Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, or the Potter-verse. I don't make money on it, either.
Chapter 32: Phoenix Gathering
Late April
Harry woke up with a groan. His head felt like someone was hammering on it. Not as much as when his scar really hurt, but since he'd learned occlumency that hadn't happened often, so he'd grown accustomed to being pain free. As soon as he could focus, he picked up his glasses, bumping an unfamiliar flask sitting on his night stand. With his glasses on he could see a potion vial next to him, labeled 'hangover potion' in Hermione's neat hand. If it had been in Sirius' handwriting, he would have had second thoughts about drinking it, but he knew Hermione wouldn't prank him, so he quickly tossed it back. The pain faded.
'Thanks!' he sent over their mental link.
'You're welcome.' He heard back, 'Take a shower and I'll be there soon.'
Harry did just that. He jumped in the shower and scrubbed himself thoroughly. He washed his hair twice, knowing the cigars were supposedly magical, but wanting to absolutely insure he didn't smell like an ashtray when he saw his fiancée next. As soon as he was done, he brushed his teeth twice. Hermione was the daughter of dentists, so he thought that was particularly important.
When he walked back into his Grimmauld place room, Hermione was sitting on the bed. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a hooded jumper, much different than how she usually dressed lately. He couldn't remember seeing her in jeans in quite a while.
"Big party yourself, too, huh?" Harry asked with a grin.
"I never thought adult women could be so crazy." Hermione answered with a blush.
"Really?" Harry asked, curious.
"I can't get into any details." Hermione quickly added, "It's apparently one of the unwritten rules of a hen's night, but yes, they were crazy."
"Hermione…" Harry started hesitantly, "what was with the polyjuiced dancer?"
"Stella?" Hermione asked with a grin, "I thought you'd enjoy that. I had a feeling you'd feel guilty looking at anyone other than me and since I wasn't going to volunteer to dance for your friends, I thought I'd give you the next best thing."
"It just felt weird…" Harry tried to explain, "it was you, but it wasn't you. My mates were watching. Even Padfoot and Moony got into it!"
"Does that really surprise you?" Hermione asked with an arched eyebrow, "Sirius really is a dog in every sense of the word. He checks out every pretty girl. If I didn't catch him looking at me every once in a while, it would hurt my ego. He's completely harmless, though. It's something I can feel."
Hermione looked at Harry for a moment, staring into his eyes, feeling his tangled emotions through the bond. She scooted closer to him on the bed, finally just easing herself into his lap and looking up at him from there.
"Harry." Hermione said seriously, "I've changed a lot since we kissed and established our bond. I'm barely even the same person. I've relaxed and my fun loving side has really come out. There is a reason my Patronus is an otter after all, even though most people have never seen that part of me. I've explored my sexuality a bit with you and I'm more comfortable in my skin. Really, though, this is not about a 'new me'. My reasoning would make sense to the old me, too. That dancer looked like me, but it wasn't me. Could Stella have fooled you?"
"No." Harry said definitely.
"Why not?" Hermione asked.
"Because I can feel you." Harry answered, "I could sense you anywhere and I knew exactly where you were the whole night."
"That's right." Hermione said, smiling up at him, "Do you love the image of me, the part of me Stella put on over her own self, or do you love the me you can feel, the real me?"
"I love you." Harry assured her.
"I love you, too." Hermione smiled, "Harry, horrible things could happen to our bodies. Ron lost a limb. You or I could be permanently injured too. I hope you'd still love me."
"I would!" Harry protested.
"I know you would." Hermione said, smiling and stroking his face, "I feel it and it makes me feel safe and much loved. We are spirits in a body. The spirit is us, not the body. Here's another way to look at it. If Padma had ever dated you and you got to the point where you saw her naked, should Parvati be embarrassed?"
Harry thought about that one for a moment. He'd never even thought about how awkward relationships might be for twins.
"No." Harry said, "It's not her body, not really."
"No, I agree." Hermione nodded, "And if it came time that you slept with Padma, Parvati shouldn't be embarrassed or feel like you'd slept with her. If you tried to sleep with Paravati, because you felt like you already had, that wouldn't be right. They're two separate people! Those two are much closer, through being raised together and having the bond of being twins than Stella and I could ever be. That wasn't me that was just a dancer imitating my form with a potion. Now do you understand why I didn't mind?"
Harry, looking thoughtful, nodded.
"If I'd known it was going to bother you, I would have asked you permission before stealing one of your hairs!" Hermione teased, giving Harry an evil grin.
"You used one of my hairs?" Harry said confused, then suddenly realized what she was saying and flushed very red, "You didn't! Who saw?"
"I'll never tell!" Hermione laughed, "It's one of the rules of Hen's Night!"
She squirmed away as Harry started tickling her in revenge.
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Hermione was checking items off a list in her wedding planner. Everything was ready, she was just reviewing. Since the bond, she was able to recognize her OCD tendencies, even though she didn't necessarily change them. She glanced up and noticed Seamus was looking at her funny. She realized somehow they were the only two in the Gryffindor common room for the moment.
"Seamus!" Hermione called out, "Why are you staring at me?"
"Uhhh…" Seamus stuttered, "I'm not!"
"You are!" Hermione said, standing and walking to where he was reading a football magazine, "Why?"
Seamus blushed and Hermione's exceptional mind quickly put the pieces together. She wanted to punch him, but she was also very amused and a little flattered.
"Seamus Finnegan!" Hermione said, putting her hands on her hips, "Don't tell me you're thinking about me naked! After all the time you've been Harry's roommate, a fellow Gryffindor and a team mate in the DA?"
Seamus flushed even darker, "It's not my fault! I shouldn't have seen you nude and then have to be around you!"
Hermione shook her head, "You silly git. You never saw me nude. You saw some stripper who used polyjuice potion. That's the outside, but it's like an iceberg - Hermione Granger is ninety percent what's beneath the surface! That includes the knowledge and ability to curse you into next week. Do you understand, Mr. Finnegan?"
Seamus nodded.
Hermione punched him lightly in the shoulder, not using any of the techniques she'd learned from Ashdown and being careful not to put any real strength into it. Since she'd made her animagus transformation, she's noticed a big increase. She gave Seamus a saucy little smile.
"Seamus, you were invited because you were one of Harry's mates. We trust you not to be weird. Get it?"
Seamus nodded again, one of his regular smiles crossing his face.
"It's hard to forget though, Hermione."
"Good, because that's the only look you'll be getting." Hermione grinned, walking back to her planner, vaguely wondering if he was staring at her ass.
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April 30
Harry and Hermione stood at the Gryffindor fireplace before dinner. Hermione had decided they were going to honor the tradition of not seeing each other the day of the wedding prior to the actual wedding, but having been together almost constantly, the idea of being apart for even almost a day was difficult.
"I'll still be with you." Harry said, staring down at her, his emerald eyes filled with devotion, "Next time we see each other will be right before we're to be married. How exciting is that?"
"Really exciting." Hermione whispered, "I'm still going to miss you."
