Harry could hear Hermione bustling around the tent, and from the cold draft that was blowing across the tent, he could tell that she was ready to tear down the tent at any given moment, and was probably already getting rid of the magical wards surrounding them. He lifted his head from his pillow and peered around in the semi-darkness.
"Mione?" He managed to croak out in a slumber-filled voice.
Hermione's head poked inside through the tent flap. She looked a bit irritated at being interrupted. "Yes Harry?"
Harry raised himself up into a sitting position on his cot and rubbed his eyes. "What the hell are you doing?"
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "What does it look like I'm doing?"
Harry squinted. "I dunno. Why don't you just tell me so that I don't have to get my glasses?"
He heard Hermione let out a frustrated squeak before she answered, "Do you live to make my life difficult Potter?"
Harry smirked. He had figured what he had said would result in an annoyed Hermione. That was why he had done it. There was nothing more amusing to him than an annoyed and irritated Hermione.
"Maybe." He answered before flashing her an irresistibly charming smile.
As soon as Harry's lips had turn upward into that wonderful smile of his, Hermione couldn't help but relent to his madness. She shook her head, smiling ruefully. "Sometimes I can't stand you Harry Potter."
Harry stood up and shrunk his cot with a flick of his wand. He threw on the clothes laying next to him over his boxer shorts and t-shirt. Hermione's eyes flickered away in embarrassment. She still hadn't gotten used to seeing Harry half dressed. Harry walked towards her, a twinkle in his eyes.
"I can always stand you Hermione." Harry whispered in her ear before quietly slipping out of the tent.
Hermione closed her eyes and silently cursed Harry and his charming ways. He was so oblivious to what he did to girls without meaning to. In fact, Hermione was quite upset with herself for letting him get to her. She was in best friend. She wasn't supposed to think of Harry as a boy. She was just supposed to think of him as her friend. She shook her head firmly as the image of the night before leaked into her thoughts. She did NOT need to be thinking about that right now. They had bigger things to deal with today. Like the inevitable trip to the Potter's gravestones.
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Harry chuckled to himself as he set off to disassemble the protective charms around the tent. He didn't know why he was having such a good time all of a sudden. It was just a day or two ago that he had felt the most depressed in his entire life. What with Ron gone, and his confusing feelings about his parent's graves…nothing good was happening in his life right now.
He heard Hermione mumbling choice curse words under her breath as she fumbled through her handbag, seemingly looking for something important. Her face was red from the cold wind, and her eyes were narrowed in irritation. It was then Harry remembered.
He was happy because of Hermione.
She had succeeded in cheering him up. It seemed that she had distracted him so much from everything bad in their lives that he had even begun to BELIEVE that he was happy. When Harry thought about it, maybe he wasn't just faking his happiness. He really wasn't as depressed as he once had been. And he owed it all to his best friend.
His best friend that was looking increasingly prettier every day.
Harry's eyes widened as he caught himself thinking the very thing that he had been pushing to the back of his mind for the past few days.
Not good to start that train of thought now. Not good at all.
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"Ready to go?" Harry asked Hermione as she finished stuffing the shrunken tent into her bag.
She looked up quickly and gave an affirmative nod. "Just a sec…did you take down all the charms?"
Harry nodded.
"Clean up the fire and left over food?"
Harry nodded again.
Hermione opened her mouth to ask another question but was cut off by Harry before she could speak.
"I think we're fine Mione."
Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "Just trying to make sure we don't get ourselves killed…"
Harry snorted. "Well it's not like going to see my parent's graves is going to be safe. It's actually a really dumb move…"
Hermione glanced toward Harry, her severe expression softening slightly. "Harry, don't try to brush over this quickly. I don't care how dangerous it is. We have to do this. YOU have to do this."
Harry knew better than to try to convince Hermione against something her mind was already set on. He let out a heavy sigh and turned to lead the way down the path that he hoped would lead straight to the cemetery. Hermione gave one last look around the now barren campsite before setting off after Harry, a frown slightly gracing her features as she stared at the hunched shoulders of the young man in front of her.
