A/N: Made a few spelling corrections and added a few things. Also changed some dialog to not be as repetitive…

Chapter Six

Healing Revelations

Two years later…

Hermione had managed to halfway unravel the stone Harry had made. The extra capabilities hidden in the stone were nothing short of staggering. He had somehow managed to make the stone do all of the standard things the original stone could do. Such as turn anything into gold and producing the elixir of life, but she had revealed one more thing it could do, which was when the elixir was drunk, the recipient would have his or her magic amplified to dangerous levels, and could be fatal if taken to close together. She had made a bit of the elixir from the stone under the strict supervision of Gavin. They had broken down the potion and found that there were still four more unique things that could be done with the elixir.

Hermione had settled down with a warm cup of tea one night, and pulled her favorite book to her lap. She had been reading for a while when she heard some screaming from outside the window. She dropped the book and grabbed her wand. She ran to her front door and flung it open. She almost dropped her wand when she saw the all too familiar white masks and black robes. Before she could try and cast a spell, they were attacked from behind with a powerful reductor curse. Two of the five Death Eaters fell instantly, and the others turned around. They attacked their assailant, with everything they had. Hermione ran into the street and gathered the previous victims and pushed them towards her house. When they were safe, she turned back to the battle in her street. The Death Eaters were winning.

Hermione took a deep breath and cast a blasting hex with as much power as she could muster. What surprised her is that her wand actually bucked when the spell left her wand and rocketed towards the Death Eaters. Her spell had hit just a fraction of a second too late as one of the Death Eaters sent a reductor curse straight into their attacker's chest at close range. She heard the scream of pain as it hit, and then the deafening silence as the remainder of the Death Eater squad was wiped out by the force of her spell.

She walked up to the unknown attacker that had engaged the Death Eaters. She saw that he too had a mask, but it had a phoenix on its forehead. She levitated the unknown man into her house and scrambled to find her healing kit. When she located it, she was glad to see that the man was still alive, but he was starting to fade. The victims of the attack were huddled in a corner, with shocked looks on their faces. Hermione managed to get them to talk and found that they were muggleborn wizards. Hermione tossed them some calming potions and they were consumed quickly. Hermione heard the tell tale sounds of apparition outside of her flat. She ran to the door, and opened it a crack. She was relieved to see that an Auror squad cleaning up the mess. She shut her door and sealed it. She needed some time to work on the mysterious hero. Her wand started to warm in her hand, and it seemed to tell her to heal the person as fast as possible, and the feeling was one of panic she received from her wand. She still had not figured out why it would try and communicate with her sometimes, but she dismissed it for now, and cast the most powerful healing spell she knew. She was relieved to see that the wounds were closing, and his breathing was returning to normal.

She reached for his mask. Hermione needed to know who this hero was. When she removed the mask, it hit the floor with a thud and she gasped. Here lying on her floor, was the love of her life, Harry Potter. The others in the room also gasped at who the hero was. Hermione swore them to secrecy, and told them to say they did not see who saved them except for her. She unsealed the door, and she led them out. She was glad that it was Ron's squad who was there, and they were starting to take statements from the few witnesses. Hermione said that she heard the screaming, and had run to their aid. She told them that an unknown person attacked the Death Eaters from behind, but she didn't see who it was.

Ron took her statement, and let her go back home. She ran back to her door, and hoped that Harry had not disappeared again. When she got inside, side shut the door quickly and spun around. Harry was still there, and he was still unconscious. She levitated him to her bed and gently lowered him down. She sat down on the edge of the bed just staring at him. She breathed in his scent, as she watched his chest rise and fall.

He had filled out in the right spots, and had gained a bit more onto his height. His strong chiseled jaw had become more handsome than she remembered. He would have a couple of slight scars to add to the others, but Hermione didn't really care about that. His scar had faded a bit, but it looked like it was a bit red around the edges. She just watched him sleep, and soon, she drifted off lying on the foot of her bed.

She awoke from her restless sleep, and found that Harry was not in the bed. She scrambled to her feet and threw open her bedroom door. She was starting to get nervous that Harry had disappeared again. She heard a noise and a muttered curse from the kitchen. She ran down the hall and rounded the corner, only to see Harry trying to look through her pantry for something to eat. She took a deep breath and approached Harry. He jumped when she touched his shoulder.

"Sorry Harry. I didn't mean to startle you," she said sheepishly. Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"That's ok, Hermione. I was just trying to find something for breakfast. You were sleeping, and I didn't want to wake you," he said. He turned to face her, making her melt with his intense gaze. "Was there something you wanted to talk about?"

