A/N: Hi-lo! Somehow, I actually managed to get this chapter up within my hectic schedule. I'm choosing a very different style of writing with this story and hope that you will react well to it. Keep in mind that the story is just getting started and will get better! Thank you all for the awesome reviews on the first chapter =]
If you have any other questions about my stories, life, or pretty much anything else, ask me it at: http://www.formspring.me/xshar
Disclaimer: HP and JG aren't mine. Duh.
Enjoy!
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A Promise
"And as the sun died
I promised that I'd seek you out
Well now the years have weathered me
And soon I'll claim you for my arms again"
- Broken Records (A Promise)
She was on top of me, thrusting her clothed hips against mine, begging me to take her. I smiled gently against her lips at the forward action, but did nothing to persuade her into believing I wouldn't. How could I? I was a man for crying out loud! So I did what any hot-blooded male would do when a dangerously attractive woman was begging for a shag; I went for it. Circling my hands about her waist more firmly, I flipped her over onto her back and was delighted to hear a moan of appreciation make its way out of her mouth. I kissed a path down to her neck and then returned to her lips, plunging my tongue into her already open mouth. Her hands made their way to the hem of my tee-shirt and I helped her pull it off. She took a moment to trail her hands down my chest and wrap her arms around my shoulders, keeping my upper half steady. As if I would actually leave her like this.
Her shirt was next to go. I helped her remove the offending garment, and it joined my shirt on the hardwood floor. After that, it was all about getting our clothes off in the fastest way possible. It wasn't thirty seconds before we reattached, naked and eager to slake our thirst for each other. She straddled my hips and lowered herself onto my erect member, her folds feeling deliciously soft and moist around it. I placed my hand on her hips as she began to move up and down at a slow pace, causing both of us to let out deep groans of pleasure. She quickly changed pace as though we were wasting time. I couldn't have agreed more.
Within minutes-something I'm not quite proud of, but accept nonetheless-I felt a deep wave of pleasure start to build up inside of me. It was clear that my partner felt it as well as she began chanting my name in the way only a female in the deepest throes of pleasure can.
"Harry… Oh, Harry… Harry…"
My name sounded so wonderful coming from her lips. It was a wonder why I didn't appreciate it more often.
"HARRY JAMES POTTER!"
Oh, right. That was why.
This time, her voice was anything but pleasured. "Ah, shit."
Her body rolled off mine and I groaned at the loss of contact. Goddamn it. I had been so close. I glared in the direction of the person who interrupted what was sure to be the best moment of my life. His deep gray eyes held the shine of disappointment as he stared me down.
"Sorry to interrupt." He drawled, not really meaning it.
I rolled my eyes and looked over to the girl at my side. It was only now that I seemed to really take in her appearance. She was pretty, yes, but in a very generic way. She had blonde wavy hair which was in disarray thanks to me. Her skin was slightly tanned, only enough to signify that she spent some time outside.
I had met her at a local pub and invited her to come home with me on the pretense of getting a good snog in before I had to leave for Hogwarts tomorrow morning. Next thing I knew, we were stumbling up the stairs and on my bed, lips attached as though they were glued together. Now, I was always one for a good shag, but this certainly wasn't how I usually went about it. It's funny how it took me until just now to realize this. Maybe Sirius interrupting wasn't such a bad thing.
The tent pitched at my waist begged to differ.
"It's alright, Sirius." I said meekly. "Sarah and I were just about done."
I heard a rustle of sheets from beside me. "It's Savanna."
Shit. "Oh, sorr-"
"No need to apologize. We both know we were looking for a good shag. It's a wonder you remembered the first letter of my name."
She pulled a sheet around her and slid off the bed, looking down at my floor for her clothes. I remained silent as I watched her maneuver around, picking up one article at a time. When she had a decent pile in her arms, she turned back to me and asked, "Where's your bathroom?"
I waved at the door where Sirius was still standing. "Second door on your right."
She nodded and brushed past Sirius on her way out. My eyes followed her out and only when I heard a cough did I turn back to my godfather. He had one eyebrow raised and I knew he was doing his best to contain his laughter.
"Shut up, Padfoot." I mumbled, feeling around for my boxers.
"I wasn't going to say anything." He said.
I found them at the floor of my dresser and padded over to retrieve them, all the while trying my best to contain laughter myself. "That's a load of bollocks and you know it. You can't keep anything bottled up inside for more than two minutes. It's a miracle Moony's secret hasn't gotten out yet."
"Hey, I resent that!" He refuted.
I smirked as I pulled my undergarments up and turned around. "I never said you didn't."
