JK Rowling and whatever other appropriate affiliates obviously own the rights to Harry Potter and the Harry Potter universe. I own nothing but the inserted original characters/plot concepts. I make no money on this. This is simply a FAN based work.

I would like to give a huge shoutout to the wonderful betas that agreed to help me comb through past chapters to catch all the pesky lingering errors that I can no longer see: Amelia_Davies_Writes, GalaxyNightangale – thank you, your fresh eyes see more than mine.

And thank you to Greca for agreeing to read and beta my new stuff. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Chapter Sixteen

Harry sat outside the tent on a large log that he had dragged over from some nearby trees. This log had not suffered the same fate as those at their last camping location – it was free of scratches and had not been exploded by their duelling practice. It was a surprisingly comfortable seat, so he made a mental note to keep this log as a lookout chair and to locate some different ones tomorrow for duelling practice.

The air was cold, quiet and still. Not a single movement except for the small cloud he made each time he exhaled could be seen. Harry hugged the jar of blue flames tightly to his chest, despite the chill he was content, happy and could not shake the smile that lingered on his lips.

Hermione loved him.

Hearing her say those words made his heart feel calm, and made his soul feel like it had a place to belong. After losing Sirius in fifth year Harry's hope of having a family after Voldemortwas defeated had slowly melted away. While he knew that he belonged in the Weasley family – Molly and Arthur had all but legally adopted him as their seventh son – he still felt a deep emptiness where he knew a sense of belonging should be. When he first got together with Ginny, he had once again gained that feeling of true belonging and it was the feeling that he had craved since those long, dark, cramped nights in his cupboard. However, when he and Ginny split up – despite it being completely mutual and what he knew they both wanted – he still could not help but feel like he had once again lost his place in the world and the opportunity to have a true family.

Though he knew that the Weasleys would still accept him even if he never married into the family, he could not help but wonder how close they would truly be once this war was over. A tiny part of him worried that his relationship with the Weasleys could be permanently damaged by his relationship with Hermione.

As he sat on his surprisingly comfortable unscathed log, thoughts of Ron popped into his head and a small part of him felt guilty – he had just had sex with the girl that Ron supposedly liked. He stared down at the jar of blue flames, watching it flicker gently as it cast shadows against his hands while he shook his head to dispel the guilt. The thought was somewhat ridiculous really, he knew that the guilt was unwarranted. While some would see him as a treacherous and perhaps backstabbing friend, Harry knew better. He hadn't broken Ron's trust by falling for Hermione and sleeping with her. Ron had never truly liked Hermione in the first place – at least not in that way and it knew it because they had spoken about Hermione a few times in their dormitory last year.

It was blatantly obvious that Ron's feelingswere largely based on the proximity between him and Hermione, and the fact that in the last year Hermione had grown 'sort of nice tits' – as Ron had so graciously put it. Combine that with her now noticeable slender and feminine waist and Ron was instantly interested from a physical perspective. Which was no surprise, Ron was much more at the mercy of his hormones than Harry seemed to be. The redhead had commented on several female classmates over the last twelve months and his interest always seemed to vary day by day depending who he spent more time with and who was wearing 'particularly fit clothes'.

At the time Harry had never really paid it much attention because he'd had more important things going on. Now, looking back on it, the truth was Ron's behaviour was a bit annoying.

Ron's interest in Hermione had only started when she gained her more female figure and became appealing to look at from Ron's perspective. Prior to that, Ron never even acknowledged Hermione as a female let alone as a potential suitor and he had often hurt her feelings by being rude or inconsiderate. The Yule ball was a prime example of that and thinking about it made him cringe. The two of them had absolutely nothing in common and they argued constantly as Ron continued to use Hermione for help with homework. If anything, ever had happened between them, it never would have lasted. Anyone with a brain could have seen that a relationship between his two friends would have been disastrous unless Ron magically matured overnight. Given some space and exposure to other women, Harry knew that Ron would latch on to the next girl just as easily.

Besides, Harry thought bitterly as he gripped the warm jar more tightly. I'm not sure I care if Ron's upset, I'm not sure I even feel bad about it.

To be frank, at the moment Harry was not even sure that he considered Ron his friend anymore, and he knew that Hermione had forever changed the way that she viewed Ron as well. She wasn't angry, she was just realistic, and she had detached herself from the situation. She had long ago started to cut the strings that attached her to Ron, and she was debatably more disconnected than Harry was. Ron leaving had seemed to break something within her, it had made her harder, colder, and much more realistic.

