Chapter XII
The Fallout Continues
Disclaimer: Once more, I don't own Harry Potter.
Warning: Very minor sexual scene, really minor, petite even, I swear.
The meeting had not ended without more than a little shouting, Harry had taken a good twenty minutes to explain the ritual Tom Riddle had used several years earlier to achieve obtaining a new body, when asked why the authorities had not been informed Harry had explained that he thought Dumbledore would have told them, this didn't sit over very well with the auror's Shacklebolt had tried to play mediator but even Harry could tell he was a bit miffed with the former Headmaster,
Harry gave them the detail's on the graveyard and it's location as well as which grave they needed to rob, none of them looked very pleased with the idea but if it was to help stop the raging lunatic from once again getting a new body then they were prepared to do it, the shouting match however came when Harry expressed a desire to go with them,
Harry felt he really needed to be doing this right now, he needed to not dwell on the death's of today and actually be doing something to occupy his mind for the time being, the Auror's however were having none of it, Alastor did back him to an extent but Kingsley didn't, in the senior official's words, Harry might be powerful enough and capable enough but he hadn't been trained to be a auror and how to follow command,
Harry admittedly had to concede that point but he still couldn't let it go, eventually the minister awoke and began shouting at the auror's to arrest Harry, Alastor quickly had cast another stunner before he started removing the memory of the meeting from the minister's mind whilst implanting a few fake ones, in the end Harry was asked to leave and go rest after the events of the day, as much as he hated to admit it he was hurting but loathed the idea of not helping,
He left for the hospital wing to visit his friends.
Ooo~ooO
Tom Riddle had to restrain himself from sneering at himself or he should say the body he was now inhabiting, young Tyrion did not seem to have much raw magical power and Tom could sense that even with the boost from his small remain barely brought his current body up to average,
After revealing himself to Carrow's the man had promptly fainted annoying the Dark lord, after using the Cruciactus to awaken the man Riddle had felt his reserves run dry and allowed the boy control of his own body back, Tom could sense the young man was still too scared to do anything other than obey his commands and after Tom had ordered Carrow's to follow him they left the bedroom and Voldemort had every intention of allowing his followers the chance to see their master was still alive,
Entering the Malfoy's dining room he would find himself rather disappointed, out of the entire group he had taken to Hogwarts earlier that day very few had returned with him, Riddle had to calm himself down, right now he couldn't afford to have any more of them killed even if he wanted to for their incompetence earlier that day.
"Rise my followers" he called, all the Death Eater's turned toward the young man only to see him standing backwards but with their master's face sticking out from the back of his head, several of the group actually passed out just had Carrow's had earlier, Tom would usually have enjoyed this but for the moment he didn't have the time to mess around, he cast several Crucio's with the boy;'s body and noticed just how tired the host was becoming, if he had had blood vessel's to burst they would have, he couldn't contain his snarl but the looks of awe of the robed group were pleasant for his ego,
"My trusted Death Eaters, we have been dealt a serious blow here today, we allowed ourselves to be so overconfident that currently our forces have been both captured and killed", "Even if most of those death's were the idiot's getting in my way", he added silently, none of the Death Eater's could still move from pure shock but one did finally manage to speak up,
"Ma..Master...you're alive...how did this miracle happen?", Jugson asked, Riddle felt a twitch of annoyance but realised he could use their awe to keep them more loyal,
"You should know by now Jugson even death cannot stand in the way of my destiny", the sinister tone sent shivers up many spines, Tom glanced around and took stock of how many were actually there, he only counted thirteen for the moment, this wouldn't do and he had been to preoccupied to actually notice which of his men had actually been captured or fled, he turned to the manor's owner Lucius Malfoy who Riddle noticed was wearing a scared expression,
"Lucius, tell me who are we missing, just the inner circle for now, you can send me a full list later" he demanded, the blonde haired man bowed before speaking,
"My Lord, Nott was incapacitated rather early, I believe he will be among the captured, Avery was fighting until the end but fled once the Auror's arrived on scene my lord...I am uncertain of his location at the moment", Tom frowned he would usually just summon them all here but without a body of his own he couldn't activate the charm within a dark mark, for now he was stuck, he would have to come up with a plan to get them here another time,
"And the others?", Lucius bowed his head once again,
