Hermione woke first the next morning, her head on Ginny's shoulder, her arm across her stomach. She propped herself up on an elbow to look at her girlfriend, still sound asleep, cheeks a little bit flushed and a small grin on her face. She was so different from the young girl she had met last fall, she had started to grow into a beautiful young woman.

She smiled as she recalled the memory Ginny had shown her the night before. She gently reached up and ran her fingers across her forehead, her cheek, and then gently across her lips. She wondered ruefully if she'd ever get tired of kissing those lips. Ginny's memory had captivated her. It was the look on her girlfriend's face that she couldn't take her eyes off of. Yes, she admitted to herself, seeing her naked and doing what she was doing, was nice, even more so because Hermione knew she had been thinking of her while she did it. It was the look of desire and love on Ginny's face that she couldn't forget. Not that she could of course, with a memory like hers.

She laughed lightly and bent to kiss her gently. When that didn't wake her she started kissing her way all her jaw, pausing when she reached her favorite spot under Ginny's ear to nuzzle in, and plant several small kisses there. She heard Ginny sigh softly as she started to wake. She continued kissing her way down Ginny's neck, and trailing her hand down Ginny's arm to link fingers with her. She felt Ginny's other hand come up her back and tangle in the hair at the back of her neck as she was drawn up and pulled into a kiss. Ginny let her hand go to pull her closer then used it to caress her cheek.

Hermione finally drew away from the kiss and looked down into the face of Ginny's pure love and desire for her. Just like the memory she had seen the night before. She sighed and smiled.

"Every time you look at me like that...I swear I fall in love with you just a little bit more," Hermione said quietly and then briefly brushed her lips with her own.

"That's because every time I'm looking at you like this...I'm falling a little more in love with you," Ginny smiled as she felt a tear leak from her eye.

"Happy tears?" Hermione asked her softly as she reached down and, with the very tip of her tongue, licked away her tear and kissed where it had been.

"Very happy..." she replied and kissed her before continuing, "I like being woken up this way."

"I'll remember that," Hermione replied and started trailing kisses down her neck again.

There was a soft knock on the door and Hermione raised her head and frowned at it.

"We leave in half an hour, you two..." came Minerva's voice.

"Be right down," Ginny managed to reply, she looked to Hermione, "Fifteen more minutes of this, shower at the cottage?"

Hermione grinned and resumed what she was doing as she felt Ginny's hand sneak beneath the back of her nightgown again and start to rub her back. She sighed and went back to her girlfriend's lips.

They kissed for most of their fifteen minutes when Hermione finally broke away and put her forehead to Ginny's. "I think I could lie here and kiss you for hours..." she sighed.

Ginny grinned and teased her, "I think we did that last night..." she was interrupted when Hermione kissed her again.

"Got a problem with that?" Hermione teased back.

"Only that I ever have to stop kissing you," she replied as she sat up and pushed Hermione onto her back, "It really feels amazing with this rings," Hermione frowned a little, "Not that it hasn't always been amazing kissing you...but now, even though I feel like you've been holding me on the very edge...I really like it there...it's like I can't get enough...but it's enough."

Hermione reached her hand behind Ginny's neck and brought her down to kiss her.

"You know what I really liked about the memory you showed me?" she asked as she watched Ginny blush, "Seeing you naked was nice...but Gin, the look you had on your face? I really look forward to making you make that face."

Ginny smiled and kissed her.

"You already have...I was thinking about you at the time," she kissed her again before looking at the time, "C'mon we've got ten minutes," she said, kissing her briefly before pulling herself from her arms.

Hermione sat up, a small mischievous smile on her face. She went and gathered her clothes and then placed them on a table by the bathroom door. She turned and found Ginny watching her. She looked down and, reaching up, pulled the straps from her nightgown over her shoulders and let it fall to the ground. She stood there in nothing but her panties and fought the urge to cover her chest.

