DISCLAIMER. None of the characters used are a creation of mine. They belong solely to JK Rowling.
Harry gazed longingly at the castle he'd come to call home. It was only just barely visible from where he stood, an excellent vantage point that allowed him invisibility from unwanted onlookers but also a strategic position to help keep his subjects in sight.
He could make out the Gryffindor Tower standing alone like a sentinel guarding the violet skyline as dusk rolled over the grounds below. He could even vaguely count the windows, hazarding a guess to where his dormitories had lay.
His dormitory that he'd shared with Ron.
He sighed, ridding himself of memories he had no desire to revisit especially not before he was to set out on a potentially life threatening outgamble.
He waited patiently for Hermione to arrive, only the tiniest bit bitter that she got to be the one to enjoy the comforts of the ancient castle while he had to spend all his time in foreign lands among foreign people. He wished he could have been with her. He wished he could spend time with his parents and Sirius and Remus because the truth of the matter was that he'd do anything to get them back even if he had no guts to face them.
Maybe when all this was over he could go to them and offer some kind of flimsy explanation and hope that they would believe him.
That they would accept him.
He petted the lionhead of his beloved cane berore promtly shrinking and putting it away. He smiled to himself thinking how he'd be lying if he said that he, too, hadn't grown quite fond of the little trinket.
At least Henry had taste, he told himself.
He hummed under his breath, all the while steadily keeping a hold of his wand under his black robes.
He heard her before he saw her. His face split into a huge grin as he saw her approaching, a similar expression of exhuberance on her face although a little subdued.
His brows furrowed as he spun her around and placed her feet back on the ground.
He prodddd, 'Something is wrong, isn't it? I can tell.'
Hermione fumbled with her words. She had hoped he wouldn't notice but she knew she wasn't fooling anyone. Of course he'd notice. He was her best friend.
She shrugged sadly, 'I finally staged a fall out with the Marauders and it hurts much worse than I'd expected.'
He looked at her with sympathy, pressing his lips against her forehead lightly, brushing away the lone tear against her rosy cheeks. 'A clean break was necessary. You saved them a lot of pain.'
She nodded absently, 'I hope the full moon tonight will keep them distracted enough to forget all about me.'
Harry seriously doubted that but let it go. Instead he fished out a tiny package from his pockets, enlarging it and vanishing away the wrapper. He handed it over to Hermione who promtly pulled up the gloves in her hands, admiring the smooth feel of the dragon hide over her skin.
'As much of a precaution we can take when facing the unexpected,' he mumbled before taking her arm and Apparating her away to the middle of a street enclosed in the darkness.
He felt her shudder in response to the evil the little dilapidated cottage before them reeked of. He barely suppressed a shudder of his own, his body reacting adversely to the piece of Dark Magic inside despite having long been severed from the connection he had held with Voldemort's horcruxes.
'I have already dismantled the first five layers on my previous visits,' he explained rather unnecessarily. He knew she had every last thing memorised.
Hermione chuckled at his efforts, 'Yes. I'll begin working on the alarm system immediately. You can get onto blasting away the wards then.'
Disengaging herself from his grip, she slid away to step closer to the cottage. From the corner of her eye she saw Harry run a perimeter around the property. She waited for him to carry out his statutory precautions once again, putting up wards to keep their presence hushed up.
'No signs of human life in a five mile radius. If somebody is to arrive we will be alerted almost immediately. I have used a little trick I came up with a couple of years ago to ensure we won't be affected by Anti-Apparaition wards in case we are tailed or somehow discovered.'
Hermione could almost make out the swell of pride Harry felt at having successfully ensured their safety, something that had always been Hermione's job previously. She grinned at him, shaking her head fondly.
With one last glance at him, Hermione set to work. She raised her hands in the air, letting all the energy around the house flood into her. She made a systematic inventory of every spell she encountered which enveloped the cottage. She made her way through the two layers of wards they meant to blow up and then worked on finding her way to the safeguards and the security checks in place. Quickly making her way through the quite advanced alarm system put up by Voldemort, she felt his magical signature ebb upon casting the various countercurses she muttered under her breath.
