Corrupted

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. I'd never pair Hermione and Ron together, you know that.

A/N: My reply to the “You've corrupted your purpose” challenge by Detritus, you can find it here:

http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26319 . Hope you'll enjoy it and as usual if you read, review and let me know what you think of it. It is an HP/PoTC crossover.

Thanks to my beta Gingercat!

Corrupted

Chapter One: The Heart's Out!

Harry was rooted to the spot. Hermione had just thrown the valuable Basilisk fangs away, rushed to Ron, jumped on him and planted a very through kiss on his lips.

He couldn't believe it.

Ron, of course, having fancied Hermione for two years at least, kissed her back just as fiercely, and second after second Harry felt something stir inside him. It was anger, but he would not express it there.

“Hey! We've got a battle to attend!” he shouted then with a fake smile on his lips, trying to conceal his heartbreak, and walked out of the room.

As he was alone, knowing they wouldn't follow for a few moments, he smashed his fist on the wall, effectively breaking several bones in his hand. He didn't care, and with a flick of his wand he healed himself, before aiming it at the closest armour and sending it flying through the corridor against the opposite wall.

The loud noise startled Hermione, who had just opened the door of the room they were in previously, so she hadn't noticed Harry being the cause of it.

“What caused that?”

“Dunno” Harry shrugged, and resumed walking, inwardly brooding. He knew there was something far more important he needed to focus on, so he pushed any feeling he once had, or still had for Hermione out of his mind, and braced himself for confronting Voldemort.

Which he did, when the moment came and after faking his death and getting rid of the Horcrux within his scar in the process, with the help of the Elder Wand.

When it was done, Harry thought that it had been way too anticlimactic. Seven years of struggle between him and Voldemort, caused by the prophecy made by Professor Trewlaney, plus the encounter when he was only a baby that cost him the lives of his parents, and all he had to do to win was become the master of the wand wrestling Malfoy's one out of his grasp and thus defeating the previous master?

He almost laughed bitterly, but he knew he would have to explain if he did, and he wasn't in the mood for that.

Instead, he set for a long walk on the grounds, alone.

As he closed his eyes, the images of Hermione launching herself at Ron and kissing him passionately played over and over in his head, making him more and more angered. He had lost his parents, his godfather, his mentor, countless others in the last battle, including Tonks, Lupin and Fred, didn't he deserve some happiness? Didn't he deserve someone to love him, truly love him and not the hero he represented, which was the case with Ginny?

Yes, he deserved it, he was much more worthy of her love than Ron, he was sure of that. What had the redhead overcome in his life? He still hadn't even come to terms with his jealousy over Harry's money and fame, as if he had ever liked any of it.

He snorted. And yet, Ron was his best friend, and he knew he would never be able to steal Hermione from him and not feel guilty.

The amount of pain welling up inside him was constantly growing now. He was on the borders of the Forbidden Forest, which stared back at him gloomily, enveloped in darkness as it was at that hour of the day.

He knew he wouldn't be able to live with such an amount of pain, and yet he was alive still, right? He hadn't died because of it, not yet at least.

Raising his wand, pointing it at his own chest, he closed his eyes, and decided the best course of action was to remove the source of such pain. After all, he had done what had been asked of him. He had killed Voldemort and freed the Wizarding World from the huge threat, now they could go on without him.

“Diffindo!” he cried, and blood spurted from the gash he had opened. Another couple cutting charms and then he put his wand back in his pocket, and with trepidation he grabbed his still beating heart with his right hand, and extracted it from his chest.

His relief was immediate. The pain lessened considerably, till it wasn't much more than a background dull feeling where his heart should have been. He reckoned he could live with that.

The anger, on the other hand, didn't diminish. If possible, it even grew bigger.

It was this way, with his thumping, bloody heart in his right hand although he had passed out, that they found him a couple hours later. Hermione had immediately alerted the Headmistress, and Harry was transferred to St. Mungo's.

Isolated in a room, he could hear the Healers talking just outside. How was it possible that he was still alive hours after his heart had been taken out of his chest? By any means, he should be dead, he knew it, and hearing those supposedly experts debate about his condition wasn't exactly what he found most entertaining at the moment.

He suspected it was his magic that somehow had kept him alive, and he didn't even know how long it would do so. It had been five hours since he had woken up in the hospital, and he wouldn't stay there long.

From the window he realized it must be almost night. And at night there was less personnel in the hospital. His escape would be easier then.

