AN: I don't own Harry Potter. Thanks!

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

Harry stormed down the hallway angrily. He wouldn't listen! Why is he not trying to understand! He acknowledged the Wizarding world is now at war, and yet he refuses to do anything!

The meeting with Dumbledore hadn't gone well. Dumbledore was happy to talk for hours about a small strand of a memory he had found, instead of actually doing anything. Harry knew he was impulsive and tended to follow his instincts into action. Dumbledore was quite the opposite. He prefered to know everything about a situation and have a complete account of everything happening before doing anything. Both approaches had their strengths and flaws.

Harry knew one of his flaws was rushing into a situation without a full assessment. It was part of what lead to Sirius's death the previous year. Harry had multiple means to contact Sirius, but he wasn't thinking straight. He was impetuous.

Over the summer, he had learned how to use his emotions. He channeled his grief, anger and frustration into opening his eyes. Not literally of course, but rather allowing him to think more creatively.

While many believed Harry to be a mediocre student, he should be among the top 5 students of his class. Growing up in an environment where he was never given any form of recreation, Harry learned to enjoy reading and learning. While Dudley would break a great many toys, and be very dumb in general, he made sure the freak never took any of them. They were his toys after all. However, books from school and the like were a different matter. The teachers made him read these dumb books, and as such the books weren't well liked. If the freak wanted to take the books, it would give him more room for his toys.

Harry had discovered that scientist and others who could approach and view a subject from multiple angles were the most successful. They tended to be the most knowledgable, had more experience, and could solve more problems than their peers. They always had another method to try. Harry had taught himself to follow this.

He had tried one angle. He knew that Malfoy was up to something. He wasn't acting the same. He didn't try to taunt or bother Harry in any manner. He wasn't constantly sneering at anyone who passed by him like they were scum off his shoe. He would enter the Great Hall to eat, and leave immediately afterward. He was rarely seen with Crabbe and Goyle strutting around everywhere.

Malfoy was up to something, and it could not be good. All of these changes meant that he had to be planning something. Something big, potentially dangerous, and required a lot of time and planning to execute. He had brought all the evidence he could muster up to Dumbledore. He had logs of the times that Malfoy appeared in public. He had pictures of the times where Malfoy would not appear on the Marauder's Map. He had a recording crystal of Pansy whining about how Draco didn't spend anytime with her anymore and was always busy with his mission. He even had another recording crystal of McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout all talking about Draco's change of attitude both in and out of class.

Despite everything he had, all Harry wanted Dumbledore to do is question Malfoy. He wanted to know what he was up to. But he had opted to do nothing.

"Harry, while I realize that Mr. Malfoy has started to act different, I do not believe he is doing anything wrong. Please, let me deal with the matter and focus on this memory."

As much as Harry respected Dumbledore, he knew it was the wrong choice. If you give an enemy all the time they need to plan, you are setting yourself up for failure. It was time for a different approach.

The next week saw Harry less than any other student, even Hermione. He spent almost every waking hour in the library. He delegated all Quidditch practice to Katie Bell. He would enter his classes seconds before they would start and leave the second they were over. He was taking full advantage of a pass given to him by Dumbledore which gave him full access to the restricted section. There was a small section in the back that had tables and Harry had books spread across all of them. He had pulled upwards of a hundred books out and had many open to various pages as he took notes and flew from book to book.

What he was looking for was very specific, and hard to find. Harry knew there was probably one book that would explain everything he needed to know in the Headmaster's collection, but that was out of reach. He needed a method to modify the wards of Hogwarts. Harry had already learned there was a secret in room of Hogwarts that housed all of ward stones. The location would normally be passed from one Headmaster to the next. Multiple books had mentioned the room and possible locations, but there was not one clear location. Harry had a feeling he would be able to use a combination of other spells had had learned on the Marauder's Map to discover the location.

Now Harry was looking into how to create, add, and modify wards. While Hogwarts had many defensive wards against external forces, none of them seemed to affect those already inside the school. This made sense for when the wards had been placed. At the time the school was built, it was built far larger than the number of students that first attended. The founders wanted there to be a lot of room for when the student class would grow. With only a small number of people in the castle, everyone would know each other well. If there was any issues, the teachers could easily sort it out themselves. Thus, the wards only need to protect everyone from external influences.

Despite the long time since then, no Headmaster had ever touched the wards in any manner. They would check the strength occasionally, but none had ever felt the need to change the wards.

