Harry and Hermione set up the tent and their brewing station again, excited at the prospect of actually having a full stock of all the ingredients they could ever want. She sat down at the table, all thoughts of their original plan gone for the moment as she wrote down a list of all the potions Fleur didn't have for them. "Some of these are really complicated, Harry… but I think we might need them. Like a Veritaserum antidote just in case. We probably won't be able to use much defensively, but we should definitely take into consideration anything that can reverse status effects or keep things from happening, and we definitely need to have more than enough Calming Draughts on hand." She was scribbling like her life depended on it, and Harry was lucky that it had been her non-dominant hand that was injured. If she wasn't even able to use her wand or write, they'd be in much worse shape.

Without saying a word, Harry sat down next to her and took the pen from her hand, setting it down on the table. "Hermione."

She fidgeted a little as Harry's thoughts seemed to physically manifest themselves into her body. "Oh. Right. Well, I don't want to just get it over with," she muttered.

"We've got all the time we want, remember?"

"But… but the others-"

"Hermione, I have absolutely covered this tent in protective enchantments and silencing charms. No one will be able to know anything we're doing in here."

His hand slowly began creeping up her leg and she blushed at the thought, suddenly strangely nervous at having this much free time, but grinned.

It was almost an hour later when Hermione forced herself to get up and untangle her legs from Harry's, who groaned in protest and opened his eyes. "I need to use the loo, Harry. I have to get up for that."

"As long as you come back."

"You seriously think I wouldn't?"

"No."

"Thought so," she grinned. Hermione had tried not to get too frustrated with the state of her arm and the fact that it just laid useless next to her, but Harry had proved to be incredibly distracting. They hadn't spent much time undressing, eager for skin contact, and immediately curled up under the blankets while Harry spent some time trailing his fingers over Hermione's arms, back, shoulder, neck, hips, and whatever else he could get his hands on while Hermione did the same. But once Hermione leaned in to kiss him, things quickly progressed from there.

Hermione truly couldn't believe that this was really happening. It still seemed like a dream. Not only her relationship with Harry, but all of it: the horcruxes, being on the run, the fact that she only had one useful arm at the moment. She'd been able to forget about it for the most part, but their fun had almost come to a screeching halt when Hermione shifted in an attempt to get on top of Harry and hadn't been able to because she couldn't support herself and the weight of her arm felt extremely unsexy.

Instead, he rolled them back over and preoccupied Hermione's thoughts with kisses all over her body and in places she'd never have even imagined Harry's mouth to be until she forgot all about how frustrated she had been. She made a mental note to file the feeling of his stubble on her thighs for later. And, of course, she'd reciprocated as much as she could.

But now, in the bathroom, by herself, the surrealism of it all hit her like a brick, and she felt selfish again. The euphoria of intimacy was gone, she was cold, and being in the tent kind of made her feel like they were back in the woods. Her arm was the only reminder that Malfoy Manor had actually happened, and she was sweating under her bandage; it probably needed to be changed soon. Then she felt a blip of Harry's calming energy.

"Hermione? Are you all right?" Harry's voice sounded from outside the door, making her take a deep breath as she latched on to it. Almost immediately, she felt better.

"Fine."

"You don't feel fine. What's wrong?"

"Just give me a minute." She finished her business quickly, washing her hands and splashing some water over her face. Harry was back under the covers when she came out, and she appreciated him not wanting to crowd her. She immediately wrapped her arm around herself as she made her way to the bed and returned to her position pressed against his chest, sighing in frustration at how calm she was compared to just a few minutes ago. "We need to fix this."

"I'm sorry?"

"I can't even… be in the loo by myself without feeling like rubbish. That's not normal. Why can't we just be together, Harry?"

She closed her eyes as he ran his fingers through her hair. "What do you mean?"

"Well, first it was pretend, then it was the locket, now it's this bond. Like everything's forcing us together but us."

Harry chuckled softly, realizing she had a point. "You're not… second guessing things, are you?"

