A/N – Okay, so I know it's been months, actually, possibly years since I updated this story. For some reason I just couldn't seem to get past the last chapter. I think maybe the last book contributed to this, as I was immensely frustrated with the pairings (as I'm sure many of you were) and found that the last chapter was unnecessary, and downright annoying. At least if the book ended when they were all still teenagers I could have had some hope that they broke up later on in life and discovered who they were meant to be with (in my head at least) but unfortunately J.K Rowling took that away from many of us. Anyway, I figure all we can do is write fanfic with the couples how we want them to be, so I hope you enjoy this! Sorry about how short it is, the next chapter will be longer.
'Well overall that visit was successful, we got all the potion ingredients on the list, didn't we, Luna?' Lupin asked happily, holding the door open for the two teenagers to walk through.
'Yes Remus, I believe we did, and I was very happy to find that little store that sold gurdyroot. Those Gulping Plimpies really are giving me a hard time lately!' she declared, blushing slightly, as always, at the affectionate smile Ron sent her way.
'It doesn't look too bad out there either, does it? I mean, You-Know-Who is lurking around a corner somewhere, and all these people are just happily wondering around the street, most of who probably don't even know half the defence spells we do –'
'Yes Ron, but you must also remember that not all believe what we do. Those outside of the Order may think that You-Know-Who can return to power, but they don't want to believe it, and they will convince themselves that such a thing simply can't be true,' Lupin pointed out, walking into the kitchen to pack away their belongings.
'Stupid gits. How can they not believe that he's back after all this time?! And Harry's just expected to save all these people who don't even care enough to believe him?! It's not right you know,' Ron replied, anger bubbling inside him at the ignorance of the rest of the wizarding race.
'Yes, well, there's nothing we can do about that I suppose…' Lupin muttered, examining the gurdyroot that Luna declared a great find.
Harry marched angrily down the stairs, shooting daggers at the occupants of the kitchen who were laughing and sharing idle chit-chat, unaware of the havoc Harry had just faced. How dare they be so happy, how dare Lupin even let us enter this house with such pathetic protection! So much for being the safest place possible!
Lupin shushed Luna and Ron as he saw Harry walk down the steps, looking rather furious at best. 'Harry,' he started, 'is something wrong?'
'Is something wrong?' Harry asked, stopping as he reached the last step, 'Is something wrong?!' He asked, slightly louder. 'Well, let's see. You guys leave to have a little fun, and while you were gone a dementor managed to get within the perimeter of this house, where Hermione just happened to be. So yes, something is wrong! How could you tell me this house was protected? That the perimeter of this house was protected? How could you sit there and lie to my face?!' Harry asked, clearly showing his utter disappointment and anger at the man he usually respected so highly.
Lupin's eyed widened as he dropped the gurdyroot he was holding. 'Hermione? Where is she? Is she ok? Are either of you hurt?'
'I'm fine, can't say the same for Hermione though. She's lying upstairs shivering under as many blankets as I could find! While you were all out shopping a dementor was right outside our backdoor! You told me we had full protection here! If a dementor could get that close to the house what's to stop Voldemort from walking right through the front door?!' Harry shouted, his anger getting the better of him as he thought of his girlfriend looking so lifeless on the ground, rain pouring down around her as if attempting to wash away her pain.
'Harry, I was told that we had the best protection Hogwarts could offer. It may not be as powerful as it would be if the Ministry was on our side… but I thought it had been working well so far, and I assure you that the dementor would not have been able to penetrate the spells surrounding the walls of the house. I'll contact Minerva immediately and have the spells within a 20 metre radius of the house amplified,' Lupin explained quickly, already walking to the front door to apparate on the porch steps. 'I truly am sorry, Harry. I never would have left you here if I had thought you weren't safe,' he told Harry sadly, hating to have who he thought of as a nephew so disappointed in him.
Harry's shoulders visibly slumped as Lupin's words were heard and his anger ebbed away. 'It's not your fault, I just can't stand to see her like that...' he trailed off, willing the prickling sensation behind his eyes to go away. 'I was hoping I could bring her some food for when she wakes up… Did you buy anything that you think would help?' He asked quietly, feeling as though all his energy had dissolved and wanting nothing more than to lie in bed with his arms wrapped around Hermione's small form.
With a wave of Lupin's wand a pot of steaming French onion soup appeared on the stove, which then proceeded to be poured into bowls by a floating ladle. 'Here you go,' Lupid said kindly, handing two bowls to Harry before turning back to the door, 'I'll be back soon. Ron, Luna, I expect you to eat some soup too. We need to start training as soon as possible and you'll need your energy.' With a brief nod he closed the door behind him, a soft click heard as he disapparated to the perimeter of Hogwarts.
'I'm going to stay with Hermione, I'll see you guys later,' Harry told them quietly, walking up the staircase with the two bowls of soup.
He walked into his bedroom to find Hermione coughing slightly, but he was happy to see that some colour had returned to her face and she was able to pull herself into an upright position. Handing her the bowl of soup which she accepted gratefully, he sat gently on the edge of the bed near Hermione's legs.
