Thanks for keeping up with the story so far. Hope it's enjoyable.
The pounding in his head continued to pulsate as Harry slowly staggered to a nearby park. He clutched the side of his head as the pain gradual increased. "Something must have happened." Harry muttered. "What the hell did those two even do?"
He quickly looked around to see if anyone was nearby and when he didn't see anyone, Harry slammed his head against a nearby tree. It was hard enough that blood started to drip down from the fresh wound on his forehead. He gasped for air as the pain slowly began to recede.
"God damn headaches." Harry growled. "Why does it always have to be headaches? Why can't he just send in something less painful like death eaters?"
He moved his hand to the center of his forehead and felt the familiar sensation of his magic healing the wound. He frowned as he stared at the tree. This was the first time he ever felt pain like that, even through his Occlumency shields. Something must have seriously pissed off Voldemort if he was sending this much pain through their shared connection.
"Is this what the next few months will be like...?" Harry whispered, looking up at the afternoon sky. "Will I be strong enough by then...?"
That was his biggest worry... that he was going to let everyone down. All the sacrifices that has been made to get them here would have been in vain... all those lives lost...
Sirius... Cedric... Bill... and countless others...
Even if he manages to defeat Voldemort... what are the chances that he's going to make it out alive? He was just barely twenty and the damn bastard has over 20 years of experience on him. The odds are so stacked against him.
Harry cursed under his breath and then remembered why he was here. He remember the looks that Hermione's parents had and he felt like an idiot. He was second guessing himself when there were people depending on him. People who believed in him that they were willing to throw down their lives to give him a fighting chance.
"Is this what it means to be a hero...?" Harry asked to no one in particular. "To shoulder the weight of everyone?"
His hands gripped the wood on the bench with such pressure that it started to creak. The more that he thought about it, the more he felt his control over his magic slipping from him.
He fought against it for a moment before his vision turned white. The last thing he heard before slipping into unconsciousness was someone yelling his name.
"Harry?" A voice called out. "HARRY!"
At this point, Harry was so lost in his own magic that everything outside his mind was nonexistent. He didn't know where or what was going on but all that he cared about was just telling go of his limits. Just letting go of all the expectations that people have of him. To let go and just be Harry Potter...
Was it just too much for people to just understand that?
Inside here, it was warm and comforting... the total opposite of his current reality.
He wanted to stay here, where he was bothered by no one. He could look for miles and miles and there wouldn't be a single soul in sight. Except for that red beam.
His eyes blinked twice and then the beam hit him squared in the face.
"What the hell..." Harry said, groaning from the pain. He tried to get up but his body kept screaming at him to stop moving. His senses shifted into full alert when he heard footsteps rapidly coming his way.
"Not... dying like this..." Harry muttered as he took a deep breath and rolled around. His arm shot out mid-spin and his mind instinctively went to his favorite spell. "Reducto!"
A loud feminine scream came back and a sudden feeling of dread washed over his body. Going against everything that his body was telling him not to do, Harry pushed himself forward and saw Hermione lying on the ground, a furious expression on her face.
"What the hell was that Harry!?" Hermione yelled. "You could have killed me with that spell!"
Harry watched as Hermione continued to yell at him but he didn't care. Nothing else mattered as long as she was still alive. He let out a loud laughter which caught Hermione by surprise and then threw his arms around her, hugging her tightly. "You're okay." He whispered. "You're not dead!"
Hermione stared at him with widened eyes. "What happened back there Harry? How can you just levitate yourself like that in public? What if someone had saw you?"
"To be honest, I don't know." Harry said as he pulled himself away from the hug. "One minute I was feeling like I was being suffocated by everything and then the next, I just... let go."
"Let go?" Hermione asked with a confused look. "Do you mean that you lost control of your magic?"
Harry shook his head. "This felt different. It was almost like it was begging me to be released... so I did."
"Well you gave me quite a fright Harry Potter." Hermione suddenly remembering why she was angry in the first place. "Do you have any idea what could have happened if someone else found you floating up there? They would have thrown you in a crazy hospital!"