"I'll miss you, too." Harry said, "Waiting will be easier with that image to sustain me, though."
Hermione stretched upwards to kiss Harry. He'd grown since they'd been together. Never having to spend time with the Dursleys agreed with him. She stared a moment longer into his eyes and then quickly stepped back only to vanish in a blaze of golden flames.
"Goodbye, Hermione Jane Granger." Harry whispered, "Tomorrow you'll become Hermione Jane Potter. I can't wait."
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Hermione ate dinner with her parents, discussing last minute contingencies. The plans themselves had been done for weeks and even the backup plans had been in place. Now they were discussing backups to backups, a tendency the Granger women were infamous for. Hermione's mind, however, was on another project she'd put even more work into. After dinner, she planned to complete her checks on those arrangements.
She left her mum watching some Hugh Grant wedding movie that wasn't really that positive about the tradition of marriage after all.
"Mum, I have something I need to check on back at the castle." Hermione said.
"Ok, honey." Jane said, "Your project for Harry?"
Hermione just nodded and disappeared. She reappeared in the married student quarters Dumbledore had convinced Hogwarts castle to manifest jutting off Gryffindor tower. The suite occupied another small tower sprouting from main Gryffindor tower and accessible from the common room.
"I wondered when you would come to check your work again." Dumbledore's voice sounded quietly.
Hermione hung her head, realizing she'd been caught.
"Do not be embarrassed, Miss Granger." Dumbledore said, the hint of a smile on his face, "Oh, I just realized that is one of the last times I will call you that. No, do not be embarrassed, because your meticulousness and planning has been one of the things keeping Harry alive this long. I certainly hope you are not planning to stop. I was just planning to check your work myself and thought I might wait for you."
Hermione nodded happily. She'd already had Professors Babbling and Vector check over them, but another eye couldn't hurt.
The two carefully pored over the flawlessly inscribed ritual circle centered on the bed with carefully designed wards etched in runes in every open space. Hermione had developed spells to inscribe the circles and runes for her, striving to make them not just right, but absolutely perfect. Wizards hadn't even realized there were graduations of space as small as a nanometer, but she'd crafted spells to inscribe within tolerances of fractions of a picometer and angles accurate to picoradians, perfection on such an infinitesimal scale it wouldn't even be measurable without magic. She'd designed the whole set to account for the magical fields surrounding and pouring into Hogwarts, which had been placed in its location specifically to harness the power of the natural magical field lines or ley lines. Like Stonehenge, Hogwarts was at a node where the ley lines converged and also like Stonehenge, it was at one of the most powerful.
"This is really unique." Dumbledore observed, "I have to say that if I saw it without knowing who had designed it, I would have to assume an arthimancy prodigy and a runes master had been forced by an obsessive compulsive to create the most complicated runic array I have ever seen."
Hermione sighed, "But will it work, Headmaster?"
"Who knows?" Dumbledore replied, sitting on a chair and looking directly at her, "You have designed something nobody before has even conceived of. I barely even understand it and not to be falsely modest, I am one of the most learned wizards of this age. Please tell me again what you have built."
"It's a combination of a ritual circle and an overlapping set of wards." Hermione said, speaking from memory of what was her most in-depth project to date, "I started with the ritual circle and it developed from there. It is precisely oriented to funnel magical power to any workers within the circle. The wards are designed to exclude evil, so they will filter the power so only light side magic can enter once they're activated. Any excess power released inside will be funneled into the Hogwarts wards, like you've taught us, so it doesn't damage the surrounding room or put any students in danger."
Dumbledore nodded. "Remarkable. I can feel how the Hogwarts wards are seeking to integrate these. With your permission I will do so."
Hermione nodded. Integrating them into the Hogwarts wards would make them stronger from the start, powering them initially from the ancient power of the castle, although she had designed them to grow even greater over the short term. Her intent was not unlike that of the geniuses of the Manhattan project, although instead of a team of scientists, she'd done most of her work alone with input from others.
Dumbledore patted her back gently as he stood to go.
"Miss Granger, every spell I cast to measure how close to true your inscriptions are found they were perfect. There is zero deviation between optimum and your design. If our desired outcome is possible, you have built this to achieve it."
Hermione nodded, swallowing against a dry throat, "That's the question, isn't it Professor?"
"You have done everything you could, Hermione." Dumbledore said in his grandfatherly voice, "Trust to Harry's luck, now."
The Headmaster stepped out of the room to leave a worried bride, still looking over her work.
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May 1
Without classes, Harry had spent the day with Sirius and Remus. He'd gone to Grimmauld the night before, after Hermione had left. He'd had dinner with Sirius, Remus, and surprisingly Arthur Weasley. They had eaten and the older men had talked to him about marriage and family, seeking to pass their wisdom on to the young man. It had been very relaxing, exactly what Harry had needed. He'd slept in on his wedding day. Neither he nor Hermione had any classes, so he'd spent the day relaxing. Because they wanted to use May Day, which was a Friday, they'd chosen to schedule their wedding for after dinner. It was a very unusual time for a wedding, but it was one of the only times that wouldn't interfere with the normal functioning of the school. It was going to be a relatively small wedding, with mostly students as guests. They'd granted Xeno Lovegood and Rita Skeeter the exclusive to cover the wedding. Having collaborated before on the issue that had become the Quibbler's most read, they'd agreed to work together again on something likely to be even bigger. From the Ministry, Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Law Enforcement, Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, and the aurors Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks attended.
The room had been rearranged completely. Hermione had merged Wizarding and Muggle traditions into something that was uniquely hers. The Head Table was gone and there was a simple raised podium three steps up from the floor, all draped with pure white drapes. Bench-like seats filled the room, split by an aisle into two blocks. The benches were soft and comfortable, hinting at their maker's preferences. Each bench had a bundle of magical roses, tied with a blue ribbon. The roses were brilliant red in color and seemed almost aflame. They were called Phoenix Roses due to their flame-like appearance and their rich smell permeated the room. The house banners were gone, replaced by the Potter arms embroidered in silver on blue banners to match Hermione's chosen colors.
Harry stood at the front with Ron and Neville beside him. Hedwig was perched on his shoulder, quietely trilling a joyous song that raised the already high spirits of all the attendees despite the volume. Harry wore deepest black Acromantula-silk robes, lined in white. He looked intently at the door, not nervous, but totally focused outside himself. Ron stood by him, dressed in slightly less elaborate version of the same black robe, lined in the same blue that was the predominant wedding color. Neville stood next to Ron, tall and broad shouldered, having grown rapidly and having lost most of the baby fat he'd been cursed with when he'd arrived at Hogwarts.
Dumbledore stood in the center of the podium, with Harry on his left. He wore heavy silver samite robes. Fawkes was perched on his shoulder, his song blending and forming a harmony with Hedwig's.
Professor Flitwick gestured and music began to play. It sounded like Muggle wedding music, but as if played by an endless orchestra of virtuoso performers. There were subtle undertones and hints of sound that blended together to create an overwhelming whole. The magical music ignored the acoustics of the giant stone room and it sounded as if played in a recording studio. Hedwig shifted her song to match and supplement the music and Fawkes again joined her.
