A/N

Mella deRanged - Read this chapter and find out.

keebler-emo - the chapters are six pages long for the most part I try not to cliffhang and end it on a scene feels good, so if there is a problem with reading only 6 pages at a time I'd suggest not reading for two days and then you can have 40 or so pages to read at one sitting. k :)

David Potter - um .. no green-eyed monster here. I went back and checked the last few paragraphs and saw what I did wrong. Harry is the one that says, lastly, that he's figured out it was Ron and Luna the was actually snogging out by the lake.

Silverheart - I hope so too.

CliodnaHPFan - Here you go, read this chapter!

PadfootsNoxed and Tessa66 - Thanks!

Dslguy - Um ... no. How lame would that plot be.

Sabrina - And I'm a huge fan of your reviews !

dacy - Um .. thanks?

The Big Dog - Thanks, me too, that's why I wrote my own.

Twisted Anjel - request granted. And don't worry I usually take the flamers and put them right where they do the most good, in limbo.

emerald girl - You review because it's like the whip on my butt, It makes me write faster! besides I'm a review hound I eat this stuff up.

Sami Potter - Cliffy explained. more cilffy soon!

Chapter 17

Harry had first-years again on Friday morning for double class this time around which seemed to drag until all hours with a staff meeting afterward, his first, by the way.

Professor McGonagall, as Deputy Headmistress, led the meeting. Harry hadn't really thought about the number of teachers that worked at Hogwart's until they were all gathered in a small room.

Most of the hour was taken up with the most mundane of the mundane: informative facts, continuing education classes that were being offered at the Ministry of Magic, complaints by Filch, and suggestions to utilize the Head Boy and Girl's time more efficiently since they were in their N.E.W.T. year and didn't have much free time.

Harry sat in the back row trying his best not to nod off by drawing little caricatures in the margins of his scroll parchment. He caught himself when he was almost finished with a lopsided picture of a snitch with the letters HG halfway through being emblazoned across the ball portion.

He remembered it being the same thing his father had drawn on a scrap piece of parchment in his O.W.L. exams after he had finished testing. he shook his head and tried to pay attention to Professor McGonagall.

"... I will need next month's lesson plans by Monday morning, and progress reports go out in two more weeks time. Do not forget to grade on attitude in class as well, this term. We want a clear view ahead of time if a student needs to be placed in a different environment."

That caught his attention and he raised his hand.

"Yes, Potter. A question?"

Almost all of the staff turned to see what he was going to ask."

"Erm ... you said something about placing students in a different environment."

McGonagall scowled, "Do try to pay attention, Potter. I know this meeting isn't as exciting as Quidditch ..."

Some of the Professors laughed and he didn't like it too much.

"I was paying attention ma'am."

Her eyes narrowed at the rebuke, "Well then if you had paid attention at the last staff meeting then ... oh."

Her hand covered her mouth as if she had said something wrong, "My apologies, Mr. Potter. I was indeed mistaken. Since this is your first meeting then you don't know we are grading conduct and attitude along with regular aptitude in order to better counseling efforts during term enrollment. Please see me after the meeting and I will familiarize you with the grading system."

The teacher sitting next to him leaned over and held out his hand, "Professor Clower. Don't think we've officially met."

Harry shook hands.

He smirked, "Good one. I don't think we've seen McGonagall have to apologize in ten years."

Then he looked back up, " Oop, times up. Nice to meet you Harry." He was up and off before Harry had time to even acknowledge him.

The room cleared out in about a minute giving Harry enough time to work his way up front to the lectern where the Professor was standing.

"Here you are, Potter. Good thing I had a spare copy." She handed him a large piece of parchment with various ways to combine letter grades for attitude and conduct.

"Thanks," he said and turned toward the door.

"Oh, Mr. Potter I almost forgot. Have you had your conversation with Miss Granger?"

He turned with his eyebrows raised.

"I'll take that as a no."

"Um ... she said she would explain after dinner tonight. Erm, something about having to do something first."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Oh, of course. How silly of me. I had forgotten."

Harry's temper was getting the better of him, "Does everyone in the school know about my personal life except for me?"

McGonagall approached him. She was not quite as formidable now as she was the first day of Harry's attendance at Hogwarts, he was much taller and met her eye to eye, nut the air about her scream compliance or die, and sometimes that is good enough.

"Mr. Potter. Do not take that tone with me. And no, everyone in the school does not know, however there are certain people that have to be alerted because of the strange circumstances regarding that ring of yours; such as your head of house which, in this case, happens to be me."

Harry backed down and his head fell in shame, "I'm sorry."

She drew a in a breath of air and took him by the shoulders, "A great deal of responsibility has been building up on your shoulders year after year, Harry. This year most of all. Yet you have dealt with all of these adversities with courage, intelligence and sometimes with sheer blind luck. However nothing will compare to what awaits you tonight."

He felt a lead weight drop in his stomach, "And you won't tell me what it is will you?"