There was a thrum of static in the air. Magic whispered to her very core as she strategically picked apart each spell.
It took her very close to an hour before she could confidently claim to have stripped the cottage of any counteractive measures it may have in place to repel intruders such as themselves.
Harry never let his gaze waver from her all the while straining all his senses to keep a strict check on their surroundings. So far everything was going well but he only knew it too well how things could fall apart without any warning.
He knew she was exerting herself with the very complicated enchantments she was muttering. He also realised he would never have understood them in his previous life but Henry's extensive knowledge acquired during his years at Durmstrang were proving to he magnanimously useful not only for his network but also this night when he had to be on his best game. He'd be damned if he let anything happen to Hermione.
He would make sure she made it out alive. He would make sure the both of them made it out alive.
He owed it to their family.
Seeing her catch her breath after a very long and excruciating fifty four minutes Harry rushed towards her, offering to her some water and a tiny slab of chocolate.
He immediately began to disassemble the weakened wards. He made sure there would arise no implications and that there were no surprises or changes from the information he had gathered a few months ago.
He divested them entirely, casting the simplest piece of a spell, 'Confloste!'
It was like a switch had been turned on that sent bits and pieces of plaster hurtling away as the cottage exploded into a million shards. The air rumbled as the very foundation of the tiny construction burst into rubble as the wards blew up. The magic held within them could be felt by the duo as clearly as feeling the tangible tension in the air.
It felt like an icy hand had clamped over their chests, touching them and igniting in them a chilled fire. A second that could easily have been eternity for them passed and the chill receded to leave behind an intense feeling of dismemberment.
'Whatever this was.. it was one of the most powerful magic I've witnessed,' Hermione commented. 'I never thought a ward could be this resilient.'
'We learn something everyday,' Harry mumbled.
He led her inside through the blistered door that hung onto the rubble by just a single hinge. He took great care in jumping over the fallen tiles, stretching an arm out towards Hermione and pulling her in.
They bundled inside, both of them feeling vibrations coming out from something incredibly dark and vicious residing within the fallen down walls.
Harry had to admit that not even the entirety of the time spent keeping a horcrux on his person could have instilled in him the dread that he felt at once again encountering the piece of soul of a man he wished to bring down for having taken from him everything.
It wasn't an overly difficult task to follow his instincts and wade through all the rubble and into the heart of the mess. The horcrux was doing the job for him.
It beckoned to him.
He could clearly make out the ornately designed casket that seemed to be shimmering just only slightly.
No. This is too easy. Something is off about this place.
He looked pleadingly at Hermione who was regarding the air around them very curiously. He saw her brows furrow in concentration almost as if she was plucking the roots of some complex arithmancy equation.
'Mione?,' he prompted.
Her head whipped in his direction, startled, 'I know.. it can't be this simple.'
Harry was glad and felt reassured that his instincts weren't lying to him. He trusted her gut almost more than he trusted his own.
Bracing himself, he stepped forward, reaching out his gloved hand to pick up the small box, detesting even the idea of being so close to it. But before he could wrap his fingers around it he felt something sharp prod him against his back.
He turned around to find Hermione putting a finger against her lips, her wand poking him. She raised it to release a soft glow around them.
A golden light enveloped the pair as Harry gazed at the tiny imprints of letters and digits from a familiar script that appeared in thin air. He felt another icy chill pass along his body as he realised just what the repercussions of touching the box would have been.
'They would have made your blood curdle and your lungs collapse almost immediately,' Hermione murmured, aghast. 'It's a very subtle bit of magic. I would have never noticed it in the first place. It turns out our time at war paid up. War hardens you to everything.'
Harry looked at her, grateful to her for once again having saved his life. She never stopped, did she. She had been and would always be his most loyal companion.
