Chapter 4

The next morning Hermione smelt the sound of cooking coming from in the kitchen.

"You're up early." she commented.

Hermione got up behind him and peered over his shoulder.

"So what are you cooking?"

Harry's eyes widened at her proximity. She felt very warm against his back.

'Stop that, bad mind...bad mind.' He thought, trying to face palm but in the end he wound up hitting his head with the spatula.

Hermione giggled.

He turned.

"What so funny?"

It looked like she wasn't going to tell him anytime soon but it was obvious why she was laughing. If it put a smile on her face though he was happy.

There was a time, Harry didn't think Hermione could be happy with him. She laughed more often in Ron's presence than his own, that was why he thought they were good together.

Hermione never laughed at someone else's expense and her humour never was dark. Most of his humour had thrived due to living in an environment where he lacked comfort and had to find his own means of easing the neglect and pain that the Dursleys put him through. Often times it was sarcastic, biting and degrading. The sarcasm often appealed to some people because the words hit too close to home.

Most of the Weasleys related to his biting humour because with war came the casualties. It wasn't fun and games.

By using sarcasm and mocking the very flaws of human existance, there was a better appreciation for the life that humans had to continue living.

In a way, Harry kind of admired how naive she was. She had always looked up to adults always unaware of their darker nature. With the throes of war, even with her scars she was still naive. She knew some things but not everything. He wished he never knew about the methods of war.

"Harry?"

"If you must know I'm fixing bacon and omelete with toast."

"Can I help?" She asked eagerly.

"Are you good with a knife?"

"Sure."

Harry handed her a knife.

"Can you cut onions, peppers and jalapeno peppers?"

"Sure."

"How many should I cut?" She asked.

"1 onion, 1 pepper and 2 jalapeno peppers."

Hermione took out the ingredients from the fridge. Harry noted that she made quick work cutting and slicing the onion and pepper like potion ingredients.

"Do you want me to remove the seeds?"

"I'd prefer to keep the spiciness in my omelete, but you could remove the seeds from the other one. If you want omeletes too that is."

Hermione was touched by his thoughtfulness.

'So he's going to fix breakfast for us, huh.'

She finished cutting Harry's pepper and put it in a separate bowl just as she had the other ingredients.

After cutting the pepper she had reserved for herself she began removing the seeds with her hands. During this process however her eyes were beginning to itch.

It wasn't all that long ago that Harry had discovered that she had a severe allergy to dust. The place Harry lived in was quite an old building and after fetching her things from the Weasleys, she had found it a necessity for dealing with her allergies.

She however was unaware of her thoughts and feelings surrounding her and was only focused on the peppers and the sudden irritating itch in her eyes.

Subconsciously her fingers reached up to rub her eyes.

"You shouldn't rub your eyes after handling jalapeno peppers or your eyes will burn."

Hermione caught herself in the middle of reaching up to rub her eyes and smiled inwardly at his consideration as he wasn't always the most perceptive when concerning her.

She continued removing the seeds from the jalapeno peppers finally giving them to Harry in a separate bowl.

With excitement she sat at the table eager to eat the breakfast Harry had fixed her. He eventually joined her at the table handing over her plate.

She looked at her omelete with awe savouring the first bite.

"Thank you, Harry."

He looked up his face bright red.

"You're welcome."

HPHG

During the time in which Harry and Hermione had been dating, it was worth noting that Ginny and Harry had continued being friends. Having talks and occasionally getting to know each other better.

Ginny who had heard from her brother about Harry's relationship with Hermione, was struck with curiousity about their progress. Back during her third year, she remembered asking Hermione about her relationship with Harry though she knew that they were friends. She had an interest in Harry so this was to be expected.

'Do you know that there is a rumor going around about you and Harry?'

'Where'd you hear that from?'

'Parvati told me all about it.'

'We only see each other as brother and sister.'

'Harry did think you were good looking though. Ron told me he said that you looked fancible.'

'I'm flattered that you think that.'

