"Hermione, will you please stop pacing? You're making me anxious."

The following day, they asked Ron and Katie to meet them in the library after lunch, and Harry and Hermione left the Great Hall a little early to "get ready." What exactly that meant, Harry didn't know, because Hermione didn't have anything with her. She just paced, walking back and forth between the tables while they waited for the others to get there.

"I just don't know if this is a good idea, Harry. I mean, I know you managed to be very convincing, and I thought I had a plan, but this feels like an invasion of privacy when they didn't even ask. What if they don't even care about our relationship that much and they think we're the crazy ones?"

"This isn't supposed to be some dramatic intervention or anything. " He summoned a random book off one of the shelves and started flipping through it just to have something else to do with his eyes, and Hermione stopped pacing.

"I know it's not an intervention. An intervention would be stupid." She leaned her hip against the side of the table. "I understand why you're concerned, though. I mean, Katie said she understood that she had to be careful until Ron seemed to be better so that using each other to cope wouldn't happen, so this just doesn't make sense. She's smarter than that. Ron's smarter than that. Are you sure that's what they were doing?"

"It has to be. They were nearly on top of each other - I can't think of anything else."

Hermione sighed, rubbing her forehead softly. "And you're just sitting there like this is a normal thing that friends do."

"Whatever you two are doing, I can assure you normal friends don't do it." Ron's voice announced himself through the shelves before he and Katie strode up to their table, hand in hand. Hermione's plan was suddenly out the window, because her focus went to their locked hands and she couldn't think about anything else except what they may have been doing in that broom cupboard. Her eyes widened. "You all right, Hermione?"

"Fine," she breathed, trying to compose herself. "Yes. Er, you might be wondering why we asked you to meet us…" Hermione quickly gestured to the table, keeping her eyes on her feet. "Please, sit."

"And you were worried I was going to make it weird," Harry muttered as a smirk crawled over his face.

"Shut up," she huffed.

Katie spoke up once she and Ron were seated. "Is this about Quidditch practice the other day?"

"No," Harry answered. "It's… well… er… Hermione?"

"No, I think you should go first."

Harry sighed, leaning back in his seat and running a hand through his hair. "Okay, erm, so I guess I just kind of wanted to fill you guys in on what's going on."

"You're finally going to tell us what happened in France?" Ron asked, leaning forward on the table in anticipation. He'd been asking nearly nonstop since Hermione had gotten back out of concern, especially knowing who she was with. Even though she'd come back safely, Ron still didn't trust Draco, nor did he seem any closer to trying. Not that either of them cared, necessarily, as he was fairly civil when he needed to be. That was all that mattered at this point.

"We can, actually. Hermione didn't tell me a lot until last night, so I can let her explain all of that, but there was actually something else we wanted to bring up…" Harry rubbed his chin, looking at Hermione for support, but she was just staring at him.

She took a deep breath, sniffling a little. "Harry's concerned about your relationship."

"Hermione!" Harry sat up quickly in the chair, unprepared to have just been called out. That wasn't the plan at all , but leave it to Hermione, he supposed.

"What?" Ron asked, flabbergasted. " Ours ? Mine and Katie's?"

Hermione answered, "Yes."

"Thanks, Hermione."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Katie looked like she was waiting for the whole thing to be a joke, her eyes flicking between Harry and Hermione as she squeezed Ron's hand under the table. "Can we start from the beginning, please? What have we done that's concerning, exactly?"

Harry cleared his throat. "I... I just know how it feels to have somebody there for you when you're struggling and... it's not good to get too, er, dependent on each other like... like Hermione and I were at first-"

Ron nearly laughed. "At first? You were broken up not a day after the battle was over!"

"And that worked out well for us, didn't it?!" Harry took a breath to keep his volume in check. They were in the library after all. "I just... God, how do I put this? I don't... we... just speaking from kind of experience and Greenwood has kind of talked to me about this too, but... er... it's not healthy to use... sex as a-"

"Sex? You're worried that we're having sex?" Ron looked to Hermione, who just rolled her eyes in Harry's direction. "Who are you two to be worried about us when you were the ones snogging on the couch at Fred's bloody funeral when you weren't even together-"

"We haven't even had sex, Harry!" Katie interrupted, mostly just to get them to stop arguing. "I mean, I guess I appreciate your concern, but... it's completely unwarranted."

