The Art of Love

Summary: Sometimes all you need is a little love. Hhr

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its affiliated characters. That all belongs to J.K. Rowling

Author's Note: My goodness. I apologize for the crazy delay between this chapter and the last. I always forget how hectic my life gets when I'm in school, but I'm out now and I promise to get this story finished before I go back! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please let me know if there are any confusions. After all, its been about nine months since I last updated. Also, I decided telling the whole story from either Harry or Hermione's POV was getting a little hard, so I might venture off of that in future chapters. I'm also going to delve into more mature topics, so I changed the rating from K+ to T. Just a warning. I'm also going to start adding more of my own twists, and I hope you enjoy them. Thank you!

Chapter 10: The Deathly Hallows.

The roar of the daily fire had ceased to a murmur. It had been two weeks since the trio arrived in the forest. Hermione's food supply had withered away to nothing; there were no more tea bags, and the only thing that kept anyone awake and willing to keep going was the fear of getting caught, although that too had declined. After two weeks without speaking to anyone but themselves, of falling into the ritual of waking up and gathering more wood to keep warm, the threat of the Dark Lord seemed almost a distant memory. It was the burning of Harry's scar and the routine nightmares he dreamt that told Hermione and Ron it wasn't a memory - but reality.

Ron was sitting just outside the tent poking the glowing embers with a stick and humming. There had been one night a few days prior where he had gone out into the forest to gather more firewood, and as he was heading back to the tent a sudden wave came over him- as if he had been put into a trance. Nothing seemed to be more important to him than getting out of the hell-hole he had put himself into when he joined Harry on his quest. The thought of his family made his heart ache, and every time he saw his best friends together he wanted to punch Harry in the face and slap Hermione across hers. In his opinion, they had gotten too lovey-dovey and focused on each other; it was as if he wasn't in the room half the time. When they weren't kissing and snuggling, they were pouring over texts, making plans, working on ways to get ahead in the journey. Every night he dreamed of his family. He had become so bitter and worried about their well-being he couldn't focus on anything else. He had also decided that he should be the one to keep watch at night. He enjoyed the alone time it gave him, and he knew that Harry and Hermione were more than content with being alone in the wee hours of the night. He shuddered as he thought about what that could entail, especially since when he would enter the tent at the end of the night Harry would be sweating uncontrollably.

What Ron didn't realize was Harry was sweating from his dreams. Each night when he would fall asleep, his mind would wander into visions of Death Eaters, of Voldemort, of Hermione being kidnapped and tortured. In some cases he dreamed of his death. No matter what the case was, he tossed and turned for hours. Hermione was always at his side, holding his hand and dabbing his forehead with a washcloth. She had noticed the change in Ron, but she was also more worried that Harry would somehow access his connection to Voldemort again and see into his thoughts. If that happened, there was a chance that Voldemort would manage to see into Harry's thoughts, find out their location and send someone after them. She had banned Ron from wearing the locket, hoping it might ease whatever stress he was feeling and make things a little easier for everyone. Maybe it was the fact that they were in such close contact all the time, or maybe it was the fact that their strides toward winning the war seemed at a stand-still, but the tension between Harry and Hermione versus Ron had reached new heights. Only Ron knew the real reason things were getting so bad - he wasn't happy.

Now, as Ron sat outside by the dying fire, he got to thinking about his family again. It had been so long since he had seen any of them. He wasn't even sure what the date was, but he knew that enought time had passed for something bad to have possibly happened. He thought Ginny, and nothing could stop him from worrying about his father or Bill, two people so involved in the Order and the war cause bad things were just waiting to happen. He was worried about his mother, the woman who gave everyone everything she had. His mind snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a scream from inside the tent. For a second he was afraid to go in, thinking Harry and Hermione must be enjoying the physical side of being in a relationship, but when he heard Hermione's call for help he knew it was something much more serious. He pushed the flap aside and saw a scene very reminiscent of what happened during their trip to the Department of Mysteries during their fifth year. Harry was sprawled on the ground, twitching and writhing against the floor. His eyes were open, but they weren't red like they were when he was possessed by Voldemort. Instead, they were bloodshot ( which only made the piercing green irises stand out more) and his face was wrinkled and tight in agony. Hermione was working on calming him, using every anti-pain or relaxing spell she knew. She didn't even realize Ron was in the room until he asked what was happening.