'Sometimes the two of you act like you're closer than friends. I'm kind of jealous. I mean you know alot about Harry. You probably know all about his hobbies, his interests, what he likes and dislikes."

'No, I don't. I think I know alot more about Ron.' Hermione had said at the time.

Ginny had been in disbelief at the time and had often questioned about it.

She wondered at the time why Harry didn't like Hermione in that way. Ginny had assumed at the time that the reason was because he fancied Cho over her.

Yet in her fourth year when he had broke up with Cho and she had heard from Katie what had happened, she had been curious.

Hermione was attractive and smart, any decent guy would find enough decent qualities about her with that alone. Even Ron envied her for these reasons.

She had asked Harry about it.

'I never fancied Hermione."

'Why? I'm just curious. Don't you think she's smart and attractive?"

Harry at the time shrugged.

"I didn't say she wasn't smart. It's just I can never imagine being happy with her. She always seems so sad like she's always stuck in reality. I just don't see that as being healthy. Don't you think it's bound to make you depressed? Always dwelling on the bad things. The good in life at times doesn't even outweigh the bad."

That may have been true at the time but now Ginny wondered if he still felt that way. Was Harry aware that Hermione was also very open in addressing her own flaws and changing herself for the better? Was he even aware of her concerns and worries?

Back at the time she didn't think about it but during her fourth year at Hogwarts, Hermione often addressed her fears concerning Harry. That was around the same time that Voldemort had been trying to access Harry's mind.

'I wish there was something we could do to help him. I think Voldemort's trying to get to him and he's trying to distance himself.'

Hermione had been puzzled and confused by Harry's behavior at the time and even then she had tried to understand it.

At the time however she knew why Harry was acting as he had even though Hermione didn't. She had felt similar when she had wrote in that diary during her first year at Hogwarts.

Everyday of her life she had been trying to forget because she didn't want to think about it about that man using her body like an alleged rapist, making her do things against her will. After that there was always a desire for control, always wanting control.

The only way she was able to survive was forgetting about it and dwelling on present things.

After discovering about Harry's life at the Dursleys, she wondered if Harry often did that. Did he often hide how they really made him feel? When he was hurt, did he often pretend that he wasn't just because he wanted control of the situation?

If Hermione knew a thing about Harry she would know why he had been distant from her. Ginny suspected that she wouldn't have understood though because it seemed pretty clear that Hermione had never experienced that kind of trauma up to that point, never having to hide her weakness in the face of danger.

'If she had any idea what Harry had gone through, wouldn't she have been able to understand him?' Ginny thought.

It only confirmed that Hermione didn't know about Harry's living situation at all. 'She probably doesn't even know about the Dursleys.'

Though Ron had told her that he had told their parents of Harry's living conditions at the Dursleys, she noticed that her parents didn't seem to take it seriously at all. She wondered if perhaps all people were ignorant because it was clear that Harry wasn't treated right.

Being degraded by your guardians surely wouldn't make a person happy and healthy, would it?

At around noon, Harry dropped by the cafe and took a seat next to her. There was already coffee and donuts at their table.

"So how's it going with you and Hermione?"

Harry turned away, she saw his face turn red.

"You two haven't shagged or something did you?" She teased him.

"It's not like that." Harry protested. He didn't want to tell her about his thoughts regarding Hermione recently. While Ginny was his friend, she was also close friends with Hermione. He couldn't tell her about his improper thoughts concerning her best friend. It was shameful enough that he was thinking it.

"You're thinking about something naughty aren't you?"

"No, I'm not. It's not like that. I don't even like her that way."

"Really?" She asked. From his face it seemed like he really was smitten with her, but several times Hermione had told her about them. She had been concerned with the fact that Harry wasn't interested in her that he was half-hearted and simply steering her along a short ride.

Harry must have had a weird expression on his face because in seconds Ginny was laughing at him.

"It's not funny." Harry replied with a flushed face.

"Yes, it is." She said. "I never knew that you looked so cute when you were flustered. You must like her.

Harry sputtered.

"That's not true."

"Why would you deny it?"

"Because it's not." Harry said looking very angry at Ginny's proclamations.