"And it's none of your business even if we were, is it?"

"Well, I had to listen to you talk about-" Harry stopped himself before he answered, swallowing down Lavender's name, but Ron had already known what he was going to say. Bringing her up when he was sitting next to Katie was not a good idea.

"And I had to listen to you rave on and on about Hermione!"

"Wait, what?" Hermione finally spoke up, turning to face Harry. "When was that?!"

"Not so fun, is it?" Ron asked with a smirk.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just didn't want you to be using it as a coping mechanism, that's all. I'm not trying to intervene and I don't really care whether you are or not, but we've all gone through a lot of shit in the past month and sex is one of those things that can make you forget it all, okay? And I know you two deserve better than that," Harry said all in a rush, trying to get his point across without making any more of a big deal about it than he already had.

A heavy silence fell over their table for a few seconds. Harry put his head in his hands, while Hermione looked between Ron and Katie quickly, trying to determine what their next statement would be. Ron looked a little guilty, sheepishly fixing his hair as a distraction.

"I'm sorry," Hermione mouthed at Katie, but she just smiled awkwardly.

"I'm grateful you're looking out for us, Harry. I am. Honestly. But... can I ask how you even got the idea that there was anything going on in the first place? Neither of us said anything and-"

"I saw... on the Marauder's Map. It was an accident! I was talking to Neville the other day and he'd asked where you were because it was getting late, so I just... thought I'd check and I... you two were in a broom cupboard nearly on top of each other and-"

Ron interrupted with a laugh, running a hand over his face. Once Katie caught on, she started laughing as well, leaning into Ron's shoulder. "Mate," he started, "you're barking. You seriously think my go-to place would be a bloody broom cupboard and not literally anywhere else ? Not in a room that we know that can change into whatever we want ? Somewhere I'm honestly shocked you haven't been with Hermione, not that I really want to know."

"Well, I... I dunno, I just... I mean, I've heard that..." Harry quickly backtracked, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. Hermione had been right. This was an awful idea, and she shouldn't have agreed to go along with it. Maybe she'd wanted to see Harry get nervous, but as his eyes cut over to her, she looked as nervous as he was, and it nearly made him start grinning, too. "What was it you were doing, then?"

"We were getting Quidditch supplies for practice!" He hadn't remembered seeing Ron laugh that hard in a long time. It was almost worth the embarrassment of the entire faux pas. "Remember, when I asked McGonagall about it, she asked me to help get the supplies together. And since there aren't really enough of us for a real team, we had to make some equipment adjustments. I was putting stuff away and it started falling, so Katie jumped in to help."

"Oh my God," Hermione laughed as she sighed, her head in her hands. "Harry, you are such an idiot. I'm so sorry to both of you." At least they were being good sports about it.

Katie wasn't done with Harry yet, though. "So you're telling me that I've got to watch where I go now because you might be spying on us?"

"No, I-"

"Do I need to check in with you every time I'd like to see my boyfriend?"

"No! Katie, I-"

"You do realize how weird that is, right? I mean, it's fine when you were using it when we were dealing with Umbridge and all, but this ?"

Hermione honestly couldn't tell how upset Katie truly was, but she did know she was just taking advantage of Harry already being nervous, which Hermione didn't have a problem with. She looked across the table to Ron as they argued, who looked as amused as she was. Nodding her head to the side, she silently asked him to follow so they could talk semi-privately. Katie and Harry barely even acknowledged that they left the table, but there were hints of smiles on their faces anyway.

"Is that what we used to sound like?" Hermione asked.

"Probably." They leaned up against the edge of a table, keeping their eyes on their significant others across the aisle. "No wonder he got so fed up with us."

Hermione took a second before responding. "So you two really haven't had sex? I mean, I really don't care, but... I know Harry and I haven't been the best example of not using physical means to cope with all this, and I do trust you and I trust Katie to know yourselves and where you are, but I just... I know I've been distant with both of you and I'm sorry."

"You've got your own stuff going on, Hermione. It's okay. I get it. We're all trying to find what works for us, but no. We haven't. Not for lack of trying, though," Ron teased.

"A simple 'no' would have sufficed," she grimaced. "I don't want to think about it if you are, so I just want to put that out there that this is the last conversation we will be having about this, but I'm glad we cleared it up. I'm sure she'll let you know if she changes her mind."