At the end of the day, Ron had abandoned them, plain and simple. He left them when they needed to stick together, when they needed to be strong – when they needed him most. He always knew that Ron was immature and a tad bit unreliable, but the boy's choice to leave had been a hard blow to their friendship. It had made something deep within Harry snap and truth be told he felt like the damage was irreparable because this wasn't the first time… but it had been the worst. So, if and when he ever saw Ron again, he wasn't sure what they would be going forward.

They certainly wouldn't jump back into how things were before he left.

No, Harry thought as he gazed back out into the woods. Ron lost that right.

If he was ever to be a part of his or Hermione's life again, he would need to start over and re-earn their trust. He would need to work his way slowly bit by bit into their lives – and knowing Hermione, it was possible that Ron would never be able to repair the damage he had done. While she didn't exactly hold grudges, she did remember everything. And while she often offered forgiveness and understanding, Hermione did not confuse that with reconciliation or trust. She was strict, fierce and did not fuck around when it came to loyalty.

A small smile graced his lips when he thought back to Marrietta and the jinx that Hermione had placed on the DA sign up page. His heart fluttered when he thought of her fierce loyalty and determination – it was one of the things that he loved most about her.

Yes, he thought with a sigh. If Ron ever does come back, he is in for a rude awakening when it comes to Hermione. She will not go easy on him.

The truth was, it was difficult to feel guilt about what had happened between him and Hermione when everything had changed. It felt like a lifetime since Ron left and he and Hermione were both different people. Combine that with what had happened – an immature boy who had abandoned his best friends in their time of need – and with the things that Ron had said as he left… it was hard to give a shit about how he might feel. Harry knew that his only true regret would be if he were to lose the closeness with the Weasley family as a result.

He just hoped that Arthur and Molly were objective enough to understand what happened and that the one to cause the damage between them was Ron – but he would have to deal with that and deal with Ron at a later time. There was nothing he could do in the middle of the night sitting in the snow.

Instead, he allowed his mind to wander back to Hermione and the warmth of her touch against his skin and the words that she had allowed herself to speak. He had been a bit surprised by Hermione taking the bold step of acknowledging her feelings for him and he was even more surprised that she had actually decided to voice those feelings.

From the look that shone in her eyes, he knew that she meant it, and that she wanted him to know – needed him to know that he was loved. It made his heart ache with joy that she understood so easily how he felt and what he needed most above everything else – a place to belong, and a place to know he was wanted. It meant more to him than he would ever be able to explain in words that she had been willing to share her feelings with him despite her own fear and anxiety over the war.

He had meant it when he told her that she didn't need to rush and that he was genuinely happy with whatever she was willing to give him. That said, he certainly wasn't going to complain about the events of this evening. It was by far the best Christmas that he had ever had in his life, and he couldn't stop thinking about the feel of Hermione's soft skin against his body or the way that she had trembled under his touch as she pulled him closer.

He had been completely caught off guard by how fucking amazing sex felt too. He knew that it would feel good but holy shit, he really did not expect the heat or how tight the clamp of her walls against him would be.

Or how bloody brilliant it felt to move inside her, his mind offered as he sat there staring into the night. His body still tingled from the intense climax he'd had; it was definitely the hardest he had ever come in his life. Honestly, he was a bit concerned that he might have blown some blood vessels during the experience. And that was just the physical side. Being inside her like that, moving with her, against her, in her and being that close – he felt a shiver run down his spine as he recounted it. He felt closer to her than ever – and he knew that he never wanted to go back to anything else.

His eyes scanned the wooded area around him as he remembered the look on Hermione's face when he had finally managed to find that little bundle of nerves inside her. After their snogging sessions, he had started to do some reading on female anatomy – for educational reasons of course. He was never planning to push Hermione into anything until she instigated it, but he wanted to be prepared. Maybe it sounded clinical and perhaps some of the guys from school would have laughed at him, but he didn't care. It had clearly been worth it.

