Kelidoball

Harry awoke with a start. He had fallen asleep in the hallway of the fourth floor in St. Mungoes. He looked around, and saw that the rest of the Weasleys were also asleep around him. It had been a long night, but both Ron and Ginny were stable. They did not know how long it would take for them to recover; Ginny's curse had been something the medical wizards had never seen before. Ron on the other hand had been hit with a Cruccio curse, but it had been interrupted so he was lucky. If you can call that Luck Harry thought standing up silently and stretching.

He walked himself to the door of Ginny's room. She lay there unconscious, and Harry cursed himself for putting her in that danger. He closed his eyes and softly bounced his head against the wall as his eyes filled with tears. He felt a hand on his shoulder. "We were going to have another go at it." He said softly knowing it was Hermione.

"Harry, it wasn't your fault." Hermione said, "She would have fought for you anyway. Just like Ron did, and just like I will."

"I hate that … I don't even know what to call him. Monster maybe." Harry said.

"Don't get so consumed by it that you are not able to love Harry. That is the one thing…" Hermione started

"Yes, I know. That is the only thing that makes me more powerful." Harry answered

"Why don't you two go on home," said Mr. Weasley coming out of Ron's room.

"Mr. Weasley, I think I would like to go to Godric's Hollow today," Harry said wiping his eyes with his sleeve. Mr Weasley looked at him, unsure if that was a good idea. "I have a feeling that I need to be there."

"All right, do you need escorts?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"No, I'll be alright on my own." Harry answered.

"Well at least let me come with you, if you are going to be stupid enough to refuse an auror escort." Hermione said placing her hands on her hips.

"Hermione." Harry started to refuse

"I'm coming." She stopped him. Hermione then turned to Mr. Weasley and assured him "I will flue you if there is any trouble."

"Very well then," said the older man. "Take care Harry, 'Mione." Then he walked off.

Harry turned to his friend, looked her in the eye, and words failed him. He dropped his head and looked down at his toes sticking his hands deep in his pockets. "You're welcome Harry." She said wrapping her arms around him, giving him a hug. He returned the hug, and they stood there holding each other for a few minutes. Harry looking at Ginny's door, and Hermione looking at Ron's door.

"I guess we better get going then." Harry said stiffly as he pulled away. Hermione followed him out. Once outside, the two friends hatched out their plan. They took a back alley so that they could apparate at The Borrow to pick up some things, and freshen up a bit. Hermione, loving her new magical freedom, magically prepared a light lunch of sandwiches as she rummaged her trunk for her magical carryall bag.

Everything was ready for her when she finally did find it, and packed four sandwiches, a thermos full of pumpkin juice and some other essentials in her small shoulder bag.

Harry waited for her impatiently outside in the garden. All of the decorations were still up, but the mood flowers were all black. There wasn't even a gnome that wanted to be in that pitiful garden.

"Ready." Hermione stated coming out of the house with her carryall.

"What have you got in that?" Harry asked as they disapparated.

"Lunch." Hermione punctuated once they apparated in Godric's Hollow. "We haven't eaten anything since last night."

"Good thinking." Harry said absently as he stared at the home of his infancy. Hermione turned her head to look at what he was looking at. The House was small and must have been lovely when people lived in it. It was just right for three. Now it was covered in Ivy. Even the windows were covered. The fence looked dilapidated, the gate was crooked and the paint was chipped. The grass was overgrown to the point that you could hardly see the stone path to the rotting wooden door.

Harry moved slowly forward, unsure if he truly wanted to go inside. Hermione reached out to the gate, and tried to move it, but the rust on its hinges and the piled-on dirt of over sixteen years made it hard to move. She was afraid to push too hard not to damage the fence. Harry reached out to help her lift the gate open, and it was renewed once more to reveal a flawless white fence, and a gate that swung open freely. The grass beyond it transformed as he set foot on the stone path, into a pristinely green pasture.

Hermione walked behind her friend, awed at the transformation. As he headed towards the door, flowers seemed to bloom in their wake and the Ivy receded growing away from the windows. Once Harry was on the stone steps at the door. Hermione could hear the cracks in the foundation resetting themselves, and she saw the roof tiles straighten.

Harry was just as astonished by the transformation. He started to remember little things. He looked to a large oak tree to the far right and saw the swinging bench hanging on by a rotted rope on only one side. His mother used to sit with him there to read to him. He smiled at the memory, but he was unsure that he wanted to remember what was waiting for him inside.

"Ready?" Hermione asked softly as she stepped up next to him.

"I can remember things. I have memories of being here. But I don't want to remember what happened to me in there," He said staring at the doorknob.

"We don't have to go in there." Hermione said taking his hand.

"Something tells me that I do need to go in there."

"We'll go later then, want to eat out here? Are you hungry?" Hermione asked patting her carryall.

With a nod, Harry follows her to the swing. He touches the rope and it renews itself. It is as if a ghost picks up the other end of the swing, and ties it on to the branch with a new rope. Suddenly the swing is hanging on the branch as new again. They sat there eating the sandwiches in companionable silence. The summer breeze blew softly carrying a sweet scent of jasmine through the air. Harry remembered his mother again. That was her smell. She smelled of jasmine. "My mum used sit with me here and read to me in the afternoons. I guess right before my naps."

"How can you remember that?" Hermione asked. "You were so young."

Harry shrugged. "It all rushed back to me once I saw the swing. I was once told that children remember things that most impressed them. I suppose since I never saw them again, I kept the memory in the back of my mind all these years."

Hermione only nodded, and they sat there silently for a few more minutes. Slowly, Harry's thoughts came back to the matter at hand. He had to go inside. So he stood up and headed in the direction of the door. Hermione followed silently reaching for his hand as they stood once more at the front door.

