Auuthors Notes: Rotten Writer returning everyone. Apologies for the delayed update, I've just had some work issues and been trying to work some more on some of my publishable novels as well. Not making any money with this, obviously, but I have plenty of works in progress I could finish up and make a little extra money off of so I'm trying to balance my time.
I'm doing NaNoWriMo this month. For those that don't know, it's a literary challenge where one tries to write 50,000 words for a new novel in the month of November. I'm going to do my best to not let that interfere with Soul Scars updates but I make no promises.
So, in this chapter we have some interesting looks into some of the kids minds, we see new stuff regarding the bond itself, and I think my otherwise biggest piece of AU gets mentioned. Thus far everything else has existed in potterverse, minus the bond of course. But I do reference something that is completely an original twist of my own so I view it as the most truly AU part thus far.
Anyway, nothing else major to report so moving on.
Disclaimer: I still own no part of Harry Potter, only theboeiginal plot points belong to me.
Here's Chapter 21 of Soul Scars. Enjoy.
Soul Scars Part Two
Darkness Within
By,
Rtnwriter
Poppy Pomfrey calmly observed the four students that had invaded her domain immediately following breakfast on Sunday morning. Her calculating gaze slid from one nervous student to the next, pausing ever so slightly when her eyes landed on one Harry Potter.
The last time he had been in need of her professional services as a Healer, he had done the impossible, and created quite the troublesome and perplexing mystery by way of his miraculous resurrection from the dead. And it had caused her no end of headaches trying to find an explanation ever since.
"Well," she said after several minutes of silence, "was there something you needed, or did you simply miss the ambience of the Hospital Wing?" She gave them a small smile to show that she wasn't upset by their presence and Harry grinned ruefully and let out a small laugh.
"At least I'm not injured," he pointed out, to which she allowed herself to laugh as well.
"A record, for you, Harry," she acknowledged. "Two visits in as many days, both without injuries. I may have to mark the day on my calendar."
The girls all giggled for a moment at the wounded expression he showed before they noticeably relaxed and took charge of the visit.
"Madam Pomfrey," Daphne started. "I want to apologize to you for delaying this meeting."
The Mediwitch arched a questioning brow at that statement but said nothing and merely waited for Daphne to continue.
"Last year, when Harry's shoulder was injured, we agreed to return another time when we were all four healthy and uninjured," she paused for a moment to glare half heartedly at Harry who only grinned impudently in her direction before she continued, "so that you could take some scans of us in regards to the Soul Bond that we are a part of. We failed to keep that appointment."
"No apology is needed, Miss Greengrass," Poppy said after a moment. "But it is appreciated. I understand that things last year were a bit… unconventional, shall we say?" she said the last with a smirk turning her lips that had the four students smiling in response.
"That's one word to use," Harry muttered.
"Anyway," Susan said over Harry, "we were hoping that you might be available now to go ahead and take those scans you wanted?"
Madam Pomfrey turned and her eyes swept across the empty Hospital Wing for a moment before she returned her attention to the four of them with a small smirk twisting her lips. "I think I just might be able to fit you into my very busy schedule," she said, causing them to each crack a small smile before they obediently made their way over to the beds and sat as the Mediwitch directed them.
In a line sat Hermione, Harry, Susan, and then Daphne, just as they typically arranged themselves and they made themselves comfortable, sitting up with their backs against the railings at the head of each bed.
Poppy stood before them with her wand already in hand. "This won't hurt in the slightest, so just relax and after I complete my scans we'll have a short question and answer session so I can get some basic information down."
They nodded and sat quietly as her wand began to dance, flitting its way through a complicated looking pattern as she spoke a long incantation under her breath, her face set in a mask of concentration. It wasn't a minute later that she frowned and became suddenly quite still as she stared intently at Hermione.
"That's not the same," she muttered under her breath, causing them to exchange a series of nervous glances. Madam Pomfrey quickly moved on to Harry and performed the same spell. A minute later her frown cleared but she looked even more confused then ever as she moved to Susan and then Daphne's beds.
"Madam?" Hermione asked, hesitantly after the Mediwitch had completed the spell over Daphne and just stood there looking perplexed. "Is there something wrong?"
"Hmmm?" she asked, absently before she blinked suddenly and started out of her thoughts. "Oh, my," she said. "My apologies, I didn't mean to drift like that. No, Miss Granger, there isn't anything wrong, per se. At least I don't think so. But I do have a few questions now."
They nodded, the nervous tension coiling in their chests relaxing not one bit and waited as patiently as they could for Madam Pomfrey to gather her wits and thoughts.
"First, what effects have you experienced in regards to the Bond itself that you can tell me?"
"We can feel each others emotions and pain," Harry. "Of course they've had to put up with feeling my pain more than I've had to feel theirs. They're of course smarter than I am, and don't do stupid things to get themselves hurt," he added with a self deprecating shrug.
"How clear are these emotions and feelings? Is it as if you are experiencing them yourself, or is there some other quality to the sensation?"
"When Harry feels an emotion, we feel it too, but we can easily recognize that it isn't our emotion. I'm not sure if there's anything really specific about how it feels that lets us recognize that it isn't our emotion. Course, after our sorting last year we had a little trouble isolating the other girls emotions," Susan offered. "It took us a little while to learn to recognize that it wasn't an emotion we were experiencing ourselves and a little longer after that to be able to tell which of the other two was actually experiencing it."
"In the case of pain, it's muted. It's there, but we don't feel it as sharply as if it was our own pain," Daphne took up the thread. "And we've also learned to manipulate the link, to an extent."
Poppy frowned at that. "I remember something about that. During that incident last year after the Quidditch match?" she asked and Harry nodded with a pained expression.
"Yes, that day I was upset and I closed the link completely. I couldn't feel them at all and they couldn't feel…" he trailed off as the Mediwitch grew pale.
"That was a very foolish and dangerous thing to do, Lord Potter," she admonished him, going back to a more formal address in her agitation. "You have no idea the kind of damage you might have done to the bond by doing something like that, separating pieces of your souls that way."
"I really didn't do it intentionally and I have no intention of doing it again, I swear, Madam Pomfrey," he assured her and she relaxed just slightly.
"So would that incident then explain the changes I see here?"
"Changes?" Daphne asked.
Susan spoke at nearly the same time, "what changes?"
Before she could open her mouth to answer Hermione cut in, "Madam? We have never actually seen what everyone else apparently has. Well…" she paused for a moment and corrected herself, "actually I saw Harry's soul when I was very young. The Headmaster cast a spell over me as a child that allowed my parents to see my soul and the piece of Harry's that I held. None of them have seen that," she said, indicating the others with her left hand.
Poppy nodded and gestured to Harry. "Harry, please come step over here for a moment would you, and face toward the girls?" she asked, pointing to a spot in front of Susan's bed and she then directed Hermione to move over and take a spot in the bed Harry had just vacated.
"This is what we saw on the night of the sorting, with a few adjustments, of course," she said as she waved her wand around Harry's head and muttered the incantation that Hermione could vaguely remember from that day years before.
After several moments of nothing the gentle golden aura poured from Harry's body and within a matter of seconds he stood in front of them surrounded by a beautiful nimbus of golden light. On his chest, just over his heart, three orbs of light rotated in a clockwise direction. One silver, one green, and one auburn.
"The gold is, of course, Harry's soul," Poppy explained. "The silver is Miss Granger's, the green is Miss Greengrass', and the auburn belongs to Miss Bones. This is how you each looked only adjusting the aura and the colors of the souls per each individual, do you understand?" she asked and they nodded, the girls in awe while Harry was looking down at himself, trying to get a clear image of what the girls were seeing.
Moments later the aura surrounding Harry disappeared. "Now, Miss Granger if you could take Harry's place here…"
They quickly changed places and Hermione stood next to Madam Pomfrey as she performed the same spell. When the silver glow surrounded her once again, Hermione looked down, expecting to see the three souls of her bond mates circling her chest as they'd seen with Harry.
Instead she saw only two fist sized orbs of light circling lazily around each other. One green and one auburn. There was no sign of Harry's soul and a jolt of terror shot through her as she turned a stricken gaze to Madam Pomfrey who only shook her head and motioned her to silence.