The doors to the Great Hall opened. Dobby, dressed in a miniature version of the same dress robes as Harry wore walked carefully down the aisle, bearing a white pillow. He carried it with utter solemnity to the front, staring at Harry. Ron dipped and took the rings while Dobby swiftly walked off to the side, almost vibrating with joy at getting to be part of the ceremony.
Luna entered in a blue linen gown. Phoenix roses formed a circlet for her pale blonde hair and she carried a small bouquet of the same bound in a dark blue ribbon. She seemed to almost float along the aisle as she walked to the front, smiled at Harry, Ron, and Neville, before taking her place on Dumbledore's opposite side.
Ginny walked in next, dressed in the same blue gown. The Phoenix roses in her hair almost disappeared into her red locks, making the whole mass look like it was on fire. She stepped to the side next to Luna.
Winky entered, wearing a dark blue gown and carrying a basket of Phoenix rose petals, scattering them along the walk.
The music subtly shifted, swelling into something overwhelmingly exciting. The phoenices increased their volume as if anticipating something momentous. From the darkness around the doors, Hermione stepped into the Great Hall on her father's arm. Her dress was brilliant white, the color only comparable to Hedwig's plumage with no other non-magical color being adequate to describe it. It was a thick samite, but somehow still clung to her as if it were thin silk. Every inch was crusted with gleaming pearls. The bodice ended over her breasts and was sleeveless, hugging her body to reveal every curve until it flared out into a traditional skirt. The train was long and was carried by a handful of House Elf maidens. The back of the dress was fastened with small round buttons, seemingly infinite in number, making a perfect line down the back.
Her chestnut colored hair was piled up above her head with curls framing her face, all behind a thin veil held in place by a circlet of the magical roses. Her eyes were instantly captured by Harry's as he stood looking at her as if mesmerized. Their hearts beat in unison and neither could immediately take a breath.
"Breathe, Hermione." Oberon said with a smile for his daughter.
She took a deep breath and relaxed. Harry breathed with her, unknowingly having synchronized his every process with hers.
Hermione walked down the aisle, her father's arm in hers but her mind at the front of the room with her groom. Every moment in her life seemed to have led to this one and she felt nothing but joy, the same joy reflected in the utter absorption of Harry's eyes as he watched her walking towards him. She gracefully stepped up the three steps and stopped, reluctantly turning away from Harry and towards her father.
"May God bless your marriage." Oberon said, tears welling in his eyes as he solemnly raised his daughter's veil, "Always know your mother and I love you."
He hugged Hermione, who squeezed him back in one of her trademark bone-breaking hugs. They kissed each other's cheeks and then her father gently turned her to her groom. Harry grasped Oberon's hand and they shook, before Oberon placed Hermione's hand in Harry's, then walked to the front row of seats and sat next to Jane Granger.
Harry and Hermione stood staring at one another, barely noticing when Dumbledore began speaking. They'd never be able to say later whether they heard everything he said or not, their attention was so taken by each other. Their magic, released from the tight constraints they normally kept it under, flared outward, creating an almost visible nimbus around them, the emerald and golden light mixing and blending.
"Marriage is the central institution in the Wizarding world." Dumbledore began, "As it is by marriage that children are created and magic grows. Without marriage and without children, the Wizarding world would wither and disappear."
"Our oaths to one another in marriage are sealed by our magic, never to be broken." Dumbledore continued, "Those oaths are symbolized by our rings. Do you have rings to exchange today?"
They both nodded.
"Then exchange oaths and the rings that will symbolize them forever." Dumbledore said, raising his hands as if in benediction. The phoenices continued singing, their song elevating the magic in the room to where it was almost palpable.
"Dearest Hermione," Harry said, "you are everything I have ever wanted. Someone to love and who loves me, someone to create a family with. We have created a bond and I will always be with you. I devote myself to you, body, mind, soul, and magic, to the end of days and beyond."
Simultaneously with his words, Harry placed Hermione's wedding ring smoothly on her finger. His magic rang with his oath, golden cords binding their hands where they held each other, brightly visible even at the back of the room. Dumbledore's eyes widened at Harry's vow, worded to last beyond death, an ancient form of the traditional vows.
Tears wavered in Hermione's eyes as she felt the sincerity behind Harry's vows through their bond. There was not a doubt in his heart that he meant every word he said.
"Dearest Harry," Hermione said, her voice quivering but loud and clear, "you are everything I ever wanted. Someone who loves this bookworm for me and stands beside me no matter what. We have created a bond and I will always be with you. I devote myself to you, body, mind, soul, and magic, to the end of days and beyond."
Hermione's magic flared and golden cords lashed out, binding her hands to Harry's as she placed her ring on his finger. Their magic auras rose to the ceiling and the bond between them grew so strong as to be easily visible to everyone in the audience. Their auras blended until it wasn't emerald around him and golden around her, but mixed around them both. A pulse of magic so strong as to be almost a physical force washed over the room, as if a very loud pure-toned bell was struck with a hammer by a giant. Rather than being unpleasant, as a clanging bell might be, it was as pleasant as if the audience were bathed in gentle sunshine, the feeling somewhat like a wave pushing against you as you stood in the ocean. Hedwig and Fawkes burst from their places and flew around the room, their song reaching a glorious crescendo.
"As witness to the vow your magic has recognized, I acknowledge you as Wizard and Witch."
Harry wrapped Hermione in his arms and kissed her passionately, all the love in his body seeking expression before his heart burst from it. She returned his kiss with all the love she had for him, all the times she'd worried for him, and all the loyalty she'd shown him wrapped up in one perfect kiss. They didn't hear the audience cheering or the phoenices singing, they were too absorbed in each other.
They broke the kiss reluctantly, smiling at each other. Hermione giggled, feeling the incredible feeling of happiness bubbling up inside her, pushing out even her worries about her project. They finally heard the applause and turned to see their guests applauding. Hagrid was sitting near the front, bawling like a baby, using a handkerchief the size of a small quilt to dry his tears. Professor Flitwick was sitting next to the half-giant, applauding. Seeing them looking, he gave them both a big thumbs up.
They spent almost an hour greeting their guests, shaking hands and thanking people for coming. Since it was scheduled after dinner, they hadn't planned a dinner, but House Elves circulated with snack food and drinks. There was a grand cake complete with a miniature Harry and Hermione on the top, created by Professor McGonagall as her contribution to their wedding. Their miniatures looked exactly like them and like Wizarding photos, even interacted with each other. The fact that they spent most of their time kissing wasn't thought that odd at all.
Harry and Hermione shared a first dance together as a couple, moving flawlessly together, united so closely they moved together without thought and with perfect grace. They broke apart and Hermione shared a dance with her father. Harry, an orphan, danced with Jane Granger, much to her happiness and some tears.
Sirius and Remus watched the two, happy memories shadowed by sad memories of their closest friends and the fact they couldn't be there. Tonks interrupted their almost maudlin musing by grabbing Remus and pulling him onto the dance floor, leaving Sirius alone. He walked up to Harry.
