Disclaimer: This is a continuation of Snippets Chapter 1 because it wouldn't get out of my dreamscape. This is an independent Harry, HP/HG, manipulative Dumbledore, strong Remus, Dursley-bashing story. This chapter, and Snippets Chapter 1 happen in 1994 / 1995.
Note: The spell Ago Eluo is based on a line from "Raspberry Jam" by VVC (an excellent magical maturity, HP/DM story which, even if you have a thing against slash, I would recommend as the slash aspect of it has been handled quite elegantly). The spell essentially causes bodily wastes to be evacuated and disposed of through the use of magic. I believe the naming of this spell is an original contribution as I have not seen it used elsewhere. I use this spell in a number of my stories under development.
-oOoOo-
Just as Harry blinked his eyes to adjust them to the brightness of the noon day sun, Tonks and Ron came running around the corner.
"What happened, Harry?" Tonks asked, then noticed how tightly Hermione was holding on to Harry and the terrified noises she was making. "Hermione, are you alright?" Tonks asked.
"What's wrong with her?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione in some concern.
Harry pulled Hermione from behind him and she moved around to embrace him face to face, her eyes remained tightly shut. Harry had one hand behind her head and one hand on the small of her back. He couldn't quite make out what she was whispering to him, but it was clear she was hysterical.
Tonks put her hand on Hermione's back and pulled her hand away as if she'd been electrocuted as Hermione screamed in terror at the contact, drawing the eyes of all those nearby to the group of four.
"We need to get her back to Grimmauld Place," Tonks said.
Harry nodded. He whispered to Hermione, "We need to get you home, Hermione. Will you let me take you?" he asked.
She nodded, her eyes still tightly closed and unwilling to release Harry. When Harry moved to walk, instead of repositioning so she could walk with him, she gripped him harder then wrapped first one leg, then the other, around Harry's waist. To keep from falling over, and so all her weight wasn't on his neck, Harry did, for him, the unthinkable. He put both his hands on Hermione's firm butt, causing her to sigh, seemingly in relief. He was a bit shocked when she moved her head to sniff his neck then sighed a second time, her fear seeming to lessen significantly.
Tonks looked at the quizzically, Ron looked at Hermione and Harry. Ron saw Harry looking at him and Ron winked at Harry and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Alright, Harry. You take Hermione first. I'll take Ron," Tonks said.
"Harry can't apparate," Ron said, looking at Tonks as if she'd grown a third eye, "he hasn't been trained."
It was Harry's turn to wink at Ron as he snapped his fingers. Harry and Hermione disappeared without a sound.
"Wicked!" Ron whispered.
Tonks shook her head at him, took his hand and pulled him up close to her. "Let's go," Tonks said playfully and she and Ron disappeared with a loud pop.
-oOoOo-
Hermione felt the light level change and opened her eyes and saw they were back at the kitchen in Grimmauld Place. She closed her eyes again. She was still wrapped around Harry and felt his deliciously warm hands on her bum.
Suddenly there was a loud pop next to them. Hermione gripped Harry harder and began to whimper again, shuddering in fear.
Tonks and Ron looked over at Harry and Hermione. Tonks was concerned about Hermione's demeanour but Harry seemed to have the situation under control. Tonks turned her eyes back to Ron and smiled, as Ron had not released her yet. Ron was looking at Harry and Hermione then he looked back at Tonks. Tonks decided to take a chance and kissed Ron chastely on the lips, causing his eyebrows to rise into his hairline. "How about we go into the sitting room and play a game of chess, Red?" Tonks asked.
Ron nodded and Tonks pulled him out of the kitchen by the hand, Ron being unable to take his eyes off the pink-haired auror.
Harry watched them go then turned his full attention to Hermione. "Hey you," he whispered.
"Take me upstairs, please, Harry?" she pleaded softly into his ear.
Harry turned and walked up the servants' stairs. He was about to exit out at the second floor when she said, "No, Harry. Your room. Take me to your room. I don't want to be alone," her voice becoming urgent.
Harry continued walking up to the fourth floor, opened the hidden door and then entered the master suite. The door closed behind him and he heard the locks engage. He heard Hermione sigh softly and melt into him, relaxing almost completely. He looked around the suite and decided she would be most comfortable on the ultra-king bed. He walked over to right next to the bed and knelt down on the mattress. He was trying to be conscientious of Hermione's immediate needs and her deep-seated sense of propriety.
