Slytherin Common Room…
Ginny Weasley wasn't a Slytherin for nothing. She started a book she called the Book of Potter and began keeping notes on everything she knew about him. She broke it down into two groups, facts and speculation.
Some things were obvious. He was a powerful wizard, more powerful than anyone in the school, and he had a level of knowledge that even impressed the teachers. He attended classes, but rarely participated. Instead he sat in the back working on something different and the teachers had no problem with that.
The few times he did participate in class, it was usually in a capacity of assisting the Professor.
Other things she knew for a fact, he was incredibly handsome. Plain and simple, the boy had every girl in the school, including the ice queen, Pansy, drooling over him. It was a situation that made him uncomfortable. Most boys in his shoes would capitalize on it and take advantage to play the field, but not Harry. That spoke of some sort of moral code that governed his life.
She also knew that he seemed to be sweet on that muggle born bitch, Granger. She had trouble understanding that. Granger wasn't all that attractive in her opinion, unless you liked the mousy type with big tits.
Clearly he had had some sort of friendship or relationship with her counterpart in his universe. But to her, he was coldly formal, refusing to call her anything but Ginevra or Miss Weasley.
The one time she went to his suite under the pretense of needing transfiguration help, he had helped her, but he was immune to her charms. And that was what bothered her the most. She was used to using sex as a weapon and a bargaining chip. To find someone who held it at zero value confused and confounded her.
She tried befriending his little sister in the hopes of finding out more information, Ally Potter was only two years behind Ginny, but Ally had been as unapproachable as he was, although for different reasons. Ally suspected her motives and made it painfully obvious that she didn't trust her.
She knew he hated bullies with a passion. He'd step up to protect anyone being bullied, muggle born or pure blood. Thinking back over their encounters, she was a little shocked to realize that their very first meeting had put her in the position of being a bully against Granger of all people!
Ginny stood and began pacing. That was the root of her problem, she was sure of it. The problem was, short of a memory charm, was there any way to fix it?
The Room of Requirement…
Harry ducked the curse sent by his opponent and sent a curse back in return. Three other opponents fired lethally powered explosive hexes and Harry dived onto one shoulder, rolled, and then rose from a crouch to take all three opponents out with a single curse.
The room was about to cycle more opponents for him when he felt the door open and a familiar presence enter the room.
"Freeze trainer," he called. The two still viable opponents froze mid-cast. Harry turned to face Dumbledore.
"Most strange. The last time I entered this room it was full of the most marvelous chamber pots. Now it appears to be an advanced dueling center."
"Welcome to the Room of Requirement, Albus," Harry said. He picked a towel up off the floor, used it to wipe the sweat from his chest and then wrapped it around his neck. He was barefoot and bare-chested, wearing only a pair of jogging pants.
Harry concentrated for a moment and the room shimmered, transforming into a sitting room with two comfortable armchairs and a small table with snacks on it. He motioned to the delighted Headmaster to take a seat.
"A remarkable room! You must tell me how it works sometime," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling.
"I'd be happy to, but I think you're here for another reason?"
Dumbledore smiled gently. "Quite so, Harry. I meant to talk to you today anyway, but as I approached the room I could sense your agitation quite clearly. Your teachers, and even your mother, have commented on how you seem distracted, and have been that for the past week, since Minister Fudge came to the school. Would you like to tell me what's bothering you?"
Harry opened a small red and white box next to his chair and pulled out two bottles. He opened one and passed it to Dumbledore, before opening the second bottle for himself.
Albus lifted an eyebrow at the clearly muggle beverage.
"It's a drink a friend from America showed me. Considering your love of sweets, I think you'll really like this."
"Root Beer? Are you trying to get me drunk?"
Harry chuckled. "There's no alcohol in the drink, Albus. Try it," he replied, then he took a long pull from his bottle.
Dumbledore took a sip of the muggle beverage and his face lit up in surprise and pleasure. "Astounding! What will those muggles think of next?"
Harry leaned forward in his chair and gently twirled his bottle between his hands, and then he sighed. "It's Ginevra Weasley, Albus. Where I came from, I loved her. And I loved Hermione Granger. I think I could get my Ginny out of my mind and put her to rest, as she deserves, if only Ginevra, who seems to have made up her mind to pursue me, would leave me alone. Every time she ask me to the ball, or asks for help on her homework, or rubs herself against me like a cat in heat, I compare her to my Ginny and the pain of her loss becomes a living thing once more. I need to put Ginny to rest, Headmaster, but I can't. Not while Ginevra keeps chasing me."
Dumbledore arched an eyebrow. "You call our Miss Weasley Ginevra as a way of keeping them separate?"
Harry nodded. "They are separate, sir. They might have the same body, but personality wise, they aren't even close to being the same."
"And Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked gently.
"She's different too, sir, but in a good way. She's nearly the same person I knew and everyday she becomes more and more like the Hermione I knew. It's almost as if I somehow molded Hermione into what she became." Harry paused, frowning. Trying to keep everyone separate was beginning to give him a headache. "Does that make sense, sir?"
"It does if you think about it. Your Miss Granger came to Hogwarts as an intelligent young girl, but still muggle born. Powerful, but basically friendless and in a totally alien environment. You found people objecting to half bloods and muggle born in your own world and did something about it. Along the way you became friends with your Miss Granger and, in doing so, you helped shape her development, just as she helped shape yours.
"Now take our Miss Granger. Let us say that she is, for all intents and purposes, identical to your Miss Granger, except in one critical aspect. She didn't befriend Harry Potter in her first year. Now that you have befriended her here, she's starting to grow to be closer to what she had the potential to be, because you are encouraging her. It's not a bad thing that you're doing, Harry. In fact, Miss Granger will greatly benefit from your friendship.
