Harry awoke a few days later, "Hermione!" he said croakily. "Sorry Harry old boy," said Ron's voice, "You were too late." Harry felt sick, he himself would die soon… He didn't want to live without Hermione... she was the one thing that made his life bearable...
Then he heard yelling, he started to slip into darkness, "HARRY!" he heard someone yell at him, he recognized the voice from somewhere, but he had failed… it was time… He felt someone shake him.
"Harry…" said Hermione's sweet voice, "Come back to me please."
'I am…' Harry thought, 'Falling into Shadow…'
'NO!' he heard a voice yell in his mind, 'HARRY COME BACK.' He felt as though someone was kissing him and he fell. His heart was quickening, 'Harry, I'm alive, please come back to me,' came Hermione's sweet mental voice. He opened his eyes again, he saw her blurry, tear-stained face staring down at him.
"Hermione?" he asked, "But you're dead."
"No," she cried, "I'm not." Tears were falling from her face. "RON!" she shrieked, "YOU NEARLY KILLED HIM YOU MORON!!"
"Hey Hermione," said Ron looking irritated, maybe a tad disappointed, "No I didn't."
"He was slipping into Shadow, you idiot," she continued to shriek. Her language and tone got so bad that Ron started backing up.
Madam Pomfery came in, "You're disturbing me, what is going on!" she demanded.
Hermione just continued to shriek insulting swearwords at Ron.
"HERMIONE GRANGER!" yelled her mother, "STOP THAT THIS INSTANT!"
Hermione stopped, but her eyes did otherwise, "Harry, you alright," she asked gently finally turning from Ron. Harry got up, he felt dizzy, but he pushed it out of his mind.
Hermione helped him back into bed. "Now why were you yelling?" asked her mother.
"Ron played a nice little trick, decided to tell Harry he was too late. It nearly killed him," Hermione replied.
"Oh Hermione, quit exaggerating," her mother said.
"I'm not, I felt him slipping," replied Hermione.
"She's right," said Harry in a somewhat hoarse voice.
"What do you mean she's right?" asked Mrs. Granger.
"I was slipping into Shadow," replied Harry.
"What's that?" asked Mrs. Granger.
"Death, personified, evil… pure evil…" answered Harry, "I've felt it only once before… when I fell into it." Harry shivered, "There is much to know of the other side."
Finally, Madam Pomfery let him return to the Grangers. Harry felt very welcome, this was the second time he had saved Hermione, but the first time was his fault. That night he awoke, sweating and panting, again he had dreamed again of what was beyond the veil, what was in the land of the dead the thing that was there… Hermione silently came in and lay next to him, he felt her slide her arms around him.
When Hermione woke up, she got up quietly, not wanting to wake up Harry. She found a note on the fridge from her parents who had already left for work.
Hermione, "Herm," Harry started, "Do you want me to tell you?" he asked.
"Yes," replied Hermione.
"Do you remember me falling?" he asked.
"I can't forget it," she replied hugging him tighter.
"I fell and fell, it seemed like hours, when I landed it was dark… almost a like a mist, I started wondered around, I ran into some thing… a Shadow, it tried to destroy me…" Harry paused crying, "I can't, the doubt… the anger… hopelessness…"
Hermione hugged him tighter, "You can skip that… either way I love you Harry," she said quietly.
Harry curled up tightly against her, "Thank you Herm," he said quietly before continuing, "After that… I found a city… a shining city… my dad was at the gate, 'Harry,' he said, 'You're not suppose to join us yet, where is Hermione?' 'I saved her,' I told him. He sighed and led me to my mother, they showed me the future, where it was going, what would happen if I didn't defeat Voldemort. Then Cedric told me he didn't blame me, for anything, it 'was his time'. Then my dad led me up some type of stairs, I saw something, something beyond explanation. I was instructed on some things that I am never to repeat, I was given the gift of knowing part of the future, Sirius told me about his youth, my dad filled in some of the blanks on my family." He looked at Hermione, "I am alone, I am the last one. I was also given certain abilities, ones that no one was to ever supposed have. I was taken to where I could see all the pain; there is nothing that compares, eternally separation. Sirius, he showed me their indescribable crimes, ones that have been perpetrated throughout time." Harry shivered again, "They told me of the Ancient Ones that created what we call magic to protect us. That there is only one left, as a guardian."
Hermione looked back at him, "Neo?" she asked.
"Yes, but that's not who he really is," answered Harry, "He will no longer help us with this, his job is done. For now."
"Will he return?" she asked quietly.
"I don't know, he knows and understands the future in way I don't, so his decisions are a mystery to me," replied Harry, "Do you want me to tell the rest?"
"Yes," she replied.
"After I was told that my time had ended there, my mother led me to where my dad had found me. It was so cold… So cold…" Harry finished.
"What is death like?" she asked.
