Harry Potter and The Realm of War
Summary: Seven years after the fall of Voldemort, a wizard from a distant realm arrives in the Wizarding World we know so well. He needs help ending a century long reign of tyranny over his Kingdom and prophecy tells him he needs Harry and Hermione to do so. Thus begins another round of Wizarding War. A H/Hr love story with a full new adventure.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, these ideas and stories are purely for fun.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Just so you all know, these first few chapters are going to be a little slow because I think it's important to establish some pertinent info about Harry, Hermione, and their world in this version of the last seven years. Throughout this whole story there will be flashbacks, but they will mostly appear in these establishing chapters. Thanks!
Chapter Two
Harry and Hermione stare at the spot that Llewel just stood. A pile of snow is slowly evaporating around their feet. Hermione is the first to move, taking a deep breath and sighing. Running her fingers through her hair she begins to pace for a moment before turning to look at Harry.
"You okay?" she asks him. He too lets out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding in and sits down on the armchair again, staring at the floor.
"I just feel like we've been here before." he admits. "Of course I want to help if we can, but I just…" He breaks off and looks at her. Emeralds meet chocolate and both feel that familiar sense of warmth. He sighs. "We're finally okay, you know?"
She did know. In the seven years since the war, both had struggled with constant nightmares. Nightmares of each other dying, of the faces of the ones they lost, of Voldemort somehow coming back. It took so much work for them to be able to get to the place where they felt like they could move on. They would never forget anyone, but they could live and work to keep their memories alive, and in doing so, have a life of their own.
She closes her eyes and remembers the night during their time final year at Hogwarts when she literally had to rock him to sleep. She had done so a few times in the woods during the war, but the level of exhaustion and sadness that coursed through him that night was deeper than she had seen before. McGonagall had made them Head Boy and Head Girl of Gryffindor, which meant they had their own suites. Hermione had been awake late in their common room, reading about a new set of Transfiguration tips, having decided that was a goal of hers that year. Suddenly, there was a crash heard from Harry's room. The book flew closed immediately and Hermione rushed up the left stairwell to his room.
He was lying in a fetal position on the floor, shaking. He wasn't crying, at least not yet, but he seemed transfixed by something and for a moment Hermione worried it was his scar. She ran to him, kneeling down and trying to focus his attention on her. Then, she saw what he was staring at. Against the door to the closet was a map. The Marauder's Map. Hermione closed her eyes. Everyone who made that map was dead. And, apart from Wormtail, they had died protecting him. Hermione scooped Harry up and laid his head on her lap. The moment her skin touched his she saw his eyes focus back to her.
"Mione?" he said, his voice distant and small. That's when the tears fell. Hermione pulled him closer and started rocking, humming a song she was making up and she soothed him, brushing his hair out of his face with her hands. He stayed that way for hours, until he was finally too tired to fight and fell asleep in Hermione's lap. She didn't sleep at all, too worried he would have a nightmare.
There were so many nights like this. Some nights it was him, other nights it was her, and some nights it was both and they just held each other. After they finally announced their feelings some of the misery dwindled, but it took four years before they slept soundly for a month at a time. She knew he was right, doing something like that again could possibly be detrimental, but what choice do they have? It's prophecy.
He knew that is what she was thinking, and he comes up her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her. His tongue darts into her mouth, tangoing with hers as she moves her hands into his hair. He moans as she pulls his dark locks lightly, and she smiles in the kiss as a result. It was a heavy smile, and they break away for a moment, their foreheads resting on the other's. Hermione sighs.
"If we don't go, I honestly think he will die." she says. Harry nods.
"Others will too. Already have." he whispers. Once again, they let their eyes meet and form a protective heat between them. It was no question of whether or not they would go.
"Tomorrow, I'll see if I can get a time turner." Hermione announces. "Then, you and I need to go somewhere where we can repeat this week a few times over. We need to brush up." Harry nods.
"I think that's best." he agrees. Their eyes are still locked, and Harry can sense there was more she wants to say.
"What is it, Mione?" he asks, carefully. She groans.
