AN: My name is Inigo of Motunui. You will board my boat, and prepare to die. What's that Bill? You're reminding me to stop quoting various movies at the start of my author notes? Well, I hate to break it to you, bud, but you're a little late. What do you mean, I never specified when to remind me? OBVIOUSLY BEFORE I MAKE THE QUOTE! Uuuuuuargh. Note to self: get new henchman.

What is up, everybody? So I know that I praised you guys in the last chapter, but I'm going to do it again. You guys are fucking awesome. Since the last upload, there's been 44 more favorites, 76 more followers, and oh, 1,644 more views. You guys seriously rock. I never expected this story to be this successful after less than a week of it being published. Thank you all for making this past week fucking rock. It brings a smile to my face every time that I get an email saying that someone else has followed, favorited, or reviewed this story.

I wanted to respond to BountyHunter1977's review on here real quick before we get started with the chapter. Their review was: "I am sure if they find the ROR it will have all the answers they need for Horcruxs and a safe way to remove it." My answer to that is: no, they won't. Yes, the room can create anything they can think of that they need at the time, but I draw the line on what the room can do at solving the protagonist's problems for them. I'll allow the room to help them, but I'm not going to allow the room to suddenly give them the information to defeat anything that comes at them.

So with all of that out of the way, I'll let you guys get to reading. So without further ado, I present to you Chapter III of Finding Truth!

Word Count (Without AN): 6,395

When Harry never came back down to the common room, Hermione grew curious and went to look for him. Walking up the stairs to the boys' dorms, Hermione pushed open the door that had belonged to Harry's room for the past three and a half years.

Inside, she could see Harry sitting against his headboard, reading a book. Hermione wasn't sure if she should feel offended or proud of her boyfriend. Proud that he abandoned her for reading, which was always a good way to pass the time, or offended that her boyfriend abandoned her for a book, which was insignificant compared to her. Don't get her wrong: she was not a vain person whatsoever, but she knows her worth.

Walking over to his bedside, she looked at the title of the book and instantly became concerned. What was Harry doing reading about Dark Arts? Surely, he wasn't planning on using them to aid him with the tasks, was he?

She placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, and he looked up at her, startled. "Hermione! I didn't see you there. What are you doing in here?"

"Well, when you didn't come back downstairs, I thought that I would check up on you. Why are you reading a book on the Dark Arts? I figured you of all people would hate them."

Harry closed the book and set it down on his side table, sitting up as he did so. "Sorry, Hermione. I was going to come back down, but there was this book on my pillow. When I opened it up, there was a not inside, with Dobby's name written all weird. Once I read it, Dobby appeared and told me that someone had asked him to deliver the book. Said it was someone named 'Geengass,' whatever that means. I decided to take a look, and it seems like whoever Geengass is, they wanted me to take a look at whatever a Horcrux is."

"What's a Horcrux?" Hermione asked, not even bother to hide her ever-present curiosity.

Harry swung his legs off the bed, facing Hermione properly. "Near as I can tell, it's a way to become immortal, but it's dark stuff. I don't even want to get into how you make one, but it's terrible. Anyways, after someone completes the ritual process, it splits their soul in two. The person can then put their soul into an inanimate object, allowing them to cheat death. If they get killed, someone can use the soul in the container to try and bring them back."

To say that Hermione was stunned was an understatement. She took a few steps back, and once the back of her knees hit Seamus's bed, she sank onto the covers. Immortality? The only known way to do that was with a Philosopher's Stone, but the only one of them that had been created was destroyed in their first year.

But from what Harry had said, it wasn't true immortality. A person could still die; it was just possible to bring them back from the dead. Hermione glanced at the book before turning her gaze back to Harry.

"The book- does it say what happens to a person when they die if they have a Horcrux?" She asked him.

Furrowing his brows, Harry picked up the book once more, flipping the pages to the chapter on Horcruxes. After reading for a few minutes, Harry set the book down on his bed and looked back towards Hermione. "It says that when someone dies, they're not quite dead, but they're not really alive either. They exist as a sort of specter, but they're not ghosts. The book describes it as some sort of limbo."

Harry watched as Hermione thought about the information he had just told her and could practically see the gears turning in her head. After a moment, her eyes widened, a sudden idea striking her.

"Harry, what if Voldemort has made one of these Horcruxes? What if that's how he's still around after all these years after you've supposedly killed him?"

