Act X
This is more continuation of the ending In Consonant Harmony.
Leaving days was nearing as Harry had spent much of the summer hanging out on The Tube to avoid being at the Dursleys. He was missing his friends, especially Hermione. He wanted to be in her embrace and to be kissing her. It was very frustrating.
As he was drinking a cup of tea and eating a snack in a diner as he read The Prophet, he was approached by the waitress. She was a slim and attractive, light-skinned black girl with a lovely smile and twinkly eyes. After refilling his cup, she started to flirt with him. He agreed to meet her when she got off work at eleven. It made him a little uncomfortable, but he was hungry for female attention.
Harry got up to contemplate what he might be in line to do and whether it was a betrayal of Hermione when the lights flickered and he saw something appear across the tracks from the dinner. It turned out to be Dumbledore. He was clearly there to see Harry.
Harry paid his bill and headed for the door. As he exited, the waitress gave him a very hot little smile that clearly indicated the possibility of some memorable moments ahead for him in the not too distant future. He smiled back, seeming to seal the deal as a squirrel walked out onto the branch with the blossom on the Tree of Love.
"I wonder why the Professor is here?" thought Harry as he made his way up and across the crossover to the other side of the station, and toward the quietly waiting Dumbledore. "I hope everything is alright."
"Good evening, Harry," said Dumbledore as Harry approached him. "How are you this evening?"
Excellent, professor," replied Harry. "I am surprised to see you."
They chatted for a few moments including Dumbledore showing him his severely damaged and withered hand. Suddenly, the waitress came out of the cafe and began looking around, clearly expecting to see Harry waiting for her. Harry looked at her with a yearning eye, then at the professor. A moment later, the professor had Harry put his hand on his arm and they apparated away as the squirrel jumped off the branch of the Tree of Love, disappointed in not finding what it was hoping to find.
Being the first time Harry had apparated, he was discombobulated as he looked around trying to figure out where he was as he regained his senses.
"Excuse me, professor. Did we just apparate?" Harry managed to get out.
"Yes. And quite successfully. Most people vomit the first time."
"I can see why. Where are we?" replied Harry, still not one-hundred percent.
"Welcome to the charming village of Budleigh Babberton."
After begging Harry's pardon for stealing him away from his tryst with the cafe waitress, he went on to explain that they were here to visit a former professor named Horace Slughorn and persuade him to return to Hogwarts so he could learn the truth about a memory that was crucial to defeating Voldemort.
The meeting turned out to be a bit contentious, both Horace finally gave in and said he would return to the school. Following their success, Dumbledore delivered Harry to the Weasleys where he could return to the school on the train with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, and Percy.
Hermione was anxious for some alone time with Harry once he arrived. However, it was impossible to find any in a house filled with that many people. The two of them did manage a couple of private moments while walking, but that was not enough to satisfy her desires. Still, a gentle rain showered the Tree of Love with some well-needed water.
By the time they were all on the train back to Hogwarts, even Harry was aware of the increasingly bold attacks by forces loyal to Voldemort. After a discussion of this and a disagreement over whether or not Draco Malfoy has become a Death Eater, Harry left the compartment with his invisibility cloak to spy on Draco.
Draco eventually discovered that Harry was spying on him and after the train reached Hogsmeade. He paralyzed Harry with the Petrificus totalus curse and broke his nose with his boot before covering Harry back up with his cloak and leaving him for the return ride to London.
Up in the castle, the students were all in the dining hall for the sorting of the first years and welcoming feast. Hermione was clearly worried and upset by the absence of Harry. Ron, being Ron, was less upset and more intent on eating. Hermione had just finished chastising Ron for his ambivalence when Harry was spotted entering the hall.
As he neared the table with his friends, Ginny noticed the blood on his face and clothes. Hermione jumped up and ran to him after seeing it as well. After Harry explained that Draco had broken his nose and that Tonks had found him and fixed it just in time to get him off the train before it left for London, they looked at Draco with malice in their eyes.
