Declaration: I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.
With You by My Side
Chapter 51- The Desire to Please
If one was to look into the room that formed the 'den' of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, they would have met the sight of Harry in deep meditation. This was not unusual, for both the teens often restored to the teaching of High Priest Huaco to regain their equilibrium after a hectic day. This time it was different because, one, Harry was alone without Hermione, and two, he was at it for two days straight now.
The reason; a dance.
Being a champion, Harry had to be there to lead the dance that would start off the yule ball and he had to have a date for that. As soon as he came to know about the ball from his head of house, Harry asked his betrothed for the honour of escorting her. Hermione of course agreed; she was his wife to be and she would have agreed even if Harry thought that it was a sure thing that Hermione would be his date. Nevertheless, Harry did not take it for granted and was doubly happy seeing the love in her eyes.
Both of them were quite proficient in dancing and especially with each other and that was what was troubling Harry. He knew that Hermione loved dancing and since he was going to be her partner for what was going to be a night that would put her in the spotlight, Harry did not want to disappoint her. How would he not? With only one of his hands working, he would not even be able to hold her to him and lead her.
Until now, Harry was not too troubled with the fact that his right hand was practically useless. Yes, it bothered him that he was no longer able to enjoy feeling Hermione's hand in his when they walked, eat, or practically every other time like they used to. In the privacy of their home or when they were alone, there was no uncomfortable feeling even with the dead hand as there was always the hope that his hand would recover some day in the future.
The Yule ball, however, would be an entirely different ball game. He instinctively knew that Hermione would be subject to ridicule from those jealous of her betrothal to Harry. His being a cripple would obviously be the focus of their attacks against Hermione. If they could reduce her to tears or better even, scare her away from Harry, then all the better for the other girls, especially those from the pure-blood families. Harry was also aware that Hermione was a strong person, and her confidence in their relationship was quite high. But there is always a lingering doubt in every relationship until it was taken to its natural conclusion in a married state.
In his troubled thoughts, Harry was sure that the efforts of other girls to separate them would be more desperate than if it was any other guy and hoped that Hermione would be able to endure their efforts. The onus was on him to not only protect her, but also to ensure that she had no doubts in his commitment to her.
If these were his fears about Hermione under attack by other girls, his other imagined fears were about his own worth being Hermione's boyfriend. He would never have entertained such fears but his own disability amplified the lingering doubts, and that was because, Hermione was growing to be a very beautiful woman. Would he be able to keep her many admirers at bay, especially with his disadvantage of being crippled in his right hand? He was sure that Hermione was not that shallow and that they truly understood each other, and were the best of friends, and would be the best husband and wife team. But then again, there was a small fear that Hermione would realize that she could do a lot better than him.
Not very rational thoughts on Harry's part, but hey, he was a teenager and in his state, even the best would have their doubts.
With these fears in his heart, Harry was determined to do his best to make the Yule ball the best for the woman who had his heart, his best friend. He did not know what he would do or what he could do but hoped that the answers would come to him in time. Unfortunately, he also knew that the time he had was short, for it was only ten more days for what could be either the best night of his life so far or the worst yet.
Usually when Harry and Hermione would meditate, the session lasted for about an hour or two. Either of the two would come out of the meditative state, and the other would also inevitably follow. On that Friday night, Hermione was the one to surface first but Harry did not follow her. She thought about calling out for Harry and get him to break his meditative state, but something told her that this time it was different. She felt that Harry did not want to be disturbed and so with a desire to keep an eye on him, Hermione made herself comfortable on the couch in their 'den' and drifted off to sleep.
Harry was indeed in a completely different state than they were used to. He was determined to find a way to make the Yule ball enjoyable to Hermione and his magic responded. He was plunged into his deeper sub-conscious where he was able to connect to the magic around him to such an extent as never before. In this state, his magic began to exercise its muscle.