He only hoped that she knew there was not a soul in this world or the next who could ever replace her in his life.
'Together?', he ventured.
'Together,' she repeated.
His back against hers, he began translating the runes in his mind, slowly dismembering them, giving each little bit individual attention. He felt his senses had heighteined significantly upon the removal of the ancient ward, allowing him to see better in the pitch black darkness of what remained of the cottage.
'It was shadowing our senses,' he remarked.
Hermione gave a noncommittal shrug and sidestepped around him. 'I don't feel good, Harry. Let's just get this over with and leave.'
He nodded and bent down to murmur the three countercurses Hermione had demanded him to mug up. He was in luck, the third one clicked and he felt the box give a cry before its lid opened up of its own accord.
Harry's jaw tightened as he saw the ring and the black stone held within its confines. He fought the urge to grab it and wear it.. to let Voldemort's soul possess him and bring to fruition his plans.
He watched as Hermione slowly extended her hand and pushed the lid back down, disintegrating the pull he felt to the trinket. She had only just burshed a finger against the box when she cried out, pulling away her hand as if burned.
His eyes grew wide as he saw the dragon hide melt away, integrating itself closely with the skin on her hand.
Hermione looked at Harry, frantic. She let out a cry of pain as she felt the dragon hide pierce into her skin and merge with it all the while as a soft tingle crept up her arm and spread through her entire body, eliciting yells of excruciating pain from her.
She felt the energy leave behind a trail of red hot fire. She cried out again as she felt herself burn.
Harry let out a strangled cry, rushing to her and pulling her close. He inspected her hand, wracking his mind for a possible cure but coming up with nothing. He sensed the growing darkness around them but not even his panic could tune out the gory cries of pain coming from Hermione's mouth.
He felt his eyes prickle with tears as he gathered her in his arms, struggling to ignore the violent shaking of her frail body.
'I'll get you out, Hermione. I'll keep you safe. I'll carry you, I promise.'
Keeping a firm grip on her with his left hand, he stretched the other towards the box. But before he could clutch it in his fingers he saw a grotesque figure take shape right before his eyes. He saw as a black mass of swirling gases turned into a palpable entity. The wraith like figure glared at the pair of intruders, its arms stretching around them.. threatening to trap them inside its hold.
Harry whipped out his wand and cast spell after spell but he was only blindly shooting the wraith down. He had no idea what kind of sorcery this was. He had never in his two lifetimes encountered something so morbidly terrifying.
The wraith gleaned as it edged closer. He was acutely aware of the rising pitch of Hermione's screams, begging him to put an end to her agony. Her ashen skin begged flr attention, her eyes clasped shut against the prolonged pain she felt.
Her screams tore through him like shards of grass reminding him of another time when he had been equally as incapacitated to help her and break her out of her torturous howls. His mind railed with various implications of a solution but her blood curdling screams just wouldn't allow him to think clearly.
Coupled with the ever advancing wraith Harry couldn't help but feel so thoroughly helpless.
How could he ever have believed that they could have won this war? He had nothing. He could do nothing. How foolish had he been?
And he'd so willingly put Hermione through this ordeal and now they would both die at the hands of a surreal apparition and the world would retake the same course it had before and all of their efforts would be for naught.
He sent out a silent prayer, his desperation clear in his distraught eyes. He begged the gods to forgive him for he had not only risked the world's fate yet again but brought Hermione, his.. his everything.. to such danger and now she would die on him just like everybody else had.
She would die on him and he'd suffer the pain of her death in his very last moments.
He tried blasting through the wraith once again but found the wrsith like darkness had had his limbs rendered immobile. As he looked at her clammy face and her brown eyes seeking his, he dropped his forehead against her, whispering to whatever Gods were listening.
Please take me.. not her.
Take me. Take me but not her. Please..
Her hysterical sobs peaked up making the hair on the back of his neck stand straight up.
I am so sorry, Mione. I wish they'd take me.. not you.. not you, please.. not you too..