"Here goes nothing." Harry says reaching for the rusted doorknob. The doorknob warmed and turned into a beautiful brass colour. He turned the knob and opened the door. As the sunlight slowly lit the foyer, a breeze blew throughout the living area, and white linen lifted themselves revealing furniture underneath, and went off to launder themselves.

Harry and Hermione looked around as feather dusters went around dusting the furniture and candles lit themselves. A Vacuum cleaner, the only Muggle item in the household started to run attacking every dust particle on the ground so that the home's master would not have to be in filth. There were Portraits on the wall of. Harry guessed, his grandparents on his father's side, the portraits were glad to see their grandson and smiled down at him. There was also a family portrait of Harry, Lily and James that was also happy to see him.

Then there was a smaller muggle picture, of people he had seen before. They were his mother's parents, and a picture of aunt Petunia who scowled at his mother.

Both Harry and Hermione ventured further into the house, and each room they stepped into hurried to arrange itself. They stepped into a large room, with a large bed and beautiful antique furniture. Harry started to remember being rushed through these very halls into this very room. He shut his eyes tightly for a second, then continued to a door to his far right.

Hermione followed Harry, sensing that he was remembering the night that robbed him of everything. She watched as he proceeded towards the door. He started to tremble and she reached out to him, placing her hand on his back lending support. He touched the door to his room. It was off its hinges, and it straightened as he touched the knob. Opening it up, toys started to fly around, and the small crib that lay on its side was righted and all evidence of Harry's night of terror had been removed.

It didn't matter, Harry's memory of the night came back full force and he slumped to the ground and cried. Hermione dropped her carryall and went to him. She sat next to him on the ground and cried with him.

Everything went silent. The Vacuum stopped going, there was absolutely no sound except for Harry's cries.

Harry and Hermione sat there for what seemed like hours in his room. Hermione held him and rocked him until his sobs stopped. There was a point where she thought he had fallen asleep, and she looked around the room nervously wondering what to do with him. "I'm sorry." Harry's voice came from her chest. Then he straightened, sitting cross-legged against the wall.

"That's what friends are for." Hermione said reaching out to touch his scar softly tracing the lightning bolt there. Hermione wanted him to feel better. He wanted him to feel at home here in his home. His home was glad to have him back, but the memories it carried was too much for him to bear. She ran fingers to through his hair and pressed her lips against his forehead. He looked up and their eyes met. The pain, so evident in his green eyes, brought tears to her brown ones. She would do anything to make it all go away. So then she kissed him.

He returned the kiss, longing to get taken away from his reality. Hermione wanted to take all the pain from him, so that he would feel better. At this point she would do anything for him. So she stayed there with him like this., right there in his bedroom floor.

Afterwards, Hermione and Harry were racked with guilt. They couldn't look at each other. Harry couldn't believe he had jeopardised his friendship with Hermione for a little escapism. "I'm sorry." Hermione says, before Harry can apologise.

"No, I'm sorry." Harry said, "You've got a boyfriend, and he happens to be my best friend, and I took advantage of your kindness like this."

"Harry." Hermione said straightening out her clothing, which had shifted as they snogged. "I didn't do anything I didn't want to do."

They sat in silence. The innocent kiss they had shared had become a hot session of caresses and heavy petting. It was a little further than either expected to go with each oter, but it felt so right at the moment. They only stopped because they were afraid to go too far. "Look Hermione..." Harry started

"Look Harry, can we just forget it. Let's never speak of what we did here again."

"I can't just do that Hermione." He said standing toe to toe with her.

"Let's just try it Harry," Hermione said unable to look him in the eye anymore, "There is no need for them to know. It would only hurt them.

"Oh, Merlin... Hermione, What have I done." Harry said sitting on the ground again placing his head in his hands.

"We've done it Harry. There is no turning back now." She said standing behind him. She reached out and ran her hand through his hair. Hermione couldn't help herself, having been with him so intimately minutes before. "I could have stopped you."

"Why didn't you stop?" Harry said looking up at her, wrapping his arm around one leg as she continued to play with his hair.

"Why didn't you?" Hermione said dropping down next to him. Though she didn't let him answer because she caught a glimpse of something under Harry's crib. "What's that?"

Harry bent down under the crib. "Don't know." He went to reach for it and Hermione stopped him.

"Don't touch it. What if it's cursed?" She said picking up her wand, which lay by her carryall. "Wingardium Leviosa" she said levitating the small rounds objects from under the crib. It glowed green, curiously, because it turned out to be a kelidoball. Harry had seen one of those at Zonko's once. It was something sort of like a remembrall, except it was made of sturdier stuff because it was a baby's toy. It glowed with different colours mesmerising the child as he played with it. The reason why it was weird was because the toy only activated with touch, this kelidoball sustained a green glow without touch.

"Why do you suppose it's green?" Harry asked watching as Hermione lowered the kelidoball down in front of them.

"I don't know." Hermione said, "Maybe it is cursed or something."

"Or maybe..." Harry said, "Voldemort considered my death to be a major thing, Maybe it is a Horcruxe."

"Harry, how would he have had time to put his soul into a kelidoball?" Hermione asked looking into the ball.

"After my mother died for me, he could have put it in here. She died for me Hermione, he had to have known that gave the Horcruxe a bit more power." Harry answered, reaching for an old blanket.

"Why would he have left it here?" Hermione asked as she watched Harry place the blanket on the ground then levitate the ball onto it.

"Who would have come to get it?" Harry asked wrapping the ball up in the blanket. "This was the safest place for it."

"All right, how do we destroy it? Kelidoballs are virtually indestructible." She said standing with him.

"That's the question. We're going to need some help."