Harry's magical core began a series of exercises and flex like there was no tomorrow and his very life depended on it; maybe in some ways it really was. It began to connect and disconnect to nature's magic, familiarizing itself about the magic around him and make it second nature for Harry to feel and connect to the abundant magic making it easy for him to draw it into his core at a moment's notice. All through the night and the next day, Harry's magical core was able to do it to such an extent that Harry can now use the magic around him to power up his own magical core instinctually.
To accommodate such an influx of magic, Harry's core also began to change. Rather than being a rigid ball, it now became something like an inflatable balloon; still it had its limits. Harry could not keep on expanding his magical core infinitely. He could contain an enormous amount of magic inside him if need be, and that would make him the most powerful source of energy in all the world. Needless to say, he could only keep that state as long as he was able to concentrate on holding all that magic in him. The moment he was distracted, the magic would start leaking out, thankfully, there would be no harm done to his physical body, his 'spiritual essence' took care of that.
Minor Break
Sunday evening brought with it a very tired Hermione Granger. She spent almost all of the weekend fretting about an immobile Harry. The three professors and their ten friends including Daphne and Tracey came to visit them more than once. However, it was left to Hermione to spend almost all of her time in the same room as her betrothed. She could feel the periodic changes in the magic around Harry; almost like the ebb and flow of the tides, the magic in the nature flowing into him and out of him. None of the professors had any explanation as to why it was happening and Hermione found out that none of the books Harry and she had with them had anything to say about the phenomenon.
Professor McGonagall recognized the impatience in Hermione and urged her to leave Harry's presence for a few hours, she was not doing any good for herself, pacing about fretting over Harry. The suggestion to look in the library for any information about the phenomenon they were experiencing with Harry was a powerful motivator and so Hermione agreed to spend the time before dinner in there. Sighing in relief the other students also agreed to keep Hermione company in the library. The transfiguration professor volunteered to stay until the dinner hour or till the time Hermione returned back to Harry's side.
Hermione had little hope that the Hogwarts library would provide her with the answers she sought. After all, their own knowledge of nature magic and the power of meditation was obtained outside England and was generally considered to be nothing more than drivel by those in the UK. However, she had to take her mind off what was going on with Harry and so she dove into the treasure trove that was the restricted section.
She was so engrossed in her search that Hermione did not even hear someone calling her name. Actually she did not even realize that it was her name being uttered. It was only when the person put his hand on the book she was perusing that Hermione came back to the real world.
Hermione blinked her eyes a couple of times and allowed herself to focus on the person before her, "Mr. Krum," she acknowledged the wizard. She could not erase the slight frown that marred her face, one because she was very vexed that her study was disturbed and second, Hermione could not really understand what the Durmstrang champion would want with her.
Still, she could not really dismiss the wizard as he inserted himself into her personal space, "What can I do for you?"
"You go ball with me," was what Hermione heard from Mr. Krum or at least that was what she hoped he said.
"I am sorry, but I already have a date," Hermione replied politely and began to move away from him and into the main section of the library. Hermione as the wife to be of the future headmaster and through special dispensation of almost all the staff members were allowed into the restricted section while their other friends were not. Besides, she had a good head on her shoulders and would be responsible with the books. Krum as one of the champions was allowed limited access, pertaining only to certain times of the day. Hermione would have thought that the book she had in her hand was what Krum was looking for if not for the way that the Bulgarian champion asked her as a date to the Yule Ball. The brightest witch of her age was suddenly apprehensive to stay with the Durmstrang student inside a location where her friends could not back her up if need be.
Seeing that Hermione was hurrying away, Krum taunted, "How will you dance with a crippled wizard?" With a smirk, he continued, "You need someone better to take care of you. Better wizard…"
Hermione snorted at that. She was still not at a boiling point but her temper began to rise. She, however, considered all this a joke, a desperate attempt by a spoiled child throwing a tantrum and so could not resist taunting him back, "It is the same wizard who beat you with one of his hands tied. If there is someone better than him, then it's not you."
Krum growled at that. Hermione realized that it was definitely a sore point to the Bulgarian and so rejoiced in her petty win. By this time she reached the partition to the main part of the library and so crossed over gratefully to meet her friends.