Ginny looked at him and saw that he had turned very serious all of a sudden. There was a possibility that it wasn't genuine like she thought it was.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yes." He replied.

Ginny's expression which had looked slightly amused up until this point had morphed into something serious. If Harry really wasn't into her as Hermione's friend she wouldn't stand by and let him break her heart.

"Then if that's true, break up with her."

Harry's eyes widened.

"What?"

By the looks of it, it seemed quite clear to her that the thought hadn't crossed his mind at all.

"You heard me, break up with her." Ginny said. "If you don't intend to take her feelings seriously it'd be better for you to break it off before she gets too serious."

"What about you?" Harry asked.

"What about me?" Ginny asked in return.

"Are you fine with this? If I end up taking this seriously there could be a chance that I might be with Hermione in the end."

Ginny chuckled.

"Harry, I'm fine with whoever you choose as long as it's what your heart wants."

Harry frowned, he seemed to be contemplating.

"What if I wasn't happy with Hermione?"

"Harry, you know what your heart says." Ginny replied as if he were trying to play stupid.

She was partially right.

Throughout the time when Ginny had been getting to know Harry, he had began to realise something. Looking back on it, Ginny was a fiesty girl who would never back down from a fight. When he had been planning on pursuing Voldemort he had wanted to protect her and she complied as if it were the most reasonable thing to do like he was her older brother.

He was certain his equal wouldn't allow him to tread the long crooked path by himself. His equal would have wanted to stay with him to the very end through thick and thin. The fact that she was suppressed by his words bothered him. He feared that she would never be able to thrive with him always holding her back.

In his heart he had wanted to rely on her for strength. He wanted her to be defiant, to rebel. These were the traits that his heart was looking for and Ginny didn't supply them.

Whether or not Hermione held these traits though Harry honestly didn't know.

"I just hope that wherever my heart leads me it leads me on the right path." Harry said to Ginny.

At this point, Harry only saw Hermione is his mind's eye but as it was he wasn't willing to give up the potential for something great just because he had an indecisive heart.

"Thank you, Ginny." Harry said.

Ginny smiled at him and looked at the clock in the cafe.

"Ooh, I have to go. Bye Harry." She said before leaving the cafe.

It was then when his guard was down that it happened. In a matter of seconds, death eaters had trashed the place and knocked Harry out and had taken him hostage.

HPHG

Hermione had caught wind that something was wrong the moment Harry hadn't come home at around 10. He would send his patronus at least.

Perhaps Harry was seeing someone else. She had ingrained it in her head to accept this as a possibility eventually. Hermione had nothing to offer to him.

She wondered if he had dropped by Ginny's place for refreshments. He was supposed to meet her at a cafe.

Her fist clenched with a combination of her pain and anger. A part of her had detested the fact that Harry was still seeing her. Sure they were friends but it prickled at her skin all the uncertainty. Ginny wouldn't steal her boyfriend from her, would she?

Once she had stepped outside the house she apparated to the Weasleys and knocked on the door diligently.

Ginny answered the door.

"Where's Harry?"

"He isn't with you?"

Hermione's eyes widened in horror.

"Where'd you last see him?"

"We were at the cafe early this morning..."

"You don't think the death eaters have captured him do you?"

Ginny sighed.

"It's a possibility."

Hermione quickly apparated to the cafe.

The building was trashed with broken glass and was still burning. It had spread to the neighboring buildings as well as some of the shrubbery.

Firefighters were fighting the flames yet the flames didn't cease their burning.

She was struck with curiousity.

"Sir?"

One of the firefighters turned towards her.

"What is it? Don't you see that we're busy right now."

"How did the fire start?"

"We don't know." He said. "We investigated the cafe but we found no survivors. All we found were a bunch of burned corpses. We tried to douse the fire but water doesn't seem to put it out."

Suddenly she felt something or someone brushing her shoulder. Instantly she turned around and her eyes sparked with familiarity. Behind her was no one other than Arthur Weasley.

He motioned for her to come here.

