charms, uh?”

Ginny smiled weakly, even in the concentration of the fight and trying to not pass out for exhaustion. As they pushed away their opponents, since everyone was by now getting tired, everyone stopped fighting and observed the duel in the middle, which was, after all, the one which would decide the outcome of the battle.

Harry managed to steer the confrontation toward the chest. He had understood there was no way for him to beat Jones in a swordfight, so he decided for a more extreme measure.

As he managed to steer the duel with Jones to the spot where Ron had placed the box with the heart, Harry cast the strongest shield he could think of, and hoped it would resist Jones' attacks while he dealt with something else.

Then he pointed his wand at the chest.

“Alohomora” he said, and realization dawned on Ron and Ginny's faces. It was the redhead who spoke first.

“Harry!” No! You can't do it!”

Harry didn't listen, and grabbed the thumping heart in his hand.

“Mate, you're gonna be stuck as the captain of this ship forever!” Ron called, but Harry still didn't listen to them. He knew what was at stake but it was the only chance to save Hermione.

“Harry, don't do this!” both the Weasleys called. Jones was watching, a bit scared for the first time since becoming captain of the Dutchman, as that boy was threatening to kill him.

Harry finally looked at them, a strong determination in his green eyes. “If having to be the captain of the Dutchman is the only way to save Hermione, I will”, he said.

Then, he steeled his resolve and finally plunged the sword into the heart, a bit of blood spurting from it onto his clothes.

Jones suddenly staggered toward the side of the ship, and then with a last whisper of his old loved one's name, Calypso, he fell into the water, dead.

Moments later, one of the crew members advanced toward Harry, a knife in his hand. It was Bootstrap Bill, and as he kneeled in front of Harry, who had done the same to stab the heart, he said, “The Dutchman always needs a captain”, then he proceeded to carve Harry's heart out of his chest, the boy passed out for the pain, then he replaced Jones' one with it, and once more locked the chest that would keep it safe.

Ginny was crying freely into Ron's shoulder, who was awkwardly patting her back. The redhead witch couldn't believe how wrong her plan had gone. Started to damn her rival to an eternity of madness and leaving her free to conquer Harry, it had instead ended damning the young man she loved to an eternity on a ghost ship.

Finally, Harry regained his consciousness and stood up, a long scar running through his chest, which Ginny had to admit gave him a damn sexy and rugged look, then he walked to the wheel, and shouted, “To the Locker!”, his green eyes blazing.

The two other teenagers could feel the ship starting to move and acquiring speed rapidly, so they held themselves steady grabbing the side of the ship, ready to face the last part of their journey, but sombre for the outcome of the adventure so far.

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8. Davy Jones Locker, Part II

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, Harmonians would be celebrating right now…

Second half of Hermione's stay in the locker. More of her hallucinations, so again this will be mostly a retelling of events from DH. And yes, I'm mostly gonna use the same words, what's the point in rewriting them if the actions are the same?

Harry Potter and Davy Jones' Locker

Chapter Eight: Davy Jones' Locker, Part II

Hermione was staggering across the salty desert. She wasn't aware of her surroundings, only of what was going on in her mind.

Finally she stumbled, and fell to the ground, ripping her school blouse open on the left shoulder. She didn't care, and just lay there, closing her eyes, as the imagines assaulted her brain.

Ginny looked up into Harry's face, took a deep breath and said, “Happy seventeenth”

“Yeah…thanks”

She was looking at him steadily; he , however, found it difficult to look back at her; it was like gazing into a brilliant light.

“Nice view” he said feebly, pointing toward the window.

“She ignored this. He could not blame her.

“I couldn't think what to get you” she said.

“You didn't have to get me anything”

She disregarded this too.

“I didn't know what would be useful. Nothing too big, because you wouldn't be able to take it with you”

He chanced a glance at her. She was not tearful; that was one of the many wonderful things about Ginny, she was rarely weepy. He had sometimes thought that having six brother must have toughened her up.

She took a step closer to him.

Hermione wanted to scream at Harry to get away from her, but she couldn't. She couldn't find her voice, so she just kept watching, a feeling of dread filling her.

“So then I thought, I'd like you to have something to remember me by, you know, if you meet some Veela when you're off doing whatever you're doing”

“I think dating opportunities are going to be pretty thin on the ground, to be honest”

“There's the silver lining I've been looking for” she whispered, and then she was kissing him as she had never kissed him before, and Harry was kissing her back…

“Get off of him, wench!” Hermione shouted to no one, as she was completely alone. “Get off of him!” she repeated, as the kiss in her head kept going on and on, leaving her with a sense of frustration, as her own voice became lower and lower, till it was merely more than a whisper, a single tear running down her cheek.