As Hermione's words washed over him, the blood drained from Harry's face. "Shite, that's it. That's how he's still around. That's how he can keep tormenting me, year after year," he said, fear evident on his features. "The diary in second year- the one that possessed Ginny- I'd bet anything that it was a Horcrux. The thing is, this book doesn't explain how to make more than one of them, or even what making more than one of them can do."

Hermione was now confused. "What do you mean, make more of them? For all we know, Voldemort is gone. He hasn't been heard from since you destroyed the diary, other than his Death Eaters making an appearance at the World Cup."

Harry looked away from her, a bit of a shameful expression on his face, and Hermione could tell that he was hiding something from her. "Harry…" Hermione said warningly.

"Promise me you won't be mad?" Harry asked, wincing.

"Tell me what you've been keeping from me, and then I'll decide if I'm going to be mad or not."

Harry sighed, looking back up at Hermione. She was now standing, arms crossed, with her lips pressed together. 'Shite, I've really pissed her off. Is it wrong that I think she looks hot when she's like this? Probably, right?'

"I had a nightmare over the summer. I don't really know what to make of it, but I saw Voldemort murder the groundskeeper of some mansion. Wormtail was there, and Voldemort had some kind of snake that he was feeding on. They talked about coming after me, needing me for a ritual. You don't think that they mean to use me to make a Horcrux, do you?"

"Is that part of the ritual?" Hermione asked, to which Harry hesitantly nodded. "It might, but not very likely. If he wanted to make you into a Horcrux, he would have tried to do it in our first year. Instead, he just tried to kill you. But- but it didn't work."

Harry quirked an eyebrow at his girlfriend. "What didn't work?"

"His attempt to kill you! It didn't work! You said that he burned and crumbled to dust every time that he tried to touch you, right?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Then he needs a way to beat it if he ever wants to kill you. The ritual they were talking about was likely a way for him to overcome the protections that you have on your person. But it doesn't make much sense, though, does it? Why would he go through so much trouble to break the protections on you if he still didn't have a human body?"

Harry scoffed, "Probably so that one of his Death Eater lackeys can finish me off."

Hermione shook her head, raising her hand to her chin. "I don't think so, Harry. Voldemort is the kind of person that wants to do the job himself. He wouldn't let one of his 'underlings' defeat you. He wants that honor all for himself. He wouldn't leave you vulnerable if he couldn't take care of you himself," She said, continuing to think on the subject. "I think that he's going to try and come back the same night he tries to get ahold of you. Might even try to do it in the same ritual."

If it were possible, Harry's face got a few shades whiter. Voldemort had done a lot of damage and had caused a lot of trauma to a lot of people by just being a freaking specter. Harry didn't even want to think of what Voldemort could do if he had a physical form. So, he wouldn't.

"Even if that's his endgame, the point is that he's still around. That means that the diary wasn't the only Horcrux that he made. That means that there's more out there, and he's still immortal. That means he can't be defeated, and if he can't be defeated, then what hope does this world have?!" Harry yelled, standing up. "What hope do I have?! He's never going to stop coming for me! He'll never stop, and if he can't be stopped, then I'm as good as dead!"

SMACK

Harry sat back down on the bed, his hand raising to cover his cheek. He looked up at Hermione, who was standing over him with tears in her eyes. The sight hurt him worse than basilisk venom.

"Don't you dare speak like that, Harry James Potter! You make it sound like you've already given up! You can't do that! You have been the only thing that has been stopping Voldemort from coming back these past few years. In first year, you stopped him from gaining access to the Philosopher's Stone, and in second, you stopped him from using Ginny's life force to come back. If you give up, you're letting him win! You're throwing away everything your parents sacrificed!"

And that hurt more than anything ever had. He wanted to become angry with her for bringing his parents into this, for using them against him. But he knew that she was right. His mother and father hadn't given their lives just so that fourteen years later, he could give up and let Voldemort kill him. He wouldn't let Riddle have the satisfaction.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. Heh, I feel like I've been saying that a lot lately. It's just a lot to deal with, you know? It's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when it seems like that tunnel just caved in on you. How is Voldemort supposed to be defeated if he's immortal? If he can't be put down permanently, then how can he ever be stopped?"

Hermione moved forward, sitting down next to him. Taking one of his hands, she used her other to cup his cheek and make him look at her. "We'll find a way, Harry. We always do. What happened when Sirius was going to be killed?"

