Accepting the inevitable:
Harry Potter couldn't help feeling upset as he watched his friend, Hermione Granger as she cried for Ron Weasley. He still felt dazed with what had taken place, but he also felt angry at Ron. When Harry knew Hermione had fallen asleep, Harry picked up the locket and stared at it.
'Now we need to find the sword, but where in the name of merlin would Dumbledore have hid it and how do we work it out? Unless we can find something else that can destroy these things,' Harry turned over, punched his pillow then tried to get himself comfortable.
The first few days after Ron left, Harry tried everything to cheer Hermione up. She was quiet and only spoke when she had to. Harry had gone out a few times to get food and also did the cooking to give Hermione a break. Harry knew that if Ron decided to come back, he'd never find them, not now they had moved locations but also with their enchantments would make it impossible. Harry knew Hermione realised the same thing, Ron will never find them. They both knew it was just them now, but Harry was secretly anxious wondering if Hermione might just leave as well, that she was like Ron and thought Harry had no idea what he was doing and she leave.
Two weeks after Ron left, Harry was getting very worried about Hermione. She only ever picked at her food, cried all the time, never spoke and sat for hours staring at nothing. He looked over at her and saw her staring down at the floor, so Harry sat beside her and took her hand.
'Hermione, let's try and get our minds on finding the sword and the next horcrux, what do you say.'
Hermione lifted her head, 'We can do that, but there's something I want to do first and I know you won't want to, but I do and I need you to. It's the only way I can keep going. I have to put him completely out of my mind and heart, you can do that for me.'
'You know I'll do anything to help Hermione, so what do you want me to do?'
'I need you to promise me that you'll do what I ask.'
'Well you know I trust you, so okay, I promise.'
Hermione chewed on her lip, then reached up and put her palm to Harry's cheek before she leaned in and kissed his lips very softly.
Harry stared wide eyed at Hermione, 'Um, Hermione, what's going on?'
'I want you to make love to me Harry.'
Harry sprung to his feet, moving back a few feet, 'Hermione, you're hurt right now so that is the last thing we should do.'
Hermione stood up and stepped right in front of Harry, 'You promised, so are you going to keep your promise?'
'Hermione, you're not thinking straight. You like Ron, I've known that for years, we're friends, that's all.'
'Yes, you're my best friend so I need my best friend to keep his promise,' Hermione looked down and started to undo her top, then pulled it off, then reached around behind her and undid her bra but before she could pull it off, Harry had moved and threw her shirt back over her, 'You promised and I need this Harry, don't you realise I wouldn't have asked if I didn't.'
'Hermione, please think about this, you've liked Ron for so long, don't just throw that away because you're angry with him.'
'He already threw it away Harry, so now it's time for me to start a new life without him. I don't expect us to be together Harry, all I want is now. So please, keep your promise and I will promise you that I will never desert you and I'll be beside you right to the very end of this, however this all finishes. I'll be here with you,' Hermione threw her top back over on the chair, then pulled her bra off, then she took her shoes off, before her jeans and pants.
Hermione stepped in front of Harry, took his glasses off and put them on the table. She slowly unbuttoned his shirt, slipping it off his shoulders, then she went down to the button of Harry's jeans, before making him sit down to take his shoes and socks off. She took his hand to make Harry stand and she pushed his jeans and undies over his hip. She pulled them off before taking Harry's hand again and leading him into the bedroom where she cast a transfiguration spell making the two small camp beds into one larger bed.
'Make love to me Harry.'
Harry took a couple of deep breaths hoping to control himself and control his body's reaction at seeing Hermione naked. But nothing worked and even though he knew this shouldn't happened, he just couldn't fight it and he knew she could see his reaction. He got into the bed, then Hermione did and they instantly started to kiss as their hands travelled over each other's naked bodies. Harry knew it was uncomfortable the first time for girls, he'd heard the older boys talk about it in the common room, so he did something he heard the other boys talk about. Harry slipped his hand down between her legs, hesitantly at first, then started to feel her, he felt her wetness which told him she really did want this, want him. He kept his finger moving which was making Hermione pant and groan loudly. Harry thought, at least Hermione seems to be enjoying herself and he knew he was, so he kept going. As he kept his finger moving inside Hermione, then felt her hand wrap around his erection, he gasped then he gave an involuntary groan. Harry and Hermione kept their hands and fingers moving until they were both losing control, then Harry moved over his friend.
'We can still stop this Hermione, we haven't gone too far yet.'
Hermione leaned up and kissed Harry, but her hand reached down, wrapped around his erection again and gently pulled Harry towards her heat. Harry realised she wasn't going to change her mind, so he finally gave in to what he's body wanted and entered Hermione. He felt her stiffen and a small moan escaped her lips before she finally started to move with him. Within a few minutes, both their bodies were coming together in frenzied abandonment with both of them groaning loudly with their released. Harry moved off Hermione, but kept his arm around her and just pulled her to him and Hermione put her head on Harry's shoulder.
'I'm not sorry, I wanted this and you know I wouldn't do this unless I was absolutely sure.'
Harry looked down at Hermione, 'I just don't want this to spoil our friendship Hermione, you mean so much to me, you're my friend.'
'I am your friend and always will be, but nothing will spoil our friendship. But now, since it's late, let's just stay here and sleep together, holding each other because it's making me feel good right now.'
'Alright, we can do that,' Harry leaned over and kissed Hermione's head, then closed his eyes, but he kept thinking about what just happened between him and Hermione. Harry also wondered what would happen if they saw Ron again, would Hermione still want to have sex with him, or would she go back to Ron. Harry knew he cared about Ginny and wasn't sure what he wanted to happen with her. But as of right now, all he could think about was having sex with Hermione, they had made love, so now he had to work out what he wanted to do about that before anything else.
When Harry woke the following morning, he slowly opened his eyes and saw Hermione smiling down at him.
'Um, so I wasn't dreaming?'
Hermione laughed, 'No, we made love, but have you dreamt of making love to me before Harry?'
'What?!' Harry squeaked, he cleared his throat, 'maybe.'
Hermione laughed again, 'It's fine, but now I need a shower and we need to eat before we start working on where the sword might be.'
'Okay, I'll have a shower after you.'
'Don't think I'm sorry because I'm not, this is what I wanted and we both did enjoy it. We're adults, so lets just keep enjoying it while we work. It also helps with the stress,' Hermione kissed Harry then got up, not bothering to dress, she strode across the room and into the small bathroom.
