My dreams were becoming darker and darker.
At first I only had the nightmares about Cedric's murder and the graveyard, which wasn't surprising for me in any way, and every time Voldemort's body shaped and his red eyes pierced mine as he fully awoke, I woke from the dream.
Then the graveyard scene changed.
Hermione died in front of my eyes and Ron killed her, resurrecting the dark lord shortly afterwards.
Mere days after that I began having this vision about the department of mysteries.
I knew that the prophecy, my prophecy was hidden there and it was what Voldemort wanted above all so it made sense to me why I dreamt of a circular black door at the end of a hallway, the door coming a bit closer with each day that passed.
But the thing that really unnerved me was what I had dreamt about last night.
I just saw snippets of what must have happened or what Voldemort was doing, but no matter what it was.. There was darkness. Everywhere.
Not normal shadows like in the department of mysteries lingered around the hall I had seen in the night, no, it felt like the work of a necromancer.
Seven man-sized statues of stone did I see, each of them armoured and armed in a way that couldn't be described as anything but terrifying.
To their feet lay a coffin each, engraved with runes I couldn't read, nor did I know to which language they belonged.
The knights or statues had their faces hidden behind their helmet, but the black nothingness that was their eyes made me shudder. A spell lay on these relicts, of that I was sure. Though I didn't know what spell to expect from such a horrific place.
It was cursed, corrupted by evil and haunted by demonic souls, their voices silently whispering things in a language I've never heard in my life. It felt like the past wasn't dead in this god-forsaken arena of horror.
And if that wasn't already enough troubling my mind, there was still the fact that I had a part of Voldemort's persona inside of me because of that blasted scar..
"Harry, is everything alright?" Hermione ripped me out of my thoughts and I glimpsed before my eyes focused on the brunette next to me.
"Yeah, I was just lost in my thoughts. There's so much bothering me, 'Mione." I looked at her tiredly as I absently took a few spoonful of my stew, lunch now so trivial whereas not even half an hour ago I was starving with hunger.
"I get that but you seem to be.. more reserved since our escapade yesterday evening." She looked concerned and despite her care I couldn't help but snort.
"Oh yeah, my life just seems to get worse with every day, how dare I take time for myself to process everything." I sarcastically countered without a thought and saw Hermione biting her lower lip and I knew that I had hurt her unintentionally.
"Fuck.", I thought with a groan, "You're so stupid, Potter."
If there was one thing that I would never tolerate was when somebody hurt Hermione. And when I hurt her it made me feel a hundred times worse than when it was somebody else.
"Sorry, that was a poor choice of words. I'm just concerned about you. I don't want to see you suffer, that's all." She looked at me with glistening eyes and I knew how hard it was for her not to get emotional. But she kept her feelings at bay, just because she knew how much more complicated everything got when one of us had an emotional outburst.
"What a brave, brave, lioness she is." I thought before I exhaled deeply.
"I know. But no matter what you want, you can't drive this thoughts of mine out of my head." I looked at her in hope she would understand my point.
"No, you're not letting me help you, that's entirely different. The best way of dealing with such nightmares is to talk about them. Humans don't fear what they can openly discuss with others."
"Hermione, do you have a clue how painful it is to just think about these things for myself? Do you think I want to make it even worse by talking about my misery?" I couldn't suppress my frustrated tone and saw her lip quivering slightly, my stomach immediately cramping at the sight.
"It has to get worse before you begin to feel better." She countered with a shaky voice and I knew that she was close to crying – because of ME.
It was my holiest rule to never do anything that would make Hermione Granger cry and I was intent on keeping that promise. So I had to at least compromise with her right now, an open confrontation with my inner turmoil simply to much for me at the moment.
"Let's talk about my problems during the break from three to four, hm? I can't tell you right now, I.." I stopped mid-sentence as I realized what truly hindered me from talking to her about my worries.
"What?" Hermione asked, the worry apparent in her voice.
"I'm not strong enough to talk about it just yet."
It was so damn hard bringing that sentence out of my mouth as I rarely admitted my weaknesses that bluntly, because whenever I did, I was scared that the person whom I told tactlessly juggled with my emotions and hurt me. And I didn't need any more pain in my life.
"I admire your courage and strength, Harry.", My best friend looked so much better now that the truth was unveiled, "And admitting personal weaknesses is what takes the most of both courage and strength."
