Title: Harry Potter and the Wand of Ariel (8/?)
Author: Atlantis Potter
E-mail: atlantispotter@yahoo.com
Category: Romance, Action/Adventure
Keywords: Year 6, Harry, Hermione, IMS, Magus
Rating: R
Spoilers: All Four Books.
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. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Also, if you're interested in faster updates, please visit . Again, thank you so much. –Atlantis
Chapter Eight: Darkness
Evil is unspectacular and always human, and shares our bed and eats at our own table.- W.H. Auden
Harry sat on a lounge in the common room, watching out the window as the horseless carriages pulled up to the castle. The first day of term. Normally, he was thrilled for the beginning of the year, anxious to see his friends and even to start classes again. It was different this year. The day was dark and stormy, just like the mood in the air. He had watched for the past two days as carriages had begun arriving at Hogwarts, bearing witches and wizards, young and old. Some were dressed as muggles and others in robes, but they all shared a common look. He saw the same fear, confusion and loss on nearly every face that entered the doors of Hogwarts.
Dumbledore had asked for their assistance the first morning people arrived and he and Hermione had spent the majority of their last few days before term began helping people find their way around the castle, assist the teachers in casting protection wards or just doing other tasks assigned to them.
Harry had helped haul in luggage and helped people get settled. He'd heard lectures from several of the older wizards about how different their world was today than it used to be and how in their day, they had to make their own wands (which he knew wasn't true, but he nodded to placate them.) The morning of the second day, he and Hermione had been charged with about twelve kids while Ron was asked to help McGonagall with room arrangements. They spent the morning outside with the children, trying to keep them from snooping near Hagrid's hut and clear away from the Forbidden Forest. Eventually, he had brought Pip and Daryl out to play and ended up keeping all twelve of the children occupied for several hours.
After Hermione had taken them in for the evening meal, he had stayed outside more, watching as Snape worked near the gates of the school, casting charms. He had turned towards the school for a brief moment when he noticed that there was an odd fuzzy light shining in the windows. Looking closer, Harry had realised that there were charms over the window to prevent anyone from being able to look inside. Sighing, he'd led Daryl and Pip back inside, realising that Hogwarts was going to be a very different place.
In evenings, he dedicated his time to Hermione, who still had a room to herself. They spent most of their time, cuddling on the bed and talking, Hermione usually half-paying attention to the discussion topic and half-paying attention to one of the books sprawled in her lap. She had taken several books out of the library on languages after spending ample time in Harry's Pensieve, copying down bits of Mage.
At night, they slept in her room. Only Draco was sleeping in the dorm as Ron had taken to the sofa in the common room. When they were anywhere near each other, they tended to bicker and Harry had taken great pains to avoid them, just as Ron was avoiding him.
Last night, he and Hermione had stayed up until it was nearly light up discussing everything from how to deal with Ron to the newcomers to the castle. When dawn was beginning to shimmer through the drops of dew on Hermione's windows, they had drawn the curtains and gone to sleep.
He had awoken late morning, finding Hermione still curled against him. He had kissed her gently on the forehead before slipping out of her bed and going to his own dorm to change into his school robes. After getting food from the kitchens and taking up one of Hermione's books, he had settled himself near the windows to watch and wait.
Three boats streamed across the violently churning. He knit his brow as he watched a tall figure lead the students into the castle. Standing and straightening his robes, he stood and turned, seeing Hermione.
"Shall we head down?" she said quietly, looking discontented that the other students had arrived.
He nodded.
***
The cacophony of noise settled to a low din before becoming completely silent as Dumbledore stood from his chair at the head table. Harry looked around the room, feeling out of sorts at the situation that presented itself. Instead of four long house tables, there were about eight shorter tables in the room. As he looked from table to table, he noticed that many familiar faces were not in the room and they were replaced instead by witches and wizards of all ages. There was a table full of young children dressed in both wizarding robes and normal street clothing. A table in the far back of the room was occupied by older witches and wizards who looked weary and bothered and were only half paying Dumbledore any attention. There was the IMS table, close to the head table. And the fourth new addition was occupied by witches and wizards in their twenties and thirties, who wore mixed expressions of amusement and worry. He recognised a great deal of the new faces and was even waved at by a few of the children. He smiled at them briefly before looking back to the head table.
"This year will be the most difficult in memory. Due to current events in our wizarding world, I have opened the doors of Hogwarts to muggleborns and to any wizarding families that feel they need sanctuary. However, a great deal of students have been pulled away from Hogwarts. There will be many changes to your class schedules. Though you will still be living in your individual houses, there will no longer be separate classes," Dumbledore said, his voice echoing in the large room. He paused, judging the reactions of the students. Harry peered around, seeing that it was only the Slytherins who were most bothered by this latest news.
"The largest change is, of course, the younger students in this building. Many schools around Britain that educated young witches and wizards were operated by muggleborns. Several schools have been shut down for that reason and others have been closed because the students were often children of muggleborn witches and wizards. In an effort to continue the education of these children, the other professors and I would like to ask for any volunteers from the fifth, six and seventh years to assist in the program we have developed. If you are interested in volunteering, please speak with your head of house.
"Now, if that's enough announcements, let's begin!"
Harry's stomach grumbled as the normal Hogwarts' feast appeared on the table. He quickly began spooning mashed potatoes and vegetables onto his plate, happy that things were at least somewhat normal. He smiled at Hermione, who looked somewhat shell-shocked.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, a concerned look in his eyes.
"There was no Sorting Ceremony."
Harry blinked before he realised that she was right. There had been no ceremony. He noticed a handful of new faces among the house tables, but he couldn't be sure whether or not they were first years. As he was about to mention this to Ron and Ginny, Arabella strode towards them.
"After the Feast, I'd like to have a meeting with all of you. I know that many of you have some house duties to attend to, but there are some things we need to discuss, so I need you to return to IMS as soon as possible."
"Arabella, why was there no sorting ceremony?" Harry asked, looking at the blonde witch.
"No need for it. There are only twelve first years. They were sorted before coming in here."
"Twelve?" Hermione said, looking even more shocked than she had a few moments prior.
"Indeed. We aren't permitted to allow muggleborn students, so the enrolment numbers are significantly lower."
"I never realised there were so many muggleborns," Ron said through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
"Of course there are!" Hermione responded, looking exasperated. "More than likely, half our housemates are muggleborn or half and half or have muggleborn parents."
