Unofficial Portkey Archive

By: FayeValentine00

Chapter 15

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Hermione woke up in her bed the next morning without any real idea of how she'd gotten there. Even after a full nights sleep, she could remember her conversation with Harry word for word and it still chilled her to the bone. She'd nearly lost him for good last night and that was the thing that she couldn't get out of her head.

Harry had become such a major part of her life that she simply couldn't imagine not having him nearby. On top of that, she knew that she'd never be able to simply stand aside if Harry found himself in mortal danger. Somewhere in her head a voice continually told her that she was putting Harry in even more danger but she forced herself to ignore it. For her own sanity, she had to ignore it.

When she'd met Harry and Ron seven years ago, no one could have prepared her for the kind of life that she'd end up leading. Hermione had come to Hogwarts with silly, childish thoughts but so quickly the reality had set in and now she had to learn to live with it. She had to believe that there was going to be a light at the end of the tunnel. There had to be a day when the world would be peaceful again. Again, to protect her own sanity, Hermione had to believe that one day she and Harry would both be able to live safely and happy without the constant threat of death and destruction.

"Hermione?"

I looked up to see Ginny standing in the doorway with a concerned expression on her face. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. What's wrong?"

The youngest Weasley stepped into the room and walked up to Hermione with a frustrated expression. She took a finger and a tear off her cheek that Hermione hadn't even known was there. "You're crying. Last night, I had to help you up to your room because you were half asleep when Harry brought you back to the Common Room. Even then, you had tear stains on your face. What the heck is going on?"

Hermione let out a frustrated sigh and relayed the entire conversation with Harry. She told Ginny all about what the Order thought and even about the conversation that Harry'd had in Hogmeade with Bill and Charlie. When it was all over and Hermione told Ginny that they hadn't broken up in the end, Ginny sighed in obvious relief.

"I'll kill them," Ginny spat a moment later with a dangerous gleem in her eyes.

"What?" Hermione asked with obvious confusion.

"Bill and Charlie. I am going to kill them. Order or not, they have no place butting into something that they don't understand."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at Ginny's anger. "And I guess you do understand?"

"More than you know, Hermione. More than you know."

After Ginny's rather cryptic answer, the two girls said their goodbyes and Hermione finished getting ready for the day ahead. She couldn't help but wonder what Dumbledore or the rest of the Order would think about Harry's decision. Whatever the reaction, Hermione just hoped that the they wouldn't push Harry any farther. There was only so far a person can be pushed before they would crack.

"I'm going to go and speak to Dumbledore after breakfast," Harry said nonchalantly as he sat down next to Hermione.

She nodded her acknowledgement but didn't say anything. She'd never it admit to Harry but she was afraid. She was afraid of what would be said, afraid of the outcome and she was simply afraid of losing the one person who meant more to her then life itself.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, not quite meeting her eyes.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Harry. I'm fine."

He looked at her with a disbelieveing expression and reached out, gently touching her cheek. "I'm sorry for making you worry."

"I'll be fine. It's okay," she answered, forcing a smile that Harry wasn't fool enough to believe.

Harry knew that Hermione wasn't okay. He could see the lines of stress around her eyes. It seemed horrible to say but there were so many things that could have been upsetting her that he didn't even know where to start. He'd do anything to give her back the days when her only worries were what grades she'd gotten on her homework but that was impossible. Last night, Hermione had made it clear that the only place she wanted to be was by his side and he couldn't help but love her even more because of it.

They ate slowly, talking about anything they could think of that didn't have to do with Voldemort or the Order. When Ginny finally came around to chat, Harry took that time to say his goodbyes and head off towards Dumbledore's office. He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to say or how Dumbledore was going to react but for the first time in a long while, Harry simply didn't care. Nothing was going to change his mind this time around.

Harry stepped into the office slowly, knowing that the Headmaster was probably still down at breakfast but to his surprised, Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, waiting.

"Good morning, Harry. I thought you might be coming by to see me," The old man spoke with a smile that immediatly made Harry feel uncomfortable.

