Return Of The Elemental
Chapter 10 – Floating On Air
Harry slowly made his way up to the boys 7th year dormitories, when he entered he only saw one other occupant.
'Hey Harry' said Neville, a little too quickly which made him sound really nervous.
'Hey Neville, er, are you alright?' Harry said as he watched Neville try and fail to take off his quidditch robes.
'Yeah, I'm… I'm fine. Just a little nervous that's all.'
'Why would you be nervous Neville?' Harry said with a smile forming on his face. 'This wouldn't have anything to do with the ball would it?'
'No… Ok it does have something to do with the ball.'
'Well, what is it?' said Harry, enjoying watching Neville's face slowly turn crimson.
'Well… It's about my date… I'm just a little scared that I'll make a fool of myself in front of her.'
'Oh, is that what this about? I'm sure you won't make a fool of yourself Nev. And just out of curiosity, who's your date?'
Neville mumbled something that Harry couldn't hear.
'I'm sorry Nev, I didn't quite hear you' Harry said whilst his grin got wider and wider.
'I said… Ginny' said Neville softly.
'What? Are you serious? That's great Neville' said Harry ecstatically.
'Yo-You really think so Harry?' said Neville stunned.
'Yeah. Geez I wish you guys told me sooner though, all week long Ginny's been going on about her date, but she wouldn't tell anyone who it was. This is so cool though. Does that mean that you guys are going out?'
'Well not yet… but I was hoping to ask her out at the ball. Do you think that's a good idea?' said Neville.
'I think that's a great idea Nev and I'm fairly certain that Ginny will think it's a great idea to' said Harry knowing full well that Ginny was going to be ecstatic.
'I hope your right Harry… anyway I better go take a shower and get ready. Thanks Harry.'
Neville then walked towards the 7th year showers and left Harry standing alone.
Ah well looks as though I should get ready as well, thought Harry.
He then opened the trunk that he had received off Merlin and began searching the vast interior for his Elemental dress robes.
'Ah there you are' said Harry pulling out his robes.
He then proceeded to get ready himself. He first took a shower and then styled his hair, he first flattened all of the black down and then pushed the fringe of his hair up, which ended up leaving all of his Elemental colours up and pointing in different directions. He then pulled on his robes.
'I tell you what Merlin' Harry said to his mirror reflection as he looked at his dress robes, 'you guys certainly new how to get dressed up, I mean I look like a king.'
He didn't mean to sound superior or anything but the way the magnificent robes looked on him it just looked as though he was royalty.
His robes were fully white just like his Elemental Symbol, they fit his body perfectly and all in all Harry thought he looked alright. And with that thought in mind he made his way back through the bathroom to his dormitory, to find that once again Neville was the only one there.
'Hey Nev, has Ron come up here yet?' asked Harry, thinking that if Ron hadn't he'd better hurry up.
'Yeah he's been and gone, whilst you were in the bathroom' said Neville as he tied his shoelaces.
'That's weird, I thought he would have waited for me' Harry said feeling a little put out.
'Yeah, he was in a real rush though and he had a huge grin on his face, anyway Harry I better be going, Ginny's probably waiting for me down in the common room, see you down at the ball' Neville said as he practically skipped towards the common room.
'Yeah see you Nev and good luck with the Ginny thing' Harry said as Neville gave him a nervous smile before exiting the boy's dormitory.
Harry conjured an ice mirror and took one last look at his appearance before he dispatched of the mirror with a wave of his hand, he then stepped over to his trunk and kicked it open and once more began looking for a special possession of his, well technically it wasn't his, of course he did conjure it but that didn't mean that he did it for himself, it was a gift that he had been making for Hermione, he quickly found the present and deposited carefully into his robe pocket. He then closed his trunk and began his long and lonely walk through the deserted common room and down towards the ball.
His walk down to the great hall from the Gryffindor tower was surprisingly quick, for before Harry knew it he was standing in front of the closed doors that led towards his doom, perhaps that is why he was so shocked to see that he had already arrived at his destination, the whole way down he had been thinking about how many dances he would have to partake in and whether or not he would get the chance to give Hermione his present.
Ah well, better make an appearance, I'm probably the only student who isn't in there yet, thought Harry.