The following day, Harry and a reluctant Ron were steered into Slughorn's Potions class by Professor McGonagall. When they arrived, Harry was greeted enthusiastically by the professor. He sent both of them to the cupboard to get textbooks. Upon opening it, they found an almost new book and a tatty, old, used one. Ron, who was used to hand-me-downs and fights over things with five older brothers, out-muscled Harry for the newer copy. Harry was forced to accept the old book. However, he was soon to learn he had inadvertently hit the jackpot.
The old book was filled with notes and ideas from someone who called himself the Half Blood Prince. Using the prince's secrets and suggestions, Harry quickly rose to the top of the class much to the dismay of Hermione who thought his use of the book was tantamount to cheating, not to mention the fact she was used to being the top of the class wherever she was at. The bee that had been flying around the blossom on the Tree of Love flew off to seek a more receptive location.
Things progressed in Potions as Harry and Hermione stayed friendly but cooler. Harry was also trying to get Slughorn to reveal his secret but was not having any luck. Katie Bell, one of Gryffindor's seekers was injured by a cursed necklace. Harry was certain she had been given it by Draco.
Harry eventually confronted Draco over the issue in a bathroom. A vicious duel broke out and Harry used a curse he had read in the margin of the old potions book.
"Sectumsempra," yelled Harry with a wave of his wand. Draco fell out of sight onto the ground. When Harry saw him, Draco was bleeding profusely. It looked like he had been slashed twice by a sword.
In the wake of the incident, Ginny, the most proactive member of their little social group, insisted Harry immediately dispose of the book. Harry had been lucky Snape was there to save Draco this time. Who knew what other evil lay in the book?
Ginny took Harry up to the Room of Requirement to hide the book from Harry and posterity. Having noticed the recent cooling in Harry and Hermione's relationship, Ginny made a play and kissed Harry while his eyes were still closed during the hiding of the book. And a Red-headed Woodpecker landed on the branch of the Tree of Love and started pecking in search of sustenance.
With the primary source of Hermione's upset with Harry gone, things warmed a little but not enough to rekindle their flame.
Harry had been named quidditch captain and Ginny began to assert herself as a future star player. Ron had won the spot of team keeper after Hermione used a confundus charm on Cormac McClaggen, who she found vile and a self-promoting bore. Cormac was actually fortunate that Hermione's hex was as mild as it was. If this competition had been between Harry and Cormac, the curse would probably have been more devilish.
Ron won a quidditch match as the Gryffindor keeper after he thought Harry had given him a dose of Liquid Luck. At the after-party, a girl who had frequently been popping up to say Hi to him threw herself into his arms and nearly kissed his face off in front of most of Gryffindor House. They quickly became the hottest affair in the school.
A short while later, Slughorn hosted a dinner party that included Harry, Hermione, and Ginny among others. Hermione also noticed the spark of interest between Harry and Ginny started to glow after he stood up when Ginny entered the room. Harry, for his part, was not interested in Ginny. He wanted to rebuild his relationship with Hermione. Hermione, always prone to hang onto things, was not yet in the same place.
More time passed and Slughorn announced a Christmas party for the Slug Club and other prominent students. Hermione, who was still not ready for reconciliation, invited a surprise date who turned out to be Cormac. She felt it might annoy Harry more than anyone else short of Draco. Even she would not stoop to Draco. Thus a Blue Jay perched itself on the branch of the Tree of Love.
Hermione was also aware that a younger Gryffindor girl named Romilda Vane was trying to sneak Harry a love potion. Their relationship woes aside, she did not want Harry deceived and pulled away as a Huntsman spider started building a web at the base of the branch on the Tree of Love.
Harry knew she was suspicious of him and Ginny even though there was nothing to be suspicious about. He invited Luna, who he felt was a safe date and actually a really nice person. And a large, green moth flew through the Tree of Love with no intentions of landing.
