THE RAID
Meanwhile, the death eaters who had Hermione had tortured her to get information about the magical artifact, but no matter how hard they tried, they hadn't achieved anything, because the girl was determined not to reveal anything even if they had to kill her, she couldn't betray Harry.
"If you don't give us the information about the magical artifact, forget about seeing your dear Potter again, because I'll kill him," one of the death eaters said laughing.
"For your information, I'm not with him anymore," replied the brunette, trying to appear calm in the face of the threat.
"That's true, I know," said the man with the mask, "but I also know that you still love him. I can see it in your eyes."
"Crucio!" one of the death eaters yelled as he approached and made her squirm and scream in pain.
With each impact of the curse, Hermione's mind filled with memories of Harry and Ron, believing that she would never see them again.
The girl was already quite badly injured, tears slipping from her eyes, running down her cheeks. She had some cuts on her face and arms, she also had blood stains on various parts of her body and her clothes were quite torn by the ropes with which they were tied.
One of the hooded men let out a macabre laugh, which made her skin crawl.
"I also know that you are his weakness, as soon as he knows that we kidnapped you, there is no doubt that he will come for us and will give himself up without thinking" answered one "We have already sent him a note telling him where we have you."
"You have two options. Either you cooperate or Potter dies," said one of the masked men.
Hermione grunted in pain as she felt another curse hit her.
"He won't, he and I are no longer together," the brunette replied.
The death eater closest to her approached her to hit her face, the honey -eyed felt her cheek burn, then she smiled and then said:
"You can beat me, torture me or whatever, I won't talk"
"We'll see about it, Granger, there are many other ways to make people talk, I see that your strength lies in enduring physically, but we'll see how much your heart can resist" the masked man mocked.
Not long after, the order had arrived being received by several hooded men beginning to cast spells and duel with the aurors.
Harry and Ron decided to run and look for Hermione, but were intercepted by two other death eaters and had to split up to fight them off.
Being Harry, the best and most qualified auror, having caused many criminals to be afraid of him, he dueled mercilessly with the death eater in front of him, until he heard a cry of pain reach his ears, to realize that one of the hooded men had Hermione with him.
The man had done this intentionally to let Harry down his guard and for a few seconds Harry met Hermione's horrified brown eyes, which were looking at him with fear and clearly telling him to go away so he wouldn't get hurt.
For those few seconds that their gazes met, Harry managed to convey to Hermione that he would not leave her alone, now or ever.
At that moment when Jet and the brunette looked at each other, the death eater he had been fighting managed to hit him with some spell, which made the brunette scream in terror.
"No! Harry!" The girl screamed desperately when she saw Harry being hit by that curse.
The jet was trembling with fear, because he had seen Hermione and they had mistreated her, tortured, her clothes dirty and full of blood as well as several places on the rest of her body and her face. His heart had sunk to see her like this.
"Please, leave him alone!" Hermione yelled, desperate for them to leave Harry alone. She knew they wouldn't let him, but she had to try to save him.
While the boy was still recovering on the ground, the man he was fighting with approached him and pointed his wand at him.
"Let's have some fun," said the hooded man, moving away a little so that Hermione could see "Crucio!" The death eater yelled, making Harry wince and scream at the same time as Hermione.
"No! Stop! Do not hurt him!" She screamed "You have me! Please! Not Harry! I'll tell you what you want!" She sobbed shocked and almost defeated, feeling her tears run down her cheeks, at the same time that she felt her throat break from her desperate cries. At the same time she also felt how her heart was beating violently and her lungs were running out of air, seeing her best friend suffer.
The green-eyed had listened to Hermione, he was scared by what she had said, " How could she offer to hurt her instead of him?" No, he couldn't allow it."
"Shut!" The death eater yelled, turning his attention back to the girl. "Crucio!" he exclaimed and the curse hit the chestnut tree squarely, making her writhe in pain for the thousandth time that day, while Harry's desperate screams were heard, to avoid being hurt, but when he was still recovering and tried to get up, the man cursed him again and the girl's scream was heard again.
The torture in both was cruel and merciless, Harry felt like his body was being taken to the point of maximum pain, his eyes darkened with helplessness when he saw Hermione being tortured in the same way, his head throbbed strongly.
Hermione was crying now without being able to contain herself, her Harry was looking at her anguished, the only thing she could hear now was his screams and the cruciatus they were throwing at each other, her heart was beginning to break slowly and painfully, her strength was drastically diminishing, for a few seconds she felt hopeless, a deep feeling of sadness dug so deep inside that she feared losing her sanity.
But even though it didn't seem like it, they were both pretty far from losing their sanity.
"Crucio!" The death eater shouted smiling and enjoying the scene he was causing, the physical pain was good, but what he considered more gratifying was the psychological power he felt he exerted on his victims, the impotence and doom he saw in their eyes made him feel wonderful.
Harry and Hermione were practically screaming out of inertia, their muscles were exhausted, their throats dry and lacerated from the effort, their eyes were the only thing that connected them, refusing to lose sight of each other, sharing through their eyes the union of feeling despite everything together.