"There is nothing to be concerned about, I don't think, it's just going to take a few seconds longer to… ah, there it is."
When Harry didn't see his own soul, visible on Hermione's chest alongside Susan's and Daphne's, the terror he'd felt had been a wild, visceral thing, tugging at something deep inside. A primal sort of fear that was impossible to control, deny, or resist. He'd done it. He'd truly gone and destroyed the best thing in his life.
At Madam Pomfrey's words the relief he felt was almost palpable and then the gold began to shine through and his eyes widened comically as he stared at Hermione with unchecked shock on his face.
"What is that?" he blurted out.
There was a splash of gold, roughly the size of Harry's hand laid flat with the fingers splayed right over Hermione's heart, with the other two souls orbiting around it. From this mass of gold, lines, thin tendrils of curling golden energy branched out throughout the rest of her body extending down her arms and legs and even moving up her neck into her head.
With an awed expression on her face, Hermione lifted her hand up in front of her eyes, tuning it back and forth and wiggling her fingers, staring at the tiny, delicate veins of light beneath her skin.
"Obviously," Madam Pomfrey said as the light faded away, "something has changed since the night of your sorting. The veins of gold that move up into the head? They connect directly to the portion of the brain that processes and identifies emotions."
It took several minutes for the four of them to come to their senses enough to speak of what happened, but eventually the story tumbled out of them. Everything about the Dursley's house and Harry returning there to retrieve the chest his mother left, the fear and pain he experienced and finally how, in desperation, he'd pushed, forced the bond wider than it had ever been and how, now, Harry seemed unable to dampen the link the way he'd always been able to before.
By the time they finished, they were considerably calmer but there was still a tense undercurrent of nervous apprehension. Hermione had moved over to sit beside Harry while Madam Pomfrey cast the spell over Daphne and Susan in turn, showing the same golden veins running throughout their bodies.
"I can't honestly tell you that anything is wrong, or even that everything is perfectly fine, I'm sorry to say," Madam Pomfrey reluctantly admitted after their explanation. "For all we know this is how the bond is meant to progress, but as there are so few records and I've never seen a bonded pair before, much less a quartet…" she trailed off and shrugged. "All I can do right at the moment is ask if you feel as if there's anything wrong. You know your bond better than you think you do. If you feel something is wrong, we can attempt to see what we might do to fix it, but it would be a lot of trial and error without any further information.
"I want you all to come back here every week from now on, or at any time if you feel something is different or has changed with the bond itself come back here immediately and we'll take some more scans. Also… would I have your permission to ask around after any information? Or to discuss this with the Headmaster?"
While the girls were nodding Harry simply scowled at the mention of the Headmaster.
"I'd prefer if we didn't include the Headmaster," Harry said. "And anyone that you do consult, please, keep our names out of it."
The girls turned to look at Harry, wincing as a burning anger flooded them out of nowhere.
Poppy considered that for a moment before she nodded. "As this doesn't affect your education in any way it does fall under confidentiality, so the Headmaster doesn't need to know anything about it. I only thought his experience might be helpful."
"If we exhaust all other option we'll consider it," Harry stated, firmly. "But right now… I really want to keep him as far away from us as possible."
#####
Harry was frowning thoughtfully, his finger stroking the scar behind his jaw. "Where haven't we looked or asked about Soul Bonds?" he asked suddenly and looked up to find three blank stares directed at him.
After agreeing to return every Sunday morning after breakfast for more scans the four had left the Hospital Wing. Immediately after they found themselves in the hallway outside, the girls started peppering Harry with questions about this anger he had for the Headmaster, but he refused to answer, merely walking along silently until they arrived outside the Room of Requirement where he requested a room where they could sit comfortably and talk.
The room that was created reminded them of a miniature version of the Gryffindor Common room, specifically their corner of the room by the fire with replicas of the seating they typically took. The three girls were once again resting on the small sofa while Harry had eschewed the armchair in favor of pacing back and forth in front of the fire.
"I mean, we've looked through the Hogwarts Library, we've checked book stores and asked other witches and wizards about them but nobody seems to know anything. So where haven't we looked. Even someplace that wouldn't make sense to look for information?"
"So you're just going to ignore us about the Headmaster?"
Harry sighed and turned to look at Hermione. "It isn't that I'm ignoring you… I just… we have enough to worry about right now, I don't want to focus on him and his…" He trailed off and his hands curled into fists at his sides. "I don't want to focus on him, right now, okay? Please, just let it drop."
Dropping it was obviously the last thing Hermione intended to do but she closed her mouth with an audible snap when Daphne placed a hand on her knee and gently shook her head. Hermione sat back, her arms crossed over her chest as she glared mutinously at Harry who had resumed his pacing.
"We haven't looked outside the country, really," Daphne pointed out.
"Do we know of anyone out of the country that we could ask?" Susan asked.
"No one specifically," admitted Daphne with a quiet sigh.
"What about the Department of Mysteries?"
"Same problem," Daphne said. "Do we know anyone in the Department of Mysteries, and would we really want to get them involved? The Unspeakables… who knows what they get up to down there."
Harry had a confused expression on his face at that point, watching the conversation between the girls as they discussed potential options. "What's the Department of Mysteries?" he asked, drawing their attention.
"Pretty much what it sounds like. It's a department within the Ministry of Magic that investigates and explores all kinds of things. No one really knows what they do or even who works there. The people in that department are called Unspeakables and they wear cloaks that completely cover them with charms that makes it so you can't recognize voices or even tell if you're talking to a man or a woman," Susan explained.
"If they don't know about our bond, we really don't want to bring it to their attention, there's no telling what they may or may not decide to do."
Harry and Hermione exchanged a worried look at that for a moment before Hermione spoke up, nervously, "right, that's a 'no' then. We don't want to talk to anyone in that department if it can be helped."
"What other options do we have?"
They all fell silent as they wracked their brains for any possible avenue yet left unexplored that they might actually be able to search.
"What about the Goblins?" Daphne asked, sitting up suddenly.
"Gringotts goblins?"
"No other kind of goblins, Harry," Susan said, her lower lip caught between her thumb and forefinger as she considered that option. "That's actually not a bad idea," she admitted.
"Why would bankers have any information on Soul Bonds?" Hermione asked and Susan and Daphne exchanged a quick look over her head where Susan gestured for Daphne to go ahead and explain.
"The goblins aren't just bankers," she pointed out. "Harry learned that much when he researched them, right?" she added, looking to the boy in question.
"Yeah. They're a race of warriors. Really, their moving into banking is just looked at as another battlefield as far as most goblins are concerned."
"Right. And as warriors, they have been involved in many battles over the centuries. And what's one rule of combat?"
She looked expectantly at Hermione who considered the question carefully for a moment before tentatively offering, "to the victor goes the spoils?"
"Exactly. They've collected untold amounts of riches, artifacts, and libraries of knowledge. Any place they ever conquered they stripped bare, even of furnishings and wall fixtures. It's all considered spoils of war in a goblins mind. I'd be willing to bet that they might have something in their collections about Soul Bonds."
"But why would they help us?" Hermione asked. "We've nothing to offer them, and it's been made very clear in History class that no goblin does anything for free."
Susan and Daphne turned an almost identical, predatory look in Harry's direction.
"Well, we do happen to have one of their oldest clients right here," Susan pointed out, staring at Harry intently. The combined looks from the two girls was actually starting to make him a little uncomfortable.
"I could send a letter to my accounts manager, Sharpshard," he offered. "See if he might know of anything…" he trailed off for a moment as a thought occurred to him. "Actually, that's not a bad idea, even if they don't have anything to offer. I could hire Gringotts to find information and have them send it to me. They do have services for that kind of thing, don't they?"
"Sounds like a plan," Susan said and quickly got to her feet. "No time like the present too, so we should get back to the tower and Harry can get to writing to Sharpsard."
"Plus, we do still have some homework to complete," Hermione pointed out and Harry groaned as they all rose and started for the door.
"You're not going to be getting overly tense about exams and such again this year, are you?" he asked Hermione, a lightly teasing note in his voice and she frowned at him.