'Blimey,' Harry stared after Hermione, then ended up staring up at the roof of the tent thinking about what Hermione said. It sounded like she wanted them to keep having sex. Harry thought he'd play it by ear, but he couldn't deny he seemed to have more energy to get back to working on the horcruxes. Maybe Hermione was right, it helped when they were stressed. Maybe having sex gave him something he needed, the hope they could find these blasted things and finish this war, finish Voldemort.
The only thing Harry was concerned about was Ginny. He never told Ginny they would ever be together again, but what if they did get back together if this war was ever over? Could he have a relationship with her and not tell her what happened with Hermione? He didn't even know if he wanted to get back with her only that he liked her and they did have some good times together. If he did get back with Ginny and he told her what happened, she might want Harry to stay away from Hermione. He wouldn't do that, she was his best friend. What if Ron did come back? Could he forgive Ron, would Hermione forgive him? Would she end up with Ron and if she did, would she tell Ron what happened between them? Hermione and Ron had liked each other for years, everyone knew that, so what would happened between them, what would happen between the three friends if Ron knew about this? What would happen if he ended up with Hermione and not Ron? All these thoughts kept going through Harry's mind and nothing he did would stop these thoughts.
Hermione stepped out of the small bathroom, 'All yours, I'll start breakfast.'
'Okay and I am hungry,' Harry got up and thought since they did have sex and seen every part of each other's naked bodies, he didn't bother dressing either. So he just walked naked into the bathroom but he heard Hermione giggle which made Harry laugh loudly.
All that day Harry and Hermione kept working on idea's of where the next horcrux might be and where the sword might be. They seemed to have more energy now and they both knew it had something to do with the sex. That night, they ended up in bed together again and they did have sex again.
When Hermione fell asleep, she was draped over Harry, he just smiled down at her. The last two days had amazed Harry, he still couldn't believe he was in bed with Hermione, his best friend since they were eleven. He never told anyone that from the time he was twelve he had a big crush on Hermione, he knew Ron would try to make trouble as he didn't really like Hermione back then. It made Harry wonder why Ron seemed to like her now and when that changed.
Harry looked up at the roof of the tent while he thought about those times. Ron used to say cruel things to Hermione, he often made her cry. Harry was used to the way Ron was with him, always jealous, but Ron was also a lazy slob. Harry wondered why Hermione ended up with feelings for Ron when he wouldn't read a book unless it was about the Chudley Cannons or quidditch statistics, where Hermione loved her books. He knew that opposites could be attracted to each other, but Hermione seemed disgusted with the way Ron acted but especially how he ate. She tried often to get him to work, but he would only do school work when Harry did, then he complained the whole time.
Harry was so confused, he only backed off from Hermione because he thought Ron liked her and she liked him. Now though, Ron had deserted them, just like he deserted Harry before. He knew if Ron returned, Harry would either leave alone or leave with Hermione, depending on what she wanted to do. Ron had never helped either of them during their Hogwarts years, he complained endlessly and the time in the tent all he did was eat what little food they had found. Harry had enough of Ron's jealous and childish behaviour, he would never give Ron another chance even if it meant going on alone to finish Voldemort.
The next day was the same, Harry and Hermione kept discussing any idea even if it was far fetched. They continued to write down everything, any idea they had, any place that Voldemort might have hidden his horcruxes. They also had to work on finding the sword of Gryffindor. Both of them ended up swearing about Albus Dumbledore's lack of information.
'I really have no idea why he didn't leave us some more information. It's like he wanted us to fail because we have no idea what to do or where to look.'
'I think you're right Harry, but there's something else, that line in the prophecy, it's made me curious. Okay, it said neither can live while the other survives. Think about that Harry, about what it truly says.'
Harry kept mumbling that line over and over, 'It can't be right, we're both alive, yet it said neither can, that doesn't make any sense. We're both living, he's torturing and killing and I'm here with you, having sex, I'm living.'
'I thought the same, it doesn't make sense. I have a feeling that its a fake or it's not about you and…him. Okay, yes you were born at the end of July but it doesn't say what year. You were marked, but he also marks his death eaters so it doesn't necessarily mean your scar. There's also emotional marks that people have suffered because of him. Born to parent's that thrice defied him, if you think about it logically, your mother defied him every day she lived. She was a muggleborn, which we know what those pure-bloods and him think about them, they want all muggleborns dead. Every day your mother lived, she defied them. But also, she married a pure-blood from a very old family, they would not like at all. Harry, I really don't think it means you, if it's real at all.'
'Your right, he does mark his death eaters and it never said anything about when the boy would be marked. And like you said, it also could mean an emotional mark. You're also right about my mother, it would be an insult to them that she married a man from an old pure-blood family. Everyday they had together defied him and his beliefs. Okay, so say it's fake or it means someone that will be born in a hundred years, what do we do? He still wants me dead thinking I'm the only one that can kill him.'
'Let's take a few days, we need to sort all this out along with the fact that Dumbledore didn't leave us enough information. Apart from the sword, he never told you if there was another way to destroy them. So how about we just go to bed, it will help with our stress, not to mention, it's nice.'
Harry grinned but he never hesitated, neither did Hermione. They stripped off their clothes, Harry climbed into bed, but Hermione knelt down beside the bed.
'Aren't you getting into bed, Hermione?'
'Not yet, I want to try a few things, because we've only had basic sex.'
'Like what?'
'You know I love to read, well, I've read things that men and woman can do to each other. You don't read unless you have to, so I'll tell you after I've done something.'
'I like to read, I always did but Ron made it hard,' Harry swallowed, 'Okay, I think I know what you're talking about, I've heard the boys in the common room talk about things.'
'Things,' Hermione giggled, 'Meaning being sucked by a girl.'
'Yeah,' Harry gulped loudly as he stared at Hermione, 'You don't have to, really Hermione.'
'I want to,' Hermione smiled then pulled the blankets slowly down Harry's body exposing the thin line of hair from his navel until she saw his member full up and ready, 'Looks like I turned you on Harry.'
'Um, yeah, you did,' Harry blushed but watched Hermione as her head slowly lowered towards him. He let out a groan before she even reached him which made Harry blush brightly especially when Hermione giggled.
