Guilty Love: Year 6
Chapter 5: The First to Die

Exactly one month since the 'Mark' had appeared during the Quidditch match, Harry Potter sat in the cold, miserable dungeon with cold, miserable Professor Snape, serving the best damn detention of his life.

Professor Severus Snape sat at the front of the room, in his desk, grading the first year's potion's essays. Every once in a while, he would look up, shooting a furtive glance at Harry, making sure he was sitting, face forward, not moving, as he had been instructed.

"What are you smiling about, Potter?" he barked.

"Sorry, sir…I was, er, stretching my face muscles."

"Well…stop it." Snape instructed before going back to his papers, furiously scratching a failing grade across the top of a Gryffindor's paper, without even bothering to read it.

"See, you've gone and gotten me in trouble, Hermione," Harry thought.

"It's your fault you smiled. I had nothing to do with that," came the brisk reply.

This conversation was all a part of Harry and Hermione's new power, which they had mastered over the past month. They didn't need to be near each other to talk, they had a powerful connection in their minds. Dumbledore had lent them several books from the Restricted Section, to help them learn how to control this power, and to learn how to protect their connection from outside forces.

Harry loved the connection; he could talk to Hermione whenever he wanted. Hermione loved it too, as long as Harry didn't try to use it to cheat on tests of course.

"I'm going to get you back for that," Harry thought with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say."

"Besides, I know where all of your ticklish spots are."

"Potter!" Harry's eyes snapped up to find Professor Snape standing right in front of him.

"Yes, Sir?"

"Your detention is over, get out of my sight."

Harry tried to hide his grin, "Yes, Sir."

"Ten points from Gryffindor."

"For what!"

"Smirking," and with that, Snape gave Harry an evil smirk, and turned back to his desk.

Harry stood quickly, grabbed his bag and left the dungeon and top speed. "Lousy git," he fumed once in the corridor.

Harry hurried up to the common room and found it nearly empty, as it should be after eleven o'clock at night. There were two seventh years studying at a table in the corner, and Hermione was dozing on the couch in front of the fire. Harry quietly deposited his bag on the floor next to the couch, and sat down, sliding his arms around Hermione.

Hermione blearily opened her eyes. "Hey," she said with a smile when she realized who it was.

"Hey." Harry slowly leaned forward to kiss her. Hermione closed her eyes and leaned in, and Harry pulled away sharply and dove his hands on to her sides, tickling her furiously.

"HARRY!" Hermione screamed, "HARRY! H-Harry! Stop!" Harry pulled his hands away. "What was that for?" Hermione panted. The two seventh years gave them a very dirty look for disturbing their studies, before gathering their books and heading for their dorms.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Harry smirked.

"You great git!" she laughed, smacking him on his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close and kissing him hotly. Again, she stretched out on the couch, pulling Harry on top of her. Harry broke the kiss, and moved to her ear, biting it softly before leaving a soft trail of kisses on her jaw and returning to her mouth.

Hermione groaned internally.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Harry asked in her mind, kissing her harder still.

Hermione nodded, she was in no shape to think straight thoughts. Harry slipped his right hand underneath her school shirt, unconsciously tracing shapes across her smooth skin, causing goosebumps to form. She shivered slightly beneath him.

Harry sat up, and pulled her up with him, onto his lap. "I'm going to bed," Hermione informed him, as she always did.

"Can I come?" Harry asked politely. Hermione opened her mouth and Harry stopped her, "Wait, let me try that again. May I come?" he asked with the innocence of a child.

Hermione laughed and kissed him softly, "Not tonight."

"How about tomorrow night?"

"Not tomorrow night."

"I'm open the night after, too."

"Nope, but I'm free next Thursday…" Hermione teased.

Harry pretended to frown, "Oh, Thursday's not good for me." Hermione laughed, running a hand through his hair. "Hermione?"

"Yeah?"

"You're amazing."

Hermione laughed again, "You just don't want me to go to bed."

"That's not true…wait, did it work?"

"No," Hermione said, laughing again before kissing him softly. "Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"Master?"

"Yes, Bellatrix?"

"I don't think it's a good idea for me to continue taking the Polyjuice Potion," Bellatrix said in a quiet voice.

"Why not?"

"I'm afraid it could harm the child," she replied softly, placing a hand over her abdomen.

"They will notice if Cho Chang suddenly stops coming to class," came Lord Voldemort's hiss of a reply.

"Perhaps you should return the girl to school, you could perform a memory charm on her."

"Memory charms can be broken," Voldemort replied, annoyed.

Bellatrix took a step closer, raising her voice slightly, "Master, it is not safe. The Potion could harm your baby."

