Harry Potter and the Cantoris Quest(2/?)

Author: Anya
Author email: anya@schnoogle.com
Category: Humor, romance, mystery, adventure, drama
Keywords: Harry, Hermione, Draco, Ron, Ginny
Spoilers: For all the books, just to be safe :D
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The beginning of the end. Harry faces off with the coming darkness in his seventh year. Contains H/Hr, unforeseen circumstances, a lost heirloom --- and the quest to find Cantoris. A take on the last book in canon.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. Song fragment is from Only When I Sleep by The Corrs. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Other citations will be made where necessary.

Author's Note: Hope you enjoy reading this and future chapters... it's been percolating a long time in my brain and just boiled over :p

Chapter 2: Going Around In Circles

You're only just a dreamboat
Sailing in my head
You swim my secret oceans
Of coral blue and red
Your smell is incense burning
Your touch is silken yet
It reaches through my skin
And moving from within
It clutches at my breast

But it's only when I sleep
See you in my dreams
You got me spinning round and round
Turning upside-down
But I only hear you breathe

Somewhere in my sleep
Got me spinning round and round
Turning upside-down
But it's only when I sleep

And when I wake from slumber
Your shadow's disappear...

Harry woke up, disoriented. This wasn't Dudley's second best bedroom. He shook his head to clear it and peered at the bedside clock. It was 12 midnight. Hazy wisps of a dream teased the edges of his consciousness as he brushed his bangs off his forehead, feeling his scar gingerly. It was not tingling at all. He got up, feeling confused, and groped about the bedside table for his glasses. He put them on, got off the bed, dressed quickly in a pair of denim shorts and a shirt (which said "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes" written in ink that changed colours and made little wheezing sounds) and opened the door just in time to see Hermione coming up the stairs, balancing some bowls and spoons in her arms. Crookshanks was weaving about her feet, making him nervous, though Hermione seemed unaware of the danger.

"Didn't know shopping could knock you out that fast," she whispered. "You're just in time for some chocolate ice cream." Harry crossed the hall and reached around her to open the door as she was trying to reach the doorknob without losing her grip on the things in her hands. "Thanks, Harry. Come on in." He gently closed the door behind him with Crookshanks following inside, his tail regally held in the air. He settled himself near the bureau drawers and promptly went off to sleep.

Hermione handed him a bowl and a spoon before opening the bag of marshmallows. She took out the ice cream and the chocolate bars from the personal ref in her room and set them down on the rug in the middle of the floor. Plopping herself down on the rug she instructed Harry, "Help yourself." He had been in the process of adjusting on his glasses while holding the bowl and spoon in his hands. Tricky business. She ripped open the cover of the ice cream box and spooned out some for herself. Artfully, she arranged the marshmallows and broke a chocolate bar into pieces over the ice cream. Harry frowned, thinking that he had seen this before.

Hermione brought a spoonful of ice cream to her mouth but stopped upon seeing Harry's intense stare, feeling discomfited. She shrugged and continued anyway. "Stop looking at me like that," she said after swallowing.

"Oops, sorry." Harry sat himself down and, following her lead, scooped out some ice cream and put some toppings on it haphazardly.

"Careful with the rug. Wouldn't want my Mum finding out what we've been doing."

"Worry-wart," he said lazily, spooning some ice cream into his mouth. "Since when have you been sneaking 'forbidden' food in your room like this?" He propped himself against the bed.

"Oh, I don't know. Ever since I went to Hogwarts, I suppose," she shrugged. "Remember those cream-filled chocolates from Honeydukes? And I got addicted to chocolate frogs last year, remember?"

Harry tilted his head to the side, licking the cream from his spoon while considering the question. "I think it was about the same time you told off Justin."

"And now he's got a band of his own. If I hear 'The Finch, the Finch!' " she exclaimed in a falsetto tone, "just one more time, I shall burst."

"Look at it this way. If you hadn't rejected him, he would never have gotten to where he is now."

"What an absolutely horrid thing to say."

"What I meant was," he hurriedly explained, " he was crushed enough to make songs about you. Which means that he had it really bad for you. Isn't that what girls want?"

"But being in The Daily Prophet again, portrayed as a... a... flirt and all-in-all bad person is not my cup of tea," she told him, feeling upset. She leaned back on the bed and looked at the ceiling despairingly. "It just isn't fair. I mean, I haven't consciously set off to hurt people's feelings, have I, Harry?"