"Hermione?" she heard Ginny say from across the room. She looked up to find her standing and staring at her, "You're beautiful my love and as much as I want to run over there right now and show you just how much I love you...the ring won't let me move..."

Hermione laughed as she tried to get closer to Ginny.

"Well, I guess it's nice to know we can look at each other..." Hermione said, blushing, "Since I saw you naked last night...I figured I ought to return the favour."

Without a word Ginny reached up and let her own nightgown fall to the ground. They stood there, just drinking in each other's bodies until Hermione felt herself take a step backwards and laughed.

"Guess the rings figure we've seen enough," she laughed as she reached for her clothes and started getting dressed. Once she had her shirt and bra on, she noticed Ginny was also getting dressed.

"I think," Ginny said, "We're going to have some fun testing what we can and can't do together."

Hermione had looked over to watch Ginny as she pulled on a pair of shorts.

"And I think your fifteenth birthday is going to be even more epic than I thought," Hermione joked.

Once they were both dressed Ginny walked over and pulled her into a hug and kissed her.

"This might have bothered me at first...being forced to take things slow...but now?" Ginny paused and kissed her, "I'm looking forward to taking my time to get to know you better."

"I could just give you a download and you'd know everything about me..."

"True and you could do the same to me, but...I like this way better...it was one of my favorite parts of last night...being able to talk to you without censoring myself...without worrying I might scare you off."

"I'm not going anywhere, Gin, couldn't if I tried."

They had just started kissing when a cracking noise announced Cara's arrival.

"I'm sorry, Misses...I came to take your things to the cottage..."

The girls stepped apart and looked at Cara fondly.

"Did Minerva send you?" Ginny asked and when the little elf nodded, she continued, "Thank you, Cara...let us just throw our stuff in our backpack..." She looked to Hermione as they both started gathering their things and putting them in Hermione's backpack, "Guess our half hour was up," she joked.

…

They went downstairs to find Minerva waiting for them and smiling. "Cara could've taken your broom for you, Ginny."

"I know...Minerva? Will I be able to fly at the cottage?" Ginny asked hopefully.

"I dare say you will, my dear, it is a valley that opens to the ocean...it is quite isolated, as long as stay below the top of the mountains you'll be fine." She smiled, "It was one of the reasons I loved it...I used to play Quidditch myself when I was your age," she winked at Ginny, "Shall we go then?"

"Where's Rosmerta?" Hermione asked as she took Ginny's hand.

"She went ahead to fetch Luna and bring her to the cottage," Minerva answered.

Both girls smiled at the mention of their friend's name. The had each missed her almost as much as they had missed each other. They reached for Minerva's hands and apparated to outside her cottage.

"You call this a 'cottage' ?" Hermione asked slightly awed.

Minerva's cottage looked like a typical Irish cottage, only it was the size of a small manor house.

"How many rooms does it have?" Ginny asked, equally awed, as they walked towards it.

"Twenty, at last count," she said smiling at the girls confused looks, "It is ancient and was built by Radha's ancestors. Highly magical...much like Hogwarts...and I'll tell you a secret."

They stopped and looked at her.

"We didn't need special permission for you to perform magic here...it is already so steeped in magic, yours won't be noticed."

"Cool," They replied together. They looked to the cottage when they heard the door open and saw Luna running towards them.

They left Minerva's side and ran to meet their friend and almost knocked her over with the force of their hug. "We missed you," they said together to Luna's laughter.

"I missed you guys, too..." she told them.

Hermione looked towards the cottage again when she noticed someone else exit the cottage.

She walked over to him, a little more dignified, and accepted the hug from the man she now knew to be her father.

"It is good to see you too, my dear," he said quietly before kissing the top of her head.

"But what are you doing here?" she asked him as she stepped away.

Her looked down at her fondly.

"I've come to discuss your lessons for the summer, of course, they begin on Monday," he replied smiling as Minerva, Luna and Ginny, who took Hermione's hand the moment she was close enough, joined them.

"Can the three of us have a moment alone? I have some things I'd like to show Luna before we start," Hermione asked as she looked at Luna warmly and reached for her hand.