"Well you imp- wait, stop trying to change the change the subject! Merlin, you're just like your father, always trying to talk his way out of trouble."
"He got away with it, didn't he?"
"That's not the point."
"Oh?" I asked, spinning around in search for my trousers.
"Stop it." He said in a warning tone. "Put the rest of your clothes on so we can talk."
I sighed and went about finding the rest of my clothes, which were inconveniently placed all around the perimeter of my room. How me and Savanna pulled that off, I'll never know. All that mattered was I was about to get yet another lecture from my godfather and I was most definitely not looking forward to it.
When I finished tugging my head through my shirt, I walked a few steps backward and sat on my bed, knowing it was going to be one of those chats. You know the ones that are extremely annoying and unnecessary but still require you to make yourself comfortable because you are going to be there for a while.
Sirius joined me on the bed and gave me a one of his patented 'serious' looks. I offered him a meek smile but he only shook his head. "Harry, listen, I know you are a growing boy with needs and-"
"Oh Merlin, I didn't know you were going to actually do it this time!" I interrupted, shocked that for once, he didn't just say "We'll talk about it some other time Harry. There are more important things to be discussed." like he usually did. You see, Sirius was anything but what his name suggested. If you knew him well enough, you would think he was still a sixteen-year-old kid trapped in a thirty-something-year-old body. These talks were always the last thing on his mind.
"Yes, yes, but-"
"I thought we had an agreement never to talk about this stuff."
"It was never verbally said nor was it in writing." He pointed out.
My shoulders sagged. "I guess." There was a moment's pause before I took a deep breath to mentally prepare myself. "Get on with it, then."
He looked over at me then quickly turned away. I could see how physically and mentally uncomfortable he was with this. Almost as much as I was, it seemed. But if he was so uncomfortable about it, why was he choosing now to bring it up? When his gaze drifted back to me, I thought I could see a little bit of something in his eyes, but he looked away again before I could define it.
He continued that routine for a good minute and a half. Our eyes would meet only to have him quickly look away. Finally, he spoke up, but it was not was I was expecting.
"Oh I can't do this! Harry, Dumbledore is downstairs and he asked me to come and get you. I insisted that I tell you, but of course, me and my cowardly self can't go all the way through with it without someone to back me up. I mean, it's a big decision and I really thought that I could tell you, but I guess-"
"Sirius, calm down." I interjected, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What does Dumbledore want you to tell me?"
"I told you, I can't tell you. Oh, I knew I should have let Moony take this over."
"Moony's here?" I asked curiously.
"Yes, he came with Dumbledore. But that's not the point; the point is that you need to talk to Dumbledore. Now."
"Now as in right this second?" I asked haphazardly, although I already knew the answer.
"Yes."
I sighed. With Dumbledore just a few stories down, it meant that something important was happening either with the Order or my own personal demons. The last time he showed up at Grimmauld Place, he'd brought Snape and instructed him to give me Occlumency lessons. I'd spent the better half of that summer locked up with good `ol Snivellus while he invaded the inner workings of my mind. If you ask me, there were about a billion things I would rather have been doing, but it was 'for my own benefit', so I had no choice but to comply.
So yeah, I was a bit worried about why Dumbledore had shown up this fine evening.
Sirius didn't say anything after that, so I figured I would take the initiative and head downstairs. I certainly wasn't going to get any information out of him without causing him to babble some more. He did end up following me, though, and that only added to my nerves.
I already knew where Dumbledore was the moment I reached the bottom of the stairs. Going through the archway that lead to the kitchen, I saw that I was right. The long table down the middle of the room was vacant except for two figures, one with a long silvery beard, the other with sandy brown hair and tired complexion - Dumbledore and Remus. They were talking in hushed tones, but went abruptly silent when they heard me walk in. Of course.
"Harry." Dumbledore said in that soft tone of his. "Please take a seat."
I nodded and took a seat close to the two of them but far away enough to make a break for it if they were here to corner me into another miserable situation. I had been to meetings like this enough to know the ropes by now.
Sirius took a seat next to me, thankfully on the side that wasn't closer to the door. But just in case, I discretely edged my chair a few inches away. Dumbledore seemed to be the only one that took any notice and sent me an amused look. I caught his eye and immediately bent my head down. The last thing I needed was to be judged right now.
"So did you tell him?" Remus asked Sirius, an odd look on his face.
"Well I started to but…"
"But..." Remus prodded.
"I got sidetracked." He said weakly.
Remus turned to Dumbledore with a half grin, "He got cold feet."
"Hey," yelped with an embarrassed look. "I said no such thing."
