Chapter I

Who She Is to Me

"The whole world is divided for me into two parts: one is she, and there is all happiness, hope, light; the other is where she is not, and there is dejection and darkness..."

― Leo Tolstoy

It was not often that Harry Potter wanted to inflict bodily harm to something, but when he gazed upon Hermione's petrified form he had felt the urge to inflict massive amounts of harm onto whoever or whatever had done this to his friend. But then that feeling was drowned by an ocean of guilt that threatened to crush his spirit.

The thing he had been dreading had happened. For so long he had been concerned that Hermione would be the next victim, and maybe the first death. Merlin, he was so frightened for her. So afraid that she would be next. That he would not be able to see her anymore in the common room curled up in her chair with a book in hand and hair mused. Not hear her voice say his name. Not feel the warmth and care from her hugs.

If he lost her… If he lost her, he would not know what to do. He was not talking academically either. He cared little for that. No, it was the warmth and care that seemed to radiate from her toward him that he cared more about than her smarts.

As he sat there staring blankly at her petrified form, he idly noted that he would not have felt this way if it were any of the other people he knew. Correction: he would not have felt this strongly if it were anyone other than Hermione. If it were Ron, than the emotion impact would not have been strong since there was just something underlying and powerful between him and Hermione.

Though he could say the two of them were like siblings, he would admit that he had no idea what having a sibling was like. But Hermione… Hermione was something beyond a sister. She went beyond what was like a mother even. At times she could be as exasperated at him as a mother, yet cheerful and pushy as a sister. So what was she really to him?

In the short time he had known her, she had grown from the lone bossy bookworm and teachers pet into a friend, then turned best friend. As she spent more time around him and Ron, she had relaxed about rules and mellowed out a bit, not too much, but just enough to understand what rules to follow and what rules to break.

But it was how she treated him compared to how she treated others and how versa vice. While everyone would look upon him with pity or revulsion, she would just look upon him with such warm eyes that spoke volumes of how much she cared deeply for him. At times during this year when their eyes met, he had felt that she just wanted to grab him and run away from all of the Heir of Slytherin mess. Hell, even he felt like doing it and completely ignoring Ron. No offense to him.

'Is this love?' he thought as he looked upon her frozen face. He wished that she wore a calm state upon her face instead of wearing a look of terror. He so badly wished to unpetrify her or at least have her in a peaceful state. He felt so helpless looking at her frozen in the same moment as she was attacked.

Was he cursed then to see those he cared for deeply harmed simply because they associated with him? No. He was not cursed. Those who would harm his loved ones were cursed for bringing upon his wrath for harming those dearest to him. That moment on he promised that he would never hide, that he could never have a normal life because he was not ordinary and never would be. That he was a freak amongst freaks.

Never again would he stand by idly. He would stand no longer for hatred. He would stamp it out. Stamp out ignorance. Destroy bigotry. But he would do so with knowledge, empathy and compassion.

All because he was not a monster and would not kill to prove his point. Because that was not what Hermione would want him to become, because he was not that.

He had finally found that light and hope he had so desperately searching for to give him purpose. Forge a world where she would not be repressed. Where she could shine as brightly as he saw her shine.

If he could not have stopped this from happening, he would be damned sure that this would never happen to her again on his watch.

"Mr. Potter, it is nearing curfew. I kindly ask you to return to your dorm," the voice of Madam Pomfrey said from behind him.

Broken from his musing, he looked out the window to see that it was twilight.

"I didn't know I had stayed so long," Harry stuttered with a blush. He was still wearing his Quidditch gear too.

Poppy's eyes softened at the lost look that passed over the child's face as he looked down upon his friend. Placing a comforting hand on his shoulder she said, "She'll be here in the morning. I'll make sure nothing unbecoming happens to her in the meantime."

Her heart went out to the boy even more when he once more stole a glance at the girl and sighed. "Please look after her. I don't know what would happen if…"

"Of course Harry," Poppy soothed as she hugged the boy. "I'm sure Hermione would want you rested as well my boy."

"She'd probably scold me for looking like a lost puppy," Harry joked as he looked back at his friend. A bout of silence passed a bit before he spoke once more. "Can you tell me what love is?"

Completely surprised at the question, yet not due to whom he was referring to, Poppy calmly explained her own idea on the subject. "It's placing your heart in the hands of someone capable of crushing it, and having complete faith in them to not. It's splitting the world into where they are and are not, and realizing that you want to be where they are."

Looking back at his friend, a great flood of understanding had poured into his mind. He loved Hermione. Even if he was too young to fully love or be loved as adults do, it did not mean he could not understand that he loved her. Leaning over in his chair, he placed a tender kiss upon her forehead and then one upon her cheek. His eyes swam however at the cold feeling of her skin when he caressed her cheek.

"I swear to you Hermione Granger that no harm like this will ever come of you again. I will become strong enough to protect you," he smiled softly as he imagined how Hermione would react to being overprotected. "And I hope you become strong enough to protect me and my heart. For I love you and you alone Hermione Granger."

He then placed a kiss upon her lips and bade her good night before returning to him dorm. Poppy sighed before covering the girl's body to keep her moderately warm before returning to her own live-in suite attached to the Hospital Wing to grab a catnap.

A golden glow soon appeared under her door a few hours later and drew Poppy's undivided attention. Throwing on a simple robe, the Medi-Witch rushed into the patient ward and checked up on all of her charges to see if all of them were fine. When she reached Hermione's bed, she nearly fainted when she saw Hermione's body posed as it were sleeping peacefully instead of frozen in place when she was attacked.

She then realized that Harry was right beside her bed holding the girl's hand. He was fast asleep, and from the looks of it, had been there nearly an hour or two.

Shaking her head, Poppy drew her wand and scanned the two of them to see if anything odd had happened.

"Only you Mister Potter. Only you would be capable of intertwining you magic with someone else and strengthening them both two fold," she murmured to herself. The woman the headed over to one of the dressers and pulled a spare blanket and draped it over the boy. Rapping his head softly with her wand, she muttered, "Next time you'll bring a blanket, else you'll be spending time in here once more."

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