"What does muggleborn parents have to do with it?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione strangely.
"If a witch or wizard doesn't have at least two generations of wizardry, they're considered a muggleborn," Arabella answered him.
"Arabella, what's happened?" asked Cadence, looking confused at everything that was going on.
"We'll discuss it all later, I promise. Right now, I need to get back to the staff table and I believe the Prefects are going to start leading the few first years there are back to their houses in about ten minutes."
Harry looked down at his half-empty plate, his hunger lost. Absentmindedly, he twirled his fork through the vegetables in front of him as he listened to Ron question what the big deal about all this was. Eyeing Hermione, he saw her biting the inside of her cheek and focusing intently on the piece of chicken on her plate. Clearing his throat, he looked at the red-haired boy in front of him.
"Oy, Ron. Why not let off that topic of conversation for now? Arabella said we'll discuss it all later."
Ron looked at him strangely before nodding and returning to his dinner. Harry tapped his fingers on the table and looked around at the other diners in the Hall. The conversation was minimal and the air in the room was heavy. Sighing, he turned back to his own plate and half-heartedly began to eat part of a roll. Shortly thereafter, his hunger diminished and he noticed that others were beginning to finish their meals and file out of the Great Hall. He waited for Hermione and Ginny to finish before the walked towards the Gryffindor table and asked for the first years to follow.
It didn't take long to get the two girls and two boys settled in to their dorms, as they were now in the same tower.
"This seems a bit ridiculous. Why is Dumbledore housing people in IMS and in Gryffindor? I bet he didn't put anyone in Slytherin," Ginny said as she followed Hermione into the girls' dorm, which was directly across the hall from where Harry was directing the boys.
"I've no idea. It seems silly to have the boys and girls in the same tower. What's to prevent, well, you know?"
Ginny shrugged as they shut the door, her reply lost on Harry. He turned to face the two boys standing in front of him. "What did you say your names were?"
"Richey," replied one of the boys as the other replied, "Nicky." Twins, thought Harry as he looked at the identical Gryffindors.
"Right then, you'll be staying in this," he opened the door, "room." The dorm was much smaller than the dorm he'd shared with Neville, Ron, Dean, and Seamus. There were two beds, facing each other, with the trunks positioned at the foot of each four poster. "Should you need anything, the Prefects are just a few flights up, or you can reach Hermione, Ginny, or I by the communication device I showed you downstairs."
The twin on the left nodded.
"Do you need anything or have any questions?" Harry asked.
"We'll be fine. Thanks Harry!" said the other as Harry began backing out of the room. They seemed settled enough as he closed the door.
Ginny and Hermione were standing in the hall, waiting for him.
"That was easy," he said to them.
Hermione nodded. "This is all so strange. It's not right. Hitler took years to get this sort of thing happening. It feels as if this is all over night. I mean, honestly, twelve new students this year? Twelve! Four of them are Gryffindors. I wonder what the other houses have?"
"Slytherin has two, Hufflepuff has three and Ravenclaw has three," Ginny replied.
Harry shook his head as they began descending the stairs. "That'll be hell on Quidditch."
"Quidditch?" Ginny asked, looking bemused.
"Of course. Dumbledore has decided that there will be Quidditch this year," Harry replied.
"That seems like a brilliant idea!" said Hermione sarcastically. "We'll just group everyone in as big an area as possible so it's easier to kill them all!"
Harry gaped at her. "Hermione!"
"Shh, keep your voices down," Ginny said, looking between them both. "Let's wait until we're out of Gryffindor Tower before we start talking about massacres." She shook her head as she quickened her pace, mumbling to herself for the duration of their descent.
As soon as they were out of the portrait hole, Hermione immediately picked up where she'd left off. "I think it's ridiculous to have Quidditch! I mean, how dangerous is that? We're harbouring these muggleborn witches and wizards to keep them safe from Connelly's people, yet Dumbledore is going to allow Quidditch? As if flying around on broomsticks 50 feet off of the ground isn't dangerous enough, you're going to do it in front of a group of spectators that are targeted by the government. Brilliant!"
Harry stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her. "Hermione, do you even understand why he's allowing it?"
"How do you know so much about it?" she countered, turning to face him and crossing her arms in front of her.
"McGonagall asked me to captain the Gryffindor team," he said, his voice low.
"And you're going to do it?!" she looked equally mortified and angry.
"Of course I am! I'd do anything to get back out there on my Firebolt!" He began walking again, wishing to get back to his dorm as quickly as possible so that this argument could be finished.
"That makes no sense! It's dangerous and stupid. You'll get killed out there. Connelly will have his men here to take out the muggleborns before you can blink. Dumbledore is allowing everyone to use wands here, Harry. There are wards up all over the castle to protect everyone inside, but the minute they step outside and use any magic whatsoever, they'll be found."
"Hermione, we need Quidditch. It's to take everyone's mind off of what's going on out there. I'm sure Dumbledore will make sure that no one uses magic on the pitch. I don't want to fight about this, Hermione."
"Harry, can't something else be done to occupy people's attention? Isn't there something less dangerous and less stupid?"
Harry stopped walking again. "Don't call it stupid, Hermione. It's not. I, for one, am all for Quidditch being reinstated because it allows me to get my mind off of school, off of this damn war and off of you!"
Hermione's mouth dropped. "Off of me? And what have I done to warrant such frustration?"
Harry sighed. "That came out wrong."
"Fine then, Harry Potter! I guess I'll go find something to take my mind off of you as well!" She stormed off in the direction of the entrance hall.
He stood in the same spot for a few moments, looking at Ginny, who looked completely taken aback by the scene she had just witnessed. Looking at her shocked brown eyes, he sighed. He turned in the direction that Hermione had gone and jogged after her.
Turning a corner of the hallway, he found her leaning against a wall, tears streaming down her face. "Hermione?" he asked, cautiously, standing a few feet in front of her.
"Did you mean it?"
"Not the way I said it. Last year, I would have given anything to be out on the Quidditch pitch, flying laps, just because it would have allowed me to think about anything but you. Not that I didn't want to think about you, but I felt like I couldn't. Right now, I don't want to get my mind off you. Not now or ever."
"You mean it?"
"I do."
"I'm sorry, Harry, for saying that Quidditch is stupid. I just can't shake the feeling that something bad will happen."
"It'll be perfectly safe, Hermione. Dumbledore will have aurors there."
"Can we spare aurors? Shouldn't they be out helping in other things?"