Just when Harry had been about to give up, something strange happened. He felt like a burning fire had torn open his chest and taken residence inside. He felt its hot trail inside his blood, the itch of a burn surrounding him.
But he had never even touched the ring.
Hermione's pain echoed into his, both of their screams merging into one. And yet he retained a part of his mind that was still begging for Death to take him and not her.
Not her, too, please..
As he closed his eyes, unable to witness her misery any longer, his own tumult threatening to push him over the edge, he felt something simmer along the edges of his senses.
He could hear strange voices. So many of them. Their murmurings so acute.
Had the Resistance or perhaps the Order somehow come to help them? But that wasn't possible. The cottage was unplottable but then there wasn't another rational explanation for any of it.
He strained his eyes to open. His eyelids fluttered as he saw the wraith like figure being pushed back steadily but surely. The voices rose even higher as a white light emanating from somewhere close to the source of the wraith itself surrounded them, flooding them with warmth but bringing no solace to their ever increasing pain.
He saw as the shimmering light hurtled the wraith like darkness back into the crevices of the box, causing it to fall inanimately down on the ground. And suddenly all the adrenaline rushed out of his system as Harry saw his vision restore and the voices go away; the silence interrupted only by Hermione's screams.
He reluctantly curled his fingers around the casket, hurriedly pushing it back in his robes. He struggled to get up onto his feet, the burning in his body still there but somehow weaker than what Hermione was feeling for surely his howls were nothing compared to the chilling sounds she was emitting.
Her whimpers grew worse as Harry stumbled onto his steps, falling down onto his knees. His vision blurred as he tried to pull her close.
He couldn't give up. Not now.
'Leave,' he heard a sharp voice whisper to him. 'Run.'
Harry whipped around, his wand at the ready but nobody stood behind him. Goosebumps broke out on his skin as he whirled round and round trying to find the source of the strange voice.
'Leave,' said the unfamiliar voice, an ethereal tinge to it. 'Leave now.'
Harry clambered onto his feet, using all his strength to pick Hermione up, his heart breaking a little at seeing her limp body hanging onto him, her head dropping back as another scream made its way out her chapped lips.
'I'll carry you,' he whispered as he staggered, battling the urge to cry out from the burn inside, 'I'll carry you, Mione.. I'll carry you to the ends of the world.'
He secured his hold on her before wobbling out the door and into the dewy air outside, the moon barely just setting.
He had only just walked away a mere twenty yards from the rubble when a violent green fire erupted and surrounded the broken plaster.
He shielded his eyes from the massacre before his eyes, his mouth hanging open in shock.
Another second and they would have been charred mass.
Who did that voice belong to?
Another one of her howls alerted Harry to the impending doom upon his best friend's head. He fumbled to produce a patronus, watching the silver stag dash away to Dumbledore, mumbling a message for him.
Apparating her to the edge of Hogsmeade, he almost cried out in relief at seeing Dumbledore already running towards the pair.
Ignoring the strange occurrence of how one of his students, his spy, was in the arms of the leader of the Resistance, Dumbledore merely worried his brow over their battered forms.
He skidded to a halt, 'What is it? What's happened?'
Harry knew he didn't have the resources. To heal Hermione would take the expertise of someone trustworthy and he didn't know who could be better equipped than the greatest wizard alive.
He scrambled for words, his heart beating a thousand times too fast, 'She's been cursed.. touched something.. she was wearing.. dragon hide.. melted and fused into her skin. I.. don't know.. it's like a burn.. going through her veins.. I can feel it too but.. I can tell its less potent than what she's feeling.. she keeps screaming.. her tremors have subsided but her ..'
Another ear splitting scream was released as Hermione once again bit her lip so hard that blood flowed freely.
Harry whispered, 'Mione, listen to me.. I'll carry you.. I'll carry you and you'll be okay..'