The Durmstrang champion however was not so easily cowed, "It was pure luck," he scowled. "I am the greatest quidditch player known in a generation."
"Yes," Hermione agreed easily, "… but you are not the greatest wizard in this generation. That honour goes to my betrothed. He is a better wizard and a much better gentleman even without trying."
Her mood soured, and realizing that the world famous library did not have what she wanted, Hermione turned to go. Incensed that his advances were so easily rejected, Krum tried to stop Hermione but was thwarted by a ring of equally furious Hogwarts students.
"I don't know how it is in your country, Mr. Krum," Neville addressed the champion, "… but here, if a lady says no, it means no," he finished emphatically.
Susan could not resist adding, "If Harry were to hear that you accosted his wife to be, you will have a first row seat to the power of the greatest wizard of our generation."
The circle of friends did not understand why Krum was so adamant; of course Hermione was a very pretty girl but she was also betrothed to Harry. If it was just rivalry or jealousy that was spurring Krum on, then Neville hoped that they would not leave Harry and Hermione alone in presence of the Bulgarian. Not that the two needed anyone else to defend them but as friends, it was their privilege to keep the two teens safe, especially as Harry's continued participation in the tournament was a must.
"Leave," Ginny added, pushing herself into Krum's personal space for emphasis.
Krum scoffed at that, he was not at all intimidated by the display, they were after all a bunch of teens more than four years his junior. However, even he could see that a confrontation was detrimental to his participation in the tournament. Besides, the students of Hogwarts had a home field advantage and Harry was immensely popular even in his home country and the entire world even. If his confrontation with Harry's friends was aired to the general public, then Krum was sure that he would be at the receiving end of more than a few glares.
With another scoff, Krum turned around to go back into the restricted section. He could at least get some studying done; he could always pick one of the older years from Hogwarts to be his dance partner.
"Appreciate it guys," Hermione thanked her friends with evident relief. Not that she feared a confrontation, but Hermione was not willing to start anything that would give bad press to Harry. Their map showed Rita Skeeter prowling in her animagus form for juicy tidbits about the 'Boy-Who-Lived'. Harry and Sirius banded together to put the witch on notice for her rumormongering and she was out for blood.
Any confrontation that Hermione may be involved in, would colour Harry's relationship with her. Being born of non-magical parents, all the purebloods would be watching for any missteps by Hermione and that is something that Hermione was careful not to do. It was unfair to her and indeed to Harry too but there was nothing they could do until the time Hermione would truly be Mrs. Potter.
With such heavy thoughts, it was no wonder that Hermione's mood did not improve during her walk towards their room. Professor McGonagall was still inside the room, looking through the book rumoured to be written by Godric Gryffindor himself, 'Magic of Transfiguration', and keeping an eye on Harry at the same time.
There was no change in Harry except that here was an oddly peaceful atmosphere around him. If Hermione was to describe it, she would have said that it was the calm after the storm. Whatever was happening inside Harry was done and settled down to a serenity that made its presence known. Hermione could not think that such a feeling of tranquility was missing in Harry's magic until she found that it was missing. Did Harry's magical core reached its maturity much earlier than it was supposed to?
Hermione wanted to raise the point with their mentor but hesitated. All that she had at this point was a suspicion based on her ability to feel the magic around her and in Harry; moreover, she could not describe the feeling to anyone, it was only to be experienced.
Before she could say anything though, Hermione suddenly felt a change in the magical energy around Harry. Usually it was a gentle breeze flowing around them without any particular pattern. When someone used a spell, the magic in the air would contort to allow the spell magic to pass through. In some cases, based on the intent of the caster, magic in nature may also enhance the spell magic overpowering the spell. Most of the wide area spells like blasting, terra forming, and other similar ones are enhanced in this way.
If Harry or she was to use the magic in nature to do their work, then they could feel the magic rushing away from them to do their bidding. Still it was always a small breeze or at the most a strong gust.
