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Huge thanks to the amazing Marla1 3
Enjoy...
Chapter Twelve – Counter Charms & Side Effects
Hermione's movements were silent in the forbidden section of the Hogwarts Library. The night was moon and cloudless and the stars shone outside the castle's windows.
She gathered everything, all the notes, all the books from the bookshop but still she wanted to be sure she had forgotten nothing. A book neglected could make all the difference.
So far she was moving through the chained books with empty hands, checking all of them with a scanning. On one hand she held her wand illuminating her way. Nobody was inside the place as all the students were in their dormitories. Madame Pince had retired and Hermione had been offered the job by Minerva McGonagall herself after her graduation.
Hermione had refused with a heavy heart as she had bought Flourish and Blots in her attempt to heal her wounds from the war. She had needed some time away from her beloved school in her attempt to become a functioning adult after the war. At the time she living in muggle London close to her parents and away from the spotlight had felt healthier than locking herself in the castle
Another war heroine and DA member had accepted the offer and now Hermione hoped she wouldn't stumble upon a sleepy Padma Patil as she hoped her visit would remain unnoticed by the Hogwarts staff. Permission for life into the library was one of the things Hermione had requested, abusing her power as the Heroine of the Second Wizarding War but strolling around the forbidden section in the middle of the night was a stretch of it.
She stopped before a chained volume at the end of a shelf and looked at the worn spine of it, beneath the title and name of author, the symbol of the Deathly Hallows existed.
The Guide of Blood Magic and Curses by Gellert Grindelwald.
Hermione set her wand to float in midair by her head and stretched her hands for the volume. With a wandless spell and a gesture of her hand the chains loosened around the book and she was able to open it.
She remembered that book; she had read all the books of the forbidden section ever since she had gotten permission. Not many young people knew that Gellert Grindelwald had actually authored books. It was forbidden for his limited volumes were published after the end of the Global Wizarding War in 1945 and the ministries around the world had made sure to destroy his work. Only few selected copies remained in guarded libraries, one of them was the Hogwarts Library. This one particularly was not only good at countering curses at an advanced level with the power of magical blood, it was also written in the actual blood of the author…
Hermione opened the heavy leather-bound cover and read the page before the contents list.
To Educate
To Empower
To Conquer
Grindelwald's handwriting was delicate and Hermione took a deep breath before she could move on to the next page. Her heart was pounding, the book itself was radiating with magic.
Contents
To control a loved one
Sexual domination and punishment
To breed and conceive a perfect magical child
Protect your family against enemies
Master objects that cannot be mastered
To transfer magical diseases through blood
Turn your enemies' blood against them
How to infect an impure family
Muggle blood diseases that can be used to kill Muggles
Hermione moved through the full pages and for a moment she wondered how Grindelwald had spent so much blood using it as ink and shuddered at the thought. She got to the chapter about protection and mastering objects. She had read the book years ago and now hoped it would help her somehow. Being married to Harry meant that potentially their blood would be shared in a child, these spells were "ideal" for couples of magical nature. She took her wand and performed a copying spell twice for the chapters she cared about, tucking the parchments in her robes. It was actually illegal to copy books from the Forbidden section but no one would know. She shut the book closed and chained it again before she could put it back in its place.
'Ms Granger or should I rather call you Mrs. Potter, give me one reason for you strolling around the Forbidden Section of the Library, in the middle of the night and copying books of dark magic.' McGonagall's voice made Hermione's stomach drop and snap her head at the direction of her teacher.
'Good evening, Professor,' Hermione finally responded with a sheepish smile, she could feel her cheeks burning in embarrassment before her favorite and most respected teacher.
Minerva McGonagall regarded her most beloved student for a moment with a strict face. The years and the wars the Hogwarts Headmistress had experienced were evident as her wand's illuminated her face. However the professor's eyes had softened as she looked at her old student approaching her.
'Kingsley talked to me,' McGonagall informed Hermione and she sighed and looked at the older witch in her robes.
'Did you also know about the wand?' Hermione asked, fearful of the answer Minerva would give her, being betrayed by the ministry wasn't a first, however betrayal from matriarchic figures hard more. The older witch shook her head in denial.
