Chapter 4
Forest of Dean, 25th of December 1997
In the quietness of the tent, Hermione woke to the feeling of being pulled close between Harry's arms. When she opened her eyes, she could see he was still asleep after their eventful night. And what a night it was. While she could admit to herself that they were moving faster than couples usually did, none of it felt wrong to her.
She started tracing her finger on Harry's chest, which finally caused him to stir from his restful sleep.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," says Hermione with a smile, which Harry returns.
"Good morning," he says, with a yawn accompanying his words. He then pulls her close for a morning kiss, which she happily sinks into.
"Well, we should get up and make some breakfast," she says to him. Hermione's never been one to lay about and waste her day away in bed.
"You're right, but I do think we should take it easy today. I'd rather we just relax and lay on the sofa a little," he says. After yesterday's events, he'd much rather just relax. Which was understandable, of course, especially taking into account Harry's painful loss of his wand.
"I agree, we can start planning again tomorrow or the day after, for that matter," she replies, obviously agreeing with him. While she won't stay in bed all day, that doesn't mean she'd like to spend the day hard at work on their next plans.
Hermione enters their shared bathroom first to freshen up, taking a shower, while Harry waits for her to finish getting a small nap in while he still can. When she's finished, he does his morning ritual as well, and they both move to make breakfast together. They decided to make something better than their usual simple breakfasts and decided to make some pancakes together. Harry, though, reckons it's a great idea to have a little bit of fun during this process.
"Hey," he says to draw her attention to him as she's in the process of cleaning up their mess.
As she looks up, she sees Harry with a dash of flour between his fingers. She quickly understands what he's intending to do, but before a warning can pass her lips, Harry has already smeared her forehead and nose.
While Harry has started to laugh, Hermione has grabbed a much larger dash of flour herself, which she hurls towards his face. His whole face gets covered in the white powder, and his glasses are also covered in it.
"Don't you dare…Harrryyyy" Hermione warns, but it's already too late as he has grabbed her and started rubbing his face against hers while smattering kisses across her whole face in between. When he's finally done, they are both just smiling with their faces covered in white.
"Alright, let's stop for now, I'll clean us up and then set the table ready," she says, cleaning the both of them with a quick 'scourgify' spell.
When they are finally done with breakfast, they decide to take a nice walk outside to get a breath of fresh air. Hermione even brings a few of her quilts with her, and they decide to sit down for a little while. Harry sits first against a tree, with Hermione moving to sit between his legs, and he pulls her close to him. They enjoy the quiet peacefulness of the moment, with just the two of them sharing their slice of the world for companionship.
"This isn't my first time here. I came once with my parents when I was younger," Hermione says, while Harry just listens to her.
"Yet now, they won't remember these woods and grounds. My parents wouldn't even recognize me any more," she finishes with a tint of real sadness in her voice.
"I'm sorry. I know I should have said it earlier, but I am so thankful for what you've done for me and what you have sacrificed to be here with me," he says, and with closed eyes, he places a kiss on the crown of her head.
He understands that what she has given up to be there with him is something not everyone would be willing or even able to do. Fortunately for him, she is not just anyone.
"You don't need to be thankful. It was my choice to make, and I know it was the right one," she says while turning her head to face him and giving him a kiss on the cheek with a smile.
He smiles back at her and pulls her closer to him, never wanting to let go.
"What if we just stayed here, Harry, just you and I," she muses out loud. She knows it would be an impossible and unjust choice to make, but she can't help but ponder.
"I'd like that, for as long as it's possible," he responds to her with a fond smile on his face.
They sit there for a few more minutes until it gets too cold for the both of them, and they head back inside the tent. Hermione makes some tea to warm them up, and they sit on the sofa like an old couple listening to the radio.
It's a while later when Hermione takes up the topic of one of their new pressing problems.
"What will we do now about your lack of a wand? I can lend you mine when needed, but that's not a solution for the long term," she says. It's a problem they both know needs to be solved fast, even if its painful loss is fresh for Harry.
