Chapter 9

After the Twins tricked their way to the Goblet of Fire, Hermione remembered that she hadn't talk about the HECS yet and discovered that he wasn't really supportive as she expected him to be. While she was swallowing her blighted hope, the boys tried to squezze information about the Tournament outof the poor Hagrid, who never had been really good at keeping secret but managed to betray their expectation for the second time that day. He seemed to be rather concern with something else, which as Ron, Harry and Hermione soon discovered afterward, turned out to be his crush for Mme Maxime, which explained a lot about his recent and honestly rather odd relooking.

After that quite anti-climatic visit, it was already time to gather in the Great Hall to witness the selection of the three champions. Fred and George were now the new favourites of Gryffindor but Angelina still had quite a few supporter and didn't mind having the second place. As expected from Hermione's roommates talk, three of the four Hogwarts favourites - one for each house - were Quidditch Player:

Fred and George or Angelina, respectively Beaters and chasers for Gryffindor. Cedric Diggory, seeker for Hufflepuff. Cassius Warrington, Chaser for Slytherin. As for Ravenclaw, it was the prefect Marcus Turner who was foreseen as the most suitable candidate.

So there was at least one house to think that brain should prevail over brawn.

To be honest, Cedric Diggory had both on top of his pretty face so Hermione would have place her bet on him if she had been gambling. Fortunately, it was against the rules so Hermione didn't had to put her loyalty in question and could support the Twins and Angelina while knowing that, realistically, they weren't the most suitable candidate.

If she had to pick a candidate in Gryffindor, she would have said George, without an hesitation. He was the real brain of their duo. He was slightly less impulsive and more reserved. He was physically just as fit as Fred was. And from what she heard about their performance in D.A.D.A., he was doing marginally better even if the Professor Moody himself had sometime hard time to tell them apart.

But since they put their name together in the Goblet, they probably disqualified themselves, which was rather amusing after how much effort they put to submit their name. But maybe it was their plan all along. They wanted to show what they were capable of while not really trying to get in the tournament. It was maybe their actual self-advertisement for their one-day only ageing potion offer.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," Dumbledore said. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber — he indicated the door behind the staff table — where they will be receiving their first instructions."

Then, at a wave of his wand, all the candlelight extinguished, except the carved pumpkin, making the room so dark that the goblet itself was now the primarly source of light. Then, the flames turned blue and shined so bright that it was painful to look, before turning back to red at the exact moment an unscathed piece of paper escaped from the flames.

"The champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum." Dumbledore announced.

No surprise here, even if everyone from Durmstrang submitted their name, it was clear from the start that the worldly recognised seeker would be chosen.

"The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour."

If the girl was as competent as she was beautiful, the Triwizard Tournament would have a clear winner already. But Hermione was more interested in the others candidates from Beauxbatons who were extremely upset, to say the least. And from what she could assessed, not only that they were selected, but that they lose to her. It seems that despite her look, Fleur Delacour wasn't extremely popular among her peers. Was it because of her ancestry?

"The Hogwarts Champion is Cedric Diggory!"

There was no helping it. Brains and brawns combined would always win over any other combination. She was sorry for the Twins and Angelina but it was to be expected. Extremely good seeker and captain, among the best students and prefect to boot. It would have been hard to find a better choice.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore concluded happily "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real demonstration of sportmanship. I hope you will take on the chance to get to know each other over the year and make some friends. I also hope the feast would be liking and I wish you all a really happy Halloween."

Once Dumbledore was done with his speech, Hermione finally noticed that Harry was tense once he finally relaxed and immediatly knew why. There was nothing fishy that happen to Harry on this Halloween and he actually a bad history with that very day, to the point he became rather superstitious. Arguably, there was still a few hours left, but unlike the year before, there was no escaped criminal after him and no monsters roaming the castle. And so he should be fine this year.

That's was her line of thought when the Karfaroff incident came to her mind, but Durmstrang Headmaster already disappeared with his champion. Unless he was up to raiding the Gryffindor Tower in the middle of the night, Harry should be fine. But just to be sure, she would proposed him to stay up late with her in the common room. Any time, She would gladly trade a few hours of sleep for Harry peace of mind.

§§§

That night, she woke up from a terrible nightmare at the sound of Harry scream resounding in the common room. She wasn't proud of herself as she slept on her guard duty shortly after Harry dozed off on her shoulder.

"Harry, what happened?" Hermione asked, panicking.

"Nothing, a nightmare." Harry brushed it off.

"Don't call it nothing. Tell me." Hermione asked.

"You look even more frightened than I was." Harry observed.