He willed himself to be patient for a few more hours, and started planning how to get out of there.

His heart was still there in the room, under a glass bell, still beating. He smiled at it, and began thinking where he would keep it safe. A glass bell wouldn't do. He needed a chest, something lockable.

He guessed there might be something of the sort at Grimmauld Place, maybe hidden in some room by Kreacher as a valuable Black heirloom.

Developing his plan in the details took him some time, and when he was finished he couldn't hear noises from outside his door. Darkness enveloped the building, so Harry slipped out of bed, realizing for the first time that his chest had been wrapped in white bandages, by now made bloody by the wound on his chest. Somehow, the bleeding had been stopped though.

“At least those worthless Healers did something useful” he sneered, as he grabbed the glass bell containing his heart, pushed the window open, and jumped out into the black night.

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Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. I'd never pair Hermione and Ron together, you know that.

A/N: My reply to the “You've corrupted your purpose” challenge by Detritus, you can find it here:

http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26319 . Hope you'll enjoy it and as usual if you read, review and let me know what you think of it. It is an HP/PoTC crossover.

Thanks to my beta Gingercat for her help.

Corrupted

Chapter Two: Harry Potter, the Heartless Monster

“No, Patrick, let's not go there” the girl said, holding for dear life on her boyfriend's hand. “you know the rumours as well as me” she continued.

“Come on, Charlotte. For being a Gryffindor, you don't seem really brave” he teased her, and kept walking toward the southern limits of Hogsmeade village, toward a cave which had lay unexplored for years.

Rumours were that every time a young couple went there, Harry Potter, once savior of the Wizarding World but by now known by everyone as the Heartless Monster, would appear to them and terrify them.

Everyone now knew of his legend, as well as Voldemort's was known when he was only a teenager, not older than the two now cautiously making their way through the bushes that lined the path to the cave.

For forty years the way he had remained alive even once his heart had been carved out of his chest was told, embellished, made more gruesome and scary.

But few were trembling like leaves when hearing it, and yet, if they ever had the misfortune to run into the Monster, they definitely would cower in fear of what he had become.

Forty years of isolation, mulling about his own rage, his pain for having lost the only thing he really wanted from life, not money, not fame, but only being loved by a certain brown haired witch, had destroyed him, soul and body like-wise.

At first, when he happened to stumble upon happy couples, in his solitary peregrinations, he would just sneer at them, and shout some nasty remark on love's uselessness, on how it would never last, how it was the weak's thing to fall in love.

With time, as his anger and the magic sustaining his life were consuming him, his once handsome face started getting distorted, his clothes now ragged, his own flesh rotting in some places, and his rage would escalate further, as well as his madness. The only thing unchanged were his eyes. Green as emeralds, they never lost their internal light. It changed, though, as time passed, to an evil gleam, reflecting the new viciousness of the former Boy-Who-Lived, now Monster-Who-Scares.

He was alone most of the time, muttering to himself about not worthy enough, backstabbing friends, and amenities like those.

So, now, Patrick and Charlotte, both sixth years at Hogwarts, had finally reached the cave.

It was dark, but with their wands they easily bathed its entrance in light.

“See?” he smirked. “I told you, the cave is perfectly empty and safe, albeit a bit smelly” he said, scrunching his nose in disgust. “Some animal must have died inside, and is now rotting”

Charlotte thought she saw a glimpse of green in the distance inside the cavern, but it was gone in a flash.

Patrick wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her close. She was still scared, and was trembling in his arms, so he planted a kiss on her forehead to try and calm her down.

Then, he thought the best he could do before they faced the long path again to go back, was to kiss her fears away.

He couldn't have made a bigger mistake.

It was merely two seconds after they had started to kiss, their tongues barely touching each other still, that a figure leapt from the darkness, and wrestled them apart.

When Patrick managed to stand up, he was horrified at the sight in front of him.

He had his wand at the ready to protect his girl from whatever beast had attacked them, but upon seeing the wild black long hair, the pure evil in those green eyes, the rotten flesh on various parts of his body, the open gash on his chest, signalling that the legends were true, he was literally heartless, the boy, who was a Gryffindor himself, couldn't help dropping his wand in fear and screaming in terror.

“No one can hear you” he growled, casting the body of the now unconscious girl away gracelessly, probably causing her many scratches as her arm and leg came in contact with the hard soil.

“W-What do you want?” the boy croaked out, his eyes going from his girlfriend to the madman in front of him.