"Well, while we're on the topic of never having this conversation again, what about you and Harry? Where the hell are the two of you at? I know he hasn't been sleeping in the dorms since you got back, so-"

She looked down at her shoes, at a spot on the floor, anywhere in order to avoid looking at Ron while they updated each other on their sex lives. "For all intents and purposes, I'll say we're together. He's back in the Head Dorms since Draco have him the badge back, but-"

"Really?"

"Yeah. I have no idea why, and I haven't gotten a chance to talk to him about it yet, but yes, Harry and I are sleeping in the same bed. I don't... I don't know what that means at the moment."

"So you're back on that again?"

When Hermione looked over at him, he wasn't looking at her anymore. "What do you mean?"

"The whole non-label thing. You've done that your whole relationship. In the tent, at Shell Cottage, after the battle, back to now... I don't get it."

"Well, what are you and Katie?" she defended, caught completely off guard by his accusation.

"Boyfriend and girlfriend," he answered simply, looking over at her again. "I asked her to be my girlfriend and she said yes. So... that's that."

"Well, you two have things a lot easier than Harry and I do." Her arms crossed in front of her chest as she looked over at Harry again, who was just chatting with Katie now, clearly over their argument.

"Why?"

"Because... because... there's all kinds of stuff going on with the bond and it's making me not feel the same way about him all the time."

"What do you want to be?"

"What?"

"What do you want your relationship with Harry to be right now? Do you want him to be your boyfriend?"

"Of course I do."

"Then say he is."

"We haven't talked about it. We've just been on one date. We're starting over."

"So you're dating."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "I... suppose, yes. We're dating."

"Then say it. You're overthinking what labels mean to everyone, like they'll judge you if you say you're together, when no one cares. More people get confused when you can't make up your mind and they have to ask. If you want everyone to leave you alone, tell the Prophet you and Harry are together and then you never have to answer the question again. I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life and you're not telling me mine, but I think you're just getting too in your head to decide what you want Harry to be."

Tell me about it , Hermione wanted to say but kept her mouth shut. As much as she initially wanted to argue, she was trying to not listen to those knee-jerk reactions, as more times than not, they weren't proving themselves correct. Half of her problem was the uncontrollable inconsistencies of her feelings. Did she love him? Did she not? Logically, she knew she did, but there were some moments, when she was weak and the gleaming voice of the bond took over, that she didn't even like him, much less love him. Now that they were closer to finding an answer, she was sick of it. The thought of them being properly together again released a little of the tightness around her heart. Their date the previous night had been amazing, even if the topic of conversation didn't quite go how they expected. The way he'd kissed her like he may have actually been nervous about it, the same way he'd kissed her for the first time in the tent. Had it been in September or October? She couldn't remember the details, but she would never forget the way he'd been looking at her, no matter what that bond had done. He was scared, but hopeful.

They'd only kissed once more last night before crawling into Harry's bed with Hermione's head resting on his chest while he played with her hair and his heart beat strong and quick under her ear, their bodies threatening to betray their agreement. She had no idea what any type of intimacy would bring them at the moment, but she remembered how everything had felt the last time, like every emotion in her brain coalesced into all the love she'd ever had for him. Tears prickled in the corners of her eyes, though she couldn't help but chuckle a little at the thought that maybe the more sex they had, the quicker her memories would come back, just like it had strengthened the bond. Of course it wouldn't work - that was irrational - but maybe all they needed was that bonding aspect of it. The way that their feelings flowed between them like they were feeding off each other. An exchange of energy.

Exchange . Bonding .

Realization plummeted to the pit of her stomach. "Oh my God." She moved from the table, half-startling Ron in the process as she began running through her mental catalog of the library, sliding down aisles and between shelves until her fingers began scanning over the books.

"Hermione?" Harry called from behind her. They'd followed her as soon as she sped off. "Are you okay? What happened? What did you remember?"

"Harry," she panted, pulling a book from the shelf and flipping to the table of contents. Not what she needed. She put it back. "Harry, the runes."

"Runes?"

"Yes. The runes that we did on each other." She pulled out another book. "Ehwaz and Gebo. I think they've reversed. Well, you can't reverse Gebo, since it's the same if it's upside down or rightside up, but Ehwaz can be. At least mine may be."