"I don't know." she cried and threw him a washcloth. "Get that wet, he's burning up." Ron ran to the kitchen sink and then ran back to Harry, gently resting the cloth on his forehead. It was scolding hot.

"Bloody, hell." he muttered, and his eyes darted to his torso. " Ever seen Harry naked, 'Mione?" she looked at him in utter surprise.

"What- what the hell are you -?" Ron shook his head.

"Just asking. He needs these clothes off of him. They're making it worse." She nodded and took over the washcloth as Ron removed Harry's shirt and pants, leaving him in his boxers. He looked at Hermione. "What happened?"

"He was having a nightmare, like he does every night. Normally when it gets too terrifying he wakes up, but tonight he wouldn't. He was tossing more than usual, and suddenly he wasn't just sweating, there was water pouring out of his body. His face grew pale and yet red at the same time, and he looked as if he lost control of his body. It was flailing and he was having muscle spasms." She looked up at Ron. He was staring down at Harry with a look of disgust. In an instant he shot up and kicked Harry right in the shin.

"RON!" Hermione cried, but Ron ignored her.

"WAKE UP, YOU ARROGANT LITTLE PRAT!" Now Ron's face had turned red. The anger that had been building inside of him for the last two weeks broke free, and he was shaking Harry, kicking him, trying every way he knew to get him to snap out of whatever was going on, and also to release his frustration.

"Ronald, stop. Stop it!" Hermione said as Ron slapped Harry across the face. "What the hell are you doing?" She was about to continue when a gasp was heard coming from Harry's mouth. Both Ron and Hermione looked down and saw that Harry's eyes were wide open, and he was looking around in confusion. "Oh!" Hermione exclaimed and rushed down to Harry.

"Hermione! Mione! Hermione!" Harry screamed, using his elbows as a crunch to sit up. Hermione looked at Ron, who was turned away from the scene.

"Harry, shh… I'm here. I'm right here." Harry, realizing she was alright, pulled her into a hug and let the tears that had been forming in his eyes fall. He kissed her over and over again, touching her face and arms as if trying to decide if she was real. "Are you alright?" she asked, and he just looked at her.

"You're okay… Oh, Merlin." He kissed her again, and this time Hermione pulled away quickly, looking him straight in the eye.

"You had a nightmare, and when you started to get really scared you wouldn't wake up. I tried using some anti-sleep spells, but when those wouldn't work Ron tried to shake you awake." Ron turned around now, his arms crossed as he avoided Harry's gaze.

"It worked too. You're welcome." he growled bitterly, and then let out a giant groan as Harry kissed Hermione again.

"I'm sorry." Harry said. "It was that dream I've been having over and over. The one where I'm fighting Voldemort and in the middle of the duel he grabs you, "Mione, and he holds onto you, and I can't break his grasp no matter how hard I try. And suddenly I'm so terrified for you I forget everything I've learned, and I realize this is the moment where it matters most, and I won't be able to save you and I get so afraid. This time I didn't wake up when he shouts the killing curse at you. I watched as it happened… I… I…: he broke off, his body still shaking from the nightmare. Hermione pulled him close to her and gently rubbed his head, something she knew would sooth him.

"Shhh…" she cooed, and kissed the top of his raven hair. "Its alright, Harry. It was just a dream. That's not what's going to happen when we do face him, I promise. I won't let it."

"Neither will I." he said, and looked up at Hermione with a small smile. "I love you."

"I love you too, of course." she whispered, and as she was leaning down to kiss him, Ron chimed into the conversation.