The cold laugh that followed chilled him to his bones.

“What I want, you can't give me” he said. “It was taken from me a long time ago, and never returned” Harry, or what was left of him, said.

Then he lunged for the boy, bringing him face to face with himself. He could see the lad was moments from passing out himself.

“Remember, lad. Never love. Never. It doesn't bring you anything else but pain and anger. There's no good in loving” he growled, and then sent the Hogwarts student flying backwards, hitting his back on a nearby tree, and slumping to the ground, unconscious.

The monster spared a moment to look at the girl, her brown hair bringing back memories he wanted to forget, memories he thought he had stored away forever together with his heart.

With a last ungodly scream and growl, he vanished again, ready to seek his next pair of victims. His mission was clear, and he had dedicated himself to it for many years now. He would stop that insanity that was love, or teenage love to be more precise.

When the young pair slowly woke up, they groggily walked back to the castle, the events of the day firmly embedded in their brains, just to find a worried Headmistress McGonagall that reprimanded them for being so late, and landed both of them in detention.

That was the littlest of their problems, as the nightmares tormented them for months, and they never managed to get within three feet of each other without remembering that fateful day.

Another budding, possibly life-lasting romance, had been cruelly, bluntly, viciously destroyed, to never blossom again.

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Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. I'd never pair Hermione and Ron together, you know that.

A/N: My reply to the “You've corrupted your purpose” challenge by Detritus, you can find it here:

http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26319 . Hope you'll enjoy it and as usual if you read, review and let me know what you think of it. It is an HP/PoTC crossover.

Thanks to my beta Gingercat!

Corrupted

Chapter Three: Confrontation

Hermione Granger was determined. For forty years she had been searching for him, since he had disappeared from St. Mungo's in the middle of the night, and never she had been able to get a hold on him.

He was smart, she would give him that.

But she wasn't the smartest witch of her age for nothing. For years now she had internally debated if she should resort to that option, but now that she had heard another couple had been his victims, she knew she had to do it.

There was no other way to find him, and to tell the truth there wasn't even certainty that her plan would work. But, she was confident it would.

She knew what was at stake, and she hated herself for asking her two young helpers at the Ministry's Magical Law Enforcement, who had just come out of Hogwarts that year, to help her.

“I realize I'm asking you two much, but it seems this is the only available option. You're free to refuse me and it will have no effect whatsoever on your career” she told them. Then, she went along telling them her plan.

Both agreed, and the three of them Apparated to a wood some miles away from Hogsmeade. Hermione was hiding under an Invisibility cloak one of the Aurors had lent her, her heart beating madly in her chest. Would she be able to do it? Would the legends about his decayed appearance and personality be true? She didn't know, but guessed she was minutes away from finding out.

The two helpers quickly started playing their role. It wasn't hard to impersonate a couple of young lovers, as they were after all actually engaged. Both were scared. Both knew the risk of losing each other forever, if Hermione couldn't stop the monster quickly.

But something had to be done to stop this…thing from hurting young couples, and if the sacrifice of their love could help, then they were willing to do it.

Hermione looked at them warmly, in a few months she had become very fond of both of them.

“Frank, Phoebe, I'll do my best to protect you” she vowed inside her heart.

The two youngsters were now passionately kissing, a little moan here and there escaping them. Both were so involved in the display of affection that they never noticed a shadow approaching them, and pushing the girl roughly away.

There, in all his monstrosity, stood Harry Potter, glaring at the young man in front of him. Frank knew Hermione would appear any moment, and that would be his and Phoebe's cue to leave with the Portkeys they had around their necks.

“Nice to see you again, Harry” a voice was heard, and leaves were rustled by someone moving forward toward them.

Harry turned his anger-filled emerald orbs toward the intruder, and Frank quickly grabbed Phoebe's hand and activated the Portkey.

Harry growled.

“You made me lose my targets” he icily drawled.

“Feels good to be greeted so warmly, you know” she sarcastically said.

“What the hell do you want from me? Go back to your Weasel husband, and his “big happy family”” he sneered, turning his back to her. He wouldn't admit it, but seeing her after all this time had been painful. He had never forgotten his feelings for her. Nor that he would ever admit he was able to love.

