A/N: Sorry for the near 3 week delay! I'm so sorry to all of the people who read this story. My main car blew the engine a couple of weeks ago, and I had to find a replacement. Then my wife's car decides to break down not even a week later. Then to top it off we had 2 snow storms that made things difficult as well.

This chapter is mainly a bit of a filler, but it needs to be done and this sets up the remainder of the story.

Enjoy!

Chapter Fourteen

Bonding…

Harry shot out of bed with a scream after a particularly vivid nightmare. Hermione sat up and pulled him back down. He had been like this for the couple of days. He spent most of the day sleeping and having nightmares. When Hermione had to leave for work, Dobby would be the one to watch over Harry.

Harry's eyes darted around, and then they landed on Hermione. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her. He felt a bit better and stronger than he had after he had used the sword on himself. His memories kept coming back to haunt him every night. Yet Hermione had been there every time he needed her. He ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her close. As long as she was touching him, he felt that the nightmares would not be as vivid.

Hermione felt horrible. She was not able to help as much as she felt she needed to. The troubled thoughts faded a bit when Harry pulled her closer. She leaned into him and reveled in the contact. She let out a deep, frustrated sigh.

"Mione? What's wrong?" he whispered. She lifted her head and rested her chin on his chest.

"I feel awful, Harry," she muttered. "I don't know how to help you with this."

He kissed her forehead and played with her hair. He reflected back on the last couple of days. He was glad the darkness inside him was gone, but he felt very vulnerable at his loss of power. He still had not managed to try again, fearing the same result.

"It's ok," he said quietly. "It's my mess to sort out. I just need to find out why this happened. I'm a bit surprised at how much of that power I was using. My body was so used to it, that my natural magic is too weak because of how long it's been since it was used." Hermione sighed.

"I know Harry, but how are you going to hide this? If Tom's goons learn about this, it will be like blood in the water," she said nervously.

Harry sighed and nodded. He was going to have to learn his skills all over again, and even then he might not be back to his original strength ever again. He got lost in thought over what he could do about the situation, that he didn't notice Hermione had fallen back asleep. He smiled down at her peaceful face, and stroked her hair. Fawkes made a quiet trill in the dark. Harry listened to the song and drifted back to sleep, his heart lightened by Fawkes' song.

ooo

Hermione woke at the first rays of dawn, to see Harry getting dressed. He seemed determined about something. He tied the laces to his trainers with a sharp jerk and started to stretch out. Hermione rose from the bed and put on her robe. She finished in the bathroom quickly and dressed for some exercise. Harry raised an eyebrow at her as she put on a sports bra and a pair of lightweight running shorts. She looked at him in a way that said, 'I'm coming with you no matter what you say'.

They walked down in silence to the front door and walked out onto the porch. Harry closed his eyes and smiled a little. He felt the warm rays of the sun heat up his face. Fawkes flew to Harry and perched on his shoulder. Harry looked up to the phoenix and grinned. Fawkes trilled happily and took off, his wings beating in a slow rhythm.

Harry started with a slow pace. Hermione finally got fed up with not even working up a sweat that she simply accelerated and left Harry behind. Harry cried out in surprise and mock outrage that she was currently outrunning him. He caught up and they pulled even. After about twenty minutes of making a game out of their morning run, they settled into a tough, yet manageable pace. They reached the house after another hour. Harry checked his pedometer that was on his wrist and was shocked that they had managed to run thirteen miles that time.

Hermione started to go for a shower, when Harry turned and went to the training room. Hermione turned around and followed him into the room. She saw him staring at the stone he had tried using his magic on the other day. His eyes narrowed and he drew his wand. Hermione stopped at the doorway, watching the scene unfold. Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His face relaxed into the picture of serenity and his eyes snapped open.

"Reducto," he said simply. The spell left his wand and crashed into the stone. The stone slab cracked in half and one part fell to the side. Harry grinned triumphantly at the sight before him. He looked over at Hermione with a smile. "Now I know how Albus did it. No matter what he was faced with, he was always calm. Yet his spells were nothing if not spectacular."

Hermione smiled a little and walked up to Harry. She pulled him into a hug and held him for a moment.

"Harry, just make sure that you are not pushing this too hard," she said. He stroked her hair and pulled back a bit. She pouted a bit when he pulled back, but then she her face lit up when he produced the practice swords. He took her through some basic blocks and maneuvers.