Little did Harry know is that he was wrong, there was still one more student who was not present at the ball.
Harry gave one last sigh before he pushed open the doors to the great hall. It seemed as though everyone stopped what they were doing, whether they were dancing or eating, they all looked at the new arrival.
Harry didn't really know what to do so he nervously walked forward towards one of the small meal tables and sat down, trying to avoid all the adoring looks that he was receiving from the entire girl population of Hogwarts. It wasn't soon after he sat down that people started going back to what they were doing previously, and once the music and laughter was heard Harry lifted his head up to see that Padma Patil was standing before him in an elegant dress that was made of the softest shiniest black material, wearing a scowl on her beautifully make up face.
'Umm hello Padma, you look spectacular' said Harry hoping to take the scowl of the angry girls face, it seemed to work because as soon as Harry finished praising her cheeks glowed blushingly.
'Why thankyou Harry, aw look what you've made me done, I came over here to be completely cross with you and now you've gone and said that' she said in her sweetest voice.
'Why were you cross with me?' asked Harry curiously.
'Well you told me yesterday that you would be wearing black dress robes and you show up wearing white and I was hoping we match.'
'O sorry Padma, but I decided to wear white at the last minute' Harry lied, 'but to make it up to you how would you like to have a dance' he added with a smile worthy of Gilderoy Lockhart.
Padma just squealed excitedly and dragged Harry to the middle of the dance floor, where he was used like a show dog the same way her sister Parvati did to him back in his fourth year at the Yule Ball. At the end of the song Harry gave a bow and conjured a flower that seemed to be made of fire just like the brooms that he made. Padma only gasped in shock as Harry passed the black fire flower over to her with a charming smile.
'Tha-Thankyou Harry' sputtered Padma.
'Not at all Padma it was my pleasure, the flower is a gift for telling you what I was wearing and then changing. Do you like it? Cause I can change the colour of it.'
'No, no it's beautiful' said Padma softly, 'thankyou Harry.' she then turned and walked dazedly away from Harry, who was then grabbed and thrown around by a very large Slytherin who stood eye to eye with Harry which was quite a shock considering Harry was 6 foot 3. Harry was tormented like this for half the night being dragged around by girls that he didn't and did know, he finally getting annoyed when a very pretty girl in dress robes of Cherry stepped in front of him with a grin plastered on her face.
'Even though we didn't win today can I still have this dance' asked the dazzling red head.
'Ginny you look amazing' said Harry, with his own shocked grin.
'Why thankyou Harry' Ginny said whilst she blushed the colour of her robes.
Ginny and Harry then shared a slow dance while conversing in soft whispers in each others ear.
'So who did you end up coming with Gin?' Harry asked, trying to keep the cheerfulness out of his voice.
'O don't you try and play the innocence with me Harry Potter, you know perfectly well who I came with and for that I want to say thankyou' said Ginny with mock anger.
'What do you mean thankyou?' Harry asked stupidly.
'Well it was you who told Neville that I would go out with him wasn't it, if it wasn't for you he wouldn't have asked me and we wouldn't be going out right now, so thanks.'
'Are you serious? That's great stuff, I'm happy for you Ginny' said Harry happily, but his happiness slowly turned to anger as he looked away from Ginny and saw that his best friend Ron who was supposed to be here with Hermione was dancing with Crystal, but not only that they were kissing.
Ever so slowly the magic in the air began to spit in fury as Harry got more aggravated at the actions that Ron and Crystal was doing behind Hermione's back. He could no longer take it, he had to stand up for Hermione.
Ginny wondered what was making Harry so angry so she followed his blazing eyes and came upon the sight of her brother and his new found love. Of course she knew about what had happened between Ron and Hermione after the quidditch pitch but that didn't mean that the man that was clearly furious beside her knew.
'Harry… Harry it's alright' she shouted, but to no avail, Harry was lost in his own thoughts.
A storm started over the great hall and everyone looked at both Harry and the storm and wondered which one was more menacing at the time.
Harry couldn't hear Ginny's plea's as he started walking towards the Ron and Crystal, Harry separated the students with his powerful steps, all whom ran away quickly just by seeing the fire in Harry's eyes, Harry finally came to rest in front of the still oblivious couple.