"We used your Time-Turner to save him," Harry whispered.

"And what did we do when we couldn't get into the Slytherin common room without being spotted?"

"You brew Polyjuice Potion for a month. Ended up with some pretty interesting side effects, too."

Hermione chuckled, gazing back up into Harry's eyes. "And what happened when you needed a date for the Yule Ball?"

"I made the best decision of my life and listened to you," Harry said, glancing to her lips.

Hermione pulled him closer, pressing her lips to hers. Harry fell against the bed, pulling her with him. Harry wrapped his arms around her back while hers went to his messy hair, making it worse if that was even possible.

Harry had never felt this good in his life. Finally, he had the woman he loved in his arms, and he couldn't be happier. The same could be said for one Hermione Granger. She had fantasized about doing this, among other things, for the past two years, and she was over the moon.

Their lips remained joined as much as possible, the two of them only parting to come up for air when absolutely necessary. Unfortunately for the young couple, they had forgotten that they were currently making out in a shared dorm room and were made very aware of this fact when one of the other occupants walked in on them.

"What the bloody fuck is this?!"

Hermione pulled her head back from Harry's, and he squeezed his eyes shut in frustration. Why was it that any time something good started to happen to him, it seemed like Ronald Fucking Weasley would show up and ruin it lately?

Harry opened his eyes and looked to the doorway, finding Ron standing there, face red and fists clenched. Unfortunately, his face still looked the same. Pity. Harry was hoping that, while he couldn't remember it, the beating he gave Ron would've done some kind of permanent damage to the boy.

Harry gently moved Hermione off him and to the side so that he could sit up. Ron walked into the room, moving so that he could stand over Harry's sitting form. Harry looked up at him and saw nothing but pure malice in Ron's eyes. Harry could tell that their relationship would never be as it was.

Harry stood up, standing face-to-face with Ron. For the second time in as many days, they stared each other down. Harry didn't want to give Ron the satisfaction of causing Harry to look away first, but by this point, he was tired of this. He was tired of fighting Ron, tired of having to put up with his bullshit- he was just tired of Ron in general. So rather than keep the immature staring contest they had going, Harry stepped around Ron and began to make his way towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ron asked, grabbing Harry by the shoulder.

Without a moment of hesitation, Harry turned around and delivered a strong right hook to Ron's jaw. The boy let go of Harry's shoulder and fell to the ground, clutching the latest of his Harry-caused injuries.

"I don't know what I have to do to get it through your thick skull Ron. I don't want anything to do with you ever again. Don't come near me, don't try to talk to me, and if you ever lay a hand on me again, the beating I'll give you will make the one from yesterday look like I was playing pattycake. I swear to you, Ron, don't fucking test me."

With that, Harry got up and walked down the stairs, across the common room, and out the portrait hole. He needed to talk to Professor McGonagall about his living arrangements because if he didn't, Ron would not live to see the end of his fourth year.

"Harry, wait!"

He slowed his pace, looking over his shoulder, finding Hermione hurrying after him. Harry stopped and waited for her, continuing to walk when she had caught up to him.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm going to see Professor McGonagall. If I have to keep staying in that room with him all year, I'm going to end up doing something that will get me a spot reserved in Sirius's old cell."

Hermione was taken aback by his words. She knew that there was no love lost between Harry and Ron, but she didn't think that it had gotten that bad. Then again, Harry did just knock Ron on his ass for putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Do you really think that they're going to allow you to switch rooms just because you have a problem with one of your roommates?"

Harry sighed, running his hand down his face. "I hope so. I really don't think that I can last the next three and a half years staying in the same room as him. Hell, I don't think that I can spend the rest of this year staying in the same room as him."

They walked the rest of the trip in silence, Hermione not really having a response for Harry. The walk to Professor McGonagall's office wasn't far, and once they arrived, Harry raised his fist and knocked.

"Come in."

Harry pushed open the door, finding his head of house sitting behind her desk, looking at various pieces of parchment. She looked up at the two Gryffindors over the lenses of her glasses, setting her quill down as she did so.

"Is there something I can help you with, Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger? You should be getting back to Gryffindor Tower. After all, it is almost curfew."

Harry approached her desk, standing on the other side of it. "Professor, I was wondering if it would be possible for me to have separate sleeping arrangements than Ron Weasley. It's become clear over the past couple of days that we cannot be in each other's presence for more than a few minutes before he becomes belligerent and hostile towards me."