He couldn't stop the self-satisfying smirk that graced his lips when he thought about the other boys his age who had fumbled around during their first time and how he had managed, for the most part, not to be one of them. He'd heard stories in the boys' dormitories about some pretty rough first experiences – and he was very happy that he had decided to take a leaf from Hermione's book and do some research on the topic beforehand. He cringed at the idea of having his first time end in tears and embarrassment like it had for Seamus – who had apparently gotten drunk at his family's Christmas get together in sixth year, accidentally hooked up with a distant cousin, and then ended up coming in her eye after trying to pull out after two thrusts when the girl had smacked him and said it hurt too much.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

He had been a bit worried that he might have hurt Hermione when he lost control at the end and thrust into her quickly – but she had reassured him that she was unharmed. From the expression on her face during, he could tell that she was intrigued by the activity – but he suspected that she did not particularly enjoy it. That said, she didn't seem to be in pain during it either.

He made a mental note to ask her next time what felt good or if there was any other way that he could do it to make it feel a bit better for her. It felt a bit unfair that he was in such extreme pleasure, and she was left feeling unsure of it while tolerating what was probably uncomfortable. Apparently, it got better the more you did it – so said Lee Jordan. But until that happened, he felt better knowing that he had been able to make her come while he was still inside her and her gentle thrusting against his softening member left him hopeful that this could become an enjoyable experience for both of them someday.

Truth be told, he hadn't expected her to want to go that far so soon, but her reasons were practical and logical – just like her. And it exactly complemented his reasons for wanting to be with her. He didn't know how much time he would have with her, or if they would make it through the war and he believed that having her at his side made him feel stronger, it made him motivated to keep trying.

The events of Godric's Hollow had highlighted his single biggest flaw and thinking about it made him groan as he rubbed his hands across his face. His mind was weak to Voldemort and if he could not find a way to close it, it would be their downfall. He should have tried harder to learn occlumency when Snape had tried to teach him in fifth year. While he adamantly maintained that Snape had been a right bastard in his training approach, he could not deny the fact that he hadn't tried as hard as he could have either. This was his fault and he needed to fix it.

Their modified training routine would help. Not only would he work to strengthen their shield charm against physical attacks, not only would they increase their workouts and make their duels more elaborate – he would add in more meditation and occlumency. Even though neither of them could use legilimens to test it, it didn't matter. He would do it anyway, and he would learn to control his mind. What happened at Bathilda Bagshot's would never happen again. Never. He couldn't let it, because the next time Hermione might get hurt. She had already come close to dying due to his incompetence… it wouldn't happen again.

He was taken from his thoughts when he felt a small breeze float past his cheek and a whisper of a touch against the outermost protective alarm. It felt like something had brushed up against the perimeter of the alarm but didn't cross through the shield.

He tensed on his spot, tightening his grip on Hermione's wand and squinting his eyes to see into the dark of the forest. He stood slowly and sidestepped silently toward the door of the tent. His eyes darted around as he strained his ears to listen for any unusual sounds, but the silence of the forest was deafening, and his ears felt like they were starting to ring. The first alarm had been set 600 meters out, so he had time to react and to warn Hermione if something happened. So far, he couldn't hear or see anything, and a quick detection spell showed no evidence of anything alive being present. When he felt the gentle brush on the shield for the second time, he slowly backed toward the tent to get Hermione.

-x-x-

Hermione was woken from a deep sleep by the faint brushing of something against the outermost alarm spell. It felt like a light breeze or a feather had touched her mind. The touch had been gentle and cautious, it didn't feel like someone had blindly stumbled upon the alarm without knowing it was there. Whatever it was – it didn't breach the shield, so the alarm had not been fully set off.

She had tied her alarms to Harry so that he could feel them too and she was sure that he must have felt the contact. She pushed her messy curls from her face and rubbed her eyes, sitting up quickly on Harry's bunk and placing her feet on the freezing floor. Whatever had brushed gently against her spell must have sensed it beforehand as the touch was almost tentative and unsure, if not inquisitive – which made her brow furrow as her tired mind raced to try and figure out what might have happened.

She stood up fast, grabbed her purse from the nightstand and wandlessly summoned a pair of pants, socks, the locket and her warm tight-fitting long-sleeved sweater. They had left the locket in her purse for the day so they could have a break from it – which turned out well given the activities that they had partaken in. But she, like Harry, did not trust leaving it in her purse unattended for too long.

She dressed quickly and was pulling on her last sock when she felt a gentle brush against the shield for a second time. Her head darted up toward the door, her eyes wide with caution – she needed to go get Harry, something was going on. Despite how tired her body felt from their earlier activities, she grabbed her jacket and boots and walked toward the exit. She made it almost to the tent door when she saw Harry backing inside the tent, holding the flame jar at his side and her wand tightly in his raised hand.