Suddenly, she was flung into another hallucination.

“Hang on a moment!” said Ron sharply. “We've forgotten someone!”

“Who?” Hermione found herself asking.

“The house-elves, they'll all be down in the kitchen, won't they?”

“You mean we ought to get them fighting?” Harry asked.

“No” Ron said seriously. “I mean we should tell them to get out. We don't want any more Dobbys, do we? We can't order them to die for us…”

There was a clatter of Basilisk fangs cascaded out of Hermione's arms.

Hermione looked at herself in the hallucination run at Ron, fling her arms around his neck and kiss him fully on the mouth, and Ron throw away the fangs he was holding, and the broomstick too, and then he responded to her kiss fiercely, lifting her off her feet.

“Yuck” Hermione snorted, wiping her lips like she had really been kissing Ron. “Me and Ron, no way!” she scowled. “Now, me and Harry, that would be fun” she giggled uncontrollably, and remained in that state for a while.

If someone was to see her, they would have thought she ahd finally snapped and gone mad.

---------------

“Come on, Ron, Ginny. You go down on the beach and look for her. I wonder how far inside this desert she has gone” Harry commanded from the wheel of the Dutchman. They had managed to reach the Locker, and were now near the beach, but the ship couldn't go further. A boat was lowered.

“You not coming?” Ron asked, bewildered.

“Ah, no. I've got only one day on land for the next ten years, and as much as it pains me not to come down with you, I've got a precise idea of how I want to spend it once we have retrieved Hermione” Harry said with a sad smile. Then, he nodded to Ron.

The redhead sighed, and aimed his wand at Ginny, bounding her hands together.

“Ron, what the hell…”

“Sorry Ginny” Harry interrupted, “but I don't exactly trust you around Hermione anymore” he said, and she gulped as she saw a flash of raw anger pass through his green eyes.

She nodded sadly, and followed her brother to the boat.

Harry then took his wand, and closed his eyes, remembering all the good times he had with Hermione, how she always made him feel safe when she hugged him, and how she warmed his heart, which was now locked in a chest, when she smiled. How she would bite her lip while she was concentrating, and how she would push a strand of hair away if that got in her way while she was reading, or writing.

A grin spread on his lips, and he let these happy feelings channel through him to his wand, then he spoke, hoping it would work. After all, Jones had been stripped of his magic when he ahd taken his heart out of his chest, so Harry guessed most of his magic was busy keeping him alive. And yet, he could still feel some of it rush through his veins, so he tried.

“Expecto Patronum!” he cried, and when he opened his eyes he found a silvery stag looking up at him.

“Hey there” he affectionately called at it. “Go find Hermione and bring her back to the beach” he ordered, and the stag seemed to nod before rushing away toward the land.

Ron and Ginny then began furiously rowing to reach the beach and wait for Hermione to arrive.

----------------------

Her giggling finally subsiding, Hermione stood up and kept staggering toward something, she didn't really know what, but she had a feeling she should head that way.

Her brain was currently providing her another set of images.

“I think it's them, Al” said Ginny suddenly.

A group of four people emerged from the mist, standing alongside the very last carriage. Their faces only came into focus when Harry, Ginny, Lily and Albus had drawn tight up to them.

“Hi” said Albus, sounding immensely relieved.

Rose, who was already wearing her brand new Hogwarts robes, beamed at him.

“Parked all right then?” Ron asked Harry. “I did. Hermione didn't believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She thought I'd have to Confund the examiner”

“No, I didn't” Hermione heard herself reply. “I had complete faith in you”

Then she realized something. “Wait, me and Ron are married, with kids? And Harry and Ginny too? This is mad! What is wrong with me?” she pondered. “I need rum” she suddenly cried. “No, wait, make it Firewhiskey” she mused, and then nodded. “Yes, Firewhiskey is strong enough to make me deal with this absurdity”

Back on the platform, they found Lily and Hugo, Rose's younger brother, having an animated discussion about which house they would be sorted into when they finally went to Hogwarts.

“If you're not into Gryffindor, we will disinherit you” said Ron, “but no pressure”

“Ron!” Hermione shouted, angrily.

Lily and Hugo laughed, but Rose and Albus looked solemn.