The two walked a little ways away from the burning buildings.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"I think the death eaters may have staged an attack." He said. "I was sent here to douse a magical fire."

"So the building was set on fire by a spell?"

"Fiendfyre no doubt."

"Harry was in that building last. If he isn't already burnt he could have been captured by death eaters." Hermione addressed with worry.

"He'll be fine on his own. Harry's a big boy. He can handle himself." Arthur said.

Still the thought of him being captured by a group of death eaters wasn't very comforting. She had to save him.

At the sound of a rustle in the shrubbery behind her, Hermione turned around. The shadowy figure of a man could be seen peering at the fire very suspiciously.

"Wait, Hermione." Arthur called out to Hermione however she had already ran off before he could stop her.

Quickly she continued in his direction. Startled, the man ran and Hermione gave chase finally jumping and clinging in attempts to use her weight to pin him to the ground.

"Let go you little brat." The squeaky voice of the man screeched.

"Never."

With outstanding agility she pulled her wand out of it's holster. Her feet touched the ground trying to slow him down.

"Stupefy."

The man shriveled unconscious and she relinquished her hold on him as he fell to the ground.

Casting a floating charm, she removed his wand before she moved him to a tree with a large base and magically tied him up with rope careful to ward it against foreign spells.

Looking at his face she recognised him as a death eater. He would know if Harry was kidnapped and where he was being held if he was kidnapped.

"Ennervate." She chanted pointing her wand at the man.

He groaned in grogginess. The man's eyes however immediately lit at the sight of Hermione.

"Where is he?" She asked viciously, her wand was dangerously close to his neck. A wrong move and she would make him pay.

"Who are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb. If you don't tell me what you know I have ways of making you talk."

"You're lying." The man scoffed.

Hermione flicked her wand.

Suddenly the man screamed in pain.

"I would talk if I were you because unlike the Cruciatus curse, this curse will continue to persistantly send electroshock pain to the most sensitive parts of your body and hasn't been illegalised by the Ministry."

HPHG

With all the major death eaters dead or imprisoned by the order members, Harry found himself completely baffled by the presence of Greyback and his wolf pack. The werewolves it seemed were in an old abandoned shack by the fizzling light bulb above his head.

"Why am I here?" He asked. "What could possibly be your reason for capturing me?"

"The wolf in me had demanded that I look for a suitable leader for my clan." Fenrir said. "If I turned you into a wolf, you'd have our complete obedience. With you as our leader the Ministry would have to relinquish the laws concerning werewolves and together we can all feast on the remains of witches and wizards."

As Harry tried to make a move it seemed he was tied with magical rope binding him to a long narrow piece of wood by the way it pricked his back as if it was splintered, worn from disuse.

He concluded that he was completely and utterly screwed. His hands were tied up and like the ignorant incompetent that he was...he had neglected learning much if any wandless those he should have learned he had neglected teaching himself how to wandlessly cast the countercurse that would release him from his bindings and he couldn't very well summon his wand when there was no way of moving his hands to perform the countercurse to release him.

His hands were bound in such a way that his inner wrists were pointed at his back and tied so he couldn't move his hands from their position.

'Damn.' He cursed inwardly. 'At this point all I can do is endure this and not let them get to me. They are foolish to think that the Ministry will let werewolves run amok after they made an alliance with Voldemort. I could just imagine how that will turn out.'

He snorted.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, I just never imagined that werewolves had the intellectual capacity to be as stupid as makes you think I would plead to the Ministry to relinquish those laws. If I ever turned into that kind of beast I'd say it was enough for me to consider not even worth living."

Faintly Harry heard the sound of air swooshing and Fenrir fell to the ground. Harry saw approximately 8 knives embedded in his back.

He looked up and saw Hermione.

Was that Hermione and did she really do that? Harry had never known she had those kind of skills.

Suddenly the rest of the werewolves seemed to catch on to Hermione's presence and bombarded her with their wands. She ran, dodging the spells aimed in her direction. The severity of the spells shook the foundation and the wood that composed the ceiling began to crack providing a decent distraction for Hermione as she reached for the knife holster strapped on her leg and took out her knife and hid behind Harry.

