Harry did not like the idea of waiting around for his coin to turn red. He had little choice however. It was clear Hermione was determined to go about this in a scientific way. He could see the logic behind waiting. If the next attack happened in five days or less they could start to assume the time line was growing shorter. It didn't eliminate the possibility that it was random or controlled by Atticus though. He would much rather just make a point of connecting with Hermione every day just to ward off the attacks. Then again, there was no guarantee that his touch had any power to delay the attacks. What if his touch only worked during or after an attack? That was another disturbing thought. He would talk to her about it again later. Harry apparated to the Ministry and took the lift to the Auror level. He was not looking forward to facing the entire office and all the questions that would inevitably follow. McGonagall had talked to the Head of the Department last night. Word traveled fast, and while the Auror's were under strict confidentiality, the news would spread among themselves like wild fire. He would have to talk to Ron about all this. It couldn't be easy to find out your ex-girlfriend was bonded to your best mate. He prayed the public would be kept in the dark about this situation. If the news got a hold of this they would have a field day. He was not too keen on anyone knowing who didn't need to.

When he got off the lift it seemed all eyes turned to him. No one spoke as he slowly made his way along the corridor. Before he got far the Director called out, "Potter, in my office, please." With dragging steps Harry entered Mr. Boggs' office. The man was strong, tall and capable. He could scare the pants off of you if you didn't know him. He was smart, and had managed to grow and strengthen the Auror department in less than a year. Mr. Boggs fixed him with serious brown eyes, "I hear you have a bit of a problem."

"That is an understatement." Harry confessed.

Mr. Boggs smirked, "Indeed. As you may have guessed the office has been briefed on the situation. They don't know the details but they know enough. I can assure you we will do everything we can to locate and bring Mr. Benton into our custody. When we do have him, I can promise you we will not be too gentle with him. We are behind you Mr. Potter."

Harry nodded, "Thank you sir. That means a lot."

"Do you intend to continue your training, or do you need me to give you some extended leave?"

Harry sighed, "For now, I will continue. However, I may need to leave class or training quickly if at any time Hermione needs me. If things progress…I may need to put my training on hold."

"I understand. Keep me informed." Mr. Boggs rose indicating the meeting was over.

Harry shook the man's hand. "I appreciate that sir."

"Least we can do," Mr. Boggs finished with a serious expression.

Harry made his way to the locker room. As soon as he entered the door he was accosted by Ron, who came bounding up to him, "What the hell Harry? You get pulled out for some kind of emergency, and then I don't hear from you all night. Then this morning there is some rumor going around about you being cursed by Atticus Benton and being bonded to Hermione! What is going on?"

"I'm sorry I didn't contact you sooner Ron. I…it's been a rough 24 hours."

"I can imagine. So, spill. What is going on?" Ron pressed. He could tell Harry was a bit frazzled and he looked exhausted. He could also tell that whatever was going on was rather serious. Hell, if the entire Auror department was briefed on it, it had to be a big deal.

Harry took a deep breath, "Well, to start with, it isn't a rumor. Hermione and I are…bonded." Harry stopped and let that sink in. He watched Ron closely. His eyes grew to be the size of saucers and his mouth opened in an astonished gape.

"Woah." Ron just stared at him, then found his voice, "Harry, that's serious. I mean, I don't know much about it but I know enough to know that most bonds are not exactly healthy."

"Yeah, I know." Harry rubbed his tired face with his hands. "You aren't mad are you?"

"At you? How could I be? It's not like you asked for this. So, it was Atticus then? How?" Ron asked.

"We aren't sure, but we think he did it when me and Hermione saw him three weeks ago at a pub. Hermione got into a kind of row with him. It's not her fault. She didn't know who he was. We think he probably cast the bond nonverbally before he left. We had no idea."

Ron sighed, "Wow. So, how bad is it? I mean what kind of bond are we talking about? Do you have to marry her?"