Hermione spent all of her time eyeing them when she was not fending off unwanted advances from Cormac. Finally, she was compelled to approach Harry to help her repel him. They talked briefly before Hermione spotted McClaggen coming their way. She fled, leaving Harry to converse with Cormac about his desires and her evasiveness.
After they were interrupted by Professor Snape, Harry wanted to go find her and continue their conversation as the Blue Jay squawked and flew away. As he crossed the room, he saw Luna standing by the punch bowl talking to another girl. Luna turned to him as he approached them.
"It's okay, Harry," said Luna with a smile.
"What's okay?" responded Harry in a questioning voice.
"I know we are just here as friends," replied Luna, also one of the most perceptive people Harry had ever met. "I know you need to talk to Hermione. I'll be okay. She is the one who needs you. You need to go be with her."
Harry was temporarily stunned by Luna's statement. Finally, he said, "Thanks, Luna. You are truly an amazing friend." He gave her a quick hug and headed off in search of Hermione.
After a few minutes of searching, he heard a noise at the bottom of a staircase. As he descended it, he saw Hermione sitting by herself with some small, yellow birds flitting around overhead.
"Are you okay, Hermione?" he asked as he sat down next to her on the step.
"Yes," she said in a soft voice with a sniffle indicating she had been crying.
"Can we talk?" asked Harry, hoping with all of his heart they could clear the air and return to their former status.
"What do you want to talk about?" replied Hermione, still a bit weepy.
"Us. I want to talk about us."
"What about us? What do you mean?"
"We have had a wonderful relationship. I like you a lot and I think you like me. But, things seem to have fallen apart after I started doing well in Potions class and I am really sad. I want to fix it."
"Well, you did finally get rid of that horrible book," said Hermione, finally looking up at him with a tiny hint of a smile. "And Ginny said you don't seem interested in her. She said she thinks your only interest is me. And with that, the Red-headed woodpecker was seen to fly off to other places.
"I know how you felt about that book," said Harry as he stepped into potentially dangerous waters that he had just recently escaped. "But you have to understand its appeal to me. You are always at the top of the class. I never am. So, it felt really good to be there."
"I guess I can understand that," said Hermione, "But it was still cheating."
"I know," said Harry, quickly picking up on the point. "But that is not why I got rid of it. I…"
"...You got rid of it because it was full of dangerous things," interjected Hermione.
"Well, yes...uh...no...uh...I got rid of it for that reason," stammered Harry, trying to gather and gain traction with his words. "But that wasn't the most important reason. The real reason is I miss us. I want us to be together, like before."
Hermione looked at him and sniffed as fresh tears started to well back up in her eyes. "I want us to be together again, too," she said as she leaned toward Harry and their lips met for the first time in far too long as the weather warmed and some fresh rain caused the blossom on the Tree of Love to start opening further.
Harry and Hermione's lips were busy getting reacquainted when they heard a noise in the adjacent hallway. Just as they pulled apart and sat up, Ron and Lavender giggled their way into the room.
"This room is taken," said Lavender as she pulled at Ron. Ron hesitated, seeing his friends apparently back together. Hermione gave him a look that could even penetrate his thick skull as they turned to leave as five yellow feathered missiles chased him out of the room.
"She's detestable," muttered Hermione. "They deserve each other."
Harry chuckled and pulled them back together. Within seconds, the encounter was forgotten and they were lost in the tangling of lips and tongues as the blossom finished opening on the blossom on the Tree of Love in hopes of a visit by a honeybee.
ACT XI
The days passed and it was Ron's birthday. Over the past few months, Ron and Lavender's affair had become the giggling chatter of the school gossips. Ron, one of the school's smart-mouths and showoff seemed tamed, almost cowed by the doting Lavender. Her incessant, effusive displays of affection were like a wellspring of saccharine spray over every place they went.