She smiled, "'Fraid not, off you go."

He picked at his lunch half-heartedly. Hermione had not been at breakfast and she was still not here at lunch with only fifteen minutes to go. Ron was going on about his Quidditch try-outs saying how Ginny was a shoe in for the open Chaser position and how Dennis Creevey was a savant at the Seeker position, something about having no fear of landing face first on the ground of the Quidditch pitch. Harry lost him at that point.

"Where's Hermione do you think?"

"Huh?" Harry was broken from his self-absorption.

"Hermione, your girlfriend, big gigantic ring on her finger? You two didn't get into a row, did ya?"

Harry shook his head. "No, but something's bothering her."

At that he heard the door of the Great Hall open and there she was ... with her parents close behind.

"Blimey, what's her parents doin' here?"

Harry shook his head in confusion, "Don't know."

He watched as he finally caught her eye and she smiled very softly. Her attention was brought away by her father asking a question, Harry assumed, about the ceiling of the Great Hall. When she looked back down she waved Harry over.

"See ya later," Ron called.

He waved at his friend and made his way over to the entrance, adjusting his robes along the way.

"You've met them already," he spoke under his breath. "They're nice people. Just be cool."

"Hello."

"Hi , Harry. Mum, Dad, you remember Harry Potter."

Her dad smiled, "Of course, see you at Diagon Alley every year ... except oddly for this one."

Mrs. Granger spoke up, "He bought Hermione's supplies this year, dear. You remember."

His eyes widened, "Ah yes, you're that Harry Potter!"

"Yes, sir." He held his hand out to shake the proffered hand of Hermione's dad.

"Nice to see you again, Dr. Granger." He switched hands and shook her mother's also. "And you as well, Dr. Granger."

She held her free hand to her chest, "My, what nice manners they teach you here at Hogwart's."

"Mother, they don't teach manners at Hogwart's they teach magic. Harry has always been this polite. He'salsomyboyfriend."

Harry went ridged. As did Hermione's mother.

Her father obviously had not heard properly. "Well I'm sure he will return your toy soon, honey. Boys do these things from time to time."

He stood stock still not knowing what to do first, pull his wand and fight his way through the front doors or try to make a quick escape at the exit near the teacher's table. Mrs. Granger beat him to it. Her hand shot out and grabbed both of them by the upper arm and hauled them outside the Great Hall.

Dr. Dad smiled and followed behind, "Now dear, boys will be boys."

She wasn't exactly mad, Harry thought.

"Did you hear what your daughter just said to you?"

He looked back and forth between the them and stopped on Harry, "You didn't steal her toy hen?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Dad, Harry is my boyfriend."

Her mother huffed, "Hermione, you mean to tell us that you owl'd us out of our appointments to meet your new boyfriend. I thought you wrote that you had to see us personally before dinner time for something extremely important . Do you know how much trouble we went thought to travel her last night?"

"Mum, I didn't mean for you to be up all night traveling. I thought you would leave this morning. I didn't think the Express ran at night. And that's not why I sent for you. Well it is sort of ..."

She gave up in exasperation.

Her dad was still looking back and forth between Harry and Hermione.

"You know she's only fifteen."

Harry nodded quickly, "Were a month and a half apart, sir ... Doctor ... sir."

Mrs. Granger came to Harry's rescue. "Dear, don't frighten the boy. Hermione will be sixteen in a couple of weeks."

Mr. Granger put his hands in his pockets to have something to do other than throttle poor Harry for having the nerve to date his little girl.

"Mum, Dad, this is Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwart's."

Harry jumped, mainly because he didn't know the headmaster was standing behind him.

"Nervous, Harry?" Dumbledore chuckled under his breath.

"Good to finally meet you. May I say what a pleasure it is to have your daughter attend our little school she has shined bright as a beacon on a cold winter night."

That made them beam with pride at their daughter and almost forget Harry enough for him to slip away.

"Let's all adjourn to someplace a little less noisy, shall we?"

The headmaster grabbed Harry before he could make it back down the hallway, "You too, Harry."

They stood aside and watched as the students poured out of the Great Hall walking briskly, trying to get to their next class. After the last of the stragglers pushed through Dumbledore led them back into the Hall.

Several house elves were clearing away the dirty plates and foodstuffs when they stopped and saw they were not alone.

Dumbledore raised his voice, "Please leave us I will clear away the hall."

Several elves popped out of sight while others disappeared into hidden doors at each side of the hall. He waved, his wand held high, and let it fall slowly. All of the mess was gone and the hall was sparkling clean.

Held his hand out, "If you please, Gryffindor table."

Harry and Hermione sat at the end on one side, her parents on the other and Dumbledore conjured a plush armchair for himself at the head.

"If you will excuse me; my old bones require a little more than the wooden bench of my youth."

Everyone smiled and did not begrudge him the simple comfort.