Harry was taken back by that thought. He had never considered that possibility. "I don't think so. We didn't discuss that. We don't know much to be honest." Harry suddenly flew his arms in the air and paced wildly while his words came fast and hard. "Hermione seems to have pain attacks every now and again if we've been apart too long. Right now we figure it's about five days before the next one. When she is having an attack nothing calms her except my touch. We don't know why, we don't know when the attacks will occur, or if our time apart will grow shorter over time. Since Atticus is the one who created the bond it is possible he can control when she has the attacks, in which case there is no predicting them. It could be mixed with the Curciatius curse. Hermione's attacks seem similar to that curse but we aren't sure of that either. Her first attacks were not so bad so it's possible they may get worse over time!" Harry stood and seemed to take his first breath. "We don't know anything! So, Hermione is just waiting around for another episode to hit so we can somehow find a pattern or get more information!" He collapsed on the bench and leaned forward with his head in his hands.

Ron had watched his friend pace like a caged lion. His words had tumbled out of him with fury and frustration. Ron inhaled deeply. This was bad. He cared about Hermione. He didn't want to see her hurt. He wasn't sure he was ready for the possibility of Harry and Hermione being a couple but he may not have a choice. It was better then one of them ending up dead or in pain all the time. Ron furrowed his brow and approached Harry. He sat down next to him. Ron was struck by how defeated Harry looked in that moment. Once again, his friend's life was in shambles. "That is bad. I'm so sorry, Harry." Ron shook his head after a moment, "Why is it always you?" Ron said with a small smile.

Harry scoffed, "I wish I knew. Isn't it your turn for a crisis?"

"Nope. I think I'll let you keep handling that."

"How selfless of you." Harry smirked.

"That's me!" Ron smiled. He then grew serious and said, "How's Hermione holding up?"

"She seems rather calm about it but… She cried a little, not that I blame her. I can tell she's scared, but she has her armor up. You know how she is. She's going to do research. She gave me an enchanted coin that will alert me if she is in trouble." Harry pulled the coin from his pocket to show Ron.

Ron chuckled lightly, "That sounds about right. Books and cleverness." Ron was silent for a moment then continued, "Listen Harry, I'm not gonna lie, this is….a shock. If this thing…this bond means you and Hermione have to be together, I want you to know I'm alright with it."

Harry interrupted, "It may not come to that Ron. There is still a chance we can fix this."

"I'm not saying there isn't, and maybe it's not that kind of a bond, I'm just letting you know that if you can't fix it, it's alright. I'm not going to be jealous or petty about it. We tried and it didn't work. That doesn't mean you two can't be happy…even if it's not what you guys had planned on. I'll help any way I can of course."

Harry was silent in the face of Ron's rather mature pronouncement. He was relieved that Ron's reaction had been so level headed. "Thanks Ron. It means a lot. I know this can't be easy."

Ron shrugged, "It's easier for me than you and Hermione I'll wager."

"I won't argue that," Harry replied. "Look, can I ask you not to tell your family? We need to keep this quiet for now, and to be honest I am not very confident in your mother or sister taking this news as well as you have."

Ron chuckled, "Yeah, it could get a bit sticky. Although keeping it from them may make it worse. They're going to find out eventually."

"I know. I just…I'm not ready. When it's time to tell them I will." Harry said.

"Alright, I won't say anything to them. When you do I'll support you," Ron said. "By the way mum asked about you last night. She was grilling me about how you are doing. I think she is worried you're still suffering from the war."

Harry couldn't help but laugh derisively, "Well, considering I was just bonded without my knowledge by a dark wizard, I'd say her assessment is correct." Harry pulled his training shirt over his head and sat down to tie his shoes.

Ron did the same. As they made their way out of the locker room he said, "Ginny went to a semi-professional Quidditch camp a couple days ago. She'll be gone for two weeks. I think with her out of the house mum has come around. I have to warn you that she may invite you to dinner soon. You are kind of an honorary member of the family."

Harry smiled, "Even after breaking up with Ginny?"

Ron shrugged, "Yeah. I mean she was upset, don't get me wrong, but not enough to hold it against you."