"I don't know if there's much they can do now."
"I'm sorry, Harry. I really am," she moved closer to him and he enveloped her in his arms.
"I am too, Hermione. I'm so sorry," he said quietly against her hair. She looked up at him, her brown eyes bright with unshed tears. His heart melted at the fear in her eyes and his immediate reaction was a desire to take away the pain there. He kissed her, gently at first, before the need to kiss her encompassed him fully. She adjusted herself so that she was pinned completely against him, nearly every inch of their bodies touching. His fingers travelled from her lower back to fist in her hair, the soft curls entwined around his fingers as their tongues collided. He breathed her in, the need to touch and feel every inch of her pounding through his body. She moaned against his lips and he felt his knees weaken. His fingers moved from her hair, travelling down her back to her hips. Gently, he pushed her away a few inches and looked into her half-open eyes.
"Hermione?"
"Harry…" she answered, her voice a low moan.
"I want you, Hermione," he said, looking into her eyes.
"Right here?" she replied, her voice barely a whisper. The confusion in her voice washed away his immediate need of her and he laughed.
"I love you so much."
She grinned at him. "I love you too."
Ginny conveniently came around the corner at that moment and grinned at them. "All kissed and made up then?" she asked, a bemused look on her face.
"Right, don't we have to meet with Arabella?" Hermione responded.
Ginny grinned again and the three set off towards IMS.
***
The other seven members of the program were seated in the common room, surrounding Arabella, who looked exhausted.
"Did you get that whole huge group of Gryffindors settled in?" The sarcasm in her voice was thick enough to spread on toast and made Harry immediately want to hide.
Ginny and Hermione nodded as they took chairs with the rest of the group.
"Good. There's a lot that needs going over tonight. I need to talk about this school that Dumbledore is holding for the young ones as well as what we'll be covering this year, but first I feel it important that we all talk about everything that has been going on. I know most of you have been out of the loop this summer, so I'd like to start by answering any questions you have."
Cadence immediately spoke up. "Why are all these people here?"
"Very good question. I suppose I'll start at the beginning then.
"Just over a year ago, as you all know, Voldemort returned, which is one of the reasons this program was even started in the first place. When word of his return began to get around, the wizarding economy in Britain began to drop and many businesses closed. In addition to the poor economy, there were a lot of things happening in the wizarding areas. Pureblood witches and wizards were being murdered and it's largely believed that this was due to their association with muggleborns. About two weeks ago, Connelly introduced the muggleborn laws, which restrict all sorts of things. Because of this, many witches and wizards lost their property and businesses, their jobs and their ability to do magic. That's why they're here."
"But why so many?" asked Padma.
"Well, there's a bit of a clause. You have to have at least two generations of wizarding blood, meaning that both your parents and grandparents must be wizards. That narrows down the purebloods quite a lot, as immediately following the Great War, there was an influx of muggleborns into our world. However, they were all students. So many of the students here have wizards as parents, but not grandparents."
"Why isn't anyone helping us? Where are the other wizarding governments?" Hermione spoke up next, her question being met with many nods from the other students.
"Well, just as muggle governments vary in power and size, so do the wizard governments. The American minister was ousted from his seat about six months ago, and the new minister, Gary Johnson, is going along with every Connelly suggests. Calanthe Reine, the French president, is refusing to adopt any of Connelly's regulations, and she's backed by several other governments. She's also offered asylum to any magical creatures that are in danger of being taken by Connelly."
Harry frowned, remembering that Dumbledore had mentioned that Hagrid had left France to come back to the UK. If only he'd stayed…
Shaking himself, Harry turned his attention back to Arabella who was discussing the people staying at the castle.
"I'm sure many of you are wondering why they're all housed in the school Houses or here in IMS when there are plenty of rooms available in the rest of the castle. We've decided that this is the best method of protection and though it may take time to get used to, it will work out better in the end.
"There are twenty-two students that will need magical education and I'd like some volunteers. As of yet, no students from the other houses have volunteered, so I'm thinking of making it mandatory unless a few of you volunteer."
Harry felt Hermione nudge him as she raised her hand slightly. Sighing, he followed and saw that Ginny and Padma were doing the same.
"Any others?" Arabella said after she nodded at the four students volunteering. Waiting, she looked around the room. "Very well then. Ron, Draco, you'll be helping as well. After we're finished here, I'd like to speak with the six of you."
Draco and Ron were staring at each other angrily and Harry fully understood the meaning of 'If looks could kill'.
"On to our program," Arabella said, interrupting the glares of Ron and Draco, "This year is going to be vastly different from last year. We've covered all the basics. I'm fully confident that each of you could fight against any member of Voldemort's legions and hold your own. However, I don't believe that you're fully aware of what could happen in such a fight. We spent last year discussing how the Dark Arts was integrated into many different branches of magic. You understand what can be done and how, but you don't understand why. You know how to fight, but not what you will be fighting.
"Your studies last year were an expedited version of your final three years of Hogwarts, plus some advanced work. Some of it, you were familiar with, some of it you had already learned and some of it was as foreign as Sanskrit. You're all at the same level now. This year, we're going to begin a true study of Dark Arts. You will learn a history of it, you will learn of past leaders of the various groups that have perpetrated the Dark Arts in our world and you will learn how to perform many of the Dark Arts because that is the best defence. A Death Eater will not come after you with a tickling charm; they aren't that patient, nice or humorous. You'll be lucky if they ever offer you a duel, because their best weapon is Avada Kedavra.
"We'll also spend several weeks breaking down the Unforgivable Curses. At the end of the year, your final exam will be to write and perfect your own spell, be it curse or otherwise. However, it must be something useful to defending yourself against the Dark Arts."
Hermione's hand shot up. "How long will we have to work on these?" she asked before Arabella even addressed her.
"Well, the assignment will be given six weeks prior to the end of term, but you have as long as you like before then to start working on it. After Christmas, I'm going to begin instructing you on breaking down charms into their working parts. What makes what happen. As we discussed in the past, magic is so much a matter of will, but for something as powerful as say, a counter to Avada Kedavra, you need an incantation of some sort to channel that will. Not that I expect any of you to try a counter to Avada Kedavra."
Padma Patil looked up from the notes she was copying done and raised her hand as well.
"Yes?"
"Are we going to be studying anything else this year?"
Arabella smiled at her. "Of course. The first thing we're going to be studying this year in time travel."