“He doesn't mean it” said Hermione and Ginny, but Ron was no longer paying attention. Catching Harry's eye, he nodded covertly to a point some fifty yards away. The steam had thinned for a moment, and three people stood in sharp relief against the shifting mist.

“Look who it is”

Draco Malfoy was standing there with his wife and son, a dark coat buttoned up to his throat. His hair was receding somewhat, which emphasised the pointed chin. The new boy resembled Draco as much as Albus resembled Harry. Draco caught sight of Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny staring at him, nodded curtly and turned away again.

“So that's little Scorpius” said Ron under his breath. “Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you've inherited your mother's brains”

“Ron, for heaven's sake” Hermione said, “Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!”

Seriously, that man was something else! Turning the kids against the other houses before they even started school! If she really were his wife, which she deemed impossible, she would have kicked his ass for that!

Another image flooded into her brain.

“Why are all staring?” demanded Albus, as he and Rose craned to look at the other students.

“Don't let it worry you” said Ron. “It's me, I'm extremely famous”

Hermione snorted loudly. Ron, famous? For his terrible jokes and eating habits, maybe…she rolled her eyes, as she stumbled again, this time however she managed to keep her balance.

A shiny point on the horizon was swiftly nearing her and she frowned, wondering what that was. Before she had a way to figure it out, a silver stag was standing in front of her.

Recognizing it as Harry's Patronus, she patted it on the head.

“Do you have a message for me or something?” she asked, giggling. The stag was really cute, and she had to admit it was so Harryish.

Observing the stag closely, she finally understood.

“You want me to mount you?” she asked, and the stag nodded.

“Very well then” she said, carefully mounting the silvery form. As it was speeding away with her on its back, one last flash went through her mind.

All was well.

“Yes, now it is” she thought, smiling as she let the Patronus bring her away from that hell.

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9. Farewell

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, Harmonians would be celebrating right now…

The highly anticipated reunion with Hermione, hope you'll like it!

Harry Potter and Davy Jones' Locker

Chapter Nine: Farewell

Ron and Ginny were patiently waiting on the shore, occasionally kicking some water. Both had faith in Harry's Patronus to find Hermione and bring her back. After all, if they attempted entering the desert, they would easily get lost themselves.

Harry, on the ship, was nervously pacing, now and then looking toward the beach, and then sighing in frustration, running one hand through his messy hair, a gesture he had unconsciously picked up from his father James.

Finally, a figure appeared on the horizon, and it was approaching fast.

“It's them!” he shouted in joy.

Ron and Ginny noticed too, and couldn't help the grins spreading on their faces. Yes, even Ginny was relieved they had somewhat managed to find Hermione, even if she had been the one sending her there. The redhead had grown ashamed of her actions, and deeply regretted them.

As the stag reached the two Weasleys, Hermione got down from it, stumbling, and Ron grabbed her, holding her close, while the Patronus vanished.

Harry saw it from the ship and a sense of jealousy flared inside him, but it was gone in a moment. He remembered Ron had Luna waiting for him at Hogwarts, plus he could see Hermione gently pushing the redhead away as she assured him she was fine.

The brown haired witch then turned and noticed the other person on the beach.

“Ginny?” she said, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. The other girl looked down.

“I'm sorry, Hermione” she said.

“Where's Harry?” Hermione asked then, noticing someone was missing. Ron grinned, and pointed his finger toward the sea, where Hermione could see the ship waiting for them.

“Why isn't he here too?” she asked, suddenly concerned that something had happened to him.

“Ah, well, I guess he will explain everything” Ron said, turning slightly pink on his ears, a sign Hermione took as him hiding something. However, since she would find out soon anyhow, she let it pass.

“Let's go then” she cheerfully said. They pushed the boat into the sea and rowed to the ship, were Bootstrap Bill and other men from the crew, which had regained their human looks since Harry had become captain, lifted them up.

As soon as she stepped on the deck, Hermione ran toward Harry who was waiting her with a big grin on his face, and enveloped her in a bear hug, which she promptly returned.

“I thought I'd lost you forever” he whispered to her, and she could see a deep emotion swimming in his emerald pools. Then, he lowered his head and captured her lips in their first kiss.

Completely forgetting they had an audience, Hermione kissed him back, and deepened the kiss. Soon later, he gently touched his tongue to her lips, begging for entrance, and the brunette eagerly complied, her tongue meeting his for the first time and an intense feeling of finally being complete sweeping through both of them. Hermione buried one hand into Harry's wild black locks, while he placed one on her back, gently caressing her, while the other was cupping her cheek. Even without an heart in his chest, he could feel it swell with pure joy.