"Professor Dumbledore, sir, I wanted to tell you that I spoke to Hermione last night and---"

Dumbledore put up a hand to cut Harry off and gestured to the seat in front of him. Once he was seated, Dumbledore finished Harry's sentance. "Let me guess... Miss Granger wasn't swayed to the Order's wishes so easily"

"R-right," Harry answered in confusion. "How did you know?"

"Ah, Harry. I have not always been so old. Besides, I have known you and Hermione for seven years now. I've learned to guess how you'll react to things. I couldn't have hoped for a more fitting responce from Miss Granger."

"What are you talking about?"

"You see, the Order knew that Miss Granger wasn't likely to just watch you walk away but it was a choice that she had to be given. If Hermione is going to be put into danger because of her relationship with you, she had to understand the full consequences of that decision. Only with full knowledge and understanding, would she be able to make a logical choice."

"So, you're telling me that all of you set us up just to see if Hermione loved me enough to allow herself to be put into danger?" Harry couldn't quite keep the anger out of his voice as he posed the question. Although he understood what the Order was trying to accomplish, he didn't feel that they had any right to to try to play games with his life.

Dumbledore nodded his head slowly. "But it wasn't just Hermione that we were worried about. We also worried about how you felt about Hermione's position."

Harry let out a frustrated laugh and when he spoke, he didn't care that he was being loud or rude. "What makes you think that I want the Order playing games with my life? Look Professor, I do understand what you were trying to do but I don't want your help! We know the danger. Everyone knows the danger." He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing. "How many times do you think that I've wished to be anyone else? I never asked for this scar. I never asked to have my parents murdered. I never wanted any of this. I've finally found one thing that makes my life seem a little less awful and I'll be damned if I am going to lose her too."

"You're right, Harry," Dumbledore nodded patiently like he always seems to do when Harry lost his temper. "You didn't ask for any of this and you never got to choose if you wanted to deal with these things but either did Hermione. The difference was that she was able to make that choice. If she'd never been given the chance to make the choice then she might look back later in life and have regrets. Now she's had the chance and decided that she'd face the danger with you. There will be no regrets."

Harry sat across from Dumbledore and stared at the older man for a long time. He wasn't really sure what to say. Everything the man had just said was true but it didn't make him feel any better. There really wasn't any point of getting angry anymore. Regaurdless of what had happened, Harry still had Hermione and that thought alone was enough to make him a bit more forgiving then usual.

"Professor, I have one request."

"And what would that be?"

"Never do anything like that again."

Dumbledore nodded with a knowing expression on his face before they said their goodbyes and Harry headed off towards his first class. He'd only gotten about halfway there before a voice down the hall cut him off.

"Harry! Do you have a minute?"

He turned around to see Jessica, the same first year Gryffindor that they'd had the interview with last night, running his way. She still had a nervoud look in her eyes but it seemed like she had something important to say.

"Hi, Jessica. How can I help you?"

"Well, Um, I am still working on that report that you, Hermione and the others helped me with but I wanted to say thank you. It really meant alot to me."

"No problem at all. Really," he answered with a smile, ahppy that this conversation would delay him from classes for a few more minutes. The studying for NEWTs was really becoming overwhelming.

"Well, I should have the rough draft of the story done by tommorrow. Do you think that everyone could read over it and let me know if it is correct before I finish it?"

Harry couldn't help but smile even larger at the little girl before him. This was the first time anyone had ever been concerned about making a story about him that was truthful and it really touched him. "Of course we will. I'm sure everyone would be happy to help."

"Thank you so much!" Just then, a bell rang which signaled the beginning of class. "Oh God, I'm late. Thanks again, Harry. I gotta run."

The rest of the day went by well. Classes weren't as awful as they'd seemed the last few days and several of the members of the Order had sent both Harry and Hermione letters of apology. It seemed like things were finally going to start calming down. The couple had made a pact not to leave the school till the end of the year so that meant that all they had to worry about were their upcoming NEWTs.

What was to come after the school year, when their lives at Hogwarts ended, they could only guess but at least they had the support each other every step of the way.