Hello everyone! here we are with a new chapter, I think I am managing will with an update every 14 days, lets hope this will keep up, thank you so much for the reviews, alerts,faves and pms, I am so happy you like my story. I promise more is to come :)
Huge thanks to Marla1 for her betaing and ideas, I can't highlight enough her help, I am grateful!

Enjoy...


Chapter Eleven – A Woman and Love

The couple of best friends and spouses remained silent in the large living room. In the same room they revealed their feelings for each other, now they sat in silence and before them, on the mahogany coffee table, remained the box, closed but not sealed.

'What are we supposed to do?' Harry finally wondered and Hermione looked at him. They knew that even if they tried the ministry again, seemingly in regret of their actions against the minister and his officials, the Unspeakables wouldn't talk to them about possible findings on the Wand. Although, Harry doubted they found any. Dumbledore had left nothing in his note and as far as Harry knew, most of the Wand's Masters didn't live long enough to explore its powers before it could devour them.

This led him to his worry over himself and Hermione being its current Masters. He wasn't delusional, the Deathstick didn't really have Masters, it was impassive on the ownership of humans, it craved magical power that came from emotions, that much he was aware of, and even if he was away from it for so long, he could feel its magic like a magnet humming before him, for him.

In his few moments with it during the Hogwarts Battle he was so emotional he wasn't sure if it was also the wand that fed his desperation, that led him to leave everyone behind and go to the forest on his own, even leave Hermione behind and face Voldemort, now Harry wondered if it was actually the Wand that had lured him like a fly close to the fire…

That man in the ministry was right, he had been reckless to throw away the Stone like that but Harry wondered if the Hallows worked with each other against their own Master, after all these magical objects gave their allegiance to the Wizard and nothing more… maybe under the Wand's influence he let go of the Stone.

'We can do only one thing,' Hermione finally replied, taking him out of his thoughts and making him look at her. 'We can only experiment with it to find the Stone,' Hermione added and Harry sighed. Hiding it away would do no good, Dumbledore had used it for years and didn't get corrupted, they were both brave and smart but were they that wise?

In all honesty, his brave heart was afraid of the damn Deathstick and what it could do to them or their future. Dumbledore had no children and his past was dark with Grindelweld but Harry wanted to have a family with Hermione. He was already worried about her, with the Elder Wand back and them both as its Masters, it wouldn't be the first time in history that someone who defeated an evil wizard became evil himself. He couldn't even think of having children that he would have to pass it down to. After all, losing the allegiance of the Wand was so easy, simply someone had to disarm them and the vicious circle would reopen.

'It's the only way to find the Stone, we can experiment with it, with its obvious dangers, of course,' Hermione acknowledged and Harry took a deep breath.

'I can't believe after all we've been through now that we are married the Elder Wand shows up out of nowhere to test us with its turn.' Harry admitted and almost felt relieved with Hermione smiling at him and reaching for his hand which he gave for her to bring close to her body.

'I think that if we make it with this too, then nothing can actually set us apart.' Hermione observed and Harry couldn't stop himself as he moved closer and kissed her lips, his free hand moving in her rich wavy hair and keeping her gently from the nape of her neck.

They broke their kiss after a few moments and rested their foreheads against each other.

'Experiment how with the bloody thing?' Harry asked and he could see the glim in her eyes, it had nothing to do with the Wand's power, it was clear Hermionish curiosity over something that has answers.

'I have researched about it in the bookshop, ideas some of its owners had, their memoirs, of course there are entire centuries of it being lost but through people like Barnabas Derevil who is the first to call it Eldrun Wand, I have found some things we can do with it to find the Stone.' Hermione replied and Harry remained silent. Hermione took the hint. 'You never researched about it, did you?' Hermione asked but her voice had no annoyance or disappointment in it. 'I don't blame you, it is an awful magical object,' Hermione added and Harry was glad she understood, after all she was there all the way with corrupting magical objects. She knew how hard was for him to follow his destiny with prophesies, the hallows and the horcruxes.

'OK, in short, the Elder Wand has many names. Loxias, another owner of it called it Deathstick. According Garrick Olivander if the Wand existed, it would have a Thestral hair in its core. He never added notes on it as it was an ingredient he never used in wands, nor any other member of the Olivander's family.' Hermione's mind was racing; Harry could see her old familiar hyperventilation when her mind worked fast and efficiently. He remained silent as she recalled all the important things she had to tell him.