"Of course, my dear...Minerva will show you to your room, and we'll meet in the back garden," he replied pleasantly.

"Follow me then..." Minerva said, waving them forward.

She led them inside and all three girls gasped when they entered the foyer. There was a reason it was the size of a manor house. It was a manor house, disguised as a cottage. Minerva and Albus chuckled softly.

"I would have thought, by now, you three would have realised that appearances can be deceiving," Albus said lightly as Minerva led them up the stairs. She led them left after a flight of stairs and down a hallway past several doors. Finally she stopped in front of a pair of very large doors , opened them, and walked inside.

The girls followed and were again shocked.

"You have the sitting room, two bedrooms," she said as she pointed to the doors leading off the sitting room, "And a bathroom through that door."

Hermione walked over to the window and found that she could see her father, Albus Dumbledore, sitting in the garden, sipping what looked like a frilly drink with an umbrella in it, and was speaking with Rosmerta. She called her friends over and pointed out the window.

"Now isn't that an image," she laughed lightly.

"Quite," came Minerva's voice over her shoulder, "Don't be too long...you two must be hungry, after skipping breakfast," she winked as they turned and looked at her. "Just go back the way we came and towards the back of the house...call Cara if you get lost...don't ask the house, it likes to play with new people."

"Ask the house?" Hermione asked, incredulous.

"The paintings, the Manor Ghost..." at the girls surprised faces she assured them, "Oh, you likely won't see him...he prefers the silence of the west wing and I leave him to it."

"We'll be down shortly, Minerva...your home..." Hermione started.

Luna continued, "Is incredible..."

"Thank you for sharing it with us," Ginny finished.

"I'll never get used to that..." Minerva laughed, shaking her head, "I can't take credit for this house, I merely inherited it when Radha passed. Cara's parents were bound to this house, and she was born shortly after we moved in. She was born, technically, a slave, but we never performed the charms that would bind her to us...she stays with me, because she chooses to. She serves, because it is what makes her kind happy." She smiled warmly at them and opened her arms for a hug; "And it is my pleasure to share my home with you."

After Minerva left, Ginny and Luna went to sit on one of the couches while Hermione went to find her backpack and her Raven, Elly. When she returned, Ginny had her broom unwrapped and was showing it to Luna proudly.

Luna looked at Hermione and smiled.

"It's beautiful...how fast does it go?" she asked Hermione.

"We're not sure...I mean the shop's owner isn't sure. They haven't tested it past two hundred miles per hour...but he said it still maintained its stability and agility at that speed," Hermione replied as she watched the look of awe grow on her girlfriend's face, "Forgot to mention that, did we?" she teased as she placed Elly's cage down and let her out. The bird flew to Ginny's shoulder.

"I think she likes you, Gin," she said, then laughed when Elly rubbed her beak along Ginny's ear, "Luna meet my new raven, Elly."

Luna turned and looked at the bird, "Hello, Elly."

The bird hopped over to her shoulder and did the same thing to Luna's ear.

"Thank you...I like you too," Luna said as a wrapped gift was placed in her lap. "What's this?" she asked.

"Belated birthday gift. I'm sorry I missed it," Hermione explained, "Elly? Would you like to go flying? I won't need to send a letter until at least tomorrow afternoon."

The raven nodded and flew to her outstretched arm. She walked her over to the window, opened it wide and let her fly off. She turned to find Luna still hadn't opened her gift.

"Well, go ahead...open it," she encouraged.

"Hermione? I don't usually celebrate my birthday on my birthday...it's when my Mom died. So you didn't miss it," she said sadly, but smiled as she continued, "I celebrate it at the same time as Ginny, so you're actually really early for this year or really really late for last year."

She looked down at her gift and carefully unwrapped it while Hermione went to sit beside her.

She lifted the paper off the top and smiled when she saw the Amice knot carved into the shiny mahogany box. She opened the lid and gasped softly.