As it was the weekend, Hermione and Harry spent most of the morning in the training room. Finally Hermione had enough of the both of them all sweaty and smelly; she dragged Harry upstairs to take a shower. Harry had become more comfortable around her and he had adjusted to her showering with him. After their shower, Hermione put on her bikini that she knew would get to Harry and winked at him suggestively. He scrambled into his swim trunks and followed her down to the pool.

As usual, he dove into the water with a cannon ball and proceeded to drench anything that was near. Hermione gave him a glare as she shook the water from herself. Harry just grinned cheekily at her. She pulled her wand out from under her towel and waved it at the water. Harry had swum away from her, and she grinned as his piercing yell filled her ears. He rocketed out of the water as fast as he could, shivering from head to toe.

"Why, Ms. Granger, I hope you know this means war," he said, grinning evilly. Her eyes widened as he started for her.

"Harry, don't you even—" she said before he sprinted the rest of the way and she was tossed into the water. She surfaced and let out a loud shriek. "Accio Harry Potter!"

Harry yelled as he was forcefully pulled into the water right to Hermione. He broke the surface and saw that Hermione's lips were turning blue.

"Er, M-Mione, d-don't y-y-you th-think we should w-warm up t-the wat-ter?" he said through chattering teeth. Hermione tried to say it, but it came out wrong and the spell did not work. "Dobby!"

Dobby popped in right next to the pool and frowned. He snapped his fingers and the pool started to warm at a decent rate. Hermione and Harry stopped shivering and got out of the pool. They sat on the side huddled together and wrapped a towel around themselves. Dobby finished warming the water and shot a disapproving glare at Harry.

"Hey, it wasn't me!" Harry said with his hands up. Dobby sighed and popped out of the room. "Thanks, Mione, you got me in trouble with Dobby now." She glanced over at Harry and saw that he was grinning.

"Oh, he's the least of your worries, my love," she said sweetly. His grin disappeared right away. "Now what should I do for punishment? Hmm…"

Harry suddenly leaned over and captured her lips with his. She slid over and crawled up onto his lap, without breaking the kiss. She straddled him and pressed her body to his. He suddenly broke the kiss and wriggled out from under her.

"Oh, I don't think so," she said as she reached for him. He grinned and backed up a few steps. He turned and ran for the door in the back of the pool room. Hermione grabbed her wand and gave it a wave. She cringed when there was a loud smack as Harry tried to run full speed through the now sealed door. He fell back into a crumpled heap. Harry sat up and started to check his nose to make sure it wasn't broken. He slowly turned his head around and shot a look at Hermione, who smiled sweetly and sauntered over to him.

"I hope this concludes our object lesson for today," she said haughtily. Harry tried to glare at her, but his attempt to stay serious was failing miserably.

"You know, Mione," he said. "I'll get even sometime soon." She just raised her eyebrow challengingly and smirked.

"I'll believe it when I see it," she quipped.

ooo

Hermione snapped the book shut, and looked over at Harry. She had noticed that he had begun to slip back into the brooding and sullen behavior recently. He was sitting in a chair by the fire, staring into the flames. She figured that he had been trying to hide what he was really feeling from her.

"Harry? What's bothering you?" she asked, but she had a good idea of what it was. Harry didn't even look over at her and shrugged.

"Nothing's wrong Hermione, I'm fine," he said. She didn't buy it for one second. She knew that his drop in magical power was weighing on him immensely and that it would take a long time for him to adjust.

"Don't give me that, Harry," she said sternly. "I know those answers. Please, just talk to me." Harry's face hardened a bit, but his eyes did not leave the flames.

"Like I said Hermione, I'm fine. Just let it go," he said. She tossed the book onto the table and got up from her chair. She walked over to him and knelt in front of him. She gazed into his eyes, and saw the fear hidden beneath the surface. She reached out her hand and took his gently.

"Harry, please," she whispered. "I can't let it go. It hurts me to see you like this." His eyes snapped to hers, and let go of her hand. He suddenly stood up and looked down at her.

"Just leave me be for a bit. It's something I have to get through on my own," he said. He started to walk away when she grabbed his arm and slowly turned him back to face her. She pulled him into a tight embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and they just stood there for a while.

"Harry, remember that you are never alone in anything. You have so many people that care about you that will always be here for you," she said. He responded by tightening his hold on her.

"I know," he said. "But how am I supposed to keep fighting? I can barely make a stone slab crack enough to break, and I don't know how to get back to the strength I had before. How many others will die because I can't fight?"