Professor McGonagall cocked an eyebrow at Harry, thinking that he most certainly belonged in Gryffindor, coming to her like this.

"Mr. Potter, I think that you've made it quite clear to everyone that you are more of a danger to Mr. Weasley than he is to you. You are the one that put him in the Hospital Wing yesterday, did you not?"

Harry looked down at the top of her desk for a moment, ashamed. Not for having beaten Ron, but for having disappointed Professor McGonagall. Despite her attempt to punish him and her not believing him about the Stone in his first year, Harry looked up to Professor McGonagall. She was the one that facilitated his love for flying by getting him his Nimbus 2000, and she was one of the few staff members at Hogwarts that seemed to actually care about him. Sure, there was Dumbledore, but it was almost unhealthy the way that Dumbledore seemed to fixate on Harry sometimes.

"Yes, I did attack him. And I won't apologize for it, even if I don't remember it. The things he said were abhorrent and vile. I could have gone to you or another teacher about it, but that would have just gotten him in detention, and it wouldn't have changed a damn thing.

"I came to you tonight because even after what happened yesterday, Ron still tried to antagonize me, and he put hands on me first tonight. Like I said, it's become obvious that things will continue to become more violent between us, and I would like to prevent any further incidents."

Professor McGonagall looked at Harry for a few moments, thinking about what her answer will be. Harry could simply be moved to another year's dorm room, one with an empty bed. But if what Harry was telling her was true, then Ron would continue to seek Harry out and make problems.

That meant that Harry had to go placed in an entirely different part of the castle. The problem was that beyond the Head Boy and Girl's dormitories, there weren't any other suitable residences. Any of the other dormitories in the castle were in disrepair from disuse. Although, with a little help from the House Elves, one of the rooms would be able to be fixed up fairly soon.

"Peeky!"

With a crack, a female House Elf appeared next to Professor McGonagall, looking up at the professor. From behind Harry, he could hear Hermione make a 'humph' in annoyance. "Missy Minnie be calling Peeky?" the elf asked.

Noting Harry's sniggers, she looked up at the fourteen-year-old. "Not a word, Mr. Potter."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Professor."

Professor McGonagall turned back to the house elf, looking down over the side of her desk. "Peeky, would you please ready one of the matrimonial rooms for Mr. Potter?" She asked.

"Yes, miss."

"Um, Professor?" Harry spoke up.

Professor McGonagall turned towards Harry, quirking an eyebrow. "Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"I know that I haven't spoken to her about it, but I think another room should be prepared for Hermione. If Ron can't control himself around me, then there's no way that he's going to be able to control himself around her, and I don't want her getting hurt."

"Astute observation, Mr. Potter. While I am sorry that it must come to this, I do not believe your fears are unfounded. If Mr. Weasley really is behaving as you say, then I'd rather not take any chances when it comes to the safety of my students. Peeky, would you please prepare another room? Have Dobby help you."

"Yes, Missy Minnie." Peeky said, disappearing with a crack.

Professor McGonagall turned back to her two Gryffindors. "You'll find your new rooms on the seventh floor, about twenty meters past a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Your belongings will already be in your rooms waiting for you. Now you best hurry, unless you want Mr. Filch to catch you out of bed after hours."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said and left the room, stopping to grab Hermione's hand on the way out.

Minerva smiled to herself as the couple left her office. It would appear that she won the pool. Filius would be absolutely furious to find out that he had missed the mark by a single week.

/\/

-O.O-

Harry and Hermione followed Professor McGonagall's instructions, passing the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, and found both House Elves waiting outside adjacent rooms.

"Harry Potter, sir! Peeky and I has readied your rooms for you and his Miss Grangy!" Dobby said, bouncing up and down in excitement.

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the elf's antics. While he had tried to kill him at first, under the guise of keeping him safe, the little elf had begun to grow on him over the past two years.

"Thank you very much, Dobby. And you as well, Peeky. We appreciate it very much." Harry said.

"Oh, he appreciates what I's done! Oh, youse is too kind, Harry Potter! Youse is the greatest wizard of all time!" Dobby exclaimed, running forward to shake Harry's hand.

Harry's face grew slightly red at the elf's actions. He looked to Hermione, who only watched on in amusement. She had known all about Harry's misadventures with Dobby in the past and found it amusing to see the elf act in such a way now.