'The bloody trail of the Elder Wand is splattered across the pages of wizarding history.' Harry remembered Xenophilious Lovegood's words back in their eventful visit to his house during the Horcrux hunt.

'InMagick Moste Evile, Godelot the author and at some point Master of the Wand, wrote that he was to perish in his own son's cellar where he had been captured and jailed.' Hermione recalled and Harry remained silent again, processing what she was saying. However a question popped in his head and he needed to ask.

'Was there a woman who Mastered the Wand?' He asked and Hermione shook her head.

'None that we know of,' Hermione replied and Harry looked at her in wonder. 'Either because it's something with the wand and women or the women who kept possession of it were wise enough not to brag about it,' Hermione replied and Harry nodded. Evil witches existed, he had fought some of them, and he wondered how all of them made it to keep silent against the Wand's design to cause havoc. Hermione's eyes widened and Harry looked at her.

'The wand is made to create chaos, I don't think anyone would be able to remain so silent about it,' Hermione replied and Harry nodded as if she had read his thoughts. 'Antioch Peverell maybe designed it only for wizards; after all it was centuries ago, maybe he never expected of it to end up in a woman's hands...' Hermione whispered.

'Those who are knowledgeable about wandlore will agree that wands do indeed absorb the expertise of those who use them.' Hermione whispered again and Harry understood nothing. She looked at him frantically moving her hands. 'Those who are knowledgeable about wandlore will agree that wands do indeed absorb the expertise of those who use them!' she repeated frantically and Harry attempted to actually calm her down from her epiphany so she would use words. 'Dumbledore had written that in the copy of the Tales he had given me in his will!' Hermione added and Harry shook his head.

'Use words so I can understand, Hermione love, please!' Harry begged and for a moment only she calmed at the sound of her new title 'love'.

'Exactly that!' Hermione exclaimed and clapped her hands as she stood up and started pacing. 'Bloody ministry, if they had given us the letter from Dumbledore I would have found out the solution during the hunt!' Hermione called out and looked at Harry who remained silent for her to complete the puzzle in her head before she could speak.

'Harry you said so! No woman has ever mastered the Wand before! At least no one that we know of!' Hermione finally started and Harry nodded his head. 'And the Wand itself absorbs the user's expertise….. In your case it's love!' Hermione exclaimed and Harry frowned.

'So in our hands it will turn into Lovestick?...' he asked dumbly and she actually laughed.

'No! But we will turn it into our actual tool to track down the Stone and then through my nature as a woman and your expertise we'll destroy it once and for all,' Hermione replied and Harry wasn't sure he understood.

"The oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death!" Hermione quoted from the Beedle the Bard and Harry nodded.

'That's why Dumbledore hoped we'd end up together, because this is the only occasion someone with so deep and unconditional love is the Master of Death and through you and our marriage I become the first woman to use it. All this is completely against the ideas Antioch Peverell had when he was inventing the wand…. That's why nobody could destroy it; it takes the Master of the Hallows to be someone who can actually love as much as you can and his own wife to be wed to him by love and to be well… a wife.' Hermione explained and Harry could see where she was going with her theory.

'If you think about in reverse, Antioch Peverell used all the things he could imagine that would make the Deathstick indestructible. To destroy it, someone who had already conquered Death had to master the Wand and his brothers' inventions. This someone had to survive the Wand's nature, the Stone's power of bringing back the dead without going mad and be someone powerful who could love deeply and that someone also had to have a wife, as the wand was made only for the stereotype of the powerful man with the powerful tool of destruction!' Hermione was explaining and Harry could feel a tiny flicker of hope about ending it all.

'We need to use the Wand to find the Stone, the Hallows are linked with each other. If my theory is right, the Wand will be hard to yield now, we're completely against its nature but we have to use it as to find the Stone. I know some spells we can try, it's a good thing that as a heroine of war, I got access to the forbidden section of the Hogwarts Library when we went back for our final year.' Hermione added and Harry could only keep nodding. 'Dumbledore didn't only want you to get the Hallows as to defeat Voldemort, he also wanted us together so we could destroy the Hallows afterwards, finish what he couldn't do. That's why he gave all three to you.' Hermione concluded and Harry could only feel the need to stand up and hug his wife to him.

