A/N –recently picked up an amazing Beta in Kaystar742, who has been kind enough to point out a lot of my mistakes, though any that remain are still mine. And as always though I don't say it enough, thanks to Karasunova for telling me when my muse is smoking the good stuff. Without further ado, here we go again.

15 The Ties That Bind

"HARRY!"

The couple barely had time to brace before a redheaded missile impacted Harry in the side, the force separating them a little.

"Ginny? What the…"

"Oh, I was so scared Harry," the redheaded witch mumbled into his chest, refusing to let go while using one hand to try to push Hermione away, "I couldn't believe how dangerous it was. I was so worried about you."

"Ginny…" Harry tried again, fighting her efforts to shove herself between him and Hermione.

"The Gryffindor's are setting up a party in the common room for you," Ginny rambled on, still trying to place herself by Harry's side, "We need to hurry if we want to get good seats."

"Ginny stop," Harry let his anger slip into his tone as she finally forced Hermione's hand from his. Rounding on the young witch, who now had his freed hand in a death grip. "I don't know what you're on about, but this needs to stop Ginny."

"But Harry, I love you, we're meant to be together," she whined, then squealed as Fred and George grabbed her arms and started extracting her from Harry.

"Sorry about this mate,"

"Yeah, we'll keep an eye on her while you make you way up to the tower."

"We'll see you later,"

"This has got to stop," Harry mumbled as Hermione regained her spot on his arm and they watched the twins cart heir sister away.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, a moment of your time?" McGonagall called to them as they started back to the castle.

"Of course, Professor," Hermione replied, pulling Harry by their joined hands towards their transfiguration teacher, "How can we help you?"

"I need you both to back a small overnight bag," McGonagall answered quietly, "You're excused from any assignments given over the weekend, pack enough for 2 nights."

"Where are we going?" Harry asked, curious why they were leaving the school.

"Crawley," the Scotswoman answered, her face a mask of innocence, "As Deputy Headmistress, I've determined you require a consultation with your guardians regarding your condition," and then winked at them.

"Yes Professor," Hermione said, excitement barely restrained, "When will we leave?"

"As soon as you're packed, come to my office," Minerva supplied, "Officially you are being held in the Hospital wing for observation."

"Understood," Hermione replied, again pulling Harry along by their joined hands.

When they arrived in the Gryffindor common room, they were immediately swarmed by well-wishers. Well, Harry was, Hermione was gently, but assuredly, forced to the side as everyone crowded around Harry. Noticing this as they strained to keep ahold of each other, Harry started to get frustrated when their grip finally failed once more and they were swiftly separated.

"ENOUGH!" he bellowed, and all activity stopped. Glaring at every person between himself and Hermione, he held each person's gaze until they wilted away, clearing a path for her to join him.

"I see my fair weather following has returned," he snarled wryly as she joined him. His anger eased slightly as she took his hand, "I really don't think they understand."

"Understand what mate?" Ron asked casually from behind him, "You just defeated a dragon, of course you're a hero."

"And you obviously are a walking befuddlement charm if you think we're speaking to you," Harry replied without turning around, "As for the rest of you, you were so happy to have someone notorious, that the first thing you do is separate him from his girlfriend and the ONE person who stood by him throughout this ordeal."

"There are four people with the right to talk to me right now," heads hung low as he swept his gaze around, "Care to guess who?"

"Hermione obviously," Neville called out, causing everyone to chuckle.

"Yes Neville," Harry grinned, "Hermione is a rather obvious one. As are you."

"Thanks mate," Neville said gratefully, "Are the twins the other two?"

"Yup," Harry confirmed, "now do any of you three have any questions for us before we go back to the Hospital wing?"

"Yeah, why are you going to the hospital wing?" asked one of the twins.

"Pomfrey wants us under observation for the weekend," Hermione explained, "While it appears to be healed, we went through a lot. Plus I think she wants the rest of the school to settle after everything that happened before we have to deal with them."

"What did happen in the arena?" the other twin asked.

"We're not sure. What did you see?" Harry asked.

"We saw Hermione jump in to help you," started one twin.

"You both got thrown around,"

"Then the Dragon tried to smash you,"

"And there was a blinding flash of gold light."

"The dragon bowed to you,"

"And then it gave you the egg."

"Then it healed you, I think."

"Definitely, no holes in their arms."

The couple looked at each other as every eye turned towards them. Then Hermione turned back to the twins.

"We're not exactly sure ourselves," she admitted, "Give us some time to get sorted and we'll tell you what we know, fair?"

The rumble around the room indicated no one was happy with that answer but almost everyone was afraid to say so. Almost everyone. Cormac McLaggen, a boisterous 5th year, had apparently not learned from Ron's example.