Several meters away from them, Viktor and Bertram were fighting with some death eaters, their training as aurors was giving them an advantage over their opponents, with a firm and almost coordinated movement both stunned their opponents.
They smiled victoriously at each other, when Harry's and Hermione's shouts interrupted their enthusiasm.
They rushed forward, leaving their unconscious opponents behind, only to stop at the sight of Harry and Hermione, an icy chill going through them.
"Aaagh!" Hermione yelled as she was attacked by another cruciatus.
"That's in... inhuman!" Bertram exclaimed, swallowing hard and stammering through him in horror at what he was seeing. Harry and Hermione were tortured in front of each other.
"I think...I think we should...help...them!" Viktor shouted and received a nod from Bertram.
Despite their feelings for the brunette, the two aurors were quite alarmed by the scene they were witnessing, and for a moment, even though they wanted to help, they had felt with their feet glued to the ground unable to move, because their bodies were tense. for the battle that was unfolding.
The seconds ticked by as they tried to thaw out from the shock, they both knew that time was crucial to help their colleagues, but the terror was such that his body didn't want to move.
Two more screams were enough for both of them to finally recover and move their feet, they were about to run towards Harry and Hermione, when they were attacked from behind by two other death eaters who were approaching, so they had to turn around and continue with their own battles.
"Leave him alone!" Hermione yelled, but now she was furious and it seemed like her magic was beginning to emanate from her, causing everything to shake and the wind to blow like a hurricane, just like Harry had done before in the Ministry.
They all stopped their fight to look at Hermione who seemed to no longer control her magic, she was almost out of her mind and began to wreak havoc everywhere.
The death eater holding the brunette was ejected and flogged several meters away, while the masked man who was aiming at Harry deflected his wand to aim at the brunette.
Serious mistake, Hermione launched a fission that enveloped him as if it were the incarcerous spell and was tightening it until the death eater screamed in pain, while he was short of breath that he could not pull.
Harry took advantage of this distraction without having fully recovered to get up as best he could and ran towards Hermione to stop her, he didn't want her to compromise.
"Hermione! Stop!" Harry exclaimed in alarm, looking his friend in the eye.
The brunette met Harry's pleading eyes, calming her down and stopping all the chaos. Soon after, aurors and death eaters resumed their fight, while Harry hugged Hermione who looked tired.
As Harry continued to wrap Hermione in his arms, they had stared into each other's eyes, both beginning to feel the usual tension between them and as if they were both reading each other's minds, they took a step forward, coming close to almost brushing the tip of their noses and around them an electrifying sensation, almost magnetic, was installed, which made both of them desperate to join their lips, but when this was about to happen, the voice of two aurors approaching made them separate.
The two aurors had reached where they were and took the death eater to hand him over to the ministry, but before disappearing with the masked man, Harry recognized the chestnut's wand in the hand of one of them.
"Accio!" he exclaimed, pointing directly at the man's hand, from which Hermione's wand flew towards him, before approaching Hermione again and handing it to her.
Among the aurors who had come to the rescue, was Viktor Krum, who with envy and a little sadness watched the exchange between Hermione and Harry, who after retrieving the wand, turned to the brunette again.
"Harry…" Hermione whispered, breathless and with panic still in her eyes, she threw herself towards him, in a tight hug and worried that he was hurt, "are you okay? are you injured? Did they hurt you more?" She asked scared, breaking away and looking at Harry, now with her hands on his face.
"I'm fine, are you okay?" The terrified jet asked, realizing that she was hurt.
"I'm fine, just a little battered and sore, a few bruises, but nothing serious," she said, seeing that Harry was upset that she had been hurt, then she threw herself on him and hugged him again.
Breaking away from the embrace and cupping her face in his hands, he brought their foreheads together, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs, but it was Hermione who spoke.
"Forgive me for not believing you, I'm a fool, I've known you since we were children, but my jealousy ravages me when it comes to you" said Hermione, shedding a few tears which Harry hastened to wipe away.
"Mione, I'm not going to cheat on you, I would never do that to you," Harry clarified, "no girl can have my heart, because it's yours. You taught me what it's like to love someone," Harry continued, parting their foreheads and planting a small kiss on Hermione's head.
The brunette was looking at him attentively with a slight smile and her eyes full of tears.
"By the way, have you heard that when a man is in love, the veela charms have no effect on him? Well, it's true, they have no effect on me," Harry assured her, hugging her.
Hermione started laughing and shook her head, causing Harry to give her an incredulous look.
"Hey! That's right, I'm serious!" Harry assured, laughing alongside her.
"But you have to clear things up for her, Harry, you can't let her kiss you whenever she feels like it," the brunette said with notable annoyance.
"I did it. I made it clear, I swear" The jet said with a sigh and a crooked smile on his face.
At that moment they were taken out of their bubble of love, when one of the aurors shouted for the others to disperse, because the fight was not over yet. About three more death eaters who had hidden to attack the couple were missing.
Then, Harry stood in front of the brunette to protect her and duel with the one who had approached him, who already had his wand raised.