"I thought the runes were gone..."

"So did I, but they didn't leave a mark, did they? How would we know? Wait. Hang on." She set the book down on the shelf and turned to Harry before sliding her wand out of her pocket. "I don't know why I didn't think to do this before. I just assumed..."

"What are you doing?"

"Checking your runes. Take off your shirt."

"Hermione, we're in the library-"

"Harry, please."

He knew better than to question her when she may be on the verge of a breakthrough, especially one as important as this. If it was just the runes that needed to be fixed, they could do that, couldn't they? Or at least, if that was part of it. He took a quick glance at Ron and Katie, who obviously had no idea what was going on, then slid his shirt over his head. It was strange, being half naked in the middle of the library, but everything was weird these days. He didn't miss the way Hermione's gaze lingered for a couple seconds, during which he felt a surge of pride in her admiration. It seemed like months since she'd looked at him like that.

" Specialis Revelio ." Harry's eyes widened as he looked down at his own chest. Just like they had appeared when she activated them, a glow of Gebo and Ehwaz shone just under the skin along with the three that Fleur had given him. "So yours are all right..."

"Woah," Katie sighed. "I've never seen runes in a person before."

"Cool, huh? You should have seen it when they did it the first time."

"God, Harry, I thought you only used Eihwaz, but... that's... you're covered . Wait, Berkano?"

That name sounded familiar. "Yeah?"

"And when exactly were you going to tell me about that one?" She took a couple seconds to catalog everything before they faded back into Harry's skin.

"What about it?" Then Harry remembered what Fleur had told him: healing usually goes hand-in-hand with fertility . "Oh."

" Oh ," Hermione teased, putting away her wand so she had hands to lift the hem of her own sweater. "Good thing I'm responsible."

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Harry rushed to her, trying to cover her back up.

"We have to check mine, Harry. Ron's seen me in a bra before and I don't care if Katie does. Do you have a problem with it?"

"Well... n-no, I just..." Harry tried, flustered too much at the sight of Hermione with her clothes half off; in fact, he didn't have a problem with it at all. That was one of the reasons he hadn't wanted to kiss her or sleep in the same bed with her or touch her too much - his lack of self control was very much trying to make itself present. But here in the library with their friends watching was definitely not setting the mood in any way. He tried not to let his hands brush over her skin as he nodded and stepped away, eyes glued to her fingers as she deftly lifted her sweater over her head and tossed it aside. Ron looked away.

"Now you do the same spell on me. Specialis Revelio ." After a second or two of letting him stare, she grinned. "Harry."

"Right," he swallowed, looking back up at her face. "Sorry. Uh... what... what spell again?"

Hermione rolled her eyes as Ron and Katie snickered. " Specialis Revelio . Honestly, Harry."

"It's like being in the bloody tent all over again," Ron muttered.

"Shut up," Harry shot back at him with a grin. It wasn't wrong. He very clearly remembered the first time he'd caught a glimpse of skin. It had been after one of their intense dueling practices, and despite the colder temperatures, they always got hot enough to shed a layer or two. Hermione had gone into the tent to take a shower and Harry gave her a few minutes before following her in. She was usually pretty quick to get in the shower, but for some reason, she was taking advantage of the alone time. As he pushed the flap to the side, Harry stopped in his tracks. She still had her pants on, but she was facing the bathroom - he figured just in case one of them walked in - and sliding her shirt over her head. He couldn't look away. It was the most he'd seen of a girl in his entire life, and it was Hermione , who'd he'd been quickly developing feelings for. After a few seconds, he finally forced himself to back out of the tent, but he had thought about it frequently afterwards until he'd finally gotten to see all of her . He'd never told her because he didn't want to embarrass her, but this moment felt very familiar. He shook himself out of it and drew his wand from his pocket. " Specialis Revelio ."

The runes were partially covered by her bra, but it was clear that one didn't look the same.

"It did reverse," Hermione confirmed softly, clearly trying to hold back tears. On one hand, she was grateful they'd found some sort of answer. But on the other hand, it just reminded her that Harry's death had affected more of her than she realized, and then she had to once again remember what had happened in the final moments of battle. "Ehwaz," she sniffled, wiping her eyes as she crossed her arms over her middle, suddenly very self-conscious about the way the three of them were staring at her, like there was something wrong with her.