So that's the way it's going to be ey, thought Harry. He then put his arm out, palm facing straight up and sent two beams of ice cold water at Ron and Crystal, who started coughing and sputtering at the water that was invading their lungs. They both swore revenge on the person who did this to them but lost all sense of anger when they looked up and saw that it was Harry that had doused them in water but they also saw that he was very pissed. (Not Drunk, ANGRY)
Hermione had just walked down the last step from the Gryffindor tower when she heard thunder and lightning pounding outside. She then walked nervously towards the door to the great hall and took one last look down at herself. The dress that she wore was very interesting indeed, it was pure white and had some strange ruins on it, she had found the dress lying on her bed when she had come back from her talk with Ron after the quidditch match. The dress fitted her body exactly, it was though they were made especially for her, it showed off her figure perfectly. That was part of the reason that Hermione was so nervous, she never really liked to show her natural figure an parts of her body but the dress made her feel comfortable with herself, that and she really wanted to impress Harry. And with Harry in her mind she carefully opened the doors to the great hall.
What she saw scared her, Harry was standing in front of Ron and Crystal and for some reason he did not look very happy. She started moving towards them but stopped when she heard Harry talking about her.
'Ha-Harry? What did you do that for?' asked a shocked Ron and very scared Ron, the only time he had seen Harry like this was when he found out that Sirius died.
'What do you think it was for Ron? Do you know this is going to hurt Hermione, with you two fooling around behind Hermione's back. I thought you were her FRIENDS' Harry progressively got louder and louder as his tirade went on. 'Ron do you know how lucky you are to have a girl like Hermione? She's clever, courageous, and most importantly… a beautiful person' Harry said quietly as a picture of Hermione came into his mind. He then felt a warm hand touch his shoulder and he turned round to face a teary eyed Hermione, in a dazzling white dress that matched the colour of Harry's robes.
'Ha-Harry' whimpered Hermione, 'do you mean that, wh-what you just said?'
Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and felt himself fill with warmth, he then looked down into her puffy eyes and smiled.
'Every single word Hermione' Harry said softly but firmly.
Hermione couldn't hold back any longer as she launched herself at Harry and embraced him in the most loving hug she could muster, she then pulled back and saw that the whole school was now watching the scene, so she decided to take action as her Head Girl authorities kicked in.
'The last person who doesn't carry on with the ball will receive a weeks detention' she said crossly, which seemed to do the trick for everyone started moving away quickly. Hermione then turned back to Harry to see that his eyes were roaming her whole appearance.
'Hermione… you look like an angel' Harry said, his voice full of love. And time seemed to stop as they lost themselves in each others eyes, but were rudely interrupted by a stuttering Ron, whether it was because he was nervous or because he was shivering from the ice drenching he received from Harry you could not tell.
'Ha-Harry I should probably tell you that after the quidditch match Hermione and I decided to break up, you see it was after Crystal got hurt that I finally realised that I didn't really like Hermione, I mean I like her, but, you know. Anyway my true feelings lie with Crystal' Ron said as he gave Crystal a warm smile.
'O, I guess I owe you guys an apology than' Harry said sheepishly to Ron and Crystal.
'No you don't Harry' said Crystal grinning, glad that Harry wasn't going to explode, 'I should have told you when we were coming back to the castle, but I wanted for Hermione to tell you herself.'
Harry than felt his hand being grabbed by Hermione and he felt all his anger drift away, which also meant that the storm clouds outside, had also vanished.
'Sorry about drenching you guys but I had to get your attention somehow' Harry said defensively.
'Why couldn't you get their attention' asked Hermione suspiciously, Crystal and Ron both began blushing.
'Because they were snogging each other senseless, that's why' said Ginny with a malicious grin on her face, she had heard the conversation and came over with her new boyfriend.
'GINNY' Ron shouted.
'O calm down Ron it's alright, I won't tell anyone… except Mum.'
'You wouldn't' said Ron, shocked.
Harry seeing the predicament that his friend was in decided to help.
'Its alright Ron, if Ginny does that then you could always pay her back by telling Fred and George about her new boyfriend' Harry said sending his own evil grin at a shocked Ginny.