She bit her lip, unsure of how he would react especially after what had just happened the previous night. She sat down and dropped her head into her hands. Harry looked at her, wondering what could be troubling her so much.

"Harry, I don't know if this is the right time, but I'm afraid that if I don't say this, I'll never get a chance to," she said. Harry raised his eyebrow, and motioned for her to continue. "I got your letter you put into the box with your stone."

Harry looked at his feet, and blushed to his roots.

"Oh yeah, that letter," he mumbled. "Look, I know I might have been out of line, but I had to say that. It's ok if you don't feel the same. I know I probably over-stepped my bounds as a friend."

Hermione quickly got up and went into her room; she retrieved the letter and strode back out into her living room. She showed him that the letter was still as pristine as it had been, but it had been read several times over.

"Harry, this letter you left for me has been one of the only things that have kept me going recently," she said quietly. She looked into his eyes and saw a spark of hope in the deep, intense emerald depths. She answered his look of hope by crossing the room and launched herself at him. She pulled him into a deep kiss, and loving every second of it.

Harry was surprised for a moment, but he quickly kissed her back with everything he had. He poured all of his pent up emotions into the kiss. They both felt a sudden warm breeze flow through themselves, and when they broke apart, it was only because they both needed to catch their breath.

"Did you feel that?" Harry asked. She nodded and sighed with happiness. She finally had let out her true self to Harry, and she felt better than she had in a very long time. She pulled him in for another kiss, and this time Harry didn't hesitate. If anyone else had been in the room, they would have seen the brilliant white aura around the two of them. When they finally broke apart because air was becoming an urgent need, Hermione looked up at Harry, but saw a troubled look on his face.

"Harry? What's wrong?" she asked. Harry sighed and sat down at the table. He ran his hand through his hair and then his scowl deepened.

"Hermione, I'm not sure we can do this. I can't stand to see you get hurt because of me—" he started to say when he was interrupted by a sharp slap to the back of his head. He turned his head and looked at an irate Hermione. 'Er, this is not going to be good,' he thought to himself. She started to speak in a calm, but fierce tone of voice.

"What, do you think I can't take care of myself? Or that I'm some little girl you feel you have to keep at arm's length because you have to protect them? Well think again, because ever since I got my new wa—" she started to say, but cut herself off. She was still a bit embarrassed about how she lost her first one. She looked over at Harry and lost her will to berate him, as she saw his eyes sparkling with silent laughter. She dropped her head to the table. "Oh, you heard as well, huh?" Harry nodded in the affirmative and burst out laughing. "Oh sod off, Potter!"

Harry's laughter became so hard, that his face was beet red. Once he regained his composure, he looked at a blushing Hermione.

"Yeah, I heard about that. And I heard about your boss' reaction as well!" Harry said. Hermione groaned again, and began to thump her head on the table. Harry shot his hand out before she could progress, and held her back from hitting her head more. "Sorry, but it was too funny on how you could go from the Hermione we all feared in school, to beating yourself up over something you had no control over." His face became serious again. "The other thing that bothers me, I don't know if I am betraying her memory…"

Hermione quickly caught on to what he was getting at. He felt that having an interest in Hermione meant he was trying to replace Ginny with her. She knew that could have been an issue, but she had a quick answer to that.

"Harry, there is something you should know. The day Ginny died," she paused as a painful grimace came over his face. "When she whispered into my ear, she told me something. She wanted me to take care of you. She knew long before the final battle how I had started to feel for you, but she said since I was with Ron, and you had been a clueless guy when you were younger." She smiled at the affronted look on his face. "She told me that if things did not work out with Ron, that she would feel better if I was the one who you ended up with."

Harry's eyes were shining with unshed tears. He stood up and walked over to the window and stared out of it.

"Hermione, like I said in the letter, I was smitten with you, but I knew Ron would never forgive me if we started to see each other. Things were so hard back then, and I could not risk losing the only people who cared about me. If that had happened, I don't think I would have had the strength to escape Voldemort in the graveyard," he said quietly. "I put my feelings aside and encouraged Ron to ask you out, since I knew he liked you. I know he still does, but I think he may have found a better match with Sharon. But when I'm with you, all of my bad memories seem to be easier to force down. You keep me calm and happy. I know Ginny had that effect on me, but with you, it is so much more powerful. Do you understand now? I feel that since that is the case, I am betraying her for loving you and you having more of an effect on me. I just feel that I can't face it."

Hermione stood up and gently turned him to face her. She took a deep breath and readied herself to reveal something that she had promised to Ginny that she would keep secret until the battle had been finished and Voldemort was destroyed.