Harry had already learned how to cast some of the wards he would need. An intent-based ward. On its own, it would do nothing but sense the intentions of everyone inside the castle. Easy to cast. It would tie into a different ward which would act on the people it received from the first ward. He caught a lucky break when he found a small section on projection wards.

Projection wards would be fed a single spell and project it throughout the area of the ward. They were very useful, albeit very uncommon. One could not cast multiple projection wards with different spells over the same area. They also tended to not be as strong as wards designed specifically for a single purpose. This issue could be solved by putting extra magic into the ward, but not every wizard had enough power to do so. It was more efficient to design a ward specifically for a single purpose that would take less magic to cast and maintain.

Of course, when one would tie the ward into the wards of Hogwarts, the potential power was unlimited. Hogwarts was built on a cross of 4 different ley lines. Its power potential was practically unlimited.

The final key came, ironically enough, from Dumbledore. When viewing a memory, he saw Tom bat away a spell with his hand. He questioned Dumbledore and discovered it was a small, but complex type of shield that would reflect magic away. While it could be cast anywhere, it would only cover a very small area which made it unsuitable for covering one's body. It was more useful to cast one wandlessly on a hand and then use the hand to intercept any spell.

Harry had almost every part of his plan ready now. All he needed was the ward stones.

Harry had cast a series of magic strengthening and detection charms on the map. Harry knew it had worked when the secret passages he knew about started to show up. The detection charm range was limited around the map though. As the map wasn't tied into the wards, it would only update areas it was physically taken to. With a little help of his invisibility cloak, Harry started to explore every nook and cranny of Hogwarts at night.

His first night out, Harry had started with a top-down approach. He would explore everything on the highest floor before working his way down. You never know what other secrets Hogwarts had. After hours of exploring (which included dodging Filch, Mrs. Norris, and a few prefect patrols), Harry had discovered a number of small passages that would traversing from one floor to another easier. Harry stopped around 2 in the morning. He was getting quite sleepy and didn't want to risk getting caught. He would get around six hours of sleep which would be on the lower end, but it was manageable.

He found the room on his second night out. As he was passing through a hallway, he noticed a wall on the map was shimmering. It seemed there was something there the map could detect, but couldn't quite make out. Luckily, Harry had a secret weapon for finding the room that no one else has ever thought of.

"Dobby!" Harry whispered loudly.

With a small pop, the diminutive House Elf appeared. He looked startled at being called out in the middle of a dark hallway at night. "Master Harry Potter sir? What is you doing out here?"

"Trying to protect Hogwarts. Dobby, is there a room over here?" He gestured to the wall the map had indicated.

"Oh yes Harry Potter sir! Dobby be seeing a special room sir! It be the Hoggywarts ward room sir!" He whispered loudly back as he bounced on his heels.

"Do you know how to get in?"

Dobby stopped his movement. With wide eyes he replied "Oh great and powerful Harry Potter, that room be restricted sir. Dobby not allowed to enter! Only Hoggywarts headmaster be allowed in!"

Harry knelt down on his knees until his eyes were level with Dobby's. He placed both hands on Dobby's shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. "Dobby, I believe that your former master is up to something. He has been acting strange and suspicious. I've already tried talking to Dumbledore who has decided not to do anything. All I want to do is add some wards to the ones already here. They are for our protection. You. Me. The rest of the students and teachers. The other House Elves. I don't know what Malfoy is up to and I want to protect everyone who may be in danger."

Dobby looked down at his socks. He had a conflict look upon his face. "Is Master Harry Potter sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay Master Harry Potter. Dobby do be helping you." With that, Dobby turned towards the wall and waved his hand. The stones rippled in a wave before twisted and turning into a doorway. "Dobby be making sure sir be unnoticed."

Harry walked through the doorway. Lanterns on either side light up. As Harry and Dobby crossed the threshold, the wall shimmered back into place. Harry continued forward until he came to the massive stone. The air itself was thick with the sheer amount of raw magic the stone contained. Harry stared at the stone in awh for a few moments. There were hundreds of runes covering the rock from the top to the bottom.

Picking his jaw off the floor, Harry pulled out his wand and parchment and got to work. Waving his wand around as he incantated the long string of words, Harry slowly weaved the wards onto the ward stone. First was the Intention ward. He set the intention to that of negative thought and harm to others. He finished the ward and starting the projection ward. He set the spell of that ward to the reflection shield. As he finished the long chant, he could feel a burst of magic rush out of him. He fell to his knees at the sudden tiredness.