"I don't really know. Unless we can somehow get one from Ollivander's, I have no clue," he says and continues, "but I'm sure we'll figure something out, maybe we'll just get lucky," he finishes, wanting to end the topic for now. Hermione just nods, not wanting to push it for now.
The time goes by fast, but Hermione has taken up the book she got yesterday after having nothing else to do. She notices the same weird triangle mark being used again in the book as the one she saw in book of 'Beedle the Bard' and on the grave of the Peverell in Godric's Hollow.
"This symbol has shown up everywhere lately, and I think I've seen it before, but I can't remember where else besides the books and the cemetery," she says, and she shows Harry the symbol as well.
"Yes, I remember now. Luna's father, Xenophilius, wore it to Fleur and Bill's wedding," he says to her.
"Maybe it's a clue. We should check it out later if we can't find anything else about it by ourselves," she says, shelving this quest for later. For now, their most important goal was to get the sword of Gryffindor, which was seemingly getting harder and harder to find.
Soon enough, it was dark again, with the both of them having relaxed the whole day away. Although they don't feel any guilt, they know they can't always push themselves. They go and brush their teeth together in the bathroom.
When they're finished, Harry's unsure about their sleeping arrangements, but when he sees the expectant look on Hermione's face, he quickly follows her.
"Were you thinking that was a one-time thing? I wish to spend my time together with you whenever possible, and I mean it," she says to assure Harry.
"I thought it polite not to presume, but as you're certain of this, you won't see me complaining about sharing the bed," he says with a chuckle.
"But first, give me a moment. I'll also need your wand for this," he says, taking Hermione's wand when she gives a nod. He moves to the bedroom he shared with Ron and, with a flick, gathers all his stuff together and moves it to their newly shared bedroom.
"I thought it would be easier for me to move my stuff here as we're sharing the bedroom now," he says, and Hermione smiles at this.
"You're right, it is easier like this. There's no reason to hold all your things in your and Ron's old room," she responds, not even really noticing mentioning his name, with Harry not caring either.
They then both crawled into now 'their' bed together.
"Now, what I am about to say you don't have to respond to. After all, this is still so new, but I can't help but feel like this already," Harry says, starting to confuse Hermione with where he is going with this.
"I love you, Hermione Jean Granger, I want you to know that," he finally says.
"I…" she starts, but Harry interrupts her
"You don't have to answer me yet, after all, we…," he starts, but is in turn interrupted by Hermione.
"You're silly if you think I can't respond right now. I love you too, Harry James Potter. I've wanted to say it ever since we saw the film a few days ago, but I didn't want to pressure you either," she responds with watery eyes, which she can see Harry is mirroring at that moment as well.
They then pull each other closer for a kiss and decide to have a repeat of their last night. After all, they are still so very young and in love.
26th of December
Harry wakes up much earlier than the day before. He doesn't feel fully rested, but can't go back to sleep. It's as if something is pulling him from the realm of Morpheus.
He carefully disentangles himself from Hermione and gets dressed. He pens a quick letter for her, writing that he's taking a walk so as not to worry her if she were to wake up and not find him.
After that he then grabs her wand and places a kiss on her forehead before moving out of their bedroom and the tent.
Outside, it's still fairly dark, with the sun not yet risen. He starts walking closer to the tree line when he spots a doe-shaped patronus walking, almost as if it were beckoning him. This causes him to hold Hermione's wand at the ready, but with no other options, he chooses to follow the doe. When it's finally stopped, he stumbles upon a pond.
He carefully moves on the ice when he peers inside and sees a familiar glint.
"The sword of Gryffindor," he whispers to himself in a shocked voice. After all, he and Hermione have been looking for it for a long while now and now it's just here in front of him. He tries using the summoning charm, but it doesn't seem to work, so he uses a 'diffindo' to make a hole in the pond.
Yet, before rushing in, he decides to take a look around the area to assure himself he is not being set up by anyone. When he's made sure there is no one around, he has a choice to make.
'I should call Hermione for backup, that would be the right thing to do…but what if the sword is not here anymore?' In his inner monologue, he's having a battle over what should be his next step. On one hand, he knows it's foolish to do this alone, yet on the other hand, he can't risk losing this opportunity.