"Winky," he called softly. The diminutive elf appeared with a soft pop. "Winky, could you please help me? Remove my shoes and Hermione's shoes and set them on the floor next to the bed." He said.
Harry felt his shoes vanish off his feet and felt Hermione's feet tighten slightly against his waist as she sighed and kissed his neck, shocking him.
"Thank you, Winky. Could you also cast Ago Eluo on both of us?" he asked.
He saw the cyan flash wash over Hermione. "One final item, please, Winky. A small Draught of Dreamless Sleep, please." He heard Winky snap her fingers and felt a weight in his shirt pocket. "Thank you, Winky. That will be all for now," he said and walked on his knees towards the head of the bed, carefully balancing Hermione the entire way while trying to concentrate on not falling over, made all the more difficult by Hermione's nuzzling his neck. He whispered softly to her, "hold on tight." He felt her tighten her arms around his neck and her legs took up the little slack there was. He leaned forward and caught their weight on his arms and gently lowered her down until her head was on the pillow. He did not feel her relax, however she continued nuzzling and kissing his neck.
"Hermione, you're safe," he said. He felt her arms relax and he pulled back and looked into her shining eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked in concern.
She looked deeply into his eyes and began to nod then shook her head. "Harry," she whispered, "do you think I'm pretty?" she asked, desperation in her voice.
"You're beautiful, Hermione," he said, still not understanding what had happened.
"Am I pretty enough for you?" she asked, pain clear in her voice.
"I don't understand, Hermione," Harry said. "What do you mean 'pretty enough'?" he asked.
"Am I pretty enough to be your girlfriend?" she asked, fear in her eyes.
"You're my friend, Hermione. My best friend," he said, wondering if she was asking him to be her boyfriend.
She began crying. Between sobs she said, "So...not...pretty...enough...for...you," he made out.
He wiped away the tears from her face with his fingers. "Hermione, I," he hesitated then drove on, "I didn't want to ruin our friendship by daring to have more with you. If I had asked and you weren't interested in me that way, what would it have done to our friendship?" he asked rhetorically. She looked back at him. "I've wanted more than friendship with you since the basilisk, Mione. I just never wanted to risk losing you," he admitted looking into her eyes.
She pulled him down to her and kissed him hard, her need projected into the kiss. Her tongue licked his lips and when they parted, she invaded his mouth, pushing all her need for protection into it. He felt her body once more melt against him.
They were both gasping for air when the kiss ended, but Harry was shocked when Hermione pulled him down again to nuzzle his neck. As her lips moved close to his ear, she whispered, "make love to me, Harry. Keep me safe. I'm yours in every way. Please?" she pleaded with him. He realized she probably knew he had had a physical reaction due to her close proximity since before elf-popping from the alley which had not subsided yet.
He pulled back a bit and tried to give her a gentle kiss, but her need caused her to once more pull him into a deep, breathtaking kiss.
He pulled all the way back and remembered the potion in his pocket. He worked to fish it out and unstopper it with one hand. Her eyes followed his hand and watched him open it.
"Hermione, you need to rest. Please take this for me," he said.
She finally relaxed her legs from around his waist, nodded then sat up a bit. He handed her the vial, which she took. She hesitated for a moment, looking at the vial then at him.
"Don't worry, Hermione. I won't leave your side and I won't take advantage of you," he said.
She nodded with a little smile then downed the vial in one swallow. Just before she fell asleep, she looked into those green eyes and slurred, "I LOVE you, Harry Potter!" and with a smile on her face, fell into a deep sleep.
-oOoOo-
Once Hermione was asleep, Harry called for Winky again. Winky moved the girl under the blankets and removed her clothing so she would be more comfortable. She snapped her fingers once more, causing Hermione's hair to be braided. Another snap of her fingers and Hermione was dressed in pyjamas with the Potter coat of arms over her heart. Harry then asked Winky to let Tonks know he needed to speak with her. Ten minutes later, Tonks arrived.
"Wotcher, Harry. Is Hermione going to be okay?" she asked upon arrival.
"I'm worried about her, Nym. Before I gave her the dreamless sleep potion, she asked me to make love to her," He explained, the tension clear in his voice, his eyes never leaving Hermione as he absently held her hand.
Tonks was confused. "A pretty girl asked you to have sex with her, right?"
"Not just any pretty girl, Nym. Hermione asked me," He said.