He sat down and grinned to himself. It was done. It almost didn't matter what Malfoy was planning now. Anytime he or anyone else would cast a spell with the intent to purposely harm someone else, it would be reflected upon the caster. As it was now part of the Hogwarts's wards, it would be undetectable as well. Wizards tended to rely on spells to do everything for them, and thus, would be caught very unaware.

Harry quietly thanked Dobby before walking back to the wall. The doorway appeared and Harry stepped out and made his way back to his dorm.

Harry continued the rest of the term with a relatively normal schedule. He still kept an eye on Malfoy, but no longer tried to talk to his friends about his suspicions. He still did a fair amount of research in the restricted section, but he didn't sacrifice his time from any other activity. Harry did have a couple of surprises happen. A number of 7th years from slytherin mysteriously would up in the hospital with a variety of curses. None would offer any explanation as to how they had been cursed or who had cursed them.

Harry continued his "training" with Dumbledore, if you could call it that. While learning about Tom's past did offer some insight into how he operated, Harry believed much of it be somewhat pointless. People change over time. That is just a fact of life. There was a large period of time that Voldemort had spent as a spirit drifting around. That had to change a person or creature somehow. No amount of research would show that.

Harry didn't tell Dumbledore about his additional wards. While he respected Dumbledore and his accomplishments, it was hard to trust him. He trusted Snape and Malfoy far too much for Harry to trust his complete judgement.

One evening, Dumbledore informed Harry that he believed he had located a Horcrux. Finally. Harry was finally actually doing something in the war against Voldemort. He shrunk his Firebolt and invisibility cloak to take them along. He gave the map to Hermione and asked her to keep a lookout for anything suspicious. She gave him an exasperated look but agreed with his request.

As Harry made his way to the headmaster's office, he was struck with a random thought.

"Dobby!"

He appeared with a pop. "Master Harry Potter sir! Do you be needing something?"

"Dobby, I'm about to join Dumbledore on a mission against Voldemort. I'm not sure why, but I have a feeling that it will be very risky. This would also be a prime opportunity for someone to attack the castle. Can you tell the other house elves to watch over it while we are gone?"

"Oh yes sir, Harry Potter! Dobby can be doing exactly that!" He vanished with another pop.

Harry chuckled at Dobby's eccentric personality. He said the password to the statue and made his way up the stairs.

"Ah, Harry, good!" Dumbledore smiled at him. "I trust you are sufficiently prepared?"

"Yes sir. I've taken as many precautions as I can. Better safe than sorry!"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes, very much so." He held out a sock to Harry. "Let us depart now!"

Harry sped through the air as fast as he could manage. He had his invisibility cloak wrapped around him and Dumbledore. The headmaster was also bound to Harry's back as he flew.

The trip for the horcrux hadn't gone as Dumbledore had planned. He was very sick from drinking whatever green potion was in the bowl, and was not able to even stand on his own. After Harry apparate him back to Hogsmeade, he noticed the Dark Mark in the sky above Hogwarts.

He ran into the Three Broomsticks and yelled for someone to call aurors to Hogwarts. He dashed back out as a flurry of movement took place behind him. He quickly pulled out his Firebolt and cloak. He spelled Dumbledore to his back before mounting his broom and draping the cloak over both of them. He took off towards the castle as fast as he could manage.

Harry knew the front doors would be locked at this time at night and could not be opened from the outside. His only way into the castle was through the Astronomy tower. As Harry landed, his nerves increased from the quiet. He pushed off ground so that he was hovering only a inch above the ground before carefully navigating the spiral staircase down. He heard no sounds at all.

The Dark Mark was in the air, which must means Death Eaters breached the castle. He knew his additional wards worked, but there was no evidence of anyone around at all. As Harry reached the bottom of the stairwell, he turned a sharp right before continuing to the grand staircase. He dropped to the first floor as quickly as he could manage before heading towards the hospital wing.

There was still no activity in the castle. No students around, no sight of Filch or Mrs. Norris, no teachers, nothing.

As Harry flew closer to the Hospital Wing, he could finally hear the murmur of people talking. The doors flew open with a bang as he shoved them open. A giant crowd of students and teachers turned to look who had entered only to see nothing.

Harry quickly pulled off his cloak before exclaiming, "Madame Pomfrey!"

