scrappy8: Thank you! Having you there since the beginning...I'm very touched, thank you 3

lojosmom I hoped I would get that impression of her, I imagined her as a mom like that. At first I got the impression that it was similar to other stories but as was working it finally out I realised that it was different, but it needs a lot of explaining in further chapters to satisfy my expectations xD

HG4EVER69 thanks, I will change her accent in further chapters. I imagined how a friend of mine from France talks in English but my beta made me realise that in the books her accent wasn't that heavy...I will work it out ;)

dutchie Thank you! you're also one of the early readers, I'm touched by your support thank you 3

Thanks to my wonderful Beta Christyannb94!

Enjoy!
_

The power of love

13

He felt pretty content. Yeah, he thought content was a good word to describe how he felt.

The weather was warm. Warm but not too hot. The sun played hide and seek with soft fluffy summer clouds, with whom the sky was dappled with and a light summer breeze wafted through his hair. The breeze was accompanied by the distinctive scent that he would recognize among a million others. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Yeah, content.

"What's so funny? You're smiling like a lunatic." Her voice made him open his eyes, sit up and rest on his forearms. Still wearing that goofy smile in his lips.

"Can't a bloke be happy?" He asked, scooting over to her and sitting cross-legged in the soft grass. "Especially, when he has such a perfect woman by his side." He added the last part rather huskily.

Still not looking at him she rolled her eyes and inhaled deeply but couldn't prevent a small smile creeping up her lips. He was so damn obvious.

"Can you think about other things?"

"Why would I want to think about other things when I have the most delicious thoughts on my mind?" He brushed her hair over her right shoulder and started to trace the outline of her nape with the tips of his fingers. His smile grew wider as he saw her shuddering.

"I'm reading." She really had to fight the urge to give into his ministrations. His fingers started to glide from her earlobe to her shoulder, hovering and repeatedly moving over her most sensitive point where her neck meets her shoulder.

"But you like how I make you feel. You're debating if should you stop reading and snog me senseless or, rather be vexed with me but that would lead to us arguing and THAT mostly leads to a more intense make out session."

"Ronald Billius Weasley! You're insensitive and…and…"

"And you love me but you don't know why." Ron finished her sentence. The moment she spoke his name and turned towards him he knew he what was about to come.

Hermione huffed disbelieving, probably about her own behavior, closed her book and startled Ron by straddling him.

"I really don't know why I do, so please, enlighten me!" She replied as she lowered her head and kissed him softly, but it didn't take very long for their kisses to become more intense.

Hermione sometimes really wondered when she started to fall for Ron. Their first two years at Hogwarts, he was really nice and funny; and the fact he was sometimes unbelievablylazy and an utter prat just made her furious.

But she remembered that something changed after their second year and she still assumed that it had something to do with her being petrified.

She remembered the morning she woke up. Professor Dumbledore was there, to her utter confusion reading a muggle magazine on…knitting patterns.

"Ah, Miss Granger. It's a pleasure to see that you're awake. I hope you don't mind that I dipped into it." He said with that Dumbledore typical twinkle in his eyes as he raised the magazine. "Your mother left the magazine, and I have to admit that I find myself quite … bewitched… by knitting patterns."

"Hello, sir. My parents were here?" Hermione was genuinely surprised. She remembered that Hogwarts: A History clearly stated that for muggles the castle was just a ruin from the outside and that it was surrounded by heavy concealment and confundus charms, so that non-magical beings would avoid the area completely. Adding to that, muggles weren't normallyallowed inside the castle.

"I know that one of your school books says otherwise, but with the consent of the headmaster, the position that,thankfully, is occupied by me, muggles are allowed into the castle in the case of an emergency. And your friend, Mr Weasley, thought it was only fair to inform your parents of your condition. They had started to worry due to the lack of response to their monthly letter."

"What day is it, professor?" Hermione asked suddenly,starting to realize that it probably wasn't just two days she spent petrified.

"It is June 15th. The Hogwarts Express will depart in four days, my dear…" Dumbledore tried to say but was cut short as Hermione bolted up and wanted to get out of the hospital bed.

"Professor, it's a Basilisk! The monster inside the chamber. Ron and…Ron needs to know! " Hermione became all agitated. Her mind went into overdrive to sort out all her thoughts that were swirling around in her head. Her eyes darted back and forth like her thoughts were flowing through the air in front of her.

A frown came across her face as suddenly a picture of Dumbledore knitting came into her mind and she stopped her train of thoughts at once. Her eyes zeroed in on the headmaster.