She took hold of my hand without breaking eye contact and I felt her thumb gently caressing the back of my hand, a soothing warmth quickly calming my nerves a bit.
"Ah, there ain't a reward more satisfying than a hearty meal after an intense lesson, ey?" Sirius entered the dining room with two bowls of stew in his hands and absently closed the door to the kitchen with his foot before he made his way to us.
It took a few seconds before I realized Hermione's hand was still atop of mine, so we quickly pulled our limbs away. Which didn't save us from the blush I felt creeping up my cheeks and saw spreading on hers.
"I wouldn't have thought in a million years that teaching could be so much fun!" Sirius exclaimed with a broad grin before he settled into a chair next to me and I prayed to god he hadn't seen the gesture that certainly would make him tease us again.
"You never know something until you try it." Hermione remarked in her typical teacher voice and my godfather chuckled as he looked at her bowl.
"Have you actually tried the stew or do you refuse to eat it since it's made by Kreacher?" He asked her and she scowled, letting me no room for interpretation what she was thinking right now.
"Unlike you, I treat house-elves with respect and don't see them as servants. But no, I haven't done a hunger strike in months." Her eyes were dangerously narrowed on Sirius face, who appeared to be completely unfazed by her fiery stare.
"Well then, eat before it's cold!", He gestured towards her bowl, "I might not like him, but I have to admit he is a pretty good cook."
I knew that Hermione wanted to retort but was able to hold her tongue and I tried to escape the tense situation by digging into my own lunch, the hunger back now that my stomach wasn't twisted in discomfort any more. Thanks to Hermione…
The rest of the break was relatively relaxed, beside Sirius and my best friend arguing a bit more about house-elves.
My godfather eventually left the room to feed Buckbeak and when I was alone with the brunette again, I remembered something I wanted to ask her for quite some days now.
"Hey, Hermione?", I immediately had her attention, "You once told me that you were playing football during the holidays. Are you still playing?"
She smiled widely and I didn't even need to hear the words to get my answer.
"Yes, I am. Why are you asking?" Her eyes sparkled with amusement and I shrugged my shoulders.
"I don't know, I just thought we could go to the football pitch in Surrey together." I told her with a playful smirk and she snorted.
"If you insist on getting destroyed, oh mighty Seeker." The way she faked arrogance was simply enticing and I found myself playing along immediately.
"Well then, today after our lessons, let's say 8 p.m. we go to the pitch and I show you your place, Granger." I challenged her and suddenly her face was just a foot apart from mine.
"You're on, Potter." She dangerously whispered with a determined gleam that looked so good on her face..
"Alright brain, I think you've earned yourself a time-out." I mentally noted before focusing on my best friend again.
"Can you bring a football?" I asked with a sheepish smile when I realized that I didn't even have a football and quickly scratched the back of my head as the embarrassment hit me head-on.
"Harry James Potter. Sometimes you're really driving me crazy." Hermione giggled as she gently punched my shoulder and I took that as a yes…
The duelling lesson with Kingsley and Tonks was.. interesting to say the least.
I didn't know what I expected but I certainly was surprised when we started with a bit of theory – not that I minded, of course.
Learning fighting stances required knowing when to use them and in order to become a duellist there is far more to learn than just the useful spells in a fight. Maybe I underestimated the topic a little bit.
We started pretty simple, just like in Sirius and Remus lesson, and revised a lot of the things we already knew like the stunning spell, one of the key ingredients for every wizard.
Hermione and I then began sparring and tried to realize or learning efforts, which wasn't only fun but also worked quite well for us. Sometimes it works wonders to know there is a dark lord on the loose.
And in no time the lesson was over…
"I hate your disarming spell!" Hermione declared as we headed back up the stairs to the dining room to get some refreshments after our intense practice time.
"And your Petrificus Totalus is even worse!" I groaned as I recalled the two or three times she had been able to successfully bind all my limbs and made me fall over like a tree that got chopped off.
"Then you shouldn't let it hit you so often." She countered with a teasing smirk that I returned in a heartbeat.
"Same goes for you, my lady." I riled against her but she was completely unfazed by my retort.
"At least I don't look like a bag of flour when I'm defeated." My best friend giggled and I gently slapped her shoulder.
"That's just because I'm honourable enough to win without unnecessary ripple effects." I admitted and Hermione stuck out her tongue at me, something that made her look so adorable.