"Pup, that was beautiful." Sirius said, "You two remind me so much of your parents, but at the same time, you're like a blend of both of them. They'd be so proud of you."
"Thanks, Sirius." Harry said, hugging his Godfather, "That really means a lot."
Finally, after everyone had had a chance to congratulate them and they'd each had a small piece of cake, they began to walk towards the doors to the Great Hall. Everyone lined up and shot glitter from their wands, effects and colors unique to the Wizard or Witch who cast the spell. Some of the older, more experienced professors had some truly unique effects. Dumbledore fired off purple flaming phoenices that exploded into golden confetti. McGonagall shot tiny golden snitches from her wand that caused Harry to twitch when he caught them out of the corner of his eye.
Harry and Hermione all but ran to the new quarters they'd been assigned off the Gryffindor common room. Their closest friends had run up before them, teasing them as they moved towards their bedroom. Closest to the door itself were their four closest friends, Ron, Luna, Ginny, and Neville.
"Congratulations!" Ginny squealed, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"
Luna gave the redhead a quick glance, "Does that actually exclude anything?"
"Of course not!" Ginny fake pouted.
Luna looked at them with her wide eyed gaze looking somehow penetrating, "Good luck." She said simply.
"Congratulations, Harry, Hermione." Neville said, clapping Harry on the back, "It was a really nice wedding."
"Thanks, Nev." Harry said, shaking his friend's hand.
Hermione just pulled the large boy into a hug, causing him to blush.
"Congrats, Mate." Ron said, "You picked a good one."
"I know I did." Harry smiled, "Thanks for standing up with me."
"Who else?" Ron asked, "I would have been upset if you hadn't asked me."
Harry just nodded and embraced his tall gangly friend. Hermione, half smiling and half sobbing grabbed both of them and squeezed.
Once they broke apart, Harry grabbed Hermione and with a quick move, hoisted her off her feet. The door opened to his wandless command and he carried his bride over the sill. The door shut right behind them, a loud locking sound conspicuous.
Harry carefully placed his bride on her feet in their bedroom and kissed her deeply, reigniting passions in both, barely tamped down during the seemingly everlasting delay between their vows and their room.
"One second…" Hermione barely managed to pull herself away, "this is important."
She went to a particular rune sequence and carefully tapped it in a pre-planned series and then with another complicated wand movement and a long incantation, she activated the whole series she'd placed beforehand.
"That's it." Hermione said, "I set up some wards beforehand."
Harry nodded, knowing there was more to it than she said so casually, but also knowing now wasn't the time to ask. They came back together, lips meeting urgently. The entire ceremony had been like an appetizer, the two lost in each other and anticipating what was to come afterwards. Now they were drawn together by a primal force as old as humankind.
"Oh, I want you!" Harry murmured, almost into Hermione's open mouth as he barely broke the kiss to talk.
"Good, because you have me." Hermione said, "You can have me however you want. I'm yours, completely."
Harry smiled, his lips curving upwards against hers as she again closed the distance and they kissed. As they continued to kiss, Harry's hands wandered. He managed to reach Hermione's breasts in the low cut bodice, touching them hungrily. He kissed and nibbled on her neck as he squeezed her and she moaned.
"I've wondered what you had on under this since the moment I saw you." Harry groaned.
"Nothing there, as you can tell." Hermione smiled, "A very damp pair of knickers on the bottom, but I'll need your help to get out of this enough for you to get at them."
"Just tell me where to start." Harry said eagerly.
Hermione simply nudged him behind her and raised a few curls of hair that had fallen off the topmost button of the long series of buttons on the back.
"Ah, I see." Harry grinned, "Looks like I've got a lot of work ahead of me."
"Don't take too long." Hermione urged, "I feel like I'm about to explode just from your hands."
Harry took a bit more time to continue kissing her neck and nuzzle against her ear as his hands continued to play with her nipples, even more accessible from the better angle behind her. He finally relinquished her left nipple with his right hand and started unbuttoning. The lower he got, the more room there was for his other hand in her bodice. Hermione arched her neck, moaning at the sensation. When she finally opened her eyes, she realized they were in front of a large mirror attached to the top of a chest of drawers. Placed there to help in getting ready, it reflected a wanton image of a virginal bride, head thrown back, all in white, but with her groom's hand deeply within her bodice, grasping one breast, while the other spilled out of the open garment. The pulse fluttered in the long line of her neck as Harry continued to kiss. Without even thinking about it, he was already pushing his magic at her and she was responding, feeling like she was afire.
Harry finally had to abandon kissing her neck and caressing her breasts, because he had reached buttons lower than he could unfasten without kneeling slightly. He went to both knees and continued unbuttoning, pausing at her hips as he wrapped his arms around her. He kissed the small of her back, visible only in the vee of her open dress as he rubbed his hands over her flat belly.
"Someday our children will be here." Harry murmured.
The love Hermione felt through the bond at those words was enough to make Hermione's knees weak.
"Someday?" Hermione whispered, "Maybe tonight."
"Tonight?" Harry asked breathlessly.
"Maybe." Hermione whispered, "I quit the potion. I actually cast a mild confundus charm on myself, because I didn't want to know where in my cycle I am and with the way my mind works with numbers, if I hadn't, I'd know whether I was fertile or not. I want tonight to be a complete surrender. I'm completely yours. You can decide where to spend and if it's in me, you may be a father. I'm all yours to do whatever you want."
"You didn't have to do that." Harry whispered back, his voice quavering at how completely his bride was giving herself to him.
"I wanted to." Hermione replied, her voice almost assuming her lecturing tone but colored with a haze of arousal, "This is so magically powerful… the ritual of marriage…the sacrifice of a bride to her bridgegroom… a blood sacrifice of a virgin bride. Powerful light magic, love magic, blood magic, sex magic, invoking even the magic of creation."
Harry didn't respond except with his hands, easing the dress over her rounded hips and letting it slide to the floor. Hermione stepped out of it, gesturing and sending it zooming to the wardrobe. Harry stood and wrapped his arms around her, again nuzzling into her neck. Her eyes were drawn to their image in the mirror. She was almost nude, wearing only a white garter belt, white stockings, and high heel shoes. Her chestnut hair was still on top of her head with only loose curls draping over her neck and shoulders, nothing to hide her breasts or her pale pink nipples, currently darker with arousal and very erect. Her flat tummy…for now anyway… without a hair on it, her sex wet and open behind the sheer silk of her knickers. Harry was gorgeous, still completely dressed in his dress robes, as she'd intentionally left him. Dark robes against the pallor of his skin, his raven hair adorably messy and his green eyes on fire with love and lust for her. She shivered, not because of cold, but because circumstances were coming together so perfectly to inflame her arousal. Telling him what she'd done, leaving herself vulnerable to him was like an aphrodisiac. She found herself talking without even knowing what she was saying.