"Then I do believe I owe you three galleons Remus." Dumbledore said, not paying attention. Sirius's mouth dropped and I let out a snort. "I'm dreadfully sorry but I seemed to have left my money in my other robe. I will make a note to pay you after this is all over with."
"You - you bet on me?!" Sirius had a look of true shock on his face.
"Yep, and made quite a bit of profit as well." Remus replied with an innocent and serene expression.
Sirius gasped and put a hand over his chest. Although this wasn't the first time this happened, he still acted as if it was the end of the world. Talk about a drama king, Sirius was the drama king.
"I still need to know what it is he was supposed to tell me." I said before any bickering could take place.
"Of course." Dumbledore said, the mood of the room quickly changing. "As you know, Harry, Voldermort has gained much power this past year. His following has being gaining new members daily and is quickly becoming a larger threat than we can withstand."
"What are you saying… you want to give up?"
"No, of course not." He replied. "I am doing everything in my power to recruit new members to the Order as quickly as possible, but I'm afraid it's not enough. As you know, the prophesy states that you and Voldermort must-"
"Duke it out and make attempts at one another's lives because neither can live while the other survives. Yeah, I know." I said bitterly.
"Now Harry, there's no need to use that tone of voice." Remus said. "This is serious business."
"You think I don't know that?" I asked angrily. "Ever since you told me about that damn prophesy, my life has been a living hell. Training sessions, Occlumency lessons… I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders at all times and when I finally find a moment to act like a regular teenager, I get interrupted to help mend another crack in the system. What did you pull me down this time for, then? Do I need to be educated in another tactic of survival?"
"Harry-"
"Its fine, Remus. I would consider it a problem if he did not feel this way." Dumbledore said softly. He turned back to me and adjusted his half-moon spectacles atop his nose. "I understand that you are heavily burdened, Harry. I ask too much of you and I consider it a miracle that you have not declined any of these lessons and tasks before now. But to answer your inquiry, yes, we do need your assistance once more."
I nodded, knowing full well that Dumbledore was only trying to help. He'd always been there for me and no matter how large the stack of responsibilities became, I always ended up pushing through because no matter how much I hated it, I couldn't let them down; Dumbledore, Remus, Sirius, even my parents. I think it was a special kind of complex that probably had a name and definition written down somewhere but I didn't have the time or patience to find it.
"What's happened and what can I do to help?" I asked.
"It seems that Voldermort has caught wind of some of our inner workings and we need you to intervene so that he does not fully become aware of the situation."
"So he only assumes something and doesn't know it to be true?"
"Precisely." Dumbledore said with a small smile.
I nodded. "Okay, what is it that he's caught wind of, then?"
I assumed that Dumbledore would answer me right away like he always did, but instead he exchanged a weary look with Remus. This alerted me that something was very wrong. It was no longer just an ordinary task they needed me to perform; it was something bigger than that, and right before school, too. What a way to start off my seventh year, eh?
"Harry," Remus began, drawing my attention from my Headmaster and part-time mentor. "Sixteen years ago your parents made a decision concerning the well-being of the Order just two months shy of their death. In late August, Godric's Hollow was attacked by a raid of Death Eaters who were informed of the hideout by a traitor and one-time ally Peter Pettigrew. He led them into your parents' home through one of the secret passageways and ransacked an Order meeting in progress. His betrayal killed two-thirds of the Order and he disappeared before we could track him down."
"That bastard." I mused.
Remus nodded. "Indeed. I was sent back when your parents didn't arrive at Grimmauld Place right away with a message from Dumbledore for them and another couple, Edward and Jane Granger. They were the Muggle correspondents I told you about when you were inducted on your birthday, you remember?"
"Yes."
Remus looked back at Dumbledore for a brief moment before continuing. "I informed them of the betrayal first off because I felt they deserved to know. But the reason I was sent there was to relay that the Order was now in shambles. With so many of our people gone, the Order ceased to exist."
"But you eventually rebuilt it." I said, proud of myself for remembering.
"Yes, but that was not originally the case." He continued. "Professor Dumbledore, unbeknownst to the rest of us, placed a spell on the Order to unify the group. The spell was called Sempercieo Nunsolus and it is a spell created on the prospect `united we stand, divided we fall'. What it does is provide protection on a group of items when they are united. Dumbledore found a way to make it apply to humans and cast it without our knowing, thinking it would protect us. It turns out that when half of the spell's recipients are apart or demolished, the spell turns into a curse that prevents the items from fulfilling their purpose. In this case, it was fighting alongside each other against Voldemort."