'She's going to kill me when she finds out,' he thinks with a smile, stripping down to his underwear and then moving to the pond's opening. He dives in, but when he's finally close to grasping the sword, the horcrux on his neck starts strangling him. He tries fighting against it, but with a lack of oxygen and being underwater, it's getting more difficult.
'Hermione, I'm so sorry,' he thinks while struggling under the ice. He's sure this is the end for him, as he's losing strength by the second. It's only then that he's grabbed and pulled out of the pond.
He takes a few breaths to reorient himself and calls out Hermione's name, thinking it was her.
"Are you absolutely mental," he hears a familiar voice, and when he's finally got his glasses back on, to his surprise, he sees Ron standing there with the sword of Gryffindor.
"Did you cast the patronus charm," he asks him.
"No, but it did bring me here as well," Ron responds to his question.
In a weird stroke of luck, he was in the right place at the right time due to an unforeseen benefactor.
Harry, meanwhile, has taken the horcrux off as he doesn't fancy being strangled again. He quickly dressed himself, having laid the necklace on a tree.
"You have to destroy it, I'll open it up using parseltongue," he says, turning to him with a stoic face. This is a turning point in their quest, with them finally being able to land a blow against their enemy.
"I don't know if I can do it. It affects me worse than you and Hermione," Ron responds back with hesitancy in his voice.
"Then why even come back if you can't do this," Harry says bitingly, but he sees his words have the needed effect on Ron, whose face turns determined.
"Alright, then on the count of three, I will open it. Knowing Riddle, it will try to fight back, so be ready for that," he says, and Ron raises the sword up, prepared to bring its full might down.
"One, two, three, open," Harry says with the final word coming out in a hiss.
When the locket is opened, the force of it knocks them back, with the both of them landing on their backs. They quickly get up to see an insidious black shape take form, which then takes on the voice of Riddle. It starts taunting Ron, targeting his deepest insecurities.
"Destroy it," Ron can faintly hear Harry's voice. Finally, when the illusion takes on the shape of his deepest fear of Harry and Hermione kissing, does Ron act, charging with the sword. He brings its might down on the horcrux destroying it.
They are both breathing heavily, still shocked that they've finally destroyed one of Tom's horcruxes. Ron then turns towards Harry, both having slowly gained their bearings now.
"Nasty piece of work, that one. Knows what fears to target," Ron says with a small chuckle.
Harry returns an uneasy smile while thinking to himself, 'fuck me,' knowing this will turn into a problem with how his and Hermione's relationship has changed.
While he still cares for Ron their trust broke when he left and there's nothing in the world now that could force him to leave Hermione. This though does cause him to worry about their dynamic or even how Hermione will react to Ron's return. He even feels a little sorry for Ron knowing what awaits him.
He sees Ron having got up meanwhile and does the same. "Let's go to the tent," Harry then tells him, and they move to their current sleeping area.
"Things have changed while you were away, Ron," he says on their walk back. "You were gone for a long time, and the three of us are going to have to sit down and have a serious talk," he continues.
"I understand," Ron responds, but Harry is not sure if he does.
"Hermione," he calls out. It's likely that she's up now, with the sun also having finally risen. He then sees the tent's flap being opened and Hermione greeting him with a smile.
"Good morning, is everything alright," she asks while walking towards Harry.
"It's actually better than alright," he says and then continues, "also, there's someone else here."
Hermione then spots the red haired ginger, who has an awkward smile on his face.
"Hey," he says to her while waving.
"Is that what you say, a simple 'Hey,' after you left us for months," she says with clear anger towards him staying next to Harry.
"What else can I say," Ron returns back hesitantly.
"How about you start with a simple apology," she responds in anger.
"I'm sorry for leaving you," he then says, properly chastised. Hermione just sighs, thinking that he can't even say a simple apology without being prompted. 'And this is the guy I had a crush on,' she thinks depressingly.
"Let's head inside and talk there," Harry then says, and they all move inside the tent.