"We need to know more. About Elazia, Llewel, they type of magic they have and if there is anything we aren't familiar with. Even if we train, we could still be met with a million other obstacles." she grimaces. "We should've sent Llewel away so quickly."
"We had to." Harry responds. "You saw how antsy he was getting. There is no way he would have stayed and explained everything, he wouldn't have been able to."
Hermione nods. Of course, he was right. But she can't shake the sinking feeling in her gut knowing that there was so much they needed to understand. She tries to take comfort in the fact that the "brush up" on skills they knew would be manageable - after all they both work in the Ministry and do quarterly combat drills as part of their evaluations. And Harry was constantly engaging in some form of stand-off, it's more so a fact that the level of skill they needed to fight dark wizard that could potentially out-match Voldemort was not something they were fully prepared for.
"Where are those books from Magical Logistics?" Hermione asks him. Harry stands puzzled for a moment, but walks to their massive bookshelf and takes a look. He doesn't see anything at a glance, so he pulls out his wand.
"Accio A Wizard's Guide to Dimensions." he says. From the top shelf of the eight possible options (which is well over 1,000 books) comes a leather bound, shiny, four hundred page text. It lands in Harry's arms and knocks him off balance for a moment. Hermione smirks and takes the book from him, laying it on the end table by one of the sofas.
"Accio The Sorcerer's Works." she adds. Harry nods and watches her place that book on top of the other.
"What else?" he says. Hermione bites her lip.
"Let's scan the shelves… I'll look for books that contain anything on dimensions and you -" suddenly Hermione gasps sharply. Harry reaches for her but she shakes her head, her mouth opening in surprise.
"What?!" Harry asks quickly.
"He spoke a language. He prayed." she replies. Harry's eyes widen.
"Of course." He looks at her, realizing he had no idea what that means. "Sorry, Mione." he mumbles sheepishly. He sees that her eyes are gleaming, excitement pouring out of her, as well as pride, clearly having figured something out.
"Harry, think. It's not entirely uncommon for wizards to speak ancient languages, but it's rarely so fluent. And it's never in prayer. There is only one type of wizard who prays in their ancestors' native tongue…. We learned about them in Magical Logistics, do you remember?"
Suddenly it hits him. The ice-blue eyes, silver hair, hollow features…
"Llewl's an… elf?!" Harry practically chokes out. Hermione giggles and nods her head excitedly. "But elves like him...They're a myth, Hermione!"
She knew what he meant. Full-grown, human-like, self-independent elves. They are much different than the House-elves that exist in their world. They are unpredictable, and their magic can stretch to far greater reaches than that of human wizards. Hermione remembers reading once that an elf of this nature has magic is in every fiber of their being. Every atom holds a piece of magical DNA in a way that was too intricate for a human wizard to understand. The couple also remembers learning that these fully sentient creatures are rumored to have roamed the forests in Britain's Wizarding world thousands of years ago, but were apparently driven off by human wizards. Since there isn't one around today, the class also reported that its possible these creatures are nothing more than a hoax.
"Here, yes. But think about it, nothing else fits." she urged. Harry ponders this for a moment before shaking his head in disbelief.
"Yeah." he says, accepting her theory. He knows better after 14 years than to question Hermione, as she is often right. "Wow, that's boggling." He smiles at her, and she grins right back, her eyes twinkling as her top teeth bite her bottom lip. He loves that grin. It's what he likes to call her "self-satisfactory" look, and while it sometimes drove him crazy out of frustration when they were teenagers, it now drives him crazy in desire. One of the sexiest things about Hermione to Harry was her confidence, and as she looks at him now he can't stop himself from walking closer to her and planting butterfly kisses on the nape of her neck. She shudders at his touch, and his hands find themselves placed lovingly on her hips, swaying with her slightly.
"Harry-" she says in a husky voice. "Harry, we should study." He smiles against her skin. He continues to kiss his way up her neck, onto her cheek, and eventually her lips. She kisses him back fully, gasping when he moves to kiss her other cheek. "Harry!" she says laughing. He laughs too, dancing down the other side of her neck now, pressing himself against her. Her eyes flutter shut and she lets out a content sigh.