"Yaxley...was killed my lord, I did not see how but I did see his body, both Lestrange's didn't make it back either master, I am unsure if they are dead or captured" Malfoy explained, Riddle felt his rage building at losing arguably his best two fighters,
"What of Macnair, did he stay at the Ministry has ordered, has he heard anything of those captured yet?" Tom spat in anger, Malfoy tried to keep a cool face but was silently pissing himself with fear at his Master's anger,
"No..no my lord, Macnair did stay at the Ministry as you instructed but he hasn't yet tried to contact me" Lucius replied,
"And did you think to try contacting him?" Riddle asked, a threat of a pain for a negative answer laced within his words,
"No..no my lord"
"CRUCIO!", Riddle almost felt the young body collapse with magical fatigue, however his own will and anger allowed the curse to flow for a short period, the senior Malfoy wailed on the floor writing in pain drawing the attention of everyone who were scared to even breath too loudly, eventually Tom lifted the curse and silently promised the boy pain if he allowed his body to collapse which scared the young death eater enough to remain standing, Riddle turned his attention back to the blonde individual,
"Then perhaps I should make a suggestion, go and contact Macnair right now and find out what is going on with my captured Death Eaters you simpleton!", Lucius unable to recover quickly enough managed to crawl out of the dining room on his hands and knees still unable to stand yet due to the pain,
Riddle turned back to the remaining force in the room, out of his inner circle only Jugson and Dolohov were still remaining, Riddle needed to execute his plan quickly, the young man's body just wasn't strong enough to hold him for more than a few weeks, he needed to claim a body for his own again as soon as possible,
Tom needed his father's remains once again, he could have cursed himself for not thinking of taking the remains with him when he had been reborn last time but he had not thought he would have been beaten again by the blasted Potter child, flesh of the servant would be easy enough once again, last time he only had the Rat who Riddle noted was hidden away in the corner and Crouch Junior, this time he had plenty of his followers to choose from, Blood of the enemy would be a lot trickery, last time no one had known he was still around, even if many might think him dead right now everyone would still be on high alert,
Potter's blood had made it so he could touch the child but Riddle was unsure if he would be able to do this once again, he felt his anger rise yet again unable to believe how badly today had gone, Plenty of people would consider him an enemy but it had to be someone with a strong magical core, he could very easily kidnap anyone and use them as the sacrifice but it wouldn't have the same effect, Riddle debated with himself on what to do he needed time to plan but at the moment time was just not on his side.
Ooo~ooO
Harry passed by one of the windows on the way to Gryffindor tower, he wassuprised by how dark it was getting, the day had seem so long and short at the same time, he had stopped by the hospital wing very quickly to see Hermione was still out cold and that Luna was now sleeping soundly and had been cleaned up and no longer looked like a victim from a slasher film,
Harry dropped his head as he gave the password and entered the tower, he was soon ambushed by a large group of his fellow Gryffindor's, Harry couldn't hear much over the inane shouting and questioning, he only managed to pick up a few sentences,
"Oh Harry is it true, is you-know-who gone?"
"Harry, Neville's dead did you know?"
"What do we do now?"
"Is it over?"
"Why didn't you save my brother?", Harry noticed that last one and turned to see Dennis Creevey looking at him with tears in his eyes, Harry stared for a second, not realising his stalker had been killed, Harry may have not liked the boy much but he hadn't wished him any harm and the look of betrayal on the younger face of his brother was too much for Harry,
"PLEASE STOP!" he yelled, many of them actually jumped back at his outburst, he gathered what little wits he had left,
"I don't know much more than you do at moment, I...all I know is...Voldemort isn't gone...but for now we're safe" he spoke unsure of his statement, many students looked terrified at the idea of the dark lord not being dead,
"What do you mean isn't dead?"
"But you beat him?"
"Why didn't you finish him off?", Harry blocked as much out as he could, he dashed for a small opening in the crowd and headed towards the stairs,
"GUYS STOP IT, I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING...there might be more answer's tomorrow but for now...just rest" he said before sprinting for his dorm, thankfully he noted none of them had followed him, he quickly reached the 7th year dorm and entered, he noted that is was currently empty, he remembered Seamus hadn't retuned and Ron was in the hospital wing, he wondered where Dean might have gone but that left him with Neville which caused him to open the wound yet again, he collapsed on his bed and fought valiantly against the tears and need to cry for the loss of all the people he knew, Neville, Hagrid, Flitwick and now Colin Creevey as added to that list, Harry didn't even dare wonder how many more had died that he wasn't yet aware of,
He laid there for god know how long before eventually the fatigue caught up to him and Harry fell into a light sleep.
