Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. I hadn't been there in ages..two years in fact. I remembered, all too clearly, how the three of us had lounged in there, mixing potions safe from the rest of the school, swapping homework, telling stories, laughing and living, so young, back when we were children. I'd never gone back, knowing Hermione still went there.
As I approached, I was surprised to see light coming from under the door. And the babble of voices from inside. And then, I heard Hermione.
"Alright, " she was saying, "There's been rumours..just rumours so far, about Deatheaters in Hogsmeade. Someone left a Deathmark on the sweetshop..which sounds like a Slytherin prank to me. But check it out please."
"What about the forest?" I heard Seamus ask.
"I'll check it out with Hagrid." Hermione said, her voice capable and confident.
I pushed open the door. The bathroom was full to overflowing, with students. Neville, Seamus, Lavender, Parvati, even Draco lounging against the wall. And standing against the sink..leaning up against the entrance to the chamber of secrets, was Hermione. She jumped slightly when I entered, and every hand in the room reached for their wand, but relaxed when I entered.
"What do you want, Potter?" Draco snarled, and I prepared to snarl back, but Hermione merely said,
"Draco." quietly, and he subsided.
"Hermione?" I asked, staring at her. She'd changed so much. She was still no conventional beauty, but she had something cleaner, purer. A goodness, a sense of power, a light in her, that burned bright and clean. It was no wonder she'd drawn such a crowd around her. She was magnetic. And now I was finally looking at her, I knew I'd never look away again.
"You'd all better go now." Hermione said. They filed out past me, Neville muttering,
"About time you came back."
Until only Ron, Hermione and I were left in the bathroom.
"Hermione, what's going on?" I asked, bemused.
"Oh, so you do remember her name." Ron said, not nastily, joking, like we used to
"Ron." Hermione said exasperated. "A few of us..well we thought when the time came, you might need help, so a few of us decided to get together, learn a few things, keep an eye on things."
"Draco too?" I asked, amazed.
"Hermione talked him into it." Ron said, proudly. "In fact Hermione arranged this whole thing, all of us. She's our general, sort of. And we're an army. Her army."
"Your army." Hermione said to me. "If you need it."
"I..I don't know what to say." I stammered, as she stood before me. All this time, I thought I was alone. I thought I would have no-one behind me as I fought, and this woman, this woman I'd selfishly pushed aside had done all this, created so much, for me.
"Sorry would be good." Ron said. "Weren't you going to the dark forest?" he asked Hermione.
"Yes. Do you want to come?" she asked me. "Ron's staying here. One of us is always inside Hogwarts." She said.
I followed her out, completely wordless, Ron grinning like an idiot behind me.
**********************
"Hermione.." I started to explain, but she stopped me.
"Don't." she said. "Don't explain. I know why you did what you did. You don't have to tell me."
"How do you know?" I asked, wondering if Dumbledore had told her. She sighed, as we left the castle, past Hagrid's hut. We were so engrossed in our conversation, we never thought to stop and ask for Hagrid to come with us.
"I walked in your dreams, those two months." She explained. "I saw you dream me dying."
"Oh."
I'd thought I'd suffered alone, but she was must have been there, all the time, every dream. I should have expected no less from my fiercely protective friend, but I'd been so wrapped up in my own horrors, I'd never even thought about it.
"Have you walked in my dreams since?" I started to ask, but she snapped,
"No!" and I left it there. Hermione had a sense of honour. She would never have done that. Probably.
"Um, where are we going?" I asked her, as we wondered further into the Dark Forest.
"A first year saw someone 'weird' in here." She explained. "I'm going to check this things out, ask the centaurs if they've seen anything."
"At night?" I questioned.
"I have lessons during the day!" she said, scandalised I'd suggested missing lessons. I grinned. There was still the same old Hermione in this leader of witches and fighter of the Dark forces. "I doubt it's anything." She continued.
"I'm not sure." I said. "My scar's been burning a lot."