"Do you two even realize I'm here?" They looked at him, and he groaned as he saw that Harry's head was resting in between Hermione's breasts. "Oh, bloody hell!" He stormed out of the tent muttering underneath his breath, and Harry and Hermione removed themselves from their embrace to run out after him.

"Ron!" Harry called. "RON!" Ron ignored him and kept walking further away from the tent.

"Ronald Weasley! Ron!" Hermione screamed. "Come back!"

"WHY SHOULD I?" Ron yelled, turning around to face the couple. " I honestly don't think I am being of any sort of assistance to this so called mission we're supposed to be on. Do you realize how little we have actually accomplished? We found the real locket - fantastic. Do we have a way to destroy it? Do we have any leads on what the other horcruxes could be? NO! We don't."

"Ron, we're figuring out plans and ways to find the -" Hermione began, but Ron laughed and cut her off.

"Yeah, with each other! Neither one of you have communicated anything with me. I don't know what's next on our agenda, I have no idea what's going on. And you two cuddling and snogging and being all… couple-like all the bloody time was cute for about five minutes, but now its old. I'm sick of walking into the bedroom and seeing you two huddled together to keep warm. I'm tired of watching you two be so involved in each other you don't seem to care about anything else. I can't do it anymore, I honestly can't." He picked up a rock and threw it in frustration, while a dumbfounded Hermione just stared at him. Harry walked toward Ron.

"Ron, listen. I'm sorry. I didn't realize we were upsetting you. We'll fix it, we won't show so much affection in front of you, we'll tell you all of our plans. We were just trying to figure everything out before we agreed to do anything." Ron looked down at the ground.

"Yeah, well…It would've been nice to be included. We're supposed to be the Golden Trio or whatever. Listen…" He looked up, but avoided looking at either of his friends. "I think it would be better for everyone if I left. I'm really worried about my family, I never told them where I was going or anything, and lately I've been getting this homesick feeling. I miss them. I want to be there with them, making sure they're okay with everything that is going on. Don't get me wrong, I want to make sure you guys are okay, too… but I also know deep down that you two are going to be fine. You'll figure everything out and you'll be okay. I need to be with my family. Besides, it'll let you two be as affectionate as you want. I feel like I'm standing in your way more than I'm helping you guys."

"Ron…" Hermione whispered, her voice quivering with tears. "Ron, I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to… I…"

"Hermione, its fine. Really. This isn't how I thought this was going to be, and I can't do it anymore."

"You really want to leave?" Harry asked, taking a deep breath to steady himself.

"Yeah, mate. I do," was all Ron said. There was a moment of awkward silence between the three of them. No one knew quite what to say next. Finally, Hermione broke the tension and walked toward Ron.

"You can't do this, Ron. We love you. I'm sorry. I don't want you to leave, Ron. You are just as equally important in this mission as everybody else, and we need you." Ron sighed and opened his mouth to speak, but no words would come out. He was surprised to feel tears start to fall, and in an instant he was so angry and sad at that same time he began to scream. This scared Hermione, and both she and Harry grabbed ahold of Ron and helped him sit down. It was a long while before he calmed down enough to be rational about anything, and during his break down Hermione realized how much he truly was hurting. They sat together for a few more minutes, no one speaking, until Hermione stood up and faced them. "I understand the feeling of wanting to be with your family. I feel it too. It didn't make sense to me that you would want to abandon Harry, but I'm starting to get it. I am. Your family is in much more danger than anyone here is, and so it makes sense that you would feel more pressure to be with them. I just want you know that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the way I've acted, and I never meant to push you away." Ron shook his head.

"Thank you." he said, and looked at Harry, who was still frowning and taking deep breaths.