"I want you to take me, to use me, however you want me. It's our first time and I should be asking you to be gentle, but I don't want to. I get to feel it as me and as you and I want you to just take me even if it hurts. I want to walk into the Great Hall tomorrow and have everyone notice that I'm walking funny, because you've left me so sore I can barely sit. I want you in me, I've waited so long for it and I want it…"
Harry hushed her turned-on babble by grabbing her shoulder and turning her to kiss her. Her words had obviously enflamed his passions, too, because he was already rougher than his usual almost too-careful self, mashing his lips against hers so hard she knew they'd both be puffy and reddened. He slipped his tongue into her mouth as she pressed herself as hard against him as she could. She loved that he was still fully dressed while she was almost naked. She wanted pictures of this moment and wondered if you could take pictures in a pensieve. She wrapped her legs around him when he picked her up and walked her to the bed, throwing her down. Her breath left her in a gasp, whether from the impact with the mattress or her lust. Her hair spilled out of the careful arrangement, tendrils escaping everywhere. Harry removed her heels and then stood at the edge of the bed, carefully undressing himself while she watched. At first she pushed her legs together, trying to give him the image of the innocent virginal bride in her wedding bed, but she couldn't resist letting her legs fall to the side. She knew the damp silk didn't hide much at all and his eyes on her had an almost physical weight as he obviously tried to memorize every line of her body.
Her conscious mind was almost completely overwhelmed, disappearing into the subconscious desires, the loud voice of her reason for once drowned by an even louder voice, but she was still Hermione-enough to notice the sheer force of magic being generated by the convergence of so many sources of ancient magic and her wards meant to magnify all of it. She had one moment to wonder whether she'd overdone it a bit before Harry finished undressing and she felt his body against hers.
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The Headmaster stood on the balcony with his deputy. Together, the two powerful magi contemplated the surrounding magical environment. Power was subtly streaming towards Hogwarts, the pace increasing with every second.
"I wonder if she knows what she has done." Dumbledore said.
"Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked, "I mean Mrs. Potter? Does that girl ever fail to do her research?"
"Yes, but research will only tell you so much." Dumbledore said, "I don't think either of them has realized to what extent Harry has been a node of light side magic. It is that which draws the phoenix. As I taught them early on, magic begets more magic and his magic is attractive to light side magic. She has designed wards to amplify that and purposefully done it at a moment already steeped in power."
"Trust in the girl, Albus." Minerva said calmly.
"I do, but I think we will all be audience members at a spectacle to dwarf even the wonderful ceremony we saw earlier." Dumbledore said, looking out over the horizon and the streams of magic that flowed ever more swiftly towards Hogwarts.
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Harry crawled onto the bed, his body thin but powerful, every muscle etched by hard work and magical enhancement. He grabbed the sides of Hermione's knickers, briefly considering ripping them off, but realizing he would rather have them as a souvenir, something else to remember what would be one of the peak moments in his life. He eased them off her hips, his gentle touch as much a testament to his feelings as any poem. Hermione could feel the raging passion mixed with the gentlest love all over the bond and knew her own emotions were just as tangled. Love, arousal, fear, more desire than she could ever describe…this moment was one of the first she could recall where the complexity of her overactive brain didn't matter, because it was buried in the moment.
He crawled up the bed, sliding into the space between her widely spread legs. He started at her feet, running his hands over the pointed toes of her stocking clad feet and along the smooth muscles of her calves. He caressed her bent knees and felt the outsides of her thighs with his hands. He dipped his mouth to kiss the inner thighs, kissing her first through the thin silk and then above the stockings, against her silken skin. She gasped, anticipation raising her sensitivity to where she half thought he'd gone straight for her middle. They could both smell her arousal, her musky scent heavy in the room. She was so dripping wet she would have been embarrassed if she had any shame left, but she didn't. She had surrendered it with everything else to him. She was his, however he wanted her, and he'd made her so wet she had wondered if their wedding guests would smell her scent even past the thick gown and the smell of the wedding flowers.
Harry kissed his way up her inner thigh, barely running his tongue along her folds. He didn't even think about lingering, feeling her urgency as if it was his own. Their minds were so synchronous that it was becoming hard to recall whose body was whose. Their magic was flowing as powerfully as they'd ever dared before, but the level of flow now that would have ripped screaming orgasms from them by force before, was just raising their arousal, higher and higher. It was like there was some barrier between them and climax, but it wasn't bad. Instead it was letting sensation build like water behind a dam and at some point the dam would break. As high as it was rising, she wasn't sure she could take the release. Particularly because as high as the magic was flowing now, she had a vague sense that it could flow so much stronger and faster.
She felt his mouth move over her belly, over her ribs, pull in a nipple and release it. Every inch of her body felt like the sensitivity had been turned to high. Her senses were in overdrive. She could smell her lover, smell the outdoorsy scent of him, like fresh cut grass and wind and flying. She grabbed his messy black hair in her hands, pulling his mouth to where she wanted it, running just the tip of her tongue over his lips before diving into his mouth. She kissed him, focusing on their mouths to shut out the almost unbearable wonder of his body sliding over hers as he got into position between her spread legs. She could feel his throbbing hardness as it pressed into her leg, slid over her sex, and bounced against her as he moved. She knew exactly how big it was and knew it was going to be a very tight fit for her unused sex. She wasn't sure why that thought was arousing instead of scary, but right now it was.
"I mean it, Harry." She whispered urgently in his ear after she finally broke off the kiss, "I want you to take me. Don't be gentle. Don't worry about hurting me, because you can't. I want you to be rough. I want to wake up sore from you. I want you to spend in me and fall asleep feeling it drip out, wondering whether you made me a mum. I'm yours and I want you to take me."
Harry could feel her complete sincerity through the bond, so his conscience didn't twinge. He knew she would be even hotter if he teased her, though.
"Take you hard?" Harry asked, "Take your virginity hard? Ram my cock into you?"
"Merlin, yes!" Hermione urged, on the edge of climax as Harry continued to push magic through the bond as he positioned himself. She felt his head nudge between her slick labia, wedging itself in her virgin slit. He carefully positioned himself so the head was just inside, barely pushing on her hymen.
"This is further than we've ever been." Harry said, looking down at his bride, spread lewdly in front of him.
Hermione just nodded, trying to wiggle her hips to get him deeper in her, whining a bit when it stretched her hymen.
"So you want me to just take you?" Harry teased.
Hermione nodded.
"Fuck your cunt and spend in you, even though you may get knocked up?"
She nodded and tried to grasp him with her ankles, but he stayed just far enough away.
"Then beg me." Harry said.
Hermione's eyes got wide, but she couldn't help herself.
"Oh, please, Harry, give it to me. Take me. Use me."
Harry stared into her eyes, emerald green locking with deep brown. He could see the pleading look in her eyes as she trembled on the edge of release and couldn't resist her. He thrust home in one rough motion. Her eyes never left his, never closed, just widened a bit more as her mouth opened as wide as it had ever been and she cried out in orgasm. The intrusion hurt, he could feel that, and her orgasm would never have been possible outside of magic, but with magic and the bond, with having been on the edge for so long, with the sheer kinky naughtiness of surrendering herself ultimately to the one she loved most in the world, she came as hard as she'd ever come. He pulled out and slammed home again, her hips bucking against his, making the second thrust even deeper than the first. She almost lifted him off the bed with the force of her return thrusts, bucking into him, their bodies making wet slapping sounds against each other.