Ooo~ooO
Hermione opened her eyes suddenly almost blinding herself, she squinted as the light from her current surroundings blinded her temporarily, after gaining her senses back she realised she was in the hospital wing, she attempted to get up but found her body was aching quite badly,
She couldn't see beyond the curtain with only a small gap between it and the rest of the wing, with a bit of practise she let her ear's perk up and listened to what was happening around her,
From what she could tell there were quite a few people there with her and she could hear the murmurs of adult and children, she had also picked up Mrs Weasley's loud voice somewhere close by but not close enough to actually hear what it was she was saying, Hermione was pulled from her listening when Madam Pomfrey arrived and smiled a little relieved to see the young women awake,
"Ah Ms Granger, I'm happy to see you're back among the conscious" she spoke, Hermione nodded in agreement, Pomfrey then began casting several diagnostic charms on the injured girl
"How long have I been in here ma'am?" Hermione asked her,
"About eleven hours my dear, it's currently just after eight at night, actually I'm quite surprised to see you awake this quickly" the matron said, Hermione went to speak but the healer interrupted,
"No lasting effect..that's good, minimal internal damage...a few bruises but they will heal soon, I would offer you a potion for them Miss Granger but I'm afraid my stock has run out..no permanent damage Miss Granger, I'm happy to report you'll be in perfect shape in a few days time", Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, Hermione then gathered her courage up to ask her question,
"Did we lose anyone ma'am?", Madam Pomfrey suddenly aged many years but after taking a breath told Hermione everything she knew, Hermione couldn't tried to contain her tears at the news of her charms professor but hearing Hagrid and died was like a knife through her heart and she openly wept, clinging to her blanket she sobbed quietly trying to regain her emotion's, she asked for further information and whilst the healer looked worried about another outburst she relented and informed her, the healer was called away and left albeit apprehensively at leaving the grieving young women alone,
Hermione clutched at her cover's crying over the loss of her friends and schoolmates, she had not felt so much despair in a long time, Hermione had still believed the school to be the safest place in the world but the walls had come crumbling down and they had nearly lost had it not been for some miracle Harry had performed according to matron with a bit of effort she managed to finally sit up, she felt something strange within her jeans brushing up against her leg, investigating she found the Marauder's map and suddenly remembered picking it up just after the fighting had began, wanting to see where everyone was she unravelled it and gently spoke the password,
Hermione soon found herself and discovered Ron and his parents were close by, she also recognised a few other names around her as schoolmates and what she assumed were their parents, she also noted Luna was in the wing as well, Hermione couldn't remember seeing the blonde girl at breakfast and wondered how she came to be in here, it was a little hard to see all the names however since they were all clumped together in the hospital wing so she scanned for other places,
She found that several of the teacher's were all in Professor Vector's office, a lot of the students were in their dorms with a few roaming the hallway's of the school, Hermione scanned for one name inperticular however and eventually found it, Harry was in his dorm on his bed...and he wasn't alone,
Hermione's eyes widened for a second if the map was right then Harry currently had a bed mate, hovering slightly over him was Ginny Weasley.
