AN: Sorry for the delayed update, it was my plan to update daily after the first submission but when I went to publish this chapter I realized that FanFiction had deleted my line-breaks. As simple as the solution to this problem was, for some reason my "smart phone" refused to allow me to add line-breaks. Anyway, here is the next chapter. I still don't own Harry Potter. Read, review, and make me a happy author. Thanks!

Chapter 3

Upon arriving to the Forest of Dean, Hermione realized that she was clutching Harry for more tightly than the situation called for and quickly moved off to begin weaving their web of defensive spells. Harry assisted her but, although Harry was now as proficient as Hermione at the protective spells that the pair employed in order to protect the camp, it was Hermione who cast the blanket-warming charm that would insulate their camp from the frigid air. Together, they secured their campsite and were able to create a shelter that they were confident could withstand just about anything and anyone, short of Voldemort himself.

Once they had secured the area, the two were entering the tent when Harry saw something flash in his peripheral vision. Not wanting to alert Hermione, who was currently wearing the Horcrux, he told her that he needed to take a walk to think through all that had occurred in Godric's Hollow and that he should be back within the hour before slipping away. Harry thought he heard something about warming up in her response as he began to make his way toward the mysterious source of light, but was too intent on making sure that he did not lose sight of it to truly pay attention.

As quickly as he could, Harry made his way toward where he thought he saw the flash but, no matter how hard he pushed himself, he could tell that it would shortly be lost to him. Eventually, he found himself at a glimmering pond that had somehow not frozen over and, although the source of the flash had vanished, he saw a sword gleaming from the bottom of the pond. Acting on a hunch, Harry cast a warming charm on himself before jumping in. After a short swim, Harry managed to make it to the bottom of the pond and grab the sword. When he emerged, a quick inspection verified his hunch; miraculously, he had managed to find the sword of Godric Gryffindor.

Eager to show Hermione what he found, Harry sprinted back to the tent and burst through the door. He expected Hermione to be surprised when he showed her that he had found the sword of Gryffindor. However, racing through the tent to find her and share the good news, it was Harry's mouth that dropped when he breezed into a room and found Hermione. Reclining in an iron-clawed bathtub, she was truly breathtaking sight; her eyes closed, a smirk making its way across her face, her ears beneath the water, her hair fanning out like a mane around her candle-lit face, and the shimmering horcrux dipping into an ample amount of cleavage before disappearing beneath the bubbles on the waterline.

Behind the safety of the spell-web, in the warmth of a magically heated bath, Hermione was taking a much needed opportunity to unwind. She placed her hands on her neck and began a slow rub-down that would take her hands over her chest, down her perfectly flat stomach, along her shapely hips, down the outside of her legs, and finally up the inside of her legs.

Hermione was no longer in control of her body; she was a captive who needed release. Today, she had woken up with considerable proof that Harry Potter was no longer the little boy from first-year in her hand. Her friend was no longer a little boy and she could not stop thinking about him. The thoughts caused her to lose herself in the soothing waters of her bath. She leaned back and, in a state of bliss, marveled at how perfect her bath had been.

Several minutes later, she felt a breeze enter the room. Initially she was worried but as she remembered the royal-blue shield that she and Harry had been able to create reassured her that the chance of anyone besides her or Harry entering their protective web of spells was extremely small. A contented smirk began to make its way across her face before her eyes snapped open. For the second time in a very short while Harry was exposed to a shrieking Hermione Granger.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! GET OUT OF THIS ROOM, RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" Hermione screamed, as her arms crossed her body to make sure that she was not exposing herself.

"I'm sorry," Harry shouted, blushing profusely as he quickly shut himself out of the room. The whole event had taken less than five seconds but Harry was sure that the image would be seared in his memory for the rest of his life. She was his best friend. She was one of the most beautiful women that he had ever met in his life. She was going to be out for blood.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! I demand that you tell me why you thought you had the right to barge in on me while I was in my bath! I told you before you left that I was going to be taking one to warm up, so don't you dare pretend that you didn't know what I was going to be doing," Hermione was on a roll and Harry knew that he needed to intervene before things got even more out of hand. Although Hermione had covered herself in a robe, Harry could still see the gleam of the horcrux.

"Hermione, I'm sorry," Harry interrupted. "When I was leaving, I wasn't sure what I heard. I saw a flash of light that looked like a spell in the woods and didn't want to worry you. So I followed the strange light to a small pond where I lost it." With the last sentence Harry trailed off and looked down at the floor for a second. He heard Hermione taking the breath that would undoubtedly lead nowhere good for Harry, so before she could begin he pulled out the sword of Gryffindor from behind his back and added, "Where I found the sword of Gryffindor."

Hermione squealed in delight and started to make her way toward Harry to give him a hug when she fell to the ground clutching her throat.

In his concern for his friend Harry rushed to her aid and realized that the horcrux was the cause of Hermione's distress. "Hermione, I need you to trust me. Do. Not. Move!"

Although Hermione could not respond vocally, due to the increasing pressure of the horcrux on her throat, she stopped struggling. Luckily, she was facing the floor when she stopped moving and Gryffindor's sword sliced through the chain of the horcrux and buried itself into the floor, inches from her face. Released from the horcrux' death grip Hermione threw the remaining portion of the locket against the far wall on the room. With everything that had just happened, there was only one thing that Hermione could do. She threw her arms around Harry and, in between her sobs, managed to let him know just how much she valued having him as a part of her life.

"I'm glad that you're here for me, Rocky. You once again managed to save my life," Hermione murmured. "I'm still not happy about you bursting into me while I was in the bath, but I suppose you earned one get-out-of-jail free card by saving my life." Hermione said with a trace of a smile slightly tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. There was a light outside of our defensive spells and while I was worried about finding out if there was reason for us to be concerned and I didn't properly hear you," Harry explained. "As much as I value your forgiveness, we aren't quite out of the woods yet. We still have to destroy the locket."

Hermione's attention was ripped away from her savior as she was forced to acknowledge the item that had recently attempted to kill her. "Which of us should do it? I knew that horcruxes were dark magic, but it's almost as if the horcrux knew that that sword was one of the things that could destroy it and it attacked me in order to save itself."

"Hermione, I think it has to be you. The locket reacted to you. You need to be the one." Harry handed Hermione the sword of Gryffindor then went to retrieve the locket. "We should do this outside, if it is anything like the diary then there will probably be a huge magical backlash when it is destroyed."

Thinking about the damage that the locket had done to Harry and her friendships with Ron in addition to its attempt to kill her, Hermione knew that there was no time to waste. "Let's do it now," she said while leading the way out of the tent and into a clearing just beyond the reach of the defensive spells. "This way we won't have to worry about the magical backlash destroying either our tent or our protective spells. Open it Harry, it was Slytherin's locket. I think we both know what you need to do."

In Parseltounge, Harry was able to command the locket to open. Harry dropped the locket and stumbled backwards as two ghostly figures sprouted from the locket.

"Who could love you, a know-it-all who just doesn't know when to close her mouth? I'm Harry Potter, the savior of the wizard world. I could have anyone, why would I put up with a consolation prize like you when I could have someone truly worthy of my affections?" The spectral image of Harry addressed Hermione, before brushing the ghostly hair out of the eyes of his companion.

Hermione screamed when she realized that the apparition's companion was none other than Fleur Weasley née Delacour.