"What did you do?" Nym asked in concern.
"I gave her the Draught of Dreamless Sleep Winky brought to me so she would sleep," Harry explained. He then picked Hermione's hand up and kissed it. "Nym, she told me she loved me. What should I do?" he asked, with a hint of desperation in his voice.
Tonks walked over to the bed and sat next to Harry and put her hands on his shoulders. "Well, Harry, that depends. First, let me say I am impressed you had the willpower not to take advantage of Hermione while she was in a distraught state. I'm sure most other boys would have taken her up on her offer in a heartbeat and never looked back."
He nodded but his attention never wavered from Hermione's sleeping form.
"Harry? Do you love her?" she asked.
"I don't know what love is, Nym. She's the most important person in the whole world to me. I would die for her, Nym," he said.
"Do you think she really loves you?" Tonks asked.
"I don't know. Today got very odd. The shopkeeper seemed to want me to sell or trade him Hermione. Is that even legal? Not that there is anything in all the world I would trade her for," Harry said, a small smile on his face.
"It is, under certain circumstances. But Harry, since she told you, I will tell you a bit about a conversation Hermione had with me. She loves you, and I am not just talking about a teenage infatuation or a crush or even loving the Boy-Who-Lived. She loves you, Harry James Potter, fourteen-year-old, glasses-wearing, cute-butted cousin of mine," Tonks said with a smile, squeezing Harry's shoulders.
Harry turned his head and looked at Tonks with a grin, "So, you've been checking out my butt?"
Tonks kissed his nose. "Harry, if you weren't so damned noble, and Hermione and I hadn't had our little chat, I might be one of the witches chasing after your butt." They both giggled a bit at this. "But in all honesty, you have this intelligent little bookworm wrapped around your finger and, like you, I wouldn't do anything to hurt Hermione. You have her heart, Harry. If she really is the most important person in the world to you, likely you love her," Tonks explained.
"But, how do I know?" Harry asked, turning back and looking down at Hermione's sleeping form.
"You'd said you would die for her?" Tonks asked. Harry just nodded. "Would you kill for her?" she asked.
"I already have," he said, "a troll and Quarrel in first year, a basilisk in second year, dementors in third year. It doesn't take much of a stretch of imagination to think I wouldn't need to kill again to keep her safe. At the very least, I will be killing Tommy," he said quietly.
Tonks was silent for a moment. "Would you live for her, Harry? If you lost her and she wanted you to, begged you to, would you go on without her?"
For several minutes, there was silence. Tonks could not see Harry's silent tears, but when he finally did speak, they were evident in his voice. "I wouldn't want to, Nym. She is the air I breathe, the water I drink, the food I eat. She is my joy and my heart," his voice breaking at the end.
Tonks leaned into him and hugged him from the side. "That sounds a lot like love to me, Harry. That sounds like a lot more love than most married couples have for one another. If you had said those words to her today, and felt them as intensely as I see you do...well, based on Hermione's and my conversation, you would be one happy wizard right now," Tonks said with a smile.
Harry nodded. "I suppose I should tell her when she wakes up," he said.
"Do that, but don't hurt her. I'm teaching her to fight dirty and we'll use you as a training dummy if you hurt her," Tonks said half playfully, half seriously.
Harry leaned his head on Tonks' shoulder. "Nym, if I had a thousand cousins, you'd still be my favourite. Anyone who looks after my Hermione wins kudos from me," he said.
Tonks kissed the top of his head, "And don't you forget it, Harry," she said. "I am going to go back and give Ron a few more lessons on rapport," she explained, "meanwhile, you watch out for our girl."
Tonks kissed him on the cheek once more then got off the bed and left the room.
Harry began to feel the events of the day wearing him down. He lay down on the bed, intending to close his eyes only for a moment. It was hours later when he awoke.
-oOoOo-
Hermione awoke in moonlight. She looked towards the ceiling and saw it was, like the ceiling in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, charmed to display the sky. She was cozy warm and relaxed until she realized two things. Someone was spooned around her. Whomever that was had a pajama-covered arm draped over her and a hand on her bare stomach. She looked down at the hand on her stomach and saw the glint of a large ring on the hand. Even in the dim light, she recognized the ring. Somehow, she was in bed with Harry. She remembered the day had been horrific for the most part, with the worst of it being after Harry had made his selection. She had felt like some piece of meat, being pinched and prodded for tender spots. She then remembered kissing Harry and what she had asked him to do and his gentle deflection to the potion. Finally, she remembered professing her love for him just before descending into darkness.