"I think that, if you loved your Miss Granger, you will probably find you can love this one. The problem is putting your Ginny to rest once and for all. It torments you and haunts you. I cannot insist on our Miss Weasley wear a glamour for one student, nor can I order her to keep her distance from you if she is not trying to deliberately hurt you.
"You were sick in the hospital when they laid Ginny to rest and you never visited her grave, correct?" Dumbledore asked gently.
"I couldn't, Albus… I just couldn't face it…" he whispered in reply.
"Then, young Harry, I think it's time that you collect your family and your friends and ask them to help you say goodbye to Ginny. Put her to rest. She wouldn't want you to in pain, and until you do this, it will eat at you. Give her the goodbye she deserves," Dumbledore said. He stood then and laid his hand on Harry's shoulder fondly before leaving the room.
Harry took another drink from his root beer. Putting the bottle down, he stood and slipped into the shadow to return to his quarters. Dumbledore was right. He needed to say goodbye to Ginny and he needed his family to help him.
Hermione and Ally were in the little common room that Harry had, both working on their homework. Hermione squeaked in fright when Harry stepped out of the shadows and into the room. He hadn't expected anyone to be there.
Ally looked up at her brother's sweaty form and couldn't help but admire the sheen on his muscles. She then shook her head and resisted the urge to growl. He was everything a wizard should be. Powerful, respectful, moral and handsome…and he just happened to be her brother! She looked down at her homework and scowled. Damn, karma sucks, sometimes, she thought ruefully.
Hermione struggled to concentrate on her homework, but she kept stealing glances at Harry as well.
He transfigured the towel around his neck into a comfortable t-shirt and then cast a cleaning charm on himself before putting it on. Neither girl commented on the scars crisscrossing his back, or the one that descended from his neck half way down his torso. It was still red and puffy, indicating it was a relatively new injury.
"Squirt, would you mind getting Mum and Sirius and asking them to meet us here in about half an hour, please?" Harry asked, the plea obvious in his voice.
Ally looked between the two for a moment, then nodded with a smile.
Hermione looked at Harry in confusion. "Harry? If you're going to be busy with your Mum, then perhaps I should go…"
"No!… I mean, no please. I want to talk to you, Hermione, and I'd like you to stay here when the others get here," Harry said, and then he glanced at Ally, who took the hint and left the room.
Harry stood and walked over to the fireplace, and then he turned to face Hermione and leaned against the mantelpiece. "I know you are not the Hermione I knew. That Hermione I fell in love with, but never told her because my best mate also fell in love with her. You could say I got over you and fell in love with my Ginny," he said softly.
Hermione sat silently, looking at him, not knowing what to say.
"The problem, Hermione, is I'm falling for you all over again, or at least I think I am. But there's one roadblock in the way."
"Your Ginny," she replied in a matter of fact tone.
Harry nodded, grateful for her understanding. "It's worse than you think, Hermione. I need to put my Ginny to rest. I need to close that chapter of my life before I can move onto to another. And I need your help to do it," he said softly.
"My help?" she asked in confusion.
"Yours and Ally's, my Mum and Sirius too. I need my family and my friends along to help me say goodbye…" he stopped for a moment and forced himself to focus on what he was doing. "I never got the chance to say goodbye to her. I was still in the hospital when they buried her. And I couldn't bring myself to visit her grave. Maybe if I say goodbye, then I'll be able to move on. And I do want to move on. I want stop the nightly nightmares where I wake up screaming her name and crying. I want to find out if there's a chance that a Hermione Granger might like to date a Harry Potter. But I need my friend, Hermione Granger, to help me put my past behind me," he said softly.
Hermione stood, walked to him and gave him a chaste hug. Then she stood on her tip toes and leaned in close to his ear. "I think Hermione Granger would like to date Harry Potter," she whispered shyly. Coming down off her toes, she looked into his eyes. "And I'd be honored to be there as your friend, Harry."
A short time later Harry, his family and Hermione, found themselves deep in the heart of the Forbidden Forest. Harry had taken them all there by shadow travel.
He looked at his friends and family for a moment before examining the clearing he had selected. "This clearing is deep enough in the forest that the chances are even Hagrid wouldn't find it. I just need to make a few modifications. Give me a moment."
He concentrated for a moment, and then he started changing the clearing to suit his needs. First, he squared the clearing, giving it a more defined shape. Then he laid down a thick carpet of lush grass. In the exact center of the clearing he created a simple fountain with an obelisk in the center.
Harry circled the obelisk several times before he engraved writing on each of the four sides. When he was done, water gently rose up the interior of the obelisk and cascaded down the four sides of the shaped marble.
He then stepped back to let everyone examine his work. Lily stepped forward to look at the handiwork and choked back tears when she saw one side of the obelisk had a list of the names of those that had died in the first war in this universe, ending the list was the name Harry Potter.
Stepping around to the side, she saw a much larger list of names. It was a list of people who had died in Harry's universe.
Stepping to the side once more, she read his simple inscription of 'Ginny', and choked back another sob. His pain was evident in the inscriptions simplicity.
Stepping around for the last time she read: 'These are the names of those who chose to do what was right over what was easy. May they never be forgotten.'
One by one they all read the sides of the obelisk before returning to where Harry stood.
"I guess it's probably hard for anyone here to understand my Ginny, considering the Ginevra Weasley you know. But let me try to explain. Ginny wasn't a Slytherin. She was a Gryffindor, brave and loyal, and almost as smart as Hermione. She was tough and strong when she needed to be, and soft and feminine when she wanted. She had a temper, and a loving touch. She was friendly, compassionate and passionate.
