Chapter 31
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Hogwarts, 1995December, 5th yearHe was the last person she had expected to find out about her. About them.
Hermione swallowed hard, her mind coming to a standstill as Harry pushed himself off the bed. She stepped back but it only pressed her back and hips against Severus; who still hadn't said a word.
So, she read his mind and found her answer soon enough. The spell must not have worked with the potion still in his system. They had been careless for the first time.
She shook herself and gathered her thoughts carefully. But she knew that it was a bit late to deny anything. They could try to Obliviate him…
"No. Don't, Hermione. I don't want you to erase my memory." Harry whispered, his face changing and losing the dash of braveness from seconds before. Hermione sighed and quickly thought of several possibilities but all of them led back to the fact that Harry would have to know eventually.
Especially since they would soon run out of time. Severus must have been thinking the same thing because he quickly used his wand and locked and silenced the doorway. Her fireplace was next.
Through it all, Harry observed Severus, eyes narrowing with something Hermione had no time to address.
"Harry. What I'm about to tell you will shock you. Might even make you hate me," She shook her head when he opened his mouth to speak. "Wait until I'm done telling you everything. Hear me out. That is all I ask of you. Please."
For a second he went as if to shake his head but paused and instead sat back down on the bed. Hermione took a deep breath, not wanting to do what had to be done. But she saw no other way out of it.
Without giving it much thought, she flicked her wrist at the armchair, which sat across the room and waited for it to come to a stop beside her before dropping down on it with a heavy sigh.
She missed the way Harry's eyes had widened since her attention had shifted to Severus. Who had stopped all movement and now stood silently by the fireplace? The line of his shoulders gaining a new type of tension that had her pausing for a split moment.
Curiosity had her probing his mind and was surprised to find it shadowed in darkness. Knowing that she didn't have the time to figure it out, she turned back to Harry.
He was staring at her in a strange way. Which quickly shifted into anger and newfound betrayal when she began her story.
The information on Dumbledore, complete fury. The news of his connection with Riddle shocking him. But under it all, there was a new found awareness of the truth he had also been trying to run from. Even with the sudden load of information, he never broke eye contact with her. It was what she had been looking for. His will and ambition to learn but knowing that where he stood at the moment, wasn't where he needed to be in order to have a say.
Hermione stood and walked over to him. She cupped his face gently. She made sure to take a good look at him and smiled when his face flushed in apparent embarrassment.
She shook her head and let go of his face so that she could pull him up. "There is no need to worry, Harry. I'll be by your side every step of the way. Now, listen to me closely. Go and pack a bag full of clothes and come back here. Don't linger and brush off anybody that tries to talk to you."
Harry didn't smile back and instead nodded indifferently and left the room, his stride already changed with...
Hermione lost her smile and Severus walk out of the shadows he had created. Harry had been so lost in the current situation he had forgotten all about the one other person in the room with them. Severus pulled her close as she tucked her head under his chin and held him tightly.
"Am I doing the right thing?"
"You are doing what should have been done by others. He will understand fully and shoulder the burden with you. I don't like him. I probably never will. But that doesn't change the fact that your life is now going to be truly entangled with his. Things just happened a lot sooner than we had intended."
"Go get him. We will need him too."
No further words need to be said. He left a few seconds later.
She stood in the middle of her room, her eyes taking in every single detail but no matter how much she stared, none of it spoke to her. She didn't belong here anymore.
Not wanting to linger over such thoughts, she unpacked her used clothes from her beaded bag and traded them for new ones. She threw in a few extra things that might be needed and was ready within minutes.
Harry knocked five minutes later. She let him in just as voices began to carry from the common room. He closed the door after he stepped in, his hand holding his travel bag that she had gifted him a year ago. They didn't waste time and used the floo and walked out into Severus's room. She walked away from Harry when she saw Dimitry. He also had his own bag and raised an eyebrow when he saw Harry.
"Severus went ahead of us to check the place out. But I'm certain it hasn't been visited in years. At least not since Adrian's birth."
