A/N: Does anyone else ever get to a certain chapter and they just get a mind block on it? It's always number 6 for me. (I guess I can say it's not a lucky number for me) Other chapters, it flows…this one; it's like trying to get blood out of a stone.
~~~ Chapter 6: Limbo Couple ~~~
He lifted the papers to see the headlines screaming `Lucius Malfoy found Dead!' There was a picture of the older man splayed out in the middle of Diagon Alley. He skimmed it to see that Lucius had been tortured before being killed and he sighed as he looked over his shoulder to see Hermione was lying on her side, her back to him, sleeping peacefully.
What a contrast to how she had been earlier.
He was worried about her because her nightmares were beginning to take their toll on her. She had never wanted to torture people, she tended to look the best in people but when he had died, she had been forced to change, to accept that the world was jaded and dark.
He hated what his promise had forced her to do but he knew that he had to do it. Despite what Hermione thought, he knew that he was breakable, that he could be killed. He had never confessed it to her because he knew that she would fight him on it, that she would do everything it took to keep him alive. He adored her for that.
Harry sighed as he stood up, walking over to the window and looked out at the darkened land of Hogwarts. He never thought he would be able to see this again. He had almost forgotten how beautiful it could be at night.
Hermione made a noise and he looked over his shoulder to see that she had shifted so she was now facing him, still sleeping. Harry thought back to how she had been in the year she disappeared.
Moody had found her, shortly after she had disappeared, staying in one of the Potters' houses. She had been furious that Moody had shown up before Moody told her that he knew what she wanted…and he would help her.
She had been stunned that Moody was willing to help her when he told her that he knew what they did in the last war and he would be damned if he sat back and let it happen again. He knew that the Order and the Ministry would only attempt to arrest the Death Eaters and they would just find a way to get loose. The only way to take them out was to take them down, hard and fast.
Moody had taught her in nearly everything she knew, he told her everything he knew of the Death Eaters, their preferences and tastes. Then he introduced her to other people he knew who hated Voldemort and Death Eaters. There, she had been taught in many things allowing her to slowly work up to keeping her promise to Harry.
It was costing her each time she tortured someone, especially for a reward that might not even come but she wasn't willing to give up. She swore that she was going to do it, no matter what. His heart heavy as he thought about it, he headed into the bathroom for a shower.
~_HxH_~
Breaking herself out of the grip of the nightmare, Hermione awoke with a stifled gasp, her brown eyes searching the room for the dangers that lurked in her nightmares only to see her normal room.
Breathing a sigh of relief, her eyed narrowed when she realised she was missing someone. Hermione looked around the bedroom to see that Harry wasn't there anymore. She could hear the shower running and let out a sigh of relief, he hasn't left. She slipped out of bed and headed into the bathroom. She could see the faint outline of Harry's shadow through the glass.
Hermione sighed as she stood in front of her sink. She lifted her right hand and wiped away the steam from her mirror to reveal her naked upper body. She brought her hands up and pushed back her long curls over her shoulders where they cascaded down her back. Rough calloused hands smoothed themselves over her shoulders, down her arms. One hand linked with hers, the thumb rubbing against the skin of the back of her hand. The other hand slid around her waist as the hard warm body pressed up against her back.
Hermione sighed, closing her eyes as she allowed herself to sag against the body, her head turning so her forehead rested against the side of his jaw. They stood in silence for a moment before he broke it.
"I will always hate myself for that," he told her, his index finger of his free hand came up to trace the scar between her breasts. The same scar that she had received from Dolvoho during their fifth year when they had went to the Ministry department in a bid to protect Sirius which ended up being a trap.
"It wasn't your fault," Hermione told him, opening her eyes to look at him in the mirror. He gazed back at her with sorrowful green eyes.
"You keep saying that," he reminded her. "But if I had listened to you in the first place…none of this would have happened. Sirius would still be alive…you would have never been attacked."
"We both listened to Kreacher, we both believed him when he said that Sirius had been kidnapped. There was no reason to doubt him," Hermione reminded him. "I don't blame you, Harry and I don't want you blaming yourself."
"Too late," he said. Hermione sighed, internally blaming the Dursleys for their mistreatment of Harry. She had already dealt with them, painfully. They had been the first people she had gone for.