"Harry, you can't do everything on your own. As much as you want to, it's just not possible. There is no one person that can do everything," she said patiently. "For example, remember back to when Dumbledore was still alive. Everyone considered him to be the most powerful wizard alive, yet he always had help from others. How much do you want to bet that when he was young, that he thought he had to take on everything by himself? How many times do you think that he had the same drive you did, to protect everyone out there?" Harry sat back down thinking while she continued.

"Harry, even the most influential and popular leaders in history always had someone supporting them and helping them? On the other hand, think of Voldemort. He is very powerful, I will admit that. But why do you think he is so feared? It's not just him, but the Death Eaters as well. They help him with trying to accomplish his goals. If it were just Voldemort alone, how long do you think he would have lasted?" she said. She took a breath and continued. "If it were just him alone killing and torturing, the public would have banded together and taken him down. No matter how powerful one person is dozens would still be stronger when they have help."

Harry sat back and pondered what she had said. He had to admit she made a lot of sense. But he was still concerned about his power level drop off. He mentally kicked himself for becoming so reliant on the dark side of himself to fight. He knew that he had been close to crossing the line many times, but he had always managed to pull himself back. But now it was different. It was time to make a stand.

"Hermione, could you inform the Order of an emergency meeting tonight? I'm not going to disclose this, but we need to meet and get a plan together," he said. Hermione rushed off to get the notices out so the main group could meet. "Oh, and make sure that some of the Order bring someone they trust to join if they can. If I know Tom, he has already been gathering more supporters. We need all the help we can get."

Fawkes flew over and landed on Harry's shoulder. Harry reached up and stroked Fawkes' scarlet and gold plumage. Fawkes looked into Harry's eyes and stared at him.

'I hope this gets through to you Harry.' Harry's jaw fell as he heard a voice in his head.

"Fawkes?" Harry whispered in awe.

'Ahh, good. It seems as though I can talk to you now. Your darkness within was interfering. Well done, young Harry. It is an honor that I can finally converse with you.'

"Well, it's a bit strange to hear you in my head, but it's good to be able to talk to you now," Harry said.

'I remember the first time I was able to converse with Albus. His reaction was quite similar to yours. But I seem to remember he just about started throwing spells around to find the intruder.'

Harry snorted at the image in his mind of a younger Dumbledore looking panicked and ready to attack. He heard Fawkes make some noise that sounded like laughing.

'Now, about your predicament, I think you should quickly venture to Hogwarts and talk with Albus. He might be able to help you find your way to recovery.'

"Thanks, Fawkes. I probably should go and talk with him," Harry said. He looked over and saw Hermione staring at him in shock. "Mione, want to come to Hogwarts with me? I need to speak with Albus." Hermione nodded, still in shock at the sight she had seen.

They walked to the edge of Harry's wards, and apparated to Hogwarts. They walked to the gate and they were met by Hagrid.

"Harry, good ta see yer! And 'ermione! You two 'ere ta see McGonagall?" Hagrid said, helping Harry up from slapping his back. "Sorry bout tha' Harry."

"No problem Hagrid. Actually we're here to talk to Albus' portrait. I need some advice," Harry said. There was a burst of flame behind Harry, and Fawkes landed on Harry's shoulder.

"Well, 'ello Fawkes. Good to see yer back as well!" Hagrid said as he gently stroked Fawkes. "Well, let's not keep ya waitin 'ere!"

Hagrid led them up to Minerva's office, and invited them down for tea after they were finished. Harry quickly accepted since he wanted to catch up with Hagrid. It had been a long time since they sat down and talked for a while.

Hermione used her patronus to let Minerva know that they were at the gargoyle. A few moments later the gargoyle leapt aside and they stepped onto the stairs. After a polite welcome and a spot of tea, Harry stood to go to Albus' portrait. Albus was feigning sleep again, but Harry was not able to participate in the 'game' Albus had become so fond of. Harry's eyes were focused on the floor, something which Minerva noticed.

"Mr. Potter?" she asked. When she didn't get an answer, she tried again. "Harry?" Bewildered at the sudden change of his behavior, she looked over at Hermione, whom she noticed looked troubled as well. Albus heard Minerva, and was surprised to open his eyes and see Harry looking very upset.

"Harry my boy, what is the matter?" Albus asked gently. Seeing Harry's troubled expression, and the lack of magical pranks, Albus made the connection. "Oh my, you completed it then." Harry nodded.

"Yes, I did," Harry said quietly.