Harry shivered, "Nothing can describe it," he replied, "Think of a thousand Dementors and add an exponent of one hundred."
Hermione couldn't say anything.
"When I awoke it was dark, so dark and cold, there was nothing. I tried to sit up but my head hit something… It was then I realized I had been buried. They thought I was dead, I can't blame them, I was for a while." Harry stopped.
"How did you escape?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know, not really, all I remember is a bright light, then an explosion that ripped off the top and when I looked around, I saw that the dirt had been blown away," replied Harry.
"Where were you?" asked Hermione.
"Herm, I remembered that graveyard, I had seen it two years before," Harry answered, "But then I was taken by an unknown power." They lay there pondering over what had happened, Harry felt as if a weight had been lifted, there were still parts he couldn't explain, but that was the majority of what was bothering him. They both fell into a deep sleep.
Hermione woke up before Harry and got up quietly because she didn't want to wake him; she went downstairs and found a note on the counter;
Already off to work, hope you had a good night, please fix yourself and Harry something.
Love,
Mum and Dad
Hermione turned bright pink; she wished she had woken up before her parents. She started breakfast, by the time she finished Harry came down, "Good morning Harry," she smiled at him.
"Good morning Herm," Harry replied.
Hermione sat next to him, "Harry, I know you're not telling me something," Hermione said quietly.
"Well, I guess, I'm not telling you about your Christmas present," smiled Harry.
Hermione laughed, "I guess that's a valid secret," she replied as Harry hugged her. Hermione turned around… time stopped, closer and closer…
Their lips touched in a gentle loving kiss, time stopped, eternity passed. Hermione blushed, Harry went glossy eyed, "Herm? Did we just…" he asked.
"Yes, and we weren't interrupted," replied Hermione, "Think we could make it two?" she laughed. Christmas was still two days away, Harry wondered whether he could wait that long, he wanted to give her present to her privately.
"Herm, would you rather me give you your presents now, or after Christmas?" Harry asked.
Hermione thought for a moment, "How long would I have to wait after Christmas?" she asked.
"I don't know, until we get another moment alone," replied Harry.
"Now's fine," she said with a smile. Harry ran upstairs and pulled it out of his trunk. When he got back downstairs Hermione wasn't in the kitchen.
"Herm, where are you?" asked Harry.
"I'm getting your present, well the one I can't give you on Christmas," replied Hermione coming in.
"Well, here is the first one," Harry said handing her a small package that fit in the palm of his hand.
"Harry, what is it?" Hermione asked.
Harry smiled, "You'll have to open it Herm," Hermione's pulse was racing, her heart rate doubled.
Her thoughts were racing, something occurred to her 'Is he going to propose?' she thought, she wondered if she would say 'yes,' Harry hadn't asked her anything about marriage. She knew, if he was proposing, she couldn't say no, there was only one other alternative, 'Yes, I will,' she thought, she was turning a little red.
She unwrapped it, her heart was pounding in her throat, it was a jewelry box, she knew it, it had to be a ring. That was why he couldn't do it at the Christmas party. Hermione was nearly ready to faint as she opened it…
"Harry it's beautiful," she said. It was a gold bracelet, the golden rings shaped into the words:
Harry Potter loves Hermione Granger
Hermione was considerably disappointed, a bracelet was nice, a ring and his proposal would have been much better "Here's your present," she said handing it to him, it was large and heavy, when he opened it, the cover read:
Dark Arts Countered and Defeated
"I thought we could study it together…" Hermione trailed off but the light in her eyes stayed.
Harry smiled, "I would love that. We can start after I give you my last present. This is one I made after I got hold of my abilities," Harry said handing her a long round present, she started to open it while looking at him.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Like I said, open it," said Harry. He put his arms around her, Hermione's pulse raced at his touch. She opened it, a blank sheet fell out. She picked it up from the table.
"Say while tapping it: somos Ancientus unos," said Harry with a big smile.
"What is it?" she asked glancing at him, it was a flat sheet of blank paper, she tapped it,
"Somos Ancientus unos," she said. The room went dark, a three dimensional representation of Hogwarts appeared in mid-air, she watched as little multicolored dots moved around, each with a little label.
"Zoom in by focusing on one point," suggested Harry. The image rotated and dematerialized, then it had zoomed in on the point she had focused on.
She looked at Harry, "How'd you do that? And what does 'Somos Ancientus unos' mean?" she asked.
Harry held up his hands, "One question at a time, 'Somos Ancientus unos' means 'We are the Ancient ones', I figured it was a better password than, 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good'," Harry snickered, "No one knows of the Ancient Ones except us. As far as how I made it, well, that is very time consuming, I don't think I could explain it adequately right now. But it has other features, if you so desire, it will appear two dimensional on the paper."
"How do you do that?" she asked.
