Disclaimer: Big thanks to JKR for introducing us to the magic! *muffled aside* Wait, what? You mean I never received my Hogwarts letter because it's not real! *author faints*


Harry and Hermione passed the rest of their holiday spending every waking (and sleeping) moment together. They made a habit of falling asleep in their private room, sometimes sweaty and sated, other times just happy to be in each others arms. The day before the rest of the students were scheduled to return to Hogwarts Harry received a note from Dumbledore to bring Hermione and see him in his office. He looked at the request oddly wondering if Dumbledore wanted to discuss Horcruxes, no, he could do that without Hermione. Shit! His blood ran cold and he began to tremble violently, unintentionally crumpling the letter in his hand.

"Harry, whats wrong? Harry! Look at me!" Hermione's voice slowly brought him around and with a shaking hand he passed the letter to her to read. As she read the words Hermione felt a weight building in her stomach. "He couldn't possibly know," she spoke to reassure herself. "He couldn't…"

Harry nodded his dark head vigorously. "Yes," he croaked, "he could. He's Dumbledore, he knows everything that goes on in the castle. Even though he acts like a doddering old fool he knows bloody freaking everything." He sat down heavily and sighed, "I don't know why I thought he wouldn't realize…I'm sorry Hermione." She sat beside him and absently put her hand on his.

"It's okay, Harry." She gave him a small smile and let her love wash over him in reassurance. "We'll go see what he has to say, okay? I'm sure it will be fine." He squeezed her hand in thanks and nodded.

The brave Gryffindors felt more like cowardly lions as they stood up with heavy feet and heavier hearts to see their Headmaster. The walk to his office seemed longer than usual and every step closer only served to heighten their fear of what was to come. Harry could only whisper the password to gain entry to his idol's office.

Once they made it inside Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen, which only made them more anxious. A voice behind them caused Hermione to scream and Harry nearly jumped out of his skin at both sounds.

"Be calm, Harry and Hermione." Dumbledore was standing behind them with a quizzical look on his face. "Neither of you are in trouble, I assure you, I only wish to discuss some recent events." He pointedly looked at Hermione's ring and back to the terrified faces of his students. With a soft nod he indicated the chairs placed around a full tea service beside the hearth. "Please, won't you have a seat?"

Hermione's nerves were still on edge and she seemed rooted to the spot in the middle of her Headmaster's office, but with Harry's gentle guidance she made her way to one of the chairs and sat down with a plop. Harry's mind was in turmoil and he knew that Hermione could hear him loud and clear – it seemed like her mind had shut down after their scare. Her mind was silent, but her fear was potent and her heartbeat was just as erratic as his own. He began to rub his thumb in soothing circles on her hand and Hermione sent him a mental thank you.

Dumbledore watched them for a few seconds observing their interactions and noted how every touch and glance that passed between them seemed intensely intimate. They had always been friends, best friends, in fact so they had always touched in moments of happiness, excitement or encouragement, but this was entirely different. He recognized that their strong friendship when combined with the unicorn ring was what gave their relationship such depth. Even he knew that Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw had not had a love as deep as the couple before him.

"Tea," he asked. They shook their heads mutely and with a flourish of his wand the tea service disappeared. "I can see that you know why you are here." Harry opened his mouth to say something, but Dumbledore put his hand up. "Just a moment, Harry, if you please. I know about the ring and what it signifies and I know about the wrist cuff, as well." Absently, Harry reached over and touched it causing both Harry and Hermione to close their eyes and sigh happily. Dumbledore's eyebrows shot into his hairline, but he remained silent. Obviously, there is more to this than even I could have guessed.

"I knew about both items after hearing the gossip in Hogsmeade from the traveling merchants. It was easy to deduce which of my students bought the items and for whom they were intended. What was not clear until recently was how strong and undeniable the bond is between the two of you." Hermione's cheeks turned scarlet and Harry couldn't meet Dumbledore's eyes. The older man chuckled which caused the students to shrink in their chairs. "Yes, I know about the Room of Requirement, as well. I must say that it quite outdid itself with the pair of you." Hermione was close to passing out in mortification.