"So you stunned me instead?" Harry asked. "Couldn't you have done it with a much gentler method?"
Hermione blushed and started stuttering. "I did try! I went with some easy spells that wouldn't do any damage but they just bounced off you like paper airplanes... so I went with the first heavy hitter spell that I could think of."
"And that was with a Stupefy?" Harry asked again, an incredulous look on his face. "I could have died..."
"I was very confident that you would have lived Mr. Potter unlike that Reducto that you threw at me."
"Yeah sorry about that. Instincts and all."
Hermione just watched Harry who had a defeated look on his face. "You're not okay..." She pointed out.
Harry chuckled and sat down on the ground, leaning his back against the tree. "What gave it away? Was it when I floating in midair or when I almost killed you?
"Neither actually." Hermione answered. "It was that lie that you told my parents and I'm not angry Harry. I somewhat understand why you think you needed to do it but Harry, I can protect myself. Whatever dangers that may come my way, I want to believe that I can handle them. We're not first years anymore and I can handle any kind of troll that wants to kidnap me."
"I didn't lie Hermione. I only told them my definition of the truth. My vision of the future."
"That's false hope Harry." Hermione quietly responded. "In times like this, I think it would be better to know the truth than the lies..."
"No..." Harry said, clenching his fists. "Voldemort will not win. I can promise you that. By this time next year... It's going to be a beautiful Christmas. No death eaters, no more dark lords... it'll be wonderful..."
"Harry..." Hermione whispered. She noticed the distant look in his eyes and wondered if he even believes the words that he's saying. It broke her heart that for someone as young as Harry... this is the path that he's destined to take.
But this path is something that he doesn't have to take alone! Hermione gently smiled and reached for Harry's hand, gently cooing him to unclench. She laced his hand between hers and just noticed that his hands weren't that much bigger than hers.
She noticed the questioning look from him but only smiled in return. "I'm going to hold you to that promise Mr. Potter. Christmas is one of my favorite holidays and it wouldn't be Christmas if you weren't here physically spending it with me. It doesn't matter if I have to walk into that battlefield screaming at you to get up because no matter what, you're going to be here next year."
"Yeah..." Harry replied. "Yeah. I'm going to be here next year."
"That's the spirit. Now I think it's time we go back. The food should almost be here by now and I don't my dad to come looking for us."
Harry nodded his head, ignoring the grumbling from his stomach. "I guess I lost track of time here."
"Men. You're all the same, thinking with your stomach instead of your brain." Hermione said, giggling. She pulled Harry up and noticed that he didn't let go of her hand.
"Do you mind if we..." Harry shyly asked. "I'm not getting fresh or anything... I just like the feeling..."
If Hermione's smile could get any bigger, it would. "Of course you can Harry."
After dinner, Emma shooed the men into the living room while dragging Hermione into the kitchen. Daniel rolled his eyes and noticed that Harry was slightly fidgeting in his seat. A predatory grin appeared on his face when he realized that his wife has given him, although not knowingly, a golden opportunity here.
"Say Harry, do you have a few moments?" Daniel asked. "I want to show you something."
Harry shrugged his shoulders but nodded anyway. "Sure."
"Great!" Daniel answered very cheerfully. "It's in my study."
Daniel led Harry downstairs into the basement, allowing him to go down first. When he noticed that the young man was more than half way down the stairs, he locked the door with a subtle click. In his mind, he knew that Harry would break out of his if he wanted to but he wasn't going to let that deter him.
Harry looked around and noticed a very impressive display of books. "I can see where Hermione gets her love of books from."
Daniel nodded, walking around to the table and gestured for Harry to take a seat. "Yeah. My Hermione has a curiosity that would kill that damn cat several thousand times over. It's a good thing that you watch over her Harry. Am I right?"
Harry nodded his head. "I do my best sir."