His hand was so nice and warm on her bare tummy, with his middle finger in her navel and his pinky just beneath the waist of her pajama pants. She felt him stir. His face nuzzling into her neck.
She felt him kiss her neck softly. His hand began moving in little circles on her stomach, but made no move to go too high or too low.
"Are you awake, Sleepy Head?" he asked softly.
She answered him by putting her hand on his and tracing his fingers.
"Are you okay, Mione?" he asked, his voice filled with concern and love.
"I am when I'm with you, Harry," she whispered.
"Do you remember anything from today?" he asked tentatively.
She lifted his hand and rolled over to face him, then placed his hand on her bum. "I remember," she replied, looking into his eyes.
"I'm worried about you, Hermione. I think the day's events got to you and you asked me to..." he was interrupted by her putting a finger to his lips to shush him.
"I meant what I said, Harry. I love you, I want to be with you and I want you to be with me," she said, searching his eyes. She took a deep breath. "Harry, when we were in that...that...that place, and the shopkeeper wanted you to sell me to him, I felt like a piece of meat. I don't ever want to feel that way again. Earlier I wanted you to take me. Take my..." it was Hermione's turn to be silenced by Harry.
"Shush, my little witch," he said then moved slowly to kiss her, giving her time to move away if she wanted to. Instead, she moved too, into their first, tender kiss.
A few moments later, Harry drew back and looked at Hermione's blissful, closed-eye expression. "Would you be my girlfriend, Mione? I know I'm a clueless sod when it comes to girls, but..."
"You want to be my boyfriend?" she asked hesitantly.
"With all my heart," he said.
She answered him by kissing him again. After a few moments they both came up for air.
"Harry?" she asked.
"Yes, Mione?"
"Why didn't you take me up on my offer?" she asked tentatively.
He thought for a moment before answering her. "I suppose the most important reason is that you weren't doing very well, you were afraid and distraught and not your normal self. It also seemed like too much of a leap to go from best friends to lovers without time for less intimate exploration. If you and I do decide to go that far, I want it to be for all the right reasons, I want us to both have a clear head about it and I want us both to enjoy the experience," he explained. "I guess it just seemed like you weren't really in control and that some desperate fear was driving you to do it." He rolled onto his back, looking up at the night sky. "Tonks and I talked about it after you fell asleep," he began. Hermione rolled halfway onto Harry and began running her hand through his hair. He looked into her eyes. "After talking with Tonks, I realized I love you as well," he was cut off as she kissed him. He put his hand gently on the back of her head as she deepened the kiss. She pulled back slowly to see the smile on his face. "And because I love you," he continued, "I didn't want to take something from you when you weren't in the right frame of mind to give it freely. Does that make sense?"
He looked at her and could see the tears welling up in her eyes and watched as the first tear ran down her face. "Love? Why are you crying?" he asked as he wiped her tears away with his thumb.
"Happy tears, Harry. Any other boy would have taken me in a moment but you...you...you're so honourable. And sweet. And handsome. I am one lucky witch!" she exclaimed. Just then, her stomach grumbled.
Harry laughed, "I guess you're one hungry witch too! Let's get dressed and see if Winky has something for us to eat," he said.
As he said her name, the light level in the suite began rising until it was three-quarters normal brightness and Winky appeared with a covered tray. Harry and Hermione heard her pop in and sat up in bed.
"Winky bring Master Harry and his Hermione dinner. Winky was worried yous would be upset with her, Master Harry," she said as she hovered the tray over to the two of them.
"Winky, why would you think Harry would be upset with you?" Hermione asked.
"Winky is putting clothes on yous, Master Harry's Hermione, so when he wakes up he not see yous bare. It not proper him seeing you like that before betrothed," she explained.
"Winky, you did well in protecting Hermione's honour. You did the right thing," Harry said.
"Yous not upset with Winky? Master Harry is greatest wizard just like Dobby says!" Winky said before popping out and returning with a silver bucket filled with ice and butterbeers, which she also floated over to Harry and Hermione. "Master Harry, Winky will know when you are done with dinner and will leave yous undisturbed until your meal is finished," she said.
"That is very thoughtful of you, Winky. Thank you," Harry said.
The little elf blushed before popping away.