Now though, it was like a raging tornado. Harry was at the center of the tornado with the tip funneling into him at an astonishing rate. As suddenly as it started, it stopped and there was the calm once again. In just a few seconds, the calm was disturbed by a tremor that ran the whole length of Harry's arm.
As McGonagall and Hermione looked fascinated at the spectacle, the tremor ran again, almost like a shallow earthquake running just below the surface. The long dead muscles awakened from their slumber like a ripple passing through the arm but allowing them to settle back once the tremor passed through.
Harry's right hand began to twitch on its own volition. Hermione looked on with hope, not even daring to breath for fear of missing the action. The movement of the muscles had to mean something and indeed it was, they could actually see the involuntary twitching of his hand that was hitherto lying dead.
The twitching that originated in his right hand, slowly spread all over his body. By now Harry was no longer in the lotus position that was common while meditating, instead he was on his back, stretching to his fullest. It was not a controlled twitching of his muscles, but at the same time it was also not violent as seen in a person with seizures; it had a certain grace to it. The two watchers watched mesmerized as they realized that it was not actually Harry's body that was twitching, instead it was Harry's magic that was beginning to bubble out of him, morphing into his inner animal.
The twitching began to take shape into something that any mortal eye has seen before. Hermione only heard about it through Harry's description during their trip to the Native American grounds but now she was able to see it happening right in front of her very own eyes.
Just at the moment Hermione blinked and Harry was no longer in front of her, instead there stood a big animal, a little more than six feet high from the ground to its broad back. It was very inelegant looking with a body and tail of a lion but the front end of a horse. What made it borderline ugly was the tough skin resembling that of a rhinoceros and it stubby legs which were a little longer than that of an average lion, and if Hermione had to put a name to what they looked like, she would have likened them to a chess rook.
Protruding from the cranium was a 2 feet long six sided horn which was serrated on all the edges like that of a saw. If the horn was pointed with spiral pattern, it would have lent its beauty to the animal in front of her like that of a Unicorn, but even in this the Kuahee (Wa-hee) was to be disappointed. However, the horn did indeed look intimidating which was probably meant to be, as it was the only means of attack for an animal that looked to have been built for defense, if the tank like armoured body was any indication. Unlike the Unicorn, the big bulk of the Kuahee would not allow nimble feet to escape; nor would the two leathery wings, jutting out right in the middle of the back, provide any lift. The macabre ensemble was completed by the pitch black colour which dulled to grey in a few places. Overall, if not disgusted by its appearance, Harry in his Kuahee form was certainly meant to intimidate.
Sensing a change in the flow of magic within him, Harry opened his eyes. The first thing he was faced with was the incredulous looks of his girlfriend and his head of house and only then did he notice that he was on all fours. At that moment Harry felt as if he was invincible; he could feel the enormous amount of magic flowing through him but also realized that it was also draining to be in his current form. Harry did not have the time to analyze why that was because of the bubbling panic in him at the thought that he may not be able to hold the form much longer.
It was time to see what he looked like and so Harry pushed himself to his feet but suddenly the right front leg buckled under him and the gigantic beast was brought to his knees. Shaking his head, Harry flexed the injured leg in determination. Though the leg was still a deeper colouration than the rest of the limb and was thinner than the others, it looked a lot better than the blackened and emaciated arm that it was before the transformation. With a grunt of determination, he gave it another jerk, forcing some magic into it and the leg straightened out with a muffled snap. The injured limb was still weaker than the others but Harry was able to feel the strength returning to it.
"Move around Harry," Hermione prompted and Harry obliged.
It was a very relieved Harry Potter that took a few tentative steps, putting weight on his, what was once a near dead appendage. There were no more problems in him standing up straight on all his legs or move around but for a limp that was barely noticeable. Urging himself forward in his excitement, Harry was forced to look into himself as he felt a very large tug on his magical core.