"There's nothing wrong with being serious about your studies, Harry," she admonished him.
"I agree, but you get a little carried away at times."
As the door closed behind them they continued to bicker all the way to the tower while Daphne and Susan just observed in silent amusement.
#####
Hermione woke on the morning if the nineteenth to an unpleasant sensation. It took her several moments to work out exactly what that sensation was and what caused it. She was alone in her bed. Something that hadn't happened in some time.
She reflected on that, looking up at the canopy above her. Over the year since they'd all met she could easily see how important her three bond mates had become to her. She wasn't sure exactly how it happened, but she could hardly remember the last time she hadn't shared a bed with one or both of the other two girls. Outside of the summer holidays, of course, when she'd spent more evenings at home with her parents.
After the events of Halloween the year before, when Daphne had first come to her seeking comfort, they'd just started sharing a bed. She found the presence of the other girls comforting, and knew they drew a similar comfort from her and from each other.
Sitting up, she climbed out of bed and was startled to find both Susan's and Daphne's beds were empty. She frowned and used her want to cast a quick 'tempus' charm. It was just past seven in the morning and she let out a squeak and bolted for the showers, unaware that Lavender's and Parvati's beds were both empty as well.
Half an hour later, Hermione rushed down the stairs into the common room, hair dry and her uniform and robes as neat as she could manage with the dragon hide book bag Harry had bought her for Christmas slung over one shoulder.
Just as she hit the bottom steps she looked up into a sea of faces as the all cried out, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" at the top of their lungs.
Hermione was so startled she actually jumped up and back two steps on the stairs before she overbalanced and fell, landing on her bum on the next step up.
"What in the worl…" she managed to get out as what looked like every Gryffindor in their year started laughing and congratulating themselves.
Harry emerged from the crowd with Susan and Daphne behind him and came up the steps to help her to her feet before he surprisingly drew her into a hug.
"You didn't think we would forget your birthday, did you?" he whispered to her and she flushed brightly as his breath blew across her ear.
"Well… you didn't… nobody noticed last year and I didn't want to make a fuss about it. It's no big deal, really…"
"That's only because we didn't know what your birthday was, last year," Daphne said as she pushed Harry aside and drew Hermione into a hug of her own. "We got the information from your mom so we could throw you a little party."
Hermione was beaming, a huge smile that split her lips and showed plenty of white teeth and she couldn't have stopped it if she'd wanted to. A strange mixture of sad and happy emotions bubbled up inside her and tears prickled at her eyes.
"We're having breakfast up here today, and you've got presents to open," Susan told her as she gave the birthday girl another hug.
"You guys really didn't have to do this, and I don't need a party-"
"We didn't do much," Daphne admitted as she cut Hermione off. "This was all Harry's doing."
Harry suddenly found himself under an intense scrutiny as Hermione turned her cinnamon colored eyes to him and he nervously shuffled his feet. "Well, with you all planning a party for Neville and me over the summer… I've never had a birthday party before. Never gotten birthday presents, really. It reminded me that I didn't even know when any of your or our friends birthdays were. I'm sorry we didn't do anything for you last year."
Hermione dragged him into another hug, wrapped her arms tightly around him for a few moments in wordless thanks.
"Come on!" Lavender shouted, breaking up the moment. You've got presents to open birthday girl!" She bounded up the few steps and dragged Hermione away, almost pulling the other girl off her feet as her bond mates laughed quietly and followed behind at a more sedate pace.
Hermione found herself seated at the head of a motley collection of the various tables strewn about the common room that had all been haphazardly pushed together to make enough space for the entire year group. A massive chocolate cake (shaped and decorated to look like an open copy of Hogwarts: A History) was sliced up and handed out as the first gifts were placed in front of the overwhelmed girl.
The morning passed quickly for the second year Gryffindors. As it was a Saturday, there weren't any classes to rush off to and the students needed little encouragement to make the best of any excuse to have a party. By the combined efforts of Harry, Susan, Daphne, and Neville, they even managed to convince Hermione to take the day off and relax from their school work.
Just before lunch, the party broke up and Hermione took her gifts upstairs to put them away in her trunk. Never a particularly materialistic individual, she was still quite pleased with the gifts she had received, more the fact that she found herself with friends willing to give her anything at all.
As she placed each item away she noted and catalogued them for future reference, and to make sure she remembered to write each person a thank you note. She had received several advanced texts for Transfiguration, Charms, and Herbology, as well as a warm red, knit cap and scarf that she was sure would be wonderful when the cooler weather set in. There were several packages of sweets from various students in their year, including Lavender and Parvati, and she reminded herself again to take some time to get to know her other dorm mates better this year. Harry got her another charm for the bracelet she'd received the previous Christmas while Susan gave her a new set of high quality, self-inking quills and inks. It was the gift from Daphne, though, that she felt had to be her absolute favorite.
With the rest of her gifts put away, she set the silver picture frame on her bedside table and simply stared at it for several moments. It held a hand drawn image, showing a scene from their summer break. At the Boneyard, there was a large oak tree where the four of them would sit in the shade and do their summer work, talk, or sometimes just relax quietly, saying little, if anything, at all. In the image, all four of them were lying on their backs on the grass beneath the tree with their heads pointing toward each other so their feet pointed in four different directions. Like the night of their sorting, she was to Harry's right where he lay in the bottom most portion of the picture with Susan to his left and Daphne behind him. It was beautifully colored to such a degree that she could clearly make out each figure's eye color. The four of them looked so happy and peaceful that she couldn't help but smile.
When she finally rushed back down the stairs she found her bond mates waiting for her at the bottom of the steps and slammed into Harry without even slowing down, staggering him back a step as she wrapped her arms around him for a moment before she blindly reached out and pulled Daphne and Susan into the hug as well.
"Thank you," she whispered.
They didn't say anything, but she could feel that they understood just what the party had meant to her and in that moment she felt closer to the three of them then ever before. They stood for several minutes before breaking apart and making their way out of the common room where Neville met them in the hall and the five of them traversed the corridors and made their way down the stairs for lunch.
The rest of the day was spent reading, playing games, and talking quietly in the Room of Requirement. Blaise, Tracey, and Hannah joined them along with the Weasley twins. Ron had become embroiled in an epic chess match, however, and begged off, devoting his focus to the battle at hand. By the time they all made their way to their own common rooms and beds, Hermione Granger felt that it had been one of the best birthdays of her life.
#####
Harry was running. Feet pounding hard on the stone floor, legs pumping like pistons as his robes billowed out behind him. Somewhere in the distance he could just make out a voice. A sibilant, horrific, terrible voice that froze his blood in his veins.
"Rip and tear, crush and bleed, please, oh please, come to me," the voice sang. "Who first? The red head? The blond? No… the little bookworm…"
"NO!" he bellowed. "Leave them alone!"
He crashed through a heavy wooden door at the end of a long hall and out into open space. Down he fell through the darkness, wind whistling past his ears until he found himself standing in a large barren chamber, empty save for a tall mirror with an intricate gold frame.
His feat carried him until he stood in front of the mirror and his reflection stared back at him. Not the reflection of what he was now, but what he had been. Stripped to the waist, his many scars stood out in sharp view against an emaciated frame and he violently shook his head.
That's not me anymore, he thought.
The image blurred and twisted and his reflection grew, becoming the image he remembered from that night. Him, older and healthy. One at a time his girls came into the frame and drew the older reflection of him into a passionate kiss. First Hermione, then Susan, then Daphne. The four of them stood, smiling at him for a moment before the reflection of him suddenly looked concerned, his face twisting into an odd expression.
A moment later Daphne fell to the ground, her clothing tattered and torn as a pool of blood slowly spread beneath her. Something reached down from the top of the frame and Susan was ripped from his reflections arms, up into the air. Behind the image of him and Hermione, deep red eyes glowed in the darkness and every so slowly, a pale white face came into view. It loomed, impossibly large, until it suddenly darted forward and razor sharp teeth snapped down on Hermione's body before either of them could react.