Hermione was quiet. At the word, "betrothed", she had taken Harry's hand in her own. "Betrothed. Betrothed to Harry. A dream come true," she thought.
"Galleon for your thoughts?" Harry asked, seeing Hermione was lost in thought.
"Galleon? Isn't that a bit much? Most people say 'A sickle'," she said, looking at him with a small smile.
"Hermione, your thoughts are always worth a fortune to me," he said, returning the smile. When she didn't say anything, he gestured towards the platter. "Dinner?" He removed the lid and noted that Winky was worth her weight in gold. Beneath the cover was a lit candle and Hermione's favourite dish, curried lamb with Madras potatoes.
Hermione swooned as the aroma of the curry reached her. She leaned her head on Harry's shoulder. He wrapped his left arm around her and picked up a fork and began feeding her from his plate. She moaned appreciatively as the flavour filled her mouth. "Cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric, cumin, coriander, tender succulent lamb! Merlin! This is good!" she thought, another little moan escaped her.
"I take it you like it?" he asked, a bit of amusement in his voice.
"Mmmmmhmmm," she answered, nodding slightly, chewing thoroughly, savouring every little explosion of flavour on her tongue.
She swallowed and he brought another fork-full of food to her mouth. "You know, I can..." she was interrupted by him putting the food in her mouth.
"Yes, Love, I know you can feed yourself, but I'm enjoying feeding you," he said.
She smiled with her whole body when he said "Love" and just relished the warmth of him as she continued to enjoy the food. In between, Harry took bites himself, also enjoying the complexity of the flavours washing over his palate.
They finished the meal in silence and simply enjoyed the food and the company.
When the meal was done, Winky popped in, vanished the tray and served them gelato; chocolate for Hermione, vanilla bean for Harry. They took the opportunity to feed one another the velvety smooth, cold dessert.
Winky popped in when she sensed they were done and took away the dishes and departed, informing Harry he had no appointments for tomorrow.
Hermione and Harry looked at one another shyly. Although they had been best friends for years, this closeness was a new development and neither wanted to hurt the other. It was, of course, Hermione who made the first tentative move. She pushed Harry down so he lay on the bed once more then she lay down using his chest for a pillow and pulled his arm around her. "Much better," she purred in contentment.
"Hermione," Harry began, "is this normal? I mean, we were best friends this morning and now we're boyfriend and girlfriend and sleeping together in the same bed."
"Probably not, but I've never felt safer than in your arms. Do you want me to leave you to sleep by yourself?" she asked, a hint of fear in her voice.
He responded somewhat panicked, "Never! I mean, um, only if you want to."
She looked up and kissed him briefly. "I want to stay here with you, My Harry," she cooed, then cuddled back down. She looked back up at the ceiling. "I wonder how many manors have their ceiling enchanted like this. I thought it was only Hogwarts," she said, chewing on her bottom lip as was her habit when thinking.
"Mum enchanted this ceiling and the ceilings at most of the Potter houses. From her's and Sirius' journals, the two of them were like brother and sister, so when Regulus died leaving Sirius as Lord Black, he asked Mum to enchant the ceiling," Harry explained pensively.
Hermione looked up at him, concern in her eyes, "I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't mean to..."
"Shhhh, Mione. It's okay. I only have the vaguest memories of either of them, but Sirius left me a number of journals as did Mum. It helps me to be closer to them in some ways," Harry said.
"Harry?" Hermione asked tentatively.
"Yes, Love?" he responded, looking once more up at the ceiling.
"I'm being a bit silly, I suppose but..." she paused in embarrassment.
"My Hermione? Being silly? Never!" Harry said, running his hand up and down her arm slowly.
"Do you think your mum would have approved of us? Would like me?" she asked, sounding like a scared little girl.
"I think the two of you would have gotten on famously. I think Mum would have loved you, and Dad and Sirius would have cheered for me," he said, hugging her tightly.
She worked her way under his pyjama top to touch his bare stomach. His breath caught in his throat at the contact. She began unbuttoning the buttons of his top so she could freely move her hand around his chest as she looked up at the night sky. "Maybe we could do our astronomy homework in here," she said, her voice betraying only a bit of distraction from her words.
Harry laughed, releasing the tension caused by her roaming hand.
"What's so funny?" she asked, lifting her head and looking into his eyes.
"You're taking my clothes off and talking about homework. What's not to laugh at?" He replied with a grin.