"Harry, I need to tell you something that will be a bit of a shock," she said, afraid at how he was going to handle this. "I know she never told you, but she was a seer. She kept it secret, from everyone. I only knew because I knew she had not been sleeping after her first and only vision. She saw the final battle Harry."

"You mean she saw herself die?" Harry whispered. Hermione shook her head.

"No. She saw what would have happened if she had not sacrificed herself," she said shakily. Hermione buried her face into Harry's chest and started to cry. She looked up, at stared at Harry with tear filled eyes. "She saw you lose, and what happened to the world if Voldemort had won. She said she couldn't let that happen no matter the consequences."

Harry stood there in shock at the revelation. His grip on Hermione tightened and they both stood there just holding each other.

"So you see Harry, she died to make sure life would go on. She sacrificed herself to make sure you would have a future, even if it was without her."

Harry nodded as tears fell from his eyes. He closed them and said a silent thank you to Ginny. He felt a breeze of warm air and he could have sworn he smelled Ginny's scent for a moment. Hermione's head shot up at that moment with a startled look on her face. Harry half smiled and nodded at her questioning look. They sat down and just thought about things for a while. Finally Harry asked a question that she had been expecting a long time before now.

"Hermione, how do you feel about me?" He asked. She playfully punched his arm and moved around the table and sat on his lap. She snuggled into him and closed her eyes. She let out a contented sigh. She felt him sigh as well. "Well I guess that answers that. Now, can I see the new wand?"

Hermione nodded and went to her bedroom to retrieve it. When she picked it up, she smiled slightly at the comforting feel that flowed into her. She also wanted to ask Harry if he had run into anyone during his travels that knew about wands that seemed to be sentient. She had done a bit of side research into the subject, but she had not found anything yet. She arrived back to the kitchen. She started to talk about the wand, and how it had two cores in it. To her surprise, Harry did not seem amazed at all about it. They talked a bit on how her magical output had nearly doubled since the new wand chose her. As they were talking, Hermione got up to fix a spot of breakfast and set her wand down. She busied herself while they talked about a little of his travels and turned to see him reaching for the wand.

"Harry! Be careful!" she yelled as his hand closed around it. But to her amazement, Harry just smiled and inspected the wand. She raised an eyebrow at Harry, who looked like he was having a silent conversation with someone. "Strange, last time someone tried to handle the wand, it burned them. How were you able to pick it up without it getting mad at you?" Harry chuckled, and smiled.

"Well, I guess the wand likes me," he said. Her eyes widened and she had to sit down. He would be able to tell her if the wand was sentient or not.

"Harry, do you know someone that can tell me if the wand is sentient?" she asked excitedly. He just chuckled again and murmured something to thin air, telling whoever he was talking to that he was sorry she didn't see it before. Then it clicked in her mind what was going on. "Wait a second. Harry, are you talking to the wand?" Harry's eyes lit up, seeing that she finally understood what was going on.

"Of course I am! What, you didn't ever talk to him?" he asked. She shook her head, and wondered how she could have missed it. "Well, he is a bit upset he never got to know you better, but he understands." Hermione thought furiously over the revelation, and then her eyes snapped to Harry.

"Harry? How do you know that the wand is a 'he'? I mean, how can it be possible?" she whispered. "How can you talk to a wand that you have never--… Wait! How did you do it?" Harry just grinned.

"Come on, you're almost there," he said. Hermione gasped, closed her eyes, and shook her head. She couldn't believe she didn't see it before.

"Harry, you made this wand! That's why Mr. Ollivander wouldn't tell me who made the wand! That's why it let you pick it up!" she said as she smacked her forehead. Harry's smile grew even bigger.

"Yes, I did. Now you know," he said with a smile. Then he pulled his wand out and set it down on the table. To her surprise, the two wands rolled towards each other and she could hear a contented sigh in her mind. "And yes, I made this one as well."

Her mind was finally putting things together, except for one detail.

"So how is it that they are sentient? I mean I have never found anything that would explain it," she said.

"Well, it is because the heartstring is from a dragon that is still alive," he started to explain. When she was about to ask how that was possible, he held up his hand motioning her to wait for the rest. "Now a few months after I left, I ended up at a dragon preserve. The preserve was in the United States. I was just wandering through Denver, when I saw that the preserve needed a bit of help for a month or two, while one of their employees was out due to a serious injury.

So I ended up going to a section of the Rocky Mountain range, and began with just helping with what I could. I think I actually ran across the dragon they used for me in the Tri-Wizard tournament, because that one would get especially ornery when I was around that Horntail.