Standing back to back with Harry, for she had turned to be on guard behind his back, she caught sight of Ron, who was striding towards them, then ran over to hug him and make sure they were safe.
"Ron! Take her away!" Harry yelled desperately.
"What?! No! I won't go!... Not without you Harry!" The annoyed chestnut exclaimed.
Harry didn't have time to argue with her now, so he continued the duel and seconds later he saw a masked man fall from a killing curse cast by an auror in someone's defense. At that moment, everything happened so fast that he had no time to react as his opponent was casting another killing curse at him.
The green-eyed managed to hear an ''Avada Kedavra!'' and the next thing he was aware of, the green beam was directed at him. Everything that followed happened in slow motion as he saw Hermione throw herself in front of him taking the curse, causing him to panic when he saw her go flying.
"NO!" Harry and Ron yelled and the redhead ran off in search of her, knowing that his friend would be furious and attack the man who had cast the curse without mercy. And as expected, the green-eyed man with his mind clouded and possessed by anger, terror, despair and other emotions that at that moment he didn't know how to describe, began to attack and take revenge on the death eater.
Seeing her fall and thinking her dead, his fury began to flow through his veins and his magic overflowed, causing everything around him to start shaking again, so that it seemed that this time the castle would collapse, while the ground had begun to shake and crack. The rage could be seen in his eyes as he addressed the masked man who had cast the curse.
''He had killed Hermione, he would pay for it'' thought Harry.
The cracks in the ground creaked open and advanced towards the chestnut's body, and through them the green-eyed's magic spread.
As soon as Hermione was hit, her body began to fill with white light, her central core of magic resetting, her life force clinging to her own magic.
The brunette began to wake up, feeling how her body revived, her mind was filled with thousands of memories of the last moments lived, remembering the moment in which she had launched herself to absorb the murderous curse.
Her last non-verbal spell as it was being cast had been one she had been working on for a long time, through runes and ancient magic research and with this she managed to assemble a shield capable of resisting the deadly spell, however that required not only a very strong willpower, but concentrate all the energy in your magic core to restart its power.
The only thing she needed to complete that "ritual" was a small external magical touch, which came to her unexpectedly through the uncontrolled magic of her beloved Harry.
Ron had run towards Hermione's body trying to protect her from further curses, not to mention the cracks in the floor, his tears filled eyes looking from Harry to Hermione, feeling helpless.
He was about to levitate his friend's body when he saw her getting up, his eyes widened, scared of what he was witnessing, he rubbed his eyes with his hands, fearing that he was losing his sanity.
The first gulp of air from the honey - eyed felt heavy and painful, her eyes fluttered all over the place stopping at the auror attacking and destroying everything around her.
"Hermione!" exclaimed the redhead next to her quite alarmed.
"Ron!" The brunette said, noticing the redhead next to her, and then returned her attention to Harry.
Her first and pretty much only instinct was to reach out to him and tell him she was alive, trying to get him to calm down, so she tentatively started to get to her feet.
"Y-you're alive…" Ron said as he helped Hermione to balance.
"Yes... yes I am," replied the brunette, grimacing in pain, because her body still ached from having been tortured.
Hermione then noticed her hands, which seemed to drop small white lights, it was the sample of her magical core, of how it had been used to achieve the unthinkable and impossible, but there she was to show that it was possible.
Proudly she advanced towards Harry, leaning on the redhead who looked undeniably surprised, Hermione felt her heart pounding, realizing that without the green-eyed auror's magic she might not have been able to wake up.
Ron walked beside her helping her forward, so mechanically, and still transfixed by what he had just witnessed.
For his part, Harry still felt his blood burn and course through his veins, so much so that he gripped his wand tightly, until his knuckles were white and his eyes burned with anger.
Everything around him continued to tremble strongly, while the hooded man laughed and at the same time feared for his life, for having killed the mudblood, which made the green-eyed man raise his wand and curse him.
The aurors who were nearby had witnessed the scene, had seen the beam hit Hermione and now they were seeing Harry Potter's magic explode at its best. Kingsley, who was nearby, gave the order to aurors Krum and Wolfgang to stop Potter before he went crazy and murdered one of their only remaining witnesses.
"Crucio!" Harry yelled, and invaded by so many emotions that he felt through his body, until he saw the man writhing in pain on the ground, he still felt angry and knew he deserved it, but at the same time that voice of his conscience, she told him to stop, he heard Hermione's voice inside him telling him that what he was doing was wrong, when in the distance he heard a scream with her voice, thinking he had gone crazy.
Bertram and Viktor had reached Harry and grabbed him by the arms trying to stop him, not realizing that someone was shouting the green-eyed auror's name.
"Harry! Harry!" Hermione shouted, running with difficulty, desperate and with Ron now behind her, knowing that if she didn't get there in time, Harry would manage to get rid of the aurors and cast the killing curse on the death eater.
And it wasn't that the death eater didn't deserve it, it was that Harry, although he was head of aurors and a wizard trained and certified to cast the unforgivable curses if necessary, he wasn't a murderer. He was also one of the last remaining witnesses.