It was then that Harry noticed that as long as he was stationary, it was not very taxing to him. But very quickly he understood that moving a massive weight around was not going to be very easy. The bulk of Kuahee made it impossible to move without the aid of his magic forcing his feet to strengthen and the wings to beat lending some semblance of propulsion.
Though it helped him move around, Harry quickly realized that using his magic to do something as mundane as walking was not going to allow him to anything else with his magic. He was not surprised to feel his own magical core getting recharged by the magic around him in nature but was shocked at the rate at which his magical core was getting discharged. At the rate at which it was going, discharging faster than it was getting recharged, it was inevitable that he would not have much magic left in him and he would be forced out of his transformation any moment now.
Just like that the big bulk of Kwahee was replaced by a panting Harry. He was almost on the verge of magical exhaustion and so forced himself to regain his human form before being forced out of his animagus form. There was a great chance that being forced out of his animagus form due to magical exhaustion could have put Harry into a coma. That was the reason why Sirius also forced Hermione to turn back when she was intent on curing Harry in her Wischuk state.
Thankfully, Harry retained the connection to the nature magic even when he was back into his human form and so was able to push away his tiredness as his magical core filled rapidly. Hermione did tell him that her ability to connect to nature magic was almost instinctive after she underwent her own magical animagus transformation and Harry rejoiced in the fact that he could do it now with ease too.
"I know, I know," Harry stalled Professor McGonagall's inquisitiveness, "… You want to know what happened and I am sure Hermione wants to discuss what she saw but can we please go and have some dinner? I am starving…"
They realized that it was indeed time for dinner and as the Hogwarts staff's presence was mandatory at all meals due to the presence of two other school, the transfiguration professor had to agree to that. Besides, the two teens also wanted the other professors and their family and friends to be present too.
Later…
It was actually much later, the next weekend in fact that Harry and Hermione were able to discuss the miraculous cure with their friends. Hermione's parents, Remus and Dora were also tuned into the discussion via the two way communication mirror that Sirius brought with him.
Professor McGonagall and Hermione took turns to describe what happened to Harry and what the animal looked like from their point of view. It was quite thrilling to those who heard the description of the changes but Emma wanted more, she wanted to see the transformation as they completely missed Hermione's. However, even with a pensive, Dan and Emma may not be able to appreciate the change as viewing it through the communication mirror would not be the right way, they would have to be immersed in the experience. And so with a promise that they will be home for Christmas after the ball, Harry and Hermione moved on with their explanation.
"I needed a lot of magical energy to achieve my transformation," Harry began, "… and then most of my magic was being used to keep the transformation going. If I was to use my magic for anything else, then I would exhaust my core so easily that I could very well die…"
Sirius and McGonagall were the only ones who had an animagus form among those assembled, and while the others did not, they at least had an understanding of the process. This aspect was not something that they ever heard or read about. The two animagi definitely did not experience anything like that and they voiced their protest.
"I know that Padfoot is a common Irish wolfhound," Remus was thoughtful, "… do you have any Knealze in your form Minerva?"
"No," McGonagall realized where this was going, "I am all cat…"
"You think that since they are magical animals, their magic is always active…" Professor Flitwick mused.
"It's perfectly logical," Snape contributed.
"… and he did need a lot of magical energy," Hermione brought the topic to Harry's transformation. "It was a raging vortex of magic around him…"
"Am I missing something?" Emma wanted to know. "Harry's transformation had such a high demand on magic, is that common?"
None of the teachers knew the answer to that question and so they turned to the two teens for an explanation, sure that they may have one. After all, they were the magical animagi.
The two teens explained, to the assembled magicals, what was a commonly known theory to all non-magicals. "The first law of conservation of matter states that matter can neither be created nor destroyed," Hermione explained. "This was needed to explain the origins of the universe. It is believed that in the very beginning, there was just one solid mass which later on exploded. This 'Big Bang' is what created today's known universe."