"None of that sir stuff Harry. Hermione trusts you enough to bring you into our home so I'm not going to betray her trust by letting you call me sir." Daniel said. "Or should I have a reason not to trust you?"
"Excuse me?" Harry asked. "I'm not really understanding the question..."
"Harry my boy. It's very simple. Can I trust you?"
"You can trust me." Harry quickly answered. "Have I done something wrong?"
"You tell me Harry." Daniel said, his hands clasped together on the desk. "I just want to know if you're going to be a danger to my daughter. That's all."
Harry sighed. "Mr. Granger. I'm not going to lie to you. I figured that your daughter would have filled you in but if you're asking me, then I guess she hasn't so I will ask you. How much do you know about me?"
"Enough to make me wonder what kind of person you are Harry."
"I'm the person that will ensure that Voldemort doesn't step foot into the muggle world." Harry firmly replied, his eyes planted firmly on Daniel. "I'm the best chance that you have to make sure that your daughter remains safe."
Daniel stayed silent, staring at Harry with a neutral expression. "What makes you think you can even do something like that? Why would they send you, a child, over a seasoned solder?"
"Because I'm the only one who can." Harry quietly said. "I'm the only one who stopped him before. In the end, only one of us will walk away."
"Can you imagine how I'm feeling Harry? That the only person who can defeat that lunatic is a young man whose not even old enough to drink liquor." Daniel said, bitterly laughing. "You wizards sure screwed up big time."
"You'll find no disagreement from me but may I ask what brought this on?"
"It was numerous things Harry but what stood out was the way your eyes look. They don't have that curiosity that my daughter has or the wild sense of adventure that any young teenage boy should have. No Harry, you have the eyes of someone whose been through many battles. With this war that is looming around the corner, you can see why I'm very cautious for Hermione. As brilliant as she is, I just worry about the choices that she'll have to make.
"You do not need to worry about Hermione." Harry answered. "I will make sure that no harm shall come to your daughter. I've protected her throughout most of her Hogwarts years and I don't plan on stopping now."
"Is that why you left her all alone all those years Harry?" Daniel asked, "To protect her?"
Harry nodded his head. "I was a prime target for Voldemort and his followers. If they found out that she was someone important to me, they would have gone after her in a second."
Daniel pondered against Harry's answers for a few seconds, letting it sink in. In his eyes, these were just kids... They should be worried about who their dating or what to do during summer vacation! Not worrying about some madman whose looking to take over the world.
"What if I told you that you're never to see my daughter again Harry? Would you respect my wishes?"
Harry frowned. "I would not Mr. Granger."
"Why not?" Daniel asked, trying to conceal his surprise.
"Because it would break your daughters heart and I will not do it again. Not for you. Not for Voldemort. Not even for the devil himself."
Daniel was taken back by Harry's response. "Are you not intimidated by me?"
"Do you want me to be?" Harry asked, leaning forward. A smirk on his face. "I've faced trolls, dragons, and many other creatures that wouldn't hesitate to end my life Mr. Granger. I have a lunatic that's been after my life since I was born. I've lost more in the past 6 years than most people will have lost in their entire lifetime so if you ask if I'm intimidated by you... my answer would be no."
For the first time in his life, Daniel was speechless. He wasn't even speechless when he met Emma's father the first time but somehow, this young man, made him speechless. He didn't know what to say so instead, he opened the cabinet doors behind him and poured himself a glass of Whiskey. He breathed in the scent of his liquor and sighed.
"After everything that I just learned, this reality that we... Emma and I... live in... seems fictional... This doesn't even seem normal compared to the lives that you and Hermione will have."
"I'm pretty sure Hermione is more than willing to share it with you guys... just once the danger has passed." Harry replied.
"And what about your plans then? What do you plan on doing once this is all over?"
"I don't know." Harry quietly answered. "I haven't really thought much of anything except for the final battle."
"Maybe you should." Daniel replied. "All I know is that if you don't come back, there won't be any place in heaven or hell that would stop my daughter from killing you again."
Enjoy the chapter. Next one will be up in 3 weeks.