"Let me see." She said, frowning, reaching up and pushing my hair aside to see my scar, like she had the first time I told her about my dreams. And like then, her hand was cool on the heat of my scar, and I closed my eyes, just to take in for one second Hermione's hand, soothing me.
She dropped her hand to my arm, and when I opened my eyes, there was a new expression on her face, nervous, and unsure.
"I know why..I know why you pushed me away." She said, stammering. "I know how you felt."
"I'm sorry.." I started to say, but she put her fingers on my lip and shushed me.
"I just..I wanted to say..you don't know, but I promised you when you were sleeping, I'd never leave you alone. and I never have. There's always been somebody there, watching you, looking out for you. We've defeated the odd Deatheater sent for you. We've ..I've kept you safe. I kept my promise."
"I'm sorry.."
"No, Harry, its my time to talk. When I promised, I told Dumbledore that if you changed your mind, if you decided to ....to risk it, to send you to me. And every day I waited for you. Every day I hoped you would come. And every day I went to bed crying because you didn't, and I needed you and loved you so much, but you never came. But today you did, and now Harry, you have to tell me why. Why did you come to me tonight, Harry Potter?"
Her little speech was brave, but tears pooled in her eyes. She bit her lower lip impatiently to stop it trembling, and her hand grasped my sleeve.
"Dumbledore sent me." I said slowly.
"Why? Why did he send you?" she demanded.
What had he said? 'My mother had surely taught me'. All my mother had had time to do was die for me. She died through love of me. That was why I'd rejected love. No-one was going to die because they loved me ever again.
But because she died..because she loved me so much, I lived. I survived. I'd been protected against Voldemort. And even now, there was still my scar, my protection, my warning against Voldemort. Because she loved me.
"My mother taught me," I said slowly, almost whispering, "that the greatest gift, the greatest strength, the greatest power of all," I whispered, pushing Hermione's hair back from her face, "is love."
And then I bent down, to her tear-stained, up-turned face, and kissed her, gently, so sweetly. And she pulled me down, and pulled me into an even more passionate kiss, and I drowned in her, in her innocence and sweetness and bravery and goodness, and I loved her, I love her, so much.
As I approached, I was surprised to see light coming from under the door. And the babble of voices from inside. And then, I heard Hermione.
"Alright, " she was saying, "There's been rumours..just rumours so far, about Deatheaters in Hogsmeade. Someone left a Deathmark on the sweetshop..which sounds like a Slytherin prank to me. But check it out please."
"What about the forest?" I heard Seamus ask.
"I'll check it out with Hagrid." Hermione said, her voice capable and confident.
I pushed open the door. The bathroom was full to overflowing, with students. Neville, Seamus, Lavender, Parvati, even Draco lounging against the wall. And standing against the sink..leaning up against the entrance to the chamber of secrets, was Hermione. She jumped slightly when I entered, and every hand in the room reached for their wand, but relaxed when I entered.
"What do you want, Potter?" Draco snarled, and I prepared to snarl back, but Hermione merely said,
"Draco." quietly, and he subsided.
"Hermione?" I asked, staring at her. She'd changed so much. She was still no conventional beauty, but she had something cleaner, purer. A goodness, a sense of power, a light in her, that burned bright and clean. It was no wonder she'd drawn such a crowd around her. She was magnetic. And now I was finally looking at her, I knew I'd never look away again.
"You'd all better go now." Hermione said. They filed out past me, Neville muttering,
"About time you came back."
Until only Ron, Hermione and I were left in the bathroom.
"Hermione, what's going on?" I asked, bemused.
"Oh, so you do remember her name." Ron said, not nastily, joking, like we used to
"Ron." Hermione said exasperated. "A few of us..well we thought when the time came, you might need help, so a few of us decided to get together, learn a few things, keep an eye on things."
"Draco too?" I asked, amazed.
"Hermione talked him into it." Ron said, proudly. "In fact Hermione arranged this whole thing, all of us. She's our general, sort of. And we're an army. Her army."