"I had a nightmare too. I will tell you. You first." She insisted.

"Voldemort. I saw him. He is trying to come back." Harry said. "There was that snake...and a tree farm owner... it beat off his head and swallow it. And Voldemort was encouraging it."

He gave her a look that said that it was all and that he was waiting for her to reciprocate.

"You were forcefully entered in the tournament. Dumbledore did nothing but use you as a bait to lure out the culprit. Ron was jealous, really mad at you and simply wouldn't listen. And that was so stupid because there was four champion you know. But I can't forget the look on your face. That look of utter desperation when you look at me before disappearing from my sight. You were begging for someone to trust you that you didn't entered on your own volition. But no one believed you."

"Except you." Harry said.

"You are right." Hermione confirmed. "Even in my dream I wouldn't let you alone like in second year."

"You were petrified at the time. Everyone thought I did this to you. I was visiting you every single day but still... they thought I would did this to my best friend. So believing I tricked my way in the tournament while I would try proving I didn't... that would be very likely."

"I know. That's why I was so terrified. It was so real. And I had that gut feeling, in the dream but also - whether it make sense or not - outside of the dream, that you were set up as a sacrificial lamb for something... something worse that what happen to Ginny with the diary."

"Wow... I don't know which one of our dreams is the worst but yours sound pretty hardcore too."

"No one got his head beat off in mine." Hermione retorted. "Maybe you should talk about it to Sirius."

"I don't know." Harry replied uncertain "He is really supportive and everything but... he really doesn't need this."

"Harry. I know that despite his façade, he is barely recovering. But it's not about what he need but what you need."

"I will write him a letter" He promised. "But if my dream is alarming enough, you should talk to someone about yours."

"It's already in the past and it didn't happened." Hermione retorted once again.

"I'm not worried about the dream." Harry argued back. "I'm worried about your panic attack once you woke up. You were really out of your mind. I thought you were hurt, physically hurt. Worse: I checked on you and you didn't react for over ten seconds."

"I... I need you to keep quiet about it. I had weird symptoms those last few months. I don't know what happening to me but I'm pretty sure that's is beyond anyone understanding." Hermione admitted.

"Tell me." Harry asked, leaving her no room to arguments.

"I... it started with the shrieking shack. Like an out of body experience. I didn't felt like I was the one in command but I was doing all those things and it was me...but not me... and then... I had that seizure and I woke up, feeling perfectly fine. I had doubt but nothing weird happened up until the 1st September. Back in the Hogwarts Express... I realised that my learning pace was abnormally fast. Don't look at me like that! My mind felt clearer too. Then it was my magic... and had the feeling... like I had a sudden growth in power. And finally, this. I promise I told you everything."

"I trust you." Harry replied. "About that sudden growth you are talking about, show me."

Hermione knew he didn't ask her that because he didn't believe her but because he wanted to assess how much that growth was. None other than Harry knew her and her magic so much. He was the only one to actually pay attention and that was one thing he always pay attention to as she knew he admired her skill just as much as only she truly appreciated the depth of his raw talent.

She poured her magic into her wand without casting any spell and the tip of her wand gave of sparkles, a shower of it, to the point she could use it instead of a lumos and see perfectly fine in the dark.

"Beautiful." Harry couldn't help but let it slip. "But I kind of see your point. At this rate, you might be on par with Sirius by the end of the year and he is..."

"34 years old." Hermione cut him out.

"I was about to say 'a grew up adult' but you are right." Harry said. "You should asked Mme Pomfrey about it. That massive growth might take a toll on your body. If that's the case, better fix it while it's still... manageable"

"Thank you for the euphemism." Hermione said grimly.

"I can go to the infirmary with you if you need the moral support." Harry proposed.

"I will take you up on that offer. I will probably chicken out without you." Hermione admitted.

"First thing in the morning?" Harry asked.

"First thing in the morning." Hermione confirmed.

And then, they exchanged a 'good night' conforting hug before going their separate way to their dorm.

§§§

They next morning, Harry accompanied Hermione to the infirmary as promised.

She described to Poppy Pomfrey her abnormal magical growth and as she planned to leave it at them, Harry betrayed her and told the nurse everything, E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. To say that Hermione was mad at Harry was an understatement. But she kept her mouth shut, ignored the matron disapproving look for withholding information, and let her do her work.

She did her a full checked up, then went to her office to compare it to her previous data. When the nurse went back to them, her face had considerably whitened.

"I can't believe I missed it." She admitted, apologetic.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"It hard to explain." The nurse started. "But the short version is: the excessive magic in your body isn't your, but belong to someone else."