"No, you don't. Stop worrying needlessly," Harry said, moving over to her side. He rubbed her back consolingly. She leaned her head against his shoulder and stared off into space, ice cream all forgotten as she lost her appetite. Harry felt a bit anxious that she would think it was her fault. People like Rita Skeeter wrote to sensationalize. He grew a bit angry at the thought of that scandal-sniffing reporter. The articles she wrote when he was in the Triwizard Tournament had made his life miserable. He couldn't really blame Hermione for her reaction. In his preoccupied state he did not notice how agitated he was until Hermione cried out.

"Ouch, are you trying to make a hole in my back?" she said, scooting away from Harry.

"Sorry about that. I just thought of Rita Skeeter..."

"Well, that explains it. That woman makes my blood boil. One would think that she'd have learn her lesson but..."

"Yeah, after one year, she was as bad as ever, if not worse."

"At least she's no longer an Animagus. I think they did a sort of permanent binding charm so that she can't ever transform again."

"Thank goodness for small favors."

Hermione knelt and started gathering everything on the rug. Harry stood up and took the bowls and spoons from her. "I'll clean these up downstairs and make sure nothing looks suspicious in the morning."

Yawning, Hermione mumbled her thanks and hid the rest of the chocolate and the ice cream in the ref. She went to the top of the stairs and waited for Harry to finish up. They walked together into the guest room, where she opened a cabinet to get him a towel. "Did you find the toothbrush I placed on your sink? There's a tube of toothpaste on the sink." She pattered across the room and upon reaching Harry, gave him a goodnight kiss on the cheek and a hug. He returned the hug and followed her with his eyes as she went across the hall to her room. Harry gently closed his door until he heard a faint 'click' and settled down in his bed.

Then the dream came back to him full force.

He sat up straight so suddenly that he almost hit his head on the headboard. Swinging his feet down, he crossed the room in long strides, opened the door and crossed the hall, where he knocked softly on Hermione's door. She opened it and looking at him with a quizzical expression on her face, looked about the corridor, caught his arm and drew him inside her room. "Is something wrong, Harry?"

"Hermione, please sit down." She sat down on the coverlet of her bed.

"What is it, Harry? You're making me a bit nervous."

"I know we've made a pact to be as honest with each other as possible, so I don't know how to go about telling you this." He sat on the floor beside the bed nervously and drew a deep breath before facing her. "I've been having dreams all summer about things that I sometimes don't remember upon waking up. This time, I was able to remember. Probably because I woke up after it was finished and didn't go off to dream another dream."

"And your point would be...?"

"Wait, I'm getting there." He leaned his head on the bedspread and sighed. "I dreamt that I was involved with you."

"We ARE involved. We're friends, aren't we?" She looked quizzically at him, not comprehending.

"For a smart witch, you sure can be dense at times. What I meant was we were together-together, not just together-together."

"Stop speaking in riddles, my head can't take it after midnight."

He plopped his head over, resting it on top of his hands and regarded her seriously. Which made Hermione even more nervous, if that were possible. "Hermione, I dreamt that I kissed you."

Whatever Harry expected her reaction would be, it wasn't the muffled howl of hysterical laughter that issued forth from Hermione, who had buried her face in one of the pillows on her bed. He shook her shoulder, feeling a bit hurt that she had not taken him with the gravity he thought his confession merited. When Hermione had finally calmed down, she rested her head on the pillow, looking at him apologetically.

"I'm really sorry, Harry. It was just that... it was a relief that you weren't about to tell me something along the lines of 'Voldemort has taken over my body' or something similar. The past two years have not exactly been a picnic for me," she added, "always wondering if anytime now, you'll suddenly be struck dead in front of us." Her eyes suddenly filled with unshed tears. He reached over and started stroking her hair. Harry could imagine how his encounters with Voldemort had also taken its toll on his friends. The image of Ron's face suddenly swam in front of him as he recalled their parting words at Platform 9 3/4. "Harry, I'll see you this summer," Ron said forcefully, as if saying that was a talisman against harm before they would meet up again. And what of Hermione, who was constantly telling him to be careful? Her words "Harry, be careful!" had become an inside joke for the three of them, along with "You're a great wizard, Harry. You really are." She was always trying to come up with ways to help Harry, to protect him, tirelessly delving into the books at the library. If Madam Pince ever thought of retiring... Harry grinned at the thought. He looked over at Hermione and found that she had quietly gone to sleep. Wondering if she had even heard the last thing he had blurted out to her, he decided that it could wait until morning. He rested his head on his arm at the edge of the bed and his last thought was that they had better talk about it in the morning...