"What does the reverse mean?" Harry asked carefully, handing her sweater back. When she didn't take it or look up at him, he gathered up the torso and slid it over her head, pulling her arms from their position and maneuvering them through the sleeves. Hermione managed to do the second one herself while Harry untucked her hair from the back of her collar and pulled her to his chest again protectively.

"A dead end," she finally whispered. "But... But I think if we just do a... another ritual to reverse it again, it should cancel out, but I don't want to do this ourselves. This is my fault, Harry. I thought the runes would be a good idea, but-"

"Hermione, none of this is your fault," Harry promised. "None of this is your fault at all, okay? Don't blame this on yourself. We've got loads of resources at our fingertips and tons of people who will help us."

After a few minutes of breathing deeply and trying to absorb the words Harry was saying and convince herself that he was right, she pulled away. "We need Professor Babbling. She'll know what to do. And I want to talk to Greenwood about... Legilimency."

"What?!"

"It's... Draco and I spoke about it while we were in France, and..."

"Where does he come in?"

"You said the answer may be partially in my memories, right? If someone can go in and-"

"That's what's the Pensieve's for, Hermione-"

"The Pensieve is just for observing," she clarified. "You can't fix anything through a Pensieve."

"I've been on the other side of Legilimency, okay? It's not fun. It's not enjoyable, and it's like everything you've ever thought is just thrown out in the open for anyone to see. It hurts ."

"So did losing you! You'll never know what that felt like, Harry! I'd take a Cruciatus curse over ever going through that again. If... if that's what it takes for me to feel the way I used to feel about you, then I'll do it. I don't care if it hurts. I don't care if Draco Malfoy sees every last thing I've ever thought! I just want to be able to love you again without wondering at what moment I won't."

It was the most vulnerable Harry had seen her in a long time, as well as the most honest. Here, in the library, in her safe space, in Harry's arms. What would her not loving him anymore mean? He'd seen glimpses of it here and there over the course of the past couple weeks, of her breaking up with him, not wanting to spend time with him, thinking that he was being overly dramatic and annoying for just wanting to spend time with her. She'd pushed him away, but that hadn't been her. Not really. She wanted him close. And suddenly, Harry was questioning everything she'd said to him before, now more than ever. Was this how she'd felt the whole time? Because if it was, he'd sorely missed having this: a Hermione who was undoubtedly in love with him. These were real tears, very scared tears, tears that made his own eyes prickle.

"Okay," he nodded. "Okay. We'll go to Greenwood, and we'll get McGonagall to bring in Babbling and Ollivander and whoever else we need."

"I'll help, too," Katie said, taking Harry by surprise. He'd forgotten they weren't alone.

"Me too."

"I've been in the spotlight for too long, anyway. My problems are old news," Harry said with a smile. "I think it's time to give someone else a shot, don't you?"

Half an hour later with a couple armfuls of library books between them, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Katie were standing in front of Greenwood's office, unsure of the best course of action.

"D'you reckon she's in there?"

"Why wouldn't she be?"

"When I was little, I thought teachers lived at the school," Harry began. "Now I come here and they actually do."

"What are we all just standing here for?" Hermione laughed, shifting the books in her arms and knocking on the heavy wooden door.

After a few seconds, it opened, and they were standing face to face with a rather confused-looking Greenwood. "Well, hello," she greeted them with a soft smile. "Your appointment's not until tomorrow... is everything okay?"

"Yeah!" Harry answered at the same time Hermione said, "No."

Greenwood raised a manicured eyebrow. "Well, one of you is lying."

"I need to look at your notes about my sessions," Hermione began.

Greenwood sighed, but moved back to let them all in. "Hermione, you know I can't let you see those," she answered as she closed the door behind her, "even if they're about you."

"You know I told you about the bond that Harry and I have-"

"Many times."

"And how it's broken-"

"Yes."

"Well, we've figured out another piece of the puzzle." The books in Hermione's arms were spread out over Greenwood's desk before she could argue. "A couple pieces, actually. Harry wrote a letter to Ollivander and explained kind of what was going on, and he suggested that the bond might be altering my memories. So we were in the library and I remembered the rune ritual we did with each other-"

"Runes?"