During his opening of presents in his dorm room, he accidentally stumbled across the box of cauldron cakes Romilda Vane had given Harry at Christmas in hopes of trapping him with the love potion she had placed on them. Unable to resist treats, especially chocolatey ones, he quickly fell victim to Romilda's treachery as the spider on the Tree of Love was eaten by an unwitting, perpetually hungry rat.
Harry, who had still failed in his attempts to get Slughorn to reveal his real memory, took him to see the professor in hopes of breaking the love spell. After the successful administration of an antidote, Slughorn opened a bottle of mead to celebrate the moment. Within seconds, Ron was on the floor spasming and foaming at the mouth from the poison placed in the mead by Draco.
Thinking quickly as Slughorn was paralyzed with academic befuddlement, Harry found a bezoar in the potions chest and shoved it down Ron's throat. Ron was rushed to the infirmary where Hermione and Ginny sat by his side as Harry looked on while Madame Pomfrey attended to his care.
Before long, they were joined by professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, and Slughorn. Moments later, a panic-stricken Lavender Brown burst into the room.
"Where's my Won Won?" she cried out. "I'm here, Won Won."
Seconds later she saw him in the bed with the girls on either side of him. She looked at Hermione with angry jealousy for anyone who dared glance in Ron's way. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.
"I'm attending to my friend," came a cold response formed in her dislike of Lavender.
"Your friend?" snarled back Lavender in a very condescending voice. "You've barely spoken in weeks. You're just here because he is suddenly all interesting."
"Interesting? You daft bim…"
"...Hermie," interjected Ginny in a voice loud enough to cut her off. She gave Hermione a nod of her head indicating she should just go. Hermione stood up as Ron moaned something sounding like Lavender's name.
Hermione looked at Ginny, then realized she was right. She got up and walked away as Dumbledore told the others to leave. They all exited the infirmary, leaving Lavender alone to tend to Ron.
Once Ron was recovered from the poisoning and Harry from a quidditch match bludger to the head, Harry returned to the task of getting Slughorn to give up his memory. Finally, annoyed at his lack of progress, Ron asked Harry if he had had any luck with Slughorn. This jogged Harry's memory causing him to remember his vial of Liquid Luck. He returned to the Gryffindor common room and drank it after telling Ron and Hermione his plan.
The potion worked its magic and before long he was on his way to Hagrid's for some unknown reason. On his way, he met Slughorn in the greenhouses. Together, they met Hagrid and attended an impromptu funeral for Aragog. From there, Harry, Slughorn, and Hagrid went down to Hagrid's hut to talk, console and reminisce. By the end, the potion once again worked its magic. Using a tale of Slughorn's about a fish given to him by Lily Evan's, Harry convinced the reluctant professor to be brave and give up the desired memory.
With the memory finally in hand, Harry went to see Dumbledore. After viewing it and realizing the extent of Voldemort's treachery, Dumbledore enlisted Harry to help him retrieve a suspected horcrux the next afternoon.
Harry told Ron and Hermione about his success and mission with Dumbledore at breakfast the following morning. Harry and Hermione went for a walk that ended with a session of particularly hot making out in a quiet spot down by the lake. Hermione let Harry touch her breasts through her clothes as she rubbed her hand on his pants very close to his crotch. Perhaps, the Felix Felicis had not yet fully worn off.
After lunch, Harry met Dumbledore in his office where the rules of the journey were laid out in very specific terms. Then, with a whoosh of apparation, they vanished to a rock in an angry sea along the Cliffs of Moher along the western coast of Ireland.
From there, they apparated into a cave only visible from the rock and the sea. Dumbledore used magic to open an entrance to a hidden lake inside the cave. Before long, they found themselves standing on a tiny island with a pedestal holding a well of emerald-colored liquid.