Ron heads to his and Harry's bedroom and notices that none of Harry's things are there. 'That's strange,' he thinks to himself but leaves his rucksack and then moves to the kitchen where he can see Harry and Hermione waiting for him. He's dreading this conversation, especially going by the serious faces the both of them are wearing.
"So, I'm sorry for leaving once again. It's just the horcrux affected me more than I could handle. I tried to come back immediately, but I was set upon by snatchers, and then I couldn't find you any more. Luckily they're quite dim, so I could escape," Ron opens first and lets them know what happened but also that he immediately regretted leaving.
"How did you find us," says Harry, accepting the explanation with a nod.
"I heard Hermione saying my voice and I knew where to apparate. It was dark though so I've been wandering since yesterday evening until thankfully I spotted Harry," he replies, bringing up a small magical device. He also has a hopeful smile while looking at Hermione.
"I guess you did mention him once when heading to bed yesterday," Harry says, looking at Hermione. She did mention his name when he was moving his things into their now shared bedroom if he remembers correctly. Hermione just gives a nod, not really remembering having said his name.
"By the way, where are all your things, Harry? Did you somehow lose them because I didn't notice any of your stuff or clothes in the bedroom," Ron now asks with curiosity.
This causes Harry to close his eyes and sigh for a second, confusing Ron evermore. He then notices Hermione reach her arm out and squeeze it. This causes him to furrow his brow while he expectantly looks towards Harry, who's staring back at him now.
"That's what I was hinting towards earlier when I said things have changed," says Harry, and then looks toward Hermione, who gives a nod while squeezing his hand. Ron meanwhile is getting more confused but also a little worried now.
"People can change, Ron, and you were gone for months. We didn't have anyone else, and lately Hermione and I have grown closer together," says Harry with a tone warranting full seriousness owing to the situation. He knows his and Ron's friendship is strained, but this can completely tear it apart.
"What do you exactly mean by having grown closer," Ron quickly responds, with the telltale signs of his famous Weasley temper flaring. His eyes are fully focused on their clasped hands, and his face is starting to redden.
"It means, Ronald, that Harry and I are together," says Hermione with conviction, looking Ron in the face. She doesn't want to hurt him, but she knows her relationship with Harry can't be hidden, not that she would want it to be anyway.
Harry has pursed his lips while looking at Ron with a somewhat compassionate face. He knows this will hurt him, but he's done with putting others' needs before his own. He's also thankful for Hermione being brave enough to spit it out that they are together.
"It's true, Hermione and I are together now. No matter what happens will change that," Harry also adds his confirmation looking at Ron's stunned face and gives a quick squeeze to Hermione's hand which she returns. This is much more difficult than they could've imagined. Not that they could have imagined it, with their fast-paced romance not leaving any time for preparing for a situation like this.
"Wha… so you…," starts Ron stunned with what's happening. His greatest fear becoming a reality at this moment. This was his deepest rooted fear of Hermione choosing Harry and leaving him behind.
"How could you, Harry? You know I've liked her for a long time," he says looking at Harry with his voice fraught with accusations, "and you Hermione, didn't we have something going on," he finished angry, confused and frustrated at the same time having also risen to his feet at that point. He felt like his whole world was crashing down.
"How could Harry, how could I?! You were the one to leave us, Ron. Anything that may have been between us was over at that moment. Besides, just because you liked me doesn't mean I'm yours," says Hermione, rising to her feet as well. She wouldn't take his anger lying down, especially when it was also unjustly focused on both her and Harry.
"I know you are angry, but there is no one to blame but yourself, Ron. And you liking her doesn't owe you a monopoly on her feelings. I do want you to know that we didn't do this to spite you. We just fell in love and there's nothing that can change that," says Harry, having also risen to his feet, while having a more sympathetic tone, although he was also angry with Ron. He still clearly remembers the hurt he felt when he walked out on them both.
"Must be funny for you both. Poor Ronald Weasley who can't even have the one girl he wants without the famous Harry Potter snatching her up," says Ron, clearly too clouded by anger letting his frustrations out. "What about Ginny? Does my little sister not matter any more or do you both not care when you went around gallivanting in this love nest of yours," he finishes while trying to attack the both of them with his words.