"Oh, what a cute devil she can be.." I mentally sighed but quickly banned the thought into a corner of my mind.
"Didn't you pay attention? There is no such thing as honour in a life or death situation." My best friend reminded me of Tonks advice number one.
"Well, c'mon, it's not a life or death situation when we spar." I tried to reason with her but she just giggled.
"I've seen you conjure a corporeal patronus at the age of thirteen, who knows how advanced your skills are by now.." She whispered, a hint of admiration in her voice and I knew I was defeated. Effectively complimenting your opponent could really be a finisher.
"Alright, you're right.." I mumbled when we arrived in the kitchen and already found two bottles of pumpkin juice on the table.
"Beg your pardon?" The brunette pretended that she didn't catch my words and I growled, knowing exactly how much she relished in the feeling of being right.
"You. Are. Right." I repeated clearly and she smiled evilly.
"I know." Hermione simply replied and I felt my jaw dropping.
"You really enjoy it to win an argument, don't you?"
"Well.. everybody has a few flaws, wouldn't you agree?", She raised her bottle before taking a sip, "Though is it really a flaw to point out other's flaws?"
That girl was playing with me and she knew exactly what she was doing…
With a bottle of pumpkin juice in hand I then told her everything about the dreams that troubled me: From the graveyard scene to her dying in front of me to the vision I had about the creepy statues last night, there wasn't a thing I kept to myself, and once I started talking I found myself unable to stop.
I always had been a nothing-or-everything type of person, I either kept my feelings to myself or poured them out – though I would only feel save pouring them out to Hermione.
She had her arm wrapped around my shoulder all the time and rested her head on my shoulder as a means to comfort me, which helped greatly to open up and not get too emotional over the things I told her.
Beside a few questions or short remarks my best friend remained silent, and even when I had stopped talking for quite a few minutes she didn't say a word so I knew she was thinking about something important.
"I have never heard about a place like the one you saw in your dreams last night." Hermione said with her head still on my shoulder and I mildly chuckled.
"If I didn't know it better then I'd say the place doesn't exist." I responded and my best friend hummed.
"Did you actually see the place through his eyes or was it just a picture you saw because he was thinking about that place?" She asked and I hesitated for a second before I replied.
"Um.. I'm not sure. I didn't see anything change in that hall, you have to imagine it like I was a silent observer looking at a deserted place." I described and Hermione sighed, deep in thought.
"Could it be that he wants to create such a place and you just saw his desire to do so, like with the prophecy?" She asked a few moments later and I shrugged my shoulders.
"Uh, I don't know honestly. But my first guess would be no. That place didn't fit his style, if you know what I mean." I said and Hermione bit her lower lip lightly, which I found incredibly intriguing. Wait, what?
"If it's old then I should be able to find a reference in a history book. But who knows, maybe Dumbledore knows about it. So let's ask him first."
"Though the chances are slim to find something out that Dumbledore doesn't know already, so.." I gave her a meaningful glare and she pursed her lips.
"You seem to underestimate my ability to find precise information in a book." Hermione's eyes sparkled threateningly and that fire emboldened me.
"Or maybe you just overestimate yourself, Miss Granger." I flashed her a toothy grin that caused her to get up from my, no, her comfortable position.
"Prat." She said with a devilish smile on her face before she went towards the exit of the room and I sprung up from my chair automatically, her usage of swearwords making me forget about all the gloomy things we previously talked about in an instant.
"Hey!", I called after her when her gold-brown hair disappeared from my view, "Where do you think you're going, hm?"
"Away from you!" I heard her loud giggling once I myself was out of the dining room and suddenly a pair of curtains parted, revealing the portrait of an elderly witch.
"MUD BLOODS! BLOOD TRAITORS! IN MY HOUSE!" The portrait screamed with a shrill voice that was as unpleasant as the Fat Lady's singing voice and immediately Hermione stopped dead in her tracks, all the playful fun forgotten in a second.
"What the fuck is that?" I shouted as the insults continued and my best friend just drew her wand and pointed it at the portrait.
"Diffindo!" She called and nothing happened when the spell collided with the picture. Well, nothing happened TO the picture.
"HOW DARE YOU USE MAGIC IN THIS HOUSE YOU UGLY CREATURE?" The woman screamed and the next second I saw my godfather sprinting down the staircase, Remus by his side.