'What? When did you get a boyfriend? Who is he? I'm going to throttle him' Ron said whilst holding out his hands in a strangling fashion.
Harry decided to step in again.
'Ron let me introduce you to Neville Longbottom, Neville please meet a shocked Ron Weasley' Harry said enjoying the scene that he was setting up.
'Ne-Neville' Ron chocked out.
'Yes Ron Neville, you can say or do nothing to me or Neville or I will tell Mum about you and Crystal, got it' Ginny then turned on her heel and dragged a apologetic Neville with her.
'Well that went well' said Harry happily, he then turned his gaze towards Hermione. 'Miss Granger, would you give me the honour of this dance' he said whilst giving a low bow.
'Of course my fine sir' Hermione said whilst holding back giggles.
Harry then led her towards the dance floor, but turned around when he heard Ron whining.
'Harry aren't you going to fix me and Crystal, where freezing.'
Harry then smiled wickedly at Hermione before he turned back to Ron, then with one hand behind his back he conjured a fire ball.
'O sorry Ron, how could I forget' then in the blink of an eye Harry threw the fire ball towards the whining couple, the fire ball engulfed the two and the dispersed showing a very angry Ron and Crystal, but before they could react Harry dragged Hermione to the middle of the dance floor where everyone made room for the glorious couple that started glowing white.
Harry than wrapped his arms around Hermione's perfect waist while Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry's neck and then they both swayed to the slow song whilst looking deep through each others sparkling eyes.
In time they realised that their eyes were windows, and that they were both looking into each others souls, both were shocked in what was happening, Hermione more than Harry but they did not dare look away.
Hermione was seeing what happened to Harry throughout his life and could not help it when tears started clouding her eyes, she blinked them away, the reason for the tears were what Hermione saw of Harry's childhood, she always knew that the Dursleys didn't like Harry but that was no reason to treat him the way they did, the tears got more persistent as Harry got older, she saw herself through Harry's eyes in her first year, second, third, fourth, she then saw that she held a place in Harry's heart after that fourth year, she then stopped crying when Harry's life started showing her when he was picked up by Merlin. Hermione could only gasp in shock as she saw that Harry had visited some of the most secluded places in the world, she could only imagine how lonely he felt during his time away from the ones he loved. Slowly the images stopped and they found themselves staring into each others saddened eyes.
Harry and Hermione stood as close as close could be, chest against chest, but they did not notice, they had only thing on their minds. When they were soul searching, they had both found that through their lives they had one thing in common. Loneliness… Without even thinking they simultaneously reached their hands to each others face and brought them together with such force that you'd think that they would both be carrying broken jaws, but not in this case. The first kiss that Harry and Hermione was so loving and so passionate that they did not even feel the contact, all they felt was the love that the other was trying to project through each others lips.
It was in this moment that the couple was engulfed by the white light that was glowing around them previously, both Harry and Hermione didn't notice due to the passionate kissing that they were still caught up in, but that didn't mean that the rest of the hall wasn't observing the spectacular feat in amazement. All students and teachers could feel the magic in the air starting to pulsate around them as the white light grew bigger and brighter around Harry and Hermione.
The light was getting so large now that people started backing, and then it burst sending a shockwave of the love that Hermione and Harry felt towards each around the room making everyone feel a sense of goodness deep within themselves, even Snape felt an emotion that was long lost to him. But that was not the amazing thing that happened, for Harry and Hermione had disappeared from the dance floor and were nowhere to be seen, it was only when the shocked crowd heard a scream from high above them, did they begin to look up and see a very relaxed Harry Potter holding a very scared Hermione Granger on thin air.
'Ha-Harry what's going on?' squeaked Hermione.
'Its obvious isn't Hermione, where floating' said Harry smiling widely, the kiss he just shared was unbelievable.
'Why aren't we falling than? And why are you smiling like that?' asked Hermione nervously but suspiciously.
'Where not falling cause I'm holding us up' whispered Harry and then he whispered even lower, 'and I'm smiling like this cause I just kissed the most beautiful girl in the whole… wide… world.'
Hermione could blush prettily at Harry's words, he had just called her beautiful, she felt like she was walking on air, which she just remembered horribly, that she really was.