The next couple of days, even with a lot of sex between Hermione and Harry, with them both doing and trying things they had heard or read about, they still hadn't come up with any ideas about the sword or the next horcrux. They also kept talking about the prophecy and why Albus Dumbledore didn't give them more to go on.
Harry was lying on the bed in the tent, watching the snitch. Dumbledore left me this snitch, Harry thought to himself, why? The first snitch I ever caught, so what is so special about this one? There must be a reason. These thoughts kept going over and over in Harry's head until he sat bolt upright when he realised the truth about this snitch.
'I never caught this snitch, I almost swallowed it, that's the difference. Its the only difference between this snitch and all the others I've caught,' Harry snatched the snitch out of the air and put it to his mouth, hoping this was the answer. When he pulled the snitch away he saw words. He sprung up from the bed and raced outside, 'Hermione,' he yelled and ran over to her, 'look.'
Hermione took the snitch and read the words, 'I open at the close, when did these words appear?'
'Just now, I realised something, there is only one difference between this snitch and the others I've caught. Hermione, I never caught this snitch, I almost swallowed it. I put it to my lips and those words appeared. What do you think they mean, I open at the close?'
'Well, it will open we know that, the close, but what is the close? You close a door, you close a window, you close a trunk, you close a book, none of them make sense. You can close your mind, I wonder if it's to do with occlumency, but that doesn't really make sense either. Close, close, closure, could it be closure?'
'Closure is like the finish of something, it's the end of something,' Harry's brow furrowed, 'Okay, if it's the end of something then it will open when we're finished, does it mean when old snakeface is dead?'
'Makes sense Harry, but what use would it be if he's dead?'
'That's what I don't get, so is there something else going on?'
'You know what Harry, I'm sick of this. He showed you memories then told you what he believed was true. We know the prophecy is bullshit.'
'Hermione,' Harry grinned, 'you don't swear, you never swear.'
'I know, but I'm frustrated with Dumbledore's lack of information and the fact that the prophecy is not about you or it's fake. But something else has been bugging me over the last few days and it has nothing to do with horcruxes or prophecies.'
Harry sat down, he took Hermione's hand, 'Then tell me love?'
Hermione smiled, 'I like that,' she kissed Harry who grinned, 'Okay, he made you return to the Dursley's when really you could have stayed at the Burrow for an extra few weeks. The order of the phoenix had their headquarters charmed, no one could get in there without permission from Dumbledore, yet he never let you stay with Sirius even if it was supposed to be safe. If you had been at headquarters then you wouldn't have faced those dementors or have to go in front of the Wizengamot. He never checked on how you were treated when you were young, which was despicable. He never seemed to help when things got dangerous at Hogwarts and he actually put the students in danger by having the philosophers stone at the castle.
'Harry, he was chief warlock, why did he not organise a trial for Sirius? Why did he not know that he's old friend, Mad-eye Moody was a fake? Why did he hide the philosophers stone at Hogwarts where it would attract dark wizards and put the students in danger? Fluffy, we saw what that dog could have done to any of us and a simple alohomora opened the door which a first year can learn. So many things just don't add up.'
'McGonagall wasn't any help either Hermione. First year when everyone hated us for losing those points, she did that yet she never stopped the harassment. She blew us off when we tried to tell her about the philosophers stone being in danger. Fifth year was worst, I did what you told me and went to her about my detentions with the toad, she blew me off again.'
'You're right, then think of the order, who kept you inside that house during your summers. It had nothing to do with Dumbledore or the order, he kept you prisoner when he had no right. What you do outside of Hogwarts has nothing to do with the headmaster of a school. Also, why did he make me go to the Burrow or headquarters before you? I would be there a week or two before you were allowed to be there. I had to put up with Molly Weasley, also Ron, we were forced together all the time yet he made me sick to my stomach every time I saw him eating.'
'Ron just doesn't get how disgusting he is. But there is something else Hermione, how you're treated by those pure-bloods and their belief they are better than everyone else. Now we both know that not all of them follow snakeface, but they still believe they can do whatever they want even if it's against the law. Why should you or anyone put up with all that? Sirius told me how often my mother got insulted, just like you do, even I do and I had two magical parent's yet they get away with it. Dumbledore never used his positions to help with that. People like Malfoy and the other Slytherin's never got proper punishment for the things they did so they never had to face the consequences of their actions. Malfoy conjured a deadly snake in the middle of the great hall and was about to attack Justin, yet again, Malfoy never got into trouble.'
'You're right, so even if this war ends with the death of…him, then it probably won't change. What also gets me is how behind they are in everything. I mentioned pens to a few people, they looked at me like I was crazy then said muggle items weren't meant for magical people. Why is that, why should we, muggleborns or anyone raised with muggles have to give up who they are? I also hate that word muggle, it's degrading, like mudblood.'
'You're right, I had...non magical grandparent's, Sirius told me they were really nice, also, I like the things that world offers. I shouldn't have to give up part of who I am just for that lot, neither should you. We're both of age now so there's no law that can stop us using magic even if we don't live and work in the magical world. We just have to make sure we don't use it in front of…non magical people. So why are we here? Why are we starving? Why are we living in a tent trying to save their arses when they don't treat us as equals or allow us to keep the other part of us? My mother showed my father things in the m…non magical world, Sirius said my dad thought it was all brilliant. Sirius also told me that after they left Hogwarts, mum refused to use a quill again, she would only use it if she learned calligraphy.'
'I am used to quills but I prefer pens.'
'Yeah, so do I, but another thing, they locked up Sirius when he was innocent. Right now half the ministry is in with Voldy, if I killed him they just might lock me up.'
'Yes, they would, we can't let that happen. You are undesirable number one, which means they would either send you to Azkaban or give you to a dementor. Umbridge is there and we know what she would do to you if she could. I could easily see her pushing to have you thrown in Azkaban or being kissed by a dementor. So we leave, but where will we go?'
'This place is dangerous Hermione, we know we can't walk down a street, we couldn't go anywhere without them finding us. Why don't we go overseas, maybe find your parent's?'
'What about money?'
'Well, I know there are Gringotts in every magical community around the world, Sirius told me and that all the Gringotts are connected. We have enough on us now since we haven't been able to spend any. You said you have just over one thousand pounds, I have five hundred galleons and four hundred pounds. I could probably take one galleon into those gold exchange places which would give us some more. It would be enough until we get to Australia.'