In a matter of seconds, Harry was standing alone in the mirror, warm blood splashed across his face and clothes as he found himself helpless, unable to do anything to protect them.
"Harry… Potter…"
Harry spun around, away from the mirror and had just enough time to see those hateful red orbs gleaming at him before some force suddenly hurled him backwards. He slammed into the mirror, the glass shattering as he was flung through it as if he were nothing but a rag doll.
A high pitched, keening wail, pierced his ears and darkness rushed in around him.
#####
"Hermione! Wake up!"
Hermione shot up in the bed to find Daphne and Susan on either side of her. She looked about wildly, her head spinning back and forth, eyes wide but barely seeing in the dark behind her bed's drawn curtains. A hand touched her arm and she jerked away, instinctively flailing at the contact until hands grabbed both her arms and held her.
"Hermione, calm down, it's us. It's Daphne and Susan."
The voice finally managed to cut through the terror and she stopped struggling, as a voice whispered 'lumos' and the tip of a wand began to glow, gently. Susan was watching her with a fear filled expression on her face, her wand held loosely in one hand.
"We're here," she said, pulling her bond mate into her arms. "You were having a nightmare, we couldn't wake you up."
Hermione finally became aware that she was panting, her breath burning in her throat, and her entire was body was trembling uncontrollably as the remnants of her terror slowly began to ebb, but failed to actually recede entirely.
"You were screaming and thrashing about," Daphne whispered from behind her and she felt the blond move close, wrapping her arms around both girls with Hermione sandwiched in the middle as the damn broke and she sobbed into Susan's shoulder.
Hermione was no stranger to tears. What child didn't go through life shedding a tear now and then? But this went beyond tears. This was a soul crushing, gasping sob. She gulped in deep breaths of air only to expel them as she wailed, her voice muffled against Susan.
Susan and Daphne shared a look over Hermione's head. A silent gaze that clearly conveyed confusion, and anxious uncertainty. What could have scared her so badly? Neither girl had the slightest clue how to comfort their friend so they simply held her, trying to push soothing emotions across the bond to the distraught girl in their arms when she suddenly jerked as if she'd been struck a physical blow and she sat up sharply.
"Oh my gods," she whispered, so quietly they almost didn't hear her. Susan let out a startled squawk when she suddenly found herself being shoved to the side as Hermione scrambled unsteadily from the bed and dashed from the dorm with Daphne and Susan following on her heels as quickly as they could.
Hermione shot out into the hall, bare feet padding heedlessly across the cold stone of the halls until she reached the carpet covered stairs and dashed down at a reckless pace. Susan and Daphne reached the bottom of the steps just in time to see Hermione fling herself into Harry's arms, babbling incoherently as her arms wrapped tightly around him.
"Hermione?" he asked, sounding both relieved and surprised at once. Or maybe it was just because they could feel both of those emotions so strongly through the bond that they thought they could hear both emotions in his tone simultaneously? Susan, shook the thought aside and stepped closer as Harry looked over Hermione at them, his eyes wide and concerned.
"She was having a nightmare," Susan tried to explain. "We couldn't wake her up for probably five minutes when she suddenly shot up like she'd been hit with a stinging hex and hasn't actually said anything coherent since."
"… aw," Hermione whispered, her face buried into Harry's chest.
Harry pulled back, as best he could with the girls in his arms refusing to loosen the death grip she had on him. "What was that?"
"I saw," she said, louder, but still muffled. "I saw it, Harry. I heard it all. The voice in the hall and the chamber and the mirror and…" she trailed off as a violent shudder ran through her body.
Daphne and Susan frowned, both confused, but Harry paled, all the blood draining from his face and a tremor ran through him anf the other girls as well in response to the strong emotions rushing through Hermione.
It took a few minutes, but the three of them finally managed to coerce her over to the sofa where Harry sat, letting Hermione cling to him while Susan sat on his other side and Daphne took the chair Harry usually commandeered for himself.
"Harry? Why were you down here?" Daphne asked after they were all settled. "It's after two in the morning."
"I've still been having nightmares," he admitted. "They were worse at the beginning of summer but after my birthday they've settled down, some, at least. They're not every night like they were last year."
"Do you usually come down here? You've never mentioned before."
He shook his head, shifting to a more comfortable position so that Hermione was leaning against his upper shoulder with his right arm wrapped around her. "No, normally I just lay in bed and try to go back to sleep." He shrugged his free shoulder. "Sometimes I'm successful, other times, not so much."
"So what made you come down tonight?"
He blinked, looking surprised by the question.
"Hermione," he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Susan frowned and rubbed a hand across her face. "This all just get's more and more complicated," she muttered. "You felt her fear too?"
He nodded. "And it worried me. I know none of you have ever woken up because I was terrified by a nightmare. That's always been a pretty constant thing, right? If one of us is asleep the others emotions don't really bleed through as strongly. At least not enough for us to be consciously aware of them."
"It might have been because two of us were scared at the same time," Hermione murmured. The lingering terror had finally faded a bit, leaving her feeling spent and exhausted but occasionally images from the nightmare would rise, unbidden in her mind and she couldn't suppress a shudder that was echoed by the others.
"And how did that happen?" Harry asked. "You… you actually saw it?"
"Every moment," she confirmed and sat up a moment after to level a stern glare at him from only a few inches away. "Don't even think about it," she snapped.
"Think what?" he cautiously asked, surprised by the sudden emotional shift she underwent.
"We know you, Harry Potter. We're not going to go ten rounds of you feeling guilty for me sharing your nightmare. We're not going to deal with you blaming yourself."
"But it's my faul-"
He cut off when she suddenly placed her hand over his mouth, stopping him from going any further while she gathered her thoughts.
"Best guess, this all has something to do with the changes in our bond. Yes, changes that you created when you pushed it open this summer. But other than when it happened we've never gotten any images from you, so it's likely that something else has changed. I very much doubt you're singly responsible for us sharing your nightmare."
Harry reached up with his free hand and pulled her hand away from his mouth as one part of her commentary stuck out at him. "Images?" he asked, a blank look on his face which caused all three girls to blink in surprise.
"We never mentioned?" Susan blurted out and Harry turned to her, shaking his head.
"No, that's not ringing any bells."
"When you were at… that house," Daphne hissed, her eyes narrowing in anger and Harry leaned away from her for a moment before he realized the anger wasn't directed at him. "When you pushed the bond open, we… well first of all we got a horrific headache since you'd hand the bond suppressed before that, so it was a little bit of a shock, and don't apologize," she added the last with a hand raised in a stopping gesture in his direction. "It's in the past and doesn't matter anymore now. What is important is that we got… flashes? Impressions? It's a little hard to describe actually."
"I saw images along with what you were feeling at the time," Susan offered. "We all did, but I think we each saw slightly different things overall. Basically a few images, lightning quick, and seen through your eyes."
Harry considered that for a few seconds before asking the first question that popped into his head. "How could you tell whatever it was, was what I was seeing?"
"You didn't have your glasses on, Harry," Hermione reminded him. "It was so blurry, I really don't know how you managed to function day to day."
"Well I did have glasses," he pointed out.
"Which were always a liability," Daphne cut in. "I'm glad you got rid of them, in a duel or something, they were a weakness that you really couldn't afford to have." She glanced at the clock that hung over the fireplace and sighed. "It's almost three in the morning," she pointed out. "I think we should forgo training tomorrow morning and try to get some more rest. We have our appointment with Madam Pomfrey after breakfast and we can bring this up to her then. In the meantime, we're not going to figure anything out on our own right now."
"You sent out the letter to your Account Manager, right Harry?" Susan asked, standing and turning to face him and Hermione.
He nodded. "Yes, I sent it out the same day we discussed contacting them but I haven't received a response, yet."
She sighed, but nodded in a resigned manner, knowing there was little they could do but wait.
"Well I think we should get back to bed," she said and started toward the stairs but paused before she reached them when she heard Daphne's voice behind her.
"Hermione?" Daphne asked and Susan turned to see Harry still sitting on the sofa with Hermione doing her best impression of a limpet against his chest. "Are you coming up?" Daphne held out one hand toward the pair and waited, expectantly.