"It has been very well validated," Dan interjected helpfully. The origin of universe and so all life, was a very sore subject due to the controversies between theology and science. Everyone had their own opinion and Dan did not want anyone to go into those discussions and sour the atmosphere. He was sure that Harry or Hermione did not have an opinion either way. They believed in science and their logic accepted the explanation of the 'Big Bang', but the eternal question of what created the one big entity before that event was still unanswered.
Thankful that her father had added his support to her explanation, Hermione surged forward, "If we consider that matter cannot be created, only transformed from one form to another, then how did a tiny Harry become a gigantic unihorn?"
"Unihorn?" quite a few voices asked.
Harry answered that question, "Yeah! We decided to name my animagus form as that. It has a single horn and is a part unicorn..." ending it with a shrug.
"… and we decided to call my form, Firefox!" Hermione added enthusiastically.
"That's a nice name, but why?" Emma voiced the bewilderment of those present.
Hermione was a little disappointed by the lackluster response but Harry rallied her, "She has the form of a fox and when she moves it looks like liquid fire and so Firefox…"
Sensing that the others were still not sold on the idea, Dan came to her rescue, "It is gorgeous, just like my daughter."
Hermione sighed deeply, she felt that her dad was prejudiced, but hey, you cannot win them all, "Thanks dad," she added gratefully, her spirits were restored to almost their highest. Then again, what does it matter to her, the two men in her life were supporting her and she knew that her mum was on her side any way.
Dan wanted to not only divert the topic but was also really interested in getting to know what the two teens thought about Harry's animagus transformation. "So, how do you explain Harry's enormous bulk when there is not enough matter to support it?" he asked.
"Magic!" Ginny interjected with a cheeky grin.
Everyone had a good laugh at that. Harry patted her on her head in a patronizing manner before continuing, "Magical energy to be precise."
"As I told you before, Harry absorbed a lot of magical energy into his core before the transformation…" Hermione began her explanation but was interrupted.
McGonagall was thoughtful and probably did not even realize that she interrupted Hermione. "It was a veritable torrent. I never felt such a concentration of magic in one place. It was a wonder that the castle wards did not collapse." But what she said helped a lot in convincing the other magicals about the theories of non-magical science that Harry and Hermione were basing their interpretations on.
"Well, I believe that the castle was able to shield the wards stones. I was pulling the energy from nature and not from the ward stones themselves, that might have also protected them," Harry replied, not bothered by the divergence in the topic of discussion.
"All that energy was channeled into Harry's magical core and I suspect was needed for not just the transformation but also to make up the bulk of Unihorn," Hermione concluded.
Harry had another trivia to add, "I don't think that my core could have handled all that power if I did not absorb Quirrell's core in the first year."
All of the listeners were surprised at that. Those who knew that fact forgot about it while most of the students did not even know that such a thing was possible. Before they could pester Harry about how he got to absorb Quirrell's core, Professor McGonagall quashed that line of enquiry stating that the spell that was used was very dangerous and it was only dumb luck that Harry was able to evade that spell. The danger was stressed and the eight students knew to accept that they were not going to get the details.
"You think that some of the magical energy is being used to form the enormous body," Sirius asked a little skeptical.
Before Harry or Hermione could reply, the answer came from an unexpected source, "Einstein!" Dora exclaimed.
Sirius and Amelia were sure they heard the name somewhere, while Remus knew for sure but he still did not know the exact details. The other students had no clue what the name meant. It was obvious that only the Grangers, Harry and Dora knew not only what the name meant but also what was behind the name.
A beaming Harry took up the explanation, "Albert Einstein was a brilliant mind whose Mass Energy equivalence was thought to be the cornerstone for most of advanced physics and laws of the universe…"
"E equals m c squared," Remus whispered, suddenly wide eyed.
To most of them that comment was innocuous and so was ignored as their focus was on Harry, "What Einstein theorized was that the mass of any object is dependent on the energy that it can contain."
"Ok," Neville spoke up after digesting the information he was presented with. "I can understand that Harry needed a lot of magical energy to transform into the Unihorn form, but why was he unable to maintain it for a longer time? I know that animagi can be in their form for far longer than the 10 minutes that Harry was able to maintain?"