"I was under the impression that Voldemort was above undermining his enemies, but apparently, I was sadly mistaken." Dumbledore said with a forlorn look on his wrinkled features. "I tend to give too much trust to people who are undeserving of it."
"It wasn't your fault, sir." Sirius said, speaking up for the first time in a neutral tone.
"On the contrary, Sirius, I take full responsibility for my actions, which is why I am here. You see, Harry, I sent Remus to your parents and the Grangers because I knew there was only one way to override the curse at such late notice. It was the only method I could think of on short notice and I knew that we didn't have any time to waste. It was by pure fate that you were a participant."
"What did you do?" I asked wearily, not looking forward to finding out the answer.
"What I felt was our only option at the time." Dumbledore answered. "I sent Remus to find the two couples on the pretense that they would form a bond between you and the Granger's young daughter to override the curse that Sempercieo Nunsolus placed on the Order."
"What kind of bond?"
"The only bond that can be performed between two people that is strong enough to counter any curse or hex known to Wizard-kind. A marriage bond."
"A what?!"
"A marriage-"
"I heard what you said! I just… I can't… I was married?!"
There was a drawn out silence and I began to feel very light headed. My face was going pale and my hands clammy. It's hard to describe my exact feelings but they weren't exactly pleasant!
"Well not married, more like engaged." Remus said meekly, as if it would help. But right now, I don't think anything would make me feel any better.
"I had a fiancée when I was a year old?!" I shouted, the volume control on my larynx temporarily broken. "How in the bloody hell did my parents decide to do that?!"
"They weren't quick to jump to it, I assure you." Remus said. "But at the time, the wards on the house were being slowly picked apart, and we didn't have much time to think of anything else. I performed the ceremony as quickly as I could in words I hoped would pertain to the Order."
I let out a giant gust of air. "Well did it work at least?"
"Thankfully, yes. Almost immediately after I was finished, Death Eaters found us and we were able to fend them off before apparating here to Grimmauld Place."
"That's a relief. It's just hard to picture me being betrothed when I could barely talk, you know? Thank Merlin that didn't happen now or else I would never go through with it." I laughed a little at the end. My laughter was unaccompanied as the three men stared at me with what looked to be guilt in their eyes.
"What?" I asked. "It's quite funny if you think about it."
"Oh it's a hoot." Sirius agreed. "But there's more."
My stomach dropped. There was always more.
Remus continued, "You see, after we escaped and got back to researching and ultimately finding a new solution, we thought it best that we keep the bond together until we were absolutely sure that the environment was safe. But then your parents were… well, murdered and things changed. When Sirius was named your guardian, he and I had a discussion about what James and Lily would have wanted us to do about the situation. We knew that Voldemort's followers were out there looking for ways to bring him back and were ultimately after you as well. So we kept the bond for another year and then another and another until you were growing old enough to understand if we ever explained it to you. Our superstitions led us into a corner and we tried our best to look on the bright side, but knew that we would eventually have to tell you."
"So you're saying I'm still engaged to this Granger girl whom I've never met." I said slowly.
"In a technical sense… yeah. You're definitely still promised to each other." Sirius said.
"Holy shit." I said softly. "So all this time you guys have known about this and have just chosen now to tell me?"
"We're sorry, Harry." Remus said.
"Truly and deeply sorry." Sirius added.
"But that's why you guys called me down here, isn't it, to break the bond?"
"Not entirely." Dumbledore spoke up, drawing my attention from the two nervous looking Marauders. "You see, this is the situation that Voldemort has been informed about. Someone has found out about your bond and is trying to use it to their advantage."
"And how are they going to do that? The bond was obviously aimed for the Order and not them."
"Precisely, but there are some loopholes that they are very much aware of. You see, the marriage bond is a very old spell that has been around since the beginning of our kind. It is built upon old principals and ideas that are not put into place in this era. Remus, although performing the act perfectly, recited the lines of one of the first incantations built around the marriage bond and thus enforcing some of the old ideals."
"What are these ideals, exactly?" I asked worriedly, hoping that I wasn't going to be turned into a toad or something equally as disturbing.
"Thankfully, it wasn't the oldest version, so you will not be removed of your testicles for canoodling with another woman." I gulped. "But in the version you were bonded with, if either person is to fall in love with another, the bond will be broken and transferred to another. It was a very short-lived version that was developed in the romantic period and is very rare to read about these days, I'm surprised Remus came upon it at all."
"Thank you, Professor…" Remus dead-panned.
"You are quite welcome." He responded kindly. "So Harry, you see the dilemma. If Voldemort chooses to pick up on this hint, he could gain an unprecedented amount of power since the bond was aimed at a large group of people rather than family."