"I'm glad she isn't too mad at me," Harry said. "You're family has been good to be over the years. I'd be sad to lose their friendship."

"She never stays mad at any of us for long. She breaths fire but it doesn't last long and then she's back to fussing over us." Ron smirked. Harry smiled as he entered the training room. He was glad for a distraction. He pushed his troubles away and focused on the tasks his coach was requiring of him. The fact that he unconsciously reached into his pocket several times during the session to make sure his enchanted coin was safe and cold didn't mean he was worried.

Hermione had spent the last four days continuing repairs on the castle, practicing spells, doing lesson plans for her internship, and researching bonding spells. She hadn't found anything encouraging or very enlightening thus far. Her bond with Harry didn't really seem to fit with the Master/Servant bond. Everything she had read indicated that if Harry was indeed the master than she would be forced to do his bidding. So, if Harry asked her to sit she would be unable to resist the command. In the time they had spent together over the last weeks she couldn't place a time where she felt compelled to comply to him. Perhaps she should ask him to directly ask something of her and see what happened. That was a good plan. She jotted it down in her notebook. Still, her gut told her that was not the bond they were dealing with. Her research led her to a different avenue.

Hermione decided to read up on arranged marriage bonds. These seemed like more of a fit. Normally only one participant in the bond was physically affected, which was also a condition of the Master/Servant bond. The physical affects seemed to range from flu like symptoms, headaches, or slight muscle pain. She hadn't come across anything as severe as the tremors she had experienced. The caster was almost always the other spouse. This ensured the cooperation of one spouse to the other. Hermione shook her head in disgust. It didn't sound too far off from slavery in her mind. The caster was in control of the bond in these situations. They could express their frustrations by using the bond against the one they were bound to. The caster decided how strong the bond was and how to use it. The difference from the Servant bond was that the arranged marriage bond had no affect over the person's actions. There was no forced compliance. Still, the use of a physical consequence seemed quite barbaric. Of course, she supposed that some arranged marriages ended in love. It would depend on how the couple used the bond between them. It could be used to show compassion or it could be used to harm. However, it definitely didn't sound like an equal partnership. Hermione shuddered at the thought of being under someone's thumb all her life and tied to a man not of her choosing. What if she didn't have the option? If this bond couldn't be broken would she spend her life with Harry? Marry him? She cared for him a great deal. More than she had realized. She was too scared to say she might love him. It was too new. If the bond wasn't in play… would she choose him? The thought of having to be his wife didn't make her heart beat with fear or disgust. She felt more nervous…anxious. She didn't want to be loved out of obligation or forced devotion. She knew Harry well enough to know he would marry her if need be. But if she was going to have him, she didn't want it to be like that. She wanted him to good and truly love her. Not because of any bond, but because he saw her and wanted her. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. They were not to that point yet. She didn't need to plan out her future just yet. And wanting Harry to love her? Where had that come from? She wasn't even sure how she felt about him right now. She needed to focus.

What she really needed was information on bonds where the caster was not part of the bond. Harry obviously had not cast the bond. There was very little written about arranged marriage bonds, or any bond, where the caster was not a participant. She felt it was somewhat safe to assume that if the caster normally had the power to use it as they wished, that it was entirely possible, that Atticus had at least some control over the bond between herself and Harry. That thought sent her stress to a new level. Then there was her physical reaction. Why had it been so severe? No doubt something Atticus did specifically for her. She had yet to find anything on a bond being fused with a curse. Bonding was a big enough deal on its own. Adding a curse with it…there was no telling what that could do. Hermione sighed. Her books were failing her. It was getting late. She had kept herself busier than normal to try to avoid thinking too much on what was coming. She yawned and stood to stretch. She was anxious about tomorrow. It would be five days since her last physical encounter with Harry. She didn't look forward to collapsing in pain again. But she did look forward to seeing Harry. There was not even a guarantee an attack would happen. But the possibility had her on edge. She unconsciously reached into her pocket and rubbed her enchanted coin between her fingers.

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