Dumbledore's eyes dimmed, its usual twinkle lost. He appraised the two gravely. He motioned for Harry to allow him to levitate Hermione but seeing him shake his head vehemently he could do nothing but run and lead the pair towards the Hospital Wing.
Harry's mind barely registered the walk to the matron. He was dimly aware of the plethora of memories that flooded him as he made his way through familiar corridors he had known for so long. His heart kept breaking as he felt how cold Hermione felt in his arms and how it only reinforced the ghosts he kept seeing around him.
His lips thinning, he tightened his grip over her, feeling her breathing grow fainter. The burn flowing through his veins was ever present but his dsitress wasn't even close to what Hermione was feeling.
His was only an.. imprint of what she felt. His mind was wheeling through the many unanswered questions he had.
Who did the voice belong to? How could he be feeling what she felt? What had been the white light that had saved them?
And how could he have ever been so, so reckless to have risked Hermione's life again?
Dumbledore waved his hand and the doors to the Hospital Wing flew open. The matron who was fussing over a tall, lean and extremely weakened boy to get into bed scurried over to the girl in Harry's arms.
She looked at Harry and frowned, 'Mr Potter, what's the menaing of this?'
Harry looked up at her, startled. His mind was put to ease when Dumbledore answered, 'This here is Mr Oakswood, Poppy. But this is not the time. Hermione here,' another shriek split the air, 'appears to be facing the effects of the Tenebris Adolebrit curse. We need to immediately contain it from spreading.'
Madame Pomfrey gasped in horror, immediately demanding Harry to settle her in a bed farthest from the entry.
She cast a stern look at the boy who was now carefully regarding the progression of the events, his scarred face terrified as he witnessed another cry of terror from the unknown girl but something told Poppy that he knew who it was. She herself had seen the girl visit the poor boy after every other full moon.
Dumbledore put up silencing charms around Hermione's bed and persuaded Harry to step aside, who was still enitrely too focused on her and only her. He was almost unmovable, refusing even the idea of leaving her side.
Dumbledore placed a firm hand on his shoulder, trying to guide him away, 'Mr Oakswood, you would only hinder the matron's work. This is too delicate a case. Please.'
Harry looked at him, stricken, letting go of her. Seeing how utterly broken and small she looked in the stark white bed, her skin almost matching the white of the bedspread, filled him with feelings of morbid guilt and moroseness.
She was teetering on the edges of death and he stood perfectly fine, the burn only barely registering by then. Her shallow breaths indicated her anguish and Harry was still safe.
Why?
He stepped aside just barely, allowing the matron to go about her business.
Harry only just noticed the black markings that traced her entire skin, entwining with where her veins were supposed to be.
He looked down at himself but found none of such markings. He frowned as he saw Dumbledore help the matron assess Hermione and administer to her a potion to knock her out unconscious.
The sudden silence unnerved him. He felt the onslaught of a terrible ache in his head. He clutched his side and stepped outside when Madame Pomfrey pulled the drapes to cover Hermione.
Harry didn't know what to do. There was nothing for him to do now. He couldn't stop obsessing about every little thing that could go wrong. The burn in his body was ebbing away slolwy but it was replaced by something much worse.
Fear.
He felt the beginnings of a panic attack. He hadn't suffered through one in ages but now as he stood staring at the covers surrounding Hermione's battered body from his eyes, he couldn't help but break down. He fell to his knees, his wand clattering away from him. His hands rested against the cold floor and his breathing turned jagged. He made no noise as he felt his chest construct and his heart race. The world pushed itself onto him from all sides, his mind still whirring from the implications of the night.
So close to Death.
Yet again he'd come so, so close to Death and brought with him his best friend, dragging her into the carnage his life was.
Would it always be like this? Would he never, ever get to rest? Why did it have to be him?
Silent sobs broke out, his throat burning as his veins felt some calm wash over him. His fingers turned clammy as his vision blurred and his head spun.