"Did you tell Zeph?"
"I told her you needed me. I didn't have to explain."
Hermione would have replied but Harry spoke up first. "You look like Adrian Pucey."
Dimitry lazily looked over to him. His eyes were glacial in their coldness. She hadn't seen that look in a long time. Not since the first time she had met him.
Yet she knew now that it was just the way he was before judging a person's character. But Harry didn't know that. The thing was, Harry was used to such looks. It only made him angry. Dimitry knew that. He raised an arrogant eyebrow.
"I'd be concerned if he didn't."
Harry went to open his mouth but the flare of the fireplace marked the return of Severus. He didn't bat an eye at them as he silently walked by them and picked up his own bag. He turned to them after making sure he put out the candles that lit the kitchen. "It's safe. It doesn't look like anybody has been there. The place is undisturbed."
"Let's go. We should use the floo and head over to the Villa. We'll move to a remote place outside of the perimeter for the last part." she said as she walked over to Harry.
He had stepped forward, his face set in new frowns. But they didn't have time for explanations. Hermione didn't look away from him as the men left. Severus hadn't touched her physically as he had left but Hermione had felt his warm presence in her mind and it reassured her once again that she was doing the right thing.
"Harry. Trust me. Please. I promise to explain it in detail later. But right now we have to leave."
He closed his eyes for a second and nodded soon after. With no more hold-ups, they arrived at the Villa. It was empty. But that was to be expected.
Hermione didn't linger and pulled Harry along as she walked out of the Villa. The snow almost glowed in the bright sun that was rising, the whiteness of it almost blinding her. She didn't let go of Harry as she trudged through the thick snow, following the footsteps of the others.
After two minutes of walking deep into the woods that surround the Villa, she saw both men standing by a large old tree that had fascinated her the first time she had seen it. The branches hung low enough to touch the floor.
Harry pulled his hand away when she came to a stop in front of Severus and Dimitry. She pulled her coat off. The chill in the air instantly eating away her warmth. But she wasn't the only one doing it. Severus and Dimitry did the same. Hermione looked over at Harry and he frowned further in confusion.
But did the same.
She nodded and pulled her shirt up and quickly loosened the chain that wrapped around her waist. She pulled it up so that it hung around her neck and began to extend it so that all of them could fit in it. Harry must have immediately recognized it since he gasped and took a step towards her.
"Hermione! Why do you have a time-turner?"
"Just get in. I'll explain later. Trust me."
He shut his mouth and stepped inside as the other two men did the same. Hermione made sure they were in and began to turn back the time.
It was unsettling, her fingers began to burn from the magic. Her stomach dropped with the rewinding passage of time. The ringing in her ears rang true and loud as she bit her lip. The end was even worse for some reason. It made her stomach lurch with awareness and the need to bring back up everything she had eaten.
She was able to hold it back but Harry wasn't so lucky. He lurched away from them and turned towards the tall patch of grass next to them to bring up whatever had been in his stomach. Hermione glanced at Severus and Dimitry. Both had gone pale, their eyes sending her draggers.
She smirked as she swallowed away the urge to join Harry. Hermione had the feeling that she hadn't fooled either man.
She took the handkerchief that Dimitry pulled out and handed it to Harry as he staggered back to her side. He wiped his mouth and she used her own wand to clean his mouth.
But he gasped a couple of seconds later as he stared her wand. "Hermione! You will get in trouble for using your wand outside of school!"
Hermione was already shaking her head. "No, I won't. Now, let's go. Dimitry."
He let her see the house and the area around it, the image clear in his mind. She sent him a warm kiss and wrapped an arm around Harry since she knew he would refuse to go with either man. Not giving him a chance to say no, she apparated them to the mansion that had once belonged to Dimitry's mother.
They arrived to see Dimitry and Severus setting up the wards. They would need them in the months to come. Harry must have reached his limit and gagged once more but this time, nothing came back up. He spun around to face her, chest heaving rapidly as he glowered at her.