Their magical bond, widened by almost two years of constant use, completed, triggered by their marriage and physical union. From a thick connection between their cores, it opened as wide as possible, their auras blending into each other, indistinguishable at this close distance. The magic flowing between them increased until their entire core was cycling through the couple constantly.
Power hummed through the wards and the runes lit up in gold and green fire, overshadowing the firelight in the room. Neither of them noticed the inflow, they were so caught up in each other they couldn't distinguish it from the increased flow from themselves.
The energy began pulsing in time to their heartbeats or their thrusts; it was hard to tell which since they were almost perfectly synchronized. Hermione was writhing and bucking under Harry, coming with each thrust or continuously, since each blended into the next seamlessly. Eyes locked together, they shared their minds, their magics, and their bodies. Finally complete, it was as if they were two souls inhabiting one mind, one body, and one massive magical core. It was a way of communing they'd never experienced and they were lost in each other.
Hedwig sat on her perch within the circle, singing a ringing song of power with the same beat and guarding her chosen.
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Albus and Minerva continued to stand on his balcony, looking over the dark and silent grounds. The streams of magic flowing into Hogwarts had become giant cables of power and Gryffindor tower was pulsing to some regular beat, waves of light magic rolling off the tower like heat waves and being drawn back by Hermione's wards. Dumbledore had been able to feel it for several minutes, but it was increasing in intensity constantly. McGonagall was now able to feel it and soon it would be above the threshold for even the students to feel, especially in Gryffindor Tower.
"Will it have any ill effects?" McGonagall asked.
"No." Dumbledore said, "It is very clearly filtered light magic and will not have any deleterious effects. I am afraid there is an element of wild magic, sex magic, that may have a tendency to make our students a bit…randy. We may need to alert the Heads of House to increase patrols tonight."
McGonagall flushed slightly, nodded, and hurried away to make arrangements. Dumbledore continued to stand on the balcony, looking out over the grounds, thinking and hoping that Hermione's plans worked as she hoped.
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Ron looked out over the grounds, as well. Harry and Hermione's closest friends had been restless after the ceremony. They'd spent time dancing and talking with the other guests, but they'd soon wandered off and ended up at the top of the astronomy tower, where they sat under the permanent warming charms and looked around.
"Do you feel that?" Luna asked.
"What?" Ron replied.
"Something is beginning." Luna said, her eyes almost unfocused, attention on something none of the others could see.
"Is it Death Eaters?" Neville asked, ready to activate the DA. He'd feared that Voldemort would use the wedding as a trigger to attack Hogwarts and had been primed to defend the castle and his friends all night.
"No…" Luna said, "Something Hermione's done. Can't you feel the pulsing?"
"I…think so." Ginny offered, "Like a heartbeat."
Luna nodded, holding her hands out as if trying to feel the warmth from a fire.
"It's getting stronger." Luna mused, "Everyone will be able to feel it soon."
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Harry and Hermione stood in their shared mindscape. Their avatars were as nude as their actual bodies were, clothed only in their continuously pulsing auras. They'd found their conscious minds manifesting fully here.
"Why are we here?" Hermione asked, "This isn't part of what I planned."
"Maybe it is." Harry offered, now knowing Hermione's plan through their completed bond, "I'm being drawn, let's follow and see where."
Hermione nodded, for once not complaining he wasn't thinking things through. She'd already done the preparation, maybe now it was time to wing it.
They quickly walked into the tower of Harry's mind, the defenses not slowing their master. A stairway led down.
"This wasn't here before." Harry offered unnecessarily. Their towers had been designed to the same plans and neither had a basement, since that portion had a negative connotation to potions and Snape's long term abuse.
They walked down the stairway, which descended deep into a barely lit region of dark stone walls. The only light was from their own auras which seemed to push back the darkness. It fled reluctantly, pushed back as if by force. Cold seemed to radiate from the single room, a heavy steel door carved with runes and glowing the emerald green of Harry's magic.
"The door is yours." Hermione said, examining it closely, "It looks like it was made to lock something in, not to keep you out."
Harry nodded. "I think this is it."
Hermione's eyes widened. Why hadn't she realized?
"Of course. It's a symbolic representation of how you've unconsciously walled off the soul fragment. You've been walling it off for most of your life, Harry. It might not be safe to open the door…"
"It's not safe." Harry said, "I can feel that. But how else can we get to it to destroy it? You've gone to all the effort of designing this ritual to give us the best chance of destroying it. We'll never be able to duplicate this…" with this he gave her a lust-filled look as they both thought about their bodies still locked in embrace, time outside passing at an unknown rate as they focused inside, "it's now or never."
Hermione bit her lip, but nodded. He was right. She'd designed the ritual to funnel power to their effort at destroying it, but she'd thought the destruction would happen automatically as light magic flooded through Harry. His description of how seeing her alive in the Ministry and his love for her chasing Voldemort out of his mind had made her think that something similar but even more powerful might be enough to banish the soul fragment from him. She hadn't realized it would take this form.
Harry reached out and opened the door. Giant Mithril rods locking the door slid from their extended position and the door swung open. They walked in and the door closed behind them with a solid thunk. In front of them, a thin black robed man shape sat on a black throne. Only his face and his hands were easily visible, pale in the dim light from their auras. Light seemed to stream off them and be drawn to him, disappearing into the black nimbus around him. He looked up and Voldemort's red eyes looked at them.
"Ah, Harry Potter. Finally, we meet again."
"Do you look forward to your destruction so much, Tom?" Harry asked, stepping forward confidently.
"How old are you now?" Voldemort asked, standing from his throne, "I was able to monitor the rest of your mind for many years, but you have become more…closed to me lately. It has become difficult to gauge the passage of time."
"Old enough." Harry said, "Given that I defeated you at a year of age, again at eleven, again at twelve. I actually lose count."
Voldemort glared, "Upstart boy! You have never defeated me. A setback at most, but I have a foothold in your own mind. I have drawn your own power from you and become strong. I will destroy your mind and take your body for myself."
Looking at this version of Voldemort, Hermione began to realize how the Horcruxes worked. The diary Horcrux had represented Tom Riddle as he was as a student. Because he'd been locked into a diary, undisturbed until Ginny Weasley began writing in it, he only knew what his younger self knew and what Ginny had told him. This version was different. He'd lived in Harry's mind and had been able to take information and power from his host. He'd continued to develop for the past decade and a half while Harry's mind had continued battling him unconsciously, aided by his mother's protection. Cut off from the outside, this fragment of the greatest Dark Lord in history had developed in a different way. Looking at him, it was clear he was even paler than Voldemort usually was and his teeth appeared sharper. This version was a vampire, having specialized in how to draw energy from his host.