'It would and we could use this tent in a camp ground. But like you said, we're both adults now, so it's not like we can't use magic when we need to. What about the horcruxes, should we tell someone so they know what it could mean?'
'Yes, let's send a letter to Neville's gran, she's a tough old stick but she also knows how the ministry work, she's also trustworthy.'
'Then we will need to find something to put the locket in. We have to write down everything Dumbledore told you, then we'll need to find a way to send the letter without being seen.'
'My cloak and a few charms from you should help. You glamour us just enough so we can't be recognised but I also might get contact lenses. Everyone that thinks of me and how I look, they know I wear glasses.'
'It would be hard for anyone to recognise you without your glasses. But don't they make them in different colours?'
'You're right, they do, I could have brown or blue eyes. Okay, so let's pack up here, go into London, find a hotel room then we're safe from his lot.'
'What if Ron comes back?'
'Do you want him to?' Harry stared intensely into Hermione's eyes, he needed to know the truth.
'I don't want anything to do with the…thick head.'
Harry laughed, 'Don't you mean…' Harry was cut off when Hermione's hand ended up across his mouth, then he began mumbling.
'Do not swear Mr. Potter.'
'Yes…ma'am,' Harry saluted her, 'You know what though, I haven't felt this good in a long time. I think it's telling me we made the right choice.'
'We have, let's get away from these bigoted pure-blood fools who want to live in the past. You and I are modern young adults, let's finally act like it.'
'You're on Miss Granger.'
Harry and Hermione quickly packed up the tent then Hermione had it placed in her small beaded bag. They held hands, Harry allowed Hermione to take him by side-along apparition.
A week later, a brown owl flew into Longbottom manor, the house elf checked for curses before taking the package from the owl then went to find her mistress. She bowed at Lady Longbottom as she handed her the package then popped away, back to her kitchen.
Augusta unwrapped the package, she unfolded the note, "Mrs. Longbottom, the information I am passing on to you is extremely dangerous, Voldemort will kill anyone who knows about this, so I am truly sorry that this could put you and Neville in danger. From everything Neville told me about you I know you aren't dark, yet you won't just sit back and do nothing. The trouble is, right now nothing can stop Voldemort, but Albus Dumbledore, the senile old goat only passed this information onto me, an untrained and at the time, underage wizard. I was raised in the non magical world, yet because of the disruptive years at Hogwarts along with terrible teachers, I never did get to learn a lot, just the spells in the classes we had. I have no idea why the old man thought I could probably work all this out, I tried, yet I have no idea what to do.
"There is more though Mrs. Longbottom and I mean no disrespect to you or your family, Neville is one of my closest friends. But the magical world in Britain is full of bigoted prejudice people, the pure-bloods run everything and treat half-bloods and muggleborns as second class citizens, yet we are all magical. So what I am trying to say is I will not save anyone when that is how I'm thought of or how my girlfriend, Hermione, being a muggleborn is thought of. Why should I help those types of people who are now either sitting on their backsides or they join the dark side. Also, Neville may have told you about some of the things that happened to me at Hogwarts, yet not once did I ever get help or assistance from any of the teachers. I was left with abusive people thanks to dumb-as-a-door and had to put up with Snape harassing us all the time, yet even he believed I would fight for him and everyone else. No, I've had enough, if the magical world want to survive then they best start using the weapon they all have and fight.
'I also have a very big concern, the old man kept saying I have to be the one to kill him but he didn't tell me how or give me any training. Then if I did kill him, they would lock me in Azkaban, I will not give up my life or freedom for people like Lucius Malfoy, Cornelius Fudge, Dolores Umbitch and all the other wankers, sorry for my language.
"I'm hoping by passing this on to you that you would have some contacts with trustworthy people that could help. What you have there in that box is a locket, but it also holds a piece of Voldemort's soul, it is called a horcrux, in case you did not know. He made more than one though, two are destroyed, one by me using a basilisk fang and one by the old man using the sword of Gryffindor, which I used to kill the basilisk. For some reason, nothing we did was able to destroy this one, maybe you could find a way.
I'm sure you realised that since he has parts of his soul outside his body, he will never die, those need to be destroyed and that is the job the old fool left to me. I have no idea how since I can't get the sword or get into Hogwarts to get a basilisk fang. Well, I've decided it's time I had a life since I was imprisoned by my relatives, all thanks to Dumbledore. But also again it comes to how the magical world is run, I won't save them, I won't help them. I did my bit when I was named the-boy-who-lived and lost my parents at the same time, yet no one bothered to help me. It's time for others to help.
"The reason I am writing you is I know you are a powerful witch, you don't mince words and you don't give a shit who people are, it's what they do that you look at. It's like Dumbledore, everyone just went with anything he said even if he was wrong, in some cases he made huge mistakes. It was his mistake that turned a boy named tom riddle, half-blood, into lord Voldemort. He was sent back to an abusive muggle orphanage, so naturally he hates muggles. I admit I hate the muggles I was forced to live with yet I have met some very nice ones, he never did. I don't trust the order of the phoenix with this information since those were the people that used to stand guard outside the house I was made to stay in and take the abuse. I was kept prisoner by my relatives and the order of the phoenix. I was being beaten yet they made sure I couldn't leave or seek help. That is another reason why I said I won't help save anyone.
"All the information about the horcruxes is in the box with the locket. Do with it whatever you want, to help or know how truly dangerous it is which means you may want to leave. Dumbledore knew all this for years yet he never bothered to get help from some who might be able to help. By the time you read this I have left the country with my girlfriend. At first we were going to join her parent's but we realised they were safer without knowing who we were. I won't say where we are, just that no one will ever find us again. I do truly hope you and Neville survive but at least you now know the truth, the truth that he may never be able to be killed, which will help you decide what to do. Harry James Potter"
'I always thought he would leave, I figured he would have because of the triwizard tournament.'
Augusta looked up at her grandson, 'Yes, the information you passed on about that boy shocked me, now I realise just how dangerous Albus Dumbledore really was. He put all of us in danger without asking anyone that would know what they were doing to help the boy. I cannot blame him for turning his back on this world, especially with how the ministry treated him. And he is right, if he did kill Voldemort than those inside the ministry would put him in Azkaban. Well Neville, I will speak with Croaker, work out what he wishes to do. I believe you should write to a few of your friends, even Ron Weasley. It seems that girl finally realised who she was meant to be with.'