'I wouldn't have survived a day without you, Hermione, have I told you you're brilliant?' he asked as she hugged him back.

'Only a million times,' Hermione replied with a smile as she looked up at him, he was only slightly taller than her. 'Harry…. Don't expect it to be easy, I don't know exactly how things will turn out with it against us… lets not forget it's the most powerful wand in the world… now that we are the recipe of its destruction, it will be hostile and dangerous. Like the Horcruxes, when close to its destruction it will probably lash out.' Hermione added and Harry nodded and sighed.

'I know,' Harry acknowledged and moved a lock of her curls away from her face with his fingers. 'You think we should try our experiments with it here?' He asked and Hermione nodded.

'The less noise we make by going somewhere else with it, the best chances we have to finish quickly with it, I think it will try its best to provoke more people against us.' Hermione explained and Harry nodded. 'We'll use the cellar, underground level is ideal for the magic to be absorbed by earth itself.' Hermione added and Harry nodded. 'I will have to floo to the shop to get some books first; we'll prepare the cellar and then start with the Wand. If needed, I will go to Hogwarts and the library, but I think we'll be good, I remember all the things I need. ' Hermione instructed and Harry nodded, he kissed the tip of her nose. 'Your observation was very good, about women and the wand, Dumbledore had also noted that in the book but I hadn't connected the dots.' Hermione praised and Harry shook his head.

'You would have thought about it if we had the letter in the first place,' Harry reassured her and smiled. 'As for the observation, it was just that… I wondered why no woman ever got in the trouble.' Harry added and Hermione smiled back and kissed him.

'It's a good thing after all that I am not pregnant,' Hermione observed in a quiet voice and Harry sighed and nodded.

'We must finish this if we want to have children.' He stated in a matter of fact voice that had Hermione nodding. Four days ago they were preparing for the States and the Quidditch cup final, now they were married, talking children and how to destroy the Elder Wand… They had to finish the Hallows if they wanted their children to lead a safe life or themselves to live for that matter.

'We'll destroy the Hallows, we collected and destroyed the Horcruxes with mere hints from Dumbledore, we are not the children we were back then. And now we are together.' Hermione added and Harry despite of the situation smiled and kissed her lips.

'Can we keep the cloak for the future?' Harry asked in sheepishly and Hermione nodded her head.

'I think we can,' Hermione confirmed and Harry smiled and kissed her lips again.

'That cloak has been passed down since the age of Iolanthe Peverell, please do keep it in the family!' James' voice was heard from behind them and the couple loosened their embrace and looked at Harry's semi transparent parents who had showed up. With an uneasy feeling in his stomach, Harry realized that he had almost gotten used to his parents' "presence" in the house and their lives. The Stone had to be found the soonest for everyone's sake.

'An owl arrived while you were away,' Lily informed them and at that moment Kreacher showed up with the letter in his hand.

'Masters,' the elf bowed slightly as he gave the letter to Hermione before he could move away.

'Thank you, Kreacher,' Hermione said as she took the letter with the all too familiar handwriting on the envelope of it. 'It's from Ron,' she simply stated as she opened it in silence. Harry waited for a few more moments.

We need to talk sooner or later. But not at the Burrow. Send this back with the location and time you want to meet.

Ron

'It's civilized enough…' Harry noted and Hermione nodded as she looked at the piece of parchment. 'Why not at the Burrow though?' Harry wondered and Hermione sighed and put the letter back in the envelope.

'Maybe because he doesn't want people to frown at him while he lectures about how much left out he is again.' Hermione observed with annoyance painting her voice. 'I think Ron has to wait, we need to focus on the Wand,' Hermione added and Harry nodded. He wasn't sure what they could actually say to each other. Four days ago Ron was planning on trying again to win back Hermione; it felt like it was ages ago with what had happened until that moment. 'It's not just that I am tired of facing Ron over something he has no business with like our own choices in life, it's also that we must be careful with the people we meet now that the Wand is back in our possession. It's destructive enough with its allegiance given to the wizard, I don't know how it will be with the only people that can destroy it. Ron is also vulnerable to magical objects that can corrupt… if we engage in a fight like back in the tent when he left; a disarming charm is enough for the Wand to change hands… This is a unique opportunity to finish it and I don't want us ending up harming our friends or family while trying to destroy it.' Hermione added and Harry sighed, she was right.