"Harry," she said in a low whisper as she began to pull her curls into a loose braid at the back of her neck.

Harry turned his head a fraction, indicating that he had heard her, but he did not remove his eyes from the tent doorway.

"You felt it too?" He whispered back.

"Yeah," she said as she began to pull on her boots, lacing them quickly and standing to put on her jacket. "Did you hear anything out there, or see anything?"

"No," he said quietly, and she could see his brow furrow slightly. "It's dead quiet out there to the point that it's deafening. Something just brushed the alarm twice, but it didn't go off. I cast a detection spell, but nothing showed – do you think someone might have noticed our shields and they're lingering on the edge of our secure zone?"

"I'm not sure," she stated slowly as she approached to stand at Harry's side and look out the door of the tent. The cold air woke whatever remained of her sleepy state and she felt alert as the cold stung her cheeks. Her breath puffed out when she whispered next to his side. "If someone is lingering on the outskirts, Harry – we need to go. Whatever that was – it was purposeful, the touch wasn't careless and it wasn't an accident, the alarm would have been set-off if it was."

Harry nodded silently beside her, his eyes still scanning the dark forest that surrounded them.

"We should pack up then," he whispered after a moment and finally turned to face her. Hermione could see the concern in his eyes. "Here, take your wand and get started – I'll grab what I can by hand."

Hermione nodded once in affirmation and began to summon the loose items from the tent and pack them into her purse. They moved silent as the night, unspeaking and focused. Harry had collected the books she had left out and several other items from around the tent. In a few short minutes they had everything inside the tent packed away and Hermione was walking to join Harry at the entrance when they both froze – their eyes locked intently, and Hermione shivered.

There was a brush against the second alarm at 400m out. The hair on the back of her neck stood, and she walked rapidly toward Harry, seeing the tight line of his jaw as he clenched his teeth.

"I'll get the north side, you get the south," he directed as he moved to begin collecting tent pegs.

Hermione moved quickly, each step purposeful as she went to the south side of the tent to remove the sticking charms and pull out the tent pegs. She shivered again as she felt the gentle feather-like touch brush against her 300m alarm, the contact was so soft and gentle she couldn't figure out what it was or what was happening. There was definitely contact, something was absolutely making its way through her alarms and its pace was quickening, but whatever it was couldn't be alive or it would have set off the charms.

Thankfully, they were both capable of completing these basic spells without wands, so when she met Harry back at the entrance, he had completed the north side of the tent with no issue. They both tensed and looked at each other with concern as the 200 meter alarm was brushed with the same light contact. Hermione raised her wand quickly and cast the spell to collapse the tent as Harry opened her purse for her to pack up the disassembled and shrunken tent inside.

Whatever it was that was moving toward them was picking up its pace – almost like its first movements through the alarms had been cautious to ensure nothing was set off. She had just finished storing the tent when she felt the last alarm brushed. Hermione stood quickly at Harry's side, her left hand grasping his tightly as she raised her wand in front of them. She was just about to apparate them away when Harry spoke in a low and urgent whisper.

"Wait," he said as he gripped her hand tightly.

"Harry what –" her words died on her lips when she turned to look at Harry, but her eyes caught the bright silvery-white object that Harry was staring at to his left. They stood perfectly still; hands tightly clasped as the light approached them until its form became clear. "A patronus?"

"A doe," Harry said quietly as he looked at the beautiful creature that stood about 20 meters in front of them now. The patronus had stopped its approach and appeared to be cautiously lingering by a tree as it stared at them.

That makes sense, Hermione thought as she looked at the doe but kept her wand raised and her ears focused for any sound around them. A patronus wouldn't set off the alarms that she had set as it was not alive. The alarms she had been using alerted of breeches by any living creature – aside from the natural wildlife that she had made exceptions for, not wanting them to be woken up anytime a mouse ran past the perimeter or a bird swooped in and out – but she had never considered a patronus when she constructed the alarms. The doe took a few tentative steps forward and tilted its head gently as it looked at them, then began walking slowly to the right before it stopped and looked back at them as if waiting.

"Harry," Hermione spoke in her low whisper. "Do you think it has a message for us? I don't know anyone who has a doe patronus – do you?"

"No," Harry said slowly, as a frown crossed his face. "But I think it wants us to follow it."