She turned to Hermione and hugged her, "Thank you so much...it's incredible."

"No Luna, thank you...it's an investment in our future...what we're bound to face? I'm thinking a master potion maker might be handy to have around," she replied as she hugged her back.

Luna closed the lid and gently placed it on the ground before reaching for her friends hands.

She smiled when she felt how they were feeling, and were freely sharing it with her.

"I've never felt you guys so happy," she said quietly, smiling. "There's still confusion and doubt...but not a shred of it about how you feel...that's truly awesome."

Ginny and Hermione stood so they could hold hands as well. Luna stood with them and smiled.

"We missed you, Luna," Hermione said quietly.

"As much as you missed each other?" Luna teased.

"You miss us as much as Padma?" Ginny countered.

"More, but differently..." Luna confessed, "I don't know her like I do you two."

"Well, I missed you almost as much as Ginny..." Hermione admitted.

"She broke her ankle trying to get to me..." Ginny laughed.

Luna shook her head and laughed, "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have asked if you missed me as much...you two? Your soulmates...now that you're together...it's only bound to be more difficult when you're apart."

Hermione smiled, "Maybe not...Minerva came through again with a pair of rings to help us," she said as she and Ginny let her hands go to show her their new rings.

"Promise Rings?" Luna said softly as she looked at them more closely.

"Well, yes...but I didn't realise they were actually called that, Minerva never said."

They started to make their way through the house and towards the garden.

Luna laughed, "She and Rosmerta are wearing them too..."

"Must be to make us feel better about having to wait...though, they only have a few months to wait..." Ginny joked.

"Why do you have to wait?" Luna asked curious.

"We'll explain later..." Ginny said shaking her head but smiled and continued, "it's okay though...we had an amazing night last night, Luna..."

"Before or after you put the rings on?" Luna teased.

Hermione laughed, "Trust me Luna...when Ginny turns fifteen, you're going to know we've done it for the first time..."

"By your absence for a week and the huge grins on your faces when you finally drag your butts out of bed?" Luna teased.

"Well, yes...but it's more complicated than that..." Ginny started.

"But we'll explain tonight...okay?" Hermione finished as they exited into the garden.

"I feel a little bad for you guys sometimes...it's always a little complicated," Luna said sighing.

Hermione laughed, "And your life is simple?"

"In comparison to you two? Yes," Luna teased back.

They were all laughing as they joined the adults around the table.

"Where's Rosmerta?" Ginny asked.

"She had to go to take care of the Inn for the weekend," Minerva replied sighing, "She's trying to train someone to run it in her absence but she's having difficulty with it."

"What about Sirius?" Hermione suggested as she reached for a bowl of potato salad.

Albus looked at her smiled, "Perhaps, not Sirius...but Remus might be persuaded."

"Why not, Sirius?" Luna asked politely, slightly intimidated by addressing Dumbledore.

"His family is an ancient one...he need not actually work if he so chooses. However, Remus, with his condition, always has difficulty finding work...the Inn would be a good fit...he could manage from behind the scenes..." he trailed off thoughtfully.

Minerva studied him a moment before speaking, "If you think he would be interested, Albus, I will suggest it to Rosmerta...she was always fond of him, James and Sirius."

They had all filled their plates while they talked and were eating quietly when Hermione looked up to find her father staring at her, his blue eyes twinkling in the sunlight.

"I'm sorry, my dear...a year ago, the thought of sharing a meal with you...was but a dream," he explained softly.

"Thank you, for the photo...and the gold," Hermione said smiling.

"The gold, my dear, has always been there...we set up your vault and have been adding to it ever since you were born. It was charmed to not reveal itself until you learned the truth...and I am not the only one to thank for the gold," he said as he turned to Minerva smiling.

Before Hermione could ask, Minerva explained, "Like you, Hermione, I had earned quite a bit of money over the years with no one to spend it on and my expenses were low...we did it to make sure you would never want for anything once you found out about the world to which you belong."

