Why do they belong together? Because she loved him too much to let him die alone—and he loved her too much to let her go with him.
"There's a reason I can hear them—the horcruxes. I think I've known for a while. But I think you have too..."
"I'll go with you!"
"No! Kill the snake—kill the snake, and then it's just him!"
"Just stop!" Hermione shouted, covering her ears. I closed the golden egg back up, and the wailing ceased.
"It makes no sense." I said wearily. "It's just a horrible wailing." Hermione sighed, rolling her wand between her fingers.
"Reveal your secrets." She commanded, touching the tip of her wand to the egg.
Nothing happened, of course. I tried opening it up again, and again, it sounded like a horrible screech.
"The sound has to be the clue." Hermione said doggedly. "The design isn't that special. There's nothing carved on the egg, no hidden message…"
"Yes, but how is that awful noise a clue?" I turned the egg around for the hundredth time, then leaned back on the bench, enjoying the sun. Footfalls crunched twigs behind us, and I heard Hermione greet someone.
"Hey Luna." She said, putting her notebook up.
"Hello Hermione." Luna said serenely. "Did you hear the Sniggering Wraiths? They were calling just a moment ago."
"Sniggering Wraith?" I repeated. "You're making that up, right?"
"Not at all." Luna explained dreamily. "Sniggering Wraiths are related to the Sirens, but they can't sing, so they hunt their prey, mostly unlucky swimmers. The mermaids in the black lake have killed most of them around Hogwarts, though."
"Harry, this is Luna Lovegood." Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "Luna, this is Harry."
"I know." Luna said lightly. "The Slytherin's wear badges that have your face on them. The Huffelpuffs did too, until Cedric took them away."
"Cedric was getting rid of those badges?" Hermione asked curiously.
"He said Harry was his friend." Luna recalled airily. "And turned one badge into a wasp. None of the Hufflepuffs wanted them after that." She looked around once. "Well, I'm heading back to the castle. Watch out for Sniggering Wraiths."
"We will." Hermione managed to say without laughing. Luna skipped off.
"She's—"
"A bit odd." Hermione finished, shaking her head. She looked out over the black lake. "Harry… can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead." I was mulling over how far I could kick the egg.
"You didn't ask me to the Ball just because you were scared of asking Cho, or one of the Beaubaxton girls, did you?" Hermione asked rapidly.
"Did Ron suggest that to you?" I said sharply. She didn't answer right away. That was answer enough.
"It's alright if you did." She said, looking more and more afraid of the answer. "I just, I'd like to know."
"Hermione, I asked you because I like you." I said softly. Somehow, her being nervous made me feel less nervous. "Because you always have my back, no matter what." I studied her expression. "And because you're smart and pretty." I added, smiling.
"Thanks." The look of nervousness faded, and she smiled back. "I like you too, Harry." There was a silence for a moment, both of us grinning widely at this agreement. It struck me, that Hermione really was very pretty. Especially when she looked happy. Her cheeks, her smile, her eyes…
I leaned forward and kissed her on impulse. When I pulled back a second later, she was blushing bright red, and I felt a rush of embarrassment—
Then she leaned forward on her own, and I rejoined her.
The second one went a lot better.
"There." Hermione said, grinning again, and standing.
"There?" I repeated.
"We had to get it right before we could go back to the castle." She said matter-of-factly, laughing a little. "The first one wasn't good enough to end on."
"I'll remember that." I smiled.