"Mmhmm," she responded absentmindedly, flipping to a page. "Well, when Harry died, one of mine reversed and I think that's what's messed everything up. And that, combined with the soul bond-"

"Hermione, slow down. I know next to nothing about runes. That's not something I can help with," she admitted, though her eyes scanned over the books anyway.

"But you know about minds. And we've met multiple times since all this has gone on. Surely with all the questions you've asked me, there's something worthwhile."

Greenwood sat down in the winged chair behind her desk, letting out a soft sigh at Hermione's desperation. "Even if I were to tell you, I can't with everyone else here."

"Please," Hermione begged, looking up from the books. "They're my friends. They're... they're my family. If I'm going to solve this problem, I know I can't do it alone and I need their help."

Greenwood's lips curled into a smile. "You know, that's the first time I've heard you admit that."

"What?"

"That you need help. That you want help." She was silent for a moment, looking over the faces of the desperate children in front of her. She couldn't say no to something as important as this. She'd worry about the consequences later. "What is it you're wanting me to do?"

When Hermione muttered, "Legilimency," Greenwood's calm expression became stern.

"Now that is something I cannot do with you, Hermione. I'm sorry. It's illegal in this field. And before you say that you don't care, I do. I'm sure there are more ways to resolve your problem than Legilimency, but if that's what you're looking for, you're not going to get that kind of help from me. I'm sorry."

"What about supervising it?" she quickly asked.

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"If, say, someone else was to actually perform it, would you be able to supervise? Make sure that it was being done properly? That the person wasn't going too far or hurting me? You know how to do it, don't you?" Greenwood was silent. "I know someone else-"

"No," Harry interjected suddenly, setting his books down on the table nearest him. "I'm not letting Draco get into your head-"

"Me either!" Ron agreed.

"Neither of you get a say in what I choose to do with my own mind," Hermione retorted, turning on them, though her eyes didn't show any malice. I'm desperate , she wanted to whisper, but she couldn't bring herself to admit it. Asking for help had been difficult enough. Desperation was a whole other demon. She could tell Harry knew, though, by the way that a hand came up to settle on her lower back.

"Do you trust him?" Greenwood asked softly.

"I don't know. I don't know if he'll even do it, but... he's really my only option right now. I have to ask. If he doesn't want to help, then we'll have to figure out something else, I suppose."

"I don't like it," Harry reminded her, "but if that's what you want, I'm not going to stop you."

Harry's words brought tears to her eyes and she remembered him saying almost the exact same thing after she said they couldn't be together anymore. Of course the stupid bond would allow her to remember that, how much it hurt, how much he had hurt her. But she had hurt him, too.

Greenwood took a deep breath. "All right. Leave these books here and I'll see who I can reach out to before our appointment tomorrow. I'll see if I can get permission from McGonagall to use the Pensieve, and you can bring Draco in as well if he agrees. I'll supervise, but if anything goes wrong..."

"If anything goes wrong, you can't intervene," Hermione finished. "I understand. I know the risks. Thank you, Miss Greenwood. Truly. I really do appreciate all your help, even though I probably haven't been the easiest student to deal with."

"Well, now I know why," she smiled, patting Hermione's hand. "Even if I can't help the way you'd like me to, I know you'll figure it out. But I'll do what I can."

They spent a while going through the books as Harry and Hermione explained what they thought was going on. Greenwood listened carefully, taking detailed notes and storing them in a separate folder to compare to their session notes. She stayed quiet, letting them talk and absorbing the information. What Hermione couldn't remember, Harry filled in, and they told her everything from the bond to the runes to the battle to what had happened after, them trying not to be together and desperately failing, to how she felt on their date the night before. Hermione barely stopped talking, because she was worried if she stopped, she would think about it too much. When it was all over, Greenwood's eyes scanned over all her notes and all their books, trying to piece everything together and figure out the best plan of action. Katie was in tears, holding Ron's hand tightly and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Okay," Greenwood said simply. "I think I know what's going on here. It doesn't seem like the bond is affecting all of your memories of Harry, not even all of the important ones. It's... this is just a guess, of course, but it seems like it's focusing on moments where you may have unintentionally realized your feelings for him over the years. The moments where the bond would have been strongest, or... the most connected. So, of course, your first meeting would be important. We've mostly been working on you and not really much of your relationship over the years, but can either of you think of any more moments when you felt exceptionally strongly about each other? Maybe third year? Fourth year?"