'Yeah, I bet anything Ron caused some trouble which gave Harry and Hermione time to work out how they feel about each other. I'll let everyone know that Harry and Hermione left the country since they don't feel like helping bigoted pure-blood supremacist who want to keep the world the way it is.'
'If you wish to leave Neville, I would understand?'
'No gran, I'll help where I can but I'm not deserting you or my parent's. We're different from Harry and Hermione. They will never be treated as equals, not here.'
Augusta watched as her grandson left, she had seen the change in him over the last couple of years and she knew it all came down to Harry Potter.
A week after Harry and Hermione left, with only Augusta and Neville Longbottom being informed, the order of the phoenix arrived at Grimmauld place.
'The charms that Albus placed on Harry have stopped working. We have no idea if anything happened or if he discovered them,' Minerva said.
'I tried to find them, they moved, so I used the deluminator to see where they were, nothing,' Ron said.
'Then I would say Hermione discovered a way to destroy the tracking charms. Let's hope that's all it is and he hasn't been killed,' Hestia said.
'I got word that Augusta Longbottom visited the unspeakables, I also found out that Neville sent a lot of owls yesterday, all to friends,' Remus said.
'Did any of you receive a letter from Neville?' Arthur asked as he stared at his younger children.
'Not before we left, but it is still early, for all we know an owl arrived at the Burrow after we left,' Ginny said.
'I will check, just to see if they might have information on Harry,' Arthur hurried from the kitchen while the order kept talking about how to find Harry and Hermione. They also needed to know if they had destroyed the locket.
'Severus planned to take the sword to them sometime this week, yet no one has any idea where they are,' Minerva said.
'You don't think they figured out what Albus had planned for them, do you?' Bill asked.
'It's possible, that is why we did not want Hermione to join Harry, she's just too smart,' Remus said.
'I know I stuffed up, but I just couldn't take it anymore. We were starving, freezing and couldn't stop fighting, over the smallest things. I had to get away for a few days, I just never expected to run straight into a bunch of snatchers,' Ron said.
'There was an owl waiting, it's address to Ron,' Arthur handed his son the letter.
"Ron, just thought we'd let you know that Harry took his girlfriend and left, they sent all the information to my gran. Harry and Hermione said why should they save anyone in this world when they are thought of second class citizens, not to mention how Harry was treated by the ministry and how many times he almost died at Hogwarts. He also said that if he did end up killing Voldemort he would end up locked up just like Sirius was, he wasn't going to risk that. Apart from all that, add those muggles that abused him for years, he realised that even Dumbledore's so called order of the phoenix kept him a prisoner. He finally said enough is enough, he's an adult and can finally decide for himself how he wants to live and where he wants to live. I always thought Harry would finally say enough and leave, well, I don't blame him or Hermione. I know how Hermione would be treated if she tried to get work at the ministry, if you-know-who is ever defeated, something gran said might take a while, but she has people helping with that now. Harry said that they were originally thinking about going to Hermione's parent's but figured they were safe since they have no idea who Hermione is. They did find out that Hermione's parent's moved as well, so they figured they wouldn't waste their time trying to find them, so they went to another country, they didn't say where though as they didn't want anyone to find them.
"It seems Harry and Hermione finally realised they always meant to be together. I'm happy for them, so are a heap of our friends, we all knew those two were suited. If the order, which I know your parent's are members, know about what Harry was doing, well, they should have done the job themselves instead of making Harry believe he had to save the world. He saved everyone when he was a baby, he lost his parent's, he lost his godfather not long ago, so really, he only had Hermione. I know you might say you're a friend Ron but you've never really been a good friend, you turned your back on Harry so many times, I knew he would eventually tell you to get lost. Friends do not turn their backs on friends, you did more times than I can count. Don't forget how often you made Hermione cry, you were a big bully to Hermione and a few others like my girlfriend, Luna. It's time you grow up Ron, if you survive all this then you might get a chance. I only wrote so in case none of you know exactly what job Dumbledore left to Harry this way you are warned, Neville."
'They left, how do we find them if they aren't in this country?' Tonks asked.
'We can't and as they are adults now there is no way we can force them to return. But the information is now in the hands of Augusta Longbottom and the unspeakables, they will solve the problem one way or another. It looks like there is nothing we can do, just stay in hiding,' Remus said.
'I never thought they would allow the way people treated them to force them to leave. We might be all pure-bloods yet it didn't seem to worry them before,' Kingsley said.
'They were treated like everyone else, now they've had time to think about how they would end up if we won the war. Hermione already knew she would have to fight her way into a good job, Harry even mentioned teaching when he was older. The governors will never allow that, they only allowed Severus because of Albus,' Minerva sighed.
Everyone realised the truth, Harry and Hermione were adult witches and wizards, they also knew Harry had a lot of money which meant he could easily disappear. It was time the order of the phoenix disbanded and work on ways to save themselves in the hope the unspeakables will find a way to end Voldemort.
The unspeakable were using the soul inside the locket to find the others, they found one inside a vault at Gringotts. The goblins might not like wizards but they would never stand up against the unspeakables who had too much information on the goblins along with weapons that could destroy their entire race.
After retrieving the goblet that belonged to Helga Hufflepuff they snuck into Hogwarts. The unspeakables had a way in that no one knew about. They found the room of hidden things then found the diadem, they took that back to their secret lab. It was time for their spy to kill the snake and hope they could do it without Voldemort finding out. They needed to know if what the Potter boy wrote was true, that these were all the items. They knew the boy had the information given to him by Dumbledore and for all they knew Dumbledore missed one. Once they knew if they had all of them then they could destroy them before destroying Voldemort. They already had plenty of ways to kill Voldemort, one was using the poison from the dead basilisk, they had retrieved that days after it had been killed. They plan to share the profits with Potter, but not until he was of age, which now he was, but he was also gone. The unspeakables wanted Harry Potter and Hermione Granger to join them, if they could find the pair maybe they might do some good.
Ron and Ginny were furious that Harry and Hermione were now together, the twins got sick of them and the rest of the family so they left and headed back to their flat. They had to close their shop, so they did business by owl order, but they had taken a leap out of the muggles book and decided to use post boxes. People could drop their orders in, Fred and George would fill it then send it off the muggle way. They had hired a few squibs to make their deliveries, it kept the money coming in without the danger of Voldemort and his death eaters hunting them down. The twins knew that some of their more serious items were being used on death eaters and if their homes were found, they would usually pranked in some way. At Hogwarts all the Slytherin students were being pranked every day, including Snape and the other death eaters running the school. That was when the twins needed to hide, the death eaters would be out for their blood because they knew the prank items came from Fred and George Weasley.