“I never married Ron, Harry” she said, a hint of amusement in her voice. “Not that he hasn't tried, mind you. Six times he proposed, before he got the hint and married who was really right for him, Luna. I never even loved him” she said, a blush gracing her cheeks as she was still a bit ashamed at having strung the redhead along for years, hoping she could grow to love him. It never happened, as her heart had already been claimed by someone else.

“Then why did you kiss him, all those years ago, during the last battle?” he shouted, hastily turning to face her, a look of pure anger, almost hatred, on his face.

She looked away, ashamed. “I felt lonely” she admitted. “You had Cho, then Ginny. Ron had been with Lavender. I just went to the Ball with Viktor, and I knew Ron fancied me. I thought I could grow to love him, since you were happy with Ginny” she said. “The truth is that I've always loved you, not him” she stated then, looking him straight in the eyes, even if the glint in them scared her a bit. She wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing, after all.

And that was the reason why she uttered these words. “I realized, after your first appearances as a monster, what had really happened that night, and why you left the Hospital in the middle of the night. You loved me too…” but she never finished her sentence, because he suddenly lunged forward, with unbelievable speed, and grabbing her by the throat, he had her pinned against a tree trunk.

Sputtering, she glared at him. “Many things you were, Harry Potter, but you were never cruel. You have corrupted your purpose, and so yourself... and so you did hide away that which should have always have been mine!” she fiercely said, and outstretched her hand to place it on his chest, as to make her point even more clear.

He inhaled sharply, taking several long breaths, as under her touch, he transformed back to his human appearance, or how it would have been, given the many years gone by, had he stayed human.

“Hermione…” he whispered lovingly, staring up at her, but as soon as she removed her hand, he returned to his ghastly looks and irritable mood.

“Trust me, Harry. Once, you used to” she pleaded, and he growled.

“What do I have to gain?” he barked, eyeing her suspiciously. He wanted to trust her, but his current situation didn't let him do that blindly as he would have back in school.

“Freedom” she said. “And happiness” she added then, softly. She hated to show herself vulnerable, especially in front of him, and given his state it was dangerous, also.

But just like those who manage to tame a wild beast and reduce it to little more than a purring kitten, so he was in her hands, even then.

Wanting to fight her, hurt her with all his might, he knew he couldn't. He wouldn't be able to, as much as he wanted it.

“You can't grant me that” he spat, instead. She smirked. “Try me then. Lead me to your heart, and if I can't put it back to your chest and make you human again, then I'll leave you be and never try to contact you again” she said. She was confident she could do it, she had studied the matter and understood the basic concept of what he had unknowingly done, and how to reverse it.

Of course, being the first case to really happen, there was no certainty of the reverse method, so she might end losing him forever if she failed. Yet, she was willing to take the chance.

Finally, he nodded, and extended an hand toward her.

She took it, and fought the instinct to recoil at its slippery surface, the flesh of it mostly rotten.

He Apparated them both to a thick forest in the middle of the Amazon region, and silently guided her to a small clearing.

There, he started digging with his wand, until a dark chest was exposed. With Hermione's help, he lifted it up, and opened it, providing a key from a hidden pocket of his robes.

Hermione was amazed at seeing it still thump regularly, just like it had always been inside Harry's chest.

“Thank you very much, Miss Granger” a voice drawled. Hermione turned to see Draco Malfoy and some other purebloods emerge from the path they had just come from.

Her surprise must have been evident, because he gave a cold laugh and sneered at her. “It hasn't been difficult, Granger” he said. “All that it took was to put one of your two employees under Imperius and have him place a tracking charm on you. We knew if anyone would be able to find Potter and convince him to take his heart back, that would be you, and we weren't wrong, were we?” he said, almost bored, staring at his nails as he spoke with absolute nonchalance. “Then, we followed the two of you, and sorry to tell you that, Potter” he said, turning for the first time toward his old nemesis and controlling his reaction of disgust so it wouldn't show, “but your Apparition makes a ridiculously noisy crack, it wasn't hard to Apparate just after you and be unnoticed” he explained.

“Stupefy!” one of his cronies suddenly shouted, stunning Hermione, while the other summoned the chest with Harry's heart.

Harry's green eyes were aflame, but as he advanced toward Malfoy, the other wizard took the heart in his hand, and a silver dagger in the other.

Harry knew he had to stop or he would be killed, so he stilled himself.

Draco sneered, he loved having the upper hand on Potter. “Now, gentlemen, I think it's time to make a deal” he announced.

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Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. I'd never pair Hermione and Ron together, you know that.