The two aurors were still fighting to hold onto Harry, who was struggling hard to get out of their grasp.
"He killed her! You don't understand! He deserves to die!" Harry shouted, bursting with fury. "I'm going to kill him!" he exclaimed, once again exploding his magic, which managed to make the two aurors drop him involuntarily when his power made them fly and fall several meters on their backs to the ground.
Both wizards had felt Harry's wrath and finally his magic had sent them flying into the air and falling to the ground with a heavy thud that nearly knocked them unconscious.
"Harry!" Hermione yelled again. This time the aurors listened and turned to see the brunette run desperately and with difficulty towards the jet.
The death eater was incredulous, " how could she have survived the killing curse? Another survivor? Wouldn't Potter be the only one anymore?"
"Incarcerous!" Harry yelled, wrapping ropes around the man's body. He had also cast a non-verbal spell that made the ropes tighten even more to the point of death, like a snake coiling its prey if the man moved.
At that moment he was so focused and furious that he kept attacking the man who was now tied up and belatedly realized that a well-known voice was calling his name again, but he had to end this.
The young green-eyed auror squatted down beside the man he had left tied up, put his hand on the death eater mask and with a slight movement, hissed something in parseltongue and the mask fell to the ground shattering, which did Harry managed to see the face and glared into his eyes.
After Voldemort's defeat, all the powers that Harry shared with him disappeared automatically, however there was something that he had kept involuntarily, but no less necessary for some occasions in his work as an auror, and it was parseltongue. He didn't know why, but it hadn't been burned into him like a power imposed by Voldemort's unintentionally created horcrux, it had been burned into his head like a learned language.
"I advise you not to move too much or you'll die," Harry blurted out, angry and clenching his teeth.
Quickly the anger blinded him again, he tightened his wand and placed it on the man's neck.
"No, please don't kill me!" The terrified death eater pleaded, recognizing the anger that was reflected in the jet's eyes.
"Would you stop if the situation were the other way around? Would you listen to me if I were begging you for Hermione's life? No, you wouldn't, you wouldn't stop and for that you deserve to die," Harry spat with his jaw clenched, feeling his whole body shake and his eyes water.
Again Harry heard someone call out to him, a sweet voice, a voice that wanted to soothe him.
When Hermione arrived with Harry, she stood by his side and with her hand still trembling from the spasms that shook her, as a result of the torture she received, she placed it on Harry's hand, the one that held the wand and after a smooth movement of the chestnut, she managed to get the jet to loosen its grip and even stop sinking the wand into the death eater's neck.
The chosen one released the air that seemed to be holding for a long time, he looked at the brunette noticing that she was really there, for a moment he had thought she was delirious, Harry immediately stood up while Hermione imitated him with some difficulty.
"I-I…Her…hermi…y-you…" Harry stammered incoherent words and unable to say anything, he threw himself into Hermione's arms.
They both wrapped themselves tightly in their arms, Harry buried his face in Hermione's neck, at which point Hermione released the tears she had been holding back, Hermione also began to shed tears, holding tightly to Harry's shoulder, while with her other hand she threaded his fingers into Harry's hair.
What seemed like an eternity later, when the sobs had subsided, they came unstuck and Harry felt like he needed to get what he felt out.
"Are you crazy?! Don't ever do something like that again! I thought I had lost you! I was going to kill him!" Harry shouted angrily, his face red and shining from the tears that had traced their way down his cheeks, until they were lost in his medium beard.
"But you haven't, here I am Harry and I know you're not a murderer..." exclaimed Hermione taking the jet's face and caressing it tenderly.
Harry took Hermione's face in his hands and began to place kisses on it and then he hugged her and placed another two kisses on her head in desperation, the fear of losing her had taken hold of him.
He continued his journey again through the face of the brunette, leaving lots of kisses in his wake, promising with each one of them not to let Hermione go from his arms ever again.
"I will never let anything, or anyone separate you from me, Hermione," exclaimed the chosen one with a mixture of terror and anguish.
The sense of loss did not leave his body or his mind, so he clung to his body trembling with the image of his beloved being thrown to the side by the impact of the death spell.
Harry finally collapsed crying like a little child, giving Hermione a soulful kiss, giving his life and heart.
Hermione reciprocated with impetus and with the firmness of never separating again.
"I love you and I will do it as many times as necessary" Hermione stated determinedly, seeing that Harry was terrified and upset.
"B-but-" Harry stuttered trying to protest.
"No buts… you know I want to be with you and that means when we're in danger and when we're not. And let me tell you that I do not regret anything I have gone through to be by your side. Is it clear to you?" Said the brunette, with a firm tone and kissed him deeply, surrounding his neck, in a tight hug, which did not go unnoticed again by the Bulgarian and the German auror who, after seeing her alive and running towards him, got up somewhat sore and with the others and Kingsley, they walked over to them, causing Harry and Hermione to reluctantly part ways.
Pulling apart, Harry remembered that he had the death eater tied up and turned to hand him over to Kingsley, who stunned him so he wouldn't move any further and cause his own death.