Hermione exhaled in frustration, her warm breath clouding in front of her face as she tried to calm the nerves that began to twist within her stomach. She knew that Harry was right. The patronus was clearly motioning for them to follow by cautiously walking toward them, then moving further to the right and stopping each time to look over its shoulder at them as if waiting. The doe never got closer than 20 meters away and it seemed patient in its motions.

"Harry, I don't know," she said cautiously as she looked between the doe and his face. "This could be Godric's Hollow all over again – what if this is just another trap, who would send a patronus here and why?"

"I know," he said slowly as he watched the deer. She could tell that he was thinking things through as he stood quietly for a moment before he gripped her hand more tightly and spoke. "It doesn't feel like Bathilda's though, does it? I mean I don't know anyone who has a doe patronus but – this feels familiar, calm – I can't explain it, but I don't have any sort of sense that it wants to cause harm. Whoever cast it either sent it from afar to send a message of some sort – or they're waiting on the edge of our alarms because they can't get to us without setting them off."

"I agree," she breathed quietly as she looked into the pale eyes of the doe before them. She sighed again. "Okay – fuck, okay – so what do you think we should do? If it has a message, it would have come to us by now, so it's clearly trying to lead us somewhere. I agree that it doesn't feel like Bathilda's but that doesn't mean that it's safe. I don't want to walk into another trap – but I also don't want us to apparate away from someone who might be here to help us."

She gripped Harry's hand more firmly as she rolled the options over in her mind.

"It's possible," she continued. "That the doe belongs to someone we know, but whose patronus we haven't seen before. We don't know Molly's – it's possible it could even be hers. I just don't know Harry."

Harry had squeezed her hand once in return and took a tentative step toward the doe.

"I think we should follow it," he paused slightly when he heard Hermione exhale in frustration again. He knew she was torn – there was no winning in this situation and with no clear logical choice he knew that she would struggle to make a decision. The fact was – if it was a trap and they walked directly into it they could be completely fucked. But, if it was a friend who had come to them and they walked away from it they could also be completely fucked. It was possible that a friend had finally located them and came with either supplies or information, both of which were critical and there was no guarantee that whoever it was would be able to find them again. And he knew that Hermione knew this. "We can cast our shield charms, we'll move slow and cautious, cast detection spells every few meters and maintain contact. If anything happens, we leave right away. I just – if it's friendly and we leave we might never meet up again and what if they're here with something we need?"

"I know," Hermione ground out through her teeth. "I thought the same thing – I just can't believe we're doing this again – fuck, why is nothing ever simple."

"Why is it always us," Harry whispered back with a nervous smile, sounding so much like Professor McGonagall had back in sixth year. Hermione couldn't help the small smile that tugged across her lips at his comment.

"Well – at least we'll never be able to say our lives were boring," she sighed as she stepped forward to stand next to him again and stood as close to him as possible. Harry used his free hand to grip her forearm through her coat, and now, holding her with both hands, he pulled them even closer together. Then, they both took another step toward the doe.

The doe had been watching their exchange patiently and once they took a few steps towards it, it had turned to face forward and began walking toward the outer edge of their alarms. Every so often Harry and Hermione stopped to cast homenum revelio while never letting go of each other's hand and each time the doe waited for them to complete their spell before moving forward again. When they were within 50 meters of their last alarm they stopped and crouched low to the ground, their homenum revelio revealed nothing and they still could not hear or see anything in front of them. If someone was waiting for them on the other side of the alarm, they were not anywhere close to it.

"We'll cast the shields now," Hermione whispered as she pointed her wand at herself and whispered Plenus-Protego-corPus-LoComotor.

The familiar purple spell quickly incased her body before becoming transparent, then she handed her wand to Harry for him to cast his own. She noted that the doe appeared to be watching them with interest as they each cast their shields – its head was once again tilted to the side, long-lashed eyes staring at them almost curiously. Once both shields were fully engaged, they each set an internal timer and stood to begin following the doe at their slow and steady pace. As they crossed over the final alarm threshold Hermione cast another detection spell to ensure that no one was hiding nearby – and much to her surprise, once again nothing was revealed.

The doe continued to lead them for another 100 meters until it moved out on top of a large frozen pond, its gentle hooves leaving no prints in the snow. It stood over the pond on a patch of cleared ice, pawed gently at the surface and then began to fade away – the bright light of its silvery form disappearing into the dark night.