Harry turned around when a small hand gripped his shoulder. He came face to face with Hermione, who looked a bit worried. "Shouldn't we be under the cloak?"
Harry mentally kicked himself. Of course…it was a miracle that a dozen Death Eaters hadn't swooped out of thin air and captured them. They were both vulnerable out in the open. He took out the invisibility cloak from his coat pocket and wrapped it around himself, reaching out to grab Hermione's hand, pulling her in close next to himself.
Hermione smiled as she felt him squeeze her hand gently. It was his silent thank-you that she had become accustomed to receiving. She instinctively moved closer to him and squeezed his hand gently back.
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The couple that was huddled under the cloak came over the crest of the big hill they had been climbing, and the cemetery they had been searching for came into view. Hermione felt Harry tense beside her. Their hands were still intertwined, and she gripped his a bit tighter, trying to convey a sense of strength for both of them. Harry looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "We should probably stay under the cloak. Wouldn't want to be spotted…you know…"
Hermione nodded, touched that he felt confident in showing her his parent's graves. "Okay…lead the way…"
The two set off through the dozens of headstones, pausing every once in awhile to take a closer look at the inscriptions on the stones. Hermione's nose felt cold as the wind picking up was filled with a bitter chill. She shivered and Harry let go of her hand to wrap an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, grateful for the warmth. Suddenly, Harry stopped walking abruptly. He leaned closer to the stone in front of him, his dark green eyes darting across the worlds engraved on the front.
"This is it." He said in a quiet voice, just managing to make it to Hermione's ears in the heavy wind. Hermione took a small step back, just far enough away to stay covered, but to attempt to give Harry some privacy.
Harry felt Hermione pull away, but for some reason, pulled her back to him. He needed her now more than ever before. It was strange, considering he had always imagined this moment as a solitary time. A time where he could be alone and try to grasp a single memory of his parents. But now that he was faced with the reality, his arm snapped out behind him, grabbing her hand again, pulling her back to him.
Hermione let out a small gasp, but let herself be pulled back. She knelt close to Harry, staring at the names etched into the stone. The reality that his parents would never see him, never meet his friends, never be able to talk to him suddenly hit her, and tears began to stream down her face. She stared at Harry, who was staring at the names, his face stonily still. Suddenly, his head dropped, his chin resting on his chest, his eyes closed tightly. Hermione touched his shoulder, and could feel him shaking slightly.
"Harry?" She questioned quietly.
Harry let out a deep gasping breath, and opened his eyes, staring deep into Hermione's brown ones. Hermione tried to keep herself from letting more tears fall when she realized how hard Harry was trying to control his. His eyes seemed watery, and red rimmed. He swallowed hard, and looked back at the gravestone. Hermione moved closer and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly to her.
Harry felt himself break at the first physical contact. He buried his head in the crook of Hermione's neck and let the tears come streaming down his face. Hermione clutched at his back, attempting to pull him even closer. The tears came for some time, and they stayed in the kneeling position staring at the grave for a long time.
Finally, Harry stood up, bringing Hermione with him. He grabbed her hand, and she rested her head on his shoulder. He stared down at her tear-stained face. "Thank you." He whispered.
Hermione nodded almost imperceptibly. Without anymore words, the two turned around and headed back up the hill.
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Halfway up the hill, Hermione opened her mouth to ask Harry a question. "Why did you want me right next to you?"
Harry looked at her, confused. "Huh?"
"I was all prepared to give you space, but you didn't let me."
Harry scratched the back of his neck, stopping his quick pace to look down at Hermione. "I don't know."
Hermione shrugged. "Alright…I was just wondering…" She took a few steps towards the top of the hill, but was stopped when she realized Harry wasn't following, resulting in her leg stretching out from the cloak, becoming visible again. She quickly pulled it back in again, looking back toward Harry.
She opened her mouth to tell him to hurry up, but was silenced by the sight she saw behind his still form. A black hooded figure was speeding right towards where they were standing. Her words turned into a silent scream as she realized they had been spotted.