Harry didn't continue arguing, knowing that with Hermione, he was always the loser, but he couldn't keep letting her risk her life like that and he was willing to protect her even with his own life.
"Hey, Hermione, how…?" Harry asked, incredulous and scared, but relieved, as he hugged her protectively.
"I cast a rune shield before I dived, one strong enough to absorb it," the brunette said, noticing that Harry was holding her protectively.
She looked at him, gave him a small kiss on the lips, they held hands and went back all the way, to a point where they could disappear and return to the ministry.
Later they entered the Ministry and Harry and Hermione headed to the auror General Office, Harry's office, as they needed a moment alone, after all the emotions they had just experienced.
They had entered the boy's office and Hermione had sat on the sofa, trying to hide the pain in her body, due to the curses she had received, while Harry lit the fireplace in his office. It was when the boy unconsciously made a movement with his left hand that Hermione noticed and remembered the horrible scar that recited:
"I must not tell lies," which Umbridge's gargoyle had left on the back of Harry's hand.
She remembered it and suddenly felt a couple of tears sliding down her cheek and when he turned around and saw her crying, he approached her sitting on the sofa and receiving a crushing hug from the brunette.
"Harry, I'm so sorry," she said sobbing. She broke away and took his left hand "I was so angry, I completely forgot about it."
The girl stroked his scar with her finger and then squeezed his hand apologetically. She knew that because of that scar, every time Harry told the truth and nobody believed him, he raised his fist showing the words engraved on it. Dolores Umbridge had left Harry Potter a new trauma.
The green-eyed felt Hermione's brown eyes descend to his left hand where the scar was with the painful letters left by Umbridge's blood pen and watched the tears slide down his best friend's cheeks.
"Why don't you…?" she tried to ask when Harry interrupted her.
"By Merlin, Hermione. You know I wouldn't lie to you in the first place, ever, unless it was to save you from something. But I'm also aware that I unintentionally broke your heart and I understand that you were upset enough to think about this and actually had every right to be. I understand that you didn't remember. Calm down, okay?" He clarified, fixing his eyes on hers.
Since they entered his office, Harry hadn't been able to help but let his guard down about the magic he applied to the wound caused by the blow Ron had given him, which as expected, began to show and like everything in him, it didn't went unnoticed by the brunette, who immediately confronted him, worried about his appearance.
It was not a wound caused by the blows he had received in the raid or the cruciatus curse, for his lip was split and that had been directed specifically at his mouth.
"Harry, what happened to your mouth?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief and unable to help it, carefully brought her hand to the wound to inspect it.
"Oh shit!" exclaimed the boy, clenching his teeth as he realized that his wound had finally revealed itself and quickly tried to brush it off. "It's nothing, Hermione, really," he told her, getting up to walk away while trying to put some distance between the two of them. His attempts did not work.
"Harry James Potter!" Hermione exclaimed, completely annoyed. She crossed her arms over her chest and with just her stern look, it was enough for Harry to end up confessing everything. When it came to Hermione, he was always the loser.
"Fine. I asked Ron to hit me for making you suffer and then I covered the blow so you couldn't see it because I knew you were going to react like that!" Harry sighed in defeat, and lowered his eyes. "It was my idea, I insisted a lot and Ron finally reluctantly agreed."
His attempt to clear things up didn't improve Hermione's mood, which was getting angrier by the minute.
"Are you crazy?! How dare you ask him something like that?! And to him to accept!" Hermione exclaimed, annoyed and completely shocked. "Oh! And wait for Ron to show up here, there will be no one to save him!" she growled, clenching her teeth as she grabbed Harry's arm and forced him to sit up so she could heal him properly.
"Mione, you threw yourself between me and a killing curse and yet you question me asking Ron to hit me? I deserved it!" He exclaimed incredulous that she couldn't understand his reasons.
"That is different! You were going to die! Besides, I went in prepared, you have no reason to claim me, I couldn't let you die!" Hermione yelled at him, her anguish showing, her voice cracking as she jumped to her feet.
She couldn't stand Harry being in danger and would always find a way to keep him safe, no matter what she had to do to make it happen.
Harry looked at her in disbelief as she spoke, throwing off their arguments, until it was enough and he decided to shut her up. He couldn't stand his desire to kiss her much longer when she spoke that way, so Hermione couldn't continue with her explanations because at that moment the green-eyed man got up from the sofa and stamped his lips with hers, hearing her gasp in surprise.
"Shut up," Harry said in a whisper against her mouth and without further thought, he instantly joined their lips again, taking her face in his hands. The chestnut didn't resist long before responding.
As they kissed, Hermione forced herself to pull away a bit.
"Wait until I have you both here, Harry Potter! Do not think that you two will be saved so easily from this!" said Hermione, gasping for breath, though she looked considerably less upset.
This time it was Harry's turn to pull away and smile.
"Uh, does that mean I'm in trouble? You just called me by my last name twice," the boy mentioned, raising an eyebrow. Like her, his breathing was also heavy.
"What do you think?" Hermione asked in an amused tone and kissed him again, losing herself in the kiss.