Lord Voldemort visibly softened at her last words. He stood quietly and walked over to the woman. He knelt on the floor next to her, gently placed his long, white fingers over her stomach. "My heir will be great," he said after a moment of silence. He stood up, towering over the tall girl. "Do what you think is right, keep this child safe." He looked at her, awaiting her decision.

"Then I will stop taking the potion," she informed him. "Will you return the girl to school?"

"No, she will be killed."

The next evening the entire school made it's way into the Great Hall. Everybody was soaked to the bone, but very happy. Hufflepuff had just smashed Slytherin in a particularly wet Quidditch match.

Harry shook some of the water out of his hair, and plopped down next to Ron at the table. Hermione sat next to him and pulled a large bowl of salad towards her. Ron dove into the pile of chicken legs, and mashed potatoes. "You know, Ron, why don't you just eat straight from the bowl? Really, it's pointless for you to put it on your plate." Hermione said teasingly.

"Germumpf," Ron replied.

Harry laughed and grabbed a baked potato. Suddenly, the room grew very quiet. Harry and Ron turned to see Dumbledore standing at the head of the room, holding his hands up for quiet.

The noise dimmed, and then fell away completely. Every pair of eyes looked curiously at their Headmaster.

"I will first warn you that what I am about to tell you is not happy. You have just enjoyed a wonderful Quidditch match, and are happy and comfortable, and it pains me to ruin this for you, but this is something you all must know…" he paused, a great sadness showing through his eyes. "I have just received word that one of our own is dead."

A gasp rolled through the room, the words hitting each student one at a time. Heads turned, eyes searching, trying to find the missing person, mentally checking to see that all of their friends were still there.

Then, there was a cry from the Ravenclaw table, "Where's Cho!"

All heads immediately snapped back to Dumbledore, the silence was deafening. "Cho Chang has been killed by Lord Voldemort."

Again, gasps and cries rolled through the Great Hall. Many of the girls at the Ravenclaw table burst into tears, as well as students in other houses. Only the Slytherins remained emotionless.

Harry turned to look at Ron. His face was pale, and he was staring at his chicken, a tear rolling down his face. He looked up at Harry. "You knew, didn't you? A-about us?" Harry nodded and placed a hand on his friends shoulder. Ron took a deep breath, "She told me she loved me. I will never get a chance to return that feeling to her." He looked at Hermione for a moment, before standing up and leaving the Great Hall, disappearing in a mob of crying students returning to their rooms to mourn.

Harry stood up and took Hermione's hand, leading her into the corridor. He wrapped her arms around her and placed a kiss on the top of her head. Hermione buried her face in Harry's chest, shaking with the effort of holding back tears. She looked up into Harry's eyes, tears streaming down her face, "None of us are safe," she whispered, "even here."

Harry hugged her tighter, not knowing what to say. He felt a stinging in his eyes, and realized he was about to cry as well. Hermione looked up again and saw a tear running down Harry's face. She smiled slightly, realizing that he wasn't made of stone. He was just a boy, a boy arguing with fate.

Hermione returned to crying quietly into Harry's shirt. Harry leaned back against the wall for support, leaning his head back as well. He closed his eyes, first listening to the sounds of sadness all around him. He let his mind remember Cho. "She was my first crush, my first date, my first kiss. She was a great seeker, and a good student. Now she is gone. The life of an innocent…child…is gone, all because of him. I have to beat him."

Harry suddenly remembered the connection, he opened his eyes and saw Hermione looking at him, tears running swiftly down her face. "You will, Harry. You will."

A sudden cough snapped Harry and Hermione back to reality. Professor McGonagall was standing behind them, a solemn look on her face.

"Miss Granger, come with me. You too, Potter."

She led them into the same classroom she had used to tell Harry about Hermione's parents.

She took out her wand, muttered an incantation, and a roaring fire appeared in the large fireplace. She threw in some powder from her pocket, and the flames turned green. "Go on, get in," she instructed them.

Harry shrugged and obeyed, pulling Hermione with them. McGonagall stepped in as well, and shouted, "St. Mungo's!"

Moments later the three stepped out of the fire, brushing soot off their robes. Hermione looked around, they were in a room at the hospital. A smiling man sat up on the only bed in the room. "DAD!" Hermione shouted, running over to him, throwing her arms around him. Again, she began to cry. Mr. Granger patter her back and held her tightly, whispering things only she could hear.

After a moment, she tore herself away, her eyes brimming with fresh tears. She looked around the room again. "Which room is Mom in?"

Mr. Granger hung his head, shaking slightly. Hermione turned to look at Harry and Professor McGonagall. "No," Hermione said. "She's here. I know she is."

"Hermione," Mr. Granger said, "Your Mother…your mother was k-killed."