'The ministry had reassured me they would put the Elder Wand back in Albus' tomb with extra protective charms. At the time, I had to take care of so many things in restoring Hogwarts and making it safe, students held grudges against each other because of the sides that had been taken on the 2nd of May in 1998. Kingsley was a friend and Order of the Phoenix co-member, the ministry was under his rule and I hoped he would do what had been asked from Harry. I was naïve to believe the ministry's deep system wouldn't interfere but I was also very busy for Hogwarts to be a safe place by September 1st of that year.' McGonagall explained and Hermione sighed and nodded. After the end of the final battle, everything had been so hectic and the months had passed to the start of the term in blinks of the eye. Nobody had thought a lot about the ministry's alliances because everyone was exhausted and damaged.
'I want you to know that Kingsley had an earful about it, if that makes any difference to you and Harry.' Minerva added and Hermione gave a small smile and nodded.
'It makes a huge difference.' Hermione finally added and Minerva's eyes filled with tears of concern, her hand moved on Hermione's shoulder in a motherly gesture.
'Congratulations on getting married, I wish it had happened under better circumstances.' The professor added and Hermione took a deep breath and touched the other witch's hand, she always loved McGonagall like a mother.
'You thought it would happen?' Hermione asked with curiosity and McGonagall actually chuckled through her tears.
'Oh I hoped it would happen, my dear,' she replied and the young woman laughed. 'My experience allowed me to see that you wouldn't end up with Mr. Weasley but I was afraid the years would pass and you and Harry wouldn't open your eyes. The front page of the Prophet with your marriage plastered all over it was the second happiest moment after the winning of the World Cup of course.' Minerva added and winked at Hermione who laughed again and nodded her head. 'Tell me how I can help,' the professor offered and Hermione shook her head in denial.
'Harry and I will take care of it, don't worry,' Hermione reassured her teacher bravely and Minerva looked at her with cloudy eyes.
'Is he managing well with Lily and James around? They can't stay forever in their current form…' Minerva asked and Hermione looked at her in shock. 'I told you, Hermione, Kingsley talked to me,' the elder witch added and Hermione sighed and ran her free hand through her hair in frustration. 'He knew you'd end up here and he wanted you to have some help.' She added and Hermione sighed.
'Harry is doing his best, like I am, with the new issues and Kingsley has done more harm than good.' Hermione replied and Minerva sighed and nodded her head. 'James and Lily are also trying not to cling on us because they know they will harm us if it gets too much,' Hermione added and Minerva's eyes filled with tears again. 'But they are happy with these days and cherish every moment they have with Harry. They're doing their best to say all the things that have been left unsaid.' Hermione added instinctively trying to make her favorite teacher feel better.
'I haven't made it to get you a wedding present,' Minerva said suddenly and Hermione actually laughed, nothing had happened traditionally with hers and Harry's wedding, a list was never planned, a wedding was never planned either.
'It's ok, let me go with these two copies from the book and I consider it the best gift,' Hermione replied and McGonagall took a shaky breath.
'Let me help somehow, let me take care of the Deathstick,' she offered and this time Hermione felt her own eyes watering. She was no fool, McGonagall was old, with her life lived through, a disarming charm could make her the new Mistress of the Wand, but it wouldn't be enough, she didn't know all the things Hermione and Harry had discovered about it.
They were the ones to do it and they were the only ones able to finish the job that lasted so many centuries. However, Minerva's offer was incredibly touching. Hermione moved closer and the two witches hugged like a mother and daughter would do.
'Thank you, but we'll make it; we've found a way to destroy it for sure, after we find the Stone.' Hermione lied to her teacher and Minerva broke the hug and looked at her old student with hope in her eyes. Hermione felt uneasy as she smiled bravely and nodded in fake confirmation to try to make the older woman happier than she currently was. She could see the past was evident on the old woman's shoulders, Hermione could see McGonagall wasn't up to lose more young people under her watch while she remained alive. 'The less you know, the better but we'll make it.' Hermione added, and Minerva nodded frantically. Hermione knew people sometimes hoped to listen to what they wanted and this was why she made it to lie to one of the most powerful witches alive.
'I need to go back,' Hermione said after a moment, avoiding to say where exactly, indeed the less McGonagall knew, the best it would be. 'I promise we'll visit after everything is over,' Hermione added with guilt boiling inside her, what if she couldn't keep her promise to her teacher. McGonagall nodded and took a step back from her student.