Hermione shook her head and buried her face against his chest. "I'd really rather just sit here for a little while," she mumbled. Unspoken was the understanding that she meant she wanted to stay with Harry. "Unless you wanted to go back to bed? I don't want to bother you," she added the last almost in a whisper that Susan was just barely able to hear.
Harry shook his head after a moments thought. "I'm still a little shaky," he admitted. "I don't mind staying here for a while."
"Did you want us to stay?" Susan asked and Harry shook his head.
"You're welcome if you want to, but don't let us keep you if you'd rather go back to bed." He gave them a weak smile. "No reason for all of us to lose more sleep."
Daphne and Susan thought it over for a few moments before Daphne stepped closer to the couch, leaned down and briefly hugged Harry and Hermione before she straightened and headed over to Susan. Hooking her arm through the redheads, she guided the other girl up the steps and called back a quiet 'goodnight', just before the two of them stepped out of sight to the two still on the sofa.
Hermione let Harry lead her as he shifted them about. Moving her toward the center of the sofa he sat in the corner using the arm and back of the piece of furniture to lean against, stretched his legs out so his feet were resting on a pillow on the short table in front of them, and then drew her back so she was leaning against his left shoulder. Once they were settled a comfortable silence descended over them, broken only by the snapping and popping of the logs in the fireplace as they each became lost for a time in their own thoughts.
Hermione was torn, her thoughts vacillating wildly from one desire to another. She had literally spent years developing and cultivating a mindset were she needed to be strong, she needed to be smart and capable, because one day she knew she would find her soul mate and he would need her help. Once she did finally find him, she found the experience to be almost nothing like she had expected it to be.
At first, when she sat with him on the train, it was almost exactly as she'd imagined. He was quiet, timid, and shy. It had taken time just to get him to engage in a steady conversation. With each new person that came into the compartment, he retreated a bit and had to be drawn back out.
Then Malfoy came in, flinging insults and they saw and entirely different side to Harry Potter. He had a hidden strength that she had not expected and was quick to defend others with all the tenacity of a bull dog. That fierce determination impressed her, even more than his quick wit and love of learning that appeared second only to her own and over the course of the previous year, helped along by many a late night discussion with Daphne and Susan, she found herself wanting to be strong for a different reason. No longer did she need strength to help and protect him, now, she needed to be strong just to be able to stand beside him.
That desire warred with the gibbering terror that still lingered at the back of her mind. She had wanted to go up to bed with the other girls, but as soon as she'd thought it, she was paralyzed by a mind numbing fear and couldn't tear herself away from her comfortable position on the sofa with Harry. Despite not being able to justify it to herself, she had no desire to move any time soon.
Harry wasn't sure what to do. Instinctively, he wanted to apologize again for dragging Hermione into one of his nightmares, especially that evenings, it had been magnitudes worse than most of his other nightmares. The inclusion of that horrific voice from the night of his detention with Lockhart was new, and it was worse in his mind than it had actually been that night.
He was trying not to automatically take the blame for everything anymore, though. That had been a heavily featured topic in his last few sessions with Healer Gant Logically, he understood, that at best he could only be partially responsible. If her sharing his dream had been because of his actions with their bond, then it didn't make sense that it had taken over a month and a half for it to happen, and for it to only affect Hermione and not Daphne or Susan as well.
Added to that cognitive struggle was the still lingering remnants of displeasure over any physical contact. He'd gotten much better about it in regards to those close to him, mostly just the girls, Neville, and Amelia, but with others he was just as bad as ever. He was the best with the girls if still holding a lingering tension in his body. In the end he found himself more and more often occupying a space in between wanting that comforting contact and still harboring a deep fear and a lack of trust when it came to people touching him.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to force his muscles to relax as Hermione pressed herself against his side and tried to find a way to distract himself.
"You really saw my nightmare," he muttered quietly, hoping that engaging in a conversation might take his mind off the feeling of her body pressed against him.
Hermione nodded, a slight tremor running though her as she thought of it. "Everything," she whispered.
"I'm sorry-"
"Don't you dare apologize," she cut him off, lifting her head to look at him. "It's not your fault I got pulled into it, somehow."
"I know," he said and she gave him a questioning look. "Really," he insisted. "I am starting to figure it out, ya know. I meant that I was sorry you had to see it at all. Not something I'd wish on most people, especially not someone I actually like and care about." He shrugged his free shoulder helplessly and Hermione studied his face for a long moment before she nodded and laid her head back on his shoulder.
"It was horrible," she admitted. "I'm still freaked out about it, but, in a strange way I think I feel closer to you now for having seen it."
He blinked, surprised, and looked down at her even though all he could see was the top of her tangled mass of curls.
"How so?" he asked.
She thought for a moment as they both stared into the fire and a little more tension eased from both their bodies. Time was doing wonders to distance Hermione, emotionally, from the nightmare, allowing her to consider the entire situation more rationally and she was reminded of another conversation they'd had the previous year.
"Remember last year when Amelia wrote you and let you know that Madam Pomfrey had contacted her office about your scars?"
"Vividly," he answered in a deadpan drawled and she giggled quietly for a second.
"Well, if you'll remember, Susan, Daphne, and me said that on the one hand we want to know what happened to you in that place. And not out of some morbid curiosity, or to pity you or something," she added when he opened his mouth to interject and his jaw snapped closed with a clack as she continued talking. "We want to know, because we want to understand you better. We want you to be able to share that burden with us, because we care about you.
"But remember, we said that, even though we do want to know, we're also scared to learn all about it at the same time. It's the same with these nightmares. You've just been suffering alone with them, you won't even talk to us about them. So, as scary as it was, I'm glad I saw it."
"You shouldn't have had to," he insisted with a frustrated sigh.
"Maybe, maybe not," she said. "Just because you want to protect us from these things, doesn't mean you'll always be able to, or that we won't fight you protecting us so we can protect you at the same time. I thought we agreed to worry about each other," she reminded him as she fell into the familiar mindset of reminding Harry that he wasn't alone against the world anymore. "I'm not saying it was fun, or that I'd like it to be a regular occurrence, but in a way I do feel better now that I know what it is exactly that you go through at night."
Harry nodded but said nothing, thinking over what she'd told him instead. If he was being completely honest with himself, he had to admit to feeling a little bit better that someone else knew. In a quick flash of insight, he compared the feeling to when he and Daphne talked late one night just after the Christmas break last year. They hadn't gone into specifics, but they'd both unloaded some difficult information and in the end he had felt better for talking to her.
Harry shook his head and chuckled quietly, which caused her to look up at him again in question.
"Just a thought," he explained. "I don't like that you saw it, I don't like it because it feels like I hurt you since it was in my head, but I do feel better now that someone else knows. I think I'm finally starting to understand why Healer Gant keeps encouraging me to talk to you girls, to let you in more on those things that I'd rather forget but are always there, in the back of my mind."
"Well, will wonders never cease," she said in a teasing tone and laughed when he stuck his tongue out at her. She turned her head and shifted closer to him, laying her head on his chest instead of his shoulder. The steady thump of his heartbeat against her ear had a soothing effect on her and she sighed softly. "I'm glad you're beginning to understand, Harry," she whispered. "We won't push you, if we can help it, but we'll always listen."
They fell silent again for a time before Hermione thought of a question. Something she dearly wanted to ask, but hesitated to bring up, especially in light of the promise she'd just made.
Harry, for his part, could feel his constant lack of regular sleep catching up to him, and his eyelids felt increasingly heavy. He'd been managing just enough that he didn't need the glamours he'd been using during the summer but it was a near thing.
"Harry?"
His eyes opened, and for a moment he wondered when they'd fallen closed. "Hmmm?" he hummed wordlessly.
"Can I ask one thing? About the nightmare?"
"Hmm.."
"About… about the mirror," she said and was sure she was blushing as she remembered the images of herself and the other girls, each kissing an image of an older looking Harry in the mirror. "Dumbledore said it shows a persons hearts desire when he explained it after the Stone… what I saw… was that just part of the nightmare, or is that what you actually saw that night?"
She felt inordinately pleased with herself that she'd managed to ask the question without stuttering and waited with baited breath, listening to his heart beat and his ready, even breathing.