Hermione and Harry settle into a home in Hawaii, they loved being near the ocean, so their home was within walking distance. At night they would leave the windows open and smell the sea air. Once a week Hermione would use Harry's cloak and a glamour, she would go into a magical town and buy things like books and potion ingredients, but she also bought international newspapers.
Hermione knew the Daily Prophet was being run by Voldemort now, but others would take the chance and print the truth. So even though they didn't want anything to do with the magical world in England, they did not want any of their friends to die. They did find that the magical community in Hawaii were not run by pure-bloods nor were they living in the last century. The magicals had worked their own versions of non magical gadgets, so now witches and wizards had their own mobile phone and television. The magicals were also beginning to make their own television shows and movies. They could use magic to make things float or move, where the non magical people had to usually use special effects. But the non magicals will never figure out that what they were watching was real.
It took five years, but the unspeakables finally killed Voldemort, many of his death eaters were killed at the same time. It was right around the time the last death eaters that survived and sent to Azkaban that the unspeakables found out some other information, information about Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore and the order of the phoenix.
Neville who had gone to work for his uncle, an unspeakable, was given the job of tracking down Harry and Hermione. Neville married Luna Lovegood who took some time off from her job to go with Neville.
Harry was sitting on the grass out the back of his property playing with his son, who was just beginning to crawl.
'Sweetheart, we have a couple of visitors that you will want to see.'
'Coming love,' Harry smiled down at his son, 'Come on Orion, let's go see who came to visit,' Harry picked up his son, sat him up on his shoulders then put a sticking charm on him before making a hurried trip into the house. Orion laughing loudly as he pulled on his father's hair.
'He's going to pull all your hair out if you keep doing that Harry.'
'I know, but he loves it Hermione,' Harry looked around, 'Neville, Luna, what are you doing here? How did you find us?'
'Can we sit, then I will explain everything.'
'Sure.'
'Let me put this little Marauder to bed, wait until I return.'
Harry laughed as his wife took their son, 'She will want us to just chat until she returns. But it's good to see you two and since you are here together does that mean you are still together?'
'Yes, we married a year ago.'
'Congratulations, you both look good.'
'How long have you and Hermione been married?'
'Three years, so are any other old friends married?'
'Fred married Angelina, George married Alicia. One couple surprised me, Seamus married Susan Bones. He joined the aurors, Susan's aunt is head of the department of magical law. They ended up talking at a few parties and got together.'
'I heard Seamus mention Susan a few times, but the things he was saying didn't make me think he would marry her.'
'About her…um, overly large…assets,' Neville blushed making Harry laugh.
'Yeah, that's exactly what he talked about.'
'Sorry, I'm back,' Hermione sat beside Harry, 'So what's going on?'
'I'm an unspeakable, my uncle has been one for over forty years, he was the one gran took your information to. They finally did it Harry, found every item then killed him.'
'Bloody hell,' Harry sat back and rubbed his old scar, 'I wasn't sure, I didn't want to believe he might be dead.'
'Harry noticed that his scar began to fade a few months ago,' Hermione pushed up Harry's hair, 'As you can see, it's very faint compared to what it used to look like.'
'That's not surprising, the scar was caused by the curse that didn't kill you, Harry.'
'I'm glad to see you both but you could have just sent a letter to let us know.'
'I know, but there's more I need to explain and some of it will be hard to hear.'
'I think I need a drink.'
'Even though you've been good with that sweetheart, I think we all should have a drink. I'll get them, be right back.'
'Water for me Hermione, I'm pregnant.'
'Congratulations,' Harry and Hermione said then hugged their old friends.
They stayed quiet until Hermione came back with drinks. Water for Luna, Firewhiskey for Neville, a beer for Harry and wine for Hermione.
'Okay, so what's going on now?'
'A lot, first is my uncle found out that Albus Dumbledore planned for you to be raised exactly as you were, beaten down. He wanted you to see him as a saviour, then do anything he asked, which you did. When he died you began to…let's say, see things more clearly. We found out that he began to worry you would leave so he used a dark and rare potion on you, one that would make you loyal to him. He also used a few spells that he invented, one was so he could basically make you do whatever he wanted, he would suggest things and you would do it. He couldn't make it too obvious or someone might notice, so even if you argued, eventually you would agree.'
'So after he died, I wasn't being bewitched or poisoned, that's why I began to doubt him?'
'Yes, Hermione was given the loyalty potion as well, that's why she always told you to go to Albus when you weren't sure about something.'
'Do you know if Harry or I was given something like a love potion?'
'As a matter of fact you both were, how did you figure it out?'
'It was two weeks after Ron left us in the tent that I realised I could never be in a serious relationship with Ron.'
'I liked Ginny but I knew she wasn't the one for me, she was too much like her mother. Hermione and I needed something to make us keep going, we made love and from then on we realised we wanted to be together. It was only another week when we decided to leave. We spoke about it once we settled here, then Hermione remembered that Molly Weasley gave Arthur a love potion when they were students.'
'I told Ginny about all the love potions girls wanted to slip Harry during our sixth year. She was upset, then a month later Harry and Ginny were dating.'
'Then you know that Ron and Ginny only wanted you two for what they could get, they didn't really care for either of you. Ron knew Harry had feelings for you Hermione, he was told to do anything to keep you two apart, so he made sure Harry knew he liked you. Ginny was used to keep Harry away, but she only did it for the money and to be the wife of the-boy-who-lived.' Neville explained.
'I explained to Harry that Ginny kept saying she had loved him from when she was a little girl. At first Harry thought she was just like the others, a fan, like how the Creevey brothers treated him.' Hermione said.
'I know Fred and George weren't involved, but were any of the others?' Harry asked.
'Yes, Molly made the potions, Arthur was to be the one you would go to for advice. Bill was involved but we're unsure exactly how or what he did. Harry, it wasn't just those Weasley's, but the order of the phoenix was part of all this. They knew you were abused by those muggles, they were there not to keep you safe, but to make sure no one found out, whether it was friends or even your godfather. They all expected you to find these horcruxes, then go up against Voldemort. He would kill you then they would kill him as revenge for killing you, a member of their family. The Weasley's planned to have the ministry turn over your vaults to them since everyone knew you cared for the Weasley's and you stayed with them whenever you could. If they could show through memories that you thought of them as family or the people you were closest to, they would have approved since you had no will, nor did you have any blood family.'