Hermione raised her lit wand to illuminate the surface of the pond before she prodded it gently with her foot. There was no doubt that the surface was frozen solid, with the cold weather they had been having this pond would be sturdy as the stone floors of Hogwarts. They both took a step out onto the ice and paused as if waiting for something to happen – but nothing did. Continuing to grip each other tightly they made their way to the center of the pond to the clear patch on which the doe had previously stood. As they closed the last few steps Hermione saw it – the silver glint of what looked like a cross and she heard Harry gasp as he pulled her forward over the last 3 steps.

"Hermione," he said in disbelief as they both lowered themselves down to kneel on the ice. "It's the sword – it – I – I can't believe this, it's the fucking sword!"

He was whispering but she could hear the excitement and release of tension in his voice. If this was an ambush it would have happened already. The second that they were free of the alarms and wandering through the open forest they would have been attacked. She knew Harry had determined this as well, but she cast one final detection charm to soothe her inner worry and sure enough, nothing came back. It would be ridiculously unlikely for someone to spend the effort to lure them here, place the sword of Gryffindor under the ice and wait for them to find it only to then attack them.

That wouldn't make any sense, she thought as she shone her wand light down at the sword. No, whoever brought us here is a friend – or at least not a foe. Whoever cast that doe wanted to help us.

"Whoever left this here – the doe – they meant for us to find it," she said quietly as she began examining the ice to check the thickness. "We'll need to melt the ice to get to it."

"Let's cut a hole and see if we can summon it," Harry nodded as they both stood quickly so Hermione could cut a hole directly above the sword.

The ice melted away easily as she traced a circle on it – but the sword did not come as she tried to summon it.

"Accio sword," she whispered as she pointed her wand determinedly at the glinting handle. "Accio sword of Gryffindor – Accio – Accio Gryffindor sword."

Harry frowned as he watched the red glinting rubies remain unmoving at the bottom of the dark pond.

"I think we have to go down there and get it," he said slowly as he pinched the bridge of his nose briefly. "I remember Dumbledore mentioning that the sword presents itself in a time of need when a Gryffindor shows bravery – but why would the sword be summoned under a pond?"

"I'm not sure that it was summoned, Harry," Hermione said as she turned to look at him. "The sword presents itself if you show bravery, yes – but we haven't shown any bravery, we were led to it. Someone – or something – has placed this here. But I suppose that in order for us to take it – maybe we have to show bravery? Otherwise, maybe we cannot keep the sword. Maybe it would just disappear?"

"Well, either way we have to go get it," Harry looked at her with a small frown. "I'll go get it, you can stay up here with your wand and keep watch."

"Don't be ridiculous, Harry – I'm the better swimmer, I'll go get the sword," Hermione said as she stood quickly and began to unzip her jacket.

She would go get the sword, not only because she was the stronger swimmer but also because Harry had already been through enough in Godric's Hollow and frankly, he was more important in this war than she was. It was the reason why Dumbledore had included her and Ron on this mission in the first place. They were here to help and protect Harry – to keep him safe. Dumbledore never outright gave the order to Ron or Hermione, but Hermione wasn't stupid. She had figured that out on her own and she knew the role that he had intended her to play in this war. She was meant to watch over Harry, keep him safe and ensure that he was successful in hunting Horcruxes. Besides, she knew that she would never be able to drag him out of the water without magic and based on the summoning charm not working she was concerned that this could be a real problem once the sword was in hand.

"Hermione, no," Harry had grabbed her arms to stop her as she dropped her coat to the ice. "I'll go – you don't need to do this for me –"

"It's not about doing it for you, Harry," Hermione cut him off with a stern look. "You'll be better above the ice. You're a better dueller in case someone approaches, your shield will last a bit longer than mine, you're physically stronger than I am – I wouldn't be able to drag you out if something went wrong. What if I couldn't summon you out once you had the sword? What if we have to get this completely without magic? I know I'm stronger now than before, but Harry, I can't drag you out of freezing water. I need you up here to watch over me and to make sure that we're both safe."

Harry looked at her for a long moment before he closed his eyes tightly and exhaled deeply in frustration.

"Fine," he bit out before he pulled her into a tight hug. "But be careful, please Hermione – I – I can't do this without you."

"I will," Hermione squeezed him back tightly, his familiar scent calming her anxious nerves before she pulled back and looked into his eyes.

She reached her hand up and gently stroked the side of his face before placing a gentle, slow kiss to his lips. Harry gripped her upper arms tightly and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss for a moment before pushing her back and fixing her with an intense look.

"Be quick," he said as his chest heaved.