"Are you kidding me, Harry? After that?" Hermione grinned. "Definitely not second guessing anything. I do still love you, remember? That has nothing to do with our bond."

"I know. I love you, too."

"We should probably get… working on the potions, though. Actually get something done."

"You don't like our research?" Harry teased.

"That's all I want to do. That's the problem."

"Don't tempt me."

They only wasted a few more minutes before Harry urged himself out of the bed, patting Hermione's thigh. "Come on." After they were dressed, Hermione fixed her ponytail and started a new notebook to track the daily effects of their bond.

"Okay, how do you feel?" she asked him.

"Brilliant."

Hermione rolled her eyes playfully. "Can you be a little more specific? Like… when I was anxious, I… I could feel your energy, and when I…" she drummed the pen on the notebook, trying to find the right words, "allowed myself to tap into it, I felt calmer. Like you were there physically, even if you weren't."

Harry sat down next to her, nodding. "I could tell you felt anxious because I felt anxious. Not internally, I could tell, but… like it was heavy from the outside, not inside, like it usually is. Like… I knew it wasn't mine."

Hermione quickly scribbled down his notes. "And how did you calm me down? Was it a conscious effort?"

"I don't think so. I just… knew it was coming from you and didn't like how you were feeling."

"Fascinating. Do you think we'd be able to transfer our magic like that, too? I mean, I know Ollivander said that we were stronger, but… say that one of us didn't have our wand and wanted to do a spell… do you think the combination would be able to allow us to do wandless magic?! Not anything ridiculous, of course, but… maybe we can try that out." She jotted down some more notes before putting that notebook aside and opening the potions book. "So which one should we start on first?"

She had to keep her mind busy while the potions were brewing, and had left Harry in charge while she opened the cover of the Dark Arts book she took from Godric's Hollow. She'd been putting it off, but they had to find something. They had to find the next one, or a clue, at the very least, as to what kind of object it might be. She could only get through it a little at a time, though, as the weight of the words fell deep into her heart if she read them too long.

They only went back to the house when it was time for lunch, and Hermione had planned to help cook while she asked about learning more healing and diagnostic charms. Luna, however, had come down carrying her suitcase. Harry frowned.

"Luna, where are you going?"

"I'm going back to Hogwarts. It's probably the safest place for me right now. I can't go back home or they might come after Dad again."

"Are you sure? Hogwarts isn't… it's not what it used to be."

Luna smiled. "Neither am I."

"Death Eaters have taken over and-"

"I think I can handle it, Harry. But I'm honored you're worried about me."

"Of course I am," he chuckled. "Especially since you just got out of Malfoy Manor. Are you sure you don't want to stay until you're all better?"

"I don't want to get too comfortable here, if I'm being honest. And… I would feel very safe with the rest of the DA. Maybe I can get them gathered again. Start from the inside. Let them know what we're planning."

"That's a brilliant idea, actually, Luna. How do you plan on getting back?"

"The Order created a portkey for me. It'll take me to Hogsmeade and I'll take one of the secret passages. Don't look at me like that, Harry. I'll be fine."

"I know. I trust them and I trust you, but…"

"It's okay to worry, Harry." She hugged him briefly. "We're not leaving until tonight, but don't try to convince me not to go. It'll free up a room here, too. And it'll be good to have someone who can let them know what's going on."

Harry sighed - Luna was right, and this was her decision, when it came down to it. He just hated forcing people to make these decisions because of the danger he'd put them in.

Ollivander was leaving, too. Muriel had offered for him to stay with the rest of them. Harry had no idea how she had enough room for everyone, but he wasn't going to tell him he couldn't. By the time Hermione took her nerve regeneration potion and Dreamless Sleep Potion and crawled into bed with Harry, they, Bill, Fleur, and Griphook were the only ones left in the house.

They had decided against sleeping in the tent in favor of the warmth of the cottage. After all, they'd told everyone that they were only in the tent at all for research, and sleeping there would definitely raise some sort of suspicion. It never took the potion very long to make its way through Hermione, so Harry knew he didn't have much time to talk to her once her head was resting on its usual spot on his chest, but he wanted to see what she made of his plan, and his brain wouldn't turn off.