Ooo~ooO
Harry awoke and for a second nearly screamed, hovering over him was the face of Ginny Weasley,
"Ginny what are you doing here?" he asked swallowing the bit of fear in his throat, Ginny smiled slightly, Harry felt a small rush of blood begin to run to his nether region,
"I just came to see how you are, it's been a long day after all" she explained, Harry already felt uncomfortable but Ginny suddenly straddled his waste making it impossible for him to move,
"I'm fine, look Ginny you probably shouldn't be in here if you get caught you'll be in trouble" he tried to reason, Ginny however didn't relent and quickly removed her jumper leaving her top half naked apart from her green bra, Harry eyes became as big as saucers at seeing the girls modest bust, what resolve he had left was been tested,
"Ginny what are you doing?" he asked meekly, the girl grinned, she lowered her head putting their faces only inches apart,
"It's been a terrible day Harry, I want to forget it, I know you want some peace, let me give it you" she spoke her voice alluring Harry making him almost lose what little will he had left,
"Ginny I don't think..." he was suddenly cut off when the girl claimed his mouth with her own, Harry wanted to let go and just go with it, he had lost friends today, he had the families of the dead blaming him and so many had been injured, the pain was forgotten for a brief moment and all he could feel was arousal, was it so wrong to want a bit of peace, Harry gave into the kiss which eventually led to some mild touching, he almost lost it when Ginny removed her bottom's leaving her only in her underwear, as she began to undo his trousers his mind suddenly so the a glimpse of a future,
He could see this leading to pregnancy and a married life, he suddenly remembered the fact that this girl had used love potion's on him,
"Did she manage to dose me again...maybe I haven't exactly been checking...Screw it I don't care this is better than the anguish...no I shouldn't she must have poisoned me again...who cares...I need to stop this now"
Harry envisioned Ginny pregnant with his kid and never mind it feeling wrong a thought came to his mind that killed his arousal within seconds, Riddle had been born through a love potion, if he ever had kids he wouldn't allow their birth to be through those means,
He felt Ginny begin to kiss his exposed chest when his resolve returned, he grabbed her arms,
"GINNY STOP!" he yelled, the girl was actually shocked by his loud outburst that she actually stopped, he pushed her off with as much strength as he could muster and quickly stood off the bed, this brought the girl back to her sense,
"Harry what's wrong I thought you were enjoying it", Harry turned to the girl, he gave a look of loathing that he hadn't meant to but images of having a son growing up to be the next Voldemort flooded his mind, he did feel a bit of sympathy for Ginny as she recoiled looking rather hurt, he needed to get away from here and find somewhere quiet, he didn't even bother with his shoes as he walked towards the door,
"I'm sorry Ginny but it's not going to happen" he spoke as he quickly left, he arrived in the common room and found it surprisingly empty save for a few people sat near the fireplace talking quietly, thankfully they hadn't noticed him and he managed to slip out of the portrait and began to wander, he needed some peace and could only think of one place to go, the room of requirement, travelling the short journey he began walking past, as he made the third wwalk by and the door appeared he spotted a familiar face enter the seventh floor hallway, there eyes locked and Harry cried out rather happily,
"Hermione!"
Ooo~ooO
Hermione had managed to evade the healers who were still busy checking up on the other occupants of the room, she quickly glanced around to see it was indeed still rather busy inside, she noticed Ron was out cold with Mrs Weasley wailing over his body, she idly wondered how he had wound up in there before continuing on, her body was achieving but she couldn't let this happen, Hermione was well aware of what Ginny might try but she wondered why Harry might go along with it, as her feet lead her up the many flights of stairs she thought back and hadn't noticed any messing with their drinks, she had checked her own and had assumed Harry had been doing the same but if he hadn't he could get himself in trouble, a small part of her wounded if perhaps he wanted this and that part made Hermione quite upset, she would never admit it but she had always had a bit of a crush on her black haired best friend,
It had started simple enough, the cute boy she had met appealed to her but it had become a bit of a problem as the year went on, Hermione hated to admit it to herself but as her first year went on she had developed a crush, it had gotten bigger and bigger as the next several years went by, by fourth year when Harry had started to develop his hormones she had hoped he might even ask her to the Yule ball, she wouldn't have minded just going as friends and perhaps showing him she was in fact a girl, to her delight she had noticed that he had in fact realised this when she had gotten dressed up for the event,
Sadly things had started to decline after that, the next year Harry had developed a crush on Cho Chang and Hermione finally allowed herself to bury those feeling fully, she had seen what she hoped was a slither of hope when Harry had told her he didn't think she was ugly but he had said no more and she tried to move on,