Harry let out a strangled breath as he regained consciousness. He shot up, immediately seeking the familiarity of his wand. Thrashing his arms wildly around he clutched the wood to his heart and placed his spectacles back into place.
He almost balked at finding himself in the same bed he had often slept in whenever he had been injured back at Hogwarts.
Hogwarts!
Hermione!
In his rush, he almost fell out of the sheets wrapped around him. He slid apart the drapes and ripped apart those around Hermione's. He sighed when he found her deeply asleep. Her skin had regained its colour yet again unmarred by the black markings. Her breathing had restored to its normal rate and her hand seemed almost healed albeit still bandaged.
He took her hand in his gingerly, tears pooling out as he remembered a time when she had lain still so similar to the way she did now.
The basilisk had petrified his best friend. He remembered feeling like he'd lost a limb throughout all those months she had remained unconscious. The feelings he had now were only a hundred times amplified.
He checked his robes for the cakset and brushed a chaste kiss against her forehead when he heard someone clear their throat behind him.
'I am not foolish enough to question you about the nature of your task,' Dumbledore said, 'but whatever it had been was not the least dangerous mission you could have possibly embarked upon.'
Harry looked at him sharply, wiping away his tears, 'I don't care. How is she?'
'She is resting. You've been asleep for fifteen hours yourself. Your body had suffered from acute strain. Although there was no organic cause to it but you seemed to have suffered through a very similar but subdued kind of burn. You are lucky Mr Lupin was perceptive enough to have helped you into a bed while myself and Poppy were busy with treating Ms Lestrange.'
Mr Lupin.
Remus.
Remus had been the boy. Of course. The full moon!
But he had helped him..
Harry felt warmth at the base of his stomach as his eyes fell upon Remus' lean figure propped against the head of his bed, peering back at him quizzically.
Harry looked at his young features, his face still bearing scars but his hair a wild shade of brown and his amber eyes not nearly as wise as the eyes of the man he had known.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Harry looked away. Remus wasn't concerned for him. He'd be fooling himself if he thought so. He was just curious about the strange man who looked like an exact replica of his best friend.
Dumbledore went on, 'Ms Lestrange suffered the after effects of a very dark curse that I haven't personally encountered in around seventy years. It's astounding to think of where you could have possibly fallen upon it. What she felt was a fire through her veins that turned them black, sucking away her blood at an extremely slow rate. If the pain hadn't killed her, the loss of the blood surely would have. You were opportune to have come here the moment you did.'
Harry thanked his stars for having gotten something right but it didn't help abate the feelings of self loathing that he now nursed.
'She's safe. She should wake up anytime now.'
Harry nodded and thanked him in earnest, 'I couldn't have helped her. Not even I'm eauipped with the right personnel to treat something like this. Thank you, Dumbledore.'
Dumbledore hummed in thought, 'The incident makes me rethink my stance. It appears as if we are more in need of each other's help than ever. Might I ask how you know Ms Lestrange here?'
Harry lowered his gaze, once again staring at her face. He couldn't help but smile fondly at the girl who was no less of a sister to him.
Hell, she was much more.
'It should be enough for you to know that there's not another soul in this world I could ever care for more.'
Dumbledore nodded, 'She came very close to dying last night, Mr Oakswood. Caution must be practiced at every turn in this war. She's just a child.'
Rage flooded him. She's no child but Dumbledore didn't know that. He had willingly put her in the stark middle of a war twice. All his resentment towards the Headmaster suddenly surfaced.
His jaw tightened, 'I am aware of the risks, Dumbledore. Trust me, nobody could ever feel more anguished at the turn of the events from last night than I do.'
From the corner of his eyes he saw two tall boys enter, their voices so familar it ripped his heart open with a new kind of pain.
Longing.
He could hear their cheerful batter even so far ahead of them. Turning his face ever so slightly, he could make out the luscious black locks Sirius always prided himself in. A rueful smile broke out on Harry's face as he saw his Godfather cackle in mirth as he threw a tiny package at remus.