Harry whirled around as he noticed Hemione's horrified face. "Shit," he muttered as he pushed Hermione to the ground, landing on top of her. Hermione's mouth opened and closed silently, ready to let out a deathly scream.
Harry reached out and covered her mouth with his hand, as the hooded figure swooped over them, almost touching the edge of the cloak. "Death Eater," He mouthed to Hermione's shocked face. She nodded, and suddenly a look of determination came over her features. Harry nodded back, and grabbed her waist, rolling them down the hill, careful to stay covered with the cloak. They ended up behind a tall gravestone, huddled together, eyes toward the sky searching for the intruder.
The Death Eater came soaring back over the hill, shooting curses at random places, hoping to find the kids under the cloak at random. Hermione gasped as a shot of red light landed just the right of her, exploding the stone. Harry once again grabbed her and crawled toward another stone, covering her shaking body with his, eyes still alert for the Death Eater. He craned his neck around, searching for any sign that the black-cloaked figure was still circling. He just made out a flapping black robe disappearing over the circle of trees that surrounded the cemetery. He realized he was gripping Hermione so tightly she might not be able to breathe.
He let go slowly, still maintaining a tight hold on her, before whispering in her ear, "He's gone for now. Probably went to get help."
Hermione let out a small sob as she wiped her eyes viciously with her free hand, the other one wrapped around Harry's waist. "Let's go…I don't even care if they see us…I have to get out of here…" She cried into his chest.
Harry felt his heart ache at the sight of Hermione crying. It brought back the pain of just a few days ago when Ron had left. Ron. Just thinking about that name brought a cold black rage into Harry's soul. If Ron had been there…he didn't even want to think about it. Wordlessly Harry helped Hermione into a standing position, before grabbing her hand and taking off over the hill. They ran as fast as they possibly could, only stopping when Hermione tripped over a tree root, causing Harry to slow down.
Hermione stared up at Harry after she stood up. "Why are we running?"
Harry felt an unexplained annoyance. "Why do you think Hermione? So that we don't get killed!"
Hermione shook her head, her face pale and her eyes wild. "Why don't we just disapparate?"
Harry stared at her, eyes wide, mouth open. Of course. "What is WRONG with me…" He muttered to himself. He wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist and disapparated to the first safe place that came to mind.
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Hermione felt Harry land on the ground first, as she landed next to him a split second later. She looked around confused. They were standing in the middle of a street filled with house next to house next to house. Almost no trees were present, and everything looked as though it was exactly the same. Suddenly it clicked…this was the Dursley's street.
Harry looked around in shock. Everything was so normal here. Nothing had been touched by evil. And here he was, intruding on all of that. A wizard in a muggle neighborhood was so…odd. He realized that Hermione was shivering next to him. He thought back to the huge ordeal they had just been through and did the first thing that came to mind.
Hermione felt herself being wrapped up by two strong arms, realizing with comfort that it was Harry. He hugged her so tightly; she foolishly thought that if she never left the embrace she would be safe forever. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him back just as fiercely.
"I'm so sorry…" Harry whispered into her hair.
"Sorry for what?" She mumbled back into his chest.
"For putting you in danger."
Hermione squeezed him tighter. "Don't start with me Harry Potter."
Harry chuckled softly. "Fine. I won't."
"Good."
They continued to hold each other for a few minutes before Harry realized they were still out in the open, invisible or not. "We better set up camp somewhere. I know there's a small forest a few minutes from here."
Hermione nodded and was tentative to let go of him. Harry seemed to feel the same way, and kept an arm around her shoulders, before starting to walk down the quiet street. Hermione smiled to herself as she kept her arm wrapped around his waist, keeping up with his pace toward the forest. She didn't know what they were doing in a muggle neighborhood. She didn't even know if Harry knew why they were. And she was still confused on how the Death Eater had known they were in the cemetery to begin with. And of course, the horcruxes were still on both of their minds…
Hermione wanted answers. But she knew better than to ask them now. They could all wait for tomorrow…
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So there you go.
Another chapter.
Sorry it took me so long!
Read and review as you like!!!