"Harry Potter!" Dobby appeared before a sleeping Harry startling him from his bed.
The boy scrambled to shove his glasses onto his face as he greeted the elf that appeared at the end of the bed. "Dobby! What's wrong? What time is it?"
"Harry Potter's friend, Missy Granger is in the hospital wing! Dobby thought Harry Potter would want to know!" Dobby announced, fidgeting and looking worried.
"Yeah, she said she didn't feel well yesterday so she went to the hospital wing. I figured she was still there since she missed classes," Harry said, perplexed by the anxiety rolling off the elf.
"Missy Granger had made a great sacrifice for the greater good. Dobby knows, the castle has whispered to the house elves. Mister Harry Potter should be with her!" Dobby took his hand and pulled him out of bed.
Harry felt worry bubble up in his chest, "A sacrifice? Did she do a ritual Dobby?"
"Yes, Harry Potter's friend called on the old magic. The Potions Master is keeping the Miss company while she sleeps. But we house elves can tell, both of them have changed. We thinks the ritual went wrong," Dobby spoke a mile a minute and dragged Harry down the stairs of the boy's dormitory. Some of the other boys called out complaints about the noise but no one stopped Harry as he followed the elf.
At the confirmation of the ritual being held, Harry had gone pale. They had agreed they wouldn't try it. That it was too dangerous. Damnit Hermione!
2 Months Before - Grimmauld Place
"Harry, can I talk to you?" Hermione stood at the door to the room he shared with Ron.
He looked at his best friend. She had been quiet this summer but he couldn't blame her. The war was truly rearing its head. They had nearly lost Dumbledore at the end of last year and more and more muggleborns were going into hiding. Hermione had assured him that her parents were safe but the less people that knew where they were the better. Harry knew it took a toll on her and had gone out of his way to spend more time with her in the Black library this summer holiday.
"Of course, Hermione. Library?" He asked, giving her his arm.
Hermione smiled at him softly and placed her arm at his elbow. They had always been affectionate but had taken more comfort from each other this summer than any other. Harry didn't want to think about how fond he was of Hermione. He had noticed recently how pretty she had become. Things with him and Ginny had all but dissolved after the fight they had at the end of the year. It had rubbed him the wrong way when Ginny had accused him of not trusting her because he wouldn't tell her about his trips with Dumbledore. She hadn't conceded that he was protecting her, instead conflated it to him seeing her as weak. It offended him quite a bit that she could think so lowly of him.
Harry took a deep breath and inadvertently inhaled the vanilla and pistachio scent of Hermione's shampoo. She was as lost in thought as he was as they made their way to the library. It was moments like this when he could observe her without being noticed, that Harry indulged his interest in her. If he could have smacked his fourth year self to some sense and have him ask her to the Yule Ball, he would. He and Ron had both been so blind. Though he had been more so than Ron who was already feeling some type of way about Hermione based on his jealousy of Krum.
Ron. Ron still held a torch for Hermione but didn't do anything about it. If anything he thought they were fighting more as tensions rose as the war got closer to home. Ron had thankfully taken his breakup with Ginny rather well. The whole family did. While it was awkward at times, he and Ginny were amicable.
By the time they made it to the library, Harry was lost in thought about his growing attention to his bushy haired friend and the horrible timing. Hermione let him sit on the sofa in front of the empty fireplace as she warded, silenced, and locked the library doors.
"Kreacher," Harry summoned the surly house elf who appeared suddenly. The old elf had grown less grumpy recently and he had a feeling it had something to do with the horcrux locket Dumbledore had taken from him. "Can you bring Hermione and I some tea and biscuits?"
Soon they were both halfway through a cup of tea with a table in front of them. A large book sat spread to a marked page and Hermione looked nervous.
"I found a spell, well a ritual really," Hermione started as she pointed to a page titled 'Un Anima Duo' "It's old magic from what I could tell, dating back to at least the founders."
"What does it do?" Harry asked, interested but unable to decipher the Latin and her notes.
"Well you know the, um, theory I have about the horcruxes" Hermione looked at him but quickly glanced back to the page.
"About me being a horcrux?" Harry asked, brow furrowing. It was a sound theory that Ron had thought was ridiculous, quickly brushing it off. But Hermione and he had talked about it at great length during their afternoons in the library. It would explain a lot of what Harry went through.