"NO!" Hermione screamed. "STOP LYING TO ME!" She ran towards the door, she threw it open and ran into the hallway. She raced down the hall to the main desk, skipping to the front of a very long line. "Tell me what room my mother is in!" she sobbed. The witch gave an annoyed look, but it quickly faded to sympathy when she realized who she looked like. "Your mother passed away," she informed her softly.

"WHY IS EVERYONE LYING TO ME?" Hermione shouted. She started running up the hall, peering into the doorway of each room. Harry chased after her. He reached out and touched her arm.

"Hermione," he whispered softly.

Hermione crumpled to the floor, sobbing. "Why?" she whispered. "Why, why, why?"

For the second time in one day, Harry wrapped his arms around the sobbing Hermione.

As they sat there, in the middle of the hall, Harry whispered constantly to Hermione, telling her it would all be ok one day, but as he whispered, his blood boiled, and he knew there was only one way to end this. One way to end the death, one way to end the pain, one way to make everything right again. The fate of their world depended on it.

One week later, in the Great Hall, there was a memorial service for Cho Chang. Everyone cried, everyone mourned.

At the end of Dumbledore's closing speech, he reminded his students of hope.

"Miss Chang was an impeccable student, but more importantly, she was an impeccable friend. Those who knew her loved her, those who didn't know her truly missed out on something special. But, even in this, the darkest of hours, we would all do well to remember that all hope is not lost. Victory has not been awarded to anyone. A light, however small, shines at the end of every tunnel."

Harry stared determinedly at Dumbledore as he felt eyes all around turn to look at him. Hermione sat next to him, holding his hand tightly, tears still running down her face.

That night, the common room was crowded. Students sat in groups, talking and laughing, and remembering. It was as though everyone had suddenly realized how important it was to be close to their friends, because who knows how long they will be there? Ron had been invited to go to the Ravenclaw common room, to talk with Cho's friends, and help each other get over the great loss of someone special to them.

Harry, Hermione, Neville, Dean, Seamus, and Ginny all sat in a big circle. Ginny was sitting in Seamus' lap in an armchair, lazily watching Dean and Neville play a half-hearted game of wizard chess.

Neville checked Dean's king and stood up, pacing in front of the fire. "I can't wait until this is all over!" he snapped unexpectedly. His ears went red as he looked at Harry. "Oh, sorry mate. I don't mean that I want you to-"

"It's ok, Neville. I know. I want it to end, too."

"We all do," Ginny murmured softly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

Hermione stood up, taking Harry's hand. "Can we go for a walk?" she asked him quietly.

"Sure," Harry said. He nodded to his friends, and allowed Hermione to lead him out the portrait hole. In the corridor, Hermione laced her fingers through his and set a path towards the Room of Requirement. Once they arrived, Hermione paced past the portrait three times, the handle appeared and she opened the door, pulling Harry in with her.

For a moment, they stared around the room. It was completely different from the last time Harry and the D.A. had been there. The room's walls were lined with bookshelves that went up to the ceiling, with books about everything and anything. There was a great fire at one end of the room, as well as a giant white couch and a big bed. The room was lit with candles, set like bookends, on every shelf.

"Hermione, what are we doing here?"

"I just wanted to be alone with my memories, and with you," she said softly, walking over to the couch. She plopped down and looked at Harry who was still standing by the door in shock. "Come on."

Harry walked over and sat down next to her. He noticed tears were lining her eyes again. One tear fell, and slowly rolled down her cheek. Harry leaned closer and softly wiped it away with his thumb. "Hermione…" he whispered.

"Harry," she said quietly, "I am so sorry. I never understood, until now, how it felt to lose someone."

"You don't need to be sorry," Harry told her, looking straight into her cinnamon brown eyes.

Hermione leaned forward and kissed him softly, and pulled away, looking into his eyes. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Hermione leaned forward and kissed him harder this time, running her hands through his hair. Suddenly she broke this kiss and stood up. Without a word she took Harry's hand and pulled him over to the big bed. Hermione leaned against Harry, wrapped her arms around him, and pushed him down onto the bed.

Without thinking, Harry pulled Hermione closer to him and kissed her deeply, his tongue seeking entrance to her mouth, which was granted. Hermione broke the kiss and pulled Harry's t-shirt off, then, to Harry's amazement, she pulled her shirt off as well. Hermione leaned down to kiss Harry again, and Harry, between kisses, spoke up. "Hermione. Maybe we. Should. Slow D-. Slow down," he panted.

Hermione stopped and looked at him, "Am I going to fast for you?"

Harry shook his head, "No, but if we keep going like this…I, er, I don't guarantee I'll be able to stop."