"But Bogrod said the gold showed up in February?" Ginny asked.

"It did, indeed..." Dumbledore replied, "I was informed it had...when the three of you figured out the truth by yourselves," he finished, smiling proudly, "I placed the photo last week...so you would know how it came to be there."

"Are you the reason the Goblins have always treated me so well?" Hermione asked him.

"Yes, in part, but they only know I set up your vault and occasionally make deposits to it. But, I believe they have grown to respect you, my dear, in part because you have deposited a substantial amount of gold over the years yourself and, in part, because you have always treated them with respect."

"Thank you...both...but at what point did you realise I didn't need your financial help?" she teased them.

"As soon as you made your first, rather large, deposit...but you'll forgive us for wanting to provide for you anyways?" Minerva teased back.

Hermione shook her head and laughed, "I'll only forgive you, both of you, if you stop asking for forgiveness for the things you've done for me out of love."

Albus shook his head and smiled, "You continue to amaze me, my child."

"So, wait...you knew we knew? In February, I mean?" Luna asked, her voice growing a little more confident.

"I did," Albus replied, "I am very impressed the three of you kept it a secret."

"You shouldn't be...we understand the danger Hermione would be in...she's already in enough, we all are..." Ginny said quietly but with conviction, "It's one of the easier secrets to keep and understand."

Albus regarded her a moment before replying, "Indeed my dear, that is the reason I am so impressed," he smiled, "The ability you three have to, not only decipher the information we give you, but make correct analysis of that information...it is truly astounding."

Hermione looked from Ginny to Luna and back at her father.

"Has Minerva explained how are one mind gift works?" Hermione asked him, and he nodded.

She turned to Ginny and whispered in her ear, "We need to tell them about our power connection," she felt Ginny pull away and saw that she was frowning, "Total honesty, Gin...they probably already know and maybe they can explain it better than we have..." she continued for all to hear.

"She's right, Gin...they need to know what we can do, so we can do it better," Luna assured her.

When Ginny had slowly nodded Hermione turned back to her father and Minerva's bemused looks.

"You know the tugging in our hearts?" Hermione asked him, he nodded and she continued, "Well, there's another thing Ginny and I feel," she showed them their linked hands, "And that Luna can feel course through her," and she watched as Ginny took her hand, "And it makes us all stronger."

"How would you describe the feeling in your hands?" he asked softly.

"The first time I held Ginny's hand, it reminded me of the time I put a fork in a toaster," she smiled at his confused looked, "Electricity? Ring a bell?" she teased him.

"Oh...so like an electric current passing through your hand?" he turned to Minerva's bemused expression; "Like grasping an electric eel." He turned back to Hermione and asked, "And does it still feel the same?"

"No...it's more like a warm wave passing through our bodies...we think it's part of the reason my non-magical gifts have become so much more acute as well...that and it's so much quieter in my head now," she paused, gauging their reactions before continuing, "It's made all three of us stronger...each of our gifts stronger...and when we're together, our gifts and our minds work in unison...but we all still have our own way of thinking, even though we're learning to think like each other. Did any of that make sense?" she sighed and then continued, "And I don't think my true Patronus is a Unicorn," pleased to see the shock on everyone's face.

"But what do you mean?" Minerva asked quietly.

"So, you already know about their shared power connection?" Luna asked.

"Yes," Dumbledore replied, "They are soulmates...two halves of one soul. Together they are stronger. What I had not realised, Luna, was that you were also benefiting from their connection," he turned back to Hermione, "Please explain, my dear, about your Patronus."

"That night...when the Dementors came? I was exhausted. I had been using my gift constantly for almost seven hours...they felt my fear, all the way from the Astronomy tower, they sent me their love and their magical support...together we created the Unicorn Patronus."

Hermione laughed as she looked at her father, "I never thought I'd see the day when the great Albus Dumbledore, looked dumbfounded," they all joined her laughter, even her father.