The dam broke as his eyes gazed at the raven haired man beside him.
It was true. He looked so much like his father.
His heart begged him to run to the boy and bury his head in his arms but his mind screamed at him.. reminding him his father was dead and the boy in front of him could never come to love him as a son.
His hazel eyes shone bright as he doted on Remus, pampering him with sweets and tarts and even lodging in a book or two.
Harry could feel his heart shattering, the unshed tears in his eyes darkening his vision, wondering if this is how he had fawned over him, Harry, when he had been a baby.
He looked away as soon as he saw Remus hush up, certainly relaying to them the strange occurrence of a man carrying one of their friends however now estranged.
Harry looked at Hermione once again. He willed this mind to forget. They weren't his family as much as he wanted them to be. They never could be his.
Only she was and ever would be.
Only Hermione.
It was just another sad story of you and I against the world.
He had almost forgotten Dumbledore sat peering at him. Sensing his growing unrest Dumbledore offered him a flask of juice, 'Mr Oakswood, forcing yourself to not feel will do you no good.'
He tuned him out, focusing instead on Hermione. It had felt like an integral part of him had gone missing the moment he saw her crumple before his eyes. He had felt the thread tying them to each other almost sever.
So close.
His Hermione had been so close to Death and he was the only one to be blamed.
Grief surged with every expelled beath which caught in his throat as he saw a lone tear trail its way down Hermione's cheek. He kissed it away, ignorant of the pointed stares piercing his back.
'So broken even when she's asleep. What kind of a world is this, Professor?'
Dumbledore either didn't mind or ignored Harry's slip, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, holding him abreast, 'A world in need of a soul like hers.'
Harry buckled under the weight of his grief, the shear of nothingness pushing him to the brink.
'You can't keep punishing yourself, Harry, my boy.'
He glanced at him sharply, surprised into silence. He had called him Harry.
'I am sorry to assume but Hermione here has been mumbling your name over and over again,' Dumbledore said calmly.
But Harry knew better. He knew Dumbledore was testing a theory. He was bound to. Nothing escaped his notice. Had he figured something out?
'Suffering is a part of who you are. The pain you feel now only helps you retain your humanity.'
'THEN I DON'T WANT TO BE HUMAN!,' Harry roared, reminiscent of the very same thing he had once said before, enraged at the words that were the ghost of something so similar Dumbledore had said to him all those years ago.
Dumbledore smiled at him sadly and began retreating but he stopped midstep when he came face to face with a shaken Rabastan Lestrange.
Harry was surprised to see the dark haired man walk up to Hermione's side, bend down and kiss her forehead, gathering her in his arms.
Memories came to the front of Harry's mind. Memories where a cloaked Rabastan had went rampant on a murderous frenzy. Memories that brought to notice his dark side.
But the tenderness with which Rab now clutched onto Hermione, his own tears threatening to fall, Harry couldn't help but feel somewhat happy for the love she had managed to fiund in this strange man.
Rab frowned at seeing his sister's hand clasped into that of a stranger who looked so uncannily like James. But he knew it wasn't James for the boy had glared at him a little too tightly while on his way to Hermione's side.
Now that he noticed, it was rather strange that Hermione wasn't surrounded by the Marauders when she looked like she'd just come back from the very clutches of Death.
He looked sternly at the man before him, 'And who are you?'
Harry cleared his throat, discomfort colouring his voice, 'Henry Oakswood.'
Rab frowned and looked at Dumbledore for confirmation who merely nodded in response.
'What are you doing by my sister's side? She doesn't know you.'
Harry didn't know how to proceed. He didn't know how much he could reveal. He had only just opened his mouth to spout an excuse when he heard the faintest of voice call out for him.
'Harry?,' Hermione croaked, her voice hoarse and broken.
Harry scrambled back onto his feet, almost stealing her away from her brother's hold on her.