"I have a parchment where I wrote it down…somewhere…," Hermione searched through her pockets but came up short.

"There, there, don't fret! Mr. Weasley found your note, Miss Granger. He and Mr. Longbottom were able to defeat the monster and come out of it unharmed." Dumbledore stood up from where he sat next to her bed and walked to the foot of the hospital bed she laid in.

Hermione relaxed slightly and nodded her understanding.

"I just wanted to make sure that you are alright, as you are the last to recover. I arranged for you to go home by flooaccompanied by your head of house this afternoon. But for now I think Madam Pomfrey is eager to examine you one last time before she can dismiss you. From what I understand,there are no lasting effects from the petrification."

"Sir, I'm really thankful, but I'd rather like to stay and take the train back home. I have so many questions and…," Hermione started, but stopped as Dumbledore lifted his hands to indicate her to stop.

"Your parents are awaiting you desperately, Miss Granger. I think that your questions can all be answered in a letter or can wait until school starts again in September. We should neverkeep those that love and care for us waiting too long. And either way, Mr. Weasley and his brothers and sister are already at home after what happened this year." Dumbledore finished,winking at her and left no room to question his decision. Hermione only nodded and bid him goodbye as he left and madam Pomfrey took his place to examine her a last time.

Hermione remembered how she spent the whole summer contemplating what might have happened during the month she was petrified. Especially what happened down in the chamber. Her mind seemed so jumbled that she was worried that there were some side effects, even though Madam Pomfrey assured her that everything was just fine.

Something was off and she just couldn't get rid of the image of Dumbledore knitting every time she tried to think about the issue, which on its own was unsettling enough, but something about this whole situation seemed just so unlike her.

The only one she wanted to write to was Ron but he and his family won some lottery and they visited his brother Bill in Egypt. So, between her parents taking her to Australia fromJune 25th until July 20th, and Ron going to Egypt from July27th until August 25th, they hadn't many opportunities to communicate with each other.

They managed, or rather Dumbledore insisted on it, that Hermione was able to come to the Burrow for a day on July23rd, but Ron told her that it was strictly forbidden to bring up anything that happened last year.

During a short moment alone, he told her what happened.

Ginny was possessed by some kind of diary she wrote in throughout the year. That specific diary belonged to some T. M. Riddle who was a former student at Hogwarts who opened the Chamber 50 years ago. The night Ginny was taken into the chamber, he stumbled into Neville who told him that he would help him into the chamber to save Ginny, just after he found her note about the Basilisk. Together he and Neville went to get Lockhart to help them. Lockhart tried to obliviate them but his spell backfired as he tried to use Ron's broken wand. Neville and Ron were separated and Neville went on his own. Half and hour later, he emerged with Ginny and Fawks, Dumbledore's phoenix.

She thought that her confusion was accounted for byRon's lack of good storytelling, but again the image of Dumbledore knitting crossed her mind and, as it became really annoying and disturbing, she stopped thinking about it.

As she left the burrow later that evening, she felt completely relaxed and even wondered why she worried so much.

Since then her friendship with Ron became more important to her and she even became really good friends with Ginny.

In their fourth year, during the triwizard tournament she realized herself that there was more to her feelings than merely friendship.

Especially ever since she found a bouquet of iris flowers on her place in the great hall.

It was December 12th 1994. Hermione was making her way down to the Great Hall in search of Ron. She knew that he was a late sleeper, especially on Saturday, but she asked Dean earlier and he told her the Ron has already headed down to breakfast.

As she walked down the table she already spotted the group of four red-heads half along the long table. Just as she went to sit down on her usual spot across from Ron and next to Ginny, her attention was caught by Harry and Rose Potter, who made their way out of the Great Gall. She caught their eyes and waved at them and received a wave in return. Sometimes,when she's in the library, she and Rose talk and Harry, being one of their classmates, became her Ancient Runes partner last year and they worked pretty well together. But both Potter siblings usually seemed pretty withdrawn.

For the first time, she looked down at the table and was shocked to see a bouquet of iris flowers laying there on the plate. She gasped and her lefthand stopped midair towards her mouth.

"Who?…" Was the only thing that came out. She never received flowers. Never. Curious, she took her seat and, with slightly shaking hands, she took the small card that was attached to the bouquet.

"Iris: faith, hope, wisdom, courage, and admiration,

I'll fight for you!"

Hermione read out loud, whispering, and her eyes roamed around the Great Hall.

Her eyes stopped briefly at the Slytherin table where Viktor sat. They talked often and she suspected that he became interested in her, but she wasn't interested in him, because she was… and then her eyes landed on him.