Dumbledore explained it was of paramount importance that he drinks all of the potion and Harry was to do whatever was necessary for him to do so. After a long ordeal where Dumbledore was in such pain he begged Harry to kill him, they succeeded and retrieved a locket with a Slytherin emblem on it.
Before they could leave, they were attacked by an army of inferi. Harry was almost drowned by them, but Dumbledore saved him and they escaped, eventually finding themselves in Hogsmeade.
They eventually made it back to Hogwarts and atop the Astronomy Tower. No sooner had they gotten there than they heard the sounds of a battle raging several floors below them and heading their way and saw the Dark Mark overhead. Draco Malfoy had mended the vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirement and created a pathway between Hogwarts and the cabinet in Borgin & Burkes. This had allowed an army of Death Eaters led by Bellatrix Lestrange to enter the castle and start a skirmish.
Just as the Death Eaters were reaching Harry and Dumbledore, Dumbledore used the petrifying hex to paralyze Harry. He hid Harry under his invisibility cloak and waited for their arrival.
Draco disarmed Dumbledore, but failed as expected, to finish his task of killing Dumbledore. Snape fulfilled his unbreakable vow and killed Dumbledore in Draco's stead. What they did not know was that Snape killing Dumbledore, who was already destined to die from the curse on his hand from Marvolo Gaunt's ring, was part of a plan to defeat Voldemort. Harry watched helplessly as Dumbledore toppled backward off the tower and fell to the ground below.
By the time Harry became unparalyzed, the Death Eaters had left the tower. He fought through the battle until he caught up with Snape, the Carrows, Bellatrix, and the others from the tower. Unable to fight them all, he was stunned by Snape who admitted to being the Half Blood Prince and owner of the potions book he had used earlier in the year before disappearing with the others. Harry eventually regained his wits and walked up to the castle where he found much of the student body in a circle surrounding the body of Dumbledore.
He went to Dumbledore and knelt down as he sobbed inconsolably. Professor McGonagall raised her wand as did all of the others. The combined power of their wands caused the dark mark to vanish.
Ginny gave Hermione a gentle nudge toward Harry. She went to him and put her arms around him. She sobbed into his back as she felt him crying below as a honey bee landed on the blossom on the Tree of Love.
The others eventually left to go back inside. Harry only got up with the help of Hermione as four men asked them to move so they could take Dumbledore's body inside to the infirmary. Hogwarts was no longer the Hogwarts Harry had come to love. His heart was broken, but Hermione was there to hold it together.
The next day, Harry and Hermione found themselves on a balcony looking out over the grounds along with Ron. Harry explained that the locket they had found was a fake containing a note addressed to the Dark Lord telling him the real one had been taken and was to be destroyed by someone calling themself R.A.B. Harry said he had no idea who R.A.B. was or whether or not he had succeeded in destroying it.
Still despondent, Harry told Hermione that he needed to finish the job of hunting the horcruxes given to him by Dumbledore and he will have to leave her and Ron to do so as a sudden wind tried to blow the honey bee off the blossom on the Tree of Love.
Hermione insists that Harry cannot accomplish the task on his own. She says she and Ron will need to go with him on the hunt as the honey bee remained on the blossom on the Tree of Love.
Harry returned home for the summer at the Dursley's amidst a cloud of confusion about his future. As time passes, the attacks by forces loyal to Voldemort got more and more frequent and brazen. Harry contacted the Order who says it needs to move Harry to a more secure location and put the Dursleys under their protection.
Following a heart-to-heart with his uncle, the Dursleys pack up to leave their home. As Vernon waited at the car, Petunia was inside saying goodbye to her beloved house. Harry tried to console her, to which she replied that he is not the only one who felt pain the night his parents died, she also felt the pain of having lost a sister. Suddenly, the coldness and anger he felt from her over the years came into focus. It was not her dislike for James, the magical world, or anger at her sister and the attention she got from their parents. It was years of unresolved grieving.