After a minute passed with no answer she lifted her head and looked at him to find that he'd fallen asleep and for a few seconds she felt a pang of irritation in her chest, but then she noticed something. Even with how much better he'd gotten recently, he was still tense when they hugged him but right then, in that moment, he was completely relaxed. Even in an unconscious state in the hospital wing, she'd noticed a constant tension about him, a stiffness in his shoulders and his face. But now, he looked peaceful, truly calm and relaxed for the first time since she'd known him.
His body was loose, one arm curled protectively around her middle, his face slack, lips parted ever so slightly in his slumber. His hair was in its usual state of disarray that seemed to actively mock any and all attempts to tame it and before she realized what she was doing, she'd lifted her hand off of his chest and was running her fingers through the silky black strands.
He suddenly breathed in deeply and she froze, but he simply unconsciously leaned his head toward her hand and let out a contented sounding sigh.
"Damn," she muttered as she took her hand back and placed it back on his chest. "We are really going to be in trouble when we're older," she added, echoing her thoughts after Harry first came up to them at the Leaky Cauldron with his glasses and they were able to clearly see his eyes.
She laid her head back down and let out another sigh of her own. She considered waking him up and sending him off to bed, but she was loathe to disturb the rest he so obviously needed.
I should go up to bed, she thought, just before her own eyes slid closed and she drifted off to sleep. Later, Harry would remember it as the most restful nights sleep he could remember having in nearly a year.
#####
"… -ould we do something?"
"Like what?"
"Wake them up?"
"Why bother, they're so cute!"
"Sssshhhhh. Keep it down if you're trying not to wake them."
"Sorry."
"How'd they end up down here, anyway?"
"How should I know, you know Harry moves like a damn ghost around this school. Hell, at least the ghosts glow in the dark, they're easier to spot than he is if he doesn't want to be."
Harry slowly opened his eyes, feeling warm, safe, and content. It took an indeterminate amount of time for him to process what he was looking at, but eventually his brain started to wake up and the information began to percolate through his cognitive processes.
Item one: There was a warm, comforting weight pressed against his chest and his left arm seemed to have fallen asleep.
Item two: There was a strange brown haze in front of his eyes that slowly resolved into individual strands of hair as his eyes focused.
Item three: Through the strands of brown hair (the shade seemed familiar but he couldn't quite place it, yet) he could see Susan, Daphne, Neville, and the Weasley Twins standing in front of him, staring intently at him as they talked amongst themselves.
Item four: He was apparently on the sofa near the fire in the Gryffindor common room.
Item five: Question, where was Hermione?
As the question occurred to him the color of the strands of hair in front of his face snapped into place in his understanding and he lifted his right hand to brush the hair away and looked down.
Hermione was still sound asleep, comfortably using his chest as her personal pillow as she laid, draped half across him, both arms wrapped tightly around him with her legs curled up next to her on the sofa. The faint scent of vanilla and parchment filled his nose and he just barely stopped himself from taking a deep breath of the mingled aromas, instead turning his attention back to their audience.
"We fell asleep?" he asked, quietly so as not to disturb the girl on his chest.
Daphne and Susan nodded small smiles curving both their lips, their eyes looking unnaturally bright in the morning sunlight.
"Look's like it," Daphne said in an equally low tone.
Harry's eyes flicked to Neville who simply offered a small smile and a nod before he moved onto the twins and almost flinched at the identical looks of maniacal glee on their faces.
"If either one of you," he said, still speaking quietly but now with a touch of steel in his voice that sent shivers up the twins spines, "do or say anything to embarrass Hermione, I will spend the rest of my life finding new and inventive ways to torture you both that any Healer in the world would find anatomically impossible to replicate."
Both Weasley's paled and nodded rapidly in perfect counterpoint, when one was tilting his head up the other was tilting his head down. It was a dizzying performance and Harry idly wondered if they practiced that to be able to do it so well.
"Wouldn't dream of it, Harry," Twin one muttered quickly.
"Never even entered out minds," Twin two agreed.
A moment later they scrambled away leaving Neville and the girls laughing quietly at the stark terror written on their freckled faces.
"I think their hair actually stood on end right there, Mate," Neville said, still chuckling a minute later once they'd mostly managed to get themselves under control.
"Well, maybe they'll think twice in the future before they decide to mess with us," Harry said, completely unapologetic and, in fact, feeling a bit smug over the success of his threat.
Despite trying to keep his voice down, Hermione's position on his chest meant that every word he spoke reverberated louder against her ear and finally succeeded in waking her. Her eyes fluttered open and she slowly lifted her head, looking around for a moment before her face slowly turned a brilliant red as she took in her position atop Harry, and the audience they had.
"Morning, Sunshine," Susan said, a bright grin on her face. "Sleep well?"
For the briefest of moments Hermione thought to try to stammer out some kind of excuse. Eventually, though, she simply sat up, freeing Harry's arm which had been trapped under her and gave the girls a small nod and a smile. "Yes, actually," she said. "I don't think I've ever slept so well before in my life."
Harry flushed brightly, but couldn't disagree with her and the girls gave Hermione a considering look before suddenly grabbing her by each hand and dragging her off and up the stairs.
Harry blinked, confused and looked at Neville who found himself alone with harry. "What just happened?" Harry asked and Neville barked out a laugh.
"You're asking me?" he asked. "Like I understand girls any better than the next guy. You're bonded to them, shouldn't you know what's going on?"
"They're girls, Nev. Men are never meant to understand girls."
"Then why bother to try?"
"I'm hoping that I have an advantage with those three in trying to understand them."
"How's that working out for you?"
Harry considered that as he stood and stretched, feeling joints pop satisfyingly before his arms fell back to his sides and he started for the stairs with Neville beside him.
"Not so good, honestly," he admitted.
"You have a stunning skill for understatement."
Harry laughed as they headed for the dorm so Harry could shower and change for the day. As the spray of near scalding hot water pounded down on him Harry smiled as Hermione's emotions flooded through him. A mixture of calm joy and embarrassment. Harry assumed Susan and Daphne were grilling her but even that couldn't dampen how good she felt.
By the time he finished his shower and dressed in a casual set of muggle clothes he and Neville hit the common room again just in time to find the girls coming down the stairs from their dorm. Hermione's cheeks were pink while Susan and Daphne were giving him a look that he couldn't quite identify.
As it was just about eight in the morning, Harry found himself thankful that so many people chose to sleep in on Sundays. Neville said he was reasonably certain that no one else had seen the two of them sleeping together on the couch. He really didn't want to consider what kind of rumors that might have started, especially if Lavender or Parvati had seen them.
"Wait," Neville said as they took their places at the table. "So Hermione actually saw your nightmare, as if she was experiencing it herself?" he asked and Harry nodded from his usual spot in between Susan and Hermione.
"We're not sure why or how but we'll figure it out," he said and without thinking reached out and took Hermione's hand in his as he felt a glimmer of fear from her. He continued eating with his left hand, carefully making sure he didn't hit Susan with his elbow while he kept up a running conversation with Neville. All the while, Hermione sat there, staring at her hand, held carefully in Harrys on the table between their plates. He didn't even seem to be aware of what he was doing and she smiled, deciding that she wasn't going to be the one to bring it to his attention as she slowly started eating her breakfast.
#####
Poppy Pomfrey calmly observed the four students that had invaded her domain immediately following breakfast on Sunday morning. It was only two weeks since they'd come into the Hospital Wing looking to have her conduct the scans she'd wanted to do the previous year, but already she felt as if something had changed.
"I'm feeling a distinct sense of deja vu coming on," she muttered and gestured for the four students to take a bed without another word. She arched a brow, but said nothing when Susan and Daphne each took a bed, leaving Harry and Hermione to both sit on another bed in between the other two, one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders.
"So, am I to take it by your behavior that something has changed in the last two weeks?"
"Last night," Harry started, "I had a nightmare."
She blinked questioningly, but sensed they were concerned about more than a simple bad dream so kept her peace and waited.
"I had the same nightmare," Hermione said. "Or saw the nightmare, in his head, I'm not honestly sure which, but either way I saw the same thing that he saw."