"The Yule Ball," Harry answered instantly. "It's... that's the first time I can remember I wanted to kiss her. She came down the stairs, and... I... I don't remember ever feeling that before."

"Do you remember that moment, Hermione? Did you see Harry?"

Hermione took a second to think, trying to fight the smile at the way Harry remembered her. "I saw him, but... then I saw Krum and I went off to dance with him."

"I think I watched you all night," Harry admitted, running a hand through his hair. "I thought it was because I wanted to make sure you were okay, but..."

"I was terrified during every single task that year, especially when I couldn't see you," Hermione added. "There were so many times I thought I was going to lose you. Actually... in fifth year. At the Department of Mysteries." She didn't need to explain for Harry to know which moment she was talking about. "I remember hurting when you did. And at the time, I thought it was strange that I felt so strongly because I wasn't very close to Sirius, but obviously we didn't have time to dwell on it. I only just now thought about it again. So the bond was there then?"

"It's always been there," Greenwood confirmed. "Your whole lives. Manifesting in different moments. It's actually been interesting talking to you both separately because without knowing it, you've talked about some of nearly the same things. Verbatim. I haven't looked much into soul bonds, either, but there's no doubt that they exist. Not with everything that's going on between you two. I assume you'd also like this to stay out of the press."

"Please," Hermione confirmed. "I don't want everyone trying to help. Not until everything is over and fixed."

"When you came back after you'd been petrified in second year, that's one of my happiest memories. Seeing you again. I spent a lot of nights in the hospital beside you that year," Harry added.

"Really?"

"You were the first person who ever hugged me, Hermione. I couldn't forget something like that. I thought I'd never get to hug you again, so when I did and you ran through the Great Hall and straight into my arms..."

Hermione was starting to tear up again. "I... Harry, I don't remember... I'm sorry."

"You will," he promised, wrapping an arm around her and cuddling her into him.

"All right. I'll make a plan. You'll remember, Hermione. Seeing Harry's memories of the same events might trigger something, like Ollivander said. I don't want you to get discouraged before we've even started, okay? The most important thing is going to be your willingness and honesty, okay?"

Hermione nodded, wiping her eyes. "How long do you think it will take?"

"I can't answer that. If we do end up using Legilimency, there will be a recovery time between sessions unless you really want to risk permanent damage, so that will make things take a little longer, but I've already committed to helping all of you as much as I can through whatever consequences this war brought up, and this is just one of them. But, as with any work that comes out of this office, you're part of the process. You and Harry both. Just try to consciously notice when your feelings may not be genuine. That will help keep yourself in check. And Harry, don't be afraid to question her if something seems off. Hermione, you'll know if it's emotional or hormonal or bond-related. I promise I'll exhaust all my resources and contacts, but we need to see what we're dealing with first. The world's on your side right now. People trust you."

"At least someone does," Hermione griped. "The more I figure out, the more I hate it. If we hadn't done the runes-"

"You would have still been affected," Greenwood answered. "Maybe not as severely, but this isn't your fault. Please don't think that."

Hermione tried to take her advice to heart, realizing that parts of the bond were entirely out of her control. As much as she hated it, there wasn't anything she could do, and she was getting better about accepting that. All they could do now was work with what they had and what they knew. Luckily, Hermione knew a lot. Especially when it came to herself and how she felt about Harry. She knew in her heart, like Ollivander had said about the bonds, that they'd always had a connection she'd never had with anyone else. She wasn't going to give up eight years of that for a moment of faulty magic. That's all this was. And when she thought about it like that, fixing it seemed to be less daunting.

"Now, let me make some calls and see who I might need. Get some rest tonight, Hermione. You're going to have a long day tomorrow."

"Thank you again," Hermione said with a nod as they stood from the chairs. Finding Draco was their next step, and the thought made her heart race a little with nervousness. She'd barely caught sight of him since they'd been back and she had no idea where he might be or what he was doing, like the secrecy of sixth year was kicking in all over again. Maybe he was just afraid of what everyone at Hogwarts would think of him now.