Harry's head shot up as he stared as his teacher. She winked at him before continuing on. "It's time for everyone to retire to their rooms. Are there any problems with the dorm situations? Yes, Cadence?" she asked, responding to the girl's hand.
"Um, time travel? Like time-turners?"
Arabella shook her head. "There are other methods."
"But are they legal?" asked Cho, speaking up for the first time during their meeting.
"Not necessarily, but then again, there are few Dark Arts that are legal. It's not a question of legality, but necessity. You need to have every weapon available to you. It will make you smarter fighters. I don't think I need to go into how this is going to help you in light of recent events."
A few heads around the room nodded as Padma cleared her throat. "Speaking of magic, how are we muggleborns to use it?"
Arabella smiled softly. "I was waiting for one of you to ask that. Dumbledore has placed special wards around the castle. They don't block magical detection, as that would appear suspicious, but they don't allow specific detection of who's performing the magic. Dumbledore will not allow Ministry officials into the Castle, so it is highly unlikely that anyone will be caught."
"Won't people notice that their neighbours are gone?" asked Akilah.
Arabella shrugged. "People notice what they chose to notice. Now, are there any dorm problems?"
Both Draco and Ron put their hands in the air.
"Other than you two. You'll have a problem if I keep you in the same building, so you might as well grow used to it. Now, if there are no other questions, I need to see my volunteers," she grinned as she said this, looking directly at Harry and the other students who were going to help. As soon as the others had left, she turned to face them. "It's rather good the six of you are helping, as you're all rooming together. There are three age groups: ages nine through eleven, six through eight and four through six. I'd like Hermione and Ginny to take the youngest group and Ron and Draco to handle the oldest."
"What exactly are we supposed to be doing?" Ginny asked.
"Well, a few professors have outlined and drawn up a great deal of work for these younger students. You'll need to implement that. A bit like glorified tutoring. I have names of the students you'll be working with, as well as timetables showing when you'll be meeting with them."
"But what exactly are we going to be teaching them?" asked Hermione.
"Well, some minor potions. Not anything like you learned in your first year, but more fun things. You'll teach them how to brew different sweet potions so that they'll have fun, as well as learning the basics of brewing. The older groups will be learning the basics of Latin so that spells are easier. There will be history. I'm sure there are other things…" she trailed off as she shuffled through some pieces of parchment in her lap. "Here, these are the timetables and curriculum." She handed each student a few pages.
Harry looked through the sheets, quickly scanning over the timetables and the lessons. The group that he and Padma would be working with required lessons in Latin (of which he knew little), potion brewing, some history, minor spell casting, and a few different types of games. He folded the papers and tucked them inside his robes as Arabella stood up.
"I didn't want to mention this, but you will all be receiving credit for this. I may exempt you from final exams, but I haven't decided yet."
A collective sigh of relief arose from the students as Arabella bade them good night and walked from the common room, leaving them standing in the common room.
Harry shuffled awkwardly as he looked at Hermione. Ginny noticed the odd tension in the group first.
"Perhaps we ought to head to our dorm so we can sort everything out," she suggested, nodding her head towards the door.
Hermione, Padma, and Ron nodded and they all followed Ginny towards the room. It had been expanded some to allow for some extra furniture in the lounge and Harry knew their bedrooms had been expanded, but having all six people in the room made it seem much smaller. Everyone seated themselves in the various chairs and sofas around the room before Ginny began talking.
"I think maybe we should work out some sort of privacy type thing. A sock on the doorknob or something."
"What for? There better not be any shagging going on!" Ron said, looking indignant.
Ginny raised her eyebrows at her brother. "I meant for studying or if someone is napping or something."
"Oh." Ron had the decency to look sheepish as Ginny rolled her eyes at him.
"Maybe we could just use locking charms on the doors, and if they're locked, knock. If they aren't, that means that no one is in there or there's no need for privacy," suggested Hermione.
Everyone nodded, except Draco, who looked annoyed at having to be in the room at all.
After a few more minutes of awkward small talk, Padma announced that she was tired and was going to bed. Draco and Ron nodded and both stood to head towards the boys' dorm. Ron bumped against Draco at the door, who frowned.
"Watch it Weasley. No need to be so anxious to watch me change into my pyjamas."
"Sod off, Malfoy."
Draco glared at Ron as he shoved the red-headed boy out of his way. Ron grunted, swearing, before he walked into the dorm room.
Ginny followed a few minutes after Padma, leaving Harry and Hermione by themselves on the sofa.
"I wish it didn't have to be this way," Hermione said softly, linking her fingers with Harry's.
Harry nodded, bringing her fingers up to brush his lips over them.
"I hate the idea of not being able to sleep in the same bed as you anymore."
Harry smiled softly. "I can always sneak in. We can close the curtains, put a silencing charm…"
Hermione grinned and playfully hit Harry's arm. "I really did mean sleep. We talked about this."
Harry smiled and leaned closer to her. "I know, Hermione."
She leaned in more and kissed him gently. "I love you, you know."
"I love you too. I better head in and pretend like I'm going to bed. I'll be in soon?"
Hermione frowned slightly. "How will you sneak in?"
"Apparate?"
"That works. Just don't, you know, apparate on me."
"I'll try."
"Harry…" she grinned again, shaking her head.
"I'll see you in a bit love," he replied, kissing her once more before standing up.
She squeezed his hand slightly before letting it go. He winked at her before walking towards his dorm.
The room was dark except for a single torch dimmed in the corner. The curtains on both Ron's and Draco's beds were drawn and Harry walked quietly to his wardrobe to find his pyjamas. Feeling slightly self-conscious at sharing a room again, he slipped into the bathroom to change.
A few minutes later, he was in his own bed, the curtains shut tightly behind him. Wondering exactly how he was going to apparate into Hermione's bed without splinching himself, he crossed his fingers and shut his eyes.
He instantly felt soft arms slide around him. Opening his eyes, he saw a curly-haired resting against his chest and he wrapped his arms around Hermione. "Miss me?" he said coyly.
"Yes, you were gone hours." She looked up at him, grinning sleepily.
He moved under her covers and she snuggled closer to him, burrowing against his side.
"G'night Harry. I love you," she said softly, her voice already sounding sleepy.
"Night, Mione. Love you too," he replied, knowing that she didn't hear his answer.
He slid an arm around her and moved closer, closing his eyes and breathing in the scent of her as he drifted off.
***
A/N: Thanks to Ian, Carl and Neil for beta-reading!
Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Please continue to review the chapters, I thrive on your comments.
Author: Atlantis Potter
E-mail: atlantispotter@yahoo.com
Category: Romance, Action/Adventure
Keywords: Year 6, Harry, Hermione, IMS, Magus
Rating: R
Spoilers: All Four Books.
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. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Also, if you're interested in faster updates, please visit . Again, thank you so much. –Atlantis
Evil is unspectacular and always human, and shares our bed and eats at our own table.- W.H. Auden
Harry sat on a lounge in the common room, watching out the window as the horseless carriages pulled up to the castle. The first day of term. Normally, he was thrilled for the beginning of the year, anxious to see his friends and even to start classes again. It was different this year. The day was dark and stormy, just like the mood in the air. He had watched for the past two days as carriages had begun arriving at Hogwarts, bearing witches and wizards, young and old. Some were dressed as muggles and others in robes, but they all shared a common look. He saw the same fear, confusion and loss on nearly every face that entered the doors of Hogwarts.
Dumbledore had asked for their assistance the first morning people arrived and he and Hermione had spent the majority of their last few days before term began helping people find their way around the castle, assist the teachers in casting protection wards or just doing other tasks assigned to them.
Harry had helped haul in luggage and helped people get settled. He'd heard lectures from several of the older wizards about how different their world was today than it used to be and how in their day, they had to make their own wands (which he knew wasn't true, but he nodded to placate them.) The morning of the second day, he and Hermione had been charged with about twelve kids while Ron was asked to help McGonagall with room arrangements. They spent the morning outside with the children, trying to keep them from snooping near Hagrid's hut and clear away from the Forbidden Forest. Eventually, he had brought Pip and Daryl out to play and ended up keeping all twelve of the children occupied for several hours.
After Hermione had taken them in for the evening meal, he had stayed outside more, watching as Snape worked near the gates of the school, casting charms. He had turned towards the school for a brief moment when he noticed that there was an odd fuzzy light shining in the windows. Looking closer, Harry had realised that there were charms over the window to prevent anyone from being able to look inside. Sighing, he'd led Daryl and Pip back inside, realising that Hogwarts was going to be a very different place.
In evenings, he dedicated his time to Hermione, who still had a room to herself. They spent most of their time, cuddling on the bed and talking, Hermione usually half-paying attention to the discussion topic and half-paying attention to one of the books sprawled in her lap. She had taken several books out of the library on languages after spending ample time in Harry's Pensieve, copying down bits of Mage.
At night, they slept in her room. Only Draco was sleeping in the dorm as Ron had taken to the sofa in the common room. When they were anywhere near each other, they tended to bicker and Harry had taken great pains to avoid them, just as Ron was avoiding him.
Last night, he and Hermione had stayed up until it was nearly light up discussing everything from how to deal with Ron to the newcomers to the castle. When dawn was beginning to shimmer through the drops of dew on Hermione's windows, they had drawn the curtains and gone to sleep.
He had awoken late morning, finding Hermione still curled against him. He had kissed her gently on the forehead before slipping out of her bed and going to his own dorm to change into his school robes. After getting food from the kitchens and taking up one of Hermione's books, he had settled himself near the windows to watch and wait.
Three boats streamed across the violently churning. He knit his brow as he watched a tall figure lead the students into the castle. Standing and straightening his robes, he stood and turned, seeing Hermione.
"Shall we head down?" she said quietly, looking discontented that the other students had arrived.
He nodded.
The cacophony of noise settled to a low din before becoming completely silent as Dumbledore stood from his chair at the head table. Harry looked around the room, feeling out of sorts at the situation that presented itself. Instead of four long house tables, there were about eight shorter tables in the room. As he looked from table to table, he noticed that many familiar faces were not in the room and they were replaced instead by witches and wizards of all ages. There was a table full of young children dressed in both wizarding robes and normal street clothing. A table in the far back of the room was occupied by older witches and wizards who looked weary and bothered and were only half paying Dumbledore any attention. There was the IMS table, close to the head table. And the fourth new addition was occupied by witches and wizards in their twenties and thirties, who wore mixed expressions of amusement and worry. He recognised a great deal of the new faces and was even waved at by a few of the children. He smiled at them briefly before looking back to the head table.
"This year will be the most difficult in memory. Due to current events in our wizarding world, I have opened the doors of Hogwarts to muggleborns and to any wizarding families that feel they need sanctuary. However, a great deal of students have been pulled away from Hogwarts. There will be many changes to your class schedules. Though you will still be living in your individual houses, there will no longer be separate classes," Dumbledore said, his voice echoing in the large room. He paused, judging the reactions of the students. Harry peered around, seeing that it was only the Slytherins who were most bothered by this latest news.
"The largest change is, of course, the younger students in this building. Many schools around Britain that educated young witches and wizards were operated by muggleborns. Several schools have been shut down for that reason and others have been closed because the students were often children of muggleborn witches and wizards. In an effort to continue the education of these children, the other professors and I would like to ask for any volunteers from the fifth, six and seventh years to assist in the program we have developed. If you are interested in volunteering, please speak with your head of house.
"Now, if that's enough announcements, let's begin!"
Harry's stomach grumbled as the normal Hogwarts' feast appeared on the table. He quickly began spooning mashed potatoes and vegetables onto his plate, happy that things were at least somewhat normal. He smiled at Hermione, who looked somewhat shell-shocked.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, a concerned look in his eyes.
"There was no Sorting Ceremony."
Harry blinked before he realised that she was right. There had been no ceremony. He noticed a handful of new faces among the house tables, but he couldn't be sure whether or not they were first years. As he was about to mention this to Ron and Ginny, Arabella strode towards them.
"After the Feast, I'd like to have a meeting with all of you. I know that many of you have some house duties to attend to, but there are some things we need to discuss, so I need you to return to IMS as soon as possible."
"Arabella, why was there no sorting ceremony?" Harry asked, looking at the blonde witch.
"No need for it. There are only twelve first years. They were sorted before coming in here."
"Twelve?" Hermione said, looking even more shocked than she had a few moments prior.
"Indeed. We aren't permitted to allow muggleborn students, so the enrolment numbers are significantly lower."
"I never realised there were so many muggleborns," Ron said through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
"Of course there are!" Hermione responded, looking exasperated. "More than likely, half our housemates are muggleborn or half and half or have muggleborn parents."
"What does muggleborn parents have to do with it?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione strangely.