The last year she had been lied to and used, Hermione had never really considered Ron all that good of a friend, her insecurities had allowed her to constantly forgive him for his bullying of her and her way of life, when she discovered the love potion in her system she had been apocalyptic, Hermione believed in free will and the right to choose, that Ronald and the other's were taking that away from her angered her in a way she didn't know was possible, after Harry had been told everything she couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of anger towards him for his clinginess to the Weasley's even now,
She tried her best to rush but didn't really have the strength to run, she checked the map again and nearly breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Harry was now walking down the staircase towards the Gryffindor common room, she picked up the pace a little more and soon arrived at the seventh floor a little winded, she entered and found her friend stood outside the room of requirement, the squeak of the door must have alerted him because he turned towards her and suddenly she saw his face light up,
"Hermione!", he made his way towards her and she him eventually they met and embraced one another,
"Your okay, I thought you'd be in the hospital wing for a quite a while yet" he cried, Hermione relaxed for a moment in their hug before letting go and regaining her balance,
"Madam Pomfrey was still busy I managed to leave before anyone saw me...Harry I believe this is yours" she said as she handed him the map, he smiled gently taking it in hand,
"Where did you get this?" he asked having completely forgotten about using the map that morning, the two began walking back towards the hidden room before stepping into a simple common room with a fire place and a sofa,
"Just after it all started I remembered to pick it and hide it...Harry...I saw something" she said softly not wanting to sound accusing, Harry gave her a questioning glance so she continued,
"Harry..was Ginny...with you a few minutes ago?" she asked, her answer came with the almighty blush that had erupted on his face, Hermione felt both hurt and annoyed but didn't say anything, eventually Harry sat one the sofa with Hermione deciding to join him,
"Hermione...I think I might be drugged up on love potion again" he answered, Hermione nodded glad that he hadn't done it of his own free will,
"Have you been checking your drinks lately?" she replied, Harry shook his head,
"No...I was but with the dream and then worrying about an attack...and been back here and feeling a bit more at home...I just forgot" he stated honestly, Hermione had to bite her tongue in order to not lecture Harry, she was annoyed but she could understand his shortcoming here, he had been rather stressed out the lasts few days,
"Were you at least careful, I mean nothings going to happen right..you and Ginny won't be having a child in nine months will you?" she asked, Hermione could feel a slight sense of fear at this but thankfully Harry shook his head, she noticed his face was started to show signs of sadness once again,
"It didn't get that far, I managed to get my senses back, ironically it was the thought of children that brought my mind back, I remembered how Riddle was born from a love potion and suddenly I couldn't stop the images of my son or daughter becoming the next dark lord, it scared me enough to push her away" he spoke sadness and disgust evident within his tone, Hermione gently laid her hand on his shoulder,
"That's good, you managed to fight it Harry" she said, Harry nodded but didn't appear cheerful, Hermione bit her lip in worry,
"Harry, what's wrong?" she asked, Harry sighed,
"I..I wanted it Hermione, for a moment I didn't care...I didn't care that Ginny was using a potion...I wanted a bit of time without this feeling in my gut...we...we lost so many friend today...Neville...Flitwick...Creevey...Hag...Hagri d...all those people in the common room asking me questions I can't answer...Dennis looking at me with betrayed eyes...asking me why his brother is dead...I wanted it to stop...even if just for a moment..I...I can't...it hurts", the longer it went on the harder it became, Harry felt tears appear once again in his eyes, he fought back against them and recoiled when Hermione suddenly engulfed his entire body in a hug and brought his head to her chest and began to stroke his hair,
Hermione allowed her own tears to flow as she listened to her best friend bare his heart to her, any annoyance she felt for him was quickly washed away and taken over by compassion, as she saw the tears begin to form in his eyes she drew him into her and locked her arms around him not allowing him to refuse her comfort,
She felt him begin to shake and began to whisper into his ear,
"Shhh, it's okay, it's alright, Harry honey juts let it out, let yourself cry" she begged not wanting him to bottle it up any more, Harry shook his head as best he could, she could feel his trembling get worse,
"I can't...I need..to stay strong" he gasped, Hermione planted a kiss on the top of his head, though she could now taste her own tears she found the resolve she needed for him,
"Take tonight...take tonight to grieve and cry all you need sweetheart, I'll be strong for both of us", something in her tone allowed Harry to believe her and for the first time in a long time Harry relaxed into his best friend embrace and cried.