To Hermione's surprise, Katie moved to squeeze her free hand comfortingly while they were walking down the hall, and Hermione returned it with a soft smile. They had gotten a lot closer lately, and it was a wonderful feeling for her to have a friend outside of the boys. She seemed to understand Hermione well, more than Luna or Ginny or Lavender. She didn't judge, and she didn't offer advice just for the sake of offering it . And maybe that wasn't what Hermione needed all the time, but she'd take the extra support. If nothing else, now that she had Ron, she seemed to understand Hermione's urgency. They parted ways at the stairs, with Ron and Katie heading back to Gryffindor Tower while Harry and Hermione went to the Head dorm to consult the Marauder's Map to find Draco. They didn't tell Ron and Katie they were using it for obvious reasons, and Harry had been hesitant, but they both agreed that it was the easiest way to figure out where he was.

"He's in the common room," Harry announced, having looked there first and then promptly stashing the map back in the drawer. "Do you really think he'll agree?"

"I don't know. Do you know how to get down there?"

"Uh..." Harry's eyes flicked towards the map again. "No. Guess we'll have to take it. I'll just keep my eyes on the halls and not the dots."

"That's what you get for being nosy. You should be safe as long as we stay away from broom cupboards," Hermione teased, nudging Harry's shoulder. As they headed back down the stairs, Hermione pressed herself to his side, linking their fingers together. "Did you really come to the hospital when I was petrified?

"Nearly every night. Especially when Ron got on my nerves," he said. His shoulders dropped a little and he squeezed her hand. He'd never told her. "I would change out your flowers and... and I'd hold your hand and I'd talk to you."

"You held my hand?" Harry nodded softly. "I... think I could tell."

"What do you mean?"

A blush began to color her cheeks. "Well, I... I didn't know I'd been petrified, obviously, but it's like when you fall asleep. Like I was just having a really long dream. I was scared at first, but every once in a while, you'd show up. Sometimes Ron was there too, but mostly you. We couldn't talk to each other, but we'd... we'd just walk around wherever we wanted like we did around the lake. That's where I got the idea, actually. It comforted me then, and I thought it might comfort you, too. I never thought about you the same way after that. Maybe that was the bond letting me know you were there and making me feel safe."

"I'll always protect you, Hermione. Awake or asleep."

"I know you will."

He stopped then, turning to kiss her forehead and moving his hands down to settle firmly on her hips. "I love you."

Her eyes closed slowly, having expected him to kiss her lips. There hadn't been a lot of forehead kisses between them, but she could easily get used to it. It made her heart flutter a little. Part of her wanted to tease him, to say that he was the one being forward now, but instead, she just replied with, "I love you too, Harry."

It didn't take them long to get to the Slytherin dungeons, but Hermione tried not to tense up too much, as if Draco would be able to tell she was nervous, like a scared dog. "I wonder if the password's the same," he muttered. "Draco!" he called. "It's me and Hermione. We need to talk to you."

There was silence for a few seconds before the barely-hidden door swung open to reveal a very annoyed-looking Draco. "What do you want, Potter?"

It looked like he'd cut his hair a little, trimming the edges where it had gotten long. He was still in loungewear, clearly enjoying having the entire common room to himself. Harry still wasn't used to seeing him so casual. Even at meals, he'd be dressed. "It's actually Hermione who wanted to talk to you. Ask you something, really."

"And you can't be without her for ten seconds now?"

"It involves me, too."

"No surprise there."

"Can we come in?" Hermione asked, looking past him at the decor she was half-familiar with. It looked better on its own.

"And let Gryffindor drool stain the carpet?" But there was no intent, and he stepped aside. "Don't mention this to anyone, understand?"

"Not like I want to be here anyway," Harry muttered, looking around the Slytherin common room for the second time. Last time, Draco had wished death upon Hermione. Now, they were asking him for his help. How the tables had turned. Nevertheless, he took a seat on the couch next to Hermione. Draco remained standing.

"Well?"

"I know you've already said no," Hermione started.

"Then why would I change my mind?"

"You probably won't, but I thought I'd ask. I think I want to try the Legilimency-"

"Granger, did you not listen to a word I told you?"

"I did! I did, but it might be my only option and you're the only one who can do it. It's illegal for Greenwood, but she said she can supervise if you'll perform it. And we'll use the Pensieve so you know which memories you need to look at tomorrow-"

"Tomorrow?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not doing anything tomorrow."

"What? Why not? What's tomorrow?"

He rolled his eyes as if they should know. "It's my birthday."