'I hope to see you two soon,' Minerva finally said and Hermione smiled and nodded 'Please remember, Hermione, you're freshly married, your magic is combined with Harry, every spell you two cast in unison will be empowered by your magical bond for the next weeks, be careful,' Minerva advised and Hermione nodded and finally said her goodbyes and moved away and out of the library.
Her steps got faster as she moved outside the castle and out to the grounds. The marble tomb of Dumbledore was evident even in the moonless night and she sighed as she moved towards the gates. Hagrid's shack was dark; he was probably asleep or in the Forbidden Forest. The forest Harry had thrown the Stone in, the forest he had faced death alone. Hermione's heart was only getting heavier, she hadn't had the time to process everything that happened to them but she could feel the unfairness of it all suffocating her.
While she was a teenager, being in danger had become second nature just as helping Harry was as easy as breathing. She never thought of how unfair was for them to be in all this. But after the war, she had spent years with almost no fear, as time melted away from the Hogwarts Battle, their enemies had been captured, the retaliation of them had been countered and everyone had spent good years with almost no worries, almost no nightmares.
They had been free to live away from danger, Harry had become a Quidditch player and she had earned her position in the community not only as a heroine but also a businesswoman with her successful bookshop. Now they were thrown back in danger and this time there was no order, no ministry and no Dumbledore to help them, once again it was just the two of them, stripped of their only chance to live happily together as a married couple. Even their accidental marriage had led them before the position of the two only people able to destroy the Elder Wand.
The tears that ran down Hermione's cheeks as she apparated away from Hogwarts, were tears of frustration.
The wards of Grimmauld allowed only the masters of the house in. She had informed Harry she'd go to Hogwarts for a final check on the books and he had taken it upon himself to set up the cellar with spells and incantations of protection. The house had to withstand their experiments in its foundations. She had apparated in the bedroom they shared on the upper floor and she could immediately feel the added energy of the spells bellow.
'Harry! I'm home!' She called out but got no answer, maybe he was too busy with spells. Home, yes Grimmauld was her home now, a beautiful home she had helped redecorate. Her taste matched Harry's and the house felt familiar and comforting, surprisingly more comforting than Hogwarts at the moment.
'Harry has used a blocking charm on the cellar,' Lily's voice was soft as she informed Hermione of Harry's lack of response. 'Would you like some company?' She asked shyly as Hermione took away her tears with her sleeve in a hurry.
'Yes of course, I would love some, actually,' Hermione replied truthfully and Lily smiled as she looked at the tearful witch. Hermione had comforted Minerva by lying to her, she felt like needing some comfort herself, even with soft lies.
'It's ok, dear,' Lily tried to sooth the young witch as Hermione sat at the edge of the bed she shared with Harry for the past nights. At the corner of the room, there was a huge pile of books on the desk along with pieces of parchments and notes Hermione had gathered for their attempt to destroy the Wand. Lily's semi transparent form moved closer and sat where she had been a couple of days ago, while talking with Harry. 'I never thanked you for keeping Harry alive all those times in the past, Hermione,' Lily confessed a few moments later and Hermione looked at her dead mother-in-law with a sad smile.
'No need, Mrs. Potter, please, helping him was like a reflex for me,' Hermione replied in a more matter of fact voice and Lily smiled but shook her head.
'You were there when no one else was, you didn't just help, you saved him in so many occasions.' Lily added, and Hermione smiled. 'After my death, I had hoped all these powerful people that used to be around me and James would help my son. Instead, I watched from my grave my son being abused for a decade, the most delicate decade of his life. Then I found solace in a little muggleborn girl that put her life in danger by her mere blood status on helping my poor helpless lad survive every year while all the powerful friends of mine avoided the responsibility.' Lily added and Hermione took a deep breath, she felt proud, as indeed she was the one to keep the Boy who Lived on his own two feet. 'You've been so brave, sweetheart,' Lily used the words she had used for her own child, Hermione knew as Harry had told her years ago about what happened before his confrontation with Voldemort. She wished everything had been healed inside her heart as fresh tears filled her eyes at the ghost's words. Recognition from Harry's mother was kind of atonement for her.
