A/N Honestly, I'm kind of blown away guys. I would have been happy if even just one person liked the story, but you have all given me so much more than that in such a short time. So... You get a bonus chapter, you get a bonus chapter, you are all getting a bonus chapter! Sorry if it seems a little short, but I feel like it ties up our duos time in Valhalla quite nicely.
Chapter 2- The Erumpent in the room
Angelic methods of transportation seem to feel very different than regular magical methods it seems. Or at least that's what Hermione felt. Rather than the tight squeezing sensation of Apparition, Angel teleportation felt like the floor was being dropped out from underneath your feet, a sharp gust of wind and then a slight jarring as your feet reconnected with the ground. In short, Hermione was not a fan. At all. The sensation was much too similar to falling from a height, one of her greatest fears, hence her aversion to Quidditch and flying in general.
Suddenly being dropped into a new location by an awkward angel, combined with the information that she had just received did not make for a happy or particularly pleasant Hermione. If she was being upfront about it, she was downright pissed off. Adding on how she had died because of the actions of a grieving Ginny Weasley, and she was ready to strangle something. Unfortunately, Gabriel was right in the center of her warpath.
Hermione lurched forwards, grabbing the angel in front of her by the front of his shirt, and began yelling at the top of her lungs. "Why didn't you do anything? What gives you the right to just sit back and watch us suffer like we have? You could have fixed everything!" Suddenly realising that she was literally assaulting an angel, she let go, stumbling back a few feet until she felt the comforting presence of Harry behind her.
Gabriel chuckled, amused as he watched the girl's emotions cycle from discomfort to anger and finally to shock at her own behaviour. All in the span of seconds. "Honestly, do as much damage to me as you like. You have no idea how refreshing it is to not be treated like some smiteful apex predator. It's a bit of a turn on really," he said with a very Draco Malfoy like smirk. "But to address the Erumpent in the room, we simply couldn't intervene too much. Until now. Lady Magic doesn't really like it when we do, and tends to punish us pretty severely if we get too involved. Does the term 'Fallen angel' sound familiar? Having your wings ripped out isn't exactly pleasant. And I should know, I used to have eight of them!" Gabriel's wings twitched as though they remembered the sensation.
Hermione's face paled at the thought of losing something that was obviously like a limb to the archangel. "Your brother Castiel said that magic would die if we didn't go back and fix things. That's why she is letting you interfere now isn't it?" Hermione reasoned, her mind racing at the possibility that magic was actually sentient.
"Right in one kiddo. It will please you to know that I can confirm that you are actually the smartest witch of your generation, and if Dumbledore hadn't meddled, you would have been the most powerful witch as well. Which brings us to the other Erumpent in the room. Good thing it's a big room, because wow. Lots of Erumpent's in here. Both of you have been laced with numerous potions and charms over years. So many in fact, it's a wonder that either of you can still stand!" Gabriel said as he suddenly skipped forward and licked both of the teens on the cheek before standing back and contemplating the taste.
"Oi! What was that for?" Harry half screamed, the sound muffled by his shirt as he used the edge to wipe the angelic slobber from his face.
"Ah sorry. Something I learnt from a friend of mine. He reckons it's the best way to get a good sample of what's going on in a human body. Not sure if I trust him though, he has terrible fashion sense. Who wears canvas shoes with a trench coat? At least my brother has the sense to wear dress shoes," The angel half mumbled to himself, before remembering he had an audience and that he was prattling on again. "But back to the potions and charms. There's a bit of crossover between the two of you, and a few variances. Both of you are under the influence of various charms and potions designed to block how much of your magical core that you can access. In the case of Harry, at least one of those is directly tied to his blood, and some of his blocked power seems to be being used to power some pretty nasty wards around a certain Number 4 Privet Drive. And I use the term wards very loosely, since they seem to have very little to do with protecting and more to do with weakening any magical occupant. Very nasty, and very illegal. The blocked power of yours Hermione seems to be being siphoned off while you sleep to your magical guardian. Since your parents are muggles, your magical guardian by default is your headmaster at the time of your enrollment at Hogwarts. In other words, Dumbledore. It's curious though that even his death has not stopped the effect, but rather transferred it to his brother Aberforth. "
"Harry has been subjected to years of potions designed to stunt his physical growth, as well as stifle his mental capacity. There also seems to be a small yet constant does of Essence of Insanity, which explains some of the frankly stupid shit that you have pulled over the years. Who the hell sticks their wand, the only weapon that you had, up a troll's nose and hopes for a good outcome?" Gabriel scrunched his nose up at the mere thought of troll bogies.
"The worst in my opinion though is the shear amount of loyalty and love potions that have been shoved in your systems over the years. Both of you have had Gregory's Unctuous Unction, a potion that makes you believe that the person keyed to it is your best friend, slipped in your drinks since the Welcoming feast in first year for Harry, and after the events of Halloween in first year for Hermione. Both keyed for one Ronald Weasley, and later on to Ginevra Weasley. In your fifth year, various love potions were added to the mix. And I bet you can already guess who those were keyed to. Both of you would have noticed that your affections towards Ron and Ginny faded when Ron abandoned you while on the Horcrux hunt, since he wasn't around to keep you both topped up. Sadly, there was enough residual potion in your systems to let you both accept him back into the fold fairly quickly." Gabriel said as he finally spat out the frankly disgusting mix of potion residue from his mouth.
"Holy shit," Harry mumbled as he sat down on the bench behind him in defeat, his legs no longer able to carry the weight of the betrayal he felt from some of the people that he thought he loved the most. "Is there any way to get it all out of our systems? I feel incredibly dirty now."