"Hermione! Tell me! Did you use the time-turner? Again? Did he give it back to you? Why? Why are you with them! With HIM!" he shouted at her. But it was then that he noticed the lack of snow. Instead of the icy winds they had felt earlier, they now felt the end of winter and the fresh scent of spring in the air. He frowned deeply as he surveyed their surroundings.
After doing a full circle, he paused and gaped at the large mansion that lay right behind him.
"Where are we?" he asked, his voice still pulsing with anger.
"We are using a house that once belonged to Dimitry's mother. It should be around early March right now, if not the first week or so. Harry, listen carefully and don't interrupt me, okay. I explained the Horcruxes and the connection you share with Tom Riddle. But there is so much more that has happened. There is so much that you need to know and learn. I want you to see something."
Not wanting to prolong it, she shrugged her bag off and took off her shirt as well. He jumped back and averted his eyes as he asked her to cover herself up. She shook her head as she secured the time-turner. It wasn't like she was naked. The bra she wore covered the important parts anyway.
"Look at me," she said gently.
He hesitated but after a moment of silence, in which he seemed to be fighting himself, he looked at her. She closed her eyes and dropped all of her enchantments. The silence, the lack of emotion, concerned her enough that she opened her eyes.
Only to see Harry kneeling on the floor, his hands fisted as his eyes filled with tears. Hermione rushed forward in a fluid motion, her hands landing on his shoulders.
"Harry."
Those tears refused to shed as he bit his lip and gave a ragged laugh laced with aged anger. "Why do you look like that? Because of me?"
The smiled that slipped across her face was one that she would have given a child. "They are not. They are from the choices that I have made myself. My reason for doing so is another matter completely. It may have started with the need to protect you and the others but that reason has grown and branched out. Let's go inside and I will tell you my foolish tale."
o0o
Four hours later, after they had isolated themselves in a room near the back of the mansion, she walked out of the room alone. Harry had fallen asleep after she had finished, his eyes had warned her that she had literally turned his world on its axis and he needed time alone to recover.
She wandered towards the study room they had passed before. She found Dimitry in there. He was standing by the large window that overlooked the patio outside and the lake a mile down. He turned as she walked inside. The light played with his hair as he leaned back against the side panel.
He motioned with his hand. "How's Potter?"
Hermione sighed. "He was just told what he needed to know. It was a bit too much, especially since he hasn't had time to actually think about any of it since he kind of just sat silently. He didn't even interrupt except to ask me for my current age. Which has once again be altered? I'm closer to twenty-one now. A month or two away. I will give him the rest of the day to think and regroup. Where's Severus?"
"Here," he said from behind her.
He was standing right outside the open door, his forearms bared. He had changed clothes to match the current weather. He sat down on the armchair a little to her right and pulled her so that she sat on his lap. She curled up, letting her shields drop for the first time in what seemed like forever.
He pulled her hair loose as he played with the strands. Dimitry sat down on the window seat, his face still drenched in warm sunlight. She finally noticed the change in his own clothes as well.
"Did you tell him why he's here?" Dimitry asked.
The question reminded her of Harry's earlier reaction. The burn of determination and relief that she was letting him play his part. She hadn't needed to read his mind to know that he was thinking of the brush-offs he had gotten from the adults in the Order as well as Dumbledore's treatment.
He hadn't fought her on the decisions.
"I told him that he was here to train. I didn't have to convince him but I know him. He will question me and throw tantrums as he is forced to leave behind the childish feelings and forced to grow in the next few months. It won't be easy but he will see soon enough as we amp it up." she said as she laid her head on Severus's shoulder.
o0o
Hermione left with Dimitry to pick up food and other things in the nearby village and came back an hour later with bags of food. She set about working in the kitchen as the men cleaned the house of any unwanted things.
At one point, she heard thumping above and later told that they had found a boggart.