Hermione giggled then reached up to kiss him again. "There's nothing wrong with multitasking, Harry," she said, then a wicked little smile played across her face, "besides, if there was a human anatomy course, we could do both sets of homework at once!"
Harry blushed and looked at her. In the darkness he could tell she, too, was blushing. "Well, from what little astronomy I know, I would say its about midnight and we should both try to sleep a bit more before dawn," he said. He felt her nod then cuddle in closer.
He ran his fingers through her hair and began gently massaging her scalp. Even after he felt her breathing change to the deep, slow breathing of sleep, he continued to rub her scalp until sleep took him.
-oOoOo-
Hermione could feel a hand on her leg, just below the knee, gently pulling. She relaxed and allowed her legs to be gently pulled apart, one at a time. She then felt hands tenderly grasping her wrists and pulling them over her head. One by one, she felt the buttons of her pyjamas, first the top, then the pants, carefully, gently unbuttoned and slowly opened to expose her skin. She felt warm hands slowly, lovingly cup her breasts then strong but gentle fingers tweaking first one, then the other, nipple until she was fully aroused. These same hands stroked down her stomach, down her thighs then back up, spreading her wider with soft thumbs. She then heard a loud, nasal intake of breath and a lecherous, corrupt voice whispering with a guttural laugh, "unspoiled." She opened her eyes and looked down to see two filthy hands with arms covered in tattered, yellow robes. Her scream woke the house.
-oOoOo-
"Will she be alright?" Harry asked.
"I believe, Lord Potter, she simply had an incredibly vivid nightmare. I believe she will sleep well into the morning. The two potions I gave her should calm her nerves overall as well as allow her to sleep without dreaming," his private healer explained. "Based on my conversation with Auror Tonks, she had a very bad experience today and it is invading her dreams. I would recommend she not awaken alone," the healer said pointedly, giving Harry a gimlet eye.
Harry wasn't even looking at the healer. The only time his eyes had left Hermione since she had awoken screaming was when Tonks had asked her if she wanted to talk about it privately. Harry, Ron and the healer had left the room as Tonks and Hermione talked for nearly half an hour. As the healer had examined her, Tonks had a discussion with Harry regarding his perspective of the meeting he had with the shopkeeper. When Harry had entered the master suite again, Hermione was highly agitated.
"The healer wants me to take potions to help me sleep, Harry. Please don't leave me," she said, fear showing in every aspect of her demeanour.
"I promise I won't leave you, Mione-Love. Drink the potions down. I will be here and won't let anything happen to you," he said earnestly, holding her hand. She nodded and drank both potions.
"Now, Miss Granger, if you feel anything amiss or have any other extraordinary dreams, please let Lord Potter or Auror Tonks know immediately. There may be mind magics in play here which I am unable to detect, but we all need you rested," the healer said in his most-soothing voice.
Hermione nodded, then launched herself into Harry's arms. Her crying, at first almost hysterical, began to rapidly diminish until, quite suddenly, she was asleep.
The healer put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "My Lord, take good care of yourself as well. As much as Miss Granger needs her sleep, you need yours as well."
Harry nodded. "Thank you, Healer Blueshirt. I appreciate your concern."
The healer closed his satchel and Winky showed him to the door. Less than two minutes later she had popped back in along with Dobby.
Of all the times Harry had interacted with Dobby in the past, this was not the spastic, flighty, attention-deficit elf in front of him. Nor was this the Dobby who was afraid to be punished or felt he had to iron his ears. This was the elf that tossed Lucius Malfoy onto his arse and down a hall. "Dobby hears what happened to Master Harry's Hermione. Dobby and Winky will stand guard tonight to insure no mean magics harm Master Harry's Hermione," the little elf said firmly.
"Thank you, Dobby, Winky. I have never met harder-working, more-loyal elves than the two of you," Harry said tiredly. The adrenalin was rapidly burning off and he could not hold sleep off much longer.
"Master Harry is tired," Winky said. She waved her hands and Harry could feel himself, along with Hermione, floating towards the head of the bed again. Dobby snapped his fingers and the sheets and blankets pulled back. Winky lowered them down onto the bed and Dobby, with a bit more hand waving, tucked them in.
"Sleep, Great Wizard. We elves will guard you with our lives tonight," Winky whispered. Harry did not, however hear her as he was already asleep with Hermione curled tightly around him.