It started slowly and gently, but soon the kiss grew into a full snogging session, with Bootstrap keeping the crew occupied so that they wouldn't peek at the couple, while Ginny smiled sadly, and sighed, turning toward the sea. It hurt like hell see Harry kiss Hermione, but she knew then that she truly never had a chance to win that “war”.

Ron joined her on the side of the ship.

“You'll find someone who will love you like that, Gin” he soothingly said. “I know I have” he added then, with a dreamy look.

Ginny smiled weakly. “You're serious about Luna then?”

“Yeah, I am” Ron replied with a grin. “Well, we better interrupt them or Harry will pass ten years here kissing her” he joked then.

When he turned, however, the two had already stopped kissing, and were adoringly looking into each other eyes.

Hermione caught sight of the scar on his chest, but a look from Harry stopped her from asking. She knew he would tell her later.

They walked hand in hand toward their friends.

“I guess it's time to go back home” Harry sighed, and then barked some orders to his crew, which promptly executed them. The ship started going down, and Harry hugged Hermione tightly.

“Hold onto me” he whispered into her ear, making her shiver from the sensation.

Soon later, the ship emerged on the other side, back into the Atlantic Ocean.

“To Scotland!” Harry barked. He knew even with the speed of the Dutchman it would take at least a couple days getting there. Ron and Ginny could have Apparated there, of course, but knowing Harry wouldn't be back before ten years, they wanted to spend as much time with him as possible, so they didn't.

Although, most of the time Harry was with Hermione, and the two Weasleys left them be, knowing they would need to make up for the time they wouldn't be able to be together later. From her expression, Ron guessed Harry was telling her everything about their adventure, and ultimately how he wouldn't be able to go back home with them. Tears started spilling from the young witch's eyes, confirming his guess.

Ginny tried busying herself asking Bootstrap Bill, the one she felt was more open to speak, questions about Muggle ships and such, with the excuse that Arthur would want to know everything about those.

She hoped that way she would not think about the guilt she felt for Harry's current condition. If only she hadn't been so foolish, now she could at least have him as a friend. Her behaviour ended depriving her of that too, as he would not be there for most of their lives. He would probably never forget anyone of them, and neither would them, but still, he would be away, without the chance to write them or receive letters, too.

Finally, Scotland came into view. Ron and Harry manly hugged, wishing each other good luck. Then Harry hugged Ginny, and she cried onto his shoulder.

“I'm so sorry, Harry” she choked out, and he smiled at her. “Don't be, Gin. Live your life, and find yourself someone to really love. I'll be ok. After all, I've always hated all that fuss the press made of me killing Voldemort, at least this way I'll be away from it” he joked, and she smiled despite the sadness of the moment.

The two of them then Apparated back to Hogwarts, while Hermione remained there with Harry. With a boat, they reached a small beach they could see from the ship. Harry brought the chest with his heart with them.

Once there, they had the most fun they had since the war started, chasing each other into the shallow water, or chatting quietly, holding each other close, looking toward the horizon.

Hermione felt it was unfair that they should get separated for ten years just after they found out they loved each other, but that was life, and life rarely was fair. She forced herself to banish those thoughts, as she would have enough time to dwell on them later, once Harry was gone.

She suddenly turned inside his embrace, and kissed him hard. He was surprised at her boldness but not the least troubled by it. They didn't care they were getting dirty with sand sticking to their clothes, as they rolled on the beach snogging each other silly.

When they finally parted for lack of air, Harry grinned devilishly.

“Never guessed you'd be so good at kissing” he teased her.

“I can still improve” she grinned back.

“There's nothing like practice to improve, right?” he impishly said, before claiming her lips again.

Sadly, every good thing has to end, so it was with heavy hearts that they noticed the sun starting to set.

“I've got to go” Harry said, sighing, and squeezing her hand with his own. Then, he walked to where he had set the chest with his heart, and brought it to her.

“It has always belonged to you, even when I didn't know it” he said, looking straight into her brown, warm eyes. “Will you keep it safe for me?”

“Of course” she breathed, barely finding the strength to speak now that their ten years long separation was merely minutes away.

Stealing a last kiss to her soft lips, which elicited a soft moan from her throat, he then gave her a mock formal salute, and which she couldn't help giggling, and then he got back into the boat and rowed to the Dutchman, which was waiting for him.