'I'm really sorry you didn't get your chance to grow old and raise Harry, Mrs. Potter,' Hermione confessed tearfully and Lily smiled and nodded.
'Don't be, sweetheart, it was our choice to enter the Order, it was our chance to have Harry even in the time of War, we wanted our son, and it was my choice not to step aside as Voldemort told me to as to get to my boy. I knew from the moment we went into hiding that we'd die.' Lily revealed to Hermione and the living witch looked at the ghost in surprise.
'I didn't believe Peter would betray us but I knew that somehow, we would die. It was why I cast the spell on Harry, it was why I stood up to Voldemort. The moment of my death was in my mind for a long time before it actually happened.' Lily added and Hermione took a deep breath. 'And speaking of the spell I cast on Harry…James taught him to cast a spell we had invented and used at Godric's. Concipio is an absorbing spell we had made in case we were attacked, only the house would take the damage but everyone alive inside would live through the damage. It's why the entire neighborhood survived that night and our house didn't collapse on Harry after my own sacrificial protection spell rebounded on Voldemort's killing curse.' Lily explained and Hermione listened carefully. She had wondered for years how the rebounded Avada Kedavra had Voldemort into pieces but the rest of the house had only gotten damaged on Harry's bedroom and that partially.
'You think we should cast on each other the spell you used on Harry?' Hermione asked and Lily nodded.
'It's easy to cast, the hardest part is to volunteer to die but you're already in to that by keeping everyone away and stepping willingly in that cellar with the Elder Wand against you.' Lily explained and Hermione sighed and nodded. 'Harry has already cast Concipio in the cellar and the rest of the house, the absorbing charm will keep the house in its place no matter what. But I can't be sure what the sacrificial protection spell will act like against the Elder Wand. It's a good thing you two are freshly married as it works its best for mother-children and newlyweds.' Lily explained and Hermione nodded her head.
'But as far as I know the spell you used is ancient blood magic, Harry and I are not blood connected yet,' Hermione noted and Lily nodded.
'You will just have to break the skin of your left palms and hold hands; it will be enough for the magic to be activated.' Lily explained and Hermione nodded her head. They had nothing to lose; on the contrary, from all the books she had searched through this was one of the best weapons they'd equip against the Wand.
There was a knock on the door before it could open; Harry smiled as he saw his best friend and wife talking with his mother. A moment he thought would never happen.
'Sorry for interrupting,' he said sheepishly but his eyes clouded with worry as he noticed Hermione's tears on her face. 'What happened?' he asked immediately as he moved further inside the room. Hermione stood up and moved closer to him, he opened his arms for her as she flung herself in his arms in her Hermionish way. Harry looked at his mother in concern over his wife's shoulder.
'Everything is ok, just one of the rare occasions the Brightest Witch of her Age has a small weak moment,' Lily replied his son's question as Harry kissed the crown of Hermione's head and looked at her, she nodded reassuringly.
'I'm ok,' she only replied and Harry nodded and kissed her lips. He knew she was tensed, he was tense himself and his time in the cellar with the Wand close by was taunting, he wouldn't lie, he always felt awful seeing Hermione cry. 'Your mother has an amazing idea,' Hermione added to take his mind away from her tears but Harry nodded.
'I know, Dad taught me their absorbing spell and I used it so we can use the sacrificial protection on us.' Harry replied and Hermione nodded. 'That's why I came here; dad had decided to help while mum would talk with you about it.' Harry added and Hermione smiled, they weren't the only couple that functioned easily, James and Lily knew how to communicate and help people even in the afterlife.
'The easy part, as I was saying to Hermione, is to mix your blood and cast the spell. The hard part is to voluntarily face death and put each other before yourselves but I guess this is easy for you two.' Lily repeated and Harry and Hermione smiled and nodded. Harry took the wand out of its jean pocket and Hermione moved forward her left hand, with his right hand he cast with precision a cutting charm on each of their left hands – the hands closer to the heart-. They flinched at the pain as they held hands, their fingers intertwined; the blood crawled down their wrists to their sleeves.
'You're ready, simply hug each other protectively and close your eyes. See with your mind's eyes your body shielding each other and dying for each other. Think of the incantation Amorus Ultimum.' Lily explained and the two did as they were requested.