"How," croaked Harry. He cleared his throat roughly, "Professor, I'm sorry about all of this, but I don't want Hermione to get into trouble. It was all my idea-"

"Hush, Harry. I'm not angry with either of you and I recognize that even without the ring to further your relationship with Hermione, may I call you Hermione, my dear?" She nodded her assent and he continued. "Even without the ring your relationship would have naturally progressed and you are not the first students to use the Room of Requirement in such a fashion." He grinned. "Now, I'm not sure if either know the story behind Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw, but that is why I called you both here."

Hermione sat up straight, her cheeks still flushing prettily, but she was curious to hear what the wise wizard had to say. "Does it have to do with the ring, sir?"

He smiled brightly at her. "Yes, Hermione, it does. You see, Godric and Rowena had a relationship similar to yours. Godric was in love with Rowena and he stumbled on a unicorn horn ring in his travels one day. He was told that it would strengthen their bond and allow them to feel each others love, but at the time no one knew that it would increase their magic, too." Hermione's eyebrows drew closer and she frowned thoughtfully.

"I'm sorry, sir, did you say their magic power increased?" Harry looked at her in surprise.

"I thought you knew, 'Mione. The silversmith who gave me the ring told me as much himself. He said it would allow us to feel each others love because we were soul mates and that it would make our magic stronger." Hermione's mouth was shaped in an 'o' of surprise.

She shook her head and grabbed Harry's hand. What does this mean, Harry? We haven't tried to cast any spells since this happened, I mean, how much stronger? I'm not sure if I like the idea of us being stronger, it scares me.

Harry reached out and cupped her face, trying to soothe the nervous witch. I don't know Hermione, but we will figure it out together. I love you and I won't let anything happen to you, you know that. I'm scared, too, but you are the brightest witch of our age, remember? I know we can handle it. He smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes. She nodded sadly at him.

Dumbledore had watched the exchange with fascination. Could they really be reading each others minds? The lore on unicorn horn rings had never mentioned such a thing. He cleared his throat and his students looked at him with surprise. "I seem to have been forgotten," he teased them. Without missing a beat, he continued.

"To answer your question, Hermione, yes it will increase your magic considerably. Once Godric returned from his adventures he gave the ring to Rowena and explained that it would bind them together, as soul mates, forever. From that day forth they were inseparable and became known as the most powerful witch and wizard of their time. In his jealousy, Salazaar Slytherin left Hogwarts, whether it was jealousy of their power or their love no one could say, however, many speculate that he had an unrequited affection for Rowena." He paused to give them time to digest his words.

"Sir," he turned to the dark haired young man. "I'm sure this is somehow relevant to us, but how? I mean, it just sounds like a love story which just happens to include a unicorn horn ring." Harry stared at him quizzically and he saw that Hermione was studying him closely.

"Ahh, my boy, if only it were so. You see, the ring made them powerful, but they were nigh invincible when they were together. The one time that Salazaar attempted to storm the castle in his Pureblood mania Godric and Rowena nearly destroyed him. Even though they stopped short of killing him, they almost drained every drop of magic from his body. He was left with so little magic that he was never able to use it again. He died living as a hermit in a cave in the mountains. Not many people know the truth behind the founder of Slytherin House."

Hermione recovered her voice first, "You mean, that together, Harry and I will be so powerful we can destroy Voldemort. Is that what you are saying, sir?" Harry sat with a thunderstruck expression on his face as he continued to process the information.

The Headmaster sat back and steepled his hands, "Yes, Hermione, that is what I am saying. The two of you are the only hope our world has of being free of the Dark Lord. I have also observed some unique differences between yourselves and the founders that will likely make you even more unstoppable." He turned his piercing eyes on Harry. "How did you activate the death protection cuff, Harry?"

Harry and Hermione both flushed a vibrant red, but he was waiting for a response. "Erm…you see – "

"Harry and I m-m-made love for the first time to activate it." Hermione's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Where there any unusual circumstances," he calmly questioned.

Harry spoke up, "Um, yes sir. You see, ah, we were both virgins," he blushed furiously and could feel Hermione trying to disappear beside him, "and, well, we noticed a-after that we were surrounded by a bubble of golden light. There were gold threads coming from the cuff that were the fiber of the bubble."