"Your army." Hermione said to me. "If you need it."
"I..I don't know what to say." I stammered, as she stood before me. All this time, I thought I was alone. I thought I would have no-one behind me as I fought, and this woman, this woman I'd selfishly pushed aside had done all this, created so much, for me.
"Sorry would be good." Ron said. "Weren't you going to the dark forest?" he asked Hermione.
"Yes. Do you want to come?" she asked me. "Ron's staying here. One of us is always inside Hogwarts." She said.
I followed her out, completely wordless, Ron grinning like an idiot behind me.
**********************
"Hermione.." I started to explain, but she stopped me.
"Don't." she said. "Don't explain. I know why you did what you did. You don't have to tell me."
"How do you know?" I asked, wondering if Dumbledore had told her. She sighed, as we left the castle, past Hagrid's hut. We were so engrossed in our conversation, we never thought to stop and ask for Hagrid to come with us.
"I walked in your dreams, those two months." She explained. "I saw you dream me dying."
"Oh."
I'd thought I'd suffered alone, but she was must have been there, all the time, every dream. I should have expected no less from my fiercely protective friend, but I'd been so wrapped up in my own horrors, I'd never even thought about it.
"Have you walked in my dreams since?" I started to ask, but she snapped,
"No!" and I left it there. Hermione had a sense of honour. She would never have done that. Probably.
"Um, where are we going?" I asked her, as we wondered further into the Dark Forest.
"A first year saw someone 'weird' in here." She explained. "I'm going to check this things out, ask the centaurs if they've seen anything."
"At night?" I questioned.
"I have lessons during the day!" she said, scandalised I'd suggested missing lessons. I grinned. There was still the same old Hermione in this leader of witches and fighter of the Dark forces. "I doubt it's anything." She continued.
"I'm not sure." I said. "My scar's been burning a lot."
"Let me see." She said, frowning, reaching up and pushing my hair aside to see my scar, like she had the first time I told her about my dreams. And like then, her hand was cool on the heat of my scar, and I closed my eyes, just to take in for one second Hermione's hand, soothing me.
She dropped her hand to my arm, and when I opened my eyes, there was a new expression on her face, nervous, and unsure.
"I know why..I know why you pushed me away." She said, stammering. "I know how you felt."
"I'm sorry.." I started to say, but she put her fingers on my lip and shushed me.
"I just..I wanted to say..you don't know, but I promised you when you were sleeping, I'd never leave you alone. and I never have. There's always been somebody there, watching you, looking out for you. We've defeated the odd Deatheater sent for you. We've ..I've kept you safe. I kept my promise."
"I'm sorry.."
"No, Harry, its my time to talk. When I promised, I told Dumbledore that if you changed your mind, if you decided to ....to risk it, to send you to me. And every day I waited for you. Every day I hoped you would come. And every day I went to bed crying because you didn't, and I needed you and loved you so much, but you never came. But today you did, and now Harry, you have to tell me why. Why did you come to me tonight, Harry Potter?"
Her little speech was brave, but tears pooled in her eyes. She bit her lower lip impatiently to stop it trembling, and her hand grasped my sleeve.
"Dumbledore sent me." I said slowly.
"Why? Why did he send you?" she demanded.
What had he said? 'My mother had surely taught me'. All my mother had had time to do was die for me. She died through love of me. That was why I'd rejected love. No-one was going to die because they loved me ever again.
But because she died..because she loved me so much, I lived. I survived. I'd been protected against Voldemort. And even now, there was still my scar, my protection, my warning against Voldemort. Because she loved me.
"My mother taught me," I said slowly, almost whispering, "that the greatest gift, the greatest strength, the greatest power of all," I whispered, pushing Hermione's hair back from her face, "is love."
And then I bent down, to her tear-stained, up-turned face, and kissed her, gently, so sweetly. And she pulled me down, and pulled me into an even more passionate kiss, and I drowned in her, in her innocence and sweetness and bravery and goodness, and I loved her, I love her, so much.