"Will you ever shut up, woman?!", Sirius grabbed one curtain and struggled to close it again, "You're the ugly creature here, you bitch."
After what felt like a minute of an intense match, the two adults finally managed to draw the curtains and the hall became silent again.
"I see you've met my mother." Sirius remarked as he wiped the sweat from his forehead and I felt my eyes bulging out of their sockets.
"You're what?" Me and Hermione exclaimed at the same time in shock.
"Yeah, that's my mum. Lovely woman, isn't she? Always has been." He confirmed and Remus snickered at the last part.
"He probably met her in person quite some time ago.." I silently mused.
"Why is your family so bigoted, Sirius?" Hermione asked my godfather who smirked in response.
"The better question would be why I'm NOT bigoted.", He told her with a raised finger, "But I guess some people are just born an idiot."
"For once we seem to agree on something.", Remus remarked and patted Sirius back, "Though I'm quite happy that we have a.. disagreement from time to time."
He then glanced at us meaningfully and when Sirius followed his gaze a broad smirk formed on his face.
"How right you are, Moony.", He snickered before dragging Remus upstairs again, "C'mon, you don't wanna interrupt their play time."
"PLAY TIME?!" Hermione exclaimed her outrage and I heard the two men cackling like two little boys as they hurried to the first floor, eager to escape her wrath.
"C'mon, let's get down into the hall. These two are insufferable." I grabbed her wrist and gently lead her down into the cellar again.
It didn't take too long until the professor arrived and when he did, he wore a tired smile on his face.
"How are you feeling, Harry?" Dumbledore asked and I glimpsed a few times as it dawned on me that this could be the first time the headmaster had asked me that question.
"Uh.. pretty stressed?" I replied and when Dumbledore sat down in one of the three armchairs that had magically appeared in the room, so did I and Hermione.
"I must have to admit that I've had a rather restless night as well. Seeing you two comforting and finding strength in each other was.. touching to say the least." He told us and my best friend narrowed her eyes on the elderly wizard.
"Did you think we'd just accept what you say without any emotional reaction?" She asked and Dumbledore raised a brow in confusion.
"We?"
"I'm just as emotionally invested in things that concern my best friend as he is." Hermione proclaimed and Dumbledore nodded understandingly.
"I see." He said as one of his hands went through his beard.
"As harsh as the truth is, it is inevitable that Harry either will kill Lord Voldemort or will be killed by his hand. I hope you can understand it when I say that you'll have to live with that reality from now on." He gave us a compassionate look and I sighed.
"Is that what Kingsley meant when he warned us to join the order?" I asked and the headmaster nodded briefly.
"You should know that I kept most of the prophecy's content to myself and a trusted few people, but yes, that was a point to reconsider joining our organization." He explained before taking a deep breath.
"If it helps in any way, then I'd like to say how sorry I am that you have to grow up so fast and see your childhood shatter in front of your eyes." Dumbledore said and I could sense the honesty in his voice.
"Though that apology comes far too late.." I thought to myself with gritted teeth as I was reminded that the man sitting in front of me was responsible for a good part of my misery.
"There wasn't much to rescue from that childhood anyway." Hermione shot the headmaster a meaningful look and Dumbledore raised his hands in defence.
"And I don't deny my fault. But how was that saying? The past is dead and only the future continues to live?" He said but the brunette didn't seem impressed by his words.
"Which doesn't mean that I'll forget what you've done in the past. Although I appreciate your efforts to come to good terms with Harry again." Hermione admitted and Dumbledore gave her a grateful smile.
"That's relieving to hear.", He stated, "Now, we still have some details to cover concerning the prophecy. If you two don't mind, then I'd like to use this lesson to continue where we stopped yesterday."
"Don't worry, the rest isn't nearly as bad as what you already know now." He chuckled mildly when he saw me and Hermione glancing at each other, one look enough to exchange all the words we were currently thinking in our heads.
"Alright, let's do this then." I confirmed and Dumbledore smiled at me.
"You have a power, Harry, a power that Voldemort does not wield nor ever will be able to wield. Any idea what I'm talking about?" He asked and while I didn't have the tiniest bit of a clue at first, Hermione's eyes lit up immediately – like always.
"Friendship?" She asked, which amused Dumbledore slightly.
"In a lot of novels it would be. But not in the novel that is life." He answered and Hermione bit her lower lip as she fell silent again to ponder about another solution.