"When Harry's had nightmares before, it hasn't woken us up," Daphne jumped in and Susan nodded.
"He's woken up, terrified, but when we're asleep we don't notice it. But when they were both terrified last night, it woke Daphne and I up. Hermione was screaming and thrashing around in bed and for a while we couldn't wake her up." Susan shivered for a moment. "It was really scary, seeing her like that."
"And how did you become aware that she was having a nightmare?" Poppy asked. "Did you hear her or did just the terror wake you?"
The girls suddenly all looked nervous and Harry got a confused expression on his face. He couldn't name the feelings rolling off of them but it was a similar set of emotions from each girl.
"We were next to her," Daphne admitted. "We've shared a bed more often than not since Halloween last year."
"After the troll… Daphne was a little freaked out, and we weren't much better, honestly," Susan admitted. "It was… comforting, having them nearby. Just kind of continued after."
Madam Pomfrey considered all the information and asked a few more questions, dragging out that they'd received images from Harry before, something they'd forgotten to mention at their first meeting. Finally, after about twenty more minutes of discussion she stood back and gestured for Harry to join her in front of the girls and started waving her wand around his head.
The golden aura appeared, as always, and the orbs of light that showed Susan and Daphne's souls, but Hermione's took longer to appear and when it finally did Harry wasn't sure what to think.
Like with his soul in the girls, the silver of Hermione's soul was a splash of color directly over his heart and the same thin tendrils, veins of silver light spread outward from that point and through his body. The girls could easily see the spread wasn't as far as with his soul. Where his had extended through their arms and legs all the way to the tips of their fingers, Hermione's soul was growing mostly through Harry's torso and up his neck into his head.
"Well," Madam Pomfrey said when the lights faded and Harry made his way back to sit beside Hermione again. "Miss Bones, let's take a look at you, now, dear," she said, gesturing for the redhead to come forward.
The display was even more incredible in Susan, with both Harry's and Hermione's souls sprouting from a mass of gold and silver energy in her chest. A single orb of green energy orbited lazily around her heart while gold and silver veins spread outward, twisting and twining around each other in a dizzying display.
Madam Pomfrey sent Susan back to her bed, then cast the spell over Daphne and Hermione in turn. Hermione looked no different from the week before, with Daphne's and Susan's souls circling around her heart and Harry's spreading throughout her body.
Once all four students were back in their beds, or Hermione sitting back with Harry, Madam Pomfrey thought for a long moment before she waved her wand and a chair appeared in front of her which she slowly sank into.
"I have a few more questions, if I may?" she asked, her entire demeanor shifting. In all her dealing's with the four fascinating students before her, she'd been professional, if slightly more familiar in more recent days. Now, she spoke to them with a curious note in her voice that grabbed their attention.
"Harry, have you noticed any changes in how you have been reacting to the girls recently?"
He cocked his head to the side, regarding her curiously. "I'm not really sure what you mean?" he admitted.
She nodded. "I expected as much, honestly. You don't react to the girls the same way that you react to other people, do you?"
He shook his head.
"No, of course you don't. You care for them, you're close to them. That's not the same for everyone else. But after the incident when you pushed the bond open, did you notice anything different in how you react or respond to them?"
Harry thought, his brow furrowed as he tried to consider every moment with the girls over the last month and a half and he wasn't sure that anything was really different except for their discovering that he couldn't block his emotions from them anymore. He noticed movement in the corner of his eye and turned his head, just slightly, to see his hand at shoulder level in front of him and blinked in surprise at it.
He didn't remember raising his hand.
Then he realized that he hadn't. Hermione was lifting his hand, his hand that was tightly clutching hers.
"This is different," she pointed out. "You… you touch us, more often," she said and he cocked his head at her. "You didn't initiate a hug until after we were told about the Room. That was in February. About six months for you to hug us instead of us hugging you. But lately, you've been grabbing our hands, or touching us on the shoulder a lot more often and… I'm honestly not sure you are even aware you're doing it a lot of the time."
"Like at breakfast?" Susan asked and Harry turned to look at her.
"What happened at breakfast?"
"I think that's exactly their point, Harry," Madam Pomfrey interjected. "But please, what did happen?"
"When we sat down, Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and spent the entire time eating with his left hand while he was chatting with Neville."
"I did?" He frowned as he tried to remember. "I remember breakfast and talking to Neville but that's all," he muttered.
"So that's something different. I think, you're being drawn more to the girls, Harry. Your bond wants you to be closer to them. Maybe it's just helping you overcome some of the trauma you've dealt with, or maybe it doesn't like you being so held apart from them, I don't know. And Miss Granger, we know what changed for Harry. He was scared, he was desperate, he overcame a well ingrained response, to never ask for help, and desperately begged for help when he needed it.
"So what has changed for you recently? Has something happened that has made you feel differently or think differently about them or the bond itself?"
Hermione slowly shook her head. "The only thing I can think of is yesterday, but it was nothing like what Harry experienced. I didn't push the bond wider or do anything."
"It doesn't have to be like what Harry experienced," Poppy pointed out. "Each person is different, and each person's experiences will be different."
"Something did feel different yesterday," Susan offered. "After your party in the morning."
Hermione flushed and ducked her head.
"Hermione, what is it?" Harry asked.
She fidgeted for a moment before she sighed and looked up. "I've never had a party like that," she told them. "I never had any friends growing up. Kids in my school… they didn't understand me, and I couldn't relate to them. I was smarter than all of them. I liked reading, I like learning, and then I was so focused on… on learning everything I could so I could help you," she added, looking at Harry, "that I just didn't fit in.
"My parents did the best they could. They made sure I knew I was loved, and they did their best to make sure birthdays and holidays were as good as possible. But, I've never had someone that wasn't one of my parents, go out of their way for me like that. Harry you had the idea and got it planned. Daphne that picture you drew is amazing and it just means the world to me and Susan you helped bring it all together. I know you helped plan it all out and probably took care of inviting everyone."
She shrugged, almost helplessly. "I don't know. When I came downstairs after putting away my presents, I was thinking about what a simple thing it was, just a party, a few presents, but it meant so much to me. I hugged you and it occurred to me how you three have become the most important people in my life."
Before she was half way through speaking Harry's arms were wrapped around her and Susan and Daphne had converged on the pair, adding their own presence to what became a small pile of emotional children on a narrow hospital bed. Pomfrey smiled, leaning back in her seat as the four shared whispered words to each other and tiny wisps of light danced over their skin, unnoticed by any of the children. Flashes of gold, silver, green, and auburn, like lighting dancing across their skin and through their hair. There was more gold and silver than there was green and auburn, she noticed, but she was confident that would change with time.
"That would explain the change, I think. And I think we can safely say that this really isn't a problem, long term," Madam Pomfrey said after they'd collected themselves and rearranged their position on the bed so that all four were sitting together, touching each of their partners by hand or arm or shoulder. "Miss Granger, you felt so grateful, so close to them yesterday that I think the bond grew stronger. Since Harry already forced growth to his part of the bond, the two of you are connected a little differently, for now, then Daphne and Susan are."
"So we're less in the bond now?' Susan asked, sounding rather distraught by the idea.
"No at all. You are still connected to them. All four of you are connected for the rest of your lives, that will never change. One thing I do know about bonds like this is that they don't just come about, fully formed and functioning. Like anything it has to be nurtured and it has to grow over time. Like I said, each person is different, and so each of your growth into the bond will be different. Just because you and Daphne haven't extended the bond further, haven't integrated more with Hermione and Harry doesn't make your connection any less, and it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you or them," she said firmly.
"You and Daphne will grow into the bond. It's a case of inevitability. It will happen. When and how and why are up to you. But I want to stress one thing right now," she added and leaned forward, fixing the two girls with a stern glare. "We don't know what could happen if you try to manipulate your bond. Do not try to force it."
"But Harry forced the bond," Susan pointed out.
"Harry forced open the connection, but he did it out of a matter of need, not want. He didn't force the connection as a means to force growth into the bond, do you see the difference? The bond grew because he forced the connection to your emotions, but it wasn't forced to grow."