"It's okay, Dobby. You don't need to thank me. Is there anything else that you or Peeky need to show us before we tuck in for the night?"

"No, sir. We's bein extra careful with your things. They be already set up for you in yous rooms. Dobby really be looking forwards to seeing yous more often, sir!"

Now Harry was confused. "What do you mean, seeing me more often?" He asked.

"Missy Minnie has mades us youses helpers! Wes cleans your rooms and makeses sure that youses have the things youses need. The Come and Go room is rights down the hall, too! Yous be able to see all kinds of elves waiting outside for the door to open!"

"What's the Come and Go room?" Hermione asked, her inquisitive nature taking over.

"It bes the most wonderful room in the castle, miss!" Peeky said. "It bes the room where we elves put alls the broken and unused things around the castle! But it also bes much more than that! It can bes any room yous wants! Just walks past it three times, thinking of the room, and it will becomes it!"

Harry was a little skeptical at hearing this. A room that can become any room you want? Why hadn't they heard about this room before? If anything, Harry expected Hermione to have found it in Hogwarts: A History by now.

"Meow."

Harry turned, catching a glimpse of Mrs. Norris's tail as she ran off down the corridor. That meant that Filch would be there very shortly, and they needed to get in their rooms before that happened.

"As much as I know this intrigues you, Hermione, we better get inside. Filch is going to be here soon, and I'd rather not get detention with him for standing in the corridor outside of our rooms," Harry said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Hermione sighed, not wanting to give away a chance to learn something new. "I suppose you're right. Let's get inside before he comes, and we get into trouble."

Harry smiled at her, pulling her in close, and planted his lips on hers. Harry held her close, never wanting to let go.

"Meow."

Harry pulled away from Hermione, looking back down the corridor to see Mrs. Norris in her full form. If she was here, then Filch was going to be here any second. Harry turned back to Hermione, cupping her face in his hands.

"As much as I love kissing you, I'd rather not get into trouble with Filch right now. We should get a move on, love," Harry said, giving Hermione one more quick kiss before opening her door for her, bowing as he did so. "Milady."

Hermione smirked at his antics, pecking him on the cheek as she passed him. Harry closed her door softly before hurrying to his when he heard the tell-tale wheezy breathing of Argus Filch.

Once he was safely inside his room, he took a moment to look around at the new space. He was now standing in what appeared to be a common room, although it was smaller than Gryffindor Tower's. Along the wall to his left were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, complete with a ladder for access; across from that was an ornate fireplace, currently ablaze.

There were two other doors aside from the one that Harry had just come through. One was to the left of the fireplace, while the other was direct across the room from him. Deciding to look at the one to his right first, Harry crossed the room and examined the door. There was nothing remarkable about the door, being a simple dark oak door with a simple design.

He pulled the door open and found that he was now looking into a room that was the mirror of his. Walking into it, he saw that it was a replica of the room he had just left, with everything on the opposite sides of the room. His attention was drawn from the rest of the room when a door to his left opened, revealing Hermione Granger in an outfit that caused Harry's brain to short-circuit.

She was dressed in hot pink shorts that came down to just above mid-thigh, and a t-shirt that was frankly a little too small for her because it caused two inches of her waist to be exposed. But to be honest, Harry was way too distracted by her bust. Let's just say that it was obvious that Hermione had decided to take her bra off for the night, and Harry was loving every minute of it.

While Harry was still trying to figure out how to process any words other than 'Hermione' and 'hot,' Hermione glanced up to find her boyfriend standing in the middle of her new common room, staring at her. She gave a slight shriek as she had expected to walk back out to an empty room.

"Harry James Potter! Just what do you think you're doing?" Hermione practically yelled at him.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, this was enough to break his trance on his girlfriend. He moved his gaze eight inches higher than where it had been previously, finding the dangerous glare of one Hermione Jean Granger.

'I'm so fucked.' Harry thought.

"I'm waiting for an answer, mister. What are you doing in my room?"

Now, despite what people may think, Harry Potter was not smooth when it came to speaking to a person of the opposite sex. Especially when said member of the opposite sex was his girlfriend, angry and directing all that anger at him.

"I- I- I-" Harry stuttered.

"You, you, you, what?" Hermione mocked scathingly.

"I- I was ex-exploring my room. Th-there was this d-door that was n-next to the fireplace, and I o-opened it. I-it led to in he-here."