"Yeah. What she said." he muttered. He was feeling much anger and betrayal towards Ron at the moment. After all, he didn't have to come on this mission in the first place. That was something Harry had told him before they left, and it irked him that Ron was changing his mind. He also felt it wasn't fair that he was so upset about the affection Harry and Hermione showed, because it was a form of comfort for both of them. He sighed, trying to decide if he should tell his best friend these things or if he should let it go and wish Ron the best. Hermione's hand on his shoulder snapped him back to reality and for a moment he bit his tongue. "I'm pissed off at you, I hope you know that." Ron smirked.

"Yeah, well… I'm pretty mad at you as well." the edge in voice could have cut glass, and Hermione felt a sharp pain pierce her heart. She hated this, and she didn't know what was going to make it better. Harry looked at Ron and sighed.

"You never had to come. I told you that, I just don't understand why-"

"Harry," Hermione snapped. He looked at her in surprise, and suddenly got even more angry.

"What?" he demanded, and Hermione just shook her head.

"Its fine, Hermione. Be mad if you want, Harry. I'm not going to be around to deal with it." He got up as he said this and pulled out his wand.

"This isn't fair! I get it, I do. I understand you want to be with your family, I completely get it -"

"NO, HARRY, YOU DON'T." Ron snapped. "You have no family!" That statement caused Harry to stop dead in his tracks." You can't possibly understand how I feel, and I don't care. Stop trying to guilt me into staying - I'm going. I'm making sure they're okay, and I'm going to stand by their side through everything!"

"You-" Harry began, anger boiling inside of him. The two boys glared at each other, and Harry was about to yell out when Ron lunged at him. They started attacking each other in the way muggles do - with their fists. Hermione screamed at them to stop, and pulled out her wand ready to immobilize both of them, but neither listened.

"You selfish, arrogant coward!" Harry cried, and Ron threw a punch at him. Harry fell to the ground and Ron shook out his hand before he looked at Hermione for half a second. With that he raised his wand and just as Harry was about to stand up and try to get Ron back, he apparated away. Harry stared at the spot he was standing for a second, before Hermione scoffed and ran away in a hurry. Harry couldn't even look at her. The realization of what had just happened came crashing down on him, and the weight of guilt that rested on his shoulders pushed him to the ground. He ran his fingers though his hair and tried not to throw up. He wasn't successful, and suddenly he was spewing vomit everywhere, guilt and sorrow getting the best of him. After about twenty minutes he remembered Hermione had ran away, and he debated with himself if he wanted to deal with her in this moment. He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, mentally preparing himself for what was to come.

When he entered the tent, Hermione was no where in sight. He didn't call out to her, instead he sat down in the living area and leaned back against the chair. He could hear crying coming from the bedroom, but he also knew if he was to go in there it would only make everything worse. He fell asleep in that position, and when he awoke it wasn't light out yet. It wasn't for another hour that Hermione finally emerged, but she avoided looking at Harry when she walked into the room.

""Mione…" Harry began, his voice soft and timid. She looked at him with a mad expression on her face, her eyes red and puffy.

"I just have one question." she said. Her voice was raspy and tired, and she looked as if she was about to break into tears again. "What were you thinking? I know you're thick headed, but I never…" she shook her head and sat down in the chair across from Harry. He looked towards the ground and licked his lips.

"I wasn't." He looked up at her now, and she scoffed at him again.

"Clearly." That stung, but Harry was determined to explain.

"I was upset. It was a lot to take all at once. I know I was wrong, but its too late to fix anything. If I could take it back I would."

"You better hope that when all of this over you have the chance to." she spat. He swallowed his pride and sunk in his chair. Hermione groaned and rubbed her temples, something she did when she was trying to figure something out. "Okay. I'm still mad at the way you handled the situation, but it doesn't do either of us any good to dwell on it. As long as Ron is safe, that's the biggest thing I'm worried about - that he'll somehow get captured before he gets back to the Burrow."

"I didn't even think of that." Harry whispered, and suddenly a new feeling overcame him - fear. " What the hell did I do?'