Just as she was making a late lunch did Harry come out of the room. His face was marred with sleep lines. She handed him a cool glass of tea and a turkey sandwich. He ate it without a word and sat down on the old stone table that took up a small portion of the large kitchen. She turned away briefly to get the plate of sandwiches and sat them on the table.
She let the men know privately about the lunch and received quick responses. Both had left to set wards and spells around the surrounding area just in case trouble came looking for them.
"Who are you talking to?" Harry asked as he stood up to wash his empty cup.
She moved to the side and leaned against the sink. She rubbed her hands together and raised an eyebrow in question. He blushed, showing colour for the first time in hours. He set the cup on a drying pad they had just bought and gestured with his hands.
"I probably should have noticed it before but you get this slight concentrated look on your face. I should have figured it out earlier. Can you do it? Like Dumbledore?"
Hermione became still and cocked her head eerily. "You have spoken Dumbledore this way before?"
Harry frowned in confusion. "No. I haven't. But he has, on two separate occasions. Usually only to ask me if I'm okay. I asked him about it and he said that it took years of practice. That not many knew how to actually do it. So I knew I wasn't supposed to tell anybody."
"Yes, I was talking to them. That is also why we are here. You have a lot to learn."
She would have walked off but his hand halted her as he pulled her back, her wrist held firmly in his. She met his gaze, waiting. He raised his other hand and touched the scars on her arms. She was wearing a short sleeve shirt that left her arms bare. She looked down, noticing for the first time just how many scars she had.
He traced the wand re-brandings that laced her right hand. "Why did you wait so long? Have you been alone this whole time? What about your parents?" he asked, his fingers cold against her skin.
The sound of footsteps filled the hallway as she turned her body so that it faced his completely.
She smiled and shook her head. "I wasn't alone. Maybe at first, I was but that didn't last long. My parents are alive and well but not here. I sent them away for their own safety."
"Who did you rely on at first?"
Adrian and Marcus instantly came to mind. They had been who she had chosen to go to for help. "Before I answer, let me ask you something first. Do you truly hate Slytherins? Or is it just Draco Malfoy?"
His ears turned red but he didn't look away from her. He sighed. "I honestly never have liked him. Not since our first year. I know that not all Slytherins are evil but they have never spoken to me except to insult me. Come to think of it, why are you with two of them? Especially Snape. You have never liked him. And you were...hugging him. In your room."
That was what she had been waiting for too. "Harry, I already told you that he isn't the man you think he is. He isn't exactly the nicest man either. But he has been protecting you for years now. He never particularly liked you but that doesn't make him evil. I won't share his reasons for being the way he is or was but you can believe me when I say that he is trustworthy. As for the other question, do you really want to know?"
"I want to understand."
"I love him. I have come to love him and I can't say I'm sorry since I'm not. I will never be. It happened over time. I grew close to many people who have been and are in Slytherin. They are not good per se but neither am I. Not after everything I have done or will do."
Harry let her wrist go and used his hands to push his hair back. He would have spoken but Severus spoke first.
"Potter, you don't need to know the details of what goes on between us. She's mine. That's all you need to know."
Very romantic and manly.
She sent him a hex that he easily deflected. Dimitry smirk as he passed by and picked up his own sandwich. Harry turned with anger but kept his mouth shut as he avoided looking at Severus. He still needed to get used to the fact that Severus wasn't the bad guy anymore.
Hermione patted his shoulder and sat down next to Dimitry and fell into conversation about the upcoming days. They would start up easy but soon move to harder things. It wasn't until Severus walked out of the kitchen that she looked up to see Harry watching her. Dimitry left just as quietly as Severus had.
"What is it?"
"I really don't know you anymore, do I? You have been hiding for a while. I don't know why it bothers me so much. Out of everything that you have told me. The Horcruxes, the mark, the lies and plans to use me don't bother me as much as knowing that you aren't the Hermione I used to know."
Hermione was startled.
It was the last thing she had expected to hear from him. But it shouldn't have. He didn't have a blood family. She knew that he had considered her a close friend but it wasn't until now that she realized that he might have seen her as more, almost like a sister. An annoying one at that.