Once Petunia went outside, Dudley approached Harry on the steps. Dudley had been Harry's constant tormentor and bully since he first arrived. However, at this moment, Dudley extended his hand and told Harry he was not a waste of skin. It was, perhaps, his way of thanking him for saving his life from the dementors and apologizing for the years of torment.
Harry remained alone in the house for several days until he suddenly found himself surrounded by a group of members of the Order. They had come to move him to a safer location. Following a tense moment where Harry tried to stop them, six people, including Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Fleur, and Mundungus Fletcher drank polyjuice potion and became copies of Harry. Following the directions of Madeye Moody, the left, flying into a swarm of waiting Death Eaters, on a mad dash to safety. During the escape, Madeye Moody was killed by Voldemort. Also, George was injured, losing an ear, by a strike from a sectumsempra spell.
Once safe at the Weasley's, Harry still felt the need to go. However, Ron stopped him. As the three of them began gathering the things they will need to go on the hunt together, the Minister for Magic visits the Weasley's to give them items bequeathed to them in Dumbledore's will. Ron received a device called a deluminator that can control lights, and possibly more. Hermione received a copy of a children's book called The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which seems quite strange. Harry received the snitch he caught in his first quidditch match and the Sword of Gryffindor. However, the sword is missing, so he does not actually get it.
The next day was the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. For once, although he did not know it, Harry had less drama in his life than Hermione or Ron. The move of the Dursleys into the protective care of the Order had gone far more smoothly than anticipated, On the other hand, Hermione's ignorance of the possibility of the Order protecting her parents had prompted her to erase their memories of her and to send them into hiding halfway around the world. She was so distraught about what she had done in those panicky hours that she bottled it up inside her without telling the others.
Still, Hermione's problem was small compared to Ron's. He did not tell his family he was leaving for fear Ginny would try to join them. When he tried to quietly tell Lavender that he was going away with Harry and Hermione to hunt horcruxes without her and that he was not going to be able to communicate with her during his absence, she went off the rails. She ran out of The Burrow wailing. If not for the fact she did not know how to apparate, she might have completely disappeared. As it were, she vanished into the tall grasses lining the wetlands as Ron, Harry, and Hermione pursued her.
The grass muffled her cries and they soon found themselves searching in vain. The only audible sounds other than the suddenly disturbed nesting birds, insects, and frogs were the calls from the three of them…"Lavender! Lav! Lavender! Lav! Lav!..."
"Harry!" hollered Ron in a desperate voice. "Can you hear her?"
"NO!" came the response.
"I can't find her, either," yelled Hermione.
It was only when the three of them finally heard a loud splash that they got a probable bead on her. When they reached the pond in the center of the marsh, the ripples in the water indicated she had jumped into it in a probable attempt to drown herself.
Ron never hesitated. He ran into the pond and disappeared into the dark water. A moment later, he surfaced with a struggling, half-drowned Lavender. Harry ran into the water and helped pull her back onto land.
"Let me drown," cried Lavender as she wrestled to break free. 'I don't want to live. Why didn't you let me die?"
"Lav! Lav!" shouted Ron. "I love you. I'm not going away forever. I'm coming back. I promise."
Harry and Hermione embraced each other as they stood quietly out of the way. Ron and Lavender had to work this out. This was not the time for them to intervene.
I don't want you to go. Why can't I go, too?" she sobbed.
"I told you. It's too dangerous. We need to do this alone. We need to stop Voldemort or he'll kill all of us."
"But I want to go," she sobbed,
"You're not good enough with defensive spells, Lav. You'll get hurt or killed...and that would kill me."
"Re...re...really?" she choked as Ron's words finally broke through.
"Yes. I want you to be safe. I want you to stay here for both of us."
It took several more minutes of talking before Lavender fully regained her composure and said she would be brave and stay behind. Now it was just a case of getting a soaking wet girl back inside and redressed without raising the curiosity of Ron's family or other early arrivals.