"Things between her and I ended, you know that, Ron. And don't think for a moment we were just having fun, we spent months hard at work," Harry responds with clear anger lacing his tone. Ginny is a problem for another time, and not one he wants to think of yet. While things ended between them, he's not sure if she sees it that way.
"Yeah, you'll need to convince her of that. And must have been hard work if it required you to obviously move your things to Hermione's room. Hard work indeed," Ron responds with clear distaste in his voice.
"That's not your place to comment on, not now and not ever," Hermione chimes in, feeling the need to defend what, and she and Harry do in their own private lives. Her bedroom is not a thing she will discuss with anyone else but Harry.
The three of them are all angry at this point. Unfortunately for Ron, it's two against one, with Harry and Hermione backing each other up.
"Whatever," Ron says, and moves to leave the tent. But Harry doesn't let him.
"So you're just going to run away when it starts getting tough again," he says, causing Ron to turn toward him. Yet, instead of saying anything, he just marches to what he guesses is just his bedroom now and closes the flap there.
This causes Harry and Hermione to breathe a sigh of relief. While there are now added difficulties with Ron being back, they can't deny the need for another wand at this point. As angry as Ron may be he won't betray them when his own family and the wizarding world's future rests upon their shoulders.
"That could have gone better," says Harry, turning toward Hermione.
"It could have also gone worse. Thankfully, there were no spells exchanged," says Hermione in turn. Taking everything into account, their spat being a word based one could be counted as a win. Especially with Ron seemingly staying with them for now.
"This isn't going to be much fun, is it," wonders Harry out loud, getting a grimaced nod from Hermione.
"It's best to leave him alone for today at least. Hopefully we've all cooled down by tomorrow. Also, I think it's in our best interest to not rub our relationship in his face. While I don't want to tiptoe around him, we can tone it down a little initially at least," says Hermione.
"I agree, let's just calm down and hopefully he's willing to talk tomorrow. We need to know what's been happening outside, and he's currently our best source of information," he says and continues, "and yeah, I agree. While I am loath to tiptoe around him, it's best we not do anything drastic in front of him for now at least," he finishes, agreeing with Hermione's sentiments.
While they won't stop holding hands or sitting together in front of Ron, it's best to not antagonise him by blatantly snogging in front of him for now.
Hermione then comes in for a hug, putting her head on his chest. Harry returns the hug, and they just hold each other for a few minutes like that.
"I'd like to take a small nap. I've not fully rested and more tired than ever now," says Harry and she nods, taking his hand so they can both go to her bedroom in the tent.
"By the way how did you find the sword, I did see that the horcrux was thankfully destroyed though," Hermione asks as they are lying down on the bed. Hermione had transfigured it bigger yesterday, as they needed the extra room, which was much appreciated by the both of them.
"I saw a doe shaped patronus which I followed, and it led me to the sword in a pond. I couldn't summon it, so I had to swim down for it. Unfortunately, the necklace must have sensed the danger and started choking me. That's when Ron came and helped me out. That's why I can't be fully mad with him when he saved me from drowning," Harry says, recounting his morning adventure. He's also prepared for the dressing down Hermione is about to make.
"Harry James Potter, how could you do such a thing? Did you not think to call me," she says with a clearly disappointed voice, "what if I had lost you," she asks, getting teary-eyed with her last question.
Harry quickly pulls her in for a hug, and Hermione clings to him desperately, afraid to let go.
"I'm so sorry. I did think to call you, but I couldn't have been sure that the sword would still remain there. And I'm here now, everything went well," Harry responded, understanding that what he did was dangerous.
"I want you to promise me that you won't put your life in danger when you don't have to," Hermione says, looking into Harry's eyes.
"I can't promise you that, but I can promise you to not needlessly throw my life away," he responds, and Hermione lets it go for now with a nod and brings him close to a much-needed kiss for the both of them. They slowly fall asleep again, with the morning being exhausting for the both of them.
Hope you're enjoying this, leaving my first author's note. Hopefully I can write the next chapter before new year's but no promises. Also trying a new format as I think this is easier to read. I'll try to change the first three chapters as well when I release the 5th one.