She emerged from the crowd and quickly made her way over to Harry and Dumbledore. He dispelled the sticking charms before helping her lift him into a nearby bed.

"I don't know what's wrong with him. He had to drink a bowl full of this shiny green liquid. It made him sick, seemed to cause pain some delusions. It's been perhaps 15 or 20 minutes? I've lost track of the time." As he talked, he glanced around the Hospital Wing.

The crowd of people included almost every Head of House as well as a number of Prefects. He saw Ron and Hermione making their way towards him. He could see some kind of pile which was in the middle of the crowd, but couldn't make out what it was yet.

"Hermione! Ron! Is everyone okay?" He asked with urgency in his voice.

Hermione ran up and engulfed him in a giant hug while Ron clamped a hand on his shoulder.

"Everyone's surprisingly fine, considering what happen." Hermione said before pulling her head back to look into Harry's eyes. "Death Eaters invaded the castle."

At Harry's lack of response, she shot him a questioning look. He replied back with a single word. "Malfoy?"

Hermione look down before resting her head on his chest again. "I'm so sorry Harry! I should have believed you! We don't know how he did it yet, but he somehow got them into the castle using the Room of Requirement. I saw them appear on the map. By the way, when did the map start showing the room? Last time I recall it didn't have …"

"Hermione!" Ron looked at her with an astonished face.

She blushed. "Ah, right, another time then. Anyway, I saw them appear before going to the Astronomy tower. I found Ron and then used the charmed galleon to alert the DA prefects. We went and found McGonagall and Flitwick. We went to confront them before they went after any students. As soon as we found them, they attempted to curse us, but something strange happened."

She took a breath before continue in a slower tone. "Every time they would yell out a curse, nothing would come out of their wand. Instead, they were hit by the effects of their own curse. At first I thought it was something Flitwick had done, but even he was confused. The Death Eaters cursed themselves out in seconds."

She tightened her grip on Harry. "Quite a few used the killing curse." The words seem to hang in the air for a few seconds. The Killing Curse? Had the additional wards Harry placed been able to reflect the unforgivables as well?

"As soon as the Death Eaters were done trying to curse us, House Elves popped up all over. They stunned and bound the ones still alive and brought them all here." She motioned toward the pile Harry had seen earlier. "As we were making our way down here, we encountered Snape leading a contingent of Slytherin students. They met with a similar fate."

She finally unwrapped her arms from around Harry as McGonagall stepped towards the trio. "Mr. Potter? Can you tell me where you and the Headmaster were?"

He shook his head slightly while looking over her shoulder at everyone else. "Not quite, and certainly not here. I made a promise to Dumbledore to not discuss this without his permission. It is his story to tell."

McGonagall pursed her lips but replied softly. "Yes, of course. I assume you came in from Hogsmeade?" At his nod, she continued. "You saw the Dark Mark?" He nodded once again. "Aurors are on the their way then? Oh dear, what a fiasco this is." With that, she departed the Hospital wing.

Harry grabbed Hermione's hand with one of his before slowly walking towards the crowd of students surrounding the pile of bodies the floor. Now that he was closer, he could clearly see two separate piles. The smaller pile held more than a few familiar faces. As Harry gazed at each one, his memory flashed back to the graveyard and the ministry fights from last year.

He could make out the faces of Fenrir Greyback, Malfoy Senior and Bellatrix Lestrange. They were here, dead, because of them. They came here to kill him presumably, and kill other students. Instead, they were dead because of spells he had cast.

He turned away towards the other pile. He recognized the faces of many of the older Death Eaters, as well as the faces of some classmates. He saw Draco Malfoy, as well as Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson. All of them were bound with ropes. There were still a number of House Elves who had stationed themselves everywhere. Quite a few kept looking in his direction before turning back.

Harry stepped back from the pile before turned and engulfing Hermione in another hug. He buried his head in the crook of her neck. This entire event could have become a disaster if he had followed Dumbledore's advice and done nothing. There would have been Death Eaters rampaging throughout the hallways cursing students and teachers. People could have been killed.

None of that happened though. Because of Harry. Because Harry put special wards on Hogwarts, no student or teacher was injured. No one would have to cry about sibling that had been killed.

The doors to the Hospital wing opened once again. McGonagall had returned and she was flanked with over two dozen aurors. Harry recognized Shacklebolt and Tonks amongst them. He and the other students moved out of the way as the Aurors stepped in to take over. They started to take individual students aside to question what they saw.