Harry woke up to see himself settled on the floor beside Hermione's bed with a pillow behind his head and a blanket over his body. It was still night, as there was no hint of light from the blinds on the windows. Sitting up, he stretched and took stock of the situation. Hermione, who must have awakened in the middle of the night just to cover him up, was sleeping fitfully and thrashing about. He got up, covered her with the blanket and sat by her side to stroke her hair and rub her back. He leaned on the headboard and yawned, thinking that he should probably move back to his room when he fell asleep once more.

Hermione woke up and froze. There was a hand covering her stomach as she laid on her side and an arm underneath her neck and since both her own arms were in front of her at present, she was positive it wasn't hers. She could feel a thigh touching the back of her own and a leg intertwined with hers. Harry's chest was pressed to her back --- she could feel the methodical rise and fall of it as she heard him breathing evenly. She inched a little bit away, only to be pulled back by a very sound asleep Harry. She thought frantically of a way to get up without waking him up, panicking at the thought that they would both be embarrassed by finding themselves in the same bed together. Previous sleep-overs-after-staying-up-the-whole-night-talking in the Gryffindor common room did not definitely count, as there were more than two of them on those occasions and somehow, being in her bedroom was a world of intimacy apart. Hermione held her breath as Harry began to stir and flopped over unto his back. She slid downwards and almost fell off the bed in her rush to leave and go to the bathroom. Steadying herself, she walked stealthily and as soon as she reached the bathroom safely, she heaved a sigh of relief and composed herself. Opening the water taps, mixing the temperature in an automatic manner, she let the water run and splashed a bit of it on her face. She looked at her face in the mirror and noticed that she looked as hot as she felt.

Harry let out the breath that he had been holding for the past few minutes, since he had awaken to the fragrance of Hermione's hair. He had been debating whether to slowly slide his arm away from her or to sit up quietly and leave when he noticed that her breathing had become very shallow and fast. Now he had to stay put. The minutes had stretched by interminably while his body was gradually registering the fact that he had a girl --- no, make that woman, his mind amended silently, in his arms. He was hoping desperately that she had not noticed. It was torture having skin touching skin, parts of their body resting tantalizingly against each other. He pretended to move sleepily, whereupon she had moved slowly downwards (What was that that brushed against his leg? He almost gave himself away by groaning aloud), got up oh-so-quietly and entered the bathroom. He quietly swung his legs over the edge of the bed, stood up and went to the his own room. Thank goodness no one else was up. He decided he needed a very, very cold shower. It was Hermione, damn it, and he was NOT going to ruin a great friendship just because... never mind. Harry turned off the heater, turned on the shower and thought fleetingly that he could have stayed in the downstairs guest room after all.

"Morning, Harry!" Hermione thought self-consciously that perhaps she had said that too loudly. Harry was coming down the stairs, dressed in a striped shirt that she had given him two birthdays ago and jeans. She glanced at him uneasily, forcing a smile on her face, which felt like it just might crack under the strain. Harry took one look at her and dragged off a very stiff Hermione until they reached the closet near the front door. Harry opened the door forcefully and pulled Hermione inside.

"Ummmpppfff." Hermione stared at Harry with wide-eyed shock as he closed the door with one hand and kept the other on her mouth. He spoke hurriedly. "Hermione, if I remove my hand, will you promise not to scream or shout or do anything drastic like run out of the closet before I get to talk to you?" She nodded her head and when he let go of her, she made a slicing motion with her hand across her throat.

"I may have promised not to scream or run out of here but just you wait..."

"Maybe I should have held out for more..."

"Voldemort won't need to kill you because I will do it for him!"

"Hermione, please listen..."

She visibly calmed herself down, breathing hard from her exertions. Harry took her in his embrace and she returned it. When she had recovered, he let her go and held her hands. "Hermione, I'm really, really sorry that I fell asleep in your room --- you know I didn't mean to ---"

"It's okay, Harry. It was just that... it was embarrassing to find you beside me --- not that we haven't slept together before..." Hermione blushed as a smirk appeared on Harry's face. She poked him in the side. "Oh you know what I meant, don't pretend you don't. We've had overnights of schoolwork projects in the common room but this was different. This was... quite a peculiar situation."