The people around them were quieter than ever before. Even the twins seemed exceedingly quiet.

"I wanted to ask, if you'd like to go to the ball with me?" Ron's voice reached her ears but she couldn't believe it.

Professor McGonagall informed them just yesterday morning during transfiguration about the upcoming ball.

"Well Ronikins...," Fred nudged his shoulder,

"...I think you surprised her, alright!" finished George.

"Ouch! What was that for?!" Fred and George said in unison looking quizzical at their sister who managed to kick both of their shins at the same time.

"Shut up!" Ginny said, accompanied with a deprecating stare towards the twins. "Hermione?!" She added, and laid a hand on her friends shoulder, who was still staring at the boy in front of her.

"Yes!"

"What?" Ron replied with a hint of disbelief.

"Yes, I'd love to go to the ball with you." Hermione repeated this time more clearly. A shy smile forming in the right corner of her lips.

Ron let out a breath of air he didn't realized he was holding, and smiled at her.

They weren't dating, but the next two weeks were just like a fairytale. Ron was very attentive, carrying her books, holding the doors open for her. She should have been annoyed, as she never wanted to be treated like some porcelain doll, but she found it rather sweet, and the feeling that he was caring for her for real made her giddy - something Hermione Jean Granger never thought she would call herself.

The evening of the ball started off really well for them. Ron waited for her in the common room. He was wearing a simple black set of dress robes, and a tie the same color as her dress, periwinkle-blue. As Ginny told her later, she altered and dyed magically a rather … old moroon pair of dress robes to make him look more presentable.

She wore dress robes that were made of floaty, periwinkle-blue silk, and her usually bushy hair was made sleek and twisted up into an elegant knot at the back of her head.

They danced. She was really impressed that Ron was a fair dancer - Ron never told her that his mother made him and Ginny practice traditional dances when they were younger. They talked. They laughed. They really had a good time, untilthe moment Viktor came and asked her to dance.

"May I have this dance with your beautiful partner?" He asked Ron. Hermione saw clearly how Ron's whole posture changed and the boy she saw the last two weeks was gone.

"Sure, have fun. I'll get us something to drink and wait here." He replied and without looking at her he walked towards the bar. She couldn't say a word but promised herself to talk to him as soon as possible. After all, she knew Ron for over four years and she was pretty certain that he wasn't pleased seeing Viktor dancing with her - she wasn't that blind.

After the up-beat dancing Viktor insisted on another one.

"I can't. I need to talk to...," she paused as she searched the great hall to find Ron standing next to the door, leaning casually against the wall. "...to my boyfriend I think...well at least I hope he still wants to be." With a hasty thank you towards Viktor, Hermione strode determined towards the doors.

"You could've said no." Hermione stated, as she reached him. In fact, she was a bit vexed with him. If he minded, he should have said something, shouldn't he?

"You seemed to enjoy yourself. Why are you all worked up?" Ron looked questioningly at her holding out a butterbeer for her. She took it and placed both their glasses on the table next to him. He was still more withdrawn than before. The look on his face wasn't the one she became to love.

"You can dance with whomever you want...," Ron wasn't able to finish the sentence.

"But I don't want anyone else, why can't you see that?" Hermione needed every willpower not to shout at him. Her arms became all flushed and her eyes started to shine. Not because of tears, because of all the emotions flooding her at once.

Anger, disappointment, frustration and love.

"I only want you, Ron." She said with her voice slightly wavering. "But if you don't want me, then that's okay...," Now it was her turn to not finish her sentence.

As her words reached his conscious, the first time he thought he was dreaming it, 'did she just say...' and he became paralyzed as the realization hit him what she was just telling him. The second time her words brought him out of his stupor and without thinking he just grabbed both her soft and delicate hands into his, pulling her flush against him.

"No, that wouldn't be okay. Because I would never be able to forgive myself that I missed this chance." His voice was all throaty and thick with emotions. His eyes darted down to her lips and the feel of her breath on him made a shiver run down his spine. The whole world seemed to stop turning as he leaned down and touched her lips gently with his.

As they separated Hermione had her eyes still closed slightly. A goofy smile on her lips. This would be the beginning of something wonderful.

Wonderful and sometimes very frustrating, she knew now, one and a half years later. Every now and then they would have an argument just as usual. But then one of them, well mostly it was the both of them really, would get really turned on and they ended up snogging in a nearby broom closet for the next hour.

Just like now when they were lying outside by the pond and he annoyed her, but truth be told she found it rather thrilling that he still was so crazy about her, she would try to start an argument but he was already all set to kiss her senseless.