Hermione watched him go back on it, and then the ship sailing away, till it vanished on the horizon. Only then she allowed the tears to fall, clutching the chest with Harry's heart tightly to her.

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10. Ten Years Later

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, Harmonians would be celebrating right now…

Well, here's the last chapter of this adventure. You will see what happens ten years later, and if Harry and Hermione will ever find some kind of happiness together, one that lasts long than one day every ten years, that is.

Harry Potter and Davy Jones' Locker

Chapter Ten: Ten Years Later

Harry was nervous. It had been ten years since he had seen Hermione the last time, and he knew his love for her had not diminished. On the contrary, if possible it had even increased.

More than once he found himself in his cabin, thinking about the good times they had together, even during the war. If he had made it out of that, it was all thanks to her, thanks to her help both on a practical level, helping him solve mysteries, and on an emotional level too, when he used to bottle all his feelings inside, after ten years at the Dursleys where he had learned to not let his emotions transpire, and she would come and tell him just what he needed, and then he would confide in her, and only her.

There had been a brief time when he had thought he could replace her with Ginny, but how mistaken he was! No one could ever top her in his heart, and he slowly learned that.

When he told Ron she was just a sister to him, he immediately thought he had made the biggest mistake of his life, but luckily it didn't work out between the redhead and Hermione.

Now, he was sailing on the Flying Dutchman toward Scotland, toward the beach where they had parted years ago, slightly anxious.

His feelings had not changed, but what about hers? Ten years are a long time. She would have found a good job, probably be head of some Department at the Ministry, he thought with a sad smile.

He had wanted to be an Auror, once. Fate denied him that, and the possibility to have a family, his biggest desire. Hermione, instead…well, she could have got herself a family, in ten years. She probably met some perfect guy who swept her off her feet, making her forget all about the raven haired best friend who was out on the sea, doing his cursed duty, waiting to be able to spend a single day on land.

He couldn't blame her, if she had married and maybe even had kids. She shouldn't waste her life waiting for him on a lonely beach.

Suddenly, Harry felt an hand on his shoulder.

“She will be there” Bootstrap told him. “I'm sure she will” he added then, looking forward toward the horizon.

“I hope you're right” Harry said, his voice slightly cracking.

Finally, the coast was in sight. They were still too far to see if someone was on the beach, but they would get there soon, and he would know.

………………….

Hermione was playing with the sand, her mind elsewhere, on that enormous flat that was the Atlantic Ocean.

She hoped Harry would come soon. They had only one day together, and she had arrived even before midnight, to make sure she was there as soon as possible.

The chest with his heart was in front of her. She had kept it safe all this time, and more than once she listened to the rhythmic beat coming from inside, with a sad smile.

Often, she would fall asleep in her bed, the chest on her side, and a contented smile on her face as sleep took her while she was thinking of Harry.

Hermione was now Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Department, and was pretty busy. However, this didn't keep her from coming. She couldn't miss the chance to see the only man she had ever truly loved.

Oh, many had tried to date her in the years. But she had always politely refused, knowing her heart would always belong to only one.

Now, as the sun was slowly starting to rise, she looked toward the sea, and finally spotted a tiny point on the horizon.

Excited, she stood up, and watched it approach fast. There was no doubt, it was the Dutchman.

……………………

Harry was on the prow, looking toward the beach with a binocular. He had caught a glimpse of movement, but was not sure. Focusing all his attention on the beach, he finally spotted her, and an huge grin spread on his lips.

He turned and met Bootstrap's eyes, twinkling madly, as to say, “I told you so”

Now he was impatient. Why couldn't the ship go faster?, he thought, frustrated.

As the ship approached the beach, Hermione could feel her heart thumping madly in her chest. She then spotted a boat being lowered, and a single man mounting on it. It was Harry, she could tell.

Ten long minutes later, he was finally ashore. After securing the boat, he ran to hug her, nuzzling her neck. She was exactly like he had left her, just a bit more grown-up looking, but the curls of brown hair reaching her shoulders were still there, just like those eyes, they were like melted milk chocolate to him, and he could drown in them. Her figure, well that had slightly changed. She was no longer a teenage girl, but a young woman now, and the curves on her body reflected that perfectly.

“You're here” he whispered, letting emotions control him, and a tear escaped his eye.

She pushed him away gently, to look into his emerald pools.

“Of course I am, silly” she said, with a smile that warmed his heart, even if it was in a chest. “Did you think I would stop loving you?” she then mock accused him.

