2-Godric's Sword
(15/11/97)
"Master needs to wake up!"
Harry heard the words and felt the small hand shaking his shoulder, but he just couldn't let go of that magnificent dream. In his dream, he was sleeping in the same bed as Hermione and they were both naked. He was sure that if he opened his eyes he would find himself in the tent, almost freezing.
"Master Harry Potter needs to wake up!" the squeaky voice insisted, finally reaching Harry's brain.
He reluctantly opened one eye. "What is it, Dobby?"
"Dobby brought the deadly sword to Master. Can dobby leave it here? Do Master or Mistress need some more help from Dobby?"
It took another moment for Harry to understand what he was hearing and seeing. Evidently, neither he nor Hermione turned off the lights, and the room was well lit. It was also warm enough for them to move the blanket down and to uncover the upper part of their bodies, making Harry realise that what he thought of as a dream was actually his reality, at the moment. He then noticed the sword held by Dobby, still in its scabbard.
Hermione was also stirring awake. She opened her eyes and smiled at Harry and then at Dobby, not seeming to mind her exposed breasts. "Dobby brought the sword, We can now get rid of the locket." Her smile turned into a frown. "I wish we knew where the others are."
"Can Dobby help?" the little house-elf sounded hopeful.
Hermione shrugged and answered. "We need to find two items. One is probably Ravenclaw's diadem. It's a tiara or a crown, probably like the one worn by the statue in the Ravenclaw common room. The other item is one of Hufflepuff. We suspect it might be a cup, probably hidden in one of the Death Eaters vaults in Gringotts. Can you get any of them?"
Harry wasn't sure where she got that information from. They hadn't really discussed these items, but… Well, that was Hermione.
Dobby gave it some consideration. "Dobby saw some tiaras in the come-and-go room. Dobby may be able to bring them later or tomorrow. Dobby also heard while at bad old master that Bella had something in her vault that the Dark Lord wanted hidden. Since Master is now Lord Black and Bella is also Black, Master can order the Black house-elf to bring anything from the Black vaults."
Harry, who was also listening had no doubt about what he needed to do. "Can you go or do I need Kreacher for that?"
Dobby looked apologetic. "Dobby is a Potter house-elf. Kreacher belongs to Black."
Harry didn't hesitate. "Kreacher!"
The old house-elf arrived within a few seconds and waited for orders. His previous animosity seemed to have abated since the trio had used the Black house at Grimmauld Place as a hideout.
"Kreacher, can you go to Bella's vault and bring to me a certain item stored there?"
Kreacher considered the question for a second and then nodded approvingly.
Hermione hadn't stayed idle. She had put on her dressing gown and had checked her beaded bag. By the time Kreacher answered, she already had the drawing of Hufflepuff's cup ready. She gave it to Harry, who was still sitting in bed.
"I need you to bring me this cup from the vault. You can probably identify it by the extremely dark magic in it, similar to the locket. We need to destroy it too. Can you do it?"
Kreacher nodded. "It will take close to half an hour," he said and vanished.
Harry was a bit surprised at the quick response. "How can he get it at this time? Is Gringotts even open at such hours?"
Looking at the clock, it was barely five in the morning.
"Gringotts is open to house-elves at all times," Dobby told them. "It only opens to Wizards during business hours."
Harry looked at Hermione, who just shrugged. He looked at Dobby again. "Do you think you could bring the diadem along? If so, we could destroy all three dark magic items at once."
The house-elf seemed unsure. "Dobby will try, but it may not be possible so soon. Dobby will come back on time, anyway. Master needs protection when destroying such items." He then vanished.
Harry turned to Hermione, who was now lying on the bed with her dressing gown open, fully exposing her body. He tried to ignore the enticing view, looking at her eyes only. "I think we need to do that somewhere else, far from any inhabited area. For that, we need to get well dressed."
Hermione's expression was unmistakeable. She disliked the idea of leaving their warm bed and dressing heavily to go out to the wilderness. It was also clear that she agreed with his idea. She sighed and got out of bed, leaving her dressing gown there.
Harry turned his back to her while getting dressed, not trusting his will power to keep him focused on his mission with a very naked and very sexy Hermione in sight. He couldn't see it, but Hermione did the same.
A few minutes later, both teens were fully dressed and had their sweaters and overcoats ready. The room was too warm to wear them inside.
Kreacher returned with the cup earlier than promised. It took a few more minutes for Dobby to arrive, carrying a diadem in a cloth bag. Harry didn't need to see any to feel the malicious magic embedded in both items.
"Where shall we go to take care of these?" he asked Hermione.
"Someplace far from any population. Maybe the middle of some forest or…"
"Kreacher can take you someplace safe," the old house-elf said.
"Where?" Harry asked.
"There's a very small island in the middle of a lake in Scotland. It's only large enough for us four to stand on. Even if some Death Eaters try to pop around, they will drown." It looked like the old house-elf was actually hoping that would happen.
"Can you take us all?" Harry asked.
"Kreacher can only take one: Master or mistress."
"Dobby can bring mistress if Kreacher takes Master," Dobby added helpfully.
Harry had his plan ready. "Alright. I'll take the items with me and go with Kreacher; Hermione, you may take the sword and come with Dobby."
A short while later, all four were standing on a small island, no more than a big rock sticking out of the lake's water. Luckily, it had a somewhat flat surface large enough for the four to stand on and another flattish part nearby that stood about two feet higher, making a kind of small table. Harry put the locket on the raised part and took the sword out of the scabbard. He felt the magic in the locket starting to fight, but both house-elves erected a kind of shield to protect the teens. "This stops bad magics, but not stops sword," Kreacher explained.