They hugged each other tightly, their bodies fitting perfectly, all the embraces they shared, the happy memory of last night's encounter along the bliss they felt around each other for the past two decades filled their hearts as they closed their eyes. In an embrace very familiar to the one they had given in Hogwarts before Harry could confront Voldemort.
'I'll go with You,' the memory drifted away as they both focused at the task at hand. Hermione used her imagination to see the two of them while using the wand, the Deathstick glowed green and Hermione used her body to shield Harry. Her body was falling lifeless on the floor as he had survived the attack.
Harry kept Hermione in his arms as with his own mind saw them before the Wand. There was a red flash of light and he was moving before his best friend and wife, protecting her, repaying her for all the times she suffered for him. He saw himself falling as she was standing, the only survivor of the two.
The experience was powerful as they both "saw" their ultimate sacrifice, they both preferred to die rather than see the other fall. As they remained hugged for a few moments more, they felt warmth in the middle of their chests, coursing through their veins and ending in a gasp of air. For a moment, they could hear a pounding sound and they realized their hearts were beating as one.
'I think we made it.' Harry whispered and Hermione nodded and hid her face on his chest. She was shaken by the experience as much as he was. They took a few more moments in their embrace; Lily remained silent by their side with the slightest of smiles on her face.
'Now that the sacrificial protection is cast from both of you, I think you will be strong enough to destroy the Deathstick, being newlyweds is an added bonus on our side.' Lily said reassuringly at the couple and Hermione remembered what McGonagall had told her before.
'Minerva told me whatever we might do; especially with blood magic might have side effects.' Hermione told Harry who nodded and gave her a soft kiss, he felt reassured now that he had cast the spell his mother had protected him with. He felt powerful.
'There is only one way to discover the side effects.' Harry said as if he had read Hermione's mind who nodded immediately. They broke their hug, kept their blooded hands connected and moved out of their bedroom and down the stairs, all the way to the kitchen and from there to the entrance of the cellar. Kreacher showed up along Crookshanks and the ghosts of his parents.
'Kreacher, you know what to do with the letters we gave you, in case things go wrong,' Harry confirmed with the house elf which nodded and bowed. They had agreed Kreacher would pop in and out of the cellar every twenty four hours to check on them and bring water and food within the thirty seconds Harry had allowed to the wards to keep the elf in for its own protection. Kreacher had been through a lot in his life at Grimmauld and Harry wanted the minimum exposure of him in danger.
'Yes, Master Potter, Kreacher has prepared everything for the following days.' The elf confirmed and Harry nodded as Hermione smiled at Crookshanks. 'Mistress Potter, Kreacher will take care of the cat, do not fear.' Kreacher added as he noticed Hermione's attention to hers –and the Potters' –pet.
'The moment we know where the Stone is, we'll get out of the cellar and go find it, until then, do not enter the cellar, please,' Harry addressed his parents who nodded in unison, it was what he had agreed with them while Hermione was away. The Wand would use every little weakness of its Masters to attack them and the Stone was activated for too long already.
'Don't worry son, no matter what we hear or sense from in there, we won't interfere.' James reassured his son and daughter-in-law. 'Take care, guys, destroy that thing,' he added and the couple smiled and nodded.
'Remember, you're blood-bound now, whatever one does affect the other,' Lily added and the two nodded, the spell was already helping with the magical wound in their hands. Only now, Harry could feel the difference of the spell being reactivated on him, magic had flavors and this one was different as it was cast by Hermione but deep in his heart he could feel it working like his mother's spell used to work perfectly before fourth year and Voldemort breaking through it. Only the people experienced with advanced magic could feel the differences and he and Hermione were two of them.
'Thank you, for everything,' Harry finally said to his parents and they smiled. He wasn't sure how much they'd have after they discover the Stone. Maybe there wouldn't be a lot of time to say their goodbyes once the user of the Stone was revealed. Many things had been said between him and his parents but there would always be a huge gap in their relationship.
'We love you both very much,' Lily replied and the couple smiled and nodded. All four of them hoped they wouldn't meet on the other side very soon.
Harry opened the cellar's door while holding Hermione by the hand and the two moved down the few stairs to the main underground chamber. The cellar door closed and locked behind them.