Tonks approached Harry and Hermione. "You okay kiddos?"

Harry nodded slightly while glancing over at the bed where the headmaster was laying. "Yeah, I'm fine."

At Hermione's disbelieving look, he continued. "Okay, I'm not physically injured in any manner. Am I coping? I'm not going to lose sleep over them. They came here to kill us and wound up dead instead. No good person was injured from them."

As Tonks looked over at Dumbledore, she spoke. "McGonagall said he was sick from some potion. I'm assuming that's because of some secret mission, so I won't ask about that. Kingsley will cover for you, so you won't have to worry about any more questions until Dumbledore can answer them." She walked away to talk to Ron.

As Harry turned towards Hermione, he was struck with a thought. "Hermione, I haven't seen Snape anywhere. What happened to him?"

Hermione's face turned a little green. "He cast some kind of dark cutting curse. Pomfrey isn't sure what it was. He sliced himself in half vertically. He got blood everywhere as he … fell apart. Dobby appeared and took his, uh, pieces somewhere."

With a look around the Hospital Wing, Harry started to lead Hermione out. "C'mon, let's get out of here from now. The aftermath can continue fine without us." Hermione looked like she wanted to protest, but Harry put one finger on her mouth. "Hermione, the aurors can do their jobs easier with less people in the way. We've given them our account and we will be asked to leave at some point regardless. There's no way that classes will not be cancelled tomorrow. It's easier for us to get out now and get some rest."

Hermione paused before rhetorically asking, "Aren't I supposed to the logical one? When did we switch roles?"

Harry chuckled softly. "You normally are, but you're stressed about everything right now. I've been in this situation and had to deal with death before, so I'm not as stressed as you."

She nodded to herself before shrugging her shoulders and allowing Harry to lead her out.

Harry lead her up the stairs but instead of heading to the Gryffindor Tower, he headed towards the Room of Requirement. He opened the doorway to reveal a spacious room. There was a giant bed on one side with a couple of sofas around a fireplace. A door on the side presumably lead to a bathroom as the room looked like a small apartment. Harry sat down on one sofa, before pulling a startled Hermione onto his lap. She squeaked in surprise before relaxing into Harry.

"I was so worried about you when I saw that Dark Mark." He took a breath before continuing.

"I know how the Death Eaters and slytherins cursed themselves." At Hermione's surprised look, he continued. "You know how I had suspicions about Malfoy. He was acting different, and I guess that he had a mission from Voldemort. I didn't know his target though. I spent a while researching and found a way to modify the Hogwarts wards."

Hermione pulled away from him before looking him straight in the eyes. "How?"

"There's a room that contains the ward stones that only the Headmaster knows about. I boosted the magic on the map to make it reveal more." He grinned as she connected the dots. "I added some wards to Hogwarts. Any magic that happens in Hogwarts is checked. It if it meant to harm another, the magic is reflected back upon the caster."

"The bullies.."

"Yep, them too. I actually didn't plan it for them, but it gave a good indication that the wards were working. I didn't even think about it working on the unforgivables though. I guess that when you tie wards into the already massively strong magic of Hogwarts, it can stop a lot."

Hermione enjoyed the moment of silence that followed. She didn't realize how much she had missed this. They used to do this back in their second, third, and fourth year at Hogwarts. They would hug and sit on the couch. Sometimes they would talk, but mostly they just enjoyed each other's company. Each had a lonely childhood and could draw comfort from another who understood their situation.

As much as Hermione wanted to enjoy the silence, she knew she had to say something. "Harry?"

"Hm?"

"I...I'm sorry. Again. For not believing you about Malfoy? After the events of last year... I kind of realized just how short life could be at times. I didn't want to lonely forever." As Harry started to open his mouth respond, she quickly continued, "I know. I know that you will always be there for me. Even when I don't deserve it. I think I just lost sight of that before."

"After Sirius, and then having to be careful about saying anything about the Order to anyway, I just wanted to have someone, you know? I.. was jealous of you in a way. You were understandably upset over Sirius, but when the school year started again, you were very in control of your emotions. Despite all the bad things that happen to you, you never let the pressure get to you. Then, you were very suspicious of Malfoy, and spending so much time following him around..."