Ooo~ooO
Hermione wasn't sure how many hours had passed but she still had herself wrapped around Harry, he had grieved and told her how much it hurt, they both cried over Neville and Hagrid, he had also opened up to her about several things, Sirius mainly and missing his parents, Hermione felt her heart ache in pain, he hadn't said much in the last few minutes and Hermione glanced down at his head, she wondered just how long Harry had kept a lot of this in, Hermione suddenly had a bit of a revelation, Harry didn't know how to express his true emotion's, sure anger and happiness perhaps at winning at quidditch but true emotion like now she never really got to see,
Then it hit her, Harry had never really been shown much positive attention in life, from what little she knew about the Dursley's she was sure there was little to no love in that house, the wizarding world overwhelmed him with love and praise at times but it was for something Harry didn't remember or felt he deserved praise for, it would feel fake and undeserved, the Weasley's had adopted him in a way but after finding out about there scheme it had left Harry with a hole in his heart, Sirius was probably the closest thing to family as a surrogate uncle but they hadn't been able to spend much time together and he had been torn away from Harry at the department of Ministry,
Hagrid his first friend was now dead and his love for Dumbledore was now in question, Hermione suddenly felt terrible at having placed this at his feet, perhaps she should have been a bit more gentle with helping him accept it, she glanced down again and felt him nuzzle her chest a little, she stroked his hair and without even realising it spoke the words circling her mind,
"I love you", she felt both herself and Harry stiffen, neither did anything for a moment until Harry pulled away, Hermione was still so stiff she hadn't tried to stop him, as soon as she saw his red eyes she almost pulled him into another hug but his words stopped her,
"You love me?" he asked, his voice was filled with wonder and uncertainty, Hermione stared at him, he looked so shocked, "why?", she knew she couldn't take it back and decided to not lie to him, or herself,
"Harry after all the years we've been friends...after everything you and I have been though together, is it really that much of a surprise that I love you" she stated, Harry however was still in a state of shock, he couldn't move and now a fresh batch of tears found their way to his eyes, only this time not tear of despair, Hermione cupped his face, she noted he didn't stiffen this time no move,
"Harry, did I say the wrong thing..what's the matter" she asked concerned, Harry mumbled trying to get the words out,
"I..no..no one's ever..said they...love me", he replied, Hermione suddenly saw her friend as the small child she had originally met, the cute boy with baggy clothes and a look of pure wonder and delight on his face, she saw the pure and innocent Harry Potter and suddenly wanted to kill the Dursley's and Dumbledore, Hermione let her mind wander, how could no one have said it to him, she assumed his parents would have but Harry would have been to young to remember, she thought about Sirius, and realised that she had answered her own question, the two had not spent that much time together, she was desperate in a search to prove Harry wrong but then came to a startling conclusion, Harry didn't hold that many people that close to his heart,
Sure he was friendly with a lot of people but who was actually that close to him, Hermione couldn't think anyone apart from the Weasley's who were now in the 'do not trust' camp, Hagrid and Sirius who were now gone and herself, Hermione felt her own fresh batch of tears arrive,
She may have been a lonely child but her parents had always made sure she knew she was loved, they would tell her at least once a day, every year after school let out and she arrived at the station her parents would be thrilled to see her and would grab her and hug the stuffing out of her and every year she left for school they would be tears and many I love you's from both her and her parents, she couldn't comprehend the idea that this young man had never once had those words spoken to him, unable to contain herself she launched her body at him and engulfed him in one of the tightest hugs she could muster,
"Harry you are my best friend in the entire world and you have no idea how much I love you" she felt him stiffen once more but didn't try and pull away, she felt the need to let him know just how much he was loved,
"I love you and Hagrid and Sirius both loved you even if they never told you, I'm one hundred percent certain that your parents constantly told you how much they love you" she nuzzled into his neck and felt him embrace her back,
"I'm sorry I never told you, I never thought it would mean all that much to you and it would embarrass you" she told him, she felt him caress her back, he spoke gently,
"You wouldn't have embarrassed me..but I do understand why you never said it, I know we are close but I never expected anyone to say that to me", the two friends resumed there need for physical contact, never breaking the embrace, Hermione wasn't sure how long they held that pose but eventually she heard him speak five words that meant the world to her,
"I love you too Hermione"
Ooo~ooO