She pushed her hair back and shook her head. "It is true that I have changed and that I faked being who I was before. I did it to buy you time. Using the time-turner doesn't stop me from aging. The instant I knew what had been in the bag, I knew that I wasn't going to be the same girl you remembered. I didn't think past that until my plans became clearer. I know that it may seem like I'm a new person and maybe I am but trust me when I say that my love for books is never changing. As well as my loyalty to you."
"I believe you."
March 27th
Hermione watched as Harry stomped off to the house, his hands fisted. He had just lashed out at Severus. It was something she had been expecting for days now.
Severus had tried to attack him physically and Harry had lost focus with his spell. Hermione leaned against Dimitry as she watched Severus shake off his own anger. It had been inevitable. She had known Harry would lose it. Especially since it was the first time they had gone at it alone. Dimitry nudged her towards the house and she sighed.
One hour later, she was still trying to calm Harry down but she could see that he was running out of steam.
Ten minutes later, training resumed.
April 19th
It was raining hard. The dark clouds in the sky making it seem like it was nearing evening when it was barely lunchtime. Hermione stood in the kitchen alone, her ears picking up the voices of the men.
They were in the second living room that served as a training room when it rained. She knew that Harry was practicing the use of Occlumency but he was struggling. He hated it and his temper made it almost unbearable to teach him.
Severus had even lost it on two occasions.
She placed the baked chicken pies on the table and called them. Severus walked in first and gave her a kiss. He had not been sleeping with her for the past couple of weeks since Harry was still not accepting the relationship between them. They hadn't wanted to make it harder for everybody so they slept separately.
The touches he gave her were not enough.
Severus pulled away from her and grabbed cups from the cupboard as Dimitry walked in with Harry. It shouldn't have surprised her that Harry took it up with Dimitry's sly humor. But it did. Not that it bothered Severus.
"Let's eat while it's hot," she said as she placed napkins on the table.
May 9th
Hermione grunted in pain as she landed hard on the grass.
"Hermione!" Harry shouted her name. His feet appeared to the side of her and she used the moment of distraction to knock his feet from under him with her left leg. He yelped and cursed as he landed on his shoulder.
"Are you going to ask your attacker if he's okay?" Severus snidely asked as he helped her up.
She kicked his shin as she brushed the grass off her arse. Dimitry sniggered as he grabbed another wand from the box they had. He gave the wand to Harry and bent to pick up the one that he had broken. They were going through so many wands since Harry couldn't use his and kept breaking the spares. Harry glared at Dimitry and answered Severus with a touch of distaste.
"Well, I didn't really want to hurt her. What else was I supposed to do?"
After dinner, they each went to their own rooms to bath in some healing salts she had brought. It was Harry who needed them the most but Hermione actually enjoyed bathing in them. Once she set her water to fever hot, she pulled her robe off and stepped in.
She hadn't been in the bath long when she felt him close. He slid his hands down her shoulders and turned her head so he could give her a full kiss. She turned all the way and wrapped her arms around his neck. His hair had grown longer, his stubble now lined his jaw. It made her burn deliciously. The caresses became more sensual and in the end, they bathed together.
They fell asleep in each other's arms that night for the first time in forever.
June 4th
Bright sunshine spilled in through the open glass doors as she studied. She had been in and out of the study room as she made notes and went over her research.
Frustration clawed at her heart as she gave up trying to find a solution and walked out of the study to grab a juice pack and walked out of the house to make her way downwind, away from the others. She thought of Harry's progress as she walked. It had gotten better but they still weren't where she wanted him to be. It became clear to her that he wasn't gifted in Occlumency but the hard work was paying off since he was able to hold off against her for longer than ten minutes.
The true test would be when it became Severus's turn. Not something anybody was looking forward to since Harry still stared at Severus suspiciously.
After some time, she arrived at the lake and sat down near the water. It wasn't long until Harry found her. He silently sat down beside her and they sat in silence as the sun climbed high. The silence was broken when Harry spoke.