"We both know we study better when we aren't distracted." he whispers, his teeth grazing her collarbone. She moans and bites her lip.
"You're right." she pants, and that's all Harry needs to hear. He whisks her up so she has to wrap her legs around his waist and lowers her onto the sofa, still exploring with kisses. After five years, the passionate side of their relationship is still flourishing, and they often find themselves engaging in this exact activity quite often.
Both Harry and Hermione can't get enough of each other. It's not only a physical attraction, it's a mental and emotional one as well. The nurse who took care of them after the war noticed similarities in their recovery - something she noted only happens when two beings are magically bound, but when she asked them about it they both shrugged it off. They weren't dating yet, and even though both of their hearts were pounding to understand why the nurse was noticing such a thing, they never pushed it. Hermione had said it probably had something to do with the months they spent in the woods, but Harry had agreed, but both had a secret other theory. They were, after all, completely in love with each other.
Llewel is correct in assuming that Harry and Hermione are specially bounded, and they knew it too. During their last year at Hogwarts, the couple met with McGonagall once a week to check in and make sure everything was going well. They were her favorite students, and even though she knew it crossed a line, she thought of both of them as her children. Which was only fair, as Harry was orphaned and Hermione had erased her memory from her parents (which she has since undone, but at the time did not possess the necessary skills to accomplish such a task.)
The realization of their bond, which is a big reason why their relationship is still so active in all the possible ways, came just after Harry and Hermione admitted their feelings for each other at Hogwarts. They were in one of those meetings with McGonagall, who was completely delighted to hear the news.
"Congratulations, my dears!" she cried, stepping out of her seat to give each of them a hug. "You both deserve all the happiness this life can offer you." she cooed. Harry smiled gratefully and Hermione felt a tear of awe fall onto her cheek.
"Thank you, Headmistress." they both said. Their hands were clutching one another. McGonagall smirked and looked up at the portrait of Dumbledore on the wall.
"If he were here, I would owe him quite a lot of sugary treats." she mused thoughtfully. Hermione looked at her in surprise.
"You mean, Dumbledore, he…" McGonagall laughed heartily, a smug look crossing her face.
"Oh yes, Ms. Granger. Dumbledore had been rooting for the two of you for years." she told them, winking. Harry felt his heart do a somersault at this info and he looked adoringly at Hermione, who was looking back at him the same way. Suddenly, their touching hands felt warm, and they separated quickly, still staring at each other.
"Professor," Harry began. "It's the strangest thing, but well… for a while now, there's moments where Hermione and I feel actual, tangible heat between us when we touch. Is that… normal?" he asks carefully. Hermione was grateful he was asking and looked at McGonagall hopefully. He wasn't wrong. Their dance in the forest was full of electric heat, as was their hug when she told him she would go with him. Moments when they had to grab hands to survive during the war were often filled with that burning energy, and they had thought it was just the urge to get out alive kicking in. However, it had been over two years since the war ended, and the pair still felt an electric current pass through them if their eyes lingered the right way, if their hands touched for a little too long, or if one of them was thinking about how splendid the other was, whether they were saying it out loud or not.
McGonagall's eyes hitched on their faces as they explained this to her. Her mouth pursed the way it always did when she was thinking, but her eyes were twinkling even stronger than they were when they first told her the news.
"When did this begin?" she asked. Hermione and Harry both thought for a moment, trying to pinpoint the exact moment.
"I suppose it was after Bellatrix tortured me." Hermione said. She could talk about that now, without completely turning stone. McGonagall nodded.
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Definitely after that...things were different. I mean, we were a lot closer. An even more so than before I couldn't imagine life without her."Harry said.
"Harry, what were you doing while Hermione was...upstairs?" she asked carefully. Hermione felt her stomach turn. She realized she's never asked Harry that question. His eyes grow dark.
"I was secluded. I couldn't get out, Ron and I were trying desperately." He told her.
"So, Mr. Weasley was there?" she asked. Harry nodded.
"Yes. Eventually they came and got us, and brought us upstairs. I was the first to see Hermione, lying on the ground." He gulped as his said these words. "I felt broken." He whispered. Hermione's hand found its way back into his, their fingers entwining. That spark was still very present.