"Kindness?" I supplied after a few more moments but the headmaster shook his head.
"A trait that people never forget to underestimate, but no." The professor said and with a hum I sank into my thoughts again.
When both of us didn't come up with a suitable answer Dumbledore took the liberty to answer his own question.
"I'm talking about love." He said and I felt like my eyes wanted to bulge out of their sockets.
"He must be kidding.." I told myself and saw that Hermione was just as surprised as I was.
"But I don't even know how to define that feeling." I admitted and the professor's sky blue eyes sparkled mysteriously.
"One of the most fascinating things about love is that you can't learn it like everything rational in this world. It's a feeling after all, and you either feel it or don't feel it." He explained.
"But what is meant with love? Love is a generic term for so many things, sir." Hermione asked and Dumbledore pointed at my best friend.
"Exactly, Miss Granger. From my understanding, the power of love is not reduced to one of it's many abilities. It has to be seen like you already pointed out: As a generic term for a lot of good qualities like compassion, empathy and mercy." His eyes sparkled with conviction as he told us what he thought was the key to Voldemort's defeat.
"But how is that going to help me in a fight with him? Today we already learned that there is no such thing as honour in a life or death situation, am I supposed to show mercy to the killer of my parents and then everything will work out?" I expressed the question that plagued my mind the most and a smile formed on his face.
"And here comes the part where I'll let you figure something out on your own. Yes, both of you." He looked both of us in the eye and Hermione knitted her brows.
"And what if we'll never figure it out?"
"Oh, believe me, you will." Dumbledore chuckled merrily which only confused me even more.
"And how do you know that?" I asked, curious for an answer that would make sense.
"An old man has his tricks." Was his only reply and I groaned in response, not liking this mysteriousness at all.
"And here I thought the Second Task was an unsolvable riddle.." I thought to myself.
"Now, I think we can proudly say that we've discussed the prophecy in it's entirety. If you don't have any further questions about it, then we could start with the actual lesson." The headmaster announced and Hermione turned towards me and I nodded, knowing exactly what she wanted me to do.
"Sir, there actually is something else that I want to tell you about.." I hesitantly told him and the elderly wizard looked at me with the lightest hint of uneasiness in his eyes.
"Is it about one of your dreams?" Dumbledore asked knowingly and I nodded.
"Yeah.", I said before taking a deep breath, "It was a really dark dream. Quite literally so."…
"The dark side of magic is a pathway to many abilities I consider to be unnatural.. Though it is undeniable that the dark always radiates it's own.. fascination.", Dumbledore concluded with a concerned look when I had ended my recap, "But no matter how interesting they are, what you just told me is reason to be concerned."
I instinctively shuddered. If Albus Dumbledore was concerned it definitely was something serious.
"I'd love to explain more about this strange place, but unfortunately I've never heard about anything like it before. For the moment we are blind, but we'll have to do everything in our power to change this situation." He instructed and both I and Hermione nodded firmly.
"It is obvious that Voldemort knows about whatever he seems to know because of the unspeakable he successfully abducted. Sadly, it is impossible for us to interrogate another unspeakable without resorting to violence, which is not an option. Especially right now, when the entire ministry plans their schemes against you and me, Harry." Dumbledore elaborated before pulling a daily prophet out of his pocket.
"Dumbledore: Abductor or abnormal?" Hermione read out the headline before snorting in disbelief.
"They make you responsible for the death of Edward Cunningham? And here I thought we already reached rock-bottom." She stated and Dumbledore sighed as he massaged his temples.
"To be frank, it appears to be a logical choice from their perspective. Since weeks now they strike against me, almost every day, so it would be a missed opportunity to not make me responsible for the abduction and murder of a person so important in the ministry." The headmaster explained.
"What are these unspeakables actually working on all the time? I've kind of picked up that they're working with all kinds of bizarre magic, but what exactly?" I asked and Dumbledore shrugged his shoulders with a mild smile.
"Unfortunately, nobody knows. Even the minister of magic doesn't know a lot about their work, they keep all the things to themselves, thus the name "Unspeakables".Their department, the department of mysteries, is filled to the rim with secrets and the most absurd experimental complexes you could imagine.", The professor then pursed his lips, "Although I think they have far too much independence from the rest of the wizarding community. If they know about things as dangerous as the vision you had last night, then there is no excuse for them to keep that knowledge in their circle."