Hermione had to admire Harry's spell work. There was a massive fireplace to keep them as warm as possible and he had charmed it for the fire not to burn everything in case something happened with the most destructive of the elements. It was also blocked from the floo network and the communication system.
Harry had removed all the bottles of elfwines, firewishkey and floo powder they kept in the cellar for years, the old furniture, and the expensive foods Kreacher had down there to mature with time. There was a lot of space to move around. The walls were charmed with James' Concipio, protecting them in case the couple was thrown against the brick walls with force, avoiding the possibility of breaking their bones from the fall.
The floor was charmed to keep the temperature normal and on one side there was a small space for Kreacher to apparate in, leave food and water in a hatch on the ground and apparate out again. The ceiling was magically adjusted to breathe in to the cellar fresh air and to spray water in case of a fire. The room was carefully illuminated; enough to see but not too much to exhaust the two in case they spent days and nights in the cellar. There was a double mattress on the corner and Hermione could feel there were spells on it to prevent it from getting burnt, wet or destroyed by spells. At the center of the room, there was a stone table, engraved with protective runes and sigils and charmed to remain on the floor with the small closed wooden box of the Elder Wand in it.
Hermione looked at Harry in admiration of his work in the cellar; they had spent the entire day with her researching the last details and him preparing the place.
'You've done an amazing job, Harry,' Hermione praised her best friend and husband and he smiled as he shrugged, he still had that boyish behavior she loved in him every time he was praised about something.
'I performed the spells we used to perform in the tent during the Hunt, plus some we learned in our seventh year, plus some I knew could be useful.' Harry simply said and Hermione smiled, she could feel every charm protecting, blocking, keeping safe and warm the two of them inside the cellar. Also she could detect the new spell cast upon her and coursing through her veins, it was probably the most powerful spell she had ever felt upon her, certainly the most ancient of them all. She only hoped it would be enough before the Deathstick.
Without saying a word, they both moved closer to the table stone with the Wand on it.
'We should open it and touch it at the same time, if nothing happens, we can use it to detect the Stone first.' Hermione said quietly and Harry nodded. With a flick of his own wand, the box clicked open and the lid of it fell on the table. The Elder Wand laid on a velvet pillow inside the box. The couple of friends and spouses felt the energy in the room crackling; it was the spells around them, the spell in them, the Elder Wand and their own risen levels of magic. They could feel how powerful they were, as much as the Wand before them. Their body temperature rose as the Masters of Death had to confront their main Hallow. The Wand felt as if vibrating in its case although it was physically unmoving, it knew they wouldn't be easy to take down. Harry put his own wand back in his pocket. The couple tightened the hold of their hands as they both reached for the wand and without hesitation, touched the base simultaneously.
For a moment, nothing happened. They touched the elder wood with their fingers. Breaking the barrier of the wand's magical field, it was back in the rightful hands of its master and mistress.
As the bright flash of white light exploded against them, the couple moved closer to each other in an instant shielding each other. The force of the explosion hit them sideways and hurled them against the wall across the room. The couple broke their hold on their hands only when their bodies hit the charmed wall and fell on the floor with a thud.
They both groaned in pain as they struggled to stand up and check on each other and their own bodies. Their wounded hands were bleeding more after the fall and their backs and legs were sore by the impact but they had survived worse than that.
'That went well,' Hermione though as she groaned and stood up with effort while Harry did the same and rubbed the back of his neck in pain. They had been thrown at least fifteen feet away from the stone table.
'At least we didn't break our necks,' Harry thought as he regarded Hermione for any serious injuries. She seemed sore but her eyes were wide as she looked at him.
'Or our heads,' Hermione's voice was heard inside his head but not in the way his consciousness' voice was usually echoing with her tone. This time her voice was clear, as if she had used her lips to speak.
'No way!' Harry thought, and Hermione's eyes widened even more -if that was possible- and covered her lips with her fingers.
'No bloody way!' she physically exclaimed and Harry remained silent.
'You can hear my thoughts,' Harry used his inner voice and Hermione gasped, the sensation all new to them.
'Loud and clear,' she sent back internally and Harry took a deep breath. If he closed his eyes he wouldn't be able to tell if she used her lips or her brain to communicate.