Hermione smiled and kissed him again. "Maybe I won't want you to."

Harry groaned as Hermione's words sent a surge of hot blood south of the border. He felt his body react to seeing Hermione in just her black school skirt and her light pink bra that matched the color of her flushed skin.

Harry rolled over, so he was over Hermione, hoping she didn't notice. Hermione smiled up at him, and then pulled his head down to her, kissing him hotly. Harry cautiously ran his hands over her stomach, and Hermione took her free hand and showed him how to unclasp her bra without breaking this kiss. Harry's hand brushed across Hermione's chest, and she moaned into his mouth. Harry slid his other hand down to her leg, and slowly ran it up and down Hermione's thigh. Hermione gasped slightly, but reached down and pushed her skirt off of her hips.

The sight of Hermione laying beneath him, in just her under things was almost too much for Harry. Hermione rolled them over again, so she was straddling Harry's waist. For a second she looked surprised at the big bulge in Harry's jeans, but leaned down and kissed him again. She slid and hand across his chest, and down, down, down. She slipped it under the band of his boxers…

Harry gasped and sat up. "Hermione, we gotta slow down," he panted.

"Harry, I'm sorry, I got carried away," Hermione said, blushing bright red.

Harry grinned, "Don't be sorry, it's not bad. Just remember we're only sixteen, we have our whole lives to…er…explore." Now it was his turn to blush.

Hermione kissed his cheek and reached for a shirt, which happened to be Harry's, and pulled it on.

"If you'll excuse me," he stood up slowly, "I need to, er, use the bathroom," he said walking towards the door, which had just appeared. Hermione laughed and climbed beneath the sheets of the bed.

Harry returned to find her sleeping peacefully, he climbed into the bed next to her, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her as close to him as possible.

Standing alone in a dark room, Bellatrix softly muttered an incantation before downing a small glass of potion. She held her wand out, and watched as the tip of her wand glowed a faint blue color, slowly growing to light the whole room.

A tall, thin man entered the room. The light faded and she turned to face Lord Voldemort. "It's a boy," she whispered.

A great, sinister smile stretched across the snakelike countenance of Lord Voldemort, and once again, cold laughter filled the room.

Back in the boy's dormitory Ron punched his pillow angrily. No, I didn't love Cho, but I did like her. She was the best thing in my life right now. Harry isn't here, and I'm guessing Hermione isn't in her room either. They are probably off doing…who knows what.

If I've learned anything from Cho, it's that I should tell people how I feel, and who better to start with, than Hermione.

Hermione, I love you.

And then Ron smiled and fell asleep.

The next morning Hermione woke to find herself lying in Harry's strong arms. She smiled and turned over and kissed him sweetly on the lips. Harry opened his eyes and blinked a couple times before he smiled. "Hey, I could wake up like that everyday."

They got up and put on the appropriate clothes and returned to their rooms. Harry stretched out on his bed, hands behind his head, thinking about how happy Hermione made him. Then it occurred to him, she was after all, his soul mate. They would be together forever, why not make it official?

One week later, Harry left a note with Ron for Hermione to meet him at seven o'clock by the lake outside.

At five after seven, Hermione made her way to the edge of the lake where she found Harry waiting with a single rose and a picnic basket. He spread out a blanket and they sat eating their dinner, talking and laughing. Finally, Harry waved his wand and the plates and basket disappeared.

"Hermione, you really are amazing," he murmured, leaning in and kissing her softly. He pulled her to her feet and knelt down before her. "Hermione Jane Granger, I love you more than anything in this world. To me, you are my life, you are my soul mate, you are my everything. You are the reason I wake up in the morning, I love you."

Ron stepped outside and saw Harry kneeling before Hermione. Shit, he thought as he ran towards them, Harry's fast.

Harry took a ring out of his pocket. James had given it to Sirius to give to Harry; on the chance that James wouldn't be around when the time came that Harry would need such a ring. Sirius had given it to Harry last Christmas, just after Mr. Weasley was attacked.

"Hermione, will you be my wife?"

Hermione's jaw dropped. After a moment she recovered from shock and opened her mouth to speak.

"HERMIONE! WAIT!" Ron shouted, he ran up to the pair, panting. "Hermione, I-I love you!"

A/N: Well, I think that is where I will leave you for now! I know, I know, CLIFFIE! Sorry! I wrote this all in one day, so give me a break! Well, I'm going to end here, and maybe I will start chapter 6 in a day or two, come on, I have to enjoy some of my spring break…not that I don't enjoy writing…well…you know what I mean. Anywho, I would like 10 more reviews before chapter 6 goes up! Thanks for reading! I love you all! As always, you can reach me on AIM as WritingHarry182.