Say what you will about Harry Potter, but he had faced down Voldemort on multiple occasions, he had fought and killed a basilisk with a sword, he had waved off over one hundred Dementors with a single Patronus, and he had outflown a dragon. And you should believe him when he would say that none of those things compare to an angry Hermione Granger.

Harry couldn't tell if Hermione's gaze softened slightly or if it was just the reflection of the fireplace in her eyes. "Harry, that's because these are His-and-Hers suites. Didn't you hear Professor McGonagall? These were suites designed for married students to stay in so that they could be together," She said, crossing the room to where Harry stood, gazing up at him.

Now that it had been explained to him, Harry found that it should have been rather obvious what the door was for. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean to intrude on your privacy. It makes sense now that you mention it, but I didn't know what the door was for and wanted to see what was behind it. I found it rather odd that it was a mirror copy of my common room."

Hermione closed her eyes and pushed out a deep breath through her nose. How could she stay mad at him when he looked so damn good when he was apologizing? Opening her eyes, she gazed up into his emerald orbs.

"It's alright, Harry," she said, lifting her right hand to cup his face. "Just don't think that you can come through that door whenever you want. Professor McGonagall didn't have to give us these rooms, and I'd rather not have them be taken away because we're using them as an oversized broom closet."

Harry smirked at this, something that Hermione found absolutely adorable. Did he have to look so damn good all the time? "Why, Miss Granger, what kind of man do you take me for? I'll have you know that I use the most pristine of broom closets when engaging in… extracurricular activities with someone. Rest assured, this room does not meet those standards," he said, adopting a 'high society' tone.

Hermione couldn't have stopped the laugh coming if she tried. Her face broke into a wide smile, and the laughter spilled from her lips, and Harry knew that it would be an image he would never forget.

"Well, that is good to know. But smooth as you are, Mister Potter, we should be getting to bed. I would not be surprised if Peeky and Dobby will be around to report to Professor McGonagall if we do something we're not supposed to. You should probably head back to your room and get some sleep. We do have a big day at Hogsmeade tomorrow."

It was like being hit by a bludger in the stomach, and believe him, he knew what that felt like. He had completely forgotten to talk to Hermione about Professor Dumbledore's punishment, and he had no idea how she would take it.

"Yeah… about that," he said, scratching the back of his head as he averted his gaze from hers.

Hermione quirked an eyebrow and tilted her head, looking at Harry's face. "What about it?"

Harry sighed, looking back at Hermione. "For beating Ron yesterday, Professor Dumbledore is barring me from going to Hogsmeade tomorrow."

"But what about Christmas presents? And I know that you don't have any dress robes yet."

"I don't know. Unless somebody is willing to buy my things and I can pay them back, it looks like I'm not going to be able to get anybody anything."

Crack

"Please, Mister Harry Potter, sir, please do not be mad at Dobby. Dobby heard your problem, sir, and Dobby be willing to get your things for you! If Dobby could take yous measurements and have some of yous monies, then Dobby can get yous things for you!"

Harry and Hermione stared down at the House Elf, surprised at the elf's initiative. "Dobby? What are you doing here? I thought that elves generally kept out of sight unless someone called for them?" Harry asked.

"That is the norm, yes, sir. But Dobby is a free elf, so Dobby can go where Dobby wants, sir! When Dobby heard of your problem, Dobby knew he could help!"

Harry looked back at Hermione, a questioning look on his face. She looked back with her best 'you must be joking' look, knowing what he was thinking, and hoping that she could dissuade him. Harry fired back with a persistent stare, and Hermione knew that she wasn't going to win this one. Harry was just too stubborn.

"Fine," she said with a huff, turning away from Harry.

Even though she couldn't see it, he sent an apologetic look in her direction before turning back to Dobby. "I appreciate that, Dobby, but how are you going to get the robes? They need to be measured to fit, and I don't think that you can get me to Hogsmeade without Professor Dumbledore noticing."

"That bes no problems, Harry Potter, sir. Dobby can get your sizes now!"

With the snap of his fingers, a tape measure appeared. It began to move around Harry's body autonomously, taking every needed measurement. "Harry Potter, sir, Dobby needs to know which side you dress."

Harry's face screwed up in confusion. What did he mean, what side did he dress? "Um, Dobby, I dress my entire body, not just one side."

Harry heard a snicker from behind him, so he turned his head to see Hermione covering her mouth with her hand.