"It was incredible how Harry's kiss managed to relax her and make her forget her anger with him, as well as the pain in her body and her injuries" thought Hermione, as Harry continued to kiss her.
A few seconds, minutes or hours passed, none of them cared. They kept kissing, losing track of time in each other's arms. Pulling apart, needing to breathe, after what seemed like a very long time, Harry was the first to dare to speak.
"Hermione, why do you find everything you do for me insignificant? Even if it means your own death, you don't hesitate to do it, why?" Harry asked, affected by the idea of exposing Hermione all the time because of him, or at least he thought so.
"Because it's you, Harry, and I love you. Nothing I do for you will be a burden I don't want to lift. You are worth all the risks and I will take them whenever necessary. It's not that I don't appreciate my life, it's that there wouldn't be anything for me without you" the brunette explained, affectionately stroking the boy's cheek "Besides, you also see as insignificant all the things you do for us" she reminded him, giving him a tender smile seeing him blush.
"Now kiss me, Harry," Hermione begged and made an attempt to claim his lips, but Harry didn't allow it right away.
"Only if you promise me, we'll go to St. Mungo's to have your wounds treated," Harry told her, putting a finger between her lips and his, as he watched his girlfriend roll her eyes, trying to minimize the injuries and the pain she had in the body, because of the curses "They tortured you Hermione! I almost lost you! And all for my..." said Harry, when he was interrupted by the girl.
"Don't you dare blame yourself!" The brunette exclaimed, raising her index finger to point at him and scold him "they are criminals, insane and murderers, they could have done that to anyone, it's not your fault!" She finished firmly.
Now it was the green-eyed man's turn to roll his eyes...
"Okay, but promise we'll go. You need to be attended too" asked the jet with concern, caressing the girl's cheeks with his fingers.
"I promise, only if you also promise to heal the wounds I can't heal," she begged pleadingly, while Harry reluctantly nodded. But if she had promised, he would too, for her.
They kissed again and soon the kiss turned demanding. They were so desperate that now they were more disheveled than usual and their clothes very disheveled, until they heard the door of the office opening and they had to separate quickly, very agitated, finding Ron looking at them very amused, by the situation in which he found his best friends.
Wasting no time, Hermione took her wand and with a swift movement of her hand, quickly arranged their appearances. The redhead was still at the door, looking very mocking, until the brunette turned to him and gave him a murderous look as she remembered the reason for her anger.
"Ronald Weasley! It was exactly you I wanted to see! Very obedient of you to listen to your best friend by asking you to hit him! How dare you?!" exclaimed Hermione, furious again as she dangerously approached the redhead, who, frightened, moved away from her, backing away as far as she could, something that did not prevent her from hitting him with her fists in the chest, while Ron narrowed his eyes looking at his friend with green eyes, as if he were to blame for everything.
"Don't look at me like that, she knows it was my idea. Don't worry, like you, I'm in a lot of trouble too," Harry clarified, letting out a sigh.
……………………………
They had gone to St. Mungo's and the healers had finished treating Harry, Hermione, Ron and the other injured aurors.
Harry and Hermione were given a potion to put them to sleep and restore the energy they had lost, as well as one to soothe their throats, which had been torn from the torture they had received, but they were assured that they could leave when they woke up.
A couple of hours later, the Weasleys, Grangers and other friends were waiting for news in the waiting room of the magical hospital, when a healer came to tell them that Hermione had woken up and they could go see her.
Seeing her friends, her parents, and the other redheads enter the room, Hermione smiled as her mother and Mrs. Weasley walked over to hug her.
"Oh, my little one," Mrs. Granger was saying, hugging Hermione and placing kisses on her head. "are you alright?" Helen asked with concern.
"Yes mom. I'm fine. Thanks to Ron and Harry," the brunette answered, smiling at her red-haired friend and then looking at the bed where her boyfriend was sleeping, with a smile and a sigh.
Quickly her mother sighed with relief, then went into her arms again.
The scene was moving, but it was interrupted by Harry Potter's deafening scream, alerting everyone, Molly and Arthur quickly went out in search of a healer.
"Noooo! nooo!" Harry broke out in a sweat, his body shaking to the point of almost convulsing, his eyes closed as he screamed again.
Hermione ran to him, standing next to him and looking for a way to calm him down.
In the auror's mind there was chaos, he remembered moments of the battle and specifically he observed how the killing curse hit Hermione, it seemed that it was an infinite loop, not to mention that he had already been repeating that scene more than a hundred times, in all of them he saw it in slow and fast motion and he seemed like he was far from the possibility of saving her even once.
"Come on Harry, wake up love... it's just a nightmare" It was until Hermione's voice broke through, that the jet moved by it clenched his hands and eyes, seeking to get out of that hell.
"Hermione!" The auror yelled after several attempts to get out of there.
Then he opened his eyes, which met the worried and anguished look of the brunette, he took a look at the place noticing the Weasleys and the Grangers and he felt a little embarrassed.
At that moment Hermione went to his neck hugging him and Harry responded by squeezing her a little hard, he needed to make sure she was with him.