"She stood up to bullies and fought for people she didn't even know. Ginny was my friend, she was my lover. She was going to be my wife someday and the mother of my children. And then it all ended."
Harry laughed bitterly. "She wasn't even supposed to be at Hogwarts that day. She was supposed to go to St. Mungos for a seminar, but it had been cancelled at the last minute. Somehow she ended up out on the battlefield instead of up in the infirmary."
He glanced to a small rise visible in the distance and his eyes grew distant, as if viewing the battle once more.
"Most of the forest had been destroyed in the first battle of Hogwarts. I found her body on that small knoll over there. I was pretty badly wounded myself. Before I got to Voldemort, I had endured more than a dozen Cruciatus curses and several cutting hexes. There was fire everywhere and bodies, so many bodies. The Death Eaters died when Voldemort died, but not before they killed many of my friends, people I considered family."
As he spoke, he began to tremble and his eyes shed tears steadily. "I tried to make sure she was safe, but my place was in the fight and hers was in the hospital. If I had only known she had left her station."
Both Ally and Hermione moved to stand next to him, offering what comfort they could.
He turned to face the obelisk. "Ginny, I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I never meant for this to happen, but it did. Now it's time for me to say goodbye, my Ginny. It's time for you to rest, as you deserve. And I must find the strength to go on…"
Harry swayed and both girls tightened their grip on his arms. Lily moved to stand in front of him and she hugged him tightly. "She must have been very special indeed for such a strong man to love her."
He broke down then and wept. Both Ally and Hermione joined them in the embrace, while Sirius watched and wiped the tears from his own eyes.
When the tears ended, Harry looked up at those surrounding him, comforting him, and smiled gratefully. "The grass will always remain fresh and green, and the fountain will flow all year long. It will provide water for the forest creatures. Within the clearing all creatures will be safe," he said quietly.
"I like it," offered Ally. "The forest creatures will discover this refuge soon enough. It's fitting, a place of peace surrounded by danger."
"It is very appropriate, Harry," offered Sirius.
Harry felt a hand slide into his. He glanced down, then looked up at Hermione who smiled back at him shyly. She squeezed his hand in support.
"Shall we go back to the castle?" he asked.
Everyone nodded, eager to try shadow traveling again. He took Ally's hand in his free one, while Hermione reached for Lily and Ally grabbed Sirius. A moment later, they stepped out of the shadows near the Great Hall.
Harry turned to face them. "I… thank you," he offered, looking embarrassed.
Lily leaned forward and lifted his chin. "That's what families are for, love. Now, let's get to dinner."
Gryffindor Head Boy's suite…
Over the next few weeks things settled into a routine. Harry's nightmares receded and he smiled and laughed more. By unspoken agreement, he and Hermione decided to take their time building a relationship. Hermione was a little put off initially when she realized that Harry had far more experience than she did, but she was also comforted by the fact that he seemed nearly as shy around her as she was around him.
Three nights every week, Harry had a small group of people over in the evenings to explore the magical connection. Lily and Sirius never missed a session, as Harry spent time helping everyone get in touch with their magic. Susan Bones had managed to show a remarkable improvement, and her power level rose dramatically. It greatly boosted her own confidence.
Another person whose confidence had been greatly boosted was Hermione. Not only had she quickly mastered the exercises necessary to touch her magic, but she had boosted her own power by a respectable five points. Harry smiled and tried to ignore the pride he felt in her.
He was supposed to be working on his own project, but Hermione and Ally were off in the corner, whispering. Every so often, they look at him and giggle. It was disconcerting to say the least. He turned away from the giggling pair and glanced around at the others in the room, all of who were involved in exercises designed to touch their magic. The only unusual addition was one lone Slytherin girl in the same year as Ally who had been hanging on the fringe of the group for the last week until Harry had invited her to participate.
Meloney Marchbanks was not your typical Slytherin. But then, Harry's view of Slytherin's had been turned upside down enough lately. She was a quiet girl, shy and smart like Hermione, but she had a strong urge to prove her abilities.
The problem, at least for her, was her magic. She was a pure blood who, until she had received her Hogwarts letter, had shown very little magical aptitude. Her parents had thought her no better than a squib for many years. Being in Slytherin House had cemented the idea that to be powerful and accepted in the wizarding world, one had to be magically powerful, and she wasn't. Her housemates were rather scornful of her abilities, and she was determined to change that.
And if it meant being taught by someone who her housemates looked at with suspicion, who was she to complain? She would learn what she could from him and be grateful for it.
Harry shook his head and stood. He needed a breath of fresh air. He walked to the window and gazed out.
"I wish we could get you to teach this to everyone, Harry. You've improved the abilities of everyone in the room in the last two weeks," Sirius said, coming up to stand quietly next to him.
"It's not that simple, Paddy. Everyone here is willing to put in the effort involved. This takes discipline and a strong will to succeed at what you set out to do," he replied.
"Like you out there every morning at five A.M. running around the Quidditch Pitch? And Albus has told me about your fighter training sessions. Albus says they are quite dangerous," Sirius said.
"Yeah, like that Paddy. I worked too hard to get to this point to let it slip."
"Do you expect to get into another major battle then?"
"Not really, no. But if it did come down to it, I wouldn't want to be unprepared either."
Sirius grunted in acknowledgement. "It makes sense, I guess. It's not like the next Dark Lord is going to owl you and introduce himself."
Harry leaned on the window ledge, his fists clenched. "It's more than that. I have a family now. It's small, but it's a real family. I'm also the head of my house. It's my job to ensure your safety - you, Mum, Ally and even Hermione. It's a small sacrifice to pay and if nothing happens, then at least I stay in shape."