Well one day a couple of younger dragons were trying to out fly one another, and the bigger of the two hit a large jagged boulder. It turns out that the rock was solid enough to penetrate his chest and his heart was injured. I was called out to help with some of the bandages, but they could not get close enough, as the dragon was gravely injured and it would not let anyone get close. And then it saw me. Now dragons must have a way to develop a certain respect for some people. Because I had out flown the Horntail in the tournament, this one must have heard. Because it let me get right up to its snout, and I was able to touch him, but man did I feel nervous. I thought he would suddenly lunge and swallow me whole. When I did, he started to talk to me telepathically. We started to get to know each other, and talked to each other while the rest of the crew worked on his injury.

They had to remove a small section of the dragon's heart muscle, due to the fact it was almost severed completely clean. The tissue would have died and become infected if it had not been removed. The dragon handlers said that would have surely killed him. He demanded that I keep it preserved as a token of his thanks for helping him to live. While he was healing, they setup a camp for me very close to him, so he would be able to stay still and let the wound heal. I asked him if I could maybe use a little of it to make myself a wand if I could ever learn how. Let me tell you, when a dragon laughs, it sounds like an earthquake.

So, as a few days went by, I learned that he did not have a name yet, since dragons choose their name for themselves based on significant events in their young lives. Sure, we can choose names for them, but they only respond if they wish to. They keep their true names to themselves and use it for the other dragons."

Hermione was entranced by his amazing story, and was disappointed why he stopped there, only to see he was blushing a bit.

"Harry? What's wrong? Why are you acting embarrassed? So he didn't have a name chosen for himself yet," she said. When he looked down and flushed even more, she caught on. "Oh, so he did choose a name then, didn't he?" she teased. Harry just mumbled something under his breath. "Let me guess, he chose Harry, didn't he?"

Harry just nodded, while staring at the floor. Hermione smiled and put her hand over his.

"Harry that is a tremendous honor having a young dragon to name itself after your name, I mean, they live for hundreds of years and they will have to tell the story of how their name came to be. Your name will be revered by dragons for generations to come!"

Harry let out a strangled cry and put his head in his hands.

"Great, rub it in that I am famous even with dragons as well," Harry muttered. He looked at Hermione sharply as she laughed at his comment. "Oh, do hush up."

They talked a while more on things he had seen and done over the past four years. He told her about his martial arts training he had taken, and blushed when she said it really suited him, as he was in terrific shape. The conversation drifted to the places he had been. Rome, the U.S., Tokyo, Beijing, and many others were mentioned. He talked about all of the contacts he had made, and friendships he had formed with many other people. But Hermione noticed one thing that he neglected to mention.

"So Harry, was there anyone special during these years? I mean, the women must have been tripping over each other to get into your good graces," she said with a wink. His face fell, and he dropped his head down. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry Harry. I was just trying to poke fun at you. I know, I'm tactless and I should not have asked that."

"It's ok. I shouldn't let it get to me, but it still does. The truth is, yes. The women were always trying to rope in the 'Great Harry Potter' but they could never get me to pay attention to them. They all wanted the fame. Now it's not that I went out with them, I just knew it. At first I was still getting over Ginny. That took a long time. But after a while the pain got less. It will never go away, and I know this. But that doesn't mean I have to live alone for the rest of my life thinking that there would be no one else for me.

Time went by, and I kept getting all sorts of women trying to woo me. But the one person that was not trying to and the one person I missed the most of all was you. I knew it was because you really cared for me, not the fame and money. I knew that if I lost all of my money and the wizarding world abandoned me, you would still be there for me. You would always be a true friend at my side, and that would never change," he finished and looked up to see tears in Hermione's eyes. He reached out to her, and drew her petite form to his chest. She clutched on to him, vowing to never let him go again.

"Oh, Harry. I'm glad to know you knew that. The one thing I wished I could have told you before you left was that. I'm just happy that you knew that without it being said," she said. He answered by tightening his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

The day went by with them catching up on all of the little details that they never knew. That evening, Harry sat in a chair in the living room, debating who was now leading the Death Eaters. He needed to find out what they were after, and why. He had his suspicions of who the current interim leader was, but he needed more proof before he could go after them. Hermione arrived home from checking in at work and saw Harry brooding to himself. She walked over and gave him a one armed hug from behind. He gently put his hand on her forearm and sighed.

"Sorry 'Mione, I was just going over some things in my head," he said. She kissed him on the side of his head and went to go take her cloak off. When she had put things away, they had a quiet dinner, making plans for the following day. He wanted to take her out to dinner, but he was not sure how he would be accepted back since he had disappeared.