After a few minutes of kissing, Hermione laid comfortablymostly on top of Ron with his left arm around her while hisright hand gently stroked hers that rested on his stomach.

"I had this weird dream again last night." Hermione broke she silence, where only crickets and the wind blowing through the tree could be heard.

"Dumbledore knitting?" He felt her nodding "That's really weird. You have that bloody whacky dream every first night you stay here during the holidays."

They both felt silent again.

"Maybe you are traumatized by mom knitting. Didn't she tryto show you how to knit last summer?" Ron replied, chuckling at the memory of his girlfriend and sister being completely ata loss.

"Maybe I'll go to the..."

"...library and look it up!" Ron finished her sentence and they both had to laugh. "You'll have to wait another two weeks for that, sunshine. But I'll make the waiting as pleasant as possible for you." He finished as his hand sneaked its way down her back and under the hem of her shirt where he started to caress the smooth skin he found there.

Hermione moaned as he started to plant soft kisses along her neck and down her chest.

She never pictured herself as a girl who would give in to the sins of physical lust that fast but over the course of the last one and a half years she and Ron started to get very creative to explore each other. He made her feel just so unbelievablygood. Just last night he made her come…three times…by using his mouth on her. They weren't there yet to make love to each other but she knew it wasn't going to be much longer.

Just two weeks ago, she and her parents talked how she would come of age in a few weeks in the wizarding world, and what all of that entails, while in the muggle world she was still a minor. They knew about her and Ron and they were aware that they couldn't fight the inenvitable. Her father reminded her around eight times that while she would be granted more rights, they were also demanding more responsibility for her duties.

She darted a glance at the hourglass above the door which she sat across from. The door was made out of pure gold with red rubys embedded. Written in a forgotten language only known here were the words:

"We know nothing for sure. Because the truth is hidden in the deep."

engraved.

More than seven generations did she spend sitting opposite that door now, waiting for the sand to completely escape from the upper glass bulb into the lower one and re-reading the words.

Another impatient sigh escaped her lips and she leaned back against the chair she sat on. Over seven generations.

"If any of us up here deserves such a sigh it would be Oldie over there." The woman to her right told her with a nod towards the man who sat to her left. "Yeah. He's sitting here for 1966 years now without his ability being sent down to earth. Some came pretty close to achieving him but then ... well he's still here." She added herself.

Over time, every now and then she took some glances around, but never leaving her place or she would be lost forever. The two next to her she knew best.

The woman to her right wasn't fully here yet. Her wrinkled olive skin which was framed by a white hood with blue stripes was still shadow like but for a few ... moments ... now she woke up and became a welcoming companion. Well, compared to the fellow to her left.

His brown shoulder long hair framed a gentle face in its rich walnut tone. He wore a white frock that contrasted his skin color. His hands each held one round scar in the middle of his palms. The longer he sat there, the more silent he became over the years. Now he rarely spoke to anyone or showed any kind of reaction.

As time went by, she realized that this was another time. Another place. Another world. Another being.

The whole place was kind of a tower but more in the shape of a cone. The base was very wide while the top, where she was located as she assumed because above her was only a huge glass ceiling, only had enough room to harbor seven doors around the round room. Everything seemed to be made out of white marble but the usual darker streaks were emitting a golden glow pulsating in a steady rhythm.

The middle of the room was a huge hole that went down tothe ground. Whenever she would lean over the balustrade,she would catch a glimpse of the lower levels. The lower she looked the more people she saw but also the more frequent someone was sent down to earth.

"Amor was sent down again just now." She commented to her two companions. The other four were too far away.

"It's always a good thing, the power of love is good. Well everything is better than brownie over there." The woman to her right said and pointed with a thumb over her shoulder towards one figure at opposite side of the room.

He wore a brown uniform and his sleek black hair was combed to the left and his look was completed by a tiny well-trimmed mustache.

"I don't remember HIM directly, but I know that I crossed paths with one of his predecessors...," she paused "... he was pure evil. I hope it's not meant to be again this time." A small shudder went through her down to her toes.

"Do you remember when he was sent down last time?"

"Around seventy years ago I assume...so I don't think that my abilities will go against a retired old man." She wrinkled her nose and glanced at the hourglass over his door. The upper bulb was still half-full.

"You do know that all of us have a counterpart here. That's how it works, that's the balance."

She only nodded, turned back around facing the golden door and hourglass in front of her and took a deep breath. She knew it wasn't long, she was already permitted to make contact with the new receiver but something told her that time wasn't on their side.