Dumbledore sat back in his chair and processed the information. Suddenly, he asked, "You say the bubble encompassed both of you? Not just you, Harry."

"That's correct, sir. We noticed that too, but we haven't researched what it could mean."

"Don't bother, my boy. You won't find any answers, as I'm sure you are the first to experience anything like it. I'm sure Hermione has reached the same conclusion I have. Would you mind telling me what you think, my dear so we can compare notes?"

Hermione cleared her throat nervously, "I'm pretty sure that our prior connection with the ring is mostly responsible, as well as the fact that we were both…virgins. Anytime a witch, especially, gives her virginity willingly it exponentially increases the effectiveness of a spell." Hermione was in school mode now and her embarrassment fell away as she shared her theory. "But since Harry and I were both virgins it only added to the potency. I'm not sure if this is normal with a unicorn horn ring, but Harry and I are able to hear each others thoughts. After I put the ring on our minds, as well as our hearts and souls, connected and I think that also played a role. The cuff recognized the need to protect the wearer, but it also recognized me because I'm always in his head." She stopped and nodded slightly to indicate she was through. She smiled softly at Harry's gentle squeezing of her fingers.

Dumbledore nodded at her well-thought out explanation and at the confirmation that Harry and Hermione could share their thoughts. "Well done, Hermione. Twenty points to Gryffindor for excellent skills of deduction." Hermione glowed with his praise. "This only furthers my resolve for the next thing I must say to you both." He watched the wariness settle on their faces once more. "Witnessing myself how intrinsically tied to each other you are and taking in to consideration that neither of you can sleep without the other - yes, I know about that too." He continued with a twinkle in his eyes, "I have decided that the two of you must leave the tower and move into a private room I have set up for you. This is also a security measure. In case the Dark Lord hears of your connection and tries to separate you, it will be much harder if you are always together and have moved into a room that is unplottable."

Harry and Hermione looked at Dumbledore and then each other. Oh my god, they said at the same time. Together they broke into hysterical laughter as they tried to calm and sort out the emotions crashing into them. There was elation, fear, giddiness, love, terror, nervousness, anxiety and curiosity. With painful hiccups they calmed down and wiped the tears from their eyes to see their Headmaster politely ignoring them as they regained themselves.

"I'm sorry Professor," said Harry. "Sometimes the only way we process certain information is through nervous laughter." He was relieved to see Dumbledore smile affectionately.

"No apologies are required, my boy. I quite understand how all of this information is overwhelming. Now, it's dinner time, so why don't the two of you run and eat and I will put the finishing touches on your room. After dinner come see me and I will show how to find it. All of your things have already been moved."

Hermione nervously flipped her hair and asked, "Professor, what do we tell our housemates? What about Ron and Ginny? They won't believe that I need to move in with Harry just to keep him safe from spies."

"You are right, Hermione," he conceded. "I think we shall have to tell your close friends and use an Unbreakable Vow to swear them to secrecy, I suppose. I know, Harry, it's not my favorite idea, but part of this move really is for security and we can't take chances that someone could accidentally give the information to outsiders." Harry was still frowning, but he nodded slightly at Dumbledore's reasoning. "As for the rest of the House, Professor McGonagall and I shall come up with an excuse."

"Sir, what about making Ron and Ginny secret keepers? Harry's parents had a secret keeper, even though he wasn't the best choice, and it doesn't require an Unbreakable Vow. I would hate to ask so much of my friends, but I can ask them to keep a secret for me."

Dumbledore smiled, "Hermione, you truly are the brightest witch of your age. Is that agreeable to you, Harry?"

"Yes, sir!" He smiled brightly at Dumbledore before he picked Hermione up and spun her in a circle, her giggles ringing like bells throughout the office. "Thank you sir, for telling us everything," came Harry's voice when they were still once more.

The Headmaster just rocked back and forth on his heels and smiled. Hermione waved quickly as Harry pulled her down the stairs toward the hall to eat. When they were gone Dumbledore took a handful of Floo powder to finish the room for the too-young saviors of the wizarding world.


A/N: Please R/R! Thanks for sticking with me guys. I am still amazed at the response this story is receiving. Thank you so very much! Enjoy