'But Harry had blood family, his bitch aunt. It's one reason why he made out his will the moment we got here.'
'Your mother was adopted Harry, they weren't blood. It's a wonder you didn't think about it since your mother was a witch and her sister wasn't, her son had no powers either. The Creevey boys are both wizards, all siblings have magic, even if one might be more powerful than the other. It's like with Hermione, if she had a brother or sister, they would be magical. If your mum and that woman were sisters, she'd be a witch as well.'
'I did think of adoption, once, but I figured it was Petunia. So those wards the old man said he did to protect me was a lie?'
'Yes, he did use wards, but his own charms based on your blood, the blood he collected from your scar the night you received it. It had nothing to do with family.'
'Even though I believed him about the wards, I did argue when Voldemort returned, he made himself with my blood. I said that since they were blood wards then Voldemort could get through them since he had my blood.'
'That would have been true, if he tried to find you, he would have.'
'He wanted to kill Harry so why would you believe he didn't try to find Harry?'
'Oh he wanted to kill Harry, but he wasn't going to risk ending up a wraith again. After you escaped from the graveyard he became wary. He began to believe you did have some hidden power, some way to beat him. Finally he was going to have all his death eaters aim the killing curse at you, but he wasn't going to be there.'
'Coward,' Harry growled.
'He's dead now Harry,' Hermione said soothingly.
'I know, he was still a coward. Do you know if I can do anything about what the order and the Weasley's were up to?'
'Not unless we get a confession. But Harry, there is more and I'm sorry, this is not good.'
'Sirius, they planned it, didn't they?'
'Yes, Snape went to Dumbledore the moment you told him about your vision. They decided to wait for a while, in the hope you would get killed, that all of us would be killed, apart from Ron and Ginny. They had emergency portkeys on them, supplied by Dumbledore. Remus Lupin was filled in then he suggested that Sirius be told before the rest of the order, but Albus will make sure he wasn't at the house, so it would look like no one would stop Sirius from leaving. As soon as they realised he left, the order got together, waited for about thirty minutes, then went to the ministry. They knew Bellatrix would kill Sirius, but for any reason she didn't or someone got her first, they planned to kill him but make it look like he was killed in the cross fire.'
'Harry told me he had a feeling they wanted Sirius out of his life,' Hermione said sadly.
'Hermione said they might believe I would leave with Sirius, which I did consider but I felt I would let everyone down if I did. That was part of the potion and spells, wasn't it?'
'Yes, he wanted you ready so when you heard one more bit of information you would do what your parent's did.'
'What do you mean?'
'He made sure you had a terrible life, with the muggles and at Hogwarts. He wanted you ready so when he had Snape slip you a memory, you would willingly die, which would give everyone a chance.'
'Why would he believe I would trust anything Snape gave me? That's ridiculous.'
'The horcruxes, he planned for you to believe that you had a piece of Voldemort's soul behind your scar. He already had you convinced that you can speak to snakes because Voldemort passed on some of his power to you the night he gave you the scar. Those visions and the pain, it was all caused by Dumbledore. You would believe that Voldemort will never die unless you die first.'
'That bastard, if he wasn't dead I would kill him.'
'I don't blame you. If you weren't always stressed nor had those potions in your systems, one of you would have worked out that your scar could not be a horcrux. I'm sure Hermione did some research. To make a horcrux, yes, you kill but you have to prepare the vessel. The unspeakables found out that there was no time to make Harry one as it was only 30 seconds between your mother dying and you being hit with the killing curse. When you survived mate, that's when Dumbledore began to make plans for you and got the others involved.'
'I wish we could make sure the others were punished,' Hermione said.
'You could keep pranking them,' Luna said simply.
'The twins kept their business going, by owl order and mail order. The shop just opened again but they still have owl order going,' Neville smirked.
'Thanks, I might just get in contact with them and see if they could prank the order of the over stuffed turkey's.'
'I'm sure they will. Now one last thing then we can just hang out and talk.'
'Okay.
'The unspeakables want you and Hermione in their department. They believed you two, who are both muggle raised, could turn the magical world in Britain around. They need people like you that can work idea's to have our world moving again. It's stagnated and a lot of muggleborns or half-bloods either left right after their owls or did not accept their place at Hogwarts. Some began to ask what type of activities Hogwarts offered, like dance class or gymnastics, some wanted to know what types of sports there were or if they could leave to continue the sports they did. Over the last five years there have only been five muggleborns, they left after finishing their fifth year. Many half-bloods returned to the muggle world if they were raised there, Dean was one of them. The ministry does not have enough people working for them to keep all the departments opened, so they've had to combine a lot. Most realise their mistake, they asked muggle raised children to give up what they love just to learn at Hogwarts. If things don't change then there won't be a magical world in England, or it will be so small that Hogwarts will close due to not having enough students to keep it open. Now they understand you might not want to return, they accept that, but they would like to know if you would work for the unspeakables here or the department of experimental charms, some department that can aide our world.'
'Those are the two departments we work for. Naturally I am not working at the moment, I doubt I will return before I finished having children.'
'Neville, most of the magical communities around the world have already adapted a lot of non magical items to magic. This house has electricity, yet we can use magic whenever we want. At work, at the ministry, I use a phone, I use a laptop computer, yet we also use magic. Also, many of the schools around the world offer both education, magical and non magical. It also allows students to go home every day so they can do after school activities like a sport or dance. It's only England that hasn't changed and it's only England that keeps restrictions on underage magicals. How about I take you in with me tomorrow, you can see everything then report to your boss.'
'We were never allowed to contact other unspeakables, maybe this is why. I'll take you up on your offer and hope the ones that know what we can lose, will allow all this muggle stuff to be used.'
'They already do use muggle stuff, like the Hogwarts express and Hagrid's crossbow. If they were to really research everything that is used in the wizarding world, they would find out that it was invented by non magicals. Also, the building where the ministry is, that was built by non magicals,' Harry said.
'I never thought of that and I should have,' Neville said.
'Stay the night, we have plenty of room, you can join us for dinner and meet Orion.'
'We'd like that. I could also get some advice from Hermione,' Luna said as she rubbed her stomach.