A/N: My reply to the “You've corrupted your purpose” challenge by Detritus, you can find it here:

http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26319 . Hope you'll enjoy it and as usual if you read, review and let me know what you think of it. It is an HP/PoTC crossover.

Thanks to my beta Gingercat!

Corrupted

Chapter Four: A Hellish Deal

Hermione groggily woke up, as the Stunner waned. She took a look around, and groaned. The few last hours came back to her.

“Perfect, now who knows what Malfoy is going to use Harry for” she mumbled, as she grabbed her wand and Apparated back home.

--

Harry was angry, but there was nothing he could do. He was now facing Malfoy, who played with his heart in his hands, a dagger ready to pierce it and kill Harry if he rebelled.

“Now, Potter. You want the heart back, and I'll give it to you. But, everything comes with a price. You'll have to do us some “favours”, let's say, before I can do that”

“Favours?” Harry growled. “I do favours for no one if not myself” he spat, proudly.

“Then, I guess I'll have to kill you” Malfoy said, taking the dagger and pointing it at Harry's beating heart.

He stopped as the tip was grazing the flesh of the organ.

“Is your reply definitive?” the blonde asked again, and he could see the raw rage in Harry's green orbs, as his nemesis, or what remained of him, realized he had to die or do Malfoy's bidding.

“What favours do you ask of me?” Harry barked. Malfoy sneered.

“I knew we would have come to an agreement” he said, smugly. “See, Potter, the purebloods are dying. The new government is doing nothing to prevent it, on the other hands new laws are bringing us more and more on the brink of extinction” he explained, his face contorting in a scowl.

“We need your help to eliminate those who try to rule so that we will be damned to disappear, or taint our blood with Muggles or Mudbloods” he spat, knowing Harry's hate for the word. The raven haired monster growled in a way that would have frightened anyone. Malfoy knew how to hide his fear, though.

He was playing with fire, and he knew it. He had to always be one step ahead or Potter would bite him back in his arse, and it wouldn't be pleasant. They were weak as they were, without a monster set to kill them all for blackmailing him.

“I'll give you a name at a time. You go, kill him or her, and report back to us your actions. When the list will be finished, you'll have your heart back” he said.

Harry knew he had no choice than to accept if he wanted to stay alive long enough for him to take his revenge on the blonde.

So, he grabbed the parchment with the first name, and vanished from sight.

Only then did Malfoy let himself indulge in a couple glasses of Firewhiskey, to calm his nerves.

--

As he planned his course of action, Harry looked again at the name. “Rufus Scrimgeour” he coldly laughed.

“No hard feelings at all for killing this one” he mused. The man had been moved down to the Department for Families after Shacklebolt had been appointed Minister ad interim, so he was now making laws on the marriages of wizard kind and such. From the bit of news Harry had been able to get in all those years, purebloods didn't like the fact that at least one marriage with a Muggle or Muggle-born was required to all families in three generations time.

He could see why the likes of Malfoy wouldn't approve of it, but the composition of the Wizengamot had been strongly modified after the war and now families like the Weasleys were the majority there, so this kind of laws could count on an ample base of votes to get passed.

In a week, he had information gathered, and a plan devised to kill the man. The wards were no obstacle to him. He was barely a wizard by now, being that he was barely human, so most of them didn't even affect him and those that did he could easily disable.

Rufus never stood a chance once he stared into those cruel, cold green eyes.

“Fancy seeing you again” Harry hissed, before slashing him through his chest with a well placed Sectumsempra.

When the body was found, the next day, the Prophet talked of “an unknown murderer targeting Ministry employees”.

And the title changed to “Serial killer up to wipe out the Ministry” when with the same modalities Amelia Bones, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, was murdered.

“I see you take pride in a bloody job, Potter” Malfoy sneered when the once raven haired boy showed up after his second killing. “Here is your next target. I'm sure you know her well” he said, and Harry was gone in a flash.

--

Alone in his cave, he opened the parchment, and a guttural growl left his throat as he read the name of his next victim.

“Malfoy better hide himself well when I'm finished with this sick game of his” he said, before starting to brainstorm on how he would surprise his next prey. He knew it wouldn't be easy, not with her.

She was, after all, the Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Department, thus Head of the Aurors too, albeit indirectly.

She was Hermione Granger.

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Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. I'd never pair Hermione and Ron together, you know that.

A/N: My reply to the “You've corrupted your purpose” challenge by Detritus, you can find it here:

http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26319 . Hope you'll enjoy it and as usual if you read, review and let me know what you think of it. It is an HP/PoTC crossover.

Special thanks to my beta Gingercat!

Corrupted

Chapter Five: Resistance

The killings of the two ministry officials awakened Hermione's attention. She knew Malfoy wanted Harry to do his bidding, and had already been in contact with Ron, George, and many of those who had survived the war, to plan how to steal the heart from Malfoy's possession, ending his command over Harry.

When she learned of Scrimgeour and Bones' deaths, she knew Harry had been the killer, after Malfoy's request. She didn't take long to guess a pattern, and knew she would be the next one. After all, if Malfoy wanted to behead the Ministry of its pro-Muggleborn Heads of Departments, it was just obvious that she would be a target. The fact she led the MLE Department, one of the most important ones, convincing her that she would be the next victim, if they didn't act quickly.

She hoped she could convince Harry to turn against Malfoy, but if she had the heart, the deal would be much easier to do.

So, that night in the living room of her flat, she, Ron, George, Minister Shacklebolt, Arthur, Neville and Bill were reunited, brainstorming on a way to infiltrate Malfoy Manor and steal the Heart.

“We could slip in using some Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder” George suggested. “Hermione here is smart enough to disable the wards quickly, and once in we could search the manor while hidden in the darkness, and seeing through it with this antidote I developed” he explained.

“I think the mission should be composed of as few people as possible” Shacklebolt suggested. “We could use Portkeys so that if discovered, our agents can get back to safety, but a small group makes being detected harder” he said, the advice coming from his many years in the Auror corps.

Everyone put their two cents in, and in the end a plan was devised. The position of the Manor was known, Hermione, George and Neville would go. Bill and Arthur wanted to be part of the mission too, but the group would have been too large.

They decided to act the next evening, when it was thought the Malfoys would be out at a pureblood party held at Parkinson Castle by Draco's in-laws.

--

All day, at work, Hermione nervously thought about what she was about to do that night. It wasn't a matter of granting her own survival if she had the leverage to stop Harry from killing her, it was more to protect the other possible victims, and the idea of democracy. If a group of purebloods could stop the progress of the Wizarding World murdering the promoters of the new laws, then there really wasn't hope of relevant changes taking place once and for all.

So, when the time came, she nervously dressed in black trousers, a dark blue shirt, her own Invisibility cloak, grabbed her wand, went once more over the details of the plan, and finally Apparated to the agreed meeting point.

From there, the three proceeded toward the looming structure of the Manor, which they could spot in the distance, casting Silencing Charms on their feet to stop someone from hearing their steps, should they walk over a branch or something.

As the trio felt the wards coming closer, Hermione took the lead. With complex wand movements she disabled them one by one, until they were able to push the freshly repainted gate open. Following the path up to the building, they spotted various frightening sculptures in the yard, and Hermione felt herself shiver looking at some of them.

George placed a reassuring hand on her arm, and she nodded. Shakily inhaling, she charmed the heavy front doors open, after casting a difficult charm on all three of them, which would make the house elves unaware of someone breaking in.

“George, you search the basement. Neville, you look on the ground floor. I'll go upstairs” she whispered the orders, and her two companions nodded.

Grabbing some Instant Darkness Powder to be ready to use it, they divided, not before a last word of advice from Hermione.

“I remember well that the thumping of the heart could be heard from outside the chest containing it, so enhance your hearing with a charm. That should make the search easier”

“Witty, Granger” George complimented her with a wink, before moving quickly to his assigned floor.

Neville grinned and did the same.

Hermione smiled back, pleased that they thought her suggestion useful, before carefully going up the stairs.

--

For two hours George searched the basement in every little spot, cupboard, closet, but there was no sign of the chest with the heart. They had agreed they would meet back in the hall, so he made his way back there, wand in hand, ready to face whatever danger he may encounter.

--

Neville's search of the ground floor wasn't any more lucky. It took him half an hour longer than George to complete his assignment, but when he did, he was similarly empty-handed. He cautiously walked back to the hall, where he met George.

“You took your time there, mate” the redhead joked, and Neville rolled his eyes.

“Did you find anything down there?” he asked then, and the Weasley shook his head. Neville sighed. “Let's hope Hermione is luckier than the two of us” he whispered.

--

Hermione was getting frustrated. She had checked carefully every room in the two upstairs floors, but found nothing. Even the study left her empty-handed. She approached the main bedroom, wondering if the heart was in the house at all. But then, she heard it.