"Do you think Griphook will finally talk to us tomorrow?"

"Maybe, why?"

"We need to break into Gringotts."

She moved away to look at him fully. "Harry, are you insane?!"

"Bellatrix went mad when we thought we'd been in her vault. There has to be something else she doesn't want us to get."

"You think there's a horcrux in there?"

"Potentially."

"Breaking into Gringotts for a potentially is-"

"I know. But it's our only lead right now. It's all we have."

Hermione sighed deeply. "It's not a good idea at all."

"I know. If we have Griphook on our side, though, maybe it'll be a little easier."

"Can't he just get it for us?"

"We don't know what the horcrux is. There's no way he'll be able to find it. I have to be there."

She just curled into him again, pressing her face into his neck. "I hate this. I'm tired of these dangerous plans."

"The faster we're done, the faster it's over."

"I know you're right, Harry, but it doesn't make me feel any better."

"We'll talk to him tomorrow. See if he has any insight. Then we'll go from there. Deal?"

"Deal," Hermione yawned.

They started to plan the next day. Griphook had agreed to help in exchange for the sword, which was another part they'd have to figure out, considering they needed it to destroy the actual horcruxes. But if they could at least round them up, it was something. The only catch was that Griphook would go along with their plan as long as they planned it. He wasn't going to be part of the scheme, so he could deny responsibility if anything went wrong.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron sat together in Harry and Hermione's room, parchment and pens laid out all over the floor. It was quite intimidating already and they hadn't even written anything.

"Okay, so…" Hermione began, picking up one of the pens and chewing on the cap. "We should start with a list of what needs to be done in the first place. So… first is actually getting into Gringotts. Then, we need to get past the head goblin. You know, the one who hands out the keys. Let's see… then we'll need a cart and to know which vault belongs to Bellatrix. Then we need to unlock the door, find the horcrux-"

"I'll know where it is," Harry interrupted.

"How?"

"I'll… just know."

"I'll just have to take your word for it, I suppose," Hermione continued, jotting Harry's name next to that bullet point. "Then get out of the vault and back out of Gringotts." It was a long list of tasks, but having them all laid out felt like they were getting somewhere.

"Well, I still have my Invisibility Cloak," Harry offered, grabbing a pen of his own and writing it down under the "Get Into Gringotts" section. "That'll cover at least one of us if we need it."

"I'm not sure about their enchantments, though. You know, if they would be able to know something like that's coming in."

"Bill might know," Ron interjected. "He worked there for a few years before he went to Egypt. I'm sure not much has changed. He probably knows about how all the carts and vault stuff works, too."

Hermione grinned. "Brilliant. Maybe we can make some Polyjuice Potion and turn into him. They should let him in, right? I think we're out, though, so we'll have to wait to brew another batch next month."

"Hermione, we can't-"

"You really want to rush this plan, Harry? It's all we've got. We'll wait as long as it takes to get a solid course of action. I'm not putting us all in more danger than we'll already be."

Harry was a little taken aback by Hermione's sudden irritability, but she was right. Rushing into things never worked out in their favor. Then again, lately neither had any of their plans. But this was something big, something that involved a lot more people than them, which meant a lot more people who could get hurt. And the look on Hermione's face told Harry she'd already taken that into consideration. Of course she had.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I… I didn't mean to seem… snippy. I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay," Harry said, rubbing her shoulder. "It's a lot to think about."

Hermione sat back, rubbing her hands over her face. "I just know that there's a lot riding on this. We've got, what, three horcruxes down?" She started a list of those, too. "Diary, ring, locket. Assuming there's one in Bellatrix's vault," she wrote Mystery 1, "that's three more, right?"

"Right." Mystery 2 and Mystery 3 joined the list.

"This is the same conversation we had when we started," Hermione sighed. "And we've only managed to destroy one. One."

They spent a couple more hours brainstorming until Hermione tossed the pen down, announcing she couldn't take it anymore and she was going to go get some fresh air.