"You screwed up." she answered, and then she sighed. "As long as he is safe. We can talk to him about everything after its finished, we can try and work everything out then. We need to focus on the horcruxes and everything else right now." With that she got up and pulled out all of the notes they had made over the last two weeks and ruffled through them. He looked at her for a second before getting up and walking up behind her.

"Mione," he said. "I am so sorry. I'm so, so sorry." she sighed and turned to face him.

"I know you are. I understand why you were so upset, and to be honest part of me thought he wasn't really going to leave, and I think you thought the same thing and that's part of the reason things turned out the way they did. It doesn't change the fact that Ron left, and it doesn't change the fact that the whole thing was handled horridly by both of you. I'm not mad at you, honey. I understand. I'm afraid for Ron, and I'm afraid for us, and I'm upset that he left, and I'm also trying to deal with it the best I can. Its okay." Harry nodded and sat down in one of the kitchen chairs. He put his head in his hands and groaned, but Hermione placed a gentle hand on his shoulder to help calm him down. "I have to believe everything is going to be okay in the end. Whatever is in store for the future, I have to believe its all leading to the end of the fear and pain, and that one day we'll all smile and everything will be okay."

"I don't know how you can do that." Harry replied. "All I can think right now is how messed up everything is. Nothing is okay, not one thing."

"That's not true." Hermione said as she sat down in the chair next to him. "We're okay." He smiled a little at this and reached over to grab Hermione's hand.

"Thank Merlin for that." he said and she kissed him on the cheek.

"Its okay to feel anxious. I'll be here when it gets too intense." she said, half joking. He nodded and leaned his head on her shoulder. They sat there for a moment, before Hermione decided it was time to get on with their search. They had been lounging around for far too long.

"What are looking for?" Harry asked as Hermione flipped through her array of papers. His eyes shifted for a second to her copy of The Tales of the Beetle and the Bard, and focused on the engraved eye that decorated the front cover. And then it hit him. Suddenly a series of flashbacks ran through his mind at once, and Harry realized he had seen that symbol before. His mind flashed back to Dumbledore's office, where a 3-dimensional version of that symbol rested in the cabinet behind his desk. It then shifted to the first time he ever met Xenophilius Lovegood back in his fifth year, and then again at Fleur and Bill's wedding. Both times his eyes had been drawn to a necklace he wore, a necklace that bore the same symbol that was on the book. With a shout he stood up and grabbed it, and Hermione looked at him in surprise.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Harry's eyes glistened with excitement and he shoved the book in Hermione's hands before sitting back down and wiggling in anticipation. "Harry, I can't read minds." she teased. "Why are you so excited?"

"I've seen this symbol before." he said. She opened her mouth in shock, but before she could ask where he answered the question for her. "In fourth year when I was called into Dumbledore's office to discuss the Triwizard Tournament, I saw this symbol in a display case in the corner of his office. I didn't think anything of it, and it was only for a second, but it was definitely this symbol. And then when I met Mr. Lovegood for the first time, I remember being curious about a necklace he wore, and I realized that this symbol was on it. Hermione, I know without a doubt this symbol means something, and we need to figure out what it is." Hermione nodded, contemplating what this means and what they should do.

"We should go see Xenophilius. If he is wearing the symbol around his neck, he must be a strong supporter of whatever it means. Plus, it would be nice to see Luna again." Harry grinned from ear to ear, excitement filling his body. As soon as it rose, it fell. "What's wrong?" Hermione asked as soon as she saw his face fall.

"Its just… If Ron had stuck around for one more day…" Hermione gave him a sympathetic look.

"I know…" They sat there for another moment, both afraid to say something. Hermione reached out to touch Harry's hand, and he looked at her timidly. "I miss him too." That was the last they spoke of the situation with Ron for a while. It was a sore subject for both of them, and they knew the more they discussed it, the more it would eat at them and distract them from the job they had to do. They went to sleep that night with a thousand things running through their mind, also with the growing anxiety about visiting Xenophilius and figuring out what the symbol of Hermione's book meant.