'How did this happen?' Harry asked this time using words, he was shocked to say the least but he wasn't sure he felt uncomfortable with the new link of telepathy established between them. It felt unfamiliar to share a part of your brain with another person but contrary to his previous awful experience with Occlumency and Legilimancy with Snape, the link –because it felt like a link, like a thread between the couple- felt easier to maintain and smoother in the mind's touch.
'I'm not sure…' Hermione said but trailed off in her attempt to grasp the new concept. 'We are married, there are spells of nourishing a marriage, we deeply love each other, and we're emotionally attached to each other, before the Elder Wand which works with emotions. McGonagall told me about the possible side-effects. We got ourselves deeply bound through blood by actually mixing our blood with each other… We cast powerful spells on us, based on love …. I think we are reaching new limits of magic within a magical marriage of two very powerful people….' Harry could hear the rest of her thoughts and nodded to himself. It somehow felt easier to send thoughts through the link rather than speaking, even if they were comfortable before each other like with no other person, this link was deeper and faster.
'Have you read anything like that before? In some book? About a couple getting to this level of magic?' Harry asked without speaking and Hermione shook her head.
'I have read about establishing telepathic links, which is no easy task in itself. It needs an expert level of Occlumency and Legilimency on both sides. It requires the two people to be prepared to send and receive the message, to open the mind, get the message and then close the mind to protect it. This link between us doesn't feel like it needs a door to open and close to work with breaks. It feels like a bridge connecting our minds. However, I don't think it has to do with our brains only, but also our hearts and feelings.' Hermione sent back and Harry nodded and realized every time he heard her voice his chest felt a tiny bit warmer than when she wasn't sending anything. They weren't sharing only thoughts, the link allowed tiny bits of feelings between each other as well, he was feeling Hermione's love, only from her side, right from her heart.
'This is too deep,' Harry sent back, unable to say something more and Hermione smiled while he heard her internal chuckle.
'I don't know what you feel from my side but I feel warmth every time you send something, like a vibration right at my heart.' Hermione sent through the link and Harry touched his chest with his undamaged hand. 'I hope our hearts can physically bear this, and I mean the actual organs. Magical anatomy is a very complicated thing, same stands for our brains.' Hermione sent after a moment more and Harry moved closer.
'It feels very natural, nonetheless,' Harry used speech this time, hoping to make her feel less concerned about this new link of theirs. He didn't want to risk her heart or her brain no matter how natural and warm it felt to communicate with her thus.
'It does, but we need to be careful with it, especially with the Wand before us. Maybe it triggered the link to feed from our emotions at the same time. I'm not sure if it was the combination from our marriage, the spells and our love that created the link or if it was something the Wand created to get to us.' Hermione explained, her mind racing with the possibilities. She couldn't deny it, the link felt amazing while using it but they were locked in a cellar with the Wand of Destiny with them, they needed to be careful.
'You're right,' Harry whispered softly and caressed the bruise that was quickly forming on her cheek, wandlessly healing it. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes at the moment of peace between them, their wounded hands finding each other in a lock, a moment later there was a small glow between their palms and when they withdrew their hands and looked at their palms, the slashes from Harry's cutting spell were healed. Their bond was preserving each other not only wandlessly but also unconsciously... 'Wow...I love magic… our magic.' Harry sent through, unable to resist the pull of the link to be used. Yes, maybe it was a trap of the Elder Wand, maybe its previous masters got weakened by such tricks of the damn thing.
But Harry felt like this wasn't the case. The Deathstick wouldn't want them so deeply connected against it. This telepathic link was something unique to share magic, thoughts and feelings, made by the two of them. Their relationship as friends counted decades and as spouses, counted days, yet they were standing before each other, bound by love, protected and preserved by it.
Harry knew this link of love was their actual weapon against the Wand of Death.
Soooo I love playing with the plot and the protagonists of the past, I needed to have a scene with McGonagall as she's my favorite teacher but I also wanted a conversation between Hermione and Lily. What you think of Lily's and James' spells? Did you like the idea? And we have a link! I wanted them to experience advanced magic in many different levels and telepathy is one of them.
Thoughts? ideas? Suggestions? I'm waiting for some love in the form of reviews!