"I just ended up spending a lot of time with Ron. I've never had the same close relationship with you as I've had with him. As soon as I started to show more attachment, he immediately jumped to the conclusion I wanted to date him. I suppose in some ways, I did. I wanted more time like this with you, but you were so busy, and it didn't seem like you wanted to spend time with me. I.. lashed out. Merlin, I don't even know what I got so upset with you about that stupid potions books. I think I was just frustrated with everything it was the last straw. I tried substituting Ron in your place, and that would never work."

"That's okay Hermione. I forgive you." At her startled glance upward, he replied, "I learned how to deal with my emotions far better over the summer. I learned how to control them. You noticed how I've not once risen in anger to Snape this year? I know how to control my anger. What he says may upset me, but I know that he is trying to provoke a reaction that he's not going to get."

Hermione had a strange look in her eye as she looked at Harry. "When did you get so mature and why didn't I see it?"

He grinned at her slyly. "Probably when you were making moon eyes at a certain red-head."

Hermione's mouth dropped. That cheeky bastard! "I was only doing that because I couldn't do that to you!" She gasped as she realized what she just admitted to. She tried to move to get off Harry's lap, but he tightened his arms around her.

With tears starting to from in her eyes, she tried to squirm her way out. "Let.. let me go!"

"Hermione!" Harry whispered. He continued to hold her squirming form. He used his face to nuzzle her neck and she stopped moving. As she turned towards him, he moved his head closer and kissed her.

Hermione froze for a moment before closing her eyes and leaning in. She had wanted to kiss Harry for well over a year now and she would enjoy every second of this moment. Without even realizing it, she began to slip her tongue into Harry's mouth. As surprised as Harry was at the intrusion, he welcomed it greatly. He shifted his hands until he was holding Hermione looser. He continued to kiss her as he shifted her around in his lap. She now laying across the couch as much as she was on Harry's lap.

As oxygen became an issue, they broke apart panting. "WoW!" Hermione exclaimed. "I don't know how long I've wanted to do that!"

"You're telling me? Do you have any idea how sexy you look when you're all worked up in the middle of a rant?"

Hermione blushed deeply. "Is it as sexy as you look in your Quidditch outfit?"

Harry leaned in closer until his mouth was practically touched her ears. She shivered as she felt his warm breath. "Nah, far sexier. I don't have breasts!" He pulled away with a grin.

Hermione could feel her blush getting stronger. "Thank Merlin for that. I like your body just the way it is Mr. Potter!" She felt a yawn coming forth, but couldn't stop it from escaping.

"Oh, am I boring you now Mrs. Granger? Perhaps you should go to bed now!"

"Nooo, silly goose. You could never bore me! It's just late and it's been a rough night." They both paused at the reminder of the events that had passed.

Harry slid out from under Hermione and offered his hand to her. "Milady?"

She sat up and took his hand with a little curtsey. "Milord."

He lead her over the side of the room with the bed. It was very impressive up close, looking like it could easily fit five or six people. "Er, Harry? I mean, I like you and all, but isn't this a bit early?"

He turned towards her with heavy look. "You're going to have nightmares today. Seeing people in front of you is not easy and it will leave a mark. I would rather be able to hold you in my arms tonight. For both our sakes."

She realized he was right. Harry had nightmares for weeks after Cedric had died. She had stayed up and comforted him as much as she could during that period. Harry pulled out his wand and transfigured his outfit his outfit into light sleepwear. He saw Hermione follow his example. He placed his wand and glasses down on the nightstand on his side before sliding beneath the covers to join Hermione.

He leaned closer to capture her lips. She responded by pulling his body closer with one hand, while wrapping another around the back of his head. They parted and rested their forwards on one another while looking maintaining eyesight.

"Harry? I lo-"

He leaned forward once again to kiss her quickly before she could continue. "I know. Sleep now. We can talk about it in the morning."

He turned Hermione until her back was facing up before spooning him. He wrapped one around her as she sighed in contentment. They drifted off to sleep, enjoying their time together. They both knew the next day would be stressful, but they would deal with it as it came. After all, they now had each other.

AN: I think I'm getting better at writing dialogue. Before anyone jumps on me for throwing Harry and Hermione together out of the blue, let me explain. Both have been harboring secret feelings for the other for some time, but never thought the other would feel the same way. Then this night happens. Harry has many events going on and has even more stress. Hermione first hand witnesses some clean and messy deaths. They're trying to not think about everything else in their lives and have a moment to themselves which they get caught up in. Deep feelings are confessed. They are enjoying some time away from all the stress for now, and drawing all the comfort they can from one another.