Hermione cleaned the spare room while Harry showed them around the property. Even though they had been surprised to be offered jobs as unspeakables, in England, they did not want to leave their home. They loved Hawaii and they loved their life. They had a son and soon, Hermione planned to fall pregnant again. She did love her job but she also wanted a family. Harry loved his job and being raised in the non magical world, helped him at work. He either had idea's or created things that helped the magical world. Neither of them wanted to return to England mainly due to how both of them had been treated but they also did not want to see Ron or anyone that supported Albus Dumbledore.
Neville was very impressed with the Hawaii's ministry for magic. It was a smaller ministry than England, only because Hawaii was part of America and that's where the large ministry of magic was. It was twice the size of the English ministry. Harry explained that the only difference between the two ministry's in America, was the size. It was all modern and it used their magical version of things from the non magical world. They got the idea from the non magical world then created their own magical version of the item.
Harry left Neville at the department of mysteries so he could talk to the unspeakables. Harry thought finally, England might end up coming out of the Victorian era and into the twenty first century.
Luna spent the day with Hermione and Orion. Luna asked Hermione endless questions about pregnancy, giving birth and being a parent.
'Do you see anyone that we went to school with?' Hermione asked as she prepared dinner.
'A few. Mainly when I'm in Diagon alley or at some party. I became close to Megan and Sally. They always go to parties that Susan hosts. Ron and Ginny had both gotten very angry when they weren't invited to these parties. They haven't changed and both are still hoping to find you and Harry. Everyone else knows that won't happen, nor will you will return, but Ron and Ginny won't give up. They had begun to visit other countries in the hope they find you. They started off in Australia since they believed you lied when you wrote that your parent's were safe. They tried to find your parents, they couldn't since neither of them can navigate the non magical world. They have been to America, I doubt they even know Hawaii is part of America, not many magical people know things like that. But they also wouldn't realise that Hawaii was an English speaking country, at least for part of it.'
'So they are going to all the English speaking countries first?'
'Yes, or they have English as their second language. You have great wards around this place so they will never find you. The only reason we could approach the house was the charmed crystal Neville has. It allows the owner to know he has no ill intent. Only unspeakables have those so again, Ron and Ginny will never be able to find you because their intentions are for them and against you.'
'Apart from wards that stop anyone will ill intent towards us, we also have camera's,' Hermione touched a button on the small screen, 'See, I knew it was you two before I opened the door. The house is covered on all sides so even if someone flew over, we would see them but they wouldn't see us or the house.'
'Very clever and again, your magic does not affect it. This is what England needs. They still stick their heads in the fireplace to talk to someone or send them an owl.'
'We haven't used owls since we came here. At one time we were thinking of getting one, mainly to keep as a pet and Harry said if we got one that could travel long distance, we could send it to you and Neville. We thought we would wait until he was gone, if he was ever gone. I know Harry will finally relax a bit. He has been so worried that Voldemort would begin to take over other countries and find him here.'
'He never got a foot hold in any other country. The only reason he did in England was because he had his death eaters placed in the right area's inside the ministry a long time ago. Other countries use veritaserum and other tests before they employ someone. Many death eaters either died or were locked up in other jails when they tried to recruit. It is safer at home now, it's just not moving forward and if things go the way they are, Hogwarts will close within a year and Diagon alley will only have Gringotts. There aren't enough people to shop there anymore. It's why Neville and I knew you two wouldn't return.'
'That's part of the reason, the other is how we were treated, how Harry was raised then treated. Then you add people like Ron. Even before Neville filled us in, we realised that Harry was being manipulated and we worked out about Sirius. All that decided for us, we were never going to return.'
'Neville and I said that before we came here but Neville was still asked to see if there was anything that could help, even if it was idea's.'
'Well, he would have seen exactly how advanced other countries are. But I will tell you this. Not long after we arrived here and bought this place, Harry panicked. I wasn't sure why until he began talking about his parents.'
'We found out that they were going to use the Potter's to lure Harry back. They found the graves empty and the house empty.'
'That's what he thought they would do. We snuck back into England, using non magical transport then made way to Godric's Hollow. I was able to use runes on the coffins so they would shrink but it would not hurt the bodies inside. We did that first, then cleaned out the house. You said Ron and Ginny tried to find my parents. Do you know if they were going to use them in some way to force us back?'
'Yes, even if they had no memory of you, they would keep them then make sure you found out. At first, they planned to use the old cellar of the Black home and turn it into a jail. It was only a week later that they all forgot about the house.'
'Harry did that when we went back. But all I told Ron about my parents were that they wanted to move to Australia. I never told him the names I picked for them. I doubt he would even remember what they look like.'
'They never found them and that mainly comes down to not knowing the non magical world.'
The four old friends talked over dinner and that night until late. The four of them knew that they probably wouldn't see each other for a very long time. With both couples working and having children, they just wouldn't get time. They did talk about trying to get together, maybe in a year. They would write, for now, that's all they could do.
After Harry and Hermione waved Neville and Luna off after breakfast, the couple sat outside while Orion played with his toys on the grass.
'With everything Neville saw and heard from our unspeakables, he will be able to show his memories of how other countries have advanced. He would also have all the information on the schools which will help the non magical raised children be able to go to Hogwarts but still have their after school activities.'
'Yes, so let's hope the people running the country over there will get their heads out of their arses and listen. Even though we always knew we would never return Harry, it would be sad for Hogwarts to close when it's been there for more than a thousand years.'
'It would be sad love. All Hogwarts needs is to make a lot of changes but also have better staff. But I'm glad we both want to stay here. This is our home, we're happy here and have a great life,' Harry smiled over at his son.
'We do Harry, we have everything we ever wanted. We'll keep in touch with Neville and Luna but we remain here with our son and our other children that will come along. We have perfect lives and I won't allow anyone to take that from us.'
'Neither will I love. This is our home,' Harry gave his wife a kiss before he moved down to the grass to play with his son.
Hermione couldn't help smiling as she watched Harry playing with Orion. From the moment they arrived in Hawaii, Harry began to relax. When they got married, Harry smiled almost all the time. From the time Orion was born, that's when she noticed that Harry was truly happy. He could have a bad day at work but the moment he got home and saw Orion, his face would light up. When Orion smiled at his daddy, Harry would just melt. To Hermione, leaving England was the best decision they ever made.
The end:
