Disclaimer: Not mine. I wish it were so we would have had HHr, but alas it's JK Rowling's.
A/N: My reply to the challenge issued by PJ, you can find it here: http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26635 . This story will start right after fifth year, and it will involve sex, some blood, and such, so this is why it is rated NC17. I hope you'll enjoy it, I think this is the most complex challenge I've ever dared to reply to, so I sincerely hope I'll be able to pull it off well.
Thanks to my beta Gingercat!
Harry Potter and His True Sixth Year
Chapter Thirty: Explanations and Promises
Harry was whispering soothing words into his girlfriend's ear, telling her it was all finished, they had won, and Voldemort was gone for good. He told her it would be all right, as he gingerly lifted her from the ground, holding her in his arms and trying to shake her as little as possible, her nerves still a wreck after being under the Cruciatus for so long, thus the smallest amount of movement made her grit her teeth in pain.
They met halfway with the Headmaster.
"How is she?" the older man voiced his concern. Harry looked down to her beautiful face, currently frowning as she tried to resist the pain.
"I think Poppy will have her share of work, but I'm optimistic" Harry said. "Isn't there a way to stop her from feeling the pain?" he asked then, his green eyes staring hopefully at the headmaster, who nodded and wandlessly numbed Hermione. She smiled gratefully at him, and everyone took that as a good sign. She was still conscious so with a bit of luck she would be as good as new in few days time.
Harry took her to the Hospital Wing as fast as he could now that he knew she wouldn't feel any pain, and sat near her bed, resisting Poppy's attempt to shove him away.
"I won't leave her side, Madam Pomfrey, so you better start her treatment without even trying to send me out of the room" he said, determination in his voice. "Even if you have to undress her for some reason, you won't uncover anything I haven't seen before" he added then, with a grin, and the medi-witch huffed, but the corners of her mouth lifted imperceptibly in what Harry took as a smile.
Meanwhile, on the grounds, Aurors and Order members were starting to transport the prisoners to Azkaban, where they would wait for their trial, but the life sentence seemed pretty obvious for all of them anyway.
Others, Sirius and Remus being amongst them, set to retrieve the corpses of those fallen on the side of Light. Samantha was helping tend to the injured ones with some field healing, before they were transported to the Hospital Wing too.
Despite his long standing hate for the man, Sirius was saddened to find Snape's dead body near the edge of the Forest.
"Seems like a giant stepped on him, probably not even noticing he did" Remus commented, seeing the broken state of the late Potion Master's body.
Amongst those dead they also found Alastor Moody, five bodies of Death Eaters all around him.
"He must have put up a hell of a fight before going down" Tonks noticed with a rueful smile, as Sirius wrapped her in a bear hug, glad to see she was ok. He had always been really close to her when they were kids and he thought of her more like a younger sister than a cousin.
"No wonder Molly was so on edge lately" Hestia Jones piped in as they spotted the remains of Ginny and later of Ron. "Her two youngest took the Mark"
Sirius and Remus both gasped, barely able to imagine what must have gone through Harry's mind when he found out, knowing what, or better who, had caused his parents' deaths almost seventeen years ago now.
They also sadly noticed that many students had fallen, even a couple Slytherins, and many others were badly injured, currently being under the cares of Samantha and some Healers from St. Mungo's.
Those had arrived just minutes before once word spread that help was needed at Hogwarts with the wounded.
As they roamed the grounds to seek other bodies of friends or allies anyway, they spotted Pettigrew's dead body on the ground.
"Suits him well" Sirius growled, glaring at what once was the lumpy little man.
"I think he was killed by a fifth year" Tonks giggled. "At least, they were fighting here the last time I saw him during the battle"
Finally, they moved to join Dumbledore and McGonagall, who were still around Voldemort's unconscious body.
"…he seems to be alive" Dumbledore said. Sirius frowned.
"Can't we kill him now?" he suggested, whipping out his wand. The Headmaster placed an hand on his arm, stopping him.
"Harry would have easily killed him if he wanted to. I am sure you saw his amazing display of magic, and how Voldemort was absolutely helpless against it. It must have been something he could not grasp, something he never bothered trying to understand, and thus he knew not how to counter it" the headmaster explained.
"But ironically, Harry gave Tom the worst punishment, even worse than death, from Riddle's point of view. Harry completely deprived him of his magic, so if he ever recovers he will have to live as a Muggle. Considering how deep he delved into the Dark Arts and how much he was attached to his magic, though, I seriously doubt he will ever fully recover, and might become nothing more than a soulless body. In which case, I would see it as only merciful to kill him, but for the moment, let us wait. He can not do us any harm anymore"
The others grudgingly agreed with his logic.
"Well, I would say we can proceed to the castle. This is an astounding victory, but it has come with a high price, and rightful respects must be paid to those who fell fighting on our side" Dumbledore announced then, his eyes suddenly losing their sparkle at the thought of the dead students, old friends and colleagues. Professor Sprout had fallen too, as well as Professors Vector and Sinistra.
--
For three days Harry remained at Hermione's side, not leaving even for meals. Neville took care of that, bringing him something to eat, and almost forcing his friend to gob it down. Luna could be pretty convincing too, when she wanted. Luckily, both of them had gotten only superficial scrapes, although the blonde had been kept for one day in the infirmary by Madam Pomfrey, just to make sure she had no lingering effects from the spells she had been hit with.
The brunette had been conscious most of the time, but her arm or leg would twitch on its own now and then, so it was clear her nervous system hadn't fully recovered from the ordeal yet. Poppy gave her potions to help the process, but told her it would just have to disappear on its own.
When she was finally released, a week later, she still felt a bit weak and leaned on Harry as she walked. He didn't mind in the least, he was too happy about her being ok to care, and so it was with his help they reached the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore had invited them to discuss some things about the battle, and Harry had agreed. He had wanted to ask a couple of questions anyway.
They sat on the two chairs facing the desk, and Dumbledore as usual offered them a lemon drop, which both refused.
"Very well, then. First of all, I cannot express how glad I am that you made a full recovery, Miss Granger" he said, smiling at the girl, who blushed a bit and nodded.
"Now that this has been taken care of, Harry, I am sure you have questions about what has happened to you during the fight. I will say that I can only offer hypothesis, theories, but nothing certain. You, dear boy, have once more gone beyond the magic known till now.
If you were to explain from the beginning what you felt, I might be able to give you a better insight though" he suggested, and Harry nodded.
He cleared his throat and started his tale, of how he had first felt the throbbing in his veins the night after they had exposed Ron and Ginny as traitors and Death Eaters.
"I felt like I would not let something like what had happened to my parents happen again. Not to Hermione" he admitted, looking sideways at his girlfriend who blushed.
Then he explained how he had felt it again when Voldemort had insulted Hermione, addressing her as a Mudblood, and it grew during their duel, to the point he was having difficulties controlling it. The moment Voldemort put Hermione under the Cruciatus Curse, he lost his battle to rein the building power in, and it lead to him doing what he did.
"This seems to be what I suspected then" Dumbledore said, peering at them over his spectacles, his blue eyes twinkling madly. "I would say that it is indeed proven that the "power he knows not" is love, Harry. First, he was almost killed when the curse rebounded on your forehead, the love of your mother protecting you, doing it again in your first year. Then you pushed him out of your mind at the ministry last year when you focused on your love for your friends" the headmaster continued his explanation.
"This year, you felt this bubbling power inside you when you set to do anything necessary to protect Miss Granger from harm, and again when she was insulted by your nemesis, the very symbol of what you wanted to protect her from. Finally, when Voldemort actually harmed her, you lost control of it, because your love for her needed to be unleashed to allow you to keep the promise you made to yourself to never let her be hurt" the headmaster concluded his speech.
Hermione was looking at Harry with glistening eyes now, and even if they were still in front of the Headmaster she couldn't help kissing him passionately, her arms flying around his neck. Harry gave just as much as he got, before a loud clearing of throat reminded them of where they were.
Both teens blushed crimson, earning a chuckle from Dumbledore.
"Well, I do think you both deserve some time to relax so I won't keep you longer. I think this conversation cleared up some things for both of us, do you agree Harry?" he said, offering his hand to the teen, who enthusiastically shook it, grinning.
"Definitely" the raven haired boy said, before he and Hermione left to go spend some time together in the Gryffindor common room.
"You know you're going to be tormented by the papers and everyone who wants a piece of you now, right?" she teased him as they lay in each other's embrace on the couch, her fingers playing with his hair.
"Which means you'll have to put up with it too, because I'm not going to let you get far away from me" he teased back, tickling her sides and making her squirm and squeal, before she claimed his lips in a long kiss.
"Wasn't planning on leaving you anytime soon" she huskily replied before kissing him again, their hands having a mind of their own as they started exploring.
--
It was the last night at the school for the students, then they would go home for a summer of rest, happiness and finally total freedom from any looming darkness.
The last few days had seen Hermione slowly find her strength again, and now she didn't need to lean on Harry to walk, which the raven haired boy was happy for, although he quite enjoyed when she leaned on him, but that was another matter altogether.
Hermione was heading to the Great Hall for the last feast of the year when Harry caught up with her.
"Hermione, wait!" he called, a little out of breath. Considering the direction he had been coming from, she guessed he had been in the village, and wondered why, but for the moment she let it slip.
"What's up, Harry?" she asked, and he grinned at her.
"I know it's the last feast of the year, but would you be terribly upset with me if I asked you to skip it and have dinner with me instead?" he asked, and she shook her head.
"I could never be mad at spending time with you, Harry" she said, taking his hand. "So, Mr. Potter, what have you planned this time?" she teased him, and he grinned, pulling out of his pocket his shrunken broom, and he instantly restored it to its normal size.
"If you were to join me on my broom, Miss Granger, you'd find out in a few minutes" he said, and she eyed the broom warily.
"I won't let you fall, promise" Harry said, and she knew she could trust him. With a sigh, she nodded.
"Ok, then. Let's go" she said. Harry grinned again and pulled her with him back out of the castle, then he helped her mount his Firebolt, placing her in front of him.
"Now just relax and lean back ok?" he whispered in her ear as he kicked off the ground. Hermione followed his advice, willing herself to keep her eyes open, and when they were flying over the castle, the sunset painting the lake a mixture of red and orange, she gasped. The view was truly breathtaking.
"This is beautiful" she said, and he nodded. "It is. But not as much as you" he replied.
"That was cheesy, Potter" she joked, and he chuckled. "I like cheesy, so what?" he retorted, as he finally landed on a rather large flat rock protruding from the mountain behind the school. From there, they had a perfect view of the school grounds, all the way up to the village.
He had all ready for their romantic dinner, a bottle of wine, comfy cushions for them to sit on, silverware, and a basket full of all her favourites.
"I admit I had Dobby's help with the food" he said before she could even ask. She wondered how did he know what she was about to say, but then smiled. He knew her too well.
They ate quietly, now and then commenting on the beauty of the scenery, a glass of wine accompanying their dinner.
"You're not trying to get me drunk to have your way with me, uh, Mr. Potter?" she joked as she downed the third glass of the night.
"Do I need to?" he cockily replied, and she swatted him on the arm.
"Jerk"
"But you love me for it" he countered, and she smiled.
"That I do" she admitted, snuggling closer now that the air started to chill, the sun having disappeared behind the horizon. He wrapped his cloak around both of them, and then pulled out a small box.
"This is why I went to the village this afternoon" he said, answering her previous unasked question.
She gingerly picked it up from his palm and opened it, gasping as she saw what was inside.
A white gold band with a small diamond on it stared back at her, while the brunette kept moving her mouth like a fish out of water.
"It's a promise ring" Harry explained. "I know we are still too young to be engaged, but I also want to make perfectly clear just how much I love you" he said, suddenly serious, his jade orbs staring at her, scanning her face for some kind of reaction. "I wanted to let you know that I do plan to propose to you and ask you to be my wife and the mother of my children, but I didn't want to scare you away doing it now that we still have a whole year of school left"
Hermione picked the ring up, and slid it on her finger, admiring its beauty, how the diamond would glint in the fading sunlight, and how it perfectly fit her finger.
Then, she suddenly jumped on Harry, kissing him hungrily, her tongue seeking his, letting him know that she would be more than happy to accept his proposal when he got around to it.
When they finally parted, resting on the blanket spread under them, she sighed softly as she nestled her head in the crook of his neck.
"I'd be honoured to be the mother of your children, Harry" she said, and felt his smile as sleep took them both.
The evil was in the past, now they had their whole life ahead of them and both were determined to get their deserved happy ending with each other.
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