"Hermione, what are you?"

"Shhh..." She said. "I won't be able to stun the werewolves with my wand so...just wait it out alright."

Quietly she aimed her wand at the ceiling.

"Bombarda."

The ceiling crashed down on the werewolves and quickly just as one of the werewolves appeared from the rubble, Hermione lunged at him with a knife. As he tried with all his strength to push her away, her other hand reached for the other knife on her leg and stabbed him in the chest.

The werewolf growled in pain showing it's gnarly teeth.

"You b***h." It spat.

Hermione grinned sadistically before she groaned in pain as another man had grabbed her by the hair.

She lifted her foot and stomped on his foot and the man pulled on her hair growling in pain.

The pain was hardly distracting as her gut instinct made push her elbow in his stomach and he released his hold on her hair and she turned and stabbed him in the chest and kicked him until he collapsed to the floor.

Her knives had been laced with poison so even if she hadn't dealt mortal blows they'd be dying in a matter of seconds. For good measure, she removed some of the rubble and stabbed the last one with her knife for good measure.

Eventually after she was certain that she wouldn't be attacked from behind she approached Harry and cut the ropes that tied his wrists.

"How'd you learn to do that?" He asked.

"My father was well-acquainted with many people it comes with his business. I got free lessons with a friend of his who taught me about knife throwing also happens to be the same person who taught me a little self-defence."

Harry flexed his wrists after Hermione tied the bindings.

"Do they always have to be so tight?" He asked. At this rate he would lose feeling in his wrists if they kept on being bound so tightly.

"Do you need my help at all?" She asked softly.

"I'm fine." He protested as he slowly, carefully got up on his feet.

Hermione bit back laughter with the way Harry stumbled to his feet. Despite his flat refusal, she took his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Hey! Let me go. I don't need your help" He protested angrily.

She'd forgive him this time.

"Who says I was helping you? At the rate I won't even be able to set fire to the building with how slow you are."

Harry shrugged as they walked out of the building.

"You wouldn't also know how to perform karate would you?" He asked, eyes lit with curiousity and amusement. Harry was really a boy at heart wasn't he?

"No, but like I said I do know how to start a fire."

From behind them Harry saw a wet trail leading up to outside.

"That's gasoline isn't it?"

Hermione chuckled as she conjured a blue fire and set it on the trail of gasoline before the two apparated away.

End Notes:

1. In response to Eggnog (Love the name btw): I had a lot of comments about that. Something to clarify though, Harry's personality is based on dialogue in the books and at times he was annoyed with Hermione. Harry often lashed at her in the books yet she still stays with him even in DH, I think it's safe to say that she was with Harry in the long run even through his good and bad. I'm not going to justify him so he'll be the perfect match for Hermione because I don't feel he is.

In regards to Ron in general: First off, I'm assuming since the term OOC that there is an implication that his personality doesn't fit the books and thus have gathered evidence to support a counter argument for that.

As far as I'm concerned there is no solid evidence in the books that Ron is an idiotic jerk. There is evidence he is capable of being an idiotic jerk but he's not always one. There is no solid evidence that Ron isn't smart because if he was stupid he wouldn't have passed his OWLS and they have measures to prevent cheating...so it's not like he could rely on Hermione to be his textbook. There is no evidence contradicting that Ron was closer to Harry than Hermione. As far as I'm concerned either way could be canon under a good author's hands and isn't OOC but rather extended headcanon. As there's evidence that could imply Ron was closer and there's evidence that could imply that Hermione was closer.

This being said even if Ron is closer to Harry I never proclaimed that either of them knew more about Harry than the other and I never proclaimed that the narration was 100 percent reliable.

2. For clarification, at this point I'm assuming that Harry has no romantic feelings for Hermione during the phase of this story though they are changing because of her.

3. Was it too deux ex machina with Hermione's bit? Please let me know.

4. Inspired by mychakk. Thanks for the idea about the cooking bit.