All three of us then pondered about this turn of events before I spoke up again.
"But this is Voldemort we're talking about.. He wouldn't try to find something that is of no use for him. You've known him for a long time, what do you think he could be possibly wanting?" I asked Dumbledore who hummed in agreement.
"If there is one thing Tom Riddle desires it is power above all. Whatever you saw, it must be some kind of weapon. Although a weapon can clearly be as inconspicuous as a prophecy, as we know by now.." He stated and I saw Hermione's eyes lighting up.
"Was Riddle interested in history? The statues Harry described looked a lot like medieval knights, maybe he's trying to connect with his predecessors. As a dark lord I'd definitely look up to those before me." She presented a pretty solid possibility and I couldn't help giving her an admiring glance. She was so cunning.
"Yes, he indeed was. Everything and everybody that had power or a certain prestige was of interest for him. But although I find your thesis highly convincing, Miss Granger, I'm not aware about some historic celebrity or SEVEN to be more precise that would match Harry's description." Dumbledore tipped on the armrest of his chair, clearly not liking the fact that he didn't know something of such importance.
"So we can agree that it's some kind of relict from a time far before him. That makes life easier, doesn't it? I'm sure you can find it in a history book then." I tried to lighten the mood but my best friend obviously had seen a point I didn't consider before stating my argument.
"We still don't know if it is in Britain or not. If it's not, then it could take years to even get a clue. Magic makes it so easy to hide things, for all I know this hall could be under this house and we wouldn't notice unless we explicitly were aware of the hall's existence." She countered and I sighed in defeat.
"How right she is.." I thought to myself with a weak smile.
"Very good point, Miss Granger.", Dumbledore praised the brightest witch of our generation, "But I think it is useless to continue pondering about this hall or tomb until we have any new information. And be assured: I'm determined to find a trace, with any luck I can update you at the beginning of our lesson in two days."
He then got up and his armchair magically disappeared.
"Now, do you have any reserves left for a bit of spell work?" He asked when Hermione and I had followed his lead, my best friend's brows knitting in bemusement.
"What do you want to teach us anyway? Yesterday you were quite mysterious about your subject." She asked and the headmaster chuckled warmly.
"Things that can't be unequivocally classified as a part of your other subjects." The old wizard continued to speak in riddles and when Hermione rolled her eyes his eyes twinkled in amusement.
"For now I want to give you an introduction to the art of elementary magic." The headmaster announced and my best friend's jaw dropped in surprise. She looked like a little girl that was told that her father's name wasn't "dad".
"You mean fighting with fire and stuff like that? Isn't that a bit too dangerous for now?" I asked despite my own excitement at the prospect of possibly learning how to wield a tornado of fire at one point.
"Well, that's why we're mastering the basics before continuing with more.. daring witchcraft.", Dumbledore said with a smirk, "And if I might add: No matter what you want to learn, mastering the most basic tasks of that subject is the key to succeed with the more complex variants."
Then three man-sized dummies appeared maybe three metres in front of us and the all-mighty wizard drew his wand.
"Now, my dear students, it is time to learn a few tricks that most of the death eaters wouldn't even dare using in their wildest dreams." Dumbledore excitedly proclaimed and judging from his smile it had been a long time since he taught anybody in the art that he knew better than probably anybody in the world…
It was eight in the evening and I was standing on the football pitch, marvelling at the world's beauty on a warm summer evening and waiting for my best friend to join me.
Shades of orange, red and violet all mixed in the skies and cast a light so harmonious on the ground below that it truly felt a bit like a dreamworld. Although the border line between dream and reality always had been slim for me, anyway.
Watching the orange-red sun in the west slowly disappearing somehow eased a bit of the tension that had build up over the last days and I felt like conversing with a silent companion as various thoughts passed my mind. The sun would never judge nor laugh at me, and in her presence I felt warm.
"Harry!" I heard my best friend calling my name and I turned around to see her waving at me as she made her way to me. And how that one moment changed EVERYTHING.
She wore a sky-blue sport shirt and short black Adidas sports trousers, her hair tied up in a simple yet elegant ponytail and suddenly I just realized what I had missed until now: Hermione was a young woman.
"Dammit, she's smokin' hot." I thought as I felt my throat becoming very dry suddenly and couldn't stop my eyes from looking at her in a way that was unbecoming of a platonic friend.