They left two days later. Both of them were afraid to leave the safety of the forest. Venturing into the real world where they could possibly be seen was a risk they knew needed to be made, but they both knew it had to happen. They apparated away holding onto each other for dear life, and arrived moments later at the bottom of the hill the Lovegood's lived on. Harry smiled at Hermione, impressed she knew where to apparate to based off a description Luna once told her. They looked around for a moment before draping the invisibility cloak over themselves and traveling up the hillside to the house. When the got to the front door they took off the cloak and stared at the house for a moment. The front door was tall and eerie, with a stone archway framing it perfectly. Harry reached up to knock, but before his knuckles touched the door it opened. Barely ajar, the eyes of Xenophilius were almost invisible, but still piercing. They seemed even more frantic than usual, and when he realized who was at the door he shut it immediately. Harry and Hermione shared a glance before trying to knock again, but before they could the shaky voice of Mr. Lovegood came ringing in their ears.

"Please, go away." he said. Hermione's brow came together in confusion and she cleared her throat before answering him.

"Mr. Lovegood," she began, "Harry and I just want to talk to you about something. We'll only be here for a little while, I promise." There was a moment of silence as they waited to see if they would be allowed inside, but after a while the door creaked open and Xenophilius stepped aside to let them in.

"Thank you. Is Luna here? It'd be nice to say hello to her, if possible." Harry said, and Xenophilius shook his head curtly.

"N-No. She's not here. She is…Out. Look, you must leave soon. Very, very soon." He said, rubbing his hands together as if he was afraid for something. Both Harry and Hermione took notice of this, but neither said anything as they looked around the room. "You may sit, if you'd like." They smiled at him as a thank you and took a seat in the enormous couch that faced the fireplace Xenophilius stood by. He looked at them, then at the back window, and then back at them. "What..er..What may I do for you today?"

"Well, sir, we were wondering what you knew about this symbol -" Hermione began, holding out her copy of The Tales of the Beetle and the Bard for him to look at. He frowned for a moment and then handed it back to her.

"That's the symbol of the Deathly Hallows." he stated. Harry perked up at this news, and Hermione sat upright, waiting to see if he would continue. He didn't.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but what are the Deathly Hallows?" Harry questioned. Xenophilius smiled for a moment and shook his head.

"You really must be going." he whispered.

"Sir," Hermione interjected. "If its alright with you, we'd like to stay for just a few more minutes. This information could help us figure out a few things." Xenophilius nodded, understanding forming in his mind.

"Oh, well…Alright, I suppose a few more minutes won't hurt." He pulled a chair up by the fireplace and sat down. "Are either of you aware of the story of the Peverell brothers?" Hermione nodded and Harry shook his head, Xenophilius sat back and looked at Hermione. "Would you like to fill him in, or shall I?" Hermione smiled.

"You can sir, if you'd like to." He nodded and looked at Harry now.

"Mr. Potter, the Peverell brothers lived hundreds of years ago. One night they were traveling through a forest when they reached a river. It was too quick and deep to safely cross, but the brothers used magic to conjure up a bridge to cross the river. As they crossed it, they were met by Death, who felt the brothers had cheated death. He snidely remarked about their cleverness, and then Death offered the Peverell brothers a reward for their efforts. He told each brother they could have a magical item, any magical item, that they wished to possess. The first brother, Antioch, asked for a wand to beat all other wands, and so Death gave him the Elder wand, created from a branch of a nearby tree. The second brother, Cadmus, wanted the ability to raise the dead back from their graves, so he could be with the love of his life whom he had lost." Harry's eyes glanced over to Hermione as this was said, and she tried to repress a smile as love for Harry swelled inside of her. Xenophilius, however, took no notice and continued on. "The third and final brother, Ignotus, was a more humble man than his brothers, and asked for something that would allow him to leave the river and not be followed by death, and so Death made Ignotus an invisibility cloak. Now, this cloak is unlike any other invisibility cloak made before. It never fades, and it never loses its power. Such a cloak has never been known to be found, but legend says that if a person holds possession of these three items; the wand -" He pointed to the vertical stick shape in the symbol on his necklace, "The stone" he pointed to the circle, "and the cloak," he pointed to the triangle, "this person will become the master of death." Harry looked at the symbol for a moment, a newfound discovery brewing in his mind. If he managed to find all three hallows…could he be assured to defeat Voldemort? Hermione could tell what he was thinking, and reached over to squeeze his hand, assuring him they would discuss the possibility later. Xenophilius looked at the pair, panic slowly brewing in his eyes. "Is this all you needed to know?" Hermione nodded.