"Oh come on Potter," Mclaggen challenged, "It can't be that difficult if a squib and a muggleborn could do it."

McLaggen's first hint that he was in deep trouble was when everyone suddenly got as far away from him as possible. The second should have been Harry's cool tone as he replied, but he had been dumb enough to start this conversation, so missing that wasn't unexpected.

"Just who are you calling a squib?" asked a glowering Harry, "And what does having non-magical parents have to do with anything."

"Come off it Potter, Everyone knows you get by on luck, not skill," McLaggen preened, "And they also know that muggleborns are inherently weaker and less adapted to wizarding life."

"If it's such a handicap to be born to a non-magical family, why is Hermione here," Harry put his arm around his girlfriend and squeezed, "Not only the top of the class, but scoring higher than anyone in the last 100 years or so?"

"She's cheating obviously," Cormac waved him off, "Not that a squib like you would understand."

Harry cocked his head, considering the room behind Cormac. Sighing, he turned to Hermione. "Would you like to educate this moron or would you rather not dirty your wand with him?"

"You think he'd learn better from me?" Hermione asked innocently.

"Of course, a squib is still part of a magical family, in his view, a muggleborn has no place," Harry shook his head, "Just like Malfoy this one is."

"In that case…" Hermione trailed off, looking past Harry at Cormac, to the wand already in his hand, then her wand flicked up and a wave of power and a trio of sparks shot forth as she called out "Repulso, Conjuncta, Langlock, Rictusempra."

The effect on the arrogant teen was immediate. The wave carried the now confused teen back towards the wall of the common room, where the first spark stuck him to the wall, the next prevented him from speaking, and the last one caused him to start laughing and trying to move. The teen tried to move as Harry walked towards him, closing the distance between them.

"You just got beat by someone you called a cheater, and implied didn't deserve magic. Maybe it's you who doesn't deserve it," he said softly, yet everyone in the room heard him. "If she isn't worthy, or as powerful as she seems, getting out of this should be no issue for a proud pureblood like you."

The crowd parted as he and Hermione moved towards the stairs and up to pack for the weekend.

After instructing the twins to dispel the tickling charm 5 minutes after they left, and the langlock after a couple hours, but leave the sticking charm. The pair made their way to McGonagall's office.

"Thank you professor," Hermione said as they were ushered into the transfiguration office.

"You're welcome Miss Granger," McGonagall replied, looking at the downcast teens. "Any trouble I should now about?"

"Just a minor confrontation in the common room," Harry sighed.

"Mister Weasley again?" Minerva sighed back

"Actually, no," Hermione countered, "Cormac McLaggen. Called me worthless for being muggleborn, said I was cheating to get my top position in the class, and called Harry a Squib."

"And what happened to him?" McGonagall's arch expression caused a bit of fear to percolate through the teens, though they stood their ground.

"I didn't do anything to him," Harry said innocently.

"You didn't?" Mcgonagall was surprised, then looked at Hermione, "Miss Granger?"

"I just gave him an opportunity to prove himself right," Hermione answered the unasked question with a hint of smugness, "I stuck him to the wall and cast a langlock and a tickling charm."

"Oh my," McGonagall barely managed to hide her amusement as her stern expression cracked, "I suppose I should go release him."

"No need professor," Hermione informed her, "We told the twins to release the tickling charm 5 minutes after we left. The langlock in a couple hours, but to leave the sticking charm. It should fail sometime partway through the night by my guess."

"I see," the Deputy headmistress smirked, "I shall ensure he's free tomorrow morning then, unless someone complains before then."

"Thank you professor"

The scene in Crawley was a bit surprising to the couple. Harry had half expected a cooler reception now that he was formally dating Hermione, despite the talk he'd had with Hermione's dad. What he certainly had not expected, was the bone crushing Hermione style hug from both her mother and her father when they arrived.

"Oh dear," Anne cried on his shoulder as she embraced him, "We were so worried."

"It's good to see you whole and hale son," George added.

"I…" emotions washed over Harry, causing him to pause, "Thank you."

Once the greetings were over, and they were settled in the living room, Anne turned to the two teachers.

"How in the world do you justify sending a 14 year old boy up against a bloody Dragon?" she demanded, "How many full grown Wizards or Witches could survive that?"

"Mum," Hermione cut in, "Before you go ballistic, I want you to know that once we found out about them, Professor McGonagall went to the Headmaster and tore a bloody strip off of him. She fought hard to get the task changed, or something to protect the champions. While he refused to change the task, he assured her that steps had been taken to 'ensure the safety of the champions'. Wasn't that how he said it?"

"It was actually: 'I assure you every measure has been taken to ensure each champion is equally protected,'" Minerva corrected, "At the time I took it to mean he was taking measures to protect them, but I think he may have just meant everyone would have the same protections, that is none, as every other champion."