It then turned anticlimactic. Harry destroyed the locket and the diadem and let Hermione destroy the cup. Each item emitted some dark smoke that vanished with a shrill cry. The broken remains contained no magic in them, as verified by both house-elves and by Hermione.
Harry collected the remains and put the sword back in its scabbard. The house-elves transported them back to their hotel room. Checking the clock, Harry noticed that it took them only a few minutes to accomplish the task.
"Dobby, you may want to put this back, so nobody will know it was taken," Harry suggested.
The small house-elf smiled proudly. "Dobby left a duplicate there. Only a Goblin could tell it was not the real sword. It won't be missed."
Harry shrugged bemusedly. There was more to these house-elves than met the eye. "Well, thank you, Dobby. I believe I should keep the sword in this case." He then turned to Kreacher. "Thank you for taking us to that island, It was a brilliant idea and I appreciate it very much."
"Kreacher only wanted to finish what Master Regulus wanted to do. Kreacher is happy to get rid of bad magics."
Both house-elves returned to Hogwarts a moment later, leaving the teens alone. Harry turned to Hermione, who was already undressing. "I think we should put the sword in your handbag before we do anything else. It's too dangerous to leave out."
She smiled teasingly. "You may open the bag and put it in. We then need to go back to bed and warm up a bit. Don't you agree?"
Harry wasn't sure what she had in mind but he would never knowingly disappoint Hermione. "Of course. That sounds like a good idea."
He actually dreaded being naked besides naked Hermione in the same bed. If he understood her intentions, then she was probably expecting some sex, and he really wanted that too, but he had no previous experience. Could he be a satisfactory sex-partner for her? He dreaded the idea of disappointing her. And then, maybe his hormones were making him misjudge her intentions? After all, they had already slept that way during the previous morning and the night. Could she only want to sleep some more? The bed was really very comfortable. Besides, they needed some more sleep and the whole task of destroying three Horcruxes took less than half an hour. It was still early enough to resume sleeping.
While Harry was doing as requested, Hermione cleared her intentions. "I don't think we should go the whole way right now. I have no experience and I don't think you have any. I'd like our first time to be special. Not rushed. We can still touch each other. You may touch me anywhere you want and I hope you allow me to do the same."
Harry nodded, although he wasn't sure if he could control his body. Hermione seemed to sense it. "Don't worry about controlling your body. I expect it to react to a nude female so close and I'm actually looking forward to learning about it. Besides, it would be a kind of compliment to my feminine attraction. You know, I've never acted this way with anyone, but somehow I feel that it should be fine doing this with you, whichever direction this may take us. I…"
She was clearly babbling now and that made Harry aware of how insecure she felt, sitting naked in bed, fully exposed to him. He didn't want her to feel insecure. He had no idea, though, of how to change that. Well… maybe he could… He then turned to her and kissed her lips, effectively stopping her from talking.
Hermione seemed surprised for a brief moment and then responded passionately. Their kiss deepened and quickly turned into a snog. They lost themselves in each other, kissing caressing and exploring. The coldness that had lingered since visiting that lake vanished quickly, replaced by a certain warmth that had nothing to do with the one coming from the efficient heating system.
An hour later, both could say that they got to know each other way better than before, at least physically. Harry had climaxed a few times, leaving some wet spots on the bedsheet. Hermione climaxed a few times as well, but her climaxes didn't leave much external evidence. Both felt more than warm. They felt hot. They felt elated. They also felt sleepy. Hermione still retained enough control to set the alarm clock before they cuddled into each other and fell asleep.
\/\/\/
When the alarm clock woke them up, both teens felt well-rested and quite optimistic, after having accomplished so much during the early morning. Harry thought that their actions before falling asleep also improved their mood.
Despite their (lack of) attire and Harry's clear arousal, it was too late to indulge in more cuddling. "I'll remove the signs of our earlier activity," Hermione said. "Despite pretending to be newlywed, we don't need to leave such signs. They may also be used by our enemies to track us, you know."
Harry nodded in agreement. It was still a new and exciting experience to see his Hermione in the buff. For a moment he wondered why he was thinking of her this way. He then shrugged it off. The house-elves treated them as a couple, so that probably meant that they were becoming a couple. He thought there was more to that, but he had no time to think of it.
They got clothed quickly, wearing some of their newly bought clothes. Hermione then opened a new make-up kit, also bought the previous afternoon, and used it to make Harry's scar practically invisible. Harry checked himself in the mirror. He still looked very slim, but wearing proper clothes and with his scar hidden he thought he looked quite nice.
Hermione also looked critically at him. "You need to gain some flesh and we should do something about your hair. Once we settle for tonight, we may try some hair products for that. Now, let's go!"
The room price included breakfast and they both felt quite hungry, despite their large dinner. After all, they had quite a bit of action since. They considered their options for the day while eating breakfast, refraining from mentioning anything that could cause suspicion.
"It looks like we've already experienced whatever this town has to offer at this season. Where would you like to go next?" Hermione asked.
Harry considered his answer. "Well, I like staying close to nature. This hotel is close to the forest. Maybe we can find some other place near a forest, or possibly near the sea, although it may not be the right season for that either."
Hermione took the map they bought the previous afternoon from her backpack and spread it on the adjacent chair. "We are here. We can take a bus to the nearest train station and check for possible destinations there, or we may just check the available bus destinations."
Harry didn't think that staying close to their current location was wise. If anybody had noticed the magic they had used, although no high-power spells had been cast, they might check the hotel and the nearby area. It was safer to move to a completely different region. He also thought that moving to a big city, although London was probably not safe enough at the moment, could help them hide in plain sight. He couldn't say any of that out loud, of course. "I think we should first check possible destinations before we decide," he said, discreetly pointing at some of the larger cities on the map.
Hermione nodded in agreement. "Let's check-out and walk to the centre, where all the bus stations are. We shall decide there."