"Yes, sir. We realized this symbol had been coming back into our lives over the last few years and we wanted to know what it meant, and we remembered that the first time we met you we were drawn to that necklace you're wearing, and that the symbol was on it. Thank you for all the information, its very kind of you to talk to us about all of this." With that she started to get up, knowing he was anxious for them to leave. "I'm sorry to have barged in on you with such short notice."

"Oh, no. I, um…" Xenophilius stuttered, " Its alright. I would like to apologize for being so short with you before. I was just, um.. Well, I was caught off guard." He looked out the back window again, and Hermione gave him a strange look.

"Mr. Lovegood, are you looking for someone?" His head snapped to her in an instant, and he smiled rather unconvincingly.

"N-no! Dear girl, I'm just.. Um…" Harry suddenly had a sinking feeling edge its way inside of him.

"Mr. Lovegood," he said, "Mr. Lovegood…Where's Luna really?" Hermione's eyes grew wide at this realization. They had been there for a good half an hour, Luna was supposedly "out," and yet all Xenophilius could do was stare out the window. Suddenly it all made sense - Luna was missing.

"My dear boy…" he whispered. "Harry, I don't know what to do." He sunk down into a chair and began to cry.

"What happened to her?" Harry asked. Xenophilius sniffed and choked a little on his breath.

"They took her. My Luna. They took her." He began to shake violently, and tears were streaming down his face. Hermione's stomach turned over, and Harry's face grew white. There was no need to explain who "they" were, and there was no need to try and figure out what that meant. The Death Eaters had come and kidnapped Luna Lovegood, and now no one knew what happened to her. Hermione's heart was pounding, and she kneeled down to look at Xenophilius's face.

"We'll get her back, I promise." He let out another sob and shook his head.

"I don't even know how it happened. She left one morning to gather some seashells, when suddenly everything went dark and from my window I could see them come and take her. She fought back.. She wasn't strong enough. I ran out the moment I saw them shouting any curse I could think of, I was half mad. I was so afraid. But they.."

"They took her. Harry finished, and shot a look at Hermione, who looked like she too was about to cry. "Mr. Lovegood, I promise you with every fiber of my being that we will fight and get your daughter back. I swear." Hermione nodded in agreement.

"You don't understand… When I saw that you two were here I…I…"

"Oh, my God." Hermione whispered. It hit her all at once. The real reason he was looking out the window, why it took him a few minutes to open the door. He had alerted them, somehow, that he knew of Harry Potter's whereabouts.

"You have to understand, I thought if I turned you in they might give me Luna back, and I have to try." Harry stood up.

"We have to go. Now." He grabbed Hermione by the arm and helped her up. He looked at Xenophilius. "I understand why you did it, I do. But I'm afraid that this isn't the time for me to face any of the Death Eater yet. All in due time, I promise, but I can't go now. Not yet. I hope you understand."

"I do. I'm so sorry…" Xenophilius started to shake again. "Go, go. I don't know how much time you have before they get here. They have to make sure I'm telling the truth before they alert He Who Must Not Be Named. " As he said it, the strangeness only increased in Hermione's mind.

"Harry… this doesn't feel right. If the Death Eaters got a report that Harry Potter was spotted, they would jump at it in a heartbeat. Even if it turned out you weren't there, they would try. They'd be too afraid you might slip away, and that would be worse on their behalf because they waited. Something is up."