"That manipulative…" George began.

"I'm not sure that's exactly fair," Harry cut in, "While I do suspect he wasn't taking the challenge of the dragons as serious as we were, when we approached Cedric the next morning to ensure that he knew about the dragons, Fleur and Viktor had already told him, and asked him to pass the information onto us," he paused, "It may be that Dumbledore saw to it that everyone was as prepared as they could be."

"It's possible," admitted Hermione, "but he still could have done more, gave each champion access to protective armor or emergency portkeys or something."

"Or he could have called the whole thing off," Anne interjected.

"Actually, he couldn't," Minerva admitted, "When Harry's name first came out, it was suggested, however the Goblet constitutes a Magically Binding Contract. If the Tournament was called off, ALL of the Champions would lose their magic as they did not complete the tournament. They actually found a precedent for it in the history books, the 71st tournament I believe it was."

"So what now? Can he stop now that he's competed?" George asked.

"No," Harry sighed, "I have to complete the tournament, or die trying."

"We'll get you through this," Hermione assured him from where she was curled up on his lap. "We got you through the first task."

"Speaking of which," Pomfrey cut in, "Can I ask what exactly happened? I was tending to Mr. Krum and didn't see anything. Plus it seems no one is exactly sure how you survived."

The couple looked up at all four adults who turned to them expectantly. Hermione turned back to Harry and whispered in his ear.

"We might as well, if we can't trust them, who can we trust?" her voice laced with fear, but also with perseverance.

"Ok," Harry nodded, "We're not exactly sure to be honest," he took a deep breath to gather himself, "Our plan went sideways from almost the first step. The Horntail was on me as soon as I entered, and I was barely evading the attacks. Thank Merlin for Protego Solarum. Anyway, about that point Hermione got it in her head to jump the fence and help me," he kissed her cheek to take any sting from his words.

"She what?" Anne asked incredulously.

"She jumped into the arena to help me," Harry replied defensively, "And probably saved my life, even if I would have wished she'd stayed safe," he held up his free hand to forestall another interruption, "Let us finish. Anyway, at that point we got rather beat up, and the dragon was about to smash us when… when this golden light burst from us."

"Gold light you say?" Pomfrey inquired.

"Yeah, it stopped most of the dragons attack, a single barb from its tail pierced our arms," Hermione continued, "We were enveloped, surrounded by this light and a sense of… peace? Contentment?" She looked at Harry as she struggled to find the right description.

"I'm not sure either," Harry replied to the unasked question, squeezing her in his arms as he did so, "Definitely powerful though.

"Anyway, as the light faded, the dragon had moved between us and the dragon handlers who'd finally entered to save us," Hermione snorted, "but it was in our defense. She then turned to us and apologized. Shocked both of us pretty bad."

"Do you mean to say you actually talked to a dragon?" McGonagall asked incredulously.

"Yes ma'am," Harry nodded, "Somehow, we understood her, and could speak back to her as well. We explained why we were there, she gave us the egg, healed us, then she made a promise too," he looked at the adults staring amazed at him, "She said once we understood our calling, to summon them and someone would come to help."

"You were healed by a dragon?" Pomfrey asked in awe, "How?"

"She pulled the barb out," Hermione explained, "She placed a drop of her blood in the holes in our arms, and breathed over us."

"It was like standing in a lightning storm," Harry added, "I could feel the power washing over us, and everything was healed; bumps, bruises, cuts, both puncture wounds, everything."

"Did she say anything else? Anything at all may be important?" Pomfrey asked, her tone borderline frantic.

"Not really," Harry said a bit leerily, "other than to stay true to our hearts."

"And she called us Great Ones," Hermione added, "Not sure…"

"A dragon called you great ones?" Pomfrey barely contained her incredulity, "My word."

"What is it Poppy?" Minerva asked harshly.

"Minerva, my line is Druidic," Pomfrey said obviously forcing herself to calm, "we view history differently than most magical societies. At one point we called dragons friends. Or the Great Flyers. They have a much deeper and richer society than any give them credit for. When Hagrid says they're seriously misunderstood creatures it's an understatement," Minerva looked askance at her, "They're magically intelligent creatures Minerva!"

"Magically intelligent…." McGonagall looked shocked. "You mean-"

"Yes, in fact they tend to be smarter than us," Poppy confirmed, "and have a magic all their own. The last person to be healed my dragon magic was Merlin himself."

The room fell silent. Each was rocked back by that revelation. Anne and George could understand that bit, but thinking about it slightly overloaded them. Minerva had her worldview flipped on its head, which was an understatement where Harry and Hermione were concerned. They were reeling from the fact that one of these ancient powers called them Great Ones.