The wedding went wonderfully the next day. Everyone had a good time. The reception started out with the promise of being a grand party. There was good food, great music and plenty to drink. Harry had a fascinating conversation with Elphias Doge and Ron's Aunt Muriel. He learned a great deal about the history of Dumbledore before a ball of light appeared in the middle of the festivities.
The ball of light was a message from Kingsley Shacklebolt. It told everyone that the Ministry had fallen and the minister was dead. Seconds later, the reception came under the attack of Death Eaters. Harry, Hermione, and Ron narrowly escaped to Nr. 12 Grimmauld Place after Ron convinced Lavender to grab onto Ginny and follow her. From there, they are on the run.
In the morning, they roamed around the house to kill time while figuring out their next step. Ron saw an emblem on a bedroom door inscribed with Regulus Arcturus Black that he realizes is R.A.B. After examining the room and finding the Black family elf Kreacher, who was now sworn to serve Harry by the will left by Sirius, they determine the real locket was stolen by Mundungus Fletcher. Harry dispatched Kreacher to find him and to bring him there.
Kreacher returned with Mundungus and Dobby after a couple of hours. They learned about the locket and that it was in the possession of Dolores Umbridge through their interrogation of Fletcher. They left for the Ministry to retrieve it the next morning.
Using polyjuice potion from Hermione's seemingly inexhaustible storehouse of supplies in her beaded bag, the three of them entered the Ministry. Their plan, as usual, went south in a hurry. Ron, who was disguised as Reginald Cattermole of the Magical Maintenance Department, was buttonholed by Corban Yaxley, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Death Eater, to fix the rain in his office. Hermione, who was disguised as Mafalda Hopkirk, an assistant in the Improper Use of Magic Office, was commandeered by Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic, to assist in the questioning of suspected non-witches and wizards in the courtrooms.
Harry broke into Umbridge's office, but did not find the locket. After reuniting with Ron, they went down to the courtrooms and ended up in a fight when the polyjuice potion started to wear off. The three of them escaped with the locket, but were pursued by Yaxley. During their eventual escape into the wilderness, Ron was splinched and needed a lot of time to rest and recuperate.
Time passed and tensions grew as they had no luck in destroying the locket or finding any of the other horcruxes. They all took turns guarding the locket. The piece of Voldemort within it tormented the mind of the person carrying it. Ron was especially susceptible to its evil.
Things came to a head one evening after Ron had been carrying the locket all day. It had been weeks unto months since they had fled. They had made little progress. He was missing Lavender and increasingly jealous of Harry being with Hermione even though they avoided displays of affection in his presence out of respect for the sacrifice he was making. In a pique of anger right after Hermione had determined that the Sword of Gryffindor could destroy the horcrux, he apparated away leaving Harry and Hermione alone to continue the quest.
Hermione spent much of her time reading and fretting about her parents, Ron, and all of the others they had left behind. They had no source of news of the magical world. The most they got was muggle news from the occasional newspaper Hermione obtained when she snuck into a muggle village to get food and other supplies.
Harry did much the same as Hermione. Despite the sudden wealth of alone time together, they did little to act on it. The evil in the locket and the weight of their situation weighed too heavily on their minds for the frivolous luxuries and diversions of romance.
More time passed without the bearing of fruit on the Tree of Love. One night after dinner Harry went out, as was customary, to inspect the perimeter of their latest location. After a pleasant, relaxing walk among the sparse trees and scrub while listening to the insects, tree frogs, and the lamenting poetry of a lone nightingale, he started back toward the tent. As he neared it, a foreign, yet familiar and seductive aroma invaded his senses.
Harry pulled back the tent flap and stepped inside. He was greeted by the sight of Hermione lighting some candles while sitting next to what looked to be a plate of pumpkin pasties fresh out of the oven...one of his favorite treats right up there with treacle tart. As the flames flickered, the scents of jasmine and roses joined and tangled with the cinnamon, vanilla, and other pie spices.