"What?" Hermione shouted suddenly, remembering the 'demon' theory she had earlier.

"I'm going to explain." Poppy Pomfrey explained before coming back from her office with two glasses of pumpkin juice and a U shaped potion vial. "This glass represent your magic and the pumpkin juice in it, your magic." She showed her the glass with the less pumpkin juice in it. "And this is someone else" She showed the another one. "And this is what happened" She said, before putting the two glasses on the nearest bed table, and plunged the U shaped vial in the two glasses, connecting them, the experience concluding as Hermione already knew it would: the two glasses stabilize at the same level of pumpkin juice, effectively transfering some of the content from one glass to another, almost instantly.

"This is what is happening to you." Poppy concluded "Minus the fact that your body is a growing container and that you magic is also growing as we speak."

"That doesn't explain how a stranger magic got connected and transfer to me without me knowing." Hermione retorted.

"I don't think it's a stranger" Poppy Pomfrey retorted. "Actually, I would like to test all your friends, acquaintances, and if needed be classmates and housemates. Starting with you, Mr Potter. Since you are here, better give it a try right away, don't you think?"

"Anything to get Hermione feel better" Harry immediately complied.

"I have been used to a lot more resistance from you, Mr Potter." The nurse commented with a smile.

She did again her whole check-up, compare the result and conclude.

"And you are positive." Poppy Pomfrey concluded.

"What does that mean?" Harry asked while Hermione was looking at her friend with a newfound intensity.

"That's mean you are the culprit, Mr Potter." The nurse said, definitive, before looking at both of them really intently. "Now, let me asked you 'the question'...did you tried yourself at a blood ritual recently?"

"Blood ritual?" Harry repeated, completely lost, as he had yet to recover from the previous news.

"Family Ancient Magic. A really powerful and nasty kind this one. But it can also be used by wizards and witches who aren't blood relatives, by exchanging each other blood."

"How could Harry and I would have exchanged our blood? We did nothing of such." Hermione asked.

"By drinking each other blood" Poppy Pomfrey proposed. "Having sex might have this kind of unforseen result too."

Both teeanagers reddened at this comment, couldn't look at each other anymore but both vehemently denied having done anything of such. The best friend and 'she is like my sister' argument where also used. So the nurse kickly dropped it, understanding that it was a minefield subject. She scribbled a note really quickly before putting it into a pipe where it almost instantly disappeared upward. Only second after that, a pile of books from the library appeared on her desk with a bang and she went to retrieve it.

"Those are some books I highly recommended to you miss Granger."

Hermione quickly read the titles and started to put things together as she read it:

"Everything you want to know about blood magic: Blood Oath, Accidental Magic and Accidental Bonding."

"The three brothers or the legend of Blood Oath."

"Tales of Beedle the Bard: Classic Edition"

"A brief history of Magical Bonding."

"A survival guide to Blood Engagement."

"Emotional intelligence:your social lifeline guide."

For the first time in her life, she did the unthinkable, a true sacrilege in her book and threw anything out of her sight.

"Nope. Certainly not. I won't accept this when it's really clear you don't have any clear idea what's happening to me... to us."

"That's true Miss Granger... I can't explain half of your symptoms. And even the ones I can explain, it's like you developed them overnight. There are so much things that doesn't make sense that I barely know where to start. But this... -She pointed at the books on the floor - I had seen enough of it to bet my career on it."

"Then we agree to disagree" Hermione challenged her. "May I leave...? Madam." She spitted the last word as an insult.

"There isn't much I can help you with on this one." Poppy Pomfrey admitted.

"I would take that as a yes." Hermione concluded before storming out.

And then, the nurse was left with Harry to explain a thing or two.

§§§

"The Blood Oath is a ritual that involved all the participants drinking each other blood before making a promise to each other. The cryptic legend stated that the oath couldn't be broken, even in death. However, the meaning of that statement have yet to be clarified.

Some scholars are hypothesizing that the last survivor of such an oath isn't freed from his promise, like it would be the case with the Unbreakable.

Some old wizards familly are claiming that the Blood Oath can be passed down from a generation to another and that the Blood Oath was used in the ancient time for none-agression pact between families. The most famous example being the Three Brothers, whom knowing they were about to be tricked by Death, concluded a pact not to kill each other, a pact that would have been passed down from a generation to another to prevent them to end each other bloodline and claim each other most prized heirloom: the deathly hallows.