"But why would they… would she, reveal this to us?" Hermione asked her face scrunched up in thought, "It's obvious they've been hiding this from wizards, why let the cat out of the bag?"

"I'm not sure," Pomfrey admitted, "but it may have been the magic that saved you."

"Any idea what it was?"

"Maybe," Poppy hesitated, "May I cast the detection spell again?"

"Sure, I guess," Hermione said, confused by the change.

"In Vincula Revelare" The mediwitch incanted.

The room seemed to swirl as magic spun and concentrated around the Harry and Hermione. Every person in the room gasped as a golden fire began to envelope the young pair, licks of Silver and bronze, of crimson and midnight blue, spread through the flames. As the Magic storm eased, the fires calmed to a gentle aura of purest gold, then constricted to a solid bar of gold from one teens heart to the others. As it too finally faded, silence reigned.

"What," Hermione paused, "What was that?"

"That Ms. Granger," Poppy sighed, "is a complication."

"What do you mean a complication?" Anne demanded, "You set them on fire!"

"I don't think it was real fire mum," Hermione defended the healer, "It was magic itself, wasn't it?"

"Yes dear," Poppy confirmed, "and what it indicated is a complication only because it will interfere with the tests I was using to monitor Hermione's changes. Well, that and one other bit."

"They have a heart bond, don't they?" Minerva asked, her normally calm demeanor clearly rattled at this point.

"Yes Minerva," Poppy agreed, "The strongest bond recorded, possibly stronger than Merlin's."

"Ok, can you please explain for us poor Muggles what the hell you're talking about?" Anne demanded, her voice cracking.

"And for us?" Harry asked, once again holding tight to Hermione.

"Yes, of course," Madam Pomfrey agreed, "It's one of the most ancient and powerful bonds known to wizards. To be clear, a heart bond does not always mean the pair will marry or even have a romantic relationship. It is the case previously, but not assured. This bond is also one of the rarest. By rare I mean there are only three recorded verified golden heart bonds in History. Two of them married"

"Only Three?" George asked in amazement, "But if it's so rare, how did you recognize it?"

"To be blunt, because I'm a romantic," the healer admitted, "A heart bond is the thing of legends to a romantic. Every girl dreams to one day meet someone they know, with no doubt or hesitation, will always be there for her. That is the basis of a heart bond. Trust. Trust with your feelings, with your hopes and dreams, with your life. But the catch, and yes there's a catch, is it must be proven and the trust must have no doubts. Think soul mate with proof."

"The troll," Minerva said softly, "The potion room. The Basilisk. Professor Lupin and the Dementors. The goblet and that bloody dragon."

"Those are likely the key events," Pomfrey confirmed, turning to the Granger parents, "What it means is George, Anne, is if these two went into some danger, the only way they'd come out is together. Dead or alive, they'd stay together to the end."

"You mean they'd rather die than live apart?" Anne asked in horror.

"No," Minerva cut off Anne's line of thought, "It means they'd give everything to see the other made it through. Like what happened with the Tournament. I'm not sure how much information you were given about the troll incident their first year, but Mr. Potter literally jumped on the back of a twelve foot mountain trolls back to try and save your daughter," she paused and looked at the couple, then pressed on, "What is not known to anyone other than myself and professor Flitwick, is that during the fight, Mr. Potter managed to vanish the trolls brain."

"I did?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Yes Mr. Potter," McGonagall sighed, "I'm sorry to have kept it from you two, but no one would have believed it. They barely believed you managed it as it was."

"But how did-" Harry began.

"Trolls are so basic in nature," Minerva explained quickly, "They can survive for a few moments with no brain."

"Madam Pomfrey?" Hermione asked, her voice thoughtful.

"Yes dear?"

"What was the other complication?"

"Figures you'd catch that," Pomfrey sighed, "The catch is the heart bond that didn't marry was a pair of warriors that were closer than brothers, Merlin Emrys and Artur Pendragon. Because of the bias of the wizarding world this instance was largely ignored. It was later decided that any heart bond between a man and a woman would also constitute a Wedding Bond, a permanent one once consummated."

"A wedding…" Anne lost her power of speech, and looked at her daughter.

Hermione had stiffened in Harry's arms. Harry had frozen in place. As they recovered from the shock, they turned to each other, fear in their eyes. What would the other think? To be forced into this, not given a choice…

Harry slowly brought his hand up to cup Hermione's face, holding her gaze as he tried to push the fear down, tried to convey support and understanding. He resisted the desire to replace her teeth with his as he saw her biting her lower lip in worry. Pushing everything else aside, he slowly, gently pulled her face closer to his, finally resting his forehead against hers.

"Why is it always us?" he whispered, smiling a bit at her surprised chuckle, then continued softly "Whatever happens, we'll figure it out together."

"Together," Hermione agreed, and kissed him gently.