"And you deemed it worthy to use upon yourself, I see," Albus said. Harry just nodded again, but didn't say anything. "Well Harry, first I must say on congratulations on a well done piece of work. But it seems to have a side effect you did not expect."

"Albus, I can barely cast a spell now," Harry said. Minerva gasped and looked over at Albus' portrait. Albus merely nodded. Harry went into the story of what brought his decision on, and the others listened patiently. Hermione had reached over and took Harry's hand for support. When he finished the story, Albus looked to be in deep thought. After a few moments of silence, he cleared his throat.

"Harry, you did the right thing to come to me. Word of this cannot get out about your condition. You have a place to work on trying to regain your abilities, correct?" Albus said. Harry nodded in the affirmative. "Very good. You will not be able to practice here, due to the fact that the school will be filled with students very soon. Minerva, could you please retrieve the extra portrait for me please? It is time for Harry to have it so I can help him with this."

Minerva disappeared into the back of the office to retrieve the portrait. She handed it to Harry when she returned. Hermione shrunk it so they could carry it home with little trouble. Harry and Albus setup a schedule for when Albus could be in the portrait to assist him. Harry made a small joke about why they needed a schedule, since Albus was just a portrait now. Albus just gently reminded Harry about how they needed to keep this a secret. They notified Minerva of the Order meeting that was to take place that night.

After they left the office they wandered around the school for a bit, visiting with the ghosts. Sir Nicholas, the Gryffindor ghost still complained about the others not accepting him into the headless hunt. They arrived at Hagrid's hut after a while. Harry and Hermione sat down and got caught up with Hagrid. Naturally Hagrid was overjoyed to see them and was happy they had gotten together.

Harry made Hagrid's year when he told him about his time in the dragon preserve in the United States. Hagrid kept peppering him with questions about the things he did, and Harry gladly shared what he had been doing. Hagrid let out a huge bellow of laughter about the story of how the dragon Harry had helped chose his name. Hagrid also informed Harry the same thing Hermione had said that it was a great honor to have a dragon name itself after you. After a couple of hours of catching up, Harry and Hermione told Hagrid that they had to be going.

They returned home and went to planning the meeting for that night. Harry sent Fawkes to Ron with a message to come when he could to help with devising some tactical plans for certain high profile targets Voldemort may have been interested in. Fawkes appeared back with a burst of flame a short time later.

'Harry, your friend Ron said he had already started to work on some plans and possible scenarios, but he will only have a couple ready for tonight's meeting. He also asked me to let you know that he would like to come for dinner afterwards,' Fawkes said.

Hermione's head whipped around looking at Fawkes with her jaw hanging open. Harry looked puzzled for a moment. But then he looked back and forth between the two, starting to realize that it seemed that Hermione could hear Fawkes as well.

"Mione? Can you hear him?" Harry asked in awe. Hermione could only nod, as she could still not find the right words to handle the moment. "Fawkes, how is that possible? I thought you could only communicate with the person you had bonded with."

'Ahh Harry, you have much to learn,' Fawkes said with a couple of trills that sounded like him chuckling. 'When a phoenix bonds to a person, they are also able to be heard by that person's soul mate."

Harry looked over to Hermione. She had gotten over her shock and was lost in thought. A sly grin came to her face as she looked over at Harry.

"Well Harry. It looks like you are stuck with me," she said jokingly. Harry just smiled and walked over to her. He pulled her into a hug and let out a small laugh.

"Trust me, Mione, there is no one I would rather be stuck with," Harry said. Hermione tightened her grip around him and smiled. "How about tomorrow night we have a nice dinner in the formal dining room? Just the two of us. I'll give Dobby and Winky the night off. We should be able to have a nice quiet dinner without any interruptions."

"Of course Harry, I would love to," she said. "So, shall we prepare for the meeting tonight? I can make some outlines of what we want to do." Harry smiled at the beautiful young woman in his arms.

"That would be great Hermione," Harry said. "I think we need to do a lot of work. But we need to know how we are going to accomplish our goals and end this war once and for all."

They sat down in the study, drawing up papers. Hermione also managed to make a stronger contract that would ferret out the people who were spies for Voldemort. This time she made the parchment freeze the person who had ill intentions towards the group. Harry looked a bit harassed when she had him test it.

She had set it up so that Harry had to promise never to prank her again; he was frozen on the spot, unable to move anything but his eyes. She smirked and warned him that whatever he would do in the future, she would retaliate in spades.

Harry sat back after being released, and smiled. The Order of the Phoenix would be taking on a whole new direction and purpose, starting that night.