Hermione sighed, "Now, we enter the realm of conjecture." She turned to their transfiguration professor, "You told me that you are able to maintain your animagus form for long periods, professor. Your form is very small compared to your human form. We think that your magical core is hardly taxed during the transformation and you still have excess energy to maintain the form for long periods."
"Yes, but it was not always like that though," the transfiguration professor replied. Here she blushed a little, "In the beginning, I used to give chase to anything and everything that I could find. In my feline form I was very curious and energetic. I used to burn through my magical core very fast running around." She was pensive when she continued, "Come to think of it, only when I was able to overcome my feline urge to scamper around, I was able to last through most of the day in my animagus form. Like when I watched over your aunt and uncle for a whole day on that fateful night."
She need not specify what day it was as almost everyone present knew the story as to how Harry came to live with his relatives. Sirius had a haunted look on his face as he also tried not to think of the long days he spent as an animagus to try and escape the effect of the dementors. He spent more than a day sometimes, often eating whatever passed as food in Azkaban, in his animagus form only. Those days he did nothing except for lying down on the floor and trying not to think of his misery. Amelia sensed his morose thoughts and gave her silent support, thankfully pulling him out of the dark mood.
Shaking away his thoughts and drawing comfort from his wife Sirius added, "We all know how long Pettigrew was able to stay in his form." He jerked his head towards Ginny who nodded her head fervently; even after all these days the thought that she spent more than ten years with that traitor brought out every feeling of disgust in the young witch.
"So in a way, magical animagi require magic from a witch or wizard's core to keep their transformation going," Professor Snape summarized.
"Yes. I believe the longest time I was able to be in Firefox form was when I fell asleep trying to cure Harry. I do not know how long that was but when I am aware, I could only maintain my animagus form for about 5 hours," Hermione responded.
"Did you try to use your healing ability consciously in your form Hermione?" Luna questioned, sensing that using a magical ability may be even more draining on the magical core.
"No Luna," Hermione answered. "We do not have any means to try that out and I do not want anyone of you injuring yourselves so that I can try my ability out."
"So just keeping the Unihorn form going itself is very taxing to Harry that he could not be in that form for more than 10 minutes? That does not sound very useful…" Dan mused. Everyone present agreed to that assessment.
However, Harry and Hermione had a different view on that. "You remember what Tendou and the other Native Americans said about Kuahee?" Hermione reminded her father.
"That it's near immortal," Sirius exclaimed.
Hermione beamed at that, "We think that Harry's magic is used to not just maintain the form but also its innate ability to resist most curses, may be even the killing curse…"
"Oh my!" Professor Flitwick squeaked, "That is an amazing ability to have."
The others agreed to that sentiment easily. Even though it was very draining on Harry, the ten minutes he would be in his animagus form would make him near immortal and that was an amazing ability indeed. It was probably his inner animal that saved him when Lord Voldemort cast the killing curse at him; no one would know for sure however.
Harry was growing a little uncomfortable at the open admiration about his animagus form and so sought to divert the attention, "It just might be possible that I may not have all the abilities that a Kuahee naturally had. Then again, we cannot know for sure what abilities Kuahee might have had unless we put it to the test. But that is something that I am not keen on trying out."
"Yes," Hermione agreed instantly, "I would rather not have someone firing that killing curse at you. I like you just the way you are thank you very much."
Susan grinned at that and mimed exchanging a big sloppy kiss with Hannah who was beside her, prompting everyone to burst out laughing. They joked about it for quite a while and spent the remaining day enjoying life.
Scene Break
Sensing movement on the stairs that led down from the girls' dorm, Harry turned to see an angel walking down the stairs. Resplendent in the milky white gown, contrasting with his pitch black robes he was wearing for the occasion. Hermione's hair was well tamed and tied up in a neat bun with gentle curls on either side of her face framing it beautifully. The curls somehow accentuated her eyes and she truly looked resplendent tonight and Harry was mesmerized into immobility.