Gabriel simply moved forward and lay a hand on each of the teenager's heads, a small look of concentration on his face. "Hmmm…mmm? Ah. There it is. Right. There we go, all fixed. A bit more involved than I thought it would be since the cocktail of potions had started to bond to your blood, but at least I could remove it all. You will probably feel a bit sick though, like a bit of a hangover. As for any charms, those were easy to break since most of them had deteriorated a fair bit already. The last time someone cast a charm to renew some of them was before you left to find the Horcrux's, and was cast by Molly Weasley. Not that she did a good job of it though, it was barely enough to top the charms up."
Hermione joined Harry on the bench, the beginnings of a killer headache forming. Not enough of a headache to stop a pressing question from pushing to the front of her mind. "How do we stop the potions being slipped to us again this time around?"
Gabriel tapped his chin for a few seconds as he pondered the question. "Well," he began. "The best way to go about it would be enchanted rings. I believe that there are a few lovely pairs lying around doing nothing in the Potter Vaults that should suffice. I would get them checked out by an enchantress though to see if there are any additional or updated protections that could be added to them. There's a few other things that I could do though that can help, but only once we send you back. I will warn you though, Enochian warding will be a bit painful since I have to sear them right onto your bones, but it will be an extra layer of protection in case someone tries to separate you both from those rings. Not as painful as the Cruciatus curse, and the pain will only last a few seconds, which both of you should be able to handle perfectly."
Harry, whom seemed to be finally recovering from his potion purge, stood up with a determined look on his face. "That sounds perfect. If it stops us from having to worry about being poisoned, then it's a fair trade off. I guess that leaves me with two questions really. What do we need to know before we go back, and when are we going back to?"
"Ah wonderful, your brain is already working better. As it so happens, I've already prepared a list of things that you need to know, and some things that you will need to do as soon as possible," Gabriel cleared his throat before he began reading from a scroll that materialised in front of him.
"Number one; If you need my help, just call my name. Just try not to call to call it out in your sleep," the angel added with a salacious wink at the teens. "Number two; Organise a date before you leave when you can both meet at Gringotts. This is crucial to get your plans sorted. Number 3; Ask the Goblins about Blood wards and what to do about them. Sure, I could deal with it, but the Goblins will be so much fun to deal with when you mention Blood wards. Which brings me on to number 4; Start gathering evidence on Dumbledore and company as soon as you can. I can give you a nudge in the right direction if you ever need it, but you will need to have actual dirt on him that you can prove in front of the Wizengamot if you ever hope to truly be free of his interfering. And lastly, number 5; always trust each other. There's a reason why you are being sent back together, and it's because you share a very special bond that unfortunately neither of you have realised due to the potions that were in your system. And now I address the last Erumpent in the room. That bond… is a Soul Bond."
"WHAT!?" Both teenagers erupted at the same time. Hermione was the first to recover from the shock, and asked, "But aren't Soul Bonds incredibly rare? There hasn't been a recorded Soul Bond in centuries."
"Ah yes, a lovely couple that eventually stopped the Salem witch trials. See, Soul Bonds are Clotho's way of saying 'Hey, sorry for all the shit you had to deal with, here's a person that is so perfect for you that your souls are literally two parts of the same whole.'. Everyone that has ever had a Soul Bond has been instrumental in the way that the Tapestry of Life is woven. And now, that person is you Harry, and by extension, Hermione as well. But, if it helps, you will have at least a few years to get used to the whole Soul Bond thing, since we are sending you back to a time where it won't affect you too much yet. You two are going all the way back to the morning of the fifteenth of July, nineteen ninety-one. The day when you both first received your Hogwarts letter. Now Harry, I expect that you will have learnt from the first-time round, and you will hide your letter as soon as you can. Hermione, I'm going to do something very special for you to make the whole thing easier with your parents, especially since we will have to explain the whole Soul Bond thing to them. I'm going to give them all of the memories that they had up until the day that you had to Obliviate them." Gabriel explained, unsurprised when his vision was filled by mousy curls as Hermione hugged him with a strength that would crack a normal person's ribs.
Harry gave a small smile at the scene in front of him, knowing how much having her parents back meant to Hermione. He would give anything to be able to see his parents safe and alive again. No, not anything he began to realise. He wouldn't give up the witch in front of him that he was beginning to realise had always been there for him, through thick and thin.
Gabriel gently pried the witch off of himself, quickly transferring her to Harry, whom started blushing deeply at the contact. Gabriel chuckled, "You're going to have to get used to that kiddo. You're literally stuck together now for eternity. Can't spend all that time blushing like a virgin bride whenever she touches you." Seeing the wizards blush deepen even further, Gabriel's eyes widened as he started laughing even harder. "Hit a bit too close to home there did I kiddo? Well I suppose you didn't have much time to get around to that sort of stuff while you were trying to save the world and all. Don't worry, play your cards right and you will have plenty of time to enjoy the carnal pleasures of life this time around. And speaking of this time around, I think it's about time that we send you both back. Harry, you will be on your own for a bit while I fix up the whole thing with Hermione's folks. Just remember. Hide the letter. Got it?"
At the wizard's nod, Gabriel stepped forward and gripped the teenagers by the shoulder. As the teens felt the floor dropping out from beneath them, Gabriel's face blanched. 'Oh shit', he thought. 'They are going to be pissed when they see the hand prints on their shoulders'.
With a jolt, Harry landed on his cot under the stairs, feeling much smaller than he was used to. At the sudden head rush, he blacked out.