"Harry!" Hermione cried out, "Be careful, he's a vampire!"
Voldemort laughed.
"Vampires would presume to claim me as one of theirs." He hissed, "True, locked in this wasteland I have been forced to develop my abilities to steal power from my enemy. All of my magic, limited in utility and focused on this one end. I have mastered all the ways to draw energy, to steal it, and to utilize it. You will soon learn that my intellect and power devoted to a single direction for so long is unstoppable."
Voldemort made a threatening gesture and Harry dodged to the side, throwing out his hand and sending a stream of SPEARs at the dark wizard. They impacted on the black nimbus that surrounded him and disappeared, their power disappearing into the void that only became visible due to the energy vanishing into it.
"You merely make me stronger." Voldemort laughed, "Please, send me more!"
Harry thought a moment and then yelled, "Expecto Patronum!". Prongs appeared and charged Voldemort, but was ripped apart on hitting the barrier, his substance being drawn into wisps of light similar to a non-corporeal Patronus and was sucked into the void.
Voldemort grimaced. "Not my favorite sustenance, but far from damaging me, it also strengthens me. Face it, boy. Anything you hit me with will just feed me. I will never let you leave this room. You will die here and I will emerge to take over your body. The great Harry Potter will become the next Dark Lord only to be revealed to be Voldemort all along."
Hermione had spent the time trying more subtle methods of defeating the shield. She'd cast every dispelling charm she knew at it and each was sucked into the shield, feeding it. She'd gently explored the shield, thinking to try the same technique Harry had used to pry the Horcruxes out of their hosts, but every wisp of magic she directed at the shield was drawn in without accomplishing anything.
Harry shook his head, denying the dark wizard's words. His face didn't acknowledge them otherwise and he circled, looking for an opening. After a moment he circled towards Hermione and held out his hand.
"It doesn't matter what I throw at you." He said, verbalizing his realization, "We're in my mind. Spells mean nothing here. I am master here. You can absorb energy, but you must have a limit."
"You cannot fathom how much power I can wield, Harry Potter." Voldemort smiled.
"Well, let's test that." Harry said, grasping Hermione's hand. Together they pointed their other hands and white fire shot forward, crashing into Voldemort's black shield, which sucked their power in and grew even more black. The couple increased their efforts and a solid bar of white fire disappeared into the blackness.
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Luna stared almost sightlessly straight ahead. The powerful throbbing was now easily felt by each inhabitant of the castle as if Hogwarts had developed a heartbeat. It felt…interesting. As if the essence of phoenix song was mixed with firewhiskey and turned into sound. It beat at each of them, making them even more restless. It felt strong, powerful, good, and somehow sexual. The beams of energy flowing into the castle had increased proportionately, seeming somehow to feed the pulsing.
"They've found him." She said absently.
"Him?" Ron asked, "Him who?"
"Voldemort." Luna said.
"What?!" Neville said, leaping to his feet, "We have to help them!" Only Ron's hand on his arm kept him from running down the stairs.
"No, we'll be just as much help here." Luna said, "Be ready."
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Harry and Hermione were limned in white fire as they poured their magical energy into Voldemort's shield. The shield was vampiric in nature, absorbing and recycling every erg of power directed at it. The room itself was growing colder and darker as the shield absorbed even ambient heat to strengthen itself more. Such a shield couldn't be destroyed unless it could be overloaded, because it turned every attack into more strength to resist.
Every channel in both of them was open to the maximum, pouring their own energy into the shield. The power gained through their marriage, the power gained through Hermione's sacrifice of her entire self to her husband, the power being sent to them from the natural ley lines and light magic sources all over were pouring into Voldemort's shield. The shield absorbed it all and seemed to grow even more powerful.
Harry looked at Hermione and they conferred without speech. They reached the same conclusion. This was their best chance to destroy the fragment and if they failed, there wouldn't be a second chance other than Harry's death. Either they beat him here or Harry had to die, which would take Hermione with him. So there was nothing to lose.
"You can't win." Harry said calmly, still pouring power into his attack on Voldemort's shield, "I'll die before I let you win and if I die, you'll die since I'm your host."
"You can't defeat me!" Voldemort shouted, "I will draw in all your power and use it to lock your soul into your body while I control it! You will never reach the limit my shield can absorb."
Surprisingly Harry laughed, an open confident laugh.
"You know why you're wrong, Tom?" Harry asked, "Because your shield has a limit. Against it my wife has staked our love for one another and that has no limit."
Hermione's lip quirked upward at that. No matter what happened, she was with this man until the very end.
Both of them poured even more power into their attack. They focused their very life force at the shield and still it absorbed everything they could throw. Whether they beat it or died trying, this fragment of Voldemort would cease. Maybe with their last act they could redirect the unleashed energy through this fragment's connection with the actual Voldemort, destroying him. Or maybe Neville would have to pick up the banner. Maybe his connection to the prophecy would be enough. They both felt themselves start to fade. Once they burned through their magic, they'd be Squibs or Muggles. Once they burned through their life force, they'd die. No matter what, they'd be sure they took at least this fragment with them.
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On top of the astronomy tower, the sky had turned overcast. Thick clouds had rolled in, obscuring the stars. The pulsing continued, now light as well as sound. The undersides of the clouds were dimly illuminated with each pulse.
The four friends sat knee to knee, watching the strange way the environment was mirroring whatever internal struggle.
"Do you feel anything new?" Ginny asked, looking at Luna. She was leaning into Neville for comfort, her arms around herself.
Luna started to shake her head no, but then her eyes opened wide.
"They're in trouble! Quick, grab hands and try to send our energy to them!"
Luna grabbed Ron's hand and Neville's. Ginny completed the circle by grabbing her boyfriend and her brother. They focused on their friends and tried to send their power to help however they could.
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McGonagall had coordinated with the Head Boy and Head Girl to set up additional patrols and set the other Heads of House to also patrolling. Snape, Flitwick,and Sprout were all disturbed by what they sensed in the ambient magic. Hagrid had come up to the castle to report the Forbidden Forest was restless.
"Albus, what's happening?" she asked, "Isn't there anything we can do?"
He shook his head. "Nothing I can think of."
They looked out over the thick overcast. Suddenly a tiny burst of bluish fire appeared against the clouds, looking like nothing more than lightning. Fawkes cried out behind them and they saw a similar burst of red and gold fire as he appeared in the sky. Soon tiny flashes of every color of the rainbow started flickering. A thin note of phoenix song floated on the night air, growing stronger every moment as more and more phoenices appeared.
"They're gathering!" Dumbledore almost shouted, surprised by something completely outside of his experience.
The phoenices flew around the castle in a tight ring, their power and song palpable to the inhabitants.
"We must try to send our power to Harry and Hermione." Dumbledore said, suddenly knowing what they must do. He grasped his Deputy Headmistress' hand and they focused on their favorite students, sending them what aid they could.