"What happened next?" McGonagall asked. Hermione nodded too, telling Harry she wanted to know as well. She had been unconscious at the time, and so much had been going on in the two years since that she had never had a moment to ask.
"I ran to her." Harry said firmly. "Ron was being questioned by someone. I don't even remember who, I only saw Hermione. The word mudlblood was etched into her arm."
Hermione, without thinking, ran her hand over that scar. It was on the arm that was holding Harry's. He noticed, and put his other hand on top of hers to stop her.
"Was it bleeding, the cuts?" McGonagall asked. "I'm sorry to be so intrusive, but I have a theory and need to know." she apologized.
"It's okay." Hermione insisted, turning her attention back to Harry. He nodded.
"Yeah, all the letters…" his breath caught in his throat as he remembered that moment. "I used a healing charm to try and stop the blood and hopefully heal the cuts before it scarred. But the blade Bellatrix used was enchanted, and I could only do so much."
McGonagall nodded. This proved her theory.
"Harry, what can you tell me about open wounds and magic?" she asked. He looked at her in surprise. His hand left Hermione's for a moment to touch his scar.
"Magic can be trapped inside a person through a wound. Light or dark." he told her, fully aware that he had experience with both. Lily's protection was light, Voldemort's horcrux was dark.
"Exactly. But what do you need to make the magic stick?" she asked.
"Will." Hermione said. "The magic can only live inside the person it seeps into if the spell was cast from a state of true purpose." McGonagall smiled.
"Well done, both of you. Can you tell me what I think happened, then?" Harry and Hermione locked eyes, and the heat reached a new level of intensity. They understood.
"Harry's will to stop the pain connected us somehow." Hermione said.
"It's more than that." Harry said, his eyes swirling in hers. "Professor, could I have a moment alone with Hermione?" McGonagall smiled and nodded, and then stepped out of the room. "Mione," Harry said when he turned his focus back to her. "There's something I learned from Dumbledore. I'm not talking about Unbreakable vows or any sort of bond that is done with a spell. But magical bonds, like the one my mother gave me, the one that Voldemort and I had… those need more than will." he said. Hermione nodded. She knew this too.
"They need love." she whispered. Harry nodded. They stayed locked on each other, fully knowing that love is a broad term. Voldemort's "love" was for himself and his power, not for a person, but that combined with his will to live on made the horcrux in Harry survive. Hermione was watching him closely. Could he really be saying what she thought he was saying?
"Harry - " she began, unable to speak.
"I've been in love you for years, Hermione." he whispered. "And I acted from that love that day." Her spirit left her body. She was lightheaded, so completely happy that all she could do was cry.
"You have no idea how much I love you, Harry Potter." she somehow managed to say between tears. Then he kissed her. And this kiss sealed the bond forever. From that moment forward, there was no expiration date like Lily's bond or a way to kill the connection like Voldemort's. Golden rays of magic sparks catapulted from their embrace, sealing around them. The bubble they were in was warm. Hermione was crying, as was Harry, lips hungrily meeting and happiness exploding.
And now, as Hermione lay bare-skinned against Harry's chest on the couch, her thoughts are remembering that day vividly. So much has happened, and here they were about to embark on another life-altering journey. Harry was kissing the top of her head, his fingers drawing small circles on her back. She props herself up onto her elbows to face him, her curly hair spilling off to the side. Harry thinks she is breathtaking against the light from the fire he started moments before.
"I love you." he says for the millionth time in five years. And it's still just as sweet as the first time.
"I love you too." she whispers. "Promise me we'll remember to still find time for us." she says. He nods and pulls her back to him.
"Of course we will." he promises. "Is that what you're thinking about?" Hermione nods against his chest.
"Sort of. I just want to remember what saved both of us last time." she mumbled. Harry is rubbing her back now, and she breathes in his sweet scent of peppermint and honey.
"Based on what Llewel was saying, I think the prophecy requires us to." he says, his eye gleaming. Hermione laughs and nods.
"I s'pose you're right." she teases back. "We should get started."