"So if we are right and there is a part of his soul in you, but your soul is still whole then what needs to be removed or killed is just that errant soul fraction. This might make it possible to keep you alive while we kill that scrap of Voldemort. It is an easy target because it isn't connected to anything," Hermione grew more confident as her explanation veered into facts and logic, her comfort zone.
"This spell would connect your magical core to another person's. Your core is where your magical essence is stored and where it replicates, similar to bone marrow and blood cells. We've already concluded that you may have to die for the soul fraction to be removed and destroyed. Your body may come to harm as a wizard; your magical core will try to save you until it cannot pull any more magic. But if your magical core is connected to another then yours would feed off the magic of that other person and begin to rebuild. With your core still 'alive' because of the connection, your soul would stay anchored and your body would be able to heal."
Harry's brow scrunched in concentration as he tried to process what she was saying, "So it's like magical transference?"
"In a sense, but magical transference needs both parties conscious and willing and it can only be used for a certain amount of time. In a sense, transference is sharing magic collectively in order to perform more powerful acts of spellwork. Connecting your core to someone else is mostly permanent and based on this book, willingness is not a factor that comes into play. It is a relinquishing of your magic to another, with no benefit to your own core. Or conversely, the taking of magic to supplement oneself without a cost to you. But the success of the ritual would rely a lot on how powerful the magical core you're connected to is. We all deplete our magical cores whenever we do magic. But normally our reproduction of our magic far exceeds our output. To die would bring your magical core to near emptiness, and without magic to replicate upon, your body would output the last of its magic trying to keep you alive."
"So it will siphon magic from the other person to fuel its own replication. That would drain the other person." Harry said, looking to Hermione for confirmation.
"Yes, which is why the person you would pair with would have to be someone your equal or more powerful. If your core pulls too much away from them they would die," she said softly.
"I can't do that Hermione. It's too great of a risk," Harry said immediately, not wanting to put anyone else in danger.
"Harry, think about it. We all know it has to be you to kill him. But you can't do that if a part of his soul still lives. We've exhausted all other options. We can't stab you with a basilisk fang, or cast fiendfyre, or cut you with the sword of Gryffindor. But his horcrux has to be destroyed," Hermione responded vehemently.
As always Hermione was right. But he wasn't going to take the risk unless absolutely necessary, "We have to destroy the other pieces first. And if I have to do it then it has to be Dumbledore or someone else."
"Harry, there is a requirement of the ritual that has to be met for it to work properly. Unfortunately, Dumbledore doesn't meet it," Hermione took Harry's hand, "The partner has to be of the opposite sex."
Harry didn't like where this was going. Hermione turned back to the book and flipped a page. "From what I could tell this was originally a very severe form of marriage bonding, usually coupled with more amorous bonds simultaneously. It was a way to ensure the couple lived long lives together, willingly or not.
From what I could find, because it's such an old magic, the people who used to do it had magic that was more potent, concentrated. But centuries have passed and for lack of a better word, magic is diluted, even in the purebloods of our generation. They only had to worry about their core weakening but it would give them time to find their injured paramour. Most would also find partners who had the same level of magic as them to ensure no one was overtaxed.
Think of it as their magical core containing 10x more magic than ours do now. There is a reason wizards like Merlin lived far longer than the ones today. They naturally had more magic to keep them alive thus it would take more to kill them."
"So, unless the person I make this bond with has more magic than me we could both die?" Harry didn't want to think about what Hermione was asking of him or herself.
"There are calculations in this book to measure your magical production. Consider it as if Merlin, at the beginning of wizardom, scored 500. The average witch or wizard today scores between 60 and 90. With Dumbledore and Voldemort scoring in the 150 to 200 area. Before you ask, I already measured our output. Mine ranges from 100 to 110. Yours, as of the end of last year, was in the 100 to 110 range as well." Hermione concluded.
"You want to do the ritual with me, don't you?" Harry said softly, his eyes searching hers. He took her hand in his and held it tight. "Hermione, you can't ask me to sacrifice you."