Hermione was a striking beauty, there was just no other way to phrase it, and I was blind enough to ignore this fact for more than almost four years of friendship – although I blamed her choice of clothes for that late moment of realization.
When she wasn't wearing the school uniform, she wore baggy muggle clothes, never showing a lot of her skin, and now I thought I knew her reason to do so: To save poor blokes like me from losing their minds. But now it was too late, the truth was out, once and for all.
I watched her coming closer and my brain couldn't stop shouting how attractive she was and how I have never seen such a woman in my life before, never felt such desire for a woman before. My hormones were on overdrive like somebody had just turned a switched inside my head.
Her body curved in a way that drove me crazy: From her quite ample bosom down to her narrowing waist and then to her alluring hips, followed by a bum so juicy I just knew it had to be the result of her exercising, and then down to her set of creamy-white thighs that I decided looked so stunning after carrying tons of books up and down the staircases of Hogwarts castle for almost four years.
"You amaze me every day, Harry Potter." Was her greeting when she was standing in front of me and I forcefully had to reboot my brain as it currently wasn't able to communicate properly.
"It's just Hermione you're talking to, your best friend, why the nervousness?" I told myself in the fraction of a second I had to compose myself before replying.
"Uh, and why is that?" I clumsily asked and she grinned mildly in return.
"I just noticed that I've seen you in a school uniform, in quidditch robes, dress robes and muggle clothes but never in muggle sports clothes." Hermione told me and I looked down my body and came to the same realization as she just did.
"Oh.. I never noticed before." I said before clearing my throat to get rid of the small lump that had formed there when I was busy gawking at the young woman in front of me.
"You want something to drink? I've made us something." She obviously had noticed my state of dehydration and then dropped her bag to reveal two bottles of what I assumed was lemonade.
"You're a lifesaver.", I honestly told her and found it ironic that I thanked the person who was responsible for my dry throat for a refreshment, "Did you made that yourself?"
"Surprised?" She asked with one of her teasing smirks that now just seemed to underline her attractiveness.
"Well, yeah.. Not in a way that I didn't think you weren't capable of making a lemonade but because I didn't think you'd put so much effort in a casual round of football." I truthfully answered before taking a big sip of the bottle she had handed me and I watched her doing the same. Though I would bet anything on the fact that our reasons to drink were as different as it can get.
"I see you're just as good with drinks as with potions." I complimented when I had already finished a third of her lovely lemonade and my best friend giggled lightly.
"That might have been the cheapest bit of flattery I've ever heard out of your mouth." Hermione stated and I groaned.
"I just wanted to say that I like your lemonade, Hermione." I bluntly told her with a small groan and the brunette gently swatted my shoulder.
"And why didn't you say that like a normal person in the first place?" She asked and now I had to grin widely.
"Because I'm the Boy Who Lived and not a normal person." I cheekily countered and saw her stepping closer to me, her face not more than thirty centimetres away from mine now.
"Fuck, those lips.." I mentally growled when I noticed how inviting they suddenly looked, making my stomach feel like I was a man at the brink of starvation and her lips were the only thing that could prevent me from my fate.
"You're quite arrogant, you know that?", She was teasing again and I had to restrain myself from doing something stupid, "I think it's time to teach you some manners.."
Hermione then rummaged through her bag and revealed a football seconds later, which she rolled towards me.
"Youngest first." My best friend instructed as we walked towards the edge of the penalty area, more or less fifteen metres away from the goal.
"Have you ever scored a goal with a free kick?" I asked her curiously when I stopped the ball and quickly thought of a strategy how to hit the ball so that it would curve a bit in the air.
"Never directly, I think. But that's where teammates come in handy." Hermione told me and I chuckled.
"Yeah, she isn't that kind of person.." I thought to myself before I stepped five, six feet back from the ball.
"Top right corner on cue!" I called before striking the ball and watched it sailing straight into the middle of the goal. Well, at least I scored.
"Ha ha, where's that big mouth of yours now?" The brunette giggled before jogging away to get the ball again.
"How did I never see THAT?" I thought with a groan when I watched the way her hips were swaying and found myself unable to avert my gaze from her rear.
"Thank the gods for these sports trousers.." I silently mumbled as I realized that this must have been the first time Hermione Granger wore something that hugged her figure – something I was very grateful for.
The one memory from the Yule Ball where I had seen her somewhat as something else than my genderless best friend was now so dim compared to intensity with which her feminity hit me now..