"I will."

Hermione took another step back and cast several warming charms on herself before removing her boots and jeans. She hissed at the cold as her feet touched the snow-covered ice and the freezing air struck her legs as she stood before the opening in the pond in only her panties, and her snug fitting long sleeved shirt. She cast two more warming charms before she passed her wand to Harry. Checking her internal timer, she noted that her shield charm would only last for another two minutes and with any luck she would be out of the pond by then. She briefly contemplated waiting and recasting it – but she decided against it in case Harry had to try to use magic to pull her out. She wasn't sure how the shield would handle being hit with a summoning charm, and she made a mental note to experiment with that later. They both crouched by the edge of the opening and Hermione took several deep breaths to calm her racing heart.

"I'll see you in a second," she said with a small smile before taking a deep breath and slipping into the inky black water. When the water surrounded her two immediate thoughts popped into her head. First was, Holy fucking Merlin's balls it's cold! And the second was, Thank goodness that thing glows, otherwise I wouldn't be able to see shit down here.

The cold-water bit angrily at her skin, making her heart stammer in her chest and her eyes whine in pain as she kept them open to be able to see. She dove forward and forced her aching legs to kick toward the sword and her trembling arms to pull her forwards. If she ever saw her parents again after this, she would need to thank them for insisting that she take swimming lessons and pushing her to continue until she was competent. She could see the faint glint of the light from her wand as Harry tried to shine it for her so she could see better.

A small part of her lamented over not having her wand on her person – but they needed protection above the ice and frankly she did not trust bringing her wand down here. If she lost it, they would be completely and utterly screwed since it was their last remaining wand.

She was two feet from the sword and the water was agony. She kicked three more times and outstretched her hand, her fingers stretching as she reached for the hilt. It glinted in the faint wand light that Harry shone through the water. Her fingers brushed the sword and she managed to close her hand tightly around the hilt. She placed her feet on the rocky bottom and was about to push herself back toward the surface when she felt it – the tight tug around her neck as the chain from the locket constricted against her windpipe.

FUCK – her free hand shot up to her neck, gripping at the chain, desperately trying to loosen its hold. She had completely forgotten that she was wearing it, the locket must have sensed the sword and now the cursed thing was going to strangle and drown her to death. She could feel the shield charm fighting against the pressure on her neck, but there was only a few seconds left on her timer.

She managed a small kick off the bottom of the pond, but the locket twisted tighter, and she struggled to kick her legs as the chain around her neck began to burn into her skin as her shield charm ran out. It twisted until it forced her to choke out the little remaining air that she had. It was wrapped so tightly now that she outright gagged and her vision started to blur. Black dots started to form at the corner of her eyes as her legs kicked lamely behind her.

I'm going to die down here, she thought as her vision faded to black.

-x-x-

Harry knelt at the edge of the hole in the ice after Hermione had slipped into the water. He pointed the light from her wand down into the inky depths in an effort to help her see – with the bright shine from the sword he figured she would have a clear path since he wasn't able to see any water weeds or other obstructions from the surface. Glancing up around them Harry quickly surveyed the forest around them – it was still deadly quiet, and the air was calm in the blackened woods. Looking back down in the water he saw Hermione's slender body and perfect form – she was halfway to the sword already and she had closed the distance in a fraction of the time it would have taken him.

She truly was the better swimmer. His hands gripped the edge of the ice as he watched her take the final few strokes toward the sword, hand outstretched to grab it. She was far enough down now that it was getting harder to see her, but he watched her overall movements the best he could and he felt his heart quicken and heard himself sigh audibly in relief when it looked like she had the sword.

He watched in anticipation, waiting for her to start rising to the surface. But the small grin that had been on his face when she had grabbed the sword started to fall when he realized that she wasn't moving up and his heart caught in his chest. It looked like she was kicking wildly near the bottom.

"FUCK!" he shouted as dread began to fill his heart. "Accio Hermione – Accio sword!"

Nothing happened.

Hermione had been right – whoever set this up intended for them to obtain the sword without magic. Without a moment's hesitation he ripped off his jacket and glasses and cast a strong warming charm before he dove headfirst into the pond. The water was frigid, and he felt his body seize as the ice-cold cut deeply into his skin. His muggle jeans were heavy as he kicked and swam desperately down toward Hermione. Her motions had slowed, her hand was on the locket chain that had wound tightly around her neck and the sword remained in the death grip of her right hand. He kicked furiously, his heart pounding, and his eyes stinging as his chest constricted so tightly he thought he might die on spot when he saw the final twitching jerk of her leg before her movements stopped completely.