"Some things never change," Ron said with a slight smile on his lips.
Ginny nodded to her brother remembering the many times she witnessed those hugs, she already suspected it since sixth year, because despite what happened between Harry and her, it didn't feel right.
The chosen one had always had Hermione in a very special place, since every time a problem arose, the person who always occupied his mind was the brunette and it was well known by all that Harry had full confidence in her in every way.
The only thing that interrupted that hug was the healer who arrived being dragged by Mrs. Weasley.
"What's going on?" asked the healer as he positioned himself in front of Harry and received from Hermione a summary of what had happened.
"It was a nightmare, perhaps the product of a recent trauma, don't worry Mr. Potter, I will bring you a potion that will allow you to rest without dreaming anything, for now I will retire and take with me the others, visiting time is over" The healer stated seriously.
They all replied, while the healer led them out, leaving until the end Hermione's parents who did not stop watching their daughter's interaction with Harry.
"I'm drenched in sweat, Hermione. I'm sorry," Harry said rather embarrassed and blushing, noticing that he had clung to Hermione.
"It doesn't matter," the brunette clarified, with a smile on her face and bringing him closer to her again.
Richard and Helen Granger watched the scene with emotion, although Mr. Granger wanted to get closer and separate them.
…………………………………
Weeks later, back at the Ministry, Harry was in his office when he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," the green-eyed man raised his voice a little, looking up at the door to see Bertram Wolfgang enter through it.
Harry had tensed up when he saw the auror enter his office, since he tried to woo Hermione, they hadn't been getting along very well. The other auror, upon entering, noticed the jet's annoyance and hurried to clarify the reason for his visit.
"I come in peace," assured the brown-haired man, as he put his hands in his pockets. "I want to have a man-to-man conversation with you, Potter," Wolfgang stated, making Harry look at him in disbelief.
"About what?" Harry asked, crossing his arms and knowing more or less what they were talking about.
"Easy, Harry. I want to make amends with you. Believe it or not, I know how to recognize when something is not for me. Hermione loves you and I was never a competition" exposed the blue-eyed man "the only thing I want to make clear between the two of us is that I'm not going to stop being his friend. Can you live with that?" The blue-eyed asked directly.
"Fine. I can live with that" assured the green-eyed man, lowering his guard a little.
"So, no hard feelings, Potter?" He added and held out his hand to Harry.
"Of course. No hard feelings" answered the jet, holding out his hand back to the auror.
"Fine. Good to Know. I'm leaving," added the German man, turning around and leaving his boss's office.
That same night, Ron, Harry and Hermione had arrived at the redhead's house after work, as they agreed early that they would meet up with friends for a while.
Ron had gone to change while he waited for Luna, Ginny and Neville to arrive, leaving Harry and Hermione alone in the room. They were sitting on the sofa leaning forward, with their arms on their legs and having a quite intimate and intense conversation, well, it was quite obvious that they wanted to be together, but they had many things to talk about and to clarify.
"So, you were jealous?" Harry asked with a slight smile on his face and seeing Hermione blush.
"Oh, you have no idea how much I've felt," assured the brunette, seeing Harry raise his eyebrows as a sign that she would continue, "sometimes I feel so bad Harry, so guilty, because I have feelings that I get to know embarrassed. I've been so possessive about you, I've always wanted you for myself, and sometimes I've even felt jealous of your female friends" the brunette heard a sigh with a barely audible laugh, from Harry, but continued with her explanation "I have found myself feeling so bad about being so selfish at times. I mean I could see the world fall apart and lose so many people, feeling bad about it, but it doesn't compare to what I would feel if I lost you," the brunette confessed without meeting Harry's eyes.
She snapped her head up when she heard another sharp exhalation from Harry, watching as he ran his hands over his face in frustration.
"You can't imagine how many times I've felt the same as you, Hermione," said Harry, making his best friend frown. "I've had those selfish feelings plenty of times, even before we left Hogwarts. Yes, it is true that I have felt guilty for seeing the world fall apart and see so many people die, but it never compared to the fear I felt, if something happened to you or Ron for following me. To you mainly, that you were the only one who never separated from me. You are the most important person in my life, Hermione" argued the green eyed, making the girl blush and look away.
"When I saw Amelie kiss you, I felt like I would explode, because not only did I think I was losing the person I love, but by feeling like this, I would also break the promise I made to you to remain best friends, no matter what happens between us after our meeting in the elevator, I realized that I had broken that promise and I hated myself, I wanted to die Harry," Hermione continued, beginning to feel her eyes fill with tears, doing her best to hold them back.
"In this case, I must admit that I was quite jealous of Bertram, in addition to Viktor, but you already know that" the green-eyed man clarified "the one you didn't know was Bertram. I wanted to hit him or hex him and when you were late for the meeting with him, I felt so angry, Hermione. My blood boiled, I even thought that he wanted to separate you from me" Harry said a little embarrassed, seeing his girlfriend's mouth drop open.