'I think we need to stay here, gather all the books and anything we might need. Cast the needed spells in the cellar and start the soonest. At least if things go very wrong it will be only us.' Harry added and Hermione nodded. They were in great risk again and this time they wished no one to be jeopardized. It was their mission to find the Stone and finish the Wand.

'Maybe we should leave a note behind?' Hermione added 'Just in case things go completely wrong.' Hermione suggested and Harry nodded, even if they had completely changed in the past years, Ron remained their closest friend. 'For Ron, my parents, Andromeda and Teddy…' Hermione added and Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose, realizing little by little how many people would be affected if things turned lethal for the two of them.

'Everything will be fine,' Lily tried to reassure them from her spot with James, it must have been awful for her to see her son and his best friend and wife before such threat again. The two couples remained silent after that, across each other with the wooden box with the Wand between them.

'Maybe you should open it after you have prepared the cellar.' James suggested as the living couple looked at the box at the same time, a surge of need to open the box cursing through their veins.

'He's right,' Hermione observed after a moment, it was hard to deny the pull she felt from the damn thing. 'The note first of all,' Hermione added as she tore her eyes away from the box and back to Harry who did the same, he took his own wand and accioed pieces of parchment, two feather pens and an ink container. The couple sat back on the table, before the box and took one parchment each.

Dear Mum and Dad

If you are reading this letter it means that my latest mission to save the Wizarding World was my final one. This letter was made prior to my attempt to destroy a powerful object in Grimmauld Place number 12 in London. I want you to know that I love you very much and I am very proud to be your daughter. I want you to move on and live the life I wasn't allowed to. I want you also to know that I died next to Harry, my husband and best friend and this is exactly where I wanted to be while falling.
I love you very much, I am sorry I couldn't make it.

Your daughter

Hermione

Dear Ron

We wish this letter never reached you, if it did, it means that we didn't have enough time to explain to you that because of the ministry, the Elder Wand was never gotten rid of from the face of the Earth and it came to our possession. We had to try and destroy it as someone had been using the Resurrection Stone as well to get to Harry and we had to at least attempt and destroy the Deathstick before the vicious circle reopened. If this letter reached you, we only hope that we took the Elder Wand with us while falling.

In the past years we've changed a lot, the three of us, but we both want you to remember that we died happy as a married couple and that we love you, no matter what, you are our best friend.

Harry & Hermione

Dear Andromeda and Teddy

If this letter reaches you, it means that Hermione and I died in our try to destroy the Elder Wand. We know that in the past days you probably learnt from the Prophet of our marriage as we had no chance to meet with you properly after the States and the Cup, many things have happened since the night of the Final but we want you to know that we love you very much and we did our best to finish the Hallows for everyone's sake.

Because of our marriage, our fortune is bound together for the remaining 73 days of the spells that protect and nourish it. After these days, we declare Edward Lupin our sole heir for our vaults in Gringorts Bank, our annual earnings from the Quidditch Association, the War Heroes Trust and our properties including the bookshop Flourish and Blotts, Diagon Alley number 3, Grimmauld Place number 12 London and the Potter properties at Godric's Hollow. Andromeda Tonks is to be the legal guardian of the fortune until Edward Lupin turns 25 years old.

We wish things had turned out differently, we love you very much.

Harry & Hermione

The couple remained before the three pieces of parchment as the ink dried. They looked at each other. They couldn't obliviate anyone this time; they couldn't push away the rest. It was them against the Wand and these little farewells were the best they could make for their closest people, given the circumstances. For a moment they both glanced at Harry's parents, the ghosts had remained silent as the living couple made the letters. Both Harry and Hermione wondered if what waited for them was actually death, after all one can escape him for so long.

The silence in the room was heavy, within days things had changed so much. Harry looked at Hermione and took her hand in his.

'I think we should leave you alone for awhile,' James said quietly as the living couple gazed at each other's eyes. Harry and Hermione nodded as Harry's parents faded away for now and the moment the two were actually alone, they shared a passionate kiss.