Harry had never told her much of his childhood but she had picked up bits and pieces over the year before telling her mother who told her that she suspected Harry had been abused. Hermione had gone to Madam Pomfrey who had given her a detailed report of scanning she had done on Harry over the years.
During the will reading, Harry had left nearly everything to her, making her his sole heir. The Goblins had explained everything to her regarding Dumbledore ignoring the wills in favour of keeping Harry with the Dursleys. That the blood wards would only protect Harry if there were mutual love. Harry had no love for his aunt and she had no love for him.
She had received his letters that he had left for her and read through them over the year she had gone missing. She learnt more of Harry then than she had in the five years of knowing him and it had broken her heart.
Petunia had screamed when Hermione had blasted her way into the house before she sent a silencing charm at the woman. The two men, who were extremely overweight, had tried to restrain her by force only to find themselves bound by ropes. They had called her a freak. They had hoped to bully her into letting them go but she was used to name-calling. She had dealt with it at her primary school and she had dealt with it at Hogwarts.
She had drawn out their torture each time they tried to insult her or Harry, something they never picked up on. Once she was finished with them, she had buried their bodies in the back yard before going around covering up what she had done. By the next morning, everyone had believed that the Dursleys had gone on a vacation and she knew it would be a long time before anyone would think to look in the back garden for bodies.
"Hey," Harry's voice broke her out of her thoughts and she looked up at him.
"Sorry, got lost in my thoughts." Harry grinned as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I can actually believe that." She swatted his chest and he chuckled.
"Harry," Harry looked down at her, "This wasn't your fault. It was mine. I underestimated him. I never once thought he could cast silently. I was more focused on you than I was on myself. I knew that we were probably walking into a trap but I still went because it was you. I would follow you to the end of the earth just to be with you."
"Why?" he whispered as he shook his head. "Why would anyone do that for me?"
"Because you are worth it," she promised him. "Your parents loved you, Sirius loved you, the Weasleys loves you, Remus loves you and I love you."
Harry cupped her face and pulled in her for a kiss. He had heard the word love before but none of them had been directed at him. His parents probably did but he couldn't remember them, only his mother's screams as she tried to protect him from Voldemort.
"I love you," he whispered to her and she smiled softly against his lips. She turned fully in his arms so she could press her upper body against his, her arms slipping around his waist and her hands resting on the warm skin of his back. Their times together were short and bittersweet. She had been trying to find ways to keep him around longer but so far had come up empty, leaving her frustrated.
But right now…it didn't matter. She had Harry with her and she was blissfully happy for a short time. She could very easily pretend she was a normal 7th year girl hiding out with her boyfriend. His hands smoothed down over her back, enjoying her bare skin before they rounded over her waist, resting there as they broke the kiss.
Their foreheads were pressed against each other, just savouring the moment they had with each other. Harry opened his eyes when he remembered something.
"I just have to know this," she opened her eyes, tilting her head, curious. "How did you get Kreacher to obey you?" Hermione grinned.
"It turned out that Sirius' brother was actually trying to bring down Voldemort, that's why he was killed. Not because he was a Death Eater who had gotten in over his head. I offered Kreacher a deal. He helps me to bring down Voldemort and the Death Eaters, He can keep any of Regulus' things and he gets to dispose the bodies as how he sees fit."
"Is it because Sirius had made me his heir and I passed it onto you via my will as well?" he asked and Hermione nodded.
Kreacher just wanted revenge for what happened to Regulus and he jumped at the chance. Plus, he really doesn't like Dumbledore and the rest of the Order." Harry chuckled.
"How is it going with Dobby?" he asked, curious to know how his little friend was doing.
"He's…less excited now. He's been brilliant in helping me and the twins out with trapping Death Eaters. I think it's mostly revenge for him." Harry sighed.
"Let him know…" he trailed off as he realised that no one else can know about him at the moment and he sighed sadly. Hermione nodded as she cupped his cheek, pressing her lips against his in a soft kiss.
"He knows," she promises him. Harry nodded before his head shifted to the side before he sighed and he looked at Hermione who understood. "Will you be back?" she asked and he gave her his smile, the one that would make her heart skip a beat.
"I can never be away from you," he promised before he faded away before her eyes.
TBC
Mind-blocks *glares at it* you are so evil
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