He reached her body in two powerful kicks, tried to cast a bubble charm on her head and grabbed her firmly around the waist. Pushing off the bottom with as much force as he had he began kicking and pointed her wand up to the surface. He cast ascendio and felt a tug on his body as they blasted through the water. He wasn't sure why this spell had worked while a summoning spell had not, but they rocketed upward, moving faster than a hippogriff in flight before they burst through the hole and landed hard on the ice.

Coughing, Harry quickly got to his knees and cast wordless warming charms as he rolled Hermione on to her back. She wasn't moving, and her lips had begun to turn blue. The locket chain was still wound tightly around her neck, so he grabbed it to pull it loose and found it unyielding. He reached for the sword that was gripped tightly in her hand, pried it from her fingers and slid it away on the surface of the ice toward the collection of Hermione's clothes and purse. With her body now free of the sword the locket chain fell limp against her neck. Harry cast two more warming charms on Hermione as he leaned down to check her pulse by hand and cast a quick diagnostic spell – but there wasn't one. Not a single beat.

"Oh god no," his voice broke as his stomach lurched with the threat of vomit. The finger that rested against her neck felt nothing but cold and the diagnostic confirmed that she was not breathing, and her heart had stopped.

Without a second's hesitation he reflectively pointed her wand directly at her chest and cast the spell that Hermione had taught him for shocking and restarting hearts. It hit her hard in the center of her chest. He watched in awe as her back arched, her body tensed, and her bloodshot eyes snapped wide open as her face strangled into a pained expression before she inhaled deeply and began to cough violently. Water poured from her mouth as Harry gripped her tightly and rolled her to her side – pulling the Horcrux over her head and tossing it around his own neck.

"You're okay – it's okay, it's okay. I've got you, fuck – Hermione, oh my god, I thought I'd lost you," he couldn't stop the ramble that poured from his mouth.

He pulled her up from the cold ice to lean her against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her small frame, running his hands up and down her sides to warm her. He cast another warming charm around them as her coughing slowly began to subside. She was gripping his chest tightly, clinging to him for warmth as her breath came in ragged pulls. They sat there for several minutes before her breathing started to regulate and she pulled back to look at him.

"I'm sorry, Harry," she struggled to force out the words. "I forgot about the locket – I – I should have taken it off before. Thank you, thank you for coming to get me."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," he pulled her tightly to his chest again and kissed the top of her head over and over. "Do not be sorry, Hermione. Absolutely not, don't be sorry – you're so strong. I'm so glad you're alright – I – I thought I might lose you again."

"Not today," she choked out a small laugh against his chest before she sat back once more and placed a kiss on his jaw. Her breathing had calmed, her eyes were still bloodshot, her hair was a sopping mess, but she still was the most beautiful human that Harry had ever set eyes on. "Thank you, Harry – thank you for acting so quickly – but just so you know, holy shit that spell hurts. It's fucking awful, but still – better than dying I guess."

Harry smiled at her as his racing heart finally began to slow, he choked out a single laugh when she chuckled half-heartedly at her own joke before she smiled up at him.

"Let's get you in dry clothes," Harry said as he untangled himself from Hermione and she nodded.

He summoned her clothes from the pile by the sword then cast a few warming charms on them before he began to try and dry her off. Hermione stood shakily with Harry's help and slipped on her clothes as Harry cast a drying charm on her hair then a few more on himself before slipping his jackets back on.

He ended up helping Hermione with the zipper on her jacket as her hands were shaking too much from the cold and exhaustion that now plagued her body. Once they were bundled up, Harry took her hand and walked towards the sword of Gryffindor that shone brightly on the surface of the ice. As they approached, Hermione quickly dropped Harry's hand and picked up the sword in both of her own, ensuring that she stopped a few feet back from Harry.

"Let's not repeat that again," she said sagely as she eyed the locket that Harry now wore. "They can obviously sense objects that threaten them – and they clearly have the capacity to fight back."

"No kidding," Harry said with a grimace, noting how hoarse her voice sounded. "Let's get this thing over and done with, and then get out of here."

With that they both walked slowly off the ice and toward a small rock at the side of the pond. Harry stopped before it, removed the Horcrux from his neck and placed it on the rock. Then he turned to Hermione.