It had been an emotional night but come the early hours the two had fallen asleep on the sofa, Harry awoke to find himself stretched out with Hermione cuddled to his body with her head resting on his chest, he felt engulfed with more happiness then he felt he could ever feel again after the events of the previous day, he held his best friend closely and allowed himself to picture doing this every morning with her, yesterday he imagined having a child with Ginny, Love potion not withstanding it had felt wrong anyway, right now Harry could picture a child with bushy dark hair and it felt right, glancing down at Hermione's face he wondered if perhaps he didn't just love her as a friend and companion and adopted family, perhaps there was one other way he loved her, he certainly thought she was attractive,
Eventually his sleeping partner awoke and the two began making a few plans for the day, there was one thing he was worried about that they would have to contain with very shortly, Ginny,
"I'm not sure what to do Hermione, we can't even threaten her with prison due to the rules" he stated, he watched Hermione screw up her face in concentration, he was well trained by this point not to interrupt the girl when she had her 'think face' on,
"I've been giving that some thought over the last few days and I think I might have a solution" she replied, Harry smiled a little but noticed her worried look,
"What's the matter?", she bit her lip,
"Well, I know how much the Weasley's mean to you, if we do this the other Weasley's might break from you...can you handle this Harry?" she asked, Harry wore a confused expression and listened to her plan, he had to admit it was clever, but he did see her point, the Weasley's would probably choose there own over them and Harry couldn't help but feel sad, still after last night he currently felt his family was standing right in front of him which made the decision a bit easier, he also looked at it from a practical stand point, after last night he now knew Ginny wasn't nearly innocent enough to not try something with him, he needed to steer clear of her and if this was the only way to be sure then he would take it, he decided to try and lighten the mood,
"How very slytherin of you Hermione" he teased, noticing his tone she smiled,
"I'll take that as a complement shall I Potter?" she replied, Harry smiled feeling much lighter than he did yesterday, he looked back down and began to get himself ready mentally for the day ahead, Harry was well aware this wasn't going to be a good one, his bushy haired friend offered her hand to him,
"Come on Harry, let's get you to Madam Pomfrey and then we'll tackle the rest of the day" she said, Harry took her hand and allowed himself to be pulled up, the two began to exit the room, he stopped her just before they left,
"Hermione...thank you for..everything" he spoke, Hermione felt her heart melt and with more daring than she actually felt pressed a gently kiss to his cheek,
"You never have to thank me for loving you Harry...now let's charge ahead like the reckless Gryffindor fools we are" she stated, they left the room and made their way towards the hospital wing never their hands never breaking, as the two continued walking Harry suddenly found a burning resolve arise within him, for the first time ever he wanted blood, the blood of Tom Riddle,
"You have taken so much away from, my friends my family, I promise you Riddle you won't be taking Hermione because I promise you...I will kill you"
Ooo~ooO
Author's Notes:
Let's begin shall we, the fallout isn't finished yet as the ministry and Riddle both have unresolved matters, Harry and Hermione confront the Weasley's, I had planned to have that happen this chapter but the rest of the story got in the way.
I want to express my views on Ginny so I'm sorry if you like her but here it is, I don't mind her character, from what we see from her in HBP she is a bit of a bitch in how she treats both Fleur and Hermione, do I think she is evil, no, Ginny went though a terrible experience in her first year and as far as we know she was never treated for it, also she has been brought up to believe love potion's are fine, her mother even tells her and Hermione that that was how she snagged Arthur, also I seem to recall the twins selling those potions in their shop, in my opinion in Ginny's mind she doesn't really see what she is doing is wrong.
Ron is a bully and a jealous prick but Ginny is a bit of a bitch but is a victim in many ways, I will have her redeemed eventually but she will never be close to Harry or Hermione nor their friend, she will simply realise her mistake.
Also quite a few of you guessed correctly about me using the ritual from Goblet of Fire to give Riddle a new body, I did take a few liberties with the blood of the enemy thing but I couldn't just have Riddle kidnap someone at random, it wouldn't have worked I needed him to a have a problem he needs to overcome.
Hope you guys enjoyed the Harry/Hermione fluff, I know technically Molly said she loved Harry like her own son in OOTP but I always felt that was way too forced considering she had spent at most a month and a half around him.
Any questions please leave in a PM or Review, hope you guys are enjoying the story and I'll see you soon with the next chapter...and no I'm not putting a deadline on myself, this chapter was a PAIN to get done.
Until next guys, take care.