He grinned embarrassedly. “Thought someone would come and sweep you off your feet” he mumbled, while she cupped his face with her hands, and then captured his lips in a kiss they had waited too long for.

His hands travelled on her back, then caressing her sides, till he met the swell of her right breast, and her breath hitched.

“Sorry” he apologised.

“Don't be” she breathed, bringing his hand back where it was and resuming her attack on his lips, their tongues fighting for dominance, her right hand buried into his hair and the other one resting on his shoulder.

All the passion they stored away for ten years started to pour out, and before they knew it Harry had lowered her on a flat rock, and was slowly removing her clothes, while she whimpered in anticipation of what was to come.

They made love for the first time, and both felt glorious after it.

As he pulled her close, she rested her head on his chest.

“I wish this could be forever” he said, closing his eyes.

“It will be. Even if we can see each other once in ten years, I'll never stop loving you” she said, looking up at him, and caressing his cheek.

He sighed. “Hermione, I don't want you to ruin your life waiting for me. You should find yourself a good husband and start a family with him”

“I'm not ruining my life, Harry. I'm doing exactly what I want to do. There's no one else I would start a family with”

He nodded, knowing he was not going to win that argument.

Later, they dressed again, and cuddled together, their backs resting on the same rock they had made love on, while they watched the scenery, enjoying the lunch Hermione had brought with her.

Harry had to smile at her thoughtfulness.

They say time flies when you're having a good time, and way too soon they realized the day was going to end.

“It's beautiful” he said, wistfully.

“Yeah, it is. I guess this is a really good spot to see the sun start to set” she replied, equally sad, as she knew he would have to leave soon.

Finally, he sighed, and stood up.

“Better start going, or I'll never be able to” he joked, and she swat him playfully on the arm, laughing. He stored that laugh in his brain, as he would have to remember every little thing of her, for ten long years, before he could see her again.

However, when he touched the boat to push it back into the water, a terrible wind started, and soon they could see the water of the sea rising, and forming the shape of a woman. Harry took his wand. Although lessened, he still had his magic, and he would protect Hermione even if that meant being late for going back to the ship.

Suddenly, a deep voice boomed.

“You can put that wand away, Captain Potter” it said. “It would be useless against me anyhow”

“Who are you?” Harry shouted.

“I'm the Goddess of the Sea, Calypso. I'm the one who bound Davy Jones to the Dutchman”

“You betrayed him!” Harry accused. “He loved you and you weren't there when he came back!”

“I'm not faithful, young Potter. I'm terrible, and dangerous, and easy to change my mind, just like the sea” Calypso explained. “As much as I might be sorry for my actions, anyhow, it's Jones who decided to corrupt his purpose, and so he corrupted himself” she finally stated. “But your young lady, here, no, she is faithful, and in love. She would never betray you. This is how it should have been between me and Davy Jones” the goddess mused, a bit sadly.

“What do you want then?” Harry said, knowing his time to reach the ship was growing thin.

“I'm here, because her faithfulness has saved you from your duty, Harry Potter. She has kept her promise to meet you here in ten years, and thus she released you from the curse of the Flying Dutchman”

“What about my heart?” Harry asked. “It's in the chest!”

“I guess you kept it safe, girl?” Calypso asked Hermione. The brunette nodded.

“I shall place it back where it was then” the goddess said, and the chest unlocked. Harry's heart floated out of it, and moved toward the raven haired young man, slowly entering his chest and reaching its' rightful place, not without screams of pain from Harry as the old wound from where it had been taken was reopened to allow it to go back where it belonged.

Hermione gripped his hand tightly, through the entire process, and smiled warmly at him as he caught his breath once the pain started subsiding.

“Go and enjoy your life now, Harry Potter. You have been a good captain for the Dutchman and you earned yourself a free life now”

And with that, the image of the goddess vanished, leaving the two young alone. The ship was slowly moving away, sure enough a new captain had been chosen. Harry couldn't stop thinking that Bootstrap Bill would be a perfect candidate for the role.

“It's true then? You're free?” Hermione asked, her head resting on Harry's shoulder, tears of joy pooling in her eyes.

“Seems so” Harry said, still dazed from the experience. Slowly, the consciousness of his new state reached him, so he hugged Hermione and spun her around, making her giggle.

“I'm free! I'm free! We can live together now!” he cried, and she gave him a loving smile and a nod, conveying all her love for him in those gestures. He understood, and from his eyes she knew he felt the same.

As they Apparated away, hand in hand, both knew this was just the start of a new great adventure, an adventure they would live together for many years to come.

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