"This sounds like an important conversation. Can anyone join in?" came a voice from behind.
Harry and Sirius whirled to see that everyone except Ally, Hermione and Lily had left. Lily stood in front of them, grinning.
"Lily, you know my heart isn't that good so don't sneak up on me," whined Sirius.
Harry chuckled and walked over to the sofa, leaving Lily to fend off Sirius by herself. He sat next to Ally, while Sirius tried to play the weak heart routine, not that it ever worked with her.
Ally tugged on his sleeve. "Harry, look! Check this out!"
Ally pointed a finger at Harry and murmured, "Lumos". Suddenly her fingertip lit up like the end of a wand.
Harry smiled broadly. "Excellent, Ally!"
The smaller girl was practically bouncing in her seat. "Hermione and I both can do it now."
"That's great, but try the same thing with this incantation; 'Lux lucis meus pectus pectoris'."
Hermione raised an eyebrow him and Sirius began to laugh. Even Lily smiled gently at her daughter as she tried but failed to produce the light again using that particular incantation.
She finally poked him to stop his snickering. "I don't see what is so funny," she pouted.
"Oh, sweetie," Lily said, stepping away from Sirius. "Harry is just teasing you. That incantation is Latin for, 'light of my heart' and it's only supposed to work in the presence of your true love."
Ally pouted a moment, then glared at Harry.
"Actually, Mum, that's a mistake. The spell does work, but it will work for anyone you can fall deeply in love with."
"Oh, come on Harry. That spell's been bandied about for centuries and it rarely works. Watch. Lux lucis meus pectus pectoris," Sirius intoned, waving his wand. He began to laugh at his own foolishness when his wand suddenly started to glow.
Harry blinked, and then he grinned while Ally howled with laughter. "Oh really, Sirius? Now the question is, is that for Mum, Ally, Hermione or me?" He asked, grinning widely now. "And in case you're wondering, I don't bat for that team."
As laughter bounced off the walls, Sirius sputtered, embarrassed. Lily, Harry noted, blushed brightly.
The Great Hall…
Harry sat at the Gryffindor table, engrossed in a notebook, when he noticed a sudden drop in the noise level nearby. It was as if someone had flipped a switch and all of the Gryffindor's had fallen silent.
He looked up to see that Hermione had been moved from her seat. She sat huddled next to Ally, looking worried. Across from him sat Ginny Weasley and behind her were several Slytherin girls and boys.
"Did you ask Hermione to move, Weasley, or did you just shove her out of your way?" Harry asked in a cold tone.
Hermione shot Harry a warning look, which he ignored.
"Harry," purred Ginny, "I think we've gotten off on the wrong foot and I think we should start over."
"Ginevra you are wasting your time. Return to your table. I'm trying to enjoy my meal."
Ginny leaned back on the bench and pouted a little, then leaned forward again. She wore an enchanted perfume and it should help weaken his resistance.
Harry blinked, then his eyes narrowed and a small, but very visible shield snapped into place around him.
Ginny looked at him in surprise. She never thought he'd detect the perfume.
"Miss Weasley, I do not appreciate this attempt to deceive me. Twenty five points from Slytherin and detention with Mr. Filch this evening," He told her coldly.
Ginny stood in anger and leaned across the table. "I don't understand you, Harry Potter! I'm just trying to be friendly. You obviously knew me in your other world and no matter what I try, you refuse my overtures of friendliness! It wouldn't hurt you to bend a little, you know."
Sirius, up at the head table, grabbed Lily's hand. "Oh, Merlin. Get ready to duck!"
Harry stood from his seat, As he did, his magic flared ominously. His aura became visible and the air around him crackled with power. Ginny shrank back fearfully from him, as did the Slytherins she had brought with her to support her cause.
"Friendly? The Ginny Weasley I knew, a Gryffindor like the rest of her family going back for eleven generations, was kind and gentle! I will remind you, Miss Weasley, our first introduction was your exhorting your brother to grope the breast of my friend while she whimpered in fear! The Ginny Weasley I knew never would have done that. Why you continue to pursue me is a mystery. I've made it plain that I am not interested. What more do you need to know?"
"I think it would have been clear to you by now that I'm not that boring bitch you're probably running from. Hell, Potter, you seem to be unable to make points with the mudblood here! Maybe girls don't interest you? Maybe…"
He turned white as her words cut into him. Ally gasped and she tried to shut down her empathic abilities. The pain Harry was feeling threatened to overwhelm her.
Harry's mouth moved, but nothing came out, then his expression froze and became totally blank as he ruthlessly tried to smother his feelings.
"Miss Weasley, I will give you this last warning. Leave me alone, or you will regret what I do," he snapped. He then turned his back on her and strode from the hall.
There was a moment of silence in the hall, and then Hermione stood up and tapped Ginny on the shoulder. The short red head turned and frowned, seeing the taller girl. Then Hermione did the unthinkable. She reared back and punched the Slytherin in the face, barely missing her nose. Ginny stumbled back from the blow, tripped and landed on the floor with an audible thud.
There was a moment of shocked silence as Hermione walked from the hall with her head held high. Ginny climbed to her feet, snarling, and reached for her wand.
"Miss Weasley!" called Professor Snape.
Ginny froze, ignoring her head of house, as she faced down the collective wands of Gryffindor house. Harry had managed to unite his house, crossing the blood boundaries.
"Miss Weasley!" Snape called again. Reluctantly, she put her wand away and walked to the head table to face her head of house.
Lily stood quickly and rushed to join a visible upset Ally. As she approached, her daughter leapt to her feet and wrapped her arms around her. "Mum, he's in so much pain right now," she sobbed.