'Mione, I'm here.. I'm right here and I'm so, so sorry.. I thought I'd lost you.. and I.. Mione, I'm so sorry..'
Hermione chuckled, the effort of it sending her into a fit of coughs.
Madame Pomfrey came running outside, quickly assessing her parent's state and demanding her to down a putrid smelling potion.
Hermione made no complaints as she gulped the potion down, her eyes never leaving those of Harry's. She could feel the bandages restrict her skin but reached out a hand to him nonetheless.
'Never .. blame.. yourself..,' she whispered.
He couldn't help it this time. Tears trailed down his cheeks as he chuckled, 'I promised I'd carry you.. you're safe..'
'We're both .. safe,' she mumbled, breathing him in, seeking comfort in his familiar scent.
'Mi?,' Rab prodded, suddenly uncertain of himself.
Hermione gasped as her eyes met those of her brother's. Lacking the energy for it, she still threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him in a feeble embrace, 'Oh, Rab, you're.. here.. so happy..'
Rab held her close, rubbing her arms soothingly. He turned his attention towards the Headmaster, 'How did this happen, Professor?'
Dumbledore smiled, 'I believe that is a story for another day, Mr Lestrange.'
Rab shook his head, looking at Hermione, 'Mi, please tell me. What happened? You were cursed by a piece of magic dormant since ages.'
Hermione shied away from his gaze, looking imploringly at Harry.
But Harry was just as clueless as she felt.
Dumbledore stated, his voice having dropped an octave, 'You know about your sister's position. She was sent on a mission that cannot be, as of now, disclosed to anybody other than the involved parties.'
Harry and Hermione looked at him with gratitude for having come to their rescue.
Rab looked frustrated, 'I come home after almost seven weeks to find my sister in bed, suffering from the aftereffects of a life threatening curse and in the arms of a man I have never met before and you're telling me you can provide no answers.'
Hermione sighed, 'Rab.. you promised.. you knew the risks.. please..'
Rab's face tore into conflict. Just how much could he let go?
'Mi, you gave me a fright, little sister,' he mumbled as he hugged her tight.
'I am safe now.. I am safe.. Harry.. kept me safe,' she muttered, before once again plunging into the depths of the realm of dreams.
Realisation dawned on his face, questions surfacing as he looked at the young, chiselled man seated in front of him.
'Harry?', he whispered. 'You're Harry.'
Harry looked confused but nodded nonetheless.
Something shifted in Rab's eyes, something akin to a smile breaking out on his face as he clutched Harry's hand. 'I am glad you're finally here,' he said with conviction. 'Thank you.'
Dumbledore witnessed the exchange with great care, filing away the many intricate pieces of this mystery into his mind. He bid his farewells and walked away, winking at the boys huddled up in a hushed silence somewhat far away from the hubub, but their stares pointedly focused at the peculiar group ahead.
He stepped outside the Hospital Wing, his mind in an override.
'Professor Dumbledore,' Sirius almost yelled, running after him, 'Professor, sir.. you helped heal a known.. a known..'
'A Death Eater?,' Dumbledore raised a brow.
Sirius looked away and nodded tightly, not wishing for him to voice it to make it so final.. so real.
'Yes, I did. Willingly so. Is that a problem?'
Sirius looked surprised, unsure of why he had followed the old man outside, 'Sir, I.. I..'
Dumbledore smiled kindly, 'And here I thought you were in love with the young miss. Surely you're not implying I was wrong in saving her life?'
Sirius may not have heard everything that had been said but he could tell she had been in grave danger. He could never even think for such a fate to befall her. He looked aghast, 'No! But you know who she is.. rather what she is and you still helped her.'
'Stranger things are known to have happened,' Dumbledore said, his eyes holding a knowing look, gazing intently at the young girl being stared at so lovingly by the bespectacled boy beside her.
AN: I love hearing from you guys. thank you so much for your unwavering support!
we're looking at another 30-35 chapters after this, I suppose. I hope you guys keep reading :-)