"What's going on here?" inquired Harry in a curious, yet suspicious voice. "What are you up to?"
"Nothing," cooed Hermione. "I found this while shopping for dinner a couple of days ago. I thought we deserved a little treat. We have been so serious lately."
"Well, it's very nice," said Harry as he walked over and sat down next to her. He suddenly felt warm as his pulse seemed to quicken. "And it does smell heavenly."
"I saw the pumpkin while shopping and remembered how much you liked the pasties at school. I watched Molly and Ginny make them. I figured I could do it."
"You did splendidly," replied Harry as he moved closer and kissed Hermione on the cheek. "But what's up with the candles? I thought you could just make some bluebell flames."
"They're for atmosphere, silly," said Hermione with a tone meant to mockingly chastise his ignorance. "Besides, I like the way they smell."
"Okay. Brilliant. I guess they do smell nice, but I prefer those pasties," said Harry as he reached for one only to have his hand slapped.
Hermione picked up a pasty and offered him a bite. He took it and looked at her carefully as she then took a bite from it."
"What are you up to?" he asked as he swallowed his bite of the pasty. "It's delicious, by the way. You haven't put anything in it from your bloody, beaded bag, have you?"
"No. Of course not. I'm not Romilda Vane," she replied with a scowl.
Harry reached out and took her wrist and raised the pasty to his mouth. After taking a large bite, he smiled at her as he chewed it up. Hermione popped the remaining bite into her mouth and smiled back at him, her eyes pulling him to her.
Harry and Hermione began kissing with an intensity and passion that had been missing from their relationship for months. After several moments of feverish making out, Hermione broke their embrace and unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse before leaning and giving Harry a look clearly inviting him to continue the process. As Harry fumbled with buttons, Hermione pulled up Harry's sweater and pulled his shirt out of his trousers. Harry managed to finish the unbuttoning and hesitated while Hermione pulled his sweater off his arms and cast it onto a chair. He then pulled her arms out of the sleeves of her top and tossed it on top of his sweater.
Hermione took a breath and pulled Harry's shirt up over his head and off his arms. He then did the same to her second top. Harry was naked from the waist up and Hermione was wearing only her bra. They were in uncharted waters...not just between themselves, but anywhere. Neither of them had ever shared more than a kiss with another person. Now, they were venturing into a place where they had no real knowledge...no real experience.
Harry started to move forward to kiss Hermione. However, she leaned back and reached behind her back to unfasten her bra. With a quick move, she released it and pulled it off to give Harry his first-ever view of naked breasts. It was the first time Hermione had bared herself other than in the privacy of her bedroom or the girl's shower. It caused a great tingle to vibrate her body and a wave of excitement crashed against Harry's senses.
A moment later, they were embracing as they kissed. Hermione's budding breast only occasionally touched Harry's hairless chest. Each touch was like an electric shock to both of them. It was a good thing their protection spells made them invisible to the surrounding world. Otherwise, their silhouettes on the walls of the tent would make for some very spicy viewing.
After several moments of kissing extended by their lack of knowledge as to how to progress, they both stood up. Hermione hooked her fingers into her undies and started to remove them, but Harry pulled them away. He put his fingers into them and knelt down to do it for her.
Harry could feel the heat radiating from between Hermione's legs as he started to remove the undies. It was the same heat he felt between his own legs. Seconds later, the shadows on the tent had rendered Hermione naked. Her shadow reached over and removed Harry's knickers. Any remaining doubts about whether or not they were going to do it were removed, just like their clothes.
The shadows on the tent move to the bed against the wall of the tent. They made love with the intense naivety of two novices who were not going to be deterred by their lack of knowledge. After several long minutes in which the writhing silhouettes found their voices and let them echo among the trees, they collapsed to enjoy the cuddly glow of their passion as the petals fell off the blossom on the tree of love and the makings of a small fruit appeared.