"He means which side of your pants does your… 'wand' go down?" She said.

Harry's face became bright red, looking anywhere but towards Hermione. "Um… right," Harry whispered out the corner of his mouth.

"Yes, sir," Dobby said.

A few minutes later, Dobby was done taking down Harry's measurements, much to Harry's embarrassment when the tape measure went… down there. Once Dobby was finished, the tape measure disappeared with the snap of his fingers.

"What did Harry Potter want Dobby to purchase for his friends?" Dobby asked

Harry glanced at Hermione, hesitant to talk about the various gifts he wanted to get everybody in front of her. He knew that she would keep any secret of his, but he didn't want to spoil the surprise for Hermione.

"Let's go back to my room to talk about that, Dobby. There's some things on the list I want to keep a surprise," he said, motioning for Dobby to go through the open door connecting their rooms.

"Yes sir, Harry Potter, sir."

With a crack, Dobby disappeared, reappearing in Harry's common room with a second crack. Harry turned and walked over to Hermione, who was standing there with her arms crossed, glaring at him.

Harry sighed as he reached her, softly holding her by her upper arms. "Look, I know that you don't approve of me using Dobby to run my errands tomorrow, but it's the only way that I can get everything without physically sneaking myself out to Hogsmeade."

"It's wrong, and you know it, Harry. You shouldn't use him as a servant! He's a living, thinking being, and deserves to be treated as such!" She reprimanded him.

Harry gave her a soft smile, unable to help himself. His girlfriend looked hot when he was mad, sue him. "Hey, I promise that I'll find some way to pay him, okay? That way, it's not slave labor."

She continued to glare up at him for a few seconds more before finally breaking, rolling her eyes, settling them on his chest. "Fine. But I don't have to like it."

"And I wouldn't expect you to. I know how passionate you are about 'Spew'-"

"S-P-E-W." She muttered.

"And I don't want that to change. It's good that you're trying to help them because nobody else is. Trust me, one day, you are going to be a force of change in this ass-backward society. And I'll be with you every step of the way."

Hermione looked back up at Harry through her eyelashes, something that he found insanely attractive. "You're getting better at this 'not making me mad at you anymore' thing," she said with a smirk.

"It's a gift," he replied with a smirk of his own.

They each moved towards each other, pressing their lips together. Not that either of them could see it, but the fire burning on the other side of the room grew a few inches, shrinking back to normal when they separated.

"I'm never going to get tired of that," she said, her eyes closed and a soft smile on her face.

"Neither will I, and I promise that there's going to be much more of that in your future," Harry said, resting his forehead against hers.

Hermione opened her eyes and pulled her head away from Harry's, her smile growing into a mischievous smirk. "I think you should go tell Dobby what you want him to get in Hogsmeade tomorrow. It looks like he's going to have an aneurysm."

Harry looked over his shoulder, spotting Dobby standing in the doorway, bouncing up and down, an excited look on his face. "Well, he's excited. It's not every day that someone gets to go shopping for the great Harry Potter."

Hermione playfully slapped his shoulder, scoffing as she did. "Prat. You know how he looks up to you. Talk to him, and I'll see you in the morning before I leave for the village."

"You better. I'll be terribly disappointed if I have to wait until tomorrow afternoon to see you again."

She smiled at him, standing on her toes to press a quick kiss to his lips. "Go. I'll see you tomorrow."

He smiled back at her and grabbed her hand. He brought it to his lips, kissing her fingers. "Until tomorrow, milady."

Hermione laughed at his antics, pushing him towards the open door. "I'm serious, go. We'll never get any sleep if you keep hanging around."

He raised an eyebrow at her, a mischievous smirk plastered on his face. "Hermione Granger, just what do you think will happen if I stay here?"

He laughed as her face flushed bright red, putting his arms up as she started to slap him. "You- absolute- prat- Harry- Potter! That wasn't what I meant, and you know it!"

He continued to move away from her, making his way towards the door. She stopped hitting him after he moved a few feet away, allowing him to retreat to the doorway safely. He turned back to her before he closed the door, giving her a smile that made her weak in the knees.

"I'll see you tomorrow. I love you."

Her heart melted as she heard the words, and she knew she was a goner. "I love you, too."

With that, she watched as he closed the door behind him, leaving her alone in the room. While she had never tried, she had the feeling that once she did, she'd have a very good memory for her Patronus.