"Harry, you don't have to worry about them," the honey - eyed clarified a little embarrassed. "On the other hand, I do. You're handsome, you're fit and you can have any woman you want and that's been going on since Hogwarts, considering you and Ron were quidditch players. You are athletes and that pleases the girls. Do you remember the sixth year? Ron and Lavender?" Hermione asked, laughing a little now at their red-haired friend's love experiences.
"Yeah, I think Lavender was a little crazy," Harry added, remembering his best friend's ex-girlfriend.
"Ohh, you're not the one to talk about a crazy girl. Do you remember Cho?" The brunette questioned a little blushing and amused when she saw the expression of sorrow on the green-eyed face "Although I must admit that she is a beautiful girl. That's your kind of girls, pretty and sporty. I never thought I would ever have a chance with you, it wasn't up to your standards," Hermione continued, blushing and lowering her gaze.
They remained silent for a few seconds, in which the green-eyed man felt his heart sink at the confession of the girl next to him. Harry stared at Hermione, brought his hand to her chin and turned it so that she was looking into his eyes. They stared at each other for a couple of seconds.
"You're beautiful," Harry said in a whisper and they both leaned their heads towards each other little by little and began to kiss slowly.
Hermione broke the kiss for an instant and ran her left hand through Harry's hair, slightly revealing the scar and running her thumb delicately over it.
"I love you Harry," she whispered inches from his face, her eyes misting with tears.
The jet closed his eyes at Hermione's caress. She was the only woman he had allowed and would allow to touch his scar, because in addition to knowing the meaning of his dark past, her best friend understood why Harry hated that mark on his forehead so much and still had shown him that she really loved him. She loved the man under the mask of the fame of the boy who lived or as he was later called. The chosen one.
"Um…" Harry groaned as he felt Hermione's lips move away. He leaned towards her again and they met their lips again in a slow and prolonged kiss for a few minutes.
Ginny and Neville appeared in the back garden so as not to alarm any Muggles who were nearby from the front. They walked to the back door of the house and entered in silence. When they reached the entrance to the room, they paused for a moment to see Harry and Hermione sharing an adorable kiss, not noticing anything around them.
The pair decided to move on a few seconds later and with a clearing of their throats, Harry and Hermione parted ways, both flushed very red.
After being involuntarily separated, they all got together and spent the night chatting and playing magical board games.
Now Harry and Ron were in a game of wizard chess, while their other friends watched and Hermione took in everything from the kitchen counter.
She had gotten up to pour herself a butterbeer and was a bit lost looking at the table where they were playing the game of chess, until a few moments later she decided to go out on the terrace and look at the starry sky.
She leaned her butterbeer on the balcony railing and sighed with her eyes on the little bright dots that decorated the sky.
Ron and Harry had finished their game, as the redhead had once again kicked Harry's butt at the board game.
Giving up, Harry got up and saw Hermione on the balcony, walked to the terrace and opened the glass door. He was walking over to stand next to her, when Hermione spoke and he paused for a moment behind her.
"Do you remember when in the fourth year I told you that I liked a boy, but that it was not Viktor Krum?" Hermione asked with a small smile, although Harry couldn't see her at the moment.
"I remember…" Harry answered finally walking to the balcony and standing next to his girlfriend.
"I told you that boy liked another girl and you said…" Hermione continued, when Harry finished the sentence for her.
"I said that boy was stupid for not choosing you…" Harry assured remembering his words, turning his head towards her.
"You called yourself stupid, you liked Cho at that time." Hermione smiled and looked up at him, her eyes sparkling as she saw Harry's green eyes sweep over her.
"I'm sorry..." Harry said a little blushed "I really was an idiot at Hogwarts. And that year when we went to the ministry and Dolohov attacked you, I really realized how much I needed you, but I was still too young and dumb to realize that I loved you, that I was in love with you. The only thing I knew at that moment was that you are important to me and that I loved you very much.
Hermione was now looking at him with tears in her eyes.
"And the truth, Mione... I'd rather endure a thousand tortures than lose you, adding that this would be the worst of all and I don't want to meet it," Harry clarified, giving Hermione a soft look.
Harry brought his finger to Hermione's cheek to wipe away a tear that had fallen.
"Mione..." Harry started again letting out a sigh, "I know that after everything that's happened in the last few days it's difficult, but I need to know if we'll be alright."
Hermione focused her gaze on Harry and they held each other's gaze for a moment.
"The truth is that I have everything I've ever wanted with me," said Hermione, moving a little closer to Harry with her gaze fixed on his beautiful green eyes. She caressed his cheek and smiled warmly at him.
The auror smiled back gently without taking his eyes off hers, lowering his head and slowly closing the distance until their lips touched.
Harry gently cupped Hermione's face in both hands and gently deepened the kiss, causing Hermione to moan against his lips and wrap her arms around his waist. Harry smiled against Hermione's lips.
Breaking away from the kiss, Hermione smiled and sighed in delight and then buried her head in Harry's chest, who with a smile hugged her protectively, placing a couple of kisses on her head.
Both were so surrounded by their romantic atmosphere that they didn't realize that their friends were looking at them from inside quite excited, knowing that reconciliation had finally come.