-oOoOo-
Harry awoke. While it was storming outside, the enchanted ceiling showed a bright, sunny day. He looked down at the weight on his chest and noted Hermione had moved around a bit while she slept. She was still asleep but straddling him. Sometime in the night, her pyjamas had unbuttoned and Harry was treated to a vision of her bare breasts against his chest. He closed his eyes and pulled her top up so he had ready access to her back. He began running small circles in her back with one hand while gently rubbing her head with the other. After a few moments she began making soft, pleasured moans. He moved his hands to withdraw.
"Please don't stop. That feels SOOOOO good," she purred.
"That is a mutual feeling," he said as he continued his ministrations, "but I think you should let me know when its safe to open my eyes," he said, a bit of humour in his voice.
He could feel her nod as he continued to rub her head and back.
Dobby popped in with breakfast a few minutes later. Once he had popped out again, Hermione crawled up Harry until she was straddling him properly and let her bare breasts come in full contact with his chest as she kissed him good morning. Through the thin cotton, she could feel his morning reaction. "Good morning to you, too, Mr Potter," she said impishly.
Harry blushed and opened his eyes. "It's hard to not have a reaction when a beautiful witch is teasing me," he said.
"Oh, it's definitely hard," she said, gently grinding her pelvis against his, causing his blush to deepen further.
She teased him a bit further by sitting up slowly and beginning to button her pyjama top from the bottom up. He snapped his eyes shut and made strangling noises while the heat coming off his face from his blush was warm enough for Hermione to feel it.
She stopped and lay back down on top of him, trying not to tease him further. "Harry?" she asked in honest curiosity, "do you really think I'm pretty?"
Harry opened his eyes and found her face just inches away from his. "You're amazingly pretty, Hermione," he said in a gasp, feeling himself about to burst at her proximity.
Harry noticed Hermione suddenly get glassy-eyed; he thought she looked exactly the way Luna does when she's talking about her unusual animals.
She closed her eyes and lowered her lips to his and gave him a gentle, almost tentative kiss. He, too, closed his eyes and experienced the wonder of a sweet, tender kiss from his girlfriend. He felt a little splash of water and realized she was crying again.
She pulled back from the kiss and he tried to wipe away her tears. "Mione-Love, tell me why you're crying," he said in concern.
"Harry, you've had such a crappy life, endured miseries most people couldn't dream up in their worst nightmares and yet you are so...so special. You make me feel like I'm a princess. You make me feel pretty," she said, looking up into infinity.
"You are pretty, Mione," he said earnestly.
The two were interrupted by the appearance of Dobby.
"Master Harry, your purchases have been delivered. The house elves who delivered it won't leave until you've inspected your purchases," Dobby said, disgust clearly communicated in his voice.
"What's wrong, Dobby? Why are you so upset?" Harry asked, thinking that it had something to do with a half-naked Hermione sitting on top of his lap trying to hold her pyjama top shut.
"Even Lord Malfoy didn't treat his elves the way these elves are treated," Dobby said then popped out.
Hermione and Harry practically leapt out of bed to see what Dobby was talking about.
-oOoOo-
Harry had known there were abused elves in the wizarding world from his experience with Dobby and Winky. He never imagined anyone could be more cruel to a house elf than Lucius Malfoy. After what he had seen today, he had to class Lucius nearly as a humanitarian to elves in comparison to what this Angus Grimm did to his elves.
Harry met with them at the edge of the wards with Dobby, Mad-Eye and Remus in attendance. Hermione had screamed and run back into the house at the sight of them.
The five elves who had delivered the package had been bathed in a potion which made their skin black and leather-like. The one who spoke had a rusty iron patch riveted in place covering his right eye and his ears had been sewn open with wire. The four who carried the package had their arms amputated and their mouths pinned shut using enormous diaper pins. Their eyes and ears had been sewn shut. They carried the package on a litter mounted to rough iron rods protruding from their shoulders where their arms had been.
The elf with the patch had a necklace of three shrunken elf heads around his neck. "Lord Potter, I am Glop. My master does greet thee and delivers unto thee thy purchases," it said. "My master also bids thee further greetings and does ask thee what price you would ask for the young girl you had in your company yesterday. My master is most anxious to have such a spirited plaything," it finished and bowed.
Harry could taste his disgust and feel his anger rising up at the mere thought of anyone else, much less someone who would do this to elves, touching his Hermione. A hand gripping his shoulder brought him back to reality.