'How're you feeling, love?' he asked, reaching over to feel her forehead with his free hand.
She let out a quiet laugh, 'I'm okay, I think. It's my fault anyway, I shouldn't have gone outside.'
'Don't say that, we thought we were protected. I already talked to Lupin about it; he's at Hogwarts sorting it all out as we speak.'
A moment of awkward silence enveloped the room, and Hermione looked worriedly at her boyfriend who was swirling his spoon around in his soup, seemingly lost in thought.
'Harry?' She asked, moving to place her bowl on the bedside table before gently taking hold of Harry's shoulder. 'Harry? Are you okay?'
'You really scared me back there, you know,' he told her quietly, standing up to put his bowl of soup alongside Hermione's. 'With all the things I've been through, nothing has scared me as much as that moment did.' He stayed standing, wanting to keep some distance between her while he was feeling so vulnerable, but wanting to hold her more with every passing moment.
Tears quickly began to pool behind Hermione's eyelids, and she looked towards the ceiling in a silent plea to make them go away. She knew how much Harry hated to see her cry, and she felt as though she needed to be the strong one right now, and let him have a minor breakdown if that's what he needed.
She looked toward her Harry, the soul mate she had always read about in fantasy books back in her muggle days, and felt as though her heart was being pulled apart from two directions when she saw the tears running silently down his face, his body slowly sinking to its knees.
She moved from the bed to wrap her arms tightly around him before kissing him for all she was worth. 'I love you Harry, I love you so much!' she whispered repeatedly, taking his face in her hands and forcing him to look at her, 'and I promise you, I'm not going anywhere, I am not going to leave you.'
The tears disappeared as Harry stood, pulling Hermione up with him, before pushing her roughly against the wall, moving back slightly as he remembered the delicate state she was in. The rough pulling of his shirt towards the object of his affection demanded otherwise, as Hermione pulled him closer, kissing him with an intensity she had never felt before. Clothes were shed and thrown across the room, and being Hermione, the smartest witch of her age, she managed to mumble a silencing spell and lock the door before falling onto the bed, the warm weight of her boyfriend on top of her.
Hermione opened her eyes slowly, confused as to whether the event playing over and over in her head had actually occurred, or if was just a dream. Harry moaned quietly and buried his face into her shoulder, as if silently telling her not to dare get out of bed. She giggled and sighed, realising that yes, of course it had been real.
'Morning', she said quietly, biting her lip in an effort to keep from grinning.
'Mmm, morning,' he replied sleepily, moving slightly to place a chaste kiss on his girlfriend's lips.
'We should probably go downstairs and see the others sometime soon, they might be wondering what we're doing up here,' she suggested, smirking slightly.
He chuckled lightly, before realising that it wasn't very nice to leave Remus and the others wondering if one of their best friends was on the brink of death. 'Okay, we'll get up. We have a lot of training to do anyway.' He started to get up before turning quickly back to Hermione, a concerned look on his face. 'Hang on, are you sure you're feeling up to training?'
Hermione laughed lightly. 'Harry, if I was feeling well enough to do what we did, I think I'll be okay to do some training.' Her smile only widened as a blush worked its way across her boyfriends cheeks.
Remus smiled as the glass shattered, watching the pieces smash against the wall before putting the glass vase together with a flick of his wand.
'Very good Harry! Such a spell may not work against Voldemort himself, but as you can see it would be rather painful to have shards of glass blow up in front of you.'
'True. It could come in handy as a distraction, too,' Harry replied, happy that he was advancing through his training without too much drama. He looked across the room to where Hermione stood, sending punches into the middle of a boxing bag with astonishing force. Remus believed that not only should they be trained in magic for the upcoming battle, but also in physical combat.
'Geez, Mione. What did that boxing bag ever do to you?'
She looked over to her boyfriend with a smile, beads of sweat glistening on her forehead as she pushed her fringe behind her ear. 'Better pay attention, Potter. This is what'll happen to you if I ever find you in a dark corner with another girl,' she told him with a smirk.
Harry walked up to her as he laughed, before kissing her gently on the lips. 'Never,' he whispered, picking up the boxing pads behind her and raising his arms, moving around the room as Hermione's glove covered fists collided with the material.
'How are Ron and Luna going?' Hermione asked between blows, her breathing slowly becoming laboured as she began to perform uppercuts.
'Pretty well actually. Luna has an uncanny ability to perform spells, she did when we had Dumbledore's Army going on so I guess I shouldn't be surprised, and Ron's pretty much perfected a bunch of spells while he flies around, I think he'll be a great fighter to have on a broomstick during the battle, attack from all angles.'
'Sounds like a plan,' she replied, grunting as she landed a well-aimed blow into the boxing pad.
Weeks passed and training commenced, as the four teenagers mastered spells and enhanced their physical abilities, effectively becoming the best they could be within an unknowable timeframe. Not only did the two witches and two wizards grow up more in a few months than in the rest of their lives, but they also grew closer to one another, a feat that none of them thought possible. They knew each other inside out, could sense the others presence, felt their moods as their own. They became, in essence, the perfect army.
A/N - Again, I apologise for the length, or lack of. Hope you liked what was written though!