"Harry, I see that you have been properly introduced to the Grangers."

"Yes, sir." he nodded.

"I think a brief history is in order for the benefit of your parents, Hermione, do you mine if I provide the highlights?"

"Thank you, sir," she nodded nervously.

Dumbledore turned and faced the Grangers. "As I am sure you know Harry, Hermione and Ron Weasley met on the train to Hogwart's some time ago at the beginning of their first term..."

He covered the high points and some of the low points of their stay at Hogwart's and to Harry's shock, some things that only the three friends knew. The headmaster was kind enough not to mention the seemingly constant times that their lives had been in mortal danger, but he was sly enough to get the point across that they had served the school with courage and faithlessness for their extent of their stay.

"... and this leads us back to the end of last term. Harry's godfather passed away and as the last remaining member of his family there was no relative to inherit the Black estate, instead he amended his will to pass all the family assets to Harry."

Mrs. Granger was shifting in her seat. "Professor Dumbledore, our regrets are of course expressed to Harry, but what has any of this to do with why Hermione called us up here?"

He smiled softly to the Doctor, "This is the crux of the matter. Harry has always been a very generous person, giving of himself and anything he has. And in doing so, this summer when your daughter visited Harry and the Weasley's, he bestowed upon her a gift out of friendship. Hermione."

She tried to smile but it came off as a vague attempt of an apology as she raised her hand that Harry was holding tightly under the table.

She extended it for her parents to see. Her mother gasped and her father crooked an eyebrow in disbelief.

"It's not real?" Her father questioned.

"It is very real, I assure you." Dumbledore confirmed.

Her mother reached inside of her handbag and withdrew a pair of glasses, donning them as quick as she could. She took Hermione's hand in hers and gazed at the ring.

"She'll give it back, of course," her father said. "It's a family heirloom, not to be trifled with."

Harry couldn't hold back any longer, "It's her ring. She can do anything she wants with it."

Hermione snatched her hand back from her mother and took Harry's in a firm grasp, "I can't give it back, only Harry can take it off."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Do you want me to take it back?"

With the stress of the day and knowing what was to come, Hermione's eyes stated to pool.

"I ..."

"Of course she does," her father interrupted. "She's a responsible girl and responsible fifteen year old girls don't accept giant emeralds from boys."

Hermione turned to Dumbledore and he saw the pain she was under.

"If I may ..."

Her mother whipped her head around, "There's more?"

"Indeed."

Her parents sighed together as if they had been doing the same things for their entire life.

"The ring is magical. Of course neither Harry nor your daughter knew of this when Harry put it on her finger."

"Magical? It won't hurt her will it?" Mrs. Granger asked worriedly.

The headmaster shook his head, "Nobody will be physically harmed if Harry chooses to remove the ring."

Harry caught it before anyone else. "Physically?"

"Yes, Harry, physically. The ring's name is Leipirum. Roughly translated means Pear of Life. I had an opportunity to speak with the stone's creator."

"Phineas Nigellus!" Harry spouted.

"Indeed," Dumbledore concurred. "Phineas was Sirius' great-great grand father, and the creator of Leipirum. the spells cast are quite complicated and I won't bore you with the details. However the reason behind the spells is another matter."

Dumbledore pulled out his wand and summoned a glass of pumpkin juice.

"I do get parched at times like these. Would any of you like a glass?"

"Professor!" Harry urged.

He sipped a mouthful and set the glass back down, "Quite right Harry."

"Now Phineas, while not a dark wizard, he was very insecure man and a quite powerful one. He created this ring to present to his wife on their wedding day. His insecurities brought out the jealousy in him and he wanted a way to secure his relationship with his wife, and in the event she ever left, a way to insure his apathy of the departing. In simpler terms he didn't want to be hurt.

"The power the ring possesses is three-fold. First, it can only be taken off by the person who gives it willingly, in this case Harry. Once Harry, himself, put the ring on Hermione's finger it can only be removed by him at the conclusion of their relationship.

Hermione sniffed loudly at that point and Harry watched as tears ran freely down her face. He pulled her closer and wrapped an arm around her middle.

"Second, the couple, after a time, will begin to share each other's emotions, dreams, underlying thoughts, in short their mind or soul if you will."

Harry's mind flew to the dream he had of he and Hermione in his study and knew it had happened already the dream was too vivid like visions he had experienced previously. So that would mean Hermione really was in his dream and reacted the way she did as if ...

"And lastly ... if the giver of the ring were to take it back then the wearer and the owner would share in the expulsion of their shared emotions resulting in immediate detestation of the users."

Hermione's father was lost, "Detest-what?"

"We'd hate each other," Hermione sobbed.

Harry stiffened as did Hermione's parents. The silence tore at her until she could take no more. She threw off Harry's arms and dashed for the doors of the Great Hall.

"Go after her, Harry. We have to work ..."

He didn't hear the rest of the sentence because he was halfway to the doors himself.