"If a witch or wizard doesn't have at least two generations of wizardry, they're considered a muggleborn," Arabella answered him.
"Arabella, what's happened?" asked Cadence, looking confused at everything that was going on.
"We'll discuss it all later, I promise. Right now, I need to get back to the staff table and I believe the Prefects are going to start leading the few first years there are back to their houses in about ten minutes."
Harry looked down at his half-empty plate, his hunger lost. Absentmindedly, he twirled his fork through the vegetables in front of him as he listened to Ron question what the big deal about all this was. Eyeing Hermione, he saw her biting the inside of her cheek and focusing intently on the piece of chicken on her plate. Clearing his throat, he looked at the red-haired boy in front of him.
"Oy, Ron. Why not let off that topic of conversation for now? Arabella said we'll discuss it all later."
Ron looked at him strangely before nodding and returning to his dinner. Harry tapped his fingers on the table and looked around at the other diners in the Hall. The conversation was minimal and the air in the room was heavy. Sighing, he turned back to his own plate and half-heartedly began to eat part of a roll. Shortly thereafter, his hunger diminished and he noticed that others were beginning to finish their meals and file out of the Great Hall. He waited for Hermione and Ginny to finish before the walked towards the Gryffindor table and asked for the first years to follow.
It didn't take long to get the two girls and two boys settled in to their dorms, as they were now in the same tower.
"This seems a bit ridiculous. Why is Dumbledore housing people in IMS and in Gryffindor? I bet he didn't put anyone in Slytherin," Ginny said as she followed Hermione into the girls' dorm, which was directly across the hall from where Harry was directing the boys.
"I've no idea. It seems silly to have the boys and girls in the same tower. What's to prevent, well, you know?"
Ginny shrugged as they shut the door, her reply lost on Harry. He turned to face the two boys standing in front of him. "What did you say your names were?"
"Richey," replied one of the boys as the other replied, "Nicky." Twins, thought Harry as he looked at the identical Gryffindors.
"Right then, you'll be staying in this," he opened the door, "room." The dorm was much smaller than the dorm he'd shared with Neville, Ron, Dean, and Seamus. There were two beds, facing each other, with the trunks positioned at the foot of each four poster. "Should you need anything, the Prefects are just a few flights up, or you can reach Hermione, Ginny, or I by the communication device I showed you downstairs."
The twin on the left nodded.
"Do you need anything or have any questions?" Harry asked.
"We'll be fine. Thanks Harry!" said the other as Harry began backing out of the room. They seemed settled enough as he closed the door.
Ginny and Hermione were standing in the hall, waiting for him.
"That was easy," he said to them.
Hermione nodded. "This is all so strange. It's not right. Hitler took years to get this sort of thing happening. It feels as if this is all over night. I mean, honestly, twelve new students this year? Twelve! Four of them are Gryffindors. I wonder what the other houses have?"
"Slytherin has two, Hufflepuff has three and Ravenclaw has three," Ginny replied.
Harry shook his head as they began descending the stairs. "That'll be hell on Quidditch."
"Quidditch?" Ginny asked, looking bemused.
"Of course. Dumbledore has decided that there will be Quidditch this year," Harry replied.
"That seems like a brilliant idea!" said Hermione sarcastically. "We'll just group everyone in as big an area as possible so it's easier to kill them all!"
Harry gaped at her. "Hermione!"
"Shh, keep your voices down," Ginny said, looking between them both. "Let's wait until we're out of Gryffindor Tower before we start talking about massacres." She shook her head as she quickened her pace, mumbling to herself for the duration of their descent.
As soon as they were out of the portrait hole, Hermione immediately picked up where she'd left off. "I think it's ridiculous to have Quidditch! I mean, how dangerous is that? We're harbouring these muggleborn witches and wizards to keep them safe from Connelly's people, yet Dumbledore is going to allow Quidditch? As if flying around on broomsticks 50 feet off of the ground isn't dangerous enough, you're going to do it in front of a group of spectators that are targeted by the government. Brilliant!"
Harry stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her. "Hermione, do you even understand why he's allowing it?"
"How do you know so much about it?" she countered, turning to face him and crossing her arms in front of her.
"McGonagall asked me to captain the Gryffindor team," he said, his voice low.
"And you're going to do it?!" she looked equally mortified and angry.
"Of course I am! I'd do anything to get back out there on my Firebolt!" He began walking again, wishing to get back to his dorm as quickly as possible so that this argument could be finished.
"That makes no sense! It's dangerous and stupid. You'll get killed out there. Connelly will have his men here to take out the muggleborns before you can blink. Dumbledore is allowing everyone to use wands here, Harry. There are wards up all over the castle to protect everyone inside, but the minute they step outside and use any magic whatsoever, they'll be found."
"Hermione, we need Quidditch. It's to take everyone's mind off of what's going on out there. I'm sure Dumbledore will make sure that no one uses magic on the pitch. I don't want to fight about this, Hermione."
"Harry, can't something else be done to occupy people's attention? Isn't there something less dangerous and less stupid?"
Harry stopped walking again. "Don't call it stupid, Hermione. It's not. I, for one, am all for Quidditch being reinstated because it allows me to get my mind off of school, off of this damn war and off of you!"
Hermione's mouth dropped. "Off of me? And what have I done to warrant such frustration?"
Harry sighed. "That came out wrong."
"Fine then, Harry Potter! I guess I'll go find something to take my mind off of you as well!" She stormed off in the direction of the entrance hall.
He stood in the same spot for a few moments, looking at Ginny, who looked completely taken aback by the scene she had just witnessed. Looking at her shocked brown eyes, he sighed. He turned in the direction that Hermione had gone and jogged after her.
Turning a corner of the hallway, he found her leaning against a wall, tears streaming down her face. "Hermione?" he asked, cautiously, standing a few feet in front of her.
"Did you mean it?"
"Not the way I said it. Last year, I would have given anything to be out on the Quidditch pitch, flying laps, just because it would have allowed me to think about anything but you. Not that I didn't want to think about you, but I felt like I couldn't. Right now, I don't want to get my mind off you. Not now or ever."
"You mean it?"
"I do."
"I'm sorry, Harry, for saying that Quidditch is stupid. I just can't shake the feeling that something bad will happen."
"It'll be perfectly safe, Hermione. Dumbledore will have aurors there."
"Can we spare aurors? Shouldn't they be out helping in other things?"
"I don't know if there's much they can do now."