"I'm so sorry!" Xenophilius cried, and before anyone had a chance to understand what was going on the back wall of the house was blown off, and Harry grabbed Hermione's hand as everything took a turn for the worse. Harry pulled out the invisibility cloak and wrapped it around himself and Hermione, and they hid behind the couch as one by one each Death Eater arrived. It was chaos at first, one grabbed a hold of Xenophilius, and threw him down on the ground. They scanned the room for half a second, before they destroyed everything in sight looking for the duo.

"Were you lying, Lovegood?" One that sounded an awful lot like Dolohov shouted. All that happened was a whimpering noise that came from Xenophilius, and suddenly the Death Eaters got to work again, breaking everything they could. Just as things got to a point that was so chaotic it was hard to understand your own thoughts, Hermione grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him up. She threw off the invisibility cloak and held onto it with her left hand while her wand was in her right, and called out. Each Death Eater turned to face her, and the second they all realized who they were and started to throw curses their way Hermione apparated away, and they managed to leave the Lovegoods' house still alive. They arrived back in the forest and collapsed. They laid there for a moment, panting and reliving the events that had just occurred. Harry looked over at Hermione, who was laying on her back staring at the sky.

"We have to save Luna." she said, and Harry nodded.

"I know. And we will. " Now she nodded and then let out a much overdue breath. "Baby," he said, his breath catching up with him. "One question. Why did we wait to apparate exactly? Because I'm not going to lie, it was terrifying." Hermione let out a small laugh and then sat up to look at Harry.

"I wanted to Death Eaters to know Xenophilius didn't lie when he alerted the Death Eaters." Now Harry shot up.

"Brilliant." he whispered, and leaned in closer to Hermione. "You are always so brilliant. And don't worry. We're going to get Luna back, and everything will be okay." Hermione nodded and gulped at the same time. Harry was leaning in closer to her with each second, and before she knew what was happening he was kissing her, slipping his tongue in her mouth and gently biting her bottom lip. She groaned as he began to gently rub her skin and press his body against hers. She had no idea what was bringing any of this on, but she wasn't going to deny it either. He gently laid her back down on the ground and pulled himself up a little bit so he could position himself over her slightly, and he continued to rub her body and kiss her lips. Both of them were lost in the moment, but Hermione was letting her inner school girl get the best of her, and she found herself so curious as to why this was happening now she pulled away for a moment and looked at him. "What's wrong?" he said gently, leaning in for another kiss.

"Nothing," she said, giving him a small peck. "Its just… What brought this on?" Harry smirked, and spoke his next words in a sultry voice that made Hermione's heart melt.

"I'm celebrating our accomplishment tonight before we start to think about all the things we still have to do." With that he kissed her again, and Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him on top of her. They kissed for a few more minutes, when suddenly they heard a noise coming from the bushes behind them. They broke apart and looked in the direction the noise came from and pulled out their wands, and before either of them were able to realize what was happening a group of small creatures with pointed ears and noises jumped out from the bushes and rushed towards Harry and Hermione.

"Immobulus!" Hermione shouted, but missed the creature she was firing at as another one managed to sneak past and tie her legs together with rope. She fell to the ground in a moment and dropped her wand. She looked at Harry, who was fighting off the creatures with ascending spells and blinding spells, anything to disorient the creatures attacking them. But he too didn't see all of them and was bound by rope. They both called "Accio Wand" but the creatures managed to grab both wands as they flew through the air. Hermione tried to physically hit the creatures, and Harry tried to find a way to knock them down, but the creatures bound their arms together and gagged their mouths. Hermione looked up and caught a real glimpse of the fifteen plus creatures who had just attacked them for the first time. Goblins.

"Come on, worthless minions. Lets take them."

Author's Note: Okay, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Again, I'm really sorry for the delay in this chapter. If there are any plot holes or anything that you notice, please let me so I can fix it. Another chapter will be posted soon. Thanks for reading! -M.