'Umm Harry do you think we could go down now, I'm not really one for heights' she squeaked again.
'Of course Hermione, I want to give you something anyway so do you think we could go outside for a while' Harry smiled mischievously.
'What is it?' asked Hermione sceptically.
'You'll see.' Harry than winked cheekily an apparated them outside the castle to the quidditch pitch.
The moon was shining brightly as Harry and Hermione arrived at the quidditch pitch.
Harry hit the ground and stood tall and proud, but Hermione was not use to apparating so she fell down once her legs touched the unnaturally green pitch. Harry looked down at Hermione and started chuckling, Hermione of course didn't find the situation as funny and started to pout, which only increased Harry's chuckling to full on laughing.
'Oh be quiet and help me up you big bully' said an annoyed Hermione.
'Alright my princess, as you wish' Harry said whilst picking Hermione off the ground.
'That's better' Hermione said whilst brushing loose grass off her robes, it was in this movement that Harry finally looked at the dress properly, he knew those markings.
'Hermione, where did you get that dress from' he asked with a raised eyebrow.
'O, well when I went up to my dormitory I found this' she did a little twirl to show off her dress, 'on my bed. Why don't you like it?' she asked disappointedly.
'Are you kidding' he said whilst walking over to Hermione and using his forefinger picked her face up and looked straight into her brown marbles.
'Hermione I've seen amazing sunrises and sunsets from many different places in the world but nothing can compare their beauty to the way you look in that dress' Harry said softly whilst giving Hermione a soft kiss on the lips. He then pulled away and smiled at Hermione dazed expression.
'I love your dress Hermione, it's just that I think I know who gave it to you' Harry said with a smile.
'O, who was it' asked Hermione suspiciously.
'It was Merlin, Hermione. The old man obviously wanted to make us look the same.'
'And why would he do that' asked Hermione curiously.
Harry did not answer but looked down at his side and reached into his robes and clenched his fist around his gift for Hermione, he the pulled out his hand and kneeled down on one leg.
Hermione was speechless, many emotions were exploding in her mind, Love, Shock, Happiness, but most prominent above them all was HOPE. She had seen this scene many times in Muggle movies, where the man would get down on one leg and propose to his love and right now it looked to her as though Harry was going to do the same to her, and she couldn't quite keep the tears of joy that were running down her face as Harry started speaking.
'Hermione Jane Granger, there are not many things in this world that I love, but I believe that I cherish your love and friendship beyond all others' he then showed Hermione the ring that he had made, it wasn't a normal ring to say the least, the ring that Harry held in his hand was a swirling mist of what looked to be air in the shape of a ring.
'And I was wondering if you would give me the honour of being my… girlfriend' Harry finished with a nervous smile.
Hermione was dumbstruck and thought, this isn't how it works in the movies is it? And she could not help it when a look of despair flashed across her face.
Harry who was looking at Hermione tentatively, trying as hard as he could to read her reaction, there it was, was that disappointment, Harry thought, he then understood what Hermione was expecting and smiled, so he stood up and got Hermione's attention by cupping her cheek in one of his hands. Hermione then looked up and met his penetrating gaze.
'Hermione' he said with a voice full of love, 'this is just the first step, when I defeat Voldemort we will take the next one.'
Hermione couldn't hide the smile that erupted on her face.
'Do you mean it Harry? One day we can get married?' she asked hopefully.
'Of course Hermione, that is if you accept this ring first' Harry couldn't hide his own smile of relief.
Harry then took hold of Hermione's left hand and placed the air ring on her one day wedding finger. Once it was fully on Hermione stared down at it in admiration.
'Harry it's beautiful, did you make it or did Merlin?' Hermione said breathlessly.
'I made it for you Hermione, I've been making it since I decided to give you Emmeris.'
'Why does you giving me Emmeris have anything to do with this?' she said whilst showing Harry the ring.
Harry did not answer but called for a friends help.
/Hey Emmeris do you think you can come down to the quidditch pitch for a moment/
/As you wish Harry I will be the momentarily/
'Harry. Harry are you listening to me? Why are you staring off into space?' asked Hermione, quite annoyed that her new found boyfriend was ignoring her.