"I'm sorry, Harry. I really am," she moved closer to him and he enveloped her in his arms.
"I am too, Hermione. I'm so sorry," he said quietly against her hair. She looked up at him, her brown eyes bright with unshed tears. His heart melted at the fear in her eyes and his immediate reaction was a desire to take away the pain there. He kissed her, gently at first, before the need to kiss her encompassed him fully. She adjusted herself so that she was pinned completely against him, nearly every inch of their bodies touching. His fingers travelled from her lower back to fist in her hair, the soft curls entwined around his fingers as their tongues collided. He breathed her in, the need to touch and feel every inch of her pounding through his body. She moaned against his lips and he felt his knees weaken. His fingers moved from her hair, travelling down her back to her hips. Gently, he pushed her away a few inches and looked into her half-open eyes.
"Hermione?"
"Harry…" she answered, her voice a low moan.
"I want you, Hermione," he said, looking into her eyes.
"Right here?" she replied, her voice barely a whisper. The confusion in her voice washed away his immediate need of her and he laughed.
"I love you so much."
She grinned at him. "I love you too."
Ginny conveniently came around the corner at that moment and grinned at them. "All kissed and made up then?" she asked, a bemused look on her face.
"Right, don't we have to meet with Arabella?" Hermione responded.
Ginny grinned again and the three set off towards IMS.
The other seven members of the program were seated in the common room, surrounding Arabella, who looked exhausted.
"Did you get that whole huge group of Gryffindors settled in?" The sarcasm in her voice was thick enough to spread on toast and made Harry immediately want to hide.
Ginny and Hermione nodded as they took chairs with the rest of the group.
"Good. There's a lot that needs going over tonight. I need to talk about this school that Dumbledore is holding for the young ones as well as what we'll be covering this year, but first I feel it important that we all talk about everything that has been going on. I know most of you have been out of the loop this summer, so I'd like to start by answering any questions you have."
Cadence immediately spoke up. "Why are all these people here?"
"Very good question. I suppose I'll start at the beginning then.
"Just over a year ago, as you all know, Voldemort returned, which is one of the reasons this program was even started in the first place. When word of his return began to get around, the wizarding economy in Britain began to drop and many businesses closed. In addition to the poor economy, there were a lot of things happening in the wizarding areas. Pureblood witches and wizards were being murdered and it's largely believed that this was due to their association with muggleborns. About two weeks ago, Connelly introduced the muggleborn laws, which restrict all sorts of things. Because of this, many witches and wizards lost their property and businesses, their jobs and their ability to do magic. That's why they're here."
"But why so many?" asked Padma.
"Well, there's a bit of a clause. You have to have at least two generations of wizarding blood, meaning that both your parents and grandparents must be wizards. That narrows down the purebloods quite a lot, as immediately following the Great War, there was an influx of muggleborns into our world. However, they were all students. So many of the students here have wizards as parents, but not grandparents."
"Why isn't anyone helping us? Where are the other wizarding governments?" Hermione spoke up next, her question being met with many nods from the other students.
"Well, just as muggle governments vary in power and size, so do the wizard governments. The American minister was ousted from his seat about six months ago, and the new minister, Gary Johnson, is going along with every Connelly suggests. Calanthe Reine, the French president, is refusing to adopt any of Connelly's regulations, and she's backed by several other governments. She's also offered asylum to any magical creatures that are in danger of being taken by Connelly."
Harry frowned, remembering that Dumbledore had mentioned that Hagrid had left France to come back to the UK. If only he'd stayed…
Shaking himself, Harry turned his attention back to Arabella who was discussing the people staying at the castle.
"I'm sure many of you are wondering why they're all housed in the school Houses or here in IMS when there are plenty of rooms available in the rest of the castle. We've decided that this is the best method of protection and though it may take time to get used to, it will work out better in the end.
"There are twenty-two students that will need magical education and I'd like some volunteers. As of yet, no students from the other houses have volunteered, so I'm thinking of making it mandatory unless a few of you volunteer."
Harry felt Hermione nudge him as she raised her hand slightly. Sighing, he followed and saw that Ginny and Padma were doing the same.
"Any others?" Arabella said after she nodded at the four students volunteering. Waiting, she looked around the room. "Very well then. Ron, Draco, you'll be helping as well. After we're finished here, I'd like to speak with the six of you."
Draco and Ron were staring at each other angrily and Harry fully understood the meaning of 'If looks could kill'.
"On to our program," Arabella said, interrupting the glares of Ron and Draco, "This year is going to be vastly different from last year. We've covered all the basics. I'm fully confident that each of you could fight against any member of Voldemort's legions and hold your own. However, I don't believe that you're fully aware of what could happen in such a fight. We spent last year discussing how the Dark Arts was integrated into many different branches of magic. You understand what can be done and how, but you don't understand why. You know how to fight, but not what you will be fighting.
"Your studies last year were an expedited version of your final three years of Hogwarts, plus some advanced work. Some of it, you were familiar with, some of it you had already learned and some of it was as foreign as Sanskrit. You're all at the same level now. This year, we're going to begin a true study of Dark Arts. You will learn a history of it, you will learn of past leaders of the various groups that have perpetrated the Dark Arts in our world and you will learn how to perform many of the Dark Arts because that is the best defence. A Death Eater will not come after you with a tickling charm; they aren't that patient, nice or humorous. You'll be lucky if they ever offer you a duel, because their best weapon is Avada Kedavra.
"We'll also spend several weeks breaking down the Unforgivable Curses. At the end of the year, your final exam will be to write and perfect your own spell, be it curse or otherwise. However, it must be something useful to defending yourself against the Dark Arts."
Hermione's hand shot up. "How long will we have to work on these?" she asked before Arabella even addressed her.
"Well, the assignment will be given six weeks prior to the end of term, but you have as long as you like before then to start working on it. After Christmas, I'm going to begin instructing you on breaking down charms into their working parts. What makes what happen. As we discussed in the past, magic is so much a matter of will, but for something as powerful as say, a counter to Avada Kedavra, you need an incantation of some sort to channel that will. Not that I expect any of you to try a counter to Avada Kedavra."
Padma Patil looked up from the notes she was copying done and raised her hand as well.
"Yes?"
"Are we going to be studying anything else this year?"
Arabella smiled at her. "Of course. The first thing we're going to be studying this year in time travel."