"Mind if I join you?" Harry asked.

"Of course not."

They didn't get in the water again, even though it was slightly warmer than the day before, but Hermione didn't really seem keen on speaking, just reaching over and threading her fingers between his.

"Are you sure you wanted me to come with you?" Harry finally asked after a few long minutes.

"Yes, why?"

"You haven't said a word to me."

"Well, I feel better when you're around."

"What is it you're angry about?"

"I'm not angry."

Harry sighed. "Fine. What is it you were angry about?"

"Nothing."

"Well, obviously something I said didn't sit well."

"I don't think that was the problem."

"Then what was it?"

"I don't know, Harry? All right? Can you please stop talking about it? It's done. I'm over it." She turned to look at him, and Harry saw a sense of genuine confusion.

"Are you sure it's not-"

"Harry, I swear if you ask me if I'm about to get my period-"

"No! No! I don't… that's… I didn't even think about that, I promise!"

"Sorry. Am I sure it's not what?"

"A side effect of the potions or something? Maybe a change in hormones while you're body's healing? Or something the knife did that's changing things? I mean, I don't know how any of that works, but that's the only thing that hasn't been consistent with anything we've been doing."

"That has to be it. I'll check with Fleur when she gets back. Maybe she's got a mood stabilizer or something. I don't like being angry, but it's like… I can't help it. I'm not sure. It's just so sudden. Admittedly, kind of like PMS, but I know that's usually a thing boys blame mood swings on."

"Well, I have no idea when you're on it, so… I'm not keeping track to know if it is or not."

Hermione let out a laugh. "I wouldn't expect you to, Harry."

Though, now that he thought about it… "Just give me a heads up, will you? If you can?"

"Why's that?"

"I'd… like to prepare myself for not being able to shag you for a week."

Hermione's smile fell. "Oh… that's the first time I've had to worry about that. I think I've got about a week and a half left. Heads up."

"A week and a half?!"

"Well, it is once a month," she teased, and Harry just groaned, dropping his head. "Can we please stop talking about my period? You'll make it come early if you mention it too much."

"Now I know that's not how it works," Harry said with a grin, looking over at her again and squeezing her hand. "But yes. Have you thought about what other potions you'd like to work on?"

"Well, I think we should get some ingredients for the Polyjuice at least together so they're all in one place when we're ready. But maybe the anti-Veritaserum. We'll probably need to carry that around with us if we travel. If Umbridge was using it while the Ministry was still under Fudge, I have no doubt everyone will have some on them for questioning…"

When they got back for lunch, Harry, Hermione, and Ron took their food to their bedroom for more planning. It was nice not being around everyone, but having somewhere decent to stay. And with Hermione in a better mood, they'd had a couple ideas about how to get into Gringotts. Most included Polyjuice Potion, as it was more feasible than actually breaking in, but there had been talks of well-placed small explosions or outside distractions that would cause the lobby to be empty. Not likely, but a last resort.

Bill had been eager to tell them as many ins and outs of the bank as he knew, including that the vault numbers were memorized by the goblins, not written down anywhere, and depending on the content of the vault, would switch around after a certain period of time in order to prevent break-ins from those who knew the old numbers, which meant they may have to convince one of the goblins to take them into the vault themselves. Harry could have sworn he saw Hermione's eye twitching as she listened.

She was quiet through the rest of the night, including dinner, except when Fleur started to teach her more about how to read the diagnostic charm. Her arm was getting better, but not quickly enough for her liking. Fleur also had no idea why Hermione was having the reaction she was as far as her mood swings were concerned, as she didn't know of anyone who'd experienced that side effect, which only made Hermione more frustrated.

Harry tried not to bother her about it, knowing full well that internal battles were best fought alone, but he didn't complain when she pushed him up against the wall as soon as they got to their room that night, gripping his hair and pressing her body into his so fully and so desperately that the only course of action was taking control after a few seconds and walking her back so her knees hit the side of the bed, casting a quick "Muffliato" on the door, walls, and floor (for good measure) as he pulled her pants down.