"Now, step back, the master is gonna teach you something." She instructed when she had returned with the ball and I obeyed, curious to see my best friend in action.
"Nice strike!", I complimented when her shot went into the goal near the right post, "Though every keeper would have caught that, it was a bit slow in the air."
"Alright, let's see that, Potter." Hermione challenged me before gesturing for me to be the goalkeeper for now, so I quickly went to the goal and passed her the football.
"Left or right, top or low corner?" She asked me with a smirk and I shook my head.
"Top left!" I called and with that she started up before elegantly hitting the ball.
"Nah, that's gonna be over the bar.. Or is it?" I thought to myself as I watched the ball suddenly lowering to a dangerous height and in the end the bar was my best friend. God was on my side today.
"Alright, I take the bar!" I provoked her with a cheeky grin and she stuck out her tongue to me, something that made me snicker.
"The next time I won't show you mercy." Hermione warned me as I passed her the ball again. She stopped it and stepped back.
Then the brunette stretched and her shirt slid up, revealing a flat belly with a colour as creamy as her thighs and instantly a picture flashed through my head. A picture of her, lying on a bed and me pushing up her shirt to expose her belly and..
"That's what you get for pushing your luck!" I heard her exclaiming as she raised her fist into the air and when I looked behind me, I saw the football lying there.
"How did that thing get there?" I asked myself as I kicked the ball back to it's owner, frustrated because of my dangerous inability to stay focused – I didn't even see where the ball went into the goal!
I didn't feel frustrated or guilty for thinking or looking at my best friend in a sexual way, no, not any more, it was my sheer loss of composure and I feared the day she would eventually put one and one together and realize that I destroyed our platonic perfectness thanks to my hormonal desires.
It was useless telling myself to stop these thoughts whenever they occurred, now that I could guess what was underneath her layers of fabric, and I was tired of denying it to myself.
My body felt out of control, I couldn't dictate it to just stop with it's shenanigans, but I could well damn try to not make it obvious. And right now I failed pretty badly at that, if you ask me.
But it was her fault as well. She looked amazing, she looked sexy, she looked irresistible. Her body was just as appealing to me as her inner beauty…
That night, when I was laying on my bed and tried to sleep, my thoughts drifted off to my hot best friend again and again, no matter how hard I tried not to think about her in a sexual way.
She had ignited a fire, a desire inside of me that I never felt in my life before and it reduced my world to the need I felt for her.
I imagined pressing her against a wall and snogging her senseless, listening to her gasps when I would leave a love mark on that delicious neck of hers.
Then I fantasized about carrying her to a bed and undressing her, exposing more and more of her creamy skin until she lay bare before me. The mere thought alone was more arousing than anything I had ever felt before.
"Oh god.." I lowly moaned when my hand reached for my aching member on it's own and I closed my eyes at the contact.
As I began relieving myself and imagined how good it would feel to fuck my best friend I subconsciously knew that I just had taken the last step to change the dynamic of our relationship for ever.
I also knew that my new-found desire for Hermione Granger could well be the beginning of the end of our friendship but that didn't matter for once as I focused on the intoxicating pleasure inside my entire body.
No, she certainly wasn't like a sister to me after this, and all it took to show me the truth was one game of casual football. I had ruined that option in a day…
Author's note:
First of all: We've made it! This story now has over 10k viwes. ABSOLUTELY CRAZY!
And Harry finally made it as well: He lost his denseness and now the course is set for the remainder of the story. Although I should probably tell you that it still will take a while until the big moment.
Storywise I think it's pretty clear what this chapter was all about, but I'd like to say something about "Voldemort's mission":
I won't precisely spoil here, but I want to assure you that it won't make Voldemort over-the-top powerful. It's certainly a buff, but you'll see, I'm not going to change much about the balance of power - it's actually more an element that serves the purposes of suspense, as I want my readers to be surprised here and there. If everything remained the same way it was in canon, then the reader could predict everything, which reduces the quality of the reading experience. And I want you guys to have fun whilst reading, that's the point of a fanfiction, isn't it?
I stole this chapter's name from New Order's "Ruined in a Day" as I found it highly suitable for the plot. Otherwise I didn't include any other songs this time, I think.
If you like the path this story is taking now, I would be more than delighted about your review. Otherwise there's only one thing left to say: 'Til the next time!
NewOrderFan05