But the practice of Blood Oath had been given up after several case of double suicide, to the point that, alledgelly, even You-Know-Who had given up on using it, as the Oath had became infamous for its extreme nastiness over the course of the six last centuries. It must be noticed that at its peak of popularity, a fanatical sect called 'The Blood Church' was casually using the Blood Oath to consecrated the christenings, marriages and last rites."

Hermione quickly gave up on that book and tried another.

"Good relationship must be viewed in the same way as a good trading. For a relationship to have a good development, be it a commercial, friendly or romantic relationship, reciprocity is the key. But it doesn't mean that each parties as to reciprocate in the same way as each individual has different needs. In the end, like a good deal, everyone is satisfied once they got what they needed at what they think is an affordable price.

Being too greedy or too lenient with your relationship would always lead to doom as each relationship is like dancing a waltz, ten feet in the air, on a slippery rope. Finding balance in a relationship is essential but once you found it, that doesn't mean the end to your efforts as the equilibrium point of the relationship would always change and you will always have to read your partner next move to adjust to it.

In the end, a relationship can be sum up as an ever-ending dialogue of wants and needs, which are changing the moment they are fulfilled. It's impossible to fulfil each of someone needs but missing too much of them would also lead to the relationship to went astray. Also, as the waltz, changing partners several time a day is vital. It let the relationship breath while letting someone else takeover and fulfilled the needs that are beyond your capabilities.

That's why lovers needs to accept each other friends to have a healthy relationship. That's why the commercial competition benefits to everyone in the market. It lead to a differentiation strategy, which shift the monopolistic-competitive equilibrium, while in the end, offering better products to the customers and better deals for the businessmen.

In conclusion, the main point of emotional intelligence is that you are working with life itself. People are changing. There is a constant need to adapt to a new normal in a relationship, it need awareness, understanding, acceptance and a constantly renewing dialogue with both yours and your partner interests in mind. Failing to do that would damage the relationship and ultimately, lead it to failure."

And that book was no better... bad enough to be called a waste of paper actually. What was the point of a guide which didn't meant to give any clear advices?

In the end, she ended up reading the Tales of Beedle the Bard and feeling refreshed by the nonsensical fairy tales that wizards used to tell to their children.

Her favourite was Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump because it was the most crazy but genuine and kind story of the lot. It perfectly sum up the wizard point of view of muggles in the nicest way possible. Plus, that a rabbit animagus saved all the witches and wizards of the kingdom was a lesson of humility to the ever-griddy individuals. It was possibly one of the most harmless animagus that she could think of, and probably the cutest one.

"What are you laughing about?" Harry asked, prudently.

"You should read this." She replied, handing him the book.

"I wish I grew up with those kind of bedtime stories."

"The Dursleys read bedtime stories to you?"

"Sure." He replied with a hear-to hear smile. "It's the story of a little boy who wasn't doing his chores and was arguing all day long. The first day, he found scratch on his bedroom door. The second night, he heard the screech of the beast, coming to take him. The third day, he went missing, never to be seen again. And the moral of this story: do your chores and keep quiet or the beast would come to pick you too."

Hermione was left speechless.

"Yeah... I know. Aunt Petunia is quite the storyteller, right? I have dozens of stories like this one."

"I don't want to know." Hermione stated firmly. "And your Aunt really shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a child."

"I won't disagree on this one." He approved before inquiring: "We are still okay?"

"Yes Harry... nothing will ever come between us. Not Poppy... not her damn books... we are clear and nothing change."

"I note you still call her by name." Harry noticed. "Don't be too harsh on her. She was really trying to help even if on that case... I have a deal for you."

"I'm listening."

"We pretend this morning never happened, put all those books into a corner and we figure it out our way."

"I can't agree more on this one!" Hermione exclaimed while shutting the Tales of Beedle the Bard, never to open it again.

That's it. I know I never explained the prologue. There is a lot going on with that one and this is the first step in explaining it out.

As you can see, I had yet another layer to 'why Voldemort can't kill Harry', the answer being: they are both Peverell and the last members of their respective bloodline. I'm a real supporter of the prophecy with surviving meaning 'barely surviving' and living meaning 'living a decent life'. It perfectly fit with the fact that none of them can move on while the other is still alive. But they can't kill each other for extenuating circumstances that are piling up to the point it can hardly be called a coincidence.

Also I went on with Harry and Hermione having a soul bond. I teased it with the Prologue and already confirmed it with the Chapter 1. As per my own logical on the subject "magic can force a bonding between two individuals but cannot create the feelings" so don't expect much at this stage. I just wanted to confirm it at this stage as it would have consequences later on.

I have some really interesting idea — yet not fully original — for chapter 10. I hope you will like it as I'm pretty damn nervous about this one.