Passion. That's what it had to be, Hermione realized as she woke up the next morning, incredibly sore and her brain still a little foggy. She hurt in places she never knew she had, and she could tell there were going to be multiple hickeys in various places on her body she was lucky no one could see.

But she also felt incredible. She felt like there was electricity running through her veins, even in her injured arm. She could feel it in her fingertips. If she wasn't so sore, she might see how fast she could run. How good her aim was.

Admittedly, she wasn't sure if Harry had it in him to be rough with her, based on how concerned he constantly was of her arm and doing what he could not to hurt her further. But just a few choice words had managed to convince him pretty quickly, which she stored away for the future. It was definitely an entirely different experience than their first time, but now that it didn't hurt at all anymore, Hermione found herself much more open to letting Harry take over so she didn't have to think about anything except him for just a little bit.

She didn't think she could feel any closer to Harry than she already felt, and she wasn't sure how long it would last, but right now, after last night, she could swear she could hear his heartbeat as she lay next to him. The more passionate they were with their intimacy, the stronger the bond became, even if only momentarily.

It doesn't have to last forever, Ollivander had said. But God, did she quickly find herself wanting it to. The thought of having anyone else next to her like this was terrifying. She already knew Harry. She was already bonded with him. Why couldn't it last forever? She knew she was contradicting herself by saying all this now when they'd both agreed to reevaluate after the war was over, because she knew things would be different, and she knew right now, her emotional fragility was at a weak point - she normally only felt like this after sex, which should be a sign that this wasn't how she felt all the time. After the war, they'd feel different. They'd have different paths, different priorities. But could she handle seeing him with someone else? Could their bond handle him being with someone else? She'd known it had always been there. In her heart, she could tell Harry was different. Maybe that's why they protected each other so much. But the thought of soulmates scared her. What if this didn't last and they couldn't see anyone else because of their bond even if they wanted to? What if she didn't make it through this war and Harry was alone? Would he be able to find someone else? Or, God forbid, if Harry didn't make it? What would that do to her?

She felt tears running down her face and into the pillow before she could even try to stop them, and took a shuddering breath when Harry's arms wrapped around her waist.

"It's okay," he whispered, pressing a kiss behind her ear. "I've got you." How did he even know she was awake, much less crying? "Do you want to tell me what you're worried about?"

Hermione shook her head quickly. If Harry hadn't thought about all this, she wasn't about to burden him with it.

"It's not about anything we did, is it?"

"No, not at all" she answered honestly, pressing back into him to show she was telling the truth. He didn't respond in any other way than burying his face into her hair and pulling her closer. She'd never felt love like this before, and she still felt like she was getting used to dealing with it. She and Harry had never shied away from being physical with each other - she loved hugging him, holding his hand, sitting next to him - but this was completely different. Being intimately physical, not just sexually, but like this, when his warmth was against her back, her neck, and wrapping all the way around her stomach, made her feel like she was floating. And she knew it was her anxiety dropping her back down to earth like a rock. If it wasn't for the war, she could enjoy this.

But if it wasn't for the war, would she even be in this position?

I wouldn't have a useless arm, that's for sure. That was the thing that bothered her the most, the most irritating part of staying at Shell Cottage, the reason she wanted to explore this healing energy Harry gave her and the potions and the diagnostic charm. She needed to be as strong as possible for this fight. And the more she read of the Dark Arts book, the more worried she became.

Horcruxes were so advanced and so rare that most of the book was merely speculation, and the author mentioned multiple times that just talking about it made them feel so bad, not much was included, but reading a little into what they may truly be up against was terrifying. Just thinking about the three of them, three children, facing Voldemort, who was powerful enough to split his soul into seven pieces without a single second thought, made her want to bury her wand and take her tent back to the Forest of Dean with Harry and live out the rest of their lives while the world burned around them. Maybe Voldemort would find them eventually, but maybe he wouldn't, and if he did, they could deal with it then. And in the meantime, they could spend every morning like this.