"One more minute." Harry suggests, and they both bask in the feeling of being together. Once they open those books, their life will change. But they both know they have limited time to get started, and slowly separate. They go change into more comfortable clothes and come back into the living room. Hermione flicks the kettle on with a wave of her wand, and Harry smiles at her gratefully. He does a quick scan for books that contain information on elves, pulling one off the shelf.
"Let me check my trunk, too." Hermione comments. The pair had collected books for the last seven years and stored them in Hermione's trunk. A lot were old, restricted books that once lived in Hogwart's library, but McGonagall gave to them after the war because Hermione asked. She disappears into their room once more, and Harry gets their tea ready.
Hermione manages to find three books that spoke of other dimensions and one that specifically talks about elves. Tea in hand, the couple poured through the texts all night, highlighting parts they found significant, dog-tagging pages they should come back to later, and taking meticulous notes. Harry had gotten very good at note-taking after becoming an Auror, as it is a required aspect of the career.
The tea has been gone for hours, and both are shaking their heads to keep themselves awake. Harry notices the clock on the wall reads 3:45am. He takes a look around the room. They've gone through three of the six books combined, and collected about 15 pages worth of notes. Hermione is currently rubbing her temple to try and ease a headache, and Harry places a gentle hand on her thigh.
"We gotta sleep, love." he says, his voice hoarse and exhausted. Hermione nods, too tired to say anything. The leave everything where it is and go to bed, holding on to each other the whole night.
The awake the next morning earlier than they'd like to. The sun is barely peeping through the curtain, and Hermione estimates they got maybe three hours of sleep total. Harry groans as she tells him to wake up, and she forces herself to go take a shower so she can be ready by 8am.
They don't say much as they go through their morning routine. Hermione showers, Harry makes the coffee and eggs. They eat, then Harry showers while Hermione gets dressed. As he is changing, she makes a list of what they need from the ministry and decides they should go shopping as well.
Time-turner
Upgraded armor
Essential herbs for common potions
New brooms
Tell Ron
She sighs when she writes the last point down. She knows he is going to worry and want to come with them, but she also knows he can't. Harry comes up behind her and rubs her shoulders as she sets down the quill and places the note in her pocket.
"You ready?" he asks her. She nods silently, and the apparate quickly to the entrance to the Ministry. As they ride the phone booth elevator down, their hands are holding on to each firmly. They exchange pleasantries with those who have time to say hello, after all it was not uncommon to see them there as it was their place of employment. They navigate the hallways and find the Minister of Magic's office. Harry reaches up an places three hefty knocks on the door, and the face of Bill Weasley greets them, happily.
"Hello!" he exclaims. "You're here early, please come in." Harry and Hermione smile at him, and they exchange their usual hugs. Bill was voted into office two years prior, and is hands down the best Minister they've had in many, many years.
His office is a vivid blue color, with a large oak desk and two walls of bookshelves. His owl sits perched in the corner by the window, and he has stacks of papers piling up neatly on the floor by his chair. There is a dim light emitting from a few candles he has burning, and the sweet scene of peppermint tea lingers in the air. Bill, all smiles when the duo first appeared, is now looking at them carefully. He knows these two quite well, and can sense they are here for something urgent.
"Are you alright?" he asks quietly, lifting his wand to seal the door shut. He also places a sound concealment charm on the door so no one can hear. Harry thanks him, and is once again reminded of just how different Bill was compared to Fudge or Scrimgeour.
"Something has...happened." Hermione began. "Harry and I have to go away for a little while." Bill looks at them perplexed.
"Are you alright?" he asks again, firmer. Harry nods.
"We're fine." He assures him. How much do they give away? Would it upset Llewel if they sought advice from Bill? Hermione nods, telling Harry she thinks they should get his input. Afterall, Bill knows a thing or two about dealing with unexpected forms of magic. "We met someone from another world yesterday." he says slowly. Bill gestures for them to have a seat and they do. He sits on the edge of the desk, eager to hear more. "We believe he is an elf. He says he lives in a realm called Elazia. Currently, a dark wizard is in charge and the elf is afraid for his home. He sought us out to assist him." Harry states calmly. Bill just stares for a moment. These two are the brightest and most advanced wizards in the Ministry, and if they believe these things then he knows better than to question it, despite believing elves to be figments of an old wizard's imagination.