A faint thump, regular, just like heartbeat. She made her way inside, and followed the growing noise to a hidden cabinet behind a large mirror, just as high as the wall.

She cast a silencing charm on it, to stop its squeaking while she pulled it open, and there it was, the black, heavy chest in which Harry had secured his heart.

She grinned, and charmed it to be lighter. Then, she grabbed it and made her way downstairs to the meeting point.

When she got there, George and Neville were already waiting, and almost whooped in triumph seeing her with the chest. Their joy was short-lived, though, as the main doors opened, and Draco stepped in, with his wife Pansy.

His surprise in seeing them there was quickly replaced by anger, and his wand was out in a flash. Just as rapidly, though, they were gone, activating their Portkeys, Hermione smirking smugly at the blonde as she showed him the chest.

Draco Malfoy then knew his days, and those of the other purebloods, were coming to an end very rapidly.

--

The next night, Hermione and the others went partying to celebrate their victory over Malfoy. Now that he hadn't a way to blackmail Harry anymore, the safety of the Heads of Departments was secured.

She, however, hadn't been as foolish as Malfoy, and had brought the heart with her, shrunk and hid it under her robes.

When she got back home, just slightly tipsy, she froze seeing a pair of green spots staring at her from the darkness.

“I knew you would come, Harry” she said then, once she regained her composure. “Which is why I prepared adequate leverage for our negotiations” she added then with a smirk, her left hand slipping inside her robes.

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Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. I'd never pair Hermione and Ron together, you know that.

A/N: My reply to the “You've corrupted your purpose” challenge by Detritus, you can find it here:

http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26319 . Hope you'll enjoy it and as usual if you read, review and let me know what you think of it. It is an HP/PoTC crossover.

Special thanks to my beta Gingercat!

Corrupted

Chapter Six: Reunion

Harry growled.

“I'm not here for negotiations” he said, advancing toward her, his wand in his hand.

He raised it, ready to cast the deadly curse, Sectumsempra, and leave her bleeding to death, but the sight of the chest containing his heart stopped him.

“What…” he said, stunned.

“We stole it from Malfoy. He has no power over you now, Harry. You don't have to do his bidding anymore” she said softly, looking at him with a plea in her eyes. Now the ball was in his court, he had to make the definitive choice.

“I'm ready to give you what should have been yours many years ago” she said then, and even after so much time, he could see in her brown orbs that she was sincere. “My heart belongs to you, Harry” she said, placing her other hand on her chest, right over her heart.

“It has since our fifth year” she also said, walking closer to him. “What about yours?”

Harry was divided between his deepest desire, which was to hold Hermione, kiss her, and finally have an happy life with her, supplied by that part of him which still wasn't rotten, and the desire for revenge against Malfoy and his pureblooded cronies.

He stood there, his face clenched in an expression of rage, his green eyes aflame with hatred for his blonde nemesis.

He knew what emotion was going to win in the end, but he didn't want it to prevail. With an extreme effort, he raised his head toward Hermione.

“Will you really stay with me?” he asked, almost pleading, and it was strange to see such a creature, terrifying at mere sight, plead.

She smiled warmly at him, nodding, as she walked up to him. “I will, forever” she whispered, and he nodded, almost painfully.

With a wave of his hand, the chest flung open, and Hermione was once more amazed at the sight of his still thumping heart, something that by any logic shouldn't have been possible, as forty years had passed since he had carved it out of himself.

“Put it back” he hissed through clenched teeth. “Do it now, Hermione!” he begged her, and she could see in his eyes the internal battle he was near to losing. His resentful, hatred-filled side was going to get the upper hand soon.

With determination, she grabbed the heart, and pushed it back into his chest, reopening an old healed wound. Bright light surrounded the area where his heart now was, once more in its right place, and both looked transfixed as the light healed the severed arteries and veins, and blood started flowing again through the organ.

Harry inhaled sharply, as his disfigured face painfully morphed back to how it should have been, the face of a 57 year old Harry Potter.

Seeing the light fade, Hermione couldn't wait any longer and flung herself at him, knocking him back on the floor

“Oof!” he said, instinctively wrapping his arms around her. He could feel her tears staining his shirt, and he ran his hand through her curly, brown ringlets.

“I love you” he murmured, and she looked up at him, her eyes still shiny from the tears, but definitely happy.