"We all have to make sacrifices, Harry. We can do the ritual and it will be there and ready whenever it is needed. I would always know from the moment we do it that you won't die as long as I am alive." She urged, wrapping his hand in hers. "There isn't a lot I can do in this war but if I can keep you alive until the end, you know I would do it. I know you wouldn't want to be bound to me but I'm sure I could modify it. Have the soul bonding aspect relinquished when the core sharing is triggered. Or remove the soul bonding part completely. I already have a ton of ideas on how to modify the ritual and mitigate the risks a bit."
"No." Harry stood up and put space between them, cutting off her rambling.
"Harry, please," Hermione pleaded, standing with him.
"No. Forget it Hermione. We will find another way to get rid of it. I'm not going to risk losing you or for some botched ritual to force you into a bond with me." Harry looked down at her and took her hands in his, hoping she could see how he felt about her, "I can't lose you. Never you."
There were tears in her eyes but she brushed them away angrily. "Fine. I just wanted to help."
Harry watched her stalk towards the door and slash away her wards. He caught up to her and pulled her into his arms, holding her into his chest. "Hermione, you have always been by my side. That's all the help I need from you. Having you and Ron and Ginny and the Order is enough. We can stop him. I promise."
"You can't die, Harry." Hermione sobbed, "I want to make sure you have the best chances."
Harry kissed her temple and rubbed her back. "I know. Forget about the ritual, for me?"
She pulled back enough to look in his eyes, "Okay."
Severus woke up with the vision of the hospital wing ceiling swimming before him. He could hear voices and after a moment could make out the vehement whispering of Potter and the Headmaster. What was he doing here?
He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. Besides feeling more exhausted than he had in a long time, he didn't feel any pain. That's when he remembered everything and bolted upright.
"Severus? Good, good, you're awake. Harry go get Madam Pomfrey will you," Dumbledore asked as he stepped towards the Potions Master. But then there was a wand in his face and the angry eyes of Lily Evans on the face of James Potter.
"What did you do to her? How could you make her do that ritual!?" The Boy Who Lived actually looked a bit intimidating when Severus was wandless and depleted.
"Harry. Drop your wand this instant," Dumbledore commanded. Severus could feel the shimmery touch of the Headmaster's magic, a reminder of just how powerful he was.
"I told you what it was, Professor! Why would Hermione do the ritual for him unless he made her do it!" Potter shot back, although he did lower his wand.
It took Severus by surprise to see Potter talk back to the Headmaster but it didn't seem to faze the older man.
"Harry, we will get to the bottom of this. This isn't the same ritual. You recall that Miss Granger had mentioned modifying the ritual? She must have succeeded because Severus, as far as I know, was not in any mortal peril. He wouldn't need the assistance to maintain his magical core so the bond should not have been activated," Dumbledore was calm in his explanation although Severus knew he was missing something.
"You know what ritual she used?" Severus asked, whipping his head between the two on either side of his bed.
"It's some old bonding ritual that connects magical cores. Un Anima Duo, but Hermione modified it. She wanted to perform it with me this summer but I refused to put her life at risk," Potter said, glancing at the bed across from them. Hermione lay there, looking serene.
"A bonding ritual? A bond doesn't rid the pair of dark magic, Albus." Severus was stunned. A bond. She said the bond shouldn't have taken. She expected to die.
"Harry, I know you are worried about your dear friend, but until she wakes up we will not know exactly what she has done and why. Please refrain from attacking your Professor and I shall let you stay with her until she wakes. Do you understand?" Dumbledore looked at Harry above his lenses.
"Yes, sir." Harry's shoulders slumped before he turned to Severus, "I'm sorry, sir."
"She may be a swot but I do not wish death upon Miss Granger, Mister Potter," Severus said, trying to emulate his usual snark but it fell flat. "We won't get an explanation if she were to leave us now. I intend to make sure she stays in the land of the living. What she has done has changed the trajectory of this war more than you could ever imagine."
Surprisingly the boy didn't respond. Simply nodded, and walked to Hermione's bedside. He felt a flair of jealousy when he saw how the bespeckled youth took the sleeping woman's hand and kissed her knuckles.
In the recesses of his being he felt a warm and comforting presence that soothed his ire. Hermione? The magic flared slightly then continued to sooth him. Exhaustion caught up to him again as he was lulled by the ebb and flow of warm magic. He dreamt of a locked library.