They didn't want to die, not now, with their marriage and their feelings out in the open, it was unfair.

'I want you,' Hermione whispered against Harry's lips and he nodded and kissed her harder as he started caressing her body beneath the blouse. They needed a good time with each other, without the alcohol, without interruptions, they were used on doing things with death looming above their heads, they didn't even mind the Elder Wand on the coffee table as Harry moved closer to Hermione and they both fell back on the large sofa with Harry above her. Their bodies against each other as their kisses turned into domination battles.

'I love you,' Harry whispered to his wife and she smiled as she helped him take off his blouse.

'I love you too,' Hermione replied in a husky voice as Harry trailed kisses from her lips, down to her chin and reached her collarbone.

Their hands grabbed, caressed and pulled at each other closer as their clothes met the carpeted floor one by one. Soon they were dancing in a rhythm of love and passion they had danced only once before. But now it felt completely different. As their bodies met and mingled, their breathes synchronized and their voices called out each other's names, their union felt like the remaining missing piece of a puzzle, clicking into place.

It didn't matter if they died because of the Wand; they had conquered each other's soul, mind and body. All these years of loving each other so deeply now were paying off finally. Every kiss and every whisper, every movement with each other and every caress and love bite. They were finally together and this imminent threat cleared their minds completely, it was them, possibly for the second and final time and they were there for each other, not just their bodies but also their souls. With their farewells written, their destiny sealed, they moved against each other as if they were lovers for years, decades.

In a way they were, they knew each other's scars, their weak spots and their strengths, they always moved close to each other in instinct, now they were moving against each other in pleasure.

It felt good to be so close to the person you love, protected even if so vulnerable, powerful yet so fragile.

They reached pleasure together and pushed each other over the edge simultaneously. Their bodies coated with a thin layer of sweat on their skin. The room felt as if it crackled with magical energy. They remained in their embrace, Harry against Hermione with his shaggy hair slightly tickling her chin as he rested his head above her heart, covering Dolohov's scar on her ribcage. They fell in comfortable silence for a few moments.

Hermione laid one more kiss on his head, taking in his musky sense.

'I hope we survive this, making love with you is amazing,' she commented and he felt his lips forming a smug smile as he internally boasted with pride. They were in their thirties, they had their experiences, he took that in his hall of fame of achievements among the defeat of Voldemort and the World Cup.

'Likewise, wife,' he commented as he raised his head to look at her grinning face. They were mocking death by making love before the Deathstick. He loved this newly found side of Hermione, the one talking so easily about their sex life just like they talked easily about anything else. The perks of marrying your best friend, Harry guessed. He moved slightly forward and captured her lips with his.

'We need to talk to Kreacher about the letters and then start with the cellar's preparations.' Hermione informed him after their kiss ended and Harry nodded. He didn't want to move away from her.

'Can we do that in a few moments from now?' he asked while stifling a yawn, he had to admit, he still felt tired although he had slept with Hermione in his arms the night before. She yawned too and he had to admit she was very cute, especially with her eyes losing their focus by the seconds that passed. They had obviously needed to vent through their lovemaking and now a fresh wave of exhaustion was taking over.

'Yeah, I think everything can wait for awhile,' Hermione commented tiredly and Harry nodded as he brought back his head against her breast. He closed his eyes as he felt another kiss planted on the crown of his head and her breathing getting even. Her heartbeat quickly lulled him to a deep slumber, without dreams and without fears.

He felt just the afterglow of their encounter and his heart feeling for the first time in a lifetime, complete.


OOOK I hope you liked my elaboration on the Elder Wand and the explanation for its destruction, I wanted something interesting and a nice plot so I researched about it in pottermore, all names are taken from the HP wiki and some of the characters I have created like the undpeakable and the auror chief in the previous chapter are inspired by the hp wiki facts.
For the Elder Wand, I always wondered what Dumbledore meant by the things he had noted on the copy he gave to Hermione and I always wished to explore more of the Hallows' nature as I think their nature is severely underdeveloped.
What you think of my exploration of the Wand and its way to destruction? Thoughts? Suggestions? Objections?
Let me know and give me some love and motivation to continue though reviews, thank you for reading.

CP09