Not to mention nice but Harry doubted if Hermione would appreciate that line of thinking. Instead he schooled his thoughts into a more appropriated direction. "It can be really awkward at times being friends with you." Harry noticed that she stiffened at this and squeezed her hands reassuringly. "What I mean to say is, I'm a guy and as the years pass, I've been increasingly aware that you're a girl. I really appreciate your concern, your gentleness and your... brains..." He grinned and ducked her half-hearted attempt to hit him on the head. "And I value your friendship in the same way I value Ron's, but for different reasons. You and Ron have made me realize how it is to actually have people caring about you." He shook his head as if he still found it unbelievable after all those years.

"Of course it doesn't hurt that I've helped you both to pass Potions yearly," she remarked caustically, seeking to lighten up the tone of conversation.

"For which you have my eternal gratitude."

"Okay," she let out a big sigh, "can we go out now? I'm really hungry. Not that you're entirely off the hook, mister." She shook a finger at him in mock seriousness then ruined her threat by giving him a hug. He hugged her tightly, feeling a sense of rightness about things.

After a while, Harry felt the mood shift. He became keenly aware of the feel of her hair underneath his hand. The scent of her cologne tickled his nose. She had always used a fruity sort of scent but it was the first time it had gone straight to his head. He felt a trickle of sweat traveling downwards between his shoulder blades...

Hermione almost shivered when she felt him exhale near her ear. His shirt had worn down from all the use he got out of it, and she was acutely aware of the softness of the material. He smelled like crisp linen that had been left out to dry naturally in the sun and she was getting heady from it...

Suddenly, the door opened and they jumped apart guiltily. Mr. Granger stood there, looking at them questioningly with his coat in his hand. "I thought I heard voices in here. Would you like to come out now?"

Fathers always seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to their daughters.

************

Mr. and Mrs. Granger drove them all the way to The Burrow. They did not forget the Mr. and Mrs. Weasleys' kindness to them when they had previously brought Hermione to Diagon Alley. There was a box of batteries for Mr. Weasley and a bag of different colours of yarn for Mrs. Weasley (at which, Harry thought, Ron would be unhappy). After tea, the Grangers departed, leaving Harry and Hermione. Crookshanks prowled about the garden in one of his favourite pasttimes: looking for gnomes.

"Alright then, Harry, Hermione, let's bring up your stuff." Ron picked up Hermione's bag and exaggeratedly pretended to be bent over by the weight. "What did you pack in here anyway? Planning to donate a portion of your books to the Hogwarts Library?" He cracked up.

"If you're going to complain all the way up, just give me back my bag." Ron mischievously gave it back to her and was so surprised to see her thrust it upon Harry that he started howling in laughter. The girls looked at each other and slowly shooked their heads in unison. "There's the one who needs to be committed to St. Mungo's," Ginny remarked.

"Shut up, Ron," Harry snapped as he started hauling Hermione's bag along with his own. "It's not funny." Which just increased Ron's mirth, as he began rolling on the floor, laughing uncontrollably.

"Urk. What did you do that for?" Ron sat up, rubbing his head where Harry had unceremoniously dumped one of the bags on his head.

"Thought that would sober you up." Harry grinned. Ron got Hermione's bag and started lugging it up the stairs in a more normal fashion.

It was almost lunch when Lord Richard Flackenthorp decided to drop by for a visit.

************

Later that night, Harry crawled into bed and thought about the excitement that had occurred that day. Lord Flackenthorp had been persuaded by the Weasleys to spend the night. Manfred, his manservant, was staying with him in Percy's old room. Ron was snoring slightly, sleeping with his legs tangled in the sheets. Harry was sprawled in the bed across him, frowning at the ceiling as he remembered something. He never got to discuss his dream with Hermione, was his last thought before he finally drifted off to sleep.

Come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly...

Thanks to all those who reviewed Chapter 1:

Ayla Pascal, Venus4280, Alpha Wolf, Marpessa (Esha!), Opaleye, Lily Vance, Lady Attolia (Attolia!), eeenieboom, SirLoyne (Steve! Thanks for previewing part of this), HarryNZ (Sir Harry!), caliecutie11 (Carla!), Cadey (!), E. C. R. Potter (Eric!) and Kamali. You guys are wonderful.

End of chapter