Hermione finally caught up to Harry out by the lake. He was sitting on a rock and staring off into the distance. She approached him carefully, nursing her hand.
"Harry?"
He jumped, startled by her voice, and turned to face her. "I'm sorry, Hermione, I didn't hear you coming up on me."
"And I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to know if you were alright," she asked softly, one hand rubbing the other.
Harry glanced down to her hands and his eyes widened. "Hermione? What did you do to your hand?" he asked, grabbing it gently in his own. His hand glowed gently for a moment as he healed the bruising.
Hermione looked ashamed at herself. "I hit Ginny Weasley," she whispered.
Harry's expression went from disbelief to shock to amazement. "That's bloody brilliant!"
Hermione looked at him in horror. He just didn't understand! She had struck a pure blood. The retribution, when it came, would be brutal.
"Brilliant? Harry, don't you get it? All of them will be out for revenge now. Bloody hell! I don't even know why I hit her. It figures you wouldn't understand. Your blood is so pure it's like fresh fallen snow!" she growled, beginning to pace as she finally realized the magnitude of her actions.
"Hermione," Harry said gently, "be reasonable here. We both know that's a legal fiction. By pure blood standards, I'm a half blood because my Mother was born to squibs. Besides, the only people who will be gunning for you will be the Slytherins, and I'll make sure I'm available to pull their fangs, if necessary. I still can't believe you hit Ginevra… for me?"
Hermione stopped short and whirled to face him. The entire situation shifted again and she stood, dizzy from the dynamics. Harry reached up and gently grabbed her hand in his own.
Hermione's senses reeled. She looked from their joined hands to his face and his eyes looked back up at her, conveying a message she had never seen before in them. There was a hunger there, a passion. She knelt beside him and he gently pulled her into his embrace.
For nearly seven years she had avoided any sort of relationship at Hogwarts and had been convinced that, if she were to have a sexual experience at school, it would have been a violent one. Now it was happening and it was nothing like she had imagined.
He reached over to brush a few stray hairs out of her eyes and then he leaned in and kissed her. It was a gentle, teasing kiss, like the brush of a butterfly's wing on her lips. Her arms moved of their own accord, wrapping around him.
He kissed her a second time. It was gentle, but more demanding. With a jolt, desire flooded her body, threatening to overwhelm her. When he ran his tongue across her lips, she opened for him, accepted him. It took her a moment to realize he was holding himself back. He was allowing himself only as much as she was willing to give. His hands stayed safely on her back, running down her spine and back up to her shoulders. With that realization, she deepened the kiss further, letting her own hands roam just a little.
When they broke apart some minutes later, Hermione rocked back on her knees and stared into his green eyes, eyes that could be so expressive… when he let them. She shook her head in bewilderment. He could have anyone. Why would he want her? There wasn't anything special about her. She considered herself plain, not very well built, and she came from a muggle family.
More disconcerting was the happiness she could see dancing in his eyes.
"I-I-I don't understand. You could have anyone! You could have a wife and several mistresses and no one would complain. They could all be pureblood and still no one would complain. Why me? I have nothing to offer you. I'm a nobody," she said, dropping her eyes to stare at her knees.
Harry frowned as he reached over and gently lifted her chin.
"Hermione, I've known you twice in my life. The first time, you became my best friend, one of the few who stayed by my side. You never saw the Boy-Who-Lived. You saw Harry. The second Hermione, you, never knew the Boy-Who-Lived because, in this universe, he didn't. Instead you became my best friend all over again, seeing me. Even when you learned what I was, you stayed when most would have run. Ally and my Mum don't know my power level because I'm afraid to show it to them. I was never afraid that you'd run.
"The first Hermione I fell in love with, but I didn't do anything because my best mate had loved her longer than I had. Now, by some strange quirk of fate, I have a chance to fall in love with Hermione all over again and I find she's as wonderful as she was in my world. She's beautiful…downright sexy, in fact. She's smart, so smart she'll be able to keep me on my toes. You say you have nothing to offer? I say you're wrong," he said, caressing her cheek softly.
"Your heart is the greatest gift of all. It's worth more than every galleon I own," he murmured, smiling.
Hermione looked at him in stunned silence. When a giggle intruded on their privacy, Harry looked up to see his mother and his sister standing not far away.
Lily was holding a squirming Ally back as the girl tried very hard not to giggle.
Both Hermione and Harry blushed to their roots, but Harry waved them over anyway.
"Apparently family also exists to embarrass you to death," he muttered.
As the newcomers joined the pair, Ally began making kissing noises. Lily shot her a glare and she desisted, her giggles fading as she turned serious. "I know I shouldn't tease you, Harry, but you went from the depths of despair to soaring happiness so fast I didn't think it was possible! We were both frightened for you."
Hermione narrowed her eyes and looked at the younger girl for a moment. "You're an empath!" she exclaimed.
Lily made a hushing noise. Ally looked around quickly to make sure no one was around, and then nodded.
"She's a pain in the arse, is what she is," Harry said teasingly. Ally's temper flared. Quickly realizing she was being teased however, she stuck her tongue out at him.
"Harry, the Headmaster wants to see you both in his office," Lily said carefully, knowing she was breaking the mood.
Hermione looked ready to panic.
Harry took her hand in his and she calmed. "Don't let the old goat scare you, Hermione. He's just a man, like any other man. He wears socks with holes that his toes stick out of."
In another moment, Hermione and Ally were laughing as Harry did an excellent imitation of Albus Dumbledore.
Malfoy Mansion…
Lucius Malfoy stood, looked at the crowded study and smiled thinly. "Friends! Thank you for coming here on such short notice," he said with a slight bow.