Albus caught his breath first and, as he wiped a tear from his eye, he explained; "I am not only astounded that you figured that out, but that I did not," he chuckled, "I had assumed, that because my own Patronus, a Phoenix, is magical in nature...yours was as well."

"What made me think of it," she said as she showed him her unicorn bracelet, "Is these...first Ginny and Luna exchanged them and Ginny gave me mine...on Halloween it was what first alerted us to Luna's predicament. They glowed..." and all three bracelets began to glow brightly. She looked over to see the shocked looks on both adult's faces.

"Do they do all that the time?" Minerva asked awed.

"Yes," Hermione replied, "And when I and Luna also exchanged bracelets, we had two each...we formed our circle, and they merged to become one bracelet, a perfect combination of all three designs." She turned to Luna's gasp and small chuckle.

"I just realised...it's the Amice knot...over and over again," Ginny and Hermione looked at their own bracelets and laughed as well.

"But I'm surprised you can see them..." Ginny said.

"It's because I told them about it...intent? Remember?" Hermione asked.

"They couldn't, and no one can, because we haven't told them?" Luna asked.

"Exactly...my you three are fun to watch puzzle things out," Albus said proudly.

"I told you," Minerva teased him, "Wait until they really get going..."

He shook his head and laughed, "Do you think you three can do it again? Create the unicorn Patronus, I mean?"

"In a nice safe environment like this?" Hermione asked, he nodded, "Well, Ginny I and I have barely stopped touching since yesterday," she blushed then continued, "So I'm guessing we're pretty strong right now...what do you guys think? Want to see it for yourselves?"

When they both nodded eagerly they stood from the table and walked towards the large expanse of grass in front of them. Albus and Minerva came to stand close by them and watched eagerly.

"Tell us what to do," Ginny said.

"Gin, you hold my left hand," she waited until she had, and looked to Luna, "I need my right hand to cast the charm...are you comfortable with putting your hand on the skin on my back, over my heart?"

Luna smiled and reached over and tugged Hermione's shirt out of her shorts and ran her hand up Hermione's back, "You've put some thought into this," she teased.

"I remembered how Ginny calmed you...makes sense you'd be strongest with a direct connection to not only my heart, but Ginny's through mine," she explained and faced forward again, "Think about something happy and concentrate on how we all feel about each other. I'll know when I'm ready."

She leaned over and kissed Ginny on the lips. And the leaned over and kissed Luna's cheek.

"Close your eyes and concentrate...when you hear me cast the charm, open them...you're not going to want to miss this," Hermione instructed them and watched as they closed their eyes.

The effect was immediate. Hermione could feel the power of their combined love flowing through her.

She smiled and yelled, "Expecto Patronum!"

The force of the charm made them all take two steps back. Hermione only keeping her balance due to her friends hands as the Unicorn burst from her wand. They were all temporarily blinded by it's brightness until Hermione concentrated on controlling it. It dimmed until they were able to distinguish it's form and came to stop in front of them, bowing its head as it did so.

"You're not just a Patronus...are you?" she said awed as it nodded it's head, "You're not just us ...you're them..."

"Elise..." Ginny said softly.

"Fabiana..." continued Luna, equally as softly.

"And Fania?" finished Hermione.

The Unicorn nodded, then split into three, entirely different animals.

What appeared to be, three wolves. One slightly larger than the other two.

As they watched, they reformed into the brilliant Unicorn once again.

"Divided...we are wolves..." Hermione said awed.

"Together...we are a Unicorn," Ginny continued in the same tone of voice as her girlfriend.

"Apart we are regular creatures...together, a magical one," Luna finished.

"Truly astonishing," they heard Albus exclaim, "I suspect, you three, when your powers are fully realised," he continued as he walked towards the Patronus, "That this beautiful Patronus of yours, will not only repel Dementors...but a being of this strength? Made of pure love? It may actually destroy them," he finished proudly.

A/N Hope you enjoyed this chapter...already thinking about the next but it's late now, and I need to sleep...see you all again soon, my lovelies.