Harry's head shot up as he stared as his teacher. She winked at him before continuing on. "It's time for everyone to retire to their rooms. Are there any problems with the dorm situations? Yes, Cadence?" she asked, responding to the girl's hand.
"Um, time travel? Like time-turners?"
Arabella shook her head. "There are other methods."
"But are they legal?" asked Cho, speaking up for the first time during their meeting.
"Not necessarily, but then again, there are few Dark Arts that are legal. It's not a question of legality, but necessity. You need to have every weapon available to you. It will make you smarter fighters. I don't think I need to go into how this is going to help you in light of recent events."
A few heads around the room nodded as Padma cleared her throat. "Speaking of magic, how are we muggleborns to use it?"
Arabella smiled softly. "I was waiting for one of you to ask that. Dumbledore has placed special wards around the castle. They don't block magical detection, as that would appear suspicious, but they don't allow specific detection of who's performing the magic. Dumbledore will not allow Ministry officials into the Castle, so it is highly unlikely that anyone will be caught."
"Won't people notice that their neighbours are gone?" asked Akilah.
Arabella shrugged. "People notice what they chose to notice. Now, are there any dorm problems?"
Both Draco and Ron put their hands in the air.
"Other than you two. You'll have a problem if I keep you in the same building, so you might as well grow used to it. Now, if there are no other questions, I need to see my volunteers," she grinned as she said this, looking directly at Harry and the other students who were going to help. As soon as the others had left, she turned to face them. "It's rather good the six of you are helping, as you're all rooming together. There are three age groups: ages nine through eleven, six through eight and four through six. I'd like Hermione and Ginny to take the youngest group and Ron and Draco to handle the oldest."
"What exactly are we supposed to be doing?" Ginny asked.
"Well, a few professors have outlined and drawn up a great deal of work for these younger students. You'll need to implement that. A bit like glorified tutoring. I have names of the students you'll be working with, as well as timetables showing when you'll be meeting with them."
"But what exactly are we going to be teaching them?" asked Hermione.
"Well, some minor potions. Not anything like you learned in your first year, but more fun things. You'll teach them how to brew different sweet potions so that they'll have fun, as well as learning the basics of brewing. The older groups will be learning the basics of Latin so that spells are easier. There will be history. I'm sure there are other things…" she trailed off as she shuffled through some pieces of parchment in her lap. "Here, these are the timetables and curriculum." She handed each student a few pages.
Harry looked through the sheets, quickly scanning over the timetables and the lessons. The group that he and Padma would be working with required lessons in Latin (of which he knew little), potion brewing, some history, minor spell casting, and a few different types of games. He folded the papers and tucked them inside his robes as Arabella stood up.
"I didn't want to mention this, but you will all be receiving credit for this. I may exempt you from final exams, but I haven't decided yet."
A collective sigh of relief arose from the students as Arabella bade them good night and walked from the common room, leaving them standing in the common room.
Harry shuffled awkwardly as he looked at Hermione. Ginny noticed the odd tension in the group first.
"Perhaps we ought to head to our dorm so we can sort everything out," she suggested, nodding her head towards the door.
Hermione, Padma, and Ron nodded and they all followed Ginny towards the room. It had been expanded some to allow for some extra furniture in the lounge and Harry knew their bedrooms had been expanded, but having all six people in the room made it seem much smaller. Everyone seated themselves in the various chairs and sofas around the room before Ginny began talking.
"I think maybe we should work out some sort of privacy type thing. A sock on the doorknob or something."
"What for? There better not be any shagging going on!" Ron said, looking indignant.
Ginny raised her eyebrows at her brother. "I meant for studying or if someone is napping or something."
"Oh." Ron had the decency to look sheepish as Ginny rolled her eyes at him.
"Maybe we could just use locking charms on the doors, and if they're locked, knock. If they aren't, that means that no one is in there or there's no need for privacy," suggested Hermione.
Everyone nodded, except Draco, who looked annoyed at having to be in the room at all.
After a few more minutes of awkward small talk, Padma announced that she was tired and was going to bed. Draco and Ron nodded and both stood to head towards the boys' dorm. Ron bumped against Draco at the door, who frowned.
"Watch it Weasley. No need to be so anxious to watch me change into my pyjamas."
"Sod off, Malfoy."
Draco glared at Ron as he shoved the red-headed boy out of his way. Ron grunted, swearing, before he walked into the dorm room.
Ginny followed a few minutes after Padma, leaving Harry and Hermione by themselves on the sofa.
"I wish it didn't have to be this way," Hermione said softly, linking her fingers with Harry's.
Harry nodded, bringing her fingers up to brush his lips over them.
"I hate the idea of not being able to sleep in the same bed as you anymore."
Harry smiled softly. "I can always sneak in. We can close the curtains, put a silencing charm…"
Hermione grinned and playfully hit Harry's arm. "I really did mean sleep. We talked about this."
Harry smiled and leaned closer to her. "I know, Hermione."
She leaned in more and kissed him gently. "I love you, you know."
"I love you too. I better head in and pretend like I'm going to bed. I'll be in soon?"
Hermione frowned slightly. "How will you sneak in?"
"Apparate?"
"That works. Just don't, you know, apparate on me."
"I'll try."
"Harry…" she grinned again, shaking her head.
"I'll see you in a bit love," he replied, kissing her once more before standing up.
She squeezed his hand slightly before letting it go. He winked at her before walking towards his dorm.
The room was dark except for a single torch dimmed in the corner. The curtains on both Ron's and Draco's beds were drawn and Harry walked quietly to his wardrobe to find his pyjamas. Feeling slightly self-conscious at sharing a room again, he slipped into the bathroom to change.
A few minutes later, he was in his own bed, the curtains shut tightly behind him. Wondering exactly how he was going to apparate into Hermione's bed without splinching himself, he crossed his fingers and shut his eyes.
He instantly felt soft arms slide around him. Opening his eyes, he saw a curly-haired resting against his chest and he wrapped his arms around Hermione. "Miss me?" he said coyly.
"Yes, you were gone hours." She looked up at him, grinning sleepily.
He moved under her covers and she snuggled closer to him, burrowing against his side.
"G'night Harry. I love you," she said softly, her voice already sounding sleepy.
"Night, Mione. Love you too," he replied, knowing that she didn't hear his answer.
He slid an arm around her and moved closer, closing his eyes and breathing in the scent of her as he drifted off.
A/N: Thanks to Ian, Carl and Neil for beta-reading!
Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Please continue to review the chapters, I thrive on your comments.