"All of you represent the greatest of the great houses. In our hands we control our world, and help keep it pure. But we are faced with an attack that we must unite to face. Since the political demise of our dear Minister Fudge, and the rise to power of Minister Bones, old laws have been thrown away in favor of laws that favor all, rather than the pure blooded community.
"Minister Bones has become a ruler over us all because she has the support of the houses of the four founders, as well as the House of Potter, the House of Black, the House of Dumbledore, to name a few."
"But Lucius, what can we do about it? Bones has the majority support of the Wizengamot and the DMLE in her back pocket," protested Albert Greengrass.
Lucius frowned. Greengrass was correct. Bones was untouchable. "Bones is just a politico, Albert. Take away her support and she'll fade into the woodwork like Cornelius did. Take away Harry Potter, and the support he represents, and Bones will fold like a house of cards."
Several men stood and made their way to the exits. One stopped and faced Malfoy. "I don't like where you are going with this, Lucius. I came here only because I thought I owe you at least a hearing on the subject. But this sounds like something I want no part of. Don't embarrass the pure bloods like you did in your last venture," warned William Abbott before he turned is back on the blond man and left the room.
Lucius smiled thinly again and turned to those who remained, less than ten families! "No matter. We have between us adequate support for what needs to be done. I have alerted my son. He is going to work with us to assure that something permanent happens to Harry Potter."
The Great Hall…
As intimidating as he could be, Albus Dumbledore had been strangely gentle in administering punishment to Hermione for punching Miss Weasley. He took twenty-five points from Gryffindor for her actions and, since Harry had agreed to give a series of lectures to the staff and interested students on his views of the nature of magic, he assigned Hermione as Harry's assistant.
After that, it took less than a day for the rest of the school to realize that something drastic had changed between Harry and Hermione.
Harry, Hermione realized, was an intensely private person who was not prone to excessive emotional displays, but he held her hand now in public, and always stayed close to her. Her concern regarding the Slytherin's getting revenge turned out to be valid.
A few days after the punch, Harry was in the back of the potions classroom. He was working on a treatise on the nature of potion ingredients when he happened to glance up and notice a small lead pellet flying towards Hermione's cauldron. He didn't think, he just shielded the cauldron. The pellet hit the shield and it rang loudly as it ricocheted off the shield towards the front of the class, narrowly missing Professor Snape.
"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Snape angrily.
Harry raised his hand and Snape glared at him. "Mr. Potter? Did you fire that pellet at me?"
"No, sir, I don't know who controlled the pellet. I saw it just before it was about to enter Miss Granger's cauldron. I shielded the cauldron and, unfortunately, when the pellet bounced off the shield, it went in your direction."
Hermione gasped and paled. Lead, added to this particular brew, would have caused the potion to fail in a spectacular and dangerous fashion. Putting lead into the potion would have amounted to a deliberate attempt on her life.
Snape frowned and glared at the class. "Which of you miscreants tried to destroy Miss Granger's potion?" he asked with a snarl.
The silence in the room was deafening. Harry held his tongue. He could have replayed events in the classroom, but that would have only made matters worse.
"Very well then. Ten points from everyone and, with the exception of Miss Granger, I want a four foot essay on the dangers of lead in potion making. Seal your cauldrons, class is dismissed." Snape said angrily.
Harry packed up his books and followed Hermione from the room. He was about to reach for her hand when Ron Weasley angrily pushed between them.
"Watch out for lead pellets, mudblood," he snarled. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle laughed as they followed him.
Hermione flinched away from Ron's touch and nearly fell to her knees. She glanced over at Harry and gasped.
"Harry don't," she hissed at him.
Harry slowly pulled himself under control and his magic settled. He cocked his head to the side for a moment, and then smiled mischievously. His eyes flared once before he turned to Hermione.
She stared at him, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Alright… what did you just do?" she asked him.
He smiled and placed a finger to the side of his nose. "Padfoot isn't the only Marauder still alive, you know. As to what I did, watch and enjoy. It won't hurt them, but it will be… humiliating," Harry replied with a grin that even Hermione had trouble ignoring.
The results had been as spectacular as Harry had promised. Spectacularly humiliating for the Slytherins as the loose bowel curse hit them every time they were confronted with twenty or more people in the same room.
The results had all of the school laughing at the embarrassed students and even those pure bloods that normally sided with them looked down on them with disgust.
Now Harry and Hermione sat next to each other at lunch discussing what they would be talking about during the lecture and how they would present it. Ally tossed out ideas and comments from time to time regarding their presentation. They had worked up a full eight hour lecture series and had enough material.
"I think that should do it, Hermione. We have everything we need," Harry offered, covering her hand with his.
Hermione agreed. Silently she marveled at how the touch of a friend could suddenly affect her so much. They had held hands before they had kissed, but it was different now. There was an element to his touch that comforted and excited her.
Harry tore his gaze away from Hermione's when he realized there was a commotion in the entrance to the Great Hall. A couple of first years had collided and books had gone flying everywhere. He chuckled and rolled up the notes they had been working on. He made a duplicate, which he handed to Hermione, and placed his in their dimensional storage space.
Harry turned to Ally, then frowned as a ripple of pain seared through his head. He gasped and turned to the Hall invoking his mage sight to its fullest. Hermione and Ally looked at Harry in alarm as they felt his magic flaring. Ally's hands trembled as she felt a faint echo of the pain that was washing through him.
Harry stood and staggered over to the head table.
"Albus," he gasped. "clear the Hall and shield me…"
"Harry? You're pale."
Harry clutched at his head and pitched to his knees. Above his head appeared the ghostly image of his multi-dimensional container, one section of the container bulged outward alarmingly.
Dumbledore stood. "Students to your houses immediately. Prefects, escort them please," he called.