"He says there's a prophecy." Hermione adds. "And we are the only two that seem to fit it. He has traveled for many years and through many worlds searching. He first found out who we were during the war, and was waiting until the time was right to come find us."
Bill blinks once and lets out a slow breath. "Do you trust him?" he asks.
"We want to." Harry says. "He was terrified yesterday. Completely distraught. I don't think he's lying, Bill."
Bill's jaw clenches as he considers what they have just said. "You don't have to go alone. I can put together a team for you, give you assistance -"
"It has to be just us, I think." Hermione says sadly. "Besides, after our war...I wouldn't want to risk anymore lives." All three wizards knew how challenging traveling between realms is rumored to be, and Bill reluctantly nods.
"What do you need?" he asks quietly. He can sense the will in these two young friends and lovers, and as they have saved his family more times than he can count, he would do anything for them. They have proven themselves a million times over.
"A time-turner." Hermione says.
"Done." Bill replies.
"Dragon-hide armor." Harry adds. Bill nods.
"I'll have an aid grab two suits immediately." He tells them. Harry and Hermione both nod and thank him. "How much time do you need away?" he asks. Hermione bites her lip.
"I'm not sure." she says. "But I suppose since we'll be in another dimension, we can always use our time turner when we get back and take no time away." Bill shakes his head.
"Time works differently between worlds." he says. "It might be years for you and days for us, or vice versa. The streams will be too confusing, it's better not to risk it." Hermione nods in agreement.
"Then I don't know." she says. All three of them look at each other, very aware that this journey could kill one or both of the young couple. Bill stands now, and wraps Hermione in a hug first, then follows with Harry. There is nothing more that needs to be said between them, and with a small nod Bill wishes them luck. "I'll have the armor sent to your house this afternoon. Take this -" he says, handing Hermione an authorization form "to the Department of Magical Transportation and they'll get you a time-turner."
"Thank you, Bill." Harry whispers. He nods again.
"Just come back, okay?" he pleads. They pair smile a small smile and squeeze his hand. Bill then unseals the door and watches them walk away, his heart beating a million times a minute. He knows this is Harry and Hermione, and if anyone could succeed at such an insane task it's those two, but he cant help the tears that fall as he watches them disappear into the crowd of people.
Harry and Hermione get the time turner, though the strange looks from the people in the Transportation department do not go unnoticed. Hermione stays very quiet, as does Harry, avoiding the question of what they need the device for. They simply say thank you once it is handed to them, and then they make their way back to the elevator. They turn around before they walk in, drinking in the site of their workplace one more time. The doors to the car open, and Harry steps inside followed by Hermione. As they ride back up, their hands automatically find each other again, and the warm feelings takes over. Hermione feels herself release a breath at the feeling, and Harry kisses her head.
"You okay?" he asks. She nods gently.
"Yes." she says. "We have to go to Diagon Alley and get things for a few Polyjuice potions, a healing potion, a truth serum, and whatever we think we may need." she says. Harry nods and as the elevator door opens they find themselves in the bustling streets of London. They make their through the crowd to the Leaky Cauldron, where they are immediately greeted with more hello's and happy pleasantries. They would miss this world. Everyone is simply more grateful to be alive following the demise of Voldemort, and a little bit of kindness goes a long way. They spend an hour or so shopping in the herb store and get all the supplies they need, and then apparate home. The hard part was just beginning.
A/N: Seems like a good place to end it. Next chapter will be their training and some more flashbacks. Gotta make sure we're all on the same page! :)
PS - I used to write under the name "theatregeek001" but can't access the account. If you want to read more stories, check out the link on my bio.
I am debating finishing two stories on that account with this account: The Lost Years which is Harry/Hermione story and Once Upon a Galaxy which is a Ten/Rose plot for you Dr. Who fans. If you want to see that happen, please let me know in comments. Otherwise I will only focus on new stories. Thanks!