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Harry and Hermione were almost done. They had sunk to their knees on the floor of the basement throne room in Harry's mindscape. The room itself was beginning to flicker, the walls becoming translucent as the mindscape itself began to break up without Harry's magic to sustain it. Still they poured their magic and their life force into the attack, knowing they'd completely deplete their available stores in seconds.
The vampiric Voldemort laughed, sitting on his throne within a black dome, easily seen against the white fire beating against it.
"You think I'll just let you die?" he hissed, "As soon as your defenses fall, I'll take you and keep you from dying. You've given me more than enough power, more than I've ever felt before! I don't know where you got it all, but with riches of power like these, the entire world will fall soon after your possession. In moments your defenses will end and I'll be able to reach my other self again. Are you ready, Harry Potter?"
Harry looked at Voldemort's soul fragment and realized he was ready. His parents had given their lives in the fight against Voldemort. His sacrifice would carry on their legacy. He didn't want to lose Hermione, but he'd sworn they'd be together beyond death and he believed it.
Hermione felt the same way. At a very young age she'd decided her destiny was beside this boy, now man, and she'd follow her destiny wherever it led.
Their choice to sacrifice themselves to oppose the most evil dark wizard ever seen tapped into ancient magic, similar magic to that which Harry's mother had used, but they sacrificed themselves for the world, without even a child of their own. The utter selflessness of their actions added to the power of the sacrifice.
Voldemort quit laughing as a sound like the loudest cannon charm ever heard sounded.
"What was that?" he asked, looking around the room, which was hazy, almost completely gone.
It sounded again. The black dome had a crack in it. The crack looked like a split in some black substance with white fire behind it. As lava flowed, it developed a black crust. Sometimes that crust cracked and molten lava could be seen within. The dome looked like that as light poured out of the crack, like the sun had been covered by a black shell which had cracked. More cracks spread out through the dome, before it shattered with a sound like the ending of the world. Vampiric Voldemort was completely incinerated in the first instant, a scream like the destruction of the earlier horcruxes sounding throughout the room.
White fire poured from the shattered dome, splashing against the now very solid walls. Harry and Hermione could barely see each other, lost in the whiteness and light. It felt like the energy would incinerate them, too, but it wasn't as inimical as it had been to Voldemort, but they still burned with it. They felt their life force and their cores filled to overflowing and more, more power than they could ever handle.
"We've got to use it!" Hermione cried out.
"Can we send it down the link against Voldemort?" Harry yelled.
"Was he able to open the link?" Hermione asked.
"No, I never felt it." Harry said.
"I built the circle to handle it!" Hermione screamed, "It's too much, just send it out!
They were suddenly back in their bodies, still in the middle of coupling. The power felt like pleasure, overflowing, too much to stand, too much to survive. They both felt themselves caught in the grip of the strongest orgasm they could have ever imagined, so powerful it was almost unpleasant, spasms so intense it felt like they'd grasped a high power electrical line at the moment of climax. Harry gave one last thrust as deeply into Hermione as he could possibly get and her legs convulsively locked around his hips, trying to pull him even further inside. He spent himself inside her and it felt like fire. Harry screamed and white fire poured from his mouth, white fire poured from his scar. They both pushed it out from them and the carefully constructed wards funneled it upwards, away from them and the other inhabitants of the castle.
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Ginny gaped as a pillar of white fire shot into the sky from the side of Gryffindor tower. It shot through the clouds, instantly burning them off, then splashed against the dome of the Hogwarts wards, which lit up the grounds like it was daylight and beyond, shadows dancing wildly. The phoenices flew around in a circle around the flaming pillar, singing a song of victory.
"They did it." Luna said, opening her eyes.
"You think?" Ron asked, open mouthed.
Neville couldn't even speak, looking wildly around.
"Do we need to check on them?" Ginny asked, hesitantly.
"No, I don't think they'd welcome that right now." Luna said, "I think we'll see them in the morning."
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Dumbledore and McGonagall gaped as the pillar of fire shot from the addition to Gryffindor Tower into the sky.
"Merlin!" McGonagall exclaimed, "Are they ok?"
Dumbledore glanced at his desk, seeing his instruments still functioning, he nodded.
"Harry's fine and if he's fine then Hermione is, too. Better than fine if my instruments are accurate, I think they succeeded."
They both stared as the pillar of fire lasted for minutes before fading, leaving an afterimage on their sight for some time afterwards. Sparks began again against the little remaining overcast, as the phoenices slowly began to leave the gathering.
"No such gathering has been recorded before. I think we are the first to see it." Dumbledore said.
"I thought his father and his friends had surprises for me." McGonagall said, stunned.
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Harry rolled off Hermione, both of their bodies bathed in sweat. They both caught their breath, feeling physically exhausted, but content and magically replete. After their breathing had slowed a little, Hermione curled into Harry's side, wincing a bit as she felt a bit of soreness.
"Is that how you thought it would be?" Harry asked, meaning the wards and the ritual circle.
Hermione giggled, then started fully laughing.
"No, Harry, I never quite imagined my first time would be like that!"
Harry had to laugh, too.
Once she'd gotten control of herself again, Hermione reached out to trace Harry's scar.
"It already looks less angry." She observed, "How do you feel?"
"Amazing!" Harry said, "My mind feels so much clearer. It's like I had a permanent buzzing in my head and now it's gone, although that's not quite it, either. I feel you more clearly, too."
Hermione smiled at him, tracing the rest of his face with her hand.
"How about you?" Harry asked, "Are you all right?"
"Oh, I'm ok." Hermione said, smiling, "A bit tender, but feel really good, too. It feels like you tried to wring every drop of pleasure out of me you possibly could."
"I'm sorry." Harry said gently.
"Don't be." Hermione said, "I asked you to do it. I don't quite know what I was thinking, but it was really one of those peak experiences. I don't think we would have won without every scrap of energy, either, so it might have saved our lives."
Harry nodded and pulled his new bride tighter into his side.
"I'm sleepy now." Hermione mumbled, "But I'm not so sore that if we wake up in the night, I would mind much if we tried that again."
Harry smiled, "I think I'd like that. This time without the soul fragment part."
Hermione's breathing came regularly and he knew she was asleep. The smile spread across his face as he enjoyed feeling her mind attached to his, without the malevolent presence he'd never consciously recognized. He drifted off to sleep, completely content for once in his life.
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A/N: This chapter meant a lot to me, so it caused a bit of writer's block. I also feel like I hit not quite the right note with the last chapter. I'm not completely disappointed with it, but I definitely understood the criticisms. I am taking Hermione OOC but trying to do it as a development of her character rather than a complete change, if that makes sense.
In this chapter I wanted to accomplish two things, the wedding and the destruction of Harry's Horcrux, the project Hermione's been researching for so long. I hope you like it.
There may be quite a delay until the next chapter. This is a natural stopping place for a little while. The rest of this school year should progress pretty uneventfully. We'll have a slower chapter where they take their OWLs and head home, then summer, then the next year. I plan for the story to reach a natural conclusion in the next year, although I may still write subsequent stories in this universe.
Please give feedback, but be gentle, this one is one of my babies.