"I miss Ron. I miss Sirius and Remus. I wished they were here too."
Hermione leaned back on her elbows and confessed. There were a few things she hadn't told him. Mostly revolving around those that were on their side. As far as he knew, only Severus and the Pucey's were in on it all. She couldn't tell him everything since he didn't need to know but she could give him this.
"Sirius and Remus are on my side as well as the twins. There are many others but for now, if you need anything and I'm not around, go to them for help. They will have a way to contact me."
That seemed to surprise him. "Why the twins?"
"They found out about me and I had no reason not to allow them in."
"What do they do for you?"
"Right now, they are helping Percy back into the fold. He has been going to dinners at Molly's but they are still a bit mad at him but the twins are trying to conceive Molly. Aside from that, they are also working for us. We are waiting for them to graduate so that they can become secret keepers. We might even use some of the products that they produce to help us in the near future."
"What about Remus?"
"The wolfs. We don't want Riddle to gain favour with the wolfs, especially Greyback. I know you are going to ask about Sirius so I'll tell you now. He is tasked with protecting you. Has been for almost two years. Especially during the summer. Since I couldn't be beside you I had to have somebody watching you."
He changed the subject but she didn't miss the tightening of his shoulders. "Tell me more about your trips to Egypt? Ron has gone but what you did sounds far more thrilling."
So, she told him the story of the snake and the Sphinx. Went into detail of the food that Halima had made and the different type of Ministry that they had. He listened with rapt attention. Something that before would have been hard to accomplish since all he had wanted to talk about before had been Quidditch and Slytherins.
He relaxed as they spoke and he didn't bring up Sirius again. But she knew that when they went back, he would demand to be trusted. But trust was earned.
He wasn't anywhere strong enough yet but that was a matter for later.
July 10th
The storm outside made it impossible to visit the market, even if they did apparate near it. Not that any of them wanted to go. Severus was in the makeshift lab on the second floor while Dimitry helped him so it left her with Harry who was concentrating on guarding his thoughts.
He was sitting in front of the window, his silhouette outlined with every lighting bolt that illuminated the sky. Since he didn't break concentration, that meant he was really trying.
She stood up silently from her perch and walked over to him. He twitched but otherwise remained still. She stared hard at him and for once used her Legilimency skills without having to make eye contact. She had given him the same symbol she had to the others and he had it on his inner thigh as well. But he didn't know that she had added something new.
Something the others didn't have.
But it only worked close range. She had to be within ten feet to be able to do it. She pushed hard, a punch straight towards his mind and he jerked back with shock and pain but she didn't let up as he snapped his eyes open and scrambled back. He glared at her as she continued her assault. He flinched once more and lost concentration as his nose began to bleed.
"Blimey Hermione! That hurt! How did you do that?" he shouted as he wiped at the blood. She didn't invade his thoughts as she pulled back and rubbed her head.
"It was a test. You didn't pass."
"Who would pass something like that?!"
"Severus. Every time he goes to Riddle. Or Dimitry. Riddle doesn't do anything gentle unless one has earned it. Do you know what they have to do to earn it?"
He looked away and shook his head. Hermione waited. He finally looked up at her.
"Things that would make your stomach turn inside out. I'm not asking you to be friends with them. Especially Severus. I understand that he has treated you like dirt. But he is the man I love. Why would I love somebody like him? I know you have wondered about it too. Why would I love a man with such an ugly temper? With a horrible personality? Yet, I do. All I ask from you is to respect him. He hasn't been awful to you in months but you haven't noticed, have you?" she paused and stared hard at him.
"People change, Harry, and sometimes for the better."
August 2nd
The talk she had with Harry weeks ago had worked. He now treated Severus better. His mood not as dark and leaning more towards polite indifference. He stopped throwing tantrums and actually began to train harder. He had also grown taller. He was a bit taller than her now. His body filled out in places it hadn't been filled before. But he didn't have drastic changes as she had.