'Sorry Hermione, I just had to call for Emmeris' Harry said smugly.
The next second Emmeris appeared before them in a burst of blue and green flames.
/You called for me Harry/ asked Emmeris.
/Yes Emmeris, do you think you could have a talk with Hermione over there/ Harry said with amusement clear in his tone.
/I will try Harry, but I see no point, she cannot speak to us/ Emmeris said with a bit of anger, she was just about to go to sleep when Harry had called her.
/Just try please Emmeris/ Harry said.
'Harry what are you do-' but Hermione stopped short as she heard Emmeris speak in her mind.
'You heard her didn't you Hermione? You heard Emmeris' said Harry grinning proudly.
'Ye-Yes b-but how?' asked a shocked Hermione.
'Because of the ring I gave you, that ring lets you speak to any animal of the air' Harry said whilst trying to hold back his laughter. 'Try and speak back to her, just use your mind, picture Emmeris in your mind and project your message towards her.'
Hermione did as she was told and looked over at her pet/friend phoenix.
/He-Hello Emmeris can you hear me/ asked Hermione nervously.
/Yes Hermione, I can hear you, O this is excellent news, I can now communicate with you, tell Harry that I said thankyou, I have to go and tell Hedwig the good news/ Emmeris said Happily, she then took flight towards Gryffindor tower.
Hermione then turned to a smiling Harry, she processed everything that had happened and could only think of one thing to do. She ran forward and jumped at Harry, who was not expecting this and fell backwards with Hermione on top of him. Hermione then kissed every part of Harry's face she could reach, mumbling how much she loved him every few seconds and as much as Harry didn't want her to stop he spoke up.
'I'm glad you like your present Hermione, but there's one more thing I have to tell you' said Harry who was still being kissed to death. A rosy cheeked Hermione reluctantly stopped and sat back up on Harry's firm stomach.
'Now once I tell you this I promise you can kiss me all you want' he said with mischievous grin, 'the thing is that I've also made this ring, so that one day after a bit of training you will become an Air Animagus' Harry then braced himself for an onslaught of affection, but it never came, he then looked up and saw that Hermione was looking at him with tears in her eyes.
'Hermione? What's wrong?' Harry asked worriedly.
'Why are you doing this for me?' Hermione asked softly.
Harry then became serious and picked himself up off the ground a bit making Hermione slide down his stomach to rest around his groin, Harry was no eye to eye with her and spoke so lovingly that it sent an involuntary shiver overcome Hermione.
'Because you were the only one that believed that I never died, when everyone else was busy mourning for me you were wondering were I was and last but not least' he then lifted his head and kissed Hermione softly on her forehead, 'Because…' then placed a kiss on her nose, 'I…' then kissed a tear that was rolling down from Hermione's left eye, 'Love…' then kissed another tear rolling down from the right, 'YOU…' then finished off by giving Hermione one of the most spectacular kisses in the history of kisses, a kiss so powerful that it made the clear night sky shower with falling stars. After a couple of minutes when Hermione couldn't breathe anymore she leaned back and smiled a teary smile.
'I love you to Harry and I would love to be your girlfriend, and hopefully when this is all over… your wife' Hermione said quietly.
'I would like that Mrs Potter' Harry said smiling, which bought a brilliant smile from Hermione from using a name that she had fantasized about using ever since Harry had come back. They had once last kiss and stood up. Harry then held out his hand and Hermione entwined her fingers with his.
'I think we better get back or they'll send out a search party, but before we go I just want to say that I meant everything I said Hermione, one day I will ask you to be my wife' Harry said seriously.
'I know Harry and to tell you the truth I can't wait for that day' Hermione said seriously as Harry which brought a laugh from both of them.
The new couple then thought that instead of apparating back to Gryffindor tower they should enjoy each others company and they did, walking hand in hand to their dorms with a meteor shower falling above them, once arriving back to their common room they gave each other one more kiss goodnight and went to their respective dorms, where they both dreamt of each other till morning.
It was then high above the heavens that a certain old man threw the last of his gold pebbles through the universe and smiled to himself.
'Merlin you old dog, your as clever as they come' said the legendary Elemental. He then smiled to himself and vanished into thin air.
Flyin Eagle