“I love you too” she confessed, before claiming his lips in a sweet, long kiss, a kiss both of them had waited too long for.

“My heart has always been yours, you know. I knew for sure since the night in the Department of Mysteries, but I suspect I fell in love with you long before , still locked in a tight embrace, lying on the floor of her apartment.

She chuckled, shaking her head. “We've been two fools” she said, and he chuckled too.

“We definitely have been. Me, more than anyone else” he said pulling her closer.

That night, for the first time, they spent the night together, showing the other just how much they loved each other. Harry had never been so happy before, and he was glad she had never given up on him. He couldn't say the same for himself, and he had almost ruined everything that fateful day when he carved his own heart out of his chest.

Finally, his eyes closed, sleep engulfing him, a beautiful brown haired witch in is arms, already asleep and smiling contentedly.

--

When he woke up the next morning, it took some minutes for him to regain his bearings. Finally, remembering the previous night, he looked down to see Hermione's head resting on his chest, her arm sprawled over his stomach, and his own arm wrapped protectively around her.

Her chestnut hair was tickling his neck, and he smiled at the sight. He kept staring at her till she finally started waking up. As their eyes met, he grinned at her.

“Good morning, sexy”

“Good morning, handsome” she cheekily replied. “Sleep well?”

“Never slept better” he admitted. “I still can't believe this is true” he said then, amazed. She giggled, and kissed the tip of his nose.

“You better start believing it because you won't get rid of me easily” she whispered then, before claiming his lips in a hungry kiss.

Their tongues fought fiercely in each other's mouths, exploring, caressing, dancing together. She moaned lightly when he nibbled gently on her lower lip, and he felt a surge of pride knowing it was him she was responding this way to.

“I love you” he whispered when they finally parted.

“I love you too, Harry” she replied. “Welcome back home”

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Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. I'd never pair Hermione and Ron together, you know that.

A/N: My reply to the “You've corrupted your purpose” challenge by Detritus, you can find it here:

http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26319 . Hope you'll enjoy it and as usual if you read, review and let me know what you think of it. It is an HP/PoTC crossover.

Thanks to my beta Gingercat!

Corrupted

Chapter Seven: Epilogue

One year later, Harry Potter was happily married to Hermione Granger. The two murdered Ministry officials had been replaced with other ones who were just as pro-Muggleborn as their predecessors, and this let the process of modernization of the Wizarding World continue.

Slowly, but unstoppably, the pureblooded families vanished. The Parkinsons, the Havelhorns, the Rockwoods, the Crabbes, and finally the Malfoys, along with the other still living, extinguished.

A couple decided that surviving was more important than being pureblood, and so kept their families alive marrying into the Muggle world or with Muggleborns or Half-Bloods.

In the end, the revenge Harry had wanted against Malfoy was carried out all the same, but without tainting any more the name of the Savior of the Wizarding World. The murders he had committed had been archived since it had been proved he was in a life or death situation, with no other alternatives, and he wasn't completely himself at the moment too.

Since the day Hermione brought him back to be fully human, all that remained of the monster terrorizing young lovers was a legend, and some rumours.

The happy couple was now expecting a child, and Harry was over the moon at the prospect of becoming a father. Yet, he was also worried about the kind of example he would be able to set for his child.

“You'll be a wonderful dad for this little one” Hermione said lovingly, as he caressed her by now swollen abdomen.

“Not as wonderful as you will be as a mother” he replied, planting a chaste kiss on her lips, and she giggled.

He had decided to not work, he didn't need to with his fortune, but he was an external counsellor for the Auror corps whenever they needed him.

Overall, he was happy. He had lost forty years of possible life with Hermione, and that was something he would never forget, but he was glad he had her now, at long last.

As he snuggled with her on the couch in their house, watching some telly after dinner, and handing her some peanut butter and strawberry jam toasts which he would never want to try, but his wife seemed to have come to love lately, he felt really lucky, even considering everything he had been through in his youth.

He had a wife, a still very beautiful one in fact, he had the means to sustain his family without any kind of worry, spoiling Hermione with whatever she might like or he might want to surprise her with, be it a vacation in Rome, or a diamond ring, or anything one of them might fancy. Also his nemesis were both gone from the face of the earth now.

Yes, now that his ultimate desire of having a family with his brown haired, smart best friend was becoming a reality, he knew he could not desire anything else in the world.

Definitely, all was well now, even with a forty year delay on what he had longed for.

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