They were currently residing in the study room she had been using and were trying to find a safe way to remove the Horcrux from him. It was frustrating to sit and research as they neared the end of their stay.
But she couldn't find a different way other than using the method she had been exercising for the other ones. She dropped her head back against the back of the armchair and stretched her limbs. Harry stood up and left the room soon after. Paying him no mind, she returned to the book at hand and looked up after half an hour later when Harry called for them. She frowned but a sudden aroma hit her nose and she raised her eyebrows in question.
It was sweet and it made her mouth water.
She led the men down the hall, her stomach growling the whole way. She came to a stop in front of the kitchen doorway. Harry had just pulled out something from the oven and it smelled divine.
Raising an eyebrow, she took in the fresh rolls. "Since when did you know how to bake?"
"I cooked and baked for my Aunt and Uncle all the time. I only know some things so don't expect anything too complicated."
"I guess I can marry you off now," Dimitry stated, his voice serious.
Harry smirked.
Hermione stared at the smirk with a sinking feeling. He was picking up smirks and sniggers from Dimitry and every now and then it reminded her of the teasings snickers she would see between Adrian and Dimitry. Severus didn't say anything out loud for the others to hear and spoke to her only.
"If he learned to behave he would make an amazing wife."
Hermione choked on the piece of hot bread she had just popped into her mouth. But as she stared at Dimitry and Severus as well as Harry, she knew that they would be okay. Harry and Severus might never be anything but a teacher and student and that was more than she could ask for. She joined in on the teasing and for once, acted her age.
That night, when the others were asleep, she slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Severus. The door made no sound as she pulled it open. Darkness greeted her as she crossed the hallway and made her way to the kitchen. But when she turned the corner, she gasped as she ran into a warm body. It was Dimitry. Even with the lights off, she recognized his smell.
"Why are you up?" he asked her.
Hermione shook her head and led him away from the kitchen opening and towards the first living room that was across from the kitchen. She turned on a few candles that sat on the table that lay in front of an old painting and curled up on the armchair. Dimitry sat down across from her and waited for her answer. She shrugged her hair back and stared at her hands. The frustration she had been feeling was spreading towards the others and she knew it.
"I can't sleep well. I know why. You know why too."
"You will find an answer, Hermione. You always do."
"Agree to disagree? Enough about me. Do you miss Zeph? Adrian?"
"Of course I do. I haven't been separated from Zeph this long and of course, I miss Adrian. He is my only heir."
She cracked a smile and met his clear and reassuring eyes. "Don't let him hear you say that. He will decide to rebel and run away. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. I'm only affected by it all because of my connection to you. So, don't worry. You're not alone in this."
September 16th
Harry stood in the middle of the field. About five feet from her. The night was dark and windy as Autumn welcomed them eagerly. Hermione made sure to stay quiet and avoided patches of dead leaves that would give her position away.
They were testing him.
Dimitry stood West to him and Severus was South. Hermione was the obstacle that he had to overcome but he didn't know that. He also didn't know that she could see in the dark.
Letting her body become lax, she ran straight for him and swirled to kick him when he jumped back and ducked her kick. He huffed as she slapped her forearm to his chest and danced away as he reached for her.
She slipped away and hid behind a tall shrub as he searched the dark rapidly. Severus moved forward and sent hexes in his direction. Dimitry did so as well and Harry began to struggle as he swirled and ducked over and over again. Hermione dropped back in and came at him from behind. He sensed her but was a fraction too late and ended up on his back as she flipped him over her shoulder. He gasped as the impact caused the air in his lungs to leave him forcefully. She paused as he groaned out another breath and she halted the others.
"He broke a rib or two. Let's fix it before we began again."
October 31st
"Happy Birthday Harry."
"Why are you giving me a sharp object as a birthday gift?"
"You don't want it?"