Harry did not know when he started to walk or even that he walked but he only knew that he was beside her when he next came to his senses. His ardent look conveyed all the love and admiration he had for Hermione and she was nearly overwhelmed by that emotion.
Harry took her hand in his and kissed her gently on her temple, whispering, "You are beautiful even without the veela stone, my love."
His husky voice sent a thrill down Hermione's spine but could not prevent the little guilt that crept into her heart. She did have the electric blue tear drop shaped stone gifted by the governor of the Veela colony at Marseille hanging around her neck. She wanted to be beautiful for Harry and was only sad that she had to restore to artifice to do that. If Harry had access to her thoughts at that moment he would have denied it vehemently.
Besides the magic, the electric blue stone itself was very elegant. They kept the original six pointed star shaped gold setting around the stone but Harry got a much more elaborate white gold setting added to it. The veela stone was now the center piece of a choker that added elegance and beauty to the woman wearing it.
There was a radiance around Hermione that was not usually present every day and the magic in the stone somehow brought out her features and let them shine through unhindered. The magic of the stone added to the glow in her heart; the end result was brought out on her face like a halo around her, making her the most beautiful woman in Harry's opinion. He could see Hermione outshining even Fleur tonight.
"Thank you Harry," Hermione kissed his cheek. "I wanted to be extra special for you this day. A champion like you deserves a beautiful woman on his arm."
Harry wanted to argue that she was always beautiful to him, but then he thought that the entire world would know what he always saw within his girlfriend. Who was he to deny the pleasure that Hermione might derive in not just feeling beautiful but being beautiful in every one's eyes?
He kissed the knuckles of her hand and tucked it into the crook of his elbow. "Thank you my lady. You are the best," he replied. The warmth in his tone and the genuine appreciation made her all pleasant and incredibly mushy inside. Their day to day interactions were of best friends and the truth of the matter was that they were really comfortable around each other and never thought anything about their interactions. But today…, today they were able to really appreciate being more than best friends. Today they would be two people genuinely in love.
Putting the corsage he got for Hermione, on her wrist, Harry turned towards the exit. Squaring their shoulders, the couple strode confidently towards the great hall and the ball.
Through sheer willpower, Harry gained the use of his right arm just to please her. Looking at the arm through which hers was intertwined, Hermione could see that it was darker than the rest of his body. The black colouration of dead flesh was gone only to be replaced by a brown colour that could be mistaken to an overdone tan. It was not as strong as it used to be but Hermione could see the power returning back to the arm. With a single minded goal, Harry practiced his transformation many times, exercising his leg muscles and his wings so that he could concentrate on moving around without much trouble. All of that resulted in very strong shoulders that also added a little bit of muscle to his weakened arm. Harry will probably never regain the lost strength in his right arm, but it was as near normal as it could ever be.
Students watching could now see without a shred of doubt how powerful a combination they made. They exuded an aura of confidence and thus made a charismatic couple when they entered the great hall. Their chemistry was very well known all throughout Hogwarts, but tonight, the entire world would also see that Harry and Hermione were truly meant for each other.
Harry and Hermione spent most of the ball dancing with each other, they did dance with the other friends in their group, but all the other dances were spent in the other's arms. Through proper planning, they made sure that even Ginny, Luna, and Colin could attend.
While all the witches were ogling Harry and the wizards drooling over Hermione, the couple had eyes only for each other. They noticed all the glares that were thrown their way by the envious students of the three schools, but they shrugged them off without a thought, happily basking in each other's loving presence.
It was a night of relaxation for the entire school but especially for Harry as the other days were spent in making sure that Barty Crouch Jr. was kept well away from him. Harry was sure that the peace would not last very long, he had a gut feeling that everything would come to head before the tournament ended. He could not do anything to prevent it except hope and plan to come out of it victorious if not unscathed.
With a shrug of his shoulders, he decided to put those morose thoughts away, for it was time for another turn with his beloved in his arms.