Then he cast a strong shielding bubble over the writhing young man.
Ally and Hermione ran to Lily, who stood watching Harry, the blood draining from her face.
"Albus, what's wrong?"
"I'm not sure, Lily, but it looks like something's wrong with his runic container spell and he's suffering from a massive spell failure backlash."
"Look!" Hermione cried and pointed to her own book bag, still sitting at the Gryffindor table. The bag had split open and a huge parchment was still growing in its place.
"Now this makes sense," muttered Dumbledore. "Someone has cast an Engorgio charm on the parchment and it's growing, causing his container to warp."
Then there was a flash of light and the container faded from sight again. Harry lay collapsed, motionless on the floor, with blood seeping from his nose and mouth. Ally buried her head against her mother and Hermione stared at the still form in horror. Dumbledore cast a few spells, then dropped the shield he'd cast around Harry.
Madam Pomfrey quickly went to Harry and began to run a diagnostic series on him. She frowned over the results, and looked up at Dumbledore. "He's alive, Headmaster. The damage is severe, but nothing a day or two in the hospital wing won't fix," she said. She then conjured a stretcher and levitated Harry onto it. A moment later she had him levitated again and was walking him to the exit.
Dumbledore nodded to the healer, then he cast a "Finite" on the parchment overflowing the Gryffindor table and reduced it to normal size. "Miss Granger, if you would retrieve that parchment, I would like to look at it later. We may be able to determine who cast the enlargement charm on it."
Hermione nodded and rushed to the table to collect it and her books..
Dumbledore turned to Lily and Ally. Noting their pale expressions, he smiled gently. "Let's go to the infirmary to see how Harry's doing, hmm?"
Hogwarts Infirmary…
Harry awoke slowly; every muscle in his body ached and screamed at the slightest movement. He blinked and mentally inventoried himself. It was a process he had started back in his first year and it was a habit he continued to this day. Once he was sure all his parts were connected, he reached out with his magic and sighed in relief to find everything seemed to be fine there as well. He turned his head. There was only a little light coming through the windows. Looking in the other direction he saw Hermione, Lily and Ally sitting on a bed several feet away, whispering to each other. He was surprised to see all of them were dressed in their pajamas.
He started to sit up, then he gasped in pain and sunk back down on the pillow again. All three women turned and spotted him. Lily stood and went to the office to alert Madam Pomfrey, while Hermione and Ally moved to sit by his bed. Harry reached out and grabbed Hermione's hand, wincing as he did. She sat on the chair next to his bed and leaned over, brushing his hair out of his eyes.
"Hey there," he whispered. His throat was parched. Ally reached for a pitcher and a cup and poured him a cup of water. Hermione lifted his head as Ally helped him drink.
"Better," he murmured gratefully.
"Awake are we, Mr. Potter?" asked Madam Pomfrey.
Harry grimaced at the older woman. "Poppy, you are probably the only person in this universe that I sincerely hoped to get to know socially and never need your professional services."
Poppy stared at him for a moment, then she snorted and laughed. "Yes, Harry, I can see you and I had a very close relationship in your universe. In six years of school you averaged twenty hospital visits per year, four of which each year resulted in excessive stays. I've been through your record several times now and all I can say is it's a wonder you aren't dead."
Harry chuckled, then he shocked the other women nearby. "You still have that wonderful beside manner as well, I see. So tell me, what's the problem this time and how long am I sentenced to this bed?"
Poppy sniffed and shook her head. Everyone could see she was trying hard not to laugh at him.
"Well, Mr. Potter, your sentence will be up come in the morning, although I want you to rest for the next five days. No running, no heavy lifting, no major spell casting. You took quite a beating from that spell and you're going to feel like you've been locked in a dark room with six bludgers for a few days at least."
She leaned over and gave him a dose of a pain-killing potion, then handed Lily a sleeping potion, before returning to her office.
Harry looked between the three women. "So why are you all hanging out here? I mean, this is a strange place to hold a pajama party."
"How much do you remember, Harry?" asked Hermione softly.
Harry frowned. "I remember us working on our presentation in the Great Hall, then my runic container surged strangely. Something went wrong after that. The container is supposed to eject any object that disturbs it."
Lily and Hermione shared a look. "That must be what happened, eventually, but not before it nearly killed you. Would it require a lot of magic to review your runes for the ejection?" Hermione asked curious.
"No, it's simple stuff," he said, and then he waved a hand causing the runes to burn brightly in the air above his bed. Lily walked around so that she was on the same side as Harry and Hermione.
"Here," Harry said, pointing to four runes out of the forty or so visible ones. "These control the ejection process."
Hermione frowned at the equation. "I don't see anything wrong there. Can you back it up a few steps?"
Harry scrolled the runes backwards and the four in question slid to one side.
"Stop," commanded Lily. "Here, this is where your ejection gets triggered right?"
Harry nodded, then he frowned. "Wait a second…"
Lily smiled and nodded at him, then looked to Hermione, whose eyes were narrowed as she examined the runes before her. "You've got the condition reversed. This rune is backwards and it's throwing off everything after it."
"Twenty points to Gryffindor," murmured Lily proudly.
Harry stared at the rune for a moment, then he gestured and the rune flipped around. His hand flared with purple light and the rune mimicked the glow.
"Harry, how come you haven't written this down for anyone to study?" asked Ally.
Harry grinned sheepishly. "I don't let anyone have it because they would freak out if they saw the entire construct and how I designed it, Ally."
Hermione frowned at him and even Lily gave him a strange look. "Don't you think we can understand it, Harry?" Lily asked in a dangerous tone.