"Take it from her already, Potter. Stop being ungrateful." -Severus
"Severus!" -Hermione
"Want a bit of Whiskey?" -Dimitry
"Dimitry!"-Hermione
November 24th
The bite of cold was a shock to her senses as she walked inside of the study. She was only wearing thin clothes that she had worn to sleep and hadn't wanted to change. The fireplace wasn't on so she physically crouched down to turn it on.
After vanishing the traces of soot from her hands, she sat down on the leather chair and began to pack her notes and books. They would be leaving soon and she didn't want to leave anything important behind.
The room grew warm as she packed, easing the cold that had sunken into her bones. The door opened thirty minutes later. Harry smiled at her as he walked over with two cups of coffee. He set one down in front of her.
"Four cubes of sugar and a bit of milk?"
"Merlin, yes."
Coffee woke her up completely and she finished it while packing the last of her things. Harry had wandered off to watch the sun come up and the picture he created was something that she wouldn't have imagined before. She had underestimated him. But so had others in the past.
He was still a teenage boy who had a large chip on his shoulder. Yet, he wasn't the same boy she had brought with her months ago. His shoulders were wider, his stance filled with confidence that would be hard to hide when they went back.
"Why are you staring, Mione?"
"You have beautiful bed hair, Harry."
He drew back, embarrassed and spilt some of his own coffee as he blushed. She shook her head and sat back in the chair. The coffee had warmed her but it did nothing to chase the cold fear that lay in her heart. Harry shook his hand and used his fake wand to dry the spilt coffee. Severus and Dimitry came in with their own cups of coffee. They had all taken to drinking it instead of tea and they didn't regret it.
She knew what was going to happen next. There was no other way around it. Severus came over after setting his cup down and pulled the thin sleeve of her shirt up to reveal the sealed gash on her arm. It had faded to a dark green colour that stood out sharply against her skin. She watched as he pressed around it and let go after a few seconds.
He left but she knew what he was going to get. Dimitry sat down and crossed his arms. He had never seen her get rid of a Horcrux and she wasn't sure she wanted him to see. But he had refused several times on different occasions to stay out of it. Harry also set his own cup down and sat in the only other chair in the room. Severus walked back in with the paste and other things that he would need. Hermione pushed back away from the table and went to stand behind Harry's chair. He leaned his head back and stared up at her. She took his glasses off and gently set them on the table. He squinted his eyes but otherwise didn't move.
"I'll be fine, Mione. I trust you."
"I know."
No further words needed to be said so she used the tip of her wand like before and made the smallest cut.
It burned.
It also pulsed with magic that didn't belong to her and yet it did. She closed her eyes and touched the scar on Harry's forehead with bloodied fingertips. She felt him jerk and then nothing.
o0o
October 31st, 1981
The cloak hid him. But that wasn't what mattered anymore. Power did. The need to eliminate the opposers...
Not that he considered the infant anything but a nuisance. They underestimated him. They would pay for their foolishness.
He opened the door to the house that belonged to the Potters. He saw the man that had been a thorn in Snape's side. Why he never killed him remained an unanswered question. He rid the world of a useless pureblood and climbed the stairs towards the sounds of a child crying. He saw the light within flickering from the magic he had used and blew the door out of the way, the woman screamed as she turned. Her bright red hair stuck to her face as useless tears ran across her face. She screamed and pleaded.
But it only grew annoying. Nothing she said would sway him.
"Avada Kedavra!"
The woman dropped like a wilted flower. He then pointed his wand at the infant that was holding the handles of his crib with whimpering cries. This was the infant that was supposed to destroy him? Threaten his existence?
But regardless if it was true or not, he didn't want to make one mistake. With another flick of his wrist, he cast the killing spell. The instant it touched the child it rebounded. The scream of denial ripped the rest of his soul apart and he knew no more.
But she did. With horror and heartache at what she had just witnessed, she saw the bright red mark on Harry's forehead. And it broke her heart all over again. But she was already fading. With every step she took towards the infant, she faded into nothing as well.
...o0oo0o0o...
Thank you for reading the positive feedback! I will reply to you all in the next chapter.
Vanee