"That seems like a very fine distinction, Madam Pomfrey," Daphne said after they thought that over.
"It is, but that doesn't make it any less true. We need more information. And the last thing you need is to potentially cause yourselves or your bond mates any harm by trying to artificially force something that isn't ready yet. You will each get there in your own time so I don't want you to go mucking about with your connection, am I understood. That means no more cutting off your emotions, no manipulating your connection to each other in any way. Let things progress as naturally as possible. Until we know more, that's the safest thing for the four of you."
Daphne and Susan nodded. They knew better then to ignore her instructions and resolved to be careful and to do their best to keep the link open as much as possible. With nothing else of immediate importance after a few more minutes discussing the changing nature of their bond, the four students gathered themselves and left, heading off to finish up the last of their homework in the library.
Concerns about their bond, the voice Harry had heard, Luna's eccentric behavior, and whatever else they may encounter that year would never deter Hermione Granger from ensuring that all of them got their homework finished.
#####
Harry found himself unable to sleep that night. The girls had gone to bed hours ago, and he sat in the common room for a time reading through some of his extracurricular texts. Eventually, he couldn't concentrate on spells and jinxes any longer and had made his way up to bed just before the clock struck midnight.
An hour later, he was still staring up at the canopy. He felt restless. He considered heading out for a walk through the school but he immediately thought of that voice and he cringed at the idea of hearing it in person again.
Finally, at a quarter past one o'clock in the morning, he rolled out of bed and went to his trunk, carefully lifting the lid in the dark. The trunk was a special gift, something that Amelia had given to him that summer. It was magically expanded inside so that all of his clothes and school supplies could fit comfortably without things needing to be crammed in. Daphne had been particularly overjoyed and spent an entire afternoon ensuring that he'd packed properly so his robes wouldn't get wrinkled.
Most important to Harry, however, was the fact that it left enough room for him to carefully tuck the wooden chest from his mother into one corner. It was this that he removed from the trunk and after closing the lid he climbed back into bed and drew the curtains.
Sitting against the head board with the chest next to him he lit his wand with a whispered 'lumos' and started rifling through the chests contents. The snitch, he'd learned, had belonged to his father, who had been Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, but he'd liked playing with the snitch, letting it go and catching it repeatedly. He set that aside, as well as three of the leather bound journals. Each one was stamped with a number on the cover 1, 2, and 3, and each one represented a year at Hogwarts in the life of one Lily Evans.
He'd already finished reading those three and would soon be finished with her fourth year. Harry found it fascinating to see how his parents originally met and had at first been dismayed to read that his mother had originally found his dad to be an arrogant prat and had wanted little, if anything, to do with him.
Digging further into the chest, which was larger inside than it appeared to be on the outside, though not to the extent of his school trunk, he pulled out the stack of envelopes, the letters from his parents. He'd long since separated them into two piles, one from his mother and one from his father, and had organized them from oldest to newest.
He was slowly working himself up to reading the letters. Something he hadn't been able to bring himself to do, yet.
He spent many minutes staring at the two stacks before finally, he reached out and took the first one off the pile written in his mothers hand. Carefully opening the envelope, he slipped out the single sheet of parchment, and by the light from his wand, he began to read.
#####
September 20th, 1992
Croaker stood in the room, staring at the wall.
"Why haven't we made any headway on this?" he asked of the silent figure standing motionless behind him. "We have some of the greatest minds in the wizarding world working here, and no one can hazard a guess as to why this is changing?"
"Of course we can, Director," Sable said. "But a guess is all it would really be. Without corroborating evidence to back it up we cannot be certain that any guess is correct."
Croaker said nothing and didn't move either. He knew that of course. His frustration with the situation was just starting to get the better of him. It hadn't helped that they'd had a reduced degree of surveillance on their targets since they'd returned to school. It was simple enough, for one field agent to slip in and out of the school without being detected. But for him to get enough agents in their to keep a constant watch on four different targets that weren't always together was a far more difficult task.
The golden lines on the wall had changed again. The lines that connected Harry Potter to Daphne Greengrass and Susan Bones were unchanged. The lines that connected Hermione Granger to the other two witches had now grown in thickness to almost equal the growth shown in the lines that extended from Potters name in the previous observed change. Now, however, the line that connected Harry Potter and Hermione Granger was twice as thick as it had been before.
"Has there been any more information on the subjects?" Croaker asked.
"Nothing new at this time, Director. We have managed to get a line of information on them, but nothing we've learned has shown or suggested anything worth mentioning."
"We may have to actually contact the subjects directly, eventually," Croaker admitted. "There's too much that's happening that goes on only inside those four kids. Nothing that can be observed without their cooperation and permission."
Sable said nothing.
After another five minutes spent staring at the wall, the pulsing golden light washing over them, Director Croaker spun about and exited the room.
"Contact Mink, have them meet us in my office. I have a new project for the research division and I want them heading the investigation."
"Understood, Director."
A tiny mote of light shot past Croakers head a moment later and down the hall, speeding quickly away and out of sight.
There was still plenty to do, and plenty of avenues open to them. Croaker considered them all, his mind turning over one plan after another until they reached his office to find another cloaked Unspeakable waiting outside the door.
"Mink," Croaker greeted the grey cloaked figure as he opened his door and strode into the office. He waved his wand and the shattered remains of a large hourglass floated off of his desk and into a bin in one corner of the office. A second wave and the sand, which had spilled everywhere, vanished.
"Be seated," he told the two figures and followed word with dead by seating himself in his chair behind his desk, his fingers laced together in front of his face as he rested his elbows on his desk.
"You wanted to speak to me, Director?" Mink asked and he nodded, his hood shifting with the motion.
"Yes. I have two projects in mind for you."
"We're already doing everything we can to find the last pair of Soul Bonded mates," Mink pointed out. "The Archives are in a severe state of disarray, something I'm beginning to think might have been intentional."
Croaker paused at that, noting Sable's surprised response. "You think the Archives of the Department of Mysteries was… what? Vandalized? Robbed?"
Mink shrugged. "It's difficult to say, Director. All I can say is that the information should have been catalogued and easy to find, even with the extent of the Archives contents. That we haven't been able to locate even a single reference is… disturbing, and telling in the extreme. I believe, personally, that someone carefully excised any and all references to Soul Bonded mates from our files somewhere along the line. I can't say when, how, or why. I can't even point to any one thing as evidence to show that it was actually done. It's just a gut feeling that I have.
"Someone doesn't want people looking into Soul Bonds, and I think they're actively working to guard, or eradicate any available information. To what purpose I have no idea, but that's the feeling I'm getting."
Croaker considered that in silence. If what Mink said was true, well, it lead to some rather disturbing suggestions. He shook that off and forged onward. "We'll have to look into what you're saying, but for the moment I had something else I wanted you to look for. Two somethings, actually. Number one: if we can't find the most recent information regarding Soul Bonds, go back to the beginning of the archives and work forward from there. Find me the first reference, and so on. Perhaps we'll shake something loose by approaching the problem from a different direction.
"Second: I want any and all materials from the last century that mentions The Hydra."
"Hydra, Sir?"
"The Hydra, specifically. I've got a niggling memory. It's tickling the back of my mind and I feel like it might be important, but I can't quite remember. Bring me everything you find in the next week so I can look through it and see what might shake loose."
Mink nodded and stood. "Of course, Director," they said. "I'll get a team on those immediately."
"Only for the Soul Bond," Croaker interrupted as Mink turned toward the door, stopping the Unspeakable. "As far as The Hydra is concerned, I don't want anyone else other than the three of us in this room to even know that you're looking. You'll handle that personally, delegate your other duties if need be, but I want that information by this time a week from now.
Mink hesitated a moment before they nodded and then swiftly left the office without another word.
"Director?" Sable asked and Croaker leaned back in his chair with a long sigh.
"I don't know, old friend," he said, staring blankly ahead of him, not that Sable could tell. "Maybe nothing, maybe everything. I'll know more once I check the materials.
Sable accepted that with a silent nod and then left the Director alone with his thoughts, the door swinging shut with a quiet click behind him.