"No, it's just… Oh, bloody hell. Let me show you. When I show it to you, I show you the relevant sections I want you to see. But that's not how it was constructed. Let me show you the construct as it really is."
Harry waved a hand and a group of bright blue runes appeared, then directly under them, red runes, finally under the red runes, another set of green runes. Each set of runes was in a layer of its own, but at certain points the layers connected.
"Merciful Merlin, it's in three dimensions!" exclaimed Hermione.
Harry smiled. "I knew you'd figure it out Hermione."
"How do you connect the layers?" asked Lily.
"That's my secret, Mum. I created a bridge rune, allowing me to bridge between the layers. There are several variations of the bridge… unidirectional, bi-directional and power limiting. But it's what makes the whole thing work. Tricky beast it was too, took me nearly a month to make my first bridge rune."
Harry looked at the three dumbfounded women and decided it was time to change the subject.
"So, somehow someone messed with my container?"
"Someone put an enlarging charm on the parchment you were working on," Ally said softly.
Harry scowled and folded his arms across his chest. "Do we know who it was? Or should I just assume Slytherin House and start with the seventh years and work my way down?"
Lily shook her head. "You'll do no such thing. Albus is looking into the matter. He is quite upset that someone would do something so cowardly. That could have killed you. It's only pure luck that somehow your ejection sequence managed to get triggered. You've been in the infirmary, unconscious, for two whole days," she said. Her vibrant green eyes sparked with anger.
She handed Harry the potion she had been holding and he winced. She gave him a stern look and he sighed in resignation before drinking the potion down. Within moments, he was sleeping soundly.
Hermione looked at the sleeping form and shook her head. "What other secrets do you hold, Harry Potter?" she asked in a soft voice.
Lily placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "In time, you, more than anyone else, will learn his secrets, I think. Imagine, seventeen and he's created a whole new class of runes."
All three women watch the sleeping form for another minute before returning to their conversation on the nearby bed.
The Quidditch Pitch…
Harry was quick to recover and within a few days, everything was back to normal, although Madam Pomfrey seemed to keep a close eye on him, a fact that annoyed him greatly.
Professor McGonagall had accepted Harry's offer to coach the Gryffindor Seeker, so he, Hermione and Ally were out on the quidditch pitch. Hermione and Ally were there for moral support and because they liked to watch Harry fly. His flying skills were both a source of pride and a source of disgust for the Gryffindor team. They admired his skills, but they hated the fact that they couldn't use those skills in a game.
Hermione watched him closely as he put his professional standard racing broom into a vertical climb at top speed. She swallowed nervously and reminded herself to breathe as he topped out of his climb over a thousand meters up, then pitched over into a power drive.
Ally glanced at Hermione, who sat motionless, not breathing, and she nudged the older girl.
"Breath, Hermione. You're worrying about the wrong things. He's not going to hurt himself flying," she said with a chuckle.
Hermione shook herself, but was unable to tear her eyes away from Harry plummeting towards the ground at lethal speeds.
"I know, Ally. He seems like he was born to fly, but that doesn't mean I have to like it, or that I can't worry about him. Look at him!" she said in annoyance.
Harry pulled out of his dive at the last second and was skimming along the pitch just inches above the ground. He let out a loud shout and the two girls could hear his laughter. Then he carefully climbed to his feet on his broom and stood, guiding the broom by his feet alone.
He continued to zoom around the pitch for a few more minutes before he noticed that his sister and Hermione were no longer in the stands. With an adept tilt of his feet and a shifting of his weight, he pulled the broom into a gentle climb and remounted it properly. He circled the pitch slowly coming to a halt over the stand they had been sitting in. He could detect the faint traces of a portkey and a cold knot of fear formed in his belly. He frowned and took off as fast as he could for the window to the Headmaster's office.
Dumbledore looked up when he heard an urgent knocking sound. Turning in his chair he was surprised to see Harry Potter sitting on his broom and knocking on his window.
Dumbledore got up, smiling, and opened the window. "Harry, I don't think there's anything wrong with my Gargoyle. Why…"
"Not now, Albus. We have a problem. I was down at the pitch. I had finished coaching the Gryffindor Seeker and was making some practice flying runs for myself. When I looked up, Hermione and Ally were gone. There's a faint portkey trace where they were sitting," Harry said in a rush, flying the broom through the window and climbing off it.
Dumbledore frowned and checked one of his instruments. "Yes, there was a portkey exiting the wards a short while ago. What do you intend to do?"
Harry looked him in the eye. "I intend to follow the trail before it fades away completely. Once I find out where they have been taken, I'll contact you," he said, stripping out of his quidditch robes.
Albus eyed the young man with some surprise. It wasn't often a student stripped in his office. Actually, students never stripped in his office! However, when Harry began pulling his combat clothing and weapons from their dimensional storage, the old wizard understood
Harry looked up at the Headmaster, his expression intent. "You realize that you can check the students for a portkey trace signature don't you? Someone on the inside had to have that portkey."
Dumbledore nodded wearily. "Yes. I will alert the Professors and begin checking students right away."
Harry belted on the holster for his pistol. "Check the Slytherins first." he murmured. Then he climbed onto his broom. Dumbledore opened the window again for him.
"Good luck, my boy. I'll be awaiting word from you." Dumbledore said in a worried tone.
Harry nodded and slipped out the window. The broom dropped for a moment, then he was off at top speed, heading southwest and gaining altitude.
Harry sped along at nearly one hundred miles per hour on his broom. He cast a warming charm on himself as he went. The portkey trace would only last four hours at best, even to his mage sight.
Dumbledore watched the speck dwindling in the fading daylight and he shook his head, concerned. He then turned and walked to the fireplace. He had several fire-calls to make.