"Steady there, Lad. He's just baiting you. Let's see what you got yourself," Mad-Eye said.
Harry looked at the crate on the litter and ordered it opened. Glop snapped his fingers and the top of the crate neatly parted in the centre. As the hinged doors opened, a foul, corrupt, tainted stench filled the air for a moment. Within the crate, as had been displayed upon the pedestal, were the twin robes and the twin swords. Also in the crate was a wax-sealed scroll.
Moody's eye was spinning wildly, looking at the items. "No curses at least," he said after a few minutes' inspection, "and some of the enchantments I have never seen before."
"Do these items meet with your approval, Lord Potter?" Glop asked sarcastically.
"They do," Harry said. Almost before the words were out of his mouth, the four elves carrying the litter shrugged and the crate fell to the ground. "Dobby," Harry called. Dobby appeared almost silently. "Take these items to Gringotts," Harry said. Dobby took hold of the crate and snapped his fingers, causing the crate and the elf to disappear.
Glop then looked towards the house, "And an answer for my master on the matter of the young girl?" he asked.
"Tell your master she is not for sale," Harry said, keeping his anger in check.
The elf bowed, "I shall convey your message to my master," Glop said mockingly. He then smiled at Harry, showing a mouthful of metallic, razor-sharp teeth. "I am sure you will come to some arrangement with him over her."
Before Harry could retort, Glop snapped his fingers and the five elves and the litter disappeared, leaving behind a noxious taint of rotting flesh in the air.
"Come on, Lad. Let's go check after your girl, then we can see what the goblins have to say about your taste in robes and swords," Moody said.
"Remind me to speak with her parents about someone wanting to buy her and what's needed to prevent it," Remus said. Harry nodded.
-oOoOo-
Harry entered the manor. He had anticipated Hermione would be waiting just inside the door for him, but she was no where in sight. He entered the dining room and found Ron consuming what was likely his third plate of bangers and mash.
"Ron, have you seen Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Tonks took her up to her room when she ran in crying," Ron said. He then looked quizzically at Harry. "Harry? Hermione seems a bit off lately. Did I do something to upset her?"
"No, Ron. I think her nerves are just a bit frazzled is all," Harry replied, not really wanting to try to explain it all to Ron.
Harry climbed the stairs to the second floor and knocked on the partially-closed door to Hermione's room. The conversation he had heard cut off as Hermione asked him to come in. She and Tonks were sitting on the bed and both of them had a rosy hue to their cheeks and both of them smiled nervously as he entered the room.
"Well, I'd better go downstairs and see if Ron is up for another game of speed chest...er...chess," Tonks said, her blush growing deeper as she sped past Harry and left the room.
"Thanks for taking care of our girl, Tonks!" Harry shouted at the closing door with humour in his voice. He then turned his gaze to Hermione.
"And why do I get the feeling I was being discussed just a few moments ago," Harry asked Hermione, raising an eyebrow at her as he walked over and sat on the bed next to her.
"I'm sure I have no idea what you mean," she said primly, however her blush also became more pronounced.
He closed the distance between them to kiss her. She licked her lips and closed her eyes. She felt his hands on her stomach and was swooning in anticipation. He kissed her gently while trailing a finger up and around her ear and down her neck. She gave a little shudder of pleasure. "Hey you," he said softly.
"Hey yourself," she said back at him, trying to kiss him again but he pulled back, then shrugged and kissed her again. "What was that about?" she asked.
"I was trying to decide whether to talk to you about priorities or kiss you. I decided kissing you is always my highest priority," he said with a large smile.
She smiled back.
"So my second priority of the day is to go to Gringotts," he said, "to see if the goblins can find any additional information on the items we purchased yesterday," at this, Hermione's entire body language changed. She moved closer to Harry and wrapped her arm around his waist, moulding herself to him. Noticing her significant mood change, he continued, "You can come with us or I can drop you with your parents to spend the rest of the day with them. It's up to you, Mione."
She looked up into his eyes then looked down in shame and fear. "I want to go wherever you're going, Harry. I don't feel safe any more."
"It's okay, Mione. I'll be there," he said, trying to sound confident.
She nodded then sat back up. "Well, I should go wash my face. I was be quite a frightful sight."
"You're a feast for my eyes, Love," he said, looking at her.
"Silly," she said and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before going into the loo to wash her face and hands.
-oOoOo-