"Fold it, then open it," replied Harry. Hermione folded it, when she opened it the three dimensional Hogwarts turned into a flat representation, Hermione noticed that there were several rooms that she hadn't seen before on the other map.
"Those are Unplottable rooms, that was a challenge," said Harry.
"How did you do that?" she asked.
"Unplottable is unplottable for one reason, the way you see the landmarks are manipulated when you enter the Unplottable area, then you can't recognize it. I figured out that the… never mind. Basically because I figured out how they are manipulated," answered Harry, "I hope you like it Herm." Harry paused as he hugged her, "You want to go study?"
Hermione looked like she really wanted to know more about how Harry had built it and Harry was trying to drop the subject so she agreed. They spent the rest of the day going over certain spells.
Crookshanks leaped up on the bed, Hermione started scratching behind his ears. Harry watched absentmindedly. "Herm, what's wrong?" he asked, "I can sense it."
Hermione sighed, "I keep wondering why you were able to do things that I can't do," she said quietly.
"Herm, don't worry about it, I practiced for a while before getting the hang of it, practice it and it will come," replied Harry.
"I can't while we're here," she said.
"Yes, you can," said Harry, "Anything done here cannot be sensed by the Ministry."
"It can't?" she asked her eyebrow raised.
"Nope," said Harry. Hermione thought for a minute.
"Yes, you should trust me, they can't, I've done stuff quite a few times here," said Harry, "I even apparated in front of a dozen Aurors, I had to change their memories before I finished, but I got away with it."
"Harry! You shouldn't think of it like that," scolded Hermione.
"I know, but let's be partners in crime," responded Harry with a smile.
Hermione sighed again and then picked up her wand, "Okay, why don't you teach me a few things?" she said.
Harry gently took her wand from her hand and set it down, "Yes, why don't I?" he replied.
A few hours later, Hermione's parents arrived home, "Honey, we're home," called Mrs. Granger. Hermione came running downstairs and gave both her parents a big hug.
Harry came down close behind, "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Granger," said Harry.
"You know Harry, that seems a little formal, calling us Mr. and Mrs. Granger," started Mr. Granger.
"Why don't you call us mum and dad?" said Mrs. Granger. Mr. Granger looked at his wife. Hermione went red; Harry was internally chuckled at Hermione's thoughts. To which Hermione was giving him angry glances.
"What?" said Mrs. Granger, "I thought we'd be taking care of him for a while, what do you think Hermione?" Hermione went redder, if possible.
"Umm, isn't that a little premature?" asked Hermione.
"If it's alright with you Harry, you can call us Kathy and John," said Mr. Granger. Harry thought a moment; Hermione's thought train was approaching hilarious levels for Harry.
"I think that's alright," said Harry slowly trying not to laugh. Hermione started to turn her normal color.
'What's with you?' asked Harry to Hermione mentally.
'That was a suggestion Harry, don't be thick,' she replied scathingly. They both looked at each other, Harry was now turning a little red and Hermione laughed. Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked at each other.
That night as Harry and Hermione lay out under the stars, it wasn't as clear here, but they could still name them off. Harry listened to Hermione for the most part; he loved just listening to her. The only thing he heard was her voice.
"HARRY!" she said loudly, "Were you listening?" she asked.
He jumped guiltily, "Sorry, I was listening but not hearing," he replied.
"What?" she asked looking at him.
"I was listening to your voice, not your words, it is so beautiful," Harry said, dreamily.
Hermione turned red, "That's not an excuse," she replied.
"No, but it is a wonderful distraction," he said.
Hermione turned redder, "Harry; if you want to kiss me ask," she said.
"Can I kiss the most beautiful girl on the planet?" he replied.
"and who might that be?" asked Hermione bordering on upset.
"You," replied Harry with a sly smile.
Hermione turned a delicate pink, "Oh, in that case, yes," she replied. They leaned closer and closer…
"You two should be in bed," said Mrs. Granger.
"Mum!" Hermione groaned, "Now that was bad timing."
Harry laughed at Hermione's facial expression, "Another time," he said quietly.
"Have Harry give you a good night kiss," laughed Mrs. Granger.
"Mum!" said Hermione reproachfully.
"You two haven't exactly made it a secret, only the most clueless person wouldn't see it," Mrs. Granger said then sighed, "actually your father would fall into that category."
Hermione went beet red, "Good night mum," she said as she entered the house and traveled down the hall. Harry sighed; she was so wonderful, even when she got mad.
"You really love her don't you?" asked Mrs. Granger.
Harry turned slightly red, "I don't know," he said.
"I think you both love each other more than you'll both admit," she replied.
Harry realized that maybe Mrs. Granger was right, "Good night Kathy," said Harry entering his own bedroom.
Mrs. Granger looked past the doors and thought for a while, 'Maybe I'm not premature,' she thought with a smile. Then she went to bed.