"Couldn't he just marry a couple of his own and have the power of their marriage transferred to him?"
Remus spoke up. "In theory, yes, but it would not be as powerful as your and Miss Granger's bond. You see, she has been experiencing bursts of magic since she was an infant, but her parents elected to not tell her of her powers and kept her in the Muggle world for her own protection. It turns out that she has quite a large amount of magic for a Muggle-born and may even give you a run for your money if she applied herself. Your bond is extraordinarily powerful."
"What are you saying?" I asked, looking around nervously.
"We would like for you to go to Muggle London and teach Miss Granger all about her upbringing while protecting her from any suspicious characters that may be after her. Enroll in her school, become her friend. As she is not well informed about our world, and since she is convinced that magic isn't real, she is very susceptible to threat. I informed her parents of the situation and they tried to reason with her, but she is persistent in her beliefs that magic does not exist."
"And after I teach her, then what? Am I supposed to marry her?"
"That is your choice." Dumbledore said. "You may break or enforce the bond but it must be mutual."
I leaned back in my chair, taking all of this in. I had a fiancée who was too stubborn to embrace her magical upbringing and therefore very prone to attacks and kidnappings from Death Eaters and the like. They wanted me to go to Muggle London to try and convince her against her own beliefs and make or break a bond that our parents made before we could process the difference between a toilet and a carpet. It would mean giving up Hogwarts for a Muggle school of which I had never been a part of and leaving all of my friends. All to prevent Voldemort from stealing the power from our bond for his own benefit.
And the kicker was that with my weird complex, I was actually considering it.
Holy fuck.
"I don't know, guys, I mean I can't just leave Hogwarts. I'm in my seventh year with my N.E.W.Ts and-"
"It would be taken care of." Dumbledore said, holding up a hand. "We would send you coursework through owl and you would have access to a floo system which you have full liberty to use at your wish no matter what the motive."
"So no complaining about not seeing Ron or Ginny." Sirius said teasingly. "If you choose to go, they'll be informed of your situation but not your location, so you may speak to them through owl and pay them the occasional visit. Within reason, of course."
"I'm still not sure. I mean, I don't even know her name or what she looks like."
Dumbledore reached into the folds of his robe and pulled out what looked to be a piece of colorful laminated parchment. He handed it to me and I saw that there was a face painted on it; one of a girl with brown slightly bushy hair, brown eyes, and a small splash of freckles on her cheeks and nose. She was smiling dazzlingly and had the most perfect set of dentures I had ever seen. It was then I realized that the picture was not moving, for by now the girl would be waving or gesturing kindly in some way. I remembered Sirius telling me about how Muggle photographs didn't move but I had never seen one to confirm it.
"Her name is Hermione Jane Granger, she will be turning eighteen September the nineteenth, is an honor student at her school, and her favorite color is purple." I gave Dumbledore an odd look. "Her parents sent us a letter with basic information. She also reacts favorably toward lemon drop candies."
I nodded. "Duly noted."
"So what do you say, Harry? She is very pretty." Sirius said suggestively.
I looked back down at the pictured and smiled slightly. "Yes, she is." I put the picture on the table and looked at the three eager faces awaiting my decision. "It's not going to be easy, is it?"
"Absolutely not." Remus said.
"Are you positive there is no other way to resolve this? No spells or anything?"
"Trust me, we've looked at everything." Sirius said forlornly. I smiled slightly at his lost-puppy eyes that he pulled off so well.
I let my gaze shift from one pair of eyes to the next, trying to make sense of all that was going on in my head. Finally, I just closed my eyes. I knew it was my duty to help the Order since the bond was one-half mine to bear, but that didn't mean I had to. I had a choice as I always did. I had never been forced to do anything in my life-not Quidditch or sneaking firewhisky into Gryffindor tower or exploring the depths of Hogwarts until the wee hours of the morning. That had all been my choice. I had always gone with my gut no matter how much trouble it had gotten me into. But this time, I felt nothing in my gut but severe indigestion. Instead of feeling anything at all in the pit of my stomach, the answer now lay deep within my chest. It was pulsing with something, and I wasn't really clear on what, but it was powerful.
I opened my eyes.
"I'll do it."
All three grinned and Sirius let out a whoop of triumph, complete with pumping his fist into the air. I smiled as they began talking amongst each other like they had been before I'd entered. I caught small snippets of their conversation such as their plans to owl the Grangers and arrange for a letter to be sent to all of my Professors to inform them of my extended absence. All of it turned into a blur, however, when I was overcome with a dark emotion of which I could not describe.
One thing was for sure: I would have much preferred Sirius' sex talk to this.
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