She explained to him that for once, the Daily Prophet had run a true and accurate article on him when he disappeared. The public never condemned him, and they would be excited to have him back. She was hoping the media rush would not be too bad, but she knew how bad it would be when word leaked out.

The next morning had her getting up before Harry woke up from his spot on the couch. She had tried to get him to transfigure it into a bed, but he said that he did not want to since he actually had a house that he owned. When he had mentioned that, she had boldly offered for him to join her, but he gently let her down with a smile, saying that the moment would have to be right for him to do that. She had hid her disappointment at his response.

When she exited her room, she found Harry sleeping with his head hanging off the edge of the couch. She smirked to herself and decided that this was a perfect time to get him back for the potion bottle prank he pulled a couple of years ago. She crept into the kitchen and charmed the butterbeer in her icebox with a confusion charm and a curse that would make whoever drank it have balance problems. Then she moved back into the living room and charmed all of his clothing to be invisible except for his underwear when he put them on. She figured hat he would still be half asleep and not notice it until it was too late. Then she finished her prank by charming the shower to only put out ice cold water, and that it would make the water colder the more he turned the hot water on.

Satisfied with her work, she left her flat and apparated to the Ministry. She was excited about her date with Harry that night and stopped at Madam Malkin's.

"Why Miss Granger! I thought it would be longer before you would need more robes. But still it is a pleasure to see you. So what can I get you?"

"I need a dress robe, and one that would make even the most dim-witted man to notice it. Preferably black for a color," Hermione said.

"Ah! It's about time some lucky bloke caught your eye! Some of us worried that a pretty little thing like you would never find someone. Now, let me see… I think I may have something in the back you would like. Let me go and get it," Madam Malkin said as she bustled off to the back room. She came back with a dress that took Hermione's breath away.

It was black, but it had silver piping around the waist in an elegant design. It had long blossoming sleeves with silver and white layers at the end of the sleeves. A modest, but noticeable neckline left little to the imagination. Hermione's eyes lit up when she saw the dress, and she immediately grabbed it to go and try it on. When she came out of the dressing room, she heard Madam Malkin gasp at how Hermione look.

"My dear! Oh it looks absolutely smashing on you! Let's see, it needs a little taken in around the waist. It looks a little tight around the chest, so I need to do a few small alterations on it. But otherwise it is a perfect dress for you," Madam Malkin said. She has Hermione keep the dress on so the changes could be done perfectly. The alterations were done in just a few moments, and Hermione said her thanks and paid for the dress.

Hermione left the store in high spirits, and had an average day at her job. She could not wait to see Harry's face at the dress. She wanted to see if Harry had an interesting morning after she left. She arrived home to see Harry sitting on the floor in the living room, in his boxers, wavering dangerously. He looked up and tried to focus his eyes on her.

"Hermione? What's wrong with me? Oh and I think your bathroom is broken… It was so cold…" he mumbled. She slapped her hand to her mouth and fought off a case of the giggles. She waved her wand and the effects of the prank disappeared. His clothes appeared, but his shirt was half off of his body, and his pants were on backwards. His eyes snapped back in focus. "What the… Granger, you are history!"

Hermione let out a surprised yelp as he tackled her to the ground, intent on tickling the life out of her. Despite her shrieks of protest, he kept on for a few more minutes until they were both out of breath lying on the living room floor. Harry rolled his head over to look at her, and smiled at how beautiful she looked with her cheeks full of color.

"Well, I suppose we should go and get ready for dinner," Hermione said. "Do you have your outfit here?"

Harry shook his head and told her he had to go to his home to get ready. He gave her a quick kiss, and apparated to his house. Hermione spent the rest of the afternoon fixing up her hair and getting ready. When her doorbell rang, she had just finished her final touches. She adjusted her black silk shawl, and put the sultriest look on her face she could muster. She reached for the door and opened it.

She giggled at Harry's reaction. There stood the bravest man she had ever known, the great Harry Potter, stunned into silence. His eyes slowly took in everything from her hair to her high heeled shoes, and he was utterly speechless. He recovered and finally managed to utter out the only thing that came to his mind.

"Great Merlin, you are gorgeous!" he said. Then he seemed to snap back to his usual polite self. "Excuse me. Er, could you shut the door? I, um, buggered that up. I want to try that again." She shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Not a chance, Harry. Your reaction was the proper one. No do-over's tonight. Are you ready?" she asked, batting her eyes at him. It was funny how she could get him to melt, but it seemed so easy to do when she dressed like that. She made a mental note of that and accepted the two dozen red roses he had given her. He offered her his arm and she slipped her hand under his and he led her out of the flat, with the promise of a truly wonderful evening in store.